"Show off."
These were the first words that had come out of Ovin's mouth after he had seen what Archer[Quinn] had done. The others weren't sure what had just happened as the familiar perished before even reaching Archer[Quinn].
However, there were a few who had noticed and knew what had happened. Simon[Leo], using his skill[ability], was able to sense a short bust of Qi. It wasn't a large amount, but Archer[Quinn] had shaped it into a sharp arrow, and he had formed it behind his back, similar to how he could control the shadow using the second stage.
Then finally, using the third stage of Qi, it went outward from his body, aiming directly at the familiar's head and killing it in a single blow. A short and powerful blow, an attack invisible to the naked eye.
'This place absorbs all of our Qi, which is why I don't wish to use it too much in a fight.' Simon[Leo] thought. 'Yet Archer[Quinn], he was able to control it so well and easily and wasn't afraid to control the right amount. His Qi control and the amount in his body grow a lot.'
Archer[Quinn] had felt the drain effect that Simon[Leo] was thinking about, he knew that the best choice wasn't for them to use Qi while here, but he just wanted to test a few things. How bad it would be if they did use it and his own control over Qi. In the end, there was no telling what enemies they might face, and he could feel something else as well.
Their abilities, including that of his shadow, didn't seem to work perfectly in this place either. It wasn't that they couldn't use their abilities, but almost whatever they did use would escape from their bodies, not allowing it to restore.
'It's quite clear that we don't belong in this world, and it's almost as if the world itself is telling us this as well.' Archer[Quinn] thought.
It hadn't been long since Archer[Quinn] had learned the third stage of Qi, but recently he had been thinking about it more and more ever since he had learned of Qi command, as Archer[Quinn] referred to it. There were many different things that one could do with it, and Archer[Quinn] had no idea how he would even learn those things. Briefly talking it over with Simon[Leo], it seemed he didn't know about it either. The new stages of Qi and more were all a whole new world to him as well.
He had some theories on how they worked but had yet to test out those theories. Either way, Archer[Quinn] was sure if Simon[Leo] was unable to figure it out, he wouldn't be able to either.
So instead, he focused on improving what he knew best, and he realised something, his control with the second stage was his best out of the stages of Qi. The best way for him to use Qi was to shape it as he wished. He was so skilled at this because the way to do it was similar to how Archer[Quinn] used his shadow powers.
The others didn't have time to idolise what Archer[Quinn] had accomplished because they could tell that an army was heading towards them and would come out of the forest at any second.
"Hey, aren't you two kings as well? Can't you call in your own familiars to fight?" Abdul asked.
"My territory is far from here, " Ovin replied. "Although the Horse' is nearest, he is counting on you guys. He doesn't wish to involve his people in this fight and hopes we can solve this ourselves."
Everyone readied themselves for battle, and the first thing that appeared across the forest were more snakes, All of them in different colours and patterns all over. Some heads were different from others, and their tongues were all different shapes and styles.
The sizes of them were vastly different as well. Some were as big as the first pair they had seen, as large as the trees, while others were as small as a grass snake on earth.
Just then, one of them opened its mouth, and a long tongue shot out.
Before it reached the group, Simon[Leo] came in front and sliced the tongue to not hook anyone. But several snakes hissed, and even more tongues shot towards the group.
Rebecca[Layla] had started to do the same with her sword. The familiars didn't seem strong, so there was no need for her to transform, and she thought it was a good chance to improve her sword skills as she watched Simon[Leo] carefully as well.
As for Christopher[Owen], he calmly placed a single hand on the ground and started an electric current along the surface. It reached far and wide and caused many of the snakes to perish. Others were frozen for a few seconds, and some were even resilient to his powers as they continued to crawl. His attack was the most effective to get rid of them all in one go because of the range.
"I see you guys will be fine without me. I'll go up ahead and stop more from coming out of the forest!" Archer[Quinn] shouted as he ran and jumped over the snakes. Once in a while, he would find an open space on the ground and use that to leap again, ignoring most of the smaller snakes until he went off into the forest.
No one was really worried about Archer[Quinn], not after what he had done just shown them.
"Why did he just leave us? Is he taking it easy?" Abdul complained as he pulled his bow at the endless amount of snakes.
"No, Archer[Quinn] cares about us more than anything, " Rebecca[Layla] replied. "If he left, it means he knows we can handle it."
Abdul wasn't so sure as he could see the number of familiars around them were increasing, and the cat was now back on Simon[Leo]'s head after killing a few snakes.
The fighting continued for a while, and Drake[Oscar] remained near the horse, refusing to let Joseph[Sam]antha fight. She felt awful because more snakes now surrounded them than the others, and she couldn't even fight.
Just then, a sudden large black snake, bigger than the first two they had met when they first entered the forest, came around from the back and got between the two of them. Drake[Oscar] was already dealing with four giant snakes while Joseph[Sam]antha remained on the horse.
Seeing this, Drake[Oscar] had summoned the bone-like whip and started to hit them, slicing their bodies in half, but these snakes seemed not to be dying no matter how many times they were sliced and cut.
For some reason, Drake[Oscar] wasn't using his bone-like summoning powers and could only form the weapons in his hands. Eventually, one of the snakes constricted around the box in his arm.
He could see the large snake surrounding the horse, and out of fear of what might happen, he dropped the box allowing the snake to constrict it further. The snake crushed the box within seconds, and out from the box, something popped from the top and landed on the ground.
Drake[Oscar] jumped up onto the large familiar and ran across its body. Seeing its head up ahead, he threw out its bone-like whip, wrapping it around the familiar's head. As he pulled the whip, the bones on the whip dug into the skin more and more until they went through the giant snake's head, and it burst into particles once again.
Looking at the horse, Drake[Oscar] wondered if Joseph[Sam]antha was okay, but she was nowhere to be seen. But upon looking around, he found Joseph[Sam]antha on the surface, walking towards something.
"Thank you for saving me." She said as she walked towards the object on the floor, it was facing the other way, and all she could see was its back. "I know this thing is precious to you. I see you always carry it around, but I always wondered what was inside it…."
That's when she paused for a few seconds; she was close enough to realise it was a human head.
To be continued........
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