Chapter 35: Alliance with the Rupture Division
"Blade dance"- Kamito and his group speaking
"Blade dance"- Others speaking
'Blade dance'- Internal thoughts
"Blade dance"- Mental Communication
Blade dance -specific terminology
I don't own Blade Dance. Its characters are all the property of the author. Any other references I eventually make are property of their original owners.
Welcome to Chapter 35 everybody. As you know I've increased the length of this story so these chapters will be much longer. Luckily for me at least this next chapter is a fun write up. Get ready the start to Blade Dance's most fascinating battle.
(Unknown location the next day)
"What is that monster?" A young girl shouts. She's wearing a red and white uniform which tells you that she's from the Principality of Rossvale. Accompanying her are four other women, the most interesting one being the smallest.
"Ladies, I'd like to introduce you to Nepenthes Lore." Ogami says with a smile. Ogami points to a giant black knight. Its dark power terrifies the young women.
"We must escape if not for our sakes then for the sake of the Principality. If we don't get away we have no hope of winning this blade dance." Another girl says before she's trapped by a mysterious tentacle.
"Oh no!" One of the girls shouts. She's a young woman with reddish brown hair and her uniform is the same as the others. As she runs away Ogami looks on in glee. Returning his gaze to Nepenthes Lore he watches with a grin as the beast drains the girls of their energy.
"Hmph, this was easier than I expected." Ogami says with a grin. Making sure to grab the magic stones, Ogami relaxes for a moment.
"You know, you shouldn't have let that little girl go." Alice says walking towards Ogami with a grin.
"Yes I should've. If I let her go, she'll seek out an alliance and considering the people who are supposedly here, there is only one option." Ogami says with a smirk.
"Hmph, so that means that..." Alice starts to say but is stopped by Ogami.
"Yes Alice, that means that phase 1 of the plan can begin." Ogami says with a savage grin.
(Kamito and gang's base)
"Where is Kamito?" Fianna says worried. Even though the sun was up, Kamito still hasn't returned. Fianna and a few of the girls begin to worry, wondering the fate of the mastermind of everything they've done so far.
"Sheesh, you're far too worried, Fianna." Kamito says calmly appearing in front of the girls with his smile.
"Niiiii-samaaaaaaa!" Muir screams grabbing to hug her big brother. "I was beginning to get worried."
"So Kamito, do you wanna tell us what happened?" Ellis said annoyed but deep down she was worried.
"I was handling some business. Sorry about that." Kamito says calmly
"By that you mean finally having sex with Luminaris?" Fianna says snidely. Kamito's grin confirms this and bothers the girls.
"Geez Kamito, we were fighting for our lives and you were just having sex" Ellis says still frustrated and flustered.
"Yep. Although I was paying attention to your battle with the knights. Well done Muir and Tiffania." Kamito says smiling.
"Anyway Claire, you and your team need to go magic stone hunting soon. I get the feeling things are going to start heating up." Kamito says worried.
"That's just great. Well anyway. Claire you and your team go hunting for magic stones. If you find Ogami, get away immediately." Kamito says calmly.
Claire starts to complain but Rubia quickly stops her. After all Rubia realizes the true power of those two. Claire realizes something's amiss and says. "I understand Kamito, we'll be fine. However before we go we need to rest. The last few battles have been brutal." Claire says making sure everybody rests after a tough start.
(Unknown location)
Milla Basset had finally managed to escape from the monstrous Nepenthes Lore. Unfortunately for her she was trapped. Her only option to save her chances of winning the blade dance was to work with anybody. She was trapped because the country she hailed from recently left the Holy Kingdom her options were limited. She realized that an alliance would only serve to hurt her. She had no options left and nobody came to mind. Then she remembered somebody. The young man who had protected the sister of the calamity queen. The man who was with Ren Ashbell. It was then Milla realized what she had to do. She had to work with this man and somehow gain the stones she needs. Of course it would probably be tough to convince him. Creating an emissary and writing down an alliance request she hoped the young man was as kind as the blade dancer he had aligned himself with.
(Other unknown location)
"You monster!' A girl screams as her power is being drained.
"Thank you very much. Nepenthes Lore here is invincible." Ogami says smirking. Nepenthes Lore has taken out yet another team.
"Nice work, Ogami." Alice says calmly watching what happens. "So when are you going to fight Master again?"
"I won't Alice. Jio is the one that wants him. Either way, in order to be a proper opponent for Master, Nepenthes needs far more power." Ogami says calmly.
"Maybe so Ogami but you can simply sacrifice Nepenthes yourself. Use Jio's desire against him" Alice says with a wicked smile.
(Kamito's base)
The day went by and Kamito and gang sat and relaxed. Thanks to the quick succession of battles everybody was tired and the blade dance simply happened without them. Thanks to Nepenthes Lore, Kamito could sense tons of teams being eliminated, which made things harder and far more interesting. Claire and gang went off to get more magic stones so Kamito and his team remained there to relax. As the group relaxed further, a white bird seemed to arrive.
"Nii-sama, what's that bird doing? Do you think it's a scout?" Muir says preparing to attack it.
"Stop Muir, that's an emissary." Rubia says annoyed. Rubia lets the bird fly to her hands and reads the letter.
"So Rubia, what does it say?" Fianna asks interested.
"It says 'My name is Milla Basett, a member of the Rupture Division. I seek an alliance with Team Spirit Force. If you accept, I'll be waiting at this location. I hope we can work together'."
"So Kamito, what should we do?" Rubia says curious.
Kamito thought about it for a second and got an amused grin. "We'll go and accept this alliance."
"Kamito wait, you aren't suspicious at all? This could be a trap." Rubia says concerned.
"Rubia, I don't think anybody wants to trap us. Our power is well known and I imagine there are not many teams left. I'll take the alliance because it could prove entertaining." Kamito says grinning.
"Alright Kamito, so who goes?" Fianna asks curious.
"Muir and Lily, you two will go." Kamito says to the shock of everybody.
"But why those two?" Fianna asks shocked. To Fianna it would be much wiser to send him and Rubia so in case it's a trap they can easily handle business.
"Simple. Muir is a one man army thanks to me teaching her the beast summoning spell. And if there's any poisons or traps Lily's instincts will detect them."
"Of course Nii-sama, we'll be fine." Muir says calmly.
"As you wish, Kamito-sama." Lily says assuredly.
The two leave to go find the base. Meanwhile Claire and gang begin their hunt for magic stones of their own.
"Ortlinde, attack!" Claire yells out, the flame clad cat girl taking out her opponents with vicious swings of her scythe. Next to her Velsaria and Ellis had taken out their opponents.
"Nice work girls. That's more magic stones for us." Ellis says confidently. "Plus we even beat Team Wyvern from our own school. This is a great victory for our team."
"Yeah, we can keep up with Kamito no problem." Rinslet says confidently.
"Girls, don't get overconfident. After all some strong teams remain and we still need to avoid the Demon King's team." Velsaria says calming the girls down.
The girls decide to return to the base and relax. Knowing that a few more days remain. It won't be a problem to get the magic stones they need.
(Clearing nearby)
Muir and Lily make their way towards the meeting point mentioned by Milla Bassett. Unfortunately as they walk, it's clear tons of damage has been done to the area.
"What in the world did all this?" Lily says worried. A certain thing comes to mind and Lily hopes that she's wrong.
"Hmph, don't be scared Lily. We can handle anybody." Muir says calmly.
"I wouldn't be so sure Muir." Alice says laughing waking out of the bushes.
"So Alice, I guess now is the moment I take you down for good." Muir says itching for a battle.
"As much as I'd love to crush you, Muir, now isn't the time. This isn't a proper area for our fight. I just wanna give you a little tidbit of information." Alice says teasingly.
"What's that Alice?" Lily says nervously.
"You're going to see Rossvale's team and Milla Bassett right? That girl Milla is a lot like you were before Kamito-sama arrived. It should be quite interesting to see what happens." Alice says cryptically before leaving.
"Che. Damn her, she always loves messing with me." Muir says angrily.
"Don't worry about it Muir, let's wait and see what happens." Lily says trying to calm her teammate.
After walking for a little bit longer they arrive at a clearing where the message appeared to be from.
"Where is the team we're waiting for?" Lily says worried.
"Hmph, it's not much of a team." Muir says annoyed. "You can come out now, girlie. We won't attack you." Muir shouts knowing the person who sent the message has arrived.
All of the sudden a girl with brown hair walked out. Her white uniform and red lining indication she was indeed from Rossvale. "Sorry to meet you alone, my name is Milla Basset. I am from Rossvale and I am the one who called for your alliance."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Muir Alenstarl." Muir said slightly annoyed.
"I am Lily Flame." Lily said calmly as well.
"Nice to meet you two. I'm surprised your leader or Ren Ashbell didn't come." Milla says curiously.
"Master Kamito didn't believe it was necessary for him to go and since he trusts us, we came." Lily said calmly.
"I gotta admit nee-chan, it seems like you're all alone. What happened to your team?" Muir says annoyed.
"Umm that is..." Milla is nervous unsure of what to say.
"Muir, that doesn't matter for now." Lily says knowingly. "The question is why you wanted to align with us?"
"You see that relates to why. My group the Rupture Division was completely destroyed by a monstrous black knight." Milla says to the shock of the group.
"Damn it, so they did do this after all." Lily says annoyed.
"Hmm, it would appear that you know that group." Milla says surprised and a bit concerned.
"You could say that. The knight's name is Nepenthes Lore and it's a dangerous opponent. Master Kamito would know more, but he's back at our base." Lily says calmly.
"Please, I'll work with you, just tell me more. I must get revenge for my teammates." Milla says furious.
"Alright nee-chan, we'll take you back to Master Kamito." Lily says calmly. Grabbing Milla they transport back to the base hoping things will get more interesting.
(Base)
Back at the base Claire and group have just arrived from getting some magic stones of their own. As they start to relax a teleportation circle appears. Quickly tensing up they realize it belongs to Lily. Once the circle vanishes the group notices that in addition to Lily and Muir, a new girl has arrived.
"Master Kamito, we've bought Milla Basset. We figured you'd want to talk to her yourself before the alliance is confirmed." Lily says with a calm obedience.
"Thank you Lily. We can go speak with her shortly." Kamito says looking at the young girl in amusement.
"Wait Kamito, you can't do that without consulting us." Claire says annoyed.
"What did you just say to me Claire?" Kamito says looking at the girl with a massive amount of killer intent.
Claire looks on terrified, not having seen this type of killing intent from Kamito Claire was scared for a second.
"Now now Kamito, we need to go speak with young Milla." Ren Ashbell says hoping to calm her master down. "Don't worry, I'll talk to Claire later." Ren whispers knowing that things would get ugly later.
"Very well." Kamito says powering down. "Come with us Milla. You'll explain what happened to me and my team. Oh, Velsaria you and your team are not to come near us. If you do, a heavy punishment awaits." Kamito says annoyed. The girls nod and Kamito and his team leave to talk.
Over in a separate area Milla sits nervously with Kamito, Ren, Muir, Lily, and Fianna all wondering what the girl's next move will be.
"So Milla, now tell us. Why do you want to align with me and my team?" Kamito says calmly.
Still nervous Milla goes for it. "Well you see, my team and I were destroyed by a black knight and a young man with black hair."
This shocks everyone including Muir and Lily who missed that little detail but they continue. "I see. So you somehow escaped." Kamito says calmly.
"Yes that's right. The monster drained these girls of their divine power with tentacles and we were helpless." Milla says still worried.
"What about the young man, did he do anything?" Fianna asks wondering what else happened.
"No he seemed to just watch and wait." Milla said calmly. This surprised Kamito who knows Ogami better than anybody.
'Well this is interesting. So Jio is sending Nepenthes Lore with Ogami. It's surprising that Ogami would let her go, but knowing him that was intentional. Ha! I wonder what you're up to my old friend.' Kamito thinks extremely amused.
"Very well miss Milla, we accept your alliance. The split of magic stones will be even for now. You'll work with Muir and Fianna. Do not go anywhere outside of the base without them. If you do you will be punished."
"Master, why are you making it me and Muir? Lily got the alliance, so why not have the girl work with her?" Fianna says worried. Kamito looks at Milla's eye to the side and winks at Fianna. The girl realizes that Milla is hiding far more but for now he won't push. Fianna calmly gives in however and understands that all will be revealed in time.
"Anyway, let's head back to base. Milla, if you want to you can get a bath, and once you are done await my orders." Kamito says calmly. As everybody walks back Milla is still concerned since Kamito agreed far too easily.
Once back at the base Kamito explained what had happened and that Milla would be joining them. Claire protested heavily although Ren took her away and spoke about it calmly. In any event the group relaxed despite the craziness around them. Luckily for the bored group, a few teams came close to the stronghold but were dispatched by different squads that attacked. One of those teams was Muir and Milla. It turns out Milla was a surprising asset in combat. Although Muir's beasts would admittedly being doing most of the work, Milla still managed to not become a burden. So as the day went on everybody managed to stay calm. Although Milla was curious about something. Milla decided to talk to Muir when she was taking a bath knowing it would be the easiest time to talk.
Muir was just about to get into the bath when Milla arrived seemingly hoping to join her. Muir accepted, so the two took a simple bath. Although each knew the conversation about to happen would be anything but simple.
"So Milla, what did you want to talk about?" Muir says amused at the girl's odd actions.
"I wanted to know why your Master so easily accepted the alliance with me." Milla said worried.
"I don't know, you'd have to ask Master." Muir says smiling. "Let me guess you're feeling guilty because you're hiding something about yourself. Something that you believe if you revealed would get Master to abandon you."
"How did you know?" Milla says shocked.
"Please, my Master is likely already aware of what you're hiding and there's little doubt if that mattered to him, he wouldn't have accepted you in the first place." Muir says with a grin on her face.
"But how can you be sure?" Milla says worried.
"Because he was that way to me, and to everybody else on our team." Muir says coolly.
"What in the world does that mean?" Milla says shocked.
"Well, because most of our team has huge secrets. Lily, Nii-sama, and I were members of the Instructional School. Kamito of course was the number one. He accepted Lily and I despite the fact that place made us cold blooded killers. He's the reason my own curse is gone. So I know what you're dealing with."
"What do you mean by curse?" Milla says scared.
"Girlie, I know about the Demon Sealing Eye, and that there's a massive spirit inside. The reason why Fianna was told to join you was because, even though she's the Lost Queen, her holy power is extremely great. He probably is waiting for you to reveal the truth to them and then you to decide your next move." Muir says frankly. This shocked Milla since she never realized her secret was exposed.
"So, Muir, what's your secret?" Milla asks wondering more about the girl.
Muir looks at the girl with melancholy and begins explaining her story. "When I was little my village discovered I had the power to control spirits. Unfortunately, what they would later find out is that I couldn't control spirits, I simply made them go mad. After they found out I was sold to a cult and eventually made it to the Instructional School. Once I arrived there I became an assassin until I met Nii-sama"
"What did Kamito do, Muir?" Milla asks worried.
"Nii-sama sealed my old power, Jester's Vice, away and I no longer use it. To replace that power, he gave me the ability to summon some of the Demon Spirit beasts that used to serve the Darkness Elemental Lord. Thanks to that I was able to serve him properly and become a powerful warrior." Muir says smiling.
"Thank you for telling me this, Muir. Perhaps I'll go speak to Kamito myself." Milla says wondering how she can benefit from the young man's power.
"I would wait until later. Nii-sama is a bit..busy right now." Muir says with a snicker since she knows what her master is doing now and realizes Milla is walking into a situation she could never imagine. Milla acknowledges this, but makes her way over towards the camp.
"ACHOO!" Kamito sneezes. While Muir and Milla had their chat, Kamito decided to take a soak himself. For Kamito things were about to get interesting and he knew it. "Good grief, so Ogami is with Nepenthes Lore. Apparently Ogami also stopped Alice from battling the girls before. What is he up to?" Kamito mutters as he enjoys a simple soak. "You can come out now, Ellis." Kamito says with a smirk.
"Umm...Kamito, is now a bad time?" Ellis says worried. Ellis came up to Kamito in her uniform. She was hoping to talk to Kamito about the recent events, but was nervous.
"No Ellis, it's not. I was hoping to relax alone, but I wouldn't mind a little company." Kamito says calmly as he lays in his bath.
Well that's it for Chapter 35. Yeah, sorry for yet another cliffhanger but I was about ready to stop. Next chapter Ellis talks with Kamito about everything and Milla learns not only about the kind side of Kamito, but one she didn't really expect. Meanwhile Nepenthes Lore is on the attack and its new opponent has finally been decided, unfortunately for our gang.