Wiggin Academy and the Forbidden Curse
Chapter 38: The Dark Lord, Balthier

Three weeks had passed since the tournament. Every injured student had a speedy recovery and they were back on their feet in no time. The sun was scorching hot today letting them know that Summer was close. All of the kids were excited for the Summer’s hot weather, except Mako and Aiden- for different reasons of course.

Mako dreaded that the school year was almost coming to an end, which meant that she’d have to spend two long months alone at home. Aiden, on the other hand, was upset over the terrible heatwaves that made him overbearingly cranky. He absolutely detested Summer over anything else in this world. Penelope could not disagree with him more, since she loved playing all day under the blue skies.

After lunch; Mako, Aiden and Penelope wandered down the courtyard, since they had no other classes left today.

“Are you going with Professor Wiggin to train?” Penelope asked Mako.

“He said not today,” said Mako. “Apparently, he has some work to do.”

“What work?” inquired Aiden.

“Beats me,” Mako shrugged. “He just told me to practice in the gym for the night.”

“Oh. I’ll come with you,” said Aiden.

Ever since the tournament, the kids have shifted their concentration onto their training. And it wasn’t just them alone, all their classmates thought the same too. So, for the past couple of days, instead of sleeping, these kids were found in the gym with Professor Gregor.

“I wonder what Neo is up to?” asked Mako. She still couldn’t take her mind off of that nurse.

“He’s probably long gone by now,” believed Penelope. “That is, if he fears for his life.”

“I doubt it,” remarked Aiden. “Neo had the nerve to come to Wiggin Academy under false pretences. I’m sure that guy has more guts then he lets on.”

“So, you think he’s still here?” questioned Mako.

Aiden shook his head. “He’s looking for a healer, Mako,” he said. “But who’s the strongest healer we know apart from the teachers at this school?”

“Yaga,” answered Penelope and Mako together. They all looked at each other with weary expressions, when it clicked to them, that Neo might be after Yaga.

“We need to find, Professor Wiggin,” warned Mako. They dashed down the school halls to their teacher’s room, but he wasn’t there.

“Where are we going to look for him in this big school?” asked Penelope.

“This is bad,” grumbled Mako. “We need to tell Yaga, or who knows what’ll happen.”

“We can’t just leave school grounds,” said Aiden.

“Aiden, Yaga will die if we don’t stop Neo,” said Mako.

“No, he won’t,” said Aiden. “Neo needs Yaga.”

“To bring to dark lord back,” rebuked Mako. “We can’t let that happen.”

“I doubt Yaga will be able to-”

“Hold on,” Penelope intervened between their squabbling. “Didn’t Yaga give you a key?”

Mako’s eyes widened. She rapidly dug through her bag and pulled out an old black key. “He gave me this just in case we needed to make a quick trip.” Mako and the other two found the nearest closet in Professor Wiggin’s office. They walked through the crowded broom cupboard.

“Stop stepping on my foot, Penelope,” grumbled Aiden.

“Ow!” cried Penelope as Mako accidentally pulled her hair.

“Sorry,” muttered Mako in the dark.

“Move it along, Aiden,” reprimanded Penelope.

“Hold on, I feel something,” hushed Aiden.

Mako pushed forward and grabbed a hold of the knob on the other end. They all shoved through the door and stumbled into the other dimension. A bright light burned their eyes, before they adjusted them to find the Oasis Sanctum. The landscape was still as beautiful as before. Mako, Aiden and Penelope ran across the green fields over to the pavilion. But no one was there.

“Don’t tell me Neo already got to him,” said Mako when she couldn’t see Yaga anywhere.

“Mako,” Aiden’s voice was alarmed and serious.

She looked over to where his eyes were glued, and she spotted Yaga with Neo on the field in front of the mountains. Yaga was in his full form, dressed in silver. But blood was staining the pure white of his clothes and beard.

“Warn Professor Wiggin,” Mako told Aiden and Penelope.

“Wait, what are you doing to do?” asked Aiden.

“I’m going to hold off Neo,” she said. “Just go get Professor Wiggin by then.”

Aiden grabbed Mako’s arm. “Don’t die,” he warned her.

Mako grinned. “As if.” She tossed Penelope the key before they separated.

Neo really wasn’t holding back his attacks against Yaga, which struck a nerve in Mako. Mako summoned her alchemy into the palm of her hand. She lunged towards Neo, taking him down with a single blow.

“Don’t you think it’s unfair to beat up an old man?” she asked Neo.

Neo got up off the ground wiping the dirt off his clothes. “You again,” he gritted out. “Why do you keep showing up?”

Mako stood between Neo and Yaga. “I just came to meet the old sage,” she said. “But looks like I get to fight you instead. I’ve been looking forward to when I could get my hands on you.”

Neo sneered. “I don’t have time to waste on a child!” his eyes turned to Yaga. “Give me the antidote, Yaga. Or both of you will die!”

Mako glared at Neo. “I am not dying by your hands, Neo,” she told him. “And if you want to get to Yaga, you have to go through me first.”

Neo laughed in disbelief. “I’m warning you, Mako,” he said. “I’m not someone that will let you live just because you’re a child.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to hold back,” she rebuked.

Neo’s kind face had completely vanished. He twisted his smile into something evil and wicked.

“Get out of here, Mako,” said Yaga. “You’re no match for him.”

Mako looked back to the old sage with a smile. “You just sit back and watch,” she said. “I’m not the same kid anymore.”

“This is your last chance to run away,” forewarned Neo.

Mako shook her head. “Not a chance.”

“Stop this madness, Mako,” scolded Yaga. “Leave me and protect yourself.”

“No,” said Mako. “You saved us once, Yaga. Now, let me return the favour. Come on, Neo.” Mako had to hold out just until Aiden and Penelope brought Professor Wiggin.

Suddenly, the earth under Mako’s feet started to rumble. She was thrown to the ground. “What the hell,” she groaned as she held on for support as the ground under her erupted.

“You’re no match for me, Mako,” said Neo cockily. “My alchemy skills are way beyond yours.”

Mako remembered the trick she used when Silas used the ice floor tactic. She rapidly directed chakra to her feet. Instantly, her feet stuck to the uneven ground. Her form was now solid and back in her control.

“Being a student at Wiggin Academy has its benefits,” announced Yaga. “But being a student to the Wiggin’s themselves makes it a whole lot better.”

Neo stopped the earth from shaking the moment he caught on that it didn’t affect Mako. Neo was quick to attack her. In seconds, over a dozen boulders came flying in Mako’s direction. But she wasn’t one to panic anymore. Mako summoned her black smoke and created the wall. The boulders repelled off of her alchemy. But it was too soon to speak, a piece of earth passed her barrier. The boulder slammed into Mako’s shoulder. The stinging pain blinded her eyes with water. The thunderous ache in her shoulder felt like it had been ripped off. But she didn’t give in.

Mako remembered Professor Wiggin’s fight with Professor Vulcan. She was too slow on her feet. She need to move faster. React faster. Neo sent another wave of boulders her way. This time, Mako acted swiftly on her feet. She mimicked her Professor perfectly. Never stuck her feet to the ground long enough for Neo to get his hit.

Now was the time for her to attack. Mako summoned her alchemy. The surge of electric charge exhilarated her, thrilled her to the bone. She grabbed a hold of the lightning, and in seconds, the staff was in her grasp. Mako sent a surge of Black smoke towards Neo. It cut through the air and slammed into Neo like she had planned. The nurse landed straight on his face.

Neo got off the floor with a grunt. He raised a brow. “You actually learned something,” he remarked. “And here I thought you were just a twerp with no brain.”

Mako smirked. “That was rude of you to assume that,” she said. “But that’s what you get for underestimating me.” Mako sent another attack. Using the lighting staff, she directed her black smoke relentlessly. Wave after wave, her alchemy attacked Neo. He had no choice but to retreat and dodge her attacks. With the last push, blue lightning sliced through the air and stabbed Neo.

Neo dropped to the ground with a thud. The lightning staff in Mako’s hand vanished, when she noticed that he hadn’t moved. But something under Mako’s feet rumbled, it was faint but she definitely felt it. Mako looked over to Yaga, when she spotted the earth crackling in a sharp line in Yaga’s direction.

“No!” Mako ran with all her force over to the old sage. She reached him in time, but she wasn’t fast enough to repel the attack. Instead, she had to act quick and take the shot. The jagged earth that speared out of the ground and stabbed right through Mako’s gut.

“Mako!” Yaga was over her small form, that had dropped to the ground.

Mako’s gut was on fire and she felt sick to her stomach. Her shirt was getting wet too, but from what, she didn’t know. Her stomach was too numb for her to notice that it was her own blood pooling beneath her. Mako opened her blurred eyes to find Yaga’s concerned face over hers. But that wasn’t what startled her. It was Neo’s twisted smile behind Yaga that caused her to rip open her wound even more. Mako raised her hand in the air. She didn’t even know what she was doing at that point. She just hoped something worked to ward off Neo from Yaga.

Abruptly, a blast of black smoke exploded from her hand like a fierce canon. It hit Neo directly in the stomach.

“Stay back, Yaga,” warned Mako. She stumbled onto her feet. Her vision was getting fuzzy.

“Eat one,” Yaga put a bottle of black pills in front of Mako. “It’ll give you strength.”

Mako grabbed the bottle and tilted it in her open mouth. She swallowing at least twenty.

Yaga gaped at her. “I told you to eat one!”

“Ew, they taste like grass,” she choked out.

Suddenly, her fuzzy vision cleared and she couldn’t hear the ringing in her head anymore. “Thanks, Yaga,” she smiled as she felt like her normal self again. Although, she was still bleeding out. But it didn’t slow her down. She just figured that she needed to end this faster than she thought.

“Those pills won’t stop the bleeding,” said Neo before he sent a shard of earth towards Mako.

But it was too late, she didn’t even turn around to ward him off. When suddenly, the earth came to a full stop before it could even touch Mako or Yaga. She had no idea how that happened. Black smoke twisted around the piercing shard halting it in the air. The Black smoke protected her.

Can you please concentrate, a voice rang in Mako’s head. Or else you’re going to die.

My bad, Mako winced after she got scolded.

Neo and Yaga were both dumbfounded. “How’d you stop that attack without even looking?” asked Neo.

“I trained a lot since our last fight, Neo,” said Mako. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNovᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Neo wiped the blood that was spilling out from his head. “Doesn’t matter how much you train,” he said. “It won’t change the fact that there’s something unnatural about you. Your alchemy stopped that attack without you even realizing it. But that’s to be expected from the cursed child.”

Mako stiffened. “Yet you needed this cursed child to bring back the dark lord,” she gritted out.

Neo tilted his head. “Your alchemy is a weapon, Mako,” he said. “A weapon that is highly valuable. You, on the other hand, are useless to me.”

“Don’t think that you can just take my alchemy away from me without a fight, Neo,” she snapped.

Neo laughed in disbelief. “Shouldn’t you be happy?” he asked.

Mako tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I can take away your alchemy, Mako,” said Neo. “I know how much pain and suffering your Black smoke alchemy has caused you your whole life. The title of ‘cursed child’ can be erased from your name.”

Mako looked down to her battered hands. The title that she was born with can be erased if she forsakes her powers. The powers she was born with, the thing that caused her so much pain, loneliness and anguish. All her life, she had to stay away from people because she feared she might hurt them, that her black smoke might kill them if she wasn’t careful. But now, there was a chance for her to get rid of her curse once and for all. So, why was she hesitating? she wondered. Did she want to give her powers away even if she hated them all her life. They were a part of her. But she felt like they controlled her, consumed her body and soul. Although, that’s how she felt before coming to Wiggin Academy, before she met Penelope, Aiden and Professor Wiggin.

“What good is it to have powers that everyone hates?” asked Neo. “No one will respect you in this world, Mako. Everyone will despise you-” Neo laughed- “what am I saying, they already loathe you.”

Mako’s skin froze where she stood. Although the sun was blazing and her body was covered in a sheen of sweat. She was frozen to the core.

“You’ll have no one in this world if you continue down this path,” said Neo. “No one will want you. No one will give you a job or even look at you, once they figure out that you’re the cursed one.”

No one will want her, that voice rang in her head. Mako lifted her head and looked into Neo’s bottomless eyes, that were completely empty. She knew those eyes very well, because they resembled hers when she was alone. A laugh erupted from Mako, surprising Neo. “Who am I even listening to right now,” she scorned. “A spineless man who has no heart at all.”

Neo’s face twisted maliciously. “I can help you-”

“No thanks,” she said. “I like the way I am.”

Neo raised a brow. “You like being with those disgusting powers?”

“They’re not disgusting to me,” she held. Mako felt like a weight lifted off her heart. “My Black smoke isn’t disgusting to me.” Mako’s eyes filled with tears. “My Black smoke has always been there for me when no one else was. It took me years to finally understand, but I’ve come to realize that now.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” scorned Neo. “Your black smoke will be a curse and nothing but a curse!”

“I’ll decided if that’s true, not you,” snapped Mako. “My powers chose me to protect them. I will cherish them with every bone in my body, even if I have to die for my Black smoke.”

Neo gritted his teeth. “You make me sick!”

“People like you make me sick,” she retorted. “I understand now why I was chosen to wield Black smoke alchemy. I understand what Professor Wiggin was trying to teach me since day one.”

“And what’s that?” ridiculed Neo.

“Only someone with honour can wield such unique powers,” she told him, but it was more for herself to hear. “Only someone who cherishes their alchemy can understand what it takes to have alchemy like Black smoke. Professor Wiggin was trying to tell me all along, that my alchemy chose me to be its protector. Our alchemy isn’t to utilize for our own benefit, but to respect it and fight alongside it.”

“That’s a child’s way of thinking,” said Neo. “In this cold world, you won’t survive long if you believe such trifle.”

“People like you made this world a cruel and deadly,” she said when remembered all the people back home that resembled Neo. “But people like Professor Wiggin, Penelope, Aiden, Yaga, the headmaster, everyone at the Academy, make this world a better place for people like me.”

Neo’s temper snapped. It was quick as the speed of light when a large rock was hurled towards Mako. But she stood unmoving. Her feet bound to the floor. Her alchemy raging within her. And her spirit rising. Swiftly, Mako’s hand raised into the air and she caught the boulder in her grasp. She propelled it to the side, away from her direction.

“What alchemy I got wasn’t my choice,” she said. “But what I do with it, is.” A turbulent of Black smoke swarmed around Mako’s small form. It swirled into a dark and heavy whirlwind, blocking all the light from the sun. “I am not going to despair anymore,” she declared. “I won’t fear this power anymore-” she looked up at the cyclone around her, that resembled a mighty storm- “I won’t turn my head away from the alchemy that chose me. No more running away.” Mako laid her foot firmly on the ground. With a swift motion of her wrist, she sent the thunderous cyclone of lightning and black smoke towards Neo. He was sucked into the raging storm and thrown out without mercy. “I am Mako, the Black smoke alchemist,” she mumbled with courage instead of dread.

“It took me years to plan this,” grumbled Neo as he got off the ground even after her attack. “Then you come and destroyed my whole plan.”

Mako’s was losing a lot of blood. Although, she didn’t feel anything thanks to the pills Yaga gave her. But her chakra was rapidly weakening from the blood loss. Aiden and Penelope better make it back quickly, because she might not be able to hold back any longer.

“I told you already, Neo,” she said, “there is no way I’m letting you get to Yaga.”

Neo coughed blood, which surprised all of them. Mako’s attack from earlier damaged him more than she thought. He wiped his mouth, and strangely, he started to laugh. “Don’t think this will stop me,” he told her. “I’m a medical alchemist. I can heal this injury without any trouble.” Neo pulled out a bottle out of his back pocket. And three red pills slipped out of the tiny canister. “These pills can stop any internal bleeding within seconds.”

Mako looked over to Yaga. “Don’t you have something like that?” she asked.

Yaga chuckled. “I always give the batches I make to the local hospitals, sorry,” he said regrettably.

Mako wiped her sweat. “I guess I have to make do,” she grumbled. “Bring it on, Neo. We don’t have all day.”

Mako only had one more shot at this. She needed to take down Neo with the one final weapon, or else, she was done. Mako focused all of her chakra to the palm of her hand, she closed her eyes and arranged all the energy to take the form of the Vajra. She harnessed the core and pulled apart the alchemy. It surged between her hands with tremendous force.

“That- that weapon,” stuttered Neo. “How do you know how to do that?”

Mako ripped the alchemy apart even further without breaking it. The Vajra in her hand grew even bigger than the one she made before. She held the blue and black bolt in her strong grasp. She may have a gaping hole in her gut, but she never felt more powerful and alive.

Mako charged towards Neo who retreated, but there was nowhere to go. Nowhere to escape from the weapon they all feared. Mako stabbed the Vajra bolt right into Neo’s gut, like he had done to her. The bolt in her hand exploded sending both of them flying. They collapsed from their injuries, but also the sheer force of the Vajra was overwhelming.

Immobile, on the ground Mako smiled up at her hand. “What is this feeling?” she asked herself. The surge of strength in her body was unimaginable. Mako could sense the difference in her alchemy from before. She was getting stronger, so much stronger.

“Mako!” yelled Yaga from behind her.

Mako shielded her face from Neo’s attack. She waited for impact of the heavy boulder, but it never came.

“What are you doing lying on the floor,” grumbled a very familiar voice.

Mako’s eyes snapped open. She found Professor Wiggin shielding her with his body. “Professor, you came,” she muttered.

“Look at the state you’re in,” he grumbled. “Damn, I can’t leave you kids alone for more than two seconds.”

Mako’s eyes stung with the threat of tears. “I protected Yaga,” she said.

Professor Wiggin nodded. “I know, good job,” he said. “I even see you mastered the Vajra.”

Mako nodded. “I understand what you’ve been trying to teach me,” she believed. “I will cherish and honour my alchemy, Professor.”

Professor Wiggin grinned. “Then you’re already half way to becoming a master alchemist,” he revealed. The hot, fat tears poured out of her eyes and fell onto the jagged ground. “Rest, kid,” said her teacher. “I’m here now, I’ve got you.”

“I wanted to prove that I am worthy of my alchemy,” she whimpered.

Professor Wiggin laid his hand on her deep wound to stop the bleeding. “You don’t need to prove anything to me,” he said. “I’m your teacher, I already know how worthy you are.”

Mako gazed into her teacher’s grey eyes. “Thank you-” she sobbed. “Thank you for believing in me, no one ever has before.”

Professor Wiggin eyes saddened. Mako had never seen it before; a thin line of water filled her Professor’s eyes. “Just get some rest,” he said. “And let your teacher take care of everything else.”

Mako grabbed the hem of his shirt. “I want to become like you, Professor,” she told him brazenly. “I want to cherish my powers like you do.”

Professor Wiggin tousled her hair endearingly before he got up and turned his attention to Neo, who was getting beat up pretty badly from Penelope’s iron fists.

“Mako,” Aiden ran to Mako’s side. “How are you feeling?”

“How do you think I feel?” she retorted as she pointed to the gaping hole in her gut. “What took you guys so long?”

The headmaster finally got Penelope off Neo, but it was only because Penelope saw Mako trying to get up.

“How’d you get beat up so badly?” asked Penelope.

Mako rolled her eyes. “I gave him some fatal wounds too, you know?” she rebuked.

“Seeing that you have the energy to argue, I’m guessing you’ll be just fine,” said Yaga as he joined the kids’ side. “Here, let me see what I can do.” Yaga worked quickly on Mako’s injuries. It wasn’t a permanent fix; he did a quick temporary job on her. Just enough to get her back on her feet.

Suddenly, the air in the Oasis changed. A dark energy filled the paradise. In a dark, dingy portal arrived a pale, cloaked figure. It was the dark lord, he finally revealed his presence. Mako spotted Professor Wiggin and the headmaster facing Neo who was looking rather pale but was standing on his feet just fine. She guessed it was because of those red pills he took earlier.

“It’s been awhile since I saw the Wiggin brothers fighting together,” said Yaga. “You kids are about to witness something rather extraordinary.”

Mako, Aiden and Penelope, all three of their eyes were glued to the deadly scene in front of them. It was the lethal combination between the dark lord, Caden Wiggin and John Wiggin.

“Balthier,” John spoke the name, that many feared, without any hesitation at all. “Why didn’t you just stay dead?”

The dark lord didn’t reveal his face from under the hood. “It wouldn’t be any fun if I had, John,” his groggy voice, sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “Who would compete against you two then?”

“What’s the point of going against us, Balthier?” asked Caden. “You’ve got one foot in the grave already, I suggest you put the other one in too and die peacefully while we let you.”

The dark lord’s hands revealed from under the cloak; they were a sickly colour and terribly bony with blackened nails. “I haven’t forgiven you for cursing me to this ridiculous fate.”

“We weren’t looking for forgiveness,” retorted John as he lazily lit a cigarette.

“You’re right,” said Balthier. “It wasn’t your fault. It was because of that woman who sealed me to this wretched fate.” Suddenly, two beady red eyes lifted from under the hood. They glared right towards Mako. But Mako wasn’t one to look away just because he looked terribly scary. “It was you!” The dark lord rushed towards Mako, but he was quickly blocked.

John stood in front of the kids. His hand was mercilessly locked around the frail neck of the dark lord. “Don’t you dare touch my students,” gritted John. The dark lord vanished from within John’s grasp.

“How’s that possible?” gasped Mako.

“The dark lord uses alchemy that is forbidden,” said Yaga. “Ancient magic that was sealed away by your ancestors. Balthier uses alchemy that is close to magic. No, it is magic.”

The dark lord returned to Neo’s side. “Master, you are not fit to fight yet,” warned Neo.

“Just do it!” rasped Balthier as he let out a sickening cough.

The three kids witnessed the sheer power emanating from the three master alchemists. The dark energy exploded around Balthier after Neo drew strange markings on the dark lord’s frail arms. Mako was fairly concerned when the dark lord started to levitate using the dark charka.

However, the kids gasped when the alchemy level grew tremendously from the Wiggin brothers. John’s chakra was so concentrated that it started to take shape. His alchemy hovered around him like he was standing inside of raging black flames. Their headmaster was even more impressive. Caden stood within a ring of blazing blue fire, that grew every time he exhaled.

“What is that?” Penelope could see the force-field surrounding the three men, just like how Mako could.

“That’s chakra,” said Yaga. “Those Wiggin brothers have mastered their energy levels, like no one in this world ever has.”

“The legendary death-lock,” mumbled Aiden.

Yaga chuckled. “That was the nickname those guys got during the war,” he said. “If there was a battle that couldn’t be won. Caden or John could turn the tides in seconds. And if they were together, then everyone ran the other way.”

Mako, Aiden and Penelope were in awe.

“This is impossible,” said Penelope.

“No,” Mako smirked. “That’s the Wiggin brothers for you.”

John and Caden both launched their attacks on Balthier without hesitation. But the dark lord wasn’t new to their attacks or combos. Balthier was familiar, all too familiar with the Wiggin brothers, since they were the reason behind his feeble state.

John had the Vajra in both of his hands, unlike Mako. He was able to carry two of the lightning blasts and they were way larger than Mako’s. The headmaster had his blue flames protecting his brother. John went full frontal attack on Balthier. The dark lord wasn’t able to get any of his own attacks in. The fight seemed pretty much over when the headmaster kicked down Balthier.

“Master!” Neo rushed over to Balthier’s side. Mako spotted the red pills Neo made the dark lord swallow.

“Those pills again,” she gritted out. “He’s reviving him!” she warned the Wiggin brothers. Professor Wiggin looked her way. “Those red pills heal injuries.” The Wiggin brothers acted quickly and separated Neo from his master.

“It doesn’t matter how much Neo uses those pills on Balthier,” said Yaga. “The dark lord cannot be revived to his full strength without lifting the curse.”

“What did the curse even do to the dark lord?” asked Mako.

“It took away half of his soul,” said Yaga.

“No wonder he looks half dead,” remarked Penelope.

“The spell prevents Balthier to use his alchemy,” said Aiden. “That’s why Neo had to use cursed scriptures on his arms.”

“What do those scriptures do?” asked Mako.

“They allow the dark lord to use his arms for a short amount of time, but his alchemy is very limited,” said Aiden.

Mako looked back to the fight. The brothers had once again restrained the dark lord. And it looked like the headmaster was about to give the final blow with his blue fire blast. But then a gust of dark chakra blocked the brothers. The smell of the tainted chakra was putrid, like a rotting corpse that was still fresh. Caden and John both moved back when they noticed the dark lord had started to decay into the soil.

The ground Balthier decayed into, died instantly. All the green grass shrivelled up and turned heinously black. The lawn brunt to a crisp and some black liquid oozed out of the dark scar on the ground. Caden and John covered their noses, because it must have been too toxic to inhale.

Neo suddenly got up off the floor like he knew exactly what that indicated. In a flash, he ruptured a hole in the ground in front of him. And through the hole, the darkly cloaked figure rose. Balthier had used the ground to teleport himself to safety.

“I won’t die by your hands a second time,” he sneered. His beady red eyes glared at the three kids who caused him enough trouble. “Neo!” his voice rasped.

“Yes, master.” Neo opened a portal and they vanished inside of it.

“They left,” said Penelope.

“The dark lord jilted them,” remarked Aiden.

“I have a feeling we’ll be seeing them again,” added Mako.

Professor Wiggin and the headmaster returned to their side. “How are you holding up?” he asked Mako.

“Never been better,” Mako grinned up at her teacher.

“Let’s get her to my office,” said Yaga. “I shall heal her wounds before you go.”

Professor Wiggin lifted Mako off the floor. But she didn’t know what happened after that, because her heavy eyes blacked out.

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