EVERNA Ring of Fire

TUBAR'E Part 1

I don't know how long I've been throwing away my fear. Trap or not, I will definitely face all my enemies to the end!

With that in mind, Sthira now ran quickly in a narrow alley in Dabongsang, the city of looters. The target is only one, knocking out Dhaka, the Komodo dragon at the end of the alley.

When the distance between Sthira and Dhaka was very close, even no other criminals carried out surprise attacks.

Dhaka himself even turned to run away while crying out, “Ikut Dhaka into this house!”

Could it be that the Dabongsang champion was about to trap Sthira in that house?

Without hesitation Sthira entered the house. “Already, just jump your trap, Dhaka! I'll take down all the gangsters like in the shop!”

Dhaka even protested, “Wait a minute! Dhaka is not against you! Look, Dhaka dump the gun!” The Komodo dragon proved his point by throwing his spear far to his side.

“Already, no need to joke! You challenged me to a fight with your bare hands, right? Let's finish it here, right now!”

“Young rash!” Dhaka shakes. “Tell me first, whose name are you, what business do you look for Wiranata?”

“I'm Sthira from Kalingga, a traveling swordsman. When I visited Mount Idharma, the lord of that mountain, Barong appeared before me. Barong then asked me to infiltrate this city, free the true king Rainusa and bring her back to Danurah, the center of Rainusa Country, perhaps to lead the fight to reclaim her country.”

“And now, you are fulfilling the request of the Barong, not afraid to talk about it to just anyone?  Very dangerous, know!” Dhaka scolds hard. “Dhaka taste, Barong choose the wrong person!”

“As far as I am concerned, I was not alone when Barong chose us. Even if I'm wrong, there are still my friends, Nirya and Arumi who will continue this mission. After all, since my mistake was to leak this secret mission to you alone, then I was forced to silence you, Dhaka!”

In her last sentence, Sthira charged forward, ready to smash both of her lightning-laden fists towards Dhaka. The komodo-man now stood upright, no longer looking as hunched as he normally would and appearing to be about twice as tall as Sthira.

Even more surprising, when Sthira's fist hit Dhaka's chest, the opponent even flinch. The lightning fist seemed to be muffled almost entirely, as if its power was absorbed into the depths of the ground or solid rocks. This reaction left Sthira agape, unable to believe her sight. However, he remained alert and moved backwards, keeping his distance from Dhaka.

“Heh, just understand the body and scales of Dhaka like stone? Lightning's damping stone, you know? Dhaka didn't attack Sthira, let's just talk!”

But Sthira remained the head of the stone. “Better I die than fail to silence you!” He again charged forward, perhaps this time relying on physical strength.

“Stupid basis!” Dhaka then ducked and turned, knocking his long tail full of muscles and deep energy. Sthira who was not ready to be swept by the tail, his body lost balance and slammed, slumped on the floor of the house.

Quickly recovering, Sthira was about to rise up to fight again. But the long, pointed claws on Dhaka's palm threatened him.

“If Dhaka had intended to kill Sthira, Sthira would have been killed by now,” threatened the commodore, his tongue branched out in a row. “Dhaka is not an enemy of Sthira, Sthira wants to believe that now?”

Although his life was threatened, Sthira was not willing to submit, looked weak, let alone cede to his opponent. Only one thing he regretted, if he used Mandau Gharma, he would be able to fight a draw with Dhaka who is physically stronger than him.

So, Sthira instead asked, “I was curious, from your reaction when I mentioned the name Wiranata, what is the relationship between you and King Wiranata, Dhaka?”

Dhaka replied, “Dhaka wants to free the Dhaka, if necessary by removing Dabongsang as well. Dhaka believes, if Wiranata re-ruled, the Commodore will be prosperous again, free from the exorbitant tax pressure Dabongsang!”

“Lantas, why are you a Dabongsang champion?”

“Agar Dhaka can continue secret communication with Wiranata, wait until another powerful hero comes, who is able to help Dhaka against many men, even the mainstay champions and Dabongsang himself.”

“What hero do you mean... me?”.

“Clearly yes. It was rare for a swordsman to be able to crush the nearly one hundred people who were shaking him, with his bare hands as well. If the energy in you is not lightning or the scales of Dhaka are not as hard as stone, maybe Dhaka fell earlier.”

Dhaka's blunt and humble statement was precisely a blow to Sthira's conscience, making the stern expression on her face slacken instantly.

Finally Sthira spoke, “Their quest and our goal are the same, which is to liberate Wiranata. As an offer that understands the intricacies of the Dabongsang Gang, I think you have a plan for a long time, right?”

Dhaka only responded to Sthira with a subtle smile at the corner of his muzzle.

\==oOo==

Nirya stood fixated with a branched mind, between watching the flow of goods and something that greatly disturbed her, like a rash on the skin that never went away. But Nirya tried hard to hide the very gloomy expression on her face. Do not let any Dabongsang men, let alone Mora, the champion of the second order caught the gelagatnya.

Mora, who had been standing a little closer to Nirya and Arumi on the deck of the ship, approached and stood right behind Nirya's back. The cold sweat of the girl dripped, ready to anticipate a stab from behind or something like that.

Surprisingly, Mora instead whispered in Nirya's ear, “You and Arumi meet me in the ship's officer room after loading the goods is finished. I need to talk to you both very important. Nod if you understand.”

Nirya nodded. He could only be transfixed to see Mora waltzing away in a graceful style. The problem is, what will he talk about? Even if Mora is malicious, he will definitely do it when he first confronts Nirya and Arumi, no need to get this serepot, right? Nirya's face was getting gloomy, hit by various thoughts because of the woman whose heart could not be guessed.

In the meeting room of the ship's officers, Nirya's tightness did not improve. This is not asphyxiation due to the air in this damp, stuffy wooden vessel.

Especially when Mora enters, joining Nirya and Arumi. The woman did not immediately speak, instead looking at Nirya's pale face and Arumi's expressionless face.

“Hmm, so this is the real Nirya and Arumi, not the ‘mask’ you wear when facing Dabongsang,” said Mora who smiled gently.

Arumi replied, “Wear mask or not, everything we convey to Dabongsang is true.”

“Yes, maybe it is true. But there are other truths you didn't tell him, right?”

Nirya chimed, “Indeed, there are some small problems, but it's none of your business.”

Mora said, “Oh, like about the big machete that Hurek captured earlier, it must not belong to any of you, ‘kan? If so, you will definitely not give up the weapon that is the soul of each swordsman without a fight.”

Arumi sighed. “Yes, the situation is indeed all wrong. Frankly, the machete belonged to one of our comrades, Sthira who left the ship after a fight with me. Basic man, he does not like to be subordinate to a woman. And now we have to find Sthira first... or idle it has fallen, and our mission failed and stopped until here already.”.

“Aha! That also. Mission very secret from Jayandra, so Dabongsangpun not entitled to know.” Mora snapped his fingers. “Nah, so that the matter clearly sits, just tell me about the mission, and I swear I won't tell Dabongsang.”

Nirya and Arumi exchanged glances, Arumi was forced to shrug her shoulders. The situation is getting more wrong now. It is better to bet at the risk of bleeding in this place, and then go on the run rather than dealing with the Dabongsang Brothers and all their men.

So Nirya spoke up, did the gamble. He told Mora about the mission to weaken the warring states in Antapada through volcanic eruptions in their respective territories. Nirya deliberately added that this mission is the task of Mahapatih Jayandra, Mpu Galahasin.

Arumi even engineered the fact that they had just failed at Idharma, the first mountain they came to on this mission. Even Barong, the mountain's caretaker defeated them all, but forgave their lives. The condition, Nirya, Arumi and Sthira must make Mount Tubar’e so the first to erupt.

“Oh? Is it because the caretaker of Mount Tubar’e is the weakest, the caretaker among the other major mountain-locks in Antapada?” sergeant Mora.

“Ngg, we do not know about it..” replied Nirya plain.

Mora's laughter exploded. “Hahaha! Frankly, it's been a long time since I've spoken to sincere people like you since I came to this town. In Dabongsang, sincere-hearted humans were extremely rare. Almost everyone here always cheats their neighbors. Even I had to deceive everyone in order to survive, even succeeding as a second-placed champion!”

Nirya. So the image of Mora as champion all this time is just a trick? Wanting Nirya to ask for Mora's true identity, but because Arumi was also silent, the expression of curiosity only hung on the threshold of her lips.

Besides, Arumi said something more important, “Nah, since now that you know about our secret mission, what are you going to do?”

Nirya's hand is ready to pull out her chain twin, preparing for the bad possibilities that could happen.

Precisely Mora replied, “I volunteered to be your guide to Mount Tubar’e.”

“A-what?” Nirya was surprised not to be a bitch. “What's the reason?” Shouldn't Mora be the enemy when he finds out Nirya and her group are about to harm Dabongsang? The whole gang and the city at once?

“My reason is simple. I prefer this city with more honest people than criminals,” Mora replied firmly. “I want to live a quiet and normal life, unshackled and enslaved again by the threat of the Dabongsang brothers.”

Mora's beautiful face then turned red, so he did not reveal the second reason. However, the look on her face was apparently read and understood by Nirya, as a fellow woman. Wiranata could be a very handsome man or have extraordinary charm and charisma, no wonder he is able to attract the heart of women as beautiful and graceful as Mora.

Arumi also said nothing, a sign that he might agree with Nirya.

So, after Arumi and Nirya exchanged nods, Arumi stated, “Alright, we don't mind you being our guide, Mora. But, if you betray, our revenge will be terrible.” Actually these are not empty words, but Mora did not know “prestas” team Arumi before Idharma.

“Do not worry. Peace of the soul can not be obtained through betrayal,” said Mora, his smile expands widely.

Image Source: Reference to a 3-color lake crater on Mount Tubar'e of the 3-Color Lake Crater on Mount Kelimutu, Catalogawisata.com.