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The morning, although it started like any other, was overshadowed by a pervasive tension. Everyone was a little on edge, not knowing what was to come and all the more worried for it.

"Ok, now I'm worried," Delta said as he checked his pistols for the thousandth time. "The Chancellor left over an hour ago, and he's still not back. We should go check on him."

"Calm down, idiot," Algon said, rolling his eyes. "I doubt Nu would make a move this morning of all times. And besides, if he was captured or something, we'd only be making the situation worse."

The door to the room opened at that point, and the Griffon burst into the room in a poof of feathers. Realizing that the occupants were staring a bit incredulously at him, Phanes huffed and returned to his normal composure, although still obviously excited.

"You're back!" Lydia said. "And not captured or dead!" She shot a look at Delta.

Phanes chuckled. "As I have said before, Nu does not dare challenge my authority yet. Everyone gather close. I have some fantastic news."

"What, did you hear from the dragons?"

The Chancellor smiled. "Even better! Right now, two of them are on-world!"

"What!?!"

Everyone was stunned.

"It's true," Phanes said. "I was trying to contact the Quintessium when I received a coded message. Apparently, they are not going to contact us directly out of concern for spies, but will be at the tournament matches today watching for suspicious activity. If Nu tries anything, they will take action."

"Why don't they just waltz up and take him out now?" Delta said with a frown. "Why wait?"

"They don't have proof that Nu is doing anything evil and they can't arrest him on our word alone," Lydia said. "If you think about it, it makes sense. They need evidence."

Phanes nodded. "Exactly right. Until that happens there is nothing to do. We just have to wait."

There were several matches that day, including Algon's. The friends suited up and left for the stadium when it was time to start, Phanes heading off elsewhere, presumably to the Headmaster's box. Upon entering the building, the group all glanced around subtly, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"How the hell are we not noticing them?" Delta huffed. "It's a group of gigantic dragons for heaven's sake!"

"They're probably disguised somehow," James said. "If they're trying to implicate the Headmaster, then they won't want to reveal their presence too early."

"I can't even sense their magic," Lydia noted, closing her eyes for a brief moment.

The group reached their seats at that point and sat down, still chatting softly. In the Headmaster's box, the scaly form of Nu emerged from the shadows and coiled up on his chair, tongue flicking every so often as he observed the people gathered below with a cold gaze.

"The pieces are in place," he hissed with a soft chuckle. "Today is the day that hundreds of years of planning come to fruition."

His tail flickered with a soft white light before coming to rest on a point next to the chair. A sigil appeared for a split second, before sending a wave of invisible energy throughout the stadium.

"And so begins the end."

The friend's chatting stopped abruptly as their bracelets all flashed with power.

"Do you feel that?" Lydia said, looking around. "The energy draining spell's been activated, and it's much stronger than before. It's working slightly on the audience even though they're not the ones fighting."

"Algon has his bracelet, right?" James asked, moderately concerned now.

"I think I saw it on his wrist when he headed off to the preparation area. It probably already activated."

The first several fights were much slower than the previous day. A dangerous sense of sleepiness had fallen over the entire crowd, like they were especially tired. As such, they didn't notice much out of the ordinary.

Headmaster Nu laughed in satisfaction as he saw the formation below the school filling with stolen magic. So far, nothing had come up. By his approximations, if his plans were not hindered, he would complete the spell today.

"And when that happens," the snake thought, tail twitching in excitement. "No one will be able to stop me. The only probably might be those dragons, but the fools think they have me surprised and surrounded. I'll crush them and just use their power to speed my rise!"

Unaware that Nu had somehow found out and prepared for their strategy, the friends were waiting for Algon to take the field.

"Will he use his Alpha powers?" James mused, thinking over the Fire Elementalist's abilities.

"I doubt it," Lydia said. "Nu will be watching, and Algon won't want to waste any of his trump cards this early in the day. There's a possibility that he might even take the loss in order to hide some of his strength. Although, I suppose it wouldn't matter that much. Against a High-mastery Celestial Mage, his power would be almost useless."

Algon was currently sitting down in the preparation area cycling his energy as a warm-up. When he was called, he stood up and headed for his entrance to the stadium. However, as he was walking, a figure stepped out to block his path.

Algon appraised the human with a confused and wary gaze. There was no one nearby, and by his estimates, the closest mage was still a couple of minutes away. Moving his hand slightly, he reached for his amulet to try and pass on a message if something went wrong.

The man blinked, seeing his actions, and then shook his head.

"Good on you for reacting quickly, but no need to worry. I'm the captain of the dragon squad that arrived here this morning."

Algon narrowed his eyes. "You're a dragon? Prove it."

The man huffed and stretched out an arm. Slowly, the skin shifted into yellow scales that sparkled and flowed with internal energy, and his fingers became tipped with claws. Giving an Algon a look, the man tossed a mote of light into the air that expanded into the shape of a roaring lightning dragon. A massive amount of magical pressure swept out, almost knocking the boy off of his feet.

"This work for you?"

Algon gulped and nodded, putting away his earlier worries. A dragon's sigil and magic couldn't be replicated.

"Why did you come and find me?" the Fire Elementalist asked, now a bit confused.

The dragon smiled. "The team has almost confirmed that the Headmaster is the culprit. We wanted to warn you that your match may get a bit... interesting. When we engage, leave immediately and head back to your friends. Understood?"

Algon nodded and said nothing else.

"Cool, kid." The dragon stretched lazily and waved his hand, forming a sigil of lightning. "Have fun. I'm off to warm up for the fight."

He clapped his hands, vanishing in a burst of light, accompanied by a faint roar. Algon blinked for a moment and then continued down the hallway.

"So the dragons are making a move," he thought as he prepared to emerge into the stadium. "This is it!"

Walking out to the crowd's cheers, he subtly glanced up at the Headmaster's box. Seeing that Nu was distracted with something, he picked Lydia out of the crowd and gave a pointed look. She furrowed her eyebrows, clearly not completely understanding, but there wasn't any more he could do.

His opponent was another Fire Elementalist, nothing to write home about. Even though he had only been training for a year, Algon was still confident that with the benefits provided by his Alpha powers, they would at least be at equal strengths.

He took the initiative, sending out several fs to probe the other's defenses. The human chose not to give anything away, though, and leaped backward. Algon's eyes narrowed.

"Hm, not giving anything away? Well then, I'll conserve my magic until the dragons intervene, but I can at least try to win! Flaming Spear!"

He swept forward, following his attack, and summoned the Fire Staff.

"Fireball! Fireball! Fire Prism!"

A wave of spells shot forth, blazing across the stadium. His opponent snorted and swiped his hand, sending a Flame Shield to block the attacks.

"That's much stronger than what I can handle," Algon noted. "But it's still a defensive spell, which means it can be broken."

He pulled the staff back and charged a sigil on the tip. Thrusting it forward, the spell ignited into a ferocious blast.

"Flame Cannon!"

The other fighter understood the same principles as Algon. When he saw the attack coming towards him, he instantly dispelled the shield and pointed, the light of his own spell radiating from his finger.

"Flame Cannon!"

The two fireballs collided in the middle of the stadium, sending a continuous wave of magical force outwards as they vied for dominance. Algon suddenly felt his bracelet tingle before flashing.

"The energy draining spell's increased in power. Thank the Primes that we have Lydia as a friend."

His opponent must have felt the strain on his magic increase, but it wasn't large enough for him to take notice. Instead, he rationalized it by assuming that Algon had buffed up his fireball, and poured more magic into his own as a result.

The intense attacks buckled before finally exploding in a shower of fire. Algon was thrown back and rolled several times before coming to a halt. He stood back up using his staff, panting heavily.

"When are those stupid dragons going to act?" he grumbled to himself. "Can't they tell that things are only to get worse from here on out?"

He jumped away as a pillar of fire erupted from the ground. His opponent wasn't giving him much time to react, and Algon could tell that he was weakened from the constraint drain on his magic, but still willing to fight.

"Well, I can't use my Alpha powers. They'll knock me out for too long, and I won't be able to recover for the upcoming fights. That only really leaves my Volcate abilities. But for that I need lava..."

Algon slammed the butt of his staff on the ground, sending out a ring of fire that devoured several incoming attacks. As he pulled up several Flame Shields and a slew of Fireballs for a counterattack, he took a moment to look at the ground. The stadium was largely metal, but the main floor was rocky.

"Hm, this might work."

Rock, following standard principles of science, melts under extreme heat. The only question was the required temperature, but a cursory glance around the stadium gave that answer. Underneath the point of impact for the Flame Cannons, the ground was scorched and in several incredibly small sections, Algon could see that there were tiny pools of cooled lava.

"This ground's especially hard. Without my Alpha powers, this will be difficult. But, it's also the best way to draw out the fight without using too much of my energy."

He pointed at the ground and yelled out, "Fire Detonation!" The blast tossed him a good distance away, safely dodging slew of spells his opponent threw. The Elementalist was getting annoyed at this point.

"Is he only going to run around for the rest of the match?" he thought. "Come on!"

He charged a Flame Cannon, but to his surprise, Algon instead waved his staff and sent out a huge wall of fire that dissipated the spell instantly.

Safe behind his shield, at least for the moment, Algon slumped briefly from the expenditure of power before pulling himself up.

"With that much magic, it should hold for a while. However, it's also not see-through, so he's bound to think I'm planning something." Algon chuckled. "He's not wrong I suppose."

As a barrage of attacks began to pelt the wall, the Fire Elementalist aimed his staff at a point a small distance away and poured magic into it. The tip began to shine a brilliant orange, and a sigil appeared in the air.

One use of the Fire Staff was to amplify magic. This was what most apprentice mages used it for, as having more powerful spells was always nice. It's secondary function, though, was to streamline the casting of spells. Namely, casting one single spell many times over. This wasn't usually the best option, as the magic requirements for nonstop casting often exceeded what the average mage would consider efficient. And anyway, the opponent could easily dodge or counter and then it would be altogether useless. However, Algon had the magic reserves of an Alpha, even if he couldn't fully tap into them. And he also wasn't trying to shoot a thing that could dodge.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Fireball after fireball flew out of the staff and hit the point that Algon had designated, sending rock shards flying everywhere. The Volcate increased the density of his magic, working to tunnel his way into the ground. A pit began to form, dug out by the sheer force of the explosions.

The noise caused his opponent to pick up the pace of his attacks, not knowing what Algon was doing and wanting to prevent him from charging up a major attack. The audience was in an interesting spot as well. Half of the mages couldn't see anything, as there was a massive wall of fire in the way that stretched incredibly high, and the other half could see, but still had no idea what Algon was doing. From their point of view, he was just blasting the stadium into pieces repeatedly. Although there was something forming at the bottom of the hole...

The wall of fire was finally broken with a massive spike of fire that shattered it into thousands of pieces. Algon was revealed to be standing in front of a huge pit that extended quite a ways into the floor. The stadium ground was quite deep, due to the needs of the Earth Elementalists that fought, so it didn't make much of a difference, but the audience couldn't see the reason for his actions. Even Delta and James were a bit confused at what their friend was planning.

Algon heard the wall break and growled internally. He had hoped for a bit more time, but apparently, his opponent wasn't willing to take any chances. Glancing up to see a Flaming Spear heading his way, he readied himself and jumped into the hole. The bottom was filled with a small amount of lava, but it wasn't even close to the amount he needed. Instead, the Fire Elementalist reached up with a hand and created a sigil. A _Flame Shield_appeared just below the top of the pit, plugging the hole entirely. Then, he closed his eyes and accessed his Alpha powers for the tiniest moment, not to fight, but to use one specific spell.

"Well, this should be interesting," Algon thought. "Let's see what happens."

He pointed up with his staff, and a sigil appeared.

"FIRE'S RISE!"

Outside, everyone was waiting to see what would happen. His opponent didn't want to head over, as Algon could be preparing an ambush, so he decided to wait for a brief moment and gather his energy.

"What's Algon doing?" Delta asked.

"I'm not sure," James said with a frown. "He must have a plan, though."

Nu was watching the match with a lazy gaze, having already activated the energy draining formation. However, his eyes flashed open as he felt energy on the field buckle, and then build with tremendous fury. Down on the stadium floor, a sudden tremor caused his opponent stumbling. The earth fractured and cracked in a jagged web, centered on Algon's pit. The entire audience could feel the magic and pressure building at a frantic rate, multiplying with each second. A loud rumble filled the arena.

"What is this?!?" James yelled over the noise.

Lydia narrowed her eyes, activating her Weird powers. "There's a tremendous amount of energy locked beneath the stadium floor. It looks like there's some sort of spell inside of Algon's hole, but it seems more like a Flame Shield spell... oh. Dear. Lord."

"What?"

"If Algon stoppered the hole, and then unleashed one of his biggest spells..." Lydia trailed off.

"Come on, just tell us!"

The Weird bit her lip. "This is going to be interesting!"

The noise built to a crescendo, a veritable earthquake shaking the ground. Flames began to hiss through the cracks, which widened and expanded out, snaking their way across a significant portion of the battlefield. The opponent's eyes widened.

"Oh, crud!"

The earth exploded. Fire shot up, sending rock flying every which way. The remaining ground completely liquified, forming a surging whirlwind of lava that spun around a figure in the center. Algon planted his staff in the ground and reached out his both arms, trailing his fingers in the lava briefly before submerging his hands. His body locked up and he let out a strained grunt as power rushed in, the molten rock filling his body with unrestrained fury. Opening his eyes, he jumped out of the pit and crashed to the ground, standing up slowly. The heat he was radiating was slightly weaker than his standard Alpha form, but still strong enough to evaporate water and burn anything that strayed too close. Nu grinned with pleasure, reaching over with his tail to increase the strength of the energy draining formation. He wasn't going to let that wonderful magic go to waste.

Algon looked over at his opponent, who was frantically trying to think of something to do. His bracelet flashed, causing his to glance down to see an almost-invisible shield covering his body.

"The headmaster's spell has increased in power. Come on, dragons, what are you waiting for? You've got to notice this!"

Not having many other options, Algon pulled back his hand, channeling the abilities of his race to refine the lava within him into a massive burst of energy. The tell-tale signs of Supercharge began to flicker up and down his body.

Nu frowned as he realized something was wrong. The spell wasn't absorbing the kid's power like it was supposed to. He increased its effectiveness, recklessly ignoring any consequences that his actions might have. The increased strain on his magic caused Algon's opponent to waiver on his feet, now looking a lot paler.

Algon's aura exploded out as his energy peaked. The particles of magic floating in the air were swirled around in a frenzy. The pattern of their motion escaped most of the audience, but at the very top of the stadium, a silhouette narrowed his eyes.

"Energy flow confirmed," he said, speaking to thin air. "Are we ready to act?"

"Everyone's finally here," a voice echoed. "Engage."

The silhouette nodded, before leaping high into the air and vanishing from sight. Down below, Algon was just about to unleash his attack when a massive form crashed down from the sky, landing between the two fighters and shaking the stadium with its impact. It reared up on its hind legs and flicked a claw at Algon before turning to face the Headmaster's box.

"Oh, thank the Primes," the Fire Elementalist muttered as he dispelled his Supercharge. "The cavalry's here."

The dragon calmly stared up at Nu before growling softly. The audience, however, did not remain so calm.

"A dragon? What's he doing here?!? Why did he interrupt?"

Nu looked around before slithering out of his chair and looking down at the newcomer. "Ah, an esteemed guest. Welcome. Although, did you need to make such a big entrance? Why have you disrupted the proceedings?"

"Do not play the fool," the dragon rumbled. "Based on our observations, you are charged with stealing the magic of others and colluding with the Void, as well as attempting to summon a dangerous artifact back into this world."

The audience quieted and turned to look at the snake. To everyone's surprise, he didn't deny anything and just gave a cold smile.

"So, you think you can stop me, especially now that I am so close to my goal? You fly so high, but I have been preparing for a long time. Not even the two of you working together can do anything to me!"

A member of the audience suddenly stood up, his form rippling into that of another dragon. Lighting flashing along his yellow scales, he let out a growl. "Be assured, you won't be able to complete your spell! Rentor, clear the stage!"

The dragon flicked his hand, sending a massive bolt of power spiraling towards the Headmaster's box. His partner turned around to face the audience, and roared, gaining all of their attention instantly.

"Masters, gather your students and leave Dorian-5. Ships have already been prepared on the outskirts of the school. Leave everything to us."

The audience wasted no time scurrying for the exit, blasting aside any of the guards that tried to bar their way. Nu hissed, scattering the bolt, and turned to glare at the fleeing mages before tapping the energy draining sigil.

"Fine then. I'll just have to take the remainder of what I need from YOU!"

The deadly spell quintupled in strength, causing the bracelets of the friends to erupt into bright shields that covered their entire bodies. Lydia frowned and looked closer at their surroundings before jumping up.

"We need to get out of here. The bracelets aren't invincible, and this is the epicenter of the spell formation. If we stay here for too long, the bracelets will lose their effectiveness and our magic will get drained too!"

"Algon, we're leaving!" James yelled down as they ran towards the exit, following in the wake of the crowd.

The Fire Elementalist picked up his staff and caught up, still tired from his earlier battle. "What about the dragons?" he asked, looking back at the stadium.

"They'll be fine," James said. "They don't really seem to be affected that much, and besides, we told them that Nu used an energy draining spell. They obviously came prepared. Let's just go before we give them something else to worry about!"

The friends left the stadium, heading to the location the dragons had mentioned. Behind them, Nu repelled several more attacks and then slithered out of the box, flying through the air. Hissing, he materialized several sigils that began to bombard the dragons with beams of celestial energy and condensed space, thousands of times denser than the barriers that Aura had used during her earlier fight. This was a Master Celestial mage, someone who, like Phanes had said, was not to be taken lightly.

However, his opponents were also dragons, beings that had been selected to become defenders of the universe and keepers of the peace. Rentor roared, the wave of sound knocking away every incoming attack, and then summoned a spear and greatshield made of shining white and yellow metal. At the same time, his ranged partner raised his arms into the sky. Twin bolts of lightning struck down, solidifying into a pair of bracers that flashed with arcane runes. Letting out another growl, he slammed his wrists together, sending missiles that spiraled towards the snake while Rentor dashed forwards in a wave of energy. In response, Nu flung out a spacial wall that grew rapidly in size, knocking both dragons away.

The snake smiled once again and lightly touched the tip of his tail to the energy draining sigil. His body glowed as white light traveled up his scales before collecting at his head, his eyes beginning to shine with a dark power. The dragons both rose, gathering their own formidable magic to face the incoming storm, but were hampered by the strain on their powers.

Nu chuckled. "As I said, I have been preparing for a long time. There is nothing you can do to surprise me, idiots."

He widened his eyes, sending out twin streams of energy that ripped apart the air as they raced towards their targets. Both raised their weapons in defense, but before anything could happen a human materialized out of thin air, in between the fighters, standing straight in the path of the attacks. With a single punch, he dispersed the lethal magic and dropped the ground, smiling and sparkling with electricity. Nu's eyes narrowed as he assessed the new foe.

The man looked back at the dragons and smirked once more, bouncing lightly with excess energy.

"Well, it seems I came just in time. Rentor, Voltus, you both still need to get rid of that habit of underestimating your opponents. One day it'll get you into a whole heap of trouble."

The dragons knelt and bowed their heads, lowering their weapons. "Hail, General."

Nu's eyes widened substantially, and he fell back in shock as a thought entered his mind.

"Now, then," the man said. He turned back around and his pupils became slitted, crackling yellow with yellow energy. An excited look filled his gaze and he stared up at the Celestial mage without fear, a grin on his lips.

"Originally, I hadn't wasn't sure why he asked me to come. Now? I can see why."

The man cracked his knuckles, glowing before turned into a large, wingless dragon. Sleek armor made from black and yellow plates appeared to cover his entire body, except for his hands and head, and he roared, sending a shockwave out that nearly burst everyone's eardrums. Nu's expression dropped through the ground.

"How... HOW ARE YOU HERE!?! IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO BE TWO...!"

The dragon gave a curt nod. "Good morning, I'm Dragon General Strike. Let's have some fun, shall we?"