El was sitting at a big round table in a spacious room, that was assigned for the legion in the Council’s Hall. The redhead was carefully following all the changing images of different dimensions that appeared in a large mirror board in the center of the table. There was no sign of those hellish creatures.

The necromancer nervously opened another pack of Haribos. She saw some other warriors of the legion when she arrived. They all were still shocked after yesterday’s attack. Many were mourning for their fallen friends. One of the magicians earlier today angrily accused El of heartlessness, since the girl wasn’t crying like everybody else. That was right, she wasn’t. She had learned back in her early childhood not to show her weaknesses, to other people. Sweets had become her favorite way of silent consolation in public.

El heard heavy footsteps behind her. Arcada had to bend over to get through a small door. His face was indicating that he brought no good news.

- On a scale from 0 to 10, how bad things are? – asked the witch.

- Well, I would say 20… - Arcada powerlessly fell in a chair next to El.

- Great. Start from the worst news then…

- Firstly, how do you feel? Your wounds are still bleeding… - the old wizard examined bandages on the girl’s arm.

- I am okay. Feel myself minimum 100 years older than my age, but I’ll get better soon. So, the council decided to invade?

- Yes. Yesterday’s cruel attack persuaded everybody. Even those, who used to be against war.

- Sure. That was the goal of the attack. – the girl shrugged.

- The army will be ready within a week.

- That’s not much time…

- It’s not the worst yet… - Arcada closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

- It can get any worse?

- Yes. Ephir claimed in front of the whole council, that he has felt Deas’s presence yesterday.

- Damn it!

- Right. And it is not even a lie.

- Yes, wonderful! Why is this worm so useless when you need him but suddenly, here he is when you totally don’t need his participation?! – El jumped to her feet and smashed the table with her fist.

- That was foolish of Deas… he worried about you, but now his situation got only worse.

- Will see. We will find that mysterious necromancer and then… I don’t know yet, but in any case, I am a good liar and Ephir has a reputation of a weak necromancer, so I will find an excuse for this.

- Don’t forget, that your reputation is also far from perfect. Ephir is Iduna’s right hand, and you are a troublesome child for the elders.

- Yes! And they are ancient, feeble-minded mummies! – the redhead smashed the table once again.

- Should I remind you, that I am one of them?

- I didn’t mean you… - huffed the girl and sat down.

- You two surprise me… - Arcada said thoughtfully.

- What do you mean?

- You are protecting each other so persistently… Do you want to tell me something?

- There is nothing to tell. That’s what friends do! – El got confused.

- Fine. Let’s pretend I have no eyes. – chuckled the old wizard.

- Direct your eyes to the map, we still need one of those creatures! – the girl huffed and gazed at the mirror board.

The two spent few more hours staring at the constantly changing images of Terras. The redhead opened another pack of Haribo. Arcada could clearly see how nervous the girl was. Signs that were invisible for everybody else, were completely obvious for the one, who once replaced El’s parents.

- What if they don’t show up? – the necromancer dropped her head on the table.

- Calm down. They will. You said herself, Iduna staged this performance for a reason. She needs it as a constant reminder for the council. So, just be patient.

As the old wizard finished his phrase, the mirror board suddenly clouded over. In a second it showed two wizards a cold, icy landscape. Four giant, ugly creatures were crawling through the snow towards a big city.

- That’s Terra Gelu! We must go! – El jumped up.

- Right, we need to get Deas firstly. – commanded Arcada –Nemo Scit!

The old man pronounced the spell, and the icy land disappeared from the mirror board. The magicians didn’t want any unnecessary witnesses.

- Deas! – screamed the girl as she stepped out of the portal in the main parlor – Come! We must go!

The young man hurried towards the limping witch and carefully looked at her.

- Where?

- Terra Gelu!

- I’ll go. You stay. – he said emotionlessly.

- No! I am fine, I will go!

- He is right. You stay and I will go with Deas. – interrupted Arcada.

- Are you joking?

- You are still too weak to fight. Stay here and watch over the kids. – the old teacher put his wide hand on the girl’s shoulder.

- Enjoy your time with your puppies. You can still lock them in the dungeon. – said the necromancer opening a portal.

The two magicians disappeared before El managed to protest. She heard footsteps in the gallery. The trio heard her voice and hurried to the main parlor.

Arcada and Deas fell into deep snow. The temperature was significantly below zero, the cold, strong wind was buzzing loudly.

- I would prefer them to attack a warmer place – the old wizard frowned.

- Don’t fall apart, bag of old bones. This place can be too harsh for you. – chuckled D.

- My bones are actually younger than yours! – big man corrected.

- Yes, but you are no necromancer like me. Time was ruthless to you. – the young man said proudly – Flammis Inferni!

A powerful stream of dark red fire rushed through the field, melting the snow. The two magicians ran to the city, they needed to get there before monsters.

- This is a non-magical Terra; we need to disguise those creatures from humans! – whispered Arcada as the two entered the city.

- Or we can just leave no witnesses.

- I’m afraid, we won’t be able to fight that carefully.

- Oh, my saint friend, I actually meant “leave no witnesses alive”.

- Right, I forgot, despite everything, you are still a moron.

- I’ll take it as a compliment. – the necromancer smiled.

- Velum Ignorantiae! – the old wizard waved his hand – Now we can go. Can you feel those creatures?

Deas stopped. His eyes turned black, and dark black veins appeared on his body. He opened his mouth, showing his sharp fangs, and took a deep breath. Arcada shivered. He had seen many necromancers taking their true form before, but every time he still felt an uncontrolled, primitive fear.

- There. We must hurry. They will soon start their dinner. – Deas showed the direction – Aren’t you afraid, that I will just leave you to monsters and let you die?

- Oh, that could be very possible. But I know you won’t.

- You are so sure about that?

- Yes. Because you are tamed, my old friend. – Arcada laughed.

The wizards ran through icy streets of a big city. People and cars were passing by, but nobody could see the two. Life went on as usual. A powerful spell hid the impending danger from humans.

Soon enough the magicians heard crashing cars and people screaming. They ran out onto a wide highway. The street was blocked by an overturned bus. Something invisible was throwing cars around like they were light feathers. People were fleeing away not understanding, what was going on. The two wizards could clearly see though, who attacked the peaceful city.

Four big, disfigured creatures, looking like hyenas with snake tails were standing in the center of the road. One of them put its huge paws on the bus, trying to scrape the passengers out of it.

- Remember: we need only one and we need it alive. – said Deas as his scythe appeared in his hand.

The man skillfully rotated the weapon and furiously ran at the creatures. Arcada summoned his saber and tried to keep up with the necromancer. The monsters were very mighty and cruel. They attacked the magicians so viciously, that it seemed for a moment impossible to stop one of them without killing it. With their strong paws, they broke down all the shields that the wizards cast. Arcada and D had to retreat several times, hiding behind the cars. The animals teared several metal vessels up as if those were made of soft butter.

A piece of iron plate flew at Arcada, making the old wizard roll away. He jumped on his feet next to the necromancer and glanced at him.

- Have any ideas?

- Maybe. That one, on the left. I assume the animal was sick during its life. So, now it is not as active as others and avoids turning to us its right side. Seems like the right front paw doesn’t move properly.

The two wizards had to fall to the ground as another huge piece of a car flew above their heads.

- Fine. Then let’s finally deal with those three and then capture the sick one.

Deas nodded, jumped up, and rushed towards one of the monsters. The animal turned its huge head to the necromancer and snapped its teeth. It jumped forward and grabbed the man with its fangs. As soon as the creature closed its mighty jaw, the illusion that it was holding in its mouth disappeared. The necromancer appeared behind the monster's back and powerfully cut it with his scythe. The thing fell down and roared. Deas stepped on its back and put his hand on the creature’s head. The animal immediately turned into ashes.

Meanwhile, Arcada managed to cut the paw of another creature. The old wizard avoided its fangs and swung once again with his saber, injuring the monster’s eye. It desperately roared, trying to reach the wizard with its sharp teeth but slipped on the ice and fell down. Arcada quickly neared the thing.

- Ab Abyssum! – he snapped his fingers.

The big body shook and started to shrink as if an invisible black hole was sucking it in. In a moment there was already no sign of the monster.

The two wizards stared at the third creature.

- Hey, big man, do me a favor, play a bait. – Deas seemed to be very focused.

Arcada didn’t like the idea, he didn’t fully trust the necromancer, but anyway nodded and ran at the monster. He waved his huge hands and screamed. The animal immediately reacted, scratched the asphalt with its long claws, and rushed towards the magician. Before it managed to reach the old man, D sneaked up to it from the side and swung his scythe cutting its two paws off. Dark red flames of fire instantly engulfed the creature finishing its suffering.

The last monster glanced at the wizards and backed down. It roared, trying to look mightier but now the magicians could clearly see: its front right paw was significantly shorter than the other three.

- Now you will play a bait! – the old wizard said before covering himself with a spell of invisibility.

- Excuse me! How can The Monster above all monsters be a bait for a monster? – Deas screamed to his companion he couldn’t already see.

The young man huffed and moved towards the last animals. He swung and rotated his scythe trying to scare it. The monster was carefully following every movement of the weapon, slowly backing down. Arcada appeared from the left side of the animal. The creature roared and raised its left paw, trying to knock down the magician. Yet, its weak right paw couldn’t hold the weight of the whole body and the monster loudly fell to the ground.

- In Compedes de Stupor! – screamed the old wizard stretching forward his hand.

The animal roared loudly and tried to get up, but it couldn’t. The spell left it powerlessly laying on the ground.

- Nah! Is it a good job or a good job? – Deas smiled satisfied.

- Come. Those humans will think that all the destruction was caused by a storm. We must leave now.

El was already waiting for her friends in the dungeon’s hall. The kids also joined her. The redhead mentioned that there was going to be a big monster and it was technically not very safe for the children to be there, but she also didn’t strictly forbid, so the trio followed her.

- Are you sure, they will be able to catch one? – Nick asked the young woman.

- Are you kidding me? You saw yourself how easily Deas killed those creatures at Terra Solitudinis! – his brother exclaimed.

- Right, the keyword “killed”. – the boy shook his head.

- I hope they will. We must stop this insanity, my grandmother does… - Ada said quietly.

- Don’t worry. Those two are the most skillful magicians I’ve ever seen. They’ll do it… I just hope they won’t kill each other in the process… - El rubbed the back of her head.

- Yes, that’s also possible… - Nick agreed.

A portal opened up in dark red flames of fire. Two magicians carried a huge ugly animal on their shoulders. They threw it in a dungeon and Deas locked a massive titan door. The monster still couldn’t move but it was alive.

The children ran to the cage and examined the creature with interest. Arcada sat down on the floor.

- Don’t come too close. It is still dangerous… My God, I am too old for such fights.

El nodded and slowly left the room. Staying around this monster made her feel sick. Deas caught up with the redhead in the corridor.

- Have they decided to invade?

- Yes, D. The council is preparing the army.

- Pixy, in the worst case, when the war starts, whose side will you take: Arcada’s or mine?

- I’m not taking sides. – the witch looked her friend in the eyes – I’m protecting those who need it. And both of you are on my side.