Astraea: The Journey of Magic

While Anna and Ozlo fought against the Devil, Akano and Tamaki were fleeing through the forest, occasionally firing attacks at Goblins as they ran to keep the Goblins guessing and slow them down. When they got too close, Akano bashed them away with his staff and unleashed a beam of light. Tamaki otherwise used his bow, and Bastian sent out fireballs. The three of them were rushing full steam, with many goblins on their tails. They needed at least one more fighter, but so far they had not been lucky enough to encounter anyone. As such it was just them so far.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. They did see someone, but it was just a few corpses that looked chewed up. It didn't look like Goblins did that, but it also didn't look like anything in this area did that either, so they were worried the Goblins might have wargs or something, or other beasts under their command.

"Tamaki! I don't suppose there are any animals nearby that can help us?!"

Tamaki's dog ears flapped around, but it seemed he was still able to ear with them fine.

"Sorry, nothing yet...but we do have incoming! Another monster, heading right for us! It is coming from a different direction then the Goblins!"

Akano's eyes widened.

"Different direction? Is this confirmed?"

"Yes...why?"

"Tamaki, which direction? Use clock directions, with forward for us being twelve!"

"Its at ten o'clock!"

"I see. Tamaki, we are changing directions. We need to turn to three o'clock!"

"But that's not toward the city! We might find more people that way!"

"But if we can lead the beast into the Goblins, they might keep each other busy!"

"I see! Use our enemies against each other! How did you figure that out so fast?"

"...I once did the same thing in the past, to help get Kuroki out of danger".

"I see. Alright, lets go Bastian!"

The group turned, and headed off in the new direction. The Goblins were quick to change course, but Tamaki could hear the beast in the distance.

"Ahhh...a nostalgic sound..."

"Tamaki? The beast has four legs, doesn't it".

"Ahahaha...I think it must be a wolf or something, or are there wild dogs here? I kinda want to pet it, but if its a monster, I doubt it will let me".

"Lets escape the goblins first!"

"Right...oh no!"

Akano and Tamaki had rushed this direction, so they didn't notice the cliff wall just down the way after a minute or two of running. It was a dead end, and now they were sandwiched. No way out, and the Goblins arrived...just as another beast did. A shadowed beast, cloaked in a black haze. It stared down at them and the Goblins, crushing one of them under his paw that he had grabbed already.

The Shadehound had arrived, and now the two boys and the small Maybe Corgi were literally trapped with their backs against a wall, as the Goblins and the Shadehound closed in on them from both directions.

Akano could only pray for a miracle now.

Meanwhile, near the back of the forces but away from others, Kuroki's group was resting as they tried to figure out what to do next. Kuroki especially was being run ragged in this battle, having used one spell he was just barely able to control and had the mana for, and another one he most certainly was not ready for. The fact he had even successfully cast it was a miracle in itself, but it had been necessary for that fight. He pushed himself way too much, and it resulted in his body taking on a part of the toll that would normally be paid with mana.

He had used a recovery potion for his body and his mana, and was resting to help with not just his physical fatigue but his mental fatigue as well. He had built up quite a bit of it after all, dealing with everything and all his spells, but also the sheer scale of the fighting. The only reason it wasn't worse was because of adaptability and mental fortitude, but most of all Compliance. It was clearly working the hardest to have them adapt to war-like conditions, far more then the other two. They were a bit concerned because unlike the first two, Compliance was clearly more of a brainwashing type of thing that was meant to be used for darker reasons, like making them obedient, but they didn't have much of a choice in this situation but to rely on it. They would just have to hope it wouldn't do anything permanent to their brains, it wasn't like they could remove it anyways and the changes had already been done.

I would like to say we definitively know what Compliance is for now, but...quite honestly, I can't say that for sure. Its absolutely trying to condition us into obedient soldiers, but the Starfallen aren't that strong individually. Whoever tried to summon us was trying to summon tens of thousands of Starfallen, maybe even more if the range was bigger then we realized. We all got gear supplied for us, Riku got his in a dungeon but it was still really high quality. The rest of us all got great gear from Amyris and Ellie, as well as Riza's weaponsmith friend. But its not like this stuff grows on trees, so how would they handle logistics and supplies? And guaranteeing Compliance would work?

Without a doubt, Compliance had clear soldier developing applications. There was no refuting this, so the idea they were summoned by someone who plotted to use them in a war was clear. There was no doubting this point.

But summons typically involved a set place, while they were scattered across the world. Perhaps they had tried to get around the limitations of summoning, and made a mistake? But then how did the Demons and Devils learn about it so fast?

Wait wait...no, I am probably wrong. I am almost certainly wrong, but what if...the Devils are responsible for the scattering?

Kuroki's eyes widened a bit, as he considered this new information.

No no, that makes no sense. How would they learn, and no one else? Ahhh, I don't have enough information about this world....speaking of information and Starfallen, who was that boy?

Kuroki tried to redirect his thoughts, realizing he was making careless assumptions and going down a rabbit hole. Instead, he focused on the Starfallen they met just moments ago.

The boy was clearly a Foxkin, and looked to be around ten years old. His clothes sort of worked together although also seemed a bit mismatched, especially the rain boots. His skill and abilities also seemed higher then theirs. Then again, Kuroki had noticed something about Riku as well. It was slight, but his abilities actually exceeded the rest of theirs Kuroki was pretty sure. Perhaps it was because of the martial arts he actually did learn from Kuroki's shitty father, as well as having actual inherent skill before they arrived in this world. In other words, skill and ability were additive.

It was almost like the wishes existed on a point buy system, but rather than starting from scratch, you started from an already developed character. Depending on how developed, your stats would be higher overall. It also likely depended on the compatibility of your wishes with your previous experiences.

Kuroki was always intellect based, but while he wasn't a super genius and he often got himself into all sorts of embarrassing situations and just outright trouble, he did wonder if perhaps he was actually smarter now. He was able to deduce things much faster then before and figure things out, and he was picking up magic faster then anyone expected. He was sure his obsession with magic made his wishes focus down on that, becoming a pure spellcaster while others had more varied wishes. But that wasn't all. It would be a long time before he could get close to Ozlo, but at the same time...Ozlo felt like the path he was working towards. Ozlo's greatest asset wasn't his magical abilities or dragon summoning, but his sheer intelligence.

He had apparently even seen through the plans being concocted by the Devil he believed was the mastermind of this incident, the one who provoked the Goblins and attacked the Guildmaster recently, and Anna in the past. He mentioned during the fight he might be unavailable, and that the way the forces were directed at them might be to separate Ozlo to attack him as well. Ozlo was almost always at the guild, surrounded by other experienced adventurers or by nobles with their own guards, if not near the Guildmaster himself. Ozlo was clearly intelligent enough to be dangerous, and this battlefield would be the singular moment he would truly be isolated.

Apparently, he had found a reliable reinforcement he could not deploy elsewhere, although Kuroki had no idea who it could be. Kuroki thought it was unfortunate they couldn't free Anna in time to get a revenge match in, unaware that is exactly what Ozlo did. Truly, Ozlo and Kuroki were similar types. People who dealt with the unreasonableness of others, highly intelligent mages, looked down on and bullied by assholes.

And now this new Starfallen showed up, clearly knowing Kuroki's past. The expression alone gave it away, a mixture of sorrow, regret, and recognition. Kuroki wondered who he was. He knew all their neighbors, having used any opportunity he had to use them as a buffer to make it so his dad couldn't lash out. After all, he was unfortunately the type of asshole who had connections and covered things up well, so he knew exposing what was going on to their neighbors was a bad call. Not only that, but often children in the neighborhood mistook him for someone around their age and invited him to play. It was embarrassing sometimes, but he also sometimes used it to his advantage to avoid his father.

This also was why he knew the boy wasn't someone in the neighborhood. He knew a few of them had figured it out, not that the parents ever believed it since his dad had a "charming mode". But the foxkin starfallen's face did not match any of them. A classmate of Riku's maybe? He had never met them, but then again perhaps the appearance changed more then he thought, given that both Riku and the new boy had animal ears and tails.

Hmm. Appearance changes?

Kuroki paused for a moment on this thought.

Maybe the reason I can't recognize him...and the reason he is so skilled, is because he is an adult? Or was an adult?

Kuroki pondered a bit, before finally speaking up.

"Hey, you guys saw the boy who helped us out right? The one I think is Starfallen?"

"You mean the boy who recognized you?" Riku asked.

"Yeah. Do you guys recognize him? He looks like he would still be going to elementary school, so I wanted to check that before I say my theory".

Kaede and Riku thought for a moment, while Ryuu just shook his head instantly.

"I don't recognize him".

"Never seen him before. I didn't get a good look at his face, but at the very least, I can't recall him".

"Same as Kaede. I can't place him either. Maybe he is actually older like you?"

"You are half right Riku, at least according to my theory" Kuroki responded, pondering with a serious expression. "I think he was an adult before coming here, but one of his Wishes reverted him back into a child".

Ryuu seemed shocked, and Kaede was a bit surprised as well. Riku however seemed to nod.

"I see...so you are thinking about those common wishes, aren't you? It didn't happen to me, but perhaps it doesn't work in reverse or my other wishes drowned it out".

Ryuu looked confused. "Wait, you had a major wish that didn't get granted by the Starfall?"

Riku nodded, facing them. "I really wanted to be an adult immediately so I was no longer under my uncle's thumb and could be independent. Even before I lost my parents, I always dreamed of being an adult".

"Oh, I did too" Kaede admitted.

"Same! I wanted to grow big and strong fast!"

Kuroki nodded. "Of course. Its a bit like the saying, 'the grass on the other side is always greener'. Iv often heard of my classmates and schoolmates and such wanting to grow up fast or be adults already, just like I have heard adults always wish that they were young and kids again. I think that is the wish the mysterious Starfallen we met had activated".

Kaede seemed to follow along as she responded. "So, the kid is actually an adult? An adult who knows your past and what you went through then, and regretted not being able to help? But wait, why did none of us become adults then?"

"I think...its probably a safety measure of the Starfall. If I had to guess, it wont reduce someone's lifespan or ruin their natural development by artificially aging them up. You can only be aged and regressed down into a child, to give more time to develop and have a longer lifespan. These are meant to be gifts after all".

"In that case, there are a lot more child Starfallen then we originally thought. I wouldn't be surprised if almost every elderly person became a child, given how they always complain about backpain".

Kuroki nodded at Riku's assessment. Indeed, the amount of child Starfallen would probably be increased by a lot, but especially taking up that category.

Kaede also seemed to agree, as she pivoted back to the original topic. "So, the kid there is an adult that was in a position to know the truth about your father and your relationship to him, but was incapable of doing anything to help you? I can only think of three professions that might work, a police officer, a teacher, or a doctor".

Ryuu seemed puzzled though. "Why would a police officer be powerless?"

"Because my father helped train a good number of them and were friends with a lot of them, including leadership. Its why I couldn't go there myself to try and get their help" Kuroki answered, looking rather displeased. "There were a few younger cops who did seem tense when they visited though, and looked displeased when they looked at me. I always thought it meant my father spun stories to them, but...if what I saw was real regret for my situation, not for my father's 'plight', then maybe...sometimes officers did arrive unusually fast to my house".

Riku seemed to nod along. "So cop is an actual possibility. As for teachers, wouldn't they have contacted the board of education or something? Surely your father doesn't have connections there, does he? You never mentioned any to me".

"He knows a few of the gym teachers and one who practiced martial arts, but not enough that if I ever had proof, I could use that to get him arrested hopefully. To be honest though, that was unlikely to succeed, and things would have just gotten worse for me, so I was too afraid to try such a route".

Riku grimaced. No, I think that's just the psychological effect of being beaten and abused for years Kuroki. I think it was more viable then you realized.

However, Kuroki did think of something.

"...my gym teacher though, was different".

"Gym? Not math or science or anything else, but gym?"

"I always got along with them too, but they were more passive and I never developed a strong bond with them. I think some of the nastier bullies spread rumors about me to make people keep their distances too, so maybe that subtly influenced them. But...the gym teacher we had since he started late last year was different".

Kuroki had not met him the day they were taken from their old world, and instead they had a substitute instead who was under his father's influence. But the normal one had been different. Considerate of Kuroki. Ever since he started, much of what they did were things that almost seemed to accommodate Kuroki to some degree. Either a stool was already there, or Kuroki got a position where his height wouldn't matter. It was subtle, he never said anything outright, but it felt like he was trying to be inclusive.

But the first day was especially notable. It had been a particular rough and sweaty day, so he told them to shower off a bit before getting clean clothes on. Unusual, but not unheard of when everyone got muddy or dirty. He ended up coming in to check in on them. He wasn't creepy or anything, more caring and concerned. But when he saw Kuroki, once Kuroki came out, he started to ask if Kuroki was okay...and a bit about his homelife. Even though to most people, no signs of abuse were visible, it seemed the coast was far more perceptive then most. Kuroki could tell instantly that he knew. Later on, he even taught Kuroki about not only first aid, but tricks to feign making it seem like he was more hurt then he was and how to pretend to take more force of a blow then one actually did. These things actually helped him out when his father beat him, and the teacher was always ready to listen to Kuroki. And recently, a few weeks ago, Kuroki finally let his walls down with him fully.

Not only that, but this gym teacher was the one who cracked down on bullying the most. He was the one who cooperated with Kuroki's group and when some of the worst bullies got exposed, had them expelled from school. It was proof that he was different, and why Kuroki was able to let his walls down with him.

"However, as much as I would love it to be him, I think its probably unlikely. I don't think he would have waited for later, not after all that".

"I see. Well, hopefully we meet this guy one day. Sounds like a good guy. I am almost certain that shower thing though was him actually looking for stuff like that".

"Yeah, I thought the same thing" Kuroki admitted.

"So then, we think police officer is the most likely then?" Riku asked.

"No, there is one more possibility, and this one would certainly know enough about anatomy that combined with combat skills, would be deadly in a fight. A doctor. Specifically, the emergency room doctor I had to see one time when the doctor my dad usually takes me too was unavailable, as was his backup. Both of which are his friends of course, but not this guy".

Kuroki's father was meticulous at not leaving any marks, but he wasn't perfect and sometimes he was drunk, enraged, or both. This was the time Kuroki was most likely to be injured, and then he would be taken for treatment. Usually his father made it the most embarrassing and insufferable as possible out of spite, with Kuroki getting a full body exam each time his arm was broken. Probably also to try and make sure Kuroki wasn't inclined to break it on purpose to try and get his father in trouble or something. But one time they had to go to the emergency room, and while the doctor didn't seem able to say anything at the time, especially with Kuroki's shitty father hovering right there, he couldn't do much. But he did remember the regret and sorrow at that time. It seemed he at least suspected, if not outright knew.

"So either a police officer, or a doctor? Makes sense".

"We can't fully rule out teacher either to be fair" Kaede added to Riku's response.

"Either way, it could be something else I never thought of. We wont know for sure until we talk to him again".

Kuroki left it on that note, as they started to pack up and got ready to report back. If Ozlo was unavailable, he had a second in command there. Apparently it was something Ozlo found trustworthy, so the four of them felt like it would be okay. He did warn them that she was a bit crass and brutish and weird, but she was a good person at heart.

Once Kuroki's group had rested up in the back and finished packing up, they headed towards the command tent. There was a special communicator there to speak with Ozlo, so they could report their findings there or talk to this person. Unaware of what Zak was doing for them, nor of Akano's plight in a distant city, they kept pushing forward. Perhaps if they knew what Ozlo was doing right now, they would have chosen differently, but the messenger had just barely missed them, having been slightly delayed due to a lack of a restful sleep last night. Just enough to miss them.

As such, Kuroki had been directly crossing the plains, when suddenly he felt something strange. Chains and collars suddenly appeared around all four of their necks, and dragged them suddenly towards deeper into the plains where there were many hills and lots of tall grass. They felt themselves getting dragged across the ground which was unpleasant, but Riku managed to grip his sword after a bit of dragging, being pulled deeper in. He quickly managed to cut the chains the moment he got a good hold on his sword, and the moment he did, the collars around their necks dissipated into particles of light.

"That was....rough".

"Owww....what was that?"

"We got dragged pretty far out. I sense a lot of life signs heading...wait, what?"

Before Kuroki could continue his thought, while Ryuu and Kaede were complaining, he sensed on his echomap that several dozen signatures were heading their way. But among them, there were a few that were odd. Stronger and tougher, and way more dangerous. And furthermore, he recognized the feeling of these enemies.

"A lot of Horned Rabbits heading our way!"

The group raised their weapons and prepared, only to see upon a hill just a bit away from them, various Horned Rabbits appear from the tall grass. And it wasn't just normal rabbits either. There were also ones that gave off a far more dangerous feeling. Martial Arts Rabbits for sure.

However, there was one that drew even more attention. It seemed to be able to take a somewhat humanoid form, like an anthro rabbit. It was able to stand on its two legs just fine, but even moreso, it was wearing a sleek greaser jacket and sunglasses, as if he was some sort of stereotypical delinquent. The rabbit glared at them, its bushy tail slightly singed along with its right ear. Right for it that is.

Yes, this was clearly the leader of the Rabbits. But also, it was weirdly familiar.

"...that ear...that tail...is that...Flopsy?!"

"Wait what?!"

"No way...that ear...its identical to Flopsy!"

Kuroki had rather unpleasant close up situations to Flopsy, so even if some things were different, he realized Kaede was right, while Ryuu was puzzled and Riku realized it as well. Kuroki stared right at Flopsy.

"I see...we made quite the mistake. To think this Starfall affected not just humans, but animals as well".

The Starfallen Rabbit, Flopsy, had taken center stage.

"But why is Flopsy attacking us?" Ryuu asked.

"Well, he was a rescue, and those burns probably are an indicator of something bad, but also...its possible that when he was a normal animal, he couldn't realize it wasn't Kuroki bothering and causing him issues, but the ones who did that to Kuroki".

Kuroki grimaced.

"This...is going to cause us a lot of issues".

Everyone readied weapons, as Flopsy crossed his arms and took a step forward. He spoke no words, but his stance and his hateful rabbit faced gaze towards Kuroki.

And so, one of the first conflicts between fellow Starfallen began.

At the same time, Akano's group was also dealing with an unexpected situation. The Shadehound had thoroughly thrashed through the goblins in its way. Several other Goblins had broken formation, but more reinforcements were pouring in, although some appeared wounded or fleeing from something before joining the fight. The Shadehound was getting outnumbered and pressured fast, but even in all of that, it looked at Akano and Tamaki. Licking its lips, it ran right towards them. Akano readied his staff, but the way it charged at them suddenly caught Akano off guard. He tried to form a barrier, but the Shadehound was already in front of him and Tamaki, opening its mouth right at them. Akano was about to fire off a spell, when suddenly he and Tamaki got attacked...sort of.

To be exact, the Shadehound gave them both big slobbery dog kisses. Enough so that both of them would have to park their bare butts in the back tonight and do laundry together, it was so much. It was also sniffing them like crazy, and its tail was wagging. The black smoke dissipated instantly around it, revealing its true form....a saint bernard. Yes, the shadehound was a dog known for its fluffiness. It was way larger then a normal saint bernard however, as it tackled them both to the ground and licked them some more. The slobber was already even getting into their underwear, but at least they didn't need to fight. Tamaki especially realized something.

"Wait a second...Atari, is this you?"

"Woof!"

It wagged its tail some more at the sound of the name, clearly recognizing it.

Akano looked perplexed however.

"Wait wait, Atari as in...your saint bernard from our world?!"

"Yes! This is Atari!"

"Animals got Starfallened too?!"

This was a rather shocking turn of events, but unfortunately they were interrupted when Atari knocked down a goblin arrow with his tail. He quickly got off them and growled at the goblins, with Bastian joining in as well. The two dogs looked rather adorable doing this, but even moreso, even if Akano and Tamaki were covered in slobber practically head to toe, they were able to shake it off a bit and resume combat positions.

This had just gone from a three way battle to a two way battle with their side getting reinforcements.

It appeared Atari was no normal dog anymore either, as it unleashed a blast of wind knocking Goblins back and with some landing in bad spots that broke their necks.

"Thats great! Atari, can you do that again?"

"Woof woof, woof".

"You can't? It takes awhile to build up the wind again?"

"Woof!"

"I see. Well it helped us a lot to use it at the start, so thank you".

"Woof woof!"

"You have a few other abilities that use cooldowns as well?!"

"Woof!"

"That is great! So what are they?"

"Woof woof, woof woof woof!"

"Ooooh! Bastian, use fireball! Atari, use razorwind blade!"

"Woof!"

"Bark!"

"Tamaki...I think if this world had classes, yours is definitely tamer".

"I gotta agree! I wonder if I can be as good as that one legendary tamer I heard about in the Beastiary".

"Legendary Tamer?"

"Yeah, apparently he is a fourteen year old boy...who befriended Dragons".

At the same time, that very Tamer was fighting alongside Anna inside of his own mind.

Anna swung her sword down at the Devil, but it teleported to her side, a black fireball manifesting in her hand. Ozlo however appeared behind her, kicking her right in the head. She caught both boots with her hand, but Akano's feet were not in them as he appeared on her other side, kicking her with his bare foot. That said, some scales could be seen on it if one looked close enough, and the foot itself was coated in dragonfyre.

This sent her sprawling backwards, where Anna was at suddenly swinging a sword down at her. She just twisted her body in time to avoid the blow, and even launched several black scorching rays at Anna. Anna cut through several and used a shield of light to block the rest, while Ozlo had two smaller dragons attack her from behind suddenly. The Devil got scorched, not expecting the dragons as she pulled back.

"How, you cannot summon familiars inside of your own mind!"

"But you see, I don't actually summon them. What you see is just a special gate spell I developed. In truth, I tamed...no, I befriended them. And naturally, I developed telepathic communication with them. So..."

"The dragons can use that to enter his mind as well" Anna said, adding a tee hee afterwards.

This is bad! He got me! I thought I had forced his hand, but this whole time he had this trap ready!

"This spell would take far more than a week to create".

"Absolutely. Thats why I created it years ago, based on my theories about how your magic worked, knowing you would eventually restore your full power and return. I considered how others might act as well, so I created this, my new and original mental defense spell".

"Wait, this...this was created years in advance?!"

"Yes. And it's far better than you can comprehend, cause we both know I am not dumb enough to give away all of what its capable of".

Tsk.

"You are one annoying brat. You knew that I suspected and knew that anyways, but said that to keep my mind busy worrying about anything else that might come, making me slower to react to what you do in this very battle".

"I see now why you give everyone so much trouble. You are quite clever".

Anna suddenly appeared next to her, forcing her to draw her demonblade to block. The force of the strike reverberated through her hand, making it go numb for a moment.

"To think you were actually a Tamer, not using magic to summon but just to gate...how did you befriend so many dragons then?!"

"Long story. You won't live long enough to hear it".

The Devil, Chianthias, backed up as she unleashed dark magic against Ozlo. It was clearly a curse, but curses shouldn't be so easy to use normally.

Still, Ozlo raised his hand, and suddenly made the curse evaporate. This shocked everyone, even Anna.

"How do you have such a cool ability! I could have used that five decades ago! No, everyone across the world needs that!"

"Sorry, but I am afraid its specific to her...or rather, her curse transmission vector, I believe the right words are".

Chianthias widened her eyes, enraged.

"You bastard! Dark Tempest!"

"Ardis, Kalvi, burn away the cursed virus!"

The two dragons returned to his side and unleashed their flamebreath upon the cloud of curse energy directed at him. He meanwhile attacked her directly with fireballs, while Anna tried to strike at her again. She raised a barrier to block the fireballs into dust, and used her sword to parry and deflect Anna's blow. Still, her hand hurt anyways despite not taking the blow directly. In fact, it was shaking even more then before.

Her eyes widened again, looking at Anna as she backed up and got some distance.

I didn't hear her incant a spell, but that shouldn't be so basic to be done by direct mana manipulation. Did she incant before I even arrived here, or perhaps...did she secretly incant while attacking me with her sword!? What a monster!

The Devil created several more black fireballs, and unleashed them alongside her black scorching rays. Even Anna was forced to go more on the defensive, as was Ozlo, giving her a moment to initiate another move.

And to think he wasn't a summoner but a tamer?! He was already with Dragon Familiars by age eight! And all these dragons by age fourteen?! Not to mention managing the magical bonds for all of them, and gate spells to bring them out as if he summoned them?!

Chianthias was complaining a lot internally at this duo. One was obviously absurd and cared not for even trying to conceal herself, while the other had been very careful to avoid showing his signature moves. It was clear his bonds with his dragons let him tap into their power, given the way dragonscales had begun to appear on him and he utilized their magic.

Still, she had some tricks up her sleeve, as she utilized another magic.

"Nightmare Disaster!"

"Mischief of the Phantasmals!"

Suddenly her spell was disrupted, as Ozlo got in front of her, having finished incanted his spell while Anna had been disrupting the Devil's.

"Dragon Soul Force!"

Suddenly, he unleashed a massive shout that caused the devil to go flying backwards, hit with a tidal wave of force that caused her to go flying like a ragdoll. She was just barely able to stop herself in time, but it was clear now that these two had come specifically prepared for her. They had incantations ready for her techniques, and they had an uncanny ability to work together.

She decided that she would need to start using her powers a little more actively to fight this threat.

"Alright kiddos. Fine. I guess I will be going all out after all".

Several major battles were beginning to emerge all at once, as the climax began to near on these fateful struggles.