Rise of the Spiritualist: Entry Six

Rise of the Spiritualist: Entry Six

Rise of the Spiritualist: The Personal Accounts from the Events of Shiro-Ryu High School from the Memories of Leonardo Yarafen Krilangi

Sixth Entry.

Two weeks after my grandfather paid me that surprise visit, I prepared several days worth of food, picked up a walking stick, and set out to return to my birthplace. I cannot, for the sake of our protection relate to you, my diligent readers, the exact location of the village of the warrior monks, but it was only two days walking between it and my apartment. Thanks to my training, however, I had increased my stamina, and I was able to make the entire trip in only thirty-six hours on foot.

As the sun set below the horizon behind me, I entered a dense forest with an inconspicuous path leading directly into its center. After nearly half an hour of following that path, a great slab of earth and clay rose before me, blocking my path. I was familiar with this test; it was a defensive barrier to keep those without chakra from invading our home. I placed my hands to the ground and focused the elemental energy of earth into them.

"JIKRAMA (Advanced earth/metal manipulation)!!!"

Just as the wall of earth had risen, it fell back into the ground as my chakra pulled it down and locking it into place, allowing me to proceed further. Another five minutes down the path, I began to hear the sounds of rushing water. Knowing that no natural streams flowed nearby, I prepared another chakra, predicting the next trap. As I expected, an enormous wave of water came rushing at me, as though it were being shot from a cannon. I threw both hands in front of me, and as the water hit my palms, I activated my chakra.

"ELMANA (advanced water/ice manipulation)!!!"

The water instantly cooled and froze, creating a beautiful, flowing mass of ice. I tapped the glacier once with my walking stick, and it shattered into millions upon millions of diamond-like prisms before melting and vanishing into the air. Knowing that one more trial still awaited me, I readied a third chakra and took a cautious step forward.

As my foot touched the earth, darkness immediately filled my eyes, and I lost sight of everything that was not directly in front of me. I heard a small noise from nearby, the shifting of an air current, and I jumped aside as an arrow planted itself in the ground nearby. Had I not moved, it would have pierced my neck. I had to act quickly and disperse the darkness before I got shot, so I threw my hands out to either side and released my chakra.

"GIMNOHIMA (advanced light manipulation)!!!"

A piercing light blazed through the darkness, restoring my sight and revealing the archer that had been targeting me, who sat on a tree branch nearby. I knocked away an arrow with my walking stick before leaping at him and launching a counterattack. He leaped down to the path, and I followed him, raising my fist as I fell upon him. He raised his bow above his head to block my punch, but I feinted as I landed and caught him in the chin with a powerful uppercut. He fell onto his back, clutching at his mouth, and I reached down, placed two fingers over his head and used another chakra.

"IERTEO (advanced healing)."

His pain apparently subsided immediately; he stopped grabbing at his jaw and stood up to face me. I recognized him as Fahlern, another warrior monk a few years younger than me. He grinned as he put away his bow.

"It's been a while, Leon. What ever happened to you, huh?"

"I've been rather busy, Fahlern. You've improved with the bow."

"And you with your fists! You just get faster every time we spar, don't you?"

"Listen, I'd love to keep chatting, but I'm on important business. I need to talk to my father."

"Carlo? Ah, Evelyn's disappearance. Yeah, he briefed her on the mission, so he'd be the first one to know where she is."

"No," I replied sarcastically, "I went through all the trouble of walking all the way here and kicking your butt just to say hello to my father."

"Heh heh...Yeah, I thought so. He'll know you're coming, so he'll see you right away, I'm sure. Let's go."

Fahlern proceeded to lead the two of us back to my hometown, an underdeveloped village that many warrior monks called 'home'. Once we separated, I immediately identified a house with a red door frame and walked in. My father, another long-haired, silver-eyed warrior monk who was late into his forties, turned to me as I entered.

"Welcome back, Leon."

"Good to see you, Father."

"Why didn't you just teleport here? It would've saved you the trouble, and I know Fahlern doesn't like to waste his arrows."

"Because I knew that clearing the trials would definitely draw your attention to me. I need you to tell me where Evelyn was when she disappeared."

"Ah yes...Evelyn...Her last communication came from a nearby city...or what's left of a city, at least. She last contacted us from Lereshrana while following her target into the depths of the ruins there. She was just entering the ruins when her message went silent. We sent people to check, but none could find any proof that she had even been in the vicinity. If someone truly captured her, they must've erased the traces of her communications chakra. That means we're going up against a very powerful elementalist."

"Does the name 'Forte' mean anything to you?"

"It's the name of her target, a shrouded man who posessed some deadly abilities that posed a direct threat to us."

"I fought him once, about a year ago. He calls himself a lord of demons, and he holds extremely strong dark powers. He controls the undead, and his weapon of choice is a large battleax, which he can wield swiftly and masterfully. You are right to fear him, for he is ridiculously dangerous if left alive."

"Leon...I know you've already accepted this mission from Sylas, but...if it's this dangerous, you should really reconsider...None of us could bear to lose you; you're a skilled warrior monk and an accomplished individual."

"I know, Father, but I'll be able to do this. Besides..."

I turned to the window nearby and stared in the direction of the ruins of Lereshrana, fists clenched and teeth bared.

"...He beat me down that time. Now I want revenge."