Seal of Light - (Soul Drifter Series)

IV. Unfriendly Friend Welcome

Sneaking out of the woods, Mat dashed closer to the whirling black pillar of energy located at the north side cliff of the mountain, where he could see the silhouette of the human figure inside it.

The pillar stands three meters high with a diameter size enough to fit a single person.

Mat wandered his sight around the area. It seems that no one is guarding the pillar. He was expecting a horned creature or at least someone with sharp teeth and huge pair of bat wings, but his anticipations failed him, at least to keep him safe of trouble for the moment.

"Now, how can I get this person out of this thing?" Mat asked while running his hands around the black pillar.

The person inside could have sensed Mat's presence and started thumping the pillar's wall.

Mat felt a slight burning sensation as the fish symbol on his right arm slowly lit up. His left hand also lit up immediately after.

Finally, a sign, OK Seal of Light, I hope what I'm thinking is possible. With his left hand now fully lit up, Mat tried to push it thru the pillar. He successfully made it with ease. He felt the person inside grab hold of his hand.

With a couple of deep breath, Mat forcefully pulled the person out, withdrawing it from its captivity.

The pillar turned into a solid concrete as the person tumbled on the ground after letting go of Mat's hand.

"Thank you, whoever you are, thank you," the person said while trying to regain his poise. He was fixing his monk-like attire and made a huge stretch of his arms.

"No way," Mat said in a very surprised voice while patting his cheeks.

"Rigs?" He really could not believe he just saw his friend in this very unlikely place.

"Mat?" equally surprised Rigs replied. "Mat, it is you!"

"How did you..." Mat was interrupted when he felt the presence of another person nearby, he quickly scanned around as he posed for a defensive stance. "We got company."

Another person instantly appeared in front of them as if he was teleported there. He tripped Rigs and quickly swung a full winded punch to Mat.

Mat was able to evade it and moved out of range. He quickly maneuvered and made a counterattack. His strike made a hit and followed quickly by another one.

"Another human being, I was expecting a humongous beast or a winged demon?"

The new comer caught Mat's fist and strongly pressed it, pressuring Mat to his knees.

"That was a very unfriendly-friend-welcome Mat Adam."

"E-Ethan?"

"Ethan, you're here too, but why are you attacking us?" Mat uttered in surprise.

The young man didn't answer. With a fast circular motion, he landed a spinning kick, bringing Mat kissing dirt on the ground. He was still on hold of Mat's fist.

Rigs quickly moved closer and slipped his hands behind and through the arms of the opponent, giving him a locked position resting his palms to his head.

Mat got freed while Rigs tried to wrestle down Ethan.

"What are you doing Ethan? What is this fight about?" Rigs asked.

Countless black colored veins started to crawl on Ethan's skin. His eyes turned all black and his aura became heavy and dark. He pulled Rigs by the hair from behind and tossed him away like a weightless rag.