Koji Fights The World - Chapter 26 Flight In Darkness

The host turned toward the ambassador and said, “My wife will take you to your guest room. I believe she has something to discuss with you privately,” King Aphraphus announced.

“That’s right,” Queen Herecia nodded with a friendly smile at Mylia.

The centaur bowed deeply. “Your Highness, I am unworthy of this honor.”

The queen stood up. “Shall we go?” she said politely and moved around the table to approach Mylia, who had remained standing throughout the meal. After all, she possessed the lower body of a horse, and the palace lacked proper seating for Mylia.

The ambassador’s tail swayed in curiosity. She wondered what the queen wished to discuss with Mylia in private. The two women walked out of the banquet hall.

King Aphraphus waited for them to walk further away. A few minutes later, he said, “Let’s go to the Tea Room.” The king rose from his seat and slowly led the young couple through the hallway. Ten minutes later, the group arrived in the Tea Room.

Attendants slide open the door for the king to enter. Guards who had followed King Aphraphus soon took up their posts outside the door.

A servant waited on the side while holding a teapot.

Koji saw three chairs around a small, circular table, which had a tray full of candy and dried seeds.

When the trio sat down, the girl quickly poured tea for each guest.

King Aphraphus looked at the servant and ordered, “Leave us.”

The girl placed the teapot on the table near Koji because he was the lowest ranked member of royalty in the room. Then she curtsied to the king and left the room.

“Zelea and Koji, you will leave the palace tonight through a secret tunnel in this room. The Centurions will be waiting at the exit,” King Aphraphus announced.

“Why?” his daughter asked calmly.

“I’m worried about your safety,” her father admitted. “I”m concerned that the Snake Charmer cult is planning to kidnap you once you leave the palace. To throw them off your trail, we announced in the courtyard that you would meet the centurions tomorrow morning. So while they wait in the city, the two of you will be long gone,” the king explained his plan.

“Does Mylia know?” Koji asked.

King Aphraphus grinned. “Why do you think my wife requested to speak with the ambassador privately? Your mother was the person who came up with this plan.”

The young man raised his hand. “To sell this deception, Mylia will have to stick around until tomorrow. And she will not join us, in case someone is following her,” he added.

The king clapped his hands and laughed. “Excellent, my son! Hahaha! You are correct. She will lure out the Snake Charmers. Prince Heretrios will lead a group of men to follow and hopefully capture them.”

“Do the centurions know what herbs they need? Or is Mylia the only person who knows?” Zelea inquired.

The king smiled and nodded. “Before they approached us, Mylia’s men checked the shops in this city, and they already purchased some of the ingredients,” he noted. “They’re missing a handful, and your task is to help them find the rest in the mountains. The Centurions will give you the list.”

His daughter nodded in satisfaction.

King Aphraphus’ face turned serious. “Zelea, I know you wish to avenge your father’s death and hunt down the Phoenix. But you are not ready to do so. If you and Koji go after the monster now, you will be seeking your deaths. You are part of the Royal Family. Your lives belong to Nephosia. You must promise me that you won’t climb to the Reid Rose Pinnacle and enter the Immortal Phoenix’ lair.”

When she hesitated, he placed his hand over hers. “Promise me.”

Zelea bit her lip and sighed. “I promise.”

The king turned to face Koji. “You will enforce her promise.”

“Yes, Sire!” Koji bowed from his waist.

Aphraphus patted his daughter’s hand gently, and then he pulled back. “The Phoenix is immortal. You will have your chance in the future to challenge the monster,” he noted. The king slapped his thigh and stood up. “Okay, it’s time for you to leave.” He turned and walked toward a double-door cabinet on a corner. He pressed a hidden button on top of the container, and hopped back! The furniture slowly swung outward, revealing a staircase!

The king reached into his pocket and pulled out two glowstones; Aphraphus distributed one to each person. “This tunnel will lead you to the Arena,” he said. The father suddenly hugged Zelea and then Koji. “Be safe!” he said with a worried smile.

Koji trapped his saber behind his left elbow and his ribcage; he cupped his hands together and bowed. He held out the glowstone to illuminate the staircase and then slowly descended the steps.

Once Zelea entered the staircase, the cabinet slowly swung back in place and covered the hole. Boom!

“I hope you’re not scared of the dark,” Koji joked.

“I’m not,” Zelea huffed. “Keep quiet. There may be monsters down here,” she warned.

Her Bonder immediately obeyed. The staircase was dusty, and their steps kicked up dirt in the air, which turned misty as a result. From this, Koji realized that no one used the secret tunnel recently. Thus, the possibility of animals burrowing into the earth and creating a den was relatively high. Koji pulled out his saber just in case he encounters wild animals; he dismissed the warning of monsters as unlikely.

When Koji reached the bottom of the staircase, he stopped and listened while using his Qi Perception to survey his environment. Fortunately, he felt and heard nothing. He counted sixty steps in the staircase, meaning that the total run (or width) of the stairs was approximately three thousand feet or more than a half-mile. Koji was shocked when he made this estimate because he didn’t expect the escape tunnel to be so deep underground!

“Move!” Zelea hissed at him. She was in her original lamia form. Her human form with its two legs took up less space and was, therefore, ideal for walking down the stairs. However, Zelea lacked the confidence to walk down so many steps on unfamiliar legs. Furthermore, the Bond Keeper didn’t expect her Bonder to be such a slow walker! She wondered if Koji had a fear of heights.

Koji pushed the extraneous thoughts aside and started navigating the narrow tunnel. He discovered that the ceiling was approximately eight feet high and five feet wide, presumably to accommodate lamias, which needed a wider passageway to walk through compared to humans. Conversely, this increased the odds of animals turning this tunnel into their lair.

Suddenly, he saw glowing red eyes in the distance and stopped walking. “We have company!” he warned.

Using her snake body, Zelea elevated her head over Koji’s to see what threat lie ahead. Sensing the killing intent in those eyes, she used her Telekinesis to grab small rocks and pebbles off the ground. They dangled in the air next to Koji’s head. “Let them come to you,” Zelea ordered.

“Okay,” he replied. Koji realized that his wife feared of hitting him in the crossfire with her rocks. Besides, he would be foolish to charge ahead and attack the enemies if they were at full-strength. By delaying his charge, Zelea could soften them up with her missiles first.

The couple heard squeaks, and the monsters charged!

Zelea watched calmly as their enemies approached. When they were merely a half-dozen feet away, she learned that they were giant rats! With disgust, she fired all her missiles! Whoosh!

Two rats received critical hits and died. Plus three more received injuries which hindered their movement. The remaining six rats continued their approach.

Koji rushed forward and swung his saber. He decapitated two rats immediately!

The closest giant rat leaped toward his face with its mouth wide open to swallow his head!

The defender ducked and slammed his sword toward the sky, turning the would-be attacker into a rat-skewer!

The other rats clawed at Koji.

Koji dropped his weapon and used his Sticky Hand technique to deflect the attacks. He then channeled his Qi into his legs and kicked a rat’s head. The attack crushed its skull and knocked the dead rat into its comrades.

Taking advantage of the tunnel’s high ceiling, Koji jumped up and stomped on another rat’s head, turning its brain into paste!

Using his Qi Perception, the fighter sensed the four remaining giant rats surrounding him. Koji channeled his Yang Qi again and launched a Hurricane Kick. The 8,000 Power behind each kick was too much for the giant rats to withstand. The attack broke two animals’ necks and crushed the other two’s skulls.

When Koji landed on the ground with a light step, he waited for another attack. However, the giant rats did not move because he had defeated them all!

Koji refused to lower his guard. Instead, he kicked at each carcass and used his Qi Perception to check if any rat was playing dead. To his relief, he confirmed that all of them had died.

In the meantime, Zelea used her Telekinesis to pull the saber out of the rat’s body. She wiped off the blood using the rat’s dark gray fur. She retrieved the sword case from the ground and sheathed the weapon. Then Zelea handed the saber to her Bonder.

As Koji accepted his weapon, he heard a whisper, “Good job!” Suddenly, his wife hugged him. He enjoyed the contours of her feminine form for a moment. Reluctantly, he opened his mouth. “We need to continue moving,” he reminded her.

Zelea released him and placed a glowstone in his hand. The neon green light reflected the determination in her eyes. “Let’s go!”

The couple continued walking through the tunnel until they encountered a hole in the floor! The two looked at the ground and saw bite marks around the hole. These marks confirmed Koji’s suspicion that the giant rats had somehow burrowed their way into the tunnel, and turned it into their den. Scattered near the hole were bones of animals, birds, and even humans!

“We really should fill this hole,” Zelea said while staring at it.

Koji shook his head. “The Centurions are waiting for us in the arena. If we don’t show up soon, they might leave without us. Also, we lack the material, time, and labor to fill up this hole,” he pointed out.

The princess sighed. Zelea knew that her husband was correct. But she worried that more giant rats would enter the tunnel and chew through the cabinet to invade the palace. If giant rats rampaged through the Nephosian Palace, then news of a rat infestation would make her parents lose face. Thus, Zelea resolved to finish the centurion mission ASAP so that she could return home and inform her parents of this problem.

The two carefully tiptoed around the edge of the hole and reached the other side of the corridor. Koji and Zelea continued walking. The tunnel had many twists and turns, but no other animals appeared before them.

However, Koji remained alert; he held his saber in his right hand and carried the glowstone in his left hand. He walked at a steady pace as his hand swept from side to side in a vain attempt to discovered hidden enemies.

To Koji’s disappointment, he encountered nothing else. But he discovered an unwelcome surprise at the end of the tunnel–a staircase leading up!

Zelea saw the staircase, and she groaned aloud. The princess followed Koji as he began to climb the stairs.

Koji treated the staircase as a physical fitness challenge, and he climbed the steps with enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, the princess returned to her human form, and Zelea tried her best to keep up with Koji. To her surprise, she discovered that he was in much better shape than her. She managed to climb halfway up the staircase before her knees buckled and she dropped to the ground.

Koji heard the noise and immediately turned around. “Should I carry you?” he offered.

“NO!” she answered sharply. Zelea felt embarrassed by her weak condition. Despite her physical exhaustion, she pressed onward. But twenty minutes later, the stubborn princess collapsed on the steps again.

Koji turned around and immediately jumped over her. He grabbed her shoulder and prevented her body from rolling down the steps. He saw that she had lost consciousness. He placed his sword case in her hands and put his glowstone in his mouth to hold it between his teeth. With his hands now free, Koji princess carried his wife and slowly climbed the staircase.

Koji ambled and kept his breathing steady. When he finally reached the top of the steps, he gently laid his wife on the ground and sat next to her. Koji took deep breaths as he sweated profusely. His heavy breathing awoke Zelea.

She noticed his physical exhaustion. The first words out of her mouth were, “I’m sorry.”

Koji couldn’t speak because he was still catching his breath; he waved his hand dismissively.

Zelea smiled at her man’s attempt to look tough in front of her. She took her lamia form and held Koji in her arms. “It’s my turn to carry you now, darling,” Zelea said and kissed his forehead.

He nodded his acceptance and promptly fell asleep in her arms.