Morgana grabbed the Blaster Blade without hesitation.
ZAAP!
"Ouch!" she yelped as the weapon fell away in her arms.
She had heard about this before. The Blaster Blade rejected all that it deemed unworthy with a surge of energy. Nemain must have carried it here using her dark magic.
A scraping noise came from behind her.
Glancing back, she noticed a portion of the wall shifting slightly and groaning as something smashed it relentlessly from the other side.
She must have stumbled upon a secret doorway. And just outside was the corridor and the monster that had attacked her.
As dust and sand began cascading through the gaps between the stones, it became certain that the creature would penetrate the wall soon enough. And behind it, others would follow.
She was trapped.
Her eyes darted around the room in a quick frenzy, searching for something, anything that would allow her to survive this hopeless situation.
And as her gaze descended upon the Blaster Blade, an idea flashed across her mind. An idea that was so ridiculously crazy, it just might work.
No other options were in sight.
So, swallowing in apprehension, the knight grabbed the hilt of the Blaster Blade resolutely and in one swift motion, rammed the entire sword into the outer wall.
Engulfed by waves of lightning, she screamed.
…
"That's weird," said Marron.
"What?" Llew inquired.
"My senses tell me that Morgana is over there. But…"
The sage was pointing upwards to the sky a short distance away from where the group stood. But nothing was there.
Randolf was confused. "Over there?"
"His senses must be fried," laughed Wingal playfully.
But right at that moment..
BOOM!
A pocket of air above the canopy exploded in a shower of dark debris!
"What the heck?!" shouted Randolf.
The sky seemed to become distorted as a huge shape began to fade into existence against the verdant landscape.
It was a citadel constructed entirely of black and purple stone, but a head and arms stretched out of its ancient walls, making it seem like some sort of giant being.
"A Demon World Castle," Marron whispered.
"Look! Up there!" barked Flogal.
A section of the stone had been ripped open, revealing a small portion of the castle's interior. And standing there amidst the wind was none other than Morgana. But something was wrong.
She fell.
Llew acted at once.
Tossing himself onto the pegasus' saddle, he whipped the reins and catapulted into the air, streaking like a comet across the cloudscape.
Noticing the falling shape of the Blaster Blade below Morgana, he grabbed it and stowed it away before catching the unconscious girl. Breathing weakly, her eyes were closed and her palms were soaked in blood.
"Morgana! Morgana!" he called, shaking her violently.
Managing to open her mouth slightly, she spoke. "Don't.. worry.. it's.. nothing.."
Willing the horse to turn back, he returned to the others.
"Morgana! Is she alright?" Randolf came running as Llew descended.
"I.. I don't know. She looks like she's in pretty bad shape."
A tinge of guilt snapped across Llew's heart. Morgana was in this state because of him. All for the sake of retrieving the Blaster Blade.
The muscles on his fists tightened. He could feel nothing but hatred for the holy weapon.
BOOM!
The earth shook.
Together as one, the party of Royal Paladins observed as the looming form of the Demon World Castle landed before them, crushing several trees in its wake.
A gateway in its chest retracted with a piercing screech, and out marched an entire force of skull-headed monstrosities, led by Nemain herself.
"Boy, would you be so kind as to hand that sword over?" The witch gestured at Llew.
Llew opened his mouth to refuse, but thoughts of Morgana's limp form made him hesitate. He knew he needed the weapon to save Salome. But…
"NEVER!" Randolf hollered. "We'll never hand over the Blaster Blade to the likes of you!"
Nemain pressed her fingers against her temple. "Such foolish children.. if you had just handed it over quietly, I just might have decided to keep you as my servants instead of killing all of you. Looks like I'll have to take it from you.. by force."
"You shall not have the Blaster Blade."
Without warning, blades of light hailed down the heavens, cutting into each and every single one of Nemain's creations.
She could only look around in shock as the skulled beings shattered into pieces, unable to regenerate themselves.
In a burst of radiance, a bluish figure appeared between Llew's party and the skull witch. His face was stern and old but his garments were of the same style as Marron's.
"Master Zenon!" he cried.
"Skull Witch Nemain," Zenon muttered. "My powers are far beyond that of yours. Leave now and I shall forgive your vile actions against these travellers."
"Not a bad offer," Nemain bit her lip thoughtfully. "I think I'll take it. Come DonnerSchlag, let's go."
Spinning gracefully on her toes, she strutted back towards her castle but stopped at the entrance.
"To the blonde boy: mark my words. One day, that sword will be mine."
And as she disappeared into the shadows, the gate shut itself once more as the entire castle faded out of sight once again.
Llew stepped forward to thank the old sage but Zenon simply brushed past him without a word and made his way towards Morgana.
Placing a hand on her forehead, he said, "This child's life is in danger. I can perform the treatment. But the tools required are in my shack. Do you children mind taking a short detour?"
Randolf and the rest of the team looked at Llew. They all knew that it was imperative that they find Ergodiel as soon as possible in order to cure Salome before the worst happened.
But real knights did not leave their comrades behind.
"Let's go then," announced Llew. "Lead the way."