Allisa followed the woman to a wide-open space, where she dissolved into the fog. "Wh-Wait! Who are you?" Allisa called out as the woman began to fade. "She's gone."

"Hey! Wait up!!"

Behind her, Meracle was running up to her, finally catching up and huffing to catch her breath. "Geez, why'd you run off like that?" She asked.

Allisa hadn't realized she was running after the woman she saw. "Sorry." She apologized. "I was following that lady."

Meracle looked at Allisa confused. "Did you hit your head or something?" She asked, pointing at her head.

"No I didn't!" Allisa said defensively. Then it occurred to her. "Wh-wait," She looked behind her where the woman was, then looked back to Meracle. "You didn't see her?"

"Mya! That's what I've been saying! There's no one but us here!" Meracle asserted.

Allisa looked back to the place she last saw the woman. "But... hold on!" She then pointed to the place while looking at Meracle. "There was a woman there! She had like, long, blondish hair and a pointed-"

Meracle shook her head.

"..... There was no one there?" Allisa held a hand to her head. "Maybe I did hit my head?"

Throb!

There was then a sharp pain in her head, followed by some kind of high-pitched sound that resonated in her ear.

"Urg!" Allisa grimaced as she was hit by pain before it slowly faded. .... Again?

"Myew? What's that?"

Allisa looked to Meracle, who was looking off in the distance. She followed her gaze, of which her eyes widened. "Wha-What in the...?"

The fog was beginning to clear, and before them was something that differed to everything else they had seen before. Before them was a massive set of stairs leading upwards to a massive hole in the canyon wall, flanked by large lion statues.

"Whoa...." Allisa breathed as she took a step back. "Is that it?"

"That's where milady wants us to go? It's huge." Meracle said, sounding just as impressed as Allisa.

"It's... Kinda gloomy." Allisa commented. Did.... did that woman lead us here?

"So where are the others?" Meracle said looking around. "Shouldn't they be here."

"Huh? Oh right." Allisa remembered they chose to find the destination in the hope that the others would do the same. Though it seemed as though they were the only ones around, which could mean the others hadn't arrived yet. "Guess the only thing we can do is-"

Suddenly, an oppressive atmosphere suddenly washed over Allisa, making her hairs stand on end. It was exactly the same thing back when she first encountered the homunculi during the incident with the Alchemist in her hometown, that horrid feeling which seemed to herald calamity.

Meracle seemed just as on edge. Her eyes had widened, her ears were pinned up and her tail hand shot straight up and stiffened instantly.

"You too huh?" Allisa asked as she summoned her sword.

"Uh huh." Meracle nodded, taking her martial arts stance. "Something's coming."

As if on cue, a loud roar resonated through the entire area, almost defining both girls who tried to cover their ears to blot out the noise.

From above, something was diving through the fog from directly above the area where the girls were.

Back at the bottom, Allisa was looking around, trying to find the source of the noise. No matter where she looked though, all she could see was fog.

The creature above continued diving.

Meracle however, just remained still, trying to get a feel as too what was approaching them. Her ears were twitching slightly as she was trying to home her instincts on what was approaching. Thanks to her experience as a thief, she had unconsciously homed her senses and instinct, a standard when out on the street when trying to lose your victim.

The creature got closer and closer. Meracle's ears then shot up. "Above us!!" She called out to Allisa, who looked right up. Allisa followed, shooting her gaze upwards.

On cue, something blasted through the fog above swooped around and halted a few feet from the ground just before the stairs, creating a back wind strong enough that both Allisa and Meracle had to shield themselves.

Lowering their arms both looked in horror at the nightmare before them. Flapping just above the ground before them was a Wyvern far larger than the others that they encountered before. It was also noticeably older and grander. Its scales seemed to have lost its color from old age, almost black compared to the younger ones to a light gray. Its eyes gleamed a blood red, and possessing a jaw more intimidating than the others.

"Wh-What is that thing?" Meracle said timidly, taking a step back.

"I'm guessing we found the boss," Allisa commented, holding her blade out in front of her, trying hard to hold her ground. "Just our luck."

The Wyvern slowly opened its jaws, then let out a loud roar that was nearly defining to Allisa and Meracle, both held their ears to try and block out the noise. The fog around began to lift. Or rather, it was blown away by the sheer power of the roar.

As both girls recovered, the wyvern looked directly at them. A strange blue light began to emanate from its mouth. Allisa's eyes widened as it leaned its head back. She grabbed Meracle and teleported both of them out of the way as the wyvern let out a breath attack. Instead of flames, what fired out of its mouth was a wide lightning arc that scared through the ground before it.

Allisa and Meracle reappeared a few feet behind the wyvern. "You ok?" Allisa asked, pointing her sword at the wyvern again.

"I'm alright," Meracle said as she regained her composure.

The Wyvern flapped its wings and took off into the sky, disappearing into the fog. Allisa and Meracle looked around to try and find where the creature was too attacked from.

Meracle was the first to pick it up, looking up and yelled. "Above us!!"

Both Allisa and Meracle jumped aside as the wyvern dived down, stopping before it hit the ground and swooped around, trying to hit Allisa with its tail. Still in the air and only just realizing the attack coming, Allisa brought up her sword and blocked the sweep with her sword, which forced her back to the ground.

When the Wyvern stopped spinning, it slowly flew over to Allisa who was still on the ground. Meracle, who had successfully evaded the sweep attack, launched herself forwards to the Wyvern, whose back was facing her. Getting close to it, she kicked in the air using her sky jump ability to launch herself up over the monster's head, cartwheeled in the air and used and axe kick, hitting the monster in the head, fortunately, hard enough to force it's long neck downwards.

Allisa, who had just recovered, used the opportunity Meracle had created to rush the monster, performing a horizontal cut across its belly. A small splash of blood flowed from the open wound.

Alright! We can do this! Allisa thought. However, she noticed her cut was shallow and hadn't done much damage. This was emphasized when the dragon appeared to barely register it and instead reacted to Meracle by shooting its head upwards.

Noticing the head approaching her, Meracle put her legs up so her feet would take the hit. The forehead hit her and sent her flying backward several feet, fortunately righting herself before hitting the ground, but tripped and fell over as she skidded back, tumbling away before coming to a stop.

"MARY!!" While worrying about the downed Meracle, the Wyvern took off into the sky and turned around, sweeping towards Allisa with its jaws wide open, ready to eat Allisa in one fell swoop.

Just before it could, Allisa teleported out of the way just in time, though lost her footing when she reappeared and tripped over.

The wyvern flew up and disappeared into the fog once again.

"Ahh... That hurt." Allisa moaned as she got back to her feet rubbing her nose.

"Allisa!" Meracle had also recovered and ran to her side.

"I-I'm alright," Allisa reassured her, looking out to the fog.

"Did you get it?" Meracle asked her.

"Yeah, but its skin was so tough, my sword only nicked it." Allisa looked at her sword.

"Mmmya.... I can vouch for that." Meracle wimpled while looking at her legs. The right leg that she used to kick was shaking. "I honestly thought my legs were gonna shatter into a million pieces after that kick."

Allisa looked back at the fog. "Well, those things are like dragons. And considering the kind of beating Max can take, It's gonna be pretty tough for the two of us to take down." She held out her blade and uttered, "Azure Flame!" changing her swords form.

Meracle, who'd never seen Allisa transform her sword, started with a twinkle in her eyes.

Allisa, not noticing Meracle, studied the black blade. This form was gained from the power of a dragon. Azure Flame was the name of the dragon that Arthur had defeated in his quest to gain the throne, or so she saw from his memories. She even communicated with it in order to gain this power. If this is from a dragon that powerful, then it may be our only chance to kill that thing.

"Mary." Allisa looked at Meracle. "You could uh... sense that thing?"

"Mye.... Uh, sort of." Meracle nodded. "Thanks to being a thief, my instances are a little better than normal Cait Sith."

"Instinct?"

"Anyway, what's with that black blade? Your sword just transformed." Meracle continued, still with a twinkle in her eye as she looked at the black blade.

"It's kind of a long story," Allisa said. "I'll tell you about it later. You got a better chance of picking that thing up in this fog. So I need you to tell me when that thing will show up again." Allisa took her sword in both hands and stood ready. "With this, I'll definitely cut it."

Inspired by Allisa's confidence, Meracle nodded and looked around, trying to pick up on the next point of attack. The fog had cleared up somewhat, but visibility was still incredibly poor. Meracle however, wasn't going to let herself be disheartened. Her ear's flapped as she looked around, then suddenly they shot up straight. "Over there!"

Allisa looked to where Meracle was pointing, where there was a blue light within the fog. "Oh Crap!!" Realizing what it was, Allisa amassed flames to her sword's edge just as arcs of lightning shot through the fog. "Vermilion Strike!"

Allisa met the breath attack with her attack, the collision causing a large explosion when the two forces collided. The Wyvern then shot through the flames with its mouth wide open. Allisa teleported out of the way while Meracle leaped out of the ways as it snapped its jaws. Allisa, still wanting to test her theory, teleported only a few feet to her right with the wyvern still flying past, and quickly struck it along its right side. The superheated blade pierced its side and left a gash deeper than the previous one. The Wyvern roared in pain as it flew away from Allisa and swept to a stop a few meters away, turning its boy to the girls.

Allisa regained her stance and looked to the wound she had infected. The wound was small but it was definitely deeper than the previous one on its front.

"You got it!" Meracle cheered after leaping back to Allisa's side.

"Yeah! Looks like this does the trick." Allisa nodded. The wyvern then lets out another roar far louder than last. Allisa and Meracle tried covering their ears from the loud noise. "Looks like I pissed it off!" Allisa shouted over the noise.

The wyvern then prepared another breath attack. "Oh not again!" noticing it Allisa grabbed Miracle and teleported out of the way as the lightning breath scorched by.

Barely a second later, the Wyvern then lifted up from the ground and blasted itself at high-speed towards Allisa and Meracle who just repaired.

"Look out!!!" Meracle yelled, shaking a finger at the monster approaching them.

Allisa turned to see the monster's jaws open to swallowing them whole. Suddenly, the earth in front of them shot up. The Wyvern crashed through the wall, losing its momentum in the process, Allisa and Meracle ducking down as the creature passed overhead. After crashing through, the wyvern let out a roar and took off into the fog.

"Wha-what just happened?" Meracle asked confused, looking at the wall that had just saved them. "Where'd this wall come from?"

"Wait that's...." Allisa began.

"Whew. Nice save."

"Hehe. Who'd ya think ya talken too."

"Hey! You girls ok?!"

Just entering the fray where Nel, Rodger, Melvin and Cliff. The wall that saved them was from Rodger, who still had both his hands on the ground.

"You guys!" Allisa waved at them, feeling very relieved that they reunited.

"Is it just the two of you?" Cliff asked as he and his group ran to region Allisa and Miracle. "Wasn't Yuki with you?"

"That jerk threw us down here!!" Meracle blurted out, fuming at the recent memory.

"He.... What?" Melvin said perplexed.

"That can wait." Nel intervened looking around at the fog. "Mind catching us up on what that was?"

"No idea," Allisa replied. "It just came out of nowhere all of a sudden. All I can say is that it's tough."

"So what was that thing?" Cliff asked. "It looked way bigger than those other things."

"Maybe it's the momma dragon?" Rodger guessed.

"I don't know. It seems like it's a completely different breed than the smaller ones."

Another deafening roar then rocked the area, loud enough to make everyone flinch and try to block out the noise.

"It sounds really angry!!" Cliff shouted over the noise.

"Keep your guard up!" Nel instructed, drawing her short blade.

"You don't say!" Melvin said with his hands still on his ears. He then glanced around to find the source, but all he could see was fog. "Damn where is it?"

Just then, Meracle's ears twitched. "Above us!!"

On cue, the wyvern dived through the fog towards where the party was standing. All of them jumped out of the way as it slammed its feet into the ground. Added with the momentum of the dive, the landing split the ground.

Rodger rolled on the ground as he landed before righting himself with both hands on the ground. "Haha! Got ya!!"

Two hands then sprung from the ground and reached for the wyvern's legs. However, before the grabbed hold, the wyvern suddenly took off out of the hands reach.

"Wha- I missed!!"

In the air, the wyvern's twirled to face Rodger with its mouth glowing blue and let out its lightning breath. Cliff managed to Grab hold of Rodger and leaped to safety just as the attack destroyed the ground where they once stood.

"Holy crap that things strong!" Cliff swore as he saw the crater where he and Rodger once stood.

The wyvern roared again before taking off, circling the battlefield.

In the air, Melvin aimed his wand at the creature, concentrating on his aim. Judging by those scales, I'm gonna have to hit it with something strong. He lifted his wand up, aiming for where the Wyvern would go, and then swiped down as water materialized in front of him. "Aqua slicer!" The blade of water flew through the air at high speed and hit the wyvern in the back.

"Got it!" Melvin grinned. He then noticed the dragon turned its attention to him, with a blue glow emanating from the mouth. "Oh boy...." Melvin was then wisped away by Cliff as the wyvern's breath attack destroyed the area where he stood. The wyvern itself then disappeared back into the fog.

"Are you guys ok?" Allisa called from the other end of the area with Nel and Miracle.

"Yeah... somehow." Cliff sighed, dropping both Rodger and Melvin.

"Mya! It's gone again!" Meracle pointed out.

"Great. It's probably more on edge since we got some good hits in." Allisa clicked her tongue. "And on top of that, we've barely done any damage."

Nel was standing beside them with her Piercer Eyes activated, glancing around the area.

"Huh? Her eyes are glowing?" Meracle mumbled when she noticed the glowing yellow from Nel's eyes.

"Oh right, you haven't seen her ability yet," Allisa remembered Meracle only just joined today with very little knowledge on her and the others.

Ignoring her, Nel looked at Allisa's sword, noticing that she was using Azure Flame. "There was a cut on it's left. Was that your doing?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." Allisa nodded to Nel. "Though I just nicked it then. I didn't really do any damage."

"Mya!! It's coming back round!!!" Meracle alerted them.

"Hey heads up!!" Cliff shouted.

The wyvern burst through the fog aiming for the girls with another breath attack.

"Not again!!" Allisa blurted as she, Nel and Meracle attempted to run.

"I got it!!" Rodger drew his hammer and slammed it onto the ground to create a wall in front of the girls, just as the breath attack was unleashed. The wall took the attack, blocking it from its intended targets despite crumbling under it.

The wyvern continued its dive towards the falling wall and began to ascend again. However, Allisa aspired from behind the wall with a violent blaze erupting from her sword. This close I can't miss. "Vermillion Strike!"

She swung her sword in a crescent arc, letting loose her attack which hit the creature on it's side and exploded on Impact.

"Yeah! You got it!" Meracle cheered. She had dodged in the direction Nel had. Nel however, didn't look relieved in the slightest. "No."

Bursting through the flame was the wyvern. Its right side was slightly singed black, but there was no wound or visible damage left.

"What?!" Amazed that her attack had done no damage, Allisa lowered her blade slightly.

"No look out!!" Nel tried to warn her.

The wyvern twilled in the air sharply and then dived right towards Allisa with its jaws wide open. It was so fast that Allisa only realized the danger when the creature was a few feet in front of her.

Oh crap! She struggled to think about her next move as she stared down the open mouth of the monster. I gotta dodge!

As she tried to recover, an outstretched hand and a sharp blade passed by her shoulders. The wyvern was then stopped dead in its tracks, a hand and the point of the blade pressed against its snout. Its eyes were wide-open, staring at the monsters in human skin, standing behind Allisa.

"H-Huh?" Allisa, still comprehended what had happened, felt two familiar presences standing directly behind her.

"Looks like we're late to the party."

"What do you think you're doing you overgrown lizard."

Standing directly behind Allisa was none other than Max and Yuki, both with a savage grin on there faces.

"Wha- you guys!"

The Wyvern then lifted its head and let out another roar aimed at the ones in front of it, trying to blow them away.

Max grabbed Allisa around the waist and pulled her back while Yuki leaped away. "Man it's really pissed!" Yuki commented.

The wyvern then powered up another breath attack, keeping its eyes focused on the three in front of it, not noticing Nel approaching it, stabbing it in the eye. The creature roared in pain as Nel dug her blade in deep, holding her position despite being showered in blood.

"You're clear!!" She yelled.

A Stone pillar then apprised over its waling head, launching Cliff into the air, pulling back a fist. "It's payback time!!!" He punched down on its forehead, slamming it back into the ground. "Ok, Time to pin it!" Cliff yelled as he fell.

"Got it!!" Rodger confirmed as he slammed his hammer down into the ground. Two hands then grabbed hold of its talon feet and pinned them into the ground. Enraged, the wyvern flapped its wings, trying to break its shackles when sharp blades of Ice formed above it.

"Spears of the frozen north. Give form and rain retribution. Heaven ice rain!" Melvin cast his spell, which sent the blades of Ice down on its wings, piercing through the soft membrane.

Cliff landed on the ground as the ice hit with Nel pulling back. "Ok! Clip the wings you guys!!" Nel instructed the boys.

"Got it!" Both said.

"Huh? Uh what are you- AHHH!!!" Without so much as a warning, Allisa was thrown forward by Max as he and Yuki charged forwards.

"You ain't beating me hear Sword Bastard!" Max boasted as he flared up his right fist.

"We'll see about that Pyro!" Yuki responded as he held his blade by his side. Both boys leaped onto the monster's back, Max aiming for the left wing while Yuki aimed for the right. Both hit at the same time, Max blasting the joint off completely while Yuki cut clean through it. "Ok 'leader,' finish it off!"

Above the monster Allisa fell towards its back, inverting the grip in her sword, aiming for a small cut that had been left behind by Melvin's first attack. She plunged the blade through the crack sinking the blade until it reached the crossguard.

"It's over!"

She then emblazoned her sword within the body. Flames passed through the body and burst out from underneath. The creature let out one last howl as the life began to fade out of its one good eye, its internal organs were destroyed by Allisa's final attack and a large hole had opened up on its front. After letting out its final howl of life, its head fell to the ground and it closed its eye.

The guardian of the Canyon, which had lived for 200 years and had protected the temple from those who seek its secrets, let out its final breath.

"... We did it," Allisa breathed as she fell to her knees, placing her head on the hilt of her sword. "It's over." She then released her sword, which disappeared, and slid down the body, tripped and nearly fell until Nel caught her.

"T-Thanks..." Allisa nodded wirily. "Guess I went overboard on that last attack huh?"

Nel simply helped her back to her feet and the party reconvened in front of the massive stairway.

"Haha! We totally beat the boss!" Rodger cheered, jumping up in the air.

"Whew, that was hell." Melvin groaned, putting his wand back in its holder.

"How'd you guys do that anyway?" Meracle asked as she walked behind them. "It was like you all knew what the other was gonna do without talking to each other."

"Hehe, that's the power of friendship," Rodger said with a grin while resting his hammer on his shoulders. "No need for planning or speaking since our very souls are linked to-"

"We just improvised." Melvin cut Rodger's monologue off. He then turned to Max and Yuki. "Talk about great timing. Where were you guys anyway?"

"Dealing with those lizards," Yuki responded bluntly.

"Oh... that explains why none came after us."

"Man, there were so many. It was like coming out of the mud work or something." Max said with his hands over his head.

"It's 'woodwork' you idio- GACK!!!" Yuki began when suddenly, Meracle leaped up and dropped kicked Yuki in the back, sending him rolling across the ground coming to a stop near the stone stairs. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!!!" Yuki snapped at her.

"That's for throwing us down that hole you jerk!!" Meracle shouted. "If it weren't for Allisa both of us would've ended up as bloody smears on the ground!!"

"And if it weren't for me you'd be dragon shit by the end of the day!" Yuki retorted standing up.

"Oh now I get it," Melvin said, rubbing his head.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" Max said, taking Miracle's side. "I still gotta kick your ass for that!"

"Why are you taking her side?! This doesn't even have anything to do with you pyro!" Yuki snapped.

"I still don't get what's going on," Rodger said looking back and forth against the bickering parties with Nel and Cliff standing behind him with exasperated looks on their face.

"Best not to get involved in that. Trust me." Cliff said.

Allisa then walked past Meracle and Max and approached Yuki who was still on his knees. "Gonna yell at me too huh?" Yuki said with a little bit of a sarcastic voice.

"Um....Yuki," Allisa nervously looked away, scratching the back of her head. "Th-Thanks for saving us back there."

"..... Eh?" Allisa thanking him even though both of them had been at odds for the last few days caught both Max and Meracle off guard.

Even Yuki wasn't expecting it. His eyes widened with surprise. He then hardened his expression and got back to his feet. "Just be more aware of your surroundings." He said dismissing her gratitude as he walked up the stairs. "I won't be there all the time to save you."

Meracle and Max then approached Allisa.

"Myuh... Allisa?"

"You ok?"

Both asked with concerned looks.

Allisa however, just turned around with a sheepish smile. "Yeah. I'm ok." She said.

"Great. Then let's go." Cliff said as he and Nel walked past them. "I really want to get out of here as quick as possible."

"I'll agree with you there," Nel said to Cliff.

"Hey wait up!" Melvin said as he and Rodger ran after them.

"It should be the boss and co-boss that walks before there henchmen!" Rodger boasted.

"We're not you henchmen!" Cliff snapped at him.

"Aw lighten up," Max said casually as he and Miracle began walking up.

"Don't encourage him!"

Allisa took a step forward towards the steps. She put one foot on the first step when she felt a presence behind her. Turning her head, she saw the same woman that had led her there in the first place, standing in front of the dead wyvern. It's her!

Meracle noticed Allisa had stopped and turned to look at her while she stared off into the distance with a seemingly detached look. "Allisa? What is it?"

"Huh?" Allisa looked back to Meracle then back out into the distance. The woman had once again disappeared without a trace. ".... It's nothing." Allisa dismissed her thoughts and began ascending the stairs. "Nothing at all."

****

"Woho, that's one gloomy-looking place. Don't you agree Roby?"

"It's Robin."

"So the other half of that seal is in this ass-end of the world."

"Pretty cliché if you ask me."

"Compared to last time, this seems pretty straightforward. And boring if you ask me."

Unknown to the brave adventurers who had just entered Löwe Höhle, standing at the path which overlooked the mist-filled canyon stood a blond Cait Sith with a wild grin all over her face, and an elf floating close to her with a flat face that was difficult to read.

Little did the party know, getting into Löwe Höhle was the easiest part of this adventure; even what awaited them within would be easy, all of it easy compared to what was to come.

Unknown to them, but what will transpire here, in this valley shrouded in fog, will be the prelude to the calamity waiting to erupt.