Celina attempted to destroy Salus, but her plan ended in failure. Salus is now released and in control of Skull Legion. However, the alliance of the light guilds isn't giving up just yet. They still have a chance to stop this thing because they're still alive and still willing to fight. That's just what Maru and the others are going to do as this thing is heading somewhere, but Skull Legion isn't done with them just yet.
"Hurry up! I don't want to think what might happen if this thing has to..." "Don't even say it! We're near the tail and that's it!" Mary interrupted Gin with all of them trying to make it up to the civilization sitting on top of the creature.
"Almost there!" Maru reached out to the ledge and could almost reach it. Luckily, someone grabbed his hand to help him out.
"Need a hand?" Maru looked up and was surprised to see Rogue and Kagura standing up there.
"Rogue! Kagura! You're here!" Maru called as he was glad to see them.
"I'm here, too!" Frosch claimed. Thanks to Rogue and Kagura, they were all able to make it to the top and were on solid ground again.
"Thank you." Yukina said.
"Of course. I take it you were able to rescue Tony and help your friend." Kagura said.
"Yeah. Aster's doing much better, and I'm sure he's here." Maru claimed. "How did all of you managed to get here?"
"Kagura and I were nearby when this thing emerged out of the ground." Rogue claimed.
"We were able to regroup with each other and had a look around. The place is completely deserted. The only people I imagine are here would be our enemies." Kagura claimed. When she said that, they all had a look and saw what they were standing on. It was like a whole city, but it was in ruins.
"What is all of this? Did people use to live here?" Mary questioned.
"I'm not sure, but it certainly seems like that." Rogue claimed.
"Rogue, aren't you feeling sick? This thing is moving." Frosch asked.
"Oddly enough, no." Rogue said.
"Why would he?" Gin asked.
"Dragon slayers like myself can sometimes suffer from a severe case of motion sickness." Rogue explained. "When we ride a vehicle or something that isn't alive, we are met with an intense wave of sickness and vertigo. It can't be helped. That's one of the reasons I have Frosch to help me out. Frosch being able to fly helps me out."
"Really? I never knew about something like that." Maru said.
"Okay, but we're on the back of a creature. Isn't that why you're not getting sick?" Mary said.
"Perhaps, but something feels off." Rogue said. "This creature has to be under the control of Skull Legion and isn't able to think for itself. Also, it's been buried for so many years. How could it have survived? To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if this thing is truly alive or if it's the work some sort of magic."
"I see your point." Maru said. "It's bizarre that this creature has been able to survive after being sealed away. Plus, there's the matter of this whole place. What is something like this doing on here? There's still so much about this thing that we don't know."
"I say it doesn't matter." Kagura claimed. "The fact is that you're still at full strength, and we're going to need you to be."
"Kagura is right. This thing is going somewhere, and I think we need to stop it before it gets there." Gin said.
"Exactly. We need to figure out how to stop this thing." Kagura said.
"How?" Sandy questioned.
"We looked around, but haven't really found anything that stands out." Rogue claimed. "The only thing that does is the tower that stands right in the center. There must be some sort of control system or something in there. I think we should start there." That sounded like a good idea to the rest of them. They all headed straight for the tower, but they'll run into some trouble along the way.
...
Aster
As for Aster, he and Celina were attempting the same thing. They had a look around the area and everything was in ruins. They're looking around to see what can be used to stop it, but nothing appears to stand out.
"Empty. This place is completely deserted. Bringing back some bad memories." Celina said with her not feeling too good.
"The wounds are still fresh. Just try and focus on what needs to be done, and simply stay close to me." Aster said to make sure Celina feels safe. "Celina, you did research on this thing. What can you tell me about it? Anything might be help. Should we attack the creature's head or something?"
"I doubt that will help all that much." Celina said. "Whoever built this thing was well ahead of their time. This thing was perfectly built to have mechanics and organic matter work together. That's why we're on the back of this creature. I don't know who built it, but they took this creature and remodeled the body so that it could have all of this on it. It's quite difficult to say whether or not this thing is even alive."
"So, how can this thing be a weapon?" Aster questioned.
"Simple. The head of the creature is also the head of the cannon." Celina claimed. "Salus gathers great magic power right in the body. Then, it travels through the neck and is fired right out of the head with great devastating power fired like out of a cannon. Although, there is something that's quite ironic that I don't understand."
"What's that?" Aster questioned.
"I heard that Salus is the name of a deity that provided protection, but this thing brings devastation." Celina said.
"I don't know about that, but I suppose that depends more on whoever is controlling it." Aster said. "We got to keep moving. We need to figure out how to stop this thing before it causes any harm." Celina agreed and they both kept going.
...
The Alliance
The alliance kept on moving and was heading for the tower to try and stop Salus. They don't know where it's going, but it has to be stopped before it's too late.
"What happened to the others from Mermaid Heel and Sabertooth? Weren't you with them?" Sandy asked.
"Rogue and I separated ourselves from the others so that we could try and help." Kagura said. "Hopefully, they're all unharmed and will find some way to join us soon." They all kept moving, but Rogue suddenly picked up on something and came to a stop.
"Wait a moment." Rogue said.
"What's wrong, Rogue?" Frosch asked.
"We don't really have time to be making stops." Yukina said.
"Come on out! I know you're there! Don't even try to hide!" Rogue called out. Someone was hiding in the area. They did what Rogue said and came out with it revealing to be Kage. "No point in hiding in the shadows. I be able to find you anywhere."
"So it would seem." Kage claimed.
"He's with Skull Legion!" Mary said.
"That's the one named Kage. He uses shadow magic, doesn't he?" Gin said.
"I can't let you go any further." Kage claimed.
"Do the math. There's only one of you against all of us. You really think you can stop us on your own?" Mary said.
"Do not underestimate your opponent. His shadow magic could be a little tricky." Kagura claimed.
"That won't even be necessary." Rogue said with him stepping forward. "If shadow magic is his specialty, I'm the opponent that can take him on. I will handle this one alone."
"Do you really think you can take him on by yourself? Skull Legion has proven to be a powerful opponent." Maru said.
"There's no need to worry. Rogue can handle this one." Frosch claimed.
"Let's just get this over with." Kage claimed. He turned himself into a shadow and slithered towards them, but Rogue became a shadow himself. The two shadows were colliding against each other, but that was about all that they could see.
"Rogue can use shadow magic, too?!" Mary said.
"Close. Rogue is a dragon slayer, but all dragon slayers utilize a different element." Kagura explained. "Rogue is known as the Shadow Dragon Slayer. His magic is shadow dragon slayer magic, so he utilizes shadow powers in combat."
"But I can't tell which shadow is which. What if he needs help?" Gin said.
"Wait for it. I don't think we have much to worry about." Kagura claimed. When the two shadows mixed together, Kage was the one flown out because Rogue gave him a fierce uppercut.
"Is that all you got?" Rogue questioned.
"Shadow Spear!" Kage attempted to fight back as he had a shadow of a spear shoot out of the ground and attempted to impale Rogue, but Rogue didn't move or flinch.
"Get out of the way, Rogue!" Yukina called, but Rogue didn't even move. He just simply gathered his own power in his arm and knocked it away so easily. "Incredible!"
"He broke that spell like it was nothing! That's awesome!" Sandy said.
"I think so, too!" Frosch claimed.
"You might be able to block that attack, but what about this?" Kage questioned. He had his shadow stretched out until it was right under Rogue and surrounded him. "Shadow Collapse!" Then, the shadow had hands come out and grabbed a hold of him and kept grabbing him until Rogue was completely surrounded by a shadowy dome. "This spell will crush down on you until your body breaks."
"We need to get Rogue out of there!" Maru said with him ready to act.
"Will all of you calm down? Rogue is much stronger than you seem to think." Kagura said. She made her point when they all heard a strange sound. Instead of being crushed, Rogue was perfectly unharmed with all of the shadows entering his mouth. It was like he was devouring them.
"What's this?!" Kage said with him showing a rare sign of emotion with his eyes widening in shock.
"No way! Is Rogue actually eating the shadows?!" Yukina said.
"How is something like that even possible?!" Mary said as none of them in Phoenix Flame has ever seen anything like that.
"Dragon slayers are capable of devouring their own element." Kagura claimed. "It doesn't matter how skilled this guy is with shadow magic. Rogue is able to devour whatever his opponent throws at him and replenish his own power. Rogue is incapable of devouring his own magic, his opponent's shadow magic will be completely ineffective against him."
"So, shadow magic, and anything to do with shadows, won't hurt Rogue at all! That's why Rogue was so confident that he could take this guy on his own!" Gin said. "All this guy has is shadows and it won't work against Rogue at all."
"Correct. Rogue won't even get a scratch." Kagura said.
"My magic has no effect on him at all?" Kage said. If his magic can't work against Rogue, he has no way to win at all.
"Your magic won't work on me, but my magic can work on you. I believe this fight is now over." Rogue said. He became a shadow and got right under Kage. When that happened, shadows erupted right under Kage and did some great damage. After that, Rogue emerged out of the ground and appeared right before him. "Shadow Dragon Roar!" He unleashed a powerful blast of shadows, unleashing it like a mighty roar. It blasted right through the buildings with Kage consumed by all the shadows. It was just as Rogue said. This fight was over with Kage against a wall and taken down.
"Yay! Rogue won!" Frosch cheered.
"Wow! Rogue beat a member of Skull Legion like it was nothing!" Gin said.
"I guess we shouldn't be that surprised. Rogue is a part of Sabertooth, and Sabertooth is considered the second best guild in Fiore now." Yukina claimed.
"So that's what dragon slayer magic is like!" Maru said. He was amazed with what he's seen. "I don't think he was even trying. I knew it was powerful, but not like this." Maru knew a little about dragon slayer magic, but seeing an actual dragon slayer in action is something else.
...
Dante
Dante felt the same sensation he felt before. The same feeling he got when Siena and Salon were defeated. He gripped his own chest and could tell that another member of his guild has just been defeated.
"Now Kage has been defeated." Dante claimed. "That means there are only two left. I'm starting to wonder what might happen if our enemies are able to get to me before that happens." Why is Dante so concerned about what might happen if he falls before his remaining guild members do?
...
The Alliance
"Get up. We need to talk to you." Rogue claimed as he tried to get Kage to stay awake and try to get some answers out of him. "I know you can still hear me. Tell us how to stop this thing. Where is it even going?" It didn't seem like Kage wasn't going to answer them.
"Forget it, Rogue. It doesn't look like he's going to talk." Gin said. "We're wasting time. We have to stop this thing before it reaches wherever it's going."
"You're right." Rogue said with him letting Kage go. "Let's hurry." Since Kage was defeated, there wasn't much reason for them to stick around. All of them hurried along.
"Wait." Kage finally spoke. "I'm your enemy. Aren't you going to finish me off? Aren't you going to kill me?"
"You want me to kill you? Why?" Rogue said.
"I fought the best I could and I still lost. I was no match for you. This is the perfect opportunity for you to kill me." Kage claimed. "I can't defend myself from you. Go ahead and finish me off."
"No, I won't do something like that. You've lost this battle and that's all there is too it." Rogue said. He just left things at that and kept going with him leaving Kage there. Strange he wanted Rogue to kill him, but that's not important right now. Three members of Skull Legion down and only three to go.