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Athena, holding tightly to whatever it was that Danni had pulled her on to, sensed, vaguely, that the white magic she was so laboriously creating seemed to be rushing to concentrate--and black magic was rushing to the same area. She frowned, a scowl deforming her mouth in a way that was unusual for her, and began to change those concentrations of black magic to pure white magic, helping the magic concentrate and taking the black magic away.

((can I get in on this little scene or should I sit out for now?))

Just after Ophiuchus was a furious, and therefore quite dangerous, large wolf-demon--commonly called Adolf, and fondly known as Athena's godfather. He hadn't even bothered to become human in his effort to teleport there; his large yokai body immediately crushed the hell-demons that were so unlucky as to end up underneath his feet. His claws--not quite as sharp as a cat's, but in no means dull, seemed to ooze with a greenish-purple poison. His large canine teeth that were borne ferociously and angrily in a snarl, were a sight to behold.

A fearsome roar left his throat, ripping across the desert. Dirt flew up and demons found new holes that were not there just moments ago due to Adolf's demonic magic. He kept his aura close to him, though it was not because he knew what Athena was doing; he was using his own aura as a weapon. The sheer concentration of magic would badly poison anything so foolish as to approach him. The blood-red markings on his fur glowed brightly and almost seemed to shiver as he stalked forward, to the heart of the mass of evil. Death lay in his wake, a massacre of those already doomed.

Ialo, ironically, was the first to respond, probably because he was the only who could answer for what happened.

"Danni full-bodied tackled Satan," the dragon announced proudly as he swung by Riser. He admired the purple flames, and blinked when they exploded. "And now everyone is here... mostly. Oh! I'm being used as a turret!"

((There are literally hearts in her voice. Oh s**t.))

Danni registered the arrival of more people, and could only let out a breath as a burst of black magic caught her in the jaw, sent her flying and smashing into the back of Lazareth's head.

"You're not playing fair, Shadow Runner. You would depend on such people instead of facing your own battles?" Satan got to his feet, started towards her even as she vaulted to her feet again, though his very essence made her want to drop to her knees.

But even as the others arrived, she felt her power growing, felt a weight fall off her shoulders. And she thought, 'Of course'. With a grin that had the devil faltering a bit, she felt the light raise up inside her.

Not alone, she thought. Never alone. Hadn't she gotten stronger, so much stronger, since she'd come to this school, since she'd met all the people who were, even now, by her side? Oh, and Riser. Riser too. Never thought she'd include that name in her little list. But whatever.

Even as she felt the power rise up in her, little lights formed around her, shooting off into the sky, being swallowed up. Frowning a bit, she shrugged, then looked at her opponent again.

"You cheated first. Deal with it." Her voice was hard under the amused edge, and he smirked.

"You would think to intimidate me, child? You're nothing but a baby." He hissed out a breath as Lazareth jerk, saw his dragon was under fire.
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Ambrose turned to look at Lin, shrugging. He was about to say something when a burst of light shot out of the sky, seemingly appearing out of nowher. It shot into his chest, filling it with warmth even as he staggered back a step.

He closed his eyes against the emotions, the magic, the memories that went through him, and when he opened his eyes, they were clear.

"I have to go. Keep my favorite elf safe, would you?" He opened up a portal, a swirling vortex of white, and stepped through it.

At the same time, similar balls of light went into the chests of Cook and Sly, who reacted similarly. A white portal took them away as well.

And no one was more surprised than Lia herself when she found herself unquestioningly opening up a portal of her own as a ball of light shot into her chest.

Below the soaring dragons, in the bloody battlefield, Ambrose, Sly, Cook, and Lia appeared in a blaze of light, staring in wonder and horror at the scenes around them and above them.

Ambrose helped Lin to her feet, wrinkling his nose at the blood pooling on the ground.

"I wouldn't have you see this, Lin." He murmured, and murmured a spell under her breath until two round pills formed in his hand.

"Take these and sober up quickly. Our girl needs us." He pushed the pills on Cook and Sly, who popped them in their mouths. Almost immediately their eyes cleared, then hardened as they took in the sights around them.

"They brought her back, then? Brought her back to toss her into this hell hole?" Cook's voice was hoarse but powerful as he looked up at the sky, saw the faint light among the shadows. And he knew his girl was all right.

Lin let Ambrose help her up, but as soon as she saw what was around them, she almost wished to be face-first in the ground again. What WAS this place?!

She looked down at the ground where she had just been and she gasped when she saw blood pooling on the ground around them. She quickly checked the front of her to see if there were any cuts on her that would cause the blood, but all she could see was a smear of blood all the way down the front of her dress.

She gasped/cried out softly at the sight and quickly grabbed one of Ambrose's hands. This had to be a trick. She felt no pain, and that blood on the ground was too thick and dark to be her own. What was going on?!

She was nearly attached to Ambrose's side now, though trying to be careful not to let the blood stain get on any of his clothes.