Grif of Hearts

𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚍𝚘𝚖 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑

Goodness this chat speeds by quick, and characters have come flooding in. Apologies for the delay on my own character, but progress is steady and I'm still here! Loving a lot of the characters so far, and very interested to see them played!

𝙺𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚍𝚘𝚖 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑

Hello lovelies. Thanks for the alert, I'll get to work on a character sheet soon, and may pester Poet sometime shortly to discuss ideas.

I remember some of the stats referencing magic or the occult, but they seem to be removed in this current version of the character sheet. I imagine magic might play a stronger role as we go through the story but will have almost nothing to do with our former lives, but that's for Poet to say.

Kingdom Death

Now, now, don't be so hasty. This'll just be like taking a pleasant stroll, surely.

Kingdom Death

This looks quite interesting and I'd like to tag along if at all possible, assuming you haven't already garnered enough interest. Always a fan of some dark fantasy so I'm very eager to delve in and see how the setting ticks.

So it's been a little while~

Thank you, and lovely to meet you! With luck I'll be around for a good while longer.

So it's been a little while~

Hello everyone!

Old member returning to test the waters and see if I can get back into the flow of writing regularly again. Haven't done much in the way of roleplaying in quite a while but I'm sure I can dust the cobwebs off, as old as that makes me sound, and it'll be nice to give it a go after all this time. Lovely to meet you all, and I look forward to writing with you soon~!

Academia Crystalis: A Magitek adventure

I'll be getting to work on my character soon, Hellis!

Tales of Edonia (Darog + Grif of Hearts)

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.

Tales of Edonia (Darog + Grif of Hearts)

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."

Fire Emblem: Nemesis

[Placeholder that I meant to put down here four days ago~]