"Come on, Amora! Let's go."
They then took off in a flash, the wind resisting against their ascend. Valeriana's hair was thrown around, lashing her cheeks and forehead but she held on the reigns tightly and firmly clasped her legs around Amora's body. With her experience from the horse issue, she was taking no chances with a dragon. Besides, she had ridden Avaro before and was fairly familiar with the flying experience. Dragons were sentient and highly intelligent creatures unlike horses, so they were a bit more considerate of their riders.
"Tell me, how did things become like this?" she asked.
'They came as silent as the air, and their presence was well-hidden,' Amora told her. 'If one of my brothers had not roared, I would have not been alerted either.'
"I did not feel anything," she muttered angrily. "How did they hide their auras?"
'Extremely powerful creatures are well-capable of this, specifically predators. They catch their prey off-guard before attacking.'
"But how do we lure them to the Empyrean Volcano? It's too far away!"
"Valeriana!" Saeed called. "Omar thought of something that just might work!"
Amora turned to Saeed as he flew with his dragon. One of the twin-tailed lions had come chasing his ride, nipping at the tail as they circled each other in the air. Valeriana, as well, was caught off-guard when one of the lions came jumping at her. However, Amora was quick to act and swung her long tail, temporarily obstructing their assaulter.
"What is it?!" she yelled back.
He flew closer so that he can talk within arm's length and whisper under his breath. "The ember crystals!"
"We don't have time!" she whispered back. "We can't harvest that many to repel them that easily!"
"That's why we need to split in two groups! You, Vallore, and Gavin will stay and help fend off the lions. We'll work the men to harvest as much as we can!"
"How long do you need?"
"Half an hour!"
"That's too long!"
"We'll aim faster! For now, you guys just do it!"
Saeed then flew back down and gathered some of the men to help with the mining. Valeriana racked her brain to think of a good plan and divert the attention of the lions to her group.
She looked out the distance and saw Gavin sweep by. Her eyes followed his line of vision and saw that some of the beasts were attempting to attack the cave. Silently, she cheered him on, unsure if she had to follow or do something else.
"Cifaro!" she yelled, taking out the citrine crystal from her pockets. "I need your guidance! Sierra vu eldon sith!"
The crystal transformed into a sword, a pure aura bursting forth. The power emanated from the blade and attracted the attention of many, especially the lions. They turned and looked at Cifaro as he glowed in the darkness, staring at him warily.
'What dost thou need of me?'
"The twin-tailed lions, we need a way to distract them." she told him.
'I see. Leave it to this one.'
The blade was bathed with blinding light that Valeriana had to look away and shut her eyes tight. Between the beams of light, the figure of Cifaro emerged, his form crouching and his neck stretching as he let out a roar. The sound reverberated throughout the entire vicinity, catching everyone's attention. When the light receded, growls erupted around her and the twin-tailed lions came charging at them.
"Holy crap! Cifaro! What have you done?"
'A distraction. Since these lions seemed irritated at the sight of any light and warmth, I figured it'd be good.'
"How am I gonna—"
One of the lions flew straight for Amora, colliding with the dragon's stomach and pushing her off. Valeriana tightened her grip around the reigns and felt the impact, gritting her teeth when she almost fell off. Her heartrate skyrocketed and she immediately steered Amora to move. However, one after another came the attacks. They were immediately pushed back, coercing Amora to faceplant on the hard ground. Valeriana came tumbling out of her back, rolling on the dirt like chicken breast rolling on flour. She ended up leaps away from her dragon ride.
"I need backup here!" she yelled, forcing her weakened knees to support her weight as she stood. "Amora!"
The twin-tailed lions surrounded them, growling aggressively. Their wings were furled and spread menacingly, their fangs bared and their eyes wrinkled with rage.
Before Valeriana got to her dragon, a figure landed before her and stopped her advance. Glittering black eyes and shimmering black coat, wings were unfurled and narrow-edged teeth bared. Valeriana instantly recognized this beast.
Avaro.
'It will be unstoppable. No matter how hard thou tryest, thy efforts will be in vain. It has begun to spread.'
"Why are you doing this?"
'No being is pure except a newborn.' Avaro advanced with grace, his dark eyes glinting. 'Thou canst not deny it. No matter how good thy heart, it will always contain a sliver of darkness. Light and darkness, good and bad, black and white.'
"What? You're not making any sense!"
'How does thou planst on conquering us demons?' he asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
'Eradicate us? Evil cannot be eradicated. It forever lies in the hearts of men. No matter what thou doest, it will always awaken. One way. Or another.'
"That sounded familiar," she murmured. "I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha one way . . ." she unconsciously sung.
Flames alighted the ground, making Valeriana jump and shriek. Fire repelled the beasts and forced them to back off. Consequently, Vallore descended from the sky. He landed beside Valeriana, the hood fluttering around him.
'Your aura is extraordinary. Who are thou?' Asked Avaro.
Valeriana deepened her voice and muttered, "Your worst nightmare."
Vallore shot her a look of confusion before taking over. Valeriana had to learn to become serious, but, for some reason, there were just a lot of things happening that made her think back on several occurrences from her other world. She grinned up at the man and flashed a peace sign.
"My name is Vallore," he introduced. "I am a drakon and the keeper of flames. In the name of Arland, I implore you to stand down."
'A drakon?' the beast mused. 'I have not seen one in centuries. Thy kind was too busy nurturing the dragons that thou hast forgotten the other creatures of fire. Thou hast no right to command me.'
"I am still of Arland's bloodline. I have the right. We have left you alone because you proved to be capable of fending for yourselves. The dragons were not."
"Arland's bloodline?" she echoed, brows furrowing as she gazed up at Vallore.
'How impudent!' exclaimed the lion.
"Impudent or not, I have the power to revoke your title as continental guardians."
Valeriana gasped. "You do?"
"I'm quite sure once this title disappears, these lions will lose all the use they have for the demons. Am I not right?"
Avaro growled at Vallore threateningly. 'Thou canst not.'
Vallore held out his hand and a wild stream of fire erupted from his fingertips. Avaro cowered from the flames.
"A creature of fire afraid of flames? Look how far the mighty have fallen."
"Vallore," Valeriana said as she pulled on his arm. "You cannot keep provoking them like this!"
"You are Avaro," he said, pointing at the lion before him and dismissing Valeriana. "I challenge you to a duel. The title of continental guardian will be at stake!"
"Will this even work?"
'The kid does not bluff,' Cifaro reassured her. 'He does have the power to revoke the title of continental guardians. His bloodline is the most powerful of all creatures of fire.'
"What are the drakons?" Valeriana asked, the question suddenly weighing significantly greater. "It feels like there are more to them than just dragon keepers."
Cifaro kept silent. Seeing as Valeriana refused to hurt the twin-tailed lions, she had him sheathed. She had taken cover behind Vallore as he confronted Avaro and stared down at him with all the might he could muster.
'Thou darest challenge me. You may be of Arland's bloodline but thou must not forget I, too, wield the power of demons!'
"This really doesn't sound like Avaro," Valeriana helplessly blurted. "Vallore, please go easy on him. He's not himself!"
"I am well aware, but this matter concerns a lot of people. I will show no mercy. This matter regarding demons, you cannot be so naïve." Vallore's eyes glinted with cruelty that Valeriana had to take a step back and swallow heavily.
"But it isn't their fault—"
"Be it their fault or not matters very little right now. We are up against demons, Valeriana. This situation, you understand it very well. Eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. Sometimes, reality is not what you make it to be."
Her eyes glistened with helplessness as she looked between Avaro and Vallore. She swore she would bring him back, but the situation was slowly spinning out of control. She didn't expect Vallore to interfere like this, but if he didn't, who knows what could've happened?
'Thou desirest a fight, then a fight thou wilst get!'
It was then that Cifaro's voice rang out. 'Valeriana, be careful. Demons are no honorable beings.'
Avaro is not a demon! She wanted to shout it out but could not find the voice. She shut her eyes close, denying the truth. It was a childish thing to do but she could not bear it. Valeriana felt really upset.
When she opened her eyes, the pack suddenly bounded forward altogether that Valeriana stiffened. When Vallore challenged Avaro, she thought it would be Avaro who would be fighting alone. She did not expect them to attack all at once!
All Vallore did was sweep out his hand. Fire erupted from the ground, forming a protective layer around them. Consequently, another layer formed around the entire area the guardian beasts entered. The flames flared to the sky and actually spun, wounding together to form a small barrier that encased them all.
Valeriana was awed at the sight while the twin-tailed lions started roaring in furry.
In one moment, he had all of them trapped! He basically placed himself as bait, perhaps saw the opportunity with the gathering of all of them in one area and took advantage of it.
"Come." His hand grabbed Valeriana's shoulders abruptly. He shed his cloak, revealing a pair of wings that made the girl gawk. They weren't of feathers at all. Instead, they were sturdy in built like leather. He spread them wide and launched to the sky. Valeriana held back a gasp when her feet floated from the ground. The orb followed their movements and they quickly shot out of the cage he made.
As soon as they burst to the top, the barrier around them disintegrated as wisps of smoke. The only thing that remained was the other barrier he put up around the lions. Vallore alighted and let Valeriana stumble free.
"H-how . . ."
"I can only support this barrier for an hour at most," he said, frowning. "Any longer and I will have exhausted my supply of energy. Whatever plans your people have, they have to act fast."
He sat on plain dirt, donning his cloak over his shoulders and closing his eyes as though to focus on sustaining the barrier he put up.
Gavin was impressed at the sight and sighed in his heart. The power displayed by the drakon was worthy of praise. He approached Valeriana after disembarking his dragon, feeling utterly useless for not having helped directly. On the other hand, he was busy keeping away the lions from anywhere near the cave. Although they weren't able to directly enter, he found that they were trying to seal off the entrances. They seemed aware of the presence of the people within and thought it be good to trap them.
'Lheuim ansur, I will return,' Cifaro said.
Valeriana took him out and let him revert back to his crystal form before reinserting him in her pocket. Cifaro has exhausted himself a great deal today. Valeriana herself was feeling the exhaustion catch up. She still had no proper sleep and night was quickly falling.
"Valeriana, come. I can see you're tired. Why not take a brief rest?" Gavin suggested. "For now, we can rest easy."
"But—"
"It'll be fine. It seems Vallore is able to hold up for the time being," he said. "For now, we'll continue working on harvesting the ember crystals."
"These guys—I don't actually understand it," she murmured.
"What?"
"They turned into the exact opposite of what they were before," she answered. "They're afraid of fire, afraid of light. They try to extinguish it. It's exactly as Cifaro said it. I think it's no coincidence they decided to attack when night came."
Jameela, seeing that the trouble have somehow ceased, left the cave and approached the two. She examined the situation and got a gist of what happened, especially the barrier of fire Vallore conjured.
"As expected, that youth is overwhelmingly powerful. His control over fire and his capacity for it is unprecedentedly outstanding," she muttered. She then turned to Valeriana and Gavin. "But we have another problem."
"What is it?"
"After harvesting the crystals, we have no way of containing the beasts. I'm sure that barrier is transient. Vallore will not be capable of supporting it all the way to the Empyrean Volcano."
"We'll take the spare ropes and cloth, turn them into a large net," Gavin suggested.
"Will that be durable enough to hold them?" Valeriana wondered.
"If we tie in the ember crystals, I'm sure they'll be weakened enough not to resist."
"How much time do we have?" Jameela asked.
"An hour at most," Valeriana said.
"I'm sure if everyone helps, we can accomplish it," Gavin cut in. "We have no other means. We'll just have to make it as durable as we can and make it last the journey to the Empyrean Volcano."
From a distance, Vallore spoke. "If you want to pursue that plan, make sure to consider the dragons. They are also weak against those crystals," he warned them.
"This is gonna fail," Valeriana muttered.
"You used to be optimistic, where did all the positivity go?" Jameela asked.
"It burned."
The old healer laughed. She guided Valeriana into the cave and spoke. "Come. We need all the help we can get if we want this to work!"
Time was running. Jameela could not compose herself as she assisted the others in knitting together the ropes, forming a large net. It was a good thing the group had a lot of spare ropes. When the need arose, they even disassembled the tents from the village and took the ropes holding them in place. Soon, they were taking the ember crystals they've harvested and started incorporating them into the rope with strings.
More than half an hour passed. Valeriana's hands were red and throbbing from pulling on the ropes continuously. Thanks to the muscles she built from practicing with the sword the past few months, she was able to endure the strain on her arms. With everyone, even the women and the children old enough, they were able to make a net big enough to hold the lions.
"Everyone! We need to be faster," Gavin urged his people. "The barrier is waning."
Saeed and Omar continuously struck the walls with their swords and weapons alike with the other man. They lacked pickaxes since they weren't exactly expecting this, so they made do with all the weapons they could find. Some of them had been broken, the swords especially.
The crossing sections of the ropes were filled ember crystals. They were all panicking. Fifteen minutes to an hour, they were almost done. All was left was to secure the net in place and extend the ends where the dragons would hold the net and carry them to the Empyrean Volcano.
It was a brilliant idea which seemed effective. Its efficacy, however, would be tested once the plan was put in motion. Valeriana was trembling with anxiety at the moment. It was five minutes to the agreed hour and the only thing left was the final knot. Once that was out of the way, the net was dragged out of the cave, its heaviness forcing several man to help carry it out.
The dragons appeared on either side, grabbing the ends with their mouth. Several more followed until all ends were occupied and they took off to the air, spreading the net on all sides.
Two minutes 'til the hour.
As they spread the net, a problem popped. It was tangled.
"Shucks," Valeriana breathed. "Big green guy!" she yelled. "Fly on top and pass the space between that dragon—no not that one, the other! The one I'm pointing to, the green one!"
They all looked at her, sighing deeply.
"Hurry up!" Vallore exclaimed.
"Shut up a moment and bear with it, loser!" she yelled. "We're trying our best here! You dragon over there. Yes! Blue guy, go to green guy and yellow guy and fly under!"
After a minute long of yelling, only thirty seconds were left and Valeriana's throat was hoarse. Vallore gritted his teeth as he tried to maintain the barrier, but it was flickering before his very eyes. The sensation felt very much like trying to squat one more time when the leg muscles were already cramping beyond belief.
The net was finally untangled and they dragons flew forward to dump the net over the lions once the barrier disintegrates. The roars were unimaginably loud as they resisted some more, their will crushing the force of their container.
With one breath, Vallore let go and the barrier dissipated. At the same time, the net fell down from above and trapped the guardian beasts. Their contact with the ember crystals quieted them within an instant.
"Hurry, we don't have much time," Gavin yelled. "Men, guard the ends and make sure they don't escape!"
Vallore stood up, despite being weakened and look up at the sky. "All dragons, command!"
Though not as effective as Delphyn, the dragons perked at the call and threw their attention to Vallore. He raised his hand up and clenched his fist.
"To the sky!"
Valeriana boarded Amora, who carried one end of the net. They swept forward and scooped up the twin-tailed lions. The men on the sides held pointed weapons with one hand and an ember crystal with the other. The lions were repelled at this as the net continued to sweep.
Within moments, they took to the sky.
Everyone watched on with anticipation.
When it was hoisted and they started flying, Gavin roared in victory and everyone cheered.
"Saeed, I need you to stay here and watch over the group," Gavin told him and was given a nod as an answer. He then smiled and took off with his dragon, Lain.
Valeriana was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. The breeze was refreshing, but made her sleepy at the same time. She clung to Amora and slumped tiredly on her back, massaging her throat which felt rough and itchy.
"I'm glad it worked."
Now, the only thing left was to bring them to the Empyrean Volcano.