PART IV

Trap of Darkness, Ancient Secrets

After Solomon left Kagura, he cast a Shield around himself to hide his presence from the Chimera as he made his way back to where he and Kagura had left the creature. As Solomon arrived, he sensed that something was wrong. The Chimera was nowhere to be found. Deactivating his Shield, he cautiously walked around the area to find any trace of the creature but there were none. Before he could figure out where the Chimera was or do anything else, he was suddenly entrapped in a Dark Void. Solomon froze. It was the same Dark Void that had entrapped him and Satan while they were in the human world.

"Well, well, well. It looks as if I captured something interesting. We finally meet Pride of the Sorcerers Guild."

Solomon went pale with shock as he heard the voice coming from the Darkness within the Void. Satan?! Impossible! He was with Lord Diavolo and the others. How could he be in two places at once?

Peering into the Darkness, Solomon commanded, "Who speaks? Show yourself!"

Within the Darkness, a figure slowly materialized from a Dark Mist.

Solomon stared in stunned disbelief. Satan?! It couldn't be him! As he looked closer, he saw that it wasn't Satan but someone else who looked like him. Almost like a Dark twin. The Satan look-alike had red demonic eyes, and around his neck hung a black unicorn pendant.

In a cold voice, Solomon asked, "Who are you? Why do you look like Satan?"

Ignoring his question, the Dark twin said, "Aren't we being a little cold? I finally got to meet the most famous Sorcerer of all Three Realms, the greatest pride of the Sorcerers Guild, and that is how you greet me? I'm hurt. Why don't we get to know each other a little better?"

Ignoring the jibe, Solomon continued coldly, "Did you really think I would fall for your friendly act? You dare patronize me? Answer my question. Who are you? Why do you look like Satan?"

The Satan look-alike's face went cold. "And here I thought we could get to know each other. Well, no matter. You'll figure out who I am sooner or later."

Before Solomon could say or do anything, a Dark Aura slowly surrounded the Satan look-alike and he started to chant a Dark Spell. The chant seems to amplify the Dark Aura around him before a mass of Dark Energy formed before him, transmuting into a Dark Energy Spear. Solomon's eyes widened in shock when he saw the Spear, he knew what it was. The Spear was one of the deadly weapons used during the Great War. It had killed almost half of the Sorcerers during that War. So Barbatos was right, the Ancient Evil was about to be resurrected and another catastrophic battle was about to happen. With a cruel smile, the Satan look-alike launched the spear at Solomon. Returning quickly from his thoughts, Solomon cast a counter spell in the nick of time to deflect the attack.

The Satan look-alike's eyes widened slightly before he said, "You're good but not good enough. Let's see you counter this!" Seconds later, he chanted another spell, and before Solomon could register what spell it was, a Magic Sealing Circle surrounded him, sealing his powers. What? Solomon thought in shock.

"Surprised? That's a little something I picked up from my Master. It came in handy sooner than expected. You will never be able to get free from it. The Seal is linked to the Dark Void. As long as the Void is in place, so will the Seal. The Chimera will take care of the rest. As much as I love to see you get torn to pieces, I have something else to do. Goodbye forever, Pride of the Sorcerers Guild." With that said, the figure flickered and disappeared. Seconds later, the missing Chimera was in his place ready to attack. Solomon was in a jam. The Magic Seal was still in place and so was the Dark Void. He could not move and his powers were sealed.


Meanwhile, back where Solomon left Kagura, Kagura was starting to get an uneasy feeling. It's been more than two hours and there's still no sign of Solomon. Getting extremely worried, she went in search for Solomon. As she was walking, Kagura suddenly sensed a mass of Dark Energy. Freezing in her tracks, her mind returned to the time when she had felt the same Dark Energy by Merlin's Cave. The Dark Energy she sensed now was the same. Solomon! Following the trail of Dark Energy, she came upon the same Black Hole that had entrapped Satan and Solomon in the human world. Peering deep inside the Black Hole, she froze in shock. Solomon was trapped in a Magic Sealing Circle and facing him was the Chimera they escaped from earlier. The Chimera looked ready to attack.

Kagura quickly acted. She called on her Purification Magic and activated the spell to dissolve the Black Hole, "Arrows of purification come to me. Now, purify this Darkness before me!" As the bow and arrow engulfed in pale blue energy appeared in her hands, Kagura shot the arrow directly at the Black Hole. As the arrow flew, the pale blue energy around it started to expand and increase until it looked like a bolt of pale blue light. As the bolt made contact, a sphere of pale blue light engulfed the Black Hole once again dissolving and dissipating it into nothingness. As it disappeared, the Magic Seal Solomon was trapped in deactivated. Before Solomon could defend himself after getting freed, the Chimera attacked.

Before the deadly claws could make contact, Kagura shouted out another incantation, "Natura meum audit vocationem. Lubes ut faciam voluntatem meam. Alliges duplicia! Nature hears my call. I command to my will. Bind!"

Solomon's eyes widened in shock when he heard Kagura's chant, he recognized the spell. This was a deadly spell that called upon the Elemental powers of Earth. The spell binds or destroys anything and anyone depending on the last word used in the chant. The target of the spell could either be bound or destroyed in seconds without giving the target a chance to counter. If Kagura had said despereo, the creature would have been utterly destroyed. How did Kagura learn such a potent spell? Solomon thought. Seconds later, the answer came to him, unless that knowledge was transferred into her when she opened 'The Elemental Grimoire'.

"Solomon! Are you okay?"

Without giving him a chance to answer, Kagura ran to him and hugged him. Returning from his thoughts, Solomon hugged her back.

"I'm all right thanks to you, but what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to stay behind?"

"I'm sorry Solomon but I got worried when you didn't return. I went in search for you and found you in serious trouble. I'm glad I made it just in time. If anything happened to you, I would be very sad."

"Kagura, you don't know how happy I am to hear you say that. But returning to what just transpired, how on earth did you learn that spell? That was a very deadly Ancient Spell that can only be found in The Elemental Grimoire. When I heard you cast it, I was shocked beyond belief."

Kagura looked at Solomon and said quietly, "I don't know, but I wish I did. I can only tell you the spell had come to my mind immediately before I could even process what spell it was. I suspect that it was probably one of the Ancient magical knowledge that was passed down to me when I opened the Grimoire."

Solomon looked at Kagura with narrowed eyes, "The way you said that I suspect that there is some other Ancient magical knowledge that was passed down to you."

Kagura nodded, not surprised. "Yes, you remember what happened to Satan?"

Solomon went still, and said in a stunned voice, "The other knowledge you got, was it 'The Empty Resurrection Spell,' the Lost Ancient Spell that brought Satan back to life?"

Kagura nodded, "Yes. I was the one who cast it."

Solomon couldn't believe it. That spell had been lost for centuries. The original owner of the Grimoire was the only one who could cast it, but after his death, the Spell vanished. Solomon had also found no information or trace of that spell in the Grimoire when he sealed it. Now the Spell is back, revealing itself and passing the knowledge to Kagura when she opened the Grimoire. Without a doubt, the Grimoire had chosen its new owner, Kagura. Her Destiny was now linked to the Grimoire. He must let Lord Diavolo, Michael, the Sorcerers Guild, and everyone else know.

Noticing Solomon's serious expression, Kagura asked, "Is something wrong Solomon?"

Shaking his thoughts away, he said, "It's not important at the moment."

Kagura looked at Solomon and said, "Okay, if you say so. But returning to our current situation isn't it about time for you to put the Chimera to sleep? We still need to get to the Archives."

Solomon nodded. Returning to the bound Chimera, Solomon chanted, "Hear my voice and heed my command. These words are sound…the sound, melody. And through it I command thee to sleep." After Solomon cast the spell, the Chimera collapsed and fell into a deep sleep, the binding spell still in place.

"Solomon, the binding spell is still in place."

"That's fine Kagura. Extra precautions should still be taken."

"Okay."

Solomon nodded then said, "Shall we go to the Archives now?"

Kagura nodded, "Let's go."