Allisa slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the sky, which was blackened by what seemed like volcanic ash. The ground she lay on was dry and felt slightly warm. What seemed strange to her was that she felt no pain at all. In fact, she sat up easily and saw that there was no evidence of injury. That question though was replaced by another question that greatly overshadowed the first.

"Where... am I?"

As Allisa looked out, all she saw as barren, lifeless land, with rivers of lava flowing down. Behind her was a large volcano that stretched high into the sky. Wherever she was, she wasn't in the labyrinth anymore. The last thing she recalled was a pillar of fire blowing through the floor and was then hit in the head by something. It wasn't possible for her to be somewhere else entirely.

Unless.....

A chilling thought came across her. Am I actually dead?!

"Finally awake, human girl."

A loud and booming voice came from behind Allisa. She turned and froze. Behind her was a massive dragon looming over her. It had red scales coating its body, large wings and razor-sharp teeth. It stared down on Allisa with its split, yellow eyes. Startled, Allisa leaped to her feet and slowly walked backward, keeping her eyes on the dragon.

"So, you are that Child's successor, are you?" The dragon raised its head as he kept his eyes on Allisa. "First him, now I'm to lend my power to this human girl? My how cruel fate can be,"

"You... You can talk?" Allisa muttered.

"What?" The dragon lowered its long neck down on Allisa, who tripped over from being startled. "Another ill-mannered human I see." It said with an annoyed voice. "Yours is an arrogant race that believes itself master of all creation, that you find it strange that other creatures can speak. I have lived for over a hundred of your puny lifetimes. We would dominate the other races if we weren't so few." The dragon raised its wings. "Anyway, state your name, human girl."

"Um.. M-My name?"

"Don't try my patents!"

"A-Allisa Reed!!" Allisa blurted out without thinking.

"Very well, Allisa Reed. Now, why haven't you called my name yet?!"

"Um.. Well, I... Wait, your name?"

The dragon raised its long neck once again. "You have seen the memories of your predecessor, correct? Tis the only reason why we are speaking."

"Memories..." Allisa then recalled one of her dreams about Arthur confronting a dragon. "Wait... You were that dragon?" Allisa got back to her feet. "But... They killed you, didn't they?"

"You are even worse than the last child of man." The dragon said arrogantly. "Those humans were after my mana so they could awaken the sword's true power."

"Huh?" Allisa looked at her right hand with some confusion. "The swords... true power?"

"Goddess forbid, you certainly more annoying than your predecessor." The dragon said with exhaustion.

"Hey, First of all, I don't even know where I am! And second, I have no idea what you're talking about!" Allisa snapped.

"Very annoying," The dragon sighed. "Firstly, we are in your inner world, the one that exists within your soul."

"My... inner world?" Allisa looked at her surroundings, recalling the last time she visited, the clear water she stood on, and the blue sky, very different to where she was now. Now it looked like she was at a volcano.

"And secondly, I'm talking about my sword form, and why you have not used it yet!" the dragon snapped.

"Probably because I have no clue about what's going on!" Allisa snapped back.

The dragon stared for a while at Allisa before speaking again. "You certainly are interesting, I'll give you that. No human has ever had the nerve to argue back."

Allisa looked at her right hand. "You said that Arthur was after your mana. What does that mean? And how are you inside me?"

"So many questions..." The dragon sighed a big deep sigh. "Fine, I have nothing better to do since I'm stuck here."

He sure likes to complain, Allisa thought to herself. "What do you mean stuck? Are you a prisoner?"

"No. I've been dead for ages. What you see before you is an echo created by my mana contained in your sword."

"Echo?" Allisa remembered Arthur saying something similar to her.

"Before we carry on, I have a question of my own." The Dragon lowered its head back towards Allisa. "Why do you seek power?"

"Huh?"

"I asked your predecessor the same question just before I granted him my power," he then muttered something under his breath, 'not that I had a choice.' "He's answer was to unite his country under his rule, quite typical of a human in my opinion." It then raised its head back up. "Do you seek the same thing, or is for your personal gain."

Allisa thought for a while. "Well...." The only thing that came to mind was the white man she had just fought. How she was utterly defeated by him. "I guess... for the moment, it's to beat that white guy."

The dragon fixed what Allisa guessed was a puzzled look.

"That's... all I got so far." Allisa let out a sigh. "To be honest, I never really thought about getting power for myself. I mean, I don't really see any point to it."

"So why do you?" The dragon asked again. "Say in the future you were to grow even more powerful, what would you use that power for?"

Allisa thought about the question again. What she said was true, she was never really bothered with gaining power. She didn't even have a reason to until three months ago. She then thought of her experience in Avalon, the friends she made, and everything she did.

"I... I'd use it... To protect."

"Protect?" The dragon seemed baffled by Allisa's response. "Even if you were to achieve the powers of the goddess herself, you would use it for others and not yourself? Even if you could rule the entire world, you would never resort to it?"

"Of course." Allisa nodded. "There's no way I could rule the world." She said with a slight chuckle. "I never really wanted power to begin with. In fact, I still kinda think I walked into this by accident."

The dragon seemed even more confused, either by Allisa's answer or the fact that he wasn't entirely used to her way of speaking.

"I guess, for now, I need more power to beat that white guy and get everyone out safely."

"And after that?"

"Not sure, whatever happens next I suppose."

There was then a brief silence. After that, the dragon laughed as loud as it could. "... All my year and I've never met a human like you..." It finally said, still laughing. "You really are an interesting one..."

Allisa felt like she was being made fun of. "I.. take it that you think I'm ridiculous." She muttered.

"Not at all. In fact, you impress me." The dragon said when he calmed down.

Allisa was a little surprised at his answer since she thought what she said was ridiculous.

"Your predecessor was a boring and predictable human. He kept spouting nonsense like 'it's my duty' or 'I have no choice.' You're a lot more interesting than he ever was." The dragon then raised its wingspan as far as he could. "I'll tell you everything you need to know to defeat this 'white guy,' my sword form and how to use it. So listen well, for I do not wish to repeat myself."

Allisa wasn't sure what she said to change his mind, but, in her mind, if it meant she could defeat the white man and get everyone out safely, then it worked for her. "Ok, I'm listening." She said enthusiastically.

Life of misunderstanding

".....Allisa! wa............. Wake up! Allisa!!"

Allisa's eyes slowly opened to see Francesca calling at her.

"Oh good, you're alive," Francesca said with relief.

By the amount of pain she felt, she could tell that she was still alive. Her whole body stung, and she felt something warm and sticky on the left side of her face. As she whipped some of it off, she realized that it was her blood, which had trickled from a cut on her head where a rock had hit. There was also the hole on her left shoulder from Rubrik's finger, which was starting to close up thanks to Allisa's rapid healing.

"Geez, you look like hell," Francesca said to her.

"Well, you don't look too hot either,"

Though not as bad as Allisa, Francesca was covered in dirt and soot. She had several burses and cuts and her clothes were torn and ragged in several places.

"Anyway," Allisa's vision was starting to recover, and the sight she beheld raised a very large question. "Where are we?"

All Allisa could see around her was rubble, which had formed a cavern which seemed like it could go at any time. Only light around was some strange yellow fire that mysteriously clung to some of the rocks.

"Beats me," Francesca said. "I got knocked out, and when I came too I was half buried."

Allisa could vaguely remember an explosion that occurred before she got knocked out. But the scale didn't seem large enough to cause this. Though, if there was an explosion on a scale to destroy the enter labyrinth, it was a miracle they even survived.

"So," Allisa wiped away some of the blood from her face as she surveyed her surroundings, "Where did the Alchemist and the homunculi go?"

"No idea .... Wait, the what?" Francesca scowled at Allisa. "Ok, you need to start talking! What the heck's been happening?"

****

Hailing from the world called Avalon, the girl was very different from this world, a world where magic was a possibility. The girl, originally human, was a surgeon who used practical application and magic to help people.

Yes, all she wanted to do was help.

But she was always curious and wished to push the boundaries of her fled. She dabbled into research of things that could be considered taboo or just openly forbidden. One such project was how to create artificial life.

Humans were creatures who feared the unknown. That much she knew. But she didn't care. After all, many discoveries were made through means many people would object to. She created it in secret, modeling it after a little girl, growing it in an incubation chamber using magic and alchemy to grow the being. Eventually, after a year of work, she completed her work. It was identical to a normal human. Its personality was robotic, but she didn't care, it was still a living thing, almost like a daughter. Everyone else, however, saw something very different.

Monster.

Abomination.

Test subject.

Creature.

So many names towards something they saw as barely a living thing. The girl simply told herself that it was human nature to fear what they don't understand. However, she underestimated how far human fear could go. One night, a group of people turned up at her home. They captured the girl and her 'child.' They then pinned her down and lit a pier which they threw the object of their fear onto the pier and forced her to watch as the 'abomination' burnt to ashes. All the girl could do was watch helplessly and cursed the folly of humans. Shortly after every trace of the 'monster' was gone, she was killed, slowly and painfully as 'divine retribution' for bringing such a creature into existence.

And so, the girl died, with a deep-rooted hatred to all of humankind, and carried that hatred beyond the grave.

****

Cliff forced off the debris that covered him. "Everyone... Still in one piece?" he groaned as he dusted himself off.

"Yeah... Somehow." Yuki answered as he emerged from a pile of rubble.

Out of nowhere, two explosions had occurred. First one collapsed the floor beneath them and partially buried them. Shortly after that, a second, more powerful blast hit them. Whether it was luck or the fact that the rubble from the first blast shielded them (Who could say), they somehow survived. They were now stuck in a cavern created from the rubble, lit only by the yellow fire on the bricks.

"Hey Bunny ears! You still alive?!" Yuki called out to Sharly.

"Not... really," A wheezy voice responded.

Sharly was half buried in rubble like the others. However, a puddle of blood was dripping down the rocks she was on.

"Oh Crap," Yuki ran over and removed a large rock that was on her and stopped in stunned silence.

"Is it that bad....?"

A sharp rock had pierced right through Sharly's torso, sticking out from her chest.

Yuki put his hands below Sharly. "Hey big guy! Help me with this." He called out to Cliff.

Cliff didn't move from his spot.

"You hear me? I said help!"

Cliff just stared at Sharly. "There's nothing we can do." He said in a quiet voice. "Just leave her."

"What?" Yuki got back to his feet. "We just need to free her and take her to the kid to-"

"We can't." Cliff interrupted him. "She'll bleed to death if we move her."

"Then we'll just leave her and find the-"

"We can't!" Cliff repeated himself.

Yuki glared at Cliff, clenching his fist. "Oh I get it... You won't help her, is that it?"

"N-no..." Cliff tried his best not to look at Sharly. "She... She's a homunculus!" He yelled. "Even if we save her, where will she go? Huh?!"

"Yeah, that's really easy for you to say that." Yuki snapped. "And I'm sure it's just easy for you to just leave her here to die!"

Cliff had enough. He marched forwards and grabbed Yuki's shirt. "YOU THINK THIS IS EASY FOR ME!!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "She's a living thing either way! You think I can just coldly look the other way saying 'it doesn't matter cause she's not a real person?!'" He then dropped Yuki as he took a step back.

"It's my duty to my oath as a Hunter to protect the world! That means I have to do whatever it takes regardless of how I feel! Do I like it? No! Do I want to just wipe these people out? No! But I have to do anything it takes to keep my oath!" He panted as he took a step back. "I can't go through that again..." He muttered under his breath.

Yuki glanced towards his sword and gripped it tightly.

"It's no use anyway..." Sharly wheezed to them. "This isn't something I can recover from..."

Both men looked at Sharly.

"....I'm sorry," Cliff said to her. "You're right. Humans are pretty rotten creatures. I'm no different."

Sharly smiled a weary smile at Cliff. "You guys... aren't too bad." She looked like she was about to tear up. "You didn't... care what I was. You saw me as... an ordinary person... Thanks... It means a lot."

"Hold on," Yuki said to her as though he had an idea. "You can use your thing to heal yourself, right?"

Sharly shook her head. "In this condition... if I use Dr. Jackle... the demon would definitely take over... In fact, it's the only thing that's keeping me alive for now."

"Demon?" Cliff said.

Sharly let out a sigh. "The formula... mother's using has... a flaw." Her face looked grim. "We all have unique abilities that greatly differ from humans... Like, Dr. Jackle... I discovered that our bodies... host demons."

Cliff looked shocked. "What do you mean?"

"We're souls of the dead, called back... to life. But... that process... also attracts demons, which inhabit our bodies. Our abilities... all draw from the demons inside of us.

"And the more... we use them... the closer our demons come to completely possess us." She then bit her lip. "I... couldn't tell mother."

Sharly lifted up her arm towards the two men.

"Please... you have to stop mother..."

The men looked at each other.

"What is she planning?" Cliff said.

Although weak, Sharly told them as much as she knew. The men stayed silent as they learned of the Alchemist's ultimate objective.

"You get it..." Sharly wheezed. "If she performs the ritual for her, it's just gonna bring her more pain. Please... You need to stop her."

Yuki nodded. "We'll stop her." He said to her. "Don't worry." He then stood up and drew his sword. "If you want," he said as he brought the tip of the blade.

Sharly nodded as she looked up. "I... In my past life... Created a homunculus of my own..." she said, knowing that her death would be coming soon. "I can't... remember her, but I remember how she died... I hated Humans... because they act on their fear for the unknown," she let out a breath as she closed her eyes. "It's comforting... to know that there are still humans... who don't act through fear." She then closed her eyes as Yuki stuck her neck, slicing through the rock beneath her, severing her head and cutting through the rock in one fell swoop.

Cliff's eyes closed as Yuki performed the mercy. Afterward, he looked at Sharly's headless body as a sense of grief came over him. Yuki remained silent as he swiped off any blood left on his sword before sheathing it.

As he walked away Cliff spoke. "Nine years ago," he said in a somber voice, "one of our numbers betrayed the hunters and killed five of us, two were my parents. "

Yuki stopped and looked back.

"I wanted to go after him to get revenge, but the elder forbade it, claiming it was against the hunter's oath to act on our feelings.

"I went anyway and confronted the man. Three others went after me." Cliff clenched his fist. "Sasha's parents, and her brother, my best friend. They saved me from the man, but they were killed in the process." Cliff finally got up, still not facing Yuki. "They died because of my vendetta."

He then turned to face Yuki.

"This guy you're after, It's similar to my situation, right?"

Yuki nodded.

"That's why I don't like you." He said. "I know the road you're walking down, and it's gonna get the others killed."

Yuki let out a deep breath. "Sorry, but this isn't something I can just let go of." He then took out his sword from his belt and held it out by the scabbard. "This sword, Sakura, belonged to my best friend. I made my own oath on this sword, a promise to her that I would kill the man that killed her. Till that time, I won't lose to a single person who calls themselves a swordsman. If I abandon it, then I would not only dishonor myself but also dishonor her."

He then put his sword back in his belt. "Since we're being honest, I don't like you either, but I understand how you feel. And I was serious about what I said before, and I can guarantee that they won't be killed for my vendetta."

"How can you be so sure?"

Yuki grinned. "Cause those guys are just as reckless as me. If anything's gonna kill them, it will be whatever they're fighting for."

Cliff stood in stunned silence.

"Hang out with us long enough and you'll find out." Yuki continued, "Whether it's just for a job, trying to prove his humanity, keeping to his conviction, or just to protect what she wants, we all have our own reasons to fight."

Cliff couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "I guess I joined a bunch of reckless idiots." He then looked back at Sharly. "At least you're not too bad."

Yuki looked at Sharly as well. "Guess we should get a move on, see if anyone's still alive."

"There's also what she said that's bothering me." Cliff then walked away to a small opening in the rubble. "In any case, we better get out of here first. I don't want to stick around when this place finally caves in."

"Lead the way Big Guy." Yuki said as he followed.

"And stop calling me that."

The 4th Level

Max blasted through the rubble, which blocked them. Melvin, Tristan and Bill followed after him. They had just entered a large cavern created by the unstable looking rubble.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Tristan asked him.

"Not a clue," Max replied.

"We didn't know where we were going before..." Melvin said panting.

"We can take a break if you want," Max said to him. "You used up allot of mana back then."

"I'm fine... I'm not a baby."

Just before Thatch exploded, Melvin pooled as much mana as he could into a barrier, which he extended around himself and the others. Since they were very close to the source of the explosion, he had to expend nearly all his mana just to keep the barrier from shattering. Since then, even walking was a chore to him. He also looked slightly pale.

"Hey," Tristan called out to Melvin, "what did you do back there anyway?"

"Erected a barrier around us," Melvin said, still puffing. "It took quite a lot out of me."

"I-I-It's still incredible," Bill said. "I m-m-mean, you guys are like superheroes."

"What, like that 'S' jumpsuit guy?" Max said, obviously taking it to his head.

"Kinda doubt jumpsuit guy would destroy that much in one fight," Melvin said.

"Let's talk about stupid stuff if we get out alive." Tristan interrupted, obviously annoyed. "I'm already sick of this place."

"What's your problem," Max said to him. He then made a face like he just realized something. "Hold on, aren't you that jerk I slugged a while back?"

"You only just remembered!" Melvin said.

"Y-yeah," Tristan looked away, trying not to look Max head-on, mostly out of shame. "Sorry... about before."

Everyone looked surprised by Tristan's response. If anything, Max was the one in the wrong.

Tristan started to feel a little awkward. "B-but.. you're not that bad. A-after all, you killed those monsters, right? That makes you the good guys."

The looks on Max and Melvin's face were anything but triumphant, making Tristan think he said something either wrong or insensitive.

"You know," Melvin sat down. "The guy I fought, he didn't really strike me as a bad person."

"Y-you're kidding, right?" Tristan was a little shocked at what Melvin said. "I mean, come, he kidnaped us, and tried to kill us."

Melvin looked down to the ground. "Actually, when I think about it, my guy, Frosh, he never tried to actually kill me." Everyone then looked at Melvin. "I mean, even back when we first encountered him, he didn't make any real effort to kill us.

"When we fought, I think he deliberately showed me his weak point. In the end, he just wanted to die."

Melvin was hung up on how he was crying before he stomped on his toy box. The final words he said also clung to him. He was lonely and thought no one cared about him. What was sad was how untrue it was. The moment he disappeared, Thatch flung into a full-on rage at the death of Frosh.

"Exploding guy wasn't that bad in the end," Max said, breaking Melvin's concentration.

"Oh come one!" Tristan blurted out, outraged at the prospect that they seemed to like their opponents. "That lunatic clearly was trying to kill us!"

"Don't get me wrong, the guy had issues," Max said. "But, he said something about wanting to save his friends. Can't really fault him on that."

"My, that makes me want to puck."

The group was then startled by a voice coming from above them.

"Those two were really too soft in the end. Caring for others is such a waste of time."

"Oh no..." Melvin stared in horror as he recognized who was speaking.

Max clenched his fists as rage started to grip him. "It's him... The sword armed bastard!"

High above, sitting on a rock was Gamba, Stroking his blade armed with a big grin on his face. "Only by ignoring all around you, and seal your heart can you truly become strong."

"Oh crap..." Tristan fell over in terror, "that's the guy from earlier..... the one who killed John, Barly and Dean."

Gamba's eyes drifted to Tristan and Bill. "I don't really remember the dust mites here." He then looked towards Melvin. "But I recognize you." He then looked at Max, and then drifted his gaze over the rest of the chasm. "I don't see the swordsman here. What a shame."

Melvin gulped as he assessed how grim the situation for them was. I'm too worn out from making that barrier. Max won't admit it, but he's also pretty exhausted from his earlier fight with exploding guy. How we are now, I don't think we have much of a chance.

Gamba simply grinned at Melvin and Max. "Tell me, your sword friend's still alive?"

Both of them looked at each other before answering.

"Why do you care?" Max asked, keeping his guard up.

Gamba grinned in response. "I'll take that as a yes." He then started giggling. "That's good. He's the one I wish to kill, more than anything. So much so that I don't even care about you."

"You're letting us go?" Melvin asked, mostly out of wishful thinking.

"Don't you want to avenge your friends?" Max asked.

"I couldn't care less about them," Gamba said coldly.

"What!" Max gritted his teeth at his words. "How can you say that you cold bastard?!"

"Max, no!" Melvin called out to him. "We should take this opportunity to escape."

"You gotta be kidding!" Max protested, pointing at Gamba. "We should just let him go?"

"Use your head for once!" Melvin snapped at him. "I'm in no condition to take him on, and you can't deny that your fight with the exploding guy took allot out of you."

Max cringed as he took in Melvin's words.

"Not only that, we also have them with us." Melvin nodded his head over to the terrified Bill and Tristan. "If he's not gonna come after us, we should use this opportunity to at least get them to someplace safe."

Max found it hard to argue with Melvin's logic. He bit his lip out of frustration and lowered his hands. "Sorry," he said, "You're right."

Melvin then turned back to Gamba. "I take it you’re gonna let us go?" He asked for confirmation to his argument.

"Like I said, I have no interest in you," Gamba replied. "Flee if you want, I couldn't care less."

Just then, one of the walls to the chasm burst open, startling everyone.

Gamba silently chuckled. "However, he's another story."

Max, Melvin, Bill and Tristan froze as Edasa's hulking form came through the freshly created hole.

"That explosion was Thatch," Edasa said in his low, booming voice. He then turned to face the startled boys before him with an angry expression on his ugly face. "What did you do?"

Max moved his leg back as he faced down Edasa in front of them. "It talked," he said to Melvin. "Does that mean,"

"Yeah," Melvin said with a trembling voice. "He's a homunculus too!"

Edasa took two giant steps towards Max and Melvin.

"I'll ask you again." Edasa pressed. "Thatch and Frosh, What did you do to my brothers?"

****

Allisa left Francesca alone for the time being. She wouldn't be surprised if she didn't believe her. Being honest with herself, she doubts she would have believed her story if it was told to her.

On Francesca's request, Allisa told her everything she could, about Excalibur, Avalon, her friends, the homunculi and the Alchemist, enough to make it sound like a fairy tale or a fantasy novel plotline. Francesca remained silent during Allisa's explanation, and afterward, she asked to be alone. Of course, there was nowhere for her to go, so she just distanced herself from Allisa and sat on a rock looking like she was deep in thought. It took some time before she finally broke her silence.

"Your friend knows about this?" She asked Allisa.

"No," Allisa answered, knowing that she was referring to Lucy, "and I'd rather not get her involved in this."

Francesca remained silent.

"I'm gonna look around," Allisa announced, getting back to her feet.

Francesca remained where she was, still staring blankly. Allisa tore her gaze from Francesca and started to look around the caved in space they were in, checking out the opening in the wall. It would be more productive than waiting for Francesca to budge, which was what she thought.

She couldn't blame her though. Given everything she must have gone through, only to hear the long-winded and rather hard to believe the story she just told her. It wasn't that Allisa particularly liked Francesca. In fact, she didn't like her at all, but her silence was starting to get unsettling. But she understood how she felt. Three months ago, when she drew the sword and then heard Nel's explanation, she had a very hard time believing it.

While looking around, Allisa found an opening with a hole in made through the floor. There was also a light coming from the hole.

"Hey! Come here!" she called out to Francesca.

The hole she found led down into an untouched room, beautifully designed with murals and other fancy artwork, with the exception of the rubble which pierced through the ceiling, allowing the girls to drop down into the level. The next room was a wide-open ballroom with a large dome above, decorated with incredible artwork. A fancy chandelier hung from the ceiling. Columns circled the circumference of the room, holding up a balcony of sorts. It was as well-decorated as the last room, as well as several holes and cracks in the ceiling, presumably from the explosion that leveled the upper levels of the labyrinth.

"What is this?" Allisa muttered upon entry.

As the girls walked through the ballroom, Allisa spotted something. Right in front of them, at the very end of the ballroom was a second chamber, very different from the others. At the very end of the room was a glass vat filled with a strange green fluid. Inside the cylinder was a little girl, around Melvin's age. She had blond hair, and across her naked body was multiple stitches. Around her tube were various flowers, and in the center of the room sat an operating table.

"Whoa..." Francesca breathed mostly out of fear. "Is.... Is that a person?"

"Looks like it..." Allisa answered. She then walked closer to the girl, noticing something familiar about her. As she inspected her face, she then remembered the portrait in the library, the little girl on the lap of Luvia. On the bottom of the tube was engraved a name.

Vina Roswell.

A chilling thought then came to Allisa. She recalled what Luvia told her about the Homunculi, how they were souls of the dead. She was effectively bringing the dead back to life....

No way... Is she-

"GET AWAY FROM HER!!"

The girls turned to a voice from behind them. Nearby was Luvia, holding a dagger, with an angry expression on her face. Besides her were Rubrik and Diane. Both of them seemed slightly burnt from the explosion. Especially Diane, who's clothing was parched on her left side. Luvia's dress also showed signs of burning as well as several tears in the fabric.

As Francesca froze in place by the sight, Allisa turned slowly, taking her eyes off the girl to look at Luvia's expression, and then turned back to the girl.

"This is your daughter, isn't it?"

"I said get back!!" Luvia screamed.

"I'll take care of it," Rubrik announced, preparing to charge.

Allisa summoned her sword and stuck it out close to the glass of the vat.

"NO!!" Luvia said with shock.

Rubrik instantly stood his ground, recognizing the dilemma.

"You're trying to bring her back to life, aren't you?" Allisa said to Luvia, fixing her with a determined look.

"You..." Luvia hissed, holding up her dagger. "Don't you dare-"

"Answer me!"

Luvia shot a look of disdain at Allisa. "Yes, It's true. So what? Is it so wrong for a mother to want to save her daughter?"

Allisa's grip tightened on her sword. "What happened?"

"A rare illness," Luvia answered reluctantly. "Her mana was corrupted at a young age and she fell into a coma. I took her to all the doctors and healers in Avalon, but they couldn't save her. So I found a way into Terra, hoping that with their advanced medical technology they could save her. And not only did they not do anything, they declared that she was dead. It took so long that every organ failed! Do you have any idea how that felt? To lose the only thing you have!

"Her whole life before her, cut short because of the corrupt incompetence of these Worlds!" The dagger Luvia held started to tremble as tears fell down her face. "Then I found a way I could bring her back. I replaced her failed organs with fresh ones. I tried to perfect the art to create homunculi while looking for the one who can summon her soul back to her body."

Allisa kept her blade up at the tube. "And that's why you killed so many people," She said with disgust. "Do you think that's what she would want? Do you think she would be happy knowing how much lives you took all in order to bring her back?"

"I DON'T CARE!!" Luvia screamed. "She didn't deserve to die! I will do anything to bring her back! She can spend the rest of her life hating me for what I've done, I don't care! As long as she can live, I will go into the depths of hell for my sins!"

Allisa was taken back by Luvia's outcry.

"That's why I need her." Luvia pointed at Francesca, who looked a little confused on what was going on.

"M-me?" she muttered.

"With her, I can bring her back." A look of desperation came over Luvia. "Surrender her, and I'll let you live."

A look of horror came over Francesca. She was basically offering Allisa her life in exchange for her, a deal that no sane person would refuse in this situation. And for all the hostility she treated Allisa, it wouldn't be that surprising if she used this opportunity to get rid of her once and for all.

"Not a chance!" Allisa's response surprised even Francesca. "She's coming with me. I'm getting her and all my friends out of here alive." She inched her blade closer to the glass. "True I don't know what it's like, but I understand why you're doing this. And it's because of that I will stop you!"

Luvia was about to charge Allisa when Rubrik stopped her.

"No, we've won." He said calmly.

Suddenly, Allisa felt wires wrapping around Allisa. It then tightened and held her in place, leaving her unable to move her body.

"What... I... can't move..." she muttered as she tried to move.

"What's wrong?" Francesca asked her.

"Weedree has caught her."

Allisa looked up and saw Weedree near the chandelier of the ballroom, hanging from his left hand.

"What? The gas mask guy!" Allisa remembered that she encountered him in the library with Nel. If he was alive, that meant...

"Where's Nel?" She yelled at Weedree.

"The red-haired woman?" Weedree replied. "She's dead."

Allisa's eyes then widened with horror as she felt a pit develop in her stomach. "No... It can't be... You're lying..."

At that moment, something burst through the ceiling. As the dust subsided, Edasa's large frame came into view. Lying on the ground at his feet was a bloodied and bruised Max. In his Right hand was Melvin, who was in just as worse shape as Max, and in his left was Tristan and Bill.

"MAX! MELVIN!"

Rubrik looked at Max and Melvin. "Are those intruders?"

Edasa nodded. "Yes. Apparently, they defeated Thatch and Frosh."

"I see," Rubrik said, letting out a sigh. "That would explain what's happened."

Luvia looked shocked and saddened by the news. "No..." She muttered.

"Don't worry mother." Edasa stomped on Max, making his grunt. "They aren't a threat anymore."

"Got that right." Gamba then dropped down from the hole in the ceiling. "They didn't put up much of a fight. Dropped just like flies." He said with a sinister grin on his face.

"You didn't do anything," Edasa said, as though accusing him of something.

"They were already exhausted from whatever they went through, it was hardly worth the trouble." He then glared at Allisa with a hungry expression. "I remember this one. She's the one who cut my arm of when we first met." He then brought up his new arm sword and pointed it at Allisa. "I have to thank you." He said to Allisa. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been granted this new arm, and I've been itching to try it out on something."

"Hold on," Rubrik interrupted Gamba's rant to look at Weedree. "Can you sense Sharly?"

Weedree shook his head. "The explosion surprised Weedree. Too much debris. Can't sense beyond this room. Only just escaped unharmed when Thatch exploded."

"I see." Rubrik then looked at Allisa. "Well, there's no reason to keep them alive." He then looked back to Luvia, who had been quiet for some time. "Mother,"

Luvia took in a deep breath and faced Allisa. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry it has to end like this. But it's too late for me to turn back now." She then turned to Weedree and nodded. "Make it quick." She said to him.

"As you wish, mother." Weedree then raised his right hand and prepared to twitch a finger, which would slice Allisa into bloody pieces.

Just then, something whizzes past him and slices off his entire right arm. Weedree cried in pain as blood sprayed out of his stub. He lost his grip on his left hand and dropped down, only just regaining some form of grip before he smacked onto the floor. Everyone looked in shock as they got to grips with what had just happened. The wires around Allisa loosened and she was able to move again. As she looked up, her face lit up with a great sense of relief.

"What... What happened?" Weedree screamed, moving his head around mostly out of frustration.

"Seems I was able to find a blind spot."

Weedree turned as he heard a familiar voice. "I-Impossible!"

Up on a narrow foothold in the dome stood Nel, looking down on Weedree with her Yellow eyes, in her left hand she held her short blade.

"Nel," Allisa said in relief.

"How?" Weedree yelled. "You should be dead! Weedree killed you! Weedree buried you!"

Nel reached out and caught something with her free hand.

"No..." Weedree felt one of his thin wires with Nel's fingers on it.

Nel then tugged and pulled off a piece of the wire and held it up. "This is how you can see." She said. "A thread so thin that even my Piercer Eyes couldn't see it at first. It works like a spider web, picking up someone's mana through the vibrations and cuts in the thread which feeds directly into the slots in your thumbs."

Weedree was dumbfounded that Nel was able to figure out his trick so easily, but there was still an unanswered question he had. "How did you escape?"

"Back then, I noticed the thread in one of the light crystals in the room. I was able to adjust my piercer eyes to pick up on them and found a way out of my current spot without being detected.

"I knew that I couldn't catch you off guard since you would have those threads around your body in order to sense any attack coming at you, so I deliberately let you find my position and use quickstep to escape undetected. I then laid low until I could catch you with your guard down, like just now when victory seemed within reach where you didn't have the threads around your body."

She then drew out her dagger. "Allisa!" she called out. "I'll finish this guy off. You take care of the others."

"Wait... I can't take these guys all by myself!" She protested.

"Don't worry. Reinforcements are on their way."

Just then, a fresh hole was busted through the wall of the ballroom near Edasa. As Edasa turned to inspect it, a fist punched him in the face, hard enough to force him to the ground, causing him to drop Melvin, Tristan and Bill.

"You the homunculus called Edasa?"

The weary Max and Melvin looked up and saw Cliff standing over them, glaring at Edasa.

"No bad..." Edasa said as he got back to his feet, rubbing his cheek. "That actually hurt." He then glared back at Cliff.

"C-Cliff." Melvin wheezed.

"You guys ok?" Cliff said to both him and Max.

"May need a nap...." Max said with a weary smile.

Tristan and Bill looked up and saw Gamba standing near them, a crooked smile on his lips, showing his teeth. While shocked, they noticed that his attention was fixed on the hole in the wall.

"Took your time, I was wondering if you were actually dead."

Standing at the hole was Yuki. His sword was drawn and he had a grin on his face as well. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Not my fault this place is a maze." Yuki's gaze turned to Max, who was getting back up. "You look like hell pyro."

"Least I've been doing something unlike you!" Max said back.

"Hey, I had a hard time too with bunny ears!" Yuki replied.

"Bunny ears? You mean you had trouble with a bunny?"

"No, some chick with bunny ears on her head!" Yuki pointed up. "And are you the one who caused that explosion? That nearly killed us you know!"

"Exploding guy blew himself up! Why'd you assume I had a hand in it?"

"Cause these things usually relate to you!"

"Now's not the time to be arguing you idiots!" Melvin yelled, trying to break up the fight.

"He started it!" Both men said while pointing at each other.

Gamba gave his arm several swings. "As much as I'm enjoying this little sideshow, I'm starting to lose patience." He then stuck out his blade at Yuki. "Ever since we met, all I've been thinking about is ending your life."

Yuki's gaze returned to Gamba. "Well, I've been itching to get things with you over with." He said with a grin. "Still gotta pay you back from running me through."

Cliff then spoke. "You guy's get to safety." He said to Max and Melvin. "And keep them safe." He referred to Bill and Tristan. "Well take it from here."

Melvin talked Max into sitting out and both picked up the others and waddled off into the corner of the Ballroom.

"'Bunny ears?'" Edasa said. "You mean Sharly right?" An angry tone could be heard in his deep voice. "Did you kill her?"

Cliff was hesitant to answer the question, remembering the last thing Sharly said, about the Alchemist wanting to bring her daughter back. "What does it matter?" He said in the end, clicking his knuckles. "We came here to stop you guy's."

"Is that so?" Edasa then grinned and held up one of his fists. "Well then, you're free to try. Let's hope you're better than those other two."

At the same time, Gamba and Yuki rushed towards each other and clashed their blades together.

"You seem a bit winded from last time. Does it still hurt where I ran you through?" Gamba taunted as he pushed against Yuki's sword.

"You seem a bit weaker than last time, did losing your last arm sap your strength as well?" Yuki taunted as he pushed back.

Gamba grinned and stuck out his free left and at Yuki's chest. Yuki grunted through the wave of pain, losing some of his strength. Gamba immediately took advantage and freed his blade to swipe at Yuki. Yuki narrowly dodged and swung out his sword ran past Gamba, coming to a stop and pivoted around, gripping his tender chest. The dark patch had grown, indicating that his old wound was opening up.

"Seems you're not in the best of conditions to face me," Gamba said as he looked down on his hand, which was covered in blood that was seeping from Yuki's chest. "You couldn't put a scratch on me last time when you were in peak condition. What chance do you have against me as you are now?" Gamba liked one of his fingers with a look of perverted satisfaction.

Yuki grinned back at Gamba. "Seems to me you're not in peak condition either.”

On Gamba's cheek, a small, fresh cut had formed, dripping blood down the side of Gamba's face.

"Or was that cut there before?" We jeered.

Gamba's eyes looked towards the cut, feeling the drops of blood running down his right side. He then grinned through his teeth at Yuki. "Oh, this is gonna be fun..." he muttered before launching himself at Yuki once more.

Life of Hunting

Luvia watched in horror at the chaos that had descended.

"What is going on?" Rubrik hissed. "How could all the intruders still be alive?" His eyes gazed over to Allisa, who was moving towards Francesca. Is this her doing!

Luvia's fists trembled with rage. After all her sacrifices, after coming so far, everything was now falling apart. "...Why, why now?"

Allisa moved towards Francesca and told her to find some place to seek shelter. After all, getting involved in battles like this was never a good idea. As Francesca ran off to the corner of the room, Allisa turned to face Rubrik.

Rubrik kept his gaze on Allisa, a general feeling of worry building up inside him. She seems different again. But how? What is it about her that's changed?

"I'll take her on," Diane said, extending her nails.

"I wouldn't recommend it. There's something wrong with that girl."

"You need to protect her." Diane referred to Luvia. "In this kind of battle, those with no combat abilities will be killed if they get in the way."

Rubrik looked to Luvia, taking in Diane's words. "Alright," he said nodding his head, "be careful, this girl's more dangerous than she looks."

"Don't worry."

Allisa walked towards the three before her, wondering if it was a good idea to take on Diane and Rubrik together. Diane then disappeared from Allisa's sight, appearing to her right. Allisa just managed to block a strike from Diane, who then kicked her in the gut, somersaulting and swiped her left hand, sending projections at Allisa.

Crap! Allisa recovered and blocked the projectiles just in time. she struggled against them as she tried to cut through. In the end, she forced it upwards, nearly falling back. As she staggered Diane lunged forwards at Allisa. Now or never I guess.

****

"So, what do you mean by sword form?" Allisa asked the dragon.

"It's the core ability of your weapon. Excalibur can absorb mana from a source and use it to transform into a weapon that illustrates that power."

"Huh?" Allisa held out her right hand. "Sounds, kinda cool."

"'Cool?' What do you mean by it sounding cold?"

"Um... It's an expression. You know, when you think something is... um... never mind." She looked back at her hand. "You said absorb mana, what does that mean? Does it steal mana, like from-"

"No, you can't unless the one it absorbs from is willing. I lost to the human, so I granted him the power he desired."

"Ok, that's good." Allisa smiled. "I'd hate to use something that feels like I'm stealing."

The Dragon chuckled quietly to himself. "You certainly are a strange human."

Allisa then closed her hand into a fist. "Ok, how do I activate your sword form?"

"You must speak my name, then the sword will change to that form."

"Your... Name?"

"You haven't hired my name yet? Surely you've seen the memory of my predecessor."

"Well yeah but... It's like whenever they say your name, it goes mute."

"I see." The dragon then extended its wingspan and stood up as tall as he could. "Listen well, Human girl, I shall bestow upon you my name. It is....."

****

Allisa lowered her center of gravity and gripped her sword in both hands. "Hope this works,"

Diane was now several feet away, crossing her arms. A bright light shone from the tips of her nails, clearly intended to be an attack to finish her off. She then leaped towards Allisa swinging her arms out, the light from tips of her nails stretched out and melded into two blades of light.

In that split second, Allisa took in a deep breath, and lunged at Diane, swinging her sword upwards. And with a clear voice, she yelled out a name.

"Azure Flame!"

****

The world was full of hunters.

The world was based on natural selection.

The weak were weeded out, and the strong prevailed.

The woman was raised on that principle. She was a hunter, born and bred to kill to survive. Time and time again, the woman would leave her home to go into the woods to put natural selection to the test.

Day in and day out, she pits her skills against the creatures that lurked in the forest. Every day, it was kill or be killed. Yet at the same time, the hunter could easily become the hunted?

One day, some outsiders came to her forest. Soldiers, armed with swords and spears. They attacked her without warning, with no reason other than to kill her. But natural selection played its part again, with the woman coming out on top.

However, those men had friends, powerful friends who came to avenge their comrades. Though the woman fought hard to defend herself, she eventually succumbed to the men. But she wasn't sad at her death. It was simply natural selection at work, and she was weeded out as the weak one. It was all part of nature.

****

As Allisa's blade connected with Diane's projected blades, it seamlessly passed through them, followed by some kind of explosion. A second later, Diane was sent hurtling back in a ball of fire, impacting into a column nearby.

Allisa felt surprised at the power she just emitted and was even more shocked of the flames that had formed on her blade. It then quickly subsided.

"Wh-Whoa..." Allisa gasped as she gazed at her sword, which had completely changed. The cross-guard was now a golden, amber color, shaped into flames that bent upwards. The most notable difference, however, was the blade, which was now completely black. However, there was a strange heat emanating from it. This is... Azure Flame?

Rubrik stood in stunned silence. "What-What in the..." He bit down on his lip as he felt a surge of anger swell up in him.

Luvia was equally stunned. "Is that... A spirit weapon?"

"Mother, forgive me."

Rurbik then teleported to Allisa, appearing behind her. Allisa reacted by pivoting and swinging her sword overhead.

"Vibrate." Rubrik caught the blade with his hand. Suddenly a shocked look came over him and he pushed Allisa's blade away and instantly teleported a few feet back. He then looked at his hand, which he used. There was a deep cut on it, which had burn marks on the parted flesh.

She cut me?! Rubrik clenched his fist as he glared at Allisa.

Allisa swiped her blade downwards as she faced Rubrik. I cut him then. She then spoke to Rubrik. "Why are you fighting for her?" She asked. "You know right from wrong, and she's not controlling you, so why aren't you stopping her. You know what she's doing is wrong. Why are you helping her?"

"Because she gave me a second chance." Rubrik hissed. "I failed to protect someone in my past life, someone very important to me. Because of my failure was branded a traitor by those I considered close. I lost everything, my home, my family, my purpose, then my life. Then, mother, she gave me a second chance, she gave me a home, a family, a purpose..."

His glare intensified, bringing his fist up, ignoring the increased blood flow that came from his hand. "That's why... I will give my very being to mother!"

Allisa could see his resolve burning in his eyes. Just by his stair alone, she could tell that there was no way she could talk him down. Unlike Garlahad, whose conviction was wavering, Rubrik's was different.

Rubrik ripped off his hoodie, showing his pale and stitched body off, as well as his bald head which had a patch of pinkish skin grafted on. "Time to end this." He announced to Allisa. "This time, you will die."

Allisa took her blade in both hands. "Alright," she said. "I will beat you, and I'll get everyone out safely!"