Sorey grunted in strain, before swinging his sword and cutting the soldier down, before he armatized with Moria, using wind to blow a few away before they split and he quickly armatized with Vukan. "Just die!" Their voices echoed together as he swung his sword, a wall of flame coming up between him and the soldier's. "It seems like coming to Glaivend Basin was a good idea after all!" Mizu shouted with glee, armatizing with Sorey after he separated from Vukan. "I agree wholeheartedly!" Dyzek shouted, slamming his fist into the ground, several spikes springing forth, impaling the soldier's.
Vukan charged forward and swung his sword, the fire scorching his victims and thus allowing the malevolence to spread from Sorey. Sorey smirked, stringing the bow and letting off several arrows that pierced his victims, showing no mercy to those he had considered allies when he was THEIR Shepherd. He dearmatized with Mizu and armatized with Dyzek before dashing forward and slamming his fists into the ground, causing the land to crack and break apart as spikes also rose, killing more.
"This is fun!" Mizu shouted and began spinning her staff, a portal appearing before her as she grinned maniacally, before a swarm of malevolence came from the portal and spread over the land. The soldier's began to turn on one another, transforming into hellion's and attacking each other, making Mizu laugh even more. "Stop!" Sorey ordered her and she seemed bewildered but did as asked, stopping the malevolence and had it all return to her before the portal disappeared. "We can't let anyone know of our presence just yet, let the lands slowly be consumed, not force it." Sorey explained as he de-armatized with Dyzek, glaring at Mizu.
"Why not?!" Mizu demanded, blue eyes blazing with anger. "If we force it, it'll be easier for Rose and them to find the places and destroy the source of the malevolence." Sorey explained, crossing his arms. "If it slowly grows, it'll be hard to find the source as it will hide and then, when they least expect it they will be overpowered by the malevolence." He stated before killing a hellion and glaring at Mizu. "Now I have to fix your mess." He growled out and charged forward, cutting the hellion's down.
"Seems like his Shepherd instinct's still rule over all else." Moria commented, coming up beside Mizu who huffed and crossed her arms. "Looks like it." Dyzek commented and Vukan sighed, rubbing his head. "Should we help him?" He asked, watching as Sorey cut the hellion's down with no problem. "Nah, he's got it." Moria responded with a shrug, she wasn't worried. Mizu watched him intently, seeing him defeat hellion after hellion, it felt like the malevolence was depleting with each hellion he killed. He wasn't even purifying them either! Just...killing them. She sighed, rubbing her neck before grabbing her staff and charging forth. "Mizu!" Vukan shouted but she ignored him as she killed a hellion, before looking at them.
"I'd hate it if the Shepherd got hurt because of MY mess, so I'm gonna fix it as well." She commented and began helping Sorey deal with the hellions, even as the others just watched. "She's using it as an excuse to be close to him because she likes him, how pathetic." Moria commented and Dyzek chuckled. "Says the woman who fell in love with an earth Seraph." He responded and she glared at him. "Watch it Dyzek, else I'll have to-!" She was cut off by Vukan. "Oi! I don't wanna hear that!" He stated, glaring at them.
Moria simply looked at him before grinning. "Though you would like something else, wouldn't you?" She teased and he flushed red. "Shut up!" He shouted, before bringing his sword out and helping Mizu and Sorey. Moria only laughed at his pathetic attempt to retain his dignity, before looking at Dyzek. "We ought to help them." She said, her spear forming in her hand from wind before rushing forward, Dyzek by her side as his gauntlets glowed in a golden color as they rushed into the battle.
Rose and Alisha: Alisha looked around the place, trying to spot the dragon; she was currently armatized with Zaveid, using his powers to pretty much fly around, even as Rose had armatized with Dezel and was searching the other side of Zaphgott Moor. "I don't see any signs of a dragon being around." Alisha commented, before flying further. "Where could it be?" She asked Zaveid, whom she heard hum. "Maybe the big buddy is hiding, probably by a buncha rocks or something. Somewhere on the ground where there's a lot of cover." He suggested and she hummed, before landing on a rock formation that was tall, giving her a good view of the land. "I don't see anywhere it could hide." She commented, before taking off again.
Suddenly she felt a pulling sensation in her...but it wasn't Lailah calling them back like she did earlier. When armatized with a Seraph and their Prime Lord calling them back, even the one armatized with the Seraph felt the calling. "What's this...feeling?" Alisha asked herself, before she felt a burning pain in her chest. "ALISHA!" Zaveid shouted, worried before they plummeted to the ground.
Zaveid felt something force them to de-armatize and they began falling faster. "Dammit!" He shouted and reached for Alisha, grabbing her before using his powers to try and slow their descent. Alisha was gripping the cloth over her heart, feeling the pain get worse before screaming as pain rippled across her body. Zaveid winced before they slammed into the ground and he groaned, having used the wind as a barrier to protect them before sitting up, seeing they created a crater around them. "Damn, what the hell happened?" He questioned before he heard Alisha wheezing and looked over at her, seeing her struggling to simply breath.
"Alisha!" He cried out, rushing over to her and helping her up. "What the hell is happening?" He wondered before a loud roar resounded in the area and he cursed. The dragon! Suddenly a thought struck him; what if the malevolence the dragon was giving off was affecting Alisha?! It would make sense for the pain in her, the malevolence attacking her body without the full protection of Lailah around as they weren't near her. The roar was heard again and Zaveid cursed, picking Alisha up and began running right as a tail slammed where they once were. "Dammit, we're closer than I thought." Zaveid cursed, jumping as the tail swung toward them. "Why didn't we see it until now?" He wondered but ignored it to continue running, with Alisha in the state she was in, it would be impossible to armatize with her without hurting her more.
Rose and the others had meet back at the oasis, where they were meant to rendezvous at when they noticed that Zaveid and Alisha had yet to return. "I wonder where they're at." Rose said as Lailah closed her eyes, trying to call them back when she suddenly gasped. "What?" She questioned herself, worrying Rose. "What is it?" Mikleo asked before Rose could, worried as well. "I...I can't contact them." She commented, worried and looked around. "Something is blocking my powers to call them back." She said before Rose hummed. "This worries me." She said before they heard a loud roar and gasped. "Did they find the dragon?" Rose questioned before Edna growled. "Idiot, they know better than to fight it on their own!" She shouted and they all ran toward the sound.
Rose armatized with Dezel as the others went inside her and she flew forward, the speed from the wind helping her. As she neared she was blown back back and forced to dearmatize with Dezel, who caught her as they slammed into a rock formation, denting it. "Rose!" The others shouted before they separated from her, looking at her and Dezel in worry.
Suddenly Zaveid appeared, carrying Alisha and used his weapon to attack the dragon, trying to slow it down. "Dammit!" He shouted when it did nothing, before jumping back, using the wind as a barrier between him and the dragon. "Zaveid!" Lailah shouted and he looked at her in relief. "Lailah!" He shouted before the dragon's tail slammed into him, sending him and Alisha into a different rock formation. "Alisha! Zaveid!" Mikleo shouted and ran toward them, using his water to make him invisible as he passed the dragon, reaching them.
Zaveid groaned in pain, sitting up and looking at Alisha who was now unconscious. "Hope she's not in pain at the moment." Zaveid mumbled, rubbing his head with a groan. "What happened?" Mikleo asked, looking at Alisha in worry. "Ugh, we were flying around when suddenly me and Alisha felt something pulling us somewhere." Zaveid said, seeing Rose armatize with Lailah and attack the dragon. "As we were flying around, Alisha felt some kind of pain in her chest and we began falling and were forced to dearmatize. I used the wind as a barrier as we fell, also trying to slow us down but we still slammed into the ground but the barrier protected us." Zaveid said as he stood, Mikleo grabbing Alisha to carry her. "Then the freakin' dragon showed up and attacked us." Zaveid commented before wincing in pain, holding his side where blood leaked making Mikleo gasped.
"Fella got a good hit on me as we were runnin'." Zaveid commented with a grimace, pushing his hand harder against the wound. "Come on!" Mikleo stated and used his water ability to make them invisible as they ran back to the others. "I think the malevolence from the dragon forced us apart and attacked Alisha!" Zaveid explained when he noticed Mikleo looking at Alisha in worry. "Without Lailah nearby to expel the malevolence like usual, Alisha succumbed to the pain." He stated and Mikleo growled before his ability timed-out but they were near the others. He laid Alisha near Edna, who looked at her worried before Mikleo turned to the dragon and charged into the battle; Edna simply watching them all fight the dragon. She would protect Alisha from the dragon if it got past the others.
The dragon roared and swung its tail at them, in which Zaveid noticed spikes ran down the entire tail and he growled, jumping to avoid it. He turned to get a good look at the dragon and growled, it was almost as big as Tiamat, if just a little bit smaller. What he soon noticed was it had two heads...how was that possible? It was a sleek black dragon with yellow eyes on one head while the other had red eyes; a few cracks here and there on the body that glowed red, almost like it couldn't hold the power within it. Large black wings, twice the size of its body were folded against its back yet it had the body shape of Eizen when he was a dragon.
Mikleo dodged a swipe from the dragon's claws, before one of the heads snapped at him and he growled as he almost got bit. Rose dearmatized from Lailah before armatizing with Mikleo and jumping away, before firing arrows repeatedly at the dragon, trying to get it's attention...yet it seemed focused on something else. Swinging it's tail again, it knocked Lailah and Zaveid back, before snapping its two heads at Rose, Mikleo and Dezel who dodged. Then it turned its two heads to Edna who gasped and got ready; flames began to form in the dragon's mouth and Edna slammed her foot into the ground, bringing a rock barrier up as the dragon blew fire from it's two muzzles. Edna winced at the heat around her but turned toward Alisha and ran over to her, bringing her umbrella up, ready to protect Alisha at all costs.
"Edna!" Mikleo and Rose shouted, their voices echoing with one another as they began to attack the dragon. One head turned their way, the one with yellow eyes before it shot a fireball at them, hitting them and sending them back. "Rose! Mikleo!" Dezel shouted and ran toward them. The dragon rose one clawed paw and Edna gasped as it came down on them, blue eyes wide in horror. A scream ripped from her throat as it broke the barrier and slammed down on her and Alisha. " Edna! Alisha!" Zaveid shouted, making Rose and Mikleo gasp in horror as they dearmatized. The dragon bent down and picked Alisha up, leaving an unconscious Edna where she was before it took several steps back.
Mikleo was beside Edna in an instant as Rose armatized with Dezel and attacked the dragon. "Be careful Rose, you're extremely wounded as it is!" Dezel warned her but she ignored it, needing...no, wanting to save Alisha! "I have to save Alisha!" Rose shouted as she slammed into the dragon, making it roar in pain. The head holding Alisha in it's mouth growled and dropped her in one open paw before holding her close to its chest as the two heads breathed out fire. Rose growled as she dodged to torrent of heat, though she had noticed the action. 'It's like it's trying to protect her.' She thought before she armatized with Lailah, when realization hit. 'Wait...it is!' She thought before she jumped back, going on the defensive.
"Rose!" Mikleo shouted, noticing the action she took instead of striking, even as Edna slowly regained consciousness. "What if this dragon is working for Sorey?!" She shouted, dodging a swipe from the dragon's tail. "What if Sorey ordered the dragon to bring Alisha to him?!" She questioned before jumping over to Mikleo, striking the dragon's back in the process. "What do you mean?" Mikleo asked her as Dezel and Zaveid continued to attack the dragon. "The dragon is holding Alisha close to its chest," Rose said as she split from Lailah. "almost like it's trying to protect her." She finished, looking at the dragon, seeing it hunkered its head low over Alisha's body...a means of protection.
"Then...Sorey ordered the dragon to bring Alisha to him, but how?" Mikleo asked, confused. "If Sorey summoned the dragon, who transformed a Seraph into the dragon, then he has enough power to make the dragon submit to him." Lailah explained, before using a wall of fire to protect them from the torrent of heat the dragon breathed out. "As a result," Lailah continued, slowly removing the wall. "the dragon would follow Sorey's orders...he must've ordered the dragon to capture Alisha and bring her to him unharmed." She explained and Mikleo gritted his teeth in anger. "Why is Sorey doing this?! Why does he want Alisha so bad?!" He demanded; he couldn't see Sorey doing any of this!
"The malevolence has tainted him, far beyond our comprehension. He most likely believes he's the only one capable of protecting Alisha, his love for her overruling all logic." Lailah explained, before throwing out several flares at the dragon. "His wish to see her again called the malevolence to him, giving him reason to continue and as a result...if anyone gets between him and Alisha...he will consider them an enemy." She said, before looking at Mikleo with sad bluish/green eyes. "We are nothing more than obstacles to him, enemies...enemies he must kill." She stated and Mikleo felt his heart shatter at her words.
Suddenly, Lailah was thrown to the side and the others felt the rush of wind from the dragons swipe hit them. Rose ran toward Lailah while Mikleo stood up, carrying Edna and they all dodged the tail swinging at them; Rose lunging forward soon after as the dragon snapped at her. "What this things problem?!" She shouted, landing near Lailah and helping her up. "It's trying to get space to take off, to bring Alisha to Sorey!" Lailah realized as it flared its wings. "I don't think so!" Rose shouted and looked toward Mikleo. "Mikleo!" She called and ran toward him with Lailah. He nodded and handed Edna to Lailah before armatizing with Rose. "Dezel, Zaveid, hold it down!" She shouted and the two nodded.
Using their powers, threads of wind headed toward the dragon and bound it where it stood as Rose pulled the strings of the bow. "I'll aim the bow so we don't hit Alisha, just tell me when to release!" Mikleo said to Rose who nodded as the bow was lined with the dragon who roared and was breathing out fire everywhere. "We can't hold him for much longer Rose!" Zaveid shouted, wincing in pain as he maximized his power to keep the dragon still, as did Dezel. Rose let the arrow off watching as it slammed into the dragon's chest, sending it backwards into the ground as Alisha went flying. Zaveid was quick to react and caught her, rolling to lessen the damage they would sustain while Rose ran toward them but she didn't get far. The dragon wasn't down for the count and swung its tail at Rose, hitting her and forcing Rose to dearmatize with Mikleo, both hitting the ground limply.
"Rose!" Dezel shouted as he ran toward them, even as she struggled to try and stand. "Don't move too much." He warned her, using the wind to block an attack from the dragon as it swiped at them. "We have to run!" Rose stated, struggling to stand as did Mikleo. Suddenly a bright green light caught their attention and Alisha, armatized with Zaveid, struck the dragon in the chest, making it roar. "Zaveid, what do you think you're doing armatizing with an unconscious Alisha!" Rose ordered, it wasn't uncommon for Seraph to force an armatization with a Shepherd or squire. "It's not my doing!" He retorted through their link and Rose gasped, that meant Alisha woke up!
"Alisha, be careful!" Rose shouted and Alisha nodded, before she began to glow with power. She flew up and several swords appeared around her and she swung her hand down at the dragon, the swords impaling it and the ground. "Sylphystia!" She shouted with Zaveid echoing her as the swords made a triangle around the dragon and exploded with power. She slowly descended as the dragon fell down, defeated before she armatized with Lailah. "I shall purify the dragon." She commented, seeing how exhausted Rose was.
She felt Lailah's agreement and stalked toward the dragon, raising the sword as it glowed blue with flames before she swung down on the dragon, purifying it. The body was covered in blue flames as it glowed and began to shrink in size...before two Seraphim were before them. They looked young, no older than twelve and they looked identical! Twins? They both had black hair, one shorter than the other; somewhat pale skin and were wearing white and red robes with black pants underneath the robes. They opened their eyes, revealing a pair of yellow eyes and a pair of red eyes, just like the dragon's heads.
They slowly looked up, seeing Alisha and watched as she de-armatized with Lailah as Rose, Zaveid, Edna, Dezel and Mikleo all came over. "What happened?" The yellow eyed Seraph asked, her voice sounded exhausted. "Where are we?" The red eyed Seraph, a male, asked as they both sat up, looking utterly exhausted. "You had transformed into a dragon." Lailah explained softly as she knelt down to the two young Seraph's. "We transformed?" The red eyed Seraph questioned, worried. "Did we hurt anyone?" The yellow eyes seraph asked, hugging herself; Rose shook her head, smiling. "No, no one here got hurt. We purified you." She explained and they both smiled in relief; it seemed that's all they needed to hear. "What happened that transformed you two?" Mikleo asked, crossing his arms.
The two Seraph's looked at one another, before the female nodded and the male sighed. "It was the Shepherd I believe." The male said and their eyes widened...so Sorey was behind the transformation like Loghrin said. "We were wandering around Zaphgott Moor, told it was different from other places." The female said, rubbing her arms. "While here, we encountered the Shepherd and his Seraphim, we were ecstatic to finally meet him that we didn't know how much malevolence was around him." She finished, yellow eyes showing sadness. "Our guard was down," The male picked up after his sister, seeing her sadness. "we never thought he'd force malevolence unto us." He finished, shrugging. "So Sorey is behind this." Rose mumbled, rubbing her chin. "There is one odd thing though," The female said, catching their attention, "he ordered us to capture…" She said before her eyes landed on Alisha, her yellow eyes went wide when she saw her as did the males. "You!" They both shouted, pointing at her.
Alisha jerked back at their outburst, confused. "Me?" She questioned and they both nodded. "The Shepherd ordered us that, if we saw you, we were to capture you and bring you to him!" The male stated and Lailah grew worried. "Then that means Sorey is desperate to capture you Alisha, we have to protect you." She said and everyone nodded. "What are your names?" Edna asked, opening her umbrella. The boy blushed and scratched this cheek, obviously flustered. "M-my name is Lukin, my sister's name is Lumiki." He stuttered out and Mikleo glared at him, jealousy in his eyes. "Nice names." Alisha said and they smiled, before standing. "We ought to leave, our parents are worried." Lumiki said, smiling at them softly and they nodded before the two Seraph left.
Once they were gone, Alisha slumped to the ground, exhausted. "Alisha!" Mikleo shouted in worry, kneeling down to her. "So...tired…" She said before she went unconscious. "Alisha!" Mikleo cried out again, violet eyes wide in horror. "She's just exhausted Mikleo," Lailah reasoned with him and he looked at her, slowly calming down. "there is no reason to be alarmed." She ended softly and he sighed, sagging with relief. "We should head back to Loghrin, we all need rest." Rose said weakly and they all nodded, heading to Loghrin.
Unaware to the group, a pair of red eyes was watching them before the person nodded and turned around, running to a small group...Sorey at the lead. "So, what happened? Why isn't the dragon there?" Sorey demanded of Vukan, who had watched the group. "Looks like they purified the two Seraphim used to make the dragon." Vukan explained and Sorey growled, rubbing the area between his eyes.
'I knew we should've stayed behind.' Mizu thought but didn't voice her opinion, no reason to make Sorey angry when he was stressed. "There's gotta be an easier way of getting Alisha without attacking the others." Sorey mumbled and Dyzek sighed. "Why don't you want to fight for her?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning against a tree, looking at Sorey confused, who sighed.
"I'd rather have Alisha by my side without her hating me." He commented and Moria sighed. "Why not kidnap her at night?" She suggested and Sorey growled. "The barrier Lailah puts around when everyone fall asleep alerts them if someone gets near, believe me, I know." Sorey said, looking at Loghrin and growled. "Looks like I'll just have to trick Alisha into following me." He commented before a cruel smirk overcame his face. "And I think I know just the thing." He said before turning around and leaving Zaphgott Moor, his next destination...Ladylake.