I'm so sorry about this delay. I've been having some technical difficulties that I have finally resolved. So I will publish the next chapter next week to stick with the schedule.

Chapter 32: Underneath Reaper's Helmet

"Ren did what?" Yuri asked for clarification. He wasn't sure he had heard the fox right when he explained.

"Trust me, I'm as shocked as the rest of you," Verius admitted. "But at the time it seemed like a good idea. Although I wish she would have just let me go instead."

Rita let out an angry huff and crossed her arms. "That was incredibly reckless of her," she complained. "We at least know they're not going to harm Estelle and Veal, but if the Holy Knights find her then they won't hesitate to kill her."

"Sounds a little bit like a certain princess, doesn't it?" Judith quickly added, perhaps to help keep a certain positive attitude.

"We'll just had to add her to the list of people to save," Raven said.

"But how are we going to go about finding them?" Karol asked. "It took a few days to find Estelle last time."

That was when Yuri recalled something Verius had said a while back. He understood why Ren left. "As idiotic as Ren's actions were," Yuri started, "we'll be able to find her easily. Isn't that right Verius?"

Everyone looked at the spirit who was wearing a large smile. "I'm so glad that you actually seem to listen to me. Yes. Because I was born through Ren, I know where she is at all time. Once I realized that Zane was using a powerful teleportation spell, Ren decided to go with them so the rest of us could find them."

"Sweet," Karol cheered as he jumped up with his fist in the air. "Then all we need to do is fly wherever Verius tells us to."

"That's correct. We just need to fly directly Northwest. However, we need to hurry," Verius added and his smile disappeared. He jumped to his paws and hurried to the exit of the city. He stopped underneath the gate and seemed to be waiting on them.

Obviously the fox worried for Ren's safety. But there was more than just Ren's life at stake. "What's wrong Verius?" Judith asked.

"You're acting like the world is burning," Flynn commented. Ioder was slowly gaining consciousness. Although the little emperor kept muttering nonsensical things. Yuri was pretty sure he was talking about crepes.

"I'm afraid it might be," Verius responded. "The actions Ren and I have done to prevent the operation of the cannon have backed the Holy Knights into a corner and they're now planning something drastic."

Rita's eyes grew wide. "You mean they're going to use Estelle and the kid as a power source for that damn cannon."

And use it on the capital. This was far worse than when they forced Estelle to open a door or using Veal as a mindless puppet. The two of them would never be able to forgive themselves if they were the cause of so much death and destruction. That is, of course, if the two of them survived getting their mana absorbed.

Thankfully Verius shook his head but is words weren't much better. "Two mortals don't have enough mana to power the cannon with the results they're wanting. Considering they were having Veal creating spirits and forming contracts with them, I hypothesize that they plan on harnessing the spirits' powers through them."

"Damn them," Rita cursed and looked ready to fight someone.

Yuri felt sick to his stomach. Estelle and Veal had been nothing but tools to these people since the beginning. And Estelle has practically been one her whole life by nobles and Alexei. And Yuri had yet to prevent that from repeating. They had to get to them in time.

"Wait. so if they're going to use them for the mana cannon, then that means…" Raven didn't finish his thought.

"That's right," Verius began to finish. "Ren and the others are wherever the mana cannon is."

/~/~/

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. What the hell am I doing here? Ren thought as she resisted the urge to just flee. Of course it would be difficult since it looked like she was in the middle of the ocean and she was in no mood to swim. She wasn't sure how there was a large tower in the ocean.

But there was one thing that made her determined to stay. The mana cannon had to be here. She had finally found it. Her body felt so excited and joyful that she had finally found what she had been searching for all this time. She was scared that this precious opportunity may be ruined because she would get too excited and make a wrong move. Estelle had caught a glimpse of her a little while ago and Ren had feared that the little princess could give her away in her drowsy state.

Thankfully she hadn't and had even fallen back to sleep.

For now she needed to figure out how to stop the cannon from firing. Not only would it anger the spirit she had made the promise with, but it would also destroy a large population of people. Not to mention there were four Holy Knights currently between her and the cannon. She could just barely handle Xiu, so there was no way she would be able to fight her again and the others. Zane did seem out of the fight since he was still on the ground and hadn't moved. But it was still three against one. Ren did not like those odds.

James ordered his little bear friend to carry Veal and Estelle toward what looked like a lift. Great, now how was she going to follow them? She glanced up at the tower they were in. It was likely they would take them to the top. If that was the case then she would have to climb, and that made Ren dizzy just thinking about. They just had go somewhere that was really high up.

Of course there was a chance they were going down. But that would mean that Ren would need to somehow find a way below the ocean. As much as she feared heights, she would be safer sneaking up rather than down.

She had to follow them. She and Verius had a hunch that the reason the Holy Knights were after the princess and the kid was because of their bond with the spirits and they planned on using them to get the spirits mana as a power source. Ren had that same connection but was much weaker. After all, she had to call on them with an elaborate spell. The spirits just came to Estelle and Veal when they were in serious danger. That meant the knights were planning on putting the two of them in a situation the spirits would feel they would have to intervene.

Suddenly Reaper's head turned toward her direction and Ren quickly moved back behind the pillar. She stayed absolutely still not knowing if the armored knight had seen her. It was all over if Reaper found her.

Ren even held her breath as she waited to see what the knight would do. She then heard his heavy footsteps that weren't heading her way. She let out the breath she had been holding, but didn't let her guard down.

"James, why don't you take Zane somewhere else so he can get the rest he needs," Reaper suddenly said.

Ren risked a peak around her pillar to see what was going all. The knights were close to the lift and James and Xiu both looked concern at their armored companion. "Reaper, are you sure that's really you in that armor? Xiu asked as she put a hand on her hip. "Since when do you ever show concern for Zane.

"Could you lift your helmet so we can make sure it's really you?" James offered.

A frustrated sound came from Reaper and he lifted his visor for his companions to see. His back was to Ren so she wasn't able to see what the faceless knight looked like. He quickly closed it when James smiled and said, "Yep it's you. But why are you so concerned about Zane?"

"Trust me, I'm not," Reaper quickly told him. "But he's useless like that and he's going to be unbearable when he wakes up."

"Good point," Xiu agreed. "He'll cry like a little kid if he doesn't get to see the mana cannon go off and I doubt he's going to wake up anytime soon. James, why don't you fly Zane over to Vossler with your little monster friend."

"Alright, just let me tell my friends what to do while I'm away," James said and placed his hand on the bear. He seemed to be giving the monster instructions though Ren wasn't able to hear. The bear lowered its paws and Reaper took Estelle to carry the rest of the way while Xiu threw Veal over her small shoulders.

The bear followed James toward Zane's unconscious form and the monster picked him up. As they started to walk away, Ren moved out of sight again. She prayed to her ancestors that the monster wouldn't smell her and alert the little monster child to her presence. She heard some large doors open and risked a peak to see that James and his monster were leaving. Now there were only two Holy Knights.

But they were possibly the strongest of the knights and there was no way she would be able to hold them off long enough for Verius to bring the others. Her best option was to wait and look for a way to stop for the cannon. I'm sorry guys, you'll just have to wait just a little longer.

The door in front of them opened to reveal the lift. Xiu walked in first. Before Reaper followed, his head turned toward Ren again and she quickly hid. There was no doubt that he saw her this time. I am so dead!

"What's wrong Reaper?" Ren heard Xiu say.

"It's nothing," Reaper said and Ren soon heard his footsteps.

She heard the doors close and what sounded like them going up. Ren ventured out from her hiding spot and saw that she was alone. Reaper had seen her. She knew that. But he didn't say anything. Was he warning her that if he was able to find her, others would? She quickly shook her head. Screw Reaper, I'll find a way to stop all of this. He may be setting up a trap for her if she got on the lift.

As much as she hated it, she would have to make the climb up. She just needed to not look down. Or fall. You can do this Ren, she prepped herself. Surely it wouldn't be that high.

She walked to an opening that seemed like it was made from a monster that charged at the wall with full force. As she climbed through the opening, she took a moment to look out at the vast ocean. Nothing was in sight. She was alone here.

Ren glanced up at where she would have to climb and nearly felt like she was going to get sick. The tower they were in was so high. It at least looked like she could climb up it easily since the knights were still building on to it. A little halfway up the tower it looked like they had knocked out a section to make it look more open. The cannon had to be there. She then happened to look down and she felt even more sick. There were sharp rocks. If she fell then it would be over.

But this was to stop the cannon. Something that had been her goal for so long. Stopping the cannon was a promise she must fulfil. Otherwise the world will become worse. So she began to prep herself for the climb.

Just as her arm reached up to start, the horrible feeling in her shoulder returned. It was even worse than the last time because it had spread all the way down to her wrist. Ren slid down to her bottom and bit down on her scarf to suffocate her cries. Her whole arm locked up and felt like it was trying to compress itself.

Damn it, not now, she whimpered. She was so close to her goal. Why couldn't this wait?

Ren, is everything alright? She heard Verius ask.

I'll be fine, she quickly told him. If he came now, then the others won't know where to go and it'll take longer for them to arrive and rescue Estelle and Veal. Just get here quick.

We're nearly there. Just hold on, he reassured her.

She didn't have time to wait. Ren pulled out a knife and some bandages. When she did that, her silver bell came out of the bag too.

Ren gathered her precious treasure, the small bell, and held it to her chest. Please watch over me grandfather, she prayed before putting it back. She then rolled up the sleeve of her jacket. Underneath the sleeve was a green arm. Making bonds with the spirits and using that mystic arte had accelerated the growth. At this rate, she wouldn't last much longer. She needed more time and a cheap trick. So she would cause pain she could manage easily.

After tying the bandages tightly just below the elbow, Ren plunged her knife into her forearm. She was careful not to hit anything important that would make her incapable of using it again. An injury like this was something Verius could repair no problem. A new wave of pain entered her body. It seemed to smother the crushing feeling and she was able to move it better.

The only good thing was that climbing was now out of the question.

/~/~/

It was decided that Ba'ul would fly them to wherever it was the Holy Knights had taken Estelle and the others. Sodia and her knights stayed behind to protect Ioder and keep monsters out of the city since a whole horde of them suddenly appeared shortly after the Holy Knights left. Of course this all came after she profusely apologized for failing in her duties as a knight and letting the knights get away. Flynn had to remind her that she still had a duty to preform and there was no time for self-loathing.

Yuri and the others hated leaving things as they were, but they had no choice. It was hard choice for Flynn, but the knights told him that if anyone would be able to evacuate the capital in a timely manner, it would be him, the leader of the knights. Plus once Ioder woke up and was informed of the situation, he practically ordered Flynn and the rest of them to do what was necessary to save Zaphias and rescue their friends.

So Ba'ul would drop most of the group off and then fly as fast as he could with Judith and Flynn so they can evacuate the capital. Of course now all of them were worried about Ren because Verius seemed to be in pain. He expressed his concern for his partner, saying she was still safe but might not be for long.

The fox spirit was directing Ba'ul to where Ren was and so far they were flying over the ocean with nothing in sight.

Yuri was at the front of the ship waiting for their destination to appear. That was when Flynn joined him. The commandant rested his elbows on the railing and kept looking forward. For a while the two of them were quite. Yuri felt a little irritated at his friend and he was sure he was going to bring up something along the lines of following the law while they were on this rescue mission.

"Are you going to tell me not to do anything you wouldn't do?" Yuri asked to beat him to the punch.

His friend just shrugged his shoulders and still didn't look over at Yuri. "I suppose I can say that. Not that it would do any good. However, if I was going with you then I wouldn't hesitate to fight the so called 'Holy Knights' or destroy the weapon they are planning to use on innocent people."

Yuri smirked. "Strong words coming from the commandant. I never thought I'd hear you say something like this. I thought you'd at least want to arrest them so they can have a formal trial and go to jail."

"Trust me, that's what I'd like to happen," Flynn admitted. "But with these circumstance…" the commandant trailed off. Being forced to use such methods was probably making him feel like a hypocrite to the system he had spent all this time fixing. Here he was sneaking around other councilmembers and turning his head to others possibly committing crimes. But Nightwood was the first to break the laws. Yuri would say these actions were called for. Besides, Ioder was on their side. That's all that really mattered in the end.

"Our concern is saving Estelle and Veal, and putting a stop to the cannon in the process. We can worry about the technicalities later," Yuri told him.

"Just be sure all of you make it out of this alive."

"I had no other intention," Yuri told him plainly. "We'll all get through this."

Flynn actually smiled at that. "You better, or I'll just have to kick your ass next time I see you," he joked.

"Way to add on to the pressure. As if saving a city's worth of people wasn't enough," Yuri said. "But I expect you and Judy to get through this too and complete your job. Otherwise I'll be kicking your ass."

"I hate to interrupt you're talk of fighting," Verius suddenly said as he jumped in the middle of them to stand at the very front of the ship. "But it looks like we've arrived."

Everyone else joined them to see what their destination was. Yuri couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Holy Knights had taken their friends to Zaude and was possibly under construction to really be a weapon Alexei had had hoped it would be. It was obvious that Nightwood was converting the ancient blastia into weapon.

A tower had been constructed in the center, possibly to better support the cannon that was likely at the top where the giant core that had kept the Adephagos at bay had been. Now the once open platform was covered and surrounded with pillars.

"They may already see us," Flynn said out loud. It would be easy to spot Ba'ul approaching, especially if the Holy Knights were at the top.

"As long as they don't fire the cannon at us I think it'll be fine," Raven reassured.

"Which they're not," Verius clarified. "They haven't even started the process to absorb more mana."

That was good. They still had time. And if they see that they had intruders then that meant they might get careless and make mistakes. The Holy Knights wouldn't suspect they had intruders this soon.

Ba'ul started making noises and Judith quickly translated. "He says he's afraid to go near the top and can only drop all of you off at the bottom."

"He probably senses that they plan on absorbing the spirits' mana," Verius commented. "I fear that confirms my suspensions. I have the same feeling and I'm not looking forward going to that area either."

It was a bit of a disappointment. But Yuri couldn't blame him. "You've done more than enough for us Ba'ul," Yuri told the entelexeia Besides, there was no guarantee that Estelle and Veal were even at the top anyway.

"Now Ba'ul, remember," Verius started to remind, "If you start to feel mana gathering in this area you need to get as far away as possible from the capital."

The entelexeia made a noise that seemed to be affirming what the fox said as he was lowering them so most of them could get off.

Yuri was ready to vault over and start making his way to the tower. "Well I guess it's time to cause a little bit of hell," he commented with a smirk.

"Just be sure you bring Estelle, Veal, and Ren back," Judith pointlessly reminded them.

"Like you even had to say," Rita commented. "I'm just sad you won't be there to fight them. I was really looking forward to it."

That dark smile of Judith's returned. "It is a pity. At least give them a good punch for me."

"Will do," Yuri reassured. The ship was now hovering just above the walkway that would lead them to the tower. So Yuri just went ahead and jumped over. Water splashed up from the impact and Yuri just started to run.

He could hear the others mimicking his action and heard water splashing as they hurried to catch up with him. There was gust of wind on his back, so he glanced back and saw that Ba'ul was quickly ascending and making his way to Zaphias. Yuri could see both Flynn and Judith on the ship and that both of his friends were wearing worried looks. Were they worried about what might happen if either of them failed? For some reason Yuri felt that they might really be worried about him or what he might do. He couldn't really blame them. Yuri himself had a bit of worried about what would happen if something went wrong.

Some paws suddenly touched Yuri's shoulders and he could fell fur on his neck. It startled Yuri a little that Verius suddenly appeared on his shoulders. "Ren is somewhere in the middle of the tower and it seems like she's heading up. But I'm worried about her so I'm going on ahead."

"Is she okay?" Yuri asked.

"For now. I just don't like leaving her alone like this for long," he answered. There was clear worry on the fox's face.

"Just be careful," Yuri told him. "We'll meet up soon."

The spirit nodded and quickly added, "You may meet some resistance on the way, but they will be nothing you can't handle," before vanishing from Yuri's shoulder. Now they just had to hurry up the tower.

/~/~/

Skit: Deja Vu

Raven: Doesn't all this seem a little too familiar?

Karol: What do you mean?

Raven: Well doesn't this seem like we've done this before?

Rita: Are you talking about rescuing Estelle and the kid?

Raven: This is like, what, the third time we've rescued our little princess, right?

Rita: Like that's going to change anything. We're still going to rescuing her.

Raven: Of course. I was just stating something.

Karol: Come on. Let's just rescue everyone.

Raven: No complaints from me. The sooner the better.

/~/~/

"Let go of me," a familiar voice screamed and it jolted Estelle awake.

But the sudden movement caused her to bang her head on something. She was about to reach her hands up to cradle her head when they hit something too. That was when she became aware of her situation.

A belt was around her waist that kept her upright even though she was at a slight fifty-degree angle. But the most startling thing was that she seemed to be in some kind of coffin. It would have been more terrifying if the whole front wasn't made of glass and she wasn't able to see what was going on.

She was in a round room with another coffin thing Estelle was currently in and could see that Xiu was trying to get Veal into it. But the krityan was fully awake. He was biting at Xiu and his small legs were wildly kicking. He even managed to land a few hits on her leg.

Feeling was slowly returning to Estelle's body, so she pressed her hands against the glass and tried to push against it. Of course it wouldn't budge since it was probably locked from the outside. Then she tried to use her magic. If she could use a spell on Xiu then Veal could get her out this thing and the two of them could escape. The only problem with that plan was that Estelle couldn't fell her mana. Not this again, she thought bitterly. The stupid thing she was in probably kept her from using any of her powers. With nothing else left for her to do, Estelle just started banging on the glass out of frustration. She refused to just do nothing.

"Looks like the princess is finally awake," a raspy voice suddenly said. That was when she noticed a robed krityan to the side. There was a machine that was smaller than a mana collector and had many lights and a few levers on it. Zalmon was standing in front of it with a mage's console up typing away. The krityan didn't bother looking back at her. Estelle felt dishearten knowing that the other Holy Knights were probably somewhere nearby.

"It sure has gotten noisy rather quickly," another familiar voice said and Estelle froze when she heard it. She and her friends had all suspected this but now it was truly confirmed and it sadden Estelle to know that another person with ill intentions held power over the council. Lilith Nightwood came into view and she even had the audacity to still be wearing her council robes. It was just as disgusting as when Alexei wore his Imperial armor when committing all those crimes. "Xiu will you hurry up and put him in the chamber so we can get started," she said very causally. Even now, Nightwood carried herself like a woman in power.

Suddenly a large, black magic circle appeared underneath Veal. It nearly filled the whole room and had more formulas than a regular spell. Though Estelle couldn't feel any mana, she could sense that Veal was attempting to use an incredible amount. His body was glowing just like when the spirits he created appeared to them. He was summoning them.

But the magic circle disappeared when Xiu dealt a swift kick to his gut and then struck him in the neck with the side of her hand. Veal fell back to unconsciousness.

As Xiu was putting the child in the coffin, Estelle was about to scream, "Leave him alone" when someone else beat her too it. "Be careful with him," Zalmon shouted. He had stepped away from the console and was fully facing Xiu. His one eye was narrowed and Estelle was sure that she saw some black smoke coming from his sleeves.

Xiu practically threw Veal in and quickly strapped him in quickly. "It's fine. Your precious toy will be fine," she replied sounding really annoyed.

"She's right Zalmon," Nightwood said. "Now get back to preparing the cannon.

"At once lady Nightwood," Zalmon nodded and turned back to the work he had been doing. Before he did, Estelle was sure that she saw sadness in the krityan's eye.

Once Veal was locked in the coffin, Xiu stomped to the center of the room and angrily pointed at a suit of armor that was standing near a hallway. "Thanks for the help, Reaper," Xiu snapped. "You could have helped me get that thing in sooner after you got the princess secured."

The helmet moved and it startled Estelle even though she should have known that it was Reaper. But he had been so still. Like there wasn't anything in the armor. "So are you saying the great huntress can't handle a small child on her own?" He asked.

"You know damn well this thing isn't a child," she barked. She honestly looked like she was wanting a fight.

There came a long heavy sigh from Nightwood and Xiu instantly dropped her aggressive stance. "It appears that we have intruders. Reaper, would you mind taking care of it?" She asked even though it clearly sounded like an order.

Estelle quickly looked around to room to figure out how Nightwood would have figured that out. But there were no alarms and no one else had appeared to inform her. She did notice that there was a large crystal on the ceiling with pipes connecting to it. One of the pipes was connected to the top of the chamber Veal was in. Estelle could only imagine there one above her. Which only made her worry about what they were planning to do to them.

"Of course, Lady Nightwood," Reaper said halfheartedly before he turned to leave and disappeared around the corner.

Was it Yuri and the others? Had they really found them this quick this time? The thought of them coming to save them filled Estelle with happiness. But another part of her was disgusted that she allowed herself to be caught once again and needed rescuing. She should have been able to defend herself, or at the very least put up a better fight. She should have protected Veal better too. The poor child was still unconscious and once he woke up he was going to be terrified at the predicament he had fallen into.

"You all should really learn to get along better," Nightwood suddenly said.

Xiu shrugged her shoulders. "Trust me Lady Lilith. Me and the old armor guy get along fine compared to a certain scientist you added."

"I will admit that Zane is a strange human," Nightwod admitted. "But his skills are unparalleled among mages. We still have plenty of uses for all of you once this is over." For some reason that made Xiu happy. Happy enough to actually have a genuine smile. Zalmon didn't move from his spot or really acknowledge what was said.

Estelle then hit the glass with all of her might to bring their attention on her. Even though she was in this horrible situation, she might as well try and learn why Nightwood would want to do all of this. "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?" Estelle yelled out.

All eyes were on her now. Even Zalmon turned to look at her. "I would have thought you already knew," Nightwood commented as she spared a menacing glance at Zalmon.

The krityan quickly looked back at the screen and began typing away. "My apologies Lady Nightwood," he said without looking at her.

Nightwood glanced back at Estelle. "I just plan on taking back what is rightfully mine," she answered. "There is nothing else an inferior human like you should concern yourself with."

Estelle started banging on the glass more, "And killing thousands of people is worth it?" She shouted. She kept trying to access her magic or wake Veal up from all the ruckus so he could try something. Or maybe the spirits could come stop this like when they were about to be trapped underground. There just had to be something she could do.

"Why should I care about a bunch of humans?" Nightwood seemed to ask. Then she turned her attention back to Zalmon, completely forgetting about the princess who was still fighting to do something. "Is the cannon ready to fire?"

What? Estelle froze at her words. Was the cannon about to fire and cause the death of so many people? No, that just couldn't happen.

It didn't help when she heard Zalmon say, "It should be in just a few minutes." It was only a matter of time before the people of Zaphias would be killed. Then Zalmon quickly asked, "Are you sure they will be okay once the cannon fires?"

That was when Estelle truly understood why she and Veal were here. They were the power source. If they used the cannon and destroyed the capital, then that meant that it was her fault. Because of her, so many people were going to be dead. Because of her existence, Zaphias would be gone.

Her hands went to the belt around her waist to try and free herself. "Please don't…" Estelle pleaded weakly, while trying to keep herself from crying. The belt refused to release her and she just felt completely and utterly hopeless.

She was ignored by Nightwood and the others while the councilwoman seemed to reassure the krityan that nothing should go wrong. Other than using them to destroy an entire city.

Suddenly Zalmon jerked away from the console. In his shoulder was now a knife. His bandaged hand grasped the knife. "It looks like Reaper missed one," Nightwood commented. She didn't look concerned that Ren just appeared from the hallway Reaper had gone down. Ren had that fierce look on her face as she held one of her daggers in her hand. But she was clearly terrified of what she was doing. Confronting two Holy Knights and their leader.

There was a bit of relief Estelle felt when she saw Ren. Estelle was sure that she had just dreamt that Ren was here with them. But the other part of her was terrified for her safety after seeing her come out of her fight with Xiu, barely in one piece.

"Stop this right now and let them go," Ren demanded. She looked ready to attack at a moment's notice.

Zalmon pulled the knife out of his shoulder but didn't look to be in any pain from it. Of course it was hard to tell if he was bleeding since he was wearing a red robe. Even Nightwood didn't look to concerned with their intruder. In fact, she just waved her hand and said, "Xiu, take care of this pest."

Xiu didn't hesitate. Her twin sickles were in her hand in the blink of an eye. She dashed to Ren before she had a chance to react. The huntress dealt a kick to Ren's center and she was sent back with so much force that she broke through the window in the room.

"Ren," Estelle yelled as she watched her friend disappear from sight. Ren never saw it coming. She was falling. Xiu followed after Ren by jumping out of the widow after her. She had thrown one of her sickles on the edge just before jumping.

Now it was just the four of them. Nightwood looked back at Zalmon and said very casually to him, "Begin the process."

"Right away," Zalmon said before typing away, leaving his shoulder unattended.

"No please stopped," Estelle shouted before it suddenly became much harder to breath.

/~/~/

One of her worst fears were coming true. Ren was falling. And from somewhere really high up. Just looking up filled her with that dreaded feeling. If she were to look down then she would surly get sick.

It took her a minute to realize that she was falling. Feeling the wind on her back and her hair hitting her face made her completely freeze. She was unable to even think about calling on Verius or the other spirits she had made a contracts with for help. She was going to die in a way she didn't think she would have.

Maybe this is for the best, Ren thought as she closed her eyes. If she didn't die now then an unbearable fate awaited her. At least like this, and from this height, it would be a quick death. Although one of her worst fears were coming true.

As Ren waited for the surface to reach her, she suddenly felt another kick at her side. Ren's body was sent through another window and she rolled on her side. Once again it took a minute to get her bearings. It took even longer to tell her body that she wasn't falling anymore. Her limbs were shaking under her weight as she tried to push herself up.

"We'll have more room for our fight here," Ren heard Xiu say as she walked over the broken glass with her weapons swinging around. "I'm so looking forward to this rematch. Let's see if I can make you bleed like you did me." The huntress threw one of her sickles.

Ren rolled away and quickly jumped to her feet. They were still protesting about the weight after their fright. But Ren ignored their protest. She'd be dead quick if she could move. "You know you could have just asked for a different location. No need to kick me out," Ren spat as she got into her fighting stance with two knives in her either hands.

"I suppose you can call it payback," she replied as her weapon returned to her hand.

"You really get into so much trouble when I'm not around don't you," Verius' voice said from her shoulder. She relaxed knowing that her partner was with her. Having Verius by her side gave her a bit of an advantage. Ren was surprised she didn't notice the spirit sooner.

"It took you long enough," Ren mumbled. His arrival also meant that Yuri and the others were here.

A sigh escaped the spirit. "Considering how reckless this whole thing was, we're lucky," he said. But then in his mind, he said to her, Don't even think of using that mystic arte again. The process will be irreversible if it gets to that point.

Trust me I wasn't planning on it, she told her friend. Then she charged toward Xiu as she charged up her Impact arte in hopes of punching Xiu out of the tower. Now let's fight.

/~/~/

"How the hell is this place crawling with monsters?" Karol shouted after he killed another black wolf.

Yuri sent out an Azure Edge toward a bat. "I'll give you one guess," Yuri replied. Verius had sensed these monsters and must have figured they would ignore their instincts. There was no way they were here naturally. The first area had nothing. They took a lift up but it only took them what looked like halfway up the tower and that was when they first ran into enemies. They had to find the other lift quickly.

"Yeah, I know that these are James' monsters," Karol told him. "I'm just wondering how he got them here in the middle of the ocean."

"Less talking, more fighting," Rita shouted as she sent some Fireballs at some skeletons that were defeated easily.

Raven shot down a monster and a skeleton with a couple of arrows. "Not to mention we have to deal with Zalmon's little creations."

"It's quite an army they got here," Yuri commented as he and Repede took care of the last monsters in sight. The room was filled with heavy breathing and no other noises. The monsters weren't very strong and the skeletons weren't much stronger. But there had been enough to make it a bit of a workout for them and delay them a bit. "Take a gel if you need one and let's get moving again," Yuri told them as he started walking so he could find the next lift.

There were no complaints but he could tell that they all probably needed a break so they could take on the Holy Knights. There was no time for that, however. They all knew that.

Karol even ran ahead to look what was around the corner. For being a small, yet tall, tower, it sure was complicated with the multiple lifts with twist and turns in-between. What was the purpose of designing this tower this way? Did Nightwood really think she needed to delay intruders?

"Hey, there is another lift over here," Karol announced.

Yuri hurried to the guild master and saw that there was another one. Hopefully it would take them further up and not down.

They were about walking toward it, but stopped when they heard that the lift had been moving and had stopped at their level. There was a lever they would have had to pull to call on the lift and it was right beside it and several feet away. Someone was coming. Everyone resumed their battle stances and waited for the doors to open to reveal their enemy.

The doors slowly opened up to show a suit of armor. Anger filled Yuri once he saw the armored knight in front of him. Yuri swung his sword and released an Azure Edge at the knight who used his sword cut down the arte. "Of all the people we had to run into, it just had to be this guy," Raven muttered as Reaper stepped out of the lift.

"I suppose I should have expected the intruders to be you all," Reaper said. "You truly don't know when to give up, do you?"

"Out of way Reaper," Yuri yelled. "As much as I'd like to beat the shit out of you, we don't have time for this."

"I'm aware," Reaper said sadly.

"Then just let us pass," Karol suggested.

Yuri wasn't sure what was going on with Reaper. Both of his hands held his sword although the action looked to be incredibly forced. Though they couldn't see his face, Yuri felt that underneath that helmet was a man who really didn't want to do this. Maybe Veal was right and Reaper was being forced into this role. "I can't do that," he answered. "My orders are to stop intruders. And that is what I must do. So if you want to pass then you will have to defeat me."

In a blink of an eye, he dashed toward Yuri. He caught the knight's sword with his own and the two of them were in a standstill. It was just like when they had first fought. Only Yuri had all of his strength this time. He also had his friends. The fight would be in their favor and Yuri was confident that they would win. It was just a matter of how long. As much as Yuri hated to admit it, Reaper was a strong warrior. There was no doubt that it would a hard battle that will take time and a lot of strategy. And they were on a time crunch.

Both Karol and Repede came on either side of him and tried to attack Reaper, but the knight jumped back to avoid them. Rita had been casting a simple fire spell and released it. They couldn't risk her using a stronger spell that could possibly destroy something they needed to get to Estelle and Veal. It would be their luck that one of her spells would destroy the lift they needed. Raven even let loose some arrows.

Reaper didn't move or try to deflect them. He just stood there and took the flames, causing his tattered tabard to be singed. Neither seemed to have much effect on the knight The knight paid no mind to the smoldering embers on his person and charged forward with his sword glowing with the intention of cutting on of them down. "Sonic Thrust," Reaper called out as he stabbed forward. His whole body moved forward trying to skewer someone.

Thankfully no one was hit. But their positions had been switched. Now Yuri and the others were on the side with the lift. They could go on and take it up. But Yuri didn't trust Reaper. He may do something to damage it and make them stuck. As long a Reaper was here then they wouldn't be able to move on. The knight didn't have to block them and he knew that. That meant they had to put an end to Reaper and soon.

There was a part of Yuri that did fill some pity for Reaper if he really was a victim in all of this. But right now he was their enemy keeping them from saving their friends and stopping the cannon. If defeating that could also end up killing him was the only way to achieve that, then Yuri would be more than willing to do that.

This time Yuri made the first move forward before Reaper had a chance. But the the knight was ready and he meet each one of Yuri's strikes with his own. As Yuri was fight Reaper, he was able to tell that the knight was indeed holding back by the way he stayed on the defensive, much to Yuri's dismay. Reaper didn't want to fight. But Yuri had to defeat him. There was no question about that. He had to keep Veal and Ren safe and he needed to get Estelle back. He wouldn't be able to live with himself otherwise.

Yuri jumped back just as Karol came forward and charged up his axe with an arte. Reaper seemed too focused on Yuri to notice the young guild master coming. Karol swung his weapon at Reaper's right leg. He nearly knocked Reaper off his feet and forced him to his good knee. The attack heavily dented Reaper's armored and no doubt crushed his thigh.

Repede let lose a Demon Fang at the same time Raven used his Rain arte that was able to pierce through the armor where his lungs where. It went pretty far in and should have killed a regular people. However, Yuri was sure that it had no effect on Reaper since he had stabbed the knight in the side and he had just walked away from it.

Sure enough Reaper broke the arrow off and stood up on a leg that should be crushed with no problem. All off them flinched as they saw this. Reaper definitely wasn't called the Immortal Warrior for nothing. Now Yuri was really starting to wonder if Reaper was something of an immortal. If that really was the case, then how the hell were they supposed to defeat him?

"Please tell me that isn't all you got," Reaper taunted.

"Oh, please," Rita snapped. "We're just getting warmed up." She unrolled more of her scroll and larger magic circle appeared underneath her. Yuri was a little worried about what spell the mage was planning to use. Yuri was hoping the mage was aware where they are. Regardless, Yuri and the others prepared to keep Reaper from disrupting Rita's spall.

Reaper seemed to brace himself for whatever was to come either from the spell or physical attack. With the brief moment they were given, Yuri tried to think of a way to get rid of Reaper. No normal means would work. The only thing Yuri could think of was throwing him out of the tower. There was no way he could survive that. And even if he somehow did then, then it would definitely buy them time.

Before any plan could be put into action, a familiar sword sliced through the air behind Reaper's neck and it made his helmet fall off. Then there came a loud kick to Reaper's back and it made his armor body fall forward, headless. Reaper was dead.

Standing where Reaper had been was Flynn, who was sliding his sword back into its sheath. Even Judy came around the corner very causally. "Is everyone alright?" Flynn asked.

Yuri wasn't sure he was seeing this right. Flynn and Judith were here? They were supposed to getting people out of the capital. "Flynn? Judy? The hell are the two of you doing here? What happened to evacuating Zaphias?" Yuri quickly asked.

"It's a long story," Judith said in a very serious tone. "We'll explain later."

Flynn stepped over Reaper's body and commented in a fairly light tone, "I would have thought you'd have saved the princess by now. You must be losing your touch."

"Well we have had a bit of trouble," Yuri defended as he glanced over at the unmoving body. He was surprised that there wasn't a pool of blood from Flynn's decapitation. Then again he hadn't bleed from anything else.

"Can we save this for later," Rita suddenly interrupted. "We have a couple of people to save or have you forgotten."

"Of course not," Yuri told her. This fight was over and it was on to the next one. "You can tell us on the way. Let's go." He motioned for the lift and all of them started for it.

"This fight isn't over yet," a voice that had once belonged to Reaper. Everyone froze when they heard the knight's voice, whose head was no longer connected to his body.

By the time Yuri looked back to see if the knight was really alive, he saw Reaper standing up, with no head, and swinging his sword across Flynn's back. Yuri didn't even have time to call out to his friend. The commandant fell forward with total shock on his face as his blood sprayed across Reaper's armor. Flynn hit the ground and horror filled Yuri when he didn't get back up.

"This fight is just getting started," Reaper's voice echoed from within the hollow armored body, not the helmet.