"Kuraza!"

Kage summoned his shadow spear and started charging it at Viola. She jumped over him and glanced at Lilja for a spell. "Ezo."

A crossbow materialized in Viola's hand and she struck out with it, hitting back at Kage's spear with a clash of sound. Viola jumped back a few feet, placing her eye in the scope. From the barrel of the gun, gold light started to accumulate. Kage clenched his jaw and raised his spear at her, starting his second charge. "Like hell, you're getting away with that!"

Lilja turned another page in Viola's book, opened her mouth for another spell, until a voice shot over her. "Hokaisho!"

A white concentrated beam passed her and Viola and struck Kage in the center of his chest. The spear in his hand dissipated and the impact from the spell threw him to the ground.

Lilja turned to Ishimaru. The emerald green book in his hand glowed. "We're not doing this for you."

Chainz walked into the battle. He gave Viola only the briefest acknowledgement when she looked at him. Lilja smirked. "I would never expect it."

"If you're thinking I can't take the two of you on, you're wrong!" Kage shouted, raising his hands. "Hiro!"

"Kuragan!"

"Quarrelo Ezo. Quarrelo Ezo. Quarrelo Ezo."

In response to the three sparkling orbs Viola released, Kage shot a large, red-wisped shadow sphere at them, which immediately cancelled hers out. Viola started running, her crossbow clutched like a javelin. Kage looked above him as Chainz came in for a head jab, which he blocked, one-armed. Viola came at Kage with her crossbow, swinging. Kage caught it by the barrel and she smiled expectantly.

"Quarrelo Ezo."

"Hokaisho!"

Kage couldn't dodge both. He jumped over the orb of light but Chainz's laser impacted on him, head-on. He flew back into a collapsed wall and the impactions from their spells turned portions of the floor into rubble and filled the air with dust and smoke.

Neither Chainz nor Viola had not a moment to rest as Kage was already back on his feet, a hole burned through his shirt and showing a collection of bruises and burns on his chest. He jumped over Viola to land a skyward kick. She grabbed his ankle, midair, but he pushed his other foot into her face, successfully knocking her to the ground. The crossbow was flung from Viola's hand and dematerialized when it hit the floor. Viola caught the fist Kage attempted to throw her way and reached her other hand into his face.

"Quarrelo Ezo."

An orb, albeit a miniature one, formed in Viola's hand and she released it. Immediately catching on, Kage kicked away from her and was back on his feet. The orb grazed his ear, burning it, but didn't do any severe damage. He, however, couldn't fight off Chainz as fast, who came at him with a barrage of punches.

"Hiro!"

"Koherai!"

Kage smirked, closing his eyes, a purple aura covering his whole form. "Now, this is the part I've been waiting for."

"Hokeigo!"

Chainz opened his hand and a spiked ball-and-chain shot out, which Kage smacked away like it was nothing, terminating the spell. Viola gasped. "He…he–"

But she couldn't finish her sentence. Kage had returned into the battle with a new boost of power and speed. He sent a powerful roundhouse kick into Chainz's stomach, throwing him a few feet back, and kneed Viola in the chest before punching her in the mouth. A splatter of blood sprayed the rock as Viola landed near Lilja, swiping a hand over the side of her face, groaning.

"Chainz!" Ishimaru shouted.

"I'm fine…" Chainz said to his partner, rubbing his shoulder. He glanced at Viola briefly, coldly. "No thanks to you."

"Give me a spell!" Viola shouted.

"Rio Deime."

Viola's fists met and a burst of light came between them, giving her gauntlets with spikes on the knuckles, a painted faceguard, and protective leg guards, the same armor from their previous battle. Viola launched a kick into his face and tried to elbow him but he dodged it swiftly. The purple aura on Kage's body wore off midway, leaving him panting, and giving them an opening.

"Hokeigo!"

Chainz's spiked ball and chain shot out, flinging Kage across the floor. While he was down and distracted, she took to the air and raised her leg to launch her heel into the center of his chest but he rolled out of the way, unable to dodge it in full, but drastically weakening a potentially fatal blow.

Kage got back to his feet, a hand clutching his stomach. He had cracked, presumably broken ribs. His shirt halfway ripped. On his forehead, a gash was streaming blood. "This is shit. This is total shit. No way am I losing this battle! Not like this! Give me a spell, Hiro!"

"Dagura!"

Kage slammed his hands on the ground as shadow tentacles burst out of the floor. Chainz and Viola started jumping away, separating, but the tentacles chased them, following with the easiness of eels.

"Lilja!" Viola yelled.

"Ezo."

Viola's crossbow rematerialized. She put her eye in the scope and focused to unleash the orbs, hitting her exact mark. The spell cancelled them out.

Chainz smirked and opened his hands. "Is that the best you got?"

"Not even close," Kage sneered, panting. Viola had to feel bad for him. He was being forced to fight in a battle he wouldn't have wanted to otherwise, half-healed nonetheless. He would return to the mamodo world a shame. "Y'all are lucky you caught me like this but I'm not even close to being out just yet. This battle hasn't even started yet! I'm still packed with energy!"

"Kuhirai!"

Kage's spell gave him a three-headed shadow dragon that roared to the ceiling as he summoned it. He smirked behind it as they pulled back their jaws, dark red energy brimming in their mouths.

"What are they doing?" Chainz asked.

"Not sure but it's nothing good. We have to somehow stop it." Viola answered, nodding back at her partner.

"I got just the spell. Deime."

Viola's crossbow morphed into a rifle, one covered in a heavy shell of iron. She lifted it onto her shoulder and aimed its barrel at the middle of the dragon's chest.

Kage laughed coldly. "Do you think that measly gun will take this spell down?"

At the sound of his laugh, Viola hesitated briefly, looking back at Lilja. It was exactly the moment he needed.

"Damn, I don't think Hokkado will be able to hold that…" Ishimaru said.

Lilja looked down at the chartreuse book in her hand, frowning. "And we do not even have a shield spell."

Before they could do anything more, the dragons finished charging their energy and unleashed them, a triple-set of glowing red shadow beams, which they were forced to endure as they couldn't counter it.

Lilja opened her eyes to a knocking headache. She put two fingers to her temple and felt the throbbing through them. Everyone was covered in minor scrapes and burns but they were otherwise okay. The dragon's blast, however, went straight through the walls, floors, and windows, destroying more unrecoverable history.

"I don't think I can take another one of those…" Viola said.

"Yeah, well, I don't plan to." Chainz answered.

As they turned to get back into the battle, facing the dragon, they noticed a new quarrel happening but not with them. The three dragon heads started fighting with each other, biting and snapping at one another, like lions.

The one on the left tried to dig its fangs into the middle one before it was angrily batted away by that same one. A loud hiss filled the air, a threat.

Kage looked similarly confused. He was watching the commotion in dead silence.

Viola grinned. "Looks like your spell has a downfall after all."

"This is going to be a lot easier than I thought."

Ishimaru and Lilja reopened their books at the same time. They had this covered.

"It feels like we're getting nowhere," Sundance said.

Eve nodded, following after him as he guided them through mazes of broken, deserted hallways with an ear out.

"Sundance, wait."

Sundance turned back around to Eve, blinking. "What is it?"

Eve paused, not knowing what to say for a second. She stared into Sundance's eyes, feeling a twist in her stomach, being so reminded of the past.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you when you were only trying to get me to think logically. I was just being immature and wrong and unreasonable…and so many bad things." she said. "I'm sorry, Sundance. I really, really am."

Sundance gave a little shake of his head. "That's okay, Eve. I wasn't mad. Even if I was, I could never stay mad. We're partners."

"Yeah, we are…"

"And we have a goal. Remember." Sundance advised, pointing at her. Eve blinked. "We have to rescue Caleb. At the moment, only at this moment, that's our main priority."

Eve rolled her eyes. "Yeah, rescuing my ex-boyfriend from an evil witch mamodo. A priority, indeed."

Sundance grinned. "That's the spirit!"

I know I know I know. Short chapter. Viola and Chainz are in the middle of battling Kage and they've figured out a fluke in his strategy and Eve and Sundance have made up.

The next one will be up sooner. R&R!