The first thing Akata instantly noticed was the golden runes that Great Lord Taple used in battle. They brought a sense of holiness to the surrounding area making everything shining under its light feel as though it were blessed. Akata felt a sense of awe while he was looking at the runes and immediately understood what it was.

“An Outer Element huh? His use of it is way better than Great Priest Bambe’s use of time. Is this the Outer Element of Holy? There’s no question about it, it has to be that. Nothing else can possibly be this blessed.” As Akata watched the holy runes dance about he came to a conclusion.

“The Outer Element of Holy is a rune that only does righteous acts. It cleanses the air around it, it purifies the souls of living beings, and it exorcises all things it sees as evil. Only a pure soul would be able to wield it to its full potential. The more pure of heart someone is, the stronger the skill and the deeper the understanding that person will be have. Is this for all elements or simply Outer Elements?

Regardless, it is something that I can’t possibly begin to understand on my own just yet. I have to have a deeper understanding of elements and myself in order to gain that kind of knowledge.” Akata knew that he wasn’t at a level where he could comprehend the secrets of elements, not even the basic secrets. But if he were to grow stronger and understand more, he would gradually unlock these secrets.

Akata stared off into the distance focusing on the runes that Great Lord Taple and Great Priest Bayou created and wielded. Their use of runes were much greater than Lord Tafei’s and Priest Bambe’s use. Their runes were used in offense and defense, debuffing and buffing, trickery and straightforward attacks. Because of this, Akata made great strides in learning about runes.

He would see runes used as armor, or a shield. He would see runes take different shapes and sizes depending on the situation. He would also see multiple runes be put together, thus creating astonishing power. It was a magnificent sight to see, yet that was all Akata could do was see. The pressure was so great that Akata just couldn’t actually practice making any runes for improvements. He could only focus his mind on resisting the pressure and looking at the battle.

However, even though he couldn’t practice making any runes, Akata was still delighted. He could always practice making runes later anyways, so why would that discourage him? His eyes were bright as he watched the runes dance across the area. They didn’t look as resplendent as before because the sun was just coming up, bringing along rays of sunlight. But to Akata, they were just as colorful and bright.

An hour passed by quickly and the fight between the two were calming down. It might have seemed as if the two were equal considering how long they fought, but in reality Great Lord Taple was always on the offensive with Great Priest Bayou defending most of the time. The only reason he lasted this long was because his defensive skills were just too great.

By now, Great Priest Bayou’s armor that was made from the Inner Elements of Sand and Healing was crumbling apart. He was breathing heavy but his face was calm as he looked Great Lord Taple in the eye. He waved both of his hands and caused a scintillating light of tan, blue, and silver runes to explode forth. These were the Inner Elements of Sand, Water, and Light respectively. They combined together to form a giant head with an open mouth.

The giant head shot forth toward Great Lord Taple in an attempt to devour his whole being. He, in return, waved a single hand causing hundreds of golden runes to appear around him in a grand fashion. The runes then glowed brighter and brighter until they burst and spread their golden light everywhere. The golden light then converged into a giant hand that shot forth and attempted to grab the giant head.

A giant hand and a giant head were shooting toward each other. The head consisted of a combination of three different runes, thus making it nine times stronger than regular runes. But the hand, on the other hand, was made of an Outer Element.

Boom!

A huge wave of energy washed over the area causing hundreds of trees and vegetation to be upturned and destroyed. Akata himself was also sent flying back. When the two collided, it was obvious which one would come out the victor. The hand struggled at first to crush the head but was still able to do so.

In fact the only reason it struggled at first was because of the Inner Element of Light that was within the head. Great Priest Bayou knew that his efforts were in vain but he decided to try his luck anyways. In fact, he wasn’t really skilled in the Inner Element of Light. This was because he was more skilled in the Inner Element of Darkness. But if he used that element then the holy element would have instantly and easily destroyed his attack.

Great Priest Bayou shook his head and sighed. He knew he was fighting a losing battle from the start. He didn’t attack any further but instead looked out at the land around him. With his cultivation base at the Temporal Rank, he could easily see through the land and look at the tribe members below. He sighed again and spoke, “I have lost. Please, don’t resist and come.” He waved his hand and collected the tribe members that followed him. When they heard his voice, the tribesmen instantly knew what had happened. They didn’t resist as they allowed themselves to be collected by Great Priest Bayou.

Priest Bambe was also collected by Great Priest Bayou as well. He gave Lord Tafei a long glance before sighing and vanishing. He also knew that he couldn’t beat Lord Tafei easily, in fact, he didn’t know if he could beat him at all.

Great Lord Taple watched silently and calmly as Great Priest Bayou collected the traitorous tribe members. He watched as they vanished completely. He didn’t try to stop Great Priest Bayou at all. Eventually Lord Tafei appeared at his side also looking at Great Priest Bayou, except he had a complicated look. This was once a great figure in his heart but now… things had changed. Finally he sighed and vanished.

The two figures looked at each other for a while before Great Priest Bayou spoke out. “Be wary of the mainland. I thought that I would have the power to make our tribe rise in strength but it seems that it will be you doing that instead. I happened to escape, but I’ sure they will be looking for me soon. And that means that they will come for you as well. Be prepared, I would hate to see a part of my tribe destroyed.”

Great Lord Taple nodded his head and said, “You would be in more danger than I am. For now on, my tribe will be called the Scarlet Rune Tribe.” He said calmly.

“And mine shall be named the Runic Tiger Tribe.” Great Priest Bayou said slowly. “As agreed I will take my leave. I do hope in the future that you are able to survive and prosper.” With that, Great Priest Bayou turned and flew off into the distance. Great Lord Taple sighed internally and turned around facing his tribe. Although they couldn’t see him since they were underground. He gave them a long look and then turned his head to look in another direction, he took a step and vanished from his spot.

He reappeared a bit of a distance away to see broken down trees and rocks. These weren’t the cause of his battle or any other battle, but because a person was sent flying through it. This person, of course, was none other than Akata.

Akata could be seen gasping for air and seriously injured. That blast had sent him flying through the air and into many trees and rocks. His body was broken and mangled in different places and blood was everywhere. His arm was even twisted beyond recognition but somehow he was still alive.

Great Lord Taple immediately waved his hand sending out aqua and blue runes toward Akata which combined together. These were the Inner Elements of Healing and Water respectively which combined together to form a ball of soothing calm water. The water surrounded Akata and his body was enveloped by it. His injuries were visibly healing at a fast rate but that was only his wounds. His bones were still mangled and twisted and his organs were slowly healing themselves from being crushed.

When Great Lord Taple saw Akata still alive he breathed a huge sigh of relief. If it wasn’t for him then he wouldn’t nearly have enough strength to stand let alone fight. It was thanks to Akata that he was free from that poisonous life force that invaded his body, dantion, and soul. He didn’t know how to repay Akata for his efforts but the least he could do was make sure that he survived to receive some gifts.

He didn’t wait there for Akata to heal as he moved himself and Akata into the secluded chamber where Tabet was still located. He put Akata on the ground and waved his hand causing a wave of golden runes to appear. The golden runes flew toward Akata’s body and burrowed into it giving him a golden aura. The golden rune mixed in with the healing water and gave it a golden tint.

The healing effects of the water instantly improved greatly. This was because instead of a combination of two runes, there were now three. This made the strength nine times stronger than a regular rune. It was also combined with an Outer Element thus creating an even more astonishing effect. Akata’s bones were now repairing themselves and his organs were healing at a fast rate. Akata’s condition improved dramatically as he recovered at an extremely fast rate.

Soon, Akata’s eyes twitched as he slowly opened them. When he did he found himself staring at complete and utter darkness. However, he felt the existence of two people close by. Both of these people felt familiar to him though. “Tabet and…”