Act VIII - The Abyss Stared Back

Chapter 1:

The entire kingdom of Elengaud was on fire. Tons of people started to pour out of its walls. Just above the chaos was a fracture in the sky. Creatures came from the crack and attacked the people below. "Demons…" Demons? Is this what Siev was talking about? We hurried inside and were met with complete destruction. The buildings were razed, and bodies littered the ground. The demons…they were utter horrors. The demons on the ground were of varying sizes. Some were big others were small, but they had a very distinct feature; they all had this strange symbol on their forehead. Everyone worked together to eliminate the demons, that being said the demons were much stronger than we expected. We required at least one of us at full power to take one of them down. The demons in the sky were an entirely different problem.

They used a special type of magic called Chimeros instead of using magic around them. The demons used their innate core as the catalyst for magic. This is what makes demons so much more powerful than humans. Though they do have a weakness to holy magic…obviously. We slowly made our way to the castle, the only place unaffected by the battle. As we reached the entrance a large squad of knights stopped us. Ms. White gave an order so the knights let us in. Reaching the main hall the king himself sat on the throne and the queen sat next, same as the princess. Two cloaked individuals stood by a pillar. "Agnes you've finally returned… I'm glad you were able to come back safely." Ms. White kneeled and everyone else followed. "Now…then, what have you learned of our situation?" Ms. White nodded then stood up.

"The Labyrinth is cleared, but Lucius betrayed us and stole the Grimoire. When we returned the entirety of the kingdom was on fire, demons falling from the sky… There is a crack in the sky, most likely where the demons are coming from." The king leans back stroking his beard. He thought for a good minute then spoke. "Agnes, I fear that the kingdom is already destroyed. But I ask one last favor of you. Can you take my daughter and leave?" She looked at the ground frowning then looked back at the king. "Of course, but what about your majesty?" He shook his head looking up. "I'm the ruler of Elengaud, I will remain here no matter what happens." The queen and princess started to weep as he said that. He looked at the cloaked individuals. "You two. Please take the princess away from here. I entrust her to you." They took out their cloaks. A boy and a girl. They both had a mix of black and white hair with yellow eyes. I knew from the moment I noticed them that they were the two strongest people in the king's presence. They must be the royal guards I heard so much about. The boy took a few steps closer to the king before kneeling. "Your majesty… I wish to stay by your side till the end. If not, I'll be the one to resolve this issue myself." If they were this powerful why haven't they acted yet? That was a question I was thinking of but there was a much stronger magical force somewhere in the destruction outside.

"I wish me and my wife could have watched you two grow with my little girl, but you must go. I know that the evil outside may very well take your lives." The boy stood up and bowed. "Thank you for taking care of us for so long… We'll never forget your generosity." The king smiled. When was the last time I saw someone smile like that? It was a truly warm and kind smile. Suddenly a loud rumble shook the ground. An explosion at the entrance to the castle flung debris everywhere. I looked back at the dust settling and saw five figures appear from the dust cloud. "Oooooh so everyone was hiding in here?" When the dust fully settled I got a better look at the mysterious individuals. Freaks. The power exuding from these five was ridiculous.

I knew they were demons but they didn't share the same appearance as the creatures ravaging the kingdom. They appeared more human-like. The only thing I could distinguish them from a normal person was the horns on them or maybe their eyes all being red. The demon on the far left had blonde hair and cracks around his eyes. He wore this fancy attire and a large steel white gauntlet that covered half of his left arm. The demon to his right had reddish-orange hair, she had a long thin ponytail and wielded a saber. The next demon was green-haired, he wielded a spear… kinda like Bale, I guess.

The fourth demon had black hair and didn't seem to have anything on him. The last demon had light blue hair and she wielded a magic stave. The blue-haired demon had a symbol on her hand similar to the demons outside.

"Unfortunately, humans. You have two options. Die trying to fight back, or die trying to run away." All the soldiers in the area surrounded them and attacked. The green-haired demon smirked. "I see, so that's the choice you pick." The soldier's weapons were about to reach, but suddenly they stopped mid-swing. Blood started to trickle from the armor of the soldiers until their heads fell off. The soldiers were killed in an instant. They were foot soldiers, yes, but they were quite strong for what their rank was. Yet they were killed instantly.

The male royal guard stood in front of the five demons. "Mai, take the princess and leave." the female royal guard, Mai. nodded and headed over to the princess. The orange-haired demon leaped at her, but the other royal guard pulled out a sword and stopped her. She pushed him away and leaped back. "You've made a grave mistake coming here." He stabbed the sword into the ground. "My name is Dariel and none of you will be making it out alive."

Chapter 2:

The battle was initiated. The orange-haired demon continued to duke out against Dariel though it was more of Dariel flaying the demon around as they fought. Dariel stepped back to pick up his sword from the ground. "I almost forgot we were in a war with how pathetic you were just now. You demons believe your mute fear will deter humans?" He lifted the sword to his chest. "Allow me to show you true fear…demons." A blast of energy formed from his sword. It grew bigger and more condensed. The demons stepped back surprised.

"This is my simplest attack. Magic Slash."

He swung his blade down unleashing a ripple of destruction as the slash traveled forward. As the slash was about to reach the demons it suddenly stopped and faded away. Where it faded away Lucius stood with his hand out. "Folks, allow me to take it from here." He appeared next to Dariel in a moment putting his hand on his shoulder then they both disappeared. Now that the two were gone the demons began to act. We few students knew we stood no chance against the demons ourselves, but fortunately, we had eight students and Ms. White. We split up into teams while Ms. White took on two demons. My team consisted of Elaine and Sumie. We faced off against the orange-haired demon girl. 

The demon's ability was strange. Whenever we attempted to land a strike against her, we'd miss by a large margin. She hardly even tried to dodge out attacks like she knew they wouldn't connect. Besides that, she didn't seem to use any form of magic aside from physical enhancement. Elaine sent out her crimson lance purposefully making it miss for later. We brought our battle outside of the castle fighting in one of the streets around the kingdom. Me and Elaine would switch our attack patterns to disorientate our opponent in hopes of landing any attacks. Sumie was an expert in barrier magic and didn't seem to know many attack-type spells, so we had her sit behind us protecting us from the demon's attack if we made a mistake. The demon seemed to notice this annoyance and changed targets. But Sumie planned for this to happen. By appearing the weakest yet the component with the most support, she knew that the demon would eventually target her. Sumie utilized the concept of a barrier but applied it to a form of attack.

She created a small bubble-shaped barrier onto her hand and programmed it to morph it whatever shape she envisioned. This threw the demon off as Sumie transformed the barrier into a blade slicing the demon's arm. She was able to damage the demon so I was able to figure out her technique.

The demon couldn't predict movements, but rather used an illusion…More precisely speaking, she affected our depth of perception. A form of brainwashing. That way whenever we landed a strike we believed the attack to be precise but in actuality was cut short. It seemed the requirements to use her ability needed to have sight of our attack and understand our intentions. She caught sight of Sumie but wasn't expecting Sumie to suddenly attack, hence she was injured. Now that I knew her ability I used my magic more frequently attempting to distract her from my intentions. Basic spells like wind slash didn't work, so more area attacks affected her a lot more.

Our attacks did start to land, but she was a demon for a reason. She tanked our attacks as if they were nothing. The only attack that did real damage was the slash Sumie had done before. Demons already had a high resistance to magic, but to top it up with her strong defensive prowess. We lacked many ways of damaging her. The demon noticed how we were beginning to slowly overtake her, she changed her stance. "Mirror of Chaos" A giant energy engulfed her as she chanted the words. I was pushed back slightly just from the intensity of the power she unleashed. I could tell…this was the power of a magic drive. She certainly seemed different, we took a defensive stance watching her closely. She moved at a much faster speed than before. As she reached me I prepared myself for her attack.

A left swing aiming for my shoulder…

I moved my arms to block but suddenly multiple images of her dispersed from her body each making a different move. I still held my defensive hold unwavering but as she landed the strike I was slashed in the thigh. "Gah!" The pain was intense. It was thanks to the adrenaline that I was able to defeat the murderer in the past. The pain was scorching hot, rather the attack itself burned my thigh as she cut deep into it. I flung my sword at her to make her back away. I tumbled to the floor on one knee. It hurts…

Elained positioned herself in front of me. "Are you alright?" The pain seemed to spread through my leg. "I've been…better." The demon continued her attack, Sumie putting up a barrier, but she sliced right through it with ease and then combated with Elaine. Again she displayed multiple illusions of her attacks just before fully committing. Sumie dashed in to try and throw her off guard with another barrier blade but it didn't work. She unleashed a bunch of illusions dodging the attack and landing one of her own. She slashed Sumie's chest and she stumbled back before falling. "Sumie!!" I looked at Elaine, and then she nodded. She reeled her hand in and a crimson lance came at a high speed aiming at the demon. The demon had already gotten used to the crimson lance, as she continually dodged it, but that was simply part of the plan. Sumie being caught off guard was also calculated, well not really. Sumie did that on her own. Just before the attack landed she softened the blow with a small barrier then fell to the ground appearing unconscious.

The spear reaches her and she dodges like before, but then Elaine activates its combo move, "Combustion". The spear after accumulating massive amounts of magic exploded the entire area. After the smoke faded the end of the battle was clear. The demon stood in the crater still standing up but completely covered in cinders. She appeared broken, like a clay doll. Then she collapsed. We won our battle against one of the demons.

Chapter 3:

The battle seemed far-fetched and we barely won, but we were fortunate to have a dive, after a complete loss in the Labyrinth of Echidna. Elaine helped me move while we went back to the castle. All around us were battles raving on. The others were in deep with their battles. When we reached the castle Ms. White greeted us. She looked barely injured apart from tattered clothing. The two demons; the blue-haired and blondie stood next to her. They wore a bracelet on their wrist. "Oh, you kids came back safe. I'm glad." She had this strangely different air about her. What exactly happened? "Why are the demons still there?" Did she somehow make a contract with them like with any other summon? "Hmm, so you noticed Theo. I made these two my very own summons. Unfortunately, as a summon they lose a lot of their original power. I can't make them use anything such as a magic drive." Ah, I remember learning this in class before.

Summoning is unique as it doesn't follow only one element. Depending on the type of beast you're trying to make a contract with you just need to understand the principles of getting that creature to obey. Knowing their element helps increase those chances. I mentioned Magic Circuits before, summoning magic is derived from that. Ms. White is infamous for making anything a summon. Whenever she successfully makes a contract the creature if not a spirit becomes one. But enough about that.

"Ms. White, how are the other students faring against the demons?" She takes out a monocle and looks through it. "I'd say it's a 50/50 they make it back here alive." Then I should go and help them. "Elaine and Sumie stay here if you want. I'm going to help the others." Ms. White stopped me. "Wait a second, let me heal you." She summons a green slime that wraps around my injury. At first, it felt like acid burning me but then the injury slowly started to disappear. "There, all better now." I thank her and leave.

I begin to run in the direction of distant fighting. I dodged falling debris and noticed there were fewer demons than before. I looked up into the sky and the crack in the sky was still there. I continue ahead. In front of a huge estate, I saw Bale and Kent fighting against the green-haired demon. From the looks of it, Bale and Kent had the upper hand until the demon unleashed his magic drive. I started to think magic drives like a second phase to a boss for example. The white spear he originally held transformed into a red and black lance. Just before he swings his lance, I send a wind slash at him distracting him. This opening allowed Kent and Bale to land clean hits against the demon. "Ughh… another one?" He lifts his lance and chants something. "Disperse, Chaos Channel!" A small orb forms at the tip of the lance then shoots out a huge amount of lasers that bounce around midair and then suddenly change their trajectory to aim at us.

We jumped around avoiding the beams, but as we did the demon swung his lance at us making it difficult for us to fully avoid any damage. The three of us stopped and looked at each other nodding. "Just watch each other's backs" We dash to the demon, Bale leading. The two collide and as the beams aim for Bale, Me and Kent block the attacks. From pure close quarters, Bale had the upper hand and with the attack spells coming from me and Kent. The demon struggled to keep up. Finally, Kent caught the demon off guard by cutting its legs with an aerial slash, and then the three of us slashed the demon. Most of Marcus's spells didn't work previously because the demon focused more on defense, but now that he's switched to more offensive tactics, by bringing him closer we can easily trap him. For good measure, Kent stabbed into the demon's magic core. We all take a breather before heading to Marcus's team.

As we made our way to Marcus a huge explosion occurred out of nowhere next to us. In the debris, Dariel was lying there heavily injured. He slowly got up as we went over to him. "This man was hiding his true powers this entire time." Lucius appeared on a building rooftop staring down at us. "Listen carefully you three, this man's ability is to" He was cut off short as Lucius dashed at him, forcing him to block his attack. He pushes Lucius back and their back-and-forth release of attacks continues elsewhere. "Well, we better get to Marcus before the main battle ends."

Upon reaching around where Marcus seemed to be a giant rises from the ground curving downward, then impacting with the ground shaking the entire area. The pillar was cut into small pieces and the black-haired demon appeared. The demon wielded a scythe, and from what I could tell had already activated his magic drive. I couldn't find Noah or Claire. Marcus seemed more aggressive than usual as if something had shaken him.

I tell Kent and Bale to help Marcus while I search for Claire and Noah. I continued my search and regrettably found a clue. There was a detached hand holding another just past a large amount of rubble leaking blood. I kneel and look more into the surroundings. There were arrows jammed into walls, hints of fireballs being used. Then I saw a staff stuck in between a pile of rocks. It was the same scepter Claire owned. I see… so they are gone. I put my hands together and closed my eyes. "May you two find eternal peace together." A tear started to leak from my eye, then another came. Until I was unable to see from the amount of tears. Oh, I'm crying.

Now's not the time to cry, we're on a battlefield we must mourn the loss later… But why should I listen to that? In fact? Why am I still working so hard… I keep losing people. What is the point of all this? My family has moved on already. I…I. Are you giving up? Who said that? I didn't realize it until I looked around, but I was in a dark void. Are you giving up? Giving up… I want to but is that really the best option here? Are you going to leave your friends to die again? No, I don't want that to happen. I have to keep going then. Then I'll allow you more control over your power. 

I blinked and I was back to reality. I looked at my hand and noticed a symbol appearing on it. I almost forgot about this power Siev gave me. Well for good reason, it was not like I was able to use it anyway. But I get the feeling I can use just a little bit more now. I looked up and saw Marcus, Bale, and Kent battling the demon on the rooftops carefully dodging its slashes that cut through multiple buildings. I stand up and look back at the hands. "I'll avenge you two."

Chapter 4:

I join the fray and assist Bale from the onslaught of the demon. This demon was probably the strongest among the five. Each of his swings flung us back just from air pressure not to mention the sharpness of his weapon. He broke Marcus's weapon so he had to back away and focus on purely magic. We tried similar strategies as we did to the other demons but its power was much higher than the others. "Everyone listen to me, I have an idea."

They nodded and we acted upon the plan. Kent and Bale rushed at the demon on both sides giving it no time to rest or escape. Marcus then changed the ground into a sinkhole and they started to fall in. Just as this happened Marus created two pillars for Bale and Kent so they could escape. As the demon was trying to leave. I used a new spell.

"Glacial Frontier."

Ice appeared in front of me before spreading rapidly covering the sinkhole and the demon in ice. "Kent!" He nodded and took his stance. He sheathed his blade and then unleashed a big slash. Marcus coated the slash with fire as it ran through the ice and slashed the black-haired demon in half. The ice melted and we went over to the demon's body. Like before Kent stabbed the demon's core. The demon slowly chipped away and then turned to dust. That was it. We defeated the main forces of Lucius. All that was left was Lucius himself.