☆ CELESTIAL CRUSADERS ☆ (Classic Edition)

☆ Chapter 11 - The Incursion ☆

As soon as dawn arrived, Madeline and the Crusaders started to make their way to the Negaverse while inside the main Zharyugo Cruiser. Silence took over the place for most of the ride.

♤Is there anything in particular we should be concerned about once we get there?♤
'^Dissle's power has influence over the entire planet. Everything there might be aggressive.^'
"^And I believe he is keeping someone prisoner in the fortress...I don't know who it is, I could only hear screaming and shouting.^"
'Must be someone important then.'
♤Then we also need to look for this prisoner.♤
^Us three could look for them. Some missions we had back at home involved rescuing.^
'"We could try if we know where to look."'
-^Your best bet are the dungeons on the bottom floor. The screams seems to be coming from there.^-
'Then we'll go check it out while the rest fight.'
"◇Are you sure we're able to take Dissle on by ourselves?◇"
"^I believe we stand a chance. Me, Eve and Eli are already very strong on our own, and we have powerful allies on our side. Plus, André's Light Magic skill is a direct counter to Dissle's power.^"
"×Heh. My flames will drive his shadows away.×"
》Soon, Dissle will finally face justice for what he did.《
"Bout time."
♤Heh. It's decided then. Let's go, everyone...and may the Goddess protect us.♤

The Cruiser exited hyperspace next to Dissle's planet. The Stargazer flew out of it and started to enter the atmosphere. Once it gets close to landing, André turns on the camo-mode and lands the ship. The Crusaders then exit the ship, with the Cruiser watching over them to make sure no new armies exit the planet.

The planet itself was filled with dead trees, rotten fruit and poisoned waters.
♤So this is where Dissle lives, huh?♤
'^Yeah. But it only transformed into...this after he snapped. I still don't know what made him change his mind about everything so easily.^'
-^Better to ask questions once we're done with him.^-
'^Right, right.^'

After a few minutes of walking, they could see Dissle's Fortress in the distance. It was covered by the barrier of darkness that was mentioned earlier.

The three Paragons took a step foward.

'^I'll warn you, this may be loud.^'

They used their combined powers in order to break the barrier. It shatters like glass, and the shards dissolve once they hit the floor.

♤Thanks.♤

As they approached the entrance, a hooded figure watching from the fortress' balcony sees everything and enters the room behind him.

And now, the heroes are inside.

^...hmm...^
'What?'
^Nothing. I just thought there would be a lot of skulls on the walls or something.^
"Let's focus on the mission, guys. Where can we split up?"
-^There's a spiral staircase in the room up ahead. Going all the way down leads to the dungeon, and going up leads to Dissle's room.^-
♤Then let's move.♤

They walked through the fortress. Oddly enough, there were no guards to stop them from proceeding...
Once they reached the staircase, they started to split up. The Splatoon trio went down the stairs while the rest went up.
Oddly enough, the silence on their path only made it more tense to go through. Eventually, the attack team arrived at Dissle's room.

It had a lot of things a dark sorcerer would have. The incubation tubes, examination tables, brewing equipment, among other things. And before them was the hooded figure.

Everyone kept their guard up and the Paragons took a step closer.

¤...¤
'^Turn around.^'
¤...so you all are finally here.¤

He turned around. It was a anglerling wearing grey-purple armor and a dark hood.

¤The saboteurs that wish to undo all the hard work I did.¤
|Look who's talkin', ya bastard!|
♤Your quest of multiversal tyranny ends here.♤
¤As I predicted. Mortals are too self-centered to realize my true intentions. When you see my work, you see tyranny and genocide because you fail to see the bigger picture.¤
》What makes you think it's not senseless evil to invade our worlds and oppress our people?《

¤Mortals' natural desire is to fight. Without a common enemy to face, they will split up and eventually betray each other. All in order to pursue their selfish desires. Without a iron fist keeping everyone in check, the Multiverse will end up destroying itself. That is the truth about all mortals. The truth Ara denies to accept.¤
♤That still doesn't give you the right to attack everyone. You may be the Master of Dark Arts, but you are no god. You don't decide who lives and who dies.♤
¤The decision is mine! It became mine when Ara and her gods refused to do anything!¤
"◇You say that mortals are selfish, yet you believe only you can "save" the Multiverse? Talk about hypocrisy.◇"
¤Quiet, cretin. Your mind is too simple and emotional to understand my beliefs.¤