Ch. 7 Death of a Friend

"First of all, I want to thank you for finding all of my lost guests and brought them back here, Seta."

"Guest? They're victims of your treachery!" Said Souji, he drew his Katana as numerous humans with gold eyes and full armory have been appeared out of nowhere and surround him. Souji remembered what Rane said, that human can transform into Shadow when devoured, so he thought they're Shadows. ...How many people have been killed...? Damn...

"You're a dangerous threat, Seta. That's why I summoned you here, alone, so that I can kill you right away." Jack added a devilish-heavy toned- laugh. Souji just tightened his grip and focusing his eyes on his many enemies."You seem ready Seta. Very well, let it begins."

The armored soldier army charge at him, "Tch..." he muttered, in the end, he ended up fighting an outnumbered battle against Shadows. No matter, I have to survive!

Castle Entrance Gate, Naoto finally noticed Souji's missing and noted that they have nowhere to go except to the Dread Castle, "They maybe inside this Castle."

"They? You mean Shadow?" Chie assumed, Naoto shook her head.

"Haven't you notice? Senpai, Rane, and Nate were gone! The must've been inside since there's only a bottomless valley behind." Everyone took a glance to it before back to Naoto, "For now, we can only get in, or get down... I prefer get in." she said while loaded her Revolver with bullets.

Who the hell is Senpai? Thought Westley."Alright. I'm with you girl!" he said, raising his hand, everyone turned their attention to him, "C'mon it'll be fu- um,- better! Yeah it's better than just stand here, right?" Westley suggested,

"I agree." Marco said as he assembled his parted long barrel gun and loaded it with just one bullet.

"Never thought my little brother interested on Castle." Jeane tapped his brother's back and gave him smile.

"He never changed." said Eirika while still taking some snapshots of anything that interest her.

"Alright, it's decided! We'll get in and Naoto-kun will take the lead!"

"Wha-b, but, n-n-no! I just share my opinion, t-that's all! I-I can't be a leader!" Naoto nervously declined, but in the end she's leading them inside. Started with sigh she said "O-okay, Lets go!"

Went inside, the group came into the Main Hall of the Castle. It has three paths, one leading upstairs with unseen end stairs, one straight to a bizarrere violet door, one leading downstairs with unseen end stairs. Eirika do a snapshot, while Naoto counted the number of this group, and then she decided to split them into three.

"Okay, Chie-senpai, Eirika and Miss Jeane will go through the door, and Sir. Marco, Teddie and West go downstairs... I shall be the one to go up." Naoto ordered, no one agreed of course.

"You can't go alone. I suppose you know well this place, it's dangerous."

"That's my concern Sir, now go!" With that, Naoto ran to up stairs, ignoring all her friends warning and worry. Chie sighed.

"He he, you seem pretty old in the girl's eyes huh, old man?" Westley mocked at Marco who gave him no response and went downstairs, Westley upset and yelled at him but followed him anyway.

"Chie-chan... Can we switch place? It's creepy down there..."

"No way! You just want to be with the girls! Naoto-kun chooses the team members wisely you know!" Chie said and dragging the girls through the door, while Teddie headed downstairs facedown in disappointment.

Castle Library, Rane ended reading some Journals of someone instead of finding a way out before suddenly, the book-case was opened like a door and he saw three ladies entered the library. Rane quickly took all the journals he could found and run towards the ladies.

"Here, take these." Rane handed all the books to Chie before went back to take another. Chie suddenly dropped the books and glancing at him with horror, as well as the other two, Eirika and Jeane. "Huh?" He confused then realized the ladies didn't look at him, but at the huge Shadow in crimson wolf form with some fiery aura all around its body.

"Stay back, I'll handle this!" said Chie as she rushed towards the fiery wolf and crushed a blue card with her Nuchaku. "Suzuka Gongen!" she yelled and then, a female with ancient Japan armor figure carrying a dual edged laser blade appeared above her. "Bufudyne!" with that Suzuka Gongen let out a massive block of Ice to the fiery wolf. The unlucky wolf just took the blow without took any resistance and make it stumbled. "Now! Attack it together!"

Rane's the only one who responded her order and attacked it with her. Few thrusts from the Rapier and many strikes from the Nuchaku are what the wolf got. Surprisingly, it was easily defeated and just vanished. "Just like that?" He commented.

"Rane! Behind you!" Yelled Eirika. Rane felt a dread aura came from behind him, then readying his stance to face another enemy. Chie did so as well. Jeane joined the battle by pointing her Bow's Arrow towards the enemy. "It's, it's coming..."

"It's so fucking dark here!" Westley growled. He currently was heading downstairs with Marco on front and the gloomy Teddie on the back. Marco sudden stop caused him and Teddie bumped at him. "The hell were you doing, old man!" yelled Westley, brushed his clothes.

Apparently Marco stops because he reaches the bottom level. Dungeon, the word written on the wall before he entered it. It filled with skeletons and spider's nest. Only one cell has human inside, but he seems already dead. "We have reached the bottom level. It's a dungeon." Said Marco with his usual face. While Teddie and Westley are gawked.

"It's really creepy, let's get out of here Mark!" Teddie cried, hands trembling.

"Damn right old man! It's nothing here but bones!" added Westley. But Marco ignored them and went deeper. He just keeps yelled at him, and he only get further from them. "Dammit... He'll never listen." He muttered, "L-let's go, Ted." Teddie nodded and the two carefully ran after him.

Marco went deeper his other comrades were behind him, glancing around. Finally dead end. "Man, stop doing that! Tell us when you're gonna stop old man!" Westley said, again he and Teddie bumped at Marco.

"It's a dead end."

"Phew... Let's go back, I don't think I can stand the pressure any longer." Teddie said, turned his direction away, "Waaa..!" He saw black with one little point of red, apparently the dungeon only had two torches as the main lightning, at the beginning and the end.

"Damn, we already went too deep." Westley commented as he gave a glance at it.

"Ah, finally."

"UWAAA!" The two jumped and screamed in surprised when they suddenly heard a voice came out from the cell behind them.

"Who are you?" asked Marco, still in his stoic attitude. Teddie and Westley kneeled with pale face and muttered something that's not in human language...

"Let's just say I'm an unfortunate person who got handcuffed and stuck with human bones and skulls in one cell." Someone behind the cell replied. The cell was covered with shadow so he's unseen and his voice was just a hissing so it's hard to recognize who.

"Very well, Mr. Who got handcuffed and stuck with human bones and skull in one cell. What do you want?"

"Ah, you seem to have a good memories, friend." Someone behind bars chuckled, "Say, can you use the torch to help me out?"

Marco tried to use it but it can't even be moved. "No use, it can't be moved."

"Ah, too bad. Hm?" a pause, "You must leave. There's nothing in this place. I have something to do here, alone. Farewell." Respect what he had said Marco decide to go back upstairs. His comrades were agreeing at his decision and followed him.

"Something to do here? What could it be?" Teddie asked, looking curious.

"It's a fucking ghost Ted! Let it do what it wants!" Westley replied. Teddie easily believe him without more arguments.

"Look's like we finished our assignment first."

Back at the library, Chie and Rane fight fiercely on the front line with other fiery shadow wolves, keep them at bay. Jeane and Eirika support them from the back row. "How many are they?" Rane asked before thrusting his blade at the wolf chest.

"About a thousand." Eirika replied.

"Really huh? Alright let's dance!" Chie said before ingeniously combated five wolves altogether with a combo moves from her Nuchaku and her deadly Kick technique. But they just keep coming back from out of nowhere.

"I've got no choice..." Rane muttered. "Stand back Chie!" he yelled, put back his Rapier and his free hand move forward like wanting to grasped something. Dark aura emerged from his body, seeing this Chie quickly withdraw to where the two ladies are. "Let's finish this! Lucifer!"

A demonic figure appeared above him, has six wings, black skin and a pair of glowing red eyes with two horns on head. It was bursting meteoric energy that strikes all the wolves without mercy, and then vanished along with the shadows. "Done. Now let's get out of here." Rane said, began to walk away.

Eirika sighed, "It's better if you did that earlier." she muttered.

"It doesn't matter Eirika. What's matters now is we go after Naoto, that brave girl needs our help." Jeane said, started running, without more talking, Chie followed her running this forced Eirika and Rane to run after them and he ended up took just one book.

Throne room, Souji dodged a thrust from spearman by jumping and stood on the spear, he then with blinding speed slashing his seventieth opponent who apparently the last and make it vanished. "Quite performance Seta! Even without your Persona, you can defeat my little army." Jack said while gave him an applause.

"You're pinned, Jack. Turn yourself in so you won't get hurt? Souji demanded, withdrew his Katana back to its sheath. He just laugh after he said that.

"Turn myself in? What I've done?" He added a chuckle.

"Tch... Are you that insane to not knowing what you've done? YOU KILLED PEOPLE." Souji replied. He just laugh hysterically.

"You were mistaken Seta, I just turned them into a better being, that's all." Souji's eyes filled with anger now as he said that. "Oh, your friends seems found their way here." he chuckled, "Hm?"

Suddenly the door was slammed open by Naoto. She was made her way through the long stairs and through some various shadows that tried to kill her. So she's exhausted. "Naoto, you okay?" Souji held her almost fainted body.

"I'm okay." she assured, tried to look fine but her body fail her as she just fainted at his hands.

He tried to be as calm as usual, but not now. He was filled with anger. He lay her on the ground and put his jacket on her to make her warm, maybe. And then facing Jack again, "You know what I'm about to ask. Answer it!" He demanded, hands gripping his Katana.

"She just exhausted like you see. That's all." He added a chuckle. "She was very amazing to be here, alive."

"You're dead!" Souji screamed, not satisfied at his reply and start approached him, unsheathed his Katana, slashed his head, sheathed his Katana with blinding speed. And his head fell, like apple fell from its tree.

"Congratulations Seta! You killed a candle doll." A voice echoed the room, eerie voice.

"Tch." He spitted.

"You know she was actually taken up as a hostage to make you join me. I don't know how she made it here" said the eerie voice, then chuckled. "Well, actually I have a gift for you people before I leave. So be sure to take it okay? If not you'll never go back to normal world." and the voice was gone.

"Tch." He spitted again. Join him? And he was said he's going to kill me before... What a person. What's his gift? A key? "Think 'bout it later." he carry Naoto and going downstairs.

Hall, Eirika, Teddie, Marco, and, Westley rejoined and shared what they had found out. "That man down there, could it be Souji?" Eirika asked, and the guys shook their heads. She sighed.

"You know, he could be that bastard." Westley spoke up.

"Maybe, but why he want us to leave him? A guy like him would never do that." Marco said.

"Look they're back! Sensei's with them!" Teddie said happily. "...and Nao-chan..." he said sadly.

Souji who carrying Naoto came with Rane, Chie, and Jeane from upstairs. "Let's-" The moment he said that, the grounds began to shaking and they have to dodge the falling stones from above. "Out of here!"

They made their way out of castle alive, and they watching the castle crumbled from the outside. "Hey... Where's Nate? He... Couldn't be still in that castle rigtht?" Eirika asked, worried.

"...We'll wait for him." Souji replied, no one seems to have any objections. Five minutes, the castle's ruin began to sink. Ten minutes, only the tower is left to see. A Minute later it's completely sank. And a door appeared behind them. "...damn." he muttered. "Our exit has come, let's go."

"But he-"

"He's the one who brought that damn door here! He's- bah! Someone drag her out." Souji went into the door along with Naoto. Rane's the only one who understands what he said. It was something he read before,

'I was forced to fight this castle guardians to escape from this cursed world. I beat it, that's what I thought until more guardians spawned from beneath the castle, the dungeon, and the castle began to crumble. Then I remembered, there's only one guardian, one with key. Attain the key, and you'll open the gate. But time is running out as this castle slowly sank, I gave up. Leaving this castle without the key. Lost in this cursed world. Forever.'

"He's dead."