The Last Summoner Part 7

Rose had managed to carry Mick quite far from the town square. They were slowly making their way through a deserted street which was once a bustling marketplace. Rose could hear the sound of metal colliding with metal and assumed that Gloria was already in battle with the fakes. She helped Mick down on the ground and immediately started healing his wounds.

“What are you doing here?” Mick asked. “It’s too dangerous for you to be here.”

“It can’t be helped.” Rose said. “It’s an order from the Headmaster himself.”

“Then shouldn’t you be back there helping your new friend?” Mick said a little annoyed at how calm Rose was.

“We will once I get your wounds healed.” Rose said.

“We? What makes you think I’m going to help?”

“To even the odds, because you’ll probably want revenge, oh and because the Headmaster said so.” Rose said smiling as she counts the three reasons with her fingers.

“I didn’t listen to the Headmaster before.” Mick said. “What makes you think I’m going to do it this time?”

“I wonder who will get to you first then.” Rose said. “The Headmaster, for disobeying his orders for the second time, or Duran, for abandoning his sister in a dangerous situation.”

“OK, OK I got it. I’ll help.” Mick said with a sigh. "Don't know how much help I'll be though."

“Good to hear. Now stay still I’m almost finished here.” Rose said as she continued to heal Mick.

Mick looked away from Rose just in time to see something move towards them at top speed.

“LOOK OUT!” Mick yelled quickly grabbing Rose and ducking out of the way.

“WHOA!” Rose yelled when something whipped the ground with a long bang. “What was that?”

“I’ve got a good guess.” Mick said standing up.

“Oh so you remember me?” came a woman’s voice from around a corner. “Here I was thinking you had forgotten our wonderful time together.”

“How could I forget?” Mick said. “You practically beat it into my head with that whip of yours.”

Niraya stepped out from behind the corner grinning at Mick and Rose. Her favorite weapon, a whip, was grasped firmly in her hand. When Rose took her first real look at Niraya, the first thing she noticed was the scar situated under her left eye.

“So Rose, what’s the plan?” Mick whispered behind him.

“There was a plan but her following us here was probably not part of it." Rose whispered back. "I can't make a plan without first knowing what she's capable of."

Niraya lashed her whip quickly trying to hit either Mick or Rose however they managed to jump away and hid behind a vendor stall to figure something out.

“She’s really good with that whip.” Mick said. “She uses it to attack quickly not giving you the chance to attack back."

"So she keeps her defence up by keeping a good offence." Rose noted. "We might be able to use that against her."

"We'd stand a better chance if I had my sword." Mick said as Niraya's whip lashed at the ground beside him.

"We may not need your sword." Rose said. "I have an idea."

“I knew it wouldn’t take long.” Mick said. “I’m all ears.”

***

Gloria and Zotar were locked in combat exchanging blows with their own gunblades. The town square was now completely empty besides them. The Mayor had managed to escape with the rest of the townspeople which allowed Gloria to go all-out. To her surprise however, Zotar was capable of matching her own attacks and then counter-attack soon after.

“He knows how to use that blade." She thought blocking another of Zotar's attacks. "I won't be able to beat him this way."

After exchanging more blows both Gloria and Zotar jump back from one another and pulls the trigger on their guns at the same time causing their energy bullets to collide in the air and cause a small explosion. Gloria waited for the dust that had picked up to clear before attacking once again but a sudden movement at the corner of her eye makes her avoid Victor’s axe at the last second.

“Damn, I forgot about him.” Gloria thought. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to deal with both of them."

Just as Gloria put some distance between her and Victor, Zotar came charging out of the dust at her. She quickly raised her blade in defense and blocked the attack but then Victor came running towards her getting his axe ready for another attack.

“Try getting away from this.” Zotar said grinning.

“Gladly!” Gloria said jumping over Zotar with a frontwards flip.

Zotar lost his balance and stumbled forward as Gloria pointed her Gunblade at Victor while still in the middle of her flip. Once she landed she pulled the trigger and fired two bursts of energy at Victor causing him to jump back to avoid getting hit.

"You are quite agile." Zotar said. "As expected of the Blonde Beauty."

"I can't do this alone." Gloria thought. "I have no choice but to summon Zakarn. It should be OK as long as Rose isn't here."

Gloria thought back once more to the briefing they got from Aslan. There was one more matter he wanted to discuss before they left for the job.

***

Gloria and Rose turned to leave the office. When Rose opened the door Aslan spoke up once again.

“Wait, Gloria.” He said. “There is still something I wish to discuss with you. Alone."

"Go get yourself ready, I'll be with you shortly." Gloria told Rose.

Rose nodded and walked out closing the door behind her. Gloria just stared at the door knowing what topic was going to come up.

“This is about the incident that happened during my training match with Rose right?” She said not even turning to look at Aslan.

"Yes, care to explain what exactly happened.” Aslan said. “Because if this is something that happens all the time; I'd like to know about it."

Gloria could hear the anger in Aslan's voice. She looked down at the floor while still turned towards the door. She had no intention of looking at Aslan's face for, if his voice was anything to go by, it would probably be a scary sight to see.

“I-I have an explanation, but...because of everything that just happened, I have yet to even explain it to Rose." Gloria said sadly.

"Then I'll call Rose back and you can explain to us both." Aslan said starting to stand.

"NO!" Gloria said turning around quickly. "I-I want to tell her, after the job. I'm afraid that once she knows, she may not want to be in a team with me anymore."

Aslan stood on the spot, staring at Gloria. Whatever she was not telling him must be big if it could ruin the friendship between her and Rose. After a minute of silence, Aslan sat back down shaking his head.

"If that's the case, I expect a full explanation when you return." He said. "Plus, I am forbidding you from using your Ospar during this job."

"But...I'm not at my full potential unless I can use him." Gloria said. "You must allow me to use my Ospar."

“No! Not until you can prove to me that you can use it without another incident happening!" Aslan said raising his voice. "You may be a Summoner, but you are still a student at this academy. Therefore you follow my rules and obey my orders. Do I make myself clear?"

“But..." Gloria said but stopped when Aslan glared at her a bit. "Yes sir."

***

Gloria watched both Victor and Zotar carefully waiting for either of them to make a move. She could summon Zakarn now, but that would go against what Headmaster Aslan had told her.

"It's two against one." Gloria thought. "I'm sure he'd understand that I don't have any other option."

Gloria raised her left hand causing Victor and Zotar to take a defensive stance. They had no idea what Gloria was capable of but they were about to find out.

"Zakarn!" Gloria called out as a card of light shot out of her hand to take the form of the werewolf.

"I was wondering if you'd ever call me out again." Zakarn said. "This time it seems you made the right choice on when to call me out. This looks like a real battle you're in."

"It is. Both of these guys are our enemies. I can't take them both on at the same time." Gloria said.

"What kind of Summoner are you?" Zakarn asked. "Taking these two on shouldn't be a challenge for you."

"Normally, you'd be right." Gloria said. "But one of them isn't just some bandit. He's a Gunblade Specialist."

"What!?" Zakarn said looking over at Zotar. "I see. That explains a lot."

"Yeah. That's why I need your help."

“So, two on two. Any rules?” Zakarn asked getting his claws ready.

“Nope. Go wild.” Gloria said with a grin.

“You sure? That means I can pick whoever I want to attack.” Zakarn said. “Including your target.”

“Fine by me. The only ones here other than us are enemies.” Gloria said. “Just make sure you stay clear if I use an Overdrive ability.”

“No worries there.” Zakarn said. “I’ve had my fill of those already. Are we going to be starting a magical connection this time?”

“Not this time.” Gloria said shaking her head. “I get the feeling I’m going to need every ounce of my magical energy for this fight and I can’t use it while trying to keep a connection with you.”

“This is more out of confusion rather than concern but, you do realize that without a connection, there will be no way for me to use my Overdrive ability; thus cutting my battle capabilities down."

“And if we did make the connection, I wouldn't be able to use my own abilities.” Gloria said. “Let's be honest, I'm going to need them more then you."

“I hate to say it, but you're right.” Zakarn said. "Let's do this then. Which one of you wants to go first?"

Victor and Zotar both inched closer to Zakarn cautiously. They weren't sure what he would do if they attacked head on. Victor's axe split and changed into two small hatchets. He threw one at Zakarn who deflected the hatchet away with ease, however Zotar took this chance to fire two energy balls from his Gunblade at Zakarn who was now open. Gloria stopped the two attacks with two energy balls of her own. Zakarn rushed at Zotar and slashed at him with his claws. Zotar quickly blocked the attack with his blade.

“Who knew a Summoner could summon a creature such as you?” Zotar said holding Zakarn back with difficulty.

"It's not the Summoner you need to worry about." Zakarn said as he charged up a lighting spell.

Just as he did with Gloria, Zakarn zapped Zotar pushing him towards the side of a building. Victor created another hatchet and started attacking Gloria who blocked each attack with her Gunblade. Then without warning Zakarn ran over and grabbed Victor throwing him into the same building.

“I could have handled him.” Gloria said to Zakarn.

“The way you’re fighting, I might as well take both of them on.” Zakarn said.

"How did you manage to take them both, when I had such a hard time?"

"Simple. I took the guy with the axes by surprised, and I can easily fight against anyone with a gunblade like the other guy has." Zakarn said proudly.

"You didn't beat me." Gloria said. "I have a gunblade."

"Yes, but you won only when you switched out your gunblade. I had you on the run before that."

Victor and Zotar stood up and prepared to fight once again. Gloria got her blade ready as Zakarn readied his claws.

"In that case, I should leave the one with the gunblade to you." Gloria said. "I'll handle the other one."

"Are you sure you can handle him? His attacks would be pretty heavy with that ax of his." Zakarn said. "Your gunblade would cause some damage, but it won't protect you from a well-aimed swing from him."

"Don't worry about that. It's just a matter of not getting hit." Gloria said confidently. "Just remember to keep an eye out for my Overdrive abilities."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Zakarn said as they charged toward their separate opponents.

***

“So that's the plan as of right now." Rose said to Mick. "I'll most likely end up changing it around once I know more about her battle capabilities. Did you get all that?"

“More or less.” Mick said. “I still say the plan would work better if I had my sword.”

"You still have that secondary weapon you hid on you?" Rose asked.

"Yes, but I haven't been training with it." Mick said. "Duran is better with that kind of weapon, hell; even you would be better using it than I would."

"That may have been true when I was a Warrior but I'm pretty sure I've lost my touch since then." Rose said peering around the stall they were hiding behind. "Crap! Duck!"

Rose pushed Mick down to the ground and ducked as Niraya’s whip came crashing through the stall. Rose quickly got to her feet as Niraya pulled her whip back.

“Enough hiding!” she said. "Stay out and fight."

"OK let's do this." Rose said tapping Mick's shoulder. "Start the plan."

Mick ran towards Niraya making a fist to punch her. However Niraya lashed her whip at him causing him to jump to the side behind a nearby building. Niraya attempted to follow him but she backed up when Rose came charging after her.

“It’s useless to attack me from the fr…ACK!” Niraya said before feeling something hard hit the back of her head.

“Now Rose!” Mick said as he pulled his fist away from Niraya.

Rose ran up and hit Niraya in the stomach with her staff. Niraya was knocked back and landed on the ground. She got to her feet and heard someone running towards her from behind. She quickly turned and lashed her whip forward hitting Mick in the face pushing him backwards.

“That same trick won't work twice!” Niraya said turning to lash her whip at Rose.

The whip however, hit the ground. Nobody was behind her. She looked around for Rose knowing she was close by.

“Up here!” Rose’s voice came from above Niraya’s head.

Niraya looked up to see Rose had climbed up one of the stalls in order to jump off and slam her staff against Niraya's head. Niraya fell to the ground as Rose landed and jumped back.

“Got her!” Mick said happily. ”You're just like your brother. Everything happened just like you planned it. You even knew what the opponent would do.”

"It's not over yet Mick." Rose said. "I doubt she was beaten by that attack alone."

“You’re damn right it didn't!" Niraya said angrily as she stood up. "I'm going to make you pay for that you bitch!"

Niraya placed a hand on the scar under her left eye. The scar began to glow once she removed her hand. The skin over the scar disappeared as Rose watched carefully.

“Her scar!” Rose thought. “It reopened but…”

“You like my scar?” Niraya asked. "It was given to me by my Lord Zotar. It's filled with his magical energy that I can use to protect me."

“Filled with magical energy?” Mick repeated. “Does he give that to all his henchmen?”

“Only those who have worked hard enough to deserve it.” Niraya said. “So far I’m the only one to receive it and you will be the first to witness its power."

Rose watched as the magical energy in Niraya’s scar started to rise into her left eye. The magical energy completely engulfed Niraya’s eye and magical energy appeared to surround Niraya herself. Mick began to move in from behind ready to punch Niraya in the back of the head again however Niraya quickly turned and whipped him back easily. Rose made her move upon seeing an opening yet Niraya pulled her whip back causing it to slide against her side in order to lash at Rose who jumped away from it just before it hit her arm.

"What happened!?" Rose thought. "How can she move her whip fast enough to block us both?"

“Awww what’s the matter?” Niraya asked. “You were doing so well before. Now you can’t even hit me without getting a whip to the face.”

“That eye of yours probably has something to do with that.” Rose said.

“It’s that obvious huh?” Niraya said mockingly. “With Lord Zotar’s magical energy transferred to my eye, I can sense your magical energy and see exactly how much you have. Since he's a Warrior with very little magical energy and you're a Healer with lots of it, it's easy to tell you two apart."

“That doesn't explain the increase in her attack speed. Plus what's with the magical energy that is surrounding her." Rose thought. "There has to be more to that eye then just being able to sense our magical energy."

Mick slowly made his way towards Niraya, trying to sneak up on her. Niraya keeps her eyes fixed on Rose with only her normal eye blinking. Mick got right behind Niraya only to be tripped up by her whip.

“Sneaking up on me won’t work either.” Niraya said giving her whip a jerk forward which tosses Mick toward Rose.

“What’s the plan now Rose?” Mick asked after he landed on the ground.

“I’m thinking.” Rose said. “That eye of hers complicates things.”

“Yeah, if only our magical energy wasn’t so different.” Mick said. “Then that eye would be just as useless as her regular eye."

“Wait. Say that again.” Rose said.

“I said if our magical energy wasn’t so different then Niraya’s special eye wouldn’t be any help at all.”

“And you use to say I was the genius.” Rose said smiling. “I might have a plan, but first I need to find out something. Move in and attack her from behind.”

“But if I do that she’ll know when and where to counter.” Mick said. “This plan will never work.”

“Trust me on this one.” Rose said winking.

Mick looked at Rose for a minute before nodding. He stood up and ran towards Niraya who lashed her whip at him once again. Mick dived in behind Niraya just managing to dodge her whip. Niraya quickly turned and lashed her whip at Mick before her could even make a strike at her.

“Whatever plan you may have come up with will never…WHOA!” Niraya said as she turned to face Rose.

Rose had thrown her staff causing the end of it to hit Niraya. Yet even though the attack hit, Niraya didn't fall backwards or seem to be in any pain. She was just startled by the attack. The staff did a few spins in the air before it hit the ground. It was almost like Rose had thrown the staff at a brick wall.

“It’s as I thought.” Rose said. “That magical energy surrounding you acts as a protective barrier."

“So what? Just knowing that won’t change anything.” Niraya said getting a little frustrated.

“It changes everything.” Rose said pushing her hair away from her eyes. "It explains how you are able to attack more quickly with that whip of yours once you used the magical energy stored in your scar."

"H-how!?"

"I found it kind of odd. During the fight you used the whip however at first you used it cautiously. Usually people who have mastered the whip get pretty close to the weapon however you have been keeping your distance from it. The only reason for that would be because you're afraid of the weapon causing you harm."

"Wh-why would I be afraid of my own weapon!?" Niraya asked.

"There is own one kind of person I can think of that would be afraid to touch their own weapon; a Mercenary." Rose said causing Niraya to flinch slightly. "Your weapon may look real, but the way you fight shows what you really are. You always had your hands on the hilt of your weapon. That’s the only part that can actually be touched without getting burned."

"I see now." Mick said. "Of course she would have to be careful when using an energy weapon. One wrong move and she'd hurt herself. Energy burns are the worst kind of wound. However with that magical energy barrier, she doesn't need to worry about burning herself. She can go all out."

"That right. She has found a way around one of the Mercenaries main limitations." Rose said.

"Why don't you just shut up!?" Niraya said waving her fist at Rose. "Like I said it changes nothing! This barrier prevents any kind of damage you could inflict on me."

"We'll see about that." Rose said walking over to her staff to kick it back up into her hands. "Mick, it's time to use your secondary."

Mick looked at Rose confused as to what or where he should attack. Rose simply smiled at him and winked. Mick nodded in response. He was going to have to trust her.

"Got it." Mick said.

“The boy is attacking!” Niraya thought sensing Mick getting closer to her.

Niraya turned to lash her whip at Mick however her whip hit the ground. Mick was nowhere to be seen.

“What!? I could have sworn I felt the boy’s magical energy charge towards me.” Niraya said.

“You did.” Came Mick’s voice from behind Niraya.

Niraya turned back to see Mick holding a small dagger in his hands. He slashed at Niraya who was unable to dodge in time when the dagger slashed her left eye. Niraya pulled back yelling in pain. She pressed her hand against her eye as the barrier around her disappeared.

“Argh! My eye! But...how!?" Niraya yelled as blood poured through her fingers.

"I figured if you had one weak point in that barrier it would have to be that magical eye of yours. If its purpose is to see magical energy; it would only see the barrier that surrounded you." Rose said.

"But...how did he move so quickly!?" Niraya asked pointing at Mick.

“What? You thought the little magical energy I had was just for show?” Mick said. “I can use it to make my attacks stronger, reflect some attacks or even make myself move faster."

"And now that your magical eye is out. We can now harm you again." Rose said.

"Don't think I've lost yet." Niraya said cracking her whip on the ground.

“We’ll see about that.” Mick said as his dagger starts to glow. “Alright Rose it’s ready.”

“Alright here it comes.” Rose said pointing a hand at Mick. “HOLY STRIKE!”

Rose fired a burst of holy energy at Mick who blocked it with his dagger. The dagger then grew to the size of a sword the blade however was made of Rose’s holy energy.

“Now this is much better." Mick said. "I'm way better with a sword than a dagger."

“I won’t let you get anywhere near me!” Niraya said raising her whip as if to defend herself.

Mick charged after Niraya raising the sword in his hand ready to strike. Niraya lashes her whip at Mick to stop him however he simply jumped over her to dodge the attack. Niraya kept her working eye on Mick when something hit her in the back. Rose had run up and swung her staff into Niraya then jumped up over her. Niraya stumbled as she tried to focus on Mick.

“They’re trying to confuse me.” Niraya thought. “Even without my magical eye I know that the boy is more dangerous with that sword in his hands.”

Niraya looked around and spotted Mick with his back turned to her. She grinned and readied her whip.

"Got you!" She said lashing her whip at Mick.

To her surprise Mick held up a staff to block the attack. Niraya's whip wrapped around the staff and when she tried to pull it back Mick held on tightly keeping both the staff and the whip in front of him.

“What’s this!?” Niraya yelled in surprise.

“Rose knew you would target me since I had the sword." Mick said. "So we switched weapons."

“But she’s a Healer she can’t use swords!” Niraya said trying to pull her whip free.

“I use to be a Warrior.” Rose said from behind Niraya.

Niraya turned her head to see Rose slash the sword at her. The blade's holy energy had cut down Niraya’s back from her right shoulder to her left hip. She was pushed face down onto the ground as her whip disappeared. Rose and Mick walked over to her and Rose placed a hand on Niraya’s back.

“Is she dead?” Mick asked.

“No. Just unconscious.” Rose said taking her hand off Niraya. "I pulled back at the last second so that I wouldn't kill her."

"That's why you became a Healer, right?" Mick asked looking down at the unconscious Niraya. "To save lives. Not take them."

"So you understood me after all." Rose said a bit surprised.

"Yeah; I could tell you felt uncomfortable with the way your Warrior training was going." Mick said. "You held back whenever we had to fight during a job.

"So...why did you...?" Rose asked however Mick cut her off.

"Yeah, about that." He said sadly. "I want to apologize. I know it looked like I betrayed you. I have a reason why I did what I did but now is not the right time to tell you."

"Duran's plan I presume?" Rose said after chuckling a bit.

"Yeah. Talk to him about it."

“I will, and if it means anything to you, I accept your apology.” Rose said smiling.

“Thank you.” Mick said smiling back.

***

Back in the town square, Zotar who was unscathed kept his gunblade pointed at Zakarn who was also unscathed even though they had been fighting non-stop for a while now. Zakarn however felt his fingers going numb since his claws banged constantly against Zotar's blade. Victor had a few cuts and burns from Gloria's Gunblade, however he still stood strong ready for more. Gloria however was in worst shape. Her Blonde Beauty outfit was torn in many places and her blood had stained where Victor had actually managed to cut. The mask she wore was still staying on however even it had small cuts on it. Yet the thing that was in even worst condition then Gloria; was her own Gunblade. As Zakarn had warned before they started fighting, her Gunblade was not built to defend against heavy attacks for very long. Victor's axe had bent the blade out of shape and even chipped it here and there. Gloria knelt down on one knee trying to catch her breath and to think of her next move. However Victor took this chance to charge at Gloria and swing the two-handed axe he had down on her. Gloria quickly raised her Gunblade to block the attack but she was pushed down on her back.

"Gloria!" Zakarn yelled out making a move to help out his Summoner.

Zotar took a swing at Zakarn to prevent him from getting anywhere close to Gloria. He stood between Gloria and the werewolf making sure to keep an eye on Zakarn but occasionally looks back at Gloria.

"Who would have thought it would be this easy to kill a Summoner." Victor said as he raised his axe again to slam it down against Gloria's Gunblade. "With you out of the way, we can continue to pretend to be Summoners, and nobody will be there to say otherwise."

"Don't delude yourself." Gloria said trying her best to keep Victor's axe away from her. "Even if I were to die here, there will still be people who know the truth about you."

"Not for long though." Victor said. "We have a way of annihilating an entire town if the conditions are met. And it just so happens that those conditions are perfectly met here in Wiltmar."

"Victor! Quiet!" Zotar ordered. "Nobody is to know about that!"

Gloria looked from Victor to Zotar. Could they be talking about the Demon Gate Key? She knew however that she had to get Victor away from her before she could think about that. As she looked between them something caught her eye. She looked down to see the small energy hatchet Victor had thrown earlier. It was right by Gloria's right foot. Carefully she moved her foot under the blade of the hatchet she could feel the energy burn through her clothes. It would be a matter of time before it started burning her skin. She quickly gave her foot a quick kick upwards sending the hatchet up into the air towards his head. She quickly held her Gunblade with her left hand and caught the hatchet with her right which she swung down making a deep cut into Victor's left shoulder. Victor screamed in pain and backed off as Gloria pulled the hatchet out of his shoulder and jumped back up on her feet.

"Good you're up." Zakarn said. "Now quickly switch to your shield. You're gunblade is not going to be useful here."

"Actually, I have a better plan." Gloria said looking at the energy hatchet in her hand. "I'm going to need you to deal with both of them for a little bit though."

"You aren't thinking of doing what I think you're going to do." Zakarn said. "Not now of all times."

"If I use my shield I'll just be on the defensive. If I can to this, I'll be able to attack back." Gloria said.

"Alright, I hope you know what you're doing." Zakarn said jumping over Zotar to put himself in between Gloria and the other two.

Gloria nodded and called her gunblade back. She held the hatchet with both hands and closed her eyes. Zotar looked over at Victor and waved at him to move.

"Call that hatchet back." He ordered. "I don't know what she has plan, but I'd rather not let her go through with it."

"My lord… I-I can't." Victor said.

"Why not!?"

"You obviously don't know much about Mercenaries if you have to ask that." Zakarn said.

"I have to be touching the weapon in order to call it back" Victor said.

"Then don't just stand there!" Zotar said furiously. "Charge at her and take that weapon back!"

"Y-yes my lord." Victor said as he started running towards Gloria.

"You think I'm going to let you do that?" Zakarn asked stepping in Victor's way.

Zakarn saw something move in the corner of his eye and raised his claws up just in time to block Zotar's blade.

"What are you waiting for!?" Zotar yelled at Victor. "Stop her!"

"You think you can hold me here?" Zakarn asked charging an electric spell in his hands.

Before Zakarn could use his spell, a sharp pain in his side caused him to roar in pain. When he looked over he saw Victor had swung his ax into him. Zakarn was more focused on getting rid of Zotar that he never thought Victor would actually attack him. Zotar took this chance to give Zakarn a swift kick pushing him on his back. Zotar then pointed his Gunblade at Zakarn's face, his finger slightly touching the trigger.

"Move and I blast your head off." Zotar said. "Go Victor!"

Victor nodded and continued charging at Gloria. Zakarn turned his head to wan her as Gloria still had her eyes closed.

"Gloria! Look out! He's coming!"

Gloria opened her eyes to see that Victor had already made it to her. He pulled his ax back just to swing it full force at Gloria who wanted to move, but couldn't or else she'd have to restart what she was doing all over again. Just before the ax came close to her, a small rock flew over and smacked against Victor's hand causing him to miss his attack completely.

"Get out of our town you filthy bandits!" Came a familiar voice to Gloria's left.

She looked over to see that the Mayor along with the villagers had returned. They started yelling at Victor throwing any objects they could pick up at him. Victor backed away from Gloria trying to avoid the villagers’ objects.

"What are you guys doing here?" Gloria asked the villagers. "It's too dangerous here. You have to leave now."

"We're not going to abandon our town while these criminals are still in control!" The Mayor said. "We may be just simple villager, but that doesn't mean we can' fight to protect what's ours."

"But..." Gloria started.

"Blonde Beauty! You just do what you do best." Mayor Wiltmar said. "We'll back you up anyway we can."

"Th-thank you." Gloria said as the hatchet in her hands started to glow. "Huh? It's ready? It shouldn't have been that quick."

"Victor! Hurry and stop her!" Zotar yelled getting annoyed of the situation.

"Don't worry everyone." Gloria said to the villagers. "Leave this to me."

Victor charged at Gloria once more. This time Gloria held the hatchet as if she was going to swing it with all her might. Victor lifted his ax up and made a swing downwards at Gloria. The hatchet in Gloria's hands started to change in shape as she made a swing at Victor's ax. Once they collided, Victor's ax was repelled and Victor was pushed back. When he looked back at Gloria he saw in her hands was a big battle-axe which was about the same size as Gloria herself.

"Behold my new weapon." Gloria said raising the battle-axe up to spin it above her head before readying it again. "I call it Demon Crusher."

Gloria charged at Victor raising her battle-axe up. Victor raised his own ax up to defend but was pushed back into the wall of a building when her attack hit. Gloria charged again swinging her ax once more.

"Shit!" Victor said defending himself.

Victor let out a loud scream as he was pushed into the building when Gloria attacked. The whole building collapsed onto itself burying Victor in the process.

***

“You hear that?” Mick asked looking up at the huge cloud of dust rising up in the distance.

“Yeah I did." Rose said. "That sounded like a man's scream. Gloria must have beaten one of the other fakes."

Just then Niraya jerked a bit and started to push herself up with difficulty. Rose and Mick readied themselves for another fight.

“Victor….he….needs my help…” she said getting to her feet.

“Whoa! She’s up already?” Mick said surprised.

“You need to stay still.” Rose said. “You can't move about with that wound to your back. You’re just killing yourself by moving.”

“I must…get to Victor…” Niraya said taking a few steps.

“How are you even sure he’s in danger?” Mick asked blocking Niraya preventing her from going anywhere. "And why just him? Don't you have another ally over there as well?"

“He’s…my brother…” Niraya said. "That scream...was him. I...must get to him."

“Mick, let her go.” Rose said.

“What? She just tried to kill us and you want to just let her go?” Mick asked not moving.

“She’s just going to her brother.” Rose said. “Besides, she's in no condition to help them in any way. That and I…I would want to do the same thing if I was in her position.”

“But the job was to…” Mick started.

“The job was to deal with them.” Rose snapped. “She can’t fight anymore. She can barely walk. I’d say we’ve already dealt with her.”

“If you say so.” Mick said sighing moving out of Niraya's way.

Niraya staggered forward before falling on the ground. Mick shook his head grinning a bit. Rose walked over and kneeled beside Niraya. She placed both hands on the wound situated on Niraya’s back and began to heal it.

“Rose, are you insane!?” Mick asked seeing what she was doing. “What’s stopping her from attacking us after you’ve healed her?”

“The thought of her brother being in danger.” Rose said not stopping. “Trust me on this. I know what I’m doing.”

Once Rose healed the wound Niraya stood up. Mick gripped the dagger in his hand ready to fight however Niraya just looked from Rose to Mick and then down the road towards the Town Square.

“I’m not saying this to be your friend or even an ally." Niraya said. "But thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Rose said. “If we had met on different circumstances we probably could have been friends.”

“Heh, No. I don't think so.” Niraya said calmly before she ran down the road towards the square.

“I still think this is a bad idea.” Mick said.

“Shut up and let’s follow her.” Rose said. “We have someone we care about over there too.”

“I don’t.”

“Well, you care about me and I have someone I care about over there so you’re going too.”

“I do not care about you” Mick said trying to sound annoyed.

“Sure Mick. Sure.” Rose said smiling before running after Niraya.

"Well I don't." Mick said following Rose.

***

"Who knew a Summoner could possess so much power." Zotar said looking at the destroyed building. "Now I see I should have used this from the very beginning."

Zotar pulled out a small black orb from his pocket. Gloria gasped and readied her axe once more.

"So it's true." She said. "You have a Demon Gate Key."

"Oh? You know about this?" Zotar asked surprised. "Then you should know what it does and why we're here."

"I was afraid of that." Gloria said. "There is a Demon Gate here. Isn't there?"

"Correct. After searching through so many towns we finally found one." Zotar said raising his arms up. "Who would have guessed that a Summoner would show up as well? Things couldn't have gone better."

"Lord Zotar! You mustn’t!" Came Victor's voice from the destroyed building.

Victor pushed through the debris that covered him. He had cuts and bruises all over him and he could barely move. He seemed worried about something as he took a few steps away from the building before falling forward onto the ground.

“VICTOR!” came a voice from behind Gloria.

Niraya came running from the road and headed straight for Victor. Mick and Rose were seen following in behind. Gloria quickly raised her hand towards Zakarn.

“Zakarn; you have to go back now!” Gloria said in a hurry.

“What? Now?” Zakarn asked holding his side.

“Yes now! I wasn't even supposed to summon you to begin with due to the incident you had with Rose." Gloria said.

“Damn it. Why now of all times?” Zakarn said as he began to glow and turned to his card form and returned to Gloria.

Zotar looked from Niraya to Rose and Mick. He sighed as if everything that could go wrong had just happened.

“Niraya? I thought you were supposed to be taking care of the other two?” Zotar said.

“I’m sorry my Lord Zotar.” Niraya said kneeling next to Victor. “They are much stronger than I thought.”

"Gloria! I'm glad you're okay." Rose said once she and Mick made it to Gloria. "What's with the axe?"

“I'll explain later." Gloria said before turning to look at Zotar. "Looks like things have gone bad for you. Just make things easier and surrender yourself."

“It looks like I don’t have a choice.” Zotar said raising the orb up a bit. “I’ll have to use this."

“Lord Zotar! No!” Niraya said taking a step toward Zotar. “We won’t be able to make it out ourselves with Victor like this.”

“Then we’ll leave him behind. His usefulness has run out anyway.” Zotar said turning his back on Niraya.

“You can't be planning on using that!" Gloria yelled. "Do you have any idea what that key will do!?"

"Key? You mean that orb is a Demon Gate Key!?" Rose asked. "From what you said about it, if he's planning on using it then that means there's actually a Demon Gate here right?"

“Lord Zotar! Don’t do it! I beg you!” Niraya said.

“Niraya my dear you can either, stay here and die with your brother, or you can run with me and live. It’s your choice.” Zotar said.

“Don’t do this Zotar.” Gloria warned.

“If you wish to face me in combat once again, then you'd better run." Zotar said. "Or else, you won't live to see another day."

Zotar throws the orb up in the air. The orb glows a dark eerie color as it stops in mid-air. Gloria turns to look at Rose and the villagers behind her.

“EVERYONE RUN! NOW!" Gloria yelled calling back her axe as she started to run for the town entrance.

A small magical barrier surrounds the orb and gradually gets bigger as Rose, Mick and the villager follow Gloria. Zotar chuckles and turns away but stops and looks at Niraya.

“Make your choice now, Niraya. Stay and be killed, or come with me and live for the both of you.” He said.

“Niraya… go.” Victor manages to say. “There is no point in both of us dying.”

“Victor I…” Niraya said.

“It’s now or never Niraya.” Zotar said. “Make your choice.”

Meanwhile Gloria, along with Rose and Mick, was running as fast as she could. She turned her head to see the barrier that was surrounding the orb was closing in on them fast. It had already started surrounding the villagers who still kept running without knowing they were already doomed.

“Gah, we're not going to make it at this pace!" Gloria said. "There's no choice."

Gloria summoned her gunblade however she hesitated for a second. Her blade was damaged due to blocking most of Victor's heavy attacks. She wasn't sure if it will be able to pull off one more attack. Gloria concentrated her magical energy into the gunblade. The tip of the blade barely opened enough to fire her Charge Canon attack, but it would have to do. Gloria stopped and faced the town. Rose and Mick stopped as well looking at her in confusion and concern.

“Grab onto me.” She told them. “When I give the word, jump up.”

“Gloria, wait! You're not planning on leaving the villagers behind are you?” Rose asked.

“There is no other way! Now jump!” Gloria said jumping up at the same time as Mick and Rose. “CHARGE CANON!”

She pulled the trigger which fired a burst of energy towards the barrier. This burst of energy was far bigger than Gloria has ever done before. The recoil of the blast pushed the three out of town just as the barrier surrounded the whole town. Gloria and the others fell to the ground as a portal which looked similar to a black hole; appeared above the orb. Seconds later several demons of different types came out of the portal and began attacking anyone they could find.

“Is that…a Demon Gate?” Rose asked looking up.

“Yeah. I’ve never seen one this big before however.” Gloria said shaking. "Yet, this amount of demons...this must be what happened to the Summoner's Sanctuary."

The sound of screams could be heard inside the town. It didn't look like any of the villagers had made it to the exit before the barrier blocked them. Rose looked away from the town unable to bear the sound of the screams coming from it. Gloria dropped to her hands and knees furious with herself.

"I was too young to save my home. I was too weak to save the one I loved and now I couldn't even save anyone in this town." She said as tears began to drop from her eyes onto the ground. "Dammit! Some Summoner I'm turning out to be."

As Gloria cried the Demon Gate began to descend upon the town; swallowing everything that the demons didn't touch. Once the gate touched the ground it closed up causing the barrier to disappear as well. The only thing in front of Gloria, Rose and Mick was a big hole in the ground just like the one situated at the spot where the Summoner's Sanctuary was. Gloria stood up and wiped her eyes as Rose and Mick stood in silence.

"Come on. Let's go back." Gloria said. "Nothing left for us to do here. Besides, the Headmaster will want to hear this."

The three of them turned to leave however Gloria stopped and turned back towards the empty hole. She noticed she was still holding her gunblade. She looked at it and her worst fears had come true. The blade had been blasted apart. That last Charge Canon had blown off the tip of the blade and now the sword was useless. Her best weapon could no longer be used. She looked at it sadly when Rose called out to her.

"Gloria? You coming?"

"Yeah. Sorry." Gloria said calling her destroyed gunblade back so that Rose didn't see it. "I was...just not sure if it was all real. Let's go."

Gloria rejoined Rose and Mick as they slowly made their way back to the academy. Gloria looked up at the sky lost in thought.

"A Demon Gate Key." She thought. "Aleen, I'm sorry. I'll make sure he pays next time I fight him. You can count on it."