Free De La Hoya: Hunters of the Forgotten (Book 1) [Completed]

Ep 28: Journey to the Temple of Beasts!

Apparently Wakiya's estate had more than 10 fireplaces or that's at least what Free counted when he walked through Wakiya's house.

Surrounded by nature Wakiya's estate was a beautiful orange colonial house with white accents and a sky blue roof. It was also known as a villa, a large country residence out in the suburbs.

Valerie and Wakiya were very talkative while Free felt like the third wheel but he didn't mind instead he just listened to their conversation.

According to Wakiya, he and Valerie had meant a while back when Valerie wanted to go international. Valerie was very popular and a lot of people wanted her on their teams. At first not knowing where to go she decided to check out Sunbat United. Then from there she checked out some other teams until she landed on BC Sol.

Wakiya understood why Valerie left but they still remained good friends and on good terms.

Going out to the backyard it was a beautiful oasis. A large round pool took over the majority of the yard. A large infinity wall overlooked nature with mountains up in the distance.

Beautiful glass like tile that reflected the sun gave a pool a beautiful shine. Lined up along the pool were white lounge chairs with umbrellas in between.

The rectangular customized hot tub was a bit higher than the pool while creating a relaxing waterfall. The pool had a beautiful blue serine color and various palm trees surrounded the pool.

There was also a fireplace, ping pong table, and a large outdoor kitchen to complete the yard.

"Wow." Valerie mumbled.

"This is nothing you guys should see my grandparents' lake house." Wakiya answered.

Wakiya and Valerie walked over to one of the cabanas and sat down. As Valerie talked to Wakiya about her brother, Free couldn't help but be distracted by the view.

The dark woods surrounded Wakiya's house. Birds were chirping and squirrels were playing about. While the white mountains contrasted hiding in the back.

The blue sky blended in with the mountains creating a beautiful scenery. Overall Free spent a lot of time in nature but lately he had been in cities or the suburbs. But in Spain, Free was in nature but not like this.

"Valt. Are you ready to go?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah I was just enjoying.."

"The view?" She finished.

"Yeah."

Wakiya apparently also had a private plane and it was very fancy. The interior was white and gray with a couple of seats and a TV. Wakiya sat down in the main seat all by itself while Valerie and Free sat together.

After taking up most of the flight trying to track down Vincent, the kids had finally figured it out.

"Ren Wu, Vincent is battling Ren Wu Sun up in the mountains. After combining data on Vincent along with who's he's already taken out. Chances are he's battling it out with Ren Wu."

"What makes you sure about that?" Free asked.

"That doesn't matter, Valerie you said it yourself your brothers condition is worsening and you need results now. Besides the data doesn't lie." Wakiya said, crossing his arms.

******

Since there was no landing place up in the mountains Wakiya had to land the plane at the bottom of the mountains.

After saying goodbye to Wakiya both Free and Valerie started their adventure up the mountains.

The amount of stairs was terrible or at least it was for some people. Free didn't have a problem with them but Valerie was struggling here and there.

At the top of the mountains was a beautiful temple/ spire waiting at the for oncoming visitors. Overall the stairs and structure were ancient as Free could tell. But what Free didn't understand was what had happened there.

Why would a beautiful temple up in the mountains be partly destroyed? Was it protecting something? Or more importantly was it hiding something?

Whatever the answer was it was still a beautiful place. The architecture mainly consisted of whites or grays with hints of gold to contrast. There was lots of white marble and stonework. As they walked Free noticed there were a lot of ancient statues, murals, and quite possibly animals.

Some of the statues looked like old bit beast avatars while others it was impossible to determine their form. Free didn't finish if he was being paranoid or not but he could've sworn he saw a statue's eyes glow.

"Okay so according to this map Wakiya gave me Vincent and Ren Wu should be at the top battling. We just need to make it there in time before nightfall so we better get a move on."

Walking through a bunch of cherry tree arches there petals littered the ground with their beauty. While Valerie was preoccupied with the map Free enjoyed nature.

"So what's your brother like?" Free asked, breaking the tension from the silence.

"You've met him back when you and I meant. But to jog your memory. Vincent used to be one of the nicest people. He was selfless,he loved Beyblade, and he loved to make friends. He would dedicate most of his time to it. We both loved the sport, Vincent and I would always like to battle each other. Then eventually he started getting better."

"He was at the top of his game, he was showing great promise. But as time went on something in him changed I don't know if it's because I've left or something else. But he became distant, cold, not like himself. It was like he was a different person when I saw him at his first international tournament."

"When I talked to you about it you told me about dark resonance about how it can corrupt bladers if they're not careful. That's also why I also talked to Shu about it."

"Worse case scenario he could be corrupted like Shu but we both know it's reversible. Besides you were the one who defeated Shu and turned him back to normal so I think you're the best person for this job."

Free was speechless after that and quite frankly he didn't really know how to respond or even if he should respond at all. Vincent seemed like a nice kid overall but Free was hoping this wasn't a big deal or anything.

Valerie stopped and looked up.

"Let the adventure begin." Valerie said with a determined look in her eye.