Episode 20

Riza and Edmund ran down the stone stairs in the hidden passage, which led deeper and deeper into the darkness. Soon, they reached a stone door. Edmund pushed it open and they found themselves in a great hall full of dragon skulls.

“Dragons?!”

Edmund adjusted his glasses as if unsure whether what he saw was real or not – dragons were the hardest creatures to kill, yet this place was full of their bones! Dragons were considered sacred, so how could someone have killed so many? According to the data gathered by him and Lord Nick, the Aquarius Lord was a Dragon spirit.

“He’s killed his own brethren, just like that?!”

He could already guess this guy was unkind, but to be this cruel… This was not ‘unkindness’ now, this was plain evil!

To do this to his brethren…

He looked at Riza, whose eyes had already filled with tears as she trembled – apparently, returning to this gruesome palace wasn’t easy for her at all.

To think that she bore with a father like this…

They heard hands clap in the darkness. They started and took their battle poses, ready for any danger. Edmund even covered Riza, prepared to protect her at any cost.

“Welcome home, Rizetta”.

A vile chuckle sounded from behind the darkness. An old man with a crooked back, dressed in a black cloak, trotted out, leaning on a golden sceptre. He wore a silver-chained medallion with a light-blue-to-grey gem in its center – the gem of Uranus.

Edmund widened eyes – by the Uranus medallion, he guessed who this man was. Riza trembled with rage:

“Don’t you dare call me ‘Rizetta’! I am not the daughter of the likes of you!”

“Oh, really? You cannot strike out who you are, dear. You are my daughter, no matter how much you deny it. After all, the blood does not lie… You are Wagner! You are my blood, so you will obey me! You hear that, Riza?”

He shouted now, and Riza, against her will, shivered, just like back in her deep childhood when this vile man used to shout at her… This man, who cared not for his family but always only for power – he slew dragons, his spirit kin, in order to gain more and more power and become the world’s greatest Aquarius ever known. And now when he had achieved it, he wanted to steal the title of ‘The Zodiac King Sign’ from the Leo. For that, he wished to use the Fire sign of the third row – the Sagittarius, against the Sun Celestial Lord. He craved for his daughter’s power, and so he had called her back… That was the only reason. She gnashed her teeth with indignation:

“You fiend!”

“Huh? You dare speak like that to your father?! I guess you must be taught a good lesson then, Riza! Aquarius Style, Battler Art, Emperor Mode – Wind Blades!”

The old man threw speedy wind-blades at her – the power that could cut anything to pieces. Riza wanted to form a fire shield (which was futile as the wind would cut through the fire) when another incantation came from beside her:

“Rooster Spirit, Ring Twelve – White Air Peacock!”

A giant White Peacock spirit wing covered Riza, deflected the wind-blades upon its feathers and directed them back at the caster.

“Ah!” Lord Wagner formed a shield to protect himself. He glared at the strange orange-haired guy with glasses beside Riza – the exact one to have dodged his shot: “Who are you, you filthy nerd?”

“I am sorry, where are my manners? I am Edmund Jaeger, the Overlord of Rose Cruce Order. I’ve come here to talk about one of my daughter’s affairs. It is nice to meet you, Marvin Wagner, Lord of Uranus,” Edmund replied with a smirk as his accent let him pronounce ‘Uranus’ in a rather awkward manner.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that, you brat! What the hell are you babbling about – your daughter?!”

“Oh, I thought as you are the Aquarius Celestial Lord you’d easily get it, but I guess, notwithstanding the title of the ‘Wittiest Zodiac Sign’, you’ve got zero sense of understanding the point…” Edmund chuckled, making the old man lose his temper even more. He raised his Order ring. His eyes flashed like the ones of a fierce eagle: “All I mean, Lord Marvin, is that as the Overlord of the Order she’s in, I am Riza’s father now, and on my daughter, you’ve got no right to lay hands”.

“You dare steal my daughter from me?! You cocky brat! I’ll show you how miserable you are compared to my divine power!” Lord Wagner wove signs: “Dragon Spirit, Ring Twelve – Dark Grey Gale Dragon!”

A giant Dark Grey Dragon spirit with feathered wings emerged and embraced him. Edmund, on his part, squealed with the voice of the magnificent White Peacock spirit, and clashed with the Aquarius Lord.