13 A Towering Creature

"Garnet! Are you trying to kill us?!" Sunrei yelled in annoyance once he was freed from the vines.

"Did I overdo it?" the pixie laughed and further confused Aries.

"You did!" Leon glared with his arms crossed.

"But I think it is necessary," the pixie stopped laughing and gazed at Aries with utmost seriousness. "Your blood tastes the same as before your accident. You are still the Aries that we know," she raised her hand and on top of her palm, a tiny bottle with glowing liquid had materialized. "Drink this potion. It will quickly heal your wounds. You need to be in your best condition when you face Master Kiel."

"Is that… only a test? To see if I'm possessed or not?" Aries stared at the glowing bottle resting on the palm of the pixie. He wanted to get angry but for some unknown reason, he could only ask them politely.

And he was starting to wonder if it was because of the mysterious presence lurking all over the dungeon. It was an aura more dangerous than the pixie. He sensed it the moment they entered the dungeon.

"You should drink this," Pieffer took the container from the hand of Garnet and opened it for Aries. "Forgive us for not telling you the entire story of the dungeon guardians."

"You don't have to explain," Aries grabbed the glowing bottle and emptied it in one gulp.

Its effect was instantaneous. All the wounds in his body, even those that cannot be mended by the healers in his house, had disappeared. He was suddenly revitalized.

"I understand why you have to test me," Aries returned the empty bottle to the pixie. "But I don't think you will know the difference by tasting my blood. It will still taste the same because the soul is the only thing that had been replaced."

"Aries!" Pieffer and Sunrei chorused.

"Nothing had been replaced!" Pieffer continued. "You are the Aries we know!"

"You think it is only your blood that I sucked?" the pixie laughed softly then stared perilously at him as she said, "I also got a taste of your soul," she took the bottle from Aries and waved it in front of his eyes. "I just returned it to you," she closed her fist and the bottle vanished. "Believe it or not, you are the owner of that body," she made a graceful three hundred and sixty degrees turn and her wings had instantly mended. "Master Kiel will say the same thing to you. Shall we meet him?"

"Let's go," Aries agreed and got to his feet.

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The pixie led them through a long and dark corridor. The only light they had was the glowing wings of the pixie. That must be for the better because shadows shrouded the see the cells lined at both sides of the hallway. The voices had also died down, as if the darkness had muted the prisoners. Pieffer, Sunrei, and Leon also appeared to be a bit at ease with the dimness rather than continuously witness the desperate glances and pleadings of the inmates.

"Staircase," the pixie knocked the hilt of her knife on a wall in front of them. Five rhythmic knocks and the walls had parted and revealed another spiral stone staircase.

They descended a flight of steps that Aries failed to count. He was starting to get dizzy when the pixie stopped and knocked on the wall. This time it was four beats.

It opened and let them through another long and shadowy corridor. Walking for hours was a normal routine for Aries. He loved taking midnight strolls. That must be the reason he felt at ease with the darkness and the silence around him.

"Your clothes are burning."

Aries had been so relaxed that he failed to notice his overcoat being covered with black flames. He only became aware of it when the pixie stopped walking and turned to glare at him while saying those words.

"Don't worry. You will not burn," a laughing voice of a man erupted from the dark walls.

"Geriko!!!" the pixie yelled, and the black flames had instantly vanished, but the laughter intensified.

From the dark walls, a few meters ahead of them, a tall and burly man had emerged. He was wearing a black overcoat, boots, and gloves that were covered in black flames. He had a dangerous aura, like that of the pixie. But it was still different from the one Aries had sensed from the dungeon entrance.

The black flames crackling on the clothes of Aries were like Leon's. It would only incinerate those that he wanted to burn away.

Geriko, as the pixie had called him, approached Aries within only a few steps. Because he was nearly as high as the ceiling, his strides were twice as wide as that of humans.

Standing closer to Aries, the face of the giant had been more visible. Thanks to the black flames that were still emitting a faint light.

That huge body had an adorable rounded face, chubby cheeks, and pointed nose. His black hair was short and neat. His eyes were red and glinting like a ruby.

"I only want to greet Aries," the giant beamed, revealing his perfectly white teeth. "How did it go? Is he still the same?"

"Yes," the pixie flew closer to the face of the giant and crossed her arms when she told him. "You promised."

"I did!" Geriko roared and the ground trembled. "But how long do I have to wait for a chance to fight him?!"

"You should sit," Sunrei advised Aries as he sat on the floor.

Leon also did the same but not Pieffer. She was staring at the giant with a gentle smile on her face.

"You are like a child!" Garnet yelled back, aggravating the giant instead of calming him.

"You had a fight with him! I also want it!" the giant rammed his huge fist against the wall, but it remained intact instead of being destroyed. It was as if the wall absorbed his force.

"Geriko, your master is waiting for us," Pieffer fearlessly approached the giant and put a hand on his knee-length leather boots. "You can fight him next time."

"NO!" Geriko got even more furious and moved his hand to strike Pieffer.

Without thinking, Aries silently called on Vermillion. This time it was in its broad sword form. He stepped into the darkness and reappeared from the shadow Pieffer was casting behind her. He pulled the princess away from the giant and caught the fist with his wide crimson blade.

Garnet sighed, hovered away from the giant, and grabbed Pieffer by her hand.

"You should not have stepped in," the pixie glared before pulling the princess away who only smiled as if agreeing with what the pixie had just said.

"FIGHT!!!" The giant hammered his fists at Aries.

Fortunately for Aries, even though the giant could move incredibly fast for his enormous body, he was still quicker, and the shadow was his greatest ally.

As the giant fist struck the ground, Aries had stepped into the shade and traveled towards the ceiling. He soundlessly dropped at the right shoulder of the giant and pointed a blade at the bulky neck of his huge opponent. He would have slashed it right away if not for the earlier warning Pieffer had given him.

"Let us pass," Aries said but the giant was not paying any attention to him. The huge monster was glaring at Garnet who was smiling triumphantly back at him.

"You said he is still the same?" the giant roared.

"He truly is," Garnet beamed a little wider. "You can see his crimson blade. If he is possessed, he cannot wield that sword."

"Then… why can he wield it only now?" his eyes creased with confusion and his voice became a little calmer.

"I can only sense a soul, Geriko," the pixie winked. "I can never explain the complexity of one's essence. But Master might have the answer to that. So, listen to Aries and let us pass."

"NO!" Geriko stubbornly replied and aimed his thick hand towards Aries who did not make a move.

He waited for the hand to knock him out, but it stopped when it was only an inch away from him.

"Why are you not moving?" the giant seemed more surprised than angry.

"If you knocked me out, will you let us pass?" Aries asked back, silencing everyone.

The giant stared at him with sheer amusement, and he only stared back at those huge red eyeballs with utmost seriousness.

Then the bulky shoulders where Aries was standing had trembled as the giant burst out laughing. Aries lost his balance, stumbled, and plummeted towards the floor. But halfway on his fall, a huge hand had caught him.

He was right. Those monsters only wanted to have a fight with him. Not kill him.

"Garnet might say that you are still the Aries we know but, personally, I think that you have changed," the giant carefully placed Aries on the ground, between Pieffer and the pixie. "I really do want to fight you. But if you are not the one that I used to fight, then I will no longer force it on you," the giant looked away from Aries with sadness in his eyes.

"I never had any intention of taking this body," Aries confessed. "I promise to leave. You just have to wait until we reconstruct the barrier around this kingdom. By then, the Aries you know will probably return. Please, be patient."

The giant gazed at him with the same gravity of seriousness then he smiled and told Aries, "I'm starting to see it. You are the Aries we know. Go and save Serestral. I am hoping for your victory. Always."

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