Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hey everyone! Pinkshuchan here. I thank everyone for giving their opinions on the next ally to appear. What it was was just something out of curiosity, nothing offensive or anything if the character you believe to appear is wrong. The character won't be showing up yet but this chapter may possibly hint who it is without giving any details away. So here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Metal Mine

Ever since he was a child, when Akihiko thought about Stahlern and how it was the Metal Continent, he expected everything to made exactly like that; metal. But now that he saw the continent with his own eyes, it was nothing like he expected. Although called the Metal Continent, there was no metal anywhere in Stahlern. So then why was it called the Metal Continent?

"It's not that the place is made of metal that it's called the Metal Continent," Hiroki replied when Akihiko asked him, "All the continents have some sort of power due to the spiritual being the continents are named on. You already know of Damonen, who was the Lord of the continent of the same name that could summon demons to make order, and Feuern, the Fire Lion that ruled his continent of the same name with courage and strength as well as pride. Stahlern was no different but his powers weren't like his fellow beings. His ability was to create objects made of metal, whether it was weaponry, armoury, or just about anything involving battle or not. While Damonen was Law and Feuern was Pride, Stahlern was Support. That didn't mean he couldn't fight though."

Akihiko seemed to understand what his friend was talking about. But he knew he would have better understanding of it as soon as they were at the town. They continued on their way until they saw buildings in the distance. Akihiko was going to continue until Hiroki stopped him.

"There's just one thing I have to warn you about before we head in," he explained, "From this point on, it would be best to refrain from revealing yourself as a former citizen of Damonen let alone a prince in any town like this one. Not everywhere in every single continent will take kindly to someone from Damonen. If they find out, it will be more than just demons coming after you. In other words, you'll have to lose the bear before we go any farther. It's a dead giveaway."

Suzuki shook his head as he gave a little cry. He didn't want to leave his master alone. But Akihiko only sighed. "I'm sorry Suzuki," he told his bear friend, "Don't worry; I'll summon you back as soon as we're out of the town." And without another word, he ended Suzuki's summoning. With a nod from Hiroki, the two continued into the town.

The town itself was something Akihiko had never thought before. A place full of stone buildings small or medium sized, giving it a nice atmosphere without a giant building to look intimidating among them. The people were walking around cheerfully; some talking among themselves laughing, and others just in a good mood. The silver haired man had never seen anything like this, especially back at Damonen.

"So Hiroki, tell me," Akihiko began when thought came into his head, "This person you think can help us. What kind of guy is he?"

The cinnamon haired man sighed. "Where do I even begin? He can be a bit of an idiot but he can take a job seriously. Although I've never seen this side of him, apparently he was known as a weapon's master in the past. He knows how to use every weapon made of metal ever made. He could even switch weapons without delaying time. It shows how hard he had trained on that. Makes me respect the guy. Nowadays, he works as a blacksmith; making weapons and armour for warriors. I've been helping him until that day. Still, I think he'd be willing to help."

They continued walking until they reached a building that said 'Blacksmith'. When Hiroki walked over to the door, he growled in anger.

"Closed!" he kicked a nearby bucket, "We'll have to wait until he gets back!"

"Not necessarily," said Akihiko, "Maybe someone knows where he is so we can find him."

"You mean the blacksmith that lives here?"

Both men turned to see an old woman with long white hair and a face covered in wrinkles and warts. She wore a long black hood and robe. There was something about her but they couldn't figure out what it was.

"Do you know where he is ma'am?" asked Akihiko.

"Yes, I do," the woman replied, "Quite a distance from now is a place known only as the Metal Mine. Many of the workers here go to Metal Mine to collect the materials they need for whatever it is they make. This particular guy, the blacksmith you are looking for, he plans to delve deeper into the mine which is said to be a labyrinth, to obtain strong ores for his merchandise. Even if he is known as a weapon's master, it would be near impossible to reach that strong ore in the labyrinth. And even if he was able to obtain it, how can he go back? It is said that the labyrinth was created deep within the mine to keep intruders from obtaining that strong ore, and one strong ore in particular."

"A metal ore that never breaks?"

"Possibly. No one knows if it is true or not as no one has ever escaped."

That gave them more of a reason to pursue the mine. For the blacksmith and for the ore that never breaks. "Where is this mine?" it was Hiroki's turn to ask.

The old woman pointed to what looked like a mountain in the distance. "The Metal Mine rests at the base of Mount Metal. But be careful; I hear that there are demons on the way there."

"We can take care of it," said Akihiko as they began to walk away, "Demons are of no threat to me."

A giggle came out of the old woman and as she spoke her last words, her voice sounded younger and familiar. "Of course! I know that you will succeed Akihiko."

Hearing that, Akihiko stopped walked and turned around, only to see that the old woman was gone. Hiroki also stopped and looked over at his friend. "What's wrong?"

"That old woman," Akihiko pointed out, "She started sounding younger. She knew my name!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Hiroki, "I didn't hear anything."

This didn't make any sense. How could Akihiko hear it and not Hiroki? It was strange. But this was not the time to worry about it. They had to get to the Metal Mine and find the blacksmith and the ore that never breaks.

They travelled across Stahlern, fighting demons and avoiding Akihiko's identity to be exposed. Akihiko even refrained from summoning Suzuki yet until they reach the mine. It took a while considering that Mount Metal was in the middle of the continent, but eventually they reached the mountain and the entrance to Mount Metal. Once at the entrance, Akihiko summoned Suzuki and then walked in.

The mine was unlike anything they had seen before, even for Hiroki as even he had not seen the mine before. The rocks were a bluish grey colour that shined near any holes that led to outside due to the light of the sun. Even farther up ahead, there was a pond with sickly water contaminated by the dirt and pieces of metal ore. Eventually after walking through the straight path, they reached what they would assume to be the labyrinth. They had to go inside in order to find the blacksmith and the ore that never breaks.

"But how do we get back?" Hiroki asked as he stopped Akihiko from stepping in, "I've heard things about the labyrinth and one thing is that compasses don't work in there. Not to mention that pathways change when you least expect it."

Akihiko just smirked. "Well, it's a good thing we have this little guy here," he replied while pointing to Suzuki, "Suzuki's kind is known to have keen sense of danger and directions. How do you think I've been able to survive the demons for the past 13 years?"

There were no further questions. They took a deep breath before stepping into the labyrinth; unaware of the dangers that lay within.

Pinkshuchan: This may be the shortest chapter for this story so far but this chapter wasn't meant for much detail. It's only to lead us to what will be happening as well as a hint to the next ally. I don't know about you guys, but even though I'm writing this story I can think of two characters I know fit the description of the next ally. Who it is I won't tell. You'll need to wait until the next chapter. Read and Review!