Taking a deep breath, Drake pulled the blanket away, revealing The Energizer. "As Rex said, this may enable us to beat the blood oath."

Alf grabbed the side of the hole and hauled himself up. Wiping the dirt and blood from his palms onto his torn garments, he leaned in to take a good look at the white object in Drake's hands. "What does it do?" he asked, the beginnings of hope and curiosity flooding his mud-smeared face.

"We don't have time to go into the details, just think of The Energizer as an endless battery which will let us draw an infinite amount of energy from it." Drake carefully shifted the heavy object so the others could get a good look.

Rex's father leaned over and scrutinized the weird piece of machinery as he rubbed his beard. "So, a bottomless magic pool then?"

Drake nodded.

"Hmm, that does sound useful. But if my boys' report on how strong this foul demon is, is correct, I don't see how something like this can help us," Mr. Havanger stated.

"That's actually where you come into play."

The older gentleman raised an eyebrow.

"Rex told me you're a master at shield magic."

A proud smile spread across Rex's father's face and his chest puffed outwards. "I am."

"Can you reshape an existing shield and at the same time let allies in and out without turning it on and off?"

"I can, but that's a tall order, and it takes a lot of energy. At most, I might be able to do it once or twice. After that I'd..."

Rex tapped the Energizer meaningfully, cutting his father off.

"Ah, I see. What's your plan then?"

"I'll tell you, but first," Drake turned to Gerhard, "would you use the TAG to tag this?" He held out The Energizer to her.

The tall, bulky woman nodded and motioned to Katerina.

Katerina disappeared behind one of the medical drapes and shortly reemerged with the black, oddly-shaped trans-automatic geographer. She handed it to Drake.

Carefully balancing The Energizer on one arm, he tagged it then handed the small object back to her. "Thank you."

She smiled, her white teeth shining brightly against her dark skin, then once again disappeared behind one of the curtains.

Drake turned to Rex's father. "Using the energy from this thing, I need you to make the most powerful charged shield you are capable of."

Mr. Havanger frowned then looked at The Energizer dubiously. "You just added a wad of frequencies to an already complicated piece of machinery. You sure that thing's safe?"

"I am," Drake assured him.

He huffed. "Alright, but I still don't understand what you're planning." Cautiously taking the artifact from Drake, he placed his hand on the metal surface.

The ancient, battle-hardened warrior's forearm's hair stood on end as he drew energy from the artifact. A gentle hum filled the room, and a soft blue glow enveloped the device.

Drake sighed in relief; his assumption had been correct. With growing confidence, he said, "With the help of The Energizer, once the shield is up, you should be able to bend the shield to cover all of us at will."

Alf's eyes lit up in comprehension. "You're planning on using the tactic that Kay used, aren't you?"

"Indeed, with this, Traverse Wake, and as many people as we can get to help us, we will become a giant, armored, moving battleship."

****

The unsuspecting trio fell to the ground, now nothing but white, lifeless husks. Dy'Ixion licked his lips and his eyes rolled back into his head in ecstasy as their energy flooded into him.

You're a monster! some deep, inner part of him screamed.

He burst out in laughter, a trace of insanity lacing the loud, grating sound. With each usage of the dark magic, Dy'Ixion's sanity gradually corroded away like acid eating metal. Part of him screamed in protest, concerned over the dark path he had embarked upon, but he pushed it aside without a care. "So what?" he said out loud as his wild, jagged eyes raked over the citizens huddled around the arena's main entrance, staring in fear into the dark night in his direction. In his mind's eye, he could see them shivering in terror from the screams of his prey, and his mouth twisted into a smile.

Don't you see? the long suppressed part of him yelled, clawing itself to the surface. Your power has gone to your head! At this rate, you will destroy us!

Lord Dy'Ixion rolled his eyes. No! At this rate, I will rule all of Alfireá.

You will rule nothing! the voice echoed its earlier sentiment. If you continue down this path, you will lose your mind and your soul; then Vackzilian will put you down like a master puts down a rabid dog. You must sto-

"ENOUGH!!" Dy'Ixion screamed. "I will hear no more of this." And with that, Dy'Ixion shoved the tiny voice back into the dark recesses of his mind, once again to be imprisoned in the bonds of his selfish ambition.

A small light flashed by his fingers as his time notification spell went off. "Ah, their time is up," he purred.

Reaching out, he grabbed a handful of black flames slowly crawling up the wall of the building next to him, then tossed it to the ground as he channeled all of the life energy from one of the men he had just killed into it.

The flame roared to life, expanding into an obsidian blaze towering over him, and he strolled through the dark portal. The world shifted around him, and Dy'Ixion walked out onto the pile of dead solders he had massacred earlier. He paid them no mind as he stepped down and made his way to the edge of the crater. Mist and black flame hissed and seethed as they swished back and forth in its murky depths.

Perfect, he thought as he pushed a burst of energy into the ground. Once again, the earth beneath him surged upwards, raising him high into the sky. As the cold night air whistled past, nipping at his arms and legs, he scanned the horizon. Small black flames clung to every building surrounding the arena, ready to swallow his unsuspecting victims whole. The pillar finished rising, and Dy'Ixion stood amongst the heavens, observing his soon-to-be playground. The harsh cry of vultures and lonely whistle of the wind sounded in the otherwise silent night. Abandoned buildings stretched out thousands of feet around him, framed by agricultural fields, and in the far northeast, sat the arena bristling with lights and motion. Excitement surged inside him; his plan was in place, and now it was time for the icing on the cake.

Throwing his arms outwards, he spread both his hands and two fireballs exploded into existence at the tips of his fingers. While Dieiexion had been forced to learn earth magic to survive, fire had always been his favorite element; he loved watching things burn into little black cinders and drift away in the wind. Like a moth pulled to the flames, the scent of billowing smoke, and the uninhibited dance of golden flames, infatuated him. Now, with his mind unraveling with each usage of the dark magic, his inhibitions melted away. He watched in fascinated glee as he charged energy into the spitting balls of fire until each grew to the size of his head. Then he turned his attention to the golden lights of the arena far below. The trick is to scare the ants just enough that they flee the arena's protection, but not too much that they overwhelm my traps, he thought to himself as he channeled dark magic into the beautiful crimson spheres. Blackness engulfed their flames, warping their color and enhancing their beauty. Dy'Ixion smiled, his yellowed teeth flashing in the moon-filled night; then leaning forward, he launched them at the open roof of the arena.

Silent as a hawk diving towards its oblivious victim, they flew off into the night, blending with the shifting darkness. As the flames reached the halfway mark, he activated the tachyons spell set and used it to form his giant shadow over the top of his prey.

Red eyes inside his shadow flared to life, and the scurrying insects froze in terror.

Every part of Dy'Ixion's being reveled in the sensation as he projected his voice through the shadow.

"Your time is up!" he snarled. "Prepare to suffer the consequences!"

With a roaring hiss, his fireballs flew through his black shadow and rained down on the pathetic creatures. Thousands of citizens screamed in terror as they jumped over the railings and down into the arena in a desperate attempt to escape his obsidian flames. Turning his head and raising his hand to his ear, Dy'Ixion swore he could hear the plebeians' horrified screams all the way up on his earthen tower.

"This is going to be easier than taking candy from a baby," he said as he stomped his foot and his pillar started to sink back into the earth.

As he descended, the moist, tropical warmth once again embraced him and he breathed deeply of the scent of fire and death. Yes, he would consume the citizens one by one; then, once he was strong enough, he would swallow the arena whole, and when he was done, even Vackzilian would be powerless before him.

***

Drake stood in the infirmary in front of a scrying depicting his plan when Soul Knight erupted from the hole leading to the finished tunnel, shortly thereafter followed by a man Drake recognized as one of the X soldiers Zaphaniea had fought earlier. They raced over to Mr. Havanger's side, and with dour faces, gave him their report. Seconds later, the X soldier produced a scrying and the older man's countenance fell.

"We have to attack now!" his uncle thundered, marching towards Drake's position.

"We can't," Rex argued. "The plans not ready yet."

"Forget the plan," his father said, wrapping a sheathed blade around his waist. "We'll just have to attack with what we have. I hope to God it's enough."

Drake raised an eyebrow at the older gentleman.

"This is Claudius, leader of the X Soldiers. Go ahead Claudius, show them what you showed me," Mr. Havanger waved his hand at the X soldier, then crossed his arms.

Claudius, an older gentleman—almost as old as Mr. Havanger—sporting a gladiator haircut and a short trimmed beard, channeled energy into his scrying and repositioned it to eye level.

In its image, black flames could be seen crawling up the side of Glandledale's buildings. "The blood oath's covered all the structures around the arena with this stuff. I think he plans on sucking the life from everyone here," the X soldier said. "My men and I our trying our best to block all the exits and stop any one from running out into it, but that thing just paid another visit and the people are panicked. We'll be overrun any second."

Drake turned around to stare up at his now useless, elaborate plan. If waiting till everything was in place only meant a few foolish morons got devoured it wouldn't be so bad, but with dark magic, things did not work that way; for every man Dy'Ixion killed, he'd get stronger, thus lessening their chances of success.

"We have to kill him right now, don't we?" Alf asked, his face and arms now clear of the earlier dirt and grime. Someone had used a cleaning spell on him and handed him a new set of clothes, but the young High Lord still looked weary in the eyes, and his face shone with uncertainty.

Drake nodded and cast a meaningful glance at his uncle.

"All right," Mr. Havanger clapped his hands. "Everyone into the hole. Let's do this."

As his uncle and his men piled into the newly formed exit way, Drake turned to the silver-haired maid.

"I and my sisters will stay here," she said as if she'd read his mind. "If our shields fall, my sisters and I, along with the healers, will help carry the wounded into the tunnel and collapse it behind us."

Once again, Drake nodded and turned towards the hole. They were all jumping into the unknown, and their chance of success hung on a tiny piece of machinery and a half-baked plan. It was sheer lunacy. God, if you're really real, he thought, then we need your help now. And with that thought, Drake jumped into the hole.

***

Dy'Ixion stared at his array of scryings, his hands twitching in anticipation. Any second, hundreds of people would break through the barricades—and the pathetic fools trying to stop them from fleeing—and into the city.

"That's it, just a little more," Lord Dy'Ixion crooned. The earthen barrier blocking the front entrance of the arena crumbled, and a stream of souls trampled the soldiers desperately trying to stop them.

"Yes!" he shouted as the living tide flowed out over the plaza and raced for the alleyways. Like rivulets of water running down a glass window, they split into multiple columns and poured into the city.

Dy'Ixion cackled with joy as he threw his arms wide and the black flames clinging to the outlaying buildings roared to life, reaching out to engulf the fleeing mobs.

Suddenly, the dark night flared and brilliant, golden light swept over Dy'Ixion from behind. Startled, he spun around and raised his hand to block the light as a ship-sized shield, in the shape of a golden beetle, materialized in front of the mound of his dead army.

While his mind struggled to comprehend what he was seeing, the yellow shield folded in on itself and pulled back, revealing a swirling mass of red fire.

Spanning twenty feet in diameter, the molten sun blazed in a fiery storm of dancing red and blue flames. It was a perfect sphere, masterfully formed, and kept in absolute captivity. Dy'Ixion gazed in fascinated wonder, lost in its mesmerizing beauty as the indistinct figures behind it launched it straight at him. His jaw dropped open as the fire morphed before his very eyes: massive wings unfurled from its fiery depths, and a majestic head emerged with eyes of amethyst and feathers of amber. As the Phoenix, formed of living flames, rushed towards him, its azure beak opened in an ear-piercing shriek—and that's when he saw the old man's smiling face through the flames as the golden shield expanded back over his attackers. Absolute rage exploded in Dy'Ixion, and he snapped out of his stupor as he flung out his hands, hate and anger boiling through his system like hot lava racing through his veins.

Black mist surged up from the crater, answering his beck and call. The world screamed as the air all around him suddenly disappeared, and a massive, swirling black construct burst into existence between him and the oncoming Phoenix.

The fiery beak of the bird careened into the magical fabrication, and liquid flames splashed out and around the wall, burning deep grooves into the ground and igniting his clothes on fire. Milliseconds later, the heart of the fireball smashed into his barrier. To Dy'Ixion, it seemed as if the cosmos itself blinked out of existence as the world flipped and the implosion yanked him off his feet and sucked him headfirst into his impromptu wall.

"Noooo!" he screamed as the fireball inhaled what remained of the surrounding buildings, completely ripping them off their foundations. It drew them in and devoured them in an instant like a typhoon at sea swallowing ships whole. With all his might, Dy'Ixion reached out to his crater full of magic and pulled every last drop into himself, and feeding it into his black construct, he strengthened it as the searing heat burned into his skin.

Then the fireball exploded. Ripping his dark wall to shreds, it catapulted him up and out of the fire and hundreds of feet into the sky.

As he soared through the air, the flames on his clothes roared to life, and Dy'Ixion flailed helplessly in the dark night.

***

"Did we get him?" Alf asked as he eagerly looked over Rex's shoulder, trying to see through the mostly opaque shield.

"No," Drake answered pointing up at a blazing comet streaking through the air.

"By Eldrin's teeth," Mr. Havanger cursed and turned to Rex. "Son, don't you let him get away!"

"Oh I won't," Rex declared as he took off at a dead sprint, and the world blurred around them once again.

***

Lord Dy'Ixion slammed into the massive, obsidian wall now surrounding the entire city. His lungs caved in, and his nose snapped as the impact knocked the air out of him and snuffed out the flames clinging to his clothes. As the world righted itself, and gravity took a hold, he started falling to his death. Desperately, Dy'Ixion dug his grotesque nails into the obsidian surface, scratching and scraping for all he was worth, but the black rock resisted his efforts, and he tumbled dozens of feet to the ground with a sickening thud.

He laid there, dark mist seething from every pour in his body, and his mind ablaze with hate. "I will kill that old man!" he screamed. "I WILL KILL HIM!!"

Slowly, he stood to his feet as he fed life energy into the black mist surrounding him. It sizzled and hissed as it wrapped itself around his body like a sinuous snake, healing his wounds and further altering his already twisted form.

Suddenly, the golden shield burst into existence in front of him and he felt the earth beneath his feet flare with power. "No you don't!" he shouted as he slammed his fist into the rocky dirt and pumped his stolen life energy deep into the ground.

Thousands of razor-sharp earth spikes erupted around him like the jaws of an ancient predator. Whistling past his ears, they pierced deep into the wall behind him and shattered into thousands of pieces, narrowly missing their intended target. A ricocheting shard of rock ripped into the side of his face and dark blood gushed down the side of his jaw.

As the blood ran down his neck, he snarled and jerked both of his arms upwards. A wave of gravel and shattered rock surged towards the golden blur, but it vanished just as fast as it had appeared, and the deadly wave collided with a silo, clipping it clean in half. The tall, circular building toppled sideways, bounced off a neighboring building, then crashed into an already damaged aqueduct, causing it to collapse. Water and grains, dust and rocks spewed into the air and a small tidal wave washed over Dy'Ixion's feet.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Dy'Ixion shouted into the abandoned streets, his enraged screams echoing off the domed buildings and mingling with the sudden silence of the night. "I will kill all of you. Then I will hunt down your friends and family and feast on their life energy."

Silence greeted him. Angrily, he spun around, searching for his attackers. Suddenly, streams of blue wove about him, and the hairs on his body stood on end. Dy'Ixion's eyes widened as he realized what his opponent was trying to do. "Pathetic," he snarled and reached towards the ground with his right hand while raising his left high into the sky. A pillar as thick as his arm erupted from the cobblestones at his feet and shot up past him just as a massive bolt of lightning rent the heavens.

The blue stream crashed down into the pillar, blowing it to pieces as Lichtenberg patterns burned deep grooves down its length and into the water. A chunk of the exploding rock, larger then Diexion's head, slammed into his chest and tossed him through the air like a ragdoll.

Bouncing off the wet pavement, he rolled to his stomach. Blood and water dripped down his chin as he crawled to his knees, and his eyes burned blood red.