Lilly stared at each of the men. Her weapon spitting puffs of flames every now and then. Her mind raced, but with one goal in mind: Burn everything. She could feel her newfound power surging within her. It was beyond anything she had ever felt before.
"What in the world is that?!" The men panicked when they noticed her astonishing ATK of 2900.
"This is 'Lilly the Flaming Pyrotechnic', ready to turn everything to ash, and you are all in her way." Draegor chuckled.
The head guard gritted his teeth. "This isn't good. Men! If we can hold them off long enough, we can buy ourselves enough time until reinforcements arrive." He proposed.
"How desperate. 'Our superior strength will win us this fight.' Was that not what you had so proudly claimed before?" Draegor mocked the head guard.
"Silence! We five still stand strong. You'll have to take us down one by one, and by the time you finally do beat us, you'll have to deal with the rest of the castle." The head guard smiled, but that smile quickly vanished when he heard Draegor laughing again.
"Did I not already tell you that this was the final move? You have no idea what 'Lilly' is capable of." The masked man chuckled again. "Do not worry. I will make sure you are well educated on the matter."
"What are you saying?" The men questioned.
"This form of 'Lilly' requires a certain number of Fire Monsters to Summon her, and for each Fire Monster I use 'Lilly' gets another ability." Draegor explained, clearly enjoying the nervous looks on each of the mens' faces. "The first effect she gained, however, is the only one I need to tell you about. For each Monster I used to create 'Lilly the Flaming Pyrotechnic', except 'Lilly the Dark Elf', I can burn 500 of your life force away." The cloaked man let his words sink in as Lilly charged her flamethrower, causing the machine to glow red hot.
"You mean…" The head guard started.
"Exactly. 'Lilly' can now burn away 1500 of your life force. The exact amount that you have left." Draegor's voice rose as he made his last statement, then with a terribly calm tone, he ordered the elf. "Now, 'Lilly', turn them to ash."
The men watched in terror as Lilly aimed her flamethrower at them and charged the machine further, making it glow orange hot. A quick flick of her hand, she put on her goggles. Then with a maniacal laugh she fired away. The flames shot out in a massive burst, easily hitting all five guards at once, scorching what to them felt like their very soul. Bella could only watch, unsure of how to feel about what she was witnessing.
When the flames died down, Lilly mounted her weapon over her shoulder with one hand and gave a massive grin while making a 'V' with the fingers on her free hand, proud of her handy work. The men now laid on the ground, burned and unconscious.
"Victory is ours." Draegor claimed and Lilly faded away into nothing.
"Wha- Where did she go?!" Bella panicked.
"She is fine, however, now is not the time. We must be going. Summon: 'Nightmare Horse'." The masked man chanted and summoned the creature that he and Lilly rode in on.
"But, what happened? What did you do to her?" Bella questioned weakly.
"Another time. When we are clear of the castle." Draegor monotoned his answer and walked over to the elder elf to hoist her up, but Bella would not stop asking him about her niece. "If you wish to see her again, then I suggest you silence that tongue of yours before the guards hear it and take you away. Keep this up and I will consider you nothing more than dead weight." Draegor threatened the elf.
Bella wanted to shout at him for speaking to her the way he did, but he was right about the guards catching up to them. They needed to move quickly or it would all be for not. Reluctantly, Bella kept quiet for the time being and allowed Draegor to help her mount the creature, but she secretly swore to give him a few choice words when they were in the clear.
After a bit of riding and a few close calls, the two made it out and well beyond the castle grounds. "Alright. Where is Lilly?" What did you do with her?" Bella started up again.
"She is right here." Draegor said as he held up a Duel Card. Bella gasped when she saw what was on its cover. Lilly was in the picture, posed in a timid fashion, but looking sweet all the same. "That's a lie. You lie!" Bella cried.
"Do you not feel her presence from within the borders of the card?" Draegor asked, almost mockingly.
"I… I don't believe you. I don't want to believe you." Tears ran down Bella's face. She could sense Lilly within the card. There was no denying it, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it as that could only mean one thing.
"How… Who…" Bella's voice trembled.
"I do not know exactly who killed her, however, I do know that she was killed by a fatal arrow wound." Draegor answered.
Bella remembered what Gammba had said back in her cell. "The guards told me what they did. After chasing her through the fields, they were able to hit that pathetic girl without any issues. They told me it must have been a pretty good shot going by how much blood was all over the place."
"But how did she…?" Bella choked up again.
"The only reason I allowed Lilly to go back for you is because I owe her." The masked man confessed calmly.
"What?" Bella wiped the tears from her face.
"Were it not for her, I would still be imprisoned in that stone tablet. She died setting me free. Lilly's only wish was to save the one person who helped her finally escape the prison she grew up in, and I hate being indebted to people." Draegor grumbled at the end.
"Wait? You were trapped in a stone tablet? Where?" Bella was curious now.
"That is of no importance anymore." The cloaked man stated firmly.
Bella paused for just a moment. "Can I see Lilly, please?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly again.
"Yes, but for a moment. We still need to cover more ground to get away from the castle and its inhabitants, not to mention your physical state is unfavorable." Draegor said as he stopped the 'Nightmare Horse', then he held up Lilly's card and called her forth.