Memories of the Forgotten

Sorry for the long wait, but to make up for it... it's a 2 chapter update! Yay! ...Please don't kill me!


Chapter 27


"Jessica!" John rushed to her side and gathered her into his arms, checking her pulse and examining her slight injuries. She opened her eyes and looked to him and Aivon, who had followed at his own calm pace. "Thank goodness your ok."

"She used up so much energy... to think she could actually pull off using all those variety of techniques..." Aivon said in someone amazement.

"Yeah," John agreed absentmindedly. "She's really something alright..."

"I'll be... alright. I think I just used up too much energy," Jessica said, somewhat exhausted. "You'd know how that feels, right John?" she added jokingly. John smiled remembering when he had first cast a spell. He fainted afterwards, a sign of using too much power at once. "Please don't worry John, I'll be fine." With that she pulled herself up. John nodded, trying to remember that she had just gone through a rather demanding fight.

"It looks like a way has been opened." Aivon pointed to a door nearby that had opened as soon as Hieas had left. "I guess we better keep moving then."

"Alright, Monica we're coming!" John proclaimed as he led the way through into the next torch-lit hallway.

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"I... I made it." Hieas stood before Midas and his 'master'. "So, please tell me the plan."

"Our ritual will begin in a matter of hours. I have send Elno ahead to stall the group," the man said, covered by his cloak.

"Then why call me back?" Hieas argued, wondering what was going on. Midas stepped foward, raised his hand and suddenly the wind pressed against him, forcing him still. "What is this!? Let me go!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that. You see, our ritual calls for the blood of demons. And truthfully, that was the main reason I ressurrected you." He watched Hieas' face change to that of pure horror. "Of course, I expected to extract all usefulness out of you before that had to happen. And now you've become absolutely useless to me." With that, he raised his hand.

Hieas struggled on, trying to break free of Midas' power and use his own axe. But the recent battle with the angel had all but drained his energy. He watched helplessly as a dark energy shifted in his master's hand, shaping into the form of a black sword. "No..."

"Midas... should Elno fail before the allowed time, see to them." A nod was all he recieved before his attention was turned to Hieas once more. "Now Hieas, I promise this will go alot easier if you..."

"NEVER!" For a moment, he broke free, Midas being knocked back. Hieas was now using even the most basic of instincts that humans protrayed, fight or flight. And now he was thinking of getting out of here as fast as he could. As he headed to the door, he was stopped when it suddenly became surrounded in fire. He turned to see his master with his other hand raised.

"Now Hieas, must you really make things more difficult then needed?" He approached, his sword out and once more, Hieas felt his body unresponsive. Midas had regained his control and was seething, angered that anyone dared to defy him. "You should know better... no one escapes Mammon."

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"Are we... still underground?" Aivon asked. It was certain a question on all of their minds, for no sooner had they left the dark hallways did they come upon a small forest that seemed to be bathed in sunlight. Standing in the middle of the forest was Elno, resting against a tree that surrounded a clearing. From where they were, a metal ring was surrounding the dirt and trees that would become the battlefield.

"So, you have finally arrived. And now, now is the time..." With that Elno pulled away from the tree and withdrew his dagger. "Now we will see who is stronger. Your magic, or my ability."

"John, I will fight him. He doesn't know about my abilities, so it would be for the best. You must be ready for a greater threat to arrive, should one possibly emerge." Aivon then stepped into the dirt and toward his opponent. No sooner had he cleared the gap then a ring of light enveloped the battlefield, trapping the two fighter in and John and Jessica out. "So, you are the one called Elno."

"And I assume you must be the half-demon Aivon. No matter. I've killed full-blooded demons before... so half of one should only take half the strength."

"Do not underestimate my power," Aivon said removing his gloves and taking off his cloak, letting his demon attributes show. "I may be half-demon, but I am also half-human. And both halves together make a power that can't be beaten." He raised his clawed hands, to strike or defend, whichever would be necessary.

"I commend your effort. But it will all be for naught. Now then, if your ready..." With that, he jumpped up and threw a few shuriken to his foe. Aivon knocked the flying metal away with his claws, as his opponent disappeared into the treetops. He waited, watching the surrounding area for any signs of an attack. A few more shuriken came out from the treetops, but a quick 'Earth Wall' spell stopped them.

"Damn, it's no good. He'll just keep hiding and striking me from all sorts of angles," Aivon muttered to himself as he gathered his magic. So that means... I just need to flush him out somehow. And I know just how to do it... A dome of earth emerged, surrounding Aivon's body from all sides. "Rock Shower!" He punched the top of it, shattering the dome into thousands of pieces of sharpened earth. He then spread out his hands, launching them in an omnidirectional attack.

The sound of earth deflected by metal caught his attention to his right. "Got you! Spire!" Aivon pressed his hand down, a large spire heading straight for the origin of the sound. Elno burst from the trees, running down the spire straight toward it's caster. "Oh no you don't!" Aivon pressed his hand on the earth spire, causing more to appear on the path Elno was running down. Yet his dagger cut away the offending earth, nothing slowing him down as he sped toward his target.

"Diamond Cut!" he shouted as he brought the blade down. Aivon pulled back so that the main cut would miss him, yet still felt the sting of several other slices. While his demon armor protected his body, it couldn't mask or stop the pain. Aivon gripped his torso, feeling for wounds that were not there. "Hmph. Smart move."

"What was that attack? That was no... normal attack."

"I have trained my body to go beyond limits. Setting newer limits to the actions of my body and breaking them again and again..." Elno said, raising his dagger once more. "In many ways, my body goes beyond even a demon's strength. I am perhaps, the most powerful human alive. Your strength can never match mine."

John watched, remembering the power behind that attack and the six wounds that appeared shortly after. "Do you think Aivon has a chance to win? After all, his opponenet isn't just your average human..."

"We have to believe in him John..."

Aivon once more readied himself to battle. "That's not true. My strength comes not just from what my body can do... but what I'm willing to fight for!" Aivon's eyes burning with intensity. "I have a home... and a real family. After all that time I spent thinking I would be alone for the rest of my days, I would never give either up." His thought travled back to the home he left behind, the one he wanted to protect. Sophia... and Dosa... I must be strong for you... because... "You would never know what it means to fight for something you care for!"

Elno gazed hard to him, when Aivon noticed that, for a tiny flickering second, something in them changed. "Your wrong... I too, once felt that need. The desire to protect something..." His stance changed, readying himself to attack once more. "It was one of the many reasons why I trained. Why I wanted to be strong. Because before... I was not strong enough. I couldn't do anything to protect that which was most important to me..."

"Then why... why are you doing this?" Aivon asked. "If you really had something so precious to you..."

"Because... because I despise those who cast magic. Those that use it's power are my enemies... because they are the reason why that which I wanted to protect no longer exists."