Chapter 601

Chapter 601: Answering Your Call

“Master, I really tried to help! I used all my magic, used the Blood Pact, and even thought about sacrificing myself to distract those arcane energy beings, but they weren’t scared of my fire magic at all! Master, you can’t blame me; that Tauren…”

“I know, I know. Keep talking, which way?”

“This way! This way!”

Saenor pointed to a fork in the passage, and everyone quickly followed. Jesse’s mind went blank at that moment. Greed ran like a madman without saying a word, and Vereesa stayed silent, gritting her teeth.

After leaving the passage, they entered an empty hall. A toppled stone pillar still flowed with arcane energy. The ground was covered with burning arcane flames and magic residue like ashes. Explosions had left pits and cracks all over the walls and floor.

To their surprise, several Kaldorei bodies lay in the hall.

Jesse didn’t have time or energy to wonder why those elves were there. He stepped over the bodies with the others and found the Tauren lying on a nearby step, gasping hard.

“Mosa, Mosa Woodmane.”

“Mosa! Are you okay?”

Greed held her arm and called out, while Vereesa shouted her name and wiped blood from her nose and eyes.

Jesse looked closer and saw deep wounds on Mosa’s chest, belly, and neck from arcane blasts. Even though the burns were black, fresh red blood still oozed out. But Jesse sensed the blood was tainted by shadows.

He pulled out the Living Ice Crystals, but their energy was almost gone and wouldn’t work. He didn’t remember using them…

Wait, that golden light.

The Living Ice Crystals had saved him when the demon nearly drained his life. They restored his lost energy and stopped the demon’s spell.

“Healing Potion.” He looked at the other two. Greed shook his head, and Vereesa stayed quiet.

“Get her out of this prison,” Greed said. “Dark energy is everywhere. If she stays, the shadows will corrupt her and she’ll die!”

Everyone agreed. When they broke the seal to enter this place, they’d felt its dark magic. Mosa’s blood showed she was weak and suffering from the dark energy in the air.

They lifted Mosa together and headed back. The whole way, Mosa swallowed something—blood or whatever. Jesse didn’t want to think about it.

He was the one who sent Mosa to destroy the magic tower. It was his call.

Jesse took a deep breath, forcing his mind to stay focused. He tried hard not to jostle Mosa and make her wounds worse.

Greed and Vereesa were worn out from fighting and hurt, but they kept steady and carried the Tauren to the stone door.

Outside the sealed entrance, the air felt cleaner, but Mosa didn’t get better.

The female mage who kept the seal had fled long ago. The empty hall had no one else, just the body of a male Night Elf on the ground.

“Mosa.” Greed held her and mumbled, “Don’t…”

Vereesa searched her pack frantically for anything healing—potions, anything…

…but it was useless.

The Tauren stopped moving. Only her throat twitched a little, and her chest didn’t rise or fall. “Greed.”

With her last strength, she whispered his name. When Jesse heard it, he felt like a hammer hit his chest. A ring filled his ears, and he couldn’t think. He just stared at Mosa lying there.

“I shouldn’t have drunk that Healing Potion,” Greed muttered. “I wouldn’t have died without it. That demon couldn’t kill me. I didn’t need it.”

“Her wounds couldn’t be fixed with half a Healing Potion, Greed,” Vereesa said.

An imp nearby trembled and said, “Those arcane energy beings blow up when they die! It’s scary! The Tauren was so tough! Even after the blast, she had the strength to knock down that tower! How did she do it…”

Greed’s lips shook. He stood up and yelled, “What the hell! Why can’t the plants outside, the natural energy, or any damn life come in here and save this Druid?!”

“Cenarius, Zaetar, Celebras, Remulos?!”

He raised the horn of Celebras tightly held by the Tauren and shouted, “Where are you all? Where are you?!”

Vereesa leaned against the wall, looking up at the dark trees swaying outside the door, but not a single leaf responded to the dwarf’s cry. “Who can save her? Anyone!”

Greed ran to the door and shouted at the entrance, “Whoever it is! Come here and save this woman! Damn it, life, elves, elements, arcane!”

“Element… element…”

He suddenly remembered something. He lowered his head and pulled out his warhammer without speaking. Lightning burst from the warhammer, lighting up the walls around him.

The dwarf looked up at the hall and then at the ground, his voice shaking, “Save her, I beg you! The elements here…” He muttered a long string of words in Kalimdor language that Jesse couldn’t understand, then went on, “I’m not good at speaking the language of elements, but I know you get me! Save her… Damn it! What the hell is going on?!”

Greed shouted at the top of his voice, and Jesse felt a lump in his throat. He leaned against a nearby pillar and took a deep breath. The dwarf knelt beside Mosa, lying over her body and said, “Now, quick! Whoever you are…”

Just then, the calm shallow pool began to ripple. Before anyone inside could notice, the center of the pool started to bubble strangely.

Even Greed looked up, staring hard at the middle. A splash of water shot up and formed a human-like upper body. The swirling water held this odd shape. The dwarf spun around, stretching his arms to shield her body, watching as the creature took form and slowly looked down at him.

A water element?!

Jesse froze. Was this the water element boss that roamed this hall in the game? Why did it show up now?

He grabbed the magic wand by his feet. Vereesa warily reached toward her waist, but the water element didn’t attack them.

Instead, it moved slowly toward Greed.

“Stow, nu, kar, Kranou, ai, Gru, ma, do.”

A rumbling voice filled the hall, like the water element was speaking, but Jesse couldn’t tell if it came from the huge creature.

As it spoke, it stretched out its strong arm, covered in white splashes from the flowing water, and put it on Mosa’s head.

The fingers made of rushing water pressed down softly, touching her face and neck. Pool water quickly soaked her all over.

Ignoring that he was getting soaked, Greed stared blankly at its actions. Soon, a burst of loud coughs from her startled him.

Mosa coughed up water nonstop. A worried Greed asked, “Mosa, Mosa? Can you hear me?” Jesse saw the wounds under her torn robes turn pale from the water, healing fast!

Her arm moved to push up from the cold floor. Vereesa ran over in surprise and held her arm. The strong giant woman whimpered, touching Greed’s face with her thick fingers.

She turned to look this way, feeling the sword sheath at her waist—the Azuresong Mageblade, broken by arcane energy—and said, “Jesse Seso, I destroyed the magic tower.”

Jesse nodded and said, “You did it, Mosa Woodmane. You saved us all.”

Greed nodded hard, burying his head in her neck and crying hard. Vereesa’s eyes were red; she turned her head away, like she didn’t want anyone to see her tears.

Jesse barely remembered the last time Greed cried like this. It was when his eyes weren’t healed yet, and he nearly forgot he was a Gryphon Rider.

The water element stood quietly by the pool’s edge, its body slowly breaking apart, spreading out until it melted into the pond. Everything became peaceful, as if nothing ever happened.