Chapter 34

Hula’s Resolve

As the curve of Pasifae’s lips straightened, a searing sound - like a howling microphone or that classic sound effect on TV when a TV station signed off - echoed behind Arthur’s ears. It was so loud that he unknowingly covered his ears with both hands while closing his eyes partially. And without warning, his strength began to fade, as though sucking every fiber of energy from his small stature.

“Arthur,” Duliri called out anxiously as he sensed the grip of the boy’s legs, the only thing pinning Arthur on top of the staff, loosened. “What’s happening? Are you alright?”

The boy gulped before trying to open his mouth and give Duliri an answer, only to find out that he couldn’t part his lips. He tried to answer through telepathy but to no avail. After a few seconds, his heart began pounding, goosebumps rising through his skin. His body temperature rose as well, and yet, he felt extremely cold as sweat rolled down on his back, chest, and forehead. With each passing moment, his breathing became louder, deeper, and desperate gasps. Then his legs trembled, and then his arms; until his whole body shook. Even his vision became disfigured, the woman a few meters away in front of him, and everything in his view blurred into bright white-colored light.

“Arthur! Arthur! Hey, Hula!” Duliri called again, extremely alarmed, his voice breaking, as the boy fell on the floor. He immediately glided downward and called his name again, but the boy had already become deaf to his calls. Once he realized this, he turned his whole attention to the intruder. “Lady Pasifae!” he cried out. “What are you doing?”

However, for the second time, his question remained unanswered as Pasifae remained almost motionless, only blinking once every few seconds and slightly twitching her point-finger. In desperation, Duliri lunged forward and tackled the red-haired lady who nonchalantly grabbed him on impact.

In that instant, the deafening sound and most of nausea that Arthur experienced vanished. Even Hula, who also experienced the same things as Arthur since they have shared senses, recovered. “Nice call, Duliri…” Hula commented in a raspy and tired tone through telepathy. “You’ve got some use, after all...”

Another amused smile surfaced on Pasifae’s face as she threw the staff away. She, then, looked straight at Arthur who’s mustering all his remaining strength to stand up while still panting and slightly trembling. “Interesting… After all that, you still got a lot of mana left.”

“What was that, Hula?” Arthur asked telepathically once he stood on his feet, his knees still shaking a little. “I know you felt that too… that deafening sound and nauseating feeling. Just what the hell is that?”

“Do not worry, young lord,” Pasifae interjected, hacking through their communication network with ease, her menacing voice resounding through Arthur’s head. She then scoffed as the boy stared at him in disbelief. “That is nothing more than a harmless spell... a combination of Interference and Dispel Magic, Metur’Sepotes.”

“Harmless, you say?” Duliri blurted out. “That was an advanced spell! Arthur could have died from Mana Deficiency-”

“Silence, Duliri!” Hula commanded after he regained his usual composure. He then jumped his consciousness in the staff, forcefully swapping with Duliri. He knew that he had to act now, or he may regret it later. Duliri was far too emotional and Hula wouldn’t let it get the best of them.

“What are you doing, Hula? I should be in control of the staff. Don’t forget that we have an agreement!” Duliri protested as the serpent staff slowly hovered in front of Pasifae. The orb atop it changed color to dark reddish hue and emitted some light.

Hula ignored the remark and focused all his attention on the lady in front of him. “Lady Pasifae…” he began, his voice came out almost robotic and emotionless. Pasifae raised an eyebrow while Arthur carefully watched the scene. “I knew that you had no intention of killing the lord, however, I would have to warn you not to hurt him any further. You wouldn’t want to anger her ladyship, would you? Especially when you came all the way to this secluded island for a negotiation-”

“You…” The lady interrupted in a low yet overly sharp tone, “I don’t like you.” Her lips curled into a scowl while sending him an alarming glare. “You seem to forget the situation you’re in.”

Hula let out a condescending laugh as though mocking Pasifae.

“Such insolence… You know I can’t take the boy’s life but destroying you won’t be a problem, don’t you think?”

“That’s right. However, I don’t think that even you, Lady Pasifae, is capable of such a thing.”

“Oi… Hula, what… what are you…. saying? Stop… stop provoking her...” Arthur said, stuttering. He took a step closer as he continued to shudder on his feet, but Duliri immediately stopped him before he could take another step or add another word. Even though Duliri hated to admit it, when he surmised Hula’s course of action, he understood that it’s their only option. Now that seven unknown giant monsters lurked outside with nothing to protect them and with Lady Pasifae inside their home, Katarina’s return was their only hope. They needed to buy some time, but more than anything, they had to protect the boy.

“You’re really asking for it…” Pasifae hissed before pulling the short staff that hung behind her. Her eyes flared in humiliation. She then recited a quick chant and soon after declaring the name of the spell, a large chunk of ice formed above the serpent staff. It fell, prompting Hula to glide sideward and dodge.

By this time, Arthur already understood what Hula and Duliri were trying to do. But Arthur heard enough; he’d seen enough. He had enough. He took a massive breath and forced his weakened body to move. He dashed in front of the woman and raised his arms sideward, palms open. He looked straight into her eyes and pinned them in place. “Please do not destroy them...” he pleaded, his chin raised with conviction.

“Awww… What is this?” Pasifae said softly, pursing her lips outward. “Is the boy trying to protect his toy?”

He raised his chin further. “It’s not a toy! He’s my friend.”

“Awww… That’s cute, but...” She raised her hand, her expression turning sour. A few more breaths and she slapped Arthur, hurling him a meter away.

“Duliri! What are you doing?” Hula exclaimed, audibly fuming. “Remember what I taught you before! Use it! Now!”

Duliri didn’t answer, instead, he did as he was told.

“What’s happening?” Arthur exclaimed when he tried to pick himself up, yet his body wouldn’t move according to his will. Then he heard Hula and Duliri’s voice in his head simultaneously, saying they’re sorry before his consciousness went into the endless whiteness where Duliri resided before. “What are you two doing?” he asked again, but the question fell on deaf ears.

As Pasifae released her frustrations and attacked the staff with a barrage of Ice spells, he saw his body moving towards his bed. Duliri then lied on it and closed off his eyes. Arthur noticed that Duliri was forcing his body to sleep. Arthur protested… and protested… and protested, but with more than half of his mana gone, he knew that he was easily losing the battle to keep himself awake. Besides, he couldn’t control his body and he felt his consciousness gradually slipping away.

“Well done, Duliri,” Hula praised when Arthur fell asleep and Duliri's sentience came back to the staff.

Duliri simply cussed at him, however, hearing his dry tone. “Don’t forget that you still break the agreement, Hula. We’ll talk about the punishment later.”

Hula didn’t say anything, instead, he flew out of the window and lured Pasifae in the backyard. “You know you aren’t too different from your brother, Lady Pasifae,” he remarked once all of them were out. As he spoke, the last remaining path to enter the house shut itself. Then a wall made of clay and soil rose from the ground and covered the entirety of the house.

Pasifae grimaced, while her hands twitched ever so slightly. “And for someone so powerless, you sure have a lot of guts.”

Hula let out a humorless laugh. “True enough, I am currently powerless, well, in a sense, but don’t you think that you’re far too naive? Letting go of such a crucial hostage?”

“Hostage? You mean the boy?” Her brows knit together, her head tilted to the side. Then a few more stares and she began to laugh loudly. “You’re gravely mistaken. I never aimed to take him… I only want to play with him for a while...”

At the same time, Duliri also spoke to him through telepathy. “Oi, Hula… what are you doing?” he said extremely flatly. “Why are you still provoking her? Do you truly wish to die? Just so you know, I don’t want to die yet.”

“Silence, Duliri. Your small intellect will never understand,” Hula immediately responded before speaking again to Pasifae while ignoring all of Duliri’s later protests. “Thank you very much,” he said mockingly again, tilting as though bowing before her. “Now, I’m almost certain that my hypotheses are correct.”

“Hypotheses?”

“You didn’t need to know, Lady Pasifae. However, I know that we both know what will be the conclusion - your brother came here for naught. The negotiation will certainly fail. Her ladyship wouldn’t yield to you all.”

“My brother came here?” Her eyes widened slightly. “What is it? What is it that you know?” She then bit her lip, tightening her grip to her staff. “I don’t know how much you know, but I should break you - right here and now. You’re dangerous...”

“Then I dare you if you could…” Hula challenged haughtily as he landed and erected himself on the ground a few meters away from Pasifae. “No… in fact, I’d be happy for you to do it. After all, I want to show one of the trump cards on my sleeve - credits to her ladyship.”

“Hang on… Don’t tell me…”

“Exactly…”