Chapter 4

There was a loud banging on Dawnni's door. Dawnni slowly picked his head up in exhaustion as he noticed the painting of him and Arestasia. The sunlight was peeking through the curtain lightly. The loud banging on the door happened again. 

"Dawn!" a male voice yelled. 

Dawnni slowly rolled out of his comfy bed and hit the floor with a loud thud.  

"Dawn! Come on man, wake up!" 

Dawnni recognized the male voice. It was Lupin. 

"What is it Lupin?" Dawnni asked while still laying on the floor. 

"Dude, get up! Elder Verdin was attacked last night!"

"What?!" 

Dawnni swiftly got up and threw some clothes on.  

"He's hurt very badly dude." 

Dawnni rushed out of the door with his equipment, and slammed it behind him. 

"What attacked him?" 

"Chevalier said it was a Xadow." 

"A what?" 

"Dude, there's no time! Come on!" 

Lupin grasped onto Dawnni's arm and ran to the castle. A few moments later they had reached the castle. The doors were already open. The duo quickly rushed inside and took a right and followed the dark hallway to Verdin's room. The rest of the soldiers were there. Dawnni could hear Verdin breathing heavily as he was laying in his bed. He had blood-soaked bandages around his chest and arm.  

"Elder! Are you okay?" Dawnni exclaimed as he ran to his side. 

Verdin slowly turned his head towards him. Dawnni could see the life fading from his eyes. His skin was turning pale. 

"Do you think you can save him Dawnni?" Arestasia asked.

Dawnni looked back. Everyone there had worry in their eyes. He then noticed that Chevalier wasn't in the room.  

"Where's Chevalier?" 

"He says the Xadow is somewhere still in the castle so he went to go look for it." 

Dawnni nodded and turned his attention back to Verdin. He place one hand on Verdin's chest and another on his arm and closed his eyes.  

"Mystic spirit of the moon, 

hear my plea, 

for the death of the innocent will come shortly, 

lend me your power for the wounds are severe, 

and bless these injuries with an Angel's Tear..."

Verdin's whole body began to glow a very bright white and blue. The blinding light illuminated the dark hallway. Suddenly a screeching sound came from it.  

"What was that?" Meryln yelled. 

"I feel that it is the Xadow." Blissalra said. 

"The spell isn't finished, it's probably coming back here, you have to stop it!" Dawnni yelled. 

Everyone nodded. Lupin, Arestasia, Meryln, and Cecilia ran out of the room. 

"I'll protect you if it gets close." Blissalra said. 

"Thanks Blissalra." 

The sounds of the Xadow's shrill screeching and the sounds of blades hitting the castle walls ran a chill of worry down Dawnni's spine. 

"Could this be the 'evil power'?" He thought.  

He focused back on the healing spell. He was getting frustrated by how long it was taking because he can normally heal others almost instantaneously, but it takes much more time and focus if the healing starts when the victim is really close to death. 

Another screech from the Xadow shook the area. The spell had finished. Verdin quickly sat up gasping for air. 

"Elder, are you alright?" 

"Yes Dawnni, thank you so much for saving my life. Now listen carefully, that creature is a very demonic being! It will only die with holy power! Weapons and elemental power will only slow it down! You don't have enough power to kill it so the only chance you have is to banish it!" 

"But my friends are out there fighting it now!" 

"It won't kill them. It's only after me..." 

"But I don't know any banishing spells Elder!" 

"You must find a way to create one yourself!" 

Suddenly the screeching was very close. Dawnni swiftly turned around and spotted the vile creature. It had a snake-like body with wet black skin, a diamond-shaped head, no eyes, and a sharp beak. Its tentacles that sprouted from its neck reached through the entrance and grasped along the edges, slowly pulling itself in. 

"Dragon's Breath!" Blissalra chanted. 

She took a deep breath and blew a giant flame at the horrendous creature. The Xadow screeched in pain and opened its beak wide. Black rattlesnakes launched out of its mouth and flew straight towards Blissalra. The snakes exploded on impact with a purple flame causing a devastating force that blasted Blissalra through the large window. 

"Blissalra!" Dawnni yelled. 

The Xadow faced Dawnni and started slithering quickly towards him. Fear shot through his veins. He shakily drew his shield. When the Xadow reached him, it stopped and propped itself up. The Xadow was nearly eight feet tall. The creature screeched again. The eerie shrill voice rang inside Dawnni's ears. The Xadow suddenly lunged at him. Dawnni shouted, 

"Stop!" 

Dawnni was shocked to see that the Xadow was completely frozen. This gave Dawnni the time he needed.  

"Elder! Get out of here! Now!" 

"Alright...be careful..." 

Verdin paced out of the room. Right after he left, the curse wore off. The Xadow continued its lunge towards Dawnni. Dawnni quickly jumped back causing the Xadow to strike the floor. The creature raised its head and screeched in frustration and opened its beak wide again. Dawnni quickly pulled his hand back. 

"Solar Bomb!" 

A ball of condensed solar energy quickly formed in his palm. He then threw it at the inside of the monsters beak. The bomb exploded with a great power, causing the Xadow to fall back. 

"Is it dead...?" Dawnni thought while breathing heavily. 

The Xadow creepily rose back up. Dawnni noticed something different about it. The creature's head had a cracked amethyst crystal in the middle. The Xadow growled menacingly, thinking of its next move. Suddenly, Chevalier's advice had echoed in his mind. The creature's screech brought Dawnni back to reality.  

"Maybe mixing offensive magic with transmutation..." Dawnni thought.  

The Xadow's tentacles started to reach for Dawnni. Dawnni pulled his hand back. He then unequipped the shield and directed his palm forward. 

"Solar Bomb!"  

A ball of condensed solar energy quickly formed in his hand. 

"Clone Transmutation!" 

His hand started to flash a green and white aura. With all of his strength he threw the bomb. The bomb suddenly multiplied from one to twelve. The bombs scattered, hitting the tentacles, the body, and the head. The creature flailed in pain.

"Create my own banishment..." 

Dawnni focused on the stunned creature and pointed his finger towards it. The tip of his finger started to glow. Dawnni began to draw an infinite symbol in the air. 

"By the power of Respaltia, I banish you foul demon!"

Dawnni felt as if the spell was something he had learned straight from the books. 

"Gates of Banishment!" he chanted. 

Dawnni raised his hand upward. Suddenly, a giant white and golden gate appeared above Dawnni. A golden version of the Xadow, twice its size crawled out and grabbed the Xadow with its tentacles and slowly slithered into the gate, pulling the Xadow along with it. The Xadow screeched, flipped and swung its tentacles, struggling to get free. It was pulled through the gates. They then shut with a devastatingly loud bang before slowly disintegrating.  

"What...just...happened...?" 

Dawnni was breathing very heavily. Suddenly a thought struck him. 

"The others!" 

Dawnni tried to move but he couldn't. His whole body felt very heavy. His knees became weak.

"So...much...energy..." 

Dawnni fell to his knees and fell face flat onto the brick floor of the room.