The Capital was still in chaos, a great number of people were injured, and the guardian mages were busy tending to their wounds. Hiccup was carrying Leyla to the nearest healing team when he sensed more mages had appeared.

"It would seem as if more enemies have arrived at the capital," said Hiccup looking concerned. "Clearly, they planned everything to the smallest detail. Dak and Adelaide could be in trouble; I had better find a healing unit and fast."

The little girl that Dak had rescued was now at a refugee post, but her forts were to be Magic Knights that had saved her.

"I wonder what happened to those Knights who saved me," she said. "I hope they're okay."

Nero was still resting on her head and patted her gently with her wing.

Dak had now just challenged the enemy mages, but they did look phase in the slightest.

"Have our superior numbers-driven him mad," said the scarred mage.

"What it matter anyway?" said the woman with glasses. "I can still dissect a crazy person."

Then all five mages fired five different magical blasts towards them, but Dak quickly spun around and sliced right through every single one of them.

"Such pointless flailing about," said the scarred mage.

Rades laughed. "The brat doesn't know when to give up!"

"Oh, I know who you are," said the woman with glasses.

The scarred mage nodded. "This must be the Anti-Magic boy the master mentioned."

The attacks had finally stopped, and Dak took a moment to catch his breath; his wounds may heal, but he still lost quite a bit of blood, not to mention he was exhausted from all the fighting you doing. However, he was more focused on the words that Thuggory had told him about remaining calm and that is fearlessness was the best weapon he had.

"You got it, Captain," said Dak panting. "I can do calm; I'm going to calmly take you to pieces."

"Not likely," said the scarred mage.

"Fire Magic: Exploring Flames!" Leon yelled and unleashing a powerful blast of fire magic, and caught the mages off guard. "You think I'm going to let you get away with what you did to my brother! One of us is going down today, and it's not going to be me!"

He then swung a blazing fist at one of the mages, but he was able to back away from a just-in-time.

Leon then turned to Dak. "How are you doing, Dak? You got room for one more?"

"Sure thing," said Dak as he swung his blades at the mages. "Feel free to jump in whatever you want to!"

A mage then fired a magical blast towards him, but he easily slashed right through it, and Leon kept up with his assault. The two of them were actually putting the mages on the defensive, making sure not to give them any time to react.

'They fight like wounded beasts, cornered with nothing left to lose,' said the scarred mage, narrowly avoiding Dak's blade. 'They're fearless.'

"What are you waiting for? Just get rid of these idiots already!" Rades roared.

"What do you think are doing?" the scarred mage glared. The five of them then surrounded them and began channelling magic through their palms. "This wasn't our original objective, but you've made yourselves targets."

They then fired, but Adelaide quickly created a barrier shielding them.

"Thanks, Adelaide!" said Dak.

"If those fools thought that I let them kill my friends that easily, then they were sorely mistaken," said Adelaide.

"Hey, that's some pretty spiffy defensive magic," said the woman with glasses, looking impressed.

"Interesting," said the scarred man looking at Adelaide closely. "This girl has the look of Royal House Jorgenson."

"Well, in that case, we should respond with something appropriate to her exalted station," said a man opening his grimoire. "Tree Creation Magic: Magic Draining Roots!"

Suddenly spiting from the ground were tree roots which then began to wrap themselves around the barrier.

"Dak!" Adelaide yelled.

"I've got it," said Dak.

"What are you planning to do?" Leon asked.

They then noticed that the treatment was beginning to drain the water, causing the barrier to fail.

"Oh no, his counterspell swallowed up the torrent," said Adelaide.

In moments the barrier fell; the moment it did, both Dak and Leon jumped at the scarred man. It was clear that he was the leader, and if they cut up ahead the snake, the body would fall.

"Admirable battle instincts," he said as he opened his grimoire. "But it won't be enough. Wind Creation Magic: Death By Tornado Needle!"

He then fired several miniature tornadoes in the shape of needles, punctured through Dak and Leon while they were in midair. Almost instantly, the two of them felt their bodies go limp and fell to the ground.

"He was too fast for us," Leon moaned.

"Are you okay?" Adelaide yelled. "Please say something!"

"Now to finish this for good," said the scarred man as he prepared to fire another attack.

Adelaide just knelt there in shock. "I can't help." The scarred man then fired's attack. "Please, no!"

Then suddenly appearing out of nowhere was a metal sheet of mercury blocking the attack, much to everyone's shock.

"Oh, how fun," said the woman with glasses. "I've never sensed magic like this before."

The barrier then lifted, and standing there with the Magic Knights, Snotlout had used his magic to create the sheet of mercury to shield them from the attack.

Adelaide just stared at them. "What? Your back?"

"The rest of the Magic Knights," said the scarred man.

Asger then landed on the rooftop and looked directly at Valtos. "Did you think a little distance would be enough to save you?"

"Your back, but how from so far?" Valtos asked.

"We work together to affect our return," Asger explained. "Through cooperation doesn't come naturally to us. If we were to give this spell the name, I would call it Super Compound Magic."

Hammond chuckled. "Merging our talents rather than vying for dominance what a novel idea."

"Well, I guess we can't right of men entirely, huh?" said Terra.

"Yes, it appears they can be useful on occasions," Astrid agreed.

"This cooperation business leaves a bad taste in my mouth," Scoldlout grumbled.

"We Silver Eagles have never been known for playing well with others," said Alvida.

"And yet it is the duty of all Magic Knights to protect the kingdom," said Snotlout. "If we must work together to do that, then so be it."

Maple and rushed over towards Thuggory. "What happened here?"

"He's badly hurt. Do you think you can help?" Adelaide asked.

"How horrible, who could do this to a man as strong as Captain Thuggory," said Maple, shocked and then summoned her healing robe and began to heal him.

Dak and Leon were also unconscious, but Mapel had her hands filled with tending to Thuggory.

"Someone checked the others. Are they still breathing?" said Maple.

Klaus narrowed down to Dak. "Come on, Dak. Wake up for me!" He then looked relieved when he saw movement. "Thank goodness he's alive."

"They appear to be in bad shape, but nothing life-threatening," said Heather as she examined Leon.

"To bring down fight is a strong as the three; how powerful are they?" said Klais.

Valtos then opened a portal then jump through it, and appeared among his cohorts.

"Our losses will be too high if we continue this fight, retreat!" he said.

"What? Leaving so soon?" said Snotlout as he opened his grimoire. "Mercury Magic: Rain of Silver!"

Droplets of mercury then appeared above the enemy mage is began raining down towards them at tremendous speed.

The woman with glasses then opened her grimoire. "Gel Magic: Sticky Salamander!"

Gel then started to emerge out of nowhere and took the form of a giant lizard.

"It will take far more powerful spell than that to withstand my silver rain," said Snotlout folding his arms.

"Think so?" said the woman as she pulled out a large syringe filled with some sort of purple liquid. She then injected it into the gel lizard. "Dark Magic Item: Property Boost Absorb!"

The lizard then suddenly began changing to a bolder shade of purple, and then to everyone's shock, it began to absorb the mercury.

"That's impossible," said Klaus. "It soaking up the Captain's magic like it's nothing."

'But how?' said Snotlout. 'What sort of magic item is that?'

The letter then extended its claw towards Klaus and Dak and then absorbed Dak into its gel.

"Dak!" Klaus yelled.

"And gotta ya," said the woman trapping Dak in his own gel bubble.

"What you plan on doing with him?" the scarred man asked.

"It's a secret," she said excitedly.

"We'll leave you for now," said the scarred man closing his grimoire. "But remember this day, Magic Knights. We are the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and we will bring the Clover Kingdom to its knees."

A portal then appeared beneath them, and they began sinking through it, and then they vanished without a trace.

"Dak!" Adelaide cried and just as the empty space. "They took Dak, but he—" He then looked at Klaus. "Let's follow them!"

"Stop Adelaide, it won't work," he said.

"Why not?"

"We have no means of tracking them and no way to know what awaits us if they are found."

"I don't care!"

"Let it go," said Snotlout. "Our priority right now is strengthening the Royal Capital's defences. For all we know there could be more enemies about, we neither have time nor magic to waste on somebody like him."

"I wouldn't have put it that way, but he's right," said a voice.

Everyone turned and saw Hiccup landing in the Plaza.

"Captain Hiccup!" Adelaide stared.

"I'm sorry I'm late, but I have another matter to attend to," said Hiccup and looked at Klaus. "Klaus, your charge was badly injured during a fight with one of the enemy mages."

"Leyla?" Klaus stared.

"She's fine. I left her with some medics; I only regret I did get his soon," said Hiccup.

Adelaide looked at Hiccup. "Sir, we have to go after Dak."

"As Klaus said, we have no means of tracking them," said Hiccup regretfully. "And chances are there no way near the Royal Capital; we will only be wasting manpower just searching aimlessly. Besides, I'm certain that Dak would want us to tend to the injured rather than finding him."

"On that note, how is Thuggory?" Snotlout asked, looking at Maple. "Will he survive?"

"I've done all I can with my magic, but it won't be enough," she said regretfully. "We need to get him to the medical ward for more advanced healing spells as soon as we can. We don't have much time."

"A one-armed Squad Captain, is there any sight more pitiful," Scoldlout sneered.

"How about one-legged it, Squad Captain," said Alvida looking at Hiccup. "I mean, he was so slow that he missed the entire fight."

Scoldlout looked down at Thuggory pitifully. "Is this what House Vermillion has become? It almost makes me ashamed to be a royal."

"How can you say that," said Adelaide looking at them appalled. "The captain fought bravery, and Captain Hiccup did his best."

"No, I didn't," said Hiccup looking ashamed. "I should have gotten here sooner; I failed as a Magic Knight and as a Magic Knight Captain."

"Indeed, we are Magic Knights," said Snotlout. "If we do not win, we might as well not exist."

"Trying counts for nothing?"

"Less than nothing," said Scoldlout. "The Crimson Lion Kings and the Black Dragons are—"

"Enough Scoldlout!" Snotlout snapped, glaring at him. "We weren't here to fight, and that makes us even less than they are. Now see to the town's defences; this is no time for your adolescent posturing."

"R-right," said Scoldlout.

"There is some sort of spell blocking Transmission Magic," said Asger. "The chain of command is in chaos; that explains why outside reinforcements never arrived. Everyone stay sharp!"

"We need a secure the perimeter," said Astrid as she and Heather took a ride on Terra's earth golem. "Keep your eyes open."

"You bet, Astrid," said Terra.

"Call me captain, Terra," said Astrid.

"Okay, securing the perimeter Captain Astrid," said Terra.

"What do you know for once she actually said it," said Heather.

"At the rate, things are going, I don't know whenever I'm going to have time for that desert," said Hammond.

"Quick Klaus, go," said Asger. "Return to HQ for backup."

"Right," said Klaus and created his steel chariot.

"We need to get the injured to the medical ward," said Hiccup.

Adelaide was still concerned about Dak and hoped that he was all right. "Dak."

It was late in the afternoon when the Eye the Midnight Sun arrived at their destination. They were standing in front of an ancient ruin somewhere within the Forsaken Realm.

"Rades, you put your petty needs for revenge ahead of the mission, and this is the result," said the scarred mage. "The master may have taken a liking to you, but don't get cocky. Mucking about those creatures of yours, taking on the captain by yourself… your arrogant fool."

"Give it a rest already," said Rades.

"If you had stuck to the plan like you were supposed to, things would have been much less complicated."

"I don't see what you have to complain about when my precious puppets were the victims in all this."

"Let's not forget about Catherine," said the woman with glasses. "Things didn't turn out too well for her either."

"As if I care about that old hag," Rades sneered.

"Quit squabbling," said Valtos.

"I don't understand why everyone is so upset; you got what you wanted, right?"

"Oh and Sally, one thing," said Valtos looking at her. "This little prize of yours can't come with us. Kill him."

"What?" Sally yelled, looking outraged. "You've got to be kidding! I can't just throw away a prime specimen like him. We're not talking about simple magic weakening spells; this kid actually had Anti-Magic."

It was at that point that Dak regained consciousness. 'Where am I? What is this stuff? It feels sort of nice.'

"Only those people who have been acknowledged by the master may go where we're headed," said the scarred mage. "We don't need more unnecessary trouble; kill him before the master comes for us."

"Argh," said Sally looking annoyed.

"You know I would be happy to kill him for you," said Rades. "The brat would make a great addition to my playthings."

"Stay out of it, Rades," Sally snapped.

"No fair," said Rades.

Dak then realised that he had been captured. 'Uh-oh, not good. Looks like I've gotten myself captured.'

"Oh," said Sally lowering her hood, revealing herself to be quite a young woman with short black hair. "Goody-goody, you're awake."

'I seriously don't like the look in her eyes,' said Dak.

"Come on, you should help me convince them," she said. "It would be great; I'll study everything about you and your grimoire, do some experiments, and then I'll dissect you. You want to help with my research, don't you? I'll analyse every last cell; nothing will go to waste, I swear. Just think of how much we can learn."

'This girl is completely nuts. I am in seriously deep trouble,' said Dak as he tried to move about himself, unable to move a single muscle. 'Crap, I can't move. There's no getting out of here.'

He could only watch as they began making their way into the ruins.

"Are you going to make me beg you because I will," she said. "Pretty pretty, please."

The scarred mage sighed. "Whatever you do, just leave me out of it."

"Just leave him to me," said Rades.

"No way!" said Sally strongly.

Then they heard footsteps and saw a figure emerging from the shadows, and it was none other than Julius.

"Hi there," he said, smiling. "You've kept me waiting."

Upon seeing him, everyone eyes immediately widened in shock.

"What?"

"No, it can't be," said Rades.

"The Wizard King… Julius Novachrono" said the scarred mage. 'How did he find us? Why is he here?'

"Did you have a pleasant visit to the capital?" Julius asked casually.

"Kill him now!" the scarred mage ordered.

Julius then suddenly appeared next to mages and held an orb in each hand. Then within a split second, the mages turned to dust shaking everyone to their core.

"They're gone," said the scarred mage. "How did you—"

"Yes, sorry about that," said Julia smiling. "It would have been too difficult to restrain all of you, much easier for me this way."

The mage with the Tree Magic then immediately extended several roots in the shape of a claw towards him. However, Julius appeared next to the claw in a split second and blasted a magical be right through it, turning it into dust.

"You started this; it was your choice to attack the capital, and now you're nervous?" said Julius. "Don't tell me you came to kill without being prepared to die yourselves?"

'So strong,' said Valtos as he began to sweat. 'But what did I expect? He is the Wizard King had with my magic power drained—'

"Tell you what, you're skilled enough to make this a bit of a challenge, but I would rather not go through the trouble," said Julius looking at five of them. "So let's make a deal. I'll let the first person surrender survive. Well, do we have any takers? Don't be shy."

All of them narrowed their eyes and opened the grimoires.

"Not happening!" they yelled.

They then began firing an onslaught of magical attacks at Julius, but he moved so fast that he was nothing but a blur.

"How is he moving like that?" said the scarred mage. "He's so fast I can't even see him."

When they finally halted their attacks, Julius stood there looking unphased.

"A test then," he said and suddenly appeared directly behind them. "Let's see if it works on this many. Time Binding Magic: Chrono Stasis!"

Suddenly every single one of them found themselves being suspended in the air in a sphere. They found themselves unable to move an inch; they weren't even able to talk.

'What did he do?' said Rades.

'Body is frozen,' said the scarred mage.

'Can't move,' said Valtos.

"Well, would you look at that? I got you all," Julia smiled. "Guess I overestimated your skills. I hope that you enjoy this moment because you be stuck like that for a while."

Sally's binding spell around Dak lifted, and he found himself hitting the floor.

"Ow, ow, ow," Dak moaned, rubbing his backside.

"Oh, Dak, there you are," said Julius. "It's nice to see you again; we keep running into each other."

"Uh, yeah," said Dak looking at him completely awestruck. He had seen the entire battle, and he was amazed at how easily he dealt with them. 'That many powerful mages as he captured them all? It should be possible, but he pulled it off. Amazing.'

Julius then approached him. "You want to be the Wizard King someday, isn't that right? Then I suggest you carefully consider everything that you've seen here. This was only the smallest example of the sort of power you have to outmatch."

'This is who chasing, the strongest man that I ever met, the most powerful mage in the kingdom and the one that I have to surpass,' said Dak as he shook.

"Can you stand?" Julius asked, offering a hand.

'The Wizard King in all his power right here in front of me,' said Dak as he attempted to rise with his own strength and, more importantly, try to stop shaking. 'Idiot! Stop shaking! Don't look weak!'

He then rose to his feet and stop shaking.

Julius merely lowered his hand. "Well, it would seem as if you don't need help after all." He then turned and looked at the mages yet captured. "As much as I hate to admit it, you folks have some pretty neat magic. It surprised me. Now then, there are quite a few questions I would like for you to answer."

He then approached a tablet with several stones embedded in it.

"This tablet you have here with the jewels, what is it for?" Julius asked. "I've never seen writing like this nor such a pattern. What exactly were you trying to accomplish with it? Actually, hold that thought; you can't very well answer while caught up in my spell, can you? We'll have a nice chat about it later back at the Clover Kingdom."

His expression then suddenly change when he sensed a powerful presence.

"Get ready," he said, looking at Dak. "Something's coming."

Then suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light directly behind him.

"So bright," said Dak covering his eyes. "Where is this light coming from?"

Julius then saw a robed figure descending upon them with long silver hair that was braided back into several long extensions and a pair of piercing golden eyes.