Into the Mountains: Maze of Magic

OoC: Here you go you guys, finally got around to starting this today... Which isn’t too bad since we got the last person to do this yesterday? This will be the first quest I'm starting, but it should be good fun. Oh, and this quest is for: Nekoryuuha, Southern Belle, fire_by_rain, OmegaNinjaDude, and Lady Envy. This shall be most fun. Oh, and not that this will be surprising but I'm using Zorlo, link in Sig.

BiC: The fencer trudged through the forest; the onset of winter made the travel even more demanding, seeing as the air in the forest was rather cold, about forty or so degrees Fahrenheit, but the fencer did not mind, his massive coat shielded him from the weather as best as it could. Each heavy step of the fencer had a pause, the exhausted swordsman catching his breath, and the continuation of movement from one place to another. The aura master looked up, placing his gaze upon the massive mountain that was near, and yet far from him all at the same time. The green haired man rested his right hand upon his sword and waltzed onwards, headed for a destination that would hopefully prove to be worth what he had heard. His emerald gaze moved back to the path before him as he continued his trek through the forest, watching as he slowly emerged from the forest and looked upon the side of the mountain, which was bare as a cliff face.

The aura master grinned as he looked around at the base, clearly hunting for something; some form of a clue, or perhaps something that was out of place, or maybe anything that would lead the fencer to where his destination was. The swordsman grinned as he looked about the base of the mountain, finding the thing he was searching for. The fencer moved towards a strange door that seemed to be carved into the mountain and began to touch the door, trying to see if it was what he was searching for. "There's always one way to check," he muttered lowly as he drew his sword and slashed the door, leaving a cut in the stone. "Guess not," he said disappointedly as a white light engulfed the door, but quickly faded, leaving the door untouched. The fencer's frown turned upside-down as he sheathed his rapier and ran at the door, kicking it with all his force, but only felt his body be thrown back; the door was unharmed by the fencer's kick as he stood up and looked at it. "This could be rather tricky," the aura master muttered with a smile as he moved over to a fallen down tree and sat down, staring at the door, trying to figure some way to open it. The fencer then laid down on the log and looked up at the bleak, grey sky and closed his eyes, thinking about how he had found himself in this predicament.

*** o=)---------- ----------(=o ***

The fencer woke up and gazed out the window from his second story room at the inn; the sky, grey and bleak, made the swordsman slightly excited, perhaps it would snow today. The year was drawing near an end, and all the fencer thought about could be surmounted as the greatest turning point in his life. Sliding his feet from under the covers of the bed onto the wooden floor boards of the room, he smiled and stood up with a strong feeling of glee that one could only begin to understand during this time of the year. The aura master stood up and walked over to a nearby chair where he had lain his jacket down and picked it up and dressed it upon himself for warmth as he opened the door to his room and left. This year had been nearly perfect, except for one thing that was keeping the fencer from being his happiest at this time...

As the green attired man headed down the stairs, he could think only of one person that he wanted to see more then any to celebrate the coming of winter with. "Selene..." Her name escaped his lips; her name, as she, burned white hot in his heart, awakening the great desire he had again; nonetheless, it would be hard to find her, for it would mean he would have to locate her first, but how would he go about that? The fencer paid the inn keeper and headed out of the building he had spent the night in, heading into the peaceful streets of this town and out to breakfast before continuing his day. "I wonder what milady is doing currently?" He asked himself, almost knowing the answer, but he would not utter what he hoped she was not doing. Since he and she had last parted after the month they had spent together after the fencer's rematch with Boomer and the fencer being called away to deal with things that Cenarius needed done, the green haired man almost knew she was sitting in his master's house, trying to pass the time awaiting his return. How he longed for her... How he desired to be with her again... "When I return, I'll be with her for as long as I want," he told himself. He smiled at this thought as he entered a Cafe' and ordered some breakfast and sat down at a table on the covered Patio, looking at the fresh snow that covered the streets.

Zorlo's food was delivered in great speed as he looked out over the streets with great attention being paid to what was going on. Children were having a snowball fight in the street, elderly people were waltzing down the sides of the streets, watching, smiling and talking about things; whether it be the children, the time of year, or the most small of things. This was a time where mankind was at its most peaceful, but the fencer suddenly was drawn to a conversation by two men at a table near him when he heard:

"No way?! Are you serious?!" The first man asked, nearly jumping out of his seat as he listened to the other man.

"Yeah, I am, and you'll sit down so I can tell you the rest of the story," the second man said, looking at the first man seriously. The first man sat down and quieted down as the second man spoke again. "As I was saying, in Mount Maiev, there is said to be a magical treasure that will grant anyone who gets near it one wish. Only thing is, whatever you get has to be a physical item, so you can have any item you wanted, from something as simple as a bar of gold to something as exotic as a magical sword of some kind from what I've heard," the second man stated, not moving at all aside from lacing his fingers together.

"Unbelievable," the first man said, reclining in his seat. "So, how do you get to this magic?" he asked, looking at the second man with great interest.

"I don't know all the details, all I know is that there are two massive doors on the mountains east and west sides, and that door brings you to the way to the treasure. What may be guarding the magic besides the door is hard to say, but the door itself is impossible to open. I sat there for three weeks trying, and I didn't cause any kind of damage at all. Then I read the inscription on the top of it that says, 'Lest magic be used, this door shall not be forced,' and since I don't know any mages, I can't think of how to open the door," the second man finished his thought, seemingly very sad.

"I see... Well, perhaps the magic was put there for a reason, like whoever put it there didn't want anyone to use it."

"Perhaps, but I don't think it matters. Anyone who gets in can have fun with whatever is in there, because I don't really care anymore," the second man admitted as he got back to eating, followed shortly by the first man.

Anything I want, he told himself as a wide smile crossed his face as he pushed his chair back and hopped to his feet. I should get into that mountain and get something awesome to bring back to milady, the green haired man told himself with a smile. He quickly left the city and headed towards the mountain, off for adventure and what seemed to be a great prize in the near future.

*** o=)---------- ----------(=o ***

As the fencer lay on his back, he suddenly felt the freezing wind blow again, this time in an oddly circular motion. He sat up and heard footsteps drawing near him. Someone was coming, but whether this person was hostile, he would know shortly.

OoC: Okay, that should do it for an opening, I hope you all like it. So my group (You know who you are) will meet Zorlo, and the other group will meet on the other side. Finding a way in will be the fun part. This shall pwn to the highest level possible I think.

Two women walked towards the fencer calmly. One was clearly a hunter, with bright intelligent blue eyes and long auburn red hair, strung back in a ponytail. Her companion was more mysterious looking. She was clad in plain pants and a leather vest and a plain shirt, chain mail underneath. A long flowy black cloak covered most of her, concealing most of a sheathed sword on her left side, except for a sheem of light from the hilt. Her hair was blood red, tipped in silver. Her eyes were also silver, and shone with the intensity of one who had seen much. She turned from her companion and eyed the green-haired man cautiously.

The woman's companion saw him also, and smiled a bit. "Um, hello there ^^" she said brightly.

OoC: lol sorry belle, i had to... the footsteps had to be someone... and it couldnt be me lol

The sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, creating dappled patterns on the path before them. Bella grinned at her friend. "So, do you think the rumors we heard at that inn are true?" she asked.

Iyasis shrugged. "Who knows? It's certainly not too unusual-"

"Especially compared to some of the things we've experienced," Bella interjected with a grin.

Iya smiled. "Not too unusual," she continued. "But there is a chance that it's just silly rumors spreading around. Every town has them, after all."

Bella nodded. "Yeah... but still, it sounded pretty interesting. And just think, anything at all that we want..." she grinned. "It's like the ultimate shopping spree."

Her friend laughed. "Don't get too excited just yet. We still have to find a way through those doors he was talking about, after all."

"Pfft... we've got plenty of magic to get through some little door," she grinned and opened her mouth, but a sound up ahead made her stop. "Did you hear that?" she muttered. Iya nodded. The trees were beginning to clear up ahead, and she could hear movement. She scolded herself for being so foolish... talking loudly in this forest, right by what was rumored to be a very magical place with great payoff to those who could get by. Who knew what kind of people would be attracted here?

With Iya behind her, she walked closer towards the clearing, and spotted a man, sitting up and looking around. Bella noted his green hair with a grin. She smiled to Iya and walked forward easily. "Hello there," she said with a smile.

The man turned, and his eyes widened a bit. "Bella? Iyasis?" he asked in surprise.

Bella laughed. "I knew it! Zorlo! What are you doing up here?"

The fencer shrugged. “There’s some rumors about this mountain; I came to check it out.”

Bella raised an eyebrow. “And the coincidences just keep coming…” she muttered with a grin. “That’s exactly why we’re here.” She glanced at the door. “I don’t suppose you’ve figured out how to open it yet then?”

Zorlo shook his head. “All I know is it takes magic to open.”

Bella glanced at Iyasis with a grin. “I think this is your area of expertise, Miss Iya.”

OoC: Yeah, it's kinda... meh. But it's getting things going, at least. XD And yes, Iya, I am very evil.

Iyasis smiled softly as she saw the fencer. "Good to see you, Zorlo." then at Bella's comment to her, she smirked slightly. "We'll see...."

The immortal walked to the doors and ran a hand over them. "I dont know about that, Bella. I can try though." she said, a glint of excitement in her silver eyes as looked up along the mountain wall. "But i dont know where to begin... what magick would open these doors, i wonder?" she thought aloud.

"Well, then lets just try 'em all!" she said, grinning at Bella. She put her palms spread on the doors and closed her eyes. "Treat them just like at home..." she mused to herself. And just like at the monk's temple where she had been raised, the air began to hum and vibrate. Iya's silver eyes closed in concentration.

Meanwhile. On the other side of the mountain, a lone woman makes her way through the forest to another door into the mountain. Soundlessly she moves across the terrain, using her six wings to fly above the snow instead of trudging through it. The howling winds blew at her clothing as it played with her knee-length hair as she flew upward to the mountain base. Her only clue to what was inside the mountain was a rumor she overheard in town and a dream she had that morning that she could still vividly remember.

* * *

Nephilim found herself in a vast plain with multiple doors, each labeled and locked. Nephilim looked at each one, reading it's label. "Dreams, Memory, Desires, Secrets, Love, Beliefs, and a blank one," she murmured. The doors surrounded her position in a large heptagon, allowing her to read the labels without moving around the room. She walked to the large unnamed door, approaching it curiously. "But why does this door remain unnamed while all the other doors have one?" As her hand reached for the door another gently grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"I'm afraid you are not yet ready to attempt to enter that door yet," came a familar female voice. Nephilim turned to find her mother standing behind her and smiling. "So, do you like your inner mindscape?"

"My inner mind? That's what this is? But why are the doors locked?"

"They're locked because of the way you're here. Once you can open them, you'll be able to read what this seventh door says. But first you must grow stronger. to the west of here lay the town and mountain. Go there and you may gain the power you seek. Be careful, my daughter."

"Wait!" Too late as her mother faded out. Soon the plain began to fade as well and the doors disappeared.

* * *

She'd woken up at that point. Entering the town, she'd soon heard about the item up here within the mountain and come, knowing it to be the item she was likely searching for. "Mother, I'll become stronger and unlock who I am," She whispered to herself as she moved through the last of the trees to find herself at the base of the mountain. "The door...It should be somewhere near here." She looked down one side and down the other side before finding the strange door in the mountain with an inscription above the door. "'Lest magic be used, this door shall not be forced.' Okay, I guess. But, do I really have magic?" Nephilim floated above the snow thinking when her hearing picked up the sound of someone approaching through the snow. Two, one from the north, one from the south were coming toward her. Whether she liked it or not, she would have company soon.

The shinobi softly rudged through the snowy landscape, making little noise with each step he took. His destination was near, and he would soon have what he wanted. The blonde-haired shinobi was traveling north, heading for the large mountain in front of him. Memories flashed back of events weeks before.

*************************

The brown-haired young man was standing in the old library, reading some dusty books in the back of the building. He was skimming pages, until he saw a picture of a mountain, and some text next to it. He read the text to himself, and his eyes widened when he finished.

"A treasure that can give me anything I want? Interesting..." said the man as he placed the book on the shelf, and started to walk out of the room. "But what was with that inscription? 'Lest magic be used, this door shall not be forced?' Meh, look's like I'll need to just find that out myself."

*************************

Takeo's pace began to accelerate, until he was finally running towards the mountain's side at full speed. The shinobi quickly stopped as he heard a sound other than him, and he looked up to see a hovering figure in the sky. The shinobi began to walk towards the figure, and looked towards the large wall with inscriptions as well. Takeo stopped a good distance away from the hovering figure, and waited for it to speak. From his distance, he couldn't tell what it was, but had a feeling it wasn't dangerous. After all, it might help him get inside the mountain to begin with.

OoC: I’m sorry, guys. I was gone until Friday and I never realized it was my turn. Please forgive me.


BiC:
It was your average day in the forest. The trees covering the blue sky gave the area itself a sinister feeling, only small rays of light able to get through. Miniature creatures such as squirrels, chipmunks, and all kinds of birds ran and flew about the tall woods, most searching for their stock of food they made for the winter only months before.

Despite how cold it was, there wasn’t a bit of snow on the brown soil. There was frost, of course, but no particularly cold liquid articles. The trees blocked out the weather from the place called heaven. If any creature were to walk outside the forest, they’d find themselves in decimeters of snow.

Kariette, a female assassin and had long white hair and crystal blue eyes, was walking through that very forest, wearing nothing but a black dress and arm warmers. The cold air didn’t effect her, it never did. Besides, soon enough she’d be inside her Teacher’s house, which was always warm. It’s not like she had been outside for day, anyway. Just merely an hour. She was just practicing with her swords, as she did every morning.

She got to her teacher’s cabin and opened the door silently, careful not to wake up her sleeping master.

‘I better make breakfast for when he wakes up,’ Kariette thought, walking into the kitchen.

“Kariette! Are you here?”

Kariette turned around and walked towards Teacher’s room. “I’m here, Teacher. What is it? Why are you up so early?”

She walked into his room and snorted. Teacher was inside his closet, digging around. He was wearing his usual black cloak, covering his face. Kariette could tell he was tense, though. There was strain in his voice.

“I’m looking for something…” He laughed. “For you.”

Kariette looked at him blankly. “What is it?”

“My log.”

Teacher’s log was a book he wrote every assassination he had done, maps of places he’s been to, and just any unfinished business. When he gets it out, it either means he wants her to kill someone he failed at killing, or checking out some area.

“Why? Kariette asked.

“I had a dream last night,” he paused. “About a place.”

‘Traveling it is…’ Kariette thought. “What place?”

“Up North, there is this mountain, with two doors on the West and East side of it. It’s said that if you open the doors and go to the core of the mountain itself, you’ll be granted an item of your choice.

“I went there once, but I couldn’t even open the doors… I had a dream about it. And I was thinking… It’d be fun for you to go.”

Kariette growled. “How’s the money?”

“Great,” Teacher laughed again. “It’ll last a while. And the mountain won’t take too long.”

“Fine,” Kariette said tonelessly. “I’ll go.”

***

Kariette never got cold. But the temperature around the mountain gave her skin goose bumps. The air was quite chilly, and her thin hair wasn’t keeping her warm.

‘Hopefully the doors will be easy to open…’ She thought, pushing her hair out of her face.

She was slowly pacing around the mountain, heading to the closest door. Eventually when she got there, she noticed it didn’t seem like a door at all. Or not one you could easily open with your hands, at the very least.

She then realized she wasn’t alone. A male stood nearby the door, while a female hovered a few feet above the ground. They both looked as if they hadn’t been there very long. Neither of them was shivering.

“Hm,” Kariette whispered. “This won’t be easy at all.”

The fencer watched as the immortal placed her hand upon the door and the female hunter smiled as she watched the immortal began to channel magic into the door. The air hummed and began to warm up around the door, and slowly expanded to the warrior and the archer, both of who's eyes watched Iyasis with great focus.

The immortal's eyes were closed, channeling energy into the door as a sudden burst of energy as he eyes opened. Her eyes were golden as the door suddenly burst into flames and slowly opened. As the door opened, Iya fell forwards, and the fencer and Bella quickly rushed over to catch the falling immortal. "Used more energy then I thought," she told them as she tried to catch her breath.

The fencer and the archer grasped the fire unicorn's arms and helped her enter into the mountain into the first chamber. As the door slowly shut behind the three warriors as they entered the first room, looking around the darkness as the torches around them suddenly burst into flames, revealing a dull gray chamber, in which the three people stood. The emerald eyes of the fencer looked around, scanning the room to see what it held; suddenly, three parts of the wall rose, revealing three separate doors.

"Just when you think things are going to be easy," the fencer said sa he looked at the doors and noticed that each held a different symbol.

Iya tugged her arms as the fencer and the archer let go of her as she stood up. "I'm better now," she stated looking at the doors. "It is interesting that the doors have opened, but I'm wondering what is with these doors," the immortal stated as he moved up towards one door and ran a hand over a symbol.

"Odds are they have something to do with the path ahead," Bella stated as she looked ran her hand upon another door. Bella smiled as she looked at the door and noticed the symbol that was inscribed upon it and lifted one finger into the air. "I think I know what the symbols on these doors mean!" She stated as she pointed at the one in front of her.

"Well?!" The fencer asked, moving towards the third door and placing his hand upon the symbol.

"Each of these symbols represents a different path into the mountain. I'm guessing that there are three ways to reach the treasure, and I'm nearly certain that they all intersect," the archer told the others.

"Odds are," Iya stated as he stepped back towards the center of the room. "Any ideas on who should head what way?" she asked.

"Not really," the swordsman said as he stepped towards the center of the room as well. "I am almost certain this place has all kinds of surprises," the green haired man stated. "So, which way do you two want to head?" The Aura Master asked, smiling at the others.

OoC: Okay, the first thing I'd like to say is: NO POSTING ORDER. Post when you have free time. Secondly, for the second team, when you enter into the mountain, you are going to find a similar room. Do as you please, and have fun!

Iyasis felt the air hum stronger as the magick ran through her faster. Her skin tingled, and suddenly she gave a push and a blast of the energy she had been sending shot forward and into the door, which immediately burst into flames. She gasped a little as the power stung her hand. The door opened a little at the center, and the immortal's feet wavered and she fell forward. Iyasis felt strong hands grab her arms and hold her steady. She blinked a few times, and her golden eyes went back to their natural shining silver.

Together the group tread through the doors and entered a gray chamber, three doors in the walls with symbols on them. She raised an eyebrow and pulled away from her friends. "I'm better now." she told them. She went to the nearest door and touched the symbol. She talked with her companions, trying to decide upon the right door.

"So, which way do you two want to head?" she heard Zorlo ask. Iya turned to him to find him smiling at them. She thought a moment.

"Well... hmm... yeah i'm workin' on it." She looked upon the three symbols again. "Well, i think the best idea is for each of us to take a door. We can still talk to each other mentally anyway, so it should be fine." Iya thought a moment, looking at the fencer. "Wait, no, i dont think you can. Well, that's okay. I can still talk to you, and you can just think back. I'll hear you while i'm there..." she said quickly, as if thinking out loud. "Alright then, so we split. Agreed? Which door do you wish to take, you two?" she asked Zorlo and Bella.

Nephilim looked between the two humans and smiled warmly as she bowed to them where she was floating. "Greetings to the both of you. I'm Nephilim Mitsukai," the pseudo-angel spoke out in greeting. Takeo grunted in acknowledgement of Nephilim's greeting as he examined the door. Kariette only nodded to acknowledge her presence and came closer though only enough to watch the ninja at work. He seemed to be looking the door over for someway to open it. "So, can you open it?" Nephilim asked. She floated closer to him as he placed a hand on the door.

"Yes," he responded curtly as large amounts of heat began to radiate from his fingertips. He dragged his hands back and forth over the stone until he stopped, seeing it to be ineffective in opening the door in one way or the other.

"...Useless..." Kariette said tonelessly as she turned away to find her own way in.

"So you can do better?" The flame ninja responded, turning to her. She stopped and turned to look at him. She never said a word, but the insult was plainly apparent in her eyes.

"Um, please don't fight. We should-"

"Stay out of this, Nephilim!" Takeo snapped and faced back to the assassin. "So? Answer me. Can you open it then?" Nephilim flinched at the tone in Takeo's voice. She knew he was going to press a fight at that rate and floated back toward the door. As The flame ninja started to say something else, he was cut off by Nephilim's song. A slow, melanchony aria filled the clearing while the pseudo-angel floated near the door, her six wings glowing brightly and surprisingly, as was the door. A white glow pulsed from the door in time with her words though she didn't notice since her eyes were closed as she sung, her song calming tensions and soothing anger. When she finished, the door pulsed one last time as it simply faded out as if it was never there. "She openned it."

"Huh?" Nephilim turned to see the door open and smiled. "I openned it! Okay! Now let's..." she trailed off as Kariette simply past her and into the mountain wordlessly. "...go..." Takeo soon followed after her. "We just met and he already seems to hate me. What do I do wrong to get men to hate me. First Kenshiro and now him." Nephilim entered with a sigh. Inside was a large gray chamber with three doorways, each with a symbol over it. Darkness engulfed the room as the door appeared again, sealing them in the mountain. Torch soon flared to life to compensate and illuminate the room. "Now, whi...ch..." Kariette and Takeo were already moving to the left and right ways, their missions set in their mind. Nephilim simply shrugged before flying down the middle path.

Behind her, the room darkened as a black shadow rose from the floor. It's maleviolent ebon-gray eyes glowed malicously as a scythe appeared in it's hand. "So, a Mitsukai has returned..." it said in a female voice. "After 4000 years, I'll get to have some fun." She sunk back into the floor and followed after the angelic girl.

The shinobi walked quitely and swiftly down the long, stone corridor. The only thing giving him light was the brazen torches placed on the sides of the walls at certain intervals. Somehow, Takeo realized that either this place was guarded by something of supernatural qualities, or was guarded by multiple forces, all intent on keeping the secret of the legendary object inside safe. As Takeo walked, he felt the verberation of each step, and was intent on watching out for any sort of trap. However, his instincts would have placed him on the right path, for the next step he took, the stone block shifted he walked on shifted.

The blonde shinobi instinctively rolled forwards, and placed his hands on the ground ahead of him. He pushed himself upwards, and made contact the cieling with his feet. Forcing chakra through his soles, Takeo crouched as he held his place on the cieling. Behind him, a barrage of wooden projectiles from the walls flew at the area Takeo was at a moment ago. Takeo looked behind, and took an inner sigh as he straightened his posture. The Jounin walked on the cieling in the direction he was already headed, hoping that there would not be any traps on the very cieling waiting for him.

However, as soon as he took a couple of steps, Takeo heard a beast-like grumble coming from the end of the corridor. He knew there was something waiting for him, and the blonde shinobi was psyching himself to fight whatever it was that was there. Takeo pulled out two kunai, and stood motionless on the cieling. The grumble began to get louder, as whatever was at the end of the corridor was accelerating towards Takeo. Then, in an instant, the blonde shinobi felt the stone blocks on the corridor floor meet with his back, and he looked him to see the face of a green, scaly beast with numerous teeth. The beast was hound-like in shape, and was with its mouth open. Takeo instantly threw one kunai into the beast's mouth, and that caused it to jump backwards, yelping in pain as the projectile struck the roof of its mouth.

Takeo rolled backwards, and performed a quick hand seal, In an instant, the Jounin vanished, and the hound-like beast got up as the pain from the kunai wore off. It stared straight at where the shinobi was, even though he could not see him. In an instant, the beast ran towards Takeo, and the Jounin knew the beast realized where he was. Takeo threw the other kunai at the creature, making himself visible in the process, and pulled out two shuriken as well. The creature strafed to the side, dodging the kunai, and continued running towards Takeo. The shinobi threw the two shuriken at the beast, intent on making them miss. The beast stopped as the projectiles went to the side of him, but was not prepared for them glint of light that appeared before him.

The beast was then bound by the strings attached to the shuriken as they went around it multiple times that moment, and the two projectiles lodged themselves into the walls on both sides of the creature. Takeo then performed a quick series of hand seals, and inhaled as much air into his lungs as possible. Forcing chakra into his breath as he exhaled, Takeo let out a large stream of fire from his mouth that headed towards the creature. As the flames passed over the beast, it uttered painful cries of agony, and it then ceased to make noise. When the stream of flames ended, Takeo looked to see the strings were burned away completely, and the beast, now a lifeless and black corpse, was laying on the ground motionless.

The shinobi then burst into a run down the corridor, intent on making it to the end of the cursed path he was on. Takeo grinned maliciously as he passed the corpse of the fallen creature. However, he knew that he was probably in to fight much worse guardians of the mountain, should they possibly exist.

The swordsman looked back onto the center door and smiled. "I'll take the center path," the fencer told the women as he headed towards the path he had chosen. Something told him this path was the just and proper one for him, and it only made sense he follow his instinct on this one, seeing as there was little else to use. "Worry not you two, I shall be safe," he told them as he stepped in front of the door and rested his hand on the symbol. The door shot up and opened, revealing the path the swordsman had chosen to take, and with little thought, he stepped through the entrance and took another step in his road of life.

But something in this place was amiss, seeing as several dark beings were hiding themselves in the shadows of the first room, completely undetectable by anyone. The two women choose their paths, and were now in the midst of this new challenge as the three door closed in sync. Suddenly, six false shadows moved towards the center of the room from under the torches they had used as cover and slowly rose, revealing only darkly clad figures. Each wore a black hood and mantle, using the capes to hide their entire bodies aside from the bottoms of the creatures black pants. "So, you've all identified our target, correct," the first of the creatures spoke, looking about at the others.

"Yes, the fencer in green, correct?" The second voice, a distinctly female one, replied to the man's question.

"Not like he didn't stick out," the third one spoke, looking at the door the man had just gone through.

"Quiet, Nibas, show some respect," a fourth voice told the third, tallest of the darkly clad warriors.

"Yes, we wouldn't want you to wind up like Xiaver, now would we?" The fifth figure mocked.

"Shut up, Gom," the sixth person replied, pointing at the fifth.

"Make me, Ragde," Gom replied angrily.

"Shut up both of you!" The first, most powerful of the voices spoke out.

"Yes, commander Reztes," the woman replied, pushing a strand of dark purple hair back.

"That’s right, Arret, listen to him like a good slave," Nibas mocked.

"Brother, that is enough," Ragde replied. At this response, the third figure laughed at the big mouthed man.

"Shut up, Nayc!"

"All of you calm down!" The commander spoke, asserting his role as the leader. "We were hired by the family of that feeble weakling Xiaver, so the faster we kill that fencer, the sooner we can get paid. We'll wait to ambush him, and then strike him down that way," the commander stated, noticing that Nibas was heading towards the door.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Ragde asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"I'm ending this here and now. You can all wait, but I'm going to kill that fencer right here, right now," the vampire muttered as he became a shadow and slipped under the door the fencer had entered, following him in this method.

Reztes sighed and gave the signal to move forwards, and after doing so, he and the other four of his brethren vampire became shadows and followed after the man that had foolishly wandered in.

***o=)---------- ----------(=o***

The fencer heard the door slam behind him and looked forwards, into the unending darkness he found himself engulfed in. Suddenly, as had happened at the entrance, the lights all burst alive and revealed a long path that the fencer walked wearily, trying to avoid any traps that may be waiting for him. As the Aura Master stepped, he felt his foot depress lightly and jumped back as seven spears shot from the ground and into the ceiling. With a quick movement, the fencer slashed his sword through the objects blocking his path and pushed them aside, moving forwards down the long path slowly, more cautious now.

As the green haired man walked down the hall, nothing else happened; no more traps, no more random lights suddenly coming to life, and to his surprise, no attackers. The fencer moved slowly as he entered a rather large room; the room had the same dull gray walls that its predecessors had contained, but to the far right corner was a bench, and to the other three corners were potted palm trees. The fencer blinked a few times as he looked at the room and noticed he had two paths to choose from: "To the left, or the center?" The fencer asked himself as he looked ahead, extremely confused.

As the Aura Master examined his choices, the dark shadow lurked towards him and slunk under him, rising into a figure clad entirely in black. The creature looked upon the swordsman and grasped his cloak, discarding it to reveal a blonde haired, blue eyed man in a long sleeve blue shirt standing before the fencer. Nibas had revealed himself, and from the sleeve of one jacket came a golden bladed axe that landed in his hand and he smiled, revealing his vampiric teeth. "Hello, Zorlo, I am called Nibas, and I have been sent to kill you," the vampire informed the fencer, who was now reaching for his own blade.

The others stood and watched, namely Regde, who feared for his brother's life. "Commander, aren't we going to help Nibas?" The boy asked, worrying more.

"No Regde, your brother resigned his own fate when he chose to not follow the plan. The rest of us will wait for our chance to strike, and take it then," Reztes told the group, all watching the battle from the shadows, awaiting their own chance to strike.

The fencer unsheathed his golden blade and gripped the handle tightly, readying himself to go toe to toe with this vampire that had just chosen to fight with the Aura Master.

Kariette narrowed her eyes slightly, looking down the long hallway the lay before her. Only small torches led the way, but they were only bright enough to light the walls. As Kariette stepped along the dark corridor, she realized the ground was merely ash, sand and pebbles.

Cautiously, she snapped one of the torches off of the stone wall and began to swiftly make her way down the corridor. She stopped half way, and glanced at the ground. The path was no long the sand and rocks it used to be. Well, it was, except for one thing; the ground seemed wet. Naturally wet, almost.

Kariette would’ve thought snow just builds up inside, but the stone walls appeared to keep out everything. After all, it was pretty warm inside the mountain.

She looked behind her and raised an eyebrow. She didn’t notice the small slope of the walkway. She was going down, deeper into the mountain. And she’d soon find out why the sand was wet.

”I need to pay attention more…” Kariette muttered. If she didn’t focus some more, than she could possibly end up being killed. And over such a small thing…

“It’s time to focus,” she whispered, continuing down farther into the base.

As Nephilim moved down the hallway, she noticed two changes. The first was that runes now covered the floor, walls, and cieling were covered in black runes, as if to protect it and the temperature was increasing as she continued. It soon got hot enough for her to remove her sleeves to help air her shirt, attaching them to her shirt bottom to make sure she wouldn't lose them. She could see a red grow at the end of the hallway now. This seemed to be where the heat was coming from. "My word. Just how hot is it at the end of this if I want to strip now from the heat?"

She was about to take off her shirt when she heard an odd noise from far behind her. She turned back, but could not yet see the thing making the sound as it rather quickly approached her. It was a loud whirring noise and didn't take long to come into view. A large black... Thing... was spinning down the hallway at her. It appeared to be spiked as it came at her, the runes lighting up as it passed to protect the walls, floor, and cieling. "That's not good. Time to run!!" she yelled more to herself then anything as she turned and shot down the hallway, the thing in pursuit.

It was fast, but nowhere near the speed to catch the pseudo-angel as she flew into the room at the end. It was a circular, high domed room; it was massive in size and the entire edge of the room(minus the enterance and exit ways of course) had a three foot wide strip of lava. Nephilim flew high to let the object move past her only to she it stop in the circle and change into a figure. It wore all black with short black hair. It turned maleviolent ebon-gray eyes on Nephilim and smiled, bringing a black and red Scythe to bare. "So you're to inheirit the Mitsukai secrets now. It ends now. No more shall Mitsukai continue to glean power from this place. With you, I'll end your line," He declared vehemently.

Nephilim was confused as to what her was talking about. All she'd understood was He had full intention to kill her. Her sword formed and she aimed for the dark figure. "I don't understand anything you just said, but I will kill you if it means I can continue my path to the artifact. I must grow stronger!" I must... For you... My dear mother, and for myself.

Iyasis nodded to Zorlo and turned to the left hand door. The immortal took a deep breath. <Here we go.> She stood a little straighter and walked put her hand on the symbol on the door. It creaked and sparked, the fire symbol engraved on it turning a deadly blood red. Iya blinked, then shook it off, opening the door and slipping inside.

It was pitch black. The immortal couldnt see a thing. She stayed put, not knowing her grounding, and waited for her eyes to catch up with her surroundings. Her silver eyes automatically frantically gathering light from the crack in the door Iya left for this purpose. They glowed brightly and Iya closed the door softly. It would do, for now. She cast her eyes at the ground, stepping only where she saw solid ground.

The warrior continued through the darkness, until she suddenly felt more... space around her. She could feel the place open up into a wide domed chamber. She stopped, picking up something. She dimed her eyes to help hide her a bit more. Without warning, across the room, fire blazed and danced hypnotically. It stretched and streamed, flowing with a will of its own. Iyasis watched, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. After a few moments, the flames' base grew black, followed by the rest of it. Her eyes went wide. She knew that all too well.

Torches suddenly burst all around the circular chamber, lighting the room. It was a simple stone chamber, a huge black glass dome high over the immortal's head. But she wasn't looking at it. She was staring at the sorce of the black flames. It was a woman, in an enormous flowing gown and knee-length garnet hair. She spun her arms gracefully, her feet shifting in an intricate pattern. The black flames moved with her in perfect sinc as she danced. The woman danced closer to Iyasis, smiling sweetly. She spun one last time and stopped halfway to Iya, facing her. As her movement ended, the flames vanished and the room was deathly silent. The beautiful woman smiled even wider at Iya, as if to an old friend.

Iyasis did not look so amused. Her silver eyes flared intensly with thousands of years of hatred and anger. But the rest of her did not show it; she would not allow the woman such satisfaction. "You." she whispered. The woman's smile got bigger. "YOU! What are YOU doing here?!" Iya demanded.

"Oh my dear Iya-chan, can you not guess?" she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Someone had to come and test you, dear child. Could you really think of anyone else?"

"How many times to i have to kill you?" Iya growled dangerously. She looked up, staring deep into the woman's pure black eyes; no white at all. "Test me, huh? Ha. Just try and keep me amused." she said coldly.

The woman frowned, and her sweet child-like smile turned to an evil scowl and her long gown tore away, showing extremely revealing black leather clothes underneath, and a spiky whip that blazed with the same black fire as before. "You won't win, little girl. Not this time. No one's here to help you this time. HE'S not here to save you!" she shrieked.

Iyasis threw off her black cloak and lowered into a fighting stance, drawing Aroklia and brandishing it before her. "You will not go on to bother him anymore." she whispered angrily.

The woman smirked. "You really love getting in my way, don't you? But don't worry. You will no longer plague him!" This these last words, the demon woman launched herself at the immortal, hissing fire in her wake.

Iyasis muttered ancient words under her breath and sank into the floor in a blink. She traveled underneath the demon and leapt on her from behind. The demon shrieked in rage as she felt Iya jump on her back. Her angry cry changed to a high-pitched scream of agony as she felt a heavy trail of blood flow between her eyes. Iyasis twisted her blade inside the demon's skull, fire in her eyes.

As Kariette drew deeper and deeper into the mountain, the distance between the torches seemed to lengthen, and her own torch was slowly dimming. She cursed silently, trying to see through the darkness that'd soon be pitch black.

She heard a groan.

"What was that?" She whispered, looking behind her. Kariette heard the groaning continue, only closer the next time. She dropped her torch and immediately grabbed her two swords, pulling them out of their sheaths.

Quickly, but carefully, she spun around and swung in whatever direction was possible. Suddenly, she felt her sword hit something.

“Argh!” Kariette cried as a piercing shriek rang through the corridor.

The body she hit lit up for just merely five seconds, giving off light to the whole hallway. She squinted, having been used to the darkness for a while. She stared at the light as it blinded her, then turned her squinting into a narrowing of her eyes. It was a corpse. Quite a bloody one.

As the two went back into darkness, she continued to slash in random directions.

‘Teacher would be angry for me being no naïve, but I’d rather not be murdered by such a mere… monster.’ Kariette thought, accidentally hitting the wall with her left sword.

Eventually, she hit it again and the same scream and light appeared, blinding her and almost making her def. But right after it went back to dark, the hallway had become dead silent.

‘It’s not dead yet…’ Kariette bit her lip, grunted, and waited for the corpse’s return.

OoC: For the people worrying.... Kariette isn't going to be let off easy. The corpse is just one of the random enemies in the mountain.... ^^;;

The shinobi was still walking down the stone corridor, looking at the environment around himself. Takeo looked ahead, and saw a rectangular cut in the stone wall, possibly a door. The Jounin ran to the door, and reached it in a matter of moments. Takeo stared at the door, and saw there was no handles or even hinges to it. However, a thought went through Takeo's mind, and he took a few steps back. Then, Takeo went in a full-out run towards the door, and kicked at it with full force.

The stone door flew into some dark room, and Takeo tried to peer inside of the room. The Jounin grabbed a torch, and stepped inside the room. As soon as he entered, the blonde shinobi realzied the room was very large, and was possibly used to hold something. Takeo stopped, and listened to the noises in the room, even though he couldn't see much. The shinobi heard a few footsteps, and the clanking of armor along with it.

"I'm surprised you made it this far. Most people die to that beast back there." said the voice as it came closer to Takeo. "However, you will not make it past me, regardless of your shinobi skills."

In the darkness, two small dots began to glow, and they came closer and closer till Takeo could see what they were attached to. As it entered the light, Takeo noticed that whatever was in this room, it wore black armor, and had probably been here for a long time. Takeo saw that the figure was a skeleton, and had two glowing dots in his eyes. He was being animated by something, but what?

"Who are you?" asked Takeo, not showing his emotion.

"My name is Chardelan." said the skeleton. "I have been kept animated in this mountain for over a year now, after I had perished at the hands one of its guards. Just as you will perish here."

Takeo made a mocking grunt, and pulled out two kunai.

"I'd like to see you try." said the shinobi as he tossed aside the torch, and got in a battle stance.

Chardelan picked up a weapon on the ground, and swept the dust off of it. The sword was a bagua, and it looked like it had been there for quite some time. After all, Takeo wouldn't even want to guess how old anything here was.

"Let's see how you can move, boy." said the skeleton.

"You really didn't want to say that." replied Takeo as he waited for his foe to attack.

Chardelan ran at Takeo, but shinobi ran towards him, and threw a kunai at him. The projectile went through his armor, and into Chardelan's torso. However, it merely was locked there, and did not even affect Takeo's foe. The skeleton continued running at Takeo, and he swung the bagua at him. Takeo ducked, and moved up, performing an uppercut to his foe's skull.

The force of the punch sent Chardelan flying, but as soon as he landed, he fell to pieces. Takeo didn't think he won though, because the glow in his foe's eyes was still there. As expected, Chardelan reassembled himself magically, and got up once more. He ran towards the Jounin, and swung rapidly at him. Takeo ducked, strafed, and dodged each swing, but it was becoming too much for him.

When Chardelan swung a final time, Takeo blocked with hsi kunai, and grabbed hold of his foe's wrist. In a swift and powerful jerk, Takeo ripped out Chardelan's wrist, and tossed it aside. Takeo then kicked away the bagua from his foe, and then used his other arm to send his elbow into Chardelan's face. Chardelan, this time, caught balance in mid-air, and landed on his feet. In recoil, the skeleton aimed his good arm at the bagua, and the sword flew back into Chardelan's hand.

The skeleton laughed evilly as he began swinging his sword, trying to intimidate Takeo. The angered Takeo, and the young shinobi merely pulled out a shuriken, and stooed there, expressionless.

"Shut up you bag of bones." said the ninja. "You are not more malicious than I, regardless of how many people you have killed. I am a shinobi, something that kills without remorse, and does it at with speed and strength."

"Oh yeah? Than why am I not defeated yet?" mocked Chardelan.

"Because I haven't used my full power on you." said Takeo with a grin.

"Really?" mocked Chardelan once more. "I'd like to see this full power."

"I bet you would." said Takeo as he threw the shuriken at his foe.

Chardelan didn't notice it coming, but the shuriken then struck him in the skull. Takeo jerked on the string attacked to the shuriken, causing his foe to stumble forward. The shinobi ran towards the falling skeleton, ready to use his kunai to finish him off.

Nephilim eyed the figure with her sword pointed for his chest as she flew high overhead. "Why do you not like my family line? What has it done to you?" Nephilim asked as she dodged a black energy attack from the swung scythe of her foe on the ground. It seemed being airborne wasn't as much of a safety after all.

"You ruined us! The Sadiablo would have been great until the Mitsukai caused us to fall from grace and become fallen! To make matters worse, we were then forced to protect an artifact without continuing our line. And now it's time! I'll kill you with the very power you've come for, Battleroid!" He brushed away the hair from his ear to reveal a shining black gem hinted with red. "Materialize!" At that very word, the black jewel shone brightly, words running across the gem as the shadow of a strange cloth-like armor with odd bracers and greaves formed and solidified on his body. It was dark red and black in color and the bracers and greaves looked at though something inside them could spin or rotate.

With her eyesight, she'd read the words on the gem just barely, but wasn't sure. It appeared to say, 'Master Connect: Daemon Sadiablo. Ultimate Black Diamond, Materialize: Start.' "What is that?! That did you just do?!" She yelled out in surprise as the rotate-able part of the bracers and greaves lit up yellow and he ascended into the sky. He could fly now.

"You mean to tell me you don't know what you've been sent here for, but you're willing to die for it?" The man laughed and held his scythe in both hands. "Fine, I'll tell you. You've been sent here to obtain the power of a GEM like the one I wear here," He explained and pointed to the black diamond earring he wore in his left ear. "Using it, you form what I now wear. A unique armor called a 'Robe'. If you want more, you'll have to defeat me first!"

The two shot past each other several times at high speed, sparks flying from their weapons at each passing clash. The two eyed each other after the fourth strike. Neither one had taken a hit quite yet. But then, the real fight was only just beginning.

"Well then Nibas, shall we begin?" The fencer asked, moving slightly to the side, watching the vampire mimic his movements. The Aura Master gripped his sword tightly, readying the golden blade to be used to crush his foe, who stood ready to fight back.

"We shall see, shan't we?" the vampire asked, rushing at the young swordsman with all speed. The creature made a powerful slash with his golden ax, but not one that dealt the fencer any damage, because Zorlo merely ducked under the horizontal slash and and drove his armored elbow into the armorless vampires back, causing the foolish creature to stumble forwards. The creature became angry, and a second ax shot from his other sleeve as he slowly rose and spun the weapons. "Round two then!" he said, readying to fight the green haired fencer.

"Radge, your brother is a fool," Nayc stated, watching as Nibas foolishly charged. "He is going to die, so you'd better say your goodbyes now."

"BROTHER! NO!" Radge yelled, rising from the shadows and racing towards his doomed brother.

"Radge, don't!" Arret cried, following after the younger brother with all hopes of helping him. The two would try to make the three on one battle more then the fencer could handle.

By the time the others had risen, the fencer had already noticed the charging fool, and was not going to let him get away in tact this time. As the vampire raised his two axes to swing them down, the fencer quickly turned, thrusting his rapier into his foe's heart, and causing the vampire to explode, becoming dust quickly afterwards. "You were a fool to try to attack me, especially with such a weak aura," the fencer noted as he saw the other two vampires running at him. "More of you?" he asked, standing ready to face them down. "Why are you after me?!" the Aura Master demanded an answer, very annoyed that they were attacking him without just cause.

"Originally," Radge stated, looking at the fencer angrily, "our mission was to kill you. Nothing else, simply for a client who wants you dead for killing that weakling Xiaver. Now, this battle is personal, because you killed my brother!" the younger vampire said as he drew his sword, who's blade was blue, and emanated an odd aura.

"Radge, don't do this, please," Arret asked of him sadly. "I will fight along side you, but please, wait for the others to come. If we attack as a group, we can't lose," the female vampire stated, drawing her sword.

"I can't, this is personal! He killed my brother, now I need to kill him!" Radge responded, his sword's blade flaring up. It was then Zorlo noted that the blade of the vampires sword was not a physical weapon, but instead it was created of the wielders energy.

"I'd listen to the girl if I were you. You can't hope to defeat me, now then, please leave me in peace," the fencer asked, turning from his foes and heading towards the exit of where he was to the next room. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed past the Aura Master and forced him to turn.

"I said you aren't leaving!" the vampire, now brandishing a crossbow, stated as he pointed the ranged weapon at the fencer. "I'm going to kill you!" he said, firing off several more bolts at the sword fighter.

The Aura Master quickly turned and dashed, dodging and deflecting the bolts from the crossbow with relative ease. Suddenly, he raised his sword and swung it down, crossing blades with Radge, who dropped his crossbow and held his sword tightly, trying to fend off the fencer's sword.

"Radge! I won't let kill you!" she cried out as he let lose a thunder crack at the fencer, who quickly moved to draw his short sword, using it to absorb the lightning, and then thrusting the shorter blade into the mechanical vampire's skull, felling him with ease now. "RADGE! NO!" she cried, rushing the fencer with her own sword.

The fencer drew his sword from the vampire's skull as he reduced to ash and spun the blade in his palm before sheathing his short sword. "I am sorry, but you are hired assassins, so if I don't kill you here, you will hunt me," the Aura Master said as he fended the woman's sword off with a light parry and thrust his own sword into her heart. "Now rest in peace," he whispered to her as he removed his sword and sheathed it. She quickly turned to ask. The fencer quickly left the room, heading into the next corridor to continue towards the center. He could sense his movements were drawing him close.

The other three vampire looked on in annoyance. "I guess it was a good thing they were so weak, right?" Nayc stated, flowing into the site of the battle and rising from the shadows.

"If they were intelligent, they would have listened to me and waited, but instead they decided to walk the path of death," Gom noted, bowing as he rose from the shadows.

"That just leaves us, so no one be to rash," Reztes stated, smiling as he did so. "Well, what are you idiots standing around for! After him!" the vampiric commander ordered. Suddenly, the three were gone, merged into the shadows and back onto the fencer's track.

"So, you're a fallen angel turned dark guardian. I feel for you so much," Nephilim remarked a bit sarcastically. She met the guardian's next attack with her sword and deflected the attack aside. Coming around, she swung high and was blocked by the handle of the Sadiablo's scythe. "Can I at least get your name?"

He looked at her with nothing but malice. "Kartane. Kartane Sadiablo," He answered and flew back. His scythe began to glow and changed into a massive spear. His GEM was glowing again. Ultimate Black Diamond. Attack: Blitz from the Night in; 3,2,1, Release! "Eat this!" He yelled as his whole weapon lit up and he started forward.

Nephilim shifted suddenly to her left before screaming out in pain. Kartane stopped on the other side of Nephilim, holding his face, as his after images from the high speed ended. He turned to see her floating down toward the floor with the three right wings disabled by his strike and her left wings able to do little more then slow her decent. They'd kick back on in a bit, but for the moment she was more or less grounded. "D*mn you foul Mitsukai!!" He yelled as blood ran from a deep cut across his right eye. He was blind in the eye now.

"Expected me to die complacently?" She touched the ground and deactivated her wings to stop the pain. "I might have if I wasn't warned before I came here." She smiled and faced him. "When you find yourself under light's merciless glare, Defend yourself and blind it's sight. Only then will you live," She said, quoting her ghost's warning. While she may not have blinded him, she only needed one more eye to do it. It would also be much harder to use that move again as most of his depth perception was gone and he risked hitting walls or the floor from the high speed. He seemed to know this and vanished the spear, a long sword materializing in his hands now. She formed her own sword and ready ran forward. They clashed several times before It was obvious that Nephilim had the advantage with both technique and speed as Kartane was having a bit of problems with only one eye. Nephilim kept slipping into his blind spot and attacking him. Another clash brought Nephilim and Kartane face-to-(scowling)face. "You're not to bad for someone with one eye."

"Don't worry. I'll repay you for that before killing you," he replied with a sneer as he shifted back and to the side, throwing Nephilim off balance as he brought his knee up. His knee matched against her own knee she brought up in defense. Both leapt back and moved into a defensive stanch to be ready as they read into each other's body movements and shown abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Nephilim had the advantage in swordplay, reaction time and speed but Kartane still had flight over her along with the fact his Robe's power was still mostly unknown to her. "Time to end this, foul Mitsukai." His long sword lit up with power as it grew in size. The blade was six feet in length and nearly a foot in width now and was still doubled-edged. From the way the end of the sword hit the ground in must have weighed a lot, but he seemed-for the most part-unfazed by the weight.

"Now, look upon your death and burn; Torn away by Heavenquake!" He raised the sword into the air and lightning flashed high above them. Nephilim's hair rose from the electricity charge and her remaining wings appeared and covered above her just as lightning rained down at her. Of 10 lightning bolts, 5 struck her wings and were harmlessly absorbed or deflected away, 4 struck the ground around her and hid her from Kartane's sight, and the last hit her metal and grounded into the floor, leaving some of her lower back and left leg numb with her kneeling on the ground. The Angelic girl felt more then saw Kartane slam the blade tip deep into the ground and the ground rumble back in answer. Her sword disappeared and she jumped up slightly as a pink energy field surrounded her in a bubble of protection and the earth erupted. Huge spikes burst forth, intent to impale her and from the height they aimed at, she would have been impaled dozens of times in the gut; a very painful way to die. They struck her Damage Guard and shattered, again and again until all the spikes were finished. One even came up directly between where her legs would have been and would have split her lower body in half if Damage Guard had not shattered it too. "Now to finish you!!" He yelled as he took to the air, coming at where he knew her to be standing. As the smoke and debris cleared, he found her not near death like he should have but kneeling in and crater her defense ability made, cannon at the ready and pointed at him. "What!?"

"Fire!!" Her cannon sounded off in answer; the rocks she was braced against sundering from the recoil as it blew a large hole in Kartane's left shoulder. He dropped the huge long sword and stopped himself in midair with his Robe's ability to fly. Her sword was out before she realized she'd called it and aimed the suddenly glowing point at the Dark Guardian's chest as a strange shadowy aura appeared around her body in the shape of a Robe.

Kartane's eyes widened as he seemed to recognized the Robe surrounding her. The memory of a similar woman wearing that very Robe took over his vision while Nephilim watched her sword grow to nearly the size of the spear Kartane used on her. The image of six wings appeared on her back; one pair was pure white, one pair bright red, and one pair pitch black and all of them glowing brightly as she lifted off the ground. Kartane looked at her, not really seeing her, but his vision as the woman did the same. Both pointed the spear at him, though the women's GEM lit up with words. Heavenly Twilight Citrine. Attack: Shot from the Twilight Sky in; 3, 2, 1, Release! Both let out a near identical yell as they glowed brightly and surged forward. His life flashed before him and all went quiet and white. "Sorry... My brother..." He closed his eyes. "...Daemon..." The words were only a whisper as his body jerked back from Nephilim's attack, a large hole was in his chest and he fell to the ground as his life fluids pooled about him.

Nephilim ended her move and landed, the Shadowy robe fading and weapon back to normal as she turned to him. A single "A" note sounded in her head and her wings, all 6 of them, activated. They were ready again to fly her. She walked past the fallen Kartane to the exit when she stopped. She could hear his heart beating ever so barely. She turned back to find him looking at her. "With my dying breath I doom thee!" He coughed up blood and his body shuddered violently. "DIE!!!" The ground rumbled violently which forced Nephilim to take to the air as Kartane glowed green and sparkles came off his body until it was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the center of the mountain, a dark figure holding twin daggers suddenly dropped his weapons and grabbed his chest in pain. Green sparkles started to rise from his body. "No...Kartane, my brother...the Mitsukai killed you?" He gritted his teeth as his body became numb. "Luciver...Surreal...It's all in your hands now..," she said in a pain-filled voice before falling to the floor and vanishing in green sparkles.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lava shot high into the room and the entrance slammed shut. Nephilim turned and shot down the hallway, molten lava racing down the hall after her. Through twists and turns she flew, pushing fast enough the lava was falling behind her even down the few slopes. "Just who designed these hallways anyway?!" She yelled to herself as she was forced to do a 90 degree turn...straight down. The lava was beginning to caught up as she flew, forcing her fly faster. By the Gods, this tunnel is going to kill me at this rate... Faster and faster she flew until the floor rushed her. Her reaction time was the only thing saving her as she curled her body and her Damage Guard flared around close to her skin. She skidded hard off the ground, riding her defense shield across the floor momentarily before taking off down the hall at her gravity heightened speed and entered the next room. She circled the room several times, slowing down with each revolution as the lava finally flooded the floor and stopped.

"So, you escaped the lava and killed Kartane," Said a female voice from behind Nephilim. She turned to find a woman floating in the air wearing a blue and silver Robe and a silver-gray GEM in her left ear. "I'll end your life now. I, Surreal Sadiablo, will not let you get away with killing my brothers."