You know guys, I originally wanted to post this on the 21st, but it seems I was too lax in writing this. No matter! It's Christmas and here's a present for all of my readers!

To Argorok, I did try my best to update fast, but I am juggling 2 crossovers though. If you find this one updating kinda slow, you are always welcome to read my other one.

To Mizere, your question concerning magia erebia influenced people. If they are like Negi, if he hasn't absorbed an elemental spell, I am guessing the user's element is still considered as Darkness so Holy Light would be quite effective. Once the user take in an elemental spell, their element should be the same as the spell. Unfortunately, the priest line of jobs are more offensive against Demon and Undead class monsters. And before you ask if Eva-chan could be counted as Undead, she isn't. She was magically turned into an undying being. She did not go through death and rose again nor was she bitten by another vampire. Yes, she drinks blood, but she was transformed through magic, not through a bite.

Right, as usual, please read and review. Your reviews are my presents!

I do not own Negima nor Ragnarok Online.

Summons

Asuna flopped on the bed with a breath of relief, still dressed in her gown. While she did not feel that tired, she did feel a slight strain on her body. Twilight Princess or not, she was still susceptible to magic exhaustion. All that nonstop casting really did take quite a bit out of her. But even with that great magical adventure coming to a happy ending, a bit of her sort of wished she was still a normal middle school girl.

"Then again," she thought, "I never was as normal as I thought I was to begin with." The revelation of her lineage kind of made sense, all her repressed memories finally seeing the light of day and all; all that she accepted in stride… well, after getting over the shock. What worried her the most, though, were her friends and classmates treating her differently now that her past has caught up with her.

"Greetings, your highness."

Her upper body shot upright immediately, only to collide into the upper bunk above her. Groaning, she rubbed the bruise that was forming and turned to the unexpected speaker. "You must be Zazie's sister everyone was telling me about. Poyo, was it?" she asked as she gingerly got to her feet.

"You may call me that, poyo," the speaker replied.

"Fine, now that we've got that out of the way… what are you doing in here?" she followed up as she glared at the demon girl.

"Well, my friend wishes for some assistance."

"You do know I had just saved Mundus Magicus, right?" she deadpanned, "Why can't the Grave Master do it herself?"

"She wishes to gain some information about the Demon Bane," the Rainyday stated clearly. After observing the princess' eyes widen in surprise, she continued, "Truth be told, I want nothing to do with him. But, my dear friend insisted. That man pretty much supported the son of the Thousand Master and gave weight to the suggestion that he had a plan, thus allowing her to decide on changing sides to support. Without a doubt, she would like to repay him. But first, a little information is in order."

"Ah… I really don't know about this," Asuna mused thoughtfully, somewhat unsure if the intentions were true. Then again, they did help her friends… and Negi… in the end…

"Sister, I knew I sensed you somewhere," said Zazie as she suddenly opened the door of the room.

"Sorry, but I'm here on request. We could catch up later though," the girl replied as she turned over to face her.

"I should have known," Asuna mumbled, suddenly feeling a little annoyed, "Weird stuff is starting to happen to me when Negi is not around." With a huff, she made up her mind, "Fine, take me to meet up with the Grave Master."

"Thank you, your Highness. I'm certain it will be worth your while," Zazie's sister said as she gestured to the portal that suddenly appeared behind her.


"KANPAI!"

Gamiya just smiled as the excitable group of girls cheered once more as they raised their glasses of non-alcoholic beverages. There were lots and lots of fanfare earlier in the day, with the whole world celebrating the restoration of the world to its original state. He did his part, albeit a minor one, in protecting the girls. In the end, Negi was the one that did the heavy lifting and saved Asuna, who in turn saved the rest of the world. He had experienced it before in his old world, but he had rejected any recognition they wanted to give him and did his own thing; finally able to settle down with his beloved and live in peace. Well, relative peace. He still wandered around, guiding and protecting some people and then Rubakalbara roped him into… and he mentally shook his head, not wanting to revisit that particular memory.

"Enjoying yourself, sensei?" asked Mana as she slid into the seat next to him.

"Somewhat," he mumbled as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hmm, I expected a longer explanation than that," she replied as she looked on at the revelers.

"It… it's a 'Been there done that' thing for me," he admitted, "Any recognition I could have gotten, I dropped and went straight to check on Curina. But you know that already."

"Yes… I do…" she agreed, a smile creeping up on her, "Still, their joy is quite infectious. You really should loosen up, if only for now."

"Maybe," he muttered as he kept observing the festivities. Already, a few times he felt something was off. Those few times, he thought Asuna was looking at him out of the corner of her eye. On the few times she did spot him, she quickly averted her gaze elsewhere, mostly to Negi.

"Mana, does Kagurazaka seem off to you?" he turned and asked the mercenary suddenly.

"That is the real Princess, if that is what you were insinuating," she told him, her face turning serious, "I am pretty sure Luna is still in her own form. She wouldn't do such a thing like that, with what happened previously."

"Really? Hmm, weird," he mused as he turned back to observe Asuna, "I swear she is acting a little strange. Maybe I'm reading too much into… this…" He trailed off as he noticed something glinting red on the floor, right below a very slight distortion in the air.

"What the…" he let out, his eyes widening in surprise.

A slightly audible crack was heard and suddenly the middle of the room was suddenly engulfed in red mist.

"Don't breathe it in!" he yelled at the girls in the mist as he leaped to his feet, his mind working in overdrive as he recognized the skill that was used, "Get out of there now! Konoe, get out those fans of yours and treat them now!"

Everyone was quite bewildered but they listened to the barked out orders. Unfortunately, Konoka was caught in the poison cloud, but after a Slow Poison she was still well enough to treat herself before moving on to check on the others. The others who were not caught in the cloud were either checking on those affected or busy trying to remove the cloud without coming in contact themselves. Looking around, he also noticed the fighters who were not affected were on guard, and that included Asuna. He still had his suspicions but he could not act on them when he realized Mana was not here.

"Where is she?" he wondered as he went out the only exit in search of her, "Did she spot the attacker?"


Mana ran down the hall, chasing the mysterious figure. She wasn't actually able to see the figure, but she could see quite clearly the distortion in the air; it looked like a female figure, based on the curvy silhouette. Taking aim, she fired a few shots, but the assailant was able to evade them by zig-zagging at the moment she pulled the trigger.

"She is quite good," the gunslinger thought as the distortion suddenly stopped moving and disappeared. Switching over to her Desert Eagles, she stood there quietly, waiting for the other person to make the next move. Hearing a sudden crack of the tiles beneath her feet, she jumped out of the way as a sudden spike of energy shot out of the ground. Hearing the tiles crack again, she rolled to the side, evading several more. Then, the sudden attacks ceased.

"I have never seen that skill before. This is quite the predicament I placed myself into," she analyzed calmly while keeping her awareness high. She could have fared better if she transformed, but then everyone else other than a select few would know of her abilities and she couldn't have that happen.

"You're quite good," a distorted voice suddenly said. Mana kept still, trying to work out where it came from. It sounded like the person was bouncing her voice all over the place.

"What have you to gain from attacking us? In the Governor's Palace, no less," she questioned the invisible person, deciding to stall for time and waiting for either the attacker to slip up or for extra hands to assist her.

"Personal reasons, that's all."

Mana suddenly ducked and rolled forward, narrowly evading a sudden attack to her head, though a few of her hairs weren't so lucky. Twisting around, she fired a few times; the BCTL shots were somehow getting triggered mid-flight, the small spheres of distorted time exploding prematurely.

"Soul Breaker."

She somersaulted over the fast travelling purple, crescent-shaped projectile. However, she wasn't prepared for a figure shrouded in black smoke to suddenly cut through the barrels of her Desert Eagles with her dual wielded swords. Without a word, the both of them separated and stood at opposite sides of the hallway. The mysterious female dispelled her swords and formed two katars while getting into a fighting position.

"So she could use swords and now katars," Mana mused as she pulled out her card, "If she could easily break my guns… if I had known my hard earned money would get broken like that, I would have used my artifact earlier… 1N…" The gold-plated revolvers appeared in her hands as soon as she used the card.

"Gunslinger… I see," muttered the shrouded figure, "So you are the partner."

"So… your target was Iroi-sensei…" she said in sudden realization while still calmly staring at her opponent, "Well, for whatever reason you have, I shall personally put a stop to that."

They both stared at each other in silence for a moment before charging headlong at each other.


Gamiya ran through the hall with Agility Up active. He came upon sounds of fighting by chance and was rushing as fast as he could to the site. He could see the torn up floor of the hallway that led off the one of the viewing platforms outside. He also had Blessing and Magnificat active the moment he felt his mana draining at a surprisingly rapid pace.

"I bet she isn't pulling her punches with this one," he figured as he raced on, "Using her card when she already has better guns to begin with, I wonder who or what she is fighting… and really, which side should I be more worried about."

When he arrived, he froze. Mana was in the middle of the platform while a figure shrouded in black smoke assailed her from all sides. What shocked him the most was that he recognized the shapes of weapons being used; katars and daggers were normally used by assassins in his world… his world… which begs the question on how the assassin arrived here in the first place. Not only was the assassin using the weapons, he or she was also using blades that were attached to the boots! Mana was no slouch either, either skillfully evading the attacks or deflecting them by changing to the shotgun. Getting over his shock, he waited until they exchanged blows before teleporting between them.

"Sensei!" shouted Mana as she warned him, "Be careful! Her target is you!"

"Really… I thought I parted ways with the Assassin's Guild on good terms," he mused aloud as he narrowed his eyes at the shrouded figure, "Who brought you here?"

"… It truly is you…" was all the distorted voice said.

"Why are you here!? I will not ask again," he asked, louder this time.

The unknown assassin said nothing in reply, but turned her back on them. Before their surprised eyes, she suddenly vanished. Both of them stood stock still for a moment, their minds trying to understand what just happened.

"Am I dreaming or did that just…" he started as he turned to face the mercenary gunslinger, but unfortunately for them, they didn't notice the red gemstone on the floor.

"Venom Dust."

Immediately, the both of them were engulfed in clouds of red mist.


Mana coughed and coughed, the poison in the smoke already affecting her. She felt quite weak, but she held her hand over her mouth, trying to limit the amount of smoke breathed in. She tried walking in a random direction to find a way out, but she felt herself being tripped. Scrambling on all fours in an attempt to get out, she was thrown on her back and the next second, found the shrouded assassin sitting on her. Her arms were pinned down so she could not do anything and struggling didn't seem to bear fruit either. The assassin did not seem to be discomforted by the mist. Then, she felt her nose being pinched tightly and she noticed the assassin pull out a small vial filled with a reddish, purple liquid and uncorking it. It distressed her more that the body of the vial was in the shape of a skull. She wanted to clamp down on her lips, but with her nose pinched shut, she could not breathe.

As the air in her lungs slowly depleted, she thought desperately, "Maybe a fast breath would do." Unfortunately for her, as she opened her mouth for a quick deep breath, the assassin immediately jammed the bottle in and she could only watch in despair as the contents of the vial flowed into unwilling her mouth. The effects were instantaneous and she blacked out.


Gamiya stumbled around in the mist. He knew the normal effects wouldn't affect him that much and he could easily counter it after he gets out, but he worried for Mana and was now actively searching for her in the cloud.

"This is weird," he mulled as he searched, in effect trying to keep calm, "I don't remember the skill having such thick smoke. What the Hell is going on?"

As his search went on, the mist cleared. What he saw made him almost drop to his knees in despair. Mana lay on the floor face up; there was a white-gray discoloration around her mouth. She wasn't breathing. The assassin was nowhere to be seen. With a yell, he ran up to her and knelt by her side; he felt her vital signs and confirmed his worst fears. He punched the ground with his trembling right hand, mentally berating himself for allowing such a thing to happen. Akama's death flashed in his mind and he gripped his hands so tightly that the nails on his left hand dug into his flesh and drew blood. He cannot accept this. While he doesn't have any more blue catalysts… he has another way.

Getting into a kneeling position next to her still warm body, he raised his hands up to the heavens and began a quiet, prayer-like chant. Slowly, he began being engulfed by a golden glow.


Kaede, Ku Fei and Setsuna raced down the halls, followed by one of Kazumi's golem cameras.

"Do you think sensei and Tatsumiya-san are alright?" asked the swordswoman.

"Sensei-dono has proven himself reliable so far, Setsuna-dono," chided the ninja, "I doubt Mana-dono would be in any trouble-degozaru."

"They're so lucky, fighting another strong opponent-aru," added the duelist, "I wish I have strong opponents coming at me all the time-arune."

"You really should be careful what you wish for," replied Setsuna, feeling a little uncomfortable with hearing her wish.

"We're here-degozaru," said Kaede as they stopped at the exit to the platform.

The three stopped in their tracks, confused at what they were witnessing right now. The camera hovered up to a higher elevation to try and record-capture everything; the assistant teacher, glowing golden, kneeling before Mana's prone body.

"Ne, did we miss something-aru?" asked Ku Fei with a puzzled expression.

"Strange, what happened to Mana-dono that sensei-dono is doing all this-degozaru?" asked the Koga chunin aloud.

"Sensei? What is going on?" asked Setsuna as she gingerly walked up to the two figures. The golden glow was also now covering the gunslinger as well.

"Redemptio…"

The word came out like a whisper, the glow brightened and blinded so much that the girls covered their eyes. When the glow died down and they could see properly once more, the girls noticed the two still on the ground. Then, Mana's eyes flew open and she sat up like a bolt of lightning had just struck, gasping for breath. The three girls and the camera went in closer… then Mana asked the high priest, "How did I live through that? I thought I had died. What did you do sensei?"

It took a couple of deep breaths before he could reply, "Redemptio is a last resort spell… in return of sacrificing most of my magic power and… well… my wellbeing… I called you back… I…"

Before he could say anymore… before everyone's horrified eyes… a knife suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and lodged itself into his neck. His lifeblood gushed out like a fountain as he fell forward onto the gunslinger's lap, covering her in red while she sat there unmoving and silent like a stone statue.

"Sensei!"

Many more yells resounded as the rest of the class of 3-A poured out onto the platform as well as a few more people.

"No way!" yelled Kotaro, "How the Hell did he die!?"

"Ako!" exclaimed Akira as she caught her fainting friend just in time.

"Ah, we… better help carry Ako away from here… yeah, that's right. Let's help Ako away from here," sputtered out Sakurako nervously, getting the rest of the cheerleaders to help Akira carry the unconscious girl inside the building.

"Lady, what the Hell just happened?" asked Rakan, looking quite serious, "I think you need to explain how in the world this tough S.O.B. got killed by a little poke like that."

"I was dead," she muttered out loud, earning shocked looks all around, "Sensei… he saved me… at the cost of his health." She continued staring at the body on her lap, still in shock. "That's when… the assassin… he was the target."

"Do we even know who the assassin was?" asked Setsuna, finally getting over the shock. Konoka moved behind her, looking quite scared.

Mana shook her head, "I couldn't get a good look. She was shrouded in some kind of black smoke. Also, apparently that assassin came from his world and seemed to know him." She looked back at everyone's surprised looks and continued, "That's all I could get. I'm… sorry…"

"Are you… alright, Captain?" asked Negi with concern.

"Eventually," she said as she finally moved the body, still looking downcast, "I have dealt with loss before. It's nothing."

Silence fell after hearing her words. Most of the girls looked scared, some were concerned for the gunslinger, and some even wondered if they would ever catch the one who did this terrible deed. A few of the others girls started tearing up. Surprisingly, Asuna stepped up to the body and said loudly, "Alright, so now what? What are you going to do now!?"

"Asuna? What are you…" started Negi but his voice trailed out when he saw the dark shroud. The assassin had returned and was now standing next to her. Immediately there were shrieks of terror from most of the girls while the fighters immediately brandished or summoned their weapons out and surrounded the dark figure. Asuna brought out her artifact, but surprisingly went into a guard position next to the assassin.

"Please remove the spell so I may do what I came here to do," asked the figure in a distorted voice.

"Fine," said the princess as she dropped her guard and placed her hand over the assassin's shoulder. The black shroud immediately dispelled, revealing a slim woman dressed in a… rather revealing leather armor that had a leather skirting around her back end, metal bracers with leather padding sticking out and knee-high metal boots with blades attached to the heel. Her brown hair was tired up in a pony-tail with a crude hair band of the same color. Oddly enough, she had a sad expression on her face.

"Asuna, why are you protecting her? She killed sensei," said Setsuna harshly as she pointed the assassin.

"There is an explanation for this, Setsuna," she worded carefully, "She can probably explain it a little better, though."

Ignoring the fearful stares she was getting from the rest of the girls, she slowly stepped up towards the body of the fallen high priest. Mana stared at her as she knelt down and dismissed the throwing knife in a puff of black smoke.

"In the absence of the valkyries, as Assassin Cross and the representative of Hel, I shall take their place as your escort to Valhalla," she chanted as a green glow surrounded her hand and linked her to his body, "May your heroic spirit enjoy the blessings and gifts as befitting an einherjar. Rise, hero, and be accounted for."

The body started floating a few inches of the ground, the green glow slowly giving way to a golden hue before exploding in an illuminating brightness. As the brightness went down to normal levels, one could hear numerous gasps as they saw their assistant teacher on the floor unharmed.

"I know you… sensei told me about you," Mana suddenly said as she recognized the assassin… somewhat, "But why the elaborate plan? I do not understand."

"What do you mean, Mana-dono? How do you know her-degozaru?" asked Kaede as she slung her fuuma shuriken behind her.

"I… I am only guessing right now, but she looks exactly as sensei described her," Mana said, looking a little surprised.

"Can you hurry up on the explanation already? Who. Is. She!?" demanded Chisame.

"My apologies," the assassin suddenly said, "Since we are now on speaking terms… let me to introduce myself. My name is Iroi Curina Lidskjalf. Thank you for putting up with my dear, idiotic husband."

.

..

...

"EHHHHHHHH!"