Chapter Text
A large wooden door creaks open, revealing the interior of a dark and magical potion shop. Along the walls are shelves of different elixirs and strange liquids, ranging from bright reds to purples. To accompany this scene, the smell of lavender incense gently wafts through the room that calms the senses. Toward the back of the shop sits a counter, where a man in brown robes sits back lazily in his chair. He's twiddling through wands before noticing someone enter the store.
The man who was now walking up to the counter looking around cautiously happened to be Javier Asrahan, the best knight within the queen's command… He was always at the top of everything, being the first individual to reach the grandmaster state (actually, he had to create that name himself) and even creating a revolutionary mana absorbing skill called the Asrahan Core Technique. By now, he had achieved 5 mana rings around his heart that considerably improved his strengths.
Javier had to obtain a specific potion today, though he wasn't exactly sure why this certain shop enticed him. Perhaps it was because it belonged to the eldest son of the Frontera family, people who were incredibly talented wizards. Not only this, but they were the leaders of the newly independent power—the mage spire.
Though… the man before him did not appear to exhibit the wisdom that he expected from a Frontera. To be precise, he was extremely laid back in his mannerisms, tinkered around mindlessly with random things, and always gave off an annoying look. All of these factors made Javier suspicious, but he brushed it off and continued to walk forward near the counter.
The man looked up from the wands in his hands, giving him an unimpressed look and sighing as if he was tired of having to bother with customers.
"Good morning, and thank you for helping keep this poor man in business—ahem! I've got potions galore, ranging from ones that increase your strength, defense, you name it… I've even got a love potion in here, or would you feel captivated by a revolutionary healing potion—"
"I need a poison resistant elixir." Javier cut him off, not wanting to listen to his rambling.
"Excuse you! I was busy speaking."
"I don't want those potions—"
The man cut him off this time, waving his hand. "No, no. I have to finish my speech." Then, in a quieter voice (that he wasn't expecting Javier to pick up on), "…If I list out a bunch of random cool sounding potions, then people will be more influenced to buy from me…"
Javier gave him an irritated look.
"As I said, sir, I would like something that makes you resistant to poison." The knight began again, causing the other to scoff dramatically.
"Oh, but of course! And why is that? Not many people ask for something like this. You sure you don't want something like… ah! I've got potions that can make you grow wings for a temporary time—"
"Enough with that blabber. I'll be leaving."
"Would you stop cutting me off?!" He yelps, reaching out for Javier as the knight begins to turn around. "Fine, fine! Buy the potion. I'll have to charge a wee bit extra for that baby though, since she's hard to make. You good with that?"
That didn't seem like a big deal, since Javier was here on the orders of the queen herself; therefore, he was allowed to take a slight allowance out of the Royal Treasury just for today. As long as the cost wasn't too much…
"2,000 gold. Take it or leave it—"
"No. That is too much. Goodbye."
Should've known that this guy was a scam, based on the way he acted. Javier could always just find something like this at another store, surely. Although, it would be a shame that he is now missing out on one of the goods from the Frontera family.
"Ack! W-Wait, wait! Okay, 1,000? How much are you willing to pay…?"
Javier put down the necessary money that he was offering now on the table: "Make it 500."
The man looked at him with a bewildered expression, but eventually gave in and took the gold. He swiveled around in his chair briefly and looked amongst the shelves, presumably for the potion, until facing Javier again. The knight could immediately see guilt flash over his face.
"So. The thing is…"
"If you do not have it, I require my money back."
"Now, now! No refunds, mister—" He paused and looked Javier up and down. "Knight. You are one, aren't you? Anyway, I can make it real quick, but the thing is…"
"I didn't give you that gold for tricks and games." Javier coldly stated, placing a hand on the counter and leaning in. The man shifted back with a startled look, his eyes dashing elsewhere.
"Stop that, will you?! Say, I'll give the potion to you if you help me out for a bit. I have to go get materials, since this potion is such a pain in the ass to make—which is probably why I don't have it on hand right now. Though, the place most of these ingredients originate from are dangerous."
"What are you suggesting?"
The man's face turned eerily smug. He leaned back in the chair again and crossed his arms behind his head. "Be my bodyguard. It won't be long, and I promise to get you that potion. You paid for it, alright? If you'll be inconvenienced by your loss of money, I'll personally go out and inconvenience myself too to make it even for us."
"No."
"Oh, come on! Dude!"
"I am not putting mine and someone else's life in danger for the sake of a potion that should have been on hand to begin with. You have taken my money in the attempt of scamming me, and—"
"Hold it right there, bud. Wouldn't it be a good exchange to put yourself in danger just to prevent the danger of, hmm, Her Majesty?"
Javier's eyes widened. How did he know about the purpose of his mission? What could have revealed it?
(Little did he know, the man he was talking to happened to have extensive knowledge on every key individual in Lorasia. That included Javier himself, and even the curse that was plaguing the Magentano bloodline relentlessly.)
"…I am not sure how you acquired that information, but I will let it slide for now. You must prove to me that you are willing to make this potion for me, or I will kill you for lying." Javier replied, unsheathing the sword at his hip momentarily and causing the man to jump in his seat.
"Sheesh, so rude! Put that away!"
"…" Back into the scabbard it went.
"You can count on me not to lie about this, my guy. Besides, if word got out about me taking advantage of the queen's expenses for my own gain, then—judging if I survive your wrath—I'd be accused of treason, surely." He begins, tiredly scratching the back of his head. "Also, it wouldn't be a good idea to jeopardize the power and influence of my beloved family."
So he can care about people.
"Well?" The man gets up from his chair. "You gonna accept my offer? Even though you already paid."
"Just this once."
"Ah… sweet. Come along, now! We must hurry off immediately."
"Aren't you going to prepare yourself?" Javier says. He looks at the man who is seemingly unprepared, only wearing his robes and nothing else.
"That only takes a few seconds. Watch this," He picks up one of the wands on the table and flicks it, mana spewing out of the tip and floating towards multiple potions on the shelves. Javier watches in awe as his abilities are even able to meticulously pick certain bottles that will benefit him (rather than taking all of the potions regardless of their use), all being shuffled neatly into a bag that the man now shoves over his shoulder. "Neat, isn't it? That's the power of us mages."
"It is interesting."
Surprisingly, the man is as good as mana as would be expected from the Frontera family… even if his personality is trash.
The man taps the air again with his wand, and two fur coats are retrieved from under the counter. They float in the air for a few seconds before being placed over not only the man but also Javier. With a puzzled expression, the knight turns over to the man who is grinning. "By the way," He says. "We're going someplace cold."
Javier hesitantly nods. "Where?"
"The Pantara Range. What grows there, which you'll see, is the first step of our journey for this beautiful potion." The man motions toward the door, unhooking a witch-like hat and placing it on his head before opening the front door. "Funnily enough, all the components of this elixir are poisonous. Isn't that ironic?"
However, it seems like Javier is not willing to listen to the man's babbling and decides to get to the point.
"Wizard. How do you plan on getting there?"
The man turns to Javier, a laugh just barely slipping out his mouth. "Nothing else to call me, so you say wizard! Haha…" He rummages through his robes (which Javier is surprised to see have pockets) and retrieves a strange grimoire. Opening to a random section in the book, he spins around a quill and writes something down, ripping out the paper when he's done and flipping it into the air. Javier watches—his expression changing to astonishment—as the paper glows and disintegrates, morphing into some kind of supernatural space-time door that shimmers.
"What…?"
"Little secret between us mages, mister knight. This is how me and my family get around. Unfortunately, it only works for semi-short distances, so I've set the location of this one to the mage spire. Neat, ain't it? It may give you motion sickness the first few times around, though."
Javier ponders. He's never been to that place… it's known for being pretty remote and only accessible to high level wizards and magicians that have special permission to enter. Of course someone like the eldest son of the Fronteras would be able to come and go as he pleases, but it would feel awkward for Javier, being someone that does not quite belong there.
"Why are we going to the mage spire?" He inquires.
"Good question. That place is the heart of our best transportation system, which can stretch many, many miles. Guess who developed that! Guess!"
There's no way this goof did.
"I know what you're thinking, bastard. Anyway, take my hand quick so we can get going. I want to arrive before dusk on the mountain, otherwise the most difficult ingredient on our list will be utterly impossible to obtain." He says. "For your information, it only blooms and becomes effective after being picked when the clock strikes twelve. Specifically twelve. Not a minute before or later, so we've got to skedattle!" The man holds his hand out to Javier.
"If your family has been able to develop such advanced technology, why not cultivate rare plants such as those?"
"Mmm… I wonder that too. Unfortunately, I don't think we can create an artificial climate that can adjust to the plant's needs just yet. Maybe in the future."
Javier nods and now hesitantly takes the hand stretched out to him, feeling a pull as he's taken into the shining gateway.
The transportation is quick but feels long. To explain better, Javier felt as if he had aged at least 10 years after escaping the horrible warping and colorful tunnel that he just went through. When he's finished putting himself back together and ridding himself of dizziness (feeling jealous of the man's immunity to this sensation), he looks around him.
The two are standing in the middle of the mage spire, Javier assumes, watching as individuals rush from one corner to the next of the building. There's a lot more people in here than he thought there would be.
The man stands in front of him, throwing his arms out wide as if he's showing off the area like it was his creation (little did he know…). "Welcome to the mage spire, fella! I can't give any tour just yet, but perhaps if you stick with me longer—"
"Thank you for your offer, but I am happy with my current position."
"Tch, so stingy…"
Javier's swordmaster senses pick up on approaching footsteps now, turning around to face a woman with two buns in her hair. She's wearing robes that are similar to the man's.
"Master Lloyd! You've returned!" She says, a bright smile on her face. "This is…?"
"Ah… um." Lloyd coughs.
"Javier Asrahan."
"Right. I just realized I haven't told you my name either—I'm Lloyd Frontera, and this is Emily. She works as an apprentice here."
Emily bows.
"Now if you'll excuse us, we have somewhere to be. Sorry, Emily!" Lloyd begins to walk past the woman in the direction of a door on the opposite end of the spire, until Emily begins to speak again.
"No worries, Master Lloyd. Are you off to meet with the lord and lady of the spire?"
The wizard stops momentarily. "I was heading toward the waypoint for something, so I wasn't planning on it… but if they're up there already, I could pay a brief visit. Did Siluria need a message relayed to them?"
"Siluria Namaran?" Javier asked.
Lloyd nods. "Yeah. She recently came here to expand her knowledge as a mage, and is Emily's mentor."
"I do have something for the lord's ears regarding Miss Namaran's research, but it may be too much of an inconvenience since you are in such a hurry," Emily says. "I'm sure my teacher can wait a bit longer."
"Couldn't you just go up there and request an audience with them yourself?" Javier suggests, but is quickly turned down by Lloyd.
"Simply put, nobody wants to bother going up all the way to the top of the spire. It's a looong way, dear Javier." He explains. "I also should add that most mages are not allowed to reach the highest level of the spire, which is limited to only the best. As for Emily's access, great mages like Siluria can appoint their apprentices or other individuals as proxies that get free passes to the top level. Therefore, since all of the highest level mages are usually engrossed in their research, they can relay their discoveries to my parents without having to go back and forth all the time."
Hmm, that makes sense. So if only the best mages can come to the mage spire itself, then only the best of the best can come to the top of it.
"Then why am I allowed to come with you? I am not your proxy."
"Easy! I get special privileges as the eldest son, of course."
Emily giggles. "Well, you'd better get going, Master Lloyd! I shouldn't trouble you with this small talk anymore."
"Yes, right! Javier, let us hurry!"
—
When they made it to the top of the tower through some long and slow lifting device (Lloyd called it an elevator, though Javier couldn't quite understand what he meant by that), the knight was faced with the view of a large door in front of him.
"When I said it takes a while to reach the top, this is what I meant. The party's just begun!" Lloyd says, pushing open the doors to reveal a large hallway with people bustling about. Javier hears the sound of the door closing behind them, turning around to look at it momentarily before shifting his attention to the front of the room again. The people had disappeared. "This isn't just an ordinary hall, you see. The reason why the top is so limited to high level mages is because the journey to reach it encompasses a vast labyrinth that changes upon every visit. So, interestingly enough, there are at least a few thousand overwritten maze data logs that are stored in my parents' office."
"Each attempt has a different outcome?"
"Precisely. And here's where it gets even more fun," Lloyd walks to the end of the hallway and the wall transforms into a sliding door, moving open to reveal yet another identical hallway. "Follow me, Javier."
"How does this root out skilled magicians?" Javier asks, listening to the shift of the door closing behind him as he enters the new room. He walks in front of Lloyd this time to the end of the hallway just as the wizard had done, but no door appears.
"These mazes were designed to only reveal the path to those who have a certain amount of mana capabilities. Otherwise, those who do not have ample skills will end up finding themselves back to the beginning of the maze, essentially failing the test." Lloyd turns to the right, a door shifting into the wall and opening for him. "The only downside is that you have to do this every single time you want to go up, regardless of previous accessibility. Although I will say it makes for some amazing security!"
If this reacts to mana, then Javier wonders if he were to have any chance in making it through this labyrinth. He closes his eyes and focuses on the slowly spinning mana rings around his heart, causing them to speed up and take in excess mana.
"You want to give it a try? I'm sure you would have no trouble as a knight like yourself. I could sense your mana from back in the shop—it's quite formidable."
Javier nods and silently walks over to the next wall in the left direction, seeing a literal flow of mana bounce off of it and go straight through the door he had just walked in to get to this room. Had the other hallway changed itself once the door closed? Lloyd seemed to know the answer, since he was grinning like an idiot. Javier swivelled his feet around and went back the way he came—which landed him in what only appeared to be the same room as before like usual, but had a different exit. It was amsuing indeed.
"Did the lord and lady of the spire develop this puzzle?" He asks, heading through the next sequence of random doors with the mana that appeared in his vision.
"Actually, I did." Lloyd responds, whistling a tune in a very relaxed but tone-deaf manner.
Yeah, like I'd believe that, Javier thought to himself. After all, no matter how smart Lloyd Frontera appeared to be, there was no way an idiot like him, selling scams and stupid potions all day, were to create something so elaborate like this maze.
"Of course you doubt me. Wow…"
"You aren't exactly the most trustworthy individual."
"Yet why are you here with me?"
"…"
Javier turns his attention away from the baffoon and focuses on the trail of mana before it dwindles away. "What…?" He gathers some excess mana using his Asrahan Core Technique, but there is still no flow anymore.
"What's up with you looking like a stone now? Can't find your way? Let me guess, the flow of mana that you're supposed to be seeing is now gone."
"…Yes," Javier answers quietly.
"Like I've explained, dear knight… this maze intends to trick you! You may have gotten the intention that it would be easy from here on out, but sometimes you have to think outside the box. Watch this simple little thing, and maybe it'll give you a hint to where you're supposed to go now." Lloyd replies, hopping along excitedly over to the wall. He plants his foot on the surface, and then another. Much to Javier's surprise, the wizard stands perfectly on the wall as if it was the regular ground. To visualize it better, picture Lloyd standing horizontally in Javier's view.
This makes no sense.
But,
Javier follows Lloyd's lead, putting his foot on the wall the same way and moving fully onto the surface. He watches as the room shifts to fit his perspective, as if he never stepped on the wall in the first place.
This entire labyrinth is made to not make sense.
Now Javier can see the trail.
"See, that wasn't too difficult. You'll be climbing the ceiling, I'm guessing, in a few more doors." Lloyd jokes.
Some additional minutes passed with the knight and wizard traversing through the maze with much more ease now, until Javier stepped into a room that finally changed appearance. Everything was the same other than a large wooden door (that was actually visible without seeing it with mana) with stained glass, presumably emphasizing the true entrance of the top of the tower.
"Congratulations, Javier Asrahan! You've officially beaten your first puzzle in the mage spire! I'm so proud, I feel like a dad who watched their kid grow up…"
"Please don't make that comparison." Javier retorts, letting Lloyd take the lead now and push through the wooden door. What lay behind it was a huge light emanating from a pool in the center of a huge room. Above the pool hung a strange moving ornament resembling the shape of an atom, glistening with the reflection of the pool's water. Around this spot in the middle were multiple desks and other machinery already inhabited by mages and papers.
"Again, welcome to the wizard spire. The better one." Lloyd waves his hand around. "Oh, and that big pool in the middle? That's the waypoint. It is currently able to take anyone across the entirety of Lorasia to any location, as long as they know the name of it. Pretty overpowered, right? We'll be taking that to get to the Pantara Range."
"I see." It was really interesting to Javier. No wonder the mage spire became such a powerful entity lately, if they had access to things like this—including that headache inducing maze. He speaks up again. "Lloyd, I have a question."
"What's up?" The man turns to him while they're walking toward the pool.
"Why do we need to be in a hurry to arrive in the mountains if we left midday? We are using that waypoint, so I'm sure we will get there in time."
"Smart, aren't you! You're wrong, though." Lloyd pulls his wand out of a pocket and prepares to give it another flick. What is he up to now? "The maze we were in bends reality—so much so, that even if you believe yourself to be inside it for only a few minutes, it has actually been hours on the outside."
"…What?"
Lloyd spins the wand around and points it at the back wall of the spire, causing mana to spill out and unveil hidden windows that reveal the night sky. Surprisingly enough, nobody in the tower seems to be fazed by this.
"When we entered, we spent about a half hour inside the puzzle looking for the exit. I'd estimate that in real time, it took at least 4 hours. As much as I'd like to fix that time issue, it's pretty hard to tweak the data settings on this thing, so I don't want to bother."
How would he even go about fixing it anyway? Was he really the one who made it after all?
"Anyway, that's enough dawdling. Let's quicken our pace and head over to the waypoint, yeah?" Lloyd gestures, and Javier follows suit. When they finally reach the pool, Lloyd stares down into the shallow water at his reflection and grabs onto Javier's hand.
"What are you doing?" The knight asks him, pulling his hand away confusedly.
"We need physical contact in order to go together. Therefore, we'll be almost bound spiritually while the transportation happens so we don't lose each other." Lloyd holds his hand out again, and Javier hesitantly takes it with a nod. In a few more seconds, the mage dips his free hand in the water and closes his eyes, thinking about something deeply.
Suddenly, Javier's vision picks up on a glow above him. He raises his head, and just before his vision blacks out, he sees the hanging atom-like structure beaming with light.
—
"Good morning, cupcake! Welcome back to the land of the living—almost had me thinking you were dead there." Lloyd's voice sounds in Javier's ears as his eyes flutter open.
He gets the urge to look down, and as he does, he realizes that he is currently floating in the air on some sparkly path.
"This…"
"You thought the waypoint would be lickety split, aye? Shame on you again, for thinking everything would be so easy. The waypoint is especially popular amongst the mages not because of its teleportation abilities but also because it allows one to see the world below them so brilliantly," Lloyd gazes at the stars over their heads. One can see a whole nebula in the sky right now as they swiftly make their way across the land, swooping over trees and villages. Javier finds himself mesmerized by the view. "…That's why I haven't fixed it. I don't really get much opportunity to see the sky shining beautifully like this, so it's a treat for my eyes too."
"You made the waypoint too?" It's, again, hard to believe that this doofus could even make anything remotely advanced.
Lloyd gives him an annoyed look. "Cocky bastard! For all you know, I made everything in the damn mage tower!" He spouts.
With a laugh, Javier returns his eyes to the land below them. It is a sight to behold.
He wonders how Lloyd even thought about all of this. How did he create it?
"Well, we should be approaching the Pantara Range soon enough. I'd prepare yourself, because it's cold. Good thing I brought us these coats, right?"
Javier nods, watching as the mountain comes into view.
"I set the location to this place but not the specific coordinates, so we'll have to jump off early." Lloyd says, holding out his hand again, shifting closer to Javier on the path. He gestures for the both of them to stand up, hand in hand, and leans close to the edge of the path.
"Are you suggesting we should jump off?"
"Yeah."
"That's dangerous—Woah!" Before he can continue his sentence, the wizard pulls them both off the path and they begin to make their descent. Lloyd, much to Javier's dismay, seems to look so calm about this even if they're currently falling straight down into the mountain… He flashes Javier an evil grin (definitely not soothing the knight's nerves) and outstretches his free hand, mana beaming out of his palm. It flows down quickly onto the ground and creates a makeshift cloud, per se, cushioning them both as they tumble down.
"How… how did you do that? I thought you needed to use your wand," Javier begins, rolling over off of the cloud to the mountain's surface. "What if you couldn't use your mana in time?"
Lloyd scoffs, doing the same as him. "You worry too much. Do you forget that the Fronteras happen to be the best mages in Lorasia? Also, these wands serve no other purpose than aesthetics and to help me control my mana better." He pats Javier on the shoulder gently, readjusting his coat. "Now…" Lloyd takes out his wand and flicks it to reveal a ticking clock. The numbers that the mana forms into are 11:45. "We'd better get going. 15 minutes, Sir Knight!"
As they make their way up the mountain, Javier is busy thinking of many things. So far, nothing has come out to kill them. All of the journey here has been made perfect by Lloyd's mana. So…
"Why did you need me to protect you if you can do all of this yourself?" He mutters.
"You ask too many questions."
"I think this is reasonable enough for you to answer."
"Well, you never quite know what is going to happen anywhere, right? Best to be safe than sorry."
Javier sighed. He supposed that the man did have a point, though, Lloyd could probably protect himself just fine. As much as he initially denied his competence, he had turned out to be quite strong. Who knew that a random scam-selling potion brewer turned out to be the strongest mage in the spire…
When the two reached the peak (according to Lloyd's mana clock) at approximately 11:55, the flower was already visible. It was in a bud and hadn't bloomed yet, just as Lloyd explained.
Javier shivered within his coat. It was really cold—again, a statement spot on by the wizard.
"Only five minutes!" Lloyd shouted, crouching low by the flower. "Actually, I don't have a name for this little guy. Wanna help name him? I'm thinking something to do with the night…"
"𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓲𝓭𝓷𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓫𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓼𝓸𝓶."
"Why did your font change?"
Javier almost flipped his hair majestically. To this Lloyd gave him an irritated look. "Let's just name it the nightingale."
"That's a bird."
"Shut it!"
Eventually, there were only two minutes left on the clock. Out of nowhere a large gust of wind blew through the peak aggressively and almost caused Lloyd to topple over, prompting Javier to spring up and grab him for support. Lloyd shoved his foot deep into the snow and stared up at the sky, where the snowfall began to quicken and make a haze over their vision. Javier turned to look at the wizard who had a concerned expression displayed over his face. It appears this hadn't gone according to his plan.
"What's going on?" Javier asked. He stared at Lloyd who had now assumed a defensive pose around the flower.
"Fuck! Javier, this is where you come in, okay?! I need to protect this damn flower! Give me one more minute!" Lloyd yelped, putting his hands over the plant and gesturing toward Javier. The knight nods, pulling out the sword in his scabbard, and pointing it in front of him as if something was there.
Then, there was another gust of wind and something appeared in the sky. It was, according to Javier's knowledge, a spirit. He had manifested as a body with blue skin and long white hair, a king's crown atop his head glistening.
"What are you doing, interrupting the peace of these mountains with your horrendous mana?!" The creature bellowed, pointing at Lloyd.
"You saw the cushion I made earlier? It's neat, ain't it?" Lloyd gave him a smug look. He watched the spirit's face turn even more angry. "Hey now, don't be mad at me. I'm just coming here to take something real quick, and then we'll leave—"
"You dare to take something precious to the mountains?!"
"Dude, what's it to you?!"
"I am Pantarasa, the spirit king of the Pantara Range. I suggest you leave or else I will have no choice but to drive you out myself with force!" He shouts once more, the mountains rattling. Lloyd can feel the sheer power from this being in his soul, but he doesn't back down. In fact, Javier, who is watching all of this, only grips the handle of his blade harder without any waver in his expression.
"I will not allow you to thwart Lloyd's plans," Javier begins, swinging the sword and positioning it parallel with his hips. "…There is only one royal I follow, and that is not you."
He was only doing this for Her Majesty, after all.
"Awwe, you're so sweet, my dear Javi!" Lloyd squeals, and Javier turns to give him an annoyed look.
"Enough with that nonsense." Javier turned his attention back to Pantarasa and narrowed his eyes. "Fight me."
The spirit king laughed maniacally, sending more large gusts of wind their way. To this, Lloyd immediately pulled out his wand, gripping it as hard as he could, and thrust it into the sky. Mana coursed through and created a shield that stood in front of Javier, protecting them both and the flower. He looked at the clock wearily, seeing just a few more seconds left. This caused Pantarasa to become flustered at this show of magic. In the split second of his hesitation, Javier flung his body forward at the spirit, leapt up, and swung his blade at him.
A large icy explosion rattled through the mountains after this attack, making Lloyd's leg tremble, and he fell to the snow. When the final seconds were up, he watched the flower bloom beautifully and immediately snatched it off its stem as fast as he could. Stashing it in his bag, he clumsily grabbed out a few bottles. "Javier! Take these and drink them! I secured the flower!" He yelled. The knight turned around mid battle to rush over to Lloyd's side, but Pantarasa had seen an opening and flew a large and pointy icicle toward him. "Gah! Look out!"
"Ugh!" Blood sprayed into the air and colored the snow red. Javier felt pain spring through his body at his side, and Lloyd, with shaking fingers, attempted to assist him by forcing some potions down his throat. Javier coughed on the potion, feeling the pain subside from his side when Lloyd pulled out the icicle. "Don't worry, I have enough potions for us. This one is an attack booster, this one is a defense booster—"
"Just give them to me, Lloyd Frontera!"
"O-Okay, okay!" Lloyd scrambled to his bag and threw as much as he could out of it into the snow, preparing his wand for another attack by Pantarasa. The spirit king flew up into the air quickly, sending an array of more icicles toward them. With a flick of his wand, Lloyd created another shield that, this time, repelled the icicles and sent them right back. By now, his mana was quite drained, and he was wheezing. "Javier… finish—huff—this guy! My mana's almost done for…"
The knight nodded and hurriedly got off of his feet after drinking quite a few potions, feeling quite light and nimble. It seems these were truly effective.
He pounced up into the air once more at the spirit king, his body moving so swiftly toward Pantarasa that the spirit did not expect it at all. Javier poured mana into his sword and created a layer of aura around it, using all the strength in his body to throw it forward. It immediately flew into the spirit king's chest, causing another large explosion and a painful scream. Javier fell to the ground now, coughing blood down onto the snow and staring at Pantarasa that had deflated from his attack.
"H-How? How did a mere mortal such as yourself defeat me?"
Lloyd rushed to Javier's side and forced him to chug a healing potion again. "Good job! We've secured the flower so we can go—"
"No! I will not permit it!"
There seemed to be something coming from the mountain itself, dripping out of its surface and going straight to where the spirit king lay. The area rumbled considerably, forcing the two to submit immediately.
"You must die!" Pantarasa thundered.
"Good lord, Javier! We gotta get out of here!" Lloyd screeched, a shaky hand positioned on the knight's back. The mage closed his eyes and seemed to be focusing on something before Javier felt an immense power flow through his veins. It felt so weird, so stimulating. He could tell that this was mana, but something was different about it. Otherworldly.
"What did you…?" Javier began, but shut his mouth. There was no time to ask questions. When he saw Lloyd fall limp behind him from transferring all of the mana he had left, Javier took matters into his own hands. He has to get out of here before Pantarasa uses the power from the mountain to attack them… surely, it would be detrimental and could kill them instantly. Javier turned to grab Lloyd in his arms who tiredly looked up at him and fueled this newfound mana into his back. Large feathered and colored wings sprouted, and he unfolded them quickly. "Do you have the flower, Lloyd?"
"…Yeah, it's in my bag." He huffed. "Since when did you have wings? Is that why you didn't want my potion that could—"
"Be quiet. I… I am also unsure why I have these. It will have to do for now."
"Right. I hope you can control them."
Since it was coming from Javier's mana, he expected to control it well enough. As he thought, once he leapt into the air and flapped them harshly, it was very natural to him as if he had been born with wings.
Turning behind him to the angry spirit king, he whipped his wings through the air and thrust both of their bodies forward at an immense speed. This could rival even a dragon's flying velocity.
"AAHHHH! This is terrifying!" Lloyd screams, holding onto Javier for dear life.
"You were fine with the waypoint—"
"This is not the same, stupid knight! This time, I don't know if you'll drop me or not!"
"I will not drop you!"
And across the horizon they went, as far as they could from Pantarasa. The spirit king would have to try again next time if they ever returned.
It's safe to say they wouldn't after this.