Fifty-six

I run past Naoka, who is lying on the ground, paralyzed. I feel a surge of magic hit me from behind, and I fall down too. I can't move a muscle, and I can only hear what's going on around me.

"Be careful, or the stone will be ours, and Naoka and Eloise will not resist, or I will hit them both," a voice whispers in my ear. It's Midori, one of the members of Haruto High School team. He's the one who paralyzed us.

I try to break free from his spell, but it's too strong. I feel helpless and angry. I wish I could fight back, but I can't.

At the same time, I hear Yugo shout from somewhere.

"Look, there's a brown stone on the ground! I'm going to get it!"

He sounds excited, but also reckless. He doesn't notice Midori, who is aiming at him with another magic attack.

"Yugo, watch out!" I want to warn him, but I can't speak.

I hear a thud, and then a groan. Yugo has been hit in the shoulder, and he falls down. He gets up quickly, but he's too close to Midori, who swings his sword at him. The pommel of the sword hits Yugo in the face, and I hear a crunch. Yugo's nose is broken, and he's bleeding.

"Yugo!" I scream in my mind, but no sound comes out.

Yugo is stunned, and he's about to be finished off by Midori. But Midori is too eager, and he doesn't give himself enough distance to strike. Yugo recovers his senses, and he runs away. He throws his scabbard with his katana, but he keeps his dagger. He turns around, and he's three steps away from Midori, who is chasing him.

Yugo lunges at Midori, who picks up the scabbard and slashes at him with the katana. Yugo manages to deflect the attack with his dagger, but he still gets a cut on his left cheek. The katana goes past him, and it hits Naoto, who is behind him. It pierces his thigh, and he cries out in pain.

"Naoto!" I hear Maria shout.

Yugo dodges to the right, and he faces Midori again. They are now at a fair fighting distance. Midori is ready to fight, and Hiro's team has run away. They left him alone to deal with us.

"Ah, I didn't think it would be so easy to find you. Ella will be so proud of me, and I paralyzed two of you," Midori says, smirking.

Yugo is out of breath, and he can't speak. He looks hurt, and his nose is still bleeding. He blocks several blows with his dagger, and he strikes back without much strategy. The fight slows down a bit, and the blows are less frequent. Yugo thinks to himself:

"I feel pain in my face, I mustn't give up. The whole team is here, and we've only just started. It's not time to lose."

He gets angry at the idea of losing, and he jumps on his enemy with the point of his dagger in front. He creates three clones to confuse his opponent, who doesn't know which one is the real one. The attack works, and the dagger hits Midori and wounds him. At the same time, Midori's sword penetrates the whole length of Yugo's upper arm, but it slides under the skin, and it's a minor wound. Yugo delivers a final blow, and he defeats Midori. Yugo is proud of himself, and he goes to see Naoto to check on his leg. He tears his shirt to use it as a bandage. Eloise and Naoka are freed from their paralysis.

"Are you okay, Yugo?" I ask him, finally able to speak.

"Yes, don't worry, we're out of danger," he says, smiling.

He takes the opportunity to pick up the brown stone that was still on the ground, but when he goes to pick it up, it disappears.

"What? Where did it go?" he says, confused.

I don't know what happened, but I have a bad feeling about it.

Naoka looks at the spot where the brown stone was supposed to be, but it's gone.

"I think it must have been an illusion to get your attention, but don't worry because there is still the stone in the volcano," she says.

She turns to me and asks me to stay with Yugo and Naoto, who are injured.

"Please, Eloise, can you stay with them just the time to get the stone?" she says.

Naoto nods and says, "Don't worry about us, no one will attack us and Eloise will certainly be useful as she has fire magic."

I agree and say, "Yes, you have to trust them, Naoka. They will be fine."

Naoka smiles , "Alright, but if you need help, call us."

Yugo says, "Yes, don't worry. We'll be here."

Naoka and I leave them and go to the volcano. As we get closer, I feel the heat increasing. It's like walking into an oven. I see lava and smoke everywhere, and I wonder how we are going to find the stone.

Naoka and I stare at the orange stone that is on a rock in the middle of the lava. It looks so close, yet so far.

"How are we going to get to it now? We might get burnt badly," Naoka says, worried.

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it," I say, confidently. I have a plan to get the stone back. I just need to use my fire magic to create some platforms to walk on.

I concentrate and raise my hand. I feel the heat and the power in my veins. I make a gesture, and an orange fire platform appear . It floats in the air, forming a solid bridge. I make another gesture, and another piece of fire platforms appears. I repeat the process until I have a path of fire leading to the stone.

I look at Naoka and smile. She looks impressed and nods. I walk over the platform, careful not to touch the lava. I reach the stone and grab it. It's warm and glowing, and I feel a surge of energy from it. I hold it in my hand and admire it.

"I got it," I say, happily.

I turn around and see Naoka looking at me. She smiles and says, "Great job, Eloise. You're amazing."

I smile harder, "Thank you, Naoka. You're too kind."

I show her the stone, and he nods. She says, "Yes, now we should go and find Yugo and Naoto and try to keep the stone safe."

I agree , "Let's go then."

We walk back over the rocks and leave the volcano. We hope that Yugo and Naoto are okay, and that no one has attacked them.

But when we get to them, we see a terrible sight. There are people from another team holding them as hostages. They have ropes around their necks, and they look scared and hurt.

" What do you want?" I ask, angrily.

The leader of the other team says, "We want your stone, of course. Give it to us, or we'll make your friends pay." He smiles wickedly and says, "What will you do, Eloise?"