Updated right on time today, although I'm still a little late than I wanted. Thank you all, as always, for your feedback and views.

Without anymore talking, onward to the chapter.

Chapter 15: Sword Dancer

The inside of the mine was cool and damp. From what Kratos could see, the tunnel hadn't been in use for decades. Although the equipment still seemed to be functional, despite the layer of rust and dust on the metal.

The lights that hung from the rafters were also still working, showing that this tunnel was build well and for long-term use. From the shines that were on the walls, this appeared to be an iron mine.

"This place reminds me of my dad's old home," Lloyd remarked.

"What do you mean?" Kratos asked.

"Well, my dad used to live in a cave years before I came to live with him," Lloyd explained. "When he took me in, he built the house you saw."

"Dirk built it in just over two months," Colette added.

"Just two months, that is impressive even by dwarves standards," Kratos said.

Lloyd nodded. "Dad put a lot of blood and sweat to give me a normal home. Although, I did kind of like the cave."

Genis began to chuckle. "It seems like Lloyd becomes more like a dwarf every year."

"That is not necessarily a bad thing," Raine said. "Lloyd has a level of experience with another culture that most people would never have in their lives. If more humans had his exposer, they may become more open to people who are different."

Genis' eyes suddenly became downcast. "...yeah."

Kratos could hear the hurt in the boy's voice. Given the origins of the siblings, it all made perfect sense.

He was happy that Lloyd had not turned into a bigot, but he wondered why the Sages never told him the truth. Surely, they must know that Lloyd wasn't like normal humans. Then again, he has learned that paranoia could do strange things to people.

"Hey Colette, what is this cry for help you hear anyway?" Lloyd suddenly asked.

Colette lowered her head. "It isn't so much a cry, but more like a feeling," Colette attempted to explain. "I actually felt it when I accidentally opened that mine shaft, but I wasn't sure what it was at that time."

"It could be because you are growing closer to the Goddess Martel and it is making you more sensitive to the plight of others," Raine stated.

"But Colette was already sensitive to other's feelings," Genis pointed out.

Raine nodded. "I'm aware of that, but becoming an angel could make her even more sensitive." She hesitated between parts of her explanation since she didn't want to accidentally reveal Colette's fate.

"But who could be way down here?" Lloyd asked in confusion. "I mean, besides that weird girl, it looks like no one has been down here in years."

"I know...I just want to know who it is so I can help them," Colette said.

The more the Chosen talked; the more Kratos was reminded of Martel. What they were doing was exactly what Martel would have suggested if she were here. A part of him wondered if ones' mana signatures somehow influence behavior.

"I wonder how big this tunnel is?" Genis wonder out loud. "It took that assassin the same length of time to get out of here as it took us to cross the trail."

"Maybe so, but there are several factors that you're not accounting for," Raine said. "Most likely, that assassin was knocked unconscious when she landed. Even if she wasn't, she would still have to nurse her injuries to the point she would be able to still fight us. Not to mention that one can easily get lost in these tunnels."

Genis nodded. "I see your point."

"I just hope we don't get stuck here for hours," Lloyd whined.

"Bored already?" Genis asked smugly.

"Shut up, Genis!" Lloyd snapped.

"Behave yourselves," Kratos said firmly, which ended any further arguments.

They walked for almost twenty minutes with little fanfare. There weren't any monsters in the mine, most likely because of the wooden gate that shielded the area, although Kratos could feel that demonic area growing stronger by every moment.

This wasn't a normal demon, that much he could conclude. If he didn't know better, he would think that this demon came from Niflheim, but that wasn't possible. As far as he knew, the gate to Niflheim was still sealed. If the door were opened, this world as well as Tethe'alla would have become part of the demon realm.

That would also mean that Ratatosk was dead. Although the old summon spirit of the Kharlan Tree hasn't been seen in millenniums, it was unlikely that he had died. Mithos would be one of the first to know because of his pact with Origin. Then again, there are other ways for demons to enter this world. Maybe it was best not to think too much about it.

"What...what's that!?" Genis exclaimed as he backed into his sister.

They had reached a dead end and on the ground laid a large black skeleton. It look several feet tall and had horns on its skull. Kratos wrecked through his memory to think of what kind of creature this could be. So far, however, nothing came to mind.

"What an interesting specimen," Raine noted as she took out her monster book. "I've never seen a breed like this before. I can't even tell what it was."

"It is still alive," Kratos said in a deadpan voice.

"Is it an undead monster?" Genis questioned.

Colette ignored all the talking and walked towards the creature.

"Colette, be careful," Lloyd warned.

Colette knelt forward to get a better look. "Are you the one who called for help?"

The creature appeared to take a long breath, startling everyone except Kratos. "I...fight...strong ones," the creature muttered in a voice so soft that it was barely audio. "You...face me..."

"Fight, you want to fight us?" Colette asked.

"What kind of help is that?" Lloyd asked.

"This thing is crazy," Genis said. "Let's get out of here before it attacks us."

Colette shook her head. "But it's in pain. We can't just leave it here."

"I don't know what this creature is, but it seemed to have called us here because it believes we're strong enough to defeat it," Kratos said.

Raine rubbed her chin. "So, it wants to lose in battle?"

Colette stood back up. "We should fight him then."

"Are you crazy!?" Genis exclaimed. "We don't know what this thing will do to us!"

"Fighting him would put you in great risk," Raine informed Colette. "Remember your duty as the Chosen."

Colette shook her head. "But we just can't turn our backs on someone in need." She then turned towards Lloyd. "What do you think?"

Lloyd bit his lip in thought. He wasn't feeling all that confident about fighting this creature. Just looking at him sent shivers down his spin. A part of him wanted to run out this cave as fast as possible and forget he ever saw this overgrown skeleton.

At the same time, however, it did seem wrong to just leave this guy as he was. Although he couldn't sense the creature's distress like Colette, he could see how pitiful this creature had become. Here he was in this abandon mine all but forgotten, longing for someone to challenge him. It kind of reminded him of the old stories his dad used to tell him about warriors looking for one last battle before they died. He wasn't sure if this creature wanted the exact same thing, but it was a possibility.

"I think we should help it," Lloyd finally said.

Genis sighed. "You both have lost your minds."

Kratos also had to keep himself from sighing. "If that is what the Chosen wants." He just hoped this doesn't force him to reveal himself.

"I guess we have no choice then," Raine muttered.

Lloyd stepped forward to face the creature. "We accept your challenge."

The creatures empty eyes sockets began to glow with reddish orbs. "Prepare...to DIE!" it roared that last part as it reared itself from the ground.

Dirt and dust flew everywhere as it revealed its full height to everyone. It had to be at least twenty feet tall since it head hovered just inches away from the ceiling. With a thought, the creature summoned his blades to his four hands. They hovered above the ground for a few seconds as he grasped each one. Each of the blades looked to be half the creature's height.

"This looks bad," Genis muttered.

Raine held her staff ready. "This is going to be a arduous battle."

"Mortals...prepare to meet your end...at the hand of the Sword Dancer," it growled.

"Sword Dancer?" Kratos repeated.

The creature ran towards the group and had it blades ready to strike. Lloyd put his own swords up and performed Guardian to block the incoming attack. It quickly proved to be in vain, however, when the Sword Dancer slammed his swords into Lloyd's shield so hard that it shattered on impact.

"Lloyd!" Genis yelled in panic as he finished his spell. "Stone Blast!"

Several rocks hit the Sword Dancer head on, but it barely stunned it. It did, however, buy Lloyd enough time roll out the way. He was still shaken badly from the attack.

"Angel Feathers!" Colette yelled as her rings of light hit the creature. It gave a loud scream of pain as the light spell burn through him.

"As I thought, he is weak against light spell," Kratos said. Now more than ever did he wish he could use his angel powers.

Genis nodded as he charged enough spell. "Then let's try, Fireball!"

Several fireballs hit the Sword Dancer, but it didn't slow down as he ran towards the young mage. Genis screamed at the creature brought down its swords on him.

"Barrier!" Raine yelled.

The shield absorbed some of the attack, but it didn't hold as it went through the barrier and hit Genis. The boy stood their stun as blood rushed from his opened wound.

"GENIS!" Raine screamed as she franticly worked her healing spell.

Kratos used this time to charge in for his own attack. "Light Spear!"

He attacked only reached its legs, but it was enough to get its attention. Lloyd rejoined the fight and performed Tempest to hit the demon's tall body. He then followed it by thrusting his sword several times into the Sword Dancer's body while he was still in midair.

Kratos had to admit that Lloyd was becoming better with that strange attack of his.

The Sword Dancer, however, was not as impress as it attempted to cut Lloyd in half.

"Angel Feathers!" Colette yelled again, causing the Sword Dancer to reel in pain as it attempted to escape the blades of feather and light.

Genis mourned in pain as he slow recovered from his wound. Even with Raine's magic, he could still see a giant red line where the Sword Dancer had hit him. He had a feeling that was going to turn into a scar.

"Are you alright?" Raine asked, her voice full with concern as she looked over her brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Genis muttered. "But my spells have no effect on it."

Raine shook her head. "Low levels spells like yours are no match for a creature from the underworld. Stand back."

Genis was hurt by Raine's words as she ran over to give support to the others. Lloyd and Kratos were barely holding their own, even with Colette's help. Although Colette's spell caused the most damage, it still wasn't strong enough to take down the creature.

Lloyd felt energy surging through him as he willed more power into his exsphere. "Double Demon Fang!" he yelled as he released two Demon Fangs from each of his swords.

The Sword Dancer deflected both of the attacks, however, and brought one swords down that sent a wave of dark energy that sent Lloyd flying.

Kratos responded by releasing his own giant wave of mana that cut through one of the demon's rib bones. Since it was a walking skeleton, it had little effect.

Colette was completely exhausted at this point and had little mana left. Raine quickly realized what was wrong and ran over to give Colette an orange gel.

"Eat this, it will help you feel better," Raine ordered.

Colette took the jelly like orange drop and carefully ate it. She never had one before since she didn't used mana in her attacks until now.

Her eyes lit up when she felt the rush of mana going through her. "Wow, I do feel much better."

Raine nodded. "Don't drop your guard."

Her warning didn't come a moment too soon before a wave to dark energy nearly hit them. Colette quickly used her Damage Guard to repel most of the attack.

Kratos growled in frustration as he attempted another Light Spear. This demon was tough and he couldn't use any of his strongest attacks against it. To make matters worst, no one in this group was really prepared for this type of battle.

The Chosen only knew one angel spell, Lloyd was still a novice with his swords, Miss. Sage's healing abilities left a lot to be desire, and the boy was still using low-level spells. At this rate, one or more of them was going to get killed. Looks like he would have no choice but to go all out.

Genis watched in frustration as he saw his friends fighting for their lives. He felt so useless. He wanted to help, but he has been nothing but a burden. It was his fault that Lloyd was even here. If he hadn't taken him to that Ranch, Lloyd would be safe in Iselia, the village wouldn't have been burnt down, and Marble would still be...

He felt tears build in his eyes as he thought about Marble. He looked to his exsphere and felt the warmth of his human friend. This was all that was left of Marble. She gave her life to save theirs and here he was doing nothing with that life.

He wanted to be stronger so he could protect his friends. He wanted to help others, like Lloyd. Genis looked up to see Lloyd perform a series of swords slashes and thrusts against the Sword Dancer. Although he had less skill than Kratos, he more than made up for it with his heart. That was the heart that he wanted.

Genis felt the exsphere on his hand warm up and shot through his body. For a moment, he could have sworn he heard Marble's voice and saw her face in his mind's eye. He felt knowledge come into his head and his mana swirling like tornado.

He stood up and began to chant the new spell. "Burn!" Genis yelled as he ready his spell. "Eruption!"

Several waves of lava suddenly pulsed from the ground and engulfed the Sword Dancer. It gave a short scream of both surprise and pain as the demon attempted to pull itself out of the lave.

"What was that!?" Lloyd exclaimed.

Kratos looked towards Genis and saw his exsphere pulse with mana. It would appear that the boy's friend came through for him, even in death.

"Genis learned a midlevel spell," Raine stated in awe. The timing was almost too perfect.

"Congratulation, Genis!" Colette cheered.

"Save it for later!" Kratos yelled as the Sword Dancer got back into position. It bones were nearly black from the lava, but it was hardly down.

"Kratos, back me up on the heals," Raine said as she charged a spell.

Kratos took a quick glance at the Professor. "She's going to attempt that."

"Photon!" Raine yelled as a ball of light exploded in the Sword Dancer's face. The agonizing scream it made was enough to cause the group to cover their ears.

"Raine, you know an offensive light spell?" Genis questioned in awe.

"I have been working on it since I knew I was going on the Journey of Regeneration," Raine revealed. "I wasn't too confident to use it until now."

Kratos nodded in approval. It would appear he underestimated the group.

The Sword Dancer, however, was still able to recover and slammed both its swords into the ground, causing a small earthquake that caused rocks to fell from the ceiling and hit the group.

"Man, this guy is still going?" Lloyd asked in annoyance.

"You thought this would be easy?" Kratos questioned as he released two Demon Fangs at the demon.

"Eruption!" Genis yelled as he once again released a wave of lava and fire.

The Sword Dancer was prepared this time and was able to move out of the way enough to avoid the full impact of the spell. He was, however, nailed by Colette's Angel Feathers.

It attempted to take the fledging angel out with a swift swing of its sword. Raine was there to cast Barrier just in the nick of time, but Colette was still hit so hard that she was sent crashing into a nearby wall. She gave a short cry of pain as she slumped against the wall.

"Colette!" Lloyd screamed as he looked towards his fallen friend. He then turned his glares to the Sword Dancer. "You'll pay for this!"

He ran in and did a more powerful version of his Tempest, causing him to spin several more times in the air. It had little effect and the Sword Dancer easily swiped him aside.

"Damn, we need to take this guy down, now," Lloyd growled as he pulled himself off the ground. He looked towards Genis and an idea came to mind. "Genis, cast Eruption again."

Genis at Lloyd in surprise. "Why?"

"Just do it," Lloyd said.

Genis nodded as he flicked his kendama around in concentration. "Eruption!"

Once again, waves of lave rose from the ground. This time, Lloyd ran into the lava head on. Soon, he was covered in fire and ram the Sword Dancer with all his strength. For a moment, his mana took the form of a beast like creature within the flame of the fire.

Kratos' eyes widened as he recognized one his father's former attacks. The daze was broken quickly when he saw several of the Sword Dancer's bones break on his left leg. The demon tumble forward and nearly landed on Lloyd. Thankfully, his reflexes were quick enough to move out of the way before he was crush.

"Finish him now!" Kratos yelled as he charged the fallen demon and slashed it several time across its skull.

Raine followed through with another Photon and the demon cried in pain as its body fell apart.

Everyone stood perfectly still and waited to see if the demon would stand up again. The demon tilted its head to face them and it appeared to be actually smiling, although it had no lips. Its red eyes still burnt into them.

"I...await...next time..." the Sword Dancer said above a whispered and it slowly disappeared. Soon, there was nothing that remained of the demon.

"Wait, that was it?" Genis asked in shock.

Kratos sighed as he sheathed his sword. "We were victorious. That's more than enough."

"That thing nearly killed us!" Genis exclaimed.

"It was our choice to fight it," Kratos reminded the boy. "We could had simply left it alone."

Lloyd rubbed his sore body as he attempted to catch his breath. "I never expected to run into an enemy like that."

"He was huge. I bet he lived in a big house before he became a skeleton," Colette said cheerfully as Raine healed her remaining wounds.

Lloyd was amazed by how effortlessly Colette brushed off her injures. Colette always seems to be made of steel or something.

"Colette, he's not human," Lloyd said patiently as he realized how absurd her words were. "He even had horns."

"That may have been the end result of an elite being from the Underworld," Raine observed.

"The Underworld?" Genis muttered in disbelief. "That's just a legend, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily. After all, demons and ghosts are completely different from our type of life forms," Raine explained. "It hasn't been proven, but I think it's likely that there is a world where those things we refer to as supernatural creatures live."

Kratos looked at Raine in confusion for a second before he remembered that the Otherworldly Gate and the Ginnungagap were not common knowledge to the general population. To them, such information was considered myth and legends.

"An elite being from the Underworld," Lloyd repeated in thought. "But we took him out and all, so it's okay now, right?"

"I hope so," Genis added. He would hate to run into that guy again.

Colette lowered her eyes, but chose not to say anything.

"It's getting late," Kratos said. "We should leave here and prepare camp."

Raine nodded. "We are all exhausted from that battle."

They began the short track out, relieve with the knowledge that no monsters were in the mines. Besides Kratos, they were all too tired to put up a fight.

"That was carelessly thing you did, charging into Genis' spell," Kratos suddenly said when Lloyd began to walk next to him.

Lloyd gave a short huff. "I knew what I was doing. My clothes kept me from burning up."

"I'm aware of dwarven fibers," Kratos said. "The dwarves created it to survive the core temperature of the planet. Nonetheless, it still has its limits."

"Well, it helped to take down that Sword Dancer," Lloyd said. "And that's what counts."

"Indeed, it would appear we actually owe a debt to it," Kratos stated.

Lloyd was shock by that answer. "Owe it a debt?"

"Because we fought that demon, everyone has gotten stronger," Kratos said. "That strength is needed in order to survive this journey."

"I never thought of it that way," Lloyd said in awe.

"Remember that whatever doesn't kill you only serves to make you stronger," Kratos said.

"Yeah, I definitely feel stronger after that battle," Lloyd chuckled. "I bet the next guardian at those seals won't be nearly as strong as that demon."

Kratos simply huffed in response. Although they were more prepared, he doubted Lloyd's words. Knowing Mithos, they will be a big bump in power between the first and second guardian.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally reached the exit to the tunnel. The sun was almost complete set for the day and only a few rays of light remind.

They wasted no more time walking the remaining path of the Ossa Trail. By the time the sun completely set, they were once again in the open field. There to greet them was Noishe, who happily licked Lloyd's face.

"Okay Noishe, that's enough," Lloyd laughed as he pulled the dog off of him. "You always miss the good stuff by running away all the time."

Noishe whined softly.

"I still love you, even if you are a coward," Lloyd said affectionately.

Kratos almost shook his head at Lloyd's words. The boy had no idea what Noishe had went through. They both owned him their lives several times over.

Once they were far enough from the Ossa Trail, they began to set up camp. Since it was dark, Kratos left to collect the firewood while the other got everything else ready. It was Colette's turn to cook, which meant a lot of fruit for dinner. Lloyd would have loved some meat after such a tough day, but he didn't feel like cooking himself.

Colette was also quiet again, which always left him unnerved. He wondered if she was sick again. At least she was eating again, which was good thing. Although he did noticed something odd about her cooking tonight.

"Say Colette, has your sense of taste changed lately?" Lloyd bluntly asked as he ate his meal.

"hmmm?" Colette asked as she chewed her food.

"Ah, I mean, you've started eating even those green peppers you hated so much," Lloyd stated. It wasn't just the peppers. She also didn't cook the different variety of fruit she loved so much.

Colette had an expression of both embarrassment and shame. "Oh yeah...they just...don't taste so bitter anymore."

Raine, who was sitting next to them, put her own plate down in thought. "Maybe you've acquired an adult sense of taste."

"Maybe..." Colette said hesitantly.

Lloyd frowned. There was something she wasn't telling them. Maybe she was still ill from her sickness from the temple. He really shouldn't worry about it so much.

"I wonder if we were able to help that poor skeleton today," Colette suddenly said, changing the subject.

"Well, we gave it a good fight, so it should be at peace now," Lloyd said.

"Not necessarily," Raine suddenly said. "It did say until we meet again. Although it looked pleased to be defeated, I don't think it was quite at peace."

"You mean we might see it again?" Lloyd asked.

"It is a possibility." Raine stated.

Lloyd glanced at Genis, who was petting Noishe. "I don't think you should tell Genis that."

"I won't," Raine assured. "We might never see it again, but we should keep our guard up."

"I hope we do see it again, someday," Colette said. "If it's still in pain, I want to help him."

Lloyd gave out a short chuckled. No matter what happens, Colette would always be Colette.

Well, that's one side quest out of the way. We will return to our regular quest in the next chapter.

Until next time.