Chapter 39: Save and Protect

No children should go during the night, or else, darkness will devour them.

But she didn't listen and still continued to run towards the dark forest beside their home. The white light in the middle of her hollow eyes glowed even more under the moon. The sapling above her head wasn't visible and no leaves, but it had the greatest importance.

She spent some time inside the woods, training by herself to become a better tendrin at her hometown Zentra.

Children under the age of three shouldn't be talking to nature, or else, it could be dangerous. And she knew that.

But watching her sister, who was almost in her fifth, having a proper training made her determined and passionate about doing so. Her stubbornness won over her.

And this stubbornness led her into danger.

"Sister! Help me!!" She yelled as tears continued to rush down from her eyes. A herd of black dogs was in front of her, gazing their red intimidating eyes to their prey.

As the dogs started to approach her, she kept stepping backward, shivering at their presence. She thought that she could talk to them, but again, she failed.

"Sister!!" She screamed even louder, closing her eyes, didn't want to see the terror. Her voice echoed in the middle of the dark forest, hoping that someone would reach her.

Then, all of a sudden, a swish of wind passed by her at a normal speed, but it was fast enough to make it in perfect time. As she felt the wind, she opened her eyes slowly.

There, in front of her was a girl that was a lot taller than her, despite their same characteristics. Her back was facing her, but the blue light of her eyes can be seen, glowing fiercely. She was too focused on black dogs.

Soon, they started to step backward, retreating, and losing the prey that they were about to feast.

It wasn't easy to talk to them, but she managed to do it, and on the perfect timing. She let out a sigh and took a glance at the smaller girl.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked with brows furrowed, showing both the worry and anger towards her. But she didn't mind the irritation, and just ran to her to give a hug on the torso.

"Sister!!" She cried.

"Don't do that again, got it?" The older one scolded, but still patted her with a gentle touch. She was always strict, but that didn't mean ugly. "You'll worry us!"

The former didn't have a choice but to nod, promising to follow her sister's orders. She didn't care if her pride was destroyed. All she felt was joy, the joy that she was still alive and saved by her dear sister.

And she was sure, in the future, if she was still in a disaster, she will come to save her again.

***

The ripples and waves of the clear cold wall in front of them were visible, had both the reflection like a mirror and the transparency like a glass. It might not be able to block everything that will come in its way, but it will stop any threats that were made of natural elements.

Finally, the fireball reached the unstoppable wall and as expected, it vanished in a matter of seconds, causing it to release some steam out of it.

All of them were stunned, as they didn't expect Dalary to run and protect them from the incoming fireball of the enemy. But that wasn't the confusion she felt at all.

As far as she could remember, she can't talk to any large spirits other than the animals and plants and she won't care, but here she is, breaking those rules. She was frightened of herself that she forgot the monster that was meters away from them.

"S-Sister…?" Pholly stuttered with widened eyes, surprised that her sister was standing in front of her, showing her back. Then, flashes of her past came through her like lightning.

"Are you okay?" She asked, with the same furrowed brows. Her blue eyes were glowing more than before, and at the same time, sparkled against the flames surrounding them.

The younger one couldn't help but let her tears fall through her cheeks. The feeling of joy came back to her, the joy that she can see her sister's back once more. It was just like the last time. She, again, came to save her from the disaster.

But as persistent as she was, she didn't let those emotions win over her mind. So she shook her head and wiped her wet eyes, but the fear and confusion still stuck in her face.

"Y-You can talk… to the elemental spirits…?" She asked even though she already knew the answer.

Tendrins have the ability to talk to the spirits of nature, and these spirits were ranked into three levels: Life spirits, the living things such as animals and plants; elemental spirits, natural elements like water, wind, and earth; and the universal spirits, those who had control over the universe, like time, dreams and fate.

One can talk to higher-ranked spirits if they trained well enough, but that would usually take years.

If a young tendrin will start training to talk to elemental spirits at the legal age, then they would reach their adulthood once they finished.

Not to mention that those who obtained that kind of level started to leave Zentra to find a suitable work using their talents, and only the older ones, who were too weak to bring large requests to the spirits, were left.

Meanwhile, those who could talk to the universal spirits were prodigies of their own, traveling around the world.

And as far as she knew, her sister discontinued training with her ability to live along with humans. And she was sure that she wouldn't change her mind for the sake of it.

Just how did she do it?

"I can, all of a sudden…" Dalary muttered, staring at the gigantic wall she just made with her energy and to her trunk hands. She was completely stunned cause she too didn't even know what's happening to her. "I didn't know that I could. But at least I made it."

But she knew it wasn't the time to be shocked, since the enemy was still in front of them. She raised her head and saw the Cerberus with a fierce look of anger. It prepared its limbs to sprint towards them, still wearing the same face.

"All of you!" She yelled to the other tendrins, gesturing them. They couldn't help but listen to her since, among all of them, she was the oldest. "Go to the evacuation area and see if everyone is safe!"

After hearing that from her mouth, Pholly immediately widened her eyes, shocked at the sudden decision. Her jaw dropped like a huge amount of force was pulling it from the ground. Hearing that thing was unexpected for her.

"W-What? We can't leave the Gion Tree here!" She complained, raising one of her eyebrows. Even though she protected them from the ball of the sun that was going to be the death of them, she still remembered her betrayal against her kind.

"I can protect it by my own. One dead body is better than more, right?" Dalary responded with a wide smirk in her face. "Don't worry. This demon bastard won't get away with this."

She tried to reassure her but to no avail. Of course, she wouldn't accept that kind of logic coming from her, even though it was a great plan.

But they're fighters of the race, the protectors of the homeland. They must protect it, and letting a citizen like Dalary face it and die was just an act of cowardice.

"We're…" She tried to speak as she clutched her hands. No matter how she tried her best to keep her frustration, she could still release it. "We're tendrin warriors!"

Her sister widened her eyes, surprised at how she was outraged by any words that she will release in her mouth.

She took a glance at the other tendrins and they were all wearing the same face as Pholly, fierce, and courageous. She couldn't help but admit that she was stunned, amazed by their bravery.

"For a long time, Zentra were always been protected from any threat." She added. "And our job is to keep it that way!"

Dalary didn't say any response for a long time. Then, she let out a sigh, accepting her defeat against it. She had been always winning in arguments, but this time was her loss.

"Then, I'll suggest a plan." She said. The others couldn't help but listen, even though they were unsure about her strategic skills. She wasn't great at tactics, but since she was the most powerful tendrin among them, they didn't have a choice but to follow.

The plan– simple but effective– was being informed to others, now what's left was to execute it properly. At the same time, the Cerberus that had been running in a distance finally made it, growling in front of them. More black mist was released from his body, and its red eyes were glowing.

"Well, we met once again." Dalary mocked, preparing herself with the battle she was about to face. It wasn't even just a battle, it was a war. It was either someone will die or not.

"What a small world. And you're still ugly as ever." She added, trying to communicate with it even though she knew it wouldn't work.

Will she able to do what she did again?