Waking up the next day proved far easier than Shell would have liked to admit. Despite going to sleep exhausted, the thunderess woke several hours earlier than Obelisk’s deadline. Following a long period of frustrated tossing and turning Shell wound up dressing herself in a simple black t shirt, shorts of the same colour before walking throughout the stadium in boredom.

It was during this time she walked into one of many rooms filled to capacity with wounded civilians and soldiers, all sporting bloodied bandages and wrappings over their numerous wounds.

“By the Lords…” she gasped while coming to a young man, likely no older than seventeen years whose face was completely wrapped up in bandages, save for his mouth.

“Is…someone there?” he croaked, his voice filled with obvious pain.

Shell took his hand while nodding, despite knowing he could not see her. Part of the thunderess was relieved, for he was also unable to see the look of pity she bore while examining him. Of the wounded people in this room, this boy was the worst off.

“Yes, there is. My name is Shell Synchron,” she said softly as the man struggled to smile.

“How…wonderful…” he groaned with a wince, “You’re the first…in days…to come here…”

The thunderess gasped, “You mean no doctor has come to check on you all in all this time!?”

“How could they…there are…hundreds…thousands hurt…only a few doctors…” he replied between breaths.

Shell grit her teeth while dropping her head.

“That’s so sad…” she said with a sigh.

“It’s…okay…they’re doing…their best…” the boy remarked, “Until…they come…we just gotta…hang on…”

The thunderess shook her head while standing up, “No. I’m not letting you or anyone here wait any longer.”

Before the boy could protest, she clapped her hands together while summoning up an aura of warm, white light from her body. Words from her lips followed, floating in the air like a singsong chant as she began to move her hands apart.

“Pure warmth, dress these wounds and touch their souls…” Shell said while calling up more magic, “Come to me, Great Heal!”

A bright flash of white filled the room, followed by a collective series of gasps as all of the patients felt a pleasant warmth embrace them, relieving them of their pain and misery. Shell heaved a deep breath as the light died out and she looked down at the boy, who was now sleeping peacefully.

“You’ll be fine now,” she whispered while wiping sweat off her forehead and walking out of the room, with the intent of stopping in another room full of patients…

---

Obelisk frowned as Shell approached him on the path leading away from Battle Stadium. He had hoped the night’s sleep would have rejuvenated her, yet the thunderess stood before him looking just as tired as a day prior.

“What did you do?” he asked with a sigh.

“What do you mean?” Shell answered with a cocked eyebrow.

“You know full well. Look at you, you’re obviously tired!” the green said while uncrossing his arms, “You’ve been casting magic, haven’t you?”

The thunderess kept silent as Obelisk sighed and reached towards a small back strapped to his belt.

“Lucky for you I took these from our provisions this morning,” he said while digging through it, “Though I didn’t expect to use these until after our session.”

“Session?” Shell asked as Obelisk extended his hand, holding something.

Her eyes widened at what she saw. Small, dried berries of a red colour!

“Miracle Berries!?” she choked while looking up at the green, who nodded.

Shell graciously took the berries and ate them, knowing full well to expect a sudden rush of dizziness as her strength returned.

“I see you’ve come across these before,” the lancer said as he watched her shake off the effects of the berries.

“Y-yeah. A long time ago, Robyn was seriously injured in an attack on Talam and a curse spell was placed on her. It prevented my healing magic from working on her,” Shell explained, “It was then that Crow suggested we explore Aisu Cavern, which according to local legend had Miracle Berries at the bottom.”

“Sounds convenient,” Obelisk said with a smirk.

“Don’t think that wasn’t considered,” Shell said with a smirk, “But given everything that was happening lately, it was worth a shot. How did Crow put it? ‘Call it cliché, but every fairy tale I’ve heard has become more than just a few pages in a book, they’ve become fact. My thoughts are, perhaps another fairy tale is going to come true soon.’”

“A pretty big gamble, but it clearly worked. Your boyfriend definitely had some go nads to come up with an idea like that, not to mention being able to catch a wildcat like you,” the slayer said with a laugh.

“Hey!” Shell shouted while red in the face, “Enough about that, I’m back in form now so tell me what it is you wanted to see me about!”

“Simple, I want to help you control the powers that lie dormant within you,” Obelisk said while crossing his arms.

“My…what?” Shell asked with a raised brow.

The lancer nodded, “I overheard your conversation with Midnight, that you were tired out following your fight with Onslaught. Given that your stamina is arguably the highest out of all of us, I imagine whatever your summoning magic does burns up A LOT of your ki.”

“Well…yeah, I am acting as a Medium for divine spirits,” the thunderess remarked with a sideways glance.

“Perhaps, but haven’t you wondered how your power works?” Obelisk asked, noting a more interested expression in the woman, “Surely if you understood everything about it, you‘d be capable of greater things?”

The thunderess rose a brow, “I do know. I call out to the Lords, and they respond to my plea. I become imbued with their power and the result is a transformation of sorts. I use their power to defeat my enemies.”

“Wrong,” the lancer said while walking past her and glancing back, “If that were the case, you would not have been as tired out as you were. The transformation as you called it consumed your ki, meaning your summoning powers likely work far more differently than you imagined.”

Shell began to speak as he put up a hand.

“Easy now, don’t get upset, I’m just stating a theory at this point,” Obelisk said with a sigh.

“What kind of theory?” the thunderess replied sourly.

He turned to face her, “I’ll get to that shortly. First I’ll ask you something. Do you understand how your Outrage works?”

“My…Outrage?” she asked, taken aback by the question.

“Yes. Through discussions with Robyn and Midnight, I’ve come to learn that you’ve performed a few already,” Obelisk replied, “And I heard you were also in constant fighting for a full six straight months at one point. You likely had many of them during that time. I even suspect that you‘ve become able to control it.”

She was silent while thinking back to then, the many fights she had against the Dorajin, consumed with her anger and vengeance. This was followed by memories of her last fight with Dranch, and the recent battle against Onslaught, where her anger had hit a peak.

“It is a partial release of a greater power within, triggered by extreme emotion,” Obelisk explained, “The initial ones happen spontaneously, however through training, one IS capable of mastering this power and achieving greater things. I should know, I’ve already done it.”

“YOU can Outrage!?” the thunderess gasped.

“Used to. I was young once you know,” the lancer said with a smirk, “But back to you. Can you do one at will?”

“…yes,” she answered, dropping her head with a sigh, “Although to be honest, I dislike thinking about it. It…it reminds me of what could have happened…”

“I know, all the more reason for me to help you,” Obelisk said while motioning for her to look back up at him, “Because you see, contrary to what you think, your summoning doesn’t involve the Lords giving you their power to fight with, rather they work off of your power.”

“And how do you know that!?” Shell asked with narrowed eyes, “You’re not even of my race, the Tarok Noghemians; the sagely clan of Terrajin born with greater magic than the others and the ones intertwined with the Lords!”

“I’m actually not even Terrajin,” the slayer said while crossing his arms, “And neither are you.”

“Wh-what!?” the thunderess shouted while coming right up to the green, “What did you mean by that!?”

“Exactly as I said. You and I are not of Terrajin blood, we are Mahoujin,” he explained as the two were face to face now, “They were the third race involved in the Dragon War and one of the founding people behind the Noghemian tribe to begin with. Along with this, they were and still are the most formidable magic users in the entire world.”

He smirked while looking at her intently, “And they are also the only people capable of going into an Outrage.”

Shell paled as he finished, backing away while taking the time to absorb his information.

“While the Lords helped the Terrajin realize their ability to use magic, the Mahoujin helped them learn how to summon the aid of the great Elemental beasts themselves,” Obelisk stated, “And following the war, the group of Terrajin and Mahoujin who fought together ended up keeping to themselves as a clan throughout the generations; your clan.”

“I’m…Mahoujin…” the thunderess stated with a look of awe.

“And so was your boyfriend,” the lancer said, “He could Outrage too right? You know what that means.”

Shell’s eyes widened.

“But I’ve gotten heavily sidetracked. As I was explaining, the Lords don’t give you power, they instead work off of yours,” Obelisk stated, “And your potential directly influences just how powerful your summons are. What you achieved during the fights with Illumina Knight and Onslaught were the results of the Lords awakening your Outrage power.”

He snapped up a fist and grinned, “Now imagine what would happen if you were to surpass that.”

“By the Lords, you don‘t mean!?” Shell gasped while thinking back to her fight with Illumina.

“Yes, you just have to discover the power within you and release even more of it,” Obelisk replied, “Which is what I intend to help you do.”

He cracked his knuckles while continuing to smirk, “If you can do this, I’ll teach you Thunder God Attack as well.”

“B-but you said I couldn’t do it, that I lacked enough magic potency to perform that move!” the thunderess said with a frown.

“A problem solved with this,” the slayer stated, “Now, are you ready?”

She nodded while adjusting her grappling gloves, “As I’ll ever be. Now what?”

“Prepare for battle!” Obelisk shouted while coming right up to her with a single bound and throwing a fist at the thunderess.

Shell yelped while throwing up an arm to block the hit before glaring at him.

“Wh-what the hell do you think you’re doing!?” she shouted as the slayer threw another attack at her, which was blocked.

The two began to fight, with Obelisk relentlessly attacking Shell with punches and kicks, his strikes being skilfully blocked by the thunderess.

“I figure the best way to go about this is to have you face me in combat and see how you fare,” he explained while breaking away and lunging at her once more, this time with a burst of speed that allowed him to strike the thunderess on the chin before she could react.

Shell grunted as she flipped backwards to avoid another strike and landed on her feet shortly after. She was immediately greeted by the slayer who went back on the offensive, attacking her with even faster punches and kicks that she had a hard time following with her eyes.

“Do what you must to last Shell!” Obelisk shouted as he threw his leg in and smashed it right on her side, sending the thunderess flying to his left.

She hissed in pain while crashing onto the ground, clutching her ribs as darkness fell over her. With a glance up, she saw the lancer above with his fist reeled back for another strike.

“Aegis!” the thunderess gasped as a shield of white appeared in front of her, repelling his punch with a ripple of light.

Shell also took the moment to lunge both of her feet up at Obelisk’s exposed belly, driving her boots into his stomach and sending him several feet above her.

“Tch…very well!” she muttered while whipping in her hand and pointing two fingers out.

Lightning erupted from her body, dancing around and forming a faint aura of violet as she raised her fingers to the lancer, “Strike through the enemy, Fl-”

“Flash Thunder!” a voice shouted, causing her eyes to widen.

A mighty series of thunderbolts came crashing down, striking her area four times and causing a series of explosions that smacked her around. Shell yelped as she was thrown off her feet and back to the ground while Obelisk landed a few feet away.

“Ugh…so you know Flash Thunder too?” she grunted while rolling over and onto her knees.

“You shouldn’t be surprised. I know all the basic tier thunder and wind spells,” the lancer replied as Shell was now on her feet, “And of course, I have my own personal techniques.”

‘Like Thunder God Attack,’ she thought while shaking her head, ‘If his Flash Thunder is this potent, then I can only assume it’ll be really ugly if he gets that attack off.’

Shell slapped her hand forward, causing an explosion of lightning to rage as she closed up her fingers into a fist.

“Same here,” she stated while leaping off her feet and racing towards Obelisk with her now storming hand, “Dendou Raijin Ken!”

With a mighty yell she threw her hand in at the lancer’s chest, but found herself swinging through air a faint image of him before ultimately fading out of sight.

“An afterimage!” she said before screaming as a thunderbolt slammed into her back, throwing Shell down to the ground with an explosion.

The thunderess gasped as she rolled along the dirt and glanced back, spotting the slayer standing with his hand stretched forward.

“H-how did you do that?“ Shell asked while forcing herself to get up.

“Did you forget? I’m the one who taught Mulls how to fight,” Obelisk stated, “Using the power of wind magic, I can move at the speed of a gale if need be. Thing is, I’m much quicker than he is.”

The thunderess spat some blood from her mouth before wincing from her earlier hit to the side.

‘And you hit harder than him too, ugh,’ she thought while watching her opponent carefully, ‘What the hell do I do here!? His speed and strength are beyond what I imagined, and I fear he’s not even trying!’

Obelisk placed his hands together and drew them back, summoning up an intense aura of lightning from his body.

“Shell! It’s time to brings this up a notch!” he shouted while focusing all of his might into the space between his palms, “Thunder…”

She let out a strangled cry as a shimmering blue light appeared in his hands, ‘Oh shit! I’ve got to do something, but what!?’

“God…”

Now it was a sphere of electricity that grew larger and larger.

‘Do I try and knock him out of it? No, I can’t get there in time nor could I hope to overpower him,’ she thought frantically, ‘I have no choice but to defend myself !’

Shell snapped her arm in and focused her magic into her hand.

Obelisk threw his hands forward with a yell, “ATTACK!”

He was forcibly pushed back while unleashing a raging beam composed of blue lightning, a blast that tore the ground asunder as it flew at the thunderess.

Shell let out a scream as she tossed her arm to the side while staring into the face of defeat.

A/N: This was a long time coming, Shell finally learning the truth of her heratige, and the origin of her tribe. Much like Midnight, her people benefitted from an alliance with one of the three races involved in the Dragon Wars. Their Terrajin learned many secrets of the Dorajin while Shell's Terrajin became great magi through the help of the Mahoujin before the massacre at the hands of the Myrmidon Knights that orphaned her in the first place.