The Rescue:
"Maximus!" Aqua shouted with her hand out and soon noticed she was standing in a dark cell.
The bite of winter's cold pierced her skin immediately after being used to the warm days down at the resort town. Hugging her arms around herself she looked around to see if there were anyone else and walked up to the bars. She took hold of them and felt the icy sting upon them.
"Hello, is there anyone down here? Can anybody hear me?!" She shouted.
Her voice echoed the empty hall and soon had no response to her call. She began to shiver from the chilly atmosphere and sat down against the wall. The moment her skin touched the stone, she quickly moved away after briefly feeling the cold bite. She wrapped her arms around her legs and sat there in the fetal position.
"Where are you when I need your touch the most and are you coming for me?" She said with tears forming in her eyes.
The next moment the echoing sound of an old lock on a door clicked and the door down the hall opened. She sprang to the bars once more and tried to peak down the ways.
"Hello, who is there?" She demanded.
Light began to illuminate the hall reaching up to her cell, footsteps echoed in a slow pace. The sound they carried was heavy as though belonging to an obese man. She could also hear a second pair of steps accompanying the first. The silence of no voices was beginning to make her nerves soar through her.
The next moment Lord Alderp peered around the corner and looked into her cell. His face carried a disturbing smile after he saw her in nothing but the bikini she had on earlier. She backed away feeling uncomfortable from the look he was giving her as she wrapped her arms around her chest. His eyes gazed upon the sight and was feeling quite tempted.
"Had it not been for the letter I sent him you would be mine tonight. But he has until dawn of the next day to arrive and spare you from me. I do hope he takes his time getting here, I would love to spend some time with you." Alderp said chuckling with a sinister tone and his right arm reaching after her.
"What do you want with him anyway?" She inquired.
"It's quite simple really, I want him to walk right up to the King and assassinate the entire royal family. I would go for the idea of manipulating them, but I am not so patient as I used to be. From there he would be my loyal dog and rout any who would dare defy me." He explained.
"There's no way someone like him would just bow to your demands. I would dare say, when he arrives, he will flick you up against the wall like the disgusting fly that you are. Such a lowly being like yourself would stand no chance at making him do what you want. I almost pity you silly human, the wrath of a Nephilim is rarely seen by anyone. With that said, I have seen it employed by him once before when I was choosing to bring him into this world. I, the Goddess Aqua, will enjoy watching you quiver in fear when that happens." She said pitying Alderp for what is to come.
Alderp began to laugh loudly. "But he has to get here first and he may not want to have you when I am done. And yes, I remember hearing about you now. The so-called self-proclaimed Goddess of the Axis Cult. Nice to see those idiots have such demented members one would actually go around saying they were the Goddess herself." He laughed a little more and she noticed he was not believing her. His disturbing grin showed itself once more. "By the way I remember now, you still owe me some money and I am afraid you have racked up some interest. I will have to say, your body is usually not in the prime condition I have a taste for, but I am willing to make an exception for this one case." He finished as he made slurping sounds.
He backed away growling a little, turned to the other person with him and pointed at the cell.
"Open it right this instant, I decided I do not want to wait anymore." He ordered as his smile had a crazed look upon it.
Moments before Alderp entered the dark cells, Maximus arrived above Axel and held his hands out.
"By my command I summon you forth." He said and several familiars appeared on his arms. "Circle far and wide, search for a maid who has sky blue hair and eyes as the deep blue sea. Cast a circle round her and light up the air where she stands. Go quickly and do not fail me." He ordered.
The dozens of familiars began to fly with all haste through the town as he remained in the air to oversee and wait for results.
"I need to be sure she is here and not somewhere else. May God have mercy on the poor soul who has taken her from me, for I will show no quarter to anyone who has a hand in this." Maximus said to himself.
Meanwhile back in the cell within the basement of the mansion Aqua and Lord Alderp was within, he began to salivate at the thought of ravaging her until he was finished. The door opened and he calmly walked in to savor the moment. Aqua backed away against the wall underneath the barred window.
"No, please stay away, don't come any closer." She begged as her eyes began to fill with terror.
"Don't worry, I will try to be as long as possible." Alderp said and raised his hand up, curling his fingers. "Now, time to pay me back in full."
The moment before he could lay his hands on her, one of Maximus' familiars flew through the window and attacked him. The bird clawed and pecked at his face with its wings flapping wildly. He began to back away screaming in pain and retreated from the cell. He ran to the upstairs with the guard hustling behind after locking the cell.
The familiar landed on the floor and crowed at her.
"You must have been sent here by Maximus, huh?" She said with curiosity as she squatted next to it.
The bird crowed once more looking at her and back at the door. The next moment a circle began to form around her and she looked on with curiosity.
"This is his magic, that means you are near." She said to herself.
Meanwhile, Maximus turned toward the direction of the mansion Alderp had instructed him to meet and saw a light begin to form.
"I had a feeling it was there and thank goodness that was the case. Now then," He paused bolting down towards the grounds of the place. He slammed his bare feet upon the ground near the doors to announce his presence. "Let's go in and say hello." He said making his way up the steps to the doors. "Guard her from anyone who tries to harm her." He instructed his familiar and made the rest flock to her.
At the same time Maximus struck the ground, Alderp stopped putting on wash clothes to clean the wounds he had received and looked towards the nearest window. Sweat began to fall down his face and a cold feeling stirred up in his belly along with shivers hiking up his spine.
Aqua heard and felt the rumbling quake, signifying Maximus' arrival to her location. She turned around to look out the window in the hopes of getting a glance of him. She was unable to see him where she was and turned around feeling renewed with the idea he was here, faster than she thought possible.
"I will just have to wait for him," She paused for a moment as her body began to freeze a little. "I wish I could have a blanket to keep me warm."
The next moment the bird hopped to her and crowed once more. She looked up wondering what it was going to do. Before she could do anything several more of them flew in from outside. After a few moments, several dozen arrived within the cell, she soon noticed a majority were forming into a large warm blanket. She grabbed it and wrapped the blanket around herself without hesitation. The warm sensation began to ease the cold bite of the air and she began to wait patiently for Maximus. The next moment she heard another loud boom and immediately after the place shook once more. She smiled a little more feeling a little relieved and giggled at the thought of what is to transpire to those in his wake.
Meanwhile at the front doors, Maximus had used his magic to smash them open and into the entryway. He slowly paced into the mansion and waited to see if there would be a response in the magical employment kind. He was disappointed there were no traps upon the grounds or within the front room. He sighed with annoyance as he stepped out of the debris cloud.
Behind him was the large archway leading to the door. The grand front room was brightened by the multiple lit oil lamps and torches. Aside from the mess he had made, Maximus notice the interior was well kept. A single red carpet spanned from the doorway to the stairs off in the distance. The room was twenty yards long to said stairs and noticed it continued beyond them as well as possibly around. The tiles on the floor and walls were painted a gold color with a glossy tone which made it look as though it would cast a reflection.
"I am Maximus Matthews, and I have come for the one who is dear to me, her name is Aqua. Hand her over now alive and unspoiled and I will consider the option of overlooking this transgression against me. Failure to comply by the time I count to three will ensure your demise in what I can only describe as deeply painful in the most unsavory of ways. If you speak up right now, my spell will ring your voice to my ears and we can discuss this in a civilized manner. Although, I prefer it if you did not answer all. I am willing to give you a chance against my better judgement." He announced with his voice calling out and echoing through the halls.
Aqua began to feel more joy at the sound of his voice. "Maximus, I am in a cell somewhere in this place, help me!" She shouted to get his attention.
The next moment his magic sent her voice to him and he closed his eyes as an outline of the place formed within. The spell caused him to see exactly where she was held and noticed she was down in the basement on the other side of the house.
"Now I know where she is. But where is the little mongrel who took her from me to begin with." He said to himself.
"Hold it right there!" Maxwell's voice echoed out from the top of the stairs before Maximus could take a step and begin counting. "Might I ask what the meaning of this is and why have you barged into my masters summer home?" He inquired.
"Have you come to negotiate or have you come to challenge me? Either way works for me." Maximus said ignoring his question. "Something is wrong with this guy, it's like his aura is off in some way I wonder what it could be?" He said to himself squinting his eyes a little.
"So, you would dare ignore my question with one of your own. You are a brave one indeed. I understand you are a descendant of the Nephilim; I wonder how good you are against a Demon?" He said taking a fighting stance.
"Straight to the point I see, good. I was going to be annoyed and furious to no end if we had to talk it out and go through an endless debate on the rhymes and reasons for why we are here." Maximus said summoning a single longsword in his right hand.
Maxwell did the same and the two waited for several moments. Both of their auras slowly gathering from within and extended out of them like a steady calm fire, slowly dancing upward. The air around the two waved to and fro like a mirage, their auras not yet fully visible.
"So, you say you are a Demon, I had a feeling something was off about you the moment we first met. If he is anything like Archafeld or Naemah, this is going to be a bit of a challenge. However, I now know, what I should have known then, to employ Holy magic upon them. He has the high ground and there is no way around since the walls block and connect at the top of the stairs. I will have to force him down to be on equal footing or cause him to fall. Also, I need to make this quick and get her to safety. I would teleport her out of here, but I do not know where a safe place is to do so." He paused his thought as he took a step towards his foe. "I will worry about that later, for now I need to focus on him." He finished bolting forward.
Maximus stretched his arm out, forming an air bubble in the palm of his hand. Momentarily a larger air bubble formed behind Maxwell. He closed his fist causing it to break and a gust of wind blew his enemy forth and down the stairs.
Maxwell quickly regained his composure and soon saw himself facing down Maximus' blade. He spun his right arm forward in a downward motion to strike his foe. Both of them met at the base of the steps with their gaze locked onto each other. Maxwell grunted and briefly roared out causing a gust of wind to blow Maximus away forcing him to slam into the wall.
The rumbling vibrations echoed through the house and down into the basement. Aqua was a little worried and wondered how it was going. "Please be careful Maximus." She said to herself.
Meanwhile, Maximus stepped out from the wall and began walking towards his foe.
"That was indeed an impressive display of strength, however, it does not seem complete. I wonder if he is holding back or is he a low-level Demon and isn't worth the effort." He paused for a moment to examine Maxwell. "I should tread carefully; his aura is most certainly off and yet still in control. I wonder why it is so off as though he were something else entirely." He said to himself as he dashed forth once more.
The two kept their fight to just swordplay, dancing around the entrance hall. Each time their swords clashed, sparks burst out and loud echoing booms followed. Their swords crossed once more and the two held their ground. Both of their gaze sharply eyeing each other's next move.
The two of them mirrored each other with a kick and both slide away a short distance. They were feeling a little impressed with each other's strengths and began to circle to the right. Slowly pacing like an animal who stalks their prey. Swords gripped tight despite the sweat on their palms. Both of their minds going through so many combinations of where this fight could go.
After circling six steps they both sensed each other was going to make a move. The two bolted after each other, taking the high guard with their swords above them. The moment their weapons were to meet, Maxwell was struck in the heart with Maximus' sword. He soon noticed there was no blood gliding down the blade and looked back at Maxwell.
"As I figured, you are nothing more than just a fake, an ill attempt to copy my Magical Doll spell. However, it still was impressive enough on a first try. Ha, I was wondering why he did not notice I made an illusion to cover my real intent, now I know. The real one must be somewhere within this place or elsewhere." He whispered out and turned to look up the stairs. "Time to find the lord of the house and pay him my respects." He said snapping his fingers once more.
The next moment he employed a magical spell to seek out anyone else outside of Aqua's presence in the building. A few moments later, Lord Alderp was dropped before him. Upon crashing against the floor his right foot was not able to brace properly for the fall and his knee twisted too far. The off-balanced limb took the weight upon it and snapped. He felt a tearing and braking sensation run wild in his knee and shouted in terrible pain.
"It looks as though your knee is not only broken, but you have torn some ligaments as well." Maximus said after using his magic to see the damage and approached. "Now then, tell me your name." He ordered as he picked him up by the collar and held him at eye level.
"I am Lord Alexi Barnes Alderp." He said with tears running down his cheeks caused from the pain.
"So, now I finally have a face to put with the name." Maximus said and moved him a little closer. "Do you want to confess as to why you have made a move against me?" He inquired.
Lord Alderp continued to struggle with the pain and was not answering.
"So, you wish to remain either ignorant or stupid," Maximus paused for a moment to place his left hand over Lord Alderp's face. "Let's see how strong willed your mind is then."
The moment his hand was pressed upon Lord Alderp, a void appeared all around them which extended out from his foe. Maximus looked around and only saw a few images and was disturbed and angry.
"So, you too are nothing more than a Magical Doll, created the moment after I entered this house. I see I have arrived a far earlier than they were anticipating. I also see the damage my familiar has done to him which explains why you were created. You were to take the fall and possibly make me believe he had died or you are a shield for him to escape or both. No matter," He stopped as the void of images faded back into the imposter. "I hope this message reaches you if you are in there or watching from within this house. This is your only warning," He paused to look around the room. "Should you ever attempt to steal her away from me again or cause her any kind of harm; there will be no door for you to hide behind, no force Human, Heaven or Hell, no dark corner, no place of refuge for you to seek shelter from my wrath. Should that day of ignorance come for you, I will drag your living body through the streets, bathing them in your blood. I will ripe out your tongue, gouge out your eyes, cut of your ears, and castrate your body. From there you will wander the Afterlife blind, deaf, dumb, and neutered so that all will know this is Lord Alderp; the fool who angered Maximus."
Maximus used his magic to cause the Magical Doll to catch fire. He noticed the smell had no peculiar scent to it and threw it down upon the floor. Using his earlier gained knowledge, he found his way to the door needed to find his way down to Aqua. He twirled his fingers to unlock the door with his magic and proceeded down the stairs into the blackened basement.
At the bottom of the steps he soon noticed a strange feeling, a presence outside of Aqua's immediately registered. He closed his eyes and opened them once more to see through the darkness and prepared for what was to come. With each step he took the feeling of the being grew and he wondered if it be some ploy to throw him off.
"This is a strange presence, something about it seems awfully familiar." He whispered out.
He began to walk through the halls and after turning several different directions heading towards Aqua, he soon found himself back at the stairs. Thinking for a moment he proceeded once more and decided to change the first turn. After a few moments he found himself right back at the stairs again.
"As I suspected, they must take extra precaution in keeping prisoners down here as well as getting new ones who would dare make a rescue attempt. Clever or you to do such a thing and since there is no actual source here, I cannot dispel this magic. That is of course unless I find the conduit which is transferring the spell to here. Well played." Maximus said out loud.
"That is right Maximus, you do not disappoint me at all. I see that you are more than just a brute after all. You have some skill with magic I see, this should be a treat." Maxwell's voice echoed within his mind.
"On my homeworld I was trained in the arts of magic along with occasionally glancing in a spell book I was given. Besides, it is not good to master only one art in life, we were taught to master all arts, especially where magic is concerned. Though I will confess I am not the greatest and it shows with previous opponents, I must say I am impressed with this employ. Let me take a guess as to how this is happening. You are using magic to create doorways, or portals, to connect to certain spots within this dungeon, and I am sure it is far grander than I would first thing. On top of that you switch it up for every time I start over. Am I getting close?" He said with a smirk.
"A good and close attempt at your first guess, but not quite spot on." Maxwell responded.
The next moment Maximus heard a roar echoing through and off the walls from a large beast.
"Oh, I should warn you, you are not alone down there. I have something else which is extremely hungry for food or was it wanting to do something else or was it both. Your dearest is alone is she not and last I looked; she was quite tempting either way." He began to laugh maniacally. "You better hurry up before something bad happens." He continued his laughter.
Maximus quickly deployed another wave of familiars to fly through the halls.
Meanwhile, Aqua was trembling in her cell after hearing the very loud roar as though it were close. "What was that, it sounded too loud for a normal guard dog." She said to herself.
Soon after she heard the loud heavy footsteps walking towards her. Each step the sound of an earthquakes rumble. The thundering stomps becoming louder by the second until at last the beast was shown by the light from the moon through the window.
It stood nearly the height of the tall hallway, almost ten feet. The form was massive with large bulky muscles and eyes glowing red with a solid black pupils that were looking right at her. Upon its head were a pair of horns which glowed from the light of the moon. The mouth opened to reveal its pearly white teeth formed like a humans.
"No way, i-i-it's a Minotaur!" She said and gulped a little while backing away. "Maximus, please help me!" She shouted.
The familiar in front of her crowed at the monster and flapped its wings. The Minotaur puffed air out of its nose as though it were about to laugh. It took hold of the bars on the cell with both hands and with little effort ripped them from their slots. The beast threw them to the side and took a step in.
The familiar crowed several times more and continued to flap its wings ceaselessly. Momentarily the bird grew in size, almost as large as the minotaur. It fired a ball of electricity which temporarily stunned the beast. The next moment it turned around once more and took hold of Aqua in order to escape from the mansion. The section of the cell fell down and closed the opening. After getting to a short distance, the bird carefully dropped her down and stood next to her.
"But wait, what about Maximus? He is still in there with that giant beast." She protested and the familiar crowed at her once more. "Oh, I do not know what you mean by that, but I got to help him out somehow." She said and began to think for a second until a thought popped in her head. "Wait I know, I can conjure Flood and drown that beast while it's still in the basement. I'll bet Maximus is not down there yet." She finished with a cheerful tone.
She held out her right hand and her staff appeared along with her Hagoromo upon her. "Hear me my faithful followers, it is I, your Goddess, Lady Aqua, who now calls upon you to lend me your strength. Share with me your magical power in order to save my dear comrade." She said, holding up her staff in the air and began to use a graceful tone in her voice she called out. "Sacred Water!" She shouted and her staff opened.
The next moment a circle opened a hole in the sky and a torrent of water dropped down from on high. The waterfall slammed upon the entire mansion, crushing everything under the weight of its might. Maximus heard the clash above and before he could react, the wave quickly seeped into the basement. The water began to flood everything quickly and Maximus was stuck under the debris.
"Great, I am lucky enough not to be crunched but unlucky to now face death by drowning. How could this all happened so quickly?" He wondered.
Meanwhile outside the mansion, the waters continued to flush around the grounds which caught Aqua off guard. She was swept up by the wave which pushed her further away from the large house. The spell was finished being cast and she looked around seeing the devastation it had caused. The waters had also extended into the town and flooded a portion of the streets.
"Uh oh, it looks as though I over did it, I hope this does not come back to bite us later on." She said feeling terrible for allowing the spell to go too long.
The next moment Maximus burst out from the debris of the mansion. When he landed a short distance from Aqua, he spat out some water which had slipped through his lips. He had tried to hold his breath long enough to use his magic to escape. He coughed several times to clear his lungs and tried to take deep breaths.
"What in heavens name is going on, where did all this water come from?" He said out loud with amazement and a little annoyance.
"Maximus, you are alright, I knew you would come for me!" She shouted with joy in her voice and tears falling down her cheeks. "Hopefully, he will not suspect I did all of this." She said to herself worrying how he would take the news of her previous deed.
Maximus turned to her and the two held each other tightly, afraid of letting go should the worst happen.
"I am overjoyed to find you are not hurt or spoiled." He paused for a moment and the two looked into each other's eyes. "I will not lose you from my side again, I promise you that." He finished what he wanted to say at the moment.
"I know you will and should the rare chance of it happening again, I know you will rescue me no matter who it is that takes me." Aqua said placing her forehead against his.
"You can count on that," He paused to pick her up and canceled the familiar behind them. "By the way, do you know what is with all the water around here and where did it come from?" He asked, pulling her back to look in her eyes.
"I sort of conjured up a flood to dump on that minotaur." She said pressing her index fingers together and tried to sound innocent.
"Wait, that was you!" He said raising his voice. "Do you realize you could have killed me had it not been for my timely reaction?"
Her face puffed up a little with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I thought you were on a different floor as well as on the other side of the mansion. I also thought I cast a smaller flood spell, but I realized it too late and could not stop it in time."
"You do realize casting flood, no matter how small, still leaves a big impact? You really need to be careful to think more than one step ahead. The next time this happens, try to think further up to ten steps ahead! In fact, it is probably best you do not go questing ever again let alone be a part of any battles." He snapped at her.
"I said I was sorry okay; how many times do I have to say it? Also, please do not take me off of quests, I promise I will not do something so drastic again and I will be a better party member." She cried out to him.
Maximus could not help to stay mad at her for too long and sighed letting his frustrations go. "Look all things aside, I do appreciate the help, just try to be more careful in the future." He said to her feeling bad he was snapping at her, but knew it was necessary and she nodded her head. "Now, what say you to the idea of going home tonight to our castle?" He inquired.
"I have no objections to that." She replied quickly standing straight up with a smile.
The next moment they appeared before their home within the forest and stood before the outer gate. He used his magic to sense the entirety and found no trace of any traps. They proceeded to enter their home and laid down upon the sofa within the living room. The two were still in their swim attire relaxing by the fire, letting the nights events pass on by. The warm welcome of the fire lathered across their skin, warming them up from the chilly aftereffects from the calming of their nerves.
"Were you able to figure out who took me from you?" She inquired looking up at him wondering if her inclining was correct.
"It was Lord Alderp who used his puppet Maxwell to steal you away from me." He briefly replied.
"I figured as much after I saw him appear in front of my cell when I arrived." She said resting her head on his chest.
"Although I caught them off guard by arriving too early for them to fully prepare, I fear the next attempt I may not get there in time. So, we will need to be extra careful in our day-to-day activities from here on. I cannot bear the thought of what he might do to you then." He replied and held her a little closer.
She noticed his concern within his embrace. "I know what he would most likely have done, the way he looked at me with that crazed look in his eyes. If not for your familiar's arrival, I could have been made his plaything." She said as she cried.
"It is over and done with now, we will have to tread carefully as I said before. We should get some rest for upon the morning, we have a lot of cleaning up to do within town." He said.
"Okay, but let's stay here for now, I don't want to move from this spot." She replied feeling tired from the day's events.
"Alright." He said as he cast a spell upon the fire to go all night.
Meanwhile, Lord Alderp had a servant tend to his wound in his estate located at the capital. He was sitting there patiently until a stinging sensation caused him to flinch and he motion them to leave.
"Well, he arrived there faster than I anticipated, for I had no idea he could fly, much less at that speed. So much for that little ploy, we will have to be extra careful when bringing him in next time. Although, he will be on his upmost alertness in protecting her. I fear we may have played our best hand against him and vice versa. That would have been the best way to keep him on a leash so he would serve me. Oh well, I can come up with more ways to reel him in next time around." Alderp said glancing into upon the large magical image showing the results of what happened.
"We should also remember to employ my Magical House well in advance in order to keep him there before forcing him to us." Maxwell said grinning with excitement.
"Yes indeed, we should do that and prepare it with traps and spells of all kinds." Alderp suggested.
"I will also ensure to have various beasts roam the halls to attack him in order to wear his mana supply down and have each door lead to somewhere else, locations upon this world or other magical dimensions. Also, I will need to make it difficult for him to find her and to do that we would need to make all the cells have no windows to ensure no outside interference from his familiars." Maxwell paused for a moment. "But even with all of those preparations, the main concern is capturing her again. I highly doubt she will be easy prey for us to ensnare the next go around. As you stated before, he will be on his highest alertness."
"Then we will have to give him a false yet true sense of security for the time being." Alderp said grabbing his chin.
"But surely he will suspect such a thing from us." Maxwell suggested.
"True, but we still have time to employ my move. There is no need to rush, we have plenty of time. Also, if you harbor any feelings of failure, you should view this as a test run for next time. Oh, how that day will be in the near future for him when he falls into my trap once more. Also, his woman is quite the looker now that I think about it more, I will make her mine in due time as well." Alderp said and began to laugh with an evil grin.
