Everyone roused just before dawn, taking a few moments to collect themselves. Erza, Lyon, and Kagura gathered their respective guilds to talk strategy.
Ultear, much to Juvia's dismay, made herself known to Fairy Tail, introducing her plan to the group. Erza wasn't a huge fan of it.
"I'm not sure how I feel about separating from the wall approach," Erza said.
"We have three Spriggans to deal with and honestly not a lot of people that can both take them on and defeat the remaining soldiers that have compacted the town," Ultear said.
"She's right," Laxus said. "If we can keep Gray and Lyon busy with creating the wall while Wendy and Carla fly around keeping our allies rejuvenated, it only makes sense for the rest of us to take on the Spriggans."
"We have to ensure that Dimaria will come out and away from everyone else," Ultear said. "That may reveal the positions of the other two. Wall is very excitable."
"And he'll be destroyed," Laxus said. "I'll see to him personally."
"How do we get Dimaria to come to us, specifically?" Kai asked. "Erza may be her prime target."
"I don't think so," Ultear said. "She has a sick obsession with innocence and youth. If anything, she'll have different targets."
"Wendy," Gray muttered.
The Sky Dragon Slayer shuttered. "M-me?"
"And Sherria," Kai said. "Plus you're our prime resource staying in the fight. If she cuts you out, we could lose all of our magic in this fight and be useless heading back to Magnolia."
"Their aim here is to completely cut off resources, magical or otherwise," Erza said. "But Mavis brought you here for a reason, Wendy. We have to assume it was to help us obliterate the forces here."
"Once we engage Dimaria, it won't be a problem," Ultear said.
"The rest will mostly be up to you, Juvia," Erza said. "You have to destroy all of their ships. Sink their fleet and they lose all means of retreat."
"Right," Juvia said. "Not a single ship will be left standing."
"We need to hit them as hard as we can," Erza said. "Stun them. We'll break their defenses and then break them."
Kai nodded, and Erza locked eyes with him. The only comfort Erza had in the plan was that Ultear requested Kai have Iggy as backup. The only way to take on Dimaria would be in the way she proposed, and only those three would have the necessary skills to take her on.
The more Ultear hyped her up, the more Kai itched to fight her. It sounded as if she was one of the premier members of the Spriggan Twelve:
Dimaria Yesta, the Warrior Queen. A supreme combatant, unrivaled in her combative skills and respect in Alikitasia. She was cruel and bloodthirsty, sinister in how she defeated opponents. It only made sense that she would linger on Hargeon to probably toture and maim the town. Her powers, Ultear had ascertained, lay in the domain of time.
Ultear promised to neutralize those, but it would still leave a powerful opponent afterward. That's where Kai and Iggy had to come into play.
Everyone in Fairy Tail stepped aside. Kai and Iggy approached Ultear, who requested they go shortly after everyone else. Dimaria would not come out until the fighting had started.
Erza rounded up Lyon and Kagura and together the three ushered a great battlecry. Laxus summoned down lightning to char a path for them, and Gray and Lyon surged forward, creating ramps for them to use to jump over the town walls, and the assault on Hargeon began.
Erza flew over everyone, unimpeded. Laxus did the same, zipping through the streets, lighting up whoever he could on the way. Gray and Lyon provided cover for Juvia. Kagura strategically sought out pressure points, blowing them all away.
Sherria sprinted along the town walls while Wendy flew by overhead, watching and waiting for any signs of trouble. The rest of Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel directly engaged the enemy.
Laxus's movements forced the enemy from their hiding position to try and, foolishly, attack him. He set off several mines, but dashed around fast enough to dodge them.
The city sprang to life in a matter of minutes. Kai, Iggy, and Ultear still watched from the hill, getting closer every few moments while they waited to sense out Dimaria.
One immense pressure already came from the town which Laxus engaged. That left two, and Kai smelled an awful stench from out on the boats, which Erza closed in on with Juvia; Gray and Lyon had already broken off to lock the enemy in.
"Something's off," Ultear said. "Dimaria isn't in the town."
"What?" Kai asked. "She's not here at all?"
"She's using our plan against us," Ultear said. "She wants us to come to her."
"Why?"
Ultear pursed her lips. "I'm not sure. But she won't move, that much I can tell." She raised her hand and summoned her Ark of Time. There, in the orb, displayed an image of a woman in red and gold armor, still exposing her legs and shoulders, with short blonde hair and a wicked expression.
Iggy sighed and crossed her arms. "So what now?"
"We distract her."
"How?"
Ultear sighed, then her orb shifted to Wendy. Kai grabbed the orb out of the air before Ultear could do anything.
"Absolutely not. We're not using Wendy or Sherria as bait."
"Then we're fighting Dimaria as she wants! We need to disorient her, trust me. Nothing is going to happen to Wendy, I promise."
Kai glanced at Iggy, whose face was too solid and hardened to make anything out of. It was on him.
"Alright," he said. "Go ahead."
Iggy flared her wings to get ready to move.
"If Dimaria engages Wendy," Ultear said. "We'll have about a second to save her life."
Anxiety bubbled in Kai.
"This is the best way?"
"It is."
"Then do it." He handed the orb back.
Ultear raised it once more. "Wendy, it's Ultear, do you hear me? There's trouble to the east, several troops still hiding out. Take care of them real quick."
"I don't see any," Wendy said.
"They're beyond the town," Ultear said. "Hurry!"
"Okay, I'm on it!"
The orb fizzled out. Iggy grabbed Kai.
"Move, now!" Ultear cried.
Iggy blasted out with Kai, shooting toward the eastern front. Ultear vanished.
They zipped over the town walls and were out over the east. For a moment, just a second, it felt as if everything froze around them.
Dimaria, somehow, was already atop Wendy, who was frozen in place. Iggy threw Kai toward Dimaria, who only caught a glimpse of him before his foot connects with her side and he kicked her so hard she flew across the countryside.
But not far enough that Iggy couldn't then drop down on her and slam Dimaria with the full force of the wind.
Both slid to a halt, dust kicking up around them.
Ultear reappeared, and Wendy broke free of her frozen position. Even Carla was quite stunned.
"What just happened?"
"Dimaria froze time around you," Ultear said. "But don't worry." She sneered and raised her hand. Something sparkled over her hand before another orb appeared. "I came prepared. I'm in control here."
A low-laugh filled the valley and Dimaria got back up, a bruise puncturing her skin and armor but she was largely left unbothered by the attack. She flicked some dirt from her dagger.
"Think you can control time in my Age Seal?" Dimaria asked.
"Absolutely," Ultear said. "You're still just a novice, aren't you? You don't know all the ins and outs of time, how to control it and its variances."
The twin orbs spun around Ultear. Several beads of sweat rolled down her face.
Dimaria spat. "Age Seal!"
Ultear held a hand out and the extra orb flashed. The Fairy Tail mages flashed a similar color, allowing them free movement despite everything in their surroundings freezing over. Dimaria snarled.
"Fine, we can play that way," she said. "I was game to hunt some fairies, anyway."
"Girls, you have your job," Ultear said. "Get out of here, help everyone else."
Dimaria sneered. "I don't think so!"
Wendy turned to fly off but Dimaria launched at them, quite fast. Kai intercepted her, blocking her dagger with his sword. The clang of the metal echoed all around. They kicked out at one another, forcing the other back.
Iggy summoned winds and blew Dimaira away, but the Warrior Queen coasted around them and landed gracefully.
"I can only hold you two out of time for so long," Ultear said. "Make this snappy."
"You heard the woman," Kai said, and shot at Dimaria, followed by Iggy.
"You two must be the ones who fought August on our turf!" Dimaria yelled, and summoned a war hammer. A Requip? "Precious!"
She slammed it on the ground. "Age Debris!"
Kai and Iggy were almost on her when the ground rose up and slammed into them, forming massive hills from the debris field that her hammer wrought.
Dimaria leapt overhead and slammed the hammer into Kai, blasting him away and sending him reeling.
Iggy engaged her, dodging away from the hammer and punching Dimaria in the ribs easily hard enough to shatter them. Dimaria blasted through the newly formed hill.
Kai flicked his wrist to regain some feeling and summoned his sword back. Dimaria howled a laugh and flung her hammer at Iggy, who handily dodged it. Kai blasted across the skies toward Dimaria, holding his sword aloft.
"Ice Dragon Cold Blade!"
He sliced down with it, and a slice of ice cut through the sky toward Dimaria, who easily blocked it. She held her hand toward Kai.
"Age Scratch!"
Several clocks formed from her aura and soared at Kai. Iggy intercepted them, and she screamed so loud even Kai almost felt the pain in her voice.
He maneuvered around her and summoned power into his hand.
"Ice Dragon Talon!"
Dimaria tried to block that attack but took the full force of it to the arm, sending her right into the ground. Kai slid to a halt, aiming his sword right down at her.
Before he could utter the spell, her fist broke free of the dirt and the rest of her follow. Kai dodged her fist but she somehow moved even faster than he could anticipate and brought her knee into his chin, flipping him end over end before taking him and slamming him into the ground.
Kai lay prone for a moment, then rolled over and blocked her dagger with his sword, exploding the magic out from the sword and forcing her back a bit.
"You toyed with Ajeel and thought you could get away with something similar here?" Dimaria asked. "You have no idea the monster you're fighting here. This list the best you can do? I haven't even scratched the surface of my real po—!"
A powerful blast of wind knocked Dimaria away, followed up by a tornado that slammed right down on Dimaria and flung her away, sending her spiraling into her ground.
Iggy sighed, wincing from some pain.
"That…hurt," Iggy muttered.
Dimaria roared and her magical aura burst the debris off of her. Kai got to his feet, aching a bit but definitely not out of it.
"Now you're just pissing me off," Dimaria said.
Kai and Iggy started toward her. Dimaria brushed herself off and approached as well.
Three warriors converged in a holdfast of time, each baring their own weapons. Iggy held her hand out and lightning and thunder brewed above before ushering a place of the storms into her hands. Dimaria summoned a sword to her side as well.
"Maybe there's still a little fun to be had," she growled, and held the sword over her head. Kai and Iggy didn't stop.
"Age Scratch!"
The clocks appeared from her aura, forcing Kai and Iggy apart. Kai aimed his blade at Dimaria same as Iggy did.
"Frozen Sword Formation: Furious Frost Fifth Layer!"
"Storm Saber: Nimbus!"
Iggy's gale of wind and Kai's five-layer magic circle produced powerful enough magic to obliterate the forces harrowing Hargeon. Dimaria howled a laugh and turned her sword toward Kai.
"Age Debris!"
She still took Iggy's attack but Kai's turned to little more than water and then evaporated.
Kai pursued as Dimaria rode the winds into the sky, not given her a moment to breathe. Iggy propelled him up. Dimaria pointed her sword down at him. In response, Kai flung his sword at her.
Dimaria batted it away, leaving Kai wide open…apparently.
Iggy caught the blade and combined it with her own, then sliced down at Dimaria.
Winds mixed with hail and it battered her all the way toward the ground. Now, Kai was above her.
"Ice Dragon Glacier!"
The glacier caught Dimaria before she could even hit the ground. Iggy kicked Kai's feet down so he lanced down at her. He dispelled the magic and then punched her so hard he was sure the bones in her face shattered.
Dimaria formed a deep crater in the ground that Kai rolled to the edge of, then leapt back as another massive mound formed from her Age Debris spell, clearly capable of reforming landmasses to what they'd once been.
The Warrior Queen popped out the other end but could not take Iggy's hit as she punched Dimaria away as well.
Kai was in hot pursuit, turning his arms to wings.
"Ice Dragon Gallant Wing!"
He slammed the magic into Dimaria and let it burst, knocking her aside again. Dimaria hardly had a second before Iggy was on her again, but she was still ready.
"Age Scratch!"
The clocks practically absorbed Iggy, amplifying her scream and pain even more, immobilizing her. Dimaria turned toward a charging Kai.
She flung her dagger at him. He made an Ice-Make Copy of himself, then burst through it as the dagger hit it and blew Dimaria away with a kick to the chest.
Dimaria slammed into a hillside, staying there prone.
Iggy sighed, finally catching her breath after the attack.
Dimaria's head hung low and she made no sound until she started to laugh. Kai summoned his sword back to him and made it vanish, still staying on his guard.
"Something's happening to her," Ultear muttered. "I'm trying to hold it back, but…it's like there's something else in there."
"In where?" Kai asked.
"Her soul."
Just then, the laugh turned to a cackle before it was a full howl and she raised her head to them. Her eyes flashed gold. Ultear stepped forward, straining.
"It is something else, attack her, now!"
Kai stepped forward but found he couldn't. Some pressure kept him back.
"I'm trying!" Ultear exclaimed.
"You're really making me do this?" Dimaria asked. "Forcing me to tap into this? Oh, I did not expect this at all! But I'm happy that I will get to witness the utter obliteration of your hope, Fairies! It'd been ages since I've needed to sue this power."
The winds whipped up around her as the sky darkened, as did her skin, turning all black for a moment. Her armor and clothes completely vanished, leaving only a figure, a silhouette, bathed in golden light. Her once blonde hair turned grey and pulled free, down toward the small of her back. Her eyes became little more than white dots.
"You've angered the vessel of one who harbors a God," Dimaria said.
"This is just like a Takeover spell!" Kai shouted.
"Because it is!" Dimaria roared, but it was not her voice…well, not just her voice. Another had joined it, one that sent shivers through Kai's spine. "It is the soul of Chronos, the God of Time."
"Oh, no," Ultear muttered.
"You are no longer fighting a Spriggan. You fight a deity!"
The golden aura flared and consumed them. Kai, for that brief instant, felt his entire body freeze over again but Ultear managed to keep him in. He turned toward Iggy, who was no longer able to move. Who was frozen in time.
"Kai, I can only keep you!" Ultear said. "I-I don't…"
"You're losing control, little one."
The voice came from Dimaria, who had completely lost her form. She stepped forward, sending ripples through the area around them.
"Soon you won't even be able to control him." That was no longer Dimaria…it was Chronos themselves. Golden streaks lined their body, with talons for hands. He raised his hand toward Kai, then turned it to only a finger. "But I'll ensure he writhes in pain for all eternity before that."
Then, the deity turned the arm toward Ultear.
"No!" Kai roared. "Ice Dragon Roar!"
Chronos fired an energy beam that skews off course from Kai's spell. Chronos glared back at him.
"You wanted to make me suffer, to humiliate me? Fine! But I won't feel humiliated unless you can beat me at my best. Besides…don't you want to see how you stack up against a dragon?"
Chronos hummed. "What?"
"You think you're the only mage here who can pull off a Takeover spell?" Kai asked, and his aura flared around him before a guttural roar escaped his own soul.
Waves and sheets of ice rolled off of his aura and the very land around him froze over.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" Even more power than he'd ever felt exhumed from his body. He'd attempted the Takeover a few times in training with Erza and Iggy, but ever to the extent that he pushed his raw power to. Some of it he felt slip and lash out.
Control, Kai!
An image of Erza flashed through his mind: of her, walking toward him at the aisle.
Then another: she and him sitting together, in peace, on their balcony in Magnolia.
And finally, a third: of them, together, surrounded by their smiling family. Without a shadow over their heads, or a looming darkness to frighten them.
"Ice Dragon Takeover!"
The guttural roar reinforced Kai's voice and the magic burst out from around him, completely freezing everything, save for Ultear and Chronos, in sight.
The dragon wings settled down near him as his aura also calmed down significantly.
Chronos tilted their head. "Interesting. There is great dragon magic flowing in you, boy."
"Scared?"
"Of a mere dragon? No. I am a god."
"You're a God Soul." Kai raised his hand toward Chronos. "You're not a real god."
Chronos shifted their head back then vanished behind Kai, but he tracked their movement the entire time. He spun around and blocked their fist with his unbreaking wing.
The Time God blasted back, firing down a barrage of energy beams down at Kai that he dodged, then soared into the sky after Chronos.
They engaged in the sky, exchanging a few quick blows before they broke apart and landed on the ground opposite one another; a mere warmup.
"You think I'm impressed?" Chronos asked. They waved their arm. The ground churned and shot up around Kai, but it was immediately shattered by the swing of his sword. Chronos tilted their head.
"I don't want to impress you," Kai said. "I want to kill you."
Chronos turned toward Iggy. Ultear had moved over and was protecting her.
"Your powers are impressive, Time Wizard," Chronos said to Ultear. "You're able to even fend off some of the fringes of my magic. But what if I were to amplify things?"
Chronos sighed and the entire realm around them shivered. Ultear screamed in pain. Kai leapt forward and attacked Chronos, serving as just enough of a distraction for the deity to break their attack off Ultear.
They launched once more into the sky, where Chronos dodged all of Kai's strikes.
"I can see your moves before you even execute them."
"Yeah, I've fought enemies like you before."
Chronos, still expressionless, punched Kai backed into the ground and warped the ground to open a giant crevice for Kai to fall into. Kai stopped his fall and zoomed toward Chronos.
The deity snapped their fingers and Kai's magic fell away.
"I control all of time," Chronos said. "Like the time you weren't in that form. Or what about the time when you were, perhaps, at your weakest?"
Kai swung his blade out but no magic came out. Chronos smiled and launched an energy beam that lanced right through Kai's shoulder. He started his descent, no magic there to catch him.
At least, none that he could control.
"I—."
He knew a spell that could save him. One he'd never used save for once, when it almost killed Erza and Iggy so long ago, when he was just a child filled with rage, and fear.
And weakness.
"Ice…"
His eyes fell upon Iggy while Ultear used all of her magic to block Chronos's attacks with her Arks of Time. Chronos was merely toying with her, that much was obvious. She batted back attacks that Chronos easily dodged and ignored. They had no real means of fighting back.
Kai balled up a fist. "Ice Dragon—"
Wait, why couldn't he remember it?
Fear laced through him.
Remember what?
"Have you forgotten a spell?" Chronos asked. "Or have you simply been reverted to a time before you even knew magic?"
Kai's body crashed to the ground, opening a great crater beneath him. Something flashed around him but Chronos flicked their wrist and it dissipated.
"He is of no use to, let us settle this through Time itself, if you can must the strength to withhold my servants Age Seal," Chronos said. "Are you truly a worthy opponent of mine, Ultear Milkovich? Or will you just be another footnote in our conquest?"
"I am better than you," Ultear said.
"You're human."
"I am."
Ultear summoned both Arks of Time to her and slammed them to the ground. A rainbow aura appeared around her. Her skin flaked and cracked.
"And I will do what I must to protect those in my care!" Ultear exclaimed. "You think you are Lord Ruler of this dimension because you're some god? Not anymore!"
"What will you do?"
"Just what you did to Kai." Ultear stood straight as the rainbow aura continued to spiral around her. "I'll reverse time."
"You cannot! Not in this domain. Foolish girl. You'll die for your stupidity!"
Chronos raised their arm. "Age Obliterate!"
A huge vortex of power, spiraling into something like a galaxy, formed over Chronos's head. Ultear's aura continued to intensify, but the world and air around them shimmered and shivered.
"Third Origin: Release!"
Her aura exploded and it even blew apart the spell cast by Chronos. The God exclaimed and dropped out of the sky.
"What have you done?"
The rainbow aura turned black around Ultear, who stood taller, wiser, and even a bit fairer. She had a brilliant glare in her eyes.
"I will take this world from you," Ultear said. "At the cost of everything. Kai! Get back up. We have work to do. Restore!"
"No!" Chronos barked, and shot an Oblierate spell down at Ultear.
She used both Arks of Time to block it. They swirled around one another, generating a massive beam that shot back at Chronos, who struggled to deflect it.
A brilliant light consumed Kai, and at once, his power surged.
"I said get up!" Ultear roared.
Kai growled, and from within came another draconic roar. Ice slithered around his body before the transformation completed and he was once more in his Take-Over form. He roared again and let ice consume the battlefield.
"Now kill this bastard," Ultear said. "Don't worry. There's no time manipulation he can do anymore."
Kai glanced at her in his peripheral. She was so certain and, indeed, Kai felt no draws or oddities about the world anymore.
Someone nearby gasped. Iggy stepped forward, once more free of Chronos's control.
"Chronos is nothing but power now," Ultear said. "Something I believe you're quite familiar with."
"Quite," Kai said, and summoned his sword into his hand. "You're right, I'll take it from here."
"You'll do no such thing," Chronos said.
Ultear raised both Arks of Time and they came aglow with rainbow light.
Chronos aimed an energy beam at Iggy. Ultear let the beam go, but it instantly reversed back at Chronos, who dodged it.
"Impossible."
"I've released my Third Origin," Ultear said. "This is my final battle, and it will be worth it to prove that a pair of humans could defeat a god."
Chronos, at last, showed some expression and emotion as they flared their mighty power. Kai matched it.
Ultra swung her arms out and the world around them completely unfroze, so they were back in the real world. The sounds of battle exploded around them from seemingly nowhere.
Chronos launched into the sky to gain some room, but Kai didn't give them an inch. He pursued, Ultear's words of it being her final battle ringing in her ears. Chronos fired several energy beams down at Kai, all moving slower than before.
"You can't use your Time magic against me anymore! It's over!"
He easily weaved through them and reached Chronos, punching them hard across the face before kicking them back toward the ground. Chronos retained flight and blasted back at Kai, an Oblierate spell in both of their hands.
"Ice Dragon Shield!"
Kai created a thick barrier of ice, thicker than any he'd ever made, and tried to block the spell but the sheer force of it shattered through the barrier and knocked him several feet through the sky. Still, Chronos would not let up either, advancing their assault on Kai with several energy beams, one of which glanced off of Kai's foot.
He spun around to face them. "Ice Dragon Roar!"
Chronos charged headlong into that one as well, taking the attack at full-strength and holding it back before managing to even force their way through it.
"Die, human!"
Kai stopped as Chronos shot a beam down at Kai that overwhelmed his magic. He quickly made an Ice-Make Copy of himself that shattered and soared beneath the beam. Chronos cut off the energy and got an uppercut from Kai, who spun right around.
"Ice Dragon Talon!"
He slammed the spell into Chronos, blasting them back toward the ground. A huge crater formed. Kai dropped down at Chronos, who dashed away and blasted at Kai, slamming into him.
"Gotcha," Kai said, and remembered the spell from before, that which Chronos stole from him: "Ice Dragon Rage!"
Chronos didn't have enough time to even think about dodging.
Kai's aura materialized, supercharged with ether nano, then exploded, completely consuming the deity and sending them shooting into the ground, where they moved no more.
The Dragon Slayer also plummeted, but was guided by soft and gentle winds by Iggy.
Kai could barely move. That spell was designed to be his last, to be his everything.
But if he could defeat a god, someone so high up in the Alvarez Empire army…it was worth it.
He landed near the still-empowered Ultear and Iggy. Ultear no longer sweat nor showed any signs of strain.
The first of her orbs hovered over Kai.
"As the first of my final two spells, I will restore your magic power to what it was before the fight," she said. "So that you may rise up and defeat your opponents once your body has healed."
It was true. He had several wounds from the energy beams and could barely breathe.
Still, power returned to him. He just needed Wendy to come by soon.
"And for my second," Ultear said, staring long into the Ark of Time orb. "For my greatest spell…well, I wish I could bring her back. I would reverse time to stop that moment from every happening. I would go back and pull her into our time. But I can't break time, or risk the lives of everyone and everything here. So for my final spell…"
Ultear raised her Ark of Time, the original one.
"Infinite Worlds: Universe One!"
The ball shot into the air and shattered, shooting out far and wide across the skies.
Ultear gasped, barely able to breathe at all, until at last everything snapped and she dropped to her knees.
Iggy caught her. "Hey, hey, you okay?"
Ultear stared at the ground, tears sliding down her face. Her lips trembled.
"I—I'm back."
"You didn't go anywhere?"
Ultear shook her head. "Oh, my magic is gone too. That's right…the Third Origin. I defeated Chronos."
"What happened just now?" Kai asked, straining.
"I…I glimpsed other worlds," Ultear said, and raised her head. She did indeed cry, but they were not tears of sadness, but tears of joy. "I watched her, Kai. I watched her grow old and happy, and lead the people of Fiore to victory in this war. I watched her with me and without me. I know that there is a world where Meredy is happy. And that, for me, is worth all the magic in the world."
She sighed, and the last of the light of her aura faded around her.
Iggy still held her steady while Ultear continued to wear.
Something lanced through the air toward them. Kai braced for impact before Wendy's scent followed it, and he sighed with great relief.
With a much-strained body he waved them down and she landed in front of Kai and Ultear.
"Him," Ultear said. "Heal him, quickly. The battle continues."
"Iggy looks pretty beat up as well," Carla muttered.
"I'm okay," Iggy said. "Thanks, though."
"What happened out here, where is Dimaria?"
Iggy gestured to the huge crater where her broken body lay. Carla nodded.
Wendy's magic worked slow compared to what Kai was hoping. How badly had he been damaged?
"Iggy," Kai said. "Do you think…do you think it'll be enough?"
"For what?"
Kai locked eyes with her. "My power. Is it enough for him?"
Iggy did not break eye contact. "That was a person possessed by a god, Kai. I'd say you're definitely close."
Kai grit his teeth and settled back. His breathing increased and was less painful, but the energy wounds hadn't full sealed, nor could he effectively move his limbs.
"Ultear I—I don't know what to say," Kai said.
"Nothing for now," Ultear said. "We will win the war. But…we have a long way to go yet. And besides, some old friends are headed our way soon, I believe."
"Yeah? Like who?"
Sudden cries and yells burst along the battlefield. Several strange scents filled Kai's nostrils, and a new pressure fell upon them. Wendy stepped back in utter shock.
"Impossible! Wh—what are you doing here?"
Kai turned to face the two presences he sensed behind them on a hill. Dread filled him as well. Iggy stepped in front of him.
"You're new," said Mard Geer Tartaros. Next to him was another great demon, one that sneered down at Wendy. Mard Geer pointed down at Iggy. "I suppose I can have a bit of fun before I go dragon hunting."