Deas opened a portal and gazed once again at Arcada.

- If they…

- Go. If they try to attack, I will keep them away as long as I can. – the old wizard replied coldly.

The magician had already drawn a circle of protection runes on the floor and explained to the boys what they were supposed to do. He shortly hugged El and then quickly without looking back at her stepped inside the circle. Arcada tried to look calm as always, but the redhead noticed that his wrinkles that used to be barely noticeable had become significantly deeper in the last few days.

- He is strong, this necromancer… - mumbled Sam – Are you scared?

- I don’t know fear. – D replied emotionlessly.

- Aw, look at this cool guy – El loudly laughed – We all know fear. But we fear this necromancer much less than losing what we cherish, my friend. Listen to your fears, but don’t let them rule over you, otherwise…

- You will end up like Ephir – Ada finished the phrase.

- See, big man! They have already learned the most important thing! – El smiled at her teacher.

- Be careful. Return. – the old man closed his eyes.

- We will. – the girl promised before disappearing in the portal.

The two looked around. They teleported to a dark, endless forest of Terra Silvis. An unusually dim light of three moons was barely enough to see further than two meters away from them. Dark clouds covered almost all of the sky drowning the woods in nearly complete darkness. Now only rare flashes of lightning, accompanied by deafening thunder, lit the way from time to time.

Trees, that used to stand tall and strong were all twisted now and lost their majestic leaf clothing. Countless flowers and soft grass dried out turning into rough needles. There were no animals anymore and no birds sang far above in the skies. Rebellious nature that was still desperately trying to fight back dark magic was obviously slowly but surely losing.

- Wow. This necromancer is playing hard. – Deas frowned

- That’s why the council called the fairies to the Nulla… They wanted to give him space here… - agreed the redhead.

- This Terra is dying. Guess we go there, where it smells like death the most. – the young man stepped forward with a firm gait.

Soon enough the two noticed that the forest was getting only thicker and thicker, and the necromancers didn’t know anymore where to go, as the smell of death completely embraced them. Crooked sharp branches were pricking and scratching the magicians. Sometimes they had to crawl in the mud, to get through dense thickets. The ground was covered with dead bodies of insects. Hundreds of butterflies, that used to astonish travelers with their charming, elegant beauty, were lying now faded and mutilated in dry grass.

Sinister whispers appeared once again. It seemed like previously bodyless spirits had now become material and were following the magicians step by step stomping loudly and crunching brushwood. The necromancers couldn’t tell anymore if those were just tree branches or dry, deathly cold hands of spiteful ghosts that grabbed them every now and then.

El tripped over a tree root and fell down in the mud. The girl ran her hands on the ground as if she was looking for something.

- Are you all right? – Deas grabbed the redhead’s shoulders, helping her to get up.

- D, we’ve been here already. I groped our traces.

The magicians felt how evil spirits stepped closer to them. Bold wind blow swung dry branches making a creak that sounded rather like evil laughter of an ancient monster. Black storm clouds covered the sky completely, leaving no light at all. Loud thunder roared triumphantly, marking the victory of the dark powers over the dying nature.

Deas clenched his fangs loudly and sighed hoarsely. El felt an unpleasant metallic smell and carefully touched the young man’s cheeks with her fingers. Thick blood was running down his face signifying that evil voices made their way inside the necromancer’s mind once again.

- D, I don’t like darkness… - the witch shivered and gazed at her friend with her big brown-green eyes – Do the stars again.

The young man froze for a second then quickly shook his head, covered the girl with his long velvet tailcoat, and snapped his fingers, letting dozens of tiny fireballs float around the two. Sinister shadows that already neared the magicians, getting ready to tear them apart, instantly retreated making a loud hiss.

- This one looks like Basilisk, right? – El said calmly pointing at the fireballs.

- Right. Let’s go now. – the man moved forward – Thanks for returning me back.

- You are welcome. – the redhead shrugged – Where is your coin?

- It is always with me. – huffed the necromancer.

- Then you better use it, it’s already the second time today.

- I know. Sorry. – Deas replied dryly.

- It’s not working properly anymore, right?

- What do you mean?

- You are getting sentimental D. I guess it’s age… - El laughed – I won’t tell anybody. But until you find a better reason to stay, just listen to my voice, okay?

- I already do. You rarely keep silent. And the coin still works. I will probably spare your pet puppy from my rage, but that’s it. For the rest, my plan is still valid.

- If you say so…

- But I will feel safer if you make sure I don’t get lost… - D irritatedly sighed.

- Sure. – El smiled at him.

Seemed like the crooked forest itself feared the light of the warm fire and moved away its twisted branches, trying to hide them in the darkness. Now the two could walk freely and soon enough they managed to find a hidden fairy’s path, lined with small shiny stones, that led them out of the forest.

The necromancers came to the wide field they had seen earlier in the memories of the monster. Just like in the woods, the grass here wasn’t fresh and soft anymore. A strike of lightning lit the landscape, letting the magicians see the outlines of hills and rocks, covered with rare, twisted trees, far ahead. The two felt an intense smell of death and slowly headed to its source, to the hills.

- Sorry pixy. But we better turn off the light now, if we want to remain unnoticed. – the wizard put his hand on the girl’s shoulder.

- Okay. But stay close. – the witch frowned.

- Not that I planned to run away… - Deas rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers.

The two kept walking in complete darkness for some time. Lightning furiously ran across the sky, cutting trembling, electrified air. Deafening thunderclaps shook the ground, endlessly echoing across the fading valley. When the echo had finally fallen silent, the magicians heard weak, hoarse breathing not far from them. As the necromancers came closer, something in the darkness angrily howled. Deas squatted down and looked around.

- What’s there? – El asked peeping out from behind the man.

- Animals… - D replied sadly.

- The monsters? – the girl prepared to fight.

- No. Those are alive. But dark magic got inside their bodies, turning them into mutants like those at home. – the necromancer sounded unexpectedly sorrowfully – The council will definitely order to kill them later…

- They will. Mutants of dark magic are outlaws.

- Then they better leave to Terra Terrorem now. – Deas pronounced angrily as he opened a portal.

El waved her hands and screamed loudly:

- Fulgur Percusserit!

A bright, incinerating lightning stroke near the wizards, followed by another even more powerful one. Animals that probably used to be deer or moose before, at least their disfigured bodies still reminded those, jumped up in fear and rushed to the portal.

- We must stop him before he turns this place into one more Terra Terrorem! – huffed Deas and ran towards the hills.

The necromancers slowed down only as they approached the rocks. Now they clearly felt the presence of not just harmless unfortunate animals but raging monsters that were looking for prey. Dim light coming from a small cave lit a narrow glade and all the hellish creatures on it. Some of them were already familiar to the magicians, another pushed the boundaries of expected horror.

- This one has a human body… - El whispered with disgust.

- Yes, this man has some tendency for very perverse hybrids. – D replied quietly.

He sat down, pressed his hands to the ground and pronounced:

- Fortis Castrum! Non Est Via Ab Hic!

A loud rumble swept through the valley, locking all lands around here from teleportation. The monsters, all at once, stared at the magicians. Next second all the various creatures rushed towards them. D summoned his scythe and prepared to attack.

- Essentia Electricitatis! – El swung her hands.

Deas felt how his hair stood up on end and saw lightning as thin as spider webs ran through the air, gathering near the witch. A powerful wave of electricity uprooted several trees and knocked the beasts down before they managed to near the magicians. The witch summoned her chain and wrapped it around a crawling to her giant snake-like monster with a boar’s head. The creature hissed raising its heavy body and pulling the chain backward. This unexpected spurt threw the redhead few meters forwards. She landed hard on the ground and rubbed her bleeding shoulder.

Deas meanwhile used his hellish flame to scare some huge spider-like creatures away and now powerfully swung his scythe cutting off a paw of an inside-out bear. The monster with a human body jumped at El, but D blocked his way and grabbed its neck setting the creature on fire with his favorite spell. He then quickly ran to the witch and held out his hand helping her to get up.

Both magicians backed down, avoiding sharp claws and fangs of the monsters that cut the air a couple of centimetres away from the two. El struck one of the creatures with the chain, painfully and deeply wounding it. While the beast was in confusion with pain, the girl quickly wrapped the chain around its ugly body and whispered the lightning spell. The frightful animal shook and instantly turned into ashes.

Deas swung his scythe with force and hacked the giant snake into two pieces. The creature burst into dark red fire and disappeared in a second. The necromancer cast a shield, repelling the attack of another beast, but the next moment the shield was smashed into small pieces by a thick, rusty axe. D rolled back to El and looked at the man in front of him.

It was the man from the memories of the monster. An old, scarred necromancer with sparse, greasy gray hair. The man hit the ground with his axe, leaving a huge cleft, and furiously stared at the magicians with his small green eyes, covered with a translucent veil, mumbled something unclear and ran to the couple.

- Who are you? – El jumped away, barely escaping the axe.

The man didn’t answer anything, only muttered something unintelligible and attempted to attack the necromancers once again. Deas smashed him with the scythe, but the man cast a powerful shield in the last moment, throwing The Monster above all monsters far back with a reflecting spell. El frowned, her eyes turned black and a spiderweb of black veins covered her face.

- I see, you are not a fan of constructive discussions. – huffed the girl stepping back - Essentia Electricitatis!

Another powerful wave of electricity swept through the glade, painfully burning the monsters, throwing them and their creator back, and taking down everything in its path. Deas stuck his scythe into the ground and barely managed to stay on his feet. The man with the axe fell down losing his weapon and scratching the ground with his sharp claws.

- Take care of the creatures and I will distract the necromancer! – shouted out the girl.

D hated it when somebody tried to give him orders but unfortunately this time, he got an order from the only person he never could object to, so he inwardly swore because of his softness and silently nodded. The Monster above all monsters stepped to the hellish creatures, opened his mouth showing knife-like sharp fangs, and loudly roared, making the beasts back down.

- Ignire! – the man clenched his scythe that now burst into fire.

One of the monsters dared to jump at Deas and was immediately cut into pieces by the flaming weapon. For a second the necromancer indeed looked like a demon from the depths of hell. Unstoppable energy and passion for battles overwhelmed him, making his attacks more accurate and deadly and letting him not even notice deep, bleeding wounds that creatures from time to time managed to leave him.

One of the giant snakes wrapped itself around D’s body trying to suffocate him. The man’s bones, squeezed with great force, loudly cracked and teared up his flesh in some places, making the necromancer hiss from pain. He clenched his teeth and whispered:

- Essentia Cor Meum!

A bright explosion of the dark red fire instantly turned the snake into ashes. The firestorm rushed towards the remaining creatures taking a form of a giant Basilisk. It seemed like the monsters, exhausted by the battle, pain, and fear, felt that they couldn’t escape this furious flame dragon, so they didn’t even attempt to run or hide, accepting their faith and finally disappearing forever.

In the meantime, El quickly ran to the axe that the old necromancer dropped as he was trying to save himself from the electrical storm. The old man attempted to snap up his weapon, but the witch was faster. The necromancer roared and ran at the girl trying to cut her with his long sharp claws. The redhead dodged several times, blocked his hands with her chain, and then pushed the man with her foot in the stomach, making the dark magician bump his back against the rock.

- Unum Totum! – El yelled loudly.

The rock instantly became liquid, embraced the wizard, and hardened again, firmly shackling the man. He desperately muttered something vainly trying to get out of the stone prison. His eyes firstly turned black and then a trickle of dark, thick blood ran down his face. A powerful explosion freed the old man from captivity, scattering large pieces of stone around and knocking the redhead down.

- Can you stun him? – Deas joined his friend.

El nodded and, surrounded by bright, quickly moving lightnings, she ran to the old necromancer. The dark magician tried with the last bit of his strength to protect himself from the pervading, burning electricity. Bolts of lightning were cracking his shields as if those were made from thin paper, forcing the man to retreat again and again. The witch summoned a strong lightning strike that was instantly followed by a deafening thunderclap. The old magician staggered and fell to his knees. Deas smashed the last shield with his flaming scythe and grabbed the man’s head.

- Mortuus Somno! – he whispered furiously.

The dark wizard trembled and paralyzed heavily fell on the ground like a bag of potatoes.

El kicked his motionless body and glanced at D. The two silently bumped their fists and smiled faintly. Before leaving they quickly went inside the cave and examined the treasures of the old man.

- Those are the books from the forbidden archive of Nulla Meridianus. – El said thoughtfully.

- Well, what a surprise that somebody there helped this guy… - Deas answered sarcastically.

The magicians heard a loud, melodic bird singing coming from the outside. A big and beautiful snow-white bird was sitting on a branch of a twisted tree. Some mystical, warming light was coming from it, cutting the darkness of the night and bringing the tortured Terra back to life. The song of a bird echoed across the valley along with a refreshing soft breeze.

- I will take this moron to the council now. Make sure that nobody notices any traces of you here later. – El grabbed the dark magician and smiled at Deas.

- Be careful there. I bet, Iduna won’t be happy that we caught her friend. – the necromancer frowned.

- Don’t worry. You know, I can protect myself… Or at least, masterfully retreat! – laughed the girl disappearing in a portal.