Souls and Swords PREVIEW

by Lavama

Here is the uncompleted version of Souls and Swords, uncut. This will be taken down and eventually updated with the full story, redone with less random crap and Plot Holes. PLEASE review! (It's a bit old, but it's still updated.)

"You don't know what you're doing!" The person had run out of running room. The forest seemed alive, and followed the dark man's footsteps. "No! Don't! You need me! You can't!"

"Puppets that have ran their use are useless to me. However," The dark man walked slowly forward. His clothes betrayed his style, and they proposed a marriage of the Holy Church of Christ and the Church of England. He wasn't a man of Church, and he spoke of evils that the Church hid from most. "Your soul would be nice, but I might still need you. Now how do we do this." He seemed as if he was dancing around the idea of death. "We could always kill you, but that would be a poor waste. Your soul seems to be strong, too. Very good."

"You... You... You are a devil man! I should have never agreed with you, and my family would be safe!" The person was scared, the eyes were of innocence; something hidden from most. "Just go away! LEAVE ME ALONE!" The man snickered.

"Your soul, even though it breathes of purity, it is tainted by those you have killed through my name. Redemption is impossible for one as tainted as you. Women and children have been burned by you, slaughtered, and you blame me? You did it, you consciously did it. Do not blame me for your misfortunes! YOU could have fought back! YOU could have changed it! YOU fell to MY darkness, and there is no one to blame BUT you!" The man stopped and breathed. He then looked into the eyes of his target, and laughed. "Yet I feel absolute pity for you. You, of all people, one of the most innocent pair of eyes I have ever seen, nearly untainted by the blood you have spilled... It makes no sense." He turned around, and started to leave.

"Why? Why do you let me live?" The person was near the end of their life, and yet they were spared. "Why do you let me live this tortured, pained life?" A cold turn answered this question, and yet the voice still rang out.

"Who said I was going to kill you?" And with that, he jumped into the trees, and disappeared.

The street was ablaze. The guards, all though they were well trained, seemed like rag dolls brutally played with by the little warrior. The citizens had already evacuated the city, even though it was small, it was holding a royal family member for the small state of Germany. Something about the way she moved was unorthodox, the fact she used a sword and ax proved a good amount of skill. Something was wrong, almost like they knew she was coming.

"There she is! There's that little b***h who keeps killing our kin! To battle!" She was taken back by what was said, and got ready. She didn't like killing the innocent, but the guards? Not at all, they had committed worst sins, and they were deserving to be at least taught differently, if they weren't killed. She simply waited as her attackers came rushing forward, almost a wave of twenty of the best guards in the city.

"Aha! I have you NOW foul monster!" The man had finally slowed down. His target was a normal looking soldier, but this soldier was different. "I have searched far and long for you, but I have finally found you!" Unsheathing his sword, the soldier looked in the eyes of the young hunter, knowing what he talked of.

"You talk like you know everything, kid. Let's test your mettle, I'll show you what power this, 'Monster' has." The soldier had already started charging the hunter, and shoved him to the ground. "For example, be ready at any time!" He swung his sword down at the hunter, but slammed it by his head, and brought his foot crashing down on the hunters chest. Out of breath, the hunter could do nothing but look at the soldier. "Let you live knowing I will always win, that I can never be defeated by you. You may hunt me until the ends of time, but I will always win." He kicked the hunter aside, and continued walking.

"Dammit! He got away again!" The young hunter finally crawled up, and looked to where he saw the soldier walk off a while back. "If I was stronger, I'd finally bring him to justice." He slammed his fist in the ground, and got up. How long was he out was not of a concern to the young justice lover, and he kept going, not content on being bested by a sinful soldier, especially that quickly. "I swear by Zeus, I will have victory! For Magnar shall never surrender!" Young Magnar had just swore to involve himself in a tale much older than Zeus, or anything on the Earth than something just a rumor to him. He now planned to take a much stronger role in a larger plot made by an ancient demon to take the Earth, and his plan was now in motion.

What!? What happened here?

The town was absolutely decimated. The Royal Guards were of just minor annoyances, and the townsfolk all fled within minutes of the start. One person had emerged from the remains of a small corner building, a girl, holding a sword and an axe, not over the age of 25. There was something about her, something I just quite couldn't shake. Intrigued, I walked on over, seeking a conversation.

"Who are you? Are you okay? Did that girl try to harm you?" She shook her head. Surprised, I stopped and looked at her eyes when she looked at me. They were so empty. Then, she suggested herself, and had a look of despair, self-hatred. Fearing what was about to happen, I grabbed her wrist softly, and tugged on it. "We need to get going, so we can stay safe. Who knows what's been attracted by this chaos." I let go and smiled at her, nothing harsh, but a soft smile. She looked away. Knowing that I couldn't get her to go with me through kindness, I toughened up a bit, but then she pointed her sword to me.

"I'd leave me alone. Please." The sword seemed like it was agreeing with her! I had heard of swords that can resonate the owner's thoughts, but I was surprised. "Haven't you noticed I'm the only survivor?" Looking around with my eyes, I noticed that her words hung with a bitter-sweet truth. She regretted her actions. Softly laughing, I look back at her.

"Look, Ma'am. I'm a priest. Sometimes we are under control of Demons and do not know of our actions when we commit them. It's also a belief of mine that in such cases, it's sometimes better to just drop them overall!" The sword lowered. Attention grabbed. "I had once killed a family, actually. I still hate myself for it. Do I let it drive my actions? No. Well, actually, sort of, considering I converted to my," I had to stop and think of this next part carefully, she'd probably spill my blood quicker than I could block if I said the wrong thing. "Religion nearly immediately after that." She looked at me with funny eyes, and probably thought I was being sarcastic with the Religion part. "We need to go before someone tries to kill the both of us." I started going away from her, hopefully to get some breathing room.

"… Okay." She's a quiet chap, but I must say, when she did speak when we met, that voice was something else. Something was weird about it. It was almost as if it was an impenetrable shield filled with a fragile inside, ready to break at any moment. She lowered her weapons and followed me.

"So, Miss, do you permit me to ask for your name?" I ask, not knowing if she would be okay sharing her name.

"I won't tell you my name, but you can call me Lena." I smiled, and looked at the ground.

"Funny. Also, my name is Brinyl. Back in my home country of Great Britain, my best friends name was Lena." I went quiet after that, and kept walking. What she was thinking was something I would never know. Did she want to kill me then and there, or if she wanted to run away, I'll never know. But why I didn't walk behind her, I forget.

"I'll tell you. If anything, that kid is trouble." There was no doubting it. Even though the man had beaten the kid to a pulp, the kid was persistent. They had heard of Magnar before, but regarded him as a joke, a pathetic play of words on justice. Apparently he was getting stronger. "We need to go ahead and kill him before he turns evil. It's going to happen."

"It doesn't matter if it's going to happen; it's if we can convert him with few casualties that's going to matter. Alright?" The man who had crushed Magnar replied swiftly to his comrade's foolish remark. "We don't even know the real enemy. We also won't know if he is doing it on purpose or if he's under control when it happens."

"All you bring out is a bunch of theories you fool! All lies and betrayals! Why you'd have the commander's head cut-off for your 'Greater Good'!" The priest replied, getting angrier by the second. "We need action now! The Church can't cover these up for long! We need to remove any survivors first off."

"What you suggest is the removal of people who can help end this! What if we only help what's causing this by killing them off? What if it helps the word get out?" The Soldier boy got enraged at this priest's stupidity. "Pure and simple 'Holy Flame' won't do us any good here! Listen to me for once! We keep the survivors alive and then we find out what they know!"

"You are a fool for thinking that survivors of a destroyed town will have any sanity left! Don't you think we've tried?"

"You've tried with your insane fools who force themselves onto them! You work your way inch by inch! Generosity, kindness! Where for the love of all things Holy have you lost your minds on that!" The soldier grabbed his sword, nearing the anger point to rip the priest's head off.

"That's all the fighting we need. There are no survivors this time, I'm afraid." A tall, stern Scott with red hair and a thick Scottish accent entered the conversation, tired of the pointless bickering. "It was different here, too. There was a royal family here this time. I couldn't find the remains of the daughter, but the guards were all destroyed." The Scott walked over to the priest, and whispered in his ear.

"But then, how would we?" The priest looked over at the soldier. "It seems you have more about yourself than you let on. Come along, let's hear it." The soldier scoffed and laughed.

"Please Father Omero. If I told you half the tale of me crushing that Magnar kid, you'd drop on your knees and pray like you committed it. You can't stand the violence I can cause." The soldier saw this as his chance to change subjects, and did so accordingly. "So, Master,"

"Katherine."

"Yes, Master Katherine, though you seem to be sure there were no survivors, did you examine any buildings? Are you sure the corpses were all purged in the fire? Are you sure you're the only one who knows of this?" All the while the soldier gained a smirk on his face.

"I never said I knew everything. I only could tell you from the ten minutes I was allowed. The people who transported me were, very shallow people." She sat down, and looked the soldier square in the eyes. "Though it intrigues me on how you know of survivors."

"You said it yourself, no survivors." The soldier pretended to be reeled back, but Katherine just scoffed at it. "Yes, there was a survivor. I witnessed it this morning. She was the attacker, I guarantee you. This weird character, though, appeared and walked off with her; a man who seemed to be a priest. Not with the Catholic church, Father, but, of a different Church." The soldier grabbed his sword and pointed it at Father Omero's neck. "She held her sword to his throat like this, and the words flowed like silk from his tongue. I don't know what he said, but she lowered her weapon and started walking." The soldier took the sword away from the Father's neck, and walked out.

"And where are you going?" Katherine had gotten up to ask. Threatening a priest of any sort was against her code.

"I forgot. It seems like she fights with a sword and axe." He hefted his sword. "I've got an annoying little twerp at the door named Magnar I want to teach another lesson to. This time, patience will be what he learns."

"Well, we need to stop here." Brinyl and Lena had walked for a few hours. "Please, Lena. Sit down so we can gain energy." Lena did not want to do it, but she sat down anyways, putting down her axe.

"You do know that I killed all those people, right?" She looked at him, hoping he would run. But he just unsheathed his own sword.

"I don't think you did. Do you like deer?" Lena only nodded her head. "Good, because it's about the only thing here." He walked softly for a priest, and disappeared in the woods.

Why am I still here? He killed his own family. Mine was already killed. I should leave before he returns. She got up and picked up her axe, and turned to walk away, but Brinyl's voice rang out behind her.

"Do you hate me?" He dropped the deer. "They're getting easy to hunt. Too many walkers and not enough hunters." Turning his attention to Lena, he asked a simple question. "If you are leaving me now, why did you not simply walk off while my back was turned?" Not knowing how to respond, Lena just lowered her head. Simply, he had got her. "So you don't know either. Well, shows I can trust you to stay. Now, how do you like your deer?"

"… I haven't had cooked meat in so long…" She looked up at the priest. Brinyl was a different person. "Look, I really did kill those people back there, why are you still here?"

"If I was afraid of you, I wouldn't of grabbed your wrist. Now, you understand why I haven't run. Now, you're in for a treat!"

Magnar stood up against this soldier before, but this time the soldier toyed with him. He didn't swing, but evaded, blocked his attacks, even went as much as to sing while doing it. Possibly no other person could do this, but the soldier? Pure annoyance in the form of skill.

"How about you stop? That'd be nice." Magnar stopped swinging for a bit, getting some breath. "I know that you're just toying with me. Come on, let's actually fight!" Laughing, the soldier just started playing around with Magnar's mind.

"You can't tell me the young warrior of the Greek Gods is tired? He is? Oh no! Not good at all! How will justice prevail now against the handsome face of evil that is me?" All the while, the soldier kept dancing around like a mad man. "Just to let you know Magnar, not everything that goes wrong is evil. I'm evil, but I'm GOOD!" Laughing after this, the soldier dashed towards Magnar, laughing even harder. Jumping aside, Magnar swung at him, but missed.

"Stand still so I can cut you down!" Magnar was furious. The dancing had irritated him, but now the soldier was faking madness. "You're worse than a Troll, the ugly things." Magnar started going at the soldier, swinging like he was blood crazed.

"Swing once, miss twice! Yep! You miss your target and your hope for survival in each swing kid!" The soldier flipped backwards and stood still, laughing. "Please, this is the most fun I've had in years! If you're going to try this hard, maybe you should just go farm! Leave the sword to those who can actually move with the wind or something!" Then, striking a very awkward pose as in taunting the exhausted hunter, he started walking forward. "What hope does our little warrior of the Gods have? Any? I don't think SO!" Swinging his sword towards Magnar, the 'Mad' soldier started his assault, even if it's fake. One swing got close to Magnar's throat. "Whoops! My bad! Meant to not get THAT close!"

"Stop playing!" Magnar suddenly swooped to the hunters left and punched his under arm, one of the few spots not protected by some sort of armor. Jumping back, the Soldier simply laughed.

"Finally you move quickly! Now we get to see just how quick you can move." The soldier entered a mad swinging frenzy, content on taking out the young huntsman; or so it seemed. "Come on boy! You can't say that a soldier wearing armor is moving faster than you!" Striking Magnar's sword each attack, the soldier decided to through his chew toy away. Kicking the hunter's chest, he had succeeded in stopping the young, mouthy, warrior from talking. "Hah! Now we know who can really speak!
You're coming with me!"

"No…" Magnar tried to get away, but was heisted up by the warrior like a toothpick and taken back to the place the Soldier had come out of.

"The dark task is something not to be trifled with, foolish ninja." The Dark Priest had his foot on a different, almost alien, Ninja. This one had a weird mask on. Taking his sword, he stabbed the leg of the ninja.

"It has too much power to be controlled by one single man. Even you cannot control it, fool. Give up." The Ninja was a tough one. He threw the priest off of him and climbed back up. "I will render your flesh unusable for the power you seek. Now die!" He used the best of his ability to fight with an injured leg. All the priest did was laugh and lunged at the Ninja too.

"It all matters where I am involved. Everything. I am the strongest person here, and no one understands it. Even when I pound their faces in with just my fist, I am ignored." The man was clad in a green cloak with iron gauntlets covering his hands. He was an expert hand to hand fighter, but was not from the area. It was like he was frozen in time, and suddenly teleported there. He didn't choose where he ended up, but he could fight. Through the fighting, he gained enough money to purchase a cloak and the Iron Gauntlets.

"You are different. I watched you take those guards on. Are they even alive?" A rugged looking man came walking forward. Hidden in his sleeve near perfectly, a knife rested, ready to strike. "And whom are you to be wandering around stealing?"

"It doesn't matter to the common fool. I can kill you even if you got that knife through my chest. So I would leave now." The Cloaked man started walking away, believing the thief would listen to him. Turning around quickly, he blocked the knife attempt. "Coward. Wait until I'm turned then strike. They attacked me. I killed them. You will not have the mercy I attempted to give them." His fist struck the thief's jaw, and sent him flying. The Cloaked man started walking away, content the lesson was taught. However, a strange character suddenly appeared before him.

"You are not from here. Your fighting style isn't in this dimension." The girl spoke, walking towards him. She had eyes darker than the thief the Cloaked man just defeated.

"It's Markus, ma'am. Now, unless you want that to happen to your pretty face, get out. Go leave." Markus readied himself to do as he said. But he only received a laugh from her.

"Geneviève. That's my name. You call me that, not Ma'am. And I do not wish to fight you." She held out a rose. "I bring to you a proposition which would benefit you greatly."

"So, you wanted me here for a reason, Geneviève. Now, I kindly request you tell me what it is so I don't have to hurt your pretty face." Markus felt like he was tricked by this girl. A dark door way, and a dark light coming from it. "If anything as much as happens to me, I'll get you." Geneviève laughed at the threat.

"Well then. I'll make my purpose clear." She dropped the cloak she was wearing, revealing a slender body.

"Whoah there! If I knew you were going to do that, you should have warned me!" Markus took a step back and looked at her. Definitely a head turner. Especially with those large, huge

"Mind looking away from there and focus on my eyes?" She teased. "I'm here because you aren't from here. I need allies, because my enemies converted or killed my allies. Have you had that happen to you Markus?" Markus just looked down, not needing to say more. "Well then, I'm sure you understand I need your help." She started walking towards him slowly. "Now, I know that it's weird that one dressed as me with," She stopped for a second, thinking about what to say. "Large, areas, coming to a mysterious man is usually something the mysterious man fears. But, I'm looking for help."

"And what is it you are fighting?" Markus grabbed her hand as it reached for his chest, and moved it aside. "Because if it is against my standards, I'll go against your hand at any moment."

"Don't worry, I'm sure our interests are the same. Now here's the enemy."

There were three others in the room when Magnar awoke. One red headed female, a priest, and the Soldier. He jumped up and reached for his sword, which wasn't there.

"What did you do with it! Tell me now!" Magnar spoke towards the Soldier. The Soldier all but laughed at the boy, and turned away.

"I have it. You can't get it. Simple as that." Magnar turned a bright red as the Soldier spoke this. He started running towards the Soldier, but the Scot stood in front of him and shoved him to the floor.

"Not now Magnar. Listen to me. I know your story better than you do. A young warrior, head strong, foolish, and arrogant-"

"Don't forget impatient!" The Soldier joked, but the Scot took no attention to it.

"Looking for a way to do what he thinks is justice. What is justice, kid? Is justice sticking a sword in some guys stomach? Is it taking away the one person someone cares about and leaving them to die?" She nearly towered over him. "My name is Katherine. That is all you will know of my name for now." She reached down to help him up, but was met coldly.

"I don't need help from a Scot getting up." Magnar climbed onto his feet, and looked at Katherine. "You're saying justice is the same evil that it helps defeat! How can you say that!" Magnar started getting aggressive on Katherine, who simply knocked Magnar back to the floor.

"The Priest over there, he is with the Catholic Church. I may not like Catholics, but, he is a Priest. I defend them because of a promise I made a long time ago." She then sat down on Magnar. "Justice is something that is self defined. The justice you serve is, as a matter of fact, the very evil you seek to destroy. It's noble of you to try, but you just end up being worse than those committing the evil. So much worse people try to kill you." She grabbed a knife from her waist and rushed it over to the air around Magnar's neck. "People tend to go crazy. Good men who had a good moral sense go blood crazy, good kids go insane, fathers try to do as they will with their family." She removed the knife from his neck and got up. "And mothers destroy the fathers, and take the reign of evil justice to a new height."

"So, you were abused? No wonder you just tried to have that monster kill me!" Magnar climbed up. The Soldier started walking forward about this time and looked Magnar in the eyes.

"Tell me this little hero. Let's say someone who looks like an enemy is in the battle field. What do you do?" Magnar laughs and shakes his head.

"Kill him. There's no way of knowing for sure if he is the enemy or not." The Soldier bowed his head, and looked at Magnar through narrowed eyes.

"You let them live. But you keep an eye on them. For if they are the soldier, they will either run away or try to kill you. If they are the hungry peasant, they will thank you and go away." The Soldier stood up fully and returned back to where he was, disgusted in the young hunter. "It's a waste of time with him. I could have told you that if you had listened Master Katherine."

"Shush up and take him to the room. We have to work with him, even if it means tolerating such an annoyance." She turned towards the priest and walked over. Magnar was grabbed by the Soldier and carried away.

"I won't even try this time. You seem to pick me up like a tooth pick when I squeel like a pig, so, it's worthless." Magnar spat in the Soldier ear, but got his head bumped.

"Sorry, low clearing." Putting the now unconscious Magnar down, he walked back to the other two. "I don't think we should take him." But a knock on the door stopped the conversation. Going to the door with his sword, the Soldier slowly opened it.

"Ah, yes, finally. I have found you boy."

"Well, you calls yousself the Dark Priest?" The drunken man called out to the Dark Priest. "Yous probably can't fight worths a bit."

"I can fight better than you can, pitiful waste of existence." The Priest was angered. "Just get out. I have a good mercy style, but I'll crush you all the same if you cross me." A drunken laugh came from the drunk.

"Boy yous be conferdent if you think you can beat ME up! I be da bes fighter here, and you ain't nothing but a zit on the big picture!" The drunk started to walk forward, seeming to struggle to keep his balance. "I'll rip out yer foot from yous face! I'll shove yer pinky in your knee cap! I'll eat your eyes while you watch!" The drunk suddenly leaped at the Dark Priest with his axes, and swung at his foot. Jumping to the side, the Priest just looked at the drunk.

"Worst waste of a good drink ever. I'll send you to the abyss if you encounter me after this."

Waking up, the drunk man stumbled to his feet.

"Oh he's a good fighter alright. Got me sober. Now if I meet him again, I'll rip his throat out and flat out kill him. Probably gonna put his head on a pointy stick and parade it around, but," He looked around, not knowing where he was. "Where the crap am I?"

The forest started to get dark real fast for Brinyl and Lena. They slowly inched their way forward, finding that it was getting much, much darker. Brinyl kept his hand on his sword the entire time, not knowing where he was.

"You know where we are Lena, by any chance?" Brinyl looked towards Lena, and expected a no. "Lena? Lena? Dammit! She's gone! LENA?" Brinyl's sword flew out of its resting place into his hands, and he looked for her footsteps. This is why I needed to keep up with her! Now she'll disappear.

This is interesting… Lena slowly crept forward in the bush, watching a person be berated by an Evil looking priest. The priest looked like he had cornered the other person, but was blocking the view, so she couldn't tell if it was a man or woman. What really interested her was the pure playful nature of the dark man.

Imagine if I had his power. I'd hide away and keep it locked up forever… She started to crawl away, but was frozen cold when the priest looked her dead in the eyes, and formed a smirk.

"Who said I was going to kill you?" And with that, the Priest jumped into the trees, and disappeared. But suddenly, Lena saw the other person. Lena saw the other person, and suddenly felt weak. Falling down, she couldn't control what strength she had left. She then saw the other person start running, and blacked out. But she heard one last thing before she fell asleep. A man calling out for her with a familiar voice.

"The name's Kaasik. That's all you need to know. Now, for my services, let's see what you need done, eh?"

"Alright Kaasik. You have an interesting way of making deals. I need a girl."

"Don't we all?"

"Very funny. I need her dead."

"Oh."

"Yes, it's a little dark, but, she's a murdering brute. I've hired many to kill her before, but they've all died. I've even convinced the Royal Family to send a decoy unit like their daughter in a close village of hers. They all died." The man looked Kaasik in the eyes and asked a question. "What's the largest amount of people you've killed, Kaasik?"

"One family. That's it. I don't like killing families, but what must be done for the money must be done. Do we have some sort of identification on her?" Kaasik turned his head at the mention of the family, but looked right back at his client. This guy was serious.

"Let's talk price first." Kaasik smiled at this.

"What's the highest you paid someone? And what was their name?" Kaasik inquired. He was curious, as some of his competition had disappeared recently after taking a job like this.

"One named Adam Saar stands out." The client couldn't finish what he was saying as he was cut off by Kaasik's words.

"Then you already lost money there. I go for about a third of his money, and I have more success. He just does flashier crap. I?" Kaasik stood tall. "I go for the serious stuff. Now, you pay me a third of what you paid him plus transportation. Understand? Or I walk out the door." The client nodded. No need to lose one as skilled as Kaasik is. "Alright. Is there something I can go by to find this girl?"

"Yes, yes. About the only thing I know is that she carries around a sword and an axe. Very odd combination, if you ask me. But she's so skilled at it. I hope you are capable of not dying." Kaasik simply laughed.

"That is a weird combination. Going to be hard just going by that info. How recently was this village destroyed?"

"Just yesterday Kaasik. I'll take you there myself. I have word from people I know that she went into the woods with a priest like figure with a sword." Kaasik just looked at his client.

"Let's go."

Markus started walking down the street, seeing his target. Reaching towards the door, he peered inside, and didn't see the target. He was confused. Exact location. Meeting of priests. Except their was one priest like person there. Looking behind him to make sure Lady Geneviève was there, and after the signal, he broke the door down and looked the priest in the eye.

"It's time for you to go in, sir." The Priest turned around, and that's when Markus knew he was that Dark Priest. "Oh Hell yes it's time for you to go in." He walked forward.

"Heh, someone has a death wish! Shall I grant it? Or will I just pound your face in... So many questions to ask here Markus, yes? And same as you, Lady Geneviève!" Laughing the Dark Priest dropped his cloak to reveal his armor. "Come, Markus. Let us see if the fist is mightier than the sword, ha ha ha!" Flying forward, The Dark Priest flew towards Markus with a crooked smile.

Where am I... That was the only thing Lena could say as she bounced up and down. She saw someone's back, and realized she was being carried over someone's shoulder. Pushing off, she reached for her sword and axe, but found neither.

"Looking for these Lena? Here. I kept them." Brinyl held them out for her. Brinyl absolutely confused Lena. She had told him she killed the village.

"You know what, no. You keep them. I won't be needing them. Wait, who's that? Give me those!" A bush ruffled in the distance, and Lena was immediately aware of it. "Get back!"

"What?" Brinyl didn't give it much thought, and stepped forward with his sword in his hand, receiving a push from Lena. "Oh, yeah, sorry." From out the bush crawled a man. This man wore what looked to be travelers clothing, but had a dark look around his eyes.

"Ah, sorry Ma'am for disturbing you. I see you and your companion are traveling through these woods. Since it's your first time, I can let you through here as a guide, but it will cost you." He started slowly walking forward, planning on squeezing every ounce of money from the two.

"Sorry, not interested." Brinyl walked forward. He had dealt with this sort of scum before. He looked him in the eye, and repeated what he told each of them. "I've been through these woods before. So don't worry. Go crawl back in your bush before we hurt you for trying to rip us off. We're right by another village." Lena was startled. How could this idiot see her climb up out of the wreckage and not think she destroyed the city!

"Wait, maybe they'll kill us on site." Losing some gold was worth the saving of lives. She immediately searched her pockets for gold, but her hand was grabbed again by Brinyl.

"Look. No, they won't. They wouldn't touch us because we'll obey the rules, right Lena?" He thought of it. This Lena reminded him so much of her.

"No, maybe the will! I don't trust them!" She looked at the man, and decided to give him the single gold piece.

"Thank you ma'am. Now, this way." He jumped back into the bushes, and laughed an evil laugh.

"Great, we lost some money. Look, Lena, I'm not made of money, so you need to straighten yourself out before you get us in some large trouble!" A sudden yell of blood curdled screams came around, and out came a man that looked like a hunter.

"Ah, good. I have finally found you. Now, Ma'am, if you would come with me, that would be appreciated. I won't kill you, I just need to talk to you." He started walking forward, but Brinyl stood between him and Lena.

"It'll be a cold day in Hell when I let someone I'm watching after go alone. So you either kill me or bring me." Standing there, the hunter thought about it.

"Brinyl, no, let me go. It might be the only way I can be saved..." Brinyl looked at Lena with a confused look.

"Lena, you can be saved no matter what. That's what I have learned. It all has to come from you. Now, Sir Hunter, name please, or I'll have to fight you." Laughing, the hunter grabbed his sword.

"A Priest with fight? Interesting, Brinyl. The name's Kaasik. Now, let's see how fast you are!" Kaasik charged at Brinyl, and swung ride to the right with his sword. Brinyl dove back and lunged forward with a kick. Missing the first swing, Kaasik, brought a punch to meet Brinyl's gut. It met well enough, and Brinyl then met a tree. It hurt. "Now, Ma'am, come with me. I won't kill you if you just answer a few questions." She simply put up her axe and sword, and got ready to fight. Shrugging his shoulders, Kaasik sighed. "Fine, have it your way. I was going to try to let you live, but now I must kill." He charged Lena, jumping in the air, yelling.

"I don't always fight when I'm drunk. But when I do, I usually win, not lose." Slamming the drink down, he was irritated. He couldn't believe the priest had actually knocked the drunk out of him.

"So, you're saying you were beat by a PRIEST?" The room had laughed. They laughed so much at him, and couldn't stop.

"This priest was different. He's not one of them weak and scrawny types. He's one of them warrior priests that can handle me. I crush most of ye right now if I didn't get me drinks. Now shut it!" He turned his head and saw a small group of soldiers walk on in. "Can't ya read you gits! No soldiers!" The main soldier just looked over at him and started walking towards the bar. Looking at his closest friend, he spoke.

"Watch this." He grabbed the drink server and held his fist to his face. "Now, you can either get me and my boys some drinks, or your blood will be everywhere. I can find another guy to run this place. Got it?" The server nodded his head quickly and wrenched away. He ran over to where he can get some drinks, and the soldiers started to laugh.

"Yegor, they'll be taking everything!" One of the drunks said rather sloppily. Quickly rummaging through his mind, Yegor Kevlov went through everything he could to make them stop.

"So, you soldiers, huh? How'd that mission go?" They looked at Yegor, and laughed at him.

"No one ever said that we had to be successful in the mission. All we had to do was just punch him repeatedly, and they'd open up sooner or later. Works with getting free drinks as well, minus the sword." The soldier walked towards Yegor. "Drunkie, I'd go away before I stick you." He turned around and held up a glass. "Cheers warriors!" Yegor just walked away, knowing a fight with numbers would ruin him.

Markus climbed up out of the remains of the building. The fight had left him scarred. Looking around, he looked for that Lady he was teamed with. "Hey, Lady Geneviève, where are ya?" Looking around, he saw nothing but a messed up room. He remembered taking on the Dark Priest after Geneviève, but he didn't remember the details. Looking down, he saw the Priest's sword, broken and in pieces. Smiling, he saw that as a prize. Looking around some more, he remembered that she was thrown out the window. Climbing down, he walked over to where the window was. Looking out of it, he saw no body. "He must have taken her, or she's out somewhere doing God knows what." Hearing a small ruffle, he looked over to the exit of the alley. Moving closer, he saw a small child.

"Please, mister, don't hurt me." The child looked at Markus with tears in her eyes. There were obvious signs of her being beaten all over.

"Don't worry, kid. I won't beat you. Here, take my cloak." He gave the child his cloak, and sat down. "Now, are you with your parents, or are you alone?" The child dug her eyes into her arms and cried. Standing there and watching, Markus looked around. "I'm looking for someone. Do you want to come along?" The girl looked at Markus, then decided to give him an answer. She reached over, under the bag next to her, and grabbed something.

Looking at the guest, the Soldier simply scoffed.

"Ah, Ma'am. I can tell you are noble. What are you here for?" He welcomed her in, and offered a chair.

"I am looking for a man. However, I can now tell you do not know of him. Mysterious, serious, and wears a cloak. I don't remember the color, but he wore a cloak." She took the chair, and looked at the others in the room. Father Omero walked forward, curious as to this lady's intentions.

"Why are you looking for him?"

"Because I… I… I feel that I need to find him. If I don't find him, I don't think that I'll remember anything." She looked at the Priest. Something about him scared her. Looking back, Omero started walking over to Katherine, who had left the room to check on Magnar.

"Master Katherine, a word?" Omero asked.

"Go ahead, Father."

"Look, this woman isn't dressed at all like Nobility. She's dressed too freely, showing certain body parts."

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Katherine joked at the Father. She then hefted up her chest, bringing to the knowledge that she herself was a little skimpy on the clothing. "Not that I know why I dress like this, but, oh well." Omero simply looked to the side, at Magnar.

"She plays the role of a maiden whom is looking for a lost one I think. A scam, most likely." He started to walk back. "Look, all I'm saying is, I don't trust her."

"And that's all I remember. Waking up in the alley way and finding my way here. I'm glad that man pointed this place out had a Catholic Priest." She got up and looked at Father Omero entering the room. "Father, please help me. I feel plagued by evil spirits I do not remember gaining." She bowed, and rose back up. Omero looked at her, and plainly thought of something.

"Very well milady. I shall certainly pray for you." And walked off. "Now, if you would please be on your way, we were discussing something of importance." Feeling the need to rid himself of demons just now released, he crossed himself, and sat down.

"Thank you, Father." She bowed again and left, saying bye to the soldier.

Seemingly after a life time, the darkness had crawled away from her. Looking at the burning forest, she could only wonder how it had started. Looking at her new life, she started to wonder how it was connected. Not knowing how, she started walking forward.

"So, I've found my new meaning. But this fire might not be where I look." Looking down the road she came, one lone figure came forward. It was a priest, male. "Whom are you who advances forward?" Her British accent flowing outwards almost too quick for the priest to understand.

"Does it really matter? I came to examine the fire. This is too much for a controlled burn." The priest looked at the girl. "Brinyl. Your name would be?" Looking at the priest but back at the fire, she didn't answer him. Shaking his head, he looked down at the forest. "Well then, you want to work alone, huh? Alright. I see how it is." Brinyl kept walking past her, intent on finding anyone trapped.

"You aren't going alone." She walked forward to Brinyl. "I'll tell you my name if I trust you. Just call me Sea."

"Sea?" Brinyl somewhat scoffed. "Very interesting name. Well then, let us make sure someone lives from this."

Stumbling up, Magnar had been out of it for a good while. Not knowing if it was light or dark outside, he laid there, silent, pretending to be out still. Upon hearing the door creak open, he stayed still, not knowing what it was. Feeling the bright sunlight come down upon his face, he barely squirmed.

"Awake, are we? Good to know that Magnar. Now, come with me. We have matters to discuss." The red headed lady walked right back out as she spoke her words to Magnar. Climbing out of the bed, he cursed his luck. He was stuck in a house with at least two evil people and a priest. Walking into the room, he saw only the red head.

"In case I haven't told you, the name is Katherine. I bet you are wondering why you are here?" She waited for him to sit down.

"Of course I am. I could be out fighting evil, but I'm stuck here, trying to get out. Where's the Priest and the soldier guy?" Magnar was curious as to where they were, due to them not being here.

"I sent them off so they could do some research for me. Now it's just us two." She stood up and walked over to the window, looking out. "There is something I know that you don't, and it involves a Priest we are hunting."

"Why would you hunt a priest? I thought you defend them?" Magnar looked suspiciously at Katherine. Maybe the red hair made her boil too much.

"This one is different. He is cursed, killing any and all he can. Regardless of if they swear their loyalty. He does as he desires, and only that which he requires will usually live in a real fight with him." She looked Magnar in the eyes. "We, as much as I hate it, need your help since you seem to usually find people like him really well. And my eyes are up here." She raised her hand as to slap Magnar.

"Sorry, it's just that, well, where I'm from, no one dresses like that where I'm from." Magnar looked away, blushing. He may work for the good, but he was young, and as such, certain thoughts filled his mind.

"Well if you act on your thoughts I'll stick my sword through you so fast you won't get the chance to say I can't control it." She walked away from him. "I need your help, and I need it now. Come with me, we must leave here. I know we are being watched. We can get to the city Father Omero is at."

"And the soldier?"

"He's to meet with Omero tomorrow. She walked away from him. "I need your help, and I need it now. Come with me, we must leave here. I know we are being watched. We can get to the city Father Omero is at."

The soldier (Whom we shall call Shoders. Why? His name shall not be known now.) continued walking down the forest. Even though it was ablaze, it didn't worry him one bit. He had gone through plenty of flames wearing oily cloth. As he advanced forward, he saw something surprising, a small girl who seemed to be a warrior.

"Now what do we have here." Shoders bent down and picked her up, then realized she had weapons. Picking them up as well, he started walking back to the village, intent on finding out more info on this girl. "Now I remember. You're the girl who I saw leaving that village. I'll question you later."

Seemingly after a life time, the darkness had crawled away from her. Looking at the burning forest, she could only wonder how it had started. Looking at her new life, she started to wonder how it was connected. Not knowing how, she started walking forward.

"So, I've found my new meaning. But this fire might not be where I look." Looking down the road she came, one lone figure came forward. It was a priest, male. "Whom are you who advances forward?" Her British accent flowing outwards almost too quick for the priest to understand.

"Does it really matter? I came to examine the fire. This is too much for a controlled burn." The priest looked at the girl. "Brinyl. Your name would be?" Looking at the priest but back at the fire, she didn't answer him. Shaking his head, he looked down at the forest. "Well then, you want to work alone, huh? Alright. I see how it is." Brinyl kept walking past her, intent on finding anyone trapped.

"You aren't going alone." She walked forward to Brinyl. "I'll tell you my name if I trust you. Just call me Sea."

"Sea?" Brinyl somewhat scoffed. "Very interesting name. Well then, let us make sure someone lives from this."

Stumbling up, Magnar had been out of it for a good while. Not knowing if it was light or dark outside, he laid there, silent, pretending to be out still. Upon hearing the door creak open, he stayed still, not knowing what it was. Feeling the bright sunlight come down upon his face, he barely squirmed.

"Awake, are we? Good to know that Magnar. Now, come with me. We have matters to discuss." The red headed lady walked right back out as she spoke her words to Magnar. Climbing out of the bed, he cursed his luck. He was stuck in a house with at least two evil people and a priest. Walking into the room, he saw only the red head.

"In case I haven't told you, the name is Katherine. I bet you are wondering why you are here?" She waited for him to sit down.

"Of course I am. I could be out fighting evil, but I'm stuck here, trying to get out. Where's the Priest and the soldier guy?" Magnar was curious as to where they were, due to them not being here.

"I sent them off so they could do some research for me. Now it's just us two." She stood up and walked over to the window, looking out. "There is something I know that you don't, and it involves a Priest we are hunting."

"Why would you hunt a priest? I thought you defend them?" Magnar looked suspiciously at Katherine. Maybe the red hair made her boil too much.

"This one is different. He is cursed, killing any and all he can. Regardless of if they swear their loyalty. He does as he desires, and only that which he requires will usually live in a real fight with him." She looked Magnar in the eyes. "We, as much as I hate it, need your help since you seem to usually find people like him really well. And my eyes are up here." She raised her hand as to slap Magnar.

"Sorry, it's just that, well, where I'm from, no one dresses like that where I'm from." Magnar looked away, blushing. He may work for the good, but he was young, and as such, certain thoughts filled his mind.

"Well if you act on your thoughts I'll stick my sword through you so fast you won't get the chance to say I can't control it." She walked away from him. "I need your help, and I need it now. Come with me, we must leave here. I know we are being watched. We can get to the city Father Omero is at."

"And the soldier?"

"He's to meet with Omero tomorrow. She walked away from him. "I need your help, and I need it now. Come with me, we must leave here. I know we are being watched. We can get to the city Father Omero is at."

The soldier (Whom we shall call Shoders. Why? His name shall not be known now.) continued walking down the forest. Even though it was ablaze, it didn't worry him one bit. He had gone through plenty of flames wearing oily cloth. As he advanced forward, he saw something surprising, a small girl who seemed to be a warrior.

"Now what do we have here." Shoders bent down and picked her up, then realized she had weapons. Picking them up as well, he started walking back to the village, intent on finding out more info on this girl. "Now I remember. You're the girl who I saw leaving that village. I'll question you later."

Continuing onward, Markus saw a small village in the distance. Deciding it was a good village, he went on over and decided to take refuge in it. Looking at the girl at his side, he looked towards her and decided to talk.

"So, Little Lady, do you want something sweet while we are here?" The little girl looked up at the man with eyes of confusion. "Can you speak?"

"Yes sir." Markus realized something.

"Could you speak just whenever?"

"Yes sir! I would like something sweet!" Smiling, the little girl started to jump a little, but fell down.

"Are you still not going to tell me why you are so scared around others?"

"No sir. I'm scared they'll hurt me too."

"Hurt you? How were you hurt?" She just looked down. Picking her up, he carried her towards the village. "I'll buy you something really sweet then." Where the money would come from, he wouldn't know.

Walking into the village, Markus noticed that the prices were overly priced. Quickly realizing he didn't have enough money for a small treat, he kept on walking with the kid.

"Why are we walking past the few shops with sweets?"

"I don't have enough for them. I will, though, get the money eventually and buy you a few." He stopped walking when he reached an inn. "I'll be going in for a bit. Do you want to come along?" She nodded, and they walked in.

"Look, if I had to, I would not have let this place of been built! You had better get those supplies for me now, or you'll be seeing just how powerful I can be!" Leaving, the man had blue armor on, and just ignored Markus and the girl.

"He scared me…"

"He was, dark. Sir, is everything alright?" Markus walked over to a priest who looked frightened to death. The man whom the armored giant was talking to had gone to the basement.

"Yes, thank you. That armored man is evil, though." The priest stood up and looked at the girl. "Well hello there little girl." With the Priest being friendly, the girl moved back a little.

"She's a little shy, I don't know why. My name is Markus, Father." The priest nodded and decided to sit down.

"Well Markus, my name is Father Omero. I'm looking for a certain priest. He carries a sword that is," Markus smirked.

"Oh yes. I have fragments of his sword here. I'm looking to rebuild it." Omero looked shocked. That Priest's sword was shattered!

"Did you kill him?" Omero was excited. Markus simply shook his head.

"He won against me and a Noble woman. Do you mind if I help?"

"No, I do not, especially if you broke his sword! However, the girl will need to go away for now. Ah, here comes a friend of mine." Omero pointed towards the door.

"Father Omero, I found her! I found that girl I was talking about." The Soldier walked in with Lena on his shoulder still. He looked for a couch or something like that to put her on, and placed her on the closest. "She was knocked out a little bit to the North. She had a rough fight, plenty of nasty looking cuts across her stomach. She's alright, but we need to question her, nicely. I found a trail of blood leading away. Good quantity, too." Noticing the small child with Markus, he turned over and decided to be nice.

"Hold on there. Who are you, and how do you know Omero?" The soldier held out a bag of money to Markus in response.

"My name? Sure, I'll tell you. But you are to call me Soldier."

"Hey Sea, look at this!" Brinyl had found a small trail of blood leading into the forest. Sea went over to Brinyl.

"Who would run into a burning forest with a wound this fresh." Brinyl just shrugged his shoulders, and kept walking forward. "It's almost too late. The fire has been going for at least an hour."

"It doesn't matter. A girl I know might be in that forest, and I will make sure to it she is alright." Brinyl kept walking forward, nearly ignorant of Sea's suggestions.

"Alright, I doubt anyone but that person that went in is still alive." She thought of someone she met in the past, long ago in London. A nice young kid who went out of his way for others. Brinyl reminded her of that boy. "Wait, there's someone. Hey, you there, are you alright?" The figure started slowly lurking forward, and carried a large axe covered in blood. Once he lurked forward a few spaces, he yelled in a blood curdling voice a word that stroke fear into both Brinyl and Sea's hearts.

"Blood!"

"Your blood shall fuel my rage!" The axe wielder seemingly disappeared from the woods to about 3 meters from Brinyl, half the length of its axe. Swinging the mighty axe with blinding speed, Brinyl barely ducked out of the way, rolling back to increase the distance from the demon. Following in the assault, the axe kept rushing towards Brinyl in a mad frenzy. Realizing the major threat, Sea leaped at the demon with her sword. The grass around her feet flew down as she left it, charging towards the demon.

The demon was caught unaware of Sea's sudden burst of power, being distracted by Brinyl for a short amount of time. Barely avoiding the blade of Sea itself, the demon proceeded to grab Sea by the head.

"Your blood shall do nicely!" Slamming Sea into the ground, he raised his mighty foot. Before he could bring the foot down, he was met with unknown competition from a previously unknown assailant

"Demon, be gone from this world!" The lady charged the demon with nothing but wrist blades. Striking with sudden speed, she seemed to of caught the demon by surprise. "Help you fool! Help your friend by helping me!" She bent backwards to avoid the swing of the axe, and rolled to the right, predicting the foot smash that followed.

"Slow down and bleed!" The demon started to spin around in a cyclone motion with his axe, swinging it like a mad man around him. He started running towards Brinyl, laughing like a mad man.

"And here we are." Katherine noted the village being small, but it helped their purpose. Noting a bloodthirsty yell, she looked over her shoulder, taking notice of a great fire to her left.

"And how did we miss that? Let's go! Evil awaits!" Magnar started running towards the burning forest, but was yanked back by the collar. "What? LET ME GO YOU RED HEADED B-" A loud, resounding smack silenced him.

"We are not here for your 'Holy Brigade', we are here to meet the others, That fire has to wait. There's the Inn." She dragged Magnar along, whom just held his face like it was ripped off.

"So, this is the girl. Interesting. Is she even alive?" Father Omero's voice rang out of the window. Magnar broke free of Katherine's grip, but decided to just go into the Inn.

"So, this is the girl. Do you have her weapons?" Katherine asked as soon as she walked in.

"Wait, that's not a priest…" Magnar said in a matter as if he knew everything.

"Of course she isn't. I think she might be a pawn of him, though." Magnar's face started turning red.

"Then why aren't we ending her! She's a servant of evi-" Magnar was slammed in the wall by a guy with a cloak.

"The name is Markus. Be nice, that little girl doesn't need to see you being rude." Markus got off of Magnar, and offered his hand for a shake. Magnar rejected it coldly. "Very well. This girl, I worry for her. I must be going. Is she safe in your hands, Father?" Omero looked at Markus.

"Well, that's the issue. I know you are looking for that noble lady who had disappeared, but we are searching for that Priest." Markus nodded his head.

"Very well. Well, let's go.' He walked over to the soldier, who was asleep, and woke him up. "We go, sir." Nodding, the soldier stood up, and the two left. Almost as soon as the two left, the girl thrust upward in a blood curdling scream.

"MAKE IT STOP! THE VOICES! THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL ME!" She was in a large panic, and started thrashing all over the place.

"Calm down, calm down! There are no voices!" Father Omero rushed over to her, and tried to calm her down.

"THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME, HELP!" About that time, a priest with weird looking clothes entered the building.

"Yes, sir?" The owner of the Inn looked conspicuously at the man. "Perhaps you could help us with the girl over there?" The man looked over to her.

"Lena? Yes. I can help with her." He walked over to Lena, and looked at her. "Hello, Lena. It has been a while, has it not? These people do not need to hear you scream so much. The voices are always fake." He looked towards Father Omero. "Are her weapons secured?" He was surprised. Noting Lena about to yell, the man put his hand over her mouth.

"Er, yes. Why?" The man shook his head.

"This is when she goes crazy. After the first few deaths," The man noticed crying. "Please tell me there isn't a little girl here." He looked back over to Lena. She was looking around, worried. "It's time for me and Lena to go. That young boy, could you help?" Magnar looked at the man funny. "Grab her weapons, in other words. You have a sword and a shield, you should be able to keep her away if she goes mad again." He picked up Lena and started walking out the door.

"What the." He looked at Katherine, who had been dumbfounded the whole time by the layer of events. She simply nodded, as if she red Magnar's mind. Magnar grabbed Lena's sword and axe and started following the man.

"Grah…" It was dark, and cold. The ninja struggled to it's feet. It was a large fall from when it was thrown, and something was surely broke.

"Sorry about the throw. It had to happen. Now, for a partnership." A dark figure appeared in front of the Ninja almost instantaneously.

"You are a demon. Stay away." The man laughed.

"Just because I can teleport distances and keep you alive means I'm a demon. Now, we'll go to where it is light." The man walked forward, grabbed the Ninja, and teleported.

The man stood in the alleyway of the Church. Looking up, he saw the sun reach the top of the sky. Although he was dissatisfied with the lack of people who were willing to help, he continued to leave the town, and as he reached the edge of town, he heard the bells ring.

"What a glorious sound." He continued walking away. Although he was looking for help, he could live without it. The town was small, and if anybody did bring up their help, it was too costly. Looking back one more time, he decided it was time to leave the town for good. Looking back to the road he was at, a dark cloud formed in front of him, and he walked through, into a dark cave.

Finally stopping, he had decided carrying her was done.

"Lena, listen to me." He looked around, making sure they were alone. "Things with you have been weird." She slowly stood up. "I'm here to try to help you. I've been following you for a long time. A very long time. And it's about time that my true plan came to fruition. And you are going to help." The man looked back towards where he came from, and saw Magnar walking forward. He leaned close to Lena's ear. "That very man is going to try to kill you, I can tell it. He is useful to our plans, but be weary around him. Do not trust him unless I tell you to. I understand you, I know the voices, too." Walking away, the man turned his back to Magnar.

"Would you two slow down? I don't trust either of you." The man just smiled.

"Let's say I'm a brisk man, kid. Name?" The man had continued walking, and turned around. "Lena, come along. You're safe with us."

"The name is Magnar, and yours?" Magnar kept walking, though his feet were tired, and his back hurt from carrying the other weapons beside his own.

"My name? Well, let's say, I don't exactly have one that I want you to know." Smiling to himself, the man continued walking. "And if we're attacked, you are to stay back." Unsheathing his sword in a flash, the man struck a sword flying for his head. Another few blocks and he stared at a hunter.

"Well, she's still alive. My job isn't done, and I will go through anyone to do it." The attacker stared the three down.

"Kaasik. You will die here. Go away, wait another time, then I will be more fun to fight. Now I would just kill you." Hearing a small shift in the woods to his right, the man yelled to Magnar. "We're under attack! Watch out!" A few bandits jumped out of the woods at Magnar, and Kaasik leaped at the man.

"Whew, are you two alright?" The woman looked at the two people attacked by the demon. "You, priest, are you alright for sure? He beat you up pretty bad." The lady walked towards the priest.

"Yeah, I'm good. Not the first time I've been beat up like that." Brinyl stood up. "But I am worried about Sea, she was hurt pretty bad." Running over to where she was, the grass seemed to envelope her arms as she lay there, unconscious.

"Mhm." As the woman walked, it seemed that her large, 'areas', were bigger than most. She went over to Sea and bent down, rubbing the back of her hand along her neck.

The sword of Kaasik swung forward, and the mysterious man spun with his sword pointing upward. The two swords clashed, and they began a furious assault on the other with such blinding fury that the very air around them seemed electrified.

The Lady moved her hand away from Sea's neck, and held her hand, looking for some sort of pulse. She finally looked down, lost in thought.

"Well, Ma'am, what is it?"

Almost as suddenly as those warriors appeared, something strange happened to Magnar and the group he was in.

"Give her the weapons!" The mystery man yelled to Magnar. Complying, a sudden new foe jumped out of the woods and decimated the other bandits.

"What the…" Kaasik was strung by confusion, as was the entire group. The new combatant thrust his mighty hand across the last bandit's face, sending a colorful red across the air, slashing past the thing onto the ground, steaming. Looking towards the intruders of the forest he protected, the massive beast stared down upon his new enemies, and let loose a mighty roar that shook their very boot. The massive Red Bear of legend was staring them down, ready to fight. He clashed his arm gauntlets, and then a glorious golden armor formed around the bear.

The Inn door was burst open by the body of Katherine being thrown out of it, splinters heading all over. Thrusting her hand onto the ground to stabilize herself, she went into a sort of feral stance and stared at the Dark Priest.

"You, Katherine. You're different." The priest looked at her and laughed, but formed into a sudden dark cloud as Father Omero leaped through the cloud with a sword poised to strike him. Katherine jumped up and was ready for the strike she predicted, but was surprised to see the Dark Priest fall upon Omero's back from the air. The Dark one then proceeded to slice through the air with his new sword, it fell upon Katherine's shield, whom had prepared her lance for a strike. "But still, so predictable." The priest took it upon himself to teleport again, this time just out of reach of Katherine's lance.

"Stand still you bartstard!" She leaped into the air and tried to stab him, but he side-stepped the lance and broke it with a simple punch of his hand. He then teleported from his location to above Katherine, laughing, but instead met a shield being spun across his face.

"You'll pay for that!" The Dark one this time went faster than before, causing Katherine to bring out her short sword to combat him. His sword struck her shield, and he followed up with a gut buster, which involved his knee connecting to her gut. He then kicked her head with a large sweep, sending her flying to the right. "And Father Omero, the Catholic Priest." The Dark one teleported over to him.

"You foul creature. What do you want?"

"The girl can live, which is why I avoided her. You and Katherine have been a pain in my side for far too long, though." He slapped the Priest across the face with the back of his hand. "I have been annoyed far too much." He gave the priest another slap. "Which is why I will have the world bow before me; whether through fear or respect, or both." The Dark one then kicked the priest in the ribs, grabbed him, and threw him up. "And Katherine shall know she was unable to save her 'Friend'!" The Dark Priest again teleported into the air, grabbing Omero and spun him in the air, throwing him towards the ground. Teleporting again, The Dark Priest grabbed Omero close to the ground and slammed his body into the earth.

"Omero!" Katherine climbed up, but it felt as if her ribs were broken through the armor. She collapsed back into the dirt, and saw the Dark One rise up over Omero.

"And I shall stamp out all the trash in my way!" The Priest rose his black boot, but was caught unaware by the little girl.

"Stop! Stop!" He turned to her, and almost instantly froze. "No killing! Please!" She was in tears, and they had already drenched the collar of her small dress. The doorway seemed to envelope her fear, being much larger than her. The Priest looked down at Omero, and disappeared into a dark cloud, and grabbed the girl, and disappeared again.

"What the," Katherine finally stood, and started walking towards Omero, who seemed to be out cold. "Omero, wake up." She shook the body for a while, and eventually collapsed, physically broken.

The ground around Markus suddenly crumbled as the axe of the demon fell upon it.

"Please just stop. It would be much less painful if you just stood still!" The demon proceeded to spin in a sort of tornado like motion with his axe towards Markus. Markus ran towards the axe, and punched it, stopping the demon in it's tracks.

"Don't tell me a simple guy just punched your demon axe." Markus then jumped back and entered the same pose he entered before the axe was spinning, his left hand in front of his left hip, and his right hand to his heart.

"So, what do you intend to do with your fists to me?" The demon teleported behind Markus and swung with its axe upwards, still missing the quick fighter.

"I am going to take you for a ride." The man in a green cloak then jumped over the demon and fell upon the demon, successfully punching it in the face. He then used some sort of mystical power to raise rocks from the ground and send them flying towards the demon. The demon didn't like this as he had to block the rocks with the axe it wielded. Almost blindingly fast, even for the demon, Markus was on the demons right, uppercutting the demons head. Rising back up, the demon just stared at Markus.

"What are you."

"Come on guys, we shall pillage the village!"

"All right!" The bandit group seemingly ran into whatever building it was close to, and started grabbing what ever they wanted. It seemed to be that nowhere was safe from these bandits. The main bandit, a girl whom appeared to be in her early twenties walked over to two motionless bodies, a priest and a red head.

"Wow, looks like they had a big fight! I bet there is still some good loot on them!" She reached down, and started searching the priest first. Unbeknownst to the thief, Katherine had slowly gained her conscious. "Look at all this gold this guy has! I wonder if he'll be okay from these injuries, though." She stood up and looked at Katherine. "And now for the lady!" She bent down, but jumped into the air when Katherine tried to stand.

"Gruh." Katherine tried to stand again, but she knew her ribs were in a bad shape, so she only got to where she could look around. Looking around, she saw the inn burst into flames, and a small man jump out with a small bag of gold.

"Sheesh, lady. You and the priest beat each other up really good. Now, here's the deal." The thief girl drew her short sword. "You can give me anything of value you have, or I'll just injure you more and take your," The thief examined Katherines body. "I'll take your armor!" Deciding enough was enough, Katherine struggled to her feet, partially annoyed by the bandits and her pain.

"How about you just leave!" A rock flew right past the bandit's face and it caught the attention of both Katherine and the bandit. The soldier stood there, sword drawn.

The bear had suddenly appeared close to Kaasik and the mysterious man, and they both were hit by the strong gauntlets the bear had, knocking them both out. The bear stared at Lena and Magnar, and let a loud, feral roar out. He leaped towards Lena and grabbed her, and threw her into the woods that he came from. He then turned towards Magnar, the last one unaffected by the bear.

"How do I fight this Monster!" The bear lunged towards Magnar, swiping with it's mighty hand. Magnar ducked and rolled over to evade the strike, and swung his sword too slowly, missing the bear entirely. The bear started swinging it's paws in punch like moves, seeming to be following a certain rhythm. Magnar caught on to the rhythm, and blocked a high punch, low punch, and even a sort of sweep from the bear. Then the bear did something that no bear should ever be able to do. As Magnar prepared to stab the bear, it fell to the ground in a crouch and it's fist curled.

"GRAOER!" The bear jumped into the air, the fist colliding with Magnar's chin. As they both fell, Magnar's mind fell into a frenzied state. The bear just jumped into the air with a fist and struck Magnar without killing him! As the bear reached the ground again, it decided to follow up his first attack with a few more special attacks, including a rather high and unatural kick for a bear it's size, and followed with a grab, and threw Magnar to the ground. Magnar climbed up, and blocked the bear's paw strike again. This time, he seemed to be glowing with a blue aura.

Getting the clue, the bear jumped back and still surprised the young warrior, this time with a sudden kick thrown in the air. Magnar leaped forward and swung his sword, hitting the armor the bear wore.

"I'll beat this monster in the name of Zeus!"

Yegor threw the man down onto the floor. Coughing, the man looked back up towards Yegor, and held up his hands in surrender. Ignoring the plea, Yegor smashed his foot into the man's gut.

"Ye shouldn't of attacked me, ass. Now ye'll be getting' da beatin' of yer life. An' mayba death."

"No! Please! I was threatened! I never got a choice! He was going to subject me to the worst treatment ever! Please, don't kill me!" Yegor grabbed the man's shirt and rose him in the air.

"Who'd it be?" Yegor rose his other fist to help the information out.

"The Dark Priest! He also goes by another name, The Dark One. Please, I've told you all you asked for, let me go!" Yegor looked at the man hard. Yegor threw the man back onto the ground.

"Round 2 of questioning. Where can I be findin' this lad?" Yegor turned around as he said lad to the wall. The wall crashed in, and dust filled the small inn room.

"Right here, Yegor. You've annoyed me long enough. I have plans, and you do to." The Dark Priest walked forward from his new hole in the wall, and walked through the dust like a shadow at night. "Do what you want to him. He's just a used puppet."

"No! Have mercy! Don't let me die!" Yegor pulled out his dagger, and dropped onto the man with the blade.

"I've got plans for this feller in a green cloak an' iron gauntlets. Any idear where he be?" The Priest laughed.

"That is what I am here for Yegor. We are not friends, but we have a common enemy. We take him out, we fight to the death. Deal?" The Priest's hand reached out of the dust cloud, and finally the dust settled. Yegor looked down at the offered hand.

"Deal."

About seven chapters that have been lost go here.

"Look, Lena and Brinyl, you were both seriously hurt earlier. You both know that. Get to the closest village, stay there, and remain hidden. Keep the girl with you." The Soldier then turned to Magnar. "Boy, you better know how to fight now. Because now we go after the big man himself. And I'm not fighting him while carrying your ass." He started walking forward, not a hint of a smirk on his face. Magnar turned to look at Lena and Brinyl, but they both just turned and walked the other way. Realizing that this was going to be definite in the soldier's decision, he just hustled over to him.

"What is your name?" Magnar asked, always curious as to what the soldier's name is.

"You can call me the following. Soldier, Shoders, and most importantly, Sir. Nothing else." Shoders kept walking, and ignored Magnar for a good portion of the journey through the dying woods. Winter was slowly creeping on the area, and it would get dark soon. Through the few days travel, talk was very small between the two.

"So, you mean that they really think they can take on that priest alone..." Kaasik asked Brinyl. "And no harsh feelings for attacking you earlier, I had a job to do. My employer vanished as soon as I went to go tell him it was off."

"It appears that way. I would have tried to talk them out of it if Lena hadn't of kept me quiet. And it's quite alright. A job is a job." And I'm still pissed you kicked me that hard. "But thing is, we were told not to follow. You survived in a fight against Alura, more than once, so you should be able to help those two."

"The point is Kaasik, even if you do just shrug this off, it may come back to haunt you. You know I'm with the Church, right?" Lena looked straight into his eyes. "That doesn't mean I'm all nice and non-fighting. I have friends in all sorts of places. And I know a couple who know you."

"So you two mean to tell me, if I don't help now, I'll be getting some sort of revenge from either of you? Let me get this straight. The Dark Priest, William, wants to rule the world through the power of a demon. A demon that has yet to take physical form. When the demon appears, there's going to be relentless war. And with this relentless war, don't you think it's going to go for the big powers first? The Holy Church, Countries, armies, and then it'll just wait for someone to challenge?" Kaasik then stood up and went over to the bar. "I don't think either of you have thought out what sort of Demon could be raised. And quite honestly, I think you two should come along if you are wanting them to be helped." He grabbed his drink and walked back over. "And are you both sure you are ready to lose each other again?"

"That's none of your business!" Lena cut right back. She didn't like being read like a bad liar. Brinyl had opened his mouth to interject, but just closed it and sat back into his seat. "I think that if you could truly get what I didn't tell you, you know what's going to happen, and how, when, et cetera, which makes you the strongest one here. You'll know when to strike. But the question is, whose side are you on." Kaasik laughed and put the drink to his mouth. After a bit of chugging, he almost broke the glass slamming it down, and smiled.

"Now we have a demon to stop, right? But one thing first. What about the little girl?" She had totally slipped both Brinyl and Lena's minds for the night. Almost in a complete panic, they immediately spun to race to the door, but saw her sleeping in her own chair.

"I will take her to the the town I was staying at. I know some people there who have been wanting a child for years." Lena decided without any suggestion from Brinyl.

"I wonder who wears the pants in this relationship, hm?" Kaasik laughed to himself, content on the plan. "Then, let's be off!"

The town, although a man in a green cloak had walked through, looked as though it was abandoned after a war, not even touched for centuries but recently set ablaze.

"This is good enough. Alright, ninja. You are free, and in the light." The man stood out in the light now, his blue mail shining brilliantly from the sun's light. "And it is much warmer. Now, about the partnershi-" The man suddenly stopped talking.

"What partnership. You took me out of there without even asking." The ninja had taken the first look of light it had for a good day. It was brighter than it had remembered.

"You're her. I never would have suspected. And look at that, my friend is here." At the end of the city, close to the forest, a man came out carrying a young girl. Smiling big, the man in the blue armor waved.

"What is it about being her that makes it to where you suddenly want to drop me off on the side of the road dead?" He simply laughed at her remark.

"Simply put Etsuko, I don't want you dead. I want you for reasons of something up and coming. And I feel I am running out of time for my task. That man down there, for example, hails from the future. Big, tall hat, red suit. Weird man, he is. But he knows almost everything. Call him Saint." Picking up Etsuko, the blue armored man walked towards him.

"Kazimir, you found Estuko. Good, I didn't expect you to find her so soon. We're ahead of schedule. This one here seems like she's bled a lot. Through my own magic, I should of healed her enough. Call her Aby. She's very important." Saint looked at Kazimir. "Too bad Omar had to die. He could have helped a lot. Either way, I know where to go. We rest here for the night and we move tomorrow." Aby started to twitch a little. "Looks like she's finally awake. Well, we will just have to set her down soon."

The Saint walked out of where the camp was set up. Looking around, he was a little set back. It was supposed to rain today. Going back into the camp, he shook Kazimir to wake him.

"What is it Saint." Waking in a slow paste, Kazimir rose from his sleep in an almost dead fashion. His pace of speech was slow, almost a small mumble. "I hope it is important."

"What day is it supposed to be, a Wednesday or a Thursday?" Kazimir had a blank gaze for a moment as the question was asked.

"It is supposed to be a Tuesday, why?" Saint took his hat off and placed it down behind him. "We too fast or too slow?"

"Too fast. It's supposed to be Thursday. We come in too early, we speed the issue at hand. We come in too late, you can guess there." Saint stood up. Though he generally didn't take his hat off, he needed to take his mind off of what had happened. "Outside with me Kazimir." He bent over and grabbed his hat, and shook it a bit. The dust fell off in small crumbs.

The storm had slowly rolled in. Throughout the night, it had seemed as though something was taking bites out of the moon. Then, when it was supposed to be morning, only the light of fires and lightning reached out to eyes of humans, proving to be a difficult walk for those used to light. Bearing the torch that held the only light for a group of three, Kaasik led the other two. Through the clouds of mist that had been a sort of painful trap, they seemed to of reached a familiar sight for them all. A burnt down village seemed to be a symbol for death to them. Reaching a new building, Kaasik looked towards Brinyl and Lena.

"Wait here. Brinyl, hold the torch. If I am not soon enough out, go away." Handing the torch to Brinyl, Kaasik dived into the newly constructed building. On the inside, he was surprised to see just how small it truly was. A small camp that had a single note on a table; it's message was clear, yet confusing.

Kaasik, it brings me a shed of hope if you read this note. If you have found it on the table conveniently lit, then you should continue on south of this ill-fated town. In a matter of half a day's walk with no stopping, you should reach a small temple. It is here that you and your other two companions are required for their plan to work. If you have found this note in pieces, go west towards a small cottage. Lena might remember it, she might not. When you reach it, go south, and then continue west. Either way you reach the temple, be prepared to fight.
~Saint

Picking up the note for direction purposes, he walked back outside, back into the cold rain.

"Well Kaasik. What exactly have you found?" Lena walked forward, her body mostly covered by a cloth. The rain pattered down on it, making a small beat of sorts.

"A note. It holds directions to the temple you described. South of here, half a day's walk. We go now and set up camp there." He turned to the old Inn. The name was still there after a week. "South's End." He started walking, his boots mushing softly in the mud. Looking with a disgruntled face of weariness, Brinyl grabbed Kaasik's arm.

"We need to get some form of rest. At least nourishment." Kaasik looked back at Brinyl, and shoved his arm free, and kept walking forward.

"We stop moving, we will miss what you two needed help for. Feed yourself while we move." He turned around and grabbed the torch, and started walking onwards. His fuel was ambition, and he was determined to find this 'Saint'.

Her blade slashed through the air, missing her target. It was caped, long white hair, and a pale smile, seemingly filled with death. Laughing, he teleported into a sort of mist around her. Swinging her sword at it, the water droplets gathered on her sword, making it weigh more, going through the mist. As she swung her sword it fell, almost like it was hit by what she was swinging at. Within the blink of her eye she was slammed into the ceramic floor, breaking some of the tiles. Looking up, she saw the face of her opponent.

"Play time is over. Now for the feast." The man leaped into the air and started laughing. Rolling over, she grabbed her sword and jumped up, only to find herself no floor to land on. Falling, it seemed to her as if there was a great annoyance in it. Feeling it was a joke, she then tried to manipulate her falling as if she could spread wings from her back and soar.

"Won't know until I try." She attempted to grow wings from her back. Feeling as if she was going to pass out, two wings spurted out through a bloody entrance. The man witnessed this, and fell unto her.

"Behold your new master!" And suddenly she rose up, almost seemingly as if she was never fighting to begin with. In a flurry of panic, she felt her back. The pain was so life-like, as if it really happened. Nothing had happened, and she just had a bad dream. Etsuko rose from where she slept, and saw that she and Aby were the only ones in the small building. Stretching, she felt as if she had been reawakened after a long slumber. Shaking it off, she tried to move her arm in a circle motion to see if it was still as much in pain as it was.

"Awake now are you?" Saint walked back into the camp, causing Etsuko to jump as her arm came back down. As she jumped, she hit her leg on a small table, falling over it, and waking Aby. "And I see Aby has awoken, too." Saint walked over to Aby as Kazimir walked back in as well.

"Stop falling, it'll kill ya one of these days the more you do fall." Kazimir jokingly said as he walked over to Etsuko. Bending over, he offered a hand.

"I don't need your help now, or ever." She slapped his hand away, climbing up herself. Looking at where she fell, she realized she landed on a table and broke it. "I am sorry about the table Saint." He simply looked over and laughed.

"I'll live. Besides, it was ugly and didn't match the room. Now, Aby, can you tell me if you had any dreams?"

"Keep it up, and I'll make sure that you'll never see the light of day kid." William kicked one of his prisoners, three of them, onto the ground. "You three will make fine sacrifices. Then I shall ascend to Demonhood." Walking away, The Dark Priest looked towards the temple that he was approaching. "What a place for a start. Just south of Verband. How pitiful it had to be destroyed."

"You'll never succeed. You'll be stopped." The ninja wearing a mask spoke once more, showing ignorance in the face of utter defeat.

"Why won't you learn your place, mortal?" William picked up the masked ninja and threw him back down. "Nothing can stop me now. Nothing, no one. And I wonder how our two other sacrifices will feel when they join us?" He laughed a dark laugh that sent chills down the other three's spines. He didn't care for others unless they could help, then he would throw them aside like trash in the forest. They could only hope that he was wrong, for if he was right, they would never know peace.

The soft patter of rain fell upon Lena's cover as the group of three slowly marched through the now drenched woods. It seemed to them that the forest was so dark and moist with the cold rain that the very trees themselves were creeping forward to engulf them. The leader of the group, Kaasik, turned to the other two. Brinyl looked at him with a little scorn, and waited for the news.

"We need to wait here for the night, or for better terms," Kaasik looked at both of them at the same time, almost seemingly having one eye for the other set of eyes. "You two are. Set up camp, and wait for me. If I am not back by nightfall the next day, I would suggest you either tuck your tales and flee, or come in after me." He then grabbed the gold he was given and threw it to Brinyl. "I didn't finish my previous mission. This isn't my money anymore." And with those final words of the night, he walked away, seemingly eaten by the forest.

The soldier put the tent down. It had been a long walk for the hunter, but Shoders knew he was weaker than him.

"We'll take a break kid. Just for your legs." He then sat down and smiled. "Besides, I'm hungry!" He reached for the tent, and started to put it up.

"Look, Sir, do you even know where we are going?" The soldier stopped at the open doubt Magnar had. Standing up, he looked at Magnar with a furious stare.

"If I had doubted Katherine's words like you doubt mine, you'd be dead by now. You straighten up, or I'll be damned an eternity in Hell under this new Demon's reign!" Bending back over, the Soldier got back to work. Magnar just rolled his eyes and walked back over to a small river, waiting for a deer.

Markus' cape flew behind him as he entered a mad run, chasing towards the temple at a good speed. Words started to fill his mind, seemingly as if a demon had been taunting him.

"Your eyes burn with an eternal flame. You do not belong in this time, or dimension. Do you wish for control, power, glory, honor?" Markus didn't answer, content on getting to the temple before the Dark Priest did. "Maybe I must dig deeper. Markus, you don't understand how much I know already. Or did you come for freedom? That in itself would make sense." Markus then turned behind him, to make sure his partner was keeping up.

"Lady Geneviève, you need a break?" Markus called back, slowing down. He noticed that she had a hard time keeping up with him. He then started going to her when a sharp pain crossed his mind.

"It's her! That is what you fight for isn't it! Unbelievably predictable, but I can't believe I didn't guess it. Maybe she should be a sacrifice." Markus fell to the ground, struggling against the demon's temptations at everything he desired. "She would be safe, as would you, and you two would have all the power I would, as much say in my own governing of it all."

"Get, out, of my head!" Geneviève ran over to Markus, but he shook her away. "There's no amount of power would I allow my body to be sold for the world's destruction!"

Lena looked to Brinyl, just about as surprised as he was.

"Brinyl, talk to me. Why did you leave England? You had everything there for you." Brinyl looked up, barely seeing the light of the Moon shining through the trees.

"My family was killed almost as soon as you left. Hell the entire village didn't survive. I was the only survivor. Other villages didn't let me stay with them, and the only way I could get any food or money was to pretend I was with the Church." Lena's eyes slowly filled with sadness at the news. "I saw it all, Lena. I watched the whole thing. I watched a dark man in a cloak appear in my house while I was hiding in the stairs. I watched him destroy my whole family. Then he left, and others started being killed by others he seemed to control. It... It scarred me." Brinyl then put his head down on his knees when a drop of water dropped from a branch hit his nose. "What about you Lena. What have you been up to?"

Aby walked behind everyone else, and they seemed almost invisible. She couldn't see them. All she could see were clouds. They weren't dark clouds, they were bright, white clouds. In the clouds, she saw different people. They all looked familiar. Plenty of them were kids, running around, playing. As she reached out, smiling, as if she wanted to play too, Saint appeared in front of her, causing her to collide with him.

"Well, that's the brightest I've ever seen you smile! That's good!" He put his hand on her shoulder and showed her the road. "We need to keep going or else Etsuko and Kazimer will be all alone." He started walking forward, but was stopped at a sudden question.

"Who am I Sir? I just saw children playing in the clouds, calling me a name I didn't recall, but it sounded right." Aby took a single step forward, and as he saw this, Saint looked towards the ground, sighing.

"The time is not right for me to tell you everything Aby. I will tell you when we reach the temple, how about that?" He turned around to her and knelt down. "I really don't even know who I am. I know my name, but just about everything else is a mystery to me." Aby frowned at hearing this. The children spoke to me like they knew me... Who were they?

"Alright, Sir. I can wait."

"And that's how I ended up watching the forest. Understand why I didn't want you involved from a political stand point?" Brinyl shook his head.

"But if the Church lied to you so much, why did you stay?" Lena looked at Brinyl for her answer with much confusion.

"I needed help to break my vows. But, it seems now isn't the time or place to denounce my, well, 'contract' yet." She laughed.

"What's funny about that?" Brinyl asked, not understanding the origin of the laughter, but his thinking stopped as another drop landed on him. "Mind if I get under with you?" She laughed yet again.

"Sure. It's just that ever since I left, I realized I haven't had any extraordinary food like we did back at home. For now, sleep. We'll feel better in the morning, and with fresh minds."

The rain cast forth upon the temple in a wave. The entirety of the bottom level seemed to of almost drowned in the water since the start of the day. Saint looked towards Kazimer with a worried face.

"What could possibly be the mater Saint. We're here, we can see for a long way, even in this rain. Why worry? We'll see William and kill him quickly." Kazimer walked forward slowly, his azure armor being lighted by the lightning.

"It wasn't supposed to rain at all during this. We got here on time, but, time has changed. Something has happened, a plan changed perhaps." Saint looked down the side of the temple. Night had just started settling in and the sky seemed to be opened. "Find Etsuko. I'll find Aby. Now." Saint jumped off the level of the temple he was on, and grabbed a brick as he fell, jolting himself to a stop. He started swinging to where he could jump through the window he looked down at. He finally got the arch right, and leaped.

Kazimer watched the man jump through the window, and pondered the thought for a split second. He heard lightning behind him, and he jumped to the right.

"Damn nature. It blew my cover. Besides that Kazimer, you do not have much hope against me." The Dark Priest pulled his sword out of the roof of the temple, and pointed it towards the blue armored man glistened in the lightning and rain as it intensified. Kazimer just laughed as he pulled out a short sword smaller than the Priest's own blade.

"I do. Don't lie to yourself." With a flash of lightning Kazimer dispersed from his location in a blinding flash. He spun in the air silently and almost invisibly, his sword creating a small blinding glimmer of light. The Priest saw this and swung at the air, striking Kazimer's sword and throwing the warrior out of his strike. They both stared the other down, and leaped.

Kaasik was slammed into the wall of the temple as soon as he turned around to see what had made a stick snap. He looked up, and he couldn't believe his eyes.

"You, I thought you were killed a week ago!" The Legendary Bear had returned for Kaasik. "Regardless of how well you fight for a bear, I'll be sending you back to the dead!"

Markus and Geneviève had reached the temple as the rain fell onto it. The Demon playing with Markus' head had taken a toll on him. It had started to drain Markus' will power. It also started to show him images of the Demon's birth into the world, what he would appear to those whom should live through the birth.

"Nothing will matter. My true form would require a powerful sacrifice. Anything less, undesirable results would occur. Your Lady that accompanies you would work perfectly." It continued to taunt him, never backing down an inch in the torment.

"Markus?" Lady Geneviève read him too well. "You need to stay here." Markus looked back at her with a look of defiance.

"I do not sit back and watch fights. Even if something is tempting me to charge in, I refuse to take a stand bye." Geneviève then interjected with a truth that Markus had forgotten.

"Well then, your client orders you to stand down." Markus subtly calmed down.

"Then I am no longer hired." He walked on and stretched his arms. He needed to blow off some steam. And it almost seemed Mother Nature agreed; a katana came stretching down out of a tree towards Geneviève, who blocked the attack with her wrist blades. The masked ninja came down out of the tree and looked at Geneviève, who could tell even through the mask he was offered something.

"I kill the cloaked one and take you prisoner, I get free. It's a fair deal, considering how nice I'll be taking you to that Priest. Besides, then I can act." The ninja charged at Geneviève from the air, pointing his sword again at her head as he fell. The noble lady blocked the attack but did not see the ninjas other hand reach for a smaller dagger. He slashed it out of its sheath and towards her hands to remove that threat as the dagger and Katana got grabbed. "What?!"

"Leave the Lady alone, coward." Markus twisted the ninja's arms and threw him away, and ran over to his new 'enemy'. The ninja jumped back up and swept the ground with his katana, striking Markus' boot. Luck was on his side as he had some of the best armor available. Markus then calmed his mind and eyed his opponent, getting ready to strike as he watched the ninja tense up.

Give or take a few chapters here.

"I still can't believe you fall for his lies Magnar. His reason. It is non-existent. All just to extend his life." The Priest took a step back, looking at both Magnar and the soldier. Magnar slowed in his pace, but kept walking forward.

"These lies are but a fool's tale Magnar. The issue here is how he is going to end everything if he succeeds." The soldier kept his pace, walking forward as he drew his mighty blade from his back.

"A fool's tale if your ears are deaf. Nothing of him are of good. What are his motives then, Magnar? Do you even know his name?" The Priest lowered his staff, waiting for the first strike. "But if you must need the truth, simply ask. Let him tell you the tale now or after the world is doomed by him?" The rain seemed to of finally stop, bringing the dying moon light, slowly giving way to day. Magnar stopped. He turned his attention to the soldier.

"What is this about your motives anyways Sir?"

"And his dominance over you is shown almost immediately. You can't tell me you seriously consider him the good in this. I simply wish to bring a new ruler to the world, a new dawn of Humans." The Priest saw his chance and started to bring them to his web.

"And the way you commit this event, you commence with dark and evil? Tell me how you wish to bring a new dawn of Humans without ruling them." The soldier increased his pace, gripping his sword tighter.

"Simply put, I won't be the ruler, but an underling to a more powerful individual. One with immense power; all for the greater good, of course."

"Wait sir, why do you fight him?" Magnar walked towards the soldier.

"For reasons that he wishes to bring unthinkable evil into this world."

"Unthinkable evil is not what I intend to bring. Simply, 'Sir', I wish to bring about global peace, food for everyone, and the best live possible. Don't listen to a deceitful human whom would work those whom had trusted him with their live!" The Priest then summoned a bolt of lightning right by the soldier, whom had sidestepped it. "I wish to end this evil man and bring about the next Era of Human Victory!"

"You wish death among those whom do not immediately sway to your dark ways William. It matters not what you do now, your death is here."

"Did you betray Katherine?" Magnar eyes started to turn red as the thoughts rolled in his mind. All the people they fought with. The dead, the living, Brinyl, Amy, could he of displaced their trust just to further his ways?

"I did not Magnar. The Priest claims to be a bringer of peace, but will bring about a living Hell."

"A living Hell for the evil doers. Magnar, do not listen to this fool! Even the Gods admit I am right! Why do you think Zeus sent you on this quest!" William had laid the trap, waiting for his prey to walk upon it. "This man is Evil Incarnate; do not let his foul mysteries of him cloud your mind!"