"This is it. This form… feels good…It feels, complete" Zahad said
"So, you've finally become a true demon?"
Cayafaz asked the questions while struggling to lift his head off the ground to look at him
"Not quite, but I guess you could say so. Yes, I have become a true demon…Aren't you even going to congratulate me?"
"...."
"Hmph. You're such a sore loser. I've finally done it. You tried to stop me, you tried to kill me, but at the very end, I finally succeeded. I've become the very thing you fear, hate, and have tried to kill, and despite your efforts, I achieved it after defeating you fairly in one on one mortal combat. The least you could do is face your loss with the little dignity you have left"
"Tsk!"
"Bitter to the very end, are you? I guess when you give a battle your all you expect to be rewarded, but seeing as you were met with disappointment, and your pride is in shambles, it's easy to understand your disdain"
Cayafaz forces the energy out of himself to sit up
"I just have one question for you"
"Ho? And what's that?"
"Now that you've become a demon. Do you finally feel whole? Do you feel a sense of pride or peace? Are you finally happy?... That is of course, if you can even feel happiness"
Zahad stares at his left hand and places his left hand on his face
"No. I'm not complete, neither am I happy, neither am I satisfied…Not only do I not feel happiness anymore, but I wont even get a sensation similar to it…not until I kill Edward…its only after I do that, that I'll feel a sense of happiness and finally, finally, finally! Be complete"
"And what happens if you don't feel that completion? What if you don't feel satisfied afterwards? What then?"
Zahad drops his hands, stares to the void above him, and says
"Then…I'll just have to figure it out as I go along now wont we?"
"I can't let you. If you're a threat, and you plan on using your powers you harm the others and Edward, then I can't let you leave!"
He gets up the floor staggering. His left arm is badly wounded and blood is running down the left side of his face blinding his left eye. Barely able to move and covered in deep, open wounds. He holds up the nail gun from earlier and points it at Zahad
"I'll beat you, and I'll stop you, right here!"
"Is this some sort of joke? Your planning to stop me? You can't be serious. Cayafaz, not only are you losing a deadly amount of blood as we speak, your body is also barely functioning, soon it's going to stop listening to you entirely and will shut down to preserve itself. But if you keep trying to force your hand then you'll end dying before that. I don't know energy you had in our last fight, but whatever it was is gone. Your just burning ashes over a fire that's barely kindling in the midst of a storm. Soon the embers will die out and the ashes will fade and disappear"
"SO?!"
"So, that will signal the end of your life"
"Do you think I can't muster up some energy? Don't underestimate me Nathan! Even if my body has gone dull, my mind is still as sharp as ever and is more than a match for you! I just have to come up with a plan"
Zahad rushes into Cayafaz. He disarms him, then grabs him by the throat and rushes into a pile of rubble, crashing Cayafaz through it
"Don't ever call me by that name! I told you, Nathan has died. I am Zahad"
"Guah!"
Cayafaz struggles for air as Zahad chokes him and he coughs up blood
"Your right, you know. Despite the fact you were severely weakened in our last battle, you somehow managed to beat me by using the simple tools you saw around you to your advantage, and with them you turned the tide of battle. Though I had more energy than you, you had more brains than me. your will power and cunning allowed you to make the most out of a situation so things come out alright for you…in fact, I'm sure It's how you've come this far and have managed to live this long"
Cayafaz continues to struggle. Zahad pulls him out of the rubble wall
"So even with your body in shambles, your mind may be the greatest threat to me and my plans. You should be proud of yourself Cayafaz. Other than Edward, no one else so far has had me put up my guard this much, or raise my level of awareness to this degree"
"Gngh! What can I say? Ngh! I'm a pretty resourceful guy. I don't like to throw things or waste anyone. Everyone and everything is useful and can always be recycled or repurposed"
"Yes… I suppose your right"
Zahad places both hands on Cayafaz neck
"Well, while I originally had no plans or intentions of killing you, you've shown me that if left alive you can become a huge pain in my side later on, or a huge threat to me in the future. So, I'm afraid your life ends here"
With both hands on Cayafaz neck, Zahad tightened his grip and started to choke the life out of Cayafaz. The light in his eyes begin to fade, and the last of his strength slowly leaves his body as he spends it struggling to free himself in vain. Zahads grip is too tight and Cayafaz is too weak to stop him. As he slowly dies, he chokes on the words
"Damn it, Edward! Where…the hell…are you?"
"Goodbye. Cayafaz"
Just as Zahad gets ready to snap Cayafaz neck *Woosh* Goes the sound of wind as it passes by Zahad
"Hm?"
Just as the winds pass by, Zahad, finds himself suddenly standing armless, and Cayafaz who was just seconds away from death, no longer in his sights or grasps.
After this, a sudden shockwave hits Zahad at point blank range, sending him flying backwards. While flying through the air, just a few inches off the ground, he flips mid-air and uses both his heels to dig into the ground trying to find his bearings. His heels dig a hole up to his ankles as he leaves a deep crash print in the ground. He looks around as his arms regenerate
"Who is that?"
Zahad asked his hands now almost completely regenerated
"Sorry for just dropping in like that. But I do appreciate you letting go of my friend there"
"You!"
Edward arrives with his sword on his shoulder and blood stains on it. Cayafaz is also on his left arm partially unconscious
"I was shocked when Isabel told me something had attacked them. I couldn't imagine what it would be. Who would have guessed. It was you, Nathan"
"So, you're finally here. Edward!"
Cayafaz starts to groan in pain
"Damn it! Ed, do you know how long you kept me waiting? I really thought I was gonna die. I bought you so much time!"
"I'm sorry I'm late. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for you to fight in my place, but you bought as much time as you could for me to get here, and you protected everyone by doing so, just like a shield would. Now, it's turn I take over"
Edward lays Cayafaz down to rest
"It's time for the sword to do the striking. So, you just leave the rest of the fight to me. I can move you to a safe location so just lay there and rest for now. leave the fight in my hands"
"Alright then. I'm trusting you to win this for all of us. So, don't…mess…this…up"
Cayafaz says before passing out
"You seem pretty confident Edward. Do you really think you can beat me?"
"I don't really know, but I guess were gonna have to fight for me to find out right? By the way, I'm loving your look. Got a nice mini boss energy to it… or should I say first stage boss?"
"I guess the later would be the best way to go about it. Sad though, you wont live long enough to see the bosses second stage"
"I don't know about that. I think this battle should only take about…twenty…thirty-five minutes tops"
"Is that so? Alright then"
Zahads hands completely regenerate and become hardened like steel or rough stone
"Let's see!"
Zahad makes the first move by lunging at Edward. Edward dashes toward him and goes for a thrust attack, Zahad skillfully side steps to the side and tries to catch a hold of the sword. Just when his hand is about to grab it, Edward changes the position of the sword and has the sharp edge face Zahad. As Zahad see's this, he tries to step back quickly, but he isn't fast enough. Edward immediately follows his movement with a slash attack, but the sword only barely tears the skin on his chest
Zahad rubs his finger in his wounds and licks his blood as his regeneration seals up his injury
"A sweet sensation of pain in this new form, and an amazing taste I find myself having, but you've barely broken skin. You'll need more than that if you want to beat me"
"I know. That's why I want to take this fight!"
Edward quickly maneuvers to the ceiling and uses it as a platform to launch a jump kick at Zahad
"Outside!"
The kick forces Zahad out of the ruined incomplete building and pushes the fight to a new arena.
Zahad managed to block the kick, but is now on the defensive. He knocks Edward back and starts running away from him to build up so momentum
"I'll need to fight him in an open area if I don't want him pulling any stunts like Cayafaz did. He also seems to be nimble inside, I wonder if that will change if I take that away from him…wait"
Zahad began to ponder something else
"…He was the one who forced me outside…doesn't that mean he might have a better advantage in more spacious areas? That means that acrobatic ability he has might only be limited to certain conditions or something. In any case, it's not something to worry too much about after all"
Zahad stops to face him
"I also have an advantage outdoors!"
He throws a straight jab, but Edward blocks it with his sword. Edward retaliates by going for a hit to the head with his knee, Zahad blocks with the back of his left hand. Running out of limbs to attack and block with, the two step away from each other. Circling around each other, Zahad brings out his tail and whips it against the ground. Edward brings out his short sword and rubs it against his Katana.
"I have to say Nathan, I'm loving this new look"
"The name isn't Nathan anymore! It's Zahad"
"Really? Damn…well that's gonna be a tough one to say and remember… Mind if I just call you Natty?"
"Damn it, Edward! Take this seriously!"
The two violently clash again, this time sending things with little weight around them flying in every direction. The blows move at sonic speeds, both of them using each of their limbs to the fullest. Sword clashes to hand, hand clashes with leg, leg clashes with leg, tail clashes with sword, tail clashes with arm. The attacks keep coming but their just barely managing to get any major hits in.
Zahad catches Edwards arms with his tail and pull him forward. He knees Edward in the gut and follows it up by punching him in the jaw which launches him into the sky. Using his legs, he jumps, following Edward into the air, giving him another follow up attack. He kicks him in the chest and starts gliding on Edwards like a sky surfing board while the two come crashing down. He says to Edward
"Come on Ed! Show me more of what you got!"