Daughter of the Naga | Lesbian Story|

Chapter 39

The crowd went dead silent. Even the orchestra stopped playing. Tepi stood in the middle of the field, waiting for her opponent. I kept staring in curiosity, but the other avatar hadn't shown up yet. I imagined him as a scary dark son of Death.

Then the sky darkened once again as if the sun had gone down, and the day turned to night. A moment later, black mist emitted out of nowhere, floating and spreading to the field. Everyone looked around in nervousness. I started to feel the chill seeping through my armored clothes. The animals made whimpering and whiny sounds in the stables. The eerie atmosphere made the arena felt like a graveyard.

Tepi stood her ground without a trace of fear in her eyes. The black mist whirled into a tall figure. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as the person emerged from the dark haze.

"That is him," Tusita said to me. I looked at the new avatar. I realized he was a youthful boy with shiny dark hair and brilliant black eyes.

Raksa stepped out of the smoke and gave a bright smile at the audience. His iron armors were crested with skulls and chains. His helmet had a pair of black buffalo horns sticking out. Even his thin black cap flickered in the wind like bat's wings. No one cheered or made any sound. It was as if they dared not to even breathe.

The lack of welcoming didn't stop Raksa from smiling and waving as he walked around leisurely. Well, I had to admit that he was handsome. Some of the maidens were giggling and sighing as his eyes laid on them. I wondered if they knew they were flirting with death. Then the avatar looked around the field as if to find someone.

"Where's my beloved opponent?" he said, still grinning. Tepi had to clear her throat to get his attention.

"I am here if you care to look," she said.

Raksa's head snapped back to where she was, and his piercing black eyes lit with joy.

"O beautiful daughter of Mother Earth," he said. "It's been a long while since I last saw you. Your presence pleases me for within my dark gloomy realm, it was the thoughts of you that delighted my soul."

That was all I needed to confirm that this young man was, in fact, a male version of me.

"Stop your silly flirtation and draw your weapon now!" Tepi snapped.

Then she crouched down and made a lifting motion with her open hands. Two huge chunks of the earth the size of a cow were torn off the ground. They floated easily into the air on either side of her. I gasped in awe.

"Oh wait!" Raksa put his hands up, eyes widened in surprise, but Tepi willed the two chunks forward, intending to crash the life out of him. Raksa quickly jumped into the air and twisted himself out of the way. The chunks of earth missed and collided into each other, breaking into pieces.

"O Lord Father save me!" Raksa breathed as he stood again.

"Draw your weapon and fight me!" Tepi demanded.

I turned to my friends.

"Is Tepi alright?" I said. "She seems so angry."

"If you were wooed by the same boy you didn't like for seventeen years, you would want to kill him, too," Vorac said.

"I think it's just an act of a young maiden," Tusita said, leering at her lover. "They act tough to hide her feelings."

I didn't know which opinion was right. I just prayed that no one got hurt in the end.

Tepi swiftly summoned the earth with her hand movements. It caused the ground to tremble under our feet. More of the solid element began to sprout out of the surface. I realized they were weighty stones. She made a few air-kicks that sent the stones flying. Raksa sidestepped the first soaring attack and did a backward flip to avoid the next one.

Massive rocks continued to hurl at him. Tepi kept willing the element with her elegant moves, but the son of Yama seemed far from being defeated. He came forward and started smashing the stones with his bare fists. One by one, Tepi's rocks shattered and scattered all over the ground. The crowd howled in madness as they witnessed the intense fight.

"Forgive me, my love," Raksa said with an apologetic look. "If you yield and surrender to my longing heart, I promise to give you everything you wish for and so much more."

Tepi gritted her teeth in disgust.

"Shut your mouth and banish this silly thought from your mind," she said. "I have no interest in you."

She drew her fist back and punched down onto the earth. The ground erupted around the arena. I could feel the shake from where we stood. Everyone swayed from the sudden earthquake, which cracked open the field. A crisscrossed line went right through Raksa's feet. Then it widened immediately, causing him to fall through. Raksa tried to grip onto the edge with his legs half-kicking and half-dangling over the precipice.

Tepi had never come across as a brutal fighter to me, but now I changed my mind. She must have torn the earth all the way to hell for a burst of lava and hot steam rose out of the open gash.

"Holy cow!" Tusita said. "Her rejection is like a death sentence."

I had to agree, and it was kind of ironic considering whom she was battling with. Tepi closed her palms together and the open earth sealed itself back. Luckily, Raksa managed to leap out of the crack before the ground swallowed him whole. I felt a short relief. I wasn't sure whom I was rooting for any more at this point.

Raksa regained his balance and stood up again. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Then he dropped his hands to his sides and released two iron chains. Each end of the chains had a skull of a fanged animal head, but what was scarier was they seemed to have a life of their own. They whipped themselves about like a pair of snakes in the air.

"Now you're ready to fight?" Tepi hissed and ran forward. In the meantime, a large pillar of earth rose up from the field. Tepi jumped from the raised mound, and we watched her twirling herself in the air. Our avatar friend used her gravitational momentum to stomp her right foot deep into the ground as she landed with a force. In turn, the plain under Raksa burst and tossed him into the sky. His scream echoed through the winds. A moment later, he dropped to the ground again with a loud thud.

Everyone winced.

"You should surrender now," Tepi said, straightening herself again.

"Not until you say you love me, too," Raksa coughed and groaned in pain. Then painstakingly, he picked himself up and staggered back to his wobbly feet. He was reeling from side to side like a drunk.

"Oh Meru gods, bless his heart and soul," Vorac said beside me.

But then Raksa disappeared into a puff of black smoke. Our friend lost focus as she looked around in confusion.

When the Son of Yama reappeared, he gave a tiny smirk before vanishing again. This trick continued and each time he wasn't in the same spot on the field. When he finally showed himself again, he was only several feet away from Tepi. Raksa tossed his iron chains forward. The two skulls opened their jaws with razor-sharp teeth. The purple mist emitted from their mouths. The chains went through the air, spiraling around each other until they reached Tepi. Yet they went right past her ears. The chained skulls rounded up her body, tying her limbs with a tight grip.

"What on earth are these things?!" Tepi cried and struggled against the chains.

"Father gave them to me to capture the wandering souls," Raksa spoke when he emerged from the black smoke again. He stood behind the struggling girl. Then this lovesick Underworld prince wound his strong arms around our friend from behind. He leaned in to whisper into Tepi's ear, "but now I must use them to capture my soulmate, too."

The crowd erupted in a wild cheer. Tepi tried to remove the mighty chains, but it was to no avail. It seemed for this round our team was defeated by the power of love.