Disclaimer: I don't own Mohou Sensei Negima, Negima!, or whatever it's called now. Sorry I'm ripping off their characters, but since I said sorry I can't be sued. I hope it works that way at least. As for this work of fiction, it follows the manga version more than the anime. Why you may ask? Cause the animes are Blah! Negima! is good, but the first series was horrible. Aslo, if shoujo-ai (F/F relationships) gives you hives or something, best you don't read beyond the prologue. Enough of my prattle, now READ! Onegai
Prologue
1353 AD, Isle of Nison in the Far East
"Must you make such a racket?" the man said anxiously through gritted teeth. His unset demeanor was most appropriate for the moment. If the scream of demons charging within the vortex wasn't unnerving enough. The sound of demons surging in from their only escape route put a clincher on the whole situation.
"If you wish to succeed, wizard," came a voice from behind the man. "I will make as much racket as necessary."
The magi believed his partner wasn't exaggerating. He didn't need to turn around to see that death approached them from every corner. The sticky sweet smell of blood already told him how the rest of his company fared. "Via noctem atrem. Menti incedi flamma." whispered the man as he tried his utmost best to keep the spell matrix intact. Fire laced tendrils streamed out of his hands to weave to and fro around the swirling vortex. This spell served to keep the demons from rushing out of it. However, it wasn't perfect. "Now is the time to do your job, Aaron." A demon managed to push its way past his flame barrier. When the thing arrived it fixed its sinister eyes upon him almost immediately. Those hell spawn were adept at detecting magic users, and he was too juicy a target to pass up.
"Aaron!" called out the magi again through gritted teeth, beads of sweat pouring off his brow from the exertion of casting. He wasn't only casting to hold the demons at bay; he was also maintaining a spell to close that blight of a gate once and for all - one that required more effort then anything he invoked his entire life.
The demon hissed as it surged forward with inhuman speed, talons scrapping the rocky floor as it charged. The monster was several feet from the magi when it raised its claws to strike. The spell around the portal flickered as the magi flinched in anticipation of the attack - an attack that never reached its intended target.
A crunching ding resounded loudly as steel met the monster's incoming attack. The source came from a long claymore taller than the magi himself - a huge sword that may have appeared clumsy, but if wielded in the right hands became an extremely deadly weapon. Thankfully, the wielder was no amateur - no knight of the Scarlet Rood was.
"About time!" the magi grunted as he tried to ignore how close he came to dieing.
A brutish man, layered in the heaviest plate mail of his home country, placed a foot against the demon and kicked it away. The creature stumbled several steps before it regained its footing. "Rahhh!" growled the monster in fury. It may have been just hungry before, but now it was plainly pissed. The monster squealed out words in the demonic tongue, and a red aura suddenly surrounded the creature. If the demon was capable of smiling it would have done so right now. The magic it just invoked was an illusion spell that made its enemy see multiple versions of itself - a lethal trick that always caught the prey off guard. This human deserved the death that awaited him, that much the denizen of the lower plain was certain of.
"Careful." the magi warned when he saw the monster split into several identical ones before his eyes. "Only one of them is real."
"I know." answered the sword wielding man in a fatigue laden voice.
The enraged demon snarled and pushed forward to gore the armored soldier - its up curved horns were made for just that. As the demon neared the human a loud whoosh filled the air as the knight nimbly swung the giant sword downward. Time seem to freeze as the demon stood there staring at the man while the man stared back.
How did he know which one was real? Those were the last thoughts the demon could comprehend before it split right down the middle; a pool of black blood and two perfectly symmetrical slices were the only thing left of it.
"You never cease to amaze me, Aaron." the magi remarked as he fought to stay conscious. He could feel the spell begin to tear away at the gate's stability. If he could only hold out just a little longer they would succeed.
"Magic has no effect on me." said the knight simply. "Nothing to be praised for, my Lord." The only magic that effected him was the increased strength he gained from forming the pactio. Other than that, he was the perfect soldier in this war of darkness - a war that seemed to have no end. Looking behind the magi, the knight took two steps and thrust his sword forward.
A loud crunch of bone and tissue alerted the magi to yet another near death experience. "Your aid has been a welcome addition in this long and arduous journey."
The knight pulled the sword out of the demon he just skewered and looked up at the surrounding chaos. Knights, dressed in similar plate mail as him, fought valiantly to buy the magi as much time as possible. "I hope this is worth it, Lord Fleur."
"Ask that when this world is free of hell's grasp."
The knight sighed; holding the claymore with one hand, he used to other to grasp a ruby cross hanging around his neck. "Lord grant us strength." He wondered if it was all worth it coming to this barbaric land. A third of the company was lost sailing to the east. Another third of the company died from pushing inland through demonic allies. What was left of them - only a handful compared to what they started with - mostly lay dead along the temple's floor. What few that weren't would soon wish they were - demons had a way of prolonging the suffering for those they devoured alive. "May the lord help all mankind if the Sorcera fails."
"As much help god has given mankind thus far, don't mind me if I put little faith in his aid."
"Blasphemer. What would your fellows think?" deadpanned the knight. It was a small joke to lighten their swiftly approaching demise - mages weren't known for their faith in god.
"Ha! Pardon me for not caring."
"I'll be sure to tell St. Peter when we see him." Aaron said before he suddenly tightened the grip on his claymore. He watched yet another one of his brethren fall before the demonic onslaught. Oh how he wished to join them in the frontal fighting, but alas that wasn't his role. He was a Ministra Magi to Lord Fleur. Protecting his partner had priority over dieing in chivalric combat. "Say, Lord Fleur?"
"Yes?" the wizard answered. It would have seemed odd striking up a conversation in such a dire time, but what did they have to lose?
"What do you regret about life?"
"I was born."
"I was being serious, Lucas."
The sound of his name took the magi off guard and almost caused him to lose focus. The knight never addressed him by name which made the moment all the more surprising. "I have no regrets, but why do you ask?"
The knight looked back at to the portal screaming with demons, and then towards the battle waging at the temple entrance. "We don't have much time, and I'm curious about the life we have lived. Like what would make a noble embark on a suicidal crusade?"
"Why I'm here, huh?" mused the wizard. "In a word?"
"Sure."
"My daughter."
The knight turned his strange sorrowful eyes upon the magi: a green one and a blue one. "You do this for family?"
"Yesss." the wizard gasped as a vein popped in his head; a droplet of blood leaking out of his right eye ran down his cheek. The pain was grueling, but he took it in stride. "I want my daughter to grow up in a world where demons are nothing more than legends to keep children awake at night. A place where bodies of the dead aren't stacked as high as cathedrals, and towns are once again filled with vibrant life."
The knight smirked behind his steel helmet, his multicolored eyes wistful. "A dream I could share as well, Wizard."
"And you, Sir Rhiner?"
"In a word?"
"Sure."
The knight's strange eyes became even sadder. "My daughter."
It was the wizard's turn to smirk. "Family as well I see."
Sir Aaron Rhiner nodded. "For my only child I would challenge the devil himself to a duel."
"You probably would too, good friend." Lord Lucas Fleur started to breath harder. His strength was nearly depleted. "Shame though."
"About what?"
"You didn't have a son. My daughter could have found a fine husband from someone of your stock."
Aaron laughed lightly. The magi was suggesting the impossible. If his little girl been born a boy, that wouldn't change a single thing. He was a knight in title only, nothing more. His family was a family of peasants, and Lord Fleur's was that of nobility. A marriage from their houses would never come to pass. "In another life perhaps, but not this one."
"I suppose your…" The magi let out a scream as he collapsed to the floor on his knees.
"Lucas!"
The blonde-haired magi started to laugh as he looked up towards the hellgate, a bittersweet smile plastered on his face. "It's done." The spell was complete, and to prove that fact the temple began to shake violently. The green channeling gem that floated in the center of the vortex started to flicker and spin with increasing intensity. Light from the portal seemed to bend in on itself as it poured into the glowing gem. Moment by moment the portal shrunk as it was being absorbed by the wizard's reagent.
The knight looked on with grim satisfaction. "It is you who never ceases to amaze me, Lord Fleur. Your powers seemed to be on par with Lord Springfield himself."
Lucas's grunted. "What would a Britannian know about true magic to that of a Frank?"
"I would remind you he knows a thousand…" The light cast from the gem flashed so brightly the knight was forced to look away, effectively interrupting him mid sentence.
"Time has run out good friend."
The scene unfolding became more and more violent as the shaking increased. As strong as the temple was built, the walls couldn't handle it any longer and the ceiling began to fall down around the warring demons and knights.
"Will this be enough?" Aaron asked calmly - a calm that came from accepting one's fate. They would die down here in the midst of this strange land so far from home. He knew that would happen before boarding the ship at Normandy, so it came to no surprise now. He just hopped their deaths would make a difference, for his family and the whole world.
Demons awaiting entrance into this world screamed and howled in outrage. The portal was being bound by the gem in its center and they could do nothing to stop it. They failed and their master would see that they paid for that failure.
"Only time will tell, Sir Rhiner."
With a final flash of light, the portal was sealed and the screaming demons were gone. The only sign it used to be there was a green gem frozen in midair, cold and lifeless as ice.
The wizard slowly made it to his feet and looked towards the temple entrance. The demons were anything but self-sacrificing, and the few knights still standing looked on in awe - not at where the vortex once stood, but at the entrance to the temple where the demons had fled.
Those poor souls think they can escape this nightmare. thought the mage sadly.
"What are you two doing?" asked a remaining knight from the company. "Lets get a move on! We can still make it out of here!"
The mage and his partner looked on with intense regret in their eyes. "I'm afraid that wont be possible, soldier."
"What?" the young man asked in surprise. The man - or boy to be exact - stared at the company leaders with frantic eyes. "What are you saying?"
It was Sir Rhiner's turn to speak up. "This was a one way trip, Lad. The evil we contain here must never be opened again. On our very souls we swore this oath."
"But…?"
"Forgive me." whispered the mage, true sorrow shining in his bloodshot green eyes. "Forgive me…" He began reciting words for the last spell he would ever cast again.
The evil they contained here must remain so for the sake of the world. On their very souls they swore that oath.