Futuristic Warrior from the Past
By: Patriot1776 and Gwydon
Chapter VII
After leaving InuYasha and his posse, Galahad wandered the countryside, searching for his prey. Wherever the Fallen went, Galahad followed his trail. He didn't tell the others, but he had found evidence at the massacred village that the Fallen had left. It was evidence he knew no one else could see, for it was a spiritual mark. The Fallen was agitated by something, and his corrupted soul was venting anger by creating an aura that left residue everywhere. Galahad followed the residue until it faded away, the fallen's excess anger gone. That's where Galahad had to switch to looking for physical signs of the Fallen. It slowed Galahad's pace, for the signs were faint and hard to find. The fallen was either paranoid about the way he moved or he knew Galahad was tracking him.
A few days after Galahad had switched to having to look for signs of the Fallen, he came upon a village. The tracks of the Fallen went straight into the village, yet the village was in perfect shape, the people were still alive, and the buildings were not scorched. Galahad took his helmet off and entered the village. Upon seeing the white haired stranger, many of the villagers began whispering to one another and giving Galahad strange looks. Galahad ignored this and kept his gaze upon the ground, sifting through all the tracks of the villagers to find the Fallen's. He kept going until someone stopped right in his path. Galahad looked up to see a woman. She looked very much like Kagome, yet with a more stern attitude, and was wearing clothing exactly like the old priestess Kaede he had met in the village InuYasha and his friends called home. But Galahad knew there was more to this woman than met the eye. He could see the collected souls of the dead within her artificial body, revealing the secret she worked so hard to keep.
"Creature, why do you venture onto these lands? You know you are not welcome, yet you come anyway. Leave now, before I lose patience, demon." The woman said. She pulled off a bow that sat on her shoulder and nocked an arrow on it.
"Stand down, woman. I know what you are, and you cannot stop me. I seek a foe that has passed through here. Furthermore, I am not a demon." Galahad said, crossing his arms.
"Leave this place villagers, you are in danger. I will deal with this abomination." The woman said. The villagers scattered, leaving the two in alone in the street.
"I warned you, your powers will have no effect on me. Besides, I could take all the souls that hold your body together away from you." The woman's eyes widened, then narrowed again. She drew back on the bow, aiming at Galahad's head.
"You may know my secret, but you won't have a chance to use it." She loosed the arrow. The arrow glistened with a holy light as it flew straight at Galahad's face. He held out his hand, the arrow jamming into his armored palm. The arrow continued to glow in Galahad's hand as he pulled it out of his armor and dropped it onto the ground. He drew his gladius.
"You wish to try that again?" He said. The woman let the bow down and looked at him.
"You are different than the first I saw. Who are you?" She asked.
"I am called Galahad. First one you saw? Describe him." He responded, sheathing his gladius.
"The first I saw was armored in black, not silver. He had similar facial features to you, but his eyes were yellow, and his hair black. He had a device that held the souls to the villages he had massacred, and a sword similar to yours." She said.
"He was a fallen one of my kind. I am a demon slayer, but of a different kind than what you know. I hunt what you call oni. My people were slaughtered by them, and I was created to fight and eradicate them, and drive them back from whence they came. This fallen rivals me in power, so few, if any, can stop him in his mad quest to unleash Hell upon the earth. Except for me." Galahad said. The woman nodded, turned, and started to walk away.
"Very well. I leave you to do your duty. You may pass through."
"In case we meet again, what is your name, madam?" She stopped.
"Kikyo." She said over her shoulder. She turned and stepped out of sight.
-
That night, Galahad gathered materials for a fire. With a shot from the plasma rifle, he had a warm fire to practice next to. He sat down next to it and prayed first. He asked Yahweh for guidance for once he caught up to the fallen. He also prayed for the fallen, that he might see the light and turn back to his old faith. Lastly, Galahad prayed for InuYasha and the others, noting on the particular problems for each of them. Once finished, he meditated and found his center. Then he fed an internal flame all his thoughts and emotion, until only the flame remained in his mind. He then stood up and drew his gladius.
Galahad started simple, as always, with easy swings and parrying that even InuYasha could master. Then he slowly progressed upwards in complexity and speed. All the while feeding the internal flame inside of his head. He then abruptly stopped in mid swing. A holy spring had just flourished inside of him. Galahad had just reacquired some of his power that was lost for being frozen for over six thousand years. He felt Yahweh's hand guiding his actions, partially controlling him. Galahad went back to practicing, and that he had sped up to the point where he had disappeared into a blur of slashes. In his advanced state, he looked over at the fire. It burned more slowly, the flames moving in slow motion. Galahad picked up a rock and flung it at a tree. With a late sounding crack, the rock passed completely through the tree.
Satisfied that his prayers had been answered, Galahad slowed his equilibrium back down to that of the normal world and said a prayer in thanks for the answer he had been given. Galahad now felt confident that he could match the fallen in battle, and defeat him. Now he had to forage his food. He got up and crept off, looking for an animal that he could use to sustain himself.
-
In the week or so following Galahad's departure, InuYasha and his retinue had returned to Kaede's village, and Kagome had gone back to her time yet again for another round of her 'tests'. InuYasha, surprisingly, was helping Kaede out in her garden, while the others were helping out with other things around the village that were needing done.
"InuYasha, I'm surprised thou chose to help me today." Kaede said as she was pulling some weeds and handing them to him, who then shredded them.
"Keh. Got nothing better to do since Kagome's gone, and sitting up in Goshinboku waitin' for her's gotten old." He replied gruffly. "Besides, the trail for Naraku and the other shards have gone cold."
"Where's Galahad? He didn't return with ye?" The old miko then asked.
"Well, we came upon a village with him that had been desecrated in a manner none of us had ever seen before." InuYasha then described the events that had happened in the village several days before.
"So, he and Sesshomaru have gone off to search for this tainted one, have they?"
"That's right. Galahad said we shouldn't follow him either, because this evil one probably has a Soul Cube device of his own. Galahad told us that he would've easily been able to kill each one of us, me included, and that our souls would have then been trapped in his Soul Cube until he used it." InuYasha then explained with a slight growl. Kaede was about to ask something else when the village elder approached.
"Ah, InuYasha. Thank Kami I found you. I need to see you!" He then said.
"What do you want old man?" InuYasha then asked.
"Follow me to my hut, this is urgent. The monk and the taijiya are already there waiting. Where's the strange girl?" he then asked.
"She's away. She'll be back by tomorrow." InuYasha then followed the elder to his hut where Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara where waiting. "Now what the hell's this about?" InuYasha then asked. The elder took a deep breath, then started.
"Yesterday, some messengers from the local daimyo came to see me with unnerving news. They said that they've been hearing rumors that something very strange has started happening at a mansion four days' travel north of here."
"What kind of happenings?" Miroku then asked.
"They said it all started three weeks ago. I would've shrugged it off, but that time coincides with not long before that strange, metal-clad, white haired one showed up with you. Where is he anyways?" the elder then asked.
"Gone off on his own. He's discovered he's got his own score to settle with someone we would like to kill like Naraku. He didn't want us following him, and I wasn't in any position to argue with him." InuYasha then explained, growling again.
"What's been happening at this mansion?" Sango then pressed for the elder to continue.
"Starting those three weeks ago everyone who has gone to the mansion has not returned. No news, nothing about them after they left whatever village or estate they call home. Several daimyos have also sent messengers there too. Same thing with them. The closest one to here then tried sending some soldiers out to the place. When they didn't report back and he heard nothing more about them, he sent word out to find the famous, red-clad inu-hanyou and his party to request them to investigate. His messengers said they were about to give up when they arrived."
"Keh. Sounds like he's being overly paranoid. The head of the mansion may just be trying to start something nasty, like maybe building his own army or something like that." InuYasha then said.
"It cannot be that. The messengers also said that they've heard reports of strange, ominous noises coming from the mansion. Villages surrounding it have been abandoned because the people were unnerved by the inhuman sounds they were hearing off in its direction." the elder then said. He then continued. "So, will you leave today then to investigate this? I share the same worries as the messengers that whatever's going on there may start to spread if its not taken care of."
"We will go and investigate it, but not immediately. Kagome won't be back until tomorrow and we may need her miko powers for this. We'll leave after she gets back." Miroku then stated.
"Now hold on just a minute Miroku. This could turn out to be a wild goose chase. We may just find that he's holding the people hostage for ransom. Naraku's more important than this." InuYasha protested.
"InuYasha, we can't afford not to check this out. Remember what Galahad said. The corrupted one of his kind has also started unleashing those oni of his not just to hunt him, but possibly to also try and start to subvert the land too. This may be that tainted one's doing. Those noises that have been reported sound to me like they could be unearthly. It's the strongest piece of evidence that our 'maniac' may be involved."
"Keh. OK, then we'll go. But if there's no sign of that, we're leaving immediately. Now that you mention that Miroku, I might just be able to convince Kagome to come back early if I tell her the 'maniac' may be involved, and we can leave tonight." InuYasha then said, rubbing his chin a little. The elder's eyes lit up.
"Miroku, what if we find more of those tough oni like we ran into before?" Sango then asked.
"We'll have a tough fight on our hands then. In the last battles, I refrained from using my Kazaana out of fear that the oni would do something to me like Naraku's saimyoushou, but I may have to take that risk if we run into them again. The rest of you will have to be prepared to subdue me should I start to become possessed if I have to use it on them." They got up then and left, and InuYasha headed off to the well.
-
Rrrrriiiiinnnnngggggg! Kagome reached over and pushed a button on the back of the windup alarm clock beside her sleeping bag as she sat up.
"Ah, another day of school." Kagome then first said. She then opened her eyes and saw a familiar hanyou looking at her with a puzzled look. "Oh, that's right. InuYasha, how did you convince me to come back early again, huh?" The young girl then asked as her cheeriness disappeared some.
"Keh! That crazy maniac of Galahad's may be causing trouble, remember! Don't tell me you want to go back home, 'cause it ain't happenin'." InuYasha then replied. Dawn was just starting to break over the group's campsite and the others were starting to wake up. InuYasha had gone off just before sunrise and came back with a pair of rabbits. After fully waking up, Kagome then cooked them over her tiny propane stove and the group ate breakfast. They were soon on their way after that.
Getting Kagome to come back early had been easier than InuYasha had thought. All he'd had to do was mention the Fallen one that Galahad had talked about, and she'd agreed very quickly. They had set out shortly after returning from the well and had made good time that night, covering the same ground within six hours thaton footor horsebackwould have taken two days. They had stopped at Kagome found out to be about eleven after looking at her little clock, had had a quick supper and slept.
They had been traveling till about noon when they soon came across a village that was completely abandoned, and off in the distance further north, they had started to faintly hear a dark, guttural moaning that was the most unearthly sound they had ever heard. The sky was also unnaturally dark in that direction.
"W-W-What is t-t-t-that?" Shippo had started to shake heavily in fear, and clamped onto one of InuYasha's legs.
"I've never heard sounds like that before." Sango then said looking around. Miroku closed his eyes for a moment.
"Those sounds must be being made by someone or something that's related to those oni. No demon can make sounds like that. We're very close. This must be the first of the abandoned villages." Miroku then said. They continued on, and the sounds very gradually got louder as they went further north. InuYasha at one point suggested stopping for lunch, and the others had given him a look like he'd totally lost it for suggesting such a thing when they all could plainly hear the moaning. Pretty soon, they started to approach the gates to a mansion, and Miroku stopped.
"Why am I sensing a great presence of the Undead? InuYasha, you smelling anything?" Miroku then asked. InuYasha then took a big sniff, and his face contorted.
"Ugh! The stench of dead and rotting corpses! It's so strong it's almost overwhelming my nose!" he then said.
"Kagome, here." Sango said, getting out a spare mask of hers that she'd made the last time she'd gone to the exterminators' village, before putting on her own. Kagome took it and put it on.
"InuYasha, warn me the next time we go to a place like this so I'll know to bring a gas mask." Kagome then said. Miroku then slowly walked up to the gate doors and tried to open them.
"Won't budge." he said. Without a word, InuYasha ran up and kicked the gates right off their hinges. They then walked in. Kagome then almost threw up, and Shippo would have screamed, had it not been for InuYasha clamping a hand over his mouth.
Before them they saw a whole courtyard full of people that appeared to be sitting and meditating, except that two-thirds of them appeared to be rotting! Faces, skin, limbs, and even a few heads were missing from most of them as they sat! One whose head was just a skull looked up and then rose to it's feet. Others noticed and got up too. They then started to jerkily stagger toward them, groaning.
"What kind of undead are these damn things?" InuYasha asked.
"This looks similar to the time Kagura brought the dead wolf demons back to life, but InuYasha, do you smell Naraku anywhere?" Sango then asked.
"No. I can't pick up any trace of Naraku or his detachments. But the stench of these guys are so strong they may be masking it." InuYasha replied. Some of the zombies were starting to get close, and they're eyes started to glow red. "Sankon-tessou!" InuYasha began to claw up the ones that were getting too close for comfort and Miroku began to swing his staff around. Sango meanwhile had begun to use her boomerang as a club. Shippo had found his foxfire was useless on the zombies, so he was just staying close to the others. They all fought their way to the mansion porch and turned around.
To their horror, the zombies they had just killed were starting to get back up!
"Dammit! Where's Sesshomaru when you need him?" InuYasha then said angrily.
"Why would he be of any help?" Miroku then shouted as he took the head of one, but not stopping it.
"The Tenseiga works like a normal sword when it's used on the undead!" was the reply.
"Wait! I got it!" Kagome then said, she pulled her bow off her back and began to take aim at the zombies. Her arrows started to utterly disintegrate them! Miroku saw this and got the hint. He started pulling sutras out of his robes and flinging them at the zombies, with similar results. Unfortunately, Kagome soon ran out of arrows, Miroku fully expending the last of his sutras as well a minute or so later. They had however, reduced the zombies to where there was only about half of them as before.
"Well, what do we do now? Kagome's out of arrows, and Miroku's out of sutras." Sango said as the group was now back to back in the center of the courtyard, the remaining zombies staggering toward them.
"I think we should leave so Kagome and I can replenish our weapons." Miroku suggested.
"Uh-uh. We're finding whatever's responsible for doing this first! Kagome, I've got an idea." InuYasha said as he pulled out the Tetsusaiga.
"What is it?" Kagome asked.
"Put your hands on the Tetsusaiga's handle and see if you can focus some of your powers into it." InuYasha then said.
"What? Are you nuts? I'll only cause it to transform back!"
"Its worth a shot. Your miko powers work the strongest on these zombies, but you've got no way of using them without your arrows. Just do it!"
Hesitantly, Kagome put her hands on the bottom of the sword's hilt, below InuYasha's hands and concentrated. InuYasha began to feel a burning in his hands from the purifying energy entering the sword, and the sword began to glow and shrink some, the miko energy trying to transform the sword into its docile state. InuYasha tightened his grip on the hilt, and exerted his will more on the sword to keep it from transforming back. The sword grew back to its original size as Kagome continued to pump her purifying energy into it, and InuYasha started to grunt from the pain.
"Never mind me, Kagome, just keep putting power into it. I'll be fine." InuYasha ground out through clenched fangs. The sword then began to take on a pinkish glow from Kagome's energy building up in it. "Alright, that's enough." Kagome then removed her hands and the now powered up sword continued to glow. InuYasha opened his eyes as sweat from the pain began to run down his forehead. Panting some from the exertion of keeping the sword transformed, he ran forward at the zombies.
"Kaze no Kizu!" InuYasha brought the fang down onto the ground, and the entire group was utterly shocked at what happened. The attack leapt from the blade, but instead of being colored the usual yellow, the attack now had a pinkish tint to it from Kagome's purifying energy! When the attack hit the mob of zombies, not only were they torn limb from limb like normal, but the parts of them also dissolved from the purification energy stored up in the attack. InuYasha then raised the Tetsusaiga back up. The sword's glow had faded a little, but it was still there.
"Impressive. I never thought a mere half-breed youkai such as you could resist a priestess' powers like that. You'd make a fine addition to our army, once we'd exorcised that pitiful human blood from you." They then heard a voice say. The voice was similar to the one of the Baron and Knights that had almost killed Galahad a week or so earlier, but this voice was speaking in fluent Japanese. They all turned to where the voice had come from. What appeared to be a dark brown colored Baron/Hell Knight then walked out of the front door of the mansion. In its right hand was a broadsword that seeped with a dark tinge, and on its left arm was a flayed shield with a skull set in the center of it. The edges of his flayed shield had been sharpened to a razor's edge. InuYasha then smirked at him.
"So you're the one who possessed all these people. This part of some grand plan or something?" he then asked, raising Tetsusaiga at the oni.
"Actually yes it is. The armies of Hell will soon march upon this land and the entire Earth. But enough about that. I've heard about you and your group from the people I brought here. With the exception of you, half-breed, the rest of you will become the first of my next batch of undead. Half-breed, you will be joining our army after I've beaten you down sufficiently." The oni replied. Miroku then started to unwrap the prayer beads sealing the Kazaana. The oni grinned a fanged grin and looked at him. "Ah, go ahead if you wish, priest. I know about that power of yours. Possessing you and corrupting your soul would be that much easier then." A surprised look came to Miroku's face, and he re-tightened the beads. InuYasha looked at Kagome.
"Kagome, you up to charging up the Tetsusaiga a little bit again?" he then asked. Kagome looked a little tired from her earlier effort.
"I'm a little bushed, but I will try." she replied. Kagome then put her hands on the fang's hilt and concentrated again. The glow on the weapon brightened a little, and InuYasha gasped at the increase of pain in his hands from holding the sword. Kagome took her hands from the weapon, and was now panting heavily. "That's all I can do. I'm too exhausted." she then said, bending over and putting her hands on her knees. Sango then ran up and put an arm around her. The oni, meanwhile, had embedded the tip of its sword into the porch of the mansion and began to lean on it, not looking amused. When Kagome finished, it pulled the sword back out and began to approach them.
"Now that your pathetic preparations are complete, we can start." It then said.
"Get back, all of you. I've got to handle this." InuYasha said to the others. They did that, and InuYasha then ran at the oni with his Tetsusaiga raised. His face was still contorted in pain from the purifying energy stored up within the sword. The oni raised his shield and blocked InuYasha's first attack, and the two began to trade sword blows. InuYasha was being able to parry and keep up with the oni's attacks, but the oni was stopping his attacks too whenever he went on the offensive. Neither one of them were being able to gain any kind of advantage. Then, the oni faked a move and caught InuYasha off balance when he attacked. The oni used his shield to deflect the Tetsusaiga and InuYasha's arms up, leaving his chest exposed. The oni swung his sword at InuYasha's chest. InuYasha's fire-rat haori absorbed most of the attack and was cut open, but he was still grazed some. The dark energy in the sword made the attack hurt like hell to InuYasha, and he backed away. The oni then grinned and came at him again.
'I've got to get that shield out of his hands and put him down soon. I'm starting to feel Kagome's power fade from the Tetsusaiga.' InuYasha thought. The Tetsusaiga's pinkish glow had faded a little. Filled with the impending urgency to finish the fight, InuYasha attacked with a renewed sense of vigor. Ignoring the pain from his chest and from his hands from the purifying power, InuYasha began to swing fast and hard at the oni. Sparks of energy were flying as the miko power charged up in the fang met the darkness imbued in the oni's sword. When the oni stopped a particular swing InuYasha had been planning, InuYasha made his move. With a swift kick, he knocked the oni's shield up, exposing the oni's arm that was holding it. In the same motion, InuYasha swung Tetsusaiga at the arm and cleaved the oni's shield arm off at the shoulder. The oni roared in intense pain as the amputated arm fell to the ground and began to dissolve. InuYasha's foot was now cut up and bleeding some from kicking the flayed shield.
"You fight well half-breed, but that's what you still are. A half-breed! You cannot hope to defeat me!" The oni roared and attacked again, still full of fury. InuYasha smiled some as he parried the blows, though they were harder to parry this time.
'That's right, get angry. You can't fight as good when you're angry.' InuYasha thought, noticing that the oni's attacks weren't as well executed now as before. He then returned the taunt. "Half-breed am I? I don't deny that. In fact, I'm proud of it. The human half of me is what allows me to protect the weak your kind seem to love to kill so well. My old man, meanwhile, who gave me my youkai powers, was so powerful that if he were still alive he could probably squash an army of you lowlifes without even breaking a sweat! Oh and by the way, I'm a hanyou, not a half-breed." he said with a smug grin.
"You will die by those words!" The oni then shouted, and then began to attack in a blind fury. That was what InuYasha had been waiting for. When the oni then tried a poorly timed swing, InuYasha swung at the blade of the oni's sword. CHA-CHINK! The Tetsusaiga broke the oni's sword in two, the miko energy in the fang purifying the sword at the same time. The oni grunted in pain from the purifying energy and threw the remainder of his broken sword to the ground as InuYasha leapt back away from him.
"Kaze no Kizu!" InuYasha unleashed the attack once again. This time, all the remaining miko energy in the Tetsusaiga was expended in this attack. The powered up attack sped toward the oni.
"NOOOO!" The oni screamed as the attack hit him full force. "Lucifer, I've failed you!" it then screamed as it entered its death throes and began to dissolve from the miko energy. The oni turned into a bloody spot, and continued to slowly dissolve. InuYasha then sheathed the Tetsusaiga and sat on the ground, the exhaustion finally hitting him fully.
"InuYasha, you did it!" Kagome said enthusiastically as she slowly walked up to him and put her arms around him.
"InuYasha, you continue to amaze all of us." Miroku then said.
"That was one of the hardest damn battles I've ever fought. Not only was I fighting that oni, I was also having to fight to keep the Tetsusaiga transformed while it was powered up like that. Kagome, we need to see if Totosai can make you a sword that's infused with your powers so you can still fight after you've run out of arrows. But not now. Let's get's get back to Kaede's first." InuYasha then said as he panted from exhaustion heavily and groaned some in pain from his foot.
-
As the first rays of dawn streaked across the shantytown, the Fallen prepared to gain some personal power. He was not even noticed by the few people out as he proceeded to the hut where the monks stayed. Upon arriving at it, he found the monks already outside, along with some competition. A large creature stood facing the monks, similar in shape to that of a Minotaur. The fallen walked towards it.
"Step aside, these mortals are mine." The Fallen said. He had finally learned the language of the natives, and found it so simple it was boring to speak.
"You dare challenge me? I will drain the powers from these monks for my use. But since you wish to die, you will be the first!" It then swung a large hammer at the Fallen. Super charging his equilibrium, the Minotaur seemed to slow down as the Fallen sped up. The monks stood aghast as the black armored figure turned into a blur and zipped by the monster's attack, slashing the monster across the chest as its hammer smashed a spot on the ground. Its roar in pain sounded very strange slowed down, but the creature took the defense and started trying to keep up with the Fallen's movements.
As the Fallen seemed to float around the Minotaur, he saw that his slash had done nothing but agitate the creature. It would take his more potent of attacks to bring the creature down. He reached for the corrupted Soul Cube on his belt. As he brought it up to the ready position, he dodged the stomp the Minotaur had directed at him. Stopping suddenly, the Fallen reared back and hurled the corrupted Soul Cube at the Minotaur. The blades that were the wings spread out and most the light in the area was sucked into the Soul Cube, casting the land in shadow. The Minotaur looked confusedly at the tiny contraption as it flew at it. For a single instant, everything within fifty yards of the Minotaur was cast into complete blackness as the Soul Cube obliterated the creature. As sunlight flooded the area once again, the spot where the Minotaur stood was nothing but molten rock and scorched earth. The fallen caught the Soul Cube as it returned to him, and attached it to his belt. The monks stared at the yellow-eyed Caucasian, fear in their eyes. The Fallen started walking toward them.
"How do you have such p-" One started to say, but was cut off as the Fallen re-accelerated and eviscerated every one of them. They collapsed around him in a heap, their bodies still smoking from his attacks. The Fallen sheathed his black gladius and looked skyward, arching his arms back. Black lightning surged from the corpses and into the body of the Fallen, who began to shake as he was filled with more power. After a few seconds, the lightning stopped coming from the bodies. The Fallen lowered his gaze from the sky and looked upon the villagers, his eyes now glowing a dark red. Frightened, the villagers scattered. The fallen had no interest in them any more, he had other plans. Popping his knuckles, the Fallen started back to his lair. He had a trap to set.
-
Galahad was just cresting a hill when he saw the flash of darkness off in the distance. A psychic spark strung across his mind. He could literally feel the evil in the air, its corruptive touch withering the plants around him. The Fallen was close.
He was in no particular hurry, he knew that if he sped he would catch up to the Fallen too quickly to find his demon-summoning circle. Setting his sights on the village, he started at a brisk walk. One thing gladdened him. He felt the signature of a Soul Cube's use, so he was safe from having such a monstrous attack unleashed on him.
After an hour of walking, he entered the village. The smell of sulfur and burnt flesh hit him. The evil taint that the corrupted Soul Cube had unleashed was poisoning the ground. As he stepped upon the battleground, he saw that the Fallen's Soul Cube was so overcharged that it had burnt the soil into ash and melted the bedrock, turning it into a small pool of lava. Three corpses laid over by the pool, with cauterized slash marks across their chests.
Not surprisingly, none of the villagers were outside. They all hid, looking at him through windows and doorways, fear in their eyes. Galahad turned to someone who was looking through a window. The man started to step away from the window but was stopped when Galahad shot up and grabbed him with lightning speed.
"Sir, where has the man who caused this gone?" Galahad asked. The man shivered and uneasily pointed to the north. "You not need to fear me. I mean to destroy this man." Galahad then let go of him and scanned the ground. Fresh, unhidden marks of the fallen led him to the north, just as the villager showed. After entering a valley, he followed the tracks down into an area where a plateau jutted upwards, revealing a cave. The tracks led into the cave, and as Galahad stood before the entrance, he again felt the presence of the aura he felt before. Pulling his plasma rifle off his back and cocking it, Galahad ventured into the darkness.
As soon it became too dark to see, Galahad altered the retina and irises of his eyes, allowing more light to reflect inward, making his eyes glow a soft gray. Able to see better, he then proceeded deeper into the cave until he found the door, which had been ripped off its track and smashed into the floor.
The interior was a wreck. Wall panels were covered in scratch marks, obviously from demon claws, and many of the lights dangled out of socket or simply did not work at all. Galahad slowed his pace and held his plasma rifle in a ready position. He did not feel fear at the sight of all the signs of demonic presence, but his adrenaline cleared his mind to an extreme calm, and emotionless. His soldier side was fully engaged. Galahad continued forward until maniacal laughter came as if from nowhere, causing the metal clad warrior to freeze in place and look up. It continued for several seconds, then abruptly stopped. Pushing the memory of the laughter out of his mind, Galahad continued deeper into the bowels of the desecrated facility. As he neared the cryogenics chamber, he could hear unholy chanting coming from within. Peering through the doorway, Galahad laid his eyes on a visage of Hell.
The Fallen stood in the exact center of a glowing red pentagram on the floor, chanting in the black speech. The walls were seemingly made of hunks of flesh, and pools of bubbling magma sat at the corners of the room. Galahad brought his plasma rifle to his shoulder and stepped inside.
"/You! You there! Turn where I can see your face/" Galahad ordered, speaking in Low Speech, his native language. The Fallen turned, wielding his gladius in his hands. Galahad immediately recognized the face of the insane man before him. "/Romulus. I figured that if anyone of the expedition into Hell went to the darkness, it would be you. Proves I was correct./" Galahad said, staring Romulus down with his plasma rifle. Romulus grinned, his glowing red eyes flashing once.
"/And it seems that I was correct about the one who was bringing down my underlings. You were the best one among us, the leader of the expedition. There's no telling how many times you pulled my ass out of the fire, but you let me get a little too scorched. I only thought I was depressed when I was frozen. But my awakening brought me to a conclusion: insanity. Now I seek to conquer this petty world when I dispatch you and unleash my army waiting in the depths of Hell./" Romulus said, putting on a crested helmet and taking an offensive stance.
"/Very well, it seems that I will have to return you to the depths of Hell with an early demise. Prepare yourself/" Galahad shouted, unloading a burst from his plasma rifle. Romulus charged up his equilibrium, dodged the shots, and threw a blade down into the barrel of the gun. Galahad immediately responded by throwing the gun and drawing his gladius. The gun detonated upon impact, spewing hot blue plasma everywhere, burning into the floor. Galahad charged his equilibrium and sped at Romulus. In their heightened state, the pair of sparring warriors looked like a swirling tornado of flashing blades, the air filled with the non-stop clanging of their weapons. From Galahad's point of view, Romulus seemed to be leaving a trail wherever he went, and that the corrupted warrior had gained some skill in the use of his blade. The two continued to fight, gaining openings for kicks and punches.
Galahad could see the kick coming to his face, but he could do nothing to stop it, Romulus was moving faster than Galahad's ability to see attacks. The kick caught him in the side of the head, taking his helmet off and knocking him across the room. He dug his feet into the floor and screeched to a halt, then shot at Romulus with a flying kick. Romulus was struck square in the chest, but at the same time he stabbed Galahad in the abdomen. So as Romulus flew through a stone portion of the wall, Galahad dropped to a knee and wrenched the corrupted blade out of his side.
'He has dealt me quite a blow. I must finish him quickly less he wear me down. Very well, I shall overcharge myself.' Galahad thought. He picked up Romulus' blade and turned to the hole in the wall Romulus had made. The dark warrior stepped to the mouth of the hole, staggering some. He spotted Galahad and ran at him, drawing a dagger. Galahad instinctively threw Romulus' sword at him. To his surprise, he threw the blade so hard in his overcharged state that it sank into Romulus' shoulder all the way to the hilt. Romulus slowed his pace to pull his blade out, it seeming to have little effect on him.
The two warriors continued fighting, ignoring their wounds. Galahad received many nicks to the face and arms since Romulus wielded two weapons, but Romulus could not keep up with Galahad's pace, and took a thorough beating in the process. Then Romulus seemed to charge at Galahad again, but abruptly changed course. He ran up to a panel on the wall and opened it, revealing a rather large gun, easily the size of a man's chest. He hit a couple buttons on it and turned to face Galahad.
"/You may have defeated me in combat, but you cannot defeat my fusion cannon! I leave you to find your maker. Burn and suffer, Galahad/" Romulus shouted. He threw a strange device on the ground and disappeared in a flash of red flames. Galahad sprinted up to the weapon. He knew that Romulus had not intended to shoot Galahad with the weapon, for in such proximity that it would destroy them both. Galahad took one glance at it then turned and started sprinting away, the weapon was set to overcharge, creating a blast strong enough to destroy the whole compound!
Galahad ran as fast as he could, surging through the facility. He knew that he did not have enough time to get away from the shock wave, but he had a chance to at least get out of the immediate blast area. Galahad came up short on his run by the skin of his teeth. As he ran out the mouth of the cave, utterly exhausted, the weapon detonated. Galahad felt himself lifted into the air and thrown forward. The world passed by in a blur as Galahad flew outward. Then the rippling blur abruptly turned to darkness as he collided with a large boulder.
