EVERNA Ring of Fire

IDHARMA Part 3

“Wait!” Nirya pointed to the side. “See this wall first! This sculptural image is exactly a continuation of ‘News Barong’ on the walls whose path we passed earlier, so this must be the correct path!”

“Tell me on those kecaks!” exclaiming Sthira while again alerting his manda. One more wave of cockroach troops stormed quickly through the entrance earlier, closing the road and shouting, “We break into them again!”

“Do not!” exclaim Nirya. “We must endure! Listen carefully! The wall of the deadlock is starting to shift!” Nirya's hearing was apparently sharper than his peers, so he was able to hear the sound of shifting bagu between the deliberate cries of the enemies.

Nirya insisted on advancing at the front and shot out wind arrays like the thrust of many swords towards the kecak.

Widuri almost got hit by that sharp array. He stopped running while rebuking, “Crazy! Do you want to kill me, huh?”

On the contrary, with an expressionless face Arumi said, “This time I think Nirya is right. Step aside, don't blame me if you get my magic arrow!”

While snorting incoherently, Widuri moved backwards.

So, Arumi pulls an arrow in her new bow. As the bowstring was removed, the single arrow shot straight, looking like the head of a fiery phoenix. However, on the flanks of “head” those arrays of flames also spread to look like a pair of Eternal Flame Wings.

The fires were crashing all the kecak in the front row until it fell. But there were still many more kecak that came after, as if endless breaking through the siege was definitely not an option now.

“Let's arrest them, Arumi! I hope you're right, Nirya, otherwise we're all gone!” exclaiming Sthira while swinging his big mandau, welcoming enemies who enter the attacking distance.

Arumi also changed weapons again, his keris also flashed ferociously. The disciples of Widuri helped, only the teacher seemed to be holding hands.

Nirya herself was too busy observing the situation. There were two things he found. First, almost all of the cockroaches that invade this path have scars. Surprisingly, many of them are scars of incisions and punctures at fatal points. Second, the barrier wall in this path began to shift open, while at the same time the wall in the entrance threshold started to pop, about to close the road.

So Nirya shouted her conclusion, “Friends, the kecak can't die and can recover quickly! Hit them back to the back of the entrance that was closing, then quickly run before the fallen cockroaches here bounce back!”

“But how to kill them?” asked Arumi, his tone was not as taut as before.

“I don't know. Maybe Ni Widuri knows?” Nirya accidentally throws the question to “ahlinya”.

“No, I don't know either. Should have avoided those lizards!” answer Widuri. There was not the slightest hint of him going to exert a magic attack like before.

“Heh.” Nirya smiled triumphantly while moving forward helping her comrades.

Wave after wave of attacks the three qualified warriors continued to press forward. The kecak roared, either because it fell or continued to be pushed back. Until finally there are only kecak who are behind the entrance wall who continue to fight.

So, the wall of the entrance that shifted almost tightly closed, leaving only a gap that can only be entered by sneaking. That was when Nirya exclaimed, “Run!”

The six warriors turned around and immediately ran away as fast as they could.

Proving Nirya's conjecture, at least two kecak that had originally been sprawled on the ground rose, and his wounds recovered. Sthira swiftly cut off the head of one kecak, and the keris of one disciple of Widuri slashed deeply into the chest of the second kecak, toppling it once more.

As her legs galloped through the open door wall, Nirya was only able to breathe a little relieved. However, the chances of more and more kecak who returned to rise and pursue made him just slow down his run, following the actions of his colleagues.

Suddenly Arumi shouted, “Nirya, stop!”

Without a second thought Nirya stopped her steps. Sure enough, from the holes in the ground in front of him were long nails. If pierced, the iron nails would have penetrated to the waist, making Nirya fall to her death.

So, Nirya was just glued to the spot and stroked her upper chest, then turned to Arumi and smiled as a sign of gratitude. Arumi replied with a smile.

“See to there.” Widuri pointed forward. “The nail traps are lined up.”

But Nirya's mind is now focused again on passing the nail traps, to determine when and to what extent he needs to jump. Relying on the agility of his legs, he then jumped up and down according to the pattern in his memory. Every now and then Nirya jumped too far and almost lost her balance on landing. Fortunately, thanks to vigorous training he managed to establish himself instantly. One more jump, then Nirya breathed a sigh of relief.

The next moment, there was one annoying sight. Ni Luh Widuri apparently used the Science of Body Splitting, using prana to hover a little above those spikes. He walked through the air in style and landed a few steps in front of Nirya. It is good that the walls of the labyrinth are ten meters high until they almost touch the ceiling of the cave. Because if Widuri can get through it, of course it will be even more annoying.

Keep moving, the path that Nirya and her entourage go through is more complex, winding and branching. But the instructions on the relief wall and the complete knowledge of Widuri about the story of the lunge of the Barong makes emreka almost always find the right path.

However, this does not mean that everything must be smooth. A swarm of kecak again blocked Nirya's entourage, but this time they left an empty path, as if they had deliberately lured the intruders to enter that path.

“Awas, it's a trap!” shout Nirya. “We just busted them again..!”.

Too late, the other colleagues have entered the empty path. Furious, Nirya was forced to follow them, while certainly dispelling the pursuers with a sliver of Wind Splitting the Clouds. He moved very quickly following the group with the power of Shadow Storm.

Again Nirya stopped her steps. Because, he heard a very loud thumping sound, accompanied by the cry of a girl who shrieked, and then disappeared for a moment.

“W-Warni! Oh, no!” Two girl disciples of Widuri stood with their hands covering their mouths and faces in front of a giant block of bricks blocking the way.

The teacher seemed to be fixated in horror, his voice trembling. “Warni.. You sacrificed yourself to save me, this careless teacher... Master must successfully meet Sang Barong, so that your spirit is calm in the afterlife!”

“Ni Widuri! Hurry up and find a way, another path or something! We can't keep them here!” shouted Arumi. The number of arrows in the scabbard that thinned showed his words was not a mere figment. Sthira was too busy to exert energy, preventing the kecak troops from getting closer.

Despite the sacrifice of the girl whose wound he healed, Nirya kept her attention by pointing forward. “Look, that big rock is soaring!” he shouted while running. “Let's quickly pass from underneath!” Without wasting the slightest chance, Nirya ran right under the gigantic stone measuring roughly ten meters long and five meters high.

Arumi went with Nirya, but Nirya held him back until he stopped one or two steps after passing through the boulder. That was because there was a second large rock that had just fallen down thumped right in front of Nirya and Arumi. Miscalculated just a little, they will have the same fate with Warni.

“Awas, there are still other stones!” exclaimed Widuri who was standing behind the first stone. “You should wait here first and observe the circumstances ahead!”

And see the terrible sight of the death of a colleague? With that thought Nirya exchanged meaningful settings with Arumi. I don't know since when did they agree on one thing like this.

“Aduh, there are two big stones lined side by side in front there!” Arumi made a noise to impress dramatically.

“How can we run fast enough through it?” Nirya's tone also seemed scared and anxious.

A moment later, Widuri managed to pass the first stone that had just been lifted with the science of his body lightening while saying, “Let me help..!” But he gaped. Apparently Nirya and Arumi had just run lightning-fast with their inner moves and energy, both arriving on the other side of the second and third rocks while smiling at Widuri, satisfied to see the furious face of the guide while the two giant stones fell thumping.

Of course Nirya and Arumi waited until the whole group passed safely from the overriding stones.

After Sthira and the two disciples of Widuri joined, the new host spoke up, “Starting this second, I stopped being your guide. Please select each path.”

“Why?” ask Sthira.

“Oh, regular. You young people have been rude, disrespecting me.”.

Like the horses that were released from his restraint, Nirya and Arumi darted away. There is another three-lane branch. And as before, the waves of kecak attacks seemed to hit from the three paths, giving no chance to think.

Newly followed Sthira exclaimed, “Nirya, find out the correct path, let us hold them!” He was then busy picking up attacks of four kecak at once.

“But, Widuri?” arumi asked while busy damming other kecak-kecak.

Sthira did not answer. Didn't see Widuri and her two students from a corner in the distance. Most likely they are also busy damming the kecak who passed “medan stone fly” earlier.

Banaspati's reference image is from Gendruwoedan on Twitter.