"That's her! That's the girl Tenshin has a crush on!"
"Oh, she is really pretty. Tenshin is right, her worried face is so cute!"
"Ah, f-friends! P-please!"
"Aw…, I can see your face turning red, Little Brother!"
"What? Zip it! You cannot see it…, w-we're in the middle of a dark vent!"
"Of course, I can!"
"Y-y you cannot!"
"Hey, Little Brother, I have your back. Therefore, we should bring the girl as fast as possible, so you can take her to the 𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘦."
"W-W-WEDDING A-AISLE? I JUST REACH SEVENTEEN! AND I'M A NOVICE!"
"Come now, don't act so nervous, Tenshin. I know deep down you want it. After all, you haven't been officially ordained as a monk yet. So you can choose to get out of celibacy and become a war mage like me and Ganika. Of course, you can be a mate to the red-haired girl. That's if you dare, though.."
"W-what is t-the meaning of t-that? D-do not plunge me into m-mortal temptations, Ko!"
"Alright. Let's postpone the small talk first. Ganika, you ambush from behind! Me from the front, and Tenshin…!"
"W-what...?"
"I'll let you go private with the girl. Don't waste this opportunity!"
"Heeeeeh?"
***
Alicia, along with her two companions and a wizard unit, continued to paddle their feet after neutralising the building's interior from Merlin's spell. But as they passed through the door, Gilmore nearly fell into a ravine in his haste.
The abyss was the result of another Merlin's cunning illusion. The entire room had been broken to pieces and formed various floating platforms, leaving a large space gap between them and the one door across. Around them were walls and pillars, extending into the infinity of space.
"Shite, I 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘯 about you, Liz. But I think ye should undo all the rooms from magic, not just 𝘺𝘪𝘯 wall," Gilmore said.
None of them raised any significant objections. Alicia just sighed softly. "Alright, I'll try. Please guard me."
The wizards sealed the back door. Alicia focused on spreading the Arcane might on a large-scale and counteracting the Protos particle's influence in the room after a while. Out of breath, she called out to the others, "It's over!"
A wizard offered her the favorite Stillmajik potion of a million wizards. Overshadowed by a hint of reluctance, she immediately took it and drank it with a sour face. "Eugh! Bitter!"
And so every time they entered a new chamber, various kinds of distortion were there to prevent them from passing through. Alicia was the one who was always in charge of taking care of the mess. But the girl did not complain. She could not, to be precise. But with the right frame of mind, she considered it an exercise to strengthen her stamina and endurance. After all, being snared in wrath only made her worse off, for the problems she just experienced had not been resolved. Meanwhile, every time they came across a door, one of the wizards cast a sealing spell, 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘶𝘮, to the entrance, to buy time.
But how could one tell the wizards that the spell was a waste of mana? Merlin's guardian trio could not care even less about the door. They banished the idea of using a door when visiting Skycastle in the first place. Why ought they to use one now? They had a caretaker of all barricades. As long as he could trace the girl of prophecy, the only way they could not take to find her was the way to the realm of Hades.
"Dinnae you have some sort of teleportation device or something?" Alicia asked a wizard. "Where's yer magic broom?"
"There's no time to pick up the equipment!" said the head of the mage unit. "For now, getting out of the building and reaching a griffin or nearby sphereship is our best option."
Alicia and the others had already run quite a distance and found themselves in a room larger than the passages and chambers they had walked before, but not as large as the lobby. Before their eyes, lay a wall with wide doors. Behind them was an emergency route that would lead them to the back exit of the building.
"Just head for that door, and we'll be out of here, my lady!" said an elite wizard on the escort team. "Hurry, purify this last side of the room—"
Suddenly the nape of one of the wizards was attacked by some kind of flat, orange blunt projectile! The poor wizard was knocked unconscious to the ground, then the projectile vanished. The loud thud was enough to direct all eyes to the back side of the room. A few inches from the stupor mage, a brown-skinned female sorcerer with a red stripe in her hair—a 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 stripe—was present. From her demeanor, she was a mature woman, with an age range between the late twenties to thirty years old. She was Ganika, the eastern rite sorcerer from the land of Rakcamkoor—a small area of the Republic of Svarga. This girl was a specialist in combat magic. She was seen wearing a short-sleeved Rakcamkoor dress, wrapped in a long red and yellow-green cloth, full of sparkling beads. Her clothes did not reveal her navel like the common Rakcamkoor's fashion, but with all the layers of fabric, they did not hide her slender yet supple figure. She was ready to snake around, pouncing on anything in her path!
Ganika crossed her arms. The tip of the sorceress' hand danced to emit orange magic projections—images composed of energy and sparks typical of Eastern-Rite Sorcery—and shaped them into a semicircle like a folding fan that burst open.
"Protect Miss Crimsonamane. Attack the sorcerer with all your might!"
The wizards breathed various magical manifestations on the Rakcamkoor magic lady earlier! Ganika instead ran towards them, then turned right and stepped into the air with her own magical platform. The platforms heaved in sight every time her feet were about to step, and were instantly devoured by the air as her feet flew up, grabbing another footing. Ganika jumped in spots, zigzagging, dodging every shot with no flaws. She hurled her two fans at the two "lucky" wizards, then plunged and landed on the shoulder of another. Ganika locked her legs around the mage's neck, then swung her entire body to the left, forcing the mage to roll backward—a perfect head-scissor thumping move!
While the wizards started walking towards Ganika, she immediately threw one of her magic fans. The fan bounced and crossed the chests of every magician it encountered. With only one fan left, Ganika continued with a series of agile martial arts moves against five European mages. And when the flying fan returned to the sorceress' grasp, she used it again to bounce every magic projectile from the wizards to assail their own comrades!
A giant green flare had been cast by a wizard some distance away from Ganika. Guessing the magical blowing from the magical fan would not stand a chance, Ganika fused the two orange fans into a complete magic circle! She let the two fans' combination float in the air, parrying the giant magic shot earlier. The magic circle was effective in deflecting the darting magic bale. Unsatisfied, Ganika pushed the orange circle so that it hit the shooter and stomped his face on the ground!
Ganika was busy playing with most of the wizards, leaving three wizards accompanying the triplets. Just as they were about to rush towards the door earlier, another hindrance came. Ko Zarni, one of Merlin's bodyguards, suddenly landed in front of them. The hard tiles did not matter to him, as they were crushed by his knees and palms. More collateral damage was added to the bill for the loss of the castle in the middle of the sky.
Unlike his wife, Ko Zarni's attire seemed more modest. He was similar to some other monks, dressing in a dark brown costume with other dark color combinations. What set him apart was his sleeveless shirt showing every curve of his muscles. There was no need to acquire an excessive piece of cloth solely for the sake of being stylish. In addition, light armor beautified the man's torso.
"Don't leave us yet, guys." Ko communicated with them. Seen in his belt tucked a long tube resembling a wooden pipe. At the top end was a carved head of the Druk—a type of thunder dragon—while the bottom was also carved out, its tail. He took the tube out of his waist and twirled the pipe. When examined more deeply, it resembled a scroll of high value, seen from the body shield, which was made of expensive wood as well, then sculpted with a collection of scales on the surface. It was true that it resembled a scroll shield in the shape of a thunder dragon being forced to straighten its body.
Nadine, Gilmore, and the three other wizards were not impressed by Ko's perfectly straight dragon pipe. Albeit they had guessed, that small cane could not be just an ordinary wooden club with dragon head ornaments.
"I'm like a troll in your western stories!" Ko excitedly spoke again, to which they had not responded at all. "And you, you shall not pass!"
The young monk stretched out his serpent stick. With full confidence, Ko breathed into the dragon, causing his dragon wand to breathe hot steams as well! The wooden scales—at first, just mere carvings—now jingled. The Thunder Dragon's body swayed to relax its once rigid body. A tangerine glimmer radiated around the wooden Druk's being.
"Yon scroll is alive!" Gilmore muttered.
Ko Zarni, who fathomed the mumbling of the Big Yin, replied, "Slangeskroll is an extension of my life. Of course, if I live, then Slangeskroll lives too!"
After feeling that his cane had warmed up enough, Ko Zarni swung his short stick, and that was when the dragon's body extended all the way to the ground! Apparently, the wand was separated into segments connected by tangerine magical threads. He flung his dragon scroll repeatedly onto the floor; a short staff resembling a scroll was now a dragon whip! Every time he hit, sparks bloomed on the floor!
"I'll give you one last chance," uttered Ko Zarni, "hand over your nerdy friend, and maybe, I'll send the Slangeskroll back to sleep."
The Slangeskroll—as the druk-headed wooden pipe was called—hissed at them. The dragon began to show a frustrated temper, especially if they were wise enough to choose the path of peace.
Luckily they did not. Slangeskroll became as passionate as the roaring Thunderkeeper's Levin!
"Always 'one last chance,'" said Gilmore, pulling his mace from behind, which he had not dropped since the Hamstagg fight. "You and yer dragon scroll could look scary if you didnae say they clichés!"
"Alicia, stay behind us," Nadine ordered as she readied her portable bow back.
"I-I'll give you Arcane's blessings!" The grace slowly left the Orb right after Alicia said it.
One of the three wizards complained. "You should have given that Arcane might over from the start, before my friends faced that crazy woman!"
Karma had made the wizard cursed by The Divine. Suddenly, the long coil of Slangeskroll strangled his neck!
"What… did you say… about my wife?" Ko Zarni showed his wrathful countenance
The other two wizards abruptly backed away from the shock of a dragon club that could swing so long that it could reach them—not to mention that it was wrapped around one of them! With such a wide range of attacks, Ko Zarni only needed to attack them from afar without moving an inch with just a piece of pipe.
Ko pulled the baton's segments closer, dragging the poor wizard too. A magic circle appeared in front of the sorcerer's left shoulder. He threw a fist through the magic circle, then lo-and-behold, the part of his hand that penetrated the magic circle enlarged ten times! A gigantic clenched fist landed on the wizard's head—at least as Ko Zarni thought, since technically, the blow crushed the mage's entire body—causing him to dart backward, destroying the door they had just sealed. What a substantial force; that unlucky human being has yet to stop rolling! The throw also almost hit Ganika, his wife, who was still fighting, and then protested against her husband.
Oh, this was precarious indeed. Alicia ought to lend her Arcane power immediately! The girl then closed her eyes and began to spread the power of Divine Grace.
"I won't let it!" Knowing what Alicia was about to do, Ko Zarni sent his thunder dragon once again.
Gilmore called out, "Everyone, watch out!"
Alicia's newly opened eyes started to bulge at the incoming dragon lashes. But when she was about to form a magic shield, the lash landed next to the orb mage.
Missed attack?
Of course not.
Ko Zarni did it on purpose. He immediately dragged Slangeskroll toward the feet of the Crimsonmane witch. His diversion succeeded. Due to taking too long to digest the information, Alicia and the others stumbled and fell with ease.
Two wizards of the Magisterium shot Ko Zarni right away. His response was felicitous, he just needed to lean his body in the opposite direction, without needing to move much. After finding an opening, it was the turn of the sorcerer in brown to whip one of the scholar mages. First brattle! Second brattle! The third time the wizard managed to dodge! But the small victory was hardly a victory, for the impact of the strong blunt object completely numbed him. The fourth lash, the druk's head poked the wizard's nose until it was broken, catching up with his comrades in dream limbo.
The latter wizard was smarter. He spread his wand between his palms, forming a mana shield. Whip after whip failed to penetrate, Ko Zarni thought of making Slangeskroll pounce from the side! The wizard seemed to read the sorcerer's mind, he took a few steps back, directing his magical equipment—the wizard's pride mini wand—down to the floor.
"𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘢 𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮!"
Since Skycastle had had a lot of damage here and there, other acts of vandalism did not really matter. After all, the responsibility was still on the sorcerers; plus, it was not the wizards who paid for it!
So, here was what happened: After chanting the incantation, the entire ground in front of him shook violently! A wave of energy infiltrated the ground, the black-and-white tiles shattered into massive mounds. Of course, Ko Zarni did not anticipate the spell, sending him flying to the ceiling. After falling to the ground, the sorcerer's body was lifted up by a levitation spell. While hovering, the last wizard let out long, flat shots with red flares, slashing the sorcerer so he was not able to get back up.
"Ko!" shouted Ganika, who was also cornered. The woman made a circular motion and looked for an opening to escape. But the mana stream from a magician's wand snared her, then pulled her back by force. Signs of being overwhelmed began to be implied in each husband and wife. In the end, by being outnumbered, facing a group of opponents was not something worth underestimating.
Even though he grimaced, the spirit in Ko Zarni was burning still. He was still holding the Slangeskroll in his hand, so he let go of his dragon club. The club swerved in the air, sped toward the wizard who had sent his master flying, then bound the wizard tightly. The wizard fell down. All the magic that bound Ko was undone. The twist was so strong; he began to feel short of breath. The more he moved, the more his insides squeezed.
Ko walked closer, before a shot of arrows came from the side. Surprised that the arrow had almost pierced his brain, he turned and found Gilmore, who was also close at hand, about to throw his round mace at the sorcerer's face. Ko Zarni rolled backward, but Gilmore pushed his club back and managed to slam it into the sorcerer's chest, knocking him down.
"YASSS! TASTE THAT, YA BASTARD!"
Alicia, who had just woken up, quickly synchronised with Orb. She wanted to channel her blessings, but strangely, the Arcane stream could not reach them all. The breezy blue power seemed to have no direction.
"Orb, what is this? They're right there!"
Orb replied back to her.
"What do you mean you can't reach them!"
Orb retorted.
"Y-you can't 'break through'? What the...?"
At first glance, she did not see anything out of the ordinary. But her myopic vision is unreliable. She rubbed her glasses which were still a little misty. She observed the sight of Nadine, Gilmore, and the wizards. It was as if she was looking at a reflection. The projection of her friends had almost invisible crack lines. Alicia sensed something strange too; she did not hear anything they were doing. It was so quiet, like watching a pantomime drama. Alicia knew she was not deaf, she could still hear the sound of the Orb.
"W-where am I…?"
"Uhm… uhh… h-h-hello…?" A soft voice filled with nervousness broke the silence.
Alicia glanced back. []