Chapter 2: Children of the Seed

Notokishi opened her eyes some time later. Sitting up, she noticed she was somewhere in the desert surrounding Aires, and a column of red light that rose to the heavens in the distance. That must have been what blew me all the way out here. Verona was lying next to her, still unconscious. Then she heard a faint sobbing noise, and turned around. Miyu was sitting a few feet away, holding Alyssa's lifeless body in her arms.

"My lady…lady Alyssa…why?" Miyu spoke softly.

Is that android…is Miyu crying? Notokishi thought. Then standing up, said, "Ms. Miyu, did you save us from that blast?"

Miyu didn't respond.

"Ms. Miyu?"

"…No. I could not rescue anyone from the explosion. Not you, or lady Alyssa…"

"Ms. Miyu…" Notokishi let her be for a moment as she woke Verona. After making sure her friend was all right, she spoke to Miyu again, "Ms. Miyu, we should return to the city. We can check on the citizens, and we'll get President Alyssa to a doctor. Okay?"

"…Very well. Let's go." With that, they headed back toward the city of Aires.

Some time later, they arrived at the edge of the city to find a horrific scene lying before them. Everywhere they looked, buildings were ablaze, citizens ran in panic, and the cries of wild beasts rebounded throughout the city.

"Did that blast cause all of this?" Verona inquired.

"Hey, aren't those civilians over there?" Notokishi stated, pointing to a small group of figures near a fire. Verona flew over to the group.

"Hey, are all of you-"

The figures turned to face her. They were humanoid in shape, but their bodies were covered in a grotesque mass of eyes and spines, and some had tentacles. One of the creatures had three arms.

"What the hell?" Verona said, leaping back. "What are they?"

The creatures charged at Verona and the others, giving out inhuman screeches and growls as they approached. Verona summoned her shuriken and flung them at the horde, cutting some of the creatures to pieces. Those who survived were immediately silenced by a burst of machine gun fire courtesy of Miyu.

"What were those things?" Verona asked.

"I do not know. I have never encountered them before." Miyu answered.

"Whatever they are, they're obviously not friendly." Notokishi stated, picking up a steel pipe that had been dislodged from a nearby building. "Let's head to the capital building, we should be able to find some medical supplies and shelter there."

Verona and Miyu nodded in agreement. "Stay with me, my lady. We'll get help soon." Miyu said to Alyssa as they ran. The group fled through the burning streets of Aires, fighting off more the disfigured creatures as they went. The devastation seemed to worsen as they drew nearer to the capital, along with a sudden increase in the amount of fire around them. When they finally reached the capital building, they saw the cause of the flames. Standing in what used to be the office of Aires' political figureheads was an enormous red dragon. The dragon noticed the four, and a forked tongue traced over its bloody jaws.

"Shit…" Notokishi muttered. The dragon spread its wings and let out an earsplitting roar. Everyone, including Miyu, cringed at the sound.

"I think my audio receptors just gave out." Miyu said.

The dragon belched a large fireball at the group. They barely managed to dodge the ball of flame. Miyu replaced her short-barreled chain-gun with a much larger model and fired nonstop at the monster. Her bullets tore into the dragon's hide, significantly injuring it. Enraged, it swiped at Miyu with one of its forward claws. The strike was met by one of Verona's shuriken flying into the claw, severing it from the beast. Roaring in pain, the dragon slammed its remaining claws on the ground, sending a shockwave that blew back its opponents. It moved in to finish off its stunned prey, when it felt something sharp stab into its brain. The beast let out a small croak, then collapsed, lifeless.

"What the?" Notokishi wondered out loud.

A figure leapt down from the slain dragon's head. Standing before the group was a girl with short blonde hair with a white hairband, dressed in a blue and white skirt with black pants and white boots. The girl held a short broadsword in one hand, and a blue shield with an upside down omega in the other.

"You four, are all of you all right?" the girl asked.

"Most of us are, thanks to you. May I have your name?" Notokishi asked.

"Yes, you may. I am Cassandra. Who are you?"

"I am Princess Notokishi of Windbloom Kingdom. This is my friend and bodyguard, Verona. Over there is Alyssa Kuruga, president of Aires, this country. The one holding her is Miyu, her protector."

"What's wrong with her arm? Is she like those creatures I've seen?"

"No, Miyu is an android, a mechanical human. Have you never heard of one?"

"A mechanical human? But that can't be possible! I don't know of any science that could do something like that."

"Huh, you must come from a place without science, then. My friend is hurt, do you think you can help her?"

"I can try." Cassandra took a close look at Alyssa, then after a short time, sighed and said, "I'm not sure how to explain it, but it feels as though her soul has disappeared, yet somehow her body is still alive."

"Lady Alyssa's…soul is gone? But how?" asked Miyu.

"I must ask, did she ever come across an azure knight brandishing a large sword with an eye on it?"

"That sounds like the guy we ran into at the castle ruins. I think my sister said his sword was called Soul Edge or something." Notokishi said.

Cassandra's eyes went wide at the mention of Soul Edge. "So you met him then…the Azure Knight, Nightmare."

"You know him?"

"I was searching for his sword, I want to destroy it so that it can no longer harm the innocent. If Soul Edge cut down your friend, then she is lost to you forever. Her soul has already been claimed by the sword."

"Lost forever?" Miyu said in alarm.

Cassandra nodded. "Those slain by Soul Edge surrender their soul to the blade, feeding its dark power. I know only of one sword that has ever bested Soul Edge."

"What is it? Can it save my lady's soul?"

"It is called S-" Cassandra was cut off by the roars of a horde of deformed humanoids.

"Dammit, there's no end to them! Miyu, Verona, let's round up as many civilians as we can and get out of here! Cassandra, you should come with us. Fill us in on the details once we reach safety." Notokishi ordered.

"Where are we headed?"

"To Windbloom Kingdom, my home. We have an army of powerful warriors there that can protect us. Now everyone, let's move!" With that, the group raced through the infested streets of Aires, followed closely by the horde of monsters.