“The battle with Shishio has come to a head. His real objective involves an alliance with the Mazoku. And on top of that, we’re facing the Dark Lord, Shabranigdo! We can’t let him be reborn! But Shishio tricked us and stole the Philosopher’s Stone. And now… now he’s called forth the darkest of all terrors!”

Shishio the Red Priest laughed in manic triumph. “I am healed!” he cried. “My eyes are opened! I no longer burn; I am the fire!” He groaned and doubled over in agony as his hands suddenly transformed into monstrous claws. “What’s happening? Who are you?”

A disembodied voice echoed around him. “I am he whose rebirth you desired.”

“NOOOOOO!” Ribbons of fiery energy flickered around the priest’s shifting form.

He whose rebirth you desired, Kaoru thought. Shabranigdo!

Aoshi fired a blast of magical energy at the transforming monster. There was a huge explosion – and through the cloud of crimson dust, two eyes glowed a menacing scarlet. “Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo!” he whispered in awe.

“Exactly!” Kaoru replied. “Sealed within Shishio’s burned body… and now reborn!”

The mazoku lord towered over them, more than twice Hannya’s height and broader than Shikijou, with a gaping, fang-rimmed mouth, multiple arms tipped with razor claws, and the glowing scarlet eyes that had earned the being its nickname.

“I give you a choice of the path you may take,” it said to them, “in gratitude to you who have allowed me life again. Follow me, and I shall grant you long life. Refuse this offer, and I shall fight you here, before I release the other six parts of me sealed in this world.”

“Gee, why don’t you make some big demands or something?” Kaoru scoffed.

“Death, or slavery to a devil?” Aoshi’s tone said clearly which he preferred.

“So, busu, you gonna take it?” asked Yahiko. Everyone turned and glared at him. He waved his hands. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Sheesh!”

“What is this nonsense?” demanded Hannya.

Kaoru stared in astonishment at the ninja mahoutsukai. He slowly advanced toward the monster. “Hannya…” she breathed. “You can’t…”

“Don’t flatter yourself!” Hannya challenged. His voice sounded hollow behind his demon mask. “Humankind has advanced in the thousand years you’ve been sealed away! Now watch as the legendary Dark Lord falls to the might of the Oniwabanshuu!”

“Oh no,” Kaoru sighed. “He doesn’t get it…”

Hannya raised his arms.

Darkness beyond twilight,
Crimson beyond blood that flows...

Huh? she thought. The Dragon Slave? That third-rate mahoutsukai…

Buried in the flow of time,
In thy great name I...

The strongest spell attack in all black magic… Kaoru said to herself as Hannya’s incantation reached its end. But… “Stop it, Hannya!” she screamed. “It won’t work! Get back!”

Aoshi realized the same thing at the same time. “Stop, Hannya!” he ordered. “No!”

Hannya paid them no heed. Proud and confident of his magical might, he finished his spell.

...shall be destroyed by
the power you and I possess.
DRAGON SLAVE!

Fiery energy engulfed the mazoku lord.

“I did it!” Hannya cried in triumph.

Within the crimson glow, Shabranigdo appeared… totally unharmed.

“He’s… he’s still alive!” Shikijou gasped. “Run for it, Hannya!” He grabbed his companion and raced for the exit. “Hurry!”

“Shikijou! Hannya!” Aoshi cried. They were too far away for him to help; not even Kenshin’s godlike speed could reach them in time, and not even the Sword of Light could stand against the monster’s spell attack. Shabranigdo extended one clawed hand and, as though Hannya’s spell had fed rather than damaged him, sent a blast of crimson fire that incinerated the fleeing pair in an instant.

Kaoru stared in horror and helpless rage. Shabranigdo…

“NO!” Aoshi’s shout echoed from the stone walls.

“Come on, you’re both mahoutsukai!” Yahiko raged. “Can’t you do something?”

“Run de gozaru yo,” said Kenshin.

“What?” Kaoru blinked.

Kenshin grabbed her and the four survivors raced for the door.

“Yes, run,” Shabranigdo chuckled. “Run as far as you can.”

“Pathetic!” Kaoru fumed, a long way from Shishio’s mountain. “Absolutely, positively pathetic! All we could do was run away!”

“Man, that dark Lord sure was powerful,” Yahiko commented.

“Running only buys us a little time,” Kenshin pointed out. “Sooner or later he’ll find us, that he will.”

“Hannya…” Aoshi murmured. “Shikijou… Hyottoko… Beshimi…”

“Would you all just lighten up?” Kaoru screeched.

“Oro…”

“Right!” she went on. “The thing to do at a time like this is… fill up on good food and have lots of fun!”

And so they found themselves in the common room of a local inn, stuffing themselves on roast fowl and other goodies. At least Kaoru and Yahiko stuffed themselves. Kenshin ate sparingly. Aoshi stared off into space.

“Even if he is the Dark Lord, he should give us wimpy humans a break and let us make our final decision,” Kaoru grumbled with her mouth full.

“Kaoru-dono, this does not seem like the time to have a party, that it does not,” Kenshin objected.

“Being depressed gets you nowhere,” she retorted. “We have to eat, rest, and get our strength back.”

“After all, this may be our last meal,” Aoshi murmured.

A pall of gloom descended over the little group.

“Listen!” Kaoru stood up and loomed over Aoshi. “I’m trying to keep our spirits up, and you…”

“Cheers!” yelled a group of revelers at the bar, oblivious to the doom that hung over the world.

Kaoru watched them. You look at how happy and peaceful the world is, and you’d never believe Shabranigdo’s been reborn. A young man pinched the waitress on her shapely behind; the girl shrieked and dropped her tray. It wasn’t too long ago that I was a regular girl, just like her. How’d I get caught in this nightmare?

“Forgive me,” Aoshi murmured. “It was I who got you involved in this.”

Kaoru sweatdropped. “Oh no, I wasn’t thinking it was your fault, Aoshi.”

Aoshi continued to stare glumly at the table, his food untouched.

“Now, we’re back in the dumps again,” Kaoru sighed. “Times like this call for an ultimate technique! Hey!” she yelled to the waiter. “Chicken dinner for ten, and make it snappy!”

In Shabranigdo’s mountain fastness, monstrous laughter echoed from the stone walls. “Let this world tremble,” the mazoku lord smirked. “Let them fear my rebirth and the world’s imminent destruction!” Dark red vapors spread out from his tower, blotting out the stars. In village streets, people turned to stone under the reddened sky. Armies of trolls gathered at the edge of the forest, cheering.

Aoshi clenched his fist so hard it shook. “Shouldn’t we get down to business?”

Kaoru patted her distended tummy. “Now our stomachs and minds are all calmed down, let’s get to work on a plan.” The waitress started clearing away the dishes. “Okay,” she began. “My techniques are based on black magic, and it’s pretty clear they won’t beat him. But if we build a plan around your Shamanist techniques, Aoshi, then just maybe we’ll have a chance.”

“No we won’t,” came the blunt reply.

“Just like I said… huh?” She blinked.

“It won’t work,” Aoshi repeated. “Didn’t you see what I did when he was being reborn?”

“You did something; I didn’t recognize the attack. It wasn’t very… no way, that wasn’t…”

“Ra-Tilt.”

Kaoru closed her mouth and swallowed hard.

“What’s that?” Yahiko asked.

“The Ra-Tilt’s the strongest attack in Shamanist magic,” Kaoru explained. “It’s a way to destroy your opponent from the Astral, the spirit plane, and it’s supposed to be as powerful as the Dragon Slave.”

“As the Dragon Slave!” the boy exclaimed.

“That’s right. What Hannya tried to use against Shabranigdo. It’s the most powerful spell in all black magic.” She gazed thoughtfully at the happy villagers. “Long ago, a mahoutsukai used that spell to kill a dragon – so long ago that the name got corrupted from Dragon Slayer to Dragon Slave.”

“But how come it didn’t work on him?” Yahiko persisted.

“Shamanism uses power from the Astral Plane,” Aoshi explained. “But the Dark Lord is a mazoku; his true form is astral, and stronger than ourselves. He can defeat a human’s astral power with no effort at all. In other words, no astral spell will kill him.”

Yahiko frowned. “So… the Dark Lord’s got a lot of spirit so regular magic won’t work?”

Kaoru sighed. “Well… that’s sort of it. And the reason my black magic won’t work is pretty simple. The source of black magic’s power comes from the dark, negative forces of the world, terror and hatred. Well, Shabranigdo is the being who controls all those dark forces. You heard it when Hannya began the spell: ‘Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows.’ The Dragon Slave invokes his own power – it feeds him, so of course it’s not going to kill him! And nothing weaker can even touch him. White magic is only for healing and purification… so the long and short of it is that Aoshi and I can’t beat him with magic.”

“Which leaves Himura’s Sword of Light as our only chance,” Aoshi remarked.

“Oro?”

Shabranigdo’s ruby eyes glowed brighter. The army of trolls reached the outskirts of the village.

The innkeeper and the waitress scowled at the common room, empty except for the four adventurers. “I’d like to close some time tonight,” he muttered.

Aoshi stood up. “I’ll do it,” he declared. “I know I can’t win… but my men will never rest in peace if I just run away.”

“Sessha mo,” Kenshin added. “Even if I throw away my life, I cannot leave Shabranigdo alone.”

“Thank you,” was Aoshi’s quiet reply.

Kaoru stared at her feet. “I really… I really don’t want to die,” she whispered.

“Kaoru-dono…”

“There’s still good food left for me to eat… and treasures to grab… and someday go home and open a dojo… be a normal girl for a change… fall in love…”

“Yeah, right, busu!” Yahiko jeered.

She shook her finger at the two men. “It’s useless to go into a fight expecting to die – all that does is guarantee that you will die! Men call it heroic and romantic… but it’s nonsense and you’ve got to forget it! Once you’re dead, that’s it! No do overs!”

Silently, Kenshin picked up his sakabatou from where it rested in the corner. He handed Aoshi the long sheath that contained his twin kodachi.

“Do as you wish,” Aoshi told Kaoru. “It is your privilege to flee; just don’t try to join him. If you get in our way, you will die. Let’s go, Himura.”

Kenshin turned to follow, his violet eyes shimmering with disappointment. “Kaoru-dono…”

“Kenshin no baka!” Kaoru’s bokken slammed down on his head. “Did I say I wasn’t going?”

“Ororoooo…”

Aoshi blinked. “But you just said…”

“Don’t misunderstand me!” Aoshi ducked instinctively, even though he knew her bokken-of-doom could have little effect on his marble flesh. “I just said I hate all that ‘I’ll fight even though I’m going to die’ stuff, understand? If you’ve only got a one percent chance of winning, but convince yourself you’re going to lose, that one percent turns into zero! I don’t want to die. That’s why, when I fight him… I’m going to win! Kenshin, what are you doing? Hentai!”

The rurouni was circling her, peering at her from every possible angle.

“Sessha was looking for sake jugs,” he said, with his hand on the back of his head. “You sound exactly like my shishou…”

They stepped out of the inn, straight into a battle. The trolls were attacking and the village was in flames.

Kaoru wiped out a squad of trolls with a well-placed fireball. “First Shabranigdo’s reborn and then all these trolls show up!” she griped.

“I doubt he’d send them to act as his assassins,” Aoshi observed.

“Are trolls usually this fierce de gozaru ka?” asked Kenshin, as he dodged a particularly huge brute with an axe.

“They don’t normally attack villages out of the blue either!” exclaimed Kaoru. “This must be an effect of Shabranigdo’s rebirth!”

Kenshin and Aoshi sliced their way through another wave of attackers.

“Way to go!” Kaoru cheered. “Between the two of you, even a troll’s healing power can’t keep up!”

“Quit cheerin’ and fight!” Yahiko yelled.

“Gomen, gomen. Look, there’s more!” She turned, only to find her path blocked by a huge troll. She started to attack – but the troll stopped dead in its tracks and stared. So did Kaoru.

The cute waitress from the inn was running through the streets, dodging falling stones and beams. The troll broke off its attack on Kaoru to chase her.

“Even a troll can tell which one’s the cute girl,” Yahiko jeered – and got a lump on his head for his wit.

“Oi, that hurt, ya know!” he growled.

The huge troll loomed over the cowering waitress. Just as it reached toward her with its clawed paw, Kaoru jumped in front of the girl. “How dare you ignore me!” she snapped. “You’ve got a lot of nerve! So you think you can insult a girl, do you? Just for being so rude, I won’t leave a single one of you alive!”

That’s right, she thought. It doesn’t matter who I face. She incinerated the troll with another fireball.

“Thank you!” The terrified waitress darted into the shelter of one of the few buildings still standing.

In his mountain tower, Shabranigdo roared, pushing his will outward over more and more territory. It enveloped and shattered the abandoned temple the Oniwabanshuu had used as a temporary base. And the trolls continued their attack…

“Mou, it’s one after another,” Kaoru grumbled. “Shabranigdo’s wasting our time, so here goes!”

Darkness beyond twilight,
crimson beyond blood that flows,
buried in the flow of time,
in thy great name I pledge myself to Darkness.
All the fools who stand in our way will be destroyed,
by the power that you and I possess.
DRAGON SLAVE!

The world vanished in a fiery explosion.

Aoshi gazed down at his sleeping companions. I must try to end this myself. Even if I die, Hannya and Shikijou, Hyottoko and Beshimi will be waiting for me in the next world. I won’t be lonely there. He stared up at four stars gleaming bright in the heavens.

A rock bounced off his marble skull. “Are you thinking of leaving us behind?” Kaoru demanded. She and Kenshin were wide awake. “We agreed we’d fight him together, so no going off on your own, okay?”

“Kamiya-san…” he protested.

“It’s less painful to do as she says de gozaru yo,” Kenshin added – and found himself flat on his back. “Orooo…”

“We attack Shabranigdo together. Got it?”

Aoshi gave her the merest shadow of a smile.

“And so the charade reaches its conclusion.” Shabranigdo’s voice echoed around them.

“Shabranigdo!” Kaoru hissed. They could see him now, towering over the trees, hideous and menacing. “At last, he’s really appeared!”

And now begins a duel for the fate of the world – whatever happens, we’re going to win! At least I hope we are…