Found You!

The child thought that the Ankou's appearance and power would fall back, but to his pleasant surprise, they didn't.

"Not to worry, my dear boy. I will be here to support you with Elemental Energy to unleash this Skill. But, unfortunately, I can't say we can get out this unscathed," explained the Ankou.

"It's better than nothing! Ready or not... This is my power as a Blood Mastery Mage!" yelled Duncan, as his films exploded throughout the area, grasping at every corner of the room.

The boy took a deep breath and focused his blood on his head and nose. That's when Duncan saw it, another world different from the naked eye, where Duncan saw objects as streams of colors based on their scents.

Thus, every crystal was represented by purple streams and lines. But they weren't all the same; some had more lines while others were faint. Not good enough... Duncan was getting upset since, no matter which crystal it was. He still couldn't find the girl... Was she in the area at all?

As the poor kid racked his brain for an explanation, Astria made a colossal mistake by digging too deep into Duncan's past and origins.

"How could a child survive so much pain and continue walking on the face of this horrid place?" murmured Astria as a tear trickled down her cheek.

Duncan flashed open his eyes as he got a whiff of sadness coming from above him. Bingo! Why did he not think of it earlier?! The kid looked left and right... But not up and down.

"Found you, Crystal Princess!" yelled Duncan as he retracted the films and jumped upwards, where a large chandelier of purple crystals dangled from the area's ceiling.

As he neared the large crystal display, Duncan concentrated everything to enhance his arms to deliver a paramount blow to break the crystal. Duncan knew that it would be the toughest crystal amongst all the ones in the room since it was the last line of defense for Astria.

So one strike won't be enough... For a kid's strength. The Ankou focused his strength so he could work with Duncan in breaking down the giant crystal. The first strike managed to sever the communications, so they were safe.

But the Ankou was frustrated with the Crystal Princess by the third smash.

"Remember what I said about giving this girl a chance to join our home? Throw that thought out of the window and burn it," said the Reaper within Duncan's head.

"Eh? Since when did you make that request?" questioned Duncan, awfully confused.

"I didn't? Well, never mind then. I'd say this next strike will be the last because I'm losing my temper with this whore of Babylon," swore the Ankou, placing more Elemental Energy into the scythe.

"Language. And I never knew you've got a temper..."

The Reaper sighed and asked Duncan to swing the scythe, effectively shattering the giant crystal.

The child backed down and landed on the ground as he watched Astria uncurl from a fetal position. The Crystal Princess then slowly came down, with her feet touching the ground first. The child took a step back to allow the girl to land appropriately and prepare if Astria wanted to strike first.

Astria wore a purple dress with white frills on her short sleeves and skirt. The Mage held no weapon but wore long, white gloves. Her golden locks were done in two; curled twin-tails held up by pink ribbons at each side. As she slowly opened her eyes, Astria revealed two bright emerald orbs.

However, her face and neck had notes of burns recovering, so Astria didn't look too perfect like a porcelain-perfect Princess.

"So this is your physical form... It isn't too bad... I've seen worse before. I might be the luckiest since you look beautiful compared to the rest of the Ducklings. And you are the prettiest that I've ever fought against... Since you are my first female target," shrugged Duncan.

"Are you blind or something?" spat Astria, placing her hands on her hips and bending forward to get a better look at Duncan.

"Hey! Hold that tongue of yours before I rip it out from your mouth! You are lucky that I haven't chewed you out for looking into my past yet, so don't try to act all tough at me or insult me first because I am controlling myself not to behead you right now!" argued Duncan.

"I didn't mean that way! I meant that... How could you say that after looking at me with all these burns?" asked Astria, shaking her head and raising her hands in surrendering.

Duncan widened his eyes and blinked rapidly as he tried to process Astria's words... Wait, did he give a compliment to a girl that is supposed to be his enemy?