Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

39. Expedition Golden Oasis II

"Agatha!"

Lady Caitlyn's scythe stabs Agatha's heart, causing the latter to spurt blood from her mouth.

"Four Devils Formation: Nest of Owls!"

As Aelita, John, and I rush to Agatha's fallen body, three gigantic owls arrive from the sky. Their eyes emit black lasers, firing them at us.

"Aelita!" John shouts.

"Hundred Layered Gaia Defense!" Rocks and plants and vines entangle themselves around us, blocking the lasers.

"Reverse Blood Shockwave!" I extend my hand, pulling the owls toward us, "John, blast them!"

"Holy Orbs!" John crafts small shining balls of energy, then hurls them. The resulting explosion smothers the owls into pieces.

From afar, I can see Remi engaging Lady Caitlyn in close combat. "Lightning Bomb!" Remi launches a gigantic sphere of lightning, only for Lady Caitlyn to dodge it by leaping backwards.

"Good. I like girls who fight hard," Lady Caitlyn says, "because when I break them, their faces please me the most."

"Dream on!" I hear Agatha's furious voice, "Hall of Wind!"

"Oh, I know you!" Lady Caitlyn mocks as she deploys her Dark Field to repel the powerful windstorms, "I always knew you had that little resistance left in your eyes."

"I'm not your pet!" Agatha shouts, her face reddening, "Rotating Wind Blades!"

"Good, keep on fighting!" Lady Caitlyn smiles as she jumps into the air to avoid Agatha's relentless attacks and unleashes her Cursed Hands, "keep on planting your despair for me to harvest."

"Aqua Paragon!" Joe claps his hand, as if in a prayer. A great structure resembling the pyramids in Al-Azhar emerges, its watery body shooting water jets at Lady Caitlyn.

The jets are fired at such great speed that even the Cursed Hands are cut off effortlessly. The water pyramid collapses itself, sending a gigantic wave of water towards Lady Caitlyn.

"Four Devils Formation: Erebus Summon!" Lady Caitlyn's index finger swirls, crafting a black tower with a purple crystal at the top. She hides inside, safe from the roaring waves.

"Nature Summon: Minotaur!" "Divine Archangel!" Aelita's bull headed giant is now covered in John's shining armor.

"Vio, how in the bloody hell haven't you finished amassing mana yet?!" Aelita asks, in spite of knowing that I had woken up less than forty eight hours ago.

"Bone Golem!" I clap my hands and flesh and bones join together in an unholy amalgamation.

"Let's see if you can handle these!" I curse as both my Bone Golem and Aelita's Minotaur clad in John's armor march on the eerie tower.

"Hahaha ... playing with Imperial Guards who think they're already powerful is the most pleasurable thing to do." Lady Caitlyn flashes her disturbing smile.

"Cathedral of Despair!" She swings her hand and Remi, Joe, and Agatha are trapped in a sphere of darkness.

"That technique!" Aelita mutters, "Lady Jessica's spell!"

"Oh, so you do recognise it," Lady Caitlyn says, "not bad. I don't have a good relationship with my sister-in-law, but her spells sure come in handy."

Damn it. I was expecting Agatha and Remi to land a killing blow while our summons distract Lady Caitlyn, but now it's impossible. Sweat falls from my cheek.

"Vio," Aelita whispers, "what do we do now?"

"John, prepare your strongest offensive spell!" I order, "Aelita, we'll assault Lady Caitlyn directly!"

Aelita gives me a nod. "Venus Trap!" Carnivorous plants entangle themselves around Lady Caitlyn's tower.

"Omnidirectional Spikes!" The tower fires small black needles at all directions, decaying the plants.

"Blood Shield!" Thick blood is conjured, crafting a shield in front of us.

"Akh!" I curse as a needle slips through, piercing my arm, which immediately feels somewhat numb.

"Go, Bone Golem!" My golem's left arm swings a punch at the tower. Aelita's Minotaur's horns enlarge, hitting the tower.

Three gigantic hands emerge from the tower, grabbing and crushing my golem's fist and the Minotaur's horns. Two huge beams emerge from the tower, blasting apart our creatures.

"Asura: Angel Palms!" A figure arrives, his flurry of punches so powerful the tower collapses instantly.

"Mr Anwar!" I sigh in relief. Lady Caitlyn's lips curl downwards. Her Cathedral of Despair has disappeared.

"Water Wave!" I hear a distant, familiar voice. Water falls upon Lord Luke.

"Tornado Guard!" A tornado forms around Lord Luke, repelling the water.

"Lady Caitlyn!" he barks, "retreat!"

Lady Caitlyn's wings materialise as the owner flies towards the other direction.

"Lightning Mist!" Lord Luke's mouth emits a copious amount of mist with blue lightning imbued.

"Sand Missile Barrage!" A battered Mr Charles launches torrents of coarse sand, dispelling the mist.

"You've come, too, Anwar," Mr Charles comments.

"Tiryag: Regeneration Link!" Mr Agusman claps his hand and glowing green threads appear, attaching themselves onto the seven of us. Blood dries and the gashes and wounds the Lords gave to us close.

"We still need to tend to Queen Seira," Mr Arctus worryingly comments, "she is severely injured and exhausted."

After a short, quiet, uneventful journey, we arrive at the Golden Oasis. Queen Seira's weak body is laid down on the sand while Archduke Elliot sits next to her, giving her what help he is able to give.

"Tiryag: Regeneration!" Mr Anwar touches her stomach gently.

"She's not suffering from physical wounds," Mr Anwar declares, "it's heatstroke, and a severe one to boot."

"We have to bring her to a hospital!" Remi comments as her hands wrap around Queen Seira, preparing to lift her.

"No!" Mr Anwar barks, "she is in no condition to do so. We have to treat her here. Archduke Elliot, do you have a piece of cloth?"

Archduke Elliot tears apart his robe, handing it over to Mr Agusman.

"Arctus, prepare some water in a bowl. Aelita, create a wooden shelter so that the heat doesn't affect her directly."

Thick, wooden boards emerge from the ground, entwining themselves into a small house.

Only Aelita, Agatha, Remi, and I are left in that house while the men stand guard outside. We unbutton Queen Seira's clothes before laying a wet robe on her.

Agatha is reduced to a living fan, blowing small breezes to cool down Queen Seira's body temperature. Remi and I hydrate her with water from our flasks.

Queen Seira is gradually refreshed, light having returned to her eyes. A loud bang is heard and Mr Charles' voice booms, "Hey, is Queen Seira fine?"

"She is!" Aelita replies.

"Excellent! I'll check her conditions shortly. Could you please get out? We need to do a little patrol to make sure everything's okay," Mr Anwar says.

After Queen Seira wears her clothes and thanks us with a small smile, we open the creaky door and leave.

"Let's go on patrol." Mr Charles says coldly.