Last Dungeon

They flew Lombardia to the circular island. In order to get towards the middle, where the ship was, they had to use the Ocarina to call Lucrecia. Then, they walked across the lake, until arriving at a meteor sized vessel. It certainly could be mistaken for one as well, since that's what the body had been built to resemble. But if you looked closely, you would definitely see that it was a man made structure.

Inside, the team found many scientific devices. Kyoku began to sniff around in one of the labs, where Demons were growing in suspension tubes. Sasha deduced that only a few had been able to live through the crash without damage, and they'd been trying to resuscitate the others ever since. And they had moved Shihaisha to the other lab in order to give her a little privacy while she regenerated.

Further on down, they ran into the Lord Kaibutsu. He was training with his sword, a wicked smile on his face. The second he saw the four, he re-sheathed it, and walked up to them. "So, the foolish Silver Wolves have arrived. I guess my minions weren't as competent as I thought they were. No matter, then it will be I who kills you, I will never allow a foolish human to defeat me. Bring up your weapons, you can't win. Then, your bodies will be sacrificed to the Lady Shihaisha, to increase her powers tenfold."

"Never!" screamed Sierra, "We won't lose so easily to a monster like you. Humanity can do what it takes to get the job done, even if it means wrestling with a superior being. Just bring it on, you Demon scum!" She grabbed Arc Smash, and fired. It hit Kaibutsu in his chest, damaging him greatly. Suddenly, she felt a little queasy, as if she was about to throw up. Sierra knew at once it was what Dan Darium had told her about, the crazed attacking of a Holmcross caught up in the thick of combat. She was now a danger to her friends if she stayed here, she had to go right away before the madness took hold of her. Else she would more likely than not end up killing everyone in this room but herself.

"Sierra!" yelled Lyle, seeing her distress. For Kaibutsu was taking advantage of her vulnerability in order to kill her on the spot. He jumped in front of her, and the attack slashed him across his torso. Lyle went down like a stone, and landed on the floor. His breathing was slow, his pulse was weak.

Sierra was mortified. Her anger had begun to flare out, as the madness took hold. She charged up her ARM once more for another try. This time, the attack was much stronger, fueled by her anger and hate, and managed to kill their enemy in the process. Then, she turned her eyes to her allies, with a renewed sense of battle. If things had continued like that, she most likely would have harmed them all.

But it didn't come to that. For the second she saw Lyle lying there on the floor, blood flowing from the gash on his chest, her rage calmed. Instead, she found herself walking over to him in order to help. The young gunner pulled off Lyle's shirt, and began to apply a Heal Berry to his wounds. Sierra smiled at him, she was happy to help the man she loved. Finally, the girl was free of her ancient curse.

She whispered, "Please, don't leave me Lyle. I love you, you mean more to me than life itself. I just want to end this battle, so we can go and make a life for ourselves, together forever." Her voice seemed to bring about the right effect, for the swordsman woke up almost instantly after she spoke.

He smiled at her. "I'm ok, just a little tired. But the way you used your energy like that, to fight with all the power you possessed in order to save me, it's just like the old legend. The swordsman used his powers to protect those he loved, the same powers I use today. That inspired another attack."

* * *

They continued onwards. Through practice, Lyle mastered the Fast Draw called Trump Card. This attack worked better if Lyle's Vitality was near full, than if he was running on empty. Of course, that meant that he would have to use it as a starter, for monsters immune to his splitting of the HP in half. Which did happen on several occasions, and probably Lady Shihaisha as well.

Soon, they made it to another chamber. There, the Lady was sitting in a chair, completely clothed. She looked like she'd only woken up within the last hour, probably not too long after they made it to the ship to kill her. That made their job easier, now they could actually harm her. The only problem would be the one of defending themselves from her attacks, if they were all like the one she showed the last time.

"So," she began, "Finally you have all arrived. I've been waiting ever since you killed Kaibutsu. His energy proved to be the last I needed to revive. Too bad you didn't kill Kogatana first, I only needed three Demon sacrifices to rise again. And Kaibutsu was a much better fighter, much more useful to my ideals. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything you want." She got up out of her seat, knocking over her drink, and headed for the team. They all readied weapons, waiting for her first attack.

"You're a monster. Stealing the life out of your own allies. I'm sure you could have waited another few hundred years, and still kept those who were loyal to you," Jacob stated.

Shihaisha replied, "My, my, I think we're repeating ourselves. We had the same conversation at the other lab. How soon you humans forget such matters. It doesn't concern me how many I have, we Demons are immortal and don't have to worry about old age. That gives us time to breed, making new Demons to add to our depleted forces. I am all we need in order to win. For now I have the power of Kobushi, Kaibutsu, and Kachikina within my bosom, you are facing four Demons in one battle. And once that worthless whelp Kogatana arrives, you will have another of our kind to deal with. Can you handle all of that?"

Sierra aimed Arc Smash at her. "Kogatana is dead, he distanced himself from you and your plans before he died. So you lost your warrior, without taking his powers from him. Your plan has failed. Now, even if you have four Demon souls inside of you, there is no one to help you. And we have four as well, four who can attack as one, but without having to be stuck in one body. Strategy always beats strength."

"What foolish sentiment," Shihaisha said, "It may be something you humans believe in, and tend to embrace, but it's totally useless. Now, you will die, those that embrace such trivial passions. Die, and a new future will arise for the Demonkind." She began to laugh, and charge up an attack.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

Final battle next time. I really enjoy these "RPG Setting" stories. Maybe I should make that IAQ on my site.