"What the heck!?" Ezel stared at both Wendy and Cynthia as they glared at him in their Dragon Force state. "You beat up brats really wanna do this!? I don't care if Marde-sama liked you or not, I'll slice you up, Rose!" Ezel grinned madly while lifting up his hands. "Come at me you little runts! You still won't be enough to sate my hunger!"
Wendy and Cynthia nodded once to each other before splitting off in separate directions. Wendy was the faster of the two, although Cynthia was not slacking in the speed department either. The two bouncing around made it exceedingly difficult for Ezel to keep track of both of them. This only irritated the demon as he was unsure on whom to focus on first. Ezel's hesitation left him wide open as Wendy appeared in front of him, slamming her fist into his chest, a powerful cyclone emitting from her tiny hand on impact. It was enough to sweep Ezel's heavy stature off the ground and right into the air where Cynthia was waiting. "Now!"
"On it!" Cynthia twisted her body, swinging her leg down the moment Ezel was within her reach. A blazing heatwave released the moment her leg completed its motion, slamming into the Demon Gate and set him crashing into the ground.
"Ugh…!" Ezel crashed into the ground, but he managed to pick himself up quickly. The fact that these two kids thought they were all that annoyed him severely, however he intended to make quick work of them. Face only had 4 minutes, which he considered more than enough time. Both dragon slayers were on opposite sides of him now. Wendy and Cynthia proceeded to inhale before unleashing their respective roars towards Ezel to flank him, aiming to sandwich him in the middle between their two roars. This demon wasn't having any of it and crossed all four of his arms, all of them shining brightly before he expelled them to his sides."Mikazuki!" An X shape formed and cut through both roars coming at him, exploding once it struck Wendy and Cynthia, sending both girls flying to opposite walls of the cavern.
"Oof!"
"Agh!"
"I think I know which one of you I'll cut down first." Ezel's gaze landed on Wendy who was recovering from his last attack. Without a moment's hesitation he lunged forward with a hungry look, bringing his arm forward as he aimed to slice Wendy in half with a horizontal strike! Unfortunately for him, Wendy was just too quick and managed to avoid Ezel's attack by leaping off to the side. "Tch…!"
"He's really strong…I don't understand, Armor should have cut the damage.." Wendy mumbled while gaining some safe distance away from Ezel and his destructive cuts. It didn't help that Wendy and Cynthia were both injured from having just fought each other either. "Cynthia, are you okay!?"
"I've…been better…" Cynthia responded while gripping her arm. Her movements were rather sluggish; Wendy did hit her pretty hard and her body was still reeling from the effects. "But we can do this…!"
"That's rich!" Ezel grinned while landing a few feet away from them. "You two brats really think you can beat me in four minutes?! I can only wonder how mushy your brains must be to think that. It doesn't matter how much you buff yourselves up either, my curse slices through everything indiscriminately!"
Wendy shook her head, keeping a fierce glare on Ezel. "It's not about can or can't. Everyone is counting on us…so we HAVE to!" That said the little sky dragon began darting around the cavern once again, her high speed movements making it near impossible for Ezel to keep up once again.
"Hold still!" Ezel threw his arms forward, unleashing crescent blades of curse power at Wendy's location. These etherious blades sliced through the cavern walls like butter, but he still couldn't hit Wendy!
Finding the ample timing to strike, Wendy pushed off a wall and sprung towards Ezel with her leg extended, a small cyclone of wind wrapped around her leg. Cynthia followed suit with omega flames fiercely blazing around her opposing leg.
"Sky Arrow!"
"Fire Arrow!"
The two struck Ezel in unison with their twin kick, although this time Ezel was the wiser and used two of his arms to block both girls. His free arms were brought up, swiftly chopping the two girls horizontally with his raw strength. Both Cynthia and Wendy were thrown backwards towards the ground violently. "Is that all you got!?"
Wendy eventually caught herself, sliding along the rocky ground before coming to a halt. She didn't waste any time in springing forward, rearing her arm backwards as cyan wind trailed behind her fingertips. "Sky Dragon's Claw!" Wendy swung her arm down as a fierce veil of wind followed her movements. Ezel blocked this with two arms, however even he was still blown back by Wendy's increase in strength.
"Rgh..!" Ezel growled in frustration and prepared to strike back at Wendy, but Cynthia followed suit immediately!
"Omega Fire Dragon's Claw!" And now Ezel had to defend against this attack as well, gritting his sharp fangs in pain before he caught himself.
"That's enough. You two want to see some real power!? Well here you go, prepare to witness the strongest blade!" A bright light shone around Ezel as he entered his Slashing Form; a black mask appearing around his face and all four of his arms turned into razor sharp blades that could slice the air in the slightest movement.
"Here we go! He's getting serious now!" Cynthia warned Wendy before taking the initiative. The two girls lunged at Ezel, sliding to a halt with their fists pointed forward, releasing a conjoined vortex of omega flames and wind that rushed towards Ezel at an incredible rate.
"Omega Flame Sky Dragon's Searing Gale!"
"HAHA!" Ezel let out a maniacal laugh before bringing down a single sword vertically. This single slash cleaved through the dual vortex with no effort whatsoever. The wisps of wind and flame left after Ezel slashed revealed how shocked the two girls were that their combination didn't work. "There's nothing you can send at me that I can't cut through! BUT! I'll gladly cleave you both in half right now!" With that, Ezel began a series of rapid slashes that sent crescent blades towards the young pair. "Juzumaru!" These defined cuts grew larger and larger until they finally struck Wendy and Cynthia, knocking them into nearby walls injured and exhausted.
This was bad…at their full strength they would be able to put up a better fight than this…but the trap Tartarus laid out was working… "Agh…" Cynthia cringed in pain, which was something Wendy didn't see often no matter how badly Cynthia was hurt. This went beyond Wendy's final attack on her moments ago.
"Cynthia…are you okay…?" Wendy questioned with a worried expression.
"Just fine! I can take whatever he throws at me!" Cynthia spoke with her usual confidence, but it didn't seem as firm as it usually did.
"Let's test that? How many times can I cut you before you bleed…?" Ezel's lips curved into a sadistic grin and he just began slashing all four bladed arms wildly. The large crescent shaped slashes that followed were far too numerous for Wendy or Cynthia to evade in their current condition, so they just had to take it! The cries of pain both girls let out was music to Ezel's ears, it filled him with the joy only a murderous demon could understand.
When Ezel finally stopped his attacks, Cynthia was still seen standing in front of Wendy, having taken the most of it. There was a gigantic gash along her side spurting blood and she coughed some up after. Wendy also took some damage, albeit less than Cynthia. "C-Cynthia…! You're badly hurt…!"
"I can…still fight." Cynthia shook her head before taking to the air despite her injuries. Clicking her legs together, flames began to circulate around her lower body before manifesting into a pseudo-drill which she dove down with in attempt to skewer Ezel. "Omega Fire Dragon's Drill!" Cynthia's drill collided with all four of Ezel's bladed arms; she attempted to overpower him, but her reckless plan backfired as he slashed away her flames to leave her completely defenseless! "Ah…!"
"Too bad for you!" Ezel then brought up a tentacle to brutally slam Cynthia the ground. The impact was so rough she bounced a few times before landing on her stomach. "Look at how pathetic you are! You can't even decide if you want to fight…that weak human sentimentally is exactly what Marde-sama was trying to erase from you."
"Can't decide…" Wendy blinked a few times before staring past Ezel and at Cynthia. "Cynthia…are you…still having doubts…?"
Groaning, Cynthia stubbornly stood back up, but with a frown on her face. She could only nod, not looking at Wendy as her gaze went off to the side. "I…I missed you terribly, Wendy. But…I did…horrible things. Things that everyone knows about…so even though I'm fighting with you…is this right for me to do…? Do I deserve to fight with you…? I just don't know…I tried to kill you, and here I am trying to protect you…"
"HAHA!" Ezel had the heartiest laugh he'd ever had listening to Cynthia speak. "Listen to yourself, Rose! Trying to stand up against the demons that saved you, it's hysterical!"
Wendy shook her head, refusing to let Cynthia continue to think this way. "That's not true at all. I can't imagine how difficult it is for you to feel this way…but I know one thing for sure: I can't do this without you…! If you want to start going on the right path again…then you can start by helping me help everyone else. Even if you can't believe in yourself right now…believe in me…because I never stopped believing in you…"
"Wendy…" Cynthia felt her eyes water.
"This sappy shit is putting a bad taste in my mouth." Ezel pointed two blades at Wendy and Cynthia each, all four of them radiating with a dangerous amount of power. "It's about time to end this!"
"So please…!" Wendy's eyes were already watering and she planted both hands firmly on the ground. "Cynthia, let's do this together just like always!"
Cynthia nodded slowly and placed both hands on the ground as well. "….Yeah!" With Wendy by her side…Cynthia never knew what fear was, and the reverse also held true: Wendy was never afraid with Cynthia nearby.
"HAAAAAAAA!"
A blue and red magic seal formed beneath Ezel, erupting into a gigantic tornado infused with omega flames. This roaring vortex caught the Demon Gate off guard and the intense flames and wind were actually wearing him down! Despite his efforts to slice through it, it would just keep regenerating faster than he could cut! While Ezel was preoccupied slashing the never ending tornado, Wendy and Cynthia struck! The two of them close the distance between the demon stuck within the eye of the storm while rearing their arms back, slashing him with their respective claw attack! Oh, but it didn't end there either; it was only just beginning!
"Fly, Wendy!"
"Right!"
Even Ezel felt stunned after taking two Claw attacks from the dragon slayer duo! Wendy and Cynthia used this time to leap high into the air beside one another, pulling their arms back. Between the empty spaces of their palms, a red and blue sphere began to shine brightly!
"This is the one thing even your blades can't cut: the power of our bond!"
"TWIN WAVE!"
Both dragon slayer hurled their arms down simultaneously. Two exceptionally large red and blue beams spiraled down towards the Demon Gate, merging together midway to form a powerful unison raid. A beautiful beam of crimson light raced towards Ezel and Face, consuming the two of them at the same time! The Twin Wave continued to travel for miles and miles on end before the overwhelming power it contained tipped over in a vicious explosion! It was this very explosion that was capable of shattering the Face device into a million pieces and disintegrated Ezel into nothing. The last thing that the Demon ever uttered was a pained scream of disbelief.
Once it was all over, Wendy and Cynthia hit the ground, exiting Dragon Force and collapsed to the ground. Both of them wore silly grins as they successfully managed to destroy Face. "W-We did it…" Cynthia exhaled heavily. They made it with 45 seconds left to spare.
"I knew we could…" Wendy nodded slowly before turning her attention to Carla. "C-Carla…are you okay…!?"
"I'm…okay…" Carla responded slowly. "I'm…so happy to see you two together again…the others will be happy too…"
It may have been a little too soon to celebrate…for the Face countdown continued to go down! The eyes of all three females widened. "W-What!? But…we stopped it…! We destroyed it…!" Wendy cried out.
"I can't believe I forgot until just now…" Cynthia was mentally kicking herself for the situation they found themselves in. "Even if Face is destroyed…there's a chance it could still go off. I think there's a way to stop it…but…"
"We have to…" Carla said it first. She knew what Cynthia was going to say next and admittedly, it made her stomach drop. Walking forward to the gaping hole in the cavern where Face once was, she placed her paw forward and a small pad appeared. "This is it…right…?"
"Yeah…" Cynthia nodded slowly. "B-But you two should go…! I can finish this. You might be able to escape if…"
"We can't make it out of here… Wendy shook her head slowly. It was only true…they were all spent on magic and too injured to make any hasty movements. "If we can save everyone by stopping Face like this, then…" Wendy also held her hand forward, saline building up in her eyes as she forced a smile. "And I would never leave you. I'm glad I got to be with you again, Cynthia..."
"…." Cynthia paused, staring at both Carla and Wendy. They were really worried about her all this time, weren't they…? Cynthia's gaze briefly went to the ground. "I've treated you and the other so badly…and yet here you are, still saving me. I'm sorry I was such a burden to you all this time…if only I wasn't being so stupid. We wouldn't be here right now…it's all my fault."
"Cynthia…stop that." Wendy shook her head. There were tears in her eyes. "I wasn't there when you needed me...but I'm not going to make that same mistake again. I was...so lonely without you..." She admitted, giving a sad smile. "Carla and the others...if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have the strength to be here right now. Waking up every day without you by my side, going through my days without you felt so empty. I missed you so, so much. Back at the tower, when you saved me, I felt it. I knew it was you and so did my heart. I held onto that hope...that hope brought me back to you." She placed a hand on Cynthia's chest, to feel her heartbeat. "Our hearts are in sync again."
"Wendy..." Cynthia's tears started to fall. "I'm so sorry I worried you! I hated it at Tartarus! I knew they were just using me, but there wasn't anything I could do about it! I never wanted to be there, but they made me hate you! You, of all people! Sora was the only one nice to me...I cried so hard whenever I could, because my heart always knew where I wanted to be. That was with you. You, Carla, and everyone else...! And yet I...!"
"We were worried about you the entire time…" Carla scoffed, patting Cynthia on the shoulder. There were tears in her eyes as well. "Stop beating yourself up. You came to your senses just in time to help us out which is really important. We all missed you, too. When I saw you and Wendy fighting together after so long...I knew in my heart that everything would be alright. That bond you two share...it's the strongest thing in this world and any other."
"Yeah…" Cynthia nodded slowly before staring up at that timer; only 10 seconds were left. "I know this is really selfish of me…but can I ask you both one thing…? I want to make one last promise…"
"What is it…?" Wendy asked curiously.
"When this is over…will you two be my friends again…?" The tear started to roll down Cynthia's cheeks as she stared hopefully at Wendy and Carla.
Wendy and Carla looked at each other before giving a smile. Wendy nodded slowly as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "You dummy…we've always been friends. Friends forever, remember? I love you. 'Till death do us part…"
"That includes me too…" Carla added with a teary-eyed smile.
That was all Cynthia needed to hear to be at peace. With a slow nod, Cynthia managed a wide grin. If these were her final moments, she was happy to spend them like this. "Yeah…I love you too, Wendy." Right after the trio exchanged their words, the timer hit zero. The remains of Face erupted in to a large explosion that wiped out the majority of the surrounding canyon area, continuing to spread for several miles on end.
.
.
Alex finally reached the mountain range where Face was located. It took her a while, but she looked at it with some heavy breaths. "I finally made it. I hope they're okay...!" And right at that moment, there was a massive explosion. Alex's eyes widened in horror and her jaw dropped. It happened so fast, and she didn't see any sign of Wendy, Carla, or Cynthia. "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" The despair clutched her heart tightly, and she was just about to collapse to her knees when...
Fate had other plans for those three.
Mest teleported onto the scene with Wendy, Cynthia, and Carla unconscious in his arms. It was a bit of a heavy load, but he somehow managed just in the nick of time. "Reckless kids…" Mest grunted in annoyance. But when he looked back, he realized how amazing they truly were to have taken out Face of all creations. Looking down at them, he realized they were all smiling; it was the happiest he'd ever seen them. "You're too young to be throwing your lives away like that…Your lives are only just beginning and you have plenty of time to live." He then looked to Alex, giving her a smile. "They're all breathing. Don't worry."
"Ah...!" Alex's tears started to flow at Mest's timely arrival. She saw them and then fell to her knees, openly sobbing tears of relief. "Thank you! Thank you!"
Next Time: Relentless Assault.