Chapter 24: Clash of Guild Leaders

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Overlord: Celestial Crusade

Late at night, Queen Lily Baraja Bessarez laid in her chambers having fallen ill since her encounter with the stranger. She'd lost her appetite, feeling weak and... she couldn't stop shaking. The last she remembered, someone had entered her thrown room. Then she awoke to that same room in tatters, and flooded with guards. The royal apothecary had seen her, but couldn't diagnose a problem. Suddenly falling ill was one thing but... Despite this, the queen couldn't shake the feeling she'd had a brush with death.

Though they'd hardly raised the alarm, the castle guard where definitely set on edge. Even as she was laying in bed, she could see one of her royal guards standing just inside the door. A low knock bulled her attention, and the guard's hand gripped his sword as he turned to answer. She heard him murmur to someone as the light of a torch flowed through the room, before slowly stepping aside and fully opening the door. "Attendants of the apothecary, my lady." He announced as a pair of maids and a nun flowed into the room.

"...Alright, leave us alone for a moment." asked Lily and before the guard could protest, she raised her weakened hand "It will be alright...just go..." she said and the guards bowed and left, leaving the queen alone with the attendants "We are alone...ladies...so tell me why you really came..." she asked weakened.

The one maid stopped cold, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat. "W-what do you mean?" She shuddered sheepishly. "T-The doctor sent-."

"Aoi, don't bother. She saw right through us." The second maid grumbled, yanking a ribbon out of her hair bun and going to quietly lock the door. When she looked back, Lily saw the face of the lord of Hashigin's attendant looking back at her. "Even if she hadn't, your reaction would've told her right away."

The blue haired maid turned her head away embraced, but the nun stepped between them and the queen. "Tyr, enough." She spoke softly, but quickly, removing her headdress to reveal the face of Astra underneath. "Good evening, Queen Bessarez. I'm sorry for deceiving you like this, but I had to speak with you candidly."

"Is this...about the attacker....that made me like this...?" She coldly wondered with a weakened voice "I don't blame you...just tell me what you want." she asked.

Astra's mouth curled into a grimace, and she looked back at her companions worriedly. "I swore to you, I didn't send him... He came to rescue myself and Tyr." She muttered, trying her best to sound apologetic. After a moment, she reached out to one of the maids, currently struggling to remove the headdress from her hair. "This is Aoi, She's a member of Hashigin's defense force. She came with him."

However, the maid looked more than a little flustered. "U-uh... H-Hello Queen... My lady..." She bowed slightly, obviously not as acquainted with the formalities of nobility as the others.

"Please, your Highness, you must believe me." Astra urged, placing her hands on the edge of the bed. "The last thing I wanted was for any harm to come to anyone."

"Forgive me...for finding it...hard to believe. You were always... on guard while here...so could have easily...contacted him in secret...to rescue you..." thought Lily a little distrustful of their words.

The maid watching the door whriled around. "The fact that you know we needed to be rescued-."

"Tyr..." Astra silenced her with a word, trying to keep her attention on the queen. "Please, your Highness, you have to hear me. That adventurer took someone besides me and my bodyguard." She backed away slightly, realizing she was beginning to loom over the bed. "My court mage. someone very important to me... And to him." She backed away again, looking like she wasn't sure how to explain. All the same, she kept speaking. "He'll do whatever he has to do to ensure our safety.

"Anyway...Lord Aethaion will soon deal...with that cloaked man..." said Lily certain "Once he does that...everything else...will be resolved...hopefully in peace..." she added.

Both Aoi and Tyr glanced at the queen, while Astra looked back at them, tightly clutching the nuns habit. "My queen, I..." She spoke slowly, her face slowly draining of all color. "You, called that adventurer a godsend. Someone who appeared to help you exactly when you needed it." She spoke slowly, trying to emphasize every word. "I've had a godsend like that as well. Without them I..." She trailed off, unable to put it all to words. None the less, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked at the queen once more. "I know, exactly... what you meant by that, Queen Bessarez." She paused a moment, having nothing to do but hope the queen understood. "And... I fear out saviors mean to destroy one another."

That last line made Queen Lily have a sense of dread "*He is like Lord Aethaion in power?!*" she thought shocked and grabbed her bed sheet tight "*What kind of catastrophe is about to be unleashed?*" she thought scared and looked on the ceiling serious.

"Mary and Jasmine, order all Virtue Lords to assemble here immediately!" Aethaion ordered serious.

"Right, my Lord!" said both in unison while bowing their heads and they teleported.

It was night

Aethaion was in the Throne Room and sat on his throne exhausted, mostly psychologically as the moon's light was illuminating the throne "*Another Player that knows I'm one too and has seemingly malicious intent. How should I act?*" he wondered and then the doors of the Throne Room opened, with the Virtue Lords appearing and bowing before Aethaion.

"All Virtue Lords have assembled by your command, Lord Aethaion." said Nerida serious and respectful as Aethaion stood up.

"Excellent." replied Aethaion "My Virtue Lords, I have made a dreadful discovery." he said and looked at the moon for a moment and then at their direction "Another Player has emerged and it seems he is targeting me." he said in a grim tone, with everyone's eyes widening from shock.

"What? Preposterous!" said Kratos whose wings flared up.

"We must prepare our defenses!" pleaded Themis.

"This is amusing." said a smiling Panisher.

"Fufufu, they can't possibly be a match for you, my Lord." said Emmef with a cocky chuckle.

"Let them come, they won't know what him them!" said a fired up Leto.

"I will stall them until they are bored." said Sophrosyne while putting her hammer on her back.

"No, just unleash me, my Lord. Run-of-the-mill Players can't match me!" pleaded Nike.

"And then they will become Yokai food, fufufu." added a pleased by the thought Takara Kōun.

"No, Nike and Takara Kōun." said Nerida looking at them "If they invade, we can see how they fight and what their weakness is and can strike at a critical moment." proposed a determined and passionate Nerida, with Aethaion being in thought.

"The Player appeared the moment we got our prisoner and Lady Astra went to the Holy Kingdom. It can't be a coincidence, one of the two has ties to that Player." deduced Aethaion while in thought and looked at the Virtue Lords "Themis, go to the Bafolk Village to protect it and notify me if you see anything strange."

"Yes, my Lord." replied Themis who then stood up and left the room.

"The others will be vigilant in case of an invasion. Also, increase the security in Sacred Garden" he ordered.

"As you wish!" they replied in unison.

Elsewhere, a small black spot zipped along the wall of a grand hallway. It came to an intersection, stopped briefly, before moving across the floor and jumping to another wall to continue its path. "There's gotta be a floor gate somewhere..." Its hollow voice echoed. It continued to move along, passing enormous hallways in just a few seconds. occasionally it'd stop and let a few NCP's pass, but by and large it appeared to be searching at random. As it rounded another corner, it stopped dead, seeing a small group of maids approach.

There was an adult woman with long black hair that is split into parts in front, brown eyes that was quite tall and had a stoic, serious expression while her attire consisted of a blue maid outfit with black knee length stockings and black Mary Janes "Didn't I tell you to not goof around? Lord Aethaion put as in charge of this girl in the Sacred Garden behind us!" she said in a scoffing tone.

"Yes, sorry, Lady Galatea!" replied the girls in unison in an apologetic tone, with them and Galatea not knowing they were being spied.

Without a sound, the shadow slid down the wall to the floor. when one of the Maids walked past, the spot moved into her shadow, blending in flawlessly. The maid shivered slightly, rubbing her forearms and nervously looking over her shoulder. Finding nothing though, she shook her head and patted her cheeks, quickening her pace to catch up with the others.

A short time later, the maids turned abruptly, pushing through a small set of doors and entering into a vast, lavish garden. a short grass patio, well trimmed hedges, vast beds of flowers. But most importantly, a long dining table with an array of chairs. And there, sitting at the end of the table, was Shino. She was sat in the chair, with ropes binding her wrists to the chair's armrests. In the briefest seconds as the maid entered, she could be seen desperately trying to chew through the bindings, before she abruptly sat upright and sank into the chair in an attempt to make herself as small as she could.

The two maids waited by the door, while the one they called Galatea made her way around the table. "W-what do you want with me?" Though it seemed like she tried to sound intimidating, there was a shake in Shino's voice. "Where are Astra and Tyr?"

Galatea then grabbed a chair and sat in front of Shino "Stop acting like a child, will ya?" she said in a rough tone "Anyway, how was your meal? Was it to your liking?" she asked in a cold tone "Anything specific you want to drink?" she asked again.

Right away, Shino's ears drooped. More so because she was being scolded than how close the maid now sat. "Y-Yeah... It was really good..." She muttered with a small pout, sheepishly looking at the ground. "C-Can... Can I have-?"

"Lady Galatea!" one of he maids suddenly cried, pointing to a hooded figure standing just behind the head maid.

"You...Who are you?!" asked Galatea in seething anger while turning around and trying to punch the figure with her right fist.

The figure didn't dodge. He didn't even move. Galetea's fist passed right through him. As She stumbled to catch herself, Shino's ears perked up, and her eyes shined brightly. "Uncle!"

The figure didn't respond to her however. Though she couldn't see the intruders eyes, she knew he was staring right at her. "Get lost."

"Ugh...you two, notify Lord Aethaion, now!" and two of her maids ran away "You...what do you want here?!" she asked angry.

"I said get lost." The figure said a little louder, turning towards her. A pair of tiny, burning slits opened in the figures hood. There wasn't a single doubt that he was glairing at her now. "Don't make me say it again."

"Eagh!" Galatea began punching the figure to no avail as her punches were passing through as if the figure didn't even exist at all in the first place "I don't care who you are or if you are much stronger than me. You *won't*  get past me!" she shouted fiercely.

After a second, the figure lifted his hand, catching her fist mid-punch. At the same time, his other hand moved like a blur, and Galetea doubled over, clutching her stomach. With a slight shove, he let her drop back into the chair, slumping over unconscious.

Now that he wasn't under attack, the figure snorted, and approached the he'd of the table. "You ok kid?"

Though she nodded her head slightly, her ears dropped when she glanced at Galetea. "Y-Yes." The man passed his finger over each of Shino's wrists, causing the ropes to crumble away to dust. Instantly she jumped to her feet, throwing her tiny arms around the figure and burying her head in his chest. It didn't look like he knew how to respond, simply patting her on the shoulder after a minute. None the less, she backed away and looked up at him again. "Uncle Beard... Where are Astra and Tyr?"

"Don't worry, we found 'em already." He said, waving his hand to create a dark portal in the air. "Vespa and Aoi are with 'em now. I'll pick em up soon as we get you out of here."

He gave her a gentle nudge towards the portal, but she dug her heels in to stay in place as best she could. "W-wait, wait a second." She dug into the pockets of her robe, rummaging around for something. After a moment, her ears drooped, and her eyes began to glisten. "U-Uncle they..." She began to choke up, clutching a hand to her chest. "They took mama's quill."

OF all things, that stopped Beard cold. "They did what?"

His words came out different from his usual voice. they where somehow echoed, yet posseted a growl to them. A tone that sent a shiver that made Shino's hair stand on end. "T-That guy with the wings... He t-took Mama's quill. He said it was t-to dangerous for me to have."

The figure fell silent, even as Shino began to weep. Something about his domineer had changed though. The glowing eyes had returned, but seemed to burn more intensely. His hands clenched into fists, and his clothing seem to flutter. Nearby, a small flower arrangement that had sat in the middle of the table began to wither. vibrant flowers dropped and turned grey, their petals dropping to the tabletop and crumbling to dust.

"Okay..." All at once, the pressure in the room vanished. the figure unclenched his fists and the eyes vanished from the shadow of his hood. He knelt down and took the girl by the shoulders, snapping her out of her crying, and nodded towards the portal. "Go on home. People are worried about ya. I'll get your pen back."

However, Shino backed away. "No! I'm not leaving without it!"

Beard gritted his teeth. "Shino... This isn't the time."

"I don't care! Its all I have of her!" Her sobs renewed, and she stomped her foot. "I'm not leaving!"

He couldn't believe this. Of all times for her to decide to be bratty, this had to be one of the worst. Yet... At the same time, Beard found himself smirking. "You know... You are just like your mother." He grumbled, reaching up to ruffle her ears. Either the action, or hearing those words seemed to stop her sobbing for the moment, and she put on a small smile. Momentarily at least. "Alright, take this." Seemingly from nowhere, Beard pulled a long, thin sheet and draped it over Shino's shoulders. Instantly it took the form of a long cloak, blending in with its surroundings and making her invisible when he pulled up the hood. "Find somewhere to hide, but don't leave this room. I'll be back for ya."

He dismissed his portal with a wave of his hand, and Shino nodded vigorously. "Thank you, uncle."

However, Shino scampered off, the pressure in the air returned again. This time much worse. The marble under Beards boots began to loose its luster, the metal of the chairs began to rust. It seemed like the world was beginning to crumble around him. Just as suddenly though, the crumbling stopped. "Alright, asshole." He cracked his knuckles sinking into a shadow and taking off once more. "Now you've pissed me off."

"Nothing, absolutely nothing."

Aethaion was looking at some floating screens before him, with them showing various parts of Elysium Fortress "Where is he? He definitely is here, but where?" wondered Aethaion alerted while moving the screens.

"Master Aethaion! Master Aethaion!" A voice echoed down the throne room as soon as the doors creaked open.

A pair of maids came dashing down the hall towards him, clearly startled by something. He dismissed the screens, about to ask what was wrong, when the pair of them skidded to a halt with horrified looks on their faces. The room dimmed, giving just enough time for Aethaion to realize something was wrong, before he felt himself being flung through the air. An array of shadowy hands dragged him from the throne, sending him crashing through the wall. He barely had time to register what had happened

Finally, he felt himself slow. The hands vanished, allowing Aethion to tumble to his knees. He hadn't taken much damage, but it'd thrown him for a loop pretty good. "Hey, asshole." A voice echoed, seeming coming from the walls themselves. Aethaion looked up, finding himself standing along in the fortresses arena. "You have something of mine." The voice had a direction this time. Aethaion whirled to catch a glimpse of his attacker, but found nothing. "And I want it back." Another echo, but just as before, there was no one there when Aethaion turned towards it. "You gonna be smart about this? Or do I have to rip ya apart first?" said the voice and the cloaked figure from the Holy Kingdom appeared.

"I don't know how you came..." Aethaion then flew too fast for the figure to react and grabbed it, with both teleporting "...but this is my *home*!" shouted Aethaion who threw away the figure toward a wall of the Colosseum.

The figure crashed into the wall, causing it to crack and filling the area with a cloud of dust. Something was wrong however. the impact sounded off. Not nearly as hard a landing as Aethaion was expecting. "Fine." The voice echoed again. "Hard way it is." The silhouette of a figure appeared in the smoke, a pair of glowing orange eyes staring out at him. "**Maximize Magic: Fog of Rust**!" Instantly, a dull orange fog billowed out towards Aethaion.

Aethaion then flew up "**Antimagic Field**!" he shouted and a violet harmless wave engulfed the arena while also dispelling the fog "**Triple Maximize Penetrate Magic: Michael**!" he shouted as he unleashed dozens of light beams at the cloaked figure.

"**Spirit Fog!**" The figure burst into a cloud of thick black smoke, which was blown away under the barrage of light beams a moment later. In that instant however, the figure was gone. Seconds later, Aethaion felt a chain coil around his foot, and looked down to see the figure's burning eyes flying up at him, a large, shadowed claw enveloping his hand. "**Dread Claw**!"

"***Celestial Combat*** **Widen Twin Maximize Magic: Uriel!**" shouted Aethaion as he unleashed from his hands two wide beams of fire to the figure's apparent surprise.

The figure rocket towards the ground, momentarily vanishing in a bright explosion. For a moment, it looked like he'd been blown away. But, as the light began to fade, the figure changed. The jacket and hood he wore began to disintegrate, crumbling away like smoke. A moment later the smoke and mist began to flow into him, almost like he was absorbing it. Whatever this was roughly resembled a human, but with sharp clawed hands and ashen black skin. The hood remained, but there was no face. A large set of teeth flashed open inside the hood, locked in a perpetual grin. "Damn..." The same voice, echoed and growling, but now it was clear where it was coming from. The figure rolled his shoulder a few times, cracking his neck to the side as a pair of glowing orange eyes glared up at Aethaion. "That one fuckin' hurt..."

"Begone, creature of darkness! Celestial Combat Triple Maximize Magic: Reality Slash!" shouted Aethaion who ignored the figure's complaint, with him swiping his right hand three times to unleashing three crescent slashes of gold light.

The thing winced away from the light, lifting its arm momentarily, before sinking into the floor and vanishing as the spells landed. More dust and debris where kicked up into the air, almost filling the arena. "**Summon Shadows**! **Doppelganger**!" Inside the smoke, Aethaion could see a number of shapes rising out of the ground. "Get down here!" Suddenly, chains shot up at Aethaion, dispersing the cloud and revealing almost fifty of the same intruder standing below.

"As if an angel can be brought down by disgusting shades. Holy Aura IV!" he shouted disgusted and the whole arena was illuminated by a gold blinding light.

Almost instantly, the chains stopped in mid air. Metal turned to stone the second the light touched it, before crumbling away to dust a moment later. The same happened to the figures. Where once there had been almost fifty intruders, now there was just one. Again he shielded his face with his arm. His skin didn't turn to stone, but he hissed and wisps of smoke emanated from his skin. At the same time however, small purple orbs began forming around him, "Alright then, new plan." The figure growled. One of the orbs around him flew into his outstretched hand, bursting to life in a purple flame. "**Soul Fire**!" With a roar, he launched a quintet of fireballs towards Aethaion.

"Hmph." said Aethaion extending his hand in order to block them and he touched one "Impossible! I should be immune to fire damage!" he thought shocked but then seemed to realize something "I see, a skill that bypasses fire immunity." he deduced while avoiding the rest "Antimagic Field, deactivate!" he ordered "Holy Power Amplification!" he shouted "**Triple Boosted Maximize Magic: Sacred Lance!**" shouted Aethaion as three lances made of sacred fire of gold and white color appeared and were fired at the figure.

The figure perked up the moment Aethaion's barrier vanished. "Hello magic." He snapped his fingers, and a small blot of what looked like ink dropped from his fingertips. "**Cover of Darkness**!" Instantly, the ink expanded, quickly growing to envelop the figure, and much of the arena floor. Aethaion's spells vanished into it, and he heard a loud crash of them impacting the floor. But there was no light. the floor below looked like a black hole, and was still growing to envelop the whole arena, growing closer to where he flew by the second. Suddenly, the figure burst forth, noticeable only by the glowing orange eyes against the pitch black bubble. A sickly purple flame burst to life in his hand, and he swiped at the angle with his claws. "**Soul Rot**!"

"Agh!" Aethaion was struck and he felt a sort of weakness "My MP!" he exclaimed and the figure smiled in confirmation as the ink disappeared "So what?" he wondered "War God's Blessing!" he shouted and punched the figure to the stomach "Celestial Combat!" he shouted while manifesting his Judgement Spear that was now glowing, stabbing the figure and then throwing it down on the ground "Ha..ha..." Aethaion then checked his MP and saw it being below half and wasn't regenerating "Maximize Magic: Remove Curse!" he said and a glow enveloped him and then he brought out a potion that restored some of his MP.

The figure crashed to the ground, rolling a few times and clutching a smoldering, smoking hole in his left side. "Damn..." He cursed, raising up to a knee and looking up at Aethion as he consumed the MP potion. "Shit... Guess with the way he was throwing around magic, he'd have a way to restore his MP..." Slowly, he reached up, catching one of the purple fireballs swirling around him and shoving it into his mouth. Right away the hole in his side began to close. Lettings out a snort, the figure raised to his feet, looking up at Aethaion glairing down at him. "OK, new plan." He clapped his hands together, and instantly created a dull red light in his palms. The air around him began to vibrate, and he threw his arms upwards. "**Red Sun**!"

A glowing ball of light shot into the air like a flare, growing to be almost three feet across. It eventually stopped just above Aethaion and bathed the arena in a vibrant red light "What's that?" he wondered shocked and then, he started to feel weird, a slight and superficial sense of weakness afflicting him.

However, when he looked back, the figure was gone. Suddenly, he felt a shadow fall over him, and looked up to see the figure's eyes rocketing down at him. "**Dread Claw**!" the attack struck Aethaion twice and pushed him back "*Impossible! Such skills coming from Shades shouldn't affect me!*" he thought bewildered and then opened his wings to stop moving "Boost Maximize Magic: Holy Smite!" he shouted as a column of light fell on the figure.

Again, the spell crashed down around his opponent, but like before it seemed to do nothing. The figure's eyes flashed even brighter, even under the blood red light the orb above them produced. Three more of the orbs around him vanished, and a dark, purple flame burst to live in his hands "**Soul Flare**!" He roared, sending a pillar of dark fire taring up at Aethaion.

"**Sunbeam!**" shouted Aethaion as he extended his hand and unleashed a beam of radiant light that overpowered the flames but didn't do anything to the figure "I see, a special skill that inverts the weakness and resistance of Holy and Undead, meaning I'm now weak to attacks of the Undead trait while you have become resistant to Holy trait attacks." deduced Aethaion, with the figure's grin widening even more "Heh, sorry to disappoint you, but if that was your trump card, this battle is as good as over." claimed Aethaion cocky.

"Sure is, asshole." The figure growled back. A dark mist began to swirl around him, quickly encompassing the entire arena floor. "'Cause you just lost your one advantage. And, like I promised..." He held his arms out to the side, slowly falling backwards into the floor. "Now I'mma rip ya apart. **Shadow Gate**!"

He vanished into the floor, still swirling with a black mist. The pulsing red orb overhead made the shadows around Aethaion quiver. He thought he saw the figure in the corner of his eye, but when he looked, there was nothing. Again, behind a pillar, but again, there was nothing. The shadows danced around him, behind pillars, though causeways, behind breaks in the stone. The figure was suddenly everywhere at once, yet nowhere at the same time.

Aethaion felt a chain coil around his waist, and he was yanked backwards towards the wall with nauseating force which caved in and Aethaion broke the chains "Oh my, you surely don't hear what others say." said Aethaion dusting himself off and stretching his arms "***Magic Armament, 8 stacks!***" Aethaion's spear then glowed "***Greater Teleportation!***" Aethaion vanished in a glow and appeared before the figure with Judgement Spear in hand, unleashing a handful of swift stabs.

The figure roared with laughter, the teeth of his eternal grin parting for the first time. The first few jabs ripped through his body. One over the shoulder, one down the hip, another in the thigh. The last saw Aethaion's spear flew right through his mouth, but the figure vanished in a plomb of smoke again, and the tip imbedded itself in the wall. "**Soul Flare**!" At the same time, a jet black hand shot out at him from the darkness, the remaining orbs gathering in the palm only inches from Aethaion's face, before erupting in an explosion of purple flame.

"**Invulnerability!**" shouted Aethaion and was surrounded by a barrier that protected him from the flames to the figure's visible confusion "This spell protects me from everything." said Aethaion calm.

"Does it now?" The figures burning eyes flashed to life, and the smoke began to reconstitute itself. "Lets test that out. **Eroding Aura**!"

There was a shift in the air. Nothing happened at first, much to Aethaion's confusion. Under the light of the pulsing red orb above them, whatever effect the figure had just tried to call upon, it seemed to have failed. That is, until he heard a low cracking sound below them. When he looked, he saw the arena floor cracking like dry mud, slowly crumbling away under their feet. In the amount of time it took for him to make sense of what he was seeing, it had spread to the walls. By then the entire arena began to rumble. Bits of plaster fell from the immaculate walls and cracks ran through the stone beneath. And at the center of it all, stood the figure, a pair of glowing hot eyes glairing out above a viscous grin.

"I will not let you destroy the arena!" said Aethaion extending his hand, breaking the barrier in the process "**Maximize Magic: Call Greater Thunder!**"

The figure vanished, the lightning crashing into the wall behind where he'd been. At the same tine, Aethaion noticed his HP began to degrade as well. Something was wrong. He hadn't taken a hit, why was he loosing health? Just as he finished that thought, the figure reformed, throwing a strong, sweeping punch into the side of Aethaion's head, sending him spiraling through the air and skidding across the arena floor. "Bad move, dumbass!" The figure roared, reforming with his arms out to the side. At the same time, the crumbling around him got worse. Metal class holding large torches began to rust and crumble. Fabric hanging over the entrances began to harden and crack. Whatever the figure was doing, it was getting worse. "Now you're fucked!"

"*This must be Eroding Aura, it can be fought with my Holy Aura. However, that guy...He is behaving... strangely. Didn't he come for that fox girl under our custody? And yet, he is behaving like a true Shade.*" he thought and looked at his spear "*Judgment Spear still has still Magic Armament so I can still hit him.*" he thought "Time to end this!" he shouted and flew at the figure.

Elsewhere, amongst the shaking hallways, a pair of figures dashed down the corridor. Every so often they'd have to stop, being almost knocked off their feet by the violent rumbling, but the pair continued on. "So um..." One of them muttered. "Why... Can't I just run on my own?" Shino grumbled, dangling loosely under Galetea's arm. "Its not like your THAT much faster than I am..."

"You are clearly in no condition to run. Also..." she said with zero emotion in her voice and they managed to teleport outside "...I can now run at full speed." she said still with no emotion and she dashed off so fast that she was kicking off big trails of dust "Now we will be at the arena in a minute with this speed." she said in an emotionless but a little reassuring tone.

However, Shino didn't hear her. "WAAAAAAAAAA! SLOWDOWNSLOWDOWNSLOWDOWN!" She cried, clinging to Galetea's waist.

As she was running while ignoring Shino's protests, the Colosseum became visible and she saw the arena filled in a dark mist and Aethaion along with a figure ready to clash "You are the one that can stop all this." she said to Shino and she stopped, with Galatea then throwing her up with all her strength "Good...luck." she said in a weakened voice and fell down on her four "Having a skill that increases a stat depending on how much HP I spend...Maybe I should've used less, but it doesn't matter...as long as she can end this." muttered Galatea with a serious voice hiding hope.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shino cried as she flew high up over the arena.

She had no idea how high she'd come, only that she barely had the courage to look down. When she did, she found Beard in a clash with the winged figure who'd taken her. Something was wrong though, Beard seemed... Different. The arena was crumbling around him, and the pair seemed to be wrestling over the angelic figure's spear, and through it seemed like he was winning the physical clash, Beard was laughing like a lunatic. She had to do something, something ot get their attention. Mores to catch her, as by the time she realized this, she'd begun to fall again.

"Uncle!" She cried, conjuring a spell between her palms. Daggers of ice began to form around her, flying towards the pair when she thrust out her hands. "**Icicle Storm**!"

"Hm?" as Aethaion was focused on the figure, he felt something and flew back "Isn't that?" he wondered confused as he saw Shino falling down and raining down icicles.

The ice rained down on the pair, and Beard's glanced back in her direction. It took a moment, but eventually the laughing stopped, his eyes went from burning white flames to small glowing slits. Instantly he burst into a cloud of thick black smoke, and and at the same time the crumbling stopped. Shino screamed as the cloud enveloped her, but her decent slowed.

A second later, the cloud reformed, taking the form of Beard resting on a knee, propping Shino up on his arm. "The hell are you doing here?" he growled, keeping an eye on Aethion. "I told you to stay put."

"I-I..." She muttered, rolling over and holding her stomach as her face turned green. "I h-had too-." Her hands jumped to her mouth mid sentence, and she threw up a second later.

"*Lord Aethaion, I'm Themis, please respond.*"

Before Aethaion could fully realize what happened, Themis contacted him "Tell me...I see. Return here immediately." he said and then removed his fingers from his temple and looked at the figure carrying the visibly weakened Shino "What in the world is going on?!" he wondered in confusion.

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