A/N: Of course it isn't enough that Silvale is so mean to me, he continues to write lies. Don't believe him! (Note too, the following was writen by him, not me.)
DISCLAIMER (by Silvale): The following story is entirely true. While the events did not really happen, they absolutely COULD HAVE. Beware of Chisato Arkain, and enjoy the story!
"It's another beautiful day today!" exclaimed a small voice at Silvale's foot.
The Crusader looked down to his companion and smiled. "Cornflakes, it's always a beautiful day! Rune-Midgard knows no rain and no night!"
The small Poring, Cornflakes, looked down and seemed to become slightly more pink than usual. "I know that! I just felt like commenting on it!"
Silvale laughed, an honest laugh that wasn't aimed at insulting his companion. Cornflakes soon joined him with his high-pitched laugh. The Poring then jumped on the man's shoulder, happily. "Shall we go? Our destination should be close now!"
It has been three years since the Kali Jadyn incident. Silvale and Cornflakes, who only met then, became the best friends Rune-Midgard ever bore. Both were kind and honest, and they never hesitated to offer their help to people in need. Over time, they became known as the "Salvation Duo," and the Church of Prontera offered Silvale, who was a Knight before, to join them as a Crusader. He accepted, and his generosity only increased since then. The companions were praised from Juno to Alberta. Over the years, the Crusader grew stronger, without ever becoming arrogant. Today, he was out to carry out a request from a poor Assassin.
"Are we there yet?" asked Cornflakes, half asleep on the man's shoulder.
"Almost, my friend, almost. I can see the water from here. We'll be to the islands very soon." he answered.
He kept walking for a few ticks, and soon they reached the wooden bridge hanging over a calm lake. They arrived to the Poring Islands! "Finally," Silvale thought to himself, "I'll be able to get the Assassin a Ghost Headband!"
He crossed the shaky bridge post haste, desiring to find Ghostring fast. The Crusader wanted to bring back the headgear to the poor 'sin as quickly as possible! Cornflakes was ecstatic. He would finally visit the famed Poring Islands, a renowned paradise for Porings, Drops and Poporings! He was looking forward to seeing his cousins so much!
Finally, Silvale set foot on the island. He lowered Cornflakes to the ground and let him run around to have fun. The island was crawling with Poring-like creatures, and the Crusader smiled at the sight. What a peaceful place! He hoped nobody would ever defile the sanctity of this area. While walking, he healed Porings that were hurt, picked apples for hungry Drops, and helped a poor Poporing who was stuck under a strange tree root. After some time, he couldn't help but sense something evil lingering about…
"This must be Ghostring," he thought to himself. Ghostring was a ghastly Poring, who was taking pleasure in seeing his past friends suffer and despair. By hunting a Ghost Headband, Silvale could accomplish two good actions at once. Rid the islands of Ghostring and give a needy Assassin what he wanted! Fearless and courageous, he walked forward. The sensation of evilness grew stronger with every step. It didn't take long before he spotted his enemy, grey, menacing and, most of all, evil.
Silvale fought the foul beast for a long time, but was slowly winning the fight. He dodged the hits, blocked the Soul Strikes and retaliated with a Grand Cross. Ghostring was about to fall, and the Crusader could see some Porings cheering him on from afar. He braced for the final blow, and then…
A silver arrow shot out of the trees and pierced Ghostring, sending it flying to a nearby tree and impaling it to the trunk. Surprised, Silvale froze for a moment. Ghostring was dead, but the demonic sensation did not subside! What was causing this? While he reflected upon the question, he saw a red figure zoom past him, towards the foul beast and the Ghost Headband!
He turned his head in time to see a Huntress picking up the object he was looking for, with greedy eyes. "Excuse me, miss?" Silvale asked. "Could you leave this object to me? I intended to give it to someone in need…"
The woman turned her head at him and spit on the ground. "Back off, fat bastard! I killed Ghostring, I keep the prize."
Not losing his cool, the Crusader inquired about what the woman would do with the object.
"Sell it, of course!" she replied spitefully. "I don't have a use for that ridiculous object. It's so out of fashion! And don't delude yourself, you'll never get it. Never!"
On these words, the Huntress ran off towards Prontera. "No!" thought Silvale, "I cannot let her use this item so selfishly! I need to stop her, an Assassin is counting on me!" He ran at her pursuit.
When he reached the bridge, he saw the woman halfway through. Thinking he might keep up to her, he ran towards the mischievous thief. However, when she arrived at the end of the bridge, she unsheathed a dagger and cut the ropes holding the bridge up!
"I'm curious how fast you'll sink, heavy guy!" she smirked. "I'm Chisato Arkain, remember this when you drown!"
Silvale held onto the now sinking bridge. How could someone do this? How could someone be so twisted as to be willing to kill a man with good intentions only for money? This woman was so, so much worse than Kali Jadyn! But, he thought as he was disappearing into the waves, maybe she'll realize the errors of her ways later… there always is a part of good in every person. He sank with a prayer for her salvation…
Suddenly, he felt a tug. Someone, or something, was pulling at the bridge on the other side! Feeling his desire to live rush into him again, he held on tightly and removed some of his armor to remove some weight. He was completely out of breath when his head finally emerged from the treacherous waters. Gasping for breath, he climbed onto the island to see dozens of Porings, Drops and Poporings cheering with joy! And, in the middle, was Cornflakes. He had teary eyes and jumped at Silvale's side as soon as he got out of the water. "I was so worried, Sil! So worried!" he squeaked.
The Crusader patted the Poring. "I'm fine. Thank you so much, Cornflakes. You're the best friend anyone could wish to have. And," he added while raising his head, "thanks to all of you, too. Without you all, I would be dead now. I owe you my life, and I will repay the debt. I have only one word." The Porings cheered, and Silvale hugged each and every one of them. "Now, I need to get back to that Huntress…" he thought to himself.
Suddenly, something struck him. The sensation of evilness had faded away! Could it be that this person, Chisato Arkain, was the source? Could someone possess such a dark spirit? She emanated as much evil as Ghostring itself, if not more! Shaken by the thought, the Crusader tried to make up a plan to escape the island he was now stranded on. Cornflakes, now feeling happy again, bounced around and exclaimed "I have an idea! I have an idea! Let's make a raft with that bridge!"
"Brilliant idea, Cornflakes!" nodded Silvale, nudging his friend. "What would I be without you?"
The duo reached the other shore after an hour or two. They set out for Prontera quickly, running along the way. The Huntress shall not have things her way! He had to get the Headband back before she sold it! The trip to the greatest city of Rune-Midgard seemed way too long for the Crusader. His sense of justice was boiling; he had to find Chisato again. But how? Prontera had thousands of people! Silvale decided to use her aura of darkness to find his way. He could sense her presence from afar; she was probably the only person in the world who could reach that level of maliciousness.
The holy man wandered the streets of Prontera tirelessly, hoping at every instant to be able to detect the woman. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally felt a chill in his very bones. She was close. Turning a corner, Silvale managed to see her bright red hair. There she was!
He ran towards the crowd that was surrounding the Huntress and began hearing what she was saying. "Yes! I killed the infamous Ghostring, and I am now auctioning this item, a Ghost Headband! The starting offer is three million zenny!"
She was trying not only to gain money, but also fame with her deranged ways! Silvale could not allow this. He walked to a nearby alley with Cornflakes to try and devise a plan. Some people passing by could see the famed Crusader and his equally famed Poring engaged in a heated discussion about tactics. The auction was progressing, and the price was now up to 4.5 million.
After a long deliberation, the two companions finished setting up their plan and separated. Silvale went back to the crowd while Cornflakes disappeared in the alley.
Approaching the auction again, Ghostring's slayer saw that the person who auctioned 4.5 million zenny was on the verge of winning. Staring at the Merchant's face, he realized this woman had a strangely familiar face. "I know her… it's Sika! I saw that girl scam too many people already!"
Silvale had seen enough. He stood up and shouted "WAIT!" in front of the surprised crowd. "This woman did not slay Ghostring fairly! I was at the Poring Islands fighting it when she stole my kill and looted the Ghost Headband!"
"Who cares?" said the winning Merchant. "Stolen or no, she's the one that has the item and I'm taking it!"
Silvale could hear a few mumbles between the people in front of him. "All right then, to prove my claim, I will issue a challenge to Chisato Arkain. Show us you have the skill to defeat Ghostring." he concluded, turning his gaze towards her.
The Huntress snickered, hiding her surprise of seeing the Crusader still alive. "You're challenging me? What a laugh! You lost half of your armor and you look completely worn! Let's do this, then!" she said, picking up her bow.
"Who said you would fight me? I present you your opponent… Cornflakes!" Silvale announced, pointing to a spot behind her. Cornflakes was there, and Chisato saw that the Poring had swallowed the Ghost Headband. "To reclaim your stolen prize," he continued, "you'll have to kill this Poring."
Chisato looked at the Crusader like he suddenly grew three heads and forty tentacles. "You challenge me… to kill a Poring!?" She burst into a fit of maniacal laughter that made Silvale cringe. "All right, fine! This will be quick."
The Huntress got an arrow ready, aiming for little Cornflakes, who was looking at her with watery eyes. She grinned, releasing the deadly weapon. In a flash, the Poring dodged the projectile, which hit the ground. Surprised, Chisato took out a new arrow, but Cornflakes was already on her! He tackled the diabolical woman, sending her crashing onto the ground. She got up again, infuriated. "Now you've done it!" she said angrily. "Die, you little shit! Arrow Shower!"
She shot a flurry of arrows towards Cornflakes, who changed his shape quickly to dodge it. Then, he bounced to her feet and jumped up with incredible force, sending Chisato's bow flying. She then tried to punch the amazing Poring, but he jumped up again and smacked the horrible Huntress right in her face. She fell down again, too dazed to stand up.
"Everyone can now witness that this woman, who cannot kill a Poring, certainly did not destroy Ghostring." Silvale announced, with some sadness in his eyes. "I reclaim the Ghost Headband."
"Hey, what about me?" said the Merchant scammer.
"I will compensate, and repay you five million zenny. Does this sound good?"
"Hell yeah," she replied, "that's even better!"
Silvale was glad, but also upset at himself. Yes, the Huntress did horrible things to him, she even tried to kill him, but she didn't deserve such humiliation. "I'm sorry, Chisato Arkain," he said, kneeling down beside her, "but I couldn't let you accomplish your goal. Not like this. But I have a proposition for you. The next time a Ghostring awakens, let us go fight it together. I will let you keep the spoils."
Chisato grunted and stood up with some difficulty. "You… you would do that? Even after I did all this to you?"
"Of course!" smiled the Crusader. "And you might even have some fun during the process."
Silvale's enchanting proposition relieved the Huntress. "All right, I accept. I'll see you later then." She went to pick up her bow, stood up again, and turned towards the good man. "…Thank you."
As Chisato was walking away, Silvale could feel that her aura of blackness disappeared. Everything ended well, after all.
"Hey!" a small voice echoed, "Don't forget about me!"
"Oh, Cornflakes!" exclaimed the Crusader. "You did a great job just then! I told you the Headband would have an effect on Porings also." he added, winking. "Now, we have an Assassin to meet. Let's go, my friend!"