I would've had this chapter up sooner, but work and college were a pain this week. But, as promised, this chapter has a bit more action than last, as well as some more plot development. Enjoy.

Book I, Part I: Mortal Conflict - A Hero's Challenge

Chapter IX: All Is Twilight

"I'm getting sick of this place already," I say, turning down another hallway.

"Stay focused. We're not done yet, you know," Angel replies, not taking his eyes off the surroundings for an instant.

We've been searching for the better part of 15 minutes since we encountered Larazon, and so far, nothing has turned up but burned and broken bits of wooden furniture, more bodies, and bits of stone shaken and bashed loose from the walls. We've seen remarkably few Forsaken in the castle itself, maybe a dozen and a half all total so far. Taking another step around a corner, my foot suddenly catches on something, throwing me forward slightly. Turning to look at the offending object, I discover that it's some sort of book, the pages worn and slightly burned, a small dust cloud floating away from the minor impact.

"Angel," I say, causing him to stop, "check this out."

"What'd you find?" he asks, and I kneel down, brushing dust from the book and holding it up.

"Some kind of book, looks like," I reply, opening it and looking inside. Most of the pages seem to be ripped out, others made illegible by centuries of wear. Several of the pages are still intact and legible, though.

"Anything useful?"

"If I could read it, I'd let you know," I reply, with somewhat of a chuckle. The pages, while clearly readable, are in another language, one that I know nothing about. Closing the book, I hand it over to Angel, watching as he opens the book and furrows his brow at the words.

"I don't know any more than you do on this," he says, after studying the pages for a brief minute.

"Well...we may as well keep it. Might find someone who can read it," I suggest, Angel nodding and tucking the book away into a pocket of his coat.

The two of us continue down the hall in silence, the only sounds the soft thudding of our footsteps on the stone floor as we approach another bend in the path. Rounding this corner, we're suddenly greeting by another exquisite-looking door, this one a dull gray with patches of white, signifying its once-pristine appearance. Carvings are etched into the stone door, depicting events that I can only guess about. Running my hand over the door, it comes away with a thick layer of dust, revealing more of the intricate designs.

"Important room?" I prompt, thinking out loud. "With my luck, it's a bathroom."

"Won't know until we go in, will we?" Angel says, ignoring my comment.

"Again, you're right."

Stepping aside, I watch as Angel grips the ancient rings and pulls the door, opening it outward, unlike the last door. The sight beyond the door makes me blanch.

At least two dozen Forsaken fiends of all types and several skeletons wait for us behind the door, but that isn't the worst of it. At the back of the room is an enormous figure, easily towering over us by twice either of our heights. The creature is a quadruped, resembling an elephant in size, but clearly demonic. Horns sprout from its forehead, curving back over its head like that of a ram, and a mouth full of snarling teeth are clearly visible. Two strong arms protrude from the upper body, making the creature resemble a centaur of myth in body structure, and the right hand holds a vicious looking double-bladed staff.

'Or it could clearly not be a bathroom...'

My swords are quickly raised in a defensive position, but neither of us make a motion to attack. Not exactly smart to blindly rush into a group of enemies that outnumber you at least a dozen to one, after all. The fiends make no motion to attack either, as the creature at the back takes this chance to speak.

"Who dares disturb the lair of Malthorious?" the creature booms, causing me to shiver a little from the sound.

"That would be us," Angel says casually, as if he's not even afraid. Judging from the look on his face, he may very well not be. Looking up at the massive creature, I take a moment to examine it, muttering the word for Scan magic under my breath.

Pit Lord

HP: 49,014/49,014

MP: 3,978/3,978

–Guard–

Fire: Immune

Ice: None

Lightning: None

Water: None

Holy: None

Dark: Immune

Non-Elemental: None

Status: All

"So, you're the one leading these things," I say, prompting a scoff from the creature as it cuts me off from saying anything else.

"Silly mortals. I am not the leader of the Forsaken," it replies, in the same gruff voice as before. "I am merely...a general, as you creatures would call it."

"Did you invade the Calm Lands?" I say, a tinge of anger crossing my face.

"Invade? We are merely reclaiming what has always been ours. What you mortals took from us!" Malthorious declares. Hearing that is all I need to know.

"Let's kill it," I say to Angel, ready to slice the creature's head clean off its body.

"I can live with that," he replies, and the two of us step farther into the room as Malthorious commands his minions to attack.

(Play: Fighting The Shadowy Gods - Motoi Sakuraba, Valkyrie Profile)

"Blizzaga!"

Aiming at the floor, I cast the spell, causing a wall of ice to spring up and block the fiends from us, if only for a few seconds. The fact that we can't cast high level spells such as Flare or Ultima, without risking damage and possible collapse of the castle, is going to prove to be a hindrance.

"Spire!"

Leaping onto a Deathbringer, Angel rams both his blades into the chest of the fiend, jabbing a smaller knife into its face before leaping off and casting Thundaga, the jolt of lightning electrocuting the fiend severely and sending it staggering. Spinning, I cut the skull neatly off of a skeleton, before cleaving another skull in half vertically. A sickening crunch comes from behind me, and I turn to see a Bloodfiend slump to the ground, Angel having somehow smashed it into the wall.

"Insolent pests!" Malthorious bellows, stomping forward on all four clawed feet, crushing several of his minions in the process as he twirls his bladed staff in front of him. The rest of the minions scramble out of the way in order to let their lord through.

"Oh boy..." I mutter, stepping back as Malthorious advances. Blocking a swing from another skeleton, I parry the blow, cleaving the walking dead in half horizontally before turning my attention back to the pit lord. Angel leaps over to me, having finished off another Bloodfiend and a Felhound, also turning his attention to the lumbering beast.

"I'll hold it off," Angel says, glancing at me. "If you've got something powerful, get ready to use it."

"Sure you'll be okay?" I ask, just before we both dive out of the way, Malthorious' bladed staff cleaving the ground in half where we once stood.

"I'll be fine!" he yells, cutting into the right foreleg of the pit lord. Snarling, Malthorious whips his staff around, missing Angel by several inches as he ducks, jabbing out and seeming to do little against the tough beast.

"The master will be pleased to see the heads of two more humans!" Malthorious boasts, slashing the staff down and digging a large trench into the ground.

'Just a bit more...'

Leaping up, Angel cuts at Malthorious' face with both swords, a jagged cut appearing across the creature's face before it retaliates. With a roar, it headbutts Angel, a vicious 'crack' sounding out as Angel is sent flying into the dirt.

'Now!'

"Haste!"

The magic flows through my body, easily doubling my speed as I call upon the attack I've been focusing for.

"Lion Heart!"

Time suddenly seems to slow for me as I hold my katana to its side, energy gathering and turning the silver blade a gleaming yellow. The energy shines brightly as I rush Malthorious, my speed well over twice as fast as normal as I bring the sword into his chin with a leap. The sword cuts through flesh and hits bone, and I continue to slash, making Malthorious' face and part of his upper body look like a mess of blood and torn flesh. Finally, I deliver one last strike, engulfing Malthorious in a small explosion from the force of the energy.

"Give it up," I say, turning away from Malthorious' now-mangled face and neck. "You're through!" Quickly, I begin to head over to Angel, who is slowly getting back to his feet from his position against the wall, thrown there by Malthorious' attack.

"To think...me, defeated by mere humans..."

"Angel, are you okay?" I ask quickly, helping him to his feet. Groaning slightly, he nods, before his eyes widen a little.

"Watch it!" he says, pointing behind me. Spinning, I look just in time to see Malthorious deliver one final charge, bladed staff held high over his head.

"Phase Shift!"

Focusing quickly, I leap into the air and through Malthorious, sword raised high over my head as I land behind him and return to the physical plane. Malthorious groans, before he slumps to the ground, dissipating into black mist and sparkles of light.

(End: Fighting The Shadowy Gods - Motoi Sakuraba, Valkyrie Profile)

"And stay down this time," I mutter, placing my sword back in its sheath and turning my attention to Angel once more. "You sure you're okay?" I ask, concerned.

"I'll be okay. Not gonna say it didn't hurt, but I'll be okay."

Looking around, I notice that the remainder of the fiends that weren't killed have vanished. Apparently, killing the leader sent the rest of them running.

"Should we go on, then?" I ask, drinking an Ether down as well.

"Let's go," Angel replies, picking up his sword and heading back out the door.

Several minutes pass as we retrace our steps, eventually coming back to the very same dining room we've been in before. Quickly, we move towards the only door we have yet to explore, which creaks open slowly as we advance towards it.

"That's never good..." I mutter.

"Nope. Not for them, at least," Angel comments, and I shake my head.

"Guess we're invited to the party," I quip, stepping into the hallway beyond.

The hallway beyond is magnificent compared to what we've seen so far. Paintings and murals line the walls of the wide hallway, a layer of dust and dirt covering parts of some, and the entirety of others. Sculptures lay broken into pieces along parts of the halls, though some of the pedestals they once stood on remain upright. Small pieces of purple cloth line the floor, indicating that the hallway we're now in must have been very important when the castle was standing.

"Think we're getting close?" I ask, turning to Angel as we continue to walk. "We haven't seen a fiend for a while now."

"Maybe we are, maybe we're not. We won't know until we get there," he says, and I shrug.

"Can't hurt to be hopeful."

Another door lies in front of us now, elegantly decorated and easily thicker than any other door we've seen so far. Stepping up to it, Angel first tries pushing it open, then pulling it open. No luck either way.

"It won't budge," he says, and I nod.

"Don't want to do this, but...stand back," I say, charging up a spell. As Angel moves out of the way, I aim a palm at the door, energy flowing into my hand.

"Flare!"

The bright orange energy beam rockets towards the door, hits it...and immediately rebounds like a rubber ball thrown at a wall. Eyes widening, I quickly put up a Shell to take the brunt of my own spell, the energies fighting against each other before cancelling out. As the Shell fades away, I stare at the door with wide eyes.

"Okay...maybe it's going to be a bit harder than I thought," I murmur, stunned.

"Take a look at this," Angel says, gesturing for me to walk over to the door. Silently, I do so, as Angel points at two small indentations in the door. "Keyholes."

"Keyholes? Should've known...but if the door is locked, where are the keys?"

"Well, you haven't seen any keys in the castle anywhere, have you?" he asks, and I shake my head 'no.' "So, they must be somewhere we haven't looked yet," he continues, motioning to two doors on either side of the room.

"Great. Like trying to find a needle in a haystack...maybe worse," I say, sighing. "Should we split up? Each of us take a door?"

"Might as well," he says, turning away from the door. "We might not have much time left. We need to hurry."

"Got it," I reply, quickly casting Haste on both of us. "Let's move."

Without wasting any more time, I push open the door on the right side of the room and run in, my Hasted body carrying me down the hall quickly and easily. Nothing seems to be in the hallway to slow me down, and for that I'm silently thankful.

"Let's see...if I were a key, where would I hide..." I say to myself, looking left and right as I run through the hallway. Nothing is visible on either side of the hallway, but as I turn a corner I have to stop quickly to avoid running into a sturdy-looking door.

"Bingo."

Opening the door just a crack, I can see three figures inside, but they're nothing I've seen before. They resemble dragons, but two are a reddish-color, the third easily three times larger and a dark green. Both of them are practically see-through, as well, but more translucent than transparent. Also, all three of them seem to be asleep. Until now, I wasn't even sure if fiends slept.

"This is new...Scan," I whisper, placing my sword back in its sheath and looking at the largest dragon.

Spectral Dragon

HP: 68,349/68,349

MP: 13,569/13,569

–Guard–

Fire: None

Ice: None

Lightning: Immune

Water: Half

Holy: None

Dark: None

Non-Elemental: None

Status: All

"Tough little fiend...well. Here goes nothing. Angel Wing," I say quietly, the wings extending from my back as I open the door wide enough to get through. Hovering above the ground, I silently make my way around the room, examining the walls, floor, and various objects lying about.

'What have we here...' I think to myself, looking at a small, shining key that is lying on a partially broken table, silver in color and inscribed with the image of a crescent moon. Pocketing the key quickly, I turn to leave...only to come face to face with the Spectral Dragon, glaring at me with eyes seemingly a solid black.

"Uh oh."

With a screech that awakens the other two dragons, particles of energy begin to gather in its mouth as I float away, just in time to avoid a bolt of lightning that lances from its mouth and blasts into the wall.

"Doublecast: Firaga!" I yell, the two spells exploding from my hand and engulfing the face of the creature. It does little to deter the fiend, however, and bolts of fire and ice head towards me from the other two dragons, accompanied by a large blast of fiery energy from the Spectral Dragon. Dodging the large dragon's attack, I'm hit by the fire blast from one of the smaller ones and tumble around in the air, my shirt and chain mail scorched from the attack.

"I can't waste time here..." I mutter, righting myself in the air and calling up a spell I rarely use. "Doublecast: Death!"

A grinning specter suddenly appears in front of one of the smaller dragons, holding a scythe in its right hand. With an evil chuckle, the spirit thrusts its clawed left hand out into the dragon, pulling a red orb out from nowhere and crushing it in its hand. Instantly, the dragon shrieks, exploding into dust that falls to the dirt. A similar fate meets the other small dragon, leaving me alone with the Spectral Dragon.

Landing on the ground again, I quickly reach for my throwing knives, hurling a large number of them in my Blade Fury attack. Unfortunately, the knives go straight through the dragon, sticking in the ceiling above. Rolling out of the way of another burst of lightning, I curse my luck as I prepare another spell.

"Shell!"

As the pinkish-red barrier surrounds me again, I float back up to the dragon's level, grabbing my sword from its sheath.

"Phase Shift!"

Turning ethereal, I strike at the dragon, the attack connecting as if we were both on the physical plane, confirming my thoughts.

"Only physical attack I can hit it with is Phase Shift, since it's really ethereal-based...Doublecast: Firaga, Blizzaga!"

A gout of flame smashes into the dragon's face, disorienting it, before a burst of ice obscures its vision. Using my distraction, I quickly call up some of my remaining energy and teleport out of the chamber, leaving the dragon to its own devices.

Reappearing near the locked door, I stride over, digging the key out of my pocket and trying it in the first lock, which fails. The second one fits the key, however, and I leave it there, turning to the door on the left. After a few moments of waiting, Angel runs in, seeing me and nodding in acknowledgment.

"Find it?" I ask, and he nods, pulling a key from his coat, a bright gold in color. As he inserts it into the other lock, I notice that it has the inscription of the sun on it.

"Ready?" he asks.

"Let's do it."

The two of us turn the keys at the same time, and step back from the door. Lines of energy run from the keys over the door in an intricate pattern, and we both watch as a faint 'click' is heard, the large double-door swinging open softly to allow us access into the hall beyond.

Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor. We're almost at the end of this quest...but the story is just getting started. As always, please read and review!