"Most of the card mages have not lost their composure but are unable to react accordingly to the fossil magic," Mirelle observed. All around her the fog would mutate into reflections of the mage magic.
Fireballs and lightning arrows were redirected back to their owners, sending them reeling on the ground. Storm tornadoes moved unhindered, uprooting the mages from the ground, causing them to dance in the air in collision.
Mirelle held onto the Mirror Reflection card, stepping in her mirrors to evade the volleys of fireballs in her direction.
"The Serpent monster was categorical about Slayer and the danger he poses. Yet the first card fossil has placed the entire expedition in peril." Mirelle's expression was somber. Amidst the chaos around her, she understood this was just the first challenge they would be facing on the island.
"Fabian, can you open a line of sight?" Mirelle asked.
"He moves faster than lightning in there. But I can squeeze the fog enough to force him to reveal. The rest will be up to the others," Fabian explained. As he spoke, he ejected a card from his launcher. After the incident at the fountain, he had felt dejected at his role. As a captain, he hadn't done anything noteworthy at that moment. It was time to polish the blazon of captains, he felt.
"Be quick. Sam and the others don't seem very patient; they will get all of us killed," Danzan's face twitched into anger. Using the Echo of Speed, he maneuvered through the attacks, evading the Golem fist that slammed their way.
The entire forest shook violently as if swept by a shockwave. Among the card mages available today, Sam's golem was definitely the most destructive they had seen. And now the foggy card fossil had copied it.
Several meters above them, Mirelle saw the shining red eyes of the war machine. Walking like a gorilla on its four feet, it swept its arms in their direction, causing the fog to part away in its motion. The move was so big that the entire card mages were briefly revealed.
There was a loud impact as the two golems entered collision.
"He is trying to use the golem's height to get out of the fog, even if it means burying all of us here," Mirelle observed. With the ICMA they had a deal to find Card Zero. Yet until now, that deal had not shown any sign of usefulness. "It's too early to ally ourselves, and Sam is probably aware of that," Mirelle said.
Given how big their force could become if the card mage police and the ICMA allied right now, they could become the public enemy number one, giving the other factions the luxury of allying too. It was safer to try that later, once everyone had left an arm in the race. This was their logic.
"Show yourself, card fossil," Fabian murmured. Lifting his card into the void, a pillar of energy burst out upward, illuminating the entire area. With masterful precision, Fabian weaved with his fingers like a pianist at work. The pillar of light spread into fine threads of energy like undulating lines in the void.
"Unbound Seal," he murmured.
The threads of light moved in union, slipping in between the trees and the forest. The card mages were startled, jumping and rolling out of the way. The threads of light were not only faster; everything caught in its way was paralyzed on the spot.
Above them, a web of lines had formed, covering the entire foggy area in what felt like a ball of wires.
The card fossil roared in anger. Its humanoid form locked high above the card mages, just in sight for them to deliver their magic.
"It's time. Burn him," Mirelle ordered. She stepped out, flipping two cards in her hand. The Song of Fire and Fire Charge were activated. The two complementary cards were set in motion. This was one of her strongest combinations.
On the left side, a humanoid figure made entirely of fire was born, holding a drum and a hammer. He appeared taller than most of the card mages in the vicinity. The earth around him was scorched with every move he did. On the right side was a war horse sniffing fire from its nostrils.
The humanoid figure mounted the horse and it tapped onto the ground, taking the sky. Each time the humanoid figure tapped on his drum, a spiral of fire would shoot out, attacking the card fossil.
The fire made the sky turn ember red, so bright that all the mages around could see it at a distance. The card fossil's face flashed with worry. But chained by Unbound Seal, he could not move. Under his orders, the golem he copied from Sam's magic moved, shielding him from the burst of flames.
"You've missed your chance, and now you all die once I copy this magic. Hahaha!" The card fossil was exhilarated. The taste of Mirelle's power left him reeling in joy. For him, with such magic, it was set.
In the void, a fire wave moved not towards the golem but instead curved around it, as if it had a conscience of its own. Only then did the card fossil really panic. In Mirelle, he saw nothing but an angel of destruction ripping his plan apart. "No, they weren't supposed to be this powerful. No, I can't lose. Slayer, save me…" He screamed towards the mountain top.
But to no avail. Under Mirelle's order, the war drum was smashed again, sending the final waves of flames that consumed the card fossil. His body ignited, burning so bright he was like a living sun in the sky. The card mages could only gasp, asking themselves who had this kind of magic.
"To hell with all of you inferior beings. Underneath you shall understand the difference between us!" The card fossil let out his final cry. The golem copied by Sam acted. It lifted its two massive arms that smacked onto the forest ground. A blow so powerful that the earth fissured into two under the mages' legs.
"He is trying to bury us with him! Run, run!"
"Damn, why did I come to this hellish place?"
A good portion of the mages closest to him were caught in between, devoured by the earth as they fell into an abyss-like gallery under the ground. The other mages fled the foggy area and continued their advance; for them, danger only meant the reward would be worth it.
Most of the groups had succeeded in crossing the foggy area. The members of the OBH, ICMA, and even the card mage police. However, from some of those groups, looks of panic could be seen on the followers' faces. Some key figures had been caught under the attack and fell into the abyss.
....
At the top of the mountain.
A figure sat on a throne-like chair, akin to those memorials of sovereigns governing nations in the past. The chair was made out of old stone, half broken on the left armchair. Yet a figure leaned on the empty armchair, his elbow appeared floating in the middle of anything. At a single glance, the only thing that came to mind when one looked at him was pitch black.
"The card mages have crossed the foggy area. Should I move now?" Another figure with a katana asked, kneeling in front of the card fossil.
"Let them come to me. If they can reach this place, this will mark the beginning of a new era. One where the card mages learn to fear SLAYER," he said in a low and measured voice, the type that made others want to bend and crawl to his feet.
"The Deck of Origin is close, master. If we don't react now, the castle might reappear, and that insane madman with it," the kneeling figure insisted. For him, it was absurd to let the enemies come at them. They had to be cut at the roots.
"It was bound to happen. Ever since we were sealed onto this island, our kind has sunken into the shadow of forgetfulness. But our mission has never changed. We will protect the Deck of Origin. Burn the world if necessary, but that castle will stay frozen into the confines of time," Slayer said, his voice louder than usual. This was why he had rebelled in the past. For that to never happen. And even if he had to bend the world to his will to accomplish just that, then he would.