All of the repressed, disgusting memories of my first capture by Moon Shade suddenly spring to life. They flash before my eyes, and I can almost feel the same pain I felt before. My mind is stuck on a loop of thinking No. No. No. But all I can do is lie limp as I am dragged towards my doom.
"Don't worry Princess, we'll take good care of you." The man's voice breaks through my cloud of dark thoughts and emotions. I harden an edge of magic around my hand and hack away at the chain. In response, the man starts to run towards me, but he's too slow. I roll out of reach as he tries to grab me. Picking up my sword, I face the two attackers.
"Why don't you call out your friend? Three against one is more of a fair fight to me." My lips quiver slightly as I force myself to smirk, throwing my bluff at them. If it actually works, I can fly out of range and hit them with my best spells.
"We're more than enough to take you, Princess! We'll show you that we're strong!" The crazy pigtail girl meets my smirk with her own, insane light flashing in her eyes. "Get her, Vivaldius!"
The black-haired man dashes forward, his chain ready in his hands. He throws it out like a whip before sending it spinning with deadly speed. I cut this thing up once before, and I can do it again! Enveloping my blade with fiery dark magic, our weapons clash and clang against each other. I throw myself into the fight, making him step back and jabbing at his body whenever I can. The problem is, his chain whip forms a deadly, flat shield that leaves almost no openings, and however much I hack away, the chain seems to be never ending.
The man notices my dilemma and smiles. "Don't look so shocked, Princess. We've found ways to become even more powerful than normal, so you can proudly lead us."
"Enough, Vivaldius! Show her your true power!" The pigtail girl screeches, looking absolutely delighted.
"Very well, Briar," Vivaldius replies. And then, faster than lightning, he slips something into his mouth and bites down hard. Instantly, a silvery glow surrounds him, and he screams as a shockwave pulses out from his body, throwing me back. I land on my back and roll to my feet, my sword in my hand. When I look up at Vivaldius, the silver glow now rests around his chain. He fixes his eyes on me and growls before charging.
His speed and strength are the same, but as soon as I exchange one blow with him, I know that something is off. The chain is sturdier and stronger, even though it still looks the same. He shouldn't be able to do this. Creation Magic doesn't give its user the ability to alter qualities of the creation unless there are also physical changes.
"Surprised, Princess? But you don't even know all of it. Each time my weapon comes in contact with yours, it will suck up a bit of the magic you've been coating your sword with. It's a hopeless battle, Princess. Just give up."
I try not to let my shocked emotions show on my face, but I instantly pull back, telling him that his words have gotten to me. Impossible! This is definitely something Creation Magic cannot do!
"What was that thing you ate?! How did it give you these powers?!" I shout, dodging a lash from his chain.
"I can't tell you that, Princess. But once you're part of Moon Shade, you will know all of our secrets."
"Not a chance in hell am I going to become one of you!" I snap back, still parrying and blocking with my sword. But I'm in big trouble; I was the one pushing him back before he gained these new powers, yet now he is overpowering me with each thrust of his chain.
I step away until I am against one of the forest's trees, solid wood and bark against my back. A maniacal grin slashes across Vivaldius' face as he continues to hack at my sword.
I know that I am fighting a losing battle. I have to get out of here, or at least widen the distance. An idea hits me, and when Vivaldius slashes at my head, I duck and flip my sword around so that the point is against the tree. I stab the trunk deeply and race around it, dragging my sword with me. My dark magic easily cuts through the wood, and I cleanly slice the tree in two. The larger, top part gives a groan, and I kick it from behind so that it comes crashing down on top of Vivaldius. He vanishes underneath the sound of splintering bark and thousands of leaves. In the distance, Briar screeches something incomprehensible, but I am already gone.
Leaping from tree to tree, hiding amongst the dark foliage and thick canopy, I wait until I am a good distance away before I reform my wings.
"Dark Magic: Fallen Angel."
I lift off into the sky, flying low so they can't easily spot me. I circle around the open field where we fought, trying to look for Vivaldius, Briar, and the Ash Wizard. I spy Briar pulling Vivaldius out from the ruins of the tree, but the Ash Wizard is still no where to be seen. I'll take care of these two. It should be enough to draw this mysterious wizard out.
Landing quietly and quickly behind them, I plant my feet firmly in the ground before whispering, "Dark Magic: Shadow Wave."
A slice of Dark Magic bursts from my sword, hurtling at Vivaldius and Briar with blinding speed. They react too late, and my blow lands soundly, the impact knocking both of them to the ground. Wasting no time, I say, "Dark Magic: Black Lightning."
I am wrapped with speed and strength, and I race towards them. They both lie groaning on the ground, struggling to stand. I hit Briar on the head with the pommel of my sword, and punch Vivaldius in the face. The speed increases the force of my blows, and they both fall back on the grass, unconscious.
"Your friends are down. It's just you and me, so come on out, Ash Wizard!" I point my sword at Vivaldius and Briar for added effect.
"Well played, Princess, well played. But I'm afraid I can't have you capturing Moon Shade's beloved members." The gravelly voice of the lean Ash Wizard weaves out from the forest, but I can't tell from which direction.
"Show yourself!" I'm getting desperate; I don't have any rope to tie up Vivaldius and Briar, so they're easier for the Ash Wizard to retrieve.
I hear the same voice cackle in response, and a low rumble surrounds the area. I throw up a shield, but it's no use as ash explodes in a giant ring around the clearing. It caves in, rushing towards the ground, and I am thrown every which way, jostled back and forth. I can't sense anything except flecks of ash stinging my skin and face, and I struggle to breathe as gray fills my vision. Suddenly, a strong force punches me upwards, and I fly out of the ash storm, weightless and disoriented in the air.
"Dark Magic: Fallen Angel!" I choke out.
Instantly, my wings form, and I flap them, trying to regain balance in the air. Even though the world is still tilting so badly when I finally manage to hover to a stop, I shoot towards the ash storm. A sharp pain flares up between my eyes, and dizziness overtakes me. I feel my strength and control leave me as my wings crumble and I fall into the forest. Stop! No! I need to capture them! But I continue to fall, plummeting through the trees, twigs and branches nicking my body, leaves scraping against my skin.
In my bleary state, I see the ground hurtling towards me. I close my eyes, preparing for harsh impact. Instead, I land in soft arms, and I hear a grunt of effort as I am slowly set down. Curling up, I violently cough out the dust in my lungs until my face turns red. I groan and attempt to stand, rocking back and forth on my feet as the world spins.
"Hey, settle down. That was some strong Ash Magic that hit you."
Leopold! I see a flash of vermillion hair and blue eyes, and I stumble towards him, my arms open. He catches me and hugs me tight, and I breathe in his familiar scent. I allow myself to slump onto the ground, clinging onto him, embracing his warmth.
"Mari, what happened?" He murmurs into my hair, stroking my head and holding me close.
"There was an explosion during the mock battle," I croak, my voice still hoarse from the ash. "I evacuated everyone and went to check it out. It was some of the members of Moon Shade."
Leopold grits his teeth at the name, and I feel him tense up. "That doesn't make sense. They're supposed to be in prison."
"Well, they're out, and they're still after me."
"This is bad. Come on, Mari, I'll get you back inside the squad hall."
I am dimly aware of Leopold lifting me up and carrying me as he runs towards the squad base.
"Leopold," I murmur. He lowers his ear and I continue, "There's something Fuegoleon needs to know. One of the members of Moon Shade was a Creation Wizard. He ate something, like a pill or whatever, and gained powers that Creation Magic doesn't grant. His creation became stronger, and he said it could sap my sword's magic with each blow."
"Don't worry, Mari. I'll let him know."
My vision grows dark, and I black out in his arms.