Chapter 116 - War Against Plethora

'So Enchanting.' This was the first thought that came into Christopher's mind. The amulet quickly captured his attention. 

The amulet the woman held was the same that used to hang on Keelan's clothes. It was not an object to be missed for its striking orange, red, brown, and bronze-like color combination. It looked like various small stones molded together. 

However, following the words that came out of the woman's mouth, a yellow-orange light ran in between every small stone. 

The words that the woman expressed next seem to echo through his head. 

"Aslaf Muktra ، 'adeukum, kawnukum sayid hadhih altamimati (Ancestors of Muktra, I call on you, being the holder of this amulet). 

His vision started to look hazy, and Christopher could not help but admit the amulet's power was a strong one. 

Out of nowhere, his thoughts were disrupted by a familiar voice. 

"Chris, are you coming back here to have dinner with me? Martin and I are making steak." It was from Amanda. "Chris?"

"Shhh... I'm concentrating... Trying to look affected by a trance another phony Amanda is doing," he responded in his head. 

"Another Amanda?" The master of fire asked back. "Keelan?"

"No, another you. Obviously, it isn't you. I saw Keelan transform from you to himself. This is another Amanda. Don't disturb me for now. I need to know who this is," Christopher said back. 

His mind was actively speaking to Amanda, but his facial expression was looking dull and lifeless. 

Christopher could not understand what the woman was saying at first. He thought she was talking gibberish. He could only hope he acted the way he was supposed to. 

The woman in front of him smiled. She snapped her fingers repeatedly and said, "I think it's working." With a smirk on her face, she said, "The hypnosis worked."

"Of course it worked! I tried this many times already," added Keelan as he walked closer to them. 

While holding the amulet, she commanded Christopher, "Follow whatever I say... Now, down on your knees."

Seeing Christopher follow her every word, she turned to Keelan and said, "You can put me back now to my original form."

This time, it was Keelan who was chanting. The woman was suddenly grunting as her face became distorted. Gradually, her body turned back to the way it was. The person acting as Amanda this time was Diana. 

'Diana? What the fuck does this woman want? Is she not afraid at all?!' Christopher was screaming inside. He wanted so much to strangle this woman but he held himself back. He wanted to know exactly what she was up to. 

"I'm impressed by your charms! It worked!" Said Diana with delight. 

"It does work, Lady Diana. This amulet holds the power of hypnosis, but it does not last very long. You should do whatever it is that you need to do," told Keelan while reaching out to the amulet for a moment. 

"Right," said Diana. After calming her excitement, she turned to Christopher and said, "Now for the best part. I'm going to take your power away from you!"

Commanding Christopher, she said, "You will give me the power that you have."

Diana opened her palms. She said, "Mahli, the spirit of water, lend me your strength."

Her eyes widened in pleasure, and she let out a sinister grin. 

'So this is what she wanted. Ambitious and stupid,' he silently said. 'Well, I have all afternoon to play with you, Diana... Let it be.'

Christopher acted to follow her words. Like a lifeless being, he raised his hand without seeing anything and without looking at any specific direction. He was like a puppet. He revealed the crystal that was in his body. 

His body glowed in blue, especially his eyes and his palms. 

The sight of everything excited Diana to the core that she gasped, again and again, wanted to get a hold of the power. 

"Mahli, come to me. I am now your new master," ordered Diana. 

Keelan, on the other hand, was amazed. The reflection of Christopher's crystal reflected in his eyes. He thought, 'So this was the power that was in him?'

The soldiers of Terene and Plethora were struggling to recover, but they also witnessed the same power. They were equally eager to see Diana take the crystal. 

Seconds passed, yet the crystal remained in Christopher's hand. It made Diana frown that she repeated her words, "Mahli, the spirit of water, lend - no - give me your strength. Let me be your new master."

They all watch in anticipation, but an entire minute passed again, and nothing happened. 

Diana could not understand it. She looked at Keelan and gulped. She muttered, "Maybe it takes a while."

Of course, she knew it was not the case. She perfectly recalled how the crystal jumped to Amanda in seconds. 

"Let me try again," she said. 

Christopher was mocking her silently, seeing the sweat form on her forehead. He watched and listened, and she tried to order the crystal once more. 

"Mahli - Mahli, the spirit of water, give me your strength." This time, Diana gritted her teeth right after she spoke. Her eyes turned fierce as if she was scaring the crystal altogether. 

When that did not work, she cursed, "Damn! Let me take you now!" She grabbed onto the crystal, but to her dismay, the power disappeared. It went right back to Christopher's body. 

"Why is it not working?!" She screamed in anger, nearly pulling out her hair. 

"Because unlike Keelan's charms, the power I hold cannot be transferred to anyone," Christopher responded, leaving them in shock. 

He could practically hear them gasping, knowing they were about to meet their end. 

"Oh, my goodness - Run!" Ordered Keelan. 

Right then and there, Christopher controlled the bodies within Diana and her group. They only took a few steps, but they ended up fumbling at the feel of their bodies weakening. 

Once again, the water in their bodies was escaping their skins. They felt dehydrated in minutes, losing awareness of their surroundings. 

After seeing that they could no longer fight back, Christopher stopped. He walked over to Diana and said, "I'm going to let you and your mother remember this very day so you will no longer have stupid ambitions to gain power!"

Christopher grabbed his sword and began slaying the soldiers of Keelan and Diana. There was no mercy for what they did, especially trying to defame the woman he loved. 

"Please... please don't kill me," Keelan pleaded. His voice was barely a whisper, struggling to get his message across. "I'll - I'll give you all my charms. I'll teach you."

Christopher had to admit, the charms that Keelan used were powerful. It was capable of deceiving and silently winning over any enemy. While he was uncertain it if was a good power, one thing was for sure, in the hands of Keelan, these powers were no good. 

He decided to give back just enough water for him not to die anytime soon. He said, "I'll lock you up first and then we can talk later. After when I am done with Diana."

With the help of Cassy and the soldiers of Aeros, all of Keelan's charms were removed from his body. He was stripped naked to be sure he had no other power left to use. Only then was he brought back to the castle and put in jail.

Hours passed. 

In the nation of Plethora, Delila was walking back and forth from a balcony of their fortress. She had not heard from her daughter and she was worried sick. 

"You can't possibly fail, Diana! You just can't!" She muttered. 

She was marching in circles and had been for an hour. The soldiers who were with her merely observed, wondering what was causing trouble to Delila. 

Not a moment too soon, she heard some of her people scream.

Soldiers and servants who could see the sky were looking up in horror. They saw a woman who was on fire, seemingly having wings!

Amanda lighted up the dark skies covering twenty meters away from her. She purposely ignited her flame to the same degree, wanting to catch the attention of Plethora. 

Behind her was Christopher, carrying in his arms the weakened Diana. 

When Delila looked at where her soldiers were gazing at, she felt her heart jumped out of her chest. Her body quickly turned cold in fear. 

It was only after Christopher descended, leveling to Delila's sight, did she realize that her daughter was in his arms. 

'No! My daughter failed,' she said. 

With Amanda above Christopher, lightening the night, he looked up to her in admiration before directing his gaze to Delila. He said, "Listen and listen carefully, Lady Delila."

"I, the young master of Aeros, declares war against Plethora for disrupting our peace, conniving with Oscoria, and entering our nation with a scheme to take my power!"

"You have three days to surrender completely or we will return with a forceful attack! No more shall your madness rule over your land and people!"

He slowly made his way within the balcony and landed Diana on the floor. He gazed back to Delila and said, "She will not last another day.. That is her punishment for even thinking she can take my power! Say goodbye to your daughter."