The fort was burning all around him. Ceilings coming down, walls falling apart, the chaos is undescribable.

He looks around at the fiery dancing deadly red curtains, going all around the place, licking it up, killing all the dead woods. He looks at the sliced up table. He goes behind it and the body of the pudgy one, slightly burned on the legs was just lying there.

"You were feisty for a few seconds. At least."

He picked the body up and searches all over it for something. He gets frustrated after he realises that he can find absolutely nothing of use to him from that boy's body.

"Oh well, I was here to kill and destroy anyway, not search for clues... not that I have any clues to search for in the first place."

He stands up, confused as to why he was searching all over the pudgy one's body.

"Was there a reason?"

He picked up the pudgy one's limp body and threw that decrepit carcass(note - Actually, I don't think Pohl's body would qualify as a decrepit carcass yet, but eh) into the fire. He frowns as he realises that the boy cannot scream in agony on being burned, since the boy is already dead in the first place.

"Oh well, you can't win every time I suppose."

He proceeds to walk to the door and just as his hand touches the knob, he turns around to see the room again.

"....."

What was he searching for? Is he trying to find something? Why does he feel like he's forgotten to do something. Let's see, sword, check, armor, check, any limbs got cut off or something? Nope, the traitor was using a tonfa, he couldn't do much cutting and slicing with that.

"....."

He smiled as he realises what he was trying to do. He was trying to find a clue, all right. A clue as to where that boy would run off to now. So that he can find that boy, and kill him off once and for all. He's starting to realise that the boy might just be trouble. Especially since he was trying to use that... weird looking rune on his hand. A rune that the Prince had never seen before.

He turns the knob and got out of the room.

When you get bloody gums, you begin to suck on them. Why do you suck on them? It's not to drain the gums of blood. You can't do that since there's a constant flow of blood to them. That isn't the reason we suck on them.

Blood is a sweet liquid. It contains sugars and enzymes and lots of other good-for-the-body nutrients. It's blood, after all. It's what keeps the humans body alive and it's what makes us function.

Have you ever had a cup of blood? I mean pure, freshly squeezed, direct-from-the-source blood? Not blood from animals, either. I mean raw human blood?

When the realization hits that you've just had a drink of blood that belongs to another human being, something happens to the body. The realization of it becomes more potent than any alcohol, more powerful than any drug.

I licked my sword clean of blood. It was delicious.

I had actually seen the blaze far away. Only when I actually got to the front gates, of the fort, did I actually the havok that has wrecked the place.

Walking over to a body on the ground, I realized it was none other than my favorite perverted Kobold. I kneeled down next to her body and shook her. "Saily?"

"Is that you, Mister Flik?" She opened her eyes and sat up. "What's wrong, Mister Flik? You're all covered in blood."

"Go to Muse." I commanded her.

"Mister Flik, Saily saw with her own eyes. A devil went into the fort! And the fort started to burn! Saily got out before the devil see her, but I think he's still inside! Saily decided to play dead until she see the devil leave, but Saily never see him leave!"

"Start heading to Muse, now."

"Anything for the Blue Lightning!" She stood up, wagged her tail, and ran as fast as she could out the front gate.

As soon as she said devil, I knew instantly who she was talking about. I went to the front door of the blazing inferno and kicked down the door. I shouted at the top of my lungs:

"Ruka!"

Just as soon as he slashes some fleeing soldiers, someone shouted his name.

He was on the second floor, and the shouter, seems to sound like he's on the ground floor. Ruka leaned over the railing on the floor to take a peek downstairs. A man clad in Blue stares up at him with fiery eyes, much more than that of the flames that's burning this godforsaken place up.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the infamous Blue Lightning, Flik. Aren't you a Toranian, by the way? Oh, I've heard rumours that you have betrayed the Toranians and joined forces with the Jowstons instead, but I didn't think it was true." Ruka said to the man clad in Blue, apparently named Flik, "Where's your friend? The big one... Victor.. was it? Whatever it is."

"Come down here this instant you monster!" Flik shouted to Ruka.

Ruka grinned and jumped down from the second floor, using the railing as support. He landed firm on his feet and creaks beging to sound up on the second floor. As Ruka walks forward, the second floor hallway that Ruka was on crumbled down to the ground floor.

"I've been wanting a much more challenging fight. Jillia, that Unicorn boy and the fat one didn't give much of an excercise." Ruka said as he nears Flik.

Flik, with blood trickling down his mouth, grinded his teeth, draws out his sword towards Ruka, "You monster, your merciless craving for blood ends HERE!"

Ruka gave out a hearty, evil laugh and draws out his own sword, "HAH! This, coming from a Merc! Have at thee!!"

With that both of them charged towards each other, flames a burning in the background, beams falling down, woods searing up with heat, and they meet face to face.

The swords clang as they joined together with a strong bursting force, pushing both men back a little, only to have both of them back into the offensive position. They grind their swords together, sparks aflew, both giving out intense sweat. A battle almost unlike any other has started.

"What is it with you people? I've been branded the villain, and yet, you people are the ones full of backstabbers!" Ruka commented.

"I am NOT a backstabber! I'm here because I wish to be! I don't belong to anyone, I have my own choices!" Flik replied.

They both backed away, and Flik's rune glowed. He put out his hands and pointed it towards Ruka, winds are flying around him, the ground under him shakes and he yelled.

"Bolt of Wrath!!"

Ruka hated magic. And he definitely wasn't all that ready with this one. He had sworn the man would actually attack him again using his sword. Light emitted from around Flik's hand and the ground around Ruka shook as a beam came down from the sky. A thunderous noise made sound in the background and a searing pain is felt on Ruka's left hand.

"UNGH!!!" Ruka doubled back in pain but soon regained his position and snapped a look at Flik.

"How thunderous, Flik, but I hope you can try and avoid this!"

Ruka's sword emit a glow and fire came down from the sky to circle it. Now, with his sword surrounded by fiery flames, he jumped towards Flik to strike a blow.

"DIE, BACKSTABBER!!!"

Looking back upon it now, that was one cool move. When he sold his soul to the devil, he sure as hell got some deal. He had literally set himself on fire. The fire enwrapped his sword, and he came charging at me.

"DIE, BACKSTABBER!!!" He shouted at me.

I had no time to move out of the way, he was coming at me way to fast. I swung my sword upwards, deflecting his out of the way.

I turned around quickly, not sure what the devil was pull out of his sleeve or going to do next. I decided to take the moment he was off guard to my advantage. I rushed towards him, and jumped into the air.

"Backstab this!" I shouted at him, sword over my head, ready to strike down into his skull.

Ruka turned around quicker than I had expected. Realizing that I had rushed towards him, he had just enough time to swing his arm and knock me out of the way.

God damn it, he was one strong son of a bitch.

I had literally flown feet away from him, and slid a few more feet on my ass. I slid into the wall, causing a few firey pieces of wood to fall from the ceiling.

He marched over to me and stood over me. Raising his sword up, he said, "DIE!"

In a desperate move of defense, I lifted up my sword and closed my eyes.

Which then, it happened.

It sounded horrible.

I opened my eyes.

It had shattered.

I don't remember anything after that.

"...yeah..."

He was in shock. The Blue Lightning, that is, not he himself. No, the mad prince was actually smiling. Grinning more like it. But it was still odd. He came down with all his strength, but the only thing that broke was that damned sword and the Blue Lightning? Strangely enough, he is not hurt or even scratched. Infuriating.

Flik was just staring wide eyed at his sword. Ruka couldn't understand why, though, it is only a sword. But then, it doesn't matter, he's about to die in a few seconds. That is, until he fought back.

He yelled a loud one. A battle cry-like sound unearthed from his lungs. And he darted forward towards Ruka. In a short moment, the half-sword struck Ruka on the side of his armor. A loud clang emerged from the contact of the sword and his armor dented in. Ruka jumped back and looked towards the angry man in blue.

It was so fast, Ruka didn't even have time to evade. The sword came to his throat in blinding speed. Ruka was lucky that reflexes allowed him to put his sword up fast enough to parry the attack.

He was thrown aback a couple of steps by the strong blow. He looked up and saw the man was coming to him with the broken sword, aiming right for his face. This time however, the man was a bit slower. The fiery, mad, insane eyes the man had before has lowered itself down a couple of levels. Making him look more sane. In fact, Ruka thought he saw tears welling up inside it.

This gave Ruka a chance to avoid and direct a blow. Which is what Ruka did, he side-stepped and used the back of his sword and struck Flik on the side of his chest and Ruka spun and directed it towards his lung after that.

Flik fell onto the floor, hacking and coughing, about to be unconcious. Ruka thought if he were to strike this man down, now is the time, before he passes out and not know that he was killed.

The mad prince raised his sword high and was about to have it plunge deep into Flik's chest but he missed.

No, he didn't, but Flik was not at the floor anymore.

He looked up and saw that a kobold, presumably female from her attire had grabbed the Blue Lightning and ran. The female kobold was fast. Too fast in fact. Because Ruka couldn't even hit her with his Fireball spells.

He cursed under his breath but then smiled.

"Well, I guess we can pretty much say that the Mercenaries are nothing but a bunch of cowards."

The sun rises, Ruka looked at the burned down Merc fort. A smile crept up his face.

With this, the Jowstons will know that we mean business.

They are not ready for war again. Not since peace came for them but to have war started again, it was too early to them. But it doesn't matter, he wanted them dead anyway.

The rest of the surviving Mercenaries who got caught was being executed on their own burned down field. Lined up one by one and forced to kneel before the executioner and having their heads chopped off moments after they knelt. Blood was spewing from each and everyone of their bodies. Their heads was taken to one side of the field, piled up into a mountain.

Ruka walked over to the piled up heads and put his hand out to it. A spark came from his fingers and in a few seconds, the head-mountain was on fire, being burned by the mad prince.

Ruka grinned at the smell of the fiery burning heads and looked up at the red sky.

As the sun rises, Ruka said,

"All the skies will be red... everyone will die!"

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"Flik", "Ruka" and "Suikoden 2" are (C) Konami. This chapter was posted on December 7, 2000