"I'm losing to much…blood." Joey said softly as he blacked out for a moment and quickly opened his eyes.
"JOEY!" Rose called out in a childish and playful voice. "There's no where for you to run. You won't make it back to the town. I'll kill you before you do. You know this, right? Just…stop running. Stop running from what's destined to happen."
"Destined?" Joey yelled out. "You killing me is destiny?!"
"Joey…do you know…what's waiting for you when you die?" Rose asked quietly. There was a long pause of silence within the forest before Joey answered.
"I've given it thought. My guess is nothing. Darkness forever and ever. As if I wasn't born." Joey answered, putting his head against a tree and looking up at the full moon.
"That…part is correct, but there's more. No matter…this isn't important. This conversation. We aren't…important." Rose sighed as she pointed at the tree Joey was hiding behind. "Jinn attack: Stinging Root!" A sharp and needle shaped root emerged out of the ground and shot at the three. It pierced through, making the tree collapse.
Rose ran around to try and get an angle on Joey, but he was gone. (Did he run off?! I doubt Joey would try to attack from the shadows.) Rose immediately looked at the ground and noticed a blood trail that looped around her. "Behind!!" Rose laughed as she spun around and locked eyes with Joey, who was running at her. "Jinn attack: Root barrage!"
(Form it! Jinn energy! Do it body!! DO IT!!)
Joey immediately put jinn energy into his hands, as he slapped away multiple roots that shot at him. The clash with his jinn energy and each root created a spark of light, Joey parried each root perfectly. Rose jumped at Joey and was in the air.
She extended her leg, trying to land a devastating kick on Joey's head, but Joey jumped back to avoid the leg. (She really is…trying to kill me. How could I have been such a fool? After everything….everything!)
Joey turned his back and began running away. "No you don't." Rose chuckled as riot immediately wrapped around Joey's legs, tripping him and holding him down. (I can't break free!) Joey looked to his right and watched Rose slowly approaching him with her hands behind her back. "Rose…"
"Joey…remember the talk about being free? You…understood what I meant. Out of everyone I've talked to…you get it. You get me. We both are in the dark, trying to find a little light in our dark and twisted lives. It's a cruel world, Joey. You were once a innocent boy, just getting ready for school before the supernatural world came crashing upon you. Me and you…have experienced the same thing-"
"THE SAME?! You know nothing about me!! Imagine your father being the king of hell! Imagine your whole life being a lie! Imagine being cursed by someone who you just found out was your secret little relative! Imagine everyone and everything around you destroyed an killed! Imagine…imagine everyone you loved and cared for…forget about you. Imagine…them hunting you down, being tricked by a friend, and being stuck with a stupid curse!!" Joey yelled while tears fell from his eyes. "YOU KNOW NOTHING!! NO JINN COULD POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND ALL THAT!!" Joey yelled out, his throat starting to hurt.
Rose stood over Joey now, looking down at him with no emotion in her face. "About 100 years ago, I was 15. I lived with the great mighty clan from one of its servant families. I made a good friend…a great friend. She was my best friend. We did everything together. We were…inseparable. One night, I went to go meet my friend, only to be accused of something that I didn't do." Rose said as she leaned in and close to Joey's face. "Hehe…the clan's head at the time, he cursed me and put me into this…this thing. The thing tha I am now. I didn't ask for this. My family was killed and I was the only survivor, forced to take the deal," Rose's eyes became watery, as her shoulders began to shake slightly. "My friend…that night, she wanted us to meet, but not to hangout. She tried to set something up to kill the head of the mighty clan. She put me in that….that…" Rose wiped her face to notice her hands wet from tears. "Hehe, why am I crying? For her? Or…" Rose looked back at Joey and just smiled.
"Raise." Rose stood up, as the roots held Joey's body upright and let him hang from them. Rose hesitated, but she put both her hands on Joey's face and just looked into his eyes. "Kill me already." Joey said, blood rushed from his mouth, a large pile of it was now at the bottom of Rose and his feet.
"Joey…"
Rose closed her eyes and began kissing Joey.
******
"Cold…I'm so damn cold." The sound of the steady river finally woke Kai. Kai looked around and was surrounded by nothing but darkness.
Multiple bright lights glowed in the dark, running past Kai in the darkness. These lights…were jinn spirits. "Joey…JOEY!" Kai yelled as he woke up and headed after the spirits.
******
Joey pulled his head away and turned his head. Rose tilted her head to the side and made a sad look with her face. She took a deep breath and grabbed Joey face, turning it and pressing her lips against his again. She slowly pushed away from Joey and looked into his eyes again. "This…is goodbye, Joey. I'm going to kill you now. Maybe in another life…we would've…"
Rose imagined Joey and her walking down a great big field full of flowers and beautiful green grass.
"Would've worked out." Joey whispered as he lowered his head and looked at the pool of blood.
Rose's lips quivered as she smiled at Joey. "Y-yeah…yeah."
Rose took a couple of steps back and pointed at Joey. "I'm sorry, Joey."
"No. It's me…who's sorry." Joey said as he lifted his head. Rose immediately got chills all over her body. With determination in Joey's eyes, he looked right back at death itself.
"Not even th devil himsel is gonna stop me from fixing this mess. I will fix this. I will live a normal life. I have hope. I have faith. For this world can be dark, there's good in everyone and everything. I'm going to defeat you, then I'm gonna keep watching over that brat." Joey said as energy began to surge around him. "In this dark and cruel world…there's still a chance to fight back!" Joey said.
Rose jumped back and thought of Joey's words. (In my other life, could I have went down a different path? Did I have to take this curse? Should I have thought more deeply about the world and how it has beauty glimmers underneath the darkness? Perhaps if I thought how Joey is…I wouldn't…I wouldn't of…)
Joey ripped free from the roots an marched towards Rose. "Very well. Jinn slayer attack: Rose great blooming beam of chaos!"
"Huh?" Joey gasped as a massive flower appeared over Rose's head. Red energy built up in the middle of the rose, as a bright red beam of energy shot at Joey. Joey lowered his body and enhanced his jinn energy, allowing him to walk through the beam blast.
(What's this? Joey should be completely out of energy. So why has it appeared again? Why is it much more refined and stronger?)
Joey reached through the beam, trying to grab Rose. Rose quickly used her hand to Al Joey's hand away. (This…is the same energy the boy had.) Rose thought as she dodged Joey's punches and kicks.
(This isn't just jinn energy. Jinn energy is from negative emotions. Joey is drenched in negative emotions from his life experiences. However, in the darkness, there's some small light he's clinging to…even though he's been through so much! It's because Joey has a kind heart…that's the source of this new and powerful form of jinn energy. I've never seen anything like it!) Rose kneed Joey in the stomach an grabbed him by his hair.
"Your wounds have…"
"Yup." Joey said as he threw Rose through multiple trees. Rose jumped up and clapped her hands together. "Jinn attack: Planetary Root evolution!" Thousands of roots emerge from the ground.
(Tsk. Rose's ability…is gonna wear me down before I can even-)
Joey stopped thinking and just let his body act on its own, doing an avoiding the roots that shot at him.
"You may cling to that little light…but darkness runs this world!!" Rose yelled as she was lifted into the sky by the thick and powerful roots. Joey jumped and began running up the massive roots.
"Darkness…it runs everywhere! It's inside of you! It's inside of me! Evil…this world isn't some fun place to find beauty! The leaders of countries are corrupted! Wars are breaking out! Innocents die every day! Evil is winning, Joey! Darkness…is taking over!" Rose said as Jeoy jumped up and tried to hit her. A massive root shot past Rose and hit Joey off of the giant platform.
Joey quijcly grabbed onto the root and hanged on while Rose used it to swing him around the sky.
"After everything you've been through…you still see hope in life? Beauty? Worth living?! I know you, Joey. I know you've thought about it…about taking your own life."
Joeys eyes widened. Joey jumped up and began running on top of the giant root. "I still have to live. Rose…I KNOW YOU FELT THE SAME WHEN WE TALKED. LIVE…FOR YOUR FAMILY!!!" Jeoy yelled as he punched through a thick wall of roots, reaching Rose.
(Live…for my family? When we talked?) without looking, Rose threw out her arm, as ten powerful roots shot past her and pushed Joey away from her.
(Why am I holding back? Kill him! You have a mission! You have a deal you can't refuse!) Rose stood up and clapped her hands. "Jinn slayer attack: Deadly rain of rose blossoming red!"
As Joey was falling from the sky and toward the ground, a massive rose appeared what seemed next to the moon. Millions upon millions of needles fell from the sky. (Ahh…that short burst of energy…is fading now. Is this really where…I die? Her range of attacks are on a whole new level. I can't even get close. Heh…sucks that my jinn weapon was confiscated by the angels. This…this ain't how it ends, right?)
As the needles were getting closer to Joey, the entire sky filled with them and falling…he noticed multiple red glowing devices on each needle. (That's-)
A loud explosion of all the needles filled the air with a dark cloud, making Joey choke on the air. Joey continued to fall, but was caught by a large tree branch.
"Found you." A girl said. Joey spun his head and locked eyes with Natalia. "Joey…you really-" Natalia hugged Joey and pulled him in close.
"Natalia…how do you remember?! Your arm is fine? How do-"
"No time to explain. Your lunatic girlfriend is about to find us in the next few seconds if we don't get a move on." Natalia said as she pulled Joey up from the branch. "What's the play?" Joey asked.
"Ahaha, the play?! We're gonna run. Fast."
"Run?! Won't she-"
"Nah, I can feel that powerful thing coming this way. We'll lead her right into it!" Natalia said as she grabbed Joey by the hand and pulled him through the forest.
(What is she talking about? My body…my body is about to give out!) Joey thought.
"Hang on just a little longer, Joey!" Natalie said as the tree around them were lifted into the air and tossed away. "Ahh…there you are!!" Rose laughed from above. "Joey…BELONGS TO ME!!" She screamed as multiple roots surrounded Natalia. "NATALIA!!!" Joey yelled.
"Here he is." Natalia whispered with a grin. In the shadows, a large amount of jinn energy shot at the roots burning them on impact. "Tsk. To be running from something…doesn't look good on you, Joey." Kai said as he emerged from the darkness. "Oh, Natalia? What're you doing here?" Kai asked as he tilted his head and looked up at Rose in the sky.
"Wait, no, no…JOEY WAS TRICKED?!" Kai put a hand on his forehead and began laughing out loud.
Natalia and Joey stood side by side and just stared at the man.
(Is he serious?)
(Is he serious?) the two of them thought.
In the sky, Rose looked down and crossed her arms. (This guy serious?)
Kai walked past Joey and Natalia. "A jinn this powerful has to be slayed. Dealing with someone like Joey can come after this situation is resolved. Natalia. Joey. Hurry up and do what you two need to do. I'll see what she's about." Kai said as he jumped from one foot to another, getting ready to attack.
(Who's this man? His jinn energy is phenomenal…along with his physical status. He's definitely a slayer…how interesting.) Rose spread her arms out and the entire ground began to vibrate. "Hey, Woman!" Kai yelled.
"What's…your kind of music?!"
******
"I won't hold back…anymore. I'm gonna go all out, Malice. For the sake…of my best friend. The one who put light in my dark life." Ahana said as she took her stance.
Malice, the powerful and intimidating jinn towered over Ahana, looking down at her with a grin. "This…is truly…WHAT JINN SLAYERS IS ALL ABOUT, AHANA!!!" Malice roared, his energy even more powerful than before. "Round 2. Starts now!!"
*******
"What a magnificent display!! Amazing!! It brings tears to my little eyes!" Beta cried as she wiped her tears. "These soldiers truly are powerful. It's only a matter of time before Joey and Ahana are killed! This…this is what it feels like to finally serve my lord!" Beta moaned.
******
Next chapter: Round 2.