"I won't depend on it that much." Jade said.
"But it just might work." I answered.
"Look your forgeting that he is a warlock with unimaginable powers. How will he not realize it?" Jade asked.
"That is why, do something that might fool him completely."
Jade could use his magic to transfigure objects so that they look the same. I witnessed this ability of his in the past, when he hid the staff of Derastor. It was a demon relic that had the powers to open the gateway to the Demon Realm. Seven years ago, a Gasly was looking for it. Gaslies are demon worshippers. Its job was to find a way for demon called Baal to come into the human realm. But my master put an end to his evil ways with Jade's help. Gaslies are similar to ghouls, they have the power to transfer their life force from human to human. That is how they live for hundreds of years. Eachtime a Gasly possesess a human body, it slowly drains the body's from its original life force. After a while, the person possessed dies.
The Gasly possessed a young girl this time. His father begged my master to save her. So using Jade's help, my master cloaked a partunder as the staff of Derastor. Partunders are life force cages. My master used it to trap the life force of the Gasly and saved the girl. I thought of using the same trick to fool Anthony. But since Anthony was a warlock, there was a chance that he might see through it. However, we only had a day left, so right now this seemed like our only chance.
"Look, give me sometime. It is a difficult job. But I am sure that I can come up with something." Jade said.
"Sure Jade, but please do something quick." I said.
"I will try my best."
I left the inn and went outside for a walk. I needed to clear my head so that I could come with the course of actions, that I had to follow to defeat Anthony. While I was walking through the busy streets of Kile City, the smell of fresh baked bread engulfed me. There was a bakery infront. I ordered some bread, and sat on a bench close by. While I ate the bread, I came up with the plan. Anthony asked me to come alone, without any weapons which was a bother. One thing that I knew, was that he won't kill me right away. That is the effect of Arrogance, it makes a person too overconfident. He would want me to witness his success and my failure. And when my eyes will be deprived of all hope, that is when he will kill me. I was familair with the mindset of people like him that is why I was sure. So I was going to use that opportunity to strike back. After an hour of deep thinking, I came up with a good plan. But the success of it depended on Jade's efforts.
I went back to the inn and as I walked upstairs to Jade's room, I sensed immense dark aura. I put my hand on my crossbow. I walked slowly towards the door, it was unlocked. I opened it slowly. As I did, I saw Jade on the ground. I Inimmediately ran to aid.
"Jade! Jade!" I called at him.
Jade groaned a little and then opened his eyes.
"Are you okay? What happened?" I asked.
Jade sat up and held his head in his hands. As he came to his senses, he immediately stood up and went to the other side of the room. He picked something up and turned towards me.
"It worked." He said, with wide eyes and a big grin.
Jade was holding two Greystones in his hand. I was astonished. I approached him and examined the books. Both of the books emitted dark aura and the resemblance was uncanny. I simply could not tell them apart.
"I found a way at last to fool him."Jade said. "I contained the dark aura from the original book, used my tranfiguration magic and then transfered the aura in to the replica. You told me that the locket has to have the maximum amount of energy that it can contain. So I altered the spell of immotality a little."
Jade explained to me what he had done and I was simply amazed at his ability and afterwards I explained him my plan. Now there was a high chance that we could win this. We both left the inn after a while. Mount Cursias was East of Kile City. Jade and split up. He rode to Bolville while I rode to Mount Cursias, just as we decided. We only had a day left. Both of us had to cover a long distance in a short while. So without wasting another second, we both were on our way.
I reached Mount Cursias next day at night. It was the night of Jargus. The blue moon was shining, right at the tip of the mountain. I rode uphill. After a while when I came close to the summit, I dismounted Schneider and went on foot. I was not carrying any weapons, just like Anthony asked. However, that did not mean that I was completely vulnerable. It was all part of the plan. As I reached the summit, the ruined temple of Cursias came to sight. A pack of Chulahans was waiting for me. As I walked passed them they growled. I halted after taking a few steps. Infront of me Anthony was standing, staring at the huge blue moon.
"Isn't it beautiful? The blue light pouring on this world? Anthony asked. "Full of mana. I can sense its power as it touches my skin. But actually it is my soul that is famished. For past five years, I have craved for power, for dominance, for immortality."
Anthony stepped down from the rock on which he was standing and strolled to me.
"You are wiser then I thought hunter. For a moment I thought that you might resist. No offense but you seem that way." Anthony said.
"You are not the first to say that." I answered.
"Oh I see. Well, enough chit chat. Lets get to business. The book." Anthony said bringing his hand forward.
I took out the replica from my cloak and showed it to Anthony. But I did a little act to win his trust further.
"Hand it over." Anthony said.
"If I give it to you, do I have your word that you will spare the lives of the people of Bolville?" I asked.
Anthony started laughing.
"I take it back. You are a fool." Anthony said. "Do you really think that you can make any demands in your position? I can twist your limbs and rip them out of your body with just a few waves of my hands. Now, shut your mouth and give me the book."
I did not say anything. I walked forward and handed the book over to Anthony. Wishing that he doesn't realize that it is a replica. Anthony, held the book in his hands. After a while, he raised his head and grinned at me. Suddenly, somebody hit me from behind. It was a Chulahan. I did not fight back. They kept hitting me until Anthony gestured at them to stop. The Chulahans grabbed me by my arms and raised me. Anthony squatted down and spoke.
"Let me tell you something. I am not as merciless as I appear." Anthony said. "Since you did such a great job in bringing me this, I can atleast give you a few minutes. A few minutes to live and witness, as I become invincible."
He then stood straight and faced the humongous blue moon. It worked. The book fooled him. Anthony sat on the ground, crossed his legs and started to chant the spell. He started to levitate in the air and gathered immense amount of mana. Meanwhile, the Chulahans held me tight.