Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not claim any rights to any of the characters or concepts created or owned by Viz Video or Rumiko Takahashi. This is just the work of one fan to the others. The only characters or concepts that I claim are the ones I created or introduced. That said, I bring you:
The Annals of the Heroine Akane, and the Dreaded Demon King. A Tale of the Mirrorverse.
Chapter 31: A Light in the Darkness.
Akane took yet another step back as she collected herself once more. She had managed to fend off the knights, and to keep them from encircling her entirely, but it had been a close thing. She knew that it was almost certainly a matter of time until they would overwhelm her, but she would not falter, she would not fail as long as there was a single breath left in her body.
She would stand for her ideals, or die for them. Either way, she would not falter. She would not fail those that had entrusted themselves to her. She would not allow another member of her family to suffer while she had breath.
And Akane felt a strange, yet familiar, warmth spreading through her. A fire that burned, undimmed and undaunted in her heart.
A Light in the darkest of times.
And then the Heroine took a step forward.
The figure adjusted herself in the tree, as she settled herself more firmly and nocked the first of the thick, long arrows that filled her quiver. Things would begin to happen very soon, and when they did, she had to act quickly.
She just wished that she could have depended on her axe instead. The large bladed weapon had always felt like an extension of herself, an old and familiar friend. But that was not the time for those thoughts, she admonished herself even as her coils tightened around the tree.
Ukyo would do her duty, and she would sate some of her anger with the blood of these killers. They would start to pay this night for all the wrongs they had done in the name of their so-called Goddess, just as those that followed the other false Goddess would pay, by the end of all of this.
After all, it had been what her Mistress had promised her so many years ago.
Ukyo narrowed her eyes as she started to draw her massive bow, the two hands of her pair of left arms stabilizing the bow as she knocked and prepared to draw.
She stilled the flicker of anticipation as she prepared for her first shot. The knights surely had something planned, something that dictated exactly when they would engage the Heroine.
And it was her job to spoil their plans.
Nabiki took a moment to try to slow her breathing and get her racing heart. The assassin they had prepared for her was talented, and ruthless. He had used the other scouts and rangers as bait, and had waited until she had been dealing with one of them to launch his attack. Honestly, if she hadn't gotten used to avoiding the Furball's incessant surprise attacks, she would have been caught off guard. Still, the burning numbness that had started to spread from the bloody cut on her leg told her that she had definitely not escaped unscathed.
She could already feel the poison at work, so she had to get her heart under control while she gave the antidote she had taken time to work. Luckily, it had been one she was familiar with, so she had been able to counter it before it had truly set in. Still, her leg would be just a bit weaker, and her movements just a bit slower for a bit.
And in a battle between killers, that could be deadly.
Still, she was hardly beaten yet. No matter how skilled and talented a human assassin was, they were not better than the ones she had bested already.
They certainly were not better than that damn Furball.
With a grim smile, Nabiki started to move again. She would use THAT. It was a good test, to see if it might be useful against the Furball.
Time to hunt.
Kasumi closed her eyes for a moment as she gathered herself, both mentally and spiritually. She had to resolve this before any more blood was spilled needlessly. Before she lost anyone else that mattered to her. It was her job as the eldest to watch over and protect her younger sisters.
And that was what she would do, even if it cost her her life.
With a resolved look on her gentle face, she pushed open the doors and walked out into the night.
The knights that had started to move to encircle Akane took a step back as silver light flowed over her and in its aftermath, revealed the gleaming armor of the Heroine. As she took a step forward, the knights faltered for a moment before one of them shook his head and took a step towards her with his partner falling into step beside him.
"It's some trick! A bit of heretical theatrics! That power is not hers! It is only gifted by the Goddess to face one for!" The knight growled out as he moved to engage her, a dark fury in his eyes.
The Paladin held back to observe. Even if this was not some trick, the ritual was already underway. Any minute now would see her stripped of the power that had been bestowed on her. If this was indeed some further heresy, then he would observe it to make sure that all crimes were documented and absolved by pain and death.
It was, after all, Her will.
The pair of knights met the Heroine in a clash of blades, but the Paladin could tell immediately that something was not right. The false Heroine easily parried both of the attacks as they came in, before she delivered a powerful swing that seemed effortless. Her sword sang as it cut a deadly arc through the air, and cleaved straight through the sword that the knight had raised to parry her strike before his head landed next to his body.
The other knight stepped back and raised his shield defensively as he attempted to open distance between himself and the Heroine. The other knights watched, either unsure of what to do or frozen with a sense of dread.
The Heroine took another step forward as she feinted a strike to put the knight on his back foot before she drove her blazing sword straight through the center of the Knight's shield and pierced through his plate mail as well.
As she pulled her sword free, she let the knight fall to the ground and turned to face the surviving knights. As she stepped forward the Paladin moved to back up his men as he unsheathed his blade. "Hold fast! Regardless of what sort of heretical trick this is, any moment the Mantle shall be passed to another, and this heretic will be robbed of her stolen power!" The Paladin proclaimed.
The Heroine Akane took one stride, then another, before she started to rush towards the gathered knights. The world seemed to stand still for a moment, before the light that infused Akane flared, then faded as Akane stumbled.
That was the moment that the Paladin pointed his blade and commanded his remaining knights forward. The moment that they had waited for. The opening that would allow them to lay the now former Heroine low.
All according to Her will.
Nabiki moved quickly and quietly, as she kept a low profile. She was not sure where her opponent was, but she knew that she could maneuver them into where she wanted them to be. It was a simple matter to make sure that a particular spot was advantageous for the person who had been stalking her. The challenge, as always, was how to take advantage of that.
And it had to not be obvious. It had to be something that would not be expected. It had to be something that would strike from the shadows.
And the little surprise that she had prepared for Xian Pu fit the bill nicely. She would have preferred to use it on the Furball, but maybe it would be better this way.
After all, scorched fur smelled horrible.
Nabiki paused in the Lea of a tree for a few long moments, as she stealthily spread a fine, grayish powder over the ground while she made sure that she limited her own exposure.
The odds of her pursuer stopping to examine where she had hidden was high, but she would set several little traps like this one, before she would set her trap off.
She worked her way away from the village as she drew her for after her. When she finally settled in to wait, she had made sure that she covered the two routes she would have used with the last parts of her surprise, the other route she used the wires she was so well known for.
It was a given that anyone who had been sent to stop her would know all of her usual tricks, but the men of the Church tended to disregard the ingenuity of women.
Honestly, it had always left her a bit confused, since they worshiped a Goddess, after all.
When she heard one of her wires sing, she made sure that she looked at where it was, and not where she was sure her foe would be.
The soft crunch as his boot crushed the fine crystals into a powder was almost unheard.
The flash of flame and light that it sparked was quite noticeable, though.
Nabiki was tempted for a moment to let the flames do the work for her, but if the idiot ran about he was likely to set the entire forest on fire before the flames consumed him.
The swift death she delivered with a poisoned dart was for the villagers sake.
She finished tending to the wound he had inflicted on her before she made her way back towards the village. She was certain that her sisters would have found some way to make her life even more complicated, after all.
That was the nature of family.
Ukyo narrowed her eyes as she drew back her great bow, a heavy arrow nocked and ready as her muscular form flexed before she released the first of her arrows. It flew through the air and slammed into the chest of the knight who towered over Akane before the heavy projectile drove him backwards and to the ground. A momentary distraction that allowed the weakened and shaken former Heroine to scramble backwards and shakily regain her feet.
That was the moment that Kasumi stepped into the cold, unforgiving night.
The eldest Tendo swept her gaze over the scene before her. Some of the Knight's had made their way into the village using the approaches that Akane had not been able to cover. Even though most of the villager's had been at the church, the blood on their blades and the almost feral delight in their eyes spoke of what they had done this night. Akane stood, but just barely on shaky legs with her sword thrust into the ground to help support her.
She didn't see Nabiki immediately, but she was sure that the middle sister was taking care of the things that she could. Nabiki had always been a , in her own ways. She would make sure that Akane was taken care of and helped through what was sure to come.
For now, she had to do what only she could. Not as a Priestess, but as the eldest sister, and the reason that this bloodshed had been brought to these people. She strode forward as another arrow streaked through the night and impaled another knight as he attempted Akane. Kasumi did not know who it was that had decided to aid them, but they had her thanks.
Kasumi lifted her staff, and a blazing, pure light flooded out of it. It chased the darkness and shadows away like standing in a desert during the midday sun. The knights reeled back as they found the priestess unbearable to look upon. Even the Paladin and his senior knights were driven back by the radiance of the one that the started to call The Saint.
Kasumi could hear Nabiki as she jogged towards where she stood between Akane and the others. "Take her and the villagers and flee, Nabiki. I will make sure that you all escape safely."
"Kasumi…. You should come with us. We can get away from them, I know we can." Nabiki said as she moved to support Akane.
"Not this time, Nabiki. These gentlemen came here for me, and they will not stop as long as I walk free." Kasumi said, before she lowered her staff to the ground, and a wall of light formed behind her. "Take them and go, Nabiki. And tell your sister how much I love her when she regains her senses."
"Kasumi! Please!" Nabiki begged even as she fought to support her youngest sister.
"I can't, Nabiki. Now, take your sister and the villagers and go. You are not safe here, and I will not allow any others to be harmed this night!" The usually gentle sister said with iron in her voice, and did not look back at her younger sisters.
Nabiki hesitated for a moment, then turned and started to hurry with her youngest sister towards where the other villagers waited for them.
Kasumi faced the Paladin and his knights as they advanced on her, and looked into the Paladin's cold eyes with an unwavering gaze.
"Will you surrender yourself to the Inquisition, Heretic?" The Paladin asked as he held back the others with his presence.
"As long as the safety of the others is guaranteed." Kasumi responded calmly.
"I swear on Her name." The Paladin said evenly.
Kasumi nodded and lowered her staff.
"Take her." The Paladin ordered.
"You shall suffer, Heretic." The knight who took hold of her hands said with a sneer.
"There is no need for that. She will be taken to the Tower and put to the question. If the Goddess wills it, she will be freed once the Inquisition has had a chance to seek the truth. If not, then we shall free you from your heresy." The Paladin said in the tone of voice of a true believer, without a shred of doubt in the rightness or justness of what he will do.
Kasumi let them bind her hands and lead her off without ever casting a look back at the wall of light and her sisters who were on the other side of it.
She would see this through to the end for the sake of her family.
It was the last duty of the eldest sister.
She just wished she could have seen Ryouga one last time.
Nabiki held in her tears as she half carried her youngest sister towards where the villagers huddled together under the watchful gaze of the gaunt priest. As Nabiki looked past him and towards the shadowy woods, she saw a large form slide out from behind one of the trees. The shape to her, in the half light that was cast over the woods.
Nabiki looked at the priest, and passed Akane along to the villagers. "We need to hurry, take care of Akane, please. I will be back in a minute."
Nabiki moved towards the waiting shape, as she carefully palmed one of her daggers. When she had drawn close enough, she could finally make out the person who waited for her in the shadows. The demon rose over her, a quiver holding oversized arrows slung over one shoulder, while the pair of arms on her left side held a massive bow. The demon's body below her waist was that of an oversized serpent, the thick coils shifted slightly as she maintained her balance.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Nabiki said through gritted teeth. After the events of the last day, she didn't have much patience. The fact that some part of her had hoped the oversized shape had been Xian Pu was certainly not it.
"My Mistress has bid me to seek you out, and . . need to be." The demon said as she bowed at the waist. "I am Ukyo, Nabiki Tendo."
Nabiki bristled as she ground out through clenched teeth. "And why should we follow the directions of someone who serves your dark Goddess?"
Ukyo rose to her full height, and the barely controlled rage in her eyes made Nabiki take a step back. "I do not serve either of the fake Goddesses! My Mistress is the Mage of the Mirror, and she needs to see you both." Ukyo took a breath, then smiled softly at Nabiki. "Please, let us help you. Your other companions will be there soon, I promise."
"Then Kasumi will be there!" Nabiki said, then stopped at the sad smile on Ukyo's face.
"No, not the priestess, but those that will be able to help you set her free. The King of all Demons and his vassals." Ukyo said as her slitted eyes watched the human woman intensely.
Nabiki hesitated for a moment, as she looked back at the assembled villagers and her semi-conscious sister.
"We will travel through the night, and in the morning we should have arrived where we need to be, I assure you. There are those that will take care of these people, I promise you. You and yours are not as alone as you think." Ukyo said, then smiled when Nabiki nodded curtly and hurried back to the assembled villagers.
It had worked as her Mistress had said it would, so far. All she could hope was that the rest of the plan worked just as smoothly.
She would be a very busy woman for the next week or two.