Part Nine – The Gods of War
It was not long before the trail began to turn upward. The air became thin and hard to breathe in. Kaya cast a spell over everyone which made it easier to breathe until they reached the shrine. Mifune started coughing violently for a few moments again and Kaya rushed over to him, being the only one who knew his secret.
"Are you all right?" Kaya asked.
"It's not what you think! It's just the altitude affecting me." Mifune lied continuing to march on trying to brush it off.
They walked on for a half an hour until the trail finally leveled off bringing them to a plain snow field walled in by mountains on all sides. In the distance they could see a trail which lead to a long flight of stairs where the shrine was located.
"Yes! Not much further now!" Sparkster said relieved.
"All right...once we get past this field and climb those steps we should find the flarestone like Hisaru said." Kaya said gazing at the steps in the distance.
Everyone started running towards the steps relieved that there were no Devotindos or Haruk troops in sight. Once they reached the steps across the field everyone looked up still not able to see a shrine.
"We're almost there; we should hurry before the search party from Haruk finds us. I'm positive they're still after us." Alec said.
Suddenly a loud explosion came echoing in the field from behind them. Everyone was startled by it and looked behind them to see that a hole had been punched straight through the mountains to the left of them. After the smoke had cleared three Devotindos heavy artillery tanks came charging through the mountain followed by two dozen soldiers and three odd-looking mech-soldier robots, all under the Devotindos banner.
"The Devotindos found this place! I don't know how, but they did..." Kaya said shocked.
"Do you think they've spotted us?" Axle wondered.
Suddenly one of the tanks fired and hit the mountain wall just above them. Everyone quickly ran out of the way just moments before piles of rock collapsed where they had been standing.
"Apparently so!" Alec said staring at the pile of rubble next to them.
The army started marching towards them. The three mechanical soldiers were heavily armored standing 20 feet tall. One of the peculiar things Mifune noticed was the large broadswords almost as big as the soldiers themselves each one wielded.
"Those robots...they must be prototypes from Devotindos..." Mifune said examining their movement.
Just then they heard a voice coming from the unit.
"Don't move Rocket Knights! Did you think you could keep this place a secret from us!? Surrender now or we'll take the key by force!" The voice said coming from one of the tanks.
"We don't have time for this..." Mifune said drawing his sword.
"What are you going to do?" Kaya asked.
"If they'll do something as drastic as punching a hole through a mountain then I'm sure they'll use any means possible of getting that stone. Run to the top quickly and make sure no one else comes to claim it!"
"Are you crazy Mifune!? We can't leave you here to fend off an entire unit! You'll be killed!"
"I'll be fine; you have to secure that stone!" Mifune said running forward at the army.
Sparkster started to run after him and Alec quickly grabbed him. Sparkster kicked to get free, but Alec refused to let go.
"He's still the leader of this mission and we have to follow orders! Don't worry he'll be fine. He's fought off a much bigger force than this before!" Alec said dragging him up the steps to the shrine.
"Look at the size of those mech-soldiers...there's no way he can stop all of that alone! Just let me go with him!" Sparkster pleaded.
"We can't. Orders are orders, let's go!" Alec said continuing to force him up.
Mifune charged through the field at the Devotindos unit, dodging cannon shells as they exploded around him. Suddenly the army stopped and the commanding officer opened the hatch of his tank. He was a heavy set man with an evil grin on his face and an eye patch over his left eye.
"Colonel Redell...haven't I defeated you enough yet?" Mifune said to the bloated general.
"Mifune Sanjulo!? The Queen never said anything about you! That doesn't matter to me now; these robots are the most advanced mech-soldiers Devotindos has ever created and are specially designed for dealing with pests like you straight from the factory!" Colonel Redell laughed.
"What are you doing here colonel? There's nothing here for you..."
"I beg to differ! It seems we were given some bad information on the location of the Pigstar key. An informative told us we could find it here. I don't see why you would want to stop us...by getting this Pigstar key we could leave your country in peace."
"Do you really think I'm that naive?" Mifune laughed, "I won't give you or your country the chance to take either Pigstar key."
"That's fine with me Mifune, its better off if I kill you here anyway!" Redell said signaling to the pilot of one of the mech-soldiers to drop his massive broadsword on Mifune.
He quickly leaped out of the way and the sword came crashing down into the snow. Mifune ran up the length of the blade and jumped into the air down towards the colonel. He panicked while yelling as he watched Mifune with his sword over his head about to strike him a mighty blow from above.
Meanwhile Kaya, Sparkster, Axle, and Alec were continuing to run up the steps to the shrine. While they worried about Mifune, they remembered how important it was to reach the flarestone before anyone else and continued to up their pace. At last they reached the top. There was a small wooden hut with an altar inside of it that was empty. Kaya frantically searched the inside but could find nothing. Everyone waited outside for her to find the flarestone.
"So where is it?" Sparkster asked when she came out with a frown on her face.
"...It's not here...I don't understand it. This is where Hisaru told us to go." She said.
Suddenly an evil laugh came from behind the shrine. Kaya backed up in between the three startled by the sinister chuckling. A man in dark plate mail covering his entire body emerged from behind the shrine. He was from Haruk and had long dark hair tied in a ponytail in the back like most of the warriors from Haruk. The savage looking warrior was tossing a small red stone into the air and catching it over and over. He turned his head revealing a mask which covered his entire face. The eerie mask had a cold face painted on it with blood running from the eyes down past the jaw line. Kaya gasped and fell backwards into Alec.
"What's wrong!?" He asked her.
"We're going to die..." Kaya said quietly shivering as she watched the man step forward ever so slowly.
"So you knew to come here then? How?" Alec asked the man.
"Hisaru told me...when he told you..." The dark man replied.
"You were trailing us this whole time!?" Kaya asked him nervously.
"I have...quite interesting what I have been able to achieve just by following you interesting people..." The man chuckled.
"Who is this soldier?" Alec whispered to Kaya.
"He's...he's from the royal guard...he's an assassin sent to kill me." Kaya whispered back.
"What will you do high sorceress? I was told by the Queen to bring you back, but unfortunately now that you know about the stone I'll have to kill you as well."
Kaya remembered the figure in the shadows sitting behind the Queen and realized it was the same person.
"So that was you in the throne room! I will not let you get away with this...Gromm!"
Gromm laughed sharply and paced his hand at his sword.
"I see you have some people here who want to play...I recall hearing one more familiar voice in Hisaru's home, but I guess that was my imagination."
Sparkster and Axle drew their swords grinning at the massive warrior.
"I think we need to teach this cocky bastard a lesson..." Sparkster said. Kaya grabbed him by the arm.
"Wait! Don't make him upset, you don't understand! This man's swordsmanship is equal to that of Mifune's if not better! There's no way you can defeat him!" She said trying to keep them from harm.
"If he fights just like Mifune it shouldn't be a problem. We've fought Mifune lots of times." Axle said.
"Wait...maybe Lady Kaya is right. I will hold him off until Mifune arrives." Alec proposed.
Gromm gave them no time to think after he quickly drew his sword. This blade had less of a shimmer than Sparkster and Mifune's swords, but looked more like well-polished steel. The sword's cross-hilt was arced on both ends upward with three strangely shaped needles connecting the blade to the hilt. In the center was a round socket which fit the description Hisaru gave them on how his sword used the flarestone to trigger the enchantment spell.
"That's the Wochi-Chadaki...Hisaru's sword!" Kaya gasped.
"That's right; I stole this from the old coot a week ago. He never bothered to tell me it was powered by this flarestone." Gromm said holding the red stone in his hand.
"You have no right to wield that!" Kaya exclaimed.
"And you are in no position to tell me what I can and cannot do..." Gromm laughed, "Let's see what happens when I take the 7th sword of Hisaru and place this stone in shall we?"
"Don't!" Kaya begged.
Gromm refused to listen and shoved the flarestone into the slot located on the sword's hilt. His entire body became engulfed in a bright flare and everyone leaped back. Gromm began chuckling as if unharmed by the flame as it began to extinguish until it was reduced to the blade of his sword. The stone glared a bright red as the flames danced from the top of his hilt to the tip of the blade.
"It's...magnificent!" Gromm said laughing hysterically.
Everyone was startled by Gromm's impulses of joy as he manipulated his flaming blade with ease.
"This is very bad..." Kaya said worried.
"Let's just see how great that sword really is!" Axle said to Sparkster.
Together they charged Gromm head on. Kaya and Alec stood appalled and Alec demanded they stop. Neither would listen as they continued to run forward with their blades drawn. Gromm started to laugh evilly behind his mask and widened his stance to something neither of the boys had ever seen before. Axle cut directly to the right of Gromm and Sparkster charged him head on to create a diversion. With all of his strength, Sparkster swung fiercely at Gromm which was evaded by his quick reflexes. Sparkster jolted out of the way as Gromm counter attacked so quickly his blade brushed through Sparkster's bangs, barely making a direct hit to him. Still thinking Gromm was caught off guard Axle leaped forward throwing everything he had into his slash. It was quickly blocked by Gromm whose flaming sword nearly blinded Axle's vision as he was grabbed by the neck before being thrown into the mountain's rock wall. Sparkster had just managed to put the fire out in his hair as he ran back over to Axle to check on him.
"Are you ok!?" Sparkster said helping Axle push the rocks off that collapsed on top of him, "That sword is distracting..."
"He's like Mifune on steroids...but I think we can still take him!" Axle said quickly getting up dashing at the powerful Gromm. He quickly ran around behind him and swung at his head. Gromm ducked sending Axle to fall into the snow in front of him. Gromm was about to grind him into the ground with his boot when Axle jumped to his feet attempting to hit Gromm on the side, when it was met by his sword just before he could finish his swing. Gromm, who seemed to be enjoying the whole match, continued to laugh directly into Axle's face.
"Damn you! Remove that stupid mask! I can't fight somebody who I can't see!" Axle grunted.
"You should learn how to overcome your weakness boy!" Gromm laughed.
Axle backed off to regroup with Sparkster who was being held back by Alec the whole time.
"Axle! What are you doing!? Stay back here!" Alec commanded.
Sparkster broke free of Alec's hold, and together they walked up to the laughing Gromm. Kaya stood watching thunderstruck the entire time clenching her fists. They both placed their swords on their backs and faced Gromm, who started laughing hysterically once again.
"What's this? Little twerps who think they know Haruk blade mastery?" He laughed.
"That does it..." Sparkster said hotheadedly, "He asked for it!"
The two boys rushed toward Gromm in a V-line and quickly ran at him slashing furiously. He proceeded to dodge every swipe that the boys attacked with not raising his sword once. Eventually he grabbed Sparkster by the arm when he swung at his chest, then threw him into the rock wall like a toy doll. The distracted Gromm did not notice Axle as he swung at his head landing a direct blow. Gromm did not budge, but his mask had cracked where Axle had struck. The temperamental Gromm grabbed the sword pulling it from his mask and yanked it out of Axle's hand. He proceeded to crush the blade in his palm like tin foil and threw the bent sword on the ground. Axle stood dumbfounded as the giant Gromm backhanded him with his fist, sending him flying through the air until he was stopped by the same rock wall Sparkster had crashed into. Axle fell to the ground directly next to Sparkster unconscious. Kaya ran over to them to make sure they were ok as Alec began to stir with rage.
"Damn it! I told them to stay!" He said drawing his sword walking towards Gromm bitterly.
"Amateurs..." Gromm taunted as he examined his sword paying no attention to Sir Alec.
Alec now stood in front of Gromm preparing to strike which forced Gromm to take notice of him.
"...You want to die too? I'm guessing you're Sir Alec the Rocket Knight General?" Gromm chuckled, "Come then...show me what the Zebulos Knights have to offer."
Alec dashed forward yelling and pulled his sword behind him. He jumped to the side and then lunged forward at Gromm with everything he had. Their sword's connected releasing an astonishing amount of power and noise. Gromm then proceeded to attack with a multiple series of swings which were blocked uneasily by Alec. He eventually slipped on his guard, and Gromm's blade swept clean over his shoulder spilling blood on the pure white snow. Alec backed off to examine his wound, but had not noticed the second swipe which slashed directly below his elbow on his other arm. Alec's armor plating had separated completely from the extreme sharpness of Gromm's sword.
"It's going to take more than a few scrapes to stop me!" Alec said rushing forward. Gromm responded with a chuckle.
Alec swung downward at Gromm who quickly stepped out of the way to avoid then upward to counterstrike, but was to no prevail. Gromm responded with a quick swipe of his sword against Alec's blade shattering it completely. Alec fell backward and crept back to where Kaya was casting healing spells on Axle and Sparkster.
"His attacks hit you like a sledgehammer!" Alec said putting pressure on his shoulder wound, "Isn't there any way we can somehow catch him off guard?"
Kaya nodded in dismay continuing to heal Sparkster.
"He's a specialist in hand to hand combat, and I've never encountered the spell that's been cast on his sword before. I don't know if he's beatable...I'm sorry." She said in regret.
The sound of footsteps could be heard coming up the mountain steps. Mifune's head suddenly appeared marching up the stairs followed by the moaning body of Colonel Redell being held by the uniform in Mifune's hand. In his other was his sword, brightly engulfed in flame, and nearly identical to Gromm's sword.
"Mifune! You figured out how to cast it!" Kaya said with relief.
Mifune looked around at everyone then threw Redell on the snow in front of him. The distressed Colonel crawled forward and lifted his face out of the snow with a startled look on it, completely covered in blood.
"...He...s...a...m..onster.....!!!" The Colonel sputtered before collapsing face down into the snow.
Mifune and Gromm were now locked where they stood while staring back at each other for a moment. Mifune broke the moment by walking over to the group kneeling down next to Sir Alec.
"What happened? When did he get here?" Mifune asked.
"He followed us last night Mifune. He got to the top before we did and took the flarestone. We all tried to stop him, but he's just too much for us I guess...damn it all..." Alec said cursing himself.
"Just try to relax now..." Mifune said looking over Alec's deep wounds. He then went over to Kaya.
"Are they going to be all right?"
"Yes...but for now we can't move them off of the mountain. You'll have to buy me some time...do you think you can beat him?" Kaya asked seriously.
Mifune swallowed hard and was breathing heavily from his previous fight in the field. Kaya looked and noticed several cuts along the side of his armor and a large dent in his back plating.
"I don't know...it's been a while since I've fought someone like him." Mifune said panting.
"Wait...let me cast something on you." Kaya said placing her hands on his back which Mifune quickly brushed away.
"There's no time! Right now he's plotting his next move. Heal everyone while I distract him, but do not try to leave. If he sees you leave he'll direct his attention to you." Mifune said rising to his feet.
"He's...really good..." Axle said struggling to sit up straight.
"I know Axle...wait here; I promise it'll all be over soon." Mifune replied slowly walking to the opposite end of the area.
Mifune stared at Gromm seriously. The stare was returned by Gromm's lifeless mask.
"Take that stupid thing off..." Mifune said coldly.
Gromm laughed and pulled the mask off of his face revealing a horrendously scarred figure painted with war tattoos and three parallel lines along the left side of his face symbolizing a high ranked warrior.
"Mifune..." Gromm said happily with a twisted grin on his face, "My uncle's pet rodent Mifune..."
Mifune chuckled with a smirk on his face.
"Age seems to have changed me, but you still look as rotten and twisted as ever Gromm...I didn't want to have to see you ever again. I guess fate had other plans."
Gromm laughed out loud in pure bliss. The thought of fighting Mifune again sent a feeling of joy and adrenaline racing through his entire body.
"What is he talking about? His uncle's pet rodent?" Alec asked Kaya.
"Gromm is the nephew of Mifune's master, Sir Pargal. They hate each other because Mifune was always their master's favorite student." She said.
"I'm sorry Gromm...but I'll have to ask you for that stone..." Mifune said calmly.
Gromm laughed up at the sky and then looked back at Mifune.
"You want to ASK me for the stone? That's not you at all Mifune! You can have this stone...when you pry it from the fingers of my dismembered body you fool!" He laughed.
"I was hoping you would have changed in all this time, but I was wrong. So let's do things your way." Mifune said getting into an offensive stance.
"Come Mifune! Face me with everything you have! If you do not I will think nothing to butchering your comrades!" He said as the grin on his face grew wider.
Mifune began to rush forward, his sword raging in flames as he dashed toward Gromm. Tears of fear ran down Kaya's face as she watched with eyes wide open. She was the only one who knew the destructiveness the two warriors could create. Mifune swung at Gromm with speed that cut through the air. Gromm blocked the swift attack and their swords scattered sparks everywhere. Mifune jumped back swiftly and began leaping up the sides of the narrow mountain walls. Gromm followed in close pursuit. Everyone watched as they disappeared from sight above them. Silence fell over the mountains as they continued to watch. Suddenly there was a loud scraping sound and moments later the monk robe Mifune had been wearing began to drift down and fell over some rocks nearby followed by spills of blood splattering on the rocks. Mifune came crashing down bouncing off of the jagged rocks and fell into the bed of snow on his back with a cut across his left side. Everyone gasped.
Gromm came jumping down from nearly 40 stories up landing on his feet laughing.
"Are you still alive, Mifune?" He said with his back to everyone.
Mifune began to slowly sit up to everyone's relief and Kaya ran over to him trying to heal his wound.
"Why are you doing this to them Gromm!? If your mission is to deal with me why involve everyone else!? Why did you take the flarestone? Is it out of your own self-centered pride!?" She asked upset.
"Only I am capable of handling such a weapon..." He said looking at the sword, "Come Mifune, I'm not going to wait around all day for you. You're disappointing me. What would my uncle think? Unless you're trying to die I'd stay out of the air if I were you." He laughed.
Mifune again pushed aside Kaya's help and jumped to his feet. The bleeding had stopped on his side and he shook off the pain charging at Gromm.
"Wait! You can't fight him like that!" Kaya said.
Mifune continued to ignore her and leaped straight into Gromm. He jumped from the ground, uprooting the frozen ground underneath the snow and smashed into Gromm's blade, causing vibrations to echo off the narrow mountain walls sending loose rocks falling from the canyon. Every hit struck an earth shattering blow as the boys and Sir Alec watched in amazement.
"You don't have the right to use that sword! I should have it!" Gromm said staring at Mifune's sword as it locked with his in a struggle.
"I don't think you need another one..." Mifune grunted trying to break away as the flames from their swords became irritating, "You seem to be doing just fine."
"You should have killed me on that mountain trail when you had the chance! Now you're realizing your mistake in not doing so!" Gromm chuckled pressing further into Mifune's blade.
The fight continued on for 10 minutes. Back and forth Mifune and Gromm exchanged blows that could shatter steel in a single swipe every time. They were sweating profusely each hoping to strike the final blow. Mifune attacked Gromm who countered yet again and made a reverse slash with his sword hoping to land a hit to his side. Gromm was able to quickly block and stared in Mifune's face up close grinning.
"That didn't work 18 years ago...what makes you think it'll work now!?" He said kicking Mifune back with his foot.
"They're both identical in combat!" Alec cried.
"Mifune can't keep this up...something has to be done..." Kaya said thinking about his illness.
"You know Mifune..." Gromm said to Mifune trying to catch his breath holding his side, "Pargal always liked you better, and now that you're rusty I just might get my chance to take your place. When I do I'll use this weapon to return Elhorn to a 'pure' state under my rule. With this power I can overcome entire armies by myself! However it would be a lot quicker if I had someone to help me. I'll give you one last chance to live if you join me..."
Mifune got up with a bitter look on his face. He held his guard and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I've heard enough from you! You want me to help you conquer helpless villages and people just out of your own personal satisfaction!? No more of this! I'm ending this match in 20 swings!" Mifune said changing his stance enraged.
He held his sword back with his elbow arched and his other hand forward, widening his stance. No one had ever seen Mifune perform such a stance.
"I've never seen Mifune do that before..." Alec said.
Gromm laughed and waved Mifune forward, changing his own stance.
"Come then Mifune! If you really want to die that bad, then proceed!"
They attacked each other fiercely and savagely like two wolves over a killing and countered each others attacks with great ease, even at the great rates of speed and strength they were attacking. Mifune slashed upwards at Gromm, but did not notice his leg attempting to sweep him off of his feet. Gromm kicked Mifune's legs out from underneath him and he lie in the snow watching Gromm bring his sword down.
"You lose Mifune!" He yelled just as he was about to jab his sword into Mifune.
Mifune quickly jumped up and behind Gromm pulling his sword back and unleashed his hate into a powerful smite knocking Gromm up into the air and yelling from intense pain. All of his armor plating blew clear off of his body just before he fell, crashing into the snow. Gromm remained silent for a few moments as Mifune caught his breath, and then started chuckling. Everyone was shocked that Gromm survived the massive blow. He jumped up now with only his light battle clothes to protect him and gripped his sword tightly running berserk at Mifune.
"You have 10 swings left Mifune!" He shouted running at Mifune.
"This one's my little secret, I hope you like it!" Mifune said dashing at him.
Gromm slashed at Mifune who jumped back then immediately lunged into Gromm running him through the abdomen with his sword. Mifune yelled frantically as he continued to push the sword into Gromm as he backed him into the mountain wall, causing rocks to fall on top of the severely wounded warrior. Mifune stepped back as Gromm continued to grab onto his shoulder plating tightly. When his grip eased Mifune stepped back sure that Gromm was dead.
Everything was silent for a few moments until Gromm burst from the rocks to everyone's amazement and Mifune looked to the collapsed pile of rubble shocked. Gromm stood up and quickly yanked the sword from his body holding it in his hand. A large burn mark scorched his abdomen from the flaming blade. He threw the sword to Mifune continuing to walk towards him.
"Here, this is yours..." He said before ramming his forehead into Mifune's skull sending him skidding across the snow bed as Kaya gasped.
Mifune slowly stood up as a great pain ran through the top of his head. He touched his forehead and looked down at his bracer seeing the dark red blood now running from his head. Gromm, now thinking Mifune was disabled, ran at him with his sword over his head preparing to strike. Right before he had the chance to strike Mifune shoved his sword into Gromm's right side spraying blood over the snow. Gromm fell over grunting finding it much harder to breathe. Mifune returned to his feet leaning on his sword to maintain balance.
"Give up Gromm; you can't beat me with those injuries..." Mifune said breathing hard.
Gromm got up and sat on his knees...staring at his own blood that stained the snow around him. He began laughing and took his sword in front of him.
"You're right...even if you die now...it would end in a draw anyway. I can't survive with wounds like these. My uncle always had faith in you Mifune. I could never be what you are anyway, you're too soft. This is goodbye Mifune. Farewell..." He said thrusting the sword into his chest.
Mifune jumped up to stop him, but it was too late. Gromm died instantly and slumped over into the snow with his sword jammed through his back. Kaya turned around and cried a silent prayer to herself for Gromm. While she was always disagreeing with his savage behavior he was also someone she knew all her life. She could not help but weep for him. Mifune got up and limped next to his corpse, removing the sword from his chest and setting it aside him, laying him down in the bed of snow. He then crawled over to where Kaya was.
"Are you all right...?" Mifune asked quietly.
She nodded to the wall she was facing in response. Everyone crowded around Mifune, now fully healed, except Axle who stood staring at the sword over by Gromm. The glow seemed to be calling him to it as he began to creep toward it without anyone noticing. He grabbed the sword quickly and felt a jolt of energy surge up from his fingertips throughout his entire body. Meanwhile Kaya was trying to heal up Mifune's wounds. Sparkster looked to his left to see Axle with Gromm's sword in his hand.
"What're you doing Axle?" He asked as everyone turned to look at him.
"...You should feel this...it's amazing!" Axle said smiling, "I feel like I could level a mountain or cut down an entire forest!"
"Axle, put that down. You don't know what you're dealing with in that sword!" Mifune said.
"...Actually, I think I do Lord Mifune..." He said walking slowly towards the group with the sword in hand. Kaya began to feel uneasy and Mifune sensed danger.
"What do you think you're doing Axle!?" Alec demanded.
"Come on dad, he's still weak. We can kill him and say he was killed by soldiers! We can be the heroes this time!" Axle said grinning.
Everyone was shocked at what they were hearing. Mifune had a terrified look on his face. Not from fear, but from astonishment.
"What are you saying Axle?" Mifune said.
"I'm sick of being the one following orders, with this sword, I'll never have to follow orders again, come on father let's kill them while they're weak and go home as victors!"
"You idiot! Are you insane!?" Sparkster said walking up to Axle.
"Wait! Don't go near him!" Mifune shouted.
Axle pushed Sparkster out of the way and began running at Mifune on the ground still weakened with his sword pointed directly at Mifune's heart.
"Stop this immediately Axle!" Alec commanded.
When Axle would not listen Alec threw himself in front of Mifune. Mifune's eyes widened as he watched the sword pierce Alec's heart painting the floor underneath his feet red. Alec quickly fell and remained motionless. Axle had killed him in a single jab. He dropped the sword falling to his knees in shock. Everyone couldn't believe what they were seeing. Suddenly Axle cried out into the open sky in deep sorrow. He remained silent and still sitting in the snow as tears fell from his face melting the snow beneath him. Sparkster slowly crept up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder kneeling down next to him.
"It...it wasn't your fault Axle...just an accident..." Sparkster said, "I'm sure everyone agrees."
The distraught Axle continued to weep over the snow.
"I...I..." He spoke quietly.
Sparkster leaned forward to hear what he was trying to say.
"I...HATE YOU!!!" Axle yelled pulling a small dagger from his left pocket and jabbing it into Sparkster's side.
Sparkster gasped as the blood began to trickle from his wound down Axle's hand and onto the snow. He backed out slowly from the blade and fell to the ground on his back, trying to cover the wound with his hand. Axle stared at his bloody hand and dagger and started to chuckle, and then laughed.
"This...this feeling is...I've always wanted to let you know how I felt...and it feels...great..." Axle said in an evil tone. He grabbed Gromm's sword and started walking off of the mountain.
"Wait, Axle!" Mifune pleaded, but before he could stop him he started to cough violently again from his illness.
"Where are you going Axle!?" Kaya asked him.
"...I'm going to start my life over...it's time for a change..." Axle said calmly as he walked down the steps of the shrine and out of sight.
Kaya's eyes widened as she looked around her at the now crimson colored snow that was once white. She ran over to Sparkster who was moaning from the wound and removed his hand now covered in blood.
"This wound is too deep for be to be able to heal with just magic!" She said.
She ran back over to Mifune who started to cough up small amounts of blood which dripped down the sides of his mouth. His sword's flame had extinguished as the spell had worn off. She grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him.
"Mifune you have to stay awake, if we don't get off of this mountain both you and Sparkster will die! Do you understand me!?" She yelled to him drifting in and out.
"I know...I'm just...tired..." Mifune said before passing out up against the rock wall.
Kaya continued shaking him, yelling his name into his ear. However there was no response leaving Kaya alone on the mountain now completely silent with a difficult situation that spelled death for everyone around her.
It was not long before the trail began to turn upward. The air became thin and hard to breathe in. Kaya cast a spell over everyone which made it easier to breathe until they reached the shrine. Mifune started coughing violently for a few moments again and Kaya rushed over to him, being the only one who knew his secret.
"Are you all right?" Kaya asked.
"It's not what you think! It's just the altitude affecting me." Mifune lied continuing to march on trying to brush it off.
They walked on for a half an hour until the trail finally leveled off bringing them to a plain snow field walled in by mountains on all sides. In the distance they could see a trail which lead to a long flight of stairs where the shrine was located.
"Yes! Not much further now!" Sparkster said relieved.
"All right...once we get past this field and climb those steps we should find the flarestone like Hisaru said." Kaya said gazing at the steps in the distance.
Everyone started running towards the steps relieved that there were no Devotindos or Haruk troops in sight. Once they reached the steps across the field everyone looked up still not able to see a shrine.
"We're almost there; we should hurry before the search party from Haruk finds us. I'm positive they're still after us." Alec said.
Suddenly a loud explosion came echoing in the field from behind them. Everyone was startled by it and looked behind them to see that a hole had been punched straight through the mountains to the left of them. After the smoke had cleared three Devotindos heavy artillery tanks came charging through the mountain followed by two dozen soldiers and three odd-looking mech-soldier robots, all under the Devotindos banner.
"The Devotindos found this place! I don't know how, but they did..." Kaya said shocked.
"Do you think they've spotted us?" Axle wondered.
Suddenly one of the tanks fired and hit the mountain wall just above them. Everyone quickly ran out of the way just moments before piles of rock collapsed where they had been standing.
"Apparently so!" Alec said staring at the pile of rubble next to them.
The army started marching towards them. The three mechanical soldiers were heavily armored standing 20 feet tall. One of the peculiar things Mifune noticed was the large broadswords almost as big as the soldiers themselves each one wielded.
"Those robots...they must be prototypes from Devotindos..." Mifune said examining their movement.
Just then they heard a voice coming from the unit.
"Don't move Rocket Knights! Did you think you could keep this place a secret from us!? Surrender now or we'll take the key by force!" The voice said coming from one of the tanks.
"We don't have time for this..." Mifune said drawing his sword.
"What are you going to do?" Kaya asked.
"If they'll do something as drastic as punching a hole through a mountain then I'm sure they'll use any means possible of getting that stone. Run to the top quickly and make sure no one else comes to claim it!"
"Are you crazy Mifune!? We can't leave you here to fend off an entire unit! You'll be killed!"
"I'll be fine; you have to secure that stone!" Mifune said running forward at the army.
Sparkster started to run after him and Alec quickly grabbed him. Sparkster kicked to get free, but Alec refused to let go.
"He's still the leader of this mission and we have to follow orders! Don't worry he'll be fine. He's fought off a much bigger force than this before!" Alec said dragging him up the steps to the shrine.
"Look at the size of those mech-soldiers...there's no way he can stop all of that alone! Just let me go with him!" Sparkster pleaded.
"We can't. Orders are orders, let's go!" Alec said continuing to force him up.
Mifune charged through the field at the Devotindos unit, dodging cannon shells as they exploded around him. Suddenly the army stopped and the commanding officer opened the hatch of his tank. He was a heavy set man with an evil grin on his face and an eye patch over his left eye.
"Colonel Redell...haven't I defeated you enough yet?" Mifune said to the bloated general.
"Mifune Sanjulo!? The Queen never said anything about you! That doesn't matter to me now; these robots are the most advanced mech-soldiers Devotindos has ever created and are specially designed for dealing with pests like you straight from the factory!" Colonel Redell laughed.
"What are you doing here colonel? There's nothing here for you..."
"I beg to differ! It seems we were given some bad information on the location of the Pigstar key. An informative told us we could find it here. I don't see why you would want to stop us...by getting this Pigstar key we could leave your country in peace."
"Do you really think I'm that naive?" Mifune laughed, "I won't give you or your country the chance to take either Pigstar key."
"That's fine with me Mifune, its better off if I kill you here anyway!" Redell said signaling to the pilot of one of the mech-soldiers to drop his massive broadsword on Mifune.
He quickly leaped out of the way and the sword came crashing down into the snow. Mifune ran up the length of the blade and jumped into the air down towards the colonel. He panicked while yelling as he watched Mifune with his sword over his head about to strike him a mighty blow from above.
Meanwhile Kaya, Sparkster, Axle, and Alec were continuing to run up the steps to the shrine. While they worried about Mifune, they remembered how important it was to reach the flarestone before anyone else and continued to up their pace. At last they reached the top. There was a small wooden hut with an altar inside of it that was empty. Kaya frantically searched the inside but could find nothing. Everyone waited outside for her to find the flarestone.
"So where is it?" Sparkster asked when she came out with a frown on her face.
"...It's not here...I don't understand it. This is where Hisaru told us to go." She said.
Suddenly an evil laugh came from behind the shrine. Kaya backed up in between the three startled by the sinister chuckling. A man in dark plate mail covering his entire body emerged from behind the shrine. He was from Haruk and had long dark hair tied in a ponytail in the back like most of the warriors from Haruk. The savage looking warrior was tossing a small red stone into the air and catching it over and over. He turned his head revealing a mask which covered his entire face. The eerie mask had a cold face painted on it with blood running from the eyes down past the jaw line. Kaya gasped and fell backwards into Alec.
"What's wrong!?" He asked her.
"We're going to die..." Kaya said quietly shivering as she watched the man step forward ever so slowly.
"So you knew to come here then? How?" Alec asked the man.
"Hisaru told me...when he told you..." The dark man replied.
"You were trailing us this whole time!?" Kaya asked him nervously.
"I have...quite interesting what I have been able to achieve just by following you interesting people..." The man chuckled.
"Who is this soldier?" Alec whispered to Kaya.
"He's...he's from the royal guard...he's an assassin sent to kill me." Kaya whispered back.
"What will you do high sorceress? I was told by the Queen to bring you back, but unfortunately now that you know about the stone I'll have to kill you as well."
Kaya remembered the figure in the shadows sitting behind the Queen and realized it was the same person.
"So that was you in the throne room! I will not let you get away with this...Gromm!"
Gromm laughed sharply and paced his hand at his sword.
"I see you have some people here who want to play...I recall hearing one more familiar voice in Hisaru's home, but I guess that was my imagination."
Sparkster and Axle drew their swords grinning at the massive warrior.
"I think we need to teach this cocky bastard a lesson..." Sparkster said. Kaya grabbed him by the arm.
"Wait! Don't make him upset, you don't understand! This man's swordsmanship is equal to that of Mifune's if not better! There's no way you can defeat him!" She said trying to keep them from harm.
"If he fights just like Mifune it shouldn't be a problem. We've fought Mifune lots of times." Axle said.
"Wait...maybe Lady Kaya is right. I will hold him off until Mifune arrives." Alec proposed.
Gromm gave them no time to think after he quickly drew his sword. This blade had less of a shimmer than Sparkster and Mifune's swords, but looked more like well-polished steel. The sword's cross-hilt was arced on both ends upward with three strangely shaped needles connecting the blade to the hilt. In the center was a round socket which fit the description Hisaru gave them on how his sword used the flarestone to trigger the enchantment spell.
"That's the Wochi-Chadaki...Hisaru's sword!" Kaya gasped.
"That's right; I stole this from the old coot a week ago. He never bothered to tell me it was powered by this flarestone." Gromm said holding the red stone in his hand.
"You have no right to wield that!" Kaya exclaimed.
"And you are in no position to tell me what I can and cannot do..." Gromm laughed, "Let's see what happens when I take the 7th sword of Hisaru and place this stone in shall we?"
"Don't!" Kaya begged.
Gromm refused to listen and shoved the flarestone into the slot located on the sword's hilt. His entire body became engulfed in a bright flare and everyone leaped back. Gromm began chuckling as if unharmed by the flame as it began to extinguish until it was reduced to the blade of his sword. The stone glared a bright red as the flames danced from the top of his hilt to the tip of the blade.
"It's...magnificent!" Gromm said laughing hysterically.
Everyone was startled by Gromm's impulses of joy as he manipulated his flaming blade with ease.
"This is very bad..." Kaya said worried.
"Let's just see how great that sword really is!" Axle said to Sparkster.
Together they charged Gromm head on. Kaya and Alec stood appalled and Alec demanded they stop. Neither would listen as they continued to run forward with their blades drawn. Gromm started to laugh evilly behind his mask and widened his stance to something neither of the boys had ever seen before. Axle cut directly to the right of Gromm and Sparkster charged him head on to create a diversion. With all of his strength, Sparkster swung fiercely at Gromm which was evaded by his quick reflexes. Sparkster jolted out of the way as Gromm counter attacked so quickly his blade brushed through Sparkster's bangs, barely making a direct hit to him. Still thinking Gromm was caught off guard Axle leaped forward throwing everything he had into his slash. It was quickly blocked by Gromm whose flaming sword nearly blinded Axle's vision as he was grabbed by the neck before being thrown into the mountain's rock wall. Sparkster had just managed to put the fire out in his hair as he ran back over to Axle to check on him.
"Are you ok!?" Sparkster said helping Axle push the rocks off that collapsed on top of him, "That sword is distracting..."
"He's like Mifune on steroids...but I think we can still take him!" Axle said quickly getting up dashing at the powerful Gromm. He quickly ran around behind him and swung at his head. Gromm ducked sending Axle to fall into the snow in front of him. Gromm was about to grind him into the ground with his boot when Axle jumped to his feet attempting to hit Gromm on the side, when it was met by his sword just before he could finish his swing. Gromm, who seemed to be enjoying the whole match, continued to laugh directly into Axle's face.
"Damn you! Remove that stupid mask! I can't fight somebody who I can't see!" Axle grunted.
"You should learn how to overcome your weakness boy!" Gromm laughed.
Axle backed off to regroup with Sparkster who was being held back by Alec the whole time.
"Axle! What are you doing!? Stay back here!" Alec commanded.
Sparkster broke free of Alec's hold, and together they walked up to the laughing Gromm. Kaya stood watching thunderstruck the entire time clenching her fists. They both placed their swords on their backs and faced Gromm, who started laughing hysterically once again.
"What's this? Little twerps who think they know Haruk blade mastery?" He laughed.
"That does it..." Sparkster said hotheadedly, "He asked for it!"
The two boys rushed toward Gromm in a V-line and quickly ran at him slashing furiously. He proceeded to dodge every swipe that the boys attacked with not raising his sword once. Eventually he grabbed Sparkster by the arm when he swung at his chest, then threw him into the rock wall like a toy doll. The distracted Gromm did not notice Axle as he swung at his head landing a direct blow. Gromm did not budge, but his mask had cracked where Axle had struck. The temperamental Gromm grabbed the sword pulling it from his mask and yanked it out of Axle's hand. He proceeded to crush the blade in his palm like tin foil and threw the bent sword on the ground. Axle stood dumbfounded as the giant Gromm backhanded him with his fist, sending him flying through the air until he was stopped by the same rock wall Sparkster had crashed into. Axle fell to the ground directly next to Sparkster unconscious. Kaya ran over to them to make sure they were ok as Alec began to stir with rage.
"Damn it! I told them to stay!" He said drawing his sword walking towards Gromm bitterly.
"Amateurs..." Gromm taunted as he examined his sword paying no attention to Sir Alec.
Alec now stood in front of Gromm preparing to strike which forced Gromm to take notice of him.
"...You want to die too? I'm guessing you're Sir Alec the Rocket Knight General?" Gromm chuckled, "Come then...show me what the Zebulos Knights have to offer."
Alec dashed forward yelling and pulled his sword behind him. He jumped to the side and then lunged forward at Gromm with everything he had. Their sword's connected releasing an astonishing amount of power and noise. Gromm then proceeded to attack with a multiple series of swings which were blocked uneasily by Alec. He eventually slipped on his guard, and Gromm's blade swept clean over his shoulder spilling blood on the pure white snow. Alec backed off to examine his wound, but had not noticed the second swipe which slashed directly below his elbow on his other arm. Alec's armor plating had separated completely from the extreme sharpness of Gromm's sword.
"It's going to take more than a few scrapes to stop me!" Alec said rushing forward. Gromm responded with a chuckle.
Alec swung downward at Gromm who quickly stepped out of the way to avoid then upward to counterstrike, but was to no prevail. Gromm responded with a quick swipe of his sword against Alec's blade shattering it completely. Alec fell backward and crept back to where Kaya was casting healing spells on Axle and Sparkster.
"His attacks hit you like a sledgehammer!" Alec said putting pressure on his shoulder wound, "Isn't there any way we can somehow catch him off guard?"
Kaya nodded in dismay continuing to heal Sparkster.
"He's a specialist in hand to hand combat, and I've never encountered the spell that's been cast on his sword before. I don't know if he's beatable...I'm sorry." She said in regret.
The sound of footsteps could be heard coming up the mountain steps. Mifune's head suddenly appeared marching up the stairs followed by the moaning body of Colonel Redell being held by the uniform in Mifune's hand. In his other was his sword, brightly engulfed in flame, and nearly identical to Gromm's sword.
"Mifune! You figured out how to cast it!" Kaya said with relief.
Mifune looked around at everyone then threw Redell on the snow in front of him. The distressed Colonel crawled forward and lifted his face out of the snow with a startled look on it, completely covered in blood.
"...He...s...a...m..onster.....!!!" The Colonel sputtered before collapsing face down into the snow.
Mifune and Gromm were now locked where they stood while staring back at each other for a moment. Mifune broke the moment by walking over to the group kneeling down next to Sir Alec.
"What happened? When did he get here?" Mifune asked.
"He followed us last night Mifune. He got to the top before we did and took the flarestone. We all tried to stop him, but he's just too much for us I guess...damn it all..." Alec said cursing himself.
"Just try to relax now..." Mifune said looking over Alec's deep wounds. He then went over to Kaya.
"Are they going to be all right?"
"Yes...but for now we can't move them off of the mountain. You'll have to buy me some time...do you think you can beat him?" Kaya asked seriously.
Mifune swallowed hard and was breathing heavily from his previous fight in the field. Kaya looked and noticed several cuts along the side of his armor and a large dent in his back plating.
"I don't know...it's been a while since I've fought someone like him." Mifune said panting.
"Wait...let me cast something on you." Kaya said placing her hands on his back which Mifune quickly brushed away.
"There's no time! Right now he's plotting his next move. Heal everyone while I distract him, but do not try to leave. If he sees you leave he'll direct his attention to you." Mifune said rising to his feet.
"He's...really good..." Axle said struggling to sit up straight.
"I know Axle...wait here; I promise it'll all be over soon." Mifune replied slowly walking to the opposite end of the area.
Mifune stared at Gromm seriously. The stare was returned by Gromm's lifeless mask.
"Take that stupid thing off..." Mifune said coldly.
Gromm laughed and pulled the mask off of his face revealing a horrendously scarred figure painted with war tattoos and three parallel lines along the left side of his face symbolizing a high ranked warrior.
"Mifune..." Gromm said happily with a twisted grin on his face, "My uncle's pet rodent Mifune..."
Mifune chuckled with a smirk on his face.
"Age seems to have changed me, but you still look as rotten and twisted as ever Gromm...I didn't want to have to see you ever again. I guess fate had other plans."
Gromm laughed out loud in pure bliss. The thought of fighting Mifune again sent a feeling of joy and adrenaline racing through his entire body.
"What is he talking about? His uncle's pet rodent?" Alec asked Kaya.
"Gromm is the nephew of Mifune's master, Sir Pargal. They hate each other because Mifune was always their master's favorite student." She said.
"I'm sorry Gromm...but I'll have to ask you for that stone..." Mifune said calmly.
Gromm laughed up at the sky and then looked back at Mifune.
"You want to ASK me for the stone? That's not you at all Mifune! You can have this stone...when you pry it from the fingers of my dismembered body you fool!" He laughed.
"I was hoping you would have changed in all this time, but I was wrong. So let's do things your way." Mifune said getting into an offensive stance.
"Come Mifune! Face me with everything you have! If you do not I will think nothing to butchering your comrades!" He said as the grin on his face grew wider.
Mifune began to rush forward, his sword raging in flames as he dashed toward Gromm. Tears of fear ran down Kaya's face as she watched with eyes wide open. She was the only one who knew the destructiveness the two warriors could create. Mifune swung at Gromm with speed that cut through the air. Gromm blocked the swift attack and their swords scattered sparks everywhere. Mifune jumped back swiftly and began leaping up the sides of the narrow mountain walls. Gromm followed in close pursuit. Everyone watched as they disappeared from sight above them. Silence fell over the mountains as they continued to watch. Suddenly there was a loud scraping sound and moments later the monk robe Mifune had been wearing began to drift down and fell over some rocks nearby followed by spills of blood splattering on the rocks. Mifune came crashing down bouncing off of the jagged rocks and fell into the bed of snow on his back with a cut across his left side. Everyone gasped.
Gromm came jumping down from nearly 40 stories up landing on his feet laughing.
"Are you still alive, Mifune?" He said with his back to everyone.
Mifune began to slowly sit up to everyone's relief and Kaya ran over to him trying to heal his wound.
"Why are you doing this to them Gromm!? If your mission is to deal with me why involve everyone else!? Why did you take the flarestone? Is it out of your own self-centered pride!?" She asked upset.
"Only I am capable of handling such a weapon..." He said looking at the sword, "Come Mifune, I'm not going to wait around all day for you. You're disappointing me. What would my uncle think? Unless you're trying to die I'd stay out of the air if I were you." He laughed.
Mifune again pushed aside Kaya's help and jumped to his feet. The bleeding had stopped on his side and he shook off the pain charging at Gromm.
"Wait! You can't fight him like that!" Kaya said.
Mifune continued to ignore her and leaped straight into Gromm. He jumped from the ground, uprooting the frozen ground underneath the snow and smashed into Gromm's blade, causing vibrations to echo off the narrow mountain walls sending loose rocks falling from the canyon. Every hit struck an earth shattering blow as the boys and Sir Alec watched in amazement.
"You don't have the right to use that sword! I should have it!" Gromm said staring at Mifune's sword as it locked with his in a struggle.
"I don't think you need another one..." Mifune grunted trying to break away as the flames from their swords became irritating, "You seem to be doing just fine."
"You should have killed me on that mountain trail when you had the chance! Now you're realizing your mistake in not doing so!" Gromm chuckled pressing further into Mifune's blade.
The fight continued on for 10 minutes. Back and forth Mifune and Gromm exchanged blows that could shatter steel in a single swipe every time. They were sweating profusely each hoping to strike the final blow. Mifune attacked Gromm who countered yet again and made a reverse slash with his sword hoping to land a hit to his side. Gromm was able to quickly block and stared in Mifune's face up close grinning.
"That didn't work 18 years ago...what makes you think it'll work now!?" He said kicking Mifune back with his foot.
"They're both identical in combat!" Alec cried.
"Mifune can't keep this up...something has to be done..." Kaya said thinking about his illness.
"You know Mifune..." Gromm said to Mifune trying to catch his breath holding his side, "Pargal always liked you better, and now that you're rusty I just might get my chance to take your place. When I do I'll use this weapon to return Elhorn to a 'pure' state under my rule. With this power I can overcome entire armies by myself! However it would be a lot quicker if I had someone to help me. I'll give you one last chance to live if you join me..."
Mifune got up with a bitter look on his face. He held his guard and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I've heard enough from you! You want me to help you conquer helpless villages and people just out of your own personal satisfaction!? No more of this! I'm ending this match in 20 swings!" Mifune said changing his stance enraged.
He held his sword back with his elbow arched and his other hand forward, widening his stance. No one had ever seen Mifune perform such a stance.
"I've never seen Mifune do that before..." Alec said.
Gromm laughed and waved Mifune forward, changing his own stance.
"Come then Mifune! If you really want to die that bad, then proceed!"
They attacked each other fiercely and savagely like two wolves over a killing and countered each others attacks with great ease, even at the great rates of speed and strength they were attacking. Mifune slashed upwards at Gromm, but did not notice his leg attempting to sweep him off of his feet. Gromm kicked Mifune's legs out from underneath him and he lie in the snow watching Gromm bring his sword down.
"You lose Mifune!" He yelled just as he was about to jab his sword into Mifune.
Mifune quickly jumped up and behind Gromm pulling his sword back and unleashed his hate into a powerful smite knocking Gromm up into the air and yelling from intense pain. All of his armor plating blew clear off of his body just before he fell, crashing into the snow. Gromm remained silent for a few moments as Mifune caught his breath, and then started chuckling. Everyone was shocked that Gromm survived the massive blow. He jumped up now with only his light battle clothes to protect him and gripped his sword tightly running berserk at Mifune.
"You have 10 swings left Mifune!" He shouted running at Mifune.
"This one's my little secret, I hope you like it!" Mifune said dashing at him.
Gromm slashed at Mifune who jumped back then immediately lunged into Gromm running him through the abdomen with his sword. Mifune yelled frantically as he continued to push the sword into Gromm as he backed him into the mountain wall, causing rocks to fall on top of the severely wounded warrior. Mifune stepped back as Gromm continued to grab onto his shoulder plating tightly. When his grip eased Mifune stepped back sure that Gromm was dead.
Everything was silent for a few moments until Gromm burst from the rocks to everyone's amazement and Mifune looked to the collapsed pile of rubble shocked. Gromm stood up and quickly yanked the sword from his body holding it in his hand. A large burn mark scorched his abdomen from the flaming blade. He threw the sword to Mifune continuing to walk towards him.
"Here, this is yours..." He said before ramming his forehead into Mifune's skull sending him skidding across the snow bed as Kaya gasped.
Mifune slowly stood up as a great pain ran through the top of his head. He touched his forehead and looked down at his bracer seeing the dark red blood now running from his head. Gromm, now thinking Mifune was disabled, ran at him with his sword over his head preparing to strike. Right before he had the chance to strike Mifune shoved his sword into Gromm's right side spraying blood over the snow. Gromm fell over grunting finding it much harder to breathe. Mifune returned to his feet leaning on his sword to maintain balance.
"Give up Gromm; you can't beat me with those injuries..." Mifune said breathing hard.
Gromm got up and sat on his knees...staring at his own blood that stained the snow around him. He began laughing and took his sword in front of him.
"You're right...even if you die now...it would end in a draw anyway. I can't survive with wounds like these. My uncle always had faith in you Mifune. I could never be what you are anyway, you're too soft. This is goodbye Mifune. Farewell..." He said thrusting the sword into his chest.
Mifune jumped up to stop him, but it was too late. Gromm died instantly and slumped over into the snow with his sword jammed through his back. Kaya turned around and cried a silent prayer to herself for Gromm. While she was always disagreeing with his savage behavior he was also someone she knew all her life. She could not help but weep for him. Mifune got up and limped next to his corpse, removing the sword from his chest and setting it aside him, laying him down in the bed of snow. He then crawled over to where Kaya was.
"Are you all right...?" Mifune asked quietly.
She nodded to the wall she was facing in response. Everyone crowded around Mifune, now fully healed, except Axle who stood staring at the sword over by Gromm. The glow seemed to be calling him to it as he began to creep toward it without anyone noticing. He grabbed the sword quickly and felt a jolt of energy surge up from his fingertips throughout his entire body. Meanwhile Kaya was trying to heal up Mifune's wounds. Sparkster looked to his left to see Axle with Gromm's sword in his hand.
"What're you doing Axle?" He asked as everyone turned to look at him.
"...You should feel this...it's amazing!" Axle said smiling, "I feel like I could level a mountain or cut down an entire forest!"
"Axle, put that down. You don't know what you're dealing with in that sword!" Mifune said.
"...Actually, I think I do Lord Mifune..." He said walking slowly towards the group with the sword in hand. Kaya began to feel uneasy and Mifune sensed danger.
"What do you think you're doing Axle!?" Alec demanded.
"Come on dad, he's still weak. We can kill him and say he was killed by soldiers! We can be the heroes this time!" Axle said grinning.
Everyone was shocked at what they were hearing. Mifune had a terrified look on his face. Not from fear, but from astonishment.
"What are you saying Axle?" Mifune said.
"I'm sick of being the one following orders, with this sword, I'll never have to follow orders again, come on father let's kill them while they're weak and go home as victors!"
"You idiot! Are you insane!?" Sparkster said walking up to Axle.
"Wait! Don't go near him!" Mifune shouted.
Axle pushed Sparkster out of the way and began running at Mifune on the ground still weakened with his sword pointed directly at Mifune's heart.
"Stop this immediately Axle!" Alec commanded.
When Axle would not listen Alec threw himself in front of Mifune. Mifune's eyes widened as he watched the sword pierce Alec's heart painting the floor underneath his feet red. Alec quickly fell and remained motionless. Axle had killed him in a single jab. He dropped the sword falling to his knees in shock. Everyone couldn't believe what they were seeing. Suddenly Axle cried out into the open sky in deep sorrow. He remained silent and still sitting in the snow as tears fell from his face melting the snow beneath him. Sparkster slowly crept up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder kneeling down next to him.
"It...it wasn't your fault Axle...just an accident..." Sparkster said, "I'm sure everyone agrees."
The distraught Axle continued to weep over the snow.
"I...I..." He spoke quietly.
Sparkster leaned forward to hear what he was trying to say.
"I...HATE YOU!!!" Axle yelled pulling a small dagger from his left pocket and jabbing it into Sparkster's side.
Sparkster gasped as the blood began to trickle from his wound down Axle's hand and onto the snow. He backed out slowly from the blade and fell to the ground on his back, trying to cover the wound with his hand. Axle stared at his bloody hand and dagger and started to chuckle, and then laughed.
"This...this feeling is...I've always wanted to let you know how I felt...and it feels...great..." Axle said in an evil tone. He grabbed Gromm's sword and started walking off of the mountain.
"Wait, Axle!" Mifune pleaded, but before he could stop him he started to cough violently again from his illness.
"Where are you going Axle!?" Kaya asked him.
"...I'm going to start my life over...it's time for a change..." Axle said calmly as he walked down the steps of the shrine and out of sight.
Kaya's eyes widened as she looked around her at the now crimson colored snow that was once white. She ran over to Sparkster who was moaning from the wound and removed his hand now covered in blood.
"This wound is too deep for be to be able to heal with just magic!" She said.
She ran back over to Mifune who started to cough up small amounts of blood which dripped down the sides of his mouth. His sword's flame had extinguished as the spell had worn off. She grabbed him by the shoulders and began shaking him.
"Mifune you have to stay awake, if we don't get off of this mountain both you and Sparkster will die! Do you understand me!?" She yelled to him drifting in and out.
"I know...I'm just...tired..." Mifune said before passing out up against the rock wall.
Kaya continued shaking him, yelling his name into his ear. However there was no response leaving Kaya alone on the mountain now completely silent with a difficult situation that spelled death for everyone around her.