The world was covered with monsters. People struggled to stay alive every day. Knights grew tired of killing monsters, and insisted on being paid more and more. Few "heroes" were left.
The Valley of Misery was the source. It seemed that throughout time, the world's focus would shift to this place. The Obsidian Castle still stood, guarded by demonic knights. Inside, a man sat on the throne. His robes were black, with decorations on them resembling dragons. These were in gold, and the robes were lined in red. His golden hair was tied back in a ponytail.
"Dammit, this is boring. Nothing's happening... I want some excitement in my life! These monsters are killing everything. Maybe if I stopped production of them, someone would try to stop me..."
A man in red robes rushed into the throne room. "Sir! The monster generator has overloaded! An explosion is imminent, and..." They heard a big boom. "Well, there's the explosion. Shall we build a new one?" The man on the throne shook his head, indicating he did not want a new one. "But... Lord Victus!! Why not?"
"Is it not boring here? We rule the world with an iron fist. Maybe if we release our grip a little... Something fun would happen..." Victus stood up and walked to the roof to survey the lands. When he was done, he sighed. "Wonder how things are in the twenty-third age. Hope nothing's changed..." He waved his hands, and a time portal appeared. He was about to step through, but saw the Black Knight approaching. "Damn!" He said. He backed up. Alexander stepped through the rift in time. "Welcome, Black Knight, to the thirty-fifth age!"
"What? The thirty-fifth? And how do you know who I am? Who are you?"
"I will answer your questions in time. Anyway, yes, this is the thirty-fifth age. This place is what you would know as the Valley of Misery."
"Well, two to go..."
"I'm hungry right now... Something to eat?"
"Okay, sure. Hey, what's your name? And what are you doing here?"
"My name is Victus. And I control this valley. We are doing research here on the past events. This place is swarming with magical and spiritual energy and activity, you know."
"No. I don't." Alexander walked to the stairs leading into the castle.
"Well. He will be a problem," Victus muttered. "Time for someone to die..." Victus quickly readied a spell and was about to cast it when Alexander turned around. He stopped immediately.
"I've got another question. Do I have any descendants here?"
"Well, as the history books say, you did get married and have kids. They had kids, and their kids had children... And so on. So I would assume yes."
"Alright. Thanks." He turned around. Victus then cast a spell that captured him in a stone prison, leaving him enough room to breathe. "What the hell?!!"
"Alexander, I am sorry. I cannot let you live. I am researching the crystals that Thurstreng created before your time. They will help me become a better Archmage than he. Right now, I am about as powerful as he was in his prime. You fought him at the downward slope of his powers. You must be killed now to prevent any chances of my death. Goodbye..." The stone slowly caved in on Alexander.
Twisty had told Mordor of Alexander staying behind. He then returned. "Alexander? You there?" Twisty called out inside the valley. There was no response. "Well... He'd be at the castle, I'll bet." Twisty rushed into the castle and searched every room. He was not there. Twisty ran to the roof, and saw nothing. "Dammit, where is he?"
Alexander had died by now. Victus was in his throne room, sipping a drink, happy. "Well, no more threats. All is good..." Just then, a man appeared in the room.
"Sir! We have a severe problem spreading around the planet!"
"What?!"
"All those who belong to the bloodline of Alexander the Black Knight of the twenty-third age are turning into strange beings, nobody can explain it!!"
"Dammit! I knew something like this would happen! Kill him before he has kids, descendants turn into savage beasts... DAMMIT!!" He slammed a fist on the table. "How many are there?!"
"Most were destroyed by our monsters, Lord Victus. A total of ten survived, though, and are now incredibly strong monsters."
"Get the troops moving. I want you to destroy these..."br>
"But one of them is unaffected, Lord Victus!"
Victus raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? What did you say?"
"The one who's blood flows strongest with Alexander's. He is unaffected."
"This is the one who can overthrow me," Victus thought. "Kill him! Now! Do whatever you must! Send out the strongest army we can muster! This man must die right now! We have over 2300 crystals, and nobody will stop me from getting the rest!" The man disappeared to carry out the orders. "When I merge with that last crystal, I will become the most powerful Archmage to exist in the entire universe. These crystals were created by Satan, not Thurstreng. When I have all... I will become the embodiment of Satan... No... God himself, incarnate... I will be invincible..."
Twisty rushed back to Mordor's house. He barged through the front door and saw Mordor sitting there. The mage shifted his gaze to Twisty.
"Do you mind? I'm trying to..."
"Alexander's gone!!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah!! He stayed in the valley and hasn't come out!!"
"Alright. Let's go. We must investigate immediately..." They rushed to the Valley.
Victus brooded on his throne. He would have to make sure that the one man would not live. But he doubted that would happen at the moment. A man burst through the door in front of him. "Sir, our research in Beta sector is nearly finished!"
"Finally!" Victus smiled and got off the throne. "So, when can we build my floating tower?"
"Just as soon as we get the materials, sir."
"And when will that be?"
"At least three days. Two weeks, tops."
"Too long. Get every available soldier on this job. But leave enough to provide a good defense for the valley..."
A young man ran through the streets of the capital city of Treias. A large monster ran after him. "Crap!!" He yelled as he saw the walls ahead. He was already on the top of the large walls which completely surrounded the city. He knew he would either have to fight the beast, or jump over one hundred feet to the ground.
The monster was closing in. The boy stopped. He looked over his shoulder, then turned around completely. He put his hand to his side, clutching the handle of his sword. "Sure as hell hope my training was good enough," he muttered as the creature came within fifteen feet. At the last second possible, he drew his sword out with lightning speed and leapt to the side. It sliced across the monster's chest. He then jumped up, and while in the air, shot a fireball from his palm. It hit the monster in the middle of its spine. It reared back, roaring in pain. The boy landed on top of the monster, and flipped the position of his sword, so the blade was pointing down. He raised it up, then shoved it into the beast's neck.
It let out a long howl, then fell dead.
The boy withdrew his sword and stepped off the monster. He stared at it for awhile. He suddenly heard someone applauding his victory. He turned around, and saw the man who had been training him to be a fighter all his life. "Good job, Strydyr!!"
"You... You sent this... After me? To test me?!" He was getting angry.
"Whoa, take it easy, little guy! You knew I'd be sending you off to fight monsters some day!"
"But I thought you meant outside of the city! Do you know how many people you could've killed with that thing?!"
"Did anyone die?"
"No, but..."
"That's the important thing. That everyone stays safe."
"Hypocrite."
"What?"
"You're a hypocrite."
"How dare you talk to me like that!"
"You say that the safety of the innocent is the most important thing in combat. And then you go and send a huge monster rampaging through the streets of the damned city!!"
"Are you going to do anything about it?" Strydyr's trainer gripped his own sword.
"Yes. I am," Strydyr ran forward, and a large sword fight ensued. He swung his blade down. The trainer brought his up to block, then kicked Strydyr in the stomach.
"Alright then. This time it's for real, boy," the trainer ran forward and sliced his blade down toward where Strydyr was laying, recovering from the kick. He swung his own blade, slapping it away. He flung his foot out, tripping his trainer. He jumped up, and slashed his blade at the older man, barely cutting his chest, He then brought the sword down for the final blow. His opponent swung his own blade up. The two swords formed a cross over the older man's neck. Strydyr pressed down with all his strength. His blade moved downward towards his master's head. Then, the old man jumped up. His blade hit the stone ground, and broke in half. He looked at it, then looked back. Strydyr was standing again. He flung a lightning bolt at the trainee, who swung his sword, blocking it. However, it was thrown out of his hand by the power of the blast. Strydyr drew a dagger from his boot and charged at his master, yelling as he ran. The trainer grabbed his hand and pushed it to the side, kneeing him in the stomach. Strydyr fell down, but pulled his master's foot, tripping him as well. He then jumped onto his master, driving his dagger toward the man's chest. The trainer grabbed Strydyr's hand. Strydyr shoved his dagger downward slowly. It touched his master's chest.
"Die, bastard..." The blade slowly dug its way into the old man's heart. Satisfied with his win, Strydyr stood up and walked off to the castle. He was tired, and needed sleep in the barracks.
"Dammit!" Mordor yelled. They had reached the castle, and Alexander was not in the Valley. "He must have gone through time again..."
"We have to follow him."
"We don't know where he is!"
"We can guess."
"It's crazy!"
Twisty glared at him.
"It's impossible."
"It's our only hope."
Mordor dropped his head. "Alright... guess away."
Twisty looked up. He thought long and hard. Then, he heard a strange voice in his head.
"Thirty five..."
"Huh?"
Mordor looked up. "What?"
Twisty looked back at the mage. "Thirty-fifth age."
Victus looked around the valley. His troops were in the mountains, mining for the materials necessary to build the floating tower. Caravans went through the entrance towards the castle, carrying tribute payments to keep themselves from being destroyed. Guard towers scattered around the valley were inactive. He needed more troops, or else he'd fail soon.
A man in shining armor walked up to him. "Victus, you were right. It'll only take one more day to get the materials for the tower."
"Good, Ershow."
"But construction will take too long."
Victus turned to face Ershow. "And why is that?"
"There are not enough people capable of doing the enchantments necessary to have it done in under one year. There's no way we can get it up by then, either."
Victus sighed and crossed his arms. "And why is that?"
"We'll have to construct the teleportation chambers and enchant them. It'll take at least a week."
Victus looked Ershow straight in the eyes. "Why don't we use the chambers that already exist?!"
Ershow took a step back. His eyes widened. "Surely you don't mean..."
"Archon."
"Sir! There's no way we'll be able to take out their defenses!"
"Then we'll have to get someone else to do it for us." He turned to a crystal ball and muttered a few words. After a cloud appeared and faded from the ball, it showed Strydyr, sitting in a pub. "Him. He shall help us..."
Ershow looked at his master. "Umm, sir, in all due respect, I think you've lost it. That's just a child, and..."
Victus turned to Ershow. "Do not question my orders. Get him to Archon immediately." Ershow nodded and walked off.
Strydyr sat at the bar, drink in hand. The people were rowdy and the music was loud. He needed to get out. He paid for the drink, gathered his gear, and got up to leave. Just then, an orc walked into his path. He looked down at the soldier and smiled. "Goin' somewhere, tiny?" He and his buddies laughed at the insult.
Strydyr stood straight ahead at the door, not moving, not speaking. He saw one patron watching them.
"Ooh, he's quiet. He must be REAL SMART, thinking and crap, huh guys?" The other orcs again laughed.
Strydyr took in a deep breath and lowered his head. He started muttering the words to a spell below his breath so the Orcs couldn't hear him.
"Oh no guys, I think he's praying to his god! Whatcha gonna do to US, punk?!" The orc pushed him in the shoulder.
Strydyr stopped chanting.
At that moment, his hair turned ruby red, and his skin turned gold. He drew his sword with lightning speed and sliced through the orc's stomach. The others looked at their fallen comrade and started to run.
Using magic Strydyr shut the doors and locked them, letting none in and none out. He looked for the one customer who was watching earlier; He was gone.
The orcs turned in fear.
Strydyr raised his sword and pointed it at one of the three remaining orcs. A bolt of magic shot out, slamming into his chest. He flew into a table, where he laid, dead, his chest on fire. He then put his sword away and turned his palms to the others, and hit them each with lightning bolts.
Seeing that the orcs were no more, he lowered the spells, unlocked the doors and walked out into the town... his home.
The town was lively and cheery; People went around their business without fear. This city was the only one on the planet that was guarded from the monsters. Yet still Strydyr stayed there; He was an excellent warrior whose strength would be needed should the magical barrier around the town ever fail.
As he walked down the street, he noticed something strange. A man was watching him from an alley, wearing a dark jumpsuit. As soon as Strydyr turned to look at the man, he was gone. "What the hell...?" was all he could say before someone started yelling.
"We are members of the Royal Guard! We are looking for someone named Strydyr! He is to be arrested for the murders of three of our Orc Company cadets!"
Strydyr recognized the face. He then turned around to run, but saw a swarm of fire red armor heading towards the small crowd. He turned and heard someone yell out, "There! That's him!" Strydyr looked around and saw the Guardsmen running towards him.
Strydyr ran into an alley, heading for the exit. When he saw the town entrance, it was blocked by two Guardsmen. Hearing the others catching up, he quickly cast an invisibility spell on himself and rushed out the gates.
Victus sat in his throne with a glass of wine in his right hand, his head resting on his left. He took a sip of the drink, and closed his eyes, imagining the fortress that would soon be under his control.
Suddenly a man in emerald green armor rushed into the room. "Sir!"
Victus opened his eyes in surprise, and dropped the glass, which shattered on the marble floor. "Damn! That was good wine, too..." He then looked at the knight. "Yes, Miscreant, what is it that is so important that it made me drop my drink?!"
Miscreant took a step back in fear. "Well, sir, Ershow has reported in, and..."
"Ah! Good! What does he have to say?"
"Strydyr got away from him."
"WHAT?!" Victus was infuriated. "Got AWAY?! HOW?!!!"
"We don't know, sir... Apparently an invisibility spell. But he is now tracking down the target in the wilderness."
"Go help him. And take your Emerald Knights with you."
"Yes sir." He turned and walked through the door.
"Dammit, Strydyr, you're going to be a problem. Oh well... As soon as I get control of you... You will die fighting Archon. And hopefully you will weaken them enough for my main strike to take the city..."
Strydyr sat on a boulder in the middle of a forest, far away from any city. Thinking he was safe, he laid down to rest. Soon after he did that, he heard a voice, very distant and far away. He opened his eyes and quietly got up to his feet. He looked around and saw ten of the knights, far from where he was. He looked in the other direction. It was a cliff. "Great," he muttered. "Of all the places to hide... I chose a cliff..." He softly drew his sword, prepared to fight. There was no way he could take them on his own, but he would go out with a fight.
Suddenly one of them looked in his direction, and saw the gleam of his sword in the moonlight. "There!" he yelled out. The others drew their swords and walked towards Strydyr. One of them chuckled as they drew closer.
Strydyr jumped out from behind the bush, flinging a fireball into the chest of the leader. He fell down onto the ground, his armor slightly melted. He got three more with a large lightning bolt. He was now too exhausted to cast more magic, so he started fighting. He took two out, but then the other four crowded him onto the edge of the cliff. Just as they were about to handcuff him, though, two of them fell down onto their stomachs, an arrow sticking out of both of their backs. The remaining two turned around quickly to see a wall of fire engulf them. Twisty stood there, crossbows raised, and Mordor was beside him. Strydyr looked at them. "Who the hell are you? And why did you save me?"
Twisty lowered the crossbows and stepped forward. "I'm Twisty, and this is Mordor. We're here to save the world, and we think you can help."
"Me? How?"
"Aren't you the last remaining descendant of Black Knight Alexander?" Mordor asked.
"Well, I don't know... Some old guy once told me that I was related directly to Alexander, but he died... And there has to be more of his descendants here."
"No. Alexander is dead, and all his descendants... Except for one... Are now demons." Mordor stepped forward.
"What are you saying?"
Twisty spoke up. "We're saying that if this world will get saved, you're gonna be the one to do it. Now come on, we've got work to do."
Victus glared into his crystal ball. "NO! The elf! I should have gotten him... And that mage... The elf said it is Mordor, but... No. Mordor disappeared in the third age after fighting Thurstreng... Damned Holy Mage... Can't be him." Victus sat back in his chair. "But what if it is...?" He set up a telepathic link to Ershow. "Ershow... Withdraw. We need to swarm Strydyr with a larger force. Wait for Miscreant's help, and also Two-Face, Blade and Wulf."
"Yes sir," Ershow replied.
"Dammit. If it is Mordor I will have a problem. Oh well... Thurstreng beat him once. I can do it, too..."
Dawn broke over the plains. Mordor stopped walking and looked around. "There..." he pointed to a large floating island. "Archon. When we get there we should be safe." He walked onward, with Twisty and Strydyr behind him. Soon they reached a temple, and saw two beings guarding the entrance: Espers. Mordor was confused as to why they hadn't gone berserk...
One of them spoke. "Thou shalt not pass unless thou art worthy to enter the Holy City of Archon.."
Mordor walked up to it. He saw a crystal hanging down around its neck. That was what was controlling it! The research on Esper control had been completed since his time... "My name is Mordor, and I demand that myself and my companions be given entrance to the Holy City."
The Esper stared straight at him. "Mordor has been banned from the Holy City since the third age. You cannot enter."
"Like hell I can't!" Mordor cast a paralysis spell on both Espers. They stood there, motionless. The spell worked. "Come on, let's go!" The three rushed into the temple, and stood on a large design in the middle of the floor. "This will transport us to the city," Mordor said. Soon they were magically flung up to the city.
Mordor stepped out and looked behind him, seeing the others behind him. He turned back and walked straight for the palace.
Victus walked to the roof of his castle. The troops were preparing for invasion. All the major squads were already out for the first wave. Suddenly he got a telepathic message. "Sir, Strydyr, the elf and the mage have gotten into Archon!!"
"What?!"
"Ershow is right, sir. The Espers are paralyzed, and we saw Mordor run into the temple. Shall we follow?"
"Miscreant... You go. Talk to the king before they get to him. We can't let those three warn them."
"Yes sir."
Victus was worried. If Archon knew the battle would happen, they would kill him. He could not let that happen.
Mordor had almost reached the palace, when a man in emerald armor appeared in front of him and rushed into the palace. "What the hell was that?" Twisty asked.
"Miscreant..." Strydyr spoke up. "Victus' best general. If he's here, then Victus plans on turning Archon against us! We have to stop him!" Strydyr drew his sword and rushed in, with Twisty and Mordor following him.
They reached the throne room, and saw Miscreant just getting up from bowing to King Zephyr, ruler of Archon. "Stop!" Mordor yelled out. Miscreant turned, and looked at Strydyr.
"YOU!!" He drew his sword.
"What is going on here?!" King Zephyr cried out.
"Zephyr, it's me, Mordor! I need to speak with you! Have your guards arrest this man!"
"Mordor?! Why should we help YOU, after how you disgraced us so many ages ago!" Zephyr rose to his feet. "Miscreant has come to me to discuss the capture of a threat to the city. Leave us now!"
Miscreant spoke up. "That boy over there... He is the threat! He must be destroyed at once!"
Strydyr spoke. "You are the threat, Miscreant! You and your leader, Victus!" He turned to King Zephyr. "They plan on taking over the Holy City!!"
Zephyr yelled at Miscreant. "WHAT?! Is this true? Do you really work for Archmage Victus?!!"
Miscreant turned to Zephyr. "Yes. But Victus wants to discuss an alliance between Archon and the Valley, and..."
"SILENCE!" Zephyr hurled a bolt of ice down towards Miscreant. It pierced through his arm. "Victus cannot be trusted, nor can his cohorts! Guards, seize this man!"
The guards rushed up to Miscreant, casting spells to restrain him. Mordor stepped forward. "Your highness, what this boy says is true. Victus is currently gathering his forces to make an assault on Archon. You must strike him before he can attack! You must use the Runic Cannon to destroy the Valley of Misery!!!"
"Mordor! Are you insane?! If we use that we could do more serious damage to the planet than you think! And the magical power required would kill most of the people here in Archon!!"
"ZEPHYR! Think about what you're saying! Do you really want to save a few lives instead of using the Cannon to save the planet?!"
Zephyr stared at Mordor, contemplating what he should do. "Mordor... If we use this, every mage in Archon... including us... Would have to concentrate all our magic power into the blast. It could wipe out most of the population on the planet. It could kill us. But you are right... We must do what we must do." He stepped away from the throne and turned to a guard. "Get all the mages to the Cannon chamber. Tell the pilots to move us in range of the Valley. We're going to use the Runic Cannon."
"Yes sir." He ran off.
"Come, Mordor. We must get to the chamber immediately. It will not be long before we are in range."
Victus walked to his crystal ball. When he sat down and looked at it, he saw what was going on in Archon. "Damn!" He rushed to the Mages' Chamber and gathered all the mages. "We've got to put a shield around the valley! The Holy City is about to use the Runic Cannon!!" The mages immediately ran, flew and teleported to their various stations along the ridge that encircled the valley to cast the shield spell. Victus stood atop the castle and hovered higher and higher into the sky, until he was several hundred feet above it. He looked towards the gathering black storm clouds and raised his hands to the sky. The Archmage then started the chant for the shield spell. "Darus raenzek... Archon narumos... Drifkel entripyen... Granus haenkarten... Acknor fallos arezek!" A large glowing ball appeared above his hands, and he spread his arms like the wings of a bird. The ball spread out over most of the valley. The lower mages did the same, and a series of circles appeared, and then connected, forming a dome of magical energy around the entire valley. Victus then murmured an incantation to keep his magic in place while he could go into the palace and prepare a counteroffensive.
Zephyr stood in the Runic Cannon charging room. He looked towards the Valley, seeing the shield. "Damn. They saw us coming. The Archmages have established a shield to protect them from the Cannon."
Mordor walked up behind him, and looked out at the shield. "Then strengthen the blast."
Zephyr turned to Mordor. "Strengthen the blast?"
"Yes. Use all the power you can. If we get this thing at maximum power, the shield will not last. We must aim so that the blast, when it pierces through the shield, will go through to the Obsidian Palace."
Zephyr lowered his head. "It could very possibly wipe out life on this planet. But if we don't..." He turned and walked to the other end of the room. "If we don't... Victus will undoubtedly destroy us all." He raised his head and looked at the mages in the room. "Arm the cannon." The mages turned to a giant magical stone and streamed their magical energy into it, powering the coming blast.
Victus had his army prepared for a counterstrike. he walked onto the battlefield and watched the Holy City. "If they do fire the weapon, they can pierce the shield... And could kill many of my mages." He then looked towards the ridge surrounding the Valley. "But they will surely lose many of their own mages as well. This enormous loss of magic power will bring the Holy City crashing to the ground..." He then turned to the army he had formed for invasion of the Holy City. "And when it does crash, I will be ready. These troops will invade the city, and bring it under my control. I will lift it into the air with my magic, and hunt the remaining crystals down. Only two hundred more to go, and I have only one place left to search. The Imperial City of Treias." He then had a thought. "Hmm... I'll have my secondary offensive force get it for me..." He opened a psychic connection. "Krystan! Take your men to Treias and get the last crystals! I must merge with them now!" With that, he teleported the group to the Imperial City.
Zephyr strained his arms as he pumped more magic into the stone. Most of the mages were exhausted and had passed out; but the arming process was nearly complete. After a few more seconds, he decided to halt arming and fire. He dropped his arms and stopped releasing his magic. Mordor did the same. "Alright... Let's get everyone out of here..." Zephyr said. "The blast will kill them if we do not." They evacuated the mages.
In the adjacent room, the firing room, Zephyr and Mordor stood by an altar. "This is it, Zephyr... The trigger to the Runic Cannon."
Zephyr sighed. "All we have to do is put a little magic into it, and the Cannon will release its energy... Ready, Mordor?" Mordor nodded.
They turned to the altar and shot small bolts of magic into it.
The world had by now heard of the great battle that was going to ensue, and many were watching the shadowy figure of the Holy City in the skies. Then, they saw a bright blue light shoot out from it. Spectators were shocked. "They used the Runic Cannon!!!" one man yelled. Everyone panicked, fearing that they would be engulfed by the energy.
Victus stared at the beam of magic as it hit the shield, splashing magical energy all around. He saw a weak spot in the shield. The beam had not even completely fired yet. "What the hell?!" He saw the beam continue to pour out of the hole in the side of the Holy City. "DAMMIT!!!" He realized how much damage was about to be done.
Zephyr and Mordor watched the beam striking the shield, and as magic was flung over the earth, destroying everything it touched. Zephyr's face had turned a ghastly pale, and Mordor watched closely, his expression grim. They saw magic crash into nearby towns and hills, smashing them to pieces. Some of the magic was flung to the other side of the planet. Mordor opened his lips to utter a single phrase:
"What have we done, Zephyr... What have we done..."
Victus saw the shield weakening tremendously, and still no sign of the beam stopping. Then, he saw it: A small hole had just appeared in the shield. A small beam of magic pierced through the shield, and sped toward the Obsidian Palace. Victus quickly placed a shield spell around the castle. The beam hit, and the shield started to flicker. Victus was not happy. He turned to the Holy City, and rose into the air above the Valley, above the blast, above the destruction.
Zephyr had realized that the Holy City might crash soon. He turned to a man and said, "What is our current altitude?"
"10,000 meters... No, 9500... 9000... Sir, we're falling!!"
Zephyr turned back to the window. "Dammit! This had better work!!!" Then he saw it: A lone figure had shot out of the shield. "What's that?" He pointed. Mordor's eyes widened.
"Victus!!"
Zephyr was shocked. "Damn! We have to destroy him!!"
Victus was preparing to cast a spell, when he received a psychic transmission. "Lord Victus! We have them, the last crystals!!!" Victus smiled.
"Good. I will teleport them to my location. You are to subdue Treias and bring it under my complete control."
"Yes sir."
Victus teleported the crystals. "Yes... The last crystals! I shall become God!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!"
Zephyr continued to stare at Victus. He saw a group of stones appear in front of him. "The remaining crystals... Damn!!! He's got all the crystals!!" He turned to Mordor. "You can save us. Holy Archmage Mordor, you must destroy him!"
Mordor sighed. "I cannot... I can only weaken him. He is now beyond my strength. Someone else must finish him."
Strydyr spoke up. "Mordor.... I have a plan. I need you, Twisty and Zephyr to distract him. I'll ride a wyvern over to him while you are weakening him, and I will attack when he least expects it."
Zephyr looked towards the Valley. He saw the troops there being destroyed by the Runic Cannon. "They cannot pose a threat to us anymore. Mordor, you and I must go to the charging room and put more energy into the blast. Twisty, you will lead our archers in a volley of arrows at Victus. Strydyr... It will be up to you to finish him." He turned towards the charging room. As he walked to the door, he said to an engineer, "Change the Cannon's target. The new target is Victus." With that, he and Mordor entered the Charging Room.
Victus had already started merging with the crystals. "Only a hundred more to go... Hehehe..." He looked down at the Valley. "Bah... They can die. They are useless now. I will be more powerful than God, and they..." he looked towards Archon, "They can't stop me." He then saw the magic beam start to move. He looked down. They were changing the target... The beam was moving towards him! "GODDAMMIT!! NO!" He used the remaining crystals to establish a powerful shield around him. "These should protect me...." He watched the beam move closer. It was turning red... He used a spell to enhance his vision and looked into the city, into the charging room. He saw Mordor and Zephyr putting all their energy into the blast. "No... No! I will NOT let this happen! I will not let them kill me!!!" He cast the spell Thurstreng had used so many times before. The dark bubble enclosed the Holy City. He then allowed the sunlight to penetrate, striking the streets of Archon with its destructive heat. "No... You're not going to win... You can't win!!" He watched as the Runic Cannon's blast struck the crystal shield he formed. "DIE YOU BASTARDS!!!!" He shot all his magical energy into the lightning bolt that shot through the bubble, causing an enormous explosion, with more strength than Thurstreng could have imagined. The City was destroyed in seconds.
Twisty guided his Wyvern towards Victus, with five hundred archers behind him. "Thank god we got out of there in time..." He saw that Victus was still putting energy into the explosion, which had pierced the bubble and shot fire all over the planet. The only thing protecting them was the crystal shield. They were behind Victus now. "Ready your bows!!" Twisty and the archers aimed at Victus. "FIRE!!!" Hundreds of arrows shot toward Victus. They all hit his cloak, however, and disintegrated upon contact. "Damn!" He looked toward his right. Strydyr was going in for the kill. "Alright guys, let's try to distract Victus some more!" With that, an uncontrolled assault was launched as arrows flew at Victus constantly, all hitting the cloak, all disintegrating. Strydyr was close to his attack.
Victus started to ease up on the destruction. He stopped pouring magic into the blast, and watched as flaming chunks of rock crashed down to the earth from what was the Holy City of Archon. He stared at it, then felt something hit his back. He turned and saw the archers, and started to launch fireballs and lightning bolts at them. But he did not see Strydyr's wyvern swooping in from behind; The creature screeched before gettin its rider in range, and Victus turned, just in time to see the shine of Strydyr's blade slicing through his chest. He gasped for air, and fell to the ground. Everyone watched as the Archmage fell down onto the remains of his own castle, impaling himself on the blade of one of his dead troops. Everyone started cheering loudly, and soon after, they celebrated.
In the days that followed, Strydyr, Twisty and the archers scoured the globe, searching for life, and found few things remaining. They would have tried to go into the area of what used to be Archon, but the fires burned in the air for two weeks, forbidding anyone to enter. They fund a few cities here and there, decimated, with a few survivors. They were all gathered together in the Imperial City of Treias, the one that took the least damage. When they were done with the search, they returned to the battlefield that almost started armageddon for the planet. The fires stopped by now, and the smoke had nearly cleared. They saw a dark shape on the ground in the clouds of ash and smoke, and flew toward it, finding that it was the palace of Archon. Mordor and Zephyr, highly weak from casting a spell to protect the palace, greeted the group, and assisted in the reconstruction of the planet. Soon they had established peace in the world, and were destroying the monsters that terrorized the population. After a few years, some cities were starting to grow strongly, and a new High Council had been established; This one would protect peace throughout the world, unlike the previous corrupted attempts. It was assured that never again would the world fall under the terrible reign of the Archmages.