Negima Remix!

Chapter 35: The Hidden Power Unleashed; For Konoka's Sake
Back with the Girls

The battle raged forward, seeing that the girls had a more upper advantage, and more back up in their service. With the help of the alchemists and the arrival of a few familiar faces, the battle seemed to turn around in the good guy's favor. The demons were getting slaughtered as Mana jumped out and shot a few of them, taking their numbers down a notch. It was when she was cornered by surviving members of the Bird Tribe she really showed her stuff. She put down her rifle, and activating a switch in her rifle case, two .45 Caliber hand guns popped out, and an amazing display of gun fighting took place, wiping out all of the Bird Tribe.

Asuna just looked at the whole thing; her face was filled with surprise and shock. Even Fumika and Nodoka, who didn't know Mana very long, were equally surprised at this turn of events. Asuna then shouted with her jaw dropped, "WHAAAA?"

Setsuna filled in the blanks as she explained to the three girls, "Sorry if I forgot to tell you all, but Mana is sort of my partner. She and I were on a few cases."

She turned to Fei Ku and stated bluntly, "I'll handle the big ones; you can handle the small weaker types."

Just then, Fei Ku growled like a bear and stated, "Oooh! You no mock me!", she smiled as she pointed out, "Is big mistake, underestimating 4000-years-old Chinese martial arts!"

However, right behind her, a huge horde of powerful demons charged right at her as one of them shouted, "GET THE CHINESE-LOOKING WEAKLING!" Fei Ku smirked as she turned around to face them, "Big mistake to think weak!" And then as they were close enough, Fei Ku blocked the first Demon's strike. And with one step forward, Fei Ku delivered a powerful straight right fist as she shouted, "MATIPONCHUAN!", and pushed the demons back in a daze and fainting.

Asuna couldn't believe her eyes as she saw all this, but Fumika just cheerfully stated, "That's Fei Ku for ya! She's not the captain of the Martial Arts Club for nothing, you know!"

It was then that they heard the giant footsteps and the girls turned to see the giant tree creature. Nodoka had identified it as an Ent, a tree creature from the Lord of the Rings series. As the Demons charged at it, it either swatted them away as the demons were thrown across the sky, screaming or yelling as they headed for the ground, crashing face forward. But the unfortunate demons ended up getting smushed under its gigantic root-toed feet. Asuna couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something familiar about this creature…like she had met something like it before back then.

As for Vlad, the Homunculi were having a huge difficult ordeal trying to even get near him. However, due to his Kakugane, it proved pretty useless. Matched with his Alchemic ability to create and manipulate ice, it proved even more useless for the artificial humans.

In truth, this battle was actually showing them a little favor. Now the real battle would have to be for the Wizard and Alchemist, as they and their furry companions made their way to the Altar, where their young maiden waited to be rescued.

Near the Altar

Huge explosions were heard as Mustang was battling against Scar. With Mustang's Kakugane, the Fists of Fury, it was a snap, so to speak. With every snap of Mustang's fingers, an explosion was set off near the rogue Ishbalan. Not even Scar was able to get an opening to even try to kill the hero of the Ishbalan Massacre. He cursed himself, 'Dammit! I can't even go near him without even getting singed. I should have gone after him first, if I knew he would be here.'

However, with Kotaru and Kaede, the fight was turning in her favor. Her after image clones had him swarmed, but he retaliated with his Shadow Hounds, but even Kaede had planned that. She whipped out her huge Shuriken and with a rope attachment to it as she pulled it, spun like a fan, puréeing up the Shadow Hounds. Kaede's after images were furiously pummeling him as Kotaru groaned, 'Stay calm, Kotaru! The After Images aren't the thing you should worry about! It's the original's you've gotta…'

But then suddenly, the original Kaede popped up in front of him. Totally surprised, Kotaru didn't see it coming as she palm-slammed him to the ground with tremendous force. However, he quickly landed on his feet in a crouched battle stance, as he smirked, ignoring the pain, "Hey, not bad, Squinty McNe-chan! What's a badass like you doing in Junior High?"

Kaede just smirked as she charged in for an attack, "You're not half-bad yourself. I do think you're holding out on me though. You might want to reconsider." And with that, the battle commenced even more so.

Watching the battle from the safety of a tree, Yue was watching both good and bad opponents. She still couldn't believe at what she was looking at; it was something straight out of a comic book or one of those anime shows that Haruna had forced her and Nodoka to watch. She tried to process the whole thing in her head as she watched, 'This…this is almost like one of those graphic novels that Nodoka or Haruna read all the time!' She just watched them as she tried to process this entire fantasy scene, 'Physically, all four of them have far exceeded human limits…and they're defying the laws of physics! It's what Kaede called, 'Chi', which in term means magic.'

She shook her head of the very thoughts that were forming in her head, 'No! That's logically impossible!', but then she turned her attention back to the fight, and taking witness to the illogical fight she was witnessing. She sweatdropped as she saw it, 'But what I saw back at the Temple…and then with Negi-sensei, that Ermine, and Seiji…'

She shook her head as she told herself this, 'I'll just have to wait. There's nothing I can do now…'

Back with Negi and Seiji

The two teen boys had made their way with no delays. They had nearly used the last of their energy to get there, but they made it as they saw their target dead ahead. The altar showing the pillar of magical light that shot upwards to the heavens. They knew that Konoka was in deep danger, but they also knew that danger was what awaited them if the Homunculi were there guarding her. It was then that Chamo shouted, "Well, now that we made it, we need a plan! We can't run in there without a plan…"

"We've already come up with something!", was all Negi said as he caught Chamo by surprise. He turned to Seiji in order to confirm it and the blonde nodded, "Don't worry about it. Negi's been meaning to practice some of those old delay spells."

Chamo didn't have time to argue as the two increased their speed towards the Altar beyond all reason.

Altar

Both Chigusa and Malice were still chanting, finishing the spell with agonizing speed. Vicious and Envy just stood there, Vicious looking as half-awake and blank as ever, but Envy crossed his arms as he annoyingly asked for what appeared to be the 50th time, "Are you done yet?"

Chigusa, while gritting her teeth, finally shouted, "ALMOST! HAVE SOME PATIENCE!"

Envy just sighed as he stated to Vicious, "You'd think that with the stone we gave her, she could speed it up some." However, Vicious was turned to the east side as he looked with a blank look on his face. Envy raised an eyebrow as he asked, "What's the matter with you? You haven't stared this much like the time the Mistress brought you into the fold."

Vicious simply said, "It's Springfield and Elric."

Chigusa merely smirked, hearing the names of the Doomed, "What about them? Hear their screams of death with the others? HOHOHOHOHO…"

"No, they're heading in this direction."

That got a bug-eyed shock look on Chigusa's face as she paled in response and turned in the direction that Vicious was looking at. Suddenly, a huge explosion was heard; almost like a huge sonic boom. And suddenly, a huge wave shot up from the lake, catching everyone's, minus Konoka, attention as they saw it head straight towards them. As the wave was heading towards them, they caught a good glimpse at the head of the wave and saw what it was…or who it was. It was Negi Springfield, riding on his staff at blinding speed, and Seiji Elric Crevantes, on a block of granite at high speed, as if he was on a surfboard riding a bit tsunami.

Chigusa just groaned as she shouted, "Don't those two ever know when to quit?"

Envy then pointed out, "Well, you did underestimate them, and called the Full-Metal Alchemist a harmless pipsqueak."

Chigusa shouted, "I called him harmless, not a pipsqueak!"

"ENOUGH!", Vicious shouted, causing the two to stop bickering as he stated, "Gluttony will handle them."

As the two teens were almost nearing the Altar, something about a few yards in front of them started to stir in the water. Then suddenly, something shot upward erupting some kind of waterish volcano. To what the boys saw, was something to behold and fear. It was a huge creature, that looked human, but it was three stories high, with two huge arms that were like redwood tree trunks, a huge gut for a chest and stomach, and instead of legs, had three tentacle-like tails, each one with a serpent like head with a pair of legs. Its head was human, bald and blank, like a child's face when its playing with a bouncy ball.

The creature sniffed the air, and looked at the two boys heading right for him. The creature smiled a demonic grin, exposing its huge teeth, and drooling. As the drool dripped down his face and into the water; as it touched the water, it began to steam, almost as if it was burning. The boys realized that this creature's drool was in some way an organic acid. This was confirmed as Chamo shouted, "That thing's gonna eat us!"

Seiji shouted, "Oh, really? What gave you that idea?"

But before the creature could run towards them, another wave shot right at the creature, knocking it off balance. The two teens got a glimpse at what it was, and saw Laz, punching the heck out of the creature's face. He shouted to them as he continued keeping the beast occupied, "Keep going! I'll take it from here!" Seiji wanted to go back and help his brother, but he knew what he had to do, as did Negi as the two charged forward.

As they charged, Negi began to chant, "RASTEL MASKIL MAGISTER…FLET, UNE VENTE…FLANS SALTATIO PULVEREA!" It was when that was said, a huge mist exploded all around the altar. Complete sight was blocked from those who could see anyone from coming into the misty fog.

Chigusa coughed as she spoke, "Wha-What the…?"

Envy was coughing up a storm as he tried to shoe away the mist, but Vicious kept his reserve. He merely shielded his eyes as he spoke out his thoughts, "Interesting…he used the wind to mass-convert water into mist…", he devilishly smirked at this, "Is that how they plan to hide their approach?" He then reached for the sword hilt at his side as he made himself ready, "Not that it will help the two."

As Negi and Seiji were closing in on them, Vicious held up his right hand with its palm up front. He then stated as if he was talking to them, "Magic on the left side…", and then a yellow ball of energy began forming on the left side of his hand as he spoke again, "…and Chi on the right side." And just when the boys had made their way towards them, a huge blast shot right at them, and at the giant monster, nicking him in the shoulder as it cried out.

But when they thought that the two bodies would come flying at them, the two Homunculi were wrong. All that came at them was Negi's staff as he flew right past them. The two just looked at it in puzzlement as Envy asked, "Did you vaporize them?"

Their questions were answered as both Negi, and Seiji, who had leapt over the two, jumped from behind. Negi charged at Vicious with a Magic power punch, while Seiji charged at Envy with his usual fists. The two boys made contact with their respective opponents, but both ended up with their attacks deflected. Seiji flew back as he skidded across the bridge, but Negi paled as he realized that the white haired guy had a barrier placed around him. Chamo realized that as he shouted, "Th-That's impossible! How can a mere magic barrier block a magic-powered punch of such magnitude…?"

Negi was about to pull his hand back, but Vicious grabbed it by the wrist. And then Negi heard some bones breaking as he got on his knees and cringed in pain, 'He's…breaking every…bone in my…wrist to pieces…'

Vicious smirked as he looked down to Negi, "So you willingly chose close-quarters combat with someone who's more powerful than yourself?" He smirked as he lifted his right hand at Negi's face; the two energy balls began to energize and form, "And so the Thousand Master's son is nothing more than a teen boy…what a letdown…what a waste."

Envy walked over to the still unconscious form of the Full-Metal Alchemist. He strode his way towards him, until he was only five feet in front of the body. He put his hands on his hips in triumph as he rubbed it in, "Hard to believe this little shrimp boat's the son of the first Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric.", he then put his foot on Seiji's head as he rubbed his foot on his head, "You're nothing more than a weak little pipsqueak."

Just then, he heard a clap sound and then, all of a sudden, the wooden floor sparked with Alchemic power. And then, the wood formed and changed shape around Envy, as he looked pretty surprised as he saw the transformation done. The wood around him had turned into a huge Venus Fly-Trap, with razor sharp teeth made of the wood and nails. And then as Envy gulped, Seiji shot right up with a demonic grin and his eyes glowing red, "This is what you get for calling me a pipsqueak…and rubbing your foot on my head." And then in a split second, the trap closed on Envy, making a sickening splatter sound.

Back with Vicious and Negi, Vicious was about to give Negi the finishing blow. But then Negi looked up and smirked a painful wink to Vicious as he laughed, "You fell for it." But before Vicious could figure out what he was talking about, Negi palm-slammed him in the chest as he chanted, "SAGITTA MAGICA AER CAPTURAE!"

And then suddenly, streamers of energy wrapped around Vicious, even as he went wide eye, 'A spell…without incantation?' The streams of energy then had him trapped and in place as Negi painfully got up. Vicious struggled as he looked to Negi, "You mean…you used a delay spell?"

Being too proud, Chamo shouted, while giving him a vein-popping finger, "Damn Skippy! While in the mist, he invoked the Sagitta Magica ahead of time, and held it!", he then smirked insanely, "Even your barrier is barely effected by it, as an added bonus!"

Vicious then turned towards Seiji and asked, "And you only pretend in order to catch Envy off guard. Thus allowing an element of surprise to your attack."

Seiji just cracked his neck as he just simply stated, "Nah, he just pissed me off. I was hoping for a punch to his face would be enough, but I guess it wasn't."

Vicious then honestly smirked at them as he stated, "Well, I must say…I take back my original judgment of your abilities, Negi Springfield and Seiji Elric."

Seiji nearly blew up at the sound of that last name, but Negi just shrugged as the two boys ran towards the spot to where Konoka was held. But as they got there, they saw that Konoka and Chigusa was gone, completely vanished out of sight. Say for Malice, who was just standing there and looking up. Negi was the one to shout out to him, "Hey, you! Where is Konoka? where is she?"

It was then that Fuko, who popped out from under Seiji's jacket, looked up. He screeched to Seiji as he pulled his hair, causing Seiji to shout at him, "What is wrong with you?" Chamo shouted, "Big bros! look!" The two looked up and saw a sight that was too scary to describe.

Back with the other Fight

Kaede was smiling as she held Kotaru in a submission hold…while she was sitting on his back, even though he was as tall as her. A little scuffed up, she smirked to Kotaru as she said, "You said you'd use full power, Kotaru. But I don't think you did."

Kotaru groaned, trying to look away from Kaede, considering she was sitting on him. He grunted, "Nah, I'm not gonna give excuses…a loss is a loss, and you beat me. Despite you wear such a showy outfit."

Kaede just smirked as she raised an eyebrow, "Really? Is my outfit really that distracting?"

Kotaru just blushed as he growled some more, "This is why I don't like to fight women!"

Mustang, who was sweating a little, but his coat had been torn, and his gloves still sizzling. Scar wasn't looking as good either, as he was drenched in sweat, his clothes torn in some places, but his right arm was still glowing and sparking with Red Alchemic energy. The two were still obviously fighting one another, but both were still not going to yield to the other. But all that changed as they all heard a massive roar; the four combatants, including Yue, who had walked out to see what was going on, saw it too. What they saw nearly put them in shock, as it did to everyone who witnessed the battle back at the river.

Altar

Chigusa cruelly chuckled as she was floating in the air, along with Konoka still horizontally lying down. But what caught everyone's eye, was what Chigusa was floating alongside as she snidely, "NYEHHEHEHEHEHEH…Me thinks you're all too late. The ritual is now complete."

What rose out of the water was something that dwarfed the monster that Laz was currently fighting against. It was probably over ninety feet tall almost, with four massive arms, and two demon faces; one on the front and one on the back of his head. Negi and Seiji were both paling and sweating at just seeing the sight of this creature. Seiji was just trying to figure this whole thing out, but Negi was trying to say, "This is…I-I don't…huh?" it was then that Seiji finally shouted out, "What the Heck? It's huge! I mean, Gimmie a break here! It's big…too big!"

Chigusa finally shouted downward towards the little insects, almost as if she thought she was God, "Behold, the mighty giant Two-Headed Demon King, Ryōmen Sukuna no Kami..a giant…NO! The Giant Ogre-God of Hida, sealed away for over 1,600 years ago." She snickered as she explained, "It was over twelve years ago, this gigantic beast laid waste over the city of Ishbal. It took the Thousand Master, the original Fullmetal Alchemist, and the former Kansai Head Temple Elder to seal this creature in."

However, the gloating was about to come to an end, as Negi was preparing for a frontal assault. He began to chant out with his right hand behind him, magic building up, almost draining him. Seiji saw this as he grabbed his friend's shoulders, "Negi! Are you insane? This trip had you nearly use all your magic! If you use up anymore right now, you'll be at only a pint of it!"

Chamo shouted in agreement, "He's right! Listen to the reasonable one here!"

Negi shouted, "I don't care! We have to stop her! CUM FULGURATIONI FLET TEMPESTAS AUSTRINA!", his magic was building into a whirlwind of powerful magic all around them. It was then that his right hand began to glow with wind magic, about to overload if he didn't unleash it in time. It was then that he shouted, "JOVIS TEMPTESTAS FULGURIENS!"

And with a mighty thrust of his right hand forward, a tremendous blast of wind and thunder magic was shot forward. It hit its intended target, which was the beast itself in a huge explosion. But instead of destroying the Demon King…it was repelled and shot forward into the night sky. The two boys looked at this, realizing that this was becoming a losing battle; Negi slouched to his knees, but Seiji caught him by the shoulders, "I told you! You've nearly spent all your magic."

Chigusa was watching this, but then she began to laugh at this. She laughed like an arrogant maniac would as she saw that she had won. She looked down at the young heroes, thinking she had bested them, "AHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Is that the best you've got? The Thousand Master's son?", she then mockingly stated to Seiji as she pulled out his State Alchemist watch, "And you? You're not even trying to lift a finger to stop my mighty Demon! HOHOHOHOHOHOHO! I guess it just proves that without this, the only Alchemy you can perform is small-fry Alchemy tricks! And you're called the son of the great Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric!"

She then towered down on them while making sure Konoka was under her power, "With Ojou-sama's magic, I can fully control the Demon King! What is there left to fear? Wait til those Western Magi and State Military fools in our eastern lands get a load of this power…!", she bellowed out with laughter, "THEN THEY'LL KNOW THE TRUE MEANING OF DEFEAT! AHA HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The two boys knelt down, both completely exhausted, and suffering from some minor, yet bleeding injuries. They tried their best, but in the end, it was still not enough. Negi silently stated to his friend, "Seiji?"

The blonde turned to his friend as he asked, "What is it, Negi?"

He coughed and wheezed, feeling the effects of his magic nearly drained from him, "I…wish my father was here…to help us…."

Seiji gave his friend a look of sorrow and concern, and turned the other way. He knew that he hated his father for leaving him and his mother all alone at a young age. That was the reason as to why he hated hearing the name Elric, so he decided to have it changed to his step mom's name. But there were times that he cried in his sleep, asking if he was a bad son; thinking that might have been the reason as to why his father left him. But sometimes he always thought that his dad left for some other reason; a reason in wishing that it was because he cared for them both. He silently whispered to himself, making sure that Negi couldn't hear, "I wish my dad was here too."

Just then, they heard a breaking sound, and a crashing sound. The two boys turned and saw that Vicious had broken through the containment spell, and that Envy had survived Seiji's Fly Trap of Doom. The two slowly walked towards the two. It was then that Vicious reached for the sword hilt, and with one hand, pulled out a sword with an invisible Kotetsu blade glowing blue, and he reached with his other hand at the same hilt and pulled another hilt with an invisible Kotetsu blade glowing yellow.

It was then that Envy cracked his knuckles together as he said, "It was a pretty good try…but this is where the two of you die…"

Chamo paled at this situation, and it wasn't good. Negi was exhausted from using up all his magic, Seiji was stuck trying to help Negi and despite him being a martial artist in Shaolin and Hungar was completely outnumbered, and Laz…well the big guy had big problems of his own. The ermine's head was swirling with panic, 'OHNOOHNOHNOOHNOOHNO! This is bad! Isn't there….can't I...?' Just then, a light bulb lit in his head as his eyes nearly bugged out, "TH-THAT'S IT! ONE OF THE PACTIO FUNCTIONS WE'VE YET TO USE…!"

Back with the Girls

The gang was fighting like crazy, including Asuna, Setsuna, and even Fumika, as they saw the eruption of the pillar of light. They hoped that Negi and Seiji had made it in time, even though that pillar of light seemed pretty obvious that they didn't. Asuna took a swipe at one demon as she shouted, "Did Negi and Seiji make it in time?"

Setsuna, who was parrying against a few remaining Bird Tribe members, answered, "I don't know! But we have to go help them, either way!"

Asuna finished the Demon off and asked, "N-Not that I disagree, but how…", she was about to ask how they were gonna get out of this situation, but that proved difficult. The demons were fighting fiercer than ever and were not about to let the girls go anywhere. Nodoka ran over to Asuna and Setsuna, but was being chased after by Sloth as she waved in and smiled, "Oh, Sempai…not running away are you…?"

However, she was halted when two shots were shot into her. She stopped and saw the woman, Mana, stop her in her tracks. She and Fei Ku were holding back the Demon Horde's leader as Mana shouted to the three girls, "Go, Setsuna! Rescue that loveable teacher and librarian of ours!", she then turned to face Sloth as she smirked, "Just leave everything to us now!"

However, Asuna hesitated as she tried to object to the notion, "But…"

Mana smirked, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. It'll be added to Setsuna's tab. Now go and save Seiji and your boyfriend!"

Asuna's face went red as she shouted hysterically, "How many times to I have to tell you people...NEGI'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!", but with that, Setsuna pulled Asuna away along with Nodoka, "Enough already, let's go, Asuna!"

Sloth was about to go after Setsuna and the other, but was stopped by Mana. Outside she looked at her with a tired look, but on the inside, she was growling. This was the second time that someone was getting in her way with Setsuna Sempai. Her arms scwarped into blade like machetes made of water, as she stared down Mana, "I hate to tell you, Human…but Shinmei style can't be countered by guns."

Mana took a pose as she glared at the Homunculus, "I know."

The three girls ran out of the battle as they passed the various battles to head for Negi and Seiji's location. Nodoka followed behind while Asuna and Setsuna cleared a path forward. They could only hope that the boys were alright as they tried to make their way. Nodoka was deathly worried about Seiji, seeing as how he didn't have his watch with him, which she heard from the Monkey woman that it was the only way he could use Alchemy. Asuna on the other hand, was even more worried about Negi; he didn't even know how to fight, let alone hold his own in combat completely. She shook her head as she stated, 'Calm down…there's nothing to worry about. Seiji and Laz are with him, so they'll do most of the fighting.'

Asuna! Setsuna! Nodoka!

Asuna looked around to try and find out where that voice was coming from, as were the other girls. But it was then that they realized they knew who it was. They looked to each other and said in unison, "Chamo?" it was then that Chamo made transmission with them once again…

Oh, man! I never thought I'd be happy to know you're alright, Big Sis!

Asuna growled at that as the girls kept running, but asked, "What is it, Chamo? We're heading towards the Altar!"

Well then you'd better start hoofing it! We're kinda getting our butts kicked here!

Setsuna nodded, "Of course, we're on our way…"

You'll never make it on foot! I'm gonna use Negi and Seiji's cards to summon you three instead!

Nodoka looked deeply surprised at that as she asked, "Did he say, 'Summon'?"

Yeah! But in order for me to get all three of you…Setsuna! I need you to activate your Pactio function on Armor to get a bead on you!

Setsuna nodded, "Agreed.", and pulled out her card as she began to activate the Armorex function.

Back at the Altar

Negi was on his knees, trying to desperately catch his breath. He was even trying to get back up to help Seiji in battle, who had decided to try and fend off the two Homunculi. However, fighting against two opponents was not the best choice if you were half-tired and slightly bleeding a little. It wasn't long until Negi heard a deep Slash sound cutting into flesh, that Negi went wide eye as he saw the horror of what happened.

Seiji…had been stabbed on the lower left side of his abdomen. Then Vicious took his energy blade out of him, and kicked Seiji back to Negi as he crashed on his butt, holding his stabbed side. Negi got a good look at it and saw that Vicious had missed the vital organs, but it was still bleeding pretty badly enough. He looked to his friend and asked, "Seiji?"

Seiji winced, as he tried to put pressure on his wound, "Don't worry so much…Nrgh! I'll be alright for now!"

"You sure about that?", Envy asked as he and Vicious walked towards the boys. Vicious put away one of his swords, but kept the blood coated one out. He used his right hand to begin an incantation, "Don't worry, we won't kill you both…yet. You're still needed by our master."

Negi asked while trying to help his friend up, "You mean Chigusa?"

Envy just laughed a bunch, "Her? Hardly! She's just a client for our boss."

Seiji grunted, while holding his bleeding side, "Let me guess…Brigadier General Grande?"

Vicious nodded, "Hardly…", he turned to Envy, "Would you show them?" Envy nodded as he made a quick transformation to the said Iron-Blood Alchemist, and then back again. Vicious then turned to them with his spell at the ready, "Truth is…Bosque Grande really did die in the Ishbal War. We've just been using his image and memory for our own purposes."

He then pointed towards the boys as he stated, "The two of you are spent physically, magically, and perhaps, alchemically. And now…you'll sleep until we take you to our mistress. The One Whose Name may not Be Spoken."

Negi and Seiji both reached into their pockets as Seiji grunted as a little blood started spilling, "Not…a chance!" And he and Negi threw their cards high above the air, both shouting, "MINISTELE NEGI/ALCHEMELE SEIJI! ASUNA KAGURAZAKA! SETSUNA SAKURAZAKI! NODOKA MYAZAKI!" And then right in between the boys, three Pactio circles appeared, lighting up. And right on the circles, in less than a few seconds, the girls whose names were called, stood right there on the circles as they faded away.

It was then that the boys and everyone else took sight to Setsuna, as she was now wearing her Armor from her Pactio. She was wearing a sleeveless Gi shirt, with sleeves held to her arms by golden bands, and the back exposed. A pair of Black Samurai pants with sandals, and on her hip rested her Pactio item, which was a Tanto, a sort of short sword that was between a sword and a dagger.

Before they had a good look at the guys, they caught a glimpse of the giant Demon King. Asuna was the one to spaz out as she shouted, "it's…DWAH? Oh, my God, What the…?"

Setsuna nodded very calmly, "I know, it's huge!"

When the girls turned to the boys, who had finally gotten back up on their feet, their hearts nearly sunk at this. Negi was nursing a broken right wrist, and Seiji was holding onto a quickly bleeding side. Nodoka was the one to run up to him, "Seiji!", she ran over to him and immediately placed her hands on the spot that was bleeding. She tried to apply pressure but the blood began to seep through her fingers. She looked at it in worry and sadness as she choked, "It won't stop!"

Seiji simply said as he grunted, "Don't worry, Nodoka. It's alright…"

But then she shouted to him as she looked at him eye-to-eye with tears, "What do you mean? It's not alright! It's bad…!"

But their attention was turned back to the Homunculi, as Vicious was almost near being done. His right hand glowed with immense energy as he began chanting in a language that might as well been identified as Latin. Chamo paled at this, realizing what was going on. He turned to everyone and shouted, "What the…It's a spell activation key! That guy, Homunculus or not, is a Western Magi! And this is a…!"

The boys knew directly what the little rodent was about to say. Negi turned to the girls, "We've got to take cover!"

But it was too late, as Vicious shot his hand forward at the heroes. A huge cloud covered the Altar and everyone in it, like a thick fog coming in from the shore bank. Then after a few seconds, the cloud began to dissipate and clear the area. Envy coughed a loud as he began waving the smoke away, and shouted, "Overdid it much, didn't you?" Vicious merely shrugged, but then had a look of surprise as he looked around. Envy caught this look and raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong, Vicious?"

Vicious had his blank face on, and then frowned, "They got away."

Not too far from the Homunculus, the five teens had gotten out of the way of the Petrification Spell. They had only moved about fifteen feet of the Altar, on to one of the Altar's pier bridges. It was a close call but they had made it, despite the fact that some of them were pretty exhausted. However, those in the group that learned how to use magic knew that the spell the white-haired Homunculus was pretty powerful.

Setsuna's breathing calmed down as she had her sword at the ready, "W-We did it! We got away…and they haven't even noticed yet!"

Seiji shook his head as Nodoka was helping to support him, "No, they noticed alright. The only reason they're not coming after us yet is because they're just toying with us like we were mice."

Asuna, who wasn't concerned about the Homunculi, turned to Negi. She remembered that she saw him cradle his right wrist; almost as if it was broken. She then noticed that he was starting to breathe pretty heavily now. She asked with a concerned tone in her voice, "A-Are you okay, Negi? You sound like you're gonna die!"

He nodded pretty weakly, as he spoke in a raspy voice, "Th-Thanks, Asuna. I…NRGH!", he grunted as he grabbed his right hand. Asuna looked at him with a worried tone and asked, "Negi! What's wrong?"

Setsuna was the one to notice it, but was in complete shock as everyone else took notice. It seemed that they didn't become completely unscathed by the spell. Negi's right hand, which was still nursing a broken wrist, was becoming petrified. It was only starting at the fingers and thumb, and slowly creeping up the knuckles, but it was getting close to his hand. She then pointed out, "Negi! Your hand…!"

Asuna looked at it and looked worried, "Negi!"

Negi hid his hand, unsuccessfully as he hid it behind him, and put on a tired fake smile, "It…It's nothing…barely grazed me."

Then suddenly, Seiji ran up to Negi and punched him in the head. He shouted, "BARELY GRAZED YOU? YOU IDIOT! WE DON'T HAVE A HEALER IN THE GROUP, AND YOU'RE RIDING THE PETRIFICATION SPELL AS A MEANS OF BEING BARELY GRAZED! I DON'T KNOW WHO'S A BIGGER BLOCKHEAD HERE: ASUNA OR YOU!" And then suddenly, his bleeding side spewed out like a geyser as he fell over to the ground. Nodoka shouted, "Seiji!", and ran over to him to help him up.

Setsuna grimaced at the whole situation, and felt it was hopeless. Negi had been affected by the Petrification Spell, and Seiji was badly wounded. She knew it was only a matter of hours before Negi became fully petrified and would become an easy target. And Seiji was losing a lot of blood, and would either die or pass out. She had no other choice now…but to use her power. She cringed as she turned her back to everyone and said to them, "You four, get out of here.", this caught everyone's attention as Nodoka asked, "Wait, what are…?"

"Let me go after Ojou-sama!"

She then pointed at the huge Demon and explained that Konoka was being held captive by Chigusa. If she could get up there then she could get Konoka out of there. But then Asuna looked worried about this, leaving her behind. She then asked in a worried tone, "B-But how will you get up there…?"

Seiji kind of grunted, as Nodoka helped him up, and he asked her, "Yeah, I mean it's not as if you can fly up there?" It was then that he noticed her cringe a little, as if he had struck a nerve in her and caused her to shame. Then Seiji asked, "Or…is there something that you've wanted to tell us?"

Setsuna sighed as she began to explain, "Negi-Sensei…Seiji-sama…Nodoka-san…Asuna-san…I have…I have a secret, that I've kept from all of you. Even Ojou-sama doesn't even know.", she then crossed her arms over her chest, even while holding her sword in her hand, "Once I reveal myself to you, that's it…you'll never see me again."

Everyone looked a little confused by this, but then Setsuna said, "Still, what choice do I have…? At least it's up to you…", and then suddenly, out of her back, two beautiful white wings that stretched about ten feet came out. They were a beautiful color of pure white, giving her the look of an angel. Even Nodoka thought that as she couldn't help but blush at how beautiful she looked. Everyone looked pretty amazed by all this, but were all stunned when they saw Setsuna's face as she turned around. Instead of the usual serious face she had on, she looked pretty sad, but not in a painful sadness, a sadness that only came from being ashamed of something.

She sadly smiled at them as she started, "Here it is, my true form. I'm a monster, just them."

Nodoka was the one to ask, "What are you talking about, Setsuna? You're beautiful."

Seiji answered, "What she's trying to say is that she's a Hanyo; a Half-Demon so to speak. Bird Tribe, maybe?"

Setsuna shamefully nodded as she replied, "He's right, I am a Hanyo. But don't get me wrong, though! When I say I want to help Ojou-sama, I mean it!", her voice then began to quiver, as a stray tear crept from her eye, "The only reason…that I didn't tell you all…", she then began to cry, unable to hide her shame anymore, "…was because I didn't want her or any of you to see how ugly I am, and hate me! I'm a coward! I just wish I could be more like Nodoka-san…you had the guts and took a chance to tell Seiji-sama about how you feel, right?"

It was just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and saw Nodoka there. And then, she felt someone tugging at her wings; she turned and saw Asuna, inspecting her wings, and somewhat taking a sniff at them as well, which was kind of weird. And then the two girls raised a hand to her…and then slapped her on the back as hard as they both could. This caught the boys by surprised by this, even Seiji, seeing Nodoka like this.

It was then that Asuna winked at Setsuna as she stated, "What is wrong with you, Girl? Don't you know how cool having wings is…?"

Setsuna just looked a little clueless by this as she asked, "Cool?"

The boys, including Chamo and Fuko, watched this, deciding to leave to the girls as they listened. Then it was Nodoka's turn as she smiled to Setsuna, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "Setsuna…I haven't known you for long, but I can tell from Konoka that you two have been friends since you were little. And from what Negi and Seiji have been saying about you, you've protected her for over two years at the Academy, right?" Setsuna nodded as she continued, "Konoka isn't the kind of person to hate anyone because of something that makes them different."

But then Setsuna whimpered a little, "But…but I'm a monster…how can…?"

It was Asuna's turn as she stated with a wink, "Then you're really don't know her at all. You don't really think Konoka would not like you 'cause of something like this…?" , she then smiled at Setsuna as she stated, "You know you're being stupid, right?" Setsuna then stopped crying as she looked at the two girls, who she considered her alleys.

The boys then smiled at this as Negi shouted, "Go, Setsuna! We'll cover you!", he turned to Seiji as he asked, "Am I right, Seiji?"

The Alchemist simply nodded as he turned to Setsuna, "Right, so go already!"

Setsuna looked at these people, her alleys, her brothers and sisters in arms. She had kept secrets from them and told them at the last minute, and yet here they were, standing beside her. They didn't even hate her because of her wings…in fact, they were quite the opposite. They accepted her for them; she then wiped away her tears as she smiled to them, filled with more confidence than ever, "O…Okay!"

She crouched to the ground, her wings lifted up as she prepared for liftoff. But then she turned to everyone as she looked at the two boys in particular, "Negi-sensei…Seiji-sama…I'm sure that Ojou-sama appreciates you both for helping her." And then took off towards the Demon King, in her valiant effort to save Konoka. But as she looked down, she saw the two Homunculi, Envy and Vicious heading right for them. She silently prayed for the four, 'Please…come out of this alive.'

Next Chapter: Return of the Vampire; a Miracle Moment