"We will not enter the world of the rukh. That means that we are literally going to die once. Are you really sure of this?" Aladdin asked hesitantly. Alibaba and Hakuryuu stood there with determined face as they were ready to face whatever the Sacred Palace had in stored for them.
"Going to die!? I've already experienced it once!" Alibaba grinned.
"We have, in fact, fought until one of our friends died." Hakuryuu said. Judar smirked at his remark while Setta just fixed his eyeglasses with a smile.
"Now that you've mentioned it. We did have a strange bond and I thought we won't be able to agree on one thing but here we are!"
"Being sentimental now are we? Judar?" Setta teased. That earned him a tick mark from the fallen Magi. He told him that they did not really plan on fighting with them together. Setta gave him a deadpan look and a sigh. Hakuryuu said that they could not blame him for not liking them.
"Even if we are friends, our thinking won't always be the same. Despite all of the fights, we have move on. We have to stand up tall for countless years to come!" He declared. Alibaba's eyes glistened with amazement at his statement. They may have fought a lot in the future but in the end, he wants to see a world where everyone is smiling despite the problems. A world where they will think of solutions together and a world that they can entrust to the future generation. He tightened his grip on Amon's sword. Setta pursed his lips tightly thinking of their own future. What he wanted was a just world where they could all smile and think of the problems ahead.
"I wish for that tomorrow as well." He whispered to his self. His golden eyes shone with glee.
'Yeah. This time! This time, I will give Azami-nee the future she protected and for her to find happiness.'
"DJINN EQUIP!" The two changed to Amon and Zagan's full body djinn equip.
"YEAH!"
They were soon engulfed by a blinding light. The door opened, to the sanctuary they go. The Sacred Palace was strange. It was styled like a maze and strange structures were found like Zepar's stature. They examined the place they know as the Sacred Palace.
It the the place that governs world but it has transformed into a unique space. The Last Arc, where the battle never seen before happens!
Everyone had finally set foot in the Sacred Palace. Alibaba was amazed with the structure and decided to ask Aladdin if this was how the Sacred Palace should look. He shook his head no and told him that the last time he was with Ugo inside, the room looked more like a stack room full of book.
"This room is controlled by whoever controls it." Setta said. Alibaba nodded his head off. Judar, on the other hand, criticized the way it was done. They all sweat dropped at that. Setta observed the maze and noticed a notable work like Zepar's statue. He mistook that as one but stopped when it gave him with a playful glare to which he returned in the same way. It smirked but before Setta could even retort Alibaba pulled him out of trance.
"It means that Sinbad has created this space!"
"That's exactly right!" They looked up to see gigantic features of Sinbad's djinns. Setta glared at Zepar but the djinn only gave him a smirk, challenging him. Aladdin however stepped up and asked if they were really his djinns. The thunder djinn nodded and ordered them to conquer the 7 dungeons!
"The 7 dungeons, you say!?" Judar asked. Baal rose and intimidated them more. He assured them that if they want to stop King Sinbad's magic then they will have to conquer the 7 dungeons before the sun sets.
"So we will have to conquer the 7 dungeons containing the 7 human beings formerly known as Sinbad? Okay but where is Azami-nee?" Setta inquired. Baal glanced at him and informed him that Azami was also somewhere in this maze but her shadow will be a hindrance for them. They were intrigued but Baal said no more. Aladdin took this chance to ask Sinbad's magic.
"King Sinbad will return the world to the Rukh! He has already activated the Sanctuary's magic!" Crocell said with glee in his voice.
"What did you say!?" Hakuryuu was stunned but a voice resounded in their ears.
"Don't worry though, you still have time to fight but I don't think my djinns will allow you to pass easily. And I don't think she will as well." He said. Aladdin was skeptical about his words and asked why would he want to fight them if he could just kill them with the Sanctuary's power. Sinbad chuckled before answering him that even though he had rewritten the rukh, they were unaffected which for him only meant that they were destined to fight. He turned to Alibaba.
"Am I wrong, Alibaba? And... that is because I need to erase my sole regret." He laughed. They did not know what he was talking about which left them wondering. The purple haired god laughed more because of the uncanny moment to see that Alibaba will be facing him when in the past, he was so adamant in not fighting him. Setta glanced at the said blonde conqueror but when he saw his expression, that made the purple haired magician grin.
"No matter what! I will defeat you!"
"I'm looking forward to that!" Sinbad said. He smiled and they disappeared in a blink of an eye. Judar walked towards them with an irritated look.
"Fighting bravely huh? He has the tools to kill us whenever he wishes, so he is trying to say 'Try to stop me if you can!' That foolish King, how arrogant can he be? I am pretty irritated! I want to punch him in the face!" He ranted. A feminine voice agreed with him and they all turned towards the source.
"It doesn't matter what age it is, but kings who are full of themselves have bad characters! Yes, yes!"
"What?" Behind them was none other than, Arba! They all got into stance, pointing their metal vessels at her. Hakuryuu's aura suddenly changed into a cold one. Arba glanced back at them and said that there was no need to be so intimidating since she was just about to be their tour guide of some sort. Setta glared at her but she shook her head.
"Where is Azami-nee?"
"I don't know but maybe you'll meet her shadow within this area. Maybe~ Come on! Follow me, everyone!" She said. Judar gritted his teeth in anger and mistrust when the snake came and suddenly talk to them so casually. Hakuryuu nodded as well but it looked like Aladdin and Alibaba were not so concerned about it. Setta had a guarded look but still let her go and lead them.
"I am counting on you, Miss Arba!" The blue haired magi said. Setta scoffed. Arba did not say anything. The two trotted back to the three to enter the first dungeon. Soon, they reached the first dungeon. She ushered them inside.
"The First Dungeon, The Trial of Wrath of Heroes, Baal!" They were engulfed in a bright light and once it dimmed, everything around them was in chaos. Blood spluttered everywhere that it made the scene more sinister. Their eyes widened at that.
"A war?" Alibaba wondered.
"Yo, Alibaba!" A man greeted him. He looked like Sinbad but his clothes were different. Instead of the usual white garments, he was wearing purple pants, white top with green linings which looked similar to the Parthevian clothing.
'Is this Sinbad? Is this what Baal was talking about?' Setta thought to himself as we watch the man covered in blood converse with his blonde friend. The Sinbad in front of him, used full body djinn equip.
"Djinn equip! Baal!" Thunder cackled around them and Sinbad showed his oh-so-famous smirk.
'Like that's something new.' Setta thought with sarcasm. He rolled his eyes at the idiot king. He suddenly charged and Alibaba was just in time to block his sword.
"Even back when I was 14, I'd never lose a sword fight, Alibaba!" He said. Alibaba's eyes widened in surprise. '14!? A 14 year-old Sinbad!?' Everybody thought to which the blonde conqueror voiced out. They were soon surrounded with fire and the war was more elaborated. Hakuryuu confirmed that it was no ordinary dungeon. Judar however, smirked at the look.
'Hmm? Time is ticking. They should hurry up.' Arba thought. She watched them 'play' around. Aladdin asked what was in Baal's dungeon. He was answered by him personally.
"Baal! The first dungeon that King Sinbad conquered when he was 14. You, the ones who oppose the king, must face his seven beliefs! King Sinbad, who was acknowledged by us, Djinns, has seven beliefs that allowed him to take on the role of God. Baal, Valefor, Zepar, Furfur,Focalor, Vepar, Crocell." He concluded.
"In other words, in order to stop the magic that's making everyone return to the rukh, we'll have to face Sinbad in his seven Djinn equip forms!" Aladdin finished. Judar glanced at him shocked by the fact that they will have to face Sinbad seven times.
"What!? But aren't there just 5 of us!? Does that idiot really think that we want to fight seven of him!?" An anger tick appeared in his head. Arba took out her hourglass to see time ticking. She turned to them.
"Go on already! If you don't hurry and defeat the first one, the sun will set and then the magic that's going to return the world to the rukh will activate." The sun shone above them to remind them that it will be noon soon.
"Let's go!" Alibaba carried his sword with dignity and attacked the 14-year-old Sinbad. Swords clashed against each other as fire and thunder resounded around them. A heavy wind blew outwards. Alibaba put more force to push him forward and he did it!
"Amol Saiqa!"
"Balalaq Saiqa!"
Thunder and fire clashed once more. They were on par until Sinbad used a dirty tactic and attack him twice. Aladdin and Setta saw this so they quickly set up a borg to deflect it. Sinbad was shocked. Setta quickly disappeared while Hakuryuu and Judar took this chance to attack him behind. He was split in half.
"Split right in half!" Judar laughed.
"There's five against one. This is ridiculous." Hakuryuu muttered but as soon as he said that, Sinbad's body returned to its original state. Setta used his ice magic to trap him but it melted right after.
"WHAT!?"
"Let me ask you!" They all stopped to listen. He questioned them if they will simply give into the irrational destiny or to destroy that very same destiny by force. Judar raised his eyebrow at him.
"My homeland used to be a living hell destroyed by war! To make it all better, I conquered my first dungeon. But that irrationality was impossible to solve by human will alone. Not by those who do little more than exist in King Solomon's imperfect world. So I traveled to seek answers! To simply give in to an irrational world or to destroy it by force!? I, Djinn Baal, recognized in Sinbad's belief of wrath and heroes! This is a mere test to determine the world's fate. You'll never solve anything by simply killing each other." Those were Baal's words. They all looked thoughtful.
"Battling won't solve anything? Then even if we fight, we can't win unless we say something that convinces Sinbad?!" Alibaba asked.
"And there are seven!?" Setta clenched his fist tightly. This will not be an easy task for them to take down 7 of them and become convincing. Judar smirked. He stepped forward.
"Wrath and heroes? Heh~ You guys go ahead." He ushered the blue haired magi. Aladdin was confused but when he saw the look on his face, he understood what they had to do.
"I think there's no one better than me to make this angry brat chill out!" He took out his wand. Setta thanked him before taking their leave.
Aladdin, Setta and the rest followed Arba out. The blue haired magi stared back at Baal's dungeon, worried for the comrade they left behind. Alibaba assured him that he will be alright and even scolded him that Judar will be upset if he continued with the worrywart attitude (which sickens the fallen magi). Hakuryuu chuckled.
"He's right. We have to keep moving forward."
"There is no time to waste. We have to finish this shit soon." Setta cussed out. Aladdin's eyes widened before laughing.
"You are a hypocrite sometimes, Setta. Always scolding Azami-nee whenever she cursed out when in truth, you do it as well."
"I know what you mean, Aladdin but people change." He said with a small smile.
Baal's Dungeon
Judar
The fallen magi changed his wand into a spear and clashed attacks with Sinbad. The infuriated Sinbad didn't hesitate in attacking him. As they fight, Sinbad voiced out about his homeland, the reason why he was fighting and who he conquered. Judar was just amused his monologue before taunting him.
"Hmm... And?"
"I will ask you again! Should we just submit to this unreasonable fate!? Or should we destroy this by force!? Show me your answer!" He raised his sword to accumulate thunder. Judar returned his attack with the same lightning magic. It dispersed into nothing.
"It seems like a fight between lightning users is pointless! You are more like an angry brat than somebody who spits out shit about conviction of wrath and heroes, Sinbad!" Judar yelled. Sinbad creased his brow in anger before releasing a special magic from his hands. It was a recall of what happened in Balbadd after Aladdin showed him his past.
"This was right after the rebellion in Balbadd. This is the view I was shown by Solomon's Wisdom. That time, only if I had not been abducted by Al-Thamen, there could have been a different life for me. Yes, like Aladdin's, I could have chosen a King with my own will. Live and fight together with him to find a country. A life with freedom. This all could have been reality." He said as images of him having his own king and ruling side by side with him. But his expression changed when Gyokuen appeared.
"Gyokuen."
"KILL HER!" A childish voice behind said. It was him when he was just 5. His 5-year-old self was seething in anger, spouting things about everything being Gyoukuen's fault. Sinbad even joined in taunting him to kill the woman in front of him, the same woman who gave him a painful life. Judar walked forward with tight lipped smile then he punched her! The sound of fist meeting her cheeks resounded around the room and he brutally killed her.
"Hahaha! You destroyed your fate through force! So you are no different to Sinbad!" The 14-year-old Sinbad said. Judar just looked at him not amused but if one would look closely, he was shaking.
"That's right. What's wrong about it? Unreasonable fate? Obviously, I am going to destroy it through force. I will destroy anything that pisses me off. SO TELL ME WHAT'S SO WRONG ABOUT IT!!" Judar finally snapped. He trotted towards Sinbad angrily, holding his spear tightly.
"Hey, wait, Judar! Y-You have shown an answer that is able to convince even a God! And--" His words fell on deaf ears. Judar glared at him.
"SHUT UP!! IT'S HAKURYUU'S JOB TO DEAL WITH ANNOYING THINGS LIKE THAT! And... And persuading? THAT'S ALADDIN'S AND ALIBABA'S JOB!" He confessed. Sinbad was scared out of his shit as the fallen magi continued to glare at him. Judar let out a frustrated sigh.
"That's why... I will destroy anything without any hesitation. This is my answer!!" He flew upwards and created a humongous ice.
"THALG AL-SALOS!!"
"GYAAAH!!" Sinbad was now frozen and Judar took this as a chance to take him down. He glanced at his work and said, "Well, to be honest, it's not like I can't understand you. But, although you are full of confidence, you still hate yourself right? You probably imagined the possibility of different life huh? Only if I could have been born in a rich village or as a royalty. You are a kid! Too bad for you but I am pretty satisfied with my life right now! It was a lot of fun to cause chaos with Hakuryuu." His 5-year-old self just watched him ramble on and on with his monologue. He cracked and Judar looked back to say, "Why don't you also enjoy your life to the fullest? Young Sinbad!"
Judar won the trial. Just when he was about to go, a huge image of Sinbad appeared. That scared the shit out of him but Baal voiced everything out. He said things about Judar being someone who only share his role with his comrades. 'Sinbad' laughed.
"That is an answer Sinbad would never think of! But, will you be able to use the same idealistic thinking in the next dungeons?" The Sinbad before him disappeared and Baal's dungeon was finally conquered. Judar exited the room but the same dungeon did not disappear. From afar, two figures can be seen. One with a large horn on this head and devilish wings while the other had a small stature and pink hair.
"Judar didn't even spare the doll any mercy!"
"That is right but remember that in the midst of Baal's speech, he mentioned something about a shadow."
"Now that you mentioned it, I think it will be Sinbad's fault. It seemed like he created a body for the controlled rukh he gathered after our last fight." She said annoyed. The man beside her huffed.
"No kidding. But I do wonder about that regret of his."
"Do you think it's about the war. About what happened to the 1st Sindria?" The man just nodded. She grinned before taking out a book from her dress. She opened it to a spell page. She cited them and closed the dungeon.
"This should do it. Let's go and see what will happen."
"Yes, but you should be careful not to show your rukh or anything."
"Yeah, yeah. Come on! Sheba and Solomon entrusted us with their son!" He sighed.
=END=