Trading Blows

Now, dear Reader, as the Narrator, I really need to intrude in this book for a few times to talk to you. Well, maybe not a few times, but still.

Also, hello, dear Readers of the 515 event! This story will also include my rather annoying, unnecessary, and most likely offensive and daring commentary! I hope you tolerate that. Anyway...

As the author of a product which may never be finished (probably), I will truly understand if you will complain why there are some few characters not yet introduced or why some have to be omitted, by any means. Most likely, they're the characters you favor the most.

Please, remember I am merely a teenager with a life, not a one-man factory. I lose patience as well.

I designated this story to contain the heroes within the specific patch note with the new mage hero, Zhask. Now, you know who are included and who aren't. Each may be so with important roles, and some probably of none. Please understand. I want to create a fixed plot.

Never, ever complain about the following.

1. Why isn't Miya, Layla, etc. the main character? Isn't she the first hero?

2. Why does the story take so long? Where is the action?

3. What is the next part of the prophecy?

4. Why isn't Clint or Roger or Alpha the main character? Aren't they cool for you?

5. Why-

SHUT UP. PLEASE.

I am not one to share secrets that will spoil your reading experience. Complain nonsense, and you would be categorized as a cancerous reader. If anything, you are just as impatient in playing as so in reading.

(Probably why most of you aren't of Legend Rank or higher. You lack patience. And self-control.)

Though, I'll let you in on one piece of information. Alucard is the main character.

BUT, we aren't here to use his point of view all the time. In this chapter, I'll give way to a few characters so that their stories will be unraveled.

That's all for today. Arcturus420, signing out.

(And please, try not to look at the very last page. No, there's nothing scary. Only profound things you cannot fully contain.)

Here we go!

Wait, where was I?

Oh, yeah!

The sparring matches!

Psyche! Not those for now.

We're here to talk about the girl with the umbrella!

Yes.

It's Kagura.

Don't worry, the sparring matches are coming up as well.

This is just a Canon One-shot. Because I am kind and courteous.

Kagura and Akai were strolling off into the woods, feeling a bit too carefree. Though, they didn't forget their one personal task.

"Why are you searching for Hayabusa again?" Akai asked her. "You were friends right?"

She hung her head. They were friends, but they were forcibly separated.

"You wouldn't understand," Kagura replied. "It's a complicated sitch."

Akai weakly smiled, putting his cane over his shoulder. "Kagura, I've been with you for a long time, protecting you. I'm here to fulfill my promise to keep you safe. You can trust me. And besides, Frogger here-"(he points at the frog on his straw hat) "-tells me he's no stranger in your life."

They stop for a moment as Kagura leans on the trunk of an oak tree, clutching her open umbrella. The breeze was slightly blowing her white hair to the opposite direction.

"Hayabusa and I, we may seem like friends, but I can tell."

Akai became concerned. Mastery of his meditation could help him tell if Kagura was beating herself up emotionally.

She continued. "But there was this time when things took off for the worst. And everything fell."

The memories haunted her again. The swift shadow, piercing her friends and neighbors with ghostly kunai.

"It was that day when everything became clear to me. If only I…" Kagura started to weep. Bringing it up is painful for her to bear, as she is struggling to find who she longs for.

She went down on her knees. Akai rushed to her, helping her up. The wind slowly died down.

"Hey, hey. Sorry for asking. Didn't know you were that sensitive," he comforted.

"You never knew," Kagura said. "Those without knowledge are to be taught. They who violate with mind are to be disciplined."

"He told you that," Akai realized. "That quote. You keep repeating that during your training."

"It was the only way to remind me of who he was in my life. It was never simple."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of plopping footsteps.

She suddenly looked up. Sure enough, there was a carriage strolling up on the brown, fine pathway dividing the forest.

Kagura squinted. "Isn't that…"

"It's a carriage from the Land of the Dawn. What's it doing far off the kingdom? We're probably 22 leagues far from the place."

They walked up to the driver. Akai asked, "Hello, sir! What seems to be the case?"

The driver, a Secret Service Royal Messenger, examined them.

"So it is you," he said. "The coordinates Estes gave me were correct. I am right on time."

"Wait, what?" Akai was confused, scratching his head with a furry paw.

The driver chuckled. "Never fear, my companions. Estes, the Elven King, ordered me to escort you to the kingdom immediately. You are in need."

"Why is that?" asked Kagura.

"Haven't you heard? The stories are true. It's only a matter of time before hell breaks loose. And don't worry about your personal search, he's there anyway. He probably won't be eager to talk-"

He was interrupted by Kagura. "Wait, you mean…"

The driver sighed. "Yes. So, what are you waiting for?"

Meanwhile...

Our beloved heroes rose early to participate in the training. They're not really too eager for it, but they're willing.

Yun Zhao didn't need sleep. Numerous time travels have prevented him from being prone to needs like these. He rarely eats, because he still needs to. As he slices off the training holograms, the 2nd early bird arrived. It was Miya.

"You're too early," she said.

"You know I don't need sleep, right?"

She walked up to him. "Well, we're in this huge catastrophe that we're most likely gonna fail to fix, so there's that."

Zhao sliced off the last hologram in half. The AI PA announcer said, "Situation 152 Complete. Battle Rate: 100%. Targets Destroyed: 206. Hits Received: 0."

Miya was impressed. "Nice!"

The spearman shrugged. "Meh. I am actually a bit bored. However, I can't wait to spar with the new recruits."

"Promise me you'll go easy on them," the archer replies.

"Depends if I am willing." Zhao laughed, walking up to the seats.

"If you won't keep that promise, just remember that I can hit your left eye a mile away!" Miya jokes as she walks up to the range.

(Actually, she NEARLY did do that. One time, when she was testing her speed, she fired too fast, forcing an arrow of hers to fly sky-high. It was a miracle that Yun Zhao's predictions enabled him to block the arrow right before it hit his face.)

The heroes converged. Surprisingly, the mages couldn't be seen anywhere.

"That's odd," Lolita noticed this. "None of the mages are here."

Alpha, who just arrived via Beta, said, "The mages are training with Estes, as they try to hone in their magic. It's not fit for them to really be in here."

Bruno, Alucard, Ruby, Chou and Layla showed up as well. The Protector slid up (yes, literally) to the elf.

"So, how's the start of the day? As planned?"

Ruby replied, "Not too crowded. Seems fine." She was holding the huge scythe, something that Chou couldn't resist but be in awe.

"I mean no offense," Chou started. "But isn't that thing too heavy for you?"

Ruby just smiled. Then, she made a quick downward slash that made a huge cut in the ground. After a split second, she was back to the original stance.

"Okay," Chou nodded humorously. "Point made."

Hayabusa, fortunately, just walked up to them, wearing the same uniform he wore last night.

"Let's be patient," he says to them. "The training protocols are still being applied to the equipment, to suit your combat styles."

"Why is everything planned out to the exact detail?" Alucard questioned.

"Again, we can never be truly ready. We can only be ready enough," Hayabusa replies, as he teleports into the shadows once more, only to appear on the other side of the arena, chatting with Zhao.

"Have you ever thought of the fact that Hayabusa doesn't need to walk too often?" Layla asks.

Beta, who was floating on Alpha's head, said, "Shadow phasing costs energy in terms of multiple uses in one sitting. Using it once every minute reserves 95% of Hayabusa's energy. Previous scans indicate extremities in his former training."

"Maintaining his title is no joke," Chou added. Out of the corner of his eyes, Fanny flew toward them in her training gear, landing with both her feet against the wall. A visible scar can be seen on her right arm.

Lolita greeted her, but then was taken aback due to the scar. "Hey, Fanny! How's- wait what the actual f-"

"Language!" Alucard stopped her before things got out of hand. "I thought you were supposed to be healing," he said to the flier.

"Estes's new spells really help a lot," she replied. "I can continue practicing, though I am not allowed to go above the border." She hopped down, her hooks letting go of the wall.

"Any new update?" Ruby asked.

"A new batch of heroes will be coming in after 2 days. A squadron will be dispatched later in order to search the 3rd crystal. The others are to stay or wait for command. Wait, you're Ruby, right?"

The girl nodded. "Why? Something wrong?"

Fanny shook her head. "Nothing. You just seem awfully familiar." She continued talking.

"If you've heard the prophecy, then you know that we are to make a truce with the Snow Queen."

Alpha asked, "When?"

"Somewhere around an hour after lunch. We will designate the nearby portal's coordinates to reach her kingdom in the fastest way possible. The Valkyrie, Freya, and Franco, are joining in, obviously."

"What of Bane?" Layla asked.

"Estes and Freya have now come in contact with him. They say the pirate is in distress. They hinted no lie or hypocritical action. Hell, there's even a bit of interference. And there's no interference in marinal communications here in Gaius. They were nearing the Glass Beach an hour ago. We will rendezvous with them soon."

"But the prophecy. Something bad will happen," Alucard reminded. "How-"

"That's what we've been trying to do. We're to minimize any form of chaotic intent," Fanny replied. "We are NEGOTIATING with the Queen of Ice. For now, let's enjoy these sparring matches."

The PA Announcer blared right after the flier spoke. "Please be advised, the sparring matches will occur in 5 minutes. The first match: Chou vs Zhao."

Chou's eyes widened. "What?! I can't take on that dude! He's too fast."

"Well," said Alpha, "we assessed your physical limits when you got here. At some instances, you're faster than him. Just try to remain unpredictable. You can disarm that spear of his."

After a few minutes, the 2 combatants went into the center of the arena. A ton of people were watching them.

Bruno eyed a buff person with red skin and a huge axe. His brown hair flowed below his shoulders, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

"That's Balmond," someone replied.

"Dammit, Hayabusa," Bruno shouted. "Try to warn me first before you ninjutsu me out."

"Sorry. Anyway, he's the leader of the Bloodaxe Orcs. Don't be too intimidated. He's actually noble of heart. Lost a couple of his comrades against Alice, though."

Meanwhile, the PA was announcing certain rules. "1. Retain sportsmanship. 2. Use fair moves. And number 3. NEVER KILL. Please, we've had enough of that."

Nearly everyone was laughing, even the Orc. Chou and Zhao nervously went into their starting posts.

"Just so you know, please take it easy," Chou said worriedly to the spearman who was inspecting his weapon.

"Don't worry," he replied. "I deem it honorable that you fight by your own. You bring no weapon."

"I am the weapon, bud. And I am fragile."

Yun Zhao smirked. "We shall see."

The PA counted down. "3… 2… 1… Go!"

The Kung Fu Boy ran straight to Zhao, who was attempting to charge straight through, aligning his body with the spear. Chou dashed at the right time, nearly missing the flurry of strikes that followed by a few centimeters. After nearly a complete second, the Son of the Dragon turned around, taken aback to the fact Chou just barely missed the attack.

The crowd was in awe. Chou's friends just grinned. Zhao shook his head. He sprinted to Chou, who was still in shock. However, he had just enough time to react against Zhao's upward strike, blocking it. Yun followed with two roundhouse kicks, which were easily blocked as well.

The rally started as the two were trading hits, though none seemed to budge.

"I knew both fighters were fast, but them to be in a stalemate? Absolutely not," said Balmond, who was talking to Hilda.

"I agree. I wonder who'd give in," replied the female hunter, strictly observing the two warriors clash.

The trade ended as Chou struck Zhao with a palm strike, hitting the spearman until he actually flew a few feet before landing on his own two legs.

"I've got to admit. You're pretty tough," Chou heaved. "I assumed that taking that spear of yours away makes no difference."

"Don't make me test that out," teased Yun. This time, Chou charged. He easily dodged Zhao's forward kick.

Too simplistic, he thought, as he readied himself to deliver a huge roundhouse.

Unfortunately, that was a trick. Zhao, without looking, butted the martial master in three different places before putting him back into his view by the edge of his spear. He made a diagonal slash, which Chou barely dodged again, though it was too close. The soles of a shoe were torn off cleanly.

Chou was shocked. He nearly got crippled.

"Sorry about that," Yun apologized.

"C'mon now, I've got a lot more pairs to spare," replied Chou.

I have to disarm him. It really does even the playing field. I need to be faster.

"Shall we continue?" Zhao asked.

"Sure."

Zhao immediately charged the millisecond Chou replied back.

"Whoa!" Alucard unconsciously said. "That's insanely swift."

Zhao decided to fake his moves again. But Chou dashed differently.

Instead of trying to completely miss the attack, he simply sidestepped to the spearman's left.

Zhao wasn't expecting this, so he instantly made a high kick to Chou's ribs. The fighter blocked this, and quickly grabbed the spear.

But Zhao was holding it tightly. Chou had to kick Zhao again to disarm him, which he successfully did.

The crowd was cheering for either side as Chou retaliated by attacking via Zhao's spear. Nevertheless, Zhao was blocking all the attacks with his sapphire gauntlets.

Chou was desperately finding a weak spot somewhere. No matter where he struck, Zhao seemed to block the strike. The rally ended when Zhao landed an accurate chop on Chou's right skull, pinning him down until he got the spear again.

"Dammit, the dude's too fast for Chou!" Lolita exclaimed. "There's no way he can beat him."

The two fighters panted as they were back to where they started.

"That's a lot of fun," Chou breathed.

Zhao smiled. "Let's end this, shall we?" The spearman ran straight.

Chou dashed, but Zhao knew it was coming. He quickly rotated clockwise and got the hem of Chou's clothes with the tip of the spear. He flipped him back.

Not on my watch! Yun thought,

Suddenly, a huge amount of energy concentrated on Chou's leg. Right after the flip, Chou kicked Zhao on the face so hard that it made him a fly a couple of meters.

The crowd gasped.

"No way!" Fanny said, in awe.

"What the-" Layla started.

Chou instantly transitioned to Zhao in mid-air, kicking him again. As they rose higher, Chou's legs hammered Zhao like a mortar against a pestle. They gained much altitude.

Zhao couldn't retaliate. All parts of his body were being targeted. He may feel lesser pain than usual, but the force of those kicks were too great.

What the hell is happening?!?! Chou was internally screaming. He doesn't even know how he was doing this.

After the kick barrage, they realized they went higher than the arena itself. As they started falling, Chou balled a fist of chi, aimed straight to Zhao's chest.

As they landed, Chou generated a large force blast that generated winds that breezed on the spectators. Sadly, he missed, as Zhao rolled in the perfect moment. The spearman charged, but Chou kicked off the spear, breaking it in two.

Both fighters cast a roundhouse kick on their opponents' rights. They stopped once the calf reached their faces.

They put down their feet and shook their hands.

"The winner of this clash remains undetermined! It's a tie!" The PA said.

The audience applaused.

"That was intense," Chou said.

"Don't kick too hard next time, dude," Zhao joked as they went back to their sides.

Bruno was jumping up and down and high-fived Chou hard. "DUDE! HOW IN THE WORLD DID THAT EVEN F-"

"I DON'T KNOW," Chou yelled, equally elated.

Meanwhile, Zhao was grinning due to the intensity of the match.

Miya walked up to him. "That was insane."

"I know, right?" Yun replied. "I didn't even know he'd be that strong."

"Well, it seems Zhao here has made the stalemate," someone called. It was Clint.

"Gotta say, it's unexpected," Zhao said to him. "Wait, I thought you are going to the Wastelands with Hilda and Balmond?"

"We'll do so later," Clint assured. "Estes got a couple of stuff in his hands to rummage and fix."

The AI PA blared once more for the next fight. "The next battle… Hayabusa vs Karina!"

Hayabusa, who was with Alucard and the others, didn't seem fazed about the announcement.

"Time to see who Karina is!" Alucard said. "She isn't too bad, right, Hayabusa?"

"Still bad," the ninja snickered. Out of the corner of their eyes, a night elf in elusive battle gear approached the arena, wielding two Hurricane Glaives. These forms of weapons include a pair of double blades fastened on one grip.

The night elf had slightly purple skin, and wore a slick headgear. Her blue hair is tied.

"Karina is the standout among the Night Elves," Hayabusa added. "She despises Miya, though."

"Why?" Lolita and Ruby asked at the same time. "JINX!"

"I don't know. Something about being too proud? I'll ask her." Hayabusa walked off the stalls rather than teleporting to avoid being too flashy.

Karina was eyeing her opponent. "Same old times, Shadow."

"Gotta get used to it at some point, Karina," the ninja replied. "Let's get to it."

Karina charged, brandishing her weapons. Hayabusa calmly and slowly puts his left hand on the grip of his sheathed blade. He closed his eyes.

"What is he doing?" Alucard asks.

"Concentrating," Alpha replies. "Proven effective."

Karina leaped, attempting to slash the "unaware" Shadow. Hayabusa suddenly opened his eyes and immediately brought out his golden blade, deflecting the attack. He then followed up with a rotating blade kick that lands right on Karina's stomach. She simply slid into the sandy ground, genuflecting.

"You've grown faster, my dear," Hayabusa compliments. "Try again."

Karina smiled. She simply dashes to slice the ninja, but Hayabusa deflects her attacks. She keeps on slashing on the knees, torso and head, but the gilded blade retaliates again and again.

But this is not what amazed Freya, who arrived late in the scene, going close to Miya. The fact that Hayabusa hasn't moved from his location since is unnerving.

"Wait, he hasn't moved at all!" Freya said. "He is improving."

"Still," Miya dejectedly says, "he won't be able to hold off those attacks."

Tired, Karina paces away from the ninja, who remains silent and motionless. In the blink of an eye, Hayabusa deploys 4 shadow clones from equidistant directions, a couple of meters away from him.

The Night Elf maintains her ground. She doesn't move, anticipating the next course of action.

"Why aren't the moving?" Bruno asked.

"What's this, a staring contest?" Layla joked.

"It's a mind game." Lolita answered. "Karina is waiting for Hayabusa to teleport somewhere on one of the shadows."

Karina is wedged accurately between two of the shadow clones. Hayabusa hasn't moved from the spot since. She decides to attack the shadows next to her. They simply collapsed into nothingness.

She decides to charge at Hayabusa, who has closed his eyes again. She pierces his chest, but he dissolved as well.

She then realized. He had teleported ago. LONG ago.

She turned her back. The two remaining shadows are now staring at her, arms crossed. She looked around. Two newly formed shadows appeared before her eyes. She was surrounded.

The crowd was gasping as the shadows have cornered the Night Elf.

"In all honesty, this seems scary, even in broad daylight," Miya says to Freya, Clint and Zhao.

"Any one of delusional mind would be crying home to mommy!" Clint replied jokingly.

The 4 shadows closed in on Karina. She had no choice but to spin around with her blades, in which she managed to dissolve all the shadows. But that meant one thing. The ninja was gone.

Out of the corner of her eye, the dissolved shadows converged as one mass, and Hayabusa himself appeared. He slashes at the assassin, who successfully parries the attack in time. She follows up with a cross slash onto the armor, which easily made a gash on the material. Hayabusa leaps back and releases 3 shurikens in a flash, which Karina barely deflected. The last shuriken grazed her forearm. Hayabusa sheathed his blade.

"Sorry about that," he apologized.

"At least the spar is fun," she replied. She dashes straight to the ninja. Hayabusa does the same, putting his left hand on the grip of his sheathed blade, and the other hand forming a "hush" sign on his lips.

I have to stop him from disappearing, the elf's mind raced.

She charged faster than usual, which surprised the Shadow of Iga. Hayabusa was forced to prematurely release the quad shadow. Karina saw this and waited for the right moment.

As Hayabusa teleports, the magic twin blades locked on him, and as he teleported to the farthest shadow, Karina did her signature move…

"Oh, no," Alpha said. "The Shadow Rush!"

You ain't getting away this time!

Hayabusa turns around and sees Karina charging at him, figuratively, in the speed of light.

Sorry about this, he thinks.

"SHADOW KILL!"

Alucard, who was quietly reading their minds, didn't predict this.

Wait, what?!

As Karina touched Hayabusa's armor with her blades, he dissolved. The second after that, a momentary shadow collapsed through Karina and slashed her, grazing her leg. The apparitions came every 1/3 of a second, and Karina was forced to cover herself with her twin blades to prevent any more cuts on her body. They didn't seem to bleed, but they did hurt.

"What's going on?!" Layla exclaimed.

"Ougi: Shadow Kill," Alpha replies. "Hayabusa materializes into the shadows and instantaneously barrages the enemy with shadow strikes. He can't be hit, and he will dodge anything. It hurts more after every successful hit. Unfortunately, this skill is spending lots of his energy."

Karina was yelping whenever a shadow hit her skin. She couldn't do anything but hold off the barrage, which was weakening her every second.

After a couple of seconds, the assault stopped. Karina's blades were scratched and bore marks of wear. Hayabusa appeared a couple of meters in front of her, breathing heavily, the golden sword on his left hand, supporting him to the ground.

Both assassins were spent and both had to call it off. Once again, it was a tie. Hayabusa stood up first, reaching out his hand to help Karina up.

"What in hell just happened?!" Karina complained. "I couldn't hit you."

"Now, you have witnessed the true power of the Shadow," Hayabusa replied. "It was a good match, though."

Hayabusa walked up to Alucard and company while Karina went to Zhao.

"What's with all that?" Karina asked. "That seemed unfair."

"He knew that you'd deflect all the attacks nonetheless," Miya said. "He is actually much faster than that. Consider yourself lucky."

"Consider yourself lucky we haven't feuded at least once, today, genius," the assassin spat.

"Hey now," Zhao wedged. "Don't start off another ruckus."

The last battle was on call. Everybody is muttering about, nervous on who would fight next.

The PA blasted once more. "For the final match… Alucard vs Ruby!"

"No way," Alucard denied. "After all the people the AI could pick."

"Seems like it's just on the pavement, Alu," Ruby said, encouraging him to get up and walk to the arena. She had no difficulty of carrying the huge scythe.

Balmond and Hilda were snickering in the distance. Alucard read their minds, though he didn't have to do so to know what they're thinking. So he just telepathically said, "DON'T even think about it."

The two stopped, surprised.

As the red duo were on the pavement, Ruby said, "We'll go easy on each other, right?"

"Depends if we keep our promises," Alucard replied. "Please, avoid the violent stuff. We can halt if you need to."

The girl simply smiled. "Overprotective, huh?"

The Demon Hunter rolled his eyes. "I get that a lot." Both fighters simultaneously charged.

The other Demon Hunters were right on time to watch the fight.

"Wait, isn't that Alu?" Victor asked, squinting. "What's he doing there?"

"Fighting against Ruby," Yinsen absentmindedly answered. "Wait, fighting againt Ruby?!"

"That's not good," said Horst, Yinsen's 2nd in command.

Ruby suddenly reached out to Alucard with her hook, attempting to lure him in. The Demon Hunter was surprised as he found out the scythe could enlarge and extend. He jumped to his right, barely missing the sharp edge of the deadly reaper.

Alucard was really about to swear. "Mother of s-"

He was interrupted by Ruby's scythe, which whacked him on his chest, skidding him into the sandy asphalt.

"Oh, it's on, now," he said, tightly gripping the greatsword with his left hand. He somersaulted, attempting to deliver a crushing blow with the blade. Ruby leaped backward, missing the attack by a few inches. As the attack made contact with the ground, the earth shook a little. The attack generated a couple of cracks on the earth.

Ruby's eyes widened. She now knew it was no time for playing games.

"So, are we keeping our promises?" Alucard asked.

Ruby smiled. "We're very bad in doing so."

They charged again. Alucard slashed at the girl, who could deflect the force of such attacks with her scythe. She merely tried to poke and knock off Alucard with the covered outer edge of the scythe, which was really sturdy and solid.

"By the time Alucard gets pulled by Ruby, he's a goner," Fanny concludes. "He couldn't get in range. He has to get behind."

"How could he do that?" Alpha asks.

"No clue," Chou replies.

The rally ended as Alucard hits Ruby's stomach, stunning her. He attempts to knock off the scythe with his sword. As he comes in contact with it, he is the one who gets blown back.

"Wha-" he says as he stumbles. "How?!"

He notices.

"No. No… don't tell me you're having another episode!"

Ruby's eyes were completely red. The pretty face of hers became frightening. She walked up to the Demon Hunter, readying the scythe.

"Okay, Ruby. Calm down. Put the scythe away."

She basically responded with a slash, which Alucard easily dodged.

"I know you're still in there. Fight those thoughts. Find your peace!"

The spectators knew there was something wrong.

"What's going on?" Hilda asks.

"The girl has gone rogue!" Victor shouts. "Restrain her!"

Soon enough, the Demon Hunters fled to the scene, readying nets and ropes to secure the insane Ruby.

Alucard realizes this, so he tries to push them off.

"Wait, wait! Don't touch her! You're only making her even angrier!"

"That's it, time to intervene!" Bruno yelled as he kicked a holographic ball directly at Ruby's face. Without looking, Ruby spun around with the scythe. The ball ricocheted and landed on Bruno's forehead, stunning him.

"Not cool!" Layla says, rushing up to the battlefield.

Hayabusa appears right next to Alucard, helping him out.

"Ruby, calm down. It's us. Don't hurt us," he comforts.

"There will be no 'us'!" Ruby exclaims, in a different voice. The crowd trembles.

"The evil has come for all of you, especially you," she says, pointing at Alucard.

"Ruby, you have to fight it!" Chou says. "You're stronger than this."

"Do you wish to put down all the hopes of this world earlier? Then be my guest. The Dark Lord laughs at your graves!" She proceeded to leap very high, slamming the scythe to Alucard.

He was pinned down, lying on his back. He was trying very hard to push the scythe off with his sword (because the tip of it was millimeters away from shredding his nose). The others couldn't get close to the girl, as the dark aura manifesting in her grew stronger.

"Foolish boy!" she exclaims, in a much deeper voice. "I have come to vanquish your kingdom and everyone in it! Do you think you have bought precious time by putting all the fish in one barrel? You cornered yourselves!"

"That's not her talking," Alpha said. "Request immediate release of Class A Tranquilizers."

"Alpha, don't!" Lolita says. "Who on earth is talking?"

"Who cares about the messenger?" the voice says. "Listen to my threats! I am coming for you, Demon Hunter, and you will suffer as much as your parents did! How worthless where they when my servants flayed them down!"

Alucard was really straining. He didn't even realize that he was gripping the greatsword with his right hand.

The one thing he SHOULD NOT do.

"And what about your allies? They all hope to survive this war. But they'll die for you, for it's my decision to make you suffer, Alucard!"

That does it.

Alucard's eyes blazed.

"No!" Yinsen exclaimed. It was too late.

"Let her go." Alucard said, almost in the form of a shout. The energy was growing stronger…

"Wait… is that…" Freya notices.

"Alucard! Don't!" Zhao yells.

The greatsword radiated.

"Let her go!" Alucard yelled, pushing the sword harder.

"Alucard! Let go of the sword!" Victor exclaims.

"I said…"

"NO!"

"LET HER GO!!!"

A huge wave of energy blast forth from within the greatsword. Everybody was knocked off from the blast. Poor Ruby got the worst, for she actually flew a few meters before hitting the ground.

Alucard heavily exhaled. The sword stopped radiating, and he received a headache. He clumsily stood up.

Everybody was absolutely done for. Even Karina was trying to help up a dazed Balmond. Tigreal rushed into the scene with a hooded woman that Alucard doesn't recognize. On her left hand was a huge gold claw that gleamed in the sun.

The knight rushed to Alucard, helping him up. "You okay, Alu?"

Alucard recovered from the headache. "Ughhh… what happened?" As his eyes cleared, he found his comrades lying on the ground, struggling to stand.

"What have I done?" he asks.

"This isn't your fault," Tigreal comforts.

"No, this is my fault. I could've… I-"

The woman with the claw comforts him. "Relax. It's fine. It's an accident."

Alucard looks at his greatsword, which stops gleaming. He only then realizes that he has been using his right arm for the duration of the event.

Ruby, who has cleared her marbles, ran to Alucard, forgetting the scythe. She hugged him.

"Oh, God, I am so sorry," she cries.

"Hey, it's okay. You couldn't control it," he says. He turns to Tigreal. "I need to talk to Estes, pronto."

"That's why we're here," the knight replies, "right, Natalia?"

The woman nods.