The Firaxian border was as harsh and hot as Alfen had remembered. No more than four months ago he had helped a town prepare for a frightening storm heading in their direction, offering to use his powerful magic to channel the lighting away from the town and fight off bandits that roamed the area. Bandits were a common threat in the southern territories of Edonia, and the endless canyons and mountains in the south made it easy for them to hide from the authorities. His visit to the south had not been entirely selfless, however. He too had thought Reynir might have spent time along the border, figuring that he always had a fondness for the canyons in the south. Alfen failed to find any clues of Reynir's presence here though, and something in the back of his mind made him feel like this trip would end up the same way. He didn't expect to be back here so soon regardless. He hated the dry, hot air, and the sand which bit into his skin.

"Hey..so...we shouldn't be long now, right? I wish Darren would've gave us the exact location for Reynir.." Alfen complained, dragging his feet along the ground and leaving an indent in the loose, dusty ground beneath them. Alfen knew that not too far ahead loomed the gates of the nearest town, but every step exhausted him and he felt as if it would take them a decade to reach it.

"Hey, that's it!" Alfen called out, catching his second wind. He picked up speed, running just over the sandy ridge to get a better view of the town.

Set on one of the few open plains that the southern border had to offer, surrounded by cliffs and deeper canyons, sat Pyrello. It was a small town, sustained almost entirely off of its poor but sustainable agriculture. Great wooden palisades surrounded the town, enough to ward off even the bravest and stupidist of bandits. Alfen expected the gates to be firmly shut, the people within the walls going about their daily business, and the people of Pyrello to be surviving as best they could in the dry badlands.

He was wrong.

The gates of Pyrello had been torn open, struck with great force by bolts of arcane energy and the razor-sharp edges of heavy axes. Smoke rose up from one of the buildings that had been set alight, and the fire was starting to spread quickly throughout the town. Off in the distance, just faintly, the sounds of screaming could be heard, and like a pack of hyenas a group of men forced their way through the settlement, stealing and destroying everything they could.

Alfen looked at both Anna and Monarch with a stern expression, his hands clenched into fists, lightning danced and jumped around his body. "We need to help the townsfolk!" He shouted, rushing forward to see the damage. He suspected it was a Bandit attack.

xxx

Graive, a musclar and shaggy haired man wearing a long, black coat laughed loudly to himself. The plan had gone off without a hitch! His men, clad in the brown leather, long, dusty coats, and the red bandanas of the Desert Wolves, had pulled off one of the most spectacular raids he had ever seen. Pyrello's walls, once sturdy and proud, if simple, and been torn down with the liberal use of fire magic and wild beasts, corralled by his men into the gates, breaching a hole in them. The Firaxian bison had all scattered now, but they were more than useful in breaching Pyrello's walls. His men had swarmed in only moments later, eliminated the local militia and had the town on lockdown. They would plunder it for all its worth, and then let it burn to the ground. They had smugly sat behind their walls for long enough, and Graive was finally glad to teach them a lesson.

He held a short blade up to the neck of the town mayor, a thin and wispy old man wearing what might have been a well tailored brown suit a few decades ago. His other hand held the man's collar tightly, pressing him against a wall. Although most of the town had run like cowards the moment Graive and his men had shown up, the mayor had shown a surprising amount of courage against the invading group of bandits. Still, it had not helped him escape, and now the two of them stood in the mayor's office as Graive's men tore the town to pieces.

Graive grinned, pulling his knife away from the mayor's neck and slowly pacing to the other side of the room. He twirled the knife around in his hand, and after a few swift movements it shattered into a crystaline glass, eventually vanshing completely. When he heard the mayor move though he turned on his heel, pulling his hand back and motioned throwing a knife. As he did so the crystaline knife reformed, leaving his hand the moment it appeared.

It just missed the mayor's shoulder, but snagged on his coat. The knife stuck deep into the wall, pinning the mayor there.

"Not so fast," Graive said, grinning. "We're not done talking."

Moments later the door to the mayor's office was forced open,shattered into a thousand shards, and Graive felt something heavy strick him in the back of the head.

xxx

He might have had the chance to follow through with his threat, if it had not been for the thundering strike that impacted his stomach, and then a second which struck the side of his face. As he was tossed aside, thrown into the wall of the next building over, he barely registered what had happened. A pillar of earth had burst forth, striking him in the belly, and a second had aimed for his head. As he moved a hand to his head to nurse the wound, the brick walls of the building he led against shifted and contorted, bands of stone forcing themselves around his wrists and holding his hands there.

"What the f-"

A second band of stone wrapped around the man's face and neck, covering his mouth and silencing him in an instant. Another man off in the distance smirked, although his scarf and hood made it impossible to see.

The figure made his presence known quickly. He stepped out from an alleyway into the town centre of Pyrello, where the majority of Graive's men had now gathered. He held what looked to be a man by the collar, dragging him out across the ground into the centre of the town. Bandits reacted to his presence instantly, drawing weapons and summoning what eldritch power they had. As they barked threats and orders to the unusual outsider, they expected him to panic and run, but he barely reacted.

The man did, however, stop before the growing crowd of bandits, many of whom had arrived to investigate the commotion. He was an almost impossibly tall figure, at least a head over the majority of the [insert bandit group here], but his clothing masked his other features. A scarf wrapped around his face and neck, and the attached hood covered most of his head and hair, leaving only a pair of dark grey eyes peering out from within. He wore a long poncho which covered his torso and arms. His feet were uncovered, but he seemed to walk with no discomfort over the shards of glass and stone that littered the floor.

With one hand he raised the figure he held in his hand, lifting him up by the collar. It took the crowd surrounding him to recognise who it was, but when they did, their expressions twisted into those of fury. The man held up Graive, their leader, who had clearly been in the fight of his life. His nose was broken, as was his arm, and he looked to have been knocked out cold.

"Leave," he said, his voice deep. "Or end up like him."

In one motion he threw Graive aside effortlessly, and the man's body crashed into the ground. A few members of the crowd moved to assist him, but other than try to rouse him there was little they could do.

"What? You think we're so mindless that just 'cause you roughed up our leader we're gonna run like cowards?!" called out one man, his hands rippling with arcane energy. "C'mon, boys. Let's show this punk a lesson!"

He leapt forwards, grinning madly as he bridged the gap between himself and the mysterious stranger in mere seconds. His arm pulled back, and with a mighty pulse of energy he thrust his hand forwards, an open palm aimed for the hooded man's chest.

The man smirked for a second time.

The vigilante turned on the spot, thrusting an arm out to grab the bandit's wrist and pressing another open palm against his chest. In a single motion the vigilante threw the man to the ground effortlessly.

Taken back by the impressive display of strength by the robed stranger, the other bandits hesitated to make a move. "This guy isn't some pushover," one of them said, taking on a more serious combat stance. He paused though, as if distracted by something. "We should-... Wait, can you hear that? That sounds like... electrici-"

Alfen, leaping out from behind him in a flurry of lightning, struck the man in the face with a closed fist. His punch was charged with energy, and the force of the magical impact not only launched the man back but also caught up three other men beside him, lifting them from the ground and firing them fifty feet away. They crashed to the ground, battered and bruised in a mess of tangled limbs.

Alfen stretched out his arms, grinning with amusement. "Man it's good to let off some steam when you've been travelling a long time! Especially on scum such as this bunch of sorry looking ass clowns"

Half of the crowd turned to Alfen, now caught between two opponents. "You dare!? I'll kill you!" called out one of the other thugs as he ran to Alfen, blade drawn. With a smirk, Alfen pulled back his arm, readying an open.

"Thunder Art: Punishing Wave!"

He extended his palm with frightening speed, the thrust hitting the thug directly in the torso. Thunder forced its way into the man's body, and a moment later he could be seen against the wall of a nearby wall of a building. Alfen noticed the heavily robed man, and with a smile he waved. Even with his hood up, Alfen could recognise the man from a mile away. "Hey! Reynir! How's it goin'?!"

Reynir responded by lifting his foot up and bringing it down to the ground. Cracks appeared where his boot fell, and the ground beneath him shook violently. The ground shifted, the cracks grew wider, before they shot towards the bandits. The earth forced itself apart and a chasm formed fifteen feet across, splitting the bandit party in two.

He looked up to Alfen and winked, grinning. "Those ones are all yours," he said, motioning to the bandits on the side closer to the younger man.

Alfen nodded, a grin etched into his face. It showed Alfen's love for fighting and was an expression that Reynir knew all too well. The lightning mage looked over the party of bandits and simply cracked both his knuckles.

"This'll be fun" Alfen muttered under his breath, grinning as he motioned for the bandits to strike first.

They were hesitant, but one man to Alfen's left soon charged in, readying his sword for a strike. The mage sidestepped the swipe and followed with a straight kick up into the air and into the bandit's face. The force and strength of the kick threw the attacker upwards, and he crashed through the wooden roof of a tavern. Alfen looked to his right seeing more mages pelting him with magic bolts. Alfen thrusted both palms in front, generating a wave of thunder, repelling the missiles back at the mages.

It wasn't long before Alfen had driven the majority of the bandits on his side away, however, a larger, bulkier man marched towards Alfen, clad in heavy armor and weilding a large mace in his hand. He stopped just a few feet away from Alfen, his left hand flowing with a red/orange hue, enchanting the mace in his right hand. Alfen smirked as he proceeded to stretch. "An enchanter, eh? by the looks of the element I'd say you enchanted your mace with fire" Alfen remarked just as the Mace head lit up in flames. "Yep, thought so" Alfen cracked his knuckles, a smirk swept across his face as he anticipated the challenge of this Bandit. "Time for me to use a new spell I crafted a few days ago! Lighting Creation: Sky Piercing Armaments!" Lightning wrapped around his forearms and feet, glowing with a golden hue and bright light. He looked at the large bandit ahead, his left arm outstretched with a thumbs down. "Time to take you out!"

Alfen rushed forward, taking a lunge at the bandit with a jump kick, however, the flaming mace came across and swiped Alfen into the nearby building. Alfen crashed hard, his clothes barely missed being singed. The bandit broke through the wall, swinging his mace from side to side, aiming to hit Alfen with strength and vigor. Alfen was already up, dodging and weaving between each swing, narrowly escaping each swing. The Bandit, getting frustrated and angry, moved faster with each swing, managing to get Alfen in the stomach with a might blow. Alfen felt the wind leave him, seeing that the Bandit lifted his Mace, ready to bring it down on him. Alfen sidestepped at the last minute, turning around and lunging forward with a swift punch. The Bandit staggered back by the force of the punch, but Alfen saw this as his chance.

He lunged again, following with another punch, but instead of putting all his force into, he put only enough for him to continue a combo. Alfen struck blow after blow, in the body of the Bandit, following up with a powerful uppercut. Alfen then rushed forward with a dropkick, knocking the big guy into the streets. Alfen readied both his palms. "You ready for this?" Alfen grounded himself, waiting for the Bandit to rush him. As the Bandit roared with anger, Alfen smirked. "Heh....Unified Art: Demon Wave" as the Bandit came into range, Alfen struck him in his abdomen with both palms with speed. The bandit was sent flying crashing through a wall as he lay unconscious in the rubble. The lightning energy dissipated from his legs and arms. Alfen looked over to Reynir. "Hey Reynir! how'd you fair? good workout right?"

"Stone Spirit Evoker," Reynir said, just loud enough that Alfen could hear.

The younger man grinned and pumped his fist into the air. "Tear 'em to pieces, Reynir!" he called out, grinning widely.

"Djinn!" the older man continued, and with a sharp movement of his arms the earth burst forth from the ground, binding and coiling itself are Reynir's body.

The bandits moved into strike while they had the opportunity, but blades and magic pinged harmlessly off of the stoney shield Reynir had created. Mages tried to tear the earth apart with powerful force magic, but the wounds quickly resealed as more earth was layered over it. It was only a moment later than the mass of stone began to move.

It tore itself up from the earth, a humanoid form of stone and steam that stood in place of Reynir. It had diamond shaped body with razor-sharp blades of stone protruding from its back and sides, and was supported by two legs which ended in sharp points. Its arms ended in lethally sharp blades, and steam poured out from the cracks along the surface of the stone golem's hide. Small flames licked around his body, and with a furious battlecry he charged.

The battle took mere moments. Reynir struck down the bandits with a flurry of strikes from his scythe-like limbs, and threw them aside effortlessly with his Canyon Art spells. The earth shook with every spell he cast, and the bandits stood no chance against him in this form.

Monarch stood cautiously at a distance, watching the fight unfold.

The bandits left quickly, picking up their broken bodies and broken spirits as best they could and scurrying off out of town. Their defeat came as a shock to them, especially the leader, who had thought this town defenseless. It was a hit to their pride more than their numbers, as none of their gang had been killed, but almost every single one was limping or unconscious. Those that were not helped those that were out of the city, as Reynir and Alfen continued to push them out of the town. Their groans of anger and ruined pride could be heard throughout the streets.

Alfen stretched out, a sigh of relief escaping his mouth as the last bandit was taken past the town walls. "So Reynir, good work out, right?" Alfen looked to the large man beside him and grinned. The fact he could call this man his friend still amused him. "Hey guys! Meet the badass!" Alfen shouted as he turned back towards Monarch and Anna.

Reynir's first response was a grunt, folding his arms tightly across his wide chest and staring at the newcomers with his brow furrowed. He held this stance for a moment, staring down Mona, Anna, and Alfen, as he judged them each individually. The tiny pixie that hovered beside them looked mostly harmless, but Reynir had learned long ago not to a mage on their appearance. The woman with red hair looked far more threatening, having replaced much of her body with mechanical augments, but this would not be the first time he faced a magitechnician, and he could think of a dozen ways to disable her equipment. The younger man though, with messy hair and a spring in his step, would be the easiest to overcome. The slightest smirk appeared across Reynir's lips, before he opened his arms wide and gave a hearty laugh.

"Alfen!" he called out in a deep, booming voice, giving his good friend a hug and lifting him just up off of the ground. "It's been years! You must be twice as tall now. How've you been?" he continued.

Alfen felt Reynir's hug grip him tight. If it was anyone else then he might have complained, but he didn't mind at all. Reynir was a close friend to him, and he was just happy to see him. Alfen landed on his feet and looked to his taller friend. "I've been great! Finally mastered the Lightning element, as you can see" He replied, his hands cackling with volts of lightning as he spoke as if to prove it. "Grandfather's workouts have helped me a lot in controlling my magic."

"That's fantastic, Alfen," Reynir replied, sitting down on the edge of a small brick wall that was not too far away from where they stood. He leaned over and supported himself with his hands against his knees. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to teach you enough, but I am glad you found your own path towards success."

He smiled and looked over to Alfen's new companions, eying them curiously. "Who are your new friends?"

Alfen placed both hands in his pockets as he looked over to Monarch and Anna once more. "This is Anna and Monarch. They need your help, Reynir. We need your help. You know I wouldn't ask a favor from anyone unless it was urgent, and it is," he said, lifting his left hand to scratch the back of his head. Alfen explained everything to Reynir, the group that had formed, their job and how one of their own was kidnapped by Kazan and Raldo. "Darren said you were out in the Firaxen Border, so we decided to go out here and find you. We really need a tracker to find this Kazan guy, and there's nobody better at that than you," Alfen said hoping Reynir would consider the offer.

Reynir pondered the possibility for a while. He ran a hand through his short, messy beard as he did so. Despite the great difference in age and experience between Alfen and Reynir, they had been close friends almost since they had met, and Reynir could not refuse a cry for help, especially when a life was at risk... But these border towns were dangerous, and the people here needed someone to protect them, and nobody else would. Helping one in a far off land could lead to the loss of others here.

"I will help you, but my place is here. The people here need someone to protect them, as I have been trying to do since I left the Guild, and if I leave them for too long I worry what might happen to them. I will help you find her, but I trust in your ability to rescue her on your own, and once she has been found I will have to return here. But you have my word, I will help you."

Alfen's face lit up, his smile wide when he heard Reynir accept his proposal. "You won't regret this, bro!" Alfen gave him a thumbs up, barely holding back the urge to jump into the air with excitement. "Reynir, wait till you see some of the spells in my arsenal. You'll be proud, I know it," Alfen said confidence and borderline arrogance.

He turned to Ann and Monarch, who remained mostly silent as the two old friends recollected. "Shall we get going? we need to find Rita!" Alfen was pumped and already rearing to move forward despite them only just getting to the town a few moments ago.

He wasn't sure how Crossbones and Darren were doing, but he assumed they both were sucesssful in gaining the aid from Rita's father.

Reynir stood up, brushing off the sand and dirt that build up on his cloak. "Yes, we shall travel soon, but first I must make sure the town remains secure. I shall not be long, I promise."

He nodded, giving a half bow, as he turned and headed towards the outskirts of the town. Ann followed him curiously, flitting back and forth behind him. "What're you planning on doing?" she asked.

"Making sure the city remains safe," he replied, as he rested a hand against one of the walls of wood that had been all but completely destroyed. The walls seemed still and silent for a moment, before waves of energy pulsed through them. The wood seemed to burst into life, growing tall and sturdy as if they were still trees. Sweat appeared on Reynir's brow as he stood silent, gritting his teeth, and letting the wooden walls reform themselves.

Even as the walls were fully repaired, Reynir did not stop. He brought his right foot up and then down in a swift movement, digging his heel deep into the ground, and as he did so pillars of stone erupted from the ground, weaving their way into the stone walls and giving them sturdy, rigid supports that far suppassed the old wooden ones. Reynir took a moment to breathe as his mind stopped racing, trying to process so much physical magic at once. Creating large structures was difficult for any mage to process, but it was far from Reynir's strong suit.

"That should be all," he said, more to himself than to his companions around him, as he turned to face the recently repaired gate to the city. "Now, I believe we have a girl to save."

Train Station, Town of Yarle

Darren stepped off the carriage of the train, and into the streets of Yarle. Yarle was a much larger town than the town they had arrived from, Lenora, and the streets were visibly much older with cobblestone roads and Renaissance style buildings. If it were not for the street lamps that lined the pathways, glistening with magical energy, Darren might have thought the town was stuck in a completely different era. "Well, Here we are! The town of Yarle. my hometown, actually," Darren said as he turned back to the train.

A hulking figure, now lacking his armour and iconic gauntlets, lumbered out of the train and onto the ground, slinging a huge metal pack over his shoulder. "So where's the guild estate? You know this town better than I do," he said, grunting as he turned to grab another bag out from the train, now carrying almost all of the things Darren and he had brought.

Darren stroked his chin thoughtfully. This town was home to him, but it had been so long. Furthermore he had never visited the guild personally. Enchantment magic, the guild's speciality, had never been much of an interest to him. "It shouldn't be too far away. The Lanna Family are wealthy and the guild is well known. Finding directions should not be difficult".

Cracking his knuckles, Crossbones quickly took the lead. The streets were quiet, although it was earlier, and he expected the traffic might pick up as the day carried on. He turned his head as he heard Darren speak again. "Forgive me for sounding out of line and rude, but you don't seem like the inventor type. I'm guessing that you are indeed handy with Magitech though, yes?".

Crossbones chuckled. "I know the basics, but truth be told I was never all that good with it. Mona's the smart one. She did any work on my gear that needed a particularly steady hand or keen mind. That doesn't mean I don't know how to use it any less." He smirked, showing a few teeth as he did so.

Darren nodded. "I thought as much. No offense," he replied.

The taller man raised an eyebrow. "None taken."

The town had grown much in the last visit fifteen years, and while Darren remembered the times fondly, he was glad to see the town was doing well. He remebered sneaking into the enchantment academy with his friends in his teenage years. It was during that time he had discovered his connection with mana, and a talent for shapemancy. It defined his very life from that point onwards. He smiled wistfully, and Crossbones took note of it.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" he asked. Darren just smiled back.

It didn't take Darren and Crossbones long before they could see the Lanna estate just peeking over the rooftops. It was a large mansion with an equally impressive academy beside it; one of the most prestigious academies in the country, specialising in enchantments and curses.

"The Lanna Estate... Even when I was a kid this place kinda spooked me," Darren claimed, looking to his companion with a goofy smile. "Well, let's hope Mr. Reeves isn't out for our heads."

The mansion's acres of land were as vast and well kept as Darren could remember, tended to almost constantly by gardeners and other maintenance staff, many of whom darted around the place even now.

"I used to sneak into the academy with my friends. It's so strange seeing it unchanged for so long." Darren said to Crossbones as they mad their way up to the steps of the large the mansion, looking up to the sprawling complex. Crossbones knocked heavily on the door and they quicky swung open, pulled back by a man in heavy steel armor, a spear in his hand. He grit his teeth, clearly in a great deal of frustration as he stepped out to see the two travellers.

"That old fool! What business do-"

The young man paused when he saw Darren and Crossbones. He breathed in and then let out a long, heavy breath of relief. "My apologies for the rude behaviour. We've been having a little trouble here lately. My name is Henry Lanna," he said, eventually introducing himself. Henry turned his gaze towards Darren and immediately noticed the hawk insignia on his vest.

"You're from the Hawk Guild? Did master Luwin want to recruit some of the enchanter students?" Henry asked.

Darren shook his head. "Not at the moment, I'm afraid. I'm here with my friend to speak to your father," Darren replied, knowing of the infamous "Young Dragon" that stood before him through other mage's gossip and rumours. Henry was a gifted ennchanter, and a skilled combatant much like his own father, but his temper was short and wild.

Henry sighed. "I'll take you to him. Follow me."

Henry turned back to lead them inside, although Crossbones noted that the man's grip tightened around his javelin as he marched forward. The inside of the mansion appeared gothic, pristine, and perfectly neat. There was not a spot of dust in sight. The large staircase that took up the majority of the foyer was dimly lit by candles, although a few thin beams of light streamed in through the small windows.

"Father is in his study, but I'd suggest you make your visit brief. He's giving a speech at his academy for the new students soon," Henry stated, taking both Darren and Crossbones through another set of two doors and into a small corridoor. Henry waved his hand, signalling for both Darren and Crossbones to wait as he opened a small wooden door to what looked like a study and stepped inside. Not a moment after he entered the young man came back out. "Father says you may go right in. But he hopes that this meeting is urgent and important, and to make it brief. My father is in a rush."

Crossbones and Darren made their way inside the lobby. Crossbones found himself having to crane his head underneath the low doorframe. They arrived to see a figure, standing and facing away from his visitors. His eyes darted over the bookcase that he faced, although it was impossible for Crossbones or Darren to tell that. "I do hope this is urgent," he said, raising a hand to slowly run his finger across the spines of the books on a shelf at about the height of his shoulders, inspecting each book slowly. "So? What is it that a Hawk Guilder and an Ozalian technologist could possibly want so desperately that they insist on meeting me in person? I'm not hiring bodyguards or soldiers. I have no use for extra muscle."

Reeves tone of voice not aggressive or cold. It simply sounded apathetic. He was tired, and cared not for wasting his time dealing with strangers that insisted on speaking in person. He had a speech in less than an hour, and Reeves wished to practice. These strangers were a distraction.

"Your daughter has been kidnapped, sir," Darren explained.

Reeves finally turned around, first turning his head to glance at the strangers, and then his whole body followed. For the briefest moment his eyes widened and his lips parted, just enough to show visible shock, but as the man composed himself this expression faded to the previous empty, stoic expression. Reeves was a a tall man, dark haired and with

"Stupid girl. I told her; I told her to leave my estate but she insisted. It was bad enough that I allowed her to study something as foolish and dangerous as that curse magic nonsense. So what is it you want? Me to pay you for her rescue? To help me rescue her myself?" His tone sounded more agitated by the moment.

Darren was alittle surprised by this behaviour. Did he not care at all about his own daughter? He grit his teeth and, very slowly, loosened his clenched fist. He had not even noticed he had done it to begin with. "With all due respect, sir, she is your daughter," he replied, looking back to Crossbones for suport. The taller man just stood stoic, his arms crossed, staring down Reeves.

"And what say you? huh? do you think it's my duty to keep holding my daughter's hand for incompetence?!"

Crossbones scoffed. "I think that she's a scared little girl a long way from home who needs help. She's tough, but she's in the company of some really bad people, and if something happens to her because you're too stubborn to help your own daughter then it's entirely on your head." He turned his head to glance at Darren briefly, his face still stern and almost expressionless, before turning back to face Reeves. "But I guess we shouldn't be surprised he wouldn't help. He has a history of turning his back on his own children."

Darren was in shock. The verbal exchange Crossbones was like a metaphorical pipe bomb blowing up in someone's hand, and he knew that this would not end well. He was about to speak up and suggest something - heck anything to try and move the conversation away from this point, but the train had already been set in motion.

Reeves was barely able to respond, his mouth open and his eyes wide. A magitech user from Ozalia of all places coming to his home and insulting him? Reeves stunned look turned into anger, twisting and contorting into pure rage. His fists clenching tighter and tighter as he stormed up to Crossbones, pointing a finger directly in his face. "How... How dare you march in here and insult me? In my own home?" Reeves lifted his right hand, and with force that betrayed his older form, struck Crossbones across the face with a right hook.

Crossbones did not even flinch.

Darren did not think Reeves would actually hit him, but the anger in Reeve's voice was real, and the man barely hesitated to throw a punch. Darren looked at his companion, standing there as he took the hit like a well trained shield mage, and other than the slightest wince hd did not react. Darren just hoped Crossbones would not throw a punch back. Even without his gauntlets the man was colossal, and more than strong enough to break an old mage in two if he wanted to.

Reeves paused when his punch seemed to have no effect, slowly managing to reign in his emotions. He turned around, his head drooping, and his eyes turning to the floor. "Just leave..." he said in a harsh tone although his voice had since quietened. Reeves held out a hand, and as he did so arcane energy began to pool around it until it coalesced into a huge black blade too large for most mortal men to wield easily. "You are not welcome here..." Reeves said as he turned, bringing his sword up and pointing it towards them, the tip of the blade held at eye height.

"But sir, your daughter," Darren begged.

The hulking blade that Reeves held turned from Crossbones to Darren. "Just go! Leave!" Reeves shouted. His arm quivered, as if he fought with himself over whether to cut these two fools in two where they stood. Darren motioned for Crossbones to leave and both men leaving the study.

"Well...that went smoothly," Darren groaned as they passed by Henry, the young man from before who stood with his arms folded, leaning aganst the wall.

"You really hit a sore spot, you know that, right? You're lucky he didn't cleave you both in half. He's more skilled with that sword than he looks." Henry pushed himself away from the wall, taking a few steps closer to the pair that he faced. "He may not show it, but he really does love my little sister, and if she's in danger then he'll help... and I will too."

Darren raised an eyebrow. "You want to help us?"

Henry gripped his spear slightly more firmly, showing he was serious. "My father will take a while to recover, and it if Rita is in as much danger as you say then I fear it may come too late. Until then, you have me at your side. If Rita is in trouble then I want to help. She means the world to me," Henry continued. His voice did not waver for a moment. He was completely serious.

"By all means, we came here looking for all the help we could find." Darren replied, a little more hopeful now than he was earlier. "We can head out in the morning. For now we have some preparations to make."

The two walked for some time longer, and as they did Darren moved up closer to Crossbones and opened his mouth to speak. "Why were you so confident that'd work? You didn't waste a moment hitting Reeves with the hard strikes and it could have easily blown up in our faces. Do you really think insulting him and claiming he doesn't care about his daughter would be enough to get him to swallow his pride and rush to her aid?"

"Trust me, he'll help."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Crossbones grinned. "I have a daughter."



"You know you should really eat something" Kazan said to the young curse witch Rita.

The two of them sat in a small, stone room, seperated by iron bars. Rita was locked away in a cell, furnished only with a small, simple bed. The room was falling apart, with the bars rusted and cobwebs lining the corners of the room. A plate of simple food had been prepared for her and had been pushed into her cell, although this was the second meal that she had refused to eat.

Rita's eyes remained locked on the tiny window on the other side of the iron bars. "I'm not hungry," was the only reply she gave. A tiny magical fire roared loudly, a creation of Kazan's to keep the room warm, which Rita could admit was a welcome change from the usual cold chill that could be felt down here.

"You can keep looking out the window, but we know your friends will be here. Alfen is too stupid and naive to not pass on saving someone. Monarch? Well, she and that other inferior magitech loser will most definitely seek us out in an attempt to prove themselves a better fighter; something which they'll fail at! That pixie will no doubt follow them. They will lose if they try to fight again, you can count on it," Kazan bragged.

"You were the ones who ran away and kidnapped me when they saw they didn't have the upper hand anymore., I think it's clear you guys are the losers since you couldn't beat them fairly," Rita snapped back. She never even looked at Kazan when she spoke, although her tone of voice set Kazan's eyes ablaze and almost forced fire to pool in his palms. "I'll make sure to burn them alive then!" he shouted, hurling a fist-sized ball of fire towards Rita. It incinerated her food in an instant.

Meanwhile, Minerle and Zyle guarded the entrance of the dungeon, silently judging Kazan's fury from a distance. They could hear him shout even from here, but as long as he did not harm the girl then they did not have to stand in. For now they were happy to just let him yell out his anger.

"God, guard duty is so boring," Minerle groaned. She leant against the archway leading down into the cells, her arms folded. "You'd think that Orus would let one of the mooks do this tedious job. I should be practicing my illusions. Who knows when we'll be attacked."

Zyle did not respond. He stood there, carefully inspecting a small, glass-like fragment of arcane energy which he held in his palm. Minerle often spied him doing that, although could never tell exactly what he was doing. Zyle's powers were strange, and Minerle scarcely understood them or the lengths he had gone to acquire them. His eyes glanced up briefly when he caught Minerle staring, but quickly moved back down

"Did you say something?" he asked.

"You shapemancers are all the same," Minerle huffed, although her frustration quickly turned to intrigue as she heard footsteps.

Two figures entered the room; a tall figure in titanic steel armour, and another man... Minerle could barely look at the other man. Gilgan was always fun to tease, but Zinko never ceased to make her uncomfortable. Maybe it was his sense of style, which always seemed to have him dressed in clothes not unlike those of a clown, or perhaps it was his unnerving, unflinching smile. Even Zyle took notice of their arrival, the shard shattering when he clenched his fist. He gave them a brief nod as they arrived.

Minerle moved from the archway and walked towards the two newcomers, a slight sway to her hips as she spoke. Her movements were confident, but her eyes never left Gilgan's form, as if she would not dare look at Zinko. "So I take it your job was a success? Stupid question. If it wasn't you'd have a sword through your throat, Gilgan, which I suppose would at least solve one problem," she teased.

The warrior just huffed. "My job is done. The bandit mages will move their camp here and our numbers will be bolstered. Tell your boss that he got his wish and I want to be paid my second half as soon as possible so I can leave."

Zinko had since left the man's side and had circled around the group to eagerly peer down the hall where the sounds of Kazan's cursing still echoed from, a playful sway to each of his steps as he seemed to dance towards it. "The living mirror and the young sweet lady!" he cackled, his voice high and unnervingly cheerful. Oh what a joyous return! How did the young spider and living furnace fare on their mission?" he asked.

"They failed," Zyle replied. "And thought it a good idea to kidnap one of their own, so now we're just waiting for them to amass their forces and attack us. It's really put a thorn in our plans, in fact." The briefest smile flashed across his face. "At least they make our job a little more entertaining."

Outskirts of Lenora

Reynir led the group to the location of Kazan and Raldo. The journey was a long trip up north back into the highlands of Edonia. Edonia was perhaps known best for its cities, but there were a few small refuges away from the hustle and bustle of the urban sprawl however small, and the Edonian highlands were one of them. Deep green grass and sheer stone cliffs, shrouded in a thin layer of fog that never quite seemed to leave. It was easy to get lost here, with few defined roads and poor visibility, but Reynir was determined in his movements and only slowed down to make sure his companions were close behind.

How he had found the location of this place so quickly was beyond Monarch. She had heard much about Reynir, especially from Alfen as they had made their way south into Firaxia, and it was clear the man always knew more than he let on. Perhaps his siphoned spirit, Aatos, was whispering the location to his ears, or the man had more eyes across the country than she could have ever expected. He was mostly silent around her though, giving only brief and occasionally cryptic responses to his questions. She had given up trying to commune with him much unless he spoke first. A powerful caster, certainly, but a strange man none the less.

Reynir himself could feel the entire layout of the land. Aatos' power meant that the earth merely felt like an extension of himself, and while it had taken him a few days to pinpoint the location of Rita, his meditation and scrying had quickly paid off. She was in the Edonian highlands, and she was not alone. Reynir's scrying was not the most developed or specific, but it had its uses, and seemed able to penetrate defenses that would protect most from the divinations of others. What was important was that he knew where the girl was, and he could take his new companions to her.

Alfen was more ready than he had ever been, a stern, determined look etched onto his face. He trailed just behind his hulking friend, following his footsteps intently. He had expected his reunion with Reynir to be a joyous one, but it dawned on him soon after they left Pyrello that it would have to wait. They had to save Rita. They had to. Still, he was happy to have Reynir along to help.

What did make him slightly more curious was the tall stranger that had joined the group. Mona, Reynir, Alfen, and Anna had reunited with Darren and Crossbones some days ago, but instead of coming with reinforcements from Reeves, they had a stranger in tow; Rita's brother, Henry. In turn, Henry seemed to have a close eye on Alfen, as if judging him. Henry stared down Alfen, his eyes like arrows aimed at Alfen's head.

"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer." Alfen snapped.

"Just because you're helping in rescuing my sister does not give you the authority to date her."

Alfen's faced twisted into a mix of surprise and anger. His cheeks turned a little red, a clear sign of his embarrassment. "I'm not going to, man!"

"Really?" interrupted Crossbones, patting Alfen heavily on the back with a huge hand. "You two seemed to hit it off pretty well, and I guess today's your chance to play the big hero." He laughed loudly.

"I said I'm not going to!" Alfen shouted back, batting away Crossbones' hand.

Henry raised his Javelin, pointing it vaguely in Alfen's direction. "Good! Let it stay that way!"

The two young men locked horns several times over their travels, ready for either one to hit the other. Crossbones seemed to delight in teasing them both, an even Anna made a point of joining in. She was small, and often worried she might be forgotten. Not today, she thought to herself, as she perched on Alfen's shoulder.

"Just think," she said, leaning in to rest her tiny figure against his head gently. "She's your damsel in distress. You could be her knight in shining armour, riding in to rescue her at the last moment atop your mighty steed! She'll fall for you in an instant, and then you won't have a choice in the matter. Gosh, what's that? I can hear wedding bells already!"

The tiny woman bust out laughing, a high pitched giggle that came with enough force to knock her backwards, and she fell right off of Alfen's shoulder. Alfen tried to shake her away too but she was long gone, and caught herself at the last moment with her wings and fluttered back up alongside them all. "And now I'm going to have to start practicing baking cakes again. I've never made a wedding cake before," she teased again, barely containing herself as she fluttered across to rest on Crossbones' shoulder instead. She was agile and swift, but she could hardly compete with the powerful, tireless stride of her human companions. She talked and giggled with Crossbones the entire way along.

"Guys? Let's save the young miss first, okay?" Darren yelled back, his face starting to turn red.

Mona chimed in eventually. "Yes, can we try and focus? We're all here to save a girl that needs help."

"And we're nearly there," said Reynir. Mona believed that to be the first thing he had said all day. "An hour. Maybe less if we're swift and nothing decides to interrupt us. That means we should be especially focused and astute. These two arcanists, Raldo and Kazan, were clearly powerful foes, and I sense they will not be alone here. Your numbers may have grown in Henry, but there will be more this time."

Both Henry and Alfen turned from each other. They seemed to grow silent after that, turning their focus onto the fog-covered hills in front of them. They had a mission after all. It was only a moment before Alfen spoke again, this time to Reynir. "Are you really not staying with us?" he asked.

"I have responsibilities elsewhere, Alfen," he said. "I wish I could, but I have already been gone for far longer than I wanted to be. There is a lot of trouble along the Firaxan borders at the moment, as you saw. War is brewing, I believe, and someone needs to be there to protect those who might otherwise be caught in the crossfire."

Alfen's head sunk.

"Worry not, Alfen. I trust in your abilities, and in those of your companions. You have a strong group working behind you, and I truly believe you will be able to rescue your friend. Just try to keep on that temper of yours, Alfen. Emotions are a strong ally, but can just as easily be your downfall." Reynir smiled.

It was not long until they could see the abandoned guild manor. They were above it, some two hundred meters off, stood on a small rocky outcrop. Reynir crouched down low, his grey cloak over his shoulders to better blend in with the terrain. Darren came up beside him, crouuched low in the same position.

"Damn. It seems your friends Kazan and Raldo have recruited some bandits to protect the base of the guild," Darren said, turning his head to his allies and repeating the information.

"Not just bandits," Reynir corrected. "There are others. Bounty hunters, mages, technicians. It is a small army. I feel like if we made a dedicated, unified effort to enter the building they'd alert someone. And if they noticed us they'd do the same. I am sure they have been told who to expect."

"I have an idea. I'll distract this ragtag group of nothings, which should give you all time to make your way inside," Darren suggested. "They may be expecting people, but not a feral beast." The group nodded in agreement.

Darren brought both of hands hands together, and the few arcane runes across his body started to glisten. His muscles tightened and swelled suddenly, his eyes turning a gloss, pure black, and his entire body shifting and growing 'till he was over a foot taller. His skin, previously pale, became a hardened hide of grey and silver, protected with bands of iron arounds his wrists and ankles. "Go!" he roared as he lept high into the sky, lifted by the hefty iron-cast, bladed wings that protruded from his back, crashing down on the makeshift camp of bandits.

Anarchy broke out a moment later, the bandits screaming "Demon, demon!" as they hurried to grab their weapons. Darren grabbed them with open fists, throwing the bandits effortlessly and tearing them to pieces with clawed hands. One bandit hurled his spear, embedding itself deep in Darren's back, but he hardly flinched.

"We should be careful and move around Darren's distraction. He gets a little excessive when he's like this, and he-" just as Alfen explained what Darren was going to be like, the bestial form of Darren picked up a bandit and threw him overhead, the limp, unconscious body flying above the group's heads and crashing in some bushes. "-loves to throw things."

The group circled around him, their heads low, moving around the low hills and short cliffs to keep out of view of any of the bandits. They seemed far more preoccupied with Darren though, who seemed to be handling himself admirably. Anna smiled, and a small arcane sigil formed around her hand. "This should make a few of them run scared," she said under her breath and released the sigil.

A loud cacophony of roars came from across the hill, emanating from where Darren had appeared from, and now far away from where the group stood. It sounded just like Darren's bestial roar, and was followed by another and another. A few bandits dropped their weapons and ran. If one of these "demons" was strong enough to handle himself against all these people, then a dozen more would be unstoppable, and they didn't want to be here when the monsters show up.

They kept the sight of the guild in sight... an old building that followed an old dirt trail. It wasn't long until the sounds of bandits screaming and Darren's roars grew more distant, although they were all still dreadfully close. "It seems like the actual entrance is unguarded, but it's hard to see too clearly in this fog," Alfen said, a few sparks of electricity crackling between his fingers. The fog seemed thicker up at the guild, as if it were intentionally using it to keep itself hidden. Indeed, there was an unusual arcane tang in the air. "I didn't think they'd make it so easy... Wait, can you hear that?"

A sudden rush of wind caught them off guard. It was brief, but it was different from the still air that let the fog linger. In fact the wind started to clear the fog that obscured the guild, and from it a figure appeared. Tall, slender, and armed. Alfen quickly broke into a sprint, narrowly dodging Crossbones as he reached out to grab the boy by the arm and hold him back. With a turn of his wrist Alfen channeled his Punishing Wave spell, pushing both palms out at an impact point. As the large, thunderous wave was forced outwards, the figure brought both of his swords up and then dragged them down in a swift cut, slicing the arcane wave in two.

Alfen threw out a punch this time, his fist crackling with energy, but the armoured swordsman merely stepped to the side. His leg shot outwards, his knee connecting with Alfen's stomach, and with a twist on his heel he slammed his leg down and brought the other one around, a fierce back kick into Alfen's chest which threw him back some twenty feet. He crashed into the ground, but Reynir was there to pick him back up again.

The man eyed up the group carefully. He hardly made a move, but it was clear how ruthlessly he examined each and every one of them. "I was ordered to only face one of you. I must warn you though; I'm no slouch in combat," he stated as he brought one blade across the other with enough force to let sparks fly from it. He spoke with an air of pride, and seemed to choose no challenger, as if he were happy to fight any or all of those before him.

Alfen smirked and cracked his knuckles. "I guess Im' your ma-" Just as he was about to accept the invitation, Reynir stepped in front of him. "What the hell, man!?" Alfen aired his protests.

Reynir ignored it. "Gilgan," he called out, pushing the hood down from his face. The way he spoke; Reynir clearly new the man, and judging from his dour, cold expression, their past meetings had not been friendly ones. "If I must fight one of us then I accept your challenge." He clenched his fist tightly.

Gilgan was a powerful fighter, both with and without magic. They had met before, once, and Reynir had not won that fight, but he had survived and learned from it. His conjured weapons were powerful items and he seemed to have perfect mastery in each of them. He was impossible to predict, and more talented in combat than any of his companions. If Gilgan had to fight anyone here, let alone Alfen, then he would probably win. He fought with honour, but he fought for money, and if he was given orders to kill then he would. Reynir doubted he could win this fight, but rather him than the others.

Henry looked at the man in front of them. He recognised the ornate armor styled after that of knights of a far off land, and the two blades in the man's hands looked expertly crafted. Henry looked on, eyes wide. "Guys, that's Gilgan Messai; mercenary mage and warrior for hire. We should be on our guard, this man is not to be messed with." Henry stated.

"Pffffft, I've trained with stronger mages, this guy should be no challenge for me!" Alfen replied with bravado and foolish confidence, more electricity channeling through his palms.

"He's too strong for you, Alfen, and I know you would be eager to prove me wrong," Reynir said. He pointed towards the guild manor. "But you have someone to save and that is more important than proving yourself, so if someone has to face this obstacle so that you may pass then it might as well be me."

Alfen stood in place, wanting to protest and fight alongside his friend. He clenched his fists, shaking any feelings he had to stay. He knew Reynir was right. He grit his teeth and the electrical energy faded. "Eugh! Just don't lose to this asshole," Alfen shouted with determination, glaring at Gilgan as he followed behind the rest of group as they moved closer to the manor. Gilgan did not move from his spot, keeping his stare locked on Reynir, letting the others pass.

He brought his hand up to his chest, grabbing the worn grey cloak from around his shoulders and tearing it off, throwing it aside where it caught the new, stronger winds and fluttered away. Beneath his cloak Reynir wore mostly sturdy, practical cloths and leathers if anything at all, covering his legs in greaves, but his chest, arms, and legs were left exposed, baring the many scars he had accumulated over the years. They were many, some more gruesome than others. "I wasn't supposed to stay and fight..." he muttered under his breath, as he brought both of his arms up in a defensive stance.

REYNIR VS GILGAN

"It's rather cute that one of the Van Dragoon children look up to you," Gilgan chuckled, slightly amused at the concept. "It's not surprising though. You are a capable mage, even if I defeated you. I recall that it was with only a single blade too, right? Sorry, sometimes all the dull fights blend into one."

Reynir visibly grit his teeth. He did not like Gilgan, not one bit, and his arrogance and bravado struck all the wrong chords. To Reynir the fight seemed close, but he still had a lot to learn about the mercenary mage that stood before him, and despite his research he knew he had barely scratched the surface. He would stay slow, cautious, and analytical.

Gilgan stated moving to Reynir's left. "Muramasa, dispel". As he uttered those words, the blade in his right hand, long, curved katana, dispersed into an arcane mist and his right hand moved to his grip the other katana, taking it in two hands. "Are you ready, Reynir?" he asked.

Reynir nodded.

He saw a brief smile flash across Gilgan's lips before the man was suddenly out of sight, only the faint afterimage of his form lingering behind him. A blade was brought up, coming across Reynir's chest, which he had no chance to block. He took it square on, but Reynir hardly flinched, and as the blade came back around to thrust into Reynir's back, a collumn of stone erupted from the ground to catch it. Gilgan reappeared, bringing a boot up onto the stone collumn to wrench his sword from it.

Reynir brought his own leg back, shattering the stone collumn with explosive force, just as Gilgan retrieved his sword. He was thrown back, no worse for wear, but if he had been half a second later then that might have hurt. Once again the mercenary smiled, more fiercely this time, and stepped out of sight again. He flashed in sight again to Reynir's left, coming in with an upward diagonal slash from his blade, but it only met a stone fist as Reynir caught the blade and threw it aside, parrying the blow. He grabbed the sword tightly, hurling it and Gilgan aside. Blood oozed from Reynir's hand through the cracks in the stone; it was tough but not indestructable, and Reynir gave a slight wince as he turned back to face Gilgan, who had once again retreated to ten feet away, seemingly in full health.

"Not bad," the mercenary said, readjusting his stance. "You've gotten faster."

"You've gotten clumsier."

"Oh, I'm so wounded," Gilgan teased, sarcasm pouring from every word. "Are you going to throw a punch or are you just going to let me whittle you down until you can hardly stand?"

Reynir was silent.

Gilgan's expression immediately turned sour, his smile replaced with a stern, serious frown, keeping his eyes upon Reynir at all costs. Gilgan then moved in closer before he vanished again. Rapid footsteps beating against the stone floor; Reynir felt everyone one, the vibrations channeling through the earth towards him, until suddenly they stopped... but no strike came. He was above.

Gilgan reappeared above Reynir, a downward strike ready in tow. "Masamune Style: Fallen Heaven" Gilgan said, the blade in hand glowed a bright white light.

Reynir brought his leg down with enough force to crack earth, and a spear of stone erupted beneath him, spiralling upwards towards Gilgan. In turn he brought both of his arms up, encased in cracked, sturdy stone, and moved to catch the blade again should it come so close.

As the blade met the palms of Reynir, a shockwave erupted from the two clashing fighters. Gilgan felt Reynir's energy, narrowly dodging the spear of earth to which he tewisted himself out of its path. Gilgan soon moved backwards, his feet hitting the stone spear and using it to push himself away.

"Masamune, dispel!" he yelled, letting go of the blade which Reynir caught, letting it fade into an arcane mist before he even finished his sentence.

Gilgan, a smirk etched permanently on his face. "I must admit, I sensed a little of your magic there, your powers have grown since our first fight. Guess this means I must get serious." Gilgan said to his earth mage opponent.

"And yet, we are still both holding back so much," Reynir replied. He closed his eyes, and instead felt Gilgan's movements across the earth. He always felt more comfortable sensing through his magic, although against a foe as agile as Gilgan it was difficult and unreliable, especially when he took to the skies.

"Beowulf, I summon thee!" called out Gilgan. Light enveloped his hands and feet, a twisting spiral of blue arcane energy and golden radiance. The light dispersed and in its place were a pair of gauntlets and greaves, decorative metal lined with gold. Playfully, as if he saw Reynir as a toy rather than a true opponenent, Gilgan cracked both his knuckles and stretched his legs. Gilgan readied himself. "I'll fight on your level then, been a while since I've used Beowulf."

"You know as well as I do if we both fought at our limit the damage here would be catastrophic," Reynir replied. He shifted his position, taking a more offensive stance than before.

Gilgan vanished, moving at such speeds that to the untrained eye one would assume he was teleporting. Reynir could follow it, just

"Beowulf Style: Fury Strikes" Gilgan appeared behind Reynir readying himself to hit the earth mage with a flurry of extremely strong punches. He unleashed them, launching blow after blow, light jabs that still hit with more force than most mages could ever muster. Reynir parried every single one. Stone covered fists met the shining metal gauntlets of Gilgan's Beowulf, every bit as fierce and fast as his were. The very ground shook beneath them, the arcane energy between them thick enough to taste, each punch met with another, an eruption of force between each one.

"Beowulf Great Blow!" Gilgan roared, pulling back his left fist fully, taking a few blows from Reynir as he exposed himself, before he launched a single, immensely powerful punch towards Reynir.

It connected with Reynir's jaw with a resounding, sickening crack. Gilgan laughed as he finally made a critical strike, which forced Reynir backwards at an incredible speed. The man lost control for a moment, struggling to regain control as he barreled across the ground. Reynir did, eventually, his stone-covered fist digging deep into the earch, tearing a path as he slowed. While Gilgan remained quite expressive, Reynir's face was still stern and stoic, and as he finally came to a stop he threw himself back towards Gilgan. The distance was closed in an instant, as bright white electricity erupted from Reynir's heels and forced him forwards, stone and dirt erupting behind him as he grabbed Gilgan by the collar with one hand, taking him with him as he brought a foot to the ground and pushed hard.

The two tore their way upwards into the sky, more and more electricity pooling around Reynir's body as the clouds above started to darken and gather together, casting a shadow above the battleground. The two men threw powerful blows at each other again, ceaselessly.

Reynir's voice boomed out, louder than even the crack of thunder that erupted around them. "Gale Art; Sirroco Torrent!" he bellowed, as he gripped Gilgan even tighter, now holding onto them with both hands.

The wind picked up in an instant. Razor thin blades composed entirely of wind circled them for but a moment before they closed in, and lethal, searing hot knives carved themselves across Gilgan, digging deep and hot enough to cauterise the very wounds they caused. Reynir turned, hefting Gilgan over his shoulders and throwing him straight down.

Gilgan struck the ground, his form shrouded in dust as his body struck stone and dirt which quickly began to grasp at his limbs. He felt the force of Reynir's throw and was pleasantly surprised, his eyes opened a little wider. That actually stung a little. The dust settled as the warrior rose up, the leathers on his outfit left in tatters loosely hanging to his muscled form, and his armor had shown its wear, with deep cuts along the chest piece. He immediately turned to Reynir who slowly fell from the skies, landing with surprising grace as his feet touched the ground.

"You truly are holding back," he said. "Fine, a worthy opponent deserves a true challenge."

Gilgan's Beowulf set dispersed, the gauntlets manifesting into two huge spears of twisted metal, one black and one white, and the greaves transforming into huge axe heads which combined together to form a twin pair of halberds which despite their weight he held effortlessly. One appeared divine and angelic in design, whilst the other more devilish and demonic. "I hope you're ready".

"Stone Spirit Evoker."

Reynir threw his fist down into the ground, tearing a chunk of stone from the earth with a single hand, and drew the material around his body, forming a suit of untempered, rugged stone armour in greys and browns. The armour was slow and sluggish at first, but arcane runes slowly began to generate around his form, and the stone began to shift and change. Reynir's form grew taller and more muscular, almost twice the height of Reynir, and the impenetrable blackness where his eyes once were ignited in white flames. The form roared, the once deep voice of Reynir becoming rough and inhuman, as the stone itself was speaking. It pulled its arms back, arms ready, and charged at Gilgan.

"Atronach!"

XXXXX

"We are close" Henry said, seeing the large guild manor up head, looking as dilapidated as he imagined it would. "Careful, there's someone up head, or two."

"Since when have you been the Team Captain?" Alfen huffed, hardly registering as two more figures appeared from the fog, standing to meet them.

"Would you be quiet?!!" Henry hushed back.

Two more figured stood, watching the group intently as they approached the doors of the guild manor. A man, dressed in dark but extravagant clothes. He was short, only five and a half feet tall, but the long felt horns of his jester hood gave him the appearance of a taller man, and despite his bizarrely comedic dress he clearly commanded presence. The woman beside him was much more brightly dressed, wrapped in a a thick red cloak, her pale skin and white hair only just visible beneath the cowl. The briefest smile appeared on her face before eventually twisting into a true grin.

"Would you look at this, Zinko?" she said, analysing them all intently.

"My my! We have some guests!" the man beside her replied. "And Master Orus is not even done powdering his nose... What a shameful host, to not be ready to present to guests!"

Every word he spoke oozed magic. Something about the way he spoke and how he moved, changing from animated and emotional to cold and rigid, betrayed something about his nature. Henry could sense it more strongly than most, a dark presence radiating from the jester.

"Where's my sister!?" Henry shouted, raising his spear to point at the two figures. He kept it aimed more towards Zinko than his female companion... Something told him that he was a bigger threat.

Minerle tilted her head to the side in curiosity, and seemed almost jealous that she had not done enough to draw Henry's favour. She opened her mouth to speak, pausing for a moment to bring her finger up to her lip almost thoughtfully, before continuing. "You mean that precious, fragile little thing that Kazan dragged in? Raldo is keeping an eye on her. She's perfectly safe... for now."

Zinko took a few slow steps forward, and whilst many of the mages brought their arms up to protect themselves, Zinko moved without an ounce of aggression. His body twisted as he brought a hand to the ground, slowly but effortlessly moving closer to the group in a cartwheel, landing just before Henry. "Why not have some tea? I'm sure you will enjoy the show. Raldo hasn't gotten very close with Rita, and who knows what he might do?" Zinko's face flashed another smile, baring a few sharp teeth.

Henry moved forward, ready to strike the clown down. "Shardmancy: Lance Formation," he yelled as his spear broke apart and reassembled itself into a much larger lance. Before anyone could stop him he thrust forward with the weapon, but Zinko only smiled.

The mad clown's eyes flashed and Henry to stopped in an instant. He felt Zinko's presence weighing him down as if gravity was pulling him towards the earth he stood on, and a thick black aura surrounded the young man. "I like to call that my "Killing Intent Presence" spell. A little nifty illusion trick! I shouldn't need to explain what he's feeling right now; but he's frozen in fear! Poor little thing, thinks he'll die if he moves an inch! I could kill him, I suppose, but I don't want to fight the pups." He brought a crooked finger up, slowly raising it to point at the auburn haired woman in the group. "I want you, Monarch."

She stood forwards. "So you know me? I suppose you wish to fight me, and your companion there," Monarch pointed her staff towards the red cloaked woman. "-would fight one other member of our group?"

"Very perceptive!" Zinko replied, his grin growing madder and madder. "And I believe my friend Minerle has already chosen her opponent..." A glance was flashed at Anna, her determined look fading into one of fright in but an instant.

Minerle cleared her throat. It was clear even she was repulsed by Zinko's wild grin. "If you want to rescue the pretty damsel, each one of you will have to face us. The Oroborus Society formally challenges you all!" Minerle explained to the group. She shot a look towards Anna.

"I'll be waiting for you outside of the main hall," she stated, a soft chuckle coming from her.

"Me?" Anna questioned, clenching both of her fists tightly.

Minerle nodded. "Ciao!"

Crossbones brought a heavy hand up, resting it gently on Mona's shoulder. She brought her own hefty clawed hand up to meet it. "You gonna be okay?" he asked her.

"I'll be fine. I think he's strong, but I am capable too." She took in a deep breath, and shot a brief look behind her, catching a moment as Reynir and Gilgan clashed, steel blades against solid stone. She turned back, and for the first time Alfen saw her genuinely smile. "Besides, someone is going to have to help Reynir when he's knocked down."

Alfen gave Monarch a thumbs up. "You can do it, Mona! Beat that sorry clown's ass!" Alfen's words were filled with fire and passion.

"That's my girl," Crossbones replied, patting her on the back. "Show him that Lithium kick I know and love. Good luck."

The group passed by Mona and Zinko as the two fighters took a few paces apart, finding distance. Crossbones watched intently, although the two fighters hardly moved. Even as they clambered up the steps of the manor and hesitantly pushed open the heavy wooden doors, following in Minerle's footsteps, there was hardly a sound.



Zinko smiled as the doors behind him closed with a heavy thud. He brought his arms upwards, and as thick, black arcane energy poured from his hands it coalesced, taking the form of a pair of curved scimitars of black metal, each of which he caught effortlessly in his hands. He brought one back and one forward, a true combat stance, the first aggressive motion Monarch had felt from him. In turn she brought her staff back behind her, held tightly in her intact hand, while her clawed augmentation was held forward, the scythe-like claws rattling as they tapped against metal.

"I hope you're ready to dance," Zinko said, almost singing the words in delight. "Because I'm not going to stop until you're dead, dead, dead!"

Zinko lept into the air with remarkable speed, twirling his body as he launched himself at Monarch, both blades held outwards, transforming him into a whirlwind of black steel. The attack was met with an equally aggressive one, as Monarch thrust her staff forward, a crackle of electrical and arcane energy colliding to release a bolt of thick, blue plasma, which shot through the sky like an arrow directly at Zinko.

His blades cut straight through the bolt, the energy torn apart and tossed in all directions, crashing against the ground with incredible force. A combined shot would knock most men out cold, if not kill them. She fired another but it was deflected just as easily, before she brought her staff down and fired one at the ground just as she leapt. Mona was thrown back, her position clouded in thick dust and dirt, and her vision never left it as she landed back on both feet, forcing her staff into the ground to slow her as she slid backwards.

The mad form of Zinko appeared again, almost launching himself out of the dust towards her in a long, straight thrust with his curved swords. Monarch brought her hand upwards, a clawed hand catching in the blades and throwing it upwards. As Zinko brought his other sword forwards she caught it with her staff, and then released an eruption of arcane energy from her staff, magic tearing into Zinko's flesh and throwing him off of her.

"You are faster than I had expected," Mona said, bringing her claw up to inspect the damage. His sword had cut deep into the metal, but it had hit nothing vital. She did not know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but brought the head of her staff along the cut and the metal resealed.

Zinko quickly recovered from the arcane blow, and kept his movements erratic and quick, his eyes fixed on Monarch. "The feeling is mutual!" he said in an excited tone. "But maybe it's time we acted with a more serious manner. I've waiting for this chance to fight you, since you're so adamant on finding out the true puppet masters." He smirked devilishly, teasing the woman. "But I'm not telling you!".

Monarch slammed her staff into the ground, and a trio of royal blue spheres materialised in front of her. She brought her staff around in a wide swing, and the arcane balls flew towards Zinko. He effortlessly avoided them, a simple step to the side that made her attempts look pitiful. Mona scowled.

"The darkness consumes all in due time, and my magic is no different. Void Art is the essence of darkness made reality by yours truly!" yelled Zinko. He stepped backwards and in a moment he was gone, his body was engulfed by a spiral of darkness, circling him like slithering serpents that snapped and hissed at the air. "Void Art: Shade Slice Cutter," he said as the shadows changed shape, twisting into a huge, crescent blades that hung loosely by his side, before they cut through the air towards Monarch, twisting and changing direction in erratic movements that were almost impossible to predict.

Surprisingly Monarch did predict them. She ducked low as one came at her at her waist, a horizontal slash that went over her head and crashed into the wall behind them. The second was swifter, a diagonal cut that dug deep into the floor. Rather than duck, Mona used her staff to push herself back into her feet and pointed the head of her staff at the floor, raising it upwards just as the blade impacted. A wall of arcane magic that flickered into view just in a moment took the blow, and as Monarch brought her staff down the shadows evaporated.

"You better be light on your toes!" Zinko mocked, creating more of the dark curved blades that started to swerve around his form.

In the flurry of the newly appearing curved blades of energy Zinko moved with frightening agility, flipping and cartwheeling as if he was more putting on a show than fighting, using the momentum of his acrobatics to hurl more shadowy blades. To Monarch it almost looked like he was teleporting with each step he took, vanishing and appearing in quick succession, before his dark, shadowy form appeared only inches away from Mona.

"Void Art: Nothingness Shower!" he shouted, his palms aimed at Monarch. Erupting from his hand came numerous smallish black orbs that shot towards the magitechnician, shadowy wisps that coiled through the air and homed in on the slender female figure. She backed up, hurling orbs of arcane energy to repel Zinko's erratic, searing bolts of magic which licked at her armoured clothing, enough to burn her skin even though not one landed a direct hit. They stung, and Mona could tell the burns were more than skin deep. She grit her teeth, forced into a defensive position as she searched for cover from Zinko's barrage.

As she turned on her heel, a shaded figure appeared before her, the sinister form of Zinko once again infront of her. Mona turned again and Zinko was there. He stood wherever she turned. There was no running from this, she had to fight back now. She summoned her strength and raised her staff to the air, taking a single bolt of energy to the chest that tore apart her armour. She yelled, forcing her staff down into the ground as sickly blue energy pulsed through it, forcing cracks to form in the ground. Mona was outmatched, but not for long, she thought, as stone spikes erupted from the earth.

"Soul Weaver Art; Command!"



As they entered the abandoned guild, Henry looked back, the presence of the crazed clown no longer having any effect on him. "What the hell was that? that power, that was almost on par with a Mage Beast...I hope Monarch knows what she's doing." He couldn't shake the thought of being so helpless right infront of one of the mages that had held Rita in captivity.He looked at Crossbones, a shame filled expression on his face. "I'm sorry for that display of cowardice back there," he apologised.

"It's fine, Henry." Crossbones replied. He smiled, although Henry could tell there was some worry there. "Mona definitely knows what she's doing. She's smart and knows exactly what she's capable of, and more importantly I think she has an idea what Zinko is capable of. She'll play it defensive, definitely, but she'll be fighting him to buy time, not win a fight. The best thing we can do to help is keep moving."

"We can brood after we save Rita, okay? So just snap out of it." Alfen said quite bluntly put as they moved through hallway. Crossbones frowned for a moment, but paid it no further mind. Henry nodded at Crossbones though, and steeled himself as they walked forwards. They travelled for a while, heading deeper into the building, through a long corridoor until they arrived in a large, square room, almost reminiscent of a ball room. As they did, the doorway behind them burst into bright orange flames which bit at their exposed skin, completely blocking the passage.

"Let me guess," muttered Alfen as, from the other side of the room, another figure appeared. Alfen grit his teeth. "Finally, I get a chance to knock that pompous fire mage down a peg."

"The big guy," said Kazan as he stepped into the bright light of the roaring fire, a finger pointed directly at Crossbones. "You. I want to fight you."

Alfen's jaw dropped. "Why not me?!"

Kazan smirked. "Because I actually want a challenge."

A lightning bolt erupted from Alfen's clenched fist, cutting just beside Kazan's ear. The man hardly flinched, although his hair was slightly singed from the attack. The man only laughed. "That the best you can do?"

Alfen's fists were clenched hard, he wanted to punch the smug smile off of Kazan's face. His eyes flashed for a second, as if his anger was being fueled by a force unknown to himself. Kazan felt it, surprised to feel such ferocity.He however payed no mind to it and instead, focused on the opponent that was Crossbones.

As Alfen stepped forwards, Crossbones held out hand. "Remember Rita, Alfen," Crossbones said. "This little game, challenging each of us individual in a fair fight? It's all part of their little game, so let's go along with it for a little. You're a tough kid, and I'm not sure how well I'd stand up against another one of their mages."

The huge man turned his face back towards Kazan, and a smile crossed his face. He brought his hands up, and from the bracers around his forearms a pair of huge, iron gauntlets manifested themselves which hummed with arcane magitechnology. A thin trail of pale steam spilled out from each gauntlet as the mechanics picked up a steady pace.

"Besides, I have a rematch to win."

Kazan smiled. "Perfect."

"Anna, look after these two for me," Crossbones jested. "Find Rita, and quickly. I don't know how much time we have."

"Got it, boss," she replied with a solemn smile, and left her perch on Crossbones' shoulder to sit on Alfen's. "C'mon, fellas. We have a girl to rescue."



Kazan had waited for this moment for a while. Although he had thought Raldo's imprudent attempt to scare them by kidnapping the girl had been foolish, maybe letting Raldo steal Rita was not such a bad idea if it meant he finally got to prove himself better than this brute of a man. He looked the magitechnician in front of him, snearing at the crude mechanical gauntlets on his fists. How pathetic. Kazan clicked his fingers and the candles that lined the room dimmed and died down, letting them cast a soft, almost ominous orange glow across the room.

"I would usually fight with a ring of fire surrounding myself and my opponent, but it's all theatrics and rather heavy on my mana. and you're not the weakling type, for a Magitech user ofcourse" He smirked. "Do you want me to start? Or should I say ladies first?" Kazan said, a mocking sneer on his face as flames erupted from his hands. He just needed the big brute to buy the bait.

"Catch!" yelled Crossbones as he hurled a hefty, fist-sized rock at Kyzan.

Kazan raised an eyebrow. A rock, really? He smiled, wondering if this was in fact easier than he thought it was going to be. He raised a hand and, as the stone came within arms reach, a pulse of fire erupted from his hand and threw the charred rock aside. Or at least, that was what Kazan intended to happen. The rock exploded, sending shrapnel and fire in all directions. Kazan felt hot metal cut through his skin, and while the eruption of flame may have harmed anyone else, his magic was strong enough to resist the overbearing heat. It was not, however, enough to resist the enormous metal gauntlet that came crashing through the fire and the smoke, as Crossbones threw a vicious punch to the man's jaw.

It connected, throwing the frailer mage backwards and into the wall. Crossbones laughed, surprised that had worked as well as it had. He watched as Kazan pulled himself back up, a few cuts and grazes on him and his clothes, and an extremely bruised left side of his face, and motioned to his belt.

"Ozalian Firebomb," Crossbones said, pulling another off of his belt and tossing it into the air, catching it with just as little effort. "Didn't think it'd be that effective, what with your magic all being fire based and all, but I think the surprised help.

"Well, at least now your little surprise attack won't work a second time now that I know what they all do."

Crossbones chuckled. "This one isn't a firebomb," he replied, as he hurled the orb which erupted, coating the entirity of the far side of the chamber in a thick layer of crystal-like ice.



There were only three now. They had to save Rita, but they were being spread increasingly thin. Anna had faith in her new companions, but faith often wasn't enough. Both Henry and Alfen raced forward with Anna leading the party, leaving both Kazan and Crossbones to their fight, only for the pathway to be sealed as a huge wall of ice erupted and covered the entrance. Alfen looked at Anna.

"Watch yourself around that lady. She had an eye on you, and we have no idea what she is capable of. We at least know of Kazan's and Raldo's abilities, but the clown and that hooded lady? We don't know." Alfen stated.

"I'm as worried as you are, Alfen," she replied, weaving through the air still with a remarkable amount of grace despite the stress they were under. "But I think I should be able to take her if she choses me. I'm good at keeping out of the way, promise. I'll play defensively and work out what her tricks are. Worry about yourself, Alfen, not me. I'll be fine."

"If I'm not mistaken," interupted Henry. "That man in black could be the one they call "The Dark Jester", a mage assassin that's been running amok amongst the mage society. If that's the case then Monarch might be out of her depth."

Anna swallowed hard, but Alfen immediately turned to Henry with a fierce expression. "Don't underestimate Monarch! She's as tough as they can be. She'll beat him, I know she will."

"How long have you known her, exactly? How long have either of you known her? I'm sure she's very competent, but there's a difference between that and... a difference between that and what I've heard the Jester can do. We just have to hope that's not him, or that the rumours are overstated."

MONARCH VS ZINKO

Zinko smiled as the doors behind him closed with a heavy thud. He brought his arms upwards, and as thick, black arcane energy poured from his hands it coalesced, taking the form of a pair of curved scimitars of black metal, each of which he caught effortlessly in his hands. He brought one back and one forward, a true combat stance, the first aggressive motion Monarch had felt from him. In turn she brought her staff back behind her, held tightly in her intact hand, while her clawed augmentation was held forward, the scythe-like claws rattling as they tapped against metal.

"I hope you're ready to dance," Zinko said, almost singing the words in delight. "Because I'm not going to stop until you're dead, dead, dead!"

Zinko lept into the air with remarkable speed, twirling his body as he launched himself at Monarch, both blades held outwards, transforming him into a whirlwind of black steel. The attack was met with an equally aggressive one, as Monarch thrust her staff forward, a crackle of electrical and arcane energy colliding to release a bolt of thick, blue plasma, which shot through the sky like an arrow directly at Zinko.

His blades cut straight through the bolt, the energy torn apart and tossed in all directions, crashing against the ground with incredible force. A combined shot would knock most men out cold, if not kill them. She fired another but it was deflected just as easily, before she brought her staff down and fired one at the ground just as she leapt. Mona was thrown back, her position clouded in thick dust and dirt, and her vision never left it as she landed back on both feet, forcing her staff into the ground to slow her as she slid backwards.

The mad form of Zinko appeared again, almost launching himself out of the dust towards her in a long, straight thrust with his curved swords. Monarch brought her hand upwards, a clawed hand catching in the blades and throwing it upwards. As Zinko brought his other sword forwards she caught it with her staff, and then released an eruption of arcane energy from her staff, magic tearing into Zinko's flesh and throwing him off of her.

"You are faster than I had expected," Mona said, bringing her claw up to inspect the damage. His sword had cut deep into the metal, but it had hit nothing vital. She did not know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but brought the head of her staff along the cut and the metal resealed.

Zinko quickly recovered from the arcane blow, and kept his movements erratic and quick, his eyes fixed on Monarch. "The feeling is mutual!" he said in an excited tone. "But maybe it's time we acted with a more serious manner. I've waiting for this chance to fight you, since you're so adamant on finding out the true puppet masters." He smirked devilishly, teasing the woman. "But I'm not telling you!".

Monarch slammed her staff into the ground, and a trio of royal blue spheres materialised in front of her. She brought her staff around in a wide swing, and the arcane balls flew towards Zinko. He effortlessly avoided them, a simple step to the side that made her attempts look pitiful. Mona scowled.

"The darkness consumes all in due time, and my magic is no different. Void Art is the essence of darkness made reality by yours truly!" yelled Zinko. He stepped backwards and in a moment he was gone, his body was engulfed by a spiral of darkness, circling him like slithering serpents that snapped and hissed at the air. "Void Art: Shade Slice Cutter," he said as the shadows changed shape, twisting into a huge, crescent blades that hung loosely by his side, before they cut through the air towards Monarch, twisting and changing direction in erratic movements that were almost impossible to predict.

Surprisingly Monarch did predict them. She ducked low as one came at her at her waist, a horizontal slash that went over her head and crashed into the wall behind them. The second was swifter, a diagonal cut that dug deep into the floor. Rather than duck, Mona used her staff to push herself back into her feet and pointed the head of her staff at the floor, raising it upwards just as the blade impacted. A wall of arcane magic that flickered into view just in a moment took the blow, and as Monarch brought her staff down the shadows evaporated.

"You better be light on your toes!" Zinko mocked, creating more of the dark curved blades that started to swerve around his form.

In the flurry of the newly appearing curved blades of energy Zinko moved with frightening agility, flipping and cartwheeling as if he was more putting on a show than fighting, using the momentum of his acrobatics to hurl more shadowy blades. To Monarch it almost looked like he was teleporting with each step he took, vanishing and appearing in quick succession, before his dark, shadowy form appeared only inches away from Mona.

"Void Art: Nothingness Shower!" he shouted, his palms aimed at Monarch. Erupting from his hand came numerous smallish black orbs that shot towards the magitechnician, shadowy wisps that coiled through the air and homed in on the slender female figure. She backed up, hurling orbs of arcane energy to repel Zinko's erratic, searing bolts of magic which licked at her armoured clothing, enough to burn her skin even though not one landed a direct hit. They stung, and Mona could tell the burns were more than skin deep. She grit her teeth, forced into a defensive position as she searched for cover from Zinko's barrage.

As she turned on her heel, a shaded figure appeared before her, the sinister form of Zinko once again infront of her. Mona turned again and Zinko was there. He stood wherever she turned. There was no running from this, she had to fight back now. She summoned her strength and raised her staff to the air, taking a single bolt of energy to the chest that tore apart her armour. She yelled, forcing her staff down into the ground as sickly blue energy pulsed through it, forcing cracks to form in the ground. Mona was outmatched, but not for long, she thought, as stone spikes erupted from the earth.

"Soul Weaver Art; Command!"

Zinko's eyes widened a little as the spike rose straight through his chest, leaving him impaled. It was a decoy, it dissipated into a thick, black smog into the air. Monarch gritted her teeth as she then kept her guard up, waiting for the Jester to strike back. Out from the shadows, Zinko spun like a mad tornado towards Monarch. She caught the blades with her staff and mechanical arm, parrying them with practiced skill.

"I was almost killed there! A for effort!" he mocked as he pushed her back, swinging with savage efficiency, swinging his scimitars more like clubs than blades. Monarch blocked and deflected each blow, showing a surprising amount of speed and power that was clearly enhanced by magic, and every blocked strike sent painful shocks down Monach's limbs and it felt like she was being stabbed in the chest. She grit her teeth tightly, eyes flaring with magical energy as she tried to keep going. She needed to be more aggressive, and the moment she felt Zinko's offense faulter she lashed out, catching him with her mechanical claw with a powerful swipe. As she let down her guard, and Zinko threw out a lethal blade, something blocked the strike. A stone form, rugged and haphazardly held together with thin, almost electrical links of magic, that took the blow in its entirely and shattered. The stone spires that erupted from the ground from Mona's magic not a moment pulled themselves from it, assembling themselves in stout, vaguely humanoid shapes, each with a pair of glistening blue eyes and a stone-mawed face. For the first time since the fight started, Monarch smiled.

Zinko thrust a hand forward, touching Monarch's cheek gently, but channeled enough dark energy to hurl her backwards. His demeanour changed, the gleeful mage flashing a look of mallice and evil intent that Monarch had never seen before. His scimitars exploded with magical energy, and as the stone forms rose up around him and charged, he became a whirlwind of death. The stone figures hurled themselves at him, lashing out with blunt stone limbs and the sharp, blade-like jagged rocks that lined them. Zinko carved through them like butter, exploding in a ray of dark energy. Monarch watched and caught her breath, running her hand along her torso and limbs, a low blue light pulsing across her body. Her wounds began to stich themselves together, bruises fading and cuts sealing. She would still need to rest, and could do nothing to stem the growing exhaustion, but at least the pain had been numbed. She rested limply small, animated golems.

"It seems I underestimated you," he said, crushing the head of the last golem between his fingers. "I may have to look for alternative methods of taking you out, rather than confront you directly. Maybe if I forced you back to Ozalia by killing Tuscar? No, that's too boring. I'll have to think about this more." Zinko said coldly, as if he had become a completely new person. "I'll spare this time, Flo. Next time I'll make sure the void consumes you" He stated, sinking into the ground before vanishing completely.

The very mention of her father sent Monarch into a frenzy, and she thrust her staff into the ground again, the spot where Zinko stood erupting in rifts of arcane energy, rending and tearing anything and everything that dared stand in its spot. She yelled loudly, hurling bolts of energy until the spot where Zinko stood was left a smouldering wreck. It took her a while to calm down, and she wiped the swear from her brow. If Zinko was gone she had more improtant things to worry about. Hope you're doing okay, Jax...

XXXXXXX

The hired Mages and bandits had begun to flee, seeing the destruction and chaos that Darren's monstrous form had brought upon them. He gave out a bellowing deep roar, before lashing out once more, the crash of blades and arrows unable to pierce his hide, and the simple magics that they performed simply whisped away into harmless ether when they struck his shadowed form. Mages and bandits alike were tossed around like toys and dolls, thrown without much effort from the beast that was moments prior Darren. Those that remained scattered, running into the fog-covered hills, all wary to stay far away from the growing thunderstorm that appeared around the manor, most certainly Reynir's doing. Darren returned to his human form once the last of his foes had dispersed, and he smirked for a while until a sudden realisation hit him.

He frantically looked around to see it but only found torn pieces of fabric, scattered loosely across the battlefield. Darren sighed. "Well, I'll be getting a new jacket it seems."

CROSSBONES VS KAZAN

Kazan had waited for this moment for a while. Although he had thought Raldo's imprudent attempt to scare them by kidnapping the girl had been foolish, maybe letting Raldo steal Rita was not such a bad idea if it meant he finally got to prove himself better than this brute of a man. He looked the magitechnician in front of him, snearing at the crude mechanical gauntlets on his fists. How pathetic. Kazan clicked his fingers and the candles that lined the room dimmed and died down, letting them cast a soft, almost ominous orange glow across the room.

"I would usually fight with a ring of fire surrounding myself and my opponent, but it's all theatrics and rather heavy on my mana. and you're not the weakling type, for a Magitech user ofcourse" He smirked. "Do you want me to start? Or should I say ladies first?" Kazan said, a mocking sneer on his face as flames erupted from his hands. He just needed the big brute to buy the bait.

"Catch!" yelled Crossbones as he hurled a hefty, fist-sized rock at Kyzan.

Kazan raised an eyebrow. A rock, really? He smiled, wondering if this was in fact easier than he thought it was going to be. He raised a hand and, as the stone came within arms reach, a pulse of fire erupted from his hand and threw the charred rock aside. Or at least, that was what Kazan intended to happen. The rock exploded, sending shrapnel and fire in all directions. Kazan felt hot metal cut through his skin, and while the eruption of flame may have harmed anyone else, his magic was strong enough to resist the overbearing heat. It was not, however, enough to resist the enormous metal gauntlet that came crashing through the fire and the smoke, as Crossbones threw a vicious punch to the man's jaw.

It connected, throwing the frailer mage backwards and into the wall. Crossbones laughed, surprised that had worked as well as it had. He watched as Kazan pulled himself back up, a few cuts and grazes on him and his clothes, and an extremely bruised left side of his face, and motioned to his belt.

Kazan rubbed the left side of his face, the bruise already showing.

"Ozalian Firebomb," Crossbones said, pulling another off of his belt and tossing it into the air, catching it with just as little effort. "Didn't think it'd be that effective, what with your magic all being fire based and all, but I think the surprised help.

"Well, at least now your little surprise attack won't work a second time now that I know what they all do."

Crossbones chuckled. "This one isn't a firebomb," he replied, as he hurled the orb which erupted, coating the entirity of the far side of the chamber in a thick layer of crystal-like ice.

Flames started to sear the ice from Kazan's arms, the frost that covered his sleeves turning to water and then steam in an instant. The flames across his form, previously orange-red, began to sear a hot blue. The ice around Kazan began to melt as flames whipped off of his body, intensely hot even from the other side of the room. He looked directly at Crossbones as he smirked.

"Pretty neat tricks, I admit, big man, but they don't even compare to my tricks!"

Kazan cracked both of his knuckles as he mocked his opponent, tiny sparks flickering from his form. "Inferno Art: Blazing Blade!" he yelled, and those sparks coalesced around his hands to create a large, thin blade of blue burning flames that bit at the air around it. He pointed the tip to Crossbones, his smile growing a little wider. "Let's get serious!"

He rushed forward. Kazan thrusted the fiery blade forward to stab Crossbones, but was met with a swift dodge. Kazan pushed forward with multiple thrusts in a flurry of fiery blade fury but each time Crossbones ducked and dodged with skillful and agile grace, something that surprised Kazan for a man his size. Crossbones kept his arms up, thick metal gauntlets protecting his face. "You move quite fast for a tinkerer, I'm impressed," he stated, taking a step back, only to release the sword and propel it forwards in a flurry of flames directly at Crossbones, a whirlling blade of fire moving towards him at incredible speed, ready to burn the magitech powerhouse to a crisp.

Crossbones wrenched another grenade from his belt, the weapon quivering in his hand and cold to the touch. He raised his hands high, pulled the pin, and hurled the weapon just in front of his feet as he threw himself back. The eruption of ice shielded the blow, even as a wave of searing heat cut past Crossbones' face, cushioned by the icy eruption and his own metal gauntlets. He groaned as he pushed himself back up to his feet, watching as the flaming sword returned to Kazan's hand. Crossbones emerged from the flames, frost, and steam, pulling twin pistols from his belt and raising them arms outstretched. He squeezed the triggers once, twice, and a dozen more times, firing a hail of iron bullets as fast as he could pull the triggers from the twin machitech pistols until the glowing blue clip depleted, fading to a dull grey.

Kazan brought his blade around in a flurry of motion and with supernatural finesse his blade met every bullet. They held in place, suspended in the air, and Kazan spent a moment ot line them up in a perfect vertical line before him. Crossbones quickly fumbled for a new power cell, sliding them both into his pistols which hummed with energy once more.

"Please" was the only word to escape Kazan's mouth before he brought his flame-coated sword in an upwards, striking each bullet and sending them back to Crossbones with the same speed and force that with which they had originally been fired. Crossbones quickly brought his arms upwards to shield his face, neck, and chest, many of the bullets pinging off of the impossibly sturdy material of his gauntlets, but a few found purchase, striking and cutting through his armour, leaving several grazed wounds and one more impactful shot in his lower side. Crossbones felt the uncomfortable sting and grit his teeth, silently thanking his armoured suit for cushioning the blow. It bled and would certainly be just another scar for Crossbones to add to his list, but it had hit nothing vital, and for that he was more than thankful. Pain kept Crossbones on his toes, but Kazan still stood strong and he could afford no weakness.

Crossbones held off his second pistol barraged. He knew Kazan would just respond with another sword strike in kind, and instead took a moment to analyse his foe. Kazan smiled and, knowing that Crossbones was trying to learn and analyse his style, swapped to a weapon in his arsenal that would make him even more difficult to read. Kazan dispersed the sword. "You seem to be holding out on me. Well then, allow me to show you something that's new and ready for a real run!"

The flames around Kazan began to sizzle and burn even hotter, sending a wave of intense, overpowering heat across the room."Inferno Art: Blaze King Style" he called out as flames began to weave themselves his forearms and shins, creating blue flame like gauntlets and greaves. Kazan gave a confident smile to Crossbones, moving at lightning speed towards the larger man. As Kazan threw a left, a wave of searing hot fire blasted out, narrowly missing Crossbone's head. Crossbones was taken slightly by surprise but didn't falter, blocking each hit narrowly, feeling his hair singed and his skin reddened and burned just from being so close. He noticed that the speed and power of Kazan's combat prowess had not only dramatically increased, but more importantly he noticed that Kazan was holding back. If he thought he was going to get away with treating Crossbones in such a patronising way then he was sorely mistaken.

Crossbones waited, eventually forming a pattern in his mind. The way Kazan moved was fast, powerful, and unpredictable to most, but there was always a pattern. Crossbones parried and blocked, watching Kazan's every move with keen eyes. Strike, strike, step, block, strike strike, step, block, strike, strike, ste-

Kazan moved to his left and was met with an enormously powerful right hook, metal crashing into his jaw, the force made all the more severe as Kazan threw himself into it. Crossbones followed with a second punch, this time with his left hand, into Kazan's stomach. Another success! He pulled back for another, quick jab to capitalise on Kazan's stumble but met only air, and the sharp whiplash of fire against his arms. Still, his risk had paid off, as Kazan took a second to recompose himself.

"Are you going to keep treating me like a child or are you going to stop holding back? I'm not as slow as you think, and I can promise you I can take whatever you throw at me." Crossbones brushed off his arms, smoke gently falling from where the leathers and armour had been scorched and burned, and retook his combat stance.

Kazan gripped his right side of his face, the pain searing through him like nothing ever before. He hadn't been struck with such a blow since he challenged his older sister to a mage duel. He clicked his fingers, creating a purple like flame as he rose it to the damaged side of his face. "This won't completely heal the damage your punch did, but it will at least nullify the pain just long enough for me to beat you down, old man." Kazan said with an annoyed and angered tone.

The way he held his hand covered his eye, obscuring half of Crossbones' form. He took the opportunity he needed, stepping forward and unleashing another monumental right hook to Kazan's face, his knuckle colliding with the back of Kazan's flat hand with a sickening crack, and knocking Kazan to the ground. "Then get up and fight!" he yelled.

Kazan looked at Crossbones, the rage in his eyes only building by the moment. He ignored the sudden pain in his hand, bones that he was sure were broken, and stood up to meet the taller man in front of him.

"You've got some nerve, old man," Kazan spat at Crossbones. Flames around him and Crossbones started to ignite with a blueish tint, slowly rising around them both, blocking off Crossbones' escape.

Both Kazan's hands burned with the blue flames. His magic power attuned with his rage at the moment Crossbones punched him a second time, and even as the punch connected, Kazan caught his hand, the silvery metal of Crossbone's gauntlets turning bright orange. "Full Siphoned state has been achieved, this won't end well for you, not one bit."

The flames circled both combatants until they moved to Kazan, engulfing him in a wave of blue fire that threw Crossbones back a few feet. "Siphoned Inferno Art: Emperor's Will!" Kazan shouted as a shockwave erupted from his form, sending sparks and cinders all directions, extinguishing every flame in the room. Crossbones was pushed back further than he expected, and his eyes struggled to adjust to the new darkness, before a searing, blazing blue light erupted where Kazan once stood. In his place was an armoured figure, a knight in bright white armour, engulfed in those same blue flames, with a wreath of smoke-laden flame that rested atop his head like a crown.

"Remember, it was you who asked for this" Kazan said, although his voice was twisted and warped like metal grinding against metal, cinders spewing from his mouth as he spoke.

Kazan stretched his arms outward, cracking his neck as he did so, and even that sounded more like the twisting of metal than cracking of bone. "I don't use this spell as often as I'd like, so I apologise if I'm a little rusty. Five minutes should be all I need to make you whimper like the pathetic dog you are."

His mocking was only an opportunity for Crossbones to close in, fighting through the flames that cut at his skin to deliver a powerful left hook into Kazan's chest. He lunged forwards but only met air where he was sure Kazan had been a moment ago, and suddenly Crossbones felt a sharp kick to his stomach, forcing the air from his lungs. Kazan stood beside him, his face obscured by the searing metal armour, but Crossbones could tell he was grinning.

Kazan followed up with a swift spin kick across Crossbones face, propelling him into the left wall of the chamber with enough force to crack stone, a testament to Kazan's strength and Crossbones' resilience in turn, as he pulled himself onto his feet moments later, battered and bruised but still standing. Kazan clenched his fist, every passing moment making this new, arcane form feel more natural, allowing him to properly adapt to the armour's power and speed. Kazan's palm aimed directly at Crossbones, blue flames gathering in a swirling vortex of vicious flames.

"Siphoned Inferno Art: Dragon's Fire Blast" He said, as a beam of blue scorching fire blasted forward towards Crossbones, enveloping the hulking humanoid form and burning him to ash.

Kazan laughed, pulling his arm back and looking at the sorry sight. watching as the billowing cloud of smoke passed to reveal the smouldering, burned crisp body of Crossbones. Or so he thought he would find. Crossbones stood, his clothing burned black, but an ethereal, blue shield of energy wreathed around his form, which shielded him from the brunt of the inferno before dispersing, and one of the lights on Crossbones' chest piece dimmed.

"Still alive, old man?" spat Kazan, his lips curling into a grin. "What? You don't have any more tricks up your sleeves to keep you alive this time."

To his surprise, the very same grin appeared across Crossbones' face, as he brought a hand across to toy with something on his gauntlet, and then brought the other hand across to press something on the other. "You really don't know who you're messing with."

"Then please, enlighten me."

"Engaging overdrive proceedures. Disabling limiters."

Crossbones slammed his knuckles together, and the faint lines like veins that ran down the lengths of the gauntlets shimmered and burst into blue light. The ground around him rippled and cracked, exploding with magical energy that released from him in waves, Kazan's only flaming form flickering from the pressure. He brought both arms back sharply and the metal panels along the back of the gauntlets pulled back, and as he thrust both arms forward the same metal panels moved with him until they locked in place. With it came a click-click like cocking a shotgun, and the backs of the gauntlets burst into more blue light, engulfing Crossbones' forearms in radiant energy that wisped backwards, igniting the small pieces of metal that lined the back of Crossbones' torso armour, and they too poured out blue arcane energy. In fact, every piece of technology, from his chestpiece to the mechanical parts of his very boots spurred into life, almost desperate to get a taste of the ensuing combat. Slowly Crossbones looked up from his own fists to meet Kazan, his own eyes bursting with the same power, and that smirk became a joyous grin. He laughed, cracking his neck in a display that mimicked Kazan's.

Kazan clapped. "I'm almost impressed."

"You have no idea," Crossbones replied, as he slammed a fist into one of the room's stone pillars, wrenching the entire piece from its base and lifting it up above his head. The entire building seemed to creak as one of its supports were removed, and again as Crossbones hefted the pillar like an enormous spear, hurling it at Kazan before throwing himself forward, flames erupting from the base of his boots and the backs of his gauntlets, sending him hurtling towards Kazan at incredible speed, his very size and strength carrying the force of a freight train as he threw another punch, not to make contact with Kazan, but for the arcane energy to carry out from his gauntlet, lashing out ten feet ahead abefore it crashed and exploded on contact with Kazan's form, who only just narrowly avoided the spear of earth that crashed into him.

The eruption send Kazan flying backwards with so much force the wall behind him collapsed, and the next one, as the momentum carried his form. He groaned in pain as he slowly picked himself up, only to feel a hand wrap tightly around his chest and lift him up, slamming him back into the next wall behind him, this time one of solid stone. Again and again, Crossbones slammed his body into the wall, before taking him by both hands and slamming him against the floor.

A an eruption of blue flame blasted free from Crossbones' grasp, and the twisted spiral of energy reformed across the other side of the room. From it emerged Kazan who stood holding his stomach as he panted heavily. He had underestimated the magitechnician. His right hand clenched tightly as flames burst forth, biting at the walls and floor, setting the very room ablaze.

"You think... You think you're better than... than me?!" he growled. "I am the head of the Pyros family, a proud line of powerful pyromancers, and for my family's honour, I will not let the likes of you beat me down. I'll turn you to cinder before I'm bested."

He slowly rose to his feet, his hand moving from its tight cluch on his wounded stomach. He grit his teeth as he spoke again. "Siphoned Inferno Art: Emperor Sun".

He spoke softly, but they made the very ground rumble with power. His right palm rose as more blueish flames started to gather, creating a burning blue orb inches away from his hand. The orb soon grew bigger, becoming a blazing sphere of blue-white fire as large as one of Crossbones' own oversized gauntlets. The room brightly lit up, almost blindingly so, as lashes of flame whipped out, enough to crash against Crossbones' own armour. "I'm not holding back anymore!"

He focused all of his efforts onto this one, volatile sphere of roaring flames, channeling every last piece of his mana into the orb. It grew hotter and hotter, and his smile turned into a full grin. "Now prepare to face my-"

Kazan could not finish his sentence. The light faded from his vision as a huge force struck his head, his senses shattering and his body giving out as he collapsed to the floor. The sphere of fire that previously rested in his hand shriveled into nothing as the back of his head struck the ground and he lay motionless, completely unconcious. Crossbones pulled a small handkerchief from his pocket which he used to wipe away the blood that now stained the front of his gauntlet. The energy that pulsed through his mechanical gear hummed and faded, and he took a long, deep breath as the exhaustion caught up to him.

Crossbones looked to the door ahead, the flames that once barred it flickering and fading. His companions were already up ahead, but they could need his help, and he had a job to do. He looked to the unconscious body on the floor and shoved him out of the way, set his sights deeper into the complex, and moved onwards.

XXXXXXXX

Alfen was ready to hit Henry. "Just who do you think you are?" he barked. "Mona is an extremely skilled fighter. I doubt she'd lose!" Alfen was adamant and stood his ground, his fists clenched and muscles tense. He almost lashed out at Henry but managed to, just barely, keep is cool enough.

Henry sighed but grit his teeth, especially after seeing Anna's expression which had changed from optimistic determination to the grim realisation that she might suffer more at the hands of her bickering companions than the villanous society that threatened them all. Still she kept silent, trying to focus on the path ahead of them, but it was clear her strength was starting to faulter. Anna had always been optimistic and a driving force in the group, even if he had not known her for long, an the sign that she was losing hope was painful.

Henry opened his mouth to speak, but seeing this he held his tongue. "Fine, let's just focus"

Henry suddenly came to a sharp, sudden halt, almost having Alfen bump right into him, and certainly having the frailer form of the pixie bump into his back. It was Raldo, obscured just so by the dim lighting of the room not unlike that which Kazan once stood. In his hands were heavy chains which led behind him, and from behind his form peered a far smaller, slender female figure. Rita.

"H-Henry?" she called out, eyes wide in surprise as she saw her older brother there, lance in hand and clad in his shard armour. Her eyes glistened with recently dried tears, her clothes and hair unkempt. "Anna? Alfen?!"

"We've come to get you out, Rita!" Anna called out, for perhaps the first time her hands flaring with wisping blue magical energy. Alfen almost jumped back at the sheer intensity of it, surprised by how much power radiated from this tiny individual. What kind of secrets did she have up her sleeve?

"Are you okay?!" Alfen called out, which Rita responded to with a small, hesitant nod. "You didn't think we'd leave you behind, did you?"

"As for you," snapped Henry, his vision shifting from his sister to the tall figure that stood before him. "If you dared to lay a finger on my sister then I promise you that I'm going to take you to a very dark place, and I'm going to take so much pleasure in taking you there personally."

Raldo's response was delayed. He paused, looking back and forth between the three mages that stood in the doorway, barking and yelling at him. He felt the tug of chains in his hands at Rita struggled, but he quickly tightened his grip and pulled her back in place.

"You think you could scare me? A child scare me? I had looked forward to knockingthat smug look from your friend's face-" Raldo motioned towards Alfen. "But when Zyle said the little girl's brother was coming with them I decided I'd make it my personal duty to break every bone in his body," Raldo sneered.

"Why you-"

"You two," continued Raldo, barking to Alfen and Anna. "The training chamber is ahead. If you want to save your precious little girlfriend you might want to head there. My boss'll be waiting. He wants to deal with you two personally." Raldo's grip on the chain slipped and the form of Rita faded into an ethereal mist. Raldo's own grin grew wider. "Good luck finding her."

"Alfen? Anna?" Henry said, turning to face his companion. The two turned in response. "Promise me you'll find my sister. Promise me you'll bring her back safe, okay?"

"We promise," Anna said. "But don't you want to-"

"I need to teach this man some manners." Henry slammed his spear into the ground, arcane energy rippling from the cracks it formed. "If he hurt my sister then I refuse to let him get away for his actions. Today he dies."

"Big words from a child," Raldo sneered back.

"We'll find her," said Alfen. "We'll save her and make sure everything's set right."

HENRY VS RALDO

Raldo circled the armored mage, his eyes wild, almost wanting Henry to throw the first strike. Henry stood vigilent with both arms crossed. "So you're just waiting for me huh? Well, I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart, son of Reeve's Laana. I'll kill you and have Rita to myse-"

"Shut up" Henry cut him off to Raldo's annoyance. "You don't even to get mention Rita, let alone talk about impossible hypothetical situations. I'm going to hurt you. plain and simple." Henry stated, uncrossing his arms. He walked towards Raldo, focused on the mage with an unwavering presence. The room itself was dimly lit and decrepid. Through the window you could just make out Darren's demonic form taking out bandit and mage after bandit and mage.

Raldo sneered, the Arachnid Stingers sprouting forth from his back as he readied himself for Henry's offense. Henry continued to slowly walk to the annoyance and inpatience of the Spider Curse Mage. Raldo leapt forward, motioning his body to turn to the left, the three stingers launching direcrtly at Henry. Hitting thin air, Raldo's eyes widened. "You should not be so hesistant" as soon as he heard those words, Raldo's face was met with a devestating punch, knocking him across the room. Henry's armor was a different shade than before; Glowing with a rather divine light this time,a white metallic coating over the shard armor.

Raldo's expression was a mix of anger, surprise frustration. He sneered as he stood up. "That was a lucky shot!" he shouted as he sprung forth, motioning all of his stingers to strike the armored Shardmancer. The stingers met with nohing but air once again. Raldo felt a sudden force in his stomach, a fist firmly planted in his abdomen. Henry's face was focused and determined. He followed with a shift uppercut, propelling Raldo into the air. He leapt up with a somersault and struck Raldo firmly in the chest with an axe kick, smashing him back into the ground. "You can't expect to win this fight, Raldo" Henry stated as he landed on his feet. "If you've hurt my sister in anyway? I'll make you regret it" he stated.

Raldo slowly stood up, he didn't expect Henry to be a walk in the park that's or sure, but the power in his strikes thus far were more than what Raldo initially thought. "Don't count me out just yet, hehe" Raldo replied, the stingers from his back stretching further out than before, as each of them met in the center. The dark purple energy glowing, as a connection was made, a web like pattern showing itself. " Spider Curse Creation: Black Widow Cannon!" he shouted, as a beam of dark purple shot forth directly at Henry.

The beam seemed to strike him directly, Raldo's expression was crazed and happy. "FINALLY! Rita's pathetic brother his done for." as the beam dispersed, there was no body of Henry insight. Raldo's euphoric grin quickly turned to confusion. "Where...is he?" he muttered, frantically looking around. "Behind you" was the words Raldo heard as he then turned around. in a matter of seconds, Henry had redirected the energy into radiance into the newly formed mace in his hands. Henry smirked, striking Raldo with full force across the face. Knocking out the Arachnide Mage in seconds. Henry looked over the hall they stood in. "This place is old. I wonder if this was one of the first guilds." He pondered. Henry's armor returned to its dark silver design, returning the room back into it's darkened form. As he left the chamber, looking back to the room both Crossbones and Kazan had already begin their bout. He felt an intense heat the closer he got, blue flames and magical energy both escaping out of the closed doors. Henry stood, blinking for a couple of seconds. "Guess I'll wait then" he said, not wanting to enter such chaos.

XXXXXXXXX

Alfen ran as fast as he could to the training chamber ahead, sparks erupting from his feet as his emotions took control, and he cared little as magic wisped around him. It seemed like forever since he had last seen Rita, and he feared what might have become of her in just the short time they had come here to save her, let alone what had happened since she was first kidnapped. He was focused entirely on her, ready for whatever lay ahead for him to take out. "We are close now, Anna," he said, turning briefly to the pixie that fluttered beside him, and he could see on her face she was just as determined. "Just one more hurdle and Rita is safe."

His words were honest, yet from what had transpired before, Alfen couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of doubt, something stuck with him and ever since he was unable to shake it completely from his mind. Anna clearly noticed this, and rested a delicate hand gently against his shoulder.

"We'll rescue her, Alfen. Don't worry," she said, forcing an uneasy smile onto her face in an attempt to comfort him.

The doors ahead were closed tight, Alfen just smirked as he lunged forward a powerful front kick to break the doors off their hinges in an impressive dislay of physical strength, only enhanced by the arcane energy that coursed through his veins.

Before them was a disturbing sight. Rita sat, bound in chains, that led to the dainty hand of Minerle who cluched the ends tightly, keeping Rita firmly bound. "Looks like the runts of the litter finally made it" she sneered. "All the worthwhile fighters left behind, so all that's left is you two? How pathetic."

Rita's eyes opened wide at the sight of her would-be saviors. "Alfen! Anna! you don't have to do this! Run! Get out of here!" She pleaded, desperately wanting them to both be safe.

A figure stepped foward from behind Minercle, Orus, with a pale figure clad in blue beside him who matched his paces. He remained silent as Orus spoke, his ethereal blue eyes watching Alfen and Anna with intent. "Greetings, Alfen Van Dragoon, and Anna Stasia, Your comrades are embroiled in their duels it seems, and they are all doing quite well. To be honest I was expecting Reynir, or maybe even Darren to come to the girl's rescue, but this is definitely a surprise, to see children stand before me. I'll leave these two in your capable hands, Zyle and Minerle. Take care of them, and quickly."

He wrenched the chains from Minerle's hands and dragged Rita with him, through another set of doors which sealed behind him, bound by ethereal chains of raw magic. Minerle and Zyle stood silently as Alfen and Rita squared off against them.

"Looks like it's the two of us versus the two of them," Anna said to Alfen, but a voice spoke almost immediately after her.

"Not quite," Minerle said, her thin lips curled into a smile. "But don't worry. Neither of you will be left out of the action." She looked over her shoulder to Zyle, who watched disinterested. "Please, if you will."

Zyle brushed a lock of white hair from his face as he approached, his form glimmering with every step. Alfen found it difficult to focus on him, as if his form were seperate from the visage he saw. The boy grit his teeth, pooling lightning around his arms as he unleashed a whiplash of lightning that scored across the room. Minerle stepped backwards, the lash of electricity narrowly missing her chest, but Zyle continued his slow motion forward until the very moment the whip touched him.

His form shattered like glass, but the razor sharp pieces still held power, and rather than clattering to the ground they transformed, shifting around the whip and coiling together into a fierce vortex of glistening blue shards, which closed the distance between Alfen and where Zyle once stood in an instant, as they reformed to the same, thin humanoid form hardly a foot away from Alfen. Zyle brought a hand up, gripping Alfen by the throat and lifting him up off of his feet, and as Alfen's vision faded to black, both of them vanished in a rift of arcane energy, carrying the faint smell of smoke as they were transported, leaving only Anna and Minerle left in the room. Anna looked on stunned, as she turned back to Minerle.

"Wha- what was that? Some kind of illusion?" she asked, her determined stand faltering for a moment.

"No work of mine, pixie," Minerle replied, as she playfully ran her tongue along her lips. "But if you want illusions, then I can give you illusions."

"Well then," Darren coughed, as the smoke and dust around him settled. He took off his hat to brush it down, and once again placed it atop his head, covering his short, fuzzy brown hair. "I hope the others were as successful."

A sudden change in the winds knocked his hat off, and carried it off in the current. He scowled, but immediately turned to the loud, overhead roaring, and something carved through the oppressive clouds that covered the sky. An enormous ship, kept aloft by huge magitech engines, positioned itself above the manor, and dozens of armed cannons along the underbelly of the beast twisted and charged with magical energy, primed and ready to fire upon the manor at a moment's notice. A smaller vessel discharged from the larger ship, and Darren watched as it swept in, hovering close above the ground before coming at a stop not ten feet away from Darren, and settling on the ground upon its landing gear.

A familiar figure, Reeves, stepped out from the vessel, brandishing his sword in one hand which trailed behind him, although he was careful not to sully it by letting it graze against the muddy earth underfoot. He saw Darren a cursory nod as he approached with authority.

"I regret not acting sooner, but hopefully I can offer support from both myself and the Enforcers of the Council," Reeves explained to Darren, his demeanor stern and determined, but analytical in its approach.

"It's all appreciated the same. I stayed behind to take out the grunts. Unfortunately I have no clue how the others are doing, but judging by the rather strange formation of thunder clouds, I feel that one of allies has gotten the upper hand," Darren replied, a small grin on his face.

A howl of thunder, followed by the brief image of two figures flickering out and into the clouds only settled his nerves, as Reynir held Gilgan tightly by the neck, and unleashed lightning charged punch after punch against his opponent. The sky ship took no party in the battle, its weapons too large and cumbersome to distinguish one target from the other; they would never fire without Reeves' direct order regardless.

Two particular enforcers stepped out alongside Reeves, and the transport ship took back into the air to reconnect with the main vessel. One was tall, and built heavily, wearing simple garbs iconic to the Enforcers that were remiscent of the oft-forgotten Edonian Clergy. He held a book within his hand titled simple "Enforcer Code". He scanned the area intently and silently, with particular interest in the battle overhead. The other enforcer was much younger, wearing a embezzled cloak decorated with trim of red and gold, given to researchers within the enforcers.

"Dante, scout ahead, I'll gather information," barked the taller enforcer. His tone was authoritave and commanding, much like Reeves' was, although it was clear who was truly in control here.

"Yes Aegor," he smaller enforcer replied, moving quickly forward.

Aegor stood tall as he watched the lesser ranked enforcer scurry off. Aegor was leader of the most prestigious team of Enforcers; Team S, famous (or perhaps infamous) enough for even Darren to know who he was. Reeves must have pulled some rather hefty strings to get them to join him on this mission.

"Reeves has given me little information about the situation, but I feel that you can fill in the blanks on why this should be an urgent council matter?" Aegor bluntly asked Darren.

"You're familiar with the Oroborus Society, right? You enforcers have been looking for them for years. Well, they kidnapped Reeves' daughter and brought her here. We have no idea why, but it seems a couple of them have a personal vendetta against two of our Ozalian comrades, and along with our other companions have headed in to take them head on. As I said, I've been making sure nobody catches us from behind."

Aegor listened intently to Darren's story, his eyes widening almost immediately at the sound of the Oroborus Society. He pondered Dartren's story for a moment. "Taking their leader and their top commanders would be significant enough to warrant us being here. Very well, we will issue support as best as we can."

Meanwhile, Dante quickly made it to the courtyard on arcane steps, and took a quite scan of the area. Dante could feel traces of both spiritual energy and a dark, void like essence in the air. Powerful magic indeed.

"Someone here can manipulate dark energy," he said out loud, not knowing that a battle nearby was being fought. He followed the trail, his sense for the arcane eventually spotting tiny, thin, shadowy like tendrils that whisped about in the air. They sought the nearest source of life, Dante, but they wriggled harmlessly against him, until he back them away with a wave of his hand and they dispersed into nothing. Foul things, they were, and the product of exceptionally dark magic that might make anyone else sick... Dante approached the entrance of the ruined guild, quickly spying the sight of a red headed, heavily augmented mage hurling orbs of raw magic at the ground, exploding into caustic pools of magic. He only caught a glimpse of a dark pool that soon dispersed, and when it did she finally laxened her combat stance, thrusting her staff firmly into the ground and leaning against it, gasping for breath. Dante moved in closer, and immediately recognised as she spoke to herself.

"F-Flo? is that you?" Dante asked, eyes wide as he almost leapt at the woman. "I didn't expect to see you here of all places! Are you here with Master Sazer?"

"Dante?" she replied, equally surprised at his arrival. At first she tried to shake him off, adrenaline still keeping her primed and ready to fight, but as she calmed and her grip steadied she brought her in for a hug with her one remaining human arm, and held him close to her for a moment. "Dante, why're you here?"

Dante wasn't going to lie, he had missed his big sister quite abit since he left to study in Edonia. "I joined the Enforcers of Edonia to study magic and develop my own style" he replied with a sincere smile.

Her eyes slowly wandered upwards to the sky ship, only now hearing their roaring engines as the heavy beating of blood pumping through her veins just past her ears, and the pieces slowly began to put themselves together. She smiled, knowing Reeves had changed his mind, and knowing that they would have the might of the enforcers behind them for now. Monarch paused to take another breath, and warded off those strange, ethereal strings with her magic.

The name Sazer took a moment to click in her head. "I... Yes, I'm here with Darren. Jax is here too. You remember Jax, right?"

"Jax? ofcourse I do, the big lummox kept calling me half pint" he remembered, gritting his teeth

She brought her clawed hand across her side, scythes pressing uncomfortably against her exposed skin, before the cuts and scratches began to unceremoniously stich themselves together, a simple healing spell that paled in comparison to the skills of a true healer, but would keep herself from bleeding out, and seemed to stop the strange, darkening wounds caused by Zinko's strange dark magic that had once spread upwards, but now seemed to have settled and the pain subsided.

"Listen, Dante, I'm glad you're here, because I know you're capable enough to help. I'm heading further into the manor. I need to make sure my companions are safe, but I'm still not-" She grit her teeth, holding back a groan as she moved, forcing back the pain. "-Ideally I'd get some time to recover, but if I don't help them now I won't ever get the chance. Will you help me?"

Dante smiled, and Mona could not help but smile back. "Big sis? Did you even have to ask? You know I will." He turned to face the guild manor and took a few steps forward. "Just stand back."

The young mage clasped both hands together, and even before he spoke his form started to shift and change. He grew larger, briefly engulfed in blackened flames as claws emerged from his fingertips, and his hair grew longer and shaggy, eventually covering his body in course, black fur. He snarled, his teeth turning into blades and his mouth forming into a snout, before a pair of heads manifested from his neck, until what remained was a trio of feral, snapping wolf heads, atop a humanoid, wolf-like body. "Mythos Shift: Cerberus," he growled as his transformation completed its final steps, bones snapping finally into place.

He fell to the ground for a moment, digging into the dirt with his newly formed claws, before he finally rose up to his feet, and shook off the bestial force of his transformation and reigned control back in.

"Here, let me carry you," one of the heads offered, its voice deeper mixed with soft snarls as he held out an enormous hand, large enough to hold a human in it. She was hestiant but took it, and was lifted up to his shoulder that she perched upon. "I've perfected my magic into Shapemancy; I'm able to take the form of mythical beasts."

"I forgot how long it has been since was last met," she said. "I'm glad the Enforcers are teaching you well, Dante."

She pointed him forwards into the building. Dante was not subtle, his huge, immensely powerful form tearing through the small doorways and furniture as they made their way through the building. First they were set upon by the burned, ruined stadium that had been the scene of Crossbones and Kazan. Monarch realised its source immediately, and thought back to the original fight. She knew Crossbones had taken him on, buy the littered residue of magitech powers, grenades blasts and heft, fist-shaped dents left in the walls. She worried for a moment, if he had been strong enough to stand up against the fire mage, but Mona could not help but smile when she saw the lanky, unconcious form of Kazan on the ground, energy completely spent.

"Jax must have gone on ahead," Monarch said to her brother. She hit his leg with the side of her staff. He was alive, but he did not response, completely out cold. "He's no harm like this. Make sure one of your companions take him. He's a criminal and a kidnapper, he deserves to be behind bars."

She was picked up again by Dante and the two silently continued down the hallway. Dante's long, bestial strides were immensely fast, and it was not long before they caught up to the heavy, beating footsteps that continued on just ahead of them.

"Hey, I wondered when you'd show up!" Crossbones called back, raising a hand to wave as his old friend. He looked beat up, burns and cuts across his body, his armour chipped and scorched from the fight. He looked in worse condition than Monarch did, but he was standing and ready to fight, a grin on his face, a testament to the man's sheer resilience to punishment. "Who's the big guy? Should I be jealous?"

Mona gave a half-amused smike as she was lowered back into the ground, and Dante's form twisted and morphed back into its original. "Hey Jax!" Dante called, and Crossbones smiled in response. "On behalf of the Enforcers of Edonia, I'm here to offer support wherever I can," He stated formally, brushing off his robes. "Reeves got in touch with my captain about his daughter's kidnappings. I recognised that body we passed, though. I hate to say it, but I don't know if we can't arrest Kazan. His father is..." Dante groaned. "The head of the Enforcers."

"He what?" snapped Mona. "That doesn't give him free reign to-"

"We don't get to choose, Mona, I'm sorry," Dante replied, lowering his head. "It's wrong, but you know that he's not going to face any real punishment with the law. Not while Kazan is the heir to the household. I mean, we could always-"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't just kill him, then," Crossbones barked, cracking both of his knuckles, the hefty metal gauntlets still covering them and his forearms. The scorch marks and hefty burns told Dante that Jax had been locked in a battle with Kazan not moments before they had met again. "He's a kidnapper, an attempted murderer, and a terrorist. I'd rather break his neck myself than let him walk free."

Dante raised his hand and stood in front of Crossbones, blocking his path back towards the battleground where Kazan had been fought. "No, you can't! The Pyros family'll have the enforces after you for murder! I can't promise that Kazan'll be behind bars, but I can promise you, I know his father personally. He won't get off of this lightly."

Crossbones grit his teeth and then opened his mouth to speak, only for the door ahead of them to swing wide open, a figure emerging from the thin smoke. It was Henry, an adult figure slung across his right shoulder, that Henry carried with little care for the unconscious figure's wellbeing. He looked back between Crossbones and Monarch, and then to the enforcer between them, and nodded. "You got Zinko?" Henry asked, directly to Mona.

"He ran, but I don't think he's coming back."

Henry scowled.He looked at both Crossbones and Monarch, with the Enforcer along with them. "She managed to beat Zinko? hmmm." Henry thought.

He almost threw the figure to the floor, and as he rolled over, the other three could see it was Raldo, blood smeared across his face and unresponsive. Alive, but unconscious. "An Enforcer?" Henry questioned. ". "Dante! nice to meet you,I take it my father's here?"

"Mr Laana? Yes, he thought you could use the aide. It seems like we arrived a little late to help with the fighting, but at least we can hope to clean up." The ground shook, as energy erupted from the floors above them. "Well, perhaps not all of the fighting. We need to move quickly. Who from your group is unaccounted for?"

"Anna and Alfen headed up on further," Mona replied.

"And I think the storm's stopped. Think Reynir got out okay?" Crossbones replied.

"No idea, but I think we should go find out, before Orus manages to escape-"

A cough and splutter from the two figures on the floor snapped them from their conversation for a moment. Raldo sturred again, coughing up blood and gasped for breath, all through a sinister laugh that he managed despite his state. His hands were bound, and he simply pushed himself over onto his back and pulled himself up to rest against the wall, a grin across his face.

"What're you laughing at?" Henry snapped.

Raldo laughed a little louder. "You think this will end happily ever after, don't you? You're more delusional than I am if you think that's true. You're all so worried about Orus, you didn't stop to think he isn't the big threat? he's just a more powerful puppet under the control of the Mad Jester!" Raldo rambled like a mad man. Dante was suspicious as he listened carefully. "that...that can't be right. If he's talking about who I think he's talking about...that's impossible" Dante grabbed a book and skimmed through it. "The Mad Jester died centuries ago, he fell into a pit created with fire magic within. if it's anything, its a copy cat." Dante explained as best as he could. Henry shrugged. "Maybe he's just mad."

ALFEN VS ZYLE

Orus kept Rita to the side of him, watching closely as both Alfen and Zyle stood off against each other. The four manifested not inside the manor, but on top of it. The huge sky ship crashed overhead, its weapons primed and buzzing with energy, as the storm overhead only grew fiercer, and bolts of lightning and crashes of thunder framed the scene. The two battling figures overhead appeared briefly, but in their battle of titans, Alfen was not sure they could even see the four of them standing there beneath them. Black stormclouds began to swirl, and the winds became fierce and biting.

"I hope you have enough spirit to last, Van Dragoon. You're gonna need it," Orus smiled as he spoke, yanking on the chain that held Rita the moment that she shifted to get a little more comfortable.

Alfen cracked his knuckles and readied himself, but it did little to bring out a reaction on his opponent. "I ain't goin' to go easy on you," said Alfen, and in a moment of his bravado and confidence, smirked.

His body cackled with lightning. "Lightning Art: Thunder Flash!" he shouted, his body cloaked in lightning. In a blink he was closing the gap between himself and Zyle, readying a huge forceful kick, the lightning from his whole body moving through to his leg and focusing on a single point.

His entire body passed through the form of Zyle, who shattered like glass. Alfen crashed to the floor, landing with little grace, and dug his fingers into the tiled roof of the manor to balance himself and bring himself back up to his feet. He saw those shards of glass linger in the air for a moment, before they quickly brought themselves back together, and reformed into the familiar shape of Zyle. He returned the look, unenthused, almost bored to be there, and began a slow pace along the top of the roof, before pausing to look at the ship overhead.

"You know, Master Orus, it might be wise to take this opportunity to find refuge. To nobody's surprise, the girl's father came in force, and despite its protection the manor would never survive a full barrage from such a titan. Live to fi-"

Another electrically charged kick surged through Zyle's form, scattering his body in all directions, but as Alfen fell through it and lay a mangled mess on the floor, Zyle resumed his form and continued. "As I was saying, live to fight another day."

Orus sat to the side as he watched the fight. He won't lie, while the sudden appearance of the Enforcers would be troubling, it was Reeves who would the one he'd look out for. nonetheless he shrugged, confident in his machinations. "It's fine, Zyle, kill this worm and then we can head out," he ordered.

Alfen grunted and thus time decided to forgo a physical strike entirely. Lightning cascaded down his arms, collected between his hands, and burst out in an uncontrolled bolt that danced and bit at the air around it. It crashed against Zyle but he raised an arm and cast it aside, the lightning dancing up the outside of his own arm and coiling off into the sky, harmlessly. Zyle hardly seemed to have put effort into the deflection, and instead stood, disinterested in the fighting as he watched the mesmerising display take place in the sky.

"You know, that Reynir figure is not as impressive as I had expected. More than enough to handle Gilgan, of course, but a blind fool could handle such an arrogant dullard with ease. Still, with the tales I had been told I expected him to rend the heavens and smite Gilgan where he stood, and yet he insists on bloodying his fists. It's quite disappointing, don't you think, Alfen?"

Alfen was both stunned and angry at the words spouted by Zyle. He so easily insulted an old friend, a mentor, and a hero all the same to Alfen. Reynir had been an idol, someone he looked up to, along side his grandfather and to a lesser extent, Darren. How dare Zyle speak ill of him? Alfen clenched his fist tight, slamming it down onto the broken tiled roof, and there was an eruption of lightning and thunder from where he stood. His face twisted with both frustration, anger, and every other foul emotion that could possibly surface.

"You take that back! Reynir is one of the best mages in all of Edonia! He was the number one mage in the Hawks Guild before he left. I'm sure Gilgan is tough, but for you to think of your comrade as an arrogant dullard? don't you have respect?" Alfen spat.

Zyle made no physical reaction. He did not even look at Alfen as the younger boy spoke.

"Why should I respect them? Neither of them have earned it, and here they are putting their futures in the hands of..." Zyle paused, and as he did so off in the distance Reynir manifested his atronach form, and his fist collided with Gilgan's, coated in the ethereal armour of his arcane gauntlets. The collision was enough to be felt from here, and the eruption came with such force that it made the sky ship above rock back slightly before it corrected itself. "In the hands of such party tricks."

"Lightning Creation: Bishamonten's Blade!" Alfen yelled, as his anger at the blatant disrespect of his closest friend overcame him, and an enormous jagged edged blade of volatile lightning sprung forth from his left hand.

Alfen vanished in the blink of an eye, lightning coursing through his veins and enhancing every part of his physical form, and he moved so impossibly fast he could only be seen through the faint afterimage of his form. He closed the gap between himself and Zyle in under a second and brought his arm across in an enormous diagonal sweep that cleaved through the roof of the building, sending its tiled floor scattering, and a huge piece of the ceiling fell through to the floor, and again to the floor below as the broken building succumbed to its weight. Alfen grinned as he felt his blade cleave through something, and the way Zyle's form scattered and exploded gave Alfen a sense of hope.

Unfortunately a false hope, as Alfen passed through him Zyle's being reformed, and without a movement, channeled a small blast of arcane energy that knocked Alfen even further forwards. With the momentum of his charge that tiny pulse was enough to set his balance completely off, and Alfen fell to hte floor.

"And it seems like you are putting on an equally disappointing performance. I suppose I should not have expected more. If the master is quite underwhelming, why should the student show any more promise?"

"Thunder Art:Punishing Wave" Alfen called, generating a powerful shockwave from his right hand as he pulled himself up, and unleashed the point-blank blast at his opponent.

Zyle's response was unusual as rather than dispersing or being knocked aside, his entire form shook and vibrated, and Alfen could see exactly how he could disassemble himself so easy. His body, rather than being fully formed and solid, instead seemed to be made from tiny, glass like shards that held themselves together tightly, forming a humanoid shape. Within he was hollow, empty, only a faint, bluish whisp of energy within to hold the construct together. For a moment Alfen could not believe it, and wondered if Zyle was in fact not human but a construct. Zyle stepped forwards, rather than turning properly his entire body seemed to shift, disassemble, and reassemble itself to face Alfen, finally taking interest in the younger mage, and brought a hand out to reach towards him.

"So, you see what I am?" his hand seemed to only approach tentatively at first, but it quickly latched onto Alfen's collar, grabbing him tightly and lifting him upwards. The man's strength was incredible, and despite Alfen's struggle the white-haired mage lifted him up so high he could no longer touch the ground. "Be thankful. I am giving you a chance to realise your hopelessness and run while you can."

Zyle helfed the young mage over his shoulder, tossing him like a rag doll and hurling him across the roof. Alfen's body scattered wildly, skirting the edge of the hole he had made moments ago and nearly falling in before he caught himself, fingers digging into wooden framing of the building with enough force he splintered it when the rest of his body tumbled down. He clung to it with one arm, and later too as he reached up to grab the tileworking, a few falling loose at his grasp and only loosening his grasp. Zyle approached and stood above him. "Leave, devil siphoner. Your efforts here today mean nothing."

Alfen's rage quickly took hold, and as he yelled lighting burst from his eyes and crackled along his arms. Magic erupted from him, his entire form volting forward like pure lightning, passing through Zyle's entire form and rematerialising across from him, so fast Alfen tripped again and fell to the floor. Zyle was stunned, electricity dancing across the individual parts of his form, and it took him longer than before for him to repair himself. Electricity still crackled across him, before he snapped his arm back and shot what had been charged through him into the ground. His blank, stoic expression changed as he turned his head over his shoulder, a thin wisp of smoke trailing upwards from his slightly singed hair. For a brief moment, Alfen thought he could see a wince of pain. The singed, broken look quickly faded, as Zyle coughed and tried to regain his composure. He walked forwards, hands behind his back, before grabbing Alfen by the collar again and dragging him across the ground.

"So you are more talented than I thought, but my surprise is hardly a commendation on your skill. I'm tired of these games, begone with you."

With one singular heft he brought Alfen up into the air again, dangling him over the edge of the manor, and dropped him. He turned and walked a few steps towards Orus. "There, he is dealt with. Now might we-"

That same, violently strong jolt of electricity rushed through him, as a humanoid storm of lightning and thunder passed by him, rematerialising on the other side of the rooftop. Alfen stood, more of a grin on his face now, as he found something that harmed Zyle. The young mage pooled more lightning in his hands, reading a second strike. "What's wrong, Zyle? Disappointed an upstart like me can land a hit? Well, handle this. Thunder Art: Fero-"

Alfen hardly had time to react as the shards that formed Zyle's face shifted and changed, parting, exposing the hollow interior, and radiating such an intense blue light that Alfen was almost blinded. His spell, Thunder Art: Ferocious Force, was thrust forward with an enormous blast of raw sonic energy, but it careened far off to the side, over Zyle's shoulder. The energy that pooled in front of Zyle was impossibly bright, before erupting in a large beam of energy that cleaved through the entire manor, upwards and off into the sky. The manor shifted and fell, the half of the building falling slack as the building was cut through entirely and the supports fell apart. The sound of stone and wood breaking filled the air, as the building shook with every step. The beam itself carried on, carving through the sky, and striking both Reynir and Gilgan off in the distance. Their fighting went silent.

Rita watched the fight play out. It was just as she feared; Zyle was just toying with him, like a doll, giving him as much respect as one too. Rita's eyes were wide and almost brimming with tears. "Alfen no! please! don't give up!" She rooted for him as best as she could still chained up in Orus' grasp, but he silenced for briefly with another firm tug on the chain around her neck.

"I want you to know, demon siphoner, that I am playing no game. I am giving you a chance to leave, but this will be the last chance. I usually choose not to demonstrate my power so frivolously, but it seems you are a persistent one. See how easily your friend was shot out of the sky?" He brought his arm up to point where Reynir and Gilgan had once fought in the sky, where now nothing stood by a huge, circular gap in the clouds where Zyle's spell had cut right through them. "If you don't leave now, I will kill you where you stand."

"N-no! I won't leave without Rita. She's a comrade, and a fellow Hawk Guild Mage!" He replied, his face still showing unwavering spirit and determination.

Zyle's arm outstretched towards Rita, as if preparing a spell.

"Calm yourself, Zyle," Orus said, and Zyle slowly lowered his arm. "And please, stop toying with him and put him out of his misery."

Zyle grit his teeth. "...Of course, Master Orus," he said, as the same blue energy that erupted from his form moments ago pooled in his hand, and he raised it just so as he aimed towards his opponent, Alfen.

Rita's fears were overcoming her as she watched a fast friend, someone who had only met her about a day before, was willing to do anything to save her. Tears streamed down her face as she watched Zyle toy with Alfen as if he was nothing.

The mage pulled his arm back, channeling the energy for a moment, as he spoke the words to evoke his own, powerful spell "Ethereal Art, Luster Purge," he said quietly, as he thrust his arm forwards and an enormous, volatile beam of royal blue energy erupted from his palm, the same as the fierce ray that he had fired moments ago, that swept across and upwards, aiming to cut Alfen entirely in two with a single swipe.

Alfen tried to roll out of the way of the beam, the strange arc of the beam that seemed to twist and contort in the air, was a precise, accurate shot. The beam stung, tearing at his clothing and striking his chest with the force of a storm, and it threw him back for what felt like the thousandth time today, until his back crashed into something rock solid. The manor chimney, which had remained standing for a while, until Alfen's form crashing into it was fierce enough to send bricks scattering, and the wounded boy lay there, and felt like every bone in his body had broken. His fingers twitched when he tried to move them, and eventually he summoned the strength to move again. Not broken, and he was not out yet, but he struggled to remember a time he felt worse pain.

"Is-" Alfen coughed. "Is that all you've got?"

Zyle's eyes narrowed, as he began the slow progression towards Alfen. "Even on your knees, you still try to bite back." As he stood before Alfen he knelt down on one knee so that they were at eye level, and they started each other down. Alfen noted a distinctly cold look from his opponent, as if he were looking through him, rather than at him. "You had your chance. Now, please be still-"

A hand grapsed onto the side of Zyle's head. It was Alfen's, outstretched, a thumb over Zyle's eye and his fingers clasped tightly in his silver hair to hold it right, and he screamed, letting out all the rage and energy as he could. Electricty poured out from his body, crackling outwards like a thunder crash, perhaps even louder than the storm that roared overhead, and Alfen squeezed, digging his thumb into Zyle's eye socket. The tiny crystals that formed Zyle started to seperate, but even that was not enough, as the bolts of lightning danced across them, crashing and searing every part of him, turning his skin charcoal black as more and more of the intense lightning was forced into his body. Zyle's cold expression changed, and he could not hold back his own intense howl of pain.

Then Zyle's hand latched onto Alfen's arm. His nails dug in, hard, and Alfen felt them break skin even through the material of his clothing. Zyle's hand, no, his entire arm... he had stopped even attempting to make it look human anymore, and was instead a shifting mass of blue, arcane energy, his fingertips sharpened into lethally sharp claws that dug deeper, and Zyle pulled hard to wrench Alfen's hand away. The boy's grip only grew tighter, and even Zyle's arcane form struggled to pull him off, and the way electricity overwhelmed his form, he could not split himself apart either.

So he grit his teeth, raised his other arm, and slowly forced his hand to twist and transform, until it became a single serrated form, a grizzly looking blade that took up his entire forearm. He levelled it with Alfen's shoulder, and for a moment the boy could have sworn he saw the faint flash of a smirk on the strange arcanist's lips, before he thrust that blade forward and sunk it deep into Alfen's shoulder.

The boy's arm was cleaved off immediately.

Alfen's eyes shot open wide, as the electricty he forced from him flickered and died. He made no sound, other than a sharp gasp of air as the blade sunk into his shoulder. Zyle pried away Alfen's arm when it fell slack, and felt the limb wither away into dust, the very electricty it had channeled consuming it in seconds. That same power had cauterised the wound completely, and not a drop of blood fell from it, but Alfen still remained silent, shaking gently, as his body tried to cope with the shock. Zyle himself did his best to shake off the pain, and slowly a natural colour came back to his skin, the crystals radiating blue for a moment before his body began its slow repair. His form still occasionally flickered, like some kind of computer glitch, before stablising again.

"I told you to run," Zyle said, as he stood up, raised his arm, and rested his open palm against Alfen's forehead. "Ethereal Art, Luster Pur-"

Another crack of lightning, as the very ground beneath Zyle's feet vanished. The tile roof almost exploded as an enormous ball of stone and earth, crackling with lightning, surrounded by biting winds, and spitting amber flames grabbed him, a single, huge hand grasping around his chest and wrenching him off of his feet. "You'll regret hurting him," the elemental said, a voice like stone grinding against stone. Reynir's grip tightened, and Zyle's ribcage shattered as his torso was crushed in an instant.

His form faded, shattering into a thousand tiny pieces, before the whirlwind of shards picked up again and manifested besides Orus, where it reassembled into the wounded form of Zyle, hurt but stable. He grit his teeth, and for the first time he showed an emotion more akin to anger... or was it perhaps, fear?

Reynir gave him no time to recover, and charged immediately. His form was wild and inconsistent, wrapped in earth and stone, but it resembled none of his traditional forms. No, they were refined and practiced. This was a resort born of rage at the harm that had come to his friend, and his movements were feral and violent, like a natural disaster in itself. An enormous stone fist came sweeping around in a huge arc, intending to hit both Orus and Zyle.

Orus tilted his head back hardly an inch, enough that the fist swung clean out of the way in front of him, and Zyle was swift enough to disperse his form, a crackling storm of needle-like blades that engulfed Reynir, and with lethal precision attacked the cracks in his form, his entire body briefly forming into single, straight blades that cut against the stone armour, reforming into a human behind the elemental beast, and then charging again. Reynir hardly noticed, flailing wildly as he tried to grasp onto both Orus and Zyle.

Orus was far too swift, and made no attempt to fight back. Zyle was the first to be grabbed by Reynir again, who took ahold of him in both hands, one around his legs and the other his torso, and pulled firmly until his body was torn in half. It gave Reynir no joy, who knew that Zyle would reform in mere moments, and hurled both of the shattered pieces into the air and watched as they did indeed begin to take shape.

A hulking black shape leapt up from the base of the building, demonic features flashing into Zyle's view as he finally reformed, only for a mighty fist to smash into his back, and he went crashing back into the tile floor of the roof.

"Thought you might want a little help," Darren said, as he unleashed a flurry of punches on Zyle, who dodged them nimbly, but was focused entirely on doing so. One final punch brought some distance between the two, briefly. "Go check on Alfen. I've got this one," he growled, as the demonic form bounded forwards towards Zyle.

Reynir nodded, a brief moment of calm washing over him. The hefty stone armour that covered his form fell apart, and he moved to kneel before Alfen, and brought a hand up to cup his cheek, holding up his face so that Alfen's eyes finally met with Reynir. "Alfen, are you okay?"

"Y- yeah, I-"

"Don't talk, just keep your eyes on me. You're going to be fine, I promise."

Reynir kept a brave face, but he needed to for his friend. The sight of him so badly wounded scarred him, and the rage that boiled inside of him began to bubble up again. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, then brought a hand upwards to hover just over Alfen's shoulder, where the charred flesh was. His fingertips traced a few sigils in the air, and Alfen hissed in pain, but quickly calmed down, his breathing becoming regular, and his senses returning to him properly.

"This should numb some of the pain," Reynir said, as he held out an arm to wrap around Alfen's waist, and slowly helped him up to his feet. "Just try and stay calm, we're going to get you out of here. I- I'm sorry, Alfen, I-"

"Reynir, stop it," Alfen replied. A little of that familiar determination had returned to his face, and while he was still clearly in great discomfort, his eyes quickly shot towards Rita. He was still driven entirely to helping her. "I- I'm fine, really. I- I can still cast, I can still-"

"I'm not letting you stay here any longer, Alfen. You've-"

There was another crash, and radiant burst of arcane energy, but it did not come from Zyle or from Darren. There was a flash of bright colour, shifting and changing, and a red blur flickered in and out of view. Minerle. With a flick of her arm a thin tendril of red shot out from her like a blade, but it was cast aside by a new form that manifested from the light, who retaliated by raising her hand and having thin, weaving roots burst from beneath the roof, coiling around the red-garbed woman and grasping her tight.

The figure that stepped out was not recognised by any of them. Ethereal, a feminine form, but her figure seemed impermeable, and flickered with the wind, likely made of raw magic in a deep blue, that shifted to blacks and faded purples, with small specs of bright lights glistening in her form like a midnight skyscape. Her eyes glistened bright green, and wispy butterfly wings emerged from her back like smoke.

She raised her hand again, lifting Minerle into the air, before tossing her aside like a ragdoll.

Darren took an opportunity to follow up, and brought his arm around in a mighty left hook, colliding with her and sending Minerle flying. The ethereal figure gave him a determined nod, and Darren returned it with a tilt of his head and a strange look. "...Anna, is that you?"

The figure smiled and nodded. Her fae features were obvious; the slight points to her ears, the large, almond shaped eyes, silvery hair, not to mention the wings that protruded from her back. "You look... different."

She chuckled, and gave a playful wink. Even in the midst of battle she retained a sly smile, perhaps uncharacteristic of the usually worrisome Anna, but her voice was certainly familiar, even if it carried a smoke-like wisp that ended every sound, and her tone was more playful and confident than usual. "Suits me, doesn't it? Sorry, I suppose I should have told you about this sooner, but I rarely get a chance to truly utilise the power of my siphoned spirit~ But oh, it feels so delightful."

"Zyle! Minerle!" Orus barked as the wounded two helped each other off the ground. "Stop acting like fools and deal with them. Once again, it seems like if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

He released the chain that bound Rita and let it clatter to the floor. For a moment she thought she was free, and tried to scurry away, but was wrenched backwards when she felt the chain hook firmly into the floor and seal itself with magic, holding her there tight to watch as the battle continued to unfold. Darren and Anna stood off, both in their strange, transfigured forms, with Zyle and Minerle readying themselves opposite them, and Rita could feel the arcane energy dance between the two groups. Meanwhile Orus strode confidently towards Reynir and Alfen, and Rita called out to warn them "Look out!"

"Alfen, stay back. I can handle thi-"

"No!" the younger mage called out, grabbing Reynir by the shoulder by his one free hand.

"You're too wounded. Trust me, I can-"

"I'm not staying out of this!" Alfen yelled back. "I can still cast. I can still fight. I am not going to sit back and let everyone else do the work for me. I'm here, and I'm going to stand alongside you, whether you like it or not."

Alfen did not expect Reynir to playfully ruffle his hair in response. The taller man smiled. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?" Reynir laughed despite everything, and teased the smaller mage. "Just don't hold me back, okay?"

Alfen stuck out his tongue. "Hold you back? Just try and keep up," he teased, as the two turned to take a fighting stance against their new foe.

Darren returned to his human form, and brought his attention back to both Minerle and Zyle who nursed their wounds, both with teeth grit and eyes sharpened as they watched back, memorising every movement that Darren and Anna made.

"Sorry it took so long to join you all. I was taking out the trash." He cracked both knuckles with a smile, then tilted his head with an equally sickening crack, before rolling it back. "I'll be sure to give you two the attention you deserve, and the beating that's been coming for you for weeks now."

"Just don't get too excited, Darren. Leave a little of them for me to toy with," the fey beauty beside him chimed, that same, devilishly sly smile on her face. "Or more specifically, leave Minerle for me. I'm still not done with her yet~"

"I don't think you know who you are talking to." Minerle replied, tending to Zyle briefly before he pushed her away, grit his teeth and stood ready. She did the same, wiping a small amount of blood from her lip, before letting magic pool in her hands. "Your little group is nothing compared to us."

Darren laughed out loud. "Really? To be so blind to your own arrogance. It must be a nice little bubble you live in."

Minerle's expression soured quickly

"But if you want to brawl" Darren continued. "Then I can definitely entertain you. Anna? Support me in whatever way you can, if you don't mind," he said with an air of confidence and suaveness, clenching both fists as he took his combat stance.

"Excuse me?" Anna said, as her form stepped forwards, hovering half an inch off of the ground. She raised both arms, and as she did so more twisting, coiling tendrils of bark and wood burst from the ground, which grasped at the stone and tilework that lined the rooftop. "Sweetheart, I'm sure you'll be the one supporting me~"

The roots burst into an array of flowers, glistening crystal that were beyond any mundane flower in beauty and colour. Light pools at the heads of these half a dozen flowers, and they aimed themselves all towards Zyle and Minerle, three on each, as Anna raised her hands, each pointing open palmed towards her foes. "Now, you three, you'll be privy to a rare treat; the chance to see how a real mage fights."

She clenched both fists, and the light that gathered around the petals exploded, each flower firing a dazzling array of three beams of light, which danced gracefully in the air upwards, before cascading downwards and raining down an arcane barrage upon Zyle and Minerle. Minerle moved to run, but Zyle brought his arm up and let parts of his form disperse, transforming into a large shield to defend both him and Minerle from the blow. He groaned in pain as the barrage was almost too much to take.

"Zyle, are you-" Minerle asked, genuine concern in her voice. She was interrupted by Zyle himself though.

"I- I'm fine, I've got this. Just- return the favour."

For once he smiled, and as another rain of arcane bolts he brought both arms across his chest, let the shield fade, and then released the energy it had gathered in a huge wave outwards. It tore up the flooring as it travelled towards Darren and Anna. The roots raised upwards into a wall in front of the two mages, taking the brunt of the blow for them, but the roots withered and shattered in the process.

Minerle nodded as she moved, gracefully leaping and flipping to the side of both Darren and Anna. She smirked when she got into position. "Bloodletting Melody: Carmella Dance". She moved with a dancer's grace, as blood-like bolts started to gather around her form, powering up as she spun on her heel, her palm thrust forward, the blood red bolts charging forward like powerful arcane missiles towards the two mages. The bolts swirled and moved with such velocity that they seemed impossible to dodge, and she was confident even as Anna brought her hand upwards to summon more vines, it would pierce right through the fey's defenses.

Darren stepped behind Anna's shield and interposed himself between the barrage and Anna, throwing both his jacket and hat to the side, a light enveloping his form as he did so. "Demonic Form: Belial" he uttered under his breath. as the barrage from Minerle closed in, they crashed into Anna's barrier and tore it to pieces. From behind the torn barrier a figure emerged, Anna's bolts pinging harmlessly from its iron-like flesh. Darren's form was now that of a six eyed demon, razor sharp teeth that protruded from his mouth, his arms longer with an extended whip like appendage on each. His skin was dark, with a sorta transluscent like skin decorating his torso. He hovered above ground, smiling at Minerle with those seemingly endless rows of fangs. "You can handle the lady, Anna. I'll handle this" Darren pointed to Zyle, his eyes glowed with energy as he opened his mouth, and a focused beam shot forward towards the Shard Mage.

Minerle looked at Anna with a huff, following up from her strike almost immediately. "Bloodletting Melody: Rose Whip!". She swung her arm down and up, creating a blood bolt whip, moving down to strike the pixie with immense force. "Focus on me, sweety! I will not let you interfere!"

Anna watched the fight between Zyle and Darren proceed. Darren was fast and powerful in his new form, keeping Zyle constantly on his toes, who darted across the battlefield, his body shattering and reforming, a monstrous beast in battle with a hurricane of blades. The whiplash of blood came all too close to biting against her skin, striking her across the face and drawing some of her own arcane-tinged blood... had she not raised her arm to catch it, grasping tightly onto the whip as it came cascading down with an almighty crack. It bit into Anna's skin, and a small amount of blood could be seen dripping from her palm, but she did not react to the pain, if she felt any at all. She turned her head to Anna and smiled wide, before pulling on the whip hard.

Her strength was immense and Minerle was torn off of her feet, sent flying towards Anna, who brought one leg up and across, slamming it into Minerle's stomach and sending her flying. A playful laugh escaped her lips as she approached the knocked about woman, wings fluttering and keeping her a few inches off from the ground.

Another whip of red energy shot passed her shoulder as Minerle tried to fight again, but Anna tilted her head to the side and it flew passed her, before Anna brought a single hand up and cut through the whip with a simple swipe of her hand.

"My turn~" Anna cooed, as tiny, glistening sparks of magic began to emerge from her body.

She brought her hand forwards, twisted it slowly so that her palm faced upwards, and clenched her fist. Those same, spiraling, glistening sparks began to dance across Minerle's skin, and her eyes flickered black as Anna's magic tried to overwhelm hers. For a moment it seemed to work, as Anna flooded Minerle's mind with illusions, weakening her resolve and setting her senses wild with madness, until a hefty form crashed into Anna and knocked her aside, breaking her concentration and giving Minerle a moment to pull herself back up.

Minerle returned to her senses. "You little bitch!" Minerle sneered towards Anna. "I'm going to make sure your body nothin but a dead husk." She added, standing up.

It was Darren, his enormous demonic form forced back by a desperate Zyle, whose stance kept him close to the floor, both hands fully transformed into crystaline blades, and his shards barely holding together. He leapt again to follow up his attack, almost feral in his movements, swiping left and right as Darren dodged and lurched back with a heavy swing. Zyle tore himself apart, blades rushing passed Darren and cutting through his skin, before the white haired mage reformed behind him. The shards that formed his face opened, exposing his hollow form beneath, and energy pooled in the gap before erupting in a powerful energy beam that struct Darren straight in the chest.

Darren felt the blast full on, forcing him backwards across the rooftops as the beam connected directly with his chest. He did not expect a mage to easily fight on par with his Belial form, and the pain of the blast stung even through his arcane transformation. He returned to his human form to catch a quick breather. Zyle's cold facade had faded somewhat again, as he gave a small but sadistic smile.

"I expected more," he said as he slowly approached the wounded mage who slowly rose back up to his feet. Darren sniggered, his own gleeful smile reaching from ear to ear. Zyle tilted his head and spoke. "...What?"

"The fact you think this fight is over. I have plenty of demonic forms, some I never use, and I don't think the likes of you, despite how powerful you may seem, could handle any of them." Darren replied with a smirk of his own. "So how about we just skip the warm up and unleash hell?"

Zyle visibly grit his teeth before steeling himself once more. He nodded, and more blue energy began to pool between his fingertips. "Whatever helps you think you've got a chance."

Darren stood tall, his eyes flaring with pure red magic. "No problem, I'll start off with something a little more straight forward then."

Darren winked playfully as the pressure around them grew heavy, the aura that extended outwards from Darren was so overwhelming that even Zyle was almost knocked back off of his feet, and even for the briefest moment Darren noticed Orus took notice. "Demonic Form Stage 2: Zeromak" he said, and his form was consumed by a pure, thick, inky black orb, strange arcane like sounds whirring past Zyle until Darren's new form was revealed. Although of same height and build as Darren, it looked more like a demonic winged suit of armor had enveloped him, the helmet devoid of any features aside from the bright blue eyes shinning through. Darren leviated above the ground, a sword formed in his left hand. "Let's get this started."

Zyle almost snarled as he matched Darren's sword. His arm shifted and changed, losing its form as the shards that formed his skin began to reassemble a long, intricate blade. Darren watched intently, and saw for the briefest moment those shards become a beautiful silver sword, slender and long, grasped firmly in one hand, before the image broke apart and reformed as something more sickly, a jagged edge that replaced Zyle's hand entirely, and he brandished it fiercely. He closed the distance in an instant, form breaking and reforming by the second, until their blades clashed with an enormous clang, magical energy erupting from them with a sudden, fierce burst of air in all directions.

The blue-robed mage brought his other arm up and manifested the same blade, mimicking the one that had already replaced his right hand, and thrust it forwards aiming for Darren's stomach. The demon mage caught it, clawed hands gripping tightly around the blade and holding it away from his vitals. He hissed as the serrated edge dug into his skin, but held it away with more strength than Zyle could muster, and as he clenched his fist tighter the blade shattered back into a thousand pieces, and he forced the first small yelp of pain from Zyle.

He let out what sounded almost like a snarl as he dragged his other arm back, serrated metal grinding against the edge of Darren's blade, and in a flourish that let him turn on the ball of his feet, Zyle's form vanished. Darren held his sword high, defensively, as he felt for the next sign of Zyle. There was a brief shimmer of movement from above, and he raised his blade to block, but the sharp cut instead came across the back of his shin, slicing through his armour as if it were paper. Zyle grit his teeth again as he felt no resistance from muscle or bone, and instead brought his sword along again across Darren's back, but he hardly flinched even as the metal tore and broke.

Across from them, Minerle stood up and faced Anna.

"Glamour release!" she shouted. Her true form was revealed in an instant: her hair was a darker shade, her ears more pointed than before like a fey elf, with two small horns potruding from the top of her head, and her skin was an alabaster white. "I'm a Sylvan, sweetie. " she then winked at Anna, as two blood magic whips formed in both hands.

"I thought something seemed a little too familiar about you," the pixie cooed back, curling a lock of her wispy hair with a finger. "You use your half blood powers well, I see. Shame your human half holds you back, sweetheart."

Minerle narrowed her eyes. "Bloodletting Melody: Dance of the Black Rose!" Her incantation was heard across the rooftops, both of her whips rose as she began to spin them, creating two whirlwinds of arcane energy tinged with blood. the tornadoes generated more blood bolts towards Anna, Minerle hoped to catch Anna within them.

Anna only smiled. She raised her arms and turned her palms upwards, letting more of her own vines begin to bind her arms, raising her slightly further up off from the ground. As the blood bolts danced towards her she brought her arms across, lashing out with her own vines to slash, tear, and pierce the very arcane essence of the spells, knocking them aside and keeping her safe from harm. She smiled as those tornados build up momentum, until Minerle laughed and lashed out both of her whips, sending those swirling vortexes of magic towards the pixie.

The ethereal form stretched her large, insect-like wings, and they quivered slightly. She bit her lower lip, extended her wings fully, pulled them back and beat them once, more than enough to send her spiralling upwards into the sky, above the vortexes of magic that stormed below her. Anna raised one hand, arcane light pooling in her hand, a glimmering white sphere that sparkled and flickered. It radiated and shook, unstable in her hand, and Anna let out a laugh of her own.

The orb exploded, raining down crystaline bolts of white magic down upon Minerle, scorching the ground beneath them, the rays of energy slowly trailing along where Anna pointed, forcing Minerle to duck, weave, and move clear out of the way as the pixie drew a trail of seared ground with her fingertip. "Dance for me," the pixie laughed.

REYNIR/ALFEN VS ORUS

"Well that was unexpected..." Orus anounced, as he brushed both hands against each other and then held them there. He stood formally, calmly, with his head raised high in a display of self-professed superiority. "I didn't expect you to arrive here at all, Reynir, let alone stand and survive against Gilgan. Then again, he did prove himself to be a rash fool, so I suppose he couldn't have been too hard to outwit.

His vision panned over to where the two mages had been fighting, and the large, cleaved gap in the clouds where Zyle's beam had cut through. "Or perhaps I underestimated Zyle's own power. He seems to have worn himself out from that display alone."

"What's- what's the matter, Orus? Stalling? Worried you're not just having to beat up kids now?" Alfen snapped. "Some leader. What a joke."

There was the briefest flash of a smile on Orus' face before he spoke. "Explosion Art: Genocide Rain".

He brought his hand out, his palm open and facing upwards. For a moment there was nothing, until a swirling, black and red orb began to form in his hand. Reynir wanted to give him no time to respond, and brought his own hands up which crackled with electricity. He pulled his arm back and hurled a lightning bolt forwards, but Orus simply brought his hand up and the same, crimson black energy appeared in his other hand. He brought his hand out to almost grasp the lightning bolt, and hurled it to the side, blocking it entirely. Then he lifted his hand and the red orb hovered for a moment, before exploding violently, sending out a huge shockwave in all directions.

Large, erratic red beams sprout forth from the hovering orb, splintering high above into hundreds of tinier beams as they cascaded down like rain, obliterating anything in their wake. Alfen missed a few of them as he ducked and weaved around them, until he was struck in the back by a smaller energy bolt,the pained coursed through him, and almost made him faint on the spot. Another barrage of bolts nearly struck him, but Reynir summoned a huge blast of wind, the impossibly sharp blades of air cutting through the shards. Reynir took several blasts himself to shield Alfen, and although he took them without flinching, Alfen and Orus both could tell it left him in pain.

Orus watched the mayhem spread around them with a wider smile on his face, obscured by the collar that he pulled up to cover his mouth. "That's just a taste of my power, you worthless cretins. Be thankful I chose not to unleash that spell at its fullest. This, however-"

Orus form vanished. "Explosion Art: Nitro Sphere" a rather large sphere of explosive magic grew and shot forward.

Reynir turned just as the orb struck him in the back. He brought an arm up to shield it, a crumbling shield of earth forming where the orb struck, but it only served to throw the huge man backwards, his very body leaving a huge cleave in the roof as he was forced backwards. Reynir groaned and slowly brought himself back up to his feet, wiping a small droplet of blood from his forehead as he rose.

"Reynir!" Alfen called out, but the taller man waved him away.

"I-" He winced. "I'm fine." Stone began to reform around his body, a rugged, jagged armour of rock and stone. "He's fast, but I don't think he's untouchable. If I can grab him or slow him down, do you think you can make a good shot?"

Alfen nodded, and Reynir smiled.

"Good. Just be careful..." he said, a concerned expression appearing on his face for a moment before the stone armour covered it. It flashed, runes forming across the armour, before they faded just as quickly. "Make it count."

Orus laughed at both men planning a strategy to fight him. "You both still don't get it do you?" Orus' feet left the floor as his magic allowed him to levitate just above the ground. "My power isn't purely destructive and chaotic, as you might have first though. It has a particular catch, something I added to it from the behest of my mentor." Orus began to explain. He spoke calmly, even as Reynir closed the distance between them in an instant, throwing an open palmed arm thrust towards his chest that missed, followed by another barrage of attacks both physical and magical. "But I'll let you two figure it out," he snarled, a fiendish smirk appearing across his face, his palms glowing with explosive mana and he effortlessly avoided Reynir's strikes, and then responded with his own, each thrown punch exploding with twisting, deep red magic.

Orus' speed and ferocity was as impressive Reynir could sense from him, knowing full well that a blow at full power could do some serious damage, and Reynir immediately shifted his stance. He moved swiftly and kept some distance, dodging and weaving through each explosive enhanced punch that was thrown at him. Something about the energy seemed to linger in te air making it thick and heavy, and Reynir struggled to understand why Orus had so quickly changed his tactics, now fighting fiercely and violently. Just as soon as the explosion mage threw a powerful left hook, Reynir reacted in kind; he grabbed Orus by the shoulders and him around into a hip toss, throwing him to the ground with force. He held the mage in place with earthen pillars that shot from beneath the manor all the way up to the rooftops, holding his arms, legs and torso down, waiting for Alfen. "Now!"

Alfen leapt into the air, summoning what strength he had to raise his one arm up high. "Lightning Creation: Sky Scorcher"" he yelled with all his might, lightning forming within his palm and coiling down his arm, changing into a large golden halberd made from the lightning he manipulated along. He gripped it tightly upon the glistening hilt and, as his leap brought him over the two tustling mages, he aimed the spear directly downwards towards Orus. With strength and ferocity, Alfen lunged forward, throwing the spear down from high above. The spear cut through the air with frightening speed, erupting like thunder as it fell, propelling straight into the ground below into Orus. The Lightnig spear struck a clean blow, sinking into Orus' chest as the volts spread out across his body, creating an explosion of bright lightning. Reynir covered his eyes, stone moving reactionarily to shield himself from the blast, unable to move to safety as he held the explosion mage pinned. The large, swirling dust cloud that had erupted form the spell slowly started to settle, spreading out unti it cleared entirely.

Alfen collapsed on the roof once he landed, the sheer force required to cast the spell combined with such a sudden, sharp fall did much to weaken him. The potency of the spell was far greater than he intended, and it had taken every tiny piece of his willpower not to let the lightning overcome and knock him unconscious instead. Orus, however, was violently twitching, parts of his body beginning to squirm as lightning coursed through his body. The writhing form's skin began to twist and change, its veins darkening into a thick blackish purple, and the skin turning deathly pale. "Alfen, duck-"

Orus body exploded, shattering into a thousand, tiny pieces, and radiating energy in all directions. Reynir was taken off of his feet, thrown backwards and almost tossed off of the roof entirely. Smoke poured from the crater where the eruption had cleared a hole in the roof.

"Explosion Creation: Landmine Clone; a spell I developed for situations where I found myself beaten in numbers, not in cunning. Very useful for sneak attacks too." Orus appeared behind Alfen, pacing slowly towards the young lightning mage.

As soon as Alfen turned around to face the real Orus, he was struck by a powerful bolt. Alfen felt it, almost debilitating him due to his injuries sustained by Zyle previously. His legs gave out underneath him, and Alfen scrambled backwards to return to his feet. "My goal... No, my dream is to turn Edonia into a nation prideful of magic. Proud in its power and might by utilising magic as a weapon, a tool of our greatness. When I see the Edonian Magic Council making pacts and partnerships with inferior nations like Ozalia or Inosha? it deeply saddens me."

Orus raised one hand and brougth it across slowly in a wave, the very air seeming to cleave apart where his hand touched, manifesting as a dozen missle shaped bolts that immediately erupted from their place and shot towards Alfen. A stone barrier burst upwards between them and took the blow, but it wase enough to shatter the shield entirely as Reynir moved quickly to help Alfen back to his feet.

"We don't need the nations that are beneath our feet to think they are on equal terms with us. I'll prove this one way or the other. Whether it means I must topple the tower upon Ozalia or not, my will will be heard!" Orus finished preparing a much more powerful bolt this time, that pooled in his palm, whips of arcane energy lashing out so violently that Reynir had to shield himself and Alfen with another barrier of magic. " Explosion Art: Genocide Cannon!" The enerrgy enveloped Orus' palms before a large purple beam shot forward towards Alfen. the beam clashed head on, the explosion from the impact could be seen from the ground below. The Blast rocketed Alfen off the side of the decadent guild. "And I'm not going to allow worms like you to bring this great nation down to its knees!" Orus retorted.

"Alfen!" both Rita and Reynir yelled. as the young mage's body was hurled backwards. Rita was wide eyed, the first person she had met just a few days, considered to be a rising star of magic was flung aside as he was nothing. "If...if this is the type of power I'll be going around, what chance do I even have?" she asked herself, her hope dwindling by the second.

Vines erupted outwards to grab Alfen's form, coiling around his torso and heaving him back up before he hit the ground, placing him safetly along the side of the roof. Anna had thrust out her arm, catching Alfen and saving what could have been a fatal fall, but Zyle was quick to capitalise, and cut across her arm with a slice of his blade, and she pulled back in pain before unleashing her fury upon the white haired mage.

With Alfen safe, at least for now, Reynir's fear turned to frustration, and quickly into anger, as he turned to Orus and the very ground beneath them began to shake. "I'm not giving you any more chances," Reynir snapped, as he brought a hand up to grasp at the loose grey cloak he wore around his shoulders that billowed in the wind. He grabbed it and pulled firmly, tearing the cloak off from around his shoulders and tossing it aside.

Reynir clenched both of his fists as he approached Orus, lightning dancing off of the now-exposed skin of his chest and arms as he approached, the clouds overhead slowly starting to twist and darken as they had before while Reynir had been fighting Gilgan, and there was a sharp, sudden crack of thunder off in the distance. Stone began to manifest around Reynir's forearms and lower legs in gauntlets and greaves, the electricity jolting across Reynir's body towards the stone armour, until eventually Reynir raised on arm up high.

"Gale Art, Storm Conduit," he snarled, but the last few syllables of his spell were impossible to hear over the enormous crash of thunder as he struck him. Reynir held steady though, his eyes crackling with lightning as he not only endured the lighting strike but seemed to be emboldened by it. He brought the same arm down, pressed his open palm against his chest, and seemed to motion some symbols across his chest, before the lightning dispersed. The same thick, black grey clouds remained overhead. "I am not going to stand by while you hurt my friends, nor am I going to let you try and destroy what peace we still have in this world. You claim to seek a stronger Edonia governed purely by mages, but it is the unity between mages and non-mages that has been the foundation of Edonia, and it was that same unity that gave us the strength to fight through your forces and to find you."

Orus watched unimpressed.

"Stone Spirit Evoker!" Reynir yelled, as a huge torrent of wind hurled him forward, his feet barely touching the floor as he closed the distance between himself and Orus in a moment. Electricity crackled around Reynir's form as he threw a lightning infused punch which Orus dodged, but Reynir's speed had increased tenfold, and a second uppercut landed a clean blow against Orus' jaw. "Tempest!"

Stone formed around Reynir's form entirely, encasing him in solid, glistening shards of grey stone that channeled the electricty that surrouned his form perfectly. His legs disassembled, the stone that formed them splitting into their own small, whirling tornados, and with them Reynir hovered off of the ground, launching himself upwards to fly before dropping down again with incredible force, slamming his fist into the ground and missing, but knocking Orus backwards with the electrical discharge that followed. A single great, enormous stone hand reached outwards and grabbed Orus around the chest, raising him up and preparing to slam him into the ground. He would have, if Orus had not vanished from his grasp, teleporting aside and summoning a barrage of tiny arcane bolts to pierce Reynir's new stone hide. The spells pinged off harmlessly, and Reynir's transformation was complete, as the hulking, edged stone form of his Tempest armour had properly manifested.

Orus showed slight frustration at the uselessness of his bolts that pinged off the now stone armored mage. "Do you think you can really stop my dream?!" Orus shouted.

"Yes because against people like you, I will be this world's guardian," Reynir yelled, as the whirlwind of stones that surrounded him began to pick up in speed and intensity, and a fierce blast of cracklingly hot wind was propelled towards Orus, engulfing him in the searing whirlwind.

Orus was both stunned and impressed with the offensive that Reynir had given during their fight. He felt the heat wash over him as he was engulfed by the whirlwind of stones that radiated from Reynir, and the sharp winds that he propelled felt like sharp blades upon his being, slicing and cutting with great ferocity. "That idiot must've meant something to you then. No matter," he called out light, his eyes more focused than ever as he generated a powerful force to dispell the whirlwind he was trapped within. Orus's clothes were ragged and worn from being trapped within Reynir's spell, and some of the blades of air made surprisingly deep wounds, but they did nothing to halt his casting.

The large mage moved in closer at frightening striking Orus once again directly in the stomach, followed with a hammering strike downwards onto Orus with his elbow. as Orus free falled towards the roof Reynir quickly moved down, readying a powerful knee strike, electricity crackling down his lower half.

Orus saw his chance. "Nitro Sphere!" He generated a sphere of explosive energy and propelled it towards Reynir with a single arm thrust. Reynir managed to dodge it and move to intercept Orus, gliding through the air effortlessly and with incredible speed, moving in sharp, short bursts almost like a cascading bolt of lightning. it wasn't until Reynir got closer he noticed the similarities to the previous decoy. The explosion was much bigger, sending Reynir to the roof below. Not much damage was inflicted upon him, encased in sturdy stone, but it did knock the wind from his lungs.

As Rita looked upon the unconscious form of Alfen, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being this pathetic I didn't mean for harm to come t- wait?" Rita saw Alfen twitching, what remained of where Zyle had sliced off his arm, crackling and surrounding itself with electrical energy. The lightning quickly consumed Alfen who disappeared in a blink of an eye, Rita gentle grasp on his side finding no purchase. Rita was confused and shocked, not knowing just what happened but saw nothing but scenes of battle around herself.

Orus slowly descended to meet Reynir until his feet touched the ground again, a smile on his face. "Its such a waste that you would protect the status quo and a people who don't deserve peace. Your strength would've been a shining beacon for all promising mages to be." Orus stated. He raised his palm to Reynir, the energy began to pool near it into a large sphere. "Explosion Art: Genocide Cannon". Orus' palm glowed brightly as the sphere manifested in his hand. Orus smiled and readied himself to release the spell. At the last second a hand grabbed the explosive mage's wrist and pulled it upwards. The beam, which was at full power fired off into the sky, tearing through the clouds above them and very nearly cleaving through the skyship whose cannons were pointed at the battlefield. Orus quickly moved backwards, breaking free from whomever grabbed him.

It was Alfen, only his form was demonic; golden lightning energy comprised most of his body, his face featureless except for elongated protrusions on the sides of his head like ears and shadow shapes resembling a face without a nose. His hair was spiked up and golden, brushed backwards and crackling like electricity. Two large perenhsile tails moved freely behind him, hooked with terrifying stingers.

"Reynir," Alfen spoke, his voice deeper and almost an ethereal hiss, much like the lighting that formed his body. "Leave this piece of shit to me".

Orus almost snarled. "Don't you dare talk about me as if I'm nothing!" he shouted, feeling insulted that Alfen of all people was treated him like a lowlife.

Reynir could sense something off with Alfen's current, it was both him and not him at the same, as if something inside him was taking control. He remembered just what Luwin told him: that Alfen was a Devil Siphoner; a case that a mage had siphoned himself to a devil spirit. He kept it a secret for a reason, that Alfen could never fully control the demonic energy that resided in himself, and Reynir could already sense how powerful of a force it was. He pulled himself to his feet and turned briefly to Rita, then back to Alfen. He had to get her away. He had to get everyone away.

He was clearly not the only one to have taken note.

"What is he?" Minerle asked, looking rather stunned herself.

"Devil siphoner," Zyle said.

"Oh, how thrilling," Anna replied. "Maybe now we'll get to see a real fight."

"I think we need to leave," Darren suggested, his demonic form faltering for a moment before it returned.

"Anna. Darren!" Reynir yelled as he approached the two, his stone armour fading for a brief moment. "You two need to leave. Take Rita with you and tell that ship to fly as far away as they can. Make sure everyone's out of the vicinity as soon as possible.

Anna laughed. "Oh please, we can take care of our-"

"That wasn't a suggestion, it was an order," Reynir snapped.

Anna winced, and the shock sent her straight out of her form, the arcane, humanoid body fizzling away into nothing, revealing the tiny form of a pixie who flew weakly on her wings, out of breath and lacking the usual sparkle that trailed her form. She nodded slowly, clutching her hands tightly and holding them to her chest. "Y-yes. Sorry, Reynir, I-"

"It's fine, Anna," Reynir continued. "I snapped. I'm sorry. But you need to leave. Alfen is getting stronger by the moment and it's not safe to be here."

Minerle smirked at the sight of Anna returning to her pixie form. "It seems being half human has its advantages" She gloated.

Darren nodded. "We'll get everyone out, don't worry What're you going to do?"

Reynir grit his teeth and turned back to Alfen, who whiplashed his tails around and caught Orus in the cheek, searing his skin as if he had been hit by lighting itself. "I'm going to get Alfen back, and then I'm going to put an end to this."

Darren surprised Reynir by holding out his hand to shake, and Reynir hesitantly took it. "Good to have ya' back, Reynir. Look after the kid and make sure he comes back alive. Luwin will have my head if anything happened to him, ya hear?" He smiled.

"You two are going to want to leave too," Reynir said, turning his head to Zyle and Minerle. "Unless you value Orus' life over your own."

Zyle helped Minerle to her feet, a nasty wound from one of Darren's claws having caught her leg in the previous battle. Minerle coughed. "Oh please, he can't be that stro-" Zyle leaned in close and whispered something in her ear, and her eyes widened. "Alright, let's go."

The shattered pieces that formed Alfen began to displace again, shimmer and shaking in place. He placed a hand on the side of Minerle's face, cupping her cheek, and those same ethereal shards began to manifest across her form. Zyle shot one last singular look towards Alfen, now a rampaging beast, before his form and Minerle's alike shattered, their pieces catching the wind and fluttering into nothingness, accompanied by a warping sound almost like twisting metal. They were gone.

"Rita, let's go," Anna said, as Darren wrenched free the iron, magical chains that held her in place.

"But Alfen is-"

"There's no time, Rita," Darren said, as he helped her up to her feet, only to scoop her up in his arms and carry her when he realised how uneasy he was on her feet. "Nice to finally meet ya, little miss, my name's Darren Sazer, fellow Holy Hawk Guildmate to Alfen and Reynir. Don't worry about the kid, he's too stubborn to get himself killed.."

Rita held back another tear but nodded, looking over Darren's shoulder to see the battle rage. "You can do it, Alfen!" she yelled. "I believe in you!"

Darren leapt off the side of the building, Anna darting after her on feylike wings, and in a moment they were gone too. Reynir turned his attention back to the battle between Orus and Alfen, and threw himself to the ground as an enormous spear of rippling red and black magic cut through the air just above his head, narrowly missing taking it off entirely.

Orus fired off numerous explosive bolts at Alfen, the same enormous spears of energy. Both his tails swiped and whipped the bolts away, sending them spiralling into the sky until they exploded.

Alfen snarled. "My turn".

No sooner than he finished speaking, a barrage of erratic lightning bolts shot forward to Orus as Alfen lashed his tails forward, each one hurling a lightning bolt over and over. They formed into rippling spears that seemed to shift between physical and ethereal, almost a perfect mimicry of Orus spear spell, but it crackled with primal lightning.

"Thats... that's like my attack?!" Orus exclaimed, the first time Reynir had heard an ounce of fear in his voice since they had been introduced.

He narrowly duckedd between the bolts, a few struck him with surprising amount of force and pushed him back slightly, others he deflected with barriers but most shattered the moment they were hit, overwhelmed by Alfen's magic. This isn't the same idiot I faced! Orus thought to himself, just as another bolt struck him in the gut, forcing him to the ground. Not even the same idiot Zyle faced!

The electricity that crackled along Alfen's demonic skin had only grown more intense now, swirling around not only his body but the entire rooftop, clouding it in a tiny but intense electrical storm. Orus struggled to hold himself steady as the lightning battered him, and even as his vision briefly turned from the monster before him to the vague form of Reynir who approached from the other side of the rooftop, he saw the hulking earth mage struggling under the force of Alfen's magic himself. Stone armour still steeled his form, but Reynir's approach was slow, one arm raised to shield his face from the force of the magical storm.

"Alfen!" Reynir called, but his voice was overpowered by the howl of the storm.

Orus tried his best to find his feet, but before he could hurl off another arcane barrage the enormous clawed hand of Alfen's demonic form grasped around his chest and brought him up to eye height, and Alfen snarled, a large grin on his face, exposing the blade-like teeth that now took up his mouth. Orus grabbed for Alfen's hands, thrusting tiny, arcane daggers into his wrist, but Alfen hardly flinched.

Slowly Alfen brought his other hand up, pressing it firmly against the side of Orus' face, searing against the older mage's skin. Alfen grinned even wider. "Demonic Thunder Art: Killer Wave Blast".

The eruption was deafening, and Orus felt his mind go blank, his hearing vanish for a moment, and something warm and wet begin to pool in his ears. The blast was enough to tear the older man from Alfen's grasp entirely, hurling him across the rooftop with incredible speed, his body crashing and ragdolling across the ground, limp but not yet lifeless.

"W-what is he?!" Was the only word that escaped his mouth before a tail batted him back again. The tail struck him, Orus could feel an agonizing pain, he was sure a few of his ribs were broken.

"A Devil Siphoner," Reynir replied, his form still cloaked in stone, one fist dug deep into the structure of the rooftop to hold himself still. Most of the platform had been destroyed now, and only now did Orus notice the pillars of stone that had been freshly erected, holding the remains of the building in place, clearly crafted by Reynir himself. "He's gaining more power and losing more control by the second."

"How dare you claim him to be more powerful than I-"

An enormous, sweeping uppercut came across and struck Orus in the jaw, silencing him and sending him slamming into one of Reynir's stone pillars. "H- how dare y-" Orus wheezed, but found himself unable to finish his sentence.

Alfen grinned wider, his form twisting and contorting into an even more demonic form, as he clenched his fists and stopped towards the crippled body of Orus. He raised a fist to strike him with one mighty blow, and let out an almighty laugh as he thrust his arm forward.

But something caught it. Alfen's fury faded for a moment as he followed the trail of his extended arm, and saw where a pair of stone covered fists caught his own. Reynir stood there, wincing as he held back the tide of Alfen's magically infused punch, enough to shatter most of the stone armour that Reynir wore excluding the stone gauntlets that wrapped around his fists and forearms.

"Alfen, stop!" Reynir barked. Alfen tilted his head, as Reynir shoved the devil siphoner's hand aside. He took a few steps forward, standing confidently in front of the now much taller form of Alfen. "You've done enough!"

"Maybe I did go a little overboard," Alfen replied, but he only tilted his head and laughed. "Still have one problem I need to solve though," he continued, and turned his attentions back to Orus, who limply raised a hand to cast a spell which once again pinged harmlessly off of Alfen's hide.

"Demonic Thunder Ar-"

"I am not going to allow you to kill this man, Alfen," Reynir snapped. "You're better than this. The Alfen I knew would never-"

"The Alfen you know isn't here!"

Alfen barged past, and when Reynir attempted to hold him back, the devil siphoner swung one arm across and smashed it into Reynir's torso with enough force to send him flying. The older mage gasped for breath as he crashed to the ground, wiping away what distinctly felt like blood from his forehead, his vision going dizzy for a moment. He watched as Alfen stood above the injured Orus, still howling with laughter, as lighting fell from the skies and lit up the battlefield. He brought one hand up, letting an enormous spear of lighting form in his hands, borne from the very storms his summoned, and pointed the tip at Orus' heart.

"I'm going to enjoy making you suffer," Alfen hissed, as he pulled the spear back an inch and prepapred to ram it forwards.

Reynir called out to him. "Alfen, plea-"

"Alfen, please, stop it!"

It was another voice that called out this time, softer and more feminine. It immediately drew Alfen's attention. Who was it? He recognised that voice, clear above even the rampaging storms around him, but he remembered not where he knew it from. His eyes fell on a form, transfixed for a moment as he tried to decipher the blurry images that appeared before him. "R- Rita?"

Rita stood there, clothes scrapped and torn, wounded and exhausted, but she stood there, tears filling her eyes. She made one slow step forwards, and then another, slowly approaching the devil siphoner. She was uneasy with her footing, but determined enough in her stance. "Alfen, please, you don't need to do this. Reynir is right, it's not who you are!"

"It's not... who I am?"

"You're letting your siphoned spirit control you, and now you're destroying everything around you! I can see it in your eyes, you're losing yourself piece by piece! If you don't stop now then- then-"

Alfen's bravado faultered, and his form slowly shifted, a few of his most demonic traits starting to receed, although he was still distinctly monstrous. "I just... I thought I could help."

"You can!" Rita called. "And you have helped. You wanted to save everyone and you have!"

Alfen turned slowly to the wounded form of Orus, who seemed to lack the energy to struggle anymore.

"You don't need to fight anymore..."

Alfen's form slowly returned to normal, the electricty around him dispelling and the storm that raged about settled until clear skies could once again be seen overhead. Alfen collapsed to the ground, on his knees and one remaining arm, as his right arm which had previously been replaced by magic alone, fizzled and faded, leaving the same wounded stump that Alfen struggled to stomach. He gasped for breath as exhaustion took him, and he quickly fell to the floor proper, clutching the painful wound on his right. Rita was quickly beside him, helping him roll over onto his back, and letting him rest his head on her lap. She affectionally brushed a few locks of hair out from his face, and wiped away the blood on his brow with a small piece of cloth.

Alfen managed to weakly speak. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"I don't want to hear it," Rita replied, smiling. "As long as everyone's safe."

Orus laughed. Something in him had snapped, and he laughed loudly, menacingly, and mad with rage. "You...How dare you!" He almost screamed, pointing one slightly crooked finger towards Alfen. "I refuse to let some weak maggots like you make a fool of me! I will destroy this entire place with my power if that is what it takes to prove my superiority to you. I will show you all that I'm not some....weakling to laugh at"

Orus eyes glowed as did his palms, which he brought together and an enormous, frightening power burst between his hands. "Siphoned Explosion Art: 100% Genocide Cannon!" Placing both his palms together, aiming towards the abandoned guild manor, a crazed and wild look in his eyes. "I'll destroy everyone!" a large sphere of explosive purple energy rapidly pooled together as it grew.

"R-Rita, run!" Alfen spluttered.

"I'm not going to-"

"Yes, stay!" Orus screamed. "And die with them!"

Orus brought his palms apart and unleashed the energy. His veins burst with bright purple light as he channeled the magic of his spell right into his palms, creating a giant powerful beam of explosive energy enough to level a block.. Rita raised her arms and cast the most powerful defensive charm she could, but even that would pale compared to the energy that Orus created.

"Rita, I said run!" Alfen yelled, pushing her away.

"And I said I'm not going t-"

Their vision was consumed by purple light as energy erupted around them, the energy biting at their skin through Rita's defensive charms, before all the light around them turned a solid, pitch black.

Orus spell erupted around them, purple light consuming the entire manor and its surrounding lands, burning it to ash and tearing it apart. An enormous barrier was erected around the skyship overhead just before the light hit it, a crystaline blue sphere that shielded the ship from harm. Aboard it stood a man, arm raised as he cast the impressive barrier, and aboard the helm of the ship stood those that had escaped the battle. The enforcers watched stoically, with Anna, Darren, Mona, and Crossbones watching with them. Anna clutched tightly to Crossbones' shoulder, and Mona paced back and forth impatiently as they waited for the light to fade. Henry looked on, his eyes widened, thinking the worst has happened to his sister. He turned to Reeves, anger in his eyes. "This is your fault! You got her into this situation! You bastard!" Henry shouted, as both Aegor and Darren held him back from doing something he'd regret.

When it did, all they saw was a crater. An enormous, smoke-filled crated that had been carved from the ground. The manor was nothing, everything from its stonework to its roofing had been destroyed, wiped clean from existence, and a deep basin had been formed where the eruption had destroyed everything in a perfect circle, the ground still cracked and irradiated with purple energy.

"Are they okay?" Crossbones asked. "Can you see anything?"

An unfamiliar voice spoke. "We will find Reynir and my grandson. I have complete faith in Reynir's abilities. He's probably the most powerful mage to step into the Holy Hawk Guild's halls, he will not let Alfen and the young lady die!" Luwin stepped forward, looking at the ragtag group. "Mona, you've formed quite the impressive team" he added, dispelling the barrier as quickly as he put it up.

The smoke slowly began to fade, and the ship began its slow descent to rest only a dozen metres off of the ground, its enormous engines kicking up dust and ash on the ground. Its crew quickly touched down on the ground, the party of Anna, Darren, Mona, and Crossbones the first to land, and quickly made their way to the edge of the destruction zone.

"I still can't see anything..." Mona replied, her voice sorrowful.

Dante appeared behind her. "Look! Over there!"

He pointed towards the centre of the destruction field, to a small obtrustion in the otherwise smooth stone. A single sphere of stone, which shuddered and shook, before crumbling to pieces. It revealed a figure, large for a human, who collapsed onto his knees once his barrier fell.

"Is that Reynir?" Anna asked.

The figure turned to look up to the group, wiping ash and dirt from his face, before he very slowly rose to his feet. It was Reynir! He coughed heavily, before bringing one hand down to the ground and parting the stone beneath his feet. He wiped his brow with his other hand and then pulled, grasping onto something that was buried beneath his feet. He pulled and with it came a hand, and then an arm, until he pulled an entire human form from beneath the ground. It was weak, lying on its side, but it was definitely alive.

"Alfen!" Anna yelled, and quickly began to move, skirting across the ground on her tiny wings with incredible speed. The others joined her, heavier footsteps that stormed across the ruined battlefield towards them.

They watched as Reynir reached into the chasm a second time, pulling out a second, more feminine form. Rita. The three of them collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, but otherwise unharmed.

Alfen looked at Rita with a weak smile. "Guess we made it out alive!" he cheered in defiance of the destruction that lay about them, Rita exchanging with her own uneasy smile.

"It's finally over," she said with a sigh of relief.

Alfen stumbled in his step as the exhaustion caught up with him and the adrenaline left him. He clutched his arm, expecting to find an open, gushing wound, but instead found the skin burned and cauterised. It was impossibly painful to touch, but he was trying to keep as calm as he could. The transformation must have cauterised the wound, he thought to himself, as he felt an arm reach out to help support him. It was Reynir, who gave him a comforting smile, which Alfen returned.

"Alfen! Rita!" a small voice cheered, as a tiny form appeared in their field of view before wrapping two tiny arms around them as best she could. "I was so worried, I thought- I thought-"

"We missed you too, Anna," Rita laughed, hugging her gently with one arm.

"You two nearly gave me a heart attack, I swear!"

"Well, we're alright now," Alfen replied. "I think we should-"

The rubble nearby started to move, a faint violet glow emanating from it. Reynir wasted no time, immediately clenching his fist and tearing the earth around it apart, revealing the form that moved beneath. It was Orus, his body battered and bloody, barely able to drag him out of from underneath. He breathed heavily, and struggled against the magic that bound him as stone wrapped around his arms and legs, holding him in place. He spat blood, looking directly at Reynir, Alfen, and Rita, then briefly turning to scowl at the other mages that came out of the skyship. A blood vessel had popped in his left eye, staining it red, and his leg jut out at an impossible angle, now only supported by his stone bindings. He struggled again, grinning wildly.

"I... I am going to kill all of-!" His voice faltered with a cough as he spluttered out more blood.

Alfen pulled himself up onto his feet, taking a few slow steps towards the Oroborus Mage. Orus struggled and fought against his binds, and with what was left of his strength he tore his arm free, lashing out to grab Alfen, but his wrist was caught in stone again and dragged downwards with a sickening crack that may have broken his arm. Orus made no sounds of pain or discomfort, instead his face twisting into grin as Alfen approached and grabbed him by the collar.

"If it weren't for my friends, you'd be dead. Remember that," Alfen snapped as he brought his head back and thrust it forward with a powerful headbutt. Orus fell back unconscious, no longer fighting against his binds.

The exertion made Alfen stumble, and he clutched onto the stone just to hold himself up. Rita stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, letting him rest against her. He smiled. "Thank you, Rita... I would've lost myself if it weren't for you," he said with a weak but happy smile.

Rita blushed as she helped him move back to the gathering of the enforcers and mages. Reynir let the stone bindings of Orus recede so that Aegor could catch and cuff him, and then pulled him up with his magic. Aegor said nothing as he carried him off to the ship, but waved a hand towards the ship's crew off in the distance, and a small group of mages dressed in white and red scurried out from the ship. Medimancers, who quickly went about to tend to the injured. The crew at first, but a few rapidly made their way down into the crater and tended to Reynir, Alfen, and Rita. Reynir waved them off, magic already starting to patch up his wounds, and instead helped with Rita and her wounds.

Two of them brought a stretcher across.

"Mr Van Dragoon," one of them said, lending a hand to help Alfen, motioning towards the stretcher. "Please, come with us, and we can tend to your woun-"

"I'm fine," Alfen replied. "Trust me. I'm-" he winced. "I'm good."

"Still as stubborn as ever, I see," a deep voice said, followed by the increasingly familiar sound of footsteps approaching. "My son, it's so good to see you."

"Grandpa?" Alfen asked, recoginsing the voice in an instant. They shared a brief embrace and they both smiled. "What're you doing here?"

"We'll have plenty of time to talk about this once you've had that arm tended to. How you're still standing, and even taking this so casually, is beyond me."

Alfen paused for a moment before nodding, and slowly sitting himself down on the stretcher that the two medical mages carried, before being taken off towards the ship. Luwin stroked his beard slowly as he watched Alfen disappear off into the ship, his comforting smile fading into one of sheer relief. He turned to Reynir and nodded. "Thank you for protecting my grandson."

"He means as much to me as he does to you, Luwin," Reynir said. "I'm just sorry I couldn't do more."

"Nonsense," Luwin replied. "He's alive thanks to you. To all of you. I owe you all too much."

Reynir brought a hand over to shake, which Luwin accepted. "Then let's consider us even."
Luwin nodded in agreement. "To be honest, I was hoping you'd return to the guild hall, if only to help with Monarch's investigation. Alfen will need some time to recover." Luwin asked, as both mages were approached by Darren. "If you're worried about the Firaxen Border, I can pull some favors from the Lucky Hearts Guild in sending a few of their strongest to protect the the more exposed villages. They are always willing for a good fight." Darren sweetened the deal further.

Reynir folded both arms and sighed. "You know why I left in the first place, Luwin. I've got a job to do out here, and it's not something I can just pass off to the Lucky Hearts Guild." He sighed, bringing a hand up to rub his temple. "It's complicated to explain at the moment. I'm sorry."

"Bummer, pretty sure my connections would've done the trick." Darren patted Reynir on the back. "The offer will always be open to you."

Luwin moved in closer to Reynir. "the truth is, I fear that Alfen's devil spirit is growing in power, you've seen how unrational and crazy it can be. I could sense the massive pooling of dark mana from him. You know I would not ask you if I wasn't desperate. He looks up to you, I think your presence around him would help him in controlling the spirit. I'm not asking for a permenant return." Luwin pleaded.

Reynir closed his eyes to consider the proposition more seriously. It was true, Alfen's devil spirit was growing in power. He knew it was strong, but the demonstration today was immense, and Reynir could sense a looming power surrounding Alfen even now. He shook his head, before looking out and around as the destructive wasteland that had been left in the wake of the battle. If Alfen had not been stopped, Reynir suspected the rampage would have left a far greater trail of destruction behind them all.

He sighed. "...Then I want you to know I'm doing this for Alfen's sake, give me a fortnight and I'll be with you. I want to be in charge of Alfen's training too. I've known him long enough, and he learns well from me. I doubt he'll be too happy if you pair him up with one of your teachers when they insist on treating him like a child."

Luwin nodded. "That can be arranged."

"Rita! My god, I was worried to death!" called out a masculine voice.

The voice could be heard even from a distance. Rita, who had only just stepped aboard the ship, was met with a larger figure who embraced her. The voice was Henry's, and he held her tight. Just over the sounds of movement, as the crew darted back and forth to make what repairs to the ship were necessary and treat those who had been wounded, their voices could be heard. A second form appeared, and Reynir smiled when he saw Reeves approach her himself. Reeves made his way to his children, a look of relief and genuine love upon his face. Rita freed herself from the grip of her brother and walked up to her father.

"My little girl," he said. "You're safe. I hope you can forgi-"

Reeves was interrupted by a sharp slap across his face from Rita. She looked on, with a mix of fear, anger, and small amount of relief knowing her father cared enough to come himself. "I'm not coming back! I'm going to join The Holy Hawks Guild and become one of the best witches you will ever see! And then it will be me rescuing my friends!" She said with ambition and a drive to be stronger behind her words.

He stood there, shocked by the abrasive of his own daughter. For a moment the young girl recoiled, but Reeves sighed, his shoulders laxened, and he pulled Rita in fort a tight hug. "I don't care about that. I'm just happy you're safe."

Rita smiled.

A hand fell to her shoulder, and she turned to inspect it. It was Luwin who welcomed her with a smile. "My dear, I couldn't help but hear that you plan to join my guild?"

Rita's nerves were shot all over the place as she trembled in her shoes. "Y-yes sir..." She shyed almost immediately, but Luwin laughed heartilly in a way that reminder her so much of Alfen, and she could not help but smile in turn.

"Well my dear, once we get back to the Guild Hall I will begin the ceremony! If Alfen was so willing to risk himself like this to save you then he must care deeply for you, and it is the least I could do. Welcome to the Holy Hawks; In Strength We Grow, in friendship We Live!"

Darren, just across from them, raised their hands in the air and smiled, the universal gesture of the guild. Luwin nodded and repeated the gesture, and soon so did Rita, who laughed.

Darren smirked before looking down at the young pixie that skirted the scene, before approaching to smile up at him. "I never expected such power from you, Anna. It was an honour to team up with you" he stated.

She brought a hand up to scratch the back of her head nervously. "W- well, it was nothing, really! I had to help, didn't I? I just... sorry if I got a little, uh... too caught up in the moment."

Across from them, watching with a smile, sat Crossbones. Monarch stood behind him, slowly piecing through his armour and his gear, removing the mechanical components piece by piece. They whirred and hummed with energy, most of it intensly hot to the touch, but she handled it painlessly with her mechanical claw. Crossbones' body still flooded with adrenaline, and only now was the pain of the battle with Kazan beginning to catch up with him.

He winced as Monarch pulled a piece of metal that had lodged itself in his shoulder out, a piece just under an inch long. "How you can still walk after fights like these is beyond me. Most of these shards are from your own weapons."

"Kazan hit hard," Crossbones replied. "I hit harder."

"If you keep it up with that attitude you're going to-"

Mona brought her hand around to pry a piece of Crossbones' gauntlet from his arm, where the metal had melted against the skin of his arm. She showed little mercy, wreching the piece off of his arm and forcing a pained howl from Crossbones, who immediately brougth his other hand to cover the wound. Mona bat his hand away and danced her one true hand across it, dulling the pain and starting the slow healing process.

"-you're going to hit worse than I can patch you up."

He grit his teeth, holding himself back from snapping from the pain.

"What?" Monarch said. "Did you just want me to leave it there? I am going to have to fix or replace almost all of the gear you brought today. Do you know how expensive that's going to be?"

Crossbones smirked. "I love it when you pretend you care more about the equipment than me."

Mona bat him in the shoulder playfully, purposefully pressing into one of his sore wounds.

Aegor approached both Crossbones and Monarch only moments later. Crossbones rose from his seat and stood attentively, as did Monarch, and waited for him to speak first.

"I must thank you for your cooperation in bringing in the terrorist group known as Oroborus Society, however, since you conducted this raid without proper authority from the Archmage Council, I must insist that at some point in the near future you come to the Council Headquarters in the capital and give a full report to both me and the council themselves." Aegor stated bluntly with authority.

The two magitechnicians shot each other a glance. Crossbones spoke first. "Of course, sir. If we had known the severity of the mission prior to today then we would have alerted the proper authorities."

"By the time we had realised who was involved there was no chance for a proper investigation to have been authorised without risking loss of life," Monarch contributed.

"And you know you're interfering with anti-terrorist opperations on foreign soil, don't y-"

Mona interupted. "Sir, it is within our legal obligation as technicians of the Ozalian University of Technology to interfere when innocent life is at risk, even on Edonian soil, as per the Ozalian-Edonian treaties, as would be the same for Enforcers operating in Ozalia."

"And Monarch has connections to the Holy Hawks Guild, which to my knowledge is the current lead guild of magic and siphoning, sir, as well as dual citizenship as both an Edonian and an Ozalian. She had every right to come to Edonia's aid in its time of need."

Dante and some of the nearby enforcers both went pale as they all carefully watched their superior. Aegor was not known to take legal talk from others outside of his jurisdiction lightly, but Monarch and Crossbones stood unflinching at his glare. "You are correct, I don't mean to come across as a prude" Aegor replied, dante sighed in relief. "I'm just following protocol." Aegor added as he then made his way to the bridge.

Luwin bowed respetfully at Monarch and Crossbones, approaching to them as they finally relaxed. "I'm glad to see my guests are safe and sound, remember that you're always welcome at the Holy Hawks Guild. There's something you both will need to know if you plan to still hire my grandson for your investigation though," Luwin said, as his relieved and happy tone slowly faded into a more sombre and serious one.

"I should tell you a little more about Alfen. Alfen has always been the black sheep of the family, He's a third generation Van Dragoon mage but without a Aspect Siphoned Spirit. He performed the Siphoning Ritual in a bid to make himself stronger so that his father would see him in a more favourable light. Not only was he successful, but he was too successful and siphoned a devil. I've tried my best to place barriers upon his true power. See, his spirit has tried on a few occassions to take complete control. This is how I got my scar."

He removed his left hand's glove and rolled up his sleeve, showing both Crossbones and Monarch the burnt scar, blackened and charred, "Reynir is strong, and I can't imagine a better teacher to help Alfen control his power, but if Alfen loses control again, I know Reynir will care too much for him to hurt him. I know I hardly have the right to ask you this, but I want you to promise me that if Alfen ever shows signs of losing himself you will stop him if Reynir does not. He's still my grandson, and I beg of you not to hurt him if you can help it,
but I know he would understand if it meant keeping blood off of his hands." Luwin placed glove back on and rolled down his sleeve.

Crossbones and Mona looked to each other for a moment. Monarch was the first to return her gaze to Luwin, and she nodded. "We'll keep an eye on him. The university has equipment for these sorts of situations, I am sure the two of us can procure some. Most of it is designed to neutralise, not kill, so with luck we should be able to help him without hurting him."

Crossbones gave an uneasy smile, but held out a thick hand for Luwin to shake which he did. "We'll keep him safe, don't worry. It's good to see you again."

"Likewise," Luwin nodded.