It would be unwise to anger a god. Even the most simple-minded of people know this, yet there are still those who are brave or foolish enough to incite the fury of a deity. Maxi, however, was simply unaware that he desired to kill the servant of a god. Yet, even if he had previously known that the being he wished to strike down was a servant of Ares, his resolve to destroy Astaroth would not have faltered in the least, so great was his thirst for revenge.
During the night that Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi stormed Ostrheinsburg Castle, Maxi forced his two companions to go on while he stayed behind to confront Astaroth. He avenged the deaths of his friends by putting every ounce of his strength into the destruction of the golem, but at a price - Maxi suffered grave injuries during the battle.
Immediately after Astaroth's defeat, the outraged god of war commanded the earth to swallow up the weakened pirate. Unconscious, Maxi fell into a river that flowed deep underground, and was carried away quietly by its icy currents. Above ground, the only trace of Maxi left behind was his nunchaku.
When Maxi awoke, he found himself resting on a riverbank. His mind was lucid, but he could not feel his extremities. He soon realized that he had suffered devastating injuries that would prevent him from being able to move his limbs freely.
Fortunately, a person from a nearby village rescued Maxi, and took him to the village. With his vast knowledge, strong sense of duty, and easygoing personality, it did not take long for Maxi to be accepted by the villagers. After some time, his strength began to return, but his arms and legs would not heal - it seemed unlikely that he would be able to return to his carefree, nomadic lifestyle.
Nevertheless, Maxi was satisfied with his new life. He had exacted his revenge against the one responsible for his crew's death. Although he was curious about Kilik and Xianghua's fortunes, as long as the peace continued, he believed that they had vanquished the root of the evil. Although he would rather be living his old life of piracy and adventure, he accepted his new life of calmness and peace. "I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life here in this village," he eventually thought to himself.
Four years passed. Then, a rumor reached the village. "An enormous man with a gigantic axe is committing massacre after massacre! Nothing remains in his wake!"
Maxi had a horrible feeling as soon as he heard these words, for he knew whom the rumors spoke of. "It's him. That...freak is still alive. I haven't avenged my crew after all." Maxi's mind could no longer be at peace - he knew that he had not extracted revenge. Once more, he was filled with the will to hunt and kill the golem, but his limbs still refused to move.
As if he had sensed Maxi's desires, an elderly medicine man paid him a visit, offering to treat his injuries using secret arts. He had found a peculiar rare metal fragment, and had learned how to use the item for medical treatment. A dark energy surrounded the fragment, but Maxi could not bear to live with a burden on his shoulders any longer, and implored the man to heal him.
Before he would perform his mysterious treatment, the elder insisted on giving Maxi a warning: "If you wish to gain something of value, then you must part with something of equal value." Maxi could not understand why the man would give him such advice, and chose to undergo the treatment.
Several days later, Maxi left the village.
However, in exchange for the restoration of his limbs to seek revenge, Maxi lost something just as precious as the slain comrades he swore to avenge - his memories of Kilik and Xianghua.
Maxi's pursuit of Astaroth continued as if it had never stopped. "I'm coming for you, you freak!" Maxi would hiss to himself. But, although he had the will to pursue the golem, he did not know if he had the strength. His once-powerful muscles had atrophied after four years of little use, and his physique had become neglected, as well. He decided that before he began his journey, he would train his body to its former condition again. Seeking combatants to spar with, he traveled to an arena. In the arena, he was able to fight a wide variety of warriors and obtain much practice with his weapon of choice, the nunchaku, as well as ask the other fighters if they'd heard anything of Astaroth. There was one other fighter in particular who reminded him much of the golem - a large and muscular warrior who called himself Rock. He had the golem's physique, and even fought in a seemingly identical style, but he never slew his opponents, and seemed to be a kind and gentle man, despite his bear-like appearance. Although Maxi was unsettled by Rock's similarities to Astaroth, he knew that they were not the same person.
As Maxi spent time in the Arena and fought matches, he began to recognize a few familiar faces - the regulars who came to watch the fights, the other combatants, and, in particular, one man.
The man was always clothed entirely in black. He would slip his black-gloved hands between the people before him to slide through the crowd, making no more sound than a feather. He moved people around, squeezed in through tiny spaces, opened up gaps in tight groups, and did it all without a sound, without a soul knowing he'd been there, and with movements that would almost have seemed gentle and soothing. Then he took his place at the closest spot to the dueling stage, but for his amazing inconspicuity, he might have been in the farthest corner. His expression was always as still as undisturbed water, and there was no more smile to his face than there was to a rock. He was the softest, stealthiest man Maxi had ever seen, gliding in when the fights began, and gliding out when they ended.
Maxi himself would have never even taken noticed of this shadow of a man, had it not been for one thing - Maxi could sense a wisp of sinister intention whenever this man moved.
More than once, Maxi caught the man stalking some of the combatants. After a match, as the winner walked away from the ring, he'd trail them, following them as if he was their own shadow, gazing at them as if he was reading a book. After the winner had entered the fighters' quarters or noticed his presence, the man would stop moving, nod to himself, and glide away, sticking so close to the walls he seemed to be sliding across them. Once or twice, Maxi had wondered if the man was actually a shadow that had lost its host.
However, the man was most noticeable when observing Rock. The man's normally smooth movements were characterized by haste and awkwardness when he rushed to see Rock, and a look of fear, hatred, and reverence could clearly be seen in his eyes as he observed the large warrior in and out of combat.
Although Maxi usually paid no heed to the suspicious man, he became more and more curious - who was this man, and why was he stalking the combatants in such a strange way? Deciding not to let the man's nature bother him, Maxi approached the man and casually asked him if he'd heard of Astaroth, just as he had asked many other arena combatants. However, the man's reaction was nothing like Maxi had expected.
The man became straight as a board, his face grew noticeably red, and his expression changed for the first time since Maxi had beheld him. A look of rage now covered his face.
"Failure! Useless! A damn clay puppet!" The man spat. His anger grew, and foul curses streamed from his mouth. Maxi was appalled, not by the man's language, but by his sudden change in personality.
"Failure? What do you mean?" Maxi asked, trying to make sense of the man's behavior.
"So much work to make that stupid golem, and for nothing." The man hissed.
A chill ran down Maxi's body, followed by a cold shock through his mind. "...What are you saying? Did you...make Astaroth?"
"An accomplishment we are no longer proud of. He rebelled against us." The man tilted his head down, and muttered beneath his breath. "Now Kunpaetku sends me seek a better warrior to mold another golem after...but that old fool will never obtain Soul Edge this way..."
"...You made...that thing?" Maxi said through clenched teeth. He slowly began to feel an urge rising within him to kill the man - any being that had taken part in the creation of such a monstrosity deserved to die. But, along with this dark urge, Maxi felt something else he could not describe - a cold, calm emotion, similar to anger, but far beyond it. Maxi's desire to kill the man intensified, becoming irrepressible, and Maxi drew his weapon. A section of the man's black clothing began to glow with a faint red light. Noticing the light, the man reached into his robe, and pulled out a small metal fragment, no different than the one that the elderly medicine man had used to heal Maxi. The man returned his gaze to Maxi, and madness showed in his eyes.
"...You have Soul Edge's influence inside your body? ...Marvelous! What a marvelous specimen! My - " Two dry thuds echoed in place of the end of his sentence.
The fragment of Soul Edge fell from the dead man's hands, and landed noisily on the stone floor. Maxi looked at the red light given off by the fragment, and murmured to himself.
"...I have Soul Edge...inside my body? It's...influence?" It was true that he had felt some sort of impulse to kill, and a resonance from within his body with the fragment the man had held. He felt an uneasy throbbing inside his heart just recalling the sensation. It was a dark, evil emotion, born when he felt the desire to kill the man that had given rise to Astaroth. A terrifying sensation filled him, as if trying to steep his entire self in darkness.
Feeling an unidentifiable sense of dread, he kicked away the fragment that lay on the floor. The fragment slipped through a crack in the floor, and disappeared deep into the earth. A faint, regretful echo could be heard throughout the arena.
Cold sweat poured from his entire body, and he began shuddering in fear. He felt like he was about to let go of his own will. A certain figure flashed through his mind. He knew someone who had lost himself, and then turned to darkness after he lost everything. Maxi remembered the suffering figure of the man after the man had returned to his senses. But now Maxi couldn't remember who it was.
It wasn't someone from his family, but it was definitely someone important to him...but that part of memory seemed to simply be missing. It was a frustrating feeling. No matter how hard he tried to remember, it was just beyond reach. Had he forgotten something very important? He felt a tinge of uneasiness. The more he fretted over his inability to recall the past, the more he became plagued with uncertainty and doubt. The only things that were certain to him were his remorse for his lost crew, and his desire to avenge them. Thinking that maybe all he needed to wash away his doubts was to return to the port where his comrades had died, to stand where their blood had been spilt in order to remind himself of his mission, he departed for a port town in India.
A port town is a place where the pathways of land and sea meet. It is also a crossroad where people both meet and part ways, as well. It was here that Maxi and Kilik met four years ago, where Maxi's crew had been wiped out in a sudden attack by a strange horde monsters. This place could also be called the starting point on his pathway to revenge.
And soon, it may also be called the ending point. Just as land and sea meet here, Maxi is about to meet two women here that will come bearing news that will change everything for him.
---
Siegfried and his companions had underestimated the reluctance of a captain to sail a boat into the seas of a country at war.
Japan was in the middle of what would later be known as the Sengoku Jidai, or "Warring States Period" - a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that had been lasting for roughly a century, and would not be ending for several more decades. During this period, two famous Japanese navies, the Murakami Navy and the Kuki Navy, were fighting fiercely in a series of sea battles in around Japan. During this time, to enter Japanese waters was suicide. Japan may have been isolated from the rest of Asia, but sea captains stay well aware of the oceanic affairs of other countries.
With Japan in its current state of constant military conflict, interest in traveling to the island nation was very low, and no captain or crew would risk their lives and their ship sailing into a battleground - not when they could make adequate money ferrying people to and from places that weren't at war.
And so, the group was encountering difficulty in finding passage to Japan.
They simply began to travel down Asia's eastern coast, visiting ports and seeking the bravest captains and crews they could find - but their luck never improved. There was a large system of roads across eastern Asia, which allowed the group to traverse quickly. However, as they continued to meet with only disappointment, they began to consider forgetting about going to Japan.
Having mostly given up on obtaining passage to the island country, they ended up in a port town in India, deciding that it was a good hub from which to choose their next destination. However, before they completely gave up hope on Japan, they decided to check the town's ports, just in case there was even one captain here willing to give them passage.
The town was a popular stop in India, and had an especially large port, with dozens of docked ships. To quicken their search, they split up into three groups - Siegfried and Tira to one side, Ivy to the middle, and the Alexandra sisters to the other side.
---
When Sophitia and Cassandra reunited in Siegfried's company, there was initially awkwardness between the two of them. Cassandra had walked in on her sister during coitus with a man she was not married to, and Sophitia was aware that her sister was attracted to the man she had committed adultery with.
For some people, these conditions might have served to shatter relationships - but the awkward air between Sophitia and Cassandra cleared up quickly. They had lived together for too many years and were far too close to let recent events ruin the ties between them, especially when they understood one another's feelings so well.
And so it was not with discomfort and unease, but with friendly conversation and laugher that the two sisters walked through the port. In the past, there had been tension between the members of Siegfried's group when they'd put considerable effort into something that didn't seem to have much chance of working out. They were doing the same now, as well, but the general atmosphere of the group was more lighthearted, because they had decided to focus more on the information and experiences they gained along the way.
The two sisters scanned the port for signs of crews without work and eager to do a job, but the port showed no signs of inactivity at all. Everyone in sight was rushing to and fro, hard at work on their individual errands. Sophitia and Cassandra stopped ask a few of the more lax men if they were looking for work, but they had only slowed to catch their breath, and weren't going to be free anytime soon. They would have entered pubs and asked around for captains, but, in the past, when the two sisters had taken up that task, they'd been forced to spend more time fending off drunken, horny men than making any sort of progress.
Near the end of the side of the port that they'd been assigned to search, there were very few ships or men about. It was perhaps for this reason that one man standing on a dock caught their eye. However, had he been in the center of a crowd of people, he still would have been eye-catching. He was tall and fit, and wore white clothing that contrasted sharply with his jet-black hair. He wore light armor on his legs and shoulders, and carried a pair of nunchaku at his hips - he was clearly a warrior. His shirt was open, exposing a muscular chest and abdomen, and he was handsome, as well. Sophitia, already feeling guilty about other things, tried to ignore the man's body, while Cassandra, sorrowfully a bachelorette, enjoyed the sight.
Yet, even without his flashy appearance and good looks, there was still something striking about this man that made him stand out. He stood legs apart, arms crossed, facing the ocean, and his eyes were closed, as if taking in his surroundings without sight. But, it was not his stoic stance that was striking - it was the aura that surrounded him; he seemed to be one with the sea. The waves of the sea lapped against the dock he stood upon, as the sea breeze blew around him, swaying his clothing, so although he stood still, he seemed to be moving and flowing along with the waters he stood above. He appeared to be so natural standing where he was, near the ocean. He seemed like a man who truly did belong at sea. And, yet, there was something almost mournful about the man. Nothing obvious revealed it, but Sophitia and Cassandra had a distinct feeling that the man was regretful, and stricken with grief.
Despite that, after only a few moments of observing him, Sophitia and Cassandra knew they'd found the sea captain they'd been looking for.
The two sisters began to approach the man. As they came near, the man turned his head to the side ever so slightly, and then faced forward again. Perhaps he merely started to turn his head out of reflex, or perhaps the gesture was meant to warn potential assassins that he knew of their presence.
When they came close enough, Sophitia began to speak to the man. The sisters had decided that Sophitia should be the one to do the talking, since Cassandra was not as conversationally skilled.
"Pardon us, sir, but we wish to ask a few questions of you, should we have your permission." Sophitia said, speaking as formally as she could, while keeping the tone of her voice gentle.
The man turned halfway towards Sophitia and Cassandra. His eyes rolled from one sister to the other, and he seemed generally disinterested in them - or perhaps his dispassionate look was a result of the matter that was causing him to seem so stricken with grief.
"Go ahead." He said.
"May we ask your name?"
"...You don't have to ask me permission to ask me things." The man said, with just a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I'm Maxi."
"Maxi, are you a captain, or do you belong to a crew?" Sophitia asked. She adjusted her syntax and tone of voice in a way she hoped would make the aloof man more comfortable.
Despite that, a small amount of pain could be seen on Maxi's face as he answered. "No. Not anymore."
"Have you retired from seafaring?"
"Retired? Well, I wouldn't put it that way. I haven't done much sailing in the past few years because..." His gaze returned to the sea again. "...I lost my crew."
"Lost them? How?"
In a heartbeat, Maxi swiveled on his feet to face the women. "They were killed!" He barked, nearly shouting. His posture and facial expression had gone from indifferent to infuriated. At first, Sophitia was afraid that she had offended the man merely by asking him a question. However, she realized that he was not mad at her, but was angry as a result of the pain of losing his crew.
"I'm terribly sorry to hear that." Sophitia said, trying not to flinch too visibly after the man's outburst. "...Because you lost your crew, do you no longer sail the sea?"
Anger flashed in Maxi's eyes. Sophitia could see that, this time, she did offend the man, because she had demonstrated that she was more concerned about whether or not Maxi still sailed than the deaths of his crewmembers. Although, for a few moments, it seemed as if Maxi was almost angry enough to attack her, he calmed down. "...I haven't really had many reasons to sail in recent years." He stated simply.
"...What would you say to someone who wanted you to ferry them to an island?"
Maxi turned away again. "I'd tell them to go find someone else."
"...That's not an option for us." Sophitia said, being sure to make her tone sound more remorseful than argumentative.
"Oh, and why's that?" Maxi asked. Sophitia couldn't tell if he was genuinely interested, or only pretending to be.
"Well, from our experience, we've learned that there are very few - if any - sea captains willing to ferry a group of people to an island nation that is in the middle of a civil war."
"...Japan?" From the tone of his voice, he seemed to be somewhat interested now. "That is my homeland."
"...It is?" Sophitia asked, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. She had tried to hide her excitement, but his remark encouraged her - if the man's birthplace was Japan, he might be more willing to go there than the captains who had turned them down.
"Yes. I was born in Shuri, in the Ryuku Kingdom." Maxi said. The two women did not respond, and he figured they had little knowledge of Japan. "...Why do you want to go to Japan?"
"We seek the most potent purification arts in the world. Such arts are more powerful the further East one goes."
"...Why do you need powerful purification arts?"
"...The reason is somewhat private." Sophitia said.
Maxi chuckled to himself, but still seemed indifferent, rather than amused. "It's better that you don't tell me. I can't afford to get involved with other people's business. Sorry to lead you on and then disappoint you, but I've got very important business of my own to attend to, and I can't spend time ferrying people to and fro."
"...Important business, huh?" Cassandra asked. It was the first time she'd spoken to Maxi, so he paid extra attention to her. Sophitia paid extra attention, as well, if only because she was afraid of what her bold and sometimes childish sister might say. "We've got important business, as well, and I'm sure it's way more important than yours."
Cassandra was, of course, referring to the business of preventing Soul Edge from being unleashed upon the world again, which would, by default, be far more important than most other business. However, Maxi could fathom nothing more important than avenging his fallen comrades, and was more than offended that this impudent girl had the audacity to suggest that her petty sight-seeing trip to Japan was more important.
Maxi's eyes flashed with anger again, this time far more than before. He turned to face Cassandra, and with his arms still crossed, gripped one of his nunchaku with a fist that almost trembled from his anger. He spoke slowly and calmly, but every syllable dripped with hatred. "...That was unwise. If I were you, I would go back to keeping my mouth shut."
Cassandra was young, and, like all young people, her first prerogative was to challenge an adult she believed to be ignorant. But, despite her slightly presumptuous personality and her mouth's reputation of getting her into trouble, she decided to stay silent this time, a miracle that Sophitia thanked Hephaestus for.
"...It appears that I've given you false hope. I made you hopeful that you'd get a ride to Japan, and disappointed you. The least I can do is tell you why." Maxi's words were apologetic, but his tone of voice was so hateful, he might have been spitting acid at the girls. He obviously did not feel guilty for giving them 'false hope', and his motive was to prove Cassandra wrong.
"A few years ago, I arrived at this very spot that you and I stand to behold the sight of my entire crew being massacred by a horde of grotesque monsters. Those men were my sworn brothers - I saw their bodies being snapped in half, their limbs being torn apart, their thumbs cut off as trophies, their eyes plucked out merely for the sadistic pleasure of those beasts - I even saw some of them being eaten alive.
"We were not related by blood or law, but we were closer than most families are. All that we had was each other. And, in just one foggy afternoon, I lost all of them. My crew - my friends - my family.
"I don't even know why those beasts attacked. I only know who was leading them. A monstrous brute, many times larger and more evil than the fiends it directed. It was a giant - a golem. And it destroyed my crew. After that day, my life as I knew it was ruined. I can never go back to the way things were before. And I can never be at ease, as long as I know that monster walks the Earth, unpunished."
Maxi was almost talking to himself now. "I will hunt him. I will find him. I will slay him. I will give him all that he deserves, and more. I will punish him, and then send him to hell…that abomination named Astaroth."
"...Astaroth?" The echo came from the lips of the two sisters. They turned to look at one another, and their eyes slowly widened.
"Sis," Cassandra whispered, "Siegfried called that golem thing 'Astaroth', didn't he?"
"...What golem? What are you talking about? Do you two know something about Astaroth?" Maxi asked.
"...Well, I know that, right now, his corpse is rotting in the depths of a destroyed temple." Cassandra said.
Maxi seemed stunned, and then in disbelief. "...I doubt that Astaroth is dead. I doubt that you have seen him. You must be mistaken."
"We didn't just see him - we fought him." Cassandra said. "7 feet tall, axe just as big, red skin, glowing markings on his forehead and chest? If that's the same Astaroth as you're talking about, we fought him."
"You fought him?" Maxi asked, incredulously. "...And survived? How?"
"We didn't just fight him, we killed him." Cassandra announced.
The man fell silent. His posture seemed to droop, but his muscles tensed up. His expression was unreadable - a frightening mixture of confusion, disbelief, and disappointment. He was beginning to tremble.
"...Astaroth is dead?"
"Yes!" Cassandra affirmed.
"...You killed him?"
"That is correct." Sophitia said with a nod.
Maxi began to breathe faster and deeper, almost panting.
"We know you're grateful, but you don't have to thank us. We were just defending oursel-"
"THANK YOU?" Maxi roared. "Why would I THANK YOU? You've STOLEN IT!"
"What?" Sophitia asked, bewildered.
"You stole it from me! You stole my revenge! You stole my justice! Now I can't avenge my brothers! Now I can't avenge Kyam! Now I can't rest knowing that I took retribution! It's because of you - you took it from me, YOU TOOK IT!"
The man's face was red, and he was straining so much as he screamed that his veins were visible. Sophitia and Cassandra subconsciously took a few steps back.
"Calm down, Maxi." Sophitia said. "We haven't stolen or taken anything from you."
"You're wrong, you whore!" Maxi screamed. "I was supposed to be the one to kill Astaroth! ME! There's no point to his death if it wasn't me who killed him! Their deaths won't be avenged if it wasn't me who killed him! You BITCHES!"
"What did you want us to do, just stand there and let him kill us?" Cassandra rebutted.
Maxi gripped his nunchaku and lashed it forward, causing the girls to leap back. "I told you to keep your mouth SHUT!"
Maxi slowly began to feel an urge rising within him.
A cold, calm emotion, similar to anger, but far beyond it.
A terrifying sensation filled him, as if his entire self was becoming steeped in darkness.
Cold sweat poured from his entire body as he began to shudder in fear.
He felt his will slipping away.
No longer in control of himself, he leapt at the two women, and attacked.
Maxi first swung his nunchaku in vertical and horizontal swipes at Sophitia, who slid back to avoid the blows. Cassandra unsheathed her sword and moved forward to defend her sister, but Maxi spun around and swung his weapon at her, nearly slamming the thick wooden stick into her head. He walked towards her, constantly swinging his weapon at her. She raised her sword to defend herself, but one of Maxi's blows knocked her sword out of her hands. Cassandra rolled out of the way of Maxi's next swing, and dived for her weapon. As she did, Maxi turned back towards the other sister.
Sophitia marveled at Maxi's weapon. At that point in history, the nunchaku was a rare weapon that had not been in popular usage - the only weapon similar was a flail. Sophitia herself had used agricultural flails to thresh grain for her father's bakery, but had never considered a flail being used as a weapon. She had no idea how to fight against two sticks connected by a chain. She had never seen a weapon like that before. No, wait - she had seen another chain-like weapon. But she couldn't remember what it was...
Sophitia drew her sword and shield, but only stepped backwards, keeping her distance and studying the way Maxi used the weapon before attempting to attack or parry a blow. She noticed that Maxi kept the nunchaku constantly in motion before himself - this would make use of the weapon tiring, but if what Sophitia could see from Maxi's open shirt was any indication, he was more than fit enough to use the nunchaku for an extended amount of time.
Maxi drew closer and swung the nunchaku at her, and Sophitia raised her shield to defend herself. The weapon struck her shield with much more force than she thought it was capable of, and she almost fell back. She could instantly see the benefits of using the weapon - the stick swinging through the air gained incredible momentum, which would cause greater impact than a sword. Maxi continued his assault without pausing for even a moment - the nature of the weapon prevented the user from experiencing much recoil.
Sophitia raised her shield again, this time forcing it towards her opponent's weapon to cancel out the impact. However, she had the wrong idea - the stick merely slid over the curved surface of her shield, and Maxi swung it up into Sophitia's arm. She gasped in pain and fell back, and saw Maxi swing the nunchaku back to deliver a blow to her, but then he suddenly swiveled on his feet to face away from her - Cassandra, weapon in hand again, had come at him from behind.
Thinking that the weapon would provide poor defense, Cassandra stabbed her sword forward at Maxi. Maxi swung his nunchaku downwards at her sword and knocked it off course - although it was little more than a wooden stick, its momentum gave it enough impact to provide an excellent defense.
Maxi needed a lot of space to swing the weapon, easily endangering both sisters even when only one was actively trying to attack him. In this way, Maxi could focus on one sister at a time, and the Alexandras found that, although the fight was two to one, that did not give them an advantage.
Maxi swung his nunchaku in fluid but deadly motion at one girl, then spun around to do the same to the other. As the other girl recovered or stabbed at an opening, Maxi spun around to parry her and knock her back. Neither girl had ever seen a defense that seemed so impenetrable as the one they were faced with now.
The whipping impact of Maxi's swings caused intense pain when he landed blows on the two women, and his lithe movement made it difficult for them to land more than small nicks and cuts on him with their blades.
Maxi displayed a very high level of skill with the weapon, swinging it in front of him to deflect a stab from Sophitia, passing it between his hands, and then behind his back to deflect a slice from Cassandra, before returning it to the first hand again. He attacked in a variety of ways, with swings aimed at both the sisters' upper and lower bodies, and they quickly became exhausted from constantly having to defend and shield themselves from attacks. They rarely had an opportunity to attack during Maxi during his whirlwind of swings, and as they grew too weary to attack, they were eventually doing little more than trying their best to block his attacks with their shields.
Maxi landed a blow on Sophitia that knocked her back into a wooden railing on the dock. Then he turned to Cassandra, and began an assault that was more relentless than before, now that there was no other sister to interfere. Cassandra had now gotten the hang of evading and blocking his attacks, but was without the strength to do so any longer. Her sword was knocked from her hand once again, and Maxi kicked his foot out, slamming it into her stomach and knocking her into the railing on that side of the dock. He stood before her, and raised his nunchaku to land a fatal blow to her head.
There was a strange sound from behind - metallic, almost machine-like.
Too consumed with anger to think of anything but delivering this final blow, he swung the nunchaku down at Cassandra, but as he did, something silver lashed forward, wrapped around the nunchaku, and yanked it back. Maxi's hand and arm jerked backwards, but he did not relinquish his grip on the weapon. However, the momentum caused his body to turn back, and he found himself facing a woman with platinum hair.
"Nice weapon." Ivy said.
Maxi jerked the nunchaku out of the grip of Ivy's snake sword, and leapt back. For a moment, he studied her weapon. A sword designed to split apart into a bladed chain whip - like an elaborate nunchaku. But he was filled with too much rage to return her compliment.
"Stay out of this, bitch!" He growled. "This is none of your business!"
"These women are my traveling companions, and so it is my business."
"I said STAY OUT OF THIS!" Maxi roared.
Ivy looked at Sophitia. "What did you do to make him so upset?"
"He was obsessed with killing Astaroth. He wants to kill us because we 'stole' Astaroth's death from him."
Ivy's eyebrows adjusted to convey her opinion. "That's stupid." She scoffed.
"SHUT UP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?" With another angry bellow, Maxi dashed forward and swung his weapon at Ivy. Without adjusting her posture, Ivy flicked her wrist, and her snake sword whipped up and wrapped around Maxi's nunchaku once more.
"I know a lot about chain weapons, for one thing." Ivy said with a haughty grin.
Ivy's interruption, arrogance, and possible superiority drove Maxi's fury to much higher levels. He began an assault on her, only to have her flexible sword knock his blows aside or entangle his weapon. Sophitia and Cassandra were enraptured by the amazing battle of chain whips, but soon decided that they should help Ivy. They rose to their feet and took up their weapons, but soon saw that there would be no need for their assistance.
Ivy wrapped her snake sword around Maxi's nunchaku again, and then pulled hard, yanking Maxi toward her. Then she grabbed his nunchaku with her free hand, unraveled her snake sword from his weapon, and then whipped the flat sides of the blades around Maxi's neck.
Then she pulled hard on the nunchaku, forcing Maxi to the ground, and with one hand still holding his nunchaku, she put one foot on his free hand, and the other on his chest.
"I think somebody needs to calm down." She said evenly.
Maxi spat several strings of obscene words at her.
"Hmm. No combinations I haven't heard before. How uncreative."
Ivy yanked Maxi upright, jerked the nunchaku out of his hands, and swung it at his jaw. Maxi's head twisted to the right sharply, and then he collapsed to the ground, unmoving.
Sophitia ran to Ivy's side. "Did you...?"
"No, I didn't kill him, astonishingly. I surprise myself sometimes. I suppose I've gotten soft. Why, want to finish him off now?"
"No - he has experience sailing, and his homeland is Japan."
"...Are you suggesting that we ask this man to sail us to Japan? After he tried to kill you?"
"He tried to kill us, but he might be the only way we'll get to Japan."
Ivy sighed. "Putting our lives into the hands of a bloodthirsty, screaming maniac doesn't seem too bright to me, but what do I know?"
"...I don't think he was in control of himself." Sophitia whispered.
"Hmm? What was that?"
"I sensed something within him. A change. A dark energy. Even now, you can sense it coming from him, if you concentrate. He behaved like a human, and then...he behaved like an animal. I don't think he was responsible for what he did - I think he's been possessed by something evil, or under its influence, at least."
Ivy seemed skeptical at first, but she did feel a dark energy emanating from the man.
"Sounds like this is a problem that won't go away after some beauty sleep." Ivy said. "Who's to say that he'll be able to think and act rationally enough to look past his silly grudge and sail us to Japan?"
"I suppose we'll only know when he wakes up." Sophitia sighed. "...Where are Siegfried and Tira?"
"Assuming they heard the same rumors about a fight going on that I did, they're on their way here right now." Ivy said.
The women did not have to wait much longer for Siegfried and Tira to arrive. They explained who the unconscious man was, and how their encounter with him had turned out.
"Now that you've heard the story, Siegfried, what do you think we should do?" Ivy asked.
Siegfried closed his eyes in thought for a few moments, and then spoke. "I believe that we should ask him for his assistance."
"Siegfried." Ivy said tersely, obviously dissatisfied with Siegfried's choice.
"One is not an evil person simply because they have been possessed by evil." Siegfried said. People had discriminated against him for that very reason, and this apparently gave him some sympathy for Maxi. "I will attempt to reason with him. If he will not cooperate, we will part ways, and that will be our last attempt to reach Japan for the time being. I'll speak to him alone - I don't think he will want you three to be present. If I reveal who I am, he may feel that he can relate to me. I may even be able to give him further insight on his situation."
The women understood. They left the two men with one another on the dock, and stayed out of sight.
Maxi slowly awoke, and beheld Siegfried kneeling beside him. "Who are you?"
"My name is Siegfried."
Maxi sat up. "Three women - did you see three women leaving this area?"
"Those women, and one other, are companions of mine." Siegfried said. "I understand that you are gravely furious at them."
Maxi grabbed Siegfried by the collar. "Where are they? Tell me!"
Siegfried did not show a reaction. "The only reason you are so full of rage for them is because a dark force inhabits your body and strengthens dark desires, such as bloodlust. If you were not possessed by this force, you would realize that it is not reasonable to be so furious at these women."
Maxi stared at Siegfried for a few moments, and then looked away. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and did not look unlike a guilty child who knows that he has behaved badly.
"As you know," Siegfried continued, "we seek passage to Japan for purification arts. If you sail to Japan, you may find a way to purify yourself of the evil energy that controls you. If you feel guilt or regret for your actions today, you would gladly be forgiven if you assisted us by giving us passage to Japan."
Maxi was silent for a while longer, and then replied. "Tell me where the women are."
Siegfried lowered his head, fearing defeat. "Do you still wish to harm them?"
"No." Said Maxi, hanging his head even lower. "I'm going to apologize."
---
Within the day, the six had pooled what money they had to purchase a ship of adequate size to make the trip to Japan. The presence of the two Alexandra sisters made Maxi noticeably uncomfortable. He was polite to them, and although it was quite evident that he still despised the fact that they had stolen his revenge from him, the three were able to co-exist with one another. Ivy was too apathetic to hold grudges, and Maxi forgot about her arrogance and his defeat at her hands as soon as she let him examine her snake sword. During the trip, Maxi was able to bond a bit with Siegfried over their common peril. Maxi found Tira to be quite unfathomable, but had no problems with her. The trip was long, but not boring, as their 'captain' was quite interested in hearing their tales, as well as sharing tales of his own. Sophitia and Cassandra generally stayed on the opposite side of the boat as Maxi was on, if only to avoid accidentally rousing the dark force within him.
With a hearty cry of "Land ho!" from Maxi, their trip began to draw to a close. They developed a much better understanding of the reluctance of so many to travel to Japan once they saw the remains of dozens of destroyed ships littering the water, and smelled the stench of hundreds of bloated corpses floating among the waves. That sight alone was more than enough of a clue that they had entered a nation at war, and they prepared to encounter many dangers.
Sadly, they would not have Maxi as their ally during this time. After they docked their ship at a small port filled with many curious onlookers, Maxi revealed that he thought it would be best to part ways. He still wasn't sure of himself or who he was without his main drive in life, and wanted to find himself on his own, instead of drift along with others on their own quest. " 'You must cut your own path in life.' ...That's what somebody once told me. Can't remember who it was, though." Maxi said.
The group was sad to see their new friend leave, but they understood his reasons. As he had respected their quest, they would respect his, and they bid one another good luck before they went their separate ways.
A/N: Today, October 31st, 2006, is the anniversary of I Am Your Slave. One year, 30 chapters, 235 reviews, 53,000 hits, and 116,000 words later, I'm content with the story, for the most part. I do have one regret - after chapter 27, I took a two-month break from writing, and readership dropped from around 1,100 views per chapter to around 500 views per chapter. It's discouraging to know that so many readers have left, and that over half of the reader base may have left the story forever, but no matter how many (or few) people are reading, I definitely won't stop writing this story until it's done (and even after the story is done, I have a few surprised in mind).
I'd really like to give a big thank-you to all the readers who are still reading the story. Thank you so much for sticking around, and special thanks to the readers who leave such kind and encouraging reviews. And last, thanks for helping me get 235 reviews and over 53,000 views! I hope you keep reviewing, because each review really means a lot to me.
Here's to another year of IAYS! I hope I don't disappoint you!