LUNA: The Invisible Princess
Chapter 27: The Earth Stone

[Third Person POV]

Prince Luvian learned about what happened to his people and it drove him mad. He doesn't think that his trusted warriors will get defeated by just two magic users, and young at that.

"Their opponent couldn’t be trifled with. Joaquin Patterson is the strongest magic user in the whole town of Aguadilla. His family currently rules the town. And Bryle Henderson is also the strongest in the town of Calayaan. And his family also rules the town.”

Prince Luvian's jaws tightened even more at what he had learned from Agatha. He fell into deep thought.

After some time, he grinned devilishly and then laughed menacingly like a psycho. "In that case, there is only one way for us to get the stones from them."

"What is your way, dear Prince?" Agatha asked, her curiosity piqued.

But the prince just laughed and laughed deviously, like a maniac.

~~~~~

"How do we replace the earth stone?" said Bryle. He was still wondering how they could replace the stone. They were traveling for days until they stumbled into the vast desert.

Suddenly, the strong wind blew, causing them to close their eyes and cover their noses as they almost inhaled the sand.

They were stuck in the vast desert and they still don’t know where the earth stone is. Joaquin tried to use his power to track down the stone, but he felt nothing from the earth stone. It’s not the same with the fire stone because he felt where it was.

After some time brooding, Joaquin suddenly thought of a brilliant idea.

"Bryle, I know how we can replace the earth stone..." Joaquin said.

"How?" Bryle asked with excitement.

"Use your earth power to track the stone." Joaquin simply uttered like he was so sure about it. Bryle shrugged his shoulders.

"Huh? How should I do that?"

"Concentrate, Bryle..."

As Joaquin said, Bryle immediately closed his eyes and tracked the aura of the stone. He had his eyes closed for a few minutes, but he still couldn't feel anything.

"So?" Joaquin asked as Bryle opened his eyes. The latter shook his head no and Joaquin sighed.

They continued walking while Bryle was still on alert as he tried to feel the aura of the earth stone. However, no matter how hard he focused, he felt nothing.

They had been walking for a few hours when they felt tired and thirsty, so they rested a bit and drank water.

After drinking water, Bryle lay his back on the sand and closed his eyes as the sunlight struck their way. It was so hot in the desert and his throat felt dry.

"Tsk." Joaquin walks past Bryle as if he didn’t feel the heat from the scorching sun and leaves Bryle behind. Bryle just frowned at Joaquin. How come he didn’t feel tired at all? He pouted and sat up, then looked at the whole desert as he tried to concentrate.

He was about to stand up when he felt strong energy. He put his hands on the sand and closed his eyes. And his heart pounded with excitement when he felt the source of the energy.

He fluttered his eyes open and looked toward Joaquin.

"Joaquinnnnn!" he shouted.

Joaquin halted his steps and looked at Bryle while frowning. He wasn’t that far from him, and he noticed Bryle’s happy expression.

Bryle ran to catch up on Joaquin. But he halted when the ground shook. Suddenly, the sands moved like something was about to come out, so Joaquin and Bryle backed away in a haste.

"Woah!" they gasped as they saw an enormous and deep hole in the middle of the desert. They almost drowned in the sand when suddenly the ground shook again. Their eyes widened when giant scorpions came out and there were also small ones as tall as them, but most of them were huge, like houses.

They jumped away when the scorpions suddenly attacked them with their sharp, segmented curved tail and a pair of grasping pincers in front.

"Waahhhhh!" Bryle shouted as the scorpion’s sharp tail almost hit him.

Joaquin threw a fireball at the scorpion that attacked him and the scorpion just jumped to avoid the fireball. In return, the scorpions attacked him again.

Meanwhile, Bryle used his earth fist but was only pierced by the scorpion's tail. He is annoyed because it doesn't easily die. The scorpions were quick to avoid their attacks as they predicted their next moves.

Joaquin and Bryle looked at each other and smirked. They summoned their weapon. Joaquin's weapon is a fire sword and Bryle's is an arnis that turns into a double sword.

"Aaahhh!" Joaquin charged with full force while attacking the scorpion. The scorpion was about to strike him with its venomous tail when he cut it in half. The scorpion squirm and goes on a rampage, causing it to strike the other scorpion. Joaquin and Bryle laughed when they saw that the other scorpions were working together when Joaquin cut off their sibling’s tail.

They used that opportunity to kill the distracted scorpions. Bryle turned his arnis into double swords and they blazed with green energy. He skillfully cuts off the legs, grasping pincer, and tail of the scorpion that passes by. Joaquin did the same to the scorpions that attacked him and also burned them with his fire. They get rid of all the small ones first. After all, they are more agile, unlike the big ones, because they avoid their attacks.

When they killed all the little ones, they rushed to the big ones at the same time. They have some difficulty cutting through their defensive trance because they can also move fast and predict their moves.

Knowing the scorpions could predict their moves, Joaquin and Bryle used their super speed and tried confusing the scorpions.

"Haaaahhhh!"

Bryle jumped as he cut the scorpion to pieces. Joaquin summoned a giant fireball and toasted all the scorpions near him.

Only four giant scorpions were left standing. Bryle motioned to Joaquin that the two of them would attack together, to which Joaquin just nodded.

The four giant scorpions rushed at them at once, so they jumped behind them and rode on its back. The scorpions struggled to shake them off and tried to attack them with their sharp tails. When the scorpions slightly pierce their own bodies, it made them laugh.

Bryle facepalmed. “Tsk. I could be stupid sometimes, too. I have powers. Why didn't I use them earlier?” he said to himself, and just shook his head in amusement.

He immediately closed his eyes and gradually controlled the minds of the scorpions. Joaquin noticed what Bryle did, so he just sat comfortably behind the scorpion, and later the scorpions didn't attack them anymore. Bryle and Joaquin smiled in relief.

Now, they are riding on the scorpion with ease.

"Nice one, Bryle!" Joaquin said and Bryle just winked.

But suddenly the ground shook again, and they saw something slowly coming out of the enormous deep hole.

Their eyes widened a bit to see the gigantic scorpion, bigger than the ones they rode on. Its skin glowed in the sunlight and they noticed something on its forehead. A glowing green stone was attached to its forehead.

"The earth stone!" they blurted out. The scorpion squeaked, causing the earth to shake again. But their eyes widened to see another multitude of scorpions surrounding them.

"Bryle..."

"Joaquin..."

"Ugh! Not again!" they groaned.

They were a bit nervous, but they shook it off and bravely rushed toward the gigantic Scorpion. Since Bryle had already controlled the four giant scorpions, he used them for defense, and now it is up against the other smaller scorpions.

"Air dagger!" Bryle cast and the air daggers were plunging toward the scorpions, but it didn't even pierce through its thick shell. These batches of scorpions were different.

"Fireball!" Joaquin casts and throws a huge fireball at the smaller scorpions while trying to avoid their sharp grasping pincer. The scorpions squirmed and dark blood gushed out before it burned into ashes.

Bryle aimed at the bigger scorpion. But he repulsed back when it attacked him with its deadly sharp tail. Bryle and Joaquin immediately covered their noses as the scorpions emitted toxic smoke. Bryle cast a poison-resistant spell for him and Joaquin. He got off the scorpion and ran to attack the giant scorpion that guards the Queen of the Scorpions.

"Woah! Woah!" the pair of grasping pinchers almost grasp Bryle. Fortunately, he manages to avoid it. He cursed under his breath and drew his double swords and cut the scorpion's grasping pincers, causing it to squeak loudly. In reflex, the scorpion immediately attacked Bryle with its venomous tail. Bryle didn’t expect the attack, and it was too late to avoid the tail which successfully wounded him on the arm, causing his blood to spread on the sand. The poison quickly scattered, but Bryle had a high poison resistance, so it stopped spreading through his body.

"Earth giant!" he summoned his guardian and the entire place shook. The smaller scorpions squeaked and went back to the hole at once as the Queen ordered them to retreat. Now, the only one left was the Queen of the Scorpions, who had the earth stone.

Gradually, the earth's sands formed a giant creature. And Bryle jumps on the shoulder of the Earth giant. Meanwhile, Joaquin was gasping for breath and chose to just watch while trying to collect spiritual energy from the dead scorpions. Because this time only Bryle can suppress the gigantic scorpion.

The Earth giant and the gigantic scorpion exchange attacks. The gigantic scorpion is also smart and strong. It was also nimble and also tried attacking Bryle.

Joaquin was surprised when another gigantic scorpion appeared, the King of the Scorpions. Joaquin immediately prepared to help Bryle.

The gigantic scorpion looked at him and immediately attacked him with its tail. He quickly avoided and threw fireballs at the scorpions continuously. However, it also avoided his attack swiftly.

Joaquin summoned his fire dragon and rode on it. The four scorpions that Bryle controlled also helped Joaquin, but they squirmed whenever the gigantic scorpion's sharp venomous tail hit them.

It saddened Joaquin when the gigantic scorpion killed the four scorpions. Because of the anger that intensified in his chest, his body suddenly blaze on fire. His fire dragon breathed a huge fire toward the gigantic scorpion and it shrieked loudly because of the heat. The gigantic scorpion counters an attack with its sharp and venomous tail, but he quickly dodges it. The scorpion was furious and rushed at Joaquin with a quick movement.

Meanwhile, the earth giant and the Queen scorpion are still exchanging attacks. The earth giant managed to pull the scorpion's tail and spin it around in the air without stopping and the scorpion was struggling. The earth giant slammed the scorpion into the sand with full force. Bryle thinks of a way to get the earth stone on its forehead. When the earth giant stopped attacking the scorpion, Bryle first made sure that it was no longer breathing. He felt a faint movement, but he immediately jumped on the scorpion's body and climbed onto its forehead. It's still moving a little bit.

"Waaahhhhh!" Bryle screamed as the scorpion tried to hit him with its tail. Gradually, the scorpion stood up with a struggle, and Bryle clung to its small sturdy horn near its eyes. The scorpion squirmed to shake him off while also attacking, using its sharp tail and grasping pincer. Bryle gulps while avoiding the scorpion's tail and the pair of grasping pincers. He yelped when he was almost caught. The earth giant immediately grabbed the scorpion's tail and the pair of grasping pincers when it saw the scorpion attacking Bryle, which made Bryle sigh in relief. The scorpion was still squirming, but Bryle managed to climb on its head.

He stared at the green stone, and it was glowing.

He slowly took the stone, and it suddenly floated in his palm. He gasped when suddenly a magic circle appeared and the stone glowed brightly. At the same time, the stone entered his hand and his eyes widened.

"Woah!" he immediately clung to the scorpion's horn when it squirmed frantically. He jumped into the hand of the earth giant and placed him on its shoulder again.

The two gigantic scorpions went ballistic and attacked them at the same time.

"Bryle! You got the earth stone?" Joaquin asked as he rode the fire dragon.

"Yes, Joaquin. Just like you said, it entered my palm." Joaquin nodded abruptly.

The fire dragon breathed a huge amount of fire at the two scorpions and they shrieked loudly as they burned into toast.

"Earth giant fist!" Bryle cast and punched the burning two scorpions. The two scorpions were sent flying and the earth giant quickly ran toward the scorpion and attacked them while the fire dragon also breathed fire at the two scorpions nonstop.

"Giant fire sword!" Joaquin cast and a gigantic sword came out as it blazed on fire. He immediately attacked the scorpions and sliced ​​them into pieces.

They turned to ashes and suddenly, the big hole from which the scorpions came out immediately closed. The wind blows and silence enveloped the area.

Bryle and Joaquin sigh in relief. They summoned back the earth giant and the fire dragon and then laid their backs in the sand.

"Hah, it’s tiring!" Bryle muttered under his breath and winced in pain. He forgot the wounds on his arms and body.

"Those scorpions are a real deal!" Joaquin said while also panting.

Bryle healed themselves because they were full of wounds.

“I felt bad for killing them though…” Bryle let out a sigh.

“Don’t be. They are arachnids and will multiply again. The Queen and King of the Scorpions will definitely revive again.”

“I hate that you are right.”

Joaquin just chuckled.

As the sun was about to set, they decided to get out of the desert and continue their journey. They just walk quietly while thinking of the third stone to look for.