Id ignored Logan until he caught up to her. Ego was above them keeping a watch for any obstacles they might encounter. Ego could see the hounds following them. He couldn't tell how many as they bobbed and weaved though the trees. Idelia spared a quick glance backward once Logan got closer. She whirled around facing the hounds. She quickly counted six. She began to watch the way they ran.
"You ready to fight these little pups?" She asked Logan. then she began to analyze the hounds. "Big paws meant for running not climbing. Massive size about 250-300lbs each. Swift on their feet so we are going to be outrun." Id let out a huge sigh. "Listen Carrot Top. Just make sure I don't die." With that her ring began to glow brighter as Ego descended down between the students and hounds. Ego began to glow red hot as he began to rapidly grow. Soon Ego stood between the two groups as his true form. Trees around him began to ignite due to the pure heat his body was releasing. "Super Ego...Protect." The bird let out a deafening screech as he unfolded his wings blocking a direct path to Id and Logan. Ego began to unleash balls of molten lava from deep within the birds gullet. The shots began to hit anything in front of Ego creating a minefield of lava that the pack would have to cross before fighting Ego and Logan. Id fell to her knees, summoning Super Ego took more out of her than expected. She wasn't sure how long she could hold Ego in this form before having to unsummoning him and resting. Hopefully it would be long enough.

Lotus glared at the groups listening. She could feel Daniel's fear as his hand shook in hers. When Alice summoned her weapon Lotus released Daniel's hand and stepped forward. She summoned her katana. "No Alice, I won't let you. If there's anything I've learned from this club it's that your a good leader. Everyone looks up to you Alice. Daniel, Lloyd, Damian, even I look up to you. But your judgement is being clouded by your emotions. I don't want to fight you now, you can do as Lloyd said and we can find a civil way to deal with this later or we can do it the hard way." Lotus looked off to the side as she spoke not wanting to make eye contact with Alice out of respect. Lotus was a little scared but she hid her emotions, for once since she had joined the club She was doing this on pure hope. Hoping Alice would at least tolerate the mages for a while and hoping that if she didn't Lotus could at least keep up with Alice.

“Can do.” Logan responded with a c*** grin.

Sure, Idelia wasn’t ideal company, but her powers were potent. The two of them would be able to take care of a few palette swapped hell hounds with little difficulty. He watched in awe as the girl’s familiar grew in size, the flames on its body threatening to engulf anything that got too close. The bird spewed a cascade of molten earth on the ground, creating a deadly obstacle course between the two omnivident and their enemies. Logan chuckled. This would be easier than he had thought. It would be a simple matter to snipe the beasts from the other side. On the off chance one of them managed to get through, well, he had options. In the meantime, he decided to summon his rifle. Logan concentrated, calling upon his ancestors for their aid, and before long it appeared. He held the stock of the rifle in one hand, gripping the barrel in the other. Meanwhile, the rest of the gun’s parts and mechanisms clattered to the ground at his feet. He stared at them blankly for a moment as he tried to figure out what had gone wrong. It didn’t take him long to put two and two together.

“Abigaaaaail!”

Alice bristled noticeably. "Traitors!" Phora hissed.

"'Hard?'" Alice said. "For you, maybe. I expected loyalty from you. But then again-" She smiled bitterly. "Nothing makes sense to me anymore. Èn garde." She sprinted towards Lotus, sword held in a striking position.

Daniel muttered something, and Alice's foot became encased in ice. "I'm the one you want!" He said. "This should stay between us." He muttered again, and a ball of fire rocketed towards Alice, but she summoned her enchanted shield, dispersing the flames.

"Lemme at 'im!" Phora pleaded.

"No," Alice replied. "Let's let Lloyd do the honors."

"Alice, wait." Lloyd said quickly as his mind raced. "You're killing someone who is one of us. Why do you hate magic users anyway?" Grayson had swooped down and stretched himself over his masters shoulders. His eyes danced between the people who were talking, with a smile on his face.

Alice was taken aback by Lloyd's ignorance. "Magic-users prey upon faekind for their powers, and misuse them. Witch-hunting is a sacred duty of disciples of the Artes de Totem, as part of our bond with the Fae. We eliminate them, and use their artifacts for good. The purpose is true and the rewards are glorious."

Daniel listened with dread. He only had one card. "I think I can save Carter from Hell!"

All movement came to a standstill as everyone looked at Daniel with various degrees of surprise. Basil was not so effected, as he vaguely remembered a kid by the name of Carter while he served as co-president. He couldn't recall much more than the kid's name, largely believing him to be insignificant. However, it was quite interesting that the kid had somehow found his way to get trapped in Hell. He'd never heard of something like that before. Basil resisted the urge to make a biting remark, though as he read the expressions that washed over everyone else's faces as Carter's name was mentioned. Even Evelyn, whom he had pegged as being a twat with a superiority complex, seemed emotionally distraught. He smiled.

"Explain yourself, Junior Sweeny" said Adi coolly, while summoning his karambit. Everyone noticed that a sudden wave of energy seemed to emanate from the student as an angelic halo briefly appeared over his head before fading away in a shower of sparkles. He appeared to be much more powerful than when he had last left them.

Evelyn looked back and forth between the two groups. She had sensed Basil's presence as he, Daniel and Lotus approached, but she had not thought that it would result in their present standoff. What Alice said was true, magic was an unnatural force in their world, and not meant for humans to wield. Especially for those who were omnivident, it posed a threat to their natural abilities that they were gifted. She could sense how the magical energy messed with Basil's own spiritual energy, though she found it interesting that Daniel appeared to be untouched by the effects of magic, despite clearly wielding it. Even more interesting though, was how did he think that they would be able to save Carter from hell?

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A few of the hellhounds were unable to react at a quick enough pace to ensure that they did not fall into the minefield of lava. They exploded violently as the molten lava surged upwards with a flash of light and heat. The remaining hellhounds paced backwards and forwards behind the wall of fire, as they tried to figure out a way to get through without being destroyed. The Phoenix's power was too much for any of them to take alone however, so they turned their tail and ran back into the woods.

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Tsubaki's quick thinking served her and Derrek well as she flew through the air deftly and pushed them both out of harm's way with a grunt. The chains jabbed in the direction that they had been formerly, missing them completely. Undismayed by her miss, Fiona quickly swung her chains once more to go after Tsubaki and Derrek on the ground.

However, before the chains could strike at the two, they became magnetically charged as Damian's glass bauble was filled with electrical energy. Immediately, they seized mid-flight, glowing with green energy that seemed signature to Damian's electrical powers.

Putting himself directly in front of Fiona, Damian was face to face with the girl. He saw firsthand, the inky darkness that filled her eyes, and the twisted smile that twitched upon her face, as tears streamed incessantly down her cheeks. She shakily raised her hands upwards, and the ground began to tremble beneath Damian. Even more chains began to erupt from the earth and coiled around Fiona like a snake. The chains seemed to have a mind of their own as they swayed back and forth looking at Tsubaki, Derrek and Damian. In the meantime, Fiona hovered above the ground with a maleficent red glow emanating from her body.

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"How intriguing," mused the ghost as she looked at Johnny's display of power. "I have never seen a Notatorum being capable of doing such a thing. So have come out from possession, not only with your powers intact, but also with them....altered. Truly, you are an oddity." She wiped the rims of her glasses as she thought "It appears that your natural spirit energy has been dabbed with foreign energy causing it to change. Almost like a bowl of water with a drop of ink; it's not enough to complete change it, though enough that it is not quite the same"

His PDA buzzed to life as a message arrived from Miss Rachel. "Meet me at the front of the school"

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As Maximilian entered the office, Miss Rachel looked up from a series of folders with a knowing look on her face. "Ah good," she said with a smile "You're back." She stood up from the desk, not bothering to ask any questions and pushed her chair back into its place. "Come on, Miss Shields and Johnny will be waiting for us at the front of the school." She said while she ushered him out of the room. "There has been an attack at the Winter Ball, and we'll need all the people we can muster if we are to hope that the students will return from the pocket dimension."

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A sudden howling rose from the forest where the hellhounds had fled, and then there was silence as Id and Logan waited to see what would happen next. Their question was quickly answered by a sudden shrieking from above as winged imp-like creatures flew towards them in dark cloud. Their flesh was grey and cracking, with beady glowing red eyes and jagged teeth the glistened in the whiteness of the forest. They were humanoid, though diminutive in size around the size of a young child. Bearing sharpened and gnarled spears, they prepared for their assent upon the two.

Daniel looked at Adi uneasely. He seemed to wield great power, and if Daniel remembered correctly, he was very loyal to Alice. His odds of survival were getting worse by the minute, but he found strength as he saw Lotus standing beside him. "In the Palace Of The Seer's I saw beyond the veil," he said.

Phora finally sensed all the strange things that were happenning. "Ummm..." She began. "Why do I sense demons all around us?" She looked to Alice for guidance, but her master was caught up in what Daniel was saying.

"If I learn The Speech, I may be able to act beyond it, like a hand to match the eye." He stumbled on his words, but somehow he seemed confident.

Phora began to act agitated as her alarm grew. "Ummm... I think we should fuse."

Daniel pointed to Phora, who was waving her arms about in an attempt to gain someone's attention. "I think this familiar could teach me."

Phora hissed and looked around, before summoning a wand that looked almost like a toy. "This is not good."

Logan blinked as the hounds retreated back into the forest. After a moment of quiet, he vanished his disassembled rifle.

"I helped." He said.

The peace didn't last long, as the receding howls of their chasers were suddenly silenced. In anticipation, the Scot summoned his sword and shield, breathing a sigh of relief as they both appeared in one piece. With his weapon at the ready, Logan prepared himself for whatever might come out of the forest. Before long, two small, spear-wielding humanoid creatures appeared and began to fly toward him and Idelea. They appeared to be imps, or if the variant hellhounds were any indication, perhaps specialized imps. These creatures weren't known for their martial prowess, provided his assumption was correct, so the junior wasn't terribly worried. However, they had been able to take out the hounds very quickly. Logan just hoped his colleague would be able to hold her own after her last attack.

Johnathan knew something was up as soon as his PDA flashed Miss Rachel name. He was quite surprised and excited that he was contacted, considering that there were more capable people she could get in contact with. Then he realized he was probably one of the few she can get in contact with. If he took this into account, then that would mean something must of occurred at the Winter's Ball where a majority of the student body is, omnivident or not. It also came from Miss Rachel, which was something Johnathan wasn't personally used too.

He looked up. "I have to go now, but I'm sure I'll see you around, right?"

-----

Lloyd and Grayson made no effort to hide the absolute indifference to this whole event that was unfolding before them. He didn't like the idea of eliminating Daniel, but it seemed like they were just intimidating him to get more information so he took no action to that either. Why they were talking about this right now when they were surrounded by who knows what in who knows where was beyond him. Apparently the life of this one runt was more important then the majority of the group's safety.

It was faint, but it appeared this whole organization was teetering on the edge of something very, very dangerous. At first Lloyd didn't want to believe it, but the longer he spent here the more he realized his suspicions about the group were coming true. Maybe he was imagining it. Or maybe he still didn't want to believe it.

Defense could only do so much and was quickly waning it seemed, as Fiona's attacks were about to catch up with Tsubaki's dodges. It seemed that without help there was no way she could protect Derrek and herself, little lone try to save Fiona. Then, out of nowhere help arrived in the form of Damian, who appeared to create a brief magnetic field that disrupted the chains. Tsubaki made note to herself to thank him relentlessly at a more appropriate time. For now however she needed to try to net all the advantage she could from Damian's arrival.

"Derrek, you have to do something! You're endangering everyone by not helping!"

"I would if I could, but it's not like there is anything here, like at all. And I have to have something to manipulate. I'm not not helping just because!" The floored boy replied while nudging Tsubaki off of himself.

"Well... then... get to cover or something please! Let me and Damian handle this without the need to worry about protecting you." Without missing a beat she addressed the new arrival. "Hello, sorry there's no time for greetings or explanations, but Fiona appears to be possessed, and we have got to save her from that, please!"

While Derrek cantered off to the more shelterable part of the forest at a relatively fast pace, for him, Tsubaki's actions seemed to slow down, almost as if a weight suddenly dropped onto her.

I can't lose another person to this, not after losing Carter, and not just for myself. But exorcizing her won't be easy. Not with my current level of skill, not with the tools I have. I have one option, but it's all theory, and it's not all good theory. You should be able to fight against any sort of spiritual energy to a degree, but I don't know if you would be strong enough for an exorcism like that, little lone what you could do to a human's spirit, especially one like Fiona's that has already been fractured. You were taught to me with the the title of "The Family Killer Sigil". I never used you because I was afraid of the stigma of that name, but I know it's just a name. Still, if it's not just a name, please, please forget about your title this one time because I need your help, and I'm more scared of what will happen if I don't at least try...

In quick strokes she drew the sigil she so dreaded, then called for it's help as she clenched her fist around where it would appear, "Purgo, cut away that which should not linger!"

It was no better looking than when she first summoned it all those years ago. A scythe with a pure white handle and silvery blade, the latter of which was edged in a shimmering red. The same red as her favorite flower, and the same red her spirit bands and other summoned sigils manifested with, and yet, with this sigil, instead of smiling at memories she usually associated it with, she could only shiver.

"Remember," she said as much to herself as her partner, "saving Fiona is the priority."

Id was relieved that her plan had worked. Ego quickly vanished into thin air as Id gained a small amount energy back. She managed to sit from her kneeling position. As the howl echoed through the forest she leaned on the back of Logan's legs. "Of course you helped. You were an excellent meatshield should Super Ego fail." After she finished speaking the imps appeared out of the sky screeching. "Now if you don't mind protecting me again Mr. MeatShield, I could really use some energy back." Id summoned her flask and began to have a few drinks. She pulled her marshmallows out from her pocket and began to use her lighter to make s'mores one at a time. Id was quite enjoying her sugar filled snack as she feasted from behind Logan.

Lotus took notice of Phora's action "Um Alice? I think your totem is broken." She pointed to Phora.

There hadn't been a sight in Damian's eyes as unsettling as the twisted face of Fiona. The shivering he felt for once was not brought on by the cold, for that he was not grateful. It was Tsubaki and Derrek's voices in the background that distracted him from Fiona as the ground trembled beneath him and he managed to keep his balance. He watched Fiona rise, wrapped in chains as more sprouted, stirring a bit of doubt in him they could escape this place alive. He was relieved by Tsubaki's swift greeting next to him and only turned, nodding with a simple "Yeah" in accordance with her statement.

He momentarily returned his gaze to the menacing and discouraging form of Fiona now wrapped in chains, hovering in the air. He hadn't figured to have any safe use of his lightning bolts but now he risked electrocuting Fiona if he tried anything with them. Thus, when she reminded him of their goal right now, he took out his bauble, absorbing the bolt, becoming aware of the sycthe in her hands and commenting with meager confidence. "Yeah this is cake."

As Maximilian and Miss Rachel walked out of the front doors of Arclight Academy, they found Miss Shields and Johnny waiting for them in the crisp winter air. She quickly flashed a quick smile at the group, though her eyes remained clouded as she formulated a series of potential plans in the back of her mind.

"Hurry," she said as she got into a vehicle, while Miss Shields sat in the passenger seat and the two boys sat in the back of the car. "We must be quick if we are to save the others" she said while speeding out through the gates of the school and towards town hall.

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Evelyn was finding it difficult to concentrate in their present situation. What Daniel said laughable at best, but he seemed to truly believe in himself, why was that? On the other hand, her highly attuned senses were picking up on a myriad of demonic activity around them. There was so much going on in different locations around them; she couldn't think.

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"Lady Yamikatsu" bowed Fiona awkwardly as she floated in the air "Finally you show your true colours" she said in a deep many-toned voice. She sharply snapped her head in Damian's direction.

"Heyyyyy loverboyyyy" said Fiona mockingly "She's in so much pain right now, and there's nothing you can do about it" She suddenly fell to the ground, all the chains rattling as they fell to the ground around her body. Fiona struggled to get up, a brief outline of wings appearing behind her as she got to her knees.

"Damian!" she gasped "Help me please, Damian!" She gasped and the ground around them began to rumble as a multi-toned groan was loosed from her chest. The chains returned to life as she rose to the air shakily, her head hanging limp until it snapped to attention. Two long links of chains coiled themselves around her forearms as she awkwardly landed on the ground. Spinning around she lashed one length of chains at Tsubaki, and the other at Damian.

"Time to play" she said cheerfully.

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"That's insane!" exclaimed Basil, "No one can go through the veil, not unless you're dead."

"I hate to agree with the traitor, but he is right," nodded Adi somberly.

"Regardless, that does not mean we should fight among each other" spoke up Li

"Exactly my thoughts!" agreed Basil.

"Li, Senior Pearson is correct in our need to expel such practitioners of magic from our order"

All this arguing was getting them nowhere, and Evelyn was beginning to feel quite faint herself. They still had not reasoned where exactly they were, nor the source of the entity that had brought them there. Worse still, they were still not united as a team, she could sense the five distinct others out there in the wilderness, each group besieged by a wave of darkness that made everything much more difficult for her to read. Evelyn rubbed her temples and closed her eyes as she tried to silence all the spiritual noise around herself.

"You'll never leave," hissed a voice in the back of her mind.

"SILENCE!" yelled Evelyn, her eyes glowing fiercely as took flight, leaving a blast of spiritual energy and wind in her wake.

"I never liked her," mused Basil as he crossed his arms.

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The car screeched as it pulled up in front of the city hall. They could hear music playing loudly from within, but the outside was deathly silent. As they exited the car and walked up the stairs to the front door, they were greeted by a lonely Chantelle. She wore an elegant slender red dress that sparkled in the lights in front of the door. Her shoulders were bare, and the dress did not look altogether warm, but she seemed completely unbothered by the brewing winter storm.

"Oh!" exclaimed Miss Rachel, sincerely surprised. It was one of the few moments in her life that the woman would ever say that she had been unprepared. "What are you doing out here, Chantelle" asked the woman, quite out of her element.

"There's something going on in there" replied Chantelle with a deeply concerned expression "It's just like...like the last time" Her eyes widened as she came face to face with Maximilian once again. They had only briefly met all those months ago, when she dragged him and Lotus to Carter's room.

"Look, Chantelle, I know you've somehow gotten wound up in this before, and I never understood how or why, but you need to step aside and let us do our job."

"You can't get inside, the doors are locked," replied Chantelle.

"We'll see about that" Miss Rachel stood in front of the doors boldly and said, "Doors, I command you to open!" The atmosphere became tense, as if it were being charged with electricity, and heat, and then suddenly all returned to normal. The doors clicked and slowly opened themselves.

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Evelyn flew through the air, a trail of wisps following her as she approached the cloud of screeching demon imps. Her eyes vibrantly glowing white, she loosed three explosive wisps into the cloud. Those that were hit directly, exploded in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Alright Scotty!" she yelled down at Logan "You hit them from below, and I'll keep them entertained from above"

"Phoenix girl, keep recharging and join us when you have enough energy"

She acrobatically swooped into the air as some of the imps turned their attention to the flying girl. She loosed more of her concussive orbs of light at the crowd, subsequently causing more of them to explode as they reached their target.

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The group continued to argue amongst themselves. Adi was displeased with Evelyn's departure, though Li sympathetically tried to reason out why Evelyn would leave them. Meanwhile Basil continued to glare at Alice and her boytoy, he didn't know who the totem-boy was, nor did he care. All that mattered was that they didn't get in the way, they needed to find a way out.

Suddenly Sorbet began to peep loudly and repeatedly as it hopped about on Alice's shoulder.

A howl was all they heard before they were beset upon by a pack of frozen hellhounds. The creatures tore through the clearing from all around them, leaving no room for escape.

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Inside, the foyer of the city hall was eerily dark, and a wind blew through the hall.

"I know you're here!" yelled Miss Rachel into the darkness "Reveal yourselves!" Suddenly multiple red eyes opened from around the room. Large shadowy spiders, partially blending in to the darkness began to approach the group.

"Greta, now!" commanded Miss Rachel. Glowing wings appeared behind Miss Shields as a glowing field of energy began to circle around the teachers and the boys. The spiders bashed their fangs against the walls of the forcefield, but Greta was much more powerful than they were.

"Let me formulate a plan of action" said Miss Rachel as she sat on the ground cross-legged.

A sudden stream of fire suddenly burst forth from the entrance, and swept over the shield. The spiders that were caught in the flames shrieked as they were consumed by the fires. Miss Rachel stood up and looked to the source of the fire; a humanoid being composed entirely of fire walked towards them, a magnificent flame flying above her head like beautiful red hair.

"Well," mused Miss Rachel "That explained a lot of things" she looked over at Miss Shields "Alright Greta, drop the shield and remain on defensive measures. Maximilian, Johnny, you two are fortunately a bit more experienced now with these sort of things. Summon your weapons and wield your artes! We must fight our way towards the main hall!"

Logan’s eyes widened as the group of imps descended upon him and his classmate. He’d end up pincushioned if he tried to fight so many at once, even with chainmail. He stood with his claymore at the ready, trying to think of any way to get out of this situation. He eyed the forest behind him thoughtfully. If he could just reach the tree line, he would stand a much better fighting chance. The branches would prevent the imps from flying, and they wouldn’t be able to attack him all at once. He could even carry Idelia if he needed to. However, Logan’s contemplations were interrupted as the swarm of imps lit up in a brilliant flash of light. The Scot shielded his eyes, and when he looked again, he could see someone soaring above the demonic creatures.

“Alright Scotty! You hit them from below, and I’ll keep them entertained from above! Phoenix girl, keep recharging and join us when you have enough energy.”

Logan was silent for a moment, then began to laugh. “Oh, thank goodness.” He sighed. “Evelyn, I could kiss you right now!”

Thanks to the girl’s intervention, the imps were fighting a battle on two fronts, giving the students a much better odds. Less than half of the initial force was still focused on Logan. Still, he didn’t have the raw destructive potential of Idelia or Evelyn, so he knew he’d have to work to carry his own weight in this fight. Logan looked at his claymore, wondering how he could up the ante. Perhaps he could wield two swords at the same time. He’d never tried it before, so it might be possible, but… No, the claymore was a two-handed weapon. Just one was heavy enough. The imps continued to close in rapidly. If Logan didn’t think of a way to counter their weapons’ superior range, he would be in trouble. He focused on the blade of his claymore, watching closely as he exerted his spiritual energy. Then, he saw a slight shift at the very tip, and the edge of his mouth curled up into a wily grin.

The Scot hoisted the weapon up above his head, holding it aloft with both hands. The imps were bearing down on him at this point, spears poised to skewer him if he didn’t move out of the way. However, he had no intention of moving. Suddenly, the blade of his sword grew in length. From tip to pommel, it was now longer than Logan was tall, and certainly longer than the imps’ spears. A few of the creatures caught on quickly and broke off from the assault. Others were slower on the uptake and, though they tried to pull out as well, were too late and became swept up in the attack. Only a few of them held the course and refused to relent, but by then, the formation was in tatters. Logan brought the claymore down in a diagonal swing, cleaving straight through a few of the imps and wounding several more. Their weapons shattered under the force of the heavier blade, crumbling like twigs underfoot. The few spears that survived were deflected by his targe, glanced off his mail, or missed the mark entirely.

In the aftermath of the attack, the imps that had suffered a direct hit disappeared in a puff of violet smoke. Some lay scattered on the ground before him, and the ones that had been lucky enough to escape early still hovered in the air, hesitant to close in.

“Alright, you little cretins,” Logan said as he brought his sword to bear once again. “Come and get me.”

Alice had forgotten Sorbet was there, so she was startled by the bird suddenly making noise. "What's wrong little guy?" She asked before hearing the howls of the hellhounds.

"They're made of ice!" Phora said. She danced about, and some of the hellhounds seemed to melt away. "Watch this!" The pixie waved her hand, and part of one hellhound turned into an ice spear and pierced another. "Muahahahaha! You should've just stayed home."

Phora's master, confident that her totem had things under control, stopped to look at Sorbet. "Let's try a full summon, shall we?" She sent waves of spiritual energy into the phoenix, much like she did when full summoning Phora.



A hellhound pounced at Daniel, and he shouted before letting loose a larger fire ball which destroyed it and a handful of others. "Whoah..." He said. "I'm getting pretty strong." The boy grinned at Lotus while reaching into his shirt pocket to withdraw an orb of glass. "What should I do with this?"