Chapter 3 – The Avatar of Ariyani

THE TREASURE HUNTERS THAT ATTACKED that day were the Fishbone Hunters, a notorious group that not only hunted for treasures, but also raided ports and coastal villages, kidnapped men and women, and hijacked merchant's vessels.

The group was led by a man named Shiruce, also known as the Shark’s Fin Hunter due to his illegal shark finning operations and his weapon of choice—a unique sword made of sharks’ fins.

Shiruce and his crew were once pirates and were quite successful at it. However, the days of piracy in the waters of Aria dwindled down when the United Alliance finally arrived.

After losing most of his crew against the far more advanced battleships of the United Alliance, including three ships from his six-ship fleet, Shiruce contemplated going to the seas that are still pirate-infested even though that would increase the competition.

Ultimately, Shiruce decided to become a treasure hunter.

His defiance against the United Alliance was enough for the Hunters’ Horde to acknowledge him, so he was frequently supplied and assisted by certain treasure hunters from Hunters’ Horde’s inner circle. And to date, Shiruce and the Fishbone Hunters remained at large.

The Fishbone Hunters are the kind of treasure hunters that the United Alliance despise the most; not only have they desecrated uncharted locations, but they also raid settlements that have treasures. It made Shiruce and his men no better than plunderers. In fact, they forced actual thieves and burglars to join his crew, including a young boy named Cobalt who was just the same age as Daisuke, which was kidnapped by Shiruce’s men from a particular slum region in mainland Aria where people resorted to thievery.

When the Fishbone Hunters arrived near the island of the elves, Shiruce ordered his men to bombard the island from the distance using the ships’ cannons.

“Gyahahahaha!! More! More! Bombard those elves more!” Shiruce ordered from his ship. “Let them come out from their home like ants!!”

The cannons were strong enough to reach the village, destroy several houses, and injure unsuspecting civilians. This prompted the Elven Council to order a mass evacuation near the Sacred Tree.

Shiruce scanned the beach with his spyglass, looking for any elves that would greet them. Seeing no one, Shiruce started to order a guy with a weird-looking face. “Oy! Squidface! Get your men ready!”

“Aye, sir!” Squidface went down the ship to see five kids, one of them was Cobalt. Squidface showed them a map that resembled the village of Yora with an X mark that was supposed to be the Shrine of Maria. “This is where the treasures are. We take whatever we can and come back fast. Avoid the elves at all costs. Shiruce and the others will deal with them.”

Back at the ship's deck, Shiruce finally saw elves on the hills of the island near Eastern Beach. “Time for us to get some elves, boys!”

His crew roared in anticipation. They knew just how much elves cost, and a couple of female elves would make them a fortune that they could sell to the Slave House in the Elysian Republic.

The treasure hunters rode smaller boats towards the shore of the island while Shiruce’s flagship and the two other sloops continued to open fire.

Armed with rifles, bombs, Molotov, spears, swords, and axes, the treasure hunters charged toward the elven warriors as they reached the beach. The elves promptly retaliated.

The elven warriors used their Karma—special abilities whose origin can be traced back to the Ishvaras—against the treasure hunters. In the Yoran elves’ case, their Karma was to create and manipulate different kinds of plants.

Those who have never seen the elves in action before were easily defeated. But those who have already seen the elven power managed to fight on par, like Shiruce, whose sharks’ fin blade was so sharp and easily sliced through the plants that the elves created.

Durant made his way through the mob and clashed against Shiruce. “You will not take anything from our land!”

Using his power, Durant produced a tree branch from his arms, and at the end grew a large, spiky durian fruit. He swung his durian fruit like a mace against Shiruce who was parrying his attack using the sharks' fins sword.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, elf!!”

* * * * *

While the battle was happening on the Eastern Beach, the guy called Squidface and his crew of five people, composed of four teens and a kid, had already managed to sneak into the village without being noticed. They did not waste any time and went straight to the Shrine of Maria.

Since the elves were either busy fighting the treasure hunters or protecting the village from the continuous bombardment, no one noticed the small group enter the Yora Village, which would be normally detected by the Elven Corps. Soon enough, that group eventually reached the shrine without much of a hassle.

“We're here,” said one of the young hunters as he catches his breath.

“Calix, wait! Someone’s there,” said another kid.

Indeed, Daisuke was still inside the shrine. Rango told Daisuke to stay put before he went outside and help the elven warriors get organized.

“Gehehehehe! Well, look at that! Take that elf as well. That could be sold for a huge bag of lanias or whatever!” Squidface ordered.

Calix approached Daisuke with malice. “You’re coming with me!”

Daisuke tried to fight back, but Calix was too big for him. He tried to use his Karma, but he couldn’t. Ever since the day he learned about elves having powers, he has been trying to summon a plant of his own, but to no avail.

Regardless, Daisuke continued to struggle from being tied by Calix until his captor got annoyed. Calix stomped and punched his face until it bleeds and bruised, black and blue.

Cobalt, the youngest member of the group, tried to intervene. “P-Please! That’s enough!”

Calix kicked Cobalt as well. “Stay out of my way, twerp! This one's mine!” He then proceeds to tie Daisuke as tightly as possible and dragged him to Squidface.

Still conscious though, Daisuke saw that the man called Squidface was taking down the portrait of Maria. He tried to utter words, but he could not due to the pain and grogginess.

And when the portrait was taken down completely, it was instead destroyed by Squidface for being useless to them.

Anger built up on Daisuke and his mind went blank.

* * * * *

Everything happened so quickly.

Squidface and the kids were suddenly blown away by a strong, potent surge of mana released by Daisuke. Squidface managed to stand up and saw Daisuke, freed from being tied, and was horrified when he saw that his bruised face of Daisuke was quickly healing.

Daisuke’s eyes started to glow bright green. His skin was turning ash-gray and was being covered with black hexagonal patterns.

Different kinds of trees rapidly grew inside and out of the shrine. The roof of the shrine was even blown away open because of the trees that grew inside. Bushes and shrubs crawled on the shrine’s wall, eventually sealing the only exit, trapping Squidface and the kids inside, much to their horror.

Squidface tried to attack Daisuke, hoping that the growing plants would stop if Daisuke were killed. He grabbed the wooden spear inside the shrine, but Daisuke’s glowing eyes immediately turned to him. He tried to stab Daisuke, but vines wrapped all around his right leg, stopping him from moving, and fell with his face straight to the floor.

Daisuke extended his arms towards Squidface, made a grasping gesture with his hand, and the vines constricted tight, crushing Squidface’s right leg. Bones shattered and blood sprayed.

“Kyaaaaaaah!” Squidface howled in pain.

After breaking Squidface’s leg with the constricting vines, Daisuke turned to the other kids. A small tree grew from Daisuke’s right arm until it became a massive wooden arm.

Out of terror, the kids could not do anything but shriek as Daisuke clobbered them with the wooden arm.

Daisuke then looked around and saw the kid named Cobalt who rattled in fear in a corner like a trapped rodent. As he approached him though, Cobalt fainted.

* * * * *

The surge of mana that came from Daisuke was felt all over the island and could have even extended farther away. It was felt by everyone on the island, enough to stop the clash at the beach and induced fear in the civilians and intruders alike.

Without hesitation, Shiruce and his crew escaped from the island, knowing that that level of mana was not worth any treasure and would just rather leave with their lives and limbs intact.

They didn't even wait for Squidface and the kids.

The Elven Corps and Seekers that fought Shiruce's men at the beach hurriedly went back to the village. Durant and Sequovas ordered the elven warriors to keep the citizens safe from the source of the abnormally strong mana.

They were all, however, surprised when they reached the area near the shrine. It was as if a forest has emerged filled with various flora.

Sequovas and Durant looked at each other. They knew that the time has come. Even Rango had an idea of what was happening.

“Everyone, calmly go to the evacuation area!” Durant ordered. “Take all the civilians there to the South Harbor and leave the island!”

Many veteran elves clamored and protested. They do not want to leave the council behind. Everyone knew that this day would have come. The surge of mana they felt had the same pressure from the battle that took place a hundred years ago. And it was almost the same surge of mana they felt when Daisuke was born.

Grumple, Orchilles, Volcadon, and Mahogry met with the other councils. The veteran elves stayed and decided to fight with them.

The trees, shrubs, and bushes that were blocking the entrance of the shrine suddenly blasted open, filling the area with smoke and dust. A silhouette of a being slowly came out. The councils reacted accordingly and activated their Karma which made their skin patterns glow with the bright green light.

Sequovas created six dark green spheres that floated around him, his famous sequoia bombs.

Durant used his power to produce a translucent sphere of green mana that encapsulated him, which resembled the hard skin of durian fruit, complete even with the smell.

Grumple summoned a golem-like creature resembling a tree with apple fruits all over it.

Ananais’s arms produced a cannon-like weapon made of pineapple crowns with glowing golden pineapple ammunition.

Orchilles summoned several gigantic orchid flowers that looked like serpents, releasing some kind of glistening powder as they hissed.

Volcadon created avocado trees with hundreds of avocado fruit. He manipulated the fruits and mashed them, turning them into a paste-like substance.

Mahogry raised his hand, and a spear with an emerald tip flew in his direction from the ruins of the shrine. It was the treasured spear of the Yoran elves, the Spear of Krishmala. A wing-like protrusion on his back appeared that resembled mahogany seeds.

As the smoke from the explosion subsided, they saw Daisuke who was carrying another kid. His skin was ash-gray. Black hexagonal patterns were all over him. And his eyes were glowing bright green. Not only did he radiate intense pressure, but he also radiated primeval fear that struck most of the veteran elven warriors.

Without saying a word, Durant rushed towards Daisuke first.

Daisuke placed Cobalt gently on the ground. With a simple hand gesture, a giant tree erupted from the ground that grabbed Durant and tossed him like a hamster inside a ball, so far that Durant actually reached the South Harbor, damaging an elven ship in the process.

Orchilles's orchid serpents, Volcadon, and Grumple’s apple tree golem rushed towards Daisuke, successfully avoiding the plants that erupted on the ground. The serpents released thick clouds of sticky, glistening pollen that surrounded Daisuke, making it difficult for Daisuke to move.

Volcadon shaped and hardened his avocado paste into a giant hammer and used it to smash Daisuke’s head. Grumple's apple tree golem followed as well to assist Volcadon. However, their combined attacks, though made a contact at Daisuke, seemed to have no effect at all. Daisuke was unharmed and simply made a tree instantly grow from the ground and used it to grab both Volcadon and the apple tree golem.

“Ananais, charge your weapon,” Mahogry ordered as he flew up in the sky.

Ananais looked reluctant to actually use her power against Daisuke, but she has to, to protect her people.

Mahogry's power was greatly buffed by the Spear of Krishmala, allowing him to create hundreds of mahogany seed pods. And before Daisuke could free himself completely from the sticky pollen, Mahogry made the pods rain towards Daisuke which released thousands of mahogany seeds with sharp wings that shredded everything near Daisuke.

Daisuke turned to the defensive, not to protect himself, but to protect Cobalt who was lying behind him.

“Ananais! Now!” Mahogry shouted.

Ananais looked at Sequovas. “I'm sorry, Sequovas.”

Sequovas couldn't do anything. He couldn't hurt his own son. But he also couldn't save him. He just stood there and watched.

Ananais was about to fire her cannon when suddenly, the mana coming from Daisuke fluctuated. Slowly, Daisuke reverted to his normal appearance and fell to the ground unconscious.

However, it was too late. Ananais, at the same time, fired her charged pineapple cannon, releasing a powerful wave of golden energy toward Daisuke.

Sequovas immediately launched his sequoia bombs that burst into giant sequoia trees. Five out of the six giant sequoia trees were destroyed by Ananais’s attack. Luckily, the sixth sequoia tree managed to block the last bit of the golden energy wave.

Sequovas hurriedly went towards Daisuke to check on him. He saw Daisuke and Cobalt, both relatively unharmed and covered in thick sticky pollen. He was followed by the other councils and elven warriors, including Rango.

Durant, who ran all the way from the South Harbor, saw what happened and looked at the council. “Is that it?! You're all just going to leave it just like that?!”

Seeing that the council decided to do nothing further against Daisuke or Sequovas, Durant left frustrated.

Daisuke and Cobalt were then taken to the infirmary at the Council House where they rested for a few days.