Empress of Death
The four warriors ran down the corridor, looking for the Demon's Central Command. Along the way, Lyle managed to master the Fast Draw Cosmic Nova, while Sierra discovered a Rail Gun in one of the Demons' armories. It was the most powerful gun she had, next to Rudy Roughnight's Arc Smash. Sasha was testing all of her Level 2 Crest Sorcery spells, most notably Saint, the light elemental attack. Jacob had finished mastery of his last Lore, the Gold Hammer. By his reckoning, they had discovered all of the Guardians in existence, the only thing to do now was to awaken the High Guardians.
Suddenly, the team found themselves in a laboratory. Inside a suspention pod was what appeared to be a woman with long golden hair and a gold shine to her skin. Her eyes, although gold, still gave off an air of malice like that of the demons. And the fact that her fingernails were long enough to look like claws wasn't a very welcome sight. The woman was also very much naked, covering her bosom with only her crossed hands. Sierra and Sasha had to restrain Lyle from staring at her.
"Sorry," he said, "Just a little bit of a relapse. Besides, I was trying to figure out why a woman would be kept in a test tube like this. It just doesn't seem right to me, it's almost as if this girl is an experiment of some sort that the demons are working on. But where did they take her from?"
"Have some respect, foolish humans. That is the Lady Shihaisha you're talking about. She was injured in our crash landing on this wretched world, and has spent the last century recovering. Why do you think it took us so long to begin our invasion, we had to wait for her to be at least semi-conscious," a voice echoed throughout the chamber. Then, Kobushi entered the room, malice in his eyes.
Sierra charged up the Arc Smash, and shot at the device. But nothing happened, the shot was deflected. She tried again at the instrument panel with the same result. As she wondered what was going on with her ARM, and why it wouldn't fire, Kobushi let out a devilish laugh.
He stated, "Human child, that won't help your cause any. You see, a powerful barrier has been placed around my lady, which can only be broken by a great power. Let's see if you can call forth an entity powerful enough to counter the magic of the Demon Race. I'm not telling you what though, no need to help you any more than I already am. Else Lord Kaibutsu will have my head."
Sierra was angered. "Do you think I care?! You are going to die, right here and now, Demon. The barrier might protect the instruments in this lab, but I don't think that It'll save you from my gun. Feel the fury of the Holmcross, created to kill Demons, destined to wield the ARMs." With that, she fired the Arc Smash once more. This time, though, it hit home, knocking Kobushi across the room.
"So, this is how it ends," Kobushi whispered, "A mere human child killing me. Forgive me, my brethren, I have failed. Bring Lady Shihaisha back to life, and avenge me on these puny beings." With that, he died. But just then, his energy left his body, and merged with that of the woman in the tube.
"What in the name of the Guardians was that?! You just stole the soul of your own servant. Why would you do such a thing, now you're down a warrior?" inquired Jacob, stuttering all the way. He backed up into Sasha, and felt her arms around him. It made the priest feel quite funny.
Sasha yelled, "Don't freak out you idiot! I have no time to be babysitting for little wimps like you. Stand up and face that witch with the rest of us, or go home! I didn't hire you to stand around and begin to freak out!" She then realized that she sounded just like Jet Enduro, and began to blush. That was just the kind of thing he used to do when Virginia Maxwell was in danger. Sasha pushed the youth away before he got the impression that she was in love with him or something. That would lead to some pretty awkward situations between the duo, and maybe the rest of the team as well.
Shihaisha spoke directly to their minds. *Simple, I absorbed his lifeforce, and used it to strengthen my own. With every Demon you kill, you give me their powers. So no matter how hard you fight, you will only make me stronger. Surrender now, and I will allow you to live. Granted, you will be no more than my slaves, but at least you won't be dead. So, humans, what's it going to be, life or death?*
"We don't make deals with demons," stated Sierra, "We're going to fight our way out of this. And once you're revived, this little barrier can no longer protect you from my ARMs, and our other weapons. Meaning, we'll be free to shoot you up as much as we want. So why don't you surrender to us?"
"Impudent humans! How dare you mock a great Demoness like me?! Now, you will pay for your transgression. May your deaths mark a new future for Demon Kind," Shihaisha responded. Then, she began to cast a spell that none of the Silver Wolves had ever seen before.
Sasha demanded, "Someone do something! I don't know how I am going to counter this one. The magic is way beyond the level that I know. If I attempt to cast a counter spell, the consequences might just be deadly. Sierra, try using the Arc Smash to blow the spell to smithereens."
Sierra shook her head. "Sorry Sash, I'm out of bullets. This ARM isn't going to fire until I can get back to a shop in town and reload. But maybe my Rail Gun can do something for us."
"Pathetic," a woman's voice rang out, "You can't do anything right Kenju. Watch a master fight off this demon." Then, in came Selene and Robert. The female Silver Wolf pulled out her Trinity 749A8, and fired. But the gun, being of such shoddy workmanship, broke apart instantly.
It looked like the end for our heroes right then and now. But suddenly, a man of about forty ran into the room. He had light brown hair and eyes, and was wearing a white button down shirt, jeans, a pair of leather boots, and a leather belt. The man held up an Exodus Orb, and activated it. Then, the team found themselves on the desert plains outside the factory. He then used a Teleport Orb to take them all to the town of Vensnia. Sierra looked around, and tried to hide in case the villagers recognized her.
"Do not be afraid Sierra. I can see you've made good use of your presents. Maverick, would you say the same of Kyoku?" asked the man, indicating to something in his backpack.
Just then, a pure black Wind Mouse came out, and sat on his shoulders. He had an expression on his face of pure joy, just like the one a parent wore when their child succeeded. "Of course she has, she's done far beyond my expectations, especially when it comes to keeping the girl out of trouble."
This shocked the gunner and her friend. Why were these two men talking about them? How did they connect to the pasts of two orphans, found in a wrecked caravan seventeen years ago?
- - - -
Teefa's Last Words…
Well, I thought saving their identities for later would be much better. A full chapter on the explanations. Just realized I hadn't used them in awhile, and needed to reintroduce the rival. Then, get her in a little bit of trouble, and it adds some humor. Martina from Slayers is always having problems like this.