Lucky Souls

Author's Prelude: Eh, slight confusion in the last chapter. The flashback is over, should've just named Chapter 2 the flashback chapter. Pretty much no flashbacks ever again if I can help it.

Chapter 3: To Die Is Natural, To Live Is Unusual

Wet, everything felt wet suddenly. That flighty feeling one experiences when submerged in water suddenly took her over, although, she could tell she was on land, that or the shallowest pool of water ever conceived. Her mind ached, her body ached, and it felt like she had been chewed, eaten, and spit back up. And she couldn't shake that feeling, that warm feeling in her heart, that nostalgic, loving feeling.

Opening an eye to the world, the girl sat up slowly, her muscles barely heeding her commands as she summoned all of her strength just to sit up, at least to find out where she was, what had happened, for she could scarcely remember.

She slowly stumbled to her feet, feeling each bone pop and crack back into place as she did so, and staring to the ground, the girl noticed she had been laying in a small pool of water, this was that soggy feeling, she figured.

She pressed her mind to recover any information about what had happened, anything, but she couldn't remember, all she could recall was light all around, golden light seeping through her very being, devouring her whole, that's all she could see, and hear.

Her vision was foggy, and her ears still rung, but she managed to take several wobbly steps, one hand placed against a nearby wall for support, she made her way out of the small sewer-like tunnel she was in, and into the daylight, or as much as it could be called daylight, overcast by dark, looming clouds, threatening to strike with rain and storms at any moment.

She surveyed the area; it was a small fortress, near and far as she could tell. In the distance she saw several towers and advantage points connecting to the area, likely defensive positions should a siege ever occur, but if one did, she knew no army could defend a small place like this.

Turning her head slightly, she felt warmness, but it was different from the one the golden light had offered her, it was steamy, burning almost. She noticed a fire, and around the fire, three equally soggy, dreary looking girls. It was right then, the girl snapped out of her trance, she became fully aware of her surroundings, and her friends, who could do nothing but stare at her as she made her way over to them, plopping onto the ground next to the fire they made.

"Hey." The girl quietly noted, a tender smile present on her face, but no such expressions on her friends.

"Konata." Her friend Kagami quietly noted, not even trying to hide the anger that was no doubt eating her alive at the moment.

Rubbing the back of her neck stiffly, Konata peered back and forth between her three companions. She couldn't remember what happened, the last thing she remembered was talking to that ball of light, the one that still felt like it had a presence over her, like it was still a part of her. Konata could tell she messed up; her friends weren't in any mood to talk to her, what had she done? She couldn't even recall, but she didn't need to, as her tsundere would be happy to remind her.

"So, Konata. What exactly happened back there?" Kagami said in a dull whisper, her eyes turning to her friend in a scowl, looking like she was ready to beat the bluenette into the dirt at any moment.

When she attempted to speak, Konata found she couldn't. Her voice locked itself into the back of her throat, and she had no real response to give, she didn't even know. She had put them all in danger, and she didn't even know why, and that's what tortured her the most, what made her just want to turn tail and go home, save her friends before she got them into any more danger.

"I don't know." Konata said almost inaudibly, she felt terrible, she knew this was her fault, she knew everything that they would ever get into in these lands would be her fault, because they wouldn't even be here if it weren't for her, they'd be back at home living out their lives normally, and peacefully.

"You don't know?" Kagami grumbled, standing up slowly and pacing back and forth, doing everything possible to try and control her anger, anything so she wouldn't just beat her friend half to death. She couldn't manage it, she needed to let off some steam, she had to, and bottling it all up wasn't an option. "I'll bet you don't. No…no, you don't know anything, do you?" Kagami angrily said as she took a step closer to her friend, to which the bluenette barely reacted to, her eyes still fixated on the makeshift campfire in front of them.

"O-onee-chan, it isn't Kona-Chan's fault…" Tsukasa worriedly said, hoping to try and stop her twin before she exploded her anger onto the poor girl.

"What are you saying Tsukasa? It is her fault! Everything is her fault! When something bad happens, it's always because of something she did!" Kagami roared, her voice growing deeper as she wretched every bit of swelled up anger she held at the moment.

Continuing her pacing, Kagami angrily kicked a rock on the ground, the small stone flying into a nearby wall with a clack. She couldn't believe this, she didn't even believe she was here, that once again, that unbelievable, unreliable, unmanageable little demon she called a friend, had done it again, had put them into a situation they couldn't just weasel themselves out of.

"You don't even have a plan, do you? You don't even know if he's really here, do you! Admit it!" Kagami screamed as loud as she could, bending down and grasping the bluenette's collar in her first, shaking the girl wildly. "You put us all in danger with your stupidity, Konata!" She screeched once more with a violent shake, releasing her friends' collar roughly and throwing her hands into the air in disbelief.

"Kagami-San, I don't think you're being very fair. Why don't we let Izumi-San explain her side of it?" Miyuki suggested, only earning a gruff laugh from the twin-tailed girl, and several mumbles of curses under her lips as she sat down next to the fire, turning her full attention towards Konata.

"Alright, we'll do that. So, tell us Konata, what the hell were you thinking?" Kagami tried to say as humanly nice as possible, her grin coming off as slightly more deranged than sincere, however.

Staring at her friends quietly, Konata could do nothing but sigh. She couldn't come up with another answer like, I don't know, or I guess we'll see, she had to tell them everything. She couldn't keep things from her friends anymore, not if they were going to get this thing done, not if they were going to save him.

"When the ball of light spoke to me, it felt familiar." Konata began, her eyes drifting away from her friends and settling on the fire in front of her. "It felt…nostalgic almost, like I had felt the aura it gave off somewhere before…" Konata continued, her eyes slowly becoming duller as she continued. "It felt like my dad." She finished, a weary smile coming onto her face as she turned back to her friends, looking like she was about to break down in tears.

Kagami could only stare; she wanted to yell again, she really did. She'd like nothing more than to punch the girl in the face, call her an idiot, pick her up, and then do it all over again. But that weary, heart-broken face the girl gave her was too much. She should've known out of all them, the one with the most emotional strain right now would be her tiny companion, not her, not her sister, not Miyuki, nobody but the girl.

The tsundere resigned her anger with a sigh, she couldn't stay mad at Konata, or at least not for long, no matter what mess the girl had gotten them into, she could always trust that Konata would get them out of it somehow. She stood up slowly, and making her way over to her friend, plopped down next to the girl, wrapping an arm around her shoulder tenderly and resting a cheek upon her blue little head.

"We'll find him. Don't worry." She gently reassured, even though she could do nothing to reassure herself that they would find him, she would do everything to make sure the bluenette didn't lose her spirits.

Even though the cuddled girl could do nothing but appreciate her friends' efforts to cheer her up, her tendencies for situations such as this couldn't be quelled, even in such a serious moment. "So dere-dere…" Konata whispered, hoping for a little rile, but earning none, as her friend still just gently held her, eyes closed and oblivious to the world.

Wherever Kagami was, she didn't know, she didn't care. Suddenly the impending doom all around her in this damned kingdom seemed to fade away, and she was exactly where she needed to be, in the arms of the one she…

"Yo! Kagami? Living things need to breathe! Dying here! Hello!" Konata squirmed as she attempted to release herself from the iron lock grip her friend now had placed around her, and at the sound of coughing, Kagami snapped herself back to the real world, unfolding the arms she now had firmly wrapped around her tiny companion.

"S-Sorry! I was just…sorry." Kagami sheepishly replied, only earning hacking and coughing in response as the bluenette over-dramatically collapsed to the ground and rolled around.

Finishing her little schpeal, Konata sat up with a grin, placing a hand tenderly to her tsunderes with a chuckle. "Thanks Kagamin, I needed that." She gently said to her friend, but before the lilac-haired girl could respond, the bluenette stood up quickly, making her way slightly in the distance, checking at the surroundings to see if anything was familiar, and just as she thought, it certainly wasn't.

"So, where are we anyway?" Konata asked with hands behind her head, not really expecting any of her friends to know, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"I've been trying to figure that out for awhile Izumi-San." Miyuki sounded, retrieving the archaic map from her pack and studying it once more, her hands running over the musty surface gently. "But that's the thing; we were around the ending point of the Morrid Forests, but ever since yesterday…when that light engulfed us…" Miyuki slowly sounded out, as if she was still trying to believe it herself. "…I have no idea where we could be, this area doesn't even seem to be on the map before the fog set in, and it certainly couldn't have been built after." Miyuki puzzled as she attempted to solve the mini mystery the girls found themselves in, pressing her glasses to her nose firmly in an attempt to clear her mind.

Looking to the sky, Konata thought about what the orb of light had spoke to her about, the Old One, something about slumber, and they were somewhere in the middle of it, without a clue. She wanted to figure out what the orb was talking about, why it approached her, and what it all meant, but she couldn't let her selfish needs go before that of the group, she was being selfish enough by dragging them all along with her in the first place. She needed to focus on the now, and by doing that, she'd need a game plan.

"Well, why don't we go check out the area?" Konata asked with her back still turned to the group, earning a weary sigh from the twin-tailed girl.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right; we need to figure out where we are before we do anything." Kagami groaned as she stood up, her body still slightly aching and rusty.

The makeshift campsite was disassembled quickly enough, the supplies repacked, and the wills of the girls reaffirmed as they stared out at the new and more than likely dangerous land placed before them. Konata was at the lead of course, followed closely by Kagami and Miyuki, with Tsukasa taking the rear as always.

This world in the fog seemed so familiar to their own, but at the same time, it did not. This world had grass, and trees, animals, rain and shine, it had it all, but at the same time, it was different. There was a constant heaviness that one felt when in the fog, it loomed over them, it weighed down on them, and it ate away at them. The fog seeped into every pore on the body, and ones with weak minds and bodies could do nothing against it, nothing but surrender to the fog, and be consumed like the rest.

At first glance, many would consider these girls to be of weak mind and body, but appearances can be very deceiving. While young, these minds were among the strongest-willed, and while meek, these bodies were tough enough to harsh out the dangers these lands presented.

Off in their own worlds, the girls had barely noticed the moving presence in front of them, and stopping herself before it was too late, Konata quietly hushed her breathing, and placed her arms out in front of her to stop her friends from advancing. In front of them was a shuffling something, in fact, it was a person at first glance.

The girls stared at it for a moment, or at least most of them, the absent-minded girl at the rear had kept walking, right past her friends, and right into the field of vision of the man.

"Tsukasa!" Kagami yelled out, and that was all that was required for the man to become alert, and turning towards the girls, his face was revealed to them. His eyes were double back into his skull, almost like they were sucked inwards, and his jaw was cracked downwards, almost as if it had been dislocated, this man was no longer sane, he was without a soul.

Finally coming back to the world, the mumbling and stunned girl could do nothing as the soulless husk of a man drew his sword and raised it to the air, ready to chop the girl down the middle, but his efforts would be in vain, as this was a case of four on one.

A split second before the sword cleaved into the girl, two more blades made an x formation over her, blocking the advancing blades assault. Her eyes slowly quivering open, Tsukasa looked on both sides of her, noticing her sister and Konata defending her with all their might, trying their hardest to push the blade of the husk back.

"O-Onee chan! Kona-Chan!" Tsukasa smiled, only to be roughly yanked backwards by a pair of hands, belonging to their bespectacled friend.

"Are you alright?" Miyuki asked tenderly, earning a nervous yet happy nod from the girl, and directing her attention back to the husk, Miyuki calmed herself. "Izumi-San! Kagami-San! Move, quickly!" The girl called out, her two friends hearing her call and tearing their blades away from the husks, jumping on either side of the deranged man.

Reaching into her coat pocket in a flash, Miyuki pulled out a book that probably shouldn't have even been able to fit inside of the small holder, and flipping several pages, she placed her hand firmly onto desired one. "Forgive me!" Miyuki muttered, her hands suddenly becoming warmer by the second, until they felt as though they were on fire.

Before she knew it, her hands were glowing orange, and engulfed in flame, but she felt no pain, she only felt resolve. Placing her hand out in front of her, a large blast of fire suddenly shot from her palm, flying faster than a human eye could keep up with, and crashing hard onto the husk's chest, nearly blowing the man in two, sending his decayed bits and pieces flying every which way onto the hard muddy ground.

Feeling a bead of sweat run down her neckline, Miyuki conceived, finally releasing the breath she was holding and falling onto her knee, casting magic of any kind was rough on a person, but to an inexperienced individual, it took a physical toll on them, sacrificing their own life energy in trade for using the spells.

"Miyuki-Chan!" Tsukasa worriedly sounded, holding the wobbling girl steady and slowly pulling her to her feet.

"You okay?" Konata asked with a grin, knowing her friend had done well, and that something like that wouldn't be enough to get her down. She received only a gentle nod in response, and that was enough for her. "Good, onward!" Konata cheered, only to be roughly pulled back by the collar by her tsundere.

"Konata, get real! Miyuki, you sure you're okay?" Kagami asked, once again earning a tilted nod and a chuckle, which didn't make her feel any better about her friend, but she would have to trust the girl. Kagami knew about the deadly effects magic could have on the user, and the terrible price that one must pay in the end.

"Everyone, please, I'm fine. As Izumi-San says, it'll take more than that to stop me." Miyuki quoted with a chuckle, earning a thumbs up from her bluentte friend in response.

"If you're sure…" Kagami gently said, turning back to the mess and splatter on the ground that used to be something, something that was living. This wasn't their first encounter with things such as the husks since they had entered the fog, and they had all come to an agreement long before that these things were no longer people, and that they weren't killing anyone, that they weren't taking human lives. They resolved that this was in fact mercy they were placing upon these shells of former humans, and that upon their death; they could finally feel peace once more.

Finally wrenching her way out of her friends grip, Konata continued forward, sliding herself against the wall and checking onward, there was nothing, the coast was clear for now. "Clear!" She sounded, her friends right behind her, slowly making their way into a small building, which was likely one of many entrances to the small keep, and the dead end they were in was likely a defensive point should other ones be overrun by the enemy, or at least, that was its purpose.

The room they entered wasn't dark; it was brightly illuminated by a rather large hole in the roof for sunshine to make its way into, and by the torches that lined the walls. The keep was destroyed, by what, the girls didn't know, but it certainly wasn't in the same condition as before the fog had set in.

The wreckage wasn't what stunned the girls however, it was what lined the hallways, torn and scattered, decayed and rotting.

"A-Are they all dead…?" Tsukasa chimed in suddenly, her eyes steadily closing so she wouldn't have to look at this any longer, look at what the fog had done.

"Looks like." Konata quietly responded, her eyes surveying the bodies. Most of them were wearing soldier outfits, and were likely the knights that defended the keep, and they did so to their last breath. That isn't what stung the girls' hearts however; it was what was mixed in with the bodies of the soldiers, the corpses of civilians. Men and women who weren't even in the military, who probably couldn't even defend themselves when the fog hit their small keep, and next to them, even smaller bodies, and at this, a gag escaped one of the girls.

"I've had enough, let's keep moving!" Kagami said with a cough, trying to force the liquid that threatened to escape her throat back downwards, she needed to be used to things like this, for in Boletaria, it was commonplace.

"Right…" Konata responded just as quietly as before, and the girls made their way through the corpse-infested room, stepping over the bodies of people's husbands, people's wives, and people's children.

Slowly stepping over the corpses, without notice, one of them suddenly stirred behind the girls, and before they could react, gangly hands had wrapped around the leg of none other than Tsukasa, and her shrill shriek of terror echoed throughout the room, nearly causing the other girls to scream in response.

Turning her head quickly, Kagami pushed her friends out of the way and made her way to her sister, brushing past even her without a thought, and raising her sword over the head of the half-dead husk on the ground. She had no second thoughts about driving it into the beast, the sword piercing whatever was left of its heart, and in a moment, its hand slowly released her sister, and plopped lifeless onto the ground.

Tsukasa couldn't handle it, this was all too much for her, and she couldn't stop the hot steamy tears that now ran down her face. She couldn't take it, she hated this place, she hated everything about it, nothing would convince her that she didn't want to go home, and just give up, because she did, more than anything.

"Tsukasa, are you alright? Hey, talk to me here!" Kagami worriedly said as she shook her crying sister, checking over her leg and lower body to make sure there were no injuries, but that would be the least of the girl's worries.

"Uh, hey, guys…!" Konata chimed in, her eyes growing wide as she looked behind the twins and noticed one by one, as the corpses of the deceased, or thought to be deceased, slowly shambled to their feet, moans escaping each one as they did so.

"Give me a break!" Kagami screamed, grabbing a hand onto her trance-induced and sobbing sister and running as fast as she could, her friends right behind her. They could handle one, maybe even a few at a time, but they sure couldn't handle dozens of them at once, they had no choice but to make a hasty retreat.

Tsukasa's tears didn't stop as they ran their way up the nearby stairs, in fact, they intensified, she was a wreck now, but she couldn't help herself. She wasn't a warrior, she couldn't fight, and she certainly couldn't be the one to help her friends if they were in any sort of danger, what could she do? Nothing, as far as she was concerned, and she hated herself for it.

They reached the top of the stairs in a flash, but that didn't mean the legion of husks weren't still hot on their trail, they needed a plan and fast. Casting her eyes around the room, the girls bluenette leader looked for something, anything that would aid them in their time of need, and with a smile, she found it.

"Kagami! Help me over here!" Konata quickly said as she ran over to the object, the twin-tailed girl turning to Miyuki in assurance she would watch over her sister.

Making her way over to the girl, Kagami raised a brow, wondering just what was going on in her friend's mind. "And what exactly are you planning to do with this?" Kagami confusedly asked, earning only a chuckle from the excited girl.

"Just grab the other side, help me pull it in front of the staircase!" Konata said as she took one side of the large object, with her friend only resigning that whatever it was, she would have to believe in the girl, they didn't have a lot of options.

Staring down the object, Kagami had seen them many times before back home. They were used to defend keeps, and castles, and were often placed high up on the towering walls to stop advancing troops before they could siege said castle. It was long and sleek, with a hole in the front, and a fuse on the back, and all of it being carried by large wooden wheels.

Pressing the nose of the metal beast into the archway of the stairwell, Miyuki's eyes suddenly lit up at the sight of it, and her jaw slightly dropped.

"A cannon!" She confusedly asked as it placed next to her, and suddenly her hands were grasped in another smaller pair, their bluenette leader shaking them roughly.

"This is your part! Focus your magic into the cannon, then fire!" Konata cheered with a smile brimming to the top with courage, she was ready to do this, she knew they would survive in this place, especially she thought, if she always had brilliant ideas like this.

"B-But, Tsukasa…!" Miyuki tried to say, but was suddenly pulled away from the sobbing girl and placed behind the cannon, her hands on either side of the large object. Through her slightly fogged glasses, Miyuki saw the shadows of the husks, they were almost to the top of the stairs, and they would soon be upon them, she had no time for worry, she had to act, like her friends expected her to.

She closed her eyes gently, and cleared her mind, she let the magic take her over, allowed it a minute to completely consume her. "Magic is wrought by blood." Miyuki calmly said, almost in a trance. "Blood, is consumed by the life force." She continued casually, which to her friends, seemed odd as could be, they had never seen her like this before. "The life force nourishes the soul within me." She whispered to herself, feeling her hands grow hotter by the minute, and before she knew it, the entire cannon was glowing a light red, smoking hot and dangerous to touch for any who didn't know how. "And the soul within me, gives me strength!" Miyuki finished expertly, the fuse of the cannon was suddenly lit, no gunpowder, no cannon ball, it had just lit on its own, and was primed to fire.

An explosion of great force suddenly shot from the cannon, smacking Miyuki backwards by the sheer strength of it. The large ball of fire smashed into the staircase tower before them, consuming it in a raging blast and knocking the entire structure over, causing it to collapse into the ground below, and send the now burning and screaming husk legion with it.

Smoke filled the entire area, shadowing the girls and causing them to hack and shield their eyes from the searing and blinding mist that shrouded them. The only noises that Miyuki could hear as she steadily made her way to her feet was the crackling of fire, the crumbling of stone, and the screaming of the burning husks below them.

"Everyone!" Miyuki worriedly called out, earning no response. She didn't need one however, as before she could even react, she suddenly felt gentle arms wrapped around her, pulling her to the ground with a thud, and glancing around her, she saw her friends laughing and cheering.

"Miyuki! That was amazing!" Konata said with a laugh, sitting up and shaking her friend excitedly, she couldn't even contain how she felt even in a situation such as this.

"I'll say! How did you even do that?" Kagami asked with equal excitement, and as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't stop herself from saying it. "That was awesome!" She cheered, completely forgetting the danger they had just been in, and not even caring.

Tsukasa was the only one not in the pile laughing, but she felt it, she felt the happiness that poured from her friends as she watched them sheepishly. Her eyes had since stopped leaking, and her heart had stopped hurting. They could survive in this place, they could do it together. However, Tsukasa knew they wouldn't last long if she continued to act as she did, apprehensive towards everything, scared by every shadow and rat on the cold floor, she would have to be stronger, braver.

She approached her friends quietly, clearing her throat to stop their celebration, and it did, as they gazed upon the now tenderly smiling girl, who bowed to them as graciously as she could. "Thank you for saving us, Miyuki-Chan…and, I'm sorry." Tsukasa said as bravely as she could, trying to show just how sincere she was in her apology.

"Sorry? For what?" Miyuki innocently asked, but before Tsukasa could answer, her sister's arms were gently placed around her shaking frame.

"It's alright, Tsukasa. You don't have to be brave…I can be brave for you." Kagami resolved, but her sister only gently pushed off of her, shaking her head fiercely.

"No! I mean…no, onee-chan. You can't be brave for me; I need to be brave for myself. I won't let it happen again, I promise." Tsukasa resolved, continuing her bow from before, trying to lower her head as much as she could. She felt so lowly before her friends, who were fighting to survive while she cowered behind them. She couldn't allow herself to do this any longer, no, she wouldn't allow herself to.

"Not bad, Tsukasa." Konata suddenly sounded, and glancing up from her bow, she saw her bluenette friend winking, a firm thumbs up next to her grinning face, which earned gentle giggle from the younger twin. "There we go! Nobody wants to see a sad Tsukasa; it's bad for your health y'know!" Konata noted, earning a grumble from the older twin.

"Well, your weirdness aside…I'm proud of you, Tsukasa." Kagami gently said, placing a gentle kiss on her sister's forehead with a giggle, but immediately stopping herself when she heard the groans of the husks below.

Making their way to the smoldering crater now present in the keep, the girls peered over it and down to the ground below, amazingly, some of the husks had survived the blast, and were attempting to crawl up the wall, and although failing, it wouldn't be long until they figured out how to do it properly.

"We should keep moving. They'll catch up if we don't." Kagami sounded, earning no protests from her friends.

The girls made their way through the crumbled hallway of a room, which had no wall on one side, showing what one might consider a beautiful view of the castle, the setting sun, and the wilderness beyond. However tantalizing the scenery was to the eyes, it could do nothing but remind the girls of what a wonderful place Boletaria might have been before the fog had set in, and how it must've looked through the eyes of its people, before they had become monsters.

"Come on." Kagami motioned to her bluenette leader, who was staring out into the distance, thinking only of the warm presence still within her that would not leave her, not that she wanted it to anyway.

The girls were led across several walkways, each one filled with the bodies of soldiers, and each one look more crumbled and destroyed than the last. Konata looked at the men and women that lay across the ground on top of one another, some shielding others, some shielding themselves, some not even in one piece. She wondered what ran through their minds during their last moments, did they think of their family? Did they have any regrets? Were they young? Old? Did they have children to carry on their legacies? Honestly, she didn't want to know. She felt bad for them, yes, but she couldn't allow her pity for these damned souls to weigh down upon her.

The girls scaled ever higher in the keep, making their way up another large and winding circular stairway, which appeared to be the last. This would lead them to the top of the keep, and would give them a clear view for miles, one that would allow them to find out where they were, and if at all, how close they were to the Boletarian palace.

At the top of the stairs they were presented with one last walkway, lined once again, with corpses of soldiers, broken cannons and ballista, and dried blood. It seemed the higher they climbed, the more bodies there were, but what was strange, was that none of these bodies belonged to whatever demons assaulted this keep. The only corpses present were those of the defending army, their families, and the civilians.

"What happened to this place?" Konata suddenly sounded, growing ever more curious as they stared down at the keep before them, crumbled, burning and destroyed. "It doesn't even look like anything really attacked, almost as if they…" Her eyes suddenly shot open wide at the thought, and turning to her tsundere next to her, the girl wore a similar grim face.

"They did it to each other." Kagami whispered in disbelief, even though she knew it was the truth. "When one loses their soul, they go insane…they become violent, mindless." She continued, placing a hand over her heavy heart as she explained the extent of her knowledge on the subject, not that she was a proud bearer of said knowledge of anything.

"W-What?" Tsukasa worriedly said, scanning the bodies of the soldiers on the ground. "You mean…they all…even their families? And friends?" Tsukasa once again said, her voice now a light yell, and a soft lump forming inside of her throat.

She received no answer, and instead just decided that it would be best not to dwell on the subject. The very idea that someone could turn on the ones they loved in an instant, out of their minds, and do them harm, didn't even register within the poor girl, it was beyond her grasp.

"Something probably took their souls." Miyuki chimed in, the girls knowing quite well what she was trying to say. "A demon." She finished, earning several whimpers from Tsukasa, who despite saying she would be brave, couldn't help herself.

"Do you think it's still-" A roar was all the answer Konata needed, a moaning, wretched sound coming from the large barred wooden door at the end of the small pathway. The door was at least twenty feet high, and probably equal across. Whatever had weaseled its way into this castle, whatever had made its people turn on one another, was still alive, and was still hungry for souls.

"L-let's get out of here before it knows we're here!" Tsukasa mumbled as she grabbed onto her sister, her entire body shaking and shuddering.

"Good idea, I'm sure if we head out now we'll be long gone, and that freaky thing'll be none the wiser!" Konata pointed out with a smile, trying to reassure her friends.

Konata couldn't even believe she had opened her big mouth as she felt a rumbling behind her, and the sound of wood snapping and cracking, a sound which sent shivers down her body, that tensed her up completely. "Or not." Was all she could say with a sigh, she knew she was cursed with bad luck, how could this possibly get any worse?

"Ow…" Kagami whispered to herself, feeling a burning within her ankle, that same seeping feeling she had felt many times before. She couldn't help it, she had to live with it now, it was a part of her. "Agh…" The pain surged within her, causing her to drop onto her knee, a painful, hard cough suddenly wretched out of her throat, and saliva shot out in all directions from her mouth. Her eyes dampened from the pain in her foot, which was now spreading to her chest, she couldn't hear anymore, where was that ringing coming from? She didn't know, she glanced to her sides; Miyuki at her back, patting it gently as she coughed out whatever ailed her, and her precious sister at her side, worriedly trying to snap her older twin back into reality.

"I really to learn to shut up." Konata mumbled to herself as she saw her coughing and weakened friend, but she didn't have much time to worry about that, as before she knew it the gigantic door was suddenly split in two, the large pieces of timber flying off the sides of the castle and landing somewhere out of the girls field if vision.

What stepped out, she couldn't describe. It looked somewhat like an elephant, a creature she had read about in books that existed somewhere far off in the world, in the wilds. Its similarities to the creature were few, but they were noticeable. Its skin was a deep shade of gray, and was wrinkled and scarred. Its feet were just like the creature from the books, round like trees trunks, with toes that barely discerned themselves from the whole of it.

This is where the similarities ended, as this beast stood on two feet, and its arms, were those of a man, complete with five fingers, this was the only human like feature. Its body was bulbous, and fat, its large gut sticking outwards, caked in its own juices, stained in blood, and saliva.

Looking ever higher, Konata's heart stopped when her eyes met the beasts. The creature's face had only two features, at the top, at least a dozen yellow glowing eyes, and at its bottom, where a mouth should have been, an assortment of squid-like tentacles, which constantly squirmed and wiggled like worms.

On either side of its head, large ram-like horns, which extended down to its shoulders, and upon its back, the wings of a bat, not strong enough to even help the over-sized creature fly, they seemed utterly useless, but still menacing nonetheless.

"Woah…" Konata muttered, she had never seen anything like this before. This was no regular demon, that much was certain, it was in a league all its own, and it seemed to relish in this fact as it slowly made its way out of the doorway and into the blood red sunlight, drool seeping like a waterfall from its hidden jaws, placed behind a shield of tentacles.

The beast roared once more, its bellowing grumbles shaking the very ground at its feet. It eyed its prey, not as individuals, but as sustenance. It could no longer recognize if things were living or dead, or even separate, it could only see the things that gave off soul energy, and it could only think about how it needed them, how it needed more and more, and when it had consumed these souls? All it would think about was where it could find more, to achieve that same high, that same feeling it experienced when it brought the souls within itself.

"Not good…" Konata mumbled, her eyes following the beasts hand as it slowly arched it upwards, ready to strike it down like lightning upon the bluenette. She jumped forward, and the hand barely missed her. Crashing onto her stomach hard, she glanced upwards, now directly under the beast, she saw how large it really was. She couldn't be certain, but it must've been at least twenty feet tall.

The monster attempted to step directly on her as though she were an insect before it, but its movements were slow and sluggish, and she had ample time to roll out of the way as its foot came crashing down onto the ground. She crawled on all fours like a dog, squirming her way under the archway in between its legs and standing behind the beast.

She didn't have time to think, she had to try something, anything to stop it. She stabbed the beast with her sword, directly in its heel, which she thought might stop it, but it seemed to do nothing, nothing but make it angrier.

The monsters foot suddenly bucked backwards, and the bluenette had no time to react, its rough and person-sized surface hit her directly, sending her flying through the wreckage of the smashed door and onto the cold stone ground.

"Kona-Chan!" Tsukasa yelled out to her friend, only to be met with the glowing eyes of the monster, which now seemed focused on her.

The beast slowly heaved an inward breath, and roared once more, sending shock waves along the ground and causing the corpses littered upon it to suddenly take flight, flowing in all directions and crashing down upon one another, others falling off of the keep entirely and to the ground far below.

Tsukasa slowly opened her eyes to see that a shield had been placed in front of her, but not a normal one. This shield was made up of a golden light, and was placed across the entire length in front of the girls. Attached to it, was the groups ever ready to assist mage, Miyuki, who had just saved the girls lives. Had the shock wave of the roar connected, they could have been sent flying off of the keep and down to their doom, no one could survive such a fall.

Inside the chamber where the demon slept, Konata stirred slightly on the ground. It felt as though every bone in her body was shattered, she couldn't move, she felt paralyzed by the sudden horse kick. It did more than knock the wind out of her, it knocked the life out of her, and she was barely hanging on by a thread as she lay on the ground below her, the cold stone ground, slicked with not only water, and the fluids of the beast, but now her own blood.

Konata gently turned her head, and noticed that a pool of blood was slowly forming around her, wherever she was injured, it wasn't just a simple cut or bruise. She was probably internally injured as well, but once again, wherever that was, she couldn't tell, she didn't even have time.

She heard her friends yelling, and balls of fire being hurled at the beast, she knew they were doing everything in their power to try and stop it, but what chance did they have? Probably none she thought suddenly, wanting to kick herself for even thinking that way, but really, what chance did they have?

The pain in her body was so extreme she began to not even feel it any more, the nerves in her body shorted out from sheer pressure, and suddenly, she felt tired, and cold. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle up in a nice blanket, sewn from sheep, and just live in it at that moment. She wanted nothing but one more drink of water, as her throat grew ever drier by the second, she wanted to taste it, but she couldn't understand why.

She wanted to see the smiling faces of her friends, of Tsukasa and Miyuki laughing at her jokes that they couldn't understand, smiling at one another as best friends often do. She wanted to see Kagami's face, not one of anger, or horror, as she so often saw upon the face of the girl these days, but one of happiness. She wanted to see that girl smile, the smile that sent shivers down her spine every time she saw it, and melted her heart, the smile that let her know she couldn't give up, if just to see it one more time.

And most of all, she wanted to see her father; she wanted to see him happy again. She wanted to see him in his prime, when love filled his heart, and when he could do nothing but smile at his own fortune at how lucky he was to have a family, and better yet, a family that showered him with love and affection, and that he could do the same in kind.

Konata wanted all of this, but as she felt herself slowly slip in and out of reality, into that cold, painful sleep that was threatening to consume her, she knew she could not have it.

She didn't want to die, she didn't want her friends to die, she just wanted to see it all one more time. Would she have the chance? She didn't know, she couldn't even think about it for much longer, her eyelids slowly drooped, and her vision of the world faded, was she dying? It didn't feel like it, then again, she didn't know what dying felt like.

If this was what death felt like, she mused that it wasn't so bad; her mind was filled with nothing but happy thoughts, ones that tickled her insides with warmth, and put a slight curve of a smile on her lips.

Before she surrendered herself to the darkness, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, something she had seen before. It was faint in the darkness all around her, but still made an impact upon it, made its presence known.

It was an orb, one of golden light.

Author's Note: It's a real shame when you're incredibly inspired to write, but find your mind preoccupied with so many other things that you simply can't. Emotionally I've been somewhat of a wreck these past few days, but I'm slowly working my way out of the slump and back into my cheery old self, time mends all wounds eh? In case you hadn't noticed yet, I do so love cliffhangers, without them, what urges the reader to keep on reading? Nothing, in my opinion, or at least not much, depending on the story anyway. Not a lot of dialogue this chapter, but I did that on purpose as a sort of test. I wanted a chapter filled with more action that talking, as the last two were light on the action, and heavy on the dialogue. A change of pace never hurts things, that's for sure...or does it? If it does, tell me, and I'll find a medium between action and dialogue.

P.S. : Hits and such are love, but reviews show how much you really care! Review please! And be harsh!