Chapter 8 - Trap

Antaa Potkut was one of the seven territories that compose the continent of Astelga. It was the land of fire, the property of Orion, the God of Fire and Pain. The land was inhospitable for any living being; only the race created specifically by Orion could survive there. Such an environment forced the race to develop faster and develop a culture around survival and violence. But even then, the majority of the population stayed near the border of the territory because the more you enter the center, the more the heat will augment until it becomes unbearable for even the strongest. It's not even counting the multiple volcanoes that are ready to erupt every second, with magma hot enough to burn titanium in seconds!

And it was here that a monster made of ash ventured.

***

🎵 PAM 🎵 Pam 🎵 Palambpa 🎵Pan 🎵Pam🎵

I was currently murmuring a little song while marching. I was looking for more things to burn, but it seems that monsters aren't really that common. Or maybe it's because they can feel my super awesomeness and are keeping their distance from me? Yeah, that's probably why.

BOOM

Oh! Another volcano explosion, always a joy to see them, they're so beautiful… wait a minute… is that ash? The volcano produces ash? Since when? Well, I won't make it difficult; if this volcano is so generous to give me ash to eat, who am I to refuse such a gift.

I started running toward the volcano that just exploded until I saw the magma hurtling toward me.

'…should have thought about that,' I thought before quickly retreating.

I quickly backed off, then ran in the opposite direction, trying to escape the lava wave before it tries to trap me again.

''I'm sorry, Mr. Lava, I know you want to burn me, but I can't, I'm busy!'' I apologized to the magma while running as fast as I could.

Slam

What? Why am I falling?

''Ghoghoghogho'' I heard a mocking growl.

Splash

Ah! Quick! I need to leave the lava!

Slam Splash

My attempt to leave was immediately stopped by whatever pushed me in the first place, and my body was totally submerged in lava. At least I was able to keep my head above the magma.

And there I saw it, a lizard with one eye. Ah, it's from the same race as the ugly one from before! Why must one suddenly appear each time I'm stuck in lava?

Ah, no time to think about it! I must quickly stand up before the magma solidifies! But the lava is so heavy! I can't stand up!

And this ugly is still looking at me! And by the sublime fire, why can it float on the lava!? It even dares to look at me like it's a meal! If you want to kill me, then at least burn me!

I need to think! How could I escape from this… oh, I know!

I waited for the lizard to approach me, even stopped moving so that he thinks I'm dead. It took some time, but he finally approaches me; he's just taking his time…why is he so slow? Can you please be faster, please?

Alright! I can't wait anymore! Take this, super ashes breath!

A big cloud of ashes was formed inside my mouth, and I spit it out in his direction! The attack surprised the monster, and he tries to escape, but if he thinks that would be enough, he is dead wrong! I use my ash manipulation to change the direction of the cloud.

''Gho?''

The sudden change completely surprised him, and my breath hit him.

''GHOGHOGHOGHOGHO!!!'' It screamed in pain until he stopped screaming and dropped dead, slowly becoming ash.

Ah, take that, ugly! That's what you get for not being as awesome as me!

…Now what? The lava has already solidified on me, so I am once again trapped. This time, I can't just separate my head from my body and reconstruct it, or else I'm going to lose my heart, and I need that to live! Well…I guess, never try to separate from it…

…maybe I could try?

NO! It will be a stupid way to die, I have so much more fire to be burned by, and a God to satisfy! I can't die because I was not smart enough! Let's think of a better plan.

Mmm, I feel hungry again…maybe I could eat those sweet, sweet ashes?

…no, I don't think it's going to be enough of a boost to save myself.

Oh! I know, I will form these ashes to become a hammer and break the crust and liberate me! I'm so smart!

I executed my plan and used my mana to make the ash take the form of a hammer. The ashes responded and combined themselves into the form that I wanted, when they were finished, then I controlled it to take some momentum and then strike!

Bam

Crack

Splat

…

The hammer has broken when I swung it at the ground…

IT DIDN'T WORK!!!

ASH ISN'T A GOOD MATERIAL TO BUILD A HAMMER!!! IT'S TOO MUCH

Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

…do I really need to cut my head to free myself?

grrrr

Mmm?! Wait!? Is it what I think it is?!

'''Ghoghogho''' I hear multiple growls, with the sound of footsteps coming my way.

I looked at it, and it was what I expected, a lot more one-eyed lizards were coming my way. The group was being led by a bigger lizard; this one must be the oldest one of the groups because he even has teeth compared to the rest.

The group kept growling at me, likely waiting for the order of the oldest to attack me. But it only gave me more time to think.

I still have the ashes in front of me, I could maybe build another weapon to defend myself. But what? A shield? No, it will instantly break. A sword? No, ash isn't sharp enough to be of use.

OH! I know, I will use the same weapon my mother used on me when she wanted to relax! I think she called it a whip? That should work; whips don't need to be hard, only fast and flexible, it's the perfect combination with my ash magic. Alright, let…

''GROGRO!''

Thud

The lizards were already jumping at me, trying to crush my head and eat me.

But I reacted quickly enough and created a whip with the ash that stayed on the ground and used it to whip one of them.

''Gho?''

Snap

Boom

The lizards were surprised that I could still attack despite being trapped in volcanic rock. So it let me attack one of them without too much difficulty.

The one I attacked was straight in front of me, and when I slapped it, it immediately fell down, and the impact was enough to break down the rock I was trapped in. And with this much crack…

crack crack Boom

''FREEDOM'' I screamed while liberating myself from the molten trap. ''Hahaha! I'm the best.'' I started to laugh. ''Hey, don't you think such greatness deserves a reward, what about… mmm, oh, I know, what about I burn your ugly face!'' I grinned at the monster.