Chapter 17: Flames and Ice
Zagan's dungeon
The group looks down the distance as large roots spread out all over the place.
"There's a very heavy presence in the air." Morgiana says.
"Yes. There are a lot of things down there. I can sense them." Aladdin says.
Then they hear Zagan's voice singing again as many red eyes stare at the group.
"It looks like Zagan is serious about getting rid of us." Hakuryuu says.
"In other words, he's desperate too." Vulpi says and Alibaba draws out his dagger.
"Then let's make him even more so!" Alibaba says and they rush down the stairs and into the corridor.
Soon after, a pack of wolves rush towards the group to attack them, as the group gets ready to defend themselves. Alibaba runs towards the near beast with his Djinn Equip and slices it.
"Go!" Aladdin shouts as he tosses fireballs towards the wolves with his staff, subsequently, hitting them. Morgiana kicks the wolves one after another.
"Kogahazan!" Vulpi shouts as she slashes the wolf upward while jumping and slashes downward while landing. Finally, Hakuryuu slices a wolf, saving Alibaba.
"Thanks, Hakuryuu!" Alibaba says.
"Please leave your back to me! I will support you to the best of my ability!" Hakuryuu says and they slice the wolves in front of them.
"I was really worried. They were so distant, but look at them now…" Morgiana thought. "I won't lose." Morgiana knee kicks one of the wolves and goes back to kick the wolves behind her.
"Don't take on too many, Morgiana!" Alibaba shouts.
"But I'm happy!" Morgiana says and the group stands together side by side in a circle, facing the pack.
"I get to fight alongside all of you!" Morgiana thought and the gem on her household vessel begin to glow.
Soon after, the group reaches to the large open space.
"Finally, some wide, open space." Alibaba says and they hear Zagan's voice as they get ready.
You guys aren't half-bad." Zagan says as he appears before them.
"Zagan! Release the villagers immediately!" Alibaba demands.
"I don't wanna!"
"What?"
"What're you going to do now? Defeat me? Didn't you come here to ask me a favor?"
"Halharl Rasas!" Aladdin shouts and fires fireballs at him, but flowers block the attack.
"Oh? Then I guess you don't need my help?"
"Who are you?" Aladdin questions.
"Aladdin?" Vulpi calls.
"If you really were a djinn, there's no way you could've been hurt by such weak magic! But part of yourself burnt off! Tell me! Who are you? What are you?"
"Che, losers. I want to scare you guys some more!" Zagan says. "It's as the Magi says. I'm not a djinn. I'm a dungeon creature created by Zagan to look like him."
"You imposter! How dare you kidnap the villagers and do those terrible things!" Alibaba shouts.
"Oh my! What are you being so serious for? That was just a little prank." The fake Zagan says.
"Prank?" Alibaba repeats and remembers the villagers embedded into the trees, the little girl and Cassim body. "Don't mess with us! If you're not Zagan, then I don't need to hold back anymore! Undo the magic on the villagers and return them to normal this instant!"
"Only the real Zagan can do that. If you want to see him, you'll have to get to the treasure room."
"Fine! I'll be right there!" Alibaba shouts and rushes towards the fake djinn and cuts the fake Zagan's head off.
"He was defeated so easily!" Hakuryuu exclaims.
"Sorry!" The fake Zagan says and his head regenerates. "Zagan, my creator, is a djinn of earth." Just then large vines appear from the ground and form into more copies. "So I can nourish myself with the earth of this dungeon and revive endlessly."
The clones attack Alibaba and he cuts one of the clones' arm, but the tentacles from the cut arm wraps around Alibaba's leg and throws him to the wall, knocking him out.
"Alibaba-dono!" Hakuryuu shouts but soon knocked out as the trunk sends him straight towards the wall.
"Hakuryuu-san!" Morgiana shouts and rushes towards her knocked out friends as the trunks attack her. She then picks them up and jumps away from the attacks. "How do we even fight this thing?"
Morgiana lands behind Aladdin who has his borg up and Vulpi with Corrine and Ryuko by her side.
"Mor-san! Let's retreat for now!" Aladdin suggests.
"We can't take this many enemies at once!" Vulpi adds.
"All right!" Morgiana agrees.
"Oh, are you trying to escape? That's cute of you, but that's not an option!" The fake Zagan says and snaps his fingers, activating the trapdoor below the group. As they fall, Morgiana looks below the hope.
"It's so deep!" Morgiana thoughts and senses something down the hole. "Something's there!"
"That's my true form. Once you hit the bottom, you'll be swallowed by my gastric juices. Then poof!"
"Mor-san!" Aladdin calls out as he and Vulpi sit on the carpet. "Get everyone on the turban!"
"Hurry!" Vulpi shouts.
"As if!" The fake Zagan says and the root on the wall shoot towards the group, stabbing into Aladdin turban causing them to fall again and Morgiana reaches out to them.
"No! Everyone will die!" Morgiana thought and remembers their smiles. "Everyone important to me… The future we promised to have together… I can't reach them! I can't reach the wall either. I… can't fly!"
"You're like a bird, Mor-san!" Aladdin says.
"If only I really were… If only I hand wings to carry me to the others!" Morgiana thought causing her household vessel begins to glow as Alibaba's dagger responds to it and a rukh flies from the eight-point star on the dagger towards Morgiana's household vessel. Subsequently, the chains around her wrist unwrap themselves and stabs into the wall at one end and another to catch the others. Aladdin, Vulpi, and Alibaba looks up seeing Morgiana above them and look at the chains that wrapped around them.
"Mor-san, these chains…" Aladdin trails off.
"You did it, Morgiana! You finally activated your household vessel!" Vulpi shouts.
"…Yes!" Morgiana says.
Above the trapdoor
The fake Zagan hears something out of the opened trapdoor and looks at it.
"What's that sound?" He questions and out of the trapdoors, Morgiana flies out of them while carrying the others on her back with chains help them get out. "What? How did they get out of there?"
Morgiana lands on the edge of the trapdoor, setting them down from her back.
"Please wait here." Morgiana asks.
"Mor-san!" Aladdin calls.
"I will go down and defeat his true form." She says and dives into the trapdoor.
"Have you lost your mind? You finally made your way out and now you're going to jump into my mouth yourself? I'll eat you like a kabob!" The fake Zagan says and the roots from the bottom of the hole shoot upward towards Morgiana as she uses the chains to dodge the roots.
"She using the recoil from the chains to move." The fake Zagan thought.
"Reaching with one chain at a time, as if they're my arms. This is my household vessel!"
"Don't get too full of yourself. What're you going to do with those stupid chains?" Zagan questions and the bottom of the hole, his large, mouth opens as gastric juices boiling.
"What do I do? What do I do?" Morgiana thought.
"Celsius!" Vulpi shouts as a blue-skinned woman appears and she blows cold wind towards the gastric juices, instantly freezing it. Simultaneously, Morgiana's household vessel begins to glow brightly.
"It's hot!" Morgiana thought and a large bird flies towards her.
"Ask for power, I am the household. Created by the djinn of flames, Amon, I am the household of sweltering heat."
Morgiana sends the chains to bind the plant creature. "Household Vessel: Amol Selseila!" She shouts as she sends fire towards the creature, lighting it on fire.
"What?" The Fake Zagan says and immediately him and the other clones are lit with fire. "I-impossible!"
Morgiana lands in front of the burning creature and looks at her hand with joy.
"I did it! I can use my household vessel! Now I can help the others even more! I… I…" Morgiana thought and her face begins to bleed.
"I did it, everyone…" Morgiana says before she collapses on the ground.
"Morgiana!" Alibaba and Vulpi shout.
"Mor-san!" Aladdin shouts.
"Morgiana-dono!" Hakuryuu shouts.
"What happened, Morgiana?" Alibaba shouts.
"I'll summon Bahamut to get us down there." Vulpi says.
"Yeah."
Once Vulpi summons Bahamut in wyvern form, the Spirit carries all of them to the bottom of the trapdoor and they see the collapsed Morgiana on the ground. They quickly get off Bahamut before it flies away and they rush towards the fallen Fanalis.
"Morgiana! Hand on, Morgiana!" Alibaba shouts.
"Mor-san!" Aladdin calls.
"Morgiana-dono!" Hakuryuu calls.
"What happened, Morgiana?" Alibaba asks.
"Mor-san is almost out of magoi!" Aladdin says.
"What?"
"I'm sure she used nearly all of it when she unleashed that crazy attack! I don't think Mor-san had that much magoi to begin with."
"And to lose such a large amount of magoi at one is sure to endanger her life." Hakuryuu adds. "At this point, she is too weak to recover on her own. She needs to see a doctor now!"
"I-I can still…" Morgiana speaks.
"Don't move!" Alibaba tells her.
"I thought I could finally help everyone…" She trails off as she raises her hands up and Alibaba grabs it.
"Morgiana!"
"I'm sorry, Alibaba-san." Morgiana apologizes as she breaks into tears before she closes her eyes.
"You've done enough. I'll get you out of here now and get you treated."
The rest of the group stares at the two and Vulpi sits next to Alibaba before clasping her hands on both of Alibaba's and Morgiana's hand.
"Holy power, come to me… First Aid!" Morgiana's body begins to glow green as the blood disappears from her face. "This is only emergency first aid. Her life isn't any danger, but she really need to see a doctor."
"Thanks, Vulpi." Alibaba says and they hear rustling behind them and sees the Toran village girl.
"I found you!" The girl exclaims.
"Tiare!" Hakuryuu calls and the girl jumps into his arms as she cries onto his chest. "I'm glad you're all right."
Alibaba then stands up as he carries Morgiana by bridal style. "Let's go to the treasure room. We'll save everyone."
"Yup." Aladdin agrees and they start going to the treasure room gate. "Open Sesame!" He shouts and the gate opens slowly with a breeze hitting their faces and suddenly the surrounding around them starts to change into gray sky and a city before them.
Suddenly, black rukh appears before them when Aladdin turns around and sees a stone snake about to attack them. However, Aladdin quickly makes a borg to stop the snake's attack.
"So we meet again, Magi." A familiar voice says as they look up on the snake and see the same people back at the Toran village and the man from Sindria palace. "And King Alibaba. How's your injury?"
"You!" Alibaba shouts.
"Even in your condition, you've all made it here to Zagan's deepest recesses in such a timely manner. Impressing are a Magi and his King Candidate. But then, this is the end."
"Shut up! We won't let you take Zagan!"
"Zagan's just a bonus. My true objective is not him."
"What?"
"It is all of you." The man says causing all of them to gasp. "I will have Solomon's Wisdom and King Alibaba's life to offer to our Father and bring the Vulpe clansman to our side. All is according to Al-Thamen's agenda."