Kaiga Agniyastra

---

Anyone looking at Kaiga would notice his body's small twitches from time to time, in his mind, he was still falling to the floor with Setsuka...and then. Kaiga fell to his knees, huffing and puffing before getting back up with a hand to his head. "Damnit," an illusion to think he would fall to something as simple as that. "Took you long enough," Dark Kaiga said interrupting his thoughts.

"Now then, let's get out of here and meet with the others." Dark Kaiga took a ghostly form next to Kaiga and started walking around, making Kaiga grimace. "Don't do that without my permission," Dark Kaiga rolled his eyes before looking up at his hair and ruffling it up. "You should get a new hair style this one sucks." Dark Kaiga walked over to Yotaro and glanced at him before staring back at Kaiga

"This kid hmmm..." A flash of recognition flashed in Dark Kaiga's eyes but Kaiga's glare sent him walking back, "jeez don't worry it's not like he can see me or anything...well nobody can but you." Dark Kaiga slowly started to fade away but gave one final smirk " But you should head to regroup with the others, these kids...are fake."

Before Kaiga could ask what he meant, Dark Kaiga completely disappeared, leaving only Yotaro and Kaiga. " Hey kid...are these other kids really...fake." It would make sense, wouldn't it, tricking Kaiga into staying here by wasting his time rescuing fake kids. Kaiga shook his head before staring at Yotaro and...the giant ice tree.

H-how did he not notice that before? Kaiga jumped back towards Yotaro and pursed his lips. This was getting serious, but this did beg the question, was the little kid next to him also fake? No dark Kaiga would have said as much, and considering how he talked, he most likely wasn't. However, there had to be something special about him if he managed to survive with that Yuki-onna.

"I'm Kaiga Agniyastra of Fenix tear, the rest of my guild should be outside now." Kaiga bit his lip; he hated to ask for help from a kid, but in this situation, it was the best he could do. "If you have any information that could help, that would be greatly appreciated." Asking for help from a kid, jeez, how far had he fallen.

---

Memories broken but the truth is spoken, forsakened & awakened, Gwen faces off against the skeletons of her past because she’s never forgotten her name amidst all what she buried deep within.

All those memories rushing down like a river stream, her thoughts like a receiver, screams. T’was post traumatic stress that haunted Gwen, it daunted her stomach at the liver, that delivers her a bloodcurdling & an earth shattering scream. Gwen was livid with Liv, who's living a form of living dead that she dreads, pages spread like a book that she read, written in blood that’s red upon her thoughts, distraught.

Gwen asked what seemed to be Liv in the flesh. “.....…where did you get that body or are you really Liv? If you are, then why for 14 years! I looked everywhere for you! My soul cannot deny the real you! Answer me now & …. TELL ME!” Gwen cried with a mixed bag of emotions and facial expressions, her eyes were like burning red, tears were flowing, her veins in her forehead were visibly twitching as she clenched her fists, with her voice, screeching.

To know whether one’s life is real, if your memories are your or fabricated, not everyone needs to be plaugued by the unanswerable question, if it were anybody else, would it even matter? But with Gwen, someone who knows and is only known in the memories of Liv pre-mortem… maybe she’s right.

The fight with the now timed-out glyph mage acted as a distraction, but now with Gwen, Liv was startled, doing nothing more than defending herself against a weak opponent, the real question was whether to fight or not Gwen, once a memory and visage of a past that may be someone else’s. “To be honest, I don’t know the answer.”

“What do you mean you don't know?!” Gwen retorted by sending multiple ice geysers from below the ground against Liv.

Gwen cut her wrist, “Maybe this would jog your memory.” It was a suicide move but what can she do? Gwen forced blood out of her, just to gain answers.

Her emotions got the better of her.

Lucas is figuring out his next series of moves when an unprecedented factor made itself known, namely Gwen deciding to encase him in ice and take the fight as her own.

After the initial shock, Lucas quickly went into work of destroying his cage, deconstructing and modifying its construction and magic in a matter of eternally long seconds.

“What-” he tried to complain before he heard a bloodcurdling scream, stopping him in his tracks.

He and Gwen, they had a lot of differences. A lot of reasons to be hostile to each other.

But he knew when someone needed help.

Forgetting the transgression Lucas formed wings of light behind his back, reaching for the fight. Not to join it…

…but to help, whatever form it means.

Liv wasn’t much affected by the geysers, the cold didn’t bother her anyway, but she stumbled slightly as Gwen sliced her own wrist, the scent of blood, faintly sweet, now in the air.

“What are you doing?” the vampire asks as she tries to find more memories of Gwen, the past is in the past, until it is the present.

The ice mage wasn’t the only emotional one, as Liv rushed straight to Gwen, clearly distressed by Gwen’s self-harm.

Blind-sided and running past Lucas as if he wasn’t even there, she embraced Gwen in a gentle hug. “Don’t you do that ever again.”

Flashback
“Do you wanna build a snowman?”
14 years ago, a younger Gwen, about 10 years old, was playing with Liv.

They were in the Iceberg Castle as kids, playing outside while their parents were in the castle.

Gwen tried cutting herself, trying to give the Snowman life. “The Book of Zeref, Alchemy 33 mentioned that using your blood as sustenance, would conjure what we call, Living Alchemy. It sucks because I just hurt myself.”

The other kid, Liv, had just finished decorating the snowman with a carrot as nose and buttons as eyes. “Gweeen, why do you do that if it hurts?”

She often went along with the rich girl Gwen, she’s not very useful with alchemy, knowing little to nothing about it, but she did help find excerpts of the Black Book of Zeref, something she might be regretting now.

“I dunno. The instructions said, infuse magic power and blood contains magic, if anything the instructions are so messed up, unless…” Gwen flicked her wrist & caused the Snowman to animate, for the first time in forever, it's alive.

“Dynamic Ice-Make is Living Alchemy? so this looks like Mon-chan, your pet husky pup. I still don't get the blood part, it feels stupid.”

“Oh crap, I read the wrong page! The instructions no wonder seemed unclear, it says here, drop of blood for an ice, lo and behold, stripped off of your dignity, what is even this, Livvy?” Gwen asked as she's too engrossed with learning Alchemy, she didn't know that she learned Ice-Make, a branch of Alchemy.

Oh right, thought Liv, she was also kind of a genius on Alchemy, how lucky she is. Liv, on her part, always needed help and lots of stufy to be anywhere near as good as Gwen.

Gwen isn't the best with going by the book, she's better at hands-on.

“What dignity?” Gwen stripped without knowing.

“Uh, Gwen, your clothes fell off...”

“Wha-?!” Gwen turned red and didn't like the results.

She wore her clothes quickly and tried reading the book. “What, I'm not some low life commoner to be in a brothel, is this even reversible?” Gwen checked the instructions.

“What the Ankhseram is this?” Gwen cried knowing that the drawbacks were probably permanent.

“If it makes me feel any better, why don't you try it, Liv? You're book smart compared to me. Ya know what, fine, I'm gonna follow that blood reversal spell & undo all this mess!” Gwen attempts to cut herself again.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Liv was trying to look away, going as far as putting a hand on her own face, still not covering her eyes though.

“Can we go back to the snowman? Maybe the book has some way to move ice with the magic you’ve just done?” Gwen was a genius, but did it bite her back in this case? Liv definitely didn’t want to hear Gwen’s mother about this new habit.

Flashback End.

Gwen hugged Liv back.
“Do you wanna build a Snowman? It doesn't have to be a Snowman.” Smiling as she closed her eyes, trying to feel the warmth of her long lost friend, whether she's warm or not, that's another story.

A dark mist creeped into the mind of Liv.
“You serve me now, what did I tell you, looking back at pitiful misery, you're no longer human, embrace who you are now and sever those bonds!” An image of Setsuka, sank her teeth to Liv’s neck in this wretched mindscape.

Making Liv recall all the painful memories she had, right after Deliora destroyed Iceberg, 14 years ago, including Gwen leaving.

“You are mine… you belong to me…your soul is mine.”

“Next time I will give you the scarf, not the snowman, don’t drop it, alright?” Liv’s head was heavy, yet the painful truth was now clear.

She conjured a spyke of red blood right through Gwen’s stomach, sticking out of her back as blood dripped down on top of the snow. “I’m sorry.”

Lucas wasn't sure what he should do, it appears that Gwen and this woman knew each other and that if he intervened he would probably be a third wheel of an emotional reunion.

He should’ve done that.

He was far enough to be incapable of doing anything when the vampire pierced a hole through Gwen’s stomach. For anybody else, it would be an irreversible mistake that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

For Lucas, it is a crucial moment to snatch life from the reaper’s scythe.

Summoning flashbangs from the palm of his hand, he forced the vampire to let go of Gwen. From there he caught his unconscious guildmate and stared at the vampire in the eye.

’By his pride as a Gutenberg, this isn’t over.’ He thought as he casted invisibility and flew away.

---

Lucas immediately dived to the first cave he found and carefully laid Gwen to rest. She is losing a lot of blood and her body is a deathly pale. No amount of non-magical healing would save her and Lucas is not exactly a healer.

He had no time to waste.

His hand radiated with a yellow glow, as he focused his attention to a concept of magic that appeared through different kingdoms and applied in numerous ways.

The concept of lifeforce is also known as qi, chakra or ki…

In his understanding it is the magical force of everything living. One that is normally not found in inanimate objects, so while it is usually used to empower warriors to ludicrous degrees it could also be used to speed up someone's healing.

His healing takes advantage of that concept, by pouring his own lifeforce to Gwen's body he would have the opportunity to fix her to a normal state. It would leave him extremely weakened from the effort but temporary loss of stamina is a small price to pay.

Gwen after all is a fellow member of Fenix Tear.

Setsuka penetrated Liv’s mind.
“You didn't finish the job, if you won't, then you will disappoint me!”

Liv stood before Gwen and Lucas, she just finished wiping off her tears.

“I see, you're Gwen's boyfriend, so she finally found the right partner, too bad, I will kill both of you.” Blood began to ice what seemed to be the remains of some dead giant, it appears that it was one of those Bifrost.

“I've sunken my teeth to do the deeds of evil, if there's anything to blame, find it in this Jotun.” Liv teleported out.

The Jotun increases in size, the angrier it gets, the stronger it becomes, it becomes a 60 foot colossal giant, but demonic in nature.

Its thoughts can be heard telepathically.

“I won't forgive you, I won't forgive you!”

Its memories flash into Lucas, showing Azuria killing the Jotun 7 years ago.

It went Berserk and clapped its hands, destroying the place where Gwen and Lucas were.

As the cave collapsed in on itself due to the Jotunn’s attack, the ground shook alongside it— cracking and breaking. Before the roof of the cave could reach Gwen and Lucas in their vulnerable state, a Calitras burst from the ground and covered them where each rock and boulder seemed to harmlessly bounce off of its metallic scales.

The beast regarded the two, an apology clear in its eyes as Eris pulled back once they were safe. Wasting no time in asking what had happened and immediately honing in on their assailant, she turned around to charge at the Jotunn and catch its attention and reared an arm back to pierce straight into its body.

“RRRAAAWWWWWHHHRRRR” The Jotunn wailed.

Its screams could be heard miles away.

Whatever pierced its body, it didn't feel pain at all, it struck back against Eris by stomping its foot to the ground, thereby releasing a massive wave of ice geysers to swat her off of him by sheer aura of coldness.

Eris raised both of her forearms and was successfully pushed back bit by bit as frost clung onto the beast’s scales, crawling across like an intricate web. Her attacks did something but not quite enough and, well, she was a simple enough mage to simply keep trying.

Pulling all the stops at the current time was ill-advised but she had to defeat this Jotunn as fast as possible to ensure Lucas and Gwen’s safety so she willed forth a partial transformation, heating up her body with a fire Krakao’s natural magic.

It traveled up to her right arm and she swatted away the geyser aimed straight at her before she leaped straight into the fray— keep as close as possible— and she aimed a fiery claw to the Jotunn and followed it up with another quickly after.

It just got glazed with burns from Eris, even at its berserk state, it was not just feral but its survival instincts were haxed to boot. The layer of armor it had earlier just melted, but now it became faster & precise, it may have decreased in size to 15 meters tall then emulating what Eris just did. A series of multiple punches & kicks, if Eris receives any hit, the ice will then spread like a plague.

The two giants exchanged blows but Eris found herself at a great disadvantage as the Jotunn’s ice was spreading faster than her personal heat could melt off and each blow onto her armor just added to the problem.

But the attention was solely on her— time to make herself a smaller problem.

Eris stumbled back, now focusing on dodging rather than attacking. “Beast Take-Over: Willobat!” She tipped backwards as light enveloped her, now almost only half of the Jotunn’s size and she spread her wings and shot upwards. The ice bit into her limbs like a crippling disease but her wings were free and she’d prefer it stayed that way.

She aimed a supersonic blast straight into the Jotunn’s face to disorient it before darting to another spot, leading it away from her guildmates.

Meanwhile with Lucas…

Lucas took a few moments to observe the battle between Eris and the Jotunn, it seems that his guildmate is holding herself well buying him time. Time that is gold for him…

Wasting no time on the questions he would not get the answers today, he opened his book and let the pages turn until it showed him the spell that he needed. A simple banishment spell, one made to send a powerful creature away for a long time. And while he didn't have enough time or resources to make a ritual to banish the giant, he had time to do what he does best.

Bastardizing the spell created by someone else until it is no longer recognizable.

Pointing his finger to Gwen, he watched as her body instantly faded away sending her to a pocket dimension he created. One where no one will reach let alone touch her. If he had more time to develop the spell, he would use the pocket dimension to send Gwen to Guild Hall but the cost is currently too much for him to even try.

So for now, this will do.

Lucas returned to the real world just in time to see Eris being pushed back by the Giant.

It seems he arrived on time.

Now let me ask you a question. What will you do when you have too many options to destroy someone's day? Most people would go for the one they like the most but Lucas has a different answer…

He instead will pick the option that considers everything.

Fact: Lucas in terms of mana alone won't harm the giant.

Fact: Lucas is a master of countless spells and mastered the art of transformative adaptations.

Also a fact: Lucas is here to repair a bridge of ice.

Lucas let out a small speck of blue light as he flew towards the giant. This spell is pretty indigenous for the situation right now.

You see this blue light is a glyph, a glyph that has only two functions.

The first one is spread out.

The second and more important one is to spread and turn to ice quickly.

So when the light came towards the giant, it instantly exacerbated the already huge issue of everything around him froze.

This way, the Jotunn will either make his new coffin or expend himself getting out.

The Bifrost’s eyes glow icy blue, it had a mixture of anger and sadness, it raged on & cut off its head, now there are two of him.

The Bifrost adapted itself into a different form against Lucas & different for Eris.

Divide and Conquer, its tactics was.

As for Eris, the Bifrost decreased its size to a humanoid form, 7-feet tall, it stopped its previous tactics and changed into an even more surprising movement.

It started freezing the air, it was now running on air, delivering multiple shockwave blizzards against Eris.

Against Lucas, it wasted no time delivering a huge scream of terror that would stun him.

In a blink of an eye, it fused back to itself and showed up behind Eris, smacking her down below Lucas.

It was wailing.

“I won't forgive you ... .I won't forgive you…” its memories flashed to the both of them, showing a younger Azuria, who just killed him.

“Rebelling against The Tsaritsa will result in a Civil War, Loki.” Her last words before the 12 year old Azuria killed him.

“HATE!!! .HATTEE!!! HATE!!” It got even more feral, the demonic curse it received from Liv earlier was being rejected by its body yet corrupting him still because he was risen from the dead.

The Jotunn took on a different tactic and one Eris had to remember in the off-chance that she needed to ever fight another again— it can split itself. As quick as her own opponent was, Eris believed she still had the upper hand as she kept her distance and dodged and weaved through the shockwave blizzards and screeched at those she couldn’t to shatter the magic.

Before she could really react to the Bifrost fusing, it had already hit her onto the ground and she shifted back to her human form, splayed on the ground next to Lucas. “Ow…”

The Jotunn’s memories flashed in her mind, of how their guildmaster had slayed the beast. Loki. Loki was its name? Eris wanted to calm it down but its rage could likely only be dampened by defeating it in battle.

She rose from the ground and regarded Lucas, “Thanks for the assist. Have any plans aside from hit it as hard and as much as possible?”

Lucas looked at the walking corpse before him despite being technically undead it still has the nature of his race along with modicum with intelligence. If that wasn't enough, ‘Loki’ is a victim of their guildmaster and they said he had the craziest adventures.

He looked through his book once more, there should be some Gutenberg that dealt with the dead before.

Not this…

Wait, this one could work…

“I could try uplifting the curse.” he told Eris as makes wings on his body. “But I’ll need him in one place for a moment.” He added as countless spears of altered flame revolve around him. Some of them appear to have lightning mixed as well, as a way to induce paralysis?

“So we need to go for the legs and put him down.” he declared as began floating away, maneuvering around Loki and aiming for his knees.

Eris nodded and took a deep breath. Keeping a giant in one place and making it kneel? Yeah, she could follow along with that.

Loki didn't give them time to think at all, she did what's based on survival instincts, to kill her opponents.

Loki Nálfárigol, she remembered who she was, a Bifrost — the highest social status of the Jotunn. The kneeing sensation she felt was likened with Azuria shorting her to the knees with arrows. That trauma returned as memories flashed once more.

“ENOUGH!” Loki screamed and regained her true form.

A woman with translucently divine white mixed blue hair & piercing blue eyes like ice.

“ YOU ARE ALL BENEATH ME!
I AM A GOD, YOU DULL CREATURES!
I WILL NOT BE OPPRESSED BY MERE MORTALS!”

“Oh crap, she's a god.” Lucas spoke in a surprised tone. This made things both equally more complicated and simpler. Complicated because now her enemy can think and definitely stronger.

Simpler since well…

“So said by a slumbering relic.” the God-Slayer answered back as he flew away and took some distance. The spears of flame and lightning continue to revolve around him.

Meanwhile his eyes began to glow to blue, as divine energy began to be felt in the surroundings.

Alexandria is watching for how her disciple will deal with a god?

“A god, huh?” Eris echoed. Good thing she had a God-Slayer with her then; if there was anyone who could take down a god with relative ease compared to other mages, it was a Slayer. But the plan remained a plan and she shifted into a Lightning Krakao. With near explosive speed from being stagnant to as fast as a bullet, the beast rammed into Loki’s legs with lightning crackling and traveling up.

Loki is subdued as Eris destroyed her lower half, unable to regenerate from Lucas flame pillars.

Suddenly, she felt a burst of magic power decreasing & the veil that kept most of Iceberg under Illusion, is now gone.

“Alexandria sure has a worthy successor, you even dispelled what little of my divinity, keep me sealed for now, I've seen the memories, go to the Tower, your friends need you.” She said as the aura emitted from Lucas, calmed her down with said flame pillars.

“You there fractured soul, yes you, that Lightning Krakao is the predator of my species, Azuria Rutines is indeed a once in a lifetime genius… I remember now.”

Loki paused as sanity returned back to her.

“Your Master sealed me, not killed me, I was under the bewitching spell of that Snow Vampire, Setsuka. Iceberg all this time is politically suppressed by the Vampires. Looks like her control died off, unfortunately boy, your magic isn't enough to fully purify me, you need a Devil Slayer to do so.” She pressed on breathing.

“You two are in need of upgrades to even fight a Vampire that is of Saint level.” Loki shared the remainder of her Magic to Lucas and Eris.

“Girl. You'll have my form. Boy. You might find my spear fancy, Lævateinn. Go and defeat that Ice Bitch, before I go berserk again.”

Lucas eyes sharpened as the name of goddess whose name had been long lost to time is spoken before him. Is that a coincidence like what most Gutenberg found?
Or the rare something more?

“How did you know that name?” he asked before he realized that time was running out.

“Where can I find that spear?” He diverted his question. Not like he could use the spear in any meaningful way but sometimes being polite enough.

As the Jotunn got subdued, Eris shifted back to her human form and dusted her cloak off as it had started to accumulate frost across its edges. Lucas seemed to have honed in on something but anything that appeared rare was lost to her completely.

All that mattered to her at present time was the surge of magic, the familiar flow of another form being recorded in her repertoire. She pressed a clenched fist to her chest and tilted her head down. “I will use it to the best of my abilities.” She shifted her weight as she waited for Lucas’s queries to be answered.

“The One Magic World, long before the Pantheon Wars…all Religions lived in harmony…all living things do too…until…” Loki couldn't continue further because time is running out.

“Lucas isn't it, don't you know that Gods & God Slayers can see one's lifespan and their true names? I almost want to take it back, you're not as witty as Alexandria, pitty. Let go of logic, if all books are burned, look at what's written in your heart, only when you set your heart free…”

Lucas tried to decode what Loki meant before realizing that he can’t figure it out today and maybe nt in this lifetime. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Still to not notice that power to see lifespans despite the years, is he a terrible god-slayer? In his defense he cares about being a Gutenberg more than the divine pissing contest.

He dispelled his wings as he softly landed in the snow in front of Loki. Placing his hand on her forehead.

“I don’t know what you meant with those words,” he admitted. “But I know you don’t want to be under her thrall.”

A glyph began glowing in his hand as Lucas recalled what he knew of curses. Applying one to a god is impossible but he spent his mana and he might not fight back so this is worth a shot before leaving.

“So don’t think this is what it is meant to be, think more of this as a slumber and when you open your eyes, you’ll be free.” he promised as Loki’s leg began turning to ice.

Meanwhile another glyph was opened not to unleash elements but to play a tune. Not a chant but a music, it was a tune from Iceberg played with the instruments of today. Perhaps he could have dove deeper but he can’t afford to delay the curse and risk Loki’s rampage.

“I will go back here and show you a free nation.” he promised as he walked away.

“Before you go, aren't you forgetting something?” Loki asked for them to stop and wait. For one she's thankful and not as prideful as any other God.

The last ounce of her divinity, yanked Gwen out of the portal, with her wounds healed.

“Now go.” Loki slept.

The unconscious Gwen landed on Lucas' arms as he made a small bow to the God now turning into a statue. He shelved the thoughts of improving his spell for now as for a rare moment, a Gutenberg showed gratitude to a god other than Alexandria.

“Eris let’s go, we'll bail our guildmates at the tower then regroup, the situation has gone beyond the scope of our mission. He declared as he flew with his wings.

Eris nodded and bid the god farewell once again as she became encased in ice. God slayers truly were something. She hummed as she gathered some of her magic for wings to sprout out of her back and she followed behind Lucas.

“A tower?” She asked as she got closer to the librarian. “What exactly happened?”

Suddenly, the area around them began to freeze, the ice itself felt sinister just like the Underworld’s depths.

On their way to the tower, their wings lost momentum, shattering it from its mere frost. Magic Bane Particles were emitting from the ice itself since it's cursed. The ice reddened like blood & glow crimson red.

“Ah…you survived. It appears that the Goddess of Love is incorruptible, you shall not pass.” Liv thwarted Eris, Lucas & Gwen, who's unconscious at the moment.

“I still have my blood inside Loki, I can make her berserk again, so do me a favor & die this time.” Liv attempted to retake control of Loki, but didn't work.

“No.” Gwen's awakened.

“It is you who shall not pass. Eri..Luc. I'll take it from here, I got a rematch to settle.” Gwen's eyes were filled with rebuking motivation towards her old friend.

“You heard her. She's such a masochist.” Liv insulted Gwen and rained down that explosive red ice that took down their ship.

Much to Liv’s surprise, Gwen redirected it at a faster pace into another location to not hit them at all.

Gwen stripped.

“Ever since I got the mark of Fenix Tear, I have never lost to the same opponent twice.”

“E-hem!” Lucas coughed, reminding her of their record.

“Come on kids, let’s not fight in front of an opponent,” Eris reminded them, though her tone indicated jest despite the situation.

She rolled her shoulders, feeling a bit disconcerted at the sudden loss of a limb, and she looked towards Gwen. “You got this?”

“Be careful.” Lucas advised as he tried to get used to magic power poured at him before turning to Eris.

“Who would stay with her? Who would proceed with the rescue?” he asked.

@Digmata@Polaris North@Gerlando (Collab)

Ifrit had done it. Manifesting into an nth degree of power he only theorized of. In truth, his search for Devil Slayer magic started a while ago, while he was still in service to the King. While scrolling through forgotten tomes and legends on his search for the Esoteric Art: Time Magic, he came across one constant rule. A blatant weakness of Time Magic. It does not work on Demons. Something about their anatomy or inherent nature. Some time after the guild was formally created, he started experimenting with his magic. Seeing as it was a Lost Art, much of his own magic he had to learn himself.

What became blatantly clear, after establishing connection to Kronos' domain, was that he would be able to tap into a reserve of power beyond this Material Plane. To tap into the realm of divinity and harness a raw power that could combat any Demon. Time Demon Slayer Magic. Something that goes beyond his Esoteric Art or his Eye of God. For weeks, he drew up theories, treatises, and essays explaining his findings and establishing outcomes. Once he finished his work, he presented them to Azuria. He wanted to show her what he had discovered.

Her opinion on it was clear. Using this awesome power would be prohibited unless absolutely necessary. Ifrit was already a once-in-a-generation mage, alongside his peers and guildmates. But tapping into divine power is best kept as a trump card. Especially since Ifrit's base power was already extraordinary.

And so, he bid his time. Between paperwork, official meetings, and cleaning up after his Guildmates messes, he would practice. He made a secret bunker deep beneath the Guild Hall. He encrusted protective wards and runes into the walls and reinforced the bunker with magic. All so that he could have a place where he could practice his Time Magic without worry of collateral.

And now is where it pays off. Here he stands, at the precipice of an era-defining battle. Something he would only read in books or stories about legends. His opponent was a Demon of great caliber. If he can defeat her... Surely even Elektra and the Roundtable Knights would hear about this.

Taking a moment to collect himself after his blitz, he peered into the Temporal Sea around him. He took notice of where his allies were. "Eris, Gwen, Lucas, Nirvana and Jericho are near... Good, they are alive. Jaina, Shinra, Ruel, they are fine as well." He muttered to himself. Because of his elevated state, his voice was distorted. As if it was fracturing between the ebb and flow of time. He wanted to reach out to them, to aid in their fight. But he did not. His original purpose was to observe, intervening only when a substantial threat was sighted. He must trust in his Guildmates. He must trust in Eris. "Everyone... Stay alive. Live through this."

His focus locked back to Setsuka. Her evolution was complete. A visage of blood and ice. A servant of a malevolent entity, hell bent on bringing it back. To Ifrit, she was a threat to everything he fought to protect. His ultimate enemy. Someone you should show no quarter too. As her metamorphosis completed, she screamed out.

"You will know the name of Setsuka Cocytus Vanisis of the Underworld's Level 306, an Absolute Demon."

Ifrit placed his hands together, signing a series of forgotten gestures. His presence was growing greater, now physically clashing against hers. After completing this series, he opened his eyes. In Lieu of his Eye of God was a completely golden hue. Above him, massive golden pillars descended out of wormholes. Golden and gothic, they began to swing back and forth. Each time they did, a chime emanated. This echoed throughout all of the Icy Fjord that was their battlefield. It rang past the bridge, beyond seas, to the forgotten corners of the world. He was powering up for something.

One... Two... Three...

"Then hear me, Setsuka Cocytus Vanisis! You face an agent of the King of Bargrovyzaria! Chronicler of the Fenix Tear! And Master of the Lost Arts! I have weaponized paradoxes! I have held the flow of time in my palms! What you face is your death manifest!"

Five...Six...Seven...

"I have seen my own demise countless times, Demon. And it is not by your hands. I declare this my victory day! TIME/ACCELERATE!"

Imbuing himself with a rapid temporal current, He rushes Setsuka at blinding speeds. Imbuing his fists with the weight of a lesser paradox, he strikes her. His punches do more than damage her, he actively severs her connection to time. Bobbing and weaving through devastating attacks, he slowly but surely locks her temporal flow into this immediate moment. No past, no future, only present.

Twenty... Twenty one... Twenty two

Ifrit senses power manifesting from beneath him. And using his Time/Accelerate, he launches himself backwards just in time to dodge a barrage of icicles. Only one second sooner and he would have been impaled. Unlucky for his opponent, he is a master of time. While midair, he coalesces his lesser paradoxes into his open palms. Willing them to strike at Setsuka. A break in reality occurs at his hands, and primordial, chaotic beams of magic are launch at his opponent. "CENTENNIAL!"

Forty four... Forty five... Forty six...

He kept counting his chimes, he knew he was getting close to his spell's end. All he had to do was keep the attack up. Don't give her a moment to recover. If he does this, he can win! "Dagda Tuatha Dé!" From the space around Setsuka, A golden, etheric cathedral manifested. Chains bound her in place, just as before. They were digging into her skin. But her recovery factor was keeping her alive. Ifrit knew this spell wouldn't hold. But he didn't need it to hold. He just needed to buy a few more seconds.

Fifty eight... fifty nine... SIXTY...

As Setsuka was beginning to break through the chains. Ifrit once again sped himself up. Within a second, he weaved together complex spells and wards. He added more chains and hindrances onto Setsuka, compounding on top of the Dagda Tuatha Dé. Within the cathedral itself, Setsuka was bound to the Nave. Now practically hovering over the Apse like an angelic figure, Ifrit spoke. His voice echoed with the authority of the universe itself. It was heard, felt, and comprehended as truth.

SIXTY FOUR...
"Infinitesimal waves, scouring the etheric sea. Observance, deliverance, and reverence to the shores of Kronos' domain. By her authority do I ordain your defeat...

SIXTY FIVE..
Aeon..

SIXTY SIX...
Era..

...SIXTY SEVEN!
Origin of Creation."

All around the translucent golden cathedral, in the area surrounding the now fractured land that was a battlefield, there was true stillness. Not the stillness you find in a dark room. Nor in the peace of a serendipitous heart. No, this stillness was beyond that. It was unnatural. It was eldritch. It was true stillness.

To those that can see time, it is often presented to them like a delta. Veins of rivers that lead to oceans and seas. Those that can feel the ebb and flow can sense temporal fluctuations. If they were to peer into the temporal sea now, they would view something that shouldn’t be possible. There was no ebb, nor a flow. There wasn’t a current or a passage. The veins of time held still. The golden chimes and clocks jutting from the sky held position like a soldier at attention. The wind was frozen, the birds in the sky laid still. Time itself stopped. The only thing that moved was this Angel of Time.

Ifrit collected himself as he held his position above the frozen Setsuka. Her face was contorted in a frozen rage. A defiant roar carved into her visage like a statue. He knew he could only stop time for a short while. Even in his Devil Slaying from, it took most of his concentration to keep the walls of reality from shattering into a million different paradoxes. But this is exactly what he wanted.

This was his greatest spell. Aeon, Era, Origin of Creation. A spell that could stop time. In theory, there was no limit to its range. But even with a small, localized zone he knew its dangers were great. Paradoxes would run rampant, or even worse. Luckily for him, he could weaponize this. Similar to the spell he used previously, Centennion, he channeled all the energy brought upon by the time stop and localized it into an ever growing ball in front of him. It grew and grew until it was the size of a basketball. He held his hands around this ball of primal energy, keeping it in a controlled state until he was ready to unleash its power.

Thirty seconds passed, he knew his time stop would soon be breaking. His eyes, now absent of any gold, stared down at the frozen Devil in front of him. He couldn’t keep his smile hidden. “And now, you are beaten. Setsuka Cocytus Vanisis,You are nothing but an overambitious demonling. Know your place, vermin…”

“EPOCH”

Just as his time stop fractured, a torrent of primal mana jutted from his contained paradox. A blast the size of the cathedral itself. It roared like a bat out of hell, releasing a howl that shattered the sky like a knife. It engulfed everything in front of him, disintegrating it past its subatomic principles. He yelled out in pain and defiance, as he maintained the wards he placed on himself just to be safe from this attack.

After a moment. The energy finally dissipated. He fell from his hovering position, barely managing to catch himself on the snow ridden ground. His Demon Slayer form fizzled in and out of existence as he panted and regained his energy. He looked back up, towards where he chained Setsuka. The phantom-cathedral was long shattered, and he only manages to catch the last vestiges of his golden clock hands being engulfed back to the heavens. There was no remains of where Setsuka was. As he looked to the horizon, he saw a physical scar he left on the land. A chasm that went on past the horizon.

He couldn’t contain his laughter. He cackled like a madman, far from his usual composed self. He did it. Something that was only theory he made into reality.

He stopped time.

He beat Setsuka.

He won.
No.
Fenix Tear won.

“ARE YOU SMILING NOW, ELEKTRA?! DID YOU WITNESS ME??? I AM GREATER!! I AM ABOVE!!! I AM BEYOND!!!!” He yelled out cathartically. Only the wails of the wind answered him.

It seems, yet again, Kotaro was caught in a whirlwind of events before he could manage to get an answer out of the Yuki-onna, with Kaiga springing back from her illusion, and her illusion itself breaking down - "Setsuka" included - as the environment revealed itself to be drastically different than he originally thought. The throne room was more worse for wear, there was now a giant tower of ice or some kind of crystal was just outside the castle. No, it's more like...the throne room detached from the castle and the castle itself became the tower?

Anyways, most importantly, there were more people here now than just Setsuka and Kaiga, there was another man and a woman as well, and Setsuka herself seemed worse for wear... something he never thought he'd see, being as powerful as she was.

It was easy to see what happened, but harder to actually believe it. Whoever these other two were, they must have been fighting against Setsuka and actually winning against her. Kitsune, like Yuki-Onna, are illusionists by nature, and illusions require concentration to maintain properly. The stronger the illusion, the more focus and concentration one must have in sustaining it. If someone were to break that concentration, the illusion naturally falls apart like melted ice. Given what he's seeing, these two must have broken Setsuka's concentration, which led to the illusion Kotaro and Kaiga were in falling apart at the seams. No, not the two of them. One of them was front and center facing the Yokai down, the other stood far back from the action as it happens, spectating the situation as Setsuka seemingly summoned up tentacles to consume the children's remains, and empowered herself further.

Kotaro could feel a sudden tightening of his chest as he looked at everything transpiring. As he suspected, the kids who were imprisoned with him are already dead. This situation went far beyond what he could have imagined, and whatever fear he had before skyrocketed as he listened to Setsuka make her statement to the new guy who stood to face her.



"She's still on about that...?" Kotaro thought as the tightening started to loosen. In order for a devil to properly enter the world, they need a vessel to possess, usually a human. Even if she awakens Zagrebal, it should just be an intangible existence without a vessel to use. He thought that was why she brought those other kids to the castle, but she just killed all of them, apparently as sacrifices to resurrect it.

So...What's her endgame here?



As if to snap the boy out of his thoughts, the fire guy asked him a question. To be honest, Kotaro almost forgot he was here.

"Yeah, ...She was toying with us the whole time. Our entire interaction with her was a diversion to keep us from the real thing. Looks like somebody else took the wool off our eyes though; but it's too late... She... she got what she wanted out of them. The real kids...they're gone." He responded to him, trying to hold back tears. He didn't know these other kids at all, he only managed to interact with them for, what, 10 minutes tops? Even then, it's unsure if the kids he was talking with were even real or just the illusions Setsuka conjured up. Even so, it's easy for him to forget that he's still a kid too; kids weren't supposed to see the horrors he's seen just now. Were it not for Tai's teachings and training, who knows what this kind of trauma would do to his mind; even then, seeing those kids' corpses be taken away still etched itself into his head. To a point where he wasn't paying attention at the grandiose nature of the battle going on in front of him between Setsuka and the Time Wizard Ifrit.

In the middle of talking to him, he put his hands to Kaiga's injuries, summoning up wind spiria around them to help heal Kaiga's wounds.

"It's not much, but it should help you get by for now..."









As if given a cold splash of icy water to his face, his emotions were once again whiplashed. It was as if something clicked in his mind and connected all the dots.

The riddle his master left him before he was taken away, the riddle that started Kotaro on his journey away from his home of Hizuru and traveling to Avalon in the first place... At first, he couldn't figure it out; he just assumed that he'd find the answer when he made it to Pergrande Kingdom, and that this kidnapping just was a prolonged hinderance to that. But the whole time he's been here, it's been staring him in the face!





Virtually on instinct - like a furnace coming to life - the boy went into his kitsune like form. His three tails alit with his overwhelming intermingling emotions of anger and hope, until it bursts out of the three and they coalesced together, as if becoming a cocoon, and from out of it burst forth a 4th tail.

Kotaro didn't seem to notice the new tail on his back, his eyes staring at the woman who was supposed to be dead by whatever the laughing Time wizard threw at her while he wasn't looking...No, it's possible that that was just another illusion the Yuki-onna made against him as well.



So he was right, she does still need a vessel to contain whatever she's summoning. But she killed off all the kids that were gathered as an offering to bring it here in the first place. In that case, she must be planning on this devil possessing someone currently present in this room. Either two Fenix Tear members present, the regal lady standing in the back of the throne room, or Kotaro himself. As far as he remembers from studying, Devils aren't too picky over who they choose to possess, so having the most likely one leave isn't going to help matters much.

"Aside from what you already know about her, there's only two things I'm certain about. ...First is that that guy's not gonna be able to beat her alone, and secondly, that lacrima should probably take priority. Those kids got sacrificed to summon a devil, and by the looks of it, it's coming out of that crystal egg up there. She's a Yuki-Onna, so fire should be effective against her as well." Kotaro said. The problem is that this particular Yuki-Onna is strong enough to be on par with his Master; even fighting her together with these other wizards here would be incredibly tough at best. She's strong enough that any fire magic that's not strong enough might not actually faze her, natural weakness or not - Assuming at this point that she's even still a yuki-onna or still have that weakness at all.

The path to the egg may as well be blocked by a wall of thick diamond. Speaking of which, there's also no guarantee that the Lacrima is gonna be easy to break either, assuming that destroying it won't just release the devil inside that much faster.

To be frank, this seemed practically suicidal. But time is running out, and Setsuka's definitely going to kill these people if nothing is done. As much as he values his own life, he can't let her destroy the only leads he's got to his goal either.

"Your majesty, ...I truly appreciate the offer you gave me to come out of this alive, but I can't walk away, not anymore. My journey ends here!" Kotaro said, taking out his water jug. Sticking his fiery hand in the jug made it erupt a thick steam covering most of the throne room area. Thicker than it usually is, actually, much to Kotaro's own surprise.



Kotaro wasn't going to lie to himself: this was probably a stupid idea. Never mind the fact that he basically made himself a target so blatantly, but this particular Yuki-Onna fought against Master Tai, which meant she probably knew all of his magics. Even if she didn't, he's nowhere near his mentor level as far as those magics are concerned.

In a battle of illusion versus illusion, well, it was a child fighting against an adult. She has hundred of years worth of experience with her illusion magic, and Kotaro just barely made it to double-digit age! It's unlikely that any illusions he makes from the fog is going to stick. The fact that whatever illusions are made are also shaped by Setsuka's own mind makes it more likely she'll figure out what's going on.

...But that's not the only benefit Hollow Forest Mist has. Illusion or no, It's still a thick fog that hinders sight, a smoke screen that's good for distractions. Illusions require concentration and it's hard to concentrate when the enemy could attack from anywhere and had the element of surprise.

Of course, the door swings both ways. It's not like Kotaro can make others able to see in it either. But considering Setsuka's and the crystal's positioning - combined with Ifrit's odd shiny eyes and Kaiga's brutish nature - it seems likely the fog won't be as much a hinderance to them as it (hopefully) might be for Setsuka.

Even so, there are plenty of ways this could end badly for him, and everyone else in the room. Truth be told, the chance of this working like Kotaro wants is slim to none.

Kaiga Agniyastra

---

Upon confirmation, Kaiga's face contorts into anger, but he sighs and calms himself. 'anger won't accomplish anything,' Kaiga looked at the child in front of him before following his gaze towards Setsuka and...Ifrit. Kaiga gave a curt smile before returning to the child in front of him. "That person up there fighting Setsuka is also a part of Fenix Tear." Kaiga pointed at Ifrit before looking at Setsuka.

'I want to help Ifrit, but leaving the only surviving child here is..." Help Ifrit or escort the child by the time Kaiga had decided, the child had turned into a fox-like form. Kaiga gave a small smile. 'What was I worried about? If he survived this long, he must be strong.' Kaiga turned once more to Setsuka and gave the kid one last glance.. "Thank you for the information, I'll go help out Ifrit see if you can do something about that Lacrima."

And with that Kaiga dashed off at high speeds toward Ifrit and Setsuka, he didn't know if it was a smart thing to leave such an important work to a little kid but he knew he had no other choice. Setsuka was strong unfortunately, and Ifrit wouldn't win without help. As he charged toward the battlefield Kaiga noticed mist coming and blocking his vision, if he had been someone else it might have been troublesome.

but he was a fire mage, using body heat to fight would be no problem.

Summoning a fire arrow, Kaiga almost threw before stopping. How could he know if he wasn't in an illusion? That yuki-onna could cause him to hurt Ifrit, and he'd never know... no, ever since his entrapment with her illusions, he could feel it. Kaiga took in a deep breath before surrounding himself completely in his flames. "All I can do is...BURN AWAY EVERY SINGLE ILLUSION THAT COMES AT ME."

Kaiga grips his fire arrow with all his might and sends it flying at Setsuka. 'TAKE THAT.' Kaiga rushed towards Ifrit only to find him...cackling like a madman. "Ifrit?" Kaiga called out once before turning his attention back to Setsuka.

[@Megatron]@The Jest@JrVader@Sho Minazuki@Iamme[@everyone with ears to hear]

---

Jericho was riding on a high. He defeated an Angel and created a new magic spell in the process and his mind was already bursting with more ideas, like the attack Yaorin initially sent his way. Imagine a shower of dark spears. It took him a second to realize that Nirvana was calling his name. "Huh?"

"I said, we gotta find the others and stop that demon from manifesting. I can feel the power exuding from that lacrima all the way over here."

"What la---" Jericho attempted to ask as he turned to see the giant crystal tower. How the Hell did he miss that? Actually, that wasn't the only thing he missed. His vision was different, better. Even better than it is in full Dragon Force. Was this another side effect of Yaorin's magic or was he growing even in his eyes? That didn't matter now. He sniffed the air and could smell almost everyone. Thankfully it didn't seem like any of Fenix Tear's members were dead, but there were still too many enemies out there besides the one that Ifrit and Kaiga were dealing with. He wasn't concerned with the others though. He had faith that his guildmates would be able to finish off the fodder and join them in stopping whatever they were using that colossal tower for.

Jericho tapped into his draconic voice to project it throughout the area like his roar earlier. "FENIX TEAR!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? I SMELL TOO MANY ENEMIES OUT THERE AND WE HAVE A GIANT TOWER TO DEAL WITH. I JUST SLAYED AN ANGEL IN TWO ATTACKS! ARE YOU GOING TO LET ME TAKE ALL OF THE TRASH OUT AND GAIN ALL OF THE GLORY MYSELF? WE'RE A FAMILY THAT SHARES THE BURDEN OF CHORES! YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO FINISH CLEANING AND JOIN UP WITH IFRIT, KAIGA, AND I TO ADD ANOTHER DEMON TO OUR BELT!"

Jericho felt satisfied with his rallying cry and descended to the ground to meet Nirvana. "That includes you, too. Your nose is almost as good as mine. Find and support the others if you can. There are some I can't smell, like Princess Ceri and Ayuna. But I haven't been able to smell them since we all got teleported. So I'm assuming they're okay."

Nirvana simply nodded and responded, "Got it." In his mind he couldn't stop thinking of how much Jericho had grown. He may have teased him on the airship earlier, he'd know Idina would be proud of the young man he became. He started to give Jericho his shirt and trench coat, but the dragon mage shook his head.

"Hold onto it. It's more of a hindrance in my current state. Plus, Gwen might need it. My Gwen's Naked Senses are tingling." He disappeared into Nirvana's shadow before he could say another word.

"Nevermind, Idina. Your son still has some growing up to do." Nirvana chuckled to himself before putting the shirt and coat on and grabbing the scabbard that Jericho discarded earlier. "I know you said we share in chores, but I did not come here to pick up your laundry." He dashed off into the forest to find the others.

---

Darkness was being pulled to Jericho's stygian blade almost as if it had its own center of gravity. With it positioned in front of him he moved through shadows like a torpedo and came out on the other side in the shadow of Setsuka's icy throne. He noticed a strange mist trying its damndest to hinder his vision. If it wasn't for his new eyes he'd be going in half-blind, but with his nose and eyes he knew just exactly where to strike.

Jericho lifted his sword in the air with both hands and sliced through Setsuka's throne trying to bisect her in the process.

@Megatron

---

As the Jester began to start winding up his move, Reuel already had Nyx out, spinning it and doing tricks with it as he watched. The curved balisong twirling in his fingers, sheathing, unsheathing, spinning and small throws before being caught again. Well, that magic seemed familiar, Reuel thought to himself, what's the story behind that? Whatever it was, if it was the same magic he couldn't let it reach him cleanly, and so as the balloon animals flew at him he made his move.

Transitioning cleanly into rollover putting the blade out, he did a couple quick and dirty swings, sending out inky dark blades that sliced right through them. The negating properties of his magic cutting through it like butter, and dampening their effects at the same time. This ploy was common, throw a few projectiles and then appear in melee range and so he did a twirl, before moving to the side, anticipating the Jester's appearance, executing a Shadow Step to hide his movement as he slipped away.

Upon affirming Jester's position, he would deliver a swift couple slashes, inky blades would follow them too, extending his reach, and their dangerous nature making any magical defense less effective or ineffectual. If the Jester wanted to get close to him to fight, it might be his last mistake.

As the exchange finished, Reuel getting pretty comfortable right now, his smile turned into a frown as he heard a familiar voice. It was Jericho with an announcement.

"FENIX TEAR!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? I SMELL TOO MANY ENEMIES OUT THERE AND WE HAVE A GIANT TOWER TO DEAL WITH. I JUST SLAYED AN ANGEL IN TWO ATTACKS! ARE YOU GOING TO LET ME TAKE ALL OF THE TRASH OUT AND GAIN ALL OF THE GLORY MYSELF? WE'RE A FAMILY THAT SHARES THE BURDEN OF CHORES! YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO FINISH CLEANING AND JOIN UP WITH IFRIT, KAIGA, AND I TO ADD ANOTHER DEMON TO OUR BELT!"

He turned back to the Jester, "and here I thought I'd get to have some fun... Oh well. Seems I'll have to finish this right now". It was a bold proclamation, and perhaps one Jester most likely will not take kindly to. However, Reuel was a man of his word, yet he did not want to unleash such power so soon, especially since he felt prying eyes from somewhere, but with his focus on Jester he knew not where. He'll have to be careful how he chooses to close this out, and it all depended on the Jester's next move.

Jaina Dalton

"You think I'm not capable of carrying the sins of my Kingdom, Dantes?!," Jaina shouted as she felt her second wind, the massed wisdom of Goddess Alexandria flowing through her. "No Kingdom worth its salt is free from sin; what makes a Kingdom good is its wilingness to acknowledge them and do better!"

Drawing from her now-enlarged archive of spells, Jaina took out a copy of a spell that showered the foe with arrows of light, then multiplied it over and over again.

"Sagitta Luminis - Arrow Storm!" she shouted at Dantes, showering him with hundreds of glowing bolts, hundreds of beams that were both sharp and burning. After that, she drew on her heritage and her sins, on the lingering prejudice she still held against those who hated the sea, and the growing awareness that her people had helped breed that hate. After all, how can one love the sea when raiders came from it?

"Waters of Snaervold!" she cried out as saltwater seeped up from the ground again, "Give this foe the peace of death!"

And the waters became another wave....

[@Danyel]@Aku the Samurai

@The Jest@Iamme@JrVader@King Kindred

▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅

▅▅▅▅▅

---

Reality began to tear apart from the sheer aura of coldness that Setsuka wrought, upon the records of time, power like this, echoed the Dark Ages, where mythicals like Angels, Devils, Fairies, Kitsune & many more, roamed free.

Lore Drop
Before Ankhseram enforced the Enmato Decree through the Dark Knight, Silver Fullbuster, who used the sword to bind the Angels of Felicidad, Diluculum, Dentro & Eleanora, cast out into the Underworld, this Covenant became the renouncing vow to prevent said powerful mythical beings from entering Eden's surface.

Silver Fullbuster was formerly Mard Geer's Hellgate General, a Devilslayer and the wayfarer from the Underworld's Level 306, Fenrirheimr. 400-years ago, he married a human woman & had twins, Lyon & Gray, the power of the Enmato was divided into two, unfortunately not wielded by his sons. The Sword was reforged into two separate weapons, he passed on the weapons to his retainers instead, one of the retainers resided in Avalon while the other in Hizuru.

Recently...

A tragedy happened in Pergrande, the Retainer Family that protected the Kamuy, the sword that separated the Underworld from Eden, was said to have been wiped out.

The Qlyfot Fruit is a fruit of forbidden magic, one that requires great sacrifice as it needs to amass magic power from humans, this phenomenon is called "Soul Rot", it is a fruit, coveted by Demons as whoever eats from its Tree, shall be freed from Ankhseram's vow renouncing travel, Enmato Decree.

---

_{Location: ???}

Time seemed to move at a snail’s pace inside the “prison” Shinra found himself trapped within. Instinctively, his Ether Gear stabilised his body, though he could feel little else other than himself. And for the first time in a long time, Shinra was made to reflect.

Was this all his efforts amounted to? Helpless in the face of enemies who threatened his friends?

No way. He had to–

Shinra’s consciousness snapped back in a flash. His eyes flickered around as he regained his bearings and acclimated to his newfound freedom. Then, his eyes fell on a familiar figure.

Jaina?

Shinra almost didn’t recognise her at first. It was the first time he had ever seen her so angry. The current situation was a whirlwind of a mess, but his resolve remained steadfast.

He’d have to save his thanks for later! Right now, they had a fight to finish. The green glow surrounding his body intensified as the green lines of his Ether gear formed on both sides of his head, imitating a pair of horns. The energy coalesced into a sphere above his arm, pulsing with a bright light. Shinra took a step forward, clenching his fist.

“Magi-Mech Attack: Gravity Cannon!” Shinra roared as he tossed the super-dense sphere at Dantes with full force.

@Yu Narukami @Letter Bee