AN: Hope you enjoy reading~

Chapter 9:

Scorching Flame.

Samuel was sure it was beautiful once. At present, it laid in ruins. Another casualty in the war against the Lost Army. Yet, Void Dark and the Lost Army wasn't through with Scorching Flame. No, Void was intent in stealing every last ounce of life that the Netherworld had left.

The anomaly that Christo had sensed when he was speaking with Samuel in the library appeared to be thanks to Void, unsurprisingly. What was surprising was the information that Void had sent several spears, each one capable of stealing the very life essence from the Netherworlds they crash landed on.

Draining energy. Was he just draining energy? Or gathering it?

…Could it have something to do with the Overload skill he had stolen from Killia; Alma Ice Sculpture?

He supposed those questions would have to wait. They had a little issue with Scorching Flame to deal with. They weren't just dealing with Red Magnus' Netherworld or with the Lost Army. No. Some of his very own people, his underlings, had survived the initial invasion.

And they weren't happy to see that Red Magnus had returned.

One demon in particular made his distain know; martial artist, Panchos.

Samuel understood Panchos' anger and resentment. Anyone in his position would hold nothing but bitter emotions toward their Overlord. The one who literally slept through their Netherworld's invasion by aggressive outsiders, a Netherworld their underlings fought and gave their lives to protect.

He was somewhat surprised by Red Magnus' anger and rage that was directed toward Panchos and the other survivors, though. Especially when he threatened to punish them for their disobedience.

If there was anyone he should be angry at, it should be himself.

But…Overlords were the rulers of their Netherworlds, weren't they? Their word was law. They were free to do as they wished. If they wanted to sleep through an invasion, they were free to do so. If they wanted their underlings to do all the fighting, then as their subordinates, they must do as they were ordered.

That was how the Overlords of Nugatory were like.

Wait…

Samuel breathed a deep, exasperated sigh.

If his memories were real…

Samuel was sat on a piece of stone debris, his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands as he watched from a distance as Red Magnus ranted and raged about the disobedience of his former subordinates.

"Are…underlings meant to be loyal to their Overlords, no matter what?"

Killia moved to step next to him. "Hm?"

Samuel plastered a smile to his lips. "Sorry, just thinking out loud." He lifted his chin from his hands and sighed. "But I hate this situation we're in. What are we going to do? The Lost will have Panchos and the others guarding the spear."

Killia didn't answer. He looked over to where Red Magnus stood, still brimming with rage as he ranted into air before him. The others, who were gathered in a small group behind, were only agitating him further, which seemed to be their goal.

"Killia?" Samuel prompted.

"I'll deal with this," Killia simply replied. "Red Magnus reminds me of the old me. Far too much."

Samuel leaned back on his hands and crossed his legs at his ankles. "I'm having a hard time imagining that, honestly."

"It's true."

"Did you refer to yourself as Super Supreme One Killidia, too?"

Killia snorted. "No, thankfully." The mild half-smile of amusement soon dissipated, and a grimace soon took its place, and a faraway look appeared in his eyes. "I may as well have, though."

Everyone had a past that they were trying hard to escape. Maybe…maybe Samuel should stop trying so hard to find his. Maybe he would be better off nothing remembering.

"In any case, I'll leave Red Magnus to you," Samuel said. "I know you'll get through to him. I just hope we can through to Panchos. I fear that the Lost Army are just using him and the others."

"Yeah." Killia tensed suddenly as his snapped to the left. "Speaking of which."

Samuel immediately pushed himself to his feet and grabbed his axe just as a fresh new wave of enemies made themselves known. They appeared to be more former inhabitants of Scorching Flame, back to seek revenge against Red Magnus.

He sighed but threw himself into battle along with everyone else.

It was disheartening. It was also wasting time. How could they convince them that the magical spear that they were guarding was in fact stealing the very life essence of their own Netherworld, and would take their lives along with it?

How much of their anger was from their resentment directed toward Red Magnus and how much was from the Lost Army manipulating them?

Samuel wasn't sure what it was like for anyone else, but he found himself holding back during in his attacks. For him, it was different. Before, he could distance himself from his enemies. For that was what they were; his enemies. Faceless adversaries, working for the ruthless and vile Void Dark.

It was so much easier when they didn't have motives and reasons of their own.

But he would have to grit his teeth and bare it. And hope that once Killia was able to speak to Red Magnus alone, he was able to get through to him.

He was glad when the battle ended, the last remnants of the enemies choosing to make a retreat rather than face them on their own. They weren't as tough as some of the Lost Soldiers they had faced in the past.

"Samuel, you're back!"

Samuel jumped when Usalia suddenly yelled at him, and he turned around to face her. "What?" he uttered, furrowing his brow at her. "I haven't been anywhere."

"No, your back is bleeding," Zeroken pointed out with a frown.

That made Samuel blink. "Is it?" he asked as he idly looked over his shoulder in an attempt to look at his back. Much like how he did back at the hotsprings.

"Turn around, let me see," Christo instructed, to which Samuel promptly did as told. "That's quite the laceration. Didn't you feel it?"

"I did feel a light twinge, to be honest," Samuel replied as he felt Christo offer him some healing.

He mustn't be very sensitive on the back. That might be a logical explanation for all the scars. Or because of all the scars, he lost a lot of feeling on the back. Or something.

"What are you, a sucker for pain?" Red Magnus suddenly asked, almost in an accusatory manner.

"No, not really," Samuel replied as he idly rolled his shoulder blades, testing out his muscles. "I just believe it's better me than anyone else."

Christo looked at him curiously. "You have apathy for yourself?"

Samuel shrugged. He wouldn't necessarily say that.

Red Magnus scoffed loudly. "You really are blasé about this kind of thing."

Samuel briefly wondered when he became the centre of attention. "Well, injuries happen. They're inevitable when you're fighting for someone else's sake. Besides, it doesn't hurt as much if you're willingly fighting for someone else."

Red Magnus didn't have a response to that, and he promptly fell silent. In fact, he turned away and stalked off. Something in what Samuel said must have ticked him off once again, though he hadn't meant to.

Samuel was a little annoyed at his carelessness, though. He didn't suppose anyone had a sewing kit, did they? He had scars to hide, after all.

He was pulled from his inner musings when Killia clasped his shoulder. Instinctively, he tilted his head toward Killia's hand just as he leaned in to speak quietly into his ear. "I'm going to speak with Red Magnus. Keep the others busy for me."

Samuel nodded his head. "Right."

Time to be centre of attention again. But how?

As he pondered through a list of possibilities, his gaze fell upon Christo, and he noted that he was inspecting a scroll. Looking at it reminded something that Samuel wasn't to check out. It was possible to learn new skills and Evilities through scrolls. If he inspected some of these scrolls, maybe he could realise some skills he already knew. Like with his healing skills.

"Hey, Christo, can I see that real quick?"

Christo mustn't have found must interest in the scroll as he handed it over to him readily. Unfurling it a little further, it didn't take Samuel long to realise that it was a rather uncommon Mega Ice scroll.

It also didn't take him long to realise that it was a spell that was innately familiar to him.

"Oh hey, I already know this," he murmured, somewhat surprised.

"Huh? Samuel knows some elemental attacks, plip?" Usalia asked.

Samuel nodded as he rolled up the scroll and handed it back to Christo. Definitely, the words written on the scroll were absolutely familiar to him. In fact, it was a spell he was certain he had used multiple times in the past.

"Yeah, I do. Let me try."

He walked a little aways from the group and faced an open area. He closed his eyes and took a moment to fall into a mediative state. He held his hands out in front of him, allowing his body to instinctively fall into a magical stance.

As two magical circles manifested before his hands, a bitter and icy cold gathered at his fingertips before promptly disappearing.

Only to form into a tall pillar of ice in the middle of the clearing, swirling with white mist and gently creaking and cracking from the natural heat of the Netherworld, Scorching Flame.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He did it. He cast Mega Ice.

His memories were right.

"Ooh, you did it," Usalia said, clearly impressed as she skittered over toward the ice. "Some cool and refreshing relief, plip."

"Hey, I want some, too," Zeroken exclaimed as he hurried toward the ice pillar, too.

"Don't go licking the ice; I don't want your tongues getting stuck," Samuel chided. "Also, Usalia, take this time to have curry."

"Yes, plip."

But he was glad that the ice was appreciated. Red Magnus' Netherworld certainly lived up to its reputation.

"Interesting," Christo murmured, prompting Samuel to turn his attention to him once more. "Do you know any other spells?"

Good question.

"Um, let me think." Samuel reached up to rub his temples. "Um…mega fire, mega wind, and…mega star. Oh, and Espoir, too." He nodded his head sharply and smiled. "Yeah, I remember now. That one was very useful."

"That's convenient," Seraphina commented.

Samuel resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, Seraphina would be suspicious, though he really couldn't find fault in her being so. "Amnesia really does mess with you. Lucky breathing comes naturally."

"That's quite an assortment of attacks you have," Christo added.

"Yeah," Samuel nodded again. "I needed a variety of them for…" he trailed off.

"For?"

Samuel tilted his head to the side. "I forget."

Seraphina frowned and narrowed her eyes at him. "That's also very convenient."

"Leave him be." Killia's voice was sudden and unexpected, causing the three of them to jump slightly in surprise and turn around to face him. "At least now we have an assortment of elemental attacks on our side, too. Which will prove useful, if for nothing more than to keep Red Magnus in check."

He was alone. Red Magnus was either still in need of a cool down or he needed some time alone with his thoughts. Perhaps a bit of a bit of both. Samuel would have to ask him about how his chat with their teammate went later.

"Let's go."

Whatever the case, Killia was unwilling to leave him on his own for long.

Hopefully, Samuel's newfound memories may prove useful in keeping Panchos and the others at bay without hurting any of them.

… … … … …

Ugh, Geo-panels.

They were an extra irritation to the battlefield. One they couldn't necessarily afford to deal with. They needlessly dragged out the battle. And time wasn't on their side. The longer it took for them to reach the magical spear, the more energy it stole from Scorching Flame.

How much time they had left was anyone's guess, though.

If only there was a way to bypass all the battles to get to the spear.

At least Killia's chat with Red Magnus seemed to have calmed him down somewhat. Made him contemplative, at the very least.

"I wasn't expecting my elemental spells to come in handy so quickly," Samuel commented as he walked over to Killia. "Did I manage to get all the Geo-blocks?"

Those No Entry panels were especially annoying.

"There are still a few coloured tiles," Killia replied. "But I can't see where they're connected to."

Samuel nodded his head idly and was about to turn his attention back to the otherwise enemy-less battlefield when a tear in Killia's sleeve caught his attention.

He was holding back in his attacks, too.

"You're injured," he said as he reached out to take a hold of Killa's arm with one hand and to offer healing with the other.

Killia blinked as looked down at his arm. "Hm? It's only minor," he insisted, though made no attempt to pull his arm from Samuel's grip. He did, however, arch a slightly amused eyebrow at him. "Ironic, that you can spot another's injury but not your own."

Ok, a fair bit of criticism.

"In my defence it was on my back. Not like I can see it."

And minor or not, they could add up quickly.

Samuel made short work of the laceration and the healing green light from his hand soon faded. However, the second it did, another bright light enveloped the two of them suddenly. Instinctively, Samuel released his hold on Killia's arm and the two of them turned so they stood back-to-back in preparation for battle, for a possible ambush when the light died down.

It took a few agonizing moments for the aftereffects of the bright light to fade, and when they did, they two realised that they were still on Scorching Flame.

Though, in an area that was unfamiliar. And they weren't with the rest of their companions.

"What happened?" Samuel asked as he glanced over his shoulder toward Killia.

A frown tugged at Killia's lips as his gaze fell to the ground at their feet. He kicked aside some of the dirt and debris to reveal a light green haze. "Well, it looks like we're victims of a teleport geo-panel."

Teleportation? That wasn't on the battlefield, he was pretty sure. They must have slipped one in when they weren't looking, hoping to separate them.

Samuel sighed and lowered his defensive stance. Great. They were separated again.

"We couldn't have teleported that far," he said as the two of them moved away from the panel and he reached into his back pocket. "Let me give Christo a ring. Before the others start to panic."

"Yeah, do that," Killia said. "I'll take a quick look around. With any luck, maybe we've moved closer to the magical spear."

Hopefully. They've wasted enough time.

Samuel pulled out his phone and quickly dialled Christo's number. It would be best for Samuel to make the call, and that Christo was the one to call. He couldn't imagine what kind of conversation, or how it would be twisted and manipulated into something it wasn't at a later date, if Killia was to call Seraphina.

As the phone rang, he realised that couldn't hear Christo's phone ringing anywhere in the distance, so they weren't within shouting distance of each other.

"Hello?"

Hm. Christo almost sounded hesitant. Maybe he thought it was that superior he was often pretended he didn't get calls from.

"Hey, Christo," Samuel said casually so not to alarm. "But you never guess; Killia and I stepped on a teleport geo-panel."

Christo uttered a sigh on the other end. "I see. That would explain why we can't see or hear the two of you-"

Christo's voice was suddenly cut off.

"Did you just steal my Sir Killia again?" Seraphina's shrilled voice came through the phone. "Where have you taken my him now?"

That time Samuel made no attempt to hide the roll of his eyes. "I didn't steal your Sir Killia. We happened to be on the same geo-panel."

"Oh, then why were you that close to my Sir Killia?"

…It was really starting to rankle his nerves just how obsessed and possessive she was toward Killia. How did he put up with it? Unbelievable.

"I was inspecting a possible injury." You know what; enough of this back and forth. "Anyway, I'm not explaining myself to you; I specifically rang Christo. Put him back on the phone so I can have an intelligent conversation!"

"What did you just say-?!"

Samuel pulled the phone away from his ear and sighed aloud as struggling and fighting was heard on the other end. "I'm totally getting shot after this," he muttered just as Killia returned.

"Samuel-"

"I know I shouldn't provoke her," Samuel cut him off, assuming that Killia was probably about to chide him. "But I'm gonna. We're rivals now, after all."

But Killia shook his head. "Not that. We're close to the spear. We're also close to Panchos and the Lost Army. Come see."

Oh good, a bit of luck was on their side after all.

Samuel returned the phone to his ear as he followed Killia to a rocky outcropping and ducked behind the jutting pieces of debris. The two stayed close and on guard as they peered over the jagged stones. They appeared to have been teleported somewhere north, to the highlands as they were now positioned above the rivers and valleys they had been battling through.

The first thing that was noticeable was the magical spear drawing in energy and life from everything around it. Despite the benign light pink in colour, it gave off a malicious presence.

Gathered around the base of the spear were two distinct parties; one of Panchos and the inhabitants of Scorching Flame. And the other was the Lost Army.

Samuel spoke into the phone. "Christo, you back?"

"Yes," Christo replied, slightly breathless. "Didn't appreciate that too much."

Samuel held back a laugh. "Sorry. But we have good news and bad news. Good news; we're close to the spear. Bad news; so are Panchos and the Lost Army."

He pulled back the phone and covered the mouthpiece as he looked at Killia. "If push comes to shove, want me to use a spell on the spear?"

Killia pressed his lips together firmly as he mulled his suggestion over in his mind. "Let's wait a little bit longer. Red Magnus has to come to a decision. And soon."

Samuel nodded as he uncovered the mouthpiece. He then positioned the phone between the two of them and shuffled a little closer to Killia so that he could listen into the phone call along with him.

"We can't hear what they're saying, but something doesn't seem to be going well."

"We can see you, too," Killia suddenly added. "Keep going north, straight. And to hurry. Lost Armies are gathering. Something is going on."

That should prompt Red Magnus into action.

They fell into silence as they watched and waited. At their distance, they couldn't hear a single thing the two groups were saying to each other, but they didn't need to. Not when the soldiers carrying the Lost Army memorabilia began to advance on Panchos and his followers.

Clearly, the members of the Lost were just as spiteful as the leader they so loyally serve.

Samuel and Killia shared a troubled look.

"Red Magnus, hurry," Samuel said into the phone. "I think Panchos might be in danger."

He wasn't sure if his words spurred them on or if they were just moments away regardless, but they soon appeared on the scene, with Red Magnus at the forefront. Good. With the others there, the Lost Army were sure to focus their attention onto them. Now, all that Samuel and Killia needed to do was to find their own way onto the battlefield.

Noting that Red Magnus seemed to be conversing with Panchos, Samuel and Killia turned their attention back to Samuel's phone in hopes of overhearing what the two were talking about. And, thankfully, Christo had the hindsight of placing his own phone on speaker, allowing them to eavesdrop.

And from the sound of it, Red Magnus finally understood the root cause of his anger.

The powerful pulse of energy from Red Magnus actually prompted both Samuel and Killia to breathe a sigh of relief.

And Samuel couldn't help but smile as he stood up from his hiding spot. He didn't need the phone to hear that last sentence. "Did Red Magnus just bellow that he's going to protect Panchos?"

"With the others added in at the last second," Killia added as he stood up alongside him. "Well, looks like he's made up his mind."

He was relieved that Red Magnus saw the truth to his anger. He didn't want to resent the big knucklehead himself.

"I see. So, Overlords are to prove their worth to their people, too."

"And Red Magnus' power increased tremendously when he began fighting for someone else's sake."

"Hm." Samuel slipped the phone into his pocket. "Let's join the party, then."

Killia nodded. "Sounds good."

Hm, but how to reach the battlefield? It was a bit of a drop.

Next to him, Killia flexed his wings, so he had a way to enter the battle relatively easily. But then he held out a hand in his direction. Although puzzled, Samuel slipped his hand in Killia's, tilting his head to the side in curiosity when he guided him toward him.

He soon realised what he was attempting to do when Killia lifted his arm over his next and wrapped an arm around his waist. He pressed himself against his side and kept a firm grip on his axe as Killia took to the air.

They were sure to be quite the entrance.