Never had Sesshoumaru fought an opponent like him. This new Inu-Yasha was far from the brother he once thought he knew. As he flowed forward in the elegant forms of their father's fang, Sesshoumaru found himself on the defensive, reeling away from swipes and jabs of the fabled fang. Attacking would be pointless unless he could wear Inu-Yasha down. Deftly, Sesshoumaru shifted around the rapid cuts of the fang like a specter, but the blade came closer and closer to finding his flesh. With a curse, he swerved out of the path of a half-moon slash, followed by a brilliant riposte. Sesshoumaru pulled away, using the wind currents to aid him. Relentlessly, his brother pursued, wielding the Tetsusaiga like never before. Sesshoumaru eyed the Enchantress out of the corner of his eye and cursed. Without her power, Inu-Yasha was nothing! Nothing at all! Her magic never showed this kind of enhancing potential before. Strong as she was once, she was never this strong. Plus, she wasn't done. Before his eyes, she raised her arms once more, with Kagome supporting her. He couldn't watch much though, lest his father's fang slip through his defenses.

            Chiara raised her hands high towards the sky. Her white eyes aimed towards the heavens. No words were necessary for this final technique. No words could hope to summon what would come forth from this final spell. She had tried everything else she knew to create a similar effect, and all had failed. Only one last spell to try. One last shot at vengeance. She had actually never performed this technique before, but her mother had taught it to her, and her mother before her. This technique was the last resort of the Enchanting people. As she heard the wind split as Tetsusaiga slashed through it, she focused on her hands. Removing a small knife, she barely prodded her finger, releasing a crimson droplet of blood. Into that blood, she poured her rage. The blood howled as though alive, bathing the surrounding area in a lurid red light, and slashing with barely contained power. Chiara gritted her teeth, and forced the energy under control.

Kagome eyed the orb with obvious fear, "Chiara…what is that?"

            Chiara never took her white eyes from the orb, "Please don't look at it, Kagome. It is too horrible for you to loose your sight over its creation as I did. This is Vengeance. This orb is the essence of a mother's instinct to protect her offspring at any cost. This is the pride of my people, our secret of secrets. I give you my ultimate technique; the orb of disenchantment." Chiara rolled it between her fingers, holding the violent energy responsible for the orb's creation in check as the battle between Sesshoumaru and Inu-Yasha continued to rage above them.

            Kagome looked away, "What does it do? How will this punish Sesshoumaru?"

            Chiara met her gaze stoicly; "It will disenchant him, forever. You must understand Kagome, though you are not an Enchantress, you are the reincarnation of Kikyo. Her blood within you will make you understand." Chiara seemed to gaze at the pair of dog youkai in battle above, as she pulled the orb from Kagome's sight, "Life, as we see it is an enchantment. The gods placed this enchantment on us in the forms of our souls to make us who we are. This orb, if strong enough can unmake us: it can unmake our very souls. This one is different though, it will only unmake the demon within Sesshoumaru."

            Kagome widened her eyes, "You mean you can make Sesshoumaru human?"

            Chiara nodded solemnly, "For the death of my son, it is my ultimate revenge, to make him what he despises more than anything in this world."

            The clang of a metal tore their attention from the astonishing orb as Inu-Yasha finally landed a hard blow with the pommel of the Tetsusaiga against Sesshoumaru's skull. The demon lord fell hard, hitting the ground with a thud. His beautiful garment was torn from his fall, and his face was already bruising.

            Chiara broke from the supporting hands of Kagome and treaded slowly to where he fell, balancing the orb in one hand, and striding purposefully with the other. She stopped a few bare feet from Sesshoumaru. He stirred, and opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to clear his vision. Before he could so much as roll to his feet, Chiara waved her free hand, and animated roots rose from the ground, pinning Sesshoumaru against the earth. He growled and snarled against his bonds, thrashing about with all his might. Try as he might though, the earthen roots held fast, and pinned the demon lord. Inu-Yasha floated down, and lighted beside Chiara and Kagome.

            Chiara raised the orb high above her head, the spirits screamed in her head for revenge. Inu-Yasha shuffled nervously behind him, but she ignored him. She gritted her teeth and struggled to blank them out, "Sesshoumaru, do you know what this orb will do to you? I've tasted your thoughts, and I know what you fear the most." She waved the orb before him, "This will make your worst fears come true, my friend. This will make your life the nightmare mine became when I cradled the dead body of my child in my arms. By the spirits divine and hellish, I shall make you human for all time!"

            Sesshoumaru blinked in something like fear, "You haven't the power to do that Chiara."

Chiara smiled a cruel smile, "Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Sesshoumaru. You see, while you were out destroying innocent villages, I learned things. Interesting things. One aspect of that learning was the ability to change someone's fate. I modified that a bit and added it to my techniques. With it, I shall change your past fate into your future fate, and make you human forever. Forever more you shall be forced to live your life as the one thing you despise most."

She held the orb up high, "But enough of this drawl, I'm through with this path to vengeance. Once you've been made to pay, my son and sisters can rest in peace." She made ready to throw the orb.

The demon lord gazed at her uncertainly, "I have no idea what you're talking about, wench. Know though if you harm me, I shall seek revenge on you in the next life."

Chiara laughed. She actually laughed at his retort, "Don't propose to threaten me, Sesshoumaru. I have plenty of time in this life once you're out of the way…" She broke off and gazed in the direction of the ends of the meadow.

A perplexed Sesshoumaru, Inu-Yasha, and Kagome followed her gaze to the edge of the meadows, where the human child was frantically trying to break free from Jaken's grasp. Tears spilled forth as she clawed at the earth, trying to escape the toad's grasp. Chiara hesitated.

The girl broke from the toad's grasp, and bolted to the fallen Sesshoumaru. She clutched at his chest and wailed uncontrollably. Chiara tried as hard as she could to look at the sight from below her nose, "Inu-Yasha…remove her."

The hanyou made no move to step forward, and instead sniffed the air, "This stinks Chiara. This stinks of the corruption of another. I can smell a lie…Sesshoumaru wasn't lying when he said he doesn't know what you're talking about."

Chiara blinked uncertainly, "But…that can't be! I saw him! It couldn't have been an illusion!"

Kagome was catching on, "Think Chiara. Think! Who else might have a grudge against you and your sisters? Who?"

Chiara paused to think, and in doing so cancelled her summoned disenchantment, "Well…I can't really think of any off the top of my head…there was a guy in Kikyo's village who came to us once. He was badly burned…Kikyo brought him to us to see if we could enchant his limbs so that they'd work again. We sensed the great evil in him, as she did, and we refused. He cursed our name ever since…"

Kagome's breath caught in her throat, "He wasn't called…Onigumo by chance? Was he?"

Chiara broke from her trance, "Why yes. In fact that was his name!"

Inu-Yasha clenched his fist and growled, "Naraku…I should've known."

Chiara looked perplexed, but still didn't release the still struggling Sesshoumaru, "Naraku? Who or what's a Naraku?"

"He's Onigumo, only transformed. At one point, Onigumo called hundreds of youkai to him, and gave over his soul in exchange for their power. They merged with him, forming the demon Naraku. Do you remember how Kikyo died?" Kagome asked.

The Enchantress toyed idly with her fingers, "No, no I don't think I ever found out. I was told that Inu-Yasha killed her actually; though I've searched his thoughts and found no murder there."

Inu-Yasha growled deep in his throat, "Count Naraku as the one who did it."

Only Inu-Yasha felt the anguish as she let slip a single tear and a moan of pain, "So much death…and all caused by this Naraku person…Kikyo was a good priestess and a true friend. If what you say is true, then Naraku is my true enemy, not Sesshoumaru." She waved her hand, and the clutching vines receded into the ground.

The demon lord slowly rose to his feet, placing Rin on his unarmored shoulder. He brushed himself off before glaring at the Enchantress, "Well wench, if you're intent on pursuing Naraku, I shall accompany the lot of you." He eyed the dropped jaws of Inu-Yasha and Kagome with disdain before returning his golden gaze on the Enchantress. "No one uses the image of Sesshoumaru and gets away with it."

Chiara nodded and laughed aloud. Inu-Yasha almost screeched in protest. Kagome fiddled idly with her hair. Sesshoumaru eyed them all like a majestic gargoyle. "Then swear to our revenge on your honor Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru nodded before clenching a fist, feeling razor sharp nails dig into the flesh of his palm. Rivulets of crimson dripped from his hand, and he swore the oath on the grave of his father, in the eldest tongue he knew of the dog youkai, "On the honor of myself and my father's grave, I pledge myself to thee, Chiara. I pledge myself to your revenge. I pledge myself to darkness."