A/N: In case a reminder is necessary – Chapter 31 was the beginning of a fan-written side-story to IAYS, and this chapter is a continuation of that side-story. The author is Henry, a talented writer who provides me with invaluable help when I lack inspiration. Please enjoy reading his fanfiction of my fanfiction!
Greed left Zasalamel's side after relating to him an amusing anecdote just long enough to separate himself from the plane of Earth and away from the concrete, into a place encircled in darkness, where only his own body was illuminated.
"Report, Greed."
"I have conducted the necessary observations," Greed stated, dropping to one knee and lowering his head, pointing it towards a nonexistent floor. "Zasalamel is strong enough to claim the sword for himself. At his present course, he will eventually wry it from Siegfried and use it to achieve his ambitions."
"That is not the plan we had in mind."
Greed lifted his head very slowly, fearfully. "You...wanted me to do something else?"
"There is someone else who has already used the power of the sword," came a new voice, almost as commanding as the last. "Place it in his hands, and darkness will consume the Earth. Zasalamel's plan must not succeed, or the sword could risk being sealed away forever."
"What is it you need me to do?" Greed asked.
"Persuade the former Azure Knight to regain his lost glory," came the response. "If Soul Edge is completed, evil will spread throughout the world. All of us can escape this wretched place and join you upon the Earth."
"I look forward to it," Greed said with a nod, bowing a final time and rising to his feet, and appearing once more at Zasalamel's side.
Zasalamel did not turn to acknowledge him. "...You are still following me?"
Greed smiled. "For a while longer. How long will you be staying in this land?"
"So long as I wish to," Zasalamel answered shortly. "I tire of using secondary agents. I will wait Siegfried out; given time, he will bring the sword to me."
Greed shrugged. "Yeah, sure... I suppose, seeing as you'll live longer than he will anyway, you could just wait for him to die."
Zasalamel finally refocused his gaze on Greed. "What was that?"
"Oh, just that I've seen quite a few facets of your personality recently," Greed pointed out. "You aren't as powerful - or as charismatic - as you think you are."
Zasalamel thrust his arm out, grasped Greed's head within his hand, clenched his fist, and crushed Greed's skull. As Greed's head rebuilt itself, his laugh came as fast as always. "Siegfried is just a mortal man," Zasalamel assured. "He has already shown how easily he is swayed...it will not be difficult to manipulate him."
Greed gave a mocking bow. "I'll leave you to your devices, then..." He gave another laugh and vanished, leaving Zasalamel alone.
And for the first time, feeling the tiniest hint of doubt.
---
The sun sank down into the west and night fell. Having secured lodgings, they divided into their rooms: Taki provided for herself and selected a suite, Setsuka and the Alexandra sisters took one, Ivy selected one and locked everyone else out of it, and Siegfried and Tira accepted one for themselves.
It was Tira who suggested it, and Siegfried agreed. In moments, they were undressed and their bodies were entangled once again. At first, they were intense...but as the night wore on, Siegfried lost his fervor, and his actions became simple and instinctive.
The body he had once tormented himself to see was no longer foreign to him, and every inch of Tira was still fresh in his mind. He'd seen her many times, and had her do whatever he wanted... but no matter how fond of her he'd been, the body writhing beneath him seemed less attractive and less important now.
She was his slave. She belonged to him.
Horrible as he felt to think about that, it had struck him as a painful reality. She was so beautiful, and he liked having her by his side, but she was just something to please him. She wasn't a person, she was an object. She was his toy, and he would play with her when he wanted to, and only when he wanted to.
Horrible as he felt to think about that, he was...enjoying it. From his ownership of Tira, he was deriving some sick, twisted pleasure in the back of his otherwise prim, proper mind. He enjoyed knowing that no matter how many women he used, he could always take this one, should someone else refuse him. So long as he had Tira, his desires could be satisfied.
Horrible as he felt to think about that, he recognized that he did not need to love Tira. She would do what he asked any time he wanted to. He didn't need to be passionate with her nor make effort to please her. He could satisfy himself and himself alone.
Horrible as he felt to think about that.
Siegfried had finished with her eventually and lay beside her, not speaking. He knew Tira was watching him, trying to curl beside him, but he did not embrace her. He did not offer her praise nor ask her if she'd been pleased...and she would not talk to him unless he engaged her in conversation.
He smiled grimly at the thought. He had a slave, and he was finally starting to like that.
Tira, meanwhile, looked at the cushions of their bed, concealing her tears from her Master.
---
The following day, the party divided once again. Siegfried, Tira, and Setsuka accompanied Taki to meet with an associate of hers', while the Alexandra sisters accompanied Ivy in speaking with the Eastern alchemists. They agreed to return to that inn in the late afternoon. Cassandra had to be regularly dragged away from the various local merchants, and within a few short minutes had learned to fear Ivy when she was angered. Even a simple tug was incredibly painful when Ivy's whip was doing the pulling.
The day was uneventful at first, with Cassandra and Sophitia struggling to find something to do to remain relevant, while Ivy overcame language barriers by showing the Japanese scientists her own knowledge of alchemy. Even after being consumed by a facsimile of the sword's power, she still seemed convinced that her scientific knowledge would overwhelm the unnatural power of Soul Edge.
The day was uneventful, but the monotony was suddenly interrupted by a very unexpected attack; a monstrous creature - seemingly composed only of brown chunks of flesh - appeared seemingly from out of the ground, extending long, claw-like fingers towards Sophitia.
Sophitia felt her side ache, as the shards beneath her skin emanated their baneful power. At once she readied her sword and shield, as the faceless monstrosity approached her, moving slowly forward...until its fingers seemed to twist and contort, taking the shape of a sword and shield, virtually identical to her own.
Ivy hadn't noticed, still haggling with an increasingly apprehensive Japanese alchemist. Cassandra rushed to her sister's defense, eyeing the strange creature.
"Ugh! You're definitely not my type!"
The creature swung the blade. Cassandra parried the attack with her shield and swung down low, cutting the thing's feet away from its legs and watching it fall back...only to almost immediately reattach itself back together and resume its fighting stance.
"Uh..."
"Get away, Cassie!" Sophitia instructed. "Don't fight that thing!"
Ivy gave an audible sigh as the Japanese alchemist she'd been speaking to abandoned his devices and precious metals in favor of placing distance between himself and the creature.
"Retreat," Sophitia told it. "You're outnumbered."
The creature did not seem to understand her (and if it did, it didn't care) and just swung again, only for its attack to be deflected by Cassandra once more. The sword it had constructed reformed into the shape of an axe and it swung again, striking with enough force to floor Cassandra, even with the protection of her shield.
Sophitia at once moved to her sister's defense, but Ivy raised her arm in Sophitia's path. "Leave this to me," the British woman instructed, stepping forth and breaking the Ivy Blade into sections, allowing it to rest on the ground.
The creature reformed its appendages, combining the two weapons into a single large blade, almost like Siegfried's zweihander. Ivy pursed her lips before slashing forth with her Ivy Blade, breaking through the creature's weaponry and cutting away some chunks from its flesh, only for things to reform.
Ivy smirked. "Cute trick," she lifted the Ivy Blade up over her shoulders and lowered her body ever so slightly. When the monstrosity pursued her again, she gave a short laugh and twisted her body out of range of its attack, and unleashed the whip in a large arc, cutting through the creature's fleshy chunks in several areas, allowing it to fall to the ground in several large pieces.
Ivy allowed her blade to reform and stepped aside, moving back...only to hear the sound as the creature reformed and lifted another sword-like appendage. Her whip sword reacted, but the rushing of wind meant the attack would be upon her before she could turn.
And then Cassandra skewered the creature through its torso as her Digamma sword cut right through its flesh and bluish aura. Ivy followed suit and cut it up into several smaller chunks, and quickly found familiar chunks of metal within the confines of its contorted body.
"Soul Edge shards," Ivy spat. "No wonder it attacked us."
Ivy continued hacking away, breaking the metal apart along the way. Cassandra attempted to help, but for each single strike she made, Ivy landed dozens. In only a short time, the Soul Edge shards had been ground into a fine powder, and tiny bits of flesh remained dormant on the ground.
Cassandra and Sophitia both looked up at Ivy expectantly.
Ivy sneered. "Are you expecting gratitude from me? You should be glad I decided to help you."
Cassandra was slack jawed, but had plenty to say, and only the timely placement of Sophitia's hand prevented the younger Alexandra sister from spouting off something she would later regret.
---
Meanwhile, back at a large, bustling port in India, Maxi stepped off his tiny vessel, rather surly... he hadn't found anyone willing or able to remove his anger, and everyone seemed to insist it was his own emotional fervor, and even after several strikes from his nunchaku, they remained convinced of that.
Maxi returned to the port in hope of finding some business...now that he'd made a successful journey to a war-torn country, assuredly other travelers heading to Japan might be willing to pay him an exorbitant sum for safe passage.
Instead, he wound up with a Chinese girl tugging on his arm and insisting that he accompany her on her search for 'Kilik,' whoever that was.
"Who are you, again?" Maxi asked.
"Silly, it's Xianghua! I'm really glad I ran into you...now, c'mon, let's go find Kilik!"
"Who's that?"
"Stop acting stupid, Maxi!" Despite being of small stature, Xianghua managed to drag him very well.
"Hey, wait, where are you-?" But it was too late...she pulled him effortlessly, driven by deep purpose. As he was tugged along, Maxi reflected.
"Cut your own path through fate."
And now this girl - Xianghua - seemed synonymous with those words.
---
Back in Japan, Siegfried did his level best to avoid eye contact with any of his three companions. It was easier in Tira's case, as she continued to march stoically behind him, with her head pointed to the ground. Setsuka constantly sent him cocky grins, while Taki stared directly ahead, always alert and prepared.
She was the one who directed the group into an otherwise innocuous building, leading them down a long stairwell into a dark sanctum, towards the familiar platform depicting the Tao, and the great statue of Buddha before it. Sitting upon Buddha's palm was a single figure, cast into shadow but with noteworthy prongs seeming to extend from her back. Raising her head, the figure revealed a few scraps of hair underneath a white hood. "You."
"I'm back," Taki greeted. "And we'd like to get some information from you."
Without hesitation, the person dropped from Buddha's palm, revealing herself in the dim torchlight, and unsheathed a katana from her hip. "You'll have to take it," the woman promised Taki.
Taki shrugged, drawing the Mekki-Maru. "I've defeated you before, Miser, and without your subordinates, you won't be able to hold your own."
'Miser' did not reply verbally. She charged at Taki, extending the tip of her katana in the missing-nin's direction. Taki easily parried the attack, only for Miser to move skyward and lift the large shuriken from her back and fling it downwards. Taki back flipped out of the shuriken's path and delivered a massive upward kick with both feet square into Miser's chin before she landed. The force of the attack was sufficient to knock the katana from her hand, and Taki at once drew the Mekki-Maru to Miser's neck.
"I said we needed information from you," Taki stated. "That's the only thing keeping you alive right now."
Siegfried was about to protest, but Setsuka moved her parasol in front of his mouth. "Don't interfere," she whispered.
Miser sneered up at Taki. "Fine. What do you want?"
"I left behind a clan of demon hunters," Taki said, more for the others' benefit than Miser's, "and my friends were recently attacked by a member of the Fu-Ma ninjas; one of Master Toki's subordinates."
Miser sneered. "You have gone mad, then. The man with the broadsword over there destroyed all of my ninja."
Taki glanced back his way. "I didn't kill them," Siegfried chimed in. "It was an old man...a man with gray hair and a green tunic."
Miser's visible eye widened. "Greed..."
"Greed?" Taki repeated.
"A traitor like no other," Miser spat. "He led us to you, and when he showed me how to find the missing-nin, he told me Siegfried Schtauffen had killed all my men, before disappearing like he always does."
"Does he work for you?" Taki asked.
Miser sneered. "Never...we do not accept treachery, as you well know."
"Taki," Siegfried chimed in again, "about Geki..."
Taki nodded and moved the Mekki-Maru closer to Miser's neck. "What he said."
"I never met that man," Miser conceded. "I'm the only one who still inhabits this place. Any remaining Fu-Ma ninjas are outside my command."
Taki nodded. "Okay, then. You're of no further use to us."
Siegfried raised a protest but Setsuka halted him, and Taki slashed.
---
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, just past the Egyptian shoreline, Kilik was thrown from the raft he'd been using to travel with as a monstrous red-skinned creature appeared, tossing him into the choppy waves. Heavy rain obscured most of the creature's appearance, but it did have a noticeably deformed left arm with only three large fingers and a broken gray mask over its face. Kilik dragged himself up from the water and back onto the raft, extending the Kali-Yuga forward.
"Foul beast," Kilik growled. "Do not worry...I shall save you from whatever evil has consumed you!"
The masked monster merely grunted and growled, pounding its armored torso with both arms before charging. Kilik hopped aside, using his staff as a sort of springboard so he could strike at the creature's back, forcing it down onto the wet wood.
The creature righted itself almost immediately, and Kilik struck it back down with three quick swings of the Kali-Yuga, followed by a few additional hits before the monster could successfully right itself. The beast lifted its arm and grasped Kilik by the neck, lifting him up even as he struck away at the creature's head and neck.
Kilik felt the grip tightening, and his attacks grew less frequent, and the water droplets falling on him barely seemed to touch his face...
"Necrid! STOP!"
Kilik hit the wooden raft floor as the giant monstrosity released him. He glanced back up, to where the monstrosity referred to as 'Necrid' still stood, a thin, bearded man standing by its side, barely visible in the pouring rain.
"Oh, Kilik, isn't it? The one who defeated Nightmare?"
Kilik moved to his feet, again preparing the Kali-Yuga. "Who are you?"
"I'm your savior, apparently," the thin, bearded man replied. "I've got Necrid here tracking down the one-eyed knight with the scythe."
"A knight with a scythe?" Kilik repeated. The memories flooded back to him, when that man had cut him down without a word, without any effort or hesitation...
"Necrid here is ideal for destroying the one-eyed knight," the bearded man continued. "The power of the dormant Soul Edge keeps him alive."
"Power of the dormant Soul Edge? What do you mean?" Kilik asked.
"Necrid was once a warrior like you," the bearded man explained as Necrid himself dropped from the raft into the ocean, treading forth through the storm. "The power of the sword can do more than consume one's mind...it can imbed itself in their very life, slowly but surely joining part of its own immortal soul to flesh and metal, forcing the body to struggle onward long after it should have died.
"Necrid is nothing more but the sword's will, driven by an obsessive desire to possess it," the bearded man continued. "In the Soul Edge's present state, it is undetectable, and is forced to slowly poison another mind in the place of its former hosts... even though it appears neutral, the power of the Soul Calibur can not truly restrain so much evil energy. All of it will come forth slowly...sinking into the crevices of its bearer's already tainted mind."
"Siegfried..." Kilik muttered under his breath.
A flash of lightning revealed the old man's white whiskers and toothless smile. "Darkness sprouts easily...it is impossible to stamp out if it spreads slowly and methodically. So long as anyone has the Soul Edge in their possession, it will dominate their lives forever.
"And you failed to purify it yet again," the old man concluded.
Kilik waited a moment as he played over the scenario in his head, again raising the Kali-Yuga. "Who are you?" he asked again.
The bearded man turned away. "An idea...a notion...a voice..." He dropped into the waves and did not resurface.
---
Back in Japan, the group met again in the early evening, with neither side able to report anything useful. After fending off the attacks of the strange creature, Ivy, Sophitia, and Cassandra now had nothing more but a few extra Soul Edge shards.
Again they divided into their rooms, with Siegfried and Tira now sleeping in separate beds, with the former lying awake into the night, restless.
Normally he might've gone right to sleep after an exhausting day, but this time he was being driven by his growing resentment and impatience...every attempt to purify or destroy the Soul Embrace had failed! Even with the added assistance of a god and purifying arts from all over the world, the two swords forever sat in the sack now resting at his bedside.
"...SIEGFRIED..."
Siegfried first turned towards the sack, and then turned away from it, refusing to hear the sword's words.
"Grasp my hilt. Wake and consume the souls of the weak! Show the world it's greatest nightmare!"
"Shut up!" Siegfried snarled, mostly under his breath.
"Grasp the blade! Siegfried Schtauffen must die so the Azure Knight can live!"
Siegfried covered his ears with both hands.
"Master?"
Siegfried turned, lifting his zweihander Requiem up to Tira's neck, glaring up at her with all his hatred and malice readily apparent on his face.
"Shut up," Siegfried snarled. "I've had enough of evil..."
Tira's eyes widened. "Master...Master, I'm not - "
Siegfried quickly realized that it was Tira before him now, and the Soul Embrace sat on the ground at his bedside, still wrapped in its sack. "Oh...Tira...I'm sorry, I didn't...just a nightmare."
Tira slowly nodded as Siegfried moved the blade away from her neck. "I...I'm sorry for disturbing you, Master." She moved back to her own bed, avoiding his gaze and staring down into her pillow.
Siegfried wanted to comfort her, but was at a loss of words to say...instead he only found more energy in himself, and the reminder that she was, after all, his slave, and the bed sheets clung to her curves...
He stripped her without word and took her body once again...
---
Outside Siegfried's room, Greed sank into the shadows, appearing instead in the domicile of the British woman, bathing herself before she would rest.
"Isabella Valentine," Greed breathed out, smiling pleasantly.
Ivy may have been naked, but she kept her Ivy Blade nearby at all times, and drew it, lifting herself from her bathwater and assuming her fighting stance. "Who are you? Get out of my room this instant!"
Greed turned his head, closing his eyes, conveying modesty and egalitarian respect quite well. "I don't mean to disturb you, but I have information you might find useful. Information I needed to give out before the one-eyed knight succeeded in destroying it all."
"The one-eyed knight?" Ivy asked, placing her clothes back on. "Zasalamel?"
"Oh, yes," Greed replied. "He is in this country, ever impeding your progress...destroying as much as he can in their history of medical and alchemic advancement. He does this because he knows you are here."
Ivy was apprehensive. Zasalamel was extremely dangerous, to say the least. After integrating with the second Soul Blade, Ivy was reasonably suspicious of strangers who seemed to appear from nowhere.
But she was still a vain, ill-tempered woman, and revenge was something she could scarcely hope to resist. "Where is he?" Ivy demanded. "Tell me, before I decide to kill you."
"In an underground sanctum once used by the Fu-Ma ninja clan," Greed answered.
Ivy extended the disjointed parts of the Ivy Blade. "Who are you? How did you come into possessing this information?"
"My name is Greed," he replied. "I was once an ally of the Fu-Ma ninjas. I am not powerful enough to destroy him, so I came here, where the missing-nin was."
"Taki, you mean?" Ivy asked, doing her level best to contain the annoyance she felt toward the Japanese woman. "Why did you approach me instead of her?"
"You have fought him before," Greed replied. "He said he battled a woman with white hair..."
Ivy considered this. There were definitely some holes in his story, but he seemed respectful of her and genuinely frightened of Zasalamel...and he was an old man, so it was unlikely he could harm her in any way.
And, of course, she had wanted another battle with the man with the scythe. Now more so than ever before...She had come to value her independence more than anything after control of her own body had been stripped from her by the will of the Soul Blade, and strongly felt that everything she and the others were being put through was all part of some scheme Zasalamel had designed. Before the experience of having utterly no control over her body, she would merely have hated the thought of someone controlling her life, her destiny, from the shadows. Now, the word 'hate' was nowhere near strong enough.
"Take me to him," Ivy instructed.
Agreeing to her demand, Greed led Isabella Valentine out into the night, away from the protection of her allies and into a dark abode. When the time was right, he would lure Zasalamel there, and let them hack away at each other.
---
Zasalamel himself, meanwhile, had spent much more time in quiet repose than ever before, reflecting on Greed's words. Though he was certain he had grown beyond the strength of any mortal human, his magical powers seemed to pale in comparison against adversaries much like himself, that had cast off the laws of causality.
Keres, the guardian in Egypt, who walked on forever, incapable of feeling harm.
Necrid, the monster that could not be contained and he'd just barely managed to defeat.
And Greed, whom even decapitation could not harm.
Strangely enough, Greed appeared before him, climbing forth from the shadows once again. "Hey," he said. "Want to fight again?"
Zasalamel glared at him with his remaining eye.
"You've been approaching this all wrong," Greed told him. "If you want to defeat Siegfried and his friends, you cannot fling a single minion at them. You must fight them yourself, and systematically eliminate them one by one."
"I don't need your - " Zasalamel did not get to finish his thought as Greed grabbed him, pulling him through the shadows and placing him on a new surface, specifically a large platform before a Buddha statue.
Greed smiled at Zasalamel before vanishing again, leaving Zasalamel in the dim torchlight...
"Greed? Where are you?!" demanded the familiar voice, as Isabella descended towards the light source, only to stop herself and glance over at Zasalamel, standing in the center of the platform.
Zasalamel narrowed his eye and turned away, uninterested in doing battle with her again.
"Come back here!" Ivy roared, lancing out the Ivy Blade and wrapping it onto Zasalamel's powerfully built arm, placing her grasp firmly upon him.
Zasalamel's golden eye glinted in the torchlight. "Release me, Miss Valentine."
Ivy sneered. "You have two things I want. The first is the method needed to separate the Soul Embrace." She separated two blades from the chain, each twisting through the air, hovering on either side of her. "The second is your life."
Zasalamel shrugged, gripping his scythe with both hands. "So be it." He turned to face her, and she pulled the Ivy Blade from his arm, allowing it to reform.
Ivy smirked, lifting her beloved weapon over her head. "Dance!"
---
Greed reappeared in the dark domain, kneeling before the council once again.
"Things are progressing well, Greed. What plan have you to sway the former Azure Knight?"
"A very simple one," Greed replied. "I'm on my way now."
"Remember, Greed...we expect prompt results."
Greed nodded and dropped into the shadows, returning to the hotel, and the room where Siegfried Schtauffen sat, an quietly sleeping Tira by his side. Greed stepped towards his armored back, his kunai at the ready by his side.
"What do you want?" Siegfried asked, not turning his head.
"Ah, you remember me," Greed said. "I was hoping for a chance to talk...or have you been hearing enough voices in your head lately?"
Siegfried lifted himself, lifting the Requiem. "Yes. I've had enough. If you won't shut up, I'll keep you from talking ever again."
Greed shrugged, turning his own back to Siegfried. "Very well...I'll be waiting outside." He sank into the floor, moving through darkness the same way Zasalamel did. Siegfried began the descent from the hotel room, carelessly leaving behind the Soul Embrace...even as Greed's hand reached back up and grasped the sack, dragging it down along with him.
---
Ivy, meanwhile, twirled her right leg, spinning in place as her whip extended out towards Zasalamel. He deflected her attack with ease, before leaping forth, somersaulting through the air and cutting down with his scythe, severing one of her shoulder straps and breaking apart her outfit before he landed.
"What are you doing?" Ivy demanded, hemming her white garb as quickly as she could. "Trying to sneak a look?"
"Do not flatter yourself," Zasalamel replied calmly. "You attacked me; I am merely defending myself."
Ivy grimaced. It was no surprise the fight was proving troublesome, and she was having just a few second thoughts..."Well, aren't we cheeky?" Her arrogant smirk returned at once. "This should be fun." She whipped outwards again, this time encircling her sword around her body, allowing herself a decadent laugh as she unleashed the sword's segments at Zasalamel again...only for the white cloaked moor to simply lower himself and roll over to her, standing up at full height once more. Ivy attempted to strike him again, but Zasalamel twirled his scythe in his hand, knocking her weaponry aside and slashing her across the stomach and torso, leaving a deep cut.
Ivy had time only to leap aside as Zasalamel attempted to strike again. She picked up her Ivy Blade and broke it apart again, using the sword's individual fragments to cover her wound from another strike, before attempting to hit Zasalamel again. Zasalamel twisted aside and delivered a kick to Ivy's unguarded head, flooring her in swift, easy movement.
"I spared you once before," Zasalamel told her. "I will not extend the courtesy again."
Ivy panted, her vision growing progressively hazier...
---
Siegfried stepped out into the dark, empty street, Requiem at the ready, as he glanced about in search of Greed...but didn't have far to look, as the old man in the green tunic stood out away from the inn, several yards off. He waved at Siegfried before breaking into a run, heading off into the darkness.
At first, Siegfried had no intention of chasing after, until he noticed something on Greed's shoulder...slung over sat a familiar sack, with the hilt of a powerful blade just barely sticking out. At once Siegfried raced after Greed in the night, doing his best to keep up in his bulky armor.
He found himself once again before the entrance to the Fu-Ma ninjas' underground sanctum, and Greed waited for him, clutching the sack in his left hand.
"Ah, hello again," Greed greeted. "Can't bear to leave your precious sword's side, can you?"
"Shut up," Siegfried snarled.
"My, how testy," Greed observed. "You can't bear to lose anything you've had in your possession, can you? I can relate."
"Shut up," Siegfried said again.
Greed shrugged. "Very well, let's get to it," he began to reveal the Soul Embrace, allowing the cloth bindings to fall aside as he grasped it with both hands.
"Set it down," Siegfried ordered, his eyes widened and teeth gnashing in obvious anger. "Now."
Greed smiled. "Do you want it back? Do you want to draw on the power, and let evil seep through you again?"
"I SAID SET IT DOWN!"
Siegfried slashed, and Greed dropped the Soul Embrace in order to flip away, allowing it to land harmlessly on the ground.
"Or is it that you no longer need the sword, and have let your own evil out instead?" Greed asked.
Siegfried struck at him, but Greed leapt aside, back flipping underneath the wide arc of the Requiem. Siegfried then attempted a vertical slash, but his attack was parried between the twin blades of Greed's second kunai, Void.
"Your anger and your lust have grown progressively stronger during this journey," Greed observed, twirling his legs around to kick Siegfried away from him. "Your need to dominate and destroy is consuming you, and darkness follows your every movement."
"Shut up!" Siegfried snapped, slashing at Greed again, only for the old man to vanish in sudden movement and reappear behind Siegfried, striking the back of his head with the first kunai, Austere.
"You know it's true," Greed told him. "Your sins are haunting you. Your redemption is but an illusion, just like the dear father you tried to revive." Greed twirled aside as Siegfried slashed at him again, enraged. "What's the matter, can't you destroy me? All you need to do is use the power of the evil blade...or the evil heart, beating within you now."
"Never!" Siegfried shouted, cutting forth again, only for Greed to block the attack, crossing his two blades and allowing himself to be pushed back a few feet.
"Do you feel the power coursing through you?" Greed asked. "Maybe you don't need the sword's power...you'll be consumed by evil one way or another."
Greed set his knives back in their clasps, smiling his toothless smile at Siegfried. "This journey has one of two conclusions. Either you will turn to the sword, and the world will be swallowed up by the evil of the Azure Knight...or the world will be swallowed up by the evil of Siegfried Schtauffen."
With that said, Greed was gone. Siegfried immediately collected the Soul Embrace, but the instant he touched the blade:
He recoiled, as the eye on the Soul Edge's side turned up, looking at him. In the glazed reflection, there stood Siegfried - not Nightmare - raising a deformed claw of a right arm and laughing as he stood over the bodies of countless men and women, his traveling companions looking on in horror as he came to take them...
Siegfried at once tossed the cloth back over the Soul Embrace, and prepared to leave, when he heard the sounds of clashing steel from further inside the building, and stepped in to investigate...to see Zasalamel tossing Ivy around like a rag doll, her Ivy Blade constantly blocked by the man's scythe.
Siegfried did not feel enmity towards any living being, or at least, he never had before. He hated Nightmare, and he hated the Soul Edge, but even monsters like Cervantes and Astaroth did not quite merit 'hate.'
Zasalamel did.
Growling with animalistic fervor, Siegfried leapt into the fray, landing at Ivy's side. "Zasalamel..."
Zasalamel turned his single blue eye on Siegfried. "Ah...at last, I have you where you need to be." He smiled, raising his right arm. "Give the sword to me, and this battle will finally be over."
Siegfried slashed with the Requiem, and Zasalamel leapt backwards, raising his scythe. "Very well..." Zasalamel slashed forth, but Siegfried slashed right back, overwhelming Zasalamel's own considerable strength and cutting the cloaked man across the cheek.
Zasalamel was astonished. He'd been struck before, but never had an otherwise normal human managed to break through his offense...
"You aren't as powerful - or as charismatic - as you think you are."
"Siegfried is just a mortal man."
Siegfried's eyes were alight with fury, and his teeth clenched tightly together, and his breathing harsher than even the wounded Ivy, who was just as shocked at Siegfried's anger.
Zasalamel drew back into the shadows without a word, leaving only a few drops of blood where he'd stood.
Siegfried turned to Ivy, helping her up and examining her wound. Though he was now calmer, Ivy could still see the malice clearly in his eyes.
---
On the Indian border, Maxi had acclimated quite well to his new companion, and had grown closer to her in the short time they'd journeyed together, regardless of funds or lack of familiarity.
Hence he assisted her in battling a small group of armored men, wielding lances and axes and attacking them relentlessly. Xianghua was easily outgunned with her short sword, and Maxi's own nunchaku were unable to get around the enemies' longer weapons.
Cornered, the two stood back to back as four armored enemies closed upon them, until all four were struck by the spinning of a staff, as a single man dropped down beside them, twirling the sacred Kali-Yuga upon his shoulder.
"It's been a while," he said, "Since we've been together like this, hasn't it?"
"Kilik!" Xianghua said, delighted.
Maxi glanced at this man, even as Kilik focused intently on their enemies. He, too, had some since of familiarity... but there would be time to talk later. Maxi leapt out, and Xianghua moved to Kilik's side, as the three fended off the warriors.
---
Siegfried had set Ivy down to recuperate, not bothering to question her about her confrontation with Zasalamel. Instead, he returned to his room, where Tira now sat, wide awake.
"Where were you, Master?"
"I was -" Siegfried began, but stopped. "Don't concern yourself. Go to sleep."
"Master?"
"Go to sleep," Siegfried repeated, setting the Soul Embrace by his bedside and lying down, turning away from her.
Just as the eye of Soul Edge - concealed within the sack - turned towards him with delight.