Astraea: The Journey of Magic

While this was all going down, Ozlo and Anna were in the middle of their own great battle. The Devil, Chianthias, had begun to play her hidden cards and hidden strenght, and was pushing them back a bit now. Anna tried to cleave off her head, but she just turned to mist and appeared behind Ozlo, kicking him into a wall. She caught fire from a dragonfyre attack he had done expecting that though, irritating her that he somehow saw through her move enough to counterattack, even if he still took damage himself.

Ozlo however followed it up with his next move, where his dragons circled around her and breathed fire right at her. This was while he unleashed another salvo of Dragonfyre, and Anna came at her from behind. However, several rings of light appeared around Chianthias, deflecting the sword and swooping up the fire, moving it around her and at each other. Except for Ozlo's salvo, which got in a few good hits. He even added normal magic into the mix, as suddenly crystals began to emerge from where tehy hit the ground and tried to skewer her, forcing her to dodge. She got cut up a bit though, and that was when she suddenly felt weaker. Poison? A spell within a spell within a spell? He thought this out hard.

Ozlo's spells were tricky, and he kept flanking her with Dragons, which was annoying. That said, she kept using spells that made him increasingly more reluctant, as he seemed to care for them enough to not want them to needlessly attack. His attachment to the dragons would be his greatest weakness she could exploit, but then Anna came in to either follow up attack or attack alongside them. This meant Chianthias was having trouble with timing, even if she did use her full power now.

Ozlo struck with a lightning bolt spell this time as he reloaded his Dragonfyre salvo, with fireballs made of Dragonfyre appearing around him. She dodged, but then the lightningbolt arced suddenly and nearly skewered her. She hadn't known about this spell in his repitroire, partially because he helped develop it with Kuroki. It was the same one he invoked in the sewers.

Ozlo was a professional and very talented and experienced, so he always hid his incantations from her. She could never be sure when or where he would invoke a spell. She tried to close the distance on him, sensing he was weaker in close combat, but then the Dragons and Anna would flank her and get in the way, leaving her wide open at close range for him to use more dangerous spells.

She tried to close in again, only for dragonbreath to be aimed right in front of her. Not at her but in front of her, forcing her to either stop or charge right into the attack. She was moving too fast to change direction, so she had to stop instead. This was when Anna appeared right next to her and tried to cleave her head off, only for her to use an attack to repel Anna and blast her into the ceiling. As she was prying herself out, she swooped up the fire and launched it at Anna while going right for Ozlo. Ozlo raised a barrier as the rocks below her feat opened up and tried to eat and chomp on her. She blasted herself back, just narrowly avoiding an attack as Anna managed to pry herself out and land right in front of her.

"Sorry Ozlo, these clothes I borrowed from you got dirty".

"Its fine. They are just mental projections in my head anyways".

Naturally, Ozlo hadn't been able to get actual clothes in here ahead of time, so what they wore were projections. For everyone else, it was projections of what they had been wearing before they entered, but Anna was a statue whose clothes had long since deteriorated. Refusing to just have her fight naked, he created special combat gear in his own mind and projected it for her. She claimed she would have been fine, but Ozlo was the responsible type and pointed out against such a Devil, every bit of armor and protection was necessary.

Either way, they moved in for another round. The dragons came and attacked from the flanks again, while Ozlo shifted behind her and initiated a strike from behind. She quickly raised barriers, but some of the shots just phased right through and hit her directly, burning her.

Anna appeared behind her again though, not giving her a rest, always darting out of her line of sight and into her blindspots. It was predictable, but annoying none the less. Of course, just because her eyes couldn't see her, didn't mean she couldn't. She was far too advanced for that, and easily blocked the blade...only to suddenly get slashed at from behind, just barely held off by her magic barrier. For the briefest of moments, there had been two Annas. The one in front disappeared, but not before the one behind appeared.

"You monster...how do you learn new techniques even while petrified? Or had you somehow known this and I never discovered it?"

Somehow Anna had used a technique that despite all of her research decades ago, Chianthias had never discovered that she knew.

However, Ozlo had to recall two dragons, and he only had two horse sized dragons out right now. She wasn't sure how many more he had, since he was a tamer and not a summoner, he might have more then she originally theorized.

Still, she was confident in her victory. That said..

THe hell?! What happened to that Starfallen Rabbit?! What interfered just now?!

She sensed something going on with another battle she had been influencing indirectly. She had made sure to pit a Starfallen rabbit against Amyris' new apprentice, sensing a link between them. It had also been an interesting opportunity to use a Starfallen to her advantage, especially one as strange as that Rabbit. However, someone severed her little surprise package and the minion itself from her domination network.

It was more then just one person's energy, but several different. One seemed almost divine, but not quite. There were clear differences, so it was only something adjacent. She thought of the Oracle, but she had heard from a spy that they had successfully fanned enough suspicion to have him being "cared for" this day, so that shouldn't have been a factor. That room might augment his abilities, but he was a bird in a gilded cage. That thirty year old wouldn't be able to leave that tower, and he shouldn't be capable of using any magic without the Dark Side of the Church knowing about it. She still had information and secret influence there, so she would know if anything changed.

And yet, something was eating away at her. These events almost felt orchestrated, as if someone was pulling the strings from the shadows. As if someone was pulling upon the Loom of Time, and had subtly shifted things to wind up this way. But if that was true, then that would mean she might be in grave danger.

And if anything, it was the two in front of her that were in grave danger, as she fended off another round of Dragonfyre shots. Ozlo had kept her occupied with this tag team stuff he did with Anna, but she was certain Ozlo had to "reload" his Dragonfyre shots through his contract after he unleashed a salvo of Dragonfyre Fireballs. It explained the gaps in his attack patterns sometimes. And yet, just like the idea of him only having those two dragons left to call upon, she didn't want to commit to that being the absolute reality. No, this was someone who had been rather witty and laid a trap for her, having figured out one of her most prized abilities. She had to assume that he was holding back some cards just like she was, and she had to play it safe.

So instead, she opened a gate behind her. Suddenly, about twelve demons emerged, all very powerful.

"What? Don't be so surprised. If you can summon your dragons in here, then I can summon my minions as well".

"Tsk. How annoying".

Ozlo wasn't surprised, although he wasn't a fan of more people coming into his head. Furthermore, this wasn't the Spirit World, the Astral Plane, the Dreamworld, or a realm like that. They didn't enter completely naked with nothing, but equipped with high quality weapons and armor.

"Still, this isn't outside of our expectations" he muttered, when a huge gust of wind suddenly knocked several demons off their feet. Chianthias just barely blocked several blades of wind and lightning, as well as a huge green scythe that came down on her. The holder appeared to be a young boy of thirteen, wearing a verdant green sleeved cloak, white shortsleeve shirt, black pants/shorts that ended just below the knees, and brown boots. None of it looked spectacular at first glance, except for the Scythe. It was clearly a mechanical scythe, with machinery and clockwork elements to it. It also had several magic crystals embedded in it as well, making her doubt it was anything normal. Not to mention its sheer power had caused her feet to actually break into the ground, cracking the ground around her.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she recognized him immediately. Despite being a wind mage, he wore green instead of yellow. The Hero of Suthiak Valley. Someone who if she didn't personally confirm was born in this world, might have suspected of being an Otherworlder. Someone who like Riza, reached a level of peak ability at a young age which resulted in a stagnation of his growth, making him appear childlike when he was anything but. A Half-elf who was shorter then other half elves even, known for being short. Ayazi, the Tempest.

If the Guild's ranking system were to be believed, he was A-Rank like Ozlo. But personally, she felt like he might be as dangerous as any SS-Ranker even. Then again, she could say the same thing about Ozlo.

"Sorry I am late, Oz" Aya mentioned. "This devil tried to attack me as I was escorting a few more to safety, so I couldn't enter your mindscape when I wanted to".

"I see. Well, Chianthias? I dare say I think you wont be winning today".

"I don't know. Certainly, having someone who was called the Stormsage is annoying, but I think you might be underestimating my forces".

She said that, but she was very concerned. Because she knew exactly where Ayazi had been, and who was likely responsible for attacking him. And if Ayazi won that fight, she wouldn't have it easy. No, in all likelihood, he was stronger than Anna and Ozlo. Maybe not combined, but certainly individually. And evenmore, she had to be worried about Ayazi's creations. His scythe was one thing, but if he brought that in here, in these close quarters, she was in serious danger. And yet, Ozlo and Anna had visible wounds, and their breathing wasn't as stable as it used to be. She could destroy Anna's mind here and now, and take Ozlo down by using her curse on him, once she navigated this detestable labyrinth. No matter how much she probed with her magic, she couldn't find a way through. At least not with him currently here interfering with her.

And with every passing moment, risked more of Ozlo's dragons finishing their duties and becoming available for him again.

"It seems like you are thinking of escaping. How cute" Ayazi mentioned.

"Says the one with a name right out of a Naming 101 book".

In this world, and at least in this country, boy names tended to include a lot of vowels, as well as often either the letters Y or Z, if not both. Riza, Ozlo, Ayazi, Amyris, Riala, Dia, were some examples. It wasn't a hard rule, but it was a trend. Additionally, they tended to be three to five letters when starting out, although some added more to their names later on.

So to say that Ayazi's parents had done that was quite accurate. In this country, no one would ever think of Ayazi as anything other then a boy's name. Even if everyone was equal, some naming conventions did still exist.

So yes, his name was rather cute as a result of all that. However, it didn't bother Ayazi at all, much to Chianthias' chargin.

Incidentally, even the most basic of devil and demon names tended to be four to five syllables, and almost seemed excessive. Dialathiama, Torvialithus,and Lucirafathim were all prime examples of such names they might have.

That said, many noble families had their own naming conventions, so when it came to nobles, you could never really be sure on average what their name might be.

She however was more concerned about the cubes that were attached to Ayazi's belt.

"Tell me, why are you hunting the Starfallen? What do you know about the summoning?"

"Hmmf. Why should I answer? You won't believe anything I say".

"Truth Zone" Ozlo cast, not using any incantation at all this time. This surprised Chianthias a bit.

"It appears you are full of surprises. To think you even incanted this ahead of time".

"Why are you hunting the Starfallen? What do you know about the summoning?"

She tried to resist the zone, but the truth just started to come out.

"The Starfallen...are...a valuable and dangerous resource".

"Yes yes, we all know that. Their blood makes for great catalysts, their bones can become legendary weapons, and other disturbing things. Thats how low your armies have stooped".

"The one who summoned them...is both of our enemies...they cannot remain in play".

She quickly thrust her sword into the ground, and shattered the Truth Zone.

"Cheeky brat".

"You were able to overcome that pretty fast. How annoying" Ozlo muttered.

"Says the one who was prying out secrets in a cruel matter. You added an enforcement effect to a truth zone spell. That is an illegal spell you know? Casting it even once could land you in jail".

"I doubt they will charge me, or even believe anything you say. Especially since the spell was cast inside my own mind".

"I suppose. Still, I suppose the rumors are true. That you exterminated the entire dark side of the Guild that had grown in this region, at least in this city".

"Wait, the adventurer's guild had a dark side?" Anna asked.

"Yeah. This was the Frontier, so things were not always as monitored. For a rather expensive price, they would sell the information of other adventurers, even post fake quests to get them ambushed or kidnapped by others who paid them for the service, stuff like that. Do you remember that one quest you got when you got asked to deal with ogres in the valley, only instead you got ambushed by like, fifty bandits?"

"Yeah".

"Those weren't bandits".

"For real?!"

"Yep".

"Huh. I did think they seemed unusually skilled for bandits".

Ayazi looked at the devils meanwhile.

"So, whatever this thing is...it's got you afraid".

The moment he said that, the Devils and Demons hissed at him as if he had cursed out their mothers, grandmothers, and lovers all in one breath.

Ozlo meanwhile braced himself.

If its got them afraid, it could be a threat to us as well. I mean, if this thing called down tens of thousands of Starfallen into our world, who knows what sort of craziness it possesses. But what is it? A nation? An elder god? Some sort of otherworldy abomination? There is still far too much we don't know.

Just like Kuroki, Ozlo was fixated on it as well. It was a perplexing mystery, and he wasn't the type to let things go like that. He wanted to solve it as well.

Still, they had a Devil and several Demons to contend with in front of them. Ayazi joining them helped, but its not like the situation was all that better. Ayazi had to come here in a rush after a fight, and while they might all be high ranking adventurers, its not like Ranks were some ends all way that absolutely determined who would win what.

The two sides were at a standoff. After the brutal fighting between Ozlo and Anna against Chianthias, it had gotten into a staredown between the two of them.

"Well, it looks like you have some worries, but at the same time, its clear you have no intention of letting me go. Perhaps...are you waiting for your allies to show up? I tied them down rather carefully. I admit, I did not expect Ayazi here, but that won't be enough you know?"

"You talk big, but you are just as worried as we are. Worried this is all a trap, right?"

"I suppose your friend there probably cant risk destroying the Labyrinth, so he left the Colossus at home? Or perhaps...its too big for you to even bring into the dreamworld".

Ozlo let out a sigh.

"I told you that thing was too big to be practically used. You can't use it un dungeons, dense woods, inside cities, inside towns, really inside any settled place, and you cant even use it here can you?"

"Making it big was the only way to give it all that power! Besides, it serves as a good guard for my workshop. I don't have to worry about the people I have rescued. After all Chianthias, aren't my golems your natural enemy? After all, mind magic and curses don't work on them".

"True, but that won't help you here".

"Ehhh, I am not so sure about that" Ayazi said, taking out a small rod with a button on the end. He pressed it, and immediately explosions roared all around them. Chianthias's defensive magic activated automatically, saving the core group, but some of the weaker and injured demons who had stood further back died outright as they were outside of the range, and even one of the stronger ones were badly injured.

Even the strong could be felled by the weak if one used their strengths right, and used factors like the terrain, advance preparations, and tactics properly.

And it seemed that, although Chianthias wasn't sure what, Ayazi had done something in secret. She noticed fragments of small golems, and could roughly guess what transpired.

But when did he release them, and how did they get so close? This brat...like Ozlo, he is just too witty and smart.

"I think we will be pulling back here".

"Do you think you can escape from this Labyrinth? You may have summoned people inside, but leaving is much harder than entering".

"Yes, I would imagine so. We outnumber you nearly three on one, but it seems like you probably have more nasty tricks waiting. And now is not the time for our final conflict...not when my curse on your guildmaster still has a secret fragment that I just activated".

"You are bluffing".

"So long as we are both tied down here, you can't purge it from him. My orders were quite clear. Deal with the Starfallen threat by any means I can, and also cause destruction to this city".

Ozlo clicked his tongue. He couldn't verify any of this while they were in there. If he left, she would not doubt be able to follow him out. Ayazi was still too far away to join the battle in the physical world, and Anna was still petrified in the physical world. There was a good chance she just wanted him to go back to the physical world, where she might have an easier time killing him there.

And yet, if she was also honestly trying to escape, she could be telling the truth. She knew Ozlo had divination spells for truthtelling, and while he hadn't used any for this part of the conversation, she couldn't be sure of that. Which means she either took a chance with a bluff, or was actually telling the truth.

But if he let her go here, she would come back again, and do even more damage. Worse, she would be ready for his various tricks, while she might pull more subordinates from other areas, Demons and Devils with other strange powers that could catch him off guard. ANd naturally, he wouldn't be able to bring Anna into the fight unless he brought them to the Mindscape Labyrinth, which he doubted she would do again.

And then there was the chance she wanted to trick him into staying here, using some sort of reverse psychology method, so that her plans elsewhere could succeed. That she was the one who was tying him down all this time. After all, her main target was the Starfallen. He was something she considered a threat too, but her orders were the Starfallen. No doubt, she was actually targeting them from the start. Keeping him busy here meant he couldn't cover for them.

However, before he could make a decision, Anna appeared next to the group of Devils and Demons, her sword suddenly larger and shining brightly. Chianthias just barely put up a barrier in time, but it cracked and shattered and they still took some damage from the sheer force and speed of the blow. This knocked them back a bit, although they remained on their feet.

"Anna?"

"Ozlo! Trust our allies" Anna told him. Hearing that, Ozlo understood immediately. Ayazi just chuckled.

"Yeah, not everything depends on you Ozlo. You work way too hard. Though at least you do know it's unreasonable, you still shouldn't just let the guildmaster out of doing all that paperwork".

Ozlo nodded, as he felt a revelation lift a great weight off his shoulders.

"...you are right, thanks. I was about to do something stupid. We are not letting Chianthias escape".

Chianthias froze.

"...how do you know my name?"

"Ah, I provided it to him" Ayazi said.

"Impossible, even you shouldn't..."

"...Chianthias, born in the lower Rotted Valleys region. Your grandparents were farmers, but your parents were both soldiers in the Demon King's army of two hundred years ago. You rose even further, becoming a high ranked member. That said, you had to face a lot of discrimination for your lack of a long lasting bloodline, and your relative youth compared to other Devils who can be over one thousand years old. You became an expert on curses and mind magic, but while trick y to deal with, your overall power isn't that strong. Yet, one could arguably say you are one of the most dangerous, because you can utilize your abilities covertly far better than other Devils, and you can conduct such elaborate schemes. You know, as bad as the previous hero was, I find it odd that everything came crashing down so violently and so bad around him. The damage he did was his own, but...you are the one who set things up so he would have more chances to make those bad decisions, right?"

Chianthias' eyes widened with shock. Even the Demons were surprised. Information control was one of their specialties of their specific group after all, and yet Ayazi had learned that much about them. It seemed he didn't know everything though, because she doubted he would have left that out or made that mistake.

"By the way, that valley is so green and lush with nature, so why is it called Rotted Valleys? I wasn't able to learn that" Ayazi admitted.

"Like I would tell you".

"Awww, but I am really curious you know?"

"I swear, why are all of you immortal brats so damn twisted?"

"Hey! I am normal!"

Ozlo and Anna both looked at his weapon.

"Erm, Ayazi..."

"...normal people don't typically use Scythes as weapons".

"Eh? But its got reach, blade size, power, slashes and thrusts, multiple different ways to block, and is of the wind attribute".

Ayazi swung it, and suddenly Chianthias created several barriers, all of which broke but the last which was heavily cracked when an invisible blade cut through them all.

However, Anna appeared in her blindspot for her eyes again, so she blocked with her large clawed hand to prevent the damage. She then kicked Anna away, but Anna grabbed onto the leg, and pulled herself in to kick Chianthias in the stomach instead, knocking her back. Chianthias' ability to remain on her feet even when getting knocked back was impressive, seeing as how they had yet to actually knock her over or down no matter what they tried.

Meanwhile, Ozlo unleashed rapidfire Dragonfyre attacks at her, mixing up his attack pattern. She raised multiple barriers of different types, and the Demons used their magic to intercept some of the attacks. Chianthias teleported behind Ozlo, going for his neck. Yet her attack was deflected not by the armor, which she tore off with ease, leaving his upper body exposed, but by Dragonscales which had appeared there. His actual body was slender and thin, small, short, and not muscular looking. And yet, these dragonscales made it seem like she was attacking a tank.

She quickly aimed at his pants next, but he blocked that attack quickly.

"What, trying to strip me now?"

"Its a viable tactic. Remove their defenses first, and it always makes people flustered when an opponent does it. Getting stripped against one's will is rather embarrassing, isn't it?"

"You think that will work here?"

"Despite your cool intelligence, I am guessing you are a rather sensitive and emotional boy. You set things up this way to have Anna have a revenge match with me after all, don't claim that was done purely for strategic reasons".

Speaking of which, Anna appeared behind her. She swung her sword down, but Chianthias suddenly teleported and switched places with her, causing the attack to go towards Ozlo instead. Ozlo however dodged out of the way while releasing more Dragonfyre Fireballs.

The Devil had seen that move before though, and already dodged as she closed the distance, within killing range of Ozlo. She finally had him...

And yet, she lost her footing at this moment as Ozlo unleashed lightning on her. The other Demons tried to jump in, but Ayazi kept them at bay by getting inbetween them.

When she hit the ground, she felt ice.

No, this isn't normal ice....Dragonice?!

So far, Ozlo had used only flame attacks. In her research, it showed he occasionally used Dragonfyre, but tried to keep it secret except for the truly dangerous battles. Very little information was there, but she had confirmed it none the less.

But Dragonice was something she had no intel on. As far as she knew, he never used it ever, even when it would have helped him win in truly perilous times far easier.

In other words, he had kept this card close to the chest as well. He hadn't used it earlier to let her think her footwork would prevail, but in truth he had saved it for this moment.

"Dragonice Lance!"

Several spikes of ice suddenly shot out of the ground, piercing her all over. In an instant, there were at least a hundred different puncture marks, and it hurt like hell. Pain errupted across her body, and she screamed in pain.

"I will kill you for this! All of you!"

"Can't do that when you are dead" Ayazi pointed out. Immediately, Ozlo grabbed Anna and pulled back, raising countless barriers as Chianthias' body exploded violently. They were safe, but the explosion killed her own allies she had summoned.

Their vision was blinded, and their ears rang out. They felt sore and in pain, the barrier having not been able to absorb the complete aftershock. They even coughed up soot.

"Everyone okay?"

"Yeah...what was that? Did she rig herself to explode?" Anna asked, after responding to Ayazi's question.

"Tsk, she got me good" Ozlo muttered, clicking his tongue.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"That wasn't her real body. The one that attacked me probably wasn't her real body either".

"Eh? So she was never here at all?"

The three sat up, recovering from the shock and the fatigue.

"Yeah. Of course, that is how she is able to cast curses undetected. She uses proxies. She uses her power far away so no one can sense it as easily. She cant go into full combat mode I am sure without us detecting it still, but it lets her have an easier time being covert".

"So that is why I couldn't sense her power until it was too late..." Anna muttered.

"Yeah. She is exceedingly clever. That said, I dont think she meant to show us that last bit. Had she succeeded fully, she would have turned me and my dragons against everyone, but it looks like she even considers what might happen if someone somehow stops her. That explosion is probably a final failsafe, to take out anyone who learns her secrets".

"And now she knows about your Dragonice. After you went through all that trouble to hide it".

"Yeah, but that wasn't my biggest surprise" Ozlo said. "Still, she got me good there".

"I need to go back and handle the cleanup, and make sure everything is going well".

"Yep, I got things I need to do as well".

With the battle over, both boys just left, and Anna returned to her petrified body and slumbered once more.

When Ozlo awoke in the real world, Chianthias was long gone, and he was riding on the back of one of his dragons. And indeed, all of his clothes were fine again.

"Well, that sucks. I thought I would finish her for sure, but I guess if it was that easy Amyris would have done so already".

Ozlo had seriously thought this would be the time to end her, but while they had gotten the best of her and even some intel out of her, she had managed to get one over on them as well.

"Still, a dopple like that can't be easy to control or create. If she wants to do anything else here, she will have to come herself or wait a long time, possibly even decades. I doubt she will, which means its very likely the next time she arrives, either she will die, or she will kill someone. Perhaps even both".

He looked down at the state of the battlefield. The Goblins were getting pushed back, and he noticed a few knights escorting people away. At first he thought the knights were causing trouble, but then he saw the people they were escorting. He recognized one from the wanted posters. It was someone he was sure was a Valiance lackey.

"Looks like things worked out well there. Kuroki's group is heading back to the command tent. The wyverns are done with, all the other threats I needed to worry about are...handled for now. Which probably means I can expect a Goblin Lord head from Kylia soon. Alright, lets get back. I have been away for too long after all, I need to make sure Valiance somehow doesn't cause our entire army to crumble when we are just about to win".

Ozlo went and returned to the tent, swooping down and entering. It appeared Kuroki was already inside, as his aides informed him there was a strange situation they had to report to him. He went into the back, and came face to face with a Silver Storm party, as well as a young naked Rabbitkin resting on the couch.

Kuroki proceeded to sum up everything that happened. When he mentioned how a Devil interfered with the fight remotely and triggered that Rabbit mutation, Ozlo figured it was probably her real body doing that from far away. No way she could have done that from inside of his mindscape, so it didn't surprise him too much.

Still, learning that even Animals became Starfallen, at least this time, was a shock. That meant the number of Starfallen could be drastically higher.

"...depending on how many had even the slightest feelings of jealousy or envy of humans, or even just apposable thumbs, the amount of Starfallen could be much higher. Though perhaps, only some were transported, those who had strong feelings or such towards people who became Starfallen. It makes me wonder how many we may have missed though. Well, there are still millions and millions of people in this world, and perhaps even billions, so it might be hard to spot them all".

There was no world population census, and certainly not one that was reliable, so Ozlo could only make a guess. Supposedly, this planet was actually bigger then their old one, with far more landmass too. Not to mention the long lived races, the population growths couldn't be said to be the same as those in Earth history, at least not exactly.

Course, the population did see drastic decreases for the time after a Demon King appeared until his defeat, so there is that too.

"I think its probably best if my family takes care of him for now. If he harbors hatred for Kuroki, it could end badly for you".

"Yeah. That is wise, thanks".

"Besides, given his age, he is probably too young to join you as a party member anyways. Maybe he can help out from time to time, but for now, lets make sure he gets treated properly this time".

Ozlo placed a hand on the boy's hip, as Flopsy was laying on the couch sideways. Ozlo used a bit of magic, and he seemed to breathe a bit more steadily and his expression softened a bit.

"This should keep him in a nice, restful sleep until tomorrow. Thanks for all your hard work today".

"So, how was the ambush".

"She got away...or rather, her real body never came in the first place. But now she has lost her fake body, and she shouldn't be able to maintain more than one of those things, which means the next time she shows up, it should be her real body...and given she no longer has to maintain that thing, she might be even more dangerous than before. Still, she had to use a lot of cards as well, so we can safely say she failed overall. But she did get me to reveal a card I was playing close to the chest, so that's a bit annoying. It's hard to say anyone had a true decisive victory here, but I think we did win for sure".

Either way, it was clear that this battle was over at the very least. And so, as Ozlo was going to take care of Flopsy and handle the cleanup here, he told Kuroki's group that had done enough for the request, and had them return to the city as he handled the end of the battle.

And so, in the battle between the Goblins and the Forces of Azralia came to a close with the city having been successfully defended, and with a clear victory to the public.