The next morning arrived and I went to the Dark Lord Merchant Plaza to visit Jinx for the event that my System mentioned last night. With curiosity currently filling my mind, I made my way toward her shop, noticing she wasn't there and rose an eyebrow. I looked around for Jinx then noticed a Necromancer sitting at a table reading her book.
"If you're looking for Jinx, she's at the Monster Stadium. She said something about a Slime Race going on," The Necromancer said, flipping to the next page of her book.
"Slime Race..?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms.
She made a sound of confirmation, her eyes never leaving her book. "Yeah, it's a gambling event really. One of many events that goes on here. During these events, she makes the most money which she uses to keep expanding her shop and facilities. She's probably drunk right now. If you want to find her, the Monster Stadium is north of here."
'Is this really the event that I needed to come here to see..? I could've done without this honestly...' I thought.
"Thank you for telling me," I said, nodding toward the Necromancer before making my way north to the Monster Stadium.
I made my way into the stadium, continuing my search around for Jinx. As I searched around for her, I noticed two Corrupted Royal Guards standing at the entrance of the battlefield area of the stadium. I asked them if they've seen Jinx and they pointed me in the direction toward the VIP Area of the Monster Stadium.
Nodding, I made my way toward the VIP Area of the stadium, ascending the stairs and entered the VIP Spectator area and noticed Jinx, Grant, Yen and the Fortune Teller watching the race going on. I focused on the Fortune Teller for a moment, tilting my head and noticed it was Yen's mother.
'Wait...isn't that Yen's mother I was supposed to save..? When did she get freed from her captivity..?' I thought, making my way toward Yen and the Fortune Teller.
Yen's fox ear flicked, allowing her to quickly notice my presence then she smiled brightly. "August..! Hey! Thank you for saving my Mother!~"
"Yeah...no problem," I said, glancing at the Fortune Teller, now extremely curious about her.
"What brings you here? Come to watch the Monster Games with us? Right now the Slime Race is going on, and it's a really close race. I'm going all in on Team Red!~" Yen said, her eyes watching the red and blue slimes race around the arena.
I followed her gaze, watching the slimes race against each other and listening to the cheers of the spectators. "I am actually here to speak with Jinx."
Yen glanced at me then leaned forward and turned her head. "Miss Jinx? Oh, she's right over there making a sell to that Monster Battler. After the Slime Races, the Battler Tournament starts and that's when the earnings really start."
"Oh yeah, and here. Like promised for saving my mother, a deck Skill Cards just for you~" Yen said, reaching inside her satchel and pulled out a box of Skill Cards. "These are C Rank Common Skill Cards for you. There are only 11 Cards in this deck. You can buy better decks but they get pretty expensive."
I accepted her gift and smiled at Yen, glancing back at her. "Thank you, Yen. I'll be sure to make good use of this."
Yen nodded and returned my smile, going back to watching the Monster Games. I made my way toward Jinx, noticing she was finishing up her sales to the Monster Battlers and approached her.
"Hey, Jinx. Got some time to talk?" I asked, noticing her flushed cheeks and slipping my hands into the pockets of my long coat.
Jinx looked at me, purring and smiling then set down her cup on the armrest of her chair. "Yeah..~ I gots the time, purr..~"
I noticed she was pretty drunk, but still functional enough to hold a proper conversation. I took her out to the lobby area where it was more quiet. Jinx followed behind, her tail swaying with each step and her mind wondering what I wanted to talk about.
I stopped at a comfortable distance to where no one would eavesdrop on our conversation. "Alright, so I was told to talk to you about some new event that was happening."
Jinx tilted her head, pondering on my words for a moment. Soon, something clicked in her mind, immediately sobering her up. "Oh yeah!~ It's about a new monster that had appeared! It's a one of a kind Monster, and there's five types of these monsters."
"Only one of these monsters have appeared so far, and it so happened appeared after you unsealed Floria. It's called the Soul of Nature and you'll need a Shaman to summon the monster. If you manage to get it, can you bring it back to me please?" Jinx asked, batting her eyes at me with a playful expression as she slid closer to me.
My cheeks became tinged with a rosy color and I gently pushed her face away, closing my eyes. "Yeah, I've got you."
Jinx giggled at my expression and stepped back. "You can do this any time of the day. The earlier the better!~"
I watched as Jinx hurried off and crossed my arms, smiling at her. I closed my eyes and exhaled softly, turning the other way to leave the Monster Stadium and used the Devil Stone at the center of the plaza to warp back to the surface.
-------------------------------------
I warped back to The Pride HQ, rubbing the back of my head and walked inside. As I made my way into the living room to get Moira, I noticed Mariella and Floria hanging out with April and the others. I stared at them for a moment, a few questions running in my mind.
April noticed me at the living room entrance and smiled at me. "Oh!~ You're back!~"
I glanced at April then looked back at Mariella and Floria. "No disrespect, but what are they doing here? And you've even got Ylva in here..?"
Mariella giggled softly, looking back at the board game she was playing with April and Lily. "We are allies now, right?~ It's only fair that we join the team~ Besides, you wouldn't leave two beautiful women stranded in the open would you?~ Dark Lords need a home too.."
"I hope you don't mind, August. We promise to not stir up trouble while we are here," Floria smiled gently at me, her expression as gentle and serene as ever.
I shrugged my shoulders and sighed softly, walking into the living room and taking my spot on the couch to rest for a moment. "As long as you're not causing trouble, it's fine by me. Anyway, have you all seen Moira?"
"She's in her room. Nagini's tests wore her out again," April said, moving her game piece along the board.
I shook my head, letting out a soft exhale. "That woman... alright, I suppose I can wait for her to recover then."
"What do you need her for anyway?" April asked, glancing over at me as I scrolled through my phone.
"Well, after we unsealed Floria, Jinx told me that a new type of monster was awakened with her from the Tree of Life. The Soul of Nature is what its called. I need a Shaman to awaken the Soul of Nature," I answered.
At the mention of the Soul of Nature, I managed to catch Floria's attention. She looked back at me, setting down her cards then rose an eyebrow. "Soul of Nature? Why, I haven't heard of that monster in so long. If he really has returned, please take me with you so I can witness his return as well."
I glanced up at Floria from my phone, smiling at her and nodding. "I will.."
Floria smiled back and nodded, returning to her game with Mariella, April, and Nina. I smiled at the four then went back to scrolling on my phone and listening to the chic flick they had on the TV as background noise.
As the hours passed by, Moira finally felt well rested enough to come out of her room. She noticed each of us hanging around the living room and decided join us for a bit. She took her seat next to me and noticed me taking a catnap, a soft smile playing on her lips.
April reached over and poked my leg, waking me up from my light sleep. "Hey, Moira is here..~"
I looked at April then glanced at Moira. I stretched and made a soft sound, enjoying the pop of my joints and bones, immediately relaxing my body. I picked up my phone from my lap and checked the time, seeing it was already the afternoon.
Moira smiled at me, holding her Demon Statue on her lap. "Did you need me for something?"
I glanced back at her and began collecting my thoughts for a moment then nodded. "Oh yeah, I did. It's about a new monster that appeared at the Tree of Life that we sprouted yesterday. I need your assistance summoning the Soul of Nature.."
"Soul of Nature? Ahh, I've heard about the Elemental Souls before. They can evolve into a Lord of Elements if the right conditions are met. These monsters are pretty Ancient, being the original partners of the original five Dark Lords," Moira explained, using the Devil Stone shard to summon a book on her lap.
I glanced at the book, noticing it resembled a history book. She opened the book and began flipping through the pages before finally landing on her desired page.
"Let's see..." She began, trailing her finger along the page then tapped her finger along a certain part of the page. "Okay, right here. The Lord of Nature, Basselt. A powerful Druid that once served the Goddess of Nature until betraying her to serve her sister the first Dark Lord of Nature thus becoming the first Druid Monster for all Dark Lords."
I nodded at the information and looked at the picture of Basselt, noticing he resembled the Tree of Life exactly. "Interesting...does it say how he downgraded into a Soul of Nature?"
"Not in this history book. I'll be honest, this history book is rather outdated taken it doesn't go beyond the previous generation of Earth's history. It stops just at the creation of the Infinity Council," Moira said, closing her book.
"With that said, I'll be happy to help you summon the Soul of Nature. It would be nice to learn from him up close," Moira said, smiling at me.
I nodded then looked at Floria, who had been listening in the entire time. She gave me a nod and got up, Moira and I following suit. With that, the three of us left the HQ and began to make our way back to the Virgo Kingdom to visit the Tree of Life.
-------------------------------------------
We made it to the Tree of Life and Moira stepped forward and set down her Demon Statue in front of it. She summoned her Spirit Ritual book, opening it to the page that revealed the spell to summon Basselt. She stood up and clasped her hands together, mana energy flowing around her body.
"This is gonna take about 20 minutes and while I'm doing this ritual I'll be in a Spiritual Hibernation state and will be vulnerable. I would need you all to protect me," Moira warned, closing her eyes and beginning to perform the summoning ritual.
"We've got you," I assured, stepping back at a safe distance while she began chanting softly.
We watched as Moira began to perform the summoning ritual, a green magic circle appearing in front of her. As she performed the summoning ritual, I quickly sensed an attack behind us and quickly turned around and used my Lion Pauldron to let out a Supernatural Roar, the soundwaves deflecting an energy blast.
"So it is you...I knew if I came back here, I would have a chance to see you again," A familiar voice said, walking forward and wielding her sword.
I looked at the woman stepping forward and grunted softly. "Evie... What are you doing here?"
"No, what are you doing here?! You helped unseal a Dark Lord?! You're siding with them now?!" Evie accused, her expression a mix of hurt and anger. "What happened the August I knew that fought for the weak at St. Meishi Academy? Now you've joined the villain's side?"
"We aren't—" Floria began, but paused when she saw my hand held out toward her.
"I've got it, Floria," I said, stepping forward toward Evie. "The Dark Lords are not villains inherently, Evie. Yes, they worked for Chaos in the Ancient Era but only because they were manipulated by him. Their true loyalties lie with the Sovereign of Absolute Destruction, Ragnarok. They destroy to balance out the Absolute Creation."
"What they did in the past, albeit for evil purposes, is just their nature. They can't change who they are as destroyers...but with people like me, we can return them down their dutiful path and reconnect them with Ragnarok. I am still a Zodiac Knight, that hasn't changed. But I am also the Hero of Origin, and I have my parts to play," I continued, my gaze meeting Evie's directly.
Evie shook her head and grit her teeth, pointing her sword at me. "You helped kill half of my squad...that's not what a hero does!"
"I did what I had to do, Evie. If you were in my shoes—" I began.
"No! I would never be in your shoes because I wouldn't stoop this low!" Evie interrupted. "You were my friend...someone I saw as a Savior, but now it's like I can't even recognize you anymore."
I stared at Evie for a moment and exhaled softly. "If you're planning to fight me, you'll never defeat me as I am now, Evie. Think hard about what you're about to do. I don't want to hurt you..."
Evie began to breathe heavily, part of her wanting to listen to me and turn away now. However, her heroic intuition told her to stop whatever was about to happen in front of her. She readied her sword and got into her stance.
I crossed my arms and let out a soft sigh. "Last chance, Evie.."
"I'm not going anywhere..." Evie said, bracing herself for battle.
I closed my eyes then lowered my arms and transformed into my Leo Zodiac Drive. "Alright...you leave me with no other choice, but to incapacitate you again..."
Evie dashed toward me and yelled as she leaped forward with a slash, but I dodged the attack then knocked her back with a kick. Evie rolled backwards along the ground then looked around for me, but she couldn't sense me. I struck her with a Stealth Strike to her back, knocking her forward then rushed to the front of her, palming her stomach and blowing her away.
Evie slammed into a tree then coughed, falling onto one knee. She stood up slowly and glanced at me, her eyes still full of determination. She surrounded herself in her pink aura, dashing toward me at lightspeeds. I took a deep breath then exhaled, using my Absolute Senses to dodge each of her light speed strikes.
"Just stop this, Evie. Open your eyes and realize that this world isn't always about right or wrong. It isn't about good vs. evil all the time. Gray Areas exist. Sometimes it takes a villain to be the hero!" I said, catching Evie with a Lion's Fist, knocking her away.
Evie groaned and rolled along the ground. She grunted as she slowly got up, standing up once again and wobbling. She stared at me and wiped her nose, sniffling a bit.
"I used to think the same as you. Everything was black and white, that everything was just good vs. evil. While yes, there are good and evil in the world...not every hero is good and not every villain is evil. The Dark Lords are neither good or evil, just forces of nature that is needed for balance," I said, trying to get through to Evie.
Evie stared at me then lowered her head slightly, closing her eyes and huffing lightly. She slightly lowered her weapon and decided to finally take a chance to listen since she knew she couldn't defeat me.
"I'm still me, Evie. I'm still focused on saving Earth from the hands of The Fallen, but as The Fallen gains more allies, so do we. The Dark Lords are our allies against The Fallen...and you can be an ally to us too," I said, holding my hand out toward Evie.
Evie looked up at me, seeing my inviting hand then stepped forward. Reaching out to grab my hand, I noticed a Druid appear behind her to strike her down then grunted and pushed Evie out the way and blocked the attack. I looked back at Floria quickly.
"It wasn't me. I didn't summon the Druid..!" Floria said, holding her hands up then noticed a horde of Druids appearing around us.
I helped Evie up and looked around, noticing the Druids all targeting Moira and summoned Shiva. "Shiva, stop them!"
Shiva nodded and quickly went into action, launching her icy black chains at the Druids, striking them down in one strike then noticing more appearing. "Master, it's an Invasion! They are all trying to stop Moira from summoning the Soul of Nature!"
I looked around for the source of the invasion then noticed a masked figure in the distance, summoning more hordes of Druids around us. 'Who is that...and how is she able to summon and control Monsters..?'
"Evie, get out of here. We'll talk later in the future, but for now, let me and Floria handle this issue," I said, adjusting my gauntlets and rushing forward to strike down the invading Druids.
Floria summoned a few of her Ents and Ent Girls to combat the Druids as well. She summoned her Earth's Gaian Bow, firing nature arrows at the Druids and took them down one by one.
Evie watched as Floria and I worked together to protect Moira from the surprise invasion. She took a step back, but stopped and rushed forward and began to take down a few Druids with us. She summoned a few pink blades of light, launching them toward the Druids and causing light explosions.
I looked back at Evie, noticing her helping us. "Evie..."
Evie looked at me then gave me a nod and a smile. I nodded back and together we began to work together to strike down the Druids. Once the next wave of Druids were defeated, we rushed toward the masked figure and prepared an attack.
The figure stared at us and snapped her fingers, a powerful beast crashing down and knocking us away. Evie and I slid backwards and looked at the beast, grunting at the powerful roar it let out.
The creature appeared to be a menacing dragon, clad in dark, metallic armor that had an emerald hue. Its body was covered in jagged, intricate armor plates, with glowing green elements, suggesting some magical or otherworldly power coursing through it.
Its massive, imposing form included sharp, twisting horns and massive wings with a translucent, greenish glow, giving it a predatory and fearsome appearance. The dragon's sharp claws dug into the forest floor as it moved closer toward us, suggesting that it's both a dangerous predator and a guardian of the natural world.
"What the hell is that?" I asked, feeling the powerful energy radiating from the dragon.
"I-I don't know...but it's headed toward us right now!" Evie cried out, readying her sword and slightly shaking in fear.
The figure stepped backwards, warping away and leaving us to deal with the dragon. I calmed my nerves and stared into the dragon's eyes, steadying my resolve. I glanced back and noticed Moira still safe and sound then looked back at the dragon, ready to battle against it.
"Evie...stand proud and stand brave. We can not let this dragon reach Moira!" I said and fused my Solar Peridot and Rainbow Fluorite into my Rainbow Peridot then transformed into my Fusion Zodiac Drive.
Evie glanced at me and noticed white clouds forming around me, sensing a calm and serene presence radiating from my body. She nodded then looked back at the dragon, slowly calming her nerves.
"Let's go!" I bellowed and dashed forward.
Evie rushed behind me and the Dragon rushed toward us, slashing his claws toward us. Evie parried the dragon's attack, knocking it off balance then I launched myself in the air, landing two leaping kicks toward the dragon's chin. I noticed my attacks barely affected it due to its armor.
I landed on the ground and swiftly dodged the dragon's crushing attack. I ran around the dragon and used my white clouds to propel myself in the air and combined my Fire and Wind Elements to form the Lightning Element and launched a powerful lightning bolt at the dragon, but its horn acted as w rod, absorbing the lightning and turning it into nature energy to boost the dragon's power.
Evie kept dodging the dragon's attacks at light speeds and rolled out the way of the next attack. "August! I can't find any weak spots within the armor!"
"Time to go back to the classics, partner~" Leona said and giggled.
I nodded and landed on the ground, using my Weakness Detection and pinpointed each weakspot within the Dragon's armor. I leaped backwards and took a deep breath.
'Zodiac Arts: Leo Blazing Assault!' I thought, blowing out a barrage of fireballs that were shaped like lion heads toward the dragon.
Each fireball began hitting the weakspot of the dragon's armor, cracking and soon breaking through its defenses. The dragon roared in slight pain, falling into a weakened state as its armor was broken. As it was on the ground, the dragon's cores were revealed.
Evie noticed the weakened dragon and saw the exposed cores, rushing toward it and began striking the cores. The dragon roared in pain as Evie began rapidly striking the cores of the dragon, until it pushed her away with a flap of its wings.
The dragon stood up and opened its mouth, gathering Nature Energy and forming an orb of energy within its mouth. I noticed it was trying to unleash a beam of energy and rushed forward. I managed to get in front of the beam just as it was unleahsed and used my white clouds to block the attack.
I grunted as I was beginning to get pushed back, my feet digging into the ground. "I won't...let you...hurt Moira!"
I let out a roar and Leona appeared, rushing forward and summoned a massive white fireball. She sent the fireball hurling down toward the dragon, striking it and causing a fiery explosion. The dragon roared in pain then flew out of the smoke cloud and retreated, one of its cores shattering.
Floria watched as she dragon flew off, letting out a soft sigh. "You managed to take one of its lives. So it is a Fusion Monster...but what created it..?"
Moira opened her eyes finally, a green pillar of energy crashing down upon the magic circle in front of her. She grunted as the intense energy of the pillar pushed her back, but I caught her.
We all looked at the pillar of energy then noticed it slowly disappeared, revealing the monster we've been waiting for. We all glanced at each other then looked back at the Soul of Nature.
"It's...just a Nature Wisp. This is the Soul of Nature?" I asked, looking at the Monster in front of us and walking forward, crouching down.
"Well...this is certainly anticlimactic. We were fighting this hard for a Will-o'-wisp?" Floria asked, tilting her head.
Moira crouched down next to me, looking at the Wisp as well. "Hmm...he seems...rather weakened as well. If only we knew how to return him back into his Lord of Nature form.."
I shrugged and took the Wisp gently into my hands then let it float around me. "It is what it is, I suppose. Jinx did want to see it so I'll be returning back to the Merchant Plaza."
"I'll come with you," Floria said.
I nodded and looked at Evie, noticing her staring at me with an apprehensive expression. I smiled at her and gently pat her shoulder as I walked by her. "Thank you for helping, Evie. Hopefully someday we will meet again, but as real allies again and not adversaries.."
Evie watched as I walked off with Moira and Floria, sheathing her sword. "Yeah... hopefully we can work together again..."
Evie looked at the Tree of Life once more then noticed small critters becoming attracted to its serene and healing presence, a small smile tugging at her lips. She began to make her way out of the forest and back to her base.