After Tupp had entered the portal and disappeared, Quint couldn't feel Tupp's energy anymore. He began breathing hard.
"I'm kinda glad that he left, I was using a lot of spirit energy in that fight and started running low. I was only acting tough, if that fight had gone longer, he probably would've killed me, especially with that portal demon jumping around. Whew! I hope Shay can heal me," thought Quint while sitting down.
Ariel came floating down from the sky and landed in front of Quint.
Quint looked at her and said smartly, "So you only come when there's no fighting?"
"Don't get smart with me. Did you get the spear?" asked Ariel.
Quint scratched his head and looked away with a look of guilt in his face.
"Don't tell me that you didn't get the spear," said Ariel with her hands on her hips.
"Alright, I won't tell you that then," retorted Quint.
"The whole point of the mission was to retrieve the spear. Did you forget that?" asked Ariel.
"No, I just ran into a problem, that's all. I'll get it next time," said Quint as he looked away from her.
"How did you let that happen?! The Four Imperials now have all four Astral Weapons! This could mean the destruction of the earth!" yelled Ariel.
"Well what do we do now?" asked Quint.
"Were you able to at least kill one of them?" asked Ariel.
"Ummmmmm…no I was close though, but someone interfered," answered Quint.
Ariel rolled her eyes, sighed, and said "I'll have to report to the High Celestials about what happened here. I'll see you later with an update."
"Sorry for disappointing you," said Quint while waving her off.
Ariel spread her golden wings and flew away.
Quint thought to himself started to feel bad about failing, but then he looked around and was happy that he had saved the city from being completely destroyed. To him, that was a win. He saved lives and prevented thousands of deaths. He sensed Lucas, Shay, and Simone approaching him. He turned around there they were, standing behind him.
"So, what happened?" asked Lucas.
Quint gave them the run down of how his battle went and that Ariel said to him as they traveled back to the Tate house.
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In the spirit world, Ariel meet with the High Celestials. The walked in the room looking nervous and afraid to give them the bad news. This time only three High Celestials were present. They each have different numbers on their chest.
"Look! She is approaching us without the Astral Spear!" said the celestial with 13 on his chest.
The other two gasped and looked at each other. Ariel looked down and away as if she was a child about to be scolded by her parents.
"Well, give us a status report!" commanded the high celestial with 3 on his chest.
"Yes sir! Tupp and his faction attacked Charleston City. Quint and his fellow demon hunter defended the city, forcing Tupp to retreat. In the battles, they managed to kill tell members of his faction," reported Ariel.
"What of Tupp? Is he still alive? Did he have possession of the spear?!" questioned the high celestial with the number 17 on her chest.
"Tupp escaped with one member of his faction. He did have possession of the spear when he attacked the city, but Quint failed to retrieve it," answered Ariel.
"He didn't get the spear and he didn't kill Tupp! What kind of demon hunter is he?!" proclaimed 3.
"Well he is new and he's going up against a demon that our guards couldn't even handle," said Ariel, actually defending Quint.
"No excuses! We needed results from him!" barked 17 while slamming her first against the flat surface in front of her.
"Clearly he needs to be better supervised, so I'm ordering you to be by his side day and night!" said 13 while rubbing his beard.
"Now go!" commanded 3 as she pointed towards the exit.
Ariel began walking away and just before stepping into the other side of the threshold, she turned around and said softly, "If it want for him, his city would've been destroyed and thousands of people would be dead. I call that a success." She then exited.
======================
A portal opened up in a dark field, the cold wind blowing hard against the blades of grass. I'm the distance, a tall, decrepit castle can be seen. Tupp and Niko stepped out of the portal and was greeted by a giant, dull looking demon.
"Wel….. Come…. Back….. Sir. Are… there... any….. More….. Coming?" said the giant demon.
"They're dead! They're dead! Why don't you talk faster for a change!" said Niko.
Tupp started to look annoyed and said, "Just take me to the others."
The giant demon guided Tupp and Niko through a maze and into the castle with the other Imperials and their factions. The giant demon left after Tupp and Niko entered the room and went back to guarding the maze's entrance. In the room were the other three Imperials and their factions. The three other Imperials sat at the round table with their respective factions behind them. Tupp sat down at the table and began discussing what happened when he went to Earth.
"As you can see, there were Demon Hunter in what is now known as Charleston City. I lead an assault on the city, but four Demon Hunter interfered and I must say, they were quite skilled. They even managed to kill two members of my faction and Niko had a hard time also. There is one that is a danger to us demons. The one I fought, he managed to beat me and damage the spear. He must be killed at all costs!" reported Tupp.
The demon sitting across from Tupp crossed his arms and closed his eyes seemingly unhappy about the information they have all received and said, "Before we can enact our plan, we must get rid of the Demon Hunters!"
The demon on his right leaned forward into the light revealing that she looked very much human with short, blue hair, two small horns on each side of his forehead, and yellow skin. She then said, "I despise Demon Hunters. My faction and I will take care of the Demon Hunters. What can you tell me about them so I can be better prepared?"
"Well, Joan, the boy I fought is short, brown skinned, and has white hair. He's an elementalist and his element is fire. From what Niko had told me one of the other fighters is also an elementalist and he uses Earth. The other two are unknown to me, but they are very capable," informed Tupp.
"Thanks, that's more than enough information. My faction will attack in two days and we'll avenge your fallen comrades! Once we handle those Demon Hunters we can move on to more pressing matters and get rid of the damn Celestials!" announced Joan angrily.
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Quint, Simone, Shay, and Lucas are now at the Tate residence. They say around quietly, contemplating what they had saw and that Quint had informed them.
"Is there any way that we can get to the other Imperials before they try anything?" asked Shay, breaking the silence.
"Not that I know of, I'm waiting on more orders from Ariel," responded Quint.
"I wish we could sense them or something. That way we can catch them off guard and give us a good chance at winning," stated Simone.
"I most certainly can't wait to face that portal demon again! He's surprisingly strong! But I say we rest for now and wait until they come back. I get the feeling that they're not done with this city," said Lucas.
"I agree with Lucas," said Shay.
Simone looked away and stared outside. Ever since her battle with Feng, she had become worried that she was losing control of The Being because it hasn't completely taken over her body in that manner before. Quint walked up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. Simone's body jerked away from him.
"Are you ok?" asked Quint.
"Yes, sorry for pulling away from you, I was zoned out and you surprised me," said Simone while looking shocked and breathing heavily.
Just then, Ariel appeared before them and said, "I have some news!"