Think the things might get calmer now Lloyd had been freed? Think again!
Many henchmen and members of the villian's club will meet their end in this part, as some of you may have guessed. So le'ts take a peep on hat will happen!
Chapter 46
Thousand Books and One Rogue
Colette's group passed by several rooms and corridors. In some they encountered strange Gargoyles, taller and stronger than the types they knew. Probably Nebilim's experiments. Origin guided them through the rooms, feeling the presence of his creation getting stronger.
Opening another wooden door, they entered in a room that seemed to be the library. The room had two levels, being the second composed by thin ways attached to the walls and sustained by pillars, and its walls were covered with bookcases full of tomes, books of all sizes and widths, all written in ancient elven. Some other bookcases formed corridors around the room and the illumination was weak, making some parts of the local almost impossible for normal eyes to see. Pedestals in some corners and near the end of bookcases contained vases, jewels and several other types of relics inside glasses.
"Raine would like this place.", Yuan commented, walking and eying all the bookcases and relics around him.
"Maybe we should get a book to her then.", Colette suggested, going to a nearby bookcase. When the blond angel reached her hand to take a large-looking book, it was violently repelled by a blue barrier. "Ouch! What was that?"
"All this library's books and relics are protected by a barrier, so it isn't anybody who can take them.", Maxwell answered, taking Colette's hand and looking to see if the girl had suffered any wound.
Origin called them to follow him and the group went deeper into the big library. They saw at the middle of a round, open space a small pedestal with a glass containing the two Material Blades. Colette tried to go to take the two swords, but Regal put his hand on her way. The older man said:
"It's just too easy. I doubt someone as cunning as Nebilim would let the swords in a place like this with just a barrier to defend."
The other members of the party and spirits nodded. Shadow went to the swords and gazed upon the glass containing the powerful weapons. Presea and Colette got confused at that and looked to Origin.
The King of the Summon Spirits explained Shadow was the spirit that had the best magical vision of the spirits, being capable of identify hidden spells with a higher precision that any other spirit. Like Nebilim's magic also used some of his element, Shadow was the most indicated to identify any trick the Dark Lord could use on them.
After wait for some minutes, the group saw Shadow turning and speaking in his slow, deep voice:
"None trap... just... barrier..."
Shrugging, Celsius then approached to take the swords, but before she could destroy the barrier a bell ranged nearby. Everybody immediately drew their weapons, waiting for any attack. They turned to a nearby corridor of bookcases and saw a lantern, with a bell hanging on it, floating to their direction.
The lantern stopped at the final of the corridor and stayed floating above their heads. A raspy voice sounded in the room:
"Who are you, invaders?"
"It's better we watch with what we'll answer. I don't think this being will be happy if he got to know we...", Regal whispered to the party, but Celsius, who obviously wasn't hearing, interrupted him.
"We are the guardian spirits of this world and we are here to kick the butt of your boss and any sorry henchman of his!"
The entire group turned deadly silent, looking to Celsius with wide eyes. Origin then murmured to Maxwell:
"Didn't you say she was getting better on learning how to control her temper with your teachings?"
"No, I said she wasn't learning anything from my teachings and let her temper got the better on her.", the age-looking Summon Spirit corrected.
"So, you're the ones that Lord Nebilim told me about. I won't let you defile this place where only the ones worthy of learn the great knowledges are allowed in, even if you are the ones that manage the equilibrium of the world.", the invisible being's voice sounded.
Presea then approached to Yuan and asked to him if he could see anything holding the lantern. The former Seraphim couldn't see anything even when he looked attentively, he couldn't even see mana sustaining it. Maybe it was demonic magic, or maybe the lantern itself was the guardian of that library.
Books then started to fly out of the bookcases and float around at great speed, like angry bees. Some books shot the group of heroes and spirits and started to hit their defenses. The books itself didn't seem to make any damage, but they were hard and big enough to make them feel some pain with the impacts.
The heroes started to rip, burn, beat and slash the several books that flew to them, but it doesn't matter how many records and volumes they destroyed, more continued to flew out of the bookcases and shot at them.
"This won't get us to anywhere!", Yuan said, slashing two books at the same time, pages flying everywhere.
The blue haired half-elf then ran to the floating lantern and started to slash at it. The object avoided the angel's attack and attracted him deeper into the dark corridor, without the others notice.
Colette threw her chackrans at any book that seemed that would attack her, but without her to notice, another book hit her in the legs, making the blond angel to lose the equilibrium. She tried to use her arms to restore the balance, but another book hit her in the head and the girl fell backwards to the ground. Books then started to rain at Colette, hitting any part of her body that wasn't protected.
Regal was having similar problems. Several books closed their pages around his legs, making them to strangely get heavy. He tried to use his hands to catch and rip the books, but the flying objects were just too much fast for him to catch all. More books closed around the company president, rending him defenseless, and others rained upon him, burying the blue haired fighter.
Efreet was burning the books with his strong arms, but some achieved to hit the red giant. He was already getting annoyed at that. Shadow didn't seem any bothered by the books flying around him, they just hit him and got bound by the strange matter that composed the body of the darkness guardian. The books attached to Shadow's body were soon absorbed and disappeared.
The dark entity was looking around, probably searching for something. When he looked to a corner near the roof and some bookcases he said a "there", loud enough for the others to hear and stretched his arm. The limb shot the local and hit the corner, making something to fall to the ground.
The books around fell and stayed at the ground, immobile. Shadow's arm shrunk back to its normal length. The group then looked to what fell and saw a man-sized spider, with three claws at the end of its paws, fanged-like mouth with pincers and red-dark hair.
"So this is Nebilim's librarian, a spider demon. Hu, I should have guessed.", Maxwell said.
The spider then stood in four paws and massaged his head with one of the other four. The demon then saw the group of heroes and spirits were looking to him and jumped in surprise, seeming scared.
Great drops fell by the group's heads. Was really that the thing attacking them? The spider then seemed to recover its pose and talked:
"So, you've discovered. Well, that means nothing. This is my field and you won't win me here.", the librarian said, pincers clicking at each word.
The spider then pointed to a nearby bookcase with one of its arms and a book flew to him. He opened the book and read some words, making gestures with his clawed paws. A portal appeared at the roof and two Arch Demons fell through it, drawing their long, spiked lances.
The group got surprised at that, but soon started to battle against the demons. The spider demon jumped to the bookcase near him and started to climb to the second level of the library, without knock any book over. He caught another book and started to read it. At the point the two Arch Demons had been contained another portal opened in the roof and two hound-like, purple demons fell.
"Mana Devourers. I hate these things.", Celsius said.
Colette and Presea were about to ask why, when the two demons opened their mouths and started to suck the air around. Colette felt that all the mana in the air was being sucked by the two demons and other type of energy was being liberated from the creatures' fur. Luckily, it seemed her mana wasn't being sucked by the creatures.
The blond angel looked to the Summon Spirits and saw their mana being quickly devoured by the duo of demon hounds. Origin then came to the front of the group and said in a firm, strong and solemn voice:
"Do you want to devour us? Then taste more mana then you can hold!", the great king liberated more of his mana to the two demons.
The creatures then widened their eyes and their mouths started to shine as they devoured the abhorrent amount of Origin's mana. With a flash, the two demons exploded, being unable to stand such powerful mana.
The spider demon above stayed quite at seeing the two creatures being defeated like that. Presea came forth and inquired to the librarian:
"Your choice of summoning was random, wasn't it?"
"Hem... well...", the spider demon then climbed more bookcases and started to take the books, looking for the right one. "No. No. Ah, yes!"
Another portal and two Medusa came. The spirits arched their eyebrows and Volt went to the front. The two snake-women tried to hit the electrical entity with Charming Kiss, but the heart-shaped projectiles simply bounced in the electrical shield of the spirit guardian. Volt seemed to sigh and, recovering his stoic look, made several, powerful lightnings fell under the demons, who screamed in pain.
The two monsters fell, smoke rising from their fried corpses. The librarian seemed very scared again while he quickly climbed the bookcases, opening books and discarding as he saw nothing that could help him. Mumbling at each futile search through the pages of a book the spider demon seemed to get desperate.
"Damn! These books contain summonings that only Lord Nebilim can perform. Fine then!", the spider said, throwing away the last book he caught and turned to his opponents. "I'll handle this in my way!"
The guardian of the library then meld with the bookcase behind him and again several books flew out of their place and started to float around the group.
"Oh no. Not again.", Colette said.
A book then flew and hit Efreet's face with its pages opened. The fire entity then placed his hand in the book and the object burned instantly, revealing a very annoyed expression in the red giant's face. As the group was again defending from the flying books, Efreet shout, in a commanding voice:
"Everybody who's not of second existence, bend down!"
Colette and Presea immediately obeyed the Summon Spirit of fire. Efreet then summoned a burning aura that seemed to suck the air around, getting more intense. The burning entity then released the aura in a great fire wave. Origin, Undine and the other spirits didn't get so affected by the attack, but Celsius, who was finishing with another attacking book, looked at the wave and widened her eyes. The icy entity then touched the ground and was immediately involved by a thick iceberg. When the wave of fire touched the cold protection of the Disciple of Everlasting Ice protection, it melted a little.
All the books that were out of the cases were burned and the barrier around the bookcases was activated. In a nearby corner, in the library's second level, something invisible caught fire. The demon librarian then appeared, shaking his arms frenetic while tried to put out the fire on him.
"AAHHH!!! HOT, HOT ,HOT!!!!!", the librarian screamed. He fell from his climb place and landed with his face on the ground.
When all the ashes fell, Efreet looked around to see if any flying book had survived his attack. Smiling, satisfied at his work, the fire entity got slapped at the back of his head by Celsius, act that produced some steam due the thermal shock between the opposite spirits.
Looking with incredulity to his opposite, Efreet got an ugly looked from a very pissed off Celsius. The icy entity then shouted at him:
"Watch out with what you do, hot-head! You almost fried me with that."
"I warned for you to bend down. It's not my fault you were too much occupied to listen to me, icy-tongue.", Efreet replied, making Celsius to seem really angry.
"Ok you two. Stop it.", Maxwell said, interrupting the raising tension. "This isn't the place for you two start with your bickering."
Celsius and Efreet gave the back one to the other, making a noise of "humph". Maxwell, Undine, Volt and Luna sighed.
The spider demon started to get to his feet, but before he could open his eyes, he was grabbed by his head and was pressed against a nearby bookcase by Origin's strong arms. The demon tried to release himself, but Origin pressed him hard against the wall.
"What you're going to do? Kill me?", the guardian of the library asked.
"No. Such pitiful creature like you, who is loyal to one, but those you saw like the strongest that can give you protection, doesn't deserve this.", Origin then looked to Maxwell.
The spirit of the molecules nodded and approached, opening his book and reading an enchantment in an unknown language. A portal full of strange runes opened in a nearby bookcase. Maxwell explained:
"We will banish you back to Niflheim. Give to your lords our regards.", the guardian of birth said with a smile.
"And when you do that, explain to them why you came to here and why you spent so much time to return.", Origin completed. When the demon gulped and before he could complain, Origin threw the spider at the portal, which closed after receive its load.
"Where's Regal and Yuan?", Presea asked, noticing the two adult were missing.
The spirits and the two mortal girls looked around. Luna said she had lost Yuan of sight when the books started to attack. Undine said she had seen Regal being buried under a pile of books and pointed to a nearby pile of ashes. Colette then got a worried look and knelled near the place.
"Oh no!", the blond girl exclaimed.
Celsius and the other spirits looked to Efreet, who looked back to all of them. Realizing what the looks of his brethren meant, the ruler of Hellfire said:
"I just said for them to bend down to don't get their clothes burned. The fires I used weren't sufficient to burn to ashes someone of their level of power."
Shadow then looked to the spot where regal had been and looked around the room, like trying to see anything out of place. After complete his analysis, the dark entity said:
"Teleport magic... traces..."
"I see. I suspected Nebilim wouldn't let someone as weak as that demon guarding the Eternal Sword. Even unable to use it, Nebilim was never that carefree with his relics. This just made part of a bigger trap to separate you from your friends.", Undine said, meaning Presea and Colette.
"But why didn't Nebilim tried to separate us from the others?", Colette questioned.
Volt answered the girl, having Undine to translate his speech. The two girls had already fought and won against their darkness, so Nebilim wouldn't waste his time with them. Some of the Dark Lord's magics were now based on the darkness of heart and it would be of little effect on people that already had seen what their darkness could do to those nearby him and didn't want for that to happen again.
"Summarizing: thine light is stronger than it was before Nebilim possess thee.", Luna said.
Origin then went to the pillar of the material blades and took out the glass. The barrier had broken with Efreet's attack. The supreme spirit then caught the swords with his lower arms and made them to disappear. Turning to the group, the guardian of creation said:
"I'll guard the swords for when we encounter Lloyd. About your friends, I can feel some presences in this fortress, but I can't say if it's surely them. The demonic energies interfere with my powers."
"Then it's better we go. They might be in danger if let to wander alone around this city.", Presea said, Colette and the other spirits nodded.
Undine, Efreet, Celsius, Volt and Shadow disappeared of sight, but their presence still with the two girls. Luna went to the front of the group, together with Origin, producing light for them to see the path.
The King of the Summon Spirits made signal for the other members of the party to follow him, saying he could feel Lloyd's presence with Sheena, meaning she may had already rescued her boyfriend.
- - - - -
Lloyd flew to scape another blow from the lance of an Arch Demon and tried to counter by punching and kicking the face of the big monster, but even with his strength enchanted by his exphere, he didn't do any significant damage.
"Oh, oh.", the boy exclaimed once the demon looked to him with an annoyed book.
However, before the beast could attack the young man, someone fell with his feet on the skull the demon used as a helm, breaking it. The kick also pushed the skull deeper into the demon's head, making him to roar in protest. The demon tried to take his attacker with his hands, without success.
Sheena quickly drew another seal card and enchanted it with fire, making flames to dance around the card. The grand summoner then put the card on the hole made in the Arch Demon's helm and jumped away, saying to Lloyd to get away.
The point where Sheena had put the enchanted card exploded, making burning flesh to flew. The demon then gave his last grumble and fell backwards, dead. Lloyd approached to Sheena, he was panting due all the dodges he had to make since they exited the ritual room. The red clad warrior had remembered they had forgot Doom's Blood, but Vallor said he had felt the jewel's presence disappear from the room, meaning Nebilim had probably teleported it to another location.
Sheena didn't mind that they had lost the foul exphere. The only thing she regretted was for had lost the chance to destroy that thing, which was the cause of all that confusion.
"Man, this is already the fifth Arch Demon we fought and I'm already tired. I can't wait to get my swords back with Colette and the others when we meet with them.", Lloyd complained.
"Well, if you hadn't slept when I explained to you about the martial arts of my village, you could have a way to defend yourself now and I wouldn't need to save your back all the time.", Sheena talked back.
The female ninja had once tried to taught Lloyd some corporeal fight, but the boy couldn't even pass the part of sat and stay quite to find the inner peace necessary to bring out all his potential, without the use of an exphere, without fell asleep. In that occasions, the next chief of Mizuho woke him by throwing a plate on his face (it was the only thing she considered a good substitute for an eraser).
Sheena even tried to jump that part and taught him the some moves to prepare him to the advanced ones, but Lloyd got bothered after one day about "the slowness of the moves" and started to ask if that would really be efficient at a battle almost at each move she tried to present to him. Sheena then discovered she didn't have the necessary patience to be a teacher (which earned to Lloyd some punches in the head).
"Hum... well, you know me. I like the practical things. I'm not good at theory and stuff.", Lloyd tried to justify. Sheena was about to reply, but she decided to don't waste her breath with that. Her knuckles still blaming for her had beat Lloyd's head with that strength. The dual swordsman's head was really hard. "Anyway, this place seems full of demons."
"Hu. This is nothing." Vallor commented, appearing near the boy. "When I came here, it was so full of demons that there wasn't space even for the corpses to fall. You have luck the best part of the troops is in land."
"And until now we didn't get any signal of the others that disappeared. I'm starting to get worried if anything happened to them.", Sheena said, using Demon Seal when the corpse of the Arch Demon near her seemed to move. "And this place is really getting in my nerves. The faster we got out of this city, the better."
While Lloyd tried to convince Sheena to not be so cruel with the dead demon, Vallor felt an human presence coming. The spirit hero looked to a bad illuminated corridor near a door of that room. Sheena and Lloyd noticed that and asked what Vallor was seeing. When he told to them his impression, they asked if could be any of their friends.
The hero of the Forgotten Ages looked more attentively to the corridor and saw a figure coming. The Eternal Swordsman and the Children of the Light also looked, recognizing the figure before he entered in the room they were.
"Well, well. Just look who I encountered. The swordsman and his girlfriend.", Shioru said, carrying the same mocking expression that was almost like a trademark to him. "You know Lloyd, I have been thinking. I don't give one day after you marry with her, for your life go down road."
"Listen here! Just what's your... ?!", Lloyd tried to argue with the rogue, but Sheena interrupted.
"Don't waste your breath with him, Lloyd. This guy isn't worth of it.", the summoner then turned to her former rival. "I suppose you still wanting your revenge on me.", Shioru nodded and before he could throw any comment at her, Sheena said. "You didn't learn anything until now and still dishonoring the name of your family and the arts of our village by turning into a rogue and using your skills to kill innocents."
Shioru chuckled at that. It was of common knowledge that many criminals who were banished from Mizuho turned into rogues, using the skills they learned to gain money by doing whatever despicable work they could. These rogues were considered worse than garbage by the leaders of the village. When they heard about one turning too much powerful, the village sent some of their warriors to kill the "dishonorable criminal".
The rogue ninja, however, never paid much attention to that thing, for he never thought he would become someone that his people disliked. But then his family was killed by Volt and he forgot everything about honor and decency, doing everything he could to punish the ones he considered the guilts by ruin his life, even if it meant brought shame to Mizuho.
Sheena could saw on Shioru's eyes what he was thinking. He would never learn. Sighing at something that certainly could turn into routine when she took the leadership of the village, the next chief said:
"In cases like this, it's acceptable I punish you with death. But I won't do so.", that part got Shioru surprised. He was waiting for the female ninja to invoke the law of death applied to criminals out of the village, but he never thought she would open hand from do so. "I'll fight with you in a one-to-one duel, here and right now, as by the traditions of Mizuho. My ancestor, Vallor, will be the observer."
At that saying, Vallor floated near to Sheena, accepting her request and shooting a serious look to the rogue ninja. The ancient hero didn't know much about Mizuho's laws, but he didn't approve all of Shioru's selfish acts. Someone that did all that Shioru did and threw all the blame to one single moment of disgrace in his life was just a spoiled child who didn't want to take the responsibility for his actions.
"Alright then. If that will make you got more humiliated, I'll duel with you and defeat you by the traditions of Mizuho. I'll kill you at the front of your ancestor for him to see just what pathetic descendant he has."
Lloyd mumbled something like "asshole", before took some room from his girlfriend for her to fight. The room was big enough to be a good battlefield and gave to Sheena a good space to do her moves, in the case she needed to dodge some of Shioru's attacks. The Eternal Swordsman was certain Sheena wouldn't loose to that spoiled man.
Vallor then gave signal for the two start. Shioru was the first to attack with quick strikes, but his speed wasn't anywhere near to Sheena's. All those fights against the elemental shadows, Vallor and Lloyd had gave to her a better speed. Even so the rogue ninja was trying to use all his strength to land a blow on her.
Shioru tried to hit Sheena with his two curved blades at the same time in an attack that formed a "+", followed by another attack, forming an "X", and another two attacks, which the blades took the opposite movement. The force of the attacks made the female ninja got out of balance and Shioru took the moment to stab her. The next chief of Mizuho, however, held the rogue's hand, stopping the blade when it was inches from her face.
"Serpent Dance.", the Children of the Light recognized the sequence.
"Improved by me.", Shioru said, with a mocking smile and trying to stab Sheena with his other blade, but the ninja was ready to catch the other hand of the dishonored warrior.
"No, it wasn't.", the guardian user said, pulling Shioru to her by his hands and hitting him in the stomach with her knee. The seconds which the rogue lost the air, Sheena hit him with the side of her hand on the back of the head, making him to fall to the ground. "You used too much strength trying to break my defenses and forgot to apply the necessary speed and accuracy. The moment was also inappropriate for you to apply this attack. It seems so many years working like a rogue dulled your abilities as a ninja."
Shioru grumbled something from his position, putting the hands on the ground, trying to stand. He saw Sheena's legs near him, grab it and pulled, making the female ninja to lose the equilibrium and fell. The rogue then brought his weapon up, to stab the next chief of Mizuho while she was falling.
The grand summoner saw that action and quickly thought on a counter move. She put her right hand on Shioru's face and used it as leverage, by pushing him to the ground again, to get to her feet again, twisting her body like a true acrobat. The blade scratched Sheena's side, without do any significant damage.
Vallor looked all the fight with a taciturn expression. Shioru's moves were the type of dirty tricks any ordinary bandit would do to win a fight, but Sheena seemed to have been trained to deal with this kind of situations. Her level of experience and flexibility were higher than the rogue's, maybe because he stopped to train those tactics and moves since his exile from the village. All the ancient hero could saw was someone desperate, trying to get revenge upon someone who already make up for her sins and crimes.
He'll just destroy himself if he continues with this. There's no point in take a revenge upon Sheena when she was already forgiven by the families of the ones killed in the accident with Volt. This is just a futile attempt for him to try and prove to himself it was Sheena's fault his banishment., Vallor analyzed. The illuminated spirit sighed, that was the kind of people that Nebilim used the most to do his dirty work and discarded latter.
Lloyd cheered up Sheena each time she countered and land a hit on her former ninja companion. The red clad warrior once understood Kuchinawa's motives when he tried to take revenge upon Sheena. But the Eternal Swordsman thought that, even the powerful ninja may had forgiven Sheena by what she had done to his family after all this time.
At the time of their duel, Kuchinawa also seemed to have recognized his mistakes, by saying he would left the village whatever would be the result of the fight. Lloyd could remember how the ninja tried to kill himself after loose and his reaction after he had told to him about the honor in living. But that was different. Shioru still trying to blame Sheena for his own mistakes and Lloyd doubt that deranged rogue had any drop of decency left on him.
Shioru again tried to hit Sheena, but the ninja simply dodged and countered with Pyre Seal. When the rogue stood, he went to attack again, hitting the summoner's fan of cards with his blades and receiving a kick in the gut, which made him back away. The former ninja was already panting. The Children of the Light dodged all his stronger attacks and sometimes countered with kicks, punches and techniques from Mizuho, both of martial arts and with her cards.
The grand summoner never once used her dagger, which Shioru got to know from Kermish had powerful proprieties, even when she had chances to do so. That was what angered him the most. She was fighting with him like he was any other ninja from the village. For him, it was like she was just playing.
The rogue again tried to attack, but he was already feeling weak from all the previous attempts and ran at a slow peace. When he tried to slash at Sheena, the female ninja knelled and, spinning her body, kicked the rogue's legs, making him to fall by what seemed the tenth time. Shioru tried to stand, but the tiredness finally caught to him and he couldn't do it.
Waiting for the final blow to come, Shioru closed his eyes. After wait for what seemed many minutes, he opened his eyes again and looked to Sheena, she was immobile at her place, just looking to him.
"So... won't you finish me?", Shioru asked, panting.
"I said I wouldn't do it and I'll maintain my word.", Sheena answered, looking to Vallor.
"The fight is over and Sheena won. That's all.", the ancient hero said.
The Children of the Light gave her back to the fallen rogue and walked to her boyfriend. Shioru gridded his teeth in anger, shouting at his opponent:
"What are you?! Stupid?! I'll chase you if you let me alive, you idiot!"
Sheena stopped and stayed in silence for some time. Turning her head to the former ninja, the next chief of Mizuho spoke in a serious tone:
"Then come again and I'll defeat you how many times it's necessary. I fought with you by the traditions of the village as I said I would do and I defeated you. That's all."
"You could have used that dagger to defeat me, but you didn't. Why? Are you afraid of kill when you already caused so many deaths?", Shioru asked, like trying to change the subject.
Sheena then took the dagger with its sheath and looked to it. The female ninja then looked back to the rogue and said:
"I won't use this dagger against you, because it was made by my family and I don't want to get it dirty with the blood of someone like you. You're just a spoiled guy who isn't able to assume your own mistakes. The punishment I'll place upon you is for you to live knowing that everything you made to get this revenge of yours resulted in nothing. Your conscience will be your punishment."
Sheena then turned again, leaving Shioru to grid his teeth in anger. He wouldn't accept that. It couldn't be his fault all that happened to his life. It should be Sheena's fault. He had to defeat her so he could prove that.
How will you defeat her if you can't even stand?, a strangely venous voice asked inside Shioru's head.
He didn't mind how, he just wanted to inflict as much pain as he could on that convinced ninja. He wouldn't leave she get out like that, like she was better than him. He would give anything just to see Sheena's pain expression. The voice again sounded in his head:
If you really desire it, then embrace your darkness and let me help you..., without Shioru noticed, Kermish appeared behind him.
Sheena felt a familiar energy behind her. Lloyd then pointed to Shioru and the female ninja turned. For her surprise, Nebilim's voice came out of Kermish's mouth, like the Dark Lord had possessed his own puppet:
"Your darkness will guide you and with them you shall encounter the power you need to kill her.", Kermish then placed his hand upon Shioru's exphere. A weak glow came from it and when the fallen Chosen retrieved his hand, Sheena and Lloyd could see another, strange exphere there. Doom's Blood.
The dark mage stood and looked to the two lovers, smiling his typical, arrogant smile before disappear. The female ninja turned her look to the rogue once she heard he start to scream of pain. Widening her eyes, the Children of the Light witnessed the former ninja transform.
Shioru grew many meters and dark-blue fur started to appear in his arms, legs and back. His clothe ripped open and his lips transformed into fangs. Claws took the place of the fingers and the rogue's hair grew wildly. Fierce eyes with red veins and yellow irises replaced the black orbs. When the transformation was complete, the grand summoner couldn't detect any trace of the Shioru she once knew. In his place was now a demon of the size of three adult humans.
NOTE: Talking about sttuborn to the death. In my opinion, people who always try to blame the others even for their own mistakes needs a good beat to take their in the place, or at least a good shake (leans against a beach chair and back to read a book).
