Everyone present was absolutely astonished that Nero spoke Finral more than any of them.
"What? But you… I mean, you're a… How?" Finral stared openmouthed. "What? Why? I'm so confused."
"Did you not hear me?" Nero asked as if she had been speaking her entire life.
"What's happening?" Finral asked as he stared at Nero, who was resting on his chest. "Nero's a bird, and birds don't talk. So how the heck are you talking to me right now?"
The mages present immediately bowed before Nero.
"The bird just spoke!"
"It must be a spirit, a noble spirit."
"Nero, what's going on here?" Finral asked, not believing he was having a conversation with a bird. "Since when have you been a talker? Wait, I know; I'm still asleep, aren't I?"
"Kindly pick up your jaw off the ground," said Nero patiently. "I need a portal at once."
"What?!" Finral cried. "Now that I've passed the initial shock, maybe go back to not talking."
"As it stands, the humans who are still possessed by elves may not be able to change back," Nero continued.
"Huh?" Finral stared as he looked at his brother, who was still unconscious and bound in Hiccup's binding spell.
"That's not the worst part," said Nero, following his eyes. "Anyway, I need you to escort me to the demon's bones immediately."
"How weird day," Finral blinked.
Meanwhile, Hiccup and his group were still fighting against Zagred, and Hiccup had just sliced through him with his dimensions slash.
"Return!" said Zagred.
Suddenly, he began to regenerate, and his wounds were completely healed as if Hiccup had never sliced them off.
"One good cut deserves another," Zagred smiled. "Tempest of Blades!"
Blades began to rain down from the sky, and Hiccup knocked them back with his own sword.
"You ever heard of us a fair fight?" Hiccup yelled. 'This devil has got some dirty tricks. Not only can he make anything he says manifest as magic, but he can summon objects, move them and manipulate them however he sees fit. That Tempest of Blades technique is pretty much all those things at once. This is ridiculous.'
Hiccup jumped onto Toothless' back and began flying around. He used his blade to fend off the falling blades.
'He weathered Astrid's briars, healed himself and messes with us in any other way he can think of. But as he hasn't ordered us to die, that means he must have some limitations.'
Hiccup looked down at Astrid. "Astrid!"
"The name is Astra!" Astra glared and then extended her briars to wrap them around the blades. 'Earlier, not all of my briars were affected by his attack. Perhaps they were out of range. His magic capacity might be a factor as well. Could he be putting so much massive magic power into his words that our own spells are being overwhelmed?'
Astrid then created a path with her briars. Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and ran across it while Heather offered support. She kept on firing different elemental arrows, but Zagred counted them perfectly.
'He seems to be able to counter practically every single element,' Heather observed. 'But no one is that powerful. He must have some sort of weakness; we just have to find it before it's too late.'
Hiccup finally reached the top and swung his sword, unleashing his slashing attack. 'I noticed one thing, no matter what he says, his words can't block my Dark Magic.'
He watched as his slashing attack headed straight towards Zagred, but he quickly flew over it.
'Yep, he jumped out of the way,' Hiccup observed. 'Now I've just got to land a clean hit on him.'
Licht then suddenly appeared behind Zagred and stood right in the path of Hiccup's last attack. He quickly absorbed the attack with his Demon-Dweller Sword and said it right back.
"Not too bad," said Hiccup, impressed.
The reflected attack cut right through Zagred's tail, but he wasn't deterred in the slightest.
"For someone who's essentially still asleep, you seem to be moving around quite a bit," Zagred smiled, looking down at Licht.
'He's right,' said Astra. 'Licht can't use his full power yet. For now, the fight appears to be balanced.'
Heather grimaced. 'We may outnumber him, but I saw him in battle earlier, and he completely overpowered everyone. This seemed to be one big joke to him, so I'm betting he hasn't shown his full potential yet.'
"Tempest of Blades!" said Zagred.
Once again, swords were raining from the sky, and Astrid swung her briars to block the attack. Heather quickly created an earth shield to withstand the attack, and Hiccup parried them with his own sword.
"There is an end to these damn things!" Hiccup yelled frustratingly.
"I saw him in battle earlier, and I think he's only playing with us!" Heather yelled.
"That makes sense," said Hiccup grimly. 'In terms of war power, he has all of us beat. I can't keep my magic going forever, and Heather's right; he hasn't broken a sweat.'
Zagred looked at them, amused. "I am enjoying your company. It's nice to have something that keeps me busy. Inhabiting my body and playing freely with my magic spells makes my heart dance with happiness. I am very grateful to you, and of course, you helped me obtain the five-leaf grimoire."
They watched as his grimoire hovered in front of him, and he began to rummage through its pages.
"Let's try it, I'll show you what devils are truly capable of," he said.
"Here it comes," said Heather.
"Yeah, but what?" Hiccup grimaced.
They all brace themselves for whatever he was about to summon.
"Word Soul Magic…" he said.
His last words were unpronounceable, but appearing behind him was some sort of dark spatial portal, and a monstrous magical presence slammed right into them.
"Just when I thought I'd seen his worst move, he's got more," Hiccup stared.
Emerging from the spatial portal was some kind of purple goo.
"I am being from another dimension, the latter of which you cannot begin to fathom," said Zagred as the goo slowly consumed the chamber. "You're doomed!"
'What the hell is happening?' Hiccup stared. He noticed that Toothless was looking at the goo rather terrified, which meant it was bad news.
"That magic, is it from the world of the dead?" Astra asked.
Zagred merely laughed at the terrified expressions.
Hiccup swung his sword, unleashing a slashing attack to cut away from some of the goo, but it merely grew back.
'Cut them off, and they grow right back,' Hiccup grimaced and quickly jumped back to avoid getting hit by the goo.
Heather apparently had used up more magic during the fight and was finding it difficult to move, but Toothless quickly swooped down and grabbed him, pulling her to safety.
"Thanks, Toothless," Heather smiled, rubbing his head.
Hiccup was happy that Heather was saved, but he had no idea how long the goo continued to spread.
Down in the lower chamber, everyone could sense something was going on above them.
"What is that?" Patry asked.
"No idea," Leyla frowned.
At the same time, following Nero's instructions, Finral created a spatial portal and arrived at the Demon Skull.
"Even with Spatial Magic, that was a long trip," Finral moaned.
"Don't waste time," said Nero, flying over to the stone tablet.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Finral grumbled. "Stupid bird."
"Take out the magic stones embedded in this monument," Nero instructed.
Finral stared as the stone tablet was filled with magic stones. 'Hey, all the magic stones that were stolen by the Eye of the Midnight Sun are inside this thing.'
He then looked at Nero uncertainly. "Are you sure I can do that?"
"Make it quick," she said.
Finral removed the magic stones and then was ordered to transport them to the top of the skull; he still could not believe that he was taking orders from a bird or why he was following them. He was now standing right in front of the statue of the first Wizard King.
"Now, place the stones into the statue," Nero instructed.
'It's the First Wizard King,' Finral frowned. He then bent down towards the belt towards the statue. "Here goes."
He then began to insert the stones into the belt, and once he had inserted them all, he stood up with the two remaining stones.
"And now the eyes," he said, placing them in the eye sockets. The moment he placed the last of the magic stones, the statue began to glow. "No way? What's happening?"
The stone statue then slowly began to crack.
Meanwhile, Hiccup and his group were slowly getting overwhelmed by the purple goo, and he felt that they didn't want the goo to touch them.
"Watch out?" Hiccup yelled as they put some distance between them and the goo.
Astra then noticed the goo was absorbing her briars. "Oh no, what's wrong with our spells? They're melting!"
She was so focused on the briars that he failed to notice the goo was just about to consume her.
"Astrid above you!" Heather yelled.
Hiccup, fortunately, was quick to react and quickly extended his sword. 'Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Black Blade Blunt Slash!'
Hiccup's blade then quickly extended, and he used it to push Astrid out of the way just in time. However, the blues consumed his right arm, and he could feel it burning. He quickly pulled his arm free and jumped back and saw that his arm was badly burnt.
'Looks like that gunk drains magic from everything from our bodies,' Hiccup winced.
Zagred laughed. "Soon, you'll be too weak to carry your sword. I have just initiated a devastating spell that depletes the life force all it touches, and once it starts, there's no way to stop it. Eventually, it will devour all of existence!"
To make matters worse, the goo began to flow into the spatial portals, extending to the rest of the Shadow Palace.
'Damn, this keeps getting more hopeless,' Hiccup grimaced.
The goo had already reached the chamber where Dak and the others resided.
"There's something coming towards us," said Patry.
"What is that stuff?" Leyla asked.
"The devil's power!"
Leyla, Snotlout and Patry then took to the air and began attacking the goo with their spells.
'Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!' said Patry, unleashing his swords.
'Wind Magic: Tornado Fang!' Leyla yelled, launching a tornado.
Their attack struck the goo but were instantly absorbed into it.
"It's absorbing all of our spells," said Leyla.
A piece of the goo then grazed Patry, burning his skin.
"It's not stopping, stay back," said Patry.
The goo had already hit the floor and slowly approached Maple, who was still healing the others. Leyla and Patry try to protect them with their spells, but the same thing just happened.
Dak then quickly ran up and tossed them to safety. "Gotta ya!"
"Dak!" Maple cried as the goo slammed into him.
"Dak!" Leyla yelled.
However, Dak easily sliced through the goo with his sword and appeared unharmed.
"I thought that would have killed me for sure," Dak blinked.
"Oh, thank goodness," said Maple relieved.
Both Snotlout and Leyla merely smiled.
Patry just looked at him, amazed. 'Anti-Magic works against that too, and he isn't even injured?'
"I'm guessing that purple stuff eats away at magic, and since Dak doesn't have any, he was unaffected," Leyla theorised.
'This is so bizarre,' said Patry.
"Lucky me," said Dak.
Maple then conjured up her Magic Flower Guidepost to give them a better layout of the land.
"Oh no," said Maple. "I knew it. Even more of that eerie magic power is hovering above us right now. This means the people in the other rooms are also in danger."
Everyone looked at one another.
'If anyone has the swiftness to get the possessed Magic Knights out,' said Snotlout, his thoughts turning to Adelaide. "We have to protect the Clover Kingdom from this threat without abandoning any of our own. I'll go and assist everyone in the lower rooms; you had better come with me, Vermilion."
"Yes, sir," Maple nodded.
Snotlout then turned to Dak, Leyla and Patry. "You three seem to understand the enemy and what's going on above better than I do. If you can find a way to use Dak's Anti-Magic, Leyla's Spirit Magic and the elf's Light Magic in tandem with one another, you should be able to make it to the main chamber. Get moving."
"Right!" Dak nodded.
Finral was still at the Demon Skull, watching as the statue of the first Wizard King began to crack, but it did look as if it was breaking into pieces.
"Now that your seal has finally been broken, I'm assuming that my own seal will be released as well," said Nero as she began to glow.
"Nero?" Finral stared, utterly confused.
"What a pathetic state you're in," said Nero, talking to the statue. "If only my spell had worked more completely."
"No," said the statue, much to Finral's shock, "without your help, I couldn't return at all."
"It is good to see you again, my Prince," said Nero.
Finral just stared openmouthed as the statue had transformed into Lumiere Jorgmilion Clover. However, he still had patches of stone around his skin, and his eyes looked like gems.
"At long last," he said.
"You're the First Wizard King," said Finral, finally able to speak. "That statue. It was you the whole time?"
Now that he thought about it, no one actually knew where the statue came from. Everyone assumed that an anonymous sculptor had carved the statue and left it on the top of the skull as a living monument.
"But how did Nero…" he turned towards Nero but found that instead of a bird was a young girl with raven black hair and piercing red eyes. She was wearing a black feathered dress and was completely barefoot, but the one thing that stood out was that she had a pair of porn sticking out of her hair.
"Wait, Nero? Is that really you?" Finral asked. You look… uh, kind of different. If I had known then that you were secretly a gorgeous young lady, I would have asked you on a date forever, but hey, there's no time like the present, right?"
Nero just gave him a cold, emotionless expression, and he got the message.
"Yep, cool, got it," said Finral, looking down at his feet.
Lumiere turned his gaze towards the Royal capital or, more precisely, the castle.
"I sense an otherworldly magic emanating from the Shadow Palace," he said. "I see; he must have obtained a new body then."
Finral wasn't sure what he was talking about; at the moment, he was still a little confused about the burr that just turned into a girl and the statue that was brought to life.
"Back to you guys. How did you get here?" Finral asked.
"Long ago, she used her Sealing Magic to confine me within the statue when I was close to death," Lumiere explained, gesturing to Nero. "So I've been sleeping."
His eyes then glowed, and he opened his grimoire, producing a large arrow of light with an arrowhead resembling a clover.
"And tonight, with the help of the magic stones, I was able to return at least partially."
Finral just stared at the spell he just conjured. 'His mana is so calm and yet so powerful. It's even stronger than elf magic.'
"As for her…" said Lumiere, looking at Nero.
"The truth is, I spent three centuries living as a bird," she explained as she grabbed Finral's hand.
"Uh, why are you holding my han—?"
Finral then screamed as they suddenly shot off straight towards Clover Castle at blinding speed. Lumiere was holding onto Nero, who dragged Finral along for the ride. Within seconds, they flew directly over the capital and straight towards the Shadow Palace.
"Sealing Magic: Inverse Release!" said Nero.
Somehow, she was able to reopen the spatial portal, and then she released Finral, who soon fell to the ground.
"Now then, wait for your friends," said Lumiere as they continued to make their way to the Shadow Palace. "And thank you for setting me free."
They soon reached the spatial portal, but unlike the others, they weren't flown off course when they entered the spatial corridor.
"You've been waiting for 300 years," said Lumiere, looking at Nero. "I am so sorry."
"No," she said, grasping his hand tightly. 'The most important thing is that we make sure that history does not repeat itself.'
She began to think back 300 years. Back then, she was known as Secre Swallowtail and was, in fact, the daughter of a noble house. However, their house had very little prestige, and it didn't help because her magic was ill-suited for battle.
Back then, there weren't any Magic Knights squads, so anyone with magic suited for battle joined the army. Everyone else either started their own business or became a servant, and that is how she met Lumiere.
Secre's eyes were brown, and she lacked warnings. She was dressed in a servant's uniform. Hiccup, the Prince's bodyguard she would now be serving, was guiding her down the corridor.
'As a noble, I should have been a powerful mage, but my magic was only good for opening and closing things. So others looked upon it with contempt, and I was assigned to serve an eccentric Prince whose magic was amazing even for royalty.'
"His Highness can be rather eccentric, so I suggest that you take his enthusiasm in stride," Hiccup advised.
'He's probably a snog,' Secre muttered to herself.
They soon reached the Prince's study, and Hiccup opened the door.
"Your Highness, let me introduce to you your new aid, Secre Swallowtail," said Hiccup.
"Why hello there," said Lumiere with a smile on his face. "Thanks for bringing her here, Hiccup, I would have done it myself, but I've been so buried in my research lately."
"Lately? You're always buried in research?" said Hiccup, looking half amused and aspirated.
Secre was quite taken aback by the friendly banter between the two of them. Her expectations of the Prince were far from what she had expected.
"Tell me what your magic is like?" Lumiere asked.
Secre then began to explain her magic, and surprisingly, he looked rather interested.
"Sealing Magic?" he said, intrigued. "I've never heard of that before. It must be rare. You're so lucky."
Secre looked at him stand as this was the first time anyone had ever complimented her magic, and she couldn't help but notice that Hiccup looked on in amusement.
"Now, how can we put it to use?" said Lumiere as he began to ponder. "Thinking about it is so exciting."
"All it does is open and close locks," she said. "It's shameful."
"Hey, don't say that," said Lumiere. "A lot of people are freed out about Hiccup's Dark Magic, but I found it fascinating."
"Yes, and there was quite an uproar when you arbitrarily decided that I become your bodyguard, considering I don't exactly come from a noble family," said Hiccup, folding his arms. He then took note of Secre's confused face. "My father is the chief of a small village. Such a position should have been put to someone of high nobility at the very least."
"But your magic at least is suitable for combat; mine is mundane compared to that," said Secre.
"Come now, you're sealing yourself to the possibilities," Lumiere smiled.
Hiccup groaned.
"I hope you didn't think you said something clever," said Secre, looking unamused.
"Uh," he said.
"Also, your clothes are strange," she added.
It was true that his clothes weren't exactly traditional for any royal or noble. They were regal enough, but they strongly resembled what commoners would wear.
"What?" he blinked as he looked at his clothes. "But I made them myself."
"You certainly don't pull your punches, do you," said Hiccup, looking at her. "You're lucky that Lumiere is very easy-going; otherwise, you might have found yourself locked up in the dungeon for saying such things.
"Understood," Secre nodded. "More importantly, what exactly do you need? I am supposed to be your servant, after all."
"Hm, good question," said Lumiere as he rose from his desk and looked down upon the strange gadgets that littered it. "Right now, I'm trying to make some magical tools."
"'Magical tools'?" Secer frowned.
"That's right. With these, even someone born without any magic can use all kinds of spells. It would be a good way to make our society more equal in the future."
"Equal? You're dreaming."
"It can be done. I'm extremely fortunate to have Hiccup because he's a master craftsman."
"I double," Hiccup shrugged.
"He's been modest; you should see what kind of detail he puts into his work," Lumiere smiled. He then looked back at Secre. "With the help of my magic items, I'm sure your ability will be a huge help in making. I know. Can you use your magic into objects?"
"Uh, yes," she nodded.
"Whoa, really? That's perfect!"
Secre soon began to help Lumiere with his research, and she was actually enjoying it.
'And so I helped the Prince with his magical inventions. I've never met anyone else like him in my whole life. Some members of his resented him because of the progressive ideals he championed, but he didn't let that bother him. He remains strong and honest, never compromising his beliefs.'
Secre was beginning to see what Hiccup saw in the Prince; unlike most of his family, he was not as condescending and actually enjoyed spending time with the commoners. If it wasn't for the fact that he was a powerful mage, he probably would have been ousted by his family by now.
Of course, when she was working with the Prince, she couldn't help but notice that he occasionally left the castle with his sister. Hiccup naturally accompanied them, but she had no idea where they were gallivanting off.
'I've noticed that he and his sister, Lady Tetia, have been sneaking out of the council quite a lot recently,' she noticed.
One day, she decided to follow them all the way to Elven Territorial.
'What could they be doing here?' she ponders as she hid behind a tree.
She was surprised that they were meeting a group of elves, Licht, the chief of the elves among them.
'They're meeting with a group of elves?' she gasped.
She can only imagine how the Royals would be if they knew anything about this, explaining why they were secretly seeking out of the castle. As she watched them, she noticed that both Lumiere and Licht had so much in common.
'Phenomenal magic talent, similar ideals, the same four-leaf grimoires,' she noticed. 'For the first time, the Prince had found a peer in Licht, the leader of the elves.'
She then watched as Lumiere made a speech to the elves about fostering understanding and benefiting both humans and elves. She also notices that Tetia was becoming rather smitten with Licht and vice versa.
'His items stored and disputed magic, and there are magic stones that amplified spells by linking to another world. By combining his work with the elves' resources, the Prince developed magic item technology even further, and the world he dreamed of where races could live in harmony was becoming a reality. He and Licht were best friends and soon would become family.'
The day before Licht and Tetia's wedding came soon, but they had to keep it a secret, especially since she was pregnant now.
"I'm sorry, Tetia, but it looks like I'll arrive late to your wedding," Lumiere apologised. "Father has summoned me to the Palace that day, and I can't refuse. I know you're disappointed that he and the others don't approve of this, but please don't worry; I'm sure they will come to understand someday."
"But in the meantime, we must keep your wedding and pregnancy a secret," said Hiccup. "The Minister, in particular, has become rather vocal; he's trying to convince his Majesty that the elves are planning a revolt in an attempt to usurp the throne. If it comes to light that you marry the leader of the elves and bear his child, that might be all the publication they need to launch an attack."
"I understand," said Tetia. "And even if you are late to the wedding, I'm sure that Licht and his family will be so pleased to see you there."
'However, it was likely even then that his plot was already in motion.'
Lumiere had made it to the Palace, and he and Hiccup were going to the throne room, but strangely, they had to encounter any Royals.
"Odd, the entire seems deserted," Hiccup frowned. "And it's a strange coincidence that your father summoned due to the Palace on the day of your sister's wedding."
"Yes, but it's a well-kept secret," said Lumiere. "We should hurry, or else we'll miss it."
They finally made it to the throne room, but there was no one there.
"Where is he?" Lumiere. "I'm here, father! You wanted to speak with me?"
"Something's not right," said Hiccup.
"Bind!" said a voice.
Suddenly, dark tendrils shot out of nowhere, binding the two of them.
"What's this?!" Lumiere gasped. "I'm trapped!"
"As I," said Hiccup as he struggled to free himself.
Then, stepping out of the shadows was the Minister.
"Good day, my prince," he said courteously.
"Minister?" Lumiere stared.
"No, this is something else," said Hiccup. "I think something is manipulating his body, something that reeks of malice."
"Oooh, good eye," said the Minister.
"What are you?" Lumiere demanded.
"Who are my?" The Minister smiled, and suddenly, a dark shadow materialised directly behind the Minister. "Despair, disloyalty, treachery, death or any other number of awful things really. You can use whatever name you prefer."
"I've read about this being, a soul from the other world with evil mana," Lumiere gasped. "A devil!"
"That thing must be controlling the Minister for who knows how long, whispering in your father's ear all this time," Hiccup gasped.
"Where's my family?" Lumiere asked as a dreadful feeling crept into his mind.
"Who knows, perhaps they have gone to confront that other race that's plotting to use your unwitting Princess to topple this entire kingdom, but that is only a guess," said Zagred, looking heavily amused.
Lumiere eyes widened in horror.
"Imagine how surprised the elves will be when a monstrous act of human violence falls upon that little wedding ceremony that only you were supposed to know was happening."
"No!" Lumiere used his magic to attempt to break free from the restraints.
Zagred laughed as he released the Minister's body, which fell to the floor in a lump. "What an impressive spell; that's why they call you the best. Unfortunately, I was prepared for that, so either you won't escape from those bonds so easily. As soon as I obtain my body grimoire, I promise I'll come back to play with you again."
"Wait!" Lumiere yelled.
"Monster!" Hiccup roared.
They could only watch helplessly as Zagred passed through the window and disappeared, no doubt to the wedding.
"Is anyone here! Help us!" Lumiere yelled.
"Prince!" said Secre as she rushed into the room.
"Thank goodness," said Lumiere, relieved.
"Oh no, what's that?" she asked, looking at the restraints.
"Some sort of fiendish magic conjured by a devil," said Lumiere
"I know that you would never do such a thing," said Secre.
"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.
"I'm not sure why, but the magic item we created was stolen," said Secre.
Hiccup looked at Lumiere. "I have a horrible feeling that I know what's become of it."
Lumiere had the same force and looked at Secre. "Quick, use your Sealing Magic to free us from these restraints."
"Of course," she said, stretching out her hands. "Sealing Magic: Inverse Release!"
There was a flash of light in the restraints that disappeared, freeing both Lumiere and Hiccup. Once freed, Lumiere grabbed hold of Hiccup and Secre and quickly sold through the sky like an arrow to the wedding ceremony as quickly as he could.
'Come on, fly faster!' said Lumiere frantically. 'Tetia… Licht… hold on!'
Soon appearing on the horizon, they could see a magic item and flames surrounding the wedding ceremony.
"There's the device we made!" Lumiere.
Eventually, they reached the wedding ceremony and found a most horrible sight. Littering the ground were elves who looked as if they had been stabbed. The only survivor appeared to be Licht, who was cradling Tetia in his arms, who was bleeding quite badly and hovering behind him was Zagred, looking on with glee.
"We're too late," said Hiccup horrified.
Secre then noticed that Licht's grimoire had gained an extra cloverleaf. 'That's a five-leaf grimoire!'
"I know it," said Licht.
"Knew what?" Lumiere asked.
Licht smiled at him, whose eyes were now black. "Deep inside, I knew that you weren't responsible."
His eyes then turned back to normal.
'Has he reclaimed control of his heart?' said Zagred surprised.
"Please forgive me; I should never harbour any suspicion of you, not for a second," Licht apologised.
"Don't bother resisting; it's too late now," said Zagred as he began to merge with Licht. "Relinquish your body to me!"
However, he was suddenly repelled, much to his surprise.
"You are the future that we all believed in," said Licht as a single tear dripped from his eyes and landed on the magic stones, which were now glowing. "You represent hope."
"What are you…?" Lumiere stared.
"Right now, my body is filled with an overwhelming amount of negative mana; I can't control myself, but we must not let that devil succeed."
Lumiere realised what he intended to do. "No, Licht."
"In order to keep my body and power from falling to the influence of evil, I have absorbed even more negative magic."
"The stones," Zagred gasped. "He used the highest form of the Forbidden Magic on his body?"
"Stop it! You can't do this!" Lumiere pleaded.
"I'm sorry, but I have one last selfish request," said Licht as he placed Tetia on the ground, "and only you can grant it. I beg of you…"
There was suddenly a flash of light.
"This isn't the answer!" Lumiere cried.
Magic circles then appeared over the sky, followed by several explosions. Emerging from the smoke was Licht, whose body had now transformed into a giant demonic creature with pure dark wings, four massive, powerful arms, and large horns sticking out of his head.
'…Lumiere, I need you to kill me.'