Disclaimer is on chapter one

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The Parting

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It was a relieved Queen Curtana who greeted them when they returned forthwith from the Mirror World. As they showed her the repaired Rorrim Mask and explained about the foreign blade Sabre now held, she could not help but feel the small candle of hope, which had been in danger of becoming snuffed out, burn brighter than ever before.

"This weapon may prove to be pivotal in our battle against Xiphos. When wielded in the correct manner, the blade will unleash great magic- at least, that is my opinion of things" Anlace admitted turning to the former sword wielding hero. "Can you lend credence to my theory, Claymore?"

Claymore remained silent for a moment thinking back over his days when he was a swordsman and master of the blade before shaking his head in disappointment. In all the years he had studied the ways of the blade as a pupil and a master, he had seen no sword even resembling the mythical blade, Rednusadner, before him.

Fortunately, while not knowing much about swords themselves, Queen Curtana was confident that Swordmaster Dao would be able to shed some light on this new weapon of theirs.

"Zis swordmaster, is he really so wise?" Fleurette inquired as the four vacated the throne room.

"Oh, aye. He has his quirks, but he taught me everything I know about swords, magical and otherwise" Claymore told her proudly mentally wincing as he recalled all the floggings he had gotten from Dao every time he challenged the swordmaster from his initiation to his final lesson and even beyond whenever drink got the better of him.

"If I may make a suggestion?" Anlace spoke up getting the others attention. "Why not have Sabre inquire about the sword: should there be anything of value Swordmaster Dao contains, he will be the one who has to learn of it. In the meantime, the rest of us should prepare and patrol the town. Xiphos' foul minions could attack at any moment"

"Bon. I will help you, Your Highness" Fleurette readily agreed before smiling confidently at Sabre. "Blade, you must learn for us how to use zis Rorrim Sword. I look forward to seeing how you use it!"

Blinking in confusion as to why this seemed to feel scripted or rehearsed, or even rushed perchance, Sabre turned to his father who was scratching his beard at the strangeness of them himself before seemingly giving in and going along with whatever it was they were thinking.

"They do have a point there, lad" He conceded with a shrug of his shoulders. "Go run along with that sword to Dao an see what he knows of it"

Outnumbered and confused, Sabre decided to just go along with the flow of things and hurried down to the duelling hall where the Swordmaster was sure to be. Suspicious or not, he was the one who would be wielding Rednusadner into battle so learning of whatever magicks and secrets it held was top priority if they were to survive against Xiphos and trounce him permanently this time.

The moment his son had disappeared from view, Claymore rounded on Anlace and Fleurette intent to getting to the bottom of whatever scheme they were concocting.

"Alright, you two. Jus what is it that you have goin on that requires my son not bein around?" He growled quietly in case said son had hearing as sharp as his namesake.

"We merely wish to move out ahead of him as a vanguard" Anlace explained sounding more serious than he did while inside the throne room mere moments ago. "While we have not properly talked about it, both myself and Fleurette believe it is in our best interests to remove what fiends lie between here and the molten lake before Sabre has mastered the powers of the Rorrim Sword"

"It is not zat we do not have faith in Blade" Fleurette cut in before Claymore could take what they were saying the wrong way. "It is just zat…well…"

From being so cheerful and optimistic, if a touch flirty, while Sabre was just with them , Fleurette's whole body seemed to suddenly sag with sadness completely sure of how to continue without breaking down at the thought of what may truly happen if things kept spiralling out of control.

"What Fleurette is trying to say is that, we wish to alleviate whatever stress and strain from Sabre that we can. You saw how exhausted he was after his battle with the statue, and Goddess knows how much stronger Xiphos is even with this new sword" Anlace pressed. "Bloodline and skill be damned, sooner or later, the inevitable shall occur and your son shall collapse to the monster known as fatigue!"

Claymore could not help but sigh at His Highness and Fleurette as the former gave his little speech. He knew, more so than the two youths before him, that his son was fast reaching his limits. Just by looking into their eyes, the hero could see they were prepared to throw away their own lives if just so that the pressure mounted on Sabre's shoulders were eased even a little. If only King Excalibur and Aruval could see how grown up and mature their respective kin had become…

"Aye…you're right, Your Highness" Claymore conceded placing a hand on a shoulder of the two youths before him. "But I don' want my lad goin off into a frenzy because you two gave up your lives for him. I ain't seen it 'appen yet but, wouldn' wan him unleashed even on Xiphos an that's saying sumin!"

"So you'll let us go?" Anlace asked hopefully.

"Aye, lad. You an the lass head off to Galantyne an thin the ranks in there. I'll bide here to tell him that you two headed off jus before he finished mastering his new sword so as nay to worry him much about the pair of you" Claymore nodded giving the two his approval of their little scheme. "Nay, heroics now. I don want to see empty seats at the table for the party they throw us when we return from giving Xiphos a right thrashing"

Smiling gratefully, both royalty and healer quickly scampered off like little tykes being given the go ahead to go out and play. Watching them make their hasty leave, Claymore could not help but chuckle: his son had barely become a man and already he had a strong friendship with the future king of Avalonia, a rare catch of a lass he might soon be calling a daughter and a reputation growing ever greater than his own as the day progressed. If it were not so humorous, as well as the current events taking place, he might have been black affronted at being surpassed by his offspring.

~#~

With a score of Colonel Cutlass elite soldiers, Prince Anlace and Fleurette bravely marched from Avalonia through Galantyne Glades towards the molten moat that detained all from visiting the Deathbringer and paying the fiend their respects.

With the Lolita's healing magicks along with His Highness' skills in the arts of swordplay and offensive magicks along with his tactics and morale raising speeches, the troop laid waste to scores of monsters be it forest creature or Xiphos minion until they had literally ran out of road to traverse.

With the way forward blocked until Sabre and Claymore arrived, there was little point in venturing forward any further resulting in Anlace ordering a portion of their vanguard to return to Avalonia in order to reinforce the kingdom's defences while simultaneously taking out any more monsters that might get in Sabre's way for when the swordsman and his father made their own way to their location.

"It is…really rather terrifying when viewed at close quarters…isn't it?" Anlace inquired politely to Fleurette bravely attempting to make conversation with the suddenly silent Lolita as they awaited two of their number to arrive.

Fleurette, in response, made little effort to make audible her reply her mind swimming with thoughts of her brother and her act of betrayal against someone else who was quickly becoming just as irreplaceable as her brother.

"You are still lamenting over what happened in the Mirror World, aren't you?" The Prince asked having a rare moment of clairvoyance in regards to what possibly plagued the healer's mind.

"As I should be! It is my fault zat Blade is in zis state!" Fleurette snapped her accent becoming so thick with emotion that Anlace almost had a hard time deciphering what he was being told. "'Ad I not run my mouse off, ve vood 'ave fought ze statue togezur!"

"Be that as it may, I dare not think it could have happened any other way" Anlace replied calmly. "While I was rather rash and blind to what was happening when we were there, what happened between Sabre and the statue was a duel with rules similar to that of the Walk of the worthy. Had Claymore not stopped us form intervening, our actions may have prevented the Mask from being repaired"

A snort and a rush of words in a foreign tongue was all Anlace earned for his tact. He may not have understood a single word but he was certain he had just been insulted in some manner and wisely chose not to inquire about what she just called him.

"Why do you torture yourself with such thoughts? You know he has more than likely forgiven you for your slip of tongue even before your tongue gained him the Rorrim Sword" Anlace attempted to point out optimistically.

"Would you have forgiven me if you were in his place?" Fleurette threw over her shoulder at the prince not noticing how he had frozen but taking his sudden silence as confirmation of what he would have likely done once all had been said and done. "He might have forgiven me but…zere is no way I can forgive myself for what I have done"

Finding his tongue after being disarmed of it very efficiently by the distraught maiden, it took all of Anlace's self-control to not lose his cool, a hard enough task in itself considering where they were, and stomp his feet like a little kid form being beaten in a contest of words. Taking deep breaths, the prince calmed and centred himself knowing that he had to somehow keep them, specifically Fleurette, in high morale and working together as a team so as to defeat Xiphos and not let his father's sacrifice be in vain.

"While I do not truly understand what you are going through, can I ask that you at least drop this until the matter of Xiphos has been taken care of?" Anlace inquired politely wishing she were at least facing him when he spoke. "Not only does the fate of your brother depend on our victory but, you being this way is sure to concern Sabre for reasons I am not sure I can comprehend just yet. The welfare of us means more to him than his own and we shall need him to focus solely on his foe rather than friends. Once our task here is complete, you can freely drown in your sorrows or confront them with him as you wish"

Turning round, Fleurette coolly observed Anlace letting not a trace of emotion play across her face save the odd trickle of sweat the heat of the flames and lava coaxed out.

"Is zat a royal order, Your Highness?" She asked eventually coldly even if it were not for the temperature.

"It was a rather formal request as a friend but, if you wish it to be so…" Anlace began letting his words hang.

He was greatly surprised when Fleurette graced him with a small smile before curtseying him.

"As you wish" she told him playfully while inside she was grateful for his words. "Merci, mon ami. You may just yet become a great king, non?"

"P-Please! I am far from being a man as great as my father" Anlace coughed turning his bashful face away from her and any troops nosey enough to drop eaves on them.

"Oh? Zen why are you blushing?" Fleurette asked innocently becoming more like her old self all of a sudden.

"It's…just the heat getting to me" Anlace quickly replied silently wishing to the Goddess for Sabre's arrival before he started to regret helping this woman overcome her sorrows.

As if hearing his silent plea, the sound of a twig snapping put Anlace, Fleurette and the soldiers on high alert. Hearts were in mouths as footsteps approached them. On baited breath, they waited as that which approached stepped from the burnt shrubbery to reveal the appearance of Claymore and son causing all of them to breathe again in relief.

"Ma Deesse, Blade! You nearly scared me to death!" Fleurette half scolded them while secretly relieved that her hero had finally arrived to lead them on towards victory.

"Sorry if we're a bit late, lass. Had a bit of trouble gettin yer lad sumin to hold his sword among a few other things" Claymore chuckled patting Sabre on the shoulder of his non sword arm.

Both prince and healer could understand where Claymore was coming from. With his preferred namesake now in many pieces, Sabre's unique sheath was rendered useless now replaced with a mere pair of sturdy hooks from which Rednusadner easily hung from on his back. There was also the appearance of the slender buckler type shield attached to the gauntlet of his left hand no doubt allowing Sabre use of both hands in swinging his new weapon around as well as what appeared to be bandages wrapping his right arm from below the shoulder to the wrist although the latter was hidden by his gauntlet.

In any case, Sabre being here meant he had mastered all there was about Rednusadner and was ready to show them the fruits of his training. With a reassuring pat on the shoulder from Claymore, along with some encouraging banter from Fleurette and one of her flirtatious smiles, Sabre stepped up to the ever crumbling bank of the fiery lake and drew Rednusadner for what was sure to be the first of many times before the night was done.

Remembering the words Swordmaster Dao had told him, about the 'Way of the Sword' being infinite, and only by allowing one's mind to be as broadened as the horizon itself, Saber brought Rednusadner sweeping through the air in a flash of movement carving a silver X before him before clasping the sword in two hands and bringing it down making to cleave the X in twain.

Nobody was expecting the three connecting arcs of light to suddenly fly forth like a powerful blade of wind that cut everything in its path- including the moat of lava. Even more miraculous was, not only did the Master Stroke technique cut through the lava all the way to the Deathbringer's lair, in did not surge back like waves crashing upon the rocks on the shoreline.

"Bleedin' heck! I weren't expecting that!" Claymore half cursed half choked. "That's a blade an' half, that is"

"In…Incredible!" Anlace croaked the power of the Rorrim Sword far surpassing his expectations.

Fleurette meanwhile took a more physical approach to things barely holding herself back until Sabre had put away Rednusadner before hugging his bandaged arm to her bosom.

"Now I am certain we can defeat Xiphos!" She told him excitedly until noticing a rather subtle wince Blade made when she squeezed his arm.

Realising that his sword arm was likely injured due to mastering Rednusadner, along with the Master Stroke, Fleurette made to heal the appendage only to be surprised when Blade clasped hold of her hand before she could begin the spell his eyes clearly telling her to save her magic for when necessary. As touched as she was by his thoughtfulness and concern for her own limits, Fleurette finally succeeded in making Blade speak as she deftly slapped his sword arm getting a surprised yelp from her hero.

"You do your job and let me do mine!" She scolded him keeping a firm hold of his sword arm as she healed said appendage all the while daring him through eye contact alone to try and go against her.

For his part, Sabre wisely allowed her to do her duty now properly understanding for the first time why his father could fight against Xiphos without an inkling of fear while cower in his boots from his mother.

Watching from the sides, Claymore was beside himself with mirth despite the situation. It was rare to see his son scared of something but he could easily relate to the lad getting his first taste of true fear. He only had himself to blame this time and he was damn well going to enjoy seeing his son squirm should their paths become entwined in the near future.

Patiently waiting for Fleurette not finish alleviating Sabre's injuries, wisely not wishing to incur the healer's wrath also, Anlace finally spoke up.

"Now is our chance! We must hasten through the rift in the lava while we still can!" He urged drawing his rapier. "Come, to Xiphos' castle!"

"You ready son? We'll be facing the likes of creators never encountered before" Claymore cautioned although he knew that it was probably a moot point. They were here now and who knew how long the red sea would remain parted.

Sabre merely nodded once in response, a sign which the rest of them reciprocated before they headed down as one into the rift between the red sea cheered on by the remaining troops before they wisely retreated to Avalonia to aid also in defending the kingdom. It would not do for their home to be destroyed while they were vanquishing the Deathbringer, after all

~#~

As brave and courageous as they were, none of the four could help but glance occasionally to either side of them at the two walls of still churning and flowing lava as if half expecting whatever magic holding it back to suddenly negate and send them to a rather unpleasant if swift death. It was strange enough just traversing the scorched and blackened ground without the thought of that happening to them.

Not even the appearance of fiery and undead creatures could distract them for more than just a scant few seconds. Hindered or not by fatigue, Sabre's prowess with Rednusadner along with the magicks of Claymore, Anlace and even Fleurette made swift work of whatever foe who dared to stand in their way.

The fact that the wielder of the Rorrim Sword allowed them a greater share of the enemy did not go unmissed by the others. Whether it was from the fatigue of many battles or just a wise move of conserving strength on his part, no one asked or pondered on it. They merely acknowledged that, he was putting his faith in them to help him out knowing that, in return, they put their faith in him when the time came.

It was no surprise that, once finally climbing the hill come up above the molten moat, that all four of them breathed a collective sigh of relief easily more rattled by that last leg of the journey than what awaited them in the very near future.

"Stop left there! I mean, right here! I mean leave here! I mean…er…I'm gonna eat you all up!" A booming voice, assumingly, threatened.

Reaching the crest of the hill, the four came face to face with a rather dopey faced troll with a brain as smart as its features.

"Do not obstruct our path, base creature! We have come to face Xiphos!" Anlace warned clearly neither impressed nor intimidated by the monster.

To their surprise, the monster seemed to find the Prince's words funny.

"Xiphos?! Two-faced?!" It chortled. "But Golok the Gatekeeper keeps the gated lock! I mean, the lock gated! I mean, the keep locked! I mean…er…I'm gonna eat you all up!"

"We are not here for you degustation!" Fleurette huffed finding 'Golok' rather disgusting rude and extremely uneducated.

"We don't have time to deal with this daft clod" Claymore interrupted. "Come on, it won't take us long to finish him off"

The others seemed to be thinking along the same lines. While not much in terms of smarts, Golok was but a long guard against the four of them.

Seeing the four approach unafraid, Golok snarled angriliy.

"You don't know 'ow colded-blood I is. I mean, 'ow blooded-cold I is. I mean, 'ow cold the blood in me eye is…Er, I think I better eat you all up now!" He muttered angrily all this hard work of trying to talk like a human far more stressful than his day job of crushing invaders with his spikey mace.

With a speed unrealistic for one of his portly proportions, Golok lunged forward swinging his deadly weapon. Even if he did miss the surprised humans, the force of his landing shook the molten ground and put them all off balance giving the light-footed lugnut unnecessary time to plan his next swing at the girl who knew very big words.

Golok was the one to be surprised as Sabre placed himself between Fleurette and the mace and attempt to parry the blow with his sword. It was hard to tell who was more surprised when the Rorrim Sword cut clean and easily through Golok's mace causing the troll to spin out of control at the loss of weight he was accustomed to.

As Golok pirouetted into a clumsy pile, Anlace and Claymore took the chance to unleash a barrage of spells against the troll's exposed hide as it tried to stand up without falling into a pile again. Finally on his feet once more, Golok grabbed a protruding pinnacle of rock that jutted out from the molten sea and effortlessly swung it free of its moorings sending a cascade of molten rain upon the group who barely managed to avoid giving the troll a chance to prepare its counter attack.

Grabbing a cluster of large boulders easily in one hand, Golok tossed them into the air before sending them screaming through the air towards the four with a few swings of his new club.

Like with the spiked mace, sabre cut the boulder speeding towards him in twain with ease, letting the two parts fly harmlessly passed, before speeding towards Golok as he readied a Master Stroke Technique to end this farce of a fight. Raising Rednusadner high as the blade began to extend in a violet hue, all thoughts of defeating the troll were thrust aside as pain surged all the way through his right arm the shock causing him to trip up and skid across the ground while Rednusadner sank effortlessly point first into the ground prevented from disappearing completely only by the cross guard.

Too blinded by the pain of what felt like a thousand tiny daggers stabbing into his skin, Sabre was unaware of the danger hovering overhead its club poised to end his life pained and quicklessly- painful and swiftless- put him out of his misery.

Grinning like an idiot, Golok swung his club with all his might only to recoil and stumble backwards as a bright pink something connected painfully with his face followed by something hot and cold at the same time. Blinking back the tears the pink light had brought forth, all Golok could do was gawk at the sight of an angry Claymore standing on his shoulders with his metal arm pulled far back and augmented with lightning.

"Keep yer filthy hands of my boy!" He growled before sending his metal fist straight through Golok's face the force of impact killing him long before the lightning burned up his putrid innards.

Leaping off the electrocuted carcass before it tumbled lifelessly into the lava, Claymore's features turned to those of a concerned parent as he made his way over to Sabre who already had Fleurette by his side and tending to his right arm while Anlace retrieved the Rorrim Sword fromits current resting place. While he was managing to sit up, the pained expression on his face as he flexed his sword arm indicated that Sabre in no proper shape for what lay ahead.

"How is he, lass?" Claymore inquired of Fleurette knowing that the girl was both a healer and just as concerned as he was, if not more so, about the health of the lad.

"His nerves and muscles are overstrained. I sink it has to do with ze amount of zose Master Stroke Techniques he has used today" Fleurette shakily explained applying as much healing magic as she dared into Sabre's arm. "I can ease the pain at least and apply a coat of numbing paste to allow him to swing a sword but, any more fancy swordplay magicks and he'll be right back to where he is now, if not worse!"

Claymore mentally cursed the Goddess. Off all times for a backlash, a rare occurrence to transpire from overuse of magicks and powerful arts such as the Master Stroke Techniques, it just had to happen now at the final hurdle.

Common sense dictated that they make a hasty retreat back to Avalonia and get Sabre treated properly. But, with the threat of Xiphos making his return to the lands and them in a position to take the battle to him, it was too hard of a choice to make even if his heart was telling to think more of his son's health than the survival of the kingdom. Even Anlace, the maturing strategist, was torn between protecting his Mother's Kingdom and saving his friend to say nothing of what turmoil Fleurette was going through, her brother within reach yet her hero in need of aid.

"We're going in" Sabre spoke up his voice calm and steady despite the feeling of pins and needles coursing through his right arm. "That's why we're here, isn't it? To stop Xiphos!"

All three of them were stunned, frozen even as Sabre slowly rose to his feet. He was sweating profusely and still wincing whenever he moved his sword arm but never the less took Rednusadner from Anlace and returned it to the sheath on his back.

"I may not be able to swing a blade much but, I can still use my shield easily enough" Sabre pointed out raising his shield arm easily. "If I allow my arm to heal enough, it should be strong enough for when we reach Xiphos"

Fleurette looked ready to argue against him the same with Claymore, yet Anlace quickly took the initiative before anyone else could speak over the roar of the lava.

"As you wish. We shall surge on ahead" The Prince spoke raising a hand to halt the others as they made to protest. "However, you're role until we reach Xiphos is to protect Fleurette with your shield and leave the offensive to myself and Claymore. As your Prince, I ask that you give us your word as a swordsman that you shall not wield your blade against any fiend we come across until that time comes"

For a moment, no one spoke as Prince and swordsman stood off in a clash of wills before Sabre knelt down on one knee before His Highness.

"I give you my word, Your Highness" He swore albeit a bit mumbled trying hard not to show his embarrassment of doing this in front of his father and Fleurette.

"Then rise, my friend! Let us enter the Deathbringer's lair and bring an end to this accursed war!" Anlace rallied clasping sabre's uninjured hand and pulling the swordsman to his feet.

Pausing a moment to steady himself, Sabre made to follow after Anlace and his father when he felt a hand slip into his right. Blinking in surprise, Sabre turned to see Fleurette staring unabashedly at him.

"Thought you might need help staying on your feet, Blade" She smiled while her eyes clearly said 'just in case you try to draw your blade'.

In response, Sabre squeezed her hand gently while thanking and apologising to her with his eyes knowing that she understood perfectly what he was 'saying' if the slight increase in pressure she was putting on his hand was anything to go by.

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Let's be realistic here, if this game really spanned the course of a day, who would be in peak condition to fight a powerful foe after a day full of hardships? Even the great vampire hunter D relied on Lefty at times when things looked bleak for him or when he was suffering from Sun Syndrome/Sickness. Therefore, I reckon this is a near realistic approach to how it may have gone in real life or something similar.

Review if possible & until next time- when my main fingers aren't wrapped in bandages making it a real pain to type

Watch this space & peace out!