Episode 15

Episode 15, Alone.
Yugami saw himself walking into something of a death trap here. The ceiling was crumbling, small pieces of rock dropping down with every shake; Yo feared what would happen after a big shake as she walked in beside Yugami. The room floor was destroyed from the continual inevitable, patched rocks randomly disposed in the room, a raise in the flooring as there was once a stair case where the rise were it not for a large piece of the ceiling in the way. Winter stood on the raised ground, his Ice box open upon the large rock crushing the stairs. He was looking down at them with a smirk on his flat lean features, his hand lay rest on the box infront of him.

"Well well. You surpassed Tayuya, Hatori & Irelia, and have left your friends out there to die against Sellia, where you couldn't even handle Kellelia. What else is there for you two to do? Fight me, of course. But I am just a weak man, I cling to a box for power. Why would you want to fight me? And in this run down Castle? I don't think it's right, do you?"

He watched them smugly, Yugami growled slightly as he clenched a fist, his body tensing for a second but then his cut started to strain and he had to let go.

"We don't care about you or what ever the fuck it is you want us to do for you, stupid trials aren't why we're here. We just want Kyoko,"

"Oh, Kyoko is it? Aha. She's a bright little one, taking her back to her father in Hearthland is something you don't want to do."

"Really? She isn't being helped by you here, forcing her to help us with her magic!"

Shouted Yo at him, aggravated now by the male. She moved slightly toward him, but still kept hold of Yugami so that he didn't fall.

"Oh, but she is. She has something amazing. The Magic of the Stars, something a Celestial Mage wishes they could have. It is something that if used properly, can call that of a Slayer."

"A Slayer?"

Yo asked, confused. She had something in the back of her head but she didn't want to speak of it, it couldn't have been. She was thinking of Dragon Slayers, people who had been raised and trained by a Dragon to use and eat their magic. It was said they died out years ago, how could it call them?

"Dragon, God Slayers. You've never heard of them? The Magic of the Stars is an almost Global Magic for the user. They can damage everyone on earth if they have the strength, show everyone what they wish, and I'm pretty sure if they looked deep into it there'd be some kind of way to manipulate people with it. But Star Mages are one of the most rare types of Mages around, and the fact Kyoko is one is something spectacular. She will not be able to use it properly under the control of that oaf she calls a father. He won't understand the greatness, he isn't a Mage. Slayers take a major interest in those with the Magic of the Stars, it's almost invaluable."

Kyoko was still stuck outside in the grasp of Sellia. Dura kept his eyes on the Dragon as it watched him just as close. It seemed as though the Dragon wouldn't make the first move, so Dura had to. He raised his hand, the Cross on the right of him forming the twister and shooting toward the claws which grasped Kyoko.

It struck, pushing the hand back into the castle. Kyoko was able to fit what of her body was free into a window, but she was still shackled into the claws of the beast no matter how hard she tried to escape. She tried to tear it's claws off of her but it's strength was impeccable, she wasn't getting anywhere fast.

Dura sighed, the second Cross lit up as two of his circular Soul Shields plated in his hands, ready to be utilised. He looked up, marking his shot in his head, curling his hand inward toward his chest & unfolding as fast and as powerfully as he could to send the disc flying for the Dragons arm. They struck, the first hitting and piercing the skin of the creature, the second hacking in and it seemed to do some kind of damage as the Dragon screamed, releasing Kyoko and putting it's full attention on the one who damaged it, Dura. Kyoko made a scurry into the room she had tried crawling in first as the Dragons howls were filled with shifting winds; it was about to take flight. Its large thick wings started to drag through the air, pushing it up into the sky, something so large that was able to fly was quite a marvel to Dura. His twister retracted as the Dragon started to fly, about to go out of his reach and over the city. It continued to scream from above the city as the lights from the city could be seen coming on, an array of separate lights peering from the homes of the city, looking out in awe at the mystical Dragon, some more interested in it's injury.

"You hear that? It's Sellia, she has taken flight. Probably parading your friends corpse."

Winter still had that grin on his face as he made the bland suggestion of Dura's death. Yugami enraged hastily, trying to burst toward him but Yo held him back.

"DURA AND KANON COULD KILL YOUR SHIT PET ANY DAY!"

He shouted angrily, pulling against Yo's will, she struggled to hold him back but it was all she could do right now.

"If that's what you believe, so be it. Just hope you don't live to see the truth you naive fool."

with that, Winter looked down to the Ice Box, holding on to it as he started to laugh. It was only slight at first, but it stacked and built until he couldn't control it, the laughter breaking into his speech as he said;

"You've survived so far, but I assure you this time you're finished! Summon! Palace of Ice!"

Silence filled the room at first, a second or two until the stone that the Ice box had been set on started to melt away, where it had melted a chrome colour had replaced its former grey, once the stone had completely gone, the chrome spread across the lower level stone, turning it chrome aswell and reforming the staircase. In the matter of moments the entire Palace had become Chrome, but what was this? What would it do. Winter got up, brushing himself off as the entire room became cold. The Chrome became white, almost transparent as the now Ice was covered in thin snow. This was the Ice Palace, complete. Everything in the Palace was controlled by Winter, apart from those who opposed it. Yo & Yugami were stuck in a Castle of frozen death, everything in the control of Winter here. What could they do?

Winters laughing turned into a chuckling before it died off. In less than a second he had his fist in the stomach of Yugami, dropping him to the floor with relative ease. Yo tried to push him away, but he disappeared into the Palace, making her trip over Yugami's legs landing on her face. Grunting, she looked up to see the palace floor bubbling. Something was rising from it!

When the bubbling cleared, it looked like a massive chess piece. A circular base on the ice, sliding across like it were on skates. It would've tried to attack but was quickly destroyed, shattering as Yo watched it, sighing as he blades retracted.

"Dual Scyther."

With that, she helped Yugami up for him to be targeted by Winter once more. He appeared again, bouncing from the wall to kick Yugami away from Yo, as she would turn around to try and catch Yugami she would be met with a few more of those soldiers, circling her and walking her away. She tried to push through them, but they were too hard to move, cold to the touch she would freeze if she pushed against them for too long but every time she destroyed one twice as much would return from the shattered frosts of the last. Yugami was being held by the scruff of his neck, Winter was looking down on him like something he had just pulled off his shoe, nothing special at all. A mere whimper to the death of a mutt.

"Look at you. You lead this group? They've all done better than you, you're pitiful. I'll let the Icy walls handle you,"

He said, dashing Yugami aside toward the wall. He flew in the direction of the wall from just the flicker of his wrist. Yugami struggled, but was able to create a small field over his body, thinking that if there was any last chance this was one. The Walls were coated in Magic, that was the concept of the ice Palace. Most of the walls had massive holes in them from their age, filled by the Ice Palace's doing. If his field touched it, it would open up and he would seep through. Or at least that was the plan.

Yo watched as he came close to hitting the wall, gulping as he made contact. It was a success though, the Ice retracted to the parameters of the field, allowing space for Yugami to fly through losing no momentum at all and disappearing outside the Palace as the Ice snowed back in to itself, reforming the wall. Winter's attention had gone to Yo, surrounded by the guards. He approached her with something of a smug smirk on his face. Watching her, scanning her up and down he released a chuckle.

"Guards, we have a new toy for Kyoko. Take her to the Dungeons."

With that, from the flooring of the Ice opened up a large hatch in which seemed spontaneous, leading down stairs to cells. The guards forced her down with them as the hatch closed and all light was lost in the freezing Dungeon. Yo screamed as it faded, and Winter simply watched the wall Yugami had escaped from. Yo was gone?

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