Chapter 26-Victory and Defeat

Soshi was alone. The only thing that stood before him was the dark, menacing creature that had stolen everything from him. Although he had survived Koujin's power up to this point, it had still left him none the better. He was covered in countless scrapes, cuts and bruises. Blood was oozing out of every crevice in his body, and the rain had long ago seeped into the core of his being. He was quite a pitiful sight, but in his eyes was nothing but sheer determination and perseverance.

He stared down his adversary. Koujin was not the all-powerful, invincible adversary he had once been. It was clear he was fighting at his hardest. Though not quite as bad as Soshi, Koujin was in the worst condition Soshi had ever seen him in. His cloak was ripped to shreds, he was bleeding from places Soshi couldn't see. The Dark Lord was visibly tired, taking short, even breaths, the long battle having taken its toll on even him. However, he would not rest until every drop of the Sky Dragon's blood spilled out.

As the lightning crackled and the rain continued to pour, the two adversaries seemed to radiate a power far above that of the elements around them. Soshi gripped his golden sword tightly, trusting in its power. It ended here. It had to end here. There could no longer be pain, torment, and death. Soshi let out a soft growl. Koujin would pay. Though he tried to stop himself, he could feel his thoughts becoming more primal. Reason left him first. Care for his own safety left him. One by one, his rational thoughts disappeared, until all that was left was rage. Koujin kept still, just watching the Sky Dragon. Despite his condition, Koujin had that same, evil gleam in his eye. He let Soshi boil in his own thoughts. He could already see it. Soshi was beginning to bubble over. The dragon would attack soon. And he would be ready.

At once, Soshi charged at Koujin with blinding speed. His blade drawn, he delivered a strike with power unbeknownst to him before. Koujin defended with his own sword. Their blades locked for only a split second before Soshi jumped back. He flew and dove with his sword at Koujin's head. The Dark Lord diverted the blow to the side and clawed a painful slash to Soshi's exposed side. However, Soshi barely felt the pain; his entire body had gone numb from blind fury. He sharply spun around, his blade pointed once more at Koujin. The golden light pierced through the darkness as Koujin hopped back to dodge. Soshi kept swinging, his sword quickly becoming a blur. Koujin kept on the defensive, looking for an opening. However, Soshi attacked swiftly, leaving no room for Koujin to even recover from one attack before another was upon him.

Soshi couldn't keep this up forever, and both he and Koujin knew it. In his desperation, he had attacked without thinking. Koujin was on the defensive now, but as soon as he stopped attacking, even for a split second, Koujin would take the opportunity to regain the upper hand. Even as he thought this, Soshi could feel it. Sheer fatigue was setting in. His strikes were becoming slower and sloppier. He had to fight, though. He could not give up.

Soshi suddenly felt his feet slip out from under him. He fell forward as he tripped, landing face-down and the stony castle roof. Koujin held his sword and delivered a slash to Soshi's side. Again, the pain meant nothing. Soshi quickly got up and with a look of pure malice in his eyes, charged Koujin once more. Koujin sidestepped the swipe and shot a blast of purple energy at Soshi. The dragon took the blast full-force, the magic enveloping him, shaking his entire body.

"I…will not give up!" he thought to himself. He broke the spell, and to Koujin's surprise, he managed to cut him straight across the chest. The cut was not deep, but it was long. Soshi reared back and delivered another strike, crossing the first. Koujin fired another blast of energy, but Soshi's blade began glowing with a pure white light. The attack stunned Soshi for not the slightest bit of time before the Sky Dragon was upon him again. Wide-eyed at this newfound power, Koujin tried everything he could to block Soshi's relentless attack. With each swing, each attack, the blade glowed in intensity. Koujin's strikes, while doing physical damage to Soshi's body, did nothing to his mind at all. Soshi ha turned into a living zombie, unhurt by any attacks on his person, fueled by his rage and malice.

Soshi seemed to disappear and reappear right before Koujin's eyes. He was moving with blinding speed now, and attacking with blinding precision. Koujin could no longer predict his movements, but he could feel every attack. Each one was bringing him closer to death, and Soshi knew. Koujin could only stand there and watch as he was being ripped apart by Soshi's blade. Though the castle was stained a dark crimson from his blood, Soshi's blade remained as pure and white as ever. With a slash to the neck, Koujin fell, gripping his throat. He looked down. There, pierced through his chest, was Soshi's blade, gleaming white against his pure darkness. As he turned around, he saw Soshi, still gripping the handle. He stared, unblinking, not even breathing, only stared down at Koujin's crumpled figure with utmost hatred.

"You have lost." Soshi growled in a powerful, low voice. "Never again will you torment innocents. You are dead, forever to suffer in the depths of hell."

Koujin couldn't help but chuckle. A low, raspy chuckle that did not have a fraction of the evil once in him. "So what," he choked out. "You have won. I still succeeded in taking everything from you. What good is your life in this world? You are still remembered for the demon you are."

"You have not taken everything." Soshi said, no trace of emotion in his voice There is one who still lives. And that one is enough. As long as she continues to live, Plit will flourish. You, however, are dead, and I would rather die myself than to see you take another breath." He finished coldly. With a cry powerful enough to kill a man itself, Soshi pushed the blade deeper and twisted it; like a key to a lock that sealed Koujin's fate. White light exploded from Koujin's body, blinding Soshi, washing away all the evil that surrounded him. The clouds dissipated, the rain stopped, the flood receded, and the clear night sky returned. When Soshi's sight returned, he saw nothing but the castle, clean and polished stone staring at him, as though nothing had ever happened. No trace of battle, not a single drop of blood. Slowly, he fell to his knees, then to all fours, overwhelmed at the magnitude of what he had done, what he had accomplished. He had pulled it together. He had saved Plit.

With a mighty BOOM the castle roof door opened. Soshi barely noticed when multiple figures emerged. At once he looked up and was surrounded by the figures of Kaller, Yoshi, Toukee, and even Princess Peach and Sgt. Strobel.

Soshi's eyes widened. "You survived? How?" Kaller gave a short laugh. "Never underestimate the power of my crew, Soshi." He winked. Yoshi, and Sgt. Strobel sat down beside Yoshi, the latter wrapping an arm around him. "Are you all right?" she asked gingerly.

Soshi looked at her and smiled as though it were a joke. It was a sad, lonely smile. He looked down at his battered body. Even as he did so, he felt excruciating pain course through every fiber of his being. He had won, but Koujin's attacks were finally taking their toll. "No." he replied. "I'm dead." The smile remained on his face.

Sgt. Strobel's eyes widened. "No, you're not." She said quickly. "Kaller! Toukee! Go get help! The paramedics! The ER team! Anyone! Just go quickly!" She yelled frantically. As they left, she produced a small spray canister of sterilizing liquid and began spraying it on Soshi's wounds.

"It's no use." Soshi said, putting his hand on hers. "I'm already dead." He looked at Peach, then at the military officer. "Peach…and Rena-er, Sergeant. Strobel." He corrected himself. He looked at Yoshi who was silent and looked genuinely worried. "Yoshi. All of you…" he trailed off, before finding his voice again. "Rena, I…" he stopped. He couldn't say it. Not even now. "Thank you. All of you." He finished.

Yoshi wasn't convinced. "No." He echoed. "We'll take care of you. You'll be fine. Just hold on."

Sgt. Strobel nodded. "And if you're worried about not having anything to come back to, we can get you a position here, in the military. Why, with what you did, you'll be a captain in no time!" She laughed a dry, awkward laugh that seemed completely out of place.

Soshi smiled. He knew they were only trying to help, but you can never give help to someone who doesn't want it.

Kaller and Toukee returned with a handful of Toad paramedics. They tried to lift Soshi off the ground, but Soshi refused to budge. Everyone started to help, but Soshi refused to accept it. He only stared at each and every one of the faces around him. "Thank you." He repeated. He finally allowed himself to be carried down into the castle after he was sure it would be too late. As the shining walls of Peach's Castle whirred by him, he couldn't help but laugh to himself. He had accomplished the impossible, but this was the end. As he was carried out into the night sky once more, as he was being loaded onto the stretcher which was to be his deathbed, he looked again at his friends. "Thank you." He repeated once more. As he looked into the sky, he could swear he saw a smiling pair of dragons, one white and one red, looking down on him. He closed his eyes and smiled. He would soon see them again.