The penultimate chapter is here and Sylvia may have found her one chance to finally get back home, but will she really want to leave?
Sylvia's Greatest Possibility
Over at Tristain academy the next day, Jean was discussing over what he and his team had found to Principle Osmond.
"Hmm...isn't this just more false information?" Osmond asked.
"No I am absolutely certain that we have got the right information this time." Jean replied.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in." Osmond said.
A door opened and in came Louis.
"Oh, hello mister Vallière." Jean greeted.
"Hi mister Colbert." Louis replied. "Principle, do you have a minute, I have returned with important information during my time away from the academy."
"Very well...I will approve of this plan. Mister Colbert, how long do you think?"
Jean took the letter of approval. "I'm heading for the village of Tolf, so I should be back days before the solar eclipse arrives." He bowed. "Now if you excuse me." He left the room.
"So mister Colbert has found something?" Louis asked as he walked closer to the principles desk.
"He thinks he's found the location of the legendary dragon." Osmond replied.
"Legendary dragon?"
"The last time he went off searching for some legendary something, he almost got himself lost in the middle of the ocean. I'm really not expecting that much, so, let's hear what is important."
"Okay."
Louis explained what happened at La Rochelle because of the Sixth Sense, the unfortunate loss of Prince Wales at Albion and the attempt on Lady Henrietta's life at the palace as well as the Reconquista that is no longer led by Lord Cromwell who chose to sacrifice himself the night before at the hands of Trickster.
"Hmm, the Sixth Sense...so they are the ones who have been behind this whole ordeal. It looks like this could get rather dangerous very soon, thank you for your hard work, why don't you take a vacation?"
"As much as I would like to, Principle, I must ask you something as well."
"Yes?"
"My friends, Tabitha and Kirche made a discovery in the palace library in a book about an ancestral magic, have you heard of the descendant of the void?"
"Hmm?"
"My knowledge of it is limited based on what I was told, my memory of it is unclear and I don't remember if I was ever called that before. But I am certain about the term, that's all I know about it."
"The void is a long lost legendary element of magic."
"Legendary?" Louis blinked. "Well if the magic is like that...then uhhh."
"Ahhh, you don't have to go into details. Well if I guess this is all true, then Gundalf is indeed real."
"Gundalf...then Sylvia really is..."
"Yes, Sylvia has the spirit of Gundalf. Something that mister Colbert has worked very hard to research on."
"Research?"
"Yes, ever since he noticed the rune markings on her hand, he has been working in his spare time to not only find out if the legend is true, but to also help find a way for Sylvia to return home...once this issue with The Sixth Sense is dealt with."
"In that case, may I, Sylvia and my friends come along with him?"
"That would be up to mister Colbert, but I would see nothing wrong with it, just make sure to be careful."
"I will principle. Did Sylvia ask about anything, such as her world?"
"Well I don't like to spread the word, but yes, I explained to Sylvia that the Staff of Destruction first arrived in this world 30 years ago. I was under attack by a powerful dragon when it was destroyed by a young man who held the weapon before he collapsed and passed away from severe wounds. I never learnt who that man was, but he may have been from the same world Sylvia is from."
"I see...then I will leave now and get ready." Louis bowed and left the room.
Outside in the academy grounds, Sylvia saw Siesta with her travel bag outside the maid house.
"Yo Siesta." Sylvia greeted.
"Oh, hi Sylvia." Siesta replied. "It's been a while."
"Yeah it has, so what's with the outfit and case?"
"The academy is letting me have a vacation so I'll be going home for a while."
"Going home...sounds cool."
"It's a pretty small village, actually."
Sylvia sighed. "Well at least you have a place to go back to, I'm still stuck in this world."
"I'm sure you'll get back home..."
Sylvia then thought of something. "Hey this may be far-fetched, but do you know anything about my world?"
"Well...it was a long time ago when a solar eclipse took place."
"A solar eclipse?"
"Yes, I heard that my great grandfather came from your world."
Sylvia gasped. "My world?"
"Yes, he was involved with another man and they were riding two dragons."
"Two dragons, what do you mean?"
"Yes, the first one disappeared into the solar eclipse, but the second dragon didn't. You see, that was the one my great grandfather was on, rumours said that it crashed deep inside the forest that hasn't been explored for years."
Sylvia was in surprise. "Really, are you for real?"
Siesta nodded.
"So where could it be now?"
"Apparently, it was declared as a family air loom and it's stored in a shrine somewhere inside the deep forest. Although I have never actually seen it."
"Then this could be it...my one chance to finally get back home." Sylvia looked at her. "Siesta, do you mind if I come with you?"
"Really, what about your master?"
"Oh it's okay, Louis is fine with me being anywhere else these days. So we can go right now."
"Hmm, alright we'll get a horse and ride."
"Sure thing."
Sylvia and Siesta got on a horse from a stable and they left the academy, unaware that Tabitha, Kirche and Guiche were listening in.
"Did you hear all that, could it be some kind of treasure?" Guiche asked.
"If it is, then I might be tempted to grab some for myself." Kirche replied. "What about you, Tabitha?"
Tabitha closed a book she was reading. "Not interested, but I want Sylvia to be safe."
Then mister Colbert and Louis came out and got on a horse and carriage and they rode out of the academy.
"Louis and mister Colbert, where are they going?" Kirche asked.
"Hmm, I can't help but worry about this, we should follow both of them." Guiche replied.
"I agree." Tabitha nodded as she whistled for her wind dragon.
Over at an unknown location, several dragons were standing in line, paying attention to the bold voice speaking.
"My followers!" He greeted boldly. "The Reconquista have been crippled by the loss of their leader. The army of Tristain is still at large and Lady Henrietta has sworn to declare the Sixth Sense as outright enemies of this world." He paused. "But do not be concerned, for their army that is full of humans are weak against the might of the dragon army that you stand by and honour for."
Several dragons roared.
"I am here to state that the solar eclipse will arrive in three days, but I plan that we strike and conquer all of Halkeginia before the solar eclipse occurs. By then, this world will be ours to shape it the way we have always envisioned and then when the solar eclipse arrives, it'll be our time to travel to another world and spread our influence further than ever before. Let us now rise up, from tomorrow morning, we will begin our attack, starting with the capital land of Tristain, for the Sixth Sense!"
Several dragons roared and cheered.
Meanwhile in the deep forest, outside the village of Tolf, Siesta and Sylvia were going over a map.
"My family keep this in the back of the shed." Siesta said. "So I was able to get it out of there without anybody seeing it."
"So this like a treasure map or something?" Sylvia asked. "And the dragon is somewhere there?"
"That's where it is, but apparently the real name is the Robe of the Dragon."
"The Robe?"
"Yes, my great grandfather used it when he flew into this world a very long time ago."
Suddenly, a salamander appeared from the hedges, followed by a mole from under the ground and then a wind dragon landed close by.
Sylvia blinked. "What the...Kriche, Tabitha and Guiche are here?"
"Of course, we couldn't just stay behind and worry about you." Kirche replied.
"We heard about the legendary dragon." Tabitha said. "We were curious."
"And besides, I wouldn't be a noble man if I wasn't by your side." Guiche added.
Sylvia blushed. "Well...y-yeah..."
"Forgive me, but I was about to say that to get to the deep forest quickly, there is a shortcut through a cave." Siesta said.
They nodded in agreement and they left the forest to walk up to a stoned pathway leading to a cave entrance.
"So is this the cave?" Sylvia asked.
"Oh I'm so excited!" Kirche exclaimed. "I wonder if there is any hidden treasure in here."
"We're not here for a treasure hunt." Tabitha said. "This is to be a shortcut as the map says."
"You know, Tabitha, you've started talking a lot more and I find the change very welcoming." Guiche said.
"Thank you."
"Come on, let's go on in and find the way out so we can get in the deep forest." Sylvia said.
They walked inside the cave and noticing that it was getting dark, Kirche's salamander lit a fire from it's mouth so it was like a torch.
"Geez, how deep is this thing?" Kirche asked.
"I don't know. Nobody ever comes here, not even the villagers." Siesta replied. "Rumours say it not only houses a nest of demons, but it's also the place where a man with magic powers, rests after he was exiled from the palace many years ago."
Sylvia gasped. "A man with magic powers, you must mean the magician that we fought yesterday...Trickster I think his name was."
As they walked further, they entered a huge area of the cave that was mysteriously well lit.
"I sense danger." Tabitha said with a serious expression.
"And you are right to sense danger!" A high voice yelled. "Dodge this!"
A throwing knife suddenly hurled and the five of them dodged it.
Just then, demons appeared from the shadows with their eyes possessed and Trickster appeared from behind, levitating.
"He he he he! We meet again." Trickster greeted sarcastically. "I do not understand how you found my personal home...but now I will see to it that none of you leave here alive!"
"Leave here alive, eh?" Sylvia asked. "So it's that personal, is it? Not gonna try to run away and flee to the arms of your leader?"
"Why should I when I have these demons who 'volunteered' to fight for me?"
"Of course, you're using that ring to possess the demons, aren't you?" Guiche asked.
Trickster smirked. "My my, look at the big brain on the charming one...too bad that you have ignorance when faced with a woman."
"Hey, you leave my best friends out of this!" Sylvia exclaimed. "Guiche is more of an honest noble man compared to you."
"Hmph! Then the time for prattling on is over...demons, do what you see fit to these trespassers!" He drew out knives and cards. "Leave the summoned girl to me!"
"Sylvia, you better get me out for this one, sister." Del said.
"Got it." Sylvia drew Del out and the rune marking on her hand glowed. "This clown wannabe is going down!"
"Siesta, it would be best if you get out of here, it's not safe." Tabitha advised.
"Uhh okay..." Siesta replied as she hid in a dark corner.
Tabitha, Kirche, Guiche and their familiars began dealing with the demons.
"Yaaaaah!" Sylvia yelled, swinging her sword at Trickster who easily moved away.
"Impressive swing, but your timing is off!" Trickster criticised. "Now be ready for my attack."
He threw out a knife and a card that blew up into a cloud of smoke, Sylvia dodged the knife however.
"Not bad, mister...but you're messing with the spirit of Gundalf." Del remarked. "You can't win against that power."
Trickster sighed angrily. "I hate weapons that talk back, maybe after I've killed the girl, I'll break you down in pieces!"
The others were still dealing with demons, many of them were knocked down, but there were still more.
"How of many of these vile demons are there?" Guiche asked.
"There might be a way." Tabitha looked at Trickster's hand with the possessed ring. "Maybe if we destroy the ring on Trickster, it will cause them to stop."
"Then you'll have to do that whilst Sylvia is distracting him." Kirche said.
"I think I can help with that." Guiche added. "Sylvia means a lot to me after all."
Meanwhile, outside the cave, Siesta spotted two people coming towards the cave entrance.
"Siesta?" Louis asked. "What are you doing here?"
"It's bad, your friends are inside the cave and they're under attack by demons and a magician!"
"A magician?" Colbert asked.
"Trickster! We've gotta go in and recuse them!" Louis exclaimed.
They ran inside the cave with Siesta who ran with them.
Back in the huge area and after a swift strike, Sylvia and Trickster landed on the ground, both panting, far away from each other.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Trickster laughed. "You surprise me, I never knew you could dodge and survive my attacks for this long, but I am not going to rest until I've seen you killed at my hand."
"Well that's too bad for you." Sylvia remarked. "All the other members of you Sixth Sense have tried that and failed."
"That's because they were so weak, they do not have the strength of magic that I possess. Even Fouquet's status as a triangle-class mage is no match for my powers."
"So in other words, your level of magic is almost the same as mine?"
"Indeed, we may be at an impasse, neither one of us can win...unless someone's back is turned."
"Don't listen to him, sister." Del intervened. "He's just messing with your mind."
"I'm not going to." Sylvia replied. "I'll just wait for the right moment, since you can't do anything about it either."
"But I still have my magic, you can only be acrobatic and athletic when you're wielding that sword." Trickster replied.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck a cave pillar beside Trickster and fell behind him which then revealed a dark hole that appeared to be bottomless, distracting him for a blind moment.
Sylvia saw her chance...she ran towards him with her sword in front. Trickster turned back and threw a knife at her, only to be deflected by her sword, causing the knife to fly back at Trickster and stab him in the leg...then Sylvia used the Del sword to run it through him.
"YAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Trickster yelled in pain. "No...I'm...losing...strength?!"
Sylvia grabbed the ring from his hand, took the sword out and stood well back, seeing Trickster's life weakening.
"Sixth Sense...leader...cough...forgive me...I have failed...you...cough! You are...the only one...cough...left..." He stood back not realising until it was too late, that he fell into the dark hole. "Arrrrrrrrrggggghhhhh!" A quite thud was heard at the bottom of the hole, then another cave pillar broke and fell down the hole.
The demons suddenly stopped moving as Sylvia put the ring on and aimed it at them causing them to retreat and hide in the dark parts of the cave.
"Alright! Way to go, sister!" Del praised. "That's one problem dealt with."
"This ring...I can't believe I was able to do that easily. Maybe it's related to the powers of Gundalf too."
Guiche, Tabitha and Kirche ran up to Sylvia.
"You were amazing, girl!" Kriche praised.
"I have to admit, our backs were against the wall." Guiche added.
"The ring you have." Tabitha said. "That is the ring that belongs to the water spirit."
Sylvia blinked. "Really, this ring?" She held it out.
"Yes, it must be returned to the water spirit. Please let me have it so I can return it when there is time."
"Okay." She gave the ring to Tabitha who hid it away in a pocket.
Siesta then arrived with Louis and Mister Colbert.
"Louis and mister Colbert." Sylvia said as she and Guiche hugged. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard that the way to ruins of a dragon was through this cave." Colbert replied. "So Louis and I came to see if we could excavate them, but I didn't expect to find you here."
"So we're all after the same thing?" Kirche asked.
"Very much so." Louis replied.
"Where did that bolt of lightning come from?" Guiche asked.
"Oh that was an attack from me." Colbert replied. "I cast a warning attack just in case of an ambush, good thing I did too.
Louis nodded. "Now let's get going, there should be a way out to the deep forest where the shrine of the legendary dragon is."
Using the map and Salamander as a torch, they left the big area and walked through another tunnel until there was light ahead, they walked out and left the cave to be welcomed by a huge and deep forest.
"This must be the deep forest." Colbert commented. "It's incredible that a place like this exists."
They walked onwards, looking for the shrine.
"It's amazing." Kirche said.
"Yes, a place that may be home to undiscovered treasure." Guiche replied.
"So how close are we?" Sylvia asked.
"According to the map, it's this way." Colbert replied.
They walked further along and then came across a huge warehouse. The entrance however was locked with a copper padlock.
"Hmm, that shouldn't be too hard to break." Colbert commented. "Should be able to use magic to open that."
Tabitha noticed a stone away from the warehouse with several markings on it, which got Sylvia's attention.
"Tabitha, what have you found?" Sylvia asked.
But when she looked at what Tabitha saw, Sylvia gasped and was stopped immediately.
"What does that writing say?" Louis asked, feeling curious about it too.
Sylvia looked at the markings. "Those aren't markings...those are letters."
"Letters, what language is that?" Tabitha asked.
"It's Japanese, it's the language of my homeland."
"Huh...what are you saying?"
The padlock on the warehouse was taken off and they walked inside.
"There it is, we've found it." Colbert said.
The three of them followed inside and they all saw a plane that had not been used for years.
"What is that thing?" Guiche asked.
"I've never seen anything like it before." Kirche added.
"So this is the robe of the dragon?" Colbert asked.
"No way..." Sylvia muttered in surprise as she took a closer look at the plane. When she touched it, the rune marking began to glow. "...yeah, there's no doubt about it. It's a zero fighter."
"Hmm, it's under a magician's spell so it should be stable."
"To think this actually existed." Siesta added.
"You know when I first met you, Siesta. I wasn't sure but now I am certain with the way you look with the black hair and eyes, that's part of a Japanese blood."
"Japanese?"
"Yeah, you're great grandfather and I, we came from the same world, I am sure of it now."
"Sylvia." Colbert said. "I'm not positive, but you might be able to return to your world with this."
Sylvia gasped slightly. "Really, so you know about the story too?"
"Yes, you see back then, two of these appeared during the solar eclipse and one of them that looked like this disappeared right into it, so why couldn't this one here return the same way?"
"They say that my great grandfather was flying around in the sky even after the other robe disappeared." Siesta replied. "He kept flying for a long time until he was forced to land."
"Of course, his timing must've been a little off, that's all."
Sylvia was a little confused. "Uhh, you're not quite getting to me."
"In other words, Sylvia, if you could fly this robe of the dragon into the solar eclipse, you might just be able to get back to your own world."
"So if she can can do that, she can go back to her world?" Siesta asked.
"Well, it's really only a theory after all, but I say her prospects are pretty good."
"So there's a chance I can get back after all?" Sylvia asked herself.
"Well, first we need to bring this robe of the dragon to the academy, then we'll discuss on how to get this ready for when the solar eclipse arrives."
Guiche was a little sad at what he was hearing. "Sylvia...is...leaving?"
Meanwhile at Tristain palace, Henrietta and her mother were at a gazebo, watching over the view of the city of Tristain around them.
"So tell me, is it true on what happened to Prince Albion, my young nephew?" Her mother asked.
"I'm afraid it's all true." Henrietta replied. "But the letter I was able to retrieve with the help of my friends has ensured me that I will have the right to enter into marriage of my choosing for the future. Archduchess Marian."
Her mother looked at her. "You know, I heard from Germania that the family there have agreed to call off the engagement, so you have indeed the free choice to marry whoever you want."
"Despite the Reconquista falling, I still believe that the way I have handled this situation has been a disaster, you can punish me any way you see fit."
"I could never do that...you have had much more than your pain of share already." Her mother walked up to her with a smile. "There's nothing you can do to change the past, it's better to accept it all as destiny."
Henrietta began to cry. "Then...you approve of my choice?"
"I do...the boy you have grown up with will one day make a wonderful son-in-law."
"Mother...thank you..." They shared a hug.
"And yet that dream will never come to fruition!" A bold voice intervened.
Henrietta and Marian gasped, turning to the source of the voice. In front of them was a white metallic shaped dragon with bipedal legs.
"What is that creature?" Marian asked.
"I wish I knew." Henrietta replied.
"Fortune smiles upon me...seeing the princess and the arch duchess in one fell swoop here." The bold voice said.
"With the way you speak...are you the enemy leader, the one who is behind everything that is wrong?" Henrietta asked, wiping her tears away.
"Correct...allow me to introduce myself, your highness. I am Goliath! The leader and the strongest of the Sixth Sense!"
"What do you want with us?" Marian asked.
"Spare your strength. I have come to warn you that if you are declaring the Sixth Sense as your enemy, then my army of the dragon kingdom will rise up and destroy everything in the land you hold dear."
Henrietta stood her ground. "As princess of Tristain, the safety of my nation comes first. But we will not submit to your will, you Sixth Sense have caused more than enough disgrace to not only this land, but to the world."
"This is your final chance, Lady Henrietta. Cease your actions against the Sixth Sense and you both and everyone else in this world will live, but under our rule."
"We will not! I made my decision to stand against you and I will not be intimidated by your powers!"
Goliath snarled. "Very well, in that case, I will leave you both here to live for another day. But when we meet again at the dawn of tomorrow, do not expect such leniency! I'll also leave one final warning to your feeble army, prepare both your strength and will!" He levitated and turned around before zooming away.
Henrietta and Marian held on close.
"Louis Francoise...my love." Henrietta said to herself. "I really do hope you find your secret magic soon..."
At last, glad to have finally revealed the leader of the Sixth Sense as Goliath, I've been wanting to use that name for a while.
Alright everyone, the last one is coming up, war is about to begin and Louis's secret magic is finally awoken...
