Chapter 11
Destroyer
Sigma's Note: Several things to say.
First of all, have you ever burst out in a fit of maniacal laughter in the middle writing? Because I did here. Secondly, this may be the most pivotal chapter in the story. Also, I wrote it to Zeppelin's "Four Sticks". That really helped my get the mood going. Thirdly, I'd like to say to apologize to anyone that is somewhat confused by my vocabulary choice. I don't use words like epiphany to seem superior or smarter than I really am. That's just how my brain works. Plus, epiphany just seemed to...fit. But I believe that my work speaks for itself.
So, without further ado....
"Raphael Eranov!" yelled the imposing figure behind the smoke screen created by the colossal energy wave that wiped out half the city. "I'm here to relieve you of duty!"
"Kreiger! What are you doing here?" Raphael snapped, fear easily detected on his raspy voice. The Paladin stepped forward, his armor laden body about to emerge from the inky black curtain.
"Lord Archemis did not believe that you would have the mental fortitude to do your duty without hesitation in the presence of the Monk. It looks like he was correct, seeing as the traitor is still standing," he said, raising his massive sword to pierce the soot cloud. It glimmered with the golden light of an Excalibur wielded by an immensely skilled knight. "You are to return to Ironheim immediately to be reprimanded. You should be grateful that I don't kill you right here and now, but Archemis doesn't want you dead just yet. No go!"
Raphael growled and lept up to the roof of one of the remaining buildings, his gaze virtually saturated with poisonous intent. He pointed his spear at Ivan.
"Make no mistake. If Kreiger doesn't kill you, I will," he said before leaping high into the air and out of sight. The shadow of the Paladin looked up to see the Dragoon sail into the horizon before returning his attention back to Marche, Ritz and Ivan. He began to walk again, his enormous seven foot frame slowly passing through the wall of smoke before him.
"I am Kreiger the Destroyer, and the Fifth Megalomancer," he said as his full body became visible. He was huge and muscular, and covered from head to toe in heavy silver armor. He wore no helmet, his short cropped brown hair making the fierce features of his face even more striking. A long scar ran down his left cheek that also donned a red eye patch over one eye. At his waist, a second scabbard became apparent, this one holding yet another Excalibur. At that point, Ritz and Marche knew that things were not going to go well.
Ivan, on the other hand, was entirely aware of the danger they had all been emersed in. Kreiger was Archemis's third in command, next to Sagaro on the executive ladder of his empire. He had seen Kreiger destroy entire cities with a single swipe of his sword, laughing the whole time. He was visibly shaking, but he restrained himself. He knew he mustn't appear weak to the Destroyer.
Kreiger drew his second Excalibur. Despite the massive weight of both swords, the Megalomancer held them both like they were bamboo training swords. He wore a confident smirk. The three fighters assumed defensive positions.
"Our original purpose was to capture the port, but Lord Archemis's will has drastically shifted upon hearing of your sojourn here to stop us. It would appear that you three are more of a thorn in Lord Archemis's side that realize. You've been tearing through our ranks far too easily, and now I'm going to put a stop to it," he said, drawing one sword behind him and removing the second from its hilt, holding it pointed towards the three in threatening manner. His face twitched noticeably as an immense surge of power washed over his body and poured into the weapon he held behind him. A bright white light flushed over the gilded blade.
"Move!" Ivan yelled again. He lept into the air as Marche and Ritz scattered to the side. Kreiger swept the glowing Excalibur forward, releasing the massive wave of pent up energy. The ground before him exploded in a pearly white fury that tore through the streets like a shark tearing through a calm sea. Even more buildings vanished before the oppressive force of the Paladin's Holy Sword. Ivan looked down at the massive scar that the attack had carved into Baguba. Immediately, he aimed his Katana downwards as he fell towards the antagonist, prepared to deliver a powerful diving blow. It had begun.
Kreiger did not plan on being felled by a single attack from a traitor. He raised his second knight sword and knocked Ivan away harshly before the attack could find its mark. Ivan landed on his feet, though dazed by the incredible shock of the Paladin's strike. It felt as if every bone in his body was vibrating, as was his Petal Chaser, emitting a sorrowful wail. He charged again and struck with a lunging attack aimed directly at Kreiger's icy heart. Without even flinching, he stepped forward and parried the blow with all his body weight behind him. So great was the impact upon Ivan's Katana that it actually drove Ivan's feet several inches into the hard beaten dirt of the Baguba street. With his second sword, and Ivan off guard, he prepared to remove his head in a single clean strike.
In a flash, Marche appeared. Kreiger's eyes twitched momentarily at the speed of the Soulvetar, who hurled himself before the Black Monk and blocked the powerhouse blow with his Paradox Blades crossed. Kreiger swung with his second sword but Marche stopped that attack cold as well. Kreiger was surprise, but also somewhat pleased in a grim sort of way. He was not expecting a challenge.
Then Ritz entered the fray. She jumped through the air and attempted to carve a large slice out of Kreiger's armor with the razor tip of the Vent de Dieu. He caught her cat like movements out of the corner of his eye, and momentarily took his attention away from Marche and Ivan to knock the elegant blade of the Rapier back and to bound to the top of one of the intact buildings, an impressive display of strength for someone so enormous and armor-laden.
"He's strong!" Marche said as Kreiger landed with a loud crash on the clay roof.
"He is the Destroyer of Worlds and the Bane of Men. Kreiger's one of the most feared of the Megalomancers. We must be very cautious," Ivan said as he regained his composure. He was concerned with the condition of his Petal Chaser. His fight against his brother was more intense that he would have liked, and Kreiger would be no merciful foe either. He could still feel the tempered steel of the katana humming painfully, as though it itself had been mortally wounded.
"Let's go!" Ritz shouted as the three of them launched into a simultaneous assault on the Destroyer. Kreiger smiled haughtily as his muscles tightened around the handles of his Excaliburs. He lived destruction and the nirvana like state that the cries of thousands of mortals falling into the abyss granted him. He bore his teeth as the three attacked.
Kreiger's skill was much more than any of them had anticipated, even Ivan. He golden swords sliced through the air like they were mere feathers, parrying and striking with incomprehensible speed. As quickly as they attacked, Marche, Ritz and Ivan found themselves of the defensive as Kreiger lashed out at all three at once. In an almost supernatural motion, the Excaliburs struck their respective weapons with demon like ferocity, the force of each blow felt through their entire bodies. Sparks flew through the smoke filled air as steel met steel. Marche vaulted through the air and stabbed at Kreiger's exposed head as Ritz lunged towards his vitals and Ivan's katana swept through the air like bolt of lightning. Each attack was met either by a narrow evasion or the hard edge of an Excalibur. Suddenly, the Paladin swung his fist and connected with Marche's face, knocking him off his feet and to the street below. This distracted Ritz for the fraction of a second that Kreiger needed to drive his sword towards her slender neck. Ritz caught it at the last second and raised her rapier to block it. But it was a sloppy guard and the force of the blow also knocked her from the roof top. In mere seconds, Ivan found himself alone with the Destroyer.
Ivan tried to attack with his Petal Chaser, but Kreiger unexpectantly grabbed his skull with his massive gauntlet and held him into the air. The nature of the attack surprised Ivan and he hesitated for a moment, giving Kreiger enough time to slam him into the roof, and causing him to loose his grip on his precious sword. Smiling devilishly, Kreiger pushed Ivan deeper and deeper into the clay tiles, until he was well embedded in the roof. He maintained his crushing grip on Ivan head the whole time.
"Goodbye, traitor!" he barked as he a bone crushing rush of wind drove Ivan through the roof and into the building below. Ivan cried out in agony as the Air Render attack smashed him into the much harder floor of the restaurant that they had been fighting on, breaking at least a dozen bones. The pressure continued to increase, however. He could feel blood vessels all over his body begin to burst from the overwhelming pressure. He is vision became clouded with a red fog as the pain increased until the image of Kreiger standing high above him faded away.
Kreiger's triumph was short lived, however, as his arrogant laughter was met by a raging stream of fire from Marche's outstretched arm. He tried to hold of the attack but the unrelenting force of the Dante attack picked him and huled him into an adjacent building, he crashed through the wall and traveled well into the building before the attack dissipated and he was left crumpled against the wall, smoldering.
Marche and Ritz jumped to the top of the building from which Kreiger had been dispatched. Ritz noticed the large hole made by the Paladin's Air Render. Peering down into it, she quickly winced and looked away upon seeing Ivan's broken and bloody body.
"It's Ivan!" she cried out to Marche. The Soulvetar jumped down into the ruined restaurant and set next to the Black Monk. He was in very poor shape, with several broken bones easily visible and blood leaking from his ears. Marche quickly felt around his bulky neck for a pulse. He sighed in relief as he felt the weak but resilient pumping of Ivan's jugular vein. He was alive, but unconscious and badly beaten.
Marche returned to the roof top and rejoined Ritz.
"He's alive, but he's out cold. We better get him to a hospital fast, though," he said.
"I think we have other things to worry about right now," Ritz said, as she pointed her rapier to the ground. The shards of clay and stone that had been dislodged from the roof were beginning to shake and bounce rapidly as the building itself began to vibrate from the rumbling of a distant force bearing down on them. They turned around to see the source of the quaking. Rising from a pile of rumble that coursed with energy and had been the building which Kreiger had been thrown into, the dark Paladin stood, both of his Excaliburs raised and throbbing with power. Even from several hundred yards back, Ritz and Marche could feel the electricity in the air as Kreiger prepared to unleash his ultimate attack.
"Now die!" he shouted, his voice booming like the roar of a lion. His armor had been damaged and knocked off, revealing his bulging biceps. Massive veins in his arms pumped rapidly as he swept his dual weapons forward, determined to wipe of his enemies in a single, catastrophic attack of holy energy.
Like a volcano of pure white energy, the Saint Cross exploded up from the ground with a tremendous blast. The magnitude of the sound was so great that it alone caused the buildings around the attack's epicenter to crumble to dust. In seconds, the center of Baguba Port was reduced to ashes, leaving a gargantuan, cross shaped crater from which issued forth a sky high tower of pearly white devastation that seemed to strike at the heart of the heavens themselves.
Kreiger stood laughing among the rubble as his attack died down and the dust parted. No living thing could have survived that attack. He was on the verge of congratulating himself when he sense the most insignificant point of energy in the middle of blast zone.
"It's....not possible!" he exclaimed as he began to make out a small sphere of magic sitting complacently in the crater. Marche's Magic Wall. He calmly stood in the center of the glowing blue force field, his arm out stretched and Ritz standing behind him. They were completely unharmed. Marche lowered his Magic Wall while Kreiger was too shocked to respond. He drew his Paradox Blades that he had sheathed to cast the Magic Wall.
"It's over!" he barked, at which he and Ritz launched into a furious attack directly at the Destroyer. He recovered from the shock of his ultimate attack failing in time to prepare himself for the onslaught and regain some of his wounded arrogance.
"Insolent dogs!" he shouted as he met their attacks head on.
Marche struck with both blades simultaneously, slashing again and again, not at Kreiger, but at his Excalibur. Knowing that their previous attacks on the Paladin had failed, he decided to try and attack the Excalibur itself and try to knock him down from the force of his swings rather than to try and kill him directly. Each of Kreiger's blocks was followed by a dozens punishing blows to the tempered steel sword, until the blade itself began to shriek from the stress. Finally, Marche knocked the sword out of his hand and into the ground several yards away. Instinctively, Kreiger used his second blade to try and defend himself from the Soulvetar, and made the fateful mistake of ignoring the other half of the team.
Ritz had been content with lunging at Kreiger with her rapier before, but was growing frustrated and concerned as her attacks were so easily blocked. But when she felt the vibrations of Marche's crushing blades against the Excalibur carried through Kreiger's body, she saw her chance. As he swung that second Excalibur towards the blonde haired devil, he left himself wide open to Ritz. Before he could make his attack on Marche, Ritz lept under his massive frame and drove her Vent de Dieu straight into the center of his silver armor and into his dark heart.
For what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. All three of them were frozen in place, Marche prepared to block Kreiger's attack, Ritz with her rapier stuck in the Paladin's chest and Kreiger with a look of terminal shock in his eyes. Then, slowly, Kreiger raised his right arm and pointed it at Marche. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist and sent him hurtling backwards with an Air Render at least 100 yards. At the same time, he delivered a screaming kick directly to Ritz's face, relieving her of her grip on the Vent de Dieu and also knocking her back. All the while, the long, shimmering rapier remained firmly lodged in Kreiger's chest.
Kreiger looked down at the large metal blade that appeared to be stuck in his body. He grinned evilly and with one quick motion he pulled it out of his armor and hurled to the ground. There wasn't a drop of blood on it.
"Now do you see that it's pointless to try and strike me down?" he asked Ritz, who had begun to rise from the ground after being jarred from having Kreiger's boot in her face. She felt her jaw, but nothing seemed to be broken, though a trickle of blood began to run down her lip. She stared wide eyed at the gaping hole in her enemy's chest. But she did not see flesh and bone and blood. Instead, there was a bright and shining crystal in the center of his upper torso. It was a deep blue and had a strange blood red symbol carved into it.
"What kind of monster are you?" she asked between pants.
"I am a man, just like that boy that is lying on the ground over there. However, I am a far superior man than he is. All thanks to this," he said, gesturing to the gem within his body. "It is a shard of the Alpha Stone."
"The Alpha Stone?" Ritz asked.
"It is the source of Infinite power that Lord Archemis harnessed. I have a shard where my heart once was. Pious also had a less refined fragment, as you likely recall." Ritz suddenly remembered the jewel in the center of the Preacher's Cross that had summoned the giant Bomb.
"As long as I have this crystalline heart within me, my power is all but absolute. You never stood a chance." Ritz was speechless. She was also fatigued, whereas Kreiger appeared to be as strong as ever. She was without her weapon that lay at his feet and without the defender that she loved so much. Her entire world was coming to an end, and she knew it.
"You're not going to get away with this..." she growled.
"Are you planning on stopping me!?" Kreiger yelled as charged Ritz. In the blink of an eye, he was upon her. He raised his Excalibur high, and brought it down across Ritz's chest. Her face was frozen in a final look of shock as the blade tore a massive gash across her torso. A fountain of blood erupted from the chasmous wound as she slowly fell to the ground, instantly dead. She hit the ground in an already large pool of her own blood.
"NO!!" Marche cried from 100 yards away. He had recovered in just enough time to see the attack and Ritz's body falling to the ground. At that point, something in his brain clicked. Everything froze and fell into a dream like state. He could see himself and the shock on his face. He could see the woman he loved lying in her a growing pool of her own blood, her body crushed and broken. And he could see Kreiger's face, his arrogant laughter. The images began to spin in his mind like a gale of horror as Marche felt the unstoppable force that had come over him at Dorsa and Lutia. But this time he welcomed it.
"KREIGER!" he shouted like it was a curse word. He jerked his hand up and instantly created a Chaos Bomb that he immediately launched at his target. It shot across the ruins of Baguba like a bullet. With barely enough time to react, Kreiger swung his remaining Excalibur like a baseball bat, trying to deflect the Black Hole away from him. With a thunderous sound, he succeeded, knocking the devastating attack straight up into the air, imploded on itself. The second that Kreiger looked down, he saw Marche a foot away from his body, his Paradox Blades charged with the power of the Prima Cross. He tried to parry it with his Excalibur, but he drastically underestimated the power of Prima magic. The blades struck and instantly shattered the Knight Sword. The shock ran up his armed and instantaneously vaporized it up the shoulder. Kreiger shrieked in pain as he was launched into another building, crimson fluid pumping out of his shoulder.
Marche ran over to Ritz's body. He removed the Phoenix Down that he remembered to bring with him. Just as Ritz did for him at the Jagd, he placed it on her blood soaked chest and prayed that it would work. The feather of the legendary bird glowed briefly, but much to Marche's surprise, then turned to stone and crumbled into ashes. It failed, and Ritz was dead. Marche could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to over power the unbridled rage he felt towards Kreiger.
"Nothing can survive the power of the Alpha Stone!" Kreiger laughed maniacally. Minus one Excalibur and one arm, he clutched his wound as he scrambled to recover the sword that Marche had knocked from his hand. He grabbed it and held it up high.
"BUT IF YOU LOVE HER SO MUCH, THEN YOU CAN GO TO HELL WITH HER!" he screamed to the heavens as he drove the Excalibur into the ground. "I'LL REDUCE THIS WORTHLESS CITY TO ASHES, AND YOU WITH IT!" The blade cracked the hard earth and from it came a sphere of holy white energy that began to grow rapidly, threatening to engulf everything around it.
Marche turned to face the wall of white approaching him. He quickly fired up his Prima Cross to strike the finishing blow.
"The second that Ritz's blood touched the ground, you're fate was sealed," he said coldly as he hurled himself into the burning oblivion.
"What! No! You can't do that!" Kreiger said as he saw the power of the Prima Cross cutting through his Saint Cross. "What kind of Demon are you?!" Those were his final words, before the Prima energy struck him directly in the chest, and more specifically, directly on the shard of the all powerful crystal. It shattered on impact and Kreiger's entire body immediately burst into a thousand pieces under the overwhelming power of the blades and Marche's own fury.
Without Kreiger controlling it, the Saint Cross vanished quickly, leaving only a large crater in the burning ruins of Baguba. Marche stood the middle, breathing heavily. There was nothing left Kreiger or of the Alpha Stone he bore within his body.
Drained of all energy, Marche slowly limped back to Ritz's body. Night had finally come, but the moon was obscured by the heavy clouds that had overtaken the sky. Marche could feel the droplets of rain hitting his face. It was all over. As he stood over the girl's body, he couldn't help but stare into her lifeless eyes. He prayed that it was all a dream that he would be able to wake up from, but his wounds spoke otherwise. Finally, unable to hold himself up any longer, he collapsed to the ground, sobbing over Ritz's body.
Destroyer
Sigma's Note: Several things to say.
First of all, have you ever burst out in a fit of maniacal laughter in the middle writing? Because I did here. Secondly, this may be the most pivotal chapter in the story. Also, I wrote it to Zeppelin's "Four Sticks". That really helped my get the mood going. Thirdly, I'd like to say to apologize to anyone that is somewhat confused by my vocabulary choice. I don't use words like epiphany to seem superior or smarter than I really am. That's just how my brain works. Plus, epiphany just seemed to...fit. But I believe that my work speaks for itself.
So, without further ado....
"Raphael Eranov!" yelled the imposing figure behind the smoke screen created by the colossal energy wave that wiped out half the city. "I'm here to relieve you of duty!"
"Kreiger! What are you doing here?" Raphael snapped, fear easily detected on his raspy voice. The Paladin stepped forward, his armor laden body about to emerge from the inky black curtain.
"Lord Archemis did not believe that you would have the mental fortitude to do your duty without hesitation in the presence of the Monk. It looks like he was correct, seeing as the traitor is still standing," he said, raising his massive sword to pierce the soot cloud. It glimmered with the golden light of an Excalibur wielded by an immensely skilled knight. "You are to return to Ironheim immediately to be reprimanded. You should be grateful that I don't kill you right here and now, but Archemis doesn't want you dead just yet. No go!"
Raphael growled and lept up to the roof of one of the remaining buildings, his gaze virtually saturated with poisonous intent. He pointed his spear at Ivan.
"Make no mistake. If Kreiger doesn't kill you, I will," he said before leaping high into the air and out of sight. The shadow of the Paladin looked up to see the Dragoon sail into the horizon before returning his attention back to Marche, Ritz and Ivan. He began to walk again, his enormous seven foot frame slowly passing through the wall of smoke before him.
"I am Kreiger the Destroyer, and the Fifth Megalomancer," he said as his full body became visible. He was huge and muscular, and covered from head to toe in heavy silver armor. He wore no helmet, his short cropped brown hair making the fierce features of his face even more striking. A long scar ran down his left cheek that also donned a red eye patch over one eye. At his waist, a second scabbard became apparent, this one holding yet another Excalibur. At that point, Ritz and Marche knew that things were not going to go well.
Ivan, on the other hand, was entirely aware of the danger they had all been emersed in. Kreiger was Archemis's third in command, next to Sagaro on the executive ladder of his empire. He had seen Kreiger destroy entire cities with a single swipe of his sword, laughing the whole time. He was visibly shaking, but he restrained himself. He knew he mustn't appear weak to the Destroyer.
Kreiger drew his second Excalibur. Despite the massive weight of both swords, the Megalomancer held them both like they were bamboo training swords. He wore a confident smirk. The three fighters assumed defensive positions.
"Our original purpose was to capture the port, but Lord Archemis's will has drastically shifted upon hearing of your sojourn here to stop us. It would appear that you three are more of a thorn in Lord Archemis's side that realize. You've been tearing through our ranks far too easily, and now I'm going to put a stop to it," he said, drawing one sword behind him and removing the second from its hilt, holding it pointed towards the three in threatening manner. His face twitched noticeably as an immense surge of power washed over his body and poured into the weapon he held behind him. A bright white light flushed over the gilded blade.
"Move!" Ivan yelled again. He lept into the air as Marche and Ritz scattered to the side. Kreiger swept the glowing Excalibur forward, releasing the massive wave of pent up energy. The ground before him exploded in a pearly white fury that tore through the streets like a shark tearing through a calm sea. Even more buildings vanished before the oppressive force of the Paladin's Holy Sword. Ivan looked down at the massive scar that the attack had carved into Baguba. Immediately, he aimed his Katana downwards as he fell towards the antagonist, prepared to deliver a powerful diving blow. It had begun.
Kreiger did not plan on being felled by a single attack from a traitor. He raised his second knight sword and knocked Ivan away harshly before the attack could find its mark. Ivan landed on his feet, though dazed by the incredible shock of the Paladin's strike. It felt as if every bone in his body was vibrating, as was his Petal Chaser, emitting a sorrowful wail. He charged again and struck with a lunging attack aimed directly at Kreiger's icy heart. Without even flinching, he stepped forward and parried the blow with all his body weight behind him. So great was the impact upon Ivan's Katana that it actually drove Ivan's feet several inches into the hard beaten dirt of the Baguba street. With his second sword, and Ivan off guard, he prepared to remove his head in a single clean strike.
In a flash, Marche appeared. Kreiger's eyes twitched momentarily at the speed of the Soulvetar, who hurled himself before the Black Monk and blocked the powerhouse blow with his Paradox Blades crossed. Kreiger swung with his second sword but Marche stopped that attack cold as well. Kreiger was surprise, but also somewhat pleased in a grim sort of way. He was not expecting a challenge.
Then Ritz entered the fray. She jumped through the air and attempted to carve a large slice out of Kreiger's armor with the razor tip of the Vent de Dieu. He caught her cat like movements out of the corner of his eye, and momentarily took his attention away from Marche and Ivan to knock the elegant blade of the Rapier back and to bound to the top of one of the intact buildings, an impressive display of strength for someone so enormous and armor-laden.
"He's strong!" Marche said as Kreiger landed with a loud crash on the clay roof.
"He is the Destroyer of Worlds and the Bane of Men. Kreiger's one of the most feared of the Megalomancers. We must be very cautious," Ivan said as he regained his composure. He was concerned with the condition of his Petal Chaser. His fight against his brother was more intense that he would have liked, and Kreiger would be no merciful foe either. He could still feel the tempered steel of the katana humming painfully, as though it itself had been mortally wounded.
"Let's go!" Ritz shouted as the three of them launched into a simultaneous assault on the Destroyer. Kreiger smiled haughtily as his muscles tightened around the handles of his Excaliburs. He lived destruction and the nirvana like state that the cries of thousands of mortals falling into the abyss granted him. He bore his teeth as the three attacked.
Kreiger's skill was much more than any of them had anticipated, even Ivan. He golden swords sliced through the air like they were mere feathers, parrying and striking with incomprehensible speed. As quickly as they attacked, Marche, Ritz and Ivan found themselves of the defensive as Kreiger lashed out at all three at once. In an almost supernatural motion, the Excaliburs struck their respective weapons with demon like ferocity, the force of each blow felt through their entire bodies. Sparks flew through the smoke filled air as steel met steel. Marche vaulted through the air and stabbed at Kreiger's exposed head as Ritz lunged towards his vitals and Ivan's katana swept through the air like bolt of lightning. Each attack was met either by a narrow evasion or the hard edge of an Excalibur. Suddenly, the Paladin swung his fist and connected with Marche's face, knocking him off his feet and to the street below. This distracted Ritz for the fraction of a second that Kreiger needed to drive his sword towards her slender neck. Ritz caught it at the last second and raised her rapier to block it. But it was a sloppy guard and the force of the blow also knocked her from the roof top. In mere seconds, Ivan found himself alone with the Destroyer.
Ivan tried to attack with his Petal Chaser, but Kreiger unexpectantly grabbed his skull with his massive gauntlet and held him into the air. The nature of the attack surprised Ivan and he hesitated for a moment, giving Kreiger enough time to slam him into the roof, and causing him to loose his grip on his precious sword. Smiling devilishly, Kreiger pushed Ivan deeper and deeper into the clay tiles, until he was well embedded in the roof. He maintained his crushing grip on Ivan head the whole time.
"Goodbye, traitor!" he barked as he a bone crushing rush of wind drove Ivan through the roof and into the building below. Ivan cried out in agony as the Air Render attack smashed him into the much harder floor of the restaurant that they had been fighting on, breaking at least a dozen bones. The pressure continued to increase, however. He could feel blood vessels all over his body begin to burst from the overwhelming pressure. He is vision became clouded with a red fog as the pain increased until the image of Kreiger standing high above him faded away.
Kreiger's triumph was short lived, however, as his arrogant laughter was met by a raging stream of fire from Marche's outstretched arm. He tried to hold of the attack but the unrelenting force of the Dante attack picked him and huled him into an adjacent building, he crashed through the wall and traveled well into the building before the attack dissipated and he was left crumpled against the wall, smoldering.
Marche and Ritz jumped to the top of the building from which Kreiger had been dispatched. Ritz noticed the large hole made by the Paladin's Air Render. Peering down into it, she quickly winced and looked away upon seeing Ivan's broken and bloody body.
"It's Ivan!" she cried out to Marche. The Soulvetar jumped down into the ruined restaurant and set next to the Black Monk. He was in very poor shape, with several broken bones easily visible and blood leaking from his ears. Marche quickly felt around his bulky neck for a pulse. He sighed in relief as he felt the weak but resilient pumping of Ivan's jugular vein. He was alive, but unconscious and badly beaten.
Marche returned to the roof top and rejoined Ritz.
"He's alive, but he's out cold. We better get him to a hospital fast, though," he said.
"I think we have other things to worry about right now," Ritz said, as she pointed her rapier to the ground. The shards of clay and stone that had been dislodged from the roof were beginning to shake and bounce rapidly as the building itself began to vibrate from the rumbling of a distant force bearing down on them. They turned around to see the source of the quaking. Rising from a pile of rumble that coursed with energy and had been the building which Kreiger had been thrown into, the dark Paladin stood, both of his Excaliburs raised and throbbing with power. Even from several hundred yards back, Ritz and Marche could feel the electricity in the air as Kreiger prepared to unleash his ultimate attack.
"Now die!" he shouted, his voice booming like the roar of a lion. His armor had been damaged and knocked off, revealing his bulging biceps. Massive veins in his arms pumped rapidly as he swept his dual weapons forward, determined to wipe of his enemies in a single, catastrophic attack of holy energy.
Like a volcano of pure white energy, the Saint Cross exploded up from the ground with a tremendous blast. The magnitude of the sound was so great that it alone caused the buildings around the attack's epicenter to crumble to dust. In seconds, the center of Baguba Port was reduced to ashes, leaving a gargantuan, cross shaped crater from which issued forth a sky high tower of pearly white devastation that seemed to strike at the heart of the heavens themselves.
Kreiger stood laughing among the rubble as his attack died down and the dust parted. No living thing could have survived that attack. He was on the verge of congratulating himself when he sense the most insignificant point of energy in the middle of blast zone.
"It's....not possible!" he exclaimed as he began to make out a small sphere of magic sitting complacently in the crater. Marche's Magic Wall. He calmly stood in the center of the glowing blue force field, his arm out stretched and Ritz standing behind him. They were completely unharmed. Marche lowered his Magic Wall while Kreiger was too shocked to respond. He drew his Paradox Blades that he had sheathed to cast the Magic Wall.
"It's over!" he barked, at which he and Ritz launched into a furious attack directly at the Destroyer. He recovered from the shock of his ultimate attack failing in time to prepare himself for the onslaught and regain some of his wounded arrogance.
"Insolent dogs!" he shouted as he met their attacks head on.
Marche struck with both blades simultaneously, slashing again and again, not at Kreiger, but at his Excalibur. Knowing that their previous attacks on the Paladin had failed, he decided to try and attack the Excalibur itself and try to knock him down from the force of his swings rather than to try and kill him directly. Each of Kreiger's blocks was followed by a dozens punishing blows to the tempered steel sword, until the blade itself began to shriek from the stress. Finally, Marche knocked the sword out of his hand and into the ground several yards away. Instinctively, Kreiger used his second blade to try and defend himself from the Soulvetar, and made the fateful mistake of ignoring the other half of the team.
Ritz had been content with lunging at Kreiger with her rapier before, but was growing frustrated and concerned as her attacks were so easily blocked. But when she felt the vibrations of Marche's crushing blades against the Excalibur carried through Kreiger's body, she saw her chance. As he swung that second Excalibur towards the blonde haired devil, he left himself wide open to Ritz. Before he could make his attack on Marche, Ritz lept under his massive frame and drove her Vent de Dieu straight into the center of his silver armor and into his dark heart.
For what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. All three of them were frozen in place, Marche prepared to block Kreiger's attack, Ritz with her rapier stuck in the Paladin's chest and Kreiger with a look of terminal shock in his eyes. Then, slowly, Kreiger raised his right arm and pointed it at Marche. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist and sent him hurtling backwards with an Air Render at least 100 yards. At the same time, he delivered a screaming kick directly to Ritz's face, relieving her of her grip on the Vent de Dieu and also knocking her back. All the while, the long, shimmering rapier remained firmly lodged in Kreiger's chest.
Kreiger looked down at the large metal blade that appeared to be stuck in his body. He grinned evilly and with one quick motion he pulled it out of his armor and hurled to the ground. There wasn't a drop of blood on it.
"Now do you see that it's pointless to try and strike me down?" he asked Ritz, who had begun to rise from the ground after being jarred from having Kreiger's boot in her face. She felt her jaw, but nothing seemed to be broken, though a trickle of blood began to run down her lip. She stared wide eyed at the gaping hole in her enemy's chest. But she did not see flesh and bone and blood. Instead, there was a bright and shining crystal in the center of his upper torso. It was a deep blue and had a strange blood red symbol carved into it.
"What kind of monster are you?" she asked between pants.
"I am a man, just like that boy that is lying on the ground over there. However, I am a far superior man than he is. All thanks to this," he said, gesturing to the gem within his body. "It is a shard of the Alpha Stone."
"The Alpha Stone?" Ritz asked.
"It is the source of Infinite power that Lord Archemis harnessed. I have a shard where my heart once was. Pious also had a less refined fragment, as you likely recall." Ritz suddenly remembered the jewel in the center of the Preacher's Cross that had summoned the giant Bomb.
"As long as I have this crystalline heart within me, my power is all but absolute. You never stood a chance." Ritz was speechless. She was also fatigued, whereas Kreiger appeared to be as strong as ever. She was without her weapon that lay at his feet and without the defender that she loved so much. Her entire world was coming to an end, and she knew it.
"You're not going to get away with this..." she growled.
"Are you planning on stopping me!?" Kreiger yelled as charged Ritz. In the blink of an eye, he was upon her. He raised his Excalibur high, and brought it down across Ritz's chest. Her face was frozen in a final look of shock as the blade tore a massive gash across her torso. A fountain of blood erupted from the chasmous wound as she slowly fell to the ground, instantly dead. She hit the ground in an already large pool of her own blood.
"NO!!" Marche cried from 100 yards away. He had recovered in just enough time to see the attack and Ritz's body falling to the ground. At that point, something in his brain clicked. Everything froze and fell into a dream like state. He could see himself and the shock on his face. He could see the woman he loved lying in her a growing pool of her own blood, her body crushed and broken. And he could see Kreiger's face, his arrogant laughter. The images began to spin in his mind like a gale of horror as Marche felt the unstoppable force that had come over him at Dorsa and Lutia. But this time he welcomed it.
"KREIGER!" he shouted like it was a curse word. He jerked his hand up and instantly created a Chaos Bomb that he immediately launched at his target. It shot across the ruins of Baguba like a bullet. With barely enough time to react, Kreiger swung his remaining Excalibur like a baseball bat, trying to deflect the Black Hole away from him. With a thunderous sound, he succeeded, knocking the devastating attack straight up into the air, imploded on itself. The second that Kreiger looked down, he saw Marche a foot away from his body, his Paradox Blades charged with the power of the Prima Cross. He tried to parry it with his Excalibur, but he drastically underestimated the power of Prima magic. The blades struck and instantly shattered the Knight Sword. The shock ran up his armed and instantaneously vaporized it up the shoulder. Kreiger shrieked in pain as he was launched into another building, crimson fluid pumping out of his shoulder.
Marche ran over to Ritz's body. He removed the Phoenix Down that he remembered to bring with him. Just as Ritz did for him at the Jagd, he placed it on her blood soaked chest and prayed that it would work. The feather of the legendary bird glowed briefly, but much to Marche's surprise, then turned to stone and crumbled into ashes. It failed, and Ritz was dead. Marche could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to over power the unbridled rage he felt towards Kreiger.
"Nothing can survive the power of the Alpha Stone!" Kreiger laughed maniacally. Minus one Excalibur and one arm, he clutched his wound as he scrambled to recover the sword that Marche had knocked from his hand. He grabbed it and held it up high.
"BUT IF YOU LOVE HER SO MUCH, THEN YOU CAN GO TO HELL WITH HER!" he screamed to the heavens as he drove the Excalibur into the ground. "I'LL REDUCE THIS WORTHLESS CITY TO ASHES, AND YOU WITH IT!" The blade cracked the hard earth and from it came a sphere of holy white energy that began to grow rapidly, threatening to engulf everything around it.
Marche turned to face the wall of white approaching him. He quickly fired up his Prima Cross to strike the finishing blow.
"The second that Ritz's blood touched the ground, you're fate was sealed," he said coldly as he hurled himself into the burning oblivion.
"What! No! You can't do that!" Kreiger said as he saw the power of the Prima Cross cutting through his Saint Cross. "What kind of Demon are you?!" Those were his final words, before the Prima energy struck him directly in the chest, and more specifically, directly on the shard of the all powerful crystal. It shattered on impact and Kreiger's entire body immediately burst into a thousand pieces under the overwhelming power of the blades and Marche's own fury.
Without Kreiger controlling it, the Saint Cross vanished quickly, leaving only a large crater in the burning ruins of Baguba. Marche stood the middle, breathing heavily. There was nothing left Kreiger or of the Alpha Stone he bore within his body.
Drained of all energy, Marche slowly limped back to Ritz's body. Night had finally come, but the moon was obscured by the heavy clouds that had overtaken the sky. Marche could feel the droplets of rain hitting his face. It was all over. As he stood over the girl's body, he couldn't help but stare into her lifeless eyes. He prayed that it was all a dream that he would be able to wake up from, but his wounds spoke otherwise. Finally, unable to hold himself up any longer, he collapsed to the ground, sobbing over Ritz's body.