We're almost at the end guys, I hope you all are excited! I hope you all enjoyed the last few chapters, a bit of angst, heartfelt, happiness, and joy thrown all together. Probably only about 2 chapters left, including this one. ANYWAY, on with the story!
The guards opened the large oak doors, "Our king has allowed for both of you to enter!" they both exclaimed happily.
The sun shining through made it hard for Jono to see them at first, but Enlil went running back for his brother. "ZOPYROS! You'll never guess what happened!" Enlil screamed in joy, literally swinging Zopyros back and forth, his poor legs just dangling in the air. Everyone in the room couldn't help but laugh a little at the scene.
Lycus whispered to Mikuro, "Reminds me of when we were kids, poor Zop' was dragged around to go places that he had literally no interest in." chuckling a bit at the memories. Mikuro giggled a bit as well.
Mokuba turned toward Seto and commented on the scene before them, "Thank you for not treating me like a rag doll." His grey eyes expressing concern for Enlil's brother.
Seto laughed at Mokuba's reaction, "You're welcome, I guess?" Jono overheard their conversation and had to giggle as well.
Zopyros though, wasn't having the best time, he didn't really appreciate being swung around like a child in front of the whole royal elven family. "Put me DOWN, ENLIL!" Enlil had been squeezing his sides a little too much, it was getting harder to breathe.
Enlil realizing what he was doing, put his brother down. "I apologize Zopyros! I was just so excited from the turn of events that had transpired!"
Green eyes closed, and wheezing breaths, Zopyros was not in the best shape or mental mood to deal with his brother's excitable nature. Although, he hasn't been this excited in a long time, so he decided to play along. "Let me guess, King Lycus is willing to sign the alliance treaty?" Lycus laughs.
"Well yes, but it's not the best news!" Enlil beamed.
"He forgives you?" one green orb looked up at Enlil, he was still bent over catching his breath; Enlil had did a number on his ribs.
"Yes, but this is better than anything you could imagine!" His auburn eyes lit up in anticipation.
Zopyros finally stood up, took a deep breath, brought his hand to the bridge of his nose to pinch it, eyes closed. "King Lycus is willing to sign the treaty AND accepts the apology letter…" He paused before opening his eyes to look at his brother with curious eyes. "What could be better than that?" He crossed his arms, raising one eyebrow, giving his king an incredulous look.
"You truly won't believe it!" He turned to the side a bit, "Jono, darling, come here." He said waving his hand at Jono for her to come closer. Once she got close enough, Enlil wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, bringing her in closer.
Zopyros' green eyes scanned the woman before him, she was a nymph with bright blonde hair and almost golden colored brown eyes, very similar to when his older brother was younger. She was very beautiful, her features giving her an almost ethereal glow about her, but there was something that didn't sit right with him. "I suppose she is the nymph who came to help the Elven Kingdom?" He looked back at his brother for confirmation.
"Yes, but the most important thing about Ms. Jono here is that I confirmed that she is my daughter!" Enlil cooed and gave Jono another big hug. She giggled and hugged him back.
Green eyes shocked at what he just heard. He darted his eyes to Jono once again. "Wha…?" going silent, not knowing what to say.
Jono met his gaze. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lord Zopyros…" She paused a bit and gave a sheepish looking smile at him. "I suppose I should call you 'Uncle'?" That left a weird feeling in her stomach. The only family she had ever known was in Yugi's, so calling someone she just met both a 'father' and an 'uncle' gave an unfamiliar feeling.
Zopyros couldn't believe what was happening. 'How is she alive?! I left her drowning in a pond deep in the dawn forest!' He thought angrily. 'I must make sure that she really is Katsuya, before I start jumping to conclusions.' He gave a strangled smile. "Let's not get too hasty on the uncle part just yet." He turned towards his brother. "How do you know that she is Katsuya?"
"Well, at first, it was because she looked a lot like my wife when she was younger and then I got to see her up close and her eyes are the same color as myself when I was younger as well, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions based on simple looks alone." He patted Jono's head, she smiled at him. "She has the same star-shaped birthmark on the back of her head, now that can't be a simple coincidence, after all, I made sure that I only told my wife, you, Lycus and Mikuro about it, so there's no way that this was forged by magic unless one of you guys had done it." He really doubted Lycus or Mikuro would've forged this birthmark, 'They were concerned about me punishing Jono for coming here and helping them. I don't think they've thought about Katsuya's birthmark in the last 18 years until today.'
'It really is Katsuya then! SHIT!' Zopyros thought panicking. He now had to come up with a way to kill off her as well. 'She's no infant now, it's going to be much harder to end her life now than before.'
Clive jumped right in, sensing his lord's dark emotions through the barrier he created around him to protect him from being sensed by others. "Oh my king and lord, such wonderful news for the princess to return!" he proclaimed happily.
Jono hadn't notice the older mage behind Lord Zopyros until he spoke. She looked at the elder mage with curious eyes. 'I'm usually better at sensing other people's presence, but I couldn't sense him at all." She thought it was quite odd. She also noticed that the poison in the ground wasn't encircling him. There was a huge open ring around him. Now, the poison not affecting him made sense because he was definitely older, but it didn't make sense that the poison wasn't surrounding him like King Lycus and Queen Mikuro.
A memory came back from when Yami became a full-fledged mage at only 16 years old. "Magic may seem like an uncontrollable energy, and while spells and nature magic both have different limits and capacities depending on each person, they all each have their own 'signature' to them." He said. "Here, I'll show you!" He pulled out a vile. "Jono close your eyes, Yugi come here for a moment." Yugi jumped down from the perch of her home with her parents. Once she got next to him he said, "Okay Jono, I have two seeds of the same flower, I'll pour the potion I created in this vile to make it grow. Yugi, can you grow the other seed to the same age?"
"Sure! This'll be so much fun!" Yugi stated excitedly. He handed her the seed and she waited for him to grow his seed first. It grew about a foot tall with one bud fully bloomed and another one had started to show. She planted her seed and used a bit of her magic to make it grow the same way.
"Alright, open your eyes Jono." He smiled at Yugi's accomplishment. Jono opened her eyes and waited for Yami to continue. "Okay, now, guess which flower was made by either me or Yugi."
Jono took a long look at both flowers, but didn't initially notice any difference. "Uh, Yami, I don't know how I'm supposed to figure out which flower is different, they look exactly the same." She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
He laughed. "Well you're not going to figure that out with just merely looking at them!"
Honey brown eyes gave maroon ones a deadpanned stare. One eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Okay, oh great mage, how am I supposed to tell the difference?" she said sarcastically rolling her eyes at the 'oh great mage' part.
"Focus a bit of your magic in your eyes, it should allow you to see the magic energy in both people and objects. Only nature creatures like you and Yugi would be able to do this instantly. For a mage or an elf, we have to create a potion to allow us to see other's magic." He smiled.
She took a deep breath and concentrated on her magic. She commanded some to flow to her eyes like Yami had said. It took a bit of focus, but it wasn't a difficult task. Once she felt like she had enough magic in her eyes she opened them. 'Whoa!' she thought amazed. She thought Yami was full of it until this moment. Now she understood what he meant about having to use magic to see other magic. The two flowers which were physically the same, are now shining two completely different colored auras around them. One a deep violet and the other a bright crimson. She looked at Yugi and Yami who were waiting for her to answer. She blinked twice because she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Yugi and Yami look like they normally do, but Yugi radiated in the same deep violet aura as one of the flowers and only Yami's hands held the bright crimson aura on the other flower. She smiled. "Alright, I know which flower was made by the both of you." She picked the violet aura flower and gave it to Yugi and gave the crimson aura flower to Yami.
"Great job! I knew you could do it!" Yami beamed happily.
Yugi perked up. "Yeah, it was pretty awesome when he showed me the first time!"
"I have a question Yami." Jono said curiously.
"What is it?" Yami asked.
"How come when I see Yugi like this that her whole body radiated in a magic aura, but for you, only your hands glowed?" She knew that mages were different than fairies but she didn't think that magic would behave differently between them. After all, Yami can do the same things as Yugi, but the only difference is he needs to open a portal or use potions to accomplish them.
"Excellent question!" he gave Jono a thumbs up. Yugi giggled at his actions. "Nature beings like you and Yugi both radiate magic, for you, you create magic within yourself, while Yugi absorbs it from the surrounding area. Simply stating, nature creatures have to have a constant flow of magic to survive, where as we mages and elves do not. The reason why you could only sense the magic on my hands is because I used my hands to warp the magic from the ingredients in the potion. But even if I had just used a simple spell, you'd be able to tell my signature magic due to examining the effect it has because I would still use my hands to create it."
"Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense." Jono stated absentmindedly.
"You can also share magic between other beings as well. So, if you felt the need for a creature like me or elves to see like this, you can deliver your magic to our eyes and then we'd be able to see like you can." Yami stated proudly.
After reliving the memory, she decided to do the same thing but this time to look at the poison first. She closed her eyes and focused her magic into them. Once she opened them, shock and horror displayed on her face. The poison radiated the same magic aura as the older mage! She couldn't believe it. She had to share this with the royal elven family, Yami, Yugi, and King Enlil at once. She took two steps back. Slightly shaking due to the turn of events. 'I'm going to start a panic, but they need to know!' she thought raising her courage.
Enlil looked at her curiously. "Jono, what is wrong dear? You look petrified." Seeing her shaking form had him concerned.
"I'm not scared." She declared. Everyone else giving her curious stares. "I'm pissed off!" She glared at Clive with such ferocity that even he took a step back. "How DARE you!" She pointed at him.
Zopyros starting to freak out now due to Katsuya's behavior. "Wh-what is wrong my dear niece?"
She continued to glare at Clive, ignoring her uncle's question. "I know what HE did!" She shouted angrily.
Yami and Yugi are paralyzed. Yugi had never seen Jono THIS angry before, sure agitated, annoyed, but never like this. The whole royal elven family was on edge due to Jono's behavior. Seto was the most concerned. 'I haven't known her long, but I don't think she'd act this way without a damn good reason.' He decided to ask. "Jono, what has this mage done?"
"Allow my magic to flow to you, and you all will see what I see!" She called raising her right arm. Her hand glowed and spewed magic orbs which them went straight to their designated people. They each allowed the magic orbs to enter them. When they each opened their eyes, they did see. With utter horror they saw it. The poison magic aura was the exact same as the elder mage.
King Enlil couldn't believe it, Mr. Clive, Zopyros' closest person besides himself was the one who cast the wretched poison on the Elven Kingdom. "You set the poison here! How could you do such a horrible thing to innocent children?!" he demanded angrily. He was also angry with himself because he didn't think to use his magic to see if Clive was the one who did it. He knew that Clive had enough magical power to do so, but he just didn't believe that he would do it. He felt foolish for trusting Mr. Clive. He looked at Zopyros' face and noticed there wasn't an ounce of shock in his eyes. "Brother, you knew he did this?" He squinted his eyes in disbelief. "How could you not say anything?!" He had never been more upset with his brother until this moment.
Zopyros finally decided to show his real emotions, he glared at Enlil with such hatred that Enlil had to take a step back. "Of course I wouldn't say anything, I'm the one who agreed to let Clive set the poison here." He turned his attention to King Lycus and gave a sinister grin at him. "Remember your illness, King Lycus?" Lycus' grey eyes widened but he made no move to speak. He turned to Jono. "I'm sure you sensed it when you pulled it out of him, yes?"
"I did, it was a manifestation of sadness and despair. That wasn't King Lycus' true nature." Jono glared at him as well.
"Correct!" He turned back toward King Lycus, his green orbs clashing with grey ones. "That manifestation was HIS sadness and despair!" He declared pointing at Enlil.
"…my…" Enlil started but stopped. He just couldn't believe it, how his brother had done all of these horrible things.
Lycus turned toward Enlil, worry etched in his older handsome features. 'I was about to die from an illness created from Enlil's sadness and despair.' He was sadder that his dear friend was suffering so much than he was angry about him being cursed upon.
"That's not the worst thing I did though." He turned back to Jono. "I am the one who kidnapped you and brought you in the dawn forest. I placed you in a pond to drown, but clearly I didn't succeed." He frowned at his own mistake.
Enlil truly couldn't believe it, his own brother, the man he trusted above all others betrayed him. "Why?!" He screamed angrily. "Why did you do all of these things, kidnapping my daughter trying to kill her, cursing Lycus, and then cursing the Elven Kingdom with this poison…WHY?!" He demand.
"Because you didn't deserve to become king." Zopyros stated. "I studied harder than you ever did and I could fight better than you too! It's ridiculous that you got to become king just because you were the first born!" His jealousy raging through his words.
Enlil did agree that Zopyros was the more intelligent one between the both of them and it would've made more sense to make Zopyros king instead of him. But their father died right when he had just turned 21 years old and had already been a king for a year. "I never knew you wanted to be king." He said softly.
"Of course you didn't know, if I had told you, you might have locked me away!" It wasn't an uncommon thing in their history as a kingdom that if there were multiple brothers born and a younger one expressed interest in becoming king that they would be locked away to protect the throne for the true birthright.
But this was a new era, it had been many generations since more than one son had been born and every king is different compared to the last. "I would've never done that to you." He shook his head. "My goodness, if you had asked about becoming king, I would've let you!" It's not that he hated being king, quite the contrary, but he did believe Zopyros being much more intelligent would've made a better king than him due to him having more knowledge for better decision-making.
Zopyros wore a shocked expression. 'Wait, he would've just let me take over being king?' He shook his head. "No, you wouldn't! Why would you give up your precious throne?!" He screamed in disbelief.
"I absolutely would've given it up to you because I believe you would have made a BETTER king than ME!" He paused for a breath. "You did study harder than me, I know for a fact that you're more intelligent than I am, so yes, I would've given up my throne to you. But you never said anything, I was waiting for the day that you would. I knew with dad dying that it was probably going to take a while. And when both my wife dying and Katsuya getting kidnapped I was sure you were going to ask then! But you didn't." He didn't think his poor heart could take any more of this.
"You didn't trust him." Mokuba spoke out to Zopyros. Everyone else giving him a look of shock. He continued. "You didn't trust your own brother to not lock you away." He turned toward King Enlil. "And you didn't tell him it was okay to ask about it. Nor did you offer it knowing you thought he would've made a better king." He huffed. "Seto asks me every year on my birthday if I ever wanted to be king and every year I say no, but he always asks and offers it!" he stated proudly. "I always say no because I know big brother would be the better king between the two of us." He gave Seto a thumbs up.
Seto rolled his eyes. "You just don't want the extra responsibility, you'd rather be able to have fun whenever you want."
Mokuba beamed at him. "Yep!" He turned back toward the nymph brothers. "So you're BOTH at fault here. But YOU Lord Zopyros, are the one who made the worst mistakes by not only kidnapping YOUR OWN NIECE and attempting to KILL HER, you also tried to kill MY FATHER, and you allowed your mage to set poison in our lands which is currently KILLING INNOCENT CHILDREN!" He was huffing with anger. "Good luck getting to be king, you disgraceful, greedy BASTARD!"
Everyone was shocked at Mokuba's outburst. Mikuro went to scold Mokuba for cursing, but both Seto and her husband stopped her, shaking their heads. They both internally agreed that this was an appropriate time to use a curse word to describe someone, especially someone like Zopyros who did all those horrible things.
"And you…!" Jono pointed at the older mage. "Dispel this curse at once!" She demanded. Her eyes conveying her disdain for him.
He scoffed at her. "You think just because you recently learned you're the princess means you can order me around?" he laughed maniacally.
Without facing away she hollered, "Rule number 10 in the Spell Casters Book of Knowledge!"
Yami perked up. "That rule states that any and all magic effects can be dispelled by the caster by choice!"
"And what is rule number 11?" she asked.
"It states that if the spell caster is unwilling to dispel their magical effect, the only ways to do so is if they are eliminated or stripped of their ability to use said magic." Yami stated coldly. The whole royal family knew the rule book as well, given they all had to learn it as Elves, but they were confused on why Jono, who's a nymph would bring it up.
"It's not an order…" She explained while looking straight into Clive's eyes. "It's a promise to end your life if you choose to not dispel the curse!" She proclaimed. And she meant it.
Mr. Clive's eyes widen with shock, but he still held some ground, not totally believing her. "You wouldn't dare try." He smirked. "I'm a great elder mage, I can curse you in an instant with my mind alone!" He laughed condescendingly.
"You think you're the only one who can do that?" Yami interjected, taking a step forward. "I became a master mage by the age of 16, I finished ten years of work in two. And I'm much younger than you, so I have a much greater threshold of stamina. So go ahead and try it." He stated, already having multiple portals open to use as much magic as necessary.
"And even if he runs out of energy, I can give him my magic to use!" Yugi commented proudly, her wings already glittering with the flow of magic. Sure she was still a bit exhausted from all of the plant making, but she was determined to help in any way she could.
"You're such an insolent child. You may have more control of your magic in comparison to your peers or even mages of your parents' age. However, I have been in the practice of magic for over 75 YEARS!" he shouted.
Seto and Lycus had both long drawn their swords. Seto being much more protective of Jono exclaims in a threatening tone, "Lay one SHRED of harm on her and I will slice you into pieces till you are no more than a pile of mulch!" His blue eyes piercing through the mage, showing just how serious he is about his threat.
"NO!" King Enlil commanded. All eyes on him, he took a deep breath. "We shall deal with this properly. We will expel this poison without bloodshed." He raised his right arm. A swirl of magic twisted itself around it and then shot through the ceiling. It shot through the sky creating a giant light show. That was the signal everyone else had been waiting for. The 50,000 plus people all expelled their magic outwards towards the center encasing the whole Elven Kingdom in a golden glow as it moved through. The people of the Elven Kingdom were unaware of how or why this was happening, but didn't panic over it, feeling that magic held a benevolent nature.
Sensing the overflow of magic heading their way Mr. Clive growled angrily. "NO! I will not let you destroy my curse!" he shouted some enchantments, an eerie looking sphere started to form above his head.
The Elven family not knowing of this spell didn't know how to thwart it. Seto thought bitterly, 'Damn, I should've done more research when it came it magic.'
Yami sensing the prince's dark emotions, put his hand on his right shoulder. Making the blue-eyed prince look into maroon eyes. "I got this your highness. Have no fear." Yami spoke with such resounding confidence that Seto had actually believed him in that moment. He took a couple of steps forward now residing between the Mr. Clive and the Elven Kingdom. Yugi not far behind him ready to help in whatever way she can. "I call to the realm leaders! I ask that you grant me your power! I ask not for myself, but for the sake of the innocents!" He pauses for a moment to hear said leaders comment on his request, they express their concerns due to the dangerous nature of allowing one person to consume and wield such immense power. Continuing his enchantment. "I appreciate your concerns but please disregard your apprehensions for my wellbeing, this matter is much more important than my life alone."
Mr. Clive scoffs at Yami. "You think you have what it takes to wield the realm leaders' power? Sure, you can offer your life but if you have even an OUNCE of fear they will withdraw their powers from you and you will NEVER be able to wield magic again." He laughs maniacally.
Jono and Yugi both give Yami a look of fear. "No, Yami, this isn't worth your life!" Jono screams at him. "We can stop him in a different way!"
Yugi, who is better at understanding why Yami is doing what he's doing starts to cry and runs in front of him and hugs him tightly. "He has to do this Jono!" She buries her face in his chest. "My love, can the realm leaders hear me?" she asked barely able to hold back her sobbing.
Yami, having heard the leaders' reply that they indeed could hear her, and also already knowing what she was going to say took a shaky breath. "Yes darling, they can hear you…"
"Oh great realm leaders, if Yami must give his life, please take mine as well!" Everyone else, including Mr. Clive and Zopyros were both shocked to hear this fairy offer her life along with the mage's. "Please! I cannot bear this life without him!" She knew she was being selfish, she had Jono and her parents and their friends that they've made over the years, including the Royal Elven family, but she knew she would never be able to get over her loss for her husband if he did perish.
The realm leaders all pushed their mind link from Yami to her. "We do not wish to see such fine mage perish either, he has shown to be of a good nature and we all believe that it has to do with you." Still crying Yugi smiled but waited until they were done speaking. "We will do everything in our power to help him in his cause, but if his life is taken due to the toll of carrying our power we shall grant your wish. You will not suffer."
"Thank you for your kindness great realm leaders." She gave Yami one more squeeze before letting go. She looked up at him with a solemn expression. "I know you'll do your best! I love you, Yami." She held his left hand which had his wedding band on it, she grazed her thumb over it. She always did this every time Yami went out on his missions to go help people, she always held a bit of fear every time he went out. But this time it was different, he had the greatest chances of dying today than even when he was with his abusive father, fear was gripping her heart, but she was at peace knowing that the realm leaders would do their best to keep that from happening and if in the end, they couldn't protect him, she wasn't going to suffer from losing him. She smiled brightly at him.
Yami grabbed her left hand and kissed her rainbow wedding stone, just as he did every time he left. "I love you too. You are the light that brought me out of the darkness, my dear Yugi. You have made me the happiest man to have ever lived to have a wonderful soulmate like you." He bent down and gave her kiss. Already feeling the surge of power starting flow through him, he stopped. "Get behind me, okay, I don't want to cause you any harm."
She nodded and skipped around him until she was closer to her original spot next to the princes. Mokuba started to say something, but Yugi stopped him by shaking her head. "Now we watch and cheer for him."
Yami cleared his throat before beginning to speak again. "King Enlil, I have a favor to ask of you."
"What do you need son?" he asked, knowing full well he was going to fulfill it. He understood how dangerous of a situation this young mage was putting himself through.
"I need you keep Jono at bay the entire time I am opposing the elder mage." He stated clearly.
"What?! NO! I can help!" Jono shouted fearfully.
Yami shook his head. "Not this time Jono." He waved his hand, a surge of magic moved King Enlil and Jono out of the way.
Jono went to run over, but Enlil stopped her by grabbing her from behind. One arm around her shoulders and the other around her midsection. "No! Let me go!" she cried out.
It hurt him to see her so distressed after finally being able to see her again, but he had already mentally agreed to do whatever the young mage asked. "I'm sorry Jono, but it's for your own safety." He begrudgingly stated.
"Somebody stop him, PLEASE!" she pleaded desperately. The whole royal family held heavy hearts. Enlil gripped her tighter, but she was fighting him much harder than he could handle. She was finally able to break free of her newfound father's grasp. She sprinted in hopes of stopping Yami, but someone else stopped her. This time it was Prince Seto. He held her firmly against his chest. She looked up at him, her eyes long glossed over from tears, she pleaded desperately. "Please let me go, I have to help him, he's going to get himself killed…" conveying her thoughts to Seto with those words. 'If he dies, Yugi will perish too, I can't lose them! They're my family!'
He understood her unspoken thoughts and it broke his heart to see her like this, but he knew he couldn't let her go. "I'm sorry Jono, but you know I can't do that." He shook his head, his blue eyes conveying his conviction to keep her from interfering.
She still fought to break free, knowing she didn't stand a chance against his strength. 'I can't allow this!' She hit him and kicked him, she looked like a toddler fighting a parent for a toy, and she knew it, but she had to at least try to escape to help.
All the while Mr. Clive and Yami had already started their magic battle. Clive sending curses and Yami blocking or completely destroying them before hitting their destinations. Yami held so much power, it was almost too much for him to handle, but he knew he had to hold on. He stroked a whipping motion and called for a cage barrier to wrap around Clive, but the older mage thwarted it. "You're doing pretty well holding up with all that power, yet you haven't released it to its full extent." Clive commented degradingly. He knew that if he could push the younger mage to use the full extent, he would end up dead in the end.
Yami glared scornfully at Clive at his comment. The realm leaders spoke to Yami through the mind link, "Do not head his words great mage. If you attempt to use the full power, even we realm leaders cannot protect your life in the end." Yami filled with new determination thought of a different approach to the battle at hand. He instead turned his attention towards Lord Zopyros, using magic from the realm leaders, he uses it to see the magic binding, and sure enough, both Lord Zopyros and Clive are bound together. 'They're bound together, so that means I can't use magic that would normally harm or disable a mage like him because Lord Zopyros will use his nature magic to absorb it, but it DOES mean I can attempt to break the bond by attacking Lord Zopyros instead.' Yami conjures up a nature seal which allows the flow of magic to continue to thrive, but blocks the nature magic user, like Zopyros, from allowing magic to flow outside the vessel. He also conjures up an illusion spell that will make it seem like he's going to attack Clive with another cage spell. "Take THIS!" he screams.
"Haha! Not another cage spell, haven't you figured out that that doesn't work?!" Clive laughs and uses his magic and just as planned thwarts it away from him. Seeing the illusion disappear he now realizes his mistake. He turns toward Zopyros, "NO!" he bellows, but to no avail, he is too late. The revealed nature seal spell has hit Zopyros.
"GAH! What the…!" Feeling the spell seep into his body, he feels the effects immediately. 'It feels like there are chains wrapping around me, what is this?' He feels weakened by the weight of the seal, comes down on his knees.
"My lord!" Clive makes his way next to him.
"Now great mage! We grant you permission to use the Sword of Relinquishment." In Yami's right hand a glowing sword manifested with insignias of all the realm leaders crests along the blade. 'What do I do with this sword realm leaders?' he thought, he was never much a physical fighter, he had never once held a sword, let alone use one. "Use this sword and slash it against the other mage. This will strip him of his ability to use his magic. Fear not, young mage, we shall guide you." The realm leaders reassured him. Yami held steadfast, he had full confidence that the realm leaders would keep true to their word. He charged with a strength unbeknownst to him, he raised the sword above his head and waited until he was right in front of Clive before slicing it against the older mage, causing huge bubble of magic to surround them.
To everyone outside it looked like Yami landed a killing blow, but it wasn't until the glowing magic bubble started to dissipate that everyone saw that Clive was still alive. Clive laughed, "You missed your shot! You didn't kill me!" He raised his hands to attempt another curse, but nothing happened. He stared at his hands and shook his head and tried again, but nothing happened still. He looked up at Yami with anger "What did you DO to me?!" he roared.
Yami smirked at him. "I used the Sword of Relinquishment and severed your ability to use magic." He glared at him, "You're going to pay for what you've done!" he waved his hands in the air and swiped them down, creating magical binding chains around both Clive and Lord Zopyros. "Both of you will pay dearly." He closed his eyes and thanked the realm leaders for allowing him the privilege to use their power and for the help in keeping him alive throughout his use. The huge magical glow that surrounded him disappeared altogether in one swirling motion. Feeling the strenuous toll on his body after using all that power left him so exhausted that started to fall backwards.
Yugi flew as fast as she could and caught him before he could hit the ground. She laid him down gently, so his head was in her lap. "I got you, love, don't worry." She wiped her hand on his now feverish head and smiled sweetly at him. "You were amazing, Yami."
He smiled back at her. "Thank you, Yugi. I'm sorry I scared you…" Yugi placed her hand over his mouth to prevent him from speaking.
She shook her head, "There's no need to apologize… you did what you had to."
Seto realizing that Jono might want to go over to Yami as well, let her go and she took off running. He rubbed his arms from when she was fighting him. 'She did NOT hold back against hitting me, but I guess with the circumstance I understand why.' He thought.
Seeing Prince Seto let go of Jono, she spoke softly to her husband, "I can't save you from Jono this time."
Yami grimaced and whispered back, "I know…" He closed his eyes tightly. Yugi gently laid him down on the floor and scooted back a bit.
Jono slammed herself to the ground, Yami clenched his whole body bracing for impact. Jono just grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. Yami froze up, he didn't expect this. "You idiot mage…" she whispered sorrowfully.
"I know I can be an idiot sometimes." Yami stated while patting her head softly, it hurt for him to move his body, but he felt he had to do something to comfort her.
She let him pat her a few times before holding him out in front, she took a deep breath and shouted angrily at him. "Not 'can be' YOU ARE AN IDIOT! How DARE you make that RECKLESS decision! Moreover asking my father to HOLD ME DOWN! UNFORGIVABLE!" She screamed at him all the while shaking him back and forth. It was pretty funny to everyone else around watching Jono sway him like a rag doll. "You stupid, selfish, thoughtless IDIOT!" she pulled him back in for hug and whispered worriedly. "What if you had died? Then Yugi would've died too and I just can't lose the both of you. You're my family…"
Attempting to lighten the mood he shrugged his shoulders, "Buuuuuut I didn't! That's what matters in the end right?" Playfulness danced across his maroon eyes.
Jono paused and glared at him and once again began swinging him back and forth all the while screaming at him about how he could make a joke about it and how she's going to make him pay for scaring her.
The whole royal family laughed including King Enlil who had walked up to Prince Seto. "She is her mother's daughter." He placed a hand on his arm giving him a natural healing for the bruises Jono caused beforehand. "I apologize for not being able to contain her myself and having you get involved."
Seto shook his head, "No need to apologize, I understand why, she's a lot stronger than she looks. And thank you for healing me."
"No problem son, it's the least I cou…" he stopped speaking once he felt the surge of magic drawing nearer.
"What's wrong King Enlil?" Seto asked concerned. 'He wouldn't pause for no good reason.'
"I must fulfill my end of the treaty!" He stepped toward the center of the throne room and raised his arms above his head and looked to the ceiling. 'Any second now…' and sure enough, the huge blanket of magic filled the castle and was being absorbed by King Enlil. Once all the magic had been absorbed King Enlil slammed both of his hands to the ground causing a huge magic fluctuation to seep into land. Yami having removed Clive's ability to use magic dispelled the poison in the lands, but didn't heal the effects from it. The huge flow of magic helped crops to grow in fields, water to flow cleanly, and heal both people and animals from the poisons disastrous effects it had upon them. After a while, he sensed that the blanket of magic that he infused had spread evenly throughout the kingdom, so he popped himself right up, and faced King Lycus with a big bright smile on his face. "Here you go! Your kingdom got a massive healing for both the lands and living beings that reside in it!" His face then became downcast. "It doesn't make up for all the children's whose lives were taken."
Lycus smiled at him, "But it is better than nothing! I will let everyone in this kingdom know all the good things you have done for us here. And to note that it was not your fault for the tragedy of the poison that plagued us."
"You are a good man and a good king Lycus." He gave a slight bow, "And to show my appreciation of your kindness, I allow you the honor of punishing both Mr. Clive AND my brother to however you see fit." He smiled sheepishly before continuing. "I would like to ask that you do not kill my brother, but to also not go easy on him either."
Lycus nodded in agreeance. "Of course, Zopyros may have had hand in these wrongdoings, but I know that the full culprit is Mr. Clive. I thank you for allowing the Elven Kingdom to punish them accordingly." He bowed his head in kind. But right then a thought hit him. "Enlil, do you not want to punish Zopyros for kidnapping and attempting to kill your daughter first? After all, that was his first crime." He raised an eyebrow, clarifying his confusion on the matter.
Enlil nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I probably should, but seeing as she is alive and well now, I see no reason to do so. It was also partially my fault for the way he ended up. Your little one was right, I never made it clear that he could ask for the throne."
"Very well, guards take them away and put them in our prison!" Lycus bellowed. The two guards near the castle entrance each took a person and dragged them outside to bring them to the prison cells.
