The Secret of the Idol

by PokeMaster64

Wes Ravenfield, an Umbreon who wishes to become the world's greatest treasure hunter, has been failing in trying to find anything to prove his worth. But, upon discovering a sacred idol that could bring about chaos on the world, he will journey throughout Mysto with his brother and ex-girlfriend, along with new friends along the way. As they get closer, secrets will unfold.

97. Hidden Kingdom of Iron 9

Ch.97: Descent into Darkness! Invasion on Ironworks Kingdom Pt.3!

Tension was high between the Shadow King and Ava, as they stared each other down with an unwavering confidence. Although Ava truly did fear her own demise coming into this fight, her word to Garret was not to be left in vain. Her only hope was surviving another day to be with her family.

The Shadow King, however, remained unmoved by her powerful opposition. In fact, he smirked smugly at it. "'The sentinel that protects the Ravenfield bloodline?' Are you joking?" He raised his arms and offered a jovial, very condescending chuckle. "Puck may have been onto something about mortals becoming amusing in modern times."

He then glared seriously at the fortune teller. "I have all of Alex Ghostwind's old memories stored away. I knew I would eventually confront you whelps, if you were that adamant to reclaim this body." His gazed scanned around the room. "If you're here, then that means Wendrake isn't too far behind." Ava tensed up. "Oh? Surprised?" He wagged his finger. "There is a reason I assigned Puck as my head intelligence in the war."

Wes, still holding Gwyn in his forelegs, looked up at Ava confused. "Wendrake?"

Ava gritted her teeth in a moment of anger, then exhaled from her nose. "…Wes, keep the queen and Gwyn safe." She crossed her blades together.

"Hang on, Wendrake?" Wes muttered. "Who's Wendrake? What-?"

"Wes!" Ava shouted, shutting him up. She loosened her high shoulders, then sighed. "…Your fight's done."

Wes was silenced in her powerful presence. He closed his mouth, then nodded slowly before backing off with Gwyn.

Ava returned to facing the Shadow King, flashing a scowl at him. "As for you…" She crouched down and pulled her swords back with her arms crossed over each other.

The Shadow King crossed his arms. "Make your first strike count. You won't get another free shot-"

"Greater Agility."

The Shadow King was thrown back by two parallel slash marks instantaneously crossing over his front. Blood spewed from the wounds, following the flow of the opposing force of the strikes. The Shadow King looked perplexed, not fazed by the pain. He touched the wounds before they sealed up in his darkness. He glared, then lifted his head, acknowledging the fortune teller that now stood behind him.

"It seems you have some new tricks…" he stated, wiping his blood on his cloak. "And here I thought the Dewott was the only fast one I had to deal with." He glared over his shoulder. "But that'll be your only free hit."

His eyes widened as the fortune teller was suddenly above him, wielding her swords back and aiming for his head. "I'll be sure to pay for the next one." She swung down with incredible force.

A shadow tendril struck from the king's shadow and clashed with the downward blades, stopping their momentum instantly. Sparks grinded off the opposing blades, with Ava pushing down on the tendrils as they tried to inch around her blades.

The Shadow King looked up and sneered. "As I was saying…that'll be your one and only hit." Shadow tendrils shot from inside his shadow and curved around the blades towards Ava.

Ava bounced off their stalemate and called upon her Guardian. The tendrils were an inch from her face before being pummeled into fragments by her Guardian's attack rush. The Shadow King slammed his hands down on his shadow and summoned out a barrage of tendrils to intercept the punching barrage. They were in a vertical stalemate of flurry attacks, with no loss or progression in control.

Ava used a final punch to boost herself out of the tendrils' reach, then used a psychic pulse from her hand to fly out of the king's general area. She landed in a crouched stance, then immediately sprung back at him with two new blades in hand. The Shadow King summoned his own blade construct and countered her weapons.

They kept their swords pressed to each other for a second of pause, then went into a blinding flurry of sword slashes. The king flailed his sword with remarkable dexterity against Ava's expert dual sword usage. One sword against two and they were holding up against each other with unreal power, enough to create a strong breeze around them.

Wes held his foreleg up as wind blew against him. He kept himself over Margo and Gwyn to protect them. G-Geez! Ava's intense! She said she might not stand a chance against him?! I beg to differ! He glared. Don't get ahead of yourself, Wes. The Shadow King hasn't decided to go all out yet. Be fortunate for his arrogance. He clutched the key bag in his paw. Even still…there's a manner of beating him we haven't figured out yet. Overpowering him isn't a viable option, but…something my dad did was enough.

The final collision of blades threw the two fighters backward. The second the king's foot touched the ground, he darted right under the Medicham's head with his fist pulled back. Ghostwind's Tenuem Style Martial Art…you don't have many counters for it, do you? "Phantom Skewer!" His arm blurred, then shot like a bullet for Ava's head.

At the last second, however, her head cocked out of the way, feeling the fist nearly grazing across her cheek. From how the Shadow King saw it, the fluidity of her dodge felt like she blended with the air for a moment, kind of like when he uses Tenuem Style.

Even so, this irritated the Shadow King. She dodged? He went for a speedy, upward kick, but Ava dodged it with the same fluidity after kicking off the floor.

"Something wrong?" she taunted before throwing a spear construct at him.

He dodged, caught, and snapped the spear in half, then raced right for her with both fists set ablaze in his darkness. Hmm…I wonder…

He leaped and threw a straight punch, which she dodged. He swung his leg for her stomach, with the intended speed boost to make it unnoticeable. Even then, Ava had her Guardian use its arm to take the impact, despite how hard it was to see the incoming leg.

The Shadow King bounced back, then speedily ran around Ava. "Eternal Ring of Ghosts!" The speed was so great, it gave the illusion of twenty to twenty-five Shadow Kings surrounding the Medicham, each difficult to discern as the real.

Ava scanned through the illusionary clones, then closed her eyes. "You can't fool my sight, Shadow King."

I'm not trying to fool you, mortal. I'm confirming a theory. The Shadow King stopped and launched straight for her exposed back with his blazing fist. "Phantom Skewer!"

He got within a meter of striking her, then pulled a fast one and flicker-vanished around her, now aiming for her gut. With the air left behind in his attack, it'll trick her into thinking he was still attacking from behind. The purpose of Tenuem Style, as he assumed, was to use speed and agility coupled with advanced stealth. It was a martial art meant to be quick and quiet.

He threw his punch right at her exposed gut, but a teal fist manifested from Ava and stopped the punch in its tracks. The king grunted against it, feeling his feet slide back as the Guardian became fully corporeal. Ava opened her eyes, then pulled her palm back.

"ESP Driver!" She slammed her palm into the Shadow King, using her psychic power to increase the force of her strike. It struck hard and effectively, throwing the king far off his feet and impacting into the far wall behind him.

Ava breathed out, then stood tall as she retracted her Guardian. "I think you'll find I'm more than a match for you, Shadow King."

Wes gawked in disbelief. Holy Mew…Ava's awesome…

He tensed up when the dust cleared, seeing the Shadow King unharmed as he pushed some stone off his lap. He stood up and dusted off the ruffled mark on his clothes, where she promptly struck him.

Ava conjured a sword construct. "Perhaps I underestimated myself after all."

The king narrowed his eyes. "Your third eye…"

"Hmm?"

He tapped his forehead. "That psychic third eye of yours. Now I know why you've been particularly difficult to land a decisive blow on. It allows you to see a mental image of your opponent's attack, basically telegraphing how and when they'll strike." He crossed his arms. "Although…I doubt that's its only application. You psychics are an amusing lot, yet rightfully strong. With how magic has integrated itself into this time, the old ways of Pokémon are almost nonexistent. Psychic power seems to be the most prevailing force for pokemanity."

Ava narrowed her eyes. I figured I wouldn't have the upper hand in that forever. She crossed her swords. "So, you have me figured out. That won't slow me down."

"Indeed, it won't. With five to six years of time to plan for your encounter with me, you and Wendrake must've been planning for the perfect opportunity to slay me. You, I'm not worried about." His eyes narrowed seriously. "But Wendrake is another story. What has that traitor been doing in the last five hundred years? He may not have been my intelligence officer, but he's sharp. Someone like him always has a plan up his sleeves to take down the enemy. What…does he have planned for me?"

Ava raised her swords. "Wendrake shouldn't be your concern right now." She glared. "I'm your opponent, remember?!" She broke into a sprint.

She threw her swords in the air and manifested her Guardian. It took the swords in hand and spun them around as it floated by Ava's side. She conjured two more swords for herself, then hastened her sprint. She and her Guardian split in opposite directions and came at the Shadow King from both sides.

"Take this!" Ava and her Guardian thrusted their blades like rapiers in flurry jabs.

The Shadow King extended his hands out at the sides. He closed his eyes and vibrated his arms. "Specter Defense."

The swords impacted with him, but made no significant mark. From each side, the king's hands spun in circular motions. They were incredibly fast, with the afterimages of his hands appearing as if they were moving frame by frame fluidly. Frankly, the swords did nothing to break through his defense.

"As you would know how your old friend can potentially fight…" He caught their swords between his fingers. "The same reigns true for me." He spun, taking them along with him, and threw them in opposite directions.

With her Guardian out of range, it faded instantly. Ava crashed through the walls and was dragged upward by the remaining momentum. She gripped to the wall as she collected her bearings, then spotted the glow of the king's Soul Piercer. She quickly evaded it before it detonated the wall behind her. She sunk her feet into the walls, then took off running horizontally, with the Soul Piercer following her in a continuous beam.

Her third eye darted around wildly, signaling Ava of soon-to-be events. She glared at the premonition of a magical presence. She glared down and saw a black sun flying from the king.

"Dying Sun!"

Ava turned and ran up the wall before springing backwards. The Soul Piercer and Dying Sun collided with each other, creating a powerful explosion that threw Ava down. She spun out and caught herself on the ground, barely having time to dodge the speedy punch from the king. She grunted as a light scratch split open on her cheek.

The Shadow King narrowed his eyes. "Can you keep up with all your premonitions? I wonder if there's a way to outpace you." He threw his fist right for her stomach.

Ava glared. "Greater Agility!" A sudden nimbleness overcame her. She flipped over the Shadow King, then threw a kick for the back of his neck.

The Shadow King took her by surprise when he spun around and caught her by the knee. "That old trick won't work again. Soul Piercer!"

Ava barely bent back as the Soul Piercer flew over her face. She flipped off her hands, then clapped her palms together. "Arcane Nova!" Parting her hands, a cosmic sort of energy formed between them. She lobbed it forward in the shape of a ball, then immediately turned her back to it.

The Shadow King stared curiously as it reached the peak of its arch, then grunted as it exploded into a violent storm of harmful light. He covered his face behind his arms, which burned against the light.

Wes also felt the sting of this light, feeling the tips of his fur catch fire. He quickly pulled himself and the unconscious girls to cover before the damage worsened. He dared not look over their cover until the light diminished. Ava's not messing around. She really wants him dead.

The Shadow King peeked through his arms and caught sight of Ava and her Guardian flying at him with swords. Throwing caution to the wind, he caught the blades in his hands whilst the Arcane Nova continued to cook him.

"A useful little spell you have there, Ms. Young." He glared as darkness draped around him. "But I'm afraid you've forgotten the properties of true darkness. It can swallow the brightest lights in the night sky." He raised his hand at the burning ball of light. "Abyssal Prison: Blackout."

Darkness suddenly came off the ball of light and swallowed it, trapping in the harmful illumination from further damage.

Ava called upon her Guardian. "Now!" It threw down a barrage of fists on the Shadow King.

"Useless!" He matched its blows with a barrage of fists of his own. The use of Alex's martial art and his enhanced strength matched the Guardian's, and he had every intention to surpass it.

Ava stood her ground and held up her arm against the shockwaves emanating off their clash. She conjured a sword into her hand and ran around the clash with a boost from Greater Agility. She kicked off the floor and came in with a flying slash at the king's side.

His eyes tracked her movements, then he caught the Guardian by the fist and swung it at the approaching Medicham. Ava quickly dispelled her Guardian, but it left her open for a powerful blow to the stomach. Blood spewed from her mouth before taking a barrage of punches to the body.

The Shadow King slammed his hand into her face. "Dying Sun!" The black sun burst from his palm and sent Ava sailing across the hall. The Shadow King pulled his hands back and channeled a great deal of darkness between his hands. "And…Eternal Nightfall!"

A powerful variation of Nightmare's Final Nightfall, the king fired a pitch-black beam that crackled with varying shades of purple magic that danced outside and inside the beam. It was like being blasted with the night sky, if said night sky had purple stars.

Ava slashed the Dying Sun in half, letting it fly past her, then called upon her Guardian again. "RAAAAH!" Her Guardian slammed its hands into the beam while Ava placed up a psychic barrier between them. She clenched her teeth as her third eye blazed intensely. Psychic energy leaked off her body as she pushed against the shadow beam.

The Shadow King kept the beam stable through only one hand. He smirked as he watched the Medicham struggle. "You've impressed me, Ava Young. In the time I've been playing with that Ravenfield brat and his allies, you've put up more of a worthy challenge. I'd say you're the second strongest of my battles in this time." He glowered. "However…compared to that infuriating Jolteon from years ago…"

With his other hand, he channeled more magic into the Eternal Nightfall, putting far more strain on Ava as she held out against it.

"Second place is hardly an achievement!" He roared and performed a powerful burst of magic down the beam.

The pulse reached the end and shattered Ava's psychic barrier. Her arms flung back from the shattered shield, then watched in horror as the beam engulfed her and her Guardian.

The beam slammed into the far wall in front of the Shadow King, piercing through it until reaching the outer perimeter of the castle still contained inside his Abyssal Prison. The king's cloak fluttered wildly from the backlash of his beam. He glared down the beam as he kept putting more and more power into the beam. He could still feel Ava being crushed between the beam and the shadow barrier. He had plenty of power to keep this beam up indefinitely. He won't stop until her life force was extinguished.

After I've rid myself of you, that Umbreon's head is next. Then I'll be taking those keys.

He narrowed his eyes on the Medicham's magic aura, noticing a sudden increase in power. Actually, the aura was increasing…beside her. Her Guardian's power was rising?

I remember Puck mentioning something about this. The Guardians, as he called them, have the ability to…

His eyes widened as a teal slash came barreling down the Eternal Nightfall. He immediately canceled the beam and jumped out of the way just before the blade bisected him. He gawked curiously at the clean cut that went through the remainder of his beam and the floor. The blade could've legitimately severed his arms if he didn't move.

What an overwhelming attack…

"Weren't…you listening?" The Shadow King glared as Ava stumbled out into the open, clutching the gaping hole in the wall. "I will be the one to protect the Ravenfield bloodline. By no means…will I give myself permission to die."

The Shadow King clenched his fist and scowled, noticing the change to her Guardian. Just like how it fought Caesar from before, it was reformed into its Awakened State. The samurai Guardian clutched to the sword at its sides. The Guardian had one arm protectively around Ava while she held on hand on her hip.

"Now you will face the power of my Awakened Guardian…and respect its power."

---

Any who happened upon the Ironworks Kingdom's local church would dare not pursue further. Not for the faint of heart was the domineering evil permeating from opposing sides of former allies. Their potent auras were suffocating to the weak.

Morgan, surrounded in a veil of string, stared down his former allies, who oozed with the same confidence he once had centuries ago. Voss had one hand clutched around his sword. Callista already summoned her dark mist in case a demon was required. Aeternus…sat on the air, stroking his chin.

The mad clown grinned wickedly. "Wendrake…kehehehehehe. Oooh, what a pleasant surprise." He spread his arms out. "You came all this way to see us! I'm glad! One big happy family back together!" He narrowed his eyes on the Hypno's gloved hand. "I didn't take you for a biker, Wendrake. Did you also join a gang while you were gone? Kehehehehehe!"

Morgan narrowed his eyes dryly. "Puck…the years have not been kind on your mental health." He stretched his fingers. "I always knew you were sick in the head. Giving a man with a damaged mind eternal life never leads to good things."

"That's a matter of perspective!" Aeternus snickered.

Voss glared. "You're here to save Ravenfield and his friends…aren't you?" Morgan answered with his dogged glare.

Callista snickered behind her front leg. "Oh dear…how noble." She narrowed her eyes. "I wonder…if they'll still trust you once they know the truth." If she had lips, she would've smirked when the Hypno's face tensed up. "Regardless if you were being 'manipulated,' your actions were your own. You should've just stayed with us, Wendrake."

"The Shadow King can offer you more than you could ever wish for," Voss reminded. "Help us get the idol…and he can bring back your lover." He glared. "Isn't that all you've ever wanted? To hold her in your arms again?"

Morgan was silent, with his glare unchanging. After a moment, he sneered. "Do you know why resurrection spells come at a high price? The infamous Life for a Life spell…would be the call-to answer for everything if it could bring anyone back at the cost of some magic." String tightened around his hand.

"A single life means nothing to me…if thousands need to be taken to bring her back." He bared his teeth. "I'll never stop atoning for my sins. Sooner or later, I'm going to Hell for my actions. I won't die without bringing you three with me."

Aeternus touched his chin, snickering madly. "You're a riot, Wendrake! A real riot!" He floated high above and spread his arms out. "Your hubris comes second to our king! You truly believe we're trapped in this church with you?! Foolish! We're not trapped in here with you!"

Voss applied his armor all over his body and brandished in his sword in darkness. Callista summoned forth the spider archer, Salbon. Aeternus channeled magic into his palms, grinning like a lunatic.

"You're trapped in here with us."

Voss made the first move. He charged right into Morgan and slashed with his sword. Morgan weaved his Grid Wall and absorbed the impact with barely a movement of his hand. He lifted his right hand and slashed his fingers down, calling down five string slashes across the titan's armor.

Voss pushed through them and slashed through the Grid Wall and into the assassin's chest. Morgan quickly twitched his pinky and threw himself backwards with string connected to his back. Darkness wrapped around his body and mended his wounds.

Aeternus slammed his hands down. "Matter Shift!" He spread his magic across the ground, reaching as far as Morgan's position.

Morgan quickly looked down and swung himself into the air as spires of the floor shot at him. He twisted his body and squeezed between two, only grazing his arms. He swung off the spires as spikes shot from them. He swung across the ceiling, keeping his eyes on the three.

"Salbon!" Morgan's eyes caught the arrow flying for his face. String appeared around the arrow and lacerated it. He scanned the upper part of the church and found Salbon jumping around the pillars, firing one to five arrows with each shot he took.

Morgan maneuvered around the arrows, showing off his remarkable flexibility and dexterity with his magic string. He swiped his fingers and stopped several arrows in the air, then sent them back at Salbon.

Salbon covered himself, but was saved by Aeternus' Particle Beams, destroying the arrows instantly. Morgan spun around and took a Particle Beam to the shoulder. He gripped his shoulder as he fell, while glaring at the mad clown who laughed at him upside-down.

"Even if you're remarkably skilled, what idiot decides to fight three warriors of equal standing?! It's like you're asking to die!" Aeternus laughed his head off. "You're even more suicidal than Voss!"

Morgan glared down, spotting said warrior charging an attack through his sword. "Fallen Hell Blaze!" He swung and fired off the flames mixed of black and purple.

Morgan spun his body and cocooned himself in densely woven string before becoming consumed among the flames. The flaming cocoon flew straight towards Callista, who summoned forth Kogomor. The bird demon swiped his fan and bashed down on the cocoon, before blasting it with a gust a wind. The cocoon slammed into the floor, kicking up quite a bit of dust.

Aeternus landed on top of the cocoon and aimed his palm at the face. "Particle Incinerator!" The recoil from his spell blew him back as the cocoon was consumed in the disintegrating flames. He chuckled wildly. "You're even more arrogant than I thought, Wendrake! Was this your big plan?!"

String suddenly came out from behind Aeternus and bounded his ankles and wrists together. The mad clown blinked, then glared up, spotting the assassin hanging from the ceiling. "You should know better than anyone…that I have the sharpest mind." He yanked on the string and brought Aeternus to his level.

With a swing of his foot, he bashed his sole into the clown's face and kicked him away, catching him by the string still attached. He spun the clown around, while remaining connected to the ceiling, and chucked Aeternus into Callista.

The Ariados immediately put up a barrier of darkness to catch Aeternus and protect herself. Aeternus slipped onto the ground, wiping his bloody nose with a big grin. "When was the last time someone actually made me feel pain?"

Morgan freefell from the ceiling just as Voss leaped to his height. Morgan slashed into the titan's armor, but the impact was nullified. Voss grabbed Morgan by the head, then dove for the floor. "Fallen Hell Angel!"

Their impact with the floor created an explosion of black flames to shoot out from under Morgan. Voss kept the Hypno's face buried into the floor, crushing it under his fist. He pulled out his sword, aimed it down, and stabbed into the assassin's back, giving the blade a good twist.

"I won't allow you movement," the titan warned. Suddenly, string shot out from the Hypno's body and bound itself around his arms. The sword was yanked out of his hands. "What the-?"

Aeternus and Callista looked around and fully realized they were in the assassin's trap. String was wrapped all around the church, hanging from the rafters, the mural of Arceus, etc. They were trapped inside his web.

Morgan was above them all, with a cluster of strings in both hands. "Stage Set: Theatre House. And Puppet Style: Thread Knight."

The double that Voss took down kicked the titan off and leaped to its feet. The visage of Morgan glared at the other two, then rushed right at them while Voss tried to undo the string bound around him.

Callista immediately shot out her shadow arms to restrain it, but the puppet unraveled into string and bounded around the arms, then threw projectile slashes into her. Callista gasped as five gaping cuts formed on her exposed stomach.

String tried to wrap around Aeternus, but he avoided it in time. He formed magic hover balls under his feet, then took off flying through the webs. "You're trying to fight us one at a time?" Aeternus smirked. "It really was foolish of you to bring all of us together like this! How long until you make a mistake?!"

"I don't make mistakes." Morgan fired down projectile slashes.

"Sure, you don't!" Aeternus sarcastically shouted back as he weaved through the attacks. "Please~! You made the biggest mistake out of all of them!" He flew right for Morgan with his hand ablaze. "You challenged the shadows!"

Morgan leaned back and narrowly dodged the Particle Incinerator. He swung his foot and got Aeternus across the face. The clown's face was shoved into the rafter Morgan perched himself on. Morgan pulled his fist back and swung down, but Aeternus caught it in his hand, even with his face shoved down. His arms were shockingly flexible.

"Heh…I sent bounty hunters after you back in Fuego Village, remember? What's this technique again? Shadow Stitching, was it?" He smirked. "I'm not letting you play doctor with my precious body!" He raised his leg and kicked Morgan in the gut. It got him to release the clown, who quickly rose and grabbed the Hypno by the head. "Let's see how you like it!" He bashed Morgan's face into the rafter.

Morgan immediately countered by stretching his fingers and sending out string attacks for the clown. Aeternus dodged, then clapped his hands together.

"Ooh! Hey Wendrake, I bet this one takes you back to the old days! Particle Eraser!" He emitted the powerful flash down on Morgan and blasted him back into the ground. The rafters and the floor surrounding Morgan were instantly erased.

The Hypno fought against the beam thanks to his magic aura, though he could feel the tips of his mane hairs burning off. When the beam stopped, he was immediately struck with a blade covered in black flames. It threw Morgan across the church, where he met the fist of the demon, Matzhal. The punch was devastating, breaking three of Morgan's ribs. The Hypno went sailing into the walls.

Callista recalled Matzhal. "I suppose now is the time to call upon the elite demons." The black mist rose and summoned a new demonic ally. This one very much resembled a reaper. Merged with the black smoke, he wore a cloak of the stuff and had skeletal features for a face and arms. His eyes were hollow and black, with red pinprick pupils. In his hand, he wielded a scythe with two blades, one on each end.

The reaper clicked his jaw together before shooting her a glare. "Callista…what an unpleasant surprise. Are you calling me here to take a weak soul because you're being lazy? If so, I'm out of here."

Callista sighed. "Fret not, Ozaran. Judge for yourself."

Ozaran spotted the Hypno, who was picking himself out of the ground. The skeletal demon licked his lips. "Oh yes…see, why can't you give me more of these guys to hunt down?"

Callista glared. "Just obey your contract and kill him."

"Whatever, Mistress." Ozaran shot for the assassin, spinning his dual-bladed scythe.

Morgan lifted his head and gasped as the demon rocketed right at him. He quickly jumped and avoided the demon's hazardous attack. However, the demon suddenly torqued his body and threw the scythe through Morgan's shoulder. He gasped and covered his shoulder as a purple energy seeped out from it.

"Yes, yes! Your soul is full of power!" Ozaran grabbed Morgan by the face. "I will look forward to devouring it!"

Morgan glared. This is my soul leaking out? You've got to be kidding me.

Ozaran inhaled, sucking in the soul energy leaking out from Morgan's shoulder. The Hypno suddenly felt colder as the energy was being sucked up. He swung his foot into him, but the demon's body was gaseous in nature.

Callista laughed. "Don't bother, Wendrake! He can touch you, but you can't touch him! Ozaran is completely made of gas! You won't be able to harm him!"

Morgan narrowed his eyes. "Thanks for the tip." He outstretched his hand and connected strings to Callista.

"Eh?!"

"Unfortunately for you, you and your demons can only be apart for a certain distance!" He brought Callista to him, then slammed his foot into her underside, kicking her into the ceiling.

As he predicted, Ozaran was forcibly dragged away from the assassin, returning what was sucked up by the demon. The soul wound in his shoulder disappeared immediately after.

Morgan grunted. "Thank goodness-GAAAH!" He received a heavy slash to the back. He spun around, then blocked a strong punch by Voss. It threw him right off his feet, nearly breaking his forearms.

Voss glared at the assassin. "Hell's Fallen Judgment!" He swung and sent out the explosive wave into him. Morgan barely raised his arms as the blast consumed him, taking out the entire other half of the church in one blow.

Callista and Aeternus joined his side as the church collapsed over Morgan. Aeternus smirked and raised his hand. "Particle Incinerator." He blasted a wide shot of the incinerating flames into the debris, burning up everything in front of them.

They watched the flames burn away the rubble. They couldn't sense his aura anymore, though that was hardly a sign he was dead. Callista narrowed her eyes. "Ozaran…do you sense his soul leaving this plane?"

The reaper appeared over her. "No…no deaths have been committed within my range."

Aeternus crossed his arms. "That tricky bastard is impossible to kill, I swear." He stroked his chin, then smirked. "Heh…that makes the game all the more fun." He raised his arms. "Come on, Wendrake! I know you're getting your ass kicked, but that doesn't mean you can skip out on all the fun! You can still go a couple more rounds-!"

"Purgatory Strike."

Aeternus and Callista felt tightly woven string slash apart their shoulder and back respectively. Voss was struck in the head by one of those slashes, protected by his helmet. They turned up and found the Hypno flying upside-down above them, wrapped in his string.

"I pulled myself out of the blast just in time." He deployed his darkness and mended the wounds he sustained as he landed. "I warned you. I've spent the last five centuries preparing for this day. I know all your tricks."

Aeternus clutched his bleeding shoulder as it mended itself, grinned angrily. "Now you're pissing me off, Wendrake…" He felt a vein pulsing in his forehead. "Ooh…haven't felt like this since that blasted Dewott tricked me back at that dinky village…" He hopped off the ground and floated in the air.

"Ozaran!" Callista called out, ordering the reaper to strike. Morgan deployed a barrier of string and caught the scythe.

The reaper passed through the string and grabbed Morgan by the throat. "A soul like yours is a meal I can't give up!" Claws manifested from his boney fingers, then he slashed across the assassin's chest, leaking out his soul.

Morgan grunted, then formed string from his fingertips. "Purgatory Strike: Hell Blaze!" He wrapped his string in the same flames as Voss', then slashed across the demon.

Unlike last time, the dark flames got a reaction out of the gaseous demon. He cried out in horror as the flames engulfed him. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS STUFF?!" String coated in these flames bound around the reaper.

Morgan swung his hands for an attack, but Callista quickly swapped out Ozaran for her ultimate defense demon, Drogas. The string that once bound around Ozaran were nothing more than an uncomfortable bracelet around one of the demon's legs. Drogas, unaffected by Morgan's attack, swung his fist down, with the Hypno barely avoiding being crushed.

Aeternus laughed and swung his arms around in circular motions, channeling hundreds of light orbs orbiting around him. "Let me show you one of the new tricks I picked up, Wendrake!" He aimed his palms out. "Now, Endless Particle Volley!"

Morgan looked up and found himself almost on the receiving end of hundreds of those light orbs. He avoided the first wave, but the 'Endless' in the name was very literal. As Aeternus fired, more kept spawning and orbiting around him, seemingly in an endless stream. There was no apparent end in sight.

Morgan went into a sprint to avoid them, but this left him perfectly telegraphed for Voss to fire projectile slashes his way. Morgan hopped and slid through as many as he could, but could only hold out for so long before one got his leg. The decrease in speed left him caught in Aeternus' Endless Particle Volley.

Aeternus grinned wildly. "Now, give him everything you got!"

Callista roared, commanding Drogas to pummel Morgan into the ground while Voss blasted a concentrated dark beam from his sword, obliterating the church into further ruin.

Under the endless onslaught, Morgan had himself wrapped in a string barrier, taking the attacks while realizing his situation. Shit…I knew this would happen. All three of them would gang up on me eventually. He glared. Even so…I have to prove why I was their equal in those times. Rest assured, I will be getting my second wind soon enough…

---

Holly dodged a sand hand reaching out for her, then blew it apart with her fan. Arid sent out more sand for her, then stopped a surprise attack from Mack. He grabbed the Sudowoodo by the face and smashed it into the floorboards. The Darmanitan had his eyes off Holly for a second, a mistake she capitalized on. She boosted herself in the air, then came swinging down with a powerful swipe kick in the face.

"GAAAH!" Arid slammed into the edge of his ship and collapsed onto his stomach.

Mack picked himself up and smirked. "Ha! This jerk ain't so tough!" He spun Eclipse, then went for the gauntlet. Contact was made, but the extended staff sunk into it. "Eh?!"

The Darmanitan's body turned into sand and hardened around the staff, with Mack unable to pull it out.

Holly glared around. "Shit! He switched with a sand clone during the fight!"

"The Harenae Gauntlet…gives me full control over particles of earth."

The bounty hunters' eyes widened as sand started clinging to their skin and clothes. Like rust on metal, their joints were stiffening as more of it collected onto them. They spotted the Darmanitan hanging above them by the mast, clinging by his feet.

The pirate captain glared. "Why would a group of stowaways like you even come aboard my ship? Are you after a bounty on my head? No, you would've gone after me in my sleep, or any other time. You were purposely hiding from all of us." He glared. "…Does the name Ravenfield mean anything to you picaroons?"

Mack smirked. "Picaroon? Man, you really live up to your pirate shtick. As for your question…" A dangerous glint twinkled in his eye. "Well…I suppose in a way you folk would understand: dead men tell no tales. Or in your case…" His Timor Persona arose behind him and lunged at the pirate. "Dead men hear no tales!"

Arid dodged the persona's powerful punch, which broke apart the mast. Arid sneered, then sent a wave of sand into the persona, burying it onto the floorboards.

Mack inhaled deeply and activated the limiter, spreading power across his face and a little down to his chest and arms. With a might flex, the sand blew off his body like dust. He lunged and struck the pirate across the face.

"And let me tell you, a lot of dead men were left in my way!" Mack grabbed him by his shirt, swung him over his shoulder, and slammed his face down into the floorboards. "You'll be joining them in Davy's locker!"

Sand exploded from under the floorboards and wrapped around the Sudowoodo. Arid pulled himself out, then bashed his golden fist into the petrified tree's face. Mack, thanks to the power surging through him, barely felt a thing. He smirked through it, then kicked Arid right in the stomach. Arid coughed blood as he was thrown backwards.

Holly felt the sand drop off her body. She patted herself clean, saying, "You are so uncivilized, Mack."

"Hey, it got the job done!" he fired back.

Just then, Arid's eyes snapped open, catching his second wind. He swung his hand and gathered sand all over his body. The bounty hunters quickly turned and came face to face with a monstrous Darmanitan comprised of sand, towering over them.

Mack's eyes twitched. "Oh…okay!"

The monster raised its hand and swung it down hard enough to shake and nearly capsize the ship. Ray, Ambrosine, and Jeffery clung to the rails as the ship rocked back and forth.

"Captain, control yourself!" Jeffery shouted.

Ambrosine clutched her chest, feeling a few pangs of pain. "Sh-Shit! He's really going at it!"

The sand monster pounded into the ship as Mack and Holly tried their hardest to avoid getting pummeled and buried. Holly boosted herself once again with Last Breath, then pulled it back. "Level 3 Wind Style: Destructive Push!" She swung her fan and blasted apart the monster's head wing a gust of wind, further rocking the ship.

Jeffery screamed as the winds carried him off, but Ambrosine managed to snatch him by the ankle, much to his relief. "Now I don't know where's safe anymore!"

The sand monster fell to pieces, but Arid managed to jump out, wrapped in a thin veil of sand. He swung his fist and fired off sand punches at Holly. Holly's eyes flashed. "Dolorem Rewrite!" Blue petals scatter out around her and Arid.

Arid found his vision completely obscured in petals, but kept a psychic link with the sand attack. However, he felt something off about the sand. From out of nowhere, when the petals dispersed, he felt the attack coming in behind him. With a flick of his fingers, the sand split off around him and struck into the ship.

"Left yourself wide open, jackass!" Arid was struck by the combined efforts of Mack and his Timor Persona. They put their backs into those punches and threw Arid straight through his ship, slamming into scattered cannonballs. Mack landed and picked up his three sectioned staff. "Got him!"

Holly leaped over the hole. "We can't let him have a chance to get up! Adluci Armis!" She summoned illusionary knives and fired them into the hole.

Nothing seemed to happen, which was very concerning for the bounty hunters. Suddenly, out of nowhere, an explosion went off behind Mack. Something collided into him and slammed him against Holly, throwing them into the mast. Floating above them was a cluster of explosive minerals still left in storage for the crew.

Arid pulled himself out of the hole, panting. "You two…are most annoying…"

Mack smirked. "You're no prize yourself, you old salt!"

Arid glared, clutching his bleeding side. "You've caused enough damage to my ship…" He glared at the fighting taking place below. "…You want to see your little friends?" He swung his fist. "Then go!"

The sand wrapped around the two and chucked them off the ship, right over the kingdom. However, they weren't going without taking a souvenir with them. Mack spun his staff and launched it into one of the ship's many new holes. "I'm taking your cannonballs!" He pulled and retrieved a miraculously intact crate full of cannonballs.

Arid roared and tried to go after them, but the bruising in his side flared up. Ambrosine quickly attended to his wound, pressing her hands to it and applying her healing magic. Arid bared his teeth. "…I'm getting old…"

"You're not that old, sir!" Jeffery squawked. "Why, you're fit as a-!"

"Can it, bird!" Arid growled, forcing Jeffery to shut up.

Ray waltzed up to him. "You going to be alright, captain?"

Arid huffed smoke from his nostrils. "…I don't know…"

---

Griffin struck the Excadrill general with his Endless Regret, who blocked with his massive claws. The general roared and batted the sword out of his face, then jabbed Griffin in the chest. The Grovyle sailed backwards, but gripped to the land and caught himself. He pulled out Absolute Zero and slashed across the ground, sending a wave of ice towards the mole.

Excadrill burrowed himself underground with the ice spreading over the hole. Griffin felt the vibrations under his feet and narrowly avoided the mole's ambush attack.

Excadrill channeled darkness between his claws. "Disruptor!" He fired a straight beam into Griffin, hitting him dead on.

Griffin clenched his teeth as he felt all his muscles locking up simultaneously, like he was struck with paralyzing electricity. His body went completely rigid as he crashed into the ground. He tried to will himself to move. "C-Come on! Move, dammit!"

Excadrill went for the charge and leaped forward. "Who cares if that overgrown titan wants a piece of you?! I'm going to impale the shit out of you-!" He was cut off by a psychic blast slamming into his head, throwing him off course.

Griffin managed to move his eyes and spotted Ella fighting off both the Araquanid and the Druddigon generals. The dragon was heavily weakened due to Cybil's earlier interference. The bullet wounds he sustained ran deep.

Ella swung Daybreak and bashed it across the dragon's jaw, then jumped over a pair of shadow hands deployed by the water spider. She slammed the end of her staff down on his back and took him to the ground. She detached one of the batons from her staff and remotely slammed it into Druddigon's stomach.

"Now burst!"

The exposed end of the baton fired off psychic energy like a rocket and took the dragon through the ground and ruined buildings. He tried to rip the baton off his stomach, but the force exerting off it outweighed his own strength. It plunged him further and further down the farther they went.

Ella narrowed her eyes, then, feeling the baton leaving her maximum range, flicked her digits and commanded the baton back to her. However, when she had her eyes off Araquanid for a second, he raised his front legs and pressed them to her temples, unleashing a dark shock through her body.

"GAAAH!" Ella screamed as the electricity coursed through her nervous system.

"How can such a weakling oppose us?!" Araquanid bashed her across the face, then leaped on top of her. "I'm going to take a page out of Lithia's book…and melt your insides!" He raised his front leg, emitting a dark, oozing poison from the tip.

Ella's eyes shrunk. Oh shit…

"Ella!" Griffin tried to get up, but his legs still felt paralyzed. He quickly reached into his void to pulled out Infinity Breaker when he caught something sailing through the sky overhead. He squinted suspiciously at it. "What the…?"

Ella froze up as the pointed leg pressed to her neck. The water spider laughed. "All that cocky attitude and aplomb swagger finally leave your system? You think you're so cool, don't you?"

The Espeon clenched her teeth, but then gasped as she spotted what Griffin saw flying right towards them. A smirk crawled onto her face. "Oh…I'm cool, alright…but I could never make an entrance like that."

"What the hell are you on about?!" His eyes widened as he finally picked up on two magic auras plummeting towards them. "What?!" He spun around, then went limp with fear. "Oh…shit…"

Leading the charge of their descent was Mack, who had his persona wielding a handful of cannonballs in its hands. That evil grin of his was frightening. "Cannonballs for all the assholes!"

Ella concentrated and quickly teleported away just as Mack, in typical Mack fashion, slammed the spider's head between dozens of cannonballs! The explosion was devastating, blowing away Griffin, the knights, and the grunts fighting in the immediate area.

Griffin held his arms up against the smoke as the winds rushed into him. Finally free of his paralysis, he pulled himself up and gawked in disbelief at the bloodied crater left behind in the explosion. Rising out of the smoke and covered in a decent bit of blood was Mack, laughing his head off.

"Oh! That felt AWESOME! We've got to get thrown off ships more often!"

Holly was on her knees, covering her mouth. "For Mew's sake, Mack! Did you really need to blow him up?!"

"Oh, he's fiiiiii…" He looked back into the crater. "…Ooh. That's nasty." He lightly kicked some dirt over what might've been a corpse at one point.

"Mack?! Holly?!" Griffin called out.

Holly looked up, then brightened her eyes. "Griffin! Hey!"

"Surprise, buddy!" Mack exclaimed.

"Where'd you two come from?!" Griffin shouted.

"From the sky!"

"Not what I meant!"

"Oh! Well, in that case, my parents were having a lovely, passionate night-!"

"Also not what I meant!"

Holly picked herself up and, after getting over Mack committing an over-the-top murder, dusted herself off. "It's a long story. After we heard what happened, we had to race on over and help. Seems we were right to do so."

Ella ran over to them. "Boy, I'll say! It's chaos out here!"

Holly glared as the knights and, unfortunately, the invading forces were getting back to their feet. "We'll talk about this later! We should get rid of these guys first!"

Ella growled. "At this point, collateral damage doesn't matter anymore! You might as well just raze the damn area!"

Mack smirked villainously. "Good! I didn't see any civilians when we were flying over, so I can benefit from cutting loose!"

"Wait…" The three turned their heads towards Griffin. "Did you say there's no one else in this area? No one except the enemy?"

Mack deadpanned. "Aside from some knights, pretty much."

Griffin glared seriously. "…Then maybe now's a perfect time to use this." He held his hand out, then called upon his personal arsenal to pull out a sword long overdue for practice.

Holly and Mack's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait…is that…your father's sword?" Holly asked in disbelief.

"Holy shit, Land Shift?!" Mack exclaimed. "I haven't seen this beauty in ages!"

Griffin held the blade up. "Ella, get Segar and tell him to call back his troops. This is going to get messy."

Ella glared. "What are you up to?"

"Trust me, this thing is dangerous for a reason."

Ella took his word for it and ran off to find Segar. It didn't take too long, as she found him clashing swords with a Beartic and beating him into the ground. Ella skidded to a halt beside him. "Sir Segar, sir! Call back your men, now!"

Segar stopped a sword strike from an Infernape and punched him across the face. "What is this about, Ms. Cipher?"

"I think Griffin's going to wipe out the invaders!"

Segar narrowed his eyes. "The Blood Moon Rogue…can't take him lightly." He pulled out his horn and blew into it.

The sound resonated over the battlefield, reaching the ears of all the knights. By the orders of the sound, they ceased their clashes and made a full-scale retreat back. The grunts, unwilling to end their fun, tried to give chase after them, but found their path cut off by a gate of flames.

Mack, with his persona's arms transformed into fire, sat before the flames with an arm on his propped knee. He smirked deviously. "Don't run off so soon, gents. We're going to raise the roof, as it were."

The Excadrill general, recovered from the hit he took, growled at him. "I don't take orders from you!" He took himself underground.

Mack jumped into the air, laughing. "Griffin! The show's yours! Knock 'em dead!"

Griffin pulled back Land Shift, then took a deep breath. He had to wield it carefully or it could backfire on him and the others behind him. With a serious glare, he slashed downward. The resulting slash bended the air, making it visible as a tinge of white. He carefully guided the blade in circular patterns, like the blade was coated in thick molasses.

"I think I have this pattern right…" He growled, then slashed through it. "Now DIE!" With the swing of his sword, a strange noise reverberated through the air, reaching the ears of the invaders.

They were stunned, unsure what had just happened. And nothing seemed to be happening at the moment, but then the ground started to rumble. The grunts stumbled about uncoordinatedly, clinging to anything to stay standing. The ground cracked at their feet from an increasing pressure acting under it.

"What is this?! What is this power?!" a Mightyena cried out.

The ground started to split. From the increasing pressure underground, Excadrill was shot out like a geyser. "AAAAH!" He landed on his back, then quickly scrambled up. "This power…! What did he do to the earth?!" His eyes shrank as everything around him started groaning. "That sound…"

Before he got lost in his stupor, he felt himself sliding to the left. He looked ahead and gasped as world seemed to be tipping to the side. He dug his claws into the ground as he slowly found himself hanging by the ground. The world was tipping around them.

"Did that sword mess with our perception of the land?! No, this feels too real! But why is the sky tipping?!" Rubble rained on his face, which made him turn his head away. That's when he saw it, the true power of the Land Shift. "What…did he do…?"

The entire section of Ironworks Kingdom, completely vacant of bystanders, was tilted on its side in a massive quake. Sections of earth were splitting in pieces and tilting, rising high above ground level. Grunts were screaming and falling into the cracks. The ground ruptured too fast to react with. No one could keep their footing.

Even the flyers were having trouble escaping. "This earthquake! It's unnatural!" screamed a Noctowl. He tried to flee, but scolding rocks fired into him and completely wrecked his wings. "GAAAAH!" He was taken out of the sky and sent plummeting into the chasms below.

From above in the Wasteland, Arid, his remaining crew, and Nightmare watched with shocked eyes. "The entire earth has been completely tilted…" Nightmare mumbled in disbelief.

Excadrill clung for dear life, panicking with sheer terror in his eyes. No warned me about this shit! A powerful vibration shot through the earth he clung to and obliterated it to pieces. "NO!" He flailed his arms desperately, but succumbed to the fate as all the others. He fell into the deep chasm of the split earth as the ground crushed into each other.

Mack and Holly kept themselves grounded, holding onto Ella while she stared at the rising earth in horror. "What…the hell?!"

Griffin faced the trembling earth with an unfazed glare. "Land Shift…has the power to split the earth. Tremors, quakes, eruptions, you name it. It has the power to turn the earth into a superweapon. I can control the output of the tremors…and I had every intention of killing these bastards in one swing."

Ella gazed as the quakes spread through the entirety of the ruined kingdom, kicking up all manner of earth and sending it high in the air. "…Damn…I think I need a minute to sit down…"

---

Tony kicked Leigh with his knee just as the tremors were felt. He and the pirates clung to the ground as the vibrations passed by them. They weren't nearly as strong as where they originated, but enough to shake the unexpected down. Tony gazed up and saw the tilted earth casting a long shadow over them.

He smirked uneasily. "Sh-Shit…why do I get the feeling the hothead had something to do with this?"

Drake hung from a roof, narrowing his eye. "This is insane…that power…"

Julius pulled himself up. "Don't let it distract ye! Our mission is to bring down Ravenfield's allies!" He fired a shot at Tony, who speedily evaded it.

Hiding out of sight was Tyrone, who had his back to the walls of a ruined wall. He really didn't want to join in the fight, but they practically forced him to come along. Better than being around Nightmare, he supposed. Tyrone slammed his gloved hand down and activated one of the glove's crystals, causing vines to sprout out from the ground.

Tony spotted them and used Quick Step to weave through the roots. He appeared before Tyrone and grabbed him by the face. "That's hardly an itch, shrimp."

Tyrone quickly clenched his fist and teleported out of Tony's grasp. Appearing behind the Dewott, he went to use the time stop gem, much to the agony of his arm. Tony, however, spun around and kicked Tyrone across the face before he did so.

"I'm not letting you pull any tricks on me." Tony turned and dodged a dive attack from Malcolm and Zerif, the latter swinging around cutlasses.

Malcolm charged forward and threw solid punches at the Dewott, who deflected them with subtle hand movements. He spun and struck the Golduck in the side, then pulled his shirt over his head and kicked him in the stomach. Zerif came spinning at Tony with the cutlasses protruding out of his hair.

Tony held his palm out. "Ventusphere!" He stopped the Zoroark in his tracks and blew him away with the wind orb.

He felt Leigh's presence and dodged her quick swipes. He pulled out his scalchops and blocked her battle claws. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Drake coming in for a pincer move. The Dewott flipped over the assassin Togetic and kicked her in the back before stopping Drake's katana.

Tony smirked. "Heeey, how much for the sword? My offer? I'll steal it and let you keep your ribs intact-!" Drake slammed his foot into his gut, then went for his head. Tony blocked the sword again. "Rude! You don't just interrupt someone when they're gloating!"

Up above, Indigo watched with conflicted eyes. She had her prosthetic claws transformed into its crossbow form and had it trained on Tony, but she couldn't will herself to take the shot. She gripped tightly to her arm, preventing it from shaking too much.

I can't do it…these shadow guys are horrible, but…if I try to resist, I'm dead…

Indigo clenched her teeth, trying to think of a way out. What could she do to appease both sides?

However, pulling from her thoughts, Indigo heard a particular scream coming their way, even alerting Tony. The Dewott narrowed his eyes. "High pitch, girlish scream of terror, eh?" He stopped Drake's sword and kicked him back. "Flint?! Is that you?!"

Right on cue, the Flareon came barreling into the open and, upon spotting Tony, ran right into him. "Tony! Need your help! Now!"

Tony grabbed his shoulders. "Take it easy, Flintster! What's gotten you all shook?"

"It would have to do with me." Tony and Flint's fur stood on end, feeling the sudden presence of Zaros behind them. Appeared without a sound. He dusted his clothes off, then glared at the Flareon. "Honestly…I've never seen a more pathetic display of cowardice in my life…"

Tony didn't hesitate to swing his leg at the Watchog, but it stopped in the grip of Zaros' Guardian. Right as Tony realized this, it socked its fist into his chest and sent him sailing backwards, crashing through the roof Indigo perched on.

"Tony!" Flint cried out. He tried to flee, but the Guardian grabbed him by the mane and lifted him.

Zaros shook his finger disapprovingly. "Such rudeness will not be tolerated around here." He snapped his fingers and ordered his Guardian to strike.

Flint quickly summoned his and order it to catch the fist. Flint grunted, feeling his Guardian's strain as it held back against the punch. It was pushing closer and closer to him.

"Struggle all you like, but it's quite clear where we stand in terms of strength," Zaros gloated suavely. "And to think, you had potential to be my rival. Die with knowing you had that honor-"

Zaros was suddenly thrown through the air after taking a light speed punch to the face, canceling his Guardian as a result. He smashed through a wall and skidded across his back.

Flint fell to the ground and panted in relief while Tony stood over him, waving his fist. "Now, you see, when someone else interrupts a monologue, it's uncivilized. When I do it…" He smirked deviously. "I have every intention of being a jackass."

Zaros pulled himself up, then adjusted his askew glasses. "Tch. For as vulgar and impudent as you are, my business concerns with that Flareon. Make haste before I force my hand."

Tony spread his arms out. "Listen pal, I don't know what your beef with Flint here is…" He clenched his fist. "But it hardly matters now that you're facing me."

Zaros summoned his Guardian. "How quaint. And just what do you intend to do, fighting me off and those pirates?"

Tony and Flint looked around and were completely surrounded, with guns and blades aimed right at them. They pulled their triggers and fired. Bullets flew at the two, only to be repelled by the flurry of fists from Flint's Guardian. It punched them all down without missing a single one.

Zaros took the opportunity to lunge into them and bash his Guardian's fists into their faces. He casted Tony away, then had his Guardian shove Flint into the ground. "Must you make our meeting difficult?"

Flint grunted. "Just about…Verto!"

In the blink of an eye, Zaros found himself on the receiving end of Tony's Lightning Shot: Double Barrel Shockwave. Zaros was throw high into the air and sent crashing into the ground. Tony flipped to his feet and dusted off his pants. "Not cool, asshole-HEY!" He dodged a sword swipe from Jones before flipping him over his shoulder and into Leigh and Malcolm.

Banama charged up a ton of electricity and fired it down on Tony. The Dewott blocked with his arms as he was completely engulfed inside. Thanks to his adaption with Storm Magic, it didn't hurt nearly as bad as it should.

Flint quickly rushed to Tony's side, but got blindside by Zaros. The Watchog grabbed him by the neck and shoved him into the ground. "Geo Link!" Flint felt his back fuse into the ground, holding him in place. "No. More. Running." His Guardian manifested over his head. "It seems I've been going too easy on you. Enough stalling." His Guardian went on the offensive with an attack rush of punches.

Flint's eyes widened in alert before his Guardian's arms manifested and countered the fists with its own attack rush. It was too close for Flint's liking. The enemy fists were a knuckle's length way from reaching his face.

Zaros sneered. "Why must you be so difficult?" He snapped his fingers and conjured a fireball at the tip of his index. "Guess I'll have to make things simpler. You know how this works? Magic doesn't quite work the same way as natural typing, so I wonder how long until these flames cook you alive?" Flint's eyes shrunk.

"If you wanted to be roasted that badly-!" Zaros' Guardian suddenly stopped and blocked Tony's flying kick, wrapped in electricity. "-you should've come to me first! We would've had a lovely talk about your ugly mug!"

Zaros scowled. "You dare mock me, worm? Do you know who you are in the presence of?"

"Some guy with a superiority complex he probably got from that mad clown of a boss?" Tony smirked. "I don't know, you look like about as much as a poser as the rest of these guys!" He dodged the Guardian's grab. "Though, they're not dressed like snazzy gentlemen, but the look makes you look more of a douche than you act!"

At the moment of landing, Tony activated Light Speed and scooped Flint up. Zaros went for Tempus Point, but Tony made sure to deck him in the face right as he passed by. He brought Flint to the safety of higher ground before deactivating the speed boost.

Zaros wiped his bleeding nose, then sneered at it. "Tch…how long do you intend to protect that Flareon?"

Tony sat down and held his chin in a cheeky manner. "Just until I see some gray hairs pop up! Nothing too big!"

Zaros glared up at him, then laughed it off. He pressed his fingers to his forehead. "Oh, this is just wonderful. I should've figured his precious teammates would be looking out for him. The weak link of the ground. The Flareon is no fighter, but I can't let him progress as one."

Flint stood up and snarled. "What are you getting at?!"

Zaros glared seriously. "The second you have no one to turn to…I'll be sure to torture you to death…Flint Ravenfield." His Guardian manifested behind him.

Tony stood up. "We've got pirates and one crazy Watchog to deal with. Want to team-up?"

Flint manifested his Guardian, too. "…Yeah. I think I'm going better now."

Tony smirked. "Then let's dance." They jumped off and into the fray.

---

Krystal cried out as she was smacked away by the rampaging monster. She skipped off the ground four times before catching herself. She panted, wiping some blood off her face. She looked up to see the monster charging right at her. She rolled out of the way and chucked multiple explosives into its face, barely stunning it.

As it recovered its senses, Cybil got herself to a vantage point and aimed at the creature. She loaded in red-tipped bullets, then took her shot. The bullets flew with a red trail behind them. She bounced them around with her Ricochet Mirrors to throw the monster off, then had the bullets fly into its head. They exploded on impact.

Cybil lowered her rifle a bit to get a good look at the aftermath, but was shocked to see bare ground as the smoke cleared. "It vanished? How did it-?"

Her eyes widened as a huge shadow casted over her. Somehow, in the blast, the monster had gotten behind her. Despite its gargantuan size, it was quick and quiet enough to get to her position.

Cybil immediately spun around to fire into its neck, but the beast's fist came down on her. Cybil spat out blood as she was taken to the ground and buried under loads of rubble.

"Cybil!" Krystal screamed. She growled and summoned an arch of magic bombs. "Magno Chain!" She rapid-fired the bombs into the monster as hard as she could.

The monster was taken back by the attacks until it regained its composure. It charged through the explosives, rearing forward its Eelektross arm. The circular mouth widened as it approached Krystal. She stopped and jumped back from its imposing jaws.

"Dual Shoot!" Oswald suddenly came flying into the action and slammed both his feet into its mask. The Breloom looked bloodied and exhausted from fending off the creature for so long. They were all growing weary from the inexhaustible monster's tenacity.

The blow threw the monster off balance, allowing Oswald to take in another breath and strike down on the creature with a flurry of fists. "Dual Combo!"

He pushed the monster deep into the ground with every punch, forming a nasty abrasion in its stomach. Oswald kept going for as long as he had a breath to exhale. However, he couldn't go the full minute without tentacles shooting out and catching his arms.

"Wah-HEY!" He tried to fight it off, but took a hard blow from the monster's giant pincer. It struck him hard across the face, cutting into his cheek. It then grabbed around his head with its slimy green arm, cutting off the Breloom's oxygen. "Hmm?! MMMMHHHHPH!" His legs flailed as he tried to rip the gunk off.

It rose to its feet and pulled back the arm with the fused Scyther blade. It pressed the blade against Oswald's stomach and slowly pushed in, drawing some blood. However, a blue flash cut cleanly through the blade and set it aflame. It roared and looked around for the attacker when the arm holding Oswald hostage suddenly caught fire, too. It tossed Oswald aside and patted down the flaming appendage.

"Hey, monster~!" It turned and spotted Saffiro, who clutched to his sword at his side. "Come and get me~!"

It roared and charged at Saffiro, readying its Magmortar cannon. Saffiro narrowed his eyes, then kicked off his foot. In a flash, he rushed right past the monster with his sword partially drawn. His glare deepened as he sheathed the blade.

"Fuoco Blu…"

CLICK!

"Assalto di Drago!"

The monster exploded into volatile flames, shaped into a vicious torrent rising high in the air. Saffiro stood and gazed upon the monster's withering image, flailing in agony.

Saffiro pointed coolly at the creature and said, "I won't allow such a disgusting visage to plague this beautiful world. I'll see to it that you burn to a crisp."

The Hakamo-o's eyes widened as the creature suddenly charged out of the flames. Saffiro quickly drew his blade and slashed the creature, but was not fast enough to evade its fist. It struck him square in the face and sent him flying far back. His sword, in mid-swing, flung out of his hand and impaled into the ground.

The monster stumbled backward from the gaping cut Saffiro left behind, but didn't think much else of it. It picked up a slab of wall and walked up to the aching dragon, raising the weapon over his head. The monster roared and swung down for the dragon's head.

The slab suddenly vanished from its hands.

Before it could react to this, cloth bindings immediately apprehended the monster's arms and forced them backwards. It stepped backwards, forced to by the energized bunny holding him down. Ebony smirked with one hand on the bindings. Behind her were a bunch of straggler grunts who just recently got out of the earlier earthquake and ran to their location—only they were drained of their strength.

Ebony stood on the stolen slab and held her hand out at the creature. "That's a good abomination. Listen to Ebony…and die!" She lurched the monster backwards, then sprung into it. She punched it carelessly, sticking her tongue out and shouting, "Ra-tatatatatatatata! Ra-Ta!" She struck it across the helmet and took it to the ground.

It tried to use its other blade against her, but she grabbed its arm and twisted it out of place, then proceeded to stomp on its face.

"Hey, hey, hey! Does this annoy you? Am I annoying you?!" She held her hand out at it. "Now, Viribus Swipe!" She began syphoning off the monster's strength. "Ooooh~! You're tingling with strength~! This is the kind of buzz I love-!"

She gasped as it suddenly clamped down on her arm with its pincer. And it was squeezing really hard. Ebony tried to pry it off, but then got smacked into the ground. The monster proceeded to stomp on her back, forcing her spell to cancel on her.

What the hell?! This thing's strength is practically BOUNDLESS?! No, worse! This creature is inexhaustible! Ah shit!

After it finished stomping on Ebony, the monster aimed its cannon down and prepared to fire. Thankfully, its efforts were put to a stop as a flurry of light bolts shot into the creature and pushed it back.

Hugo stood close by, holding up his staff as the wheel fired off rays of bolts. "Sacred Scatter Light!" He advanced forward as his attack pushed the monster back. "The light of Arceus may not compel you to submit, but even a mindless creature like you isn't immune to its physical reach! His holy light shall burn through your motley abomination of a body!"

The monster roared and struck its tentacles at him. Hugo summoned talismans and created a barrier around himself. The tentacles were repelled off. Hugo spun his staff and reared it back. Light concentrated at the wheel before expanding into a yellow, blinding orb that resembled the sun.

Hugo raised the sun above his head. "Heavenly Sun!"

The light reached his fallen comrades, who reared away from the light. Cybil was the least affected, only having some light steam coming off her. Three of the others were only taking moderate effect to the light. Ebony, once again, was completely on fire. "Hey! Shut off the light, Hugo!" Ebony complained.

Hugo glared. "Apologies, Ms. Ebony, but this is my duty as a priest." He glowered and flung the sun into the monster. "Now…BEGONE!"

The sun slammed into the monster's stomach and pushed it back. The monster grabbed hold of the sun as it heated up and set its body on fire. It roared in agony as the flesh withered away into charred flakes. A hole was close to burning through its stomach.

It stomped its foot down to stop itself before raising its pincer and slapping it across the sun, flinging it over the horizon until it dispersed on its own.

Hugo growled. "Is there no end to this monster? Very well…" He held his hand out and conjured yet another Heavenly Sun. "Perhaps this one will suffice your sinful rampage."

Krystal pulled herself up. "Team! Attention!" All eyes fell on their team leader. She glared. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. This creature is strong, but not infallible. We are Team Shatter Star! We do not fall before the likes of invading monsters who dare attack our homes! Even if Ironworks is not my birthplace, I shall defend it as my own!"

She balled her wing and ordered, "Team, commence with the Triple S Maneuver!"

Their eyes widened. "The Triple S Maneuver?!" Cybil cried out in disbelief.

"Holy shit, we haven't done that in ages!" Oswald shouted.

Krystal smirked. "It worked last time, it'll work again! If it can work on an army of stupid bandits, one oversized freak of nature is a cinch!"

Ebony stuffed her hands in her pockets and smirked. "Girl, you're crazy! When do we start?"

"Now! Ebony, Cybil, commence with Phase 1: Immobilize!" They nodded and ran ahead. "Saffiro, Hugo, you're with me!" She pointed at Oswald. "Oswald, get into position! Make sure you don't miss!"

"Roger, sir- I mean, ma'am!" Oswald saluted to her before running off.

The monster patted off the burns from its stomach when Ebony and Cybil suddenly ran up to it. "Hey, ugly!" Ebony shouted before lunging and striking it in the throat. "Go ahead and roar! I always wanted to hear one that sounds like a broken blender!" She rapidly punched into its windpipe, then spat through the grate in its helmet before taking off.

It let out a hoarse, strained roar, infuriated with the cheeky rabbit, and gave chase. Ebony gave a hand signal to Cybil, who loaded purple tipped bullets into her rifle. Once the creature was in position, she fired.

The bullet pierced through the skin, but left no physical exit wounds. Instead, with the Ricochet Mirror, the bullet bounced around and through the monster. The trail usually left behind began to solidify, transforming into an entrapment seal that kept the monster glued in its place.

The monster growled and tried to force its way out of them, but lost the traction in its feet and slipped forward, forced upright by the wiring. It tried and struggled to get up, but there was no friction to cling to on the ground. It was webbed up and unable to stand.

Ebony sat on a roof, snickering behind her hand. "Poor, unfortunate soul…is what I would say if you weren't a soulless sack of shit."

The monster roared at her and tried to escape again, unaware of Krystal rising higher and higher in the air. The Delibird pressed his wings together. "Now for the biggest kaboom! Ludo Magnus Bomb!"

She spread her wings out over her head and concentrated her magic to build up into a single point. The energy gathered and expanded into a standard sized bomb, then increased, and increased further than that. Magic crackled over the expanding sphere as it continuously doubled in size, casting a huge shadow over the battlefield.

Krystal's face twitched from the strain of keeping the bomb stable. It crackled with overwhelming power. "C-Can't keep it contained forever…Saffiro, commence with Phase 2: Mix and Burst!"

Saffiro jumped into the air, meeting halfway up the bomb, and drew his sword. "Salamander! Release!" He aimed his sword and released a concentrated stream of blue flames into the bomb.

Like wrapping paper over a gift, the flames wash over the bomb, giving it a flaming shell. With the added mixture of flames working into the massive bomb, it resembled a miniature blue sun.

Saffiro sheathed Salamander upon completely his task. Salamander has the ability to store away the excessive heat from my flames should I be running low on energy. With that power mixed with the Ludo Magnus Bomb…that freak is in for one hell of an explosion.

Krystal was sweating as she began losing her hold over the bomb. The added fire made it difficult to contain the power. "Oswald! Do the thing!"

Oswald crouched down and drew a breath. "Rising Star!" He leaped several hundred meters into the air, reaching to the highest point over the explosive.

He closed one eye and pulled one hand back. He lined up his shot on the monster as it continued to try and fail to escape from its entrapment. He parted his lips and took in a deep breath, channeling his strength into this next strike.

"Now…Impact Star!" He stretched out his hand and slammed it into the flaming bomb. It went from zero to a hundred in seconds, flying out of Krystal's mental hold and downward at the creature.

The intense heat was finally noticed, as it turned its head and gazed upon the flame star barreling down at it. Forgoing its escape attempts, it slammed all its appendages, arms and tentacles included, against the flaming mass. Instantly, its whole body caught fire. It barely managed to stop the bomb, only thanks to the magic wiring keeping it down. If it had traction on the ground, that would've been different.

It roared and tried to grip onto the bomb, but realized immediately that the explosive wasn't completely solid. Its arms and tentacles were sinking through, like the bomb had its own gravity drawing it into the center. The creature roared, with no panic to speak of but sheer survivability. It struggled and wreathed against the bomb's pulling force, but couldn't stop from being drawn in.

The bomb, after swallowing up its feet, touched the ground and began to split open. The miniature sun was going to explode any second now. If that blast were to go off the way it was now, it could wipe out three quarters of the kingdom. The explosion could severely injure, perhaps even KILL, anyone caught within its radius.

…Fortunately, that's where Hugo came in.

"Phase 3: Contain! Hugo, you're on!" Krystal shouted.

Hugo raised his arms as the leaves around his wrists glowed. "Barrier!" Talismans flew from his leaves and flew into the bomb. They stuck to the bomb and extended out to create part of a shell for the bomb.

The yellow, heavenly glow of the individual talismans shimmered into a transparent shell around the explosive, basking Team Shatter Star in its brilliant glow. Once the last talisman was in place, the bomb was free to detonate. The monster inside squirmed and flailed as it tried to reach the surface. A futile attempt, but it would've been too late.

Krystal swiped her wing down. "KABOOM!"

The bomb went off. Under the strain of the barrier, the swirling cloud of explosive power no different to that of a supernova going off. No heat or pressure could escape the barrier, but the contained power was slowly causing it to crack. The intense glow that could blind the unexpected pierced through these individual cracks.

Krystal raised her wing. "Send her to the sky!"

Hugo flicked his finger up and commanded the bomb to rise. More light leaked out of the barrier as the explosion pressure was reaching maximum pressure output. Krystal gestured her team to her.

"Alright, all together now! Three…two…one…!"

They posed dramatically.

"Shatter Star Special!"

One flash after, the barrier shattered open and released the explosive power into a wave that crossed over the sky. Blue and yellows waves of magic rushing over everyone's heads. The explosive output pushed away any clouds over them instantly.

Shadows were blown back by the blast while the Wasteland rocked back and forth against the shockwave. "Wh-Wh-Wh-What the helllll?!" Ambrosine screamed before falling on her rear.

Arid held his arm over his eyes while keeping a tight grip on Jeffery, who was nearly blown away. "What happened down there?!"

Nightmare clenched down on the ship's edge, growling. "First an earthquake, now a bomb the size of a Wailord goes off?! What the hell is with this kingdom?!"

THUD!

The crew and Nightmare flinched as something landed hard on the deck. They turned around, seeing the charred remains of some…pile of flesh? It was only after a charred helmet fell onto the deck that they identified the mess.

"…Yeah, I'm going to…throw up in the head…" Ambrosine muttered as she slowly…slowly walked away.

---

The Shadow King retained his composure as he faced down Ava's Guardian, which stood imposingly as it gripped its sword. The king narrowed his eyes. That attack from earlier was too clean…what was it about these Awakened Guardians that Puck warned me about? Something about…special abilities?

"Oi! Shadow King!" He glared as the Medicham slowly approached him, with her Guardian floating by her side. "Don't go dazing off on me. I want you to be awake for these next few minutes."

The king smirked in intrigue. "Are you now going to show me your true strength, fortune teller?"

Ava raised her arm, commanding her Guardian to draw its sword. "When a Guardian is in its Awakened State, it dons a name that reflects its power. Mine is called…The Warrior."

"The Warrior?" the king repeated dryly. "My, what an intimidating, yet generic name. Do you perhaps have more to show than that?"

Ava glared. "Let there be light."

With a flick of its wrist, The Warrior swung its sword and performed a powerful slash across the floor. The Shadow King barely dodged it, but quickly realized something about this attack. It wrapped completely around the hall, reaching to his barrier of darkness casted over the castle. To his shock and awe, through the windows, the darkness faded, revealing the outside world again in all of its disaster.

An entire section of the castle was cut off, sliding off and leaving behind the gaping hole to the outside. The groans of stone grinding against stone led to the crashing of the wall into the ground below. The king covered his eyes from the beams of fresh sunlight. He shot a serious glare at the fortune teller.

Ava continued her approach. "The Warrior's signature ability: Absolute Slash. Its sword with cut through anything, even magic. I wish not to inflict serious harm upon you, for I will relinquish that body, but do not test my patience. I'm sure Alex would understand if I have to stop pulling my punches."

The Shadow King remained unfazed, although he was now acting cautious. Shit…I've never seen a spell like this before. Just like that infuriating Jolteon, I have no idea how to counter this. He glared. I'll have to consult the library for answers. In the meantime…

He leaped into the air and aimed out his index fingers. "An amusing trick, Ava Young, one that would certainly leave the unprepared quivering! I dare say it's a powerful ability!" His fingertips lit up. "But I will not allow myself to fall at its blade! Soul Piercer!" He rapidly fired shots down on her.

"The Warrior!" Ava shouted, ordering it to slice into the destructive beams. She leaped after the king, drawing her sword constructs. "I will not have at these bouts for too long! You will give up that body at once! The Warrior, bring down the enemy!"

The samurai Guardian glided its fingers across the blade, then swung projectile slashes in rapid succession. The Shadow King flicker-dodged the slashes as they cut through the roof of the castle. The upward force of the slashes, along with cutting them into pieces, sent the ruined roof flying high into the air.

The Shadow King clung to one of these flying pieces, knelt on the side. "Taking our fight into the air now? What a bold move, Ms. Young!" He jumped and avoided one of her slashes.

With a psychic boost, Ava reached the flying rocks, fighting against the upward lift. She crouched on it and looked around for the evil king. Her third eye widened, alerting her to dodged a Soul Piercer cutting through her flying perch. Her glare scanned everything and followed the movements of a blur as it passed between stones.

Ava landed and waved her arms around in a fluid motion. You said earlier that I haven't revealed the extent of my third eye. She slid her hands into a clasped gesture. You were correct!

Her third eye blazed brightly. With her eyes closed, a psychic manifestation of her consciousness extended from her body and shot into stone, almost at the speed of light. From behind said stone, the Shadow King avoided her attack.

"Separating your conscious, huh?!" He formed a black sword and lunged at the psychic manifestation.

Ava's consciousness summoned her own sword and slammed it into his. "Years of training, to perfect the third eye! This is the results of hard training as a psychic! The final goal to the next lesson!" The king's sword started cracking. "Unbound from my body, I am stronger like this!"

The king smirked. "Amusing…you've definitely received quite the boost." He conjured a second sword. "But do tell, how protected are you?!" He threw the sword at her unguard body.

Thankfully, her Guardian formed and slashed the sword out of harm's way. However, in the moment, the Shadow King flickered right before her and swung at her gut. Ava quickly regained control of her body and stopped the fist in her hands.

"GAAAH!" Ava cried out, feeling something puncturing through both her hands. She saw the black blade sticking out of the back of her hand.

"I knew your first instinct was to catch it. I believe this is how you would counter Alex whenever he pulled a move like this. You acted on reflex. What poor judgment." He raised his leg and swung at her neck.

The Guardian stopped his leg, then Ava swung her own into the king's chin. "And you should've known that his martial art isn't meant for prolonged close-range engagement!" She slammed both her feet into his stomach, forcing him off and the blade out of her hands.

Ava freefell after reaching the peak of their flight. She tore off some of her sleeves and wrapped them around her hands. Her Guardian appeared by her side as she commanded, "The Warrior! Don't hold back! Liberate him of his limbs!" It held the sword in a reverse grip and swung for the right shoulder.

The Shadow King glared at the projectile slash came at him. I don't want to risk simply punching it out of the way! He brought his hands together. "Protect me, my minions!" Dozens of shadows burst from the gaps in his hands and crowded together to take the impact. They screamed as they were cut to pieces.

Ava clung to a falling stone and brought her hands together. If I had more time, and could restrain him, I might be able to reach Alex's consciousness…providing it still exists somewhere in there. She extended out her consciousness and darted for the king with swords.

The king spun downwards and slammed his own swords into hers. "Perhaps I judged you too early, Ms. Young!" He smirked. "It appears you are worth something at your second place! Fighting you may have been my end had I not known of the specialty of these Guardians!"

He extended shadows from his back and struck into the astral projection. Ava barely blocked the fists before flying back into her body. She opened her eyes and roared, telekinetically firing the falling debris at the king.

The Shadow King brought out his swords and dove down, slashing through the debris and darting straight for Ava. The Warrior swung its blade repeatedly, with the king dodging its slashes and getting progressively closer. He channeled darkness between his hands and pulled them back.

"Now join Garret Ravenfield in the afterlife! Eternal Nightfall!" He shouted and fired the dark beam down onto the fortune teller.

"The Warrior!" With no time to cut it in half, lest it haphazardly strike the others below, it blocked the beam with its sword. Ava and her Guardian were pushed with the beam and accelerated faster and faster downward before slamming into the hard floor of the castle.

The shockwave hit Wes and the girls, with the Umbreon clinging tightly to the ground while keeping the other two pinned. "Ava!" he cried out.

The rest of debris finally hit the floor, lodging themselves into craters. Miraculously, they didn't land on the wounded fortune teller. Ava panted heavily with her arms held up. The skin was burned, along with her sleeves. Her robe was torched and nearly completely burnt to cinders. Her Awakened Guardian barely flickered with visibility, reflecting the same burns in its own arms before fading.

Ava pushed herself up, grunting from the stinging pain bursting through her arms. She gasped out and fell over as blood squirted out from the injured limbs. She coughed harshly, doubled over on her knees.

"C-Can't…let him…win-"

"So…" Her eyes widened as a set of feet landed in her peripherals. "I ask again. The sentinel that'll protect the Ravenfield bloodline?"

Ava turned to stab him, but received a hard kick across the face, sending her flying backwards. After hitting her back, she grasped her aching face, wincing at the touch.

"That's nothing more than a shitty goal you mortals proclaim to give you fleeting lives meaning. The same for…living your lives without regret, living propitiously, and all those feelgood intentions." He held his hand over his heart. "I, however, only have one undeniable goal that only I can see clearly in the darkness that surrounds us. All I desire…is to dominate over all! Nothing more, nothing less! I will be the true master of this world of magic! I shall be the only god! No longer will they challenge me!"

He glared down at the fortune teller. "But how I go about it…" He extended his finger out at her. "…is entirely unimportant."

Ava clenched her teeth as he charged up his Soul Piercer. She tried to move her legs, but couldn't bring them to rise. That blow to the head…shit…I can't move…my legs won't move! I can't concentrate, either! She clenched her fist and tired to channel a little magic. I need to find a way out of this, but how?! Come on, Garret, you could take this joker on! Why can't I?!

The king glared darkly. "…Die."

"Get away from her!" The Shadow King turned around and stopped Wes' Mystic Burst as he crashed into him. The force pushed him back only a couple inches, but nothing drastic.

The Shadow King smirked. "You're shaking…Ravenfield."

Wes' eyes were shrunk and shaking, but his scowl spoke volumes. "I won't let you kill her! I won't let you take anyone else!"

"Then I'll just take something else." He struck the Umbreon in the stomach and sent him flying, then extended his finger. "Your pathetic emotions will cost you dearly! And now, this is the end of it all!" He fired a beam at the Umbreon.

Wes barely managed to twist his body, but that's what the Shadow King wanted. He wasn't aiming to kill Wes. He was aiming for the items tucked away in his pockets!

The blast shredded the pocket of his jacket open, burning away the fabric and the bag inside. Wes' eyes widened as the five keys went flying over him, out in the open and unprotected.

No…

---

The heralds continued to fire on their former ally, giving everything they had to break through his string barrier. Aeternus just laughed, laughed, and laughed. "Getting tired yet, old timer?! Why don't you drop the barrier and just DIE already?!" He smirked. "Or better yet…come back to us! We could use someone like you on board again! We'll vouch for you! Maybe the Shadow King will forgive you for your treason!"

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Wendrake," Voss warned.

Callista, safely on Dorgas head as he continued to punch down on Morgan, glared suspiciously. "Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this?"

"How so?" Aeternus asked half-heartedly.

Just then, black string extended out from the crater into the shape of a web. The three held off on their attacks and let the smoke clear, observing these strange webs as they extended out, then vanished just as quickly. They observed cautiously, then glared at the smoking crater.

Voss walked into the smoke and waved it away. He glared upon seeing the crater was bare. "…He's not here."

Aeternus sat in the air, perplexed. "I know he's psychic, but I didn't think he could teleport, much less do any other psychic stuff."

"What were those webs?" Callista mumbled.

Aeternus shrugged. "Who cares? Maybe one of my bolts got a lucky hit and vaporized him-!"

He froze as a black-glowing string pierced through his chest. He blinked, then spat out blood and black flames as from his mouth. He gripped his chest and gasped for air, feeling an intense heating rising inside him.

"Wh-What the hell?! Feels like…heartburn…!" Aeternus winced and staggered through the air.

"Puck!" Callista struck with a shadow in the direction the string fired, but suddenly got stabbed with one through the neck. She cried out and experienced the same pain as Aeternus. "CRAAAAAAP!"

Voss glared and kept a hand over his mask's eye holes. "Wendrake…" Warrior's instincts went off, alerting him to swing and fire projectile slashes into the ceiling. As he thought, something swung out of the way. Voss followed his fleeing movements and continuously swung one projectile after another.

Morgan dodged and weaved through his slashes, then used his string to slingshot across the church. He spun and slammed his foot into Voss' face, knocking him back for a powerful slash attack. The titan endured, but he could feel the strain being placed on his armor.

The last time Wendrake cracked my armor…was during a sparring match. Ever since then, he hasn't been able to break it. The Shadow King was once able to pierce it. Is it possible…?

Morgan then quickly brought his hands back and slashed into the armor, which Voss stood up against. The Hypno landed and wiped his bloodied face. Half his clothes on the left side were burned to ashes, revealing his shadow mark. His body had burn marks and bleeding patches, all of which were taken away in his darkness.

Voss glared. "He's still…not…dead." He lunged and slashed for Morgan's neck.

Morgan jumped back, feeling the blade graze his throat, and aimed his finger. "Compression Thread!" He fired compressed bullet strings into the armored warrior. Voss deflected them off his armor, then raised his sword.

"Fallen Trial." He flipped the blade into a reverse grip, aiming the blade down, and struck the ground.

Morgan staggered back and gazed at the ceiling as hail-sized dark orbs hung over them. The Hypno immediately twitched his fingers and created an umbrella of string over his head as this darkness pelted down on them. He grunted as some got through and shot through his arm.

"Oh Wendrake~!" Morgan turned around and took a blast of Particle Eraser to the face. "Eat shit, asshole!"

Morgan tumbled across the ground, then rolled onto his feet. He aimed for Aeternus, but stopped and dodged a flaming sword that came close to lobbing his head off. He rolled backward and wiped his brow before glaring at the newcomer. A black knight with a bat-shaped helmet, with a flame sitting atop it.

Callista crawled out from behind the knight, panting as her darkness took away her injuries. "You…bastard…"

Morgan stood up and raised his hand, crackling darkness through his string. "I wasn't going to be nice…"

He heard Aeternus laughing as he floated down, legs crossed. "If this were a four-way fight, this could go on for WEEKS!" He held his chin and smirked. "But it's three against one. And we're not going to give you any time to get away from us." He touched down on the ground and cracked his knuckles. "Guess we'll take your head."

Morgan glared, then tightened the string around his fingers. One minute left…

"…Do your worst."

The black knight rushed the assassin. Morgan dodged his sword and flipped off his hands, striking the demon's chin with his foot. He barely avoided Callista's shadow claws, getting a scratch out of it. He grabbed the arms and pulled her to him, striking her in the underbelly.

Aeternus took off into the air and blast holes into the assassin with Particle Beam. Morgan coughed as one went through his neck, quickly mended in his darkness. He raised his right hand and swiped string at the mad clown's ankles, bringing him down before delivering dozens of slashes through the clown's body, which wracked him with pain.

Voss charged and swung his blade into Morgan's arm. The assassin barely stopped the blade from digging further into his arm, using his string-covered hand as protection. He flipped and threw his foot over his head, striking the titan in the face, then pulled the blade from his arm. He jumped off and bombarded him with Compression Threads.

Morgan landed and grappled Aeternus in threads. "Ripcord Havoc!" He ripped the string off and sent Aeternus spinning, lacerating his skin.

Aeternus regaining stability and stopped himself. He wiped some blood off his arm and pressed his tongue against his bloodied fingers. He smirked as he licked up his own blood, then slammed his hands down. "Matter Shift!"

Morgan backflipped as a spire struck from behind, but the spire shifted against and formed a second spire that nearly impaled the assassin's stomach. Morgan grabbed tightly to the spire, wrapping it up while using his gloved hand to keep the tip at bay.

Callista leaped in the air with her shadow arms and summoned her black knight. "Burn him asunder!" The knight pulled its sword back and swung down, sending flames into the assassin.

Morgan slashed the spire off, then dodged. His foot was caught in the flames, where he had to bite back a searing pain rushing through his body. Hellfire! He tumbled over the ground and used his string to repel the flames.

Callista raised her foreleg. "Light this church in your flames!" The knight swung his sword and casted flames all over the floor.

Morgan hopped off the ground and took to the safety of the high walls. Ten seconds!

Voss leaped from the other side of the church and brought down his sword. Morgan, with his string as an added protection, caught the blade between his hands, which pushed him through the wall. Morgan twisted the blade out of Voss' tight grip and kicked it into the ceiling. He then kicked the armored titan off him, then leaped over the flaming floor.

Aeternus, suddenly, came down on the assassin from nowhere and took him to the floor. "You wanted to go to Hell together?! Let's ride there in style! Kehehehehehe!"

He slammed Morgan's face into the flames. Aeternus laughed maliciously, but Morgan grabbed him by the neck with his string. It ripped the mob boss off and slammed him into the flames. Morgan jumped up and used his string to create a thick ring to push the flames back.

"Cancel the flames!" Callista ordered. The black knight slid his fingers across his blade, ordering the flames to extinguish before they struck her in the push.

Morgan stumbled backwards and held his knees, panting heavily. Looking over Aeternus and Callista, they seemed just as exhausted, more so Aeternus. Voss, no thanks to that armor, was still raring to fight.

But Morgan had no intention to prolong this battle.

Aeternus pulled himself up and grinned angrily, healing away his scarred face. "Oh! You're quite the pain in the ass, Wendrake! I'm going to look forward to ripping you to pieces!"

Morgan panted heavily, then stood tall. "…No, I don't believe that'll happen."

"Eh?!" Aeternus pointed at him. "In case you haven't noticed, you can't beat us!"

Morgan glared. "Perhaps taking you all on in a one-on-one fight would've done me better. But I just wanted to keep you away from the kids." He raised his index and thumb, with the pads pressed together with string coiled around them. "They will be the ones to end your future of conquest."

The heralds narrowed their eyes, then gazed around the church. They hadn't even realized during all the fighting. That black web he set up earlier…string was attached to all the rubble and connected to every wall. A room of black string surrounding all of them, with Morgan at the center.

Morgan took a deep breath. "I know my admission won't be met with warm greetings…and I know I can't be forgiven for my actions. Even so…I will no longer play the fool in your games. I shall guide them…and bring peace." With that, he snapped his fingers.

"Giga Raze Cyclone!"

A chain reaction of destruction overtook the church. The strings tugged and pulled apart the church, taking behind the rubble, the seats, the tapestries, everything. A wind of destruction picked up, with Morgan standing in the eye of it all.

Voss tried to run through, but string caught to his armor like shackles and carried him through the cyclone. The same fate soon befell Aeternus and Callista, both trying to evade being snatched up. Caught in the spiraling disaster zone, the razor-sharp wiring cut into their skin and ripped into them, with only Voss mostly unaffected.

The churched was ripped apart from the inside and rose into the sky, leaving the floor dismantled and without a roof or walls to guard them. A light ring of dust spun with the tornado.

Morgan kept his fingers outstretched and watched the tornado rip into the captured stone and the heralds trapped inside. He glared and used his string to slingshot himself into the air. He tightly coiled the string at his fingertips and lit them in black flames.

"Hellfire Finale!" He spun and sent out razor-sharp strings coated in black flames, slicing into the heralds and knocking them out of the tornado. Upon Morgan's command, the tornado faded, scattering debris across the kingdom. From high above, he could see how bare the spot the church once stood was.

He landed safely, then withdrew the string. He cracked his neck and groaned from an ache in his back. "Shit…I haven't aged in hundreds of years, yet I feel like an old man…" He glared at the wreckage site, then crossed his arms. "There's no way that killed them, especially Voss, but…if I know Puck, he should be getting up right about-"

"KEHEHEHEHEHE!" Morgan glared over his shoulder and spotted the mad clown as he pushed aside from stone sitting on top of him. His entire face was cut up, the worst of it hidden behind his deployed darkness. His suit was ripped to shreds, with what remained dangling from his body. He limped forward, one arm hanging, and smirked lively with irritation. "Oooooh, Wendrake~! I have to say…that was the worst ride you could've taken me on! Kehehehehehe!"

Morgan looked around, finding Callista and Voss recovering from the attack. Callista had to hold herself up with her shadows, as she, too, was heavily wounded from the lacerations. As for Voss…

While he was clearly unharmed, he gazed upon something in his chest plate: an imperfection. A crack. He ran his finger across the surface, having not seen one of these in ages. He glared softly, then looked up at the Hypno. "…You cracked my armor…" He gripped his sword tightly, though not out of anger.

Out of excitement.

"Yes…of course you could make a dent in me. Try something like that again…and you might be able to kill me, Wendrake…" He raised his sword to his former comrade. "I applaud you for your growth…my armor will remember this mark and learn from it. Improve."

Morgan bared his teeth. One crack? Shit…I don't think I can replicate what I just did a second time…

He extended his string, casting it around his body while keeping an eye on each of his opponents. Aeternus stepped forward with his injuries disappearing like they were never there. He smirked. "…Now things are getting exciting!"

---

Wes watched in horror as the keys went flying over him, unprotected from the evil king's clutches.

He watched the keys fall slowly, while listening to the haunting laughter of the Shadow King. "All of your efforts…wasted to an impossible goal. That is the difference between me and you, a mortal. My goals are absolute, nothing else."

Wes finally landed on his back and watched the keys bounce across the floor. "No, no, no!" He scrambled to grab them.

The Shadow King held out his hand. "Now…come to me."

The keys rattled on the floor and gravitated in the direction of the king. Wes, freaking out, jumped on top of them and prevented them from moving. He felt them vibrating against his chest, demanding to be set free. He didn't listen and refused to get up.

The Shadow King grew annoyed. "And yet…you still remain defiant. No matter." He aimed with a Soul Piercer. "I suggest you make your next move carefully, Ravenfield. It's either I take those keys, or I claim them and your head. Decide now." He fired a straight shot for the Umbreon's exposed neck.

Out of nowhere, the floor exploded from under Wes and sent him flying away from the beam. The keys bounced across the floor again, where Wes immediately ran to pin them down. The Shadow King glared at the massive root sticking out of the floor.

"Belladonna…" He directed his annoyance at the Mew, who clutched to her stomach while one hand was pressed to the floor. The shot she took through her stomach had healed thanks to a spare potion she had.

She glared at the king through her droopy hair hanging over her face. Her eyes were flickering between light and dark with each heavy breath.

"Tch. Your capture better be worth the struggle." He raised his finger and prepared to fire on her.

"Get away from her!" He raised his arm and took a blast of Lumios Storm. Wes quickly scooped up the keys and dashed off.

"And who decided to let you leave?" The Shadow King stomped his foot down and extended his shadow outward. "This foolish resistance has gone on for long enough!"

Wes dodged the reaching shadow and kept running as far as he could. Escape through the gaping hole in the castle was no good because of the Shadow King's shadow. All he could do was run. Fortunately, Wes had an escape worked out.

He held the keys in his teeth and quickly fumbled under his shirt. During that fight with Ava…he had to get information on the Guardians to understand how to combat them, but not how to counter them. It hasn't been that long since he awakened from his five-year slumber. Not enough time to practice magic, I imagine. So then, that means there's types of magic he can't counter yet, right?

The shadow rose and swung down, nearly crushing the poor Umbreon. He rolled out of the way and kept on running.

So then…what about my father could have caused such trouble to this monster? Answer is simple. My father…he was known as Space Walker: Garret Ravenfield. He went to an academy for users in spatial magic. It was his signature style of magic, aside from the Mystic series. So then…what does that say about their fight? If I'm right, then the Shadow King can't-!

The king's shadow finally reached Wes and slammed into his gut. Wes gasped and spat out the keys. They clanged against the ground with the Umbreon falling flat next to them. He groaned and cradled his head, then gasped the keys started jiggling and floating off the floor.

"Wes!" Gwyn screamed, coughing out blood. "Grab the keys! Hurry!"

The Shadow King, hand extended to the keys, snapped his fingers and summoned a cloud of darkness. "Come to me."

Wes' heart sank as the keys went flying towards the dark cloud. He immediately clambered to his feet and summoned up the Warp Pad…but there was a problem.

The keys were flying too fast towards that dark portal. Even with Warp Pad, he had absolutely no guarantee of retrieving all of them. He couldn't. It was impossible. Tony wasn't around to retrieve them, nor was Ella to stop them with her telekinesis.

"You know what I'm willing to do? I'm willing to push myself to the limit and break all limitations in order to succeed." That's what he said to Randolph, his word that the keys will be protected no matter what. And here the Umbreon was, watching them fly towards the Shadow King with no hope of retrieving them all.

Wes clenched his eyes shut, then screamed and took off on his Warp Pad. He couldn't grab them all, but he refused to let that monster have all of them. He bounced off the far right and flew into the five keys. With only a couple in sight, he widened his jaw and snatched them out of the king's pull.

The Key of Earth and the Key of Metal.

Wes slid across the floor and fell over the edge of the hole in the castle. He held on with the keys still in his teeth, pulling himself up in time to watch the devasting scene unfold.

One by one, the Keys of Fire, Water, and Storms vanished into the dark void projected by the Shadow King, never to be seen from again. The king closed the void, then glared at the clinging Umbreon.

Wes was in tears, biting down hard on the remaining keys in his teeth. No…NO! NO!

The Shadow King approached him, forming a Dying Sun in his hand. "No more stalling. I'm going to kill you right here, right now. The remaining keys are mine."

Wes closed his tearful eyes, crying muffled sobs. He slammed his forehead into the floor, screaming through the keys in anger and self-loathing. "NNNNOOOO!" He reached under his jacket and ripped out what he needed: the Vortex Amulet.

The king's eyes widened, then he made a desperate lunge for the amulet. "Give me that!"

"Vortex Amulet!" The amulet sucked in Wes and itself, with the Shadow King barely grazing the Umbreon as his solid form was sucked into the collapsed dimension.

The Shadow King whipped his head around and aimed to blast the other three, but they were quickly sucked up one by one before he could do so. The last he saw of Gwyn was her giving him a venomous sneer before being pulled in.

The Shadow King fired into where the portal last opened, but nothing happened. He clenched his teeth tightly. "…That bastard Umbreon…"

Within the Vortex Amulet, the group lay sprawled out on the endless tiled floor. Margo regained enough awareness to look around and the purple sky. "Where…are we?"

"Inside the V-Vortex Amulet…" Heads turned toward the Umbreon as he wiped his sobbing eyes into his sleeve. "He w-won't get us…h-here…"

Gwyn sat up. "What do you mean?"

"It's…how my father…beat him. He can't use Spatial Magic. His shadow magic operates differently to how Spatial Magic works…that's probably…why he took the library…to counter modern…magic…"

Margo held her head. "Well…you did good, I guess…but why are you sobbing?" She glared at the Umbreon's paws…and noticed he only had two keys in front of him. "…Where are the other three keys?"

Wes faced her with teary eyes, then broke down into his paws, screaming at himself. "I'm…I'M SORRY!" He collapsed on his stomach and sobbed louder than he ever had in his life. It could be heard through the vast void for miles.

Ava narrowed her eyes sympathetically. "Wes…"

Gwyn scooched over to him and gently wrapped her arms around him. "You did your best…" This made Wes cry harder. Gwyn patted his head and shushed him, even letting him press his face against her jacket. She couldn't help but have similar emotions, gazing on the remainder of their hard work.

Ava felt anger in herself. She struck the tiled floor, leaving an imprint of her fist behind. "…This is bad…"

---

The Shadow King stared at nothing for a whole minute, tapping his foot in the time. He should've figured the Umbreon would get a clue that he couldn't counter certain types of magic yet. Shadow's Law didn't seem to work quite well if he didn't understand it.

Spatial Magic. The very same kind that that Jolteon used against me in our fight. Never seen anything else like it. I can move between places with my shadows, but it doesn't work quite the same as cutting the distance between spaces. He came close to killing me. The modern world is such a strange, fascinating place. He crossed his arms and sneered at the empty space. I won't let this happen a second time. I'll be sure…to remember this.

The Shadow King lifted his hand and summoned the three stolen keys. He stared at them with pride in his eyes. "Three is better than none, I suppose. Heh…if I know how this family acts…they won't let this slide." The keys vanished, then he turned himself to the gaping hole in the castle. "There's no point in continuing this fight…you could just use that amulet so that there's no one else to kill here. It'd be a waste to stay and fight."

He hovered off his feet and floated outside, arms behind his back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This fight is over. We're leaving.

Tony and Flint continued their fight against the pirates and Zaros when shadows began retreated back to the Wasteland. Zaros smirked, then signaled to the pirates, "Retreat, now!" The pirates followed his command and began heading off. Zaros gave a mock salute to Tony and Flint. "Until next time…" With his Guardian, he leapt into the air.

"Hey, get back here!" Tony shouted. He caught sight of Indigo retreating with the pirates, with a glimpse at her looking back at him. The Dewott glared and pulled back, letting them run off.

Flint breathed out, then collapsed on his side. "Ugh…" Tony knelt down and patted his head.

Griffin, Ella, and the bounty hunters pushed back the remaining shadows until they, too, started retreating, much to their confusion. "Where are they going?" Ella asked aloud.

Griffin glared. "They're…retreating?"

Over with Morgan, he raised his hands and prepared to strike, but Aeternus stopped him with a raise of his hand. He snickered evilly. "I'm sorry to say, but this reunion has to be cut short. Perhaps another time, dearest Wendrake!"

Morgan glared. "You're not going anywhere!" He ran straight for them, but was pushed back by Callista's deployed darkness. He jumped back and watched them take off into the sky atop her demonic raven. Morgan growled before limping forward onto his knee, coughing blood into his hand. "…Shit…"

All across the ruined kingdom, the Anguis grunts and shadows were retreating. The grunts escaped into portals casted by the shadows while the pirates were taken back up to their ship by the shadows. Arid stared over the side of the ship, gripping hard to the edge.

"…They're all fine…" he muttered, referring to his crew. He sighed in relief, then backed off.

Zaros was the last to get on. He rotated his shoulder and walked over to Nightmare. "Ready to leave already?"

"Appears so." Nightmare gazed up as the heralds dropped and landed onto the ship. He glared at their appearances. "What happened to you three?"

Aeternus grinned mischievously. "A lot, actually."

Voss stared at the cracks in his chest plate for a moment longer, then reverted the armor to its bracer state. He gazed out into the open and narrowed his eyes. "The king returns."

The heralds, Zaros, and Nightmare bowed as their dark king floated to them and landed on the ship. Wordlessly, he walked past them and to the upper deck of the ship. He raised his hand, which signaled Arid to get the ship moving.

The Darmanitan grumbled under his breath, then shouted, "Jones! Get to the helm!"

"Aye, captain!" The Barbaracle ran to his position.

Nightmare floated over to the Shadow King and rested on the railing. "My king…why the sudden retreat? Did you kill Ravenfield?"

The Shadow King glared down. "…Not yet…but I got something better." He pulled out the three keys he repossessed. "This'll be a step in the right direction."

"Three keys to the idol?!" Nightmare smirked villainously. "As expected of you, my king!"

The Shadow King handwaved the keys away, then walked to the end of the ship, overlooking the ruined kingdom. His piercing red eyes were intense, enough to be felt by the denizens of the kingdom. His cloak fluttered in the breeze of smoke.

"Now this world…will once again fear our return. The Grand Imperium War…is far from over. My gift to the world…for my grand return!"

Shadows cheered and screamed for their leader. Nightmare and the heralds raised their fists/front legs. All chanted, "All hail the Shadow King!"

A whole group of shadows surrounded the ship and consumed it inside the dark space. Arid sneered unsurely while his group hung back behind him, just as uncertain as their captain.

The Wasteland was engulfed in the sphere of darkness, then vanished into the day sky. The dark wisps that remained rained upon the ruined state of Ironworks Kingdom.

Everyone, from young to old, gazed up at the sky. Griffin and Ella. Mack and Holly. Flint and Tony. Team Shatter Star. The occupants of Ironworks themselves. All the knights. Segar.

The Queen of Ironworks. Gwyn. Ava.

…Wes…

A single thought entered their minds as they looked up at the smoky skies, standing within the wreckage of what was once a proud and noble kingdom.

Darkness reigns…once again.