Roman was being shoved to the ground as the search party turned against him. He didn't know how they'd become fraught with rage toward Virgil given that most of them were just there to help, but it didn't matter. The prince needed to stop them from hurting him.

He scrambled to his feet, being assisted by two familiar people. "Roman!! What happened with Virgil?!" Luis asked frantically as he steadied himself. There was a dizzying amount of noise ringing in his ears as he looked up to see the search party still pounding on the door. "Is he alright!?"

"Luis, he's fine, but he won't be if they get in, he won't be!" the prince snapped as he tried to push his way back into the front of the crowd. He was continuously thrown back, hitting the ground hard each time with a wince before rushing to his feet again.

Virgil stared at his hands, feeling a million feelings at once. He wanted to go back in time and stop himself from doing any of this. However, he couldn't, and if he didn't find some way to stop the spell, one of the most powerful and evil dark mages of all time was going to come back from banishment to the underworld.

It's even more terrifying when you remember that he wasn't killed, he realized, closing his eyes as he attempted to breathe. They managed to banish him, but they didn't kill or defeat him for real...

That's when he realized how hopeless it was. "I c-can't do this..." he suddenly whispered, shaking out his head as the thoughts swarmed. The banging on the castle doors wasn't helping, making him flinch with each strike against it. He felt like he couldn't breathe, or see clearly, stumbling backwards as he continued to mutter to himself. "I can't s-stop this guy, but I have to, or everyone I c-care about will die."

The dark prince shook his head again, smacking himself lightly across the cheek. "Come on, Virgil! You can't panic now! You have to get yourself together!" he snapped, thankful for the slight stinging that brought him back down from hysteria. "W-What does Roman, Luis, and Dad always tell you?"

You're stronger than you realize. Just breathe. You're not worthless. You're not a monster.

"That last one is wrong," Virgil said, realization dawning on him. He looked toward the sky outside and the way the purple lightly was crackling through the swirling black clouds. His dark brown eyes widened, his gaze falling to his hands. "I am a monster... but that's what I need to be..."

He was strong; anyone who'd come in contact with his magic before knew that. Even when holding back, or doing something unintentionally he was stronger than most. What if he let go of the reins, focusing on what he wanted and testing how far his magic could truly go? Could it be enough to stop the spell? How strong was he really? What exactly could he do?

Virgil took a deep breath, focusing on emotions he linked with destruction. Dark magic was always seen as evil or destructive, so perhaps channeling that biased opinion and feeding off of its negativity would make him stronger. The dark prince thought about how mad he was at the king that had pulled him into the ballroom in the midst of his panic attack that started all of this. He thought about how angry he was at the figure for manipulating him into summoning this mage. Most of all, Virgil concentrated on just how furious he was with himself for allowing his fear and anxiety to rule over his every choice and action his whole life.

His hands were completely black, shaking with not fear, but anger now. He growled as he glared at the clouds. "Alright whatever the hell your name is," he muttered, turning away in preparation to attempt some magic. "You have no idea what I'm capable of, because I have no idea what I'm capable, but I'm not letting you hurt the people I care about."

As if involuntarily, his hand found the necklace. His thumb rubbed against the smooth red stone, soothing him. The dark prince set his jaw, imagining what magic could do for other mages. Mages like to make familiars and animals out of their magic, he thought, rubbing his fingers together and causing purple sparks to shoot out. He looked back up at the clouds which rumbled with deep thunder. If I want to stop this thing, something tells me I need to get to the center of that storm. I'll need a ride.

He clenched his hands into fists and focused on what he wanted before throwing his hands forward. Virgil could feel the magic coursing through his veins, shooting out of his hands as black and purple smoke charged with electricity. The smoke was forming something, an animal. The dark prince's eyes widened as its form solidified. He'd made a dragon.

"I-I... I didn't even know if that would work," he admitted, looking at his hands briefly before his attention was pulled away by the dragon's roar. He stepped up to it, grabbing its face in his hands. "Okay, you're going to fly me up to that cloud thing so I can stop an evil sorcerer who sometimes looks like a dragon from coming back from the underworld, got it?"

The dragon's beady purple eyes met his, and the beast nodded. Virgil was shocked it understood him, but with the world on the line, he didn't stop to question it as it crouched down for him to climb on its back. Taking one more look around the castle, and hearing the doors of the castle break, he exhaled and lifted his chin.

"Let's go," he muttered, causing the dragon to leap into the air with a roar.

As the men charged into the castle, Roman desperately followed them, pleading that they not hurt him. Luis and Thorn were right at his side as they ran after them up to Virgil's room where the crystal was. The men had stopped, looking around in confusion. When the prince managed to push his way to the front, he realized why. Virgil was nowhere to be found.