Ballad of the Hero & the Demon

by Cosmic Sky

Link was more than happy with the peace, but that doesn't last too long. As the hero of the land, he had a duty to fulfil. He's slain monsters, but does he have what it takes to slay a demon? What if there's more to this demon than meets the eye? Does he slay her or try to save her? This is the story of a Hero and a Demon, and the unlikely but treasured bond they forged.

10. Chapter 10-Dance with a Demon Pt3

Hello, everyone. Hopefully you've been enjoying the new year. Here we are at Chapter 10, what I feel is an important benchmark for any story. Regarding this chapter, it's going to be something of a Season 1 Finale since Mirajane's current character arc comes to a head. It's been two years since I started this story and here I am finally at one of the most pivotal moments of it. Thank you to all you read and followed this story up to this point. I hope you all enjoy this one as it goes big, more so than the last couple of chapters!

I do not own anything.

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Chapter 10-Dance with a Demon Pt. 3

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She was hurting, but she wasn't dead, if she was, Mirajane had a feeling there'd been a certain amount of peace in her head instead of a pounding headache. That was part of the pain, which told her she was still alive.

Alive and falling. The rush of the wind whistled in her ears, still pointed, meaning she was still transformed. Mirajane felt her transformation on the verge of dissipating, a testament to how much damage she'd taken. The stinging pain, like a cross between acid and fire, stretching across her entire body, but in particularly her hands. She tried to move them, and was met with a myriad of stabbing needles. Groaning, she fought through that pain and balled her hands into fists. A smell reached her nose, ashes and soot, the residue of fire. Smell came with memories, a flood of memories that caused more pain in her head. Mirajane gnashed her teeth as she pushed through the pain. Those memories, the faces, they weren't important right now.

Her attempt to stretch out her wings failed. They were gone, meaning she was in complete free fall, until she came to a stop on something hard and hot. Mirajane would have pushed herself up if she had the energy. What little she had had been sapped when she finally hit the ground. How long had she been falling? Was anything broken? Where was she? So many questions, and it felt like she didn't have a lot of time to answer them.

Had she been in a battle? She had.

But…who? Who was I fighting? Why was I fighting?

Does that matter? All that matters in a fight is who wins, and you haven't won yet.

Get up! Get up and fight!

You cannot lose! We cannot lose! Not to a holy sword!

Stop him, before he kills us. He will kill you.

He will kill you, Mirajane. It's his duty.

The bombardment of voices wasn't making things easier. Instead of solid ground, Mirajane suddenly felt like she was floating. Murky darkness stretched out in every direction, but shadowy images rose from them. Yellow eyes and red eyes, all mercilessly staring at her. Ignoring them wasn't an option, yet a part of her found she didn't want to do that. She wanted to obey them, rise up and finish this fight. If her opponent really was trying to kill her, then she had to get back on her feet and fight.

You are a demon. He won't rest until you're dead.

A demon hunter? Wouldn't be the first one she encountered.

But…I'm not a demon. I'm…I'm…

Her retort died on her lips, yet in its place was birthed strength. Determination, but regarding what? Survival? Proving she wasn't a demon? Proving she was? Maybe it was a combination of all those things. If so, it would explain the tinge of approval she felt emitting from the shadowy figures around her. In rising, Mirajane saw several of them sported horns and wings. Demons, all of them. How strange that they were cheering her on, albeit not exactly in the most straightforward way possible.

Unless you rise up and fight, you will die. He will drive his sword through your chest. Or he might decapitate you.

Neither option was great, so she rejected them. She rejected the entire notion of dying. Mirajane couldn't quite place the reason, but she knew she had to keep on living. Not just for mere survival, but for something else. What was it? What else did she have to live for?

Lisanna. Elfman.

Lisanna. Elfman.

Lisanna. Elfman

Her sister and her brother.

You might see them again, but only if you can muster the strength to rise up and fight. That is what gives you strength, right?

At the very least she made it to her knees. Everything hurt, yet she found it in herself to look to her left. One shadow stood out above the others. A feminine figure with horns; her arms were crossed and her eyes glowed an eerie yellow. Her expression was unreadable, yet Mirajane felt a strange, powerful connection to the shade. There was something in her glare, a more demanding aura that she was receptive to.

If you die here, you won't see them again. She repeated.

"…Lis…anna…and…Elf…man." Their faces returned to her. White hair similar to her own, Lisanna's olive complex and Elfman's more tanned one. Her heart pulsed with heartfelt yearning. How long had it been since she'd seen them? Were they alright? Were they worried about her? Were they and the others searching for them? "The…others…"

Yes, the rest of them. Your precious little guild. Aren't they your strength? Are you going to fall here and leave them to despair? To mourn you?

Something was flowing inside of her, a fire that circulated through her veins. It made her heart thunder in her chest, strength anew filling her to the brim. The next thing she knew, she was standing, the demonic figures around her still clearing, but there seemed to be a hint of approval in their eyes. Angry as they might have been at their current situation, they did not want her to fall here-what remained of their souls didn't want to simply vanish. That included the horned-woman. Mirajane glared at her, more memories of old coming back; amongst them was the identity of the shade before her. In turn, she too stared back, albeit with far less disdain than normally. She almost seemed slightly approving.

Mirajane didn't have the time to properly decipher her expression, nor did she have time to contemplate her own fractured mind. An unbearable chill washed over the expense, followed by a harsh, smoldering wind that had Mirajane breaking out in a cold sweat. Spinning on her heel, she faced a new wave of darkness, tinged-red with whisps of purple. Something about it felt off, wrong, revolting. The shades nearest screamed as they attempted to flee, but not all of them were lucky. Like a living thing, the malicious darkness surged forward, grabbing them and absorbing them while it expanded. Fearful, Mirajane stepped back, a move that turned into a full retreat as the dark energy continuously spread out. She wasn't alone.

Seliah's shade grabbed her and jumped back, throwing an arm out in front of her. It was a protective move she never would have expected from her, but these were extraordinary circumstances. She eyed the surging darkness with disgust and caution, just like Mirajane.

Before them, the darkness began to condense into a vague shape, and that was being generous. It was alive, yet that was about as far as it went. Watching it struggle to take definite form, Mirajane pondered what she could do about it. Everything told her to purge this darkness from her soul, yet when she tried to call forth the power to do so, she got nothing. She hated that, and she hated the continued failure as the darkness grew, becoming a towering mass with a pair of murderous red eyes. A maw manifested, a pair boar-like tusks shooting up from the bottom jaw. Fittingly, the shadowy beast released a roar that shook the abyssal plain they all occupied; the ground rippled as if it were water beneath the force of a gale-force wind. Mirajane felt her hair flailing in her face as she shielded her eyes. Along with the wind, there was something else, pure malefic force that bombarded her.

Mirajane remembered this sense of dread; she'd felt it before in her lifetime.

Tenrou Island. Acnologia, the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse.

This power. This malice.

She tried to take a step forward, to look through her hands, but the darkness was strong.

YOU WILL NOT DISOBEY!

The darkness didn't sound like it was made to speak, yet it was speaking-actually, roaring. It made Mirajane feel like her eardrums were going to burst. She just barely had enough strength to stay on her feet, as did Seliah. They didn't need to worry about that as the darkness swept forward, shaping itself into solid hands that hoisted them into the air. Screams burst from their lips as the sensation of a thousand needles crossed with being boiled alive assaulted them. Mirajane felt it seeping through her skin into her veins, racing through them to reach her heart. After that, it went for her soul.

Seliah screamed and thrashed only for her shaded form to collapsed into the darkened grasp. That left only her, the shadow bringing her before its bloody eyes.

"Let…go! Let…go…of me!" She yelled. In response, the entity's grip tightened. "Grraggggh!"

MINE! YOU ARE…MINE! KEY…TO MY…RESURRECTION! MY SERVANT! MY PUPPET! Bellowed the dark mass.

"NO!" Mirajane shouted back struggling with all her mount. Even though the darkness burrowed deep, she continuously fought back. In response, the creature squeezed even more. Instead of a retort, Mirajane could only scream.

Demon…like the others…mine. I am…the king. Yes…I am…the king…and you…will…obey me!

"NO! I WON'T!"

For a moment, the darkness manifested more facial features. Not human ones, but ones she could recognize it. It was a boar's face, the twin tusks tipped in magenta, the same color that flowed through the rest of the dark creature. The pig-like snout snorted, a foul oinking sound that further spoke of outrage. The smell that rolled in from it was more foul darkness, it'd have made her stomach wrench if she wasn't being squeezed into paste. Despite that, she struggled. Something in her gut told Mirajane she had to escape from this…this monster's grasp, but it was adamant on not letting her go. She felt the darkness burrowing beneath her skin to further cement its hold on her. Mirajane found herself screaming as the hooks dug into her veins while more darkness flowed into her, infecting her from the inside outside.

YES! YOU WILL! YOU! WILL! The tusk-adorned mouth roared. It was like being in the face of a tornado, mixed with the foulest odor imaginable. YOUR POWER IS MINE! YOUR SOUL IS MINE! YOU ARE MINE! MINE TO COMMAND! MINE TO DO AS I PLEASE! I AM THE KING, YOUR KING, AND YOU WILL OBEY!

The dark force came at her from all sides, a tidal wave from every direction smashing into her, nearly pulverizing her into nothing. That said, Mirajane felt something in her resisting the darkness-something preventing the darkness from utterly consuming and annihilating her. A small flickering light against the darkness, which was eager to snuff it out.

RAAAAARRRGGGHHH!

She saw the boar charging, its magnet-tipped horns flashing like torches along with its eyes. All she could do was brace herself as it washed over the small light; her resistance crumbled, and Mirajane screamed as the darkness rushed into her without restriction. Her body felt like it was shattering while simultaneously being pierced by a thousand red-hot needles. It was painful, so incredibly painful, and not just for her, but for the souls within her. Somehow, she heard them screaming in fear and outrage as they suffered with her. They were all one in their resistance, and now in their forced submission at the hands of this dark entity. Mirajane tried to reach forward with her arm, broken and pierced, grasping at an invisible light, but there was nothing there. No hope. No escape.

All she knew was darkness.

---

"Link…Link, wake up. Oh, please wake up, now isn't the time for you to be sleeping, my love."

While he tried not to, Link responded to the voice-his eyes squinting, yet not fully opening. This was despite the flickering urge to do so and lay his eyes on the owner of the voice. He always enjoyed looking at the voice's owner-every part of her face captivated him. That said, Link also really enjoyed sleeping. So, there he was sandwiched between his two loves.

A giggle reached his ears, then a gentle tap on his shoulder. "Oh, fine, I suppose I'll have to eat all the tortillas by myself. Surely the cooks have improved upon their culinary work.

He knew that was coming-she had to think of something to get him up, and she chose the perfect subject. Laughing, he finally rose from the bed, stretching his arms upward. As they fell, his eyes opened, taking in the sight of his red-scaled wife sitting on the edge of the bed. Giggling at his now fully awoken state, she leaned forward and pecked him on the lips. Grinning, Link moved his arms around Mipha's waist, greedily initiating another kiss. As always, she was more than happy to indulge him. A good morning kiss, in his opinion, something a step above a good breakfast. As far as he was concerned, this was his breakfast. Absolutely the best way to start the day.

Even through her red scales, Link could tell when she was blushing-such as right now. It was such a cute sight he almost went in for another kiss, but his self-control prevailed. Swinging his legs over the bed as she did the same, he made his way for the dresser to fish out some clothes for the day. As far as he was concerned, it was going to be an easy day off, for the both of them. They hadn't had too many of those thanks to the delegation from the Labrynnan Zora arriving. Sidon's up incoming wedding was something else that'd been taking up much of their schedules. It'd been happy work for what he knew was going to be one of the most joyful moments of his and Mipha's lives.

Maybe after that, we'll have some good news of our own to share with everyone. His smile evaporated as he heard the ringing of his Sheikah Slate. It wasn't the alarm that he'd completely slept through, but something else. Sighing out of pure instinct, he walked back over to the nightstand and checked his messages. "Well, I guess it's not so bad." He half-heartedly laughed upon reading the message. Deciding to be better safe than sorry, he took the slate with him, another usual occurrence for him, and Mipha. Given her royal status, it was maybe a bit more important for her to keep it on her person than his.

The breakfast table was set and ready, with Mipha of course waiting. "Something came up?"

Link cracked a crooked smile. "That obvious, huh?"

"I'm actually hoping that's something about you that never changes." Mipha humorously stated. "What is it? Are you needed at Hyrule Castle?"

"It's…Grandpa Herve, he's finally decided to get some surgery done on his right leg. Apparently, they finally managed to convince him. Granted, grandma told me that he'll feel better about it if I'm there." Ordinarily, it'd take about a week or so to schedule an appointment, nobility had its perks, even if they didn't like flaunting them.

"That's good to here." She knew his grandfather could be a stubborn man, but even his stubbornness could give way under the right circumstances. "Go to him, Link. You know he'll be put more at ease with you around. Not to mention it'll give you a chance to catchup with the rest of your family."

"I did that only two weeks ago." He chuckled while taking the first bite of his tortilla. The delicious taste exploded into his mouth, leading to several more bites. "You could come with me. Having you there will really put him at ease." His wife was perhaps amongst the best magical healers in the entire country, but that didn't mean she had a disdain for the medical science pioneered by the Sheik. Mipha had studied that science, incorporating what she'd learned into her healing magic. A medical expert and a familiar face would put his grandfather at ease.

Mipha was fully aware of that. Just as Herve had dropped his walls around his wife and daughter-in-law, he'd extended that same honor to her. Link had believed there was never any doubt that would happen.

"I would love to, but I'm afraid that I still have some matters to oversee regarding the exchanging of the Golden Scale. Still, I can try to make it there, if there's any time left." Her response didn't surprise him. Being a princess had been busy work, but being a queen proved to be busier. Although the workload had increased, Mipha had risen to the challenge-just as he knew she would.

"There's a chance, but if not, let's meet up someplace so we can spend the rest of the day together." She giggled seeing the glint in his eyes. Meeting up somewhere, she knew that was code for him surprising her. Now, what that surprise would be was the question. Link knew he'd have to give some serious thought to that, although he had options. The shops of Castle Town had come through for him numerous times before, and this time would be no different.

"Then I believe we have our plan for the day, although I wonder, where would you like to meet up, Link?"

He smiled, "How's about you pick the place, Mipha?"

"Martha's Landing." Her response was immediate and brimming with joy. "Those interlocking trees overlocking the beach."

Link grinned, knowing the location all too well. "Then I'll see you there, my love." Excitement swelled within him at the prospect of their meeting. Although his schedule was posed to clear up sooner than hers, surprises could always happen. Regardless of what did, they'd wait for each other. Granted, Link hated making Mipha wait for him.

"Make sure to say hi to everyone for me, Link." She kindly asked. "Oh, and if you can, could you pick up some of those sweet buns while you're in Castle Town?"

"Done and done! If anything comes up, just call me and I'll be there." People had asked him, both as a joke and in seriousness, if he felt more loyalty to the current Zora queen than the reigning queen of Hyrule, the monarchy his family had served for centuries. Link had steadily grown more sure of himself in saying yes, he did. The former was his wife after all, the woman he loved with all his heart. Perhaps that wasn't the sort of thing a knight of Hyrule, a Champion of Hyrule, should have said, but it was the truth. A truth that was reinforced seeing her kindly smile of acceptance at his words. She knew all she had to do was call and he'd be there.

Quite literally, thanks to the Sheikah Towers across the land and his Master Cycle, the latter of which he felt like giving a good workout.

-O-

Link had been six years old when he first visited Martha's Landing. Of all people, it'd been with his father; riding out across the grasslands, he decided out of pure whimsy to take Link to the beach, reasoning it'd be a place Link would enjoy. His father had been absolutely right. He remembered the peaceful and even happy look his normally stern father had as he brought him to the beach and sat him down between his legs, watching the tides alongside Link. Moments later, he was watching him playing in the sand and the water, ever ready to spring into action in case he got himself into trouble. Or trouble potentially crawled out of the water. His father eventually joined him, having discarded his boots and even rolled up his pants. Not only had it been one of the funniest afternoons he had with his father, it gave Link one of the many places he could go to when he wanted to relax, either alone or with company.

Martha's Landing was an especially good place to go to when he had someone with him. More often than not, that someone was Mipha.

Although the sandy beach was a nice spot to relax, the cliffs that overlooked the water were just as much of a good place to be. The elevated view of the ocean could be quite sight, and again, more so with company. On a beautiful day like this when the water positively sparkled, a bird's-eye view would be a great thing to take in. Not to mention the cliffs made for a perfect chance to experiment with some diving, a favorite hobby of the Zora and Hylian Champions.

Nearing his destination, Link wondered about the modifications to the Master Cycle that Purah had discussed with him almost a week ago. Even with the Calamity behind them, she was still keeping herself busy. Without the looming threat, she, and her fellow researchers, seemed to have a lot more freedom in what they could pursue. Amongst those pursuits had been new forms of transportation. Wagons carried by four wheels and powered by mystical energy, the very same energy that powered the Guardians. Rather driven manually or automated, the projections showed a rapid increase in distance travelable; it might just put horses out of business, a possibility Link found somewhat saddening. He'd grown up riding horses, yet they couldn't potentially transform and hover across the water as Purah had shown him the Master Cycle theoretically could. His heart thumped in excitement at the possibility of his beloved motorcycle being able to transform into a type of "hover bike" that could glide across water.

That was all in the future, what he wanted to focus on was the present. His bike slowed before stopping completely. Holding up the Sheikah Slate, he dematerialized it into whips of blue light that quietly entered the slate, which returned to his waist. His feet took him the last stretch of the way where Mipha was patiently waiting for him. Hearing his approach, she turned around, a smile spreading across her face.

"I'm sorry I made you wait." He apologized while taking his seat beside her.

"It's quite alright. I'm just glad to hear that Herve's surgery went well." As if he'd performed the operation himself, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

As tempting as it was to kiss her back, Link focused on the gift he'd promised to pick her up while in Castle Town. With great care, he raised the item that'd cost him several rupees. The immediate look of awe in Mipha's eyes as she took hold of the triangular gemstone with oceanic engravings on all sides. Her delicate hands felt over them, marveling at the cool feel akin to the water that stretched out before them.

"Link," she whispered. "This is a Force Gem, and one infused mater. It's…it's beautiful!" Mipha looked back at him, eyes swelling with the joy he longed to always inspire within her. He grinned at a job well-done. "Thank you, my love." Holding onto it, she leaned forward and kissed him again, this time on the lips. His cheeks blushed red, enough to rival her scarlet scales. "Where did you get it? I imagine it didn't come cheap."

"No, it didn't, and for the record, it was worth it. As for where I got it from, a traveling salesman. It was a good thing I got there when I did, otherwise someone else might have swept it up. All the other gem ornaments were selling out fast." Force Gems were precious things, rather as smithing material, jewelry, or simple decoration. If one wanted to buy any of them, then they'd better be willing to pay for it, especially if they wanted quality. Without a discerning eye, one would have been fooled by forgeries. Link ran over the gems with his analytical eyes to make sure he was looking at the real deal.

Mipha held the gem out to the sky, where the afternoon sun's light passed through the azure gem. Simply looking at it was like looking straight out at the water. She moved the Force Gem so it was parallel to the Faron Sea; it seemed to hum in resonance with the sea dozens of meters away. Link wondered if Mipha could actually feel some magical power emanating from the gem and flowing into her. If possible, he'd fashion it into a charm she could wear whenever she went out.

Like on the ride up, his mind wondered to future possibilities. Could her Light Scale Trident be infused with the power of Force Gems akin to sacred swords? The weapon had been crafted to channel water magic, so it should have good conductivity with the magical energy held within the triangular gems

"How did the surgery go?" She questioned upon lowering the gem and resting it in her hands. Her head, meanwhile, rested against his shoulder, the most comfortable place imaginable (alongside his chest).

"Pretty well. The biggest hurdle was getting grandpa to settle down. You know, it always surprised me how he was fine with battlefield medicine but take him to an actual doctor and he tenses up." He replied.

"Perhaps it's the circumstances. He's grown quite used to the chaos of the battlefield, maybe too used to it." Personally, Link felt like it was something like that. Grandpa Herve had lived through three wars counting the Calamity War. Although he looked to his father as a senior knight, the true veteran of the Carville Family was Herve Carville. He'd practically grown up on the battlefield, coming of age amidst Hyrule's last two foreign wars. The adrenaline that pumped through one's veins was omnipresent, a contrast to the eerie calm that came with a professional doctor's visit. Not to mention on the battlefield, one could simply push through an injury through sheer willpower-Link had done it dozens of times, much to the chagrin of his wife. "Link," she called. "Did he ask you or your father for a spar?"

"Not immediately, but it wouldn't surprise me if he and my dad exchanged a few blows." Just like how she knew him, she'd come to know the rest of his family. She knew they were a family of warriors, even those like his grandfather who'd been retired for several years. Link looked back at Mipha, having sensed her gaze on him. Chuckling, he took a guess they were thinking the same thing; she'd probably beat him to the punch though, given the slightly worried look on her face. "Hey, I know to take it easy once I get old. I know even then, you'll have some trouble putting me back together."

Her hand reached up to stroke his cheek. "There are times now when I have trouble healing your wounds."

"That's why you keep training yourself, and you keep getting better, Mipha." He both comforted and boasted.

She giggled. "Being married to such an adventurous warrior provides ample reason to keep bettering myself. Sometimes it's not easy."

"No, it isn't." Link admitted with quiet sorrow. It was temporary, as he tenderly placed his hand on her cheek. "But you've done an amazing job at it, Mipha. Better than any other woman I know. Better than any woman ever could."

"Heh, Link," she teased.

"I'm being serious here." Continuing to laugh, she initiated the next kiss. Link eagerly threw himself into it. Mipha shifted her whole body, so she was directly facing him, and able to wrap her arms around his neck. He did the same to her waist. The waves they'd leisurely listened to grew fainter as they became lost in their own little world. Link wished it could stay that way forever, but the call of air eventually forced them to part. So, they basked in the joy of gazing into each other's eyes. He'd known those golden eyes for what felt like all his life, and he'd never tired of them. He never would, as evident by the silver ring he wore on his left hand. Link ran that same hand across her backside. In turn, she moved her left hand through his blond locks; her eyes outshined all the amber and golden gems he'd looked over and examined in search of a gift for her. Although he knew his presence was often all she asked for, he still felt inclined to go above and beyond for her. She wasn't just royalty, she was his lady, the love of his life.

"You're the strongest man I know, and yet it seems like you're always running off facing threats far bigger than yourself. It scares me, and yet…that's a reason why I love you so, Link." She gently pumped her forehead against his, sending a gentle yet warming wave of affection through him. "No matter what those threats are, know that I will always be there with you to face them. I will always be there supporting you, giving you my love and strength."

The wave was comforting, yet he felt it pushing him away. "Mipha."

"Never forget that, Link. And never forget though a warrior, you still have so many reasons to live." His grip on her tightened, yet he felt the invisible force pulling him in the opposite direction.

He looked up at her, his eyes dimming, yet the light in hers reignited the joy in him. Finding himself smiling, he leaned forward, connecting their lips again. Mipha exploded with brimming affection, giving the kiss her all just like him. She could appear such a delicate soul, but she possessed a quiet passion that he at times found inspiration.

"Always with you, my love."

The current carried him away, away from the warmth of he'd so deeply treasured and yearned for. Her touch still lingered on his very soul, as it always would no matter how cold or stormy the waters he traveled across became.

---

Blue eyes cracked open to reveal a similarly cerulean-colored sky dotted with white and gray clouds. Its stillness was at odds with the steady rumble of the ground beneath him. Link felt the tremors through his fingers, dirt and ash coating his fingertips. His nose wrinkled at the thick smell of volcanic ash that could be overpowering for some, including him from time to time. All of it was capped off by the sweltering heat that washed over him like a tidal wave. It seemed stronger than usual, a change whose origin he gradually began to recall as he sat up.

"L-Link! Oh, thank Din you're alive!" The booming voice was familiar to him. Link felt himself taken up in a pair of giant stony arms that could have crushed an ordinary Hylian like a twig. Given he was still only waking up, he felt the crushing weight as keenly as his fellow Hylians would have. His laughter turned pain, which clued in Yunobo to relax his grip. Link gave him a lopsided grin as he pulled away, in turn, he gave him a sheepish smile. "Hehehe, sorry about that. I got a bit over-excited."

"Hey, it's fine." Link shook his head. "Helped jog me awake, to be honest." Now on his feet, Link surveyed his surroundings. Vah Rudania rested several meters away, its towering form standing out amidst the volcanic plains. He noticed several fissures in it, although in the distance he spotted the outline of Goron City-doing so was proof they'd managed to stave off its destruction. For the time being. By now, the rest of the Gorons should have had the mind control spell they were under broken. Listening closely, he heard them mummering in confusion at what the hell was going on. There'd be a lot of explaining to do, but Link had a strong feeling it was going to have to wait. As he looked skyward, he saw that the battle wasn't over with yet.

After such an explosive clash of energies, one would have hoped there'd be nothing left of the She-Demon, but Link saw the cackling mass of purple and black darkness hundreds of feet in the air. It was faint, a mere dot in the vast sky, but thanks to the parted clouds, if one looked hard enough, they could see it. More importantly, Link felt it even from the ground. And then, the dot pulsated, unleashing a wave of darkness that fell over the world like a giant shroud.

Yunobo gasped, immediately wrapping his arms around his boulder-like body. As for Link, he stood in stoic defiance at the dreadful feeling, although he silently acknowledged it took some effort. The dark dot morphed into a black sun of swirling darkness that siphoned not just the light but the air from the world. Link gasped for breath, as his Goron comrade did, and probably the rest of the Gorons in the area. Then came the tremors. Link nearly lost his balance while Yunobo did; he didn't blame his friend for practically curling up into a ball. He felt like a weed before an approaching meteor, helpless as an unstoppable force bore down on him with the power to annihilate him a hundred times over. Finally, his feet touched the ground, as did his hand. Rarely had he felt the Eldin Region shake like this, and he wasn't sure that was a practically good sign, either.

His eyes remained skyward, ever watchful of the dark orb within which he knew rested Mirajane Strauss. He couldn't see her through the swirling darkness, but he knew she was there, and he knew whatever dark power that'd possessed her had taken full control. No, not "whatever dark power," he knew exactly what was flowing through her, commandeering her body for its personal use. As the waves of darkness continued to shake the world around him, a biting sense of familiarity returned to him. It brough a name and a monstrous face that he'd been seeing more of, ever since his first encounter with the woman known as Mirajane Strauss. Link knew that's not who he was truly facing anymore-it was instead Hyrule's oldest and most dangerous enemy. That said, the roar that further shook the earth was undoubtedly feminine, and it sent chills down his spine.

In those chills, he almost lost the familiar pulsation that alerted him to danger.

He didn't have any time to scream, not to Yunobo; all Link could do was active Daruk's Protection, the fiery barrier manifesting around the two of them as sudden as lightning. It lasted only for a second after it formed.

Dirt, fire, and darkness went flying up, none of which he could see through. All Link could do was raise his shield, but he knew that wasn't going to do him much good. Something moved to his right, a winged blur whose identity he already knew. Engrained instinct and experience led him to activating Daruk's Protection again, infusing it into his shield as he swung it to his right. Once more, he just barely made it in the nick of time, and once more, it was only barely enough. Link grunted, feeling himself launched backward, his armor hurting and his shield stressing from the blow. It was going to shatter after another hit; although he had plenty more, he had an unquenchable feeling that he was going to be burning through a lot of them today.

The shadow zoomed behind him; Link simultaneously saw and felt it. Acting quickly, Revali's Gale was cast, launching him skyward, although he knew that simply changed the location of the battlefield, perhaps only briefly. He was right as the shadow as upon him again, a darkness-coated fist coming toward him. With a determined shout, he swung the Master Sword from his back, its cerulean light clashing against the oncoming attack. While he normally expected his sword to illuminate his enemy's vestige, the fact that the dark aura remained strong was further proof that he was in for a battle with a true demon. A demon with flashing red eyes that slightly chilled his blood. The pressure on his sword grew, although Link put more strength into holding the fist off, it made the Master Sword flash brighter. It was like pushing against a tower-sized boulder rolling downhill. Rather than being crushed, he managed to fend it off, for the moment at least.

Link was ready to launch an energy beam, but Mirajane vanished before he could even move his arm. What ultimately moved was his entire body, jerked to the side via the whirlwind that surrounded him. A fist came down, rending the space where he'd previous been floating. Another fist flew, and this one he parried with the Master Sword-the first of many such moves that left his arms ringing like bells.

They must have been over a hundred feet off the ground, a distance that he'd fallen from several times. Link fell that distance again, slamming into the ground and feeling the pain traveling through every inch of his body. His impact made a crater in the ground, a further testament to how painful his fall had been, not that Link needed to see that.

"L-L-Link!" Yunobo's voice shouted from over yonder.

Panic forced his lungs to work. "STAY BACK, YUNOBO!" His move was moving, digging itself out and climbing over the upturned rock. He came up just in time to see a blast of dark energy slam into him, sending Link's heart screeching into his throat. There was little time for him to call out as a similar attack was heading his way. The Master Sword was raised in defense, fending off the magical attack and locking Link in place. More so when the beam grew in size-Link guessed Mirajane was now using two hands to fire upon him. His muscles ached as did his legs, the ground beneath him flattening under the pressure of the magical attack. It was five-hundred times stronger than any Guardian's laser fire, he even wondered if the beam attack of the Divine Beasts fell short of this.

Feeling the pressure grew, Link called forth more power from his strongest weapon, and more power from within himself. Responding, the Master Sword morphed into a blade of pure light, which he used to finally split the dark beam in two; merely a prelude to another clash of sword against fists, each exchange growing the crater around them. Link the bloody glow of Mirajane's eyes through their exchanges.

It was like looking into the gaze of one of the Blight Ganons. With the Malice seeping off her body, he supposed that's what she was; however, Link knew in his gut that Mirajane was a hundred times stronger than all four of the cyborg creatures put together, perhaps stronger even than the Calamity Ganon itself.

POW!

Any second, his arms seemed ready to fall off. Either that or the horrific sound of metal cracking would reach his ears, the cracking or denting of the strongest weapon in Hyrule's arsenal. Popping his eyes open, he was glad to see the latter hadn't happened, but he still felt the pain in his arms; pushing it aside was what he did as he raised his sword up in a defensive swipe against the spinning drop kick that brought his skidding to a halt. Now it was his legs aching. They continued to ache even as he found himself lifted off the ground, something pulling him skyward. Although he twisted his body in an instinctive move to cut at whatever it was, his efforts were in vain as a hard fist slammed into his gut, then his fist.

POW!

He'd taken some nasty uppercuts, but this one probably took the cake. Link felt each and every tooth in his jaw rattling while his gums bled. Popping his eyes open, he somberly acknowledged it all was about to get much worse.

Flowing streams of darkness pooled together into a massive orb around Mirajane's hands, clasped together in what he knew was going to be a downward swing; he couldn't see her hands through the sphere of darkness, he knew was going to hurt just as much as the physical impact of her hands.

THHHHHHAAAAAAMMMM!

How many times he'd hit the ground over the last five minutes? Had it been longer than that? Link found it hard to tell, especially as his whole body rang with more pain than he'd felt in the last year. Had it been five minutes since their battle had started? No, probably longer, maybe seven or eight minutes.

And he was losing.

Despite the pain, Link forced himself to roll over and hunch himself upward. He'd never lost his grip on the Master Sword, instinct and experience so tightly ingrained into his body that the weapon had become a part of his body; although good and highly useful, body parts could still be torn off, a fact that Link was all too aware of. He found his opponents knew it well, too.

The way she grabbed for his arms told him she was trying to rip them off and thus prevent him from using any weapons. Dying of blood loss would be a mercy, albeit not one he was sure he'd be given. The gold, gauntlet-like claws scratched and grabbed at his arms, but Link kept dodging, his body aching, yet already recovering moving with the speed he had before. The pain was still there, but he pushed past it, just like he always did; Link knew he had to, otherwise it would be the end of him, and then his country.

Wait for it…wait for it! Mirajane's hands were moving fast, but he could follow them-he learned how to follow them. Like many of his most daring plans, this one was going to be risky to pull off, but if it worked, he'd be able to start turning the tide of the battle.

His moment arrived when his left arm exposed, an easy target that Mirajane went for. A mental call brought a Great Thunderblade, lightning cackling up the edges, which met Mirajane's wrist with a flick of his wrist. In his right hand, the Master Sword flared with holy light, bright enough to blind anyone, but especially a demon at close range.

"RAAAAHH!" Mirajane proved she wasn't just any ordinary demon, not that Link didn't already know that. He got a painful reminder as her Malice-infused magic flared up in a fierce aura that pushed him back. The Master Sword's own empowered glow appeared no more than a lone star against the vastness of the night sky. Her hands plowed forward, covered in writhing darkness that would tear into his body as if it were paper. Link raised both his sword in a desperate cross and steeled his legs.

THOOOOM!

It was unstoppable meeting immovable, darkness against the power of light and thunder, all three screaming in opposition to one another as the ground cratered and trembled. The latter went for Link's body, albeit only briefly. Eyes focused and his face twisted into a fierce scowl, he pushed back, summoning all the strength he had. Unfortunately, Mirajane did the same, the darkness around her fist becoming a blazing comet hellbent on crashing into him.

They were both screaming in frustration and determination. An azure aura streaked with white erupted from Link's body, clashing against the malevolent purple, black, and magenta of Mirajane's. They were like a pair of gears furiously grinding against one another, sending sparks flying-the ground continuously cracked and heaved under the pressure of the contest of strength. Neither combatant paid any attention to the now gapping-sized indention they'd created-all that mattered was overcoming the other, a task that neither were able to accomplish. Not even when Link's Great Thundersword shatter did he relent, both his hands simply went to the Master Sword, whose power increased to compensate. Shards of the great sword circled the divine weapon, infusing it with its elemental power. Arcs of lime-colored lightning lit up the blade in a further show of power.

Mirajane withdrew one hand, using her right to hold off the empowered Master Sword. Link's eyes widened at the dark magic amassing into a sphere.

Behind him appeared the vestige of Urbosa, eyes locked in a heated glare as she snapped her fingers in accordance with Link's mental casting.

The lightning struck the orb as it was in mid-swing, more bolts rained down upon both Mirajane and the Master Sword, which absorbed the mystic lightning. Darkness and light fused into an explosion that was quickly overtaken by thousands of coils of lightning. Like a ravenous beast, the blast grew, eating up chunks of the cracked, ground. The soon-to-be devoured earth grew hundreds of times hotter as the lightning-clad explosion spread, and the same went for the air, pulsating with electricity and raw magical energy. That energy raced along the ground, deep into the heart of the Eldin Region, triggering every local volcano before the residual tremors of the blast did so. They blended together into a horrible chorus that could be felt across the neighboring regions, even as far as the ( ) region.

Goron City buckled under the strain of the explosion, stone huts crumbling or being blown apart by the blast. Those still within its rocky walls curled up, as it was all their kind could do as it seemed their corner of the world was finally about to dissolve into stone and fire. So tightly curled up, no one saw the light that shined within the explosion, they only felt the heat scorch their normally impervious body. Such a sensation was further proof of the magnitude of the event that had befallen their home. A disaster. A calamity.

Link stumbled backward, his eyes wide and his breath filled with air and ash. He hadn't felt this way since his battle with Calamity Ganon, a comparison that might not prove to be enough as he felt this latest opponent was approaching a new level of power. In turn, he was going to have to draw out a new and equal amount of strength from within. One could argue he'd just done that, as evident by the hundred-meter crater he and Mirajane stood at the center of.

Singes, that's all he saw on her arms and face. A trickle of blood down her face and some burnt hairs, but only that-she was still very much standing. Eyes flashing with murderous rage, she lunged at him. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Link jumped away, and watched her fist plow into scorched ground, crushing it into a pulp. Her other arm lashed out at him, seeing her prior attack had missed. Link parried her move with the Master Sword, now reliant solely on its power, all the lightning magic had been used up in the prior blast. Likewise, Urbosa's Fury would need a second to recharge if he was to use it to such an extent again. On the positive side, he still had plenty of thunder swords and spears-he'd need to get some distance and time if he wanted to use any arrows. Granted, given Mirajane's speed and power, those seemed like a long shot in effectiveness.

Something deep and primal within him also yearned for the continuation of their melee-focused battle. That part of him had no need to worry.

The air shook with the collision of his sword and Mirajane's forearm. Her magical reinforced body withstood the Master Sword's edge, but Link was determined to push past such resistance. His boots dug into the earth as he pushed against his opponent, who did the same. Her aura flared up, dark magic once again amassing in her free left hand. Seeing that, Link jumped back, but his attempted retreat was swiftly cut off by a myriad of dark arms that grabbed at him. The spell she'd been preparing wasn't an attack but one to immobilize him; not only had it worked, it was now reeling him in like a fish. At the end of it, he was met with a steel-busting fist that gave him a bloody nose, more punches followed, ending with yet another uppercut that sent him sailing into the air, only for something to grab his leg and slam him back down. Pain was a multitude of rivers flowing in opposite directions throughout his body. His brain felt like shutting down, but combat instinct forced it to operate at peak efficiency. That allowed to see the tighten fist speeding toward his skull. Yelping, he rolled away, and continued to do so as more fists came down, each crushing the ground where he'd have been; if he hadn't moved, he wouldn't have left behind a pretty corpse.

Mirajane's fist stayed lodged in the ground, she dragged it toward him before finally lifting her hand up. The crescent-shaped wave of dark magic instantaneously grew to over ten feet, more than double Link's own height. A determined frown, he swung his sword, breaking apart the attack, but more were on the way. He transitioned to deflecting multiple blasts of dark magic, each no bigger than his fists, but traveling at the speed of lightning-he reasoned the power of just ne could demolish a multi-story building, thus he did all he could to avoid them. Although the ground around him went up in explosions, he kept his focus on his adversary. Link knew she was going to try something new, he just had to be ready for whatever it turned out to be.

Suddenly, the barrage stopped, and she was on him. Link saw her fist coming at him in a forward jab. With his heart pounding, he sidestepped the attack, but he knew there was more to it than just that. The pressured air formed a cut on his cheek-it'd be much worse if he took a direct hit. More cuts piled up on his face as he dodged the next several punches; she had some of the best hand-to-hand combat skills he'd ever seen, Link would have admired that if he wasn't fighting tooth and nail for his life.

FWWWPP!

What the hell!? He felt something wrapping around his left ankle, and that something pulled. As he titled backward, Mirajane's fist flew straight into his gut, carrying him back up. Link felt the air leave his lungs, and then his skull was ringing as a fist slammed into the right side of his head. It was hard to tell how many punches came after that, they all just blended together into a complete beatdown that left him adrift in a pain-filled sea. A stormy sea complete with lightning.

"AAARRRRRGGHHHH!" T-T-T-T-This i-i-is pa-payback f-f-for earlier! This lightning hurt worse than any shocks he'd experienced at the hand of Thunderblight Ganon, or any other lightning-elemental creature. Just like every other trait Mirajane possessed exceeded those of the enemies he'd fought before.

For a fraction of a second, Link smelt his own burnt flesh. Perhaps for the best, he didn't have too long to dwell on it as a new barrage of punches slammed into him, giving him something else to focus on. Namely, trying to think up a way to break up Mirajane's assault, preferable before she finished turning him into ground beef. There was only one spell he could count on to do that, and he sensed it'd finished charging, at least to the level he'd need it at.

Or, growled a ferocious voice. You can do something about those arms and go on the offensive. That suggestion flowed into his right hand, his grip on the Master Sword tightening. It almost seemed to hum in approval at the suggestion. Link knew he'd made plenty of split-second moves before, and they'd allowed him to turn the tide of battle. Here we go again. He grunted as he felt Mirajane's fist slamming into his jaw for the umpteenth time. At this rate, it was a miracle it hadn't been dislocated or outright torn off-maybe that was more of a testament to his fortitude. He'd survived being slapped in the face by Guardians before, as well as being punched by Lynels and Talus. He'd built up some fortitude; just as important, he'd learned to focus even through the pain. His eyes zeroed in on Mirajane's oncoming left hand.

Link swung the Master Sword, knowing he'd timed his strike just right, but the attack never hit its intended target. Somewhat firm and scaly wrapped around his arm, glancing down, Link's heart skipped a bit in shocked fear.

Her tail! That's what it's been this whole time! He realized with heart-stopping alarm. Shoving that aside, he quickly fell back on a newly formed backup plan-simply stopping her punch with his barehand. Mirajane countered that by grabbing his left arm by the wrist. Link's eyes widened in greater alarm realizing both his arms were restrained, and Mirajane still had one left to use.

Knowing that made her smile in murderous glee. Wisps of malice slipped from her red lips. "Oh, all out of tricks, little man?" Her voice was like silk dipped in acid, and it was about to be wrapped so tightly around Link he wouldn't be able to lift a finger. His burial shroud.

The first punch battered his already bruised nose. The second punch knocked one of his teeth loose. The third gave made his right eye swell so much he could hardly open it. If not for everything he'd been through, his skull would have been bloody smears on the She-Demon's fist a long time ago, that didn't mean that it wasn't inevitable unless he did something. Her tail was constricting around his right arm, constricting it like a serpent. Her right arm was putting just as much of a squeeze on his left arm; he felt the bones in both arms beginning to crack under the superhuman pressure while his face was continuously pounded by Mirajane's left fist. He was completely at her mercy, and she was taking her time breaking him into pieces. The sadism was certainly that befitting of a demon.

Link didn't know how long Mirajane spent punching his face in, or what his face now looked like. He was sure it wasn't pretty, but the important thing was he was still conscious. That meant he was fully aware of what was going to happen when she finally gripped his face with her entire hand. His already dimming vision became blanketed in complete darkness, then a purple light cast an eerie glow over his eyes. Every voice within him screamed danger as he felt the deathly warm heating of his bruised face-he knew exactly what it meant.

Gotta think fast! Gotta focus! With both his arms restrained, he was helpless save for calling down Urbosa Fury. That's almost what he did, but a part of him argued he needed to save it for later. Ironic considering he was about to have his face blown off. If not that, then what else could he do? I've gotta break free, and I've gotta do something about her tail! That's it, her tail! His right arm may have been restrained, but not the Sword that Sealed the Darkness, a sword with the ability to burn the darkness without even physically touching it. Hylia, Din, Farore, Nayru, give me strength!

Light shot forth from the blade, its luminosity surpassing even that of a full-powered Ancient Sword. With such a bright shine, it was more than enough to catch the demon's tail, like getting singed from a campfire. As Link hoped, Mirajane's tail relaxed its grip, giving him the opportunity to pull his arm free; he used his newfound freedom to slash at the tail, and then at Mirajane's body. Her grip on his left arm was lost. Now freed up, Link gripped the Master Sword with both hands and brought it down in a horizontal slash. The dark energy that clung to the demon's body burned away, seemingly howling in agony just like Mirajane herself did. Link made them scream louder as he made another slash, this one from her right shoulder to her left hip. Despite those wounds, she was still standing; her scarlet eyes were still filled with hatred and life, and they locked with Link's.

Dark magic amassed in her hand while light exuded from the Master Sword. Link and Mirajane roared as they stepped forward, their attacks colliding in a burst of magical energy that mirrored the previous one. Albeit smaller, it still shook the ground and cracked the earth, sending debris shooting out. Two figures flew out faster than the others.

Blood dripped from Link's face as he skidded to a stop, looking through the smoke at his very much still standing opponent. The veil that obscured her was quickly wiped away as she cupped her hands and amassed more dark magical energy. His scorched and beaten skin chilled at the swirling mass of purple and black tinged with magenta. He only needed one glance to tell that her attack wouldn't just wipe him out, it could annihilate a mountain. Given that Goron City was within the general vicinity, he knew he had to keep it from firing. As such, he kicked off the ground, sprinting toward her. He was on her in less than a second, giving him an even closer look at the cold yet murderous look in her eyes.

Mirajane vanished as he was about to swing his sword; it caused him to stop in his tracks and wait. She appeared on his right flake, yet Link didn't turn. Vanishing as quickly as she appeared, he looked to his left, catching another after image. They multiplied from one into many, swarming him from all sides, magical energy pulsating in their hands. It was a troubling side yet Link kept calm and kept on searching for the real one. That included looking up; although he may have cut off the demon's tail and dealt her several blows, her wings were still working just fine. Several seconds of watching the phantoms and Link realized what Mirajane's plan was. Gasping, he turned in the direction of the sudden buildup of magical energy-several meters at his two o'clock.

"Evil Explosion!" came the wrathful feminine voice.

Even though he tried evading, the blast was on him near instantaneously; Link genuinely wondered if the spell had been fired or made to appear at his very location. Not that the answer mattered, the attack ultimately hurt like hell. Dark Beast Ganon had been the last opponent to deal him this kind of damage, and the giant boar's attacks were often far too chaotic to be this precise. As he was thrown aside by the explosion Link found himself missing that; at least those attacks had been easier to dodge.

His Champion's Tunic was still intact, but the blue fabric was blacked around the chest and sides, the magic fabric fraying and struggling to regenerate itself. It wouldn't have the time to do so in peace as Mirajane's attack continued. A magic circle appeared in front of her palm, from it emerged an orb of black and red magic that grew several times her size before morphing into a beam of dark energy. It carved a path across the already broken earth as it headed straight for Link. He grunted in the face of the oncoming beam. Although he knew he could dodge it if he hustled or used Revali's Gale, he found he wasn't in the mood for that. Holding out his left arm, he materialized a new Guardian's Shield and turned it up to its maximum power while pouring his own life force into it. With its sparking bright protection, he charged forward into the beam, taking the brunt of it. Link felt the pressure bring him to a temporary halt, his feet skidding across the ground, but he didn't fall; gradually, he began to push forward, gritting his teeth all the while. Simultaneous to his charge, Link channeled energy into his sword, enshrouding it in blazing blue and white light.

He knew Mirajane wasn't going to make it easy, each hit he'd landed on her had come with a great deal of struggle on his part. Even as he ran, he sensed the Ancient Shield straining to protect him. It was going to break, but he hoped it'd be long enough to get him to his-

FWOOSH!

The strain he and his shield were under vanished in an instant. Link looked straight up, recognizing the sound of wings flapping. Mirajane was airborne, a swirling vortex of dark energy held in her hands.

"EVIL SHOWER!"

His shield was raised above his head, blocking dozens of attacks instead of only one. Still, those dozens of attacks were all powerful, but their numbers were the real problem. Link was pinned down. The only way he'd be able to move was if he activated Daruk's Protection, and the only way he'd be able to reach her was with Revali's Gale. Just as his shield began to reach the end of its rope, he activated the first, and then the second.

Link felt his feet leave the ground immediately. He replaced his shield with an Ancient Spear, throwing it like a javelin at the she-demon once he caught her in his sight.

Wearing a cold glare, the white-haired woman easily caught the spear and hurled it back at Link, lobbing a blast of dark magic to boot.

Link was dumbstruck by it all. He felt like he shouldn't have been, yet he was. The way she caught it and threw it back, the way she's parried most of my attacks, she's fought a swordsman before. She's fought a spear user. She's-! The pressure of the Ancient Spear was on him, snapping him out of his thoughts. Face contorted in panic, Link swung his sword in a haphazard arc, the energy flying from it and colliding with the spear, but not the dark magic bomb coming in behind it.

Boom!

Daruk's Protection did its job, but he was still knocked back by the blast, and the shield had a few small cracks in it. Okay, Link grunted. That one was on me for getting careless!

A black shadow moved through the air, swiftly maneuvering behind him. His shield cracked under the strain of a dark magic blow that knocked the air out of him while spinning him like a pinwheel. He only stopped thanks to Mirajane grabbing him by the throat; she used him to take him on an unscheduled trip into the skies. Link gasped from both the strain of her chokehold and the wind whipping at him as he so rapidly ascended into the sky. His eyes squeezed shut then popped open, allowing him to glimpse the snow-white hair of the woman dragging him into the heavens. Despite the pain and confusion, he mused on the irony.

Suddenly, his ascent was halted. He briefly locked eyes with Mirajane, once again seeing the murderous rage in her eyes. She seemed to put it into the punch that tore into his gut. The pain stayed with him even as he was launched backward and crashing into the stone buildings of what he knew to be Goron City. The trip must have taken no more than a few seconds, an incredible analysis despite the untold pain coursing through his body.

He was still conscious. "Ohhhh…definitely…the worst way…to come down." Link groaned while hearing the faint sound of rocks cracking around him. Looking straight up, he saw the hole he'd made thanks to Mirajane punching him down-his gut still hurt from said punch. Of all the punches he'd taken, that one definitely hurt the most; the possibility of it being topped was scary as he realized it'd been a punch of pure physical strength, no magical enchantment. It was terrifying, yet the warrior in him felt a strange bit of excitement at the thought of facing such a foe again. Heh…she's…kicking my ass pretty good. I'm really going to have to-!

Through the hole he came through, he saw the swirling black and purple mass, it was being funneled into what he believed to be her hands. With his right eye swollen, Link couldn't quite see as far as normally, but he didn't need his eyes for this. The dark magical energy was practically a storm cloud in the sky, bringing with it a wave of dread that threatened to break the building he was in down to rubble. It, and likely the rest of the city, would indeed be destroyed if he didn't find some way to stop the attack.

Once more, he readied the Master Sword, knowing it was the only weapon that could stand up to the She-Demon's power.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Or so he thought.

Wide-eyed, Link watched Mirajane turn her attack away from him to a series of projectiles that came at her from her right side. At first, he was confused, then he remembered there was one other force that could possibly match Mirajane.

"Yunobo!" Instantly, he knew not only was the young Goron Champion alive, but was at the controls of his Divine Beast. Powerful as it was, Link knew it was too slow to keep pace with Mirajane. What it could do was hold her attention while he caught his breath. Or so he thought until he saw Mirajane's dark energy beam cut a path across the sky and heard the unmistakable sound of metal being blown apart. An earth-shaking, robotic scream went up. Revali's Gale, already recharged, was reactivated, launching Link through the hole he'd crashed through and straight toward the one who'd sent him crashing down in the first place. On his way up, he spared a glance at his far left.

Vah Rudania was down, its right-side limbs severed. There was a massive, meters-wide fissure in the ground where it'd formerly been standing. The sight was positively horrifying, but Link continued on his path. While Mirajane was distracted, he had to-

He felt her looking at him, acknowledging his presence with one of those red eyes. In a booming flap of her wings, Mirajane took off toward Vah Rudania. Link watched in slack-jawed astonishment as she swiftly moved behind the lizard-like Divine Beast and seized it by the tail. "N-No," he whispered. The beast roared as if it couldn't believe it either. "No…no. no…NO! NO! NO FUCKING WAY!" Such profanity wasn't something he normally indulged in, but given the situation, Link felt it was warranted.

A human-sized figure lifting the colossal Divine Beast by the tail was probably enough to make anyone curse, and gap in sheer shock. And horror. Especially when they were in the path of said Divine Beast being swung like a massive flail.

Vah Rudania, and likely Yunobo, screamed as the She-Demon hefted it overhead, aiming right at Link. Goron City was below him. The mechanical lizard cast a shadow over the city that grew larger by the second as it was brought closer. The city wasn't the target of the attack, Link knew he was, and that the Gorons were just going to be collateral damage. Unless he stopped Mirajane.

But how?

How…how in the fucking hell am I supposed to stop this?! The Hylian warrior raged as the Divine Beast he'd once scaled now threatened to crush him. There was no way he could match Mirajane's physical strength and stop it. And there was nothing in his-wait a minute. He did! He did have a way to stop it, at least he hoped.

Sweat and blood poured down Link's brow as he reached for his Sheikah Slate. He'd never done anything even remotely close to this. Sure, Stasis could work on some tough enemies, but he'd never used it on what was essentially a small mountain, especially one rapidly descending toward him. It was do-or-die.

Shutting his eyes, he prayed to all the deities in the heavens, to his ancestors, to his fallen comrades, and finally to Mipha and Daruk, that this would work. His focus on the approaching giant was so intense he almost totally ignored the shine that erupted from the top of his right palm. The golden triangle flashed into existence like a newborn star, its power turning the outstretched Sheikah Slate entirely gold. As the rune activated, the Triforce blazed into existence in front of the screen.

CLINK!

Link stared at the numerous golden chains embedded in Vah Rudania in amazement, seemingly unable to believe they were real despite calling for them. Once the reality of their presence, and effect, sunk into him, he found the breath to laugh. It'd worked! The Stasis Rune had worked! Empowered by the Triforce, perhaps the gods hearing his prayers, whatever it was, it'd worked!

Vah Rudania was frozen in the air above Goron City, the residents undoubtedly gawking at yet another unbelievable sight. Anyone in the general vicinity would have been awestruck by the sight, almost as much as Link was.

At least until he realized he had no idea what to do next.

Triumphant amazement effortlessly morphed into panic. Link knew Vah Rudania wouldn't stay frozen forever, barely a minute if he was lucky-a minute he was running on. He knew the Magnesis Rune wouldn't be able to move something that big. Maybe if he channeled the Triforce's power, but Link had a feeling that'd use up all the time the Stasis Rune had bought him. Additionally, he'd be able to move the Divine Beast, but not the person who'd tossed it; Mirajane would gleefully take the chance to attack him while he struggled to move the gigantic mecha lizard. She'd kill him in a heartbeat.

In the nanoseconds that ticked down to the rune's deactivation, Link thought back to the numerous times he'd hit a stasis-locked object with the intent of sending it flying in a different direction. The more kinetic energy he built up, the further it went, sometimes proportional to the object's size. That provided the biggest hurdle to his current ordeal. That said, it was all he had.

So, summoning the Boulder Breaker, Link threw all he had into hitting the topside of Vah Rudania. He nearly blew his own voice out with the amount of screaming he did, it was a reflex he just couldn't shake, especially when he had had pure adrenaline pumping through his veins, and desperation. He knew the Master Sword could match, and potentially exceed the Divine Beasts in power, now more than ever he needed to draw forth that strength; Link also needed to draw upon all the strength he had in his body. He never thought he'd be having to help propel something as big as Vah Rudania.

Goddesses, I hope I don't have to do this again! The alarmed countdown of the Stasis Rune grew louder and more rapid in his ears. Link could have sworn it was a death toll ringing for either him or the city beneath him. As it grew louder his swings grew more ferocious, the last push he made-he could make.

The Boulder Breaker smashed against its previous owner's Divine Beast when the alarm went off. The kinetic energy had gathered at the area he'd been hitting, and when the rune finally wore off, all that energy exploded like a bomb. Link's heart skipped a beat watching the mechanical lizard shoot backwards. Although it wasn't a great repulsion, it was still flown back several meters, far enough away that the impact would be on the outskirts of Goron City. He'd done it.

He'd done it!

A blur of black and dark red made his moment short lived.

Link wasn't helpless, though. As Mirajane went to attack him, he swung the Boulder Breaker with immense speed. Not quite as fast as the Master Sword, but quick enough the hammer-sword appeared no more than a slate-gray blur.

Against Mirajane, that still wasn't good enough.

KRA-KOOOM!

Where the pieces of Boulder Break would fall, Link didn't know. He didn't think there was much of a chance him finding them and reassembling them into their original state.

It was amazing how quickly he moved on from the weapon's destruction. His arm swung forward in a lightning-fast slash in retaliation. Mirajane moved back, the sacred sword's shining tip merely an inch from the bridge of her nose. Like him, she probably saw the sword moving in slow motion.

Her body became covered in blue light tinged with wisps of malice. A second later, the light vanished, and Mirajane's appearance had changed. The dark red of her previous form was replaced by light blue. More than her one-piece, it was the scales that coated her arms, legs, and face. A pair of horn-like protrusions jetted out from both sides of her head, or maybe those were her ears. Their fin-like features were repeated on her arms and legs. Most striking though, were her wings. They were almost angel-like in their design, except they pointed upward instead of down. Link remembered hearing something about fallen angels having such wings. Finally, and to his chagrin, he spied the swaying of a new tail, sky-blue like the rest of the She-Demon's monstrous features.

Link braced himself for a frontal attack, but it never came; Mirajane vanished leaving him searching for her with all his senses. She's gotten faster! He noted with rising concern.

They appeared all around him near simultaneously, dark orbs similar to those she'd been firing before. There must have been hundreds, and they were all flying straight at him.

He'd been in this situation before, but never in the air. Regardless, Link knew he had to give it a try, and that's what he did.

As usual, the Master Sword left a trail of blue energy in its wake, this one was bigger than average thanks to the extra power he put into it. The beauty of the Spin Attack was not only could it clear out mobs, it could make for an effective defense, and that's what saved him. The first time.

The magic bullets were all around him, literally. On all sides as well as above and below him. There was only one defense he could call upon.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Cra-ack!

Daruk's Protection held, but the barrage of magical attacks were straining it. It wasn't going to hold out for much longer. Link called forth an Ancient Shield, the energy generator expanding outward to reinforce the fiery barrier.

"So many toys and the same old spells, they won't protect you forever!" He couldn't see her beyond the volley of explosions against his shields, but he heard the faintest sound of her wings cutting through the air. Link knew her speed surpassed that of any Rito, she possessed true magical flight, something he could only stimulate through Revali's Gale and the Roc's Cape. Speaking of the latter, he knew he was going to be needing and pushing it to its limits.

BOOM!

The magic shields held, but the physical shield in his left arm glitched and beeped as it was taxed. Link felt himself moving forward at breakneck speed. His gut told him that'd been a physical attack, and another one was coming. He was proven right as he felt a presence approaching him from below. As best he could, he swung his body away, dodging the upward punch; it shattered his barrier with just a grazing blow. Link watched Mirajane ascend, her blue scales matching the clear sky around them. They were so high up from the ground where the smoke from volcanoes costly wafted into the sky.

She came down with a karate chop that he parried with the Master Sword. Instead of immediately jerking her hand away, she continued to bear down on him, sparks and Malice shooting out as they competed against one another. Link knew she was strong, but this new demonic form seemed to have made her even stronger, on top of increasing her speed.

…Hehehe, here I was, struggling to just keep pace with you, and then you went up and jump right on ahead of me. You…really are a strong opponent. But, His teeth gnashed and his sword shone. I am not going to lose to you! Too many people are counting on me! Strength anew pupped through his veins, enough for him to fend off her hand. Her face bent in irritation as the scales on her right arm were chipped. In the short interlude, his blue eyes locked with Mirajane's, a moment of acknowledge amidst their battle and so high up from the ground.

Link saw the darkness swirling in her eyes, more clearly than he'd ever had before.

The promise he made to Helen and Zelda's encouragement, now facing her in battle, Link realized just how truly difficult the former was, and the measure of faith Zelda had in him when she backed him. That said, maybe neither of them truly knew the gravity of what they were asking of him. Even he'd underestimated the strength of the woman in front of him.

Once again, he went for a slash with his sword, a diagonal slash aimed at her left shoulder.

"Dark Deflect." Her lips sounded in a voice barely above a whisper.

He remembered that spell-Mirajane had used it during their last battle in the Hebra Mountains. Just like then, Link felt an invisible force throw his sword backward, although he retained his grip on the handle. Link kept his focus on Mirajane. Dark magic congregated in her hands-which meant only one thing. He was going to need Daruk's Protection again; it was a good thing it was almost finished charging.

This battle had pushed his abilities to new heights, which included shorter cooldowns, but it was still nothing compared to how Mirajane was able to cast spells so quickly.

Her arms thrust forward, prompting him to activate his flaming shield. However, it had nothing to defend against. The dark magic that'd been building exploded, but not as a destructive blast, instead it was veil of shadowy matter that rapidly consumed him. Link couldn't see, hear, or even smell anything. Even his sixth sense seemed to have been dampened. It was the worst kind of darkness, the kind that left him well and truly helpless.

I didn't know she could do-

Not…alone in…the dark.

As if responding to his panic-stricken thoughts, the Master Sword's light intensified. It burned away the darkness that surrounded him, but it was too slow.

CRA-ACK!

"AAAAGH!"

He didn't let go of the Master Sword despite the pain, he almost did, though. It felt like his entire arm was going to explode, and he was going to feel every bit of the pain that came with it. It almost made Link grateful for the sweeping kick to his chest, making it feel like it was caving in on him. The attack threw him back, dozens of meters in just a few seconds. Either he'd hit the ground and break some more bones, or Mirajane wouldn't let him, hitting him again; she could juggle him in the air with her superior aerial speed and abilities.

Link saw her fast approaching him, speeding toward him like a hawk after its prey.

You fool, have you forgotten? You are not some helpless mouse to be scooped up and killed! You're better than that, Link! Do not forget whose wind is always at your back!

Mirajane reared her claw back, ready to use it to likely tear him in two.

The Roc's Cape materialized first, called forth from his Sheikah Slate. It was necessary as without it, activating Revali's Gale wouldn't have meant anything.

WHOOSH!

Revali's specter hovered above him, overlayed onto the cape, now transformed into a pair of avian wings akin to its namesake. It continuously bellowed thanks to the magical whirlwind that now surrounded Link, whose eyes shined with stubborn determination as he glared at Mirajane. The woman regarded his sudden move with cold disdain, then went right back to trying to kill him. Just as he'd done a second before, he evaded the attack. The empowered Roc's Cape, or Wings, heeded his mental command, as did the localized whirlwind that he'd summoned. With them, he flew, and his demonic opponent gave chase.

They were almost even. Despite his aerial boon, Link knew he was still outmatched in firepower; Mirajane could fire off attacks while he couldn't, at least not while he was still holding his sword in his right hand. His arm was broken from the shoulder down, so amidst an aerial spin, he switched sword hands. He did so just in time to deflect a magical blast that he wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. It was far from the worst the She-Devil could do, and Link knew she was working up to it. If he took a direct hit, the empowered Revali's Gale would falter, and the Roc's Wings would probably be destroyed, too. He'd be falling, but he might never reach the ground-Mirajane would kill him before he got that far.

So, he flew as fast as he could. Partially to survive, and partially to get as far away from Goron City as he could. The more they fought, the more danger the Gorons would be in. She'd disabled Vah Rudania, meaning it wasn't going to be much help, or worse, Mirajane would just find some way to weaponize it as she'd done before. She'd lost no strength in lifting the Divine Beast up and attempting to slam it onto him and the city. Really, this Mirajane Strauss was turning out to be quite a terror, the biggest he'd faced since Calamity Ganon.

Link knew he was pulling the woman's strings. The constants whisps of Malice which occasionally morphed into a full-on aura. You found another puppet to possess, Ganon, and a strong one. A terrifyingly strong one.

Throughout his aerial evasions and counterattacks, he caught glimpses of the ground below. As he'd intended, the volcanic terrain of the Eldin Region gave way to green fields and rivers, the Crenel Hills came into view, yet they still looked so small from so high-up.

His view of them was shortened thanks to the blue-scaled demon that suddenly appeared in front of him. In response, he banked, ascending upward with Mirajane zoomed toward him. Magical feathers fluttered in his wake as he served backward, avoiding a claw swipe. He parried not just the next one, but the next dozen, claw swipes and magic blasts. Link felt the numbing pain in his right arm, his face, and his chest, all gnawing at him, more so as he continuously pushed his body to not just top performance, but new heights.

Speaking of that, it felt like that's what they were ascending to, higher than Link believed any Rito had ever gone. The cold strangely wasn't bothering him, potentially another benefit of the magic, Revali's magic mixed with the cape.

Mirajane still had him beat by a thin margin. She fired concentrated blasts of dark magic and smaller orbs, but the absolute worst were her punches. Coated in dark energy, she threw fierce yet refined blows that he dodged and fended off with the Master Sword. Its radiance remained unbroken despite the thousands of exchanges he'd shared with the demon, and the damage Link had continued to pile up. It may have been Link's imagination, but he could have sworn he felt the sword continuously humming, something flowing from within it into him; at times, that feeling sounded like a voice, one telling him not to give up.

THUNK!

The sword was caught in Mirajane's right hand, her left pulled back, ready to deliver another body-breaking punch, but Link wasn't about to let that happen, not this time.

Link remembered a time when he was twelve-years-old, still a boy, even amongst the numerous trainees of the kingdom. A training trip gone awry, he stayed back to provide his friends the chance to escape. He spent all night fighting off monsters, pushing his body to its then-limits, and beyond. His arm had been impaled by a Lizaflos' razor boomerang, and yet he continuously raised it in fierce to later focused arcs, cleaving the lizards into pieces. Everyone, especially the doctors, told him what he did was an act of sheer, reckless, and amazing willpower.

That same kind of willpower allowed him to move his broke arm to catch her punch, and keep it locked. Mirajane seemed surprised as she knew his arm was busted, she'd done the deed herself. Link made sure her shock didn't last long, headbutting her as hard as he could.

They broke apart, her gasping in shock while he grunted; her bewilderment was short-lived.

Her hand went up, magical energy resembling a spiraling cosmos manifested, its colors pink and light blue-the color of Mirajane's current form. "Halphas Blast!" A magic circle of violet color appeared, seemingly channeling the energy as it burst furth. Instead of violet, the projectiles were pink.

The color completely belayed the power of the spell blasts. Stronger than all those that came before it, and just a little faster. Link dodged enough of them to save himself, but he knew they were still going down, toward the earth. His ears shook with the sound of explosions, the fact he could hear them from so high up was a testament to their power.

POW! POW!

He couldn't deflect them all, not with his strength hemorrhaging, and his mystical wings were suffering for it. Link tapped his connection to his Sheikah Slate, he was going to need another-

Suddenly, the barrage of shots ceased, no, they transformed into a single pink beam lined with blue and magenta rings. Link saw it coming as the light of death. Gasping he twisted out of the way, feeling the heat from the beam just a few inches from him. That heat grew closer until he felt it on his skin-gravity immediately reasserted itself with the magic propelling him weakening. Although Link felt no physical pain, he did feel a sort of mental snapback as his magical wings were scorched. He moved away, but the beam followed him, which forced him to take greater evasive maneuvers. That wasn't easy considering the damage his wings had incurred, as well as the ones they did when the beam got too close.

Link knew he couldn't keep running, and it was high time he returned at least half of the damage Mirajane had dealt him throughout the fight. That was going to come with its own risks, but it was worth it. His right arm ached, but he raised it up and materialized the Hylian Shield from the Sheikah Slate.

Aim…toward the sky. The heavens…will answer, I…will answer you, Master. Just as I have…done before.

Emerald light consumed the wings as they gave what was a near thunderous clap that propelled him forward. He surpassed Mirajane, whose hands swerved to move her beam after him. While she did, Link raised the Master Sword up to the upper levels of the sky, still so far out of his reach. His great ancestor had done this numerous times, particularly against the Demon King Demise; that was why Link prayed to his ancestor as much as he did the gods he once prayed to.

Energy materialized out of nowhere, swirling around and condensing into the Master Sword. An extra several feet were added to the blade, yet to Link the weight remained the same, perhaps even feeling a bit lighter.

When such a sword collided against Mirajane's magical beam, the clouds parted, split into pieces by the storm-force winds and the splintered energy beam. With a jerk of his wrist, Link cut through the dark magical attack entirely, and with another flick, slashed at Mirajane. She was the one forced to evade and suffer a grazing wound, although her retaliation was swift.

Despite the Master Sword's energy-composed size, Link swung it as swiftly and easily as he had done before. There was a flash of blue and he saw a small array of blue scales fluttering to the ground alongside drops of blood. Not dwelling on them for long, he swerved his gaze to the right, where he saw the blue blur that was the She-Demon trying to circle him. Thanks to the extra mobility still granted to him by the cape and Revali's Gale, his spin attack was much faster, and stronger. Mirajane yelped in surprise as the crescent-shaped beam caught her off-guard. Link followed up that attack with several more, each hitting home.

For the next ten seconds, there was a tense silence during which Link waited. Although greatly weakened, he still sensed Mirajane's presence; he also simply knew in his gut that a barrage of ten slashes wouldn't be enough to take her down.

A flash of crimson eyes through the smoke and howl proved him correct.

Despite her injuries, she burst from the smoke like a laser beam, cutting a path straight to him.

ZLAASH!

It was a mutual exchange of injuries, further pushing them toward what was perhaps the final stage of their duel. Link grunted, yet he was inwardly relieved he didn't feel anything (like a rib or organ) missing. As for Mirajane, he'd shaved half of one of her wings; he caught sight of its fall before he spun around to give the magical demon his full attention. It was just in time as that dark magic circle was at the end of her outstretched hand. Quickly, Link raised his sword up, once again calling on the heavens to grant him power; they responded.

"Halphas Blast!"

"Hyaaaaah!"

Both their attacks were bigger than usual, a result of them pouring more energy into them. The moment of collision and struggle was when it was decided who'd gave more, or perhaps whose energy was more potent.

At first, it was a tie, but slowly the giant crescent that was the legendary Skyward Strike began to cut into Mirajane's magical beam. Link slashed again, firing off another sword beam, it fused with the force doubling its size. The slow cut grew faster, and then it grew again as Link fired a third slash, this one last of a projectile and more of a concentrated beam that crashed into his ongoing attack, giving it the strength needed to push through. However, Mirajane seemed to have decided she wouldn't run this time. Roaring, she grew the size of her attack, even as it was being split in half.

Light and darkness, two opposing forces clashed in the sky, the same sky Link had asked for power from. He did so again and swung his empowered sword directly into the ongoing struggle.

Light overtook darkness, although the latter screamed and roared in dying fury as the resulting blast grew to the size of a castle. Link felt the force throw him backwards, taking the brunt of it. He wasn't fast enough to raise his right arm and use his shield to block some of the force; it wasn't just a matter of speed, though, the truth was the pain in his shoulder was starting to get to him. The pain from his chest and face were becoming a problem as well. He'd pushed himself on pure willpower long enough, he needed to heal.

He also needed to slow his descent as much as he could. After all the time and glancing wounds his empowered cape had taken, its power was fading, as was the magic of Revali's Gale. Although it was dissipating, Link argued he had enough to ease his descent toward the ground, hopefully.

Link fell fast when the cape temporarily gave out. Looking down, he saw solid earth beneath him, and holes, lots and lots of lots. Gritting his teeth, tried to regain the magic. Although he felt it come to him, it was like grasping a fraying rope.

Don't panic. Revali's voice was remarkably calm and supportive. Ignore the pain and focus on your descent, the wind will aid you.

Despite the pain in his lungs and lips, he did just that. Three deep breaths and the connection returned, his once rapid descent slowing to a crawl. He heard the beating of wings on either side of him. A fourth deep breath and then a fifth, finally, he felt his feet touch solid ground.

Everything came undone the moment he touched down. Link fell forward, the Master Sword being the only thing keeping him upright as he sank to his knees. Blood and sweat poured down his face as he panted hard, which was itself a painful process.

Gotta…gotta…gotta…activate…gotta…

Link, Mipha's voice was the light in the storm he swam to. Moments later, he realized rather than him swimming toward her, she'd swam to him.

The familiar phantasmal feeling of her arms around his neck put him to ease. That relaxation was furthered by the sudden but much appreciated wave of warm relief washing over his body. His breathing leveled out. As the pain was washed away by the outgoing tide, the ingoing one brought forth a much-needed broth of strength that rapidly spread through Link's entire body. Instead of immediately rising as he sometimes did, he took the time to enjoy it.

His shield fell to the ground as he moved his right hand to grasp the arm around his neck. Even if it was that of a ghost, it was still solid enough for him to touch, just as it'd always been. "Thank you, Mipha." Link whispered.

He felt her resting her cheek against his face. Always, my love, but please…please…

"I'll be careful, Mipha. I promise." As always, he wanted her spirit to remain, but like water, she slipped through his grasp. Thanks to the dream he had while unconscious earlier, he wanted to hold onto her a little bit longer, almost feeling a desperate yearning for it. Would he have been fighting this battle if they'd succeeded in stopping Ganon a hundred years ago? Link honestly wondered what the answer would be. No, there's no use in asking what-ifs. You've got to live in the present, which is your responsibility to defend.

Finally looking up, he quickly realized he'd landed atop Crenel Hills, and it was one of the few landmarks left standing. Barely.

Craters the size of buildings dotted the landscape ahead of him, several blending into each other, and a few still housing fires at their center or on their edge. As far as his near superhumanly sharp eyes could see, the landscape had been decimated: blown to pieces and even carved in half by what had been a singular blast. There was practically nothing left of the once heavily green Crenel Isle Strip that stood between Central Hyrule and the Eldin Region. It was jaw-dropping, and horrifying.

Link stood up, testing his right arm while doing so. His shock gave way to muted stoicism, his previously default expression. "At least I got her away from Goron City." Looking out, he knew even without trying to use Vah Rudania as a makeshift flail, Mirajane Strauss would have annihilated the city. The destruction reminded him of the decimation she'd wrought on For Akkala when she first appeared. After another few seconds of surveying the damage, Link recalled the stat he'd left the Gorons in, especially Yunobo. "I better call-" The absence of the metal attachment caused his stoicism to falter, and then morph into panic. Looking down, he realized the Sheikah Slate was missing from his side. "What the? Where could it have-"

"Looking for this?"

The voice chilled his blood and made his heart race, but Link rapidly reconstructed a mask of forced calmness as he looked ahead of him.

She fell like a rock from the sky, shaking the immediate ground beneath her. Blood dripped from all over her body, yet she stood as fierce and determined as she had before, even with half a wing and both horn-ears cut off. What really drew his attention was the object the She-Demon had in her scaled hands.

"…That's what you were after." Link remarked.

"Outside of those four abilities of yours, this is the real source of your strength. A nifty little arsenal you can call upon, along with a few spells." Mirajane casually summarized. Gripping the Sheikah Slate with both hands, she broke it apart as easily as if she were snapping a twig. Both pieces were promptly crushed in her hands then dropped to the ground. "But no more games. It's time to end this, Hylian." The distortion in her voice sent a chill down her spine. "Behold, the true terror of a demon! Satan Soul: Mirajane Algeria!"

All her clothes and features vanished; normally, that'd have left her nude before his eyes, but the flareup of malefic magical energy obscured any such images. All that Link saw was her face, a pair of blood-red eyes and a vicious snarl. Like back in Eldin, the air grew hot and heavy with the burst of magical power, but this was ten times stronger. Link felt like a thousand pounds of weight were slung across his shoulders, bearing down on every inch of him. He was both gasping for breath and fighting the feeling of falling to his knees. Only sheer willpower kept him up, yet it forced him to watch as the woman before him took on a new horrifying form. The dark aura blazed like one of Mount Death's infamous eruptions, but what spewed forth was dread and darkness that shook the earth. Link could only stand atop the quivering hill, petrified at what he saw.

It wasn't the advent of the Calamity Ganon, instead, it was Dark Beast Ganon. Pure dark energy that was a blight on the world of light.

Only at the last second did he think to retrieve his shield, which had fallen to the ground as the demonic aura expanded outward. It was of little good as the dreadful pressure still consumed him; Link felt it violently squeezing every organ in his body, and even his soul. The grip was simultaneously cold as ice yet hot as magma, trying to eradicate him through the opposite sensations. He gritted his teeth and pushed back, attempting to force the feeling out.

His resistance saw him through the storm, or perhaps the first phase of it. Without a sign, the demonic aura vanished, at least from the naked eye. Link didn't relax, though, he couldn't seeing the source of it, its creator and owner, glaring back up at him.

She'd created a ten-meter crater around herself. Once again, Mirajane Strauss' form had changed, and somehow it was more outwardly than her previous forms. All her skin was covered by an incredibly form-fitting dark bodysuit with light blue lining running down either side of her chest; in the back of his mind, Link noted how it seemed to emphasize the jaw-dropping beauty the woman possessed. Her boots were segmented, ending heels that he knew wouldn't impede her in the slightest. Similar her previous forms, her hands were now covered in claw-tipped gauntlets, or perhaps those were her new hands, period. He immediately knew a punch from them would be hundreds of times stronger than the ones he'd previously endured, and that was saying a lot. Looking at her face, he noted another headbutt was probably out of the question thanks to the thorn-like headband she wore. Link made out some sort of insignia atop it, seemingly two hammers crossed together. Thanks to her, Mirajane's snow-white hair, once coated in blood, had been pulled into a long, flowing ponytail. It swayed in the wind, but his focus was more drawn to the wiggling, armored and segmented tendrils that sprouted from her back.

As if dealing with her tail wasn't bad enough. Looking at them, Link realized he'd actually take the tails of her previous form over this. At least she'd only had one in each of her prior forms, and they were unarmored.

"You're lucky this'll be quick."

THUUUNK!

The entire hill shattered beneath him, but Link, his entirely organic body, stood firm behind his shield, the enchanted metal pushing against the punch launched by the feminine demon. Her lips curved into a vicious smile barefoot of any disappointment at her opening strike being blocked. She probably saw it hadn't been easy for Link.

"Don't be so sure of that." Link calmly, and heatedly, fired back. What solid footing he had was crumbling, but he kept a cool head. All the strength he'd expanded from the moment he'd entered Goron City had returned, and he knew he was going to need every drop of it.

Growling, Link shoved her off and made his opening swing; it hit nothing but air as Mirajane spun aside and struck out with a kick. Like before, she was aiming for his shoulder, intent on shattering his left-arm as she'd done his right. Given the power she now held, Link had a feeling her attack would barrel straight through his shoulder and into his body. With what little footing he had left Link twisted his body at just the right time so her kick met his shield. His arm was still ringing from her previous punch, and it rung again as his blocked the spinning kick. With no solid foundation, he was launched like a pebble from a slingshot.

Revali's Gale was still charging up, so Link knew he'd have to make do with his natural abilities. More so since without the Sheikah Slate, all he had was the Master Sword and his Hylian Shield, a rather basic and minimal set of tools compared to what he'd been working with, but he'd worked with just as much, if not less.

A sword and shield, the trademark, and perfect weapons, for a knight.

He twisted his body around to catch Mirajane's punch, coming in from his right side. The Master Sword ignited with sparkling light as it pressed against the demon's fist. Its glow illuminated her face, a half-sneer and half-smile. Link just glared back and pushed her off, then parried her next punch, a taxing effort on his left arm. It might have been a conscious reflex or one fueled by pain, but he called forth more power out of the Master Sword, the mundane shine turned into a scorching blaze.

Mirajane grunted and swiftly pulled her arm back. She rotated her entire body giving Link an up close view of the six tendrils on her back; they all slammed into his shield, sending him in a new direction with his whole body groaning in pain.

He knew he was going to have to cut them off, especially before she used them to get a hold of his limbs and either break them or rip them off. Link didn't want to find out which would be worse.

Then again, getting blasted to smithereens by a blast of dark magic would have been pretty bad, too. Holding the Master Sword up, Link made a vertical swing that split the approaching beam in half.

One of those tendrils wrapped around his wrist while he saw another going for his throat. Although Link only had a split second to act, it was enough for him.

KRA-KOOOOM!

Mirajane's movements were slowed by the lightning storm, just enough for Link to wrench his sword arm free, as well as kick himself away from Mirajane.

"You're not the only one able to manipulate lightning!" Raising her fists, the lime green lightning that'd he'd called down conjugated around Mirajane's hand, becoming tinged with the magenta that symbolized her demonic power (and Ganon's). "Evil Spark!"

The remainder of the lightning constricted around the Master Sword, retaining its original color while being buffed by the sword's silvery light. "Let's see which one of us can do it better!"

KRA-KOOOOOOM!

The sound of thunder ripped through the area, carrying across Hyrule Plains and reaching Castle Town, where the people, already shaken by the demonic aura, were further shaken by the thunderclap. The sky was clear, yet they sensed a storm was brewing, one disturbingly close to their home. And with every second, they felt it growing bigger.

Grunting, Link pushed forward. A blue line raced down Mirajane's right arm, the blue quickly becoming stained red with blood. His grunting turned into a shout as he pushed harder, causing more blood to spray from his opponent's arm. Amidst the cackling thunder, he heard a distinctive hissing sound, the sound of demonic essence being purified by the power of the divine.

WHAM!

And…just after I finished getting my face haled. Link whimsically whilst pain exploded through his skull starting from his right-side cheek. As he thought, her current punches left her previous ones in the dust. If he hadn't activated Mipha's Grace before, his head would have caved in, albeit. As customary by this point, Link was distracted from the pain in his cheek by the gut punch Mirajane hit him with. With the residual lightning, he concentrated it into his shield and rammed it into her arm as hard as he could. Not the most effective shield bash, but it was driven more by instinct than logical thought; it did the trick in temporarily stunning her left arm while her right was still bleeding from his initial attack.

With the light and thunder empowering his sword, Link raised his sword for another strike, but Mirajane surprised him with a headbutt, one he instinctive jerked his head away from. His instincts were proven right as the thorns that decorated the headband extended, one grazing his forehead.

"Gah!" Her right arm was bleeding thanks to his earlier attack, but like him, Mirajane powered through the pain to move it. The next thing he knew, he was moving through the air, and then he stopped, crashing into the hard ground. "Hylia…that fucking hurt." Link groaned as he sat up, he felt aching pain in every corner of his body. Regardless, he found his way to his feet, spitting some blood out. In doing so, he noticed how barren the ground around him was, as well as the absence of a certain sound. "What the…" With what few seconds he had left, Link finally surveyed his immediate vicinity. Although Mirajane's earlier attacks had left craters in the Crenel Strip, Rozala River continued to flow eastward undeterred. No more. The entire river was gone.

All of it simply gone.

Did she…did her transformation cause all the water to-!

Another dark beam, coming in fast. Link knew in the short time he had he couldn't run away from it, maybe the beam itself but not the blast it'd create on impact. His right arm rose, the sun reflecting off the metallic frame of the Hylian Shield that met the attack. Link felt his feet sinking into the ground, which cracked beneath him as his body stood firm against the attack. Forget her punches, blocking her magical attacks were where his body really groaned in agony as he defended against her. His thoughts about the evaporated river was wiped away, his only focus was on surviving the magical beam bearing down on him like a mountain.

The Hylian Shield lived up to its reputation in holding off the attack, but Link felt the task was requiring a good deal of effort on his part. His arm was straining under the pressure, if he hadn't healed himself up he doubted he'd have the strength to keep the shield up. That same strength wasn't infinite.

Just as he started running over his options, Link felt a distinctive hum from the Master Sword in his left hand. Casting a quick glance at the weapon, he nodded, then swung it forward. Light shot from the tip until it hit the dark magic beam, disrupting it until the attack fizzled out like a doused fire. There was little time to savor it as Link's ears picked up the sound of rock cracking, from beneath him.

Rather than simply step back, he jumped back-it saved his life as two of the tendrils on Mirajane's back shot upward. Link silently commended her for launching a two-pronged attack, although he believed he'd just been handed an opportunity to do some about two of her extra limbs. Digging his heel into the ground, he lunged forward, swinging his sword in a wide horizontal arc.

KLING!

"Goddesses dammit!" He had a strong feeling the armor plating on the tail would be a problem, as the Master Sword bouncing off proved, he'd been right. Their armored hide was bad enough, but they seemed to grow to quadruple their original size, now the tendrils cast a shadow over the Hylian. With his attempt to cut them down having failed, Link fail back; he had too, considering the tendrils were still rising and tearing apart the ground around them.

A mere evasive step back turned into a full-on sprint as the tendrils completely tore up the ground like a flimsy sheet of paper. No matter how far he ran, he felt the ground continue to shake beneath his feet, and his dearly beloved sixth sense continuously screaming at him to run. That's what he was doing! Running for his life! Again!

Revali's Gale is read, use it now!

"Don't need to tell me, Revali!" He literally leaped as far as he could while simultaneously activating the spell. The scorched but still functional Roc's Cape came to life, lifting him straight up. It was a relief to feel his feet leave the ground, although he felt that continued sense of danger gnawing at him. Turning his head back, he saw why.

The tendrils were the size of stone columns, but with all the flexibility of organic tentacles, an octopus' tentacles. Dark magic sipped from the segmented armor plates, hanging in the air like some sort of toxic pollutant. The other four tendrils on Mirajane's back were sticking out, wiggling either on her conscious command or of their own will-Link found both highly disturbing. Seeing he'd taken flight, her crimson eyes narrowed. She began to spin, taking all six of her tentacles with her. The two still buried underground rose up, further breaking apart the ground before shrinking down somewhat to join the other six. In seconds, Mirajane became a magical twister, whipping up wind and darkness as a giant tornado whose suction Link immediately felt.

Panic seized his heart anew as he felt himself being pulled back. Mirajane's dark tornado was easily bigger and deadlier than any Windblight Ganon had conjured.

Using all his might, as well as the lingering will of his Rito rival, Link resisted the twister's suction. Unlike him, the surrounding area wasn't as resistant. Chunks of the land as far as the Trilby Plains were uprooted and pulled in. No matter how big, the chunks were pulverized into nonexistence. Arcs of red lightning began to shoot out and twist around the vortex. Seeing it, Link realized he had an extremely strong desire to avoid getting struck by it. Easier said than done considering the tornado's suction was growing stronger by the second. It was practically tearing up all of Crenel Strip, if the river had still been around, it'd have been sucked up, too.

Inevitably, it started to suck in the clouds as well, having reached the sky. The once clear sky had turned dark and stormy. Link could have sworn the thunder that seemingly boomed from above was his death toll, telling him this time, his time really had come.

NO! I'M NOT FINISHED YET!

While still struggling against the wind, he raised his sword up. Although light shot forth through the gathering storm clouds, it wasn't enough. Link knew what he needed was a blade powerful enough to cleave the sky in half. He could almost have sworn the sky itself answered him in response to the dark power intruding upon it.

Link ceased his resistance and allowed him to be pulled toward the tornado. In no time, it'd become a massive black, purple, and red twister miles high, connecting the sky and the earth, sucking both into its infinite darkness. It wasn't just tall but wide as well, a thick wall of twisting shadow matter that the Hylian now actively flew toward. He was literally a bird heading straight into a storm. Granted, in his hand was a sword of light a mile high, shining brightly in the suddenly darkened world.

"HYYYYYAAAAAAH!" Bellowing as loud as the thunder above him, Link brought the Master Sword down, its blade a pillar of divine light that cleaved through the sky. As he hoped, and as he knew it would, it cut into the tornado, slashing through it as if it were paper. He kept going until he hit the ground, and even then, Link felt the Master Sword's extended blade cutting into the earth; his pointed ears registered the sound of the earth once more giving way under the force of a greater power. He spared the rupturing ground only a second-long glance, his focus moved back to Mirajane, still airborne but hissing in pain as blue fire ate at her withdrawn tentacles. "HYYYAAAH!" Flicking his wrist, he swung again, in a horizontal arc that caught her. As much as he wanted to say the fight hadn't become personal, Link found something darkly delightful in hearing her scream in pain. Being on the back foot for most of the fight had riled him up more than he cared to admit.

"AAAARRRAAAAAHHH!"

ZWWWWOOOOSH! THOOOMP!

He accelerated toward her while delivering another slash, three good hits that left her reeling in agony. Some part of Link knew it'd have been more logical to go for a forth, but old habits were hard to break. Shield bashes had always been a favorite move of his-there was just something nice and enjoyable about bashing his shield into enemies. When said shield had deflected their prior blows, that was a bonus in Link's mind.

Mirajane's beautiful, terrifying face became screwed up as the enchanted metal slammed into it and she was sent hurdling backward. Her storm dissipated as quickly as it'd come. Blood trailed her body as she temporarily slid backward; when she stopped, there was hateful fire in her eyes. Her right arm was reared back, darkness amassing into a perfect orb around her fist.

BOOM! BOOM! BOO! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A sword of light against fists of darkness, they'd done this dance before, yet Link still found something darkly exhilarating in it. Despite the danger he knew the woman posed, he was enjoying fighting with her.

Link doubted the feeling was mutual. He could still feel the raw hatred that characterized Hyrule's oldest enemy emitting from her. Up so close, seemingly with her strongest form, Link saw the thick wisps of Malice in her eyes, flashing brighter by the second. Looking into those eyes, he saw the cybernetic monstrosity he'd encountered in Hyrule Castle, and later the massive board he'd battled on the central fields.

I guess your hatred really won't die that-

He'd spoken a second too soon, apparently. The dark red and black of her eyes gave way like a curtain being pulled away, revealing innocent blue. Link was awestruck by it, and those eyes were equally startled.

Who-

The darkness rushed back, much like an undammed river. Link's instincts stepped in, leading him to attack, but all he slashed was air. Dark sparks danced in his frontal view, following them he saw Mirajane's tendril tips emitting them like embers from a torch. The next thing he knew, he was flying backward, his right side hurting like hell. He cursed his carelessness until he felt another blow smashing into his lower left side. Ribs weren't simply cracked, they were broken, and then something burned at his skin and insides. Fighting through the immediate pain, he saw an open palm in front of him.

Tasting blood in his mouth, Link swing his sword, an arc of energy following the blade. Given its size, Mirajane fell back, but not before clasping her hands together. From them shot a blast of dark magic, and up his Hylian Shield went. Blocking the beam carried him all the way back down to the ground and pushed him over it. If he hadn't worn the thickest, toughest pair of boots he had available, Link knew his feet would look like shredded logs. There was a good chance they might still end up looking like that went this was over with.

Following the beam's origin, he saw Mirajane, hundreds of meters away keeping the pressure on him with her energy beam. All six of her tendrils, some of the armor cracked, reared up; he knew exactly what that meant.

Ooooh boy, this isn't going to be easy. Spoke a booming phantom voice.

It's never been easy, but if it were, my heart wouldn't be pounding like this. He wasn't entirely sarcastic. On some level, Link meant it, that toxic thrill that came with a good fight was pumping through his veins, even as he knew fully well if he fell his kingdom would fall with it. Into the shield.

Right. Link almost felt Daruk's hands clap down his shoulder in comforting assurance. He'd have loved to have his Goron brother beside him at the moment. Revali. Urbosa. Mipha.

They're all with me in spirit, and…it's going to be enough! The tendrils were flying at him like murderous arrows. The moment they reached him would be his moment to cut them down. After they went, he could get in close and try to finish this off once and for all or get himself some breathing room so he could heal.

CCCHHRRRRRNNNK!

"What the-underground!" Although Daruk's Protection activated, he didn't channel it into his shield but manifest it in its normal way. The fire barrier formed up around him, although it cracked like glass in withstanding the spear-like thrusts from below and above. Link panted, partially in relief at the quick save, but Mirajane left him to bask in his quick-thinking for no more than a second.

She was coming at him with another rapidly expanding orb of dark magic. Link remembered it from before, an attack that started as a sphere then bursting into an all-destructive beam.

"Not this time!" Angling the Master Sword just right, he thrusted it forward just as the sphere erupted into a beam.

Link kept his eyes locked on the demon's as their attacks violently wrestled with one another, his sword beam attempting to penetrate through the darkness like a spear. He braced his legs and pushed forward against the pressure, ignoring the screaming of his arm muscles and side. Being split down the middle, the demon's dark energy flailed about, cleaving into the ground around them. If he faltered Link knew although the Master Sword might survive, his arm wouldn't, and he didn't want to wager if Mipha's Grace would be able to heal that.

He gritted his teeth and pushed, feeling like it was punching through molten lava. Oddly enough, strength came to him as he expended it. From his right side he saw Mirajane taking a swing at him with her right arm, his shield rose, knocking it aside. The Master Sword's tip reached Mirajane's palm, light penetrating the darkness, and the result was an explosion that blew Link and his opponent back dozens of meters.

The world spun multiple times before finally coming to a stop. Link felt an unending tingle in his left arm as he pushed himself off the ground. Amidst his panting and the sizzling of the earth, he looked up and saw Mirajane stumbling backward, clenching her right arm. It was singled up to the elbow with blood dripping from it. She gasped and screamed the Malice contorting around her as it too was still reeling from the pain. He knew his chance and took a running dash toward her, screaming in battle-driven fury. It was a stupid, impulsive move that cost him.

THOOOM!

While the tingling in his left arm continued, his right groaned in pain as his shield withstood the thunderous punch of Mirajane's left hand. She drove him back, his feet leaving trench marks along the ground, yet he didn't give in.

BOOM!

The smell of scorched metal reached his nose, but Link wasn't concerned with the damaged state of his shield. Looking up, he saw his opponent had taken to the skies once more. Left arm stretched out with another magic circle, he braced for another attack. "Evil Explosion!"

He swung at the vortex, not even realizing how much power the Master Sword had accumulated. Despite the light beam's size, it moved fast, as fast as…light itself. The magical bombs were stopped, or rather, destroyed. A scream of pain came out from the demon as she was engulfed by the attack and vanished in an explosion of blue and white light. One heartbeat later and Mirajane herself emerged crashing into the spot where Link had formerly been. Her fist dug into the earth, sending magical energy pulsating through it.

With a flap of ethereal wings, Link took to the skies, watching as enough land to contain a town erupted in darkness. He was awed and terrified once more, but those emotions gave way to razor sharp focus as Mirajane shot her top tendrils at him. Darkness lined their tips, ready to spear him for good. He could practically see them slicing through the air to get to him.

Time slowed to a crawl for him as he used the air magic of his rival to spin out of the way. Link felt the heated pressure of the tendrils as they continued skyward. Before they could move to swat him, he rammed the Master Sword into the underside of one of them. Armor gave way to flesh, and with his sword embedded in such, he channeled as much light-based magic as he could into the blade. The painful feedback was near immediate as evident by Mirajane's screaming from a hundred feet down.

Grabbing onto the squirming tendril, Link breathed in and began to heave. That breath turned into another battle cry as he lifted the demonic woman up and then slammed her into the ground overhead. He saw the ground crack under the impact as he dragged his sword across the tendril he held, practically cutting it in two. It limply lay attached, barely dangling on by a few sinews of flesh as it and the second one were suddenly reeled back. While I've got the airtime! To the skies his sword was pointed once more. The mile-high sword of light returned, and with it Link dived toward the crippled demon.

ZWWWWOOOOSH!

Like him, she waited to dodge at the last second. Link was impressed as he knew how timing such an evasion could be tricky in a wounded state, but his respect didn't mean he was going to let up. Nor did his wounds keep him from exhibiting lightning-fast reflexes of his own.

On the second time around, he got her. All the She-Demon had time to do was put up all her tendrils in a protective cocoon. Her entire body vanished in the blast of light that erupted from his descending slash, but Link felt his physical sword cutting into something. That was good enough for him-knowing his attack had landed, and more than likely dealt damage. Serious damage. Link hoped it was enough to end the battle.

A fist rammed its way into his gut, knocking the air out of him-enough of an answer. He could have dealt with a punch, but it turned out to be just the start, Link screamed as he felt yet another magical beam tearing into him, this one coming at point-blank range, and right into his stomach. The last vestiges of Daruk's Protection held out for as long as they could, but even they finally gave out. Link had no choice but to bear the brunt of the blast, at least for the next ten seconds, ten agony-filled seconds.

He was on his knees again, blood splattering on the grass. His vision was hazy and spotted, he had to force it to clear up. Stabbing his sword into the ground, he sat up, ignoring the stinging pain in his stomach and left side. Both wounds would be healed when he activated-

"RAAAAAAAAAHHHH! I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU, NOT AGAIN, HYLIAN!"

The yell penetrated the depths of his skull so thoroughly it rattled his brain. Although the distance of a field separated him and his opponent, he saw her thanks to the flaring dark aura. With its red eyes and fiery mane, Link recognized the face the darkness was shaping into. As the scream echoed across the field, he coolly placed the rage-filled voice with that of the animalistic screams of the Scourge of Hyrule Castle. Although feeling wobbly, he looked at the towering dark aura while the ground trembled.

Instead of trembling, Link laughed. He laughed at the angry face that fixed him with pure hatred. Although he felt the exact same, he recognized a show of bluster when he saw one.

"You know, if we take this just a few miles, we'll be back there, again. The same place I defeated you last time, Ganon." He called out, knowing the spirit could hear him.

A growl was all the spectral face made before dissipating, but not the darkness that overflowed from the menace's puppet. Focusing on her, Link saw his last attack had succeeded in removing all her tendrils and blasting away much of her bodysuit. She was on her last legs, but there was still power within her, enough power she seemed to shake the world like a toy. Link's move to heal was halted as he watched Mirajane cup her hands together by her left side, purple darkness swirled between her palms forming into a black sphere. No, not just darkness, the air itself seemed to be pulled in, too. Link felt the very breath from his lungs leaving him as the orb continued to feed-it was more of a vortex in the shape of a sphere than anything.

T-That attack! I-I-It's got more power than all her previous ones put together and multiplied by thousands! Swiftly looking back, he made out the distant silhouette of Castle Town to his far left. Although not in the line of fire, Link knew if he fell, Mirajane would destroy it, and Hyrule Castle, using that same attack. It'd all be over in a-

"SOUL EXTINCTOR!"

It was the largest energy blast he'd ever seen, bigger even than the ones fired by Dark Beast Ganon. He really was only an insect before a tidal wave, about to wash over him and wipe away any trace of his existence.

After me…she'll…he'll kill everyone in Hyrule. Everyone. Everyone… The faces of Kakariko Town flashed in his mind. Impa and Paya. The faces of the army, of his comrades. The modern Champions, his fellow Champions. Their domains, their people. Castle Town. Zelda. Everyone. Everyone he'd come to care about. I…I…I WON'T LOSE THEM! NOT AGAIN!

Light exploded from his right hand as he raised the Hylian Shield and called for Daruk's Protection. The spectral Goron slammed his hands together conjuring his namesake defense. Fire fused with light, forming a triangular wall in front of him, its manifestation came a second before the dark beam slammed into him, erasing everything in every direction. Link groaned, and then screamed, feeling himself being pushed backward several paces. Even with the barrier, he felt constant, bone-crushing pressure from every direction. Heat and cold assaulted him as his already injured body stood against it all.

FORWARD! FORWARD, LINK!

Every step stressed his body to no end, yet before he knew it, he was running. Cracks appeared in his shield and the darkness began to break through and stab at him, yet Link continued to sprint forward. He knew at the end of this beam lay the demon, the plague of Hyrule. He was going to cut it down, one way or another. Duty and determination burned in his eyes and raced through his veins. Nothing could stop him, not the pain eating away at his body or the metal twisting around his right arm. From it glowed a golden light that guided him onward. To his left, the Master Sword shined with renewed light, seemingly turning from steel to pure energy.

Like a mantra, he repeatedly commanded himself to keep going, no matter the pain in his body, and there was much of that. Link felt his cheeks burning and his eyes clouding over, but as the darkness seemed to close in on his vision, he swung the Master Sword. All at once, the darkness broke, revealing a stunned Mirajane. With a yell, he pushed his body forward one final time and brought his sword down, both hands tightly wrapped around the sword's hilt.

Her eyes whitened as his blade moved down her right shoulder to her left hip. All the darkness was extinguished like a snuffed-out candle, she and Link were left in a soundless void. Light continued to pour from the Master Sword and burst from his palm, constantly illuminating Mirajane's stunned face.

"Ah…ahhh…ahhh…o-o-out…g-g-get…out…of…me."

"…Huh?"

Blood gushed from the diagonal wound while a familiar essence rose from Mirajane's stiff body. Link recognized the face of Ganon, but contorted in pain as the spirit found its puppet too weak to continue, and apparently tired of its possession.

Life returned to Mirajane's eyes as she turned her head around, blue iris glaring up at the specter. "Get…out…of…"

"NO!" Bellowed the face. It descended back into her body like a dropped guillotine. The blue eyes Link previously gleaned turned red and black. Her formerly stiff body jerked, but the movements were forced, blood gushing from the wound he'd created. From behind, the six severed tentacles reared up, attempting to regenerate, but the effort was for naught. "I-I…I…I…I AM GANON! I AM THE DEMON KING! I AM-"

Mirajane's left arm rose, coated in Malice that seemed to be screaming bloody murder.

SHUNK!

Link's body moved on instinct, but by the time his conscious mind caught up to his actions, he found himself not caring. Blood splattered against his wrist as Mirajane grasped for it, but her hands trembled. The Malice enshrouding her left arm was dimmed, but still there. "Shut…up, bastard. You're no king. You're just…a relic, so…shut up and go back to hell!" Light from the Triforce on his palm seemingly funneled into the Master Sword, embedded in Mirajane's abdomen.

"GAAAAAAHHH! GAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Finally, the woman grasped his wrist, but instead of trying to pull him away, she drove his sword deeper. "GET THE HELL OUT OF ME!"

Ganon's vestige rose, screaming in pain as light shot through Mirajane's body, then consumed her entire body. It forced Ganon's roaring face away, but it didn't stop there. The light ate away at it, the Malice-borne face being destroyed as simply as the sludge-like piles that polluted the land those three years ago. Although the face raged, it was all for naught; those screams faded away just as the darkness did, leaving nothing behind to be scattered to the wind.

"…Gone…he's…finally…gone." Whispered a feminine voice filled with relief.

Link looked back at the woman still impaled on his sword. Her transformation came undone revealing ragged clothes and a bloody body. White hair was singed and caked with blood, falling over her face in a messy curtain. Turning to him, he saw her tired yet joyful eyes alight with tears. Despite the blood pouring from her lips, she smiled at him in gratitude.

"Thank…you…" She gasped.

Her eyes weren't those of a demon, they were the eyes of a woman. A happy woman. A relieved woman. A woman dying on his sword.

"Please, Sir Link, I…I know this may sound like a ridiculous request, but I beg you, save Mirajane! She's not evil! I know it! I got to know the real her! She's not evil, she's a good person, just one being controlled! Please, break the spell over her!" Helen Martley begged him when he and Zelda had visited their home. She spoke with earnest emotion as she bowed her head to him.

Zelda's words came back to him, sounding almost painful as he watched Mirajane's eyes gradually fade out. "You can save her. Now that you know she's not pure evil, that she's just an innocent woman trapped in the darkness, you can save her. I know you can."

"N-No…no, no, no." Guided emotion, he removed his sword, causing Mirajane's blood to further gush out. Link realized his error too late, furthering his horror. She fell backward having lost the only thing keeping her upright. As quickly as he could, Link caught her although his own legs gave out. Although shock and horror were crashing into him, so too were pain and exhaustion. Link realized he'd pushed himself as far as he could, beyond what his iron will could allow him to achieve. "H-Hey, hang on! Stay with me! Mirajane, please! Stay with me!" She turned her head to face him, skin and eyes pale. He immediately knew there was only one thing he could do to save her.

Wheezing, she spoke, "You…you…know…my name."

Link placed both his hands over her stomach wound. The hot blood felt like acid against his worn fingers, yet he kept them steady over her. "Helen told me. She…told me about you." Mipha, please. I know you said you'd always heal me, but please. This time, I need you to heal someone else! I need you to-

A spectral hand fell over his, steadying his trembling. The familiar presence that he always found comfort in was there, soothing the maelstrom of fear within him. Link didn't look back at her, he knew she was there and that was enough, not to mention the woman before him needed his focus. Light shined from his right hand, a golden Triangle flashing bright. He took that as a sign and summoned forth every bit of power he had left in his body. The pain inside and out vanished.

Light and water fell over Mirajane's body, now resting atop a puddle of ever-growing blood. "Who…are you?" Came her still whispering voice.

Through the light, he looked at her face. It was still pale and caked in blood, but he saw a glimmer of life lingering in her now blue eyes. Looking into them, he felt further calmed, an unexplainable sense of tranquility falling over him despite the situation. "Link," he replied. "My name's Link."

Her blue eyes, now innocent and full of warmth despite the situation, twinkled. "Ah…it's…nice to meet you, Link."

Seeing such joy ignited something in Link's heart. Dizziness, pain, and exhaustion seemingly melted away as he worked his lips into a slight smile as well.

---

I'm really starting to think 20,000 words is becoming my mean for "season finales." That's exactly what this chapter was. The end of season one, part one, the first arc, however you want to call it. The big blowout fight I originally conceived between Link and Mirajane took form this chapter, and it ran a bit longer than I originally thought it would. This was the final battle between the two where they threw just about everything they had at each other; in Mirajane's case, this was the fight where I wanted her to use Satan Soul: Mirajane Alegeria, her strongest Satan Soul and have it go up against Link.

To be clear, Link spent the entire battle fighting uphill with the Master Sword being his ace in the hole with his sheer tenacity making up the lag. He's extremely tough, but Mirajane had him outmatched in strength and magical abilities, the latter of which I played with a little. Although Link's Champion Abilities had greatly reduced cooldown times (which I'll be explaining later), it wasn't a match for Mirajane's flat out stronger magic spells, but those spells could be countered through ingenuity or the Master Sword's divine power. I mentioned this way back in Chapter 2 where they first fought that the Master Sword's the most effective weapon against Mirajane's demon-based magic, but I wanted to show she's capable of fighting through it the same way Link could power through injuries himself.

Since this was Mira and Link's final battle, I decided to go a little wild with the collateral damage, at least as much as I felt I could get away with. As fun as it was playing around in the Eldin Region, I wanted the fight to reach its climax on the plains of Hyrule, namely the Central Plains (and people losing their homes seemed incredibly mean-spirited given what's happening in California). Taking some inspiration for Death Battle and fanon matchups, I replicated Mirajane Algeria evaporating a nearby water source upon activation, an environment effect I always loved.

Mirajane breaking Link's Sheikah Slate was something I thought of while writing, and it helped finalize how their last round would go. Pretty much all of Link's weaponry and gear were tied to the Slate, including the runes. Without it, he'd be left with whatever equipment he had on him and the Champion's abilities, a nice way to build tension, and given the weapons he ended up with (as well as how he wielded them), a good callback. Hopefully, I gave the Master Sword a good showing as I wanted to bring its nature as a holy sword to the forefront; in the next arc, I'm going to be focusing on some other aspects of it, one of which I'm sure you readers can take a guess at considering how the sword behaved.

I suppose this is me opening the new year with a big, more so considering the Switch 2 has officially been announced. Expect the next chapter sometime before the next Nintendo Direct (hopefully). Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you thought of it, and until next time!