“What is it? Your face paled even more. Do you want to throw up?”

“That…” I said, my voice shaking, and my hand pointing at the empty painting.

“The tyrant… She’s gone?”

“I don’t like this, Elena. Let’s bolt out of here.”

Agreeing to my plea, Elena nodded and tried to open the door, but the door handle wouldn't budge. We were stuck inside with no way out. In a desperate attempt, Elena tried to kick down the door but she was still unable to open it.

“DAMN IT! I shouldn’t have hit you with that stupid water pillar!”

“I- It’s okay, Elena. I have another-”

Something hit me from behind, making Elena and I tumble down towards the door. The hit that I took square on my back took my breath out and shook my insides. I couldn't breathe and coupled with the pain I could feel coursing through my spine, it was hard for me to stay conscious.

“Lloyd! Are you okay?” She quickly used her healing magic, making the pain I felt subside a little bit. “...What is that?”

On top of the desk, stood a skeleton wearing the same dress and holding the same amulet as the one the late empress was wearing in the painting. The skeleton is pitch black like it's been charred into ashes and completely remade back to its original state from the ashes. Its chest is moving up and down like it's breathing, despite the fact that it doesn’t have any lungs to store the air.

The skeleton then screeched and proceeded to run very nimbly towards me. When the skeleton throws a punch at me, Elena, fast enough to get in between me and the skeleton, blocks it with both her hands. The collision made a loud bang and the floor rumbled as a result. As Elena was pushed back from the sheer force of the punch, the skeleton ran towards her and kicked the right side of her stomach, sending her hurtling towards the bookshelves. The books that were neatly placed and were not disturbed for many years then fell down, burying Elena under them.

Shit! I didn’t know there’d be a boss fight when I came into this mansion. I would’ve prepared more if I had known something like this would happen. But, It’s okay! It’s fine! I’ve still got a backup plan!

I pulled out a small box and opened it; inside, there are three of the smallest red mana geode I could find, amongst the piles that had been sent to me, wrapped neatly using a handkerchief I ‘borrowed’ from the head butler so it doesn’t break and explode. I carried it around everywhere in case a predicament would happen. And such a predicament is happening right now, so using it would be the wisest option possible.

My plan was to make a hole using the explosion from the mana geode on the wall of the mansion. I’m just hoping there’s no barrier of the sorts that are protecting this wall or any other unexpected hurdles. So, I picked up a mana geode and threw it as hard as I could towards the now empty painting. The mana geode exploded and created a smoke cloud from the debris of the wall.

After the smoke cloud subsided, I was wide eyed when I saw that the plan actually worked; there was a hole leading outside that would fit children of me and Elena’s size. Now comes the hard part, I need to take Elena that’s still buried under piles of books, and get out of here. I don't know how though… especially due to the explosion, the skeleton’s focus is now back on to me. Well, if there’s no way out, just scream your way out.

“ELENA! WAKE UP WE NEED TO GET OUT-”

The skeleton dashed at me and held me down by my mouth. I tried biting down on the skeleton’s hand; it was a terrible idea. Not only is the skeleton even more angry — which I’m surprised I can even tell — I probably also chipped my tooth.

The skeleton then brought the amulet that was wrapped in its right hand up to my face. I could see the diamond-shaped center from before, but now that it's so close to my face, It’s as if the amulet is sucking me into it.

The deep darkness of the diamond-shaped center that doesn’t reflect any light reminds me of a black hole. The gilding on the circle amulet is mesmerizing, making it seem like it's spinning along with the world around it. My eyes are starting to become heavy and it feels like I’m about to fall into a very deep slumber.

“SNAP OUT OF IT!” Yelled Elena as she severed the left arm of the skeleton that was holding me down using a book. Trying to get her revenge, Elena kicked the skeleton out of the way creating quite an air current, and picked me up in a princess carry.

“No… not like this…”

“Shut up! It’s not like you have any strength to hold on to my back.” She exclaimed, interrupting my weak plea before proceeding to run at the hole big enough for the two of us. The skeleton, quick on its feet, chased us and almost caught up to us. But as Elena jumped and hugged me so that I could also fit through the hole in a princess carry, we made it out, leaving half of the skeleton’s body stuck inside the mansion due to the hole not being big enough for the dress it's wearing. Elena then used some type of wind magic to slow down our fall.

Seeing a perfect target squirming and trying to get its body back into the mansion, I got a perfect idea: it’s time to practice my throwing skill. I pulled out one of the mana geodes from the box, and using any power I have left, I threw it at the skeleton. It landed around the collar bone and exploded. Though I was hoping to blow up the skull, that explosion wasn’t so bad.

“Nice throw, Lloyd!”

“Hehehe… Nice kick, Elena.”

We safely made it onto the ground. We then looked around to find the landmark that could lead us back to the royal castle.

“There! It’s the water pillar!” She pointed at the water pillar that looked as thick as a stick because of how far it is.

After pestering her a bit, I finally got my throne back at her piggyback before she ran towards the water pillar and into the thick woods. But a loud crash coming from the mansion distracted us. We looked back to see that damn skeleton crashed itself into the window to get out of the mansion and came running full sprint straight at us. We bolted off after a very manly scream came out of my throat, trying to get away from that skeleton.

The thick forest was certainly an advantage for us. Our bodies are small so we can slip through the obstacles relatively easily, but the skeleton who’s wearing an elegant dress like that would get it tangled and ripped while trying to navigate through the obstacles. So, after looking back, I was quite relieved to see the skeleton is quite far off from where we were.

“I- I think we’re losing him!”

“Don’t get your hopes up yet.”

“Why?”

“That skeleton is strong. And if it goes berserk…”

Sure enough, a howl can be heard followed by the sound of branches and trees being broken. I looked back to see the skeleton plowing through anything in its way and locked its eyes on us. It’s also getting closer and closer at an alarming rate.

“Elena, I think we should hide. We can’t outrun that thing.”

“Damn it! And we’re already so close to the pillar.”

“When you hear an explosion, take a turn and hide behind a tree.” I pulled out the last of the mana geode from the box and threw it at the skeleton.

The skeleton catches the geode with its right hand, and because of its strength, the mana geode shatters. Score! Is what I wanted to say.

I was expecting an explosion that could further deform the skeleton but there was none. What actually happened was, the geode that usually exploded upon breaking, when it broke in the skeleton’s arm, let out lights of red mana that goes inside the skeleton’s amulet. It was like the mana got sucked in and was unable to activate fast enough to cause an explosion.

“Change of plans!”

“What?!”

“Let's take a turn now and hope for the best!”

“What about the explosion?”

“That damn skeleton negated the explosion. Just hit the ground really hard and take a turn to the right!”

Elena hit the ground really hard, propelling us towards a tree while creating a dust cloud that could take the skeleton’s eyes off of us. We hid behind a tree quickly enough before the skeleton got past the dust cloud. We peered through the branches to see the skeleton scouring its surrounding, looking for us.

I didn’t take notice before, but after calming down and seeing clearly, I could see the explosion’s effect on the skeleton. Its right collar bone along with some of its ribs got blown off, there are cracks on the side of its head, and a part of its lower jaw is missing. Despite all that, it’s still moving as fast as- or even faster than before.

“Stay put, When I find an opening, we’ll be as good as free.” Said Elena in a hushed voice.

“Okay…” I said before noticing a slight green glow on the ground. “Elena, what’s that?”

“Huh? This… Isn’t this a glowing stone?”

“Mana geode.”

It’s a green mana geode, something I’ve never seen before. All I’ve gotten from the empress were red and blue mana geodes. I was assuming there’d be more colors, but I didn’t expect there to be a green one. My original theory was there’d be red mana geodes, found near volcanoes; blue mana geodes, found in the ocean; brown mana geodes, found inside mines; and white mana geodes, found near grass plains. Though the theory may still apply, due to the existence of the green mana geode, I guess there’d be more places where mana geodes could form.

“Elena, I’ve got an idea.”

“What is it?”

“Here’s the plan…”

+++++

“Now!” I yelled, signaling the start of the plan.

We stormed off in the direction of the water pillar while the skeleton turned its back on us. It was pretty smooth sailing, and we were only a third way until we reach the water pillar. If the skeleton doesn’t follow us, then the operation ‘Killing Two Stones with One Bird’ doesn’t need to be executed. Naturally, only when the nine stars align and all the planets are made of silicon will my expectation go accordingly.

The skeleton, taking heed of us running from far away, started blasting all the branches using the sheer force of its body moving forward heading in our direction. Elena started picking up her pace and soon the clearing where the water pillar is can be seen.

We’ve finally managed to escape the woods and return back from where we started. It is now that the first phase of the operation will take place.

“Elena, you know what to do!”

“Alright!” She planted her hands beside where the water pillar is and waited for my signal.

The howling and the booming sounds of trees being obliterated is getting even closer. The rumbling of the ground is starting to get more intense.

“It’s getting too close, Lloyd!”

“Wait! Be patient! The timing is extremely important.”

“But it’s way too close to my liking-”

“Now, Elena!”

Elena yanked the ground where the water pillar resides and aimed it toward the skeleton who just got out of the woods and into the clearing. Elena being caught off guard by my sudden signal makes the timing a bit late, it’s not late enough to diverge the plan entirely.

The skeleton that was greeted by a strong jet of water heading towards it held out its right hand. The water then got sucked into the black amulet, and the skeleton seemed to be having a bit of a hard time sucking all that mana in.

Blue light started coming out of the ground where the water pillar was and the light started to swirl around the water pillar, heading into the black amulet. It was as if the black amulet was inviting all the mana that touched it to be sucked into its black abyss. The water pillar that shrunk only a tenth of its width for a couple of days is now shrinking at a fascinating rate.

Phase one has been executed perfectly, and killing one of the stones is now only a matter of time. Now phase two will start: the waiting game. We will wait and see, who will win between the black amulet that the skeleton is carrying, or the water pillar that’s getting sucked into the black amulet. But it doesn’t matter who’ll win, because, in the third phase where the ‘bird’ comes, everything will surely fall into place.

“Lloyd, I think the amulet is winning.”

“Yeah, the water pillar is only about one-fourth of its original size now.”

“Shouldn’t you prepare the bird or something? What is the bird anyway?”

“You don’t have to worry about that, the bird is ready.”

Phase 2 is almost at its ending stage. The water pillar, now only the size of a regular water hose, is about to be consumed fully by the black amulet. It is time for the final phase to take place and destroy both stones with one bird.

“Elena, can you scoop up a fist-sized chunk of dirt that has the water pillar shooting out of it?”

“What for?”

“It’s for the bird.”

Without questioning me any further, Elena smashes the big chunk of earth that she was holding and aiming at the skeleton, and hands me the small chunk that has what’s left of the water pillar.

“So, where’s this bird?”

“Oh my dear, Elena. You’re looking at him.” I said as I jumped from her back and used the portable water hose as a jetpack to propel me forward towards the skeleton.

Elena is probably pissed considering all the profanities she’s using at me, and the skeleton is probably also pissed considering it’s howling while preparing to use that black amulet on me. Man… dealing with two ladies at once, even though one of them is literally all bones, this must be the start of my harem journey.

When I reached around six feet away from the skeleton, using the momentum of my flight, I put the water hose in front of me and ram it towards the black amulet. An explosion of water ensued as I clung to the skeleton's neck. Then, before it got the chance of using that black amulet on me, I smashed the green geode inside its skull and something unprecedented happened. What I thought would just be a tree growing out of the mana geode the size of a regular tree, turns out to be a giant twice the size of the royal castle spurting out of that palm-sized mana geode.

The root of the humongous tree came out first, they look like worms trying to dig inside the ground and spreading out, covering the clearing entirely. Then from those roots, grew the branches and the body of the tree. And lastly, from those branches, grew green very healthy leaves that become sort of like an umbrella for the tree.

One thing’s for sure, the skeleton is most definitely dead. And another thing is that while I was running away from the roots and branches forming from the skeleton’s skull, my hand got stuck between the branches, and now I’m dangling on a tree while my hand is stuck in one of its branches.

What an eventful day. I hope Elena is okay. And I really do need a vacation.