Akko, Diana and Hellene have practically explored the whole dungeon, but there's still one place left to go. After racking their brains and being tested to the limit in combat, they arrive at the door to the path that leads to the right place to face the boss, which would leave Atsuko alone in this, since only she can face the monster in the dungeon and then free Beatrix and bring her to Triskellion Island.
The three of them had already finished resting, they were completely ready, especially Kagari, who had rested a lot in preparation for this big moment. They soon stood up and the couple were hugging, followed by lots of kissing, which left McLaren tapping her feet just waiting for all that honey to finish, and she was the next to be hugged too.
"Good luck Akko, break this monster's face and show him who's boss, go on girl, kick ass" said the redhead.
"Go by what my sister said, you'll manage Akko, we'll wait here" said Cavendish.
"I'm not going to let myself be beaten so easily, I'm going to give my all in this battle, as I've always done, now with extra strength it's going to be a great help" said the crimson-eyed woman clenching her fists.
After this hug, it's time to open the door, she takes a deep breath, then pushes open the huge double door that simply reveals the outside, which she then waves to the two sisters and passes through, the door closes behind her and what comes out is a grassy path heading straight for the boss's arena.
(Well come on Akko, we'll get far in this one, I hope I have the strength to defeat this boss, the dungeon alone showed that the challenges are to have intelligence and strength, so it may be that the monster here is also the same, I sincerely hope it's not).
The brown-haired girl walked along the open grassy corridor, looking at the trees beside her and getting closer, where she came across a rounder field of grass, which seemed to be the arena of the boss of the place
Then the monster appeared, a unicorn, which was strange; it wasn't scary at all, just a winged unicorn, which also indicated that it was a magpie that had landed on the ground, and began to neigh, causing the girl to feel strange, until it began to cast rays of light in the direction of the warrior from Luna Nova.
Cavendish flying Unicorn Pegasus
The monster starts to throw lights through the horn on its head like rays of light that are dodged by the girl, which he soon realises is the monster from the dungeon, which is very surprising because the explosions when the lights hit somewhere are very frightening and cause a big impact.
(Well then, this flying horse with horns is the boss here, I swore there'd be more to it, but okay, let's go)
Taking a deep breath, the girl thinks of a way to get up there, then gets as close as she can with her katana, but she can't get any closer because the creature's wings are pushing her with all their might, causing a rush of wind, and she's almost hit by the beam of light cast by its horns, which has already sparked something in her head.
Akko took her staff from her bag and turned it into a bow, firing arrows that were easily dodged by the winged creature, which only created a shield that diverted the arrows' path, which was already a major impediment on the way.
(Arrows will be useless against this thing, I need to think hard, this thing isn't fooling around, I couldn't even test the projectile cut, this little bastard really grazed me and hurt me, this ray of light could kill me if I'm not clever, come on Akko).
Just as she's dodging, trying not to get hit, she's surprised by the unicorn's rays pointing upwards, which cause a huge snake to appear, heading straight for the girl, the same ones that were present in the dungeon, a single, much larger one that was heading for her while the pegasus was trying to attack.
(It seems that this monster knows exactly how to get the upper hand, I can't believe he's so clever, I need to think about how to deal with him).
When she was thinking, Atsuko was simply running away from the huge snake that was following her while the equine creature was hurling bolts of lightning at her, and this ended up catching some of the bolts of lightning in the snake itself, which was being wounded by the power of the bolts and this was the gap she needed to simply create an opportunity to attack, as the wounded snake crashed into a tree and the impact threw the girl upwards and she arrived where the winged unicorn was.
She almost hit it with a well-timed blow, only for the pegasus to show that it was fast and throw the girl with a current of wind before she could get close enough, along with some feathers that served as projectiles, cutting some parts where Kagari was trying to defend herself.
(This thing really doesn't want to be hit, it knows it's just a cut and will end up far away from here, I have a powerful sword, but even so the monster doesn't want to be hit under any circumstances).
Launched into the air, she falls into the grass and is almost hit by the beam of light from the unicorn, which follows her and heats up everything around it, opening up a few holes in the ground as it follows the girl, who uses magic to summon the hook to give her a further boost and the furious equine launches many smaller attacks throughout the arena.
(It's going to be impossible to hit this thing, I have to try and surprise it, but with agility like that it's going to be almost impossible, even the snake it summoned disappeared in an attempt to stop me somehow, little does it know that I'm the best at attacking)
Thinking, the girl didn't have much time to strategise, as the monster swooped down with a bolt of lightning that made her jump and throw herself, using the shield in her hands she even protected herself a little from the rays, but it was enough to hurt her and on the other hand she ended up falling on top of the equine riding it, which swung and flew from side to side, taking away any option for the girl to make a move.
(Damn it, this monster won't stop moving, I won't be able to finish it, I need to think of a way to make this thing stay still, but I don't know how, I don't even have a free hand to do it, damn it).
She even tried to support one hand, holding on tightly to the mane, but when she picked up the Katana to make an attack, even triggering it, the monster simply managed to move to throw the girl, but even so it caught a glancing cut, which made the crimson-eyed girl smile as she realised that she really was a very vulnerable creature, with blood running down her body from a simple cut.
The pegasus tries to launch an attack to hit the brown-haired girl, who defends herself with a shield, which still leaves her wounded, plus the fall that hurt her a little and that was the moment the monster landed and started walking towards the girl, its horn alight.
(Damn it, I managed to hit it, but that graze won't be enough, I have to think of a way to kill this thing, to distract it before I end up being the dead one here, this damn shield doesn't protect anything, I still get caught in the rays of light and I'm all hurt by it).
Even so, resisting as best she can, the girl gets up, with one of her legs already hurting badly, she stands up, sees the horn shining, that beam of light about to hit and give the final attack, which makes her pick up the katana and take a deep breath.
The warrior from Luna Nova dodges being hit with everything from the beam of light as she throws herself, tries to use the Katana to defend herself and notices one thing, the sword was simply able to rebound that attack and that was the opportunity she needed.
(Ah so that's it, I don't need to use the Katana up close, I just have to throw back this thing's attack, it was hurting me for nothing, now let's see if this horse can beat me now that I know its little secret).
Like a lightning bolt going off in its head, the equine creature launched several beams of light and Akko practically batted them away, hitting it with her Katana and realising that it can be controlled at will, depending on the angle it hits, and soon one of these beams ends up hitting the monster, which gives a few half-stunned neighs after being hit hard.
(Perfect, that's what I need to do then, it'll be easy, now I just have to heal here and let's see if this monster will be able to do anything against me, I've discovered his little secret, he even stunned me).
Atsuko healed herself and soon the creature returned from its stunned state and began throwing beams of light at her again with more speed, which the girl rebutted with more speed and disposition, the moment it hit the equine creature the hardest, which couldn't orientate itself very well and so launched its attacks with more fury, even summoning a huge snake again to distract Kagari in order to hit her.
The snake went to strike, but the crimson-eyed one simply decided to ride on top of the creature, standing on it while the pegasus, knowing that it couldn't shoot rays of light because it could injure the summoned monster, began to fly around.
(Do you want to come? Go ahead, I'm ready for anything).
The creature is already lighting up its horn with an attack, but the brown-haired one is sliding over the snake's body, sticking the katana through the scales, which opens a hole and irritates the reptile, which simply uses an attack to launch it into the air and the pegasus is taken by surprise.
The warrior from Luna Nova has her katana ready to strike the pegasus from above, but the creature dodges, but is taken by surprise. It wasn't an attack designed to hit it in the middle, but simply a large cut on the sides, right where the wings are, which tears one of them off and causes the pegasus to lose its flight.
"It seems that now the flight of the pegasus has come to an end" said Akko, laughing.
The equine monster even made the snake disappear and it fell to the ground without one of its wings, starting to light up its horn and shoot rays of light at the girl who was using the huge wings as a shield until it started to pick up the katana, throwing the rays of light back and that hit the creature which started to neigh angrily, trying to land an attack, which started to ride at full speed.
This time it was riding really fast, to the point where it landed a headbutt and the horn penetrated a little into Atsuko, who was carried to a tree trunk where she hit her back, breaking a few ribs in the process, and then the monster released her from the horn, As Atsuko fell to the ground with her hand on her shoulder in pain, all she saw was the creature slamming its hoof into the ground. She then grabbed her elemental staff, making the earth appear and pinning the monster to the ground, as well as giving it a boost and dodging a bolt of lightning right in the back.
(This monster is just as lethal here as it is on the ground, I really have to be clever with this one if I want to survive, it gored me in the shoulder, I nearly died, let's see if it can resist with me healed again).
The crimson-eyed girl heals herself by recovering her shoulder, which is beginning to go on guard, while the unicorn is beginning to move out of the ground, still launching rays of light, including an intense one that pushes the girl who was reflecting with the katana, enough to cause damage to the ground, and she smiles widely.
Cleverly, Kagari used that intense ray to target the pegasus's other wing, which ended up screaming in anger as it freed itself from being trapped on the ground, but without its wings, it lost its former form.
"Now you can't fly any more, you're just an ordinary unicorn, let's see if that horn of yours is any good" said the brown-haired girl teasingly.
The unicorn is already preparing to run, even dragging his feet on the ground, but he ends up running straight past without realising that the warrior from Luna Nova has simply become intangible using the staff from the tower on the island of Eire, just as the creature ends up goring a log and pinning it down.
(Great, now I just have to cut this thing's head off and I'll be able to defeat it, it really gave me a hard time, come on Akko, that horn of his gave me a hard time, but now without the horn it's nothing)
Akko rushed to get closer, to get a cut near the head, but the monster managed to get free in time and already moved its horn, glowing for an attack, which ended up making the blade touch that part of the pegasus, the impact causing an explosion that threw the girl a little away and also stunned the unicorn, which ended up confused and dazed.
(Damn, that was almost it, the monster is fast, but I think I can beat him, he's already badly wounded, just a few more attacks and I'll get the gap I need).
Atsuko stood up, panting as she watched the equine beast throw many beams of light in her direction. She immediately used her katana and sent some of them back at the creature, catching it right in the horn that was shining brightly, which was already igniting something in the girl's head as she realised this.
Dazed, the unicorn began to get ready to run, its horn charged to hit something, which this time Kagari concentrated on, having an idea of what to do.
(I have to be very quick here, I'll think as quickly as possible to see if I can handle it, it's all or nothing anyway).
The crimson-eyed one engages the katana in its scabbard, which ends up coming out with everything, then grabs the sword with her hand, which catches the blade right where the horn is, which causes a huge impact, the two stop in one place, that opened a hole in the ground and then an explosion that ended up scattering them both to either side.
The badly wounded brown-haired one faded away, while the equine creature thought it had died and just started grazing as if it were nothing, which kind of served as regeneration for the unicorn, which was also badly wounded by the explosion.
It could have been the death of the warrior from Luna Nova, but she still had a pot of fairies in her bag, which soon appeared to wake the girl up, who returned in high spirits, standing up and seeing the damage she had done, the monster with its parts still in living flesh began to regenerate and the girl couldn't think of anything else.
(This beast will never regenerate, let's see if it stays in pieces when I start chopping with my katana).
Using her staff to make herself intangible and moving in stealth, the girl got closer and closer to the monster, which went quite unnoticed. With much of her skin being rebuilt, the clever Akko simply uses magic to make the monster look where she left and it falls for the bait without realising that the girl was right behind it with the Katana.
Atsuko uses the trigger on the sheath of the already tangible katana and makes a quick slash that catches the neck of the pegasus who simply ends up decapitating it on the spot, not even giving it time to regenerate sufficiently, followed by several attacks which she chopped off completely, leaving only the horn which she crushed with her bare hands using the gloves of power. The horn ended up becoming magic dust which went precisely to Kagari who even felt stronger.
"Now let's see if you can recover from this" said the crimson-eyed woman.
There was no way, it was the end of the unicorn, which then turned to dust and was finally defeated by the hands of the brown-haired girl, who was soon relieved, picking up the heart to recover from the wounds caused by the impact, and was soon presented by Beatrix appearing right in front of her, indicating that the mission had been accomplished.
"Congratulations Atsuko Kagari, you make me so proud to have made it this far, we're already halfway through the dungeons, I'm Beatrix Cavendish the ancestor of the Cavendish, the affectionate witch, I've seen that you've been chosen for this journey to be great and you're going to do it, I see that you have everything to defeat Andrew Hanbridge once and for all, I see that you're also with a descendant of mine and that really makes me proud of you girl, save Hyrule, save everyone from destruction, discover the fifth word and the rest, finish the dungeons, prove how much more powerful you are, I know you can do it, I'll be saying goodbye now, you can be sure that you'll make everyone around you proud, including Bernadette Cavendish..." Said the witch, who disappeared into her emerald, becoming several butterflies of light, disappearing over the horizon.
"Thank you Beatrix... I will... You bet I will..." said the warrior from Luna Nova.
She then left to go and see the two girls who were waiting on the other side, who ran towards her as soon as the doors opened and with that they hugged each other with all the affection in the world, tightly, especially the queens who came together in a big kiss to the point where one's leg stood up.
"You did it Akko, you did it! You killed the monster, you defeated it!" Said an emotional Diana.
"Ah I did it love, but not without your help, we managed to finish a dungeon" said the smiling Akko.
"Oh Akko, you're great, let's get that fifth word and tell the girls" said Hellene, who also went to hug her friend.
The three of them walk to where the portal is, being taken back to the entrance of the dungeon and with that they start to observe the path behind the castle where the trail to the fifth word is, they walk along it together, without any problems or monsters present, just the path with some stairs.
At the end of it all, on a small hill, they saw something written, a stone with some drawings of brooms and ornaments very similar to those on Triskellion Island.
"When traditional forces and mordernas combine, a gate to a world never seen before opens, Civilladura Lelladebura" As soon as Atsuko says this, her staff simply becomes a broomstick that begins to float.
An expression of amazement, but also enchantment, happiness and fulfilment comes over the three of them, who are thrilled to see that they simply have a magic broom in their hands. Kagari soon sits down to try it out and manages to have something that shortens the travelling time a lot, noticing that she can fly at a very high speed and even manage to teleport in it.
"This is another level, I can fly! I can fly! Girls, I don't need horses anymore! I can fly!" Said the excited, smiling girl with the crimson eyes.
"That's just like the legends..." said the amazed Cavendish.
"The legendary witches who flew on broomsticks, it's not just a myth, it can be done, so does that mean we can do it too? Sis, we've got a great weapon in our hands so we can get away from Andrew and get around Hyrule with ease" said Hellene, impressed as she watched her sister-in-law having fun flying around on that broom.
"We can finally win the golden chance to finish the dungeons quickly, we'll conquer everything much easier, Andrew can be defeated and peace will reign in Hyrule, Akko that's the best thing that came out of the seven words" said the impressed blue-eyed girl.
Then the auburn-haired woman set the staff down and looked at it all, enchanted. It was the key to what she needed to defeat Andrew, and in her hands it could make travelling much quicker, which was ideal for the plan she had in mind for her friends.
"Now we have it, this thing I can take everyone away from Andrew's reach and that's what I'll do, today will be our farewell girls, tomorrow I'll take each of you to a corner of Hyrule where you want to go, because we have an important mission to protect all of us from the clutches of the cursed one" said the warrior of Luna Nova.
"Look, we've already achieved a lot, this broom is the portal we needed most, we won't have to rely on long journeys on horseback, but we still have to be careful not to get caught, or the situation could get worse" said the platinum blonde-haired woman.
"I can handle situations like this with great ease" said one of the queens of Wedinburgh.
With that, the three of them make their way back out of the cave and into the Wedinburgh forest, where there are only the girls waiting and also some of the surviving people from the old era of Wedinburgh and Frank, who, on seeing the three of them arrive, start to celebrate and jump for joy and excitement, seeing that they have survived and managed to complete yet another dungeon.
"They've done it!" Said Frank, who shouted all round.
And soon everyone was getting closer, raising both Diana and Akko high in the air and shouting their names, as well as calling them queens for finally managing to finish the dungeon, already considering them heroes of Hyrule for what they've been doing there, A few tears flowed from the pair as Hellene received all the glory for being in the middle of it, but she decided to leave to hug her wife, who was very happy and excited, the two kissed and a celebration began to take place in the abandoned city.
The people were celebrating the announcement that everything was starting to get back on track, while the main ones were leaving, as they needed to sort something out. Akko called them into a room, and they went inside the castle for what seemed to be a meeting, thinking that it would be time to rest so that they could leave for another city with the merchants' caravans.
"So, are we leaving tomorrow?" Amanda asks.
"I have to tell you about something I've been realising since the last dungeon before this one, something that I also think might be better for us" said Atsuko.
"What would that be, Akko?Are you thinking of changing your plans? Reiko's plan is perfect, we can walk around Hyrule without being noticed" said Marianne.
"We can, but it's not that question, I can't go with you in the dungeons, I'm far beyond what you can physically reach, I saw that Amanda suffered in the last dungeon when she came with me, so that's why I'm going to go alone from now on, I know you helped me a lot, but it's very much a question of survival, especially you Marianne" said Kagari.
"What's wrong? Are you madAkko? Do you think that playing the hero and sacrificing yourself for everyone now is going to make us, I don't know... Think this is going to work? I can understand the dungeons, but we can't go it alone, together we're strong, I know you're stronger and more powerful than us, but that doesn't mean we're useless, apart from the fact that since you intend to walk around without being caught, you're going alone with a greater chance of being caught by..." said Leclerc, who was already getting into a different mood until she heard her friend say the fifth word.
"Look at this Marianne... There's no reason for me to go on horseback any more, I can fly at high speed, what used to take me a day to travel I can cover in a few hours, I can cut the travelling time of a lot of things, this here is the perfect equipment for travelling, I can cut the time of a lot of things, that's why I go alone and
also to protect you, Andrew thinks we're all together, so he'll never suspect when we get separated, look I've been thinking this for a few days, I'm sorry to have to say this, but it's to save you" said the crimson-eyed one.
"Look, I think Akko has a point, I fucking suffered in the last dungeon, we really have to preserve ourselves, but do we go separately from now on? We work very well together... Are you sure about this Akko? It won't be too risky for you? We're not just a group with the same skills, we might be useful for something, like Marianne's metamorphosis, she's the one who got you out of there" said O'Neill.
"I can finish the rest of the dungeons in less than a fortnight, with the help of this broom, girls, all we need is for me to show up and then do what we have to do, when I get back to Triskellion Island, together we'll go after the final attack, what do you think?" Said the brown-haired girl, placing her hand in her middle.
"Well, I think it's been a while since I've had a break. At least you're going to take us somewhere safe, right?" Sucy asks.
"Wherever you want to go, I'll take you" said the warrior from Luna Nova.
"Oh that's marvellous, so I want to go back to Luna Nova, will you give us a lift, I want to go home" said Manbavaran.
"I didn't say I was going to agree to this" said the dark-haired girl with a red lock of hair, her arms crossed.
"Oh love, Akko just wants to help us, you know that things could take on a huge proportion, that we'll soon be facing enemies who will put us through everything, you know that well love, how are we going to deal with a situation like this?" Hellene said.
"Oh wow, the huge enemies, wow, the muscular girl with the gauntlets is talking, look how impressive she is, there's her sister who is the legendary Queen of Wedinburgh with a powerful rapier and then there's their leader, the girl with the master sword who is simply beyond and there's me? Marianne Leclerc... I'm nothing... So much so that I'm left out, the trio of the strongest is precisely you, I'm just the wife of one of them, a mere weak Hyllian... Then you say something like that and I'm even deeper in the hole, I'm really not in the mood to talk about these things" Marianne said, hitting the table and shedding a few tears, then leaving the room.
"Mari... Marianne! Don't go, love!" McLaren says and her sister immediately puts her hand on her shoulder.
"Leave her alone, sis, she's probably very hot-headed about all this" said Diana.
"I'll go with her, you don't understand how my wife feels sometimes, she wants to be important, she may not say it to her face, but she feels bad when she's left out... I'm going too" said Hellene, who left to go to her wife.
"What a climate..." Amanda said.
"Damn... In the end I didn't get anything out of it, I just made my friend angrier, I didn't want to leave her like that, I guess... I don't know, I was sure this plan was so brilliant" Akko said.
"Hey, don't be like that, girl, your plan is fucking brilliant, you've just expanded Reiko's plan even further, and if... And if it failed, Andrew would have all the traders killed who came to try and find us, it could be even worse" said O'Neill.
"Look, I have to agree with O'Neill, this plan of Empress Reiko's has an expiry date and we can use the broom to go faster, when he finds out about the merchants' plan, the bomb will explode and he'll find you already powerful, ready to defeat him" said Diana.
And there the girls went on to talk more about that farewell plan, while Hellene consoled her wife, who was furious at everything she had heard. She was still devastated and frustrated because she thought she had the most ingenious plan in her hands, something that would never fail, but which seemed like it might not work out at any moment.
The fifth dungeon is complete and so is the fifth word, which means that they simply have the best type of object and item in their hands to be able to carry out the mission, since it may only be a matter of time before Andrew finds out about the disguises and the entire plan of the various merchants scattered throughout
Hyrule. With all this, a new stage in the journey through the dungeons begins, which could be the final and definitive stretch, where Akko will show that she is powerful enough to make it far.
See you, unicorn witches...