The Great Knight
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Central Courtyard, Neuschwanstein Castle, Island of Creation
Overall, this was the last day of Ten Sekai Sentou Kyousou. All matches
had been decided. Setsuya Seisuji had faced Aarin Highland in the final
round of the tournament. Setsuya had come out of that fight as the
winner of both the match and of whole shebang. Now he was in line for a
nice little cash sum of 800,000 credits. After the bonus match was
settled. Of course, Setsuya didn't really care about the money. Even
though it would last him a year with no work. All he cared about now was
the freedom of Lin-Lin. He was sure that she was here somewhere. So
while Setsuya kept Zephaniah busy up on the courtyard, Aarin and Ingrid
would go free Lin-Lin themselves. They would then sneak out of the
castle and wait for Setsuya at South Beach. After defeating Zephaniah;
he would join them and the four of them would escape from the Island of
Creation. That was the plan. The only hope was that it would work.
Hopefully Aarin and Ingrid would run into no trouble whilst looking for
Lin-Lin. Because Setsuya had no idea just how long this fight would be
with Zephaniah. Or how long it would be until he showed himself.
Setsuya stood in the centre of the stone courtyard of Neuschwanstein
Castle. It was exactly the place that he expected this last match to be.
It was within the boundaries of the main compound so troops from the
Shougatsu could turn up whenever they wanted. This fight was probably
being monitored too. But it seemed like a decent place to deal with the
battle between himself and Zephaniah. The Courtyard of Neuschwanstein
Castle was not built with the same zeal as other parts of the Castle. It
was 110x108 metres in size. It was also kept deliberately antiquated to
give off that aging look. From the slit openings at the sides of those
towering stone walls to the simple fact that it was open-aired. Setsuya
could look up and see that bright morning sun blazing along the clear
blue sky. A bright day. Perfect for fighting. And though minutes soon
passed by; Zephaniah finally made an appearance on the other side of
that large courtyard.
The large wooden doors, bolted with iron, swung open with a loud ominous
creak to reveal the man. But he was not dressed in the same garbs as
when Setsuya had first seen him. Zephaniah had abandoned those business
suits for full-fledged armour. His legs were swathed with a smooth dark
purple armour, just as his chest and left arm were. His right arm was
different. It was made of a different piece of armour. One that had
wires attaching the large arm gauntlet to the Great Knight's actual arm.
It didn't stand out much but it was different from the rest of his
plates of armour. His head was enswathed with a helmet, too. The visor
was a rather thin slit that just about allowed sight around them.
Setsuya blinked. That suit of armour Zephaniah was wearing did not look
very comfortable; but surely gave him great defence against Setsuya's
attacks. It looked like something that a Knight would have worn into
battle during the Middle Ages. But with the kind of polish and care in
detail that would have come to a suit of armour built in this day and
age. But even more alarming than that was the weapon that Zephaniah was
carrying. A rather large sword. It was made with a thick black metal
which Setsuya could not identify. It had runic symbols along the blade.
And possessed a kind of aura that was threatening in nature. Which
contributed to that powerful but enormously dark aura that Zephaniah was
giving off. The sword was almost perfect for him. And from looking at
it; Setsuya got the distinct and accurate impression that the blade in
Zephaniah's hands was the Shadow Edge, the last and most destructive of
the Four Sacred Swords.
The Great Knight Zephaniah walked forwards, towards Setsuya, quite
slowly. Taking the time to evaluate this man called Setsuya Seisuji. He
stopped walking when he reached within twenty metres of the younger
fighter. The tip of the Shadow Edge touched upon the flagstones of the
courtyard.
"You are... Setsuya Seisuji...?" He questioned.
The boy nodded. "Yeah. That's me. And you must be ‘Mr. Zephaniah', the
leader of the Shougatsu Financial Group and the guy who arraigned this
little shindig you called Ten Sekai Sentou Kyousou."
"Correct," The English Swordmaster said, "I did engineer this
tournament. And you are its winner. Congratulations. You will be awarded
with the prize money (800,000) after this additional fight is
concluded."
"Sure." And although Setsuya's face was smiling, his thoughts did not
follow it, {Not that I give a damn about the prize money or the
tournament. The only thing I came here for was to free Lin-Lin. And
while I keep you occupied up here, Aarin will go rescue her for me.}
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Aarin's Room, Neuschwanstein Castle, Island of Creation
"Let me get this straight. You say that the Shougatsu Financial Group,
the blokes who hosted this tournament, are in reality a super-powerful
conglomerate with aspirations that could bring serious problems to the
world? ... I don't believe a word of it."
Aarin sighed, holding his forehead in his hand. Morning had come quickly
after the Final match yesterday. It was at this point that they had to
be swift. By now the additional fight between Setsuya and Zephaniah was
getting underway. He had to act fast and find Lin-Lin before this fight
ended. It was going to be difficult though. For one thing; Aarin did not
know what Lin-Lin looked like. He had been given a brief description of
her before Setsuya left for the courtyard, and he knew that she was
Chinese, but that was it. And one more glaring problem was Ingrid. The
girl had been in the dark about the Shougatsu until now. But if he were
going to be able to protect her then Aarin had to be honest about the
issue. Which meant spilling the beans on his sister. But she did not
seem to be swallowing those beans very well.
This was the last thing they needed. "...Ingrid. It might sound a little
crazy, but I assure you that this is no joke. The Shougatsu Financial
Group are dangerous and they have to be stopped. But first things first.
We have to help Setsuya find his friend and then leave the Island of
Creation."
"Well," It wasn't like she had much will to stay here, "Fine. But I
think you're really wrong about the Shougatsu. They have shown us
nothing respect since we came here. Which the way it should be. We do
belong to the Highland Family, after all."
Aarin shook his head again and gripped Ingrid by the wrist. "Save the
family pride for another day. Right now we really have to move."
But both their attentions were robbed in the instant that Aarin said
that. The door at the other side of the room burst open. It broke off
the hinges with a rough blow from the other side. And Aarin and Ingrid
could see why. Four hulking soldiers, dressed in the brown, green and
black of army combat camouflage; stood in front of the doorway. One of
them had his boot raised. He was the one who had kicked down the door,
obviously. The four burly men marched into Aarin's living quarters and
narrowed down on the Highland siblings.
"You!" One soldier shouted, "Aarin and Ingrid Highland! Owners of both
Wind Soul and the Lightning Tooth! Stand down and hand over both of the
swords now! Or we will be forced to take action!"
Ingrid scowled, gripping the hilt of the Lightning Tooth. "How dare you
talk to me like that!? Do you have any idea of who you are speaking to,
you foul mouthed ruffian?! Talk to me like that again and I'll castrate
you!"
One of the soldiers to the left cracked his knuckles. "That cute little
chick over there's got some pair of balls on her! I like a woman with
spunk. Heh, heh, heh."
Ingrid scowled at them and looked over at Aarin. "...Can I deal with
this?"
"Fine," Aarin heaved a sigh. He really wanted to avoid any needless
conflict until Lin-Lin and Setsuya were safely out of harm's way. But
Ingrid would never be able to tolerate men who disrespected her like
that anyway, "Just be quick about it, please."
Not that she wanted to waste great deals of energy on these crude
bastards, either. Ingrid gave another scowl at the quartet of un-armed
soldiers and withdrew Lightning Tooth. The one at the back stepped away
from the other three after seeing this. But the other three held their
ground. Apparently they were wearing some kind of armour under those
clothes that protected them from weapons like swords. But Ingrid highly
doubted that these idiots had compensated for the magical properties of
her blade. The youngest of the Highland Family pulled her sword out and
pointed it straight for the band of soldiers at the doorway. They all
froze in place as Ingrid gave a deeper grip of the Lightning Tooth. And
that grip gave way to a bright sapphire glow enfolding the blade.
"You should never piss off a Highland woman," Ingrid claimed, "Thunder
Breaker!"
The Lightning Tooth shot out a thin but sharply aimed beam of blue
energy at the guard at the front of the room. His body jerked and his
mouth screamed with the pain as he was brutally electrocuted by the
sword of the Highland girl. The beam that attacked him broke off at the
point of contact into three other small lightning beams. Each of those
beams went to one of the three other soldiers and gave them the same
shock treatment as their friend. To Ingrid, it served them right. Once
smoke began to rise from the four of them, she then lowered the
Lightning Tooth and relinquished the Thunder Breaker Magic Attack. The
four soldiers all collapsed and passed out, their clothes smoking from
the thunder magic.
And Ingrid smiled at the results. "Stupid men. Why are all the
Muscleheads so brainless?"
Aarin stepped over them. "Forget that right now. We have to get down to
the holding cells on the bottom floor and free the Chinese girl. Come
Ingrid, we must be quick about this."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Central Courtyard, Neuschwanstein Castle, Island of Creation
Setsuya kept his hand poised on the hilt of the Fire Cutter. He could
not attack recklessly. And truth be told he needed to drag this fight
out. The longer he spent fighting Zephaniah, the more time Aarin had in
freeing Lin-Lin. But even more than that; he was intrigued by the aura
of Zephaniah. His aura was invisible to the naked eye, but Setsuya's
mind eye could see it without fail. It was bright emerald. The spirit of
the Great Knight was quiet but surprising forceful. A kind of aura that
did not come to many people easily. Because of this Setsuya was taking
great caution in how he fought this guy. He might have been the leader
of the Shougatsu but that did not mean that he was harmless. Zephaniah
stood across from him with the Shadow Edge at hand. He was ready for
battle. But was taking a defensive posture. Something that Setsuya might
have predicted earlier, considering how heavy all that armour looked.
"I have to look for a weakness," The Japanese man said to himself, "That
sword does not look like the kind you can swing around very easily. Then
an aerial assault might be the best way to feel this guy out and see
what he's made of."
And so that was the plan. Setsuya withdrew Fire Cutter from the sheath
at his waist. With it now freed into view, he jumped upwards. Dust blew
away from his feet as he leapt skywards off the stone of the courtyard.
While moving mid-jump, he rotated his body forwards while grabbing the
Fire Cutter with his free hand. Zephaniah looked up from behind that
clunking helmet of his. A double handed from above? Nothing couldn't
handle after his training. Zephaniah focused his attentions on the arm
to his right. The wires that attached the armoured gauntlet to his arm
began to bulge. But not with the electricity. But the power of magic.
And it worked along with the brainwaves of the one using it. That was
Zephaniah in this case. With one mighty swing he lifted that heavy
Shadow Edge blade and brought it up evenly to block. Setsuya and the
Fire Cutter were deflected by it. He jumped back in confusion and landed
in a crouched position, Setsuya's boots skidding over the stones of the
courtyard floor. It was amazing. How was this Zephaniah character so
easily able to block an aerial attack like that? Especially with all
that armour?
He wasn't going to ask his opponent. It didn't seem that the C.E.O of
the Shougatsu was likely to divulge his secrets to Setsuya. At any rate
it meant that this fight would not be as predictable as Setsuya might
have originally believed. And the real money-maker here was the Shadow
Edge. One of the Four Sacred Swords and according to his Dad, Keijiro,
that one was the most dangerous. Setsuya pulled Fire Cutter back behind
him and began to charge Zephaniah again. A frontal assault might not be
the best course of action against this guy but Setsuya needed to drag
this fight along anyway. The Japanese fighter inched his way across the
gap between himself and the Englishman and tilted his body to one side
of himself. A full body slash came afterwards as the Fire Cutter swerved
around his side and at Zephaniah. The older man did not shrink from
this. He brought up his right arm, the one protected by that powered
arm-gauntlet; and deflected the slash with the back of his steel covered
hand. The Fire Cutter was batted away like nothing at all, leaving
Setsuya more than open for a counter-attack. Zephaniah hoisted Shadow
Edge into the air, this time with only one arm, and slashed downwards.
The tip of the mighty sword brutally cut through the fabric of Setsuya's
white undershirt and sliced open a shallow gash. Setsuya grunted hard
from it and stepped backwards, blood spurting from his chest into the
air. The young man gripped his chest and closed an eye. He had been cut
already? Even more than that...
Setsuya could not help but ask the question. "How the hell were... you
able to... block Fire Cutter with your hand like that...?!"
Zephaniah lowered the Shadow Edge and pulled up his right arm,
brandishing the large arm-gauntlet that had been wrapped around it.
"Just one of the many fascinating creations of my company. It is called
the Zunahme Macht Arm. Not only does it increase my physical strength
but it also allows me to better wield the Shadow Edge. Almost as if it
were weightless. So you see... I am more prepared for this fight than
you can imagine."
"Using magical enhancers?" Setsuya grinned at him, clutching the wound
at his chest which was staining his white shirt with a dark pink colour,
"Afraid to face me without them? Or too afraid to trust in your own
abilities?"
"Silence!" Zephaniah growled sharply and rushed forwards. Faster than
Setsuya would have thought he could move with all that armour over his
lithely muscled body. With great urgency; Setsuya blocked the descending
blow with a horizontal parry. But when their swords locked with each
other he realized what a mistake that had been. Setsuya shut one of his
eyes and gripped the handle of the Fire Cutter with both hands.
Zephaniah actually was stronger than an average man was with that
power-gauntlet. It took all of Setsuya's strength just to hold him at
bay. The younger man held his ground as best he could. But it was
obvious at this point that the Great Knight was stronger than he was.
His brown boots nudged back a bit out of no wish of Setsuya's. And the
veins of his body started throbbing from the force he was using to hold
back Zephaniah and his Shadow Edge. He could not keep that up forever.
He had to get out of that situation. The Yuuga Fighter instilled one
last push of force into the sword lock. Then his whole body phased back
from it towards the ground. He tumbled down and backwards until his head
was about to hit floor level. Setsuya then quickly pressed his hands
behind him and rolled backwards as best he could. The Shadow Edge came
down seconds later and smashed the ground where Setsuya had once stood.
The Japanese youth rolled away until he was far enough to avoid a follow
up attack. At a distance of about sixteen or so metres. And so he stood
back up and dragged Fire Cutter into a defensive two-handed position.
Regardless of the distance between the two of them.
This Zephaniah was no joke. Even without the Zunahme Macht Arm, Setsuya
knew that this man had a physical edge over him. The only battle
advantage Setsuya had was speed. The leader of the Shougatsu was swifter
than most in that armour; but still rather slow with comparison to
Setsuya. Which meant that he would have to use this difference in
motility to his advantage during the fight. For now, Setsuya could not
win a full-on sword clash battle. He had to focus on long range. The
young man was just about to attempt something along those lines when
Zephaniah spoke up.
"Pitiful," He said mockingly, "Are you really the winner of my
tournament? The great wielder of the Fire Cutter? You attack me like a
novice."
Setsuya's face twisted in anger. "I'm not gonna take any crap from you!
You know full well why I'm here! Your heavy-handed cronies attacked a
helpless village and kidnapped a girl that was no match for you! What
kind of human beings would do something like that?"
Zephaniah smiled (though Setsuya couldn't see it thanks to the helmet).
"So I was right in my first belief. You are not here for the tournament
at all. But to reclaim the girl my troops captured as a bargaining chip
for the Fire Cutter. You may rest assured in the knowledge that I have
no use for that tiny insignificant insect. I merely could not allow a
hick village of China to have possession of that blade you now hold.
Because it is far too essential to my overall plans."
Setsuya's eyes widened. "...And just what in the hell does that
mean...?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kuji Bay (Eastside), Kuji, Neo-Japan
The last time Ayame and Julia had come to Kuji Bay, the Omi-Aorta had
sustained some slight damage. It was to be expected after the strength
of Ras es-Shamrah. It was no ordinary being that was for sure. But this
time Ras made no appearance. Ayame had taken more rubbing acid to
Nobunaga the previous night just to make sure that if they were attacked
on their way to the bay, she would be ready for anything. But no attack
came. After leaving the Sugano Warehouse last night, the two of them
went to a restaurant to eat. Then immediately began work on getting to
Kuji Bay. They prepared themselves and left for their apartment building
(which was untouched by the Shougatsu) then gathered up all their stuff.
They had only been living in Kuji for three months so there wasn't much
to take. They also took some of Simon's valuables, to keep the Shougatsu
from tracking them and to lay rest with the body when the time came for
his funeral in Scotland.
Once they had gotten their things in order, Megumi was the next issue.
She had been put into storage when Julia and Simon had decided to wait
it out in Kuji, so, Ayame hadn't ridden her in a while. The two girls
went straight to the Westside of the town and picked up Ayame's
treasured bike (something she apparently could not live without) then
began making their way for Kuji. There was still the issue of Ayame's
apartment in Nagoya, but she had friends around that city, she could
always ask one of them to ship her items to Julia's Scottish home.
By the early afternoon, Ayame and Julia had made it back to the bay.
Their items were fully packed and ready to be loaded onto the ship,
which was carried out by the handlers that were dotted around the port.
As all the others (whom had had their trip delayed thanks to Ras)
gathered up around the bay facing the Omi-Aorta. The small iron paths
that were spread out from the doors into the ship finally touched the
floor of the port and allowed the travellers to finally enter. In the
middle of those crowds were Ayame and Julia, far closer now, Julia's
left hand interlocked with Ayame's right. When the former Dark Katana
felt Julia's grip tighten, she cast a look at the British Beauty. She
had a nervous look on her face. Ayame couldn't quite understand this,
after all she was finally going home. But then she remembered the more
important fact. Simon had been killed here. It was natural that she
would feel a bit ill at ease from staying here.
"Hey," Ayame said soothingly, "Everything's gonna be okay, alright? Ras
is gone and all we have to look to now is the future."
Julia nodded silently. Ayame was right, things would be better from now
on. And so they followed the crowds as they entered the ship white iron
ship via the pathways. While all the luggage of all the passengers was
loaded along with them, Ayame and Julia made their way to their
particular cabin in the ship. They had rearranged their tickets after
the death of Simon so they could share a cabin in this case. Originally
done for Julia's protection; now they saw it more as an opportunity to
be closer in a comfortable light. And a good fifteen minutes later the
ship was setting sail. Ayame and Julia walked over to the glass
portholes of their room and watched as all the remaining people by the
bay waved them off. Ayame soaked up what this finally meant. She was
leaving Neo-Japan. It was her home, the place of her making. But she
could find a better life with Julia. She was sure of it.
Julia turned to Ayame as she looked out of her respective window. "Are
you going to miss this place?"
"...I suppose so," She replied, "Neo-Japan has always been special to
me. It was one of the first nations to feel the weight of the Safe Zone
Project, so it's probably one of the better places in the world to live
right now. But I can't stay here. Because... there's one thing that this
place doesn't have."
"What's that?" Julia asked.
And Ayame beamed a little smile at her. "You. It doesn't have you. I
thought I could handle the idea of losing you, but as it turns out, I
can't."
It made Julia's knees weak to hear Ayame talking like that. She was such
a strong-willed person but unusually able to express her feelings. Very
well in fact. Most people that Julia had known to be strong of mind were
naturally weak at heart. Or at least in presenting the feelings that the
heart held. But Ayame wasn't like that. When in the right position, she
had no qualms about speaking her heart's truths. It was an endearing
quality for Julia in every possible way. The Scottish girl stepped over
to her lover and lowered her head onto the slightly taller girl's
shoulder, wrapping both of her arms around one of Ayame's own.
"You don't ever have to worry about losing me," Julia spoke softly, "I'm
always going to be with you now. Forever."
But that simple moment of affection was cut short... by the now familiar
sound of a scream. "AAAAAGGGGGHHHH!"
Both Ayame and Julia froze in place as they heard screams from up above.
The main deck most likely. Something was going on up there. And the
feminine scream they heard in that instant was soon joined by five
others. Ayame pressed her hand downwards and gripped at the hilt of
Nobunaga. She had no idea what was going on but she had to check it out
for Julia's sake. The Neo-Japanese woman nodded to Julia to let her know
that everything would be okay. But for now she had to check out what was
going on. Ayame then ran straight to the door and out into the white
steel corridor. She swung through the pathway and dashed up the stairs,
and a swarm of tourists/travellers ran past her to get inside the ship.
Before she moved on she took a look at all of them. Around twenty people
and they were all terrified. But of what? Ayame couldn't wait any longer
to find out. She ran up the steps and climbed the stairs until she
reached the surface level. Ayame kicked open the metal door that secured
it and strode out onto the deck. People were running like wild fire down
her side of the ship and ran right past her to get inside. Ayame barged
past them and fought her way into the direction they were coming from.
Towards the far end of the Omi-Aorta was a being of bulky stature. And
though the armour it was wearing was charred from silvery into a smoky
grey, Ayame knew exactly what it was.
But she just couldn't believe it. "...R-Ras es-Shamrah! How the hell did
it survive that explosion in Kuji!?"
The bio-metallic creature in all its glory. The beast stood astride
three dead corpses, all of them workers on the ship, none were
civilians. It seemed to have a habit of wanting normal people to escape
its wrath unless such an action conflicted with its mission. Baga'enka
was glowing as bright as ever, the Plasma blade coursing with waves of
electrical energy. The thing looked over to Ayame and tossed its spiky
mass of sandy-coloured hair, turning black in patches from the purifying
fire it had been subjected to just a day or two earlier.
"You've played this out for long enough," The Bio-Tech creature spoke,
its deep voice now sounding completely human and eloquent, "But the
Research Facility cannot be kept waiting any longer. I will take the
Test Sample into my custody now."
Ayame gripped the hilt of Nobunaga again. "I'll have to be cold and dead
before I let you get anywhere near Julia. I don't know how you keep
surviving our encounters, monster, but it won't be happening again. This
time I'm gonna see to it that you never live to see another sunrise!"
Ras shook its head. "Foolish. But for me to complete my objectives,
you're going to have to die. It is under the authority of Commander
Zephaniah that I take your life on this day. Prepare to meet with
eternity."
Ayame swiftly withdrew Nobunaga from its sheath. Just when things were
finally getting better this beast had to rise up from the flames of
hell. She should have guessed from the start that Ras would not have
been destroyed back in Kuji. However, that didn't change the fact that
she had to stop this thing. The only question was how. How was she going
to kill Ras? From this thing's resilience, it would probably keep
hunting them down even when she reached Scotland with Julia. The ship
was too far from port right now to get off, unless they stole some sort
of emergency dingy from the other side of the deck. But what life would
that lead to? One where she and Julia had to spend their new start
constantly looking over their shoulders? Waiting for an attack that may
or may not come? No. The former Dark Katana knew that she had to put an
end to this situation now. Otherwise Julia would never have her well
deserved peace.
The silvery eyes of the Neo-Japanese girl thinned out. And she released
a powerful ringing battle cry the second that she charged forwards. Ras
evened out Baga'enka behind him when he saw this and prepared for battle
with her. Ayame ran with Nobunaga in a two-handed grip and then leapt
from the floorboards of the deck. She glided through the air at the same
target, Ras, and extended her right leg outwards in a flying kick.
"Ayame Diving Raven Attack!"
Ras' head was knocked to one side of his shoulders and Ayame's sandaled
foot struck him in the face. The instant she did that, the girl back
flipped from his face with her body in full extension. Both of Ayame's
feet smacked the chin of Ras, jerking his thin metal-flesh head
backwards. And as her body rotated backward, the sword span with her,
slicing along the length of Ras' torso and face. Ayame flipped backwards
and skidded over the ground in a crouched position as she landed. But
looked up to see Ras. He was hit but not hurt. Even after sharpening the
Nobunaga she still couldn't cut the hide of Ras es-Shamrah. But the
creature itself didn't waste any time with a jibe about Ayame's failure
to damage him. The plasmatic blade of Baga'enka glowed once again as Ras
hurled himself straight for Ayame. The woman quickly stood up and
quickly held her sword out horizontally, blocking Ras' overhead slash.
But the strength behind the attack was amazing. Ayame's whole body
jerked with the contact and her feet struggled to remain firm as Ras
pressed all of its strength into the weapon lock. And from this, Ayame
realized that Ras had been growing stronger. It was both stronger and
faster than it was when they first met. And that trend had been going on
throughout all their encounters. It seemed like... the more Ras fought,
the more it gained an affinity for fighting. It was evolving. Growing
stronger with each strike it threw and received. A bead of sweat
trickled down Ayame's face as she held off the techno-organic nightmare.
But when Ras gave one final push of strength, Ayame was knocked back
like a rag doll. The woman rolled over the floorboards of the deck until
she came to a violent stop against the railings on the furthest side of
the ship. Nobunaga was knocked from her hand. And a slip of blood came
down from the corner of her mouth.
"...Ugh..." Ayame groaned, "...It's... too strong for me... now..."
Ras slowly walked up to the downed fighter. He was aware of this. His
mechanical-muscular brain could calculate that its fighting powers were
at a far higher level than Ayame's was. The more they fought, the
stronger he would get. It stood above the girl, casting its shadow over
her. Then its powerful hand reached downwards and grabbed Ayame straight
by the neck. He lifted her up with no effort whatsoever, and looked deep
into those silver eyes of hers.
It spoke to her swiftly. "You've survived for long enough, child. This
is the end of your road. As it comes to all. The Test Sample will be
returned to the Research Facility... and I shall return to my ice with
the knowledge that I have played my small part in Master Zephaniah's
plans."
Though Ayame was struggling to breathe, she had to question Ras about
that. "Zephaniah?"
"The leader of the Shougatsu Financial Group," Ras replied, "His plans
will change the world as you know it. I was created merely as a prelude
to his bio-engineered race. When his plan is realized, the weaknesses
of human beings like yourself shall be enshrouded by the shadows of
organisms that are far more powerful than me. Do you see it now? The era
of mankind has finally run its course. And now? It's time for you to
die."
"Shadow Crescent Moon!"
Both Ayame and Ras stopped as they were when they heard the bellowing
scream of an attack called out by a third voice. A female voice. A
speedy crescent-shaped blast of amethyst power was shot out from nowhere
and struck Ras in the arm. The arm that held Ayame. For the first time
the creature growled with sheer agony, dropping Ayame instantly. The
Dark Katana fell to the ground, choking, but more shocked to see someone
throwing a magical attack like that. Ras skidded back and gripped his
arm in pain, while it still throbbed with streaks of purple lightning
that were running up and down it. The bio-tech monster looked over at
the direction from which the blast came. It was appeared to be shocked
to see the person who stood there.
Julia.
But not as she normally was. Her hands were glowing with smouldering
purple energy. And her normally green eyes glowed with that very same
shade. Her soft chestnut brown hair was hovering upwards, while her
dress swayed from one side to the other, despite the lack of a breeze.
Even Ayame was shocked to see this. "...Julia..?"
"Impossible!" Ras bellowed, "You were injected with a special chemical
that prevents use of your magical powers! You cannot be doing this!"
But if it broke the rational laws then Julia didn't seem to care. A huge
gust of wind circled her as the flames of darkness surrounded her hands.
Her affinity was with the magic of darkness. And now she finally had
control over it again. "You're making me angry..."
Julia's flaming eyes began to darken. "...You won't like me when I'm
angry..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Neuschwanstein Castle, Island of Creation
Aarin and Ingrid bolted down the steps of that long, spiralling
staircase. It was build into the edge of the Castle. And every time
Aarin passed a open-air window he could see the brightness of the sun
beaming down upon the grass fields of ‘Eden'. If he botched this up then
he would never get to see things like that again. He and his sister
continued to run down the steps to the lower levels. While running he
went into his pocket and withdrew a map of Neuschwanstein Castle. It had
been given to him by Setsuya. And it had been given to Setsuya by
someone else in the tournament, a magic user of some kind. Aarin opened
it up while he ran down the stairs with Ingrid. It showed him where he
needed to go. Down to the holding cells. He knew the way there with this
map, but one remaining question was which holding cell would Lin-Lin be
in? From the notes scripted on the map, there were about fifty or so
holding cells and each of them could contain at least one person. It
would take more time than they had to find her. And Aarin didn't feel
right leaving Setsuya alone to fight Zephaniah. Setsuya could handle
himself up if he killed Zephaniah too early then the Shougatsu would be
all over him. Then that would be it for him. Game over. So Aarin had to
be quick in how he handled this.
While running down the staircase alongside her brother, Ingrid couldn't
help but wonder, "What is going on here, Aarin? Why do they want our
swords?"
"I don't exactly know!" The older of the Highland Siblings stuffed the
map back into his pocket and kept on running, "We haven't actually
figured that out yet! But if these swine are essentially willing to kill
and kidnap people for them then we can only imagine that its not
something good!"
"Shouldn't we let the Neo World Federation handle it?" Ingrid asked,
"This is the exact kind of thing they have to deal with isn't it?"
Aarin spoke in stride. "They do not have a sufficient amount of
evidence, apparently. We have to spear-head the fight against them
ourselves until we get off this island. Then we will let the NWF take
care of it. But first things first, we have to find out which cell these
people are holding the girl in!"
As they ran down the final length of that staircase they came to a new
level below. One that had been barred from entry by tournament
participants. Now the tournament was over and Aarin really didn't give a
damn for the rules anymore. Especially not for these guys. The other
staircase led down to the holding cells. The open doorway ahead of both
sets of stairs led to a new section of the Castle. Before going to the
cells they had to find out which one Lin-Lin was being held in. Aarin
grit his teeth and looked over at Ingrid.
"Stay here," He ordered commandingly, "I'm going to find someone who can
tell me where the girl is. If anyone comes by, take care of them, but do
not go overboard. We have the cover of secrecy now and I do not want to
lose it."
Ingrid just nodded. "You can trust me, Aarin."
The young man nodded back and then ran through the open doorway in a
long corridor. Filled with fire torches and suits of archaic armour.
Firm iron doors were built into the sides of each stone brick wall, and
the design followed the way downwards to the other end. Any door would
do as long as someone was in it. Aarin went to the first door ahead of
him and yanked it open via the iron handle. He strained to open it but
the heavy door slowly came around. He walked inside and saw a young man
standing in front of a table. He was pouring a liquid from one glass
tube into another and mixing it with another substance. This was a room
for research. The young scientist turned around as he saw Aarin.
And he was shocked. "You! You are one of the tournament fighters! Get
out! You are not permitted to be here! Go back or I will call the
security team!"
Now Aarin was really getting sick and tired of playing nice with these
bastards. The blonde swordsman gripped the Wind Soul and un-sheathed it
quickly. He rushed over to the scientist who dropped his glass vial in
fear. Aarin lunged at him and forced his back down onto the table. Then
thrust Wind Soul right at the young man's neck. But rather than cut him,
Aarin stopped and gave the scientist a devilish glare. "I am thoroughly
tired of playing around with you scum! So here it is! You tell me where
the girl is or you'll be breathing through a bloody second hole in the
middle of your neck!"
The scientist froze. "...W-What g-girl...?"
"The girl you and your cohorts kidnapped in Neo-China!" Aarin pushed the
Wind Soul even closer to this man's neck, "What holding cell is she in?!
Tell me now!"
His fear did the talking for him. "...S-She's in h-holding cell 08!
There I told you! Please don't kill me! I have nothing to do with that
girl's kidnapping."
"Good." Just what Aarin wanted to hear. But he couldn't let this go
completely. Aarin's free hand curled into a fist and punched the man
straight in the stomach. The scientist gasped with the pain of being
winded and then toppled over, passing out. Aarin didn't want to hurt the
guy but couldn't take the risk of him alerting the security team about
his presence. So Aarin quickly sheathed the Wind Soul and then ran back
out into the corridor. He re-closed the door and jogged back to Ingrid
at the far staircase.
Ingrid brightened as Aarin ran past her. "Did you find it out?"
"Yeah, I did!" He then began running down the second set of steps which
led to the holding cells, "But the guy I knocked will wake up in about a
half hour's time! We've got to move!"
The younger sister nodded and followed her brother. If nothing else,
this tournament had turned out to be a lot more surprising than anything
else that she could have imagined.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Central Courtyard, Neuschwanstein Castle, Island of Creation
"Hey you! Answer me! What did you mean by that!?"
Zephaniah kept smiling to himself at how flustered Setsuya was becoming.
But he was not like those Setsuya had fought in the tournament. And he
was going to show that to this Japanese upstart. But not before
explaining himself. The Great Knight of England heaved Shadow Edge up
onto his shoulder so it rested behind his head. While his gauntlet arm
hung loosely to one side of his body.
The older man sneered. "Did you really believe that you people would
make it off this island alive? Seeing all that you have seen? This
tournament was nothing more than a plan. A plan of mine to assemble all
four of the Sacred Swords into one place. I have prepared and planned
for this event for sometime now. Over the past year I have researched
the findings of your father when he went into the bowels of the Genesis
Comet and excavated the swords. I learned that they possess great levels
of magic. No other items on Earth have the same concentration of magic
boiling within them. Imagine what the Lightning Tooth could do for the
current energy problem? Imagine what the Shadow Edge could for new Safe
Zones that need to be built? Such weapons had to be in my control. But I
had a far deeper use for them."
Setsuya's eyed thinned out even more. "...What was it?"
"Purification."
Now that was something Setsuya didn't understand. Just what did
Zephaniah mean by purification? The purification of what? Still, Setsuya
would not let it rest. "What in the hell are you talking about?"
"You heard me," Zephaniah barked, "Those swords are great. But when all
four are used together they can harness a magic the likes of which have
never been seen. That was the subject of the very last study your father
had conducted over the four swords before his... tragic assassination. I
do not know who killed your Father. But I greatly suspected that they
eliminated him to prevent him from revealing this secret of the swords
to the public. And so those four swords were scattered. Until they found
their way into the hands of us. My company worked to its fullest to find
out all those who possessed the swords. And so I came up with Ten Sekai
Sentou Kyousou as a way of gathering all four swords to one place. The
Island of Creation. Here I am free of the restraints of the Safe Zones.
And I can do as I please. My intention now is to free the great power of
that hidden magic. Soon my scientists will discover how to unlock it.
And when they do I will use that ultimate magic to destroy everything
on this worthless planet. All of the evils born during the landing of
the Genesis Comet will be negated. And with the Four Sacred Swords I
shall shape a new world. And at the very helm of that beautiful new
world will be me and my biologically enhanced race called the Deities.
It will be a utopia. A brave new civilization. Free from the pain and
anger of this disgusting current world we live."
Setsuya was absolutely stunned. "Y-You're... insane. Do you actually
mean to kill millions of people to start a new world? From the ruins of
this one? And you call it a world free from anger? That's like washing
blood away with blood! You'll prove nothing! The only thing you'd show
is how much of a maniac you are!"
Zephaniah lowered his sword back down. "Do not be worried, Setsuya
Seisuji. Because you will not live to see my future utopia. You are
going to die right here. Along with all the others who entered the
tournament. None of you will ever live to see another sunrise!"
Well at least now he knew what this man planned to do. Setsuya doubled
the strength of his grip around the Fire Cutter's handle. Though he
cared about Lin-Lin a lot; Setsuya's focus had to be on killing this
guy. If Zephaniah lived then he would probably bring about more agony
than even the Genesis Comet was capable of.
"Even if I'm killed today," Flames started burning around the length of
the Fire Cutter's smooth metal blade, "There is no way in hell that I'm
gonna let you get your hands on this sword! I won't let you get away
with what you've done so far and I won't let you carry out your twisted
plans! ‘Cause you're gonna die here and now!"
Zephaniah grinned again. "You know that you cannot defeat me."
Well Setsuya would see about that. The Japanese man stepped backwards
and focused his power on the Fire Cutter. Time to conjure up some more
of that magic. But this time his intent was to kill. Setsuya's face
contorted with his mental determination and the flames over Fire Cutter
grew in size. Those runic symbols appeared again. It was time to finish
this guy. Setsuya slashed forwards with both hands gripping the sword
and he screamed,
"Burn Shell!"
A twisting cannonball-shaped surge of fire exploded from Setsuya's quick
motion, streamlining over to Zephaniah. The Burn Shell speedily made its
way over to him while burning itself a smoky track across the courtyard.
But Zephaniah did not move an single inch. He simply pulled the Shadow
Edge up into the air. The black-colour blade of the sword soon began
glowing in the same way that the Fire Cutter had been doing. But this
was not magic. This was a move used by Zephaniah exclusively. In the
second that Fire Shell came close enough to hit him, Zephaniah brought
down the sword in one powerful swing.
"Arcus Nova!"
A shining emerald wave of followed the path of the sword as it slashed
diagonally downward. That wave separated from the sword and shot
forwards with a thunderous cry that ripped open the flagstones in its
way. It sliced through the flames of the Burn Shell and cut it up like
paper. The remaining cinders faded away while the Arcus Nova Attack went
ahead. In Setsuya's direction. The young man could not have dodged of
blocked something of that speed. The Arcus Nova wave rammed right into
Setsuya; striking him dead on in the chest. The youth coughed up a batch
of blood and bile as he was thrown back by the attack. He hurtled
backwards until he slammed into the farthest wall of the Central
Courtyard. A wave of dust blew away from that point. And Setsuya slumped
into a tired sitting position. His face now covered with bruises and
dirt. While a trail of blood came down from his right nostril.
Zephaniah grinned again. "That was just my power, insect. Just imagine
what I could do to you with the power of the Shadow Edge. A horror you
will learn soon..."
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