Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ The Elementalists ❯ Sixteen - Cassiel ( Chapter 16 )

A lone figure hastily made her way through the Dark Forest, her long, blood red cape flowing behind her. Her mid-thigh length silver hair and smooth, pale skin was as fair as an angel's. She wore a silky, glowing white kimono with deep, crimson dragons curving around the thick cloth.

 

She came upon a large, invisible barrier, located just at the edge of the forest. She lifted her hand, placing it gingerly on the barrier as she closed her blood red eyes. A hole appeared, just big enough for her small, delicate figure to climb through.

 

Once through the barrier, she rushed past the guards of the hideout, hurrying to get up the spiral stairs to report the news to her master.

 

 

“Ah, dear Cassiel has returned,” murmured a dark, sinister voice. The owner of such a menacing voice sat upon a golden throne, her face covered by shadows and her long, black gown disappearing into the cold stone floor. The room was fit for a King; a dark, red carpet led to the figure in the throne, and guards stood on either side, swords at the ready just in case a secret intruder found their way to the throne room.

 

The evil being, who seemed to be a woman, crossed her smooth, pasty-white legs and rested her chin in her palm, looking uninterested as she stared at the swirling black and purple substance in the orb before of her. She followed all of Cassiel's movements in the winding castle. “I should hope she brings good news,” she added, sitting up as the girl walked into the room. “…Or else,” she whispered forebodingly into the darkness.

 

The girl, named Cassiel, walked swiftly across the carpet, stopping about three feet from the figure in the throne. She bent down on her knee, bowing her head lowly so that it almost touched the ground. “Lady Rika,” she said, acknowledging her master respectfully. “I bring you knews of The Four.”

 

“Oh? What news is it you bring, my dear servant, my Cassiel?” asked Rika, leaning forward so that the light shone on her sharpened fangs. “I do hope it's worth it to listen to, or else…”

 

“My lady,” Cassiel started, standing up and looking Rika straight in the eye. She shivered at the coldness, but continued briskly. “They have traveled to the Human World, and are training under the infamous teacher Kisho Soumei.”

 

Lady Rika's smirk faded, and her glowing eyes widened considerably. “Is that so?” she marveled, her eyes narrowing and the smirk returning, much wider than before. “What fun we shall have with our dear Elementalists and company… No wonder it took you so long to discover their whereabouts. Leave, now, and I will summon you when you are needed.” Cassiel bowed once more, very lowly, then quickly left the room. “You will not succeed,” Rika said venomously, a sinister look passing over her glowing red eyes.

 

 

It was a clear and beautiful spring day in the Human World; the sun was shining, the grass was healthy, and there was a light, comforting zephyr passing through the forest.

 

Though the four elementalists still sighed on such a beautiful day, confounded, standing side-by-side and staring into the dark and ominous forest that awaited them. “Why are we doing this again?” Kai asked, though she didn't expect to receive an answer from Soumei.

 

“Let me get this straight, Soumei,” Candis said, looking to Soumei. “You want us to go through this forest and use everything we learned here against the demons located in there? Meaning without using our own powers?”

 

Soumei nodded, his hands behind his back. “Yes. This is a test to see how far you have come from training. If you do not make it to the other end of the forest by…” He paused, looking at his wristwatch. It was 1 P.M. “…4 P.M., you have failed. You will continue to go through this forest until you are able to successfully make your way through within three hours. When, or if, you reach the end, I will be waiting there with your rewards.”

 

Chi and Kai grumbled, while Candis just sighed and Feng remained expressionless. “Ready…. Begin!” Soumei shot a spiritual energy-charged bullet into the air, then vanished, reappearing at the opposite end of the forest.

 

“Where'd he—w-wait up!” shouted Candis, running after the group as she realized they had taken off without her.

 

The four girls ran towards the first clearing that they spotted, stopping when they sensed immense demonic aura surrounding them.

 

“Great,” muttered Kai, slightly amused. “We've got us some mutts that want attention.”

 

“You should not insult dog demons so easily,” said a harsh, growling voice. The dog demons jumped out from behind the trees, surrounding the girls. The four stood back-to-back, counting at least thirty dog demons.

 

“Great, a bunch of ugly guys with furry faces and tails,” murmured Candis. “Aren't dogs supposed to be cute and cuddly?” Chi nodded in agreement, though she was quite nervous.

 

`How does that old geezer expect us to beat this many demons without using our powers?! We could have been done by now!' thought Kai, the other three catching her thought in their own minds.

 

`Practice makes perfect, Kai,' Feng replied, bringing her hands together to form a sphere out of her pure spiritual energy. When it was the size of a beach ball, she threw it in the air, shooting up into the air and kicking it towards the demons jumping after her. It took out about a quarter of them.

 

“Guess it's my turn,” said Kai, quickly taking out five arrows and getting into position. She concentrated her energy into each one of them, then let them go. The arrows struck five of the dog demons square in their hearts, then went through another five behind them. “Ha! I'm getting the hang of this.”

 

Candis smirked, bringing out a very sharp and very shiny katana. “I've been waiting to get this thing a little dirty!” she shouted, running through the dog demons and slashing four in the gut, stabbing a few along the way.

 

The battle continued on, though Chi was at a loss. She didn't know what she could do. She was no good at archery, nor with swords. She decided on doing what Feng had done, only in smaller amounts.

 

Chi warmed up her small hands with her spirit energy, then shot out balls of green coloured aura towards the remaining of the demons.

 

When the last demon fell, the girls yawned boredly. “That was a little too easy,” said Kai.

 

“Yes, though I can't help but wonder if we're supposed to be fighting on our own or together,” Feng commented, leading the group past the defeated dog demons and through the dark forest.

 

“Why would he want us to fight thirty demons on our own?! Without using our powers, might I add,” Candis retorted, crossing her arms. “Anyway, we just wasted half an hour getting to that first clearing and those bastards took us ten whole minutes to finish. We've only got at least two hours left, and there's still quite a ways until we reach the other edge of this damn forest. I wonder how many more demons we'll have to fight.”

 

“Yeah, I hope it's not too many,” agreed Kai, carefully making her way forward.

 

 

Kai fought off the last water sprite with Candis's katana, rushing up the hill located at the edge of the forest. “Come on!” she yelled, gesturing the other four to hurry. “We've got two minutes left!”

 

The girls ran up the hill as fast as they could, reaching the top in almost fifty seconds. They continued to run until they reached Soumei at…

 

“…It has been approximately 4:00 hours and 36 seconds. Care to elaborate on your tardiness?” inquired Soumei, turning to look at the four girls who were bent over, trying to catch their breath. He chuckled when he only received glares a small smirk on his lips. “I will make an exception for your tardiness, for you have followed my orders and refrained from using your powers.”

 

“An… exception…?!” exclaimed Candis. “We just… ran all that… way and, you say… we were tardy?!”

 

“By thirty seconds, too,” panted Kai, leaning her weight against her thighs as she coughed a little.

 

Soumei grunted. “Of course I count that as tardy. I'm more strict than any teacher here, in Nippon,” he said, laughing heartily. “That is all for today. Tomorrow marks your fourth month here, but do not expect me to go easy on you because of that.” Soumei turned around, and once again vanished.

 

“That's not fair!” cried Chi, a pout on her face. “He can just teleport to wherever he wants to go, but we have to run through dark, creepy forests and fight demons! Now how are we going to get back? I'm not going into that forest ever again. Hmph!” She frowned deeply, sitting herself on the soft, fresh grass.

 

“I hear you ladies need a ride,” called Eryk's voice, coming from beyond the hill. The girls stood and rushed over to the edge, seeing that Eryk and Florian were sitting atop a beautiful orange phoenix.

 

“Hop on,” said Florian, grinning at the girls. “She won't bite!”

 

The girls smiled and thanked the two men, jumping onto the giant phoenix and making their way back to the temple. “It's a damn good thing the mountains block this place, or people would see and then they'd talk,” Candis said as she hopped off the phoenix, laughing energetically. “Ouch!” She turned to see that her forearm was severely burnt. “Damn dragonites,” she muttered. “Must have got me when I wasn't looking. Couldn't even use my element, yet I got burnt anyway!”

 

“Candis! Are you alright?” Eryk asked worriedly, rushing over to examine the small burn. “You need some burn ointment and a bandage. Come on,” he said, grabbing her other arm and leading her into the house. She blushed lightly and a very faint grin appeared on her face as she followed Eryk.

 

Kai smirked and chuckled to herself. `I knew he liked her! Damn rich boy, he's totally in denial, what with his pride and all,' she thought with a satisfied look on her face. `Hm, what can I do now? …Where's Guren?' she wondered, heading out to the open fields that led to the temple.

 

“Guren?” she called. She spotted him under the same tree he was always under, meditating, as usual. She made an annoyed sound, plopping down next to him as she tried to convince him that being social wasn't always bad. “Look, Guren, I know it's hard for you to be around people and all, but just give us a chance. We really aren't all that bad, and—”

 

Guren's eyes snapped open and his arm was suddenly in front of Kai's face. “What…?”

 

“Be quiet,” he ordered, lowering his arm. He stood up and walked a few paces before turning back to Kai. “Someone is here.”

 

Kai gasped quietly and stood up, straining her eyes as she looked out into the distance. She saw a girl with long, silver hair walking towards them, smiling gently but mysteriously. She was dressed in a white tank top and a knee-length white skirt. “I'm sorry to be such a bother,” she said, stopping in front of Guren and Kai. “But I'm a bit lost. Would you mind if I stayed here for a while?” she asked, a flash of wickedness passing through her blood red eyes.

 

“You're kidding…” gasped Guren, his eyes widening greatly. “You're Cassiel… Ilias's…!”