Disclaimer's Notes: A few things in this Chapter will refer to a "Sting" developed game called Yggdra Union. I will say no further at the risk of making spoilers...

Mitchel kept his brisk pacing all the way until he arrived to the formerly abandoned farm.

Once there, he quickly discovered that the fog was far too overwhelming for him to see the entire farmland clearly.

"Okay, this sucks. At least I still remember the layout of this place on my last visit. I believe the barn was left of here, and the old home was right. There's a chance she might be tending the animals despite all of this fog. Okay, left!!"

Mitchel rushed off again towards the left, where he recalled the barn was located. After he made out the barn well, he carefully searched it until he found the doors. He took a few steps towards the entrance until a feeling of dread froze him.

"This evil intent feels so close… it must be attracted to this specific area for some reason… but why? Does it want to use the new farmer in some way? Or could it be---"

Mitchel pushed the door open. Inside, there was a suspicious lack of barn animals. However, in one of the stables, curled up into a ball, was a blonde young woman with aquamarine eyes. She wore jean suspenders over a checkered red shirt.

"….O-outside…. Th-the outside…. S-s-scary…" she shivered in a panic.

"Hey!" Mitchel cried out.

The frightened girl lifted her head slightly to see her new visitor, only to hide it again.

"..G-GO AWAY!... y-you….y-you came from the outside…." She uttered.

"No! I'm fine!" Mitchel cried. "I'm here to help out! Honest!"

The young girl slowly lifted her head again.

"Y-you… you're not from around here…" she said quietly.

"Yeah, that's right. So, uh… can you tell me what's going on around here?" Mitchel asked.

The girl shook violently. "…h-horrible… th-the villagers….. the crazed girls… i-it's…"

"It's what?! Do you know what's causing this?" Mitchel demanded.

The panicked girl suddenly broke out into tears. "N-N-NO!!! THEY'RE OUT TO GET ME!!!"

The curious Craftknight slowly made his way to the frightened girl.

"Who?" he asked again in softer voice.

"….t-they're trying to get at me…. for being with the guys…. For interfering with their lives… but I swear... ah… I d-didn't…"

The frightened blonde became silent as she stared off into space in a nightmarish daze.

Mitchel thought to himself. "She must've tried to confront the girls in their altered states. I suppose she was good friends with all of them, and she's confused their frenzied actions with jealousy. I'm not sure I can say the same for Elli, though…"

Again, the young Craftknight approached ever closer.

"Don't worry. You don't have to worry anymore" Mitchel said.

But the girl turned away.

"Trust me. You'll be fine. I'm here to help you." He assured her.

Somehow, this got her attention. The young girl slowly turned around.

Mitchel nodded. "Let's get you out of this place until we can return it to normal, okay?" he offered.

The frightened girl slowly stretched out an arm.

"Good. Now let's find you somewhere safe to stay." Mitchel said.

He then reached out his right hand to take hers, but right before he made contact, a surge of malevolent energy flowed into his consciousness.

"Wh-what?!" Mitchel thought.

Instinctively, the young Craftknight leapt back and stared at the young girl while pointing his sword at her.

"YOU!" he shouted.

"Wh…what are you doing?" the young girl cried. "I-I thought you said you'd help me…"

"I was wondering why this area simply reeked of evil! I thought the source was hidding out, but I guess it's been right under my nose all this time!" he growled.

The whimpering girl covered her head an wept hard.

"Wh-why?! Why are you doing this? N-no! N-not again!" she cried. "You said you'd help me!"

"I never made any promises…" Mitchel uttered in a low voice.

The helpless girl could only whimper as the Craftknight approached with his burning blade drawn.

"…n-not again… n-n-not again… n-not again… NO!" the girl cried.

"Stop it! Do away with your disguise, wretch!" Mitchel shouted furiously.

But she was still huddled up in sheer terror. Her eyes were moist with tears.

"Fine… if you want to make this easy on me, then I'll be happy to oblige." Mitchel scoffed.

The vengeful Craftknight held out his sword right above him his head for a decisive blow.

"Be gone…" Mitchel uttered in a cruel voice.

He then struck down at full force with his burning weapon.

For a moment, the blackened air echoed with the piercing scream of the frightened girl…

...however, when the blade finally made contact, it connected instead with a shining golden blade.

"…I see… you will not be swayed so easily…" the girl uttered in a cool voice.

The formerly frightened girl pushed away Mitchel's sword with one strike, then leapt back with her own blade ready.

"Cut the crap already! WHO ARE YOU?!" Mitchel demanded.

The mysterious girl chuckled to herself in amusement.

"I see… I suppose it would be a waste to carry on this "innocent farm girl" disguise.." she said to herself.

She then snapped her finger.

Her old farm attire was immediately replaced with white robes partially covered by a black cloak.

"Allow me to offer a more proper introduction. My name is Corena Clarine Artwaltz, the Witch Princess of the West." She announced.

"And I'm Mitchel Blaze, the newly appointed Craftlord of Iron!" Mitchel exchanged.

The young girl laughed in further amusement. "A whelp like you, a new Craftlord? Lyndbaum must be desperate in this current age to allow a pathetic joke like this." She mocked.

"Don't you dare insult my teachings!" Mitchel shouted.

Corena shook her head. "That is of little importance to me. What matters to me right now is that I wipe you off the face of this world for good."

The confident Witch Princess remained upright with golden sword in hand, while Mitchel stood by, trembling with rage.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO EVERYONE?!" Mitchel demanded.

"Hmm…. Good question." Corena mused. "After befriending the mortals of this town, I simply put a powerful dark curse on its place and let nature take its course. Dark energies seem to have different affects on people. I suppose these energies deemed most of these beings unworthy of existence along with that know-it-all Harvest Goddess. The rest were simply left to be played with at the Dark Energies' mercy."

Mitchel trembled. "So that's why…" he thought to himself.

"Well, I'm sure you already know what happened to all the girls, but as for all my boy toys that remained?" Corena teased.

She then clapped her hands to bring more light into the barn, and pointed to Mitchel's left.

The craftknight gazed in horror as he saw Cliff, Gray, Rick, Doctor Trent, and even Kai petrified in statues.

"They make nice decorations, don't you think?" Corena smirked.

Mitchel growled bitterly at Corena's amusement.

"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!!!!" he threatened madly.

"I think not!" Corena replied. "I have so much going for me around here. There's no way that I will just let you come and banish me from this precious land."

"What are you talking about?" Mitchel aksed.

"This very place… your beloved Mineral Town… happens to be a focal point of strong emotions… the kind that kind endows me with great power… the kind that nourishes THIS…" Corena said while proudly displaying her golden sword.

"Wh-what is that?" Mitchel uttered quietly.

His eyes widened in shock as he felt pure malice pouring into it.

An ominous orchestra filled the barn as the Witch Princess stroked her shining sword.

"…The Gran Centurio… a "sacred" blade crafted in the hands of a fallen angel long ago… its power was said to crush entire kingdoms in its time. The source of its power is quite interesting, actually." She explained.

She then gave a wave of the sword, causing its malevolent aura to be visible.

"Malice, Strife, Pain and Suffering... so much empowers this magnificent blade. But I myself have also worked to offer it the fascinating power of Lust. I must say, it's done wonders…" Corena smirked.

The malevolent sword started to glow wildly, while Corena watched with glee.

"Do you know, Sir Craftknight, of the "observers" of this world?" Corena asked.

"What? Do you speak of gods?" Mitchel asked.

Corena shook her head. "Not exactly… but they seem to hold enough influence over this place to affect everything around us. It is their wishes that move this world, and I have discovered that it is here that these wishes are concentrated. And do you know why? It is because these wishes yearn to touch the young men and women who themselves harbor yearnings of love…"

"So… your curse… was made for them…" Mitchel reasoned.

"And to think that my brilliant curse was empowered by these wishes! Resentment has twisted those girls into their pitiful states, while at the same time drained life and flesh from those former men! Yes… the hopes and dreams of these observers… and their undying lust… such MAGNIFICENT power, don't you think?!"

A violent glint appeared in Corena's eyes. Her power was steadily increasing substantially as the golden sword overflowed with dark energy.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!"

Thunder crashed as Corena's laughter echoed throughout Mineral Town.

"I don't care what you think influences this world! It won't affect the outcome of our battle! I'm going to defeat you, understand?" Mitchel proclaimed.

Cornea laughed upon hearing this. "I wouldn't count such things as trivial, Sir Craftknihgt. These dark desires have manifested me to use this power. What's not to say that you're a manifestation of some fantasy as well?"

"SHUT UP!"

In a flash, the two fighters clashed swords once more. Shortly after, Corena forced back Mitchel and went in for retaliation. The Craftknight was forced to block many strikes as Corena continually alternated the direction of her attack. Eventually, Mitchel found an opening and parried one of Corena's strikes, forcing her into the defensive. The Witch Princess was far from discouraged, though.

"So you happen to have decent fighting skills, Sir Craftknight. What makes you think you're a match for my magic?" Corena taunted.

"I won't let you have that chance!" Mitchel retorted as he went in on the offensive.

The Craftknight's assault proved to be more furious than Corena's previous attack, but the confident Witch Princess remained composed and countered each strike with ease. Sometime during Mitchel's string of swings, Corena got under wing strike and swiftly got behind her adversary, coming back with a ruthless counterstrike. But Mitchel read the attack and avoided accordingly.

The two combatants were forced to exchanged strikes once more, with neither gaining a truly overwhelming advantage over the other. Mitchel looked desperate and determined to win, while Corena retained her usual confident sneer.

"You lack true power!" Corena taunted.

Mitchel simply responded with a thrust to the face, which Corena easily blocked. She then raised her free hand and repelled him with a burst of magic.

"Come, Sir Craftknight. Are you confident enough to stand against me with the power of magic at my disposal?" Corena asked.

Mitchel grinned. "I think I'll manage by myself." He said with some confidence.

"Hm… by yourself? I'm pretty sure your Craftknights have a Guardian Beast to serve you…" Corena mentioned.

Mitchel started to rub his head with an embarrassed expression. "Actually, I left Arno with Lady Lynn and the folks back at Neo Wystern. But I believe I still have a few tricks to use!"

"If you say so. Frankly, you're just making this much easier for me." Corena taunted.

The entire barn soon darkened, allowing Corena to slip away. Mitchel tried to chase after her, but it was no use.

"Where is she?" Mitchel cried. "The evil aura's too well-spread out to sense her…"

While Mitchel looked around frantically to find his adversary, an ominous voice echoed around the barn.

"O sorceress clad in the flames of hell…

Let thy fiery incantation bear its fangs—

Flame…"

Mitchel suddenly heard rumbling from above. He looked up and saw a massive ball of fire. With this awareness of impending danger, Mitchel ran as fast as he could to escape its radius. After beginning its descent, the Craftknight resorted to diving out of the way. The great ball of fire exploded upon ground impact, leaving smoldering ash where it hit, but miraculously, the entire barn remained undamaged along with the fast-acting Mitchel.

"Hmm… that didn't work? Okay, fine. I have more spells to try out." Corena's omnipresent voice taunted.

Once again, her commanding voice filled the barn with chanting while Mitchel was still out in the open.

"O Coffin of ice, sealing away anguish..

Invite death with thy bitter eulogy---

Blizzard…"

This time, a howling wind roared within the barn, soon followed up with violent shards of ice piercing the air. Mitchel could do nothing as the shards tore through his jean jacket and straight into his flesh. A cry of pain soon rendered the air as well.

The sound of applause echoed through.

"I'm amazed. You actually lived through that one? Well, no worries. I still have so many spells left to use, but you know what? Since you're a special little Craftknight, how about I honor you with showing you the power of my "sacred sword"?" Corena's voice boomed.

Suddenly, a blinding light enveloped the barn for a brief moment. At the time, Mitchel had to shield his eyes from being affected.

"Alright, fine. I can't just look around aimlessly this time. This has to be my chacne." Mitchel thought.

"Oh shepherd with early body and heavenly Soul…"

This time, a single golden line shone from within the darkness.

"That's it!" Mitchel thought to himself as he positioned himself.

"Strike down evil with holy l- ugh!"

Corena's exposed body was dealt a harsh blow with a slicing gale.

"Ha! Shouldn't those be MY Lines?" Mitchel retorted as he rushed towards his opponent.

Mitchel then leapt mid-sprint to deal a fatal strike from above; however, Corena recovered just in time and blocked with her swords.

For awhile, their blades remained locked in a grueling struggle with neither giving way. Mitchel tried to force Corena onto the ground while she herself tried to push back the vicious Craftknight.

However, the tenacious Witch Princess managed to pull through and and knock away Mitchel's sword.

"That's it… you're mine…" Corena growled furiously.

The light energy from her previous incantation still enveloped her golden sword. Corena rose it high above her head, ready to strike with a vengeance.

"STRIKE DOWN EVIL WITH HOLY LIGHT!!!"

Corena unleashed a massive wave of light energy towards Mitch's direction. With this power slightly uncontained, it proceeded to tear through the barn's roof until it suddenly dissipated.

With the energy released by her untamed emotion, Corena was left thoroughly exausted, but there was no Mitchel left in sight. The once self-assured Witch Princess was left with feelings of dread.

"…wh-where…where is he?" she uttered in the same fearful tone as when she was still in her disguise.

Her weary body trembled as it tried to remain standing.

"WHERE IS HE?!" she shouted.

With no sign of another presence around, Corena fell on both knees. Her breathing labored as she tried to calm her body.

"No…. I won't loose… I CAN'T loose… the power of desires still seeps through me this very second… and with this almighty sword in hand as well… I'm invincible…" she thought in a desperate act to convince herself.

For a long time, Corena was left all alone in the darkness with her labored breathing beeing the only sound. The Witch Princess still kept a wary eye around, dissatisfied the lack of evidence supporting her foe's defeat.

Gradually, her labored breaths grew heavier and heavier by the second, until it seemed to echo. Despite her time of solitude, Corena still not rest.

"Wait a minute… did that sound like an extra set of breaths? No.. but that means…"

Corena quickly picked herself up with sword in hand and swung furiously behind her, but it was too late.

Her blackened heart was already pierced by the burning sword crafted by Mitchel's own hands.

"…Burn in the flames of Judgment…" Mitchel stated coolly.

Struggling to live on, Corena let out a few gasping breaths.

"N-No….Uh…Ugh…I… Uh…UHWAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

Her scream once again tore through the air as her body was quickly enveloped up by flame. In this gruesome process, the cursed Gran Centurio fell from her grasp, and shattered into countless golden pieces.

Afterwards, Mitchel swung his trusted blade in a high horizontal arc and posed dramatically.

"Judgment has been passed..." he proclaimed with a smirk.

He then plunged his blade into the floor and gasped for breath with a look of relief.

"Man, I always wanted to say that…" he said with a goofy smile.

With Corena Clarine Artwaltz finally vanquished, the darkness faded, and light finally shone on peaceful Mineral Town once again.

One by one, the villagers were revived by the Goddess Pond.

At the same time, the young ladies were quickly restored their sanity.

At the Poultry Farm, little Popuri awoke with her house sustaining considerable damage.

"Uh… what happened here? Did I leave the window open during a storm again?" Popuri thought with a moan.

She quickly shook off her shock and went to work on fixing the house.

"Mom's going to be mad, and I know for sure that Rick's going to yell at me…" she groaned.

At the local Inn, Ann returned to her usual state with a broom in her hand, with the Inn thoroughly cleaned.

"Wow. Neat. I sleep-cleaned or something!" Ann creid with pleasure.

Unfortunatley, her optimism was dashed when she noticed a hole through the door. She was left confused and speechless upon this discovery.

At the Library, poor Mary returned with books strewn about.

"Oh no… now I'll have to arrange them all over again." Mary pouted. "And just when I finally got them in proper Alphabetical Order with the Dewey Decimal System!"

Before she got to work, she noticed a small knife by her desk and inspected it curiously.

"Hmm… what's this doing here?" she asked aloud.

Inside the Home Quarters of the Supermarket, Karen's face was bright red as she glared at her glamorous makeover in a mirror.

"….Uh… wh-what the hell is this? No.. no way.. there's just no way I would be tricked into wearing this gaudy getup… not even if I was drunk several times over…"

The confused girl was left twitching as she tried to find a reason for her situation.

Finally, at the the Hospital, Elli gazed curiously at the instrument of death she was coddling only a mere minutes ago.

"Hmm… what am I doing with this thing? Isn't it a bit dangerous?" she asked herself.

The innocent nurse thought about it for a few minutes until she reached a rationale.

"Oh, I know! This looks like one of Claire's tools that she uses on the farm! I guess she entrusted it to me while she was busy with something! Although, I'm a bit confused as to why she left it with me instead of with Gray, with him being a blacksmith and all…"

Elli simply shrugged, preferring that such a thought should be left unanswered.

And so Elli hoisted up the shining scythe and cheerfully walked towards the farm, black Chinese dress and all, until she REALIZED the black she was wearing.

"…Eh… was there a special occasion I was formally aware of?" Elli asked herself.

Back at the Barn, the former statues of Mineral Town's Bachelors returned to their states of flesh and fabric.

All of them were greeted by the sight of a slightly destroyed barn and an tired Craftknight.

"What sorta catastrophe happened here?" the spectacled Rick asked aloud.

"Huh… this place has seen some damage." Gray noted coolly.

"Ugh… I feel like my time around here has been long overdue!" Kai moaned as he rubbed his bandana-covered head.

"Wait… is this Claire's barn?" Cliff asked as he looked around.

Doctor Trent blinked in surprise. "Wait… Mitchel?" he asked in a panic.

The weary Craftknight took the confused Doctor aside while leaving the others to wonder.

"Er… hello, Doctor! No time no see!" Mitchel greeted uneasily.

"But… what are you doing here? Didn't you leave some time ago on a journey to become a Craftknight?" Doctor Trent asked.

Mitchel nodded enthusiastically. "Yup. But I came back today to spread the good news of my success. Heck, I already made myself the ideal sword right here!"

Mitchel held out his Hellcat blade proudly to his old friend.

"Hmmm… interesting craftsmanship." Doctor Trent uttered aloud. "I can see it's enchanted with fire as well. I suppose this means you finally have that flaming sword you always wanted, huh?"

Mitchel nodded again. "And surprisingly, that's not the most the exciting part. Apparently, the one of the former Craftlords disappeared some time ago, so I was given the chance to earn that title, and now you're looking at the new Craftlord of Iron!" he said with a grin.

"Really… that's quite some feat. It must've been tough." Doctor Trent relied.

"Well, yeah! I had to go through strenuous training, a bunch of grueling tournaments, a few seemingly-endless dungeons, and even some vicious legendary beasts! Do you know how many times I nearly passed out when my life was in danger?" Mitchel complained.

"It sounds like you have quite a few tales to tell to the villagers." Doctor Trent grinned. "Welcome back, dear friend."

"Yeah, well… let's get me back to the Clinic so I can rest a bit. I'm pooped!" Mitchel exclaimed.

"Interesting point." Doctor Trent curiously. "By the way, do you happen to know what went on here? It's like this place went through a battle!"

Mitchel froze on the spot. He wasn't sure if the Doctor or anybody else was ready to hear how the newly appointed Craftlord of Iron defeated their magic-endowed farmer in mortal combat after having to deal with crazed versions of the ladies.

"Uh… well… that's… a good question! Anyway, how about we gather the people around Rose Square so I can have a proper welcoming party?" Mitchel quickly suggested.

Doctor Trent nodded. "Yes, that would be most appropriate right now. The townsfolk have been speaking much about you since your departure for Neo Wystern. Well, except for Ann because we're well aware of your… ahem… particular hatred for one another."

"Alright then! Everybody to Town Square then!" Mitchel exclaimed.

The other bachelors turned towards the Craftknight, acting just as lost and curious as Doctor Trent was.

"Mitchel?" They all said in unison.

"Just do as he says." Doctor Trent ordered coolly.

The guys all shrugged and decided obey the Doctor.

So then everyone started heading off towards the Rose Square in honor of Mitchel's return, but the young Craftknight held back Doctor Trent for one last comment.

"Yes, what is it?" Doctor Trent asked.

Mitchel had a wide grin on his face, and decided to pat his friend on the back.

"I have a feeling you'll be in for a treat when you see your trusted nurse again." He said with amusement before running off to catch up to the others.

Doctor Trent glared at Mitchel's back in confusion.

"….Is he talking about Elli?" Doctor Trent thought to himself.

For a moment, the Doctor pondered over Mitchel's cryptic message, but he quickly disregarded it so as not to hold back Mitchel's Welcoming Party.

Author's Notes: Yeah… that got a little serious in the beginning. Interesting stuff.

Ha ha! Mitchel ripped off some of Ledah's lines from Riviera: The Promised Land video game! But hey! You have to admit, Ledah was awesome...


::reads over previous chapter::

Crap. After portraying Karen an Elli in those clothes, I'm tempted to do fanart based on this fic now...

Karen looking that way actually has its odd sort of appeal.

And as for Elli? I can imagine her sinister expressions with a scythe to be quite priceless… and attractive, too. AHHH!!!

As for the last Chapter? (Wait, there's more?) Uh… it's just more pointless banter to create the atmosphere for a "happy ending", since that's where this sword is obviously heading towards. Seriously, this is supposed to end on a happy note. No, the sword won't magically reassemble itself like one of those "The End?" sort of moments. Another note is… it's going to be sort of a Song fic, in a sense that characters will sing a song, but it's not really to a particular moment like a music video.

Anyway, I do hope this story gave you fans a lot to think about… refer back to the words of Corena, and you should understand…

And once again, I owe Rhianwen a bit of thanks for sparking this concept.

It's just the oddest things than inspire me, you know? Even if it's a single thought or line…