A/N: Hey guys, so I uploaded another chapter. Got a lot of free time this week so I take the time to update my story. Anyway Thanks for reading and please R and R.
The guard then threw Siegfried in the cell.
"Three days, Azure Knight, three days!"
The guard then locked up the cell. Siegfried can't help but fell so vulnerable inside because his weapon and his armor had been confiscated a while ago and more importantly, for the first time since becoming human again, he felt all alone. He then heard voices inside his cell. He figured that that he wasn't alone in there. He then saw a number of other criminals appearing from the shadows of the cell and were creeping closer to him.
"Well what do we have here?"
"If it isn't the Azure Knight in his human form"
"Not looking so tough without that sword ain't ya?" Siegfried then just ignored the men as he knows what will happen to him in that cell and he knows that he deserves it.
"Silent type eh? Well then, let's try making you scream in pain." One of the men then held Siegfried's arms in his back.
"Now then, time to make you to pay for killing all our loved ones and our friends." The men then started to pop their fists. Soon after, they started taking turns in punching the knight. Punch after punch, fist after fist, hate after hate, no matter what they threw at him, the knight remained silent. Only his facial expression can express how much pain he was going through. He let the men satisfy themselves in releasing their hate in him. As time passes by, the mugging continued. Siegfried's body is now looking like a worn out vegetable. Bruises have started to form in his body because of the nonstop assault. The men then stopped for a while. Siegfried then panted hard to somehow catch.
"Well, we're all impressed. Even after all that you still managed to remain on your feet."
"I guess some of the sword's powers are still inside of him." They have no idea that the reason that Siegfried was still standing, is an Athenian who was still unconscious. He knows that she is suffering a greater amount of pain than he is.
"Hey I have an idea. Why don't we just strangle him to death?"
"Nah, we'll then miss the big show that is gonna happen three days from now."
"Let's just help him prepare for it. After all, when your body receives enough pain, you won't feel anything. So let's make it easier for him when the blade of the executioner meets his neck."
"I like that idea, well then, let's continue the training of our friend here. HAHAHAHA!" The men then crept closer again to Siegfried as he prepared for another beating to come.
As the sun was about to set, Maxi and Sophitia arrived at the clinic where Cassandra was being treated. Mitsurugi stayed back at the inn wanting to get some rest.
They then met the one in charge. She appears to be a much older woman compared to Sophitia. She also had a sword dangling in her side.
"Hello, my name is Ivy Valentine, alchemist extraordinaire and medical expert. You must be the companions of the patient that was assigned to me by the princess."
"Yes we are. My name is Sophitia and this is Maxi. We just came to check how my sister's doing."
"I've gathered all the ingredients to make the potion for her faster recovery. As for her injuries, I've found several broken bones in her mid-section and in her arm. Some of her broken ribs though somehow pierced the inside of her body causing internal bleeding."
"Well can you bring her back to normal?"
"Why of course. But I'll need your help."
"Uhm… sorry for interrupting doc, but we don't know anything about this medical stuff." as Maxi scratches his head.
"Don't worry about that boy. I just need you two to hold down the patient for me while I'm operating. This will be a bit painful for the patient."
"But she will be fine afterwards right?" as Sophitia worries for her sister.
"Of course she will. Now will you two help me?" The two then nodded.
As they saw Cassandra lying down on the bed, they then hold her arms and legs to prevent her from moving." Ivy then raised her sword then started to do some gestures with her hand. Suddenly her sword transformed into a whip like blade and surrounded her body as it glows in a purple light. Two circles with magical symbols in them appeared in her hands. She then approached Cassandra.
"Get ready you two. She's going to feel this."
"Ready!" The two then prepared themselves.
As Ivy presses on her body, she then screamed out loud, trying to fight free from the grip of Sophitia and Maxi.
"Stay still will ya Cassandra?"
"Be strong dear sister, this will over soon." An hour has passed and Cassandra has finally calmed down and returned back to her unconscious state as the magical circles in Ivy's hands, slowly disappeared.
"It's finished…" The two then released their grip on the young Athenian. Ivy then held Cassandra's chin up and opened her mouth. She then poured the potion inside her until every drop of it was gone. She then tilted her head gently to help her swallow the potion even though she was unconscious.
"So how long will it take until she wakes up?"
"It depends but you have to let her rest for at least five days for her to fully recover."
"Thank you for everything you did to my sister Miss Valentine."
"No worries. You're guests of the princess right? Just tell her that she owes me a new bottle of wine."
"Alright then, we'll make sure that she gets the message. Right Sophitia?" as the three of them laugh with each other.
"Oh I almost forgot. Guards! Please help them get my patient to the inn." The guards then bowed at Ivy then carried the Cassandra in a stretcher to the inn as Sophitia and Maxi followed.
"Take care Miss Valentine." as Sophitia turned her head to the alchemist.
"You too as well" The two then smiled at each other as the Athenian continued to walk away.
While Maxi and Sophitia went to the clinic, Mitsurugi then decided to go to the castle to check up on his blood brother. He then arrived at the throne room and greeted the princess who was sitting at her throne, now wearing an elegant blue dress. Mitsurugi then kneeled down as a sign of respect to her.
"Good afternoon Princess."
"Rise noble warrior. What is your purpose that you came to my castle?"
"I've came to visit our companion, Your Majesty."
"The Azure Knight?" as the princess thought about Mitsurugi's request.
"Please you're Majesty, I beg of you."
"Alright then, guards, please get Siegfried Schtauffen from his cell." The soldiers then bowed their heads and proceeded to the dungeon.
"Gerhilde, please escort our guest to the courtyard."
"Yes, you're Majesty. Please follow me good sir." Mitsurugi then bowed his head to the princess as a sign of his gratitude then followed the servant.
At the courtyard, Mitsurugi waited for Siegfried. As he lets the time passed by, he then try to think on how to make Hilde change her mind on the judgement that she has passed on Siegfried. After a while, the guards arrived with Siegfried with his hands bounded by rope. The samurai was shocked to see him in his current state moreover, being assisted by the soldiers just to walk properly.
"Please leave us for a while." The soldiers then went away.
"Siegfried?"
"Good to see you again Mitsurugi."
"I guess I can't say the same thing to you seeing you looking like that. What happened to you exactly?"
Siegfried then explained to Mitsurugi about what happened in the cell.
"And you did nothing about it?"
"Look, it's alright for me if they wanted to release their hate on me. After all…" Mitsurugi then interrupted the knight.
"Oh here we go again. Look haven't you learned any…" This time, it was Siegfried who interrupted the samurai.
"I know that. I'm just letting them do whatever they want because… in three days, it will be all over." Mitsurugi was then confused with what the knight said.
"What do you mean? Is the princess freeing you?"
"No Mitsurugi, I'm going to be executed." The samurai then stood in silence as he was shocked about what the knight said.
"W… Why so soon?"
"I don't know. It's probably because they wanted to get rid of me as early as possible." Mitsurugi then stood up and walked away.
"Mitsurugi, where are you going?"
"I'm going to give that royal pain in the butt a piece of my mind."
"No don't. It would only put you in danger."
"And let you die here? I don't think so!"
"Please Mitsurugi, I don't want anyone else get hurt because of me. I've already let the girl that I love to get hurt and I don't want the same to happen to any of you. So please, just let it be." The samurai then clenched his fist as hard as he can, feeling angry with himself for letting his blood brother to decide to throw away his own life away just to save them. He then turned back to the knight.
"What about Cassandra then? What will happen to her when she wakes up and find out that you're dead?"
"If she wakes up after my execution is done, just tell her that I love her and I will always watch over her wherever she may be."
"Alright then, I'll make sure that she hears every single word."
"By the way, how is she doing?"
"Sophitia and Maxi are at the clinic right now to check up on her. But with the resources and the looks of people here, I can say that she'll be alright."
"That's good to hear then." Siegfried then slowly stood up. "It was nice to see you again Mitsurugi. I might don't get the chance to say this to you before I die. Farewell and thank you for everything." as he extends his hands to the samurai. Mitsurugi in return grasped Siegfried's hand and gave the knight a brotherly embrace.
"Just remember my friend, you are not a monster and there are people who can still see the real you inside." Siegfried then nodded. He then called for the guards to return him back to the cell. He was then assisted again by the soldiers as they walked away.
"Wait! Mitsurugi, tell Sophitia to look over her for me will you?"
"Of course" Siegfried then smiled as he and the soldiers continued to walk away. Mitsurugi then bowed his head to his blood brother to give his final respects to him as he walked away as well. Upon returning to the throne room, he then bowed down to the princess and thanked her for letting him visit Siegfried. He then exited the castle and proceeded back to the inn.
Hilde then noticed the sadness in the warrior's eyes when he looked her in the eyes.
(Why are the samurai and his comrades are feeling that way for The Azure Knight? Don't they know about his sins? No, they probably were aware of it because even though we let them know about his identity and his crimes, they still show concern for him. His show of compassion to his comrades by sacrificing himself for their freedom also bewilders me. What happened to the Azure Knight who cares for nothing except for his hunger for souls? This man is the complete opposite of that monster… No, I must not let these things cloud my judgement. I have a responsibility to do as ruler of this kingdom. He still has to pay for his crimes in the past.)
As night approaches, Sophitia was looking after her sister while Maxi was eating dinner. Suddenly the door from their room opened and Mitsurugi appeared. Sophitia then approached him.
"See, what did I told you Sophie? He'll come back when he's hungry."
"Where have you been Mitsurugi? We have been worried about you."
"I went to the castle to check how Siegfried was doing."
"Really? It's a good thing that Princess Hilde allowed you to do that. So how's he doing?" Mitsurugi then lowered his head as a sign of bad news to come.
"When I met him a while ago, he didn't look too good. He can even walk properly without the guards assisting him because of being ganged up and beaten hard by other criminals in his cell, knowing that he was the Azure Knight." Sophita then was stunned by the news as she can't help but pity their companion for what he went through.
"What? Why didn't Sieg fought back? He could've taken down those mongrels down by himself."
"I know Maxi but he's just too stubborn. He always thinks that it's the punishment he deserves for the things that he have done in the past." The pirate then clenched his fist and punched through the table in anger.
"Maxi please, calm down! There's nothing more we can do about it."
"Sorry Sophie, but he's just so selfless. He doesn't care what happens to himself just to satisfy the feelings of people around him." As Sophitia calms Maxi down, Mitsurugi then noticed Cassandra who was lying down on the bed.
"So how's Cassandra doing?"
"The fractures on her bones are now healed. She just has to rest to fully recover back to normal."
"So when will she wake up?"
"I don't know. The doctor said that it still depends on her. Why did you ask?"
Mitsurugi then approached Sophitia. "Siegfried will be executed three days from now."
"What!"as tears started to fall from the Athenian's face.
"Why so soon? Why didn't you did anything to change the princess' mind?" as Sophitia shouted at him.
"Do you think that it was alright with me to stand there and do nothing for my blood brother? I thought of risking my life by threatening her with my blade to change her mind about Siegfried… But he prevented me to do so. He said that he didn't want anybody else to get hurt because of him. He told me to just let him be." as Mitsurugi shouted at Sophitia as well. She was then silenced for a while on what the samurai said as she did not expect that he would do such a thing just to save Siegfried.
"Mitsurugi I… I'm sorry… I didn't know…" Everyone then became silent for a while.
"It's alright Sophitia. I felt the same way when he told me not to do anything. I apologize as well for raising my voice to you." Mitsurugi then approached the door. "I'm going outside for a while. Just going to try and catch some air. Oh and by the way, Siegfried told me to tell you to watch over your sister for him." The Athenian then nodded as Mitsurugi exited the door. Maxi then stood up.
"I'm following him. He might need some company."
"Alright then, just don't stay out too late."
Maxi then nodded as he left the room.
Sophitia then then came to her sister's side and brushed her hair with her hand.
"I'm sorry Sister for when you wake up, it will be your heart that will need to have some rest for it to recover." Tears then started to fall again from her face as she feels sorry for her sister.
"Such courage and resilience, your soul would give satisfaction to my eternal hunger for the moment."
"There's no way that I would give up my soul to the likes of you Nightmare." The two warriors then clashed weapons with each other. The Azure knight then overpowered the Athenian as he pushes her away. He then followed with a vertical slash with his sword. But Cassandra was too fast for him as she dodged the attack and counter attacked it by slashing down his grotesque arm. The monster then groaned in pain. Seeing the Athenian about to attack, he then blocks it with his zweihander formed Soul Edge. The two then clashed weapons again.
"This ends now Azure Knight!" Cassandra then flipped backwards, kicking the sword upwards. She then returned her sword in her shield's handle and grabbed hold of the cursed sword and then prepared to stab him with it. The Azure Knight then used his grotesque arm to somehow block the sword but to no avail. The Athenian then plunged the sword to the black hole shaped sphere in the middle of the dark knight's body. With all her might she pushed the sword deeper until the knight falls down on his back, pinning him down with the sword. She then stood up and drew her Digamma sword.
"The power that you possess is too much for anyone to control. You have taken too many lives and caused too much destruction. In the name of the gods, your wrath of evil ends now!" She then pierced the eye in the middle of Soul Edge with all of her strength. The sword then glowed in a red light and then immediately disappeared. She then turned her attention to the fallen Azure Knight. His grotesque claw turned to a normal human hand with blood dripping from the wounds. The sphere in the middle of his body disappeared and was replaced with flesh of a man. His armor then cracked and fell apart revealing an exposed body of a man with a deep bloody wound in the stomach. She then knelt down and removed the helmet, curious of who was behind it. Her eyes widened as she was shocked on what she saw behind the helmet of the Azure Knight.
"Sieg…fried?" the knight then slowly placed his hand in her face.
"Cas… san… dra… (Palpating hard) Please… for…give… me… for everything…" The Athenian then held his hand with tears about to fall from her eyes.
"What have I done? Siegfried... I'm sorry!"
"You have… nothing… to apologize for… In fact...I have...to thank you... for freeing me from that sword... It's me… who needs to apologize." He then coughed out blood.
"Please, don't talk anymore Siegfried. You need to conserve your energy. We can make it through this."
"Please… I beg you…" Cassandra then nodded. With all of his remaining strength, Siegfried then gave the Athenian one last smile. Suddenly he stopped breathing and his hand falls down from the Athenian's. He's now dead. Cassandra's tears then started to pour out from her face. She then let out a loud scream.
"Gods, why have you forsaken me? I am always loyal to you and did every thing that you ask me is how you repay me by taking away the man that I loved?" She then drew her sword and raised it above her head. "Damn you all!" With all her might, she stabbed herself heart and fell to the floor.
Her eyes then opened up. The afternoon sun's rays meeting her body.
(Praise the gods. It was just a nightmare...)
She then familiarizes herself with the surroundings as she wonders where she is. She then tried to stand up but her body reacted with pain.
A/N: Hah! Finally Cassandra has waken up. What will happen when she finds out that Siegfried is gonna get killed. What can she don to save him? Going to update real soon guys. stay tuned...