The Heritor of Illipia

Chapter 32

I would say something useful...but I got nothin...
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        It was just as (y/n) had predicted. General Zhen was indeed there to stop them. She was waiting in the same place as last time. The only difference was that Artea was missing and (y/n) had more backup this time. "No hesitation. We're almost there!" Elsword spoke as they neared General Zhen. His words were most likely directed at (y/n), but they applied to everyone on the team.

        Rose, Ykuei, Aisha, and Eve all took their positions to keep General Zhen busy. (Y/n) locked gazes with her for a moment, and he noticed that she seemed less like his mother than the last time they met. He almost stayed just to try one more time to save her, but he didn't know how he would do it. Instead, he forced himself to look away as Zhu passed by her as quickly as he could without being attacked.

        Scar was their main priority. Perhaps if they defeated him, he could be interrogated to find a way to turn his mother back to normal. "Once this is all over, I'll get my chance," (y/n) thought as he moved on. So far the plan was going well. The fire elemental that got in their way were mere small fry and were easily disposed of. The only problem was that they didn't know where Scar was, nor did they know where the sun and moon priestesses were being held.

        "Zhu, do you see them amywhere?" (y/n) asked. The fox was likely using his soul seeing ability to locate Scar and the priestesses. "It might not work this time. Didn't you say General Zhen's soul was somehow invisible to you guys last time?" Ara reminded. She was right, but (y/n) doubted that Scar had that ability. "Maybe he's forcing the priestesses to help him with that. I don't think Scar would have that ability himself," he reasoned.

        Before they could discuss things any further, everything around them shook. They were all forced to halt their advance just in case they needed to take cover or flee. "I thought the fire and earth priestesses had this volcano under control! They should have warned us if that wasn't the case," Lu complained. "No, that wasn't the volcano just now. Well, it was but...someone caused that," (y/n) explained. He didn't really know why he knew this. Perhaps his newer senses were the cause. Either way, they couldn't just stay where they were.

        "Let's keep going then. Gloria amd Darkmoon could be in far more danger than before," Elsword said. Zhu didn't hesitate to lead the charge again. The plan was going almost too well, and this bothered (y/n). He himself had never seen Scar before. He was at the Temple of Fire when his comrades had initially been attacked, so the only thing (y/n) knew about Scar was how badly he'd beaten the El Search Party the first time around.

        "Zhu, stop!" (y/n) ordered. He had pulled at some of the fox's fur to get his attention. Thankfully, he was able to bring the team to a halt without giving his reasoning first. "What happened? Did you sense something?" Chung asked. It wasn't what he sensed. It was what (y/n) had guessed. "This is a trap. It's been bothering me how easy it was for us to make it this far. I don't think we should all go at the same time. Let me and Zhu go ahead of everyone," (y/n) explained.

        "What about you? If it's a trap, then won't you be caught in whatever it is," Ara spoke. "He'll be alright. We're counting on you, (y/n). I trust that you'll meet with us in the final battle," Elsword spoke before (y/n) could say a word. The red head seemed concerned despite the words he'd just spoken. "Thanks. I've got this," (y/n) reassured with a nod. He and Zhu went ahead of them just as they now planned.

        Reaching their destination wasn't a problem. In fact, Zhu entered the cavern where their enemy was waiting without a single issue to hinder them. Gloria and Darkmoon were entrapped in crystal structures just like Artea had been. They were behind Scar and conviniently located on the ground rather than the cieling. Then there was Scar himself who was definitely the type of demon that could fight the El Search Party amd win.

        Even from far away, (y/n) could tell that Scar was nothing but brute strength not to mention how much taller he was than the average being. "We have to...fight this guy?" (y/n) muttered with unease. Scar was staring at him the entire time which didn't help calm his nerves. "Did they really only send you? The red one must be foolish," Scar spoke. He was a little louder than (y/n) anticipated causing him to wince.

        "Are you surprised? The El Search Party sent me here to take you down. I wouldn't underestimate me if I were you," (y/n) said. He hoped that Scar couldn't sense his rising fear. Yes, (y/n) had defeated Behemoth and held unimaginable power, but he still felt human emotions. What he saw in front of him was sending his mind into panic. "Don't insult me. I would be foolish to underestimate someone that shows up in such small numbers to battle me," Scar boomed.

        Again, (y/n) slightly winced at the sound, but his ears were slowly getting used to the extra noise. "Good. Then I'm going to take you out, get the priestesses back, and head home. Sound good to you? Yeah, I didn't think so," (y/n) spoke as he got down from Zhu and stood on the ground. The ground gave him bad vibes and reminded him of the collapsing floors back at the fire temple.

        And it was also then that (y/n) figured out what the trap was. It was strange that they was no lava present in the large cavern despite them being inside a volcano. In fact, (y/n) was sure this was where the core of the volcano should have been located. "I'm going to enjoy killing you. You're already getting on my nerves," Scar growled, but he remained right where he was.

        That made things obvious as to what the trap was, but (y/n) didn't have time to think of a way around it. He could hear the rest of his group catching up. They wouldn't know what Scar had planned. Even though (y/n) didn't think they'd just charge at the enemy, he didn't want to risk having someone fall to their death. Illipia couldn't save them now. (Y/n) had rejected her.

        "If it weren't for them, I'd never run straight at an arrogant bastard like you. Man, I hate those guys," (y/n) said. He was, of course, talking about the El Search Party. They were important to him, so ruining a trap meant to end their lives was something he was willing to do even if it put himself in danger. Scar didn't seem to understand or even care about the meaning behind (y/n)'s words, but Zhu did.

        "I'm not letting you get yourself killed by yourself," Zhu muttered. (Y/n) couldn't help but smirk at those words as the two of them dashed towards Scar. As expected, their enemy was waiting for them to do this. Scar stepped forward and slammed his sword to the ground in front of him causing cracks to spread across the area. "It's now or never!" (y/n) said.

        Now that he was in the act of battle, his fear was disappearing as adrenaline added to the flames of his burning will. Just before the floor beneath them began to fall into the lava below it, (y/n) and Zhu shot towards Scar's location. They both went in different directions to keep Scar's attention divided. Darkmoon and Gloria were a safe distance away from what was soon to be a battlefield, but that wasn't what caught (y/n)'s attention.

        The realization almost made (y/n) laugh at how fearful he' been because the simple fact was that Scar was awfully slow compared to him. Sure, (y/n) could probably die if Scar landed even one attack on him, but (y/n) knew speed better than he knew his own name. It was his advantage over Scar who would likely still be one of his greatest opponents so far. As (y/n) landed, he caught sight of the others reaching the area. There was no way to know what they were thinking. (Y/n) didn't have time to stay still long enough to read their expressions. The battle had already begun, and Scar was already losing.
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With this I take my leave for the next chapter. Until next time you spectacular readers!