บท 9: Let's go to the dragon kingdom !
Chen Yu was shaking like a leaf in a whirlwind, tossed one way or the other. It was a dreadful experience. His short red hair was whipping his face and his cheeks were almost as red as his hair due to the cold wind. Some bits and pieces of stone as well as a lot of dust were flying left and right. He could hardly keep his eyes open. Who could have guessed that flying at high speed was so frightening ?
He had always thought flying was a dreamlike experience. When he glimpsed at the dragons, back home in Lysania kingdom, he couldn't help but sigh and feel envious. It seemed so grand and awe-inspiring. Of course, he heard that in reality their flight was a lot faster than it looked from the ground, but the concept was truly hard to grasp. His young self could only dream and yearn for such wonders.
Growing up in the dragon kingdom, he knew magic could be powerful. In a battle, it was not about "tipping the balance between the foes" but more like crushing all opponents. However, being born in the boonies and never leaving his home before enrolling in the royal army, except for the occasional dragon flying high in the sky and far away, he never encountered any magic user before today.
He groaned, his injury was painful and he was in an uncomfortable position. It was even quite hard to breathe, the icy air felt like it could freeze his lungs. He wished he could get rid of the dust and rubble that fell on him when they went through the hole in the crumbling wall. He remembered fainting while trying to fight in the sewer, he had been heavily wounded after falling in an ambush and could hardly stand. However, he felt ashamed. He couldn't even wield his sword once after being injured and fell right in his enemy's arms. He also shrilled in fright like a girl, when they madly rushed towards the wall. The girl punched through a thick wall with her head, dammit ! It was utterly insane.
He felt so pathetic. How could he be so lame ! He was glad nobody saw him, except the blond girl who was currently carrying him, princess-like, while flying and mumbling some kind of spell that sounded like a prayer to heal him. Anyway, his pride as a man and a lysanian soldier had been utterly crushed, he would probably have a hard time to get back in shape. All the more so as the girl was pretty, brave and cute and totally his type.
Even though she looked like a child, being so young and totally flat-chested under her incomplete breast plate, she seemed awfully strong. Both her physical strength and her magic powers were unusually over-the-top. Well, Chen Yu didn't know much about magic, first hand, but he was sure a skinny and fragile-looking girl like that could not possibly carry a full-grown man in armor. As he was merely a foot soldier in light infantry, he didn't wear a full armor, part of it was leather. It was lighter and easier to move than for the heavy infantry or heavy cavalry but it still weighed quite a bit !
He was not really sure about the flying or healing magic she was using at the same time, however. He was unable to tell if it was something difficult or just the everyday occurrence for mages in the Selnan empire. In Lysania, every child able to wield the tiniest amount of magic was sent to the forbidden city to tend to the dragons, never to return. Even royals were not spared. Therefore, no mage could actually be seen anywhere.
Now that he left his village and his home country, Chen Yu was amazed to see mages fighting one another for real. It was such a splendid sight, except that all his fellow soldiers, being normal people, had been annihilated and right now, he was fleeing with a young mage he knew nothing about with a fiery fire mage and an angry water mage, both from Selnan, in hot pursuit. It was unnerving, frightening, mind-blowing but not in a good way, and not awesome at all.
The girl didn't fly very high in the sky, seemingly not as high as dragons. And fire balls, ice spears and some kinds of bird monsters, created from either fire or water magic, repeatedly attacked them. Chen Yu didn't dare to move at all for fear of falling down, as the girl effortlessly dodged all the enemy attempts. He felt totally helpless, he didn't even know why the girl carried him away, saving his life multiple times, since he clearly remembered that she had been the one he'd tried to kill back in the sewers. She was an enigma.
Being showered by the conjoint spells of two mages, she didn't fight back, just escaping by flying away. Her face was expressionless and, except for magic spells, she remained silent. Chen Yu didn't want to disturb her. It was not the right time for a chat and upsetting her might just lead to his death. He was completely at her mercy and in her hands, in many ways.
On closer inspection, since he didn't really have anything else to do to take his mind off his dire situation except observing her beautiful face, he felt that her focus was elsewhere. She was gazing far away as if everything else, and their predicament as well, didn't matter to her. True, she avoided the fight and kept them alive but Chen Yu believed that she didn't pay any attention to anything. He, himself, didn't seem to exist in her eyes, which slightly saddened him. Anyway, he was in no position to complain and, from the beginning, had been unable to impress her and show off his good points.
As an almost inanimate burden, hindering her movements and impeding her arms and hands, he felt grateful to her for not dropping him. He was at his wits' end to find a way to improve his chances of survival. Completely relying on a total stranger was too frightening. Chen Yu couldn't and wouldn't move a finger but he felt flustered.
Xian immediately noticed that the guy in his arm wasn't feeling very well. As he had never used the flying spell Soon-Yi taught him a long time ago, his flight might be unstable, causing motion sickness. Even more since they had to avoid the fire balls and ice spears. The birds, created out of fire or water magic elements, were no threat at all because they were so pitifully slow. However, Xian's first problem was neither the injured man, nor the mages attacking from the ground, it was his own magic powers.
He could sense them coursing in his veins, running amok inside his body. More precisely, he imagined them. Since it was the first time he was able to feel his own powers, he was unsure what to make of this sensation. Nevertheless, he could clearly feel a increasing pressure inside his core, as if it was about to burst. It took all he had to suppress and control his powers while flying. He knew he would soon reach his limits. Where could they go ? Who could help him ?
It all started when he felt a life-threatening danger and used the medallion Soon-Yi gave him. Usually, he was able to get out of all tricky situations, even if the enemy comprised a couple of mages, but this time, he wanted to bring the fainted man back as a prisoner. He hoped to get valuable information from the man. After all, he belonged to the group assaulting Lady Wei and the others, his capture could be a excuse for Xian to go back to the Orchid Palace, if nothing else.
Soon-Yi might think of this as a poor attempt of an excuse to slack off but Xian had nothing else to present and felt he was unable to keep on investigating in his current state. When he poured magic in the medallion, he felt as if all the magic elements in the surroundings went rushing towards him. He was immersed in a blinding white light not unlike the one coming from Soon-Yi's wound when he healed her. It was, however, at a much higher level.
The medallion, which usually felt a bit cold on his skin when he was casting a spell, was searing hot, its unbearable heat leaving a burn scar on his chest. However, Xian ignored it. The enemies' attacks were about to strike down. He had always thought that the medallion was some kind of single-use teleport device. Soon-Yi told him to use it in case of extreme danger but never explained its purpose. It seemed to Xian that it was far from a life-saving item, more like a death sentence. So he could only think of one thing : he needed to get the hell out of here !
He didn't know if it was the best option and didn't really care. However, the enemies were a lot more persistent than he expected and he couldn't shake them off. He had hoped to directly go back to the Orchid Palace but, as he couldn't teleport, going there seemed beyond him. High in the sky, he wasn't even sure if he was flying in the correct direction. He had never seen the landscape from the point of view and felt completely lost, which was unsettling in his current predicament with death looming over him either from his enemies or from his own powers going out of control.
At his wits' end, he asked the man in his arms if he knew of a place to hide. He truly felt it was not a smart move but both of their lives were at stake and he surmised that they were in a situation where "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", or my ally at least, even if they were enemies themselves not too long ago.
The man seemed startled but directed him to a nearby mountain. Xian managed to hurry towards the place, increasing the distance with their pursuers. Then, it was easier to fly lower and hide close to the tree tops. High in the sky, they were a convenient target, now with the trees as cover it was more difficult to take aim and finally, their enemies gave up.
Landing on a mountain slope, Xian started to run in search of a shelter and quickly found a natural cave. Even though he didn't know how to get his surging magic powers back to normal, he still needed some rest and the man needed a proper healing.
As soon as they settled down in the cave, Xian started to cast his special healing spell. He wanted to give the man a chance to cure his heavy injury before his magic powers went even more berserk. Ever since he used the medallion and all kinds of magic elements rush towards him, his whole skin had been tingling. Usually, only the fingertips were affected but now his whole body was itching. He felt horrible.
He was still glowing. When he was flying in the sky, he was too busy to mind but he had been shining brighter than any shooting star, he had indeed been an easy target ! Now, he needed to close the cave entrance otherwise, sooner or later, they were sure to be found.
Piling up a fair amount of stones to block the way, as he couldn't find a proper one to use as a door, he finally sat on the floor, his back to the cave entrance. The light coming from his body illuminated the whole space, showing that there was no other passageway. It was a simple, single room.
The man was lying on the ground. His shoulder was glowing as well, the strange black mist seeping out of his wound had been removed. The injury was clean and slowly mending and Xian sighed in relief. It had been a pain to stop the vile magic from sucking the man's life force during the flight. He had never used so much magic at once in his entire life.
He should have felt exhausted but his powers were pouring too much energy in his body. He even had to repress the urge to go out and run. He didn't like experiencing his body being filled to the brim with magic. After all, he still hated magic. What would happen to him ? How could he get rid of the excess ?
Xian listened to the man's regular breathing. His eyes were closed. He was probably tired and Xian assumed that he was sleeping while recovering. Therefore, he was a bit startled when he heard the man speak.
– So you're a boy.
It was not a question. Xian simply answered "yes", what else could he say ? Anyway, he was used to being mistaken, moreover, he often dressed as a girl, depending on the circumstances or the jobs, so it was not really a surprise and he never once felt fazed when asked. He did find it unpleasant, though.
His eyes still closed, the man had an odd expression with a bitter and self-deprecating smile on his face as he went on :
– My name's Chen Yu. Thanks for getting me out of there. I didn't want to die in the sewers, it stinks !
– I won't let you die, except if I change my mind and kill you myself.
– That's a bold statement coming from a shrimp. Except for your voice, you're just a freak with the face and body of a girl. Well, as I'm in no condition to fight, I hope you'll let me live at least a little longer. I would really like it if you could also bring me back to my home in Lysania…
Xian bit his lips. He wished he could go to the Lysania kingdom as well. It was the land of dragons and he yearned to see one with his own eyes. Moreover, Soon-Yi entrusted him with a mission there so he was allowed to go. For once, she let him off his leash, he wanted to take this opportunity to go and see Lysania for himself.
However, he was still worried about Lady Wei and if they went to Lysania, Chen Yu would probably run free. It was definitely not a good bargain. But most of all, he needed to go back and have Soon-Yi help him with his power. Maybe he could get another medallion as he felt that this artefact was the tools preventing the magic element from taking his body over. Sadly, the cord used to hang the medallion had burnt when he activated it and he lost it. The medallion probably dropped somewhere either in the sewers or on the way to the cave. Nothing to do about that.
Therefore, Xian decided to go back to the Orchid Palace to seek Soon-Yi's advice, bringing Chen Yu with him, even if he had to drag him there.
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