By the time they arrived at where they'd find Crystallis, a chilly afternoon breeze passed by the five who disembarked once the ride was over. It was already a little before two thirty and the gang had a couple hours left of daytime, though there was actually a bit more time than what they had. The sun over Neyrom Marsh usually lowered below the horizon around much closer to five when the sky would turn orange, so they could have done a bit of extra work in the evening before returning to the warp slate around six. With that taken into account, the group had about four hours assessing the threat level of creatures that would've impeded the search and collecting samples of relics and artefacts they'd bring back with them. Of course, the former would not have been too much of a problem for they already slew some dangerous monsters; however, they were sure to leave some left alive so the beasts could escape, thus ensuring populations of these monsters in the Neyrom Marsh wouldn't suffer harmful decreases in their native populations.
Stepping onto a dock built by the Gremlins of Norges for laying game they hunted in this area on it until they brought it back to their stronghold, the group gazed upon the area to examine it. Gnarled roots grew from muddy waters, a fog blanketing this wetland space preventing them from seeing threats on the ground level; mainly those lurking underneath the fog, specifically crocodiles and venomous snakes that slunk throughout this old, small forest. Granted, they could at least see Stymphalian Birds perched in the trees above and would be prepared for an assault from those things, but grounded animals would've been a major problem for the expedition. That was why they had to be careful when treading the marshy swamp of this area, the ground posing a bigger threat until they reached the open area where Crystallis was. Sounds from insects and the cries of Stymphalian Birds rang out as the group stood here, Macarona and Lil waiting for Froze and Nova to finish a quiet discussion while looking at the map. Skaal Mozig clambered onto a wooden pole in between both groups and sat there, perched in the same manner as on the cart's lever while smoking his herbal remedy that brought peace to the group as they smelled it. The scent was sweet even if the mixture's name was unknown.
Raising her hand to shield her eyes from a glare of the sun that emerged from her side as she glanced upon the forest, Macarona squinted to try penetrating the larger fog that rose above the water as their companions talked. To her, there appeared to be a chill in the air as if this place was expecting them to arrive. Having greeted its trespassers with the sight of it, the forest now welcomed them. A creepy bit of foreshadowing as evident in how the fog rose, prohibiting them from seeing what may have laid ahead of them. Nonetheless she and her friends were not scared as it was only the atmosphere and nothing more—nothing but a genius loci of a space that was haunted, but not scary. The trees and swampy terrain might've been foreboding, though they would not withdraw to the safety of sanctuary at the Gremlins' stronghold, nor would they trek all the way back to Susent in the hope of leaving or collecting five additional adventurers who'd join them on their trek to the water temple beyond the point where all of them now stood before the trees.
"Golly, seems like a perfect place for ghost stories," Lil commented besides her, covering her own eyes from the sun's rays too as she joined the young angel in her observation of the fog and trees standing in the marshy grounds. "Especially when the joint looks like it's from one. Maybe we'll find more Will-'o'-the-Wisps and other spirits if any reside here. I'm sure we'd at least locate a few that might try to misguide us on the way to the water temple."
"Much blood was spilled on this soil and the water…" Mozig uttered as if to answer her.
"From the Stand of Crystallis…" Macarona murmured, putting a name to the conflict that caused the bloodshed in the first place. Her group didn't mentioned it before, though a name was given to the battle. "This is where angels who remained maintained their ground against Roxas and his forces, surviving a pestilence produced by the trees he made with magic. They fought long and hard to try and drive him off, succeeding in only preventing him and other demons from progressing further in the war. If the demons succeeded, surely the White Heaven would've had a much harder time of trying to fend them off as the army was already clashing with the brunt of Mr. Kcalb's military in other regions throughout the heaven of our old world. The tide would've turned, the upper hand in his favor with an opportunity to utilize this monumental landmark against Miss Etihw after seizing it from her. His chances of victory would've increased."
"That is what the people of the Light would have told you," the Gremlin shaman said and averted his attention to her. "What they would not informed you of was what actually happened, what took place on the battlefield itself."
"To keep tough details and tragic affairs under wraps," Lil theorized, making sense since governments and militaries weren't often too open about disasters to citizens. They'd explain the basic fundamentals, but didn't go into detail as doing so was too traumatic; hence why only images featuring some damage, but not everything, was apposite enough to keep people strong and avoid harm to their psyches if they learned too much that could've frightened them more. Fear was a powerful emotion, one capable of crippling societies into submissive states of being too afraid to really do anything to stop something bad. Courage was better for it gave strength to do something, to stand against whatever threatened lifestyles and cultures so that people could preserve themselves and future generations of their civilizations. "Same goes for demons too," Lil added to make another point about what Mozig said. "They too can say what occurs here, but without talking about what actually took place and any other details omitted by their scribes when manufacturing the tales."
"History is either written by victors who may be in a position to fudge their accounts, the truth difficult to come by as one side makes claims and cites them as true facts when actual true facts might not be stated by them," Macarona added, going further with this topic because it was relevant to what was passed down in stories of historical figures and events. "Or those who actually witnessed it to give accurate information and statistics that can be closer to the truth than what victors may say. Even the victors themselves might elaborate on it whether they exaggerate details or not in their accounts of such history regarding whatever happened to the opposition who fought against them and lost the fight."
"Aye," her demonic friend agreed. "I prefer the latter; keeps things consistent with valuable information one might not find in accounts formulated by victors who could make up whatever they wanted by erasing a defeated side's history to make themselves appear good. Definitely paints them in whatever light they prefer, though not with what the actual truth is." Their discussion of a true statement certainly described the past quite well concerning historical accuracy.
"Then you'll learn not all was as courageous and precise as your elders have lectured you on as you grew older in life," the Skaal mentioned, turning back to the forest while smoking his pipe. "I saw the deceased as you mentioned. I watched their souls wander this space, their cries of anguish sounding throughout Neyrom Marsh echoing miles away. They made pain they felt in life known, whether they stood together or fled for their lives and died." He breathed heavily, blowing out rings of herbal smoke that dissipated into nothing in the air. "Such tragic sorrow…so much pain…"
"Which is to be expected as it was possible some soldiers in the armies tried to flee from the battle when it wasn't turning out the way they wanted it to," Froze commented once she and Nova finished looking over the map. "I doubt it'd have been impossible for angels, as they were surrounded by Roxas' forces as demons hammered whatever was left of their defenses. However strong and menacing the demons were, the angels in Crystallis did their best and it was a miracle they held out until the end of the war when demons stood down once peace was made. A shame Roxas didn't agree and kept the assault going, though he and other soldiers who sided with him were defeated by those who followed Lord Kcalb's orders with him being slain by some of those troops. His ghost might still be here, wandering and haunting the marsh where he fell in battle against a horde of demons who stood by the Devil's decision to end the war for peace."
"Or just this spot, I bet; these were his trees," Lil surmised as Nova put the map away and charged up a novice spell to produce a gust of wind that would clear away a bit of the fog. "Who knows? We'd probably encounter him, or we may have already fought him. He may have been a normal spirit, or maybe one of the Will-o'-the-Wisps we encountered along the way here. You'll never know unless he pops up or not. Hell, he may believe the battle might still be raging on even now to this day. He'll likely not look upon our little group too favorably; he may just attack us on sight at once."
"As residual energy according to the stone tape theory of paranormal phenomena which explains that energy produced by events on a traumatic and emotional scale are left behind as mental impressions of an electrical nature," Nova explained to demonstrate knowledge of paranormal phenomena. She was a prominent member of Gray Village's ghost hunting society, and knew intriguing tidbits about the matter in question from her experience heading to haunted locations throughout the region their hometown was situated in. "The impressions are stored in inactive, inanimate objects. The trees here are a kind of material the recordings can be imprinted upon. Unfortunately, such hauntings are not considered live hauntings for the recorded energy plays back in very much the same manner as televisions shows and movies, but only in specific circumstances at times when the circumstances parallel those of the precursor event in question."
"Meaning we would not really find anything paranormal here, right?" Macarona inquired out of curiosity.
"From that view, yes," the Nephilim replied, discharging magical energy she built up into the fog to clear some away for their vision. If they didn't see where they were going and what would attack them, there was no way they'd be able to make much progress going forward. "It'll just be recordings unless we find intelligent spirits." Once the spell completed the role she had in mind for it, she gazed around the proximity of its range and sighed since it hadn't cleared away enough, and it was only temporarily for the effect lasted but a few measly seconds before the fog engulfed whatever ground it lost and then some from the looks of how far its reach extended. A likely theory was that it was due to the wind spell entering the space and pushing the fog back as it swirled to clear whatever was in front, shoving it to the sides instead; that would have then put the fog in a position where it would have been pushed back. It was a theory since the spell may have died out probably at the same point the fog had stopped approaching; there could've been other notions to explain this phenomenon. "Well, the fog is pretty thick. I guess my spell wasn't enough to really dispel enough of it for us to progress. Looks like we'll need to find another approach from a different direction, an alternative route to Crystallis."
"If you'll allow me, Dame Nova, I'll solve the issue," Mozig commented, hopping down from the wooden pole. "I lived for many years, accumulating enough experience with primitive forms of such magic you wield. Clearing this fog requires but a simple incantation to dispel the entirety of this by calling on western winds to dissolve this problem."
"Huh? Why only western winds?" the demonic lady asked. "What of any other winds? Wouldn't you need more to blow the fog away for us, old man? It's how it works, right? I mean, if the fog's this thick, you'd need to draw natural energy from other directions as well, correct? Otherwise one direction alone isn't going to really do enough."
"Maybe in some cases, but I think it's because of what the other directional winds could do," Froze commented to answer her on the Gremlin's behalf, letting the Skaal concentrate on summoning a powerful gust of wind that would ultimately clear away much of the obstacle. It might have also caused some animals and Stymphalian Birds to be blown away too. Whether any enemies would've been or not was yet to be determined, for the spell wasn't being performed yet. "A northern wind may blow past us with probably enough force to send us flying into the marsh if it comes from behind us, or it may blow the fog onto us if it comes from behind it. The same goes for a southern wind too. I guess an eastern wind might work like a western one depending on how powerful it is just like a western wind would be."
"But the wind is blowing from the west if I'm right," Macarona asserted while removing one of her gauntlets to stick an index finger in her mouth. Getting a bit of saliva on it for the sake of her little experiment, she then pulled it out and held her finger up in the air. Confirming it was indeed coming from the west as a breeze blew by, the young angel averted her gaze back at the other angel in their group. "Yep, it's definitely coming over from the west. I can certainly feel it, and I presume the west from our position and the direction we're looking in would be to our left, unless the geography indicates it'd come from the opposite position or the other two directions—in which case we'll wait elsewhere for the end of Skaal Mozig's ritual." Pulling a compass out of her knapsack pouch after putting the gauntlet back on, Macarona checked which direction was north to once again confirm their position and pointed in front of the group. "North is directly in front of us or behind our position, so east and west are in fact on either side of our position. We won't have to move."
"Whichever direction might not really matter so much as it would dispel the fog," Nova said, not bothered by the minor detail in spite of being glad and thankful for the confirmation. "Our progress to Crystallis is the objective."
"Precisely, but now I request complete silence to contact elemental spirits for permission to traverse this space unhindered by this obstacle," Mozig finally spoke after finishing some deep breaths and a few more puffs from his pipe to clear it of remaining herbal incense inside after dumping the contents out into one hand. Letting these remains blow away in a gentle breeze that blew by, he held the mouth piece of his pipe in both hands and began to tap against the wooden boards several times. Uttering an incantation in the Gremlin language, the shaman had raised his voice and lowered it too while continuing his tribal song. Removing his right arm and holding it aloft, his left hand still firmly gripping the pipe he now utilized as a staff, Mozig began waving it out in front of him to conjure winds that slowly surfaced. The element gradually began to appear, and seconds passed as the winds built up to blow the fog away. Soon it was powerful enough to do just that, and with one final wave, the Skaal blew it away as if it was nothing, dissipating the smoke-like substance into nothing. "There, it's gone. We can move forward to the water temple so you Dames may fulfill your mission."
"Wow, for what looked like a simple ritual, it was certainly impressive," Froze remarked to compliment him on how well he did. "I especially liked how the incantation was spoken now. It felt strong and in tune with the gesture."
"Like something of the rituals in the Flower World," Lil added. "Reminds me of Rosaliya and similar rites she and her demons perform for similar purposes at times whatever the reason whenever they have ceremonies to do."
"Every society has its roots steeped in traditions, rituals, customs, and beliefs. Ours is no different in this regard," the Skaal responded to these remarks and breathed to recover his strength. He was not young anymore, acknowledging the youth of his bygone years had already disappeared well before he even met this group of outsiders. Briefly reminiscing on how many he himself saw, the number was very little because he and his tribe usually hid away from those who would've caused them trouble. Froze, Nova, and Macarona all appeared to be like them, a trio of well-disciplined individuals who kept themselves in line, checking their behavior to ensure it wouldn't become very unlike them. Lil was the only difference, a rambunctious one who was certainly going to be a problem, but only if a problem emerged from the Gremlins of Norges to threaten her and her friends. In the past he was like this demon of the dark, hotheaded and very eager to please his elders and kinsmen of the tribe. Now he compared himself to the others and found he was becoming like them as he grew old, wisdom and intelligence of old age catching up at one point. There hardly was an issue with that apart from missing his youth, though he wasn't complaining because of many mistakes he himself inadvertently caused on occasions—nothing serious, minor occurrences that simply accumulated over time that taught him valuable lessons.
Comparing these aspects of himself to the group, Mozig figured the analogy was practical to his remark about past civilizations. Societies could've made mistakes early on too, but further development while learning how to solve such problems were beneficial as it meant societies were improving. All the girls besides Lil exemplified that to him, demonstrating they moved beyond the harsh past they lived in to ultimately develop into a peaceful civilization. This was a blessing of sorts for them. To him, Lil symbolized past youth; overly excited, yet eager for experience and wisdom. Beginning to like this group, though maintaining his aloof nature which kept him silent, he watched them marvel on the very spectacle he performed before them for several moments as he returned to the habit of smoking his herbal pipe.
"Well, every civilization has to start somewhere in life at the beginning of their foundations," Macarona said as she knew the notion was true because primitive origins were the very elements of civilization's birth. It was a very true statement like the others she and Lil had made minutes ago when they spoke about historical accuracy of the past.
"Though not every society is modern and up to date with others," the demonic lady put forth a counterpoint to demonstrate that some civilizations, if not all of them, advanced in their development. This remark was also true, for a society like the Gremlins of Norges did not need to be as modern as others if they didn't want to be. That was up to those who made up said civilization, a decision they were responsible for making after taking many factors into account like how they were faring on their own and how other societies worked with them. It was their way of life too, and they didn't have to follow examples set by other societies if their culture dictated they were to preserve ancient lifestyles the way their ancestors instructed them to. Such loyalty and devotion to their ancestors was an admirable trait in all old societies.
Yet it also might've come across as a comment Lil was making about the Devil's Kingdom. From what she related to Macarona and others whenever she spoke about it, her hell was modern to some degree. It followed some values and utilized integral innovations that were both considered basic by other civilizations, but at the same time it also incorporated technological progressions imported from other underworlds to stay on track with them whenever there was business to be done on an international network. A fine point in the Devil's Kingdom's development according to a number of individuals among the various populations, though one Lil didn't fully agree with because she wanted the Devil's Kingdom to keep up with other hells at a fair pace her hell could follow. It didn't have to be like those other underworlds, nor did it have to be at the exact same speed and pace when developing, but it would've satisfied her because her civilization would've at least made some improvements to the way it was currently running at the time. Perhaps it was because she wanted better equality for women and the lower classes as Macarona suspected, a great goal she admired Lil for because of how the demonic lady sometimes made references to it at times and also when she'd be explaining what the Devil's Kingdom was like to others who didn't know about the components of her society. The young angel hoped things could get better in Lil's hell, hoping others like her could've also stepped up to improve it.
"Because we don't need to," Skaal Mozig addressed that point she made from the initial connotation which was evident in how she said it. "The Gremlins of Norges have maintained our ancient culture which is, sufficed to say, like that of many Gremlins not of the tribe. The only difference between us is they did not band together in a similar manner as they retain the idea of forming various packs that will inevitably conflict with others. Ours is a melting pot of various packs that have chosen to abandon the conflict with them and other inhabitants of this world—albeit with a need for using materials and resources we have taken from conflicts with both the former and latter in order to survive. Views of the notion will differ as we've discussed before, even if we do come to an agreement on how to handle such matters. In any case, we have retained our identity while also tinkering with it by updating and renovating it to suit us as we see fit."
"Which is pretty much a standard means of living and following certain cultural praxes in some societies like yours, sir," Froze remarked, understanding how tribal societies survived from his explanation. As someone who also had training and expertise with archaeology and anthropology, the young angel could easily comprehend the notion due to other expeditions she went on which analyzed past events and populations along with the societies said peoples lived in. Some of these expeditions took her and others like her and Nova to places where tribal societies had resided up until they became extinct, thereby becoming relics and artefacts of the past which were later discovered and passed down from explorers, adventurers, archaeologists, and anthropologists to those who succeeded them, namely their descendants. Descendants were related either by blood through familial kinships, or from mentor to pupil as in the case of people like Froze and Nova. Both groups preserved the artefacts and relics, letting the past live on as legacies of old civilizations that might've died out in the past, but lived on for many generations through whatever was left behind after their passing.
"Precisely," Nova acknowledged the value of this discussion and the truths inherent within it. "But for now we've got a job to do. The fog has cleared and we can finally progress towards Crystallis. Let us move out at once."
Lil grinned with Macarona as the two of them saluted her. "Yes, Ma'am!" she responded, playfully making a quip to lighten the mood by performing the gesture like soldiers in armies would've done when following orders with the young angel emulating her while also repeating the same response too as if they did this to honor the deceased troops.
Their enthusiasm brought a small smile to Froze's face. "Well, at least you're both at ease," she joked too.
"Damn straight!" the demonic lady replied boisterously and morphed her feet into bats so she could avoid the trouble of having to wade through the muddy waters after hopping off the dock. Macarona joined her at the forefront, Froze and Nova taking up the rear with Mozig perched on one of the latter's shoulders after gently picking him up.
"You know, I bet they'd make good lieutenants," Nova joined in on the fun, giggling when the cries of two Stymphalian Birds echoed throughout the forest, alerting their kin by species to the presence of intruders within their terrain. Summoning a pair of aquatic constructs from the water around them and doing the same by forming the wind, Nova managed to conjure three elemental guards as additions to protect her and Froze while their companions were handling crocodiles and Stymphalian Birds that emerged from below and swooped down from above respectively. Splashes of water reached a few feet around them as the combatants battled with these foes, using the terrain to their advantage by ducking behind trees which the Stymphalian Birds ran into whenever they didn't dodge the cover. An efficient tactic the Nephilim evoker utilized was to have her constructs strike these flying beasts down whenever the creatures came too close after passing the trees once Macarona and Lil were safely behind them. Froze created barriers of ice from water that splashed up, the shields defending them and damaging beasts that rammed into them. One crocodile that came forward was about to pounce on Macarona, but the young angel dashed up one tree and leapt backwards off it, somersaulting in the air before coming down hard as she landed on the reptile to deal a critical stomp upon its head.
Minutes later this first wave of offenders was starting to retreat and the fighters spent a few moments to catch their breath despite continuing to progress at a steady pace. They didn't encounter any resistance along the way for quite a while and were glad for this reprieve from the fighting since they wanted to spend more time getting to Crystallis and less on combating the marshland's dangers. Several snakes tried to lash out at them, but they were prepared for these reptiles as Lil used her bats to seize them and toss the creatures aside into the water. Daunted by the prey's resistance, even snakes weren't becoming too much of an issue for the five either. The only problem Macarona, Nova, and Froze had to deal with was the muddy water. It wasn't too deep, though neither too shallow either as their boots sank beneath the surface, the mud reaching up to the bottom of their lower legs just past their ankles with each step they took. Yet all their steps were a struggle too, for they had to pull hard on their legs whenever they stepped forward, wasting energy with each step. Fighting beasts and predators was not so much a problem as they delivered the message that they were not to be trifled with. Nova and Froze already finished jotting down data on notepads they had to write on for assessing the matter of how dangerous each beast within this area was as well as how many they fought so far from when they first arrived in Neyrom Marsh. This task was probably the easiest in terms of what they had to do, though more still had to be done.
At one point as the group was proceeding forward and had already come halfway towards their goal, a lone arrow whizzed by Froze's head. The attack was unexpected and she didn't even see it coming until it was far too late. Shrieking as she narrowly avoided being struck in the neck, stumbling backwards and nearly falling when she tripped over her feet, the young angel breathed a sigh of relief when Nova caught her and pulled the girl to safety. "Thanks, Nova," she murmured, still breathing deeply as she turned to face the attacker and readied her staff while the other girls prepared themselves for combat too. Noise from a short distance away was followed by the shadow of a figure.
Macarona and Lil blinked as they both turned to face the unknown assailant who tried to snipe Froze from afar. "Huh, who the hell was that? That better have been an accidental shot, otherwise we'll pulverize the jerk!" the latter threatened when the attacker revealed himself—or rather, what was left of him. Emerging from the trees, an entity appearing in the form of a spiritual demon rushed behind more for cover, shooting arrows at the five who trespassed on this land. From what they all saw, the ghost was not a Will-o'-the-Wisp because he had a humanoid form which then morphed into a wolf that leapt into the trees and darted ahead when he finished attacking. This spirit was pitch black like the night sky, dark power emanating from its body before the entity vanished into thin air. Thankfully everyone had avoided the spirit's arrows by taking cover; Lil seized Macarona and yanked her angelic friend behind a tree as their comrades ducked behind another. Any arrows that remained embedded in the wooden foliage shimmered, lingering temporarily until dissipating into nothing. Nobody was hurt, but the assailant disappeared from whence he came. "A coward right to the end!" Lil shouted, criticizing the ghost for not facing them head on by using a bow instead of a melee weapon like a sword or something. "That's right, you'd better run away!" she added threateningly afterwards.
"Easy, Lil don't agitate it," Nova instructed her calmly once it was safe for them to regroup closer together. "We've no idea whether it's residual energy or an intelligent spirit. For all we know, we might be walking in on a part of the battle that raged on for months to a few years in this area. It's uncertain if this was during the siege at Crystallis, or following it when peace was made after which Roxas disobeyed orders and was promptly slain in a civil battle."
"Who cares? That asshole nearly killed Froze!" the demonic lady retorted in Froze's defense.
"Not if it was residual energy," the young angel Lil was speaking up for on said angel's behalf said to better clarify what could've happened. "At most I would've felt a sharp chill pass through my neck that would've still been painful, but not so detrimental that it would've threatened my life by killing me. That said, I'm grateful for the concern nonetheless because I truly might've died had that demonic spirit been an intelligent spirit aware of our presence."
"Your alive, Froze, and that's all that matters," Macarona responded happily, thankful her friend was alright. "Still, I do wonder why there aren't any other militant ghosts like that archer. If he was a scout, I believe it would be prudent to make haste before that one reports back to other intelligent spirits in the area and lead them here. I'm afraid I wouldn't be of much aid if that were to happen, so we should get a move on quick. Yet not too hastily since we are probably walking right into a trap." As she explained, they didn't have too many options. Withdrawing was out of the question because they had a job to do. Progressing forward with demonic spirits on their tail was their only option, a suspected trap possibly in the works if it hadn't already been prepared. They had no choice other than to move, but if a second route was available they would certainly take it at once. "I guess we'll just have to buck up and move on."
"Macarona's right," Nova agreed with the young angel. "However, I too am concerned about traps because intelligent spirits could lead individuals astray into one if they're hostile towards the living. If we are dealing with any intelligent spirits, the demons from Kcalb's army shall assault us because the younger ones are angels whereas I'm a Nephilim; Lil might not have any trouble, but they may perceive her as being allied with angels. Consequently, angels from Etihw's army might welcome Froze and Macarona, but not her because she's a demon, plus I too would be a possible target for the same reason demonic spirits here would have. Hopefully it is just residual energy in this place."
"And if not, we'd best be prepared," Froze added. "Who knows what the intelligent spirits, if any, have in mind for us. I advise taking precautions as necessary when we can while remaining cautious, and we should take different routes as opposed to the direct path when we can to avoid trouble if we can. Of course, we must be wary on all the other paths too. You never know when an unseen attacker might reveal himself or herself. It could even be too late for us." Froze's words sounded dire, though with an air of truth evident in the concern and caution she exhibited in them.
"Oh, no worries, Froze, we've got this," Lil reassured her, not worried about any traps. "Like hell these dead guys could ensnare us. Hell, they'd get a lot more than they bargained for if they even try it. I mean, we've got some mad skills, am I right?" She levitated over to the young, blond angel to seize her in a playful hug, ruffling Froze's hair and chuckling while teasingly treating her like a rookie ready and eager for a brawl—except Froze wasn't like that. "Look, it'll be fine, really. You've got Macarona and I on your side, and you girls have got some mad skills of your own too."
"H-hey, stop!" the angel raised her voice, struggling to free herself from the boisterous demon. "That'll mean nothing if we're caught unprepared! I appreciate the optimistic enthusiasm, but you need to take this seriously, Lil!"
"Oh, relax, girl. Hold your chin up and strive for victory!" the lady continued to advise her. "We'll succeed, alright. Just you wait and look forward to our victory! We'll accomplish this mission, maybe in style if possible." She released Froze from her grip and let Nova catch her, returning to Macarona's side and taking her angelic friend's hand before turning around with her. "Come on, let's go! We've got a water temple to explore, so let's get cracking, girls!" Saying so, she morphed into bats to gently pick Macarona up and did the same after cloning her bats into a couple more groups that went over to Nova and Froze. Lifting them with the same tenderness, allowing the bats to multiply since Stymphalian Birds could've still posed a serious threat, the demon proceeded to carry her friends across the treetops.
"We could fly on our own!" Froze uttered aloud, watching as Lil batted away the winged creatures.
"Save your energy! You'll need it!" the demonic lady replied back, unperturbed by the angel's remark that garnered a sigh of frustration from Froze. However, Nova simply reached an arm over, being careful so as not to fall.
"Just relax and enjoy the ride, Froze," the Nephilim simply calmed her colleague's nerves. "It'll be over soon. I'm actually rather grateful since it'll save us valuable time rather than wasting it by trudging through the marsh."
The Gremlin Skaal merely blew a ring of herbal smoke out of his mouth. "She's certainly reckless, but strong. Even I can recognize there is more to Dame Lil than you may realize. She does have a powerful aura about her."
"I must admit," Froze finally conceded the point, "there is a ring of truth to that in some respects."
"See? You do acknowledge my strengths," Lil giggled in her bat form, glad she made a good impression.
Although Macarona giggled too since she liked this interaction, she couldn't help but feel like Froze and the Skaal might've been referring to the other matters surrounding her demonic friend from the Devil's Kingdom. Though she pushed such concerns to the side for now and allowed the expedition to come first instead of being the concern that was dropped for the time being when the sight of a water temple appeared within the center of a massive lake. "Look, there's Crystallis!" she pointed out the spectacle for the others to see as they came upon an ancient stone temple.
"Well, well, we've made it," her demonic friend uttered and gradually descended to a stone pavement that served as a platform for them to land on. "See? Told you it'd be quick!" She may not have been the one alluding to a speedy means of travel a couple minutes ago, though the implication had come across in their conversation just then.
"It still doesn't mean there aren't traps lying around with intelligent spirits ambushing us," Froze retorted.
"Can't argue with that, but hey, let's spring them anyway!" Lil spoke back enthusiastically, unoffended by Froze's tone of voice when the angel pointed that out because she recognized it as being a legitimate concern. After dropping everybody off and resuming her normal form once more, the demon stepped forward to stretch her arms. "How's about we walk straight in, bust the door down, and start kicking ass all over the place?" she asked, looking forward to an exciting bout against the spirits—if any were intelligent and hostile—and the Makara inside the temple.
"You do realize the bridge isn't up, right?" Froze inquired rhetorically, somewhat sharply too.
"Yep!" the demon commented, cracking her knuckles, acknowledging the point. "We just have to raise it."
"But how?" Macarona asked, glancing around at a bunch of old symbols on the ground around them. There were also several levers that had to be pulled too, stone constructs that aged over years and decades of inactivity. She sauntered over towards one and examined it, noting the foliage that grew on it as a result of seeds that must've fallen. Much time had passed, and these seeds had developed into foliage that now must've contributed to the inactive state. "This looks like some kind of way to raise the bridge if I'm correct. A puzzle, perhaps, though how do we acquire the solution? Surely soldiers of Miss Etihw's army left behind clues as to solving it if they managed to leave once the deadly battle between them and Roxas was over. There's a way in, but there also had to have been a way out too, right?"
"Precisely, Macarona," Nova replied and examined the same lever the young angel was analyzing. Artefacts were littered all over the ground, old weapons and armor pieces strewn about haphazardly. These relics were crucial for their work, so they needed to be careful when walking around here. "This appears to be the only way in from what a collection of accounts from the war state, but it is certainly connected to a similar set of levers inside the grounds of Crystallis." Pulling a pair of binoculars out of her knapsack pouch, the Nephilim peered through them to examine the defaced wall across the lake from where they stood. A few minutes passed and she eventually took flight to analyze everything else from an aerial perspective, keeping her distance as she examined the walls of Crystallis for any clues they'd be able to make use of if possible. Returning to the platform with a sigh, she put the binoculars away. "I looked everywhere across the structure, though there isn't much to go off of. Documents say it was constructed with average stone bricks and cinderblocks by the angelic army, though records of the entrance do not describe the nature of getting within it. Understandable of course because these files had to be kept hidden from the demons so they wouldn't have discovered the code, leaving the normal way in closed unless they produced an alternative route in by chance—that wouldn't be likely because blueprints would've still been drafted. Plus the demons never broke in the hard way."
"Meaning this puzzle is our only way in," Froze easily concluded from Nova's explanation and theory.
"It seems to be the case, yes," the Nephilim concurred and stepped back to examine all the levers. "But how?"
"How do we solve it, you mean?" Lil stated rhetorically. "Easy, simple process of elimination, of course."
"Except there could be traps the angels set up which might not have been deactivated when this place was decommissioned by the army following the peace treaty Lord Kcalb and Lady Etihw established," Froze added an additional concern that needed to be addressed too. "No documents have stated whether that was the case or not."
"There is a way, alright," Skaal Mozig confirmed what they already discussed and concluded, hopping down from Macarona's shoulder which he clambered onto when Nova flew around the temple's perimeter. Using his pipe which he pointed at the symbols on the platform, he indicated these were the key they needed. "These symbols aren't familiar to you even if your archives may contain portrayals of them. They're an old dialect, one Gremlins of Norges regularly write in whenever they pose inquiries to our spirits and deities. We discovered this in our first years."
"Wait, this is an ancient language?" Nova checked for confirmation from him which the Skaal replied to.
"Precisely, Dame Nova, a dialect once spoken by those of the Light both before and during your war."
"Ah, that makes sense," the Nephilim formed a fist with one hand and it on top of her other palm. To her and Froze, the mystery was becoming clear now that this important piece of the puzzle was revealed to them. They were unaware of what exactly their significance meant, though now the two colleagues realized it was not as complex as a puzzle like this one appeared to be. "I get it now, yeah. These symbols were once part of a dialect the angels spoke."
"Back when this world was originally split into a heaven and an underworld with a realm for humans within the middle of the two?" Macarona asked, clarifying the subject further because all worlds possessed a variety of dialects. Languages were split in between the three she mentioned, forming three distinct groups in which the humans shared diverse languages between themselves and angels and demons each only spoke one dialect in their world alongside a dialect shared by other angels and demons in other worlds. Yet the angels and demons were also familiar with dialects spoken by each other too, but only engaged in conversation whenever encountering those of the opposing side.
"Indeed, though I'm afraid languages are not my specialty," Nova answered her with a bit of bad news.
"Nor are they mine," Froze also commented, expressing her lack of oral expertise in the field. "If Skaal Mozig knows the language, we can make some progress. Still, we should've come prepared with a linguistic expert."
"Exactly why you must always possess a Hoyttaler in your group," the Skaal chided them for neglecting an individual who would've been more familiar with the language than they were, someone who could even speak that dialect as well. "One does not make speech with those they cannot understand, for they shall hit a language barrier."
"Duly noted," Nova conceded the point, "though to be fair, the records for this code might be hard to locate. Back home Froze and I analyzed each and every single document on Crystallis that was relevant to our expedition. I searched high and low for everything with her. Nothing was found regarding how to get in if the bridge was down, leading me to suspect this particular set of however many files on it was either lost among others or not recorded."
"But copies could be acquired from other towns like Susent, right?" Lil asked. "Why not get them there?"
"Like you said, Lil, they are copies—copies which also might not be available for exactly the same reason," Froze replied to explain the issue. "The first preliminary expedition already went through all the files in Susent."
"Finding nothing pertaining to the order of these levers," Macarona theorized based on the latter comment. "Long story short, we just might have to perform a process of elimination as Lil said in the event Skaal Mozig is not familiar with this particular set of symbols. But then we're left with the issue of moving them because they're old."
Putting a finger to her chin as she shut her eyes, Froze tipped her head down deep in thought as she thought of how they could solve the latter problem. "Skaal Mozig could certainly tell us the order if he can read them and knows whatever the answer may be. As to moving them, we could be able to loosen the gears within them after getting the mechanisms wet first. The water could dampen any rust within, and fire might burn it away once the residue is soft enough to be cleared via this method, or it could just disintegrate the substance—whichever means works will suffice." Unable to suppress a sigh, Froze set her staff against one of the levers and crossed her arms while staring off into the distance. "I wish Yosaf was here; she could breathe fire so we wouldn't have to deal with building up firewood." A metallic gleam shone in the sun for a brief moment as if to solve their need for fire, catching Froze's attention as she glanced at it. "Huh? What's this? A socket for an orb of some kind?" she put the notion forward to everyone else.
Lil smiled as she walked over to examine the young angel's finding. "Looks like you got yourself a solution," the demonic lady murmured and traced her finger along the outer rim where something could've been inserted into this device. "I'd say the angels must've developed a set of magical keys and hid them somewhere. I wager it's Crystallis."
"What makes you certain these things are in the water temple?" Nova asked, wondering how Lil reached a conclusion like that already without needing to establish a hypothesis on what the objects were and where they were.
"Think about it," the demon responded and stepped towards the center of the platform while answering her. "The angels wanted to hold off this Roxas guy and prevent his forces from seizing this area during the war. They put heads together and come up with the idea of constructing certain objects as keys in order to seal the water temple off. They've must've placed a spell over these levers to petrify them, turning the mechanisms to stone that wouldn't revert back to their original state unless the keys are reinserted. One problem remains, however: to remove the keys, angels had to remain outside of Crystallis in order to remove them and lower the bridge so the demons wouldn't cross since the water's got some kind of enchantment on it that stops them from proceeding. But then the demons would've simply slaughtered them for the keys, meaning there had to be a way for the angels to get these keys inside Crystallis as this location was the only place left where angels could stay in this region. The bridge would have to have been developed with a timer of sorts, the magic lowering it from this end where we're standing and working its way along the process along towards that other side, letting angels have just enough time to run across it as this bridge was lowering. You've also got to consider the notion of them flying into the courtyard, though a magical barrier was built by them too, and I'm wagering it still stands to this day much like how everything else would too." Lil grinned, pleased with her logic. Her forward thinking of the situation and how she arrived at the conclusion impressed them as they realized she was right. However, Froze spoke up right away with a counterpoint that opposed something the demonic lady already said.
"But what if the angels were able to flee through the demons? They weren't immediately surrounded. A very small squad of the angels could've made a break for it to report back to inform Lady Etihw that the site was secure."
The smile never left Lil's face as she turned to address the young angel. "We listened to every detail of Nova's PowerPoint presentation, remember?" she reminded her. "The demons would've caught their tracks and could have simply sent a battalion of soldiers after them. Troops specialized in tracking down angels would have had no trouble following their prey. I do get the idea of them running into a larger force of angels who might've encountered another smaller squad of their own, but do recall that Nova said the entire region was surrounded by demons. Crystallis was where a monolith that helped maintain the barrier in this part of your old world was located. It is within the temple itself and Roxas couldn't get past that larger barrier unless he had the keys to bring up the bridge from beneath the lake. Yet the bridge had to be connected with the barrier, thus lowering that too once the keys were inserted into the levers."
"So angels couldn't regroup with their allies because they had to protect the monolith," Macarona concluded, following the logic her demonic friend was using, amazed by how well thought out that plan of action was and how everything was laid out easily by Lil. "They were surrounded and had nowhere to go but inside the water temple."
"Correct, Macarona!" Lil raised an arm up to point at her. "Out here, they weren't safe even if a larger force remained inside because the demons could've acquired the keys easily. In there they were, hence why the keys must be within Crystallis. The very keys they needed were their salvation to surviving, and that is why they protected them."
"But then we can't get in," Froze murmured, believing Lil discovered an impossible solution they couldn't reach if the demon's theory just so happened to be true. "Our expedition would be restricted to this platform alone."
"Another answer I've thought of already," the demonic lady replied. "Spiritual energy, of course."
The other girls blinked. "Spiritual energy?" Nova repeated the words in the form of a question. "You mean ghosts could've passed through the barrier? Sorry if I'm not really following your logic all that well, Lil. It's just that I'm having difficulty comprehending it from the angle you're explaining it from. Could you clarify the objective of this?"
"Yep! We did talk about intelligent spirits, remember?" Lil posed her idea to them. "What if they are not bound to laws and properties utilized to construct the barrier around Crystallis, especially if they are demonic spirits?"
Although Macarona and Froze might not have really understood where Lil was going with this even though they could comprehend what she was saying, Nova immediately got it right away as she also got an idea. "Of course, that's got to be it, Lil! Intelligent demonic spirits could possibly cross the barrier into the temple uninhibited because it wasn't constructed by Etihw. The Goddess had to apply her magic to keep out spirits too, but she didn't have a hand in developing it because she was away in the capital whenever she wasn't fighting the demons with her subordinates."
"Let me get this straight," Froze attempted to better comprehend the subject they were discussing. "Demons who've died may have a chance of becoming intelligent spirits who could penetrate the barrier unobstructed by any obstacles in their path. They can steal the keys that way for their army. A likely scenario if that actually happened, Lil. Remember, the angels managed to hold off the demons here; surely they would've at least safeguarded the keys by obviously protecting them with magic if they considered the very notion you're projecting. We also have to still find where the keys were taken by the demons if they even did manage to acquire them, and they could be anywhere."
"Yes, that is an issue," Macarona concurred, realizing the keys might not have even been in Neyrom Marsh.
"Not if the intelligent spirits were from Roxas' supporters after peace was made," Lil went on, believing in her theory while adding another piece of the puzzle onto it to better clarify and elaborate on the matter. "They'll have it."
"Okay, that narrows our field of scrutiny," Nova agreed, acknowledging that part since it meant the ghosts who've been loyal to Roxas would've retained the keys as intelligent spirits in this region. "Accounting for that detail, we'll only need to look throughout this whole region which decreases the amount of time spent searching other spaces. We've still got to find it here which would still take plenty of time, but at least we won't have to look elsewhere."
"Precisely," the demonic lady continued further along with this idea of hers. "And where would the spirits be?" she then inquired rhetorically. "I'll bet they wouldn't dare enter territory inhabited by the spirits of those loyal to the Devil because of a feuding battle between the two factions. They could theoretically defeat angels' intelligent spirits as they're enemies of the angels, thus leading to them securing the keys after being victorious over them. They would have finally accomplished their objective by seizing Crystallis even though the purpose of taking the water temple is pretty dead."
"Again, that decreases the scope of both time and the area," the Nephilim concurred yet again prior to making a counterargument against this notion. "However, the keys could still be in Crystallis. Then again, I suppose the demons might not be able to utilize them if they knew how to because of magic only the angels could've used. Besides, they became intelligent spirits as we're theorizing, meaning they wouldn't even need the keys at all to pass the barrier."
"Therefore, the keys would've been nothing but useless junk to them in that deceased state," Lil concluded, feeling she thought that through very well and placing trust in her own judgment of the events they were discussing. "And what do we do with useless junk when we don't need it? When it becomes so pointless we can't even use it at all?"
Macarona's eyes widened as a glint shone in them, finally reaching the same conclusion her demonic friend spoke of. "We throw it out," she declared, sticking a finger in the air as she realized the genius in this hypothesis. "The demons disposed of these keys, aware they couldn't even use them as intelligent spirits. Or simply not use them at all."
"A legitimate theory, one I could get behind," Froze remarked, also understanding it, "if not for a problem."
"You and your problems, Froze," Lil joked, giggling since she thought it was a bit funny. "What is it?"
"Which of the demons would be so powerful as to pass through the barrier as ghosts?" the young angel put that inquiry forward despite proceeding to answer it. "There may be likely candidates like Roxas if they became entities."
"Though we know Roxas was quite a powerful demon, even if he wasn't as strong as others like Yosaflame, Lost, and Cranber," Nova went on while her colleague turned back to the water, gazing at it when the angelic girl was attracted by the sight of several lights shining deep beneath the surface. These lights were moving, though they couldn't really be made out well because of how murky the water was and how the water seemed to move in sync with them. "Roxas, if he became an intelligent spirit, would've been placed in a position where he could go through the barrier and seize the keys. He'd dispose of them and use any spells in his arsenal that could've potentially weakened the barrier." Discussing this notion with the other girls and Skaal Mozig, they all didn't notice that Froze began to take flight while following the lights that captured her attention. They moved fast and she beat her wings faster to keep up, being drawn towards the water temple with the lights moving around as if attempting to confuse her. Though the angel kept up, keeping herself close to the lights as she narrowed her eyes, descending closer to the water for a better observation when Froze noticed something peculiar about them. The lights were beginning to ascend and get closer to her position. Froze went to get her staff before realizing she forgot it at the platform, cursing her luck as she then reached her hand out…
There was a sudden eruption of water splashing her whole as Froze shut her eyes tight to avoid blinding them. Flying back a few feet out of surprise while also covering her mouth, the angelic girl opened them moments later and screamed. Directly below her, shooting upward out of the water with its giant, crocodile like maw, was the Makara. It chose this moment to strike, lashing out at her for a bite of what it thought was a tasty, angelic delicacy. The speed with which the beast shot out of the water and those rows of sharp teeth in its jaws were enough to frighten anyone weak of courage. Froze clearly wasn't, but the attack startled her so badly with her helpless that she couldn't fight back.
"FROZE!" Macarona screamed, watching her friend be pulled down beneath the water's surface by a beast which quickly pounced on her, having rapidly gained on the angelic girl until it was too late for Froze to escape. At this moment Macarona sprang into action and pulled her mask up, sprinting towards the water and diving in to save her friend's life. She swam as fast as she could, catching sight of an outline moving fast with another outline struggling.
Caught in the foe's maw, her eyes closed as she fought to free herself from its grip, Froze felt her back was arched against the lower jaw and the Makara's teeth. She could feel them pricking into her backside, poking her very rudely with the upper jaw trying to fully clamp down on her. Holding it up with what little strength she had left while feeling it fade from her arms, believing she was going to die here and become a meal, Froze partially opened her eyes. Glimpsing the Makara still using its own strength to force its upper jaw down, the young angel thought this was a final sight of what would've been her death. Her life flashed before her eyes, though abruptly ended with the sight of two intensely red beads appearing out of nowhere right before her, directly in her face which scared her just as badly as the Makara had when it dragged her underwater. Froze tried not to scream, yet her mouth instinctively opened allowing plenty of filthy water passage into her mouth and down her esophagus, threatening to drown her lungs with water.
Suddenly she felt an intense pressure on her side while struggling, seconds later finding she had managed to escape somewhat when her assailant jerked about violently as if attacked. A sharp pang of pain jolted throughout her entire body from her left side, blood seeping through gashes from the teeth that finally penetrated her armor. Losing much blood, Froze felt her vision begin to darken somewhat despite seeing two bright green outlines lit up. Appearing in the shape of hands and realizing that it must've been Macarona since she recognized the somatomantic energy Macarona built up and utilized to deliver punishing blows, the blond angel observed two additional feet-like lights appear too. Watching her friend kick the Makara's stomach hard while grabbing onto its side, Froze began hearing explosions just above her as if they were coming from above water and below it too with the closest range being around the monster. Sinking deeper into the water, having lost the strength to swim away because she lost so much blood, her eyes closed when her vision went completely dark. Falling unconscious, she hadn't realized time was passing with her unaware.
Dealing a sharp kick to the Makara's abdomen while gripping both arms in a position where she could avoid its maw, Macarona could easily hold her breath because of the mask's enchantment which not only protected her from venomous poison and diseases, but also allowed her extra time underwater before she had to resurface. The sight of a darkened form mounting this beast had her attention as she did her best to dodge the spells this intelligent spirit was shooting at her. She couldn't deal with the rider just yet, however, for its mount came first as did Froze whom she'd begun to notice was sinking further down into the deeper recesses of this massive lake. Another kick from her smashed against the Makara's torso once again, the somatomantic energy applying enough force to actually penetrate the body before she yanked her leg out of it. With their foe impeded by the grievous wound, Macarona took the opportunity to swim down and save Froze. Grasping her friend in both arms once she had her, the young angelic grappler kicked her legs against the water to swim upwards where she eventually emerged above the surface. Her wings were wet, so she could not fly despite the fact it wasn't her immediate concern. "Froze!" she cried out in alarm, holding the other angel. "Stay with me, Froze! Hold on, I'll get your staff!" Throwing her head to look at the platform, Macarona saw Mozig was continuing a ritual much like the very one he performed before they entered this part of the marsh. The winds he summoned were kicking up, drawing the intelligent spirits of a militant force that attacked them when she went for Froze into midair. Utilizing this opportunity to their advantage, Lil split into four copies of herself which together produced a massively large orb of darkness that ultimately erupted, the magical energy ripping into the ghosts to tear them apart into nothing.
"Macarona," Nova shouted from across the lake and seized her colleague's staff to throw it like a javelin, "here, take the staff!" Arching her arm back, the Nephilim threw Froze's staff towards the angels and immediately developed a watery construct that caught it and brought the staff over to them. Accepting the staff and making use of healing magic within the die on top because she learned how to use healing spells in school, Macarona breathed deeply while letting Froze's staff handle much of the process. Once she was certain her friend would be alright, she gently handed Froze to Nova's construct with the staff so it could keep healing her while taking Froze to safety back where Nova and Mozig were. Pulling something out of the knapsack pouch around her waist, the girl opened her fist to gaze upon something she believed was one of the keys they needed. Looking down at the water and catching sight of the other lights, Macarona realized the only way to get them was to fight the Makara and its rider. Emerging victorious was her only option.
"Nova! I'm going back under for the other keys!" she shouted to the Nephilim before diving under again.
"W-wait, what?! That's crazy, Macarona!" Nova tried to protest, but to no avail as she was too late. Watching Macarona submerged, she could only hope the angel had a plan and was fast enough to escape if things went deadly.
Underneath the water's surface, Macarona did indeed have options. She could've continued to fight against her foes underwater or attempt to lead them closer to the water's edge where the shallow waters would improve chances of her victory by providing Lil with an opportunity to hoist their enemies out onto dry land and into the air where they'd be utterly helpless against her attacks. Although these were likely demonic spirits, even they appeared too weak to handle her friend's stronger attacks which gave them an edge. Seeing the Makara had a few more lights embedded into its body, Macarona knew these were the keys because of how similar they were to the other one she took from it. Apparently this one spirit mounting it used the orb-like keys to try and empower its mount. Removing them would drain the power, exactly what the angel hoped to accomplish by fighting against it because then it'd be left in a much weaker state.
The Makara was much larger than she was, yet Macarona used that to her advantage despite choosing to go for an overly dangerous approach from the front. Taking the risk as she watched its jaws open up, she shot forward into its mouth and immediately propelled herself out once the upper jaw was in her grasp. Using her strength and somatomantic energy, Macarona successfully ripped the upper jaw asunder. Much blood seeped out of the wound, gushing forth as the water became stained by its blood. As this deadly strike managed to severely injure the Makara, Macarona seized two more keys from it, leaving only one left which the spirit snatched up. Unable to use the keys' power to heal itself, the Makara died from its wounds as its rider raised a smoky black hand to shoot out a giant tree branch at Macarona. An attack like this geomantic assault could only suggest that the spirit's identity was none other than Roxas and this was confirmed by the fact various openings along it released noxious fumes underwater. Luckily Macarona had her mask on, protected from the poisonous diseases within these gases that harmed the watery ecosystem, but not her as she dealt a critical punch to the branch to shatter it. Realizing it couldn't stop her, Roxas' ghost ascended above the surface and immediately found himself ensnared by dark tendrils of a spell Lil cast before forming into bats. Driving at him like a drill, her bats made a painful impact against his torso and that shoved him into the air where all his minions had perished.
Lil's bats also picked up Macarona once the angel reached the surface and lifted her into the air too so they could perform a duel strike against Roxas. "Macarona! Here's some of my magic!" the demonic lady called out while she applied dark magic to the somatomantic energy circulating around Macarona's hands and feet, empowering her limbs.
"Alright, thanks, Lil!" the young angel replied gratefully as she was brought up to Roxas' level. His ghost was helpless, unable to perform an adequate counterattack that could've stopped their duel strike. Although he attempted to conjure another tree branch as a shield, Macarona somersaulted backwards and delivered a crushing blow with one foot. The attack shattered the branch into pieces like her previous punch had done to the other one, not only destroying it, but also sending Roxas' spirit flying into the ground near the platform. With the energy from Lil's spell still applied to her, Macarona quickly rushed over to the ground and snatched the remaining key from Roxas. Watching his ghost begin shimmering as if trying to dissipate, the angelic fighter formed a fist with one hand and unleashed a battle cry while pummeling the ghost's head into the ground, striking him directly in the face. Breathing heavily once his spirit was no more, having been vanquished completely, Macarona gathered all the keys in one hand and approached the others.
Regaining consciousness, Froze gasped heavily and shot into a sitting position, coughing hard to clear away water in her lungs. Aided by Nova who had placed an arm around her, holding her colleague's body in her arms after Froze finished choking, the angel whipped her head around to check if the horror she'd been through was over. "Ah, that was certainly a scary experience. I believe I would've almost died had Macarona not come for me soon enough."
"At least you're alive and well, Froze," Nova gently chided her, "but remember what I said when we arrived before? Always be careful of your surroundings and be sure you're equipped to handle any dangers around you."
"Sorry, I should've realized I didn't have my staff on me at the moment," the young angel apologized while Macarona took a seat beside them with Lil joining the group. Only Mozig remained apart, maintaining a short distance away from them. "I expected it was dangerous, but never did it occur to me that it was the Makara. That was scary."
"Well, now you've learned your lesson," Lil commented amicably. "Next time hold onto your staff."
Hearing her demonic friend receive a response of affirmation from the other angel, Macarona, one of the only two other members of their group who hadn't said anything yet, was still taking deep breaths to recover her strength. "That was…" she murmured softly, but loud enough for the others to hear her. She took another deep breath before going on, a smile broadening across her face before she went on. "That was so awesome! We were such a great team, Lil!"
Froze merely blinked in surprise, shocked her friend actually enjoyed the conflict. "H-huh, w-wha…?"
"Oh, I know, right, Macarona?! It was such an amazing kick! And that punch you delivered?! Awesome!" Lil joined in on the post-battle victory conversation, evidently impressed by how they won and what had happened.
"It so was not!" Froze retorted, feeling angry over their sudden change in gears from her being on the brink of death to them winning a fight spectacularly. "I was literally on the verge of death! I could have died out there!"
"But you didn't," Nova rubbed her colleague's head to try calming her down. "And it was your mistake. I know it's wrong to blame you for forgetting your staff because you forget about in the moment of discovery. It happens to the best of us, including me. Still, you really do need to be more careful on these expeditions, Froze. I know you can do better than this; next time have somebody go with you whenever you're investigating something really important, okay?"
Her angelic colleague sighed, knowing the Nephilim was correct. "Yes, I know. Sorry I snapped."
"Oh, don't worry, I'm the one who should apologize for neglecting your health in the heat of the aftermath," Macarona uttered, standing up to help Lil inset the orb-like keys into the sockets of each lever. "Sorry, I got carried away with my excitement at having won. I'm glad you're okay, Froze." Letting the magic within each key convert the stony appearance back into the regular gears they originally were like before being petrified, she and Lil waited by them so Mozig could direct them to whichever levers had to be pulled. "Okay, Skaal Mozig, what would the correct order be?"
"Simple, it goes like this…" the Gremlin Skaal pointed at each symbol that matched up with a respective lever by each of them. "And if I may, Dame Macarona, I suggest you dive back down and cut off some scales from the Makara. You are its slayer, and thus you're worthy of being the one who claims a hunting trophy from its cadaver."
"Oh, alright, does anyone happen to have a knife of some kind I could use?" she asked, looking to the others.
"There's one in my knapsack," Nova offered, getting the knife out and handing it to her. "If you want to go ahead and swim down now while we're still resting for a bit, feel free to. Just try not to be too long, okay, Macarona?"
The young angel smiled. "Sure, I'll also bring up some scales for you all as well," she remarked to them.
…
And thus the expedition to Crystallis comes to an end. I apologize for getting this uploaded much later than I originally expected. Some important things came up and I had to deal with them. Thankfully I'm back on schedule and will begin working on the next chapter and the boss battle with it real soon. Look forward to it.
The stone tape theory I mentioned earlier in this chapter works exactly the way I described it. Thomas Charles Lethbridge, an archaeologist who became a parapsychologist, coined the notion in 1961; though it had become popular with the development of a BBC product produced for Christmas in 1972 called the Stone Tape. This popular idea was not without criticism, however, for Lewis Vaughn and Theodore Schick both claimed there were no such mechanisms in inactive objects that didn't share the same properties reels of tape do in a book they both wrote entitled How to Think about Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age. Another critic, Richard Wiseman, also put forth the same critique; albeit in similar wording while emphasizing how there isn't scientific evidence to support the stone tape theory. This is pretty much everything I found on it on Wikipedia; though as somebody who watched the Ghost Adventures show on the Travel Channel, I personally believe this is a valid theory as it appears to have proven it in my opinion on many of the paranormal investigations.