The Queen of Witches had just observed Dak tearing right through Salamander from her Palace. She was sitting upon her ravens, observing the two battles from her magical projections.
'To think that imperfect little brat had this much power,' she said, somewhat surprised. "So it appears he wasn't all bark and no bite." Her eyes then turned to the projection of the Diamond Kingdom troops. "As for those other troops…"
Zell was now facing the Diamond Kingdom Army by himself.
"I don't know who this is, but I'm guessing he's not a witch," said Ladros. "He must have guts to be standing against this huge Army all by himself. Even that, or he's stupid."
"Mars, you remember me, right?" said Zell.
"Wait a minute now, I might be totally off base here, but I think that guy is our old teacher," said Ladros.
Zell narrowed his eyes. "Yes, Ladros."
"And it looks like I get the honour of tormenting you, lucky me," he said as he raised his hand and fired a magical blast.
Zell merely swung his blade and cut through the attack.
"Oooh, still got it, huh?" Ladros smiled.
"You two have changed quite a bit, and I can see that it's not for the better," said Zell looking at the two of them. "You leave me no choice but to atone for my mistake!"
He opened his grimoire, and wall wind began to circle around his sword.
"Oooh, would you look at that breeze," said Ladros. "Nice and gentle."
"I'll ask you this one time, any chance you'll turn back?" Zell asked.
Ladros laughed. "Well, we're the ones with the Army, so I'm thinking that's our line. You see, here's the thing, it turns out our king isn't in the best of health these days, and from what we've been hearing, the Queen of Witches has been around for hundreds of years now. The king wants to find out the secret, even if it means wiping out everyone in this pitiful forest.
"So when we got word that the Eye of the Midnight Sun was already planning to stir up trouble here, we thought we might as well take advantage of the confusion and make this a real party. We want something; we take it by force. That has always been our philosophy in the Diamond Kingdom, right?"
"Which is why I left and never looked back," said Zell and then charged towards them.
"Ooh, sure is good to see you again, teach," said Ladros and then saw Zell flying right past them overhead.
Zell was, in fact, heading straight towards the Army itself.
"All the soldiers, and he's charging right for us?"
"Is he crazy?"
They immediately began firing fireballs at him, but Zell merely raised his sword. "Wind Creation Magic: Emperor of Slashing Winds Winter Wind!"
He then swung his sword, creating blades of wind that tore right through the fireballs.
"Here it comes!"
"He's fast!"
Zell began pelting them with blades of wind repeatedly, not giving them a chance to counter-attack.
"Wait, I know him! It's that traitorous coward Fanzell Kruger! He was a Diamond Kingdom Commander and combat instructor before he double-crossed us! And he's got a sizeable bounty on his head as well; let's take him down now!"
They immediately began firing spells at Zell, but none of them hit their mark, and he continued cutting them down with his wind blade. While he was doing that, he noticed that neither Mars nor Ladros had moved.
'They're not moving,' he said. 'Must be hard to attack when your enemy and your allies are that close together. Especially with the powerful magic at those two possess, but there's only so much one man can do. I'll have to depend on my other half and my student.'
On the ground, Mariella managed to organise the witches into separate squads.
'I wanted my master ever put clothes on,' Mariella wondered.
Domina was fiddling with the security golems. "There… I am such a genius."
"Remain calm!" Mohawq commanded. "Resume formation number six, even if he is a former commander; if you follow orders and strike from afar, then he will fall! He is your only target!"
His men followed his orders, but then they were attacked from below. Mohawq quickly looked down and saw that Mariella and the witches were now on the offensive.
"That's not exactly accurate," said Mariella. "No matter how many troops your opponent has, you should always attack with three times as many; that is what master told me."
"It's an ambush!"
"We'll be fine; we have plenty of soldiers!"
"Go, Squad Two!" Mariella ordered.
The Diamond Kingdom mages were then suddenly attacked by another barrage of spells, this time coming from a different direction. At the same time, Zell was cutting through the Diamond Kingdom forces from above, pushing them closer to the forest.
'What? They're pushing us closer to the forest,' Mohawq noted. 'There's no way this will work with all these trees and fog.'
He then quickly turned back to the remainder of his men. "Let's switch to Formation Thirteen!"
"Squad Four!" Mariella ordered.
The Diamond Kingdom forces were then struck by another ambush.
"Squad Five!"
'How are they able to predict our every move,' said Mohawq as they were hit by ambush after ambush.
"Easy, not so long ago, I was on the Diamond Kingdom's Assassination Squad," said a voice behind him. Mohawq's eyes widened as Mariella had snuck up behind him without noticing. "You're not even a challenge."
Mariella remembered every single assassination she accomplished, all so that she could stay alive just a little bit longer. She then killed a woman who desperately tried to keep her children hidden.
"I used to kill people who used to doing their best to survive simply so that I could stay alive myself," she said solemnly. "Maybe I'm hoping to make up for what I've done, or maybe I'm just patting myself on the back."
Mohawq then turned around just in time to be encased in ice. "But still, I'm going to stop you."
"Your damn traitor," Mohawq glared.
"True, but there's nothing you can say that'll change my mind. If I back down, then the person who saved my life won't be very happy with me."
Domina and the witches were watching from afar.
"That girl is a fierce one," said an elderly witch to Domina. "Jumping right in there and taking command of so many people."
"Oh, I agree," said Domina. "Our Mariella sure is something. Now for the next phase."
She then pulled out a remote control, and the security golems began to descend upon the remaining Diamond Kingdom forces.
"What's happening?"
Before they had any time to react, the security golems fired upon them, and their magic bullets were even more powerful than before.
"And there you have it," said Domina. "Thanks to my superior magic items and tinkering skills, I was able to give the security golems a little upgrade."
"That's marvellous; I'm sure it must have been expensive to pull off, though."
"You won't believe this, but the materials only cost me 3,000 sovereigns each."
"That much destruction for so cheap, what a value."
"Now is our chance, ladies! Don't let those all that rude rampage and sack our beautiful forest! Show them that these witches mean business!"
Instantly the witches began firing everything they had at the Diamond Kingdom forces, completely obliterating them.
"Well, well, they said trapped down there thinking we would barrel right into it," said Ladros. "It's probably better that we try to tread carefully, but it looks like fun, so here I go! Whatever the game is, let's play! Now then, where could they be?"
"Exactly what I thought you'd do," said Zell, blocking his path. "That's enough, Ladros. Wind Binding Magic: Emperor of Slashing Winds Whirlwind!"
Mini tornadoes then began wrapping themselves around Ladros' arms and legs, trapping him in place.
"Oh rats, guess you caught me," said Ladros in a playful voice.
"For the last time, do you want to turn around?" said Zell.
"Now, where would the fun in that be? I've got so much slaughtering left to do! What's wrong with you, huh? You can't train us to be killing machines only to expect us to behave like upstanding citizens and during a big battle like this?"
"I'm sorry, but I promised," said Zell closing his eyes. "You see, I told my last pupil, someone, younger than you… I'm done running! I'm going to live!"
Zell then gripped his sword firmly in hand and then struck Ladros.
Zell began thinking back to when he was their combat instructor; he was teaching both Mars the ways of the sword.
"That's it, feel your opponent's mana," said Zell and turned to Ladros, who seemed to be having a little difficulty with this. "Calm your emotions."
Ladros calmed himself and gained a bit more control. "Good job, try to focus."
After the lesson, he looked at his students. "Listen, your powers are meant to protect people and nothing else. Don't ever forget that, okay."
"Right," they said.
Of course, all that had completely changed now, and he was now battling those he had trained.
Zell looked at Ladros. 'His strength is physical reinforcement spells. I'll never win like this.'
He raised his sword, preparing to strike him again.
"Don't move, or you're dead!" said a voice.
Zell spun around and saw Mars flying towards him. 'Mars, of all the students I taught, he was the most skilled. There's no way I can stand a chance against him at this distance. I'll have to make some room.'
He then spun around and began swinging his sword. "Wind Creation Magic: Emperor of Slashing Winds Mountain Wind!"
He then swung his sword and extended like a whip striking Mars and knocking him back. With that, he turned back to Ladros, who had just freed himself from the binding spell.
"Ooooh," he said excitedly.
'Ladros… I'm putting my all into this,' he said as he readied his sword. "Now Wind Creation Magic: Emperor of Slashing Winds Gale!"
He then thrusted his sword at Ladros, and the wind started to pelt him repeatedly with powerful blows, and he began to scream in anguish.
'Not having an elemental attribute always made him a little odd,' said Zell.
'Sir, I don't need an attribute to be strong, right?' a young Ladros asked.
'He gave himself a complex over it, but he still had greater power than any of his peers. If he knows a long-range spell, I'm done for. I better put him out quick… Forgive me.'
"No! Stop it! I give, I give, I give… No more your magic, sir, please!" Ladros pleaded and then smiled fiendishly. "I'm downright stuffed."
Zell was completely shocked and quickly backed away from him and saw that Ladros had no injuries and was, in fact, absorbing his attack.
"Are you surprised?" Ladros smiled.
'There's not a scratch on him,' said Zell stunned.
"Yeah, I've made a few changes," Ladros admitted. "After you left, the Army gave me one of those upgrade surgeries, and I came out with new tricks. Absorption and emission, my body can suck up any magical attack that's thrown at it, and I can release that force whenever I like. You know what that means, right? Not only am I about to kill all of your little buddies, I'm going to use your magic to do it!"
Zell stared as winds began to in case Ladros. "What's this power from? It's not just Ladros; there's so much of it that it must be something else."
"By the way, teach, you didn't happen to bring any loved ones into the forest, did you?" Ladros asked. "Because if you did, you might want to check on them real quick."
Realising what Ladros was about to do, Zell quickly dashed off to Domina and Mariella.
"And you have to outrun my magic, so you better hurry up!" Ladros yelled after him. "On your marks… get set… go!" He then unleashed a multitude of beings of magic that rained down upon the forest. "Million Lasers!"
Zell was moving as quickly as he could to the forest with the witches who had gathered, but the lasers shot right past him. However, they weren't just hitting the witches, but they were also attacking the Diamond Kingdom troops.
The spell finally stopped the trees in the area, have been ripped to shreds by the lasers.
"Whospy," said Ladros noticing the unconscious Diamond Kingdom troops. "I got so excited I wiped out my own guys. I wonder if teach made it? Ah, there you are."
Zell was down on the ground, wounded; he only had enough time to create a barrier around Domina.
"Zell, oh no," she said, horrified.
"Domina…" said Zell weakly.
Ladros then landed in front of him. "Look at that, so you didn't have someone special here after all. But why haven't you introduced us? Don't you have any manners!" He then kicked him hard in the hip and looked at Domina, and grabbed her. "Wow, you didn't tell me your lady friend was such a looker. I'm jealous."
He then looked at her closely, recognising her. "Wait, I've seen you before. Oh yeah, that's right, you're the little minx he decided to run away with, aren't you? So how have you been?"
"Ladros… stop…" said Zell. "Please, I beg you, use your power for what's right."
"Of course, I am and always have," he said dismissively. "Come on, you and I both know that training was never meant to teach us how to protect anybody. There's nothing better than to use your power to the absolute maximum and devastate any opponent that dares stand against your way. My goal is to be recognised throughout this entire nation and then eventually the entire world! That is why I trained hard and rose through the ranks to become one of the Eight Shining Generals!"
Zell just started his soulless black eyes.
"Why are you always spewing this idealistic garbage? No wonder you were defeated in that power struggle and had to flee the Diamond Kingdom with your tail between your legs. You're such a coward!"
Domina then slapped him across the face with her wand. "Shut your mouth right now! My Zell is no coward!"
Ladros narrowed his eyes at her. "I think I'll start by killing this noisy little witch."
He then tossed her up into the air, and Zell was too weak to move, so the only thing he could do was watch helplessly. Ladros then began to charge his power with the intent of killing her with one strike.
"Domina!" Zell cried.
Ladros launched his attack, but appearing out of nowhere, cutting through the attack was the giant crystal blades. Everyone was completely shocked as appearing before them was Mars, who had grabbed Domina and shielded her.
"My powers are for protecting people," he said as he landed on the ground in front of Zell. "Everything you said… well, I guess it finally hit home."
"Mars?" said Zell shocked. "I—"
"You're kidding?" said Ladros. "What is this?"
"There's no need for all this killing; we are all here for the Queen, remember," Mars reminded him.
"Oh, now you want to pour out the kid gloves," said Ladros looking outraged. "Come on! They turned their backs on the Diamond Kingdom! If we overlook that there, it basically means we're traitors too!"
"That's fine."
"Really? You're going to betray your country?"
"That seems to be the case."
Instead of looking curious, Ladros actually looked delighted.
Hurray, for me!" he cried joyfully and then unleashed his magic. "Now I can kill you legally. You've been a thorn in my side for far too da,n long. So good at everything and being nonchalant about it at the same time and such a pain in the neck. I always knew that if I aimed for the top, you would instantly get in my way somehow, and today is finally my chance! I get to kill you and our teacher; this is the best!"
However, before he could attack them, he was then suddenly struck in the back by Mariella's ice daggers.
"Mariella…" Zell gasped.
"He's my teacher too, you know, don't treat him like he's some sort of bonus kill," she said.
"Why don't you and your pathetic magic stay out of this?" Ladros suggested as he absorbed the daggers. "It's not even enough to snack on."
He then turned and was about to fire on Mariella, but Mars quickly placed himself in front of her. Seconds later, crystals shot out of the ground, causing Ladros to lose his balance. Mars then created a crystal platform raising Zell and Domina into the air.
"There's a little Marsy boy for ya!" Ladros cried joyfully as he absorbed Mars' attack. He then fired several lasers down upon him. "I'll take all that power and send it back with interest!"
Mars quickly created a crystal barrier blocking the attack and then extended his hand to Zell and Domina. "Fire Recovery Magic: Phoenix Robe!"
Healing flames then began to surround Zell and Domina, healing their injuries.
"But Mars, why are you helping us?" Zell asked, still a little confused by what was going on. "Ladros is right; the two of us are traitors. I mean losing your memories…"
"Not to worry, sir, I decided that I'm on your side," said Mars. "Unexpected though our reunion, maybe."
Ladros then flew straight at them, and they quickly fell back.
"We can talk later; first, we should deal with him," Mars advised.
"Okay, but how do we handle somebody who can do that?" Zell asked.
"Well, he's almost invincible, but I know of a few ways that we can defeat him. One is to keep feeding him more magic than he can absorb until he self-destructs. We'd have to use Spirit Magic or get the Queen of Witches to help us. The other way is Anti-Magic."
"Anti-Magic?" said Zell. "Dak, that's right! It turns out we know just the guy, and he happens to be waiting on the opposite end of the forest as we speak. Let's try and guide Ladros there.
Mars was a little surprised by this information but took this as a good omen. "Good idea, Master."
"Hey, are you guys talking about me?" said Ladros as he fired lasers at them. "It doesn't matter how great your plan is; it'll be useless against my magic!"
His lasers headed straight towards them, but when he exited the thick canopy of trees, he saw that they were gone.
"What the?" he said, looking around.
Then suddenly emerging from the trees next to him were Zell and Mars, on a wind construct that Zell had made.
"Your power is what causes you to be careless," said Mars.
"I've got a knack for Reinforcement Spells myself!" said Zell.
They then extended their hands backwards, unleashing their magic.
"So say goodbye!" they said together.
They then slammed into Ladros and struck him with all their might, sending him flying.
Meanwhile the other end of the forest, Dak was trying to talk Fana down.
"It's over," he said. "We got you completely surrounded, so you might as well give up! Don't bother putting up a fight; we don't want to hurt you, so please don't force us to! You're still young, right? There's no point for you to throw your life away. If you do something stupid, then your friends and family are going to be really sad."
Sadly his words only seem to enrage her even further.
"You disgusting human, don't you dare speak of my friends!" she roared.
Her magic power then suddenly skyrocketed and became even more fiscal than before.
