We wake the next morning and pack up our material. Himora seems to be in a good enough mood, and Athena is very jumpy for some reason.
"What's up Athena? You alright?"
I ask, pausing in my efforts to grant her my full attention.
"No...last night I dreamed of Moshido...He came to me in a battle with the Alpha giant...He said, 'Only through me will he fall.' I don't know what he meant, but I think I have an idea."
"What's that?"
Himora and I ask the same question at the same time.
"Watch!"
She exclaims as she suddenly turns on her heel and runs into her tent. Once she returns, in her hands lie Moshido's massive, two-handed weapon, the Steel Empire.
"What do you plan to do with that?"
I ask with a puzzled look on my face.
"It is way too big for you to control, and its power output measures yours by almost double!"
She shrugs, seeming to simply disregard my words.
I take it in stride.
"Himora, I am going to need your help."
In a move that surprised both Himora and me, she turned to him with a spark of excitement in her eyes.
"My plan is to melt this down and mold from it two small hand axes of my own. Then, through Moshido, we will defeat that Alpha giant!"
Himora places his fist on his hips and entertains her for a moment.
If that were to work, her own power would be boosted considerably, thus adding a much-needed boost to our party's offensive output.
"That's a fine idea, but...how do you plan on melting down that pure, solid carbon steel mace, and how do I play into this?"
The excitable Scout smiles brightly as she places the heavy mace on the ground and steps back several feet.
"Bastion, could you use your power to hoist that up to about my waist level?"
I decide to entertain her just as much. What could it hurt?
"Sure, whatever floats your boat."
I focus in on the ground surrounding the mace and call forth the power of Earth.
At that, the ground beneath our feet begins to tremble before a small pillar of stone shoots up out of the ground with a bowl-like shape on top. Within this, the mace sat.
"Okay! My turn!"
Athena shouts as she steps forward and tosses her knives into the air high above our heads.
"I SUMMON YOU! MITSUKO!"
With a brilliant flash of light, the pair of blades falls from the sky and strikes the mace. Upon impact, the mace starts to glow, and a bright beam of pure light shoots down from the sky and begins to melt the mace with astonishing direct heat.
Himora and I shield our eyes from the intensity.
"What the hell!... How?... What?... How is your light so strong?... SO HOT!?"
Athena replies with excitement.
"It is magnified! My knives are made of pure diamond!"
The Steel Empire, in all of its magnificent glory, started to grow very fragile as the heat within it grew to those of which the likes have never been seen on this planet. Once the weapon lost its shape, it fell into a puddle and became a red-hot tub of liquid steel.
"Now we need water... Himora, your turn!"
Himora steps forward, and as hundreds of tiny hands of light begin to mold the clay-like liquid steel, he blasts it with freshly summoned, ice-cold tundra water.
Athena leaned as close as the residual heat would allow, her hands clasped behind her back, her eyes fixated on her work.
"There... That's done. Now they have to cool."
Ten minutes later, after bathing in the tundra water, the pair of axes is done and ready for battle.
I manipulate the stone that holds the wondrous weapons, allowing for several small holes to form, and the ice-cold water to slowly drain.
Himora and I step forward and eye the amazing tools of war closely as she gently lifts them from their earthly cradle.
They seem to pulsate with palpable power.
Athena eyes them lovingly as they emote their skills and attributes into her mind.
She speaks aloud faintly as we look on.
"I present to you: The Steel Empress. Their sleek design allows them to flow at nearly the speed of sound, only limited by the strength of the wielder. Their light weight is good for offence, but lacks good defensive capabilities. The blades are noted to be some of the sharpest ever crafted, as they were cut and molded from carbon steel by pure light.
The weapons enable an ability called 'Tsukiko Katsu', which seems to mean Mood Child's Victory.
Throwing the axes in the air, they spin at speeds uncounted. The Moon Child is summoned into them, sending several hundred moon beams into and through the intended target."
Himora gives a deliberately slow clap, drawing our attention to him.
"Nice weapons. They may come in handy during our climb to your throne room, which, may I add, seems most likely to be filled with Shicato soldiers..."
Athena rolls her eyes.
She and Himora seem to have a strange friction between them that I can't seem to put my finger on, but I command them forward. We simply don't have time to fight amongst ourselves.
"Let's go. We have work to do."
We start off towards the base camp of the Shicato as quietly as possible.
"I can't wait to see that coward Nathaniel..."
I think to myself.
"He ran from me last time, but this time, he is mine. He won't get away. His men killed my best direct-combat warrior, so his life is to be Moshido's payment."
Suddenly, a dark and familiar voice caught all of our attention.
"Just what do you think you are doing, you stupid brats?"
We all turn to look up into the trees to our right.
Nathaniel!
He stands there alone on a thick branch, using his spear as a tool of balance.
He spat in my direction as we locked eyes.
"You've come back for more fun, have you!? Well, this time I'm serious, and you won't make it past me unless you manage to kill me, which in turn explains your death!"
He braces his spear and flies down at me at full speed before I can respond.
"Dammit! What the hell!?"
I think to myself as we fall off to the side, blocking and dodging each other's attacks.
An army of men suddenly appeared amongst the trail we were sneaking along, accosting Himora and Athena and forcing them away from our one-on-one battle.
"Aw, man! I really didn't feel like going through this again... Not yet!"
Athena -looking very frustrated- equips her newly made axes and rushes headfirst into combat alongside Himora, who, at the moment, was already flying through men with his sword.
He spoke as he weaved between the oncoming soldiers.
"You bastards killed my crew... Here and now, you will join them in the grave!"
Himora flies effortlessly through man after man, taking off any limb that comes within a foot of his blade. A truly horrific sight all in its own.
I struggle to gain control over my own situation as Nathanial continues to come at me with what seems at the moment like all that he had.
"Why don't you just give up!? We both know who the victor of this is destined to be."
He all but growled in my direction.
I grew more irritated by the moment, but I managed to keep my cool for the moment.
"Obviously, destiny is lying to you if you honestly think you are going to win!"
I counter as I duck under his spear thrust and kick both of his legs from beneath his body.
But before he even touches a blade of grass, he stabs his spear into the ground and catches himself in mid-air.
"Nice move... For a second-rate fighter!
I shout at him as he flips over and lands right side up with his spear drawn once again and readied for combat.
"Is that all you've got, amateur? I assure you, I was learning moves like that when I was half your age!"
He said with a sneer.
"Well, apparently, you didn't learn them well enough if you nearly fell for that one!"
I counter his remark and, in turn, make him feel almost as stupid as he had looked.
His face blushed a deep red.
"YOU'LL DIE FOR THAT!"
He lunges at me with a jab, but as fast as he is, my reflexes keep me from gaining a scratch. Our spears bounce off of one another at speeds nearly untraceable, and millions of tiny sparks fly to the ground, causing a small yet threatening fire.
"Ah, shit!"
I think to myself.
"With all of these trees and dry leaves around, we will fry in no time!"
I look toward Himora in hopes that he isn't too preoccupied to put it out, but he and Athena are busy fighting off the small army of men that came from the Shicato camp.
"Himora! See if you can do something about those flames before they spread!"
But before he gets a chance to answer, Nathanial does.
"Oh, I can help you with that!"
He sucker kicks me in the stomach, sending me flying a few feet from the area in which we were fighting.
"What could he mean by that!?"
I think to myself.
But before I even had time to get to my feet, he stepped toward the flame and stuck the tips of his spear into it, an evil grin spread over his pale face.
"NOW IT IS TIME FOR ME TO UNLEASH MY TRUE POWER! BASTION! I WILL BE YOUR DEMISE!"
I stare on in amazement as flames shoot from the tip of his weapon up to his hands.
"Ah, shit..."
I hear from Athena.
"Either he is burning the hell out of his hands, or he is a Flamethrower!"
She exclaims, a hint of fear creeping into her voice.
"I hope it's the first one."
I respond sarcastically, a similar hint of fear slipping into my own.
"AAAAAAH! HA! HA! HA!"
An evil roar of a laugh rings out from his twisted mouth.
"NOW ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!"
He raises his hands above his head, and with one swing of his spear, a huge wave of flame and heat flies in our direction.
In the middle of the chaos and confusion, suddenly all of the Shicato soldiers had disappeared, and only we were left here on the trail.
"My turn, flame boy!"
This is from Himora, who, just as the flames came, flipped high above our heads and released a little power of his own.
"I summon thee! Living Mist of the Seven Seas!"
The ground trembles beneath our feet as the giant tsunami collides with the pyro wave. The heat is almost unbearable as steam and smoke shoot off in all directions.
I feel my strength surge within me, and my whole body starts to shake.
I thrust my spear into the ground and spread my feet apart to shoulder length, bending slightly at the knees.
My hands raised before me.
My eyes closed tight in focus.
Himora lands next to me and crouches, taking to one knee and bracing his sword.
Athena follows suit, her duel-blades crossed defensively before her.
"Earth Child's Crystal!"
The earth beneath the three of us shatters, but we stay in the exact spot we were in, suspended in the air by anti-gravity. In the blink of an eye, all of the shards of broken earth fly above us and form a thick dome that covers the three of us, protecting us from the massive mixture of steam and heat wave that resulted from the collision of the fire and water.
The power and pressure were beyond what I had expected in the moment, and I could feel my Aether beginning to drain at a pace that I had not anticipated.
"I can't... Can't ... Hold on much... Longer!"
I yell in pain as the heat beats at the outside of my protective barrier. Nathanial roars in perceived victory as he pumps more power into his blast, his Aether slowly leaking into the magickly sustained attack.
"Let me out of this thing! I can take him!"
Himora argues.
"No!"
I shoot back.
"If I drop it now, the heat will kill all of us!"
Himora's rage at the loss of our crew was almost palpable. I understood his anger and pain, but we had to be tactful about this.
"LET...ME...OUT!"
I know that I can't hold either the spell or him for much longer.
I think for a second more.
"My power can't hold out much longer, and this is my battle... Okay! Himora, you try to focus on the flames, and I will shoot in and take him out."
From just behind me, Athena chimes in.
"What do I do?"
She asks.
Himora and I turn to him at the same time, speaking in unison, and as if it were obvious.
"BLIND HIM!"
She nods once and readies her Aether pool, summoning forth as much power as she can afford to push out at once.
We wait for a moment, then I count us down.
"One!... Two!... THREE! NOW!"
My crystallized shell disintegrates in an instant as I release my strength.
Athena launches herself upward and towards Nathanial.
"Hey, big boy! SURPRISE!"
She shouts as she swings both of her axes, releasing a giant beam of light that flies at him and strikes him squarely in the face before he can react. As he reels back, hands grabbing at his seared eyes, Himora kicks off of Athena's shoulders and flies into action.
His blade snaps forth, and he spins rapidly, summoning massive amounts of water.
It starts to storm quite suddenly, with "raindrops" falling in uncharacteristically large drops, nearly a gallon each. These projectiles fell at wild speeds, warping into the shape of a watermelon as they gained speed.
The massive "drops" slammed into the man, suppressing both him and his incredible power and forcing him to relent.
"Hey! Leave part of the work for me!"
I shout as I prepare my follow-up.
Himora's water forces him to stumble and stagger as he struggles to hold his ground. His flames are all but gone, and his spear can hardly hold off the continuous onslaught.
He spits at us between gritted teeth.
"You bastards! You've drenched my flames!"
I laugh as the surge of power within me hits its peak.
"Yeah, but I'm gonna do more than that!"
The trees begin to sway, and the leaves fall gracefully from the branches.
"Oooooh, that REALLY hurt! HA! HA! HA! HA!!!!"
Nathanial looks around and grabs his chest in mock pain.
"I'm not done yet!"
I lift my arms, and the leaves rise from the ground. As they began to rapidly swirl around him, Nathanial realized too late, and the hard way, that these leaves happen to be as sharp as katana blades.
"AaaaahaaaAAAAAAAA!!"
He began to scream and shout in pain as hundreds of small leaf blades spun and cut away at his entire body, then suddenly stopped in place before flying off back to the trees from which they came.
The trees dripped with crimson droplets.
Nathanial falls to his knees, blood pouring from thousands of tiny cuts and slices.
"Wha? What the hell was that!?"
He spat in defeat and confusion.
"Only a taste of what's to come to Yatsimoto once we catch up to him!"
Himora shouts at the bruised and battered warrior.
It didn't sit well.
"This is not over!... I will have my revenge! I WILL KILL YOU!"
The wounded man pounces to his feet and leaps high into the air above our heads, his spear magically appearing in his hands.
"DIE!"
He laughs as he comes screaming down, slamming into the ground just inches from me.
"HA! You missed!"
I say, lashing out with my spear in a counterattack that he blocks.
"Ah, but I haven't!"
I look down and see blood suddenly as a long, thin cut runs down the length of my left arm.
"Bah! Okay... That hurt."
I hadn't noticed it until he mentioned it, but just as suddenly, my whole arm was paralyzed!
"Dammit!"
I manage a single step back, dodging a heavy kick to my stomach, but his second attack, a swift kick to my chest, sends me flying back and into the nearest tree.
The air is blasted from my lungs.
Everything is blurry and muffled as I slump to the ground, my strength failing.
A familiar voice floats into my consciousness.
The voice was dangerously calm.
That meant bad news for the confident Nathanial.
"You coward... That attack was one that only the likes of you would bother to attempt, but I bet you can't pull the same stunt with me."
Himora steps forward and readies his lethal blade.
It was time to lay this man low, for once and for all.