Darkwings13: You know, if there's one chapter that might push my story in the mature rating, it's probably this one lol. Viewer discretion is advised.

"Stay... stay away!" Corby scrambled back like a frightened deer when he caught sight of the monster. He raised up the gun with both shaking arms and his eyes were wide with fear. The thing was absolutely monstrous, a creature of pure evil, twisted and tainted.

"I will have your soul for this!" In the next instant, Nightmare charged and swung the cleaver, hacking off one of Corby's arm with blinding speed. Blood gushed out like a fountain and onto the black marble floor, and the noble screamed, dropping the gun as he held the useless stump. But Nightmare shook his head. "Not enough. Not enough." He swung once more and cut off a leg. Oblivious to the screams, he shook his head again. "Not enough. Your pain is nothing compared to mine."

Chills ran up Raphael's spin as the monster proceeded to cut off the dark duke's limbs, one by one. Looking down, he saw that his hand was slightly shaking.

Standing over the torso without arms and legs, Nightmare's red eyes burned as he stared down at the helpless man. "You could die ten times over, and it would never be enough. I should keep you alive, torture you day and night until you beg me for death."

Corby's eyes rolled up in its sockets as the pain gnawed at him. Without arms or legs, he was like an insect, with its legs plucked off by a cruel child.

Nightmare slashed at Corby's face with his clawed hand, making the near dead man cry out in agony. "You've just harmed something so pure and beautiful, that not even the heavens can forgive you. I will make you suffer!"

Raphael felt bile rising up in the back of his throat and he tried hard not to vomit. But the screams kept echoing in his ears and he closed his eyes shut.

"Why did you hurt her! She was innocent! You will pay for this!"

Raphael then knew, that it was Dumas. The love and heartbroken feelings in his voice could be no one else, other than Dumas. He had heard it before when he had used Talim as a hostage and Dumas raged at him. Looking at the motionless priestess, he knew in his heart that she herself would be heartbroken to see this.

Staring down at Corby, Nightmare hissed, "It's not enough." His clawed hand curled into a fist. "I shall make sure, you burn in hell for the rest of eternity."

Corby gurgled out blood and twitched. "No..."

Nightmare pointed over to Talim and hissed, "She was innocent. You did not spare her, so neither will I. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I have lived that way all my life, and I'm not going to stop now." Raising up the cleaver, Nightmare then whispered, "I'll tell you something. I was the one who killed your brother. I am... Raphael Sorel."

Corby and Raphael both gasped at the same time. "What?"

Without another word, he said, "Burn." Flames enveloped the cursed sword, as he swung it downward.

Raphael swallowed thickly and stepped back, his back hitting the table full of magic tomes. Like a deranged man, Nightmare had completely chopped the man into pieces and blood was splattered everywhere. It ran down the walls, the black marble floor, and inched its way into the magical circle that was carved into the ground. It dried on Nightmare's clothes, skin and the eye of Soul Edge seemed to glow with delight at the carnage. When Nightmare looked at him, Raphael immediately raised up his rapier. "Who are you! You can't be Raphael! I am Raphael!" When Nightmare began walking towards him, he shouted, "Stay back, monster!"

Nightmare's eyes wandered to the blood that pooled around his greves and trailed towards the magical circle, where Talim laid. The heavy cleaver dragged along the floor as he came over to her and picked her up. "Talim..." His monstrous arm easily wrapped her into his embrace and his red eyes shone as he looked at her. "Talim." The candles around the room slowly went out one by one, by an unseen wind. Dropping Soul Edge, he moved his normal hand to her face and brushed away her bangs with trembling figners. "Tal-Talim... thi-this is nothing dearest. I-I can save you. Don't be scared. I'm here for you."

Raphael he felt a sudden tightening in his chest as he watched. It was unexplainable and it frightened him. Why did it hurt him, to see her like this?

Lowering his head, he lightly touched the bullet wound on her chest. Blood oozed out from the wound as well as her shoulder and he bit back a sob. "Ma petite." Holding her tightly to his chest, he said, "I was too late. Forgive me." He knew Soul Edge would not agree to heal her this time as he had turned on it. Seeing her shallow breathing and pale skin, he knew she would not last long.He shook his head. "I just want to hear your song... our song... one last time."

"It's called The Breeze At Dawn. For I am the wind and sun and I will save him from the dark of the night... and together, we shall look upon a new dawn and a new beginning."

Remembering the words she spoke, he said bitterly, "There is no dawn... no light anymore. And it's all..." The yellow eye of Soul Edge blinked once before its dark pupil dilated, and the blade hummed with energy in its wielder's hand. "It's all their fault." Biting down hard, he tasted blood in his mouth. He raised his head and pointed his cleaver at Raphael. "You didn't protect her. That seer didn't protect her. Hilde didn't protect her. Everyone here didn't look after her." He laid the priestess back down and snarled. "You will all join her in the afterlife."

"You're mad!" Raphael could feel cold sweat running down his back as the eye on Soul Edge seem to stare at him hungrily. He argued back, "If it's anyone's fault, you can't shirk the blame either."

"You're right." He slowly stood up. "That's why, I shall kill all of you with my own hands. If my priestess dies, none of you deserve to live." His cold metal greeves clacked across the black marble and the sword carved its mark into the floor as he dragged it. "I won't let her die alone. You will all accompany her. Especially you..." He pointed the sword at Raphael. "I needed you to be apart of my protection against Soul Edge but that is no longer necessary. You can stay with Talim and make her happy in my place in the spirit world."

Raphael raised up his rapier to block the heavy cleaver as it swung down. The two swords clashed against each other but Nightmare's blows were solid and unyielding, making the battle even worse. It was already a disadvantageous matchup and Raphael did his best to dance around the attacks and reply with his own stabs and thrusts. But Nightmare's madness, combined with Soul Edge's power could not be stopped and Raphael cried out in pain as the blade caught his hip, breaking the gold bat belt and making the pieces fly to the ground.

"Why do you fight, when you know you will lose?" Nightmare raised up the cleaver with both hands and his red eyes gleamed. "You were a part of me, and now I will do with you as I like."

Raphael groaned and pressed his hand against the bleeding wound. What did he mean? What was all of this talk about being a part of him and having him claim that he was Raphael Sorel? And that quote... it was one of his. Why did they share so many similarities and why did he sound and act just like him? "I don't understand..."

"We are both Raphael Sorel, but you're nothing but a small piece of my soul," Nightmare replied darkly. "You were created so that Soul Edge would never be able to posses me entirely, and search for Amy while I rise to power to create my ideal world. But..." Nightmare's voice cracked. "Talim cannot be alone. I won't let that happen. You must die alongside her... NOW DIE!"

As the heavy cleaver swung down, Raphael gritted his teeth and rolled out of the way. Stone smashed under the heavy blade and pieces of it went flying, sending the books on the nearby table falling. He rolled against the table and hastily pushed himself up as Nightmare ran up and slammed the sword down once more. Jars of powder and potions exploded and the table was neatly cut in half from the blow when Raphael got out of the way. Seizing his chance at the smoke that arised from the spilled potions and powder, he ran out of there for his life.

"You cannot escape the nightmare..." When the smoke cleared, he looked over to the window as the wind and rains screamed, rattling the panes. "My love, don't cry. Raphael will be with you soon. Just hold on alittle longer." He stabbed the sword into the ground and his monstrous arm throbbed. "Obey your master... kill everything in sight!"

An explosion of dark energy emanated from the blade like a powerful shockwave and the castle shook. All the guards and remaining servants inside the castle immediately lost control as they all went into the last stage of the malfestation.

"This is?" Kilik's vision blurred for a moment and his grip tightened on his Kali-Yuga for support. The dark energy in the staff seemed to pulse with life and he suddenly felt extremely drained. Putting a hand out onto the cave wall, he braced himself and looked around. The flames flickered on their holders and he looked up at the golden statue. An ominous sense of feeling threatened to overwhelm him and before he knew it, another portal to Astral Chaos opened up.

Standing up straight, he said darkly, "Soul Edge and Soul Calibur, when will they stop their curse on mankind..." He readied his staff but somehow, he knew that this time, things may not go well.

"Seal." Taki concentrated and stilled the trembling blade, Mekki-Maru. The dark energy of the Soul Edge shard inside her cursed sword hummed and thirsted for blood. Behind her half mask, Taki swiftly sheathed the blade and looked up at the moon, as she stood there in the field of grasses. The cold wind tugged at her ponytail and the chill nipped at her, through the thin fabric of her red ninja suit.

Without turning around, she could sense the leak of spiritual energy as a portal to Astral Chaos appeared. In a thin voice, she said, "This time... I may not make it."

"Zasalamel!" Cassandra shook the arcane magician as he held a hand to his right, gold eye. "Hey, what's going on?" But then her left arm throbbed with pain and she groaned. Ripping back her sleeve and taking off her glove, her eyes widened as the crystals traveled upward, further crystallizing the skin. Her lips turned purple and her body suddenly shook with chills.

Zasalamel caught her before she could slump down onto the floors of the dark ruins and he said thinly, "We need to go... to Astral Chaos."

"Hey!" Bangoo ran over to them, dropping the travelling bags as he arrived at their side with his dad. "What's wrong? Is her arm hurting her again?"

Zasalamel looked up and his eyes narrowed. "The shard. Did you two find it?"

Rock nodded and held out his hand. Opening it, the red light from the evil object shone brightly and dispelled the shadows of the ruins they were in. "We slayed the giant protecting it."

Taking it, Zasalamel stared at the shard for a moment before turning to Rock and Bangoo. "I'm going into Astral Chaos with Cassandra."

"What? Why?" Rock and Bangoo asked at the same time.

Standing up, he helped the Greek woman lean on him and said, "Time does not move there; Cassandra was cursed there by Soul Calibur and her cure may lie there as well. As for me, there is something I want to investigate and I can't risk her going there alone anyway. But I need you two to do something for me while I'm gone."

"What is it?" Bangoo asked apprehensively, lifting his axe onto his shoulder.

"Find Taki's student and Kilik's son and help them find Kilik and Taki. Once you're done..." Zasalamel cast his eye down on the shard. "Gather our allies. We're getting ready for war."

Behind his rhinoceros mask, Rock said quietly, "You've seen the future, haven't you."

Zasaleml pulled up the white hood of his robe and replied, "I almost wish I didn't." He curled his fingers over the shard and said darkly, "Soul Edge... it's such a poison to the mind and soul."

Hwang stepped through the portal and leaped onto the hard cold ground. Eyeing the spirals of blue and red energy above him, he then looked around warily. Feeling the ground shake as something walked towards him, he raised up his Blue Thunder. "I shall vanquish, the evils of the ages."

"Mina, give me your hand." Yun-Seong helped pulled her up the rocky slope of the mountain trail they were travelling on.

The Korean woman huffed and struggled to get her footing right before she was pulled up by him. Panting for breath, she said, "Was it really a good idea to travel such dangerous terrains, AT NIGHT?!" She wacked him on the head.

"Oww!" Yun-Seong scowled at her before grinning. "You know, you haven't really changed after all these years."

Seong-Mina chuckled before pecking him on the cheek. "And would you want me to?"

He laughed and took her hand as they continued up the mountain. "If I did, I wouldn't have married you. Now-" He stopped as his White Storm trembled.

Beside him, Seong-Mina also froze as her Scarlet Thunder grew hot in her hand. The two stayed still before she spoke up, "You don't think... something happened to Hwang?"

Wearing a grim expression, Yun-Seong only replied, "We should hurry to the West. I'm worried for him and... Talim."

Storming through the castle, he searched. His face was hidden behind a gold colored face covering, beneath his hood, but if anyone could see his face, fear would be the first emotion they would feel. His men marched behind him, summoned to his call. He threw open the doors to his ruined music room and looked around. When he saw a woman lying on the ground amongst his ruined instruments and ripped blue curtains, he walked over and harshly turned her over. "You're not one of mine."

The malfested woman blinked her large sea blue eyes at him and put her hands to her throat pitifully.

He brushed back her white bangs and examined her carefully, before noting that the burns around her mouth was caused by holy water. Staring at her for a moment, he suddenly realized who she was. "You're one of the malfested that invaded my castle." He pulled her up into a sitting position and snarled, "Who sent you here? How did you and your mother get past the guards?"

She opened her mouth but no sounds came out.

Nightmare bared his teeth in anger as he realized the holy water had destroyed her voice. "The person who did this to you... he force fed you holy water didn't he?" When she nodded, he said, "Then that person wanted to silence you." He paused when she raised a trembling hand and opened her curled fingers. Seeing the piece of brown fabric with some pieces of white fur in her hand, he asked, "It was him?" When he saw her nod, his grip tightened around Soul Edge before he yelled to his men, "To my study! NOW!"

"At once my lord." His men rushed out of there, eager for blood when they heard the tone of their master's voice.

Returning his attention to the malfested he held, he said, "You will die soon from the holy water you drank. I shall be merciful and give you a quick death since I know you and your mother would have never came here if it wasn't for him." His hand tightened around her neck and he quickly snapped it. Her blue eyes dimmed and her mouth parted open in an O. He closed her eyes before dropping the body down on the ground. "He will pay for this," Nightmare vowed silently. "They will all pay."

"My-my lord, we should leave soon before Dumas or another monster finds us," a nervous looking soldier spoke up as he glanced over to the door.

"Hold." Matthias wrenched open another drawer and ruffled through the papers frantically. He didn't need to care about the mess he was creating since he could put the blame on the enraged malfested. But he did need to hurry. He only had two vials of holy water left and if those monsters or Dumas was to come in at this moment, things would be very hard to explain.

As his men scurried around him and helped, something of interest caught his eyes. Wiggling the sheaf of papers out, he thumbed through it before taking out one. Reading it, his eyes widened slightly in surprise. "A warrant of execution... for that woman?" The Archduke and his men backed up as the door was kicked down. He hastily stuffed the paper into his coat as his guards prepared to defend him. But what struck him hard, was the sight of the monster that walked in. "What... are you?"

The Azure Knight's eyes glowed a brilliant red as he dragged his cleaver behind him. His eyes settled on the Archduke's ripped brown suit and said, "Your worst nightmare." His men poured out from behind him and he said, "Kill them all, but leave the archduke to me. I must personally rip out his heart in front of my dearest for what he has done."

Matthias shouted, "What are you waiting for? Kill these monsters!"

But the battle, if it could even be called one, went badly. The soldiers were all in their last stages of malfestation and their great strength and speed was unmatched. Limbs went flying, throats were sliced by the nimble footed and heads were bashed or crushed by heavy maces and swords. His study was completely destroyed as blood soaked the carpet, splattered the bookshelves behind his desk, his curtains were wet with the liquid and inside the spacious room, bodies laid strewn about.

Matthias crawled backwards, his back hitting the mahogany desk and his eyes were wide with fear.

Nightmare said coldly, "You nobles send your soldiers out to die for you, without a thought about their lives or what they face. Dogs such as you have never seen the true terror or horrors of deaths, while you lounge about in your pretty castles and let someone else do the dirty work." He raised up his arms and said, "But she knows... my dearest knew what it was like. She wanted to stop the deaths and prevent a war between the humans and malfested."

"Dumas?" Matthias gasped. "You... so you really are a malfested?!"

Nightmare looked down at the cowering man as he walked towards him. "More than that. I am the king of the malfested. And you ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF MY FUTURE QUEEN!"

Reacting out of instinct, Matthias threw his last vials bottles of holy water at Dumas. "Stay back demon!"

Nightmare didn't even flinch as he reached out with his demonic right arm and grabbed the two vials, breaking the glass as he squeezed them. The water burned his hand but he didn't even feel it. "At this stage, there is no more pain that I can feel." He grabbed Matthias by the neck of his brown suit and said, "The pain of losing my love... you will pay for it by tenfold."

"Your end is now." Viola's smashed her orb into the woman's face, before deftly slashing her throat.

The malfested held a hand to her throat as the blood dripped through her fingers and stained her skin, dyeing her dress a darker red. Slowly falling to her knees, she looked up blankly at the ceiling, as fire ate up the corridor they were in. In a gurgling voice, she said, "I'm leaving hell. Mother... sisters..." Her eyes dimmed from the bright yellow to a normal brown before she fell over to her side and stopped breathing.

"Viola!" Hilde bit her lip as she dealt with the lizard, unable to go over and reprimand the fortune teller for her actions. "Vile beast, begone!" She twirled her lance and slashed the lizard on the leg before shouting to her guards, "I want a frontal assault! Trap the thing into a wall and let the fires turn on it!"

Gerhilde, Waltraute and Grimgerde immediately formed a triangular formation, with Gerhilde at the front. "Charge!" shouted Hilde. The three women deftly followed her orders as they came at the lizard with everything they had. Grimgerde smashed her pink shield onto the lizard's right arm and thrust forth with her sword, cutting a red line down its arm. Waltraute came from the left and hefted her heavy spear up for a heavy blow that was blocked by one of the lizard's axe. Thankfully, Gerhilde aided her comrade as she pushed aside the other axe with her own blade and kicked the lizard in the stomach, making it stumble backwards.

Seeing the opening, Hilde raised up her lance and shouted, "Gales of Power!" Her lance glowed a faint blue as she summoned the small amount of spiritual energy she had become attune with from Astral Chaos, seventeen years. Drawing her arm back, she threw it with all her might. "This ends now!"

Aeon cried out in pain as the weapon went through its abdomen. The force sent it flying into a burning wall and it was stuck there, as the lance wedged itself into the wood.

Charging forward, Hilde raised the hilt of her sword and smashed it three times against its head before punching it on the side of the face with her other hand. When the beast fainted, Hilde pulled the lance out and watched as it slumped to the floor, heavily injured but still alive, for she avoided its vitals. To her guards, she said, "Pick him up, we're taking him to Dumas's dungeon."

She left her guards temporarily as they resheathed their weapons and worked on carrying the lizard. When she came to the seer's side, she said angrily, "You killed that malfested. I explicitly said no."

With the woman dead, Viola opened her eyes and had called back her orb, which returned to being Quattour Orbis. The seer cradled her warm orb and said blankly, "I don't care whether she lived or died in the first place. And remember princess, the greater good sometimes needs sacrifice." She tilted her head slightly. "You practiced it yourself, you did nothing to prevent the Archduke from bringing them here, because you did not want to cross the man who was going to grant you lands for your people."

"You-" Hilde's grip on her lance tightened as she glared at Viola. "Do not bring my people into this."

Viola said calmly, "Emotions blinds the truth. I have done what was necessary to survive, nothing more."

Hilde took a step forward and her right arm trembled slightly. "Yes, you have. You certainly have, Viola."

The seer flicked away the blood on her metal claws. "Then I suggest you kill that lizard-" Viola stopped as Hilde raised her sword to her neck. "What do you think you're doing?"

Hilde said stiffly, "You are valuable to the Schwartzwind and you have helped me before. That is why I will not punish you for disobeying my orders to leave that malfested alive, until Talim checks up on her. But you will have to answer for this."

Viola was indifferent to her words. "Are you done with pointless observations?"

Hilde slashed the air, letting a few white strands of hair flutter down to the ground as her blade cut at Viola's hair slightly. "Get out of my sight. Return to the Schwartwind on your own and write up the report. Siegfried shall handle the matter and decide if you should be punished or not."

"As you wish. To stay here would be suicidal anyway." Viola dropped the hint as she left Hilde and her guards. The castle would either burn, or be devoured by that looming darkness she could feel. Her hair on the back of her neck stood on end and as she glanced down into her orb, she could see the approaching shadows.

Hilde shook her head as Viola disappeared, before returning her attention back to her three guards. "Let's go. We need to alert the castle about the fire and get out of here. Once the lizard is safely imprisoned, we search for the remaining-" Hilde stopped as an arrow hit her squarely in the back, penetrating through the soft fabric of her musketeer outfit and into her flesh. Her feathered hat dropped to the ground as she stumbled forward.

"Princess!"

"My lady!"

"Your majesty!"

Gerhilde ran forward and caught the Wolfkrone princess in her arms. Underneath her butterfly shaped helmet, her eyes widened in horror. "What..."

"Dumas's men," said Grimgerde, pointing to the insignia on the armor of the twenty malfested soldiers that were edging towards them, with bloodlust evident in their red eyes. Each one possessed a monstrous feature such as a disfigured leg, horns and fangs.

Trapped in the flaming corridor, the three women looked back and forth at each other helplessly. Finally, Gerhilde said, "We must get out of here. We won't be able to win against this many."

"But how?" Waltraute asked grimly.

Turning her attention to the window, she said looked down and said, "We jump. Try to land beneath the princess and cushion her fall. At this height, we should make it. But if anyone injures themselves... they will be left behind. Priorities goes to the princess."

"Understood," replied the other two.

Hilde's vision were blurry but she heard what they said. "No... we can't leave... Talim and Viola... need to be warned."

"I'm sorry princess, but your safety takes priority," Gerhilde apologized firmly. Taking the princess onto her back, she shouted, "Smash the window!"

"Put out the fire and go get them!" shouted the commanding officer. The archers strung their bows once more and let loose a volley of arrows.

Grimgerde's dark brown eyes flashed as she broke the window with her sword before shielding herself from the arrows. "We jump!"

The three jumped out and crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Gerhilde quickly carried Hilde back on her back and shouted, "To the stable! Cut down anyone that tries to stop us!"

The rain poured down mercilessly while thunder crackled on the dark night. On Gerhilde's back, Hilde said weakly, "Talim... Viola... I'm sorry..."

"Cheep."

"Squeak."

Coming to a stop, Viola frowned at the two strange animals that was wobbling around on the floor. One looked like an oversized white bird with large gold eyes, while the other looked like a round, grey fluff ball. From the looks of it, they seemed to be sick. Then, she remembered they were the two pets Talim had comforted in the ballroom before she left. Bending down, she said, "It's not safe here, you two should leave."

Alun slumped forward and chirped weakly. It actually seemed to be molting from the stress, trauma or pain it was suffering. Meanwhile, Buffy rolled onto its back, its belly facing upward and it feebly flapped its wings, acting like it was an upturned turtle.

Viola pursed her lips slightly before picking up the two. Her orb hovered beside her as she walked towards the exit with the two animals in her arms. She bit the inside of her cheek slightly and muttered, "It's a crime for something to be this cute." All of a sudden, her orb flashed and she glanced over to it. Reacting to the vision, she deftly sidestepped as Raphael almost crashed into her.

"You!" The frenchman cried out in surprise at seeing her. "What are you doing here?"

"Greetings," Viola commented dryly. "If you have memory loss, might I remind you that Hilde and I accompanied the archduke here, as per planned." Before she could speak or move, he quickly grabbed her upper arm and pulled her away from the direction he had came from.

Raphael panted as his hip throbbed from the wound. "Not that way! Dumas turned into a monster!"

"What are you talking about?" Viola asked impatiently as he pulled her along. "Wait! Not that way," she said quickly as her orb warned her once more, against the group of dangers that waited for her. She turned her head and pointed to the stairs. "We should head downward and leave this place, something isn't right."

"Damn right something isn't right," Raphael replied back as the ran down the long staircase and headed for the exit. "Dumas... he's Nightmare!"

"The Azure Knight?" Behind her black veil, her lips parted in surprise. "The wielder of Soul Edge? Are you sure?"

"No one leaves without my permission." Nightmare appeared before them, blocking their escape. Underneath the hood, his eyes shone angrily as he settled on Viola. "You said you would look after her... I entrusted her to your care."

"What are you-"

Nightmare interrupted her with a roar. "You will die for failing to protect her!" He curled his monstrous hand into a fist and shouted, "Surround them!"

Raphael and Viola stood back to back as Nightmare's malfested soldiers surrounded them. Archers leaned over the handrail on the upperfloor, while more of them poured down the stairs and surrounded the two.

Alun and Buffy blearily opened their eyes and squeaked in fright at the situation.

Viola looked down at them and said, "Sorry." She tossed the two and they went flying over the heads of the soldiers, and went squealing to a stop on the ground.

Raphael glanced over at her and said wryly, "You could have just told them to fly away."

"It's done, so shut up about it," she replied emotionlessly.

"Now I remember why I hate you," Raphael muttered under his breath.

Viola ignored him and said, "Quattor Orbis." Moving her orb in front of her, she readied her claws. "Wonderful, I'll have a chance to take revenge for Zwei."

Nightmare readied his cleaver and said darkly, "I shall enjoy killing you. The pain that werewolf will suffer from your death will be quite satisfying."

Viola immediately grew angry and her eyes shone. "I will make you eat those words."

"Then let's get started!" Nightmare snapped his fingers, and the archers let loose their rain of arrows.

"I was about to say the same." Viola threw her orb up and held out both hands. A magical barrier enveloped her and Raphael, deflecting all the arrows that came at them.

Nightmare snarled in anger, letting the evil energy of Soul Edge crawl out of the blade. The candles on the chandelier above them suddenly lit up with bright blue flames and he said, "You will all burn..."

Ivy stumbled into towards the ritual room, with twigs and leaves stuck in her hair and the white fur on her outfit from her fall. She had gotten back into the castle from a closed off exit the servants used and she had rushed here with all haste. She had sensed that the level of dark energy had been lowered, presumably due to the priestess's purification. But now, the energies had risen back up, at an even more dangerous level than before. Could something have happened to her?

When she pushed open the doors, Ivy's crystal blue eyes widened in horror and she inhaled sharply. Blood and pieces of someone's limbs decorated the floor, making it seem as if someone had conducted a horrible human sacrifice upon her drawn magical circle. Spilled potions and powder congealed on the ground, forming a sticky mess and it ruined some of the books she had laid out. But what was worse, was the growth of red vines decorated with thorns. It clawed its way up from the ground, and wrapped itself around the priestess in its dark embrace like a monster plant. Inside its hold, Talim laid still and only the dripping of the blood from her injured shoulder and chest made any sounds in the quiet room.

Ivy stood frozen for a moment, before forcing herself to swallow. The clacking of her heels was slightly dimmed by the blood on the ground. When she stood in front of the barrier of vines and thorns, she muttered softly, "This is... the hands of chaos."

Immediately, the vines snapped to life and reached out for her. The thorns bit into her arms and legs and Ivy pulled her lips back in a growl. "Don't even... ughh... VALENTINE!"

Her sword flashed and it extended into a long sharp whip that cut off the vines from its mistress. Ivy quickly stumbled back and held her sword up guardedly, but the vines returned to being complacent as it merely tightened around the priestess possessively.

Ivy breathed in heavily from the sudden scare and stood up, knowing that the vines were keeping death at bay for Talim momentarily. But the two were poison for each other. Where Talim's blood fell, the vines withered and died until another one had to grow up and take its place. As for her, where the thorns pierced her, the skin turned dark, like she had suffered bruises there. It was a constant cycle of life and death, pain and relief.

But Ivy could not let the priestess die. There was no one else to purify the air around the castle and at this rate, the portal to Astral Chaos would open. She scrambled over to the piles of books on the floor, taking care to give the nightmarish plants a wide berth. Skimming through them hastily, she searched for the correct one that she needed. Sweat beaded her forehead as she frantically looked. With every passing second, things were closer to true chaos if the portal opened. Finally, she found the page she was looking for and her pulse raced as she read it.

"There you are... Countess Valentine."

Ivy turned around and gasped. "You!" She cried out when four archers fired exactly four sharp arrows into her arms and legs. Before she could move, Nightmare charged forward and his monstrous arm wrapped around her neck. Ivy coughed and clawed at the gruesome arm. "You cur..."

Nightmare gave a curt grunt before throwing her into the wall, hard enough to send cracks through it. In a cold voice, he said to his soldiers, "Get them all ready. They shall be enough company to keep my priestess from feeling lonely on her journey to the afterlife."

Viola, Raphael, the unconscious lizard and the Archduke, and Ivy were unceremoniously bound up and readied to be killed at his command once the soldiers checked up on their chains.

Slowly walking over to Talim, he held out his arms lovingly. "Dearest... don't be frightened. Death won't be so lonely with Raphael here for you. The blood of those that hurt you will also be spilled tonight. I would never let anyone get away with doing this to you."

Ivy recognized his tone of voice and she said in surprise, "Dumas? You... you're Nightmare?"

Nightmare turned his head and replied, "Surprised? Well, that is to be expected. I've hid this secret quite well, haven't I?" He held out the cleaver. "But since I can't do that anymore, there is no other option but for me to kill every human in sight and reap their souls, if I am to have any hope of finding my daughter."

"What are you talking about?" snapped the alchemist.

Nightmare turned his attention back to his priestess before saying to Ivy, "You've missed the party, countess. Talim made a rousing speech about peace between the humans and the malfested. Because my love for her is stronger than my hate for the world, I was willing to stop The Purge. That however... angered Soul Edge. With the enormous dark energy here, I could not fight back, and it forced me into this form." He laughed bitterly. "I cannot hide the truth anymore. And with my Talim like this... there is no longer a point in trying to be a good man for her." With one hand, he reached forward through the vines and touched her face gently. "Enough talk... my love must leave me soon." He looked over his shoulder and said, "Place them on the ground inside the circle. I shall deliver the killing blow."

Ivy quickly shouted, "Stop!" She looked down at the ground and said, "Talim... cannot be allowed to die. She's needed to purify the air around here, so that a portal to Astral Chaos won't open. I..." Ivy met his eyes as she said, "I can save her."

Nightmare froze when he heard her claims.Finally, he said, "Do not lie to me to save your life, countess. I will have you suffer a very painful death if you dare to raise my hopes for nothing."

Ivy said icily, "You have a chance to save her, will you take it or leave it?"

Slowly, Nightmare walked over to her and motioned for his guards to step back. Meeting her icy blue eyes with his red ones, he asked, "How will you save my priestess?"

Ivy replied solemnly, "I can steal the life force of other living creatures and transfer it to her to save her. What I'll need, are human sacrifices..."

"How many?"

Ivy said grimly, "Alot..."

Darkwings13: Sorry this took longer than expected! I actually have two versions of this chapter. The first one I wrote was epically sad, but it didn't feel right. I think you guys had most likely wanted something epically actioney so I went with this one instead. Crazy is probably too mild a word for what Nightmare is like right now but that just adds onto the action and heart pounding tension (I hope) ;D

I hope this was a bit of a twist for you, Sword of the Coast247. Expect further twists and tense moments as the next chapter involves the black magic ritual of human sacrifices. Can you imagine Talim's reaction IF she wakes up? I'm sorry my little wind prietess... ಥ_ಥ

Thanks for your kind words Thalie! And no worries, I know you've been busy! It just makes me happy that you still read this even though you are busy lol. And yes, I do love using sarcasm, especially with Raphael lol ಠ◡ಠ

Oh golly gosh (oh no, I'm turning into Tira lol), a new reader of the series! (〃^∇^)ﾉ Hi bifem! I'm so happy to hear your enjoyed this series! I hope you won't be disappointed and thank you very much for reading.

Hopefully, the next chapter will be up sooner if I don't change my mind about the tone of it lol. Epically sad or just epically epic? I can never decide...