A five-pointed Legend Circle appeared before him, giving way to five humans. They were dressed in elaborate robes bearing the five symbols of the five branches of magic, black plaid markings accenting the robes. From the center of the circle appeared Snowgel, their mentor. She was ice-blue and retained a look of innocence on her face, which is a lot to be said for such a wise and old master of magic. The five Legendary Magicians parted to the side as Snowgel approached Daigo.
"Where is he?"
"About a mile south of here," Daigo replied, "I was able to head him off last night, but he's onto me. What do the highest Heavenly Saints have prepared for me in this time of great emergency?"
"Daigo Takaoka, your shakujo," Snowgel said, taking the staff from Daigo's hands. The rings on it jingled in the evening light, reflecting into the roaring ocean below. Snowgel placed her hands on it and chanted a simple spell.
"Goolu Gogolu!" Snowgel chanted. The shakujo lifted up into the air and was enveloped in an explosion of metallic blue light before it landed in Daigo's hands. Now it had a thicker rod with the "M" of the magicians engraved into the base. Rings hung off the side of a crystalline mirror that had been placed in the center, similar to the dials used by the five Legendary Magicians. "I call it the Mirror Rod," Snowgel explained, "If you want to tap into its power, the phrase is Maaji Maji Majiiro. Daigo Takaoka…awaken your inner magic!"
Daigo meditated on this thought, and, having made his decision for the good of the world, held the Mirror Rod above his head. "MAAJI MAJI!" he yelled, a metallic blue light forming around his body, "MAJIIRO!" A silver Legend Circle appeared over his head and shot downwards, transforming him into a suit that none had seen before and, after this fight, would never see again. Snowgel had designed it to his preferences.
It was designed after the Legend suits, but it was all black in color. Where the five legendaries were gold, he was deep metallic blue. The black lines were colored a bright orange, and a red gem shone in the center of his chestplate. The helmet resembled an Ashu to some respect, with spikes branching off to the sides and a visor designed like a wolf. Daigo held the Mirror Rod high above him and slammed it into the ground, the Legend Circle appearing at his feet. He nodded to Snowgel, and teleported a mile southward with the others. It was time to take on Kiba.
Once the party had appeared at the location where Kiba was to be, they waited for the signal. A mass of dark, inky energy crept up from beneath the ground and took the shape of the Ashu Overlord, his sword in hand. "You may have sealed away the others, but N. Ma and I still live to terrorize the surface!" he roared, a putrid steam being exhaled from his nostrils. "You five are nothing. Not even with your precious Snowgel. I'll give you a head start…to make your defeat all the much sweeter."
The five Legendaries, two women and three men, in the five colors of the five branches, put their hands around the sides of their robes. DialRods materialized, and they called out their transformation cry. "Chou Mahou Henshin! MAAJI MAJI MAJI!" an explosion of multicolored light burst forth, "MAJIIRO!"
Against a field of prismatic light, the five Legendary Magicians were transformed into their inner Saints. Flagel, Volgel, Spragel, Wingel and Groungel. A sleek, one-color undersuit appeared over their bodies, the girls' spreading out into a skirt. Gloves, boots, belts and chestplates fitted themselves over the armor, and, in a final outburst of their element, their helmet appeared as the five Magicians struck a united pose, their DialRods shining in the sun. Kiba watched the group before him call their names, letting him know the power of those who would spell his end.
"The Burning Flame Element! Red Magician, Legend MagiRed!"
"The Galloping Thunder Element! Yellow Magician, Legend MagiYellow!"
"The Shaking Water Element! Blue Magician, Legend MagiBlue!"
"The Blowing Wind Element! Pink Magician, Legend MagiPink!"
"The Roaring Ground Element! Green Magician, Legend MagiGreen!"
"The Endless Earth Element! Ashu Watcher, MagiSilver!"
"The Sparkling Ice Element! Heavenly Saint, Snowgel!"
"Our overflowing courage turns into magic! We are the Legendary Magicians!"
A golden Legend Circle spiraled out in front of them as the core five reached for their DialRods and placed their index finger in "1". They spun the dial until they reached the end, letting it spin back to its original position. The DialRod lit up as they called "MagiBolt!", and a heavenly voice repeated their call. The group split up to attack Kiba from different sides.
Legend MagiRed released a spiral of flame from the tip of his DialRod, but Kiba vanished into the darkness and dodged the attack. He reappeared behind Legend MagiPink, who whacked him on the side of his head with her own weapon, temporarily leaving him stumbling about the valley. During this moment of opportunity, Legend MagiGreen sent a rockslide in Kiba's direction, trapping him against the wall of a nearby cave. Kiba growled, releasing the steam from his mouth once more.
Kiba enchanted the rocks around him, transforming them into onyx-black projectiles that hurtled towards the Legendary Magicians. Legend MagiYellow transformed his DialRod into the DialRod Bow Gun, firing wave after wave of electric bolts, destroying the dark rocks. Kiba howled, sending a dark laser in the direction of the five. Legend MagiBlue and Snowgel stepped in, creating a wall of ice that repelled the beam back in the Ashu's direction. A dark aura now pulsed around Kiba as the five Legendary Magicians united. Daigo had been tracing the symbol for sealing an Ashu into the ground with the bottom of his Mirror Rod, waiting to make the final move when the time came.
"They're the better Magicians," he thought to himself, "But Kiba knows magic as well. Thank the Saints for these powers!" He was halfway done with the symbol, and heard the click and whir of the DialRods' second spell being entered. With Legend MagiRed in the center, the spell had been activated. The tips of the five DialRods met in the center and a multicolored Legend Circle materialized behind them.
"Jii Golu MagiBolt!" they declared, "LEGEND FINISH!"
A powerful burst of light magic, as strong as the sun and just as bright, erupted from the point where the five DialRods met. Kiba stood strong as his chest armor was slammed by the ray…and then he absorbed it. He moved his fang sword in motion, creating a Madou Circle at his feet. "Uuza Zazaado!" he chanted, "Ashu Sealing Finish!" The Madou Circle launched from his blade, splitting into five smaller circles that impacted on the chest armor of the Legends. Daigo had just completed his spell when he saw the five struggling below.
"NO!" Daigo yelled, "I won't let you get away with this!"
"A Takaoka?" Kiba asked, "Your kind haven't sealed me away yet!"
"Well, I haven't seen one of your kind that isn't trapped in the other dimension," Daigo taunted, "and to hurt them…that's low."
"What are you going to do about it, Takaoka?"
"Just what I plan to do."
Daigo hit the Mirror Rod to the ground, the symbol of the Takaoka Way shining in magnificent shades of silver. The circular mirror on his altered shakujo flared in a wondrous light. Daigo announced the technique in an impassioned, controlled voice. The sooner he unleashed it, the sooner he stopped Kiba from hurting the Magicians further. He only wondered if he'd enough magic to make it work.
"Takaoka Way Ashu Sealing Spell!" he held the Mirror Rod in front of him, "Maaji Maji Maji MagiBolt!" The symbol, once reflected in the mirror, shot forward and replaced the Madou Circle that had been rotating at Kiba's feet. Light overtook Kiba's form, and he dissolved into a multitude of colors, all of them streaming towards the Mirror Rod's reflective surface. When Kiba had completely vanished, Daigo could feel his staff starting to shake. A dark aura was quickly surrounding it, unable to escape by the force of the shakujo's Ashu-repelling properties.
"I don't think he can be contained long!" Daigo yelled, "If I lose him now, I lose my shakujo…my powers…it would insult the name of the Takaoka family! There has yet to be an Ashu that got away!"
"There may be one other option," Snowgel nodded, "Magiel has a mirror of her own, made from the finest Magitopian glass. It could seal Kiba away for an eternity."
"Then that's what I'll do," Daigo said, turning to Snowgel and the now-healed Legends, "I'll need all your power to get him to Magitopia. Are you with me?" The Legends nodded in response. "Then let's go!"
Daigo clasped the center of the Mirror Rod with his hands and the Legends touched the bottom of it with the ends of their DialRods. A Legend Circle appeared beneath them all, and a spell was chanted at once. "MAAJI MAJI JINGA MAJUNA!" they declared, Daigo finishing the call, "Takaoka Way Ashu Spell Seal Transfer!"
Kiba's hellish scream echoed as his soul was shot out of the Mirror Rod and into the Mirror of Magitopia, which was immediately cast into Infershia where one such as Kiba would belong. Daigo's suit vanished off his body, and his Mirror Rod resumed the form of his shakujo. The Ashu Watcher nodded and set off on his way, the Legends also returning to human form. The last of the Patheon had been sealed. Just as Daigo was to walk back up the cliff, he gave a thumbs-up to the Magicians.
"Checkmate," he smirked.
Kiba would remain in Infershia for centuries, until Gai and Rei discovered just what the Key could unlock…
Kiba had just finished recounting his story to Gai and Rei in the technological cavern the Questers called home. Kiba still held the disc containing his former comrades in his hand, and was toying with it when Gai approached him, a remote in his hand. Kiba's sensitive hearing was picking up on the subtle vibrations below. The Questers had built another of their Robos, and needed Kiba's help to bring it to full power.
"Let me present to you Quester Robo Knight," Gai activated the lift, revealing a sleek, black-armored knight that could've easily passed for another Ashu. "It was one of our lesser creations. Now, if you could so kindly, produce one of Sleipnir's steeds for us? Rei and I have a devious use for it in mind."
"Anything for my most loyal of subordinates," Kiba spoke smoothly, reaching into the void. A purple light jutted forward, materializing into a black, purple and silver mechanical horse, its metallic mane swinging through the station, dangerously close to Quester Robo Knight. Gai called to Rei in the corner.
"Activate the safety harness!" Several electric cables shot up around the Madou Horse, trapping it in an unbreakable bind. "Perfect!" Gai laughed evilly, "Kiba, we have all that we need from you. We trust you can use the Madou forces to your own whimsy. Go! The Boukenger! The Magiranger! Defeat them, and don't stop until every last one of them has been destroyed!"
"A Takaoka descendant and two traitor Saints," Kiba grimaced, "This will be the most fun I've had in years. Now…which of you pathetic shells of gods do I want to unleash to punish the surface world first?" Kiba reached into the disk, and small balls of light materialized in his hand. He locked the disk back around his belt and threw the energy spheres forward, bringing the gods out of the darkness and into battle for the first time in ages.
"I'm your Stone of Judgment now," he said. "Sleipnir! Toad! Wyvern! Cyclops! Drake! Ifrit! You are equal in number to any of their 'teams', but your power is infinitely greater! Go! Unleash your punishments upon the world! Gai, Rei and I…will wait for a more opportune moment to strike. That is when the Magicians and the Adventurers will fall at my hands…"
Sleipnir, his chariot now being pulled by one horse, rode through the streets of the city at full speed. His lance was destroying everything in sight. Above him, Drake shot balls of fire through the sky, and Ifrit handled the flame tactics upon the ground. Cyclops submerged himself inside the mirror world, taking out random people to spread fear and terror through the city. Toad's trumpet blared and Wyvern caused devilish trickery at the least-expected moment. All of this destruction was not to go unnoticed.
"There's trouble!" Makino said as he brought up the images of the gods stomping about the city, descending from the stairway that had brought them to the surface world, "I've never seen anything like them before! They're not Negative at all!"
"Of course not!" Tsubasa snapped, "They're the Infershia Pantheon!"
"We've faced them before!" Makito pounded his fist to his palm.
"And we'll face them again!" Hikaru said.
"No, that's not happening," Mr. Voice interrupted on his monitors, "There are no Precious to be gained from this. We've already collected the Midas Glove. The work of the Boukenger is done. Those are orders."
"Can you shut it with the orders?!" Kai yelled at the digital cone-man, "So what if there aren't any Precious? Human lives are being destroyed! That's Precious enough!"
"He's right," Eiji added, "I know Kiba has something to do with this."
"Kiba is an Ashu," Satoru added, "and an Ashu is a Negative."
"So it is our mission!" Natsuki said.
"Let's go!" Houka struck her Pose of Determination, "I agree with Natsuki!"
"We need to handle them carefully," Masumi added, "Who knows what they're willing to do now that they've been given a second chance at life?"
"Mr. Voice, I can't do anything to stop them!" Makino pleaded, "Nothing's working!"
"It's the will of the human spirit de gozarimasu desu!" Mandora Boy said, "Let them have their adventure!"
"It looks like I have no choice," Mr. Voice sighed, "Boukenger…Magiranger…you may go."
"You heard him," Satoru snapped his fingers, "Boukenger, Magicians of the Five Colors…ATTACK!"