Arthur's Point of View

The Island

“Where is Mara?” I asked as I pushed her off me.

Elincia’s double smirked. “Mara?” She repeated, amused. “You don’t know?”

Raising my sword, I glared at her. “Answer the question.” My form began to change, and her eyes widened as she looked at me.

Backing away with a not so confident look, she eyed me. “That explains much.”

“I bet it does.”

The doppelganger frowned. “What’s stopping me from going and revealing you to your former students?”

“Me.” I immediately replied. “You should already be aware that you’re not leaving the Island alive.”

“I’m more than aware.” To my surprise, she closed her eyes for a moment. “The moment you removed me from Elincia, is the moment I died.” Opening her eyes, she gestured around the area as I studied her. “Elias was successful in his merger. Rudnurth complicated mine.”

“Explain.”

She sighed. “Rudnurth’s magic stunted my growth and prevented me from making the necessary modifications to Elincia’s body that would allow me to thrive.”

I quirked a brow at that. “So, Rudnurth saved Elincia?”

The clone scoffed. “Not at all, but I will only answer the rest of your questions should you defeat me.”

“If you’re going to die anyway, why should I care about fighting you?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I can still attack the others on the other side of the Island.” She answered. “My magic is fleeing this body, but the Island is providing me with enough ambient magic that I could easily survive here by myself.” Then she gestured to me. “But as you said, you won’t let that happen, and I know you’re stronger than me.”

My sleeker form shifted slightly as I examined the area. “Would you leave the world be if I let you stay on this Island?”

Raising a brow in return, she questioned me back. “Would you trust me to stay on this Island which Elves frequently visit?” I was quiet at that. “Time is running out. You will give me the death that I want, or you’ll never know what happened to Mara.”

“Very well.”

Defeating her without killing her might be a tad tedious, but I’ve grown more accustomed to these types of battles. Once I get all the information I need, killing her should be simple. Getting another chance at this might be impossible since I doubt Thana thought one of her Demons would fail thanks to Rudnurth.

Gauging her abilities, if they mirrored Elincia, she would be easy enough to deal with. However, I wasn’t foolish enough to believe she was showing her actual power. In terms of actual magical power, she was close to Thana and Tor. Her power was very real and a problem, but after fighting those two and the Leviathan, I was feeling confident I could handle her easy enough. Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t kill me.

Magic began to overflow from her body as she summoned two swords to each hand with a mad grin. “Then give me the sweet release that I desire!”

Cassidy's Point of View

The Island

“Get ready to move! All forces prepare yourselves for battle!” Priestess Arceana announced.

Horrified at that, I turned to her. “Priestess, may Ah say somethin?”

She glanced at me for a moment before she turned back to General Kheri. “Not right now, Cassidy. We must-“

“Ah don’t think we should interfere!” I interrupted her and she turned to me again along with everyone else.

“I agree with Cassidy.” Typhon said from next to Ayda.

General Kheri looked at us. “We must prepare ourselves for a fight. A Demon is on the Island with us. There is no other choice.”

Typhon gestured to Priestess Elincia who was still unconscious. “Even Priestess Elincia said not to interfere! There must be a reason!”

The Priestess tapped her scepter on the ground. “My sister is unconscious because of that Demon! The same one that has been hiding inside her for who knows how long! I will not standby while that Demon goes free! Sir Arthur is not all powerful!” She stated. “He may need our help and we need to be ready to give it!”

“Ah think this is a mistake, Priestess.” I commented.

“When I ask you what you think, feel free to comment.” Arceana replied harshly.

Ayda, Kine, and Floyd all seemed a little put off at that. “She’s upset, Cass. Her sister is hurt.” Floyd whispered to me before he looked off in the distance. “Don’t worry, though. No one will be able to get close to them.”

I was confused by that, and when I looked at him, I could’ve sworn I saw his eyes shift in color slightly. Although, it was dark out and a bright blue light caught my attention, which was likely the culprit. Turning around to where it was coming from, we saw a massive light blue javelin made of pure magic. Above it, a giant white sword that was hundreds of feet tall hung above the Island.

“Everybody get down!” General Kheri shouted.

The two collided in horrific fashion. Everything went quiet for a moment before gusts of wind knocked me over along with making every airborne Zugal slam into the sand below. Beams of energy crashed all over the Island. Several of them cut through the Island towards us and Arceana, along with Ayda, put up a shield to protect us.

When the dust settled, I got to my feet shakily. “Ah suppose ya could try and go over there…” I commented to General Kheri and shrugged lightly. “Not sure yer gonna be able ta stay in the air though.”

Lava poured from the mostly destroyed volcano as I looked to see everyone else staring wide eyed. Not that I could blame them. Typhon moved next to me and seemed to be looking for any signs from Arthur. I was doing the same but given the bursts of wind shooting across the Island, there was no doubt he was still fighting.

“You got this.” I mumbled.