Danaël didn't know how much time had passed, and frankly, he didn't think about it anymore.
Dod, Evangeline, and himself were ready and waiting patiently for the platform to go into action, as the princess had explained.
The exploration of the cart proved fruitless, the only foodstuffs salvageable being decrepit cereal bars.
Suddenly, a fantastic circle formed around them. Multicolored dust misted them, and with a deafening roar, they began their descent. Dod and Danaël were positioned in front of the princess, knives in hand and senses alert.
The platform descended slowly, and Danaël's whole body tingled with itching. Only the light of their fantastic mist helped them see themselves and the end of the platform ahead.
The rest was dark and frightening. Danaël tried not to flinch at every sound, his nervousness mounting as the group descended; fantastic monsters awaited them below, and the thought only fueled his nervousness.
It even got to his fantastic mist that turned off abruptly. Their percentage of survival was low, extremely low, but they wouldn't go down without a fight.
The platform came to a crashing end, and the second floor stretched out before them. The good thing was that, unlike the floor above, it was illuminated. Torches hung from the walls, displaying fantastic bluish flames. The second floor was a simple, tightly packed corridor with no end in sight.
"Okay, boys", began Evangeline in a whisper. "The aim is to reach the next platform, which is at the end of the corridor."
"And of course, there are some fantastic monsters in our way, aren't there?" Dod replied, full of his usual sarcasm. "Dan, are you ready?"
"Always brother, Evangeline, stay behind us for now. If we're going to have any chance of survival, you're going to have to be in better shape than this."
Princess Evangeline nodded. Danaël pinched the back of his neck, and his fantastic mist immediately appeared.
He was having trouble concentrating his fantastic energy in one particular place, as Evangeline had suggested.
Danaël looked at his friend Dod; his mist seemed much calmer and more tempered, perhaps the emotions were being transmitted and physically revealed on the fantasia. That's what Danaël thought at that moment.
"Dan, do you see what I see?" Dod asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"No, I can't see a thing, it's still quite dark in here."
Danaël wondered what his friend could see at this moment. Although the corridor on the second floor was lit by fantastic torches, it was so long that Danaël could only see half of it.
The rest was blurred; he could make out a few blue lights in the half-light, but nothing more. This was not the case with Dod Allentown, who was surprised to hear that Danaël couldn't see what he saw, because he could see it so clearly.
The boy didn't dwell on it, as what he had in front of him was far more important anyway. He counted about fifty of them, fifty of his green creatures, humanoid and small in stature.
They had long hooked noses and ears just as long. Their hanging tongues and sharp fangs gave them a bewildered look, hungry and full of rage.
Rage, indeed, was the feeling that came out most from these skinny, tiny beasts, and Dod felt an uncommon thrill.
"What do you see, Dod?" Asked the worried princess.
"It's...it's a horde of monsters; I've no idea what they are. Little green creatures on two legs. They're coming slowly in our direction, but I don't think they've spotted us."
"They're goblins", confirmed Evangeline.
"How many are there, roughly?" Asked Danaël.
"About fifty..., no wait", Dod squinted. "Maybe a lot more, I can't see the bottom of it."
Then he turned to Danaël and said:
"Stay close to the princess and cover me," Dod pointed the fantastic revolver. "I'll go ahead. If we attack them by surprise, we might stand a chance."
"No way! I can't let you go alone; it's suicide!"
"Listen, if we both go at the same time, we won't be able to cover them all, and the princess won't be able to defend herself. It's more important that she survives than I am."
"Stop being childish, you two!" Exclaimed Evangeline. "If you give me enough time, I can cast a fantastic long-range spell. Goblins are weak creatures; the problem is their numbers."
"How long do you need?" Asked Danaël.
"Try to hold out for five...no, three minutes, just long enough to enchant my fantasia."
1 HOUR EARLIER:
Evangeline had briefly explained the principles of fantasia enchantment.
"Depending on your fantastic affinity, you can master the elements: water, fire, earth, wind and lightning. And then there's light and darkness, but these are extremely rare. There are infinite variations of these elements, depending on the fantastic predispositions of each individual. That's why I can't really help you more than that: without knowing your fantastic affinities, it's difficult for me to point you in any direction."
"How do you determine an individual's fantastic affinities?" Asked Danaël.
"Often, the color of your fantastic mist is revealing, but in your case, it's hard to say. Danaël, your fantastic mist is mainly green in color, which leads me to believe that you potentially have an affinity with the wind, and you Dod I really have no idea, I'm far from knowledgeable on the subject, it's possible that it's a variant of one or more elements. The surest way to determine the extent of your fantastic affinities is to take the Albus Academy entrance exam. They have a fantastic processor that is able to determine every fantastic affinity for every individual."
"Is it possible to have several fantastic affinities?" Dod asked.
"Yes, it's possible, but then again, it's quite rare. For example, Lancelot de la Hoya, master of the Fafnir guild, the most powerful in the kingdom, has three fantastic affinities. No one in the kingdom does better, and I'd say a handful are capable of mastering more than one. To give you an example, my one and only fantastic affinity is that of elemental fire: mystical fire. That's why I wasn't able to tame Fierbois the Bramble Sword, as I don't have this fantastic affinity. Mystic fire is a variant of fire affinity, and within the same affinity, it's possible to master as many variants as imaginable. But it's something that can be achieved with years of experience - most people limit themselves to specializing in one fantastic variant. Do you follow me?"
Danaël nodded, enthralled by Princess Evangeline's lesson, while Dod's brain began to saturate. He simply gave a thumbs-up in response, and Evangeline continued with her lesson.
"Well, one very important thing to know is that some people are not able to materialize an element out of nothing. I am one of those people, I need the element I wish to manipulate in front of me or nearby to trigger fantastic affinity. Then the manipulation phase begins, and to do this, you'll need to enchant your fantasia. As I said earlier, fantasia is an imaginary power, so the enchantment phase is the most important part of the manipulation phase of your elemental power. Enchantment can be as simple as words, gestures, or even thoughts, giving your fantastic mist the properties of the desired element. The longer the enchantment, the more fantasia you store, resulting in a spell of great power and reach. While some prefer to learn enchantments already catalogued in a fantastic codex, I mainly prefer to enunciate and create my own enchantments. This allows me to feel closer to my fantasia and to imagine my element more clearly."
"What does an enchanted spell do?" Asked Danaël, his eyes beaming with excitement.
"You'll see in a few hours."
***
Evangeline pulled up the sleeve of her blouse, or what was left of it. She blew on the fantastic stone hanging from a bracelet on her left wrist.
The stone reddened and sparks flew. Danaël glanced at the princess and immediately understood her maneuver from the lesson on fantasia she had given them.
The fantastic crystal was to be her fuel. She began to chant words into her beard that Dod and Danaël could barely hear.
"I feel you, O sacred flame, blaze, grow, and shine with a thousand fires. May your flame pulverize everything in its path, may your flame invade souls, may your flame protect the weak, may your flame bring hope..."
Dod and Danaël, positioned a few meters from the princess, were preparing to receive the goblins
"Dan, that's it, they're running now!" Exclaimed Dod. "They must have spotted us with Evangeline's enchantment."
Dod's fantastic mist flickered slightly, then brightened again. Dod clutched his knife in his left hand as tightly as he could.
Several throbbing veins appeared along his arm, encircling his three eyes. In a limpid gesture, Dod split the air, sending out a fantastic shockwave that broke the sound barrier.
The shockwave struck the first group of goblins head-on, pulverizing them into fantastic dust. The nearest survivors, bloodied with a violet liquid, rushed at the young boy, most of them armed only with wooden bats too big for them.
The older goblins, on the other hand, held small pocket knives in their hands. The first goblin jumped on Dod and was greeted by a clear kick that sent him tumbling behind the boy.
In mid-air, Danaël delivered a fantastic punch that shattered the goblin's skull. Blood splashed onto Danaël's face, and he spat the liquid from his mouth in disgust before darting towards the next goblin.
Dod soon found himself surrounded by a dozen goblins. Two of them latched onto his right leg, biting him. Dod pivoted slightly to the side before smashing them against the wall.
He took a few steps backwards and avoided in extremis the attack of a goblin that tried to stab him in the back. The latter suffered the same fate as his companions and took a fantastic kick to the liver.
He took four other goblins with him, who impaled themselves on each other like pieces of garbage, crying out in pain and rage that sent a chill down the spine.
"Dod! Jump!" Yelled Danaël.
Danaël split the air in his turn, and the shockwave ripped the goblins close to Dod in half, before seriously injuring a dozen a little further on.
The two boys caught their breath and simultaneously looked in the direction of Evangeline, who was still working on her enchantment. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were clasped. The princess paused for a moment, half-opening her right eye, before saying:
"Hold on a little longer, and when I signal you, run for cover behind me."
The two boys nodded and turned back to the charging goblins. Dod and Danaël unleashed a series of fantastic shockwaves, taking turns to send out their attacks, and in turn, groups of twenty or so goblins perished violently, either shredded, dismembered, or pulverized if they received the wave head-on.
The sound of distress as they lost their lives was unbearable for young Danaël, who wiped away his attention and concentrated on containing his fantastic mist, which flickered at times, deactivating itself.
He had to use his impulse again and again to regain his mist and keep pace with Dod, who was not slowing down in the least. Yet his friend was exhausted, perhaps even more so than Danaël.
The latter looked behind him and...it was time, Evangeline was waving her hands briskly. Danaël indicated to Dod that the signal was given, and they both dashed towards Evangeline, who was still chanting.
The two boys took their places behind the princess, who had now risen to her feet, her legs still trembling. The goblins were still recovering from Dod and Danaël's attacks, but they didn't chase them down.
They just messed about with each other, creating a mess that benefited Evangeline's enchantment. The goblins finally managed to get going and were now running at full speed towards the three teenagers.
"O mystic flame, continue to grow, exhume your heat and revel in my fantasia!"
What had been faint sparks transformed into a gigantic ball of fire, hanging from Princess Evangeline's wrist.
"Affinity of fire, mystic flame! Flaming laser!"
So close, so close, the goblin's dirty, hooked fingernail came so close to the princess's face. A second away, Evangeline's face was being shredded.
Yes, at a second's notice...unfortunately for this poor goblin, he met an instant demise, being the first to be vaporized by Princess Evangeline's blazing laser.
The fantastic mass, mixed with the element of fire, destroyed everything in its path and shook the walls of the second floor. The torches hanging from the walls were not spared, and absolutely nothing in front of Princess Evangeline was spared. All that remained was dust, not a limb, not a bone, not even a drop of blood. Evangeline collapsed breathless but was caught by Danaël.
"Well done, princess, you've done it!" He said euphoric.
Dod hastened to help his friend get Princess Evangeline to her feet, before saying in his turn:
"I don't care what your family says, you're badass!"
The group of three staggered to the next platform, crossing the ash-strewn floor of the second floor.
Second Floor: FINISHED.