Disclaimer- I don't own The Lunar Series

The Devil's Knighthood Chapter 27 Dragons and Internal Strife

The four travelers ran up the stairs to the second floor, where the Magic Circle that created the monster was located. But when they arrived no one was there.

"I'm sensing a large amount of mana from higher in the tower." Mia lead the others to the next set of stairs. 'But where is the source?' They ran into a pair of stone gargoyles on the way. " I'll handle this." Mia cupped her hands and fire emerged and consumed the gargolyes. When it cleared there was nothing but liquid rock. They continued on their way to the top. On the corridor of the next floor they encountered a wall.

" This shouldn't be here." Ryan said perplexed.

"That's because it's an illusion." Said Spirit. His partner stuck his hand through wall.

" Come on." He said the others. On the other side of the wall there were even more gargoyles, Stone Soliders and Flame Ghosts.

" This is going to take awhile." Muttered Alex as he and his friends charged towards the monsters.

Devil's Knigththood HQ

Mirar heard a chorus of hideous screams followed by an cruel laugh that sounded too familar. She followed the screams and found Shane using the corrpution spell on prisoners in the dungeon.

" Shane! What are you doing!" She cried in horror. Shane looked at her innocently.

" I'm just practicing the corruption spell. Actually this is just for fun practice. The real thing was corrupting their village, these are just some that I missed."

Mirar was horrified

" Shane, you ruined the lives of an entire village just for pratice with the corruption spell!"

" Yes, why do you sound so surprised?"

" You're destroying lives! That's not what this knighthood was formed for!"

" My ends justifies my means. Once all of Lunar is corrupted and the new order is made. These people will feel honored to have helped create the perfect world!"

'Shane what's happened to you? You used to be so kind and friendly.' Mirar thought sadly.

Azado

" This is taking forever!" Ali screamed in irriation after clearing the 5th room full of monsters. " I'm almost of MP."

" Me too." Said Ryan and Mia.

" I'm not. Just another perk of being an adult dragon." Alex said smugly, earning him a punch from his girlfriend. " Ow, my girlfriend is so violent, ow."

" We should be getting close to the top."

Meanwhile at the bottom of the tower things weren't going well either.

" Blue Dragon Kick!" Laura dashed through a swarm of fire based enemies and struck down a few of them. Monfar kissed a pair of dice before throwing them.

" Lady Luck be kind!" He got a five and two, the dice shot forth beams of energy that struck every enemy and defeated a few more. " Can't argue with those results."

Hikaru was still holding onto Keiko while whispering comforting words, neither of them seemed to notice the battle.

DKH HQ

" Mirar I hear you're opposed to Lord Shane's treatment of prisoners and his decisons in general." Hasion asked. He asked Mirar to speak with him in one of the common rooms in mansion that served as their current HQ.

" Yes! You wouldn't believe how much he's changed since he found that stone." Mirar replied. " If only I could find a way to help him."

" I'm afraid I can't allow that my lady." Hasion declared. Mirar's eyes widened.

"You think you can stop me?"

" No, but I can." Said another voice. Mirar felt something hit her head and she blacked out. " No one can escape me, for I am a shadow."

Azado

" Those fools." Absor said mockingly. He stood in the same as the priests who were chanting the spell, it was a replica of the orginal ritual room but behind a trap door. " Did they think we would have the ritual out in the open?"

DKH HQ

Mirar groaned as she woke up, she was an enclosed dark. area. She felt drowsy and her head hurt but when she reached up to rub where it hurt, she couldn't move her hands.

'No...' she tried again with similar results. She awoke completely and pulled at her bonds. Rope had encircled her wrists and rest was wrapped around her waist and ended in a tight knot. Rope was also tied around her elbows and shoulders, all knotted together at her wrists binding them even more Her ankles were tied together as well as her knees and thighs, which were all tied together. She was in a kneeling postion and her ankles were tied to her wrists. A dirty cloth was stuffed in her mouth and tied around her head and another cloth was tied around her eyes. She pulled at the bonds but the knots were so tight she couldn't move at all.

" Are sure all that was necessary? It seems exessive for just one girl." Said a voice.

" It is absolutely necessary. She is My Lord's right hand and her power is second only to him. Any gesture at all could mean death for all of us." Said a voice that sounded like Hasion.

" She is that powerful?" Said the first voice sounding fearfull.

" Don't worry I took the necessary precautions." Said Hasion. Light shone on her and someone pulled down her blindfold. The first thing Mirar saw was Hasion smirking down at her. She glared daggers at him and renewed her struggling.

" Don't bother Mirar. Those ropes were enchanted so that only a blade can remove them." He said. " And that circlet on your forehead will block out your power."

Mirar twisted and pulled but the ropes wouldn't budge. " I bet you're wondering why you're tied up in a barrel?"

" You see I like the way Lord Shane is now, so does others of the Knighthood." Hasion continued. " The only thing that keeps him from throwing away the last of his moral inhibtions is you." Mirar gasped.

" I could kill you. The rage Lord Shane would have would remove any and all hesitation for the corruption spell. But he might think the knighthood did it, at that point his rage would be channeled at us and we would be the one he practices the corruption spell on. So we're just going to send you to a brothel." At this Mirar's anger turned to fear, Hasion noticed and chuckled.

" I thought you were a virgin, guess I was right." He put the blindfold back on the top back on the barrel and said " She's all yours." to someone and Mirar felt herself being lifted and carried somewhere. She struggled wildly against her bonds but they refused to give an inch.

Azado Temple

" I think we finally reached the top." Said Ryan. They walked out the final door and emerged on the Althena Statue's left hand. Absor was standing on the right hand with a giant ball of fire behind him.

" Too late. Any second now the great fire beast shall arise!"

" Then we'll just have to kill you and put it out." Alex slashed at Absor, he grabbed the sword's blade and both of them started glowing. After a few seconds of trying to pull his sword back Alex started to feel lightheaded. He let go of his sword and threw a fire ball at Absor, who caught and it dissolved in his hand.

" I was right, the DKH did have a parasite mage!"

"That's right. I am Absor, I will absorb any attack you can throw at me."

Mia placed her hands on the Althena statue and it began to crack at the base of the right wrist. Within seconds the ground beanth Absor gave way, he jumped off the falling piece of rock and right into a double attack by Ryan and Ali. He caught each blade in one hand, but instead of looking angry they smirked.

" Scorthing Fire!" A stream of fire came from Alex and slammed into Absor's chest and knocked him into the large ball of fire still floating where the right hand used to be. His form vanished, consumed by the fire. Mia chanted a spell to put out the fire but just as she spoke the last word and was about to release the spell the fire grew and took the form of a demonic red dragon. She turned the spell on it but it fired a blast of fire and evaporated the water. It roared and was covered by a red aura.

Mia fired more water spells but they all evaporated before hiting him.

" Wind and fire will help him. But electrity should work." Ryan mussed. Mia took his advice and fired a lightning bolt at the dragon. It dodged and shoot several fire balls at them.

" Watch out!" Alex rushed forwards and blocked the attacks with his White Dragon Shield. Mia tried several more lightening spells but the demon dragon would always dodge.

" I guess it's time for my turmp card." Alex said casually, as if a giant evil dragon wasn't about to burn a city to the ground and there attempts to stop it actually worked.

He closed his eyes and started glowing with white light, when he opened his eyes they too were glowing. He spread his wings and jumped of the Statue's hand. As he flew his form grew bigger and white scales replaced his skin. His head grew larger and longer. He sprouted horns on his head and a tail sprouted from his rear. He flared out his wings and roared as his transformation was complete.

" Wow." Ali breathed. She'd been around magic all her life but seeing her boyfriend transform into an adult white dragon still took her breath away.

Alex roared and head butted the fiendish dragon, knocking it off the skies and tackling it to the ground outside of Azado. It fired it's breathe attack at him to knock him off and slashed at him with it's claws. It's attack was negated by a barrier and Alex fired a blast of light from his own mouth. It hit the demon dragon in the face caused it to howl in pain. Alex followed up his attack with a bite to the dragon's neck. The dark fire dragon howled and fought back with it's claws, slicing across Alex's scales. Alex bit harder before tossing it aside. This made the fiendish dragon collasp on it's side, Alex jumped to body slam his oppoent but was batted away by it's tail. The demon dragon took flight once more and breathed a constant stream of fire on Alex. When it stopped Alex lay umoving.

" We have to help him!" Ali used her wind magic to flew to the battle and dove her sword into the wounds on the dragon's neck repeatedly. Normally this wouldn't hurt a dragon but the wounds made each stap much more painfull. The Demon dragon slapped a claw to it's neck like one would with a mosquito but Ali jumped out of range of the claw and stapped other wounds. After several rounds of this the dragon succedded in grabbing her. It chuckled and began squezzing her, chuckling louder when she screamed in pain. It stopped when it saw the red eyed glare of the White Dragon. This pause, though sort was long enough for Ali to get her bearings and leviate out of his grasp and onto Alex's left claw where she fell to her knees.

" Are you alright?" Alex's voice sounded much different as a dragon but she could still recognize the conern in his tone.

" I'll be alright. Just need a little time for a healing spell." She replied with effort. The demon dragon brusied her ribs. 'This is going to take more then a simple healing spell.'

Alex carefully closed his claw so Ali wouldn't fall out and jumped out of the way of the demon dragon's attack. Ali concentrated on the strongest healing spell she knew and willed it heal her injuries.

' Keep him busy Alex, I'll join you soon.'

The battle raged on, every time one seemed to have to advantage the other would make a comeback. Untill Ali finished the spell to heal herself. She floated up to Alex's head and perpared a blast of non-elemental energy. Alex caught on to her plan and charged his own blast. They fired simultanously and they combinded blasts consumed the demon dragon and reduced it to ashes. Alex descended and transformed back to his human form.

" We did it!" They yelled an hugged. Then Ali noticed something, something very important.

Alex's clothes were gone. Her boyfriend was nude and she was hugging him. Blood rushed to her head and she fainted.

Alex felt his girlfriend go limp in his arms, that's when he himself realized his clothes were missing. He blushed crimson and put Ali down.

'I must not be good at the transform to keep my clothes!'

It was at this point Ryan and Mia showed up. They can't fly and so they had to take the long way to the battle.

' Wow, he is HOT.' Mia thought. ' But my Ryan is hoter of course.' She added quickly.

" Alex...what is going on?" Ryan demanded.

" My clothes ripped when I transformed! I didn't know it would hapen!"

The next day

" I told you! I didn't do it on purpose!" Alex claimed

" It didn't even occur to you that it would happen?" Ali screeched.

All the monsters disapeared after the demon dragonw as destroyed. There was little damage and deaths. The travellers had come to Blaise's house to recover.

Blasie looked worried about the fighting couple but the others reassured him this was relativly normal for the two.

" How's Keiko?" Mia asked.

" See for yourself." The high priest pointed towards a community garden to see Keiko and Hikaru walking through it. Keiko was clutching Hikaru's arm like a life line. " It'll take a lot of emotional support from Hikaru before she's back to normal, but the event was not a complete tragedy." He said with a smile, Mia followed his gaze and saw Hikaru pick a flower from the garden and place it in Keiko's hair. She blushed prettily and gave Hikaru a quick peck on the lips.

" They're a couple now." Mia realized.

" Yes, Hikaru told Keiko how important to him she was and how he didn't want to lose her. She told him she felt the same."

" Where too next?" Laura asked at Dinner that night.

" We take a boat to the Blue Spire." Said Mia.

(bows) Really sorry about the horendously late update.