The Monster

Divine brought her sword into a horizontal posotion just in time to block Grim's downward slash. Despite her sword being much thinner than Grim's hand and a half sword, the strength in it's construction was no less than Grim's.

Divine allowed her horizontally held blade to tilt ever so slightly downward. The strength behind Grim's blade forced it to slide down the length of her's. With Grim's blade deflected, she flicked her wrist, intending to slash him horizontally across the chest. Grim merely twisted his torso, and the slash clanged harmlessly against his skeletal wings. Divine backed off, jumping backwards and preparing to launch forward. Having learned something in that exchange, her eyes grew rigid.

'This will be a difficult fight.' With that final thought, Divine dashed forward, thrusting her sword forward as if it was an extension of her own arm. With a flick of Grim's wrist, her sword was deflected upwards. Darkness coalesced around his empty fist as he struck her in the stomach. Divine nearly crumpled at the might of the blow alone, but that wasn't the end.

The darkness around Grim's fist exploded outward as he made contact with her skin. The darkness, acting as pressurized air, blasted her backwards. Divine would have continued soaring through the air, had the wall not been there to stop her. She slammed into it, and all the wind in her lungs was pushed out. As she laid crumpled on the ground, the only thought going through her mind was: 'Get Up.'

Grim began to walk forward slowly. His footsteps echoed across the empty throne room, accompanied only by his words.

"A king cannot be weak, lest his subjects take advantage of him. No, a King cannot be weak. I have learned that the hard way, for I was born weak. My power, it is not my own. Merely a facet of someone else's."

Divine listened intently as the breath in her lungs slowly came back to her. She stood on wobbly legs and steeled her resolve. 'I will not die here.' She thought with an almost crazed determination. When one was in the game, it became exceedingly difficult to differentiate between the game and the real world.

Dashing forward, Divine swung her sword in a downward vertical arc. It collided with Grim's own blade, but the force behind his sword was much more. He merely shoved her sword away, parrying it. Acting swiftly, Divine redirected herself into a spin and kicked towards his upper torso using the back of her ankle. The blow landed, and Grim was caught off guard. The element of light extended from Divine's ankle like a small blade and drew some of Grim's blood. His blood was a muted, dark red. He jumped backwards, his face twisted in a grimace.

Once more, he began to speak. "This element, the element of darkness. It is not the element I was born with. Merely one forced upon me. My element was light, and while I had limited use due to my weakness, I loved it's warm touch all the same."

Grim lunged forward, as he met Divine's sword head on. A beautiful song of steel was sung as the two of them traded blows. Grim held far more raw power, and it showed with each block and every hit. Every time Divine was struck, it felt like the weight of a mountain was upon her. Divine was keeping up merely due to her battle sense and craftiness. Two very different blade wielders, and yet they were almost evenly matched.

Blocking a strike from Grim's sword, Divine was pushed onto one knee. Both of them were full of wounds. Her wounds were deeper and more severe. Each one seemed like a large gash. They were few in number compared to Grim, however. Each wound inflicted on Grim seemed shallow, and bled unnaturally. Divine had fewer, more serious wounds, and Grim had far more shallow wounds. His cuts wouldn't stop bleeding. No doubt due to Divine's blood magic.

She looked up as Grim stared down at her. It occurred to Divine that Grim was a formerly tortured man. Fomerly a man, he was forced to turn into a monster. Forced by the weight of the world around him, the weight of his peers. Divine could sympathize with such a plight. After-all, she felt a similar way. She had been forced to kill. Forced to do things she hadn't wanted.

.....

Back when her family of swordmasters were still prominent, she was forced to kill those her family deemed "evil". Such was her family's duty. Truly, Divine always wondered if such a thing was truly needed. If such a thing could ever stop the "growing darkness." She always doubted it. She never understood the need to kill people simply for their unnaturally red eyes. Her family, the Hellsing family, prided themselves on their history of blood, death, and destruction. Amara Hellsing was Divine's true name, and there was no way her family would have let her forget it. They wouldn't let her ever forget about the so-called "vampire threat" either. That much, she remembered, nor could she ever forget. She killed people that looked just like her, and for what? Because they might be some kind of monster? Bullshit. She and her family were the true monsters, and every person she killed was aware of it, she was sure. She knew this because Amara herself could never forget. She wouldn't let herself forget what kind of monster she was.

.....

Divine's sword wavered, holding the weight of all her actions in the form of Grim's sword. Her resolve was tested, and she hardened it, molded it, formed it into an impenetrable shield. Divine shoved Grim's sword upward using all the strength her body could muster. It was enough, albeit barely. His sword was shoved away from her's. She recovered quickly. Maneuvering her sword into the correct stance, she thrust her sword deeply into Grim's chest. His sword clattered to the floor as his grip on it loosened. He spoke barely in a whisper. "I'm..free..of...Azuna...Thank...you...."

He fell backwards with a soft *THUD*. Divine's sword sticking cleanly out of his chest. She, however, remained unmoving. Even as the system's notifications rang out.

.....

"Moonlight, eh?" Silver spoke in an appraising tone. "I think it's perfect. Message me when you want the token and I'll hand it to you. Make sure you have all the other stuff ready. Wouldn't want someone to try hunting you for it now would we. heheh." Silver's voice was seemingly calm, but it held an air of glee. She stood up, and began exiting. Layla called out to her as she did so.

"Sure thing. Our arrangement will surely bring us both prosperity."

Silver spoke with a maniacal smile as she turned around to gaze at Layla. "I sure hope it does."