Chapter 11: The waterfall
Feeling the cool breeze hitting his face and the ocantional chills running through his spine, Apolo didn't slow down the least as he kept running.
He had this feeling that If he had delayed even a bit back then he would have been done for.
"Who was that man? What a dangerous man"
Apolo thought has the image of Derek face appear in his mind, the moment he saw that man apolo has the feeling that he was looking at Sky City mayor.
"How can that be? Is he a bronze-ranked hybrid? O! God this is bad, why didn't I just run since instead I was lost in that senseless and dangerous fight not realizing that I was been watch by terror".
Even though he was lamenting on his senseless fight, he didn't stop a bit, if anything he was running even faster.
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After who knows how long he had been running, apolo came across a waterfall tens of meters deep, even though it is still night, the crystal clear water was still been illuminated by the moon glow giving it a silvery glow.
Finally he stop, jumping down from this hight is not a child's play especially as his vision is been obstructed by the water steam below so he tell exactly what's beneath the water if it rocks or sharp stones or even chaos beasts.
He turned and look at his back frowning slightly he thought
"Have i lost them? It's been a while and surely especially that man should be on my trail by now. Or is it that I've become so fast now that they can't keep up?"
After thinking about it for a while, Apolo decided to forget it and think of how to get out of this wilderness, especially now that somthing is bothering him.
"I definitely can't go back who knows I might just meet them, jumping down is not an option especially when I don't know what I'm going to be falling into. So..."
He turn to his left and observe it with knitted brows, he can sense a baleful aural from that direction this aura smells familiar yet unfamiliar to him but he can sense a lot of them from that direction.
Looking at his right, as far as his eyes can see it was covered in tree of shadows and giving out a kind of eerily vibe. He felt chill running down his spine just looking at it.
"Where do I go..."
He was interrupted by a series of rattling sounds of leaves shaking.
Almost immediately he look towards that direction and his eyes shrunk in panic as a huge man came into view before him.
Looking at the man, Apolo felt like a kid before him because this man is more than twice his size and also huge. The reason why his eyes shrunk in panic was because this man was with Derek earlier.
"If this huge man found me, then the others are on their way here".
Immediately apolo turned to his left and dashed with all his might, this is the only save direction he can choose.
Running, Apolo's eyes never left the man face, seeing that he remained unresponsive as if too slow to react to him, he ran with all the speed he could muster.
But, just when he was about to step into the territory of the baleful aura, a strong muscular hand grabbed him by the neck and slammed him on the ground.
The impact thunder across the across the silent night, breaking the hard rocks beneath him and causing cracks to form.
"CREEEK..."
Apolo can vaguely hear the sound of somthing breaking from his hands and as pain that caused him to scream washed over him.
Then the huge man raised apolo up again and tossed him like a ragged doll.
Though his elbow joint has been dislocated, that didn't hinder apolo movements at all as he immediately stood to his feet with anger, clenching his fist he ran to the huge man and foreign a punch to his guts but only to divert it at the last moments and ran to the man's back, then switching to a hammer strike just like he did to wang he smatched it against the man back.
But before his hands could even hit the man, the man dissappear and reappeared him his back clenching his fist and punched Apolo right in the face.
When the punch connected, Apolo felt as if he was hit by several over speeding trains as the force of the punch cause him to flip multiple times in the air before like a cannon was sent flying back to the edge of the waterfall.
Rolling on the ground helplessly, Apolo can feel that his jaws has been dislocated, his elbow dislocated and blood gushing out of his mouth and nose like a fountain.
"Is this what they means when they said only the strong rules? Is this the feeling of having you life in the hands of another?"
Apolo thought in dispire
He was sure without a doubt that if the huge man befor him want s to kill him then there's nothing he can do.
"Or did he enjoy watching his victims suffer before putting them out of their mysteries?"
"I'll show him that i not just going to wait or beg for death just like he might be thinking, even if I die I'll give him a scar he would use to remember me for his live!"
Apolo thought as he force himself to stand up, he wasn't going to give up just yet because this was also how the situation once was when he was fighting with the village warriors but in the end he almost won.
With his red glowing eyes coup with the blood constantly gushing from his body and being illuminated by the moonlight, Apolo give the image of a otherworldly monster starring right straight at the huge man.
Feeling the stare, the huge man frown and the sighed, he open his mouth and said
"Kid there is nothing you can do because you are going to die today, just that I don't want to do it myself ".
"Stop spouting nonsense, you can only say that if you earn my life!"
Apolo screamed and moved.
Learning his lesson from the previous class, he didn't try to foreign any attack. He appeared hlbefor the huge man and punched out, stepping to the side lightly to dodge the huge man responded with a kick to which apolo blocked by placing his two arms in a cross shape.
"BAAAANG...."
"CREEEK....."
Apolo already dislocated elbow joint became limplessly shaking while his other arm bend to an impossible angle before he was sent flying back to the edge of the waterfall vomiting mouthfuls of blood continously.
"This man hits too hard i can't go against him like this"
Apolo thought in dispire as he lay on the ground exhausted
"Is this finally how I'm going to die? After awakening I've been jumping from one danger to another, is this the side effects of being a hybri-?"
"CLAPP.....CLAP...CLAP..."
His trail of thought was interrupted by a series of clapping sounds, forcing himself to kneel on one knee with exhaustion written all over his face, apolo blood ran cold.
Two people just walked out of the bushes, one was a female and the other was non than Derek.
Stepping forward casually, Derek had a simple and honest smile on his face. With just a few meters separating him and Apolo, he open his mouth and said
"Kid, don't worry we've taken care of those peasants for you, so you can die in peace now ".
Hearing him and the sarcasm in his voice, Apolo heart started pounding wildly even his legs shaking but not in fear but In anger.
Suppressing the anger he asked a question that has been bothering him
"Why did you want to kill me? Because I didn't offend you as for those hybrids I intruded into their village so their chief sent them after me but you guys i didn't do you anything ".
"Ohhhh.... you don't know?"
The female adventurer asked in surprise.
Frowning slightly with his hands stroking his beard Derek answered
" actually some days ago, Queen lyla passed on an imperial order that a possessed hybrid in the name of Apolo Quinn is to be killed on sight and who so ever bring his head shall be rewarded with a city to rule and also with fifty tones of gold as wealth".
As if being struk by lightning, Apolo shook and fall on his butt reopening his wounds that are already healing thanks to his bloodline.
Stermering, he said shockingly
"M-my mom and d- dad can do a thing like that! T-t-they love me deeply which is why I was sent to sky city to protect me!".
Apolo shouted clenching his fist with his face completely red in anger. Not caring about his injuries he stood and pointed at Derek
"You are lieing, you lied!".
Seeing how Apolo has completely changed from that monster that nearly killed an entire group of hybrids now behaving like a retard, the bulky adventurer just shook his head pitifuly and look away.
Meanwhile, Derek just shook his head and for the first time anger show on his face, he look up straight at Apolo in the eyes and spout out venomously
"Kid, If your parents really care about you that much then why did you disappointed them. Did you know how many people died that day you monster?.
Then he turn his hand and pointed to to the female adventurer saying
"That day, she lost her dad not to the chaos beasts but to you. You did not only killed her father you also eat him".
Apolo was stumped, he turn and look at his hand and an image flashed through his eyes.
It was of a man with purple hair holding a broad sword swinging it about, then almost immediately it turn into a bloody scene of the man body being crushed.
"Who is her father? How do I know if he was the one?" He thought as the image of the purple haird man flash again.
Apolo started shifting back little by little with horror in his eyes, he turned to the female adventurer who looked surprisingly calm and begged
"I'm sorry, I wasn't myself that day I didn't mean to harm anybody please am sorry?"
She just look at Apolo expressionlessly and remains silent.
"Enough of all this!, why don't you just put him out of his mysteries and let all this be done with sharply!"
The bulky adventurer shouted out in anger.
As if recalling somthing, the female adventurer moved.
Her fingers transform into sharp claws, she swag it as she moved. Her intentions was clear behead apolo with a single swipe.
But apolo while pretending to be horrified was secretly watching and calculating he steps. Though she's faster but he have a plan, 10 meters.....8.....5...
"It's now or never"
Apolo also move, he quickly turned 360⁰ and dove down into the bottomless waterfall not caring about what might be under the water.
"Whoosh...."
The female adventurer's claws cut through empty space, with anger she looks down with her sharp eyesight she can see a figure falling down below and then completely shrouded in the water steam.
"That bastard wants to get away !"