Soul Calibur:

Part One:  A Dusty Highway

Sophitia swept a loose strand of her blond hair back from her face and sighed. A brisk breeze blew along the deserted road, a dusty remnant of the Romans who had once called all of the Old World theirs. Winter’s grip on the world was just loosening and she was dressed lightly in her usual white tunic with a blue cloak thrown over it. She had been walking for most of the day, drawn by the vision shown to her by Hephaestus, drawn by the vision of the Soul Edge.

She shivered despite the warm Italian sun at the thought of the cursed blade. She had nearly died destroying one half of it, saved only by the timely intervention of the mysterious woman from the East. Now, once again, she was following the guidance of her god, hoping this time to end the menace of the cursed blade forever.

The young warrior priestess turned her head to look at the setting sun and sighed. Another night spent on the road with no village or shelter in sight. She shrugged and shifted her pack on her shoulders, kicking at a loose stone on the highway. As she watched the falling sun set, she wondered if Rothion was watching it as well.

“Look what we have here,” a rough male voice said from behind her. Sophitia cursed herself for failing to keep a sharp lookout, bandits were common in this area of Italy and she had been warned about traveling alone at the last village. She surreptitiously loosened her gladius in its scabbard and turned to face the voice.

“Ooh, such a pretty lady shouldn’t be walking around alone,” the bandit said, his yellowed teeth bared in a grin, “you never now what might happen.” His fellows, at least four of them, laughed at his jest.

“I suppose warning you is useless,” Sophitia said quietly as she tossed her pack to the side of the road and let her cloak fall to the ground.

“Warning us?” the bandit said as he stepped forward, followed closely by his companions. “Strip now and we’ll let you live,” he snarled suddenly.

Sophitia sighed and stepped closer to the leading bandit. He reached out with filthy hands to tear her tunic from her body and grunted in surprise when she rushed towards him. The man let out a high wheeze as she grabbed his shoulders and rammed her knee into his crotch hard enough to lift him from the ground. With a final gasp he collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap.

“This is your last chance,” she said evenly as she drew her sword and slid her shield from her back to her arm. The bandits began to spread out around her, drawing swords and a rusty flintlock pistol. Sophitia brought her shield up as the bandit shot at her, a cloud of greyish smoke exploding from the pistol’s barrel. She lurched as she felt the pistol ball ricochet of her shield and smash into a second bandit’s head.

The bandits paused for a moment as the one hit with the ball clutched at the ruins of his face and fell to the ground, his feet flopping for a moment and then going still. Sophitia used their hesitation to run another through, her sword emerging from the man’s back as she turned and kicked the bandit approaching her from behind, knocking him to the road unconscious.

The last one, out of stupidity or desperation, tried to rush her. She waited until he closed with her and smashed her shield into the man’s face, sending him reeling as she plunged her sword into his heart.

Sophitia cleaned her sword on a bandit’s shirt and surveyed the two surviving and unconscious bandits. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. But she knew she had to do it, these men would go on killing and raping until someone stopped them. She ignored the tear running down her face as she ruthlessly dispatched them, her sword piercing each of their hearts in turn. Shaking her head in sorrow, she cleaned her sword again and retrieved her pack and cloak.

“Oh, Rothion, you never intended your crafts to draw the blood of man,” she sighed as she set out down the road again.
 
 

Sophitia stopped for the night in a small copse of trees nestled in a hollow a ways from the road. She could have a fire here and not worry about someone seeing it from the road. Eager at the thought of some hot food, she mixed some dried meat with some wild vegetables to form a basic but satisfying stew. As she leaned against a fallen tree trunk, contemplating the reflection of the fire on her sword and shield, she remembered the day Rothion had given them to her, the day she had left to find the Soul Edge.
It had been only a week before she and Rothion were to be wed when the vision came to her. She remembered waking from her sleep, drenched in a cold sweat, the vision of a column of light piercing the sky and scattering itself over the world filling her with dread.

She had known that the light was the evil seed of the Soul Edge which she had thought destroyed a year before, attempting to turn the world into a seething cauldron of violence and chaos.

Her gaze fell once more to the sword and shield that Rothion had crafted for her from the sacred iron of Hephaestus. He had wanted to journey with her, but they both knew that for this task she would have to travel alone. Sophitia shifted herself on the blanket she was sitting on, she could feel a warm lust growing inside her as she thought of her betrothed.

“I wish you were here to do this to me,” she whispered as she tugged off her thigh-high boots and placed them to the side. She paused, listening for any sign of another traveler in the night, and tugged her underwear down her slender legs and set it on the blanket.

She began to lightly rub herself there as she thought of Rothion....
 
 

“I made you these,” Rothion said as he handed Sophitia a large cloth wrapped bundle. They were both standing beside the crystal pool fed by a small waterfall. Bees greeting the arrival of Spring buzzed about the clearing accompanied by the sound of a bird singing in the distance.

She was silent as she opened the bundle and gasped as she saw the exquisite workmanship of the sword and shield within. “They’re beautiful!” she said as she hefted them, testing their balance. “So these were what you were working on.”

Rothion smiled and nodded. “All night and all day so you could have them in time,” he said, stepping closer to her.

“I’m sorry that I have to go,” she whispered as she set the sword and shield onto the wrapping. “But-”

“I know, dearest, I know,” he said softly as he kissed her.

Sophitia murmured in pleasure as he ran his hands over her back, pulling up the skirt of her tunic. She hoped that no one else was around as his nimble hands tugged down her underwear. She laughed in delight as the smith picked her up and lowered her to the soft grass that grew by the waterfall. Her laughter changed to moans as he kissed down her neck to the soft slopes of her breasts.

“Oh, Rothion,” she gasped as he undid the ties of her tunic and lifted it over her head. She stretched out in the grass and watched as he undressed, the muscles from years in the forge rippling as he set his clothes aside. She gasped again as he gently eased himself into her, his cock sending a rippling wave of heat through her.

The smith bent his head to suck at her breasts as he slowly thrust into her, his hands supporting him as Sophitia ran her hands over his back. He began to pump faster as he kissed his way back up her neck and sucked lightly on her throat. Sophitia moaned loudly and wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him deeper into her. “Harder,” she whispered huskily into his ear.

He raised his head to look at her. “But I don’t want to hurt-”

“Don’t worry- Please, do it!” she gasped out. Rothion smiled and kissed her again then grunted and began to pump into her with enough force to move her across the grass. She began to cry out with each of his thrusts, her hands buried in his hair as she jerked her hips up to meet his thrusts. Rothion pumped faster, his hips a blur as he thrust between her thighs, losing control as Sophitia cried out beneath him.

She began to let out high pitched yells as she felt herself coming, her thighs tightening around his waist as she spasmed and jerked, her back arching and her breasts
pressing against his chest as she tossed her head. Her eyes were clenched shut as she let out a final cry and came, her fingers digging into his back.

Rothion smiled as he gasped for breath, throwing his head back as he bucked furiously into her and felt a tightening in his balls and released his seed into her. They were both panting as he fell onto her and rolled off to the side, the sun beating down on their sweat slick bodies...
 
 

Sophitia ground her teeth together and let her head fall forward onto her chest as she came, her fingers thrusting madly into herself while her other hand rubbed her clit furiously. She rolled over onto her side and watched the fire as she basked in the warm afterglow. She could almost feel Rothion with her as she slowly fell asleep.

                            By the Shores of the Red Sea
 
 
 
 

“I hope you appreciate the effort that I put into finding you again,” the demon said. The demon stood above the paralyzed form
of Taki, it’s body outlined against the full moon rising behind it.

Taki stared at it, every fragment of her will trying to break the spell it had cast on her. She could feel her fingers moving slightly,
if she could only reach her weapon...

“I had to kill two of your fellow demon hunters before I found what I was looking for,” the demon continued, “it was foolish of
you to give her a document in English.” The demon crouched by her, its clawed feet digging furrows in the grass of the oasis.
“She was amusing, for a while anyway.” He reached out and ran his clawed hand over her stomach, plucking at the fabric of
her skintight bodysuit. “She might still be alive.”

Taki watched with narrowed eyes as the demon stood and stretched, his great bat wings blocking out the moonlight
momentarily. He had the face of a very handsome man with one exception, his eyes, like all demons, were different. The
stranger the eyes, the more powerful the demon, at least that had been Taki’s experience. His eyes were jet black with dancing
pinpricks of blue light. “Enough talk,” he said, shuddering in pleasure as a mass of tentacles burst from his back and raised
themselves like striking cobras. “Now, down to pleasure.”

Taki gritted her teeth as the demon knelt down beside her and tore her bodysuit in two, revealing her naked and lush body.
“Where to start...” he mused as he ran his hands over her bare skin. He rolled her nipples between his fingers, watching idly as
they hardened. “Not a very useful power, exciting women,” he said as he began to knead her breasts. “I admit, I was jealous of
the other demons. They could control animals or animate the dead. All I could do was drive human women into a frenzy of lust.
Not very useful at all when you’re trying to claw your way up the demon ranks. But it does have it’s uses.”

Taki felt her teeth grinding together as the demon’s influence began to wash over her. She could feel her pussy moistening with
each touch of the demon’s hands. She gasped in pleasure as the demon ran a long, rough tongue over her stomach towards the
triangle of dark hair below.

“I will kill you,” she managed to gasp as his tongue began to play over her clit. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the
demon’s cock swelling to an even greater length.

“I’m sure you’ll try. But you couldn’t the first time, so why do think you’ll be able to now?” the demon said, removing his
tongue from her clit and replacing it with a small tentacle. “How does it feel, knowing that I could rape you in the most horrific
ways yet you would enjoy it, would love it and would beg me for more?”

Taki was silent. Some demons enjoyed screams, others enjoyed tears. This one enjoyed helpless boasts and threats. She tried
not to moan in pleasure as the demon ran his hands down to her waist and lifted her, her legs and arms falling limply to trail in
the grass. “How would you like me to take you?” the demon asked cheerfully. “Any preferred position?” He thought for a
minute, holding Taki like a doll above his lap and his enormous erection. “Mikiko said that you enjoyed being on top.”

Taki couldn’t help looking down as the demon lowered her carefully onto his cock, one hand holding her by the waist, the other
spreading her thighs apart. She cried out as his cock began to press against her pussy and screamed in pleasure as it penetrated
her. To her embarrassment, she was already close to coming from the demon’s influence. He began to bounce her up and
down his cock, using her to masturbate as he licked her neck.

Her breasts bounced as the demon leaned back against a tree and began to rapidly jerk her up and down his cock. Taki’s head
lolled limply from side to side as her entire body shuddered. Her hands clenched into fists as she felt herself coming, her pussy
tightening around the demon’s cock. The demon roared in pleasure and jerked her hard down onto his cock, eliciting a
pleasured scream from her as he shot his seed into her.

“Now, why don’t we take it slower this time?” he said into her ear as he breathed heavily. Taki whimpered as the demon lifted
her off his cock and spun her around. Her head lolled back to rest on the demon’s chest as he pulled her back onto his cock
and let her rest there, impaled to the limit.

Taki could feel the muscles in the demon’s chest rippling as he moved his right arm up her body to cup her breast. His other
hand moved down to between her legs and began to rub her clit as he licked the pale and delicate skin of her throat. “Open
wide,” he whispered into her ear as a tentacle rose in front of her face.

The demon hunter tried to press her lips together but found them opening to let the tentacle slide in without resistance. Her face
burned red with shame as the tentacle slid deep into her mouth and she began to suck on it wantonly. “That feels good,” the
demon said huskily as the Taki ran her tongue over the surface of the tentacle, her cheeks hollowing as she sucked hungrily at it.
She made a muffled gasping sound as the tentacle began to slide back and forth within her mouth, each time going deeper until
it hit the back of her throat. She closed her eyes as she swallowed the tentacle down her throat, her lips tight around it as it
pumped itself back and forth.

The demon began to pump his cock into her in time with the tentacle in her mouth. With each thrust the tentacle seemed to be
growing larger until it filled her mouth. She groaned in protest as it began to thrust rapidly into her throat, coming close to
making her gag. The demon’s breath was loud in her ears as she bounced up and down his cock.

Finally, with a loud roar, the demon came in her. The tentacle pulled back into her mouth and began to pump his seed into her,
the hot liquid filling her mouth instantly and running out from the corners to splash onto her breasts. Taki found herself frantically
swallowing his seed and desperately licking his come from the corners of her mouth and scooping up the stray seed with her
fingers. With a free hand, she reached up and grabbed the tentacle hovering in front of her face, jerking her hand furiously up
and down its length until a gout of demonseed spurted from its tip and splattered across her face.

The demon smiled in pleasure as Taki licked every last drop of his seed from her face and fingers. He lifted her off his cock and
set her on the ground in front of him, watching as she bent to clean his cock with her mouth. He watched her head bobbing, her
midnight black hair matted in places with his come. He came again, filling her mouth with his seed and sighed contentedly as he
leaned against the tree trunk. So easy, he thought, I’ll soon have the other girl traveling with this one as well. What was her
name? Xianghua? Yes, Xianghua. So wrapped up in his dreams of conquest and lust, he didn’t notice Taki’s hand moving
towards her knife...

Isabella Valentine, also called Ivy, blinked and pushed back a strand of her long black hair. Around her lay numerous scattered books and alchemical equipment among the many worktables of her laboratory. She took a deep breath and, with a single straight swipe of her chalk, finished the pentagram on the floor before her.

She stood shakily and set the chalk on a nearby worktable. She watched as it rolled across the scarred and pitted wood to rest against a tome fully a foot in width and two in height. Ivy nervously smoothed the sleeves of her dress and stepped over to the tome.

“Ars Magica Daemonica,” she whispered, reading the tome’s title yet another time. Years of work, trying to find a way to destroy the blade that destroyed her family. So long, she thought, and now I’ve reached my destination. She turned to look at another worktable and studied what lay on it.

At first glance the sword seemed almost normal, heavily engraved with cabalistic symbol, it was of medium length and gleamed in the dim candlelight of the laboratory. But when the candlelight flickered seams could be seen in the blade. Ivy smiled tightly, the weapon was a work of art. She had forged it by herself, crafting every part of the sword from metals she had purified in her laboratory. Although it seemed like a normal sword, with a flick of her wrist it would separate and extend to become a deadly bladed whip. The hardest part had been learning how to wield such an unusual weapon, but with the help of a mysterious man from the east she had learned to use it.
Whispering a silent prayer of thanks to God for sending the man to teach her, Ivy picked up the sword and placed it in the pentagram. She knelt by the pentagram, her mother’s crucifix held tightly in her hands as she prayed for forgiveness.

“Oh holy father, please forgive this sinner for what she is about to do,” she whispered. If only there were another way, she thought. But no, no other way. The Soul Edge had destroyed her family, had driven her father mad in his quest to find it. She had followed in his footsteps after he had died and her family had fallen to ruin. Now, she was so close to finding the cursed blade and destroying it once and for all. With the weapon before her she could track the Soul Edge to the ends of the Earth and see that it never harmed another. “God forgive me, there is no other way.”

Standing, she turned back to the tome and opened it slowly to a page marked with a heavy red velvet bookmark. Trembling, Isabella raised the crucifix to her lips and kissed it before she began to chant the words of the spell.

Heavy, leaden words spilled from her lips, each syllable seeming to suck the light from the room. The candles flickered and died, leaving her in a darkness as black as pitch. Resolute, she continued the spell from memory and watched as the pentagram began to glow.

A thick red light filled the laboratory, growing stronger as she came closer to completing the spell. For a moment she faltered and almost stopped the spell, but in her mind she could see the Soul Edge, calling her, taunting her with its vile presence. Closing her eyes, she finished the spell.

She gasped as she felt a surge of force sweep through the room, knocking over the unlit candles and forcing her to her knees. The air above the pentagram twisted and warped, seeming to stretch and tear until...something appeared in the hole.

“Who summons me?” the thing said, its voice deep and ringing. Isabella gasped as she saw the demon. It’s face was a scarlet caricature of a human’s, it’s eyes seeming to hold the entire night sky in their depths. Twin horns rose from the demon’s forehead, each one lined with glowing red runes. The devil, she thought, I’ve summoned the devil himself.

“I do,” she managed to say at last from her place on the floor before the pentagram.

“And who are you?” the demon said, seeming to smile.

“I am Isabella Valentine.”

The demon sniffed the air and smiled. “Nobility, how charming. What can I do for you...Isabella?”

“I need power.”

“Of course. Why else would you summon me?”

“The weapon-”

“Yes, the weapon. Very fine craftsmanship, Isabella, very fine indeed. What sort of power do you wish the weapon to have? I can make it so that it will never break, will
never dull. I can make your blade mightier than Death’s scythe, able to kill with a touch.”

“I need the power to destroy.”

“Very well, do you wish to call down the power of the heavens? Strike your foes down with lightning and burn their flesh with fire?”

Isabella paled at the demon’s words. To kill another human, no, she couldn’t do that. “I need the power to destroy the Soul Edge.”

“The Soul Edge? That is beyond my power to grant, but there is another who could.”

“Who is he?”

“His name I do not know. He is called Nightmare, for he truly is one. If you wish, I could summon him for you.”

“Then do so, demon!”

The demon laughed, a rich laughter that sent a delicious shiver running down Isabella’s spine. “First I must have my payment,” he said with another charming smile.

“What do you want?”

“You, of course,” the demon said.

Isabella gasped and pushed herself to her feet. “What do you mean?” she asked in a trembling voice.

“I can smell your innocence, Isabella. You have never known the touch of a man. Give yourself to me and you will have the power you seek, I guarantee it.”

Isabella trembled as she reached up to hold the crucifix dangling around her neck. “I must have your decision now, Isabella,” the demon said casually. “I certainly understand why you would not want your virginity taken by a demon. I suppose I shall go back to the underworld now-”

“No! Wait. I agree to your price,” Isabella said, feeling her heart sinking.

“Good, good,” the demon said amiably. “Now, just open the pentagram and allow me through.”

Isabella followed his instructions after finishing the seals and wards that she had placed around the room. If this was some sort of demonic trick, at least the demon would be unable to escape from the laboratory. She stepped back as the demon emerged from the swirling light of the portal, shaking out its bat wings and stretching luxuriously. “Ah, Isabella, I am honored to be your first lover,” he said as he slowly walked closer to her.

Isabella backed away, feeling her heart pounding as she wondered if she had made a horrible mistake. Distracted, she looked down at the demon’s feet and saw that he had large feet similar to a man’s but tipped with claws. Looking up his body, she saw that he was wearing a sort of armored kilt. She felt a blush rising in her face as she realized what the bulge under it was.

“I have a condition,” she said in hesitant voice as she looked back up to the demon’s face. The demon paused and ran a finger tipped with a small claw over the surface of a worktable.

“And what would that be my dear?” he said with a smile. “You do realize that I am under no compulsion to accept any conditions that you may propose once I have left the pentagram.”

“I know,” Isabella said quietly, feeling a trickle of sweat running down her spine. “I want,” she hesitated, “I want you to be gentle.”

The demon laughed. “Is that all? I may be able to accommodate you,” he said as he looked around the room. “Where do you wish to couple?”

Isabella sighed in relief at the demon’s reaction. Feeling much less afraid, she pointed to the small cot she had set up in the laboratory for her long running late night experiments. “There,” she said.

“Very well,” the demon said. “Hardly suitable for such a...momentous occasion.” He waved his hand and the cot was suddenly replaced by a luxurious bed covered with rich silks and satin. “I can do much more for you than this, if you wish it.”

Isabella stared at the bed, wondering what the demon could create. “I can give you wonders beyond belief,” he said, as if he could hear her thoughts. “I can show you the world. I know you want to know why, why the sun shines, why the the Earth moves through the heavens. All for a small price.”

Such knowledge, Isabella thought. What would he want in exchange? Could I bring back- No, she shook her head. “No, just give me the power to destroy the Soul Edge.”
The demon shrugged, its wings blowing warm air over Isabella’s face. “Very well, my dear. Let us conclude our bargain then,” he said, gesturing with his well muscled arm towards the bed.

Isabella took a shaking breath as she walked towards the bed, whispering a silent prayer as she removed her crucifix and placed it on a nearby worktable. She was trembling as she sat on the edge of the bed and watched the demon approach. She gasped as it reached out and, with a flick of its claw, sliced her dress from her shoulders. She reflexively reached up to cover herself and whimpered as the demon gently pushed her arms down and away from her breasts. She watched as the demon grinned and lightly ran his fingers over the silken skin of her breasts, a wavering sigh escaping from her mouth as he traced circles around her nipples.

The demon licked his lips, immensely pleased with the woman sitting before him. Her breasts were full and round, feeling delightfully soft as he cupped them and squeezed them softly. He pushed her back onto the bed, watching as she closed her eyes and let her arms fall to her sides. With a single motion he pulled the remnants of her dress from her along with her flimsy drawers. He growled deep in his throat, a sound of lust and hunger, as he removed his kilt. His cock jutted from his body, an engorged spear of flesh ready to drive into the woman lying before him.

He heard Isabella moan as he moved onto the bed, his hands spreading her legs while his fingers slid over the delicate skin of her inner thigh. The young woman turned her head to the side and clenched her jaw as he moved between her legs, his cock bumping against her thigh and leaving a sticky trail of liquid behind.

“Do not worry, my dear,” he said softly as he leaned over and kissed the delicate pink skin of her throat. “I will be gentle, at least this time.” He could smell her fear and a terrified lust as he licked at her breasts and coaxed her nipples to full hardness. With one hand he reached up and turned her face towards him, bending his face to her’s kissing her deeply. Isabella whimpered as he kissed her, pressing her hands against his chest as his tongue slid into her mouth. The demon watched her face as she hesitantly opened her eyes as he stroked her breast. With a wide grin on his face, the demon pushed his cock into her.

He groaned in pleasure as her eyes widened and she gasped in shock. Her body twisted as she tried to escape him, writhing against his hands as he pressed her down onto the bed and pushed deeper into her.

Isabella cried out as she felt her maidenhead pierced by the demon. She closed her eyes and prayed that he was finished as she felt an unfamiliar warmth within her, crying out again as he thrust deeper into her. Panicked, she began to beat against his chest with her hands as he pushed further into her. Her hands curled tightly as a wave of pleasure swept over her as the demon bent his head to her breast. Her struggles weakened as she felt a heat building in her with each thrust of the demon’s cock.

“Oh god, no, no,” she moaned as pleasure rippled through her body. She began to moan continuously as the demon pistoned his cock into her, jerking her hips across the slick satin covers. Isabella tossed her black hair and looked down between their bodies. She gasped as she saw the demon’s cock, almost fully within her, each thrust driving it deeper. With a loud cry she threw back her head and clutched at the demon’s shoulders, unable to deny the pleasure she was receiving.

The demon grunted in pleasure with each thrust as he fell onto the woman and crushed her into the deep mattress beneath her. His hands to her hips and held her fast as he pumped into her, feeling his cock swelling within her. She was thrashing beneath him, crying out with each penetration. Near coming, the demon hunched his back and let a cluster of tentacles spring from him. They dove down between their bodies, kneading and stroking Isabella’s heaving breasts in time to his thrusts.

The demon grinned again as he looked down at Isabella’s face. Her mouth was wide as she let out cry after cry of pleasure, her eyes closed as she tossed her head from side to side. In a flash a tentacle darted into her mouth, muffling her cries instantly. The woman opened her eyes and stared in disbelief at the tentacle filling her mouth. Her eyes pleaded with him as the tentacle began to pump into her mouth as the demon resumed his thrusts.

Isabella’s nostrils flared as she fought for breath, feeling the tentacle slide across her tongue in time to the demon’s thrusts. She reached up to pull the tentacle free but felt her hands pinned above her head by another pair of tentacles. Moaning in pleasure with a particularly hard thrust, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate.
Suddenly, she arched her back, pressing her breasts against the demon’s chest as she climaxed. Her body shook violently as she twisted back and forth, her screams of pleasure barely muffled by the tentacle filling her mouth.

Isabella’s eyes flew open as the tentacle in her mouth began to spurt a stream of hot, thick liquid into her. The sweet liquid rapidly filled her mouth and began to trickle down her cheeks as she tried to decide whether to swallow it or not.

“Swallow my dear,” the demon said huskily as he pounded into her and gave a roar as his seed shot into her. Isabella obeyed and began to swallow his seed, gulping it down until the tentacle pulled back and began to spray the demon’s seed onto her face and neck. Something long hidden within her mind surged to the suface and seized control at the sudden heat of the seed splattering across her naked skin.  Suddenly she saw a ship riding at anchor in a ruined port with the setting sun sinking into the sea behind it.  A sudden flash of insight swept over her, the Soul Edge was there and it was calling to her. Isabella felt her hands freed and began to scoop the demon’s seed into her mouth, feeling her tongue running wantonly over her lips.

The demon smiled as he watched the once innocent woman eagerly licking his seed from her delicate fingers. He leaned back and pulled out of her, turning to face the pentagram. With a wave of his hand the chalk flew from the worktable and sealed the pentagram. Another wave of his hand summoned Nightmare.

Isabella sat up and pressed her sweaty breasts against the demon’s back as she watched him summon the demon who would give her power to destroy the Soul Edge. An armored form appeared in the swirling smoke of the portal, clad in armor a night blue color, the demonic knight stared at her.  She stared back, both figures weighing each other, probing for any weakness as they locked eyes.  She smiled at the knight, sure that he was doing to same.

A wordless conversation passed between the demon and the knight. Isabella watched as the knight bent to touch her weapon. With his touch, the weapon suddenly surged to life, crackling bolts of magic rushing across its surface. The knight disappeared as the weapon rose to spin vertically in the air, the sigils engraved on its surface glowing with an unearthly light.

“There, my dear,” the demon said, “you have the power you wish. Is there-” He stopped as he turned to face Isabella and found himself looking at a different person. Isabella’s hair had changed from a jet black to a shining platinum. Her skin, once a delicate pink in hue had changed to a pale white. And her eyes, no longer were they the timid and shy eyes of the girl who had summoned him. In their place were deep blue eyes that stared into his charred excuse for a soul. “What-” was all he managed to say before she reached out and the weapon shot into her hand. The demon began to back away from her as she snapped the sword forward.

With a gurgling gasp, the demon fell onto the floor, the tip of the sword buried in his chest. The woman on the bed smirked at him and stood over him before she drove the sword deeper into him. For a second the demon lay still, then, with a rush of chill air, his body crumbled into dust. As it did so, the sword crackled to life, wreathed in flame and energy.  The last thing her heard was her mocking laugh as his soul was drawn into the sword, filling it with even more power.

Above the dissipating pile of dust, Ivy pulled back her hair and sliced through it, leaving her with a short shock of platinum hair. “Now,” she said as she whipped the sword through the air, “the Soul Edge will be destroyed.” She could feel power running through her veins as the sword twirled and extended into a segmented whip. Isabella Valentine was gone, in her place was Ivy.

She smiled triumphantly as she swept a light robe around her body and strode from the laboratory, her weapon spinning in arcs around her body.  She would need suitable clothes and transportation.  Ivy could feel the Soul Edge in her blood, calling to her from across the world.  She would find it and the knight and they both would be destroyed.

Billowing clouds of smoke reflected the flames of the burning town. The smoke spread hundreds of feet into the air before wind currents picked it up and smeared it over the steadily darkening evening sky.

The town had been small, a huddling of farming cottages gathered around a meandering stream. A scattering of corpses lay around the town square, the remains of those who had decided to flee from the advancing armies of Nightmare too late.

The demon steed that Nightmare rode pawed at the ground, digging great clumps of earth and grass with each pass of its razor sharp hooves. Nightmare ran a gauntleted hand over the beast’s neck as they turned to ride back to the main camp of the Schwarzwind.
 
 

The smell blood could be easily smelled over the wind as Nightmare rode into the camp. The demons he led cut a swathe of destruction through the land they trod on, leaving a blasted wasteland where only the smallest and most hardy plants and animals could survive.

Firelight reflected off the azure metal of his armor as he passed a cooking pit where a group of demons were roasting the remains of a farmer’s oxen. For a brief second Nightmare wondered whether the farmer had survived or whether he had joined his animals in death, or, perhaps on the spit. Just as quickly as it had come, the thought passed out of the darkness that was Nightmare’s mind.

The knight reached his tent, something taken from the wreckage of a merchant’s wagon. He did not need the shelter or privacy, but something deep within him desired it nonetheless. He reached out with his gauntleted hand and flicked back the tent flap, taking one last glance over his shoulder at the creatures spread around the camp.

Nightmare slumped down on a large wooden chair, also spoils from a merchant, jamming the Soul Edge point first into the dry earth. The blade was a grotesque perversion of a sword, seemingly crafted from flesh and metal fused together in an unholy amalgamation. The Soul Edge rolled its single eye, peering from at him from just above where the blade’s hilt would be, watching as he leaned back in the chair and raised his deformed right hand in front of his face. The knight studied his hand through the narrow slits of his helmet, studying the massively oversized fingers and the two projecting horns that jutted backwards from his wrist. His hand looked more like a stylized gauntlet than his hand, but since he had found the Soul Edge armor and flesh had ceased to be separate. He had become one with his armor, it had become like a second skin to him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had removed his helmet.

“My lord,” a voice said from the entrance to the tent. Nightmare looked over to the gaunt figure standing there, his body outlined by the setting sun. The demon was his second in command and a good strategist. “The scouts have reported a carriage moving towards this area with a retinue of guards. Do you wish us to let it pass by or to destroy it?”

Nightmare thought for a second, the red lights of his eyes staring into the rolling depths of the Soul Edge’s eye. “Bring...bring the occupants to me,” he finally said. “Azdaem?” he said as the demon turned to leave.

“Yes, my lord?”

“A church...is there one?”

The demon hesitated before answering. He had been summoned by the power of the Soul Edge and served it. But he also knew that the Soul Edge was wielded by the knight. He glanced from the weapon to the knight and back again. “Yes, my lord, there is one just outside of town,” he said, feeling a twinge of nervousness as the Soul Edge turned its eye to glare balefully at him.

“I will be there.”
 
 

The church was a gutted ruin after the passage of the Schwarzwind. A few pews that had escaped being turned to firewood lay overturned on the stone floor. Some demon had toppled the altar and hidden the crucifix beneath a shroud of dirty cloth torn from the body of some villager.

Nightmare stepped over the shattered ruins of the church’s doors and walked slowly towards the altar, his booted feet clanking loudly in the silence of the church. The Soul Edge hung in his right hand, its tip soundlessly cutting a gash in the stone floor as he walked. He stopped before the altar and looked down at it. It was a humble thing, made of wood polished lovingly over the years to a warm glow.

Feeling the Soul Edge becoming more alert, Nightmare bent and pulled the altar upright, swiping aside the blood and dirt spattered on its surface with his left hand. He let the Soul Edge fall to the floor in front of the altar as he walked around it to retrieve the crucifix. He stared at the cross with unchanging eyes, finally propping it up against the far wall behind the altar, brushing the dirt from it as best he could.

Turning, he slowly walked back in front of the altar and knelt. Beside him, the Soul Edge rolled its eye and glared at him, trying to bend him to its will. Nightmare fought with it and won a reprieve, long enough to raise his hands before him in prayer.

Closing his eyes, he remembered a church like this. He remembered kneeling in front of an altar, staying there through the night until his armor and sword was brought to him with dawn’s light.

“Help...me,” he managed to say, struggling mightily against the wild fire of the Soul Edge’s madness.

“Siegfried,” a soft voice, delicate and beautiful, said from behind him. Nightmare turned his head and saw a woman standing behind him, her arms stretched out to him while a brilliant white light shone from her. “There is still time, give up the Soul Edge.”

Nightmare stood slowly, the Soul Edge in his hand. “Who...are...you?” he asked slowly. He turned his head slightly away from her as the light increased then disappeared, leaving behind a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in a loose white gown that fell to her ankles. Her blond hair was swept back from her face, trailing down to the small of her back. She smiled, her blue eyes warm and enticing, with her arms outstretched to him. Nightmare found himself unconsciously backing away as he saw the ivory feathered wings stretching from her back towards the ceiling.

“Siegfried, you can reject the Soul Edge. Give up your dark desire for revenge, such hate can only lead to damnation,” the angel said as she slowly walked towards him.

“No...blood and fire are all that is left to me,” he said, remembering the charred ruins of his families castle and the bodies of his servants and soldiers. The bodies of his family, slaughtered without mercy. All because of a single betrayal. “Until I find the one who betrayed me...”

“Why? Why do you do this Siegfried? So much death and pain.” The angel was standing in front of him, her face close to his helmet and her hand reaching up to his cheekguard.

“My father...betrayed. I will avenge him,” Nightmare managed to say as she reached up with both hands to hold his helmet. He could feel his anger melting away, allowing him to think rationally for the first time in so long...

“Would your father want this? He was a good man, would he want so many others to suffer so that he might be avenged?” Her hands were tightening around his helmet, tensing and ready to lift the heavy azure piece of metal from his head.

“No...” Nightmare said and then the Soul Edge lashed out, searing his soul with fire and fury. Any rationality he had blew away in shreds from the raw anger of the Soul Edge. It had him body and soul and would never let him go. His hand tightened around the Soul Edge as he jerked away from the angel.

She looked at him sorrowfully and tried to reach him again. Nightmare roared in fury and brought up the Soul Edge, its massive triangular blade slicing through the still air as a storm of energy crackled along its length. “Siegfried,” the angel said softly.

“No! Not Siegfried,” he felt the Soul Edge say through him as it raised itself and prepared to cut down the woman. It stopped as it drew back to strike her and lowered itself. Nightmare suddenly felt a surge of lust rise in him as he stared at the angel.

He could see the soft curves of her body through the light fabric of her gown as he stepped towards her, his eyes glowing with madness. She tried to back away but he was too fast, snatching at her arm and pulling her close. She gasped and tried to fly away as he pulled her towards him and flung her onto the altar.

The angel shook her head dazedly as Nightmare jammed the Soul Edge into the floor besides the altar, its eye staring gleefully at the angel as the knight pinned her shoulders to the altar with his fists. The angel struggled against his grasp, her wings flapping uselessly against the wood of the altar. She let out a loud cry as Nightmare tore her gown from her body, leaving her naked in front of him. She moaned in terror as she heard a wet sound coming from his crotch and saw a massive cock jutting from between his legs.

“Stop this! You can fight it!” she managed to gasp out as he roughly squeezed her breasts with his clawed right hand. Her flesh was a delicate shade of white beneath the vermilion skin of his hand.

The Soul Edge watched gleefully as Nightmare obeyed its commands and forced open the angel’s thighs with his left hand. The angel twisted her body, trying to wriggle out from under his grip as he moved between her thighs, his cock rubbing against the silky skin of her inner thigh.

The angel began to groan softly as Nightmare rubbed his cock against her opening, taunting her by beginning to push into her and pulling back at the last moment. Tiring of her struggles, the Soul Edge floated into the air and positioned itself just beyond the angel’s head. It floated there, looking at Nightmare and then to the limp angel before it.

Nightmare watched, a wild grin hidden beneath his helmet as a mass of tentacles burst from the Soul Edge. They seemed to be formed from some glowing and shimmering fire as they wrapped around the angel’s wrists and pulled them taut over her head.

“Stop, please!” she begged as the her body was stretched between the Soul Edge and Nightmare. Nightmare hesitated, looking down at her slender body, unsullied and pure, unlike so many things in the world. But then he heard the voice of the Soul Edge.

Lust!, he heard, the voice of the Soul Edge vibrating through his mind like the roar of a swarm of locusts. Rational thought fled as Nightmare leaned closer to her face and laughed, reaching up with his clawed right hand to stroke her cheek in a vicious parody of her tender caress earlier. The angel screamed as Nightmare grabbed her hips and thrust into her, burying his entire length in her.

Nightmare rubbed his hands over the angel’s breasts, watching as she twisted and turned, her head tossing from side to side as he pumped into her. Tears ran down her face as her wings flapped beneath her, small puffs of wind causing her hair to flutter. Her hands tightened into fists as Nightmare leaned over her and began to pound into her, each stroke jerking her across the surface of the altar.

His cock slammed into her repeatedly as he savored the sounds of her gasping moans and grunts, fondling the soft flesh of her breasts with his hands in time to his strokes. His hips began to thrust wildly as he felt himself close to coming. The angel arched her back, tugging furiously at the tentacles holding her arms taut, desperate to escape him. Her wail was answered by his roar of pleasure as he pushed himself into her one last time, his seed spurting into her.

She groaned as she was pulled off the altar and forced to her knees, Nightmare’s cock sliding over her cheek towards her mouth, come still spurting from it and splattering over her delicate features. She managed to whimper once before he pushed it between her full lips and began grabbed her hair. The angel closed her eyes as Nightmare pushed deep into her throat, his seed shooting into her mouth. He gave one last shuddering thrust, pulling her hair painfully as his seed filled her mouth. The angel sobbed and swallowed it reluctantly as the knight let her drop to the ground.

Nightmare stood there, the Soul Edge suddenly in his hand and his breath coming in ragged gasps. Slowly, he sank to the ground. He closed his eyes and shuddered and when he opened them the angel was gone. No trace of her remained, not a feather, not a footprint in the dirt smeared over the church’s floor. Nightmare turned wildly, searching for any sign of her.
The knight moved over to the altar and ran his hand over its surface. The wood was cold with no trace of her tears or their mingled juices nor the warmth of her body. Nightmare’s eyes blazed in fury, their red light casting dancing shadows over the church’s walls.

“You...” he said as he held the Soul Edge up to his visor, “tricked me! I am not your puppet to be toyed with at your whim!”

You are mine to do with as I wish! I possess you body and soul, disobey me again and you shall watch as the innocent suffer by your commands! Obey me and you shall have your revenge, the Soul Edge said, it’s voice hammering Nightmare to the ground with its power.

Nightmare staggered as the Soul Edge’s power washed over him. He could feel the part of him that had surfaced within the hallowed walls of the church being forced deep under the water’s of his consciousness. Soon any trace of Siegfried was gone and only Nightmare remained.

The knight stood and turned on his heel, contemptuously smashing the remains of the church’s door under his boots as he left. His second in command was waiting for him with a small escort of varied low ranking demons. Nightmare seized a torch from one of them and hurled it into the church’s interior. Soon the church was a lighting the night sky while it crumbled in the fire.

“My lord,” Azdaem said. “We seized the carriage and its occupants. They await your pleasure at your tent.”

“The guards?” Nightmare asked as they stalked across the dirt towards the camp.

“Scattered in the initial attack. I do not think we have anything to fear from them.”

“There is a storm coming, Azdaem. Warriors are coming to challenge me, they seek the Soul Edge for themselves.”

“My lord?”

“We move at first light.”

“Yes, my lord.”
 
 

The carriage was ornate and finely crafted, obviously the vehicle of nobility. A few demons lounged around it as a muffled conversation could be heard within. Nightmare stalked through the clearing at the center of the camp and stopped in front of the carriage door.

“Don’t worry, Victoria, I’ll protect you!” he heard. The voice was young, a boy or teenager at most.

“What can you do, Timothy?” another voice said, this one female and dripping with scorn. “These scum will pay for delaying me!” At this the door to the carriage burst open and a cloud of silks and petticoats flew out. Nightmare stood with his hands on the pommel of the Soul Edge as the young woman stalked over to him with a furious look on her face, apparently unaffected by his appearance or that of the demons gathering. “Are you the ‘leader’ of these bandits?” she asked.

Nightmare watched her curiously, waiting to see if she would suddenly take notice of her surroundings and act accordingly. She didn’t and continued to berate him even as Azdaem walked to his side.

“What would you have us do with these nobles?” the demon asked. The woman, Victoria, shot him a scathing glance and looked back at Nightmare. She was quite fetching, with elaborately curled blond hair and large blue eyes that probably entrance the men she toyed with.

“Well? Take off your helmet when you’re talking with your betters!” she said, stamping her foot in fury.

“Mind your tongue, wench!” Azdaem snapped, his relatively human looking body seeming to grow in stature as his voice echoed around the clearing. “Or your mouth will be put to a more suitable use!”

Nightmare grudgingly gave her credit for being incredibly fearless or incredibly stupid as she slapped Azdaem. “Do all your servants speak in such insolent tones?” she asked as the shocked Azdaem lurched upright, his shirt tightening across his back as he prepared to show his true form. Azdaem subsided as Nightmare held up a hand.

“Girl, you have no idea what trouble you are in,” Nightmare said. “Do you think your blood will protect you in the slightest way?”

“My father will-” she began.

“Your father is not here. If you please me you may live as my slave. If you do not, you will live as my follower’s slave, a most unpleasant prospect.”

“I am no one’s slave!”

“We shall see about that,” Nightmare said as he motioned for a pair of demons to step up and hold her still while he reached out with his right claw. The woman screamed in fury as the demons held her fast as Nightmare stroked his claws along the heaving fabric of her bodice, their razor tips slicing the ties in two.

“How dare you touch me!” Victoria spat as she struggled in the demon’s grip. “You will all pay for this!” Nightmare laughed, a booming sound that filled the night, and tugged her the tatters of her dress away from her bosom, revealing a pair of splendid white breasts.

“Any price we pay will be worth it, I think,” he said.

Feast for the Blades:
                                        Part One

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.