Answers to future questions will be at the end of the chapters.
The answers to the questions from chapter 4 are now at the end of Chapter 5.
King of all Kings:
Solomon flew over the way that led to the shore, grasping his flute. He thought back on his conversation with Sphinuts after their teacher collapsed. If he saved Titus and Magnostadt fast enough, he could search for the 'Power' afterwards.
He just prayed he wouldn't be making a mistake, like the time he left Setta all alone to protect their base.
From afar he could make out a purple and black structure that collected magoi. As the red crystal at the front charged and fired he could only watch as a huge explosion tore the enemy ranks apart.
This was no defensive battle anymore. It was just a massacre!
It took just a few seconds for it to fire once again but this time it was blocked, much to Solomon's relief. Even if that wasn't exactly good news for Magnostadt.
The Fanalis rushed through their ranks and advanced further and further into their territory. A couple of Red Lions wouldn't be anything against him. He regarded his pulsating arm, taking that stone out had hurt!
For now he had to destroy these pipes connecting to the fifth level, otherwise all the people down there would die. He fired his shots just as Miss Irene gave the signal to charge the machine.
On the other hand, somewhere on that battlefield before him was Titus. After a while, he saw him fighting a Fanalis. His eyes widened, he had a Metal Vessel. So this wouldn't be too easy, then.
Muu, huh? One of Leam's three Metal Vessel Users. He could make out a part of their exchange just before Titus collapsed on the ground.
"Admit it." Muu spoke after he sheathed his sword "Those people that you hold dear feel the same way deep down inside…"
Solomon shook his head and sent the rukh out to swarm around him, causing the other magician to look up.
Solomon stopped right in front of him and presented his hand "That's not true! You're Titus, our friend. Didn't I tell you? Even if you couldn't be more different than anyone else in the world and you're all alone, there are people who'll say it doesn't matter to them at all! It doesn't matter to me, either!"
Titus started to tear up and took his hand "Aladdin..."
"He betrayed Leam." Myron told him "Is he worthy of your compassion?"
Solomon decided to ignore her comment for now "Let's try to figure out how we should settle this, Titus."
"So, Aladdin." Muu stepped forward "What were you planning to accomplish by coming here?"
Solomon frowned as he presented his staff "With the help of you all... I want to stop this tragic war, that's what!"
"Aladdin, Titus!" Miss Meiers' shouted as she, Sphintus and several others landed, giving tham back-up "Let's defeat them by joining forces. If we can just force the Fanalis troops to retreat, there's a sure chance that we can stop the advance of the Leam army, as well."
He supposed that was also an option.
"No way we're going to retreat." Muu claimed "After all, we can't let the Kou empire snatch Magnostadt away from us. Not to mention, it would make such a great foothold for us when the Leam empire invades the eastern continent. We're going to keep pushing through to the capital and take Magnostadt."
The tension grew and Solomon decided to interfere "Why would Lady Scheherazade do such an arrogant thing?"
"What did you say?" The half-Fanalis replied.
"I'm not saying Magnostadt is in the right…" It certainly wasn't "But... as long as it keeps getting treated like this by Leam and the people of Kou, the director and the others won't have any other choice but to carry on with their current mindset. That's why I'm asking you to stop driving them to the brink. Would you tell Lady Scheherazade that I said that?"
"Don't you go giving orders to Lady Scheherazade!" Muu demanded "Advance! We're gonna tear down all of the barriers and seize control of the capital!"
"Stop them!" Meiers commanded "We can't let them reach the second protective barrier! Distance yourselves!"
The Fanalis' started rushing towards them and fought against the magicians, breaking their borgs and kicking them to the ground. Solomon looked around, holding them up shouldn't be a problem. He flew farther up.
"What's wrong?" Miss Meiers wondered.
"How about this?" Solomon inquired, pointing to the rivers. As they got his plan, they started to fire as many shots as possible to weaken the ground and break it, making it easy to connect it to the water stream.
The other students were shocked to find the Fanalis' swimming through. But for them that was fine, them being in the water was all they needed. Struck with lightning, they drifted away save for a few who still managed to get out and onto save ground.
So that wasn't enough. Maybe it was time to throw them all out at once.
He called all the rukh in the area to himself as his aide.
"The rukh!" Sphinuts stated shocked, seeing them all fly towards his friend.
"Aladdin, are you okay?" Sai Lin wondered from beside him.
"Yes." He answered with a smile.
Muu, Myron and Lo'lo' charged at them together, not knowing what they would soon be up against. Strength Metal Vessel and household, huh? Not bad.
But to think this was Barbatos Metal Vessel User...
Even Miss Meiers fell to them and they reached the second barrier. With futile attempts the magicians tried to stop their attacks but it was to no avail, the barrier was cracking, it would only take one more attack for it to completely break.
An arm made out of sand threw the threw Fanalis' aside and three exact copies of Ugo with the addition of a head came to be on each of his sides and behind him.
Solomon crossed his arms and smiled "What are you going to do now?"
By now, there was so much rukh gathering that it could be seen by anyone. It was as amazing as it was terrifying, he was sure of that.
"I don't believe that you're fit to be a king, Sir Mogamett." He admitted "But I also know that the magicians of this country are people who are living their lives with all their might. If you put your heads together, you should be able to find a better way… This country… Magnostadt can't become one with the world as long as everyone's hearts are consumed by hatred." His flute felt warm in his hand "If that ever happens, it will surely spin out of control." Just like Alma Torran "I'm going to stop that from happening!"
He could see Muu come closer, his sword drawn. It seems they now perceived him as a danger.
"You're not Yunan." The younger commented.
"You know Yunan, sir?" He asked surprised.
"Yeah, I've met him before." Muu admitted "If there are only three Magi's in this world, does that make you Kou empire's Magi?"
"I'm not Judar." Solomon told him calmly "I'm not a Magi, either. You're not the first to think so, though."
Muu attacked him only to be thrown back by the middle sand giant "Either way, I'm going to eleminate any obstacles that stand in Leam's way!"
He charged again, this time with the help of the other two but it hardly did anything to his giants. Of course not, as long as he had magoi, that was going to be impossible.
He flew up, activating Halharl Infigar in the hands of the giants and firing them.
"Is that the best you can do? That a Magi can do?" Muu asked loud enough for him to hear "If you can use that overwhelming magical power to massacre the entire Leam forces, then you're no different than that Mogamett, Aladdin!"
He knew that very well.
"Without returning a single person's life to the Great Flow," 'To me' "I'm going to end this war!"
"You said you're going to end this war?" Muu yelled "And without killing a single person, no less? Spare me your naivete! There's no way you can do such a thing!"
He'd accomplished harder tasks "Oh, yes, I can. I have no choice but to do it! Miss Irene!" He called out "Can I speak with the director?"
"You cannot have a conversation with him." She informed "But it is possible to address him. As Lord Mogamett should be keeping an eye on this battle through Clairvoyance Magic..."
Solomon nodded and flew even higher "Sir Mogamett. You and I are going to protect this town one more time." He raised his staff, finished with what he had to say and led the giants forward "Halharl Infigar!"
Only a bit.
A bit further.
It wasn't going to be much longer.
Just a moment.
One moment.
Now!
The giants collapsed, burying the enemy soldiers and dragging them to the shore as the barrier was restored.
"What happened is that this war is more or less back to square one." He explained to the enemy "If you want to conquer Magnostadt, you can just start all over again. But no matter how many times you guys attack us, I'm going to push you all back to the ocean every time- no matter how many times it takes!"
He was glad his strategy was working well, the soldiers were giving up.
"Even if I'm not the one to do it, the people of Magnostadt will continue to stand up to the Leam forces, every time. Because it's life or death for them. Because everyone holds their own country dear…" This was hurting, it was hurting too much "So please… Don't take it away from them… the place that these people belong. People of Leam… Please go back to your own country!"
It seems that was the last bit it took, the soldiers were ready to leave. Solomon eyes pierced Muu's form as he stalked forward.
"Spirit of Hunting and Nobility..." He said seemingly calm but with a grave expression "I command thee. Envelope yourself all around me and take shelter within me. Transform my body into that of a great magus… Barbatos!"
The sword glowed brightly as the red heads form changed. It was a full body Djinn equip. The one thing they didn't need right now, it restored their courage again as they regained the will to attack.
But this wasn't good, the Fanalis didn't have a lot of magoi to begin with. He broke through the first barrier with no trouble whatsoever.
"Aladdin, you alone…" Muu declared fiercely "...I will kill right here! Bard Rohm!"
With amazing speed, he rammed into the King who had just enough time to put up his borg as the blast send them both flying.
Did Muu really think he would be done in by this? A Djinn's strength was overwhelming, yes but he knew them and their abilities. Something that Muu did not. He may be Barbatos' User but he wasn't Barbatos himself.
"I'm sorry but I can't allow myself to lose!" Solomon proclaimed as he swung his staff "Ramz!"
The lightning didn't effect him as much as wanted and he had to jump back as Muu began to bleed slightly as an after-effect of using his equip too long. He was out of time and magoi but he knew it wasn't over.
This man would use his Extreme Magic. Magnostadt wouldn't last against something like that, even with the barrier intact. It was just impossible!
"Extreme Magic, Bard Longineus!"
Barbatos' sword. This was still a Metal Vessel, there was a way to stop it! He just had to slash the pentagram with his staff.
He thrust it forward, only barely managing to ram it into the ground before he would harm his friend. He watched in shock as Alibaba stopped Muu's attack. He hadn't paid attention to the rukh or he would have known he would come.
"Who would have thought… that you'd be the one to stop me..." They knew each other? Muu put his sword away "From the looks of it, you probably didn't come here to back me up, did you?"
Alibaba just smiled and turned to Solomon.
"Aladdin!" Alibaba exclaimed happy.
The Fanalis' joined their leader as Myron complained to Alibaba. It seemed they were slightly panicking as both their captain and one of the Household members were out of magoi they could use.
"Everyone, fall back." They were commanded from behind and Solomon looked up to see Leam's Magi.
She must have come with a teleportation circle.
"Miss Scheherazade?" This wasn't… This was just a clone as well… "You're not really Miss Scheherazade, are you?"
"W-what are you talking about, Aladdin?" Titus asked confused.
"And who are you?" The Lady countered "Aladdin, Magi of Magnostadt?"
Why? Why? "No, I'm not. I'm not a Magi, either. But I don't want you to drive this country into a corner. The triggers that lurk here… The hatred borne by the magicians, the magoi production facility, the link to a certain organization. And if the last trigger is already hidden somewhere… Then 'something terrifying' will be summoned into this world. Just don't let that… please…"
His voice was pleading at this point and he was sure nobody here would ever understand just how frightening that 'something' could be or how scared he was. Not one. He looked straight at the Magi.
Scheherazade turned to the Fanalis captain "Withdraw the forces for now, Muu."
"But why?" He wondered surprised.
"Because Aladdin... might be gazing upon the same sight as Yunan." She explained.
Solomon and Muu were surprised. That was right, this wasn't the first time the Magi was alive. After knowing Ugo, he must know more than anyone else, it would only be natural.
"Either way…" She continued "The soldiers are severely wounded. For now, have the entire army retreat to the fleet on the open sea." She turned to Aladdin and his two blonde friends "Aladdin, Alibaba and Titus... Would you mind if we spoke for a bit?"
The sun was beginning to set as they arrived in the neutral zone between Leam's fleet and Magnostadt's country. Scheherazade and Titus were sitting beside each other opposite to Aladdin and Alibaba.
"I thought we were gonna get hauled off to the Leam fleet like hostages." Alibaba admitted.
"This is neutral territory." Scheherazade calmly replied.
"In that case, we can have a calm discussion, right?" Solomon smiled politely.
They ended up talking a bit about the battle to start things. It seemed the easiest topic to talk about at the moment.
"But it really surprised me when you came, Alibaba." Solomon told him "I nearly stabbed you! Showing up out of the blue like that!"
"Actually, you surprised me!" He threw back agitated "I mean, there you were, in battle. Then Muu turns into a silvery flash! It was totally scary, seeing it streak all the way across the battlefield, you know!"
"Come to think of it." The King smiled cheerfully "You didn't change at all."
"But I have changed!" He claimed loudly, flailing around "Look! Like maybe I have more presence or I'm a lot cooler or I seem more mature…!"
"H-hey, Aladdin." Titus muttered worried and shocked, looking back and forth between them and Lady Scheherazade "What's that all about? Now that we have Lady Scheherazade's ear…"
He stopped for a moment and looked at her again to find her smiling brightly. Their antics even made her laugh. They kept at it for a while until Alibaba recounted his journey and how he met Muu at the coliseum.
"So you didn't meet Lady Scheherazade, Alibaba?" Solomon questioned.
"Nope!" He denied "I made sure I wouldn't run into her! Because she'd find out, you know? That I had a Metal Vessel…" He looked to her at this "A Magi would know…"
"No…" She shot it down "Even if we had met, I wouldn't have known…"
"What do you mean?" The former prince inquired "Uhm, if you don't mind telling me?"
"It's because you're different from a Magi, isn't it?" Solomon added.
Titus shot up "W-what are you talking about, Aladdin? That's rude!"
"You're right." She admitted "I am the same as Titus... Only a mere clone of Scheherazade..."
He was right earlier then.
"W-what are you saying?" Titus asked confused.
"That said, it is only true of this body." She added "My mind is that of the Magi, Scheherazade, herself. My first body lies hidden in a place where no one in Leam can ever lay eyes on it... Because it can no longer take another step… being altogether too old…"
"Old?" Alibaba looked shocked "Just how old are you really, then?"
"I'm 268." She answered lightly.
Alibaba fell back in shock "T-two hundred and sixty-eight?!"
He looked at his friend confused as Scheherazade laughed. He supposed it might be considered old. Back in Alma Torran, it probably wouldn't have been that bad.
"Surprised?" She asked amused "I may not look it but I'm quite the grandma now!"
What did that make him then?
"Now it's my turn to ask questions…" She said "Please tell me. What is it that Matal Mogamett is hiding? What is he trying to accomplish in Magnostadt? Tell me, Aladdin. What is your fear?"
Now everyone was looking at him, expecting an answer. It was slightly scary but a lot of things were recently.
"What I fear is…" He clenched his fists and looked at his lap "That the Chancellor... might make Al-Thamen's wish come true."
Alibaba stood up "Did you say Al-Thamen?"
Solomon turned to him "At this time, Magnostadt has no connection to Al-Thamen. But there are great quantities of magoi and the magicians' hatred and if he is hiding a lot of black rukh somewhere as well… Then the tragic scene Al-Thamen has been longing for might be recreated."
"The tragic scene?" Alibaba questioned as Titus looked shocked while Scheherazade's face was unreadable.
She looked up with a firm face "This thing you call the 'tragic scene'... how do you know about it? And where did it happen?"
"Alma Torran." He answered briefly "I'm talking about another world!"
"Another world?" The former prince asked.
"I told you a bit about it before, Alibaba. But this will be new for you, too. All sorts of people once lived in that world but a single war brought everything to an end. And the people who triggered that war... were Al-Thamen. The war ended before everything in Alma Torran perished. If you were to ask a Djinn, they would say it was thanks to the power of a great magician named King Solomon."
"But that's-" Alibaba shut his mouth, seeing Solomon's glare.
Solomon closed his eyes and continued "And the few remaining survivors were guided towards a new world created by said King. And that world… In other words, the world we're all living in right now!" He looked her straight into the eyes "But there are people who could never accept that. Al-Thamen's wish is to eliminate even this new world and recreate it as a world of chaos. And the power they need to accomplish that is… The Dark Spot. A hole in the world created from vast quantities of magoi and black rukh. From there, they'll consume all the white rukh in this world to depletion. An incarnation of evil will appear… I have seen it all, the history of Alma Torran."
He looked down sadly, remembering that final battle. The last true fight Alma Torran would ever experience.
"Is this the first time you've told this story?" Scheherazade inquired.
He shook his head "No. I already told Alibaba and another friend a part of the story with some… adjustments. I'm sorry about that Alibaba, I really am but I had reasons to keep silent. At that point in time, it was dangerous because remember? 'Walls have ears'. It was the same when we were on the ship to our respective journeys. But there was one person who I told more but it was in order to make sure he wouldn't go do something stupid ...And to help him a bit. I couldn't just tell anyone, you know. I'd just worry everyone, after all!"
"So that's what it is…" The female Magi commented "And? If what you said is true… You're telling me to stop this war in order to prevent that worst-case scenario from happening. Is that right?"
He nodded "Yes."
"Let us return to one of the ships of Leam's fleet." She suggested and they made their way to the nearest ship, all four getting off the boat "Please give me just a little time to talk it over with everyone on the boat. Wait for my answer by Lord Mogamett's side."
"Will you give me a little more time, too?" Solomon asked and motioned to Titus "I haven't talked to Titus yet about what we're going to do after this."
Titus didn't look too well but Scheherazade took him by the arm "First, let me have a moment alone with Titus, please."
She walked away, leaving him and Alibaba alone.
"Hey, who is that guy?" Alibaba wondered, gesturing to Titus.
"He's a friend that I made in Magnostadt. I just can't feel indifferent to what happens to him…"
"..." Alibaba looked at the two others talking "You know, I'm actually really upset that you didn't tell me and Morgiana the whole truth."
"I know." Solomon replied "I'm sorry."
Alibaba punched him in the shoulder "Stop saying sorry. I get it, I just wished you'd done that. I'm upset, yes, but not angry. So don't worry about it. Anyway…" He remained silent for a while "You came from another world then, right? That must have all happened long ago, how come you're here right now?"
"I died." He admitted, chuckling at his friend's horrified expression "I don't know how I came back though. But I'm happy I got to meet all of you."
They both smiled before they broke into laughter.
"Me, too!" Alibaba confirmed "I'm also glad I met you, Morgiana, Hakuryuu and so many others."
Just as he finished, Scheherazade called out to them, declaring the end of the war. Solomon was relieved, it seemed like it wouldn't come to the creation of a Dark Spot.
A soldier destroyed the calm of the moment, declaring that the Kou empire was on the move. Solomon nearly facepalmed, he forgot about that! Hakuryuu told him they would attack and it was a threat Kouha made to the Chancellor a while ago.
Now they had Leam out of the picture but how was he going to convince Kou? Well, he could hold them off, maybe even convince them with the help of the Djinn's. Kouha's rukh was there, so his Metal Vessel should be with him.
With a sudden realization he checked on Chancellor Mogamett's rukh and tensed. It was filled with bad intentions! Maybe good in Mogamett's eyes but all in all they spelt disaster.
He grabbed Alibaba's arm "We have to go to Magnostadt, like right now! Sir Mogamett's rukh is on a downwards spiral!"
"What?!" He asked shocked "But we just got this situation resolved!"
"It's Kou." Solomon explained "We had losses and just fought, there's no way to fully fight Kou right now without a huge amount of losses. And they have several Metal Vessels, even if I can only feel one right now. We have to go back and stop him!" He directed his gaze to Scheherazade "If you don't want to get caught up in this, I suggest you and your forces leave now!"
He turned to the ocean but already saw the pillar of dark smoke, of black rukh, rising. He and Alibaba were hurrying to the academy on his flying sheet as fast as possible. Contrary to their expectations, the black Djinn didn't fly towards them but towards the Kou army instead.
But that was temporary, in the end Leam would be attacked as well. And then, everyone.
The two flew after the Djinn in hopes of catching up to them. Kou might not exactly be their ally but they couldn't let them die like this. And Kouha was Solomon's friend, kind of.
He could both hear and see the explosions at the Kou armies location. He smiled relieved as Alibaba changed into his Djinn equip and left. He himself put the cloth away and flew with his strength magic, it was both faster and easier for him.
He really needed to think about what spells to use. How much magoi it cost didn't matter, he had Ugo as well, all he needed were spells big and strong enough to shred these things apart without them regenerating.
As he was thinking, the three Djinn from before that went after Kouha went back to the academy as nothing more than rukh. That would explain the Extreme Magic he felt. But the ones that returned were worse than the ones before.
He tch'd. They had taken on the same forms as the ones that destroyed Alma Torran. He flew faster, there was no way Kouha could do this alone. He couldn't use his Extreme Magic endlessly and those were just too many opponents.
It seems Alibaba made it in time though, to think he'd mastered his Djinn equip. Only two were left standing by the time Solomon arrived. On top of that, there were reinforcement coming, for both the black Djinn's and Kouha. He supposed it was his brother but three Vessels, seriously? Was this guy a mini version of Sinbad?
But it was too early to celebrate as another group of these ghastly black things arrived. Alibaba was activating his Extreme Magic but for Solomon that wasn't fast enough.
"Help us, Ugo!" He blew into his flute, the Djinn materializing.
He started to ran up to the enemy Djinn's and Alibaba was about to fire when a blue blast erupted behind them and was shot into the Djinn's. Many were wiped out instantly.
He looked backwards, his suspicion was true, it was Kouha's half-brother. Ren Kouen, what Djinn's does he hold? Who chose this man?
He and Alibaba watched as Kouen's household took the center stage. Astaroth, Phenex, Agares. So they were the ones who chose Kou's first prince as their King. My, so many of his friends were here.
He watched their King as he commanded Kouha's forces. As said man looked at them, they descended onto the ground and Solomon gripped Alibaba's shoulder and kept him in place, letting the rukh tell him not to do anything stupid.
"Who are you?" The first prince inquired.
Solomon tightened his grip as Alibaba answered "A former prince of the Kingdom of Balbadd, Alibaba Saluja."
Whispers broke out among Kou's soldiers.
"Aladdin?" Kouha asked confused, seeing his friend beside the former prince.
His companions were just as confused "What going on?"
The soldiers started to take fighting stances and encircled them. Solomon tightened his grip one more time before he let go and stepped forward.
"I understand your caution around him as he is your enemy but please do lower your weapons." He spoke evenly and Kouen let him continue "I also realize Kou's power, therefore I have no intention to fight you but Alibaba is my friend and as such under my protection. I will not hesitate to attack you with all my might if you happen to harm him."
It was a rather long pause and the soldiers looked positively ready to murder him. Such loyalty. Oh, well, they were just a few soldiers, wind magic could blast them away again and again with no problem.
The problems were Mister three Djinn's and his household.
"You don't want me to look down on him…" The prince concluded "But you won't even let him speak for himself."
"I can hardly let a friend of mine do all the work here." Solomon claimed, his hand and arm against the front of his chest "Besides, shouldn't that be the last of your worries? The black Djinn are still coming back and I can tell you, it's not gonna stop anytime soon, not if the black rukh keep being produced."
"It seems so. I assume you know the source?"
"I do but right now there's no way to stop it from this distance, so I'll have to fight through these black Djinn to get back." He tilted his head and smiled "So if you will excuse me and my friend, we will be going back." He turned to Ugo "You will help, too, right?"
He made a thumbs up and Solomon had to bite his lip as the soldiers only now noticed the Djinn's presence. They were interrupted by the arrival of the Djinn's and started to fight their way through. He glanced at Kou's forces as they defended themselves and started to counter-attack.
The Djinn's wouldn't last long but their advancement was slow as well. It would take a while to get to Chancellor Mogamett. He would be faster if he abandoned the Kou forced but he couldn't do that either.
He stopped his assault on the enemy mere moments before they disappeared, becoming stock-still. He couldn't move a muscle, he didn't even want to.
Poor, poor Titus who had only lived a little over a year, got excited over every little thing and could smile brightly for them. Who gave Marga a home and stood by her side as family.
Now he wasn't there anymore, his rukh gone yet it wouldn't even return to the flow.
He stared at the sky in disbelief as he collapsed on his knees, staff falling down beside.
'You stopped him, didn't you…? You sacrificed yourself and yet… and yet… why…? Why did you of all people have to die? Why you?'
And as if that wasn't enough, he feel his rukh getting sucked up, the Chancellor's was probably experiencing the same now.
Why was this happening? Why now? How could he dare come back? After all that happened, after all he did?
He had no right to exist! Not here! Not in this-
"-in! Aladdin! Aladdin!" Someone was shaking him? "Stop crying, Aladdin! What's wrong with you all of a sudden?!"
He was crying? He lightly touched his cheek. It was wet, he realized. Why was it wet? Was it raining?
No, no it wasn't.
The hands left his shoulders and something heavy landed on his head, blocking whatever light the sun had been sparing for him. His own hands were shaking, but why?
The feeling was familiar. Like a hand he'd held many times but when was that? Who was that?
...
No, more importantly,
who the hell was Aladdin?
I just realized I forgot to make that extra scene in Chapter 4...
Oops?
I will definitely get to it later though.
Please tell me what you think so far!^^
Guest: Thank you, I'm happy you like it! I can't deny that he's OOC at all, it's very true^^
That's why I'm glad that you think it's a great story anyway!