The Oracle

Chapter 10: Makeshift Refuge

SORA

"Sora?" Akari calls out to me quietly and I move over more towards her as we walk along the stone pathway, the others moving with us led by Isabella.

"Yeah?" I ask, wondering what she wants.

"Why did you decide to let her come?" Akari asks, her blue eyes searching mine. "I mean, I'm just wondering. You didn't hesitate, so..."

"If you were her, wouldn't you want to do everything you could to help your family, to help your village? She's just a regular human and yet she wanted to do everything she could against creatures of nightmares, creatures much stronger than her. To me, that makes her stronger than them. She didn't care if she risked everything because this place is her everything, they are her everything, and in life if you don't take risks, especially for the ones you love, then you have no life at all," I shrug simply.

"Yeah..." Akari breathes out, something flickering in her eyes as she scans my face.

"Hey, up ahead!" Sander shouts, gaining the attention of Akari and I.

Kit runs up ahead of the group and leaps into the air, her katana glowing bright blue as the spirit of a see-through blue tiger races alongside her blade in the form of energy before she drives her blade through a shadow serpent and the tiger catches another in its jaws before it thrashes it around and it disperses into thin air with a hiss.

"Ike, cleanse!" Kit commands and the tiger immediately pounces into the brush of the jungle off of the pathway, lighting up a streak of blue energy and dissolving black smoke in its wake as it slashes through shadow serpents.

Isabella watches in awe then as Sander runs up to Kit and throws his naginata in a streak of electric blue energy through a serpent that leaps towards her unguarded side. Sander then slides passed Kit and picks up his weapon on the way before he guards her flank.

"I've got it!" Akari shouts and runs up to Sander to take his place. "Go to the springs with Isabella and Sora!"

"Akari and I will handle the serpents. You three go to the spring and purify it," Kit nods in agreement.

"I know I'm not an expert or anything, but shouldn't you two be going to kill the giant beast?" I ask wearily. "You seem the most qualified."

"Sander is the only one who can actually purify the springs," Kit explains. "You can protect Isabella and Sander, I trust. You'll also have to help take down the creature. We'll make sure no other swarms get through to the creature's aid."

"I'm sure there'll be hundreds." Akari says as she swings her scythe around and bends down on one knee before she looks into her scope, "The serpents themselves aren't bad but swarms of them can be troublesome. Go, quickly!"

"Understood," I nod before the three of us take off.

"They're just up ahead!" Isabella shouts as we run up the pathway, almost nearly there to the springs.

Sander slashes through the few serpents that make appearances in our way as we run towards the springs before he leaps off to the left and jumps between tree bases. Once he's further up ahead, he raises his naginata above his head and flies downwards, a giant crash being heard from up ahead. Once Isabella and I catch up, we stop in surprise to see that Sander has landed directly in the center of the spring and is currently on top of a twenty foot tall green and purple serpent with light pink wings that coiled out from underneath the water.

"I thought you said it lived in the cave..." I trail off weakly.

"I-- I thought it did. I guess it also lives in the spring..." Isabella trails off, her eyes wide as she watches Sander grapple with the serpent.