“I forced Princess Katima to allow me to come here, but I...wasn’t enough, I guess,” Krone said, defeated.
She hid the wound on her back from Chris—the pain was unbearable and her vision was growing dim from blood loss. And yet, Krone managed to muster a bright smile. There was no meaning to her last act of courage; all that was left was for them to fall to their deaths.
“You’ll be fine.”
A voice came from nowhere—it didn’t sound like Chris or Krone. The two quickly looked around, but they only saw the metal pipes around them. There was no way that another voice could’ve reached them.
“Chris? Chris!” Krone shouted.
The elf had reached her limit; her heavy eyelids slowly closed. She felt her strength leave her body as her previous wound gaped open, spraying blood everywhere. Krone hugged Chris as tightly as she could, hoping to apply some pressure and prevent more blood from spilling.
“Please...” Krone begged.
Help. She’d take it from anyone that would offer it.
“Okay.”
The wind howled past Krone’s ears, but this enigmatic voice rang out clearly. It carried the tones of a gentle young lady.
“Who’s speaking to us?” Krone wondered aloud.
She was on the verge of losing consciousness herself as she fought against the pain, her blood gushing out from her back. Her eyelids started to droop as she also felt her vision fading away. She continued to think about the elf in her embrace, until the absolute final seconds of her consciousness. Krone had failed to notice the leather pouch had started glowing nor had she realized that they were no longer falling, but gently floating down.
“I’ll save you.”
The voice reverberated from the pouch as Krone heard those words before finally blacking out. She wasn’t able to see that the air around her had transformed completely. The Tower of Wisdom and the skies of Magic City Ist were dyed in a vibrant shade of purple, turning into a city of amethyst. The magic gem pool at the bottom of the tower sent out a shock wave, surrounding the two ladies in blinding light. It gently floated up to the tower’s roof, enveloping the unconscious elf and advisor in a veil of warm wind.
“What?!” Oz gasped. “Why did the tower’s magic...”
The professor couldn’t hide his shock, his eyes glued to the wave of magical energy that erupted from the pit. The two ladies had made their return while still floating in the air, their wounds completely healed.
“Impossible!” Oz shrieked. “I don’t believe it!”
Purple lightning crackled around as though the thick magical energy couldn’t be contained. The tower shook viciously, jogging an old memory of Oz. Long ago, he’d seen a young girl who’d emanated such a power—a resident of the Demon Castle.
“It can’t be! It’s not possible! She can’t be back?!” Oz screamed.
And yet, she was. It was very possible for her to return. The black stone that was embedded in the back of his severed limb floated in the air, absorbing the power contained within the leather pouch. The other half of the restraining device that was still on the roof controlled the power. Oz had said it himself—he’d planned on using the tower’s power to limit and control Ein’s magic stone.
“Even if I made all the preparations, if there isn’t a core, she can’t revive!” Oz screeched. “Wait, is my finished product—that material—actually the core of a monster?! How interesting! How very interesting!”
All the while, the shock wave tore open the pouch, revealing the magic stone nestled inside.
“I must start over my research from scratch!” Oz shouted. “I don’t require the core of a nonhuman! If cores from certain monsters could be used instead, then...then... Agh! I’m just dying to find out! I must!”
The black stone floated in the air, absorbing magical energy. The device on the roof was controlling the power. Even if the black stone was a core of some kind, the most eye-catching sight was the magic stone that had emerged from the leather bag. According to Oz’s calculations, the stage was set to reconstruct a new body—however, this was completely outside the scope of his expectations. He had no idea what monster he was using as his material, much less what part of it he was using. These conditions had been met purely by coincidence—this was a miracle.
Aside from the curious professor’s loud and uncontrollable theory crafting, no one uttered a single word. Within the waves of magic, what appeared to be a small girl was forming before the pair of unconscious ladies. As her creation continued, the girl absorbed every ounce of magical energy to be found within the pool of liquefied magic stones. However, Oz’s black stone played no role in this phenomenon. No, she was simply feasting on the pool to restore more of her magical energy.
With more and more energy being sucked out of the tower, the girl’s body started to properly materialize and come into focus. She finally opened her eyes.
At that very moment, Oz could only gasp in response. Both his core and stone beat wildly as he felt the sudden compulsion to take a knee. Before he knew it, he was bowing before her. Just meeting her gaze made his breath grow ragged, somehow stripping him of his ability to speak. However, the girl quickly turned away from him.
“Death isn’t in the cards for the truly beautiful,” she said.
Without even touching the pair, the girl raised her arms and gently levitated them over to a safe spot on the ground. As the waves of energy died down, she finally appeared for all the world to see. Clad in a gothic dress, the slender girl was taller than Katima but still rather petite. Her glossy, silver hair flowed over her attire like fine silk, going down to her waist. The evanescent expression on her face could compel one to protect this adorable creature to the death. Yet, she emanated an aura that couldn’t belong to anyone but the Demon Lord.
“Yeah. I’m back,” she said.
The hazy sky turned purple, dyeing the scenery beyond what the eye could see. In contrast to her gentle voice, the pressure she emitted was overwhelming. In response, Oz prepared to pounce.
“Demon Lord Arshay!” he roared.
After her “breakfast” of sorts, only a tiny fraction of the tower’s once grand amount of energy remained. Oz knew that he could only fight for a few minutes, but that didn’t sway him.
“This isn’t a problem. My current form can trump even the likes of you!” he said. He referred to the raw power of what he’d dubbed “omnipotence”—it mattered not if one of his black stones had gone missing. “That power! That magical energy! I’ll take it all!”
Utilizing every scrap of data he’d compiled over the years, Oz unleashed a terrifying series of skills at her. These attacks were exponentially stronger than anything he’d used against Chris. There was no need for him to hold back. While he could draw upon a staggering collection of monster skills, the shock factor was all the professor had.
“Are you stronger than Jayle?” Arshay asked.
Even Oz hadn’t expected all of his attacks to instantly fizzle out. Arshay hadn’t done anything special—these horrifying strikes, which might not have seemed so scary to her, were wiped away by the single sigh that escaped her lips.
“A-All you did was breathe on my attacks?! My omnipotence!” Oz cried. “That’s impossible! How can centuries’ worth of research be destroyed by a single sigh?! I must be dreaming!”
“Oh? Do you like dreams?” Arshay asked.
She proceeded to outstretch one of her arms and ball her fingers into a fist. Suddenly, a hand forged of magical energy grabbed Oz by the neck and hoisted him into the air.
“Gah... Wh-What...” he gasped.
“If you like dreams, I’ll let you see one. It’s my only forte.”
Oz felt his vision dimming as he stepped closer to darkness. He found himself surrounded by a countless collection of eyeballs—all staring directly at him as the laughter of men, women, and children rang in his ears. He broke out in a cold sweat, frozen in place as a result of this eerie scene. Thoroughly unsettled, he could only tremble in discomfort. And so finally, he...
“Huh?! What?! Why has a blade pierced my chest?!” Oz cried. “Why am I stabbing myself?”
He had unconsciously stabbed himself with his icy blade. The professor stood there, slack-jawed as blood trickled from his mouth and the wound in his chest. It was with this that he snapped back to reality.
“It’s just like waking up from a bad dream,” Arshay explained.
“N-No! Stop!” Oz screamed.
“Nightmares are also dreams, you know. You’ll just be dreaming away. There’s nothing to worry about.”
His vision had started to fade—he’d been pulled back into the same frightening nightmare.
“No! Nooooooo!” Oz shrieked.
His final screams pierced the air, followed by the eerily quiet and sorrowful sounds of the professor’s blade entering his flesh. Only Oz knew what he saw in his last moments. However, it was clear that he’d been gripped with a terror so severe, he looked to death as his escape. The nightmare itself was anyone’s guess.
“I don’t know this place,” Arshay murmured.
She caught a glimpse of the two ladies at her feet as she observed her surroundings. Back in her heyday, a tower of this magnitude had yet to be built. The scenery was splendid, but she felt a twinge of loneliness while standing by herself in an unknown land. Suddenly, hasty footsteps reached her ears.
“Huff... Huff... Are mew two okay?! Answer meow! M-Mroooow?!”
While Katima was shocked by the scene she’d discovered, she was all the more astonished when coming face-to-face with the Demon Lord herself. Arshay didn’t appear to be an enemy, considering that Oz had seemingly ended his own life. That much could be surmised from Ishtarica’s true history and the legends surrounding her. The only real problem lay on the ground—the unconscious Krone and Chris. As the princess rushed to her friends’ side, Arshay found an opportunity to speak up.
“Where am I?”
The forlorn tones of her voice made Arshay sound like a lost child. Once again, Katima had a dumbfounded look on her face as her coat fluttered in the wind.