Tira was a bird in flight.
She was a shadow flitting from perch to perch across the rooftops of one of Japan's larger cities. She sailed through the air in a continuous cycle of swinging from one overhang to the next without pause. If an object stood out more than two inches and was stable enough to hold her weight, it was as good a hold as any other. She was constantly in motion, fluidly moving from one grip to the next. She did not merely jump - she vaulted, somersaulted, flew to each destination. She moved efficiently - but with grace and elegance as well. Her movements were physical art.
It was the first time she had moved in such a way since the Bird of Passage had been dissolved by the Evil Seed. Tira almost scoffed at the irony - in her old life, she had considered herself a bird trapped in a cage. Having lived in servitude since the day she had been born, her mind had been conditioned to follow orders, and had never developed the ability to make decisions for herself. Free will was confusing to her even as a concept; the inside of Tira's mind was a tempestuous place, and she was missing many key elements that most people had psychologically developed from a young age. She had lived a life of nothing but following the orders of others - it was all she knew, and so it made her happy - but at the same time, she knew she was missing something. She knew she was incomplete as a person. She knew she was devoid of freedom, whatever it was - she knew she was a bird trapped in a cage.
Yet the destruction of the Bird of Passage had not come as any kind of relief. She had lost the few people she might have ventured to call friends, and many people whom she had thought of as being closer than family. More than that, she had lost her way; she had obtained freedom, but she was unaccustomed to it, unaware of its meaning, ill-suited for such a life. Without orders, without commands, without a will to follow, she was without direction, and so she was lost. Without a master, she was less than a bird trapped in a cage; she was a lost, stray dog, wandering aimlessly through a chaotic world she could not comprehend.
She thought that he was the ultimate solution to her problems. She thought he sounded like the perfect Master for her. Their similarities seemed to be endless; he had been an unwilling 'servant', he had been traumatized by his experience of not having his own free will, he was a person with a side of light and a side of darkness - exactly how Tira had felt about herself after obtaining freedom. She thought she had found someone identical to herself as could be.
When she first met him, she found him to be a respectable and honorable man. She was infatuated with him before she even met him, and his charms caused him to appeal to her even more. He was a handsome man with a strong and fit body, and caused her to feel desires she had never felt with such intensity; she quickly developed a fondness for her Master's nocturnal wishes, grew to yearn for them herself, and took great pleasure in fulfilling his wants and needs.
But Tira's newfound appreciation for physical ecstasy was repeatedly mired by the habits that her Master developed. She was his servant - no, she received no payment, so she was less than that, his slave - and he was by no means bound to her, yet she could not help but be stung by deep feelings of jealousy when he laid with other women, and although she knew he was not his lover, but his property, she could not help but feel that he was being unfaithful to her.
Yet, she knew it was not her place to feel such emotions. She hid those emotions, kept them tied down and bottled up, just like the way she'd learned to restrain her thirst for blood to appease her Master's pacifistic ideals. But after Ivy, there was Sophitia. And after Sophitia, there was Cassandra. And although Siegfried used Tira to satisfy his desires almost every night, there were nights when he would be absent, leaving her cold and alone, as he warmed the bed of one of the other women yet again.
It was a taboo subject between them; even when they would harmlessly tease one another, they would never bring up the subject of Siegfried's polygamic tendencies. It would destroy the peace between them, overcomplicate matters, cause undue drama and tension; and so they all ignored the fact that they were laying with the same man. Perhaps some of them tried to pretend it wasn't true, and comforted themselves with the lack of ironclad evidence; but deep down, every woman knew it. Yet, despite this, it was not a source of ire or discord amongst them. During the months of travel between them, it had become expected - and from this, ordinary - and from this, accepted. It was such a recognized fact, such a core part of their lifestyle, such a routine happening, that, although the subject was avoided for politeness, everyone had more or less come to terms with it.
Siegfried and his band were free of the taboos of society; they were all aware that human beings were creatures with natural sexual desire. They accepted this, they spoke not of it for civility, but when night fell, and desire ran too strong...
Tira nearly lost her grip on the ledge she'd grabbed. She clutched it tighter, and then used it to swing herself up onto the rooftop. She panted heavily, not realizing how exhausted she had become. But was her fatigue a result of her exertion - or her frustration?
Although Tira, too, recognized sexual desire as a natural part of life experienced by both sexes, this did nothing to quell the feelings of jealousy and betrayal that surged within her when she saw or heard her Master satisfying another woman. He did not respect her. Her only value to him was to serve the purpose of sexual relief. He acted without consideration for her feelings. Of course he did; he was her Master, she was his slave. He had no obligation to treat her as anything more than an object.
...But that doesn't make it hurt any less.
When she first met him, Siegfried was a good man - a noble, upstanding gentleman, a fine example of what a man should be. He was virtuous, always acted with integrity, and his system of ethics and his moral code were far more honorable than most.
But he had degenerated.
He had lost his admirable self-restraint. He no longer showed any sign of discipline regarding his nightly habits. He disregarded her physical well-being, being rough with her to the point of pain, and his recent conquest of Cassandra showed that what appeared to be indications of improvement had been false signs. He had ceased to shun desires that he previously held to be immoral evils, and had instead embraced them. That aside, he was still the same ethical gentleman he had always been during the daytime - but there were two sides to Siegfried. One light, and one dark.
A similarity Tira had seen from the beginning, something she had interpreted as a good sign - but one she now bemoaned. This time, the irony truly did force a scoff from her lips; she thought that by bestowing herself to Siegfried, she would regain the life and comfort she had with the Bird of Passage; but Siegfried never gave her orders outside of a bed, and she spent most of her time standing around or traveling slowly by foot.
It was the pent-up desire for the true physical exertion that had been a staple of her previous life that led Tira to embark on this bout of roof-hopping. There was also a sensation that came with traveling in such a fluid way...
Freedom.
She had never felt more free, and had never extracted such pleasure from the notion of freedom, than when she traveled like this, soaring across the top of a city in acrobatic feats that flowed seamlessly from one to the next, in constant motion. She had chosen to spend a night like this to return to the roots she missed, to feel what she felt her life was lacking.
Yes, chose. I chose to spend my night this way. I made the decision myself.
The time Tira had spent with the others had not directly taught her about self-governing or about freedom, but had definitely taught her one thing - the kind of life she did not wish to lead. A life of uncertainty, a life of slow progression, a life of monotony broken up by short bursts of action.
...I despise my life. I despise living this way. I don't want to live like this. I hate the way Master mistreats me. I hate the way he sleeps with other women. I hate the way he has changed.
I loathe Siegfrie -
Tira visibly flinched.
I don't mean that. I just got excited and emotional and started thinking a lot of angry things. I don't actually mean that. There are some things about my life that I'm not satisfied with, but things aren't really that bad...
Tira sighed. She was lying to herself, and she knew it.
But still, she would not let herself admit that last thought. Any kind of disloyalty was the worst offense a slave could commit to her Master.
...Slave...Master…loyalty...grand terms when I'm just his sex toy. This form of servitude is not rewarding. This is not what I had in mind. I was fine with this at first, but it has moved from being unsatisfactory to being painful. I receive no orders of significance, I am forced to endure mistreatment from a man who does not care about me, I am on a journey which only seems to be more and more futile with every new development...
...What do I do? Do I forsake my Master? Do I abandon Siegfried and the others? I doubt I would be missed. But where do I go from there? Do I find another Master? Should I attempt to make my own choices in life? I think I've finally learned how to start making decisions for myself.
Tira was feeling more and more "free" by the moment. She felt as if the shackles of oppression were being torn off of her - but at the same time, she felt uneasy, indecisive. Despite her development and growth, was she ready for a new life?
Suddenly, Tira felt something. An unnerving feeling. She was glad to be distracted from such grave and weighty thoughts, and turned her attention to this new sensation. It was a familiar one...the aura of Soul Edge. A fragment was nearby. The mansion she had perched atop of - it housed a shard.
---
"I've been thinking about what we should do next, and I think I have a sound plan in mind. As we have learned, the only thing that can affect the Soul Embrace is another Soul Blade. And we've seen that it's possible to forge a new Blade using existing shards of the shattered Soul Edge. If Soul Calibur was made from a purified shard of Soul Edge, then perhaps we could do the same - if we collected shards of Soul Edge and purified them, we should be able to forge a new Soul Calibur. We could then use it to turn the Embrace's stalemate in Soul Calibur's favor, and then use the two holy swords to destroy the demonic sword. In this case, our new objective should be to seek out as many Soul Edge shards as we can find. Taki could purify the shards for us. Hephaestus seemed to be willing to cooperate with us - he could forge the swords."
"That's an ambitious plan."
"Right now, it seems like the most viable option."
---
Tira cocked her head from side to side in thought. If there was a shard inside of this mansion, and her Master's new, reasonable plan called for shards...he would be grateful and pleased with her if she returned to him with a shard. Just a moment ago, she had just been contemplating whether or not she would abandon him, yet now she was considering a way to help him. What do I truly want? ...Perhaps I was too hasty and too emotional when I considered leaving my Master. Perhaps I should spend more time thinking this through. At the least, I should bring this shard back and see if it improves the way he treats me. Even after that, if he still fails to value me...
Tira slipped through an open window. Her mission was on.
---
In a time forgotten, there was a village of ninja, called the Manji clan, hidden away in the forests at the base of Mt. Fuji.
One day, a lord who sought the power of the Manji clan invited its chief to his castle. Due to his old age, the clan's chief would be unable to make the trip, and instead, he sent the strongest warrior of the clan - a ninja named Yoshimitsu - on his behalf. As expected, the lord requested the allegiance of the Manji clan. But the Manji clan preferred to remain hidden due to the current troubled times, and refused to join in the era's petty wars. After a few days' stay at the castle, Yoshimitsu politely denied the lord's request and returned to his village.
Upon his return to the village, Yoshimitsu found it in ruins. The lord had prepared an army in anticipation of the clan's refusal to serve him. The reason the lord had stalled his request and forced Yoshimitsu to stay at the castle was to buy time for his ruthless ambush.
"Either they shall serve me, or I will strike down every last one of them! They are too powerful to remain uncontrolled. Destroy the survivor, as well. He may be the clan's strongest fighter, but he is only one alone."
As the only remaining member of his once proud clan, Yoshimitsu tried to devise a plan to avenge the deaths of his beloved clansmen as he fought off attacks from the lord's men. But he knew he could never match the lord's strength alone. His plan for revenge failed, and in the lord's brutal counter attack, he lost his right arm. All he could manage was to escape into a secret underground water vein only his clan knew about. During the days of drifting in the cold and dark cavern, he was reminded of a tale of an ultimate weapon said to exist across the seas.
"With this weapon of legend, I could crushest all mine enemies! I never believe'd this tale before, but now I feelest it may be the only way left!"
Unable to shake the thoughts from his mind, he traveled westward on his quest for Soul Edge. During his travels, he heard the rumor of the Azure Knight, and saw the remains and tragedies the knight had caused. He felt the despair, hatred, and desires for revenge born from the knight's evil, and thought, "I can never givest up my quest for revenge, but what is the difference betwixt the lord and I, or the Azure Knight? What wilt be left after mine bloody quest for revenge? Is this what the souls of my clan desirest? Vengeance wilt be mine, but if I continuest along this path, I wilt be no better than the lord who destroy'd my clan, or the Azure Knight..."
Yoshimitsu tried to cut down the budding doubt within him, but as he continued his journey, he encountered many remains of massacres, one after another. With each ensuing encounter, the doubt within his heart took root. It was only a matter of time until Yoshimitsu was instead on the trail of the man responsible for these killings. Yoshimitsu followed his trail to Ostrheinsburg Castle, but the castle was enveloped in silence and devoid of any signs of life. Although there were traces of evil energy in the castle, there were no clues about the whereabouts of the mass murderer. Yoshimitsu eventually left the castle behind him.
Soon after his visit to the castle, he noticed something strange. Yoshimitsu sensed the presence of a sinister energy dwelling within his katana. Perhaps the evil spiritual energy that lingered in the castle was drawn to the sword because it had been used to shed blood.
Yoshimitsu swore to quell the negative energy within his sword. The spiritual energy within him that sustained his vengeance until now had a new purpose. The conflict and doubt within Yoshimitsu was finally resolved, and he achieved enlightenment through this new task.
But something unexpected happened.
One night, Yoshimitsu became careless and fell into deep slumber after exhausting his energies on neutralizing the negative spirit within his sword. During his sleep, a thief used the cover of night to steal his sword.
There was no way that the spiritual energy of malevolent hatred and resentment within the sword would dissipate in a day or two. Only misfortune would result if the katana fell into the wrong hands.
While Yoshimitsu traveled the continent in search of his sword, he devoted his life to serving the weak and the underprivileged. Four years passed, and he devised a plan - an attempt to close the gap, even a little, between the haves and the have-nots. His scheme involved the plunder of treasures from the rich to give to the poor - and what better treasures than those said to be held within Vercci's tomb?
Yoshimitsu used all of his skills and abilities to infiltrate the tomb, also known as the Money Pit. As described in rumors, the interior of the tomb was rife with traps. But he was able to reach the treasures without encountering the "Guardian" of the tomb, whom Yoshimitsu was vigilant against. A faint smile unconsciously crept across his face - the riches waiting for his taking were beyond his wildest imagination.
His smile faded when he found something amongst the stockpiles of treasures...his lost sword. And his face became graver when he discovered a throne enshrined in one of the rooms deep within the Money Pit.
Upon the throne was a metal fragment that emanated the same evil aura as his beloved sword.
Shortly after this discovery, Yoshimitsu left the Money Pit with his sword and the metal fragment in hand.
Yoshimitsu thought, "If there art other things that possest this evil within them, they must be foundest and collect'd. The tragedies cause'd by this evil must never be allow'd to happen again!"
Now, there was no more doubt clouding Yoshimitsu's mind. Neither did the cursed items in his possession cast a shadow upon the path that he chose to take. Yoshimitsu set out on a journey to recover his sword and to destroy all of the items that had been tainted by the evil sword.
Unfortunately, those items - including the fragments of the evil sword - had already been scattered to the corners of the earth. Finding and destroying them himself was impossible. Not only that, but while he was concerning himself with the cursed sword fragments, he wouldn't be able to spend time protecting the weak.
As things stood now, he was at a dead end. Faced with the situation, Yoshimitsu devised a plan.
He returned to Japan and recruited ruffians from throughout the land into an organized group of thieves. It was the birth of an organization of chivalrous thieves called the Manjitou.
Using his exceptional combat skill, gifted decisiveness, and ability to put unconventional plans into action, Yoshimitsu became the head of the Manjitou and skillfully organized the group of outcasts. While stealing riches from wealthy nobles and merchants and distributing them to the poor, they destroyed the fragments of the evil weapon that lay scattered throughout the land. It was not an easy task, but with the power of the Manjitou and its carefully-selected, few-but-powerful members, his dream was no longer impossible.
One day, Yoshimitsu devised a robbery greater than any which had come before. The Manjitou would infiltrate the mansion of a famously wealthy usurer and take everything he had. There was also information indicating that a fragment of Soul Edge was hidden in the money-lender's mansion. A careful plan was drawn up, and a massive operation involving the entire Manjitou clan was put into action.
Unfortunately, the plan was doomed to fail.
---
At first, Tira thought she had made a terrible error. Usually, only an awful blunder causes one to face down a large group of warriors. However, these men were not the mansion's guards summoned by someone who had spotted Tira - they did not wear the same outfits of the mansion's security. They were clothed for a covert mission, but had an air of amateurism - they were thieves here to pull a heist. It seems Tira had picked the wrong night to steal from this mansion. And she was standing right in front of the treasure room where the shard was held, too - so close...
"Who's that? She doesn't look like a guard."
"Look at the way she's dressed. She's a concubine."
"Alright, knock her out and carry on."
One of Tira's hands found the inside of her ringblade.
"Wait - look at that thing on her back - it's some kind of weapon."
"So she's an elite guard, then?"
The men were nervous and confused. Tira sighed at their amateurism.
"I think she's like us - here for the money. Or for the shard..." Said a wise-sounding voice that belonged to a man who seemed more competent than his companions. From his manner, he appeared to be their leader. Tira smirked at his guess, giving away its accuracy.
"...Well, this hasn't happened before." The leader said nonchalantly. "I wonder what to do..."
Tira saw one of the leader's fingers twitch, then heard a familiar sound, and knew the danger it signified. She spun so her back was facing the men, and the sedative blow dart that had been shot at her bounced off of her ringblade harmlessly. She slowly turned to face the men, indignation clearly evident on her face.
"How could she react so fast...?" One of them gasped.
The leader's fingers twitched again. Her eyes quickly scanned the group, and she saw several more blow dart pipes raised and aimed her way. She whipped her ringblade off of her back and spun it on her wrist, using it as a shield to deflect the darts that were shot at her.
"Again?"
Tira smirked smugly, but was still annoyed. She drew a tiny throwing-knife from her waist, and pointed it at the leader's hand. "Stop sending signals with your fingers or I'll limit the variety you can use."
The leader smirked, amused. "You're good. However, you are but one, and we are many. You could cut down perhaps one or two of us before losing your life. You seem intelligent. You should know that you cannot survive against these odds. Now do the smart thing, and leave."
"Two things." Tira began. "I could kill you all without sweating, and I was here first. You should be the ones to leave."
The leader sighed, and drew his sword. "We avoid killing at all costs. But if you will fight us, we will have to remove arms until you cease to oppose us. Do you really wish to lose a limb tonight?"
Tira stood silently in consideration. She was not listening to the man's bluffing, but was instead wondering how to best exit the situation. She could burst into the treasure room, grab the shard, and then flee for a window while dodging the men's attacks - easy enough. She could simply flee for a window now to cut down risk and unnecessary trouble. There was also another alternative that she had intentionally been avoiding the consideration of...
Kill them all.
She had avoided causing bloodshed during her travels with her Master; watching firsthand as his body was used against his will to slaughter innocent lives had given her Master an intense aversion to killing, and a predisposition toward peace and harmonious resolutions. She had followed his example and done her best to never disappoint him by repressing the dark desires that she had not allowed him to learn of...her earliest memories were of killing; it had been a part of her life since early childhood, just as integral to her lifestyle as following the orders of others. She had become so accustomed to taking life that it had progressed from a duty to a psychological requirement; to not kill felt abnormal, to not end life felt unnatural. It had been hard, struggling against her most powerful impulse these many months - but she felt that she had finally recovered from her 'addiction', gained control over her once-maddening bloodlust.
...Until now.
By second nature, she was aware of the most effective ways to kill a human being, even how to kill a group of around a dozen or so like this one without receiving so much as a scratch. Mentally, she drew the path that her ringblade would have to travel through the air to behead them all as quickly as possible. She imagined the state that the room would be in after she was through - it would be a bloodbath. Simply by instinct, she was aware of several dozen different ways to slay every man in this room, and the different combinations and methods she could use continuously ran through her mind...
"Well? Don't keep us waiting here all night." The leader said, snapping Tira away from her killing fantasies and back to reality.
If I killed these men, Master would be disappointed in me. Would be...if he ever found out. And even if he did, what does it matter he's disappointed in me? He's not especially proud of me now, anyway. And besides that, I find myself caring less and less. I'll let these fools decide if their lives end tonight. "...Turn around and leave now, or I'll kill all of you." Tira said flatly.
"You've overstepped yourself, girl. You're up against odds you can't beat. We're not going anywhere." The leader said, raising his sword. It would appear that his confidence was genuine, and not simply an attempt to frighten her. He had underestimated her; he sincerely believed he would win if they clashed.
Overconfident fool.
Tira's lips curled into a smile as she crouched and prepared to leap.
---
The vanguard force sent in specifically to target the fragment was attacked and wiped out in front of the treasure room. Yoshimitsu, who was leading a decoy group to distract the guards, did not learn of this until it was too late. The news that the Manjitou's best men had been eliminated destroyed the chain of command. In the end, half of the clan failed to escape, and were either captured or killed.
Although many clan members were dispirited after this crushing defeat, they still had to save their captured comrades. Immediately, Yoshimitsu led his remaining forces in a rescue operation. The jailbreak was a success. A single member of the vanguard force had survived the massacre by fleeing. He felt great shame for his cowardice, but hoped to redeem himself by giving Yoshimitsu something valuable – a description of the one whom had wiped out his team.
He explained that the one whom had slaughtered his comrades had been a woman clothed in a torn green tunic adorned with feathers, and that she had wielded a giant circular blade.
Yoshimitsu spoke softly to the uneasy men.
"I wilt dealest with this matter. I wilt trackest down the one who slew our brothers, and extractest retribution most fierce. Dismissed." At this short command, the Manjitou silently dispersed.
Yoshimitsu could not allow the dark influence of the cursed sword to stay free. Who was seeking this shard, and why? Whatever their reasons, Yoshimitsu could not allow them to get away with causing the deaths of over half of his men.
As Yoshimitsu climbed atop the prison house and prepared to leave, he admired the view that the high vantage point gave him - and noticed something.
Flitting atop the rooftops of the city was a figure with a large circular object on their back; the object gave off the shine of metal under the moonlight.
...It would appearest that mine hunt was a short-live'd one. Yoshimitsu leapt to high into the air, raised his katana above his head, and began to twirl it.
---
Tira awoke to find that her body was burning. Every inch of her skin was submerged in searing heat. Her body was matted with sweat that caused her clothing and hair to cling to her skin. She groaned and writhed. Such heat - she had never felt anything this scorching hot before. She pried her eyes open, and blasts of warm air struck them. She squeezed them tight, but then reopened them. She had to know where she was, what was going on...
She was laying on her back, and with her eyes open, she saw what was over her head - a cave ceiling, or what could pass for one. She struggled to her feet - she was standing on some sort of platform with elaborate engravings - and looked around.
The platform she was standing on was floating on top of a river of lava. The platform floated down the river, traveling through a tunnel. The walls of the tunnel were cave-like, but adorned with sculptures - engravings depicting dragons and snakes, and statues of the same subject - it was almost a temple built into a cave, except the floor was made of flowing lava.
...Oh. I get it. I died and went to hell.
A chortle emerged from Tira's mouth. Then another. She laughed. She threw her head back, sending a spray of sweat into the air, as she cackled.
"What dost thou findest so amusing, girl?" Came an eerie voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.
"Oh - ha - it's nothing - heh - it's just that, this whole time, I was so worried about Master and my life and everything - but the afterlife is eternity, right? I really should have been thinking about this, instead. All those things I was so worried about - " Tira repressed a snicker. " - none of that matters anymore! I'm dead now. Dead and in hell. And with the blood on my hands, I doubt I could have ever avoided this, anyway. Everything seems to matter so much less once you realize it was all just a brief dream before spending eternity in hell."
"And thou findest this to be funny? Thou art a girl most curious."
A figure dropped down from nowhere, landing on the same platform as Tira. Tira knew it was a demon after taking one look at his face - it was pure white, and monstrous, with a forehead that spread out into five yellowish-red horns. The demon was dressed in elaborate and colorful samurai armor, and the only visible skin on the creature was his naked right arm. It had the same texture and shape as wood, and appeared to be made out of muscles shaped similarly to gears and the sorts of intricate devices found in clockwork. However, it moved and turned, breathing and alive, and Tira knew it could not be mere wood, but this monster's flesh.
"I hath broughtest thou hither to deliverest upon thee the punishment for thine crimes." The demon said, speaking an archaic Western dialect that Tira could hardly understand.
"I'm not stupid, I know what hell is." Tira shot back.
"Hell? This is not hell, girl. But I wilt send thee there soon enough!" The demon moved his bizarre arm to his scabbard, and grasped the hilt of a katana. He drew it out, and held it in a battle posture. "Draw thine weapon. I wouldst not kill an unarmed foe, even one as foul as thee."
"...I fight in hell?" Tira asked, perplexed. She reached back, and felt for her ringblade. It was there. She drew it, and held it out before her in the stance she had adopted so many times before. "...Fine...fine then...if this is the eternity I've earned, so be it...I have to fight for eternity? Fine. I can do that."
The demon lunged forth, and began to attack Tira. He fought with standard sword moves - surprisingly humanlike for a demon. Tira used her ringblade as a shield and blocked his attacks with only moderate effort. He seemed to be a warrior of standard ability, nothing threatening to her. However, as she twirled in a circle to evade an attack, she realized that he was pushing her close to the edge of the platform, and close to falling into the lava below.
Tira somersaulted through the air, landing behind the man. He stabbed his katana backwards, attempting to attack her even while facing away from her. The sword went through the center of her ringblade, narrowly missing Tira's torso, and she jerked her weapon to the side to send the demon's sword astray.
The demon dropped to the surface of the platform and rolled his body along it to reach a location not so close to the lava, and then leapt to his feet and resumed his attack. He progressively became more creative with his sword moves, throwing in kicks, punches, and even a few surprise trick attacks. However, for his added creativity and style, he was only posing a small challenge to Tira. Then, as if he had finally decided to take the battle seriously, his attacks increased in passion and vigor, and soon his attacks were taking extreme effort to block or evade, and presenting a powerful threat to Tira.
Tira had been trying to return the demon's attacks, but his relentlessness - and not to mention the searing heat that was causing her to feel dizzy - prevented her from being able to perform very many counterattacks. She was caught off guard by a leg swipe from the demon, and thrown onto her back. The demon stood above her, and raised his sword to strike a killing blow.
"Evil begets evil...Thou shalt have NO mercy!"
Tira was faint and lightheaded from the heat, but still managed to muster the strength to raise her legs and deliver a powerful kick to the demon's abdomen. He went flying through the air, off of the platform, and toward the lava below.
Tira knew the fight was over. She let her head fall back, and panted heavily.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of a sword spinning through the air rapidly.
The next enemy? Tira pulled herself and looked toward the sound - to see that it was the same demon from before. The demon was - Tira rubbed her eyes to make sure that they were not fooling her - flying through the air. He was holding his sword horizontally above his head, and rotating his gear-like wrist rapidly, causing the sword to spin in the air. It was twirling at an incredible speed. Tira did not understand the concept of wind generating lift, but knew the sword's rotation was somehow causing the demon to 'fly'. The demon landed on the platform, and Tira prepared herself for battle.
The demon planted his sword into the ground, then hopped up and placed both his hands and feet onto the sword's hilt. In this awkward position, he perched on the hilt of his own sword - and then began to hop towards her.
Again, Tira wondered if her eyes were betraying her.
The demon assailed her, attempting to land close enough to her to cut her with the blade of his sword, or impale her by coming down on her vertically from a particularly high hop. All of Tira's efforts were centered on dodging the demon's attacks, not because they were effective, but because it was difficult for her to do much else than stare at the demon's bizarre display.
Seeing that his strategy was yielding little fruit, the demon hopped off of his sword, and then spun in a circle. The demon disappeared, and re-appeared a short distance away. It was not movement fast enough to seem instantaneous - Tira's eyes would have caught it. No, this being was actually teleporting. He continued his uncanny demonstration, teleporting around the platform, until he seemed to disappear altogether.
...Behind me.
Tira leapt forward, away from the demon she knew was behind her. She whirled around to face it - and beheld the demon, back facing her, impaled by his own sword.
She stared blankly in confusion, and then watched as the demon charged backwards at her, and stabbed himself through the abdomen again, in an attempt to attack her that fell short.
Tira's face twisted into a snarl, and she delivered a hard kick to the demon's back, sending him sprawling onto the platform. "This is RIDICULOUS! Are you just toying with me? Is this what hell is supposed to be? Eternally fighting an absurd and stupid enemy?"
"NAMU!" The demon screeched. "If thou findest this so easy, then fightest back!"
Tira, her energy renewed by frustration, assaulted her opponent. She swung her ringblade at him ceaselessly, fighting at top capability. She sliced into the demon's flesh several times, and knocked him back considerably with every blow.
Eventually, the demon backed away from her, keeping his distance instead of drawing closer as he had been doing before. He was heavily wounded and bleeding severely. Tira realized that he was no longer in any condition to fight.
"...Thou fightest well, Girl Most Green." The demon said. "It would appearest that I must seekest mine vengeance another day..."
The demon leapt up into the air, and began to twirl his katana.
"I wilt allowest you to livest today, murderer! I cannot avengest mine comrades this time, but I wilt findest thee again, and during our next encounter, I shalt killest thee!
"Art thou the ghostest of someone whose friends I killedest?" Tira asked, mocking the demon's speech pattern.
"This is not the land of wind and ghosts! Nay, thou art in the volcanic innards of Fuji-sama! Thou hath earn'd the right to leavest. The exit is a short distance further down the lava stream. I sayest again: Thou hath killed mine companions, an unforgivable encroachment, and I wilt have thine head for it!"
The demon - or insane man - or whatever he was - flew away, leaving Tira alone in the belly of the giant mountain she had seen on the horizon so many times.
So, this isn't hell after all? ...Hell or not, that man couldn't have been human. His arm was made of wood, but it was moving like a regular arm, and seemed...alive. And how did he survive all of those stab wounds he inflicted on himself? What a weirdo. ...But, if this isn't hell...I'm still alive. I just have to get out of this volcano.
Despite her resignation to her supposed 'death', she was very relieved to in fact be alive. After another minute or so of floating down the river of lava, she saw an enclave with a stairway plainly in sight. She leapt off of the platform to the enclave, and began to ascend the stairs.
---
"Tira!" Ivy barked angrily. "Where WERE you? Stupid girl, you held us up! What the hell were you doing? Why - "
"Tira!" The second voice caught Tira's attention far more than the first. She'd predicted Ivy's reaction down to the last word, but her Master she was unsure of - and it was her Master who now approached her speedily. Tira was surprised - but pleasantly so - when Siegfried slung his arms around her and held her close, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
"...M-master?"
"You're back - I was so worried - are you unharmed?"
Tira was overwhelmed by the emotion that was coming from Siegfried. Such concern - it was a side of him she had not seen before. That much concern - for her? Did he really care about her? Really value her? ...Or was he just afraid that he had lost his reliable sex slave? "...I'm okay, Master." She held out the shard of Soul Edge. That enigmatic man had not taken it from her. "I sensed this, and so I retrieved it."
"There's blood on your clothing."
Tira had rarely felt guilty about killing. When she perceived herself to have gone to hell because of her actions, for the first time, she seriously regretted the act of killing other people. Those men...did they truly deserve to die? Was that bizarre man justified in seeking her death in retribution?
"...It's not my own. There were some men who tried to take the shard from me. I had to defend myself against them. I didn't kill them. I was careless, and they captured me. Some time later, I woke up at their hideout, and escaped. I'm sorry I was gone for so long because of my mistake."
Siegfried began stroking the side of Tira's head. Not with affection - almost like a worried mannerism. "You were captured? Did they...what did..."
Tira blinked a few times, pondering the meaning behind Siegfried's stuttered words. "I'm fine, Master. They didn't do anything to me."
Siegfried seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and held Tira closer. "I'm very glad that you're safe, Tira. I was very worried about you."
There was deep concern, as well as sincerity in his voice. Tira believed that his words and feelings were genuine - but why was he so worried? He seemed very concerned when he learned that she had fallen into the hands of other men. Is he simply possessive of me? Or do I have a place in his heart? ...Perhaps...it's a little of both. Tira realized that she might actually be more important to her Master than she thought. She decided to put her misgivings on hold for a while and continue to travel with him...she would give him a chance to prove himself worthy of being her Master.
Tira apologized to the others, and explained what had happened - with one or two white lies thrown in. Apparently, they were intrigued that the quiet girl had done something - and easily forgiving, as she had always helped the group whenever an opportunity presented itself, earning her the right to make a mistake every once in a while. Besides this, the shard she brought back was an item of interest, as it could be used to test Taki's purification abilities.
The shard was considerably small compared to most fragments that they had encountered, yet despite this, the process lasted at least an hour, and seemed to exert a lot of energy from Taki. However, the purification was a success. The unholy and demonic fragment of metal was purified, its polarity reversed, and it became endowed with properties of holiness and light.
Their plan was feasible - but it would take a hundred more shards to create a weapon on par with Soul Calibur.
Siegfried looked down at the glass-like piece of metal glowing faintly in the palm of his hand. "...It's a start, at least."