We immediately jumped into the frigid water if the cave. Just like the Lady Of The Lake had said, there was a hole at the bottom of the lake.
We swam through the hole, emerging into a dry tunnel. We scampered to our feet before running through the tunnel with soggy socks.
I didn't know what Erica had seen, but I didn't like it. Whatever she saw was probably going to happen soon as well, if it hasn't already happened.
They better be ok.
We ran through the tunnel, and now I was hoping we wouldn't need the supplies we left behind. Swimming would have been tough with backpacks on so we got rid of them.
Well, they shouldn't have anything important in them.
As we continued to run through the cramped tunnel, I started to see something at the end. A lever.
Reaching the rusty and old lever, I yanked it down for something to happen. Metallic groaning filled our ears as the wall started to move, revealing the bright sky outside.
I had to shield my eyes from the sudden lightness. My eyes aren't used to being outside of the cave yet.
Blinking my eyes as they got used to the sunlight, I looked over to Erica. Sweat ran down her face. It wasn't from the running though, but from worry.
Just what did she see?
We dashed through the forest, tracing our steps back to where the tower was and our companions.
As we got closer, the faint sound of battle reached my ears. My heart started to race as I ran towards the sounds.
And then I made it to the opening. Outside of the tower the others were fighting a bunch of Children Of Lupercio. And at the helm of them was Aoi.
Aoi's scythe clashed against Iris's shield. Aoi kicked Iris, sending her skidding back. Bianca appeard behind Aoi, sending a stab straight to her heart. Aoi stepped to the side, dodging the spear and gripping it with her hand.
She pulled Bianca towards her, before kicking her in the chest. Bianca barely blocked it with her free arm, however it wasn't enough defense to keep her from flying away.
Lily protected Yui as she fought a group of enemies. They practically had her surrounded, however she kept on her feet, using her dagger to take them out.
Amber was going toe to toe with Aoi's armored skeleton, however it was bulkier and had stronger armor this time.
They weren't in a good position. Not at all.
I felt a sensation start to boil in me. My chest started to get hot as I felt my veins start to pop. Where...was Irene?
You've really done it now, Aoi.
"Help Lily." I ordered.
"Okay." Erica nodded, her eyes sharpening as she rushed towards her best friend.
"Iris. Bianca. Where is Irene?" I asked.
Bianca and Iris' heads turned towards me as they realized that I had came back. Aoi's head turned, locking her eyes with mine.
"Quicker than estimated." Muttered Aoi. "Just like I expected."
"Aoi drugged her or something!" Iris gritted her teeth in anger. "We moved her to cover."
"She was the biggest threat here." Aoi stated. "I sent her into a sleep."
...
"Huh. You really want to die." I replied.
In a moment I had crossed the distance and was right in front of her. Her eyes widened as my flaming fist flew towards her face.
She brought her scythe up, using it's grip to block my attack. She barely kept her ground, shifting her feet and swinging her scythe to decapitate my head.
My armor appeared around me as I grabbed the blade of her scythe with my now armored hand, sending an icy stare straight into her eyes.
I sent a kick into her gut, causing her to keel over in surprise. I took the moment to grab her by the hair, pulling her up into the air before slamming her into the ground.
Before I could get another hit in she kicked me away, standing back up to her feet. Her scythe started to flicker as blue flames appeared across the blade.
"What are you trying to do?" I growled.
"Isn't it obvious? Get to Merlin." Aoi emotionlessly stated. "He has unfinished business."
I morphed Loki into a spear, dashing towards Aoi. I sent a stab towards her chest, which she sidestepped and grabbed the spear just as she had done to Bianca.
The spear morphed into a chain which wrapped around Aoi's arm, catching her by surprised. I yanked her off of the ground, before slamming her onto the ground on my other side.
She got up as I morphed Loki into a gun in my hand. I sent multiple blue fire bullets towards her, but she deflected each and every one of them.
She dashed towards me, sending her scythe towards my head. I ducked under it, but she had planned for that.
A knee was sent cascading into my face. I stumbled back, feeling a trickle of blood leave my nose.
"You also had blue fire." Aoi noted. "Quick growth."
"You'll be able to examine it all you want once I burn your face off with it." I growled, fully pissed off now. I morphed Loki into his "Fenrir" axe form and ignited it with my own blue fire.
We dashed towards each other, clashing our blades against one another. Our blades grinded together, sparks flying as we were stuck in a lock.
That is, until I jumped away. Aoi immediately realized something was off, but she didn't have enough time to move as a thunderbolt came crashing into her side, courtesy of Iris.
She crashed into the ground, before getting up and blocking a strike from Bianca who appeared in front of her.
Two skeletons crawls out of the ground behind Bianca. Iris quickly took care of them, breaking them with her shield.
We now had Aoi on the edge. She was getting desperate, being cornered by Iris, Bianca, and I. I glanced towards the others, seeing that with the addition of Erica the other Children Of Lupercio members had been easily taken care of, and they had almost taken care of the armored skeleton.
Aoi summoned a bunch of crystals in the air, sending them towards Bianca and Iris. Iris jumped in front of Bianca, creating an electrical field around them, neutralizing most of the crystals.
However, some still went through and slashed at their legs, creating thin red lines across their slightly torn clothing.
It made my blood boil.
I zoomed towards Aoi as red electricity started to spark off of my body. I reared my fist back, ready for a final punch to finally end this.
Amplification!
The red lightning became more chaotic, dancing off of my body in no apparent pattern as I sent my first towards Aoi's face. For once, she showed emotion of slight shock.
But something strange happened. As my fist was one centimeter from Aoi's face, an explosion of red lightning cascaded around us, sending everyone else except for Aoi and flying backwards.
A black collar started to manifest on Aoi's neck, before the red lightning sparked across it. The collar seemed to short circuit, starting to smoke and release it's hold from Aoi's neck.
The collar clattered to the ground, leaving only a red mark of where the collar used to be against Aoi's skin.
"You...you freed me?"