Author Notes: Because all the characters speak an array of different languages, I decide to add a few words in with the English to help with the effect. I will include translations here: Shi o kakugo – Prepare to die, Kuso – Expletive, Ima no uchi ni –Now's my chance.
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Back in the mortal world and free from the fiery realm he was sentenced to, Astaroth breathed in fresh air once more. The abomination to creation hefted his axe once more and turned to his creator.
"It seems you are doing well. It took some time and trouble to resurrect you, but now that you're back we can return to our original mission", said the robed figure.
Astaroth was very simple minded, and his thoughts usually could be summed up in one word or at the very most two. Whenever he had to listen to his master, the one word that immediately bubbled to the surface was "annoyed".
"Yes master Khassat" said Astaroth in a low voice, kneeling on one knee.
Thoroughly pleased with himself, the hooded figure pulled back his hood and revealed a bald head with tattoos of profane images tattooed on his neck. Khassat was a high priest of an ancient Egyptian cult linked with gods of war. Most of the other cultist had been killed in purges led by Islamic jihadists, but nowadays they could mostly worship and carry out their evil ambitions with some relative security.
"Soul Edge lives my friend. It is in pieces, but nothing can destroy it's will to persist in our world. As before, your mission will be to find Soul Edge. I'll give you something to help you find the other shards," said Khassat, procuring a red shard from the inner folds of his robe. Astaroth held the shard in his palm. He fondly remembered the allure of the soul of evil, how its natural violent nature called to Astoroth. He had worked alongside Ivy and Nightmare, only so that he could obtain the sword which cried out for him. A dark desire resurfaced within Astaroth, which caused him to chuckle darkly.
"I've also made some adjustments to you since last time, so you won't get defeated so easily. Remember, once you find the sword, journey back to our altar. It is there we will offer it to Ares and war will spread across the world."
Astaroth simply grunted at his master. War and conquest were too complicated for Astaroth's feeble mind to really comprehend, let alone desire. The only thing he desired for the moment was the death of the man who had beaten him at the very place he stood, Maxi.
"I suggest you get moving quickly. The shard shall lead you to the others, as well as the spirit of Soul Edge which still resides within it. What is it Astaroth?"
"Someone here," grunted Astaroth, hefting his axe and looking around, smelling with his caved in nose.
Slightly panicked, Khassat also began to pace around the area, looking to see if anyone was actually there.
"Shard warm."
"That mean there must be another one nearby, quickly, look around and see if you can locate it. You can find the rest of the shards in the same matter."
Astaroth simply looked at his master, hefted his axe, and started off on his journey. Watching the two from a distance in a tree was a thin, athletic asian woman dressed in loose fitting green and white garb. Her skin was moonlight pale, contrasting sharply with her midnight black hair. This woman was none other than the stealthy and deadly ninja, Taki.
"Damn, the big monster almost spotted me," she thought to herself, breathing a sigh of relief. "It seems the big demon is back alive. Investigating the castle grounds was worth it after all. I wonder if the thing realizes how to track down people with the shard more exactly. Oh well, if he doesn't it'll buy me some time at the very least."
With the grace of a cat, Taki leapt down from the high tree branches, and made her way to the ground without making much noise. Reaching towards her dagger scabbards, Taki felt the warmth she always felt when she came in contact with a shard of Soul Edge.
"My daggers were made with a part of that evil sword, so they react in the same way the shards do. I'm sure once that beast figures out how it all works, he'll have figured out that someone with a shard was nearby. Oh well, it doesn't look like he's won any contest for brains, so I'm in the clear. Now, I'd better continue with my investigation of the castle."
Taki had traveled a long way from her homeland of Japan all the way to Ostrheinsburg castle in Germany. After figuring out Soul Edge was still loose in the world, and that her blades were of the same make, Taki couldn't sit idly by. The most logical place to start looking would be in the place the sword (the sword as a whole) was last seen, and rumors all seemed to point to the abandoned castle.
"There may be no evidence left here, but I wouldn't want to leave any stone unturned," thought Taki as she stealthily made her way into the castle. The smell was rather rank, as the castle was situated near a bog. Decayed skeletons of fallen warriors lying on the ground certainly did not add to the allure of the castle. Pushing the wooden doors forward, Taki tried not to make too much noise, lest Astaroth and his master come back and find her snooping around. Like a cat, she sneaked down hallway after hallway, corridor after corridor, looking for any clues. Most of the belongings in the castle had been taken away by robbers, so there really was nothing of any real value. The banners with the coat of arms of the castle family still hung on the wall, although in tattered shreds.
"Man I'm picking up nothing, I'm sure this place has been picked clean by many an opportunist…" thought Taki swearing to herself.
Finding herself in a church, Taki looked out the window at the bleak landscape of the castle grounds. How far away from the mountain slopes of Japan she was. Taki was not really the type to like travel, as she much preferred the calm and tranquility of her native lands. The river near her dojo was a prime place for meditation and contemplation, and there were always small nestled hideaways where one could train intensely. However duty always called her off to strange lands. Realizing her two blades were infused with the evil of Soul Edge, Taki inferred that the sword still existed and could possibly be wandering the lands slaughtering the innocent. "It might just take evil to destroy evil" thought Taki, who put the burden of destroying the sword of evil squarely on her own shoulders. Besides, no other weapon of mortal make could possibly stand up to a legendary sword of destruction. Her quiet moment of contemplation was broken by the sound of an unsettling, guttural laugh.
"Follow smell, rat come back," breathed Astaroth in Arabic, appearing through the doorway.
Startled, Taki turned around and saw Astaroth. She definitely didn't speak a word of Arabic, but she did understand that she'd been found out and now the huge beast was going to show her no mercy. Looking around for an escape path, Taki drew two small balls from her hip sack, and threw them to the ground. The place was immediately filled with a noxious black smoke. Under the protection of the hazy smoke, Taki made her way to the window and leaped out of it. Astaroth seemed totally unfazed by the smoke and simply laughed, running after Taki and smashing through the solid brick wall.
"Kuso, what is this thing! I don't want to have to try and take it down in a stand up fight. There has to be some way I can slip away," thought Taki as she tried to frantically find an escape route. Sadly there really wasn't any. The moat was too long to really leap across, and she'd have to reach the bridge before Astaroth did, and given the demon's speed, that'd be a highly risky endeavor. "No choice," thought Taki as she readied her two deadly daggers from their scabbards.
Rather pleased, Astaroth slowed down his run and hefted his axe, gleeful at the thought of inflicting pain and violence.
"Shi o kakugo!" yelled Taki as she ran forward, bobbing left and right with near inhuman agility. Swinging his axe as if it were a small stick, Taki managed to dodge the blow by ducking under, then using all of her leg strength, leapt up into the air and planted both feet in the demon's face, flipping backwards and landing in fighting position. Dismayed, she soon saw that Astaroth was hardly affected.
"Small hits aren't going to take this thing down I guess," thought Taki as she began to move back and forth, prepared to dodge Astaroth's next attack.
"Die you worm!" yelled out Astaroth gleefully as he sent his axe crashing towards the ground. Taki totally lost her footing due to the sheer impact of the axe blow and was flung into the air along with ground and debris. She was able to right herself in midair, then while planting her left foot down on the ground, did a cartwheel around the monster. In one swift motion she rushed like a panther at Astaroth, slashing him across the side with her dagger, drawing a stream of blood. Much to her chagrin, the monster seemed to actually be enjoying the skirmish despite his wound.
"I can't keep this up, this thing is inhuman…"
"Exterminate…"
Astaroth then swung his axe again, this time and almost twice the original speed. Taki was able to just barely leap over the swing, the blade nearly missing her feet by a few scant centimeters. The side of the castle wall had been practically wrecked, debris of grey brick flying through the air. Taki reached into her little sack on her waist and procured a few shurikens, immediately sending them shrieking towards Astaroth. Several landed squarely in the monsters skin, drawing small trickles of blood.
"One last thing to try, I have to get out of here…" thought Taki, eager to end the skirmish.
Taki found a small bag filled with a strange yellow liquid and put it in the palm of her hand. Seemingly recklessly, she made a beeline straight towards the grinning Astaroth. The demon took his axe and used it like a plow, running like a mad bull right at Taki. In a display of god like agility, Taki managed to leap up, use the top of the axe as a vault, and flung the bag of yellow liquid in Astaroth's face. The liquid made a sizzling sound, and Astaroth immediately fell down to the ground screaming like a wounded animal.
"Ima no uchi ni…" thought Taki as she ran away as fast as she could.
"Burn, hate burn!" cried out Astaroth, grabbing his face in pain. Taki wasted no time in making her way to the forest and kept running, not looking back.
"Let's pray I never have to face that thing again. I probably will when I have to take his shard away, but we can save that battle for another day. Right now I have to make as much distance between him and I as possible."
The lone female ninja ran like a living shadow through the dense growth of the forest, continuing her search across Europe to destroy Soul Edge.
A small boat floated into a silent, foggy harbor in Normandy, France. The oarsman was a rather gruff looking Englishman, and his passenger was a woman dressed in a slender grey cloak. Pulling back the hood slightly, Ivy revealed her platinum hair, letting the moonlight hit it. Procuring a few coins from her purse, she nonchalantly paid the oarsman and made her way onto the harbor.
"Paris. Paris is where I'll start my journey…" thought Ivy with a newfound determination.