The Arising

Chapter 25.

Leokoni grinned the moment Dinsoneis flew into the throne room and gently landed upon the floor. His large wings folded behind him and he went down on one knee as he presented the bag of materials to his lord.

Leokoni checked the contents of the bag and grinned in pleasure. “You have done well, Dinsoneis. I knew I could count on your competence to do the job.”

“Thank you, my lord. I am pleased to have served you well.”

“You may go now.”

Dinsoneis rose to his feet and quickly vanished from the room as Leokoni took the bag and disappeared through a panel in the wall to the left of his throne. He entered into a small rounded room filled with shelves of glass jars and black glass bowls. There was a firestone burning in the center of the room, just above a small table. To the back of the room was a shelf filled with ancient spell books. It was there that Leokoni headed to. He took down a particular book and laid it open upon the table, then quickly waved his hand in the air. A bowl quickly flew from the shelf and landed on the table before him.

He emptied the contents of the bag out onto the table. There was the three slugs, the blood of the bat, the hear of the lion, the two poisonous berries, and the bones of the cheetah. Each of these would produce two kinds of spell. The first spell was to overtake the mind of Rowen. Earlier he had sent Yata to deal with Rowen, by causing his will and mind to weaken. Since then, Rowen had been in a stupor.

Quickly, he mixed the first ingredients together, the heart of the lion, the bones of the cheetah, and the two poisonous berries into the glass bowl, and with his own finger, mixed the contents together. As the contents were mixing, he began to read from his book, chanting an ancient spell in Latin. The contents began to glow a thick golden yellow color as mist seeped into it. When at last the color changed from golden yellow to a thick brown color, it was at last complete.

Leokoni summoned a bottle and a ladle to him. When they arrived before him, he uncorked the bottle and used the ladle to pour some of the contents into the bottle. Replacing the cork into the bottle, he quickly set it off to one side, then turned back to the last ingredients. Scooping up the three slugs and the heart of the bat, he entered them into the potion of the glass bowl and stirred them into it. Whispering a different spell brought the effect of a deep green color. When at last the color changed from purple to black, it was finished.

Getting another bottle, he quickly scooped some of it into it, then corked it off. Staring down at the two bottles, he grinned in satisfaction. Tonight, his revenge would be completed.

Quickly tucking one bottle into the pocket of his robe, he held the other one in his hand and teleported out of his room, then reappeared into Rowen’s cell. His keen hearing immediately caught the very low sound of breathing and the barely whispers of groans. He made his way toward the Ronin and stood before him.

“Poor Strata… it must pain you to be in that condition. What, with your friend gone, and no one here for you, you’ve been left in misery.”

Rowen’s dull blue eyes drifted toward the demon master and with every strength he could muster, grumbled, “ Go to hell.”

Leokoni laughed hard. “My dear boy. I shall not go to hell. I shall bring hell upon the earth, and you are going to help me.”

Rowen’s eyes managed to go wide, but there was little he could do to fight. He managed to shake his head, though that gave him a severe migraine and he cried out. In an instant, Leokoni quickly grabbed his chin and forced his mouth to stay open. Rowen’s struggles were weak and futile as the bottle was uncorked and tipped into Rowen’s open mouth. The potion poured down Rowen’s throat until the bottle was completely empty.

Rowen was breathing hard and his pulse raced to a hundred and twenty beats per minute. He felt sick to his stomach, but could not vomit. Whatever the stuff was, it was making him feel lightheaded, fatigued, and agony. In one scream, Rowen’s kanji flashed against his forehead and then, he went limp.

Ryo suddenly stopped when he felt something was very wrong. He didn’t know what was happening but he suddenly felt a piece of himself falling away. He bit his lip, hard enough to make it bleed. He fell forward on the hill, his face smacking the ground.

“Ryo!” Cye and Kento cried out simultaneously. The two ran as fast as they could to him, with Firestorm bouncing very hard against Kento’s shoulder. Star followed behind, concern registering on her face.

Cye knelt down by Ryo as Kento stood there, looking on anxiously. Star came to stand beside Cye as she wrung her hands nervously. “Is he all right?”

Cye frowned deeply. “I don’t know. He checked Ryo around the face and any possible place where he might find a tender spot. Ryo, can you hear me?”

Ryo’s eyes were squeezed tight. His breathing was labored and he was turning pale. “C…Cye, it..it hurts.”

“Where, Ryo?” Cye was staying as calm as he could. He remembered from health class that he should not panic in what could be an emergency situation. And if he could stay calm, Ryo would not panic either.

“M… my.. ch..chest,” Ryo managed to gasp out between intervals of breathing.

“Is he having a heart attack?!” Star cried out apprehensively.

“I’m not sure,” Cye replied. “Ryo, is your arm going numb?” Ryo shook his head, and Cye asked about dizziness, nausea, back pain, and difficulty in breathing.

“Ch..chest… and.. Ca.. can’t bre..breathe.”

Kento did not like this one bit. He could immediately tell that Ryo was not having a heart attack. His uncle Chin had suffered from one a few years back, and Kento remembered the symptoms that his uncle had had while during the attack. So then, what was going on with Ryo? Why did he look like he was dying?

Firestorm managed to slide off Kento and approached Ryo. She knelt next to Cye and studied Ryo’s form. “Could it be an angina attack?” she asked.

“It’s possible, but I’m not quite sure. Ryo has never done this before.” Cye bit his lip and looked around. He saw that the cabin was not far off, but still too far to cry to Kayura to come help. No, they would have to go directly to her. She would be able to find out what was wrong with Ryo and help him. He looked at the others. “We’re going to make a run for the cabin.”

“Think we’ll make it?” Kento asked apprehensively.

Cye was picking up a groaning Ryo and putting him over his shoulder. “We’ve got to.”

Firestorm suddenly stiffened as her nose caught a different scent. She turned her head and was the first to notice some stranger with long black hair and midnight blue eyes approaching them. “Who are you?” Her question caught the attention of the other Ronins and they watched in silence as the stranger came forth.

“My name is Akura,” the stranger replied. “I have noticed your friend suffering from what is known as the Osum.”

“I never heard of that before,” Cye said with a frown. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the stranger and he felt something was not right. But what was it about this stranger that he did not completely trust?

“Osum,” Akura stated, “is a sickness that causes the victim to suffer needlessly with the pain and difficult breathing. Literally, your friend’s lungs are slowly collapsing. And if not treated, he will slowly suffocate to death.”

The Ronins frowned deeply at this as their eyes looked at Ryo upon Cye’s shoulder. The Ronin leader was a sickly pale. Sweat was pouring down his face and he was now starting to shake a bit.

“So what can we do about it?” Star asked with fear in her voice. “We have to get him to Kayura!”

“I do not know this Kayura,” Akura stated, “but I can help your friend.”

“You can?” Kento asked, eagerly. “That’s great!”

“I don’t think….,” Cye began to say, when he suddenly caught sight of Akura’s eyes. He suddenly forgot what he wanted to say and stood there quietly.

“It is alright,” Akura said with a smile. Cye nodded, silently. He laid Ryo down on the ground and watched numbly as Akura took a potion bottle from his robes and opened it. He poured it down Ryo’s throat until the last drop of it was gone. He closed the bottle again and stood up “Your friend will be fine soon. Now I must leave you. Good day.” And saying no more, he turned and simply walked off.

“That’s a relief,” Kento said. “I thought Ryo was a goner!”

“Yeah. That Akura came just in the nick of time!” Star gushed, then she noticed Cye’s solemn look. “Cye, is something wrong?”

Cye shook his head. “Oh, nothing. Come on. Let’s get back to the cabin. We can see how Sage is doing. Maybe Kayura was able to cure him by now.” He picked Ryo up once more and put him over a shoulder again. And saying no more, he led the way.

Sage opened his eyes and sat up with a gasp. His eyes were wide and he looked frantic as he threw the blankets off his body. Mia immediately turned to see him and she gasped. “Sage! You‘re awake! How do you feel?”

Sage shook his head as he staggered off the bed. “Mia, there’s no time. Ryo’s in danger!”

Mia’s eyes widen even more as she could not believe what she had just heard. How could Ryo be in danger? It was Rowen who needed to be helped! “What do you mean?” she asked with a frown. “Ryo is with the other Ronins. They’ve gone to find a cure for you. Sage!”

Sage felt so weak and frightened. He could feel within his soul that something had happened to Ryo and if he wasn’t gotten to soon, it could prove disastrous. He slumped to his knee as he felt so cold. He was so lost within his own world that he did not even hear Mia crying out for Kayura.

“Why is he out of bed?!” Kayura demanded as she knelt down by Sage’s side.

“How should I know?” Mia snapped back. “He was crying about Ryo being in danger and got out of bed!” She bit her lip worriedly as Kayura bodily lifted Sage and put him back into bed. Immediately Sage began to struggle against her. She easily held him down preventing his escape.

“Let me up! Ryo needs me!”

“You are going nowhere, Sage Date,” Kayura said firmly. “As for Ryo, I will go out and find him and the others. You are too sick to go anywhere. You will be doing more harm than good right now.”

Sage could feel himself getting drowsy, but he complained. “Kayura, you’re such a b… itch…”

Kayura smiled sadly down at his sleeping form. “I love you too, Sage.” She stood up and looked at Mia. “I’m going to find the Ronins. Stay with him and make sure he doesn’t attempt to get out of this bed.”

“Alright,” Mia said. “Hurry back.”

Akura landed with a silent thump on the floor before the throne. His disguise vanished, revealing a large white demon with flowing black hair to his waist. “My lord, it is done!” he announced in a loud voice.

Leokoni’s eyes burned with pleasure. Earlier, he had sent Akura out to deposit the potion among the Ronins, knowing the demon’s ability to manipulate humans. He knew which Ronin he wanted to suffer from the effects of it. Ryo of the Wildfire.

With Ryo of the Wildfire out of the way, there was no chance the Ronins would be able to call forth the Inferno Armor. This would ensure that everything the demon master had planned would go correctly.

“Well done, Akura,” Leokoni said. “I am most pleased you have done well. Now we shall send our new prize out to battle for us. We will see how well he responds to his master’s commands, by sending him to join his new brother in our war against the Ronins.”

Akura nodded and bowed. “Yes, master, and may your plan succeed.”

Leokoni gave an evil grin. “Oh, it will. It definitely will.” Akura left then, and the demon master teleported away to the dungeons. Chained to the floor was a hideous hairy beast. It stood on hulking hind legs, its forearms were long and muscular. Claws rippled with power. The snout of the beast was board with overlapping razor like jaws. Two blue eyes peered out at the demon master as the beast let out an angry roar and fought against the chains.

Leokoni smiled. “Ah, my pet. You seek out blood. That is good. And tonight, you shall feast!” He snapped his fingers, releasing the beast from the chains. “Go and join your brother and destroy the Ronins! Feast upon their bodies!”

The beast went down on all fours immediately and with a vicious snarl, raced off down the hall and vanished into the darkness.