The Desolate Mountains (The Divine Elements Book 2) (12 page)

*HISSS*

The green anaconda hissed as it continued to constrict the giant wolf with its muscular body. The dark wolf desperately tried to struggle, but the light within its eyes slowly began to fade away with each passing moment.

Unlike the dark wolf, although the green anaconda was not a magical beast, with its powerful physical body and the cultivation of the second rank of the Vajra stage, once any beast was within its clutches, it was almost impossible to escape.

“Your child still refuses to run away… such bravery. Can you see it just crying over there? Pitiful…”

The large reptile stated as it coiled its tail around the giant wolf’s throat.

The female wolf tried to yell, but only a hoarse whisper came out.

“Avi…”

“It was foolish of you to leave your tribe, but then again, it worked out perfectly for me.”

The anaconda hissed with amusement as it turned its baleful gaze towards the distant whimpering wolf pup.

“Why…”

The female wolf rasped as it finally reached the last verges of its strength and stopped struggling.

“You keep asking that as if you actually expect me to answer you.”

The snake dryly retorted while twisting its head and bringing it an inch away from the dark wolf’s face.

Seeing the approaching death within the beast’s eyes, the anaconda quietly whispered.

“Have you heard of the special bloodlines?”

Hearing that single sentence, the wolf’s eyes widened in surprise while she agonizingly turned her head to glance at her child.

“No… please…”

The female wolf whispered with utter despair in its voice.

“Ther- “

The anaconda was just about to respond when it sensed another presence rapidly approaching its location.

“Huh?”

The snake frantically searched its surroundings with its single eye to find the newcomer, but it still could not see it.

Instinctively, it looked up into the sky, and an expression of shock covered its face when it saw a human boy descending down from the sky.

“A human!”

The anaconda furiously hissed, as it viciously glared at the cascading boy with its uninjured eye.

BOOOOOM!

The thundering sound of an explosion resounded within the area, as the clouds of dust gradually dispersed to reveal the enraged Calron.

“Let her go.”

Calron calmly breathed out his words while a wrathful aura surged around him.

“Hmph, a human actually dared to trespass this deep into the Desolate Mountains? Do you know what will happen to you once you are discovered?”

The green anaconda evenly replied. It did not see any need to be afraid of the human, as the human was clearly still a youth and only at the first rank of the Vajra stage.

Unlike in the previous Spiritual stages, advancing each rank within the Vajra stage was incomparably difficult. At the same time, however, there was an immense increase in strength after each breakthrough in ranks.

“Let her go.”

Calron repeated, as tendrils of crimson energy spiraled above him.

“It is too late. She will die regardless of what you do. Tell me human, how did you even manage to come here?”

The powerful snake curiously inquired while uncoiling itself from the dark wolf and slithering towards Calron.

The giant wolf soundlessly collapsed on the ground.

It remained completely motionless.

Seeing the still body of the female wolf, tears burned through Calron’s eyes as he remembered the moment when his own mother took her last breath in front of him.

“You killed her…”

Calron whispered as he took a few halting steps forward.

“And? You obviously don’t have any relation to her, so what difference does it make whether she’s dead or not?”

The anaconda hissed as it stared in confusion at the boy.

It did not know why but the boy’s actions were simply too strange. It was clear that the wolf’s death infuriated him, but the large snake could not understand why a beast’s death would affect a human.

Besides, it got a dangerous feeling from the waves of crimson energy rotating above the human boy.

“I do not think I have been this angry in a very long time…”

Calron gritted through his teeth, as a cloud of crimson energy erupted underneath him.

“TI…TAN’S…FURY!”

Calron roared into the sky, as his skin took on a reddish hue and the illusion of a colossal giant appeared behind him.

*RRRROOOOAAAARRRR*

The muscular giant bellowed, as it brought down both its fists to strike the ground, causing a mighty earthquake.

“T-This… ”

The large snake dumbfoundedly stared at the human, with its heart in turmoil.

Just the aura of the giant’s illusion was enough to ignite fear within its body, but upon gazing into the cruel eyes of the approaching human, the anaconda felt afraid for the first time since advancing into the second rank.

Not even its tribe’s Chief could evoke such terror from its soul.

At this moment, even Calron did not realize that the current pressure emitted by him was causing a second rank Vajra stage expert to tremble in fright.

“DIE!”

In the blink of an eye, Calron appeared in front of the green anaconda and thrust his palm towards its head.

The reflection of Calron’s reddish face appeared within the large snake’s eyes as it numbly stood there.

It wanted to attack.

It wanted to dodge.

But something prevented it from moving a single muscle.

Before it died, only a single word echoed throughout its mind.

“How?”

…………………

Meanwhile, Ezkael patiently watched the scene unfold below him.

“Something is wrong… his power should not have increased by this great of a factor… “

Ezkael muttered to himself as he observed the energy fluctuations around his student.

“The Blood Legacy… I’ve never even heard of it in my realm… to think an existence such as that could exist in the mortal world. I will need to take a deeper look into it.”

Ezkael mused.

There was no strength in this world that did not have an equal price for its boons. The Divine Perception was a technique that eroded the minds of its user if not controlled properly, and the Azure Lightning could damage the internal body if used excessively.

However, the Blood Legacy appeared to deviate from this pattern.

Ezkael had recently observed that Calron could instantly use the legacy’s abilities without much backlash, and even the Titan’s Fury that would have once destroyed his body, no longer seemed to discomfort the boy.

“It might be due to Calron’s own strength and cultivation advancing, but something tells me that there is something more profound about this legacy…”

Ezkael speculated as his smoky body scattered into the wind.

………………..

A low whimper suddenly sounded out from behind Calron.

No longer channeling the Blood Legacy’s domain, Calron slowly turned around to face a tiny wolf pup quivering on the ground as it let out mournful sobs.

His heart throbbed with pity when he saw the tears pouring down the little beast’s furry face.

He did not know when, but he had come to see these beasts just like he would humans. Calron wanted to pick up the tiny pup from the ground and comfort it, but he did not wish to frighten it, so he simply watched in silence.

The little wolf pup slowly stepped towards its mother’s body, as its tiny limbs shook uncontrollably.

With a small whimper, it gently nudged the giant wolf’s snout.

Seeing that its mother was not waking up, the little beast once again nudged the giant wolf with its furry head.

“Awwooo”

The wolf pup raised its tiny head and let out a heart-broken howl, as it mourned to the world about the loss of its only family.

A gentle breeze drifted above a small forest, causing the wilted leaves to slowly rain down onto the ground.

The entire forest seemed to be holding its breath, as not a single sound echoed within the area besides the faint whimpering of a small beast.

“How long are we going to stay like this?”

Ezkael asked in an exasperated tone within Calron’s mind.

For hours, his student has been silently sitting below a tree without making a move to leave. Calron simply watched the wolf pup and continued to stare at the little orphaned beast.

“The dead bodies will soon cause other beasts to arrive at this location, so make your choice right now.”

Ezkael firmly stated when he saw that the boy was not responding back to him.

“I don’t know what to do, Teacher. Do we take her with us and risk her life, or do we leave her here to fend for herself against other beasts?”

Calron softly whispered with a sorrowful expression on his face, as he gazed at the little wolf pup attempting to burrow herself within her dead mother’s embrace.

“Kid, if we are to continue on this path, then we will have to deal with more cases like these. Are you planning on taking in every orphaned beast we encounter?”

Ezkael inquired in an even tone.

“I know that I’m being unreasonable, and it is probably foolish of me to think that I can save everyone, but I can’t seem to force myself to leave her here.”

Calron replied as he leaned back against the tree behind him.

“Good! I just wanted to test your resolve. You don’t need to have the answer for everything in this world, Calron. Sometimes, taking risks are what makes life worth living. We do not even know whether travelling with us would put her in danger, maybe it will be safer for her or maybe not, but you have to take the chance.”

Ezkael affectionately conveyed as he materialized next to Calron.

“Just when I think you want me to do something, you immediately switch it around.”

Calron lightly laughed as he slowly stood up.

“I think I know just what might cheer her up.”

Calron muttered to himself as a slight smile spread across his face. Just as Calron was about to turn around to begin the task he thought of, Ezkael suddenly voiced out within his mind.

“Calron?”

“Yes, Teacher?”

“You’re a good kid.”

Ezkael murmured with a smile before dispersing away.

……………………

After an hour, Calron returned back carrying a large perfectly roasted bird within his right hand, and a small wooden structure within his other one.

Placing the cooked poultry on top of a nearby flat rock, Calron sat down next to it while gently bringing the small wooden structure closer to his lips.

It was a flute.

Since he had given his previous wooden flute to the little beasts, Calron had quickly constructed another one so he could play for the wolf pup. He secretly hoped that music was something that all beasts enjoyed and not just the baby beasts he had met on the outer ranges.

Although the current wooden flute within Calron’s hand was not as refined or smooth as the one he had made before it, as long as it achieved his goal, it did not matter to Calron.

“I hope this works… ”

Calron murmured to himself and began closing off his eyes.

Lightly breathing into the flute, Calron started with soft and gentle notes on the instrument. It was neither a happy beat nor a fast one.

It was a slow, and sad melody.

Calron knew that playing a happy song would not work on the little wolf pup, as the tiny beast needed something to understand its pain, rather than something to cheer it up. Calron had gone through those same emotions, so he knew exactly how the wolf pup felt.

Calron put his entire being into the music he was playing. He conveyed the tragedy that happened in his life, the injustice wrought on by those with power, and the deaths of his family members.

Deeply immersed within his emotions, Calron momentarily forgot about the wolf pup and simply played the flute with his soul.

He wanted to tell a story.

A story about him, and a story about the people in his life.

He played about his entrance into the Red Boar School, and meeting someone for the first time who both understood him and accepted him. His Master, Elias.

He played about the first friend he ever had, a brother willing to give up his own life for Calron’s sake.

He played about the silly times with Fatty, training with his Master, and even the childish crush he had on Lora.

Soon the sad melody began to morph into a song about hope and living for the future.

Unknown to Calron at that moment, a small figure was standing in front of him with its large, innocent purple eyes staring into his face.

……………………

Avi did not know who this human was, but she saw that it was the same human that had fought the beast that killed her mother. It was also her first time seeing a human.

This human was nice.

He played music that Avi liked, and she wanted to listen to it more. The little wolf pup did not understand how the human was making the sounds, but she definitely sensed the emotions of pain and loss from his music.

It was because she felt the same way.

However, the human soon changed the melody and played a different song. This song made Avi’s heart tremble.

It was because the song was about hope.

……………….

Once the song ended, Calron slowly opened his eyes. Gingerly touching the wetness on his cheeks, Calron realized that he had unknowingly shed tears while playing the flute.

At this moment, he felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders, as a tranquil peace took place within his heart.

Suddenly, Calron sensed a lump of weight sitting on his lap. Tilting his head downwards, Calron came face to face with the tiny wolf pup.

With its large purple eyes gazing upon him, the wolf pup placed its soft furry paws onto his chest and stood up on its hind legs, as it began licking Calron’s chin.

“Oi! That tickles, stop it!”

Calron laughingly protested, as he gently nudged the tiny pup’s head.

Happy to see the little beast warm up to him, Calron tenderly petted its soft fur as he whispered to the wolf pup.

“What’s your name, little guy?”

*woof*

“Avi!”

The tiny pup cutely barked as its eyes shined brightly.

“Avi… Well, Avi, are you hungry?”

Calron asked as he eyes darted towards the roasted bird next to him.

“Avi!”

The wolf pup excitedly barked again as a line of drool started to seep out from its mouth when it saw the delicious cooked meat.

Calron ruffled the pup’s ears while chuckling, as he tore off the bird’s leg and placed it in front of the little beast.

Looks like she’s even younger than I thought…

Calron silently pondered when he noticed that the wolf pup only knew her name and nothing else. According to Calron’s guess, Avi was only a few weeks old!

Knowing that she had lost her mother at such a young age, Calron felt another pang within his heart.

However, it soon disappeared when he saw the little wolf pup adorably gnawing on the bone while letting out cute tiny growls.

Glancing up at the sky, Calron reveled in the feeling of the cool breeze darting past his bare skin.

“It’s finally time to use the Divine Perception to find the city…”

Calron silently muttered while closing his eyes, as a wide smile spread across his face.