Wildlands, Gravell…

With all thoughts turned towards the rescue of Elena, Osvald and Darksquad arrive at the town of Gravell, where Harvey plans to sacrifice Elena to unlock the One True Magic.

"Hold on, Elena." Osvald said. "Harvey aims to call forth the seventh source… The Shadow, as he calls it. But what is it…? Is he truly that close to invoking the One True Magic? If he is…can we stop him? I still have no answers… I've yet to solve for the final variable in my formulae. Nevertheless, we must move forward. Our chances are not zero. We will find our own answer. But first…we must find Harvey."

"H-help! Somebody help us!" a voice called out as the group saw a villager in a panic. "The people headed to worship have lost their minds!"

"Something is wrong. A foul pestilence reeks in the air." Laura said.

"You're right. We should investigate." Osvald agreed.

The group pressed on through the town before spotting another villager running from the path they were going toward.

"Damn it all! What was that stuff?!" he asked.

"What's wrong?" Osvald asked.

"We were walking to worship… The fog… Dark as night! It rolled in, and…!" the villager said in a panic.

"Geez, calm down alright?" Ragna said before he and the group saw a dark fog rolling in towards them.

"No…the fog!" the villager said, trying to run. It was in vain, however, as part of the fog enveloped him, forming into a dark crystal that seemed to force itself into the man's hands. "Ugh… Ah…!"

"This is a fragment of what I have sensed." Laura said. "We need to rid him of the crystal if he's to return to normal."

"He won't give it up easily, that's for sure." Peacock said. "In times like this, the best solution is a good muggin'!"

"Leave it to me." Osvald said. "Hand it over." he said as he went to Mug the villager and successfully retrieved the crystal as the dark aura disappeared from the villager. "...Seems your hypothesis was correct, Laura. Removing the crystal has indeed restored his sanity."

"Y-you…you saved me. I'm okay now. Go on and save the others!" the villager said.

"Understood." Osvald said as he and Darksquad continued on, saving the other villagers before last saving an Adherent.

"I…what?" the Adherent asked before noticing the group. "Was it you? Are you the ones who saved us? O…O god…"

"Do you remember anything before you blacked out?" Ragna asked.

"I do… I was worshiping near the Duskruin Shrine… Without warning, a strange black fog rose from the ruins." the Adherent explained.

"Where are these ruins you speak of?" Osvald asked.

"Just east of here…" the Adherent said.

"No doubt Harvey's there too, with Elena." Hyde said.

"And these crystals are definitely the same as the ones that golem with Rita's blood held." Kokonoe said.

"If that's the case…has the experiment begun? The one that will awaken the One True Magic?" Osvald asked.

"Whatever Harv has got planned to bring it out with Elena, it can't be good. We gotta get to that shrine and stop him." DW typed.

"Forgive me, but…what do we do now?" the Adherent asked.

"Have everyone in town keep their distance from the black crystals. That's all you can do for now." Noel said.

"We must go." Osvald said.

The group soon entered the Duskruin shrine as they delved further down before reaching a ritual room of sorts as they saw Harvey and Elena lying down on an altar.

"Harvey!" Osvald called as Harvey turned to the group.

"So you and your friends have come, Osvald." Harvey said.

"Give. Her. Back." Osvald growled.

"There is no need for such venom, dear friend. You can see she's resting comfortably." Harvey said. "You know these ruins, yes? They're sacred to scholars like us."

"We will not listen to another of your lectures." Osvald said.

"Hehe… Oh, don't say such things." Harvey said before pulling out a book. "Behold, the Book of Demons! Made from the corpse of D'arqest himself! This is another milestone on the path to the One True Magic. Now, I need only the final piece… Elena's blood."

"I thought this setup looked pretty familiar. You're planning to use Elena in a good old fashioned Dark Mystical Ritual." DW typed, everyone noting the dark aura coming off Harvey and Elena.

"For an experimental creation, you have quite the sharp mind. See how the book cries out for it!" Harvey said as Elena groaned in pain.

"Elena!" Osvald called in worry.

"What a noble child you've raised, Osvald! I didn't expect her to so readily sacrifice herself for the sake of her father's research!" Harvey said.

"Release her at once or face our wrath!" Laura said.

"When I realized your family's blood was the key… Well, it sent shivers down my spine. It felt like fate. And so I took everything from you. A small weight was lifted from my chest. I had no equal, no rival, until I met you. I envied you, Osvald. From the day we met. Even now, in this very moment! Long have I coveted your mind. I would give anything and everything to best you! My knowledge, my time, my status, my money…my pride. Even the dawn."

"The dawn?" 2B questioned.

"Something tells me Harvey is involved in something a lot bigger than we thought." Makoto said.

"But even still, he's talkin' crazy! We gotta destroy that crystal he's got, before…" Peacock said.

"You're too late. It's already begun." Harvey said as he turned back to Elena. "O blood, ye guiding light! Call down a shadow from the deepest black!" he recited before cutting Elena.

"Elena!" Osvald called, trying to run towards the altar before a dark force pushed him back.

"It's no use!" Harvey declared. Osvald tried to get up, but he faltered as Darksquad came to his aid.

"No Osvald, don't push yourself!" Hyde said.

"I must… save her…" Osvald said as Harvey laughed maniacally.

"Yes, seethe! Feel the rage within! Such is the power of the Shadow! The One True Magic!" Harvey said.

"Calculating those complex formulae should have taken so much more time…" Osvald said as he slowly stood up.

(Cue: Tension Rising *Angelic Amber*- Kingdom Hearts 3)

"Hehe… All was as you predicted. Indulge me a bit longer, won't you? This is merely the prelude." Harvey said before summoning two small golems that emitted a purple light on parts of their bodies. "Though a yawning chasm separates our abilities, and it will no doubt be torture for you…"

"Osvald, we'll handle this. You need to get to Elena." Linne said.

"Are you sure?" Osvald asked.

"Heh. You think Harvey can beat us with a pair of rocks?" Hitomi asked.

"Guess again, Ozzy!" DW typed, pulling out his Duelies. "Let's waste these punk rocks!"

Osvald then forged ahead as the Golems tried to get in his way, but Darksquad covered his back as they fought the golems.

"Both of them are weak to axes, fire, ice, and light." Kokonoe said.

"I'll take one of them. Nine, if you wouldn't mind working your magic on the other one?" Jin asked.

"Of course." Nine said.

Jin engaged his Golem as he easily combated its blows with Yukianesa, slicing into its stone body and through the dark energies that were made up of it, before preparing to finish it off. "Pierce my enemy!" he said, using his first Distortion Drive, Ice Fang as he slashed out a giant wave of ice towards the Golem as it split the monster in half before shattering into ice.

Nine for her part, was easily able to dispatch the golem that foolishly attacked her. All it took was one good blast of fire. "Rubellite of Rage!" she said, summoning an exploding fire skull in front of her as it engulfed the second golem upon detonation.

With both golems defeated, Osvald reached the sacrificial altar.

"Hmph. Not bad. But it would be a mistake to admit defeat now." Harvey said.

"Is Elena okay, Osvald?" Noel asked, some of the group with him to check on his daughter.

"She's unconscious… but her heart yet beats." Osvald said in relief, carrying Elena off the altar.

"Haha! She's served her purpose. The calculations are complete." Harvey said.

"What…?" Osvald asked as Harvey laughed.

"What good fortune you all have, to be present for this moment in history! Now feast your eyes upon the One True Magic!" Harvey said as he radiated an intense amount of darkness.

"Look out, Incoming!" Makoto warned as Harvey immediately fired a devastating beam of dark magic at the group, Osvald barely able to shield them all with a barrier, but the beam left destruction in its wake.

"Wonderful! This is indeed the one true power! The pinnacle of wisdom! I have done what Gratton himself could not!" Harvey said before preparing another attack. "Yes… Your ends are at hand!"

"That blast was devastating… is that really the One True Magic?" 9S asked.

"If it is… I can say for certain that his next attack will likely doom us." Laura said.

"Looks like we're gonna be the only ones who aren't getting a happy ending…" Ragna said.

"Hahaha… Oh, Osvald, this is immensely satisfying. At last, I can deny you something." Harvey said.

"Elena…" Osvald said as he thought back to when he tutored Elena. "Elena… My daughter…"

At this moment, both Laura and Harvey sensed something within Osvald.

"Eh? What…is this magic? It roils like the seas before a storm. How curious…" Harvey mused.

"How peculiar… What is it? This feeling swelling in my breast… I have to…protect…Elena…" Osvald said as a ring of light circled around him.

(Cue: In Pursuit of Revenge ~ In Order to Acquire the Light in That Hand- Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria)

"Whoa! Now Osvald's glowin' too!" Peacock said.

"This is absurd! How did you make those calculations?!" Harvey demanded.

"I've had them memorized…all this time." Osvald said.

"What could you possibly hope to achieve with this?! It's far too late!" Harvey said before the ring of light formed into a glyph behind Osvald.

"At last… The answer." Osvald said.

"That light…could it be?" Laura asked.

"Congratulations! Very clever, Osvald! But I shall strike you down just the same! With the one true power!" Harvey declared.

He fired off another devastating dark beam of magic, but this time Osvald was able to match Harvey's spell and dissipate it, protecting Elena and Darksquad at the same time.

"He blocked it!" Hyde said.

"By the Gods… Osvald, you've done it!" Laura said.

"He's done what, Laura?" A2 asked.

"It really does exist! He's unlocked the One True Magic, the true one." Laura said.

"Impossible! What was its source?" Harvey demanded.

"It was the love for his daughter, something you couldn't possibly understand." Laura said.

"Of course! Love…that's the Seventh Source!" 9S said.

"So Ozzy's the one who really has the One True Magic? Not Harvey?" Peacock asked.

"Indeed, Peacock. What Osvald is channeling right now, is pure love he has for his daughter, and the desire to protect her." Laura said. "That is the Answer. In this very moment, just as you wanted it, Dark Water…we have proven the existence of the One True Magic."

"Oh, HELL YEAH!" DW typed. "Harvey, you rat bastard, you're so screwed now!"

"Impossible! I refuse to believe that is the answer! I demand proof! Let us see once and for all which of us has attained the One True Magic!" Harvey said as the dark aura around him flared.

Mad Scholar of the Shadows

Harvey

"Believe it or not, that is your choice. It won't matter once you're dead." Laura said as she produced three lights from her hand that materialized into three figures, two young men and a girl, all wielding staves. A young man with long blonde hair draped over his right eye with both closed as he wore black and gold robes, A pale young man with black hair that had streaks of white and golden eyes with a monocle over the right, and the girl being Lucia who appeared in the Forgotten World.

"What do you require of us, Lady Laura?" the blonde haired man asked.

"Anelian, my friends and I require yours, Ranvald, and Lucia's aid in defeating this dark researcher." Laura said.

"It shall be done." the pale man known as Ranvald said.

"Let's talk, Harvey." Osvald said as the battle began.

"Here we go, Camilla. Emblem, Engage!" Kido said as he engaged with Camilla.

"Let's get this bastard, guys. Hit 'em with Lances, axes, fire, ice, and lightning!" Kokonoe said.

"Fire Storm!" Anelian called, causing fire to erupt underneath Harvey. "Fire Lance!" he added, firing three bolts of fire.

"Die!" Kido called, swinging Camilla's axe down onto Harvey before casting Lightning down onto him.

Jin followed up with a rapid sword combo before manifesting a large arrow of ice. "Arrows of Ice!" he called, forming Yukianesa into a bow as he fired the arrow.

Harvey thought quickly and summoned two white blobs of sorts to block the arrow. They were soundly destroyed but it gave Harvey an opening to try and blast them with his own dark magic. But Osvald was a step ahead and met Harvey with his own magic.

"This…is the answer!" Osvald said, casting the One True Magic as he fired a multicolored beam, dealing multiple hits and massive damage to Harvey.

Harvey recovered after the blast, completely taken off his game. "Why?! Why, why, why?! It does not stand to reason! How can you all remain so defiant in the face of the One True Magic?!"

"Is that all you can think of, Harvey? You've not changed at all since we met. But some things do change. I have changed." Osvald said.

"Silence! Not another word! Book of Demons, grant me more power! I will use whatever it takes to defeat you! OOOOOOSVAAAAAALLLLLLD!"

"I think we pissed him off." A2 said.

"Good." Hitomi said.

"Enough of your meaningless babble. Prepare to be purified!" Laura said as an aura surged around her as she summoned herself and Harvey into a pocket dimension before she warped high into the sky of it. "Divine Assault! Ether Strike!" she said as she gathered energy into her hands before it formed into a large sphere as she launched it down, engulfing Harvey and dealing multiple hits as they soon returned.

"Did that get him?" Makoto asked.

Harvey was still standing, and still very much alive, as he had used his dark magic to counter Laura's blast as best he could.

"He shielded himself with his magic…I thought for sure my Ether Strike would've finished him." Laura said. "Unless…this Shadow comes from the power of a deity."

"This isn't over! I will surpass you, Osvald!" Harvey said as he charged up another blast of dark magic. "You gave it your best summoner, and now I will return the favor! I will prove mine is the One True Magic, by annihilating you all with one blast!"

Dark Water stepped in front of the group, playing a voiceover clip from his phone. "I'll take that bet. Now…" he then spread his arms out wide. "HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT!"

Harvey took Dark Water's challenge and blasted Dark Water with all the magic he could muster, seemingly hitting him, but he soon saw that the Octoling creation wasn't in the spot he was.

"Oh, shame for you…" Harvey then heard another voiceover clip as he peered behind him to see Dark Water standing behind him, menacingly. "You activated my Alu-card."

"Your what-?" the mad scholar started to question.

"Get im'!" Peacock called as she whipped out her Argus systems lasers as everybody blasted Harvey with their long range attacks. Guns, Spells, Lasers, and Sword Waves. Harvey pushed back as the attacks continued to bombard him.

"I grow tired of this insolence!" Harvey raged.

"You and me both."

Harvey heard the demented voice coming from Dark Water's smartphone behind him, and instinctively tried to blast him with Dark Magic, but Dark Water grabbed his casting arm and forced Harvey to look him right in his red eyes. And gazing into those eyes, Harvey couldn't help but feel absolute fear.

"No… you… what in the hell are you?!" Harvey asked.

"What REALLY lurks in the Shadow." DW typed before he threw his hand to Harvey's chest and caused his arm to splatter all over him, his black ink absorbing his body.

"No… I refuse to let it end like this! I cannot accept it…!" Harvey said, radiating more magic.

"Harvey, the One True Magic is beyond your grasp." Osvald said.

"Liar! There is nothing I cannot control!" Harvey said.

"Unhand the tome, Harvey, lest Dark Water consumes you whole." Osvald demanded.

"Hold your tongue, Osvald!" Harvey said as the dark magic around him reached a critical mass of power. "I cannot be defeated! I will not be defeated! I have not been defeated!"

"That's so much dark magic…! Is he planning to take us all down with him?!" Anelian asked.

"Your leader will be vaporized if we don't do something…" Osvald said.

"Do not worry, my friends. Dark Water will be fine." Laura assured.

"Osvald! I will not surrender to the likes of you and your compatriots!" Harvey said, before letting out a scream before he burst forth with dark magic, intending to vaporize Dark Water where he stood.

"Game Over, Harv…. Game Over." DW typed/vocalized before he thrust his arm forward and caused a torrent of black ink to burst over Harvey and his attempt at a last ditch spell, completely covering him and all his dark magic as the ink and shadow consumed him. As the sphere of Ink closed around Harvey, everyone could hear his final scream as he was vaporized within his own magic, before the Dark Magic he conjured was completely absorbed in black ink, receding into Dark Water as he absorbed it all.

(End song)

"What did you just…?" Osvald asked in a mix of disbelief and impressment.

"Just a little something I picked up from a friend. He's not the only one with a big appetite." Dark Water typed. "So… guess that's the last we'll be hearing of ol' Harvey, huh?"

"Indeed. I suppose that was our last debate." Osvald said before he looked down at Elena.

A little while later, Osvald and Darksquad returned to Conning Creek with Elena in tow. But despite being reunited with his daughter, Osvald couldn't bring himself to be with her, not yet. Though her memories were restored upon Harvey's demise, it wasn't appropriate for him to be at her side yet. And so, she was left in the care of Lady Clarissa, as Osvald had a new objective in mind…

"You're not settling down just yet?" Ragna said.

"No. I'm positive Harvey was not working alone in his endeavors." Osvald replied.

"Indeed. The power I felt when he called upon the Shadow, it was dark but that of a deity." Laura said.

"Guess that means we've got more work to do." DW typed.

"Indeed you do, Dark Water." a voice called to Dark Water as time stopped around him.

"Hey, what gives? Who pulled a Za Warudo on me?!" DW typed.

"Silence, peon!" the voice said as DW stopped. "I am to introduce myself. I am Alephan…the Scholarking."

"So, you're one of the gods of this world?" DW guessed.

"Yes. I must say, you and your companions have done incredibly on your journey. Not only stopping Harvey in pursuing the dark secrets of our world, but also assisting in proving that the One True Magic truly does exist. However…Harvey was only part of a much larger scheme at play." Alephan said.

"So Ozzy-I mean Osvald, and Laura are right. Something bigger is going on out there." DW typed.

"As we speak, Harvey's equals, the Moonshade Order, move to shroud the world in darkness and call upon the wicked one once more." Alephan said. "Young sludge creature…you need to go to Montwise as quickly as you can slither."

"...I'd try to correct you on what I am, but seeing as this is urgent, I'm just gonna ignore what you said." DW typed.

"Now…your reward." Alephan said as the mark of a scholar appeared on the experiment, solidifying part of his arm. "You now possess the powers of a scholar.'

"So I get to shoot fireballs, ice and lighting out of my hands now? Cool." DW typed.

"Take care, young one. The trials have yet to end." Alephan warned before time resumed.

"I got our next destination, fellas. We're goin' to Montwise." DW typed.

Osvald sighed. "I take this means we're going to see Regulus after all."

"Oh, don't act like you're not interested in his research. I wanna see if his telescope really all that he was bragging about in New Delsta." Peacock said. "Don't worry, if he undersold the thing, I'm gonna make sure he pays for it."

"Very well. I suppose we can indulge Regulus in his endeavors. To Montwise, then." Osvald said.

"That's the spirit, Ozzy!" DW typed.