Seal of Light - Enlightened novel Chapter 8

Mat and Rigs dashed forward to the location of the explosion.

Mat recalled the quick leaping technique to Rigs, and they practiced it occasionally on their way charging it with a bit of power from their half-lit seal, giving them a boost of distance in a matter of seconds.

“What’s with the monk attire Rigs?”

“Oh this, I was covering a news report for an Anime Convention. Last thing I recalled, I saved a couple of kids from a falling Light Ballast, and then, here I am, waking inside that black pillar, until you came to rescue me.”

“Look Rigs, another pillar, I think we should make a brief stop and check if someone is in there.”

“Alright Mat, you lead, I’ll follow.”

Mat pressed his back against a giant boulder and slightly peeked to the black pillar that is being guarded by a pack of shadow hounds. Rigs sat next to Mat and sneaked a quick look on the opposite side.

Rigs counted as he takes another look to the direction of the black pillar. “Mat, there are two guarding ghost doggies out there.”

“I noticed it too Rigs, but I need to know how to activate this seal again. We can’t fight against those shadow hounds with our bare hands?”

“They won’t eat us Mat,I guess, we make crappy dog food.”

“Hahaha, I agree to you on that Rigs.”

“Mat, you said awhile ago that your seal lit up when you were about to rescue me from the pillar, maybe it would automatically activate when you decided to do something, maybe there is a connection to our thoughts or feelings?” Rigs said while looking at his seal on his right arm.

“I really don’t have a clue Rigs, I don’t know when it will light up or does it even respond to my will?” Mat said while pressing his right arm where his seal is located.

“One thing is for sure, there is someone inside that pillar that needs to be saved.” Rigs said as he took another look to the pillar.

“So what’s the plan Mat?” Rigs said while making a crunching sound with his pressed knuckles.

“We have to move closer to the pillar. We will jump in on both directions challenging the hounds, whoever lures both will have to buy time for the extraction from the black pillar. If the hounds separated then it would be a one on one battle.”

“Got it,” Rigs quickly ran towards the black pillar alarming the two guarding shadow hounds. He noticed his seal lit up, with a witty grin, a whip made of light extended four meters from his clenched fist.

Rigs swung his ki-whip and entangled the rear legs of the shadow hound and threw it behind him.

The shadow hound landed a bad fall in front of Mat.

“Seriously…?” The surprised Mat uttered as he moved back and posed a defensive stance.

And just before Mat makes another move, another shadow hound landed badly in front of him but it recovered quickly and leapt to attack him.

“Rigs you idio…” Mat jumped backward once again and landed on his knees.

The attacking shadow hound was about to reach Mat’s face when a piercing arrow made of light struck it to its head. The hound breezed away like ashes from a burned paper.

“T-that was close…” Mat uttered while lowering his arms from a defensive pose and then wandered his sight around looking for whoever helped him.

Surprised with a sudden burning feeling as he turned his head to his right, Mat widen his eyes as he looked at the pointed tip of an arrow aiming on his forehead.

Mat slightly raised his both hands in gesture for surrender.

“State your business here human…” the female archer said.

Mat tilted his head a bit to check the person who was asking him. She was wearing a tribal-like piece of clothes, she has pointed ears, her skin looks like a fine sanded wood, and her hair was dark green in color. “She’s a she-elf.” He whispered.

The archer winded her bow further giving a serious threat to Mat, “What are you doing on this land?”

“I was sent here for a mission, I was instructed to rescue the captives inside these black pillars.” Mat explained with his both hands still raised up with palms facing the archer.

“Instructed, by whom? And how are you going to rescue those held inside the black pillars?”

On the other side, Rigs was pressing his both hands to the solid walls of the black pillar while figuring out how to activate his seal once again to extract the captive inside it. “Darn it, Mat, how did you do it?”

Mat saw something lumped mass crawling beneath the ground to Rigs’ direction, it seems like it came from where the archer was standing.

“She did that? Was that a summoned thing?” Mat thought while thinking of how he can alarm his friend from this nearing danger.

A wood elemental sprouted up from the rambling ground, making an assault to Rigs.

“What is this, a swollen Groot?” Rigs said while avoiding the initial attack.

“Trying to be smart won’t save you and your friend’s life, now I want you to release the captive inside this pillar.”

“And then you let us go and resume our mission?”

“You may resume after as you wish, that is if you both survive your wounds from my arrow. Don’t try to play tricks on me human, there will be no more warning shots.”

Mat smirked and faced the direction of the black pillar, walking forward and with a few more steps away from it, his seal lit up and his left hand started to glow from within.

Mat made a quick frustrated look to the archer before placing his left hand to the wall of the pillar. His hand turned to full glow as it slowly slips in to the solid wall. Another second has passed and his full arm is inside the pillar, Mat facial reaction tells that he was able to pick the captive inside, he gently pulled it out and to his surprise, it was another elf-looking female, with the same skin texture, similar dress, but a bit older than the other who demanded him for help. She was asleep when Mat pulled her out from the pillar.

The younger female archer vanish her bow and arrow that was made of light, and quickly aided the person that Mat was carrying. The older female somehow regained her consciousness but was too weak to neither walk nor talk. “Aea…” she uttered while trying to raise her index finger pointing to the young female archer.

A rumbling sound was heard coming from afar, the female archer stood straight while carrying the rescued captive on her arms, “I will spare your lives human, a life for a life.” The older female casted a quick chant and with her open palm, light granules spread out floating over Mat and Rigs.

Rigs, who was still lying unconscious to the ground, sneezed twice before trying to lift his head and pushed up to a sitting position.

“Rigs!, Rigs! Are you alright?” Mat asked while rushing to his friend. “I thought you were…”

“…dead?”, “Not yet, but with that new fellow maybe both of us will.” Rigs said while pointing the huge silhouette image that was approaching them.

“We should help them Princess Aea,” the older woman uttered.

“I’m sorry Priestess Akasha, this is not our war, and I should return you immediately to our safe haven.”

Mat and Rigs watched as the two female slowly vanished into thin air.

“Leaving the party too soon, we are just warming up?” Rigs said.

Mat noticed that the wounds he had from the arrow was gone, he checked on Rigs and was already healed too, “The older woman healed us, the younger one called her priestess.”

“Yeah and the younger was called princess…” Rigs said while checking his healed wound.

“Ready Rigs for another round?”

The two fist-bumped and made their offensive stance against the incoming danger.