Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Soul Calibur


Chapter Two: Protector of The Spirits

A young woman stood on top of a tree that looked over a large radius of the forest. In one hand was a mask. In the other, a sharp blade with inscriptions on the steel.

She tilted head up to sniff the air....A battle was brewing.

She raised her mask and placed it on her face.

"Wretched mortal scum...." She growled out. She raised up her knife and looked at it. She brought a finger up and pressed it against the cold steel. A small trail of blood leaked through and dripped down.

"By the power and the blood that flows through me....I will destroy the humans. Until the day they leave my brothers and sisters alone....this battle will never end."


Siegfried, following the other soldiers he just trained with only minutes before, to the frontline. They were heading to the notorious north wall; or the Gateway to War, as some call it. The wall had been damaged, by the countless battles against the rulers of the forest. The grass was burnt and dry, as if it hasn't rained in ever. Other soldiers were already out on the main line. Some were on the ground, injured and bleeding badly. Siegfried could hear their moans and groans of pain as doctors placed them on stretchers.

"Keep your eyes out boy," Someone said to him, snapping him out of his daze. He turned around and saw a soldier looking at him. "These spirits like to hide, then strike. So, keep a lookout and keep on your toes."

Siegfried nodded and got his weapon in hand. It reeked of the purple liquid that can kill spirits. Just moments ago, his general, General Fendrel, showed how he killed a spirit. The liquid must have something that can cause spirits a quick, painful death.

Soldiers got to their positions on the main line. Siegfried was ready to fight for the kingdom that hired him. He looked straight on, at the enchanted forest in front of him. Not a single tree or bush moved. Everything was silent.

"Get ready men!" Fendrel called out. "They'll attack soon!"

Every soldier remained focus on the forest. A few good moments passed and nothing happened.

"When the hell will a damn spirit attack?!" One soldier called out. "This is a serious waste of ti-!"

Suddenly, before the soldier even finished his sentence, a giant wooden hand reached out and grabbed him. The men around were toppled over. The man was screaming and was pulled into the forest. Several moments passed.

Then, several tremors that shook the earth violently occurred. Siegfried founded it hard to stand. Something came out of the trees. Siegfried looked up and saw something he couldn't possibly imagine.

It was a giant creature made entirely of wood. It was taller than the tees of the forest. It had long arms. Siegfried squinted and saw something in one of its giant, wooden hands. It was the soldier who was complaining moments ago. He could hear the soldier screaming and whimpering. The giant looked at the man squirming in its hand. He man stopped and looked at the monster. The monster looked at the man. The man began sweating and pleading to the spirit to put him down.

Snap!

That was Siegfried heard. A loud snap that frighten everyone on the ground. The creature let go of the man and he dropped hard onto the ground. He lied on the ground, limp and covered in his own blood. The creature squeezed the life out of him and dropped him onto the ground. Siegfried was terrified by the power of the monster.

"Come on men!" He heard Fendrel yell. "Attack!"

Stunned, but still able to listen to orders, the men attacked the creature. They all were slashing the legs of the creature but it only seemed to only leave hardly a scratch. The wooden guardian looked down at the mortals attacking it. Siegfried stopped attacking and looked at the creature's head. A frown was carved into its face but it had no eyes.

"It's a guardian spirit, man!" Fendrel yelled. "Simple attacks like that won't work! Fall back!"

With that command, the men went back to the crumbling wall of the city.

Siegfried was last, and nearly trampled by the other soldiers.

"Get the catapults ready!" Fendrel commanded

"Get the catapults ready," A different soldier repeated.

Several catapults rolled out to the font line. Loaded with a large rock, which seemed to be set on fire it was ready to be aimed at the guardian. The guardian walked towards it, shaking the earth as it took a step. As it got nearer, Siegfried trembled.

'When is he going to fire it?!' Siegfried thought to himself.

As the creature got nearer, Fendrel pointed at it with his rapier.

"Fire!"

Soldiers by the catapults cut the rope holding it back with giant axes. Large flaming boulders went airborne and all hit the wooden guardian. Few hit one of the guardian's massive arms and it fell onto he ground. The ground shook violently as it made contact with the earth. Siegfried could hear the wooden monster groan, as it was hit. The guardian fell backwards and landed hard onto the ground. The land shook badly and Siegfried wouldn't be surprised if the kingdom had turned into rubble. Thankfully, nothing toppled over. The guardian slowly crawled back into the woods.

"What? Did we win the battle?" Someone asked

"I believe so," Fendrel answered.

All the men cheered, all except for Siegfried. He watched the guardian crawl slowly back to its forest home. Completely oblivious until someone placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on boy!" The soldier said to him. "Celebrate!"

"Will that thing be okay?" Siegfried dared to mutter.

"Who care? We won!"

"But I can't shake the feeling that it will attack us."

"You are a strange one...."

"Nice work men," Fendrel talked over the cheering men. "Let us go back to the kingdom and celebrate!"

The men cheered their agreement and headed back to the kingdom. Siegfried was pushed to get to the kingdom wall.

Suddenly, a howl loud enough to break the sound barrier rang out. The men stood still. Were the spirits not done with them?

Everyone turned around and looked back at the forest. Everything was stationary.

"Stand your ground men," Fendrel said loud enough so that everyone could her. The soldiers took their weapons in hand again.

Then, out of the bushes, a giant white wolf painted in red markings, jumped out of the bushes. It landed nimbly on the ground, growling and snarling at the soldiers. The wolf seemed to be about six feet tall; by the way Siegfried saw it. He squinted his eyes and saw something on its back.

It was a girl, wearing a fox mask over her face to hide her identity. She wore a no sleeve brown leather shit. A quiver, filled with arrows, was on her back. Black hunting boots were over her brown leather pants. On her arms were black furred braces. In one hand, she was holding onto the wolf's neck fur. In the other, was a sharp silver bladed knife that glinted the sun's reflection.

"Are you men afraid of a little girl? Attack her!" Fendrel ordered.

Some of the men charged at the girl and wolf, weapons ready to strike. As the men got nearer, the girl set the knife down onto her lap and a bow appeared in hands. She loaded an arrow on the bow and took aim at the men. She fired at one and got him the neck. He fell onto the ground; killed instantly. Siegfried was shocked by how good her aim was.

The remaining men continued to charge at her and she continued to fire arrows at them. They were able to deflect them. Soon enough, she ran out of arrows. The bow vanished into thin air and she took her knife in hand. The wolf barked mightily and charged at the men. When one was close to the wolf's mighty jaw, the wolf, being a creature that towers over the soldiers, clamped onto their head with its mouth and bit down hard onto the man's skull. Crushing it, the wolf would toss it around, like it was playing, then threw the dead soldier into the woods. The girl, when a soldier near, would simply slash the soldier's throat with her knife and move on to the next. Everyone was horrified at how the duo mercilessly killed the soldiers.

After toying with the few men, they looked at the rest. Siegfried could see the blood dripping from the wolf's mouth and watched it lick its lips slowly.

Several silent moments passed before Fendrel yelled, "Retreat!"

The soldiers quickly, and still scared, ran back to the kingdom. Siegfried was scared stiff. He tried to move, but he couldn't. He saw the white wolf charge at him. He knew that he was finished. The girl jumped off the wolf and ran at him, knife in hand and ready to strike. He closed his eyes, ready to meet Death.

Suddenly, he felt a blunt force hit him and everything went dark.