Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

3. Old Nemesis

Boom!

"Holy cow!" Aelita curses after the explosion that probably woke up the entire school. The clock shows the time: midnight.

A magical voice booms loudly, "Stay in your dorms and don't get out. Security forces are handling this pirate attack."

"A pirate attack? They haven't done that since one hundred and eighty years ago!" Aelita says.

Outside, I can see several dozens of pirates, followed by several dozens more. All of them wield machetes and lightning rifles, aided by a small fire cannon.

The pirates hold their portable mana shields tightly, their black clothing blending perfectly into the darkness of the night.

"Whoa, they're quite daring to do that!" Aelita comments.

"Well, they might think a quick raid would work," I say, turning my head to her.

"Oh, no," Aelita grins, "That is never going to work."

Then, when I turn my head again, the battlefield is a mess. A burned cannon lays helpless, several pirates dead with ice spears stabbing them, and others turned to crisp.

I gulp my own spit. I feel as if a hand had been inserted into my stomach, stirring its insides, even though I often witness such brutality ... often I commit them, when blackness takes over my vision.

"Holy cow," Aelita mutters, her face green from disgust, "who did that?" The figure reveals herself: a tall woman with butterfly wings, with ice on her left hand and fire on her right. She is Madam Fron.

Suddenly, an extremely dark aura appears. "Oof!" Aelita and I struggle to even stand. Madam Fron grins.

"It has been quite long, Lumiya. Or, should I call you Princess of Terror?" Madam Fron asks mockingly. She unleashes her own-unsurprisingly-formidable aura.

The friction between two auras knocks Aelita and I backward. We can barely crawl and watch: our knees lose strength and our legs refuse to move.

"Still arrogant as ever, Fronica?" The dark figure reveals herself. She's tall, even slightly taller than Madam Fron. Her gaze is threatening, her short, silver hair flaunting. Her slightly plump body is covered with a shining armor.

"Not so sure about that," Madam Fron scoffs, a set of red armor attached, "looks like your ears are getting sensitive."

The Princess of Terror grits her teeth. "I'll show you the real power of the vampires!" she summons a longsword. "Shadow Salvo!"

Her Shadow Salvo is truly terrifying: waves upon waves of huge dark arrows raining down from the sky.

"Your cause is long destroyed!" Madam Fron exclaims, "and so is your pathetic power!" She summons her glaive, thrusting it upon the cold air of the night.

"Flame Bombardment!"

Equally large fire arrows are fired from above the ground, meeting the dark arrows. "My vampiric domain will rise again, Fronica!"

"Bone Golem!" the Princess of Terror shrieks.

The sky turns even darker. Gloom fills the air. A hideous, gigantic creature appears from the earth. "What's that?" I mutter. The creature is made of bones and rotting flesh, its foul stench forcing Aelita and I to hold our breath.

Madam Fron chuckles loudly, "Over my dead body!" She raises her hand. Several fire phoenixes appear from nothingness, breaking through the dark clouds.

The fire phoenixes propel themselves to the creature, destroying it. Madam Fron creates blue fire, surrounding the Princess of Terror.

The Princess of Terror seemingly explodes, erasing the fire and sending dark shockwaves towards the school. "Ice Wall!" Madam Fron shouts, blocking the shockwaves.

The Princess of Terror appears behind Madam Fron, a longsword on hand. The two exchange blows with their weapons.

"Is that it? I have given you two centuries and this is all you have to show me?" Madam Fron scoffs as her glaive gains ground.

"Heh. Your fate will soon be the same as your puny family," the Princess of Terror mocks.

"Shut up!" Madam Fron's fury intensifies, her swings getting even more energetic and wild.

"Gah," the Princess of Terror mutters as her stomach is slashed. "Shadow Dragon!"

A large, dark dragon appears, charging straight at Madam Fron. She moves her glaive gently, exclaiming, "Twin Dragon!"

Two dragons, one red and one blue, appear to meet their dark counterpart. The three dragons clash.

Boom! The dragons explode Madam Fron and the Princess of Terror conjures up magical defenses of ice and darkness. Both suffers injuries, but the latter more so than the former.

The Princess of Terror's wings enlarge and her aura strengthens, sending shivers down our spines. "Imperfect Metamorphosis: Stage Two!" Madam Fron claps her hands, morphing into a more butterfly-like creature.

"Deva: Ruyi Jingu Bang!" A figure resembling a man appears from behind, his golden staff raised.

"You!" The Princess of Terror raises her longsword, parrying the staff.

"North Flames: Wave of Annihilation!" Madam Fron waves her hand, causing a gigantic yet shapeless blue fire to charge at the Princess of Terror.

"Wall of Anguish!" The Princess of Terror calls a wall of bones, halting the blue fire. The man's staff enlarges hundredfold, destroying the wall.

"Throne of Mercy!"

"Storm of Ice Swords!"

Hundreds of thousands of ice swords and jade spears surround the Princess of Terror. She conjures thick walls of flesh, yet some of the blades pierce through. She flees, turning into a bat.

A knock is heard on our door. "Excuse me, there's an emergency! Can I come in?" A boy's voice is heard.

"Come in!" I say while opening the door.

Holy! A short boy brings another one, a clearly older boy in. The older boy lost his arms and legs, and blood is everywhere. "W-where is the school hospital!?" The short boy asks hurriedly, trembling.

"W-we don't know. We're first years," I say.

"But I can do this," Aelita says, releasing a healing aura.

"Go and find Madam Fron!" she says to me. I rush.

I run-nay-sprint to the battlefield. "Whoa, whoa!" Madam Fron, visibly injured, suddenly blocks me when I am still in the corridors. "Don't run like that!"

"There's an emergency! A boy got his arms and legs chopped!" I say, panicking.

"What? Bring me to him, quickly!" Madam Fron orders.

I sprint back to my room, Madam Fron following closely behind. "Here!" I say.

Aelita, sweating profusely, is trying to heal the boy. She, for now, has successfully stopped the bleeding and closed a few wounds. "Thank you, thank you!" the younger boy thanks Aelita.

"Shush! Don't break my concentration!" Aelita says, her cheeks blushing red.

Madam Fron acts quickly: she sends an ice bird to summon the healers and gives a health potion to the injured boy. "Keep on healing him, Aelita. I'll supply you with the mana." Madam Fron says, putting her hand on Aelita's shoulder.

"Whoa, your mana reserve is ridiculous!" Aelita is shocked. Madam Fron stays silent, her eyes focused on the older boy.

"John," Madam Fron turns to the younger boy, "How did Joe suffer those wounds?"

"Umm, he went to watch your battle with the-uh-who was it again ..." John starts to answer.

"Lumiya," Madam Fron affirms, "he got wounded when she and I fought?"

"Yes," John answers. Madam Fron silently mutters a few curses.

"Who is that Princess of Terror?" Aelita asks. "A vampire queen. She joined the demons during their invasion two hundred years ago." Madam Fron blankly replies with a bitter voice.

After Joe is brought to the hospital by two healers, Madam Fron leaves my room.

"Don't forget, seven in the morning."