Anime/Manga: Divine❃Rose

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There was a growl of frustration when Zephyr spotted Xilyn easily getting past them and over to where Selena was. A single step was all he'd managed to take before the combination of webs of venom caused to him detour his course. The hail of assault didn't stop there and Zephyr had formed a shield to defend himself. Thea was dealing with the demon, but the hordes of spiders going down towards Maliel were different. As soon as he stopped feeling attacks against his shield, he morphed it into a sword and aimed it at the web. It became engulf in flames midway through its trip and cleaved through the web she was stuck on and whatever spiders may have been nearby. Unfortunately this left Zephyr open to have his right arm being webbed as well as his foot. "Dammit." His struggles were more focused on getting his foot free for the time being.

 

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Izra was healed rather quick thanks to him and vial that Zephyr had. Soon Izra rushed off to help. He was quite thankful that she had another flute with her. Xilyn easily getting past them and over to where Selena was. They had to do something about that. Thankfully Thea was using Flames to combat her. He watched as Zephyr take a single step and before the combination of webs of venom caused to him detour his course. The hail of assault didn't stop there and Zephyr had formed a shield to defend himself. He quickly ducked behind him to avoid the venom. Soon Zephyr was trapped. As he was standing right there he cut him free with his weapon. As Xilyn was distracted he starting spinning his weapon again using to channel his magic to cut Maliel free. "Get out of there." Hopefully Izra would be able to help get them out maybe. He held his weapon looking for any more incoming spiders.

 

A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea

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Xilyn could see that everyone was ending up in a sticky situation. Thea had thrown fire attacks at her, which made the spider demon knock back for a moment before seeing everyone was focused on one another... but not the intial target. Suddenly, Xilyn seemed to move straight up from the ground on an invisible string, disappearing in the treetops. She then landed about ten feet behind Thea, smiling wickedly while raising her hands up towards the vulnerable girl. "Boo..." Her palms opened and then black, thick, thornlike webs shot out, wrapping themselves around Thea's arms to hold her up while the thorn like things dug into her skin. It was the same kind that was holding up Selena just moments ago Xilyn cackled as she began to glow a dark red, causing Thea to glow a dark red as well as her power was beginning to drain out of her and transfer to the demon.

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"No..." Izra could see what was happening and summoned her shadows through her music to zoom towards Xilyn to slash at her. But they collided with an invisible shield that glowed yellow for a moment on impact. No matter what attacks were thrown at her, there was now a shield of sort to protect the demon.

"AHAHAHA! Finally... after all these years... I have a child mage of my very own to give me ultimate POWER!" Xylin's eyes were glowing now and deadly fangs protruded out of her mouth. More spiderlings began to rain down on the group, trying to land on them and ensare them with spiderwebs.

 

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His own struggles did nothing to get himself free, thus he was relieved to feel the wind blow past him thus free him from the webbing. He had all of a few seconds to compose himself before a scream was heard. Thea's scream. The demon had gotten to her and despite Thea getting herself free, she was now surrounded in gold flames? The flames were unmistakably golden surrounded Thea as she now lay still on the ground. She wasn't dead, fortunately he knew that much, however his frustration had reached its Zenith and what inhibitions that were holding him back were released, allowing that energy to be unleashed. "Memory Make Armament!"

Flames had danced around Zephyr, covering his body and leaving him cloaked in armor and he leap forward, catching Xilyn off guard with a knee to the face. Zephyr landed, his eyes focused on the demon that was still reeling from his last attack. "If you want them you'll have to go through me." Flames of his own design had ignited in both of his hands then took the shape katana's of matching lengths. "And that's not going to happen again." Pain had started to course through his body as a result of using three variations of his magic, but it was ignored. He could fight through it. Long as the demon was slayed he would fight through it. Once more the gap between the demon and himself was close when Zephyr went in for another attack with his swords.

 

A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea

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Xilyn shrieked when Thea suddenly burst into flames. The spider demon was forced back, clutching her face as embers burned. "You... WRETCHED CHILD!" With the energy she did consume from the girl, her face was repairing itself. She was about to make her spiders dose the flames around Thea to get back to her when she was suddenly kneed by Zephyr before she had a chance to attack, stumbling to the ground. She pounded her fist on the ground, crying out in frustration. "YOU INTERFERED ENOUGH!" She brought herself up and opened her mouth wide, her fangs glistening in the moonlight. A large wave of deadly, purple poison projected out spreading out and making it nearly impossible to dodge. The poison was steaming from catastrophic black magic that would surely bring harm if one was to come in contact.

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Izra was busy with the spiders, playing her piccolo as fast as her fingers could fly on the padded keys. It was then she noticed the danger of one of her comrades and he was heading straight for it. Izra played shrilly, erecting a large shadow wall to intercept the poison. It collided full on, hissing as creating holes in the dark magic and eating it away. The full assault was mostly blocked by Izra's spell, making it so Zephyr could pass mostly unharmed.

 

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Zephyr had been fully prepared to block the oncoming wave of poison as dodging it would be a harder task when the wall of shadows formed to block it. Soon as the attack had died down, Zephyr was on the attack. He cut across the wall and ran straight for Xilyn, flames moving to dance across his blade as he got close enough to slice with his right sword and follow up with a thrust from his left one. His actions were both fluid and focused, meaning one of them was sure to hit.

 

A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea


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Zephyr was fast, yet the adrenaline and what little power she had left from Thea was coursing through Xylin's veins. She blocked one thrust and barely missed the slice, it cutting at her cowl a bit. Two more of her spider legs materialized, trying to impale Zephyr in the shoulders to get him down while spitting a puddle of poison at his face.

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Maliel scrambled up to her feet while the others were fighting and moved over to the twelve year old. "Thea!" She saw what had happen, and saw no one else could go to the girl. When she knelt down by her, she could feel the heat radiating from the girl and see the puncture marks from her neck. Maliel wondered if it could be because of the girl's magic taking a toll on her body she was still this hot, but she looked to be in pain and sickly. Maliel reached a hand down to touch her, only to feel the heat grow stronger. She realized she couldn't touch the girl full on and looked around wildly. There was a pool of water not too far away from them in this wretched swamp. Ripping off the hem of her skirt, she ripped it again in two pieces and wrapped it around her hands. Every time a spider got too close, it was hit away by Izra or the wind magic around.

"Okay, Thea, here we go..." Maliel carefully and quickly took Thea by her armpits with her clothed hands and began to drag the girl bit by bit to the shallow pool. Maliel could feel the heat radiating through the cloth and into her hands, but she just gritted her teeth and kept going as fast as she could. Once then got close enough, Maliel pulled Thea into the water and made sure to keep her head up so she wouldn't breathe in the liquid. "That should help cool you down," Maliel spoke gently as she kept her hands close to Thea's head but not so they touched her. She looked over to her sister who was unconscious and white as a ghost. There was nothing she could do right now for her though, not with her in the windshield. The teen's eyes teared up before she looked back down at Thea. She could feel the water go from freezing cold to heating up already. It was a wonder they had such a strong mage in this guild... "You're going to be alright," Maliel soothed as the fight went on around them. "Everything is going to be fine... You were incredibly courageous and brave back there..."

 

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Being as focused as he was on the demon, he spotted the legs and avoided their stab. As for the venom, he blocked it with his forearm as a reflex and thought nothing of it at first. Hearing it sizzle though it, Zephyr quickly enchanted his armor with thicker armor while swiping it off. Pain had coursed through his body as a result of him using another variant of his magic, this time being stronger, but he bared with it and took one step forward to slice off the two legs that had just materialized on Xilyn and with another step he pivoted on his heel, spun around and slice upward at her chest.

 

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He watched as Thea flmes turned from blue to gold. When Xilyn had come up onto her. Part of him thought that he could have some how prevented this. There seemed to be a protective invisible shield around Xilyn. Zephyr soon went on the attack when he seemed to have a golden glow. Two of his party members where in trouble. Thea was now knocked up and he felt bad. He had to do something. He then watched as Maliel had dragged Thea to a pool of water. Thea and Maliel were relatively safe for the time being. Then there was Selena who could not be harmed because of the shield that was until the shield faded which would be some time. He thought about getting her as his own magic would not have much of a effect on him but Zephy needed some help. "Enough of this." He was getting angry. He knew what he had to do and launched a wind spell at Xilyn's face to try and blind her. If Xilyn could not see then she would be easier to fight. He held his weapon tightly ready for more of the battle to come. Most of the spiders seemed to be gone now which was good. He took a step forword and one bit him he quickly knocked it off then there were more coming out of nowhere. Then he began to fight them cutting them as they came.

 

The serpent was trying its best to dislodge him which told Conrad he was on the right track at the very least. The beast writhed and flexed beneath him as Conrad battered the spike with the lightning ball. The beast made it harder and harder to keep his footing with the scales covered in the poison they made for a slippery and treacherous surface. As the spike finally started to give, Conrad noticed something on the head of the snake, something that should not have been there. The mark seemed very familiar, but he couldn't place it not in the moment, Conrad was dragged out of his thoughts by the snake smashing it's head against a rock, Conrad not paying too much attention to the movements of the great serpent and he felt his foot slip, he tried to regain his balance but another jerk of the snake sent him falling down into the water crying out in surprise as he did, the ball of lightning disappearing from his hands.

The armour wasn't as heavy as it seemed and it didn't weigh him down as much as a normal suit of armour did but Conrad disappeared under water for several moments, he had to contend with the serpent thrashing in the water and try to swim away from it to not get crushed, Conrad put some distance between him and the serpent before he surfaced gasping for air. The serpent seemed furious and understandably so, he felt more and more tiredmore so than he usually did when utilizing his armour something definitely wasn't right, especially not with that mark. He had to go to the shore, he couldn't let Everette and an exhausted Samuel deal with this on their own. He dragged himself onto the shore taking a moment to catch his breath, something wasn't right, he didn't want to think of it, but he had to keep going. He got up and drew his sword, going over to help Everette, the plan had failed, unless he could get back up there again there was no way it was going to work now. He inscribed the runes on the blade, the same purple glow enshrouding it's steel blade and Conrad surged forward, putting the speed added speed and the magical power into the thrust trying to pierce the serpents thick hide with his rapier, if he could make an opening then perhaps Everette could exploit it, or atleast he could definitely put the hurt on the snake too.​

 

A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea


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The spider legs being cut off was not ideal, but it was doable. Xilyn was preparing for the counterattack from Zephyr when she was suddenly blinded by the wind spell that Gavin had cast. Xilyn cried out, only to feel a searing pain stab through her chest and right into her heart. She gasped as she realized she had been fatally hit and stared into the abyss with her mouth agape. She then placed her hands on the sword, forcing her head up to look at Zephyr in the eye. "You won... this time..." Her shoulders shook, but a smile spread across her lips as blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. "But it's not over... There's a great evil smiling down at your precious guild... And it will pluck everyone off one by one... that much I can promise..." She gasped for air, her grip on the sword loosening. "Their powers, their status, their youth, their vitality are all sought for... You've won this battle, but you have not... won... the war..."

The demon's glowing red eyes suddenly darkened to black, and her body fell limp. Her great fangs retracted, and the spiders that were once so willing to attack were now retreating into the darkness. The ones that were abnormally large were fading away to dust, leaving just splatters of the battle behind; poison puddles, webs, and cocoons of those once alive who had been deceased for quite a while.

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Izra stood there, watching the final moments of Xilyn. She looked around to see they weren't being attacked anymore and slumped her shoulders with a heavy sigh. "Finally... After all this time..."

There was shouting in the distance, and the sound of foliage being hacked away along with heavy footsteps. The webs were lit on fire by torches, clearing the way. Rune Knights with the Magic Council insignia on their uniforms emerged, pointing their spears at the group as they surrounded them.

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A young man in uniform with the Magic Council insignia on his chest stepped out from the group of Rune Knights. "I'm Lahar, head of the IV Custody Enforcement Unit of the Magic Council. Identify yourselves."

Izra could feel the color drain out of her face. She had tried to contact the Magic Council before, but they never replied. Izra looked at the others and then to Lahar. "I am Izra..."

"What guild are you from?"

"I... I'm an independent mage... I'm from no guild."

Lahar's eyes narrowed at the girl. "I see..." He looked at the others. "And you?"

Maliel was still in the water with Thea. "She's from the Divine Rose," Maliel called out. "I'm from the Murgate village."

Lahar's gaze landed on Thea and his lips were pulled into a thin line. "I didn't expect to see her here... how interesting. You're coming with me," he said to Maliel. "Take the girl out of the water... If she's not hot to the touch, put a blanket on her."

Maliel was helped out of the water by a guard while Thea was dragged back on dry land. Maliel then looked to her sister and looked to Lahar and then to Gavin. "My sister. I need to see her!"

Lahar saw that there was a girl around Thea's age who didn't look well in some sort of air bubble and then glanced to the others. "Drop the shield."

 

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He continued to cut spider after spider with his weapon. He knew that sooner or later he would be overwhelmed. He had manged to blind Xilyn just at the right moment as Xilyn was preparing for the counterattack. Soon Xilyn's chest was cut right into her heart. She gasped as she realized she had been fatally hit and stared into the abyss with her mouth agape. He knew that they had won and just at that moment they had won. The spiders were gone which he was thankful for as he was not sure how much longer he would be able to hold them off. There was shouting in the distance, and the sound of foliage being hacked away along with heavy footsteps. The webs were lit on fire by torches, clearing the way. Rune Knights with the Magic Council insignia on their uniforms emerged, pointing their spears at the group as they surrounded them. A young man in uniform with the Magic Council insignia on his chest stepped out from the group of Rune Knights. 'I'm Lahar, head of the IV Custody Enforcement Unit of the Magic Council. Identify yourselves.' Why was the magic council here? "Gavin Fenix from Divine Rose." Was the weapons that necessary? 'I didn't expect to see her here... how interesting. You're coming with me,' he said to Maliel. 'Take the girl out of the water... If she's not hot to the touch, put a blanket on her.' He walked over to Thea who was cooler to the touch now. Maliel wanted to see her sister. Lahar saw that there was a girl around Thea's age who didn't look well in some sort of air bubble and then glanced to the others. 'Drop the shield.' He slowly walked over to Selena. If the council waited the wind shield would just fade on its own. Unfortunately the council did not seem to be in a waiting mood. The shield was already fading. He slowly reached his hand inside the shield and took a hold of Selena he took a deep breath and the wind that was around Selena dispelled shooting wind into the air as it went. He then carried her over to Maliel and handed her over. He then looked over to Lahar and said, "What is the magic council doing here?" When he was younger he had seen the council before but had never met them personally. People had always said his magic was dangerous. That was in a town that did not like magic and at a time when magic was less accepted. He then looked to Zephyr. "Are you alright? I think we now need to track down the mayor." He stood by looking at the council. Something was wrong the council just did not show up for nothing. He then made his way back to Thea and stood by her.

 

Village in Peril- Conrad, Everette, Samuel

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The attacks from Everette were in fact distracting, but the mage on his head was being even more annoying and painful. It was now vulnerable in the spot where Conrad had beaten away the spike. Any blade that would plunge through that area know would be a devastating blow. But now it was even more pissed off. Once it shook Conrad off, it reared it's ugly head and went straight for Everette, mouth open and fangs shining.

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"SUN AURA!" Samuel was back on another ledge by the river, close behind where Everette was. He had his hands raised up, although shakily, and encased his friend in a protective light shield. The snake suddenly slammed against it, and impacted itself pretty hard. Although with Samuel's lingering strength, the shield broke apart and the snake fell into the water. Samuel collapsed to one knee, panting and holding his chest. He was reaching his limit and wouldn't be able to hold up much longer.

The snake recovered and then waved its head in the air. It opened its mouth and began to spray poisonous water at Conrad, Everette, and Samuel.

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His blade had struck its target and she'd left an ominous warning for them. Zephyr removed his sword once her grip had loosen on it, and gave a warning of his own, "Let them try, I'm not the only capable member our guild has." Seemingly at his limit, the flames of his making had vanished while his armor and blade chipped away as embers. His breathing was haggard, though he managed to keep standing. For the time being anyway. At the arrival of the Magic Council, Zephyr had looked in their direction. "Zephyr Siegend, Divine Rose." Truthfully he didn't see much reason to give his last name, but the off chance that someone might recognize it was worth saying it.

"I'm fine, we need to worry about Thea right now." There was pain with each step he took, but he made his way over to Thea regardless of the pain. He took one more look at the magic council, then turn his attention back to Thea to give her a drop of the an antidote.

 

A Price Unpaid- Gavin, Zephyr, Thea
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Now that he identified who was in the Divine Rose with Thea and who was not, he came to the conclusion of what needed to be done to uphold the laws and the rules of the land. "The mayor escaped. We captured most of his guards though and we're infiltrating the village as we speak for his followers. And speaking of followers..." He looked to Maliel. He didn't see what happened, but there was a serious crime here and it was best not to leave any stone unturned. "You will be in our custody. You were the mayor's secretary, yes? You worked along side of him."

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Izra clenched her fist and stepped forward. "She didn't do anything wrong! She working against the mayor-!"

"Your point? How can I take your word? You don't work with any legal guilds and could have been in on this plot yourself." He nodded his head to a guard, who moved to Muriel who held her unconscious sister in her arms.

Maliel looked wide eyes at the guard. "I need to be here to take care of my sister!"

"We will take care of her from here out while this investigation is underway," Lahar said unflinchingly. Selena was moved into the hold of a guard while cuffs were brought out and placed on Maliel's wrists. The older girl's eyes were filled with tears as the guards began to move her away from the group to go with the others that had been working with the mayor. "You'll be coming with us as well," he said, pointing to Izra.

The guards moved forward to place the handcuffs on the mage. Izra took a step back. "I sent a message out when I discovered what was going on here months ago! You said there was nothing wrong! You turned your backs against this place, and I had to do something!!!"

Lahar raised an eyebrow. "We never received any message about this place from an Izra... But we did receive one this morning from a Kyo... He did mention you, and the girl as well. Also someone named Jack... But there has been a serious crime here, and all involved must be arrested and interrogated without question. If you are found innocent, we will let you go. If not, then you will be punished by the law. The mages in Divine Rose can go on their way since they took a job unwittingly knowing what was awaiting here."

 

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Zephyr had said he was fine and to worry about Thea. 'The mayor escaped. We captured most of his guards though and we're infiltrating the village as we speak for his followers.' This was getting out of hand. 'She didn't do anything wrong! She working against the mayor-!' 'Your point? How can I take your word? You don't work with any legal guilds and could have been in on this plot yourself.' "Izra was helping us." 'We will take care of her from here out while this investigation is underway,' Lahar said. He did not believe anything he said. Going off there track record they were not going to do a thing. 'We never received any message about this place from an Izra... But we did receive one this morning from a Kyo... He did mention you, and the girl as well. Also someone named Jack... But there has been a serious crime here, and all involved must be arrested and interrogated without question.' Why was he not surprised? "So you are going to do something about the mayor? Just like you did something at the school in Airlenten? Where three to five children attacked another child almost killing the boy just becuase they knew the boy had magic. Because there was a fear of magic and it needed to be stopped. Where someone ordered the boy that was attacked not to use magic to defend himself. Which would have been useful. All of this was shortly after this boy had saved a Phoenix by using magic. Sure some of the children had got some paper cuts by the magic, which he used to protect the bird, but none of that would have happened if council showed up earlier. The council seemed to say something about a storm keeping them away. (which there was but it was a sad excuse) The boy could have died. Then there there was more that happened after..." His voice trailing off. (this was 13 to 15 years ago.) When he a said all of this he could tell by the shock of all of this that Lahar and those that were with him. The shock of how he could possibly know what happened in Airlenten. He did not care what the council said he was going after the mayor. "There is nothing stopping the mayor from going to a different town and setting up shop there and do the same thing all over again. The mayor has to be stopped and found now." He did not like what was happening.

 

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The magic council wasn't being the most helpful with their already late arrival and now trying to apprehend Maliel and the others. "If you can't take her word, then take ours. Maliel only did what she did because she had no choice. If she hadn't then things would've been worse for them." Zephyr then motioned to Izra. "Not to mention Izra had a large part in helping us. The way I see it, whatever 'charges' you have on them has been mitigated by what they've done to help us out." While there was some semblance of a point in his statement, he doubted that the magic council would just listen to him that easily.