Hey people, I'm back from my vacations! *screams of horror are heard* Which means you all are going to have a new chapter!

Now, before starting here goes some translations for the words and therms in demonic used on this chapter:

Lefah Ghare – Flame Cage

Loterah Uris - Violent Thunder

Leonit vehr, areh na lais... Cillier Phyone – Violent wind, hear my call... Slicing Typhoon

Any other words that aren't translated here will be later, as the fic progress.

Chapter 14

Fire, Light and Thunder

Lloyd, Sheena and Lumen made their way out to the tower's entrance while the female guardian user practiced entering and exiting her spirit form, which she discovered that she could do with much ease. Lloyd felt a little jealous at that and looked to the side. It was obvious Sheena's training and skills with magical energy made it easy for her to grasp the initial concepts of using a Summon Spirit's power.

When Sheena deactivated her spirit form again, she noticed the look on Lloyd's face. She asked him what it was, but the young man said that it was nothing.

"Lloyd, you should know that you're a really bad liar," Sheena said. Lloyd scratched the back of his head at those words before she spoke up again. "Does this have to do with the fact that I can manipulate my spirit form better than you?"

Lloyd's eyes widened at those words right as he looked to her. Was he that easy for her to read? He finally gave up as he mumbled:

"I-It's not that I'm not glad for you to know how to do it… it's just that…"

"Let me guess; man's pride?" Lloyd looked to her again, his cheeks gaining a red tint. "I was raised in a night club, Lloyd. I know when a man's pride is hurt, but don't worry. I bet in no time you will be as good as me at using your spirit form."

Lloyd smiled at Sheena for understanding his feelings and decided he wouldn't dwell on those thoughts anymore. Lumen then said, in his normal cheerful tone:

"Yep, no need to stay like that double-L. It doesn't matter if Shee-luni killed much more demons than you when she was your age. That doesn't mean that you're weak," the two looked to Lumen strangely at that.

"Uh, thanks, I think..."

The group stayed all silent as they approached the stone door that lead to the reading room of the library near the entrance. Sheena and Lloyd beat at it and soon the door started to open as the others heard the sound coming from the other side and each positioned themselves on the circle-apparatus.

Emil and Marta were both near the door to meet with their friends while Raine had gone back to the bookshelves, reading another book written in elven with a dreamy expression on her face. Marta smiled at her two friends and asked if everything went alright.

"Yeah, no big deal," Sheena said. "And look," with a moment of concentration, light passed over Sheena, altering her clothing and making the spectral yellow wings sprout from her back.

Marta had her mouth agape at seeing Sheena's spirit form while Emil looked even more dumbstruck. When his mind registered at what she was wearing, he felt a thin line of blood coming out of his nose and covered it, taking some steps behind without being noticed.

Raine noticed the change and agitation in Sheena's aura and looked just in time to see the guardian user activating her new spirit form. The silver haired half-elf approached, her hand under her chin, analyzing Sheena's new looks and the brightness in her aura.

"So? What do you think?" Sheena asked the two girls while Lloyd went to Emil and asked why he was holding his nose like that.

"Hm…your attire certainly looks like the ones which artists and summoners depict Luna with. Though…" Raine said as she approached Sheena more, a small gleam in her eyes that they're all very familiar with. The older female then reached for the straps around her young companion's breasts and grabbed one, passing her finger onto it. What embarrassed Sheena even more was what Raine said next. "It seems a bit bigger than the ones that appear in the pictures of Luna, but I can't be sure. It probably adjusts to the body. And the material…" she then reached for Sheena's skirt, who tried to step away from the researcher, but Raine's hand proved to be much faster as she gripped the edge, kneeling as she examined it. "It feels like silk, but I don't see any signs of sewing and this sensation… could it be what the element of light feels like?"

Sheena snatched her skirt from Raine's hand. The boys turned in time to see Raine "studying" her companion's body and couldn't help, but stare in an awkward silence. The voluptuous woman then said:

"Okay, now you officially freak me out. I think I would rather have you be attracted to me than you interested in studying me," Raine looked like she was about to say something, but Sheena cut her off as she turned to Marta and asked with a smile. "So, how do I look?"

"You… look… great…" Marta said in a somewhat shy tone. "But… Sheena… are you planning on wearing this thing often?"

"Are you kidding? Though I have to admit that does it feel comfortable, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing something like this around other guys, at least not ones that I can kill without feeling guilty later…or be arrested."

"Oh… ok then," Marta said, sounding a little more relieved but the guardian user caught onto that.

"Look, if this is about Emil again, don't worry. Didn't I already tell you I'm not interested in him?"

"Th-That doesn't have anything to do with it!" Sheena sighed as Marta denied the obvious emotion again.

Ventus called to their attention, saying they had already wasted too much time and needed to leave immediately. The group nodded and went towards the entrance to make their exit. Lloyd called for Raine to come with them and saw her taking some books from the library. The silver haired researcher noticed Lloyd's arched eyebrow and said:

"It's just for research, Lloyd. I'll return it."

"Raine… ugh, forget it. At least you're going to take care of it."

Before Raine could counter back with words of her own, Lloyd was already leaving. The half-elven woman then accompanied him as they both rejoined the group. Outside the tower, they saw no sign of the demon watchers. Ratatosk closed the door and reactivated the seal, but once he turned, his face twisted in a frown. His Centurions also seemed to be on guard.

"What's the problem?" Marta asked, noticing the tension.

"It's too quiet," Ratatosk replied.

"Yeah. I feel it too. There's something hiding," Ignis said.

"I don't feel anything," Lloyd said.

"If we depended on your senses, we would all be dead long ago," Ratatosk commented.

"Excuse me?"

Marta was about to tell the two to stop arguing when she saw Sheena frown. The brunette then asked her what it was and Sheena answered:

"I hear the sound of… a bow's strings being pulled… Everybody! Get down!"

The group immediately complied and moments later the sounds of arrows flying was heard as they buried onto the pavement steps of the Tower of Mana. Lloyd and the others saw groups of Desians and demons appearing around the woods near the tower, some perched on the trees' branches.

These demons were mostly a dark-brown, had humanoid forms and wore skull-like masks that hid their faces, save by their red, gleaming eyes. However, their most noticeable trait was the presence of bows which were seemingly connected to the demons' wrists. The white color and the appearance of the bows made it seem like they were actually made of the bones of the demons' arm. Lloyd could also see the point of an arrow sticking out of the wrist in the other hand of the demons.

"Bone Archers," Ratatosk muttered.

The group heard the sound of heavy steps and two figures came into view. The first one was at least twice the size of an adult man and had red fur. It looked like a humanoid lion, with yellow golden eyes and a white mane, which was neatly combed into spikes and some locks which had colorful beads and other few adornments hanging on them. He carried a long halberd proportional to his size and wore midnight blue armor leaving just his strong arms and feline legs exposed.

The second figure had silver-blond hair, golden shoulder guards, pointy ears and squinted eyes, though the group could see black and red inside of them when they forced their eyes to get a better look. The second figure's appearance made Lloyd's eyes widen, his surprise being soon replaced with anger and hatred.

"Well, well. Looks like your soldiers weren't wrong. We did have some pests around here," Kvar said to the demon while eying the humans and Centurions in front of them.

"I had suspected something was off when they reported a monster attack the other week," the great, lion demon said in a strong, masculine voice, more to himself than to Kvar.

"Kvar…" Lloyd mumbled under his breath, his shoulders shaking.

"Oh? Looks like one of you inferior beings know me," the Desian Grand Cardinal chuckled. "Now… if I'm not mistaken, you must be Ratatosk's group. Oh, how convenient."

Marta and Sheena tensed. The Centurions got ready to act at their Lord's command. Raine walked forth, her staff always in hand while she spoke:

"So, you're the new Desian Grand Cardinal I heard that has been terrorizing this region."

"And what is a fellow half-elf such as yourself doing with a bunch of humans and spirits?" Kvar replied.

"'Fellow half elf?' You speak as though we're the same."

"What's Raine doing?" Marta whispered to the group.

"Gaining time," Sheena answered simply.

The group started to access their situation: they were cornered by the archers on the ground and in the trees, but if they could create a diversion, it would be possible for them to escape. However, none of them seem to notice Lloyd, who was still on his place, shoulders shaking with anger and hatred towards the Desian that he remembered as the monster who killed his mother.

As the Centurions and the others thought on how they could escape, the demon besides Kvar said:

"So, I heard you had a reincarnated Summon Spirit with you. Where is he?"

"And you would be?" Raine asked.

"Beast General Merahwdir. In your language it means…"

"'Fire paws.'" Raine answered for the demon.

"You know our language, yet you're not of our ranks. Who are you, woman?"

"Merely a researcher."

"Hahahaha! A researcher you say," Kvar laughed. "Don't play me for a fool, woman. I can smell the chaos energy cursing through your body from here. Maybe I'll have you as a test subject after we kill Ratatosk."

"Lord Nebilim demanded the death of all Ratatosk's companions, Kvar," the demon general said.

"Oh, I'm sure that he won't mind another test subject for my little project."

"Even so, it's…"

"And what would you know? Your work is to merely follow orders and…"

It was then Ratatosk ordered the Centurions to act. Ventus summoned several birds to attack the archers while Ignis and Tenebrae summoned beasts from the woods to take the archers in the ground. Before Kvar and Merahwdir could realize what was happening, Lloyd and the others had sprinted. The dual swordsman wanted nothing more than to face Kvar and impale him with a flaming sword, but he knew it would have to wait.

Kvar raised his staff and it released several electrical charges on the monsters around, electrocuting and killing the beasts instantly. The Desian Grand Cardinal ordered the troops to go after the fleeing group and soon teleported out of there in a shower of sparks as Merahwdir started to run by the field.

Emil and the others had a good advantage over their pursuers, but the Bone Archers were quickly gaining on them, jumping from branch to branch. Some even started shooting their bows at them. Marta harnessed the wind in her spinner and quickly made a turn, unleashing a wind disk, which split into several others and slashed at the demons and the branches they were staying, making them fall. The girl did another turn and started to run again.

Sheena was staying behind the group to help Raine, who had the lowest physical strength. The guardian user looked behind and saw the lion-like demon approaching at great speed. Sheena then pushed Raine forward and stopped, drawing her seal cards and standing in position to fight.

Raine saw the violet haired woman's intentions and called her name, but Sheena only said:

"I'll distract him. You and the others get out of here!" without waiting for Raine to answer, Sheena ran to Merahwdir and jumped, trying to deliver a strong kick to the demon's chest.

As the demon general blocked the attack of the reincarnated spirit with his arm, Sheena sprinted to the other side, Merahwdir hot on her pursuit, seemingly ignoring the others.

Lloyd, Emil and Marta noticed Raine had stayed behind and came back for her, asking if she was alright. Lloyd then noticed there was one person missing and asked:

"Where's Sheena?"

"She managed to attract that demon general, Merahwdir, and took off in that direction," the half-elf said pointing to a path that lead to the nearby river, the silouette of the lion demon disappearing fast.

"I'm going after her!" Lloyd immediately said, but Raine put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"She did that so we could get away from the demons. If you go, then what she did for us would lose its purpose."

"Lumen," Emil called for the Centurion of light, giving him a meaningful look.

"Ok, boss. I'll get her back once she kicks that guy's rear!" the Centurion of light said taking off to the direction Raine had pointed.

As Lloyd and the others continued with their run, the red clad swordsman couldn't help but wonder if Sheena could defeat that demon general. They already had a bad time with the Hell Knight alone a while back and Sheena had just gained her powers as a Summon Spirit. Plus, he even could feel the huge amount of power emanating from that lion demon.

Lloyd's thoughts were interrupted as he and the group came to an abrupt halt when a vortex of electrical sparks appeared in front of them and Kvar materialized from it, grinning mockingly at the surprised expressions of the group.

"I cannot allow you and your ragtag band of misfits to get away, Ratatosk," Kvar said. "You see, Lord Nebilim will give to any one that eliminates you the post of leader of the five Grand Cardinals."

"I'm not letting you hurt me or any of my friends," Emil said.

"Oh. And what exactly do you plan to do to stop me?" as Kvar spoke, the Desians all caught up with the group and more came from behind Kvar, showing he had prepared a backup in case they managed to escape from the Tower of Mana. "As you can see, you are at my mercy. Try to run and all of you will die a very painful death, just like the bunch of pathetic inferior beings that you are."

That phrase brought a memory to Lloyd's mind. He suddenly saw himself in a similar situation, except he was much younger and at his back was a cliff's edge. It was a rainy night and his father was in front of him with his mother, trying to keep the Desians at bay with Noishe, the family's loyal dog (as Lloyd called it), by his side. He remembered when Kvar stepped forth and demanded, in that same tone he used when talking with somebody he considered inferior:

Now, give us back that host body with the Exsphere. Otherwise, you will all die a very painful death, just like the bunch of pathetic inferior beings that you are…

That was enough to make the blood in Lloyd's entire body boil. He stood in front of Emil and pointed one of his swords to Kvar, speaking:

"You are not going to lay a hand on any of my friends!"

"Really? And what makes you think that you are in any position to make such demands?" Kvar said, seemingly not amused, with a snicker under his voice.

"Shut up!"

Lloyd then called forth his power within and in a wave of flames he activated his spirit form. Kvar seemed a little surprised at seeing that, but soon recovered his mocking smirk and spoke:

"So, you're the reincarnated Summon Spirit that the Hell Knight has been talking about. Interesting… what's your name, human?"

"The name's Lloyd, and you'd better remember it because I'm going to send you back straight to hell!"

Marta, Raine and the Centurions all casted a quick glance to Lloyd. They never saw the young man that furious before. Did he know Kvar? And if that was so, what exactly did that Desian do to him? Emil also looked with his mouth agape.

"So you want to kill me? Ha ha ha! Now that is amusing. You might be a reincarnated Summon Spirit, but in the end you are nothing more than a relic of a dead past," Kvar gloated.

"Shut up you bastard!"

Ignoring any calls from any of his friends or even the signal Kvar that made for the Desian troops to attack, Lloyd charged at the Desian Grand Cardinal, ruthlessly killing and setting aflame any Desian that stood between him and the half-demon known as the Deadly Thunder, who just smirked as the Wielder of Victory's Flame approached…

- / - / - / -

Sheena and Merahwdir arrived near the river that shaped the land where the Tower of Mana stood in a peninsula. The voluptuous woman came to a halt as she saw that she was far enough for the others to escape. Merahwdir also came to a stop.

Several Bone Archers arrived behind the demon general and produced arrows from their wrists, putting it in their bone bows. However, Merahwdir held his hand up, making signal for them to stop. He spoke something in demonic to his troops, which nodded, dispersing and going back to the forest.

Sheena raised her eyebrow at that. She felt the presence of the demons getting away. Looking to Merahwdir, Sheena saw the demon general had a neutral expression on his face. Something told her he was waiting for her to get ready to the battle. The guardian user then asked:

"So, what's the trick?"

"Trick? There is no trick, Lena'aret," the demon general said, a smile gracing his leonine features. For some reason, that smile made Sheena feel more at ease. "I merely wanted no interruptions while we're having our duel."

"Duel?"

"Wasn't it your intention to duel with me so that your companions could all get away?" the demon asked back, still wearing that smile.

"If you realized that then why didn't you go after them?" Sheena asked.

"Because a noble warrior never refuses a challenge to a duel when presented with it."

"'Noble warrior?' Ha! Don't make me laugh."

Merahwdir shook his head at hearing that, the smile now gone. He then looked to Sheena with a serious expression, saying:

"Not all of us make use of trickery and deception to reach our goals. There are different kinds of demons just as there are different kinds of humans. I, for instance, consider myself an honorable person. But, of course, that also means I have to carry out any orders that are given to me," Merahwdir stood on a battle stance, his halberd slightly pointing to the ground in the diagonal. "One on One. Just skill and Artes and nothing more. Defeat me and I will abandon the chase against your companions, I give you my word of honor as a beast demon general."

Sheena thought about it for a moment, holding back a scornful response. It wasn't like she had much of an option on the matter anyway, but something told her that Merahwdir was being serious.

He feels different from any of the other demons we've fought so far. Sheena thought.

"Alright. If you say so…" she decided that now would be a good opportunity to test her spirit form. Activating it, Sheena observed as Merahwdir showed a surprised expression at the transformation.

"This aura… so you're Luna," the beast demon said the last part with a smile.

"Surprised?" Sheena asked with a smirk.

"I would say it's more befitting than surprising," he said with a chuckle.

The two fighters then stood on battle stances, before charging towards one another. Due to his longer reach, Merahwdir was the first to attack. Sheena jumped and hovered in the air to avoid the blow, though she had to fight to keep her balance while flying. She then thought about how to attack and extended her hand forward, concentrating on her magical energy. However, she soon discovered that it was harder to do now; she had so much magical energy that she could barely unite and bend it over to her will. She managed to gather as much as she could and managed to produce a powerful attack when a light beam suddenly shot from her extended palm.

Merahwdir defended himself using the cable of his halberd, dividing the beam into several others, which didn't hit the demon general, all the while, he was smiling. He countered with another ample swing of his large weapon, which Sheena barely avoided.

The reincarnated Luna tried to fly closer to the lion demon and unleash a barrage of light-charged punches and kicks. However, the energy in her attacks was gathered in a sloppy way, resulting in some blows packing little power and others too much, in ways that it made possible for Merahwdir to dodge.

Sheena mentally cursed herself. She thought with all her training in magic it would be easy for her to use her Summon Spirit powers. Lloyd found out how to use his powers mostly by instinct, so he started with the power that his emotions called forth. The guardian user already had a good idea of how to manipulate magical energy, so it seemed she had a bigger amount unlocked for her, so much she didn't even know how to control it without suffering a backslash or causing imbalances in her attacks.

She saw Merahwdir gathering demonic flames around the lance point near the ax edge of his halberd and suddenly the violet haired woman felt like the world turned into a confusion of vibrant colors and glows. She could see brilliant streams of yellow color that she suspected was the element of light. Plants and small animals were colorful dots and Merahwdir, in front of her, was a great mass that mixed, poison-green with scarlet red, his aura agitated and wild like a raging flame which reminded her of Lloyd's aura.

Sheena shook her head and her extra-sensory vision was deactivated just in time for her to see the halberd being thrust at her direction. Sheena barely had time to avoid the attack and the lance point grazed her side, not drawing blood thanks to her spirit form, but she could feel her body burn where the wound was.

"Already done playing?" Merahwdir asked, swinging his halberd while it was still extended, hitting Sheena with the edgeless side of the weapon.

The violet haired woman was thrown against the trees and hit one with such force that she broke it, making the superior half of the trunk fall behind with her. As Sheena was getting around the tree, Merahwdir come running, fire surrounding the ax edge of his halberd as he poised it to cleave Sheena in two. She jumped to the side right as he proclaimed:

"Raging Force!" when the weapon's edge hit the ground, it erupted in a wave of heat, forming red cracks on the floor and further harming Sheena's body.

Merahwdir prepared his weapon to strike again and performed an upward slash. Sheena crossed her arms in defense and the spectral seal lines around her wrists enlarged and deflected the blade. The guardian user was impressed by that, but didn't have time to think about it as Merahwdir prepared another attack, thrusting his halberd's lance point in the ground, channeling fire to it as he proclaimed:

"Lava Surge!" Sheena felt energy gathering around where she was standing, but was too late to avoid a great geyser of lava that erupted beneath her feet, throwing her up and burning through most of her defense.

Damn! I'm getting my ass handed to myself and I can't even fight back properly because I don't know how this damn form works! Sheena thought in frustration.

She felt another agitation in the magical energy around and her extra-sensory vision was activated without her command again. She could see Merahwdir's aura agitating as he charged another spell. Quickly canceling her vision again while adjusting herself to float in the air, Sheena heard the demon chant in his mother language.

"Lefah Ghare!" five rings of flames appeared around Sheena, binding her in a cage of roaring flames, and fire tongues were launched against her. The rings then closed around her and the entire cage exploded in flames.

Sheena fell to the floor with a thud. Her entire body hurt and she could now feel the chaos energy like it was some kind of poison to her aura, making it a mess. Thankfully, she had so much energy that it barely made any difference.

"Do you want me to believe that that's the best a reincarnated Summon Spirit can do? You didn't even graze me yet," Merahwdir said in a scolding tone. Sheena gritted her teeth. That was all she needed; being scolded by a demon. "If that's how you're going to fight then I'm done with you."

The demon general's aura seemed to agitate even more, as if he was gathering power. Sheena could already tell he was going to pull something powerful and stood in a defensive stance. Merahwdir suddenly threw his halberd to the sky, the giant weapon spinning in the air. Sheena followed its movement with her eyes, which proved to be a mistake as the lion demon charged otherworldly, scarlet flames on his wrists and legs and approached her in one jump.

Merahwdir then kicked the reincarnated spirit up into the air and attacked her with a sequence of crushing, flame charged punches, which released heat each time they hit. The demon general then kicked her to the ground again in time to stand still and grab his falling halberd. He gripped it with his two hands, the flames in them spreading around the weapon's cable and concentrating all of it into its blades.

"Flare Cry!" Merahwdir then slashed at Sheena, his halberd's ax edge releasing fire in the air in a similar manner to Lloyd's transformed sword, creating an inferno that burned through Sheena's magic defense. Merahwdir ended by spinning two times, throwing the guardian user away.

When Sheena hit the ground, a glow enveloped her body and dissipated into several dots as she reverted back to her normal form. She was a little tired from all of the attacks she suffered and could feel some parts of her body a little burnt from the Mystic Arte Merahwdir performed, which managed to pass through her defenses and harm her human body. Other than that, she didn't suffer from any more serious damage.

"Hmph. That was shameful," the demon scowled again, approaching her as she stood on her knees. "You dare call yourself a warrior when you couldn't make a decent fight? You don't even deserve an honorable death."

Upon realizing she could finally control her magical energy again and that it didn't seem to have been spent at all, Sheena laughed a little. Merahwdir's white eyebrow shot up at hearing Sheena's laughter, wondering what was the problem with the female fighter.

"Actually, I should thank you. Seems like I overestimated my capacities, but now…" she didn't even end her phrase and suddenly got on her feet and ran to the demon general at lightning speed. Merahwdir just noticed what she was doing when she jumped and was near his face with a grin on her lips. "I can finally fight without any problems!" charging light in her feet, Sheena delivered a strong kick on the demon's face, making him stagger to the side as she landed.

The demon general passed his hand to where she hit him and strangely smiled at sensing the local was sensible. He could also feel a slight burning sensation from the after effect of the light-charged blow. Now that was what he was expecting from this challenge.

"Well then, you made me show you my skills while I didn't really injure you," he then stood back into his fighting stance again. Sheena wouldn't correct him by saying he had actually achieved to pass her defenses and injure her. "Now this is getting interesting. Show me how you truly fight, Lena'aret!" Sheena decided she would have to ask Raine later what that term means.

Merahwdir charged fire in his halberd and swung. The Radiant Maiden laid down and slid on the ground, the blade passing above her and leaving a trail of heat in the air. When she stopped, the guardian user quickly put her hands on the earth as she propelled her body up and pushed. Sheena shot to the demon general and kicked his armored belly with her two feet, making him bend slightly.

She quickly curled and placed two seals on Merahwdir's chest and pushed her feet, jumping away of him and throwing the demon out of balance. She extended her hand and sent magical energy to the cards, using her Power Seal Absolute Arte. Merahwdir felt his armor crack as Sheena ran to him again.

The lion-like demon charged fire onto his halberd again and slashed the ground, releasing flames from his weapon and sending a pillar of fire traveling across the ground. Sheena jumped to the side as the demon general sent in more waves. She avoided two more waves of fire and threw seal cards on the demon, who cut the seals in the air.

Sheena ran once more as Merahwdir thrust the lance point of his halberd in the ground, using Lava Surge, but this time Sheena was ready. She jumped in the moment red cracks appeared in the ground, avoiding the geyser of molten rock and charged her fists and feet with light, punching and kicking the demon general when she was within range.

The guardian user could feel part of the demon's aura being burnt by her light and quickly added a Demon Seal Arte to her combo, blowing the great lion some meters away and breaking his breastplate. She was ready to go attack him again when Merahwdir suddenly casted a spell without even charging. A flame sword descended from the skies, catching Sheena off guard and hitting her, before erupting the earth around her and sending her into the air.

Merahwdir continued his attack, by sending another flame pillar, which traveled onto the ground and ran towards Sheena, pushing her away as the flames dissipated. He then brought his weapon to his back and threw it. The halberd travelled in the air, spinning, and sliced the violet haired woman in half… or so it seemed.

Suddenly, smoke enveloped the two halves of the Radiant Maiden's body like in an explosion and when it dissipated in their place were the halves of a tree trunk.

"What?" the demon general exclaimed.

"Was that too fast for you?" a voice said, coming from behind him. He felt energy being gathered. "I guess if you were dead set on throwing your weapon at me, it means you want to end this fight, am I right?"

Merahwdir then turned and saw Sheena behind him. He could sense the light in her aura shining brightly, but not enough to blind his second vision. He knew that she was obviously preparing something powerful and he wouldn't be able to defend himself now that he threw his only weapon away.

Seal cards appeared around Sheena, forming a sphere around her, but as time passed they turned less substantial, until what remained was a spectral impression of the cards and the charms inscribed on them. The spectral cards' glow intensified and suddenly Sheena was upon Merahwdir, who didn't even register her movement.

"I'll show you my true strength!" she yelled as she punched the demon in the chin. The force was enough to make him stagger to the side. The sphere of seals rotated, accompanying Sheena's fist. A line that was parallel to Sheena's fist shone and released light beams, burning the demon's aura even more. Sheena then floated to him and unleashed a kick onto his chest, the sphere accompanying her foot's movement and another line of seals released more beams to further damage the beast demon. After delivering more blows, which released more beams, Sheena quickly hovered past the demon, this time half of the sphere released beams in the direction Sheena was facing. She quickly turned and hovered past Merahwdir once more, the beams burning through his skin and aura. The guardian user then floated up, all of the cards shining brightly and sphere rotating around her fast. "Nova Seal!" the cards converged to Sheena and her body released a blinding flash, which hit Merahwdir with a strong burst of light, throwing him backwards.

The guardian user then floated to the ground and landed on her knees, panting. That Mystic Arte took all her remaining energy. Merahwdir seemed to be in a similar state. He was panting and had burns all over his body, his aura had diminished its wild vibrations, indicating a significant part of his energy had been burnt away by the light. Sheena also had some burns from Merahwdir's fire pillars and his latest spell.

It was in that moment she felt the presence of Lumen approaching her. The Centurion asked if she was alright with worry on his voice. She looked to him and then to Merahwdir, who was trying to stand. Sheena thought:

Huh… these generals are… really tough… she then fell forward, exhausted and near unconsciousness.

Merahwdir looked to the guardian user, his expression one of interest. He tried to move, but felt some pain on his chest. It seemed the damage on his aura was deeper than it seemed. Lumen stood in front of Sheena, ready to defend her if it was necessary. The demon general merely smiled a feline smile to the cheetah-like Centurion as he painfully stood, speaking:

"There's no need for that, little Centurion. Lena'aret showed me her strength and I am satisfied. I haven't had a challenge like this in a long time," he slowly walked to where his halberd laid and picked it up. The demon then turned and a runic circle appeared below him. "Tell her our fight ended… in a tie. And that I'll anxiously await for a rematch."

With that said, the demon turned into a red sphere and teleported away in a flash. Lumen turned to Sheena and called to her, shaking her body with his muzzle. The voluptuous woman stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Groaning, Sheena sat and looked around.

"Where's Merah-whatever his name is?"

"He left, Shee-luni," Lumen said. "Oh, and he said it was a tie and he waits for a rematch."

Sheena looked to the Centurion in confusion. Merahwdir just left while she was down? Why didn't he finish her off and continued to chase Lloyd and the others…? Sheena then stood at once, her eyes wide. Lloyd and the others. She had forgotten all about them!

"Damn! Let's go, Lumen!" the guardian user called, sprinting to the exit of the peninsula, forgetting she was still exhausted and injured with Lumen right behind her.

- / - / - / -

Lloyd was pushed away again by an electrical pulse and had to jump to the side to avoid a lightning bolt. The red clad swordsman gritted his teeth in anger. Behind him, his friends were fighting against the Desians troops, most now in their demon form. Kvar was in front of Lloyd, with his mocking smile still on his face.

"Is that how you intend to kill me?" Kvar sneered in a soft tone. "You didn't even touch me yet."

"Sh-Shut up!" Lloyd yelled back. He was getting tired and frustrated.

Since he began fighting Kvar, Lloyd wasn't able to land a blow on the Desian Grand Cardinal. Kvar parried most of his blows and whenever Lloyd managed to get past the Desian's defense his swords seemed to jolt to the sides, away from Kvar's skin.

With a war cry, Lloyd ran at Kvar again, who kept smiling all the while. More blows were thrown against the Desian Grand Cardinal, who parried each one with ease. Lloyd tried using his Artes, but Kvar produced an electric shield which absorbed and blocked each strike. The half-demon then counter-attacked by swinging his staff, hitting Lloyd and spreading an electrical charge on the young man's body, though it didn't have any effect on him thanks to his Spirit Form's protection.

"Lightning Strike!" Kvar thrust his staff forward, hitting Lloyd in the belly with great strength. The dual swordsman was pushed back by three bolts of lightning that fell on him. Kvar then hit him again with his staff, throwing Lloyd away. "My, my. You almost made me feel sorry for doing that to you."

Lloyd stood up with his teeth still clenched. Why has none of his attacks hit Kvar? The Desian Grand Cardinal could see the frustration on Lloyd's eyes and decided to aggravate him further:

"Shall I reveal how you weren't able to harm me since the beginning of our 'fight?'" Lloyd didn't even reply, he simply charged at Kvar again. The one known as the Deadly Thunder continued to speak as he batted away and avoided each of Lloyd's attacks, which never got close to his body. "You see, every metal and matter has a magnetic polarity to them. All I have to do is to change and strength the polarity of my weapon's metal and my body molecules to one opposite to attract your swords or an equal charge to repel them."

Lloyd didn't understand a thing of what Kvar had just said, but by the sound of it, the Desian had the situation completely under control. Lloyd then tried to argue when his and Kvar's weapon got into a deadlock:

"What are you talking about? My swords are made of flames now!"

"Oh, they aren't. I can sense the metal on them. Its presence is small, but enough for my powers to have an effect on your weapons," electrical sparks appeared between Lloyd's swords and Kvar's staff, seeming to try and warp around the Wielder of Victory's Flames' blades. "Though not enough for me to electrocute you, but other than that, you are…" with another energy pulse, Kvar pushed Lloyd backwards. The Desian Grand Cardinal charged a spell. "... A pathetic excuse of a replacement! Spark Wave!"

A giant sphere of electricity was formed around Lloyd, shocking the young man several times. The dual swordsman was forced onto his knees once more. He started panting, noticing now that his energy seemed to be leaving him by the minute.

Behind Lloyd, Raine and the others were fighting the Desians and noticed between the archers that there were some Bone Archers with helmets identical to the Desians' covering part of their faces.

Maybe they were disguised between the demons from before. Raine thought as she casted another Barrier spell to deflect the demonic archers' arrows.

Marta sent wind blades flying to eliminate the archers while Emil quickly eliminated the footmen, preventing them from getting near Raine. The half-elf woman often casted light spells which brought down two to five Desians at once.

The situation seemed to be under control for their group, with the help of some of Ratatosk's monsters. Raine risked taking a look at Lloyd and saw he was panting and Kvar was approaching him. The Deadly Thunder was unscathed and sported a mocking grin. Raine knew that couldn't mean anything good. She decided it was time for her to dispose of those annoyances and help Lloyd.

"Leonit vehr, areh na lais…" Emil heard that and looked back, seeing Raine's hair and clothes flapping with a strong wind that seemed to materialize around her. Marta also felt something and looked back. The two saw a message in Raine's eyes that clearly said for them to get down. "Cillier Phyone!" the wind around Raine seemed to intensify and suddenly typhoons blew from the "wind cage" around the Professor, right when Emil and Marta lay down. The winds hit the Desians and sliced their armors and skin like it was butter, reducing the already injured to bits.

Meanwhile, Lloyd tried to attack Kvar again, but the Desian Grand Cardinal didn't even try to parry the blow. He simply sidestepped it and swung his staff on Lloyd's head, who defended the blow and tried to counter. Kvar jumped behind and suddenly Lloyd noticed that his opponent's staff was floating near him as Kvar seemed to "sit" in the air, floating some centimeters from the ground as a great rune appeared around them on the ground.

"Guardian Shield!" traces of light emanated from the runic circle, attacking Lloyd. "Now let's see you try to stand after this," the energy of the circle suddenly converged around Kvar, his staff floating back to him as he landed. The Deadly Thunder pointed his staff to the skies and lightning bolts fell on it, charging the weapon. Kvar then pointed his staff forward, in the diagonal, and a sphere of electricity formed at its point. Suddenly a lightning bolt shot from the sphere, hitting and maintain a sort of chain link with Lloyd. The red clad swordsman screamed in pain as he felt his spirit form being deactivated due to his defenses having reached their limit. Kvar beat the electric sphere with his staff and it flew towards Lloyd, stopping near him and pulling him through the connection there was between them by the lightning. The dual swordsman tried to fight back the pull of the sphere with the sensation of his insides burning. "Magnetic Void!" Lloyd's swords finally flew out of his grip when he was close to the magnetic electrical sphere and were absorbed by it, which grew and exploded in sparks and electricity.

Lloyd was sent flying backwards. His swords fell to the ground, shattered. Kvar slowly approached Lloyd as he tried to sluggishly back away, his muscles felt like they were burning up while others seemed not be working properly, like they were paralyzed.

"Amazing element for you to have at your side, don't you think?" Kvar mused just as he stopped near the swordsman's still form. "Thunder… with it the possibilities are endless. You can paralyze your opponent's muscles, or, my personal favorite, shoot a high-voltage current that, when hitting the target's chest, can make its heart stop pumping blood, effectively killing it."

Lloyd's eyes widened. Was that what Kvar did to that man back at Luin? If that was it, then Lloyd had as much chance of surviving it in his current state as that vendor. The Deadly Thunder's grin widened at seeing Lloyd's fearful expression. He started charging a spell, getting ready to kill his helpless prey when suddenly he heard a shout:

"Brilliant Shackles!" two seal lines made of light closed in around Kvar, interrupting his cast and exploding onto him with light. Lloyd then felt someone cast a healing spell over him and felt rejuvenated, the numb sensation on his muscles dissipating and the sensation of his body's inside burns diminishing. Raine appeared by his side, glaring at Kvar.

"You filthy woman…" Kvar grumbled, out of his mocking pose for the first time. "How dare you attack me?"

"The same way you dare to hurt my students and friends."

"Is that so?" Kvar asked, his cocky tone coming back as he united chaos energy around him. Lloyd and the others felt a chill on their spine as they saw Kvar charging a chaos spell, a poison-green, magic circle appearing beneath him. "Then let's see how you handle against true chaos magic! Loterah Uris!" the skies seemed to darken with clouds as lightning bolts struck the ground in front of Kvar several times, forming two spheres of electricity that started to spin around a pillar formed of electricity, which widened until Kvar made a signal with his free hand, like he was commanding the abnormality to attack.

The electric pillar scarred the ground on its wake, aiming for Raine, who stood on a defensive stance. She didn't know if she had enough magical energy to produce a barrier strong enough to defend against an attack like that, but for Lloyd's sake she had to try. Emil and Marta were also ready to help.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was still at his place on the ground, just able to observe the older woman fight to protect him from the dangerous half-demon. Even he could feel the level of power of that chaos spell and knew Raine, having fought against those other Desians before, could not be strong enough to stop the chaos spell coming at her.

And all because I was stupid enough to be beaten by Kvar. Lloyd thought, lowering his head and feeling frustrated by being so weak. He then looked up and decided. I won't let her get hurt because of me!

With that thought in mind, Lloyd got up and reached for the extra pair of swords that were strapped on his back; these were made of a material that was said to repel demonic energy. His father said an old friend had forged those and gave it to Lloyd as present on his sixteenth birthday. Now was a good time to try them out.

The red clad swordsman felt heat coming from his heart and spreading through his body like fire. Lloyd jumped in front of Raine right when the lightning pillar was almost at her. The half-elven Professor was surprised at seeing him standing and even more when he entered in his spirit form again, crossing his transformed swords in a defensive position as he proclaimed:

"Flame Shield!"

The electrical spell hit Lloyd's flaming barrier and tried to break through it. However, the flames seemed to be making a good work at repelling it, even dissipating the two electrical spheres that were circling around the lightning pillar. The spell finally wore off and Lloyd's barrier dissipated. When Kvar saw his two adversaries standing and alive, he looked in shock.

"But… I defeated you even when you were using the powers of Efreet. How is it possible that…?" it was then Kvar stopped speaking as he looked more attentively to Lloyd and realized something. "Wait. That look…"

Emil and Marta arrived near Raine and saw Lloyd glaring at Kvar, but his eyes didn't have any hatred on them, instead, now they were gleaming with determination and will to protect his friends. Raine had to admit she was mesmerized by the intensity of that protective look.

"I remember these eyes. So you're the offspring of that damned human Kratos along with the test subject A012!" Kvar said.

"Don't you talk about my parents like that," Lloyd said, his tone cold and piercing as he pointed his sword at Kvar. "I'm Lloyd Irving-Aurion and I won't let you lay a finger on my friends!"

"Really?" Kvar said, recovering his sneer and snapping his fingers. A whole troop of Desians appeared right behind him, composed of archers, whip masters and sorcerers. "As I remember, your father wasn't even able to protect that pathetic human he called a wife. What makes you think you can protect anything?"

"Because he's not alone!" Sheena's voice sounded. Lloyd saw her landing near him, Lumen coming right behind. "Lloyd isn't the only one fighting. We are all fighting against the likes of you," she gave him a smile, which Lloyd returned.

"You can try, but you won't defeat us…" Lloyd said.

"As long as we stand together…" Marta said.

"And even if we're all apart," Emil completed.

Lloyd's aura started agitating more. Kvar's sneer turned into a surprised expression as he sensed Lloyd gathering power. The young man then pressed his swords together and lifted them above his head as he said:

"We won't lose to monsters like you because our hearts fight together!" he then brought both swords down with a cry. "Blazing Fang!" a fierce wave of fire was unleashed from Lloyd's swords.

Kvar stepped back, sweating as he saw the giant wave of fire coming at him. The Deadly Thunder then ordered his sorcerers to quickly put up a barrier. The Desian magicians entered into their demon forms and quickly chanted a spell in the demonic language. A spectral wall full of strange symbols appeared around the Desian troop as Lloyd's attack collided with it, trying to break the barrier, without success. However, the fire quickly spread around the Desians, trapping them in a circle of flames.

"Now's our chance, let's go!" Raine called the group.

Lloyd and the others nodded and sprinted away. Sheena pulled Raine along with her as they gained distance from the Desians, who tried to put the magical flames out.

- / - / - / -

Moments later, the group was taking a break from their mad dash. Lloyd immediately fell on his back, exhausted from having to enter in spirit form twice in one day and using his newly discovered Arte. Marta also lied down on her back right near Lloyd. Raine and Emil were panting from all the running while the Centurions and Sheena were looking around for any sign of enemy presence.

Ventus then communicated to Emil:

"It seems we lost our pursuers, my Lord. But we shouldn't stay here for too long."

"Surely that Desian will come after us," Tenebrae said. "We have to get to the Balacruf Mausoleum as fast as we can."

"Tenebrae… give us a break…" Marta complained in between long breaths. "We just… fought for our lives… we can't go on like… this…"

"Not to talk…" Raine spoke up, also panting. "Some of us… don't have superhuman endurance… not yet that is…" the silver haired woman then looked to Sheena.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Sheena protested.

"Anyway, we have to go on," Aqua said. "Maybe we could rest a little at Lake Umacy?" she pondered.

Sheena said that was a bad option, since the water around the Lake Umacy had turned poisonous lately. Aqua showed a pained expression at hearing that while Tenebrae and Ventus had a somber look to them, the latter thinking out loud:

"I wonder if the Unicorns that lived there were able to find another place."

"Unicorns?" Raine asked, seeming to be completely recovered. "You mean the legendary creatures which are said to be the symbol of death and rebirth?"

"Yes, but they might as well be extinct," Tenebrae said.

"That's so sad. I liked those little horseies," Ignis bubbly commented.

"Maybe… we could go to Asgard," Emil suggested. "I mean, if we cut through the forest at the foot of the Hima mountains we could get there fast enough and seek shelter within the city."

"That's right! And maybe we could look for another reincarnated Summon Spirit. We found Sheena there after all," Marta said. Then, faster than the eyes could catch, she clang to Emil's arm like he was her personal plushie. "That's my Emil. Always thinking ahead."

"Y-Y-You're exaggerating, M-Marta."

"And oh so modest," Sheena said, impersonating Marta's voice tone. The brunette shot an ugly look at her. The guardian user then looked to Lloyd and found him still lying down… snoring.

"At least my Emil isn't a lazy bum," Marta whispered, though loud enough for Sheena to hear.

"What was that?"

Tenebrae, Ventus and Aqua decided to intervene before the two girls started to argue, so they threw Lumen in and the Centurion of Light effectively distracted Sheena and Marta enough for them to remember the two they needed to continue walking.

Sheena sighed and picked Lloyd up, bridal style, and walked with Marta to the woods at the foot of the Hima mountains. Just Raine and Ignis were left behind, the former sighing in frustration as she said:

"I wish I could at least have seen those Unicorns."

"What Unicorns?" Ignis asked, with a look of confusion on her face.

"The ones that lived near Lake Umacy."

"Really? They're cute! Can we go see them?" Ignis spoke up, excited.

Raine started to wonder why she even bothered to try…

A.N.: Before you all go thinking things: No. Blazing Fang isn't Lloyd's Mystic Arte in his spirit form. It's a normal Arte (think of that overpowered demon fang he uses in the Animation to kill Remiel. I never understood why give him those overkill attacks, but, again, the game is always better) much like Ratatosk's Destroyer Song in Chapter 12.