Elliot's POV
'Dragon Tamers, that's a terrible game.'
I hadn't said anything to Lot since the incident and I wasn't planning to do so anytime soon.
I cursed Satan. Why would he pick Dragon Tamers?! It had been a long time since demons played Dragon Tamers. The game was deadly and bloody. I wished it was any other game picked.
I knew the history of the game and the important details but still I was in the library, making more research on the book named 'Dragon Tamers'.
The simple history of the Dragon Tamers. It was a game that was played by the early demons. These demons were the most vicious and terror setting creatures.
The demons in this time were nothing compared to the early demons. The demons of nowadays just partied but when the early demons were released from the Pandora's Box and joined Lucifer, the world was a horrific place to be in.
The Dragon Tamers was a game made by the demon kings in which the other demons played it as a form of entertainment to the King. Later, it became a way of screening soldiers and demons who wanted to go for higher demon ranks and enter the palace.
But the game went out of hand.
A deadly dragon would be released from the depths of the underworld. Two people would have to fight it. What made the game difficult was that the players had to win the fight with no weapons but powers alone.
Also, each player would try to destroy the other while fighting the Dragon. If a player was able to kill the opponent and win, he would still have to destroy the Dragon or he would be destroyed.
The game was banned when The Red Dragon was released and no player could kill it. The Dragon escaped and caused terror in the underworld until it was destroyed by a demon king, a devil, of their time.
More history of the Red Dragon can be found in the book titled; The Red Dragon.
There were many traditions and rituals that came with it, but as a typical reader, I skipped those parts.
I closed the book and gritted my teeth. That meant I had to upgrade my powers, and quickly as well. I had 36 more hours to the fight and I needed to be prepared.
Being the Devil, I had more powers than Andras but he had been training his powers since he sat on my throne. I had done nothing about mine. Andras would be training but training would be useless to me.
I needed to find another way to upgrade my powers. I sat on a wooden chair next to me and thought of the best thing to do. Thinking was something demons did once in a blue moon. Though I used to be a human, it had been quite long since I thought so much.
I only thought about Alexa this much.
Lot could definitely not do the thinking so I had to do it myself. I noticed that the table I rested my hand on had a drawer. My mind told me to open it, so I did that.
When I did, I sighted Alexa's beautiful pin. It was the pin that had kept me alive for those horrible 547 years of my life. I remembered that I kept them safe away because Alexa has returned to me, and I thought I would never need the pin.
I guess I was slightly wrong but I would get my Alexa back.
The hairpin reminded me of something. I let out a great smile when I realized something. Lexa was still helping me though she wasn't here. I kissed the pin and summoned my trident.
I closed my eyes and cast an unfolding spell. The spell would reveal the locations of the two other keys. As expected, a key and a ring came and then Alexa's pin and ring transformed into keys.
I placed the now three keys beside each other and picked them, putting them into my pocket. It was time I resumed my lost forgotten mission to save my position.
I knew where the Temple was. It was located in Cambodia, Asia. The temple was underground a popular temple in Cambodia and only few people knew of it.
Running all the way to Cambodia would be a waste of time and energy, instead I clapped my hands once and closed my eyes.
***
After a few seconds, I opened them and I was engulfed with warmth. It was warmer than where I was coming from and I felt more comfortable there. I was in Siem Reap in Cambodia and I was going to the Angkor Wat temple.
It was a old and famous Buddha temple, one of the largest momentum in the world.
Many people around were speaking in Khmer but it's no surprise that I understand that. Being in Cambodia reminded me of China, the second other Asian country I had been to. The first was India.
The Khmers had round faces, round dark brown eyes with double eyelids, straight black hair, thick and full lips, and a relatively wider and flatter nose. They also had naturally tanned skins.
Cambodia was a nice city but I wasn't here to soak it in. I was here to get the spell book from an hidden underground temple.
I reckoned that the Angkor Wat temple wasn't far from where I was so I walked. When you're in a new place, it's hard to not look around but I was still focused.
The people here were gentle and obviously family oriented. I preferred to ask them for directions than use Google Maps. They were obviously religious and traditional. I passed a few KTVs and I could hear singing.
I felt better here than I was back home, without Alexa. I wish Alexa was on the trip with me. I sighed, wanting to let out tears that couldn't even come out.
A little child with black-brown hair tugged at my pants. I looked down at him and he handed me something in an egg shell. It was Balut. I wanted to refuse because I was in no mood to eat fertilized duck embryo but those eyes.
I rubbed his head, took the Balut and have him some dollar notes. I was sure he would find use for it. He happily went away to his other shirtless friends that were playing in a corner.
I walked away, thinking, until I reached the Temple. When I reached, I got a multi day pass, even though I wouldn't be there for more than an hour. The road to the underground temple was not too far from the entrance.
From where I was, I could catch the glimpse of the Temple. I looked over at the large northern pond of water with water lilies on it that was just before the Temple. They said the pond was deeper before but they said soil flowed in and settled, making it shallower.
But I knew just why.
When no one was looking, I took a deep breath, said some quick incantations before jumping into the pond, unseen.
***
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in an old brick-made circular tunnel. I looked at myself and realized that there was no sign of water on me. I looked behind me and met with a wall.
I faced forward once again and moved on without thinking. The walls were moist and the ground was wet. Moss and different colours of algae were growing on the walls. The place was dead silent.
I continued walking until a turn came around. As I walked through the turn, I saw a wall. It was no ordinary wall though. There was a keyhole in the middle of the wall, on which a monstrous devilish face with horns was drawn.
I didn't know if they were trying to draw Lot because it looked nothing like him.
I looked at the three keys and picked one then used it to unlock it. Luckily the key worked and the wall disappeared, with darkness only seen ahead.
I walked through the darkness but surprisingly, light shined into my eyes as I walked to the other side. I was outside. It was sunny but cool. There were wet short grasses and shrubs that reflected the beautiful white light of the imaginary sun.
I walked down the steps, onto the grass and looked for another way in. At last, I found another wall amongst the other walls that I could unlock. I put another key into it and it unlocked.
I entered a more temple-like building. It was high and well spaced. It was brighter than the tunnel I left and way drier. Instead of the algae that grew on the walls, there were dull flowers and grasses instead.
On the sides of the walls were beautiful Buddha cultural statues. You could easily tell they were traditional. From where I was, I could see the next door. I walked up to it and unlocked it with the last key.
I stepped through it and instantly fell through the ground, like it was thin air. I dropped inside water. I coughed out and breathed, searching for a way out of the boiling water.
I went under the water, looking for a way when there was no way up and found a door on the floor holding the water. I swam to the deepest depth and saw three keyholes.
I removed each key and thought of the best place to put each key before putting it into the keyhole. The iron door opened and disappeared. The water was suck in by the open space on the floor and so was I.
When the feeling of water on my body was gone, I realized I was on the floor. A gold-coated floor. I stood up and cleaned myself. I wasn't even wet.
"This temple is crazy," I said to myself.
"I know!" A voice answered from the right.
Alerted, I pointed my fingers at the voice, ready to attack but I was met with a child instead.
I looked around me and realized the whole place was in gold. At the far end of the chamber, there was a golden book lectern with a closed blue book on it.
I smiled, it was the spell book. I looked back at the child, maintaining my stance. When I looked closer at him, I discovered something interesting.
"You?!" I asked in wonder. "You were that little boy, weren't you?"
He smiled, cheekily. "Did you like the Balut? It's very tasty."
"How did you get here?"
"I'm the book keeper. I have a shortcut to get here."
There were so many questions to ask but I only asked one. "Are you actually a child?"
He smiled again. "I've been in this form for years. I've been passed down to many parents for the past..." He paused, thinking about something. "...two hundred years."
I wasn't interested to know much about him. I just needed the book.
"Well, I..."
"I know who you are, you are the lovesick devil."
I frowned. "You have some guts to speak to the Devil like that."
He scoffed, which annoyed me. "I would be terrified of you 550 years ago but now you're just a softie."
Lot was raged. And I actually wasn't. Normally, I would be mad and kill him but... was I truly a softie? Was that why Andras thought it was best to challenge me?
"You should watch your tongue."
The shirtless boy rolled his eyes and took the book from the lectern then walked over to me. "I know what you wanted when I saw you." He dropped the book in my hands. "I tested you to know if you were worthy and you were just as I predicted!"
His English was easy to hear because of his weak Khmer accent.
I looked at the book and sighed in relief. It was just as I imagined. If I had this 550 years ago, the world wouldn't be the same today. "Will you be free once I take the book?" I asked with little curiosity.
A boy like him shouldn't be tied to the Temple.
"No, another item will replace its position. But no worries, I love my job." The book had a sorcerer’s wand coloured violet on the cover. A blue smooth bookmark was attached to it. The book's edges looked like silver but felt like liquid mercury. "You can take the shortcut at the end of this room."
"Thanks," I mouthed out.
I walked to the other end of the room and placed my hand on the wall, waiting for something to happen.
"Also..." The boy said something and I turned back to him. "...would you tell Alexandra about me when you find her?"
I hesitated to answer but nodded. The wall I placed my hand on started to glow in bright golden light. In a matter of seconds, I was taken by the light and teleported back home.