Finally, Aurora and Armageddon clashed blades. The battle for Reis' heart had begun! Armageddon pushed Aurora back by increasing the pressure on his sword. Aurora stepped back, trying not to lose balance. She unblocked with the dark sabre and slashed at Armageddon but he simply moved away from the path of the blade.
Armageddon pushed Aurora suddenly and she lost balance and fell.
"Is this really your best? I almost feel like weeping" Armageddon mocked.
Aurora quickly stood up.
She charged to attack Armageddon swinging both blades as quickly as she could but Armageddon simply evaded with fluid movements.
"What? You can't even land a hit?" Armageddon teased.
"Stand and fight you coward!" Aurora yelled angrily.
Armageddon smiled.
"Isn't the very essence of Swordsmanship the ability to evade your opponent's attacks? Stop making senseless remarks" Armageddon teased.
Armageddon disappeared and appeared behind Aurora.
"Boo!" he suddenly startled her.
She quickly turned giving a one-eighty degree spinning attack but Armageddon disappeared and appeared a little farther off.
"You know, I'm actually beginning to enjoy being in a human body" Armageddon laughed.
"STOP TOYING WITH ME!" Aurora yelled charging angrily towards Armageddon.
"Temper, temper, you humans can hardly control your emotions and…THIS IS THE RESULT!" Armageddon said as he ducked to evade Aurora's attack and punched her in the gut.
Aurora fell on her knees coughing violently. Her mind was exploding with pain. She tried to stand up but she felt weak.
"Falling from a weak attack like that. What have you been doing?" Armageddon asked.
Aurora thought back.
"Oh no, I lost most of my stamina battling the Kaiser wolves" she thought.
"Plus you've been running around swinging those things without thinking of the long term effects" Armageddon said as he folded his arms.
"Y-You can read my mind?!" Aurora exclaimed in shock.
"You finally figured it out huh? There's a lot more I can do. More than even the dragons can imagine and there are some powers of mine so great that using them could kill this body" Armageddon said as he turned his back to Aurora.
Aurora stood up.
"I'll give you a chance to strike me while I'm unprepared. See? You can hit me from behind if you like" Armageddon said.
"No honourable swordsman strikes his enemy from behind!" Aurora declared.
"Too bad, you blew your only chance of retaliation" Armageddon said as he took Reis' fighting stance.
"Fight me seriously!" Aurora ordered.
"Fine, if you are begging to be beaten, then beaten you shall be" Armageddon said as he suddenly charged towards Aurora with great speed. He sliced the air suddenly. Aurora could hear the great sound the sword made as it sliced through the air. She jumped out of the air and the sword struck the ground. Large cracks began to appear in the ground.
"NO WAY! What monstrous speed and power!" Aurora thought as she opened her eyes in shock.
In a flash, Armageddon stood before her again, about to strike. Aurora raised both Saggeesian blades defensively in front of her barely managing to block Armageddon's strike. The impact of the clash sent her flying through the air. She fell to the ground and rolled a distance. She stared at Armageddon in shock and lost consciousness.
"Pity, you didn't even last ten minutes" Armageddon said as he stared at Aurora with cold eyes, then he turned away from her.
"I guess I'll pay the Dragonlord a little visit" he said as he charged with amazing speed towards the Temple.
Meanwhile Erasa had been informed of everything that was going on.
"If Armageddon is controlling Reis, isn't it too dangerous for Aurora to face him on her own?" Erasa said thoughtfully.
"Yes it is, but it is the only illogical thing that could produce the results we desired that we could think of" Darak joked.
Kyla couldn't help giggling.
Darak stared at her in surprise.
"Sorry" Kyla apologized and stopped laughing.
"Let me check on Aurora" Shin said as he closed his eyes and scanned the guild. He saw a faint blue aura at the entrance to the Forest Of Awakening and a dark fiery aura charging quickly towards the Rangers' HQ.
He opened his eyes.
"Not good, not good at all" he said grimly.
"What's happening?" Mistress Kira asked.
"Aurora's aura is really weak, almost as if she's severely weakened and guess where Reis is?" Shin asked.
"Cut the suspense!" Kyla yelled.
"He's on his way to confront the Dragonlord!" Shin informed them.
"What?!" everyone exclaimed at once.
"We have to stop him at once!" Mistress Kira exclaimed.
"But we can't leave Aurora on her own. Shin bring Aurora here" Kyla ordered.
"I'm on it!" Shin said as he disappeared.
In the next moment, he was at the entrance to the Forest Of Awakening. He found Aurora lying on the ground unconscious still clutching the Twin Saggeesian Sabres. Shin carried her in his arms and teleported them back to the hospital.
"I'm back" he said as he placed Aurora on another bed.
Aurora looked badly hurt.
"No way, how could Reis do this?" Erasa said in shock.
"I'll get the doctor" Kyla volunteered and left the ward.
"I guess it didn't work after all" Darak said with a disappointed look on his face.
Mistress Kira sighed.
"It's probably because she hates swordsmanship" she reasoned.
Soon, Kyla returned with the doctor.
"I'll attend to her wounds right away" the doctor said as he stretched his hands over Aurora.
A strong blue light enveloped Aurora's body and her wounds disappeared.
"She's completely healed now though she'll still feel a bit tired" the doctor said as he left the ward.
Aurora opened her eyes and looked around.
"H-How did I get here?" she asked.
"Shin brought you" Kyla said.
"What happened?" Erasa asked.
Tears began to flow down Aurora's face as she struggled to sit up.
"I'm not strong enough. I can't help anyone. I couldn't feel Reis' heart and I couldn't even land a hit. I'm just a failure!" Aurora wept.
Mistress Kira looked at her with understanding eyes.
"You just didn't try hard enough" Shin said.
"Get off her case already!" Kyla yelled angrily.
"I tried everything, I charged, I attacked…but I was simply no match" Aurora said sadly.
"Aurora, what really is a sword to you?" Darak asked.
Aurora frowned.
"To me, a sword is nothing more than a useless weapon" Aurora said glumly.
"I see, that's the problem" Darak said.
"What do you mean?" Kyla asked.
"A sword is not just a weapon, it's an extension of yourself. It shares your spirit and since you don't believe in it, it doesn't believe in you" Darak said.
"Are you trying to say swords are alive?" Aurora asked skeptically.
"In a way, yes. When a swordsman learns to trust himself and his sword, the sword takes on a life of its own and becomes more than just a weapon. It becomes an ally. A sword is also a reflection of its wielder's strength and I'm not talking of physical strength. I'm talking of the strength that comes from your heart" Darak said.
"How am I this weak?" Aurora said staring at her palms in despair.
"Are you still babbling about that?! Let it go already! Look, you failed once, I get it but aren't you alive? Isn't that enough reason to try again?!" Shin scolded her.
"It's so easy for you to talk like that! You don't know what it feels like, not being able to do anything!" Aurora yelled.
"No I don't but Reis does. You thing Reis is all powerful? Do you think he is some kind of god? When you slapped him on the day of the KIA rangers' memorial ceremony, Reis wanted to quit being a ranger, I'll tell you what I told him then. Don't just sit around hoping for a miracle because it will never come and even if it does, you will never see it. Go out there and create a miracle with your own hands!" Shin yelled.
Everyone gasped in surprise.
"Was Shin…always this wise? Shin, the idiot of the class? Is he really the one saying all this?" Aurora asked herself.
"I now understand why he was chosen by a Psychic Dragon. This boy understands the human heart more than most adults could hope to" Mistress Kira thought silently.
Aurora just stared speechlessly at Shin.
"Okay, did I just say that?" Shin laughed nervously.
"Darak please tell me how I can activate the power of the Saggeesian Blades" Aurora asked.
"Firstly, you must rid your heart of your hatred for swordsmanship. Secondly, believe in yourself, thirdly, focus, fourthly visualize your opponent's movement as a reflection of his emotion, fifthly…" Darak was lecturing when Mistress Kira cut him off.
"Aye, Aye, we get the point already. You're only going to confuse her. Aurora, it will come naturally to you like a long forgotten memory. Just follow rule number one" Mistress Kira said with a smile.
"And that is…" Aurora questioned.
"Don't lose to the same guy twice!" Mistress Kira said with a serious look on her face.
Aurora clutched the Twin Saggeesian Sabres tightly.
"I'll try again!" she said.
"One more thing, when fighting a powerful foe, greater strength is derived from the knowledge of finality. In other words, this is your last chance. Don't lose!" Mistress Kira ordered.
"We'll all be around to help you this time" Shin said.
"Thanks guys" Aurora said as she stood up.
"So I guess we should get going" Darak said.
"And where do you think you're going young man!" Mistress Kira said sternly.
"To help of course!" Darak said as he put on his shirt.
"You'll only hurt yourself more!" Mistress Kira scolded.
"Remember the vow we made on our first field mission together. You, me, Aurora and Jared?" Darak asked.
Aurora smiled.
"Of course. We promised that as long as we're members of Team Kira, we would never abandon each other" Aurora said.
"Aye, and Reis Dragonhӓart is a member of Team Kira!" Darak declared.
"You're right. Just take good care of Aurora; and yourself" Mistress Kira said.
"I will. Count on me to complete this mission, Captain Kira!" Darak saluted.
"Heh! You haven't called me that in a while" Mistress Kira said.
"Well get used to it Cap'n. Okay Shin, let's get going!" Darak exclaimed.
"Okay, hang on everybody, destination, Rangers HQ!" Shin said as they disappeared into thin air.
Meanwhile, there was mayhem at the Rangers' HQ. Armageddon stormed the place destroying everything in his path while heading to the Dragonlord's chamber. He soon arrived at the door leading to the Dragonlord's chamber and broke it down. He walked indignantly towards the Dragonlord's throne. The Dragonlord watched Armageddon calmly. He didn't seem bothered at all.
"I wondered what that odious smell I was sensing from halfway to this chamber was" the Dragonlord insulted calmly.
"A human calling himself the Dragonlord is…unforgivable!" Armageddon roared causing a huge earthquake.
"Why are you here Armageddon?" the Dragonlord questioned calmly.
"To kill you, rule the Dragons, exterminate humans and finally rule all of Ryugaeia!" Armageddon declared with an unpleasant smile.
"You…are…a…fool. There will be nothing to rule once you exterminate humans" the Dragonlord said.
"I will make Ryugaeia a world solely for Dragons!" Armageddon said.
The Dragonlord began to clap for him.
"Wonderful Armageddon, you almost sound like you care about the Dragons" the Dragonlord said.
"I hate the other Dragons. They ruined my plans ten millennia ago" Armageddon growled angrily. "I'll make them suffer humiliation as their new leader and then…I'll destroy their hearts and turn them into Dark Dragons" Armageddon said.
"What a grand plan…but there's one fatal flaw. Only a god can destroy the hearts of the dragons and you are obviously far from being a god. You do not even have your own body" the Dragonlord mocked.
"SHUT UP!" Armageddon roared.
"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot your body was sealed in Oblivion, how very thoughtless of me" the Dragonlord mocked.
"I said SHUT UP! ONE MORE WORD AND I'LL END YOUR MISERABLE EXISTENCE!" Armageddon threatened.
"You should have done that immediately you arrived. Do you not feel it? 'The Fated Ones' have gathered here" the Dragonlord said just as Shin and the others appeared in the Dragonlord's chambers.
"Armageddon!" Darak roared angrily.
Armageddon laughed.
"You mean to tell me that these puny human children are 'The Fated Ones?' Don't make me laugh. They'll never have the power to defeat me even in a billion years!" Armageddon mocked.
Shin and the others walked towards Armageddon.
"We don't know what you're talking about but we've got a surprise for you!" Darak said as he pointed towards the others.
They parted slowly to reveal Aurora brandishing the Twin Saggeesian Sabres with a very determined look on her face.
"You again?! I spared you once but that is a mistake that can easily be remedied!" Armageddon said as he unsheathed Reis' sword and took Reis' fighting stance.
"You'll find me very different from the person you fought earlier on…HAAAH!" Aurora yelled as a huge amount of blue aura enveloped her body and her blades.
Her blades reacted to her aura and began to glow brilliantly. Armageddon watched her in fascination.
"Your will is stronger than before but your resolve can easily be broken. Let me prove it to you!" Armageddon roared as he charged to attack her.
Aurora charged towards Armageddon and raised the Light Sabre to attack. Armageddon struck and their swords clashed.
"It'll be the same result" Armageddon said.
"We'll see, HAAH!" Aurora yelled as the Light Sabre phased through Armageddon's blade.
"No way!" Armageddon exclaimed in shock.
Aurora quickly turned the blade and struck Armageddon's throat with the blunt side of the Sabre.
Armageddon coughed, then he smiled.
"Just kidding!" he said as he kicked Aurora.
Aurora flew quite a distance and fell to the ground.
"Aurora!" Erasa screamed.
"Let her do this on her own. It's her fight" Darak said.
Erasa calmed down.
Aurora stood up.
"You're powerful but power isn't everything!" Aurora said as she charged to attack Armageddon.
Armageddon clashed blades with her and they began a fierce sword battle.
"You've actually gotten stronger within this short period so…I guess it's time for me to end this!" Armageddon roared as he changed his fighting stance to Irik the Devil's fighting stance.
"Aurora watch out! That style is dangerous!" Darak warned.
Aurora watched Armageddon's stance closely. It was faint but she could perceive dark flames around his body and his sword. Aurora held the Twin Saggeesian Sabres defensively in front of her.
"Here I come!" Armageddon roared as he charged with amazing speed to attack Aurora. Aurora watched him closely.
"OBLIV…!" Armageddon began to roar but Aurora could see something strange.
"NOOO!!!" she heard Reis' voice and in the next moment, a projection of Reis ran from Reis' body and shielded her.
"Reis" Aurora called in surprise. "…ION STRIKE!!!" Armageddon roared.
"Aurora, just follow my lead. You can do it!" Reis declared as he charged towards Armageddon. It seemed like Aurora was the only one that could see Reis.
She ran behind him and just as Armageddon's sword was about to pierce Reis, she saw him sidestep, then spin out of the way, now, the sword was headed for her, she did the same and the sword missed her. Reis moved his fingers along Aurora's arm. Aurora did the same.
"Now for the final touch…DRAGON PARRY!" Reis and Aurora called as they directed Armageddon's power through their bodies and shot it through the roof, then gave Armageddon a footsweep sending Armageddon sprawling to the ground.
Reis turned to Aurora and winked, then he disappeared.
Aurora smiled.
"Even when your mind is not your own, you still protect me" she thought with a smile.
"Wh-what? Aurora used Dragon Parry? H-How's that even possible?" Shin exclaimed in shock.
Mistress Kira smiled.
"She's finally beginning to see it" Mistress Kira said.
"You mean Reis' heart?" Kyla asked.
Mistress Kira nodded.
"YOU! HOW DID YOU COUNTER MY ATTACK?!" Armageddon roared in a rage.
"You better than anyone should know not to show your trump cards too often" Aurora said with a satisfied smile.
"IT'S HIM ISN'T IT?! THAT ABOMINABLE DRAGONHӒART! ALWAYS INTERFERING WITH MY PLANS, BUT THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME! I WILL KILL HIS SPIRIT!!!" Armageddon roared hysterically as he suddenly began to release a huge amount of Dark flames.
"AAAAHHH!!!" Reis began to scream in pain.
Aurora ran to Reis.
"Reis! Reis! What's happening to you?!" Aurora called hysterically.
"Armageddon is trying to kill Reis' spirit!" the Dragonlord informed them.
"What can we do?" Aurora asked.
"The only way to save Reis is to battle Armageddon within Reis' subconscious. You must travel into Reis' mind" the Dragonlord said.
Aurora looked at Shin.
"Can you do it?" she asked.
"I've never done something like that before" Shin said doubtfully.
"But do you think you can do it?" Aurora asked.
Shin seemed to think for a while, then he smiled determinedly.
"Yes, I can! But I need something precious to Reis" Shin said.
"Easy enough, it's his sword" Aurora said as she removed Reis' sword from his hands.
Reis collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap.
"We need to hurry!" Aurora said.
Shin took Reis' sword and closed his eyes.
"Gather around me and hold Reis' sword" Shin instructed and everyone obeyed.
Shin placed his fingers on his forehead.
"Okay, here we go!" Shin called as they disappeared.
When they appeared, they were in a world surrounded by darkness but there was a faint light coming from above. Everyone looked up and saw that the light had been eclipsed by dark flames.
"Where is this place?" Erasa asked nervously.
"Do you really need to ask? It's Reis' heart" Aurora answered and in the next instant they heard a terrible roar and a painful scream.
"It's Reis, we've got to hurry!" Aurora said as she led the others towards the source of the voice.
They ran and ran and finally found themselves in a dark forest.
"Where is this?" Aurora asked.
"It's the forest from Reis' dreams. I think he is close by" Shin answered.
"Then let's go!" Aurora ordered and they ran through the forest searching for Reis.
The more they ran towards the screams however, the farther off the screams seemed to be until they could no longer hear the screams altogether.
"What's going on? The screams seem to be out of reach" Mistress Kira noticed.
"Shin, do you have any ideas as to what is happening?" Mistress Kira asked.
"There is only one thing I can think of. Reis' pain is isolating us from his heart" Shin reasoned.
"What do we do?" Aurora asked.
"Well there's that…and there's also the possibility that Reis' spirit is dying" Darak added.
"NO WAY!" everyone exclaimed at once in fear.
"Don't even joke about that!" Kyla yelled angrily.
"No, he's right. Reis' heart is being consumed by the darkness of pain, guilt and loneliness…and evil!" Mistress Kira explained.
"That explains the black flames eclipsing the light!" Shin said.
"Then we'd better hurry!" Aurora said as she began to run through the forest.
As they ran, they became increasingly aware of a dark shadow crossing their path many times.
Mistress Kira motioned for them to stop.
"Show yourself!" she ordered as she unsheathed her sword.
"You are quite powerful to have noticed my presence. I didn't expect us to meet so soon especially since our previous encounter was quite unpleasant" a deep calm voice spoke as a huge shadow began to approach them from the trees ahead.
Slowly, the outline of the shadow began to become visible and in the next instant, the shadow was revealed as a gigantic Kaignis wolf.
"The Kaignis King!" Mistress Kira exclaimed in horror.
"Sabre-fang is my name!" the Kaignis wolf spoke.
"You are the Kaignis wolf that shared its power with Reis" Mistress Kira said.
"That I am" Sabre-fang said.
"What are your intentions?" Mistress Kira asked.
"Do you really need to ask? I am here to help you save Reis from the darkness" Sabre-fang spoke.
"How?" Mistress Kira asked.
"I will take you to meet Reis' Light! He has been awaiting your arrival for centuries" Sabre-fang said.
"CENTURIES?!" everyone exclaimed at once.
"Sorry, I meant to say…MILLENIA" Sabre-fang said.
"MILLENIA?!" they exclaimed again.
"Come with me. He will explain" Sabre-fang said as he lay on the ground.
The rangers mounted his back.
"Hang on tight!" Sabre-fang said as he zoomed through the forest.