-demented grin- Here we go! Round three! -pauses- Wait a second... -glances at end- Oh... It's this one...

-drags Dark into the room and ties him to a wooden post- He is yours for the torturing for the stunt he pulls this chapter. -nods smartly and leaves-

Dark: Wha-? What are you- Oh no... -looks around- Help?

"I was hoping you'd ask." -Dark

"Little late now, don't you think?" -Dark

Chapter 7.1 - Arte of Sacrifice
Part 64

Natalia stared, while I let a demented smirk cross my features.

"How...?" the blonde asked. I laughed.

The familiar thwack of a hand hitting a forehead came from behind me, and I glanced back to see that it had been Dark who'd decided a face-palm was needed.

"...Um... Why is there a sword stuck in the ground here?" Seth asked. Reighn blinked a few times.

"Ah... Correct me if I'm wrong, but... Isn't that a..."

"Sword Dancer?" Dark supplied. Judging from Reighn's startled expression, he'd been about to ask that. Dark sighed. "Yeah. And Kairi has some really fucked-up fascination with fighting the damn thing."

I shrugged. "If you don't wanna help, you don't have to."

"I'm staying out of this one this time, I think," Natalia said. Reighn glanced around, sighed, and gently pushed Ion over toward her.

"Keep him out of it then. I'll admit his aim is getting really good, but from what I've read, the Sword Dancer is not something you want to send an amateur against," he said. I rolled my eyes.

"No derp. It gets stronger every time you fight it," I muttered. I glanced around. Natalia and Ion were out, and Reighn seemed to have decided he wanted in, so... "Sorylle and Twilight don't count in his four-human count, so Dark? Care to join in this time?"

Dark smirked and nodded. "I was hoping you'd ask. I'd like to try a couple of things out on it. You said it doesn't like sixth fonons, right?"

I nodded, and looked back and forth between Seth and Luke. Neither of them looked sure about this fight, but they hadn't backed out yet, so...

It basically came down to, did I want to use my katana or my bow? Silver Clematis was out of the question, we couldn't use the Sword Dancer's own weapons against it. So... Sword it was.

"Seth?"

Jade's replica sighed, but summoned up his swallow-blade anyway and started twirling it, ready to fight at a moment's notice. Luke retreated to stand by Natalia and Ion, while I wandered over to Ultimatus.

:Hehehe... You have learned the rules already... Prepare!:

I jumped back as the usual mass of darkness flowed out of the sword, my katana appearing in my hand. Then I ran back in, starting right into a spin immediately as sixth fonons gathered. "Guardian Field!"

A wide sweep of a sword sent me flying back again, and I scowled at the cut across my abdomen even as I focused the correct Energies toward it. Reighn's Meditation a minute later helped, too.

I nodded to myself, taking a deep breath before running in again. I'd leave most of the big damage to the others. My job for now would be keeping the Sword Dancer away from the fonists.

Twilight and Sorylle danced around its feet, biting at it, clawing at it, and being the general nuisances they were known to be. The three of us together, with Twilight throwing the occasional Thunder Lance or Sorylle tossing out an Ice Stream. I'd alternate between Havoc Strike and Raging Blast when I was in close (both kept being turned into their field of fonons counterparts, thanks to Sorylle's Ice Stream and Seth and Reighn's uses of Eruption and Flame Burst whenever they weren't healing us.

"Got it!" Dark called, sixth fonons dancing around him. "Stardust Rain!"

I couldn't help but gape at how pretty the arte was, even as I noted that it really was an effective arte to use against something as big as the Sword Dancer. What looked like tiny, colored crystals were shooting for the ground, hitting the dark enemy and going through it, probably very painfully too, if the way it immediately started thrashing was any indication.

Then it let out a shockwave, and I cursed quietly, retreating for a moment to get an idea of the situation. Twilight and Sorylle seemed to have the same idea, and the six of us ended up in a large circle around the edges of the shield, the two ligers taking turns darting out one at a time to keep it from getting too close to me and the three fonists. Seth was gathering up fifth fonons again, only for something to subtly shift before he could cast. The replica grinned.

"Try this one, then! Dragon's Flower!"

Dark jumped a bit at the blaze that really did look something like a flower, and Seth cringed. "Whoops... I'd meant to warn you when I figured that one out..."

Dark rolled his eyes as the Sword Dancer's over-limit faded out and the ligers and I finally unleashed the Holy Lance I'd been casting. "Little late now, don't you think?" he grumbled, collecting up sixth fonons again. Probably for another round of Stardust Rain.

I ran back in, giving Twilight a few moments to retreat and breath while I unleashed a trio of swings followed up by a Havoc Strike and a Raging Blast. Of course, that left me winded, so I ran away from the Sword Dancer so Sorylle could get to it easily with another Ice Stream.

"O vibrant comets, let your light purify this land! Stardust Rain!"

Yep, called it. I jumped in for a Burning Havoc and cleared out again, noting that Seth was prepping another fifth-fonon arte. Eruption, or...?

"O ancient flame of desire, bloom with all your fury! Dragon's Flower!"

I smirked and made use of the second field of fonons left behind to drop yet another Burning Havoc.

The Sword Dancer managed to time its swings just right, and a shockwave of first fonons slammed into me, throwing me into the barrier. I cursed quietly and pushed myself to my feet, noting how close the enemy had gotten to Dark and Seth. Reighn was a ways off from the two of them, and Dark was already collecting up sixth fonons again.

In fact, Twilight and Sorylle were both on the far side of the battlefield too. Which meant that Dark's arte was about to get interrupted, because there was no way I was going to make it over there fast enough.

Seth scowled, twirling his sparrow-blade as he ran at the Sword Dancer. I started moving. While Seth wouldn't be able to hold it off long, he'd be able to stall it just long enough for me to get between it and Dark as well. The two of us together would be able to keep it back.

Or at least, that was the plan. Seth swung his blade out toward the Sword Dancer, ducking as it slashed back at him, then side-stepped and brought it around again.

One of the blades the Sword Dancer held lashed out, and Seth moved to bring his sparrow-blade down to block, but even from five yards away, I knew he wasn't going to manage it in time.

I choked out something of a war cry even as the Sword Dancer's weapon hit Seth, the teen crying out and falling back. Reighn was the next one to start running in, with the obvious intention of picking Seth up and carrying him out of the way to be healed. I slashed at the Sword Dancer, finishing off with a Raging Blast that was probably a little over-powered, if the fire in my arm was any indication. Whatever. It knocked the damn thing back so Reighn could get around it to Seth.

"Stardust Rain!"

The Sword Dancer screeched as the light-based arte started tearing it apart again. I scowled and moved so I was behind it. Since Dark and Seth had been right up against the barrier, I figured it would be best to force the Sword Dancer into that corner. Reighn raced back past me, carrying Seth over his shoulder, while Dark had a frown on his expression. "Well? Are you going or not?" I grumbled.

Dark shook his head after just a moment and raced toward where Sorylle and I were holding off the Sword Dancer. I frowned. Dark was a fonist and long-range fighter, so why was he coming in close? Unless...

The Sword Dancer lashed out at the three up us, and I jumped, barely avoiding the shockwave. Dark didn't bother, just settled into a defensive position and took the brunt of it. Then he started shooting, from a lot closer than normal.

I rolled under a swing, then jumped up and struck out at the Sword Dancer with my own sword. It counterattacked with a thrust from one of the other swords, and I was forced to jump back away from it or be skewered.

Two or three rounds of shockwaves later, Dark's frown turned into a smirk, and he ran in the last yard or two and unleashed a shockwave. He didn't bother warning the rest of us, as Twilight and Sorylle were both a ways out, having unleashed their elemental attacks, while I had been taking a short breather. My leg was starting to hurt, after all.

The world faded out, before Dark and the Sword Dancer solidified again. Dark hovered in the air in front of it, ethereal indigo-black wings holding him up and eyes closed. Light pooled in a sphere over the Sword Dancer's head. "O divine light of the heavens," Dark started, raising his face and hands as if to praise the sphere that was forming, though his eyes remained closed. "Consecrate this rotted soul..." His head dropped, one hand coming down to hover over his heart, while the other reached for the Sword Dancer. "So it may ascend to your holy lands!"

The sphere suddenly tripled in size, and Dark's head shot up, eyes opening so that he could glare at our enemy. The sphere of light pulsed once, then let loose a powerful ray. "Sacred Beacon!"

The Sword Dancer let out another, unearthly screech before it collapsed to the ground, and Dark's Mystic Arte ended. Dark stumbled a bit, but managed to stay standing, and I watched the Sword Dancer. I was getting the not-so-great feeling that this wasn't over yet.

As if to prove me right, the Sword Dancer lifted one arm, planted the sword held by it in the ground, forced itself to its feet, and then picked up the other three weapons it had dropped. I groaned and ran at it again, suddenly wishing I'd asked for Luke instead of Seth. Luke could have unleashed a Radiant Howl that I could follow up with Fae's Ire.

Oh well. No time to worry about what might have been.

I spun on my heel, unleashing a Guardian Field and then racing back out of its range. Twilight let loose another Thunder Lance, which was followed up by him harrying the Sword Dancer for a couple moments while I unleashed a Holy Lance. It screeched and turned to me again, and I was starting to get the idea that it wouldn't turn back to one of the ligers anymore.

Sorylle growled to Twilight, only for both of them to be swept off their feet. Sorylle hit the ground hard, Twilight not in much better shape.

"Reighn! Raging Mist!" Dark yelled. The blue-haired man glanced up from where he was still trying to stop the bleeding on Seth and made a face, glancing down at the teen once before standing and collecting the fonons he needed.

I frowned when Dark started making frantic hand signals. A couple were a little off, but the message was clear enough. 'Get that thing over here.'

I took a deep breath and ran past the Sword Dancer, slashing at it as I ran past and very nearly losing my head to one of its swords. Fear gripped my heart as I saw just how much blood Seth had lost and was still losing. If we didn't finish this quickly, he could die.

Something snapped within me. I'd never truly been in this sort of a situation before. The southern ligers in the valley? That was simply a matter of keep moving, keep fighting. This? This was a completely different matter. This wasn't a fight against something I was used to dealing with every day. This was a fight against a stronger opponent... One who apparently had no qualms about killing me and my friends.

This is the sort of battle I would have to fight against Van, whenever he decided he was done letting Zion play around.

And that battle was one I could lose Asch and Sync to, not to mention Jade, or Reighn, or Dark...

My grip on my sword tightened, and I stopped next to Dark. The Sword Dancer wasted no time coming near us. It was out for revenge... Against what, I neither knew, nor cared.

"Partake of boiling water! Raging Mist!" Reighn chanted. I watched as the arte erupted under the Sword Dancer, and the moment it had faded, I raced in again, struck the Sword Dancer, and carefully Raging Blasted it away from the field of fonons before running around to the far side of the battlefield, readying another Holy Lance and knowing full well I'd never finish it.

Dark stepped up to the field of fonons and drew them in. He was closer to the Sword Dancer, but it didn't care. I was its target. I was the one that was casting the offensive, light-based arte.

It came for me, and though I tried my best to collect the fonons I needed, I knew I'd never succeed in time. I came close though, even got the first few words of the chant out before that sword slammed into me, sending me flying just a couple yards into the barrier. I coughed as I came up to one knee, noting the taste of blood in my mouth. That was never a good sign...

"Spout forth, o divine waters!" Dark's voice reached me as the Sword Dancer took a few more steps forward. I smirked. At least he'd managed to finish. "Angelic Spring!"

The healing waters bubbled up around Dark and the two ligers, while I forced myself to move and avoid the sword that would have come down on my head if I hadn't.

"Kairi!"

"Worry about Seth!" I ordered Reighn, seeing that he was about to get up and start casting Meditation for me.

The Sword Dancer noted that Dark was collecting fonons again, seventh this time, and it finally decided that he, not I, was the bigger threat. With Reighn preoccupied, Seth effectively down for the count, and me barely able to move, the one who was still healing everyone needed to be taken out.

Dark growled, and Sorylle growled something back, obviously upset. Twilight just bowed his head before charging at the Sword Dancer. Sorylle followed a moment later, keeping it away from Dark just long enough for him to cast. I noted the abnormally large fonic glyph and frowned.

"O angel of judgment, take my soul for these innocents!"

I felt ice grip my heart. No, tell me that isn't...

"Sacrifice!"

And even as my wounds healed, I screamed.

Fun Fact: Dark went from being a mainly long-range weapons user in the original version of this to a mage in the re-write. On the other hand, Dante, who was more a magic user in the original version, is less magic-oriented in this version. ...Really, peeps? (Also, go check out the thing I did of the two of them that's on my deviantART. I was basically just playing around with it to practice my coloring styles.)