Okay this will be a rather short chapie but I still hope you will enjoy.

Chapter 17: The betrayal

The heroes turned around to see scores of the demon towns people holding rifles all pointed straight at them.

"What's the meaning of this, we did our job now what do you want!" Maxi yelled

The Mayor cut through the crowd with the wickedest smile across his face. "All we want is you to step away from our shard."

"A deal's a deal and we will take what's rightfully ours." Mitsurugi said reaching for his sword

"Yes and all you're guaranteed is death so I promise to give you what you're owed."

"I don't think so" Maxi said charging the Mayor but a gun went off hitting him in his right shoulder and knocking him back.

"Maxi" Xianghua rushed to his side "you're gonna be okay hold out while we kick some demon ass."

"It's Okay don't fight it pointless we're staring at the barrels of at least a hundred guns. We can't win."

"But we won't give up with out a fight we'll take at least some of them before we all die."

"But Why… Why would you do this after we saved you?" Talim questioned

"You remember my little story don't you? Well listen closely as I tell you the truth, you deserve that much before you die. The High priest in the story was I. I went on a long pilgrimage in the desert to reach enlightenment but what I found changed everything. The very shard you wish to posses was my discovery. I brought the shard to the village and started my own religion. Our god would be the demonic force inside the shard. We worshiped the sword and allowed the demonic energy to eat away at our flesh in return turning us into these demons. With this new form we were guaranteed life unless the shard was removed from that statue. If you were to take that shard we'd all die."

"Then why bring us all here."

"I'm getting to that. You see our harpies told us of your arrival 4 years ago and warned us that you were after the shards. At the same time our people wanted immortality and under here there is a sunken pyramid. The pyramid of the forgotten pharaoh Rhamdis inside the tomb lay hidden a spell for eternal life but the temple was guarded…"

"By the shinpak" Lyric uttered

"Yes the shinpak were impossible to defeat but our harpies told us that you had the magic to destroy the shinpak. So we decided to kill two birds with one stone and know we'll have Immortality for such a small price."

"You all are so pathetic, you betrayed us but you think we'll go down easy. It won't happen we won't allow it. We'll get the shard and you won't get immortality."

"You sound so sure."

"Look up." He looked up and saw Taki had retrieved the shared.

"Yes and since you had no time to say your immortality spell we've already won." Lyric smirked

"How do you expect to leave your surrounded we'll kill you if you move one inch." The mayor bragged however Link took out his ocarina and played a transportation song and they all disappeared and reappeared on the boat.

The demons flesh burned to a cinder and they were nothing but bones and ashes.

"Quick Get Maxi some cold water, ointment and some bandages." Xianghua said Kilik went to inside one of the cabins to get some

"We just witness some of the horrors of soul edge. I guess this adds more fuel to the fire." Talim said

"Siegfried is that what happened to you."

"When I feel the full force of the demonic energy I become the demonic menace known as nightmare but since I absorbed so much dark energy I still have this reminder I've my servitude to the demon sword." He said a faraway look in his eyes

"Well we are closer to our goal and soon the sword will be destroyed. I know it." Talim uttered what all of them felt as they looked to the red tinged sky.

End of chapter 17

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This makes three shards recovered. Read and review.

Inukenイヌケヲ