* * *
“It’s getting late, the message should have arrived.” Iska said, pacing, obviously angry. They had pitched a tent in a dusty canyon near the Pyrenees Trail.
“Those who think highly of themselves are usually late,” Siegfried commented to Iska. Iska scowled. “I don’t like him already.”
“Oh, come on. She’s also after the shards of Soul Edge. You’re on the same team.”
“She? This person’s a woman?” Siegfried said in disbelief.
Iska frowned. “You have a problem with that?”
Siegfried hung his head. “… No…”
“Good. Well, it seems like she’s not gonna be here for a while. Guess we’ll have to do it ourselves. The army’s supply units were attacked several times by Evils. This is a major blow to the Empire. The Pyrenees are strategically vital because they join the Empire and the kingdom of Spain. Both are under his majesty’s rule. We can’t lose this station. That’s why we want you to clean up evils and secure a support trail.”
“What does that have to do with Soul Edge’s shards?”
“Now, now. To tell you the truth, the goal of this mission is to see what you are really capable of.”
“In other words, you don’t trust me yet.”
“So I called another hunter.”
Siegfried shook his head and sighed. “…Fine…”
“All right, let’s go! Actually, you go. I’m going to trail behind and watch, me being without a weapon and all.” This did not help Siegfried’s mood.
When the mission finally began, they had left the canyon and were in a forest. Well, Siegfried was. Iska was nowhere to be seen. Siegfried ran forward, slicing ferns and trees that got in his way. When the skeletons began to attack, a simple thrust was all it took to destroy them. But when he sustained three hits across the back, all of them denting his armor, he let loose. Soul Edge glowed, fueled by his anger, and a large ring appeared around Siegfried. With a loud cry, Siegfried swung his sword, and all the evils collapsed on the ground. Puzzled once again, Siegfried exited the scorched area and continued on his way, meeting up with little opposition.
When a large amount of Evils finally came, he was almost glad. But these weren’t just skeletons this time. These were strange hybrids that were like lizards, but walked like a human. Upon doing battle with three of them, Siegfried learned that they bit, slashed, lunged, and breathed fire. However, stabbing, slicing, and decapitation are very effective.
It continued like this for at least an hour, and he encountered new “friends”: a rock golem, which was easily destroyed but very strong, and a plant… thing. It had no definite shape, and was not easily destroyed, as it continued to grow when it had been sliced.
He encountered many barrels along the path, and after a while, exited the forest and entered the mountains. He was now high above the Empire, and still climbing. He saw clouds below. To fall would be a tragic end to the story.
Luckily, many carpenters had somehow carved bridges out of the rock for him to cross, and they easily supported him, his armor, and the remains of his foes. After a while, he reached a large circular arena-like area, with steep cliffs on all sides. Two walls flared up: one behind him, a red one, and one in front, a blue one. They separated him from the trail, but left the cliff completely open and accessible. As much as he hated being trapped, he decided this exit was out of the question.
He saw a small dot flying in the distance, and growing larger. It went straight up and disappeared from sight, and all was silent for a moment. Then it came crashing down, making cracks in the floor, and it was a large, hideous green dragon. It had green horns all across its face, and large jagged claws that could easily puncture Siegfried’s armor. It roared loudly and threateningly, and Siegfried got ready for a fight, swinging Soul Edge around to prepare himself.
The dragon breathed fire, but Siegfried nimbly jumped out of the way, slashing its paws in two different places, the scales resisting his blow. He attacked again, striking as hard as he could on the leg, but with some sparks, the sword bounced off. Siegfried was swiped at by one enormous paw, and was sent flying, almost off the edge. He skidded to a stop just before, however, and stood up. The dragon’s weak points were clear: its eye, and its stomach. He rushed at it and tried to slide underneath, but it lowered its head and smashed his Siegfried into the air toward the cliff. He stuck Soul Edge in the rock, but this time he was hanging over the edge. He struggled to stand up, but the dragon was faster. It raised one claw, and…
A flaming chain with a spike on the end flew out, and struck the dragon in the eye. Hard. Screeching with pain, the dragon took off and disappeared. Siegfried pulled himself up onto the ledge, breathing hard, and looked at the white-haired woman, maybe in her twenties, standing in front of him in a purple jumpsuit, wielding an extendable sword. Grunting, he stood up, and saw Iska say something, then thrust his hand through the red wall, and open up the passage.
“Ivy, you’re late!” Iska yelled as he ran towards them.
“I just wanted to see how well that boy would do,” Ivy replied casually. She had a deep voice, and her sword retracted back into itself when she snapped it up. She sheathed it, and they began walking toward the exit.
“Give him a break, Ivy,” Iska said, sounding annoyed, then curious. “What did you think?”
“I guess he’s all right,” Ivy commented, and then smirked. “Too bad he’s a little young for me.”
Iska rolled his eyes. “Would you get serious?”
Ivy shrugged. “Well, I must admit, I didn’t think a boy like him would be chosen by Soul Edge,”
Iska was the one smirking now. “Are you jealous, Ivy?”
“Of course. After all, I have been after that sword for years. I would actually love to take it away from him right now.” Her eyes turned to Siegfried, as if sizing him up, and then to Soul Edge, and Siegfried saw true envy in her eyes. She really did want Soul Edge.
“Remember your promise, Ivy,” Iska said, sounding guarded.
“I know. I will help you until Barbaros is defeated,” She said blandly, as if repeating something exceedingly annoying. Then a mischievous look entered her eyes. “But after that I will do as I please.” Her eyes went to Siegfried again. “I’m sure it will be easy to take it from a boy like him.”
Siegfried was getting tired of this. He drew Soul Edge, swung it around a few times, and then thrust the blade into the ground, and leaned on it. “If you want it,” he said, then drew Soul Edge from the ground. “Then come and get it.” He pointed the tip at Ivy, and summoned some energy just to show off a little. The sword glowed a sinister red, and Siegfried saw fear register in Iska’s eyes.
“Hey, calm down!” Iska said, sounding worried. Siegfried smirked and sheathed Soul Edge once again. “Anyway, Soul Edge is just an old sword until it’s resurrected. We can talk about it after we defeat Barbaros.”
“Fine,” Ivy and Siegfried said at the same time, visibly lowering their guards.
“Great! That’s settled, then. Siegfried, like you, Ivy is searching for Soul Edge’s shards by Imperial command.”
Glancing over, Iska noticed that in the attack, large boulders had fallen and covered the exit. Groaning, almost in boredom, Siegfried drew Soul Edge, and said something along the lines of “I’ll handle this,” and walked toward the wall.
When he was gone, Ivy turned to Iska.
“By the way, Iska, that Evil back there was a Guardian,” she whispered.
“I know. That’s why I wanted to call you back. I finally have a plan to defeat it,” was Iska’s hushed reply.
“I’ve also got some information, but I can’t be sure how accurate it is,” Ivy replied.
Iska sounded excited. “Really?!”
There was a red light and an explosion behind them, and they both looked back just in time to see Siegfried blast apart the barricade with one of Soul Edge’s hidden powers. He was getting good with those.
“I’ll show you. Come on,” she said, and started walking toward the now-clear entrance.
“Nice job, Ivy. You’re good,” Iska said, following her. Then he detached, and walked over to a drained-looking Siegfried.
“Siegfried,” Iska said, and Siegfried looked at him, breathing heavily. “You saw that huge Evil back there, right?” This earned him an ‘of course I did’ look that he brushed off. “It’s a monster that annihilated thousands of soldiers in the Imperial Army. We call Evils like those ‘Guardians’.
“Like the name implies, they guard the shards of Soul Edge. That’s why we’re going to work together going after them. We’ll take the shards after defeating them. Now let’s go. You choose where we go first,” and with that, Iska pulled a map out of his pocket and showed it to Siegfried. Siegfried was silent as he looked at the map.
“You know what I mean by the world changing, right? The world can easily be changed by altering one of its roots. Now, we can go to the Zenon Mansion in northwestern Europe, or the Amonn Temple in northern Africa,” Iska said, pointing at two different places on the map.
“Amonn Temple? Never heard of it.” Siegfried said.
Iska shrugged. “Probably because I said the name wrong. We’ll have to go there eventually, but it’s your choice.”
Siegfried was silent for a moment, then Ivy came back. She was scoping out the area ahead, apparently.
“Have you seen where we’re?” she asked him, then saw the map and the puzzled expression on his face. “Pick the Mansion,” she said.
Siegfried shrugged, and closed the map. “Zenon Mansion it is,” he said, and started back through the jungle for the horses.
