Chapter 49: The conference

The combined forces of Greeton, Lazeria, and other Federation Ships arriving in their aid successfully destroyed all of the demon ships lurking in the orbits of Elicoor II. After they cleared out all the enemy threat out in space, Marietta was finally able to beam up Albel, Lancar, Maria, Clair, and Tynave back up to Lazeria. Everybody met up at the conference room again, updating each other on the situation out in space and in Elicoor.

"Alright… everyone's here, right?" Steeg asked, as everybody took a seat. "Okay… lots of things happened both in space and on the planet, so let's share all the information and plan our next move."

"Wait… Clair's not here yet…" Reen brought it to everyone's attention. "Where is she? We should wait for her first."

"I hate to be the bearer of this unfortunate news… but…" Maria replied, with her eyes still red. "Clair has just lost her father… in a battle against one of the demons… I think it's best to leave her alone for now."

"WHAT?" Roger yelled, totally stunned. "A…Adray… he's gone… too?"

"N… no… please tell me you're joking…" Peppita muttered in despair, as tears started trickling down her cheeks. "S… Sir Adray too? It can't be… this is horrible…"

"DAMN IT!" Roger yelled, getting up and punching the wall nearest him in rage. "I can't take this anymore! This has to stop… THIS HAS TO STOP!"

"You're right… this is enough…" Raditz said, his fists trembling in anger. "The killing has to stop… I don't want anymore innocent victims!"

"I agree… and I'm sure everyone else does, too. That's why we're all here to discuss what we can do to stop them once and for all." Maria said, focusing back on the situation at hand. "Let's give Clair some time alone… we'll inform her of what we're doing next afterwards, once we figure it all out."

Clair… Albel thought, as he couldn't stop thinking about her. The image of her crying in sorrow was still vivid in Albel's mind, and wouldn't go away.

"Well, as things stand… all I know is that City of Aquios and Airyglyph have both been totally destroyed…" Maria explained. "Tynave, you were assigned to Arias, right? Could you explain everything that happened here in Elicoor before we arrived?"

"…The demon army first invaded Arias early this morning…" Tynave explained. "The demon forces were too strong for us… and there were too many of them, so only thing I could do was to retreat our forces and evacuate all the citizens to Peterny… then I heard about the demons invading Aquios, so I rushed over there immediately in concern of her majesty, abandoning my post. Unfortunately, I'm not sure about what's become of Peterny now…"

"Actually, we received some information from Greeton about the current situation on Continent of Gaitt…" Marietta said. "The City of Aquios, Airyglyph, Arias, have all indeed been destroyed… and there are three fronts located in Peterny, Surferio and Kirlsa at the moment holding out against the Demon forces. Greetonite Army have agreed to send military aid to those cities, but they also have their hands full in defending their own land…"

"I've already contacted the Federation Headquarters about what's going on here…" Steeg explained. "They'll be sending in major reinforcements to this planet very shortly. This is an underdeveloped planet, but there's no other choice. The fate of the whole universe depends on the safety of this planet. Well, this planet was sort of involved already with us 2 years ago, anyway."

"Tynave, what's happened to her majesty?" Farleen asked in concern. "Is she safe, out of harm's way? I certainly hope so!"

"Her majesty has taken refuge at the Shrine of Kaddan for now, along with the King of Airyglyph…" Tynave replied. "And from what I know, no demons were able to get through to Kaddan… we defeated them all before they could enter the Sealed Cavern… so I think things are safe for now…"

"But what about right now?" Reen asked. "Those demons can still attack at any moment, you know!"

"Yes, I made sure the entrance to Kaddan was to be guarded tightly as possible…" Maria said, turning to Lieber. "Lieber, I told you about it over the communicator right? Has everything been taken care of?"

"Yes, Maria! There's no need to worry!" Lieber assured her. "We've already sent out all of our combat personnels to guard the entrance to Shrine of Kaddan as tightly as possible! And Greetonite forces have also sent in majority of their forces to help, since they too know that guarding the Sacred Orb is our top priority! Even those demons won't have an easy time penetrating both of our defense forces!"

"I guess everything's safe, at least for tonight." Maria commented. "But we still need to reach her majesty to inform her of what is going on."

"Yup. And I think we should evacuate everybody at the Shrine of Kaddan as well as the Sacred Orb to a safer place…" Lancar suggested. "The demons seem to know where it is already… so as long as it stays there, they're just going to keep coming."

"That's a great idea!" Raditz agreed. "I think we should bring everybody and the Sacred Orb to this ship, here in outer space! That way, the demons wouldn't have a clue about where it really is anymore!"

"Hmm, to get them to keep searching… yes, that would surely slow down their operations." Jeiuce said. "Not too bad… you mortals aren't as incompetent as you look, after all."

"But there's only one problem with that…" Maria said. "The Sacred Orb is a property of her majesty, and we can't just take her or the Orb with us as we wish. We would need to have her approval… her permission, to do so."

"In that case, I'll go and explain everything to her…" Lancar suggested. "I'm sure she'll agree to come with us and let us protect the Sacred Orb… she would already know about the importance of the Sacred Orb to our universe from what happened two years ago."

"Me and Tynave will also come with you!" Farleen said. "It's our duty to protect her majesty and escort her back… besides, you're going to need to know how to get through the Sealed Cavern and the Shrine of Kaddan!"

"Yes. Farleen and I both know the way around the interior sections." Tynave agreed. "We'll both guide you along the way, Mr. Lancar."

"Thank you, ladies." Lancar said. "It should be fine with just three of us, right?"

"Well, I think it would be better if she saw someone from our group two years ago… that way she would trust us more…" Peppita pointed out. "I had an opportunity to meet her majesty two years ago before our group headed off to Mosel… so I think she'll remember me. So I'll come along too!"

"I… I'll go too!" Roger offered to go along right away, as soon as Peppita finished her sentence. "I was also there two years ago! Her majesty knows of my heroics… hehe, she'll have full confidence in me!"

"Haha… I'm sure she will, Roger. Anyways…" Maria continued, amused by Roger's ever-boundless self confidence. "Then Lancar, Farleen, Tynave, Peppita, and Roger… your group can head off to Shrine of Kaddan first thing tomorrow morning and explain the current situation to her majesty… then escort her back here if she compiles. Actually, Meena, would you mind going with them as well? I think there's going to be many soldiers and clerics who's suffered injuries from fleeing the Demon attacks… so your healing powers would be a great asset."

"Sure! I just want to help in any way I can!" Meena complied enthusiastically.

"Thank you. So it's decided then... The six of you can leave tomorrow morning to Kaddan." Maria said. "As for the rest of us, we'll figure out where the rest of the demons are coming from."

"Actually, Maria… we found out that out already." Lancar told her, looking at Albel. "That old man from Airyglyph told us where the demons are coming from, right Albel? From some Temple or something like that?"

"…Urssa Cave Temple." Albel muttered, his mind still on Clair.

"Hmm, I don't remember any temples being there the last time we went…" Maria said. "But this is good. We at least know where to look around this time."

"…I know where it is." Albel said, remembering back to the time when he had trained with Crosell. He had discovered the entrance to the Temple in one of the caves at Crosell's Lair while wondering around, but the big dragon had told him at the time that entering the Temple was forbidden. "I'll lead the way."

"Alright. Then the rest of us will head to this Urssa Cave Temple tomorrow morning to find the entrance to the Daemoneum." Maria said. "Lancar and others, please catch up with us once you complete your own mission. I know we're going to need all your help, as well."

"You got it. We'll be there as soon as we can." Lancar assured her, getting up from his seat. "Okay then. So that's our plan for tomorrow. Everybody, please make all the preparations and rest up for the night… we all got a long and important day ahead of us."


Albel reluctantly walked into his guest room in Lazeria, thinking that it was not where he wanted to be right now. Sure, he had a long, crucial day ahead of him tomorrow, perhaps the day in which may decide the fate of the universe. Albel was well aware of this, and knew that he should be making necessary preparations and also get a good night's sleep, but he could not focus in doing that; that's not what he wanted to be doing. He didn't want to be in his room… he knew that he wanted to be somewhere else, with someone else, at that moment. Without hesitation, he got up from his chair, walked out of his room and headed towards Clair's room.

As Albel walked towards the room, he saw a crowd of people gathered in the hallway, talking amongst each other with concern. It was everybody in the group sans Jeiuce, worrying over Clair.

"Albel!" Reen yelled, spotting Albel from the distance and calling him over. "Did you come to talk to Clair too? Come here for a sec!"

"What…" Albel said, surprised that there was a group of people in front of her room. "Why are all of you here…"

"We all wanted to give Clair our condolences for her father's passing…" Raditz replied. "But she seems to be in really rough shape right now… We're not sure of how to approach her…"

"Well, she's just lost her father. I definitely understand her feeling." Maria said, with a sad look. "I don't think we should all go in at once… it might make her feel even worse… she might just want to be alone right now."

"I agree with Maria… Clair seems like the type who hates for others to feel sorry for her… no matter what the situation is…" Lancar commented. "There's no need for us to all rush in together and make her feel like a charity case."

"But we should be saying something! We have to show her our support!" Peppita disagreed. "I don't want to leave her alone like this!"

"Yeah… I've never seen Lady Clair like this… I feel so sad for her…" Farleen said. "There's gotta be something we can do to cheer her up."

"I know!" Reen said, turning to Albel. "Hey Albel… do you think you can go in here to talk to her? It might make her feel a little better if it was you…"

"W…what are you saying?" Albel said, flustered. "What words out of my mouth can possibly make her feel better? I am no good at that sort of thing, you worms all know that!"

"Well, but that's the reason why you came here in the first place, wasn't it?" Reen asked. "Didn't you come here to give her your condolences as well?"

"N…nonsense…She's strong enough to handle her own grief." Albel denied, looking away. "I'm here to inform her of tomorrow's plans, since none of you fools seem to have done so yet. She should be making preparations for tomorrow…"

"How terrible! How can you say things like that!" Farleen yelled. "Are you that insensitive? She's just lost her father you know!"

"Yes, that's a horrible, horrible thing to say!" Tynave also yelled at him. "You don't even have a clue about what Lady Clair is going through!"

"Beh…" Albel could do nothing but grunt, realizing fully well how insensitive that sounded. Still, there was no way he wanted to admit his true intentions in front of everyone. It wouldn't have been Albel-like. There was no way he was going to show everyone the "other" side of him.

"Heh…" Reen smiled a little, fully aware that Albel was just hiding his true intentions and feelings. "Farleen, I know he doesn't mean it… just cool off for sec ok… heehee… so Albel, why don't you go in there to talk to her about whatever you wanted to, then?"

"Yes… let's just have Albel talk to her for now." Maria agreed, realizing where Reen was getting at. "We'll all talk to her after Clair's gathered herself a little, instead. It's never too late to give our condolences, anyway. So Albel, please go in and inform her of our plans for tomorrow."

"I will. So all of you can get lost." Albel waved them off. "You fools should be making preparations and getting some rest for tomorrow, not worrying over silly matters like this."

"Yes… of course." Maria said, smiling a bit. "Everyone, let's get back to our rooms and rest up. I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

"Hmph." Albel turned around, and walked down the hallway towards Clair's room.

"What was that all about?" Farleen asked in annoyed voice. "What I said was true!"

"Yes, that was a very rude thing for him to say!" Tynave agreed. "How can you agree with that man, Miss Maria?"

"I can't say that I know Albel well enough, but I can definitely tell when he is sincere in his words or not." Maria told her. "He definitely didn't mean what he said back there. He's concerned about Clair as much as we are, if not more."

"Yeah… come on, Farleen, you know what we're talking about!" Reen said. "You know that Albel is the only one that can cheer up Clair right now…"

"…Yeah… I guess you're right…" Farleen admitted. "I forgot about that… sorry."

"Huh… what are they talking about, Lancar?" Roger asked, confused. "If he didn't mean what he said, why would he say it?"

"Jeez… Roger…" Lancar asked, shaking his head. "Don't you remember our man-to-man talk about woman and relationships from that night at Otanim? Seriously, did you even learn anything AT ALL?"

"…No…" Roger muttered under his breath, giving an annoyed look. "…Of course not… all you did was just get drunk…"

"Did you say something, kid?" Lancar asked, with a scary look, sensing that he was mocking him.

"Um, nothing!" Roger replied, with a sweatdrop.

Everybody turned around and headed back to their rooms, except for Reen who was sneaking towards Clair's room to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Umm… Reen, what are you doing?" Raditz asked, with a sweatdrop.

"Shhhh… you guys just go!" Reen said with a smile, giving a wink and putting her ears towards the door. "But I just HAVE to listen in on this… this could be good stuff!"

"Umm… I REALLY think we should leave them alone to talk…" Raditz said, as he pulled on Reen's arm to pull her away forcefully. "That was the whole point, ya know…"

"Yeah… you can't just eavesdrop like that… it's not right…" Peppita agreed, also pulling Reen away together with Raditz. "Let's just leave those two alone!"

"Aww… but come on!" Reen whined playfully with a smile, as she helplessly got dragged away back to her room.


Albel slowly opened the door to Clair's room and saw that the lighting of the room was dim, as if she wanted to cry herself to sleep. He saw Clair hunched over with her face buried in both of her arms, still crying out softly. Stunned at seeing her in sorrow, Albel was almost too scared to say anything at first, but then finally found the courage to speak.

"Clair…" Albel simply called out her name.

"A…Albel…" Clair mumbled in surprise, quickly getting up from the chair and wiping away her tears. "I… I didn't know you came in…"

"I'm… I'm here to inform you about what we're planning to do tomorrow." Albel quickly said, not knowing what else to say at that awkward moment. "While you were away, we planned out everything… and…"

"That's right… oh dear… I'm sorry…" Clair apologized, her eyes red after hours of crying. "I can't believe I didn't attend the meeting… how irresponsible… and I'm the supposed leader of the Crimson blades… it's pathetic, isn't it?"

"…I'm sorry." Albel finally said it. Sincerely. "I'm sorry about your father."

Suddenly, Clair quickly turned around to face him, surprised. Albel had just given his condolences to her, and she could feel that he truly meant it. Still doubting herself, however, she quickly turned back, to shrug it off.

"…No… please… Albel, there is no need to force yourself to say that." Clair said, trying to put on a brave face. "Yes, my father has passed away, but there have also been countless other deaths… I should treat it no different… I shouldn't be sulking like this and forgetting my responsibilities… I'm the one who should apologize."

"No, I meant it. I wanted to say it." Albel said it straight and loud. "Losing your father is certainly devastating and traumatic. No one is blaming you for your grievance, everyone understands. So quit being so harsh on yourself!"

"Albel, you really…" Clair said, turning around once again to gaze into his eyes.

"I've lost my father… and my mother… to these demons as well, don't forget that!" Albel yelled, blowing up. "Everybody is losing someone important to them… you're not alone on this! Everything is being destroyed… more people are being lost and sacrificed… Everything is being taken away from me… because of these wretched demons… I can't bear to see this any longer… I won't allow this to continue…Screw revenge! It's not about that anymore… I don't want to lose anyone or anything else anymore dammit! Including you!"

"…Albel!" Clair suddenly threw herself into Albel's arms, overcome with emotion. Clair buried her face in his chest and cried out softly, as Albel gently returned the hug. The two embraced in the dimly lighted room for what seemed like eternity, clinging onto what they cared about the most, and treasured more than anything else at that very moment - each other. As Albel felt Clair's heartbeat through his own body, something suddenly clicked into his mind… a whole new sense of motivation.

"…I'm going to protect you." Albel quietly and gently whispered into Clair's ear, his body trembling. "I'm going to protect you, and this universe. I'll swear on my life."

"…" Clair couldn't say anything, her throat choked back with emotion, but at that moment, words weren't necessary for Albel to hear what Clair wanted to say back to him in return. I don't want to lose you… I swear I'm not going to let you go… We'll save this universe together… and no matter what happens along the way…

Clair raised her head, looked deeply into Albel's eyes and sent her last message, as Albel slowly guided his lips into hers.

I'll be with you, always.


Early next morning, everybody gathered at the bridge of the Diplo, preparing themselves for what was to be a fateful day ahead of them. But before anything, everyone went over to Clair to give their condolences and support.

"Clair, I'll say it for everyone here… we're all really sorry about what happened yesterday." Lancar said, in a low voice. "I know it won't help much when I say this, but… don't forget that we're all with you… and know that you'll always have our support."

"Thank you so much Lancar… and everyone…" Clair humbly replied, with a brave and determined look. "Yes, it was certainly devastating, and there is no words that can describe the grief in losing my father… but instead of grieving in sorrow, let's do what we can right here and now, so that there won't be any more tragic deaths and sacrifices. That is how my father would want it. I know so."

"For sure! I KNOW that's what Adray would have wanted!" Roger agreed. "And Cliff, and Count Woltar, and everyone else, too! We can't let them down!"

"Yes. We'll rescue Fayt and Nel, and save this universe as well as the Daemonium from those evil tyrants, whomever it may be." Maria said. "For everyone's sake; including the ones that have sacrificed their lives for us to fight on."

"Alright! Then let's do this!" Raditz yelled enthusiastically, then turned to Clair. "Oh, Clair, you know about what's going on, right?"

"Yes, Albel informed me of the plans." Clair said, turning to Tynave and Farleen to give them something. "That reminds me. Here, Tynave… Farleen… take this."

"Huh… what's this?" Farleen asked, examining the object that Clair handed to her. It was a wooden charm, with a strange rune carved onto it.

"Your group will be heading deep into the Shrine of Kaddan, but as you know, the Shrine is full of traps, guardians, and other defense mechanisms." Clair explained. "This special rune should resonate with the holy power of the shrine and disable any traps and guardians your group might encounter. It'll make your trip much safer and easier."

"Oh yeah, those annoying traps and guardians…" Roger muttered, remembering back to the tedious and sometimes painful experiences from the Shrine of Kaddan two years ago. "Thanks so much! I'm glad we won't have to deal with those things this time…"

"Please explain everything carefully and guide her majesty as well as King of Airyglyph back to this ship." Clair said, bowing to the group. "May the grace of Apris be with you."

"May the grace of Apris be with you." Tynave and Farleen saluted back.

"Okay, let's go everyone!" Lancar said, as him, Tynave, Farleen, Roger, Peppita, and Meena all turned and ran towards the transporter room. "We'll see you all soon!"

"Alright, let's get moving, then!" Albel yelled, looking back to Clair, Maria, Jeiuce, Raditz and Reen. "Let's go destroy those scums!"

"Yeah!" Reen yelled out as well. "Let's go teach them a lesson!"

While the group headed off, Albel looked back to Clair, who had also looked towards Albel at the same time. As their eyes met, they simply smiled back to each other and nodded, showing their deep trust and support for one another.


Chapter 50: Sealed Cavern

Lancar and others transported directly to the gates of the destroyed Castle Aquaria, and made their way down the stairs located at the cathedral. After a long walk, they finally made it to the entrance of the Sealed Cavern – the secret underground passageway between Aquios and Kaddan.

"Man, this place is like another ruin…" Lancar commented, looking around. "I know rest of you have been here before, but this place gives me the creeps…"

"I'm scared…" Meena mumbled, following behind Lancar. "I haven't been here either."

"Ahh, don't worry! Just leave it up to me!" Roger said proudly. "I came here many times 2 years ago and enemies here are piece of cake!"

"Umm, but what about that time when Fayt had to save you from one of those monsters…" Peppita sneered. "And that time when you almost got squished by one of those blocks moving up and down?"

"Uh… hehe, oh ya…" Roger blushed, scratching his head. "I guess I was exaggerating, but don't worry! We've gotten stronger too!"

"Yeah I guess so… but let's still be careful." Peppita said.

"Yes, please keep an eye out for any monsters…" Tynave said, looking around carefully. "We do know where to go, but that charm Lady Clair gave us will only protect us from traps and guardians at Kaddan. We may still run into enemies here in Sealed Cavern."

"That's right, now that I think about it… this is where Lady Nel was assigned to for her mission…" Farleen recalled. "And she ended up getting caught by the demons… let's be careful, everyone!"

The Queen's party had already enabled the moving blocks previously, so Lancar's group did not have to go through the trouble of looking for the right switches. They all followed Tynave and Farleen's lead, encountering some skeleton monsters and evil wizards along the way. However, like Roger said, everyone had grown much stronger; the group dispatched the enemies without too much trouble.

"Alright, we're almost there now." Tynave told everyone, as the group entered the hallway that leads to the main entrance of Kaddan. "Let's rest for a few minutes at the entrance… we still have to go quite a way before we reach the altar of the Sacred Orb."

"Phew, at least those monsters didn't give us too much trouble…" Farleen said in relief. "And we won't have to encounter any more enemies after this… this isn't too bad after all, huh?"

"Awww, Farleen!" Roger yelled, annoyed. "Did you really have to say that? You jinxed it again!"

"Roger, quit it!" Farleen yelled back. "Stop believing in such things!"

"I have to admit, Farleen's track record with these things IS pretty bad…" Lancar said. "But I can't really see anything happening this time. We got that holy charm and everything…"

"W…Wait!" Tynave suddenly yelled, looking towards the entrances to Kaddan. There was a group of about 20 demons, guarding the entrance.

"S…shit, demons?" Lancar yelled, jumping back to get ready for a battle. "How did they get in here? The guards said that nobody came in from the outside!"

"Am… I really bad luck?" Farleen asked, also going into her battle stance. "Why does this always have to happen?"

"Roger, protect Meena for us!" Peppita yelled, readying herself. "Don't let her get hurt!"

"You can count on it!" Roger yelled. "I promise they won't lay a finger on her!"

"What? Mortals?" The leader of the demon with a big horn yelled, as the other demons scrambled forward to attack the group. "Do not let them into the Shrine! KILL THEM!"

Two of the demons rushed towards Lancar to attack him with their claw slashes. Lancar simply ducked the attack, decked one of them in the stomach, then grabbed and tossed him into the other demon. Both demons crashed right into the wall, and got knocked out.

Tynave was in a showdown with another one of the demons that had a sword. The demon swung his sword relentlessly at Tynave, butshe was too quick for him to hit. Tynave suddenly ran circles around the demon, so quick that there were two other images ofher going around him. She yelled out "DEAD TRIANGLE!" as her and two other illusive images surrounded the demon in a triangle formation, lunging towards the helpless demon to slash it three times simultaneously with her claws. The demon humped over from the attack, lifeless.

Meanwhile, Roger was fending off other demons that were going after him as well as Meena at the same time. Seeing one demon coming towards him from the distance, Roger tossed one of his chained axes to wrap it around the demon's body, tying him up. Roger then tossed his other chained axe towards the neck of the helpless demon at a blinding speed, yelling "EXECUTION!" The Axe shot decapitated the demon's head, execution style, as the lifeless body of the demon dropped to the floor.

While Roger had his hands full with the demons, another one of the demons from behind him began his spellcasting, then yelled "ENERGY ARROW!" as dozens of dark energy arrows homed in behind unsuspecting Roger.

"NO!" Peppita yelled, as she ran over to Roger to help, but she was too late. Roger turned around to see the energy arrows homing in on him fiercely, with no time to react.

"BARRIER!" Meena suddenly yelled, creating a protective barrier around Roger just in time to deflect the energy arrow attack. "Are you okay, big brother?"

"Phew… yeah, I'm okay… thanks, Meena!" Roger thanked Meena, turning around to attack the demon that casted the spell at him just before.

Meanwhile, Farleen was charging up a massive spell, as she knew they were greatly outnumbered in this fight and that they needed a big spell to take care of them all at once. Tynave fended off any attacks that were coming Farleen's way, so that they wouldn't disrupt her spellcasting. "MOVE OUT!" Farleen suddenly yelled out aloud after a while, as she swung her staff down while yelling "METEOR SWARM!" The runological energy created large meteor-looking boulders from high up above the Cavern, as they fell down towards the demons and crushed them all flat. The spell killed off most of the demons, except for their leader who had just barely evaded the attack.

"Why… how dare you lowly mortals…" The Demon yelled in frustration, as he took his sword and suddenly slammed it down the ground. "EARTHQUAKE!" He yelled, as the ground shook violently and knocked everyone off their feet, rattling them around like little beans on a frying pan.

"Uggh!" Lancar groaned as everyone was down on the ground, in a world of hurt. Everyone except for Peppita, that is. Peppita had cleverly avoided the Earthquake attack by jumping and clinging on to the ceiling, as if it was a circus performance. Peppita suddenly dropped down above the unsuspecting demon, raising both of her hands high above her head while yelling "DREAM HAMMER!" a gigantic magical hammer suddenly appeared in her hands, as she swung it downwards to nail the demon hard right on top of his head. The hammer blow dizzied the demon, as it staggered back and forth in one spot helplessly.

"He's stunned!" Peppita yelled to Lancar. "This is your chance!"

"Arrg… Alright… TAKE THIS!" Lancar forced himself up, still in pain, to deal the final blow to the demon. Lancar swung back his fist, then suddenly charged towards the demon at a lightning-quick speed, just like his Fiery Tackle attack. Covered in a bright, powerful aura, Lancar thrusted his fist forward right before the moment of impact, yelling "SHINING KNUCKLE!" The powerful punch tore right through the midsection of the demon, going through him with force so great that it tore his body up into little pieces.

"Ha… how's that, you demon…" Lancar taunted, out of breath. "How did you like going out with a BANG, you son of a bitch…?"

"…Big brother?" Meena yelled, as she crawled out from Roger's grasp. Roger had covered Meena with his own body so she wouldn't be hurt by the earthquake attack. Seeing everybody except for Peppita in a near-unconscious state, Meena quickly casted her Faerie Light spell, healing their wounds.

"Thank you, big brother Roger… for protecting me…" Meena thanked Roger.

"Heh, no sweat. I promised to protect you, didn't I?" Roger said proudly, giving a thumbs up. "I'm always the man of his word!"

"Phew… huff that was close…" Farleen said in relief. "I'm glad everyone's alright…"

"What were those demons doing here? How in the world did they get in…" Tynave wondered. "That was certainly unexpected."

"Hmm… and I wonder why they were just stationed at the entrance to the Shrine…" Lancar pondered. "Shouldn't they be going in? I thought they were after the Sacred Orb…"

"Well, Kaddan is the holy place, right?" Peppita said. "They're evil demons, so maybe that's why they couldn't get in. But if that's the case, why would they even bother showing up here? They just stood right in front of the entrance, as if they were guarding it… it's weird…"

"Wait a minute, maybe that's it!" Lancar suddenly yelled, as his eyes opened wide. "Maybe they were guarding the Temple from any interference from the outside… which means… there's probably someone already in there!"

"Oh no, that means her majesty and others could be in danger!" Farleen shrieked, her face turning pale in worry. "This could be trouble… let's get to the altar room as fast as we can!"

"Yes, let us hurry!" Tynave said aloud, as she quickly entered the door to Kaddan and ran down the hallway. "We must protect her majesty at all costs!"


Chapter 51: The Intruder

Lancar and others dashed through the Shrine of Kaddan, concerned about the unexpected intruder who had made it through the dungeon before them.

"I really hope her majesty and everyone else is alright…" Peppita said, worried. "We have to get there before it's too late!"

"I think we'll be able to catch up to the demon…" Tynave commented. "As you know, there are countless number of traps and guardians in this dungeon… no matter how strong that demon is, I doubt he would be able to get through them without trouble. Thankfully, since we have the charm with us, we'll be able to get through everything without much problem… we'll most likely get there before the demon reaches the altar room."

"Still, let's hurry." Lancar said, running ahead. "What I'm really wondering is how this demon was able to enter the Shrine… the holy aura of the Shrine is supposed to repel and demons from entering, no? I mean, all those other demons were left behind."

"Well, those demons from before were able to use Fayt and Maria's genes to act like 4D beings, right?" Roger asked. "So maybe they were able to enter the Shrine in the same way… I guess anything would be possible…"

"I'm confused…" Meena mumbled, riding on Lancar's back so that she can keep up with the rest of the group. "But I'll still try my bes…. AHHHHHHH!" Meena suddenly shrieked, shocked by what she saw on the ground ahead of her. There was a lifeless body of a soldier down on the ground, in a pool of blood.

"What the hell?" Lancar yelled, stunned by the scene. "Did that demon who came in ahead of us do this?"

"T… that's one of our Royal guards…" Tynave informed him, trembling in shock. "This is not good… her majesty could be in real danger!"

"Shit, let's hurry up." Lancar cursed, as he moved ahead. As they entered the next room, they witnessed something else; they saw broken pieces of crystal scattered across the floor.

"What's this?" Peppita asked. "Why are there crystal shards everywhere?"

"This… could it be…" Farleen wondered, her body trembling in fear.

"This is the crystal statue we had to fight on the way 2 years ago!" Roger yelled. "This is one of the guardians of the Shrine, isn't it?"

"Yes… it's one of the guardians…" Tynave confirmed. "I can't believe it… this demon just didn't defeat it… he destroyed it completely!"

"This guy must be really powerful…" Lancar said. "Let's keep going… this is worse than what I had imagined…"

The group made their way through several more hallways, witnessing scene after scene of absolute carnage along the way. There were numerous corpses of Royal Guards scattered around the hall, as well as broken pieces of rolling crystal ball guardians. Roger recalled how hard these guardians were to defeat when he came through here 2 years ago… he realized that this was certainly no ordinary demon that was making its way through. He was slightly sweating, fearing how powerful this demon they have to face might be.

"There's no way one single demon could have done this… no matter how strong it was… this is our entire army they destroyed…" Tynave said. "There's probably a few of them."

As they entered the next room, they witnessed more crystal pieces on the floor. This time, however, it was black crystal pieces. Roger suddenly stopped dead on his tracks, remembering what this was.

"Black Crystals? This is… its Crystal Cerberus!" Roger exclaimed. "This thing was like the strongest guardian here in this Shrine! We even had trouble defeating this thing with 6 people… and you're telling me this demon just destroyed it all by himself?"

"No, this HAD to be more than one person…" Farleen said. "This guardian is way too tough to beat for just single person… no way!"

"What kind of monster is this…" Lancar muttered. "Will we be able to even defeat this thing once we catch up to it?"

Everyone eventually reached the hallway with many doors, in which a party had to split up to face each guardian individually. However, more of the same from before was witnessed here; the demon had totally destroyed every single one of them. Becoming fearful of increasing display of the demon's power, the party kept going, and reached the room with the moving blocks.

"I bet even that thing had trouble getting through this!" Farleen said confidently. "These moving blocks are final set of traps before you get to the altar room… you make contact with it and BOOM! It'll pull you back to the beginning!"

"Yeah… I certainly remember this one…" Peppita said, remembering the room very well. "It took us a while to figure it out."

But as the group entered the room, they witnessed a totally unexpected scene. The moving blocks were all destroyed and disabled, as if somebody just tore their way through them.

"What the? He just went through the blocks?" Roger yelled. "That's impossible!"

"GWAAAA!" Suddenly, a scream was heard coming from the room from the room across from them. Everybody turned around, alarmed by the blood-curdling scream.

"T… that came from the altar room! It's past that door on the other side!" Tynave said, running towards the room "Somebody's in danger! Let's hurry! We have to save them!"

Everybody wasted no time running across to the altar room, and as they entered, they saw King Airyglyph and few other remaining guards standing firm against the lone enemy. The enemy was a blue-haired boy, with a white cape draped over his back, a rainbow-coloured sword in his hand and incredible aura emitting from his body. Lasselle was seen crumpled up on the other side of the room badly injured, while Queen Romeria and Lady Elena were hiding behind the King and the guards.

"Your majesty!" Farleen yelled. "OH NO!"

"T…Tynave… Farleen…" Lasselle mumbled, bleeding badly from his chest. "…I couldn't… protect… her majesty… from… this monster… please… protect… " Lasselle's head dropped back, fainting from excessive bleeding.

"Tynave… Farleen… you've come… please, protect the Sacred Orb!" The Queen said, visibly in shock.

"…Orb." The blue-haired demanded in robotic voice, with his eyes showing no trace of emotion. "The Sacred Orb… Give it to me."

"T… that's the one who tore his way through this entire dungeon?" Lancar asked, dumbfounded. "by himself?…but he's not even a demon!"

"You're not stealing our land's sacred treasure! We shall all fight to our deaths! " The King yelled, turning back to the remaining guards then pointing towards the boy. "ATTACK!"

As the four guards dashed towards the blue-haired boy with their spears, the boy didn't even flinch; he simply raised his Eternal Sphere sword, swung in back and slashed it towards the guards in a blur while yelling "GALE SLASH!" The gust of wind generated from the slash was similar to Albel and Raditz's Air Slash, but it wasn't even comparable in terms of power. The blast was so strong that it didn't just blow the soldiers away – it disintegrated them in a flash.

"…W…what power…" King Airyglyph mumbled, as he slowly stepped back, intimidated from the frightful display of the Blue-haired boy's power. "That power… is not of this world…"

The boy took the opportunity to dash in front of Queen Romeria, who had been holding the Sacred Orb. "YOUR MAJESTY! NO!" Lady Elena yelled as she quickly rushed in front of the Queen, getting in between her and the boy just in time. The boy, without any expression on his face, raised his sword to kill the obstacle to him that was Elena. Elena closed her eyes, awaiting her death.

"ELENA!" King Airyglyph yelled, as he quickly dove in front of Elena to push her out of the way. The Blue-haired boy's rapid sword slash sliced acrossed the King's chest, knocking him back with his blood spraying everywhere. He dropped down to the floor, his body lying motionless.

"A…ARZY!" Elena cried, stunned that her former lover had just sacrificed his life for him. "N…NOOOOO!"

"E… Elena…" The King weakly muttered his last words, as his eyes closed and his head tilted back.

"Y… YOU MONSTER!" Lancar yelled, as him, Tynave, Farleen, Roger, and Peppita all lunged towards the boy at the same time to take him on. "STOP IT!"

The Blue-haired boy nonchalantly raised his sword once again, not flinching even one bit. He swung his sword back, and then slashed it across towards the 5 fighters in a circular motion while yelling "SHOCKWAVE STORM!" Bright, GIGANTIC pillars of energy suddenly erupted from the ground in a circular pattern, as the boy's powered-up version of the Shockwave Swirl blasted everybody back towards the wall. Lancar, Tynave, Farleen, Roger, and Peppita were all met with a sickening crash against the wall, then dropped down and fell unconscious on the floor. The Blue-Haired boy had just beaten them all with one single move, effortlessly.

"…A…ah…" Meena stuttered, scared to death with what she just witnessed. She wanted to do something to help her comrades, but her body wouldn't respond; it was paralyzed in fear.

The boy then slowly walked towards the Stunned Queen Romeria, taking the Sacred Orb away from her so fast that she couldn't even react to it.

"!…. No…" Queen Romeria muttered, frozen in place, knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop this boy from taking the Sacred Orb. The boy turned around with the Orb in his hand and walked away, creating a black vortex in front of him. He walked into it, disappearing into thin air.

'A tail?' Meena thought, spotting a long brown tail trailing out from behind the Blue-haired boy's cape. 'He has a tail… like big brother Raditz…'

"…Your majesty… I have failed you…" Lady Elena mumbled on her knees, tears trickling down her face. "I've failed in protecting the Sacred Orb…"

"…Elena, there was nothing you could do…" Queen Romeria said, still stunned at the sequence of events. "His power was too great…"

"F…FAERIE LIGHT!" Meena finally gathered herself to cast the heal-all spell on her fallen comrades. The faeries soothed everyone's wounds, bumps, and bruises, healing everyone wonderfully and allowing them to regain consciousness.

"W…what just happened?" Lancar asked, looking around him. "Where did that boy go?"

"Huh? Y…your majesty? Is her majesty safe?" Farleen asked as soon as she regained her consciousness. "Where's our enemy?"

"The Sacred Orb!" Tynave yelled, looking around the room for it. "Where did it go?"

"…You were all incapacitated from the powerful attack unleashed by that Blue-haired boy…" The Queen told everyone, with her head down. "And he also succeeded in taking the Sacred Orb away from us."

"OH NO!" Farleen yelled. "This is horrible! This means…"

"That means they completed their final mission!" Roger exclaimed, with a look of fear in his eyes. "Does this mean that it's a matter of time before those demons take over our universe?"

"No, don't say that… it's not over yet!" Peppita said. "We still have Albel, Miss Maria, and everyone else going after those demons! There's still hope!"

"Yeah, we should get out of here and join up with them as fast as we can…" Lancar said. "Although I'm not sure if we can be of any help… we couldn't even lay a finger on that Blue-haired boy… This must be the guy that old man was talking about back at Airyglyph. His power was beyond anything I've ever seen... I don't think the other guys have a chance of defeating him, either. Damn… who was he, anyway?"

"I… I thought he was a demon…" Tynave said. "There is no way a human could be capable of such power…"

"He was certainly a mysterious young boy…" The Queen spoke. "His power was certainly fearsome, yet I could not feel any evil presence in his soul. He is certainly not of the demon kind."

"Now that I think about it…" Lancar said, holding his head in thought. "He had the same style of fighting as Albel and Raditz… Edarl style, or something like that."

"Yeah! He had a tail, just like big brother Raditz!" Meena said, remembering the boy's tail coming out from underneath his cape. "I saw it! I saw it!"

"What? A tail?" Lancar yelled. "You mean he's a Felinefolk, a Roakian, then?"

"…That…boy…" Lasselle muttered, still crumpled up down at the corner, badly injured. "…he…showed…no…emotion…at all…he…may…not…be…himself…"

"Magistrate Lasselle, you are still alive!" Elena yelled in shock, as she ran over to him to cast a healing spell. Meena quickly rushed towards him as well to help.

"Now that the boy has taken the Sacred Orb from us, the fate of this world, as well as the entire universe, may be in danger." The Queen calmly said, regaining her composure. "Farleen, please inform me of the current situation. Is our Sacred Orb now in the possession of the Demon world?"

"Yes, your highness! Unfortunately, it seems like it's indeed in the demon's possession…" Farleen said. "…We promise to explain everything in detail, your majesty! But right now, we have come here to guide your majesty and others back to a safer place, out of the reach of the demons!"

"We also have to catch up to Albel and others…" Lancar said, turning and bowing to the Queen. "Your highness, we are currently in a critical situation, and must hurry back out to the surface… I can explain everything on the way, if your highness would give us the permission to be the escorts…"

"Interesting. Very well. I shall come with you." The Queen said. "From what I've heard, it seems that there is another group of you who are already on their way towards the Demon world. If that is the case, you must hurry up and join them as soon as possible. Let us be on our way at once."

"Yes, your majesty." Lancar said, as everybody got ready to head back out to Aquios. "Alright then, everyone… let's hurry back!"