Chapter 74.2 A Midsummer's Dream

Without a word, the man and the two women left the castle and walked leisurely towards the hills where three different winged magical beasts were waiting for them. Only the red-haired man remained within the castle walls, staring after them. He struggled with two desires: to leave with his friends as before, or to stay and prove himself.

My heart lost to stubbornness, and only three beasts took to the sky....

I was jolted out of the strange past by a heavy blow, but this time I managed to notice a flexible shadow. After catching the direction of its movement, I roughly realized where the next blow would come from.

Throwing my outstretched hand with open palm towards the fast shadow, I managed to visualize secret Tibetan scriptures. In the gold of the sunlight, a disk of white writing flashed, spiraling toward a central clump of white flame.

The flash of light exploded with a golden wave and blue electric light with a crackle of lightning. The blue evil sparks were still scattering beneath my feet and the flexible shadow had already scurried away, then I managed to trace a dark line somewhere upward.

My other hand rested on the golden shield, a breath of spiritual power, and the shield expanded sharply to several meters, hiding me with an impenetrable umbrella. BUUUUMM! My legs give out and I fall to my knees, struggling to hold onto the shield.

SCREECH! SCREECH! Gold and blue sparks rain down, but the beast fails and leaps aside. A jerk of its arms, a long ringing sound, and a golden flash of light that scattered the shadows and gray clouds for dozens of yards around. I held half a golden shield in each hand, broken by the wave in the manner of the yin-yang symbol. A strong jolt to my back knocked me off my feet. Leaning on the ground with one hand, I use the other to defend myself.

 I SCREAM! New streams of hot sparks and pain in my shoulder from the heavy blow. The beast jumps aside and I roll forward, dropping to my knees and covering myself with one half of my shield, the other half slightly to the side. I look around. Where is he? On a hunch, I turn and throw my shield up, shielding myself from the shining blue claws of the front paws, but the back paws reach my head, slicing through my skin. Hot blood flooded my hair, but I couldn't look away.

Somehow I've begun to anticipate the beast's attacks — several have already struck against the gold of the shields. The more cunning and sophisticated the elusive beast became, the easier it became for me.

I began to feel it. First as a vague premonition, then as the presence of something, and the farther away I got, the more I could feel it. Again and again I hissed at the pain in my arms, at the corrosive bursts of energy, but now it couldn't get me. Somehow it began to feel strangely familiar, but not yet understood.

The impact with the shield sent me staggering backwards, but the right angle lessened the strain as the beast slid through. A massive but flexible body, a long tail. You can't see much more even at close range — it's as if it's hidden by billowing shadows, only its claws and fangs shine with electric blue light. At some point, I catch an unspoken feeling.

I fold my arms and rejoin the halves, the shield becoming solid and a meter in diameter. Another powerful blow to the shield, but I was ready to meet it as soon as the pressure on the shield was gone, throwing out my other hand with a pearl ball the size of a soccer ball. There's a flash, and the silver tail of the spell traces the beast's flight path.

For a few seconds, there is a thick, tense silence. The gray clouds begin to recede, shrinking the patch of open space. A large shadow of the beast emerges from the cloud, but I don't feel threatened anymore. It's studying me. As I study it. Slowly, haughtily, the beast approaches me. I don't feel threatened, but I keep my shield up, ready to attack, my eyes on the dark silhouette.

— Gooood... — The velvety, slightly growling voice sends shivers down my spine. — I will not tolerate weakness! — The beast suddenly grinned, but I could feel its satisfaction, as if it had just smiled.

The lilac light of its eyes suddenly flashed bright and clear on the dark silhouette, glowing with a thin pupil of silvery radiance. A scorching touch on my chest and stomach pushes me out into the real world, to the sound of crackling lightning and rolling thunder.

I jump up and sit on the bed, my heart beating wildly. I look around with wide eyes, remembering my rooms. The skin on my chest and stomach still burns. I lower my eyes and see a long, wide scratch from my throat to my navel in the pre-dawn twilight, the mark of a large animal's paw, softly glowing with a silvery light. The thin lines of the scars look like they are more than a year old, and yet they are not repulsive....In fact, they are kind of attractive....