A Paladin's Might (Mission/Aiyana)

Holding his arm out in front of the group, Ardere stepped in front of them as the guards arrived. Two normal guards, followed by three captains, and their worst nightmare....a paladin commander. Davey was in shock, sad that they had to face this, but the fire mage stared them down with no fear. Taking a deep breath, the men drew their swords and spears. Surrender now and we'll let you live, otherwise you will die a death too honorable for a mage. The paladin commander was stronger than any enemy he had faced, perhaps even stronger than the alpha lycan, but now was not time for fear. For the first time in his life, the fire mage was ready to die if necessary. The people behind him were too important, and they deserved to live a life as mages. Sucking in the flames of the torches of the knights, they quickly re-lit them, ready to fight. So be it, then die! Ardere's eyes turned red, and he responded simply, more calm and focused than ever. No. You, turn to ash.

The ground beneath him split slightly, as a thick black aura covered his body. The knights rushed in to charge, but their paladin leader stopped them, seemingly in shock at what was happened. ~God Force Activated~ The thick black aura turned to a literal flame, as the mage gushed out magical energy. His tattoos glowing a bright red, along with his eyes, but every other part of his body was pitch black. Even his brown hair turned pitch black, his clothes were so shaded in black, that he looked one with the night. The knights seemingly cowering slightly, but their resolve was strong, they were prepared to fight. Unfortunately, the fire king had tapped into a power beyond their imagining.

God Force. He had studied it many times but never thought he would achieve it. He was not at his peak strength, but this early form of God Force would do. He felt the energy of a thousand gods flowing through his veins, it was almost indescribable. The power of Hephaestus especially flowed through his veins, the god of flames. He saw flashes of a world in flames, and flashes of his god slaying mentor. His body had become similar to that of a god's, and he knew what he had to do with it, protect. The mages could take care of themselves, but he had come across this power, and he would use it wisely. There was a reason for everything, and there was a reason today was the day he felt this power. Ardere was not only powered up by his talisman, but his tattoos....and now his force. His amount of magical power was far beyond his level, a level he would not achieve for several months of straight training. He did not bask in it for more than a half a second, but during that half a second he felt the need to protect those behind him grow, his conviction and resolve harder than adamantine. The aura gushing from his body more so than a water fall. Even a mage barely experienced in sensory could feel his magical power right now, it was almost overwhelmed to himself. When I do this, run right behind me and don't stop. I will make an exit for us. Davey guide them through the flames. He was addressing the group behind him, with an almost demonic sounding voice. Like hell y- The Paladin was responding, but by then it was to late.

Ardere slammed his fist forward still clutching his sword, sending him like a rocket into the paladin. His speed and flames were so intense, that even the paladin could not stop him. The flames enveloping his body as he soared through the air, causing all of the knights to be hit and enveloped in flames. The paladin soaring through the air from the punch, mid-air, the fire mage moved his arm in an arc to send him aside. The paladin was still alive, but he had taken some significant damage to his armor and some of his flesh. All of the knights knocked aside, it left a path in flames for the other mages. Davey creating a shield as he lead the other mages, hopefully Aiyana with them, as they ran along with him. Allowing them to catch up, his feet were moving at intense speeds, dashing through the hall and back towards the tunnels. As he did this, knights and the like would start pouring out of another room, but would not enter until the fire king's friends had followed suit. Thus putting all of the knights charging behind them. Running and running, he kept his senses wide open to keep his friends safe.

Dashing through the halls with his increased speed, Ardere kept a pace with his partners in crime so to speak. They were still in the Keep, but they were nearing the tunnels once again. They had to make it out of here, and quickly. Eyes darting across the room, he noticed the troops pouring out of the doors. They had drawn quite a bit of attention as they broke Remy out of the prison, prompting several groans and yells from Davey the duck. The halls were lit by the flaming aura he provided, and the torches that the soldiers held, thus they could tell where they were going. He could still feel the energy within his veins, it was as if he had an endless supply of magical energy at his disposal, and essentially he did. Lifting a hand up, he effortlessly summoned a massive wave of thick black flames behind the group, sending it towards the troops. The flames were so thick and physical, that it knocked several of the guards on their asses. Even the anti magic metal began to show a couple rough marks, meaning his power was significantly risen, to heights he had never imagined he would reach in a long time.

Running his hand across the wall, he transferred fiery energy into the wall, and because it was anti magic no rubble would occur, but flames did spew from the walls. Keeping a pace behind the group a bit, he caused this rupture of flames to spew out behind them, catching several troops in it, and knocking them over easily. The room full of black flames as they made their way towards the tunnels, the god slayer was keeping the troops at bay, as he sped up his pace to stay with the group. Remy would knock over any troops in his way, seeming frightened by the whole situation. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe. The raccoon seemed scared by his voice, but reassured by his words. The duck blasting magic from his staff as they went, to help keep the troops at bay. A guard would jump out in front, but Ardere smacked him aside with ease, using his sword Clarent. He hoped Aiyana was holding up well, as she was a valuable member of the team. The fire mage actually felt like they could make it out of this.

Sliding down the hall, Ardere led the group back to the spiral stairs, bouncing from wall edge to wall edge to get down the stairs quicker. The knights were piling up behind them, but not as many were left as before. After their little scuffle through the spiral stairs, the mages would find themselves back in the tunnels, which were luckily lit. Dashing through the tunnel, the group of mages seemed to be running for their lives. Not that the power the fire mage possessed was not enough to put up a good fight, but it was dangerous with a garrison and prison full of a few hundreds guards. Clenching his fist tight as they got into the hall way, he slid back towards the back of the group again. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the horde of knights running to them, with the intent of taking them point. Sliding his feet out to a wide stance, he exhaled a massive amount of flames down the hall. Black flames gushing down the hall way, enough to fill it as it smacked into the group of knights. With their shields and armor they could block the brunt of it, but many of the remaining guards were knocked on their asses, likely not getting up from this. The walls were cracking slightly, turning dark from the corrupted magic. It was obvious he could affect this fortress, but nowhere near enough to cause a collapse unfortunately. Gritting his teeth, he turned back to his group.

Dashing towards Davey, Remy, and Aiyana he kept up with them easily. It would not be long before they were nearing the exit to outside, however something was bugging him. He could hear movement, and smell some sort of scent outside. Was something out there? There was no way the troops were out there, but if they took horses perhaps it was not impossible Crap, be careful when you get out there. Giving a quick look back, he noticed the only one left chasing them was the Paladin commander, a definitely strong willed opponent. If they had to fight him and enemies outside, then they were in for one hell of a fight.

Ardere burst open into the night, the stars bright, but unfortunately he had no time to bask in the beauty of the night sky. They began to run towards the ship, but four men appeared in front of them. Two average guards, but followed by two paladins. Collectively, the three mages aside from Aiyana said; Damn. Damn. Damn. Lifting up his sword, the black glow around his body prompting caution from the knights in front of them. Davey and Remy take one of the paladins, leave the other three to me. One of the paladins bore two average size swords, but the other wielded a great sword. The duck and the raccoon moving towards the one with dual swords, and the fire mage dashing towards the two guards. Clutching his sword tight, the man spun around the two guards's sword, and slashed open their stomachs so quickly, it made them look like novices compared to the god slayer. Staring down the paladin, he looked him in the eyes. My name is Commander Xero. I would like to know the name of the man I am about to kill, as no one before you has successfully escaped. Looking at the man who seemed unafraid of his god force, presumably had killed many mages. Gritting his teeth, the fire mage's aura scorched the earth beneath him. I am Ardere Kasai. Nodding, the other man drew his great sword as the two clashed, the earth beneath them shattering. This man seemed to be the leader of the keep, and he would not be walking away today.

Meanwhile Remy transformed into his full form, slashing strikes at the paladin, who seemed to be smirking before tossing the raccoon aside. But then, two massive drills of light slammed into the side of his armor, cracking it. Deflecting the light with his sword afterwards, the man seemed quite angry. Picking up Davey and Remy, he tossed them towards the wall. The raccoon was barely able to stand, but the duck tossed all of his staves into the air. I'm not dying today, Paladin. This was the first time the duck had shown true motivation, and even though he thought he would die tonight, all of his staves landed around the man. Lightning would connect between the staves, prompting a massive lightning strike to his the paladin, shattering his armor. The duck had unleashed an S rank level attack on the man, before the Raccoon dashed towards him. Fighting the weakened commander, the two animal mages were bloodied and hurt, but they were winning. All the while, Ardere was slammed into the ground by the Paladin General, before laying out punched to ignite his body. Rolling back, he would duck under a sword slash, repeatedly slashing at the armor, barely harming it. Letting out a loud yell, he clashed swords again with the man. You can't stop me boy, even with the power of a fake god. Narrowing his eyes, the fire king replied. Watch me.

Ardere would jump upwards, and come down with a powerful strike, colliding with the Paladin's blade. Sparks flying as their blades drew back and repeatedly smacked against each other. The fight was so quick it looked like they were aiming for each other's blades and not their opponent's body. Glaring into each other's eyes, each fighter had received a few cuts symbolizing their clash. The black aura shimmering around his body, as he was literally burning his opponent every time they hit. It seemed that this man was even stronger than he expected, as his flesh was a bit withered away in spots. The power of a slayer in force was nothing to be reckoned with, even if he was injured. It was at this time that Remy took some initiative, charging the injured paladin and delivering a powerful blow to his chest, knocking him back. Davey hitting the man with each staff as he picked them up one by one, until the paladin was on his knees struggling to breathe. The raccoon and the duck delivering the final bonk to the head, they took a breather for a moment. It seemed they had narrowly defeated their opponent, but the fire mage was still locked in combat with his.

Gritting his teeth, he let out a yell as he began to barrage strikes towards the man, fighting more wildly than before. Repeatedly slashing and cutting, he brought his blade down. Then just in one motion, the fight was over. Mountains of black flames ripped out from the earth beneath the Paladin Commander. His armor shattered completely and he was burned as he feel into unconsciousness. Sorry, but I must pass. I cannot allow anyone to stop me from protecting my friends. Finishing off the paladin, he sheathed his sword before turning to his partners. Let's go friends. Davey and Remy nodding, hopefully Aiyana would follow as well. The group of mages dashing back towards the ship, he could hear more guards off in the distance. They were preparing to give chase, but his ship could make it out of here quite quickly. Their opponent's were no match for the Black Sun, the victory would be theirs, hopefully.

Running as fast as he could with his injuries, Ardere lead the group towards the ship. That was when he heard it, the ding dong from the massive bell. The alarm had been officially sounded, and he could hear armaments beings set up. Though he did not know what they could have that could stop his ship, even if they had ballistas or canons, his ship was reinforced with black steel. They traversed the terrain, retracing their steps from where they had come originally. Davey still pissed, he kept two staves out just in case. We're so dead. The raccoon was in poor condition, but luckily Aiyana was able to help him out. He could see the cavalry rolling in as soon as they made it to the large rocks concealing the ship. Go. Go. Go. Having everyone else go up the ladder before he did, the fire mage kept his eyes on the men coming in fast. They were on horses, running and drawing their bows. Luckily the rocks gave him cover, and their arrows were no match for his ship. It was a close call, but as he waited for his group to make their way into the ship, he saw a few arrows miss him. This was not going to be easy, it was the Blacksteel Keep after all.

Climbing the rope ladder, he felt the wind off of a few arrows as he quickly hopped up into the massive ship. His aura still black and gushing out of his body, he rushed into the control room quickly. Starting up the ship, the sounds of the engines were loud as they revved. The massive ship taking to the air, he expected to speed out of there, but then he saw the ballistas. They were no ordinary ballistas, and when the large bolts fired, the first few deflected off of his ships armor, but then two stuck in. The ship attempting to flee, was drug back, staying mobile in the air as it tried to fly away with the bolts still attached. It seemed that there were chains attached to the bolts, as he saw two guards climbing up the chains and attempting to board. Setting the ship on auto pilot and a high speed, he unsheathed his blade. No one was going to stop them, not while he had the power of a god at his disposal. Break those chains or hit the ballistas! Exiting the control room, he ran to the edge of the ship, with the intent of breaking the chains as quickly as he could. The armor on the ship deflecting any arrows fired, he glared down below.

Ardere would attempt to get the ship going, but another wave of ballistas kept the ship in place. Gritting his teeth, he could feel the godly power wearing off, he did not have much time. Thus he would make it last, and show these paladins something they would not long forget. Jumping up into the air, black fiery energy would charge in his foot, until he kicked it towards the ballistas on the fort. In the shape of an orb, this fiery energy soared towards the ballistas. When it struck, an explosion of massive proportions occurred. Due to being powered up by the multiple things giving him an advantage, the explosion was so large and furious that all the massive arrow/hook firing machines were taken out in one fell blow. The men unfortunately would be hit hard as well, but it was a life or death situation, there was not much time to think of such things. Pressing his hand on the chains, he caused a massive explosion turning them to dust. Channeling the magical energy through his hand, and overloading the energy within the chains, they were easily destroyed. Hopping back to the control panel, he hit the ship to go before anything else could happen.

As they took off, he dropped massive napalm bombs down upon the troops and the fort. The bombs were powerful enough to make small holes in the fort, and knock out all of the troops. Unfortunately the fort was too strong to be beaten, but the troops were down for the count. These red fiery explosions that ripped across the land gave them time to escape, as one of the faster ships from Fiore took off, towards Seven. While they had escaped, they still needed to take Remy home. The ship soared through the sky, the engines revving. The fire mage took a deep breath, as he fell down. His magical energy had been depleted to almost empty, but it had been worth it. Breathing heavily he hit the auto pilot button, panting slightly he leaned against the wall. Using God Force, even a more rudimentary version was more exhausting than anything he had ever experienced. Luckily he still had enough energy to remain conscious, or speak if needed.

Laughing a bit now that he had finally gotten out of there, Ardere felt weak physically, but mentally he was as strong as ever. They had overcome some hellishly staggering odds, even enough so to shut up Davey for a while. Leaving the ship on auto pilot, he stumbled out to the deck to greet his partners. Hell of a stunt you pulled there boy. Returning the duck's comment with a smile, the fire mage sat down on one of the benches to be with the group. He had some injuries, but his god force had taken his mind off of them for so long. Luckily most of them were internal, for the other he just slapped a band-aid onto them. Looking at the raccoon who seemed to be resting next to his friend, he was curious about something. So Remy, how the hell did you get captured anyways? The raccon laughed a bit, receiving a scowl from his duck friend. Well, it's not the best story. You really wanna hear? A nod was received from the fire mage, as he sat in front of the two mages, with Aiyana likely to the side.

The raccoon began with their story as they started their journey to Seven. Well I had come to Pergrande cause I heard they had really good food, and I apparently they dont like talking raccoons. I wonder why. He said sarcastically. I tried to run off, but they were too quick for me. I tried to use magic to escape, but that made them even more mad, and in that cell I ended up. Totally worth it though, the chicken breast was great. Davey facepalming and groaning, Ardere laughed a bit at the raccoon. The two were certainly an interesting bunch. You alright Ai? They had been through hell and back, but she had kept her own, though he was a worrisome guy.

Ardere chuckled a bit, especially after realizing how banged up he was. But something he would never forget was the power that he had harnessed back there, he was something he could use for good some day. The power of a true god, he had to say he actually liked it. He felt invincible like that, like he could protect anyone from anything. Hearing the beeping from his ship, the fire mage walked back to the control panel, they were reaching their destination, Pulling in the Black Sun, he would slowly land the large ship. With a slight thud, they had landed in the beautiful country of Seven. Walking out to say goodbye to his former partners, he shook each of their hands. Stay out of trouble ya hear? The two animal mages nodded, waving goodbye as they parted ways with the two sabertooth mages. Turning back to Aiyana, he exhaled deeply. That was one hell of a mission wasn't it? Let's get home. Walking back to the control room, he turned the ship towards Fiore. The two had done their job and they had done it well, it was time to get home and have a nice cup of coffee and some rest. Taking a deep breath, he set the ship to auto pilot then went to take a nap where Celica was resting. He had exhausted himself pretty seriously, especially after using god force. Get some rest Ai, you deserve it. He walked down to his quarters, and took a serious nap. His body immediately fell into a powerful and deep slumber as soon as he hit the bed, he had not fallen asleep this fast in years. The hardest mission he had ever been on, and he made it back alive, at least physically not mentally, but he was ready to go home nonetheless.