Season 2, Chapter 10, Part 3.
Frozen Forest,
Sebastian's Determination.
The team looks at the now-busted door filled with stone, crystal, and ice. "What do we do now?" Sebastian asks.
"Isn't it obvious we should figure out what happened to Asta?" Noelle says, blushing. "I mean, I am worried about him as a friend, you know," she continues, waving it off.
"I am worried too, but what can we do?" Magna says, and they all look at each other with concerned looks.
"I don't know where they went, but that spell felt similar to special magic mixed with something else," Finral utters.
"What, so they were basically sent somewhere?" Magna asks.
"It is what would make the most sense, from what we know so far," Finral says.
"Maybe they were sent to a specific part of the dungeon?" Sebastian chimes in.
"Maybe," Finral says.
"Then we should be able to find them if we keep going," Haze tells them, and everyone looks at each other.
"Right, then we have two objectives now, to find that key and our squad mates," Lydia says.
"Then that is what we will do, so everyone, we have our objectives, so let us go," Noelle says, taking charge.
"Right," everyone says in unison, and the two flame mages produce a light for everyone as they walk through the cold and dark hallways.
A little further in, the path continues ahead, and a set of stairs sticks a little out into the hallway. "Uh, so we have an option to either go up, down, or continue ahead," Magna mentions.
"Yes, but what do we do? I mean, do we split up or do we just keep searching each area all at once?" Lydia asks.
"Good question... hmmm," Noelle utters, thinking it through.
"We should split up; it is faster," Haze says.
"Maybe, but we will be in smaller numbers, meaning if we find anything bad like the Wendigos, then we are screwed if there are too few of us," Lydia mentions.
"She does have a point; it would be safest and best to stay together," Sebastian chimes in.
"But we might find Asta quicker," Magna says.
"That is true," Noelle says.
"So how do we decide on what to do?" Lydia asks.
"Well, I, for one, am for sticking together," Finral says.
"So, Sebastian, Finral, and myself are for sticking together. While Magna and Haze are for splitting up, so depending on Noelle's answer, we might have a tie or a decision," Lydia utters.
"What? Why me?" Noelle slightly panics as she realizes the decision almost lies on her. "Well, we all are well-skilled, and if we do get to find Asta faster, and based on what we know, he might be in trouble, so I believe we should split up," Noelle thinks out loud.
"Great, so we are 3 against and 3 for splitting up; this does not help us," Lydia says.
"Well, excuse me; I am just saying what I think is the best course of action," Noelle scoffs.
"It is fine; we just need to find a better way to decide," Lydia utters.
"I have an idea," Haze says.
"You do?" Magna asks as the rest looks at Haze as he pulls out a coin from his pocket.
"Wait, you can't possibly mean that we are deciding this based on a coin toss?" Lydia asks as Haze flicks the coin in the air with his thumb.
"Heads, we split up, and tails, we stick together," he says and catches the coin and places it on his arm, holding it in place with his hand, and everyone looks at his arm as he removes his hand.
"It is heads," everyone says.
"Splitting up it is," Haze says.
"You guys, this is stupid," Lydia utters.
"The only one here against this is you, so get over it," Haze says, putting the coin back into his pocket.
"Okay, so who goes together with who then?" Magna asks.
"Since we're already gambling like idiots," Lydia utters and picks up six small rocks where she uses a different stone to carve one line into two of them and two lines into two of the stones and three lines in the last two, and she shakes them around in her hand and she takes her second hand over and covers the rocks, creating a small opening with enough room for a pair of fingers to get in.
"So pick one, and whoever gets the same number on their rock goes together," she tells them.
"That is really a good idea," Magna says and puts his fingers in and pulls out a stone. And everyone takes turns and does the same.
"I got number 3," Magna utters, "Me too," Noelle replies.
"And I got number 1," Finral says, "Same here," Sebastian utters.
"And I got number two," Haze says, and Lydia looks at him, and she opens her hands to see a two on her stone.
"What the frick, this can't be," she says.
"It looks like you and I are heading up then," Haze tells her.
"What? When was which way we will go decided?" she asks.
"Since I said so," he says and walks up the stairs, leaving the rest behind, Lydia sighs and looks at the rest.
"Well, then I suppose me and Magna head down then," Noelle says, "Fine with me," Magna replies.
"Right, see you later, guys; I will go after mister grumpy," She says and is about to head upstairs.
"Wait, hang on," Sebastian says as she turns to him, and Sebastian gets into his backpack and pulls out a lantern and lights it.
"Oh, thank you; why do you have this?" she asks.
"In case my mana runs low, one thing I have learned from delving into dungeons is that a light source is always handy," he tells her.
"Well, thank you, and see you later, you two," she says and heads up the stairs, leaving Finral and Sebastian in the hallway.
"Well, I guess it is only us two left," Finral says awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It would appear so," Sebastian says with an awkward smile before the two head further into the dungeon.
Finral and Sebastian ventured deeper into the cold and eerie dungeon; they couldn't shake the feeling of unease. Sebastian's ember provided a flickering light that danced around them, casting eerie shadows on the icy walls.
"Brr, this place is just as creepy as the little village, and it is way colder," Finral mutters as they walk.
"I agree; it isn't exactly welcoming," Sebastian replies as they keep walking. "I hope whoever those footprints belonged to that we saw at the start isn't someone who will give us too much trouble," Sebastian mentions, and Finral gasps slightly.
Finral spoke up, his breath visible in the frigid air. "Gosh, you are right. Hopefully, we can handle whatever challenges lie ahead."
They walk for quite a while through the hallway, doing their best not to get hit by the traps that are seemingly put up at random. Finral can't help but think aloud, "I wonder what kind of magic user would set up these traps. It's not something a run-of-the-mill mage would do."
Sebastian, still on high alert, replies, "Indeed. These traps seem more sophisticated than your average dungeon hazard. Whoever designed this place must have been quite powerful or had some unique knowledge."
Their conversation is abruptly cut short by a low, guttural growl that reverberates through the narrow corridors. The mages exchange alarmed glances, realizing they might not be alone in this ominous place.
They ready their grimoires as they hear big, heavy footsteps approaching them.
"Is that an Ice Golem?" Finral asks with panic in his voice.
"It sure looks that way," Sebastian says, looking at the monstrosity as it towers over the teens with its glowing eyes and razor-sharp teeth.
Sebastian's heart is pounding, but he knows he has to fight; he swallows his nervousness. "Finral, are you ready?" he asks, adjusting his glasses.
"Not really, but sure, let's go," Finral says, hovering his grimoire up to his hands, ready to act at a moment's notice.
"Right," Sebastian says, and the golem swings its icy fist at the two. Sebastian runs with everything he has, getting out of the way as the monster's hand gains on him. Sebastian is almost hit, but a portal is put behind him, and another portal is put next to the creature's head, forcing it to punch itself.
"Nice, Finral!" Sebastian yells, readying his spell. "Ember magic, ember rain!" he yells, and it begins to rain fire from the ceiling.
"Roar!" the creature lets out and opens its mouth wide, gathering a light in front of it, and ice spikes are shot at them both.
"Darn it, ember rapid fire!" Sebastian yells and shoots off a bunch of fire at the shards of ice, canceling them out while Finral puts up a portal in front of him and sends the ice shards back at the creature, who roars.
"I think you just made it angry," Sebastian utters.
"Well, I don't really have a lot of options here, do you?" Finral defends.
"Good point," Sebastian replies as another punch comes his way, and he is forced to run again.
"Don't worry; I got you!" Finral yells, putting a portal ahead of Sebastian that he runs through and appears behind the striking arm.
"Great," he utters, "Ember magic scorching bullets!" he yells, causing great damage to the creature's elbow before it retrieves its hand again.
"Yes, great, good job," Finral praises as a smile grows on Sebastian's face. The golem retrieves what is left of its arm and looks at it and looks at the two teens.
ROAR! It yells, summoning more ice.
"Great, now it is really angry," Sebastian utters.
"I can tell," Finral replies loudly as the room begins to shake from the golem's release of mana and roars. As the Ice Golem roars and summons more ice, the chamber quakes with its unleashed power. Sebastian and Finral exchange worried glances but don't back down. They know they have to finish this battle and find their missing comrades.
Sebastian, his confidence boosted by the successful removal of the Golem's arm, doesn't hesitate. He raises his grimoire high and shouts, "Ember Magic! Scorching fire rain," he yells and a wall of hundreds of embers shoots at the golem, canceling the ice and landing a few hits which has the Golem shoot back at both teens, and its power overwhelms Sebastian's spell, and they are both hit. Sebastian slides over the icy floor and, as he stops, he rights himself and looks at the golem's second arm.
"Sebastian!" Finral yells as he attempts to put up a portal but is just a little too late as it collides with Sebastian, who is now headed for the wall, ready to be crushed.
("No, I was supposed to become strong enough to make it up to Soul") Sebastian's mind tells him. ("I can't let it end here; I can't!") and upon this deep-held wish, his grimoire flips to a different page as determination builds in his eyes.
"Ember magic, inferno surge!" Flames erupt from his grimoire, forming a blazing torrent that shatters, burning away the Golem's entire arm just in time before he collided with the wall.
He keeps up the spiraling flame and sends it towards the ice creature and engulfs the Ice Golem. The creature howls in agony as its icy exterior begins to melt under the intense heat. Despite the overwhelming odds, the Golem isn't going down without a fight. It unleashes a final, desperate attack, summoning a massive icicle overhead, ready to impale them. Sebastian and Finral have to act fast. Thinking on his feet, Finral creates a portal beneath the falling icicle, redirecting it upward. Sebastian seizes this opening and unleashes a final, concentrated burst of ember magic directly at the Golem's core. The creature lets out an ear-splitting screech as it shatters into a million shards of ice, dissipating into the frigid air.
Breathing heavily, Sebastian and Finral survey the aftermath. The once-menacing Ice Golem is now nothing more than scattered ice crystals on the floor. The room falls silent, and the oppressive chill begins to subside.
"We did it," Sebastian says, a triumphant smile spreading across his face.
"I didn't even know that you could do that," Finral says.
"Me either," Sebastian says, falling to his knees.
"Oh no, are you okay?" Finral asks.
"Yeah, my mana reserves are depleted," Sebastian replies.
"Not only that, but using a new intense spell like that is draining on one's stamina," Finral says.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I feel exhausted all of a sudden," Sebastian says.
"We should probably rest up for a bit before we continue then. Whatever trouble Asta is in, I know that he is strong enough to handle it. Besides, he has Millie with him, who is strong enough to take on a devil," Finral mentions.
"You have a point. I am sure they will understand us taking a rest until we get our magic back," Sebastian replies.
"Right," Finral says, and they both sit down by the nearest wall and rest.
"Speaking of Asta, I wonder how he is doing," Finral says.
"Me too. I hope they didn't get sent somewhere too terrible," Sebastian replies.
Meanwhile, Millie stands in an open snowy field with ash falling from the sky and big piles of tar lying everywhere. "Where am I?" she mutters softly to herself, bringing out her katana and holding it at the ready.
"This place feels like—" her eyes dart to the side, and she swings her sword, cutting something black apart. She looks at the blade. "Tar?" she questions and uses her white flame to burn away the black stuff.
"Millie, remember," a voice goes through her mind as she remembers walking next to Thomsn with this katana in its hilt, hanging on to his belt, the coin with the emblem of the phoenix on it. "Millie, I will give a very special blacksmith an order for you. All right, remember to take good care of it," he told me, his voice stern.
"Of course, Master," I replied softly as we entered a black door of a shop located in the mountains with a view of a good portion of the kingdom. Inside was a plethora of katanas, shields, wands, bracelets, and some robes and some armor hanging on the walls. At the innermost part of the room is a buff man with glasses and dark brown hair working on a bracelet.
"I am a little busy at the moment, so tell me if there is anything here that strikes your fancy," the man says.
"Actually, I am here to place a special order," Thomsn says, and the man's face looks to Thomsn immediately.
"Ah, you are a rare sight," he says and places the bracelet on the table before him and takes off his glasses before he stands up and shakes Thomsn's hand.
"I suppose I have been a little busy lately, so I haven't had time to drop by," Thomsn tells him.
"I see. So the talk about there being another war is true then. Well, it will mean that I will be busy making specialized gear and such again, am I right?" the man asks.
"Certainly, Durge."
"So what are you in the market for? A new specialized Katana like the one you already have or a good new gauntlet for a better grip?" Durge asks.
"Actually, I want you to make a couple of things, one for me and one for this one," He says, and both look at me.
"My, would you look at her. Is she a new recruit?" Durge asks, looking back at Thomsn.
"Sort of. I would like you to create something that will allow me to tap into her power, as well as something to conceal her magic," he explains.
"A sword that will allow you to use her powers from a distance at will, huh? I can understand wanting to tap into her magic as she seems to have an overwhelming amount of it just from her standing there doing nothing, but I am unsure how. And you would like to hide it to mask her mana from other people?"
"I can make a belt that will allow masking her mana level. However, the sword thing seems a little bit far-fetched," Durge says and looks at Thomsn.
"Millie here says that it should be possible if through the contract she shares a piece of her soul with whichever item I would like to do it with," Thomsn says.
"Hmmm, maybe a type of soul gem can be used to be mixed in with the material if I find a way to melt it down without it losing its properties," Durge thinks out loud.
"So can you do it?"
"It will require quite a bit of studying and expensive materials, but I am willing to give it a try. I can probably add the soul thing to her belt as well, making it only work for her and even conceal her presence even more," he mutters and walks over to his second desk and brings out a sheet of paper and begins to sketch and write.
"Well, whatever you need, I will be sure to provide it," Thomsn says.
"I might need a look into the spell that will allow her soul to be split and used like that," he says and Millie touches her bell and hovers the book of the contract over to Durge, who skims through it and takes notes.
"I see, this gives possibilities. Adding a spell to an item is a simple task, but adding this sort of thing will be a challenge," he says with eagerness in his tone.
"It sounds like you are already on board."
"I certainly am. I love a challenge. I will look further into this and send you a letter about the materials and resources that I need," Durge says, noting a few more things down from the book of the contract.
"That will be fine, especially the belt. It will be easier to hide her from the enemies," he says and looks at me.
"I understand how that is important," Durge replies.
Fast forward, I witnessed Thomsn training with his katana and the way his flame magic moved along the blade's edge.
"Master Thomsn, if I may ask," I uttered.
"What is it? Earlier, you said your sword is special. Is that true? And if so, how?" I queried.
"I see. Well, the material was nearly impossible to get, and it had to be bathed in the magic fire of a phoenix. The metal is mixed in with the scales of a fire lizard found in the volcanic region, which is why it puts off the reddish sparkles. This blade can complement any kind of flame and helps the wielder have better control over a larger quantity of fire," he explained. It has reddish shiny lines going over the metal in the forms of many tiny scales that glimmer and sparkles in red, orange, and yellow.
Her mind moves on to a few years later. "Millie, once my life is no more, I want you to have my katana, as well as the blade infused with your soul, and of course, you should keep the belt too," he told me with a weak voice. Millie's mind flows into the present, slashing more black projectiles being launched at her that she burns away with ease.
She looks around herself in the snowy open landscape and she begins to run.
At some distance away, Asta looks about, and he hears a groan on his shoulder. "Liebe, are you all right?" he asks, looking at the devil on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I am good. The place we just went through was a doozy," he utters, and they both look around at the snowy space they are in with ash falling from the sky and piles of tar dotted around.
"Where even are we?" he asks.
"Don't ask me," Liebe utters.
"I get the feeling that we are not within the dungeon anymore," Asta says, looking around.
"And this place is extremely cold," he says and hugs himself to keep warm.
"You can say that again," Liebe tells him, huddling into Asta's jacket.
He looks to the side, seeing something head for him. "Uh," he utters, and Liebe narrows his eyes. "What is that?" he asks.
"I believe it is Millie," he says as it gets closer and stops next to him.
"Master Asta, are you all right?" she asks.
"Sure," he replies, and Millie's eyes widen as they flick to something heading towards them. "Duck—" She utters, grabbing his arm and pulling him down, and Asta sees a pile of tar get split in two.
"What the heck," he mutters and turns around, and they see black tar rise from the piles.
"I am not sure if his anti-magic does well against this stuff. Should I allow him to use my specialized longsword?" she wonders and looks around them as the Tar creates monsters that begin to move towards them.
"I don't know where we are or how to get out, but it looks like we will have to fight to find out," he says, pulling his sword out of his grimoire.