The wind breeze slowly, making a little vortex of sand on the sand covered floor. The burning sun shine on the two man that stood still there.
A Duel Pact.
That is what are they're trying to do. A ritual that is carried out by Sorcerers, to fight for the power of the Spirit.
The wind blowing in the valley made a wailing voice, and the cluttering sound of both their clothes that was swept by the wind. Finally one of them start to speak.
"This is unavoidable, huh?" the man wearing sand dweller clothes holding a huge bastard blade resting on his shoulder speak to a man in front of him.
"Yes, it is..." the man wearing a black coat answer.
"Then I'll gladly kill you! Kyo!" the man wearing sand dweller outfit raise his bastard blade to Kyo.
Without answering, Kyo strech his right hand aside.
Noble Spirit, the Governor of Mana, lend me your power, and materialize my power! Towa Hitsurugi!
With an azure colored aura, Kyo's right hand is engulfed with a crystal-clear ice. Then when Kyo flick his hand downward, all the ice covering his hand breaks apart, vanishes into the air. Revealing the eastern-styled azure-colored blade that Kyo hold in his right hand.
(That's right. You'll be the one who kill me, Rinne. For I am your partner.)
Once again the wind blows, this time it's strong enough that it made the whole area covered in cloud of sands.
*clank*
The sound of two blade clashing can be heard from inside the cloud of sands. The wind blew once again, revealing the two man that are clashing their weapon, trying to kill each other.
Rinne's Bastard Sword is already over Kyo's head, while Kyo holding his slender sword to block the attack. Rinne use his weapon enormous weight as an advantage, trying to overcome Kyo's guard.
Realizing this, Kyo focused his strength at his palm then push the Bastard Blade upward forcefully. With his blade pushed back, Rinne didn't hesitate to swung it down as strong as he could.
*blar!*
*teps*
Rinne's Bastard Blade sunk into the ground where it hit, and the soil around it crushed. Kyo stand up, then looking at Rinne who is pulling his sword from the ground with ease. Kyo had just barely escaped that attack, he quickly leap backward as soon as Rinne lost control on the blade, and Rinne swung it down .
"Your reaction is getting better, Kyo." compliment Rinne.
Kyo didn't answer, he just stare at Rinne.
*teps*
Without any hesitation Kyo stepped forward, readying his blade to stab Rinne abdomen.
"Not so fast!"
A satisfied smile showed from Rinne's face. In a brief moment Rinne lower his sword and using the wide part of his huge sword as a shield.
*clank!*
Kyo's attack struck at the Bastard Blade, but he didn't step back, instead after getting his attack bounced Kyo propels down.
"Not enough!" Kyo shouted, while dragging his blade upward.
Before Kyo's attack hit him, Rinne chant a spell.
Spirit of Flame, Aid Me! Flame Fist!
*BOOM!*
The flame from the explosion covered the whole area, then dissappear as fast as it's appeared.
"Looks like I missed." Rinne sweep all the fire residue with a swing of his blade.
"No, you did hit me, but not at the right time." Kyo stand up, then cast aside the boulder of ice that he used as a cover. That boulder of ice then dissappear into thin air leaving behind particle of golden lights. "Flame Spirit, huh? I never thought you will made a pact with a spirit. These 3 years we didn't meet each other, you really changed a lot." Kyo chuckled.
*guuooo!*
Rinne charge at Kyo, then Kyo followed suit and also run at Rinne's direction.
*swush*
In that brief moment they passed each other. Then silence fell.
"Kyo, you really are strong, ugh..."
Rinne fell on his knees while holding his wounded body. He is not yet dead.
"I'm sorry Rinne... You can't die here just yet..."
Kyo took off his coat and put it on Rinne's body. Then Kyo just leave him there.
*bang* *bang*
The sound of gunshots can be heard in that little cramped room. Kyo roll over, looking at a girl with slender body and a figure like that of a child. She is watching a show about western cowboys in the TV.
(She totally didn't care about courtesy as long as its please her.) Kyo thought to himself.
*yawn* Kyo sleepily scratch his head while sitting on the bed.
Sensing that his master is already awake, Lily turn off the TV and look back while still sitting on the couch.
"You already awake, huh?"
"Of course I will, who wouldn't be with you turn up the volume that hard?"
Lily smiled, but that didn't make Kyo happy at all.
"The Old Man came earlier, he said he have a job for us..." Lily changed the subject.
"Really? Then what is it?"
Kyo stand up from his bed, grabbing the black coat and gloves that is hanging on the wall and wear them. Meanwhile, Lily is searching for the job request paper that seems to be lost.
"Lily, what did I tell you about the job request?"
"Sorry, sorry, I was just too lazy to pin it up on the wall." Lily cheek is puffed as she apologize. "Ah, I found it!" Lily raise her hand that are holding the request paper.
"Give me that."
Kyo snatch the paper in Lily's hand, then read it.
(A retrievement request this time...)
"Kyo?"
Lily look up to Kyo's face. But Kyo didn't answer, he just open the door to outside and then stopped there to say something.
"I don't need you to come with me this time, there will be no danger anyway."
"Eh? Really? Well... whatever, te-he!"
Lily didn't even question Kyo's idea of going alone, she just happily sit back on her couch and turn on the TV again,
"What a TV maniac..." Kyo sighed.
Meanwhile, at the Academy which is close to Kyo's house.
A girl and a boy facing each other, there is a stern expression in both of their face.
"JAN! KEN! PON!" two of them are shouting, while streching their hands forward.
The girl extending her middle and index finger to make a scissor, while the boy is carelessly open his hand, presenting a paper.
"Yatta! This time I am the winner!" Shiromaki Rie jump out of happiness after finally beat her childhood friend in rock paper scissor.
"Ugh... I lose..." Kugiyama Kou hung his head in regret. After all he is the one who said that he will do anything if Rie win even once against him.
Rie point her finger at Kou's face, barely touching his nose.
"Go home with me today! That's my request!"
Surprised by Rie's request, Kou's foot slipped.
"Kou? Are you okay?"
Rie reach out her hand to Kou to help him stand up, but Kou didn't take Rie's hand and stand up by himself.
Kou was about to say something but then the bell interrupt him. Rie ran back to her seat with a smile on her face.
*sneeze*
Kyo sneezed, he then grab the hem of his coat and hug himself to warm up. It is not yet winter, but the transition from fall to winter is where the air most cold.
"I should wear jacket instead..." Kyo regret that he is wearing the coat.
After walking a little more he arrived at the front of an abandoned old school building where the item he is supposed to retrieve is going to be.
Kyo walk inside that building. The wall is crumbling here and there, since the building is already unused for a long period of time. The floor is letting out a creaking sound everytime Kyo stepped his foot.
Kyo then stopped on the front of a slightly bigger door than the other, but the fragile looking door didn't really hold out as Kyo kick it in.
*sound of a door kicked in and fell to a wooden floor*
The dust from the old door kicked in fill the air, Kyo covers his face with his hand until the dust is finally dissappear. Kyo walk inside that building that is looked like a hall from the interior, at the left and right there is a pair of stairs that looked pretty worn down and will collapsed if just a single drop of water fell on it.
"So this is the item, huh? Let's see what's inside."
Kyo reach out to the chest that is sitting in the front of him, with the Genome Symbol engraved on it.
*stab*
Kyo's hand stopped when a dagger is piercing the chest, stuck right next to Kyo's hand.
"Thank you for leading me to this precious thing, Shinigami."
Kyo look at the direction the dagger is coming, a woman wearing a normal business-woman suit is walking to his direction.
"This item is in my contract... I wouldn't let you lay a finger on it." Kyo stand up, faces the woman.
"Then you wouldn't mind me being serious?" the woman grinned.
(Her killing aura is imminent, who is she?)
Reading of the Ancient, Bestow the power of Asgard to me, Hildr!
Her spell chant ended with a surge of wind around her.
"Meet my lovely partner." the woman grinned.
(I see... she is from Yggdrasil... those greedy Norse Sorcerer.) Kyo thought to himself.
"The Battle Valkyrie... Hildr. I thought I would never see another Valkyrie beside Geirolul." Kyo hold his right wrist.
The Valkyrie, Hildr. Letting out an agitated cry as Kyo mentioned the name of her Valkyrie sister.
"Then... shall we?" the woman drag her hand at the front of her face, and from the still air dark fragments coming together, forging a dark-crimson blade. There is a faint, black mist that is seeping out from the blade. "I'll let you have a taste of my Dainsleif."
*swush* *guuooo*
The Valkyrie that is standing beside her earlier dissappeared, while the woman herself charging right at Kyo, with her dark-crimson colored blade ready.
*srraak*
The Dainsleif in that woman's hand pierce the wooden floor where Kyo is standing, but it didn't even hit. As soon as Kyo get into her range of attack, Kyo quickly threw his grapple blade towards a nearby wall and use it to pull himself out of the attack.
"As expected from the Black Reaper, but don't get too far ahead of yourself."
(Damn!)
Kyo quickly duck down, while rolling, the Valkyrie suddenly appeared right beside him and swung its golden-colored blade at Kyo. Noticing it, Kyo leap aside as the blade almost cut his stomach horizontally, but missed.
*swush* *BOOM*
Using the time when Kyo is busy dealing the Valkyrie, the Norse Sorcerer already close in to Kyo and swung her blade downward at the crouching Kyo. The force from the attack is enormous, it sent almost half of the floor in its area of hit into the air, but also making the whole room covered in dust.
The dust suddenly subsided, like there was a vortex of wind exploded.
"It seems I missed, terribly."
The woman Sorcerer laugh. She was right, though she didn't actually miss, her attack was dead-aimed, yet something is preventing the attack to hit Kyo.
"I already knew this would happen... you stupid Master."
"Lily, why are-?"
*shiiing!* *srak* *BOOM*
At that time, Lily and Kyo already leap away from where they were earlier. That woman is really pushing the blade force until it broke down Lily protective field.
"I'm sorry, Lily, I thought that there wouldn't be any enemy this time... because the item looked like something that didn't worth anything at all..."
"But why is "SHE" attacking you that it looks like she want to kill you?"
That's right, there will be no need to kill Kyo if she just want to take the item, but she is truly coming at Kyo as if her true target is Kyo all along.
"It was her sword, I just realized it... The Dainsleif. The Sword of Revenge."
Dainsleif, the sword of Nibelungen. The sword that used to kill the Northern European Hero Sigurd. The Sword have the strong curse of "Revenge", but also guide the possesor into ruin. But, despite the curse in the blade, the Dainsleif itself harbor a monstrous power, and when possesed by a master that also harbor deep hatred toward something, or the will of revenge, the Dainsleif gets more powerful.
Many years ago, Kyo also fought a Valkyrie user and ended up killing her mercilessly, even if there is no reason for him to. And Kyo finally realize that this very person is strikingly similar to the person he killed long ago.
Kyo hold his breath and gulped.
"ARRGGHH! GRRAAHH!"
The woman Sorcereress screamed, a scream of pain and terror. The curse is already eating her soul slowly. And as she lost her consciousness, she couldn't maintain the Valkyrie existence, making the Valkyrie dissappear with a wailing cries.
"It comes down to this, kill her or destoy the Dainsleif?" Lily hold Kyo's right hand, gripping it firmly.
"Destroy the Dainsleif, that way.. we can ask her what is inside the chest that Yggdrasil want so bad."
"Alright then..."
Lily took a long breath this time, and then chant something in Angelic Languange.
Blessing of Azrael, This is Your Descendant, And Grant Me Your Power
Lily spell chant ringing through the room, her voice is gentle and more mature, different from her usual voice. Then as she finish her chant, her body started to grow, her childish figure is changing into a figure of a well-defined lady. Her Phantasm Dress. Together with Lily transformation, the light that is coming from Lily slowly covering Kyo's body as well, healing the wound from the fight earlier.
Towa Hitsurugi! (永久氷剣!)
Kyo close his eye for a moment, and draw out his ice-imbued sword from the still air.
"My, my, she really didn't want to waste any time."
Lily mention the Sorceress that is already charging at their direction. Kyo open his eye, then stand at the front of Lily.
"Just get back and heal me... I'll handle her..."
Kyo swing his ice sword aside then run at the Sorceress direction.
*tap!*
Just as the two of them are going to collide Kyo quickly threw his grappling blade to a nearby pillar and pull himself up, while the sorceress strike down where Kyo had stand before he leapt. Kyo used the momentum from the swing to glide back at the opposite direction, then kick her.
"GUAH!" she screamed again, but she remain unmoved. Kyo is thrown back by his own kick.
"What the-" Kyo stopped mid-sentence. Because as the sorceress turn around, Kyo can see what it is that making her so strong. The Dainsleif already eating her soul, and now possessed her body as well. Contradictory to normal possession when the sword is actually driving the possessor of the blade mad, this time the sword is merging with its host body, making a monster-like outcome.
"Cih.. I was too late!" Kyo stand up then chant some spell.
Sword of the Ice, grant me the power to freeze my foes, and crush their soul. Ice Phantasm!
The Towa Hitsurugi in Kyo's hand let out a white aura, and the air around the blade rapidly colden.
*teps* *shiing*
Kyo jump forward, readies the blade over his head, and swung it down. The Sorceress tried to run away, but the cold aura from the blade froze her feet, then when Kyo slash down, making a thin line of slash on the Sorceress body, in an instant that Sorceress body is frozen, and shattered into pieces
Kyo stand up straight, then disconjure the Towa Hitsurugi. Lily, still in her Archangel Form, approach Kyo.
"As always... you are ruthless when it comes to killing, but are you aware that this remote place have a regular visitor?"
Lily's finger point at the entrance gate to the school building that is almost wrecked when Kyo fought.
A girl. A girl is standing there.