Johann and Revchi had managed to enter the Shadow Palace but had almost been completely swallowed by the purple goo. Fortunately for them, Johann's Transparency Magic made them invulnerable, but the entire place just shook, which was a little unnerving.
"What was that mumbling just now?" Johann asked, looking above them. "Did something happen up there?"
"I'm more curious about these dreadful purple beans crawling all over," said Revchi. 'If not for Johann's Transparency Magic, we'd be dead right now.'
"And worse than that, this fortress is practically infested with strong mages," he continued. "I don't know what I was thinking walking into a situation like this."
"Look at it this way, there is always a little bit of danger involved in any decision a person makes," said Johann calmly as he held onto the bags of treasure they had found. 'That said, we should probably escape before I ran out of mana. Which way to the exit?'
Licht's attack had been powerful enough to rip right through a good portion of the Shadow Palace, which caused the purple bruise to leak out. Hiccup and Astra had been forced out of one of the lower levels, but now they were free from the purple goo, and Hiccup deactivated his defensive spell.
"Licht's ultimate move seems to be working," said Astra. "They could withstand its power."
"Still can't wrap my head around just how crazy that spell was," said Hiccup. "It really saved our hides. The only problem is we were sent all the way down here. Oh, and thanks for fixing my arm. You know, you really do remind me of my wife."
"I just wanted us to be even," she huffed but then smiled. "But you're welcome."
'I might have just one more Dimension Slash in me, but I can feel that evil mana and aura from here,' he said as he looked at the top floor. 'Does that mean that the elf's best attack wasn't enough? I would want nothing more than to jump back in there, but I had better wait until I have a plan. For whatever reason, my Dark Magic seemed to be a match for that devil. The only thing I can do now is lay one final hit on him. The only other contender we've got is the one guy with no magic at all.'
Everyone was watching as Dak began channelling his Anti-Magic into him.
"That weapon he is using belongs to Licht," said Lumiere, recognising the Demon-Slayer Sword. "What happened?"
"After Licht's grimoire changed, it became possible for evil beings to use it," said Secre. "And then when it made contact with a different devil, apparently gauge the power of Anti-Magic."
Dak was having a hard time controlling the Anti-Magic. 'Oh, crap, I think I'm overdoing it.'
He suddenly felt the sword dragging him straight towards the Zagred, who laughed.
"You clearly have no control over the ability," he said as he thrust his trident at him.
However, to his shock, Dak cut right through it. 'He broke a spear from the other world? It's a voter trap Light Magic and warp space, but none of that worked against him.'
Dak then suddenly performed a U-turn, heading straight back towards him.
"I do not know what that devil you got that special talent from," said Zagred, sounding irritated and turning to look at him. "Regardless, I suggest you learn your place. Word Soul Magic…"
He once again began to speak in his native tongue, and the moment he did more, the purple goo pulled into the room. He spoke again in his devilish tongue, and the purple goo began to form in the shape of snakelike creatures with razor-sharp mouths. Dak headed straight towards them.
He was able to avoid getting bitten by them, but they still grazed his body, which was extremely painful. He then saw one of these creatures shooting out straight in front of him with its mouth wide, ready to devour him.
Lumiere then suddenly smashed right through it and pulled him to safety.
"Thanks for getting me out of there," said Dak.
Then suddenly, the Demon-Slayer Sword moved on its own and struck Lumiere so hard he was sent flying. "Oh, crap! I didn't mean to do that!" he yelled.
Lumiere crashed into the wall.
'Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!' said Patry, firing his swords.
"Wind Magic: Tornado Fang!" Leyla yelled, unleashing a powerful tornado.
"Weapon Creation Magic: Icicle Bow!" Heather yelled as he fired some ice arrows.
Toothless also find some plasma blasts.
Unfortunately, their attacks were ineffective against the purple goo. Though Toothless' attacks did have some effect, no doubt because his attacks weren't magic-based.
"Damn!" Patry cursed. 'Just as I thought our attacks are useless against his abilities. Even with the four-leaf on our side, we can't win. There's only one thing left for me to do now. Here I go, and this time, it won't keep be to hurt other people, but to protect them.'
Patry then concentrated, and suddenly, bubbles of dark light appeared around him.
'Demon Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!' he yelled.
He then created his dark light swords and sent them flying the purple goo creatures, and unlike his previous attack, this one was effective against them.
"It worked!" said Patry.
"Ah, yes, the elf chosen by the four-leaf," said Zagred. "You're fighting alongside, though. Which means your efforts are utterly wasted."
Dak was still having a hard time controlling the flow of Anti-Magic.
'Everyone else is pushing past their limits on their magic,' he said. 'I need to be able to do that too. Should I make it take shape and try to hold it there?'
Dak put all his effort into controlling the Anti-Magic. "Come on!" he yelled.
Secre quickly flew over to Lumiere, who had taken quite a hard hit.
"Are you all right, your Highness?" she asked.
"That really hurt," Lumiere winced but looked at her cheerfully. "Anti-Magic is amazing. I'm afraid I won't be able to use my power for a while."
"Sounds like you're not all right then," said Secre, concerned. She then turned her eyes to Dak. "It's not very likely to work, but I can bind it using my Sealing Magic. Then maybe I can get control of it—"
"Secre, it'll be fine," Lumiere assured her.
Dak was still struggling to keep his power under control.
"Come on, Dak, I know you're stronger than that," said Leyla.
Dak looked up and wasn't at all surprised to see that Leyla was travelling her own magic just as fiercely but having a far easier time controlling it.
"We need to use our powers to their full potential if we have any chance of winning," she said as he conjured the sword out of Wind Spirit Magic. She then swung her sword, cutting through the purple creatures. "After all, that is the only chance we have of becoming the Wizard King or Queen!"
'Our magic dispersed into the air, but she used her wind to condense it and turn it into a weapon that could combat the doubles attacks,' said Lumiere, looking immensely impressed.
"He's grown significantly stronger throughout a single battle," said Licht, smiling.
Leyla smiled. 'Wind Spirit Creation Magic: Spirit of Zephyr!'
"Yeah, I know, just give me a minute," said Dak.
The right side of Dak's body then turned black, and a horn began to protrude out of his head. Additionally, his Demon-Slayer Sword began to grow in size until it was twice as large as before.
"I always knew you had it in you," Leyla smiled.
"Of course, I do because I'm the guy who will become the next Wizard King," said Dak. 'Anti-Magic Demon Slayer Sword: Black Divider!'
'That one, too,' Patry gasped. 'They both evolved so quickly.'
"She's got a wind attribute as well as Sword Magic," said Lumiere, staring at Leyla. He then gasped as he realised that the elf spirit inside of her must be Licht's and Tetia's unborn daughter. "Yes, that makes sense. Amazing."
He then turned his eyes to Dak. "But what of the boy using the five-leaf grimoire? Who is he?" he asked.
"He's a foolish boy born with no magic as he is always barreling into things head-on," said Secre critically. "That said, he tries harder than anyone in the kingdom and will never give up. Stubborn to a fault."
"I'm ready when you are, Ley?" Dak smiled, though he was struggling to maintain this new form of power. 'I finally gave it shape, but I don't feel like I can keep it going for much longer.'
"Hang in there as long as you can," said Leyla, sensing her brother's struggles. "At least until we cut this guy down."
'It'll only take a second,' she said.
They then launched into the air and flew straight towards Zagred, cutting through his creatures as they attacked.
"You're lively, I'll give you that, but at that speed, I'm not sure you will be able to reach me," Zagred sneered.
However, both Dak and Leyla had a plan that they put into motion. First, Dak flew ahead of Leyla, and then she pointed her spirit sword at him and fired off a Tornado straight at him. The tornado circled around Dak, boosting his speed, and within moments, he closed the distance.
Zagred was so off-guard that he was unable to block the attack, and Dak plunged his sword right through his chest directly where his heart should be.
'That wretched Wind Magic made him faster,' Zagred cursed.
'The Anti-Magic pursued the wind, and the wind travelled through the void,' said Licht. 'That was a brilliant combination.'
"They did it," Patry gasped.
Zagred dropped his trident and appeared to be in massive shock, but then his expression changed to fury.
"You putrid trash," he roared.
Certainly, mouths began to appear across his body, and they all cried out in fury. Everyone was rather surprised because they had assumed that the last attack would have ended him. Then they saw a merging from the other side of his chest was Zagred's heart, and it was completely intact.
'If I pierced his heart, and then it just popped up somewhere else?' Dak stared.
'He must have moved his heart to the other side of his body at the last moment,' Heather gaped. 'Not sure why I'm surprised; it's not like you're fighting a human being after all, and everything he showed us is beyond comprehension.
Dak then saw one of those fearsome creatures emerging from the pool of purple goo. He quickly drew his sword and used it to block the attack, falling back towards Leyla.
"I'm going to exterminate every single one of you!" Zagred roared.
Dark portals appeared, falling more and more of the purple goo and more of those fearsome creatures.
Hiccup and Astra watched the absurd amount of purple goo flowing out of the top floor.
"I think that devil is getting serious now," said Astra. "He's about to swallow up everything."
"Well, that's just perfect," said Hiccup gravely. 'With all of this gunk in the way, we can't get in wet close to him.'
Patry was firing his dark-light swords at the creatures, and Heather created a bow out of darkness to repel them. Toothless also helped by firing some plasma blasts.
"This is going poorly, even for the best of us," said Patry.
"We have to do what we can in order to hold back this stuff," said Heather.
"Right now, I'm concerned about our allies on the lower floors," said Patry.
"Patry… Magic Knight…" said Licht, and they turned to look at him. "Defend the perimeter for now; we'll handle this."
Lumiere then appeared beside him.
"No matter what happens, we can't let the people of this era be killed," said Licht as they began to glow.
"We need the present-day Magic Knights; they are the future of the Clover Kingdom," said Lumiere.
"Now the finale," said Zagred.
"You think it's over?" Dak scoffed. "You don't get to decide how this ends. Are you ready, Ley? Let's do this."
"I was waiting for you," said Leyla.
The two of them gripped their weapons firmly in hand and glared up at Zagred.
"Time to shut this guy up for good," they said in unison.
The mouths across Zagred's body continued yelling snide remarks at them, and it was clear that he was not too concerned. He then unleashed his creatures towards them, and they quickly began cutting through them.
'The Anti-Magic is really affecting him,' Leyla noted as he cut away through. 'That is why he avoided that blow to his heart and why he's so furious about getting hit. So if we can get Dak's sword to pierce his heart, we can win this.'
Dak had the same thought, but he was struggling to maintain this form and starting to slow down. Additionally, every single muscle in his body was screaming in pain as he swung his blade.
'This sucks, my body is starting to reach its limit,' Dak winced.
'That Anti-Magic boy, he's fighting side-by-side with the Wind Magic user and trusting her completely,' Lumiere observed. 'They can do this.'
He then looked at Licht and nodded, both having the same thought. He grasped the Demon Dweller Sword.
'We'll leave it to them and help their friends,' they said in perfect unison.
The two of them then began to glow.
Down on the lower levels, Adelaide and Dagur were fighting against Fana, unaware of the danger from above.
'Severing Magic: Death Sycthe!' Dagur yelled, unleashing his slashing attack.
Fana barely avoided it, but her wing got sliced off.
"I'm starting to read your movements. It's only a matter of time before I slice you up, girl," Dagur smirked.
Fana, however, was aware that something was wrong above. "Wait a second!"
'We really should be fighting,' she said.
The purple goo suddenly erupted into the chamber; just ahead of it was Snotlout carrying the others. Snotlout then fired off the mercury to push Fana out of the way of the goo.
"I thought you guys went to a different floor?" Adelaide stared.
"No time to explain; this fight is about to flood with inhumane magic!" Snotlout yelled. "Everyone evacuate quickly."
Then, suddenly, Victoria jumped out of the entrance below.
"Mana Zone: Calidos Brachium Barrage!" she yelled, swinging her blazing fists at the goo.
"Captain Victoria is here too?" Adelaide gasped.
Victoria lapped like a mad woman. "I've never seen a spell like that," she said joyously. "This is amazing!"
Charmy had just witnessed the purple goo flowing into the chamber and quickly picked up Lira.
"Ugh, gross," she said. "Where did this nasty purple stuff come from?"
Thuggory was trying to fly ahead of the purple goo while carrying Kaiser and David.
'Things are getting dire,' he said as he saw the goo catching up. 'Oh no, it's catching up!'
Back on the top floor, both Licht and Lumiere were about to offer a helping hand to everyone in the Shadow Palace.
'The Demon Dweller Sword connects those who have strong who have strong bonds, allowing them to share their power,' said Licht.
'Since my magic had a chance against the devil, we'll use the sword ascended to everyone,' said Lumiere.
'Combo Spell! Demon Dweller Sword: Protecting the Light!' they said in unison.
Beams of light suddenly shot out from the sword and began reaching every elf in the Shadow Palace. He then formed a protective shield around them and everyone nearby.
"This power… What is it?" Adelaide asked.
"Looks like Licht and the Prince of yours combined their abilities into one big spell," said Rhya as Maple continued to heal him.
"How do you know that?" Adelaide asked.
'My connection with Licht shows me what's going on above our heads,' he said with a small smile. 'Isn't that nice? He got to have a little reunion with his long lost friend.'
"Aw, I've got to say it makes me feel kinda jealous," said Rhya.
'As long as this spell holds, I won't let the single one die,' Lumiere vowed as his face began to crack.
The purple goo erupted and tried to consume it, but Patry and Heather quickly jumped in to protect them.
"Weapon Creation Magic: Hellfire Bow!" Heather yelled as she conjured a bow of blue flames.
'Demon Light Creation Magic: Light Whip of Judgement!' Patry yelled.
Their attacks were enough to push back the purple goo.
'I never dreamed that I would team up with the human,' said Patry. He then looked at Licht and Lumiere from the corner of his eye. 'I should attracted the bond they shared a long time ago.'
Dak struggled to keep up with Leyla, who had to keep falling back to protect him.
'With the spell acting like a shield, we can focus on our attacks,' said Leyla.
"Seriously? You get a protective shield?" Dak grumbled.
"It's not my fault you don't have magic, but let's focus on the task at hand," said Leyla.
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Zagred found the entire thing amusing as his mouth kept on shouting condescending phrases.
Down on the lower level, Hiccup and Astra looked up at the top floor, which was now completely covered in purple goo. Their only protection was the light shield surrounding Astra, and there was no telling how long it would last.
"Keep your distance from the human; you're too close to me ' again," said Astra.
"Hey, if it wasn't for me, you would be neck deep in that purple stuff," said Hiccup and turned his attention back to the top floor, "and did you say you know what's going on up there?"
Astra frowned at him as he drew his sword and grasped it.
"I'm thinking that going by mana and aura alone probably isn't the safest strategy for us," he said. "So, can you keep me updated on what that freak is doing, please?"
"You're kidding. Do you think that will work from here?" Astra stared but then gave a small smile. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I'll add momentum to your strike."
She then began to wrap her briars around his sword.
"You had better not mess," she said.
"I won't," said Hiccup.
'We'll finish off this battle with one all-out attack,' said Dak, Leyla and Hiccup in unison.
Secre looked up at Dak.
'At first, I only got close to you so I could use you,' she said honestly. 'You had no magic, but you happen to obtain the five-leaf grimoire that propelled magic. And then the more time I spent around you, the more times I saw you fight, the more I wanted to believe in you. I wanted to cheer you on, so please…'
"When this, Dak," said Secre.
Dak then took off and began cutting through the creatures with his blade, but he was pushed back. Fortunately, Leyla flew in and protected him.
'I can feel this light making them even stronger,' she said. She then looked back at Dak with concern. 'Looks like he's maxed out though.'
Dak was definitely struggling to use all his willpower to stay in his Dark Form.
"Come on, Dak, I know you're stronger than that," said Leyla, taking off.
"You really know how to drive me, don't you?" said Dak as he took off after her.
Leyla was flying ahead and appeared to be guiding Dak through the creatures, which Zagred found amusing.
"You're only human, but yet you're using elven and spirit powers to fight me," he said, looking down at Leyla. 'They'll never pierce through my heart with a silly gust of wind. Meanwhile, that obnoxious fool is merely letting himself be pulled along by his sibling spell, and poorly, I might add. They are no danger to me.'
However, he suddenly noticed that only Leyla was flying through the separate creatures, and there was no sign of Dak.
'Where's the Anti-Magic boy?' he said, looking around. He then turned around and saw Dak flying towards them at an increased speed. 'Hiding in the seven magic? He's approaching from my blind spot.'
Is there that he realised that Dak was hitting himself with the severed creatures and used the opportunity to get behind him. Now, the two of them were pulling one another closer towards him at an increased speed, giving him no time to escape.
'They're calling each other with increasing speed!' he panicked. "Stop!"
It was too late; both Dak and Leyla Hanauer struck him with their blades, putting down as hard as they could to cut through his body. Unfortunately, before they could finish the job, Dak lost hold of his Dark Form.
'That's all I've got,' said Dak, horrified.
"No, Dak!" Leyla cried.
Zagred recovered and grabbed the two of them, looking at them gleefully.
"Nice try," he said with a menacing smile.
At the same time, Hiccup was putting all his concentration and magic into his sword, and Astra just stared at him.
'His level of concentration is astounding,' she said. 'But there's no way he'll succeed from this distance.'
Hiccup was now thinking back to Julius, making him a Magic Knight Captain, but he had some reservations.
"You're sure about this?" Hiccup asked. "Putting a foreigner like me in charge of the Magic Knights squad, not to mention my family was originally exiled from this country for regicide."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do just fine," said Julius confidently.
"I'll do my best, but I know that some of the higher-ups won't be too happy about it. My magic might be rare and all, but their eyes and just some filthy foreigner who happens to be a descendant of a criminal. After all, it was because of why the Clover Kingdom was much slower outlawing the hunting of dragons than the rest of the kingdoms."
"I know that," said Julius as he turned to face him. "Hiccup, I have watched you for a while. Trust me, you can handle the job."
Hiccup gave a small smile and shook his hand.
Back in the present, Hiccup opened his eyes, stepped forward, and began to swing his sword, which cut through Astra's briars. Astra herself just stared at him as she sensed an indomitable will coming from him.
"Mana Zone!" he yelled.
Hiccup had certainly pushed beyond his limits, combining his ability to sense aura with his mana sensibility. With that, he was able to pinpoint Zagred's precise position and could tell that both Dak and Leyla were in trouble.
"Dark Cloacked Dimensions Slash Equinox!" he yelled.
He then unleashed a powerful slashing attack, which kept on going, cutting through the purple goo, rubble and anything else in its way. It just kept on going until it finally reached Zagred, cutting his body in two, much to everyone's shock.
Zagred's body split apart, barely able to hold it together, and he began coughing out an insane amount of purple blood from every one of his mouths.
'Dark Magic can interfere with the other world!' Zagred roared, realising who was responsible. 'Curse that human!'
'I know that aura,' Dak gasped, and a smile appeared on his face. "Captain Hiccup!"
"He's still alive!" Heather cried happily.
Toothless roared in joy.
Zagred could barely see straight, and now he was coughing out so much blood it was difficult for him to even speak, meaning he couldn't use Word Soul Magic to its fullest extent.
"I'll end you!" Zagred roared.
Secre then flew behind him and pressed a hand against his back.
'Sealing Recovery Magic: Heavenly Prison Framed Omen!' she said.
Dak then suddenly found the pain in his body disappearing.
'I've sealed his physical damage; now we just need to draw out his Anti-Magic power,' said Secre, looking up at Dak. "Dak…"
"Die! Parish! Disappear!" Zagred roared.
He was able to conjure up some iron lances and fired directly at them.
"You first!" Leyla screamed.
She thrust her sword forward, unleashing a powerful gust of tornado that ripped apart the iron lances and Zagred's arms, freeing them.
"You're nothing but trash!" Zagred roared.
"Dak… remember you're going to be the Wizard King!" Secre yelled.
At that moment, Dak realised that Secre was, in fact, Nero.
"Yeah," said Dak as he took on his Dark Form.
He then extended his blade as far out as he could and held it firmly in his hands.
"Right here and now, I'm going to push past my limits!" Dak yelled as he swung his sword down upon Zagred.
Zagred yelled out in anguish as Dak pulled all of his remaining strength into his blade. The sword cut right through Zagred's body and his heart.