Smoke could be seen from the outside of the village, in the lit-up valley where the samiet's of Sterland Village had gathered. The chaos that had befallen their village, a sense of confusion and panic had befallen the villagers who were displaced from their home by an unexpected foe that they had never encountered before.

That had been over an hour ago, and while a wall stood between them and seeing what was happening, the sounds that had come from the village seemed to have died down following a loud explosion of an unknown source.

".... I can't hear anything else," Welma said walking up beside Junbi, the village elder, as well as the oldest person in Sterland Village. "Is it over?"

"......" Junbi held his tongue for a moment, holding his cane close. "I do not believe the battle is yet over, I can still feel several mana presences radiating from the town. Yet the rancid feeling of those monsters seems to have subsided somewhat."

".... Does that mean its safe?"

"Hard to say. I have a feeling in my bones something is going to transpire, something beyond our expectations."

Welma let out a small sigh, glancing to the wall, folding her arms. "At this point, I doubt anything could surprise me." She turned, making her way back to the refugees huddled in the valley. "I should get back. We need to see if anyone is missing."

"Hmmm," Junbi let out a small huff, moving his hand to the rocky ground. He'd been feeling it for a while, but there was a familiar presence deep underground, a certain warmth that drew others towards it like a gentle flame. His senses were not as strong as they were, blocked by the rancid mana of the creatures from the very depths of hell, but he could feel a single powerful emotion, one that burned and radiated like an inferno which threatened to consume all it touched.

My the goddess has mercy..... have mercy on us all....

Allisa vs. Ellie

Allisa rolled back across the water, holding her sword in one hand. Looking up, her eyes widened as she saw four razor-sharp shards of ice flying towards her. She rolled away from the first one, teleported to dodge a second, reappearing by a pillar where she was forced to duck as the remainder stabbed into the stonework.

"Damn it..."

Turning around a nearby pillar, she saw her opponent lunging towards her, turning her body as she swung her blade. The two met with a loud crash that echoed through the chamber, their blades grinding against each other, allowing Allisa to see Ellie's face which was consumed by hatred.

Ellie backed off before lunging again, swinging her blade with poise despite her clear anger. Despite her experience along with whatever skills she picked up from the 'bleeding' Rina had described, Allisa could do nothing other than blocking and parrying four of the blade strikes, ducking behind one before teleporting behind Ellie who swiped out her left hand. A wave of water moved from the ground, sharpening into a blade. Allisa turned around in time to see the sharpened water fragment flying towards her. In response, she teleported a few paces to the right to avoid being skewered.

She emerged, only just regaining her footing when Ellie was on her again. Their blades locked, and Allisa found herself backed to one of the pillars as Ellie applied more pressure against her sword, all while pulling back her left hand.

"A-Azure-"

"Six Elemental:"

"Flame!"

"Wind!"

A burst of wind erupted as the pillar shattered. Allisa was sent flying through the pillar following the burst, flames coalescing around her right hand. She slammed into the water on her back before recovering in a crouched position, holding out her right arm, the blackened blade of Azure Flame held in her hand.

Glancing up, she saw Ellie pulling back her left hand, another ball of wind forming within the palm. Sweeping her hand, she swiped it outwards, releasing a powerful gust of wind towards Allisa. Gritting her teeth, Allisa ran forwards before vanishing, the winds scything past her old position, leaving behind deep grooves through some of the pillars.

Allisa reappeared a few feet to the left, almost tripping before teleporting again, emerging in the air close to a pillar a few feet in the air, gently kicking against the surface as flames erupted from her blade, descending towards Ellie who had turned her back to her due to the motion in her wind attack.

"Six Elemental: Fire!" On her palm was an assortment of symbols arranged in a circle, and as she called out her incantation, bringing her palm closer to the blade, the top symbol glowed red, with flames erupting from the surface. "Firebrand!"

Ellie pivoted, swinging her flame coated blade, which parried Allisa's strike, sidestepping, allowing her to land in the water. Allisa turned to see Ellie throwing her palm forwards, a fireball forming at the palm. Allisa teleported away, avoiding the flame. Ellie turned sharply, parrying another blow from Allisa behind her, followed by an attack which Allisa was forced to block, almost hitting her back to another pillar as Ellie turned for another attack. Allisa ducked and rolled to the right, the blade cutting into the ancient rock unopposed, leaving behind a melted surface.

Ellie spun counterclockwise, swinging her blade vertically. Both clashed against each other, creating sparks on impact before locking against one another. Allisa was once again forced into another deadlock as her superheated sword ground against the flamed surface of Ellie's sword, more baffling in how it could not melt the metal like she once did.

"You're not the only one who can heat up your sword," Ellie hissed as flames coalesced in her left palm.

Uh-oh! Allisa quickly teleported away before Ellie could strike.

"And you're still-" Ellie pivoted around, "PREDICTABLE!" letting loose the flames in her left hand. "?!" Her mouth dropped when she saw her fireball hitting against a pillar, realizing the area behind her was empty.

Sh-shit! Realizing her grave mistake, she turned around to see what she feared. Allisa emerged behind a pillar, holding her sword in both hands as flames collected upon the black blade.

"Vermilion-"

"S-Six elemental:"

"STRIKE!!"

"WATER!"

As Allisa let loose her arc of flames, Ellie swiped her left hand. The water moved as commanded, launching the large body of water which slammed against the incoming flames. The impact caused a burst of steam, so sudden that Allisa had to braise as she was consumed in the ghostly mist.

When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw the steam was still all around, reducing the visibility to a measly few centimeters around her. Catching her breath, Allisa held her sword in front of her as she surveyed her surroundings.

A splash was then heard from somewhere up front, causing Allisa to flinch. Calming her breath, she continued to glance around, in preparation for the incoming attack.

"Not bad, using that habit of yours to catch me off guard." Ellie's voice echoed around Allisa. In response, she jerked her body around, trying to find the source of the voice.

"They'll do the same to you, make no mistake about that." Ellie's voice sounded off again from another direction, followed by more splashes. "That power you have is never yours to use freely. Even you have to see that!"

Allisa's body jerked around, trying to find the source of Ellie's voice. "And how's that any different from this Yenisn guy?" she called out, still trying to figure out where her opponent was speaking from. "I don't know what happened to make you like this...." Another splash sounded to Allisa's right. Pivoting around, she saw nothing but the mist. "But how does hurting so many innocent people going to help you?!"

"Innocent people? Ha ha ha," Ellie's voice sounded again from behind Allisa, where she was forced to look back, still not catching sight of her opponent. "I guess that's why I hate you so much," Another splash sounded. "There is no such thing as innocence in this world. Everybody has done something that others will see as wrong. You killed Garlahad, didn't you? How are you any different?"

Allisa's hands clenched.

"Let me tell you something. There are two types of people; those like you who live in a bubble oblivious to the true nature of the world, and people like me who see this world for what it truly is.

"Innocents. Justice. Good and evil. All that ever is is words people spout to justify their view of the world, idealistic nonsense people like you use to keep yourself blind to what's going on around you. You'll see I'm right eventually, oh great 'Goddess' Chosen.' Once that bubble bursts, you'll see things aren't so black and white as you believe them to be."

The mist began to die out, with visibility becoming much more clearer. Allisa's eyes narrowed, finally spying an orange glow through the mist. Slowly, she took a step forward, keeping her foot suspended in the water. "It's clear we can't just talk this out," Taking a deep breath, she lowered her center of gravity. "I guess.... There really is only one left for us."

The orange glow suddenly disappeared, causing Allisa to freeze in place.

"I couldn't agree more,"

All of a sudden, a sudden burst of ice fired across the water. Startled, Allisa leaped to the left as the thick sheets of ice shot past her, hitting against one of the pillars before locking in place. Rolling, she shot up, preparing to charge at the Ices origin, the mist finally begins to clear up so she could see far clearer, taking note of a pillar where the sheet ice originated to its left.

"Six Elemental: Earth!"

A voice suddenly called out to Allisa's left. She turned in time to see the pillar she was nearby burst apart, the debris peppering against her as she flinched due to the surprise attack.

As she recovered, Ellie emerged from the resulting dust. Allisa teleported backward as Ellie crashed into the water while swinging her blade, leaving an arc of flames in her wake. Pivoting clockwise, Ellie lunged forwards with her flaming blade, slamming it against Allisa's sword, creating a spark.

"Heavy metal!" Clenching her left fist, her skin along her left arm began to change color to a dark gray, Ellie swung her blade again at Allisa who parried, followed by a vertical second which Allisa blocked before slamming her hardened fist into Allisa's exposed belly.

Lurching back while clutching her belly, Allisa glanced up only to be backhanded by Ellie, catching her on the left side of the cheek with the force of a thrown brick.

Almost losing her footing, Allisa recovered to see flames converging around Ellie's sword, followed by a series of strikes and blows aimed at Allisa who could do little but teleport, block and roll out of the way, each strike letting out a plume of flame.

At one point, Allisa rolled forwards as Ellie swung a vertical strike, teleported behind her before completing her role, snapping to her feet.

However, Ellie continued to spin, the ferocity of the flames spewing from the blade before leaping into the air in a flower of flames.

Eyes wide, Allisa jumped out of the way as Ellie slammed into the water, letting out a burst of steam and flame, which blew Allisa off her feet.

"Six Elemental: Wind!"

As Allisa jumped back to her feet, Ellie launched her palm forwards, sending a burst of wind, catching Allisa by surprise, blasting her away again, where she slammed her back against another pillar.

"Six Elemental: Water!"

Water droplets then gathered around Ellie, four of them sharpening into spears. With a tap of her finger, the water froze. Still groggy from her back smashing against the rockwork, Allisa took note of the four-ice shots firing towards her. Ducking out of the way, the ice stuck into the rock face, after which Allisa teleported to the left, trying to pick up her pace.

Ellie waved her hand, gathering the water droplets, summoning them to coal around her before firing towards Allisa, who made efforts to dodge each one, performing a roll before teleporting to a nearby pillar.

As she turned the corner, Ellie had lunged towards her again. Allisa blocked an incoming horizontal strike, both heated blades crashing against each other emitting spark on impact. Ellie continued her assault, swinging her blade one-handed, keeping Allisa on the defensive as she paired each strike, calling on as much of her skill and what skill she gained through Excalibur just to keep up. At one point she swung her blade vertically to try and get in a hit before being blocked and pushed back. Ellie spun counter-clockwise, holding her sword out. Her blade still hanging in the air, Allisa leaned back as much as she could, narrowly avoiding the blade that passed over her, passing just under her nose, lost a strand of her bangs, being signed in the process from the output of flames.

Ellie jumped back, continuing to spin counter-clockwise before swiping her left hand out, which sent a torrent of water towards Allisa who teleported to the right to avoided it. When she reappeared she lunged forwards, trying to get back to the attack, but Ellie intercepted her strike, resulting in a parry. Ellie pivoted around, and with her back turned, lashed out her left leg in a backward kick.

"GAK!" Allisa gasped as Ellie's foot slammed into her gut, recovering in time to see Ellie turning for another swing. Raising her sword, Allisa blocked the strike but was taken off guard, staggering before turning back to her opponent to see her plunging her left hand into the water.

"Splash!"

The water around her suddenly erupted into a violent torrent, blasting Allisa off her feet. She landed in the water, which came up almost to her face. With her hand still submerged, Ellie muttered "Checkmate."

The water around Allisa suddenly rose up, swallowing her completely. Before she could realize what was happening, Allisa suddenly found herself suspended in the air in a large bubble of water, which felt more like she had been submerged in cement. Bubbles erupted from her superheated blade as it tried to combat the water but in vain. Eyes widened, Allisa struggled, holding her throat as the prospect that she was drowning was seeping in.

"Got you now," Ellie said, standing before the bubble with her left hand raised. "By my estimates, you can only teleport a few meters from your current spot. Which means if you try, I'll see you. The first thing you'll do is try to catch your breath, a natural reaction to someone in your position." Her hands around her sword tightened, "Which means I can finally kill you."

Allisa moved her hand to her mouth; fastening her eyes shut as an attempt to keep what little air she had left inside her.

"Though if you want to drown to death, that's fine by me. Just means you'll die in agony."

I've got no choice....

Allisa threw her blade forward in the water, pointing the tip at Ellie who looked curiously. The bubbles around the blade subsided, revealing the black blade. There's a first for everything.

Blue fissures began to form along the black blade and handle, emitting a light.

With what little she had left, she took the risk and opened her mouth. "Aqua Heart!"

Light suddenly erupted from the water sphere, which began to bulge, contract, before finally bursting. Ellie flinched her head away as her prison exploded unexpectedly.

"What the-?"

Looking up, she saw Allisa pivoting in the air, swinging her blade vertical, which was followed by a whip of water. Ellie leaped to the right as the whip crashed into the water, sending a massive splash up to a pillar, where a deep groove was cut into its surface.

Looking behind her, Ellie's mouth couldn't help but drop. However, as she glanced back to Allisa, she was in for more of a surprise.

The blond haired girl had landed back in the water. However, rather than her feet submerged like Ellie, they were hovering on the water's surface, with only slight ripples forming at her feet.

In her right hand she held a sword that was drastically different from the previous style. A golden crossguard, where a wave pattern extended downwards towards the golden pommel. Its blade was single edged and curved, with a varying shade of turquoise, changing to white along the blade edge.

"Wh-What is that....?" Ellie muttered, staring at Allisa with her mouth side open.

Clutching her sword in one hand, Allisa took a stance different from her usual grip, holding her sword with only one hand at her back, holding out her left in front of her body.

Gritting her teeth, Ellie brought back her palm. "Six elemental: Wind!"

A sphere of wind formed in her palm. Eyes flashing with hatred, she swiped her hand out. "Wind Scythe!"

As the violent winds approached Allisa, she braced herself before pushing off to the right, gliding across the water as though she was ice skating, allowing the winds to blast along the now empty spaces, jumping to a nearby pillar before pushing herself off, rocketing towards the startled Ellie who threw out another blast of wind.

This time Allisa teleported out of the way, reappearing a few feet to the right, pivoting around on one leg as though she were dancing, on her full turn swiped her blade into the water. The blade kissed the surface, breaching onto the surface, then as it was brought up, a torrent of water emerged, launching itself towards the unprepared Ellie who was washed away.

Allisa's stance relaxed, letting out a small breath. She glanced down at her sword, examining the unusual design, feeling a sense of calmness and tranquillity from its surface.

So this is Rinas'...

With her gaze still down, she took note of how she was literally standing on the water. Lifting her foot off, she tapped the surface, trying to break through the surface but unable to. Allisa couldn't help but smile, feeling as though she was a child again.

A splash and a cough interrupted her feeling of joy. Ellie picked herself up from the water, using her now extinguished sword to prop herself up, completely drenched in water. "You....." She hissed, shooting an expression of hatred at Allisa, who resumed a combat stance.

"Six Elemental: ICE!!"

Ellie plunged her hand into the water, sending another barrage of sheet ice towards Allisa. Bracing herself, Allisa pushed from the water, skating towards Ellie who summoned forth shards of Ice, firing them at Allisa in a constant barrage, who served between the pillars to dodge.

What's with her movement? Ellie slipped her hand into the lake, bringing up water to her sword which began to freeze, taking the shape of a long saber. "Ice Brand!"

She then pivoted around as Allisa skated up towards her, both blades clashing against each other. Ellie pivoted around to swipe at Allisa, who skidded back allowing the swing to miss completely. She then rushed in forwards, using her slightly elevated position to her advantage, taking swings at Ellie's ice sword, who for the first time was forced on the defensive, parrying Allisa's swerved strikes, taken aback by her change in style.

Even her sword fighting's different! And that water walk....! Just what did she do?!

Ellie ended up retreating, pulling back her right hand, "Six Elemental:"

Seeing flames building up in her opponent's left hand, Allisa pushed back on her feet, gliding across the surface. "Fire!" Throwing forth her left hand, a consecutive barrage of fireballs towards Allisa who skidded and sided between each shot.

Allisa halted her dodging one the barrage stopped, flames still converging in Ellie's palm. With gritted teeth, Ellie threw forth a massive fireball towards Allisa, which she dodged by teleporting away from, allowing it to hit and destroy one of the pillars.

Ellie, in turn, pivoted around, throwing a second fireball at Allisa, which was dodged by Allisa teleporting away, reappearing in the air by a pillar near her opponent, kicking against it to lung herself at Ellie, who aimed her left had Allisa's direction, still gathering flames.

Allisa suddenly vanished from up in the air.

But you're still predictable!

Ellie glanced behind her to see Allisa reappearing, skidding to a halt in the water. She turned her body, firing another volley of fireballs. Allisa turned in the water, allowing her blade to gently graze the water as she swung her sword upwards. The water responded in kind, flowing upwards in response like a serpent. The fireballs hit the water's surface extinguishing in an instant.

Allisa pivoted around, almost as though she were performing a dance. The water followed suit, dethatching from the water, coating the blade as though a whip. Allisa completed her turn, swinging down on the surprised Ellie, who leaped right to avoid the lash, the water losing its form by the impact.

Completing her swung, still transfixed by the dance she was performing, stood sideways as she brought her blade close to her body, which began to glow an ocean blue, fragments of water still coalescing around the curved blade. "Aqua Burst!"

Throwing her blade forwards, a jet of water fired faster than the eye could see, parting the water as it flew. Ellie, who was in the middle of performing her own fire shot was hit by the water before launching off her feet, hurtling backward, hitting the water like a skipping stone before slamming her back hard into one of the pillars, leaving a small crack in its place.

Ellie lurched forwards, coughing up blood before dropping back into the water.

Allisa stood at a standstill, still floating above the water's surface, letting out a deep breath. With the brief respite, Allisa glanced towards Aqua Heart, her newfound power. It felt radically different from Azure Flame, not only in terms of element, but the calmness radiating from it as opposed to the raging heat that vibrated from the latter.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a splash in front of her. From a distance of a few meters, Ellie had picked herself up from the ground, still clutching her sword in her right hand, raising her left hand to wipe away a small trail of blood that seeped from the right side of her mouth. She then raised her hand towards Allisa. "Six Elemental:"

Flinching, Allisa twirled counter-clockwise, preparing to brush the water to rise another whip.

"Lightning."

Before Allisa could complete her movement, a thin arc of lightning fired from Ellie's palm, slamming into Allisa, pushing her off her balance before plunging into the water, smoke smoldering from her body.

".... You certainly are full of surprises," Ellie said as she swiped out her blade before breaking into a sprint towards the downed Allisa, "I can't relax my guard for a second!"

Allisa pushed herself up, gritting her teeth while letting out the occasional grunt. The shock had not only ruined her momentum but had also numbed her body. Still on her hands and knees, she glanced up to see Ellie charging forwards, trying to take the initiative.

Despite the numbness, Allisa rolled back clumsily, trying to get back to her feet. It was then she noticed that her movement had slowed. Not only that, but her feet were also below the water level.

Ellie pivoted, holding her blade before swinging her blade in a vertical arc towards Allisa, who was forced to block with her sword. The iced blade hit with enough force to break her guard, and Ellie was fast to follow up with a downward strike.

Allisa teleported out of the way, reappearing a few meters behind Ellie, hovering in the air to try and land on the water-

"AAAHH!!"

When another bolt of lightning struck her, mucking up her landing. She crashed into the water, tumbling until she hit her back against a pillar.

"D-Damn..... it..." Allisa groaned as she pushed herself up, using the pillar to support her.

"Six Elemental: Earth!"

Allisa looked up to see Ellie charging at her. "Heavy metal!"

She ducked out of the way as Ellie's hardened fist slammed into the pillar, cracking the surface. "As I thought,"

Ellie turned and swung her blade at Allisa, who flimsily blocked the strike, still trying to restore feeling in her body. She ducked as Ellie swung her blade again, haphazardly getting back to her feet.

"You can't move like that unless you are on the water's surface," Ellie evaluated as she swung again at Allisa, who blocked the blow again.

"Six Elemental:"

Allisa teleported away again, retreating behind a nearby pillar, keeping her feet below the water. Ellie emerged from the right swinging her blade, which hit the pillar, leaving a deep scar. "Fire!"

Ellie shot out her hand, letting out a torrent of flames towards her target. Allisa teleported away again, reappearing in the water again before breaking into a run as more and more flames were launched her way, retreating behind a nearby pillar as the flames slammed into the back.

"What's the matter?" Ellie called out, lowering her left hand. "Weren't you going to save me, 'hero?'" Letting out a small chuckle, she approached the pillar, holding her iced blade in her right hand, flames in her left hand, poised to react in case her opponent tried something. "That's all you are in the end. Just a stupid little girl, trying so desperately to play the role they've given you to distract you from what's truly going on."

The flames burned more intensely as she approached, her scowl growing. "Watching you.... Really makes me sick," She hissed, "You can keep living in la la land for all I care." Gritting her teeth, she picked up her pace, "I'm not like you.... I've seen what this world truly is...."

She charged towards the pillar, her rage boiling over, "No matter what," she pulled back her flamed left hand, "I WILL BE FREE!"

Her hand slammed into the rocky surface, followed by an explosion of flames that destroyed the entire pillar into little pieces. Ellie took a step back, panting as she tried to calm herself down.

But Allisa wasn't there.

"...." It was only when a wave of heat washed over her back, Ellie realized she had made a grave mistake.

"VERMILION-"

Allisa emerged from behind a pillar a few meters away, flames coalescing around Azure Flame. Ellie turned her body around, eyes widened with shock.

Grabbing her blade in both hands, Allisa looked up, gritting her teeth. "STRIIIIKEEE!!"

With one mightily swing, a wide torrent of flames released. The attack was more powerful than anyone could have predicted, the flames blasting through the pillars, one after another.

Allisa huffed and puffed, looking forwards at the rising steam. A single figure emerged, water flowing over the figure like a second coat of skin. A drenched Ellie emerged from the water shell, panting, she looked behind her.

"...... Wha-"

Behind her, a vast area of pillars had been blasted away.

".... Are you finished?"

Gritting her teeth, Ellie turned around.

Allisa stood defiantly against her opponent, staring down her infuriated opponent. "Even if what you say is true, that doesn't make what you're doing right." Her sword held by her side. "Even if.... I am just a stupid girl playing hero, that doesn't mean I'm just gonna stand here and let you do this."

She reaffirmed her combat stance, glaring at her opponent who reaffirmed her stance, shooting a hate-filled glare. "Ellie, I will stop you!"

****

"And here we are," Yensin announced like a performer on a stage. Behind him trotted Lire Lim, and behind her, the black mummy.

The three had reached the lowest pits of the ruins, a circular room with a waterfall flowing into a reservoir below that shone with a majestic blue that dominated the room. At the center was a large circular platform with strange groves dug into its surface, connected to a part of the wall that was jutting out, a large, ancient circle dominating its surface.

With a satisfied grin, Yensin shot his hands outwards. "Five years of searching and here it is! The seal to Kitsune, the Nine-Tails!"