“My Queen, please come with me. There’s someone I want you to meet,” Reighild beckoned for her to follow.
“Who is this? And where are we going?”
“In the throne room, your Highness,” Reighild replied, and so the queen went along with him. As they walked towards the throne room, there was a particular absence in the halls. Not a single guard walked on patrol, and Queen Jeannah could think of no reason for this. She inquired, but Reighild didn’t answer, striding silently towards the throne room.
When they reached the grand hall, Queen Jeannah could see many of her subjects gathered; the guards lay deathly still on the floor. She was struck with intense fear when they entered the room. Everyone knelt on the floor, facing the throne. “My queen, please…” Reighild uttered, sounding choked, and he bowed down before the man who stood in front of the throne. The man wore an unusual mask and his body was covered with a black cloak.
“Rohan, Mikhal, Gabriela, Aya, everyone… what is happening?” Queen Jeannah asked but everyone remained silent, their eyes transfixed on the throne.
“My Queen…” the man in front of the throne room bowed down to her.
“Who are you?!” Queen Jeannah asked.
“I come to you with peace, that is, if you agree with my terms,” the man replied.
“What is it you want?!” Queen Jeannah uttered.
“I am the leader of Malevolentiam. The Dark Mage, Dio,” the man replied.
She gasped. “Reighild! What’s the meaning of this?!”
“My queen, I am sorry… but I want to reform this kingdom as well,” Reighild replied.
“You traitor!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.
“That is why Malevolentiam is always one step ahead of us! They do not have a mage that can see the future, but they have Reighild as a conspirator,” Mikhal murmured.
“This is serious. With the most powerful Master Knight teaming up with Malevolentiam, we stand no chance…” Rohan replied.
“Oh no! What will happen to us? I… I’m scared…” Marvel said.
“Me too…” Gabriela added, and they trembled with fear.
“Take heart. I am sure Queen Jeannah will find a way,” Alexa said. “If only Cassandra was well, we could have defended Krimmirr from Reighild and Dio…” She drifted off into a painful, self-loathing silence.
“Don’t be hesitant, my queen. You will not be harmed if you cooperate with us,” Reighild uttered.
“You disgust me. Queen Zilithia trusted you. I trusted you!” she yelled.
“Queen Zilithia was of noble blood because of King Auron. I never expected you to be the leader of Bristal. You were a slave, never fit to rule a kingdom–it was an outrage!” Reighild replied.
“That is enough,” Dio uttered. “I give you my word, Queen Jeannah, surrender your throne to me, and you will not be harmed. I shall reform this kingdom and give hope to the people.”
“I will never surrender my power to an evil mage like you!” she replied.
“My queen, I myself would not want to harm you. However, Malevolentiam will not stop pursuing your throne. I shall kill all of your people here in this castle until you surrender to me,” Dio demanded.
She ran to the centre of the throne room where everyone knelt. She raised her hands above her head and cast a massive protection spell around them. “Draconia magick! Angelus!” An impenetrable thick invisible shell of protection enveloped them having Dio and Reighild outside. Angelus was the silver dragon of protection. Its protection was superior to all magick elements but even it was not indestructible. However, it would take an intense deal amount of magickal power to scathe it, and the queen’s shoulders sagged in relief as the silvery dragon took hold overtop her and her subjects.
“Draconia magick. I never thought the queen wielded such magick. This is interesting,” Reighild mused.
“It was Rohan who helped me learn this spell.”
“The queen’s heart was untainted, and she easily mastered this spell,” Rohan deferred.
Everyone inside the thick invisible shell rose in confidence and relief, muttering amongst themselves, confident they would not be harmed by Dio and Reighild. “I will never surrender to you, Dark Mage!” Queen Jeannah said.
“Queen, you have no choice. Yes, it will take time to maim that protection of yours. But why delay the outcome? There will be no one to help you anymore.”
“My regiments will return to us and they will defeat you!” Queen Jeannah replied.
“Oh no no no… My Titans will eradicate your regiments and Master Knights,” Dio said.
“Do not underestimate my knights. They will return and destroy you!” Queen Jeannah answered.
“Even if they manage to defeat my Titans, I still have a Master Knight of my own. The most powerful Master Knight, he who has Zodiac Endowment magick. I must say, you had a fine Master Knight. But you are weak. I cannot believe you never questioned his loyalty,” Dio said.
“My knights will find a way! I know they will. Darkness can never defeat light and when my knights arrive, judgement will befall you!” Queen Jeannah snarled from behind the silver shell of protection around her and her most loyal.
“Reighild, destroy that barrier,” Dio said.
“With pleasure,” Reighild replied. “I call thee… the scales of Zygos! Libra!” A large war hammer appeared inside his tight fists. Reighild bashed the barrier and everyone inside was seized with great fear.
“Helena, Kielvine, Diurus, Ace… Jael… be safe… defeat them. We still need your help…” Queen Jeannah murmured, and she sat in the middle of the circle to wait whatever the inevitable was. The kingdom was in Jael’s hands.
In Fulbor, the Malevolentiam attack caused hysteria throughout the whole city. Containing all the residents safely away from the conflict became the priority. There was only one place in the city large enough to fit all the residents–the Main Core. By day it served as the city hall and a central control station for all the city’s magistreck. The building stood out of place with its massive size in the centre of the city. “Gather all the residents inside the core! Now!” Consul Viktor ordered. The walls were breached and defending his citizens and control block was top priority now. The defence against the Titans now fell to the Master Knights and Krimmirr’s troops.
Only a few blocks from the Main Core’s metal spire, Draken was bound to the ground by the sylphids of Korhil. He struggled to get out of their tiny hands, but their swift speed kept him pinned.
“Come, mighty Quetzalcoatl,” Kielvine summoned. “Vadeja!” Korhil shouted and a small tornado appeared at his control, covering his arms in a swirling armour of wind. “Are you certain about this, Kielvine?” Now or never. There would be no interference in this duel between former allies.
“If you want me to be part of your cause, then come to me, take me to my knees,” Kielvine replied.
“Very well,” Korhil said, then he soared through the wind and appeared in front of Kielvine, swinging his right arm. He missed, and Kielvine immediately countered by swinging a punch as well. This connected to his face, throwing Korhil back into the dirt. He gasped and spat muck from his mouth. “My… my… You’ve gotten stronger, my friend.”
“Stronger? That’s not even my best shot yet!”
“Raging tempest!” Korhil said. A mighty tornado bore down; he dashed around Kielvine.
Kielvine immediately drew his Fragarach and shouted, “Null Wind!” He slashed the tornado with his sword, making several x- shaped slashes and the magick dispersed, breaking apart into the thin air. The null worked, negating the magickal force it’d come into contact with. He bore down on Korhil, who struck back with unexpected brute force. He didn’t have the chance to respond. The kick struck firmly central, backed by a gust, propelling Kielvine across the road and through the glass front of a nearby store window. Korhil stalked towards the shattered glass, crunching through the remains.
At the Main Core, the defence strategists of Fulbor talked anima
tedly amongst themselves. Trying to come up with a spontaneous plan in the face of the defeat of their technological advancements, no one knew how the Fire Titan had broken through the wall. Let alone how the Wind Titan had taken down the force field! It had been designed to be impenetrable, and yet, with nothing more than a barrage of assaults, the magick had been broken. Public rumour knew the Titans to be powerful–but more powerful than a team of highly educated mages?
“How did that fire mage destroy our wall?! And how did that wind mage manage to penetrate our barrier?!” Vice Consul Maeku Tadeul demanded.
“I do not know, Vice Consul. They must have devised something in order to penetrate our defences,” Consul Viktor replied.
The Vice Consul of Fulbor was the founder of magistreck. With their combined knowledge–a chief engineer and a talented mage working together for a common goal–they had done it. “Would it be wise if we activate it?” he asked.
“Not yet, Maeku, Let’s see if the Master Knights can eliminate Malevolentiam. If they can manage to defeat them, then we don’t need to activate it. The enemy cannot know we have harnessed such power, for it must never fall under their control,” Consul Viktor replied.
Together, they had prepared a weapon designed for the worst, should a mage become too powerful. It was designed to vaporise anyone with magickal capabilities. Called the Equinox, a massive cannon which concentrated pure magick onto any target, inflating the magick inside of their bodies, expanding until the magickal energy would explode within, no longer energy weak enough to tame by mankind. Vice Consul Maeku was the one behind the design of this powerful weapon.
“We cannot afford to release the Equinox project unless it is deemed an absolute necessity. They are not called Master Knights for nothing. I have confidence they will be able to defeat Malevolentiam,” Consul Viktor said.
“I see. All right, let us wait for the right moment,” Vice Consul Maeku replied.
Back at the main gate of Fulbor, Aezil, the dark lady behind Malevolentiam, taunted Helena and Jael in turn. “How can you stop Malevolentiam if your queen is already subdued by the Dark Mage?” She chuckled darkly.
Helena blushed furious in rage and scowled at her. “You speak lies! Sir Reighild is there to defend her!”
“I am deeply sorry, but your so-called ‘Sir Reighild’ is one of us!” Aezil sneered.
“That’s impossible! He would never do such a thing! You must be joking–”
Aezil cut Helena off with a scoff, a dismissive wave of her hand. Her eyes grew large, and she narrowed in on Helena with a grim delight. “Hahahaha! Very well, it is up to you if you don’t want to believe.”
“Helena,” Jael whispered. “I will go back to Krimmirr and check on my mother. Please be safe.”
“Go. You may use my valkyrie. Let me handle this witch,” Helena replied.
Aezil dashed in, sprinting to Jael and punched him down. “I cannot let you interfere with the master’s plan,” she said, jamming the heel of her boot into Jael’s arm. He cried out.
Helena cast Valkyrian Wings and slashed Aezil across her back with Retribution. “Jael, go!” Aezil howled in pain, jerking away from Jael as he cast Rokka and dashed away from Helena towards the valkyrie. Behind him the city smouldered, and Jael tried not to dwell on the thoughts of his other lost friends–he could not bear to lose either his mother or Helena, but the kingdom most needed him back in Krimmirr. “I cannot let you pass. Face me, you witch!”
Aezil ignored her and sprinted towards Jael. Helena soared up into the air, dashing through the surrounding air in pursuit of Aezil, whose teal hair whipped behind her in her speed. Aezil moved with lethal grace, at once catching up to Jael and ramming his skull into the ground. “You shall not interfere…” A violet aura bathed her in deep mysterious light.
“Pillar Flare!” Jael shouted and a thick pillar of flame covered him.
When Helena caught up with them, she cast Thunder Blitz upon Aezil but it had no effect in her shadowed state. Jael cast Rokka once again and rushed towards the valkyrie. Helena seized Aezil, jerking the younger woman into a headlock and cast Thunderstruck. Waves upon waves of energy surged through the two of them, Helena energising in the tides of electricity. But Aezil only jerked and laughed, clicking her tongue in each convulsion of the current.
“Tsk… tsk… tsk… I haven’t told you I am a lightning mage as well. Many thanks for boosting my magick,” Aezil said.
“Hmph. You will need more than that to defeat me,” Helena replied.
In the wake, Jael managed to reach the valkyrie, and it rose off the ground, then quickly flew away towards Krimmirr. “You let him escape and interfere with the Dark Mage. I’ll make you pay for this!” Aezil said menacingly.
“Then show me what you’ve got!” Helena shouted.
At the other end of Fulbor, Adriel faced both Diurus and Ace, but he laughed and taunted them. “You’re still not hitting me. It seems you are the weakest of all the Master Knights,” Adriel said. Ace failed another series of attacks on Adriel, whose body merely flicked to flame and back at every strike. It was not that he moved with lethal speed, but that he danced in and out of his element with effortless ease. He immediately went to Diurus. Diurus eyed Adriel, noticing something a little off about his movements, a little strange about his reactions.
“I guess we really have to use our magick...”
“Fallafir!” Adriel shouted, and then his fiery python summon raged towards Diurus.
“South Wind! Tornado Armour!” Diurus uttered and a small but strong tornado covered him, protecting him from the flaming fangs of Fallafir.
“Very well done, Diurus. However, I have heard you cannot cast two winds at the same time,” Adriel said.
“I see you’ve done your homework.”
“As have I,” Ace whispered. “I can remember, when Prince Jael and the others came back from Zebu, he told us the magick of Adriel. His magick was called Pyrezio. His flames could take the form of whatever he wished, which makes him a flame summoner.”
Yes, that was it. Diurus nodded. “Yes. It seems this Adriel in front of us is not the real one.”
“Exactly, that is why we cannot hit him. He wants us to believe his body turns into flames,” Ace said.
“All right, you face this flaming double while I look for his real body,” Diurus uttered.
“I shall keep him occupied for the meantime.”
“What are you two mumbling about? Huh?” Adriel asked and Diurus dashed away from the scene. “Ahahahaha! That guy got scared, eh? No sweat for me. Let’s play, kid!”
Ace steeled himself for the challenge. “I am more than enough to take you down.”
The Fire Titan laughed. “What confidence you have there, kid. Very well. From the breath of Efreet comes the mighty flame, Djinn!” A humanoid shaped from the very flame–wavering in the dim light like the very heart of a kiln–appeared before Ace, twisting and twirling in its native blaze. It took the shape of a human, but moved like a spirit, versatile in both offence and defence. Ace was unimpressed. Yet another fiery human. He’d seen it already. “Dance, might Djinn!” Adriel shouted. The Djinn whipped its body and sent projectile flames aiming at Ace. Ace easily slashed the projectile flames flying toward him using his Apocalypse blade.
“You can’t throw fire at me like that,” he said. “Djinn is just warming up…” Adriel replied.
The Djinn screamed and extended its arms toward Ace. A flamethrower torrent of flames blasted towards Ace, who threw himself to the side. The arch of flame missed him by barely an inch. Ace then rushed Adriel and slashed him up with his sword. Flame swept each strike into minimal damage.
“I told you, you can’t attack me like that,” Adriel said. “Soon, I will find your weakness,” Ace replied.
“Before you can find it, you will probably be dead. Oh, I want to remind you,” Adriel said.
“What is it?” Ace asked.
“Behind you!” Adriel yelled from behind, and once again the f
lamethrower attack engulfed Ace. “Now that’s what I call fried knight. Hahahaha!” Adriel said. This time Ace didn’t have time to dodge and the fierce strike encapsulated him in the heat. He fell to the ground, covered in severe burns. “Come on, stand up. I know Master Knights are no ordinary knights. Come and fight me!”
“For once you have stated something true,” Ace replied, and he slowly stood up. Black whispering auras crept around Ace, covering him and raising up his hair and clothing as they hung in a breathless anticipation. His eyes seemed to grow sharper then. “One minute.”
“Now this is getting interesting,” Adriel said. “One minute? What are you blabbering about?”
“That’s how long you have until I slit your throat. You’re already dead.” Ace replied.
“Very well, you insolent pup–if you want to play with the grown-ups, you’ll be shown no mercy,” Adriel uttered. He jumped to one of the nearby houses. “I challenge your inner demon,” he called from the roof, beckoning the boy to come. The shadow hung around Ace’s shoulders, following him as he moved with an ever so slight delay.
“Heh. If that is what you wish. You’re about to see my true power,” Ace replied.
“Let me see your ultimate magick and I will utterly destroy you,” Adriel said in a sinister tone.
“Apocalyptic Fortitude!” Ace uttered. Apocalyptic Fortitude boosted all of Ace’s senses, heightened his capabilities as a blade master. In this state, Ace’s swiftness was often compared to that of Diurus’–had she still lived, he might have been able to beat Frekkis in a race.
Now broken away from the fight, Diurus dashed around Fulbor at his quickest speed, hoping to uncover the real Adriel before it was too late. “What if we were wrong? What if Ace is facing the real one?” Diurus murmured. He suddenly paused for a while to catch his breath and he looked into the sky and closed his eyes. “North Wind, please, guide me,” Diurus uttered, and he breathed deep. His mind stilled, and he found some solace in that moment. As he opened his eyes, he noticed someone at the top of the clock tower. He smiled, and entered the tower, quickly climbing the spiral stairs to the top. “So, this is where you are hiding eh?” Diurus smirked. “Thank you, mighty winds.”
Teliko Mageia: Curse of the Frozen Flame Page 31
