Volume II: Unforgiving Kingdom
Chapter XXIX: Fight in Pain
Location: 8th Floor, Goldenia
"Rrgh! Let go of me! I said get off!"
"Pipe down. It'll be easier if you just come quietly."
Reina found herself under arrest and being escorted away by a group of soldiers and Predator. After being beaten by the assassin, she was apprehended and was being detain using a device that prevents her from using magic or any of her abilities, even on herself. Not only has this cut off her communication with the others, but she also found herself slowly starting to revert out of her transformation against her will. And to make matters worse, she also lost her pen during her arrest. Even if she could escape, she was practically powerless on her own. She thought about trying to silently write a spell using her own blood, but she realized it wouldn't work anyway due to the magic binds around her.
"I can't let them see me if I change my appearance...!" Reina thought to herself. "There's got to be a way for me to escape! There has to be! But what?! What the hell can I do in these conditions in order to escape?!"
It wasn't long before what Reina feared came to life. She could feel her transformation wearing off due to the magic binds. Though not immediately, it was indeed happening.
"No, no, no! Not here! Not now!"
Continuing to struggle as she was dragged along, Reina still found herself going nowhere as she her appearance was going back to normal. As all of them were nearing the end of the alleyways, they were suddenly stopped by the sudden appearance of smoke from around them. The soldiers, Predator, and Reina all looked around, but were then suddenly caught in the middle of a giant explosion of smoke. Not just one, but it seemed that several smokescreens had been set off all across the alleyways, blinding them all.
"It's a smoke attack!" One of the soldiers said.
"I can see that!" another replied. "But that's all I can see! What the heck is going on?!"
"They must be here for the girl!" the third soldier spoke up. "Keep a tight grip on her!"
"Dammit, I can't tell if I'm holding her or not!"
"She's quiet as well!" the first soldier said.
Predator unleashed her claws and started swiping around the air, using her other senses to keep her from hitting the soldiers. She managed to clear out a small area around them where the smoke was no longer present, allowing them all to see. Once that small amount of smoke was clear however, she and the soldiers all saw that the captured mercenary they had was no longer around.
"She got away." Predator sighed.
Meanwhile, on a nearby rooftop where the smokey alleyways could still be seen, Chat Noir had touched down on the roofs. In his arms he was holding onto Reina, who's magical binds were still attached, as well as her appearance had completely changed back to normal.
"Gotta admit, that was cutting it close." the phantom thief said, having his head turned away from Reina as she got back on her feet. "I knew that those magical binds were going to cut off your abilities, but I had no idea that by me just holding onto you that the same binds would affect me as well. If it was instantaneously, then I wouldn't have had enough time to use my shadows in order to escape up here."
"I hate to admit it, but I don't know what I would've done without you." Reina sighed. "Myself as well as the guild could be in danger if they saw my public face."
"Speaking of." Chat Noir took off his cape and handed it over to Reina. "Here. You might wanna wrap up with this after I get those binds off you."
"Huh? Whatever for?"
"You're, uh... kinda..."
Chat Noir was trying to think of a way that he could say this without having to be upfront and rude with it. Fortunately in the middle of that, Reina realized what the phantom thief was referring. Having forgotten the downsides of her transformation, she finally came to the realization and remember that her maid outfit had been destroyed when she transformed, and that she was now naked. Shrieking slightly she covered herself, to which then she stepped forward and allowed Chat Noir to cover her using his cape.
"It's gonna be a real pain getting off these binds with my eyes closed." the phantom thief sighed, having his eyes closed as he walked behind Reina.
"If you perform any malicious act against me, I will personally behead you." Reina stated.
"I'm well aware."
Flicking his wrist, Chat Noir pulled out a karambit that had quite the dull blade.
"Granted I use this for mostly lockpicking, it should be able to cut off the magical binds." He said, eyes still closed. "Provided that I can find your hands without my eyesight."
"Please, darkness is your element." Reina said. "I'm sure you'll have no problems doing that.
Chat Noir chuckled.
"That aside." the maid continued. "The others?"
"Most likely they're on their way up as we speak." Chat Noir answered. "I can't seem to communicate with them. Looks like being in contact with these magical binds erased the effects of your telepathy spell on me."
"The same goes for me."
"Looks like things are up to them now."
"Say... Do you think they'll be able to actually do it on their own?"
Chat Noir had managed to cut off the source of the magical binds from Reina's wrists, stomping on it and crushing it as it hit the ground. With her arms free, Reina wrapped herself up in the phantom thief's cape, also allowing him to open his eyes now that she was covered.
"I'm sure they'll manage. They've evaded capture this far. Who says they can't do it one more time?"
Location: 1st Floor, Goldenia
"So this is what the surface world looks like..."
Due to one of Rita's gravity spells, Albert, Grena, and the demonic mage in question all found themselves lifted out of the sinkhole, floating on a slab of ground that came from the bottom of the sinkhole. Looking around, Rita was taking in the surroundings of the first floor of Goldenia.
"This place looks like crap." Rita said as she looked around, earning a sigh from Albert.
"That's the first floor for you." Grena replied, folding her arms. "Goldenia gets better the further you go up."
"Go up?"
Grena pointed upward. Turning around as she looked up, Rita saw how Goldenia was extending upward, all the way to possibly the top of the mountain that the kingdom was built on.
"Whoa...!" She exclaimed. "Humanity took over the entire mountain? That's crazy!"
"Where's Mina and the others?" Albert asked, looking around as they all jumped off the platform. "I would've expected that they would've been around here waiting for us or trying to figure something out."
"It is late you know." Grena answered as she yawned.
Rita's staff stopped glowing as they were all on solid, safe ground. The slab they were using fell back down into the sinkhole.
"What's say we turn in?" Grena suggested, then turns to Rita. "Come on. We'll introduce you to the others when we get the chance as well."
"I get to meet more humans?" Rita responded. "Alright with me. But what about the thing you plan to do with that soul?"
"Ah we can take care of that in the morning. Besides I need to get the others in on this anyway."
The group of three continued to talk as they made their way towards Feena's house. Along the way, Albert and Grena spent their time trying to tell Rita things about the world above. Soon the group managed to make their way to where Feena's house was. As Grena moved the door out of the way, they all walked in. They were greeted to a surprise however, when they saw that the house was completely empty except for Grena's motorcycle and missing wheel.
"That's weird." Grena said. "They're not here."
"Do you think something came up?" Albert asked.
"I wouldn't count on it. I don't see any reason as to why they'd leave." Grena walked around and searched the other rooms, seeing no one. "Even Ragna's not here anymore. Where the hell could they all be?"
"Maybe this note would tell you something?" Rita asked, standing next to Grena's motorcycle. "There's a piece of paper sticking to this weird machine."
Albert walked over and pulled off the note. Grena walked back over as he started reading the note.
"To Albert and Grena,
If you've managed to get out of that sinkhole before we get back then congratulations!
And sorry that we could be there to help you out.
I hope you're both alright.
Something came up. Mage has been kidnapped by the Imperial Army of Goldenia.
We went up to the eighth floor to get her back.
Mina and Mona are with us as well. Ragna's back up too. Sorry if we're not home when you get back.
I brought your motorbike in so that it wouldn't get stolen. You're welcome.
If everything works out, we should be back before morning.
-Monika."
"The Imperial Army went and kidnapped- What the hell?!" Grena exclaimed, partially enraged. "That's a low swing, even for them!"
"Are they... that desperate to capture you all?" Albert asked in disbelief.
"...Did something bad happen?" Rita questioned, clueless to what's going on.
"Change of plans, Rita." Grena said, trying to put the wheel back on her motorcycle. "Looks like we'll be taking this soul back to its possible owner tonight instead of tomorrow morning. I don't know what situation everyone's in, but we need to get up there and help them. Tired or not, we can't let them get caught due to a plan as disgusting as kidnapping a kid."
"I'm with you." Albert commented. "Rita, if you want, you can wait for us to get back."
"No way!" Rita exclaimed. "This seems like it could be fun."
Grena managed to fix the front wheel and then started pushing her motorcycle outside. "Then let's get moving." She said to the two. "Hop on."
Grena hopped on and revved up her motorbike, gesturing to Albert and Rita to get on as well. Quickly, the two of them hopped on as well. Holding onto each other and Grena, the chain wielding mercenary took off. They zoomed off on Grena's motorcycle as she went straight for whatever lift was the closest to them.
Location: Castle Vallera, 18th Floor, Goldenia
Meanwhile, the castle floor of Goldenia was quite silent. The area near the lift wasn't as guarded as to be expected, with only about two other imperial soldiers standing by. Iska however, was still waiting there. Standing in one spot near the lift, she had her staff in one hand and was holding onto Goblin Mage's hood in the other. Aglovale and Vira had also arrived as well. The former was also near the lift, sitting in the courtyard with his sword next to his chair. The latter was also in the courtyard, pacing around to keep herself busy. Goblin Mage was remaining quiet. No longer holding her staff she was holding the bottom of her hood, trying to keep it from coming off completely and revealing her goblin ears. Suddenly the sounds of two lifts could be heard coming from both in front of Iska, and coming from behind on the other side of the castle. Vira snapped her fingers and got the attention of the two soldiers, gesturing for them to head to the lift on the other side of the castle and see who was coming up behind them. The soldiers nodded and ran off. Aglovale and Vira walked up to where Iska was standing, all of them looking at the lift in front of them. Rising up, the lift reached the top. Standing there was the group of five, Ragna, Monika, Feena, Mina, and Mona. The latter of the group of five had quite a nervous look on her face compared to the other four. Iska giggled and walked forward, bringing Goblin Mage along with her. Aglovale and Vira walked up as well.
"I had a feeling you would all come." Iska said. "You're fewer in number than I was expecting but after everything that I heard had recently happened on the eighth floor after I left, I can see why you've lost a couple of teammates." The ice mage tapped her staff against her foot. "So then. What shall we do next? Do you intend to try and negotiate with us? Although, I doubt there will be many scenarios that would please both parties. Or perhaps you would like to try and fight us then? Though, I wouldn't recommend it. Considering we have a friend of yours here in our grip, I wouldn't recommend trying to battle us. Need I not remind you that you're outnumbered five to three?"
"It's dead even." Mina spoke up. "If we were to fight, then it would be four against four."
"I beg your pardon?"
Mina turned around and faced her sister Mona. "Wouldn't it?"
Mona realized it right away. Mina was already expecting her to make the choice to side with the imperial army instead of the others. Ragna, Monika, and Feena also stepped out of the girl's way, giving her an open shot to run over to Iska and the others for her own safety. Mona was surprised at first, seeing as how everyone was completely aware that she was against them, possibly from the very start. Starting to feel afraid of the four, Mona quickly ran over to Iska, Aglovale, and Vira. Iska blinked for a moment, surprised at Mina's choice of staying with the others.
"I'm... sorry, but..." She started to say. "Are you-"
"Forgive me for this, my lieges." Mina bowed. "But I refuse to participate in a plan that involves kidnapping an innocent child. If this is how the Imperial Army of Goldenia will operate, then I will not allow myself to be a part of this imperial army anymore. I will side with Monika and the others in this situation."
"I see..." Aglovale sighed. "I cannot say I am surprised by your reasoning."
"Regardless of that." Iska interrupted. "That doesn't mean that we will just fold because you've convinced one of our own to side with you. Even numbers or not, we still have this girl with us so you cannot possibly think to fight. If you wanted to secure her safety the best thing for you to do would be to surrender immediately. I'm sure we could easily give you a lighter sentence." she gestures to Mina. "At best, you'd only lose one rank if you choose to peacefully surrender. Because let's cut to the chase; Neither of us are going to be happy with negotiations, now are we?"
"You're right." Ragna answered. "We wouldn't."
Surprising the ice mage, Ragna drew his large sword and held it out in front of him.
"Did you not hear me?!" Iska exclaimed. "Do you not care for the girl's life? You would willingly start a fight with us even with the risk that we could easily do away with her at anytime?!"
"Don't think you can just get away with that." Feena said, aiming her crossbow. "I can take you out faster than you'd be able to try anything on her, even from this distance."
Ragna held out his blade in front of Feena, blocking her crossbow.
"Wha- Hey, what are you doing?!"
"There's no need for any of that. The woman's bluffing." Ragna replied, lowering his weapon as he turned towards Iska. "You're not going to lay a finger on her." He then looked behind Iska and the others. "Your friend there would back me up. She wants to fight too after all."
Iska and the others all looked behind them. Hearing footsteps approaching, they saw Alexiel walk up to them from behind the castle. The redhead had her zweihander in her right hand, obviously ready for a fight as well.
"So it was Alexiel we heard behind us." Vira said.
"Let the child go Iska." Alexiel ordered to the ice mage.
"Wh-What are you saying?!" Iska questioned. "This was part of our-"
Alexiel stared at Iska with a firm look on her face. She wasn't going to repeat herself nor was she going to change her mind. Iska, while surprised, obeyed Alexiel. She let go of Goblin Mage, the girl immediately running up to Feena who picked her up.
"Feena!" Goblin Mage exclaimed. "I knew you'd come!"
"Missed me?" Feena asked with a smile.
Aglovale turned to face Alexiel. "While I do agree with your decision, what do you plan to do now?" He asked her. "They have no reason to stay here any longer now that she's-"
"You're right. They don't." Alexiel cut him off. "But they will."
Aglovale was confused at first. But looking back and forth, he noticed the serious stare that Alexiel and Ragna were giving each other. Soon, Vira and Iska noticed it as well.
"Wait, do you seriously intend to fight here?!" Vira asked frantically.
"I do." Alexiel answered.
"Were you expecting us to just up and forgive you for taking a child prisoner?" Ragna asked.
Ragna and Alexiel both walked forward, stopping when they were both very close to each other. Both of them were holding their swords to the side, pointed at the ground. Despite that, they were ready to begin fighting at any time.
"It's impossible for me to tell you how much this plan pained me to go along with." Alexiel stated. "But even then, I don't expect you to give a damn whatsoever."
"You're right about that." Ragna replied. "I don't know why I'm so important to you people that you'd pull a stunt like this, but I stopped caring a while ago."
"Then you know what I intend to do by letting the child go?"
"I have an idea."
"Whether you're aware of this or not, I'll tell you. In Riverbrandt, ever since the ancient times there has been one universal way to settle differences. And that is in a duel. A duel that ends only in two ways. The first is that one of the participants has been slain in this duel, or in some case beaten to the point where they cannot put up a fight whatsoever.. The opponent who survives benefits from this as well, as it does constitute as a legal killing no matter where you are in this land. The second is when one of the opposing sides yields mid fight, and declares that they give in. Once one of the duelists yields, the loser must listen to and meet the victor's demands. No matter how horrid, no matter how twisted. This has been one of Riverbrandt's sacred laws. And at this very spot, I intend to challenge you to one of those duels. A duel to the death." Alexiel had her blade pointed at Ragna. "A duel that will not end until one of us can no longer live."
"I accept."
Everyone blinked in surprise upon hearing all of this.
"Wait, Ragna you're just going to through with this?!" Monika questioned.
"You do realize that on the chance you lose, you're screwed right?!" Feena asked.
"The same goes for you as well Alexiel!" Vira commented. "Is this really a risk you want to take?!"
Neither one of them responded, but continued to stare each other down.
"Um..."
Mona suddenly spoke up, getting everyone's attention as she stepped forward with her staff in hand.
"If it's alright with everyone too, then..." She said. "Then... Then I would like to request a duel as well! One with you, Mina!"
Mina was taken back in shock by her sister's sudden demands.
"I can't allow myself to lose you under any circumstances!" She continued. "No matter what, we need to stick together! And if I have to fight you to get you to come back to my side, then I'll do just that! So please accept!"
Mina looked away for a moment, thinking about how Mona's been pushed into doing this due to everything that has happened. The bluenette took a deep breath and answered her soon to be opponent.
"Alright." She said, drawing her sword. "I accept. You'll know what I want only when this is over."
"That makes it two duels then." Aglovale stated.
"Then shall we begin?" Alexiel asked.
Monika, Feena, Goblin Mage, Vira, Aglovale, and Iska all stepped back away from the others. Due to this being a duel, none of them would be allowed to interfere with their fights. Mina and Mona both had their weapons drawn, the former's rapier touching the end of the latter's staff. The two were standing close to each other, but were still keeping their distance. Ragna and Alexiel had both taken one step back. The two of them were holding their large blades right by their sides in a relaxed stance. Despite this, it was clear to everyone that they were ready to fight it out at a moment's notice. Meanwhile on the sidelines, the others were all prepared to watch as the duel would soon begin.
"Would anyone care to do the honors?" Aglovale asked aloud.
"I'll do it." Monika answered, pulling out her peacemaker and holding it in the air. "Ready?"
The four fighters were all ready for a fight. Having their weapons in hand, the moment Monika fired her weapon they knew that it would be time for them to fight until one drops.
"BEGIN!"
BANG
And on that word, Monika pulled the trigger.
Almost immediately after that, the four went straight into their action. Faster than anyone's eyes could see both Ragna and Alexiel swung their blades in close range, the two forcing themselves into a weapon deadlock. With Mona, she was struck before she could react. Knocking her staff to the side, Mina spun around and struck Mona with a large amount of water, launching her upwards towards the roof of the castle. Using that same water as a giant wave, Mina rode it up towards where her sister had been sent.
"Now there's no changing their minds at all." Vira stated.
"You two could easily walk away from this you know." Aglovale said to Monika and Feena.
"As much as I would like to, I shouldn't." Feena replied.
"I want to know how this is going to turn out." Monika said.
Iska just scoffed, and started walking off towards the castle.
"Where are you going?" Aglovale asked.
"I do not see this going well for our side." Iska answered. "Granted we haven't heard our enemy's demands should those two fail and lose, if there is any loophole that I can exploit, I shall consult Her Highness to see what she wishes to do."
Feena was about to move to try and stop Iska from leaving, but was blocked by Monika.
"There's enough trouble already going on." Monika said to her ally. "Don't do anything to cause anymore fights."
Feena narrowed her eyes, but eventually she backed off.
"Fine." She replied.
With Mona on the roof of the castle, the girl was shaking her head as she started to stand back up. Looking ahead, she quickly went wide eyed and flipped backwards as Mina suddenly came down on her, sword pointed at her sister. Mina's rapier collided with the castle's roof, the bluenette rolling along the roof and chasing after her sister. As she came up to her, Mina went on the offensive. Swinging her blade repeatedly horizontally, Mona was forced to dodge her sister's attacks as Mina clearly wasn't playing around. Spinning around, she attempted to block Mina's saber using her staff. However that had little affect, as the force behind Mina's attacks was enough to knock her staff to the side. Mona kept a tight grip on her weapon but was left wide open. Mina held out her hand and sent forth another blast of water straight into Mona's gut, launching her into the air and then grabbing onto her before she could fall using the same water. Clenching her fist and bringing it down, the water yanked Mona straight to the ground with a loud crash.
Mina started running and sheathed her sword. She jumped off the roof and pulled out several more bottles of water, tossing them down to the ground. As they shattered, Mina controlled the water and pulled it upward to soften her fall as she came down to the ground. Mona started picking herself up off the ground along with her staff. Looking up, she saw Mina touch the ground and pull out her saber. The bluenette immediately started rushing to her sister again, Mona proceeds to do the same as she held her staff to the side. The two sister clashed weapons with each other, Mina still holding the advantage as Mona was forced on the defensive. The blonde could tell that Mina was starting to take it easy on her however, as this time she was able to block and parry Mina's attacks. Mona managed to keep it up to the point where she entered a weapon deadlock with Mina.
"Mina, please!" She exclaimed to her sister. "Just let me win this! I don't actually want to fight you!"
"This is a duel, Mona!" Mina responded. "If you didn't want to fight then you shouldn't have ushered the challenge in the first place!"
Before Mona could say anything else in response, Mina suddenly broke off the deadlock as she kicked Mona in the gut. The blonde winced and stumbled back for a moment. Sheathing her sword, Mina commanded the water to surround her, forming two large arms made out of water that were attached to her back. Mona attempted to try and strike first, but was slugged in the abdomen by one of the watery fists. Mona wheezed, the force of the fist hitting her being harder than she expected. Mina spun around and kicked Mona on the head and then followed up with the water fists clasping together and hammering Mona to the ground. The blonde coughed up blood as she started to sit up, only to see Mina's water fists getting ready to attack again. She quickly held out her staff and fired a blast of electricity from it. The electricity went straight through the water fists and straight towards Mina's body. The bluenette screamed in pain as she felt herself being electrocuted severely. Her watery fists dispersed as Mona pulled herself back up to her feet. Mina stumbled around and fell to one knee, breathing heavily after the electrocution attack. She quickly pulled out her saber and held it out in front of her, slowly starting to stand up.
Meanwhile, Ragna and Alexiel were still in the midst of their weapon deadlock. The two of them were pushing up against the other with as much strength as they could muster. Eventually they managed to break off their deadlock when both of their weapons slid past each other, the two stumbling forward and quickly turning around to face one another. Neither one of them wasted time as they both started going on the offensive. Their blades clashed against each other once again as they both swung overhead. Stepping back a little, Alexiel spins around before going for another overhead swing at Ragna, the man leaning to his right to dodge the attack. Alexiel grabbed her zweihander with both hands and positioned herself to quickly swing in Ragna's direction. In response, he swung his large sword diagonally and parried off Alexiel's blade, leaving her open. Spinning around to regain his stance, Ragna's right arm became coated in dark energy as he rushed at Alexiel for a punch directed at her chest. The redhead managed to roll underneath Ragna's attack and get back to her feet at the same time as he turned around again. Ragna held his sword out and blocked another swing from Alexiel's zweihander. The woman jumped back and held out her hand, causing several mirror blade shards to appear behind her and immediately head towards Ragna. The man held out his sword and spun it around, the large blade deflecting the mirror blade shards in different directions away from Ragna. One of them was sent back to Alexiel as it cut her across the cheek.
Alexiel wasted no time going back on the offensive and rushed towards Ragna again, holding her zweihander in her right hand and forming a shield made out of mirror blade shards on her left arm. Rushing at Ragna, she swung her zweihander horizontally only for Ragna to duck under the attack. However this was what she was hoping for as right after, Ragna went on the offensive. He thrusts his large sword forward but had his blade then knocked away as Alexiel bashed it with her shield. As he was left wide open, Alexiel was about to strike. Going in to try and impale Ragna, she thrusts her zweihander forward. However, Ragna's Azure Grimoire shield spawned right in front of him and blocked Alexiel's attack. The collision managed to push Ragna back slightly but managed to keep him from being ran through by Alexiel's blade. As the redhead went for another attack, Ragna slammed his shield into Alexiel gut, knocking her back as she wheezed from the impact. Before she could respond with anything else, Ragna leaped over her and landed behind her. As Alexiel turned around, the redhead was slugged in the face by Ragna's fist, and sent flying backwards. As she crashed into the ground, Ragna walked over towards his sword and picked it back up.
As Ragna turned back around, he was struck in several places by mirror blade shards that spawned right out of nowhere. Looking at Alexiel, the redhead had pulled herself off of the ground and had her hands held out in front of her. Her palms started to glow as she suddenly fired a beam of light from her hands straight at her opponent. Ragna jumped out of the way as the beam of light crashed into the ground. Alexiel then rushed straight at Ragna quickly, going back on the offensive. Both fighters clashed their blades repeatedly as they danced around the floor. After every swing, neither of them wasted any time and immediately turned around to go right back to the offensive. The fight was once again on even ground, neither one of them having the advantage as they repeatedly clashed. Right in the middle of their next sword swing however, they both missed and went right by the other. Turning around at the same time, they both held out their fists and went for a powerful punch. Both attacks collided with each others' jaws, launching Ragna and Alexiel both backwards as they rolled along the ground. Picking themselves up, they gripped their weapons tightly.
"To think..." Alexiel thought. "To think we would actually go for the same maneuver. And at the same time, not a second less."
"How the hell did she know that I was going to do that?" Ragna thought. "Last thing I would've expected is that we'd go for the same attack."
Meanwhile, Mona had been put back on the defensive very quickly in her fight against her sister Mina. The bluenette had pulled herself together and rushed at Mona once again, coming at her with diagonal slash downward to which Mona dodged. Mina spun around and went in for a spinning slash twice, the first one Mona avoided and the second she parried it away using her staff. She was then met with swift kick to the face by Mina and knocked back. Mona regained herself and then fired a blast of electricity from her staff, which Mina avoided. Spinning around, Mina swung her rapier at Mona, who side stepped out of the way. However, she was suddenly grabbed up by her foot and tripped to the ground. Mona looked back at saw that the water from earlier was wrapped around her leg. Before she could hold her staff behind her to zap the water with electricity, Mina commanded the water to suddenly drag Mona upwards, the blonde dropping her staff in the process as she was yanked up in the air. Hanging upside down, Mona was holding her hands over her skirt to keep if from falling up as Mina walked towards Mona. The blonde struggled to break free of the bluenette's trap to no avail. Mina made a swift movement with her right hand, the water whip spinning Mona around and suddenly slamming the blonde straight into the castle walls. Mona them stumbled forward and was suddenly held in place as more water wrapped around her feet. Before she knew what hit her, the water whip from earlier slashed across her chest, causing Mona to yelp in pain.
"Say it, Mona." Mina commanded, creating more water whips around Mona. "Yield now."
"M-Mina, please-GAH!" Mona tried to plead to her sister, only to be struck by another one of her water whips.
"I will show you no mercy until I hear you yield. This is what you wanted from me isn't it?"
"No! It isn't-AH! I-I didn't want thi-ACK! Please, please just let me win-AGH!"
Mona had no time to try and explain herself in the middle of her duel. Every time she tried to say something in response to her sister, Mina just struck her with another water whip. Mona continued to try and speak for a while to no affect, as she was just struck in multiple places by the water whips. Finally, Mona had finally had enough. She let out of war cry as she formed a large electrical field around herself, destroying the water whips and the water that was holding her in one place for Mina's attack. Mona clenched her fists, and then rushed at Mina. The bluenette swung her sword in which Mona ducked under. She then placed her hand right on Mina's chest and electrocuted her sister. Mina screamed and stumbled back. She was then knocked down as Mona thrusts her palms into the bluenette's gut. After being knocked down and backwards, Mina was still in a lot of pain from the electricity still affecting her body, making it very hard for the rapier wielder to stand back up and fight. Mona walked over to her staff and picked it up, along with Mina's rapier that she dropped after her assault.
"Alright Mina..." Mona said. "I-I'll fight you! If that's what it will take for you to give in to me then...! Then...!"
With Alexiel and Ragna, the former had been going on the offensive against the latter. Using both her zweihander and mirror blade shards, she was able to keep the pressure on Ragna in order to stay on the offensive. Ragna was forced to not only block and parry off the redhead's large sword, but also try and dodge out of the way of multiple mirror blade shards. Unfortunately he wasn't having much luck with the dodging part. Forced to feel series of mirror blade shards piercing through his body, Ragna still stood strong. He was holding his blade above his head in order to block Alexiel coming down with an overhead swing. The redhead continued to try and force her blade downward, while Ragna kept his over his head. Suddenly, several more mirror blade shards around her that went forth and struck Ragna in several places to try and weaken him. No matter what she tried however, the man would not budge.
As she continued to try and force him down, Ragna then threw out a low roundhouse kick that threw Alexiel off balance. The redhead stumbled back before tripping and falling. Ragna spun around as his large sword transformed into a scythe. Swinging it low, Alexiel was impaled through the left shoulder by Ragna's scythe. The redhead winced but still kept her cool, and forced herself forward. Ragna's scythe went deeper through her shoulder but that also brought her closer towards the man. Holding out her palm, a large wave of light emitted form it, knocking Ragna back and causing him to let go of his scythe as it converted back to a sword as it slid out of Alexiel's shoulder. The redhead gritted her teeth and held her right hand over her wounded shoulder. Her body was suddenly bathed in a light green glow as he shoulder wound closed and healed very quickly. With her wound now healed, she picked up her zweihander and dashed at the unarmed Ragna. The man stood back up and clenched his fists as the redhead rushed at him, his right arm transforming into a monstrous claw.
Holding her zweihander in both hands, Alexiel came in as she swung her blade at Ragna from below at a diagonal angle. Swinging his claw, Ragna smacked Alexiel's blade to the side. The redhead refused to let go and then staggered over to the side as well. As she faced Ragna again, she was met with the man kicking her straight in the face. Alexiel came back with a horizontal swing to the head, only for Ragna to duck under it. He then threw out another kick at Alexiel's knee, causing the redhead to drop down to one knee. Before she could get back up, Ragna got back to his feet quicker and then slammed Alexiel into the ground using his monstrous claw. The redhead coughed up blood as Ragna then picked her up by her clothing using the same claw. Holding Alexiel in the air, demonic wings sprouted on Ragna's back. Alexiel clenched her fists for what was going to happen next, holding tightly to her zweihander. Ragna suddenly took off, flying to the right as he grabbed hold of his large sword in his free arm. Ragna was unfortunately still having trouble to try and control the flight pattern of his wings. That alongside the short time on how long they last, it was looking like Ragna was going to fly straight off the edge of the eighteenth floor and would drag Alexiel off right alongside him, not to mention due to how low they were flying this meant Alexiel was being dragged across the ground at high speeds very painfully.
"Going off the edge isn't going to deal with this bitch and it's not going to end well for me!" He thought to himself. "Why the hell is so hard to control these damn things?!"
Suddenly Ragna found himself flying straight upwards instead, Alexiel being dragged along with him. As they found themselves ascending, Alexiel was prepared to make an attempt in going on the offensive to make Ragna let go of her. She was holding her zweihander tightly in her left hand and had set herself up to swing. Ragna had done the same, holding his large blade in the same hand as Alexiel was holding hers. Despite the extremely close range, Alexiel and Ragna were both able to swing their blades to the point they collided with one another. Their blades were extremely close to each other's bodies as they entered a weapon deadlock in mid air.
"You think that you can best me with a power that you can't even control properly?!" Alexiel questioned and taunted.
"If tearing you to shreds is what it'll take to get you off my damn back, then you asked for it!" Ragna exclaimed.
The course of Ragna's wings changed once again, breaking the deadlock as the two were now flying to the left and spinning around in the air. This constant spinning eventually caused Ragna to let go of Alexiel, however this didn't stop the two from spinning together. Staying in close range, Alexiel and Ragna began swinging their blades rapidly as they spun around in the air, the sounds of metal clashing rapidly could be heard across the floor. Alexiel clenched her fists as several mirror blade shards appeared right in Ragna's flight path, heading straight to the man. Ragna managed to position himself upright as he both kicked Alexiel away and formed his Azure Grimoire shield once again. His wings also started to make his body stationary as he was strafing in the air. Blocking the mirror blade shards, he looked to the side to see Alexiel flying back towards him. The redhead swung her blade at the stationary man, colliding against his shield and pushing him back ever so slightly in the process.
"You fly too?!" Ragna scoffed.
"I am a warrior crafted to slay the likes of you." Alexiel responded. "Don't think that there aren't any limits that will stop me from defeating you here and now!"
Alexiel pushed against Ragna's shield with a massive amount of force. While she didn't even come close to leaving any type of scratch or crack in it, Ragna did feel himself being pushed around by the amount of strength that his opponent possessed. Ragna grunted as she pushed forward with his shield to keep Alexiel back. Suddenly he swung his sword and cut across Alexiel's abdomen. The redhead groaned in pain as she was openly bleeding. Moving back, she was cut across the side of her face as Ragna started to transform his sword into a scythe. Leaning back as the sword finished its transformation, the scythe's blade dug into Alexiel's back and the back of her arms. Ragna's wings also disappeared as he leaned back, he and Alexiel fell straight down towards the ground. Alexiel had blood coming out of her mouth as she had been slashed in multiple places. Nonetheless, she was able to keep herself together. Pulling her arms up and to the side, she was able to remove them from the scythe. Unfortunately, this also made the blade dig further into her back, causing her to cough up blood. She then pointed her zweihander straight at Ragna and thrusts. Ragna winced as the blade went through his chest, impaling him as the two combatants were falling straight to the ground.
"All four of them are giving it their all..."
On the ground, the two fights were being watched avidly by Monika, Feena, Goblin Mage, Vira, and Aglovale. Not participating in these duels themselves, they were all on the sidelines and could only stand there and wait to see what the outcome will be for the two fights.
"Their all ready to put an end to all of this." Vira said. "Alexiel and your friend Ragna. The two sisters. There's a lot of things that they all want to settle. This is the best way to do that."
"How long will they last is the question." Monika stated, staring up at the falling Ragna and Alexiel. "How long can they all keep fighting like this?"
With Mina and Mona, the former was no longer holding any sort of advantage over the latter. Mona, wielding both her electric staff and Mina's rapier, continued to go on the offensive against her sister. She was thrusting the rapier forward in a fencing stance as she forced Mina backwards. The bluenette ducked under a stray lightning bolt coming from Mona's staff. Trying to counter, she spun around to go for a roundhouse kick to Mona's face. The blonde leaned back and avoid and then fired another bolt of electricity from staff, hitting Mina. The unarmed girl shrieked again as she was electrocuted and stumbled back, Mona then striking her with a headbutt. The blonde used her staff as a blunt tool and slammed in to Mina's gut, causing her to keel over in pain. Holding her hands over her abdomen, Mina had completely let down her guard. Mona raised her staff at her sister and fired another bolt of lightning. However, Mina suddenly sprung to life and avoided it before Mona could even fire, causing it to miss. Water rolled up Mina's wrists as two blade shaped objects formed on her hands. Getting in close to Mona, Mina swiped her right hand right in front of her. The watery blade on her hand slashed across, striking Mona on the stomach region. Before Mona could get away, Mina lunged forward with her left hand's watery blade and impaled Mona through the abdomen. The wound wasn't deep, but it made Mona yelp loudly in pain.
Not giving her sister any time to recover Mina then spun around vertically, kicking Mona in the face twice as the bluenette flipped and landed on her feet. Mona was stunned momentarily but was snapped out it due to the pain of Mina's watery blades cutting across her chest in an X shape. Mina then threw out her right foot and kick her sister backwards. Before Mona could hit the ground, the watery blade around Mina's right hand turned into a whip and grabbed hold of Mona. Mina yanked her hand back and pulled Mona towards her, slicing her across the shoulder with her watery blade as the whip held onto her. She then kicked Mona in the back and sent her stumbling around once again. Pulling once again, Mona came stumbling back towards Mina as the water whip let go and turned into a blade again. Mina ran past her sister and slashed her with both hands, leaving another pair of wounds on Mona's body. Before Mina could get away, Mona tensed up and spun around to face her. Holding her staff at Mina, she fired another blast of electricity. This one was quite severe as Mina screamed loudly during the electrocution. Even after Mona stopped, Mina was still stunned severely by the attack. Mona then pointed Mina's own rapier at the bluenette, in a position that would end this fight. However, instead of taking the advantage of the opening, Mona started to tremble. Despite everything, she didn't have it in her to finish this off. Mina recovered and performed a kick that knocked her sword out of Mona's hand. Bring her foot down quick and then spinning around, she threw out another kick that collided with Mona's gut. The blonde coughed painfully as she was knocked down, the bluenette then jumped up and grabbed her rapier as it came down. Mona looked up and quickly rolled out of the way as Mina's sword stabbed into the ground, the bluenette obviously planning to finish off and impale Mona.
"How can Mina just attack me so easily?!" Mona thought to herself as she got back up. "I-I know I challenged her to a duel and all, but how can she just easily go in for kill shots like that?! Why is my sister really trying to kill me?!"
Mona's thoughts were cut off as a high kick came from Mina and collided with her face, nearly knocked her down once again. Mona started to get back up and then ducked underneath a swing from Mina's rapier, and then ducked again to avoid a spin kick coming from the bluenette as well. The blonde then thrusts her palm out at her sister, firing a bolt of lightning that struck Mina and knocked her backwards. Mina managed to keep herself from falling, but was still under the effects of Mona's lightning attacks. Refusing to fall, she gripped her sword and prepared to go back on the offensive again. However she was quickly forced to sidestep in order to avoid an electric bolt coming from Mina's staff. Mona held out her staff and continued to launch lightning bolt after lightning bolt at her sister, trying to force her to stop moving. Mina took off running to the side, moving fast enough where the lightning bolts were all striking behind her instead of hitting her due to her speed. Running around in a circle, Mina started to close the distance between her and Mona. Getting in close, she slid under one of the lightning bolts and went for a sweep kick to knock down her sister. However Mona was expecting this, and the blonde leaped over the bluenette's kick. As Mina turned around, she was met with a direct hit from Mona's lightning. Mina fell down to the ground, groaning in pain as the electricity was coursing through her. Nonetheless, she started to try and get back up.
"I'm sorry for this Mina!" Mona called out, pointing her staff at her sister. "But I don't wanna hurt you anymore!"
Before Mona could fire her staff, she suddenly felt something rumbling underneath her feet. Looking down, she saw that she was standing in a puddle of water with shattered glass scattered in it. She realized that when Mina went for that sweeping kick to knock her down, she was counting on her jumping over it. When Mona landed, Mina knew she'd land right on the bottles of water she let loose, and shatter them underneath her feet while she wasn't paying attention. As Mona realized this, she also realized that she had no time to react from what was coming next. The water underneath her shot up and uppercuts the blonde, knocking her in the air and back away from Mina. As Mona managed to flip through the air and land on her feet, the water then came at her at high speeds. The water struck Mona straight in the face and nearly knocked her off balance before circling around and striking her in the abdomen. Mina pulled herself up and made a dash at Mona while the blonde was busy dealing with the water attacking her.
Mona held her palms out and formed an electrical field around her to disperse the water from attacking her. The moment she let her guard, Mina came in with a flying knee straight into the blonde's chest. Mona went flying backwards and fell to the ground. Placing her hand on the ground, Mona tried to send an electrical current through the water on the ground towards Mina, trying to shock her the moment she touched the water. The bluenette did not fall for it, and just leaped into the air, flipping around before landing in front of Mina. Mona squeaked quite loudly and started scooting back to try and get some distance between herself and her sister. Mina held her rapier out and pointed it at her sister's face.
"Yield, Mona." Mina commanded.
Mona looked away from her sister as she started to responded. "I-I..."
CRASH
As the two sisters appeared to be wrapping up their battle, the battle between Ragna and Alexiel seemed far from over. Two loud crashes were heard as the fight in the air between them had ended. Both Ragna and Alexiel crashed into the ground, each forming a crater in the place that they crashed. Alexiel crashed near the castle, landing in the south side. Though the castle was unharmed, the ground in front of the south entrance was practically destroyed. The redhead was in the crater, face down flat on the ground with her zweihander sticking out in the ground right beside her. Ragna crashed near her on the same side of the castle. He was lying in a crater that was right next to a golden statue of a young woman standing on a stone pedestal. The man was groaning as he was laying face up, his large sword laying in the crater as well. The two seemed to both be out of it for a moment as they laid silently in their separate craters. Ragna was the first one to start pulling himself together. Sitting up, he rubbed his head as he started to stand up. As he got up, he took notice of the statue behind him.
"So that's the thing Albert was talking about." He said aloud to himself. "It does look... lifelike now that I've seen it for myself."
Ragna suddenly tilted his head out of the way as he was nearly struck by a mirror blade shard that had appeared in front of him in an instant. Kicking his sword, he knocked it into the air as he turned around. Grabbing hold of his large blade, he was once again facing Alexiel, who managed to bring herself up to her knees before firing that mirror blade shard. The redhead then stood up fully and yanked her zweihander out of the ground, spinning it around so that it was pointed at Ragna before gripping it with both hands.
"You still wanna keep going huh?" Ragna asked.
"This battle isn't over till one of us forfeits or can't fight." Alexiel responded.
"That healing of yours is keeping you alive despite all of the brutal injuries you've been suffering. Combine that with how you're back in one piece after Monika dropped that guillotine on you, that tells me that even if I kill you, you won't die. You'll just get back up again and keep coming at die till I'm the one who's dead."
"Nice to see you can understand the simple things. So why don't you save us both some time and let me skip to the part where I defeat you?"
"You can't skip to something that's never going to happen, you know."
"Such foolish confidence."
Ragna's long, red coat and Alexiel's long, red hair were flowing in the wind as the two stared at each other with a serious expression. It seemed almost as if neither of them was going to make a move anytime soon. However that was proven wrong very quickly as they both got ready to go in. Ragna swung his blade behind him as he rushed at Alexiel, the redhead had done the same. As they came close, the two combatants swung their swords in front of them. A large shockwave was emitted as their blade's collided, the two being pushed back from each other due to the impact. The two both went back on the offensive immediately after. Ragna ducked and ran under a swing from Alexiel's sword. He turned around and swung his large blade vertically, only to be parried away by Alexiel spinning around and swinging her blade horizontally. Alexiel held out her hand and sent out a wave of mirror blade shards towards Ragna, who dodged left to avoid. He then rushed in and swung his blade horizontally at Alexiel, who jumped backwards to dodge. Not wanting to give the redhead any time to recover, Ragna coated his left fist in a dark energy and rushed at Alexiel. In response, the redhead spun around and threw out a kick just as Ragna's fist came to her. The two attacks collided and managed to knock Ragna to the side. He then spun around to try and kick Alexiel, who sidestepped out of range.
"Mirror Wave!"
Ragna ducked and summoned his Azure Grimoire shield as Alexiel shouted. Holding out her right hand, a large row of mirrors came at Ragna in a horizontal pattern. Ducking under some and using his shield to block others, Ragna managed to avoid most of the damage the attack would've dealt to him, though he still suffered some injuries from the attack. As it finished however, he had no time to recover as Alexiel struck him in the face with a flying knee. While she had the momentum she tried to go for a low swing with her zweihander to knock Ragna down, only for him to jump over her blade. Spinning around, she got back up and went for a vertical swing downwards on the man. Ragna dodged, leaving her zweihander to crash into the ground. Maneuvering around behind her, Ragna placed his sword back on his waist as Alexiel turned around. The redhead tossed her sword upwards and threw two punches, both of which Ragna dodged. Catching her sword, she spun around and went for a horizontal swing to the man's head. Ragna summoned his shield and slammed it into Alexiel's zweihander, knocking it out of her hands and away from her.
Ragna sought to use this to his advantage to go in on Alexiel. Rushing at the redhead, he slugged her straight in the jaw. Alexiel staggered back and was then struck with a kick directly to the chest from Ragna's right foot. Ragna then moved in close and clenched his left fist, slamming it straight into the redhead's gut with enough force to knock her about one and a half foot into the air. Grabbing his blade in his right hand her slammed it upward into Alexiel's abdomen, juggling her in the air a little while longer and causing her to cough up blood. Spinning his blade around, he then slammed it into Alexiel's back and knocked her into the ground hard. Ragna swung his right arm back with his blade in hand.
"Dead Spike!"
Dragging the blade along the ground, a large beast head was created from Ragna's large sword. Heading straight towards Alexiel, the beast head exploded when it collided with her. The redhead was knocked back and was dragging across the ground, leaving a small trail of blood due to the lethal hits she took. As Ragna finished his assault, he looked out at his opponent laying on the ground. Placing his sword back on his waist, his right arm transformed into a monstrous claw once again. At the same time, Alexiel's body started to glow green once again. This let Ragna know that the redhead's injuries would soon be healed up very quickly.
"Not this time!"
Not wanting to give her any chance to recover, Ragna swung his monstrous claw right above the ground. A row of dark spikes started to pop up from the ground and were heading straight towards Alexiel, who had managed to get back on her hands and knees. Before the redhead could fully recover and get up, the dark spikes reached where she was. Rising from the ground quickly, Alexiel was impaled in several places just as she took her hands off the ground. She coughed up a lot of blood and groaned loudly in pain on the impact before going silent. Ragna's arm transformed back to normal as he looked at the woman.
"If I don't let you recover, then there's no way that you'll ever be able to defeat me." Ragna said. "If I can't kill you, then I can beat you to submission at least." Having his hand on his blade, Ragna was in position to rush at Alexiel to try and finish her. "So don't expect me to give you any chance to recover! I'm through playing around with you!"
Ragna grabs hold of his sword from his waist and rushed at the badly injured Alexiel. Before he could reach her however, he was suddenly struck by a large mirror blade shard impaling him through the chest. The sudden attack had managed to stun him as he looked up at Alexiel. Staring at the redhead, he saw that Alexiel had managed to clench her fist despite the position she was in. She managed to summon that mirror blade shard to keep Ragna off of her. As the shard vanished, Ragna held his left hand over his abdomen, collapsing to one knee as blood leaked out. Alexiel's body started glowing green again as the dark spikes started to vanish from around her. She managed to stand back up as her wounds began healing very quickly.
"You can do whatever the hell you want to try and slow me down." She replied to Ragna, walking over and picking up her zweihander. "I made it very clear to you that I'll put everything on the line to run through you with my blade and cut you down!"
Alexiel shoulders her zweihander and rushed at Ragna once again, the man pulling himself and charging at her as well. Due to his injury, Ragna's reactions were getting much slower than Alexiel's, who was able to fully recover at will. As they both started to swing, Alexiel slashed Ragna across the chest diagonally, leaving a large wound that cut through his clothes and knocked him back far, nearing the edge of the south side of the eighteenth floor of Goldenia. Ragna looked back quickly, and went wide eyed as he saw how high up they were compared to the seventeenth floor below them, or even the other sixteen floors below that one. He turned back around and blocked another swing of Alexiel's zweihander with his shield. Around that time, Monika, Feena, Aglovale, and Vira had caught up with the two to see what was going on.
"H-Hey, you don't think she'll seriously try to throw him off the edge of the floor do you?!" Feena asked concerned.
"I... I don't know what line she won't cross..." Vira responded. "After all, Her Highness does want him alive, but..."
The four were interrupted by the sound of screaming coming closer to them. Looking back, Monika jumped out of the way as Mona nearly crashed into her after being launched by water during her fight with Mina. Mona started to get back up but was struck with a massive amount of water from a long distance as Mina was rushing towards her, holding both her rapier and Mona's staff. Mona shrieks and tries to electrocute Mina through the water. The bluenette jumped up away from the water and towards Mona as the electricity died down. Kneeing her in the face and slugging her in the gut, Mina knocked Mona down once again. The blonde was shaking on the ground, due to her injuries as well as the water being very cold. Seeing Mina approach her, she started shuffling back as she shielded her face.
"N-No more!" Mona yelled out in a frightened tone. "Please! I don't wanna do this anymore! I-I...!"
Mina remained quiet as she stood over her sister, awaiting for her to finish her apparent surrender.
"I-I...! I-I-I...!"
Mona slowly started to uncover her face. Looking at her sister, she was surprised at what she saw. Staring right at Mina's face, Mona could see tears being held back in Mina's eyes.
"M-Mina...?" Mona started to ask. "W-Why are you-"
"Just hurry up and say it Mona!" Mina respond. "Hurry and end this so that I can stop hurting my little sister!"
"Mina...?!"
Back with Ragna and Alexiel, the redhead still had the advantage over the man as she was pushing him back even closer to the edge. Ragna was doing his best to dodge the swings from Alexiel's zweihander, but couldn't help but be pushed back due to his injuries. Soon, he found himself at the edge of the eighteenth floor, a long drop below him should he fall. Ragna summoned his shield and parries away another one of Alexiel's attack. The redhead grunted loudly and swung her zweihander again but was blocked by Ragna's shield. She grew more and more frustrated as Ragna's shield continue to completely negate all of her attacks. Holding it in her right hand, she screamed loudly as she repeatedly slammed her zweihander against her opponent's shield. While Ragna was unharmed by the redhead's rampage, the impact was still strong enough that the ground under him was coming apart at little pieces. The longer he stayed at one spot, the more he was in danger of falling off. But due to Alexiel not letting up, it was hard to find an opening.
"Why can't I destroy this damn thing?!" Alexiel exclaimed as she kept swinging. "Every time I finally get close enough to finish you, there's always something stopping me! Why can't I defeat you?! Why do you keep besting me at ever turn?! WHY! CAN'T! I! WIN?! WHY AM I SO WEAK THAT I CAN'T EVEN AVENGE MY FRIENDS?! WHY DO YOU MAKE ME SO WEAK?!"
"You're going to make both of us fall if you don't stop, you dumbass!" Ragna yelled out.
"I don't care anymore! I don't care what happens to me! You'd never understand what I've given up so that I could finally defeat you with my own hands! You don't understand how deep my hatred runs! And I don't need you to! I just need you to roll over and die for me! Die! DIE!"
Ragna was keeping his guard up with his shield despite Alexiel's constant onslaught. He could feel the ground under him continuing to come apart in small pieces, knowing it wouldn't be long before the two of them would fall. He saw that was no way that Alexiel would ever slow down on her attack, the look in her eye showing that she's completely fixated on defeating him and not caring about anything around her. Ragna held onto his sword in his left hand as he was prepared to use the shield in order to help him get back up. As Alexiel came in for another swing, Ragna shot up and bashed his shield into her zweihander. She held tight onto her blade, but had her guard broken wide open. Without hesitation, Ragna thrusts his large sword straight through Alexiel, the large blade going all the way through her body. Alexiel stood there wide eyed as her arms dropped to her side, still keeping a grip on her zweihander in her right hand.
"You're crazy, you know that?" Ragna said to his opponent. "Just give it up. You've lost."
Ragna was unmoved as Alexiel threw a punch to his face with her left hand. The punch had no power behind it, as she didn't have the strength after both her onslaught and Ragna impaling her. Her hand didn't manage to move him at all as she attempted to keep fighting despite the blade through her chest.
"Why can't... Why can't I..." She started to say, having both tears flowing down her face but still holding her dead serious look at Ragna. "Why... Why can't I do anything...? Why must I always lose?"
"You know, if you took time to pull yourself together then you'd probably beat me." Ragna sighed. "You don't care about anything at all. Yourself. Everyone else who's on your side. All you care about is whatever the hell grudge you have against either me or demons. You put everything on the line to get rid of me, and when you run out of things to lose you throw a tantrum."
Ragna yanked his large blade out of Alexiel's chest. Putting it back on his waist, he walked away from the redhead who collapsed to her knees, dropping her zweihander on the ground as well. Ragna winced slightly as he held his hand over where Alexiel had wounded him badly.
"If you don't come to your senses soon, you'll do something that you'll regret." Ragna continued to say to Alexiel.
Ragna noticed that the others were coming towards him and Alexiel as he looked up.
"Hold it." He called out to the four. "This battle isn't over."
"What are you talking about?" Vira responded. "Alexiel's-"
"-Not beaten."
The four of them looked over at Alexiel as Ragna turned back around to face his opponent. While she was still down, the redhead suddenly pounded the ground with her left fist as her wounds started healing once again. Picking up her zweihander, she growled lowly as she turned to turn back around to face Ragna once again. Not trying to show that his wound was bothering him, Ragna stood strong and held his large sword out in front of him.
"Not giving up huh?" He asked.
"I challenged you... to a duel to the death." Alexiel answered. "As long as I can get back up and keep swinging, this duel will never be over."
"You know, judging by everything that you told me earlier, can't you still just forfeit or something?"
"You'd actually believe I'd consider throwing away my pride to say my own miserable life!?"
"You know I was hoping you'd consider it. This fight is painful enough for everyone here."
"Excuse me?"
"You can summon mirrors and shit. Why don't you use one of them to look at yourself for once instead of flinging them at other people?"
"What are you going on a-"
"Just do it, will you?!"
"Who are you to order me around?!"
Angrily, Alexiel conjured a fairly large mirror blade shard and sent it forth towards Ragna. Dropping his guard, Ragna caught the mirror in his hand and then held the side of it out towards Alexiel, who was rushing towards him. The redhead however, suddenly came to a halt as she stared at her reflection in the mirror blade shard. Staring at herself, all Alexiel saw was the reflection of a woman who hadn't been sane in years. Somebody who had completely lost her way.
"See what I mean?" Ragna called out to Alexiel. "That pride of yours is destroying you. It's making you hurt yourself, and then you're hurting everyone else who's trying to save you. Hell, it's even hurting me fighting against someone who's practically fighting herself." Ragna placed his blade back on his waist and threw the mirror blade shard back to Alexiel. "So do yourself a favor and just give up."
"Give up...?" Alexiel caught the mirror as she looked at her reflection much closer. "I can't just give up...! If I do then... Then what would be the point of all this?! Everything I've said, everything I've done...!"
Ragna and the others realized that it wasn't him that Alexiel was talking to anymore. They didn't say anything and just allowed her to talk.
Meanwhile, the fight between Mona and Mina seemed to have done all but wrapped up. Mona was still on the ground after she heard what her sister said to her. Mina stood over Mona, letting down her guard as she held both her rapier and Mona's staff pointed down to the ground.
"Just please end this Mona..." Mina said tearfully. "I want this to end."
"What are you..." Mona asked. "What did you want...?"
"Not until you end this. That's what I said when we first started. I wouldn't tell you what I wanted till this was over. So please Mona... end all of this."
Mina..." Mona nodded as she looked up at Mina. "I yield."
The moment Mina heard this, she sheathed her rapier. Bending down, she handed Mona back her staff and helped her off the ground.
"Do what you think is right."
Mona was surprised when she heard Mina say that. "H-Huh?"
"I understand now." Mina started to explain. "I understand why you're doing all of this. Not because you truly believe it's the right thing to do. Not because you're following how you truly feel. You do want to get revenge for what happened to Mena all those years ago. You're right to think that this isn't something that we can do on our own. However. In order to that, you're going against everything we stood for as Sky Knights."
"W-What...?"
"Its something that I had nearly forgotten too. It's something that Albert has chosen to keep doing till this day. It's doing not what everyone else always says is right. But it was doing what we believed to be right. The Sky Knights. We were the group who would oppose the imperial army and their orders multiple times. Anything they tried to have us do, we would refuse. Even if it was and order from His Late Highness himself."
Mona looked down, knowing Mina was right.
"You've submitted yourself to the imperial army's will, despite what this plan consisted of." Mina continued. "If the Sky Knights were still together, do you think that we'd go along with something like this at all?"
"But Mina, weren't you acting the same way I was?" Mona asked. "You were going to the first floor to do just what the rest of the imperial army was planning to do!"
"You're right. I was. Because I had forgotten everything I'm telling you."
"E-Eh!?"
"If I hadn't gotten to sit down and talk to Monika earlier, then I would've never realized how far I had fallen. Most likely if I hadn't met her and still went to Albert for help, he would've given me quite the scolding. I realized my mistake soon enough as I got to know Monika. I got to know the person I came down to arrest. I made a mistake, and I had to own up for it. We haven't been doing what we believed in for the last few years. We became just like everyone else."
"Mina..."
"All I want from you is to go back how we were as Sky Knights. Do the things that you think is right. Even if it means you have to give up the aid of the imperial army, do what you think is right. It's what Mena would want, don't you think?"
Mina pulled her sister into a hug as she smiled. Mona was shocked for quite a while. Finally she started crying as she embraced Mina with a tight hug of her own. Mina just smiled and rubbed her sister's back.
"It's alright." Mina said in a calm, loving tone. "It's okay, Mona."
VROOM
That was the sudden sound that got everyone's attention. Mina and Mona, Ragna and Alexiel, even Monika, Feena, Aglovale, and Vira were all at attention upon hearing the sounds of what could only be the engine of a motorbike from the west side of the eighteenth floor. As everyone looked on, they didn't even need to walk over as all of a sudden a motorcycle came straight towards all of them, skidding to a stop revealing Grena, Albert, and Rita all riding on it.
"Grena?!" Monika questioned.
"Albert! You're out!?" Mina exclaimed in surprise.
"Yo." Grena greeted.
"H-Holy... hell..."
Rita and Albert looked practically stunned as they didn't greet the others. As they were riding along with Grena the entire time, the two of them had to deal with the woman's reckless driving at high speeds had the two of them fearing for their lives. Honestly, they were surprised that they were still alive.
"W-We made it..." Albert said shakily.
"How could she possibly control such a monstrous device...?" Rita questioned in a whimpering tone.
"Ah pull yourselves together, will you?" Grena sighed.
"How did you guys get out?" Feena asked, as everyone walked over.
"Who's the kid?" Ragna asked, gesturing to Rita.
"I'm not a kid." Rita replied.
"We'll explain everything a little later." Grena answered. "We're uh... not interrupting anything are we?"
"Maybe... if you had shown up a little earlier..." Mona speaks up.
"That depends..." Ragna said, as the others turned to face Alexiel.
"...If we both agree to call it off and lay down our weapons, that will make the terms of the duel null and void." She responded. "Frankly, I'm curious as to what the hell is going on as well."
The two looked at each other for a moment. Afterwards they both nodded, and sat their swords down for the time being.
"Sooo if you humans are done with whatever it was you were up to before we showed up." Rita said, pointing at the statue in the distance behind them. "I need to see that statue."
"Excuse me?" Vira questioned.
"Statue. Me. Go over there. Like, right now."
"You could learn to show some manners and respect, child."
"I'm not a kid!"
Albert picked up Rita and lifted her away from Vira and the others, much to the demonic mage's protest about being picked up as if she were a kid.
"Our apologies, Prime Minister." Albert said. "A lot of things have happened recently. But for now, I need to let this girl head over to the statue of the young queen."
"Formerly the captain of the Sky Knights, Albert..." Vira thought aloud. "And to see you here with..."
"He seems to have a lot of trust in that kid." Alexiel commented.
"I'm not a kid!"
"I don't see any chances of her destroying it." Aglovale said.
"And for Albert to actually come back..." Alexiel commented. "I-I don't know, so much is being thrown here at once."
"Then take a seat, relax, while these two sit down and explain everything to ya!" Rita says aloud, pointing to Albert and Grena as she ran off towards the statue. "I didn't survive that hectic ride on that wheeled machine just to not do this!"
Rita ran off quickly before anyone could try and catch her. Everyone walked after her towards the statue of the young queen. The demonic mage ran in a circle around the statue before stopping in front of it. Reaching into her satchel, she pulled out the blue orb from earlier and held it up high for everyone as they walked up to the statue.
"Behold, everyone!" Rita announced. "Watch with awe as I, Rita, return to this statue what it lost many years ago!"
Rita places the blue orb in the left hand of the statue.
"Come, young maiden! Claim the life that belongs to you! Return to the world of the living!"
. . .
. . .
. . .
"...Eh?"
Rita looked dumbfounded as nothing at all seemed to happen. The orb sat there in the statue's left hand, but nothing else happened. Confused, she tried moving the orb into the statue's right hand. Unfortunately that didn't have any effect either. Rita scratched her head as she picked up the soul herself.
"I think this soul's broken." Rita said.
"W-Wait, you mean that's-" Alexiel exclaimed.
"You're kidding..." Grena sighed. "All this just to waste time..."
"That's weird..." Rita thought aloud. "They were pretty sure that this was the person who I should return this soul to. But then, why isn't it bringing her back to life?"
"If that's actually a soul like you say it is, then it's not going to do anything while it sitting outside a host." Alexiel commented. "If it's not strong enough to create a physical body then someone has to give it the strength to generate one, or in this case give it the strength to phase into that statue."
"So if that actually worked then..." Monika wondered. "Does... that mean that there's been someone alive up here the entire time, frozen in gold?"
"Yep!" Rita answered, then turned to face Alexiel. "Hey, lady. Since you know an awful lot about this then you put it back for me. I don't think I can get it in there."
"That's normally a demonic ability." Alexiel replied. "This is a task unfortunately only fit for someone like yourself."
"Well that's bad news." Rita shrugs as her staff suddenly flew down right next to her. "I have no idea what I'm doing." Rita points her staff diagonally upwards. "Anima Scrutator (Soul Searcher)!"
A sudden shockwave emitted across the eighteenth floor. Very quickly, everyone's bodies glowed in a certain color before returning to normal. For Monika, Feena, Grena, Albert, Vira, Aglovale, Mina, and Mona, their bodies had a sudden blue glow that was similar to that of the soul Rita was holding. Alexiel's body was the only one out of the group to glow green. In the case of Rita, Ragna, and Goblin Mage, their bodies were glowing red for a quick moment. Setting her staff down, Rita pointed at Ragna.
"You! Yeah, you!" She called out. "Put this soul back in here for me, will ya?"
"Huh?" Ragna questioned. "What makes you think I know how to do it?"
"I dunno. But I just looked at all of you, and I spotted you as a demon. So put it back in there for me!"
"I wouldn't even know WHERE to begin, kid!"
"I'm NOT a kid!"
"Entertain her, will you?" Vira sighed. "I don't think she'll hush unless you do so."
"Fine." Ragna said, walking over to Rita. "Hand it here."
Rita nodded before holding out the orb for Ragna to take. Reaching out with his right hand, Ragna stopped for a moment as an odd feeling went through his body the moment his hand got close to the orb. Before he knew it, it suddenly felt like his hand was reacting on his own. The moment it grabbed hold of the orb, Rita and everyone else noticed the orb glowing brighter, along with the eerie dark energy surrounding Ragna's arm.
"What's... going on?" Grena questioned.
"So this is what happens when a demon is strong enough to interact with a soul..." Rita said to herself. "Interesting..."
"He's... actually able to do it..." Alexiel said, while looking down. "He really can interact with souls, but... could he really put it inside of..."
Looking at his arm, Ragna looked surprised for a moment. Blinking, he then looked up at the statue in front of him and Rita. Reaching forward he started to move the orb closer towards the statue's chest. Suddenly, before everyone's eyes, the orb went straight into the statue. Letting go, Ragna pulled his arm away as the orb was now no longer in his grasp. Everyone stepped back for a moment to see if anything would happen.
"Well now..." Rita said. "Let's see how it reacts to its old body...!"
"So..." Vira started to say. "The young queen of Goldenia... was really here the entire time..."
CRACK
?!
Everyone suddenly heard a cracking sound coming from the statue. Everyone could see cracks forming in the solid gold statue. Forming slowly but surely, before increasing in speed as they formed. Several dozen cracks formed all across the golden statue. Right before their eyes, it suddenly shattered. The golden statue shattered to pieces as the gold fell to the ground. But in its place, it left a young girl standing on the statue's pedestal in a bright light due to the shiny gold.
"No way!" Vira exclaimed.
"She's really here..." Feena said in shock.
"Shiny..." Goblin Mage blurted out, focused on the gold.
The young girl's eyes were closed as she stumbled around on the platform. Suddenly she leaned backward and started to fall off the pedestal. Using his speed, Albert quickly zipped right next to the pedestal, catching the young woman as she fell off. Everyone gathered around as Albert held the girl in his arms. Suddenly she started to slowly open her eyes. Blinking several times, she finally was able to look around, looking up at Albert and everyone else staring at her.
"Um... Hi."