With Ishgar's Strongest occurring within the country of Joya, the incident in Crown Castle was completely under the radar. Anyone who could have sent a message to Count Waltz was taken out by Racer, leaving the only line of defense within the castle up to the remaining Wizard Hunters not taking part in the tournament. As such, they were now facing the former members of the Oracion Seis who were attempting to rescue Ultear, Meredy, and Zelos from the dungeon down below. Angel, Midnight, Cobra, Racer, and Hoteye vs Cain, Aeon, Weavel, Marta, and Crash! The 5 vs 5 in Crown Castle for the Liberation Mission was set to begin!
"You have your orders! Detain these lawbreakers and throw them in the dungeon when we finish!" Cain ordered. He was the next in command when Lucia, Yeager, and Shade were not present.
"Of course!" Marta adjusted her glasses, grinning evilly. "It doesn't matter how powerful these mages are! They'll fall to my anti-magic weaponry all the same!" She set up her lacrima device, pressing a few buttons to prepare her weapons. "I'm prepared!"
"Then let this operation begin. The former Oracion Seis will fall." Crash said with a determined tone.
"We'll see about that, won't we?" Cobra said with a confident grin. His ears were his greatest assert. Even though Weavel was as silent as they came, Cobra could still predict where he was coming from, his hand thrusting forward as a blade of poison appeared to clash with Weavel's own sword. "I can hear you."
"What?" Weavel's stoic expression shifted to show his hint of surprise. He jumped back, vanishing into the shadows once more, only to emerge from the ceiling. He changed his angle of attack often, but Cobra was able to block him every single time. "How can this be…? Few can keep up with me, but no one has been able to predict my movements. Even you should not be able to hear me."
Cobra continued to block all of Weavel's strikes. While he could hear Weavel coming, the man's speed was keeping him on the defensive. It kept him from making any offensive moves on his own, but Cobra didn't mind biding his time. He just held a grin as he and the Hunter exchanged attacks. "You are as silent as they come, but there is one thing you simply cannot silence no matter how hard you try."
Weavel ducked one of Cobra's attacks, slipping back into the cover of darkness. "…" And then, after a few seconds, he lunged at Cobra from his blindspot! Just as all other attempts, he made not a single sound!
Cobra, however, saw this coming and turned around, thrusting his hand forward as a magenta magic circle appeared in front of his palm. "Poison Dragon's Fang Thrust!" Two sharp 'fangs' of poison jutted out from the magic circle. The jagged beams of poison struck Weavel in the shoulder, exploding upon 'chomping' down on him, causing him to hit the ground in a crouched position. "You cannot stop the beating of your heart…unless you're looking to end your own life." Cobra was right about this. One could slow their heartbeat down to a crawl, even the best of assassins knew about that. But the second it made a single thump, he would be able to pinpoint their location.
"Tch…" Weavel held onto his shoulder. He could already feel Cobra's poison seeping into his body. Not good, but this wasn't his first rodeo. "So my usual approach will not work on you…"
"You'll have a difficult time approaching me." Cobra said with a widening grin. "I can hear everything you plan to do. Your thoughts, the way your muscles contract, even your breathing. There is nothing that escapes my ears."
"I see…and your eyes?" Weavel said before breaking off into a sprint. With his blade of darkness in hand, he turned into a blur.
Cobra already knew what was coming based on Weavel's thoughts. He spread his arms apart, creating a thick wall of poison in front of him. "Poison Dragon's-!" Before he could finish, the wall of poison he erected for defense was already cut through, and there were numerous slash wounds on his person, all gushing blood. "Ngh!?"
"You knew it was coming, but you weren't fast enough to evade it." Weavel said with a soft exhale. "How do you respond to that, all knowing snake?"
"H-Heh…" Cobra had to admit Weavel got him good there. But it wasn't enough. Cobra was still able to stand, turning around while rotating his shoulders. "I've been cut by sharper swords. I hope that's not all you have to offer!" Another magic circle appeared in front of him. "Poison Dragon's Scales!" Numerous sharp scales of poison shot from the magic seal, all of them aimed for Weavel.
"Dark Blade!" Weavel rushed through the poison scales, slashing through what he could while others clipped his body. The sheer number of scales made it impossible to avoid everything, but he made split second decisions to decide when and where he'd let the scales strike his body. This allowed him to close the distance between himself and Cobra, thrusting his blade towards his chest. It struck, but he was surprised see what he hit; Cobra's dragonized arm. It hit the scales of his arms, not piercing through, but catching and getting stuck. "Huh?!"
Cobra activated his Dragon Force, rearing his opposing arm back with a grin. "Poison Dragon's Iron Fist!" He then slammed his fist into Weavel's stomach, sending the shadow hunter into an opposing wall with great force. This didn't come without Cobra taking damage, his arm had a slash mark on it, but he avoided potentially losing the limb.
Aeon took advantage of Cobra's opening, leaping into the air behind him just as he finished attacking. "But you see now, you're open! A-Beam!" Aeon pointed his hand down, releasing a potent beam of light magic towards Cobra before he had the chance to recover. But the magic simply swerved around Cobra, slamming into a nearby wall. "What!?"
"My Reflector makes short work of mages like you." Midnight said with a yawn.
"Oh yeah!?" Aeon landed on the ground and prepared to make a move, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he felt it sink under him. "W-What!?" It was liquefied!? "What is this?!"
"I don't enjoy violence too much…" Hoteye admitted. "But you have done some horrible things to my friends and allies, so I must return the favor. Earth Power." The ground Aeon stood in surged and swelled before completely erupting, throwing him into the air with a cry of pain. "Desu ne…"
"Hmph." Midnight was still pretty confident about their advantage. That was until he felt crash magic slam on his Reflector Barrier. The raw power of this magic and its ability to deteriorate anything caught him off guard, causing him to stagger. "Agh…!"
It was Crash of course, standing on the other side of the room with his long range attack. By the time Midnight realized who struck him, Cain slipped under his field of vision. "Pyro Hammer!" His blazing fist slammed right into Midnight's face. He amped up the power with a burst of wind, causing Midnight to fly off his feet and crash into Hoteye.
"Ugh!" Midnight and Hoteye both grunted from the crash course.
"Crash Beam!" Crash fired off another attack towards Midnight and Hoteye and it looked like it landed with the explosion that followed. But to his surprise, Midnight and Hoteye were moved at the last second. "What!?"
"Too slow." Racer said with a grin.
"The fast one…" Cain was prepared to engage Racer, but he was stopped by a swarm of angels that sought to devour him. "Agh!? What are these!?" He created blades of earth within both hands and started slashing away at the angels.
That's when Angel made her move, dropping a few coins as she darted forward. "The cost is 20." She mumbled, the cost of these coins supplying her with twin swords, the hilts of these blades adorned with white angel wings. She lunged at Cain, but he cleared enough of the angel swarm to fight back. His swords clashed with hers and they were locked in heated combat, swinging their blades in various ways to overpower the other. Cain did have the muscle over Angel, but she was swift and able to avoid being put in a bad situation. When Angel jumped back after a slash, Racer zoomed in before Cain could even pull back, punching him in the face!
"Gah!" Cain was struck so fast he felt his body spin around from the impact. By the time he regained his footing, Angel managed to land a slash across his chest with one of her swords, causing him to cry out again, but just as his mouth opened, Racer struck him again, causing his body to spin once more! It was a perfect loop, but not one the elemental master intended to be stuck in for much longer. "ENOUGH!" Ice spread out from his feet, catching the speeding Racer off guard and he began to stagger. Racer staggered long enough for Cain to grab him by the chest and slam him into the ground, the force amplified by his earth magic.
"Sawyer!" Angel grit her teeth from that dirty move. Without the cost of any coins, she summoned a large angel composed of feathers. This angel threw its large fist forward, aiming a strong punch towards Cain that did land, throwing the hunter backwards from the sheer power behind it.
Cain grunted upon being hit, but he didn't go far, as Aeon caught him and placed him on the ground. "Don't worry! Our coordination is far stronger than theirs!" Aeon said confidently. "All we need to do is push them into a corner and we won't lose."
"Of course." Cain took a brief glance around to his companions. They were all a little beat up…all except Marta. She hung in the back, prepping the anti-magic weaponry while the members of the former Oracion Seis were distracted in the brawl itself. "Now is our time to strike!"
"I'm ready!" Marta grinned while numerous missiles filled to with anti-magic appeared in front of her. "Anti-magic missiles, fire!" These missiles exploded outward, rocketing towards the opposition at high speeds. It didn't matter if they landed or not, for the explosion would fill the air with anti-magic, rendering everyone's abilities useless. When they were weakened, that's when she would enact the next phase of her plan to capture them. But just as those missiles fired, they were immediately destroyed before they could get far. Marta was caught in the explosions and tumbled backwards, adjusting her somewhat cracked glasses when she landed. "Huh!? What happened!?"
"Did you think I'd like that happen?" Racer recovered from being slammed into the ground. He didn't need to attack from up close; he simply sent numerous tires to do the work for him.
Marta growled at this. "How dare you!? It's no matter! According to my calculations, this will stop you!" Another magic item was thrown into the fray; a magic net that sealed magic. One of her favorite traps. She would have set this up proper if she had the time, but she would have to settle with the direct approach.
Racer grinned and sped forward, the combination of speed and slowing magic messing with Marta's perception of time. It happened fast all the same; Racer grabbed the magic net and wrapped it around Marta's body, completely restraining the non-mage in her own trap. "Thanks for savin' me the time."
"Gah!" Marta squirmed and struggled about, but she made her magic items too tough. There was no shot of her getting out of this without help. "Guys!? A little assistance!?"
"Marta…" Aeon gasped. "How ru—!" And before he could finish that sentence, Hoteye sent a sphere of earth in his direction and it sent him sprawling on the ground in pain. "Agh…"
"Now you understand how we feel about our comrades who you've captured." Hoteye said with his calm voice, yet the meaning behind it was very menacing.
.
.
The rumbling on the higher floors was felt down below in the dungeon. It made watching the tournament difficult for Ultear, Meredy, and Zelos. "What the heck is going on up there?" Meredy asked. They had no idea of the liberation mission going on for their sake, so there was just a bunch of noise. "They did take the tournament to the castle, did they?"
"There's no way dear old Waltz would allow that." Zelos shook his head.
"Then what is it…?" Ultear had no idea. Without her orb she felt blind as a bat. It was a crime she had gone this long without it.
A few moments later, Yukino started to call out. "Ultear-sama!? Meredy-sama!? Zelos-sama!?"
"Someone's here!?" Ultear's eyes widened. "In the back…!"
Yukino arrived a few moments later, panting softly since she didn't stop running the moment she left her sister and the others to deal with the Wizard hunters. "There you all are…! It was such a far run from the grand hall…"
"What are you doing here!?" Meredy asked, hands on the cell bars.
"We've come to rescue you!" Yukino responded with a smile. "My sister and the rest of her team are currently doing battle with the Wizard Hunters! Our goal is to rescue you, defeat the Hunters, and escape!"
"Ahh, what a wonderful plan!" Zelos swooned suddenly. "To think a beautiful lady would come all the way down here just to rescue me! It's like a dream come true!"
Yukino just stared at Zelos with a nervous smile. "…Why is he here? N-No offense of course, Zelos-sama…!"
"This genius got captured trying to bargain for us." Ultear sighed. "But enough about that. Can you get us out of here? These bars are pretty tough. I tried kicking them down a few times as a last resort."
Yukino gave a firm nod to that, pulling out a silver key. "Of course, leave it to me! Gate of the Bear Cub Key, Open! Polaris!" With that call, Polaris appeared, the gigantic, mechanical pink bear standing in the dungeon, just barely able to fit in the ceiling. "Break open that cell!"
"Yes!" Polaris nodded and reared his fist back, slamming it into the cell doors and shattered it with ease, freeing the trio from prision.
"Freedom!" Meredy jumped for joy. Yukino took the liberty of removing everyone's magic sealing restraints and the magic flowed through them once again. "And fully charged!"
Ultear summoned her orb, feeling right as rain again. She could now see the battle occurring up above and there was a sinister glint in her eyes. "I'm feeling up for a little bit of revenge. How about you two?"
"Of course!" Meredy gave a smile that matched Ultear's own.
"Fighting side by side with beautiful women is precisely what this Magic Swordsman is all about." Zelos said, only to realize he didn't have his sword. "Ah…"
"Oh!" Yukino handed Zelos his sword. "I knocked the guard out who was keeping an eye over your stuff."
"A woman after my own heart…" Zelos swooned again.
"…Let's just go upstairs…" Ultear needed to let the aggression out and she was very close to just doing so on Zelos.
.
.
Midnight slid across the ground after deflecting an attack from Crash. His attacks were extremely potent and clearly the most dangerous of the bunch, so Midnight stuck to dealing with him. The heavy sleeper swiped his hand to the left, the air around Crash beginning to distort. "Spiral Pain." A whirlwind of distorted air began to slice at Crash, cutting him up in numerous places.
"Gh! Crash Impact!" Growing annoyed at what he couldn't see, Crash slammed his hand into the floor, causing a shockwave of Crash magic to ripple through the castle and explode. It was a reckless endeavor that caught literally everyone – friend and foe – in the wake of the explosion, sending them all in separate directions.
"Ouch!" Angel whined, bruised from the impact along with pretty much everyone else. "What's your problem!?"
"Crash, focus that temper, remember!?" Aeon said while dusting himself off.
"Is everyone okay?" Cobra asked. But before he could get an answer, he heard Weavel going for Midnight from behind. "Macbeth…!" Cobra wasn't going to be fast enough to stop him. But that's what Racer was for, speeding ahead to strike Weavel before he could hurt Midnight.
"Ugh!" Weavel grunted and rolled on the floor. The poison from Cobra was taking its hold on him and he could hardly move.
Midnight realized this and pointed two fingers forward, magic gathering on his fingertips. "Dark Rondo!" A beam of reflector magic shot forward, piercing Weavel's side upon impact. If Midnight were not a reformed man, that would've been a killing blow. But he did not lament this change. "2 down."
"Damn it!" Cain grunted. They were getting steamrolled!? "Aeon! Crash!"
Aeon and Crash nodded to each other, jumping forward with their arms pointed forward, together. Black and white magic began to merge together in what was a tiny orb…which then rapidly expanded, turning into a black hole with incredible force. "Black Hole Inversion!" Hoteye, Angel, Midnight, Cobra, and even Racer were having trouble fighting against this Unison Raid.
"A monstorous amount of magic power…!" Hoteye grunted. "What do we do…!?"
"If we get sucked into that, I'm certain we won't survive!" Cobra grunted.
"That's right you won't!" Cain had a sinister smile on his lips as he pulled his arms back. A magic circle appeared behind the group, firing off sharp winds and pieces of earth to push them closer towards the black hole. The winds and earth cut at them for a few seconds, before Midnight and Hoteye took care of it; Midnight using his reflector to deal with the winds, while Hoteye used own earth magic to turn the rock into harmless liquid. But that didn't stop the current situation they were in. "This is your loss! Taste the power of the Wizard Hunters!"
"We're runnin' out of ground…" Even Racer wasn't going to be able to fully outrun this with his speed!
"Alright then…!" Angel made her decision, glancing back at Cobra. "Erik, you get one shot so you better not mess this up for me!"
"Wait-" Cobra knew what Angel was thinking, but it was already too late to dissuade her as she was already leaping headfirst towards the black hole, dropping numerous angelic coins as she did.
"The cost is 200!" Were the last words anyone heard before she dove into the inverted Black Hole, which shrunk the moment she went inside.
"Is she mad!?" Aeon's eyes widened. Nobody just jumped into their Unison Raid like that! The black hole began to tremble uncontrollably from within. This was the part where it exploded on those inside, but the explosion that occurred was far different than expected. It was an outward explosion that threw everyone backwards from the magnitude. Angel used the Reset Cannon while inside the black hole, the two powers converging and exploding with her in the middle. This resulted in her flying violently out of the explosion, badly damaged.
"Damn it, Sorano!" Racer grunted, pushing through the pain he felt to grab Angel before he hit the ground. She was pretty beat up, but fine.
This was the opening Erik needed. With his sound magic, he condensed the tumultuous noise the explosion made into the palm of his hand, pointing it forward with a smile that showed his fangs. "Thanks for the opening..."
"Oh crap!" Cain's eyes went wide.
"You guys have to move!" Marta shouted from the sidelines, still unable to break free from her restraints.
"Fall to the sound of your own failure. Sound Wall!" All of the sound created from their battle and the explosion was gathered into Cobra's hand and it pushed outward violently, utterly destroying the grand hall while capturing the remaining Wizard Hunters in its wake. Crash, Aeon, and Cain had no defense for this as they were all swept away by the destructive sound, slamming into the wall, floor, or even ceiling! Their eyes were all pure white, signifying that they had in fact been defeated. "Ah…that's all she wrote."
"I knew that would work…!" Angel pumped a hand into the air, only to wince from her injuries.
"You're crazy, girl." Racer shook his head.
"That was risky!" Hoteye chided his companion.
"Seriously…" Midnight yawned. "Not worth waking up from a nap at all…"
"D-Damn it…" Cain slowly lifted his head up, but he couldn't move his body. All he could do was glare at the members of the former Oracion Seis. Despite their injuries, the opposing five were still standing tall. They didn't lose a single member in the fight. It was...a real surprise for this half of the Wizard Hunters, to be so utterly crushed like this. "How…are you all so strong?"
Cobra stepped forward, letting out a faint chuckle. "The weight of our sins has been lifted off our shoulders. We're free people now. Your coordination was decent, but against the 5 of us? You never stood a chance to begin with. I hope you remember that lesson when you're put behind bars, too. I can already hear it…the sound of Fiore's triumph over your plans."
.
.
Next Time: Sinister Shadow.