The Angel of Vengeance ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Prepare to descend into the netherworld, little boy." There was nothing Saizaki could do. The Fire Cutter was out of its hand so he could not use its magic to defend himself. And if he tried to move, Diana would gun him down for sure. The glow around Diana's fingertip grew in size and brightness. Saizaki's eyes slipped shut because he knew this would be the killing blow... "Thunder Shot!" Diana's attention went to her right instantly. An arrow-shaped wave of crystal blue energy came straight for her. Diana swerved her hand to the bolt, and fired one of her own. The blast was ejected from her fingertip, in the form of a energy beam. The beam and the Thunder Shot struck each other instantly, blowing up on contact with each other. The impact was closer to Diana than anyone else, so she automatically brought her invisible magical defences to protect herself the dust and stray energy. During that explosion, Rainhande leapt over in the path between Saizaki and Diana, bringing his sword back up in readiness. "Lieutenant," Rainhande said commandingly. "...Still alive?" Saizaki groaned, then rolled over to grab the Fire Cutter. In an instant he was back on his feet, the soldier resumed a fighting stance and stared down Diana. "...Guess so, Captain." Diana ran a hand through her silvery-blonde hair. "Well, well, well. So two of the three who are wielding the remaining swords are here, eh? And I suppose I can assume that the third sword-wielder is somewhere out in this battlefield. The Order of Light must be desperate if they are willing to throw this kind of force at us for a simple siege of a town." Saizaki whispered to Rainhande whilst watching Diana. "Got any bright ideas, wonderboy?" The Captain just ignored the 'wonderboy' comment. "... She is a magic-user. Their powers have to be focused on one person for their spells to have the greatest effects. I assume that this is the reason she attempted to isolate you from the rest of the Special Mission Corps." Saizaki felt himself getting angrier. "And how the fuck is that relevant?" "To put it simply," Rainhande stepped forwards a tad. "Her concentration will be weaker if she fights the two of us at the same time. If we combine our forces we can-" "Diana?!" Rainhande did not get the chance to finish what he was trying to say. A fourth voice came from the right, and the two soldiers looked over at the trench that had been created by Diana's Pulsation attack. It was Aarin, with a vacant, haunted expression on his face. This seemed to be being brought on by seeing Diana. Diana looked over to the Commander of Order of Light. She hadn't seen him in years. And to see him now... Diana smiled innocently, though it looked tyrannical with all the bloodshed and misery that was surrounding them. "So it is you. Aarin Highland. Still alive, I see." Aarin's breath quivered. "It cannot be... you haven't aged at all..." "And you have grown old," Diana mocked him. "At last, Karma makes its mark. This situation has come full circle I only wish Setsuya were here so I could author my revenge upon him as well as you." "Setsuya committed no crime." Aarin claimed, shaking his head. "He killed the man I loved!" For the first time, Miss Angelinous lost her control. The ground began to shake underneath them as Diana unleashed her rage. Rage that she had been holding back ever since the death of Zephaniah. Aarin drew up his sword, but did not attack. "Zephaniah would have been stopped at some point, Diana! Such was the position he was setting himself in! Setsuya's intention was never to kill him! He just wanted to re-claim the girl that Zephaniah had kidnapped in his plan to lure out the sacred swords! You must believe this!" Anger was her belief. "I will hear none of your excuses, Highland!" Diana growled, and pulled up her hand, to strike. Energy began to gather at that hand, the summoning of magic. Seconds later a ball of white streaming fire was blasted from it. Aarin gathered his impetus and vaulted in the air, clear over the blast. It whizzed along till it killed a random soldier on the other side of the battlefield. But Diana didn't give a damn. It could have been an enemy soldier, could have been one of her own, it was irrelevant in her mind. All that mattered to her now was avenging her beloved. Aarin landed just in front of Saizaki and Rainhande, in a defensive stance. He whispered to the two of them, "Retreat." "What?!" Saizaki exclaimed. Aarin watched Diana, but responded. "Gather up the remaining soldiers and retreat. They will not follow us to until they are better prepared. And though we may have the upper hand now... Diana could change that all in a heartbeat. I shall handle her myself, while you two retreat with the able-bodied We cannot allow Diana to seize your swords. At any cost." Saizaki groaned again. "Oh come on, Commander! We can't punk out now!" It was then that Rainhande agreed. "No. He is right. We were not prepared for this 'Diana' woman. He have been outwitted If this battle is to fail, we have to do what we can to minimize the collective fallout. We should retreat now." Saizaki didn't agree at first. But the idea that this battle might be a losing one struck home. And Lilia was somewhere in the thicket of all that fighting He couldn't allow her to be killed in this place if they weren't even going to win. So Saizaki said nothing in protest and just nodded in cooperation with Rainhande. The Neo-German Captain nodded, and the two lads ran out into the battle ground to spread the word of retreat. Leaving Aarin behind with Diana. The two watched each other as they had done 66 years ago In the murky ruins of Neuschwanstein Castle. At that darkly sacrosanct event which was known to the many as the Ten-sekai sentou kyousou... "Diana... this is wrong..." Aarin had matured much since then. "I bore no resentment to you back then. In fact, when I saw you; I was bewitched. By your strength and beauty, your courage and fire. And most of all your caring nature. It makes me sad to see your heart suffer like this... I know that vengeance is not who you are." Diana lowered her eyes. "...This world violates people like us, Aarin People who are gifted. It turns us against each other. If not for the World Federation and their romance with the Safe Zones, this war would have never taken place. The thousands who have died would have lived to see other days." "So why fight in this war?" Aarin asked sharply. "I side with Al Gul Jehed because he does not stop me from being who I am. When magic was prohibited from use in the Safe Zones, people of my kind were feared and persecuted for their gifts. Treated like dogs! Just like I was in my youth! When they are under the control of the World Federation, the Safe Zones do nothing but constrict life. And the World Federation uses them to absorb all that is pure from the world. They hide behind truth and honour! These are nothing but guises! And they corrupted my love with their greed! They made me loose all faith in what is left of this ruined world!" Diana spread her arms out as she continued. "Look at this desecrated planet! A mere carcass of its former self! And we fight over it like rabid dogs brawling for a decaying bone! I have no kindness left in me because I am trapped in this disgusting reality! All I feel is pain, all I see is sadness. There is nothing left of this world to love. The only thing I cared about in this earth was Zephaniah And he was taken from me by you and Setsuya! The only man I ever loved! And the only way I can see to cure my heartbreak... is to revenge myself upon you and the descendant of Setsuya. It is all I have left... the last narcotic to keep me from the brink of madness..." It broke Aarin's heart see a once kind woman fall into disillusion like this. "I truly am sorry for you, Diana. This world has polluted your life countless times. But I am firmly committed to ending this war once and for all." Diana's beautiful, pain-filled eyes narrowed out at him. "Then do as you must, Aarin." That he would Though he truly held no hatred for her, Aarin would have to do all in his power to keep the swords from falling into the hands of the enemy. The old master gripped the Double Cleaver's hilt with both hands. In a firm hold. He held the sword in front of him, the edge running parallel with his face. Aarin then drew in breath, released it, and his body reacted. His aged, weakening muscles suddenly bulged from underneath the fabric of his uniform. Diana watched intently This was not magic. This was the natural flow of a strong warrior's Chi, being implanted inside his muscles. Aarin stamped his foot into the ground, growling with a deep rustle in his throat. His muscles continued to expand until they reached and inner limit. And it was obvious that Aarin had intended this. The old master began to swing his sword around. "This is it! Herald of the Yuuga school! Bane of that which is evil! Un-sealer of the universal Chi! Raaaaaagh! Plasma Sandanjuu!" As soon as the sword fell into a double-gripped position pointing at Diana, a stream of magnificent lavender energy burst out from the Double Cleaver. A huge stream of spiritual power, rivalling the strength of Diana's Pulsation spell. The Angelinous woman gasped at the sheer size of the attack, and brought up her defences Invisible shields defended her from the onslaught of the blast wave, energy spilling off it in streams. These rogues bolts blasted the ground, making it break open in clumps around Diana's feet. The woman gritted her teeth as she struggled to protect herself, while Aarin struggled to keep it up. Something had to give eventually. And it was Diana's magical wall. The ageless woman cried out as the Plasma Sandanjuu broke through her shields and struck her. The energy of Aarin's spirit was enormous. Such spiritual strength made up for the weaknesses of age. Diana was blown back from the unstoppable force, hurled by relentless Chi into the crowds of soldiers far behind her. She fell into them with a thud, their guards lowered due to the sudden shock of a deflected Diana. The energy then washed away. Aarin lowered his sword and gasped violently for breath. That was only about 40% of the Plasma Sandanjuu's ultimate power... but it was all he could handle at his age. Anything more than that and his heart would go into cardiac arrest. It had happened before. But fortunately this was enough to resist Diana. All he wanted to do was stun her so his troops could make an escape. Which was exactly what they were doing. They were running towards the west, in the opposite direction from the battlefield and Rosenheim. The noble old master sheathed his sword and followed them, dodging what few enemy soldiers were left in that part of the battlefield. The Battle of Rosenheim had been a failure But Aarin was not going to risk anymore of his men on a hopeless fight. He would simply wait for the repercussions. Ones that were bound to come.
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