From Distant Worlds

by Terron145

Four warriors find themselves within the land of Etria with no current means of returning from whence they came. Left with few leads, they come together to form a guild and explore the Yggdrasil Labyrinth in hopes of utilizing the Geomagnetic Fields within to return home.

38. The Storm Emperor

Chapter 38: The Storm Emperor

The following morning, the Seekers make way for the Golden Deer Pub to have a lively breakfast. These plans are quickly dropped once Valerie beckons the party to the counter; a worried expression forms her countenance, leaving Lucy to ponder what the problem might be.

"I'm glad to see you, kiddos; the detective's gone missing again." Seeing the party's expectant looks, she continues, "It doesn't feel like a false alarm this time. The boy from the Rooster Inn told me that someone has broken into his room. The room's a mess now, and there's a stain on the floor that might be blood."

Alex cringes at the notion, donning a contemplative stance as he furrows his brow in thought. "That definitely sounds serious."

Pulling a note from a drawer, Valerie sighs and says, "We also found this note." Opening it, she looks over the note's contents in silence before reading them aloud. "Belief for our ultimate return to eventual equilibrium necessitates failure. Such easy comfort only reinforces naiveté. Escape relief. Has existential laziness prevented mental exercise?" She lets out another sigh, relieved that she doesn't have to read the note's contents anymore. "I can't say I understood any of that." She hands the note over to Alex and points to a customer sitting further down the counter. "That customer there is also trying to wrap his head around this, so maybe you can go talk to him if you have trouble?"

Taking the note from Alex, Lucy takes a moment to look the letter over on her own. After a few moments, her expression brightens as she says, "Ah, this is simple; we need to go to the fourteenth floor."

Mitsuki looks to her comrade with a shocked expression. "How do you figure?"

Directing everyone's attention to the note, Lucy explains, "Nonsensical notes such as these tend to follow a pattern of some kind. In the case of this note, we need only look at the first letter of each word. It then reads: 'B Fourteen; SE Corner; help me'. We should make haste."

Lily giggles at this development, smiling at Lucy as she says, "I didn't think you were one for puzzles, Lucy."

"When you're stuck in a castle all day, you have to find ways to entertain yourself. Luckily for me, one of my personal knights is a big fan of making convoluted puzzles, most of which serve no other purpose than to confuse his younger brother."

With Austin's note guiding them, the party makes way for the supposed location of the detective. Sure enough, Austin is standing idly about in the southeastern most corner of the fourteenth floor, although he doesn't appear to be in the slightest sense of danger. Turning around, Austin dons a look of shock as he recognizes the Seekers. "Seekers?! Why are you here?"

Alex scratches at his head as he explains, "We got your letter…but you don't look like you're in danger at all. Your room was broken into, complete with a blood stain, but you seem alright…"

Sensing that something is amiss, Cyrus takes hold of the letter from Lucy and studies it. On a whim, he takes a whiff of the parchment, and his eye immediately twitches in anger. "Bollocks to this; we've been bamboozled." As if on cue, a rally of monsters emerges from the thicket of the Azure Rainforest.

Austin shakes his head at this, having realized the situation. "Coating a note with a monster-luring substance, and involving innocents no less."

Readying her whip, Lucy sighs and shakes her head in disappointment. "We shall take care of this, Detective; hang back and keep yourself safe." The monster bait proves to be incredibly enticing, for the opposition refuses to relent even after two waves of its forces are annihilated. After the third wave is vanquished, however, the remaining beasts wise up and choose to flee, leaving the Seekers, as well as Austin, safe from further danger for the present moment. "That wasn't too terrible of an ordeal."

Austin dons an irritated expression, clearly upset at the gravity of what has transpired. "Let me ask you this: Did anyone give you assistance in solving the code in this note?" Cyrus shakes his head, explaining that Lucy decoded the letter on her own with little effort, though he does mention the customer with a twisted lip that Valerie said could provide assistance. Austin takes a moment to reflect on this, soon realizing, "Hm, I may have also mentioned a code of this manner during one of our previous meetings; perhaps an eavesdropper was nearby." He shakes his head to this, quickly ceasing his rambling. "I apologize, but there is a matter I must attend to; you may return to town on your own."

Alex and Cyrus motion for Austin to wait, only to fall on deaf ears as the detective disappears via use of an Ariadne Thread. Mitsuki shakes her head at this. "That man truly goes at his own pace. Let's head back and report."

Heeding Mitsuki's suggestion, the party returns to the Golden Deer Pub, where matters quickly become more complicated when Valerie expresses confusion over the report they attempt to turn in. "I never put up a request like this." She pulls out her ledger from a nearby drawer, soon realizing that, "That's weird; there is a request like this; it's even in my handwriting." Looking around, she then finds the reward tied to the request, which turns out to be a paralytic whip. "How in the world? I never received this…" A look of horror forms on her face as she presses her hands to her cheeks. "Am I losing my memory?"

Cyrus tilts his head and asks, "Lady Valerie, you wouldn't happen to own a whip collection, would you?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"That makes this all the stranger; I'm quite sure you'd remember someone handing you a whip." It is at this moment when a second Valerie steps up to confront the bewildered group. "What the Hell? There are two Valeries? Is this some sort of sub-division of heaven?" Lily punches him in the arm for his remark. "Lily, please; I'm trying to figure this out. This is incredibly important." Lily sighs in frustration at this, rolling her eyes at how easily Cyrus' attention was redirected.

Understandably, the real Valerie is quite perplexed by this development. "Wh- What's going on?"

The fake Valerie then causes an awkward dissonance by speaking in Austin's voice. This causes the Seekers to pale and don ghastly expressions of abject shock. With a simple spin, the fake Valerie then transforms into Austin, who lets out a chuckle as he places his corn pipe into his mouth. "Disguising oneself as another is a simple matter, if you know how."

Cyrus brings his palm to his face, letting out a groan of despair as he does so. "Are you telling me the culprit was masquerading as Valerie this whole time?" Austin nods, which only causes Cyrus' displeased expression to deepen. "This guy thought it'd be fun to endanger the lives of my allies, eh? I should like to give him a taste of why I'm called the Runic Eye of Calamity…"

Lucy shades her eyes at Cyrus, quickly reminding him that, "You hate that title, Cyrus."

"That doesn't change its validity, Lucy." Turning to Austin, he asks, "Do you have a name to this brigand?"

"I suppose I have involved you all too much to hold back any further; his name is Baroudeur. He is akin to the king of criminals. Whenever there was a crime in my country, he was almost always behind it." He sighs, taking out his corn pipe to follow, "My entire reason for being in Etria is to search for stolen goods that he supposedly hid here."

Folding her arms, Lucy comments that, "Perhaps this recent string of events implies that you are drawing too close for comfort."

"Worse still, it would appear that he sees the Seekers as my accomplices. It would not be easy to depart from here; he is a man with a long reach and no scruples…there is no safety from him."

Alex nods in response, a look of resolution on his face. "We can't let a guy like that roam free. You should stay at the Archive with us." Austin raises an eyebrow at this, having been completely caught off guard by Alex's proposal. "You'll need a safe place to call home while you work, right? There's no place safer than with us."

Replacing his corn pipe, Austin grins and lets out a chuckle. "Somehow I knew you'd say that. I shall make my way to your headquarters right away. Thanks."

He then departs without another word, leaving Valerie to stare at the exit with a dumbfounded expression. She eventually directs her attention to the Seekers, pointing at the exit all the while. "I've met all sorts of egotistical people on this job, but he takes the cake." She then frowns, her mind lingering on how she was impersonated. "Do you really think it's that easy to disguise yourself like anybody else?"

Cyrus sighs in frustration at this, placing a hand in his pocket. "I hate to admit it, but it is. I have a friend who hails from the Far East; the warriors there are trained in all manner of stealth, impersonation included. They make the endeavor look so effortless, whereas I struggle to just imitate voices. They don't relinquish the secret of their art to just anyone, hence why such a practice is not commonplace."

"That's a relief; the world would be pure chaos if everyone could do that. I can barely imagine what your friend's country must be like. Thanks again for your help, kiddos…you should probably head home to make sure the detective made it safely."

Alex agrees with this assessment and leads his team back to the Archive. Upon stepping in, they are greeted by Rosa, who looks slightly off balance. "Welcome back, everyone; you have a visitor, or shall I call him a resident?"

"Oops. Maybe I should have alerted you first, Rosa." Alex bows in an apologetic manner, a gesture that catches Mitsuki's attention. "I won't make that mistake twice."

"Pay it no heed, young master."

"Thanks again for allowing me to stay here, Seekers. As compensation, I shall assist you with your future explorations."

Cyrus and Lily's expressions brighten at this, with the latter asking, "Are you going to regale us with tales of your wisdom?"

"Why yes, young lady, that is precisely my intent. I can teach you how to move fearlessly through areas where monsters spray you with toxic chemicals." Lily's eyes widen at this, more in mortified shock than amazement. "I have such stories and many more stored within my mind, so feel free to call me at any time." He turns to return to his room upstairs, saying, "Well, carry on," as he departs.

Rosa watches the detective depart, just as confused as before. "He is a rather strange man, isn't he? I shall inform him of the duties performed here." She bows before excusing herself, leaving the party standing idly at the entrance. Lucy eventually suggests that they return to the pub to accept an actual request from Valerie. This course of action takes them back to Lost Shinjuku, where they are now on the prowl for pieces of metal shaped like ankhs.

Picking up the third ankh his party found while exploring the twenty-fourth floor, Alex sighs in relief as he says, "I am so glad you marked these down, Boss."

"The true gratitude should go to your foresight, Alex; you are the one who made the call to note these down, after all." Around the cusp of 3PM, the party gathers a fifth piece of metal, the last they could find on the twenty-fourth floor. Reporting to Valerie grants them a four-leaf clover as a reward, though it remains to be seen what purpose the ankh-shaped metal will serve. The Seekers retire to the Archive until 7PM arrives.

Alex and Cyrus return to the pub as a lone duo, only for their evening to be placed on hold by Valerie calling them over. A warm smile is on her face, suggesting that she has good news. "Welcome back, kiddos; here for a romantic rendezvous, I take it?" The two blush and smile awkwardly, to which Valerie giggles and waves her hand in a dismissive manner. "I'm only joking. Someone from the Radha came in awhile back and gave me something to turn over to you. They have a request if you're interested."

Cyrus looks over Valerie's shoulder to see what appears to be a machine motor. His eyes sparkle at the sight. "Ooh! New tech!"

"I had a feeling you'd like this, kiddo. So apparently, an engineer from the Radha created this motor to be used with the lift mechanism your Guild found on the twenty-first floor. He'd like for you to test it out and see what happens. I just hope you'll be careful."

Eager though Cyrus may be to investigate the purpose of this motor, his enthusiasm is quelled by Alex's suggestion of assembling the rest of their team. Cyrus sighs at this, knowing all too well that approaching this situation in a prepared manner is the smartest course of action. Before departing from the Archive, Cyrus swaps out his current Grimoire Stone in favor of arming himself with another, one that the rest of his party has not seen before.

Arriving at the generator on the twenty-first floor, Lily discovers a small door at the bottom of the mechanism. Opening it reveals a small empty space behind it, one that looks to be the perfect size for the Ankh Motor. "Now isn't that just convenient?" Motioning to Cyrus, Lily follows, "Cyrus, pass me that motor." As he complies, Lily gets another look at the Grimoire Stone attached to a belt loop on his pants. Its golden sheen clashes with the bluish-purple crystals of Lost Shinjuku, accentuated further by the pale glow of moonlight shining down from above. "When did you make that? More importantly, what's even on it?"

Strangely, Cyrus gives a malicious and somewhat arrogant chuckle as his response. "I'll have you know that I've been working on this Grimoire Stone for quite some time. It is only recently that I was able to make any real progress on it, though there's still one thing I didn't account for."

Alex raises an eyebrow at this. "What would that be? Not enough slots?"

"Surprisingly, no; six is all I really needed for this, but I ended up using all seven. The seventh slot is the problem, actually." He rests his hand in his pocket, looking towards the incredibly high ceiling as he follows, "Something about your world prevents me from wielding whatever equipment I desire. Back in Erdboden, I could wear heavy armor and equip a shield alongside a firearm if I wanted to, but here, there's some strange force that outright denies such combinations if you're not carrying a Grimoire."

Lily nods to this, raising a finger as if to emphasize her follow-up statement. "Yeah, same here. I have training with both swords and guns but I couldn't actually equip either when I first got here." She pouts, setting the Ankh Motor on the ground just so she can fold her arms in disapproval. "All I had to my name were staves."

Returning his attention to his comrades, Cyrus says, "I recently learned that Grimoires have a limitation; the only way to gain access to equipment that is otherwise barred from you is to use your equipment bonus. I tried to get around this by synthesizing Spear Mastery onto my stone so that I could have access to both the spear and the shield." He then shakes his head, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Alas, I did not succeed; I can equip the shield, but the Spear is still barred from me."

Lucy folds her arms, taking on a sympathetic tone as she says, "That explains why you don't have your spear with you right now. You're also looking rather tired; perhaps you should head back?"

Cyrus shakes his head to this. "That's part of the preparations, actually; I've intentionally placed myself beneath my peak condition to trigger Wrath's Might." Lucy motions to speak, donning a somewhat annoyed expression. She is quickly interrupted by Cyrus smirking and pointing at her as he says, "Thanks again for that, love; I knew I could count on you."

"Why you cheeky shrew! I didn't approve of this!"

"Relax, my dear, I got another copy of Wrath's Might for you, too; Hilda has informed me that the effect stacks, meaning you could gain access to even more power than Alex and I." He grins, his mouth suddenly bearing striking resemblance to that of a mischievous cat. "I must say I'm looking forward to seeing that sort of Lucy in action." He then looks over to Alex, grinning as he says, "I got one for you as well, bro."

Alex simply gives a thumbs up, to which Mitsuki and Lily respond with laughter. The former then comments, "There's certainly no shortage of ideas in your head, Cyrus." She then places her hands on her hips, letting out an arrogant huff as she follows, "I'll have you know that I've been thinking of strategies myself." Seeing that Cyrus is giving her an expectant look, she follows, "I'll run them by you when we return to the Archive; for now, let's see what this motor is about. Lily, if you would?"

"You got it, sis." The Ankh Motor happens to fit perfectly into the space behind the small door, and causes a small button to glow upon insertion. Lily shrugs at this, remarking, "Eh, why the Hell not?" before pressing the button. Upon doing so, a light beams upwards from the mechanism, forming an image that the party recognizes as the twenty-fifth floor. On the path to the Claret Hollows, the party can see Ren engaged in combat with Nagato; Tlachtga sits on the sidelines, watching the combat unfold with nary a concern on her featureless face. "What the Hell is he even doing here?"

Mitsuki rests her hands behind her head as she responds, "Maybe all that talk about losing the will to fight here was a lie so that he could train with Ren. That sounds like something Nagato would do, right?"

Alex folds his arms, frowning at the image as he says, "Nah, Nagato would lie about this, that much is true, but he wouldn't tell a lie that makes him seem weak." The others voice their agreement with this assessment; directing his attention back to the image, Alex notices something strange. "Is that a face looking at us?"

Cyrus looks to the image, noting that the face Alex mentioned is becoming more pronounced. He is quick to realize what the face belongs to. "That's a dragon…we gotta hurry over there." He places his hand to the ground to create the magic circle for Return Formula, which transports the party to the entrance of the room where they faced against Visil a short while ago. The party bursts into the room, only to find Ren and Nagato staring at them with looks of mild surprise on their faces. Tlachtga wears her usual look of indifference as she waves to the party.

Ignoring the deepening blush on his cheeks, Nagato quickly sheathes his katana and asks, "What the Hell are you guys doing here?"

"We could ask you the same thing, Yasu-senpai."

"This isn't what it looks like."

Lily points an accusatory finger at him, placing her free hand on her hip to strike an indignant stance. "A likely story!"

Alex chuckles at this before remembering the situation at hand. "We can put your routine on pause until we get out of this room; there's a dragon on the way." As if on cue, a sudden flash of bright light fills the room, blinding everyone standing within. Sparks of electricity can be heard crackling amidst the roar of thunder, and as the group's vision returns, what hovers in the air before them is a giant golden dragon of eastern origin. "Ah crap."

The golden dragon boasts two imposing gray horns that protrude backwards from the top of its head; this gray complements the similar shade of its claws and underside. In spite of being in the shape of a serpent, this dragon sports two long red barbels as if it were a fish. Stranger still, these barbels are complemented by what appears to be black hair in the form of a glorious mustache. Three red eyes observe the inhabitants of the room before the serpent lets out a mighty roar that shakes the area.

Cyrus pulls out the Monstrous Codex to get basic info on this creature; much to his surprise, it actually has an entry towards the back of the book. "The Storm Emperor? Huh, that's odd."

Alex, slowly slipping into a fighting stance, glances over and asks, "There a problem, Boss?"

"Not really, but I am surprised that one of your world's lightning dragons shares its title with one of Erdboden's gods; granted, Shinryu goes by many titles, but most of us are fond of referring to him as the Storm Emperor, which is this creature's name in the codex." He closes the book, placing it away with the rest of the Guild's essentials. Looking to the Storm Emperor, he asks, "Am I to take it that our meddling has awakened you?" The dragon nods before raising its head to the sky and unleashing a roar in challenge. "I see. It would appear that we have a challenger on our hands, everyone; how shall we proceed?"

Ren sheathes her katana, shaking her head and letting out a sigh as she says, "You're awfully calm about this."

Smirking at her, Cyrus replies, "You're one to talk; there's nary a trace of concern on your face, Ren."

Having taken the moment to size up the dragon, Nagato nods to himself as he mutters, "Yes, this is the perfect challenge." Looking to Cyrus, he clears his throat. "Oi, Cyrus; remember back in the Primitive Jungle how I said I'd ask you to challenge something on your own? Well, I want you to fight this dragon." Everyone, sans Tlachtga and Cyrus, who simply stare at him blankly, looks to Nagato with incredulous expressions, as if struggling to find the words necessary to call him out on some terrible joke he just made. "You all think I'm joking; I'm dead serious. You've fought dragons before, right? Show us what you can do."

Cyrus dons a contemplative stance, shifting the incredulous expressions of the others over to him. Mitsuki goes so far as to say, "You're not seriously considering that proposal? You might not be able to face a dragon with our world's restrictions!"

"Perhaps I can…"

"Alex! Talk sense into him; he'll listen to you."

"Boss, please reconsider."

"I made a promise, Alex; you know I never go back on those."

"Ah, shit, you're right; sorry Mitsuki." Mitsuki's response to slam her palm to her face.

Looking to the Storm Emperor, Cyrus asks, "Would that be permissible, my Lord; a solo duel between you and me?" The dragon stares at him for a moment, presumably to judge if Cyrus is indeed worthy of his proposal being entertained. Much to the group's surprise, the dragon nods in acceptance before using its claws to motion for the remainder of the group to take cover in a safe place. Bowing to the dragon, Cyrus says, "I appreciate this; I promise to give a good battle."

Unable to let this matter go, Mitsuki turns to Lucy and asks, "Aren't you going to say anything to him?"

"Ah, yes, I nearly forgot." She then turns to face Cyrus and shouts, "Good luck out there, honeykins! I'll be cheering you on from here!" Cyrus gives a thumbs up in response while Ren snickers at the nickname.

Mitsuki stares at Lucy with an expression that is somewhere between incredulous and outright angry. "You know that's not what I meant!"

Lucy merely smirks at her comrade and gives a dismissive wave. "Please relax, Mitsuki; he'll be fine. I've personally watched him face a dragon before, remember? What he lacks in strength, he'll make up for with his mind; have faith in him. Do you not see this as an opportunity for him to clear any doubts?"

"What doubts?" Lucy then motions over to Ren and Nagato, both of whom are closely observing the battle that is about to unfold. Their stern expressions are only accentuated by their folded arms and the looming air of uncertainty that permeates the area. "Oh, right; Ren isn't satisfied unless she gets concrete results…and Nagato never takes anything at face value."

Cyrus takes a moment to crack his knuckles, causing a faint red aura to emanate from his frame. 'Wrath's Might is in effect; time to get this started.' Slipping into an offensive stance, he conjures forth a sword of flames as he says, "Let us begin, your highness." He charges forward in an effort to deliver the first strike of the battle, but the Storm Emperor foresees this and rears its head back to unleash a torrent of electricity from its mouth. His eyes widening in surprise, Cyrus immediately disperses the sword in his hand and uses the Light Tincture to summon a translucent pink wall to protect himself from the attack.

The force of this Volt Torrent proves to be much stronger than Cyrus anticipated, for it begins to push him backwards as he holds against it. 'I guess I can't afford to take any hits from this guy.' Raising one hand towards the ceiling, Cyrus conjures a ball of flame through the use of Firelight, which he then fires at the unsuspecting Storm Emperor. The dragon reels back from the attack, but quickly shrugs off the damage as if it was little more than a minor inconvenience. Cyrus takes a step back upon noticing this, a single bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head; his nervousness is further compounded by his poorly contained dumbfounded expression. 'This is gonna be a long fight…'

Momentarily abandoning the notion of long-range combat, the Storm Emperor flies towards Cyrus at an impressive speed, baring its claws in an effort to strike. Cyrus deflects the first strike by conjuring his sword of flames once again; a second swipe is inbound, which he deflects as well. The golden dragon then changes its tactics to simply swing the entirety of its midsection at Cyrus, knowing full well that a simple Alchemist cannot take the force of such weight.

Cyrus clicks his tongue in frustration, but elects to run up the nearby wall behind him. The Storm Emperor's body crashes against this wall, missing Cyrus completely, but shaking the room nonetheless. Realizing that his balance is going to give way far sooner because of this, Cyrus kicks off the wall to place himself above his opponent. Pulling out a phial of blue liquid, he places it in front of his Runic Eye to empower the contents within. Taking aim, he thinks to himself, 'I can only boost the effects of this diluting compound every so often, but by extending its effects just before they expire, I can keep the full effect even if I use weaker phials.'

He tosses the phial at the Storm Emperor, breaking the phial against one of the tougher scales upon the creature's back. Despite the phial's contents not spreading over an impressively large area, the effect of Dilution takes hold, indicated by the ocean blue aura that has suddenly begun emanating from the dragon's body. The dragon unleashes a powerful roar in response to this, one that causes Cyrus to tremble as he flips over his foe and lands on the ground. Turning around, he can see that the Storm Emperor is preparing to unleash another Volt Torrent.

Holding his right arm up in preparation to use Light Tincture again, he notices a black and crimson aura looming just around his form. 'The Hell is th-' His eyes then widen in terror as he realizes, 'Oh shit, it's a Curse!' He abandons the idea of blocking the incoming attack with Light Tincture, knowing full well that the recoil damage from his unavoidable use of Firelight will be more than enough to end his life. Instead, he punches his fist to the ground to summon a yellow wall that completely negates the Volt Torrent. Looking to his arm again, Cyrus realizes that the Curse has already been lifted. 'Good; so long as I quickly recover from that, I won't even have to use Parry, and can maintain my offensive.'

Cyrus and the Storm Emperor continue their exchange for close to an hour, with the onlookers having watched in silence for most of that duration. It isn't until Ren speaks that the silence is broken. "I understand it now; Cyrus makes up for his lack of power by being resourceful and having almost inhuman endurance. I think his only equal in this regard would be Lord Yuki."

Lily and Tlachtga point at the Storm Emperor, their expressions equally blank and featureless. In unison, they say, "The dragon's doing something new."

True to their claim, the Storm Emperor catches Cyrus off guard by performing a strange aerial dance instead of trying to properly kill him. Looking around, Cyrus quickly realizes that he's being surrounded from all sides. He jumps into the air just as the Storm Emperor closes in around him, avoiding whatever effect this dance was meant to have. He tosses another phial of the diluting liquid before a sudden movement throws him off the dragon's body. He lands in time to block another incoming Volt Torrent with Light Tincture.

This back-and-forth of countering the dragon's powerful attacks is notably taking its toll on Cyrus' opponent. He takes a deep breath and exhales to calm his nerves, all of which are currently acting in overdrive. 'No human was meant to handle this much adrenaline; I wouldn't be surprised if the tension killed me.' A few additional clashes lead Cyrus to pull out another diluting phial; unbeknownst to him, the Storm Emperor has baited him into this course of action.

Instead of using Corrupting Howl, the Storm Emperor coats its tail in a black and crimson aura, much like the Curse that Cyrus has had to wait out multiple times over the past hour. It then spins in place, slamming its tail square into Cyrus and sending the Alchemist flying back-first into a wall. The impact is as visually painful as it sounds, with Cyrus not only causing the wall to form a myriad of cracks, but creating a noteworthy crater as well. He coughs up blood before he slumps to the ground, landing face-first on the cold, crystalline stone.

A deafening silence befalls the room as everyone looks on at what they presume to be Cyrus' lifeless corpse. A full fifteen seconds pass, during none of which does the leader of Seekers show any signs of recovering. All of the onlookers, save for Lucy, look on at the sight with nervous expressions. Ren lets out a disappointed sigh before commenting, "So that's as far as he goes…"

Lucy merely chuckles, catching everyone off guard. "You should know better than to underestimate someone as crazy and tenacious as Cyrus, Ren."

The Storm Emperor, deeming its opponent defeated, unleashes a roar to the ceiling. Cyrus takes this opportunity to pick himself up and charge at his unsuspecting opponent. Unfortunately, the Storm Emperor didn't take long to revel in its supposed victory, and quickly recollects itself to prepare Volt Torrent. It waits before firing, which proves to be the correct option since Cyrus launches himself into the air using a Fire Formula. Adjusting the angle of its attack, the dragon fires Volt Torrent, correct in its assumption that Cyrus cannot possibly avoid the damage.

Cyrus elects to use the Light Tincture to defend against the oncoming torrent; to avoid being pushed back, he fires several Fire Formulae while waiting out the Storm Emperor's attack. Just as the Volt Torrent dies down, he fires one last Fire Formula to pick up speed during his rapid descent, and readies the Firelight counter by turning it into a spear of flames. Using his speed, Cyrus spins in the air and then throws the spear, which flies right into the maw of the dragon before dispersing itself in a violent explosion.

The door to this area opens just as the Storm Emperor collapses to the ground with a powerful roar signifying its final cry. Yuki and his Guild rush into the room, weapons drawn and ready for combat, only to find that the battle has just concluded. Cyrus lands on the ground, the aura granted to him by Wrath's Might dispersing as he lets out a loud, triumphant roar and throws his fist into the air. The dragon's body then dissipates into a countless number of golden lights, all of which linger in the air for a moment before disappearing in a small burst of light. "You were a powerful opponent; may we meet again in the next life, dragon."

Much to Cyrus' surprise, a regal voice sounds in his head, saying, 'Indeed we shall, human; I look forward to that day.'

Cyrus is given no time to ponder how the Storm Emperor just spoke to him, let alone that the Storm Emperor was capable of telepathy in the first place, as he is surrounded by his allies. He quickly finds Nagato among the crowd, donning a grin as he asks, "Well, Nagato? Was that performance to your liking?"

"Meh, it was alright."

Of all the people present, Yuki sports the most dumbfounded look on his face. His voice reflects this as he asks, "You didn't just fight the Storm Emperor by yourself, did you?"

"Yes, that's correct; did you know this dragon was here?"

Yuki shakes his head to this; "I only just felt the dragon's power a short while ago while I was training on the outskirts of Etria. I ran back to assemble my team to get here as quickly as possible."

Raquna walks over and wraps an arm around Cyrus' shoulder. A cheeky grin is plastered on her face, and the scent of high-quality liquor wafts past Cyrus' nostrils. The redhead Protector lets out a chuckle as she asks, "You're just full of surprises, eh?"

Cyrus chuckles in kind; "I suppose so, though now I kinda wish I could have seen your Guild fight in my stead."

"Well, we missed the party, so how about you fill us in on the details over drinks?"

Simon pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out an exasperated sigh. "You were just at the pub; you can't honestly want more alcohol."

Arthur rests his hands behind his head, donning an expression of disbelief that only seems to agree with Simon's assessment. "Seriously, where does all that booze even go?"

Raquna's response is to grin and chuckle at her comrades, which only causes Simon to groan in frustration. "Maybe I'll tell you over drinks; let's get going, eh?"

No one is given a moment to respond before Raquna pulls Cyrus along by the arm towards the exit of the area. She doesn't get far along the path before Lucy remembers that Cyrus crashed into a wall during the battle. "Hold a moment, Lady Raquna; Cyrus needs medical attention!" This causes the Protector to cease her advance and glare at Cyrus, who smiles sheepishly and chuckles in response. "Honestly, Cyrus; how did you even survive that attack in the first place?"

"One of the Skills on my Grimoire Stone is the Protector's Aegis Passive; that's the only thing that could have helped me endure an attack that powerful. Though the pain was intense, my body suffered no permanent damage." He glances at Raquna and smirks; "I suppose that means I owe you Protectors a fair bit for this victory. Drinks are on me tonight."

"Alright, you're a guy who speaks my language!"

Simon sighs at this, resting a hand in his pocket as he looks towards the room's exit. "I can't believe we've found someone who understands both Arthur and Raquna." Adjusting his glasses, Simon follows, "People from Erdboden must be curious indeed."

Lucy chuckles at this, resting a hand on her hip as a grin traces on her lips. "You misunderstand, Simon; Cyrus here is just one of the odd ones."

"I'm the odd one? Then what does that make you, my dear?"

"I've not once disclaimed my oddities, for I cannot; being in love with you discredits any semblance of normalcy I may have once possessed."

For a moment, Cyrus is unable to comprehend this statement, leaving him to stare at Lucy with a simultaneously blank and dumbfounded expression. He eventually decides to roll with the punch and bow to Lucy as he says, "I thank you for the compliment, my dear Lucy." He is then pulled out of his stance by Raquna, who has grown far too impatient to countenance delaying her night of decadence any longer.

Author's Notes: This chapter is a special one. The battle with the Storm Emperor is actually the entire reason why this series began in the first place; I never once expected that the desire to transcribe a single encounter into narrative form would lead to the planning of four full works, possibly more. I could have made this a one-shot, but I feel that much of the context would have been lost. Taking a Solo Alchemist up against the Storm Emperor on Classic Expert Mode is one of the single-greatest highlights of my time with the series, and I'm happy to finally share it with others in both video and written form.