"Care to explain that, Jewel?" asked Sakura sarcastically. They were still crowding around the blacksmith trying to figure out the markings on the parchment.
Mika frowned and looked up into the sky. She heard a faint rumble from afar and wondered what it was.
"Hey, the sky's turning black..." she commented, her voice trailing with surprise as the clouds continue to arise in a record time. Jewel looked at the sky as well. She frowned. "This is not good," she murmured, "Everyone, run as fast as you can back to the inn. Now!" Surprised at the command, the rest quickly scrambled up and raced as fast as they could towards the inn, spurred by Jewel's urgency.
"O-kay, we're here. What was the rush all about?" panted Mika. Jewel sat down and took her breath for a few minutes before replying, "Trouble."
The door behind them suddenly opened and slammed. Everyone turned and stared at Silver and the sleeping Tranquil in his arms. "Something's up. The sky's changing color at the speed of light," he said seriously.
"Tell us news, not history," muttered Variante darkly, massaging his worn feet. Mika peered outside anxiously. "Err, guys? We have a problem," she said nervously. Variante got up and went to see what she meant and felt his jaw dropping. Now curious, the rest clustered around the window to see what was happening.
"What the hell!" exclaimed Black in astonishment. There was an army of Khaltizburg, Baphomet Jr., and Nightmares gathering outside. Screams of horror and pain could be heard not far away. "What's going on? Where did these monsters come from?" asked Sakura in surprise.
Silver shook Tranquil gently. "Tran? Wake up, Tran. It looks like we might need your help more often than not now," he said softly. Slowly, Tranquil stirred and looked sleepily at Silver, "Huh?" She yawned and stretched, unaware of the tension among them. "What's going on?" she asked. Grimly, Mika explained.
"Come on, we need to give these people a hand," she commanded. Together, they rushed out, only to stop in surprise at the sight that had greeted them. "What's Doppelganger, Baphomet, and Blood Knight doing together? Better yet, what the heck is Dark Lord doing here? Has the dark world gone bonkers or something?" exclaimed Sakura filled with surprise. "No time to think about that, Sakura. Let's get 'em now!" Silver cried as he rushed towards the mob of Khalitzburg, waving his wand like a maniac. Stopping right in the middle of the mob, he raised his wand and chanted, "With the anger of Lord Sun, METEOR STORM!" Not waiting to see the result, he quickly cast another spell; "Let the blessings of the wind sweep you apart, JUPITEL THUNDER!" The Khalitzburgs howled with pain as the fell onto the ground and turned into dust.
"Come on, let's help Silver!" cried Mika, grabbing her own weapon. She rained her arrows onto the rampaging Nightmares, followed closely by Sakura, who was stabbing and slashing the beasts like anything. Meanwhile, Variante quickly cloaked himself and used Grimtooth onto the Khalitzburgs. "Tranquil! We need healing!" called Mika, as she fended off a few Nightmares from a weakened mage nearby.
Rushing by her side, Tranquil quickly healed the poor mage and led him to safety. "Tranquil, watch out!" shouted Variante as he demolished the Khalitzburgs. Startled, Tranquil turned around quickly, only to end up fainting onto the ground. "Tranquil!" cried Silver, abandoning the mob and rushed by her side. "SOUL STRIKE!" he chanted, abolishing the Nightmare that had sneaked behind his love and knocked her unconscious.
"Black! Come here and help me, will you?" shouted Variante, his face shining with perspiration. He kept on the train of his breakneck blows focused onto the Khalitzburgs, not missing a beat. But even his super speed can't help him now; he was outnumbered. Black raced towards his pal and quickly knocked down the Khalitzburgs that was sneaking up behind Variante. Quickly, he raised his defense and boosted his attack power. Soon, he was attacking the mob alongside with Variante.
"This is getting us nowhere," groaned Mika, "Where the heck are backups when we need them?" The rampaging beasts, it seems, had gotten stronger at each passing moment. "MAGNUM BREAK!" shouted Sakura as she dealt with the twilight horse-look-alikes. Suddenly they heard a scream and a crash from behind them.
"Jewel!" screamed Slay as he parried with a grotesque miniature goat-like demon. "Silver, is Tranquil up yet?" shouted Variante, now panting with exhaustion. Grimly, he continued his fight while waiting for the answer. Silver looked at Tranquil helplessly. Taking a flask of water from his bag, he quickly splashed the cool liquid on Tranquil's face. To his delight and relief, she stirred into consciousness. "Tranquil, wake up. We really need your help," he said, shaking her gently.
At last, Tranquil fully opened her eyes and stared at the scenario that greets her eye. Pushing Silver aside, she quickly ran towards Variante and Black, using her own defense skills on herself first to shield herself from attacks. She raised both her hands and placed them in a prayer-like motion. "HEAL!" she chanted, reviving them from their exhaustion, closing their open wounds. She then quickly casted her skills to boost their defense before racing towards Mika and Sakura, who although were still fighting the Nightmares, their attacks had somehow diminished. Just as before, she healed the huntress and knight before increasing their defense and attack speed.
"Tranquil! Over here!" called Slay anxiously, still in a sword-fight with the snarling 'goat'. She hurried by Jewel's side and healed her quickly. "Are you okay?" she asked Jewel anxiously. Nodding her head weakly, Jewel smiled and gestured her to the rest. "Go help them," she whispered.
"Oi, Silver! Where's that dumb knight of yours?" called Mika in exasperation. It was obvious that they could not win over the stampeding demons and monsters. Silver shrugged as he casted a huge circle of falling fireballs. It hit squarely on the Khalitzburgs, leaving them in ashes. As soon as the Khalitzburgs were gone, Silver rushed to Mika's aid while Variante and Black went to rescue Slay from the ugly demon.
The fight went on relentlessly. Everyone was soon showing strains of exhaustion. Silver casted his spells onto the Nightmares, refusing to give up. He dodged their attacks and attacked them in return. Out of the blue, he felt a shattering blow on his right shoulder and cried out in pain and surprise. He turned around and saw a face that looked almost exactly like him; only its face was contorted with evil and anger. "Tranquil, help!" he shouted feebly, fighting to keep his consciousness. Hearing his call, Tranquil ran and healed his as fast as she could, repeating the same routine she used on the rest.
Fully awake, Silver faced his double with doubt and suspicion etched on his face. It was the doppelganger, taking shape into his life form. He raised his wand and casted a quick spell onto it. To his shock, it dodged his spell at a breakneck speed. Undeterred, he casted a few spells onto the ghostlike visage. Just as before, the doppelganger dodged his attacks easily. How do I defeat this creature? He thought desperately.
Meanwhile, Mika and Sakura were facing their own problems. The gruesome Blood Knight seems to have decided to pay them a little visit. "Uh-oh. This cannot be good," Mika muttered nervously. She tried to attack it but...
"Miss?" she uttered disbelievingly. Sakura rushed forward and tried to slice it but no avail. The vile creature was too fast for her. Uttering an oath, she tried again and again to attack it without any success. Incensed, she provoked it numerous times and called out to Mika, "Use your double strafe on it while I bash this abomination." Nodding her head, Mika began shooting her remaining arrows towards it as Sakura dashed forward and bash the creature. "Sakura, watch out!" cried Mika as a Nightmare galloped behind the knight and reared up high, its ethereal mane flowing about.
Shrieking, Sakura slashed blindly behind her before she was knocked unconscious. Oh no...Not Sakura as well, groaned Mika silently as she battled her way towards her friend. Desperately, she looked around for help. "Tranquil, help me!" she called out at the spur of the moment. Too late. She watched in horror as the Baphomets purely pulverized her. "Tranquil!" she screamed. She heard hooves thundering behind her. The last thing in her mind was, This is the end... She fell into a deep faint.