Hicks stood before the Dark Knight, eyes as cold as ice. His double pair of demonic wings slowly swung back and fourth, magically suspending him in the air, his demon katana floating beside him. "It is time you are put in your place." He said calmly.
She laughed with an arrogant expression. "Oh, really? Then, let us begin." She spread her arms wide as her scythe twirled magically in the air several times, stopping in front of her suddenly.
The sound of clashing metal was quite loud in the grand hall.
Almost two fast for the naked eye to catch, the two masters of the dark arts began a complex dance of death, spiraling through the air, blades clashing like a mixture of acrobats and swordsmen. A sudden, hard force delivered from and to both sides sent both flying in opposite directions, landing on their feet several yards apart. Both were breathing heavily, and, even through the middle of it all, Hicks seemed to have a smile on his face. "Tell me, Lieutenant Hicks." She began, raising to her feet, swinging her scythe around herself, acting as a bit of a showoff as the scythe swung madly around herself. "How does a master of the Dark Arts such as yourself find his way high up into the Bastokan government?"
"That's none of your concern." He replied sharply, advancing upon her once again as their dance continued, until Ephraim delivered a successful blow to his small chest, sending him flying high into the air, landing on the ceiling of the room. Due to his ability to hover thanks to his newly developed wings, he was able to suspend his legs upon it. He leaned his head backward to stare at the evil woman.
She rushed in for another strike, and their blades met once again, their faces inches away from one another. "I can feel your thoughts, Hicks. I know the hate you hide within yourself for San d'Oria... The very same San d'Oria that slaughtered your-"
"STOP!" He boomed, sheer power sending her flying back in the air. As she tried to suspend herself in midair, Hicks flew by, the demonic katana flying close behind. He tapped the ground, flipped, and hovered a few feet in the air.
The Dark Knight turned to face him, a smile upon her face. "Such a pity..." She stated, arching the demonic scythe over her shoulder. "You placed everything into that attack, and all in v-" She suddenly found it hard to speak, and her insides suddenly began to carry a piercing pain. She looked down to see blood trickling through the cracks in her armor. With eyes wide with surprise, she stared towards her opponnent. "Y...you...!" She yelled out a terribly horrible screech, thrusting her body forward with all of her might. Hicks readied himself as she approached, but her form faded almost instantly within a few feet away. Taken by surprise, she reappeared behind, and delivered a hard kick to the back of the head, sending him flying.
Having been knocked of his senses, the samurai was little more than a rag doll in his current state. From afar, Ephraim laughed, black, circular glyphs of an arrangement of circumferences forming themselves around her right arm as she aimed it forward. Three orbs of deep purple began to circulate around the outstretched arm, until she flexed it, which sent them flying, intertwined in a path around one another, to the other side of the room. The weakened Hicks stumbled to his feet, but his recovery was far too late to avoid the dark orbs. They exploded on impact upon the ground surrounding the lieutenant, giving birth to three enormous explosions that sent debris flying in every direction, followed by a massive wall of smoke.
Ephraim closed her eyes in deep meditation. "Ah, yes, sir Hicks..." She stated with a smile. "There you are..." The presence of darkness within the very soul of her opponent gave off his position. In an assault that would have easily taken a weaker enemy by surprise, Hicks rushed fourth out of the wall of smoke, blade dancing ahead of himself as it met with his opponent's. She began to hop back as the impish figure pushed his blade closer toward her, until finally she drew her own weapon back and leapt forward, sweeping past him, their eyes meeting for a brief instant, which seemed to stop time in it's tracks. Suddenly, reality swept back into the minds of the two opponents, and the battle raged on. The Dark Knight leapt high into the air, crushing the ceiling of the room, flying high into the night sky, Hicks following close by.
The demonic blades, when hurled at their masters, would meet in mid flight while the fierce warriors spiraled through the air, the war below them raging on a fierce as ever.
"Our agendas, are, in fact, the same, my brother!" Yelled Ephraim, flying with agility matched by no other. "We both want the same thing: the fall of this wretched kingdom!"
"I am nothing like you, you beast!" Replied Hicks as he flew directly to her right, their blades locked tight between them as they flew about.
Their rage continued to build without cease.
----
"We have to hold off the bridge to the cathedral." Explained Silver as he, along with the assistance of both Rini and Emira, ran across the stone passageway. Midway, they stopped, and eagerly awaited any that dared stand against them.
A dark silence fell over the bridge as the three nervously looked about. Emira's ears suddenly perked, and she turned around, only to find nothing. She squinted her eyes to look atop the cathedral, for she felt that, just for a moment, there had been a figure standing upon the pointed roof of the structure. "Em, what is it?" Asked Rini.
The mithra's fur stood on end. "I dunno." She replied. "I just thought that I saw-"
A long spear, wielded by a purple-armored knight, pierced through the stone like paper in the middle of where the group stood. The foundation began to give, and the stones began to collapse near the impact point. The soldier leapt to safety in an incredible jump near the entranceway to the cathedral, while Silver Tear found himself separated from his two companions. He looked back towards them. "Silver, don't try it!" She yelled, pointing towards the very large gap in the bridge. "You'll never make it!"
He squinted his eyes, deep in thought. As he contemplated as to how he was going to make it across, this knight obviously had other plans. "Silver! Behind you!" Yelled Emira as she cast a fire spell, which stalled him momentarily. Fully prepared for battle, Silver anticipated his opponent's approach.
His long spear stretched out far ahead of him as he thrust it towards Silver, but being the agile thief that he was, easily dodged the attack by leaning backwards. He grabbed hold of the pole, and, as it was brought back, Silver delivered a successful kick to the knight's face, which sent him stumbling back, giving the thief a chance to run past. His opponent quickly regained his senses, and turned around with a massive swing of his lance, which cut a huge wound into the thief's side. Suddenly, Silver Tear found himself being pushed back as swing after swing was thrown towards him. He had to think of something quick, or he was about to become another corpse on the battlefield.
A quick fire spell, easily recognized as one conjured up by Rini due to the magnitude of its force, separated the two. Silver took the opportunity to run past his opponent, where he then grabbed him by the left arm and shoved his shoulder forward, sending him flying over the side. Silver fell back, breathing heavily as his wound spat out a trail of blood that stained his black uniform. Once again, silence fell over the area. "Rini!" He yelled in between breaths. "I gotta get this checked out . . . The bleeding won't stop." He began to blur out, but he held on to his consciousness tightly. Carefully, he got to his feet and began to make his way toward the others.
The remainder of the passageway behind Emira and Rini collapsed from underneath as a huge, black dragon burst fourth, hissing with a frequency that could have busted eardrums. The now unsuspended platform that the two soldiers stood on began to lean forward as it shattered brick by brick. Emira was thrown onto Silver's platform, while the Red Mage now held on for dear life at the end of the broken bridge. The mithra yelled out to her and grabbed her hand, and with all her might, attempted to pull her up to safety, yet her own lack of brute strength would not allow it. Still, she refused to give up.
"Emira… Let go." Ordered Rini as she looked up to the mithra.
"But… no! I can save you, just hold on!"
She shook her head. "No; you have to help Silver! He'll be killed if he doesn't have your help!"
Tears began to stream down Emira's face. "I can't let you die! I won't!"
The dragon perched itself between the two mages and the thief, the now apparent Dragoon Knight saddled upon its back. Silver's eyes burned red with hatred, and he rushed fourth, yelling out with both daggers drawn.
----
Both master and apprentice stood, sword locked, hatred burning in their eyes as they stared toward one another. The lock was equally matched; both forces seemed to be giving their absolute all into their blades. "I trusted you!" Yelled Jaques, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "And you double-crossed me, you bastard! You were so jealous that you held me back, all in fear that I would some day overthrow you!"
"She has poisoned you against me, you fool! Are you so blind that you cannot see that!" Replied the Paladin, pulling back while twirling his blade. "You were everything to me, Jaques… You were the son I never had, and she has taken all of that away from us!"
Jaques rushed forward, and their blades began to clang as they swung them about. Dakan, keeping himself calmed and concentrated, deflected a stab towards his abdomen with his shield, and managed to pierce the side of his enemy, who immediately drew back. He looked toward his master in disbelief that he had wounded him so fast. Unemotional, Dakan stared towards him. "This newfound power that you have come across does you no good if you cannot wield it properly, my old apprentice." He explained, raising his blade in a defensive stance. "I didn't teach you everything because you weren't ready. You thought that because you had a natural advantage, you deserved to learn faster than everyone else. Untrue, my friend."
"You know nothing of my new power!" Jaques exclaimed, sending a black orb in Dakan's direction, which was easily absorbed by a simple muttering of the word "Shell". Once again, Dakan remained stationary.
The battle raged on with numerous sword techniques from both fighters, which were marked by cuts, bruises, and burns that began to develop as the battle unfolded, but the adrenaline kept both of them ignoring the pain. "I'll show you what I have learned, master! I'll show you how wrong you were!" Yelled Jaques as he raised his blade high, a purple orb forming at the very tip, which became larger and larger as he yelled out. Dakan sighed as he pointed his blade away from him. "Goodbye, Jaques." He whispered, and he began his advance.
Keeping his body low as he ran fourth, his eyes grew thin with concentration as the orb continued to grow; he knew he had little time to act. Just as his former apprentice began to tilt his blade forward, he summoned all of his might into a single jab to the stomach, which was met with the sound of piercing flesh as it made it's way through his body, and came out through his back. His eyes wide, whimpering with disbelief and shock, the orb disappeared due to lack of concentration. Blood began to flow from the huge wound, the blade still lodged in his stomach.
"Forgive me, Jaques…"
----
The two demonic warriors found themselves clashing atop the very point of the San d'Orian castle, flying about as they circled the gigantic steeple, both now with several wounds that had been delivered to both. Although he would have never admitted it, Hicks was becoming very tired, and was losing his stamina relatively fast now. Despite all of this, he raged on, finding now that his movements weren't nearly as fast as those of his opponent's. Ephraim perched upon the tip of the steeple, staring down at the wounded Hicks. "My opponent," She began, rain soaking both of the warriors, cleansing their blood-stained faces, "The time has come. Join me, or die; it makes no difference to me." She leaned her head forward. "But, keep in mind that by joining my cause, you will find the revenge that you have so deeply been yearning for since the time of your family's unfortunate end… The demonic aura that you carry is made for such a purpose, and until you accept the fact of what you are and what you are capable of doing will you reach your full potential as I have done."
Deep inside, joining her was what he wanted. He wanted nothing more than to see the fall of San d'Oria, and to see those cursed elvaans die the horrible death that they deserved for taking everything he had ever known. Her words made perfect sense, as did her cause. He slowly muttered up the word that he knew he must say, or his life would be ruined as he knew it.
"Never."
Ephraim's smile quickly disappeared, and was replaced with an angry frown. Shaking her head, she sighed. "I was afraid of that, Sir Hicks." Lighting and thunder collided behind her. "Very well. Let us finish this."
Hicks bowed his head. "If I must die… I will die with my honor." He leapt off of the building, followed by Ephraim, who disappeared, then reappeared into four around the badly wounded lieutenant. He swung toward the image directly in front of him, which disappeared upon the touch of his blade, and suddenly, he felt his opponent's scythe slam through his right shoulder. He dropped the telekinetic grip on his demonic katana and allowed it to fall below, and shortly after, his entire body began to fall. His heartbeat began to slow down. "So…" He told himself, his look very calm as he began his descent to the battlefield below. "This must be what it feels like to let go of life…"
"You will still be of some use to me, nonetheless." Said Ephraim under her breath as she extended her right arm towards the falling Hicks. She began to laugh as her hand became enveloped in a purple fire.
"DEMON HARVEST!"
Circular glyphs began to form around Hicks, which suddenly gripped him in midair, enclosing him in a purple orb, while more complicated glyphs began to form around him that spiraled up near the caster. From behind the dying Hicks appeared a purple, lance-like glyph that suddenly slammed into his back, causing him to yell out in horrible agony as his own dark aura was being drained from within himself. Black energy flowed fourth from his body, following the path of the spiraled glyphs, until they became absorbed by Ephraim's hand. Through all of this, she laughed, listening to his cries of agony as her power increased dramatically with each bit of darkness that she absorbed into herself. Finally, when everything had been drained, she released him.
Hick's appearance began to change back into his normal self as he fell to his doom. He knew full well what had just happened, and suddenly, he gripped back onto life. "No…" He told himself. "The mission… The mission must be carried out!" With little time to waste, he pulled out the black shell from his pack.
"Silver Tear, listen well! The statue of Altana… now… There is no time! Take the pearl from her while she is weakened!"
"Lieutenant, what's wrong!"
There was no reply.
----
"Emira, don't worry! I can hover myself before I hit the ground with a spell!" Rini explained. "I have to find the Lieutenant!"
Distressed and breathing heavily, Emira nodded, and let go. She couldn't bear to look, so she turned away, and stared at the dragon with hatred in her eyes. "Alright, you…" She said to herself. "This is for all of us! Damn you, San d'Oria!" She placed her hands parallel to one another, a few spaces apart as she began to concentrate heavily. She would use a spell stronger than she had ever attempted before. Her eyes burned red with fiery passion as she intensified the spell, and finally, she yelled "Fire II!"
The dragon immediately found itself engulfed in flames, and immediately took off, accidentally throwing its rider off in it's hysterical movements. Emira fell to the ground, exhausted. Breathing heavily and badly wounded, Silver picked up the black pearl. He knew what he had to do.
"Musketeers… I will say this once, and only once. Retreat. Make no exceptions; get yourself out of here, and find your way back to Bastok at all costs. I will meet you back there when I can."
The startled Emira looked towards Silver with surprised eyes. He walked over to her and handed her a warp scroll. "Use this immediately." She nodded, read the scroll, and her form quickly vanished. Having evacuated one of his comrades, he looked towards the damaged bridge. Biting his lip, he took a running start and leapt, nearly missing as he gripped onto a piece of stone that jutted out of the damaged bridge. He quickly hoisted himself up and ran back into the castle, and then began his descent to the gigantic statue of Altana.
----
Ephraim stared up into the eyes of the gigantic monument to the beloved goddess of light. She held out the pearl, and it began to hover in the air, her demonic appearance diminishing almost instantly as she tilted her head upward, closing her eyes. She slowly began to chant.
"Lord of darkness… Lend me your strength… Through me, let your will be done…"
A steady heartbeat could be heard throughout the corridor. Within the shadows stared a bewildered Silver Tear, who watched nervously. "This must be what the Lieutenant was speaking of…" He told himself, referring to her weakened state. Tightening up every muscle in his body, he sprung fourth.
"Take the blood flowing from this battlefield as sacrifice for-"
The darkness disappeared as Silver snatched the hovering pearl, then rolled to the side safely. "How dare you!" Yelled an enraged Ephraim as she sent a massive fire spell in Silver's direction, which was easily dodged by rolling behind a column.
"I have to get out of here…" Silver told himself, clutching his side. Making a run for the double doors, he kicked them open and began his escape through the long central corridor. Tucking the cursed pearl into his pouch, he looked behind to see that the Dark Knight was advancing. His heart began to beat faster; he knew that one wrong move would mean sudden death. Ephraim's scythe became implanted in the stone ground directly in front of him, which caused him to trip when he tried to avoid it. Rolling over on his back, his eyes became wide as Ephraim leapt towards him, fist reared back as she came closer and closer. Silver immediately rolled to the left and heard the stone crumble as her fist came in contact with the ground. Pulling out a round, black ball with a fuse protruding from it, he began to fumble around in his pouch while running away once again. Eventually finding a flint while dodging Ephraim's scythe, he placed the bomb on the ground and quickly attempted t light it. He cursed under his breath while the sparks danced around, never seeming to be enough to light the explosive. He smirked as it finally lit, and then took a heavy blow to the back that sent him flying forward. He kept one hand behind his back as he raised up, dazed. She stood before him, scythe in hand. She slowly walked towards him, and as she raised her scythe above her head, he exposed his hidden hand to display a warp cudgel, which he immediately used.
"You…!"
The explosion destroyed everything on that side of the castle with ease.
----
Breathing heavily, limping as she carried her bloody body through the massive chamber, Ephraim seated herself within the San d'Orian throne. Her wounds were horrible; burns were evident upon her face, and her nearly completely demolished armor told of the battle she had recently endured. Under all of this, she smiled. The smile turned into a chuckle, and that chuckle eventually became a laugh.
"In all due time, my crafty friends… In all due time…"