"Orbialias!" Ozlo cast, creating a gigantic wall of translucent shields in front of him and Kuroki as they endured the first barrage. There seemed to be dozens, maybe hundreds of shields, making up this defensive magic, as countless projectiles of death rained towards them. They only appeared like black chunks that were radiating smoke, but anyone who looked at them got a major sense of the creeps and a major feeling of danger, so they all tried the best they could to evade and survive the attack.

  Riza meanwhile was slashing through the projectiles as he chased after the target through the air. He would bounce off of walls at lightning speed, and since they were underground, the ceiling and floor as well. The fact that the big bad was flying was bothersome to Riku, Kaede, and Ryuu, but for the others, it was nothing special. Granted, that was half their group, but the other half included the two powerhouses, Riza and Ozlo.

  "Awaken!"

  A huge amount of cutmarks blasted the wall behind the Underking as he barely dodged the attack.

  "Draconic Blaze!"

  And Ozlo's fire roared from below, burning through any defensive magic the enemy tried to use.

  That said, he still has his undead army, which had ended up being the priority of those three right now as Kuroki tried to support both sides. He finished drawing a spell sigil in the air, which was actually a compressed spell array balanced in a certain method, to help invoke a support spell Amyris had taught him.

  "There, I gave you all increased speed and power! Make use of them!"

  "Thanks, Kuroki!"

  "Ozlo, I am reinforcing our barrier, but could you add a bit more to it when you can?"

  "I need to keep burning his defensive barriers so gramps can hit him, but I will see what I can do. If I can keep his defensive magic down long enough for gramps to get a decisive blow, that should help us out immensely!"

  But it won't be the end of this.

  If Kuroki's deduction was right, they were missing the most important and critical element. And in order to draw it out...

  "Riku, its on you and Kaede!"

  "What?" "Seriously?!"

  The two ten year olds complained, but they still grit their teeth and prepared.

  "You owe us a ton of ice cream after this, boss!"

  "...you say that, but your being playful in how you are speaking" Kuroki said, sliding his foot around and creating a dozen shields at various points. THey seemed random, but they all blocked attacks that appeared to be invisible. The necromancer growled at seeing this.

  That brat. Riza Luminar and Ozlo Luminar should be the only threats to me, but what can he see? What wishes were granted exactly?

  His gaze had fixated on Kuroki, properly seeing him for once. He incanted a powerful spell, and spirits of the dead swirled at Kuroki's feet to consume him. But then light emerged from his feet, banishing the spirits and even firing several beams of light right back at him. Filivellia easily blocked those shots, but that wasn't the point. Kuroki was looking right at him now, and it was obvious he realized exactly what was coming, incanted a spell ahead of time, and countered his magic in an instant. All while throwing up more barriers.

  Furthermore, with Alice flinging the occasional magic back at him if he wasn't careful, he couldn't just throw things around willie nillie to deal with them all, so he was forced to endure this puzzling situation.

  Just what can he see?!

  Kuroki watched the fallen king with a bit of disdain and dislike.

  "As I thought, I hate being watched. I hate being caught unaware by those in power. Bullies are scum".

  As he had been thinking this just a moment ago, something had clicked inside of him. As if it was a revelation he needed to realize, he suddenly began to see. No, perhaps it was his deductions earlier, or the fact that Kuroki's confidence had recently increased. Kuroki had been bullied. At school and at home. He had friends who stuck up for him, but deep down, he knew that while he was smart, he was also weak. He was aware of his weakness...but perhaps a bit too much.

  But after fighting alongside his friends and having formed a golden party in the Spirit Realm, his subconscious realized first that he had become someone who they depended on too. That he was stronger then he realized, so much stronger. His willpower had always been growing, from his dreams where he finally was able to do something against his father, to his ability to speak his mind and put his thoughts into action.

  And from that, the power of the wish, the thing that empowered all Starfallen, had awoken within him a new ability. Or perhaps he had it all along, but was mentally unable to utilize it till now.

  This guy...perhaps its because of that reason, but his movements are very straightforward.

  With most people, their nature was reflected in their attacks and magic. But he was a shade of his former self. Barely even a shade at this point. This made him easier to read. And to a mage, being easy to read was disastrous.

  "Ozlo, he is making a move".

  "I see it. I will take the left. You take the right?"

  "Need any info?"

  "Nah. Just keep up that spell".

  "Of course".

  And unfortunately for the Necromancer, this new ability to "see" worked very well with a type of magic his teacher specialized in. Magic that gathered information. The same he used on Kuroki when they first met, enhancing senses and using the knowledge to gather clues. Kuroki had combined the two with great effect. He wasn't going to be able to repel dragons with it, or clash with mighty warriors. But as a mage, the ability to see into the magic and souls of his opponents along with being able to enhance that sight would go a long way, should he master it.

  "Riku, Kaede, I am going to create an opening. Get to the back, and find what we need. Just be careful".

  "Understood".

  "Rodger that".

  Filivellia however wasn't going to let that slide. As he dodged and repelled Riza's latest attack, he glared at Kuroki and Ozlo.

  "Rakiovellia!"

  "Dragonfyre!"

  "Deflection Ward!"

  Ozlo burned through much of the attack, while Kuroki created a special barrier that deflected the rest, sending it right into the forces between Riku, Kaede, and the door. Some were still left standing, however...

  "Brilliant Flare!"

  Riku cut through them all, as Kaede backstabbed a few that were just out of range but reacting to Riku's attack, before they headed through the door.

  "Ryuu, keep the minions off us. Feel free to release a bit of steam here".

  "Wait really?!"

  "Yeah. Go for it".

  Ryuu looked around as a glint appeared in his eyes. Ozlo looked over at Kuroki.

  "Exactly what did you mean by that?"

  "Well, you see, Ryuu is the youngest of us...so to avoid anyone taking advantage of him, and to leave him as a powerful trump card for situations like this, I told him to save his full strength and power. Riza should be aware of it. Riza?"

  "I am a bit worried about cave ins, but yeah, I know of it" Riza muttered as he launched another attack on Filivellia. Several magic circles appeared around him, and released several beams of light. Filivellia deflected them all, but then Riza appeared right next to him. A giant skeletal hand appeared right out of the wall near Riza however, so Riza was forced to cut through it instead as Filivellia gained some distance.

  Filivellia briefly looked towards the passage the two others fled down, but then immediately was barraged by beams of light before he could invoke a single spell, incantation or no incantation.

  Those eyes...so long as he is looking at me, he can read when I am going to cast a spell.

  The caster was Kuroki again, who was watching him with his newfound ability, enhanced by his master's magic that he learned. Filivellia unleashed a torrent of magic, but Kuroki deployed shields, which Ozlo then followed through with even stronger barrier magic. And that was when Ryuu unleashed a golden light around himself, his strength and speed increasing as he cut through the undead and the golems with ease.

  Kuroki fired a few shots at the walls near Riza, right as skeletal hands were about to emerge from them. Right after he cast the spell, but before it fully materialized, Kuroki was aiming for those moments. Ozlo would burn through everything he successfully cast, and Riza was in charge for going after him to keep him from doing anything major like invoking multiple spells at once.

  Still, this was not a foe they could so easily underestimate. Filivellia had his own plans and schemes after all. He dodged Ozlo's second wave of Dragonfyre as well as he engaged one of them.

  "Everyone, he just popped off a hidden spell!"

  "Tsk. Annoying brat".

  Suddenly, Filivellia appeared behind Kuroki.

  "You will die first then".

  An attack spell that was fast, he invoked it instantly and at point blank range at maximum power. There was no way someone like Kuroki could defend against it, it was simply impossible to react in that moment with a powerful defensive spell.

  And yet, Filivellia was hit with his own spell instead, despite the clear difference in power between them. His spell had been warded and reflected against, but wards were among the hardest and longest to create of all defensive magics. It would be different if he was using Wardstones, a type of Spell Anchor, but that was not what he did.

  Don't tell me...he stored a spell inside of himself?! Spell storage at his age?!

  But that wasn't his only problem, as water flooded the ground under him. Kuroki moved his fingers and adjusted, and suddenly the water rose up as he raised his hands and froze as he clenched his right fist, while the left was manipulating still unfrozen water to attack.

  Filivellia quickly teleported away, but Riza appeared at the teleportation point, as it was marked with a splash of water. Kuroki pivoted his foot around, and several ice spikes and beams of light came at the Undead King at the same time as Riza's attack. He warded against them all, but then Ozlo appeared on the other side and ignited a wave of Dragonfyre.

  Filivellia was forced to evade again, but this time he went quite a bit back as he successfully completed another invocation. Behind him, a giant four armed skeleton emerged. That said, it appeared to be incapable of standing up fully, and not just because the room wasn't so big to prevent it.

  "You think you can defeat me? That you can slay me?! Did you think that you could beat a god?!"

  "You are no god...but clearly your mind is still being eaten away".

  Kuroki readied another spell, as he tapped his True Arcanium, his staff, onto the ground. Ice appeared instantly where it tapped, but then an icewall appeared as a new figure appeared. This was different then the other corpses, Kuroki had barely sensed it in time despite keeping his Sonar on at all times. But this thing didn't register until the moment it was right next to him.

  It appeared to be some sort of Shade, a humanoid figure made of black smoke that wielded claws. His wall had just barely stopped it, but the black smoke was something he recognized. Ozlo tried to fire Dragonfyre at it, but Filivellia launched an attack again so his attention demanded him to deal with that first.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  "That blasted bird...you are connected to it".

  Kuroki growled as he launched an attack at it, sending it backwards but only by a bit.

  "Ozlo, you have any idea what is that thing?"

  "Not a clue! It looks wrong...it gives me the creeps!"

  Riza looked at it, and paled a bit.

  "Thats...what the hell is that thing?!"

  "Gramps, what was that? Do you know something?"

  He shook his head.

  "I have theories, but not ones I can share until I investigate further. But kill that thing fast! Its too dangerous, it will keep corrupting everything!"

  Ryuu quickly rejoined Kuroki, having trounced the minions enough to leave the rest to Ozlo's summoned dragons.

  "That thing...it gives me the creeps. And its digging into my head".

  "So you noticed it too".

  The two Starfallen grit their teeth. It was already in their heads, trying to make them submit and stop. To try and make them surrender and kneel. Both of them fought it, but it was a major pain.

  It wasn't as bad as the room full of coffins, but it was still rather painful and unpleasant. The pressure that had existed before disappearing suddenly had returned with this thing. Whatever it was, it was clearly linked to them as Starfallen. A piece of the mystery.

  And even more shocking, no matter how much Kuroki looked at it, he could not discern its magic or nature. It was completely impervious to his new power. It was like it was an unfathomable abyss he could not see the bottom to.

  Summoning several magic circles, he began to attack with basic offensive magic. It wasn't much more then pure magic that was fired at the enemy, but that meant he could fire it faster and stronger with no need for an incantation. While quick incantations was something he was still working on, unlike Riku who seemed to master them almost instantly, he was capable of things like this. Especially the more he practiced.

  "Form a beacon of light to ward off the shadows, show them the benevolence of light and song. From harmony's path, we meet our fortunes. From kindness to warmth, let us bask in the light and repel the darkness. Sanctuary Square!"

  While casting the more basic magic, he incanted a spell at the same time and put an area around him and Ryuu of pure light. Not only that, but Compliance weakened while they were inside the square, and the Shade itself weakened as well. As if the light was its enemy, it hissed at them and backed off a bit...and that was when Kuroki struck. A beam of light shot from his staff, piercing it right in the center. Or at least, it would have, if it didn't seem to almost rapidly relocate to a spot behind them. It wasn't teleportation, they saw it move. Instead, it was more like that it was a short term rapid movement ability. It seemed to only work in a straight line, for a second, and one couldn't attack while using it, but it was still quite the threat.

  Kuroki quickly raised a barrier against its claws, but it started to crack them all the same. Still, thanks to Sanctuary Square, it couldn't penetrate them completely. And that was when Kuroki pierced it with a bunch of ice crystals, formed from the water at his feet. The entire area was wet now, the floor covered in water.

  Filivellia noticed this as he appeared behind Kuroki, attacking him the moment he launched his offensive spell. However, that was when Ryuu slashed at him, and Kuroki fired a beam of light into him. Filivellia dodged it, only to get hit by it in the shoulder from behind before it hit another reflective surface and continued its attack on Filivellia. All of the water Kuroki had spread around was frozen now, and Ozlo and Riza appeared on either side of him. The beams of light reflected off of all the water that Kuroki had made, now frozen into ice, so it had become a deadly cage of light. Each attack hurt intensely, and it was weakening him each time.

  Filivellia teleported away, but as he did something almost felt like it snapped or shattered. He let loose a howl of pain.

  "What was that?! What did you do?!"

  As he shouted this, suddenly Riku appeared next to him, swinging his sword around and catching him off guard. Filivellia still dodged, but he put more mana into it then he meant to, and he was somewhat knocked back as Kaede stabbed him in the back at the same time before jumping away. The beams of light from earlier came after him again however, and they continued to harm him.

  "What the hell...what did you..."

  "We found your phylactory and smashed it to bits!"

  "Impossible! No one could find that!"

  "I used my magic to backtrace it through your strings, not that you seem to have realized them" Kuroki taunted.

  "My what?"

  He seemed confused, but still seemed to move instinctively in the confusion. He launched several attacks on all of them, before moving to another spot again and without any invocation, he tried to teleport away. Riku attacked the area he had teleported away from all the same without hesitation however, and that was when something surprising happened. He reappeared and shielded himself from the wide slash that was difficult to dodge.

  "As I thought. You weren't really teleporting around. You were actually just projecting illusions while hiding yourself".

  Teleportation magic was hard, and while it was his homebase, it seemed strange that he would let himself appear so close to his enemies, even if they were predicting his movements. Especially Riza. Unless of course, he had already been there from the start and just couldn't help it.

  "That was why that last spell I secretly incanted a part to harm you through a projection. Caught you by surprise there huh?" Kuroki said with a smile.

  However, it was in that moment that Riza got into position.

  "Caliomarios, awaken!"

  Suddenly, an attack went after Filivellia from Riza, but this was different from the last. Riku and Kaede quickly joined up with Kuroki and Ryuu, and stayed inside of the Sanctuary Square as Kuroki deployed more barriers. Filivellia meanwhile fell to the ground, wounded and beaten up, the life and light in his eyes significantly weakened as well.

  "So wary, even as you deal the finishing blow" Filivellia muttered. "How vexing".

  Even as he said that, Kuroki only added another barrier.

  "How sad, you don't even realize it do you...that you are a puppet, dancing on someone else's strings" Kuroki mentioned, as Riza and Ozlo remained in battle positions.

  "What? No I am not! I am the Undead King, Filivellia the great! I shall reclaim what is mine!"

  "You aren't even allowed to focus on the topic are you, a way to prevent you from breaking free I am sure. It appears the strings Riza just severed were also supplying you with extra mana, they tried to hide it in the power up though".

  "No, impossible! No one is powerful enough to..."

  "Shut it, worm" a voice declared throughout the room. Its coldness sent shivers down the spines of everyone there, and no one was exempted from that. Even Riza became wary. They looked towards a balcony up above, where there was a dark haired handsome gentleman standing there, watching the battle below. He looked to be about thirty at least, and was dashing and mysterious. Still, Kuroki got nothing but a sense of danger from this guy.

  The man meanwhile looked at them, before his gaze rested upon Kuroki.

  "You aren't surprised at all. No, you came in here already expecting me. How did you know?"

  Although it seemed like a simple question, the atmosphere and aura in the room prevented Kuroki from lying or remaining silence. It was a pressure unlike any other.

  "The murals. Either the ruins made them itself, or someone came in afterwards and made them. That tipped me off the ruins were not totally in stasis all this time. Furthermore, given the Divifyre, there was no way that fire could have remained in stasis indefinently. But also...we found the room full of coffins. One small vampire escaped maybe twenty years ago, but despite the pressence of coffins, not a single mural depicted vampires. Vampires seem like a pretty major thing, but not a single record despite all the vampires that were sealed? I don't see how that could be a coincidence. Which meant that someone, or something, else had taken control of these ruins, and were using them instead".

  "Tsk. I should have hid those better. One escaped though? Interesting, that somehow eluded me" he muttered to himself. "But then, how did you know about the puppet?"

  "Riza actually gave me an important piece of the puzzle there. It was thanks to his information about Carafax, and we absolutely confirmed it when we fought Filivellia here. There is no way someone could dominate Carafax truly if he was this weak, which means you took control from quite a long time ago...perhaps, the relic he used was not made by him, but given to him by you?"

  The man laughed, as vampiric wings seemed to appear from his back.

  "That wasn't all, was it?"

  "Of course not. His entire kingdom was in ruins, and yet he had the time and resources to create something like that? That struck me as odd as well, but not as odd as the fact he survived. This is someone who the Demon King had attacked his city with that mysterious city obliterating power. Only a being of immense power could have had his pawn survive, isn't that right?"

  Once again, he laughed in amusement. "Excellent! Truly excellent! To think someone finally realized the truth! I had kept myself hidden so well, but it was getting kind of boring you know?"

  "No, no!" Filivellia muttered, unable to accept the truth.

  "Yes. You have been my pawn, my minion from the start. It helped that you never even realized it" he said gleefully. "Still, I suppose this means I wont be able to use them to take control of this kingdom now. What a shame. Still, maybe I can still obtain my rewards by finishing you all off now. You should be on your last legs, right?"

  Everyone glared and braced themselves for a fight.

  And yet, he took a step back in this moment.

  "Or perhaps not. As powerful as I am, it appears I ran out of minions. To think that bastard had enough schemes in place to break free the moment he could. Carafax truly is a dangerous opponent. And I would rather not face that one in particular, I doubt he can beat me in strength, but to make it here and sneak around that even I can barely detect him...that is truly terrifying".

  Wait, what? Just how many people entered aside from us.

  "Oh well, looks like I can't honor the deal. It would be a bit too much of a drag, and you lot are way too unpredictable. Besides...I am not a fan of staying in that brat's eyesight after what I witnessed".

  He looked right at Kuroki when he said that.

  "Plus, it looks like some Devil Bitch killed my contact just now, and since my necromancer puppet is also dead, there is no reason for me to take a risk right now. Its a pain you all saw my face, but in a hundred or two hundred years you will all be dead by then, and I can just start something new in that time. Ahhh, I love how short lived you humans are. If we do end up seeing each other again, maybe I will treat you all to a cup of tea. Laters".

  He then snapped his fingers, and disappeared right in front of them. They all were on guard, but he seemed to actually be gone.

  "...looks like he left" Riza muttered as he landed on the ground. "I honestly dont like fighting unknowns like that, but I wonder who he meant by Devil Bitch?"

  "Chianthias is here. She apparently was after the contact. It was so much of a higher priority to her that even when we encoutnered each other alone, she made no effort to kill me".

  "For real?"

  "Yeah. But, I still don't trust her, so lets get topside. But first..."

  Ozlo scorched the device that Filivellia had, destroying it. At that moment, all the necromatic energy was released.

  "There, the undead army should be dead now. We can go back".

  "In the end, we didn't learn anything about the ones behind the Starfall though" Kuroki muttered.

  However, Riza shook his head.

  "No, we learned more then they meant to. That Shade...it was probably made with magic or some other supernatural power, but it wasn't anything that me or Ozlo could immediately recognize. In other words, they have access to something Otherworldly potentially, or some lost magic. And the Necromancer mentioned that he wanted magic to travel to other worlds right? Assuming the vampire wanted that as well, then that means they triggered the Starfall intentionally. However, whatever it is isn't a physical method, but a soul based one. Thats not a magic or power one can find easily in this world. If I had to guess, they either know something about the Evil God and the First Demon King, or they have connections to some sort of Eldritch entity. Or...another Otherworlder".

  Ozlo narrowed his eyes. "That is still a wide net, and full of conjecture".

  "That is fair, but there is one thing that is certain. They want the Starfallen for something, and are trying to reclaim them. Which means, whatever their plan is, with Compliance, and bringing a city's worth of people here, it has yet to succeed. Up until now, we were not sure if they had even failed or not. Now, we know for a fact they have".

  Ozlo had to nod to this point.

  "In other words, there is something they still want".

  "And they cant act so openly. That Shade was probably a last ditch effort, but that was all. They likely cant act so openly and freely as they want".

  "No, that is more than likely. Its certain. They had the power to drag so many people to this world, but not enough to reclaim at least a few of them on their own? I suppose that is just another lesson of how raw power isn't enough to get you places".

  Kuroki nodded along with them.

  "Let us get out of these ruins and back to the city then. Its possible this place might be easier for them to act in, so we shouldn't linger here".

  Riza and Ozlo nodded to Kuroki, and the entire group left to return back home.

  In a nearby area, Chianthias sighed as black wisps evaporated in her hands.

  "To think, even I could not get everything about them...but I got enough. I was right to use Ozlo like that, had he turned things around and gotten this information, we would have been at a serious disadvantage. To think, that was part of their objective...no matter, he cant get the information now. Which means, I can finally turn my full attention back to crushing that fourteen year old brat once and for all".

  She looked towards the sky above, now dark as the sun had set.

  "And once I deal with him and those Starfallen, preparations against them will be needed to be made next".

  Zak let out a sigh.

  "So the worst outcomes were avoided, huh? And Kuroki even seemed to gain a new ability. Well, did this go the way you wanted, Oracle?"

  Zak turned to face a boy, or rather, his projection that was in front of him.

  "Yes. It appears we may benefit from some cooperation, but understand I cant risk this connection too much. Otherwise..."

  "The Black Dog will appear right? We need to get you out of that tower. It might weaken your abilities, but given how things are rapidly evolving, the situation requires you to have more freedom and adapt".

  "With my Foresight, we would indeed be able to get ahead of the enemy without a doubt. But neither them, nor the Demon King, seems to intend to do that".

  Zak looked over at the Oracle, worried.

  "So the attacks will be starting soon?"

  "Yes. Which is why I need to warn you. The timing needs to be just right. Too soon, and Chainthias will adapt. Too late, and Chianthias will kill a vital ally. Neither can be allowed to happen".

  Zak paced around, pondering.

  "I will handle that, but...if its happening so early, then don't you..."

  "Yes. My fate may soon be decided. Listen, it will be at least a year before Kuroki's father makes it to this kingdom, but thats only based on how things are going now. And it depends on Kuroki remaining alive".

  "Or his father".

  "If his father managed to die by that time, we would be living in such a better future, but those odds are low. Besides, some of the growth he needs are there. Well, I can leave most of it to you, since I have to watch over all of the Starfallen after all".

  The Oracle might be aiding Kuroki, but Kuroki was not the only one he was looking after. There were dozens of Starfallen who could make impacts on the future, and he was trying to aid them all. The fact was, if the Oracle could leave things to Zak, that would actually help him focus on the others.

  "Then I guess we should all prepare our next moves then. And, Oracle, for what its worth...don't give up on living".

  Those words caught The Oracle off guard.

  "I know you expect to die, and that you would prefer it then to endure your imprisonment any longer. But please don't. You are trying to help so many, even now. Staying true to the role that imprisoned you. So please, don't give up on life. Find a way to escape, to live. I am certain of one thing. Help will come for you as well".

  The Oracle let out a chuckle.

  "I will keep that in mind, but Zak...you can't save everyone. There is no way to get me out of this tower before the Demon King's army arrives to torch the place, and thats provided the Shaded let me live that long, given the interference I put into their plans. So please, know this. Just because you can't save me, you can't save everyone, isn't a failure. Do everything you can, and I am sure that effort will be rewarded. Good luck, Detective".

  And with that, the Oracle's projection disappeared. Zak however balled up his hands into fists.

  "No Oracle. I had far too many bittersweet victories in the police, in my first run. I won't accept that at all. I know I wont be able to save every single life, but...I wont let the story end without you even giving yourself a chance".

  Zak turned and began to walk back towards the city.

  "This time, I am going to be greedy as fuck and take it all".