WAR FOR THE WEAPON

What did the island look like originally? Was it once a magnificent city full of wealth with gentle people? Or maybe it was a simple farmers' land that had a beautiful meadow that kids would sing and dance in all day. Was it even anything to begin with? Maybe so but not anymore, for those records were lost to the past a very long time ago. The island as of now was on fire, a cesspool that was covered in ash, blood, and bone. There were pieces of broken metal scattered all around the landscape along with the freshly fallen bodies. There were even shattered swords buried into the ground from all the years the island had been abused by countless wars.

The knightess never wanted this. She never wanted to participate in the war, to slaughter her own people, and she hated the fact that every single one of them forced her hand. She understood why it had to be done and is strong in her resolve to carry on but broken within her dreams to make things better. The damage had long since been done and there was no way things could go back to the way they were. The creed was corrupted and the nobility of her people had become revolting and bitter. She was disappointed in them but mainly with herself.

Her armor was shattered and her wounds were inflamed. Breathing was difficult too because the air felt way to thin to be normal. She was more than just a little exhausted. She felt close to death with how much blood she lost in the past few hours. The world before her eyes swelled with a deep redness that hindered her vision, and her legs could no longer support her heavy body and caused her to collapse. Upon her descent, she felt her sword slip from her hands and skid across the ground a few feet in front of her.

Was she really dying?

"You're struggling, Lady Hira." A man stood at a distance from her, wearing pitch-black armor with a twisted looking katana in hand that had an ominous feel to it, but what stood out the most from his dangerous appearance was his voice. It sounded like it was made of silk, and that is what infuriated the knightess. "Please don't die yet because it would be a major disappointment. People had praised you to be a legend, after all."

His words were so strange to her that she almost caught herself snickering. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction though. He deserved nothing, not anymore, not ever again. Not after what he had done.

He wasn't wrong about how much she was struggling though. Her body was bruised and her bones were aching and fractured. Blood had seeped through the thick fabric of her dress and flowed down her legs and arms, making it very slippery to stand up. But in the end...did it really matter how broken her body was? Hira didn't have the luxury to stop.

His eyes shimmered like ebony, a glossy black that was deluged with greed and sinister intent. Looking into his eyes was like swimming through the darkest and deepest part of an ocean, an abyss that had totally consumed his entire character. No longer could she recognize who this man was anymore. He was nothing but a machine that only worked for himself and his wishes. An instrument of destruction that didn't care for anyone anymore, not even his own kin.

The black-clad knight turned his head up and narrowed his eyes when the knightess stood to her feet, trembling but almost as tall as him. "How about we just end this, Lady Hira. Accept defeat and hand over the weapon." He held his hand out and was actually expecting the noble lady to hand it over like it was the simplest thing to do.

Hira's eyes grew wide and a low growl stirred up from her throat. Her voice was shaking but not with exhaustion. It was rage. "Is that what you want? Will that satisfy you?" Her arms were shaking while sliding them down to the hilt of her blade and picking it up. Her gauntlets had broken to pieces hours ago, so the skin on the palm of her hands had been rubbed clean off, nothing but raw flesh remained.

Hira truly believed that the knight in front of her wasn't always the way he was now. It must've been a forceful change because of his desire. The desire for what she possessed...only her and no one else. It was common knowledge, that if she lost today, then that cursed weapon would go to him, and Hira couldn't let that happen.

The black knight tilted his head to the side and stared at her. He had a genuine and innocent look of confusion on his face. It bewildered the lady. "Well yes, actually. What do you think we were all here for?" he said.

"You already possess so much strength," Hira said through clenched teeth, breathing heavily and practically emitting smoke from her lungs. "You're much stronger than an average warrior, and yet you want more? How much more do you desire until you're satisfied?" she barked at him, her brown eyes blazed with wild and unending anger.

The black knight scoffed and reached his hand to the back of his head, cracking his neck to the side and sighing with annoyance. "You say that...but you're greedier than anyone else."

The knightess felt her breath suddenly get caught in her throat when her heart dropped from her chest. "Anyone else? Who? You killed them all, Alkatran Knight!" She spat at him with pure anger pouring from her words. "I sought out for the weapon to keep it out of everyone's hands. The world doesn't need such a device...and our people certainly don't need it either. Look around you! Look at the carnage that it brought upon us, at what it made us do! Why can't we go back to the way things were? We all were better than this. Noble, hardworking, and loyal. We had pride but now..." Her anger was unmatched until tears began to well up in her eyes and pour down her face. They stung the deep cuts on her cheeks and neck.

His eyes were empty but not as endless and emotionless as his words were. "It must suck living in the past, Lady Hira."

Hira flinched and stood still as her body gradually stop trembling. The rage faded from her eyes and her voice sounded unexpectedly calm now. "When had living in the past ever been wrong?" She took in a deep breath and straightened herself up and took a stance. She turned her body to the side and held her sword downwards. "It was because of our past that we, together, became stronger than anyone else in the world. You may not remember what it was, but I...will never lose sight of who we once were. You shall never possess the weapon that caused our downfall." Her stance suddenly grew wide as power returned to her body. "I am a knight, and I shall do my duty to protect you all for as long as I can."

The dark amber-brown of her eyes narrowed with a resolve stronger than anyone else's, vowing to herself that one day...the bloodshed will end, the slaughter of her own kin, everything. There will be no more war. Hira will do her part and keep the weapon out of the hands of her fellow knights and will, forever, hold onto it until the day she drew her last breath.

The smoldering air began to pick up and worsen by the minute, rippling against the loose fabric of Hira's dress as the lady just stood there as if she was waiting for something, dead calm capturing her fair complexion. The black-clad knight narrowed his eyes and felt his body start to tense up all of a sudden. The wind was howling like a banshee now, sweeping the fires further over the dead lands...until everything stopped. Silence hovered in the air and there wasn't even a single soft breeze.

He blinked very slowly when this loud, pounding noise burst forth and pierced his ears. It was soon to his horror that in a single second, Lady Hira had disappeared completely from sight. The black knight braced himself for impact as fast as he could but not nearly quick enough when the knightess abruptly appeared in front of him. She slid to a halt with her sword turned to the blunt side, swinging it upwards to his chest. He drew his blade up in only a fraction of a second before he heard the awful sound of metal upon metal. It was so unpleasant that it was enough to make Hira's ears bleed and bones rattle from the attack, but the overwhelming amount of adrenaline-induced energy behind her blade had all the power of a deadly hammer strike. The black knight couldn't withstand the force and was sent flying backwards, spinning and tumbling out of control before coming to a quick stop by slamming into a boulder. He struck it with so much force that it left an imprint of himself.

That was not a normal attack, the black knight determined while peeling himself from the rock. It was too overwhelming and quick, so he immediately knew that there was something more to the lady then just simple swordsmen skills. His crippled body fell to the ground and began to shake, the strength and air from his lungs gone in seconds. He couldn't even muster enough energy to grip his sword anymore, her attack was that overpowering.

He looked up but only saw a blurry and blackened figure of her slowly walking over to him, her sword scraping across the ground and making the same awful noise from before. She was a small-statured woman but the atmosphere Hira was giving off made her appear like a giant, that the gap between them was far larger than he first anticipated.

He heard the stories of this woman before. The story of the previous war that she had taken part in, the same war she had won, and claimed the weapon. Her power, as of now, couldn't have come from skill alone. It had to have been from the weapon he had sought out for. If she was a prodigy without the power of the weapon, then with it, Lady Hira was a monster. He wasn't just fighting the champion of the past war...he was fighting something entirely different.

Lady Hira...was unstoppable.

"What's wrong, Alkatran Knight! Stand up!" she howled at him. "Come at me already! I...will welcome anyone who will challenge me!" She pointed her sword out in front of her that dazzled his eyes. The silver was without stain and didn't have a single scratch or nick on it.

The wind howled once more and the crackling flames screamed and blew past them. The strong gusts lifted Hira's long brown hair off her back that revealed to have a golden sheath attached to it. It was, for lack of a better word, absolutely beautiful. It looked like it was made of gold and decorated with enchanting gems of many different colors, but under the cloudy and darkened skies, the sheath began to radiate a warm light that made it appear as if it was on fire.

Author's Note:

Oh Boy... What have I gotten myself into. I am beginning a new story, which means I'm gonna put another one on halt for a while. Anyway, this is gonna be a BIG project for me and I'm so damn excited for it. I've been working and planning this story for a while to come up with an interesting idea. It's not fully finished because I need to One Piece to develop more, but I'm excited for you guys to read this story so let me know what you think.

Now, welcome to the Brave Heart Logs.