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 [i]dream[/i] 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 [b]dare[/b] talk about me as if I'm [b]nothing[/b]!" 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. [i]This isn't the same idiot I faced![/i] Orus thought to himself, just as another bolt struck him in the gut, forcing him to the ground. [i]Not even the same idiot Zyle faced![/i]

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 [b]dare you[/b]!" 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 [b]laugh at[/b]"


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. "[b]I'll destroy everyone![/b]"  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. [i]The transformation must have cauterised the wound[/i], 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.