Bright and early I meet up with Chief Inquisitor Des Chevaliers outside of his office. There’s another man standing beside him, wearing gold plated armor unlike anything that I’ve ever seen. He looks like a powerful warrior. Or rather I should say, he looks like he had once been a powerful warrior. He has to be pushing 70 if not older. To avoid being rude, I extend my hand to him and try to force down my inner panic. He takes my hand with a firm shake. “Maximus Thunderforge, Dragoon,” he says.

I’ve heard of the Dragoons. They’re legendary warriors who were responsible for defending towns from dragons. The only problem with that is that there hasn’t been a dragon attack in ages. I don’t think an attack has even occurred in my lifetime. At his age perhaps he had personally fought dragons, but I don’t bother asking. The air is too tense to start the day with 21 questions. Des Chevaliers, Thunderforge, and I silently nod at one another and then set off.

We pass through Magali, out the city gates, and march towards Master Simon’s chateau. Along the way Thunderforge gets so excited that he can’t help from chatting. “Have you ever seen a dragon lad?” he asks me.

“No.”

“Ahh, a wee whippersnapper aren’t ye lad? Back in my day, dragons swooped through the air hovering like vultures preying on the weak and defenseless. They could swallow a wee child with one gulp, that they could. You don’t see ‘em anymore. We did our job well. Too well we did. Made ourselves useless. My own boys know the Dragoon forging techniques, but got no clue about actual battle. Darn shame it is. As for me, I just want one last hoorah. One last great battle before I go quietly into the night.”

Again, I don’t mean to be rude, but he’s clearly an old man. “Don’t push yourself too much, or you won’t make it to a quiet night.”

He laughs heartily and smashes me hard on the back with what was supposed to be a light pat. “Don’t worry about me lad. I may be 69, but I feel like a man ten years younger, that I do.”

I raise my left eyebrow and toss Des Chevaliers a doubtful glance. “Don’t worry about him Souladonis,” he says. “Maximus Thunderforge may not look like much these days, but back in his time he could fell a dragon with one blow.”

I take another look at Thunderforge. He senses my disbelief. “Don’t believe him do ye lad?” he asks. “It’s called the Heart Thrust, the Dragoon super technique. Uses all of a Dragoon’s mana in one decisive blow. Leaves him defenseless afterwards though. Speaking of which, got a mana potion I can have lad? Biggest one ya got.”

I summon my medical supplies bag and reluctantly hand him a divine-grade mana potion.

“Woo wee! Big one ain’t it? Right expensive if I’m not mistaken. But don’t ya be worrying lad, I’ll get it back to ya or at least get ya a new one.”

I take my potion for loss and continue the rest of the way with quiet determination and focus. I know that I have to fight my best, or I’ll never see Katherine again. That thought alone will motivate me to persevere no matter how rough things get.

Once we reach the chateau, we pass through the door without hesitation. This time a collection of lanterns spaced out on the surrounding walls illuminates the otherwise lightless first floor. Des Chevaliers unsheathes his overly large sword, Thunderforge summons a golden spear, and I squeeze my stone staff a little tighter. After we move a few steps into the house, a bat flies to the floor in front of us. It changes shape and becomes Master Simon in his death mage form. Next, his bat familiar arrives landing on his shoulder. “Well, well, well, little Lord Rosengarden brought the Chief Inquisitor. I’m disappointed in you, but I suppose that’s par for the course with you isn’t it boy? Regrettably, involving the inquisitors means that I have to kill you this time.”

He turns his attention to his bat familiar and rubs his hand against its face. “What’s that lovely? You want to kill them? That’s a bit greedy of you, but I suppose you do need your exercise. So be it.”

His bat takes to the sky in the center of the room. Call me overconfident, but I don’t feel too threatened by a creature that I can take out with a single swipe of my staff. But all the same, we take our fighting stances. I start to cast Comet at the bat in a preemptive strike, but something unbelievable happens. Right before our eyes, the bat becomes the size of a small dragon. Each flap of its wings reverberates with the sound of swooshing air. Its mouth falls open and I get a good look at fangs like sharpened swords aligning its mouth. My overconfidence dies instantly.

“Remember what I was telling you about familiars boy? Well this is my Apocalypse familiar. It will be more than enough to deal with you three.”

Master Simon releases his signature evil cackle and then flies away in his bat form. I brace myself for a difficult battle with his familiar. Yet for as serious as the situation is, Thunderforge looks downright giddy. “Oh! Oh! Let me have this one lad! It’s just what I been needing. A good ol’ proper bat-shaped dragon that it is. Worthy of an old man’s final battle methinks. You two go on and deal with the little fish. I be casting my net right here and reeling in a big one.”

“Are you sure about this Maximus?” Des Chevaliers ask.

“Darn certain. Be on with ye now.”

“Let’s go Souladonis,” Des Chevaliers says to me.

We make a wide circle around the Apocalypse familiar and dart for the stairs. As we go I take a look back at Thunderforge. Incredibly, he hobbles forward a few paces at the giant bat and then leaps so high into the air that his head nearly hits the ceiling. I can’t believe my eyes. Master Simon’s chateau is colossal. The roof has to be at least 30 ft. high. “How did he do that?” I ask Des Chevaliers.

“There’s more than meets the eye with him Souladonis. Now focus on the task and don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine.”

I take one last look at Thunderforge. He’s riding on top of the bat’s head giggling more than a baby playing peek-a-boo. I don’t know whether he’s brave, crazy, or just plain suicidal, but either way, he’s on his own now.

Des Chevaliers and I climb up the stairs to the fifth and final floor. We run to the one wooden door and the large inquisitor kicks it open. When we pass through, Master Simon is standing there waiting for us. At once, he grins slyly and our battle begins.

Des Chevaliers goes for his Triple Slash technique. He moves towards Master Simon in a blur and swipes for his legs. Unfortunately, he misses by a long shot. For as fast as he is, Master Simon is even faster.

Standing directly behind Des Chevaliers, he places his palm on the inquisitor’s back and unleashes his Dark Bolt spell. The black projectile pushes Des Chevaliers face-first into the back wall. I take advantage of Master Simon’s facing away from me and fire a Comet at his back. He zips out of the way of my projectile, which instead travels towards my former enemy turned ally. Luckily, he rolls on the floor and I don’t accidentally hit him.

Master Simon suddenly appears to my left. He stretches his hand out to zap me with a Dark Bolt just like he did Des Chevaliers, however, this isn’t my first time fighting him. I anticipate his action and dip down into a spinning sweep kick at his heels. My right leg cuts through both of his legs causing him to plummet to his backside. Immediately, Des Chevaliers follows up my attack with the same falling lunge that he did to destroy my Rhinohorn. Just in the nick of time, Master Simon is able to take his bat form, pulling his midsection out of harm’s way. He flies to the other side of the room and retakes his human form.

We all ready ourselves for the next exchange. Des Chevaliers uses the Martial Magic spell “Fire Enchant” to set his sword ablaze. I take out a Rush script, and cast the spell on myself using the piece of parchment. If I’m to have any chance at catching Master Simon, then I’ll need the speed boost.

We begin again. Master Simon blasts a Dark Wave at me. I fearlessly charge forward at the tidal wave. When it gets close, I jump over it and land in a roll. At the same time, Des Chevaliers closes in from my right side. Master Simon curses him with Enfeeble, which will cause him to take increased magical damage from any offensive spells that hit him. However, that does nothing to stop his charge. He reaches striking range with Master Simon, raises his sword arm like he’s going to swing, yet stops midway. Master Simon zips to dodge. Immediately, Des Chevaliers hurls his sword at Master Simon’s new position. The surprise attack catches him off guard.

It takes me a second to process what happened, but the next thing I know there’s a monster harpy laying on the floor with Des Chevaliers’s sword lunged through its stomach. Apparently, Master Simon considers it a valid tactic to use summoning creatures as shields. I know that there are some mages who hold that practice, but I’ve always considered it to be kind of evil. Although at this point, it’s well established that evil is what Master Simon does best.

He starts blasting Dark Bolts at Des Chevaliers in a barrage of triple casts. In response, Des Chevaliers sidesteps and weaves desperately evading the attacks, but unless I help him, it will only be a matter of time before he gets hit. Thinking quickly, I remember back to when Master Simon refused to get closer to Sidney’s gallows because of the rotten food and bad smell. Master Simon loathes unclean things. That tells me exactly what spell to use on him. I channel my mana and cast the debutant-level Illusion Magic spell “Bugs”.

Creepy crawling spiders, scorpions, beetles, and worms appear all over Master Simon’s body. He jerks back and starts swiping at himself fiercely. “Filthy Illusion Magic!” he grumbles.

At once, I begin channeling a large amount of mana for one of the most powerful spells of Elemental Magic: the Water Dragon Bomb. Before he can break free from my illusion, I fire a large dragon-shaped missile that hits Master Simon spot on. The Water Dragon Bomb blasts him with such force that his body is launched all the way through the air into the back wall. He hits the brick wall ushering a thud from his crushing body that can be heard for miles. Surely, an impact like that must have killed him.

Master Simon peels off of the wall and falls flat on his face. Des Chevaliers retrieves his sword and we both stare uncertainly at my former master’s corpse. All of a sudden, Master Simon pushes his upper body off from the ground. “You filthy wretches! You think your power can stop me? You have none! I will show you power!”

He rises to his feet and lifts his arms high into the air. “Behold the Vampire super technique: Terror of the Night!”

I watch him unblinking. Groaning loudly, he starts to concentrate his energy, but for what sort of magic I don’t know. Darkness shuts out the light in the room and a dark mist suddenly covers the floor like at Sidney’s house. I continue to observe in horror as Master Simon’s two canine teeth elongate into pointy fangs. His ears grow longer and his light gray skin becomes a much darker gray. He begins cackling his annoying cackle, but now his voice is deeper, coarser, and has that same unnatural reecho that Sidney had while she was a vampire. Last, a strange black and red cloud of energy emits from his body. He stops groaning and lowers his hands into the air. “Behold my true power! Before I was fighting you with only a fourth of my ability, but I shall hold back no longer.”

He points his finger at Des Chevaliers. “You die first.”

Nonchalantly, he flings his wrist at Des Chevaliers and casts an enormous black comet. His black fireball is much larger and faster than the comets that I cast. In fact, it’s so fast that Des Chevaliers has no chance at all to dodge. Yet like a true veteran warrior, he keeps his calm and strikes at the fireball with his sword. I recognize the technique as the one that he previously used to cleave my comets in half. But unlike with my comets, when his sword collides with this fireball it doesn’t split in two. Instead, it locks against his sword and pushes vigorously towards him. Des Chevaliers grits his teeth and pushes back with all of his physical and magical strength. Unfortunately, it’s no use. His sword snaps in half, allowing the fireball to reach him. There’s a tremendous black explosion that sends dark flames and pieces of armor flying about everywhere. I barely manage to avoid taking one of his shoulder pauldrons to the head.

Des Chevaliers goes rolling across the floor smoking and unconscious. “You’re next,” Master Simon says to me.

I prepare myself for anything. Master Simon vanishes before my eyes. I don’t see him, but I sense his dark aura behind me. Without turning I lunge my staff backwards at him. He catches it in his left hand and jerks Guilt from my hands. As he tosses it away, I jump up and spin around while crescent kicking for his head. His right hand catches me by the ankle and he twists, slamming me into the floor. My breath bursts forth from my lungs, but I don’t give up. I kick his wrist away with my left leg and roll backwards while simultaneously springing to my feet. Next, I spinning hook kick at his head, but he ducks beneath the kick. I immediately transition into a side kick. This time, he catches my foot in the palm of both hands and shoves me away. I get tossed back ridiculously far for a light shove. Nonetheless, I come dashing right back at him hoping to somehow get a hit.

As I charge forward at him, he just shakes his head. “Pathetic.”

Then, he raises his right arm high into the air and says, “Tempest.”

In the next second, he whips his arm downwards and I’m instantly squashed in place by a powerful, descending gust of wind. I hit the ground face first, hard enough for my vision to blur. Immediately, I try to force my arms to push me up, but I’m too damaged and the weight of the wind bearing down on me is far too heavy for me to overcome. It seems that my fear was correct. Even combining forces with Des Chevaliers isn’t enough to take on Master Simon. We’re defeated.