Chapter 13: Human

This chapter is the end of the Dragon arc.  It was a long time coming, mostly because while the action was solid, you never realize how hackneyed or silly some dialogue can be until you really re-read it.  So, a few extra scenes near the start were added, dialogue was tweaked, and there were some changes to character motivations.  All in all, I like how it came out.  I do worry a bit about some of the scenes in my book though.  Once or twice, I try and play against expectations, so it either seems like a cop out or it will be a bit too predictable, just because you never know what to expect.  There is a reason for that, believe me, though you'll have to wait till the second book if you want to see it.  Can't give it all away in the first one, right?  I worry that near the end, people are gonna call bull crap on me...just wait, it all pays off, I promise.  This isn't a meat grinder story where everyone dies, but the characters aren't immortal either.  I have plans.  Anyway, with this, we're over 1/4 of the way through the book.

Hope everyone enjoys the chapter.

Chapter 13: Human

Mina saw the flames the Dragons had belched at Deminos crash into an invisible wall.  The pentagram which had formed around Deminos's feet slowly expanded, pushing the fire backwards until the Dragons retreated to a safe distance.  An emblem resembling a pentagram with three grotesque heads bearing crowns in the center appeared on the surface of Deminos's arm and his eyes flashed with purple light.  Black crags covered half his face and spread along his body at a slow, but steady pace.

Deminos's blackened arm let out an earsplitting screech as he ran his left hand over it.  "ASMODE-mpphh!"  Deminos's eyes widened as a skeletal hand materialized in front of him and clamped down on his mouth.  Another hand appeared and gripped his arm. 

In the blink of an eye, the pentagram around Deminos's feet shattered and was replaced by a circle of white light.  In the center of the circle were three emblems resembling a halo, a Dragon's head, and a five sided star respectively.  Glowing silver chains slithered out of the edge of the circle, crisscrossing together to form arcane characters throughout the circle, before engulfing the three emblems.  Once the three emblems had been ensnared, the chains climbed up Deminos's legs and wrapped around his blackened arm.  His skin rose and fell, shrieking in agony as it did, but the chains smothered its wails and dragged Deminos to his knees.  The leathery skin and black crags which had covered much of his face and upper body slowly receded into his arm and he collapsed on the ground, panting and wheezing.

"What the..." Celine grunted. 

The air around Deminos distorted briefly and a skeletal figure clad in a hooded black cloak appeared out of thin air in front of them.  The figure removed his left hand from Deminos's mouth, but kept his right hand locked around Deminos's wrist.

"A...Aeon?!" Mina exclaimed.

The lich seemed to be panting, and green flames spilled out of his eye sockets, giving him an otherworldly look.  Seeing that Deminos had been subdued, the Dragons behind them breathed a fresh wave of fire at the five of them.  However, Aeon's black cloak lengthened and curved around the five of them.  The fire hit Aeon full on, but when the cloth had been burned away, only a gigantic shield of ice remained, protecting Mina and the others from the flames.  What remained of Aeon's cloak slowly reformed around him as he touched his left index finger to Deminos's arm.

"He...he just appeared out of nowhere!" Daryl gasped, her mouth dropping open in shock.  Feeling her friends' grips loosen, Mina wriggled free of their grasp and made her way over to Aeon and Deminos.  It appeared as if the lich was rapidly chanting under his breath.

When Mina was close enough to touch Aeon, the lich barked, "Stay back!" without taking his eyes off Deminos's arm. 

Using his left hand, Aeon etched sigils of light onto Deminos's blackened skin while the chains from the circle below him held the conjurer in place.  Keeping her distance, Mina glanced over at Deminos's arm.  Five and six sided stars, halos, a circle of chains, and various other emblems were being imprinted upon the black skin.  When they realized what was happening, Daryl and Celine joined Mina in watching the lich meticulously cover Deminos's blackened arm with the glowing white emblems.  After what seemed like hours, the chains binding Deminos's arm slithered back into the circle and it vanished.  Aeon released Deminos and rested his spine against the ice shield behind him.

Blinking furiously, Deminos looked up at the ice shield in front of him, then back at Mina, Celine, and Daryl, before finally resting his gaze on his arm, which shone with dozens of new white sigils.

" Are you alright, Deminos?" Mina murmured, carefully putting her hand on his shoulder.

Clenching and unclenching his fingers experimentally, Deminos slowly nodded.  "Y-yeah...I'm okay.  I..."

"What in the Goetian hells was that?!" Celine exclaimed.

"That was holy magic..." Daryl whispered, glancing over at Aeon.  "The strongest I've ever seen.  How...how did you-"

"There is no time to explain," Aeon grunted, forcing himself to rise into the air.  Mina saw him put his hand against the shield of ice to keep him steady.  Underneath the black hood of his cloak, the flames in Aeon's eye sockets still burned brightly, but he gasped for air as if he were a man who had run a full day without resting.  Though he had no lungs within his rib cage, the lich's body shuddered and trembled with each breath.  "Are you all unharmed?" Aeon murmured, regaining his composure and folding his hands behind his back.

"T-Tired, but fine," Daryl stuttered.

"Bit bruised here and there," Celine smirked and held her shoulder.

"We're okay," Mina smiled at the lich, who turned his gaze towards Deminos.

"I...Aeon...I'm sorry, I never-" Tears welled up in Deminos's eyes as he gripped his blackened wrist.  "This is all my-"

"Do not speak," Aeon raised his hand to silence Deminos.  "If you are unhurt then that is enough."  Turning around, Aeon floated through the frozen shield as if it were water and appeared on the other side as the six remaining Dragons regrouped around him.  "Children of Shanadia, hear me," Aeon muttered, gesturing towards Mina and the others behind the clear, crystalline shield, "I will say this only once.  These are my comrades.  I do not care what your quarrel with them may be.  If you continue to attack them, I will cut you down."  He spoke calmly and matter-of-factly, however the weight behind Aeon's words were apparent.  For the first time, the Dragons seemed afraid and took several steps back.

            "Frozen Shade," one of the Dragons rumbled, "These children are thieves.  They have stolen from us and attacked our comrades with Goetians and magic.  They must be punished!"

"The All-father disagrees," Aeon said, floating forward and forcing the Dragons to back away even further.  "He is on his way down here at this very moment.  We will settle things and if there is a punishment, I shall take it."

"But-!"

"These are not alchemists, poachers, or would-be-heroes seeking your lives!" Aeon snarled, the green flames in his eye sockets glowing brilliantly.  "They are children, deposited here by an accident!  Were you to awaken in a human or Vey city, would you wish to be treated as they have been?!"

The Dragons hung their heads.  "It is the law.  We were only doing as we have been taught."

Turning his back to them, Aeon added, "Shanadia gave you the power to think and the power to choose.  So long as you do neither, you will remain little more than hatchlings."

The Dragons ground their teeth at Aeon, as he floated back towards his frozen shield.  Trembling, one of the Dragons stepped forward and let out a roar.  "Then I choose to punish you for insults!"  Flames belched out of its mouth and headed straight for Aeon.

Ice formed around Aeon's left hand and with one quick movement, he spun around and batted the flames aside with his frozen arm.  Reeling back with his left arm, Aeon swept it across the battlefield in front of him.  A frigid mist burst out of Aeon's cloak and wafted over the Dragons.  A single roar escaped the mist before silence overtook the mountain once again.

As the mist began to dissipate, Mina saw that as far up as she could see, the ground was covered in ice, which sparkled whenever the sun peeked out through the clouds.  The Dragons in front of Aeon had been frozen solid.  Ice coated their bodies and the only part of them which could move was their eyes, which darted about rapidly.

"I will spare your lives," Aeon muttered, taking a deep breath and floating into the ice shield, "Since I understand how impulsive children can be."

When Aeon appeared on the other side of the wall of ice, Mina and the others were smiling at him in wide eyed awe.  "Woah..." Celine whispered.  "You took them down like it was nothing!"

"I knew you could do it, Aeon!" Mina laughed and skipped over to the lich.

Aeon nodded and patted Mina on the shoulder before helping Deminos to his feet.  "See to them, Deminos.  I am depending on you."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Deminos stammered as he stumbled to his feet, glancing from Aeon to his blackened arm.

"Are you sending us home?!" Daryl exclaimed, wiping at her bleary, red, eyes.

Nodding, Aeon added, "I must stay behind and explain things to the All-father.  See that the girls return to Gesthal safely."  Leaving Deminos with his mouth hanging agape, Aeon floated away from the four teenagers and rested his back against the frozen barrier.

"Aeon?" Mina mumbled, leaning against the ice next to the lich.  "Ummm...I'm...I'm really sorry about all this."

"Hmm?" Aeon turned his gaze to look at her.

Glancing over at Deminos, who had fixed his eyes on her, Mina added, "It was because of us that all this happened."

"No!  That's-" Deminos started to say, but Celine put a hand on his shoulder and nodded.

"Yeah.  There was an accident with the relay and we all got sent here."

Glancing from Mina to Celine, Daryl swallowed hard and nodded.  "Th-that's right," she choked out.

"You three make for poor liars," Aeon sighed, putting his hand on Mina's shoulder and ushering her back over to the others.

"But we're not-" Mina started to say, but Aeon held a finger to her lips. 

"The reason is irrelevant.  At this point, all that matters is that you are safe," Aeon said, floating back a few paces and holding out his hand, palm down.  A blue circle with a six sided star in the center appeared around the four of them.  Runes slowly filled the circle and the star.  "It is time to go," Aeon said, as the edge of the circle began to rise around Mina and the others.  Reaching into the sky, the blue circle formed a cerulean tunnel around them.  However,  halfway into the sky, the walls of the tunnel ceased moving.

"What?"  Daryl mumbled, looking around at her friends.  "Wh-what's happening?!"

"The...the field is being disrupted," Deminos stammered, as the walls around them began to ripple violently.

"But he beat all the Dragons!" Celine exclaimed. 

The walls cracked and the circle underneath them began to waver.  Seconds ticked by and the cracks deepened until the walls shattered around them.  The blue circle stretched and distorted until it dissipated into thin air.  When the blue light died down, Mina and the others saw that they had not moved an inch.

"What happened, Aeon?" Mina mumbled, taking one step forward and stopping as the ground underneath her began to tremble. 

The mountain shook with such intensity that Mina and the others were unable to retain their footing and hugged the ground for dear life.  The ice which had imprisoned the six Dragons in front of them cracked and they shook themselves free.  However, rather than continuing their attack, the six Dragons took to the skies and fled up the mountain.  When they had departed, a column of flame large enough to engulf an entire valley burst out of the rock wall further up the mountain.  The instant it touched Aeon's ice shield, the wall of ice cracked and began to melt.

As the heat formed a weight so heavy that Mina could feel it pressing down on her, she grasped her heart and tried not to scream.  Daryl and Celine huddled around her and Deminos raised his hand.  Water half heartedly poured out of his palm and wrapped around them, but no sooner had it appeared, than it evaporated.

Just before the flames could wash over them, however, Aeon darted over to Mina and the others and held his hands out to either side of him, as ice enveloped his right hand and white light covered his left.  A dome of silvery light formed around the five of them and ice wrapped itself around the dome, completely boxing them in.  No sooner had Aeon finished the dome than the flames melted what remained of his first shield and crashed over them.  From within the dome of ice, Mina watched in wide eyed horror as the ground outside melted from the intense heat, and pools of molten rock formed all around them.  Aeon pressed his hands against the dome of ice and any cracks that appeared were mended almost immediately.  Once a few seconds had passed, the  flames died down and Aeon dropped to the ground, breathing hard and scowling out at the molten wasteland before them.

"Wh-what was that?!" Celine exclaimed, touching the tips of her ears before placing a hand over her heart.

"Rudra," Aeon muttered, rising off the ground and taking several deep breathes.

"R-Rudra?" Mina repeated the name, trying to keep her heart from exploding as she surveyed the fiery wasteland the area around her had been reduced to.

"He is one of the eldest living Dragons," Aeon muttered, "And taught the art of magic to the people of Serano, alongside his father and two siblings."

"One of the first Dragons..." Deminos mused, "Wh-where is he?!"

"He dwells within the mountain range," Aeon replied.  "Even I do not know how massive he is."

"Well...why's he attacking us?!" Daryl yelled, fresh tears blossoming in her eyes.  "We...we were leaving!  We'd almost gone home!"

Wrapping her arms around the sobbing Daryl, Mina glanced up at Aeon.  "So, what do we do now?" she murmured, rubbing Daryl on the back.

"You four must stay within this dome," Aeon replied.  "I have crafted it from my strongest ice.  It will withstand even Rudra's assault for a time."

"What about you?" Celine murmured from her spot on the ground.  "You're not going to fight him, are you?"

Aeon nodded.  "Yes.  I must stall for time until the All-father gets here."

"But-!" Mina started to say before hanging her head.  "Aeon...you're-"

"Take me with you!" Deminos interrupted, jumping to his feet.  "I...I've got a little energy left and I'm sure Charybdis has healed up enough to fight!  Let me-"

"I gave you a job, Deminos," Aeon cut him off and put his bony hand on the brunette teen's shoulder.  "I told you to make sure the girls return to Gesthal safely."  Aeon paused for a moment and the flames in his eyes sockets sparkled brilliantly off the walls of their frozen sanctuary.  "Protect them."

Swallowing hard, Deminos nodded.  "R-right!  I won't let you down."

"A-Aeon!" Mina called, as the lich headed towards the front of the dome.  "Be careful!"

The lich nodded before passing through the ice.  Through the clear walls, Mina and the others saw him float over the molten rock, which was slowly starting to cool and harden.  "I know you are watching, Rudra.  Come out," Aeon yelled.

Another tremor shot through the mountain before an entire rock face crumbled away, revealing a wall of giant, crimson scales.  The scales began to rustle and move.  Four cerulean eyes, more brilliant than the purest sapphires and each as big as a mansion, appeared in the middle of the wall.  Cracks appeared all around the four eyes, spreading through the mountain, and with a ponderous effort, a face broke free from the rock.  The face looked as if it belonged to a Dragon.  However dozens of horns adorned the head and the crimson scales shone so brightly that they stained the clouds and the mountain a dull shade of red.  Two plumes of smoke escaped the creature's nostrils and he opened his elongated mouth before letting out a brief yawn. 

Mina suppressed a gasp at the size of the beast's head.  It looked to her as if the whole of Gesthal could fit into his mouth, with room to spare.  "Th-that's Rudra?!" she squealed, glancing around at her equally dumbfounded friends.

The Dragon's four eyes seemed to focus on Aeon and  the small dome of ice behind him before his teeth formed into a smile.  "Well met, Aeon," Rudra murmured, the intensity of his voice shaking the ground.  "I almost had you."

Glancing up at the impossibly large Dragon, Aeon muttered, "What is the meaning of this, Rudra?"

"Just a bit of entertainment," Rudra stifled another yawn and flashed Aeon a toothy grin.  "I was sleeping when your children started causing a ruckus.  It was good sport, watching them run for their lives.  But now that father is on his way, the time for excitement is nearly up.  So..." the Dragon opened his mouth and Mina saw something orangish-red start to rise from deep within his gullet.

"Rudra, wait!  My comrades-" Aeon started to say, but was cut off by the sound of a river of lava surging out of Rudra's mouth, headed straight for Aeon and the others.  

Throwing up both hands, Aeon’s body became engulfed in white light.  Crossing his arms, the lich jutted his ring and index fingers upwards and sheet after sheet of rock and ice sprang up in front of him.  The rampart of ice and stone held the lava back for only a few seconds before the lava burned through it and crashed into Aeon's outstretched hands.  Instead of engulfing him, the lava was held back by the white light surrounding Aeon's body.  He tried to push the raging river of molten rock away, but after a few seconds, the light began to flicker and eventually disappeared.  With nothing left to protect him from the lava, Aeon was swallowed whole by the river of flames.

 “AEON!” Mina and Deminos screamed together when he disappeared beneath the lava.

“Oh goddess!” Daryl knelt down, putting her hands over her head as the lava careened towards their frozen sanctuary.

Pulling Mina and Deminos away from the edge of the dome, Celine forced them to the ground next to Daryl as the liquid inferno crashed over them  The dome of ice sizzled and cracked, but did not break.  The lava slowed after colliding with it and began to cool, covering Deminos and the girls in a prison of stone.  What remained of the lava after it had cooled poured into the crevasse behind them.

With the dome covered in stone, darkness overtook Mina and the others.  A tiny light flickered to life in Daryl's hand, though she was breathing so erratically that it seemed as if the light might fizzle out at any moment.

“What now?” Celine panted, letting the others lift their heads and glance around their stony prison.

“I…I don’t know,” Deminos mumbled, looking down at the despondent Mina, her eyes still wide with shock.  "I knew Aeon wasn't immortal, but I...I've never seen THAT happen to him."

"He...he died for us..." Mina wiped at her moist eyes.  Raising her fist into the air, she beat the rocky soil.  "Dammit!  I...we should have done something!  Anything!"

"What could we have done against something that big though?" Daryl sighed, resting her back against one of the dome's walls, as a few stray tears trickled down her cheeks.  "Even if we had magic to use-"

"Magic..." Mina mused and looked up.  "Huh?"

"What's wrong?" Celine put her arm around Mina's shoulder and followed her eyes.  "Hey!  Do you see that?!"

Deminos and Daryl glanced in their direction.  There was a line of white light that traced its way over the inside of the dome before vanishing into the cooled lava in front of it.   "It's...a light?" Daryl mumbled, as her own sphere of light fizzled out.

"Could it be..." Deminos put his hand against the wall of the dome just as the sound of a sword being unsheathed reached their ears. 

The teen fell backwards as a man's scream and the hum of metal on rock rang around them.  A flash of light burst through the center of the dome, but stopped short of cutting it in half.  It did, however, split the rock which was piled on top of the dome asunder.  As the rock fell away, the four of them clambered towards the front of the dome.  Through the crystal clear walls, they saw a figure standing amidst the broken rocks.

As light spilled back into their frozen sanctuary, Mina and the others saw that the figure was a well muscled, middle aged man garbed in a light blue breastplate with a set of matching greaves fitted over his burlap pants.  Turning to Mina and the others, he nodded, a look of grim consternation adorning his face.  “Is everyone alright in there?” he called.

“Wha-” Mina barely managed a gasp.  The man's skin was tinged a deep blue, as though he were suffering from extreme frostbite, and ice hung from his flesh and armor.  His face might have been somewhat handsome, had it not been so covered in scars.

Brushing short blue hair out of his emerald green eyes, the man turned away from them.  “I bet you’re all pretty confused right about now, huh?  Well, I don’t have time to explain.  Sorry,” he callously muttered, hefting a large, double edged broadsword over his shoulder.  The blade was deep blue and ringed with frost.  Wielding it as if it weighed no more than a feather, the man headed towards Rudra.

Twisting out of the mountain to reveal a long, scaly neck, Rudra's head swayed back and forth, its eyes fixed on the blue skinned man.  "That's a good look for you, Aeon," Rudra snorted.

"Aeon?!" Mina squealed.

"Rudra!" Aeon barked.  "That's enough!  My comrades aren't involved in this, so leave them alone!"

"We all make choices, Aeon," Rudra murmured.  "And in the end, we must answer for those choices.  Your children chose to steal, so I choose to punish them.  Besides...it's been years since I got a chance to stretch and have a bit of fun.  If you want me to reverse my decision...then entertain me."  The Dragon winked at Aeon and four beams of light shot out of his eyes.

Flipping his blade around with speed that belied its size, Aeon repelled the beams off the flat of his sword, leaving jagged cuts in the rocks where the beams were deflected.  He moved with ease, almost as if he were dancing to a familiar tune.  Eventually, Rudra blinked and the light's vanished.  When they did, Aeon slashed out with his sword, sending a curved wave of ice headed straight for Rudra.  It bounced off his scales, but the Dragon blinked and sneezed when a few chunks of ice fell into his nostrils.

Back in the dome, everyone was transfixed by the display, save for Mina, who was prodding Deminos in the side and pulling on his left arm.  "Hey!  Hey!  HEY!"

"Hmmm?" Deminos glanced down at her, as if waking from a trance.

"Is that...is that really Aeon?" Mina mumbled, glancing over at the blue skinned man as he cleaved through the whirlwind Rudra's sneeze had kicked up.  "He's so...different."

"I've only seen him like this once," Deminos said, peeking down at his arm and clenching his hand into a fist.  "Far as I know, this is what he really looks like."

"You gonna explain what that means?" Celine snorted, looking from Aeon to Deminos.

"I-I don't know!" Deminos stammered, shrinking under her stare.  "It's a lich thing!"

"He looks human," Daryl mused.  "I...I thought liches were undead, like Teythens or those...things...the necromancer's conjured up."

"It doesn't matter what he is!  Aeon's still Aeon," Mina said, banging her fist on the wall of the ice dome.  "Aeon!  You can do it!  I believe in you!" she called out.

The blue skinned swordsman, glanced back at her and flashed Mina a smile.  Rudra chuckled and the mountain seemed to rumble with him.  "You are lucky to have comrades who believe in you,"  The Dragon glared down at Aeon, "Even though you're almost out of power."

Aeon raised his sword, but instead of striking at Rudra, Mina saw him turn towards her and the others inside the ice dome.  His eyes widened and Aeon gripped his sword with both hands.  “Dammit, Rudra!” he yelled, sprinting over to the dome.

The mountain began to rumble again and the cooled lava which had filled the crevasse behind Mina and the others began to crack.  Four giant eyes, glowing redder than any ruby, burst out of the ground and stared at them.  A second head, matching Rudra's first, burst out of the area of mountain behind the ice dome and leered at Mina and the others for a moment.  Its mouth twisted into a smile before opening wide to reveal a fireball forming in its gullet.

Mina and the others only had a moment to gasp in horror before Rudra’s second head spat the fireball at them.  Sprinting up the slick walls of the dome, Aeon raised his sword and slashed straight down the middle of the churning mass of flames.  Forcing his left hand against the edge of the blade, Aeon managed to, with great difficulty, cleave through the fireball, sending it spinning past either side of the dome, where it exploded on the ground.

Panting hard, Aeon dropped to one knee on top of the ice dome.  He glared up at Rudra's crimson eyed head, which began to chuckle.  "Behind you!" Mina and the others called in unison as they saw Rudra's blue eyed head sucking in air.

Leaping off the dome, Aeon jabbed his sword into the ground and faced the flat of the blade to the blue eyed head before pressing his hand to the ground.  A wall of ice crystals sprang up around Aeon, just as Rudra's blue eyed head expelled a whirlwind of sand and grit at him.

To Mina and the others, it seemed as if the ice crystals surrounding Aeon were holding back the tempest.  However, moments after the storm had surrounded them, the crystals began to be worn away before what remained was pulled into the maelstrom. 

With nothing to protect him, Aeon was jerked off the ground and would have been pulled into the air had he not been holding onto his blade.  However, the rocks around the frost edged sword weathered away and it eventually slipped free of the ground.  Aeon was tossed about by the wind until it slammed him into the dome of ice and held him there as the storm buffeted it.

"The walls are wearing away!" Daryl exclaimed, trying to keep her distance from the ice dome's walls, which were gradually thinning out as the cracks that had been made in it slowly spread.

"Oh no..." Deminos grunted, his eyes widening when something metal clanked against the ice.

"Oh...Goddess..." Mina held her hand over her mouth.  What had clanked against the dome was a piece of Aeon's armor.  The sand had rusted and ripped it from Aeon's body.  With nothing to protect him, Aeon's blue skin was slowly being torn off him.  Celine grabbed her and forced Mina to look away, but before she did, Mina saw the last of Aeon's armor disappear, revealing a gaping hole in the left side of his chest.

The sound of the wind and the sand whirling around them became a dreadful howl, and though Mina pull free of Celine's grasp, the tan skinned girl held her down and prevented her from looking at Aeon.  When the wind finally stopped, all that Mina could hear was laughter so loud that it shook the ground she and the others were standing on.

Celine let her up and hung her head.  "He's still standing, Mina.  But..." she stopped and motioned towards a figure in tattered pants holding a broken, rusted hilt in a hand covered in frozen blood.

"Aeon..." Deminos whispered, as the figure shambled around to face them.

“Good.  It’s still holding,” Aeon muttered aloud, a smile crossing his broken lips.

Mina's mouth was open but words refused to come out.  Aeon's armor and greaves had been worn away and his beautiful blue broadsword was now a rusted brown hilt in his hand.  Much of his skin had been stripped away and icicles made of red blood hung off his exposed muscles.  However, her eyes were drawn to the hole in Aeon's chest.  No matter how hard she tried, Mina could not see a heart within the black void.

Seeing her distress, Aeon let out a faint chuckle.  "You needn't worry," he shrugged, with some effort.  "I'm pretty numb, so it doesn't hurt that much.  Besides..." he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  Aeon's body seemed to briefly glow white and green, as new skin formed over his exposed muscle and bone.  Within seconds, the damage the sandstorm had done was repaired.  "I'm not as fragile as I appear."

"Huh...?" Mina suppressed a gasp, but her eyes stayed fixed on the hole in Aeon's chest.  "Aeon...your chest...it's...."

Aeon frowned and put a hand over the hole.  "It's nothing," he grunted, turning back to face Rudra.  Putting his hand to his sword, Aeon ran it along the broken hilt until it reached the end of the blade, but continued moving it over thin air.  White light formed from the end of Aeon's sword and extended until he stopped moving his hand.  The light expanded and seemed to become solid.  Ice flowed out of Aeon's fingertips and around the blade until it was whole once again.

"What the...?" Celine couldn't stop herself from mumbling.

"That's holy magic...he's used it to create a construct of light.  Only advanced mages can do that!" Daryl exclaimed.

"Hey!" Deminos yelled, banging on the now paper thin walls of the ice dome.  "You never told me you could heal yourself like that!  I...I really thought you were gonna die!"

Aeon shrugged and hefted his sword over his shoulder.  "I planned on telling you when you were ready."

"Dammit..." Deminos growled, glancing down at his blackened hand.

The neck of Rudra's red eyed head moved through the rocky soil, cracking it where it would not move aside, and took up a position next to the blue eyed head.  "Are you even trying?" they muttered together.  "It's hardly entertaining if all you do is sit there and take it."

"Enough of this!" Aeon hefted his blade in Rudra's direction.  "Aren't you satisfied yet?!"

"Not quite," a growl echoed from underground.

Something moved under what rock and soil remained on the mountain and Aeon raised his sword.  A flash of crimson in front of Aeon indicated that a third head, as titanic as Rudra's other two, had shot out of the ground with its teeth bared.  Aeon slammed his sword against the beast’s colossal fangs, holding it at bay while slowly being pushed backwards.  "You've always talked about choice, Rudra," Aeon panted, slicing through one of Rudra's fangs with a sudden burst of strength before dropping to one knee on the dirt, as the Dragon's head pulled back to join the other two.  "Well...are you ready to answer for your choices?"

Rudra's third head had four green eyes and they were all locked on Aeon.  The three heads smile, though the green eyed head licked it's shorn tooth with a forked tongue.  “Hehe, Father once told me that freedom doesn’t mean living without consequences.  It means embracing them whole heartedly!  That's why Mother gave us the power of choice to begin with.  I am prepared Aeon," the three heads spoke in unison.  "And from the looks of things...so are you.”

"Protecting my comrades isn't a choice," Aeon stumbled to his feet and raised his sword, his body heaving with each effort.  "It's second nature."

Stretching out their necks, Rudra's three heads intertwined together and smirked.  "Allow me to show you a fraction of the power that formed this world," the crimson Dragon murmured, "as thanks for entertaining me!"

Rudra's three heads opened their mouths as one.  Red, blue, and green flames swirled in each mouth, coalescing together to create a rainbow of colors.  The fire danced in Rudra's mouth, mesmerizing Mina and the others even as Aeon raised his sword.  Finally, Rudra's heads reeled back before spewing out the multicolored flames, which threatened to engulf everything in front of them.

Frigid air billowed forth from Aeon's blade as he raised it over his head.  Bringing the blue sword down with a mighty swing, Aeon tried to cleave through the rainbow colored flames.  At first, Aeon's strike seemed to hold the inferno at bay, however the multicolored flames poured out with such intensity that after a moment of holding them back, they swept over Aeon.  His feet skidded backwards, shoring up earth around him and slowly burying him in the ground.

Mina and the others lost sight of Aeon as the flames blazed past him and slammed into the ice dome.  The cracks already in the dome spread with lighting speed until the ice was cracked all the way through.  The air in the dome rippled from the heat of the flames.

"Get down!  The dome's about to give!" Celine called as sweat erupted all over her skin.  She grabbed Mina and Daryl, but before she could pull them to the ground, Deminos grabbed Daryl's wrist.

"Put up a barrier around us!  I might be able to shield us from the worst of the flames!" Deminos yelled, holding out both hands.  Their sweat was slowly drawn into Deminos's hands along with any water he could pull out of the air.

"It's too strong!" Daryl cried, holding her hands over her head as tears spilled over her sweat drenched skin.  "I...I can't!"

"Yes you can!" Mina grabbed Daryl by the shoulders and looked her squarely in the eyes.  "You're strong, Daryl!  I know you are!"

"Go on, Princess!" Celine said, smiling manically while the dome of ice started to collapse around them.  "Give it a try!  After all, worst case scenario, we get incinerated!  There's worse ways to go," the tan skinned girl laughed.

Wiping away her tears, Daryl scowled at Celine.  "You're not helping!" she growled, raising both hands in front of her.  Closing her eyes, Daryl let out a grunt and her hands glowed with white light.  A small, thin, shield of white light appeared in front of her.  Deminos grabbed her hand with his own, which was swathed in water and slowly the light in Daryl's hands turned a deep shade of blue.  The water in Deminos's hands poured into the barrier of light, infusing it with water.

No sooner had the barrier been raised than the dome of ice shattered around them and the flames crashed over them.  The heat was so intense that Mina felt like her dress was melting into her skin, however the worst of the flames seemed to curve around the barrier Daryl and Deminos had created.  They pressed their joined hand against it as the last of the flames passed over them.

When the flames died down, Deminos and Daryl collapsed, still holding each other's hands.  Their shield exploded and water droplets fell on the four of them like rain.

Mina and Celine crawled over to them, feeling their dresses cling to their sweat covered bodies with each movement they made.  Flipping Daryl and Deminos over, Mina felt their wrists.  "They're alive," she panted, nodding at Celine.

"Can't believe we survived that," Celine chuckled, shaking her head.  "Though...I guess we're pretty helpless now, huh?"

"That was...different," Mina mumbled, looking through the smoke and the haze, unable to see either Aeon or Rudra.  "Those flames...they weren't like others.  They were hot, sure, but...I can't help but feel like if they were meant to kill us, then we'd already be dead."

"What are you talking about, Mina?" Celine mumbled.

Shuddering, Mina wrapped her arms around herself.  "I remember what real flames feel like, Celi.  Those were-"

"Those were not meant for you, thief."  A puff of wind from Rudra's blue eyed head dispelled the smoke and the haze, revealing Aeon, buried up to his waist in the rocky ground.  His right arm had been completely blown off and his sword was nowhere to be seen.  Despite his wounds, Aeon clawed at the dirt, struggling to extricate himself with only one arm.  "They were meant for him," Rudra snickered.

"Aeon!" Mina cried, stumbling to her feet.

"You've done well, surviving this long," Rudra's three heads murmured, their eyes locked on Aeon.  "How does one more sound?  Think you can handle it?" Rudra laughed and coiled his three heads together once again.  Rainbow colored lights seemed to dance in Rudra's gullet once again.

"H-He's not after us..." Mina stammered, moving over the rocky terrain as fast as her stiff limbs would carry her.

"Mina, get back!" Celine yelled, trying to follow after her, only to collapse on the ground next to Daryl and Deminos.  "Dammit!  Why can't I move?!"

"I-I'll be okay, Celi!" Mina grimaced, holding her sides but continuing towards Aeon.  "Look after Daryl and Deminos!"

Most of the rocks on the mountain had been melted, but enough remained for Mina to limp and stagger over to Aeon, who was still trying to dig himself out of the ground.  "Get away from here," Aeon muttered, pushing rubble aside before trying to wriggle free with just his left arm.

Without saying a word, Mina began to claw at the soil, pulling rocks big and small away from Aeon to try and form an opening he could pull himself out of.

"I told you to leave!" Aeon snapped at her.  "If you stay here, Rudra will incinerate you along with me!"

"I know," Mina mumbled, wiping her brow as the flames in Rudra's mouth sent a rainbow dancing across the sky.

"Then get out of here!" Aeon said, scooting a little ways out of the ground thanks to the space Mina had made.  "You're my responsibility!  I won't see you-"

"You're my friend, Aeon!" Mina snarled, tears blooming in her eyes.  "At least, that's how I feel!  Is that so hard to understand?!  If you know so much about me then...then..." she sniffled and grabbed Aeon's frostbitten arm.  Mina's hands burned with pain when she touched his skin, but she pulled hard nonetheless.

"I don't need your help!"  Aeon barked at her as bone and muscle sprouted from his right shoulder to reform his arm.  “Just leave me!”

"If you could've won, you'd have done it by now," Mina said, even as her hands began to go numb.  Digging her feet into the ground, Mina gave a mighty heave and managed to pulled Aeon another few inches out of the dirt.  Her shoulder's sagged and she dropped to her knees.  "Maybe...maybe you don't want my help," Mina panted, holding tightly to Aeon's frozen arm.  "But I swore...I swore on that day that...that I..."

"That you'd never abandon anyone ever again?" Aeon finished for her.  Grabbing a rock with his newly formed right arm, Aeon managed to pull himself out of the ground with Mina’s help.  "You know that wasn't your fault," he added.

"I don't care!" Mina growled, finally releasing Aeon's hand.  Gazing down at the ugly red blisters on her palm, she wrapped her dress around her hands.  "I can't use magic, or summon Goetians, or even wield a sword!  But I can...at least do...this much," she panted hard before collapsing on the ground.

The whole mountain seemed to glow with the flames that Rudra had summoned in his mouth, however Aeon did not turn to face them.  He knelt down next to Mina and helped her sit up.  "Hehe," a smile crossed Aeon's lips and he chuckled softly.  "I bet your mother'd be proud of you for what you've just done."

Coughing a little, Mina managed a smirk of her own.  "You think?"

"Yes.  Though, your father would probably shake his head at your recklessness."

"Yeah..." Mina nodded and sighed.  "That sounds like my papa."  Looking up at the scarred, frostbitten face that smiled down at her, Mina asked, "I bet you're shaking your head right now too, huh, Aeon?"

"Maybe a little...but I'm used to dealing with unruly children.  None of my comrades in Acacia ever seem to grow up completely," he snickered.

Glancing over Aeon's shoulder, Mina saw the flames in Rudra’s mouths spill out of the sides of the three mouths, coalescing into a dazzling inferno of many colors.  "Aeon...are we going to die here?" Mina grunted, resting her head against his arm.

Aeon closed his eyes for a moment and Mina saw Rudra reel back and breath a tidal wave of flames down at them, big enough to encompass the entire mountain.

"No.  We're not going to die here," Aeon said, laying Mina down on the ground before getting to his feet.

From her spot on the ground, Mina saw Aeon's emerald eyes flash with light and he raised his right hand into the air.  All around him, every color of light imaginable seemed to gather in his palm.  Aeon clenched his right hand into a fist and grabbed his wrist with his left hand.

"Shanadia reproaches you, Chaos Dragon," Aeon muttered before turning to face the oncoming flames.  Throwing out his right hand, Aeon spread his fingers as far apart as they would go.  A small, concentrated burst of rainbow colored energy shot out of his palm and pierced through the flames with such speed and power that it snuffed them out.  After blowing through the flames, the energy blasted Rudra’s heads against the mountain, stripping away most of the rock that remained to reveal nothing but crimson scales underneath.

"W-Woah..." Mina mumbled, wide eyed.

Aeon knelt down next to Mina as an aftershock of the blast shook the mountain.  "You alright?"

Nodding numbly, Mina swallowed hard.  "I...I guess you really didn't need my help after all," she stammered, blushing hard.

"No...I was holding that back for a reason," Aeon panted, as his skin began to crack.

"A-Aeon?!" Mina exclaimed, forcing herself to sit up.  Holding her side, she touched Aeon's right arm only for it to crack and shatter under her fingertips.  "What's happening?!"

"I...overdid it," Aeon coughed, as cracks spread throughout his body.  "I used too much Leyline energy with that last move.  I can't heal my wounds for a while.  Hehe...at this point, I can barely hold myself together."  As he spoke, Aeon's left leg snapped underneath him and he dropped to the ground with a sickening crack, like glass dropping on a hard wood floor.  "Ugh...this might really be it for me..." he smirked.

"N-No!  I...Aeon...I still need to tell you something!  To apologize!" Mina wept, touching Aeon's left arm only for it to crumble as she did.  "This...this is all my fault..." she trembled and pulled her hands away from Aeon.

"Mina!  Aeon!  What was that?!" Glancing behind her, Mina saw Celine helping Daryl and Deminos up the mountain after her.  "There was this burst of light and the flames just..." Celine stopped when she saw Mina in tears and Aeon's shattered body.  "Princess!" she shook Daryl, "Have you got any energy left?!"

"A...a little," Daryl grunted, stumbling forward and nearly colliding with Mina.  Holding her hand over Aeon's body, white light flickered to life in her palms, but she shook her hands with frustration.  "Something...something's not right!  His body's not receiving my healing!"

"No..." Mina stammered, looking from the shocked Daryl to Celine, who averted her gaze.  "Th-then..."

"Aeon..." Deminos grunted, dropping to the ground and crawling over to what remained of the lich.  "I...I failed you.  I broke my promise and undid the seal!  And...and I...if I hadn't-" the brunette conjurer wept.

"You've done well, Dem," Aeon grunted.  "The girls're safe."

"Haha, aren't you forgetting something?!" Mina and the others whipped their heads around and saw Rudra's three heads lift themselves from the rubble.  Several of his crimson scales had been peeled off and green blood leaked out of a few wounds in his neck.

The heads drew closer to Aeon and the others, a smile forming on all three of their mouths, despite their wounds.  The ground beneath the five of them began to rumble violently and five ivory talons, each roughly the size of a small mountain, shot out of the ground around them.  The rock beneath Aeon and the others crumbled away to reveal a set of crimson scales, which slowly lifted them into the air, following the claws.

"That power...I see now why father respects you," Rudra chuckled and pulled his heads back.  "I concede this battle to you, Aeon."

"What?!" Mina exclaimed, looking up incredulously at Rudra's heads as a layer of dark green mist began to descend upon them.

"So...he's finally here?!" Aeon grunted, as his torso began to disintegrate.

"Yes.  I must thank you for entertaining me in the meantime," Rudra replied.

Through the clouds, the silhouette of a colossal dragon, so large that it seemed to encompass the entire sky, appeared.  The figure was so massive that it blocked out the sun.  More of the green mist flowed down from the silhouette, blanketing the mountain. 

"Just in time," Aeon smirked and took a deep breath.  Slowly, his body began to mend itself.  Bone, muscle, and skin weaved itself together out of Aeon's shattered stumps and torso, until he was completely reconstituted.

Glancing from Aeon to her hands, Mina saw that the blisters on her palms were receding.  After a few minutes, they were completely gone.  "What...is this?" she mumbled.

"I dunno, but my shoulder's not hurting anymore," Celine said, stretching her arms over her head before twisting her shoulder around.

"Is this...magic?" Daryl murmured.

"Yes...the oldest magic..." a gentle voice boomed out of the clouds.  The silhouette of the massive Dragon began to shrink in size.  The clouds parted to reveal a large emerald Dragon, whose scales, despite being a deep green, seemed to dance with every color imaginable.  The emerald Dragon continued to grow smaller until it alighted in the palm of Aeon's hand.  "I see you made it."

"Yes," Aeon nodded, glancing back at Mina and the others.  "It was fortunate that Cerus told us they'd crossed into your territory.  Because of that, I made it in time."

Blinking six teal eyes at Aeon, the tiny emerald Dragon let out a sigh.  "I can only apologize for my children.  We have the law, but..."

"Rudra held back," Aeon added.  "If he'd wanted us dead, we'd be dead.  Let's leave it at that, Seran."

"Seran?" Mina repeated the name slowly.

"It is my name, young lady," the tiny Dragon bowed its head to Mina.  "Most simply call me the All-father, but Seran was the name I was given by my mother."

"Sh-Shanadia?" Daryl stammered, gazing at the creature in awe.  When the creature nodded at her, Daryl got down on her knees and prostrated herself before the Dragon.  "I-It is an honor to meet you, your lordship!" she said at a rapid pace.

"Princess?" Celine muttered, as Deminos prostrated himself before the Dragon as well.

"Get down, vagabond!" Daryl hissed.  "This is the one for whom our world was named!  Even the lord prophet bows before the All-father of the Dragons!"

"Hmmhmmm," Seran chuckled.  "Your reverence is amusing, but unnecessary.  We stopped pretending to be gods ages ago.  There is but one, and she suffered so that we may live in peace," The little Dragon bowed his head.  Rudra's three heads followed suit and silence briefly overtook them.

"Errr..." Deminos mumbled, rising to his feet.  "All-father...I...I need to-" he looked pale, even though the green mist seemed to have restored Deminos's energy.

"Oh, right!" Mina exclaimed, quickly getting between Deminos and Seran.  "I think I owe you an apology," she said, reaching down her dress and pulling out the three Dragon scales and the egg fragment.  "We came here by accident and thought that Aeon might be able to send us home.  So, we headed up the mountain to find him.  Only...I picked these up out of curiosity.  I thought they would make good souvenirs and-"

"No!  That's not how it happened, she-" Deminos said, only to have Celine stamp on his foot.

Seran and Aeon exchanged a knowing glance.  "Scales are but a trifle.  We have no need for them.  Yet, we cannot have my children being hunted.  So, we enacted the law that nothing must be taken and none of my children must be hurt on Draconia"

"It is flawed, but often times, very entertaining," Rudra chuckled.  "Tell you what.  For being such a good sport, why don't you keep them?" the Dragon winked an eye on each of its three heads.

"And in return, please do not mention this...transgression to the Elder Council," Seran added.  "We are more than happy to send a representative...especially during these troubled times.  However, we do not need to be watched or scrutinized.  Xalken had best keep his eyes out of our business."

"I'll inform master Dezolis and the Gale Prophet of your request.  I'm sure they'll acquiesce," Aeon said.  "Now we must go."

"To keep the balance?" Rudra snickered.  Aeon glared at the Dragon, but he seemed to not notice.  "You've chosen an odd path to walk, considering your power.  Nevertheless...it should be most entertaining.  Do come back and visit us, won't you?"

"Perhaps," Aeon allowed himself a smirk as Rudra's claw sank back into the ground. 

Opening his tiny mouth, Seran breathed out another wave of green mist.  The melted stone, shattered rock, and ruined faces of the mountain seemed to mend themselves, with rock forming over Rudra's scales until his claw vanished into the dirt, leaving Aeon and the others standing on firm ground.  The crimson Dragon's three heads shrank back into the mountain's rock wall and soon disappeared.

"You certainly have interesting apprentices, Aeon," Seran nodded to Mina and the others before spreading his wings.  Seran floated into the air where his shadow cast a gigantic silhouette on the clouds in the sky as he winged his way up the mountain.

"Did he say..." Mina mumbled, holding her hand over her chest as her heart skipped a beat.

"Well, imagine how this must look to him," Aeon shrugged and let out a tiny laugh.  "Not even the All-father knows all."

"Aeon..." Deminos rubbed his arm and stepped forward.  "I know you know that...that I..."

To everyone's surprised, Aeon went over to Deminos and wrapped his arms around the teen's scrawny shoulders.  Lifting him off the ground in a bear hug, Aeon said, "None of that matters now.  I'm just glad you're safe." Dropping a very stunned Deminos back on the ground, Aeon gave him a light buffet on the head and smirked at him.  "I imagine Yuka's got worse waiting for you back at Acacia, though."

"Hehe, I'll take whatever she can dish out," Deminos blushed and scratched his blackened arm.  "I deserve it for being so damned foolish."

"Foolish, but never worthless," Aeon said, putting his hands on Deminos's shoulders.  "You protected them and they protected you," Aeon gestured to Mina, Celine, and Daryl.  "I hope you never forget that."

Deminos blushed so deeply that his face resembled a cherry.  He could only give Aeon a curt nod in response, while keeping his eyes glued to his shoes.

"Okay, so, we're all alive and the Dragons have let us go.  What now?" Celine shrugged, a smile playing at her lips.

"Now," Aeon murmured, his stoic demeanor returning as cloth and bone began to form around his flesh.  In an instant, he resumed his more skeletal form and folded his hands behind his back, "Deminos must see to it that you three return to Gesthal safely."

"Oh, thank the goddess..." Daryl sighed, "I need food and a bath in the worst way possible!"

Stifling a giggle, Mina tugged on Aeon's cloak.  "Ummm...about what I said before...do you think we could talk about it...?"

"Tomorrow," Aeon finished for her, holding his hand into the air.  A beam of blue light shot into the sky and seconds later a tunnel of blue light stretched across the horizon and touched down around the five of them.  "For now, let us return home."

Chapter 12: Dragons

Okay, this chapter, I really love...but I worry about the quality of my own editing.  I had to make some revisions here to add character bits, smooth out the flow, and generally make it more interesting, but after re-reading it and making changes five times...you start to get sloppy.  So, I hope those who read it will enjoy it and that I haven't lost my touch yet.  Anyway, there is a lot of mythology in the universe of this book surrounding Dragons, who are children of the creator Goddess Shanadia.  However they are not her only children.  I did want to expand upon that, but I didn't here, because the character bits were more important, especially Mina and Deminos.  I may have to wait till later to give it a full explanation.  Anyway, this is the mid point of the three chapter arc surrounding Mina and the others in Draconia.  If you think things get a little crazy in this chapter...just wait till 13 is released.  Things go WILD.

Anyway, here's hoping I can keep my work ethic up and churn it out sooner, rather than later.  For now, please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 12: Dragons

As soon as the world stopped spinning, Mina took stock of her surroundings.  The darkness around her was moist and tepid.  Several foul smells assailed her nose and she could feel something slimy underneath her.  Mina tried to get to her feet, but the moment she planted her foot down on the floor, it began to swell and she dropped to her knees almost immediately.

"Goddess..." Mina held her nose and felt around her.  "Celi?  Daryl?  Deminos?  Can anyone hear me?" Her voice echoed around her, as if she were in a large cave.

“Mina?!” a sphere of light appeared a little ways in front of her and Daryl stumbled into view.  With her surroundings illuminated, Mina glanced around her.  The floor was brown, lumpy, and seemed to be layered in places, while the ceiling and walls were beige and leathery.  Everything was covered in moisture and every few seconds the ceiling, walls, and floor pulsed as if they were alive.

“There you are!” Daryl cried, rushing over and hugging Mina the moment she saw her.  “What happened to us?" Sitting back on her haunches, Daryl scratched her head with her free hand.  "I remember that Dragon attacking us and then something came out of the ground and-”

“I think we’re in its mouth,” Mina murmured, taking a deep breath and trying to calm her pounding heart.

“A mo-mouth?” Daryl repeated, the sphere of light in her hand wavering as she began to tremble.  "W-We've been...you mean a Goetian has eaten us?!

“Don’t be scared!” Mina grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight.  “Deminos summoned this creature so we should be safe.”

“W-where is Deminos anyway?  And Celine too?!” Daryl exclaimed.  Suddenly, the floor beneath them began to ripple violently and rose up, knocking the girls off their feet and carrying them forward.  “Ugh!” Daryl gagged, wiping spittle off her clothes and hair.  “This place is disgusting!”  When the floor stopped, they were deposited underneath a large uvula.

“Hey!  Is anyone there?!” a voice called from the darkness in front of them.

“Celi?!” Mina yelled.

“Mina?!  Is Daryl with you?” Celine’s voice called out.  “Deminos is hurt and we need someone who can heal him!”

“Sh-shut up!” Deminos’s voice weakly cried out.  “I’m fine!  Just leave me alone!”

“Daryl,” Mina whispered, pulling on her friend’s arm.

“Let's hurry,” Daryl nodded, holding out the sphere of light in front of them while they trekked forward.

Advancing slowly over the undulating floor, the two girls managed to make out a wall of ivory white teeth, taller than either of them.  Propped up against the wall of teeth was Deminos, holding his right arm and struggling as Celine crouched over him, trying to pull his left hand away.

“Get off me!” Deminos panted, squirming under the tan skinned girl.  “I said I was fine!”

“Stop trying to be so macho!  We’re in over our heads as is, so just swallow your pride and let us see it!” Celine barked at him.

“She’s right!  You were badly burned!  If you don’t get treatment soon, you could lose the use of that arm!” Daryl called, hurrying over to Deminos and Celine with Mina in tow.  "Just let me take a look," she added, kneeling down next to the brown haired teen.

“I said-”

“Let me see it!” Daryl grabbed Deminos’s arm only to pull back in horror.  “Wh-what in Shanadia’s name is that?!”

Lowering his eyes, Deminos pulled his left hand away and sighed.  “So...now you know…”

“Know what?” Mina mumbled, craning her neck to see Deminos’s arm.

Holding her hand over her mouth, Mina suppressed a gasp.  The bandages around Deminos's right arm had been completely burnt off, but rather than being charred and swollen, the entire arm from the shoulder down was covered in thorny black crags with dark, leathery skin underneath.  His hands ended in sharp talons instead of fingers and adorning the surface of his flesh were several glimmering white seals resembling halos, pentagrams, and six sided stars.

“Oh my…your arm…” Mina stammered, holding her hand over her mouth.  "Are...are you-?"

"I'm fine," Deminos murmured, avoiding her gaze.  "This is...normal for me."

Climbing off of him, Celine took a seat next to Deminos and eyed his arm.  “What haven’t you told us?"

“This…” Deminos grimaced as he flexed his arm for the girls, “Is my shame.  An eternal reminder of my failure.  Gah!” he grunted, quickly wrapping his left hand around his right wrist.  “Dammit!  Even with this thick skin it still burns!”

“L-let me take a look at it,” Daryl swallowed hard and took a seat next to Deminos.  Placing his arm in her lap, she raised her hand and white light began flowing out of Daryl’s finger tips.  “O-okay.  Just focus the Leyline energy into my fingertips and pour it into the wound,” Daryl whispered to herself.  “Just like I practiced…”

As white light flooded out of Daryl’s hand, the skin on Deminos’s arm seemed to rise and fall in waves.  When Daryl touched it, the arm let out a low squeal and ceased moving.  “Th-thank you…” Deminos mumbled, a look of relief flooding his face.  “This arm’s stronger than a human's but I can still feel pain.”

“How…what did you mean when you called it a mark of failure?” Mina whispered, taking a seat next to Celine while Daryl tended to Deminos’s arm.

"I really don't want to-" Deminos stopped and grimaced as Daryl ran her glowing white hand up his elbow.  Blinking in the dim light, he noticed that Mina's expression was one of concern, while Celine 's tight jaw indicated that they wouldn't leave the issue be.  Glancing back at Daryl, Deminos saw that she was engrossed in her efforts to heal him and only paying marginal attention.

With a large sigh, Deminos lowered his eyes.  "Alright...I'll tell you."

"That's what got you thrown out of that academy of yours, right?" Celine mumbled.

Deminos jerked his head up, nonplussed, and stammered, "How...is...is it that obvious?!"

"Well, you do clutch it alot, so when Yuka said-"

"Right..." Deminos closed his eyes as Daryl began massaging his shoulder with her hands.  "But that's not even half the story.  You see...this is a mark of Goetian possession."

Instantly, the massaging stopped and Deminos glanced over at Daryl.  He didn't seem surprised at all when he saw her eyes widen and her body begin to tremble uncontrollably.  "You...you've got a Goetian living in your arm?!"

“Coulda been worse,” Deminos flexed his black talons and grimaced.  “He coulda taken my whole body.  I was...I AM stupid,” he mumbled.  “Life at the academy was a nightmare.  In between lessons where I frequently made a royal ass of myself, I was taking flak from my peers for all sorts of things.  For being abandoned by my family, for my ineptitude at runes...but mostly because I was weak and looked like a girl.  I didn't have any friends at the academy.  It was like living and working with a bunch of complete strangers."

“I’m sorry,” Mina whispered, touching his left arm.

Wiping at his eyes, Deminos shook his head, "After a while...I couldn't take it any more.  So, I tried to wow everyone.  See, at the academy, the ability to summon powerful Goetians meant respect, prestige and maybe even friends.  I attempted to form a contract with a Goetian noble named Asmodeus, but..." Deminos's voice trailed off and he glanced down at his arm.

Following his eyes, Mina saw Deminos's arm pulsing underneath Daryl's fingers.  Lowering her own eyes, she murmured, “But something went wrong, didn’t it?”

“That’s an understatement,” Deminos mumbled.  “I stole the necessary ingredients from the academy’s storerooms, prepared a tribute, wrote up the runes...I did everything perfectly, but-agh!" he grimaced and glanced over at Daryl.

 “Did I hurt you?” Daryl stammered, pulling her hands away momentarily.  “I’m sorry.”

“No…no, it’s not you…” Deminos grunted, “It’s this damn arm…it’s got a mind of its own!  See…” he took a deep breath and managed to get his arm under control, “I wasn't powerful enough to bargain with Asmodeus as an equal.  He took my tribute, then tried to corrupt me.  I wasn't enough for him, though.  After he took hold of my body, Asmodeus  tried to corrupt everyone around me.  I don't know why.  Maybe he wanted to take us to Goetia as slaves or just have his fun with an arrogant conjure-agh!" Deminos gritted his teeth and suppressed a sob of pain.  "B-but I got lucky.  A-Aeon was visiting the academy when it happened.  Together with Headmaster Dezolis, he managed to subdue me and seal Asmodeus into my arm," Deminos exhaled sharply and wiped sweat from his brow before running his left hand over the glimmering emblems on his skin.  “That’s what these marks are.  Aeon and Master Dezolis couldn't break the contract I'd made...so they settled for sealing Asmodeus in my arm.”

The girls all looked at Deminos with a mix of shock and pity while the conjurer averted his eyes from theirs.  After a moment of silence, Celine asked, "So…that’s why you were expelled?  For breaking the rules and attempting something so dangerous?”

“No..." Deminos growled, a tear leaking out of his eye.  “I was expelled for the dozen or so students Asmodeus tainted while possessing my body.  His presence shattered their minds and drove them mad.  I was only spared because he needed me as an anchor.  Heh..." a derisive snigger escaped Deminos's lips.  "It's no wonder they kicked me out.  I was probably lucky they didn’t kill me!”

"Even so..." Daryl stammered, momentarily lowering her hands and her eyes, "You still came here looking for Dragon scales so you could try again."

"Are you really that thick?!" Deminos spat, making Daryl recoil in surprise, "Do you really think I haven't learned my lesson after THIS?!" He held up his scarred right arm.  "I'm not going to try anything that stupid again!"

"Then why?" Mina touched Deminos's shoulder, "If you were willing to risk losing Aeon's trust, why would you-"

"I...I happened across a ritual in a book I'd bought at the Umbran Bazaar for breaking contracts with Goetians and Metronians.  The scales were part of that ritual," Deminos stammered, slumping back against the wall of teeth.  "I just...I just want to be free.  For that...I'd do almost anything."

Silence overtook Mina and the others, broken only by the occasional undulation of the mouth they were sitting in.  After a few minutes, Daryl reached out and continued healing Deminos's arm, but avoided meeting his gaze.  Deminos closed his eyes and would have appeared to be sleeping save for the pained expression on his face.

"I wouldn't sacrifice you three for it, though," Deminos mumbled, rubbing his eyes.  "Maybe...maybe you don't trust me after seeing me like this, but I promise I'll get you home.  Even if we have to walk."

"Umm...we could still go find Aeon..." Daryl tried to smile, but her trembling gave away her true feelings.

"The entire mountain is after us," Deminos sat up and looked down at his blackened arm which still twitched and undulated whenever Daryl ran her fingers over it.  "That's no longer an option.  I guess..." he sighed, "It was a long shot, anyway.  I'll have to take you back to Gesthal the long way.  And when we get back...it'll be over for me."

"No it won't!!" Mina exclaimed, shaking Deminos's shoulder.  "Even if we have to walk back, we'll talk with Aeon!  We'll-"

"You could be right," Celine locked eyes with Deminos and smirked, "Aeon might boot you out.  But so what?  You're still alive, right?  Doesn't that count for something?"

When Deminos didn't reply, Mina steeled her gaze and nodded, "If he does kick you out then you can stay with us!  My uncle'll gladly put you up after all you've done for us."

Raising an eyebrow, Deminos mumbled, "What?"

"There's plenty of space in my uncle's inn, provided you don't mind waiting tables or cooking to pay for your room and board," Mina smiled at Deminos and gave him a hug.  "It'll be okay."

Leaning his head back against the wall of teeth, Deminos suppressed a snicker.  "You three really are crazy..."

"I told you, it's contagious," Daryl managed a weak grin, "So, what do we do now?"

“We’re safe for the moment.  Charybdis can swim through rock and soil like water, so we're hiding inside the mountain.  It’ll buy us some time, at least,” Deminos mumbled.

“Charybdis?” Mina muttered.  "Is that the name of this Goetian?"

"Yeah.  We're in his mouth," Deminos said.  His eyes briefly widened and he quickly added, "B-but there's nothing to worry about!  He won't eat us.  Charybdis is one of my bound Goetians and he's very loyal, so-"

“Dem,” a gruff, but somewhat muffled voice called out.  The lumpy, brown floor pulled out from underneath them and the girls recoiled in surprise at what lay before them.  Two red eyes and innumerable mouths full of razor sharp teeth were visible on the bottom of the moist, undulating mass of brown flesh they had been sitting on moments before.  All of the mouths spoke at once in a unified voice.  “We have a problem.”

“…” Daryl opened her mouth but only a shrill squeal escaped.

“It’s alright,” Deminos whispered, placing his hand over Daryl’s.  “He’s one of my Goetians, remember?”  Daryl nodded and gave Deminos a nervous smile before continuing to heal his arm.

“Okay…I didn’t expect that,” Celine mumbled, her eyes widening while she held tightly to an equally wide eyed Mina.

“Don’t mind them, Charybdis.  Please, continue,” Deminos ordered.

“Well, it’s about getting out of here,” Charybdis murmured.  “There's something in the center of the mountain.  It's blocking my way."

"Can't you just go through it?"

"No, I can't," the innumerable mouths replied.  "Dem, I think it's alive.  Not sure what it could be, but I do know it's big...and powerful.  So powerful that I can't even approach the damn thing."

"I wonder..." Mina murmured, "Do you think it could be connected to the tremor we felt before?"

"Possibly," Celine sighed and furrowed her brow, "Does it know we're here?"

"Can't say," Charybdis muttered, "However it's making progress difficult.  I do not believe the Dragons on the surface know where we are, however I cannot hide within the mountain.  I must stay only a little below the surface."

"That's fine, so long as we're not caught.  Let me know when we're out of their range," Deminos said.  The lumpy mass of mouths seemed to nod in his direction before lying flat once again.

"Oooookay!" Daryl exclaimed, brushing her hands off on her dress.  "The burns should be gone.  How do you feel?"

"A little stiff," Deminos mumbled, flexing his right arm while clenching and unclenching his fingers, "But otherwise, great.  I...ummm...thanks, Daryl," Deminos blushed deeply.

"No problem," she stammered, averting her eyes from the grotesque mass of black crags, "After all, what are friends for?"

"Friends?" Deminos looked up at her, then turned to Mina and Celine.

"Oh for...really?!" Celine sighed and slapped her forehead.

Stifling a giggle, Mina smiled and nodded.  "Friends.  Feels nice, doesn't it?  We don't punch as hard as Yuka either.  I promise."  To her surprise, Deminos cracked a smile and chuckled a little.

Suddenly, the four of them were thrown out of their seats as the walls and floor began to rumble and quake.  "Charybdis, what's happening?!" Deminos yelled, stumbling out of a puddle of spittle.

The mouth pulsed violently and a voice seemed to echo all around them.  “Dem, brace yourself!"  Before anyone could move, a strong impact threw Mina, Daryl, and Celine against Deminos.

“Dammit!  What now?!” Celine cursed, extricating herself from under her friends.

Charybdis’s giant mouth bucked and heaved, tossing Deminos and the girls every which way.  Seconds ticked by slowly, as the Goetian was jerked upwards.  Mina and the others fell hard against the wall of teeth.

“Charybdis!” Deminos yelled.

“Sorry, Dem,” Charybdis’s voice echoed all around them.  “Looks like I’ve been caught.”

The teeth beneath Deminos and the girls unclenched, dropping them onto a patch of rocky soil.  The four looked up and gaped at a purple Dragon as big as Kano's tavern that had a claw wrapped around the middle of Charbydis’s squirming body.  The tentacles that made up the lower half of Charybdis flailed wildly about, while its giant eyeless mouth bit and hissed, trying to get free.

“Get up!” Celine yelled, pulling the wide eyed Deminos to his feet while Mina helped Daryl off the ground.  “We need to move!” Deminos watched in frozen terror while his Goetian writhed about in the Dragon’s grasp, the scaly creature's long talons digging into Charybdis's leathery hide.

A long bulbous tongue covered in miniature mouths snaked out of Charybdis’s maw and wrapped around the purple Dragon’s neck before biting down, eliciting a howl of pain from the Dragon.  The tip of the tongue opened up to reveal another set of teeth.  “Run, you idiot!” Charybdis’s gruff voice echoed out of the new orifice.  “You don’t have time to worry about me!” 

“C’mon!” Celine grabbed the dumbfounded Deminos and slung his scrawny body over her shoulder.  The three girls barreled down the mountain before ducking into an ornately decorated cave a fair distance from the purple Dragon.  Crawling over to the mouth of the cave, the four of them looked back at Charybdis and the Dragon.

The purple Dragon let out a roar before biting into Charybdis’s leathery skin, a torrent of ice flooding out of its mouth.  As frost washed over it, Charybdis’s body turned an unhealthy shade of blue.  Cracks spread throughout the Goetian’s body and the black blood which leaked from its wounds froze into grotesque icicles.  Holding the Goetian still with both claws, the Dragon chomped down harder on Charybdis, splitting it in half.  A weak cry of pain came from the mangled corpse before a brown and beige pentagram formed around Charybdis’s frozen remains, which sank into it and vanished.

“Charyb-mpph!” Deminos began to cry before Celine clamped a hand over his mouth and yanked him into the cave.  She forced him down next to Mina, who had her arms wrapped around Daryl.  The purple haired girl had tears streaming down her face, but kept a hand over her mouth to stifle the sobs.  Celine and Mina held a finger to their lips as a tear sprang to Deminos's eye.  The conjurer nodded as the roof above them shook.

Snorting could be heard outside and the four of them could see a set of talons hanging over the top of the cave, gripping the stone.  There was more rumbling around them and a low, annoyed roar before one final shock rocked the roof and they could see the purple Dragon soaring down the mountain.

Once the Dragon was out of sight, Mina and Celine breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the cave wall while Daryl removed her hand from her mouth and began to sob.  “Goddess…w-we’re not going to make it,” Daryl whimpered, rocking back and forth in place.

"It's alright, Daryl," Mina cooed, cradling Daryl's head against her own.  "I promise, we'll find a way home.  We're in this together."

“Ch-Charybdis,” Deminos stammered, staring at his hands as he clenched and unclenched his fingers.  "H-He's...gone.  J-Just like-"

Deminos's face was numb with shock.  A few errant tears streamed down his cheeks, but he didn't seem to notice them.  Mina's heartbeat quickened when she recognized the look.  Grabbing Celine's hand, she gave it a squeeze.  The tan skinned girl nodded and swapped places with Mina, wrapping her arms around Daryl's shoulders while Mina lifted Deminos's chin until they were eye to eye.

"He's not dead, Deminos.  Miss Kinana told me that Goetians don't die in this world.  They just get pulled back into Goetia when they can't fight anymore.  Isn't that right?"

"Y-yeah, but-" Deminos stuttered, "I...I've never seen one of my guys go like...like..."

“Look, we can’t fall apart right now!” Celine grunted, helping Daryl to her feet and wiping the purple haired girl's eyes with her blouse.  "We'll need your help if we're gonna survive this."

"Charybdis gave himself up to save us," Mina whispered, "So that we'd have a chance.  But we need you, Deminos."

Swallowing hard, Deminos put his blackened hand to his chest and took a deep breath.  “Y-you're right...” he muttered.  “We…we can still make it if we can get down to the plateau we arrived on.  It's a straight shot down, so if we jump then I can use my magic to conjure some wind so we'll float down to the ground.”

"Then that's what we'll do," Mina said, helping Deminos to his feet.

"B-but there are Dragons everywhere," Daryl sniffled, wiping at her eyes.  "How will we make it down without being spotted?"

"I might have an idea," Celine nodded and glanced outside before glancing down at the cobbled floor of the cave they were hiding in.  "Take a look at where we are."

Mina, Daryl, and Deminos glanced around the cave.  "This is...a Dragon's cave, right?" Mina mumbled.

"An empty Dragon's cave," Celine couldn't hide her smirk.  "I think all the Dragons are out looking for us.  That means their caves will be deserted."

"So we sneak from cave to cave till we're low enough to make the jump?" Deminos said.

"Right," Celine nodded and grabbed his hand.  "Now take hands.  We don't want to get separated."  Mina took Deminos's blackened hand before grabbing Daryl's arm.  When they were all connected, Celine gave them a little pull. "Let's go!"

The four of them stumbled out of the cave and broke into a ragged dash.  The rocky path made it difficult to keep from tripping on stones or slipping on the loose soil, but they managed to make good headway until three large shadows appeared beneath them, growing larger with each passing moment.  They scampered down the mountain and ducked into another cave just before three Dragons came down on top of it, causing the cave’s roof to shake.

“Did you see them?”

“Everything’s tiny from up there.  And thanks to Balkan flying around smelling like frozen Goetian, I can't get a whiff of the conjurer."

“Could they be dead already?"

The cobbles underneath Mina and the others shook and rattled, along with the rest of the mountain, as a tremor ran through it.  However, once the tremor had settled, a coarse, booming voice that oozed authority came out of the ground.  "I feel them still, brothers and sisters.  The Goetian boy and his accomplices are still here."

When the voice had died down, there was a brief moment of silence before the Dragons overhead spoke.  "Do you think Rudra heard us?"

"He's supposed to be as strong as father and nearly as wise.  It wouldn't surprise me if he did."

"Regardless, if he says they're still here, then they're still here.  Come, brothers."  When they had finished speaking, Mina and the others felt the cave they were in tremble before three distant shapes appeared in the skies in front of them, vanishing into the clouds almost as soon as she'd spotted them.

The four teens stayed in the cave for a few minutes, catching their breath and listening for the voice which had come from the ground.  Eventually, Daryl said, "What was that?!"  she glanced from Mina, to Daryl, to Deminos.

"I...I don't know!" Deminos stammered.

"My mother once told me a story about Dragons as big as mountains..." Mina mused.  "Do you think..."

"I guess it's possible," Deminos mumbled  "The older a Dragon gets, the larger they become."

“Well whatever it is, it's searching for us.  We need to keep moving,” Celine pulled them to their feet.  “Ready for the next cave?”

“Hold on a minute…” Reaching inside his tunic, Deminos pulled out the three Dragon scales and the egg fragment he had taken.  “These damn things have been rubbing against me while we were running,” Deminos snorted, scowling at the glittering scales and egg shell.  “I'll be glad to be rid of them," he spat, dropping them on the ground.

The girls watched him in silence.  Then, Mina slowly picked up the scales and the egg shell and tucked them into her dress.

"What in the Goetian hells are you doing?!" Deminos hissed.

"You said you wanted to be free, right?" Mina fixed him with a piercing stare and put her hands on her hips.  "Well, I don't mind a few glittery scales rubbing against me.  So I'll carry them and you can have them back when we're off the mountain."

Celine put her palm to her forehead, but couldn't suppress a snicker at Deminos's stunned expression.  Daryl even managed to crack a weak smile.  Grabbing Deminos's and Daryl's hands, the four of them headed to the cave's entrance, but before they could leave, the upside down head of a large, scaly, yellow Dragon leered in at them.

"Gotcha, thieves!" it cried.

Lurching forward, Daryl raised her hands towards the Dragon's eyes and two spheres of fluorescent, white light formed in her palms.  Mina saw the Dragon's eyes scrunch shut and the head jerked out of the cave, followed by a roar of pain. 

Standing there, breathing hard, Daryl looked as if she were ready to collapse out of sheer shock, but Mina grabbed her hand and Celine pulled the four of them out of the cave.  They broke into a run as the sound of flapping wings started to grow louder all around them.

Risking a glance behind them, Mina saw the yellow Dragon flying through the air, barely able to keep from toppling over.  The creature blinked its slitted eyes as if in a daze.  Reaching out its claws, the Dragon careened towards them.

“Duck!” Celine tugged hard on her three friends and managed to pull them to the ground.   The yellow Dragon’s claw soared over them, barely missing the four teenagers.  It turned to glance back at them, but when it did one wing dipped too low and hit the ground.  The Dragon fell out of the sky and crashed into the rocky dirt.

Panting hard, Mina and the others managed to get to their feet and slowly approached the Dragon.  "I-Is it dead?" Daryl stammered, unable to keep from trembling.

Springing to its feet, the yellow Dragon's claw snaked out to grab Daryl, but Mina shoved her aside and was swept up instead.  “I won’t let you escape!” The Dragon snarled.  Daryl and Deminos tried to hold onto Mina's arms, but the Dragon pulled her away.  Holding her up to its eyes for inspection, the Dragon snickered.  "Got one of you..."

“Celi!”  Mina screamed, squirming in the Dragon’s golden talons.

“Let go of her, dammit!” Celine charged at the Dragon head on, ramming her shoulder into its leg.

“Hmm?” the Dragon looked down at Celine, who had fallen to her knees, holding her arm.  "And now you throw yourselves at my feet!  You should have done this at the start, vermin!" the Dragon roared.

“Mina…” Celine grunted, a tear springing to her eye.  Reeling back, she began to pummel the Dragon with her fists, even after her knuckles began to bleed.

From behind them, Mina saw Daryl grab Deminos by his collar and shake him.  "You're a conjurer!  Do something!" she yelled.

"I can't hurt Dragons!  Charybdis tried and got split in half for his efforts!  I-"

Deminos stopped when Daryl slapped him, tears streaking down her cheeks.  "Don't give me any of that!  You have an army of satyrs!  I've seen them!"

"But...they'll be slaughtered!" Deminos grunted, his hands trembling as he spoke.  "They don't have a prayer of victory!  And even if they won't die, they're...they're my friends and-"

A squeal escaped Mina's lips as the Dragon tightened its grip on her, reveling in the spectacle of Celine pummeling its hide until she was too exhausted to move.  "Just...just run!" Mina cried.  "Celi!  Daryl!  Aggggggh!  D-Dem...!  Just...just..." the pressure on her body increased and it felt to Mina like the breath was being squeezed out of her.

“Please…” Daryl sank to her knees, still clinging to Deminos.  “I know they’re your friends but…but if you don’t do something, Mina and Celine will…”

“Dammit…” Deminos hissed, raising both of his hands.  Two spheres of swirling black and silver light formed around his fists.  “GODDAMMIT!!!” he screamed, joining his hands together and thrusting the combined spheres into the ground.

A huge circle of silver light that held a pentagram with a crescent moon in the center formed on top of the rocky soil.  Fifty white haired satyrs climbed out, hefting spears, hooks, and pikes over their shoulders.  Leading them was a taller, more muscular satyr, wielding a large black axe and wearing a black breastplate with matching knee guards.  Looking around, the lead satyr scowled at Deminos and bowed obstinently.  “Fool!  This is Draconia!  Would you have us fight our own brethren?!” the lead satyr bleated, running the tip of his axe down one of his large horns.

“I don’t care if this is Draconia, Lune!” Deminos yelled at the satyr, his face growing bright red.  Storming over to the giant satyr, he took his shoulder and pointed him in the direction of Mina and Celine.  “They’re my friends, so just shut up and save them!”

“Friends?” a smile flickered onto Lune’s lips and the tuft of hair under his chin seemed to bristle with energy.  “Fine then.  In that case…we move!” he motioned for the other satyrs to follow him.

The small army of satyrs charged the Dragon, avoiding its clumsy claws and the occasional gout of fire or ice, and clambered up its legs.  When they began to hack at the golden scales, the Dragon effortlessly bashed them aside, but while he was distracted, Lune and five others managed to climb up the dragon’s arm and pry Mina free of its talons.  Two others grabbed Celine and carried her back to Daryl and Deminos.  Holding the handle of his axe with his teeth, Lune took Mina in his arms and jumped down to the ground just before the Dragon batted away his comrades, who vanished into silver pentagrams on the ground.  Lune bleated and dumped the shivering girl into Deminos’s arms before raising his axe and charging at the Dragon.

“Lune…” Deminos mumbled, looking down at Mina, who let out a small cough while holding her sides.  “Thanks,” Deminos whispered.

Clutching her shoulder, Celine tried to get to her feet, but was unable to rise until Daryl lent a hand.  “We have to get out of here,” she grimaced, stumbling forward with Daryl’s help.

“Y-yeah.  Let’s go,” Deminos mumbled, carrying Mina down the mountain after the pair. 

When a smothered bleat cut through the air, Deminos froze in place for a moment, only to have Daryl and Celine pull him forward.  They ducked into another cave just before the yellow Dragon barreled past them, snarling and roaring.  Laying Mina on the ground, Deminos peeked his head out of the cave.  “I…I think we’re in the clear,” he panted, choking down a sob.

“Mina?!  Mina, are you okay?!” Celine gingerly raised her head, a few tears running down her cheeks.

“I…I’m fine,” Mina grimaced, holding her sides and breathing hard.  “But I don’t want to do that again any time soon,” she said, trying to smile.

“You two are so stupid!” Dary whispered, wiping away tears from her puffy red eyes.  “Worrying me like that…I mean...who told you to save me?” she sniffled before placing a hand on Mina’s side and Celine’s shoulder.  Dim white light poured into them and the girls relaxed for a moment.

“Thanks, princess,” Celine grunted, gripping her shoulder.

"Is everybody okay?" Mina asked, sitting up with some help from Deminos.  She glanced around at her battered friends and blushed slightly.  "Err...I mean, can we all still make it down?"

“Just look at us,” Daryl sighed, averting her eyes from the two of them.  “You two can barely stand and me and Deminos are almost out of energy.  I...I think we’re done.”

“We can’t just give up…!” Mina mumbled, trying to stand, only to have Deminos hold her down so Daryl could continue healing her.  “W-we're not dead yet...as long as that's true..." she stopped, unable to finish the sentence, and hung her head.

"She's right," Deminos mumbled after a few moments.  Balling his hands into his fists, he nodded at Mina.  "We're not dead.  And I intend to make sure we stay not dead. "

“Good sentiment, but Daryl might be right,” Celine groaned, “My shoulder’s numb, Mina’s insides are all shaken up, Daryl’s exhausted and…” she stopped when Deminos turned and glared at her.  “And you’ve been fighting the whole time.  Look, I don’t want to die here but maybe you should just-"

"I told you, I'm not abandoning you!" Deminos growled, "We're all getting out of this together.  Besides," he smirked at Mina and ruffled her hair, "You've still got my scales."

“Interesting.  For humans, you certainly have spirit,” a voice called from above.   The four of them looked up and saw the roof of their cave getting torn off by an orange Dragon the size of a mansion.  “But the chase ends here.”

Putting his hands to the ground, Deminos turned to the girls.  “GO!” he yelled as the stones around him slowly levitated into the air.  Lifting up Mina, Celine and Daryl carried her out of the cave as fast as they could.

“How noble,” the Dragon snorted.  “I suppose there’s some honor among thieves.”

“They aren’t thieves,” Deminos gritted his teeth and flung his arms upwards.

Looking back at him, Mina saw the stones floating around Deminos fly at the Dragon, pelting its shimmering orange hide with a barrage of rocks and pebbles.  Batting away the stones, the Dragon tried to grab Deminos with its claws, but one of the stones struck its eye and the beast let out a roar of pain.  Fixing its good eye on Deminos, the Dragon reared back and spat a torrent of jagged spikes made of stone at the conjurer.  Letting the rocks that hovered around him fall to the ground, Deminos barely managed to leap out of the way of the spikes.  The Dragon began to hack up whole boulders at him and he rolled along the ground to avoid being crushed before tumbling down a slope, landing on his feet, and breaking into a run after the girls.

Still supporting Mina, Celine looked over at Deminos when he caught up with them.  “Think they’ll let us go after that?” she grunted sardonically.

 “Brothers, they near our border.   Cut off their escape!” the booming voice from earlier called as the ground underneath them rumbled.

“What do you think?!” Deminos snapped, sweat pouring down his face.  Looking into the sky, Deminos saw something flash above them.  “Get down!”

The conjurer put his arms around Celine and Daryl’s shoulders, forcing the two of them and Mina into the dirt just before ten beams of light shot over their heads, carving out a monstrous chasm in front of them.

"Wh-what was that?!" Daryl exclaimed.

"That's what happens if you turn that nice little holy magic of yours into a weapon," Deminos said through gritted teeth, never taking his eyes off the chasm.

Getting to their feet, the four friends shambled over to the wide rift separating them from the plateau they had arrived on.  Glancing into the chasm, they saw nothing but a small, barely visible glimmer of red a long ways down.  “Th-there’s no way around!” Mina cried.

“Dammit!” Celine hit her bloodied knuckles against the rocky soil as Dragons alighted behind them.  "We're boxed in!"

“I-I don’t want to die!” Daryl whimpered, clinging tightly to Mina.

"I told you, I won't let any of you die!" Deminos snapped.  "I'll protect you."  Reaching into his tunic, Deminos pulled out a single gold coin.  "Well...I suppose now's as good a time as any to see what he can do..."

Several Dragons who were only the size of small buildings had formed a perimeter around them while the ten largest, each as big as a mansion, approached Deminos and the girls.  Twirling the gold coin from finger to finger, Deminos raised his hand in the direction of the ten Dragons.  “Here goes nothing…” he mumbled, taking a deep breath.  “You, who knows only of money, spirit of gold and silver, may the clinking of coins guide you to me!  Paymaster, I hold this coin as payment and invoke our contract!  Melchom!”

Immediately, a green and gold aura began to swirl around the coin held in Deminos’s hand.  Reeling back, he threw the coin into the air.  It fell only a few feet from the Dragons, but before it could strike the earth, a circle of light holding a pentagram of gold and green formed beneath the coin and a warty, yellowish green hand reached out and caught the coin.

A creature a slightly shorter than Mina rose out of the circle of light and polished the coin on his drab, brown trench coat that seemed to be made entirely of pockets.  After holding the coin up to his large orange eyes, a smile filled the man’s goofy, yellow-green face.  He sank two buck teeth into the soft metal, smacked his lips, and dropped the coin into one of many money belts that were fastened around his waist.

“Genuine gold!  Must be worth a good hour or two at least!  Well, let’s see…” the Goetian mused, a whistling sound coming from between his buck teeth as he spoke.  He looked up at the Dragons, who were coldly scrutinizing him, before turning to Deminos.  Pulling his long black hair upwards, into a spike, the Goetian flapped his tiny golden wings in amusement.  “So, youse finally decided to give me a call, eh, sonny?” he muttered.

Celine cocked an eye at the strange Goetian while Mina and Daryl’s mouth just dropped open in shock.  Deminos, however, had a triumphant smirk on his lips.  “I know it’s not much, but I trust that coin will buy your services for a while at least, correct, paymaster Melchom?” Deminos bowed his head to the squatty little man.

“No need to be so formal, sonny!” Melchom whistled, clapping Deminos on the shoulder.  “If youse got the money, I gots the time."

“You can’t be serious…” Daryl shook her head despondently.

“I think he is,” Celine sighed, rubbing her eyelids.

“Don’t be so judgmental!  He could be really powerful…right?” Mina gave her friends a half hearted reprimand.

“Smart girl,” Melchom whistled at her before turning to the Dragons.  “Now, as for youse youngsters, I don’t want to fight youse, but I will if there’s gold involved.  So just do us both a favor and back off.”

The dragons watching from a distance began to laugh.  Many of them fell to the ground, roaring and howling derisively at the tiny little creature in front of their larger brothers.

“You’re going to fight us?!”

“The little girls stand a better chance!”

“Yeah!  All four of them!” the Dragons snorted and hollered.

"Goetian..." one of the larger Dragons barked.  "You are the one who should stand down.  This is our home," it raised a claw and poked at Melchom.  "And you are very tiny."

Before the Dragon could touch Melchom, gold coins swarmed out of his money belts and formed a hand, which caught the Dragon by its scaly wrist.  Shaking his head, Melchom let out a long whistle and chuckled.  "Youse boys are still pretty green, en't ya?"

Melchom kicked off the ground and jumped into the air, flapping his wings and hovering at eye level with the Dragon who'd approached him.  More gold and silver coins flew out of Melchom’s money belts and coat pockets, forming a gigantic fist.  Reeling back, Melchom slammed his gold and silver fist into the Dragon’s face.  The creature gaped at Melchom for a moment in disbelief before collapsing on the ground.

“He got Meldo!” one of the other Dragons called.

“C’mon…what’d youse think would happen?” Melchom whistled.  When he touched down on the ground, the coins he'd used to form a fist buried themselves in the dirt.  "Youse youngsters ain't got no respect for yer elders.  The old uns'd be more careful," he smirked, jutting two of his fingers upwards.  "The old uns know what us Goetians can do."

The ground underneath them began to rumble and one of the nine remaining Dragons called out, "Take to the air!"  All the Dragons leapt into the sky seconds before colossal spikes made of Melchom's coins burst out of the ground.  

The area around the Dragon Melchom had felled was conspicuously absent of spikes and before retreating to a safe distance to watch the battle, the smaller Dragons swooped down and carried off their larger brother.  The nine remaining Dragons hovered over Melchom, snarling angrily.

"Woah..." Mina gasped.

"You said it," Celine stammered.

"Haha, Aeon really knew what he was doing when he suggested I make a contract with you, eh, Melchom?!" Deminos laughed.

Rearing back, the nine Dragons let out a roar before belching streams of flames at the Goetian.  "Look out," Daryl yelled.

"No need to worry on my account, missy," Melchom laughed. 

Touching one of the golden spikes, it collapsed and the coins formed into a large circular shield that hovered a little ways out from Melchom's arm.  With a wave of his hand, the shield separated from his arm and floated into the air, forming a barrier between Melchom and the flames.  However, the intense heat of the flames began to melt it after a few seconds.  Gold dripped down from the shield and into Melchom's waiting hands.  Rubbing his palms together, he began to mold the gold as if it were clay and formed it into long, golden whip.  Lashing out with his whip, Melchom caught one of the Dragons by the neck.  With strength that belied his size, Melchom pulled on the whip and brought the Dragon crashing down onto one of the spikes.  The golden spike shattered against the Dragon's thick hide, but after crashing to the ground, the beast couldn’t even raise its head.

More of the smaller Dragons swooped in to carry it away, but froze when Melchom glared at them.  "Ehhh, go on, young uns," he laughed and waved his hand, "This en't persnal and I wasn told to kill no body."

The Dragons stared at the Goetian for a moment before carrying their fallen comrade out of harms way.  Above him, the eight larger Dragons reared back and breathed a whirlwind of ice and snow down at him.  Raising both of his hands into the air, Melchom recalled the gold from his spikes to his side and formed a twister of golden coins around himself.  They spun so fast that the ice and wind were unable to penetrate the maelstrom of coins. 

The twister of gold and silver coins slowly floated into the air and from the center, Melchom held out his hands.  The gold coins clumped together to form small but hard metallic missiles which he fired at the Dragons in rapid succession.  While a few of the golden arrows bounced harmlessly off their hides, many crashed into the joints and membranes of the Dragons' wings, as well as shooting up their noses and slamming against their eyes.  The eight Dragons dropped out of the sky and crashed to the ground, holding their eyes, wings, and noses while roaring in agony.  Forming a cloud with what remained of his gold coins, Melchom took a seat on it and floated down to Deminos, Mina, Celine, and Daryl.

“Amazing!  You’re even more powerful than Aeon told me!” Deminos exclaimed.

“And don’t youse forget it, sonny!” Melchom winked at Deminos before snapping his fingers.  Instantly, the gold cloud broke apart and the coins flew into his money belts.

There was a flash of light behind them and Mina screamed, "Melchom, look out!"  A beam of light pierced through the Goetian's chest and Melchom looked down at the large hole that had been burned through him.  Gold oozed out of his wound instead of blood.

“MELCHOM!” Demninos screamed.

“Not so loud!  I can hear youse just fine from here, sonny,” Melchom groaned, cleaning one of his ears with his finger.  “Gah, they hit me right where it hurts…in the wallet,” the Goetian sighed, pulling gold out of his belts with a quick flick of his wrist.  The coins poured into his wound and it closed instantly.

Glancing back at the Dragons, Deminos and the others saw the eight that remained slowly rising to their feet.  Any hint of arrogance they may have possessed had vanished from their eyes.  Opening their mouths, Mina saw a flash of light appear deep in their throats.  "They're going to try again!" she exclaimed.

“I see em, missy!” Melchom snapped, stepping in front of the four of them and holding up both hands.  Gold and silver coins flew out of his money belts, forming a protective shield around the five of them.  The beams of light crashed into the thick golden wall, melting the coins together, but failing to pierce the golden rampart.

“Just…what are you?” Daryl murmured, her mouth agape at the mound of coins surrounding her.

“A greedy ol skin flint who'll do anythin for a bit a coin,” Melchom smirked.  With a twist of his hand, the golden shield dispersed and the melted chunks of gold and silver shot into his pockets.  “Youse youngsters are pretty good,” Melchom called, looking up at the large dragons that were leering down at him.  “Must be close to a hundred years old, eh?  Not bad for kids like youse."

"Melchom..." the mountain shook and a commanding voice echoed out of the dirt.  The Dragons froze in place when they heard it.  "The humans belong to me.  Stand down."

"Ohhhhh, so it's youse," Melchom shrugged.  "Well, I en't lookin to pick a fight with youse, Rudra, but I've already been paid.  Youse can understand, right?" Melchom clapped his hands together in a prayer.

The ground rumbled and the voice spoke once more.  "Something approaches!  Hurry, my brethren!  Finish this now!"

"Guess that's a no, eh?" Melchom sighed.  Wrapping his arms around himself, coins poured out of his coat, gathered around the Goetian, and formed into a pile with Melchom at the center.  The mass of metal rose into the air and formed a serpentine figure made of gold that was even bigger than the Dragons.  From the top of the creature, six Dragon-like heads made of coins burst forth and snapped at the remaining Dragons.

The heads of Melchom's beast lunged out at the Dragons, who rolled aside with surprising speed and whipped their sharp tails out, slicing through a few of the beast’s heads.  Pulling back for a moment, more coins emerged from the beast’s body to reconstitute the lost heads.  Circling around the beast, the Dragons tried to tear it to shreds with their claws, but the beast ducked and wove around their strikes before wrapping its body around one of the dragons.  Three heads bit into the Dragon’s neck and chest.  Another Dragon tried to pull the heads away from its comrade, but the other three golden heads ensnared it, squeezing and choking the Dragon until it stopped moving.

“Brothers!” one of the Dragons whipped out its tail to try and decapitate the heads holding its comrades, but a seventh golden head sprouted from the creature’s body and caught the tail in its mouth.

“En't gonna be that easy, youngsters," Melchom snorted from within the golden monster.  "If youse wants to get angry with someone, blame yer big brother for bein so stubborn!"

“U-Use fire!” the Dragon being bitten howled before belching flames on the golden beast.

As the flames wafted over it, the metal began to melt together and the golden beast quickly pulled away from its prey, leaving the two Dragons it had ensnared prone on the ground.  “Damned kids today…!” Melchom snorted.  The beast’s metal heads swayed back and forth, gazing at its six remaining opponents, but the melted heads swayed much slower than the rest.

The remaining Dragons opened their mouths and doused the beast with fire, despite the golden creature’s attempts to avoid it.  The gold melted together and the beast’s movements slowed, allowing the Dragons to easily dodge its lunges and counter with more fire.

When the beast had melted into one solid block and could no longer move, the six remaining Dragons pounced on it, ripping off huge chunks of gold from the creature’s hide.  The metal beast was slowly picked apart until Melchom was revealed, kneeling in its chest.  He raised his hands into the air and the remnants of his golden beast began to squirm and rumble.  Five of the Dragons tackled the squirming mass of gold, allowing the last Dragon to snake its head out and bite down on Melchom, tearing him from the metal beast’s chest.

“Ah dammit…” Melchom grunted, holding the dragon’s mouth open with his hands and feet while the golden remains of his creature fell apart and crashed to the ground.  Looking over at Deminos, Melchom let out a sigh as the dragon forced its jaws down on him.  “Sorry, sonny, but I’m spent!  If youse live through this, I’ll give youse a discount next time,” the Goetian called as the Dragon chomped down on him.  Melchom's body cracked under the pressure, collapsing into tiny fragments of gold.  A gold and green pentagram formed on the ground and the remnants of Melchom's beast, his coins, and the golden bits that his body had been cracked into swirled into the five sided star before it vanished.

Once Melchom disappeared, the six Dragons shambled over to Deminos and the girls.  "Now, it ends, thieves," one of them panted, narrowing its eyes at the four of them.  Opening their mouths, the six Dragons breathed a stream of fire down on the teenagers.

“Dammit!”  Deminos cursed, throwing out both of his hands.  A vortex of water swirled out of his palms, momentarily holding back the flames.    “I…I refuse to let it end this way!”  Deminos’s called, the intensity of the flames slowly pushing him backwards.

“Deminos, just run!  Don’t die for us!” Mina yelled, tears springing to her eyes.

“Get out of here, you idiot!” Celine screamed, hugging Mina and Daryl close to her.  “You said you could teleport yourself back, right?!”

The water coming from Deminos’s hands faltered, but instead of retreating he slammed his right fist against the flames.  The blackened arm let out a squeal of agony, but the black crags pulsed and undulated, dispersing the flames around Deminos’s fist.

Panting, Deminos fell to one knee and scowled at the three girls.  "Even if I wanted too, teleportation is impossible at this point!  The spell takes time to cast and if it's disrupted for any reason, it won't work!"  Gripping his blackened arm, Deminos slowly got to his feet.  "But even if I could...I wouldn't abandon you!  This ain't the first time I've faced down death.  It is the first time I've done it for someone else, though," he flashed the girls a manic grin and began to pull the glowing seals off of his right arm one by one.  The blackened arm began to twitch and swell violently, its black skin rising and falling in waves.

“What are you doing?!” Mina called, trying to crawl over to him only to be held back by Celine and Daryl.

"I'll make sure you survive...I promise," Deminos said.  "In exchange...please...tell Yuka and Aeon...I'm sorry," he bowed his head and began to chant as he pulled the last glowing seal off his arm.  A sable pentagram formed underneath his feet and around his arm.  "You've been listening..." Deminos muttered, glaring down at the arm.  "I'm yours if you protect them.  Do we have a contract?"  His arm let out a shrill screech and a joyless smile filled Deminos's face.  "Very well." 

Taking a deep breath, Deminos faced down the Dragons and ran his left hand over his blackened arm.  “You, who spread lust like a cancer, one of seven ancients, three headed King, hear my words and deceive me not!  I offer you my body, I offer you my soul, and in exchange, safeguard my comrades!"  Deminos’s arm let out a squeal and the blackness began to creep up his shoulder and into his face, spreading over his skin like a virulent disease.  The Dragons in front of him reeled back and breathed another wave of fire down on Deminos as he continued his incantation.  "King of Desire!  With this, I break your seal and invoke our contract!"