Marilith destroys Sora's only resting place while attacking the Keyblade Wielder with the wrath and grace of 12 swordswomen, forcing her quarry and intended prey to give it his all with no distractions!

But fighting a true and experienced warrior was somewhat challenging enough to throw Sora off his feet and down a skyscraper! Fortunately, Asuka and Yomi, his contracted Master, and his self-appointed Maid, managed to push back the snake woman and give Sora a chance to recuperate and continue the fight.

It was at this moment Sora finally accepted Yomi's proposal, allowing her to become his Maid. Her first assignment would be giving Asuka a change of clothes while he finished the fight with Marilith.

Unknown to the fighters, the true enemy, a group of girls, around Sora's age, watched from afar, made up of 5 Ninjas...

Kazakiri ~ A short-tempered pink-haired girl with an eyepatch, wielding bear-claw-like weapons.

Ui ~ A cute-yet-instigative brown-haired girl with pink eyes, armed with a chair built for combat and more.

Hiyori ~ A green-haired girl who seems fair and kind-hearted, armed with a giant bow, skilled in archery.

Amane ~ A blue-haired girl, stronger than she appears, who uses a giant shielded cannon as her main weapon.

And their leader, the mysterious brown-haired, pink and green-flower-eyed girl dressed in white and red, Toki, who aims for Sora for her plans, whatever they are, and may have more ties to him than many can possibly realize...

Kagura Hearts

Chapter 16: Marilith III

Rain started to fall on Kabukicho, as Marilith rose back up while Sora landed in the townsquare and charged at her, lashing out attack-after-attack, weakening the snake woman's defenses and leaving her open for another devastating slash!

As Marilith clashed blades with Sora, she argued, "You…PISS ME OFF! You come off as this hero of heroes, acting like what I said is affront to all women, but have you forgotten you are actually FIGHTING a woman?! I have been alive for CENTURIES, I have seen man's wrath, man's bloodthirst, and man's lust at work! You're male, you're 17-soon-to-be-18 male! YOU CAN'T AVOID THE SIN AND DESIRES EVERY MALE IN EXISTENCE HAS! YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT EVENTUALLY, YOU'LL BE NO DIFFERENT THAN THEM!"

Sora avoided the next attack and threw his Keyblade through Marilith's upper left arm!

And after casting Blizzaga on the two lower arms, he used Strike Raid one more on them, slicing the two arms off in an instant!

Sora then leapt over to the middle right arm and slashed through it, thus leaving his opponent with two arms!

Marilith screeched in pain while Sora looked back at her and said, "I am a boy…and I may become older…but still…I REFUSE TO OBJECTIFY OTHERS, AND BETRAY KAIRI!"

Marilith sneered, "...Jeez, just who am I talking to? You're not human, let alone believable with that kind of mindset! It's natural and normal to move on! People grow and get stronger in different ways, none of us stay bonded with others for so long, and realistically, NEITHER WILL YOUR KAIRI! She's a human…you're a human! And in time, be it seconds or years, humans CHANGE!"

"...not everyone…" Sora said.

"Sora, don't ever change."

"...not Kairi, and certainly not me."

Annoyed by Sora's refusal of her beliefs, Marilith snarled, "I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE! I'M GONNA KILL YOU AND LEAVE NOTHING BUT YOUR GOD-DAMN KEYBLADE!"

Marilith regrew her arms and summoned back her sabers, and began to chant menacingly and silently while several Vermilion Samba Heartless were summoned to buy her time!

Sora wasted no time despatching them each, but as soon as the last one was destroyed…

"FLAME SLASH!"

All of Marilith's swords became ablaze with red-hot fire while she was wrapped in a maddening aura…

Watching from afar, Toki and her minions studied Sora carefully while he was fighting Marilith. Toki then said, "Given the Mustard Bomb's earlier effect, it's safe to say the boy has some…immunities. Still, it's sad to believe Marilith's most powerful technique can only be used in her dying breath." Ui then added, "Yeah, still, it's been a while since we've seen the Flame Sword technique. That baby doesn't leave survivors."

"Master, forgive my judgment, but I can tell, he's going to survive."

The group looked at Hiyori in confusion while Ui asked, "What, is that women's intuition kicking in or something? That guy's gonna get a literal SPLITTING Headache in a few seconds, so I don't see the idiot pulling out of this one." Hiyori then said, "It's just a feeling…I can sense his potential somehow…and he's not going to let his opponent get the best of him."

Back at the town square, Marilith kackled, "THIS IS THE END, KEYBLADE MASTER! MY FLAME SWORD TECHNIQUE CAN'T BE FENDED OR FOUGHT OFF, IT'S STRENGTH CAN DECIMATE ARMIES WHILE THE IDIOTS WHO THOUGHT THEY WITHSTOOD MY FLAMES COMBUST IN AGONY THANKS TO AN INJECTED MUSTARD BOMB MAGICALLY TRANSFERRED INTO THEIR HEART! YOU. WILL. DIE!"

Sora stood his ground and prepared to defend himself…

Marilith raised her blades, and simultaneously, landed onto Sora as he defended with the Keyblade, only for the blazing swords to detonate and blow Sora away!

Marilith then started to stagger, losing her endurance as she felt her attack take its toll.

But as she breathed heavily and leaned on one of her blades, Marilith was pleased by the result, as Sora was seemingly down for the count…

"Heh, the tables have finally turned, eh, Keyboy? I…I finally got you. And look, your Halo is still up and shining. I suppose you and I are both lucky in that regard. But enough victory speeches. My master desires one thing, and I aim to please…by taking your Halo."

As Marilith slithered towards Sora, she prepared her saber, just in case her quarry got lucky…

As she got close, Toki's eyes grew in desperation for the moment while Hiyori watched carefully…

Marilith then reached out to the Halo…

…only for her fingers to fall off!

Hiyori smiled and said, "Warrior's intuition. The boy lives, and Marilith…"

Marilith was horrified and annoyed by Sora's recovery and cursed, "Why…why…why why why why, WHY?! WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" Sora answered, "Cure Spell, Regen Spell, Wristband that weakens Fire Magic, an equipable item that can grant extra defense, more Health, or more Magic power to give me enough power to use both spells ALONG with the Blizzard spells. But honestly, because I kinda…etched to the right." Marilith's eyes filled with shock as she said, "W-wait…I missed? The Mustard Bomb spell is NOT transferred into you?! Then…what it…transferred…to…was…"

"Hey, cool! There's treasure under your tail!" Sora said. Marilith then asked, "That's not funny, idiot." Sora then explained, "No, look, there's an X under you, and like Aunt Loonilin said, 'X marks the-'...oh wait, nope, that's-."

(KA-BLOOIE)

Minutes later, Sora found Marilith, lying in defeat and somewhat disappearing into dust. "...your Mustard Bomb."

Sora however walked up to Marilith and asked, "This is a little on the nose and all, but, before disappearing, could you tell me why you were trying to take my Halo? Aren't you and the Four Fiends trying to conquer this world or something?" Marilith answered, "...wouldn't you like to know? I'm sure you're not too dense to know there are people interested in your precious little Halo! And to think, a simple swipe job could have given us a place in the realm of the living once more…"

Sora was surprised to learn what Marilith told him, so he asked, "So…you came after me because of My Halo? How can it bring the dead back?" Marilith then answered, "Now THAT you'll have to figure out on your own. I can't go around babbling secrets after all." Sora sighed, and then asked, "...OK…I was summoned here to defeat the four of you and return home, or at least a realm my friends can reach. But after what happened…I'm convinced there's more to my mission, especially now that I know you have a master."

"-And so what if I did? Kill me and the others, and you can go home, waiting evermore for that fictional happily ever after." Marilith said. Sora however said, "You really doubt my friends, don't you?" Marilith answered, "I doubt Humans. You're as human as the next one, and when reality bites you in the ass, it will be a DEEP wound. Kairi may not end up with you, your friends will betray you in favor of another, and no matter what you do, you'll pass away, returning to this realm as a permanent resident, just like the rest of us!"

Sora then asked, "...so you died too?" Marilith nodded and said, "You weren't the first human, or the first man brave enough to challenge me. I, along with the other Fiends, were once followers of another master. He wore armor, with large horns, and a giant sword that stretched and honed the energies of us, as well as a growing energy…you can say that was Darkness in itself. He damned the world…and as far as I can recall, he damned it all throughout all of space and time, becoming something more than just a Demon King…we fiends became apostles to a God. He became that very god. Garland…became Chaos. But our monarch barely counted as an improvement. We saw his goal as our own, just like you saw this Kairi as yours…so it disgusts me to see you waste your resurrection in seeing something that could be avoided…a broken heart."

Sora then said, "My heart was already broken when someone like your master killed her. But there's something none of you guys have even bothered to learn…I sacrificed myself to save her life."

Marilith, surprised by Sora's confession, then said to him, "...so that's why you believe they won't forget you…because you cheated death more times than many of us combined…and because your Kairi…" Sora nodded, "Yes. She knows I did it, and so do the others."

And with that, Sora said to her, "I honestly hate killing my enemies, no matter how dark they were…but if you end up in the Final World, do me a favor and try living a better life…in your next, OK?" Marilith then said, "Heh, unlike you, I ACCEPT what I am. And while you can deny what men are, all you want, you can still ACCEPT THIS! RAINING SWORDS!"

And in an instant, the rain in the sky was joined with alarming amounts of Marilith's sabers, raining their sharp edges all around them!

Windows and buildings were shredded and shattered in seconds while Sora could only jump inside the closest building he could to find at least SOME protection!

But while Sora headed inside the building, Marilith was skewered and diced into pieces…

…

A few minutes later, a small cut to the shoulder and leg was all Sora suffered after the Raining Swords dispersed. Sora walked outside, witnessing the frightened victims of the incident while Marilith, or what remained of her, turned to dust in the wind and blew away into nothingness…

End of Chapter 16

Next Chapter...

It's time for some answers...