Chapter 19: Pride and Promises
Special Thanks to Rosamanelle for Beta Reading.
It was a normal morning for most of the students in Hogwarts and Wizarding Britain alike, the usual rise of the sun. However, for a certain Toad Lady – as she was so mockingly nicknamed behind her back by most of, if not all, the students in Hogwarts – it was the dawn of the day she had waited for; it was the day that all of her plans were put into motion!
It would be the day that Dumbledore succumbed to her as his schemes to destroy Wizarding Britain crumbled before his soon-to-be-lifeless eyes. Umbridge would see to it personally, even if the executor was to be herself or her puppets!
Yes, how can she not call what she had summoned forth a puppet? Even if the summoning book had called it a 'Revenant', it was nothing but a puppet if she had absolute total control over it! Umbridge had even tested it out herself for three days straight. The puppet yielded nothing but pure obedience, albeit with some minor difficulties. While she hadn't tested its abilities and knew absolutely nothing about what it was capable in its former life, she realized the moment it appeared within the summoning circle that this puppet was powerful; more powerful than any Wizard or Witch she knew of, save Dumbledore! Why, it had to be in order for its mere presence to be so overwhelming!
As the semester after the Christmas Break began, the hardest part of her plan was about to commence: sending the puppet into Hogwarts in order for it to assassinate Dumbledore and, if the situation permitted it, Harry Potter. It sounded easy enough, but the hard part was that she needed to make sure no other students were harmed, and if that was impossible she had to defend at least the Pure Blood students (They were the key to the Ministry's – no, the Wizarding World's future, after all. Mudblood spawn could all die for all she cared, it's not like they would ever contribute to society anyway) from any form of harm.
The other hard part was that while her pupped couldn't defy her commands under any circumstance, it took some effort to have the thing follow her orders. Most of the time it stood still, idly staring at her, and only after several more repetitions of the same command the stupid thing was spurred into action. Or it struggled with her commands as if it were unable to comprehend them, although Umbridge saw the barely noticeable glint of mischief in its normally lifeless eyes as it relished her annoyance at having to repeat herself. Umbridge was certain thay despite being dead, this particular puppet still fiercely held onto its pride. After all, if she were to be ordered around by a complete stranger who used the power of a contract, her pride would kick in and make her difficult, too. So it would be quite the challenge to know whether the thing actually went to do her bidding.
To avoid accidentally associating herself with the puppet, Umbridge had commanded it to act on its own without her watching it complete its mission in person. Of course, this gave her even more reason to doubt her puppet's obedience. Finally, her worry getting the better of her, Umbridge decided to take the Floo network to Hogwarts, mentally reminded herself to steer clear of Dumbledore's office and the brat until the dust settled.
But she sure as hell didn't expect a violent shake of the castle, coupled with a loud explosion that came from the outside – especially not as she was stepping out of the fireplace in her office!
Umbridge began to panic when more explosions continued to rip through the air, the ground shaking again and again as if the mighty Hogwarts was hit by a giant fist repeatedly. Dust fell from the ceiling, chunks of plaster breaking off to crash to the floor. Books fell off of shelves, and objects not bolted down were tossed around like feathers. Stumbling out of her office, Umbridge gaped as she saw that the whole castle was in chaos, students running out of classrooms, their respective teachers trying to control the panicked mass (although a few brave souls tried to find a window to see what was going on), expressions that were equally shocked and strained plastered on their faces.
For a moment, Umbridge thought that the commotion was about something that was cooked in Professor Snape's class exploding in a spectacular manner and an earthquake simultaneously occurring – rather optimistically, mind you – but all other thoughts were dismissed when she felt a twinge in her chest, the telltale sign that her puppet was nearby. She pegged its location in the field outside of the castle, rage bubbling as she realized what that meant.
Gritted her teeth in frustration, Umbridge growled to no one but the people who wrote the damned Revenant Book. It seemed that their creation wasn't as obedient as advertised anymore. Knowing the schedule of a particular target, she knew that Harry Potter was in the Defense class right now – without a doubt he was outside given the attitude of that young professor. The problem wasn't that, however…
The big problem was that fifth year Slytherin was also there – which included the son of a certain generous supporter of the Ministry. There was no way she'd ever let them learn about Umbridge's secret machination; even Fudge didn't know about it! The entire future of their society was there!
At this realization Umbridge's toady eyes widened, nearly bulging out of their sockets. She rushed over to the nearest window, praying that it had a view of the lakeshore.
She was cut short, however, as an alarm sounded, an alarm that hadn't been heard since the founding of Hogwarts. The alarm that sound unfamiliar to Umbridge made the teachers began herding the masses towards the Great Hall, hundreds of bricks popping out of thin air and sealing off all the windows in the blink of an eye. Umbridge screeched loudly, repeatedly pounding on the offending object that blocked her sight at the commotion outside in her rage. As she screamed at hit the walls, she failed to notice that everyone around her was gone, even the portraits!
The black flame the burned on the lakeshore consumed the large patch of grass inch by inch in every direction, expanding in a rolling wave of searing heat. Smoke plumes rose from the burning ground, blocking the view of anyone who tried to see what happened to those unfortunate enough to take the initial hit from the fire. Then again, no one was looking at the students when it all began, so no one had a clue that anyone was there until someone realized that the fifth year students from both Gryffindor and Slytherin were missing.
Until the black fire died down, that is.
A small tornado formed along the burning shoreline without warning, whirling so fast that cold water from the lake was drawn towards the raging wind before it swept over the blazing fire. A flash of blue light sparked from the center of the storm, the fire transforming into a glittering, crystalline, paradoxical frozen flame. Small cracks appeared in the icy flame, growing until the entire thing shattered, revealing the fifth year students from Gryffindor and Slytherin. They were all unharmed, albeit cowering to the ground in fear of the flames, hands covering their heads.
Their purple-haired professor stood at the edge of the lakeshore, her white coat pristine as ever. Lowering her hands, she never broke eye contact with something – or someone – on the opposite side. Elsword picked himself up quietly, before immediately barking orders at the group of students. "Is everyone alright? Check each other for injuries and apply basic medical treatment immediately!"
Harry was the first one to get off of the ground. Quickly locating his friends – Hermione and Ron were lying on the ground while covering their heads – he gave them a brief once-over to see if they were alright. Deeming them safe, he glanced at the others around him, letting out a breath of relief as he saw that apart from dirt and snow on their person, they were all alright – even Malfoy and his cronies.
His relief was short-lived, as Aisha, who stood guard at the shoreline suddenly interrupted his attempts to speak with a shout of 'Incoming!' and raised her hands to face the threat across the lake. A transparent shield flared up in front of her, another black fireball exploding on it and covering the unprotected parts of the shore in flame. With another wave of her hand, water flew from the lake, sweeping away the flame once more.
The danger was far from over, another swarm of fireballs appearing. Before they could hit the conjured shield, the redheaded knight leapt in front of Aisha while swinging the wooden sword. It glowed red, deflecting the fireballs in rapid succession one after another, flinging them into the lake were the fizzled out upon touching the icy water. Yet he himself was falling down fast towards the cold lake after deflecting all the fireballs. Luckily for him, Aisha held out her free hand, creating a floating, semi-transparent platform for him to stand atop of. He turned to Aisha, giving her a thumbs up.
Unfortunately that did little to comfort the girl as she spoke to him, an eyebrow twitching in irritation. "Elsword, focus. This isn't over yet!"
Her chiding was just in time, as when Elsword turned back he was greeted by another barrage of black fireballs. He continued to bat away the projectiles, but there was only so much one man could do against the kind of barrage he was facing. A few snuck past his defenses, hitting Aisha's magic shield much to his frustration.
Elsword's frustration was nothing compared to Aisha's, who didn't waste the chance to berate him once the barrage stopped. "Get back here and help the kids run to the castle, Elsword! We can't fight with so much deadweight loitering around here!" She turned towards the cowering students, glaring fiercely. "And you! Get in line and go to the castle now, Elsword will guard your back! No pushing and no running around like headless chickens! And tell – no, order the Professors to give their all in fortifying the school while you evacuate from Hogwarts by the Floo thingy as fast as you can! If you screw this up, it's 1,000 points from your House - if the Hogwarts still survives after this!" Of course, Aisha didn't intend to take away that many House Points, but she said so just to emphasis the gravity of situation they're in.
Her voice was indeed loud enough for everyone to hear, as the many students began to help each other to their feet, the masses running towards the nearest door they could find. No one raised any questions, not when they were nearly burned by their mysterious assailant. Elsword scanned the area, making a few rounds to see if anyone was lingering before following the trail of fleeing students towards the castle.
Upon surveying the retreating student body, he couldn't help but notice that a certain boy that he, Aisha, and Rena were quite fond of wasn't among the rest of the students, his two companions also missing. Shaking his head, Elsword decided to stick to the bigger mass. He had good guess where the trio would be, and he and Aisha wouldn't be able to forgive themselves if even a single child died under their watch. He trusted that Aisha would get them out of there, even if she had to forcefully teleport them before the enemy attacked once more. Trying to transport an entire class was risky even for a mage of her caliber; she couldn't afford to lose focus in a situation like this.
Running alongside the students, a blond Prefect of Slytherin slowly spoke, his voice quavering, not a single insult being thrown like before. "Sir, what's happening? What are those black flames?"
Furrowing his brow, Elsword glanced between Malfoy and Aisha, trying his best to ignore the shades that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He decided that, even if the others who were running heard him or he disclosed some information to their enemy, it would be best to answer the blond boy lest he – and the rest of the students – decide to run back to the scene of the fight in order to watch. "The black flame you're seeing is the sign of dark magic, wielded by Dark Mages – or Voidus Magus, as we call them – that live in our homeland. That is, the homeland of Aisha and myself."
efore the blond could further inquire, they hit the main gate of the castle. At that point, Elsword ushered all the students into the Great Hall. It was a great shock to find that even Professor Dumbledore was amongst the gathered students and Professors – heck, even Hagrid was there, even though he was always in his hut (Lucky for him, Elsword thought)! Confusion was clearly written on the faces of the Hogwarts inhabitants, although upon close observation it wasn't so much confusion as it was fear.
The aged headmaster, noticing the newcomers, quickly made his way through the panicked students, approaching Elsword with slight caution. "Mr. Sieghart, what happened? The castle's Annihilation Warning Ward just went off. And where is Professor Aisha?" The mention of the Annihilation Warning Ward sent a ripple of anxiety through the students - especially those among pureblood and older year students - as they knew all too well what that meant.
Elsword blinked in surprise, his curiosity moment overriding Aisha's instructions. "Not to sound ignorant, Professor, but what is this 'Annihilation Warning Ward'? I thought the only ward on the castle was the 'Illusion Ward' and 'Muggle repelling charm?"
Professor Flitwick squeaked, rapidly yet thoroughly answering Elsword's question. "It's a warning ward, as the name suggests. It only sounds when it detects a threat that can potentially put all of Hogwarts at risk of imminent destruction within school grounds. It hasn't been sounded since the founding of the school!"
Eyebrows furrowing, Elsword returned to the task at hand – after all, when Aisha ordered something while combating poweful foe, it was best to not mess with her. "Then why is everyone gathered here? Shouldn't you be evacuating the students if the alarm signifies such a large threat?"
The Professors looked at each other, the matching looks of frustration written on their faces telling the redhead that something was up. It was McGonagall who spoke up, a grim look on her face. "That very same ward is also conditioned to put up the school's maximum defenses. Once activated, it overrides all methods of transportation. The Floo won't work anymore. The only way out is to try and fly out of the castle, if you can destroy the blockades sealing the windows first."
Dumbeldore added on to McGonagall's explanation, a tired look on his face. "Before you can ask, we can forcefully undo the ward; however that will take time and the castle will be totally defenseless against any attacks while it is out of place."
"We also have a limited amount of fireplaces to use the Floo network, efficiently limiting the speed of the evacuation." Snape added as well, his eyes narrowed, clearly very upset with the current situation. "Unless an alternative is suggested, we have no choice but to fortify the main hall. This place has been heavily warded with ancient spells, strong enough to prevent it from caving in even if Hogwarts was falling apart."
Nodding once, Elsword uncrossed his arms. "Then I'll go get my equipment from my room. I'll be back in a – "
He didn't get to finish that sentence, as a blinding flash of light alerted everyone in the hall of the return of the three missing students. Elsword narrowed his eyes, recognizing Aisha's teleportation technique. But there was no sign of her nearby…
That can only mean one thing, he thought grimly, ignoring the students that swarmed the trio. Carefully pushing his way past the students, he only made it to the stairwell before he was interrupted once more. "Wait, Elsword!"
"That's Mr. Sieghart for you, Mr. Potter!" Professor Snape snapped, glaring at Harry. Clearly he disapproved of this sign of disrespect.
Even if Harry was halted by Snape, Hermione continued for him, making her way to the redhaired knight. "Professor Aisha has a message for you."
That made Elsword look back, an unwelcome feeling of dread creeping up his spine. "Tll me then, and quickly!"
Hermione looked increasingly distressed as she spoke. It was understandable, really, as she'd never been put in such a life threatening situation before. The message didn't improve her optimism at all, either. "She asked me to tell you this… 'I have to keep my promise with the Shadow Princess. Even if she's just a necromancer's imitation, a promise is a promise.'"
The word 'necromancer's imitation' made Elsword clench his fists. He obviously knew something about what was going on, but didn't want to share right now. The Professors within earshot looked confused, a certain Potions Professor, who was the most knowledgeable in the Dark Arts, scoffing loudly. "Impossible, Inferi wouldn't be able to trigger the Annihilation Alarm! It can't even cast magic!"
Elsword shook his head, turning back to walk out of the hall. "This isn't the normal Undead that you know about. The technique I came across allows the dead to retain their abilities in life." Before anyone could stop him, he was already at the door, turning to speak one last time. "I still suggest you evacuate Hogwarts, because this one is the real deal."
"Wait," Hermione called out to him again. "Aren't you concerned about Professor Aisha?"
Elsword's hands clenched hard enough around the doorknob for a crack to be heard clearly. He spoke through gritted teeth, irritation written all over his face. "Of course I am. I suggest you stop hindering my attempts to find my gear." Leaving before anyone could interrupt him again, he dashed out of the room with faint parting words. "After all, this is technically a two versus two…"
The whole Great Hall was silent for a moment, before chaos broke out, the students discussing what Elsword meant. Meanwhile, those in Dumbledore's Army quickly turned to Harry, desperate to hear what was going on.
Harry, who had just received a scolding from Snape, now sat at the Gryffindor table next to Ron. A frustrated and confused look was plastered on his face, barely paying attention to Neville as he spoke. "Harry, what's going on out there? You three were the last ones to come back…" His words died out as Harry glared at the pudgy boy, effectively shutting everyone in Dumbledore's Army up. It was clear that whatever happened, he didn't want to talk about it.
The Weasly twins then decided that, if the look on Harry's face was anything to go by, they'd better not pester the boy too much and thus shifted their gaze toward their own brother. Fred loomed over Ron, speaking in a comically threatening manner. "All right Ron, spill it. What happened out there?"
Harry gave Ron the 'look,' silently telling him to not say anything that they shouldn't know. The redhead nodded almost imperceptibly before he recounted what happened. "Well, when everything started to hit the fan, Harry and I decided to lay low and figure out what was going on. I'm not so sure about Hermione, but I know that she tried to get Professor Aisha to leave." He shrugged, continuing after noting the growing crowd around him. "Then we saw something floating towards us from across the lake. When it was around a hundred feet from us, I realized that it was a giant white… thing… Its eyes were this really cold yellow, and it had black ears that looked like a rat. It was round and white, but it had massive black bat wings. That… that thing was the size of Hagrid's hut!"
Ron paused to look around, only slightly surprised by the massive crowd gathered around them. He looked to Harry for help, but the raven haired boy just looked away and snapped at the crowd irritably. "Why ask us? It's not like you're going to believe us anyway!" He looked apologetically at Neville, seeing that he and several members of their secret group shrinking away from him. "I don't mean you… Sorry about that…"
Seeing that the Dumbledore's Army members nodded in understanding, Ron continued. "The weirdest thing was that there was someone sitting on top of that thing… A black witch." A wave of murmuring arose, some people gasping in panic and vocally worrying that it was a Dark Wizard attacking their school. Ignoring them, Ron continued. "…I think it was a witch. She was wearing this black robe, you see, and her witch hat was so large that it shadowed her entire face. But I could still see this red light shining from underneath the brim like eyes. Professor Aisha then called out to her…" It was here that Ron began to slow down, struggling to remember the rest of the details.
"It was if the Professor knew her…" Harry then spoke. Even if he knew that some people might not believe him, he refused to let Ron allow something to slip by mistake and get them all into serious trouble. "This might sound strange, but she asked the giant thing something in this strange, foreign language, and that thing talked back." He shuddered, remembering the unearthly voice that rang in his ears. "It looked at us with its glowing eyes for a moment, and then spoke perfect English. It said that it had to fulfill its contract with… with 'Speka' – I think that's the witch that was sitting on its head – and that contract included upholding unfulfilled promises so she can finally rest in peace."
"Did it tell you who raised this 'Speka' from the grave?" Professor Snape, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, spoke up. His sudden appearance caused many of the students to yelp, some jumping back in surprise. Harry glared at the Potions professor, but was surprised when he shook his head and left just as quickly as he came.
"What's his problem?" Ron said, voicing everyone's thoughts out loud.
Harry shook his head, continuing the nearly finished story. "Well, that's the gist of it. Professor Aisha then told me, Hermione, and Ron to run back to the castle, and… before we can say anything," there was no way Harry was going to tell them that they argued with his sister over them staying to help "she said that we were in way over our heads, and asked us to deliver a message to El–Mr. Sieghart. After that, a flash of light blinded us, and here we are…"
Hermione, who was looking at the clear sky on the ceiling, suddenly had an epiphany. Pointing at the ceiling frantically, she addressed the teaching staff with both an urgent yet shaky tone. "Professors, can we project what's happening outside onto a wall or something?"
Flitwick and Dumbledore exchanged glances before calling over the teaching staff. They discussed the suggestion for a while, but at last the Professors all nodded in agreement as the Headmaster made his decision. "It may be best for us to understand what's going on, that way we can assess the situation and decide whether to break the ward and evacuate Hogwarts or not."[1]
As if that were a command, Flitwick and McGonagall quickly waved their wands in unison, pointing at the portion of wall behind the staff dining table. The wall glowed for a moment, before an image flickered to life, covering the whole wall and showing the Hogwarts great lake.
And so, everyone there got a front-row seat to a battle the likes of never seen before in the history of the Wizarding World…
After her little brother and his two friends were sent away via her teleportation spell, Aisha turned to face the intruder that hovered above the lakeshore mere meters away. Looking up at the massive form – the avatar of the Demon Bat, without a doubt – she made eye contact with the imitation, no, the mockery of Speka, the shade staring back with bloodshot eyes that wanted no more that to fulfill her master's wish.
Fate conspired against them, Aisha thought, a small white portal opening behind her wrist as her weapon fell out and tumbled into her grip. Never breaking eye contact with the Shadow Witch, a grim smile crept across her lips as she recalled the promise the two of them had made that day long ago, the day Aisha stopped practicing Dark Magic and began the path of Nature. They promised that they'd have a duel at the end of the Demon War to see just how much the other grew.
But that promise was never fulfilled, as Speka fell in battle against a Demon horde a month before the war ended.
Aisha still remembered that day clearly; Speka, despite being her senior is Dark Magic, mockingly said that Aisha needed to bring someone else, because Angkor too was interested in seeing her growth. She had said that it wouldn't be fair to compete with a two against one.
Gripping her staff tightly, Aisha closed her eyes. Reopening them, she glared at the avatar of Angkor, the avatar grinning back savagely. Now it was different; this Speka was stung by an unknown necromancer, forced to rise from the grave to do the foul magician's bidding, mocking the memories of her by its very existence.
Calling this being an 'imitation' wasn't quite right, as Angkor's contract was tied to the very soul of a person. If this was an imitation, the corpse here wouldn't have been able to summon Angkor and his power to aid her, let alone give him this gigantic physical form. Aisha knew that the avatar of Angkor here was the real one – she had met him personally, after all. It seemed that whatever Art of the Dead that created this… revenant… either copied the soul of the real Speka perfectly and twisted it in the worst possible way, leaving only pride, rage, bloodlust, and absolute obedience, or it did in fact raise Speka's very soul before twisting it.
Actually, Aisha should thank Angkor. It seemed that by summoning him, his presence in the material plane slightly counteracted the necromancer's enchantment and restrained Speka to a certain extent, else she'd still be hurling black fireballs from across the lake. At least it made it easier to evacuate the students.
Now all that was left was to send this 'Dark Aspect' of Speka to eternal peace, letting her be content now that her promise was fulfilled and preventing her from being disturbed by amoral necromancy ever again.
Aisha snapped out of her musings as she sensed energy gathering. Looking up, she found a spinning blade of black stone the size of a large wagon descending, threatening to crush her, a swarm of bolts of dark energy that glowed purple rushing forth from the black staff Speka held.
Seconds before they connected, Aisha vanished from her spot, the spinning stone blade crushing the ground where she once stood, the bolts of magic bombarding the area around it and creating a plume of dust, dirt, and snow.
Materializing twenty feet over the explosion, the Elemental Master raised her own weapon above her head, a dim glow covering her body for a split second as she created a bounded field around herself, hastening the time flow and accelerating her descent upon the shade of Speka. The speed of her descent would make a blow lethal, guaranteed to turn an ordinary human to mincemeat if it connected.
It had never been a duel from the start; Aisha was just trying to put this mockery of Speka out of its misery, while whoever was behind all of this merely used Speka to try and kill her and destroy Hogwarts.
Even when she was what she was, Speka's senses were still sharp enough to know what was coming. Angkor was no exception, as the giant avatar pulled back towards the lake at a surprisingly fast speed considering its size. Its mouth opened, a purplish glowing ball of light appearing in its maw. Aiming at where it had been moments ago, it set its sights of the free-falling Aisha.
The glow became a giant purple-black beam that shot forwards once Aisha was in range. The water parted like Moses parted the Red Sea, surging out of the way of the beam. When it hit the shore, it carved out a large chunk of earth, snow vaporizing under the intense heat. The beam then impacted the defensive ward the clung to the castle, causing a loud explosion and a few chunks of debris mixed with a plume of smoke to appear.
Not to be outdone by the giant avatar, the Shadow Witch raised her staff, a dark magic circle appearing on its blackened tip. From it, a swarm of black fireballs appeared, launching themselves at high speeds and zooming around in an attempt to catch Aisha in case she dodged the giant beam. More fireballs surged forth, exploding all over the lakeshore and field. Some even hit the castle wall itself, engulfing their surroundings in dark fire that continued to burn on in the desolate craters.
Suddenly, lightning crackled, a bolt of lightning hitting and electrocuting the gigantic bat from behind. Defying the laws of physics, it ignored the water that the avatar of the Demon Bat was dipped in, scurrying up the side of the bat and threatening to hit the Shadow Witch herself. A transparent shield was conjured below the witch's feet, stopping the electrical surge. It coursed around the caster harmlessly, dispersing into nothingness as if it were disappointed that it couldn't hit its target.
The Elemental Master appeared in the air over the lake, her hands withdrawn after her failed attack. She pointed her staff towards the water below as she floated down, a patch of ice forming and spreading into a platform for her to drop onto gracefully. She darted to the side, neatly avoiding a bright red beam that was fired by the Shadow Witch. The beam vaporized a portion of the platform, and was quickly followed by dozens of spinning stone blades that impaled themselves on the forming ice patch, trying to cut off her escape routes.
Aisha jumped up as another beam shattered her platform. Swinging her staff in a semi-circle, she created dozens of fireballs as tall as her, shooting them towards the descending ebony blades. They destroyed them in fiery explosions of debris the disintegrated into dust, several of the fireballs avoiding the blades altogether and rushing towards the Shadow Witch and her summon.
Waving her staff, Speka created more stone blades, letting them crash into the fireballs aimed at her and causing a huge shower of debris and smoke. While her gaze obscured by the smoke, Aisha leapt onto the side of one of the black blades as an improvised platform and scanned the area for her enemy. Appearing out of nowhere, Speka swung her black staff down towards Aisha's skull; the Elemental Master caught completely off guard and unable to raise her weapon in time.
Gritting her teeth, Aisha's free hand glowed as a small tendril of light shot out at the attacking Shadow Witch. The close proximity of the attack prevented Speka from blocking it with her magic shield, but the effects of the spell were dramatically decreased due to how hastily it was cast. Instead of bringing Speka to a complete stop like the caster had intended, she instead slowed down. Still, that bought Aisha more than enough time for her to throw herself out of the way of the attack.
That wasn't the end of Speka's attack however, as Aisha barely managed to raise her protective magic shield in time to stop the black orb that exploded at point-blank. Before she could counter, the Shadow Witch disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of unnatural smoke that slowly seeped through her barrier due to its gaseous nature.
Holding her breath, Aisha also teleported away from the magically cursed cloud, reappearing on an ice patch that faced the avatar of the Demon Bat and its summoner.
The staring contest lasted only a fraction of a second before both sides sprang into action once more.
Speka raised her staff, shooting more black fireballs towards Aisha, another purple magic circle appearing in the sky above Aisha. From this circle came another avatar of Angkor, this one the size of a car. Dark energy gathered in its mouth as it took aim, a plume of black cloud pouring down like a pillar. The eyes of the avatar Speka rode on glowed like suns, its massive maw opening and releasing dozens of smaller bats. They flew erratically, circling and swooping around Aisha in an attempt to trap her.
Instead of teleporting away from the onslaught, Aisha ran down the patch of ice straight towards Speka and Angkor. Her staff batted away at any Petit Angkors that got in her way as she ducked and slid around the incoming obstacles with practiced ease.
As soon as she cleared the first set of obstacles, more fireballs appeared and headed straight towards her, the Petit Angkors that missed her earlier circling back to get her. A mere dozen meters away from the giant avatar, Aisha bent down and slammed her hand against the ice platform. A massive wall of ice erupted around her, engulfing the projectiles in an instant. Upon hearing the first crack of something hitting her ice wall, she conjured a bright orange circle that summoned a gigantic firestorm. It whirled around angrily, expanding outwards to vaporize the bats trying to break her ice wall in a split second.
Speka also waved her wand, summoning another car-sized Angkor and commanding it to pour a pillar of black cloud on the raging firestorm, effectively putting it out while intending to drench Aisha. Alas, it missed its mark once more, as Aisha appeared next to the Shadow Witch and punched her. Barely blocking it in time, Speka brought her black staff down on Aisha's shoulder, however it was blocked by Aisha's own staff. The two used the impact to separate, their free hands outstretched as they casted their own individual magic; black fire against freezing orbs, effectively cancelling each other out with a bang.
Aisha back flipped mid-air, letting herself fall towards the water. Swinging her staff out towards Angkor, the water around the Demon Bat swirled and sloshed upwards, freezing before the bat could open its mouth once more. Not wasting time, Aisha waved her hand to create a whirlwind, watching as it sucked up icy water. With another wave of her hand, the water shot out in a massive column, hitting the giant avatar right between its eyes. The gigantic creature shook in pain, the ice that immobilized it cracking and breaking under the pressure.
Her first blood was short-lived, as she quickly jumped out of the path of two dozen ruby-red beams that Speka shot in her general direction, the occasional black orb thrown in for good luck. The orbs exploded into clouds of the cursed smoke, spreading slowly and lingering while the ever-present stone blades continued falling from the sky. Violent waves formed in the lake as it was hit by the avoided projectiles, explosions, and Aisha's spells which ranged from tornadoes to water cannonballs, whatever could be conjured in a fraction of a second.
'This's getting nowhere…' Aisha thought, rolling on the ice platform to avoid a black column from one of the sky-bound Angkors, creating an additional shield to deflect a beam shot by the Shadow Witch. 'If this drags on, might as well find a new school for the kids.'
Her train of thought came to a halt as she quickly teleported again, avoiding an attack that came from all sides in the form of a horde of mini-demon bats. Appearing a meter away, she unleashed a stream of lightning, instantly frying the bats. The force of the following explosion was nearly enough to blow Aisha away, although she had to flip away anyways to avoid a magic circle that appeared under her feet. The magic circle flared, a pillar of purple light exploding into existence. Landing on her feet, Aisha immediately ducked, avoiding another beam that would've hit her head should she have stayed where she was.
The giant Bat Avatar let out a massive roar as he slid across the water, his stumpy bat wings growing rapidly in size as he approached Aisha. Busy fending off the onslaught of fireballs, stone blades, and exploding bats, she would have been unable to do anything even if she noticed her movement. Even if she were to teleport away, Aisha would have to thin their numbers first through one of her spells and risk damaging the lakeshore.
Actually, the lakeshore on the Hogwarts side wasn't very damaged with the exception of a few stray fireballs engulfing the ground from when Aisha took momentary refuge on the ground. In her conscience, she couldn't stay on that side of the lake for too long, as she could still sense that the castle was full of students and teachers. No one had evacuated yet, even if she had instructed them to do so! If she were to stand on that shore, it meant that she was putting Hogwarts, Hogmeade, or the Forbidden Forest in the firing path, and that was by no means acceptable. That left her with no choice but to attack on the unstable ice platforms on the lake.
The giant avatar of Angkor loomed over Aisha, his wings so large that they blotted out the sun. The talons on the tips of its wings glowed purple as it swung down at Aisha. Despite being able to avoid the attack, the black shockwave it created when the attack hit the water crashed into her small frame full force. Sending her reeling, Aisha skidded on the icy water for several moments before she regained her bearings. Yet the Demon Bat didn't waste a moment, following in hot pursuit, Speka spewing fireballs and hellish stone blades non-stop. Another Petit Angkor opened its mouth, creating a swirling purple vortex that sucked in everything – including Aisha – to prevent her from casting another spell. The talons on the massive Angkor's wings glowed once more, swinging down at Aisha full force…
...Only for it to be met by the red blade of the Knight that suddenly appeared beside Aisha. He took the attack without backing down from the force, the ice beneath him cracking and sinking under his feet, groaning against the combined force.
"Took you long enough…" Aisha quipped, surrounding the two of them in a firestorm that wiped out the stone blades pouring from the sky and detonating the smaller Demon Bats that attempted to swarm them. Angkor withdrew his wings, avoiding the flames.
Elsword, still pointing his sword at his giant opponent, replied sarcastically without sparing Aisha a glance. "Who can blame me? You chose this battlefield, so of course I had to climb across all this ice to get here, and Angkor wasn't nice enough to leave me alone either!"
Their argument was cut short when they noticed that Speka had stopped attacking and was instead staring at them with a crazed smirk that appeared wider than normal. The Demon Bat himself voiced her thoughts aloud – in English rather than Elriosian, no less. "Now we are finally even… All of the actors are assembled." The it let out a primordial roar, the ground shaking. "Let the real match begin!"
As the Demon Bat challenged the duo, the students and teachers gathered in the (relatively) safe haven of the Hogwarts Great Hall gaped at the magical screen that showed the battle outside. Their eyes were wide as they watched the witch on the screen throwing what was obviously Dark Magic on a scale they've never seen before at their DADA Professors, some even speculating that it was the rise of a new Dark Lord after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Most incomprehensible of all, their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was capable of holding her own against this demonic entity, albeit barely, with another brand of magic never before seen that controlled fire, water, lightning, and wind at will!
Harry, Ron, and Hermione's faces were as white as sheets when Aisha shot a small yellow ray towards the sky through an opening made by a slash of Elsword's sword, summoning a dark thunderstorm that covered the whole lake. The duo leapt out of the way of a giant laser beam fired by the Demon Bat, lightning raining down from the sky at the same time and destroying bat familiars left and right. The witch on top of the Demon Bat visibly staggered from the force of the attack, but righted herself in time to block an attack from the red knight's massive sword.
"Bloody hell…" Ron muttered, watching the battle unfold as Aisha summoned more firestorms to wipe out bat familiars trying to surround her. "…How can she throw out so many fireballs like that?!"
"That's nothing…" Dean Thomas said with wide eyes as another lightning bolt struck, destroying dozens of familiars and a few strange portals that seemed to be conjuring said familiars. "Professor Aisha just summoned a bloody thunderstorm! Exactly how much was she holding back when teaching us?"
Harry on the other hand was mulling over Aisha' decision to leave him out. Part of him was angry that she treated him like a hapless boy – his reasoning being that Elsword, who didn't even have magic, was able to fight alongside her! He should be allowed to do something to help out his sister instead of sitting around in a safe place while letting those who cared for him fight!
The more rational part of his brain told him that if he were to fight he'd be a liability to Aisha. His rational thoughts grew louder as he saw Elsword locking weapons with the Shadow Witch, who glowed yellow for a brief second and disappeared, being replaced by a bat familiar. Before the familiars could detonate, Aisha struck out of nowhere, aiming at the Shadow Witch. Instead of connecting like the attack should've, Aisha was forced to jump out of the way as stone blades rained down on her, shattering upon the head of the Demon Bat. Elsword stepped in instead, spinning his blade like a pinwheel and forcing the black witch to block his attack rather than attacking Aisha once more.
No, Harry told himself as the knight and the magician were forced to abort their attack on the Shadow Witch, rushing away at speeds the naked eye could barely keep up with. A pillar of sickly black light bit at their heels, engulfing everything in black flame. Like it or not, Harry wouldn't stand a chance against such an entity – he doubted he could call the Shadow Witch 'human,' and the Giant Bat was a sentient and therefore definitely not human. Even his own sister and Elsword… Right now he wasn't so sure that they were human anymore, not when they could fight such a being on their own.
Amidst the insanity, only two people – a Potions Professor and a Headmaster – looked at the display impassively, as they already had a clue as to what Aisha was capable of via her memories. To see it with their own eyes, however… It was almost enlightening, to see how one could advance the arcane arts outside of the Wizarding World, for better or for worse.
No one noticed a particular white-haired, masked man dressed in a black robe that stood amongst them; his single golden eye trained on the screen as the glowing dice in his hands clinked gaily. An unseen smirk formed under his black mask as he followed the situation; it seemed that he underestimated just how much this child has grown. She definitely learned the art if nature well, if how quickly she deduced the true nature of her old senior and how she reacted after that was anything to go by.
Most people, when faced with a resurrected loved one with no other purpose but to kill them, were usually demoralized and were unable to fight with a clear head. He had seen it too many times in parallel universes, different timelines with different heroes and heroines that fell when confronted with undead loved ones because they couldn't bring themselves to fight – or if they did fight, it was with hatred and anger. Few were truly enlightened and struck with a mind fully devoid of hatred and the understanding that they were doing what they must. The two of them out there were certainly close to this state of enlightenment…
Chuckling to himself, he eyes a bespectacled raven-haired boy that sat at the Lion's tavle, muttering under his breath. "You're a lucky one to be able to befriend her, boy. Let me see how that will change your fate. Ku ku ku ku…"
With that, the man vanished, as if he never been there before…
Summoning another bolt of lightning to strike a small gaggle of flying bats, Aisha glanced around as she hopped from one patch of ice to the other and dodged the occasional projectile fired by Speka. Seeing nothing but more projectiles, she sighed, waving her hand and applying space magic to Elsword to speed up his attacks.
Eye twitching, Aisha waved her hand again, this time summoning a giant tornado that swallowed them and fried them with the following firestorm. 'This is getting annoying…' she thought, disappearing in flash to dodge several beams of plasma that began veering towards her, reappearing next to Elsword on a platform several meters away from Angkor.
Sensing her presence, Elsword inclined his head slightly. "Any idea on how to beat them?"
Panting slightly, Aisha glared at him. "Get her off of Angkor first?"
"Really simple…" Elsword retorted sarcastically, letting out a huff as the bat raised his wings high in the air once more in preparation of the oncoming attack. Hundreds of demon bats swarmed the skies, black plumes pouring down in great bouts from above and accompanied by ebony stone blades.
Aisha released her magic in the form of an aura that glowed yellow and engulfed the entire area, causing everything to slow down dramatically except for the two of them. They leapt away from the closing trap, a massive explosion rocking the entire lakebed as the twin bat wings slashed where they once were, followed by the rest of the onslaught.
Looking at the partially submerged wings of the giant avatar, Aisha had a sudden realization as she touched the frozen surface of the lake. Her hand glowed white as she pressed it against the ice, breaking the ice beneath her palm and sending her magic into the watery depths. Waves of cold water rushed and surged in every direction, wrapping around the giant bat's wings before freezing. Before the massive Angkor could realize what was going on, its wings were frozen solid alongside a portion of his body.
The gigantic Demon Bat let out an ear-piercing roar as it tried in vain to pull itself out of the icy grip. Speka raised her staff, conjuring hundreds of black fireballs and several new demon-bat calling portals. Whether it was to buy time or to free her summon, no one ever knew, because Aisha and Elsword instantaneously decided to capitalize on this momentary advantage.
Exchanging a quick glance that lasted no longer than a second, Elsword and Aisha communicated and formulated a plan instantly. As clichéd and it was, it was now or never.
Aisha swung her staff towards the sky, shooting a small blue beam of light into the air. It turned into a black cloud that spanned the whole lake, a raging snowstorm blasting full-force and pelting the ground with car-sized hailstones. Aisha then twirled her hand, firing a golden bolt at the Red Knight who had just begun his own advance, his sword glowing.
"Thanks!" Elsword kicked off of the ice platform, dashing towards the struggling form of the giant avatar, dicing and slicing anything that moved and was in his way, Aisha hot on his heels.
Noticing the oncoming threat, the Shadow Witch directed her conjured projectiles towards the duo. Black fireballs blotted out the sun, but Elsword slashed them away like they were blades of grass before a lawnmower as they continued down the path towards Angkor. The swarms of bats were frozen solid by the raging blizzard, falling into the lake with a splash as Aisha spared a moment to shoot another beam of blue light into the sky to intensify the storm even more.
Desperately trying to pull itself out of its icy soon-to-be-grave, Angkor's struggles were in vain as the ice and snow continued to pile up due to the storming blizzard. To compensate for its frozen limbs, Angkor charged up another beam in its partially frozen mouth, gambling that it would shatter its bonds and maybe hit its target. But before it can unleash its attack, Elsword was upon the avatar with a brightly glowing blade in hand. He delivered rapid slashes in between its eyes, carving deep gashes that oozed a foul black substance. The avatar of Angkor howled in pain, its voice drowned out by the sound of thunder and explosions. Elsword leapt high into the air, his sword drawn back. It glowed a bright orange, suddenly doubling in size, before he drove it down into one of the massive wounds in Angkor's head. It continued to dig deeper and deeper into pliant flesh, exited the avatar's body on the other side before biting into ice.
While Elsword was dealing with the avatar, Aisha was three dozen feet above the Shadow Witch. The resurrected one knew she was coming, forcing the Elemental Master to conjure dozens of fireballs to intercept the black flames being hurled at her. Explosions rang in the air as Aisha flew out of the smoke, driving her staff down in a fierce overhead strike – and this time Angkor was no longer able to move itself - and by extension - Speka out of the way.
Speka took a step back, moving away just in time to avoid having her skull crushed by Aisha. A massive sonic boom echoed around the strike, catching Speka off guard and causing her to stagger back a few steps. This momentary blunder gave the Elemental Master a split second to shoot out a bolt of lightning point-blank. But Speka too was a seasoned warrior; the lightning splattered harmlessly off of a magic shield she conjured instantaneously.
Dashing forward, Aisha swung her staff at Speka's legs in an attempt to knock her off her feet, but Speka sidestepped and rapidly brought her staff down for an overhead strike. Aisha twisted, blocking the attack with a clash of staves. The danger wasn't over yet, as Speka emitted an ominous aura, the illusion of a robed figure holding a scythe looming overhead as the two struggled with their locked weapons.
Aisha disengaged, vanishing in time to avoid the attack that followed the dispersion of the illusion. Purple energy exploded around Speka, spewing deadly flames that would've charred her before she could've thrown up a protective shield. Reappearing at the edge of the flames, she swung her staff down while firing a frost bolt, leaving a trail of ice on the ground. The target still managed to escape, flinging herself to the side as she fired several dark orbs at Aisha in retaliation.
All of them missed their mark as Aisha sprinted forwards, ducking beneath the projectiles and skidding to a stop before she vanished, reappearing behind Speka. She released a cloud of lightning, successfully penetrating the Shadow Witch's defense and electrocuting her. Once the light died down, the resurrected witch still stood – albeit slightly charred and smoking, the wisps of smoke being carried away by the raging blizzard.
Aisha muttered something incomprehensible, resuming her assault by pointing upwards, adding thunder and lightning to the blizzard. The lightning struck the newly formed demon bats, while some veered off course and attacked the Shadow Witch herself. She dodged, spreading a cursed cloud around herself to prevent Aisha from closing the distance.
It was then that the avatar of Angkor they were currently standing on shuddered and fell silent as Elsword dealt the killing blow. The Shadow Witch's eyes glowed bright red as she let out a savage grin, charging forwards with her staff – now turned into a spear via magic – pointed straight at Aisha who also had her staff turned into magical spear and already begin the charge as well. Her magic wrapped around her, increasing her speed until she could barely be seen.
Aisha had but a split second to notice the sudden change, and by then it was too late to change course. Squaring her shoulders, she braced herself for the inevitable blow.
'This going to hurt…' Aisha thought as the makeshift spear pierced her left shoulder, exiting on the other side of her body as the two collided. Aisha's own 'magical drill' that she had conjured pierced into the Shadow Witch's chest, the snow around them being blown back by a gust of wind created by the force of their attacks.
Blood poured out of Aisha's wound, dyeing her white jacket red as her hand lost its grip on her weapon, hand hanging uselessly by her side. Gritting her teeth, she withdrew her usable hand and prepared to cast a spell to finish the job, only to be interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Heh… heh heh… that was… one hell of a battle… little Aisha…"
Aisha narrowed her eyes as the red light under the witch hat dimmed slightly, her hand momentarily stilled but still ready to fire if needed. The revenant witch chuckled, her voice rasping out. "…Certainly… you weren't… boasting back… then."
Forcing down the pain, Aisha spoke calmly as if she didn't have an inch of steel impaled in her side, not caring if it was the real Speka or not. "You have every reason to be mad at me… After all you taught… after my teacher put me under your care…"
"So… it seems…" The Shadow Witch stuttered, smoke slowly seeping from her skin, evaporating as her body begin to disintegrate. "…But you shine… in your own way… at least… I'm proud…"
Although she know it wasn't the time for humor, Aisha felt that her senior deserved a little bit of lightheartedness in her second attempt at final words. "Even if I ditched the contract?"
"Stagnation… not human... way…" Now the Shadow Witch was a literal shadow, her form gradually losing its features. "…How prideful of me… Challenging you… In war… But it's good… To fi...ly… ke… pro…mi…" Then she was gone, disappeared into a cloud of smoke that was scattered by the icy wind. Aisha dropped her staff onto the frozen corpse of Angkor, gritting her teeth in pain.
Kneeling down to pick up her staff with her usable hand, Aisha teleported away from the ice that held the soulless body of avatar. The corpse melted alongside the ice, sinking rapidly beneath the waves.
Reappearing on the lakeshore closest to Hogwarts, Aisha looked back as the blizzard she summoned disappeared alongside the ice patches on the lake. No evidence of their battle remained, apart from the devastated lakeshore full of craters and deformed earth. Hearing approaching footsteps, Aisha turned to see Elsword. His relieved expression quickly twisted into a concerned frown as he saw the crimson rivers running down her arm, staining her jacket. Quickly the concern turned to panic, to Aisha's slight amusement. "You're wounded!"
As he reached out for her bloodied shoulder, Aisha held out her staff while shaking her head. "Easy there, Elsword, It's not that serious." She paused as she looked down and saw the pool of red on the ground that could be traced back to her jacket. It seemed that without the spear lodged in her shoulder, the wound had widened quite a bit and caused her to lose a lot of blood fast.
Still, she shrugged. "I might've underestimated it a bit." Staff in hand, she pressed it up against her open wound, a soft blue aura encircling it. A sheet of ice formed on her shoulder, freezing the wound solid and stopping the bleeding within moments.
Finishing her emergency treatment, Aisha turned to leave only to stagger and drop her staff. She would've fallen had the redheaded knight not grabbed her good shoulder. Without any words, he swung her arm around his neck, kicking her staff into his hand with her foot.
"Stop pretending to be tough, Aisha. You need rest."
The girl's pale cheeks were tinted pink, barely noticeable due to her earlier blood loss. She looked away from the concerned red gaze, calmly replying as if she weren't blushing. "Yeah, says the knight in stinky armor…"
"C'mon, Aisha, if you don't like it, why don't teleport to the infirmary right away?"
"That's none of your business…"
The couple chuckled slightly before Elsword turned his head as if trying to look at the lake. He sighed, muttering to Aisha quietly. "So she'll finally rest in peace…"
Aisha looked down at her feet, her blush vanishing and being replaced with a pained smile. "Yes…" Closing her eyes, Aisha took slow breaths and began to walk.
No one made any attempt to speak again as they slowly moved towards the castle in front of them.
Author's Note:
[1] Do note that this's prior to discovery of Room of Requirement's another function as an escape route, they only know that the room can sent people to different location in the castle but know not if it can send them out too. And Elsword doesn't know all the secret passages in Hogwarts so he didn't suggest that beforehand.
In case you're wondering, the fight scene was heavily inspired by Dark Falz Loser/Luther Boss Raid (No, that's not a typo, believe it!), search on Youtube if you want to see it.
Some fun for readers; try identifying all spells, skills, whatever you called it, used by Elsword characters in this chapter. However, if you're going to call me out for having all the Elsword character spamming skills with reckless abandon, disregarding 300 / 400 MP limit, blame the Rule of Cool.
I hope that the fight scene was up to people standard though.
Rate and Review as you see fit, until next time...