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Chapter 18: Two Faces of Evil
The next day had come by and Eirika and I were sleeping together in a tent that was just at the edge of the camp… throughout the night, Eirika kept crying and I tried my best to calm her down and be there for her, at first nothing seemed to work to calm her down, until one thing did… we, um… ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Eirika and I made love again last night. It was the only thing I could do to help Eirika calm down. I slowly pushed myself up before looking at her expression. Even though she sleeps quietly, her sad expression remained, probably still thinking of the fate of her beloved friend who's now in Fomortiis's grip. I can't really blame her though… she really didn't see that one coming, despite the fact Ephraim telling her, to which she denied. She still believes that the real Lyon was still inside. After hearing what Knoll said, she just broke down.
"The story she heard last night was too much for her to bear… but there has to be someone in the group who knows the legend of repelling the darkness within its host and Knoll isn't one of them…" I muttered to myself before I put on my clothes and went to take a breather by stepping out from the camp. Once I stepped out though, I noticed Ephraim practicing his lance against Storm… wow… he's recovering fast and manages to spar with Ephraim, despite his condition? That sure takes a lot of sheer willpower…
"Alright, this should be enough training for today…" Ephraim said as he lowered his lance and so did Storm as he nodded in agreement without saying a single word. "Storm, I think you should rest more since you, Melissa and Mikoto can't speak for a while because of your sore throat." The prince said as Storm rubbed his neck before he looks down and gave a slight nod. "But don't worry, the effect won't last long and I'm sure you'll be able to speak normally once again." he assured him. Storm smiled at that before walking away. What Akira said was true; the shockwave from yesterday's battle really killed his voice. Ephraim then turned around and noticed me. "Oh, you've awakened, Kurogasa." He smiled.
"Hey…" I muttered.
"I heard what happened last night from Knoll…" Ephraim said. "Is my sister feeling down about the truth she heard from him by pure accident?" he asked me, making me flinch.
"Um… yeah…" I got out. "I tried calming her down last night but nothing seemed to work until…" I couldn't finish what I wanted to say because I was blushing red.
Judging from his face, I think he fully understood what I was trying to tell him and placed his hand on my shoulder. "I see. Don't worry about it. As I said before, I won't hold it against you since I trust you for making my sister happy." Ephraim said before looking away. "But even I couldn't believe it either… the Lyon that both Eirika and I knew is no longer with us, consumed by Fomortiis… I can't believe what that fiend is doing to my friend's body and soul…" he said slightly angry.
"I know…" I said. "Is there truly no way to save Lyon?"
"If what Knoll said is true, then it's a fact we have to accept…" Ephraim stated. "For now, the only thing we can do is try to stop him from his madness of reviving the Joker Undead and unleashing his true darkness upon the world…"
"Right…" I agreed.
"Oh, and by the way, be sure to not release inside Eirika too much or she might end up bearing your child before the marriage." Ephraim said, making me blush heavily.
"W–What makes you say that?!" I panicked.
"Amber told me about it… though I don't know what she meant by a period affecting this outcome or some sort…" he said bluntly.
"Oh geez, Amber…" I groaned. Even at times like this, she still somehow gets to me.
"In the meantime, we should wait for Innes's scouters to know where Lyon might be…" Ephraim said which I nodded.
When Ephraim took his leave, I went back into the tent and saw Eirika who was just waking up, having her bare body covered by the blanket as she sat up. "Hey Eirika…" I greeted as I went to and knelt next to her.
"Morning, Kurogasa…" Eirika replied as she looked afar and noticed her brother just taking his leave. "What did you and my brother talk about?" she asked me.
"Oh… about… Lyon…" I said softly.
"I see…" Eirika said sadly looking down. "Is there… truly no way to save Lyon?"
"Don't give up just yet…" I tried consoling her as she looked down. "You heard what Knoll mentioned last night, regarding the legend, right? If we learned about it, maybe there's a way and still a hope to save him from it…"
"Are you sure?" Eirika asked, slightly happy, but still overwhelmed by sadness.
"I'm not completely sure, but it's worth a try." I said as I held her cheek to make her look at me. "And please don't cry. I don't want to see you cry and shed tears. When you're sad, it makes me sad. I want to see you smile. And when you do, I can protect that smile so you won't have to feel sad ever again."
"Kurogasa…" Eirika got out before her hand held mine that was on her cheek, smiling. "Alright… let's look for the solution… together."
"We will. I promise." I said then kissed Eirika, to which the latter returned before we pulled apart. Then my gentle smile turned into a smirk. "Now, we got some time before the Frelian scouters get here. You owe me a round."
"What?" Eirika scoffed giggling.
"I'm serious." I chuckled. "Last night kinda ended on a bad note, so I want this time to end on a good note."
"Oh, Kurogasa…" Eirika giggled before she embraced and kissed me passionately. She leaned back lying on her sleeping roll and I leaned down, being on top of her and before we knew it, we started making love again… and this time; it would be on good terms as well as taking note on what Ephraim told me…
Meanwhile, Gilliam was looking afar on a view in front of him as Syrene noticed and approached with her Pegasus next to her and sits next to him. "Gilliam, how are you doing?"
He looks to his side seeing Syrene replied casually, "Everything's fine for now, but–" Gilliam paused when he noticed something odd about her. "Syrene? You look pale. Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine, Gilliam. Don't worry about me." Syrene assured him as both of them looked to the view in front of them, silence accompanying them for a while.
Gilliam decided to break the ice again. "…Syrene. People come to you when they need advice, right? If not, then towards Melissa before you joined us, that is…"
"They do, yes. Why do you ask? Don't tell me you need some advice from me." Syrene suspected as Gilliam nodded.
"Yeah. Can we talk?"
"Oh… well… of course." Syrene answered.
Gilliam took a deep breath and then said, "People come to talk to me, too. Must be… the wisdom of age or something. But I don't know what to say. What do you do if you have no advice to give?"
"That happens all the time." Syrene told Gilliam before she looks at him. "But I've learned something… People feel better as soon as they let it out. They just want you to listen. We're fighting a war. It's only natural that people get scared and need comfort."
"Do you… get scared?" Gilliam asked, making Syrene surprised from his sudden question.
"…Gilliam. Is this all just an attempt to probe me for my problems?" Syrene asked, as Gilliam quickly looked away from her gaze.
"Oh, er, don't be–" Gilliam stuttered as Syrene let out a small giggles before she stood up from where she sat and headed towards her Pegasus.
"Don't worry. If I ever have any problems, I'll be sure to come to you." Syrene assured, which Gilliam smiled at.
"…I'm always here." Gilliam nodded.
"Thanks, Gilliam." Syrene said and with that last comment, she parted ways from Gilliam.
"Maybe I should ask Melissa what to do… with these feelings inside of me… once she regains her voice…" Gilliam muttered to himself while looking at the woman.
Meanwhile, Franz was walking around for a while and noticed Amelia practicing hard with her lance, having a spar with General Duessel, who willingly offered to teach her about weapon efficiency. "I think this would be enough for today." Duessel told her as Amelia sighed in relief after a hard practice.
"Yes, thank you for teaching me, General Duessel." she said to him before Duessel walked away.
"Hey, Amelia!" Franz called her as he approached her, catching her attention as she replied back with a wave. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Franz! What is it?" Amelia asked.
"Why did you become a soldier?"
The question startled her a bit before she looked down and replied, "…Because I was alone."
"Alone?" Franz asked confused.
"Yes…" Amelia nodded. "When I was little, I lived in a remote village with my mother. One day… bandits raided our village and took my mother." she told him, surprising Franz. "I had no father… My mother was my only family. She was so sick… and so very weak…" Franz was really silent and he noticed Amelia shivering a bit. "When the bandits came… I hid under the bed… I hid there… trembling…"
"Amelia…" he got out as her trembling got worse as he recalled more of her past.
"I wanted to protect her! I…wanted to be strong! Even if I couldn't win… I wanted to fight! To protect the only person dear to me…" Amelia told as tears were running down her eyes, Franz decided to do one thing he knew best… he embraced her, much to her surprise. "F–Franz?"
"I see now…. Thank you for telling me your story." Franz said calmly as the two broke off from their embrace and looked at her while wiping off her tears. "I want you to know this, Amelia. …My parents are gone, too."
"You… too…?" Amelia said stunned.
"Yes… Well, I do have a brother, though." Franz added. "But I don't remember my mother. But I swore that I would live my every moment to its fullest. I swore to my parents that I would live a long life for them and be happy. Amelia… You're living the same way, embracing each passing moment. You believe in yourself, and your faith burns in you, making you shine. I don't know what it is you plan to do with your life, but as long as we travel the same path, would you let me walk beside you?" Franz offered her, as Amelia was still confused. "I have my own path to follow, I know, but… I believe we're both walking toward the same goal."
"Franz…" Amelia got out as she wiped her tears.
"You don't like it?" Franz asked her.
"No! That's not it." Amelia said shaking her head lightly and looked at him with a happy smile. "I'm… very happy! Franz…!" Both of them then embraced each other again.
"Amelia, I'll protect you." Franz assured her.
"Franz… Thank you… I'm really happy." Amelia replied to him as they won't break their hug anytime soon. "But… I want to protect you, too. I am a soldier of sorts as well, you know. So… let me be your shield to protect you…"
"And I will be your sword and fight for you. From now on, you're not alone anymore, Amelia." Franz comforted her as he felt her hug getting tighter as Amelia cried on his shoulders.
"Thank you, Franz!" she cried out as she let out all of her tears she held as Franz was there at her side.
"That… was amazing, Kurogasa…" Eirika panted a bit.
"Yeah… it was…" I panted a bit too. "I think this qualifies as ending it on a good note." I chuckled.
"Indeed it does, Kurogasa…" Eirika slightly giggled as she rested her head on my chest, our bare bodies covered by the blanket. "As always, you know how treat a girl well…" she teased while she traced her finger on my chest in circles.
"Well, I do what I can." I shrugged. We were enjoying the moment, and everything was fine… until, this happened…
"Goo~~d morning, you two!"
Yep, Amber always comes in at the 'right' place at the 'right' time, which got both of us surprised from her sudden appearance, her head poking inside the tent as we both sat up, Eirika's bare body being covered by the blanket. "A–Amber!" Eirika said startled.
"Oh? Looks like you two are already done, huh?" Amber teased, as usual.
"Amber, get out of here…" I growled. "I don't want to cause a scene."
"Or what? You're going to hit me? You do know you don't hit girls, right? Especially, if the girl that you tried to hit was your best friend's girlfriend," Amber continued as she giggled, clearly enjoying the moment. "Maybe I should try telling the others about what I'm seeing here today."
"Amber! You promised you won't tell anybody about what you saw!" Eirika half–shrieked, having a heavy blush on her face.
"Don't worry about it, Eirika! You know I don't break promises when it comes to us girls!" Amber assured her.
"Then, why are you still here?" I asked Amber, growling.
"Why? Does it bother you?"
"YES IT DOES!" I yelled.
"Alright, alright… sheesh, no need to get worked up…" Amber shrugged as if there was nothing going on before she left us, and both Eirika and I sighed in relief.
"Thank goodness it was just Amber… if it was someone else; I don't know how we should explain it to them…" Eirika said as we pondered. What she said is true. Other than Amber and Ephraim, everybody knew we're together but not this close… and I can't really imagine what would happen if Melissa–sempai saw me doing this with Eirika… brrrr, for some reason, that thought alone was enough to scare the heck out of me. "Kurogasa, why is your face pale?" Eirika asked concerned.
"Oh, just the scary thought of Melissa–sempai seeing us, like this…" I shivered.
"What makes you say that? She has that motherly nature in her and I understand why you look up her so much… even I have the same feeling towards her…" Eirika said. She clearly doesn't understand the wrath of Melissa–sempai.
"No, you don't understand." I said. "If you get her angry, you'll see this aura of darkness seeping out of her while she smiles, and trust me when I say this, you will be scared."
"Aura of… Darkness?" Eirika blinked, before she paled too. Now Eirika's concerned, even though she hasn't experienced it yet. "T–Then, we should be on a lookout for her as well… if she finds out, sooner or later, we have to tell her the truth, right?"
"Yes, and we'll have to confess to Father Moulder too." I added.
"I–I see…" Eirika said as she sat up with the blanket covering her bare body. "I guess we should go out and try to find the person who knows about the legend for now…" Eirika decided.
"Yes, but first, we have to get our clothes on before someone else walks in on us."
"R–Right." Eirika agreed.
Inside another tent, Melissa slowly opened her eyes and sat up from where she slept. As she looked around, she noticed both Storm and Mikoto were nowhere to be seen, which leaves her all alone and probably the last one to wake up. As she pondered, she felt something inside her dress. She took a peek inside and noticed a bandage wrapped around her chest, with some sort of lotion that eased her pain. "A bandag–" Melissa got out, but couldn't finish her words as she suddenly felt sore on her throat and held her neck with her hand to ease the pain. Natasha came into the tent and noticed Melissa finally awake up from her sleep.
"Melissa… you're awake!" Natasha cried out. She couldn't help but be at her friend's side and hugged her tightly, causing Melissa to wince in pain around her chest area. Realizing this, Natasha immediately broke off the hug and apologized. "Please forgive me! I was so worried about you and I thought you would never wake up from your sleep after you've passed out from the pain you had! And I'm really glad to see you okay once again…"
"Na… tasha…" Melissa smiled before she winced in pain due to her throat.
"Oh, that's right! Melissa, you shouldn't talk too much. What that fiend did to you caused you to lose your voice for now but don't worry, you can regain your voice after having enough rest…" Natasha said. "Of course… Kurai made this for you…" Natasha said as she took out a small bottle, which it turned out to be another elixir and gave it to Melissa. "He was worried for you, so he went to a nearby forest to find the suitable herbs for you to regain your voice and ease the pain on your chest area…"
Melissa couldn't help it but smile as she looks at the elixir. "Thank… you… Kurai…" she said before she held her neck in pain once again.
"How are you Mikoto? Are you okay?" Akira asked concerned. Mikoto only nodded as she still couldn't talk due to her voice muted temporarily. "I'm so glad that the healers were able to heal you up from those injuries you had…" he added before he looked at her. "I know that you were worried for me and such, but when I saw you in danger and took the blow for me, I couldn't help but feel like I'm the weakest link amongst the Rider team… and uh–" Akira stopped talking when Mikoto had her forefinger placed on his lips before she leans forward and kissed him, much to his surprise. After a while, the two broke off and both of them blushed.
"Ba…ka…" Mikoto teased, even though the effect from the injury took its toll on her as she placed her hand on her neck.
"Mikoto–chan!" Akira said concerned as he panicked a bit, before handing her a glass of water near him, just in case if she needed to drink, which she took and drank it whole. After all of that, Akira pondered about what she said and he chuckled. "Yeah… I guess thinking about it would only make it worse. But I'll be sure the next time you're in danger, I'll be sure to be on your side. I promise you that, Mikoto–chan!" Mikoto only nodded as she leaned in and kissed Akira again.
Thankfully nobody walked in on us while got on our clothes. After changing, Eirika and I immediately went to Father Moulder for this. At first, Father Moulder had a sliver of weariness in all of this, but nonetheless after we confessed, playing his role as Priest, he absolved both of us of our sins, thankfully. "We're really sorry about this Father Moulder." I chuckled nervously rubbing the back of my head.
"I understand you two are very much in love with each other and I'm happy for you both, but you two need to learn how to control your urges." Father Moulder said raising an eyebrow with a small smile.
"Yes, Father Moulder…" Eirika said while looking down.
"It's just that… we couldn't help it…" I replied to him as Father Moulder shook his head lightly with a smile on his face.
"Temptation is something that we can't ignore, but it is something we can prevent. Be sure to be aware of it before things get harder for you…" Father Moulder advised fatherly.
"Yes Father Moulder…" We said in unison and with that, Father Moulder left us.
"Well, that was better than I thought. I thought that he was going to explode on us." I said.
"I know… but he was… calm and collective." Eirika pondered.
"And not easily agitated too… only to have full concerns." I added before we heard some footsteps heading towards us. It was Innes that approached us.
"What are you two doing here?" Innes asked us stoically.
"O–Oh… no reason." I lied. Thankfully, he didn't care. "What brings you here?"
"I have received reports regarding the elusive Lyon…" Innes informed. As soon as Eirika heard his name, she approached him.
"Innes, do you know where he might be?" Eirika pleaded.
"He's heading north from our position, heading towards Neleras Peak." Innes stated.
"How far is it from here?" I asked.
"We should arrive there in two days' time… which would be enough for those guys to be prepared for the worst as well as make a good recovery…" Innes pondered. "But, that place is a treacherous place…"
"How come?" Eirika asked.
"From what I heard, that place is said to be where that area is unfit for human habitation… and there are numbers of gorgon eggs in the forbidding landscape, especially in their season as they will try to protect them with everything they got. Only a few of them are able to survive the hatching process as most of them end up either drowned within the cracks of magma or overheat to the point of being cooked fully…" Innes explained.
"Ooooooh, definitely don't want to eat that for breakfast." I cringed.
"That's right, and we also have to watch out from their stare as it will try to petrify us before crushing us into ashes… or even attack us from afar with their demonic surge…" Innes added.
"Well, we better rally up the troops after breakfast." I said.
"Yes. We should get a move on while Lyon is still there… this might be a good chance for us to save him from being possessed by that Dark Stone and get the second Sacred Stone before it is too late…" Innes said before he walked away from us.
"Lyon… please be safe…" Eirika prayed.
"Don't worry." I said holding on to her hand, looking at her. "We'll find the solution… together."
"Right…" Eirika smiled gently.
After two days of journey heading towards Neleras Peak, there weren't any monsters or bandits that attacked us in plain fields that we've went through all day. At the same time, Melissa–sempai, Storm and Mikoto slowly regained their voices but still have to endure the pain if they wanted to shout or talk louder than normal, but that doesn't stop them from having a good time with the friends we've made along the way.
"Mt. Neleras, huh? Whenever I think about it, the only thing I could think off was using my staff to heal you guys from getting petrified…" L'Arachel began.
"Honestly, why is it every time we go, there's always going to be troublesome problems?" Rennac complained.
"It seems like you're looking forward to this mess, huh? Me too!" Dolza laughed misunderstanding his situation, making Rennac face palm.
"As always… your ability to misunderstand the situation is simply phenomenal…" Rennac noted.
"Just don't talk to him then." Amber said.
"I didn't…" Rennac deadpanned.
"Then… don't…" Colm pointed out.
Meanwhile, as L'Arachel happily led the group towards our destination, Eirika wondered about her country. From what I heard from her, Rausten is a Theocracy of Magvel, and they have tolerance regarding the darkness; which got us thinking. Could L'Arachel know about a legend that we heard from Knoll the other day? It was then Eirika approached her. "L'Arachel? May I ask for your advice?" she asked.
"What is it, Eirika? There's no need to be so formal." L'Arachel informed.
"It's about Lyon…" She said. "My brother was right. Lyon's been possessed by the Demon King. He… He's no longer the Lyon I once knew. But I can't help feeling… there must be some way to bring him back. L'Arachel could only stay quiet.
"C'mon L'Arachel, you have to help." I said. "Eirika wants to save him. I heard that Rausten is the spiritual heart of Magvel. They keep the ancient lore. You're their princess. You must know something about the demons of legend. Is there anything that can save Lyon?"
"…I'm so sorry, Eirika, Kurogasa. To the best of my knowledge, there is no way to aid him."
"That can't be!" Eirika protested. "There must be something! Any clue… no matter how slight!"
"Our oldest legends tell us just this…" L'Arachel sighed. "Only one person has ever been able to shake off the Demon King's domination. Rausten's founder, Saint Latona the sure–hearted, shattered his fetters. If one possesses a strength of will beyond that of normal men… Only then can one throw off the shackles of the Demon King. But you saw it yourself, Eirika, with your own two eyes. Your friend Lyon's body has already been claimed by the Demon King. Once it's gone that far, there's nothing that can be done. When the Demon King takes over someone, he devours his spirit, his very soul. Even if his hold on Lyon's body could be released, that body would have no soul. There is no power in Rausten… not even a Sacred Stone… that can perform so great a miracle as to restore a shattered soul."
"No way…" I said. Truly, I was in a shock to hear there's no way to save him anymore, not even the Sacred Stones couldn't do anything about it…
"But… Lyon…" Eirika said in disbelief as she started shedding tears and I stood by her side and tried to calm her down.
"Eirika…" L'Arachel began. "I understand how you feel, but the prince is gone. The Lyon you knew no longer exists. It's more important now that you care for yourself. If we pursue the Demon King, we're likely to suffer for it. I want you to return to Rausten Palace and rest yourself." L'Arachel told her before she shifted her attention to me. "And I suggest you would do the same thing as well, Mr. Rider. We have to be prepared for the worst if the Demon King himself would emerge from him and we needed your assistance to defeat it at any cost."
"Eirika…" I got out looking sadly at her.
After Eirika calmed herself down, she looked at the upbeat princess with a determined look. "Thank you, L'Arachel. However, I must stay with the company. I have to believe there's something I can do to help him. Lyon was always so kind. He wanted nothing more than to help people. It's too terrible to picture him imprisoned by the Demon King. Imprisoned …with no hope of salvation." she added as she was saddened by that.
After a while, the Frelian trackers led us to the heart of the peak which was at some of a valley within it. "This way! The enemy went into the recesses of this valley." A tracker said.
"Ugh… this place reeks!" Amber said covering her nose.
"It smells like sulfur…" Kurai pointed out. "And the smell is coming from the valley itself."
"Oh my…" Melissa–sempai expressed as she held her nose, clearly, not liking the odor. "It really smells bad…" she let out before she coughed.
"No kidding…" Mikoto added.
"No wonder there's any population around here…" Storm noticed as Ephraim spotted something from afar.
"Are those… eggs?" Ephraim asked as Myrrh took a closer look.
"Gorgon eggs… There are so many…" she pointed out.
"This can be dangerous if we leave it be…" Saleh added as we started to hear some sort of a crack coming from the egg near us.
"Uh–oh! They're hatching!" I cried out.
"No… He's led us into a trap!" Ephraim cried out. "Watch out! Everyone, steer clear of those eggs!"
"No, we destroy them!" I countered. "Riders! Let's go!" I urged.
"Yeah!" the rest of them agreed immediately as we already slotted in our cards.
The injured ones said normally while the rest of us shouted to commence our transformation, "HENSHIN!"
TURN/OPEN UP
CHANGE
Seven holograms appeared right in front of us and we dashed through it, shooting and slashing out the hatching eggs, not giving them a chance to surface the world.
"Is he crazy?!" Ephraim said shocked. "Don't they know the danger of facing a Gorgon head on?!"
"Maybe not on fully grown Gorgon, but the ones hatching are harmless, if killed quickly." Seth said. "Kurogasa is right; we must destroy the Gorgon eggs before they fully hatch."
"He's right!" Kyle informed. "While we still have the chance, we must take them all out!"
"We'll take care of the hard–to–reach places in the air." Glen said before the group of Pegasus Knights and Wyvern Riders soared to the sky and trying to locate them from afar.
"As the rest of us, be sure to be careful when facing these Gorgons… one stare is enough to turn you into stone and if you are within range, it will unleash an attack on us, so always be on guard!" Seth informed the rest of the troop before they went on and started hunting the eggs and killing them.
Meanwhile…
"The Riders have arrived…" a figure stood firmly as it had a black helmet with orange eyes, having firm pads on his chest leather armor, with upward shoulders pad mounted on his shoulder. On the lower parts of his armor, it had a few straps of belts wrapped around his thigh and wearing orange spiky gloves, bracers and boots. This is Trial F Undead, an Energy–Type Undead.
"Yes, I noticed it…" Another figure said as it had a white skull mask on its head, bluish black armor on the upper part of his chest, with pure black veins all over it. A sickle rested on its right shoulder and it held a rather long sword in its hand. On the lower part of his body, it had straps of belt wrapping around its thighs and a few spikes emerging on the back of their thighs, wearing black boots. This is the Trial G Undead, the Fighting–Type Undead. "…and we cannot let them get to the queen…"
KICK
THUNDER
MACH
The holograms of Kick Locust, Thunder Deer, and Mach Jaguar entered my armor.
LIGHTNING SONIC
The whole world around was in slow motion as the cracks were also being delayed. With one big leap, I took my aim over the clusters of eggs and dived down for the kill, splattering the eggs all over the place as the unborn Gorgon were killed with the power of my kick and spark.
BULLET
RAPID
FIRE
The holograms of Bullet Armadillo, Rapid Pecker, and Fire Fly entered Garren's armor.
BURNING SHOT
"I'd like my eggs scrambled and little runny please!" Garren shouted cheekily as he fired a volley of fireballs at the eggs making them splatter all over the place.
SCREW
BLIZZARD
The holograms of Screw Mole and Blizzard Polar entered Leangle's armor as her hands were covered in frost.
BLIZZARD GALE
"This place is really hot… I don't know how you were able to survive this heat… let me help cool you young babies down…" Leangle said gently before she thrusts her arms forward, covering her attack area as frost wrapped around the eggs, to the point of completely freezing all the eggs. "Oops… I guess I overdid it..." she said slightly concerned.
"You're not supposed to help these gorgons hatch…" Chalice sweat dropped.
"Oh… right." Leangle slightly giggled. Chalice couldn't help but shake his head lightly over his girlfriend's kind antics. "Alright, I guess I should 'break the ice' to 'free' them, then…" Chalice said to himself before he roused three cards into his disposal.
FLOAT
DRILL
TORNADO
With the holograms of Float Dragonfly, Drill Shell, and Tornado Hawk conjured out from his armor, he pushes his Arrow forward to activate his signature move.
SPINNING DANCE
"Let's take it for a spin!" Chalice declared before he started floating and spinning rapidly. When he reached a certain height, he dove down his drill drop kick onto the frozen eggs, kicking them away either to million pieces or off to the volcanic magma nearby.
"Oh my… I hope you weren't too violent to them, just because they're not born yet…" Leangle said to him as Chalice landed next to her.
"Let's just go find more eggs…" Chalice muttered.
TRIAL… C/D/E
"Wohoo! Time to go Clock Up frenzy time!" Glaive chirped before she coughed a bit and enter hyper speed mode.
Meanwhile, Lance cracked his knuckles while looking at the row of eggs in front doing a sing along. "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall… well; let's see what happens after he takes FLIGHT!" Lance declared as he smashed his double–axed fist to the ground, causing most of the eggs to fly up a few meters before Larc let out rapid fires from her Gatling gun, turning the whole place into a splatter house.
"This is too easy!" Larc chirped. What she said was gonna bite her back… hard, as a javelin that was targeting her from somewhere missed her inches away and when she looked up, she noticed some gargoyles and Arch Mogalls protecting this place too. "Okay, so maybe not…" A few arrow shots were heard and it was heading towards the heart of some gargoyles, making them drop dead. Larc turned around and saw that both Neimi and Innes were the ones who killed them.
"A–Are you okay?" Neimi asked her.
"Yeah, I guess…" Larc replied as Glaive returned to her normal speed.
"We're not alone… this whole place is the valley for monsters…" Innes told them.
"Well, we better take them out too!" I said.
Meanwhile, Syrene took out another few Arch Mogalls that have been chasing her for a while and she was able to kill it on top of the flat, uncharted ground with her sword impaling its big eye and onto others that shared the same fate. "This should take care of it…" Syrene said to herself. Before she was about to take flight, she heard a voice calling out to her from the sky and it turned out to be Vanessa calling to her.
"Captain Syrene!" she cried out as she landed her Pegasus next to her sister.
"It seems like you've managed to kill a few of Arch Mogalls on your own! Glad to see you alright after seeing you defeat them…" Vanessa added, making Syrene sigh softly.
"Vanessa, you know you don't need to talk like that when we're alone." Syrene told her little sister.
"But we are on duty." Vanessa reminded her, which Syrene got a superb idea.
"Let me put it this way, then." Syrene spoke. "This is an order from your captain! When we're alone, you are to speak to me as if we are at home."
"Yes, ma'am!" Vanessa saluted.
"Vanessa…" Syrene sighed softly before talking to her sternly. "Did you listen to a word I said?"
The stern tone was enough to make Vanessa shake a little bit. "Y–Yes… Sis…"
"Yes, that's it!" Syrene said delightfully. "Oh, by the way, I have something for you."
"What is it?" Vanessa asked her as Syrene handed her an item that was wrapped in white cloth.
"Father wanted me to give it to you." Syrene told her as Vanessa unwrapped the cloth that covered it, and she was a bit surprised to see it in her hands.
"This is… a battle amulet." Vanessa said which Syrene nodded.
"Yes, it is." Syrene spoke. "I received one before I left home, too. You were summoned so suddenly that Father didn't get a chance to give it to you. And Mother wanted to tell you, "Never be apart from this amulet.""
"But…"
"She also wanted you to relax and do your best. And to get a good night's sleep always." she further added.
"Well, I do try." Vanessa said lowly.
"Maybe others don't notice, but I know you too well, Vanessa. I know you don't get enough rest when you feel overwhelmed with responsibility. But, to be at your best, you need to take care of yourself, OK?"
"Yes, ma'am– I mean, Sis." Vanessa confirmed.
"Once we have taken care of the mess around here and get a safe place for the camp, I'll be right by your side tonight, so just relax. You need a good night's sleep. I can tell the others to let them take over the lookout." Syrene told her.
"Thanks, Sis. I sleep better when you're around." Vanessa appreciated it before both of them noticed a few groups of Gargoyles heading towards their direction and Tana with the Wyvern Riders began their advance.
"Let's go, Vanessa. We should assist Princess Tana to defeat those fiends…" Syrene commanded as she mounted on her Pegasus.
"Yes, Captain Syrene!"
"Man this is ridiculous! These guys won't quit!" I snapped as I was already Jack Form and slayed another Gargoyle.
"Yeah, and they just keep coming at us!" Colm complained as he slashed another Mogall with his dual daggers. "Just how long do we have to keep up with these shenanigans?"
"Until we cleared them all, that's what…" Joshua added before he slashed away another Gargoyle with his sword dance technique, turning them into chunks of meat with his ice sword. "…and that's just plain ridiculous!"
"We must not forget about the eggs… more of them are being hatched out… they might be just hatchlings and have no petrify abilities yet, but their darkness beam is enough to wound a mortal fatally." Seth further informed.
"Well, I'm gonna have to do this then!" Garren said as he placed his Rouze Absorber and took out his two cards.
ABSORB QUEEN
EVOLUTION KING
With the golden Giraffa plaque are on top of his Rouze Absorber, and going into King Form, he took aim at the sky and unleashed a rather long shot of laser at them, creating a hole in them before they dropped to the ground, dead.
"That's some serious firepower…" Colm added with a sweat drop.
"And that's just for them. This is for the eggs and hatchlings!" Garren said taking out the five cards and slotted them in his King Rouzer.
DIAMOND TEN
JACK
QUEEN
KING
ACE
The holograms of Thief Chameleon, Fusion Peacock, Absorb Serpent, Evolution Giraffa, and Change Stag appeared in front of him aiming at the vast cluster of eggs that were hatching. As soon as he pulled the trigger…
ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH
…a rather large laser shot out from the barrel as each laser passed through each hologram, extending its wide range of attack until eventually, it diminished the eggs and hatchlings within their range as smoke appeared from his barrel. "Well, that takes care of th–"
*SLASH!*
"Gwah!" Garren cried out, tumbling down a bit as Joshua and Colm approached to him as Seth and I looked at the assailant of Garren…
"It seems like you're trying to kill these little spawns, huh… Blade?" Trial G stated after resting his long sword on his shoulders once it looked at us.
"Trial G?!" I gawked.
"We won't let you hurt the younglings." Trial F said as it appeared.
"Trial F too?!" Lance said surprised.
"The last two Trial Undead." I muttered. "After that, then it's the Joker Undead."
"Yeah… but…" Joshua began as he looked around. "Where's the Gorgon Queen herself?"
"They are taking care of your other friends for the time being…" Trial G chuckled.
"'They'?" I asked.
"You really think only a single Queen would lay such enormous amount of eggs in a day?" Trial F was screwing with us, making us shocked.
"This isn't good…" Seth pointed out.
"I'm going!" I said as I took flight. "I'll leave them to you, Lance, Garren! I gotta find Eirika!"
"Right!" The two said.
Man where is she?! After hearing on what those two Trials stated, there's the possibility of more than one Gorgon Queen, which the rest of the team didn't know, and the possibility of petrifying them in group is really high! If I'm too late, Eirika might end up turning into stone and be crushed by the whip of the Gorgon's tail or blast! I can't let that happen!
*BOOM!*
Eh? The sound of an explosion is nearby… as I looked closer, I can see Eirika and Ephraim keeping on dodging from one of the blasts coming out from the claws of the Gorgon. As both of them continued to run, the Gorgon kept chasing them until when she passed through a corner…
*SLASH!*
A shriek in pain was heard from one of the Queen Gorgons as its head was decapitated and sliced into pieces before its head rolls towards the lava. Marisa and Gerik stood up and looked at the damage. "Will you look at that? You plan really worked!" Gerik pointed out.
"Of course, Gerik. As I stated before, I don't pick fights I can't win." Ephraim reminded him.
"Yes, that should take care of the Queen… with this alone it's enough to make their forces weak…" Marisa nodded before they spotted me up above.
"Kurogasa?" Eirika said in confusion as I landed next to her and immediately hugged her. "K–Kurogasa, what's wrong?" she asked me slightly blushing.
"Thank goodness you're okay. I thought you were turned to stone or worse…" I said relieved.
"What are you talking about? We've already taken care of the Queen here, so we don't have to worry about it…" Ephraim told me.
"Their forces should have been weakened right about now…" Gerik informed.
"No, I don't think one Queen is enough to weaken the whole force…" I spoke.
"What do you mean by that?" Eirika asked me.
"Wait, Kurogasa… are you telling me there are more than one of these things?" Ephraim asked.
"Yes, and we better find the others too." I urged.
"Dang Gorgon Queen, hold still, will ya?!" Larc said annoyed as she shot more arrows only for the Gorgon to slither away to dodge the arrows.
"Stay calm cousin." Chalice advised.
"Yes, stay calm and won't miss." Leangle said.
"Die you, slimy snakey!" Glaive threatened trying to slash at it. The Queen was agile as most of their attacks missed before it whipped Glaive away with its tail, followed by a blast from its claws onto Larc, hitting her right on the target. "Owie~!" Glaive groaned in pain as Saleh and Ewan appeared right in front of it, blinding the Gorgon Queen's vision with their anima magic before Knoll used his phantasms to possess the dead hatchlings and cling on the Gorgon Queen.
"Everyone, close your eyes!" Knoll commanded as everyone within the area did so. The Gorgon Queen let out a shiny glow on its eyes, causing the hatchlings around her to be turned into stone. Unknown to herself, the roots of the hatchlings are deep within itself, causing to turn her whole body into stone too.
"Yaaah!" Ross yelled his war cry as he and Garcia cleaved the petrified Gorgon Queen in half, making it to crumble into ashes.
"Yes, we did it! We've defeated the Gorgon Queen!" Garcia said out loud.
"Yeah, dad! With the Queen gone, we don't have to worry much about being petrified!" Ross added.
"Wohoo! Our magic worked well, teacher!" Ewan told him.
"Yes… yes, it did…" Saleh said as Myrrh approached them with concern on her face. "Lady Myrrh, what seems to be bothering you?" he asked.
"The monsters… they're not going away…" Myrrh said.
"What do you mean by that?" Saleh asked.
"Didn't we just chop this thing in half already?" Ross questioned.
"Yes, but the monsters are not going away…" Myrrh said. "That could only mean… there's more than one Gorgon Queen…"
"Are you for real?!" Larc shouted in disbelief, causing the Great Dragon to hide behind Saleh.
"Now, now… we should calm down, Amber…" Leangle said.
"I don't know how many there are left, but we better be quick or else, we're gonna be stone cold…" Chalice added before they noticed the young hatchlings surrounding them.
"For the time being, we better take them out…" Garcia concluded before the rest of them attacked the hatchlings. Unknown to the rest of them, Evil Lyon looked all of the battles from afar.
"Two down already? Just two more to go… you sure have brought me joy in this battle…" Evil Lyon muttered to himself.
"And now, explode into oblivion!" L'Arachel declared as she and Lute casted magical blast onto the enemy, causing some of the Mogalls and Gargoyles to explode into tiny little pieces while Innes and Neimi shoot out a volley of arrow shots onto the Gargoyles at the sky. Meanwhile Father Moulder used his Restore staff to turn back Amelia and Tethys back into normal from stone as Franz, Kyle and Forde were protecting them from harm.
"Fuh, I'm glad I've returned back to normal…" Amelia sighed in relief.
"Yeah, but how are we supposed to handle that snake?" Tethys pointed out as it continued to unleash a strong blast of black waves onto the knights that were distracting it.
ABSORB QUEEN
EVOLUTION KING
When the three heard the source of the sound, they noticed me running towards the Gorgon the knights tried to distract. "Out of the way!" I shouted as the three immediately moved aside and let me take control of the battle.
"Princess Eirika, Prince Ephraim, you're alright!" Seth said relieved.
"Yes, we are…" Eirika told him.
"How fare is this situation?" Ephraim asked him.
"The Gorgon Queen has finally emerged itself after we have blasted away her eggs…" Seth informed them as I chopped its tail before she countered back with a dark blast from its claws onto me. As I stumbled back a few times, the Gorgon Queen let out a hiss for chopping her tail off, hence making its lose its balance.
"Now to finish you off!" I yelled taking the five cards needed.
SPADE TEN
JACK
QUEEN
KING
ACE
The holograms of Time Scarab, Fusion Eagle, Absorb Capricorn, Evolution Caucasus, and Change Beetle appeared in front of me leading to the Gorgon Queen.
ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH
The Gorgon Queen let out a flash in my direction, which had no effect on me whatsoever when I'm in this armor as I dashed forward with my blade charged up to maximum. When I've reached the end of the line, I delivered a cross slash attack on its body before I finished it off with a cut on its eyes and a stab directly through its skull, causing its whole body to explode into minced meat while its head is still on my blade…
"That's overkill, don't you think?" Forde asked.
"Nah, we've seen worse than this before…" Gerik waved it off.
"Yes, we've even see him chop his enemy into chunks of meat, including its organs…" Ephraim recalled.
"Please, I don't wanna remember that." I said as I flicked the head off my King Rouzer, sending the Gorgon head into the magma below.
"That takes care of the Queen. The forces should be withdrawing back now…" Franz said, but Ephraim shook his head in denial.
"No, it's not over yet… there are still more of them around here…" Ephraim said which made them surprised.
"You mean… there are more of these Gorgon Queens?" Father Moulder said in a surprise.
"Yeah, and we better find them too." I said.
"Gwah ha ha ha! Chop! Chop! Chop!" Dolza laughed, enjoying himself as he kept swinging his Battle Ax around in his jolly mood as more of them were cut down with his mighty swing.
"You're not running anywhere this time!" Gilliam shouted as he stabbed his lance deep into the ground, and the Gorgon Queen was unable to make its escape as it attacked him with her claws, scratching his armor up before he was saved by Duessel from plunging into the molten magma. "Thanks."
"Think nothing of it. We are fighting on the same side, after all…" Duessel told him.
"Feel my superiority of my magic!" Lute boasted as she casted an Elfire Spell onto the gargoyles that tried to attack Natasha from healing Rennac, blasting it into minced meat before Cormag and Glen advanced onto the lessened Gargoyles remains. The two Falcon Knights and one Pegasus Knight took their formations as they were heading towards the sitting duck Gorgon Queen.
"Pegasus Knights, you know what we should do next!" Syrene commanded them.
"Of course, Captain!" Vanessa replied.
"It's time for our signature attack!" Tana complied.
"TRIANGLE ATTACK!" The three shouted in unison. Tana took the middle route and both Syrene and Vanessa went on the opposite directions, making the Gorgon Queen confused.
At the same time…
CLUB TEN
JACK
QUEEN
KING
ACE
With the five holograms of Remote Tapir, Fusion Elephant, Absorb Tiger, Evolution Tarantula, and Change Spider appearing right behind the Gorgon Queen, Leangle in her King Form took her stance and dashed towards its direction with one move she knew well…
ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH
With all four corners surrounded, all was too late for it for the Gorgon Queen as the three came fast to it and three lances pierced through its body before Leangle stabbed her King Rouzer deep within its body, thus killing the last Gorgon Queen into chunks of meat before the three Pegasus Knights took off to the sky once again and Leangle took a deep breath after the stab.
"Hey, look! They're retreating!" Tana pointed out as the surviving Gargoyles and Mogalls were making their escape.
"That's the view I was waiting for…" Rennac sighed in relief as Natasha finished healing him. "Thank you, Sister."
"You are welcome…" Natasha said to him.
Wild Chalice didn't like ending the battle halfway. "You guys ain't running away THIS TIME!" Chalice declared as he equipped his Wild Slashers onto his Arrow and all 12 of his cards formed into one card as it flew towards his hand. He then immediately roused it onto his Rouzer.
WILD
"This is the finishing touch…" Chalice declared as he pulled back his arrow while aiming at the escaped monsters. Glen and Cormag got out of his range of fire.
"Finish them off!" Glen shouted at Chalice.
"Allow me to boost it up!" Lute shouted as she urged her horse to be right next to Chalice and she charged up the attack, focusing her Fire Magic onto it, and it drastically increased its firepower before he shot his beam onto them, thus clearing the sky of fiends.
"That takes care of that…" Chalice noted as Leangle walked next to him.
"Indeed… all we need to do now is to take out the remaining hatchlings before meeting back with the group…" Leangle said as they nodded in agreement.
Natasha pondered a bit while she looked to the side. "I wonder… if Joshua is okay."
"Whoa!" both Lance and Garren dodged both of the attacks from Trial F, which was unleashing its beams of fury onto the Riders while Joshua, Seth and Colm were handling Trial G with their weapons in hand.
"That's it. Time to show this freak my own signature move!" Joshua said as he gets into a stance with his Audhulma and performed the sword dance, creating mirages of himself.
"Yeah, time to go all out!" Colm said as he spun both of his daggers and lowered his body to prepare for his stealth attack.
"Then, I shall take the lead!" Seth declared before he held his Silver Sword high and ran towards the prepared Trial G, which anticipated his arrival but not expecting his next moves. When it tried to deliver a strong punch towards Seth, he played smart by sliding between its legs as he managed to stab his sword onto the stomach of the Undead before making it through. The Undead wasn't expecting the next two attacks as Colm was in a blur, slashing down his dagger onto its exposed back with his dual daggers, creating sparks on it before Joshua finished it off with five way slash attack onto the Undead before he stood far behind the Trial Undead. It dropped down dead before an explosion occurred, which indicated the three attacks on it were a success. Colm was excited while Joshua and Seth had a smile on their faces.
"Wow! We really took down an Undead on our own!" Colm said happily.
"Indeed. With our combined force and Prince Joshua's Sacred Twin, we were able to achieve the impossible…" Seth noted as he pressed his sword further down on the burning Undead.
"Yeah. For now, this Undead is considered dead." Joshua said as he sheathed his Sacred Twin back into its sheath.
"Lance, give me some cover! I'm gonna blast Trial F Undead!" Garren said.
"Eh?" Lance said confused by what he just said before he dodged one of the energy blasts coming from Trial F to the side. "Fine, you wanna play rough?! Two can play at that game!" Lance declared before he took two cards from his deck and roused it onto his Rouzer.
TRIAL… B
TRIAL… D
With two holograms conjured in front of him, he puts away his Rouzer on his back and now donned himself in his Trial Form with more refined and slimmed down bracers. Clenching his fists tightly, the Undead didn't give him a chance to let Lance take the advantage as it let out a barrage of beams onto him, which Lance parried with his bracers. Once the smoke cleared out, Trial F was surprised to see Lance in his stance, ready to attack. "How did Kotomine Kirei do his Kempo punch on Kiritsugu again?" Lance tried to recall, but then remembered it. With one big push from his legs, he closed the gap in an instant, surprising the Undead for a moment. When Lance is within range, he immediately drove a strong punch on its chest, possibly targeting at its heart (if it has one…) before a strong shockwave forced it to crash onto a standalone cliff, crashing it rather hard. "Alrighty, this should be good enough… man, that buddy of mine sure picked some good anime for me to watch and copy…" he commented as the Trial Undead wasn't going to move anytime soon but still, no explosion occurred.
"Now for the finishing touches!" Garren said as he slotted in his five cards.
DIAMOND TEN
JACK
QUEEN
KING
ACE
The five holograms of Thief Chameleon, Fusion Peacock, Absorb Serpent, Evolution Giraffa, and Change Stag appeared in front of him leading to the Trial Undead. As soon as he pulled the trigger…
ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH
…a gigantic beam of light shot out from the King Rouzer, passing through each of them and the enlarged beam engulfed it before an explosion occurred, and the Trial Undead dropped dead to the ground."You sure took your time…" Joshua smiled as Lance looked at the trio and noticed something.
"Whoa! You guys beat that Trial Undead?!" Lance asked shock until the recoil happened as he placed his hand on his neck.
"Hey, don't be so surprised about it! Besides, you're gonna get your neck hurt again…" Colm said concerned.
"Yes, it was hard to believe, but we managed to defeat the enemy with our skills and weapons…" Seth said.
"Well, at least we took them out." Garren said as he took two Common Blanks and threw them at the Trial Undead, sealing them up before the cards shot back to Garren and he caught them. "Now, let's regroup with the others."
We heard some sort of gigantic explosion on the other side of the large cliff, which made me smile before undoing my transformation. "Looks like they've taken out the Undead and the last Gorgon Queen…" I said.
"Yeah, and after seeing these critters scurrying away from us, that makes the victory ours…" Gerik grinned.
"A figure…" Marisa as she spotted something from afar. She pointed out the direction of the figure she spoke of and boy, were we in for a surprise…
"Isn't that…" Ephraim said shocked, seeing the figure reappearing after the battle we had.
"Lyon!" Eirika cried out running over to him.
"Wait! Eirika!" I shouted going after her.
"Hold, Eirika! Don't go anywhere alone!" Ephraim shouted as he also made chase towards her while Eirika continued to chase after Lyon without looking back.
"Lyon's back there! I won't abandon him!" Eirika said stubbornly as she continued to run. Just as we were about to reach her, all of the sudden, the ground opened wide, creating a gap as the only way to get to her from where we stand right now is this river of molten lava in between.
"Kurogasa! We better find an alternative route to get to her!" Ephraim told me. "Her life might be in danger if she were alone!"
"You find it! I can fly over!" I said as I slipped in my Change Ace card again. "Henshin!"
TURN UP
The hologram came out of the buckle and I soon was donned in my armor again. I then attached the Rouze Absorber on my arm and used the necessary cards.
ABSORB QUEEN
FUSION JACK
"Wait, Kurogasa!" Ephraim said trying to stop me, but when I reached my Jack Form, I immediately spread my wings and soared towards the sky, heading out to where Eirika might be… Eirika, please be safe…
Eirika continued to wander alone within the path where Lyon might be as she called for her friend. "Lyon! Lyoooon!" she shouted as she ran along the path.
"Ei… Eirika…" a voice said weakly, catching her attention as she stopped her pace and looked around.
"Lyon? Where are you?" Eirika asked concerned and all of the sudden, he was teleported right in front of her, within a few meters away, while holding his head in pain, making her worried even more. "Lyon!" she cried out as she rushed towards his side. "Hold on. I'll save you!"
"Forgive me… Eirika… It's over… for me… The Demon King has devoured my soul… I'm mad… and I'm going… to die…" Lyon said weakly.
"Lyon… What should I do? How can I help you? Tell me! I'll do anything, but you have to tell me!" Eirika pleaded.
"…The Sacred Stone… Give me… the stone…" Lyon said.
"What?"
"My body… is being ravaged by the Demon King. If it continues unchecked, nothing can save me. But if I had the power of a Sacred Stone… I could save… my soul…"
"Lyon…" Eirika got out.
"Please… Eirika… I don't want to die yet… I want to live… with you… If I had the Sacred Stone… I could… heal myself… Please…"
"Could the Sacred Stone really do that? Could it heal you?" Eirika asked.
"Yes… Please… Eirika…"
Oh man, where's Eirika?! Ever since Eirika and I accepted each other's feelings, I couldn't help but feel more worried for her because of her reckless actions and even now, it's getting me more worried since she's after what she thought it was Lyon… man, her kindheartedness will bite back at her hard, and I don't want to see her sad again! I better hurry up and get to her before it's too late for me to undo the damage! Darn it, darn it, darn it! If something happens to her, I can't forgive myself for not being able to be her shield from incoming danger! Just when I thought I was about to lose hope, I finally saw her amongst the steam that covered my view and… is that Lyon? Wait, why is she handing him the Sacred Stone?! "Wait, Eirika!" I shouted, as her extension of the stone suddenly stopped and Lyon looked at me with a displeased look. Just when he was about to take the stone from her hands, I immediately roused a card.
MACH
The Mach Jaguar entered my armor, and the whole world was in slow motion. Lyon was inches away from taking the stone from her hands. With my speed, not only that I quickly swiped the Stone, but also gained Eirika distance between us and him before the whole world resumed back to normal. "K–Kurogasa? What's wrong? Why did you tell me to stop? Don't you see that Lyon needed our help?!" So many questions were running through her mind as I held the Sacred Stone of Renais in my hand.
"Why were about to give the Sacred Stone to Lyon?" I asked incredulously.
"He… He told me it would heal him…" Eirika got out.
"Eirika, didn't you hear what L'Arachel said? Not even a Sacred Stone could save him." I told her.
"B–But…" Eirika stuttered while she looked at the 'weak' Lyon in front of me. "H–He said that the Sacred Stone would be able to save his soul…"
"And I ain't buying his story one bit…" I muttered as eventually, the 'weak' Lyon suddenly, slowly stood high.
"So, the princess of Light has told you as well, Rider?" Evil Lyon spoke in his dark sinister voice..
"Lyon?" Eirika said confused. "W–What's going on?!"
"Eirika… that's not Lyon anymore. He tried to trick you in giving him the Sacred Stone so he could crush it. It's a good thing I got here fast… literally." I said.
"What?!" Eirika said shocked as the Demon King laughed.
"So, my little plan has been foiled…" Evil Lyon said as if it was nothing before he chuckled. "How disappointing for you. This body is mine now. Nothing remains of your dear boy's soul."
"You only pretended to be Lyon… You deceived me." Eirika realized as she curled her fist and got angry. "Return him! Return Lyon now!" she demanded as Evil Lyon wagged his finger at her.
"I'm afraid there's no hope of that." Evil Lyon said sinisterly. "You see, I've devoured him. Bite by bite, slowly. How I savored it. Nothing remains but this suit of flesh I wear. There is nothing to heal. Not even the power of a Sacred Stone can craft something from nothing. He cannot be saved!"
After hearing what that thing said, Eirika was in deep shock as she got on all fours, looking at the ground in disbelief. "That… can't…"
"Eirika! Get a hold of yourself!" I said trying to calm her down as the Demon King was enjoying her suffering.
"I love how humans look when they're drowning in despair!" Evil Lyon said with glee. "I believe… you have something I want, Rider… it is either that or I'll vanquish the princess with my magic!"
"I won't let you!" I shouted.
"Eirika!" I heard Ephraim's voice shout.
"Oh… caught up, have you?" Evil Lyon said as he noticed the whole group followed suit.
"Buddy!" Storm cried out.
"Is Eirika alright?!" Amber shouted as Ephraim approached her.
"Eirika! Wake up! Do you know who I am?" Ephraim asked trying to snap her out from it, but she was still in shock.
"Ephraim, get Eirika to safety… lead everyone out of this place and–" I couldn't finish my words when I noticed a dark fireball aiming at him. I immediately stepped forward and averted it with a swing of my Rouzer.
"Oh? You managed to stop it? That's just nice…" the Demon King scoffed as Ephraim escorted her back before all of the sudden, a black firewall appeared right between us, causing them to take a few steps back from the flames.
"Whoa! Where did that came from?!" Amber exclaimed.
"It must have been from that guy…" Tana said pointing at the Demon King.
"As much as I want to fight with you all, I don't like to be interrupted to get what I want… and Ephraim, I was hoping that you and I would clash with each other, but I think I've found myself better prey…" Evil Lyon said before he looked at me. "So, 'legendary' Rider, should you either hand me the Stone… or should I burn your friends and comrades to mere ashes?" He taunted me, making me boil mad at this point. "Wouldn't it be nice to see her sad expression, seeing you being burned to death by me, her own 'friend'?" He said again and my rage was at its max…
"I won't lose!" I shouted as I took out a card roused it on the Rouze Absorber.
EVOLUTION KING
The Fusion Eagle plaque was replaced with the Evolution Caucasus Plaque. The spade cards came out and circled around me before going into their places, donning me in King Form. "Ah, the majestic King of the Legendary Rider… how it's been so long to see you… so that I can crush you once again!" Evil Lyon declared as his whole body emitted a dark aura, his cloak floating from it as he held his tome in his hand and aiming at me. "Come on… I'm waiting~…" He taunted with a smirk.
"You're going down Fomortiis!" I shouted as I charged towards him. Evil Lyon stood there, waiting for me to slash him and as I swung my King Rouzer on him, the only thing I've slashed was his mirage as I felt a blast on my back, causing smoke to appear on my cape as I skid to the side and looked at him. "Come now… is that the best you can do?"
"You haven't seen anything yet!" I shouted before I rushed forward as rage has totally taken control over me.
"Oi! Calm down! That's what he wants your state of mind to be in right now!" I heard Kurai shout, but it didn't reach my ears as I continued to slash him with my Rouzer in hand. During the whole course of battle, he was just toying with me as he let out a few minor blasts on me, which I swung it away before continuing to pursue it.
"Ha ha ha! This is truly fun indeed!" Evil Lyon mocked until I stopped my pace and took a breather. "All of those attacks make me yawn, Rider… let me show you what a real attack looks like!" Evil Lyon said before he gathered immense darkness from deep within him and created a dark orb in his hand.
"My word… I can feel the malicious darkness from that orb alone…" Knoll said surprised.
"Last chance, 'King'. The Stone… or your life?" Evil Lyon offered.
"I won't let you take the Stone…" I muttered. "And I won't let you hurt my friends! I will protect them with my life!" I shouted as I had ten cards come out of the armor and I caught them, sliding half of them into the Rouzer.
SPADE TWO
SPADE THREE
SPADE FOUR
SPADE FIVE
SPADE SIX
STRAIGHT FLUSH
I threw the other five cards up in the air as I Blay Rouzer appeared in my hand and now letting me dual wield. The other five cards then fell straight into the King Rouzer.
SPADE TEN
JACK
QUEEN
KING
ACE
The holograms of Time Scarab, Fusion Eagle, Absorb Capricorn, Evolution Caucasus, and Change Beetle were in front of me leading to Evil Lyon.
ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH
I felt the shocks on me as I was somehow overcharged myself, but I paid no mind to it as the five holograms were right in front of me as I wield both King Rouzer and Blay Rouzer in my hand. With a quick dash through it, both of my Rouzers reached its maximum and I've unleashed a double blow on it but both of them were only hitting another mirage of himself and before I knew it, he already placed his attack on my chest as I felt the pressure coming out from the dark orb. "I had fun… now, begone!" Evil Lyon shouted before a large explosion occurred to me, causing me to fly towards the dark firewall and crash on it before I landed on the ground face first and both of my King and Blay Rouzers were far apart. The Sacred Stone of Renais that I've kept under my armor got out from it and it dropped right in front of him. Evil Lyon bent down and picked it up while looking at it with glee. "…Ah… It's true… A Sacred Stone… Ha ha… Heh heh heh… An abominable Sacred Stone… Here in my grasp." Evil Lyon got out before he held it tightly, crushing it into dust and then opens up his hand, letting the remains of the stone blow out to the sky. "And now, it's nothing more than a piece of worthless stone…"
"Buddy!/Kurogasa!/Big bro!" Storm, Ephraim and Akira cried out rushing to my side after the firewall has diminished and transformation canceled out. Eirika was in the care of Melissa–sempai, Mikoto, Tana, and Amber.
Evil Lyon turned around and spoke to us. "Hmm, I've changed my mind. I'll leave the girl alive as well as the Rider. Take her. There are memories of you in this flesh I wear. And I hunger to see your face bear more suffering and pain." Evil Lyon said before he let out another dark laugh and warped himself away. After that, I blacked out.
"Kurogasa! Kurogasa! Wake up!"
Huh? Who's calling me?
"Wake up! Please, Kurogasa!" the calling was getting louder and louder and slowly, I was coming to. When my vision cleared, I saw that the one that woke me up was… Tana?
"Looks like the sleeping prince has awakened…" I heard another voice. This one was L'Arachel. I sat up and noticed I was inside the camp and all of a sudden, Tana does her usual tackle on me.
"Ooh~~! I'm so glad you're up! If not, I would've given you a wake up kiss…" Tana said slightly cheeky.
"But, you won't. You already have someone in mind, Tana…" L'Arachel pointed out. Tana stuck her tongue out at her with L'Arachel doing the same.
"Sorry I worried you all." I smiled sadly, but then I remembered something and suddenly sat up. "Where's Eirik– ite, te, te, te, te, te!" I cringed in pain holding my chest and stomach.
*WHACK!*
"OW!" I cringed in pain, courtesy of L'Arachel's staff.
"Calm down, Kurogasa! You were just finished being healed, y'know?" L'Arachel said.
"After that guy vanished elsewhere, you were unconscious and your chest and stomach were totally bleeding!" Tana told me as I took a peek inside my shirt and noticed there were some bandages wrapped around it.
"Since looking at bare men is a sin, I told the others to do the healing while your armor is taken off and when that's done, I'd do the rest of it… with your clothes on, of course…" L'Arachel added.
"Oh…" I got out. "Thanks. But seriously, where's Eirika?" I asked. The two of them were silent. "Girls?"
"Well…" L'Arachel got out.
"She… asked for some time alone…" Tana said while looking down, which I can understand what they're trying to tell me.
"I see…" I said sadly, looking down. "This wasn't supposed to happen… I feel like I failed Eirika…"
*WHACK!*
"OW!" I cried out again from the whack of L'Arachel.
"Don't say something like that! You weren't expecting it, that's all!" L'Arachel corrected me.
"Besides, not everything went according to the plan, Kurogasa…" Tana comforted me.
"Still…" I got out.
"Alright, that's enough complaining for today, Mr. Rider! Right now, you really need some rest!" L'Arachel told me as she was walking out of the camp.
"Where are you going?" I asked her.
"I'm gonna have a bit of a discussion with Ephraim and the rest of the group…" she informed me before leaving both Tana and I for a moment.
"I really wish I didn't see my best friend sad… and yet, it happened…" Tana spoke lowly.
"I know; I failed to protect her smile…"
"If she feels sad, then I'm also sad… I mean, if I were in her boots, I might also feel the same thing; knowing my best friend has turned evil and crushing all hopes that I tried to protect…"
"Tana, I–"
"Enough, Kurogasa…" Tana told me before she also started moving out from the camp. "I don't want to talk about this anymore… I already told you that if you break her heart or can't protect her smile, you would've been dead by my lance right about now, but I can't… I don't have the courage to kill someone she loves…" She added, her voice somehow sounding like she was stuttering before her hand reached her face and wiped something off her eyes. I can tell she was actually holding back her tears. "So, you better do this right and fix it…" And with that, she left the tent, leaving me all alone.
"Tana…"
Meanwhile, as Amber and Mikoto were cooking dinner, Rennac was looking at the sky while Dolza was sharpening his axe. "Life is… a fickle beast, is it not, old man?" Rennac said solemnly, making Dolza stop his sharpening and look at him.
"Why are you so solemn, Rennac?" Dolza asked. "You can't win battles if you've no hope!"
"This journey has taught me the hollowness and the transience of life's pleasures. Ah, to what end do we toil on this unforgiving earth? Why do we live?" Rennac sighed loud as he looked down.
As always, Dolza thought of this seriously… in his own way. "Why do we live? Well, if you're not alive, then you're dead, and… Er… if you're dead, then you can't eat, and… What was I saying?" Dolza said scratching his head in confusion. "I think I must be getting hungry. I wonder what's for dinner on what those three girls are cookin'? My belly's a–rumbling!" Dolza said with a big laugh after taking a sniff from afar as he saw Mikoto, Amber, and newly arrived Tana putting some more ingredients into a rather large pot.
"It must be nice to have no worries other than what to eat, old man." Rennac deadpanned before looking at a corner. "And not just you, either. I'm sure that a certain young lady has nothing to worry about, either."
"What's that? Do you mean Princess L'Arachel?" Dolza blinked. "That girl believes the world will turn out just as she envisions it. I doubt if the word "worry" even has any meaning to her in the first place." Dolza assured him.
"What a completely envious position to be in. I may not look it now, but I'm the son of a wealthy Carcino merchant!" Rennac proclaimed as he stood up from where he sat and looked at Dolza. "I believed that you could move the world if you but had the gold. Money was everything, and with money, nothing was beyond my reach! I adored money! I loved money! You see?!" he exclaimed.
"What good fortune for you that your father was a thriving merchant." Dolza pointed out.
"That's just it…" Rennac highlighted. "There are people who can do anything without any money at all… She's overbearing and egotistical, yet she has us all jumping through hoops. That's a skill normal people don't possess." he commented and for some reason, L'Arachel lightly sneezed just now.
"That's Princess L'Arachel! She makes the impossible possible!" Dolza exclaimed before he laughed heartily and looked at the rogue. "You're with her because she made a deep impression on you, too, right?"
"A deep impression?! More like I'm in shock and my brain's been frozen!" Rennac shouted, making Dolza blinked.
"What? Your brain's frozen?! That'll never do!" Dolza said as he stood up. "Did you forget to wear a hat? Let me at it. I'll thaw it out!" Dolza offered as he stretched his hand to Rennac's bandanna, causing him to take a few steps back with an annoyed look.
"Knock it off!" Rennac shouted. "I was speaking figuratively! You know? As in "not literally"? You're too strong to joke around like that! Stop it!" he exclaimed, making Dolza laugh again.
"Just teasing you!" Dolza said before he sat down as Rennac face palmed.
"What a pair the two of you make… You know, you're the only one who can keep up with Princess L'Arachel, old man." Rennac commented before he left and Dolza continued to sharpen his axe.
"I wonder what are those two were arguing about?" Tana asked both of them.
"We have no~ idea…" Amber and Mikoto said in unison.
At the same time, while Forde was taking another nap from the last battle, he heard some footsteps heading towards him and when he opened his eyes, Vanessa was the one that approached him. "I think I misunderstood you." Vanessa said as he sat up and looked at her in confusion.
"Yeah? So you understand me now?" Forde asked her, which she nodded.
"I guess so. You've been working for me from behind–the–scenes, haven't you?" Vanessa asked him as he stood up in front of her.
"Yes." Forde confirmed. "But don't worry. I'm used to that sort of misunderstanding." Forde waved it off.
"Well… thank you." Vanessa replied while looking down.
Forde slightly chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "You're welcome, of course. So, how about all that other stuff?"
"What do you mean?" Vanessa asked as Forde casually smiled.
"Am I too far a cry from a prince?" he asked her, making Vanessa avert her gaze from him as she slightly blush.
"Um…"
"I felt an energy…" Forde spoke, getting her attention back.
"Energy?" Vanessa asked as she looked at him after recovering her blush. "What are you talking about?"
"Everyone has a different type of energy. Some energies can heal hearts, others spread courage." Forde told her. "When you first saw me sleeping, I was dreaming of running across a field. I felt this warm energy engulfing me, blowing across my face like a summer wind. It must have been your energy that made me feel that way." Vanessa blushed again.
"My… energy?" Vanessa asked, and without hesitation, Forde held onto Vanessa's hand with both of his gently.
"Would you like to feel my energy, too?" Forde offered her, causing Vanessa to pull her hand immediately while looking away as she still blushed.
"Um… I'll certainly think about it…" Vanessa said before she walked away.
"Wonderful! I'll be waiting for your answer, Vanessa!" Forde exclaimed.
"Why is he always like that? And… why am I feeling like this…? Am I… falling for him?" Vanessa questioned herself as she headed towards her tent to get some rest while waiting for dinner to be finished.
"Great… after he beat the heck out of Kurogasa without much trouble, he just waltzed on out of there…" Kurai complained.
"Agreed… and due to certain circumstances, we have no other choice but to make a move before the crater gets bigger and there's no way we can pursue him now…" Seth informed.
"That; and the Sacred Stone of Renais is destroyed." Ephraim said.
"Talk about bad luck…" Kurai muttered.
"I guess there's no way to chase him after all of that, huh?" Akira added as he looked down.
"There's no cause to be discouraged." L'Arachel perked. "Beyond these mountains lies the heart of Darkling Woods. Before we enter, we must head north to Rausten. After all, we still need the Sacred Stone of Rausten. As long as even one stone remains, all hope is not lost. We cannot give in to despair when victory draws so near!" L'Arachel said trying to lighten up the mood.
"Oh great… and I just hope it doesn't fall in the wrong hands or break into pieces when the stone is in your hand, L'Arachel…" Kurai scoffed.
*STOMP!*
"Iteeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"My, my… you sure love to tease her. You haven't learned your lesson yet, ne?" Melissa said as she had that smile on her face while her dark aura emitted. And for the first–timers, they took a few back steps from her as Kurai shuddered.
"Now I know why sometimes they're scared of this gentle Sister…" L'Arachel commented as the ones that just witnessed it just nodded in agreement lightly, making Melissa tilt her head to the right in confusion.
Even with the pain I had on my body, I still forced myself to look for Eirika and eventually found her. She was leaning against a tree while she hugged her knees close to her and hid her face. When I tried to approach her, for some reason I don't know, I shuddered… wow, I think Melissa–sempai is angry on something again… how did I know? Experience tells the whole thing… But nonetheless, I went over to her. "Eirika…?"
"Please leave me be…" Eirika said lowly while she still hid her face.
"Eirika…" I got out kneeling in front of her.
"I said please leave me be!" Eirika shouted while I saw her eyes still filled with sadness before she hid her face again. "It's my fault… to be deceived by the Demon King…" she blamed herself.
"No… it wasn't your fault." I protested. "It's not your fault that you're a kindhearted person. That you wanted to help someone. If anyone's to blame, it should be me."
After I told her, she slowly lifted her head and looked at me concerned. "You? …why?"
"Because at first, I was confident enough to defeat him and probably saving Lyon at the same time… but then, he started to play mind games with me and my emotions got the best of me, which is why I ended up losing the Sacred Stone we tried to protect. Even if I didn't have to fight him, I knew I should've flown away with you when we got the chance, even if you rebelled on me for wanting to help him out…"
"Kurogasa…" Eirika said as tears ran down her eyes and she slowly approached and embraced me gently with my head on her chest. "No, it isn't your fault at all… both of us made a mistake and in the end, we lost the Sacred Stone and you have gotten yourself injured from the aftermath…"
"But still…" I sobbed. "I failed you Eirika… I couldn't protect your smile!" At that point, I just broke down crying.
"Kurogasa…" Eirika breathed as her hug around me got tighter, as I continued to cry while ignoring the pain around my body.
"Kurogasa, dear… this isn't the time for you to cry…" A voice said as Eirika turned to her right and noticed someone watching the whole scene.
"Melissa…" Eirika said.
"S–Sempai…" I got out as Melissa–sempai approached both of us, knelt down and gently patted my back.
"Yes, we might have lost the Sacred Stone but do not blame yourself for something that you weren't able to do…" She added as I slowly stopped sobbing. "It doesn't matter if the damage has already been done, as there's nothing we can do about it. But we still have to press on to achieve our goal as long as hope still lives inside of us. And this time, we'll do it together as one, dear… getting the last Stone and seal it for good…" she added with a kind smile.
"Sempai…" I got out.
Melissa–sempai took out a napkin and gently wiped the tears on my face. "The Kurogasa I know from school is always a happy person, always determined to accomplish something to the end, and always helping out the people in need. Once you have achieved your goals, only then will you let out a cry, but not a normal cry… a different one." she added after wiping off my tears and then onto Eirika. "Your kindheartedness is something that the Demon King lacks. It may think it was nothing more than just a mere expression, but it didn't know your kindness to help others, is the reason why you've reached this far… so please, Eirika, dear… always keep helping out those who are in need…"
"Melissa…" Eirika got out.
""Forget about what happened in the past…" Melissa–sempai began.
"…and continue on with the present…" Eirika continued.
"…and build for a better future…" I finished. Melissa–sempai nodded and hugged both of us with her warm hug.
"I'm sure of it… all of us will prevail in the end…" she consoled both of us.
"Sempai…" I got out then started sobbing again.
"Sister Melissa…" Eirika added as her tears also flowed out from her eyes and she buried her face on Melissa–sempai's chest.
"My, my… are you two crying again?" Melissa–sempai asked both of us.
"Y–Yeah… but for a different reason…" I got out.
"Please… just a little bit longer?" Eirika got out.
"Don't worry… I'll always be here…" Melissa–sempai added as she continued to be there for us…
Okay, okay, I know it's all sappy at the end and all, but hey, it works with me, plus, two more Undead have been sealed. So you know what to do people! Review!
Spade: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K
Diamond: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K
Heart: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K
Club: A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K
Trial: A, B, C, D, E, F, G
Joker: Albino