(And welcome to the final epic battle that will determine the fate of Mahora Academy, if not the world. Hope you all enjoy it.)
Negi and Dustin after plowing their way through all the shadow soldiers and demons were finally closing in on the building Ragnarok was on top of.
"Negi, this is it."
"I know. Let's go save my mother and the world as well." Negi said, as the two flew up to the roof.
When the ascended upon the roof, they saw Arika with her wrists in shackles and chained to the roof, "Mother!" Negi cried, as he and Dustin ran to her.
Negi lifted her head up to face, "Mother, are you all right?"
"Negi? Is that really you?" Arika asked in shock.
"Yes, mother. It's me."
Arika smiled, "My baby. You've grown so big."
Negi smiled at his mother, until, Dustin spoke up, "I hate to cut this family reunion short, but we gotta get her out of here."
Negi remembered, "Oh, right." he and Dustin used their magic/spirit energy to break the chains freeing her. Once Arika was freed she was able to use her magic to close the demon portal up.
"Oh, finally." Arika said in relief.
"Now let's get out of here." Negi said, as they were about to leave only for Ragnarok to block their path.
"Going so soon, boys? Why I wouldn't hear of it. After all we're not finished here."
"Save yourself the trouble, Ragnarok. It's all over." Dustin declared.
"The battle is yours, but the war is far from over, as long as I'm still in control of this fight." Ragnarok replied.
"Without my mother's magic you can't open the demon portal." Negi reminded him.
"No matter. I still have plenty of demons out their fighting your comrades, who're running low on power." Ragnarok smirked.
"Lucky for them, we have plenty power left." Dustin answered, as he and Negi whipped out their pactio cards, "Adeat!" they announced, as Dustin wielded his spirit energized gauntlet, and Negi had his passport book.
Ragnarok hand motioned them to attack. The two went into battle against Ragnarok a top the building, while Arika took cover and recuperate. She watched her son and his friend fight Ragnarok to their full potential which was leaving her amazed. She envision Nagi in place of Negi seeing the similarities.
"Nagi, he's just like you." she smiled.
While down on the ground, everyone was fighting the armada of demons and shadow soldiers saw a display screen appear showing them the fight between Negi, Dustin, and Ragnarok.
"It's Negi-kun, and Dustin-kun!" Makie cried.
"They're fighting Ragnarok head on?" Yuna asked.
"Do they stand a chance?" Ako asked in worry.
"I'm certain they do."Zyphon answered.
"I'm certain too." Mana agreed.
"So am I." Kaede nodded.
Seeing the three were confident in their professors, nodded giving them their confidence as well. Even Nagi and Ross were watching them in amaze.
"Nagi, our boys have truly grown up." Ross said with pride.
"That they have, Ross." Nagi agreed.
"We better hurry, though." Ross suggested. Nagi nodded, as the two took off.
Back at the fight, Dustin was blasting at Ragnarok with every spirit attack he knew, savoring Spirit Force for a last resort. Negi was also casting every bit of magic spells he had learned while training under Eva, and constantly swapping pactio powers from his partners with his own artifact.
Ragnarok while taking the blows directly was not faltering. The shadow master shook the attacks off, "You two fight well, but you're still nothing compared to me."
"Overconfidence will be your downfall, Ragnarok." Dustin warned him.
"And your downfall will be the same as your mother's, boy." Ragnarok retorted.
Dustin stopped, "What're you saying?"
"You don't know? Oh, that's right. You didn't know, no one knew." Ragnarok smirked.
"Know what?!" Dustin demanded, as Negi was curious.
"You know that mission your parents were on years ago?" The shadow master questioned him.
"What about it?" Dustin asked.
"You know that army of shadow soldiers and demons that ambushed them and took the life of your beloved mother?" Dustin remained silent, but had a bad feeling where it was headed, "I was the one that staged that attack. Your mother died because of me!" he laughed.
"Mom?" Dustin gasped realizing who was truly responsible for his mom's death.
"Yes. So sad, she gave her life protecting your father and their comrades all because of me." he mocked.
Dustin's eyes turned to anger at Ragnarok, while Negi was worried about his friend. Before he could say anything to calm Dustin down, Ragnarok continued, "And, Negi. Doesn't this whole battle remind you of the same invasion years ago at your former home?"
Negi stopped and remembered all the pain and suffering that occurred when the demons invaded and petrified half of the people he knew.
"Yes... It does."
"Of course it does. How do you think those demons including Herrman got there?" Ragnarok questioned him, "It was thanks to the same portal I've had your mother open."
"Then you're..."
"Yes. I'm the true one responsible for the attack on your home, why so many were petrified. I was behind it all from the beginning!" Ragnarok declared maniacally.
Negi and Dustin stood in shock at this revelation, as their energies started powering up driven by rage. They both took off and to Ragnarok's surprise started beating the living shit out of him. Ragnarok was taking the blows like before, but was actually feeling the pain this time. Negi and Dustin fought without holding back and letting their anger guide them.
"That's right, fight me like you've never fought before!" Ragnarok declared not caring he was getting pounded.
Arika gasped upon seeing her son and Dustin fight so mercilessly, until Nagi and Ross dropped in, "Arika!" Ross called.
Arika turned and saw them men, "Ross? Nagi?"
Nagi smirked, "Hey, sweetheart. Sorry I took so long."
Arika sighed at her husband's levity, "Negi and Dustin have gone off the deep end."
"How?" Ross asked.
"Ragnarok told them he was the one responsible for both Bianca's death and the attack on Negi's village."
"Oh, no." Ross gasped.
"We can't let them fight like this or they'll tear themselves apart." Nagi said.
Ross nodded, ebfore readying a spirit gun, "Ross, what're you doing?!" Arika cried, as Ross shot a blast in between Negi and Dustin and Ragnarok to keep them apart.
The boys looked over seeing Ross, "Dad?"
"Dustin, Negi! I know Ragnarok has hurt all of us with his actions in the past. But fighting purely out of blind rage will leave you broken and empty." Ross began.
Nagi seeing what he was doing also had to set them straight, "Ross is right. Don't fight him thinking it'll erase all the pain from the past. But to keep him from spreading that same pain for those in the future."
The two boys listening to their dads words knew this way of fighting wasn't how they trained to fight. They looked to Ragnarok, as Negi spoke, "What you did in the past cannot be undone. But any future plans you have will be canceled."
Ragnarok frowned seeing his plan to drive them into madness backfired, "We shall see!" the three fought once again in mid air.
Down below many of the students were cheering the boys on thinking they made it to the boss round with Ragnarok as the final boss.
"Hear that, Ragnarok?" Dustin inquired, "That's the sound of support from everyone here. And that support is directed at us. What do you have? No one."
Ragnarok frowned, "I don't need anyone!" he unleashed his shadow blasts at Negi and Dustin who maneuvered through the air and struck back.
"That's your problem, Ragnarok," Negi began, "You admit when you can't do things alone, but when things turn to your favor you abandon anyone willing to help you."
"But we're different," Dustin noted, "We treasure our allies like they were our own family."
"Then you are your family can go down together!" Ragnarok attempted to blast at the area where their partners were fighting, but the two flew in and knocked his attack off course and missed.
"Not today!" Negi called, as he thrust a sphere of magical energy at Ragnarok knocking him back.
"You'll die first boy wizard!" he attacked Negi, only for the mage to suddenly vanish right on the spot, "Where'd he go?"
"Right here!" Negi appeared behind Ragnarok and slugged him in the face.
Kotaro who was watching with the others laughed, "Right in the face!"
"He's gonna be feeling that for awhile." Elroy said.
"How did Negi move so fast?" Alice wondered.
"No idea." Alicia replied.
Ragnarok continued to try and fight Negi, only for the boy to keep vanishing and attacking from another angle, "You can't be this fast!"
"Can't I?" Negi asked, as he attacked Ragnarok again.
Dustin was amazed seeing Negi was able to avoid Ragnarok better than he was, until he noticed what Negi was secretly clutching in his hand. He thought to himself, 'The time watch! Clever thinking, Negi.'
Ragnarok was getting annoyed by Negi's constant popping in and out act, before he finally released a shockwave of dark energy, knocking the boy off balance, and causing him to drop the time watch.
"No!" Dustin called, as he tried to fly down and catch it, only to get blasted from behind by Ragnarok.
"Dustin!" his partners gasped.
Dustin ended up landing on top of another building's room and unable to save the time watch before it hit the pavement and broke into pieces.
"The watch!" Negi gasped, before taking a blow from the shadow master.
"Looks like your ace in the hole has gone dead." Ragnarok mocked.
Negi frowned as he still fought Ragnarok like before, but without the watch he wasn't able to maneuver through time like before.
Dustin watched as Negi and Ragnarok fought, 'There has to be a way to stop Ragnarok and these demons. But what?'
Suddenly he heard his mother's voice in his mind, 'Only when powers combine can you defeat your foes, Dustin.'
"Mom?"
'Yes, Dustin. Remember while it's true you've always fought side by side. It's time you merged your powers with all those who now share it with you two.'
Dustin smiled getting it, "You're right. , mom."
Dustin picked himself up and flew up to Ragnarok powering up his fist, "Shotgun!" he blasted Ragnarok, who was sent flying backward.
"Thanks, Dustin." Negi thanked him.
"Negi, I know how we can take down Ragnarok and the demons."
"How?"
"We combine out powers and our partners powers together."
"Can it be done?" Negi inquired.
"It has to be, or we're all goners." Dustin answered.
Negi seeing it may be a long shot, but given the situation they don't have too many options left. The two concentrated and thought to their partners and friends.
'Girls, everyone. Lend us your strength. Together we can all put an end to Ragnarok.'
The girls hearing that in their thoughts nodded, and concentrated as their magical energy or spirit energy was pooling from them into Negi and Dustin as they flew up high into the sky above the campus.
Everyone saw this as the two were mixing the combined magic and spirit energies of all their partners with their own as an aura glowed around them. Ragnarok saw this and was not liking it.
"No, what're they doing?!" He flew up as fast as he could to stop them.
Negi and Dustin announced, "This fight ends now! Power Explosion!" they shouted as they emitted an explosion shockwave of energy.
Ragnarok who was closest to them screamed as the energy washed over him,. And obliterating him into nothing. As the energy spread all over it obliterated the remaining shadow soldiers and demons as well. The power was so great it even brightened the sky back up when Ragnarok turned it dark.
All the students and such looked around seeing all the enemies were destroyed, and were overjoyed and cheered for their victory.
Up in the sky, Negi and Dustin had powered down before falling from the sky with no energy left. As they fell, Negi thought to himself, 'This is it, we've used up all our energies in that last attack. We can't fly on our own.'
Dustin thought as well, as he and Negi were slowly drifting into unconsciousness, 'If we go splat, at least we saved the world. Mom, guess I'll be seeing you on the other side pretty soon.' he blacked out like Negi.
(And that's the chapter. Negi and Dustin have succeeded in stopping Ragnarok and his army. But will they be saved in time before meeting the same fate? Don't miss the exciting conclusion next time, guys.)