Seconds later, Cervantes heard the clanking
of armour plates, and heavy footsteps from behind him. He turned to see the
giant, armoured figure that was Nightmare. A crude helmet concealed Nightmare's
face, and he carried a huge sword. The blade was over six feet long, and a
giant, living eye protruded from the blade. This sword was the other Soul Edge.
It had used its shape-shifting abilities to transform into the giant weapon now
wielded by Nightmare. Before he obtained the Soul Edge, Nightmare's weapon of
choice had been a giant double-handed broadsword. The Soul Edge had become the
form that best suited its bearer.
"Seigfried Schtauffen. So we meet again at last." said Cervantes, "You
destroyed me the last time we met. Now I will return the favour!"
" I go by that name no more." replied Nightmare.
"No matter" said Cervantes, "You are still but a boy. Prepare to die!"
Nightmare reached up, and removed his helmet. The face that was revealed was
that of a young man, but with bestial fangs, and red glowing eyes. He had paid
the price of wielding the Soul Edge. He was no longer human. Nightmare hefted
his huge sword in his hideously malformed right hand.
"Give me the Soul Edge, and I will spare you." Said Cervantes, "Free yourself from
its control."
"No! Never!" replied Nightmare, but it was not Nightmare's voice that replied.
It was the voice of the demon-sword itself. "The winner of this combat shall
wield both swords. The strongest shall prevail."
"Very well…" agreed Cervantes, as he drew his swords.
As Nightmare advanced towards him,
Cervantes was worried. A single blow from the huge sword could cut him in half.
He could never regenerate from such damage. He would have to be careful. He
fired his pistol-sword at Nightmare, but Nightmare blocked the bullet with his
blade. There was no time to reload, so Cervantes charged. He hacked viciously
at Nightmare, but the huge sword deflected his blows. Nightmare wielded the
enormous weapon impossibly fast, as if it were as light as a feather. Nightmare
suddenly punched Cervantes with his heavy armoured Gauntlet. Off balance,
Cervantes only barely managed to parry the huge swipe that Nightmare aimed at
him. He deflected the blow with his swords, but the impact sent him flying into
a wall. Getting up, Cervantes winced in pain. The impact had broken several of
his ribs. They would heal soon enough, as long as Cervantes could survive this
battle. He charged towards Nightmare, ducking a swing of the massive sword, and
hacked at Nightmare's right shoulder. He did no actual damage, but the blow
knocked off one of Nightmare's armour plates.
Cervantes realised that he couldn't
keep this up for much longer… Nightmare would get him sooner or later. He
turned, and charged. He threw the Soul Edge with all his might. The blade flew
through the air, and hit Nightmare's exposed shoulder. Nightmare suddenly felt
a sudden pain, and his right arm went limp. His tendon had been cut, and his
arm was useless. His dead limb dropped the Soul Edge on the ground. Cervantes
dashed to where it lay, and snatched up the evil blade. As his hand touched the
hilt, the sword shrunk to its original size. Cervantes once again wielded both
of the evil blades. He turned to finish off Nightmare, but saw that once
Nightmare had dropped the Soul Edge, he had began to return to his human form.
His fangs had retracted, and his eyes looked normal and human. Cervantes felt
pity for the man. He had once been possessed by the Soul Edge himself, as
Nightmare had been. He decided to let him live.
Cervantes walked out of the vault, and
to the dockside. He concentrated hard. A ghostly outline of a ship appeared
above the water. The outline solidified, and men could be seen on the deck.
Cervantes had used the power of the Soul Edge to summon his ship, the Adrian,
and resurrect his crew. Now, with his crew of the damned, and the Soul Edge in
his hands, Cervantes de Leon, the Immortal Pirate, would sail the seven seas
again, and no ship would escape his wrath…
Meanwhile, in the vault, the man who
was once Nightmare, now Seigfried Schtauffen once more, rose to his feet. He
vowed to one day destroy the evil blade that had enslaved him, and the man who
wielded it. Seigfried would redeem himself, and save his soul…
THE END… Or is it?