Chapter 6 :: Trial of Ferocious Winds
Note: Yes, there is a Pokemon reference in here.
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"We have come this far to seek a pact with you," Solstice said. "My friends are Mithos, Kratos, and Martel.""Then you can call me Sephie, Mithos," the oldest Sylph said.
"As in Sephie-Roth?" Mithos joked.
"That joke's been done to death already," Yutis, the second oldest said.
"Then shall we form a pact?" Solstice asked.
"With Mithos," Fairess, the youngest, answered.
"Me? What have I got that the others don't? Solstice would be a much better choice to make a pact with," Mithos said.
"Spirits select their summoners. Summoners don't select spirits, Mithos. If Sylph has chosen, you then they must deem you worthy," explained Solstice.
"First we'll see if you can handle our fierce wind power," Yutis said.
"Martel, you stay back. Your injury is not something to be taken lightly," Kratos advised.
"Ready or not, here we come!" Fairess called. The Sylphs had the advantage of free flight while the adventurers were confined to the sufficiently wide roof of the temple. Try as he might, as soon as Mithos swung his sword, his target just flew away. Remembering his crystal, Mithos called up his angel wings.
"Go, go, go!" Yutis said, shooting a barrage of three arrows down at them.
"Air Thrust!" Fairess sent a tornado their way, ripping the floor around them to limit their movement.
"We must focus on attacking one at a time. The youngest one seems to be the weakest," Kratos said. He braved the fierce winds that multiplied the force of the rain falling around them in preparation for a Divine Storm Blade attack.
"Prism Sword!" Mithos called. After failing twice before, his blast of light landed a direct hit on Fairess, blowing her off the platform stunned.
"I hope you forgive me for doing this. Frosta sirr sectara... Ice Tornado!" Solstice launched a freezing cold whirlwind of ice that intentionally spun in the opposite direction as Fairess' lingering Air Thrust. As the two spells collided, Solstice's spell neutralized the other one.
"Tri-charge!" Catching Yutis by surprise, Kratos leaped out of Solstice's ice spell and instantly hammered her with three Divine Storm Blades executed one after another. With Yutis felled, Mithos engaged one on one with Sephie.
"Heh, you're pretty good," Mithos remarked, parrying two slashes of Sephie's huge sword. He was still amazed that such a small spirit could carry such a large weapon. Sephie flew back to the other side of the tower, hoping to evade Mithos' Starsword. Hope this works..."Divine Storm Blade!" Quickly gliding across the wet stone roof, Mithos closed the distance between himself and Sephie.
"Too slow," Sephie taunted, dodging aside.
"Prism Sword," called Mithos. At point blank range, he unleashed the full fury of his light attack. Sephie staggered from the blow then landed on the floor, drained of all her energy.
"We acknowledge your strength," Sephie said, leaning on her giant sword.
"Yeah, you're really strong," Yutis commented.
"Now, Mithos. To summon us, you must make a vow," Fairess told him.
"What kind of a vow?" Mithos said, slightly confused.
"State your reason for wanting their power," Solstice instructed.
"All right, then. In order to bring an end to this war and bring peace to this world so nobody will ever have to suffer anymore, I ask for your power," Mithos said.
"Then it is yours," Sephie replied. The three of them turned into an emerald light and flowed into a pedestal in the center of the platform they stood on. There, an opal ring lifted itself and fitted onto Mithos' finger.
"Great job, Mithos," Martel complimented. Throughout the battle she had watched from the relative safety of the stairs.
"A question, Solstice. It seems that you and Sylph close friends; was that the reason you were able to open the door?" Kratos said.
"Friends, not really. Our kind prays to Sylph so that we may continue to have wings to fly with. Each century, I come here to offer my prayers," Solstice related.
"In any case, let's get out of here and find a place to dry off our clothes," Mithos suggested.
"Now, that's something I have to agree with," Kratos said. Using the blue crystal, they returned back through the mausoleum to the bottom floor and out the front. Upon exiting, the entrance promptly sealed itself off. The rain had lessened to a drizzle again, but it did not help that all their clothing remained soaking wet.
"No doubt by now the war will have made a turn for the worse on Macerdon's side," Solstice said.
"Why can't we just disable the spirits that control one side's technology and let the other side win?" asked Mithos.
"Because that will only condemn us to a much worse fate. Even if we let Delthis win, they will proceed to slaughter every human and elf en masse. The same is true for us half elves if we allow Macerdon to emerge victorious," Martel said.
"Raven!" a voice said. A black beam of Shadow element magic arced over the terrace of the temple. Immediately seeing it, Kratos raised his sword and took the brunt of the attack.
"Why, oh why, is everyone trying to kill us?" Mithos complained.
"Look on the bright side, at least we're getting popular," Martel remarked.
"Prepare for calamity!" a very familiar voice said. Alice stood on top of a tree branch, scythe ready. Her hood hid her glowing eyes.
"Double the insanity," a second half elf continued. He had on a black cloak like Alice, but he lacked the pale skin of his master. This man had long blue hair with a lock hanging out in front and another tied behind him.
"To protect half elves from destruction!"
"To strike down those in our path without hesitation."
"To curse the darknesses of hate and war."
"To place ourselves skyward, we soar."
"Alice."
"Yuan."
"Enigma's Ghosts take flight at Mach 8."
"Give up now, or a beating you shall take."
"Indeed."