The rising sun woke Sophitia, casting a latticed shadow across the smoldering remains of her campfire. She stretched her arms and back as she lay on her bedroll, taking a moment to listen to the songs of the birds. Reluctantly, she crawled out of the bedroll and began to clean up her camp site, being careful to leave as little trace of herself as possible. With one last look back, she hoisted her sword and shield and set off towards the road.

The dock at Istanbul was crowded with people, each shouting at the top of their lungs as cargo was loaded and freight packed. Ivy strolled through the throng of people easily, smirking as they parted for her, partly from fear of the sword that hung at her back, partly from amazement that a woman would walk about dressed as she was.

In her previous life, she would have never worn the figure-hugging leathers that she was wearing much less be caught out in public in them. But now was different and Ivy reveled in the looks of amazement and naked lust she saw on the men even though she had cast a loose robe over herself to avoid any trouble with the authorities. One or two sailors propositioned her and ended up with broken arms and worse for their troubles. Ivy laughed as she strolled south through the town, looking for a place to buy a horse. The Soul Edge was to the west, how far she couldn’t tell, but it was calling to her and she would come.

Taki idly ran through her weapon drills, watching the Mediterranean drift by. As she finished the drills she stifled a yawn. The late night with the demon had robbed her of any chance for rest although the demon would be sleeping a very different form of sleep than she wanted.

She turned and ran a hand through her black hair, shaking it out as she stepped back towards the aft of the ship. Maxi was at the helm, idly steering the newly acquired ship on its course towards one of the cities that dotted the Mediterranean. What was it called? Istanbul, she thought, rolling the unfamiliar sounds over her tongue.

Taki smiled as Xianghua giggled and swatted playfully at Kilik. The two of them seemed to have gotten closer as the journey had progressed. Kilik had loosened up a bit, now much less cold and distant than he had been when she had first met him. Something haunted him, although the presence of Xianghua and Maxi seemed to help him. Closing her eyes and leaning back on the railing, she sighed and enjoyed one of the last few quiet moments she was likely to have on this journey.

Mitsurugi knelt before the candle, concentrating on its steady flame. Above him the sounds of Kilik and Xianghua’s words were distant and faded. Nothing else mattered but the flame. As he concentrated, he felt the extra debris of life fall away, leaving him in a pure and calm state of mind. In his mind he saw it, the Soul Edge, the blade that he had thought had killed him.

He remembered the fight with the foreigner who had wielded the Soul Edge and its twin. He replayed every second of the fight, analyzing and studying, probing each half-step and each twist of his katana. He saw the moment when he had lost the fight, watching that slight shift in the balance that signaled his inevitable defeat even though the fight continued on for minutes more.

For a moment another battle interposed itself and he saw the rifleman kneeling in the long grass in front of the castle. He saw the motion as the match moved towards the firing pan and the flash as the powder ignited, sending the ball hurtling towards him.
With a grunt he rose out of his meditation and stared at the candle flame. This time would be different, he would not fail and he would prove the sword the superior of the rifle. He would prove that discipline and honor were the betters of technology.

“You don’t want to be going in there, miss,” the farmer said as he passed Sophitia heading the opposite way on his wagon. “There’s bandits and a monster in town!” he called out as he rode away. She watched him ride away and shifted her shield onto her arm and loosened her sword in its scabbard.

The sunbaked shapes of the town’s buildings reflected the early morning light, already there were heat waves rising from the adobe walls. Sophitia took a long swig from her canteen, swishing the already warm water around her mouth before swallowing it. It looked like the day would be scorching, continuing the pattern of strange weather that had started a few months ago, the same time that she had received her vision from Hephaestus. Already fall, it still felt like the middle of summer and showed no sign of cooling.

She had to admit to herself that her mission was not merely one for Hephaestus. If the weather did not change and the rains did not fall, her village would suffer as their crops withered and died. Steeling herself for a possible conflict that waited for her, she continued down the road.

Mitsurugi leaned forward and snuffed the candleflame with his fingers. He watched the smoke coil around towards the ship’s deck and stood slowly, his lean frame rising in one smooth motion.

He spun at the faint sound of a something shifting in the dark recesses of the hold, one hand going to the hilt of his sword. His eyes flicked over the shadows of the hold, searching for motion or any thing out of place. He slowly advanced towards the source of the sound, his keen eyes seeing nothing out of the ordinary. It could have been a rat, he thought but then he heard the sound of fabric rustling.

With one motion he drew his sword and thrust it through the crate stacked to his left and heard a high woman’s scream. The katana sliced cleanly through the wood of the crate as he shifted it to the side, a spill of grain scattering over the floor.

Hiding behind the crate, the hem of her dress pinned to the bulkhead by his sword, was a young woman dressed in a short red dress slit up both sides for easy movement. She had quite lovely dark brown, almost black hair and was wearing a red patterned headband that kept it back from the sweet asian features of her face. To her right, just out of reach, was a long bladed polearm lacquered a bright red.

“Who are you?” Mitsurugi asked as he drew his sword from the bulkhead and kept it poised at her throat.

“Ea-, easy there,” the girl said, reaching up to pu sh away the sword. Mitsurugi jerked his sword threateningly and she jerked back with a gasp. “Umm, I’m not a threat to you, really.”

“Who, are, you?” Mitsurugi said, punctuating his words with minute jerks of his sword.

“Seung. Seung Mina,” the girl said, watching the blade hovering under her chin with nervous eyes.

“Hmmph,” Mitsurugi grunted and motioned for her to stand. The girl was quite comely with the look of someone fit and healthy about her. She was dressed shamelessly, with most of her legs exposed by the slits of her dress and the tops of her breasts easily visible. Attractive, though. “Move,” he ordered, walking behind her and picking up her weapon as he forced her toward the stairs leading up to the deck.

As she moved into the light he saw that she wore the padded gloves of someone who fought, although the dangling blue crystal earrings hanging from her ears made her look like someone who fought as a hobby. Probably the spoiled brat of a soldier who thought she could pretend to be a warrior, Mitsurugi thought.

“Hey, what are you going to do to me?” the girl said in her high pitched voice. “You’re not going to-”

“Rape you? No,” Mitsurugi laughed, “you’re too skinny for my tastes.” He laughed again at the girl’s indignation as they emerged onto the deck. “Look what I found hiding in the hold,” he yelled.

“Who is she?” Kilik asked, fingering the linked mirrors of the Dvapara-Yuga that he always wore.

“Some girl pretending to be a fighter,” Mitsurugi answered, tossing the girl’s polearm towards Kilik.

“Nice balance, a very well crafted weapon,” he said after spinning it a few times and whipping it through a series of drills. “Do you know how to use this?” he asked the girl.

“Yes!” she said angrily with her arms folded beneath her breasts. “Better than you do, it seems.”

“I like her,” Maxi shouted from his place at the aft of the ship. “She’s got spirit!”

“So what are we going to do with her?” Xianghua asked.

“Throw her overboard?” Mitsurugi suggested.

“Why waste such a sweet treasure?” Taki suddenly said as she walked over to the group. “She can serve other...functions quite well.”

“You!” gasped Seung as she blushed furiously.

“You know her?” Kilik asked.

“Yes, we’ve met before,” Taki said, walking around the girl and looking her up and down. “A few years back when I was hunting for the Soul Blade.”

“You mean she’s a searcher as well?”

“Yes, although not a very good one.” Seung opened her mouth for an angry retort but stopped when she caught Mitsurugi’s menacing look. “She lost very quickly. I made sure she remembered the defeat.”

Seung gasped as Taki suddenly slid her hand up her dress and grabbed her crotch. “You were very sweet,” Taki whispered into Seung Mina’s ear. “I’m sure you can work off your passage with me.”

Mitsurugi cursed and spat over the ship’s rail. “She’s your problem now, Taki. You keep her out of trouble and away from me,” he said as he stalked to the bow of the ship.

“What’s his problem?” Seung asked angrily as she took back her proffered weapon from Kilik.

“He’s always like that,” Maxi yelled. “I’m Maxi and this currently is my ship, welcome aboard. That quiet one is Xianghua, the serious one is Kilik, and I guess you already know Taki.” Seung watched the man dressed in the fancy captain’s jacket and pants lash the wheel and leap over the railing to land on the main deck. “We’ll be arriving in Istanbul in a few days, until then why don’t we get to know each other?” He laughed at her expression. “Not in that way, we’re looking for-” he stopped as the one called Kilik shot him a meaningful glance, “-for something valuable. If you want you could come with us.”

“I guess I don’t have much of a choice right now, do I?” Seung said with a slight smile. “I’m looking for something too, maybe I’ll find it with you guys.”

Sophitia wiped sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand as she walked into the town square. The mud brick walls of the houses shone a brilliant white and reflected most of the sunlight into the square, making it seem like an oven in the morning’s heat.

It looked like there was a small marketplace set up in the square, although no merchants could be seen. Most likely driven into the cantina by the heat, she thought. They’d probably leave their stalls alone until the sun dipped below the houses and eased the heat enough to conduct business. The thought of a glass of uzo in her head, Sophitia glanced around for the cantina and stopped when she saw the man.

As she looked more closely at him, she saw that he was probably the monster that the farmer had been talking about. Totally hairless, he wore a harness, spiked shoulder pads, and loincloth of black leather faded by dirt and sun. He looked as if he’d stand at least six feet tall and had arms and thighs thicker around than her head. A massive pole-axe was propped up next to him as he intently studied something on a merchant’s cart. Sophitia moved closer and around him, trying to see what he was so interested in.

“A mirror?” she whispered to herself, then gasped when he turned to face her. It looked as if his heart had been removed and sewn to the surface of his chest. She watched it and saw that it beat as a heart would. Her gaze moved upward and she was amazed to see that his eyes had no whites, he looked as if he was as blind as the old fisherman in her village. But he followed her with his gaze as she moved a little closer to him, his hand tightening around his axe’s handle. “I mean you no harm,” she said, raising her empty hands.

The giant stared at her and she saw that he had a solid metal mouthguard fixed tightly over his lower face and jaws. It was as black as the rest of his clothing and moved slightly as he said something. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you,” Sophitia said as she moved a bit closer, still wary of coming within the man’s reach.

“Sophitia?” he said, his voice harsh and grating, as if he hadn’t used it in a long time.

“Yes, that’s my name, how do you know me?” she asked, amazed. Except for her last journey through Europe to destroy the Soul Blade, she had never left the area around her village. She certainly would have remembered ever encountering a man like this one.

“Sophitia,” he said again, almost moaning her name as he raised his left hand towards her.

“Who are you? Do I know you?” she asked. Before he could answer, they both heard the sounds of clumsy booted feet approaching the empty square from an alley opposite them. Sophitia watched as a large group of bandits, fifteen or so, walked casually into the square. They were filthy and already sweating profusely from the heat. They began to spread out and were taking whatever they fancied from the merchant’s stalls when they noticed Sophitia and the giant.

“Hey, hey Vitorio,” one said, nudging a slight smarter looking one in the ribs. “We’ve got an audience.”

“What did I tell you stupid shit-eaters? No one disturbs us while we shop, now get out of here,” the one called Vitorio yelled, brandishing his pistol at them. He paused and listened to one of the bandits. “Wood chopper, get out of here,” he said, motioning for the giant to leave, “you,” he said, pointing at Sophitia, “stick around. We’ve got plans for you.”

Sophitia tensed and was ready to run for cover. With so many of the bandits, she’d have to try to separate them and pick them off one by one. If she tried to fight them here they’d surround her and could tackle her and disarm her. Then- well, she knew what would happen then and had no intention of letting it happen.

She was just about to sprint for the nearest alley when the giant stood and raised his axe. In his hands it seemed as light as a feather. Sophitia whispered for him to follow her as he moved his axe into a ready position.

“Come on,” she hissed, “we can’t fight them all at on-” She gaped in surprise as the giant lurched forward a step then broke into a run towards the densest group of bandits. Sophitia dropped her pack and yanked her sword from its scabbard as the bandits moved to surround the giant. He’d be killed by then if she didn’t do something to help.

She had taken one step forward when the screaming began. She saw the giant’s axe swing and gout of blood sprayed over the walls and street. Another bandit was impaled through the chest by the spike on the back of the axe on the giant’s backswing. At the same time the giant backhanded another and crushed his skull like an egg.

Sophitia ran forward, her hair flashing in the sun, hoping to distract the bandits. Even with his prodigious strength, the giant couldn’t survive being shot and stabbed by the ones who surrounded him. She grimaced, fearing she had delayed too long and caused the man’s death, when a loud report echoed around the square and a cloud of greyish smoke rose from the leader’s pistol. She saw the giant flinch and then his axe was in motion again, each swing turning a bandit into meat.

A few turned and charged her, their swords and hand axes swung clumsily as they ran. She ducked and blocked with her shield, stabbing quickly with her sword twice and sending as many bandits to the ground. She spun to face the remaining one and was amazed to see him running from her towards one of the alleys. She turned back and saw that the giant had killed over two-thirds of the bandits in the short time since the fight started. The rest were trying desperately to escape from him but they were too slow to outrun the long reach of his pole-axe. The last one didn’t even have time to scream as the axe whistled by and sent his head flying.

Sophitia eyed the giant cautiously as he turned his head, looking for any remaining enemies. When he saw no more threats he set the head of his axe on the ground and looked at her.

“Who are you?” Sophitia asked again, she remembered another man who had been as good with the axe as this giant was, but he was long dead.

“Astaroth,” the giant said, pointing towards his chest and its exposed heart.

“Astaroth?” Sohpitia repeated. No, she thought, it wasn’t the man she had known although for a second she had wondered...She shook her head and bent to clean her sword before sliding it back into its sheath. “Astaroth, did you ever know a man named-” she looked up and stopped. He was gone, leaving only a few bloody footprints and the corpses of the bandits he had killed.

Seung Mina peered around the corner of the hallway towards the door to the ship’s deck. She had been avoiding Taki for the last six hours while they sailed to Istanbul. Somehow, she had managed to keep from being alone with the demon hunter, but she had the distinct feeling that Taki was just playing with her.

She sighed and leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. Maybe she’d be able to slip away once the ship docked, she thought hopefully. Her eyes opened slowly when she heard something like the tapping of fingernails against the wooden bulkhead.

“Trying to avoid me?” Taki said with a tight grin. Her grin broadened slightly as Seung’s eyes widened and she backed away. “Oh no you don’t,” Takis said as she snagged the girl’s arm and dragged her close.

“What do you want?” Seung said, her voice high and shaky. “Hel-” she started, only to be cut off as Taki pulled her close and silenced her with a kiss.
“As sweet as I remember,” Takis murmured when their kiss finally ended.

“There, you’ve got your kiss, now just leave me alone,” Seung said, trying to squirm free of Taki’s grip and failing miserably.

“I want more than a kiss, girl,” Taki said in a husky voice.

“Oh, please, can’t you just leave me alone?”

“What? Didn’t you enjoy what I did to you? You sounded like you did.” Taki smirked and ran her hands down Seung Mina’s back to her bottom and lifted her skirt. “Oh, yes, please, more!” she mimicked.

“I-I didn’t sound like that,” Seung said in a faltering voice. She moaned and her eyes fluttered as Taki’s deft fingers slid between her legs and began to stroke her. She managed one feeble murmur of protest as Taki pulled her back to her cabin and shut the door.

Maxi frowned as he manned the ship’s wheel. He could see Istanbul on the far horizon, with the winds they had it would be a couple of hours at least before they reached it. They should have been preparing for the search for the Soul Edge, but everyone except his crew and Mitsurugi had wandered off to have some fun together.

“Jealous?” he said to himself. He had to admit that the thought of Kilik and Xianghua together made the area between his shoulder blades itch. He loved Kilik like a brother and wouldn’t want to wish any harm on him, but...He shook his head furiously. No time for those types of thoughts, he was out for justice. A harder frown crept over his face as he thought of the night half a year ago when his ship and men had been attacked by those monsters.

Led by a hulking giant of a man, the ugly lizard men had swarmed over his ship and slaughtered most of his crew as they ransacked the hold. He and Kilik had managed to hold off the assault long enough for the survivors to rally and push the monsters off the ship, but not before one of them had taken something. That something had been an old sword that had made its way into his hands through a trader from the Ottoman Empire. He had claimed it was the legendary sword of Alexander the Great. No matter what, the sword had been well crafted and was worth the price he had paid. Or at least it had been until it had gotten his men killed.

Maxi shook his head again and concentrated on keeping the ship on a steady course. There was more traffic now that they were approaching the city and he had to keep an eye out to make sure he didn’t collide with one of the many fishing vessels plying their trade in the waters around the city.

They both gasped in time with her motions, neither one of them able to hold out for much longer. Xianghua clutched at the sheets and kissed Kilik hard, her teeth tugging at his lower lip as she looked him in the eye. This was too much for him and he came, his hands clutching convulsively at her body as his hips jerked up. She felt him come inside her and increased the motion of her hips, nearly bouncing up and down as she raised herself, her hands flat on his chest and bit her lip. She was almost there, her breath coming in gasps as he reached up to cup her small breasts and ran his thumbs over her nipples. She groaned loudly and tossed her head back as she came, her body stiffening and her back arching for one long moment until she collapsed across his chest.

“I love you,” Kilik whispered into her ear, his hands roaming in slow circles over her sweaty back.

“I love you too,” Xianghua said back, resting her head in the crook of his neck as she felt him soften inside of her. She reluctantly rolled over beside him, her head still resting on him and her legs intertwined with his. As their breathing calmed they became aware of the sounds coming from the cabin next to their’s. It sounded like a sharp smacking noise followed by a muffled yelp.

“Taki is making that girl earn her passage,” Kilik said sleepily, drowsy from his exertion and the warm Mediterranean sun on his head. Xianghua murmured an affirmative, too tired to think clearly.

The young noblewoman was struggling fiercely in Nightmare’s grip. He watched her with detached amusement while his demonic followers showed their appreciation in a louder and more raucous way. From where he was standing, Azdaem could clearly see the delightful motion of her breasts as she struggled to free herself Nightmare’s massive left claw.

“My lord,” Azdaem said, “what are your plans for the girl?”

“She,” Nightmare began and hesitated while he seemed to struggle with himself, “will be a reward for the men. Use her in whatever way you wish.” With that, Nightmare shoved the girl to the mud in the middle of the camp. She stood quickly, a furious glare on her face which faltered when she saw the demons surrounding her.

“What about the boy, sire?” Azdaem asked, motioning to the younger boy held in the clutches of a lizard like demon.

“They can do what they want with h-” Nightmare was cut off by the sound of someone sceaming a battlecry in German. There was a loud report of a gun being fired and he was knocked to the ground, sparks flying from where the ball richocheted off his armor.

Azdaem spun to search for the attacker and saw a trio of armored figures charging into the camp on horses. The central figure dropped, his, no, Azdaem thought, her, musket into a holster and pulled two pistols from her belt.

Eva Schwartz stood in her stirrups, her horse’s reins clenched in her teeth, and fired her pistols at the two demons holding Victoria. They fell to the ground with a shriek, their blood splashing over Victoria’s bare body. Eva jammed her pistols back into their holsters and snatched Victoria up, draping her over the saddle as her horse crashed through the line of demons and leapt over the main fire pit. Across the clearing, she saw Johann stab the demon holding Timothy while Kelman jerked the boy up behind him.

In front of her, Eva saw Johann and Kelman clearing the way for her with their swords. Luckily, the demons were a disorganized lot and most of them were just trying to get out of the way of Johann’s broadsword and Kelman’s saber. By the time that their leader had gotten up and was roaring orders, the five riders were able to get beyond the circle of firelight and were riding hard through the open plains, risking a broken leg for their horses even with the full moon’s light. But they kept riding, knowing that the alternative was falling into the hands of the demons.

Seung Mina sighed loudly as Taki slowly slid her finger into her quim. They were reclining on Taki’s narrow bunk with Seung lying back against Taki’s chest. Both their bodies gleamed with sweat in the afternoon sunlight from the porthole. Seung reached behind her to hold Taki’s head as the ninja slid another finger into her and began to slowly pump them in and out while lightly brushing her other fingers over Seung’s clit.

“This isn’t so bad, is it?” Taki said softly.

Seung gasped in response and lifted her hips further towards Taki’s fingers. Taki smiled and kissed the side of Seung’s neck as she obligingly increased the pace of her fingers. “Are you still stinging?” she asked.

Seung shook her head and bit her lip as Taki began to rub her clit more forcefully. The ninja had given her a sound spanking as soon as they had entered the cabin and then forced Seung to pleasure her for until the ninja had been satisfied. Seung moved her hands away from Taki’s head and down to Taki’s thighs. She tightened her grip on them as she felt herself closer to coming.

“Do you want to come?” Taki asked, her fingers slowing and keeping Seung on the razor edge of release.

“Yes, please!” Seung managed to gasp out. Her knuckles whitened and she heard Taki grunt as her hands tightened on the ninja’s thighs as she came. Taki moved one arm around Seung Mina’s slender waist, holding her close while the younger woman shuddered through her orgasm. Taki continued to stroke Seung’s body while whispering sweet words into the woman’s ear until she had time to completely savor her orgasm.

“It won’t be so bad traveling with us, will it?” Taki said as her hands lightly trailed over Seung’s stomach.

“N-no,” Seung managed to say. Her entire body was limp and all she wanted to do was sleep. She felt Taki kiss her neck again and turned her body to lie against the other woman’s tautly muscled body, falling asleep in moments.