Reaper's Crown

Ch. 38

Morio groaned, trying to get the Victis sword out of the skela and further propel himself up towards the edges of the volcano. He could already see the warm Gorro sun basking on his face and reaching Ingo as well. However, the higher they were, the stronger the gleam became, and Ingo shone brighter.

The Morian in question put the club back in its sheath, sticking one hand into the wall and stuffing his fingers into the wall. One leg up, the other hand to the side, and soon, he started climbing up out of the volcano.

One wrong step. His leg slipped, freely dangling in the air, but his hands still moved. "Gggahh!" with a halted gasp, he moved one hand up, squeezing as hard as he could.

"Hm." Koyote nodded to herself. "Three... two..."

All of a sudden, the ground beneath made a strange sound. When Genni threw her boomerang and Jyuzou hurled a couple of pebbles upwards, they lost their step, tumbling to the side.

"One." Koyote closed her palm.

The crack that was there beforehand loosened, revealing more of the magma pouring out of the thin open crevices and slowly streaming in at the bottom of the small crater.

"Ahh... haa!" Jyuzou panicked, kicking his legs back and forth before jumping up to the sides.

"Genni!" Ingo screamed, and the skela formed around his hand loosened, pushing him down and against the wall.

Morio pushed upwards, his hands lifting his body up to the level of the Victis sword which quivered. With one swift move, he could zap out and win this challenge. But what about the others? What about Jyuzou, struggling to run away from the lava, and Genni, who looked as clueless as he did?

This was a competition, after all.

Morio continued looking up, and the Victis sword continued shaking.

Fortunately, Genni's and Jyuzou's earlier plans came to fruition. With one second passing, the two Morians were suddenly carried by the wind, before painfully landing on two different rocks sticking out from the sides.

With a heavy gasp, Genni looked down. The lava ascended, consuming the items they earlier 'borrowed' from around Omer Narrows. She put her hand on her forehead, gulping, and immediately turned to Jyuzou, who ground his teeth, searching for another explanation. How were they going to make it out of this ordeal?

"Do you have any more pebbles?!" she yelled from afar, and Jyuzou searched his pockets, only for one shrivelled Metho seed to fall out downwards towards the heat. He reached out but almost fell in himself.

Ingo continued climbing, with a clenched jaw and enough determination to continue further. Once again, one leg landed inside the skela, and the other moved upwards towards the tilt. There were only a few meters between him and the exit. Ingo was so close.

But then, everything happened all at once.

Morio screamed out, vowing not to be defeated by Ingo. With one swift move, he would push Victis out, stand atop and zap just in time to outspeed his opponent. Koyote's eyes shrunk, as the level of lava rose exponentially, the heat reaching the ones further below. A gush of magma splattered beneath Genni's legs, and she stood up, her eyes shrunk into nothings.

"Jyuzou! Jump!" Genni yelled out, sticking both hands out.

"I WON'T MAKE IT!"

"YOU'LL DIE!" she raised her voice, and an echo of her words moved into Ingo's and Morio's minds as well.

Death.

What comes if they were to fail this challenge? No one would save them, after all. Are they strong enough to continue?