A few steps from Celtic Hoards base is a small grotto close to a large open where even the sky above could be seen despite the perpetual night of the main base. And dotted around were various skeletons of unfortunate travelers who lost their way in the forest, this was the true 'Deadmans end.'

All the lost travelers, worn down by beasts or poisoned by other deadly creatures, would always find this opening within the forest, wherein their last moments, could see the sky above once more.

After fleeing the ensuing Chaos at the main base, the Walloping Willows had retreated with the injured Gimdo and Bush.

"Ok, I think that's far enough," Dora said as she lowered Bush down carefully. "You ok Granpa."

"I'll be alright," Bush said to her.

Rodger set his grandfather down and then gave him a small grin.

Gimdo let out a small sigh. "I suppose I should owe you some thanks for saving my life." He said reluctantly with a smile.

"That means I'm off the hook for coming here without you knowing right?" Rodger asked hopefully.

"Don't push it."

"Wh-Will they be ok?" Fred asked, looking over to where they had run from.

"Yeah, those guys will be fine. They’re strong remember." Rodger said casually.

"Yeah but...." Dora didn't sound very convinced or reassured, "they’re fighting Celtic Hoard all by themselves." She enviously looked down to the ground. "One of them just skewered the King of the Forest with one attack-"

"Then got his ass kicked by Max." Rodger finished Dora who looked up, slighting flustered. "It's like my pa used to say, ' When a man Fight for what he believes in, there ain't no stoppen him.'"

"Really, how odd, I heard something similar from another idiot I use to know."

The group jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. From where they had run, Dolton emerged from where the sameits had fled, flanked by two of his underlings. Apa, the large and round man, who was carrying a war hammer as a replacement for the broken Giga hands that Max destroyed in their fight the other day, and the Doc, a scared, scary looking woman who had a crossbow in her hands.

"So ya followed us," Rodger said to him.

"Of course we did. Though you hardly made it far with those dead weights you're carrying."

"Dolton, it's over," Gimdo spoke up. The look he gave Dolton was very different from before. "Everything you built here has been destroyed. No matter how you look at it, you have been beaten. For your own sake, and for the sake of your men, please leave the Forest."

"I believe I made my position clear in what was my camp," Dolton replied bluntly, not sounding very amused like he did with Gimdo's previous plea. "I like making sure I'm paid back in full for every." He then extended his arm, twitching his fingers. "So I'm going to make sure that hovel is destroyed even if I have to tear it apart with my own hands."

Rodger slammed his palm to the ground, creating a pillar that aimed straight for Dolton. "Think I'm gonna let you?!"

As the Pillar approached, Dolton raised his right hand in the way, hocking his fingers like talons of a bird. He then caught the pillar as it hit and then with a squeeze, shattered the entire thing into fragments.

"I honestly don't care what you think." Dolton then glared Rodger with a wide grin. "And since you seem in a hurry to die, I'll start with you."

Cliff vs. Broco/ Melvin vs. Waze

"Die you son of a-"

Another of Celtic Hoard charged Max with a sword, which Max blocked by catching it and crushing it with his grip before slamming his other fist into the man's face.

"....How many are there." Max huffed and puffed. Another attacker then came up from behind, but Max intercepted him by ducking as the man's sword passed overhead before kicking him away.

The fighting was starting to take a toll on Max. He has a habit of pushing himself hard in any kind of battle before rushing back into the fray before he had a chance to even recover properly. He had expended a lot of energy in his previous battle against Faust, and then again when fighting the King. He also had a deep wound on his chest from Gal's final attack which only just touched him before Max forced him into the ground. He was fighting against almost all of Celtic Hoard on fumes.

His allies weren't doing that well either. Faust had used most of his Mana in his battle with Max, and despite being healed by Melvin, he was barely at 50%. Shay and May were in better shape, but they were fighting overwhelming numbers, something that neither of them had the kind of crowd control powers like Max and Faust. And of course, the King was in absolutely no shape to fight after the blow he received from Gal. What prevented them from being overwhelmed was fights beginning between the leaders of Celtic Hoard and Max's friends, and some were beginning to break off to either watch or help.

"Sir Colt!"

Faust threw himself at Max's back while one of Celtic Hoards members swung down with a blade. Faust didn't have time to erect his 'will of Steel' and took the slash as he pulled back a Fist. "Fist of Iron!" His fist made contact and launched the man away.

"Heir Dew guy!" Max called out as he realized he had taken a blow for him.

"It's just a scratch," Faust responded as he crouched to the ground holding his bleeding chest as more charged him.

Max leaped over him and let out a fire roar, blasting them and more away.

"It appears to be getting quite difficult," Faust said to him as he stood back up as Radagast floated to his side. "I doubt I can keep this up for much longer."

"Just a bit longer," Max said. "We need to give those guys a chance to run."

Shay and May then retreated around Max and Faust. "Hey, you guys know?" Shay asked.

"Broco and Waze are fighting that kid and big guy." May finished.

"That doesn't sound good," Faust said. 'There the officers of Celtic Hoard, like Gal." He stopped as he activated 'Will of Steel,' which defended him from three sword strikes from attacking enemies, which he then blasted away. "They're very strong, stronger than-"

"They'll be fine," Max said as he caught an attacking spear, and twirled him around before launching him into his comrades. "We ain't any pushovers either."

****

"MOOOOOOO!!!"

"HAAAAAAA!!!!"

Broco and Cliff continued exchanging blows with each other, several which made contact. Cliff had the speed over Broco, which he used to dodge some of his blows before attacking with some body blows to Broco's large bulk. However, Broco was far stronger, able to take Cliff's punches, and when his own punches landed, they were strong enough to knock Cliff back.

This cow's quite strong... Cliff thought as he intercepted one of Broco's blows with his own fist, struggling to himself from letting up his strength. May have to Level up at this rate.

****

Waze leaped up as Cerberus cartwheeled towards him, scaring the ground. "Quite fast," Waze said as he twirled in mid-air.

"Firebolt!" Melvin five launched fireballs towards Waze, who span round and aimed his right revolver at him.

"Vulcan shot!"

Waze shot out six shots of flames towards Melvin, five of them intercepted his attack while the last one hit his barrier.

"Know how to cover yourself in a barrier. Guess you're not a complete armature." Waze says as he landed. Cerberus then rushed in, twirling around like a friary drill aimed at Waze's left side.

"Gun Magic: Hurricane Shot!" Waze aimed his left revolver towards Cerberus, without even turning his body and shot out a whirlwind towards him. The winds managed to hold Cerberus in place while he tried to drill his way through.

Melvin then circled around and aimed his wand at Waze's right side. "Lightning Blast!"

"Flame Burst!"

As Lightning arcs burst from Melvin's wand, Waze aimed his right revolver, and from it, a torrent of flames intercepted the arcs and blocked them.

By the time both spells had died down, Cerberus somersaulted backward before grinding along the ground to a stop.

Melvin backed off slightly, keeping his wand raised. In their short bout, he was able to pick up a pattern in his attacks. Waze used his left revolver for wind attacks and the right for flame attacks. The gun barrels left being coated in silver while the right was coated in amber, further reinforced this.

"Seem's your catch on quick," Waze said to him, lifting his guns up. "My guns are modified so they can take the elemental power I pump in them."

Melvin kept his guard up. "I don't get why you'd use guns to perform magic."

"He, you can use practically anything to use magic, and I always had a thing for guns." He then fired a shot at Melvin, which was blocked by his barrier. "After all, using a wand means you have no way to defend yourself if ya run outta mana, so it eliminates that fear for me."

Cerberus then lunged at Waze, who used quickstep to dodge, reappeared up in the air, aiming his right revolver down. "Gun Magic: Volcanic Shot!"

A pillar of flames crashed down at Cerberus as Waze backflipped to the ground. A roar immediately dispersed the flames around Cerberus from him.

"You ok boy." He said to Cerberus, who growled and nodded.

"Quite a tough familiar," Waze said as he opened the cylinder of his left revolver and inserted a silver bullet. "By the looks, I'd say it's probably around an A to S class. Not bad for a kid." He then grins at Melvin, who became uncomfortable. "But... I'm getting the impression you can't actually manifest him completely. Heck, I'd say you can't even get him to half strength."

Melvin gulped; Waze had hit the nail right on the head.

"And," Waze wasn't finished as he clipped the cylinder back into place. "I'd say it's safe to say you can't even keep him out for long either." He looked at Melvin's worried expression, which told him all he needed to. "I gotta commend you, quite impressive for a small kid like you to nap such a powerful familiar." He then aimed his left revolver to the sky.

"Makes me feel sorry ya ain't gonna see it in its full power." He said with a grin. "Resonance of the eternal wind, capture the essence and give it form," He then fired a shot up into the sky, which became coated in wind, resembling an egg-like cocoon. "Sylphen." The cocoon cracked and burst apart. In the center was a small, green creature, no bigger with a baby with no face other than two glowing green eyes. "Time I taught you how us grown-ups play."

****

Cliff pulled back both his fist back and slammed them into Broco's gut as hard as he could.

Broco coughed up a small amount of blood as he lifted both arms up and cuffed them together before hammering them down on Cliff's back hard enough to cause a small crater to form by Cliff's feet.

Grunting under the force, a small amount of blood escaping through his teeth, Cliff brushed Broco off and launched upwards and headbutted him right in his cow face.

Both then packed off from each other, Broco holding his gut while Cliff grabbed the back of his neck. When both had recovered enough, they then threw another punch at each other, which was intercepted, causing a small shockwave that blew away the rubble around them, and eventually, both were forced off each other by the force, skidding back to a halt.

"Seems were evenly matched," Broco said as he spat out a goblet of blood.

"Seems that way," Cliff said as he wiped away some residual blood from his mouth.

"But I get the feeling you're not using your full strength."

"Just giving you a little handicap. If I went all out, it would be a one-hit K.O." Cliff boasted as he resumed his stance. Plus, if I use it now, even if I beat him, I'll still have to deal with his pals.

There was then a loud boom behind Cliff. Looking behind him, he saw one of the large machines approaching him, supported by men who quickly surrounded the two combatants.

"We're here ta help boss!" One of the men called out.

"Oh Crap," Cliff grunted as he looked at the new threats surrounding him. Was a bit of a stretch thinking Max could take out all of them on his own.

"Don't interfere," Broco instructed as he clenched his fist. "This is my fight." A gust of wind then blew from his body. "Boost," He then charged forwards. Cliff put his arms in the way to block but ended up being blasted backward, skidding across the ground on his back before finally coming to a halt.

"Ok... That hurt," Cliff grunted as he got back up. "Is that your ability?" He asked Broco.

"Nothing fancy, I just increased my strength beyond what it was before." He then launched himself into the aid and plummeted down towards Cliff, who immediately jumped out of the way as he landed and shattered the ground, creating a crater.

"So you're an 'Enhancer?" Cliff asked as he put his guard up.

Broco shook his head as he freed his partially buried feet from the ground. "You humans use your mana to increase your physical strength, damaging your bodies in the process. Us beastmen are different, we hide our full strength."

"?!" Cliff gasped. He's.... Holding back?

"In fact, that punch just now was about 40%." Broco launched at Cliff again. "Here's 60%!" Cliff leaped out of the way as Broco's fist past, strong enough to cause a concussive shockwave that blasted away a part of the ground.

Cliff recovered quickly and was shocked to see the devastation that Broco had done. He did that with a single punch?!

Broco then appeared before Cliff, pulling back another fist.

Crap!

Unable to dodge, Cliff rose up his hands and took the full force, launching him back a few yards, smashing him into a rock formation nearby.

****

What is that? Melvin stood uneasily as the strange green creature floated down, taking a position by its master's side. Cerberus even seemed a little on edge at the sight of the creature.

"Guess this is the first seeing one huh?" Waze said, noticing his opponent's unease. "This here's a wind spirit." He gestured to his familiar.

"A.... A spirit?"

"Yep, the real deal," Waze said with a grin. "Like that mutt of yours, it's one of the rarest of Familiar types. It may only be a B class, but unlike yours, It's at full power." Sylphen then floated in front of its master and put its tiny hands forwards. "Let me show you."

It then let out a small whelp. The winds around it began to pick up, and eventually, a small quick and violent gust lunged forth from its hands, catching both Melvin (Despite his barrier) and Cerberus and sent them tumbling back a few feet.

"Ok... That was strong." Melvin muttered as he got back to his feet. "Take out the wind spirit boy!" He instructed.

Cerberus then launched forwards at the spirit, coating itself in flames while corkscrewing into it. The moment he made contact, the spirit broke apart into small green lights as Cerberus continued forwards.

"He get him?"

Waze smirked.

The lights then flowed back together and reformed itself into the spirit, which then let out a powerful gust, which blew Cerberus back further.

"What the?!"

Waze let out a small giggle. "Spirit type familiars are different from your monster kind like your dog. They don't have a solid form, so they practically invincible to physical attacks."

"Seriously?" Melvin gritted his teeth as the spirit turned to face him. Cerberus then lunged at it again, trying to tear it apart with his claws, and again the spirit dispersed again. "Well in that case-"

Waze then closed the distance and kicked both feet on Melvin's barrier and sprung himself up, Aiming both revolvers at him. "Gun Magic: Hell's torrent!!"

A flaming torrent then shot from the barrels of both guns and slammed into Melvin's barrier. Melvin struggled to keep his barrier erect as the flames crashed down on it. The flame storm only lasted a few seconds though, but Melvin saw several cracks developing in his barrier, which was an alarming sign.

"There's another weakness," Waze landed on the ground and launched forwards, performing a roundabout kick, which shattered Melvin's barrier and hit him right on the side of his face. Waze grinned as he sent Melvin tumbling back. "That mutt uses nearly all your mana to summon."

Seeing his master in danger, Cerberus immediately changed his target and lunged for Waze, only to get blasted back by the spirit's wind.

"N-Not good..." Melvin struggled back to his feet, glaring at Waze while holding his swollen right cheek.

Waze smiled as he fired a shot at Melvin's leg, causing him to collapse to the ground, scheming in pain. "Tough luck kid. This is how we grown-ups play."

Melvin grunted as he looked down at the bottom of the barrel. His barrier had collapsed, and he didn't have the time to erect another one. Cerberus was desperately lunging at Waze to save his master, but Sylphen kept blowing him back. It seemed hopeless, if not for a powerful backlash that occurred just then, followed by something sounding like a meteor through the earth.

****

Cliff emerged from the rubble, bruised, but still able to move, shrugging off any damage he sustained as he walked towards Broco. "That was 60% right?" He asked. "You better make sure you go 100% for this."

Broco hid his amazement that Cliff was still able to stand after such a blow by giving him a big grin. "So you're finally going to take this seriously?" He then clenched his arms close to his chest, causing some all of his muscles to bulge out, even his eyes became nothing but white orbs as the ground cracked by the power he realized.

I hope this works. Cliff took in a deep breath as he clenched his fists and began to power up. "LEVEL UP!!!!" An explosion of steam erupted from Cliff's body as his skin began to glow.

Cliff lowered his body, pulling back his right fist as Broco did the same. I haven't really mastered it yet, so this will have to do. Steam began to be emitted from his right arm at a faster rate than the rest of his body. "Hope you're ready," Cliff said to Broco, who was in the process of pulling back a fist of his own. "Here comes my one-hit K.O!"

Both combatants then lunged forwards at each other, bringing their fists towards each other until they impacted against one another. A large shockwave followed that blew apart the ground and several men that were, unfortunately, standing nearby. When the force died down, both Cliff and Broco were still standing, with their fists locked on one another.

Seconds later, Broco's arm collapsed in on itself as the bones shattered, and Cliff's fist brushed past the flopping limb and struck Broco in the gut, hard enough for him to cough up blood. Then, he was launched away at speed's close to the speed of sound, tearing through the ground, passing where Max and his allies were fighting, even blowing away over half of Celtic Hoard before coming to a stop, forming a crater around him.

As the dust settled, some of the remaining members of Celtic Hoard stared in shock and horror at Broco's broken body, before looking back to where Cliff stood, steam still emanating from his body, and a large, satisfied grin on his lips, ignoring the grazed knuckles on his right hand.

****

"What the...."

There was first the powerful gust of wind, and then a shattering sound along with what looked like a natural disaster had occurred nearby, enough for Waze to forget the boy he was about to shoot.

"Was that.... Broco?"

He looked to where the two had been fighting, spotting Cliff who still had steam pouring from his body.

"That guy... actually beat Broco...."

Gal was one thing, his defeat to Max was hardly anything to cause concern. Broco, on the other hand, was another thing. Easley one of the strongest in Celtic Hoard, probably even stronger the Dolton himself, and he had just been utterly defeated.

"Well don't just stand there! Kill that son of a Bitch!!" Waze yelled to the men around him and Cliff.

Cliff stood at ease, looking up at the large match closing in on him, aiming it's twin body cannons on him before looking down at his body.

"Five minutes, that's all I can do," He grinned as he clenched his fists and looked up at the mech. "Better make the most of it." He then leaped up, so fast that none could see it, and fast with enough force to leave a small crater where he jumped. He launched himself at the mechs main body and pulled back a fist and slammed it into the armor. The single punch smashed the armor inwards while all the inner gears and cogs bleed out of its sides as it tumbled backward.

Everyone around stood with their jaws dropped at the sight of the Magitek weapon being taken down with just one punch, some began to shuffle towards Cliff nervously as he landed back on the ground.

"Sh-Shit..."

"Oh man.... We're screwed."

"Oh come on! There's only one of him!"

Some of Celtic Hoard nervously approached Cliff with their weapons at ready, who just looked at them without much of a worried expression.

"Don't act so smug cause ya took out Broco!" One of the men yelled. "I mean, look at your position! You can't seriously take us all out by yourself!"

"You're right," Cliff said casually while lowering his body. "Not if I stand around here."

He was then gone in a flash, following which; all the men around him have blasted away as Cliff skidded to a halt.

"My strength's not the only thing that's increased," Cliff, mocked as he pulled back a fist, aimed it at some of the remaining men and punched into the air, which realized a shockwave that blasted them away as well. Hope I can keep this up though.

****

Back at Max's group, a lot of Celtic Hoard were beginning to lose their nerves, seeing one of their leaders defeated. Some had even dropped their weapons and deserted as fast as they could.

"Alright, nother of them is gone!" Max cheered, while dodging a mace swing by one of the attackers who hadn't run, turned his body and kicked back, sending the man back.

Shay and May were even more amazed that Broco had been defeated since he used to be one of their bosses.

"That guy beat Broco," May said.

"And you fought that guy earlier," Shay said.

"Yeah, and I'm actually glad he didn't take me seriously," May responded.

Faust seemed a little distracted; his eyes went from Broco to something else.

"You ok?" Shay asked, noticing his unease.

"Bro?" May asked as well.

"Sir Colt," Faust addressed Max as he turned his back to him. "Sorry, but there's something I need to do," He said.

"Y-Your seriously gonna?" Shay asked.

"This may be my only chance to do this." He clenched his fist around his knuckle-duster. "I do apologize for leaving you with still so much-"

"Ok. I'll finish these guys off," Max replied before Faust could finish his request.

"Are you certain?"

"Don't worry, these guys ain't got nothing on me," Max said with a grin. "Do what ya gotta do. Just make sure you don't go dying on us." And with that, he launched himself at the enemy once more.

"Sir Colt...." Faust nodded in gratitude.

"We're comen too!" May demanded, resting his war hammer on his shoulders. "I never liked that bastard anyway."

"No!" Faust said bluntly. "You won't stand a chance against him, even with sir Stride's help." He turned to Shay and May. "Support Sir Colt and his friend over there." He then charged off across the field before both men could object.

This may not be what I desired, but I can't let this moment pass me by.

****

"Damn it... What the hells going on..." Waze muttered to himself, seeing the chaos unfolding around him. I don't think we can ever recover from this...

He then turned back to the wounded Melvin. "Seems your palls are quite a-"

Only to see he had vanished.

"What the..." He raised his pistols as he looked around. "Where's that little-"

All of a sudden, three fireballs hit him in the back. He squirmed as he fell forwards, just catching himself before he hit the ground. His trench coat had been ruined, the back of it had burnt away and even burnt off his clothes, scolding the flesh beneath.

"I may not be a worrier, but even I know never to take your eyes off your opponents."

Waze gritted his teeth as he slowly turned around. "You..." he hissed.

Melvin was directly behind him, riding on top of Cerberus, his wand aimed at him.

He then chuckled win a sinister tone as he turned around fully. "Cheeky little shit..." he growled. How'd this kid get his Familiar to his side? Sylphen should have-

He looked towards where Slyphen was and saw that a barrier had been placed around him, and was throwing its tiny body to the walls. What!?

"You said it's immune to physical attacks, magical attacks seem to have more of an effect." Melvin evaluated.

Slyphen then finally shattered the barrier with wind blades and floated back towards its master.

"Hm... quite a smart little brat," Waze muttered as he twirled his revolvers around. "This doesn't change anything. You still can't beat me."

Unfortunately, Melvin knew this was still a tall order to fight in his condition. He'd been shot in the leg and didn't have the time to heal it so he needed Cerberus to move around. And it was only a matter of time before Cerberus's time ran out.

Suddenly, Slyphen let out a gust of wind behind Waze, shattering a rock that was launched at him.

Waze didn't turn round to see who was attacking, nor did he need to. "What you think you're doing, Faust?"

Faust stood behind him, Radagast hovering nearby.

"You?" Melvin aired in relief and confusion.

"Sir Stride, please allow me to assist you," Faust said as he clenched his fists.

"Uh... Sure." Melvin nodded.

Waze then responded by pointing his left revolver at Melvin and his right at Faust. "One or two, it makes no difference!"

Wind and fire shot from both barrels towards their respective targets.

Cerberus leaped out of the way as the cyclone heading for him and Melvin passed by. Faust used his magic to raise a wall before the flames reached him.

"Is he seriously gonna fight the two of us?" Melvin asked himself. Suddenly, wind blades formed around them and aimed towards the two in mid-air. "Oh crap!" He gripped on Cerberus who countered the blades by cartwheeling. When they landed on the ground, the wind spirit slowly hovered down towards the two, surrounded by orbs of concentrated wind. "Looks like he's our opponent boy."

Meanwhile, at Faust's position, the rock wall collapsed by the force of Waze's magic. As it did, two bullets hit him, one in the chest and the other in his gut, fortunately not deep enough to cause any major damage.

"Your 'Will of Steel' is easily the strongest out of all of us," Waze said as he reloaded his revolvers. Even with your passive defense, that shouldn't have penetrated the skin." Waze held his right revolver close to his face, fixing a menacing look on Faust. "Which means that fight with the Salamander took a lot outta ya."

Faust couldn't argue with that logic. He hadn't properly recovered from his battle earlier with Max, and the fight with Celtic Hoard had taken a lot out of him. I might be pushing it fighting against Waze in this condition.

"Radagast!"

On his call, Radagast floated in front of him and launched quills towards Waze. However, Waze vanished from his position.

"Vulcan Shot!" Faust was barraged by flaming shots descending from above. He descended to one knee as the skin scorched from the heat.

Waze flipped around in mid-air and landed. "You know, you always did piss me off. That honor bound crap really doesn't fit in our band of misfits and bastards."

Faust gritted his teeth as he stamped his foot on the ground, lifting rocks scattered on the ground. He then turned around and swung his fist forwards. "Stone Rain!!"

Waze didn't move and aimed his left revolver, which let out a quick blast of wind, blowing away the stones.

"It seems you don't remember me." Faust pointed a finger towards Waze. "10 years before you joined this group, you were in charge of an underground hitman business."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Rather than doing the dirty work yourself, you sold files to the Adventurers guild, posting them as bounties of supposedly underground criminals, tricking them into committing the act rather than doing it yourself."

"Oh, now I get it," Waze grinned as he turned fully to face Faust. "Yeah, wasn't exactly a business strategy, I just love suckering those adventurers who think themselves heroes just cause they happen to solve problems people are too lazy to do." Waze giggled. "We actually had a lot'ta people here that are victims of my scam have nowhere to go since they got themselves wanted. Hell, when they figured out who I was, they all tried to kill me and ended up six feet under. So, which job did you take?"

"Lady Fiona, betrothed of Delson von Faust."

"Oh ho, now that's cool." Waze chuckled to himself. "That was when the gig was up and I had ta call it quits for that. That was when Celtic Hoard was beginning to start up, so I joined up."

"The way to talk, it sounds like you consider that business a game to you," Faust demanded, clearly trying to stop his rage from causing him to do something reckless.

"Hey, it's not like I just set those bounties up myself. It was quite a popular service amongst the nobles of Miltesa and Rosaria, up to the point I attracted the attention of that terrorist group Revolution. After your job though, the Arch Sage of Miltesa and the imperial council caught wind of me so I had to vanish for a while."

"Then on their behalf, I, Quintox von Faust, will see you brought to justice," Faust announced proudly.

"Oh spare me," Waze muttered quietly as twirled his revolvers in his hands. "You wanna go? Fine by me."

****

Cerberus ran, leaped and dodged as blades of wind shot by Sylphen towards him and Melvin riding atop. When an opening occurred, Melvin launched either 'fireball' or 'Lightning bolt' to try and hurt it. When it was the same no matter what, the spell would break the spirit apart and reassemble. Unfortunately, stopping it by trapping it in a barrier like before wasn't working, mostly since the spirit was away of it, and when he did try again, it was held for about two seconds before the barrier was shattered by its wind powers.

"Damn it! How do I beat this thing?"

Suddenly, some kind of blast passed by and blew the spirit apart.

"Need a hand?"

Cliff approached, his body still emitting steam.

"C-Cliff you-" Melvin stuttered. He only saw this once before, in the labyrinth when he caught the homunculus Edasa. He also remembered the toll it supposedly took on Cliff's body, as well as the time limit he had.

"Don't worry, I still have time," Cliff reassured him before he could object. "Most of their guys are already running, so this gun guy is all that's left." He then looked at the thing he just blasted away, which was slowly reforming itself. "More to the point, what is that?"

"A wind spirit familiar. He's immune to physical attacks, and I don't think I have a spell that can stop him, least not in this state." Melvin looked down on Cerberus, then back up to the spirit.

"Alright, Thanks for the advice." Cliff raised his left hand out flat while pulling back his right fist. "You help the guy with the pompadour, I'll take this spirit out."

The spirit, having finished regenerating, then realized wind blades towards Cliff. Just before they hit, Cliff launched his fist forwards, creating a shockwave that blasted the blades and the spirit way.

"Wh-Whoa..." Melvin breathed in amazement at Cliff's powered up strength.

However, as usual, the spirit regenerated.

"Best way to take out a Familiar is by taking out the master," Cliff said as he pulled his fist back for another shot. "Don't take too long, I can't keep this up for too long, remember."

He then blasted the spirit again, but instead of being scattered apart, the spirit used its wind to shield itself from the concussive shockwave, actually cutting it in half, allowing the residual waves to pass through the ground around it in a V shape.

"Plus, I'm not sure how much time I can by you. This thing's smarter than it looks."

Melvin looked down to Cerberus and patted him on the head. "You ok with this boy?"

Cerberus let out a small growl as it nodded, and then turned to face where Waze was fighting Faust. "Good luck," he called out as he took off.

"Thanks," The spirit above Cliff began to weave its arms around, forming small spheres of air around it. "Got a feeling I'm gonna need it with this thing."

****

"Gun Magic: Spitfire!"

Faust initiated Will of Steel and put his arms over his face to protect himself from the little needles of wind fired from Waze's left revolver. Despite the defense, the hits left small holes and cuts in his skin, not deep enough to cause serious damage.

"Tch, Tough son of a bitch," Waze then eased his left revolver spell and aimed his right revolver towards him. "Volcanic Shot!!"

"Rock Wall!"

A wall rose from the ground and shielded him from the flame pillar shot towards him. "That's nothing like sir Colt's flames," Faust boasted as he pulled back a fist. "Fist of Iron, Rain!"

He then slammed it into the wall, battering it and sending the fragments flying towards Waze.

"S-Shit!" The fragments came too fast for him to escape completely, and the rocks peppered him, some leaving tears through his trench coat and one drawing blood on his temple. "d-damn yo-"

As he recovered to bring his pistols to bear, Faust was already in front of him, pulling back both fists. "C-Crap!"

"Fist of iron, DOUBLE PISTOL!!!" Both fists slammed into Waze's torso, launching him away. That should do some considerable damage. Faust thought hopefully. However, his hope was quickly quashed.

As Waze hurtled backward, Faust saw he had taken both blows on his arms. And on both arms were paces of metal, only visible now since the blows had damaged his trench coat.

He's wearing armor?!

Waze looked at Faust with a face that said 'Got ya', and aimed both revolvers towards Faust. "Gun Magic: HELL'S TORRE-"

"Lighting blast!"

Before he could fire off his spell, an arc of lightning hit him, messing up his concentration and balance, and ended up falling over, toppling until he finally came to a stop.

Faust looked to the source of the lighting and saw Melvin riding atop of Cerberus.

"Much appreciated," Faust acknowledged. "I let my guard down."

"No prob," Melvin nodded. "We're in this together, may as well help each other out."

A smoldering Waze emerged, gritting his teeth as he rolled up his sleeves, revealing two vambraces on each arm with large dents in both. "If I didn't have this, my arms would have shattered." He muttered to himself. He then stood up, glaring at Melvin. "You got past Sylphen? Quite the crafty kid."

"I had help." Melvin pointed to where Cliff was blasting Sylphen to bits multiple times.

The guy that beat Broco? Wait.... It was then when Waze noticed. The noise of the chaos around had died down, and there were none of the men around him or where Cliff was. Did they beat all of them?! No way. We have more numbers unless they ran...

"Just give up!" Melvin demanded. "Your lakes have run away, that Taurus is defeated and I'm sure Nel's dealt with that secretary lady by now, it's just you left."

Waze slowly rose to his feet, opening the cylinder of his left revolver and put in a strange bullet, which had a strange crystal-like projectile. "Can't believe I have to actually use this on you." He then clipped the cylinder in place and placed the barrel to his temple, alarming the two. "Oh relax. I ain't that desperate."

He then pulled the trigger. The gun fired, but there was no blood, or entry wound on his head, and he was also still alive.

"What the-"

Before Melvin could air his query, Waze had closed the distance in less than a second and kicked Faust in the face, aiming his left revolver at Melvin directly.

Before he could react, or even realize what had happened, Waze pulled the trigger, and a massive tornado, more powerful than anything he had done before, shot from the barrel and engulfed Cerberus and Melvin together.

Faust recovered quickly, just in time to see Waze settle his right revolver on him.

"Will of Steel!"

As Waze pulled the trigger, a massive explosion erupted against Faust's skin, knocking him to the ground, and leaving a large mark on his chest. "Wh-What in blazes."

Melvin struggled to get back to his feet. He was shaken up badly, and what was worse was that Cerberus took enough damage to force him to disappear. "Wha-What did you do?"

Waze grinned as he turned to look down on Melvin. "My trump card." He said as he twirled his gun around. "A special bullet that enhances my magic 10 fold."

"Th-That's impossible!" Faust objected as he forced himself to his feet.

"Alright, may not be 10 fold," Waze said casually as he fired another explosive shot at Faust. "I don't really get how it works, but I did pay an arm and a leg for the bullet. But it's my ticket out of this shit hole so I can't be stingy." He then aimed his left revolver towards Melvin. "Can't say this hasn't been fun, but.... Yeah, can't really say that."

Melvin gritted his teeth as he stood back up. "How can you take life so easily? You're a wizard aren't you?!"

"Your point?" Waze said with a grin. "Magic is just a weapon after all," He then took aim with his left revolver. "You think anything else, then your just one of those hero wannabes who think killing is wrong." The barrel began to glow green as energy began to build up within the barrel. "There's no such thing as heroes or villains, it's just a bunch of idealistic morons who think playing the part will make them famous or something." A sinister grin appeared on his lips. "And they're always the first to die."

He then fired another tornado at Melvin, which was suddenly blasted way by a large firestorm that penetrated the winds and slammed into Waze, knocking him back again, tumbling across the ground. "What the hell?!" He grunted when he finally stopped.

"Looks like you guys need a hand." Max stood before Melvin, a cocky grin on his face and one fist put forwards.

"That would be nice." Melvin sighed as he flopped back to the ground.

"S-Sir Colt?" Faust breathed in astonishment.

"Arnt you guys dead yet?" Waze hissed as he got back up to his feet, his trench coat burnt and torn. "No way you could have fought off all those guys by yourself."

"Nope," Max shook his head. "Those guys just ran off after that cow thing came flying through."

Waze granted. They did run?! Those useless idiots!

"You may as well give up, you're the only one left."

Out of spite, Waze aimed his revolvers at Max. "Screw you! I'm taking at least one you bastards out."

Suddenly, May landed in front of Waze, pulling back the war hammer. "Good luck with that." He jeered as he swung forwards.

"Shit!" Waze used quickstep to escape just in time, reappearing in the air, taking aim with his revolvers at May below. "You think that would get me?"

"No, that's my job," Shay appeared behind Waze, and swung his hammer down onto his opponents back, firing him at the ground, creating a crater as he landed.

"You two... Why?" Faust asked in disbelief.

"Cause you're the only boss we'll ever follow," May said.

"No matter what, we'll follow you to the end," Shay said.

Suddenly, a tornado fired through the dust and blasted into Shay.

"Shay!" May called out as two explosive shots smashed into him.

"Shay! May!" Faust called out as both fell, Shay pushed back by the tornado before smashing to the ground while May toppled backward.

"You... Pieces of Shit..." The dust settled around the crater. Waze stood within the center of the crater, blood dripping from his mouth as well as several cuts and burses, his clothes ruined, which also reviled a metal carapace beneath his torn clothes, his face contorted in rage.

"He can still move?" Melvin breathed out.

"This guy's tough," Max said with an annoyed voice.

Waze then loaded another crystal built in his right revolver and fired it into his head, resulting in a massive outflow of power that was visible as a strange blue aura. "None of you are getting outta here alive!"

The Devil faced twins

Nel moved back as Ingrid performed a high kick, just nipping some of her hair. Ingrid somersaulted back and lunged at Nel again with her switchblades, which Nel responded by blocking each and every strike with her twin blades, eventually resulting in a deadlock with the two switchblades against her short blade.

"You're quite skilled," Nel complimented while striking upwards with her dagger. Ingrid leaped back before it struck before sending more kicks towards Nel with her bladed high heels. "I must admit, I wouldn't take you for a fighter dressed as you are," Nel spoke as she sidestepped though each blow. She then caught one of the bladed heals with her dagger.

"You certainly live up to your reputation as an Assassin." Ingrid complimented as she swung her free leg around, aiming for Nel's face, who freed her dagger and leaned back as the blade passed her by, cutting it close once again. Ingrid then leaped back, skidding to a stop. "But I have the feeling you're not using your full power."

"What gives you that idea?" Nel asked, in a slightly mocking tone.

"Assassins have special abilities that are only accessible to their clan. It's unique as they both are a combination of Mana Channeling and Mana focusing abilities, making the assassin's feared throughout Avalon." Ingrid summarized in a professional manner.

"You know your stuff." Nel mused, slightly impressed. "What you don't know is that our abilities that alter our bodies do have drawbacks." She then pointed the tip of her dagger to her eye. "Mine, for example, is focused in my eyes. While it's active I can't blink, which as you can guess can cause some eyestrain." Nel summarized lowering her dagger. "So I only use it when I really need it. And you don't fit that condition."

Ingrid tensed at Nel's words. "I see." She then twirled her switchblades and crouched, crossing her arms over her chest. "Then as a matter of pride, I will force you to use those eyes." She then dashed towards Nel at incredible speed before launching into the air, twirling all four blades around, covering a full 360 degrees as she descended towards the immobile Nel.

Clover dance: Wirbel!!!

Ingrid passed Nel's position and died down, skidding across the ground to a stop, her heels leaving small grooves in the rock, holding her switchblades out.

Blood then erupted from her body, both her sets of blades were shattered while blood erupted from gashes on her arms, legs back, gut, her left breast and her neck.

What?

Her head left her body, spinning back to see Nel standing behind her, blood dripping from her blades, giving Ingrid a cold glare, her eyes completely void of any light.

How... did she......

Ingrid's body then fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming around it.

"I don't need my eyes to kill someone like you." She said coldly while sheathing both her blades and was about to relax...

"I would have done the same."

...When a voice spoke from directly behind her. Startled, Nel immediately reached for her blade as she turned, only to see no one standing behind her.

"What?" Nel kept her guard up, looking for the source of the voice. But there was no one around. "Did I imagine it?"

"No."

Suddenly, a fist plunged into Nel's gut, knocking all the air out of her, and then slowly lifted her up before throwing her aside. Tumbling across the ground before coming to a stop, gasping for her lost air while looking at her attacker.

Standing by Ingrid's body was a woman with two gauntlets, and a devil mask counseling her face.

Where did she come from? I didn't even sense her approaching.

"I've been here from the start." The woman responded, as though reading her mind. "I couldn't help but watch your fight, and I see you live up to the name of Crimson Blades."

Nel shot up to her feet, drawing her short blade, only to have it knocked out of her hands when the woman charged her, backhanding it away.

She's fast!

The woman then pivoted and descended to the ground while kicking up. Nel could only respond by blocking it with her palm...

And strong!

... Only to be knocked away again, recovering in the air and backfilled to the ground in a crouched stance.

The woman just stood idly by as Nel regained her composure. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and use those Eyes of yours."

"Wh-What?"

"Don't play dumb, Nel Zepher," Nel flinched when the woman said her full name. "I want to see those famous eyes of yours, the eyes that see everything." The woman spoke as she bought up an arm, opening the palm up flat while twitching her fingers in a menacing way. "I want to see them, to prove its really you, the last survivor of the Crimson Blades"

Nel let out a small grin. "If you insist." She then glared at the woman, both her eyes glowing yellow. "Just don't regret it."

The woman wasted no time in charging, lunging a right hook at Nel, who brushed it aside effortlessly with her arm. The woman then launched a vicious assault at Nel, who simply parried each one, up until one blow where she brushed off one of the woman's fists while slamming a palm into her gut, launching her to the ground, knocking off her mask, revealing a face of a rather young woman, possibly a teenager with bright red hair, tied into small pig tales.

"Your attacks are full of openings," Nel boasted as she relaxed. "Which I can see very clearly with my eyes."

The woman shot Nel a very sinister grin before lunging at Nel once more, who responded by ducking under her blow, pivoted and knocked the woman off her feet, causing her to cartwheel in the air while Nel drew her dagger.

"It's over."

"It certainly is,"

Before Nel realized what happened, a pair of arms wrapped around her midsection and lifted her off the ground, heaving her overhead before slamming her headfirst into the ground, hard enough to crack the earth itself.

What? What just happened?

The arms realized her, and she rolled on the ground, holding her head as she tried to regain her senses, blood flowing down her face, from an open head wound. When she finally stopped seeing double, she found her self literally seeing two of the same women before her, only one had a mask and the other did. There... Two of them?

"Are you ok Thelma?" The masked one asked.

"Y-Yes Louise." The other nodded while retrieving her mask and putting it back on.

"Wh-Where did you come from?" Nel asked as she struggled back to her feet.

"Behind you." She responded.

"And in front of you." The other said.

"We've been there right from the start."

"Even before that."

"We watched you fight that snake man yesterday."

"We also were with you on the walls before,"

"But left when that swordsman appeared."

"And we were there in that cavern when you arrived,"

"Fiddling with the bomb."

Nel found it difficult to believe what they were telling her. Either that blow had caused her brain damage so she wasn't hearing things properly, or they were telling the truth.

"You- You've been... Spying on us."

"Not exactly."

"It's not like we were hiding."

"We were right beside you."

"And your companions."

"Right from the start."

"Right in plain sight."

Both girls responded in turns.

"You... What do you mean?" Nel demanded, still not understanding what they were saying. "You were invisible?"

"Not quite." One of them said.... as the other vanished from sight.

"What?!" Nel blinked. "Where did you go?"

"I haven't moved." The missing one said, still standing where she originally was while the other vanished.

Again! Nel quickly activated her eyes, but both of them had vanished. I can't see them? Is it some kind of cloak?

Suddenly, two fists collided into her face, sending her flying backward, skidding across the ground, the two girls standing over her.

"We weren't hiding.

"We just didn't reveal ourselves."

The two spoke.

"Wh-Who are you?!" Nel demanded as she sat back up.

"I'm Thelma," One spoke while unclipping her right Gauntlet.

"And I'm Louise." The other spoke, removing her left Gauntlet.

They then both lifted their hands, revealing identical tattoos on the back of their hands, one of a Praying Mantis, and spoke in unison. "And were twin assassins."

Nel's eyes widened as she recognized the mark, and whom it belonged to. "Laughing Mantis," She breathed.

"Correct." The one called Thelma nodded.

"Our ability is called 'Dummy Check.'" The one called Louise spoke.

"We don't 'disappear,' as you would put it."

"We just blend into the background."

"We were right in sight,"

"Yet hidden from view."

"Right Louise?"

"Right Thelma."

Nel worked out what they meant by their confusing explanation. They were literally in plain sight but didn't draw any attention to themselves, basically blended into the background to such an extent that they were virtually invisible, even Nel's sensor abilities and her eyes couldn't pick them up.

When compared to the 'Shadow Shift' ability of Daud, the assassin working for Garlahad during the Cult of Dorstera incident, this was by far the most deadly of Assassin's abilities.

If they wanted to, they easily could have killed me. Nel thought to herself, cursing for not being vigilant enough.

At the same time, the twin assassins had put their gauntlets back on, and one of them had crouched beside the body of Ingrid.

"Hey Thelma, would you please pass the bingo book."

On her request, the other sister reached into the front of her corset and dragged out a small book which she chucked to her sister. The sister grabbed it and flipped through it in one hand while holding Ingrid's head, eventually stopping on one page.

"Here it is. Ingrid Terdara, former Central Miltesa Intelligence Service, wanted on charges of desertion and murder." The woman read out loud before tucking the bingo book into her corset. "Make sure you take some evidence with you." She said to Nel as she stood back up. Both sisters then began to walk away.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Nel called out as she stood back up.

"Celtic Hoard's finished,"

"So we don't have any more business here."

Nel kept her guard up, still trying to regain her senses. "You're... You're just going to let me go?"

"We were just here to observe Celtic Hoard,"

"Now that they're gone, we don't have any reason to stay."

"First we'll retrieve Ellie,"

"Then we'll return."

"Right Louise"

"Right Thelma."

So they aren't apart of Celtic Hoard? Nel was about to stop them again, but both of them had vanished, or rather, they blended into the background.

"They got away," Nel clicked her tongue in frustration. She sighed while wiping away some of the blood that had dripped down from her face. Those two, I have a bad feeling about this. She recalled the others saying that the terrorist Yensin had hired Celtic Hoard to destroy the village. Are they working for Yensin?

As she withdrew her hand, and with her eyes still activated she spotted something in the tree line, some kind of mechanical owl, perched on the branches, which took off the moment she spotted it.

"Seems there are still questions without answers?"