Chapter 21: The Memories Arrive

The Memory Fragments arrived.

Lucius looked at them and said, "So you've arrived. I've been waiting for you guys."

Xavy smirked and replied, "Yeah, I guess you've been waiting quite a long time."

Lucius grinned and pointed his finger at him. "You're going to die here and now," he declared.

"You think it'll be that easy to take me down? Not when I have a gang with me," Xavy responded.

Multiple Memory Fragments stepped in.

"Ethereal, Jim. You two handle the demons from the south," Xavy ordered.

Ethereal and Jim nodded before dashing south.

Xavy turned to Lan and Flors. "Lan, Flors, you'll take care of the demons in the north."

Lan nodded and ran off with Flors.

Xavy then looked at Fate and Atlan. "You two will assist them in dealing with the strongest demons. Got it?"

"But what about Liski? And the other Memory Fragments you brought in?" Atlan asked.

"I'll give them their orders next. Liski will go with you," Xavy replied.

Liski suddenly walked away, causing Atlan to frown in confusion.

"Why is she leaving after what you just said?" Atlan asked.

"No idea, but you should follow her in case she gets into trouble," Xavy suggested.

Atlan nodded, but Fate grabbed his shoulder tightly. "Enough chit-chat. Let's go," Fate said.

Xavy then turned to the side Memory Fragments. "You guys will fight the enemies Yaxoc confronted before."

The side Memory Fragments nodded and teleported away.

Lucius grinned. "Ah, so you're playing chess, huh?"

"Do your worst," Xavy challenged.

Meanwhile, in the South...

Ethereal and Jim walked across the destroyed battlefield.

Multiple demons emerged from the rocks.

"Here we go," Ethereal muttered as he summoned multiple ice spikes, sending them flying at light speed toward the demons.

The demons charged forward, but one was sliced apart by the spikes. Only a Type 4 demon survived.

The Type 4 demon fired multiple lasers.

Jim created a spinning ring of reflection, deflecting the lasers back at the demon.

The demon dodged the reflected attacks and lunged at Jim to deliver a powerful blow, but Ethereal quickly intercepted it, getting pushed back in the process.

Jim dashed toward the demon and punched it in the face, sending it flying.

Ethereal walked up beside him. "Nice counterattack, Jim."

Jim nodded and moved forward but was stopped by Ethereal.

"Not so fast. Don't be reckless," Ethereal warned, glancing up. "There's going to be a rise in higher types, so don't go crazy."

Jim looked at the descending demon and nodded.

The Type 5 demon charged rapidly toward Ethereal. Jim summoned a ring to stop it from moving while Ethereal created an ice spike and swung his torso, slashing a huge wound into the demon. He then backflipped and fired an ice beam, finishing it off.

Jim sighed and mumbled, "Show-off..."

More demons appeared.

"More Type 5 demons… We're in trouble," Ethereal muttered.

Jim summoned multiple rings and launched them at the demons. Some demons dodged, but others were sliced apart or had their horns and wings damaged.

"You're doing well, Jim, but I feel like that's not enough," Ethereal noted.

Jim nodded and used his fingers to form a domain, while Ethereal did the same.

"Repeat after me," Ethereal said.

Together, they chanted: "Dual-Domain Expansion: Fountain of the Stellar Mountain Ring."

A huge orb trapped the demons inside.

A massive fountain, surrounded by glowing stellar rings and countless stars, materialized. The water cascaded in a rhythmic flow.

The stellar rings shone brightly, and the stars began moving.

The water grew hotter and started shooting droplets.

A single drop landed on a demon's horn, instantly evaporating it.

The demons took a step back in fear.

The stellar rings pulsed, releasing massive torrents of water.

The demons panicked and tried to escape, but it was too late. The water engulfed them, instantly evaporating their bodies.

The domain shattered.

Ethereal pulled out a radio. "All demons in the south have been eliminated."

A voice responded, "Great job."

Meanwhile, in the North...

Lan and Flors arrived, seeing the demons before them.

"Let's do this!" Flors shouted, summoning multiple flower fields that shot sharp pellets.

Lan threw his plushie forward. "Go, Giraffe!"

The plushie transformed into a massive monster.

Lan jumped onto its back and commanded it to charge forward.

The demons lunged at them.

The sharp pellets instantly eliminated the weaker types, leaving only the Type 4 and two Type 5 demons standing.

The giraffe roared and swiped at the demons, but one teleported behind Lan.

Reacting instantly, Lan kicked the demon in the face and sent it flying.

The giraffe continued its assault, but a massive slash forced it back into plushie form.

Lan safely landed and grabbed the toy.

A Type 5 demon fired more slashes.

Flors weaved through them, dodging each one. He summoned two massive flowers that shot explosive pellets.

The slashes clashed with the pellets, creating a blinding explosion.

Flors teleported behind the demon and struck it down.

Suddenly, two Type 5 demons appeared, their essences awakened.

Flors and Lan exchanged glances.

"We're in danger," Flors muttered.

Liski, Fate, and Atlan arrived.

"Not anymore, kids. Get out," Fate ordered.

Lan and Flors nodded and ran off.

The demons lunged, but Liski intercepted them with precise strikes.

"I didn't expect Liski to be this fast," Atlan remarked.

Fate kicked one demon away and slammed another into the ground.

The demon stood up, only to be interrupted by Atlan.

Atlan delivered two powerful blows before punching its gut, then jumped back and charged a beam.

"Taste the beam!" Atlan shouted, firing at the demon, which exploded on impact.

The remaining demon roared in frustration and lunged at Fate, who calmly chanted, "Sleep like there's no end."

The demon collapsed, lifeless.

A series of explosions echoed nearby.

GDM and Greendie crashed into the ground.

"What's going on?" Fate asked.

GDM groaned. "An enemy of Yaxoc is attacking us."

Fate squinted. "Who could that be?"

A cowboy figure stepped forward, his body now a different color.

"Wait… isn't that the enemy from Act 2?" Fate asked.

"Looks like it… but who brought him back?" Liski questioned.

Atlan pointed at the cowboy's forehead. "That must be Lucius! He figured out the stories and is reviving them stronger!"

"If he keeps doing this, we're in huge trouble," Fate muttered.

Just then, Hight stepped in, stronger than before.

GDM looked uneasy. "Uh… guys, the same guy from earlier just came back."

"Yeah, and he's gonna be a pain if he uses soul magic on us," Liski said.

Fate turned to her with a deadpan look. "Did you forget? Memory Fragments have no souls. Soul-based attacks don't work on us. Are you that stupid?"

Liski glared. "I did NOT forget! I just didn't know!"

"Then you forgot," Fate said bluntly.

"I DID NO—ugh, shut up. If we don't have souls, how are we expressing emotions?!"

"No idea. Nothing makes sense," Fate said, turning to Hight and the cowboy.

Hight unleashed chains of soul magic.

GDM and Greendie dodged.

GDM summoned bones while Greendie launched fireballs.

The cowboy shot down the fireballs until one hit him.

GDM teleported in front of him and used telekinesis to slam him into the wall before finishing him with blasters.

Lucius suddenly appeared, throwing Xavy into the wall.

"Xavy!" Atlan yelled.

"Damn it, he took down our strongest one!" Fate cursed.

Xavy stood up. "Don't be dramatic. I'm fine."

Atlan chuckled. "Dramatic..."

Xavy stepped forward. "You guys should leave. I'll handle this alone."

He snapped his fingers.

All the Memory Fragments vanished.

"It's just you and me now, Lucius," Xavy said.