Many hours later out in the forest, Vankyuria sat by herself, playing with a leaf, tearing it apart with her claws.
"Kaerarenai mono wo ukeireru chikara… soshite ukeirerarenai mono wo… kaeru chikara wo choudai yo…" She softly and slowly sang to herself as she peeled apart the leaf. An explosion erupted underneath her, forcing her to shadow strafe out of the tree. She looked down; a rain-soaked Necrolai was glaring at her.
"What are you doing out here?" She shouted with malice in her tone.
"Go away!" Vankyuria tossed her screeching bat bombs down at Necrolai, which seemed to have no effect on her. Vankyuria shot off and flew towards Briarwood.
"You can't cower behind him forever!" Necrolai shouted as she began to give chase.
The two flew around in circles around the treetops; Necrolai was not easily shaken, Vankyuria came to find out. The moon was full in the early morning sky, and Vankyuria knew that this would not be an easy escape.
Chip rushed out into the forest, grinning. He hand his wand tightly in hand, illuminating the ground in front of him. He stopped for a moment and looked around.
"I know you're here!" He shouted. "Your heresy freezes the very air around us!"
A crossbow bolt zoomed past his head, and he turned to face the direction from which it came. Icaryia walked over to where he had once been facing. She wore Vankyuria's outfit, and hadn't bothered repairing the damage Vida and Madison had done to it. Deep cuts, slashes, and blood covered her body, even her hair, which was not tied into a bun.
"So…you came to visit me, dear brother…" She said sadistically. "Come to give me a kiss?" She bared her fangs.
"That's something I'm glad to decline." He replied, cringing.
She changed her bow back into a wand and sneered. "Pity, now I have to kill you." She conjured up several dark bolts; Chip saw them coming. Having no time left to react to the swift bolts, he put his skills to use and began to backflip back down the path. After a few, he realized that the bolts were getting closer. He grabbed his wand and pointed the wand behind him. "Maagi Magi Majiiro!" The Magic Circle, shining a bright yellow, appeared behind him, and he flew through it, instantly transforming. He hit the ground and finished his set of backflips off with a quick tumble and steadied himself, only to be rewarded with a dark bolt to the face.
He spun around as the dark bolt drove itself into his helmet, destroying a chunk of the left side of his helmet and spitting sparks into Chip's face. He screamed in pain as he landed on the ground. The dark bolt finally dissipated as Icaryia walked up to Chip and viciously yanked on the damaged part of his helmet. She then began tearing at it, ripping apart his face and eventually tearing the whole thing off with little protesting. Her nails tore long lines up his face as she gave the final yank on the helmet. The sparks from his helmet had burned his face up around his eyes and temple; Chip was lucky his had closed his eyes on impact, or he might've lost to use of the left one.
"Well, this's pretty pathetic so far…" Icaryia said. "Not so tough without your stupid friends, are ya?"
"You got lucky…" He spit, sitting his MagiStaff Crossbow against the dividing line in her stomach, and firing a strong bolt into her gut. She flew back into the trees, giving Chip the precious moments he needed to recover. He stood up and blinked his left eye a few times to make sure everything was fine. Blood trickled from the claw wounds, but he ignored it for the moment. He fired a few more shots into the woods blindly, unsure of where she had landed. He didn't even recall hearing her hit the ground. He felt a sharp pain in his side; Icaryia had driven a blade into his left side after shadow strafing behind him.
"I get lucky a lot." Icaryia said as Chip stifled a cry of pain, slowly dropping him to the ground.
Up above, Vankyuria zipped through the air, dodging beams of dark magic energy being fired at her by Necrolai. "Are you so desperate to betray the Master that you will hide with the Magicians…?"
"I am only hiding from you because you've become a maniac!" Vankyuria shouted. "I can't believe I ever missed you!"
"Oh dear sister…" Necrolai said. "Your flattery will get you nowhere…"
Down in the forest, Chip cringed as Icaryia removed the blade from his side. "Have you lost enough blood yet? Are you ready to give…?" Chip gasped for air as he grabbed his side. "Maybe they should have made you a Red Magician instead…your uniform would've been perfect for tonight…" She cackled. He swung his left arm back at her, which she caught with both hands. "Oh, a snack!" She shouted.
He grinned. "Eat this!" He pulled her forward and around as he stood up; with his right hand, he securely clamped down on her wrists as he slid his left hand out of his glove, then he clamped his left hand down on her wrists for a firmer grip. He gave a good 360-degree turn and tossed her forwards; he then grabbed his crossbow and fired several shots at her, four of those hits drawing blood and spraying it in arcs.
She groaned in pain as she got up. "You little punk," She said, regaining her footing. "you'll be lucky if all you've got is an apoplexy when I'm done with you..."
"You'll be lucky if there's anything left of you when I'm done." Chip shot back.
"I'm gonna hit you so hard, that feathered abomination'll feel it!" He began to hover off the ground slightly and began to thrust forwards, imitating Vida's special move.
Chip glared and changed his crossbow back into its wand mode, then put it in the holster that was attached to his belt. He then charged at Icaryia, and once she got close enough, he leaped into the air and flew straight over her head. Once he had gotten behind her, he kicked back, connecting with the direct middle of her skull, knocking her off balance and sending her into a headfirst dive into the ground. He landed on his feet and spun around mid-stop; he now faced Icaryia, who was attempting to get up. He pulled the wand out of its sheath and pointed the Garuda crystal towards the sky. "Jii Magi Jiruma Majika! Lightning Corona!" The Garuda crystal shot a yellow light straight up into the sky.
The beam of light woke Volgel up from his less-than-attentive guard duty. "Oh! Hey Charlie!" He grinned and grabbed his bow and a few arrows. "I'll play your game, you rogue." He snickered as he took out a dagger and trimmed the feathers on the back all on one side. "Time to put a little spin on things." He joked as he strung the arrows and aimed. "May my aim be true…as it always is." He then fired the shot.
Up in the treetops, the Lightning Corona shot downward, and Vankyuria saw it coming quick enough to split into Nai and Mae to fly around it. Necrolai, however, smashed into the outer wall of it. The two laughed as they reformed Vankyuria and flew off.
Down on the forest floor, the lightning arrows began to spiral downwards until they crashed down around Icaryia. The center of the lightning column suddenly became filled with excess lightning, which surged through Icaryia and caused her to writhe and shriek in agony.
"How does it feel…?" Chip asked. "How does it feel to know that this is me paying you back…? How you feel now is how I've felt for the longest time on the inside…just screaming, wishing it would end…" Chip smiled. "I just wanted to share the feeling so that you'd know in death how much torment you've left me with…aren't I nice for sharing…?" The arrows finished raining down as soon as Chip dropped his wand to his side, and Icaryia twitched and curled into a ball.
It was early dawn now, and the sun was taking its time getting over the horizon. Vankyuria assumed that she was safe, since she had never remembered Necrolai to be up at dawn. She freely flew across a strip of grass, where a lone Briarwood denizen was walking, their hat tip flopped slightly to the side. She flew down to a few tree branches and sat, facing the sun, awaiting the sunrise. She looked back into the forest, hoping to see nothing, and her hope came true. No Necrolai, no dark magic blasts or bombs, nothing at all. She sighed happily and laid her head against the tree trunk.
"Douza Megaro." Vankyuria didn't have time the react to Necrolai's paralysis spell which pressed her against the tree. "Did you miss me, little Yuri?" Necrolai asked.
"Like I miss a hole in the head." Vankyuria snapped back as she tried to wrestle free.
"Lovely." Necrolai said sincerely. She sat down next to Vankyuria and smiled as she looked up at the rising sun. "Just like your little home, isn't it? The home of the Rising Sun, I believe? Why did you ever leave? You were doing so much better there; your work for the Master was almost an art form there…"
"Killing humans is a waste of blood." Vankyuria replied. "Why smash a bottle of wine to get what's inside when you can easily pop a cork and save the rest of later?"
"See, this is what makes you pitiful." Necrolai said, looking Vankyuria straight in the eyes. "You think too much. You think too much about the victim, and not enough about your needs or the needs of those above you. You don't care, you take only what you want." Necrolai sighed. "It was good, having you for a queen. You had much promise. I suppose that we can watch the sun rise on a new era, since I know that sunrises are one of your stupid indulgences."
"The sun is glorious…I feel pity for my servants who are cursed to never see it." Vankyuria replied.
"Pitiful." Necrolai replied, crossing her arms and legs.
Icaryia slowly got up and noticed that what was left of Chip's helmet was in reach. She slowly got up and approached it, hiding her intentions. Chip put up his guard, waiting for Icaryia to make her move. With the grace of a swan she quickly slid her left foot into the hole, letting that pointed end of her shoe clamp on to the inside of the helmet. She than swung her leg around like a shotputter, flinging the helmet at Chip and hitting the right side of his face with it. Chip didn't have time to react, and he hit the ground and barrel rolled a bit. He crouched down as Icaryia charged him, and once she got close, he pointed his wand at her. "Jii Majika!"
The crystal shined brightly stunning Icaryia and driving her back. He reached down to his belt and popped the large Magic Circle emblem belt buckle open, revealing an empty chamber. He let the small yellow crystal fall out into his palm. "Engorgia." Chip said, and the crystal grew to its original size.
It was triangle shaped, with several grooves cut into it, making it look somewhat like a trident's top. He closed the belt buckle as Icaryia slowly stood up. "One good turn deserves another, grandma always said." Chip said, getting to his feet and spinning, holding the crystal by one tip. Icaryia stood up quick enough to get the point of his statement…literally.
Chip had tossed the crystal like a shuriken, and it dived straight into Icaryia's jugular. She began to claw at her neck as she choked and dropped to her knees.
"Sometimes the best gifts come unexpectedly." Chip said with a smile as he walked over to her and kneeled next to her. She could hardly move, let alone harm him. "Remember you told me about this…?" Chip said softly, touching the crystal softly and smiling.
"The Dawn Crystal…? How it was so powerful, that it could crush any weakened vampire, even the Queen herself? How it drained the life from the vampire until the light from the sun touched it…?" Chip sighed, still keeping a somewhat happy smile on his face. "You taught me a lot, both good and bad…but the most important thing you taught me was that miracles happen if you believe. You came back, and I never gave up hope that you were still alive…even if it wasn't the way I had hoped." Chip looked down, letting his eyes fill up with tears. "It's so funny…I don't feel bitter, I don't feel vengeful…I don't even feel like celebrating…I feel sad. Sad that it had to end like this…I'm going to miss you…but I have my friends…and they'll help me move on from this…you always told me that I needed friends…" He looked up. "You were right. Thank you." He stood up and watched as the sun began to peek out through the leaves.
"I see…the light…" Icaryia said, looking up. "It's orange…like your hair…your hair has always shined like the sun…you always…shine…" Her breath hitched as the sunlight hit the Dawn Crystal, illuminating her entire body, and within moments, turning it to dust. The Dawn Crystal fell down into the pile of dust, and Chip just stared, observing a moment of silence.
Necrolai smiled as the sun peaked in the sky. "Well, Yuri, your time's up."
"You can't kill me forever. I'll be back by tomorrow." Vankyuria taunted.
"I don't intend to kill you, that's the thing. I'm just going to make you…..go away."
Vankyuria gasped as Necrolai floated into the air. "Douza Meru Mejira!" She pointed a finger at Vankyuria's chest, drawing forth a string of black from the entangled queen.
Vankyuria cried out in pain as the thread pulled away from her, causing tears to stream down her face. She felt like the world around her was forcing her body constantly backwards, the landscape growing grayer and grayer as it continued.
"This will not be…the end of me…" Vankyuria weakly said.
"I assure you that there won't be enough left once I'm done…" She continued to draw the black thread to herself. "I'll put your skills to better use, you contemptible, feeble waste of existence." She muttered. "There is no room for weakness in Infershia."
She stopped drawing the thread, and Vankyuria screamed as her body began to fade. "Oh, sleep, you little brat." She released Vankyuria from the paralysis and forcibly shoved her from the tree, leaving her to black out as she hit the ground. The tree branches swayed particularly roughly for a windless day, so Necrolai abandoned the trees and flew upwards the teleport. She stared down at the ground and spotted a lone Briarwood denizen, staring upwards, a glare shooting up from beneath the large hat brim. Necrolai grinned as she returned to Infershia.