Chapter 29 Mysterious Tattoo
"What kind of miracle liquid is it? Why does it work so well?" Convinced of the healing efficacy of the liquid Rocky gave her, Marcia had eagerly turned to her spiritual power to rid herself of the poison in her blood. Meanwhile, Rocky engaged the lady in blue. Unbelievably, her wound got healed in such a short time. She even got a significant boost of spiritual power. She had expended so much on fighting the lady in blue that she would normally suffer fatigue for a considerable duration.
From time to time, Rocky would check on her recovery, pausing for a moment from his chit chat with the lady in blue. Just for showing up to help Marcia, he had taken a huge risk. Thank goodness, Marcia was one of the Three Great Generals of the Holy Dragon Empire, a highly respected position. Her heroics in battle too would earn her much more admiration. And Rocky, in saving Marcia would have the opportunity of Marcia admitting him into her school of discipleship.
So he would go all out for a chance even if it meant putting his life on the line.
Right now, he knew he was treading on dangerous ground as the wicked lady in blue was planning malice even as he tried to distract her with small talk. Not surprisingly, the moment the lady discovered he wouldn't divulge any meaningful information, she wanted to kill him. Out of nowhere, she threw him to the ground, ready to kill. The spiritual mark on her right arm was flashing bright with a lethal spiritual strike force.
“Beautiful General, can you be faster?" watching over Marcia, Rocky thought, beads of sweat breaking on his brow, desperately hoping for the girl's safety.
"Icy Dragon, go..." That very moment, a pretty silhouette flew past, interrupting him for a split second. Thankfully, when he looked up, it was Marcia, spreading out her arms. She had called forth two giant Icy Dragons, which charged to attack the lady in blue from the back.
The lady had not seen this coming from Marcia. By the time she realized what was happening, it was too late. The two giant Dragons descended on her like a bomb. Two streaks of blinding-bright rays radiated and exploded on her with such incredible power that Rocky knew she'd be blown to pieces. The other's spiritual power had gone to work almost immediately, but the damage was already done, leaving the lady in blue severely hurt.
"How is it possible?" Rolling on the ground, the lady looked at Marcia in disbelief. Marcia had recovered in such a short period of time. It suddenly struck the woman that the Marcia's miraculous recovery had something to do with Rocky. "Is that your trick?" she feebly asked, turning her gaze to Rocky. How on earth had he managed to resuscitate Marcia in such a short time?
"Let's wait and see!" Since she had expended half of her spiritual power in countering Marcia's Icy Dragons, the woman knew she was going to lose the battle. The only way out for her was to beat a hasty retreat, which she did promptly. With a hand waving gesture, the same rift that Rocky had seen before, appeared on her side. Then she disappeared, waging a threatening finger at Marcia and Rocky as she receded into the breach.
With a whizzing sound, the gigantic yellow beast that had hovered over the sky as the woman fought Rocky also disappeared into the rift.
"That was so scary. Hey, pretty General, if you had delayed only for one more second, I would have died,” Rocky said to Marcia who now stood by his side.
But before Marcia could answer, the ground began to shake as the Magic Spiritual Space collapsed. "Let us get out of here fast,” Marcia said, gripping Rocky's left shoulder as she released her powers for flight. A rift appeared in front of them once more, much like the other lady's. They both jumped in together with the white dragon with four wings and left.
Rocky had vertigo when they jumped. And a few minutes later, the scene before them shifted. They were brought back to the woods where they had been before in the rift. Immediately, the rift turned into a streak of light which disappeared in the air. But before he could stand, a dagger, decorated with dragon marks on the handle was held to his throat. At the same time, hovering in the sky was a white dragon with two heads and four wings, casting a dreadful shadow over him.
"Who on earth are you? Why did you come to my aid?" a quiet voice inquired
"Hey, pretty General, is this the way you treat the man who saved your life? Besides, do I look like a bad guy? I think I'm very innocent Madam." Rocky realized the dagger on his throat was from Marcia. He rolled his eyes and raised his hands to demonstrate his innocence.
Feeling embarrassed, Marcia asked, "The man who saved my life? That's hilarious. I could have defeated the woman, even without your help.” Of course, Marcia knew that if Rocky had not helped, she most likely wouldn't have made it out alive. Even though she had given her all, her opponent was a cut above.
"OK, I know you are powerful, no doubt about it. You are invincible. But can you hold back the dagger first?" Rocky pointed to the sharp dagger that was dangling dangerously close to his throat. "No way. Before I take it away, you have to tell me who you are? Why did you show up here in the Magic Spiritual Space?” Shaking her head resolutely, Marcia declined his request. Although Rocky had saved her life, she knew better not to trust him so easily. What was his motive? In taking on the woman who had attacked Marcia, he knew it was risky. But he still went ahead and put his life on the line, buying time for Marcia to recover. Why would he do that to a stranger? There had to be a catch to it.
"Please calm down first..." At that point, Rocky shook his hand and pleaded.
"Don't try to deflect!" Marcia thought Rocky was trying to distract her. So she warned, her spiritual power set to strike at any provocation.
But just then a powerful blast went off, catching both of them by surprise.
When Marcia turned her back to Rocky, he caught sight of an elaborate silver tattoo with a lively pattern on her fair-skinned back. The dragon, soaring across the sky, was done in so intricate details that Rocky immediately knew it had very symbol meaning.
"The tattoo on your back is very special..." Rocky said, looking at the tattoo more closely. Magically, the tattoo seemed to have been etched on his mind, instantly spreading out into map that led to a massive, highly guarded treasure trove.
"Tattoo?" Marcia was puzzled. She must have remembered something that made her face turn white. There was a great secret, skillfully worked into the dragon tattoo on her back. It definitely could not be exposed. How had she let Rocky see it?
"If you would ever look at it again, I will gorge out your eyes," Marcia snapped. The cold look on her face was enough to end a clear message to Rocky.
"Sorry for that. But take it easy, it won't happen again,” Rocky apologized. By now, he knew Marcia well enough not to mess with her. So he meekly turned to look away.
Meanwhile, Marcia summoned her spiritual powers to rip a rift into the Magic Spiritual Space from where she took more battle gear. Strapping on the amour, she looked magnificent. Flushing red, she bit her lip as she thought of Rocky's naive smile. It was regrettable that he had crossed the red line. Now, she gripped the dagger tighter, her eyes filled by determination to kill him.
"You saw the thing you were not supposed to see. I can't keep you alive now." As she spoke, a strong force took control of the sword in her hands.