Sparks flew as Dante and Chase clashed, the knight parrying a stab at his throat and barely leaning back out of the way of a thrust to his chest before he slashed outwards, trying to get his opponent's throat.

Unfortunately, Chase chose that time to turn into shadows and sink into the ground, his daggers falling slowly to the ground just as he reappeared behind Dante with another pair drawn.

Dante smirked as he easily ducked under the attack while also thrusting his blade upwards and droplets of blood splattered onto the ground below him & onto the ground, but he clicked his tongue as he didn't feel any heavy weight on his blade.

Looking back up, he sighed as he saw the tip of his blade had just barely nicked the right side of the assassin's neck, the shadow below them having shot up tendrils that grasped his shoulders & kept him afloat.

Quickly rolling out of the way before the shadows could attack him, he frowned as he saw Chase falling to a low crouch on the ground while the shadows lightened up once again.

'He's not bad. While his usage of Shadow Magic is not on the level one would expect from an assassin, he is definitely one of the better ones that I've had to do battle with.' Dante thought with a frown as he stood up, holding his blade in a loose grip while watching as Chase stood up with him.

'He knows only the basics of Dispel Magic compared to Coordinator, but the way he uses it is far more compacted & focused compared to hers. Not to mention, his skill with the swordplay is definitely a level above hers and that's not even including that magic he used against me. Was that some form of High Speed Magic?' Chase thought as he put his daggers away, sinking into the abyssal world that he dubbed 'the shadow world' before reappearing from a shadow next to the two he had dropped.

Not surprised to see Dante's eyes already on him as soon as he came out of the shadows, he didn't take his eyes off of him as he picked up his daggers before putting them away as well.

Dante frowned as Chase turned to face him, the man not attacking as he looked at him before looking at where Eric and Dyst were fighting their battle of gravity and telekinesis.

"I suppose it's time I start with my job." And before Dante could ask what he meant, his eyes widened as the man turned into the shadows before, to his shock, scattering out into dozens of smaller shadows that shot out in all directions.

'What?! Wait, calm down! Figure out where he's going!' Dante calmed himself as he quickly looked around, the world slowing down from his focus as he tried to figure out where the real Chase was.

"No…Veronica!" Dante exclaimed as he sheathed his blade and activated his magic, his form a blur as he dashed out of the village and in the direction where he saw the three of them running.

However, he was too late as he came just in time to see Chase kicking away the decapitated form of Momon, both Veronica and Éclair's knocked out forms under his arms.

"Veronica!" Dante exclaimed as he dashed forward as fast as he could, but he was too late as Chase sunk into his shadows and disappeared, Dante skidding to a stop just a few centimetres away from touching him.

Warcry smirked as he ducked under the scythe nearly slashing through his neck, his foot lashing out and sending Coordinator flying head over heels backwards while also flipping backwards & dodging the barrage of bullets fired at him by Cannon.

Geese on the other hand was screeching with fear as he was buried under tons and tons of mud & dirt, his magic being the only thing that kept him from being captured.

Quickly flipping through the air and dodging a bombardment of fireballs & plasma beams, Warcry grinned as he bolted towards Cannon, the giant's eyes widening as he unleashed a flurry of bullets only for all of them to miss as Warcry stopped just a few inches in front of him with his fist pulled back.

Cannon tried to block the punch with his gatling gun, but his eyes widened & spittle burst from his lips as Warcry's fist crashed right through the barel and into his chest, the air around them reverberating from the blow before the giant man was sent skidding across the ground, rolling to a stop with his eyes rolled into his skull.

"Cannon!" Coordinator exclaimed before she growled as she rushed towards Warcry, a light blue glow obscuring her body once more before it disappeared to reveal her now dressed in a breastplate that was open at the middle with a white band around her upper chest, a pair of gauntlets, an open white skirt with purple trimming that had leg armour & white leggings underneath the leg armour and finally, a white headband with a pair of wing-like decorations adorned her head.

A sheen of light blue aura covered her body before Warcry gave a low whistle as her speed nearly tripled, a smug grin on her face as she disappeared and reappeared behind him whilst spinning through the air.

As her leg snapped out for a roundhouse, her eyes widened as Warcry turned around just as quick, catching her kick with a smirk before she gasped as he pulled her forward while also lashing out with his own roundhouse kick. Coordinator's world shook as she was barely able to block the blow with her arms, though searing pain spread through them as she felt her bones being fractured.

The force of the blow sent her skidding across the ground, the woman managing to flip over to her feet and dug her soles into the ground to slow herself down until finally, she stopped & immediately fell to her knees.

"You see, many used to think that my Tear Magic was very weak as all it did was make me cry. That was until they figured out how truly powerful it can be. The longer this battle of ours goes on & the more I cry, the stronger I will become." Warcry boasted with a grin before blinking as he heard Coordinator's giggles, surprised to see a manic grin on her face as her right hand quickly snapped up while covered in an azure glow.

"Hahaha! Then all I have to do is make sure you can't use it! Dispel!" With a chant, her magic pulsed and instantly, Warcry's tears ceased to flow as Coordinator pushed herself to her feet, gritting her teeth as she rolled her wrists despite the pain flaring through them and grinned at her foe.

"Now, let's see how tough you are without your precious tears." She spoke with a mocking grin before it slowly waned as Warcry snorted and shook his head.

"Did you not hear me? The longer I cry, the stronger I become and that power boost stays even if I stop crying." Coordinator's eyes widened as she heard that and before she could even activate her magic, the wind was knocked out of her as she fell to her knees, Warcry sighing as he pulled his fist back & let her fall on her face.

"Hahaha! Wonderful! I see your strength is not as exaggerated as the rumours say!" Warcry blinked as he heard Hoteye's exclaiming, turning back before smirking at the sight of the giant man walking towards him while a pile of mud flowed across the ground besides him.

"Where's your guy?" The Quatro mage asked before chuckling as Hoteye snapped his fingers, the top of the mud melting away to reveal the head of a knocked out Geese poking out.

"Do not fear! I leave a few air holes in the mud pile to let him breathe while also not letting him escape with his magic."

"Ah, not bad. So, what do we do with these?" Warcry asked before blinking as torrents of mud surged from the ground and coated both Cannon and Coordinator in piles, covering both of them until they were completely hidden from view.

"…You know, it's times like these that made me realize that you're a former Dark Mage despite your loveable personality."

"Hohoho! I thank you for the praise!" Hoteye exclaimed with a smile, making Warcry sigh before the man turned & started making his way back to the village, Hoteye chuckling as he walked after the Quatro mage whilst carrying the knocked out mages behind him.

"So, how do you think he's doing?" Hoteye began as he turned to Warcry, who hummed before he shrugged.

"The other guy may have been the boss of the group, but I believe in Eric. The master said that other than an old close friend of his, Eric is probably the most adaptable mage that he's seen. I'm sure he already has a way to beat his foe."

'How the hell am I supposed to get close to this guy?!' Eric screamed in his mind as he repeatedly used Attract to pull himself through the air, tons of rubble and dirt being thrown at him by Dyst who almost looked amused at his efforts in trying to dodge his attacks.

Rolling through the air and in between two slabs of solid rock that would have most definitely turned him into a smear, Eric turned towards Dyst before clapping his hands together.

The air around Dyst warped before the man in question grunted as his arms were forced to his side and he felt his body being forced to stand upright, Eric grinning as he lifted his hands up before bringing them down in a hammer fist.

Dyst's eyes widened as the air above his head twisted & spun before he was forced into the ground, gritting his teeth at the pain flaring through his body from being used as a drill before growling as a pulse of his Telekinesis forced the gravity away from him.

'The Lost Magic Gravity Magic…and it's returned in the hands of a boy? Why must the heavens test me so?' Dyst thought with a sigh as a dark grey bubble surrounded his form, the ground around him quaking before he shot off like a rocket.

'Damn, using this many spells in unison is so tiring.' Eric thought with a frown as he floated in the air, taking deep breaths while feeling his muscles shaking from being forced in different directions.

"Well, at least I know…that's…enou- Are you fucking serious?" Eric's eyes widened as the ground trembled, the hole in the ground expanding rapidly until the floating form of Dyst came out of it.

"Did you actually believe that would be enough to defeat me?"

"…Truthfully, I had hope." Eric answered and Dyst snorted before he pointed a finger at him, Eric gasping as he felt his body locking up.

"Now, let's see how you like it." Dyst said before he pointed his finger downwards, Eric gritting his teeth as he was sent crashing into the ground.

Spinning through the air and landing with a hard grunt into the ground, Eric grunted loudly as he forced his gravity outwards, Dyst frowning as he felt his telekinesis being repelled.

'Time to use my new moves.'

"Gravity Shift." Eric grunted as he held his right hand up at Dyst before pulling it back, Dyst blinking in surprise as he felt his body being forced forward. Dyst frowned as he forced himself to slow down before his eyes widened as Eric appeared in front of his bubble in the blink of an eye, his hand pulled back before sending it flying forward.

Expecting his telekinetic bubble to last, Dyst was surprised at Eric's palm shattering his barrier, crossing his arms in front of him and nearly coughing his lungs up as the blow was far heavier than he expected as it sent him flying through the air.

Quickly flipping over to his feet, Dyst raised both of his hands before gripping the air tightly, smirking as he saw the light purple glow of his magic covering Eric's body.

However, as he lifted his hands upwards, he frowned as he barely felt a weight being forced upwards before his eyes widened as Eric smirked at him & disappeared.

Reappearing in front of Dyst with a lunge, Eric grunted as he spun through the air and lashed out with a roundhouse and as Dyst lifted an arm to block the blow, his eyes widened as he heard his arm snap & pain flaring through his entire body.

'Come on, Eric! Forcing your gravity to be nearly nothing and then forcing it to be nearly ten times heavier than it was before is really exhausting.' Eric thought with a frown as he rushed after the soaring form of Dyst, reducing his gravity even more & reappearing above Dyst within the blink of an eye with his right leg held high.

With a roar, he made his leg ten times heavier before bringing it down, Dyst waking up from his pain and twisting through the air just as the foot barely missed him.

The ground under them cratered as a dust cloud rose up into the sky, but Eric's eyes widened as Dyst was flying right besides him before his vision went dark as a heel dug into the back of his head, pain flaring through his entire body as he was sent ragdolling across the ground.

"Sir." Dyst stopped himself from rushing after Eric as he frowned at Chase who had crawled up from the shadows before smirking at the sight of Veronica and Éclair in his arms.

"Well done, my right hand man." Dyst smirked and Chase nodded as the shadows under them darkened.

"O-Oi! I-I never heard the gong!" Dyst chuckled as he looked back and saw Eric struggling to get up from the ground, his body shaking as blood dripped from his nose & the corners of his mouth.

"Why don't we leave this battle until after I finish our job?" Dyst said with a smirk and Eric growled as he glared at them before the Carbuncle mage sighed as a purple glow coated both his & Chase's forms.

"Now!" Eric exclaimed and within a split second, both Warcry & Dante were at the sides of the fighters, a look of rage on Dante's face before he swung at Chase's neck.

However, it was too late as both men turned to shadows and sunk into the ground, their two shadows splitting off into dozens of other ones that scattered in all directions.

"Damnit!" Dante cursed as he sheathed his blade, his hands trembling with rage as he glared at the ground.

"Hey, Eric. You good?" Warcry asked with a concerned frown as he crouched next to the kneeling form of Eric, who gave him a weak grin before gritting his teeth as he felt pain flaring through his body.

"A-All good. Just give me a moment's rest and I'll be ready to go kick their butts."

"Exactly right, dear friend!" Hoteye exclaimed as he rose up from underneath the earth, Eric blinking at the three piles of mud that appeared next to him.

"That's the other three of the group. We managed to catch them."

"Ah, that makes sense." Eric nodded before groaning as he felt his neck muscles being aggravated, Warcry sighing as he helped him lie down.

"Go and take that nap. The way you are now, you won't be any help at all."

"Right. Wake me up…in like an hour." Eric grunted out as he closed his eyes, his breathing slowing & calming down as he fell asleep.

"What now? We don't know where they are, if they have any hideouts or where they're taking the two girls." Warcry said with a frown, which Dante reciprocated before they both turned to Hoteye as he cleared his throat.

"If I may, my good sirs. I may have a way to get that information from our prisoners, but it would require some more…frowned upon methods."

"Torture?" Warcry asked with a frown, the frown deepening as Hoteye nodded before turning to Dante.

"What do you think?" He asked him, the knight frowning as he looked at the ground before nodding.

"She's the only family I have left. If it means having to use frowned upon methods to protect her, then that is what I will use."

"Hah, I suppose that's that. Go ahead, Hoteye."

"Give me twenty minutes with them. I'll have them singing like canaries."

"So, they're not going to hand the two over to Cream like you guys thought?" Eric asked with a frown as he bandaged up his arms with bandages that he had bought at the start of the job, Dante smirking as he nodded.

"Yes. According to them, it appears that their boss Dyst didn't care for finishing the job successfully. He wishes for immortality and apparently, that artifact contains the form of a phoenix that would give him that immortality."

"Oh, so this is a classic case of the team that was hired betraying their employer for their own benefit, huh?" Eric asked and the other snorted as they nodded, the young mage smirking before he blinked as he looked around.

"Wait, where are the prisoners?" He asked and frowned as the others looked at each other before he sighed.

"Are they dead?"

"No, not at all. They're just…a bit tired from our questioning."

"…Okay." Eric said with a shrug as he stood up from the ground, stretching his arms above his head to awake his sleeping muscles while looking amused at the relieved sighs the other three gave.

'So, they tortured them for the information. This world is far cooler and more hardcore compared to the one I knew.' Eric thought with a smirk as he rolled his shoulders before blinking as Warcry turned to him.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Wait, what?" Eric asked in surprise and Hoteye chuckled as Warcry smirked.

"The master gave you this mission, did he not? This is your call. Lead us to victory." Eric blinked before turning to the two others, who smiled as they nodded at him to continue.

"…Fine. The boss uses Telekinesis magic and has some proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. The other guy has Shadow Magic, with his unique spell of turning his body shadows, and is a great assassin. We have two hostages in their clutches, so we need to focus on getting them back whilst distracting the other two from getting them back." Eric muttered with a frown as he crossed his arms, glancing at the other three before smirking as an idea came to mind.

"Hoteye, I need you to distract the boss. Dante, I need you to fight the shadow guy once again. Warcry, I need you to help keep the two of them away from me as I rescue the two and get that artifact away from them."

"I see. Use Hoteye's Liquid Ground & Heaven's Eye against Dyst's Telekinesis and since Dante has his Dispel magic, his special speed magic and his swordsmanship, that will be enough to keep the other guy at bay. Combine that with my Tear Magic that boosts my abilities and I'll be able to get strong & fast enough to keep up with both of them to keep them away from you while you pull the girls out of the way. Not too bad." Warcry complimented with a smirk and Eric smirked as he shrugged.

"Eh, I just took the data I had and made a simple plan. It's not some sort of genius plan that is foolproof, but it will help us in this battle."

"Then, let us not waste any more time." Dante spoke with a nod and Eric grinned as he nodded, bouncing on his toes as Warcry rolled his shoulders & Hoteye clapped his hands.

"Time to go rescue two damsels in distress."

A/N: Next chapter, the final battle and the finishing of my own twist on the Phoenix Priestess movie!

Also, the loss was to show that despite the fact that Eric has a strong magic form, he still has a lack of power compared to the strongest of the world.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!