Arcada was motionlessly staying inside of the circle for already several hours. Sitting in the dark hall of the ancient castle this huge man reminded a giant statue of a gothic gargoyle guarding its cold and lifeless home. Only coming very close to him one could hear the old wizard mumbling nonstop: “Fortis Castrum! Non Est Hic Ostium! Fortis Castrum! Non Est Hic Ostium!”.

The flapping of powerful wings outside distracted the kids from a chess game that was slowly reaching the dead end already. Soon enough fast footsteps echoed in dark corridors. Varana returned from patrol and hurried to reunite with her beloved husband.

- I am here, my love, no need to worry! – the children heard the loud voice of the Lady.

Some minutes later the couple entered the hall. Marlik was holding the hand of his wife so tightly that it seemed he was about to tear it off. Varana glanced strictly at the old wizard and then much kinder at the twins.

- I could never imagine that Iduna’s minions will kindly decide to help us one day. – she said grinning.

- Don’t throw everyone in the same barrel! – Nick frowned.

- Sorry love, but here we are used not to trust those, who come from Nulla. – the Lady replied calmly.

Ada lowered her eyes and glanced at the frozen, deeply focused face of the old teacher. Sure, those people had valid reasons to despise them, but every time the girl caught those cold looks, a heavy load of painful guilt and shame wrapped her tightly and suffocatingly. Sam put his hand on the little witch’s shoulder, trying to soothe her.

- Is everything quiet outside? – Nick preferred to change the topic.

- So far yes. Shadow is still in the city. We believe, the council will start the invasion from the capital, so he and the dead are strengthening the town walls now. Jolios and his sons are hiding those, who can’t fight. I will fly around the area once again later.

- Will you give us any weapons? – Sam asked the Lady very seriously.

- Why would you need any? – Varana rubbed her chin.

- If the army gets inside, we will fight! – the boy replied confidently.

- No-no-no! The dead won’t let anybody inside! I will hide you in the dungeon if they invade! Immediately! My God! What if they invade! It is a catastrophe! – Marlik muttered fast.

A loud metal clang interrupted the man. Tarnan limped into the hall wearing an armor that was minimum twice bigger than him and dragging along an enormous black sward.

- If they invade, Tarnan will show them the way out! Tarnan will show! – the butler mumbled grumpily - Step aside Lord Ferias. Tarnan will guard the friends of My Lord now!

Arcada frowned. Noise and bustle were disturbing him. He coughed loudly, reminding others about his important task that required a great amount of focus.

- Oh! The friend of My Lord needs some water? Water? – the butler approached the old wizard.

- The friend of Your Lord needs silence, dear Tarnan. – the magician answered without opening his eyes.

The butler limped fast to Marlik, gazed at him strictly, and shook his crooked, scaly finger right in front of the man’s confused face.

- Be quiet Lord Ferias! Be quiet! Such a loud man! Such a loud! – he muttered grumpily.

Varana sank into the chair and closed her eyes shortly. A deathly silence hung over the room for some time. It became so quiet that kids could hear how the dragon was steadily breathing outside waiting for its master. Seemed that the last days were so intense and stressful, that nobody had any nerves left by now. Yet, waiting was still an exhausting torture.

Suddenly Arcada loudly snorted. A trickle of blood ran from his nose down the face. A mighty invisible power squeezed his body cracking the old bones. The magician opened his mouth widely trying to fill his lungs with stale air. All present in the room immediately rushed to him.

- Somebody is trying to get through his barrier! – Varana yelled angrily.

- This is ridiculous! The soldiers don’t have the ammunition yet! – Nick shook his head.

- And yet my grandmother is trying to send them here… - the little witch pronounced disappointedly and stepped back.

Another powerful push forced Arcada to bend down and frown in pain.

- Leave the circle old man! We will fight! – the Lady neared the rune and held out her hand to the wizard.

- Nothing will make me leave this damn circle! – Arcada pronounced slowly with effort.

- It will kill you! – the woman tried to object.

- Nothing! – repeated the magician.

A portal opened in flames of the dark red fire signifying the return of The Monster above all monsters. Deas’s clothes were generously covered with dirt and blood, torn apart in some places, exposing fresh deep wounds but the man looked majestically and highly satisfied. However, his proud smile quickly left his face as the man felt the strong magic that opposed Arcada.

- El? – the old wizard opened his eyes for a second.

- Your ward is at the council with the other necromancer. – the man reported quickly – How long can you keep the barrier?

- I don’t know. The strongest of Nulla are trying to destroy it. – the wizard coughed and bent down again – I’m afraid the barrier is starting to break.

Deas shook his head, clenched his fists, and then moved his eyes to Varana.

- Fly to the city. Warn others about the invasion! – D shortly glanced at the kids – Tell them, today we don’t kill, only capture. There is no place for the Nulla’s trash on our graveyards!

Marlik grabbed the hand of his wife even tighter. The lady kissed him goodbye and quickly left the room. In less than few minutes the huge, strong dragon soared up and headed to the city.

- Keep the barrier as long as you can. Don’t let the whole army enter. – Deas commanded the old wizard dryly – Tarnan, you and other servants must protect those people.

The necromancer finished his phrase already leaving the room. The Monster above all monsters hurried to the town walls as well being ready to protect those small, still so fragile pieces of civilization he managed to restore in the last two hundred years.

Sweat and blood ran down Arcada’s face again. The pressure only increased, now he could clearly feel the rage of the council and particularly Iduna. His barrier started to crack letting small troops of soldiers enter the forbidden land. The sounds of battle rang out in the distance. Tarnan looked outside of the window and hurried downstairs, ordering to lock all the doors.

Ada clenched her fists, then unexpectedly jumped up and waved her hands opening a portal. Sam didn’t need an additional invitation; he bravely and rather recklessly followed the girl.

- Wait! You must hide! Nobody must see you! And we have no weapons! – shouted out Nick as he disappeared inside the portal as well.

Arcada wanted to jump up and immediately stop the kids, but as soon as he slightly moved, the barrier got weaker, letting more soldiers in. The old wizard swore loudly and returned to his place, trying to hold back the Nulla army with the last bits of his strength. Anyways, even if he had tried, he probably wouldn’t have managed to stop Ada. The girl firmly decided to protect helpless citizens of Terra Terrorem.

The council indeed decided to start the invasion from the capital. When the trio teleported to the city, the first troops of Nulla magicians were already storming the town walls. Those wizards were lacking armors and weapons but their magical strength more than compensated for this disadvantage.

Right as the children hid themselves with the spell of invisibility and disguise, a deafening explosion shortly knocked them all down. When Ada managed to get up, she heard desperate screams of Terranians, fleeing away. A large hole gaped in the town wall, inviting the invaders in. A furious army of dead rushed forwards attempting to hold the magicians from Nulla back. Those half-rotten creatures, as Deas ordered, tried rather to stun their enemies than to wound or kill them. However, they had no powers to withstand the pressure of the council’s soldiers for a long time. Their frail, weak bodies were quickly torn to pieces by powerful spells of experienced wizards.

People were rushing through the streets in panic being followed by mighty, merciless magicians. The twins hurried to the crowd getting in the way of the army and together with the remaining dead endeavoring to slow the soldiers down. The shield of invisibility was safely hiding them from the eyes of Nulla’s wizards, letting the boys dodge between them unnoticed, like shadows, and attack them with disorientating spells.

Ada dazed for a moment but soon enough the girl followed her friends. Running through the streets she saw a woman who was lying on the ground nearly completely paralyzed by a spell of numbness. The poor thing scratched the ground, trying to cover her small child with her emaciated body. A tall, strong man slowly approached her, preparing another powerful spell. An undisguised look of superiority froze on his face. Ada backed down. Her father wasn’t the kindest man alive, but she could never imagine that he could look that ruthless and bloodthirsty. She saw the side of Jadeite she had never seen before. Hot tears ran down the girl’s face.

- Lentum Compedibus! – the little witch squeezed out furiously.

The wizard staggered and slowed down. His feet stuck to the ground and his hands stuck to his body, preventing him from moving even a millimeter further. Jadeite growled and angrily looked around, searching for his unexpected opponent. Ada froze in fear, she felt how icy drops of sweat ran down her back. The girl was afraid that her father would feel her presence. Despite everything, she yet wasn’t ready to confront him and her mighty grandmother.

Jadeite mumbled a disenchantment spell and gazed after the fleeing mother and her child. Ada pressed her back against a wall and held her breath. Her father shook his head, trying if not to see, then at least to feel the one who attacked him. Step by step he was getting closer to his daughter.

Suddenly a long snath of the massive scythe smashed Jadeite with great force. The man fell to the ground and rolled few meters, then jumped up and confusedly stared at Deas, standing in front of him. The necromancer grinned, making the man shiver from the sight of D’s long sharp fangs. Jadeite’s look of superiority was instantly replaced with the look of fear. He cowardly stepped back searching for his fellow Nulla magicians.

Unfortunately for the wizard, he noticed only now that he was completely alone. The arrival of The Monster above all monsters and dragons forced most soldiers to retreat outside of the city walls.

- Well… I guess…. Boo! – huffed Deas.

Jadeite shuddered, swiftly opened up a portal, and joined his army outside of the town. He definitely didn’t plan a fight with the ruler of Terra Terrorem today.

- That’s a pathetic disguise spell. You are very lucky not to be noticed today! – D turned away from Ada – collect your kindergarten mates and return to the castle. The army of Nulla is leaving.

The witch remained motionless for some more seconds. It suddenly became quiet. Right, the people weren’t screaming anymore, they weren’t fleeing from the town walls in panic anymore. The twins walked along the main road searching for Ada. The girl cancelled the invisibility spell and waved to her friends.

The trio did as Deas ordered, they returned to the castle. Some of the Nulla magicians managed to get here and were met by the brave butler and other servants. Now Tarnan tied the captives tightly and pushed them out of the gate.

- Bring them to My Lord! So much mess now! Much mess! Tarnan has a lot of work! – he yelled grumpily to his helpers.

The kids quickly ran upstairs. They knew, Arcada was very angry and would definitely lecture them, so they hurried to calm the old teacher down. He was still sitting inside the circle when the children entered, however, now he opened his eyes and strictly stared at the trio.

- What were you even thinking about! – the old man frowned.

- In our defence, I must say that everything is fine. – Sam raised his hands.

- It was the most irresponsible thing you could do! – Arcada was still furious.

- But you were holding most soldiers back, and the dead and dragons were there so it was almost safe for us… - the boy tried to bargain.

- You will never ever do that again! - the magician shook his finger.

The children synchronously nodded. After dealing with El for so many years Arcada could instantly spot the promises that were not going to be kept but he didn’t say anything. In the end, he was just happy that the kids returned safe and sound.

- Is it over? – Nick carefully asked the teacher.

- I don’t know. But I don’t feel that anybody is trying to get in anymore. – the wizard replied thoughtfully.

- So El persuaded them to stop… - concluded the boy and rubbed his chin.

- Seems so. You better leave now. Go to a safer Terra. – Arcada closed his eyes.

- No! I will stay here until I am completely sure that Nulla retreated! – Ada stamped her foot – You should go to the council. It is already weird enough that one of the elders is missing. And El is alone there with my family. That is dangerous.

Arcada frowned again. He himself wanted to join his foster daughter at Nulla Meridianus as soon as possible, and make sure that she was safe. Now when the invasion seemed to be over, it was finally the time.

- Promise at least, that you won’t go anywhere alone, stay around the adults… - the magician sighed and opened up a portal.

- Don’t worry. We will stay here! – Nick assured the old man.

- Will we? – Sam asked his brother after Arcada had left.

The older twin didn’t answer anything, he just silently pointed at Ada. The girl looked lost and devastated. Now she was pretty sure, her parents knew about her grandmother’s secret and seemed like they didn’t have anything against it.