Chapter 35: Rise Of Darkness

Elastor punched The Dark in the upper jaw, he said in anger and worry:

"Hey let me go, I don't have time for you. Everyone is in dire need of me."

The Dark threw Elastor at Halazar, he immediately grabbed Elastor by the neck and said in a haunting voice:

"So son, we meet again."

Elastor angrily replied:

"You bastard, what have you done to them? Answer me now!"

Halazar said:

"Dissolved to dust, an inevitable consequence."

Elastor replied:

"Damn it!"

Halazar threw Elastor on the floor, he created a dark magic circle on both hands and said:

"Give me the power of Nova Waterfall!"

Elastor stood up and rushed to attack Halazar, but he found himself trapped in a wide dark magic circle. At this moment, the dark parasite in Elastor spread to his heart, Elastor fell to his knees and vomited, he worriedly said:

"Don't, Dark Elastor, damn it!"

Halazar activated the amethyst pillars on the stone pillar he had prepared to trap, the amethyst released darkness inside Elastor, he screamed in pain and the light power of Nova Waterfall in Elastor was sucked out. Halazar absorbed Elastor's light power, smiling smugly when his plan was successful, gaining some of his power from the light source of Nova Waterfall. Halazar laughed smugly.

"Now. My era begins!"

Halazar unleashed much darkness and he donned the dark clothes of a Dark Elf king. Thanks to the power of Elastor's light, Halazar achieved the invincible power he had always wanted. Elastor was also slowly turning into a Dark Elf. Dark Elastor said in Elastor's mind:

"Looks like I can get out, goodbye idiot."

Elastor replied:

"Stop you bastard."

Elastor's right eye oozed blood and darkness released. Grim was walking slowly towards the castle, he said:

"What is he planning? Why take Elastor?"

Grim took a few more steps when he fell to the ground, Grim endured the pain and said:

"The Predator! Drag me back to the castle!"

The Predator was summoned, Grim lay on its back and the hyena carried him away. At this point Halazar was almost finished sucking the light power of Elastor and he was about to be possessed by Dark Elastor. Eculida and Zenhector appeared, they flew through the air and confronted Halazar. Halazar said:

"Eculida, Zenhector, if you two come here to confront me, it's too late."

Eculida replied:

"I came to save my son."

Eculida swung her arms and released orbs of light that destroyed all the amethyst pillars that rescued Elastor. But it was too late, Dark Elastor returned and entered Elastor's body, he transformed into Dark Elf form and excitedly said:

"Whether it's Elastor or Zed, no one can defeat me."

Halazar said aloud:

"If you want to confront me, meet me at the Nightmare Tree."

As soon as Halazar finished speaking, he immediately flew to the Nightmare Tree, he would impart all the power of light to it, making it grow and expanding its power more widely. Seeing that the Dark Elastor had returned, Eculida said:

"Let's go confront Halazar."

Zenhector replied:

"What about him? He looks a bit dangerous and will do us a detriment."

Eculida said calmly:

"There are warriors to confront him already."

Eculida and Zenhector immediately followed him, Zenhector was able to fly thanks to Eculida's magic, he said:

"Hey, has he become too strong?"

Eculida replied:

"That's right, so only the two of us can confront him."

Eculida and Zenhector flew to the roots of the Nightmare Tree and they entered the tree. As soon as they entered, both felt the evil and dark power of this tree, with thousands of skeletons scattered on the ground, Zenhector wondered:

"Why are so many people dying here?"

Eculida replied:

"I don't know yet, but leave that for later, we have to move on."

Eculida and Zenhector flew to the top of the Nightmare Tree, upon which there was a giant dark orb into which Halazar was channeling his power. The Nightmare Tree glowed a dark purple on its trunk, its spikes slowly changing and flowing down a black liquid. Darkness was rising. Eculida and Zenhector were flying up when they were stopped by insect monsters that emerged from the wood. Zenhector held out Gilgamesh axe and said in excitement:

"Can I handle some of them?"

Eculida replied:

"Make way for us, Zenhector."

Zenhector swung his axe and unleashed massive leaves that hit several monsters. Eculida shot from the hands of the light orbs and killed a few more. They continue to advance to stop Halazar. Returning to the Dark Elastor, he picked up the Volt greatsword and walked over to watch the battle unfold. Dark Elastor put on a wicked smile and said loudly:

"Kill them all!"

Immediately, the tree-root monsters changed sides, they became more frenzied and killed and destroyed everything in front of them regardless of their side or the enemy's side. The warriors of both sides were surprised by the monster's reaction. Hundreds of thousands of insect monsters crawled out from the roots of the Nightmare Tree and attacked armies and residential areas. A monster destroyed a nearby house and the family inside hid in fear in the corner. The monster roared and was slashed in the head by a blade, Grim pushed the monster down and said:

"Run away, now!"

The other family quickly ran away, many citizens were also being attacked by monsters. Grim looked at the monsters attacking the army of the three kingdoms and wondered:

"They've gone crazier, Halazar has now given up on everything even sacrificing his own people for ultimate power."

Grim flew up in smoke and said loudly:

"Warriors of Lanxter, listen to me! King Halazar has betrayed us, all of us!"

The Dark Elf soldiers wondered at each other and worried about Halazar's cruelty. Grim continued:

"Now is not the time for us to fight each other anymore, whoever can fight please evacuate all our people from here, the city has fallen."

The Dark Elf soldiers chanted together:

"Obey, Prince Grim!"

The Dark Elf soldiers were divided into two groups, one group would fight the monsters and the other group would evacuate the people from the city. Newlaphaine and Sandx soldiers also understood the seriousness of the situation and temporarily stopped fighting and helped the Lanxter soldiers fight. Grim turned around and was hurled by Dark Elastor and strangled. Dark Elastor said:

"Grim, it's really nice to have you here."

Grim replied:

"You are not Elastor, who are you?"

Dark Elastor said:

"I'm your big brother, the big brother Dark Elf you've always wanted."

Grim replied:

"I don't need a big brother."

Dark Elastor threw Grim hard through dozens of houses and he lay in ruins. Grim was more wounded and he stood up, Grim thought to himself:

"Damn it, I shouldn't be doing a stomach-piercing concoction, I'm running out of energy."

Grim summoned the Hollow sword and continued to fight. Dark Elastor flew over and swung his sword at Grim and he immediately parried the slash. Dark Elastor used the blade on his left arm's armor to slash at Grim, but he dodged and received a slash in the middle of his chest. Grim lunged forward and punched Dark Elastor in the face and jumped up and spun around and gave him another kick. Dark Elastor quickly punched Grim in the chest, his heart and lungs were severely damaged. Grim knelt down and spat out blood. Dark Elastor smirked and arrogantly said:

"You tried too, but you can't defeat the strongest warrior."

Grim replied:

"I may not be the strongest, but that doesn't mean I haven't given up to defeat you."

Dark Elastor said:

"Then I have to end you."

Dark Elastor raised his sword about to finish Grim off when suddenly a thorny vine tied the blade and pulled the sword back. Dark Elastor turned around and saw that it was Julia who stopped him. Followed by the other members, Zed stepped out as a two-tailed half-wolf form and said:

"Geez, you're back, Dark Elastor? Looks like this is my chance to fight you again."

Dark Elastor replied:

"No way, Elastor saw you explode."

Eva said:

"It was a very unexpected thing."

Back a few minutes before the explosion blew up the castle, Julia dashed forward despite Eva's resistance. Julia unconsciously summoned her Elemental Spirit, a rose that represented her love for Elastor and her faith in everyone. Julia launched thorny vines that bound people and drew them to focus on her. Then she put them inside a vines ball and when the explosion went off, the ball secured everyone inside. Everyone inside was surprised by Julia's new strength, Alata said:

"What the hell? You have an Elemental Spirit?"

Julia also wondered to her Spirit, to which she replied:

"Perhaps, but how can I summon it?"

A rose curled around Julia's left hand and grew in her palm, a very beautiful rose with the red color of fire, it said:

"Hello master, I am your Elemental Spirit."

Julia replied:

"How did I get an Elemental Spirit?"

Rose said:

"I was awakened by you when you worried and bravely fought to protect Elastor. And when you were weak when you couldn't protect everyone, I was awakened again to help you fight. Now let's fight together, master."

Zed grumbled:

"Yeah, good introduction, now get me out of here, thorns are stabbing me in the ass."

Everyone started to panic because they were in the ball of thorns, Lamalia said:

"Worry about Julia and forget the pain."

They were later there to defeat the Dark Elastor. Alata pulled another thorn out of Zed's ass and said humorously:

"Another one, congrats you're fine."

Zed was in pain and said:

"All right, shall we begin?"

Zed got down on one knee and got into a fighting position. Everyone summoned their elemental weapons. Julia said:

"We'll bring back Elastor."

Dark Elastor smirked and replied:

"Elastor will die within me."

Dark Elastor cut through the thorny vines and charged at Zed. Zed also rushed to attack the Dark Elastor. The two bumped into each other and flew up and flew around fighting each other. Alata, Lamalia and Eva quickly follow them to help Zed. Belle and Julia ran to Grim, Belle summoned The Lily and said:

"Sit still, let me heal you."

Grim grunted:

"No need, I can still fight."

Belle said:

"You're already badly injured, let me heal your wounds so you can continue fighting."

Julia slapped Grim and said:

"This is because you keep fighting dangerously with Elastor, but thank you anyway for bravely fighting his evil version."

Grim smirked and replied:

"Go, save the one you love."

Julia nodded and followed Eva, Lamalia and Alata. The Lily glowed with the white color of a flower and then shone the light on Grim's wound and slowly healed his wound. Grim said calmly:

"This is the first time we've met, isn't it princess?"

Belle smiled and replied:

"Yes, I've heard your name for a long time, but perhaps we only met in this battle."

"You don't have to help me, you know that."

"It's true that the two of us are on different sides but I can't leave someone so badly injured, you've fought Elastor many times so you need to fight Dark Elastor."

"That's right, I have to save Elastor from his evil personality. By the way, what should I call you? Little sister?"

Angry Belle said:

"Hey, I'm not your little sister, we're not even siblings."

Grim replied:

"Just kidding. Hey let me ask you, did Queen Eculida choose you as her successor?"

"Mother is prepared and ready for me to be the next queen. What's wrong? you're going to be king too."

"Well, I'm not even considered a son or a prince by my father. Not because I'm not worthy, but because I'm not the son he wants."

"You're disoriented, part of you want to be king and part you want to fight Elastor to prove yourself worthy. What do you think of Elastor?"

"A bastard but he doesn't want to fight me at all, he knows if he wins me he'll be king and I won't stand a chance."

"He was thinking for your best, now that Elastor is in danger, what will you do?"

"Of course I'll save him."

"The wounds have been healed, you can continue to fight."

Grim stood up unscathed, saying:

"Thank you, shall we go?"

Belle replied:

"Come on, it's time we save Elastor and let me ask one more question, what kind of king do you want to be?"

Grim smirked and said:

"I don't know, but definitely a lot better than my father."

Grim and Belle headed to Dark Elastor to save Elastor. Zed and Dark Elastor fiercely confront each other and fly over the dripstones. They pushed each other away and flew along the dripstones but kept their eyes on each other. While flying, suddenly Dark Elastor disappeared in front of Zed's eyes, he quickly stopped and said:

"Where is he?"

Dark Elastor suddenly burst out from behind Zed and smashed his head against the rock. Dark Elastor dragged Zed's face onto the sharp rock and didn't give him a chance to counterattack. Zed thought to himself:

"Damn it!"

Suddenly Lamalia jumped out from within the rock, she used The Rhino's rock control powers to move through the rock and secretly approached the Dark Elastor. Lamalia clawed at Dark Elastor so he dodged and released Zed. Zed said:

"Strike back."

Zed and Lamalia both threw their fists straight into Dark Elastor's chest, causing him to fall back. Eva raised her Euphoria bow and pointed it at Dark Elastor and said:

"Light Star!"

Eva drew her bow and fired an arrow of light at the Dark Elastor. The arrow split into hundreds of smaller arrows and hit Dark Elastor continuously. Dark Elastor quickly created a dark shield to shield the incoming arrow, but before he could think, Zed and Lamalia charged at him again. Dark Elastor thought to himself:

"Continuous attack won't let me fight back? Wonderful but..."

Zed and Lamalia said aloud:

"Dark Tornado!/ Expand Impact!"

Zed swung his sword and launched a dark tornado while Lamalia unleashed a powerful punch that flew through the air at the Dark Elastor. Dark Elastor smiled evilly and said:

"Right Eye of Chaos!"

Dark Elastor's right eye released darkness, it launched a large beam that destroyed the dark tornado and the punch. Right Eye of Chaos, Dark Elastor's purple right eye was an eye that controlled darkness instead of thunder, which helped him absorb and release the power of darkness. Zed quickly grabbed Lamalia's waist and pulled her away from the beam. Dark Elastor laughed and said:

"Do you think that combining attacks at the same time can defeat me? You underestimated me as a reckless person and didn't know that I was the one who put you in a trap? "

Zed replied:

"Damn it, everyone retreat."

Dark Elastor thrust the Volt greatsword into the air and released a dark aura that spread everywhere. The dark aura created a series of dark hands and rushed to grab Zed, Lamalia, and Eva. Hands reached out to catch the rest. The other three were held tightly and struggled to let go, Eva said:

"Julia, Alata, now!"

Julia and Alata charged. Alata with the ghost body of The Ghost easily flew through the dark hands and cut them off. Julia charged towards Dark Elastor with dark hands chasing her behind. Julia said to the rose:

"Hey, I haven't given you a name yet, so I'll name you..."

Julia jumped high and the rose created thorny vines that curled around her arms creating armour and shoulders creating shoulder armor, a large rose was placed behind her like a loincloth, Julia continued:

"The Helper! Because I need you always to help me protect everyone I care about."

Mega Gauntlet transformed into Rosing Gauntlet (it was a gauntlet with thorny vines curling around her arms and shoulders, the power of The Helper giving her control over thorny vines and the power of trees). Julia created two spiked vine whips and whipped the whip around destroying the dark hands that attacked her. Julia whipped her whip into the hand holding Eva and released her. Alata threw his spear destroying the hand holding Zed and Lamalia. Dark Elastor rushed forward and strangled Alata, he said:

"Alata, nice to see you again."

Alata thought to herself:

"He caught my ghost body?"

Everyone quickly stopped attacking, Zed said:

"Dark Elastor, let him go."

Dark Elastor said to Alata:

"What a good chance to kill me, isn't it Alata? Avenge your brother and sister."

Alata replied angrily:

"You are not Elastor, don't tempt me with those words."

Dark Elastor said:

"Then watch it."

Dark Elastor rested his forehead on Alata's forehead and gave him a flashback of past images of the day Elastor and Julia defeated the Reaper. Alata saw Elastor sever the chains, dropping the experiments' cages and them attacking Reaper and then Julia burning everything down. Freed from the past, Alata froze, Dark Elastor laughed and said excitedly:

"How? You're shocked, aren't you? To see me kill them."

Angry Alata shouted and took back his spear, Alata slashed and stabbed repeatedly and Dark Elastor but he dodged them all. Dark Elastor excitedly said:

"That's right, let anger make you stronger."

Alata shouted angrily:

"I will kill you!"

Zed and Lamalia rushed to attack Dark Elastor. Zed threw Lamalia at Dark Elastor, she scratched his shoulder and dragged him to the ground. Alata jumped down but was stopped by Zed, he worriedly said:

"Alata calm down, that's not Elastor."

Alata angrily replied:

"Shut up! I'll finish him right away!"

Alata immediately rushed down to attack Dark Elastor. Lamalia summoned Unbreakable Horns and punched Dark Elastor consecutively. Dark Elastor dodged repeatedly and jumped on the rock at Lamalia. She crossed her arms to block the kick. Eva from behind fired arrows at Dark Elastor supporting Lamalia. Dark Elastor and Lamalia rushed forward and threw their fists at each other. Their punches bounced back and Dark Elastor swung his arm and slapped Lamalia, knocking her to the ground. Eva shot three arrows of light at Dark Elastor, he smiled and said maliciously:

"Too useless."

Dark Elastor easily pulled three arrows from his armor and charged at Eva. Eva nervously fired energy beams at Dark Elastor but he dodged them all. Dark Elastor jumped up and swung his sword at Eva, who couldn't dodge in time. Alata thrust his spear down to block Dark Elastor's slash and kicked him in the chest causing him to fall back. Alata levitated and spun his spear rapidly, creating gusts of wind that hurled stones at the Dark Elastor. Dark Elastor arrogantly said:

"You think that would be easy?"

Dark Elastor swung his arm and released a dark aura that repelled Alata. Alata thrust his spear so hard that he wouldn't be swept away, he stood up and rushed forward and stabbed the Dark Elastor in the chest. Alata shoved Dark Elastor through several houses and smashed him into a large wall, sending debris crashing on him. Zed flew down and caught Lamalia, he checked her cheek and said:

"You alright?"

Lamalia replied:

"I'm fine."

Lamalia stood up and said:

"Elastor is out of control and strong like that?"

Zed replied:

"Well, maybe it is."

Eva ran over and said:

"Where are Julia, Grim and Belle?"

Zed replied:

"I don't know, they want to do a surprise attack?"

Eva said:

"We must continue to attack in rapid succession, not giving him a chance to counterattack. The longer he fights, the stronger he becomes."

Lamalia replied:

"Let's go."

Zed, Eva and Lamalia move to the Dark Elastor. Alata drew his spear from the Dark Elastor, he slowly rose from the rubble and said dejectedly:

"Haizz, boring, that's all."

Alata shouted angrily but Zed quickly picked him up and pulled him back, Zed said:

"Enough, don't let your emotions get in the way. Elastor didn't see you as an enemy but as a friend you forgot."

Alata angrily replied:

"He killed them! No mercy for anyone, I had to kill him! Now I remember why I had to kill him, It's for revenge!"

Julia approached the Dark Elastor and unleashed spiked vine whips to bind him, she said:

"Don't move, I don't want to hurt you but I need you to release Elastor."

Dark Elastor slyly replied:

"3...2...1"

When Alata saw Julia, he used his ghost body to escape Zed and rushed to attack her. Alata lunged forward and stabbed Julia, who quickly parried the stab and said in surprise:

"Alata, what's wrong with you?"

Alata angrily replied:

"You killed my brothers and sisters."

Julia remembers the day she burned down the Reaper's lab, she quickly stepped back and said:

"You already know? Yes, I did, but because Reaper killed my mother. He can't continue doing those experiments."

Alata said loudly:

"Shut up!'

Alata swung his spear and slammed it down on Julia, she backed down to dodge but had no intention of attacking him. Dark Elastor released the darkness and excitedly said:

"Let them solve their own problems, now let me finish you off."

Dark Elastor fired multiple beams of dark beams at the three of them. Zed created a dark shield to block it, he said:

"Looks like I won't hesitate anymore."

Zed released just as much darkness, howling and leaving a dark barrier protecting Eva and Lamalia. Zed caught the beams fired at him and charged at Dark Elastor. Dark Elastor thought to himself:

"He fights like a beast?"

Dark Elastor arrogantly said:

"You think you can beat me with this madness?"

Zed punched Dark Elastor hard in the face even leaving a dark fist on his face. Dark Elastor was knocked down and Zed excitedly said:

"That's right, I will crush Elastor's body even if you don't let go of his body."

Dark Elastor felt so much pain, he thought to himself:

"What the hell? His punch hurts, am I underestimating him?"

Zed punched Dark Elastor in the stomach and then punched him in the chest. Dark Elastor spat blood from being hit too hard, he punched Zed in the face but the fist was blocked on his cheek. Zed gently spat out the blood and said:

"It's not over yet."

Zed continued to punch Dark Elastor repeatedly making him unable to counterattack. Dark Elastor saw Zed absorbing his darkness behind him, he thought to himself:

"Using my darkness against me? You bastard!"

Dark Elastor was repeatedly hit by Zed. Alata repeatedly attacked her and pushed her back. Julia worriedly said:

"Alata, stop, I don't want to hurt you."

Alata replied madly:

"And I'll do it."

Julia kept dodging the stab and defending against Alata's attacks. Suddenly he collapsed and fell asleep, Belle appeared behind him and lulled him to sleep with the scent of The Lily, she said in confusion:

"What happened to Alata? Why did he attack you?"

Julia breathed a sigh of relief and replied:

"It's an old story between me and Elastor with him, I'll explain it later."

Julia took Alata and hid in a house and ran with Belle to Dark Elastor. Dark Elastor knew he was at a disadvantage, he shouted:

"Come and help me!"

The monsters heard Dark Elastor's orders and nearly a hundred approached him. Lamalia saw a group of monsters approaching them and worriedly said:

"Dark Elastor is calling monsters to us."

Lamalia punched the ground hard creating a large stone wall around the area they were fighting. But the monsters used their claws to break rocks to dig through. Lamalia continued to create stone walls to block the monsters, but the distance between them gradually shortened. Lamalia shouted:

"Zed, do something!"

Zed punched Dark Elastor and said hastily:

"Eva, stun him."

Eva nodded and fired arrows of light at Dark Elastor one after another to stun him. Dark Elastor flashed a sinister grin for his next attack. Zed flew to the monsters and unleashed darkness from his hand to annihilate them. Dark Elastor slowly stood up although still slightly stunned. Eva hastily fired energy beams at Dark Elastor and said:

"He's recovering."

Dark Elastor unleashed the darkness and charged at Zed. He suddenly punched Zed and fell on the monsters. Zed jumped up so he wouldn't fall when Dark Elastor rushed down and pushed both of them into the midst of the monsters. Eva said worriedly:

"Zed is defeated, help him quickly."

Eva and Lamalia moved to where Zed and Dark Elastor were fighting and Julia and Belle also diverted. The monsters stabbed and clawed at Zed, but the darkness protected him. Dark Elastor kicked him back and said:

"You dare use my own darkness for strength?"

A monster pushed Zed towards Dark Elastor and was punched in the stomach by him. Zed spat blood and said:

"What, it's normal."

Dark Elastor strangled Zed and lifted him up and said:

"It's pathetic that Elastor has such a close friend as you."

Zed sarcastically replied:

"At least not your best friend."

Dark Elastor got angry and said:

"Kill him."

The monsters rushed forward and scratched Zed. The others couldn't help Zed from afar either because they were also surrounded by monsters. Suddenly a curtain of smoke was spread around the monsters. Dark Elastor smiled excitedly and said:

"Has he already arrived?"

Grim floated in midair with half hyena form, he said calmly:

"One Million Blades, Slash!"

Grim dashed down and repeatedly slashed the monsters to death. They did not catch Grim's tremendous speed and were killed at any time. Grim quickly broke the siege of the monsters and charged towards the Dark Elastor. Dark Elastor threw Zed at Grim but his smoky body sent Zed flying through. Grim lunged forward and kicked the Dark Elastor back. Dark Elastor lunged forward and swung his sword at Grim but he instanlty moved right behind him. Dark Elastor launched beams from his right eye around him to hit Grim but he dodged them all. Grim flew over Dark Elastor's head and slashed down, he dodged and dodged all of them. Dark Elastor swung his sword high, but Grim was right behind him and stabbed Dark Elastor repeatedly in the back. Dark Elastor hurriedly swung his sword back, but Grim was already in front of him and stabbed him repeatedly. Dark Elastor broken armor, he thought:

"Did I underestimate him? His speed is faster than mine."

Grim said eloquently:

"I will bring back Elastor."

Dark Elastor was worried so he released more darkness and threw a dark orb at Grim, sending him flying away. Belle jumped up and said:

"Nature's Symphony!"

Belle swung her wand and created a wall of vines around the Dark Elastor and spread a drowsy fragrance. Dark Elastor said quickly:

"Not again."

The Dark Elastor spread his wing and flew up to avoid the wall of vines, but it rose higher and chased after him. Zed and Grim flew higher than Dark Elastor and blocked his path. They swung their swords and released dark slashes and smoke slashes that hit Dark Elastor sending him to the ground. The wall of vines closed and locked the Dark Elastor inside. Once again the scent of sleep hit his nose, Dark Elastor covered his mouth and nose with darkness, he said proudly:

"You think this move will stand a chance for me? I've already prepared it."

Dark Elastor then slashed repeatedly at the wall of vines to escape. Everyone gathered, Zed said:

"We've temporarily detained him, but now what? Where's Alata?"

Julia replied:

"He's sleeping to calm down."

Eva said worriedly:

"Then what should we do, we can't leave him like this."

Julia replied:

"Let me, I have to try."

Lamalia quickly stopped Julia:

"Don't, he'll hurt you."

Julia replied:

"I know."

Julia stood in front of Dark Elastor, he stopped slashing and said scornfully:

"What are you going to do? I told you, I won't let Elastor go."

Julia replied:

'I know, so let me talk to you.'

Julia stepped into the wall of vines and stood in front of the Dark Elastor. She touched his chest and softly said:

"Tell me, are you really that cruel?"

Dark Elastor replied:

"Is that so, can't you see? I am the evil and the wildness of Elastor, to me strength and cruelty are everything. I am the strongest warrior of all the Elves"

Julia said calmly:

"So when there's no one as strong as you, how will you feel?"

Dark Elastor froze, he thought for a moment and then said:

"I will..."

Julia replied:

"Without a worthy opponent, you will become depressed and alone forever. Talk to Elastor, only he can help you fight forever."

Dark Elastor grumbled and then said angrily:

"Let him get his body back? Damn it!"

Dark Elastor and Julia sat down, he said:

"Don't play tricks when I talk to him."

Dark Elastor returned to his mind, he returned to the land of darkness and sat on his throne, before him was Elastor. Dark Elastor said dejectedly:

"Damn, she's right. I'm so strong that if I just beat them all, I won't have anyone left to challenge."

Elastor replied:

"So what are you going to do?"

Dark Elastor looked at Elastor and said:

"You'll never believe me so you think I'll simply give you back your body?"

Elastor shrugged and replied:

"It's your decision, how would I know? You're in control of my body."

Dark Elastor stood up and went to stand in front of Elastor and said:

"Never."

Elastor replied:

"Then let me use your power of darkness, just a moment and I will give this body to you."

Dark Elastor said in confusion:

"You... you want to borrow my power, the power you've always wanted to throw away."

Elastor replied:

"Yes, in this hour of darkness, I need your power. This may be against my words and thoughts but I have been thinking, it is true that light is nothing without darkness and opposite. I need you and you need me, there's no denying that."

Dark Elastor said:

"Hey, that's my word. Never mind, tell me, what will you use my power for?"

Elastor replied:

"In order to protect everyone and end this difficult battle, I consider myself an Elf and must hate the Dark Elf, but in reality I am the bridge between two worlds, a half-elf. When I knew I was the one who had to connect the two worlds, I denied it, but now I know, people are believing in me and I can't let them down. I will use your dark powers for the first time in this battle and I won't let you down."

Dark Elastor smirked and said:

"You get it? It's so poetic even though I know you say that so I can give you power. But it's true that I stayed only to stop you and there's nothing interesting in the outside world. Dark power is yours, master it. Use it wisely and let darkness rise within you. This is my final gift."

Elastor was a bit surprised, he replied:

"Are you going to disappear? But."

Dark Elastor said:

"I'm just your version of Dark Elf, once you understand, I don't need to stay here. Farewell Elastor, half-elf of the two worlds, return to your friends."

After Dark Elastor finished speaking, he smiled a bright smile then vanished and the darkness within him entered Elastor's right eye. Elastor said:

"Halazar, I'm back."

The land of light and the land of darkness in Elastor's mind merged into one. Elastor returned to the outside world. Elastor woke up, Dark Elf form disappeared and was breathing fast, Julia caught him and said:

"Elastor? Are you back?"

Elastor replied:

"That's right, I'm back."

Julia hugged Elastor and said while crying:

"You know how worried I am, you're the stupidest daredevil."

Elastor was a little hurt, he said in pain:

"Hey, I'm still badly injured."

Belle lowered the wall of vines and everyone approached Elastor. Zed said angrily:

"You bastard, do you know how tired you are for us?"

Elastor replied cheerfully:

"I know, I'm sorry."

Eva happily said:

"Elastor, are you okay? What did you say to Dark Elastor?"

Elastor was a little sad, he replied:

"He's gone, he's left me his dark powers so I can continue to fight."

Elastor and Julia stood up, he blinked his right eye which was now a darker purple, Elastor said:

"We will use this power to defeat Halazar."

Belle replied:

"Mother and King Zenhector are fighting him inside the Nightmare Tree."

Together they looked towards the Nightmare Tree and worried about the battle of the strongest within. Elastor wondered:

"Where's Alata? Is he following us?"

Julia replied:

'Yes, but he's gone mad, he knows we killed the Reaper's experiments.'

Elastor said:

"We still need him anyway. Where did you put him?"

Julia replied:

"Follow me."

Everyone went to where Julia hid Alata safely. When they got there, they found only a pool of blood and the house was destroyed. Julia knelt down and burst into tears, she said with sadness:

"Alata, where is he? He was already here, could the monsters be..."

Zed, Elastor and Eva also fell silent, a friend of theirs had disappeared, possibly even dead. Another horde of monsters had also arrived and surrounded them. Everyone raised their weapons, overcome with sadness, Elastor said forcefully:

"Kill them all!"

Crusadia team fought monsters and killed many of them. By this time, the displaced villagers had already gone out of the cave entrance, but the giant thorny trees outside blocked their way. The giant thorns now moved like tentacles, they slammed down and used the spikes to kill people and suck their blood. The soldiers immediately surrendered and fought against them. Behind was also pushed up by monsters. They were surrounded with no way out. Crusadia team rushed to kill the monsters, Zed and Elastor rushed out of the cave. They swung their swords and unleashed dark tornadoes and lightning bolts that destroyed the thorny trees, making way for the people to flee the kingdom. While the Crusadia team helped evacuate everyone, the battle inside the Nightmare Tree really began. Eculida and Zenhector had faced Halazar, they were ready for a big battle with Halazar's terrifying smile.