Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

43. The Ray of Light

The next day, we are still contemplating our shrinking options to flee.

"We have to wait until they begin their attack on Fort Bard," I whisper. "Security should be fairly lax by then."

"I guess so." Remi replies with a small nod.

"Anyway, isn't your father an Archduke? We might be able to use his poli-"

"He isn't my father anymore," Remi grimly replies, her eyes staring at mine. "He didn't want me to be an Imperial Guard and we had a falling out."

She roughly tears off a piece of white bread before chewing it. "I said, 'You can't control me!'"

Those words haunt me again. The exact same words Angelita hurled at my grandma.

"Will you look at this contract?! They don't even specify where you'll work! Hell, they don't even say what you are going to do!"

"They promised me far better pay than any other organization did. I don't care about your stupid, outdated, opinions, Grandma! You can't control me!"

"Hey, why are you spaced out?" Remi waves her hand in front of me.

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing," I mutter.

After several days, the Princess of Terror has stopped delivering our food and draining our mana. "They've begun their attack," Remi says.

I grin slightly. "This is our opportunity. All the Lords must have left."

Blood swirls around my hand and lightning begins to form on Remi's. We glance at each other once again. "Blood Bone Serpent!" "Thunder Phoenix!"

The two creatures slam themselves on the barrier, collapsing part of it. "Yes!" Remi hisses quietly.

Opposite our cell is another cell. I begin to walk through the cold, metal floor with soft steps, as to not alert the enemy, only to come face-to-face with the White Witch.

"Oh f-"

Her palms extend, their enormous strength pushing Remi and I to our cells. "We treated you well," she notes.

"No, you didn't."

My grandma stands behind her menacingly, a long sword on her hand. "How can-"

The White Witch is cut off by a swift punch to her face. The young woman draws her own staff and sword.

"Grandma!" I smile happily.

"Vio, grab your friends and run. My teachings gave birth to this monster; I will end it now. Ocular Blast!"

The barriers that hold Joe, Agatha, Aelita, and John captive collapse instantly. "Teacher, you are still naive if you think we will lose this war. Your involvement matters little in the grand scheme of things. Third Eye, open!"

A greyish smoke surrounds the White Witch. Joe, Agatha, Aelita, and John have sneaked away from their cells.

"Grandma!" I shriek.

"GO!"

The White Witch lunges at us with supernatural speed, her blade inches away from my neck. Remi intercepts it with her lightning dagger.

My grandma grabs the White Witch from behind, slamming her towards the ground.

"You won't hurt my grandchild again!" she shrieks, "Explosive Marks: 144 Marks!"

"Hey, let's go!" Aelita grabs my hand as my grandma produces consecutive explosions. The others have fled.

"But, Grandma-"

"GO, I SAY!"

The White Witch rises, seemingly fairly unfazed although a few burn scars are left here and there. She clutches her staff tightly. Aelita and I run away from the combat, rushing towards the opposite direction.

"Don't worry, she will be fine," Aelita assures me.

As we run through the damp corridors, we bump into a warden. "Dance of Bones!"

"Tiryag: Reptile Skin!"

My pipe bones cling harmlessly to the man's skin. He tears off his mask, revealing a bearded face we know well: Mr Anwar. He shoves us roughly, continuing to run towards my grandma. "Vanya, you fool. You shouldn't barge in alone ...."

We continue to run. The metal door that stands between us and freedom is broken already. The ground is shaking badly.

As the sunlight shines upon us, I catch Agatha in my arms as she's pushed back. A masked woman charges, her palm, covered in grey smoke, directed at us.

"Blood Shockwave!" I wave my hand, pushing back the masked woman. "Remi!"

Remi lunges at her with a lightning covered hand. The masked woman stays still although Remi is stabbing her with her hand.

"Her skin's so tough!"

"Explosive Marks: 18 Marks!" The masked woman taps Remi's chest and stomach repeatedly, leaving behind circle marks that generate consecutive explosions.

"Remi!" I shout. "Blood Mist!"

"Dance of Bones! Blood Salvo!" Waves of sharp, pipe bones and arrow-shaped mass of blood shower the masked woman. Agatha has recovered and she ran to the left to assist the others.

Remi struggles to stand, many a great scar having formed on her upper body. Aelita has fallen back to my position, her hands healing the injured Remi.

"Vio, what should we do? We're all low on mana!" she whispers.

I glance left. Dita's maniacal laughs fill my ears with grimness as she summons her snakes to battle John, Joe and Agatha all at once. Giant serpents wreck havoc.

My mist has cleared. Many of the pipe bones have been parried, although a few hit their marks. She lunges at me, her sword aiming at my head. I deflect it with own blade.

"Mana Weaving Technique: Spherical Mana Prison!"

Mana fabrics form around us two, then she tackles me to the ground. She attempts to slash my neck, forcing me to parry it.

"Listen carefully," she whispers, "I'll make a mistake and let you go. Just–"

"Lightning Bomb!" Remi destroys the cocoon with her lightning, forcing the masked woman to break contact.

She jumps back to the sandy beach; so close to our freedom. Dita Luxor stands beside her.

"These guys are better than what we expected," the masked woman notes, "only Lady Caitlyn and the White Witch are left here, as well as a handful mages. With two of the Great Five here, we won't be able to stop them."

"HAHAHA!" Dita Luxor laughs.

While continuing to laugh, she begins to unbutton her shirt and pants. "You haven't even scratched the surface of my powers yet." John and Joe would definitely enjoy her stripping if only her flesh weren't so horrendous.

That body is definitely not human: her skin is turning grey and scaly. Snakes come out from the pores on it. Some of the pores spurt out green venom.

"I really don't like those laughs," Agatha says.

"I think that's the least of our concerns, to be honest," Aelita replies, "Vio, how on earth are we going to get out?"

I can feel five pairs of eyes staring at me hopefully. I force a small smile to form on my lips as I glance at John and Aelita.

"John, Aelita, we'll go with Formation A!"