The book in Tim's hand shone brightly, illuminating the looks of crazy rage on his and Ragnärok's faces.
"Ready, Ragnärok?" Tim said. "Let's show our full power."
"Aye!" Ragnärok replied.
"Himei Kyoumei."
Ragnärok started screaming loud and long. Nat and Dante winced at the loud sound. As they watched, the light from Tim's book grew brighter and brighter, and the grin on his face grew wider and wider. After a while, he opened his mouth and let out an insane cackle.
What on earth… Nat thought.
After a few minutes of this, Ragnärok stopped screaming. The book in Tim's hand was shining much more brightly than before. Nat raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Heh," Tim said. "HIMEIRU!"
Ragnärok opened her mouth, and a white beam shot out, headed towards Nat and Dante. The beam travelled with a piercing shriek like Ragnärok's as it flew at them.
"Holy crap!" Dante exclaimed, eyes widened. "It's a scream beam!"
"This is no time for puns!" Nat yelled. "Fashield!" An extra star appeared, and the yellow pyramid shield formed around Nat and Dante. The 'scream beam' slammed into the shield, cracking it, but the shield held. Nat stared at the crack in shock.
Their first spell has enough power to crack Fashield…
"And you're just standing there because…?"
"Pipipigu…"
Nat and Dante quickly looked back up at Tim and Ragnärok, who were walking towards them.
"HIMEIO RENKIN!"
Ragnärok lifted her head and screamed skyward. As Nat and Dante watched, something began to take shape above her. She reached up and seized the handle, and pulled down a large black hammer. Nat's eyes widened.
"Heeheeheehee~!" Ragnärok shot forward and raised the hammer above her head. With a great swing, she brought it down onto the shield, shattering it. Dante stopped the hammer with his arms, but Ragnärok simply raised it and swung it sideways. It smashed Dante back into Nat, sending them both back a few metres. Dante landed on his feet, while Nat's didn't leave the ground. They looked up to see Ragnärok coming at them, and Dante quickly took aim.
"Farga!" The four beams slammed into Ragnärok head-on, pushing her back, and the hammer was knocked out of her hands. It flew into the wall beside them and dissolved into thin air. Ragnärok shook her head and shot forward again. Dante rushed toward her, and the two mamodo met in the middle and exchanged a flurry of hits.
"Stupid-stupid-stupid-stupid-stupid!" Ragnärok shrieked, punctuating each word with a punch or kick, most of which Dante was able to dodge. "Why couldn't you just have stayed down and let Tim take you with us? Sure, he may not have been able to read your book, but at least you'd have been able to stay with us, and I'd make sure your book would be the last to burn! But nooooo! You just had to get back up and piss him off!" She threw a vicious right hook which smashed into Dante's face, causing him to stumble back.
"YOU'VE-" She smashed her fist into his stomach, forcing him to cough up blood.
"RUINED-" A bone-breaking left hook into his face.
"EVERYTHING!" And another hard right hook.
"HIMEIRU!" Tim yelled, and the shrieking beam shot out of Ragnärok's mouth and hit Dante squarely in the chest, blasting him backwards towards Nat. Nat caught him before he hit the ground.
"Oww…" Dante muttered.
"I'm gonna enjoy pounding you into the ground, loser," Ragnärok said, licking Dante's blood off her knuckle.
She's strong… Dante thought. Nat nodded in agreement, the jolted up as an alarm rang in his head.
"GIGANO HIMEIRU!" Nat grabbed Dante under the armpits with one arm and leapt to the right, just before Ragnärok fired a much larger shrieking beam from her mouth, which missed them by exactly a centimetre. It tore a giant hole in the wall behind them.
"Holy –" Nat said, staring at the gaping hole.
"Heh." Ragnärok smirked condescendingly.
"Next one won't miss," Tim muttered. "GIGANO HIMEIRU!" Ragnärok fired another huge beam at them.
"Dante!" Nat yelled, pointing at the beam. Use Lance Point to pierce through and get close to her!
"Got it!" Dante replied.
"Farga!" Four stars appeared around Dante, streaming out beams which met at a point in front of him, forming Lance Point, and he charged point first right into the huge beam. The point ploughed right through the spell, and Dante quickly got in front of Ragnärok.
"YAAAAHH!" He threw a powerful uppercut into Ragnärok's chin, sending her flying back. She landed in front of Tim, and Dante quickly aimed at them.
"Dame Farga!" The 4x4 laser grid wall was formed and zoomed towards them. Tim raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell kind of spell is this?" he wondered aloud, as the wall zoomed closer. "HIMEIRU!"
Ragnärok shot the shrieking beam at one of the stars, knocking it off balance, and moved her head so that the beam started knocking others. Nat grinned.
That's not gonna help you. "Version Two!"
Dante started flailing his arms around, and the stars responded in kind, each with two or more beams shooting out. Tim and Ragnärok were trapped. They looked up at the stars rotating every which way.
"Is this it?" Tim said, sounding almost bored. "HIBIKI HIMEIRU!"
A short burst of shrieking white energy, like a long bullet, shot from Ragnärok's mouth. It grazed the point of one of the stars and flew towards the ceiling. Nat and Dante both raised an eyebrow.
"What…?" Nat muttered. He then noticed that Tim had a grin on his face.
"Wait for it…"
The short burst ricocheted of the ceiling and back towards the floor at an angle, then was reflected into the wall, then into the ceiling, then the other wall. Soon it was pinballing all around Tim and Ragnärok, hitting the stars from all sides, until Version Two was dispersed. Nat's and Dante's eyes widened.
Did they just… cancel Version Two?
"Heh," Tim said, "too easy." He pointed forward at Nat and Dante, and Ragnärok faced them. "HIBIKI HIMEIRU!"
Ragnärok shot another shrieking burst, and Nat and Dante jumped to the side to avoid it.
"Idiot," Tim muttered, as the burst ricocheted off the wall behind them. "You can't just dodge it like that." The burst flew at the yellow book in Nat's hand.
Suddenly, Nat yanked the book up, and the shrieking burst hit the floor under it and was reflected into the ceiling. He pulled Dante to his side and muttered "Don't move," as the burst ricocheted all around them. They were standing in the only safe spot in that area.
"Well, well," Tim said. "Looks like you have some talent. That move isn't of much use, is it…? HIMEIRU!"
Nat and Dante jumped to opposite sides to avoid the shrieking beam, then moved forward and joined back up.
"Dante!" Nat yelled, pointing forward. Lance Point!
"Got it!" Dante replied, as four stars appeared around him.
"Farga!" Dante formed Lance Point and shot forward at Tim and Ragnärok.
"HIMEIO RENKIN!" Ragnärok let out a shriek, and a black duplicate of Lance Point formed in front of her. She rushed forward, meeting Dante in the middle, and the two lances cancelled each other out, blowing Dante and Ragnärok backwards.
"Ah…" Nat murmured. That spell… first it made a shield, then a hammer, and now it's copied Lance Point… What kind of spell is this…?
"HIMEIRU!"
Nat and Dante dove to the side to avoid the attack.
"Oh, I'm sorry, is this battle too boring to focus on?" Tim said. "Let's make it more interesting, then." He pointed up at the ceiling and Ragnärok looked up at the spot above Nat and Dante. "HIMEIO RENKIN!"
"GEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
Ragnärok fired a gigantic, shrieking beam of energy at the ceiling. Nat and Dante looked up in confusion.
Why is he firing at the roof? Nat thought. Does he want to blow a hole into the –
Nat's eyes widened as an alarm rang in his head.
"Dante!" he yelled, lunging forward, as the giant beam hit the roof and separated into dozens of smaller beams that shot towards the area Nat and Dante were in. Several of these beams hit Nat and Dante, dealing quite a bit of damage, and they both fell to the floor, battered and bruised.
"Hmmmm~, blood is flowing~" Ragnärok sang. She had a sadistic grin on her face. "Hurry and cast another spell, Tim. I want to see more of their blood~"
"Ugh…" Nat muttered, as he and Dante slowly pushed themselves up. "That spell…"
"Oh," Tim said, raising an eyebrow. "You were wondering about this spell?"
Nat shook his head. "No… I think I've finally figured it out…" He and Dante slowly stood up.
"Heh. So you'll be more of a challenge now?"
I understand the spell now… The answer was there all along…
"FARGA!" Nat yelled, and four stars appeared and shot beams at Tim and Ragnärok, who jumped backwards to avoid them.
"Does that answer your question?" Nat said.
'Renkin' is Japanese for alchemy, the art of converting matter from one form into another.
"Dame Farga!" The 4x4 laser grid wall assembled and zoomed towards Tim and Ragnärok.
"That again? HIMEIRU!" The shrieking beam shot from Ragnärok's mouth and knocked one of the stars off balance.
"Version Two!"
What that spell does is take the basic 'matter' of the mamodo's screams, and converts it into something else.
Dante flailed his arms around, and the stars responded in kind, each with two or more beams shooting out. Tim gritted his teeth in annoyance, and a rage vein popped up on his head.
"Idiot. It's the same damn thing," he muttered. "HIBIKI HIMEIRU!"
Ragnärok shot a shrieking burst upwards, which ricocheted off the ceiling and back down, and was soon pinballing around them, negating Version Two.
So, in other words…
"Hmph," Tim said, as the pinballing gradually stopped. "Exactly the same as –"
His eyes widened as he saw Nat and Dante almost in front of him and Ragnärok. Nat and Dante both threw punches, Dante's hitting Ragnärok, and Nat's connecting with Tim. Tim and Ragnärok were sent flying back a few feet. Tim landed on his butt, and Ragnärok skidded back on her feet. They looked at Nat and Dante in surprise.
"Himeio Renkin is a spell that allows the user to make anything out of thin air," Nat said. "Its potential is immeasurable, as long as the mamodo produces enough sound energy to convert into what they want."
"Ah…" Tim said, surprised. "So you did figure it out. You're pretty smart, kid. Unfortunately for you…" He started to get up onto his feet. "Knowing what the spell does isn't going to help you beat us."
"Maybe not," Nat said, "but now that I know what you're doing, I can concentrate on the fight and think clearly enough to figure out a way to win." The book in his hand glowed. "Dame Farga!"
The 4x4 laser grid wall assembled and zoomed towards Tim and Ragnärok.
"Tcheh," Tim said. "HIMEIO RENKIN!" Ragnärok screamed, and a huge shield formed in front of them, blocking the attack.
That makes him less likely to mess up… which makes these guys far more dangerous. "Ragnärok, I think we've dragged this battle on long enough. These guys' faces are really annoying. Let's use our strongest attack."
Ragnärok grinned. "Aye!" Tim raised his book, which started shining even more brightly. An alarm rang in Nat's head, and he grabbed Dante by the shoulder and jumped back.
"HIMEIO RENKIN!" Tim yelled. "SHRIEK OMEGA!"
Ragnärok let out an almighty, ear-splitting shriek, louder than any of the previous ones, and a huge purple wave-like thing with rows of sharp teeth appeared in front of her and zoomed towards Nat and Dante with the same shriek.
"Whoa!" Dante yelled.
"Dante!" Nat yelled, pointing at it.
"Right!" Dante aimed, and the yellow spellbook glowed brightly.
"Dame Farga!" The 4x4 laser grid wall formed and zoomed towards the shrieking creature, which just blasted right through it, unfazed.
"What?" Nat exclaimed, eyes widened. Not even a scratch…
"Ahh, Dante!" Lance Point!
"Right!" Four stars appeared around Dante.
"Farga!" Dante formed Lance Point and lunged at the shrieking wave. However, the loud shrieking messed up his concentration, and he couldn't keep Lance Point stable. The creature blasted him back, and he flipped and landed on his feet, skidding back to Nat.
"Guh… No good…" he muttered. "I can't get close enough to hit it with Lance Point… I can't concentrate because of the shrieking."
Nat gritted his teeth. Darn it…
"Then we'll just have to attack it from a distance!" he said. He pointed at the creature, and Dante aimed. "Farga!"
Four beams shot towards the creature, but they did almost no damage, and it just kept coming. Nat and Dante dove to the side, but the creature just changed direction and came after them.
"You can't dodge this attack," Tim said. "It won't stop until it hits its target."
"Darn it!" Nat yelled, and he and Dante started trying to outrun it. They looked back and Dante aimed at the creature. "Farga!" The beams shot at the creature, but had no effect.
"Farga!"
"Farga!"
"Farga!"
Each time the beams shot at the creature, they did almost no damage, and the creature, unfazed, continued to come after them.
"Can't you use your Answer-Talker to help us?" Dante asked frantically, turning to Nat. Nat shook his head.
"I can't concentrate with all this noise," he replied. "The Answer-Talker is useless if you can't concentrate. We just have to keep firing and hope we hit a weak spot! Farga!"
But no matter how many times they fired at it, or what Dante could throw at it, the creature was unaffected and simply kept after them.
Nat and Dante suddenly ran into a corner of the room. They turned to see the creature coming at them full speed. Tim and Ragnärok had huge grins on their faces
"We're trapped!" Dante said. "Now what?"
"We have to keep at it!" Nat replied. "No matter how tough it is, there has to be a chink in its armour! And one of these beams…" He pointed at the wave. "…will be the arrow that exposes it!" The book in his hand glowed.
"Farga!"
"Farga!"
"Dame Farga!"
None of the attacks had any effect on the creature, and it just kept coming at them.
None of our attack spells are working on this thing! Dante thought. If we keep firing like this, Nat will definitely run out of heart energy, and if that happens...
His eyes widened.
No... I can't let that happen... I won't! I can't lose this battle no matter what!
The spellbook started glowing brightly without Nat putting any heart energy into it.
We gotta pierce right through this thing's armour... with an unstoppable arrow!
"What the…" Nat muttered. His eyes widened. Could it be…?
He opened the book to find that he could read the words on the fourth page.
A new spell! he thought, and Dante looked at him in surprise. I don't know what it does, but…
"Dante!" he yelled.
"Yeah!" Dante aimed at the creature.
"The fourth spell…" Nat chanted, as the yellow book glowed brightly.
"Excelles Farga!"
Five more stars appeared, and the nine stars arranged themselves into a large, glowing X-shape, which fired a huge yellow bolt of light with an arrowhead. The bolt smashed right through the purple wave creature and shot towards Tim and Ragnärok.
"What?" Tim's eyes widened. They destroyed Shriek Omega?
Nat grinned. "Yes!"
"Aaaaaaahh!" Tim yelled, beginning to panic, as the bolt got closer. "GIGANO HIMEIRU!"
Ragnärok shot the huge shrieking beam at the approaching bolt, but it offered very little resistance as the bolt ploughed through it, only barely slowing it down.
"AAAH SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT!" Tim yelled. "HIMEIO RENKIN!"
Ragnärok screamed, and a huge black hexagonal shield was formed in front of them. The bolt smashed into it and it immediately started to crack.
"No…" Tim whispered. "NononoNONONONONONONO –"
The shield was shattered, and Ragnärok pushed Tim out of the way as the bolt hit her head on. The black book flew out of Tim's hands right into the spell and was instantly burned up. Tim stared as Ragnärok disappeared before his eyes. Nat and Dante stared in awe.
"Wow…" Dante said.
"That's a pretty powerful spell…" Nat said.
Tim and Ragnärok had been standing in front of the large wall that ran through the middle of the building. The bolt had smashed right through it and the wall behind, leaving a gigantic X-shaped hole through which sunlight streamed in.
"Looks like we won another one," Nat said, as the two walked away from the warehouse and towards the apartment. "And now we have a powerful new spell!" He grinned and held up the yellow spellbook. Dante stayed silent for a moment.
"Nat…" he said after a while.
"Hm?"
"This guy… He used the power of that mamodo to commit crimes and even murder… I can't believe there are still humans like that." He clenched his hand in a fist. "I hate people like that more than anything! This is one of the reasons why I have to become a kind king… So that I can stop people like that from using magic to hurt others!"
Nat looked at Dante in surprise for a moment. Then a small smile spread on his face, and he put a hand on Dante's head.
"Yeah," he said. "Let's work hard to make sure that your world has a kind king!"
Dante smiled and nodded. "Yeah!"