There's quite a bit of important information in this chapter that will prove very significant in the future. It's significant information that will be explained later, and it's a bit of a continuation of what Shamir and the others mentioned chapters ago. There's more going on in the world than anyone from Ebott realizes.
The world is large...and it's hiding much more than they first believed.
Toriel: Hm...
Chapter Start!
(The Fourth Island)
While the respective battles on the other islands were currently waging on, Asriel, Toriel, and Red were heading towards the fourth island with River Person sailing them there in a very quick motion. Toriel suggested Nikon to accompany them, to give her a proper layout of how the fourth island is set up, and what they can expect from it while they're trying to find Augustine. Nikon was at first pretty surprised to see that she was asked to come along with them, but she was more than happy to assist anyway she could. Red was impatiently waiting to reach the island, which is different from Asriel's calmness to the situation. Since it was just the forth of them, he had to at least think about what they would do once they've reached said island.
Nikon did her best to explain the island's layout. There used to be just as much forest and wildlife, as well as inhabitants from the village. Plenty of animals surrounded the place, and it was also an ideal place for them to grow numerous amounts of vegetation, plenty of space for farming both regular foods and magic foods. However...once Augustine and her Stoneforge cabal occupied the islands and brought them under her control, much of the vegetation on that island-which is undoubtedly the largest-was wiped out. The monsters and human resided on the island were placed on the other islands. Those that didn't leave and attempted to resist...they were dealt with accordingly. At least their version of accordingly. Hearing this only made Toriel even more upset about this whole thing than she already was, and Red was losing her grip on her own self-control at the moment. Asriel chose to keep calmer than either of them, and listened clearly to Nikon's explanation.
Nikon also made an observation that was highly important when it came to dealing with them. As she's already hinted, and something they've already observed from their first confrontation with them. They were obviously users of earth magic. Earth Magic could be incredibly powerful and very hard-hitting when used efficiently. Which meant that the earth users they encountered thus far were not very skilled at it. It almost felt as if the magic was not their own. It feels as if the magic was not their own...but it was somehow given to them. Nikon didn't understand it herself, but she was sure that while they were wielders of earth magic, something about them gave her the impression that it wasn't really theirs. They possess it, but it is not a power they truly had. As if the magic was not an awakening...more like it was given to them. It was very much unlike what Shamir described about humans awakening the dormant magic within their souls. These humans didn't have the dormant power within them, and yet they wield it, albeit to a significantly lesser degree than one who would have truly awakened earth magic should.
With this, Toriel was able to come to a rather strange, as well as VERY concerning, conclusion. And she felt that it would be very important to bring up the information for a later, in-depth discussion. It was definitely something she felt she needed to discuss with her husband, as well as Sans, and perhaps even Gerson. Thinking of the former two made her sigh internally. She missed those two greatly. Her goofy husband and her pun-loving partner in crime respectively, and she longed to return to them as soon as she possibly could. She soon shook her head and steeled her gaze. She can think about that later, right now she had to focus.
Red narrowed her eyes as she gazed in front of her. River Person was sailing them closer to their destination, the forth island and main base of operations for Stoneforge. She could easily tell, as she sees multiple large spikes of earth emerging from the island, many smooth boulders, spiked boulders. What truly got their attention was the magically created structure that most likely served as the main place of gathering. Asriel could see it as well, realizing that it was the most likely place that Augustine was probably hiding herself, as well as the massive magic energy that was lying within the complex. Whatever was there lying within the compound, it was incredibly powerful.
"We grow near. The enemies are waiting for us at the docks. Prepare yourselves for the inevitable, for they obviously already know of our impending arrival. You gave them quite a scare, my Queen." The elder raccoon monster informed them, looking onwards to the docks with worry. "It is not too late to turn back from this, my Queen. You don't have to place yourself in danger for our sake."
"Turning my back on you know would not weigh well on my conscience. I shall not do such a thing." Toriel replied calmly, as River Person approached the dock and they all stepped off of the boat. Toriel was the first to exit, followed by Asriel, Red, and Nikon. Toriel calmly clasped her paws and stared at the earth-magic users blocking the way of their current path. "Excuse me. But I have discovered that Augustine is residing on this island, and I seek to speak with her personally. Will you be so kind as to take us to her?"
"Tch! You want to speak with Augustine, huh? You say that as if you haven't done anything! She's utterly terrified of you! She wants nothing to do with you in any way!" One of them declared angrily, though he was clearly intimidated by Toriel's quiet, yet fierce gaze. He shook his head and tried to regain his bravado. "What's your beef with her, what did she ever do to you?" Toriel was growing highly displeased by their blatant ignorance. They really don't see anything wrong with their actions. What was wrong with what Augustine was doing, and having them do. They knew exactly what they were doing, and yet it was highly likely that they were not going to stop without direct intervention.
Asriel, wanting to prevent his mother from exploding, stepped in front of the three females, and stood before the hostiles, nervously waiting. "Howdy! Um...what sh means is what you're doing to these people is wrong, keeping them in captivity like this isn't nice. These monsters, and the humans living alongside them...I don't think they appreciate you keeping them imprisoned like this. And believe me, we know quite a bit about imprisonment." He said with a saddened sigh. Then he gazed at them calmly before spreading his arms. "So please, can we speak with Augustine? We don't want this to get any worse than it already is. Please...?"
"You've gotta be kidding me..." Red said with irritation, placing her paws on her hips. "C'mon, Asriel! Be serious about this!"
"I am being serious!" Asriel pouted. "I don't like what's going on any more than you do. But that doesn't mean we can't at least try to be reasonable, right?" Toriel softly nodded in silent agreement. The only reason why she hasn't lashed out yet was because, as angry as she was, her desire for a peaceful resolution wasn't completely off the table. It's just that things like this are unable to escape her temper. Asriel was also able to understand something vital: Humans were significantly more difficult to reason with. That's a lesson he had the unfortunate displeasure of learning the hard way, in different, painful doses. Still, he at least had to try. "Can we please speak to Augustine? I'm sure we can come to an understanding..." Red facepalmed.
"What nonsense are you speaking, kid?" One of them said as while slowly stepping forward, glowing slightly yellow. Asriel sensed it a a surge in earth magic. "You come onto this archipelago looking for trouble, and you expect to just continue waltzing around and make demands?"
"I'm not making demands. I genuinely don't want to fight you or Augustine. In fact, we only came here because we were informed that our friends were in danger." Asriel narrowed his eyes. "But I also can't ignore someone who's suffering when I can do something about it. And those humans and monsters are suffering because of you and Augustine, mostly because of your greed. Please, turn away from this now."
Their response, much to Asriel's awkwardness and Red's irritation, was predictable.
Their earth magic was cast quickly, multiple blocks of earth generated and shot towards Asriel. Asriel narrowed his eyes slightly at this. It didn't even get the chance to reach him. Red slashed the blocks apart in multiple pieces, leaving the rubble to harmlessly fall around them. She then turned towards Asriel with a questioning glare. Asriel sighed softly as he raised his paws and shook his head. He did warn them, and he did ask nicely for them to stop. They refused the offer and attacked first. The only person who was more irritated by this offense than Red was Toriel herself. The searing anger from her eyes made that very clear.
This as best exemplified by a fireball smashing directly into them, blasting them back and sending them into the ground. The others were in awe as they watched a few of their comrades struggle back to their feet. She clasped her paws and gazed down to Nikon. "Is there a possibility of other monsters and humans being imprisoned on this island?"
Nikon nodded. "There's a period of time in which prisoners are taken here and awaiting to be sold off. There's already a few of my fellow villagers that I'll never see again. However, I'm sure that they would want me to liberate those who are left. At the very least, they need to be saved. There should be a holding area for all human magic users and monsters that haven't disappeared yet. They're usually sent here for health checks and other procedures before deciding a price for each of them. If they're not meeting Augustine's standard...they..." Nikon looked away. "They..."
"I see. All the more reason for me to pay her a visit." Toriel said quietly. She turned to Asriel and Red. "Asriel, since these people won't freely let us pass, I'll need you to go on ahead and free those prisoners. Red, I'm entrusting you with his safety. Though I highly expect you to take care of yourself as well."
"Right. I've got his back." Red shook her head then nodded. "Asriel. Do you think you can teleport us inside?"
Asriel nodded softly. Then he turned to his mother. "Be careful, Mom."
"To you as well, my child." Toriel nodded. Asriel placed a paw on Red's shoulder, and they vanished in a flash of rainbow colors. With that she turns to the humans and monsters in her way. "Are you all willing to step aside yet? That would be your wisest course of action." They glared at her adamantly in response, causing her to sigh. "Your choice. Do not worry. I shall not kill any of you, I'll make sure you all survive." She placed one paw outwards, and the rainbow flames in her hands slowly began to focus on the color blue. "I should warn you though. While it's rather shameful for me to admit, it is the truth...I'm not as gentle as my son when it comes to my enemy."
(Meanwhile)
Asriel and Red appeared in front of a door to a different part of the island, in front of a strange rock-like fortress, knowing what their current objective was and planning to proceed with it. Asriel closed his eyes and expands his senses on order to search for a specific area for where the prisoners were unjustly kept. He did sense the magic from the numerous monsters and humans guarding various areas of the island. But the humans...their magic didn't feel right. Of course magic wasn't totally natural to humans, but this was just slightly different. It was like...the magic didn't really belong to them. It was a very strange feeling, and he guessed that Toriel knew something about it too, as she was a somewhat better sensor than he was. But he could worry about that later. Right now, they had an objective to complete.
Asriel placed his paw on the wall and his eyes narrowed slightly. "This entire fortress was constructed entirely out of earth magic...I think Augustine is more formidable than we're giving her credit for." He says quietly as he searches for a way inside without wasting his stamina teleporting. "It seems that they make their own entrances and exits, so that none of the prisoners can escape even if they break out of their restraints...trapping them inside until they can become restrained again.."
"They make their own entrances and exits? Fine. We can do that too." Red said as she unsheathed her sword, and it began to glow. She holds it vertically in front of her and focused on the wall. Then she swings her sword in four different directions, in the shape of a rectangle to fit the both of them. Once the cut was made, she kicked it in, and the mark immediately vanishes, leaving a clear hole for them to walk through.. Asriel's eyes widened in surprise as Red makes her saber disappear, placing a paw on her hip. "There's our entrance. Come on." She says as she moves forward, her hood down for the time being. Though she noticed that Asriel was still gaping in surprise at her act, and she turned to face him. "Hey! You coming? Or are you just going to stand there looking cute?" Red demanded, her annoyed voice echoed through the hole she made.
"Right, sorry." Asriel shook his head and followed after her, a ball of fire levitating above his paw to light the way for the both of them.
As they moved down the corridor Red created, Asriel got the impression that the prisoners living conditions are less than suitable, especially when there's so many of them in one place. And he was easily able to tell just how long they've been here, given how the humans didn't seem to have anything to eat or drink in days, while the monsters looked incredibly close to falling down. It was a very saddening sight to see. He lowered his eyes quietly as he passed them all by, wanting to make sure they searched everything before they started freeing everyone here. It was very clear that Augustine did not want these monsters and magic wielding humans to leave no matter what. Obviously they couldn't leave them all here, they needed their help, and quickly.
One of the humans lifted her head up, her hair covering her face some. Her clothes, like most others clothes within this area, were tattered and dirty, and they were all filthy in general. Yet the woman's face lit up with a small smile as she was able to sense that the two in front of her were not hostile. "...We're...saved..."
"...Why would anyone imprison people like this? I sense no maliciousness in their souls...they don't deserve this." Asriel said quietly. Though he sensed hostile intent entering the room, and he turned his head. "Though they surely are malicious..."
"Ya think?" Red rolled her eyes as multiple bolts of earth emerged from the walls and began shooting at the both of them. Red was quick to unsheathe her blade and slash the earth bolts apart. Asriel was preparing to attack with his magic fire. Though he failed to notice a few smaller rocks emerge from the ground and attached themselves to his wrists, and forcefully brought them together, restraining the use of his paws. The same thing was done for his ankles. He blinked owlishly in surprise, then he pouted and shook his head. He should have been more observant han that.
Red saw that Asriel was restrained, and rushed to help. But she found her feet and arms restrained by earth, trapping them and keeping her from moving. "Oh you have got to be kidding me! That's seriously cheap!"
Asriel raised his head as the guards approached them, smirking and thinking that they've already won. "These are the intruders? It's a wonder that they were even able to get inside. The only way through here is through Earth Magic. And yet here they are, sniffing their noses where they don't belong."
"Is that a jab at me?" Red growled, a tick mark on her head.
"You kids are getting involved in things that don't involve you and shouldn't involve you. You're really pushing your luck by actually breaking in here." Another stated with annoyance. Asriel snickered slightly, earning a raised eyebrow from Red and a look of irritation from the guards. "I don't think I've said anything funny."
"It's just that...you called me a kid. You see, my mom has a thing for terrible puns. And since I'm still a pretty young goat...hehehe!~"
"Asriel..." Red's eyes twitched angrily.
"Sorry, Sorry." Asriel shook his head, getting the last of his laughs out of the way. Then he glared seriously towards them. "These people don't deserve to be in cages. Monsters. Humans. They're one in the same, they're still people. You can't imprison them like this, especially if it's for your own gain. If you don't free them this instant...we'll do it ourselves."
"Really now? And we're supposed to be afraid of a little kid like you? Afraid of someone who can't even use their paws?"
Asriel closed his eyes and sighed softly. "So this is what's come to...alright. At the very least, I can say that I tried." Then opened his eyes and smirked. "Too bad for you, I've been trained by someone who restrains me much more harshly than this. What you're doing right now is child's play." With this, Asriel takes a deep breath, then forcefully pulls his paws apart, breaking the earth restraints and shocking the guards greatly, as well as Red herself. He rubbed his wrists a bit and smiled gently. "What? I can't really match my master in physical strength, but weak isn't something I'd really call myself. So...can we talk about releasing everyone now?"
"Flipping dog biscuits, Asriel..." Red groaned. Asriel was quick to break Red's restraints with his own paws, starting with her paws and then her feet. With that out of the way, Red manifests her sword again and growled angrily. "I'm not gonna let that happen again! And I suggest you don't either!"
"I know, I know." Asriel shook his head as he nodded apologetically to the guards. "Sorry about this." They were briefly confused by this, before one of them was knocked out by a fireball smashed into one of their chests. "Sorry!"
"Stop. Apologizing. To. The Enemy!" Red shouted as she slashed apart the numerous earth bolts heading their way. "Are you seriously feeling bad for the ones keeping these people prisoner against their will?"
Asriel awkwardly rubbed his neck as he gathered fire in his paws and throws it towards them, which was blocked as they summoned earth pillars to defend against the flames. They were much more skilled with earth magic than the ones outside. It made a bit of sense, because they were guarding the prisoners more likely to force an escape. Still, it wouldn't be enough. Though it would mean that he would have to be a bit more forceful with his attacks in order to break through their defense. He was about to apologize to them beforehand, but remembered that Red wouldn't really like hearing that again. So he kept it to himself and chose to switch from fire to lightning. He gathered plenty of lightning in one paw, and throws a powerful bolt of it towards the pillars, destroying a few of them and knocking a few of them down. Not all though, as a few of them stayed standing and threw multiple earth spikes towards him, hoping to impale him where he stood.
Red easily blocked that intention, slashing every spike that came Asriel's way. She cuts each and every one of them down, preventing them from reaching him. After enough times, she forces herself through the storm of earth spikes, not letting any of them hit her easily. A few of them tried to scratch her cheek as well as her stomach, but those too were slashed apart with little to no effort on her part. She continues to run towards them as they try sending earth pillars her way to slow her pace, though she slashed those apart and they harmlessly passed by her. Once she got close enough she immediately cuts a few of them down with very precise slashes across their chests, arms, and legs. Doing critical damage but not enough to put their lives in danger. And with that damage she would jump and kick at a few of their heads, as well as smacking their for heads with the handle of her sword, knocking them down as well. She huffed slightly as she looks at Asriel.
"That surely isn't all of them. More are sure to come our way..." She said quietly with narrowed eyes.
Asriel nodded. He then turned towards the other end of the hallway...still feeling that same immense presence. He made his decision then, checking with Red first. "I have to go see what's causing that immense surge of magic...I'm counting on you to free these prisoners and keep them safe." With this, Asriel descends down the stairway, looking to find the powerful magic. Red saw him away, and sighed slightly with worry. But she casts it aside as she focused on her objective, not willing to let Asriel's confidence in her go to waste.
Red cuts down more enemies, again with her magic dulling her blade just slightly so that not one single slash did any lethal damage. None of them were quick enough to be able to catch her. As admittedly powerful earth magic was, it doesn't really do much when it came to speed. That's her advantage over them as she slashed every rock shot in her direction in multiple small pieces, and she slashed any wall in her way clean in half. They were left nearly helpless because despite having the advantage in power, she was very quick to cut them before they got the chance to do any serious damage. She sighed softly as she didn't sheathe her sword, keeping an eye out for any more possible enemies.
She was right to wait, as three of the larger, stronger guards entered through the corridor, generating a menacing amount of earth magic. Red narrowed her eyes as she tightly gripped her sword. Asriel told me to keep them safe, meaning he's depending on me. Given the seriousness of this, even though he probably doesn't want me interpreting it that way...I have to treat it like an order! With this in mind, Red deflected a few sharpened earth shards heading her way. But she was distracted by those shards, as a harden rock fist rose from the ground and hit her right in her side. She flew a few feet, landing on her side and wincing from the pain. She staggers back to her feet and shakes her head. Okay...no wonder I was trying to avoid those attacks...rocks hurt. Red growled as she stands back up. Though a pillar emerged from the ceiling and shot towards her with swiftness and harsh force, enough to greatly crater the ground. Red barely dodges b y jumping back, only for an earth wall to emerge behind her and keep her from going any further. Then a hardened earth fist struck her hard in the stomach, breaking her through the wall and knocking her to the ground.
There was a distinct gasp from the prisoners around them, seeing their savior being damaged so seriously. Though she still found herself standing back up while holding her blade. She gripped it with both of her paws and narrowed her eyes towards the three new guards stalking towards her. She huffed as she prepared to swing her sword again, far from done with them. "I'm going to free these people, and there's no way you're stopping me!"
(Meanwhile...)
There was no stopping it now. Toriel was on the island, and she was surely going to come after her. It wasn't a matter of if anymore. It's been reduced to a fear-inducing when. And that time was sooner than she would have liked. Much sooner than she would have liked. She tried her best to clear her mind and focus on potential positives for the situation. She was still somewhat safe from Toriel do to the compounds mostly being locked away do to earth magic. It's used to create their own entrances and exits, so they shouldn't have any way of getting in so easily. They surely haven't talked to Tempest or Darkness, so they shouldn't know how to get in. Parvos was only able to get inside because no one saw him coming. But she knew Toriel was coming, so her defenses are a bit more pronounced, as well as her security in general. She shouldn't be able to do so easily.
Knock knock.
Augustine blinked as she raised her head to the noise. She raised an eyebrow, understandably cautious. "...Uh...who's there?"
"Fire."
"...Fire...?"
BOOM!
Augustine took cover as many pieces of debris shot towards and past her, nearly hitting her in the process. She could also feel an intense amount of heat, and blue blames flowing past her and nearly igniting her hair. She swore she even felt a bit of burns despite how close yet far they were from directly harming her. She then slowly peaked over her cover and felt true terror well up inside of her, threatening to freeze her in place despite how hot it suddenly became in the room.
Toriel slowly strolled into the room with her fist outstretched, then casually brushes debris off her skirt as she's passing over the unconscious bodies of the poor fools that actively tried to stand in her way. Nikon slowly followed her, and Augustine got a much better understanding on how Toriel knew at least a bit about what was going on. Though that she didn't understand was why she wasn't getting burned as well, despite a few embers accidentally landing on her. Surely her mastery over pyrokinesis couldn't be that incredible, right? It looks like she was going to find out one way or another, as Toriel stopped in the middle of the room with a paw resting on her hip. Her anger was quite obvious, yet her expression is surprisingly tranquil. Augustine resisted the urge to blush.
Wow...she's a bit on the stout side...but she's actually very beautiful in person...
"Augustine...there you are..." Toriel's voice snapped her out of her stupor, blinking herself back into focus and making her remember that she was in very serious danger. "So you're the cause of all the trouble that's befallen this archipelago..."
"Oh. Toriel! Queen of Monsters! Heeeyyyy...~" Augustine faux-cheerfully waved as sweat began dripping down her head, both from the intense heat before her and her own fear. "How's it going...? You look...REALLY angry. And I have a pretty good idea why that is-GAH!" She ducked as a fireball zoomed over her head, smashing into the wall behind her, making a slight crater. "Uh...guess you're not here to talk...?"
"Can you blame her?" Nikon stepped up, narrowing her eyes. "You and your Stoneforge guild have kept a very harsh hold on my home and it's people, using them to your own selfish ends. Enslaving us...selling us...punishing us unjustly...you're despicable! You are NOT welcome on this archipelago, having forced yourself upon it with little to no regard for our feelings!" She shook her head sadly. "A number of my fellow tribe members, I'll likely never see again because of you! They're gone...either you sent them away, or they're dead! You have no regard for the lives of the humans and monsters you claim to own, despite needing them in a condition enough to be traded!"
"My friends came to this island...one of your men told me that Mettaton attacked all of you for some reason...now I know what that reason is. And he had every right to be sickened by it." Toriel snarled angrily, her flames getting slightly more intense. "You do well to explain yourself, lest you provoke me any farther with your foolishness."
Augustine sighed as she slowly regained her composure, standing straight up. "You really shouldn't criticize me so harshly..." She said solemnly while pushing her hair away from her face. "You have to realize that what I'm doing is mostly tame compared to what others do, have done, and will do. There's no denying that what I'm doing is pretty cruddy in anyone else's eyes, but it's just the line of business I've chosen. Monsters, while they're not nearly as plentiful as humans, are still very much present on the surface...you just have to look in the right places. As for the humans who are naturally capable of using magic...such as myself...they're much harder to find. And due to being so rare...the price for them tends to be higher. Like I said, I'm not the only one who does this."
"Whatever do you mean...?" Toriel asked.
"I heard that a particularly large amount of monsters have been trapped under Mt. Ebott for years, and just recently broke free of their prison. So obviously you have no idea how things have progressed under the world's nose...what it's been doing out of sight of regular people. The existence of humans wielding magic is still very much real, though we tend to keep ourselves hidden. A main reason is because it's a lot less of a hassle to hide what we're doing with our magic than try to silence then and prevent the secret from getting out. Not that we haven't silenced people before."
"By 'silence', you mean kill, right?"
"Sometimes it does have to come to that in order to clear up any loose ends. Sometimes not. They'd usually beg to be spared, and we usually agree...on the condition that they work under us for the rest of their days. Any sign of treachery is a death-sentence waiting to happen." Augustine shrugged. "Sometimes it's much easier, some of them believe that getting access to magic at all is worth eternal service. They tend to be eager like that."
Toriel looked towards Nikon, who was still glaring hard at Augustine, then she too returned to looking towards her. "...How exactly would you get them suitable enough to serve under you...? How would someone with magic force someone without magic to work for them and make them useful?"
Augustine raised her hand, and three rocks began levitating over her palm. Said palm was glowing quietly as she stared at Toriel. "You must have figured it out already, haven't you? I've been told that you're the brains of your family. You're not a super genius, but you know enough that most would find you quite dangerous. Combine that intelligence with your anger, you can be a frightening individual. So...did you?"
"...Your earth magic is yours...and you have the ability to bestow your earth magic to your subordinates who don't have dormant magic within them at all...that's why it feels less powerful within them..." Toriel answered slowly. She was able to piece it together quite well after seeing the humans magic in action, and feeling how weak it was from a natural magic user. It felt wrong because it wasn't theirs. Though what really got her to recognize the significance is how much similar it is to the Angel's Blessing, Asriel's special ability. It's capable of making monsters stronger and removing a significant amount of a monster's natural weaknesses Higher endurance, increased magic capacity, a better resistance to negative emotions, unlocking their hidden potential...it even provided a shortcut to Magic Awakening. So hearing that there's an ability that natural human magic users can bestow their magic, albeit a weaker variation of it, to whoever they wish...yes. Asgore, Sans, and Gerson definitely needed to hear about this.
"Yeah. It's a weird ability to have, being able to bestow magic to those who aren't meant to have it. I really didn't expect to be one of the very few humans in the world to actually have it and use it effectively. And I assure you, there are others out there who have it...it's just a matter of telling who does and who doesn't. And how dangerous they might be with them." She said while slowly closing her hand and gazing towards Toriel. "...Enough about that, though. What I really wish to know is the deeper motives behind your actions. You came here to rescue your friends, and yet you're sticking around to liberate these people. That particular part of this conflict didn't have to have anything to do with you, yet you're butting in anyway. Do you not care about the consequences of intruding on matters like this?"
"I can deal with those consequences at a later time. Right now, I cannot ignore the suffering of the people in front of me. That's all." Toriel answered truthfully.
"I see...then that means you won't leave until you bring me down...guess coming to an agreement is useless. Oh well."
Toriel and Nikon suddenly gasp as they felt the ground beneath them give away, and eventually start rising fast. A large chunk of earth tore from the ground with them on it, and attempting to smash them right into the ceiling. Toriel narrowed her eyes as she regained focus, clenching her fist as it gathered with flames. She smashes it into the earth platform, and it shatters apart with minimal effort. She lands gracefully on the ground with Nikon safely in her arms, her ears flopping slightly. Nikon blushed slightly and politely thanked her. Toriel's eyes shadowed as she slowly stands up.
"You shouldn't be getting mad at me, Toriel. This is just the way things are. You and the monsters have just emerged from Ebott, the world has drastically changed over time ever since you've been sealed away. Magic may not be very widely known anymore, but it still exists along humans, the shadier ones. And many humans that got their hands on it have been using it for much more sinister purposes than my own. So why waste your time on someone like me, huh?!" Augustine declares as a large concentration of earth formulated in the form of a large fist, and then it flys towards her, attempting to smash her into the ground. Toriel clenched her fist which then coated itself in fire, and she smashes it into the rock fist. The moment they make contact, the earth fist shatters into pieces.
"...I'm well aware of the possible dangers in the world that actively mean us harm...and eventually, my family will have to confront some of them...but I can focus on that later. Right now, my full attention is on you." Toriel snarled quietly. "...You've made a critical mistake, using these humans and monsters for your selfish gain, and then endanger members of my family..." She then raised her head, and Augustine was greeted with the rather frightening image of the right side of Toriel's face remaining shadowed, resulting in her right eye glowing a furious crimson. "You'll soon learn that actively incurring my wrath is a VERY poor error in judgement..."
(Meanwhile...)
Asriel eventually made it to the very last floor of the prison compound, and continued to progress onward. The magic he senses still pulses strongly, and it grows more and more noticeable as he continues to walk through the corridor. He wondered what he would find, and wondered what might happen when he eventually does find what he's somewhat looking for. If there was one thing Asriel truly knew, was that trouble was inevitably going to find him. As he progressed, he son takes notice to multiple guards unconscious and seriously injured. He wondered what could have caused such damage to them. Considering who their boss is, they might possibly deserve the beating. Still, this was beginning to unnerve him just slightly.
Soon enough, he finally reaches his supposed destination. He was rather surprised to see that he's stumbled upon an arena of sorts. There were numerous claw marks, spots of ash, weapons, swords, axes...blood...he figured that things down here weren't exactly happy, but this seemed a bit worse than he thought it would be. After a while, he eventually found someone sitting cross-legged in the very middle of the room. A gently swishing tail and...actually being shorter than he imagined. Still a bit taller than himself, though. After getting a proper read on this person, he was able to tell that this person was the owner of the large concentration of magic. He tilted his head slightly. Who was this person...and why was all of their bloodlust aimed towards him?
"*Sniff*...Idealism. Royalty. And Cinnamon. Yup, that's a Dreemurr's scent alright." She said quietly at first. Then she stands up fully and turns to face Asriel and get a good look at him. She smirked and placed a paw on her hip. "Well, aren't you just an adorable little furball?"
"...Um...huh?" Asriel blinked in confusion
"Ah. You must be pretty confused, aren't you? Well, I'll just get straight to the point. You and I are all alone down here, with everyone else trying to deal with your friends above this floor, this widespread floor with a LOT of room...and they can't interrupt us if they're up there, can they? Nope. No one can stand in our way."
"In...our way?"
"Yes. In the way of our duel."
"D-Duel?!" Asriel bleated, stepping back a bit in surprise. "I thought someone down here needed help...I wasn't trying to get caught up in a duel!"
"You're a helper? Good. You can help me out by fighting me." She reasoned while folding her arms. "You ARE Asriel Dreemurr, right?"
Not entirely sure how to proceed, but slowly getting an idea of how, Asriel politely nods. "Yes I am, ma'am. And if you don't mind...will you tell me your name...?"
He's trying his damnedest not to offend me. Hm. "Listen up, kid. I am a powerful creature that is not commonly seen by human eyes. Many have tried to take my life, though they have all failed. After all, they are just spineless worms before the might of a dragon! That's right, you're looking at a genuine article dragon!~" She puffed her chest with her fists on her hips. " My name is Lunar, the most powerful dragon of my generation! You do your best to remember that!"
Asriel's eyes widened. "You're a genuine dragon?! Golly, that's amazing, Miss Lunar! Of course I'll remember your name!~"
Lunar sweatdropped, momentum quickly disappearing in surprise. "M-Miss...?" That...wasn't what she expected. She has experienced many reactions to her shameless boasting, and most of them weren't very positive. Some even bordered on outright killing her for her arrogance, obviously failing. Never once did anyone actually respond to it with eyes beaming with curiosity and wonder. He really is a kid...and I don't even mean that as a pun. She decided to shrug it off and focus on what she was waiting for. "I already told you what I want from you. You're the strongest intruder of your little group, I can sense your soul is the strongest out of all of them, even though they're all admirably powerful. But you're the only one I'm really interested in fighting."
"...Do you really want to fight me that much...?" Asriel asked calmly. "I can sense how much your soul wants it, though I don't really know why...do you think you can tell me?"
"I can be quite patient when I realize that a worthy opponent is coming my way, opposed to me forcing myself to find them. And I can get quite pissed when someone challenges me, gets me pumped up...only to flake out at the last moment and completely leave me hanging. That's one very quick way to get me pissed." Lunar gritted her teeth. "...But as for your question, yes. You're my desired opponent. I've been waiting patiently for you, and believe me when I say that patient is something I'm NOT."
Asriel closed his eyes and folded his arms. She has no interest in letting me leave without having her duel...or else she might take her anger out on the others. Golly, I walked right into a mess, didn't I...? Asriel reopened his eyes and nodded. "Okay...I'll participate in your duel."
Lunar raised an eyebrow semi-suspiciously. "You agreed pretty easily to this...not that I'm complaining." Asriel's eyes widened slightly as she suddenly vanished. he immediately sensed that she was right behind him. She leaned her head over his shoulder with a rather cheeky grin on her face. "I'm all for you agreeing so quickly...let's get started."
Asriel brought his arms up to his face as Lunar sent a rather powerful roundhouse towards his head. He managed to block it just slightly, but he was still sent flying into the wall, cracking it slightly. He gasped as he suddenly dropped to his knees, holding himself up by his paws as his ears drooped in front of him. Lunar brought her leg back down as she watched him crumple after on blow. She frowned slightly at the display. She then sighed.
And here I thought he could at least take a hit...how disappoi-
Lunar blinked in astonishment as she not only did Asriel recover quicker than anticipated, but he punched her hard in the cheek as his fist was coated with fire. She skidded back a few feet before planting her feet, stopping in her tracks. She looked up and huffed with a smirk, rubbing her bruised cheek. 'Hmph. That's more like it. I'm surprised you didn't hesitate at all to hit a lady."
"Master says that having chivalry is admirable, and it kinda runs through my family. Though making that a reason to hold back when you're fighting against a genuinely competent female fighter is not only a potential fatal mistake, it's also disrespectful." Asriel sweatdropped. "So whenever I hesitated to actually hit her, she would get mad and beat the hesitation out of me until I started hitting her back and meaning it...Master is scary when she's angry."
Haven't even met this woman and I already like her. Lunar thought with a smug smile. "Alright! Try to wow me, if you can!"
Asriel regained his focus as Lunar rushed towards him again with swiftness that greatly surprised him. Though he regained focus long enough for him to put up defense just in time to defend against her punch. He placed his arms up as he empowered them with flames. And yet still, he could feel the intensity of the blow despite his defense. He pushed her off, clenching his fire-coated fist and striking at her. She was pushed back by the torrent of flames that resulted from the push, her feet creating deep tracks in the ground. The flames eventually stopped, and she was standing on her own two feet once again. She smirked as she gazed towards Asriel, who simply narrowed his eyes. It seemed like his flames weren't doing too much damage to Lunar, though he felt that it wasn't because his flames weren't strong. It seemed like her overall defense just increased ever so slightly.
Support Magic...?
He didn't have time to think, as Lunar rushed towards him with a maddening grin. Asriel had few seconds to react as he ducked under a powerful punch thrown his way. He heard the wall behind him crack, which was most likely the result of the shockwave caused by her punch. he thought about how this room seemed capable of handling much punishment, only to have air leave him as he felt a kick strike his chest, sending him flying across the ground and against the very wall that was cratered by the shockwave from her previous punch. Asriel crumpled slightly as he was once again on all fours trying to push himself back to his feet. Lunar smirked with a tilted head, her paw on her hip and a confident glint in her eyes.
"Get up, kid! No one told ya you could quit on me! I'll get pissed if you do so!"
"...Who said anything about quitting...?" Asriel muttered. Lunar raised an eyebrow, though her eyes widened in surprise as Asriel's flames changed color, shifting to the more powerful blue flames. The blue flames coated his body, and Lunar was surprised as a fire blast launched Asriel towards her and repaid her previous roundhouse with one of his own, hitting her in the back of her head and sending her across the room again. She landed on her feet easily enough, but the more powerful flames proved capable of breaking through her reinforced defense. Despite this, she found herself smirking as she swiftly moved to him and landed a strong knee to his stomach. Asriel gasped, though he endured it since the flames coating his body proved to serve as slight armor, reducing the impact of the blow tremendously. Lunar smirked as she stepped back a bit.
Rainbow Flames, hm? Access to every type of fire in existence. Seeing how he switched from orange flames to blue flames, he definitely has it. It's a Dreemurr-Exclusive magic when it comes to monsters. And he seems quite skilled with it. Impressive, I'll give him that. "Okay. That's enough warming up, little Prince."
"Huh...?" Asriel blinked, though didn't relax his guard.
"Yeah. You've proven to be quite strong indeed." Lunar grinned. "You've lasted longer than most of my opponents would, and you didn't even once try to call for help. You're actually standing your ground and facing me on your own. Commendable. Though I'll admit that through this second round you'll find yourself on the losing side. I just have a feeling that I'll win this in a little bit. Though I do commend you for lasting longer than others. Let's see how long you last after I start trying a bit harder..." Asriel was briefly confused by this, until he saw Lunar lifts her paw as a bright ball of light appeared in her paw, and in the center was a dense ball of darkness. Asriel stepped back in shock. "Tell me...have you ever heard of...'Twilight Magic?'"
"Twilight Magic...?"
"The mixed essence of light and darkness. What lies in-between dawn and dusk. It's within that mixed area where an entirely different world exists. Darkness can glow and shine bright. Light can function like a shadow. My cousin says that my magic completely defies the logic of how light and darkness works." Lunar smirked. "Here, have a demonstration." The magic ball in her paw suddenly expands with darkness. And yet despite that, Asriel had to cover his eyes.
What the golly?! There's darkness all around me, yet it feels like I'm being blinded by an intense light...! Asriel still managed to somewhat see what what Lunar was doing, as she simply stood there waiting for his eyesight to recover. She blinded me just enough to show me what she's capable of...she also waited for my eyesight to recover instead of taking advantage of it...another sign that she isn't as bad as she thinks she is. I'm on the right track... Asriel nodded softly in understanding, as he stands straight up, with his eyes closed. So she can use those two elements together in unison...in that case...
Lunar raised an eyebrow at Asriel's prolonged pause, growing slightly impatient. Asriel forms a ball of orange fire in his paw...and it was then coated with lightning. Asriel clenched the very same fist and it coated itself with lightning and flames at once. The fused element soon coated his body with both fire and lightning, not damaging him in the process. Lunar watches him with astonishment as th flames flicker and the lightning cackles, both surging in unison. Fire that's been electrified by lightning...Asriel's main elements working in balanced unison.
"Lightning...and Fire...? Ha...HAHAHAHA! How about that!? Both of us can use a combination of our main elements! That's an extreme amount of power you've got under your fur!" Lunar cackled, her eyes slitted as she coated her body in both a bright light and sinister darkness. "I don't know if you know this, but the balanced combination of elements is extremely rare, and powerful! I mean, look at us! Light and Darkness versus Fire and Lightning! Finally! You may be the worthy opponent I've been waiting for, one that won't pull a bullshit move on me just to win or escape! Prepare yourself for the second round!"
"Very well." Asriel replies with narrowed eyes as the both of them stood across one another. By what he's experienced so far, the only thing Lunar wanted was an opponent that could give her a challenge, and who wouldn't pull a fast one when it was obvious that she would be the victor. It seems that it happened to her multiple times, and she's grown rather tired of being disappointed and irritated by the many back-stabs she's been subjected to because the other side didn't want to lose. Asriel may be the first person in years who's proved to be a genuinely promising opponent who wouldn't do such a thing.
...For her sake, he wouldn't let her down.
Toriel has cornered Augustine.
Red's been trusted with the freedom of the remaining prisoners.
And Asriel's duel with Lunar becomes more serious. It seems that Asriel had some sort of realization when it comes to dealing with her. Wonder what that realization is...? Time will tell.
Be wary, readers, for the next chapter will be the end of the arc...and the beginning of something that will surely fill the heroes with bad times in the future.