The battlefield was covered in an unnatural snowstorm and thousands of minor mazoku, enough that even Luna was kept busy.
"I hate having to run," Sherra grumbled. She dodged aside as another minor demon attempted to cut her in half. She glanced up at the sky, well into afternoon, but nowhere near nightfall yet.
At least the general battle hadn't moved toward them yet. Two years ago she wouldn't have considered that a good thing. Of course she had still been mazoku then, and hadn't been a magicless, defenseless mortal if the sky was light. And there was only so much protection Duofolger could give her.
"We can leave," Duofolger reminded her.
"And let something get back to Dynast that I'm alive!" Sherra shouted. "No thanks!"
"That's what I thought," Duofolger smirked as he casually swatted away a pair of the minor demons. Sherra growled angrily as she continued to maneuver so that Duofolger was between her and Dynast's minions.
Lina leapt backwards away from the onrushing demons. She bared her fangs and snarled threateningly. The day was wearing on, and the effort of keeping the fourth aspect outside of the full moon all that time was beginning to work on her. At least the elves were scattered about and not putting up much of a fight.
The mazoku hordes, however, were causing a problem. As it was, only Luna was breezing through the battle. She might turn out to be the only thing that did survive if things kept up. Of course Lina currently simplified this to: "getting tired, sister doing well." The werefox was still mostly interested in killing as many enemies as she could.
Two charging ice demons were engulfed in a magical fire as Lina prepared to rip them to shreds. The woman in beast form nearly attacked as she recognized the smell of her rescuer. Instead she merely growled.
"I suppose you'll likely never trust me," Zelgadis sighed saddly. "But we do have mutual enemies to consider before we do anything." The werefox growled again, but seemed to be agreeing as she turned away from him back to the battle. The almost neverending hordes of demons continued to attack.
"Hey!" Jol shouted, indicating a high-elf wizard. "Get over here." The elf mage found himself moving toward the young swordsman almost before he was aware of the order.
"What do you want?! Hu..." the wizard quit talking as he saw the form of his lord looking defeated and lowly.
"Your Lord has surrendered, I need you to pass the message on," Jol explained. "Or would you rather we hack each other to pieces and save the demons some time?"
"My lord?" the wizard asked, in shock.
"Do as he commands," the fallen Elf Lord agreed. "The battle is over...for now." He glared at Jol. Reluctantly, the wizard cast the spell, and the sound of the Elf Lord's voice rang over the battlefield.
"I, Lord Fimore of House Feanor, declare surrender to the forces of Sailoon and the trai.." Fimore winced and glared at Jolrael again. "The wood elves, all high-elves are to concentrate on defeating the forces of Dynast." Fimore closed his mouth and refused to continue.
He would not have been able to get anything across the spell in the next moment anyway. As, across all four of L-Sama's worlds, the power of the Lord of Nightmares failed for a brief instant. A result of her distraction in the battle with Osano-Wo.
The most powerful beings felt it coming. Deep Sea Dolphin, on one of her rare landfalls, made a rushing desperate run back to her ocean. Luna Inverse made for the ground, cutting off her levitate spell before it could cut off on its own. Dynast could do nothing but wait for it to happen.
Then all the demons collapsed and starting gasping for breath. Filia dropped from the sky, roaring as pain shot through her skull. Across the world other demons were doing likewise, Val, on Wolf Pack Island, snapped awake to the blinding pain.
Sorcerers, Shaman and Priests across the world found their powers failing for a brief instant. Luna, prepared for the event, still found herself relatively defenseless as a thrashing demon knocked her back against a tree. Without the layers of magical toughening and protection she normally possessed, Luna dropped to the ground gasping in pain.
"Pull her back, if the magic returns we'll need her!" someone shouted and Luna felt herself carried off by a swarm of hands. Behind the demons continued thrashing.
As the effects of L-Sama's battle and distraction rose and faded, another power, long unstable, began to settle into control. The settling was not permanent, but it was widespread, and the brief attempt at repair Xina, before denying immortality, had made would extend for centuries more.
Of the beings in the battle, only five remained who could feel that shift. It only made much of difference for two of those individuals.
As the disruption of L-sama's magic faded away and returned to normal, Lina felt a sensation of power enter her. The werefox dropped to her second aspect in surprise and glanced at where Zelgadis was rising to his feet. For the space of the disturbance he had found himself much to heavy to move.
At first Lina was not certain that she was indeed feeling it. She glanced at the demons trying to shake their heads clear of the pain. She needed to try something to make sure.
Sherra was carrying Duofolger away from the thrashing demon, moving at a run, when the feeling hit hair. It was like something rabid throughout her body was tamed, and made merely wild. Along with the calming she felt the return of a familiar and comforting presence.
"L-Sama," Sherra breathed out. "I thought I was lost." She could feel that other wild power as well, and reached for it. Instantly she felt stronger and faster, as her bare feet shifted into fox paws and she was again a blue-furred fox-girl. She didn't know quite how she had done it, she only knew that it should not have been so easy.
"I can walk now," Duofolger said dryly.
"Hmph," Sherra stopped and dropped him behind her. "Say something earlier next time!" She demanded, Duofolger simply shook his head in amused disbelief. Sherra's childish attitude seemed to resist any attempt at change.
They didn't have much more time as the ice demons found them again. The demons weren't prepared for two fighters, and found Sherra's claws a rude surprise. They were in for another as Sherra cast her first experimental spell.
"You cast a spell!" Zelgadis shouted. "How is that possible!?"
"The moon's power suddenly came under control!" Xina said in a low growling tone of voice as the demon she had pegged with a flare arrow shrugged. Zelgadis glanced at her and recognized the vicious smile, made even more frightening by her second aspect's fangs and bestial furred features.
"Pathetic little shapechanger," the demon growled as its fellows lined up behind it. "You think a mere flare arrow will stop us!?"
"No, I have something else in mind," Lina smirked. "I can take a lot more punishment now, I wonder if that translates into how much power I can draw."
"Even Luna Inverse has fallen in the disturbance," the demon growled, Lina yelped in surprise and then narrowed her eyes in anger and rage. "Her power has not yet returned. Without her, you shall die. Who are you that would prevent this?"
"I am Lina Inverse," Lina answered calmly as she started casting.
Zelgadis backed away as he recognized the spell that Lina was casting and then watched as the Dra Matta was reborn with a crackling black sword in hand.