Finn examined Idol Rabier as the man stepped outside. Seeing him with his own eyes and not through Owl's, Finn picked out qualities of the man he had missed before. Such as for how fat the man there was actually a lot of the muscle underneath the bulk. Idol had also traded out his fancier clothing for actual armor. A gaudy thing of leather and steel that glowed in the night, it was probably enchanted. In the man's hand was a long, elegant whip that coiled around the Noble legs like a snake.

That was all the time Finn had to ponder as Idol went on the attack.

The Noble whipped his arm around and brought it down with blinding speed, his whip followed his movement and lashed out at Finn with all the fury of a hissing snake. Finn lept to the side to avoid it but with a twist of Idol's hand the whip changed course and struck Finn on his shoulder making him stumble.

A snarl on his lips Finn as more pain than he had expected erupted from the hit. Finn kicked off the ground and charged the noble. He figured up close a whip would loses much of its utility.

Unfortunately for Finn Idol knew this as well. The moment Finn tried to close the distance Idol unleashed a blistering barrage of attacks on Finn forcing him back. Having no true way to attack from a distance all Finn could do was weather Idol's attacks until an opening presented itself.

Finn twisted and dodge what he could, but it was like being in the middle of a storm. He couldn't avoid the attacks forever. Idol's whip lashed across Finn's body leaving behind deep lacerations. The wounds hurt but Finn had endured worst.

The was a small pause in Idol's attack, as the Noble stopped to take a breath and Finn jumped on the advantage.

Launch forward with enough force to crack the ground, Finn appeared infront of Idol before the man could react. He brought his blade down in a brutal arc trying to cleave off Idol's head. But the man moved with a grace that didn't match his bulky frame and brought up his whip to block. Idol pulled the whip taut catching the blow.

Though the power behind Finn's swing was still enough to drop Idol to one knee.

"Who the hell are you?" Idol's voice had a nasal quality to it that Finn hated as soon as he heard it.

"Why did you do it?" Finn pushed down on the whip trying to cut through it and into the Noble, but his blade couldn't even sever a thread. When that proved ineffective, he started to hammer the man with one blow after another, not giving the Noble a chance to fight back.

"What are you blabbering about?" Idol was incense that some whelp had managed to force him to his knee and was not in the mood to hear anything but the Adventurer begging and pleading for his worthless life.

"They were kids? Why hurt them, why kill them? What was the point?" Finn needed an answer, a reason for this nightmare. Even if the answer was something that made Finn sick to his stomach.

Finn's questions sent Idol into a blinding rage.

"That's why you're here!? Why you killed my men! For those abominations! They don't deserve to exist in our world, they don't belong! The fact that the Queen even let them continue to exist, much less give them land like they were people sickens me to my core! They deserved to be punished just like you! What kind of idiot are you to come here for something as disgusting as them!" Idol face purpled in rage as he ranted.

The words stunned Finn so much that he let up on his attacks and the Noble took that opening mercilessly. Dropping one end of his whip Idol punched Finn in his stomach, the force behind his blow sending the Sword Hero flying. At the same time Finn slipped past the man's guard and struck the Noble across his face, leaving behind a thin wound that barely missed the eye.

When Finn landed on the ground, he started to cough up blood and bile. He struggled to get air back in his body and stumbled back to his feet. That one hit had nearly dropped him while Idol barely looked winded.

Idol placed his hand against his face and drew his hand back, seeing the red staining he glove. He just stared at his own blood in shock. It was barely a scratch but the fact that Finn could touch him at all seemed to have just made the Noble angrier.

"You bastard! You will pay for that!" Idol howled infuriated. His next series of attacks reflected his anger as he unleashed an all-out assault against Finn.

But Finn had already seen through Idol's attack pattern and dodged them with more grace than the last time. He still didn't make it through unscathed but was able to turn crippling blows into glancing wounds. Finn launched forward again, lashing out at the Noble when Idol had paused in his attacks again.

Except the opening that Finn saw was nothing more than a trap.

Idol had learned his lesson about letting The Sword Hero close and was skilled enough with his whip to trick Finn. He had deliberately stopped his attacks to bait Finn closer, and he fell for it. When Finn rushed Idol again, he didn't notice the whip coming in from his left.

[Finn watch out!]

It was only through Owl's quick warning that Finn was able to dampened the blow. He leapt backwards as he received a lash across the left side of his chest that only cracked his ribs, instead of it bisecting him. Finn didn't have any time to examine the wound as he was forced into another frantic dance to dodge Idol's assault.

Their fight looked to be in a stalemate, but that was only at first glance.

Finn's extensive combat experience growing up let him dance around the Noble's wild swings, but nothing Finn could do was able to do any lasting damage against the Noble. Every hit Finn took slowed him down, leaving him opened for even more attacks. Idol on the other hand had not taken a single step since the fight had started and was untouched. If nothing changed soon Finn would lose and from the glee on Idol's face the Noble knew it.

Finn realized what the problem was immediately. The Noble's level was simply higher than Finn's and his defensive power outranked the Sword Hero's Attack power.

I can't believe that having a higher level makes this much of a difference! Finn thought in desperation completely forced on the defensive in a bid to save his own life. He had to get closer to The Noble to negate his opponent's larger attack range, but Idol was quick enough with the thing to force Finn back whenever he tried.

Even so Finn kept fighting. He wasn't the kind of guy to give in to despair just because the other guy was stronger than him. Eventually though he made a mistake. As he took a step back to avoid a whip strike aiming for his eyes, Finn had stumbled from a combination of blood lose and unstable footing falling to one knee.

Seeing the opening Idol's whip came for Finn's throat with the grace and deadliness of a viper.

Out of options Finn held up his right arm to block. The whip cut through the fabric of his arm, but it didn't damage the metal beneath. What it did though was to firmly wrap around his limb trapping him in place.

With one mighty heave Finn was tossed into the air. He floated weightless through the night sky, Finn stared up at the stars momentarily transfixed by them. The moment ended when he was yanked ruthlessly from the sky to slam into the ground with enough force to create a crater.

Idol made three more craters before he stopped. Leaving Finn partially buried under a pile of rubble. Finn let out a chocking gasp of pain as his mind tried to settle from the constant spinning and the pain. Black spots in his vision threated to consume him whole but Finn fought them off with sheer grit.

"This isn't working." Finn grunted, his voice thick with pain.

[No, it isn't.] Owl replied.

"Any ideas?"

[Run away.]

"Not happening. I don't run from the monsters." Finn muttered as he pushed the rocks off of himself and got back to his feet. His legs shook and his arms felt like they had weights attached to them. When he stood up straight his vision wavered with black spots continuing to dance in it. He didn't have much left in the tank, but he could keep going for a little while longer.

While the Noble wasn't nearly as wounded as Finn he did seem to be out of breath, with large blobs of sweat pouring down his face. Guess all the levels in the world doesn't help with you're a giant piece of lard, Finn thought in amusement.

"That all you got, Fatty!" Finn taunted, the childish insult all his oxygen starved brain could come up with.

"You, Filthy, Little Pissant!" Idol screamed at Finn, his face purpling in rage. "You dare to mock me. This humiliation will not stand!"

When Idol swung again Finn stepped to the left and then backwards getting behind the monolith to use as cover. He took several deep gasps of air trying to get his breath back and calm his racing heart. He didn't get much of a chance to so as a sharp crack rang out above him. Finn looked up in time to see the stone monolith shatter and rocks the size of his head fall down on him. Finn was barely able to get out of the way in time, leaping away from the monolith.

He landed right back into Idol's sight. The second Idol saw Finn he lashed out with his whip. Finn ducked under strike and lashed out with one of his own.

"String Shot!"

Pink energy gathered at the tip of his blade as Finn unleashed his skill and struck Idol in the face with it. The Noble let out another inarticulate scream of rage as the bubblegum blinded him. In response Idol began attacking wildly with one hand while also trying to pry off the gum with the other. All he succeeded to do with that was getting that hand stuck to his face.

Which only made him angrier.

The image would have been comical if not for one of his wild swings catching Finn off guard. He had seen it coming and tried to get out of the way in time, but his battered body wouldn't listen to him. The whip caught him on the right side of his chest. Finn heard something snap as he was sent sprawling to the ground.

Finn let out a wet choking cough as he tried to stand up again, but his body wouldn't respond. The best he could manage was the twitching of his limbs.

[You are about to die.] Owl said, concerned bled into her electronic voice. [I don't know what to do!]

Finn didn't either, for all the strength his sword gave him it didn't mean anything if he couldn't reach his enemy. He flicked open his compendium with his eyes and looked through his swords, none of them had a Skill that would let him win.

He could see with his mind's eye, Keel and the other kids trapped in the dungeon. He always knew he'd go out saving someone, but they weren't saved yet. He still had to do something! But there was nothing Finn could do as the black spots in his vision consumed the world around him.

All that was left in the end were the stars, and what a beautiful sight they were. In the half delirious state, Finn watched as the stars started to dance in the sky. They moved in some complex pattern that Finn could not comprehend. But as he did, he also started to hear a sound almost like the clicking of tumblers to a great vault locking into place.

Finn heard one final loud click and remembered.

It's said that when you are about to die your mind replays your entire life as it desperately tries to find the one thing that might help you survive. The thing was though, Finn had lived more than one life on more than one world. Streams of memories from countless lives flooded into Finn's mind like a ragging storm almost overwhelming him. A part of him knew that if he didn't hold with everything, he had that storm would destroy Finn and leave something else in his place.

He had to find the thing that would help him out of his current situation. No sooner had the thought struck him that Finn found his answer. Holding tight to that one memory he let the rest fall away back into the background of his mind. Processing and acclimating to the information like a computer with a software update, Finn took a deep breathe. But he wasn't taking in air, if anyone had been looking closely at him, they would have seen the thin strips of light entering into Finn's body.

Finn's body began to glow with starlight as he took in more and more power. He guided that power to mend his broken body. The process took seconds and left Finn feeling refreshed. Some newly awakened part of his mind told Finn that this current method was ineffective and would wear off.

[What did you just do?] Owl question brought Finn's attention back to the present, and he cursed himself for getting distracted.

"I absorbed some of the ether in the air to heal and strengthen myself." Finn said like it was an obvious thing to do.

[Ether?]

"Magic, mana, qi, ki, or lifeforce. Whatever you want to call. But be quiet I need to concentrate on this." Finn ordered, the power coursing through his body made him invincible. You're not.

The sound of flesh tearing, and an inhuman scream of pain interrupted whatever else Finn might have said. When he looked towards the sound, he saw that Idol had managed to get the gum off his face, in the worst way possible.

Idol had used all his strength and simply ripped the gum off his face. Unfortunately for him that also ripped off most of the skin on his face, revealing red glistening muscles and in some spots even bone. Idol howled in rage and pain, more animal than any Demi-human Finn had met. Idol's eyes focused on Finn.

"You… You! I'm going to kill you!" Idol screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. The gum in his left hand ignited as Idol began to cast a spell.

Finn didn't have much time left, the new power that he had was running out with every move he made. When it did, he would be completely helpless. He would have to end this now. But how? The most damage Finn had been able to do to Idol was all self-inflicted. He didn't have anything that could hurt The Noble.

Finn remembered a junkyard and a robotic gumball machine. The years spent learning the sword from Sir Rattleballs. But in all the time he spent with the man Finn had never been able to use the Knight's secret technique. It wasn't a problem of skill as Finn had plenty of that, the problem was that he as an unaugmented human simply lacked the physical prowess that a robot had, and no amount of training could bridge that gap. Now though Finn was more powerful than he had ever been before, so what was stopping him from doing it this time.

The flame in Idol's hand had turned a bright and crimson, as if the man was holding a miniature sun. ready to incinerate Finn so completely that not even ashes would be left behind.

"Secret Technique- A grin crept up Finn's face as he slipped into the reading stance, right foot forward, left foot back. He crouched slightly with his right shoulder pointing at his opponent. His right arm, gripping his blade, was pulled across his chest while his left arm was clutching the wrist. He then focused what remained of his strength into The Cardinal Sword the gem in the center of the blade glowed as it drank in Finn's power, empowering Finn's final attack.

"I who has authority over the origin of power and have deciphered the laws of nature command you! Burn my enemy to cinders! Drifa Hellfire!" Idol thrusted his arm forward unleashing his spell. The orb of flames barreled down on Finn's stationary form.

Finn moved his right arm forward as if to swing, while simultaneously pulling it back with his left hand. The muscles in his body tense as the energy from the two contradictory actions built up within him. It was only when the fire was close enough to singe his hair that Finn let go of his right arm.

-Shadowless Strike!"

The world screamed as the air was sundered. Finn's attack had parted fireball and cut the air between him and Idol so severely that a vacuum was created. The fireball shuddered as it was then sucked into that vacuum and sent back to Idol. The man didn't even have a chance to scream before he was hit by his own spell and engulfed in flames.

At Idol's death a huge influx of energy suffused Finn's body. It revitalized Finn and signaled the death of his enemy, but he didn't have a chance to celebrate just yet. His body screamed at him began as waves of pain washed over him. Enough so to drop Finn to his knees. He had messed up the technique somehow. He had not reinforced his body properly and now he was felling what a costly mistake that was. It would take some time for him to properly get use to this new body and get back to his original strength.

Wait? What? The sudden thought made Finn paused as he tried to orient where the thought came from. His body was still glowing from the energy he drew in from the air but the knowledge of how he had done it was already slipping from him.

"New body? What am I even thinking about? This has always been my body." Finn shook his head disregarding the weird thought as he moved back towards the manor, when a spike of pain rammed itself into his head so fiercely that he dropped to his knees screaming in pain.

It was like there was someone else trying to push into his head and pushed Finn out. There was a presence in his head that was trying to make itself heard, but it everytime it spoke all Finn could feel was pain.

[Finn! Finn what's wrong?] Owl's mental voice added to the agony in Finn's head.

Finn curled in on himself the pain increasing, and his head felt like it had been set on fire. More imagines and memories were being pulled into his head. Existences that made Finn Mertens nothing more than a footnote in the lives he had led inconsequential in the long, just another mask he would have to discard.

"No!" Finn screamed in defiance, holding on to himself with everything he had. He pushed back against the mental incursion, for every second he resisted the pain increased.

Why are you fighting this? These memories were a part of you, you would need them if there were to be any hope for protecting anyone.

Them? Dammit Finn was pushing him away. Just let me in!

"NO!" Finn reared back and slammed his head into the ground hard into to crack the floor. You idiot! The mental assault stopped for a moment, not an assault, Finn used that opportunity to grab everything about those memoires he could and shoved them into his mental vault and slammed the door shut.

Dammit you idiot just listen to me! You have to remember, it's the only way to stop them. If you don't, they'll…

Click!

Silence blessed silence rained through Finn's mind and he heaved a sigh of relief. His mind still felt jumbled, and Finn felt if he didn't keep his focus he'd pass out. Owl was speaking to him, but it sounded muffled like she was speaking from the end of a long tunnel. He opened the eyes he didn't know he had closed and saw his refection in the polished steel of his blade. On his forehead was a glowing symbol that looked like a stylized version of a blazing sun.

"That's weird." Finn reached up to touch it and found it warm. It looked familiar but Finn couldn't remember where.

Suddenly a sense of overwhelming danger overtook Finn, and he froze. He wanted to move but something within told him that would be a mistake. Instead, Finn strained his senses to find what the danger was. He needed to have bother as footsteps echoed out through the empty courtyard. Footsteps head directly towards Finn.

Finn saw a pair of boots enter his vison from where he was still on the ground. He lifted his head up to look and found a weapon at his throat. It that what he thought it was? Finn had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Someone was actually holding a frying pan to his neck, and Finn's instincts were telling him it was more dangerous than Idol's whip.

Finn risked a glance upward and saw that it was a man holding him up by fryerpoint. Finn couldn't make out the man's features because of the lack of light, but he did see that the man was holding something up to his ear. Before Finn could figure out what it was that man put the thing away and withdrew his frying pan.

Finn launched himself away the moment the pan was moved and had his sword out at the ready. He held back from attacking when he realized who it was across from him. The cook from town.

"Andrew? What are you doing here?" Finn was confused and suspicions of the sudden appearance of the chief.

"Looking for you actually. When a bunch of men from the Lord's manor came rushing down screaming about an attack, I figured you and Keel could use some help." Andrew looked over the destroyed courtyard and let out an impressed whistle. "Looks like I was wrong. Still looks like you're in no shape to move and we need to get the fuck out of here before where swamped by the garrison that is mobilizing as we speak."

Finn blood ran cold at the situation, he was too spent to keep fighting but he had no way to get those kids in the dungeon out and move quick enough to evade pursuit.

"Please can you help me?" Finn asked, pointing at the manor. "There are a lot more people down there than I thought, they're only kids and I can't move them all by myself."

Andrew scratched his chin, saying nothing and for a moment Finn was worried the Chef would refuse his request. Andrew let out a sigh and turned away.

"Alright, alright. I'll help just don't look at me like that." Andrew turned away from Finn and headed to the manor. He called out as he walked. "Roganta! You're on guard duty!"

"Yip!"

The giant Filolial had somehow snuck up behind Finn when he had let out that happy chirp. Finn felt his heart leave his chest at the sound. Just who were these people. Finn had met too many esoteric figures to be tricked by a smiling face, but he held his doubts at bay for the moment. He needed the help and if Andrew turned out to be an enemy Finn would deal with it the best way he knew how.

Together Finn and Andrew made there way though the manor. As Finn passed by Idol's body, he noticed that the whip the Noble used was relatively untouched by the flames. Feeling a bit greedy and spiteful Finn plucked the whip up. The moment he did however the Cardinal Blade pulsed telling Finn it wanted the whip. Seeing no problem with that Finn fed the whip to his blade and watched as it changed forms.

It almost looked like a normal sword, almost. The blade was almost 7ft in length, but it was paper-thin and only 3in wide. It looked like a whip and the blade flopped to the floor almost immediately. A prompt filled Finn's vision and he was impressed by what he saw.

Catalyst Accepted, Urumi unlocked.

Ability locked: Skill: Extending Strike. Equip Bonus: Agility plus 10

Rarity: Rare.

His first rare weapon! Is it the quality of the materials that determines the rarity of the swords he unlocked. That whip did look pretty expensive and was probably enchanted as well. It makes some sense seeing as he had been using nothing but whatever he scrouged up in the wild to upgrade his sword. He should probably be on the lookout for more expensive regents.

A thought suddenly stuck Finn. If the quality of the materials mattered, then why was his Candy Sword unique. He had gotten the candy from a general store. Where did that granny say she got that stuff from.

"Wow, you are just a human blender aren't you, Finn." Andrew's voice cut through Finn's mussing. The Chief was already at the door while Finn had been standing in the center of the courtyard staring into space.

Finn snapped his wrist and the whip like blade wrapped around his waist like a belt as hurried over. If he wasn't so embarrassed, he probably would have wondered how he knew how to do that. Or how he breathed in the ether thing that he did

Notably Andrew said else as they passed by the carnage Finn had unleashed in the foyer. They made there way quickly through the manor once again unimpeded by the workers in the building, they were more interested in hiding from Finn instead of fighting him.

Finn led Andrew down.

The only reaction Andrew made as they entered the dungeon was a click of the teeth and a wrinkled nose when he saw the place and the state of the kids.

"People can be such bastards." Andrew muttered in disgust.

His words startled Keel. She turned quickly her sword drawn, an angry snarl on her face. The snarl and sword was dropped when she saw Finn. Keel rushed him and wrapped Finn in a hug, burying her face in his stomach. She got covered in blood from the act, but she didn't seem to care.

Finn felt Keel shake with silent sobs and his heart broke for the girl. He wrapped her up in his arms and softly rubbed the top of her head.

"There, there everything is okay now." Finn reassured Keel.

"I'm sorry." Keel burrowed herself deeper into Finn's embrace, her voice a plaintive whine. "I should have helped."

"You did help, Keel." Finn pointed out, waving a hand towards the captured children. "You kept them safe."

Keel pulled back to look up at Finn, her eyes glistened from unshed tears.

"Did you get them?" Keel asked.

"They'll never hurt anyone again."

"Good." Keel nodded, a satisfied savage gleam in her eyes.

[I've done the best I could, but the drones I have access to are limited.] Owl had stabilized the children to the best of her abilities and the medical drones were placed into Finn's inventory. After that Keel didn't need much coxing to trust Andrew with her friends. She looked drained as if some part of her was ripped away when she saw the state of her friends. Finn hoped that she would recover her previous vigor soon.

It took the three of them thirty minutes to take all of the children out of the dungeon and carry them into Idol's carriage. It was the only thing big enough to carry them all. Finn noted that the bodies of the guards were gone when he started carrying the kids out but didn't ask any questions about it. Andrew hitched Idol's wagon to a plumper and more satisfied Roganta's harness.

Then they were out of the city within the hour. The guards were still scrambling and trying to figure out what to do, by the time they had left. Still Finn stood guard for over two hours after they had left to make sure that no one was following them. His body ached in way that he had seldom experienced before, the only thing keeping him going was the constant need of vigilance. But he had reached his limit and could no longer manage the feat of keeping his eyes open.

Finn fell asleep and dreamt of stars.