Long, long ago, the nation of Mordheim had been founded by a mighty warrior known as Oda, the first leader of his land. The first Shogun. The greatest Shogun. Oda had even earned the respect of Haru herself.
The Spell Swords were created as an elite group of soldiers who served directly under the shogun and, for a price, could be bought by other nations to carry out missions. Many places all wanted to hire the Spell Swords due to their skill with a blade and their unique ability to utilize Core Masks.
That all changed the day the land became cursed.
Now, gone is the respected shogun, who did everything he could to create the greatest land. Gone were the powerful Spell Swords that other nations dreamed of working with. Gone was the mysticism found in the Core Masks.
All that remained was hell.
Utter hell. Absolute hell. Frozen hell. Hellish lands, hellish people, hellish warriors, and, of course, a hellish leader.
He appeared seemingly out of nowhere. A being able to control the frost and the death that plagued the nation. He named himself Monarch, and he didn't just take the position of Shogun; he surpassed it. He became Emperor Monarch. A tyrant who turned the entire land of Mordheim into his sword and then aimed that very weapon at the land across the blood sea. Rossum.
Ken Yuan hated the people of Mordehim. Then again, she hated the people of Esteria and even Rossum. She never met anyone from Gallenth, but she was willing to bet she'd hate them as well.
It was a dog-eat-dog world. You couldn't expect that someone would come and save you, so if you wanted to survive, you'd have to take matters into your own hands. That was why she kept her emotions under control and never felt affection for anyone.
She was definitely doing this…
Her emotions were so under her control that she totally didn't scream in mild fright as she was flung through the dungeon.
The barrier that was wrapped around her was forged out of pure mana, and it was skin-tight, covering her from head to toe. It spun her around in various directions, making her dizzy and sick to her stomach as it rapidly passed through tunnels and down multiple hallways.
This dungeon was built like a maze. Sections of it would go off to nowhere, and there were hundreds of different paths. Some led to large rooms, others straight into trapped areas, and some would simply loop back to other hallways. Normally, monsters would be running around, but Pantheon had killed them all off, along with the boss, and very likely looted the vault as well. This meant there shouldn't have been anything left in the dungeon, and yet, that wasn't the case, because Ken was literally being dragged!
She gritted her teeth and began to flare her own mana up. If she could reach the container on her waist, she could free Yujin and bust out of this thing, but the mana around her was suffocating, making it hard to move.
Luckily for her, the effect ended on its own.
The energy carried her forward, and she was pulled into a massive open room. Without a doubt, this was where the boss had been. It was the center of the maze and was as large as an open field. The walls of the maze all went up and cast dark shadows down, making everything appear as if she were indoors.
Everything was painted in a dark grey color and hummed with lines of blue mana that were etched in the stone. Also in the open room were various stone blocks, all massive and sturdy, about as big as a house. Some were on the ground, and others magically floated in the air. They were all shaped like a cube, and the ones that were floating would twitch and move through the air. Not at fast speeds, but enough that Ken decided to keep an eye on them just in case one fell on her.
With how big they were, she was confident they'd easily weigh a thousand tons or so.
As the energy vanished from her, she was dropped to the ground and rolled across it. She managed to catch herself, her fingers digging into the stone, and she winced as her stomach settled. By some miracle, she didn't puke her guts out. She caught her breath and then growled as she looked around.
"My, my, it seems I've caught quite the interesting little thing." A voice called out in a mocking tone. "I am glad that paying those Knights off worked out in my favor. How does it feel, knowing that you were betrayed by another guild?"
Ken's eyes narrowed, and she glared up. One of the massive cubes came floating into view, and atop it sat a man. He wore a long black cloak that was draped over his form, and a circular bamboo hat covered his head. A plain white mask was planted over his face, two teardrops slowly falling from the eyeholes, and at his belt, a pair of katanas resided.
Ken's teeth nearly ground together as she took his appearance in. "What the hell is a Spell Sword doing here!" She yelled up at him. "You're a long way from home, aren't you?"
"Are you really wondering that when we're in a place where the very laws of fate cease to matter?" The Spell Sword asked in a mocking tone.
Ken's eye twitched, and she looked around at the room she was in once more. "Oh, I get it. This dungeon appeared in multiple places at once." Some dungeons could have multiple entryways. Those entrances could pop up in many different places. "So, Pantheon entered through one way, and I'm guessing somewhere in your shithole, the backdoor appeared, and you freaks came in through that way?" She tilted her head. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"A bit blunt as well." The Spell Sword chuckled. "Yes, that's the truth. We're in this kingdom and our holy land at the same time. Glorious, is it not?"
"That doesn't explain why Pantheon didn't tell us about this being a possibility." Ken folded her arms and frowned.
"That's simple." The man snickered slightly. "They betrayed you—"
"Nope."
"Come again?" The man suddenly looked down at her and placed a hand on his sword. "What do you mean, 'no?"
"Not buying it." Ken rolled her eyes. "Pantheon wouldn't do that."
"And how do you know?"
"They likely searched this dungeon up and down to find the vault. Surely they came across the second entrance, and if so, they would have given us a heads up."
"Perhaps they aren't as trusting of you as you thought?" The Spell Sword hummed. "Or maybe they're working with us, like I said."
"Nah." Ken shook her head. "Trying to pit me against them or make me not trust them won't work, because I already don't have any faith or trust in them. The simple conclusion is more likely. Either they're totally incompetent and didn't actually find the second entrance, or you and your kind used some sort of spell to hide the entrance, and so Pantheon didn't know about you, which is why they didn't warn us."
"Oh?" The Spell Sword managed to keep his cool despite the fact that the woman standing before him was right. "And why exactly would you think something like that? It's easy to just assume the people from this cursed kingdom are greedy pigs who would sell you out, is it not?"
Ken brushed a bit of her hair behind her ear. She was keeping her cool and didn't seem worried at all. "You're right." She snickered slightly. "These people are pigs. Greedy, fat, little freaks that run around doing what serves them best. You made two errors, however, and that is why I know they didn't backstab me." Ken pointed up at the man and smirked. "Outside the dungeon, the one with the blue hair mentioned she searched this place up and down to find the vault. That leads me to believe they should have been able to find the second entrance, but didn't. As for how I know they didn't simply discover it and keep it to themselves, that is also simple." Her pointing hand shifted to herself. "Only a dumbass would want me as an enemy."
"How arrogant."
"Is it really arrogance if it's the truth?"
"Yes… Yes, it is."
Ken rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The main point is that I've already figured you out." Her fist suddenly flew out, and she shattered a section of the floor, cracking it and sending up a shard of rock. Just as fast, her foot flew out, and she kicked the shard up. It blasted forward and hit the man directly, stabbing into his head and spilling his blood. It was a skill shot, and he began to fall. "That won't fool me." Ken declared. "As I said, I know how you work. You're just an illusion!"
The body of the man shimmered and vanished before it even hit the ground, fading away as if it had never been there. As soon as it was gone, Ken jumped to the side, and the ground she had been standing on sliced up as a blade struck out at it.
The air also shimmered, and the man came into view, suddenly appearing, one of his swords drawn.
The one on the block had, of course, been an illusion. A fake meant to keep her distracted while the real Spell Sword kept himself hidden with his magic and snuck around to attack her while her back was turned.
It was a good plan, but she went in expecting something like that, and so, because of her lack of trust, she saw through his simple lies.
"I'm impressed." The man placed his other hand on his belt and drew his second katana. "You're smarter than I first thought." He crossed his blades in the shape of an X. "I was under the assumption your kind are all as dumb as animals."
"Are you insulting Rossum?" Ken asked flatly.
"And how do you know I'm referring to Rossum?"
Ken scoffed. "You really are stupid. Earlier, you made it sound like I should be mistrusting of the people from this kingdom. That was obviously because you assumed I wouldn't have any value in them at all since I'm not from this land. Let's just skip right to it, okay? You know who I am."
The man let out the slightest hint of a sigh. "Indeed, I suppose your instincts are as sharp as ever. Alright, I'll admit it. This dungeon appeared in both Esteria and Mordheim. My group and I only discovered it after the Knights had already slain the boss. I used my magic to put an illusion on the entryway so they would fail to see that this dungeon connected to Mordheim. My plan was to steal everything in the vault, but sadly, the Knights got to it first. At first, I considered this to be a loss. There was no reason to risk fighting the Knights for the loot, as I didn't know how strong they were, and this led me to give up on this dungeon. That was when I happened to sense a very particular set of mana. Lo and behold, a Yuan is here."
Ken made a face. "Ah, so that's it. You want to capture or kill me because of my family. I should have known."
So these guys would have cut their losses, but because she was here, they changed up their plan and dragged her into this dungeon. Also, since the man mentioned a group, that also meant there were other Spell Swords, and now the entire group was in danger, all because of her and her stupid father.
Then again, why should it matter? It wasn't like she liked any of them, right?
The image of the few members of Phoenix Flight filled her mind. Eventually, it settled on Davi and Olivia, the two she knew the best.
"Damn." Ken sighed. "So, you have other people in this dungeon, right? You're the only one who attacked, so that means they're likely dealing with my teammates?"
"Correct." The man in the mask nodded. "How does that make you feel? Your teammates are about to die."
"Maybe your teammates are about to die."
"I hate to break it to you, but we assumed fighting the other Knights wouldn't end well for us. That's not a fear we hold with you or your group." The Spell Sword said mockingly. "I know you and three other members of your group are all Squires—the lowest of the low. You have a single Title Knight in your ranks. Now take my group. If we had to compare ourselves to you, Knights, I would be on the same level as a Title Knight, as would another one of my companions. We also have two others who would be on the level of an official Arcane Knight. Do you know I'm revealing such crucial information to you?"
"Because it lets you compensate for your tiny dick?" Ken shrugged.
"...I let you in on this information because taking a Yuan back to our land would be a huge boon. We'd have a way to harm your nation's leader. Surely even that monster would care for his daughter—"
"Ha!"
"-and the situation couldn't be more perfect. The entrance to Mordheim is close by." The Spell Sword lowered his blades. "So, let's make a deal. You give up and come quietly, and in return, I'll have my men not kill your teammates. That said, if you do refuse, I will just kill you. Alive would be better, but I'm not picky. What do you think of my deal?"
"Better deal." Ken cracked her knuckles. "I rip your head off, turn it into a cool decoration for my nightstand, and then I go and slaughter your men and figure out how they can be turned into decorations."
"Dead it is." The Spell Sword suddenly fired forward with insane speed. His body flickered and vanished, and without warning, he used Mana Step to appear in front of Ken. He sliced out with his blades, bringing them directly to her neck. "Die."
Ken narrowly dodged the strike, ducking her head down as the blades sliced over the top of her. "You first." Her mana flared up, and she felt fire starting to form around her. Even sealed, she had a bit of Yujin's Qi stored up inside of her at all times, which meant she could access her basic spells. "Row Flame Fist!" The fire swirled around her arm, going from her elbow all the way to her fingers, and it roared as she struck up with her palm and rammed it into the man's mask.
There was a tearing sound, as well as the smell of burning flesh, and the Spell Sword's mask shattered entirely. His face was caved in and his head set ablaze as Ken's arm kept going and ripped past his skull, killing him instantly. The fire kept going, slicing through the room and burning the stone blocks around her.
"Seriously? What a weakling-" Ken was cut off as a sudden pain exploded through her, and the arm that was on fire was sliced clean off. Her limb tumbled off her body, the fire going out, and before she could even act, a sword pierced through the back of her neck and came out beneath her chin, splitting her throat open and stopping her from even being able to speak.
As Ken gurgled on her own blood, her eyes went wide. The body in front of her shimmered and vanished. Not only that, but the slash in the ground from earlier also faded away.
She thought she had been smart by seeing through the first illusion and dodging the sneak attack, but that had also been another illusion used to get her exactly where the real one wanted her.
The Spell Sword's invisibility wore off now that his attack was done. He stood behind Ken, holding the sword that went through her throat. His other blade was still smoking, the edge a little melted from where it had gone through the flames on her arm.
"I did offer you the chance to give up." The Spell Sword pointed out. "Just remember that. Dead or alive, I let you pick death."
Ken grinned. Even as her throat filled with blood and her vision turned black. The reasoning was simple. She actually had an idea that the first sneak attack had been an illusion. A man like this wouldn't come out unless he was sure he could land an attack. That meant if she wanted to get an actual hit off on him, she'd have to do it when he was actually close to her and couldn't dodge. In other words, when his sword was directly in her.
Ken's remaining arm smacked the gourd she kept at her side, and suddenly a massive wave of flame erupted out of the top of it. The entire room glowed, and the stone blocks began to melt. The man screamed as his cloak was ignited and his swords began to melt instantly, the blade going through Ken's neck, snapping in two.
The Spell Sword flared his mana up, using everything he could to withstand the sheer heat. "R- Row- No. Vil Psychic Field!" The energy around him compressed into the same barrier he used to grab Ken, only this time it formed around him, keeping him safe.
The fire in the room began to shape and change, and soon the form of Yujin became visible, the creature in his strongest form, that being a massive fox forged entirely out of fire. Nine tails swished back and forth, but they were only out for a moment as the shapeshifting spirit was suddenly pulled directly into Ken's body. He twisted into the tiny shape of an orb and phased into her stomach.
The fire began to roll off of Ken.
There were three forms that she possessed, each one better than the last. Her first form was her most basic one. In this, she looked as she always did, but she held a tiny amount of Yujin's Qi within her, which the spirit would lend her every night she slept. This allowed her to mimic the spells that normal mages could do and was considered the most basic thing all Martial Cultivators had access to, for every Cultivator could hold a bit of their spirit's Qi to use spells.
Her second form was achieved when Yujin would transform into a Core. This form was one where her appearance would change. Her hair turned a fiery golden color, seeming to ignite, as if made of embers, and her eyes blazed with red fury. This was the strength all Martial Cultivators had, and they could all do it as well. It was a simple process in which the spirit would become a full-fledged Core and appear in the realm where the host's Qi lines resided. In this state, she had full access to Yujin's mana and powers.
There was, however, a third form. One that was above the standard transformation that most Martial Cultivators could do. This was a special technique created by the mad beast, Medora. Medora discovered she could take the next step of fusing with her spirit. While her spirit resided in her body, she would forcefully connect her Qi lines to the Core the spirit had turned into, then further break it down and force it to merge with her on a deeper level.
This process caused Medora's body to change, and the cells of a monster began to spread through her. In a way, this was akin to creating an artificial monster Core that would turn the user into something like a Magical Mutant, but a spirit version.
Medora's method was banned, and the sect she was part of was considered a 'dark' sect, as the process, if performed incorrectly, couldn't be reversed, which could leave the host and the spirit stuck together. This is actually what happened to Medora. When this happened, the user would become a full-fledged Magical Mutant and slowly transform into a unique type of Spirit Beast.
Each time the transformation reached this point, it would risk this complete merger. Even unmerging would risk the host getting infected, due to how close the Cores mingled, and so if done enough, the host would be fully infected and become a full-on Spirit Beast, which was Rossum's special term for Magical Mutant.
This process was even more alarming since the people of Rossum, under normal circumstances, couldn't become Magical Mutants because they lacked a proper Core, which is why they referred to it as Spirit Beast conversion instead. Their version of Spirit Beasts was also vastly different from Magical Mutants, just like Spirits and monsters were different.
This was all to say that what Ken just did was very illegal, because she went for the full transformation.
As the fire died out, her hair was golden, her eyes blazed red, and she now sported a pair of pointed ears and a long, fiery tail that slapped the ground around her. She had a slightly more beast-like look to her now. Her hair was a little longer, her teeth a little sharper, and her muscles and height grew. Even her chest had grown a bit, proudly puffed out.
The Spell Sword's eyes narrowed as he glared at Ken, and she just smiled at him and then spat out a glob of blood, as well as the piece of his melted sword, which had been in her throat.
Her neck wound healed, and Ken picked her severed arm up and placed it back on her stump. "Row Flame Feel." Fire gushed out, and the limb somehow reattached. She rolled her shoulders back and forth, testing the limb before giving a satisfied nod. "Good as new."
"I see the daughter of the old monster has been studying under Medora." The Spell Sword growled. Gone was his cocky attitude. He was serious now, and even with his mask on, Ken knew he had a look of fury on his face.
"Nah. Never even talked to that woman." Ken stretched lazily, placing her hands into the air. "I did read some notes she left that went over her research. Pretty cool, right? I healed my neck wound in an instant."
Having Yujin as a Core meant she could use all of his spells, but that was it. She was still a human, just one that could now use powerful fire magic. Fully merging with Yujin was a different story. She was basically a half Spirit Beast. This meant she was a mix between human and spirit and thus had Yujin's full arsenal of techniques.
Her father mocked Yujin because of how weak he was. This was a true fact. Yujin wasn't a strong spirit. In fact, as far as spirits went, he was on the weaker side when it came to combat. There were, however, two things Yujin excelled at. The first was heat. Out of every fire spirit she had ever met, Yujin sported the hottest flames. At times, they were actually so hot that he had to hold back so as not to burn those nearby, and thus, he could only ever use a fraction of his true power.
This might sound strong; however, those flames were slow and lacked reach, and while they were hot, they didn't have the same stopping power as other spirits' flames did. Thus, Yujin was deemed weak.
The other thing that he had that was special was his healing. In the battle with Davi, Davi had significantly injured Yujin, yet the spirit fully recovered and shrugged it off during the first exam. His healing was even greater than Feng's.
While she was fused with Yujin, her own healing was greatly bolstered. She couldn't regrow limbs, but simply using a basic healing spell was enough to reattach them, and even without spells, life-threatening wounds would close on their own and repair. She could even fully heal her organs if she wanted to.
As long as her brain wasn't destroyed, she doubted she could be killed while in this state.
"Now," Ken once again cracked her knuckles and smirked, showing off her fangs. "Back to the deal I was saying. I've decided that using your skull is too good a fate for you. I'll just go ahead and turn you into a carpet."