Quick few updates before we get into the chapter. I promised to update once a month, but I hate just saying, "Working on it, work gets in the way, it's taking time." which is literally all my January and February updates would have been. I've been sick and working insane hours, balancing trying to edit videos for my game blog, creating personalized classes for my students in school, and Japanese and Chinese training has left me with only an hour or two...or sometimes three, per week to actually write. So, life gets in the way.
This thing took a re-write, a second re-write, three edits, and I'm still not sure it's finished. But, I'm proud of the result. It mixes the bombastic with the subtle, adding in just the right bit of characterization and agency with my smaller cast compared to the power houses.
This chapter also marks the second to last before we do a major overhaul and start re-editing and revising the piece as a whole. Probably starting with a name change of Daryl to Darl to make it more clear to readers her pronunciation. Either way, next chapter, which will probably be out in mid to late April, will mark the end of book one of a planned trilogy. Will it ever get released? I dunno, but I copyrighted all this already, so I at least wanna try and get it published.
Anyway, I'm yammering, so without further ado, the finale of Agni's attack.
Chapter 20.75: Escape
Deminos and
Melchom leapt down from the cloud of gold coins they were standing on and
landed next to Yuka. "Sorry we're
late," Deminos smirked, though his jaw was clenched tight as he spied
Vincent bereft of an arm, Feo whimpering in a corner, and the four girls
battered, dirty, and barely able to move.
"Deminos...oh,
thank the goddess," Daryl let out a sigh of relief and collapsed against
Feo's furry haunch.
"D-Dem..."
Yuka stammered, jumping up from the chair of golden coins that had caught
her. Her legs shook as she stumbled over
to the thin, brown haired teen and she nearly toppled over.
"Hey!"
Deminos exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Deminos's arms trembled as he struggled to
keep the well muscled neeg from falling.
"Dammit, Yuka, you need to lose a few pounds..." he grunted,
as beads of sweat formed on his head.
"Ugh...that's
Deminos alright," Celine snorted, forcing herself up before putting Yuka's
arm around her shoulder to steady her.
"Good to see you again...jackass."
"Dem? Dem!" Mina exclaimed. Jumping to her feet, she limped over to his
side, threw her arms around his waist, and sobbed into his chest. "Dem,
it's horrible! Vincent's hurt...and
Aeon...Aeon..." she gasped out as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Insolent
child!" Agni's voice tore through their reunion as the hammer of golden
coins that had laid him low melted into a puddle of gold at the lich's feet.
"Melchom,
keep him off us!" Deminos barked at the tiny Goetian next to him before
brushing past Mina and Yuka.
"Roger,
sonny," Melchom retorted. The
melted gold on the floor swarmed around Melchom, wrapping him in a coat of
gleaming, golden armor. Coins flew out
of Melchom's belt as he raised his hands into the air and formed two large
fists of gold around Melchom's arms, which he clasped together and brought down
on Agni as he advanced towards the others.
"How long
do we need to hold out?" Vincent grunted, dragging himself over to Deminos
while clutching at his charred stump.
Deminos's eyes
widened for a quarter of a second before he raised them to meet the teythen's. "Erm...not sure. They're on their way, but we should try and
put some distance between us and him," Deminos said, jerking his head in
Agni's direction as the lich swatted at Melchom, who had formed a wall of gold
between Agni and the others.
"Together
then," Vincent said, leveling his left hand at the debris which covered
the doorway out of the tower.
"Right!"
Deminos nodded and raised both hands towards the collapsed doorway, placing his
bandaged hand behind the other and curling his fingers together around a single
point. Water began to pool in Deminos's left
hand, swirling in the center of his palm.
Reeling back, Deminos threw his hand forward and a thin, powerful stream
of water shot out of his palm, boring a hole through the debris that blocked
their exit. Slowly, Deminos uncurled his fingers and spread them apart, forcing
the stream of water to expand and push the debris away, forming a gap the
others could climb through. The rubble
began to buckle, as if it were about to collapse again, but Vincent let out a grunt
and the air around the opening flickered, keeping the rubble from moving.
"Get...the
others...out!" the teythen panted, dropping to one knee.
"But-"
"Do
it!" Vincent snarled at Deminos, barring his fangs, as the wall of gold
that Melchom had created collapsed onto the floor, revealing the tiny Goetian
bereft of his armor, but still haggardly flailing at Agni with elongated nails
made of gold.
Deminos
hesitated only for a moment before calling out to the girls. "Mina, Celine, over here!" The girls nodded at him and began staggering
towards the newly created exit while Deminos ran over to Daryl. "Come on, Daryl, we need to go!" he
yelled, pulling at the limp girl.
"I can't
move...just leave me..." she let out a weary groan.
"If I
didn't leave you for Dragons, I ain't gonna leave you for a lich!" Deminos
grunted. Wrapping his arms around
Daryl's waist, Deminos flexed his bandaged arm and, with some difficulty,
managed to hoist her over his shoulder.
Though his legs looked as if they were about to buckle from the weight,
Deminos held out a hand and dropped a few shimmering spheres of black and
silver into the floor. Half a dozen
satyrs bearing a large stretcher between them climbed out of the ground through
circles of silver and black.
"Get...Feo and...follow...me..." Deminos panted, limping over
to where Yuka, Mina, and Celine were waiting.
"Come
on...we have to-" Celine grunted, only to be cut off by the pained
bleating of Deminos's satyrs. Turning
their heads, the four of them saw two waves of fire curl around the satyrs and
incinerate them as well as lighting Feo's body on fire. What remained of the satyrs' bodies dissolved
into silver and black circles of light on the ground, while Feo rolled, trying
to beat out the flames that licked up his furry legs.
"Too
slow," Agni hissed, holding Melchom up by his head. The Goetian's body was nigh unrecognizable,
having been warped into a twisted mass of melted gold save for his head. Both eyes were rolled back in his skull and a
golden ichor flowed down his lips.
Agni's claws closed around Melchom's head, shattering it into gold
coins. The Goetian's remains collapsed
on the ground and disappeared into an emerald and golden circle of light.
"No...no,
not again!" Mina grunted, feeling her body about to collapse as she
watched.
"Just
run...!" Vincent snarled as the veins in his forehead popped out. "Run!"
"Come on!"
Deminos cried, grabbing Mina's hand as he stumbled towards the gap in the wall with
Daryl still slung over his shoulder. They
rejoined Celine and Yuka, who were waiting for them by the exit, however before
they could leave, Agni closed the gap between them in an instant and grabbed
Deminos by the throat.
The girls watched
in horror as Agni effortlessly lifted Deminos off the ground, his flaming nails
digging into the teen's throat as he did so.
With what remained of his strength, Deminos tipped Daryl over his
shoulder, into Mina and Celine's waiting arms.
"Dem..."
Vincent hissed, letting his hand fall, closing the exit he and Deminos had
made. Twisting around, he leapt at Agni,
the air around him distorting to carry the teythen forward, but the lich batted
him aside with one hand, flinging him into a wall as Agni began to laugh.
"Pitiful
wretch..." he chortled, his single eyeless socket falling on Deminos's
bandaged arm. "I remember
you." Flames sprang to life on
Agni's fingertips and he touched them to Deminos's arm. The bandages covering it ignited like a wad
of greased rags and Deminos held in a cry of pain as his craggy, blackened
flesh underneath was revealed, along with the shimmering white sigils that
dotted his skin. Narrowing his eyes,
Deminos tried to bash through Agni's arm with his own, but the lich caught it
in midair. "You thought you could
be powerful by taming a Goetian prince...fool...only the powerful are worthy of commanding a Goetian like
Asomodeus. The only reason you still
draw breath is because Aeon took pity on you and saved your pathetic
life."
"Shut
your mouth!" Deminos screamed, "I may be a fool, but Aeon didn't save
me because of pity! You don't understand
a damned-ack!" Deminos fell silent when Agni slapped him with the back of
his skeletal hand, leaving several gashes along Deminos's cheek. His body trembled and two rings fell from his
cloak, skittering along the floor until they were next to Mina, Celine, and
Yuka, who could only watch, transfixed by the display.
"Still as
insolent as ever...you, Yuka!" Agni said, finally raising his eye socket
to meet Yuka's eyes. "If you care
so little for the lives of your comrades, then how about their souls?" he
smirked at her, "Come with me or I will unleash the Goetian within this
boy and watch as he corrupts the rest of your friends."
Mina and
Celine's eyes widened. "You
can't! That would kill him!" Celine
yelled.
"Hehe,
death would be a blessing compared to the fate in store for this fool,"
Agni snickered, "So...what will it be?"
"Dem...I-"
Yuka stammered, dropping to her knees.
"Yuka,
just wait! You'll all be saved, I
promi-ack!" Deminos's body buckled as Agni ripped one of the glowing
sigils from his arm.
The lich's
mouth began to move, however Mina could hear none of the words coming out of
it. It sounded more like a chorus of
whispers, so thick and dense that they were like a mist that hung around
them. Deminos's arm seemed to hear
Agni's words and pulsed with life before unleashing a horrible screech. Agni pulled off a second sigil and the craggy
black skin of Deminos's arm began to violently undulate. Continuing his chanting, Agni reached for
another sigil.
Bracing
herself on the ground for support, Mina felt her fingers bump into the rings
Deminos had dropped. Looking down, she
saw that they were the flint rings that Canak had given to Yuka. "Yuka..." she whispered, scooping
up the rings and handing them to her, "Do you have any more
fireworks?"
"Firewo-!"
Yuka stopped and her eyes widened.
"Go on...we're
not letting you go. Besides..."
Celine grunted, narrowing her eyes and wrapping her arms tightly around Daryl's
unconscious body.
"We're
all dead anyway...Agni won't spare us," Mina choked out, taking Celine's
hand in her own and placing their combined fingers around Daryl's.
A few seconds
passed, interrupted only by Deminos screaming as another two sigils were ripped
from his arm. Finally, Yuka nodded and
slipped the rings onto her fingers.
Reaching into her shirt, she pulled out a metal ball with a fuse in it
and held it up for Agni to see.
"Hmmm?"
the lich stopped his chanting for a moment and looked up at Yuka.
"I've
gotta deal fer ya, Agni," Yuka spat.
"Ya want what's in my head sa badly? Then how about ya back off'r I'll take it
with me through tha black gates!"
Flicking her fingers together, she created a shower of sparks and lit
the fuse on the metal ball.
The lich
smirked at her and clicked his fingers together. A tiny blade of wind shot past Yuka, slicing
the fuse from the metal ball. "So
you refuse to help me then," he said, reaching for the last of Deminos's
sigils.
"No! STOP!!!" Mina cried.
Suddenly,
Agni's hand seemed to slow. Mina felt
her breathing almost come to a halt and watched as the others froze in
place. The air around them seemed to
fill with colors, as brilliant and dazzling as a rainbow, taking on the
silhouette of a man. The colors
dissipated in an instant to reveal Aeon with his palms placed against the side
of Agni's head. His armor was scorched
all over, his body was cracked in numerous places, and his frostbitten, blue
skin was chipped and broken, but his emerald eyes burned with an intensity that
belied his haggard form.
"Hands
off my comrades!" Aeon yelled, as a colossal serpent of ice burst out of
his palms, launching Agni off Deminos and trapping the lich in its mouth before
crashing through the fortress's stone wall.
The serpent surged forward, cracking through Agni's bones as it tried to
devour him. Even after slamming into the
wall of the valley and forming a large crater, it continued pressing against
Agni, trying to swallow him whole.
Stepping forward, Aeon crossed his arms before curling his fingers into
a fist. The snake wound itself around
Agni’s body, filling the crater and freezing it into a solid block of ice.
Aeon took a
deep breath and the cracks in his skin began to fade away, while the chipped
parts of him slowly reformed. He turned
his head to Yuka and exhaled slightly, taking the metal ball from her limp
grasp and freezing it solid as she watched, wide eyed. A smile crossed his face and he placed a hand
on Yuka's head, rubbing her shaved skin before turning to Deminos, who had
fallen to the ground.
Deminos let
out a scream and clutched his arm as the black crags began to move, slithering
up to his neck.
"Oh
goddess...no..." Mina squealed, crawling over to Deminos's side.
Kneeling down
next to him, Aeon pressed his hand against Deminos's blackened skin and it
stopped moving, mere centimeters from the cuts in Deminos's face.
Opening his
mouth, Aeon began to chant. The words
were heavy, like Agni's had been and Mina felt as if their weight would almost
smother her. She had to force herself to
take a breath when Aeon took his finger, which began to glow bright white, and
dragged it up and down Deminos's arm in a spiral pattern. Crystalline chains rose out of the trail of
white light that he left on Deminos's skin and squeezed down on the arm. Deminos let out another scream while the skin
of his arm rose up, wailing and undulating as the chains pressed against it, slowly
forcing the black crags down below Deminos's neck.
"Aeon..."
Yuka stammered, joining Deminos on the ground and helping him to sit up.
"That'll
hold it for now, but I need to reapply the seals," Aeon panted, holding
his hand up to his forehead.
"Goddess knows, it may have spread..."
"Good...to...see
you...made it..." Vincent croaked from his spot embedded in the wall. Though blood was flowing down his lips and
his face had gained several new wrinkles and lines, he was smiling.
Raising one
hand, Aeon swept it over Feo's charred body and ice covered the burns on the
griffon's flesh. "Unfortunately,
it's not over yet," he grunted, cloth and bone forming around his body as
he spoke. "Stay back, all of
you," he murmured, his skeletal form covering his human one as he spoke.
Laying Daryl
on the ground, Mina and Celine peeked around Aeon's back. A sea of fire burst out of the crater Agni had
been thrown into, melting through the ice that had trapped him. However, the fire began to change color and
took on a solid form. The crimson flames
turned a shade of deep blue as they twisted into a massive creature with six
segmented legs, each little more than a giant scythe blade, and a large tail formed
over its body with a giant stinger at the end.
The creature rose up, like a small mountain and the ground underneath it
gave way, melting into a puddle of molten rock as it took its first step
forward. The flames turned completely
black as a single eye of blue flames formed in the center of the creature's
elongated head. It paused only to let
out a roar that shook the foundations of the fortress before charging towards
Aeon and the otheres.
Reeling back,
Aeon flung his hands forward as fast as he could, each time sending spears of
ice and waves of frost straight at the creature, but it did little to slow it
down. The creature's scythe-like legs
sliced and burned through everything that approached it. Finally, as the monster drew near, Aeon
pressed both hands against the ground and giant crystals of ice rose from the
stone in front of them, extending out and forming a forest of glittering frost
between all of them and the monstrosity.
Without a hint
of hesitation, the monster's segmented legs crashed through the first crystal,
slicing through it like a sharp knife through a haunch of aurox meat. The crystals around the beadt slowly began to
melt as it sawed and cut its way up to Aeon, who remained fixed to the ground,
keeping the barrier in place. After
several long seconds, the creature sliced through the last crystal and loomed
over him.
Even from her
spot on the ground, Mina could feel the heat radiating off the creature. It felt to her as if her skin might melt off
her bones at any moment. Her breathes
grew shorter as each second passed.
Without warning, she felt a pressure on her hand and saw that Daryl had
woken up and was clutching both her and Celine's hands while also holding her
chest, gasping for breath. Celine, Yuka,
and Deminos seemed similarly unable to breathe.
Out of the corner of her eye, Mina saw something bright shine overhead for
an instant, before vanishing, however her attention was drawn back to the
monster when the stone of the fortress began bubble and melt as it stood over
them.
Agni's torso,
wreathed in black flames, sprouted from the beast's malformed head. "To the Goetian hells with the
girl! If she is so loyal to you, then
you can all burn together!" The
elongated head of the creature Agni had created opened its mouth to reveal row
upon row of razor sharp teeth, which it bared at Aeon. The creature's head shot forward, its neck
extending as it did so.
Mina felt the
air forced from her lungs as the beast of black flames stopped mere inches from
Aeon. Underneath them, a circle of black
and purple light had formed and runes were being inscribed in them with each
passing second. From the edge of the
circle, a thin film of purple light formed a dome around them, stopping just in
front of where Aeon was on the ground.
The monster's teeth were trapped in the film, unable to penetrate it to
devour Aeon.
Raising
himself up off the ground, Aeon floated into the air and glanced behind
him. Mina followed his gaze and saw a
picture of a beast's elongated head with two horns in the back forming in the
center of purple and black circle.
Folding his hands behind his back, Aeon looked up at Agni. "It would seem that your time is up."
Next to Mina,
a creature slowly rose out of the ground until she hovered in midair, almost
level with Aeon. It appeared to be a
human woman covered in downy black fur, with an elongated snout and two curved
horns jutting out of her head with a purple flame burning between them. The
only scrap of clothing she wore was a dirty loincloth around her waist, held in
place by a buckle that bore the sigil of a serpent with three mouths upon it. The woman sat cross legged in midair,
supported by a pair of feathery, black wings, and looked over at Agni with eyes
that resembled hot coals.
"Baphomet?!"
Blue flames belched forth from the single eye socket of Agni's creature and it
pulled back slowly, edging away from the barrier around Aeon and the
others. "No...damnation, they
cannot be here!"
As if in
response to Agni's cries, a gigantic tree sprouted behind him, it's thick roots
spreading out and wrapping around the scythe-like legs of his creature. Though the monster's flames tore away at the
bark of the tree, the thick roots bound the creature and held it still as a
tidal wave surged forth from the far end of the Keval mountains and crashed
down on Agni. A tornado touched down on
top of the water, blowing it away and snuffing out the creature of black flames
that Agni had created while simultaneously pinning the fiery lich to the
ground.
Though they
were obscured by heavy cloaks, Mina managed to make out three figures floating
around Agni as the wind continued drilling him into the ground. One wore a cloak of light, forest green and
appeared to support himself with a cane, while another appeared to be little
more than a fluttering piece of dark green cloth in the air. The final figure was garbed in dark blue and
had the form of a woman, however save for a few strands of damp blue hair,
nothing else could be seen through the cloak.
Mina's mouth
hung agape at the sight of Agni being so easily tossed about by the three
cloaked figures. Celine and Daryl were
equally awestruck, however Deminos had begun to laugh manically while Yuka let
out a sigh of relief.
"It's
over..." Vincent smirked from his spot embedded in the wall.
A scream burst
free from Agni and flames shot up all around him, forming a gigantic pillar,
blasting through the tornado of wind which had drilled him into the
ground. Rising up to join the others,
Aeon held out his hands and a spear of ice shot forward, while the woman in
dark blue used her hand to chop at the air, sending a powerful, concentrated
stream of water at Agni, which sliced through the rock of the mountains as it
drew nearer to him.
Agni raised
his fist and lava burst free from the ground in a great geyser, shielding him
from the blade of water, while he spat a beam of concentrated flames out of his
mouth at Aeon, dissolving his spear of ice.
From above, a pillar of wind dropped down around Agni and began to
siphon the flames off him. Mina watched,
wide eyed, as the air was slowly drawn out of the twister, smothering the
flames and reducing Agni to just his skeletal body.
The pillar of
wind dissipated as a silver streak shot across the ground. The streak of light transformed into a
gigantic, silver furred apocra as it drew near to Agni and it raked him across
the back with its claws. The creature's
size rivaled Echidna's, but even though lava spurted forth from Agni's bones to
form a massive three pronged claw, the silver furred apocra darted out of the
way, circling around Agni with such speed that it looked as if the lich were
trapped in a circle of light.
"Damn you
all!" Agni shrieked, rising out of the ground in a pillar of lava, which
formed armor around him and gave him two gigantic scythe blades at the end of
each hand. He slashed at the beast,
however a tiny woman with fiery red hair, garbed in a cloak of black and gold,
appeared at the beast's side. A massive
blade, dull red in color, shot out of her arm and clanged against Agni's
scythe, easily holding it at bay. The
lich tried to attack with his free blade, however the silver furred apocra
leapt forward, burying its fangs in Agni's neck. Tearing the armor off with glowing white
teeth, it ripped Agni's elongated head from his body, revealing the head of a
charred, ashen skinned man underneath it.
Flames burst
forth from Agni, forcing the apocra to leap back, however the tiny woman raised
her hand and the air distorted, dragging Agni into the ground, where a spear of
tree root shot up and impaled him.
"Don't
stop until he's down!" The woman with the red hair called out, as Agni
tore himself free of the spear and flew over the ruined valley, trying to put
some distance between himself and his attackers.
Agni had not
flown far before a man in a cloak of blood-red stepped out of a swarm of furry,
black winged creatures. The figure held
his hands out to either side and Agni's body mimicked him, however when the
man's arms reached out as far as they would go, Agni's arms continued moving,
ripping free of his body.
The man in the
red cloak clasped his hands together and brought them down on the air. Above Agni, the air distorted and he was
slammed down into the dirt, as if the man had hit him.
Though his
body lay ruined on the ground, Agni still tried to rise however, out of the
sky, Mina saw an immense, serpentine creature bearing a set of mottled black
and white wings shoot down towards Agni.
Riding on the head of the creature was a naked, muscular man, clothed
only in a helmet of iron and wielding a black lance. The man leapt from his winged steed and stabbed
Agni through his human head, impaling him as the serpent coiled itself around
the lich.
"Wh-who...who
are they?" Daryl whispered.
"The
Telnumbran Elder Council," Vincent grunted as he pulled himself out of the
wall. He took a moment to collect his
severed arm from the ground and joined Deminos and the four girls. "On his own, Aeon might lose to Agni, so
we made arrangements in case Agni came back to Gesthal."
"By Seran...they
took him down like it was nothing!" Celine exclaimed, cracking a
grin. "Heh...bastard deserves a
taste of his on medicine!"
"It ain't
over yet," Yuka snorted.
"S'long as his body's still kickin'r his soul anchor's safe, he'll
keep comin back."
"I
wouldn't worry," Deminos smirked, casting his eyes behind him.
The girls
glanced at the melted entrance to the fortress and saw that the debris had been
thrust aside. Through the entrance, a
man garbed in a hooded purple robe with an eye emblazoned on the hem walked
through. His steps were slow, and with
each one he took he clacked the ground with a staff as tall as he was. The staff clattered, as it was covered in
rings which adorned what looked like a Dragon's claw curled around a purple
gemstone at the tip.
Without
turning to face them, the man pulled back his hood to reveal a face that looked
no older than Yuka, but with smooth white skin and shoulder length purple
hair. His eyes were bound by a bandana
bearing the symbol of an eye and he passed by Mina and the others without so
much as a word, though the Goetian protecting them bowed her head to the man.
"I don't
believe it..." Mina whispered, her eyes widening. "It's...it's him...!"
"Huh?"
Deminos raised an eyebrow, "Mina, do you know Master Dezolis?"
"I..."
Mina stammered, unable to take her eyes of the man as he walked over to the
hole Agni had burned in the wall and stepped into thin air. Instead of falling, a golden litter rose out
of a circle of white and gold in the air.
The man took a seat in the litter and six figures, garbed in golden
armor and bearing metal wings to match, carried him down to Agni. Taking a deep breath, Mina said, "He
saved me after...after Agni killed my parents."
"I
thought Bishop Charas was the one who brought you to Gesthal," Daryl
murmured, sitting up slightly to get a better view of what was going on.
"He
did. He found me and tried to fight off
Agni, but..." Mina faltered and shook her head, "If The Blind Sage
hadn't intervened, we'd have all died."
Turning her
head towards the hole in the wall, Mina and the others watched as Dezolis
dismounted from his golden litter. Aeon
and the other six figures who had fought with Agni floated down to the ground
around him, forming a circle. Pulling
off his blindfold, Dezolis reached out and grabbed Agni's human head and
twisted it so that it was looking in his direction.
"You will
tell us the location of your army and any collaborators in your schemes,"
Dezolis's voice boomed out. Though it
had an unearthly, almost ethereal calm and gentleness to it, the force behind
his voice brooked no refusals.
"I...I..."
Agni gurgled, his body twitching under the black lance. Light seemed to radiate out of Dezolis's eye
sockets as he stared at Agni. "Looking
for...revive legacy of..." his words were hesitant and the lich seemed
visibly shaken by Dezolis's presence.
The ground
underneath them shook and Mina would have fallen on her face if Celine hadn't
caught her. "What was that?!"
Celine barked.
Before anyone
could respond, the ground underneath Agni turned bright red. "Everyone, fall back!" Dezolis
yelled as a plume of lava shot out of the ground, engulfing Dezolis and his six
armored litter bearers. Aeon and the
others darted backwards, putting some distance between themselves and Agni as
the lava continued expanding outwards.
Agni's body
was carried upwards on the stream of lava, the black lance still piercing his
chest. However before he could make a
move, teeth sprang out of the molten rock all around him and bit down on the
lich, swallowing him, lance and all. The
plume of lava died down to reveal a Dragon so massive that its body nearly
filled the entirety of the Keval mountain range. However, when the lava had fully dissipated,
it was revealed that only the top half the Dragon's body was visible. Six leathery wings stretch out from the
creature's back, blocking out the very sky above them, each adorned with scales
that glimmered like crimson rubies. Four
gigantic arms, each as massive as one of the Keval mountains, were visible
above the surface, with scythe-like talons jutting out of each scaly
finger. Four eyes of blazing red and
black burned in a head that dwarfed the fortress Mina and the others hid in,
while a set of razor sharp teeth curved into a grin.
The Dragon
opened his mouth and Agni, in his skeletal form, skittered forward on his
tongue. He tossed the black lance which
had impaled him to the ground and let out a laugh. "You almost had me," he said. "Pity."
Out of the
lava, which still bubbled around the Dragon's body, a sphere of purple light
rose up. The light from the sphere
slowly faded away to reveal Dezolis, unfazed by the attack, floating in midair.
"Take
them both!" Dezolis ordered. He
leaned forward and a giant arrow of light, twice his size, burst out of his
face. The arrow slammed into one of the
Dragon's shoulders and exploded, causing it to wince slightly.
"Wretched
insects," The Dragon snorted, turning to face Dezolis. Agni skittered out of the Dragon's mouth as
lava welled up within it.
Aeon and the
woman in the dark blue cloak darted over to Dezolis's side. The Dragon breathed forth a small ocean of
lava at Dezolis, however Aeon and the woman in blue raised their hands. "Marina,"
Aeon called out.
"I
know!" the woman responded. Moving
in front of Aeon, the woman cupped her hands together while Aeon put his on
either side of her. Reeling back, the
woman in blue thrust her hands forward, shooting out a massive stream of water
that looked like a beam. Aeon's body
began to glow and the beam of water expanded in size, even as ice caked around
it. The beam of water and ice crashed
against the Dragon's lava breath and an explosion ripped through the valley.
The walls of
the fortress cracked and shattered from the force of the attack, however the
rubble bounced off the purple bubble surrounding Mina and the others. The woman with the bestial face let out a
bleat and the bubble extended to protect Feo as the rest of the fortress
collapsed around them.
While the
rubble rolled off the barrier harmlessly, the explosion had kicked up a screen
of mist in front of them. Squinting in
an effort to see through it, Mina could make out the Dragon's body, which
radiated bright red, however everything else was obscured by the mist. The most she could discern was a silver streak
racing up the Dragon's arm, followed on the opposite side by a crimson wheel.
"Volvaggion,
it's time to pull back!" Agni's voice echoed over the battle.
The Dragon
batted at the silver streak and Mina saw the giant, silver furred apocra slam
through the wall of the fortress and skid to a halt next to the edge of the
purple barrier around them. Without a
word to any of them, he leapt out through the hole in the wall to return to the
battle.
All around
them, the sounds earth cracking, wind whirling, and blades on scales rang
out. Even with the mist distorting their
view, Mina could see the Dragon buckling under the fury of these continued
attacks. Suddenly a light brighter than
the sun began to radiate from within the mist.
A great gale burst forth from this light to reveal that Dezolis had a
mystic circle underneath him. Reaching
up to his face, he jammed a finger into his eye socket and the circle
expanded. In the center of the circle
was a shining star adorning the tip of an arrow, while all around it halos of
light expanded outwards. A figure garbed
in radiant white armor, with a golden bow in her hands burst forth from
Dezolis's eye. Though no taller than
Dezolis, she spread a pair of massive, emerald wings and flew above him. Drawing back on her bowstring, she shot forth
an arrow of light, equal in size to the Dragon.
Holding all
four arms up to his face, the Dragon took the arrow full on, but the ground
behind him cracked as he was pushed backwards.
The scales on the Dragon's arms smoldered as the winged figure pulled
back a second time on her bowstring.
Curling his
wings around him, the Dragon dove into the ground as the second arrow was
loosed. A plume of lava followed after
the Dragon's departure, however the arrow curved around and shot straight into
the lava, creating an explosion that cracked the ground all through the Keval mountains.
When the
shaking finally subsided, Mina saw that the battle was over and the Dragon was
nowhere to be seen.
"Amazing..."
Daryl whispered, her hand pressed over her beating heart. "The pictures...the songs...she's just
as I imagined!"
"What are
you going on about, Daryl?" Celine muttered.
"That
man...he's summoned one of the four Knights of Metron. Lady Gabriel..."
"Yeah..."
Mina nodded, "He...he's got quite a few Metronians under his
command."
"Phew..."
floating down to meet them was the tiny woman with the fiery red hair. When she touched down on the ground, Mina saw
that she was very short, perhaps no more than four feet in height. A gown of black and gold covered her svelte
figure and stopped just below the ankle, revealing a pair of heavy boots on her
feet. Her face bore no signs of age and
her hair was bright red, braided into a set of loops on either side of her
head. She looked like a girl Mina's age. "Glad that's over," the woman said.
"Austa,"
Vincent smiled, despite the dirt and blood which caked his face and flecked the
snow white bandana around his hair.
The tiny woman
turned, her face pale as the moon with a childish grin adorning it. "Vincent," the woman named Austa
floated into the air so that she was the same height as Vincent and wrapped her
arms around his neck. "My brave
knight...you seem to have gotten a little banged up."
"I'm not
your knight yet, my lady," Vincent chuckled, his eyes falling to the
severed arm he held in his free hand.
"I still have a ways to go."
Austa puffed
out her cheeks and crossed her arms.
"You're always saying that!
When are you finally going to join me?!" she wrinkled her nose and
whined. "Either way, let me take
care of that for you."
Vinecnt held
up his severed arm and Austa took hold of it. Holding her finger out, Austa bit it and blood
swirled forward in a spiral, like a dull red cloth. It wrapped itself around Vincent's charred
stump and seeped into it, eating away at the blackened remnant of his arm until
it turned a fleshy color and began to pulse.
Vincent winced as she did this, but stood and bore with it. The ribbon of blood twirled in the air until
it wrapped around the smoldering end of Vincent's severed arm as well. When both parts had been coated, Austa jammed
the two stumps together. A grimace
crossed Vincent's face and he tried to keep himself from grunting as Austa
twisted it in its socket, trying to connect the flesh and bone to the exact
right spot. When she was satisfied, the
ribbon of blood from Austa's finger wrapped itself around Vincent's newly
attached arm, tying itself together with a big, red bow.
Vincent flexed
his arm experimentally and ran his hand over it. "Thank you, Austa. It feels like brand new."
"Hehe,
another thousand years and you'll be able to do that by yourself," Austa
giggled.
"Ummmmm..."
Daryl raised a hand and opened her mouth, but nothing else came out.
"You
gonna introduce us, Vincent?" Celine snorted.
"Oh,
forgive me!" Austa turned around and did a curtsey in midair. "I am Empress Austarine, sovereign ruler
of the kingdom of
Ahri," the tiny
woman said with the utmost politeness, "But you can call me Austa,"
she giggled before turning back to Vincent.
"Austa...Austarine?!"
Daryl squealed. "Goddess...she's
one of the most ancient creatures in Serano!"
"...Really?"
Celine cocked an eye at the girl who was rubbing Vincent's head and the bandana
he wore as if he were a pet.
"She...doesn't look it."
"Thank
you! I try to take care of myself,"
Austarine laughed before turning to Vincent's arm and fussing over the bow.
"Heh,"
Mina let out a chuckle, "My memory's a bit hazy, but...she seems to be the
same as back then," she sighed.
"Austa,"
Mina and the others raised their heads as Dezolis floated down to the ground
with Aeon in tow, his head bowed in deference.
"What
happened, Dezy? Did you find him?"
Austa muttered.
"No,"
Dezolis shook his head. "Xalken's
eyes lost track of Agni amidst the lava currents under Telnumbra. I have arranged for Velkun to return to Umbra
and send out the proper missives. The
entire council is needed to discuss our next move."
"What
about the Keval mountains?" Mina said, groaning as she rose to her
feet. "Will you leave them as they
are?" she stared into the man's face.
Without his blindfold, she could see into the man's eyeless sockets,
each glittering with the tiniest hint of light.
Turning away
from her to address Austa, Dezolis went on.
"Aeon will see to the town while Rowen, Marina, and Xalken will ensure the valley is
rebuilt. You and I will handle the
fortress, Austa."
"Vardoul?"
Vincent narrowed his eyes.
"He
departed as soon as the battle was over," Aeon replied.
"Tch,
typical," Yuka spat.
"Enough,"
Dezolis said. Though gentle, his voice
held a subtle power to it, drawing everyone's attention to him. "You should see to your wounded,
Aeon," he nodded to Mina and the others at last.
Floating
forward, Aeon brushed past Mina and the others, offering them only a curt nod
of acknowledgement, and knelt down next to Deminos. His fingers began to blaze with white light
and he inscribed a few runes onto Deminos's craggy black arm. The teenage conjurer bore with it, even
though his face was a mask of pain.
"I do not
have the time for a full seal, Dem, but this will contain Asmodeus for a little
while," Aeon muttered, "Once my business with the council is settled,
I shall reapply the full seal."
"Ugh...th-thanks,"
Deminos grunted, rubbing his arm.
"You did
well tonight," Aeon nodded at him, clasping the young man on the shoulder
before floating over to the broken form of Feo.
The lich carefully ran hands over the griffon's wounded body, engrossed
in seeing to the creature's health.
While Aeon saw
to Feo, Yuka helped Deminos up, pulled a roll of bandages out of the pouch on
her belt, and began to re-wrap his blackened arm. "Hey, Dem..." she whispered, keeping
her eyes glued to the ground, "Ya saved my butt tonight, ya know? Alla ours...err...thanks."
"Well,
someone had to, right?" Deminos laughed before grunting when Yuka snorted
and tightened the bandages around his arm.
The ground
underneath them rumbled and outside, Mina heard what sounded like an
earthquake. Rushing over to the window,
with Celine helping Daryl over to her side, Mina and her friends saw the ground
below them moving. The small mountain
path, with all its twists and turns rose out of the lava left by Agni,
mirroring what it once had been, while giant crags burst forth from the ground,
climbing higher and higher until they were equal in height to the mountains the
girls remembered. Individual rocks and
hills sprouted from these mountains and snow fell onto the tallest of them,
mirroring the high peaks from their memories.
The three of them stood dumbfounded as they watched the Keval mountain
range being restored.
Behind her,
Mina heard the sound of metal scraping against stone, however she could not
take her eyes away from the reformation happening in front of her. Her view was obstructed, however, when a
creature bearing spindly arms and legs swung itself in front of her and clung
to the from of the shattered wall. The
being was covered in a dull bronze armor, though it was pressed so tightly to
the creature Mina thought for a moment that the armor was its skin, and had two
bulky mouths, one near its arms and one near its legs. The mouth near the legs seemed to be chewing
something, while the mouth by the arms spat out stone that mirrored the
undestroyed bricks and mortar of what remained of the fortress. The two different masonries blended into one
another so that even as she watched, Mina was soon unable to tell where the old
masonry ended and the new masonry began.
"What in
the Goetian hells...?" she heard Celine whisper next to her.
"They're
Metronians who specialize in restoration.
I believe they are called...Tektoniel?" Daryl mumbled, her face alight
with awe at the glistening bronze body, as another crawled over them and began
repairing the shattered windows.
"Good
eye," Dezolis muttered, appearing behind them. Mina took a quick glance at the man who was
looking straight ahead rather than looking down in their direction. Behind him, Austa was still conversing with
Vincent, though countless debris from the fortress hung over her head, which
she was feeding into more of the spindly creatures Daryl had called Tektoniel. "These craftsmen will restore this
fortress before the morn. I am curious,
however. You are very well
informed. Do you wish to form a bond
with the Metronians yourself, young lady?"
"I..."
Daryl's eyes fell and she could not speak.
"Your
body has an aura of uncertainty about it," Dezolis said, finally turning
his eyeless face towards Daryl's.
"Understandable. However,
the fear you feel is the ephemeral dread of change. Seek strength from your companions and those
around you and use it to find your own path.
When you are ready, the oath will be waiting for you."
"What if
I never feel ready?" Daryl squeaked.
"You will,"
Dezolis nodded, "However, do not rush.
Take time to decide what you desire.
The choice to make an oath is one that only you can make."
Daryl was
silent for a moment and Celine patted her shoulder. "Hey, princess? You okay?"
"I...yeah,
I think so," Daryl let out a sigh and smiled at Dezolis, whose blind face
showed no recognition of her gesture.
When her
friends had finished, Mina swallowed a lump in her throat and turned
around. She reached out to touch the hem
of Dezolis's robe, however he spoke up before she could. "What is it, child?"
Mina
suppressed a squeak, though her eyes widened slightly and she slowly gathered
her words. "You...ummm...master
Dezolis...do you remember me?"
For the first
time since she'd seen him, Mina saw Dezolis's face twitch and he turned towards
her. The young man stroked his chin and
hummed to himself. "Your aura
is...unfamiliar to me..."
"Eight
years ago, master," Aeon called out, rising from his spot on the ground
where he had been treating Feo. "In
Shakur, you saved a group of priests and a young girl from Agni."
Recognition
dawned on Dezolis's face and he knelt down so that his eyeless sockets were
looking into Mina's eyes.
"Curious..." he murmured, touching her face with his
hands. Mina shivered slightly at the
clamminess of his fingers, but bore with it, as he poked and prodded her forehead
and cheeks. "Yes...this face, I
remember...though it has matured.
Mi...Minava?"
"Yes,
sir," Mina bowed her head, "I...wanted to say thank you...for saving
me again."
Dezolis hung
his head and sighed. "No, young
lady...I do not deserve your thanks. I
promised you justice...however it is eight years later and Agni still roams
free. I should have slain him that very
night, however..."
"It's...it's
alright," Mina said, putting her hands around Dezolis's. "I still want him to pay for what he's
done, but...I understand. You did what
was necessary for peace," she added, turning her eyes towards Aeon. "Bishop Charas told me that much when I
was a little girl...though, I didn't understand what he meant back then."
A few seconds
passed and Dezolis managed a smile.
Placing a hand on Mina's head, he rose back to his feet. "Your aura is far stronger than the
little girl who was cradled in the Bishop's arms. You have grown much in these eight
years."
"Th-thank
you," Mina blushed and looked down at the ground.
"So, what
comes next?" Celine's voice drew them all back to reality. "What's gonna happen to Agni? To Gesthal?
Or to us, for that matter...?"
"Agni
will be hunted down," Aeon replied, nodding to Mina. "He is no longer shielded by the
council, so both he and his army will be made to pay for their crimes."
"As for
Gesthal, the damage will be repaired, as if it never happened," Dezolis
said. "This battle must forever
remain a secret, lest hostilities break out again. As for you three...you must also keep this a
secret. I will need to seal your
memories of this night," Dezolis raised his staff and purple light began
to flow out of it. Mina's eyes widened
and she took a step back, joining Daryl and Celine, as they watched runes and
letters flying out of the jewel at the top of Dezolis's staff.
"Master,
you can't!" Deminos called out, "We'd all be dead if not for
them! They helped save this place,
you-"
"I must
do what is necessary to maintain the peace," Dezolis said. "I am sorry."
Though her
heart was pounding in her chest, Mina swallowed hard and nodded. Squinting her eyes shut, she held on to
Celine and Daryl and waited for the world around her to turn black. However, seconds ticked by and nothing
happened. Then, she heard a voice.
"They are
apprentices of mine, master. You need
not do this. I will take responsibility
for them."
Opening one
eye, Mina saw Aeon's skeletal fingers wrapped around Dezolis's wrist. Though neither showed any signs of emotion,
she could feel a strange chill in the air emanating from each of them. Then, Dezolis smirked and lowered his staff.
"Very
well. If they are your comrades, then
that is good enough." Turning away
from Aeon, Dezolis put his hand on the shoulder of the black furred Goetian who
was still hovering in the center of the room.
With a nod, she disappeared into a circle of black and purple which
formed in the floor. "It will be
dawn in a few hours, Aeon. Recall your
forces and see that the villagers are taken care of."
"Of course, sir," Aeon put his hand in front of
his chest and bowed.
"I think one of Agni's scouts damaged the inn in
Gesthal," Vincent chimed in, looking over his shoulder, "We'll need
to get that repaired before morning as well."
"Then I shall leave you to that while Austa and I
finish repairs here," Dezolis nodded.
"When all is well, join us in Umbra to discuss our next move."
"Yes, master," Aeon said.
Floating over to Feo, Aeon held up his hand with the palm
facing down and gently swirled it around in a circle. A whirlwind formed underneath the griffon,
lifting it a few feet into the air. It followed
Aeon as he turned and headed for the door.
"We are leaving.
Vincent, Deminos, Yuka, Mina, Celine, Daryl," he said, "Follow
me." Though Mina and her friends
hesitated slightly, Vincent smiled and bowed to Austarine before following Aeon
and Feo through the gap Dezolis had made in the fortress's wall. Deminos and Yuka followed after him, holding
hands.
"Aeon," the lich and those following after him
stopped and turned back to face Dezolis, who was directing the metal figures in
setting up the benches and weapons inside the fortress. "Agni sent me a missive before this
battle took place. It contained a
different account than yours as to what happened to Canak's foundry."
Yuka suppressed a gasp and Demino's bandages creaked as
he balled his hand into a fist. Mina
felt Celine's grip on her hand tighten as her heart thrummed in her chest. Her eyes widened and she turned towards Aeon,
however neither he nor Vincent seemed concerned.
"I imagine it did," Aeon said.
"It is regrettable you had to make a choice like that. However, that is why I sent you, rather than
Vardoul or Xalken," Dezolis added.
"I understand, master," Aeon said before
leading the others outside.
They slowly made their way down the mountain path, which had
remained in tact in spite of the battle.
Yuka and Deminos seemed unwilling to speak and instead just stayed close
during the climb down. As they neared
the bottom, Mina swallowed hard and opened her mouth, however a roar overhead
interrupted her.
"Papa!" The skeleton of a small Dragon, no
bigger than a few houses, winged its way towards the ground with Nerise on
top. The black haired girl jumped down
and ran over to Aeon, jumping onto his rib cage and clinging to him tightly. "You're okay! I was so worried!" Nerise yelled,
rubbing her face against his bones.
"Is Kina..."
"She requires rest, but she will be fine," Aeon
said, stroking Nerise's hair. "You
did a good job keeping Agni's forces from entering Gesthal, Neri. I am proud of you."
"Hmmm..." Nerise hummed, "Once you two
started fighting, they started to run...I didn't have to do much." Climbing down from Aeon, Nerise looked behind
him. "Hey! What are you doing here? You should be asleep!"
"We know...believe me, we know," Daryl let out
a yawn before heading over to Nerise and slumping over her in a hug.
Nerise hugged her back as Celine and Mina joined them in
a hug. "It's...been a long
night," Celine shook her head.
"You know there's a hole in your tavern,
right?" In front of them, Gadius
rose out of the ground, the dirt moving aside to let him pass. His body was soaked with sweat and he was
panting as he approached them.
"That was not my fault, I want to point out. I kept the fire off the village."
"Gadius, Neri, Dem, I want you all to get some
rest. I will see to the inn," Aeon
said. "If that is alright with you,
Minava," Aeon said, looking at the emerald haired girl behind him.
"Aeon...about what's happened-"
"I am sorry, but now is not the time," Aeon cut
her off. "Return to Acacia in two
days time and you will find me waiting."
Turning to Yuka, he put a hand on her shoulder. "As for you, Yuka, I am sorry to involve
you with this after you departed my service, but you have once again made me
very proud."
"Jus...shuddup, ya idjit," Yuka growled and
looked away from him.
Unconcerned, Aeon turned back to Gesthal and continued
floating forward while Gadius and Nerise headed into the forest on the
outskirts of town. Deminos stayed
alongside Yuka and Mina saw him put a hand on her shoulder for support. Vincent increased his pace to catch up with
Aeon.
"Are you well enough to keep watch while I am
away?" Aeon muttered.
"Well or not, someone has to. I'll get more blood when I have time,"
Vincent replied, his voice just loud enough for Mina to hear. "Even if the danger has passed for now,
we can't just leave. Agni came here for
a reason all those months ago...whether for that or for Yuka, he could be
back."
"I intend to tell the council as much," Aeon
said as they arrived in front of Kano's
tavern. The hole the garm had made in
the wall was still there, however several apocra were righting the tables and
chairs while one of the lamia carried Kano
into the back. No sooner had they passed
through the hole than a buzzing reached Mina's ear. A soft, almost imperceptible lullaby that robbed
her already haggard body of what energy she had left.
"Well, we made it," Celine sighed, collapsing
into a chair and resting her head on the table.. "Ugh...I think that singing is
back..."
Daryl joined her, laying her head down next to Celine's
and nodding off almost immediately. Mina
nearly fell asleep where she stood, however Deminos and Yuka caught her and
deposited her next to her two friends.
Before closing her eyes, Mina saw Aeon raise his hands and the debris
surrounding the broken wall slowly began to patch the hole. Using the last of her energy to scoot next to
Celine, Mina listened to the singing and let the embrace of sleep take her.
