Inside a dungeon. Present day
Rachel: Power secluded within the rivers of light, heed my call and come to my aid. Let this cage that sequesters me be an obstacle no more!
White Lightning!
Rachel attempted to blast her way out of her cell with an attack spell to no avail. She had been a prisoner there for five days...
Her cell was quite small. From time to time, a family of rats would be strolling around searching for a meal. It was pretty unlikely that they would have ever found any food there, though.
Sometimes a mimic would come with some water for her and the other prisoners. Just enough to keep them alive.
Rachel was in this dungeon with other magical girls. And none of their powers were working for some unknown reason. Every once in a while, one of the girls would disappear, and screams would be heard from afar... One of the girls in the cell beside Rachel's started speaking.
Agatha: Hey... You there next door... Can you hear me?
Rachel: Yes, I can. My name is Rachel. What's yours?
Agatha: I'm Agatha. I think it's been at least three weeks since they captured me. After the first week, I was unable to keep up with time. I got lured into a trap because I tried to help what I thought was an elderly woman in dire need of a doctor.
Rachel: So you're a doctor... Well, something similar happened to me... I didn't see who abducted me, though. Do you know what this is all about? And why can't I use magic?
Dark Mage: I can answer that.
A sense of uneasiness entered their cells as the Mage, seemingly in charge of everything happening, showed up from out of nowhere, leaving both Agatha and Rachel quite concerned.
Agatha: It was you, wasn't it? You were the one that was at the temple the day that I was abducted... I remember your voice... and that ever-so-haunting cackle of yours. It made me sick to my stomach... and hearing you speak... seeing you here... it's so disgusting! Tell us... Who are you?
The Dark mage burst into laughter, showing them how much he was enjoying all of it.
Dark mage: Allow me to introduce myself... I am the Dark wizard Merlin, and it is truly a great pleasure to meet you.
Agatha: I understand now... of course! A Dark wizard...
Rachel: Dark magic was outlawed over a century ago in the Western Continent... I didn't know that it was still practiced...
Merlin: Not by many. During the Demon Wars 152 years ago, the most powerful kingdoms of the land imposed their will and all but exterminated us, free thinkers.
Agatha: So... is it true that you get your power from demons?
Rachel: I've read extensively about Dark mages. Most of them were said to go insane after tapping into unknown powers and making pacts with entities from other worlds.
Agatha: Other worlds? What do you mean by that?
Merlin: Such a cultured young woman. How I got my power is not a subject I'm interested in getting into at the moment. It's much more interesting to tell you about the reason why you're here!
The Dark wizard Merlin always had a crooked smirk on him. It wasn't clear if there was something he found amusing all the time or if he was simply insane.
Merlin: You see... Thanks to your essence, we will be able to bring god back to the Arkana... So he can destroy it!
Agatha: Our essence?
Rachel: Destroy it?!
Merlin: It just so happens that your magical powers originate from a divine particle that can stabilize dimensional gateways... It's a highly complex process... I won't bore you with the details.
Agatha: What you're saying doesn't make any sense... bring god to the Arkana? Using a dimensional gateway?
Merlin: Poor woman... I bet you only learned to use the most basic spells in White magic, didn't you? Such wasted potential... And you're so clueless about the world around you. Now Rachel, on the other hand... I can tell that you are on the path to refining both your mana and your mind. Congratulations! Either way... Both of you have a pretty nice amount of essence of divinity. Your sacrifice should help us complete the gateway, no doubt!
Agatha: So the other girls you've taken are all dead, aren't they? You're sacrificing us to your made-up monsters!
Merlin burst out into laughter again.
Merlin: You haven't even seen monsters? Don't you remember the mimics that restrained you when you were captured? That wasn't a spell that I used... those were real. You're so funny...
Agatha's heart rate suddenly went up, and she started to look really scared.
Both girls were frightened and shocked by the evil in front of them.
Rachel: You won't succeed... Your plan will fail! I'm sure of it! - Rachel tried to put on a brave face while saying that. She couldn't understand how a person could be as evil as him and still enjoy himself so much.
Merlin just continued to look at both of them with an evil smirk on his face. He was about to walk out of the dungeon, but then he remembered something.
Merlin: Ah... I had almost forgotten the reason why I came here in the first place! Silly me! Ha, ha, ha, ha... Come, Agatha, my dear. Your time to shine has come!
He removed the bars from Agatha's cell with just one wave of his hand. Mimics then entered, dragging her out, all while she was attempting to use her powers to no avail. Agatha was taken to a well in a chamber filled with markings and symbols and chained to the ground. This place seemed to be directly underneath the base of the tower that was being built by monsters.
Agatha: What are you going to do to me? – she asked while trembling.
Merlin: Just make you shine, my dear. And by the way... This will hurt a lot - never once did Merlin lose that evil grin off his face.
Merlin began chanting in some ancient language, and the markings around the wall lit up. Agatha was terrified. Her entire body was shaking non-stop as she started to glow and feel as though her skin, muscles, fibers, bones, and even her very soul were being ripped apart. The glow encompassed her completely, all while she screamed in agony. After gaining critical mass, the glowing light was then dispersed around the tower, which was almost all the way finished. Nothing was left of Agatha.
Merlin: Yes! Plenty of essence! Make haste, my children! We are moments away from complete annihilation to enter the Arkana! - after saying that, he continued to cackle like a maniac.
Rachel was able to feel when Agatha's life force was suddenly extinguished. That outcome left her in total shock, and she could do nothing else but weep in silence, feeling helpless in her cell.
Merlin then appeared again in the dungeon hallway, cackling while he watched Rachel cry.
Merlin: I just dropped by to let you know that Agatha's essence helped advance the tower to 75% completion. You're next! With your sacrifice, it will definitely be completed to perfection!
Rachel: How? How do you live with yourself? I don't understand how someone can be this evil and not even be inconvenienced by their conscience... How do you even sleep at night?
Merlin: Easy... I sleep like a baby.
Meanwhile, Richard saw the tower that was being built by monsters.
Richard: Why are monsters building a tower? How is this even possible?!
Nimrod: Hey, you! If you value your life, beat it! I've got a big payday coming up, and I don't want you screwing it up and causing any trouble...
Richard unsheathed his sword. He looked at Nimrod, that was hovering high above the ground, and pointed his sword at him.
Richard: Where is she? Where's Rachel?!
Nimrod: That's none of your business! Go back to whatever kingdom you came from... Save a maiden from a dragon or something.
Richard: I will not abandon my dear sister... Not now... Not ever!
Nimrod: Huh? She's your sister?
For a reason that Richard could not understand, Nimrod was very surprised to hear that it was a sibling that the knight was looking for.
Richard charged toward Nimrod with fury while Nimrod was hovering high above the ground. Nimrod didn't believe Richard could reach him at that distance. But to his surprise, Richard used an unexpected sword tech: Projectile. He threw his sword at such speed that Nimrod was unable to react in time. It hit him in his forehead, dead center, knocking him down.
At that moment, Legend arrived with Meg. Richard thought he had killed Nimrod, but upon examining him as he got closer, he noticed that his forehead was only bruised.
Richard: He definitely must have very thick skin to have survived a sword to the head... Wake up! Where's my sister Rachel?!
Nimrod: Damn it! I thought I was fighting a good-for-nothing knight, not a ninja... what a cheap shot! How about a do-over?
Richard put his sword to Nimrod's throat and said:
Richard: This is your last chance... Where is the girl?
Richard was feeling pretty desperate at that point. Knowing that his sister was in danger of being sacrificed because of some insane cult was the worst thing he could have imagined. Nimrod wasn't really afraid of him, but he saw the intensity in his eyes and somehow felt bad about knowing that Rachel was his sister. He decided to help her at that very moment.
Nimrod: All the girls are in the dungeon... It's pretty easy to find once you enter that building over there. Hey... I didn't know she was your sister...
Legend: These fanatics plan to sacrifice her! We won't let that happen!
Richard ran off, entering the structure in the middle of town and searching for the dungeon.
Meg was trying to help Legend come up with a plan...
Legend: What should we do, Meg? Richard didn't even wait for us!
Meg: Let's sneak in. If we take our time, with luck, we could get by like in Gowzer's castle... not having to face many monsters.
Legend: Avoid fights... Right! We're here to rescue Rachel and not battle an army of monsters! OK, Meg. Let's go!
Legend ran to enter the structure leading to the tower called the Tower of God. Meanwhile, Richard charged in with all the wrath of a protective brother.
As he was running through the hallways inside the structure, he encountered many mimics clumped up together. Once they saw him, they revealed their tentacles and were about to attack him simultaneously. Before they were able to do that, Richard closed his eyes and held his sword against his forehead.
Richard: I do not know if you monsters are able to think like humans. You may believe that you will be able to overpower me because of your numbers. If so, you are wrong. This technique has the same effect as the Time magic spell Stop... and it is called STASIS SWORD!
When he shouted the name of the Sword technique he used, he opened his eyes and swung his sword forward. Crystal-like prisms appeared over all of the monsters and shattered on top of them. All of them were instantly paralyzed. Richard then cut through all of them like butter. After slicing them all to shreds, Richard kept advancing in search of the dungeon where his sister was being held.
On the other hand, Legend was trying to sneak around the compound, but something made him start to second-guess Meg's plan... He was spotted by a small group of mimics that started chasing after him.
Legend: I think Richard's approach was the right one... We have no time to waste being cautious!
Meg: Legend, wait! If you get cornered and overwhelmed by too many-
Legend had already run off. Meg was fuming because he didn't listen to him.
So, Merlin was in the chamber of arrival, waiting for the tower's completion. Once the tower's construction was finalized, he planned to have his mimics bring Rachel to sacrifice her next. Richard was racing toward the dungeons, desperately trying to save his sister. And Legend abandoned Meg's plan for caution and decided to go head-on, trying to save Richard's sister. Will things work out in the end?