The Wheel Of Fortune

I stand up after catching sight of John clutching his injured arm while trying to defend himself with his uninjured hand. Without wasting another second, I run and grab the rod from the corner. But just like before I feel another wave of pain and heat. And this time the heat is stronger than the pain.

With some difficulty, I manage to hold the rod and run towards John, “John, get down.”

As soon as John gets down, I thrust the rod right at tuhu’s head and push him back. The tuhu tries to rush forward, I strike the rod and push him back again.

John slumps against the wall and I stand in front of them. I look at the tuhus on the other side to see them already making their way towards John and his wife. Suddenly the light from the only working torch, which has been thrown on the side, starts blinking before plunging the corridor into the darkness.

I run to the other side in the dark, even though I know it’s too late.

But right then I feel another wave of pain and heat in my hands, much stronger than I have ever felt before. I bite my lips and fall to my knees while clutching my hand, what is happening? Why is this happening? Why now off all times? They will die at this rate.

The pain becomes unbearable when I try to make myself get up. What is wrong with my hands? What is just wrong with my hands?

All of a sudden, there is a large flare of light and heat from a few feet in the front. Slowly, I raise my head and catch sight of a wondrous scene.

A glowing red line ignites from the corner of the floor extends till the line touches the other corner of the floor. Extending further, it rises on the sidewall before extending towards the ceiling and at last the sidewall. It joins the starting point, making a square.

Soon a red glowing magic square blocks the tuhus from us, taking place of the glowing light and acting as a barrier. The magic square filled with a strange language, radiating heat and light and filling the darkness.

And what happens next amazes me more.

As soon as the bodies of tuhu touch the magic square while trying to cross over, their bodies are enveloped in the fire. My mouth falls open. What is going on? I look at John and the woman to find them staring at the magic square in bewilderment.

At the same time, I realized that my pain has stopped. I look down to check my hand to only find that my veins are glowing red. What is this? What is going on with me?

Despite my veins glowing, I don’t feel any pain or heat, in fact, I feel refreshed and...powerful. I try to move my hand but don’t find anything wrong with it. Even the portion where I am holding the rod has started turning red because of the high amount of heat. Why am I not feeling anything?

I snap out of my shock as soon as I hear a growl from behind. I almost forgot about the tuhu. I take a deep breath, tighten my grip on the rod and stand up.

As the tuhu comes crawling at me, I thrust the rod at his neck. He ducks and rushes forward. I jump aside and kick it on the shoulder. The kick doesn’t even move him an inch instead I am forced to take two steps back.

I raise the rod and smash it on his back.

The smash makes him step back at most. Seeing the effect, I hold the rod with a death grip and raise it to attack him once again. Before the rod could meet his skin, the rod turns red all at once, giving off its high temperature. As soon as the rod touches his skin, there is a loud frizzling sound accompanied by a burning smell and the tuhu starts howling in pain.

I glance at John before smashing the rod on tuhu once again. The tuhu let out an ear-deafening howl and starts crawling back while angrily growling at me. He turns around and runs towards the next corridor. Does he want to run? How could I let him go after finally having an upper hand? I run after him and go in the same corridor.

Since the corridor is right on the outer side of the building, one side is protected by the railing. As soon as I run into the outer corridor, I notice the tuhu has covered quite some distance. Even if I run after him, it would be of no use. Suddenly, an idea comes to my mind.

Will it work? But considering the previous incident, I might have awakened my power. I raise my hand to snap my finger while thinking of a barrier in the middle of the corridor. A few seconds later, the same red line flashes on the ground before it takes the form of a red magic square, blocking the route.

Tuhu abruptly comes to a stop and turns around to growl at me. Despite his growling, he doesn’t dare to come forward. I step towards him but pause midway. This may not be good. He may be at disadvantage but if we take in his hardening ability, regeneration skill, and massive strength, I might be at a disadvantage once it goes berserk.

I look around for something that can help before my gaze stops at the window behind me, at the end of the corridor. I turn back to the tuhu and wait for him to look at me before throwing away the rod. Once I throw away the rod, it rushes at me without wasting a second. I turn around and run in the opposite direction.

Stopping right in front of the window, I look back and wait for it to get closer. A little more, come on, a little more. As soon as it motions to jump, I roll away from the front. As the result, it crashes against the window, smashing the glasses into bits. And at the same time I snap my fingers, which forms a barrier forms right outside the window.

Fire engulfs his body right after his body passes through the barrier. The sudden ball of light and heat makes me cover my eyes with my arm and I step back from the window. After the tuhu falls, I blink to get accustomed to the darkness and look down from the window. I watch his body getting engulfed in rays of crimson as it lays struggling on the grassy ground.

My racing heart at last slows down as I take deep breaths. Once I am sure it is dead, I run back to John to check on his condition. “How is your arm?” I ask while crouching down to inspect his arm under the light from the glowing barrier. “Was it a bite or a scratch?”

“Thankfully, a scratch...Thank you for saving us.” He answers with his eyes closed and with cold sweat covering his forehead.

“That is what I am supposed to do...You need immediate treatment,” I state, “Can you help him up?”

Before I could do anything, a shadow falls on me. I cease my action and cast a glance at the new visitor. “What is going on here?”

Ryou inspects magic square, once he turns back, his gaze stops on my arm. I follow his gaze and take notice of my glowing veins. They are still glowing? I open my mouth to explain the situation but another voice interrupts me.

“Mommy.”

I look behind Ryou only then to notice a little girl peeking from behind his back. Where did he find her? Well, at least she is safe.

“Eva.” Both John and his wife shout when the girl makes a run towards her mother. Her mother hugs her while crying as John watches the reunion with a strained smile. As the family reunion continues, I look back at Ryou to find him looking at my glowing veins thoughtfully.

“The ambulance is here; you should head outside and the team from EXH will be here in 30-45 minutes,” Ryou informs once he snaps out of his thoughts. “Don’t tell anyone what happened here. Nadya, stay back.”

“Sure. Thank you...Thank you both of you.”

As John’s wife help him out of the corridor, Ryou uses his sword to cut the barrier in half. The barrier breaks and falls down like fireworks before disappearing into thin air. He uses magic to make his sword disappear before leading me to an empty room and going out.

I look down at the still glowing veins and trace them with my fingers while waiting for him. Why are they still glowing? I am sure this is related to my firepower but it should have stopped by now. I have seen many people in EXH use magic but I am sure their veins were not glowing. So why am I the only one like this?

Suddenly, I wince when the door closes shut with a loud bang. Ryou’s face becomes clear as he approaches under the gleam from my veins before stopping a meter away. I wait for him to say something while leaning against the wall.

“Take off your jacket.”

For a second I think I hear wrong, what did he just say? My heart drums against my chest as I raise my head to meet his eyes. I open and close my mouth a few times before being able to form a sentence, “What? Why? What are you saying? Why should I take out my jacket?” I ask while trying to control my voice.

What is he saying suddenly? He can’t be serious, right? What is he trying to make me do?

“Don’t you want to know why your veins are glowing?” He takes two steps closer.

“..Yeah, but-”

“Then take them off.” I stare into his eyes for a few seconds to only find that he is serious. “We don’t have time. The ambulance will be here soon.” While still trying to wrap my head around what is happening, I gulp and reach for the zip after some hesitation. I make sure to avoid locking our eyes and unzip the jacket, letting it pool on the floor.

There is silence for a few seconds before he gives his next instruction.

“...Undo the first three buttons.”

I stop breathing for a second and look at him. Is he crazy? Does he realize what he is saying?

“Why?-”

“Do you know your veins in the chest and neck are glowing as well?” He questions while meeting my eye.

“What?” I automatically reach for my neck. My neck and chest as well? Since when?

“I can only subside them if you let me do it. And we don’t have much time, we have to get over it before the team from EXH arrives, they shouldn’t find you in this state...Just trust me on this.” I was ready to refuse but his last words stops me from saying anything further.

I take a deep breath and push my hair back before reaching for my buttons. One by one as the buttons come undone and my bare skin comes in full view, I become very well aware that he can see my beige lace bra with glowing veins under it. After opening the last button, I lower my hand and close my eyes because of the embarrassment. Just what am I doing?

My eyes flutter open as soon as I feel a touch on my shoulder. One of his hands slides over to my neck while he keeps holding my shoulder with his other hand. I quiver at the sudden cool sensation on my neck.

“What is that?” I ask while trying to see what he is doing. From the corner of my eye, I notice a blue magic circle levitating behind the back of his hand. It’s my second time seeing him using his powers. But this time his magic circle is of dark blue color instead of sky blue like before.

“Your body is heating up since you can’t control your powers. Though this type of forceful subsiding shouldn’t be done, this is the only choice I have. Once you learn to manage your powers, this will stop happening.” He explains while moving his hand to the other side of his neck. Oh, that’s why. I relax after his explanation.

“Then every Extander can do this?”

His hand on my neck stills, “...No, I can only do this because I use water type magic and it can work on you because you are a fire type...This type of situation has never happened before so I can only do this for now.”

“Oh.” He gives the front of my neck a light caress with his thumb and a cool sensation takes over. Suddenly, he grasps my wrist and rolls over my sleeves till my arm is fully exposed. He uses his free hand to brush his fingertips against my skin, sliding along my arm. I shudder and try to move away from his touch but his grasp on my wrist tighten, not letting me move.

He does the other arm and moves on to my shoulder. This time I don’t make a move to stop him. He grabs my collar and lowers down my shirt till my shoulders are exposed. My eyelids flutter as soon as he puts his hand on my exposed shoulder. I don’t dare to meet his eyes and keep my eyes fixed on his shirt.

His fingertips slide along my collarbone and shoulder, brushing past my bra strap before moving to the other side. At last, he puts his hand right above my chest and I take a sharp intake of breath. His hand pauses for a second and he takes a step closer. Why did he come closer? I immediately press myself against the wall as the coolness from the wall makes me gasp.

My chest heaves up and down as I bite my lip and watch his hand gliding down, stopping near my bra. Our eyes meet for a few seconds once he removes his hand but I quickly look away. “...The ambulance will be here soon, let’s get your wound treated.” He says before turning around to walk out of the room.

Seeing his movement, I step forward and catch hold of his sleeve. He halts and glances back at me. I ask while scanning his body, “Uhm...you didn’t get hurt, right?”

He shoots me a small reassuring smile and shakes his head, “No, I am fine.” His voice becomes gentler as he continues, “Worry about yourself first, you are the one hurt...I will wait outside.” He whispers the last sentence and walks out of the room.

I look down at my chest and start buttoning up.