Skeletal Foe

Dinny determined that asking Tim and the others was the greatest plan after pulling them through the entrance to an open field cemetery. A big metal gate was completely engulfed in white mist. There were terrible torches lighted up around the tombstones, which were laying on the floor.

"Well, if you're looking for a creepy spot to visit, this cemetery should fit the bill." The dense mist continued to circle the cemetery, and the others looked about to see if there was anything vital, or at least something they should be aware of.

"Why do we have to pass through this graveyard, Dinny? Going around it would be more pleasant, hehe?" Nina shuddered as she gazed about, afraid on the spot.

Dinny's face was trembling. He shivered and quickly turned around. "Certainly not! I'm not passing through this island unless I go through the graveyard! I've seen dreadful creatures that prey on humans!"

Others didn't take long to notice that some of their friends had vanished. "Hey there, guys. Tim, Karisa, and Elliott are nowhere to be seen. So, what happened to them?"

They were all frozen in place; Codey, Nina, and Ayuka, who were accompanied by Dinny. "They were caught in the fog! I should not have brought you here in the first place!" Dinny began to cry as he sat terrified on the floor.

"Dinny, please calm down! Even if they get separated, they'll be alright! They're not in any danger! But, right now, this path to the village is seeming a little strange. We need to get out of here before the fog entirely envelops us."

"The fog is heavy, and it entirely obscures our view of the field. The cemetery isn't particularly large. I'm confident we'll discover a route out if we proceed north of the isle!"

For someone who hadn't actually boarded the ship, Codey's navigating skills were extremely amazing. Others were impressed, but they trusted him.

"It's true, but I have no idea which way is north." Nina explained after a thorough search of the site.

"We were always moving in the same direction, which was north. So that we may continue moving north, I didn't spin around too much! We'll be fine if we keep going straight in the direction I'm heading."

"But what about the rest of the group? They may be skilled fighters, but two of them have horrible navigational skills."

"True, but if they keep advancing, I'm confident they'll find a way out. After all, someone has to stop the kidnappings, and the sooner we get to the town, the sooner we'll be able to assist these individuals."

"He has a well-thought-out strategy. If they don't succeed in escaping, we can at least protect the town for the time being."

"Speaking about Tim and the others. How did they get lost in the first place?"

Tim and Karisa remained still as they watched Elliott scream in terror as he ran in circles around them. "Okay, I don't like this place. It's really scary!"

Tim, on the other hand, remained still and bored on the location. "I have some awful news for you..." Karisa stared at him blankly, unsure of what he was saying. "What are the bad news?"

"I think we got lost...." Karisa quickly quieted down and gave him an unimpressed expression. "Oh, really? No, we're attempting to see who can stay still the longest and win."

"Well, it sure isn't Elliott." Tim's gaze remained fixed on Elliott's spinning circles. "I was making a snarky remark!"

While Elliott was running around, he stumbled across a skull leaning against a tombstone. As he braked right in front of it, his eyes turned squiggly. His face turned purple as he stared at the skull. He shuddered on the spot, lifted his arms, and screamed for his buddies to hear.

"There's a skeletal creature in this area! I can't handle scary situations, so please help me!"

"It's actually just a skull, Elliott. It isn't really noteworthy."

"Are you a moron?! It's a skeletal monster, that's for sure! Its head is visible, but its torso and legs are most likely submerged beneath the dirt! It's either throw it or break it! I'm not interested in looking at it! Its hollowed eyes are peering right into the core of my being."

"The eyes of all the skulls are hollowed out! It will not harm you! It's not as if it were living!" When the dirt around the skull began to vibrate, Tim had already jinxed their encounter. Elliott's eyes slowly began to follow a rising shadow, and when a giant skeleton in metal armor glanced at him, Elliott's jaw opened wide and fell to the floor.

Karisa and Tim were awestruck as they stared at the creature in its midsection with dot eyes. They had to worry about the skeleton's big ax, which could easily obliterate human flesh, so they just waited for it to roar in Elliott's face.

It happened in a flash. Elliott's scream resonated throughout the cemetery, and his terror was obvious.

"All right, now tell me this isn't a monster!" Karisa's eyes continued to twitch as they each gulped once and nearly rushed away.

"A skeleton colossus?! Yeah, I definitely am going to die here today!"

Tim's face was pallid and he showed no fear. After insertion, he took a step forward and stared up at the skeleton's face.

"What exactly are you up to? Please don't tell me you're going to battle that thing!"

With Elliott draped around her hips, Karisa squeaked as she pointed forth in the distance.

"You'll protect me, right? Karisa, my sweet darling?" She tried to remove herself from Elliott's grip, but he wouldn't let go of her, it was tight.

"You're clenching your fists too hard! Isn't it your responsibility to defend a girl?"

Tim held on to the right hip as he stared at the skeleton. He was brave and confident in his ability to take on a massive skeleton. Then he reached his arm out to summon his blade, which swept out from the flames with its edge.

As it raised its ax above the skull, the huge skeleton exhaled a frigid mist. The skeleton gathered his power and advanced with the ax. He slammed forward the following second as a tremendous vibration spread over the floor.

The fog and dirt bounced in the air, and just when I thought Tim had been crushed to death, his body leapt out of the fog, ramming his feet into the earth and sliding on the cemetery's gravel ground.

Tim's body continued to generate the icy mist after leaping through it while he clutched the sword securely. With a tense and focused eye, he exchanged glares with the skeleton.

He leaned forward, both hands gripping the blade, and his lips slightly wide. Flames began to erupt from each side of his mouth, as well as from the sword's edge.

The skeleton raised his right arm, turned the ax to the side, and took it in both hands. He increased the ferocity of his strike and swung the ax before releasing it to cast a massive whirlwind from his furious swing.

"We ought to assist him!" When Karisa reached for her belt, she dragged out a short pole, which she gripped with her left arm, stretched out to the side, and spun as it extended on each side.

"You can't possibly do something so risky! It's not good for your beautiful skin!" Karisa, on the other hand, focused herself to helping Tim, who had braced himself against the skeleton's wind.

The skeleton raised the ax above his head and slammed it down hard on the ground. Tim tightened his position and increased the strength of his fiery aura, which continued to flash brightly in the night as the swirling ground began to quiver and boom ahead at him.

With a rounded swing, he stepped forward after leaning his hand over his right shoulder and the sword peeking behind his back, unleashing a vortex of orange flames that consumed the grass as well as blitzed through the whirlwind and blazed into the skeleton's torso, pushing him back.

The skeleton swung effortlessly through the flames, slashing his ax in the hopes of slicing Tim, who evaded by leaping out of the way.

To dodge the cut, he adjusted his body into a front roll, situating himself on the opposite side of the skeleton, who stood with a raised arm and looked at Tim over its shoulder.

Tim was in a three-point pose with his sword lying on both shoulders behind his neck from left to right when the skeleton fixed his stance to look at him.

"Elliott, please don't drag me back! I'd like to help him!" Elliott, on the other hand, continued to press his body into Karisa's back, wrapping around her like a snake, no matter how hard she tried.

"You must not jeopardize your flawless complexion! I'm not going to let you take on the god of the underworld!"

"Stop being a jerk and give me a break!" She slammed the back of her pole against Elliott's forehead and pulled him back as she screamed fiercely. Elliott, on the other hand, clung to her ankles when she tried to pull it out.

"You must not do so! Let the brave one take the lead! He'll have better luck than an angel like you!"

"Why don't you man up, get up, and pitch in as well? That'd be great! Some manly help would be beneficial!"

Elliott began shouting and crying out of dread as he clung to Karisa's ankles. "I can't do it! I'll die if I fight it! I'm not going to be able to-" Elliott's body went asleep for a brief period of time. "Are you sleeping at this time?!"

While Karisa tried to stir him awake, Elliott continued to snore soundly. Meanwhile, Tim continued to stare straight at the skeleton, who appeared to be a difficult foe to deal with.

To be continued...