The Tri-Blade Alliance

Chapter 20: The Final Battle―Part 2: A Hero's End

A/N: Well, here it is: the second half of The Final Battle. Let me know what you think, as this has been in the making for quite a while.

S/N: You know the disclaimer already.

(x)

Floor 19: …'s Grave

Shadow and his opponent both landed with a thud next to each other. The two rolled away from each other and slowly got up to their feet. The second player laughed maliciously. "'Ello, there," he said in an Australian accent. "How long's it been?"

"Too long," was Shadow's grim reply as the two warriors drew their blades. "Kutthroat." The name was said in a tone of pure contempt―so much so that no language on Earth could give the proper word to describe it.

Kutthroat looked at Shadow, taking in his new appearance, from the hood to the black trench coat. "Black looks good on ya, mate," the PKer remarked.

"You're wearing white now?" Shadow asked while he looked at his opponent. Kutthroat was wearing all white―a white cloak over a white shirt, and steely grey armor and pants.

"Of course. Figured I should match this." He took out his shard: It looked exactly like Shadow's, all the way to the core. The only difference was the color; where Shadow's star was black, Kutthroat's appeared to be white all over, with the star inside the crystal being a black hole instead. "The White Star of Pure Hope," Kutthroat said matter-of-factly. "I got it from the field boss 'Heaven's Monarch'. It's apparently part of a set; you know what the other half is."

"Count Nightshade," Shadow said with a tone of realization. "And his Black Star."

"Yep. Just another way of fate telling us: this was meant to happen. And let's not keep death waiting, shall we?"

"For once," Shadow said, getting into a battle stance while charging his sword, "I wholeheartedly agree."

(The fight begins here)

(Cue "My Name (Wearing Me Out) by Shinedown)

The two warriors teleported towards each other, clashing halfway. "This won't be like last time," Shadow growled, pushing his blade against Kutthroat's.

"I agree," the PKer growled back, no longer smiling. "I'll finish the job."

"Over my dead body!"

"That's the idea, mate!"

Shadow broke the clash and dashed forward, slicing at his opponent with his longsword. Kutthroat dodged every slice and punched Shadow in the face. Recovering quickly, the black-clad player delivered a kick to the white-clad one's chest, following up with an upwards slash. This combo knocked Kutthroat to his back, and the villain rolled to dodge the sword stab Shadow was going to hit him with.

He got back to his feet and slashed Shadow with enough force that the mercenary was knocked all the way back. His head stopped in front of a sword planted in the ground. He shakily got up and made the mistake of looking at the blade. Shadow made a slight choking sound as he recognized the blade.

He looked back to Kutthroat and roared in rage. He powered up as his eyes glowed and the nightmarish fire from the Floor 67th boss fight engulfed him.

Kutthroat merely chuckled. "My turn," he said maliciously. He held his sword in front of him with two hands. He screamed, possibly in pain, as he was enveloped in an inky black flame. When he opened his eyes, they were all black, and a truly terrifying sight as he smiled at his opponent. Shadow said nothing as he and Kutthroat dashed, slicing through each other. They turned and, with an ungodly speed that the normal eye couldn't detect, they immediately began slashing at each other, their blades blocking the other's every blow. Eventually, Shadow broke the clash and hit Kutthroat with enough power to break through his fire wall and slice clean through him. Kutthroat screamed as his HP dropped down to just above the halfway mark. The PKer recovered fairly quickly and dashed towards Shadow, who dodged his attack and punched him so hard that he stopped only when he hit a tree.

In a sense of poetic justice, Shadow dropped his sword and grabbed the one planted in her grave; the grave that was never supposed to be there. He looked towards the now-dashing Kutthroat. In a flash, he charged a sword skill and dashed forward as well, stabbing Kutthroat in a straight thrust style. When the sound of steel hitting V.R. flesh hit his ears, the mercenary looked up to see Kutthroat standing in front of him, the blade in his chest as he powered down.

(The fight and song end here)

Once Shadow stabbed Kutthroat, effectively ending the match, the Aussie dropped his sword, staring at the blade in his chest in shock. To his killer's surprise, Kutthroat began laughing. "What's so funny?!" Shadow growled. Calmly, Kutthroat opened his menu, his hand shaking all the while, and went to his transfer screen. All Shadow could do was watch as Kutthroat selected an item(?) to transfer, and as he selected Shadow's profile. Shadow felt something form in his free hand, and he looked down to see Kutthroat's black longsword. It had the same structure as his own, with the only differences being that this blade was serrated on one side; the blade was all black, like someone took a chunk of darkness, solidified it, and gave it the form of a one-handed blade, or a longsword, to be more specific. "What the hell is this?!"

Kutthroat grabbed Shadow's shoulder, and leaned in. The mercenary allowed this, wanting to hear what his rival had to say. "All the blood...on my hands...is on yours now...mate," the dying killer whispered, malice laced in the single syllable of his last word. With that, Kutthroat fell forward as Shadow pulled out his sword, and the killer shattered.

Putting his sword back in his inventory, Shadow viewed the weapon that Kutthroat gave him. He read the flavor text, and his eyes widened in shock. "No…"

'Unique Skill: Darkness Blade

Given to the player who killed the most other players in the game.

Obtained: Transfer'

The weapon wasn't a weapon at all. It was a sick byproduct of Kutthroat's evil efforts in the game. And it now belonged to his killer. Looking down, Shadow saw two rainbow-colored items. The rainbow-color indicated that it was an S-Class item. Shadow picked it up, and received 'The White Star of Pure Hope.' When Shadow picked up the Star, it disappeared, and so did his Black Star. What was left in his inventory, once he checked it, was The Grey Star of Broken Dreams. Shadow picked up the other item, and received Kutthroat's Knife (broken), S-Class. Shadow knew what this was; proof that he had indeed killed the merciless killer. But even then, Kutthroat was still haunting him. It began to rain. In his rage, Shadow fell to his knees, items in his hand, and yelled a shattering cry, filled to the brim with rage, as he looked up to the sky, the raindrops falling on his face blending in with tears that hadn't been shed for quite a long time.

Some time had passed before he got up. When he did, he shakily planted the sword he used to kill Kutthroat back where it originally was. He turned to leave, but stopped when he felt something behind him. He turned around to see that day was breaking, and in front of the sun, stood his wife. He kept staring at her in disbelief, while she stared back, her gaze hard. The two remained that way for several minutes, until they both shook their heads; him, in order to convince himself that he was hallucinating; and her, in disappointment at what her love had become. The two turned away from each other, and walked their separate paths; he walked into the darkness, and she walked into the light.

(x)

"Hold your fire!" Solar called as his archers were preparing to fire in case Kutthroat came back, and not Shadow. The allies of the mercenary had taken care of XaXa and his forces, leaving (most of) them alive so they could answer for their crimes. Everyone, from those who fought alongside Shadow, to those who were watching the "Final Battle" take place, was waiting.

Some time passed.

More time passed.

Everyone was getting more and more worried with every hour that had passed.

Finally, a grey light appeared. Grey? Solar thought as he readied his hand to give the command for the archers to fire. He froze in place when he saw who stepped out of the light.

Shadow walked through, dressed in different armor and a new coat (armor and a coat that looked all too familiar to those who knew it), and on his left shoulder was the insignia of a guild. He was holding a sword in his left hand, and a broken knife in his right. He was looking down, for reasons no one could decipher. His scarf was gone, giving full view of his face, and his hood was down, giving full view of his head. "He's dead," Shadow started as he dropped the knife hilt. It shattered, and he finally looked up. His red eyes were emotionless. When he blinked once, his eyes lost their glow. When he blinked again, his eyes changed, becoming a long-forgotten blue color. "I killed him," Arctic finished remorsefully.