Galuna Island

[Apollymi]

Iris grinned as she enjoyed their quick and fun descent. Taking a second or two to respond to Hana's amazement of her magic usage. "Eh, well... it's a more recent development. I thought I would need a bit more than the crystal stuff to get me through the S-class trials~" she mentioned as they came to ground level. Once there she dusted herself off and with another minor use of magic would cause that soften piece of ground to return to its previous state without so much as a hitch.

Iris would have said more, but there was rather suddenly something more impressive than Iris's new magic in the room. An imposing piece of very solid ice stood in the center of this cavern. Right in front of them, with light descending from the very top of the pyramid all the way to the ice. But this ice, was very solid, so much so that regular moonlight from above wasn't causing it to melt, even as it shone down bouncing across random crystals all over the room. Within this ice, was the body of what could only be described as a large dragon... black in color seemingly frozen in what would be the start of a roar forever. "That..." Iris started only to get really quiet. In all her life she'd never expected to see a dragon, and somehow she was less impressed by this than she thought she would be.

[Bloodedge]

Hana, in a spurt of childishness, had himself a rather fun time descending to the bottom of the temple. When they reached the bottom though, he failed to see the return of the rock to its natural state. His eyes had already been drawn to the very same thing Axel had already been down here staring at: the frozen black Dragon. "Iced Shell," Axel said when both of the others had their eyes fixated on this spectacle. "It has been called the ultimate form of Ice Magic that can freeze anything for an eternity. Even the hottest fire wouldn't melt it. The disappointing thing is... unless this Dragon knew how to use Curses, there's no way this could have anything to do with what's going on in the village above."

[Apollymi]

Iris was still rather blankly staring at this captured dragon, even as Axel went on to explain its current status. After a few seconds she sighed, it appeared they were no closer to finding the truth of this curse on the island than they had been before their descent. She opened her mouth to speak but then something rather peculiar happened.

Right as the moon reached its pinnacle point above them, a purple light and magic began to shine down directly into this cavern and without any warning onto the Dragon. As it did this, the ice on the edges began to run down the sides, melting back into water before her very eyes. Even with the assumption that Axel had been correct in thinking this particular prison couldn't be melted by conventional means perhaps someone meant to melt it anyways. At this point it wouldn't be Iris who got to speak but Takara who gave out a bit of a yawn as she stretched and removed herself from Axel's shoulders. "It would seem they are related just not directly. That purple light is probably whatever magic is being used to try melt the ice... likely it is causing the 'cursed moon' those villagers spoke of. Now it seems that we aren't the only outsiders on this island. And we are now left to figure out... why someone is trying to free a malevolent dragon and how to stop them." these were Takara's words as she looked up. But Iris still hadn't said anything... instead a set of words popped into her head... and fell from her mouth. Something about this seemed rather familiar to her. "Moon... Drip." she nearly whispered as if there was something right at the corners of her mind. Everything about this place seemed so familiar and those two words also seemed familiar but she was having to push against the furthest reaches of her mind just to make sense of the feelings. It was like... she was forbidden from knowing whatever it was she knew. But it was there... just below the surface.

[Bloodedge]

"That sounds about right, considering..." Axel openly stated in response to Takara, as he took in the sight of the purple beam doing quite a number on the Iced Shell. He began thinking about this entire ordeal a bit harder. Something that could successfully melt Iced Shell was a thing of myth. "There's some spell... I read it in a book a few years back, but those were just stories. Agh, what's the name!?" As if on cue, Iris whispered the words Moon Drip just loud enough to catch Axel's ear. This prompted the young man to look her way immediately, as he wondered what she knew of this. "... That. Who told you about that?"

[Apollymi]

Iris was still listening to the ongoing conversation. Her mention of the name of the spell that Axel has been trying to think of, and the one so obviously at work here put her on the spot. She looked a bit wide eyed as she tried to think of where she'd heard the information, but... "I don't know... I just know what it is. A dispel, which takes a lot of time to set up, it focuses the moon's light into magic power and forces the dissipation of other spells. But it takes longer to accumulate the necessary magic energy if the spells are really strong. It can also be turned into liquid and bottled... and sold for an unreasonably high price." she said a miserly smirk coming to her face.

But as she spoke the cat Takara had come to a stand still in front of her staring up into the confusion of the girl's face as she recited information she shouldn't possess. "Have you been here before?" asked Takara in a surprisingly straight forward manner. This brought a bit of shock to the young woman who looked down at the cat and shrugged. "I don't think so..."

[Bloodedge]

"... Sou ka," the Lightning Dragon Slayer said as he stepped closer to the frozen Dragon. From the right angle, he was able to somewhat see through to the hole at the top of the temple. There was enough space around the inner area for someone to get through, and with this in mind, he spoke to the group. "Taking charge again for a second. Takara, take Iris to the top. You guys find out what kind of people we're dealing with. Hana... you're with me."

[Apollymi]

Iris looked a bit confused but Takara simply sprouted wings. "Fine fine... though I didn't come along to be bossed about by you~" she said to Axel. She'd then float around wrapping Iris up in her tail and taking flight upward. "Oh... this is different." mentioned Iris as she was carried upward through the opening that the purple light had shown through just in time to see a whole host of masked men. Takara being as fast as she was, quickly manuevered the two of them behind a rocky outcropping so they wouldn't be spotted and then they would go to watching. "You are a weird one Iris... but these ones... are weirder."

Iris could only nod as she watched a host of rather weak masked mages using their magical power to cast the Moon Drip spell. While they did this, there was a pair with even more ornate masks. While they stood side by side magic would continue pouring. "It's almost ready brother." one said. "Yes it is, the last three years of pouring our own magical energy in this will be worth it, to revive one of the fallen dragons." said the older sounding of the two men. "I can't wait to meet him." said the other.

[Bloodedge]

Axel stood in wait while Takara answered his request by grabbing Iris, taking her up the direct path toward the top of the temple. When they were both out of sight, and certainly out of earshot, he looked toward Hana. "She doesn't know you're a Dragon Slayer, does she?" he asked. "I... don't think many people do. I mostly get away with just using Sky Magic."

"Yeah... Sky Magic learned from a Sky Dragon. Genbu tells me you fixed his amnesia once when he took a serious blow to the head on a job." Hana soon pieced together what the man meant to imply. When he understood, the boy nodded. "Hai. My breath is able to do it. I know what to do," he confirmed. Without further ado, Axel reached out and grabbed Hana's hand. Afterwards, he extended his own Magic to the lad via unspoken means, converting both individuals into a lightning bolt which hopped from tier to tier up the temple. In doing so, the pair picked up enough speed to launch themselves out of the tower and appear to be an actual lightning bolt briefly.

[Apollymi]

"Well that answers those questions." Iris mentioned. It would seem that the two guys with the very ornate masks were the ones trying to release the dragon down below. And according to them, they were very close to doing so. Such a thing was also likely the problem with the people turned demon on the island. Probably an aftereffect of the dispel being used on such a massive scale. Takara as a cat only nodded. This was a very interesting problem for them to have though, they likely wanted to stop this ritual as soon as possible given the limited number of beings who could probably take on a dragon.

Of course the attention of all would be drawn by the bolt of lightning emerging from the center of the temple and this would cause only the slightest bit of confusion from those present. "Is that proof it's starting or something else?" asked one of the brothers.

[Bloodedge]

From high above, Axel and Hana returned to their normal states, and they immediately made eye contact for one fleeting moment. In this moment, the pair of Dragon Slayers reached a mutual understanding of what would transpire in the following few seconds. Axel decided to go for as flashy a technique as possible to initiate the combination. "Rairyuu no..." he said from above as he pulled back his fist and charged it with lightning. "Houken!" With a single, downward punch, Axel unleashed a lightning blast in the form of a giant fist which crashed into the ground next to the individuals performing Moon Drip. This caused a massive explosion of electrical sparks. While this occurred, Hana inhaled and devoured the air itself, before ultimately performing his own technique. "Tenryuu no Houkou!" The Sky Dragon's signature roar escaped Hana's mouth as he exhaled, becoming something of a tornado which focused its winds on Iris. In this specific instance, Hana combined his roar with Healing Magic, which was capable of not only repairing the target's body, but also the mind for the sake of restoring any potential, sealed, memories.

[Apollymi]

With the entrance of Axel and Hana something strange and rather destructive took place. Axel's lightning fist had the effect of making the lesser masked men scattered. Meanwhile, Takara found herself dashing to the left of the coming attack from the Sky Dragon Slayer, mostly out of instinct. Even so there was nothing that Iris could do to move out of the way of this attack, she simply was hit by a healing tornado. A layer of confusion lifted from the girl in the following few seconds, but she wouldn't be allowed to say anything about that.

The two masked bad guys who were obviously in charge here, had yet to move, despite the fact that Axel had all but foiled their plans. One of them seemed rather distraught. "They are going to ruin everything." he said, obviously younger and a tiny bit whiny. But the older more calm voice had something to say. "There is nothing to worry about... our work here is as good as done." said the masked man. "Besides... the great black dragon will surely thank us for ridding this world of two dragon slayers, before he rises." this man mentioned.

[Bloodedge]

"Ridding the world of two Dragon Slayers?" Axel asked rhetorically as he landed near the pair of enemies, finding the elder's claims quite amusing. "You two don't smell like much. I'll take you both on. C'mon." Axel exuded confidence as he spoke, and from what he'd gathered of the strength of the remaining individuals, these two were the strongest. There was another person in this group who had remained off to the side, but the others would easily be able to deal with this one.

Hana landed next to Iris and Takara, wondering if his spell had done anything to the former. In the meantime, though, the boy stared down the other enemy of the group, who seemed to be encroaching upon them while Axel challenged the other two. "You two drew the short straw... Gomen."

[Apollymi]

"Brother this one is so confident and strong. Can I have him? Can I?" the younger of the two brothers asked of his elder brother. It was quite obvious that something strange was going on in this one's mind. As he didn't seem to understand how awkward his previous sentences were. Still the elder brother smiled behind his mask a mocking tone to his voice. "He chose wrong... separately he might have been capable of something... but... at least let me help you digest him first." the elder of the two said as he slammed his fist into the ground a pillar of acid being created by the impact which would appear directly beneath Axel in an attempt to melt him away.

While this happened Iris seemed to be gathering herself after being hit with an amazingly useful spell. Instead of saying anything directly to their new enemy she spoke instead to Hana. "Eh, I didn't know you were a Dragon Slayer Hana. That's so cool~" she said a huge grin on her face. On the other hand Takara made the decision to only interfere if things got really dangerous for either set of people. After speaking though there was an interesting change in Iris' demeanor. "So... Hana can you fight or do you want me to do this?" she asked of the young boy. She wouldn't put him on the spot or anything, but she was quite certain she could handle this on her own. She believed this to be true now even more so than before.

[Bloodedge]

"How cute. You guys are actually a team, huh?" the Dragon Slayer asked. When it seemed the fight was about to begin, Axel brought his hands together and conjured lightning between them. A wide grin was upon his face as he did this, but his eyes never left the two men in front of him. That is, until one of them began a spell, which took place where he stood in the form of acid. Axel's reflexes were great enough to carry him away from the target location the moment he realized something was beneath him, and when he moved, he saw the pillar rise. "Acid? Hmph," he commented while raising the lightning he'd been creating above his head. When his arms moved forward, all the lightning was shot forth while taking the form of a large trident bent on expanding until it engulfed both of Axel's opponents in a massive surge of electricity, immediately after making impact with the ground between them.

Meanwhile, Hana was left wondering still. However, there was an opponent ahead of them, and even though he seemed quite a bit weaker than the others, there was still an air of danger around him. "I might be a Dragon Slayer, but I don't know how much use I could be in a fight. I can use my Magic to help you, though..." he said as the man ahead of them stopped moving and discarded the over-sized cloak he wore. His mask, once revealed, was likened to a bird's visage, covering only his eyes and nose, leaving his mouth and dark-brown hair open. "I should have taken the strong one. You two will take longer. But... come."

[Apollymi]

"Of course we are a team." the younger of the pair said. But he was still merely waiting for his opportunity to strike. The elder of the pair seemed to be much more calm than this one and didn't have any worries. "Now, now... you'll give away too much." he mentioned as he watched Axel deal with his initial attack with curious eyes. Still both of Axel's opponents had enough speed that they could at least try and dodge the incoming lighting. And with a bit of effort both of them managed to escape the radius unscathed with the younger of the pair aiming to sneak up behind Axel his jaw extended at an impossible angle while the older of the two charged forward aiming to knock himself into Axel and thus push the young man into mouth of his waiting little brother.

Meanwhile Iris was left looking at both her opponent and Hana. Hearing the young man say he wasn't really fit for battle made her sigh. She supposed that she couldn't expect so much from him. And given the great amount of good he'd already done she couldn't really argue with him. Beyond that their opponent seemed deceptively strong and that was a bit troublesome for Iris. "Hai, it's fine... I am pretty sure I got this anyways. Even if he is super creepy for some reason." she said taking this moment to charge the man who'd already asked her to come. In so doing she aimed to punch this man in the center of his rather exposed being... but while she did this, her fist became encased in crystal harder than any created naturally as if she fully intended to simply break the man apart with the strength of her strike.