"What's all the commotion?" said Valtos, but he had a feeling what was going on. "That damn Rades, it would seem as if he's on the warpath again."
Outside, everyone was rather surprised by the sudden appearance of the mysterious man.
"Hey, who are you?" Gaspard demanded.
"Yeah, and what are you doing inside our hideout?" Grey asked.
"He's creepy," said Gordon.
"You're creepy," said Gaspard. He then turned to look at the mysterious man. "Now you, tell us who you are."
"Certainly," he said slowly. "My name is…"
'So slow,' said Gaspard. "Look, just tell us your name and what you're doing here, all right."
"The truth is…"
"No offence, Gaspard, but I think he was about to explain before you interrupted him," said Grey.
"Yeah, so," Gaspard snapped.
"Wait a sec, I thought there were only supposed to be three Magic Knights in the Black Dragon hideout, so where did he come from?"
"I don't care where he came from, Sally," said Rades with a seditious smile. "our plan is the same either way. We will kill everyone in our path. Crush them, Mikael Caesar!"
Mikael Caesar unleashed its attack directly towards the mysterious man, but the building merely moved portions of itself. This created an opening, causing the attack to miss the building completely.
"What the?!" Rades stared.
Sally whistled, impressed.
"Impressive," said Gordon.
'He moved the building around to dodge that,' said Gaspard, shocked.
"What the hell did you do?" Rades demanded as the building went back into place.
"Where was I?" said the mysterious man. "Oh yes, my name is…"
"Don't start that over!" Rades yelled.
"Come on," Gaspard groaned and looked at the man curiously. "Come to think of it, Charmy and Vanessa did say there was a ghost rearranging the place, didn't they? Don't tell me… there really was a ghost, and this is him?"
"No, Gaspard, this is a living, breathing human," said Gordon. "I can feel it in my bones."
"How can you just feel that?" Gaspard frowned. "And why can I suddenly understand everything is coming out of your creepy mouth?"
They then noticed the mysterious man's hair began to move independently.
"His hair moved!" Grey cried.
Then suddenly, several birds flew out of the man's hair, and he smiled at them.
"Hello there," he said. "You're all so nice and warm."
"Okay, I wasn't expecting that," said Grey.
"He's got a whole family of birds in there," said Gaspard.
"Look at all those friends, he's so lucky," said Gordon.
Rades laughed. "I don't know what your big fancy power is, but destroying a building is no way to attack or defend. Allow my friend to show you why."
Mikael Caesar unleashed a mirage of attacks and headed straight towards Gaspard and the others. However, the building began to move and rotate, which was rather distressing for Valtos, who was still inside.
"More shaking," he said. "What is this?"
Part of the building formed the giant fist, which slammed into the ground, blocking Mikael Caesar's attack.
"Holy… he just blocks that?!" Rades stared.
"That's pretty amazing, almost like a giant hand," said Sally excitedly.
"Don't look so impressed!" Rades snapped.
"Look at him go," said Grey.
"He's manipulating the pieces with magic," said Gaspard.
"I'm so proud of my new friend; he's doing a great job," said Gordon.
"Cease your attacks right now," said the mysterious man.
"Will you spread it out!" Rades roared. "We can't keep going on like this all day!"
'This reminds me of that old guy back at the Underwater Temple,' said Gaspard, remembering how the High Priest manipulated everything within the temple. 'It's like his Game Magic, spells that can control certain things and places. The longer you've been familiar with whatever you're controlling, the more magic power you can pour into it over time. To produce a spell this massive, he would have to be here for a while. The building has been reshuffling itself for ages; has he been living under our noses for that long? Right, that explains everything.'
"Gordon, Gaspard and Grey, I'll help," he said.
The three of them stared at him in shock.
"Hang on, you know who we are?" said Gaspard.
"Of course, I do because I live here too," he said.
Many years ago, he was bedridden and unable to get out of bed, but one day, Hiccup appeared out of nowhere with Toothless by his side.
"You must be that mysterious ghost I've been hearing about," said Hiccup.
"Actually, sir, I'm not a ghost at all," he said weakly.
"That's good to know. My name is Hiccup, I'm a brand-new Magic Knight Captain, and I'm looking for a hideout," he explained. "This place does seem to be a good fit; it's got a nice feel to it. I assume it's yours, so do you think you can hand it over?"
'I wanted to say: "Why not". But unfortunately, I was born with a rare disease that made it difficult to move. So I explained the situation and told him I could only survive inside the building and couldn't be around people. But I can't live without people or their power; my body absorbs it little by little for anyone who spends time near me.
'My parents had disappeared a few months before he showed up; something may have happened to them, or they abandoned me. I mean, who would want to waste their time on a burden like me? That's what I thought, anyway. I knew I would die soon, so I asked him if he could wait to take over the building after that, but well…'
"I don't think so," said Hiccup, shaking his head. "Making a hideout where someone had passed away is too creepy, not to mention unlucky. You should live; it's more convenient."
"But I…"
"And think about if a bunch of rowdy Magic Knights are causing a ruckus all the time. It might make you feel better."
'I understand that you do not know me, but I've gotten to know each and every one of you very well, and even though you never realised it, you've all been keeping me alive for a long time now. I suppose we've never properly introduced, but you are my cherished friends.'
"Anyway," he said out loud, "you can call me Henry Legolant."
"Henry, huh?" said Grey and Gaspard.
"That's a great name; I'll remember it immediately," said Gordon.
"I don't give a damn who you are, you pathetic little freak!" Rades yelled. "I'll demolish that dam building and crush you along with it."
"I will let you do that," said Henry, turning a page within his grimoire."
Valtos then burst into Dak's room and found what he sought.
"I sent mana coming from this area," he said as he approached the window sill. There, resting on it, he could see a magic stone. "That's it, the same one. The magic stone that Hath failed to retrieve from Hage a long time ago was here, after all. I still can't believe it at long last."
He then felt the entire building shaking once again.
"Again!" he said.
Outside, everyone was watching as the building began to move. It took on a new form, and soon, towering over everyone was a giant stone person with the head of a dragon.
'Recombination Magic: The Raging Black Dragon!' said Henry. "This won't stand!" He then narrowed his eyes down upon Rades and Sally. 'I won't let anyone get away from hurting them. These are my squad mates.'
"He turned it into a weapon," Gaspard gasped.
"It's impossible!" Rades stared.
"That was awesome!" said Sally mesmerised. "How did he pull that off? He needs to be my new test subject!"
"That is my best friend Henry for you," said Gordon.
"It's got to get a crazy amount of power to move something that big," said Gaspard.
"The strength I used doesn't only come from me," said Henry joyously. "It comes from everyone. I store it all up and release it into one blast. What you see here is the mana power of all the Black Dragons together. I was bedridden, but a few years ago, I gathered all of my energy to wander hideout all thanks to you."
'Okay, so you really are the ghost that's been creeping around this place,' said Gaspard.
'I can't control my condition very well, yet if we get too close, I might suck way too much of your magic power. So we can't really meet face-to-face, but…'
Shortly after his first mission, Hiccup introduced Henry to Dak.
'Captain Hiccup introduced me to this kid; I explained to him that he should be careful around me. But all he said was, "Don't worry about taking my magic because I don't have any". After that, he came by and visited every now and then. You see, I'm one of you, and I am a member of the Black Dragons.'
Hiccup began to feel dizzy. "Uh-oh, I can feel my magic power draining like crazy. I had better get going. Anyway, I guess I'll be making you part of the squad then."
He then tossed him a Black Dragon robe onto his bed.
"Once you're able to move around some if you ever want to protect your team just for that robe on."
He then left the room, and Henry grabbed the robe and looked at it.
"When I want to protect my team?" he said.
Back in the present, everyone watched as Henry dawned on his Black Dragon robe.
'That time is now,' he said.
"You're kidding me," said Gaspard.
"He's a Black Dragon," said Grey.
"So what if you've got bigger toys? You're still no match for my number zero!" Rades laughed.
Mikael Caesar unleashed a massive surge of attacks directly at Henry.
'Mana Corkscrew!' Henry yelled.
The Raging Black Dragon raised its fist, spinning like a top and cutting right through Mikael Caesar's attacks. It slammed its fist into the ground with so much force that Mikael Caesar was sent flying.
"What?! Where did that come from?" Rades yelled.
The Raging Black Dragon raised its left fist. 'Mana Rocket Punch!'
Its fist suddenly shot off and headed straight towards Mikael Caesar, smashing into the ground with incredible force.
Gaspard and the others just stared openmouthed. 'What kind of crazy magic battle is this?' they said.
The fist then started to return to its own, leaving behind a very flat Mikael Caesar on the ground.
"Damn, get it together, Mikael Caesar!" Rades yelled. "I made you; I know you can do better than that. What's the hold-up? Dust yourself off and get back to it!"
"Hey, I know he's a lifeless corpse that feels no pain and all, but if he takes on another couple of big attacks like that, he's going to end up double dead," said Sally. Her eyes then turned to Henry with great interest. "I sure would love to get a peek at that guy's organs. My research is really paying off lately."
She then licked her lips. 'I'll show them.' She then touched her scorpion necklace. 'Dark Magic Item: Magic Scorpion Necklace!'
The Scorpion's tail then injected something into her. "This allows me to increase my power tenfold even though it's only for 10 minutes."
She suddenly felt a surge of magical powers flowing into her body.
"Gel Magic: Sticky Salamander!" she yelled.
She then began to reform her salamander, but this time, it was ten times as big as before, equal in size to the Raging Black Dragon.
"Damnit, that's the one way she could have made that thing worse," said Gaspard.
"Hope you're ready because here I come," said Sally, grinning.
"Of course," said Henry. "Raging Black Dragon: Mana Corkscrew!"
The Raging Black Dragon's right fist began to spin like a top once more and slammed it into Sally's Sticky Salamander. However, the sticky salamander absorbed the attack, and now he was stuck in place.
"Oh no," said Henry.
"You can throw all the punches you like, but it won't do any good," Sally smiled. "Want to see something cool?" She then pulled out the syringe from earlier. "Behold, Dark Magic Item: Properties Boost! Enhance gel viscosity!
She then injected her sticky salamander with the syringe, and it turned from purple to blue. It then fell onto the Raging Black Dragon, and the gel began to spread all over it and Henry.
"That unique ability of yours is one thing, but your constitution really intrigues me," said Sally. "Let's see what to do next?"
Rades laughed. "At a girl Sally. Finish him off!"
Gaspard and the others immediately rushed over to Henry's rescue.
"Come on, we have to help," said Gaspard.
"There isn't much time left," said Grey.
"Wait, best friend," said Gordon.
"But how do we stop that thing?" Grey asked.
"The spell that Gordon and I have won't be effective against her Gel Magic," said Gaspard, explained to her. "You'll have to change its attribute to something else."
"Are you serious?!" Grey panicked. "I'm not good enough to go up against a monster that big. It'll never work."
"You will be fine; I'll take the lead," he said, looking at her.
"Hm, okay," said Grey, covering her face.
Gaspard then lifted his bangs to reveal his magical eye. "Look into my eyes."
Grey looked at him through her fingers, and Gaspard immediately began to create magical clones of her.
"Mirror Magic: Mirage Brigade!" Gaspard yelled.
"Did he just turn that girl into an army?" Rades gasped.
"Check it out," said Sally.
"I really prefer that you didn't," Grey and her clones said as they covered their faces. "Okay, here we go. Transformation Magic: Magic Conversion! To gel into plant!"
Sally's eyes widened as her Sticky Salamander became a giant plant.
"The best way to destroy a planet with a little poison," said the Grey clones.
The clones vanished, and the original Grey landed on the ground and looked at Gordon with closed eyes.
"Gordon, it's your turn," she said.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed," said Gordon, spreading his hands. 'Poison Curse Magic: Dwelling of the Poison Cloud!'
He then spread his hands and created a large poisonous fog, which ate away at the salamander's new form. Sally jumped to safety before the poison could reach her.
"Nice one, creepy," said Gaspard.
Rades looked at them furiously. "Quit playing around! Get up, Mikael Caesar!"
Mikael Caesar got back up just as instructed and then charged towards them.
'Don't you lay a finger on my friends,' said Henry as he pulled himself free from the vines.
The Raging Black Dragon then turned and slammed its rotating fist down upon Mikael Caesar, squashing the wrath flat.
"What's he doing now?" Rades yelled.
"Yeah!" the Black Dragons cheered.
Mikael Caesar's body was now completely shattered, and Rades was fuming.
"So it's like that, huh?" he yelled. "All right, we have no choice but to bring out the big guns."
Sally approached him but then suddenly became dizzy. "Not sure why, but I'm dizzy all of a sudden. I think I might have overdone it on the mana."
Valtos then appeared and exited out of the portal. "Wait…"
"Valtos, you're back?" said Rades.
"Oh great, has he been in there the entire time?" said Gaspard.
"I've got the item we wanted," said Valtos. "Let's go."
"What?! Are you crazy?!" Rades protested. "We can't just zap and leave!"
"For this assignment, failure will not be tolerated," Valtos reminded him. "I won't be swayed by your incessant whining."
Rades looked as if he wanted to protest but reluctantly joined him. "Damn you, black Dragons! This isn't over yet! Do you hear me?!"
"Bye-bye," Sally waved as they entered Valtos' portal. "Let's play again sometime, okay."
"You punks got lucky!" Rades yelled. "Next time, you're all dead!"
Valtos laughed as he looked at the magic stone. "Everything is as Master Licht desires."
"Stop right there! When not finished with you yet, Eye of the Midnight Sun!" Gaspard yelled.
However, it was too late to stop them as the portal disappeared.
"How could we let this happen?" said Gaspard. "Whatever they stole from our hideout, they're long gone with it now."
"I don't know what happened, but at least we beat them," said Gordon. "Joining forces with my friends. I'll remember this day fondly."
"If you ask me, I'm just happy that everyone is safe and our hideout made it out okay," said Grey.
Gaspard turned to the hideout, which was currently in pieces. "You considered this okay?" He then looked up at Henry. "Hey, you can put everything back together, right?"
"Well, actually…" said Henry.
"If any of my Marie treasures are damaged…" Gaspard warned.
"I can't help you," said Henry.
"Seriously?! Marie!" Gaspard yelled.
"Don't spare a single detail," said Gordon.
"Now I'm too discouraged to trample myself back!" Grey cried.
Licht, meanwhile, was waiting in the school of the giant Demon just outside of Huttsgalor in front of the magic stone tablet. Then, Valtos, Sally, and Rades emerged from the portal.
"Master Licht," said Valtos.
"Sorry for the wait," said Rades.
"I assume that you are covered it then," said Licht, turning to face them.
"It was easy peasy," said Sally.
"Here it is," said Valtos, presenting him the magic stone.
"Well done," he said.
He then took the stone and inserted it into the stone tablet, which then began to glow.
"Only two remain, and once we have them, the Monument of the Tree of Life will guide us in awakening our true power."
"Our wish is finally being fulfilled after waiting so long," said Valtos.
"Yes," Licht nodded.
"It's about time," Rades smiled. "We'll lay waste every last one of those worthless Magic Knights. This ought to be fun. So where can we find those other stones?"
"Yeah, we'll pick them up for you and bring them back in a flash," said Sally.
"Just say the word," said Valtos.
"I appreciate that; however, I'm the only one who will be able to recover the remaining stones," said Licht.
"I understand," Vatlos nodded.
"You take this opportunity to get some rest. No need to worry, I'll hand it."