PART XXVII

The four heroes ran for the exit to San d'Oria. As they walked out, they found hundreds of people in their path. They were deafened by cries and wished of good luck. Children, woman and men of all races were cheering the heroes on.

"About time I got some screaming fans." Voldos said in an attempt to relieve tension. The four walked out of the gates and into the forest of Ronfaure. The Demon Lord Chaos hovered there confidently, waiting for them.

"I could crush that city now, you know?" He said in welcome. "My shadow magic could obliterate it. But I won't use it. No. I want to kill you. The only people who can stand against me."

"You've failed before and you'll fail again." Zinkata yelled, drawing Masamune confidently.

"Failed? I was just building up to this." Chaos sneered. "The crystals have been shattered. You have nothing to protect you."

"We'll see." Voldos drew his bow. A wave of shadow magic shot from Chaos's hand and washed over them. The four stood unharmed.

"Well, that still doesn't work." Chaos grumbled. "I'll have to destroy you by more conventional methods."

Chaos flew at the heroes, and they dove aside. He summoned a gigantic sword, and swept down at Zinkata. The blade was radiating with a black energy, the energy Chaos could bring about himself. He swung it at the warrior, who blocked with Masamune. The two energies clashed, deflecting each other with a bright flash.

"Curse that Altana!" Spat Chaos. "Once I'm done with you, I'll destroy her."

"Destroy a Goddess?" Vivli cried. "You're insane."

"I am the only god worth worrying about now." Chaos yelled as he turned towards Vivli. Voldos fired arrows, but they pinged uselessly off his form. Vivli gulped, trying to remember what Dedji taught her. She held out her staff in defence, but Chaos swept down, slicing it neatly in half in one sweep and swinging in for the kill with the other. Bootus leapt at the demon, knocking him aside just before he killed the little mithra. Vivli ran in panic.

"You owe me one!" Bootus yelled, pounding the demon. Chaos threw him off with a blast of energy. Zinkata ran in as Chaos swung his blade. The two swords clashed again. Zinkata duelled, rapidly blocking and striking. Voldos ran up behind Chaos, jumping onto his back and digging two daggers into the monster's back. Chaos roared, spinning. Voldos drew his own sword to defend himself, but it was sliced in two by Chaos's dark blade.

"Banish!" Vivli cried, casting her most powerful banish spell. Chaos wasn't even phased, and continued to move in on Voldos. Zinkata ran at Chaos, forcing the demon king to turn around to defend himself against Masamune's deadly blade. Chaos clashed his dark blade with the Masamune, and again they flashed, the blue and black energies repelling each other.

"My own sword." Sneered Chaos. "Is Murasame. The dark blade designed to counter Masamune's holy power. Within it resides my own strength and my own power, as Altana's rests in that blade. You cannot destroy it and you cannot defeat me while it burns with my power."

"Talk all you want Chaos, you used that sword when we fought you before, and you died." Zinkata taunted. Bootus charged in again, ducking under Chaos's attack and pounding the fiend in the chest. Chaos soared into the air, and began blasting lightning and fire spells at the heroes. They ran, dodging.

"Shellra!" Cried Vivli, as the green shield spread across the four.

"Do you have to keep announcing what you're casting?" Bootus asked. "It's really annoying."

"Gotta admit Viv, it doesn't make much sense to shout your attack." Zinkata remarked, dodging electricity.

"Just letting you know what I'm doing." Vivli sighed. A bolt of lightning caught Bootus, but the shield weakened it sufficiently so that the galka remained mostly unharmed.

"We have to do something!" Bootus announced. "We can't just keep dodging."

"Don't look at me!" Voldos cried. "My arrows don't make a scratch!"

"My spells are useless!" Vivli yelled in a panic. Chaos shot another bolt at Zinkata. He held out Masamune and it absorbed the blow. The sword glowed with energy before it shot back out, striking Chaos and causing him to fall from the air.

"I want that sword." Voldos said wishfully.

Chaos rose quickly as Zinkata ran in. He blocked the hero, and kicked him back. Zinkata flew across the forest, slamming into a tree and dropping down. Bootus ran at Chaos, jumping over Murasame with speed and agility that seemed impossible for his bulk. He slammed Chaos in the face, causing him to stumble back. Vivli cast a cure spell on Zinkata, who got up. She started casting something else.

"Keep me covered." She ordered. Zinkata nodded, running at Chaos.

Voldos fired more arrows, that continued to ping off of Chaos. Despite the fact these appeared useless, they were suitably distracting Chaos enough to allow Zinkata and Bootus to land more hits. Vivli finished casting. She gulped. She had never had to cast this spell. She didn't even know if she could.

"HOLY!" She yelled, and a bright white light opened up above Chaos, causing a massive explosion of pure light on the fiend's form. Vivli shook from the energy spent, and dropped to her knees, trying to keep herself up. Chaos burst out of the explosion, and into the air.

"Insignificant wench!" He yelled, blasting a bolt of lightning at her. Vivli was blown back, crashing against a rock painfully. She could barely still move. Voldos fired another arrow, and Chaos turned back to him. The demon flew down at the elvaan, but Zinkata threw himself in the way, lunging upwards with Masamune. Chaos diverted his course to avoid skewering himself on the blade, and crashed into the ground. Zinkata pulled out a potion.

"Give this to Vivli!" He cried, throwing it to Voldos. Voldos nodded, running over and making the mithra drink it. Vivli felt her own wounds close up.

"Thanks." She said, before adding; "God, those are disgusting."

"Life savers though." Voldos remarked.

"Did you know they're made of the juice from a spider's web?" Vivli almost threw up as she remembered that little fact.

Chaos burst out of the ground, turning in the air with an angry roar. Zinkata lunged, stabbing the monster in the chest. Chaos flew back.

"Fools!" He roared. "Did you really think this land was going to die on its own?" The others shared a confused glance. "See my true power!" Four orbs appeared, spinning around him. They looked the same as the ones that had contained the fiends' spirits. They shattered, and four bright white lights shot into Chaos.

The Demon Lord began to mutate. At first, it looked like his skeleton exploded within him. It became so reinforced every bone showed through his armoured skin, the ribs becoming clear and viciously curved, his skull beginning to show through his own head and his arms and legs growing greatly in size and showing the bone structure. His wings grew to massive sizes, and two more heads burst out of his armoured shoulders. Four more arms smashed through his armour and his legs mutated into a mass of sharpened tentacles.

"That would be what we missed in his plan." Vivli muttered in disbelief.

"Yes! The power of the fiends is now mine! This world now exists to my whim!" The three heads cried in unison.

"Chaos, you-" Zinkata began.

"Oh no, not Chaos." The new monster laughed. "Chaos is what I was. I am now the result of Chaos. The result of what I have brought upon this world. I am Carnage."

The four took a few steps back.

"You'll have to do more than a fancy name to scare us, Carnage!" Voldos cried ferociously.

"Oh, I intend to." Carnage remarked, hurling a bolt of green electricity at the elvaan. It cut through him, despite the green flash of shell's protective field. Voldos stood still.

"Ha, nice try. You can't defeat us." Zinkata laughed. Voldos dropped down. "Voldos?"

"VOLDOS?" Vivli screamed, running to his side. She looked up in total disbelief. "He's dead." She gasped, tears forming her eyes.

"YOU BASTARD!" Bootus snarled, charging at Carnage. Another bolt struck Bootus, and he dropped down, dead.

"NO!" Zinkata screamed. Vivli broke down crying.

"Two down. Two to go." Carnage stated evilly. "This one I'll enjoy seeing." He hurled Murasame through the air and it pieced Vivli's chest, pinning her to a tree.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Zinkata screamed, rushing to her. Blood trickled from her mouth.

"Zin…" She managed to say. "I- Thank you. Thank you for showing me everything."

"No! Viv! Hold on! You're not going to die!" Zinkata yelled.

"Thanks. All that time ago, you stole from me. Started all this." She gulped. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Her eyes fell shut. Zinkata dropped to his knees. Carnage held out a hand, and Murasame shot back into it. Vivli's corpse dropped down.

"I promised I'd protect her." Zinkata wept. "I promised I'd make sure no harm came to her."

"Then you lied." Snarled Carnage.

"I promised. I promised. You tore that apart." Zinkata began to turn to face Carnage.

"This is just a start." Carnage reminded him. "This fate was a taster. This awaits every being on this planet. The pain you feel. I shall make sure every creature knows it before this is over."

"No!" Zinkata yelled. "I'll stop you!"

"What for?" Carnage taunted. "They're dead. Everybody you cared for. I destroyed them."

"You'll burn in hell for this!" Zinkata screamed through tears.

"This world is becoming hell." Carnage laughed. "I shall turn it to hell and all shall fall. And you were the catalyst for it all, Zinkata." He turned to Vivli's body. "She knew that. She said it herself. You started it all. You freed me again. You allowed me to butcher and murder your friends."

"NO!" Zinkata yelled. "It was you! It was you! You bastard!"

"Well, you no longer need to worry." Carnage laughed. "This is where your journey ends. This is where I destroy you."

"NEVER!" Zinkata bellowed, charging the monster.

Carnage was caught off guard, blocking as Zinkata attacked with a fury he had never seen. The hero swept and dove as Carnage tried to counter attack, driving the monster back across the forest. Carnage attempted to counter attack, but it was futile. He was powerless to defend himself against the rage of Zinkata and the speed and power it lent him. The two battling souls approached the walls of San d'Oria. Zinkata had become possessed with an insane fury. Carnage crashed into the wall, causing rubble to fall. Zinkata had a single mind focus, beating the blade of Carnage over and over again. Murasame blew apart under the pressure. He swung Masamune around and cut off one of Carnage's arms, and then sliced into the tentacles at his base. Carnage fell down. Zinkata held Masamune to his neck.

"Go on then." Spat the monster. "Do it! Give in to your hatred! Destroy me! It wont bring them back! Their gone!"

"I don't care." Sobbed Zinkata. "This is where your journey ends! Goodbye, Chaos!" He brought the blade down, and sliced off Carnage's head. There was a great eruption as black energy seeped from the beast. A gigantic portal opened in the sky and the energy rocketed up into it. The portal snapped shut, and the Demon Lord Chaos was gone forever.

Zinkata dropped the sword, and fell to his knees, sobbing. It was over. Chaos was gone. His spirit, obliterated. Never again could he return to plague Vana'diel. But at the same time, so were the Light Warriors. They had been destroyed. He sobbed there, on the field. The people of San d'Oria dared to look out. He didn't even notice. Nor did he notice the glow building from within Masamune. He began to hear a gentle whispering.

"Zinkata." It was a soft female voice, but with enough authority to command a world. "Take up the sword."

"Altana?" Zinkata gasped. He gripped Masamune, and felt himself holding it up. A bright white light rocketed down, hitting the blade and coursing through Zinkata's body. He felt a gentle burning behind his eyes.

"You are the last of the Light Warriors." The voice told him.

"I know." He wept.
"If I could bring them back at the price of your life, would you let me?" Altana asked.

"Yes." Zinkata answered without a second thought.

"Your heart is pure. You didn't even pause." The Goddess sounded almost amused. "You will not need to forfeit your life. Thanks to the courage of all of you, Chaos, a demon of such power he threatened even my power, has been vanquished. In return, I grant you a second chance."

"A second ch-" Zinkata was cut off as a bright white light rocketed out of his eyes. "AAAAAAAAARGH!" He screamed as it poured into the three bodies laying in the forest. One by one, the slain Light Warriors rose, floating to their feet. Each one was placed down gently on the ground, and their eyes opened. The white light faded.

"Goodbye Light Warriors!" The voice of Altana cried. "And thank you." Masamune blew apart in Zinkata's hands, shattering as Altana left it once and for all.

Zinkata couldn't believe it. Bootus was closest, and he ran, embracing the galka before he could react. Bootus had an expression between confusion and horror on his face. Zinkata ran to Voldos, hugging him tightly. Voldos stumbled back, surpised. Finally, Zinkata turned to Vivli, grabbing her, and holding her tightly in a tearful embrace.

"Can't. Breath." Vivli managed to splutter out, completely destroying the moment. Zinkata laughed joyfully.

"You're alive! You're all alive!" Zinkata cried in pure ecstasy. The others smiled, and the four embraced. Dedji, Andrew, Cruth, Celphie, Arcane and Angel all smiled from the gateway of San d'Oria, watching. The whispers behind them, asking what had happened, what that voice had been, all began to change. The city erupted into cheers.

They had won.