Realms of Magic: Demon Invasion

38. Expedition Golden Oasis

Rough sandstorms pound the endless desert frequently. Only two hours into our expedition, we have faced three sandstorms, requiring Mr Charles to intervene.

I'm sitting on my carpet with my senses strengthened to the maximum.

"There's nobody here," I hiss, "I can sense no one."

"Stay focused. We don't know what we might encounter," Mr Charles replies, "the Golden Oasis is half an hour away."

I close my eyes, my sensory powers attempting to detect human life. "Mr Charles, another sandstorm at four o'clock!" Remi warns.

"Sand Wall!" Mr Charles shouts, holding off the storm.

"Is that the Golden Oasis?" I hear Aelita asking Mr Charles.

"Yeah ... and what are those bones ...?" Mr Charles mutters, "Vio, open your eyes. We're landing."

"Okay."

We land near the admittedly beautiful Golden Oasis, decorated with palm trees. And bones. And weapons. And armor.

There was a slaughter here.

"Who could've done this?" Agatha asks.

Mr Charles kneels, examining a bone. "It seems like this bone is destroyed by high pressure. My best guess is sand magic; a magic that the Djinn king uses."

"There's a big one over here!" Joe shouts.

We rush to Joe's place. A giant skeleton, perhaps twenty feet tall at least, lies half buried in sand.

"Hmm ... there are many kinds of wounds inflicted. Judging from the proximity, I believe this Djinn king was killed by the Alliance's army," Mr Charles comments.

"That means the army won and survived!" Aelita smiles.

"If so, where are they?" Remi asks.

"Charles Moore reporting. Body of Djinn king found near the Golden Oasis alongside many of our soldiers' bodies. Continuing search for surviving soldiers," Mr Charles says to his communicator.

"Let's go."

I reactivate my sensing ability. As soon as I do that, I sense a multitude of auras.

"There are thousands of weak auras over there!" I shout in shock, "three o'clock!"

We scramble onto our carpets, quickly riding to the direction of three o'clock.

"What are they doing?" Mr Charles, sweating, asks me.

"They ...," I mutter, "they're being slaughtered! There are two extremely powerful auras and the weaker auras are dwindling in number!"

"Hasten up, you damn carpet!" Mr Charles curses. The two powerful auras become more and more dominant as the weaker ones fall around them.

"Blazing Tiger!" A tiger shaped fire lunges at us.

"Fire?!" Mr Charles gasps, "Sand Viper!" Mr Charles conjures a snake of sand, meeting the tiger head-on and destroying it.

"It's Charles Moore," a familiar voice says, "and the Twelfth and the Thirteenth."

"Damn it ...," Mr Charles mutters, "Lady Caitlyn and Lord Luke."

Judging from the former's gigantic form and the latter's colourful armor, they have activated their First Daemonium Stage Transformation. Fresh corpses of men and elves litter around them.

"Prepare for retre-"

As we prepare our mists, two figures rise from the array of corpses: Queen Seira and a tall man with blond, braided hair. Both are heavily wounded and battered and barely able to support themselves. The bad news: they are directly behind Lady Caitlyn and Lord Luke.

"Queen Seira and Archduke Elliot ... this requires a change in plans," Mr Charles says.

"Sandstorm!" He waves his hand and massive quantities of sand pours onto the enemy duo, forcing them back.

"Gaia's Advent of Roots!" Aelita's thick roots wrap themselves on Queen Seira and Archduke Elliot, attempting to bring them to us.

"Dark Crescent!" The thick roots are cut in an instant.

"Wind Prison!" Lord Luke waves his hand, trapping them both inside spheres of wind.

"Look, we don't have to fight," Lord Luke comments, "we can negotiate instead."

Mr Charles' eyes squint as Lady Caitlyn throws him a wide grin.

"What's your offer?" Mr Charles steps in front of us.

"Give us Violleta Vonville," Lord Luke says, "and we'll release these two."

"After all, we know who will emerge victorious if we battle here," Lady Caitlyn adds.

"Don't be too confident, Lady Caitlyn. Especially not in my environment," Mr Charles replies.

"Sand Djinn! Aelita, your roots!" Mr Charles conjures a giant humanoid out of the copious amount of sand. Its punches blow away the Wind Prisons, allowing Aelita to rescue them with her roots.

"Blood Mist! Let's get the hell out of here!" I shout as my mouth ejects red mist.

"Queen Seira, are you fine?" Mr Charles asks.

"Mmh .... no," she replies. Her breaths are getting shorter although Aelita's healing is closing her wounds.

"Water Prison!"

Lord Luke and Lady Caitlyn, having defeated the sand humanoid, give chase. The former raises water on all sides.

"Sand Missile Barrage!" Mr Charles unleashes a wave of sand missiles, halting the advance of the water.

"Archduke Elliot, please bring Queen Seira and yourself out of here," Mr Charles orders as the carpets halt and he tears off his robe.

A scorpion tail protrudes from his back and his arms turn into scorpion claws. "Sand Missile Barrage!"

"Wind Prison!" Lord Luke encases himself in a wind cocoon, blocking the sand.

"Lady Caitlyn, change of plan. Take them prisoners if you can; if not, kill them all except Vio," Lord Luke orders. Lady Caitlyn nods, her lips grinning.

"Very well, Elder Brother."

"Rotating Wind Blades!" Agatha launches a barrage of wind blades, their stunning speed forcing Lady Caitlyn to retreat.

Without anyone noticing, Remi has appeared behind Lady Caitlyn, her hand coated in purple lightning.

Lady Caitlyn bends forwards, her neck avoiding Remi's strike by an inch.

"Hmph!" she mocks, "what a cutie."

She swings her scythe, its sharp edge nearly cutting Remi's head off. Luckily, the latter manages to parry it with a lightning sword.

"John! Aelita! We'll do Formation A!" I shout, "Blood Mist!"

"Roger! Nature Summon: Toxic Flower Fumes!" Aelita follows. I can hear distant coughs from Lady Caitlyn.

"Skeletal Maiden!"

"Stone Cabin: Offensive Technique! Imperfecti Fungi Bloom! Gaia's Advent of Roots!" Aelita launches a series of binding spells.

Rib bones entrap her, blocking her movement. Aelita's array of spells further lock Lady Caitlyn.

Now try escaping from those!

"Law of Gods!"

With a very fluid movement, John summons a gigantic hand from the sky. It forms a fist that charges straight at Lady Caitlyn.

"She's finished," Remi comments with a somewhat smug grin.

"Keep your guard up," I reply, "something is wrong here."

Why doesn't she even attempt to block or dodge?

Then a dreadful scream fills my ears.