CHAPTER 32
He felt a warm gust of wind blow against his face as he reappeared somewhere else. He stumbled a bit as he stepped on the sloping ground, but he was quick to regain his footing, and slowly he opened his eyes and glanced around.
All around him, there was nothing but a dark, barren land with obsidian rocks protruding upwards, and further into the distance lay a thick veil of shadows shrouded by giant tendrils of white fog.
The rocks were cut strangely, with multiple slabs lying around in strange manners, like they had been designed by human hands, but he wasn't very sure of that. After all, this wasn't the first time he had seen a place as strange as this one.
It wasn't like the snow peak or the moonlight temple—though a bit ironic—it was rather natural. As if whatever had turned this land into a desolate, obsidian desert of rocks wasn't crafted with magic.
He looked up at the sky, the sun slowly descending to the west, slightly down from its apex. Shadows elongated, turning the land he stood on into an eerie pool of darkness.
He looked around, trying as hard as he could to peer into the distance, but his gaze was now vastly limited, and the large rocks that were scattered around him only made things worse.
But then something else caught his attention; grimacing in pain, he instinctively jumped to the side and looked down at his feet, or rather at the sandals he was wearing.
He was finally able to see it.
"Is that smoke?"
His gaze turned to the hard obsidian ground with a subtle nod and then up at the horizon once again.
'Dammit, this hell is far worse than any desert I've seen.'
He heaved a sigh and then began pacing around the place without any destination in mind. His mind was only fixed on keeping his footwear from burning as much as he could.
After a while, though, he reached down and touched the ground with the tips of his fingers and then pulled his fingers to the tips of his lips with a loud hiss.
It was hot, very, very hot.
'Dammit.'
He paced around in circles for a bit longer, trying to save his sandals from the heat the best way he could. He had tried using the large rocks to shield himself from the smoldering furnace, but they had turned out to be just the same.
Strands of sweat poured down his face, and he could feel his entire body slowly roasting from the intense heat. He cursed under his breath at Gekka and at himself for trusting her.
She always seemed to pull tricks out of nowhere and would then deem them tests of some sort. He had run more than fifteen kilometers, fought with a cursed dark beast—well, sort of—and was now standing in the middle of an obsidian desert.
However, if there were one thing he knew, it was the fact that Gekka wouldn't dare let him die in the middle of nowhere. She was bound to come here at some point, but it still didn't make the heat any less painful.
His breathing was slowly becoming painful, and he was slowly finding it difficult to take more steps. His gaze was now blurry and his mind a bit hazy.
Before he could fall onto the ground, though, he felt someone suddenly grab his shoulder and slowly pull him up, letting him stand properly on his feet.
Then, a familiar female voice resounded, a bit soft and mocking, as always.
"You sure need some survival lessons, kid."
He instantly recognized the voice, and as a soothing feeling began to wash over him, he couldn't help but look up at the young lady with a scowl.
He pulled himself away from her grip, and then his gaze trailed around the desolate place once more, and then it landed right back on her. His eyes were twitching, and his hands trembled with fury.
Keeping himself in check at that moment was perhaps one of the most difficult things he had ever done, but he still had to either way.
"That wasn't funny, you know."
The young lady furrowed her brows, her gray eyes gleaming with a faint hue. She tilted her head and scratched the side of her neck slightly.
"Was it meant to be funny?"
He humphed as he turned away his gaze, staring emptily at the fog and veil of shadows that lay in the distance. But he was willing to look at them if they would help him contain the burning rage within him at that moment.
After a while, she spoke once again:
"Gosh, kiddo, you should really get a hold of yourself. You said you wanted me to teach you, did you not? Well, this is all part of training. I'm your teacher… Remember that."
His eyes widened as he faced her once again, the frown on his face subsiding a bit. He bit down on his lower lip and rolled his eyes.
'Yeah, whatever… I just want to be ready before my first demon hunt next year.'
"Well, let me guess, this is a test of survival?"
Gekka folded her hands, shaking her head.
"Nope, not at all. You'll still be practicing Raven's Flick until you master every last technique engraved in the art."
She paused, taking a deep breath.
"I only taught you the basics and offered you experience with that little spar. Now, I want you to hone that bit of knowledge to its very pinnacle. I want you to repeat the dance I taught you a thousand times over."
Megumi's expression shifted after he heard her words, but a little dance wouldn't shake him, though. He had gone through far worse things, and with his mind honed to the point where it was, it should be a piece of cake. Perhaps…
He heaved a sigh and slowly took off his backpack, staring dejectedly at the burning furnace on which he stood.
He swung the heavy bag around a few times, staring intently at the sorceress standing in front of him. Then he slowly walked forward, toward her, and handed her the bag.
"Wasn't Yuki supposed to be here with us?"
As soon as he asked, Gekka grabbed the bag and quickly jumped back. He frowned, a bit surprised by her sudden actions, but then he heard the sound of footsteps quickly approaching from the side.
He quickly spun around, barely avoiding a kick to his ribs, but his red-haired friend wasn't done yet. She spun, a burst of crimson engulfing her body as she charged forward toward him once again.
She closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, swinging her leg forward to his side once again, engulfed in raging crimson flames.
He danced out of the way, barely avoiding the strike just like last time, but before he could regain his footing, she was already upon him in swift motion, flying down toward him in a ball of crimson flames.
The flames erupted all around him as she hit the ground, momentarily blinding him, and before he could even think, he felt a hand swiftly placed on his chest, and then he was pushed down.
He gasped for air and looked up to see a young girl with hazel eyes and red hair bent above him, drawing rasping breaths, clearly just as out of breath as he was.
She smiled as she slowly got up, a slight giggle escaping her lips.
"I got you."
He tried not to laugh seeing her happy like she usually was; he would most likely regret it given how spent he was. But more than that, he wanted to get up as fast as he could for fear that the heat from the ground might have already burnt through his clothes.
He sprang up from the ground and smiled at her, a few words escaping his lips:
"Nice to see you, Yuki…"
He then nervously placed his hand on the back of his head and continued, his voice a bit flat:
"I also got you a few gifts."
The girl raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. Before she could speak, though, Gekka cut the conversation short.
She clapped her hands as she approached, standing just a little distance to their side.
"Well, it seems someone needs a little more training."