The dragon's roar echoed off the surfaces of the immense underground cavern which it and Lorelei were in. The stone bridge shook with its step as it approached Lorelei. Lorelei began to incant a spell, with which the dragon answered with a breath of fire. Its chest swelled with air, and then out came a searing stream of white hot fire. Lorelei did not have time to finish her spell, and only a moment to raise her scythe. The pillar of fire crashed against her, erupting in all directions around and past her, as if a bomb had suddenly exploded in front of her. The flames cleared to reveal Lorelei holding up her scythe, a magic barrier glowing bright in the darkness. Gritting her teeth, she readied to charge.

"HYAHHHHHHH" She lunged forward, scythe held high.

The dragon swept its car sized hand at her. Lorelei leapt over the attack, rising high into the air before it. She then brought her scythe down against its shoulder. It roared with pain as the blade cut through its tough hide and scale. Lorelei thought she had done well for only an instant before she saw its immense tail come at her. In mid air, she could not react, and barely managed to brace for it. It struck her like a rushing freight train, a metallic clank as its scales struck against her armor. In an instant, she crossed the distance between the dragon and the stone door she had passed through to enter the room. She struck it with such force that a circular crater formed around her. She gave a strained and agonized yelp as she hit then a hacking cough, blood spattering into the air, as she slowly fell out of the crater onto the smooth stone floor. She landed with a clank, slumping into a pile on the stone.

"Oh my…" A figured far away watched, commenting quietly to himself.

Lorelei grasped her scythe again, using it like a crutch to help her stand back up. Her hood was off and for a moment her face was in plain sight. She quickly pulled it back over her head. She then looked at the arrow sticking out from her shoulder, scowling at it.

'Damn it, I can't move as quick when I'm injured like this.'

Focusing, she summoned her ravens. They flew in a great black mass at the dragon, attacking its eyes. It roared and thrashed its head about. This gave Lorelei a desperately needed moment. She quickly began to incant a spell.

"Oh lord of the underworld; bring forth to me 10 mighty hounds who's breath is of fire and brimstone!"

Magic circles formed in front and behind Lorelei, and within them formed 5 hounds each in groups. They were huge, mottled red and black with black spikes protruding from their body. Within their nose and throat the glow of burning embers radiated against their long white fangs. They lashed out at the dragon as a pack, attacking at its joints as it blew fire at them to no effect. Lorelei then followed with another spell.

"Wicked fire that consumes and destroys, blackened by evil and hate, surge forth and annihilate!"

In front of her a Magic circle formed, and from it a stream of black fire poured forth. It boiled and rolled like a turbulent storm. Crashing against the dragon, the fire caused it to take flight in agony. It retreated to the center, the hounds falling off its body and into the abyss. It blew fire out at Lorelei as it retreated, incinerating her ravens and singeing her armor as she put up another hasty barrier.

"Damn it…dragons really are amazingly tough. That fire would have killed a whole platoon of demons. Well…one more idea…"

The dragon, no longer antagonized by summons, renewed its attack, enraged and furious. It charged down the bridge, its thunderous bounding steps causing the bridge to shake and creak. With a running start it lept into the air, flying toward Lorelei from above. Meanwhile, Lorelei had been readying her spell in anticipation.

"Tortured souls who lust for power, now bound by the heavy chains of your evil! From Gehenna, bring forth 20 wailing wraiths and tangle the enemy!"

All around her in the air dark glowing magic circles of black and purple formed. Black mist leaked forth from them as the wails of the undead filled the room. The wraiths flew out from the circles. They held halberds made of shadow and their form was made of black tattered robes wrapped in ghostly iron chains. As they flew out the chains dragged behind them, coming out of the circles in a seemingly unending flow of metal. They flew all about the dragon as it flew down at Lorelei, roaring and snorting fire. The Dragon gave a fiery bellow, just an instant away from crashing into Lorelei with its 30 ton body. At that moment, it suddenly halted with a sudden jerk, its immense maw snapped at Lorelei just a few feet in front of her. It had been wrapped in the wraith's chains and its wings were tangled. The wraiths instinctively flew down toward the abyss below them, dragging the dragon down with them. It howled in fury, struggling as it disappeared into the darkness below.

Lorelei didn't wait around; she immediately sprinted over the bridges as quick as she could manage. As she approached the next set of great stone doors they once again opened before her. There she entered the chamber of the book. She stared out across the smooth walled room, somewhat impressed with the architecture. On the other end of the room there was a stand with a book on it. The stand was atop a stone podium with steps leading up it. Looming over the path to the book were two immense statues. As Lorelei approached, she triggered yet another trap. If it wasn't obvious, Lorelei was horrible when it came to traps.

The floor slid out from under her and she found herself on a strange stone version of twister. Lorelei was boggled at first, until she remembered what this place was meant to do.

'This really is for students…eh?'

Then a familiar voice boomed down at her apparently from the stone statues. They then moved, positioning their hammer above her.

"Oh ho ho ho ho, answer my questions or face the…hmmm, you don't look like one of my students." A puzzled Dean commented.

Lorelei drew on her dark inner power to alter her voice, giving it a demonic tone and vibrancy.

"Of course not, you old fool!" She yelled out.

"Oh dear, well you better just give up, that book's not yours!"

Lorelei just jumped off the twister platform, back onto the floor. She rolled out of the way of a pair of hammer strikes and then twirled her scythe, slicing at the golems. They fell back in fear, because what happened to them also happened to the Dean. Lorelei then strode up the podium, standing before the book.

"This is…This is the Book of Melchizedek!!" A stunned Lorelei almost forgot to use her altered voice. "T-this book…my family has searched for this book for 4 generations!" She snatched the book, placing it in her satchel.

"Oh? What family may that be miss?"

"None of your business!"

She then rushed out back the way she came, the golem following in pursuit. Once out upon the bridges again, she saw an angry dragon flying overhead. She didn't stop, she ran as hard as she could. The dragon swooped downward at her, only to collide with the Dean's golem, knocking it back with a oof and the dragon went falling down into the darkness once again. Lorelei followed her path she had figured out beforehand, passing over a different bridge and through another pair of immense stone doors. As she passed through she came into a huge chamber filled with a strange, almost sunlit glow. Trees and grass grew all around, and small pools of water were off to either side of the cavern. The world tree's roots were all around. She moved at a fairly quick pace, turning down another corridor and another until she arrived at yet another bridge.

The chamber was huge and dark, with only a long bridge leading toward another doorway running through its center. Off to the side, the roar of a waterfall could be heard. This bridge was lined with a metal guide rail, unlike the other stone paths she had passed over. It was so dark the waterfall was difficult to see. Lorelei started to fumble for a flashlight out of her bag when she heard a voice in front of her.

"Well hello there miss…" Colonel Sanders chimed coyly.

"Eh? How'd you get here? Who are you??" Lorelei was shocked at having been cut off apparently by a Magi.

"Oh, you can call me Colonel Sanders." He grinned from underneath his hood.

"What the…you're the guy from the tournament then…"

Lorelei had a growing sinking feeling in her gut. She had confidence she could have beaten Takahata or some of the other mage teachers, however this guy was like a monster. Nevertheless, she readied her scythe, reluctantly dropping into a fighting stance.

"I'm not gonna let you stop me easy…"

"Wait wait, I just want to talk, that's all. I think you've misunderstood my intentions."

Lorelei didn't reply, instead her eyes kept scanning around near the waterfall. She was looking for a rope she had dropped down earlier during her preparations.

"If you're looking for that rope…I cut it." He pulled back his hood, a wry smile across his face.

"What??" she exclaimed loudly.

"Oh no! Don't despair! Perhaps we can work out a deal?"

"Go on…" Lorelei said, feeling embarrassed and beaten.

"Well…you see, while you were fighting my cute pet dragon, I managed to catch a glimpse of your face."

"!!!" Lorelei felt even sicker to her stomach, knowing her identity had already been exposed.

"…You're going to turn me into those Magi as soon as I turn my back!" Lorelei scowled at him.

"I'm not obligated too, I don't work for them. I just happen to live down here, that's all." Sanders replied.

"…guess I don't have a choice…go on."

"Yes, well, you have quite a pretty face, and I assume you are one of the students, yes? You seem quite young. Since you're worried about being turned in this must be true. Hm, hm…well, I'm willing to keep what I know secret in exchange for a little something."

"…what is it?" Lorelei sighed out, half expecting him to ask for sexual favors or worse.

"I'd like you to tell me about yourself, over a cup of tea. That's all. You see I have sort of an odd hobby; I collect people…" Colonel Sanders then revealed his artifact, a spiral of books swirling about him.

"Each of these books contains a record of a person; some their powers and form, others their very memories and personality. Like a snapshot of that person when I copied them. Powers and forms that I copy I can use any time...however, to actually become a person; memory, personality and all, can only be done once and then that book is lost. Even more, I can only remain as that person for a limited time, limiting my ability to be someone else in heart and mind even more. As you can imagine, I do so enjoy restocking my 'library'."

As he spoke, Lorelei began to feel the strength drain from her body. Her adrenaline was wearing off and now the pain of many injuries was beginning to course through her body. She hunched over, using her scythe as a crutch with a grunt. She had broken ribs, some internal bleeding and of course an arrow stuck in her shoulder. Her spiritual strength was drained as well, due to stringing together so many high level spells in sequence.

"…Oh dear, it seems my dragon roughed you up a bit worse then I thought. Would you care for some treatment? This would be a good time to show you the power of my artifact. Of course, you'll have to agree to let me copy you at some point in exchange..."

"Yes, that's fine! P-please…"

With that, he smiled and the books swirled about him. He picked one out and opened it up.

"Ah, here is the record of a young Magic priestess from the east. She was a powerful healer, her powers ought to help you now…"

With that, a huge blast of smoke exploded outward in all directions around them. The smoke was thick and impossible to see through. Only after few moments did it clear enough to see a young Asian looking lady in shrine clothing. She had long black hair and a kind smile.

"It's me, Colonel Sanders, don't be fooled by my appearance, haha. Well then, let's get those wounds healed up, shall we?" Sanders the Miko even sounded like a shrine maiden.

Colonel Sanders then reached out with both hands, bringing the fingers together and held out straight. She held her palms up to Lorelei, and then she began to incant in an Asian dialect. A strange green glow surrounded her hands, soon enveloping Lorelei. It was a cool, soothing sensation which at the same time numbed her body. She couldn't feel her flesh shifting and bones snapping back into place. The arrow fell out of her body, landing on the ground with a quiet clack.

"There...that should do it...feel better now Lorelei-san?"

"Yes, I do. Thanks!" Lorelei gave a sigh of relief, her posture straightening.

Colonel Sanders then let the form dissipate, returning to his regular self. He grinned to her.

"So how about it, will you come and chat with me some time?" he asked again.

"Sure…I promise." She nodded to him in affirmation of her words.

"Excellent! I think it's a bit early to enter you into my records, along with the other interesting students here, but I hope some time in the future I'll get the chance. For now I'd just like to talk...I'm trapped down here you know? It gets lonely…" He gave a slightly teasing smile.

"Hey...this artifact thing you keep going on about, can you tell me more about it?" Lorelei asked curiously.

He nodded. "Of course, perhaps the next time we meet?"

That seemed to please Lorelei who seemed a little more enthusiastic now. Colonel Sanders then approached Lorelei, brushing back her hood.

"Again I give you my word of secrecy. So, may I know your name, you who hath defeated my dragon?"

"Uh…Lorelei, Lorelei Crowley…" She felt a bit bashful, thanks to his flattery.

"Nice to meet you, Lorelei-san. Now I know who to send the bill! Saving my poor dragon wasn't easy, the poor things traumatized after what you did. It'll take a lot of therapy to make him the cheery ole dragon I knew!" he pinched her cheek teasingly, provoking Lorelei to swat his hand away in a burst of rage.

"Ha ha, touchy hm?"

"So how do I get out of here?" Lorelei checked her watch; she was running out of time.

"Oh, come on, you're talking to a master of gravity magic. Up you go!"

And just like that, Lorelei began to float upward.

"I'll send you a letter when I'm ready to have you over, ok?"

"You sure you'll keep all this secret?"

"You've got my word! That's all you need. See you later, Lori-chaaan." He waved wildly to her as she floated away up toward the drainage tunnel. Lorelei growled and pumped her fist at him, her expression furious.

"Don't call me that!!"

With that, she disappeared into the darkness. A few moments later, Takahata and Gandolfini came running along. They went up to Colonel Sanders.

"Did you see an armor clad girl come through here, Al?" Gandolfini asked.

"No, can't say I did…sorry." Al replied.

"Uh, you sure?" Takahata perked a brow.

"Yes, of course." Al smiled wryly.

…

Lorelei hurriedly made her way back to the Library. She waved to Tsukimiya as she went out of the tunnels, not even stopping to say hi. She had to make it to the bathroom by 11am. She was of course out of armor now and wearing a long sleeved school uniform. She kept her head down, her hair hiding her face and her hands out of sight. She went into the Library, went past a few shelves and occasional student here or there till she made it to the bathroom. There Yahiko waited in one of the stalls.

"Hey, I'm here." She called out.

Yahiko sighed with relief. "Phew, I was afraid you wouldn't make it."

Lorelei checked around to make sure no one else was in the bathroom before entering the stall with Yahiko.

"Ok, strip. Underwear too."

"Eh??" She blushed, flustered at how Lorelei had said it.

"Did you forget the plan?"

Lorelei didn't waste any time. She was already pulling off her clothes. With a slight blush, Yahiko did the same. When they were both naked, Lorelei did take a chance to look over Yahiko's body. She noticed Lorelei's wandering eyes and sort of pulled back with embarrassment.

"Oh what's the matter?" Lorelei giggled slightly, tackling Yahiko.

She pressed Yahiko against the bathroom stall, wrapping her arms around her neck. She leaned into her with a grin. "We're both girls here right? Why are you so shy? You're cute, really."

"U-uhm…I uh, thanks…"

Then Lorelei gave Yahiko a light, teasing kiss, before pushing off her.

"Lorelei! I don't…swing that way!" She yelled out, distressed and blushing beet red.

"Mmkay, I'm sorry…" Lorelei apologized only half seriously.

She got dressed in the cloths Yahiko had taken off while Yahiko put on the school uniform. Lorelei left first, heading toward the table where Yahiko had been sitting. She sat down quietly and picked up the book Yahiko had left open on the table. This was a book on the occult Lorelei had already read. Yahiko left the bathroom after a few more minutes. She walked out of the library with a quick step.

It'd be another 15 minutes or so before the Magi teachers arrived. There they saw Lorelei and went straight toward her.

"Ah…Lorelei…can we have a few words with you?" Takahata asked.

"Uh, sure?"

She got up and went with them into an aisle of bookshelves. Takahata seemed nonconfrontational, however Gandolfini was visibly upset.

"How long have you been here, Lorelei?"

"All day, been reading books over there…" She pointed at the table.

"I see…is that all?"

"Yeah…is there a problem, Takahata-sensei…?"

"No, not really. We're just searching for someone, that's all. Thanks, you can go."

Lorelei went back to her seat. She watched the Magi teachers from the corner of her eye. Sure enough they interviewed other students. One of whom even pointed at Lorelei as they talked. The girl seemed to be nodding, most likely affirming Lorelei had been sitting there all along. Of course she had.

After they left, Lorelei placed her hand into her black satchel. She petted her new book. It was sure to open a whole new world of magic to her. She felt herself tremble with girlish excitement, she could barely contain herself. It felt so good compared to the morose depression that had gripped her for so long. All her dark memories seemed almost distant now as her fingers traced the rough, old texture of the book.

A new age for her was dawning today.

(Authors notes: Thanks Nightmare for pointing out those small errors. I had recently reread Al's chapters and thought I understood his artifact. Guess I misread. I even went over this like 4 times before posting. Even now I find errors all the time in my writing. So frustrating! . Thanks again! I decided to drop the Mizumi part since its sort of needless if he can simply use a persons power without totally becoming that person. I'm trying to minimize exchanges that don't somehow move the plot forward now.)