The Warriors of Oduduwa 2, The Crowned Hunter.

Ade rose to his feet glad for the sudden intervention of the Akogun and the other ẹṣọs of the village, relived that the Ebora didn step on him, as the great chains of Ogun god of iron fire and war pinned the Ebora to the ground Ade turned to face the witch.

”Well, ” he said, ”since the elders of this village are handling your husband, I guess I can now focus all my attention on you, ” he knew that the only way to send the evil spirit to the nether realm is to neutralize the summoner

”You dare to challenge me? ” The witched responded in fury

”do you know who I am, child,

I am Igbo-eso, the seed of the forest,

The day the forest was planted, that was the day my destiny started

I am irreplaceable, unstoppable and untouchable

To fight with me would be to fight with death

I do not worship the Iroko, because I am the Iroko

As I live the forest lives

And the aura of the forest shadows me

No one vexes me without vexing the forest

And my vengeance is the vengeance of the forest

With blood did I lay the foundations of the forest

With blood did I plant the seed of the forest

And in blood did I nourish it

None can stand against me

Without becoming the food of the forest

Without becoming ”Onje-Igbo ” (the feast for the forest) ”

Ade simply grinned at the witchs words, some believe that the Oriki of a person is meant to strike fear into the hearts of all their opponents, but to Ade, its just a waste of time, as for her powers the first Witch had more fight in her than this one. Three ẹṣọs took down one Witch, Igbo-ojiji, she was called how much more this one and when they went up against the first Witch, they were all holding back using some of their weakest chants, but now the case is different, he has no reason to hold back.

”Your sister cried, she cried like a baby when I tortured her ” Ade mocked

”You will regret those words hunter ” Igbo-ẹso scowled

”Earth and dust ” Ade chanted

”It is you that I address

I might have no covenant with you, yet we are still bounded

The air is the universal source of life

Where there is no air there is no life

For all forms of life must breath

The fire must breathe to burn

The plant must breathe to grow

The earth must breathe to maintain the balance

For each element to exist the element of the air is needed

By the virtue of the covenant of the air

That is connected to the covenant of the wind

That the earth must breathe, I command the earth to bend to my will ”

The witch was held spellbound by the strong aura of Ades casting and she couldn explain what happened next. The only thing that the witch noticed were 4 stone pillars forcing their way out of the ground about her, 3 feet away from each other making a perfect square and about 12 feet high, the pillars planted her firmly to the ground nullifying all of her powers and rendering her helpless.

”How dare you do this to me, ” she screamed in terror, realising that she had landed herself into trouble. Then she studied her entrapment more carefully hoping to find a weakness to aid in her escape ”this is impossible, you don have the covenant of the earth ”

Ade grinned maliciously, shes right, he didn have the covenant of the earth, yet he can manipulate it

”Covenant migration ” Ade whispered to the witch, ”the ability to move from one covenant to another by the virtue of the interrelationship that exists among all the different covenants, for instance ”

”The trees to drink water

Water evaporates into the air

The air becomes rain and the wind

Without the air thunder and lightning will not exist

Lightning creates fire

The earth drinks the rain and breathes the air

The animals feed on the grasses

The grass feed on the sunlight

The earth produces iron

Iron harnesses lightning, and so on ”

”All covenants are interrelated and will forever be connected, it is the legacy of the hunters who mastered this art and passed it on to the next generation until finally, they taught it to the warriors of Oduduwa ” Ade continued, ”You have come to this village to turn everything to dust; now you are the one who will become dust ” 3 bright lights appeared above the Igbo-ẹso, at first they seemed harmless, but then they began to increase in brightness and intensity, the heat became unbearable, the witch suddenly realised that the only person feeling the effects of the light was her person.

”You bastard! ” Igbo-eso shouted ”this is a divine chant; how can a mere hunter possess this kind of power ”

”A secret you will never learn, to the dust ” Ade chanted

The lights suddenly began to concentrate all their bright radiance at the exact spot that Igbo-ẹso stood threatening to incinerate her into nothing, Igbo-eso felt every nerve in her body tingle in fear ”so this is how I meet my end ” she thought regretfully. Ades lips moved rapidly, it seemed like he spoke another language instead of the native Yoruba, the flow of Agbara began to increase in its intensity drying up Igbo-esos youthful skin mercilessly. Ade felt the sigh of victory, he could smell the scent of success in the air just a few more words and the witch would be dead, the Ẹbora banished and everything would be returned to normal. He felt the blade pierce him in the back, he saw the sword sprout from his ribs, he felt the pain flush throughout his entire being ”how? ” He thought in sudden shock

”So close ” Igbo-ẹjẹ whispered as she pressed her blade deeper into Ades back, she smiled, the fool was so carried away by the hope of victory that he had not noticed the approach of a new enemy and he failed to recognise the warning screams of Ogunlara from afar off ”its a pity hunter, but you forget when witches hunt for vengeance we hunt in groups ”

Ade groaned in reply, blood flowed from the stab wound and his mouth, he wondered what would kill him first, loss of blood or the pain?

”Its about time you got here ” Igbo-ẹso grouched

Without the divine enchanter to power the divine chant, the divine chant was broken and Igbo-ẹso was set free, the force that held her completely helpless evaporated enabling her to be able to push the stone pillars aside with a great deal of her self-confidence restored

”So you think you could capture the shadow of the forest without being judged for it, ” Igbo-ẹso said gloatingly ”the termite that wonders from one mountain to another claiming the land for itself will one day wander into the hole of a snake ”

Ade couldn respond, he couldn even move, the blade in him might have damaged some of his vital organs. Igbo-ẹjẹ the one who had stabbed him stood uncomfortably close behind, caressing his face in mock pity. Judging from the pain and the sensation of the blade as the witch behind him moved then and again, she must have stabbed him right through his spinal cord, it must be a chanted blade and poisoned. Ade decided to count the seconds, how long will it be before his vision would go dim and he would finally join the ancestors. At least he tried, at least Adebisi was safe and at least his unborn child was safe.

”Does it hurt? ” Igbo-eso inquired ”it should, we intend to make you suffer and we intend to make you die in torment ”

”Iya wa (our mother) ” a voice sounded from afar off ”it is done ”

Igbo-ara emerged from the background dangling a necklace between her fingers with a smile on her face to Ades horror. The witch threw the necklace towards Ades feet, ensuring it landed within his line of sight that way he would be able to identify the strange ornament

”No! ” Ade said too shocked to scream, the necklace belonged to Adebisi.

”Thats Adebisis necklace ” Ogunlara shouted helplessly, if only Ade had someone fighting by his side, if only he had support things would have turned out differently, she thought. The only thing she can do now is watch helplessly as the witches play sport with the man she admires. All of her strength was being used to hold down the Ebora if she should break the connection the beast would be freed.

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