Shaking the Heavens and the Earth!
Ludwig VS The Dark Magus
天地ゆるがす!
ルートヴィヒ VS 闇の魔法使い
Part V
Perfect Soundtrack :]
As a horrifying, putrid wind rampaged through the wicked, molten world, blowing thick clouds of ash all over the place, the two adversaries stood facing each other directly, each one awaiting the move of the other. Below, as the ground burst open and spewed out lava into the air like water from a geyser, the Dark Magus chuckled maniacally behind his mask, his fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails cut into his hands.
"Father Christmas!" called Ludwig. "You don't have to go down this path! Come back to the light!"
"You are a coward!" retaliated the Magus mockingly. "You are afraid of fighting me, are you not?"
"Don't make me do this", pleaded the Spirit.
"Screw that", said the Magus, laughing as he reached both his arms out in a crucifix position, holding the corrupted Pestilence in his left hand and pulling out a black energy sword with his right hand. Ludwig winced agonisingly and created a gigantic ball of blue fire in the air, before pulling a large, holy Zweihänder from the fire and whirling it around, standing upright and awaiting the inevitable pounce of the dark adversary who stood across him on the other cliff.
With a grunt, the Dark Magus propelled himself off the edge of the cliff, flying across the ashen air and heading straight for the Spirit, who brought his Zweihänder down on the Magus' two black swords and kicked him aside, causing him to roll across the ground and stop a few paces away from Ludwig. As the Spirit headed towards him, the former Tenshi stood up again, swinging both his swords and deflecting the fiery broadsword of Ludwig, sending a shower of sparks flying all around. The two reeled backwards briefly, before lunging forward again and sparring with each other at a rapid fire pace. The sparks that flew around reignited the ashes in the air, causing a ring of fire to form around the two belligerents. Eventually, both struck each others' swords so hard that a gigantic burst of energy crackled from the middle of the ring of fire, sending both reeling backwards nearly out of the ring. The fires around them burst outwards and died down.
"This will end here, Ludwig", snarled the Dark Magus. He seized his mask with his clawed hands and pulled it off his face, revealing his shrivelled, corrupted countenance, eyes bloodshot and baggy, pupils dilated, and forehead furrowed and veiny. Though the voice was largely the same, the face didn't match what used to be known as Father Christmas. "The old Balance shall be toppled and cast into the dark fires of the Rule of Maju's Empire. You shall be the first to go!" The thing snarled and revealed a set of rotten, chipped teeth, saliva dribbling from the gaps in between.
Ludwig winced at the horrifyingly demonic sight before him, before drawing another Zweihänder from his fiery phoenix essence and whirling it about furiously, creating a circle of light in the air. The Magus snarled back, whirling his own black blade and stepping closer and closer. The two completely contrasting circles began to whirr viciously in the ashen atmosphere. They inched closer and closer together, until finally, they came into contact, and a scream rang through the entire dimension.
"Flame of the Divine!"
"160 Black Arms!"
...
As the figure of the Dark Magus rolled down the hill and stopped upon crashing into a large boulder at the bottom, its arms and legs severed at their joints, Ludwig slowly walked down the hill, his face contorted in anger and despair.
"Why did you have to do this?" he screamed at the mutilated figure of what used to be Father Christmas, lying on the ashen ground. "Why did you allow the darkness to consume you???"
"Shut up!!!" the Magus screamed back, attempting to stand up on his stumps.
Ludwig nearly broke down into tears, but managed to get hold of himself. As the former Tenshi continued to writhe in agony, the Spirit of the Hotel raised his hand and pointed his open palm at the crumpled heap before him. Slowly, a white light began to emanate from his palm, before it entered the body of the Dark Magus, eliciting a scream from the unholy being.
"This is the most I can do to save you, Father Christmas", said Ludwig forlornly.
The moment the white light died down, the screaming stopped too. Though the maimed Dark Magus continued to writhe on the ground, beside him had appeared a small, silvery jewel, iridescent and like an opal in its hue. The holy light given off by the jewel seemed to light up the otherwise dark surroundings, seemingly causing the Magus to make a feeble attempt to back away in fear and in pain. Without hesitation, Ludwig bent down and picked up the jewel, caressing it and kissing it gently, before turning around, creating a portal to the Hotel, and stepping through, leaving the Magus behind on the dark planet.
…
The Japanese Restaurant
"The Multiverse isn't infinite, though it might as well be to the vast majority of its inhabitants", said Master Lam, emptying his cup and refilling it. "There are different ways of ruling such enormous chunks of land; protectorates, colony systems, proxy governments, feudal systems... the possibilities are endless. There's nothing inherently wrong with what Elizabeth suggests, but no doubt, there'd be many people who'd oppose such methods of nation building."
---
Steiner glanced over at Tandem and gazed intently into the Alveranian's eyes with his fiery, hazel irises, still twirling the hair on the side of his head.
"We could do that, I suppose", he said. "But first, I think Master Wong would like a bit of an explanation." Turning to face the Grandmaster, Steiner smiled faintly, before changing his sitting position. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Master Wong", he said. "I'm the one who requires your services. Would you be comfortable in following us to Chphlyggnu?"
"No need", came the Master's reply. "We can do it right here, if you want. What do you need to be separated from your body?"
"Nepharite blood."
"No problem", said Wong, laying out his pins and his other equipment on a table. "We can do it here if you want, though it's a bit of a tricky procedure, since Nepharite blood is sentient. Are there, by any chance, any mages familiar in sedation magic here?"
Steiner glanced over at the Moon Sisters.
...





