At last the plotters behind the latest feud in the Seyruun royal family was revealed! It turned out to be Misao’s cousin Soujirou. Just then Kaiou and Hyoko turned on him! Besides that, Kaiou tried to get me and Kenshin to ally themselves with the mazoku in return for Okina’s life! But there’s no way either of us would do that!

In the streets of Seyruun, people stared up in growing terror. They didn’t know that two mazoku had abducted their liege, or that handsome, popular Prince Soujirou had betrayed his family and been betrayed in turn. They could see, however, that Soujirou’s manor hovered above the center of Seyruun. What magic was holding it up? What might happen if it failed?/p>

Okina sat up, rubbing his head.  “Where am I?  What happened?”

“Ah, you’re awake,” the saturnine policeman observed.

“Who are you?” demanded Okina.

“My name is Gorou Fujita. As you can see, I am an officer of the police.”  He smiled and tipped his hat. “It looks as though you’ve been unconscious since the mazoku took you hostage.”

“That’s right, a couple of suspicious characters captured me. And speaking of suspicious characters, I don’t recognize your uniform. Aren’t you out of your jurisdiction? What are you doing in Seyruun?”

“I have to call that a secret,” Fujita replied with a hand on the back of his head.  “But really, you should thank me for rescuing you. In any case, Kaoru and the others have been fighting the mazoku.”

Okina sprang to his feet. “I can’t let them fight alone!” He started to run toward the city.

“You won’t find them that way,” Fujita told him. “They’re up there.”  He pointed to the uprooted manor, floating above Seyruun’s heart.

“Where’s Misao?” Okina grabbed Fujita’s lapels. “Where’s my granddaughter?”

“I believe she’s with Kaoru,” Fujita choked.

“All right, Kaiou.” The Sword of Light pulsed in Kaoru’s hands. “Now it’s your turn!”

The mazoku shifted shape, once more taking on the guise of a human priest-mage. “I prefer to play things smarter than Hyoko did. I will say this once more: swear allegiance to my master, Amakusa the Demon Dragon King! Do that and I will let you and your companions live!”

“No thanks!” Kaoru snapped. “No matter how hard you try to get me on your side, I’ll never willingly help a mazoku!”

“Humans can be such fools,” Kaiou murmured.

“And your power is limited,” Aoshi pointed out. “Without your partner’s attack skills, you can only manipulate the dimensions. You have no chance against us.”

“Exactly!” Misao chimed in. “In the end, evil will be destroyed by the true might of Justice!”

Kaiou’s eyes glowed crimson. “If you insist on saying that, then know my true power.”  He threw a fireball at them.

They scattered. “Kenshin!” Kaoru called.

“Oro?”

“Here!” She tossed him the Sword of Light.

A barrage of fireballs rained down on Kaoru and her friends, so fiercely they could scarcely defend, let alone counterattack.

Elmekia Lance!

 Misao’s bolt of spirit-energy struck Kaiou full in the chest – and did nothing.

“I don’t even have to defend against such a weak attack,” the mazoku murmured.

“Then what about this?!” snapped Aoshi.

Ra-Tilt!

Silver fire enveloped Kaiou’s body. Everyone waited.

The strongest Astral attack there is! thought Kaoru.  Maybe…

The light faded. Kaiou was nowhere to be seen.

“Was that the best he could do?” Aoshi wondered. It seemed too little, after all they had been through, after all Misao had suffered…

Behind him, a black sphere appeared in midair, like a hole in reality. A hand reached out of it. “Aoshi!” cried Kaoru

He turned and saw, but too late. Scarlet fire smashed into his chest.

“Aoshi-sama!” Misao screamed.

“Dimensional manipulation allows me to do this as well,” smirked Kaiou, and stepped out of the black hole.

“Yurusenai!” Kenshin leaped toward him. But even the divine speed of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu was too slow for the mazoku. He struck Kenshin with his fist and sent him flying.

“I admit the Ra-Tilt and the Sword of Light do cause me some discomfort,” Kaiou purred.

So this is Kaiou’s true power, Kaoru said to herself. “I can’t do anything against his dimensional manipulation!”

“Exactly,” the mazoku replied. “There is no way any of you can touch me.” He vanished in blackness again.

“Where’d he go?” demanded Misao.

Where he had gone was directly over her head. He dropped like a stone.

“What’s happening up there?” Okina fretted.

“Calm down.” Fujita sweatdropped. “They can handle this minor problem easily. If they can’t, it will cause trouble for me.”

Okina turned around. “What did you say?” His eyes gleamed.

Fujita spread his hands in denial. “Nothing, nothing at all.”

“Really?”

Kaoru jumped in front of Misao and caught Kaiou’s descent on her bokken. As if on cue, Misao attacked from her now-safe position.

Blam Blazer!

Kaiou winked out of existence and reappeared behind the two girls. “I told you that would do no good. Don’t you understand that yet?”

Ra-Tilt!

Aoshi, recovered, attacked again. After all, Kaiou had as much as admitted the Ra-tilt did some damage! But not enough. He phased and attacked Aoshi from behind.

“Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu – Ryuu Sou Sen Garami!” Kenshin directed a rain of blows at Kaiou’s head. The mazoku brushed ichor from a scratched cheek.

“That was close,” Kaiou acknowledged. “But you won’t get a second chance!”  He gestured, and fireballs rained down from the sky. Aoshi tried to erect a barrier, but the force of the attack drove him backward. Kaoru and her friends scattered and ran.

“Why can’t I use my techniques at a time like this?” Kaoru squawked. “This really–” Whatever she had started to say vanished in a scream, as her momentum carried her over the edge of the floating manor.

Desperately she grabbed a projecting rock and looked up, wondering how she could reach the surface. Kaiou peered down at her. “That’s a fine situation you’re in, Kaoru Kamiya,” he gloated. “I’ll give you just one more chance. Agree to use your powers for my master, Lord Amakusa.”

Far below her dangling feet, the streets of Seyruun were half-veiled by clouds.

“You have to be kidding!” Kaoru snapped. “I won’t work for your master even if you kill me!”

“In that case…” A fireball glowed in the mazoku’s hand.

Kenshin stared in horror at Kaiou. “No…” he whispered and drew his sword. “Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu – Dou Ryuu Sen!” He plunged the sheathed blade into the ground.

Kaiou dropped the fireball, and Kaoru screamed as she plummeted toward the ground.

“Kaoru-dono…”

“Kaoru…” Yahiko whispered in disbelief.

“Misao stared. “She… she can’t use Levitation…”

“Too bad for her,” Kaiou smirked.

Kenshin said nothing. His body trembled with suppressed rage and his eyes gleamed pale gold.

“Relax,” Kaiou smiled. “I’ll send you all to join her soon enough.”

Then they heard it. Very quietly, a young woman’s voice, speaking words they all knew very well indeed.

Darkness beyond twilight,
Crimson beyond blood that flows!
Buried in the flow of time,
In Thy great name
I pledge myself to Darkness.

Kenshin’s head snapped up. “Kaoru-dono!”  His eyes were violet again.

“That technique…” Yahiko breathed.

“There she is!” cried Misao.

Kaoru perched on a nearby outcrop of rock, her bokken in her hands, scarlet energies swirling around her.

All the fools that stand before me will be destroyed
By the power that you and I possess.
DRAGON SLAVE!

It was Kaiou’s turn to scream, as the spell’s energy seared his physical body to ashes and banished him from the material plane.

Kenshin ran toward her. “Kaoru-dono! Daijoubu de gozaru ka?”

She smiled. “Daijoubu… de gozaru yo.”

“But your techniques were sealed!” Yahiko blurted.

“They came back, right after we took down Hyoko.” She stuck her bokken back into her hakama ties. “Gensai-sensei said it might take that, if the Elixir of Life didn’t work. After all, Hyoko was the one who sealed me.”

“So you pretended to still be sealed,” Aoshi murmured, “just to get a shot at Kaiou?”

“Pin-pon!”

“You mean you lied to us too?” wailed Misao.

“It’s an excellent tactic,” Aoshi pointed out. “After all, if you can fool your friends, it’s very likely that you can fool your enemies.”

Yahiko brought his shinai down on Kaoru’s head as hard as he could.

“Ow!” she squawked. “What did you do that for?”

“Think about our feelings next time, Busu!” the boy exploded.

Kaoru had the grace to look ashamed. “Gomen!”

“What’s that?” Misao pointed to a small black sphere in the middle of the blast crater.  As she watched, it expanded to a whirling circle.

“Kaiou…” Kenshin breathed.

The mazoku’s voice echoed out of the blackness. “You caught me off guard, but failed to destroy me completely!”

“He can stand up to a Dragon Slave?” gulped Misao.

“I wouldn’t talk so tough if I were you!” Kaoru retorted. “It looks like you’ve taken a lot of damage!”

“I’m still quite strong enough to kill all of you!” An enormous claw emerged from the black whirlwind and smashed into the ground, right where Kaoru and Misao had been standing. Then the rest of Kaiou appeared, his head seeming tiny atop his enormously swollen, insectoid body. “Most ordinary mazoku wouldn’t have stood a chance against you, but your attack only gave me a little momentary discomfort!” “I won’t just kill you, I’ll wring every bit of pain and fear out of you first!” He spat lightning at them.

Aoshi slammed into Misao and knocked her out of the way. “Careful!” He’ll try jumping dimensions to get us again!”

That was exactly what Kaiou did – phasing in and out rapidly, not attacking but simply touching each of them, just to show what he could do.

Ra-Tilt!

Aoshi’s attack did absolutely nothing.

“That’s it!” urged Kaiou. “Fear and despair! Let those feelings loose!”

Damn! Kaoru said to herself. If he can withstand a Dragon Slave, there’s only one thing left to try!  But he’s going to be tough to hit with it – unless…

She stepped in front of the mazoku. “Kaiou! I challenge you! One moreshowdown – all or nothing on this one!” She murmured the words of the amplification:

Lords of Darkness of the Four Worlds,
Grant me all the power that you possess!

Then she grasped her bokken and began.

Sword of the cold, dark void,
Free yourself from Heaven’s bonds!
Become one with my power,
One with my body,
And let us walk the path of destruction together!
Power that can smash even the souls of the gods –
RAGNA BLADE!

Blackness, cold as the void between the worlds, coalesced around her bokken, turning it into an enormous blade.

“Fool!” Kaiou spat. “No matter what kind of weapon you summon, it means nothing if you can’t hit me!” He vanished.

Kaoru ran toward the point where he had disappeared. The last time I used it, the Ragna Blade cut through Kaiou’s barrier. Which means that even if he jumps dimensions…

“Slash, Sword of Darkness!” she cried. “Slash through all!” She brought the sword down in a firm stroke, then for good measure spun around, cutting through the air behind her.

Nothing happened. Kaoru stared in disbelief. It didn’t work? Or maybe he moved and I missed…

A black sphere appeared. Kaiou hadn’t moved at all. “A mere human… cut through the wall between dimensions…”

“If you hadn’t been so careless, you might have won,” she told him. “But you underestimated us! That’s why you lost! Now…” And she thrust the black blade through the middle of his body.

Kaiou howled, a cry that seemed to fade into an unguessable distance, as his body dissolved.

Kaoru stared for a moment at the empty air where the mazoku had been. Then she opened her hands, releasing the dark energy. Her bokken fell to the ground, and her legs gave way. She dropped to her knees.  Even unsealed, I can’t maintain it for long!

“Kaoru-dono!”

“Kaoru-san, you did it!” cried Misao.

“Piece of cake!” she gasped. “Not really. That was way too close!”

“Wow, I guess Kamiya Kasshin Ryuu really is strong!” Yahiko marveled.

Kaoru shook her head. “I just remembered it cutting through Kaiou’s barrier before.  What’s that?”

“That” was a rumbling noise that grew louder as they listened. The ground shook.

“Is it another mazoku?” asked Misao.

“Look!”  Yahiko pointed. The streets of Seyruun looked a lot closer.

“We’re falling?” Misao squawked.

“The power holding this place up probably vanished along with Kaiou,” Aoshi explained.

“If this hits the city… oh no! What are we going to do?”

“First, let’s get out of here!” Aoshi grabbed Kenshin and levitated. Misao followed with Yahiko. Kaoru streaked into the sky after them.

In the silent manor house, Soujirou stared up at the dojo ceiling. It sounds like they managed to destroy Kaiou, he thought. Painfully, he got to his feet. A violent tremor knocked him over; he fell into a shoji panel, which collapsed under him. Pieces were crumbling off the edge of the land mass. In the distance, he could see five small figures soaring away.  Of course… they have magic.  He looked at the shoji panel.  What is real strength anyway? I don’t want to die without finding the answer.

Holding onto the shoji, he stepped off the edge. For a moment he plummeted toward the earth, then an updraft caught the lightweight panel and lifted him, carrying him toward the thick forests at the base of the mountains.

Okina stared up at the disintegrating manor. “Now what’s happening?” he demanded.  “What’s that?”

“It looks like Kaoru Kamiya and her companions,” Fujita smirked.

And so it was. Misao dropped Yahiko and ran to her grandfather. “Jiiya, we’re in trouble!”

“What’s wrong?  You killed the mazoku, right?”

“Yes, but now that floating piece of land is going to destroy Seyruun!”

“Sheesh, it’s just a rock, Busu!” Yahiko grumbled. “Can’t you blow it up?”

Kaoru shook her head. “It’s too big. The best I could do would be to blow it into three or four pieces, and they’d do almost as much damage as the whole thing when they landed.”

“What about your amplification?” Fujita asked.

She blinked. “Huh?”

“You have a technique to amplify your abilities, correct? If you combine it with a Dragon Slave, the resulting power should be enough.”

“Do it, Kaoru!” cried Okina. “It’s our only hope!”

“All right. All or nothing.” I don’t know if this will be enough, but I don’t want people to remember me as the person who destroyed Seyruun! She drew her bokken.

Lords of Darkness of the Four Worlds,
I call upon you!
Grant me all the power that you possess!

Her bokken began to glow crimson.

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

“Just this once,” Misao prayed. “Dark Lord Shabranigdo, please save Seyruun!”

“A priestess of Cepheid shouldn’t pray to demons!” Aoshi murmured in her ear. He might have been smiling; it was hard to tell.

The sky turned to fire.

When the dust settled, the city was almost unscathed. Only one outlying district had been wiped out by a large hunk of debris. Within moments of the impact Seyruun’s well-trained fire brigades were going through the area dousing hot spots, and priests were going through the ruins healing the injured.

Of course, the next day the devastated neighborhood suffered a second invasion – of builders selling their services to property owners who wanted to rebuild, and land speculators trying to pick up lots at bargain prices from those who did not. For the survivors, life in Seyruun went on.

Misao knelt and placed a bouquet of flowers on her cousin’s memorial. It wasn’t a grave. Soujirou’s body had not been recovered, and they presumed it had been vaporized along with his estate.

“I feel sorry for poor Soujirou,” Okina said.

“If only he’d never met those mazoku!” agreed Misao.

“The mazoku could not have tempted him if the flaw of ambition had not been in his own heart,” Anji corrected her.

“Uncle Anji!”

“More to the point,” Kaoru murmured, “what are the mazoku up to? This ties in with the business back in Atlas City. It looks like some kind of major plot.”

“Amakusa the Demon Dragon King?” Aoshi added.

“And somehow I’m linked to it.”

North of Seyruun, a young man bought a stick of dumplings from a roadside vendor.

“Where are you headed, son?” the old woman asked.

He gave her a sunny smile. “I don’t really have a destination in mind. You see, I had two teachers who taught me completely opposite things. So I’ve decided to wander until I find the truth for myself. Where does this road lead?”

“I’m not sure. It goes north, but I’ve never been that way.”

“North, hmm? Well, that’s as good a direction as any. Thank you for the dumplings!”  Soujirou adjusted his sandal strap and headed into an unknown future.

NOTES, EXPLANATIONS ETC.

So much for the crisis in Seyruun! Silliness coming as Kaoru and Misao have a showdown with two members of a tribe of women warriors. O-tanoshimi ni!