I'm Alive! I know, hard to believe isn't it? I am sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Life, work, blah blah blah, writer's block blah blah, other usual excuse. Well here is what everyone is really here for, Enjoy the chapter.

"Hmm, so Jio failed." A young woman commented without any surprise in her voice. "Nonetheless, he still served his purpose. That was quite the informative fight, Kazehaya Kamito." Sjora smirked before fading into the darkness.

-Line Break-

"Lady Leonora, what was that power?" Yuri El Cid asked her team captain. Her knees were shaking slightly from the amount of divine energy she could feel being released even from as far away as they were.

Leonora was trembling as well, though for a much different reason. She could feel herself becoming excited at the prospect of facing that power both on the battlefield, and off. "Show me your true power, Kazehaya Kamito. I want nothing more than to break that power and take it as my own." The dragon princess said lustfully to herself watching the giant flame dragon that devastated the landscape.

-The Next Morning-

"I thought I told you to keep Jio away from Kamito until the final round." Robia Elstien scowled at Restia. She was currently wearing her Ren Ashbell disguise.

Restia scoffed. "While we may have the same objective, you do not command me. That monstrosity believed himself of a higher station than he deserved. I merely allowed him to learn his true place."

"That may be so, but he was serving his purpose quite well. Just a few more team's divine energy and he would have been able to awaken Kamito's true powers."

"Hah! The outcome would have been no different. Kamito barely had to scratch the surface of his power to deal with that trash. You do not need him to unlock Kamito's power, I am all that is required." Restia stated vehemently.

"And how will you achieve this?" Robia asked with her arms crossed.

"That is not for you to know." Restia refused to answer.

"Listen, spirit, do not cross me." Flames wrapped around her like a living cloak.

"You do not frighten me, Calamity Queen." Restia countered, shadows swirling around her as she released a portion of her power.

"Tsk." Robia spun on her heel and strode away.

Restia calmed herself and looked off in the direction of Kamito. "Soon, Kamito. Soon it will be time to end this charade and you will take your rightful place in this universe." A single tear rolled down her cheek as she thought about what she had to do, would have to sacrifice, in order to restore balance to the natural order.

-Line Break-

"Ha! It is complete. Shao Fu, please make sure this is delivered to the vile Demon King." Linfa, the third princess of the Quina Empire said presenting a parchment to her team's Ace.

Shao quirked an eyebrow at the strange request. "What exactly is this?"

"It's a declaration of war against Team Dark Tides of course. That lecherous fiend has been reported defiling young maidens and is known to force his sword spirit to wear very revealing garments. We will do this world a service and eliminate him before he can continue his licentious ways." Linfa pronounced proudly.

Shao Fu sweat dropped slightly at the princess' proclamation. "Umm….Princess, I've reviewed those reports and they are based on rumor and hearsay. Not one account listed has been verified. The few times I have encountered Kamito Kazehaya, he has always been an honorable opponent."

"He is a male, what other proof do you need? Just his very presence is a taint on the traditions that we hold sacred. We must do our part in removing him and returning to the way things should be."

*sigh*"Very well, Princess, but I believe this is a poor move. Kamito by himself is very powerful, and the team he has formed are also strong in their own right. I think it would be better to ambush them one by one rather than attack head on." Shao advised.

"Perhaps now would be a wise time to strike. If Kazehaya is as honorable as you believe, then he will accept the challenge. After his team's recent battles with Team Shadow Stalkers and that dark knight from Team Inferno, it is doubtful that they will be in top form allowing us the opportunity to at least take a few of their numbers out." Rao Rin interjected.

"And by us issuing the challenge, we can dictate the terms to our advantage." Hakua added thoughtfully.

Shao closed her eyes in thought for a moment. "Very well, I shall issue this challenge. Perhaps with the Lords' blessings, we can come out victorious." Bowing to Linfa, Shao departed for Team Dark Tides' stronghold.

-Line Break-

Kamito was relaxing on his bunk Est sleeping next to him as he recalled the fight against Jio. He knew that Sjora was the one who had him brought back after their encounter in Gado from Lily's reports, but the question was why? She and the Otherworldly Darkness would surely have known that Jio would not be strong enough to defeat him, so why bring him back in the first place? Yes, he had pushed him farther than he had expected, but what was their goal?

Kamito decided to let the matter go for now. He could hear a commotion coming from outside. Poking his head out of the tent he saw Fianna rushing toward the north perimeter of the stronghold along with Velsaria. Ellis came running up to his tent just as Claire came around the corner.

"Kamito, we have a breach! One of Fianna's interior alarms just alerted her to an outside presence. She and big sister went to check it out." Ellis informed Kamito.

"You two go catch up with them to provide backup if needed. I'll be right behind you." Kamito instructed.

As Claire and Ellis departed to catch up with the rest of the team, Kamito turned his attention to his sleeping spirit. "Est, it's time to get up." Kamito gently roused the sword spirit. He chuckled when she pursed her lips cutely indicating she was not as asleep as she pretended. He bent over and gave her a light peck on the lips and ruffled her hair. "Come on, we have work to do."

Blushing lightly as she sat up, Est nodded. Shining brightly, Est returned to her sword for and Kamito slipped her into her scabbard. Instead of following the path the others used, Kamito took to put the treetops to surprise their unexpected visitor.

Shao Fu chuckled quietly as she watched Fianna and Velsaria arrive to investigate the alarm she had inadvertently triggered. Shao had not anticipated the extra layers of defense after she had infiltrated the barrier. In her mind she could see both girls weaknesses that she could exploit and remove them from the competition.

Seeing Claire and Ellis come down the path drew the attention of Fianna and Velsaria. Shao Fu could not believe how inept these girls were when it came to keeping their guard up. It would be so easy….

"Those girls shouldn't drop their guard like that. Who knows what kinds of predators are lurking in these woods." A masculine voice whispered in Shao Fu's ear. She felt a chill of excitement run down her spine as Kamito's breath tickled her ear.

"Perhaps they should be more worried about the predator in their midst." Shao teased.

"They're not my type." Kamito shrugged before standing up. "I'm assuming you're not here to battle us on your own, so would you care for a cup of tea?"

"That would be most welcome, thank you.". Shao stood and followed Kamito as he lead the way back to the camp.

Since the pair were no longer concealing their presence, Fianna felt them heading back to the camp. "Must have been a false alarm. Let's head back." Fianna suggested. Her curiosity piqued, she wanted to get back and see who their guest was. This was no ordinary opponent, she couldn't even sense whoever it was until Kamito arrived. If she was that good, then she could have taken them completely off guard, maybe even eliminate them from the competition altogether.

Velsaria and the others looked suspiciously at the Lost Queen but didn't voice any concerns. She knew Fianna was hiding something, she would have to ask her later when they could have some privacy. The traps that they had set inside the stronghold could not be triggered by any of the low-level spirits in the area. "Sure, let's head back." Fianna could tell that Velsaria didn't fully believe her. Discreetly she signaled Velsaria that they had company at the camp.

"Hmm….So this is your stronghold. Not bad." Shao complimented as she looked around the camp.

"It helps to have a former Queen candidate on your team." Kamito admitted. Kamito offered her a seat before he retrieved a teapot and a couple of glasses. "How do you prefer your tea?"

Shao took the offered seat and replied. "I like mine extra sweet, three cubes of sugar." He placed the sugar into the cup and poured the tea before offering her the cup with a spoon to stir with. "So how long till you expect the others to get back?" He made a milk tea for Est before pouring himself a cup and taking a seat across from Shao Fu.

"They should be back any time now. Fianna, at the least, should have felt our presence when we came this way." Kamito replied taking a sip of his tea.

"Should be interesting to see their reactions. Care for a little wager?" Shao smiled mischievously.

"What were you thinking?" Kamito asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I bet that little hellcat of your's is going to lose her shit when she sees me sitting here." Shao laughed.

Kamito laughed and shook his head. "No bet, I'd lose for sure."

"Alright then, how about…." Shao was interrupted when the rest of Kamito's team came into view.

"WHAT! WHO IS THAT AND WHERE DID SHE COME FROM!?" Claire screamed as she was about to summon Ortlinde.

"Calm down, Claire. You're making a scene. She is obviously not here for a battle right now." Fianna chided even though she was just as surprised to see the ace of the Four Gods sitting in their camp. "Let's at least hear what she has to say before we do anything drastic."

"Yes, you should stand down as well, Ellis." Velsaria stated as she kept a cautious eye on the newcomer.

"Yes, big sister." Ellis lowered her sword although she did not return it to her sheath.

"Hmm, they're taking my presence here better than I expected." Shao Fu took another sip from her cup.

"Well, now that everyone is here, why don't you explain the reason for your visit today?"

"I guess now is as good as any time." Shao stood up and withdrew a parchment from within her uniform. "Princess Linfa wished for me to present this to you." She handed the parchment to Kamito who unrolled it and read its contents.

"Is this for real?" Kamito asked incredulously.

"What does it say?" Fianna asked. Kamito handed it to her and Velsaria read it over her shoulder.

*sigh* "I wish I could tell you that it was not, but yes, it is a declaration of war against Team Dark Tides. May I have your response?" Shao said visibly annoyed with having to go through with this farce.

"Of course we will accept and we'll eliminate you from the blade dance!" Claire declared.

"While I'm not as fervent as my teammate, I agree that we accept. What are the conditions?" Kamito sighed as he shot a glare at Claire who stuck her tongue out at him in defiance.

"We will meet at a neutral location after breakfast tomorrow. Do you have a map?" Shao asked.

Kamito retrieved a map of the area and laid it out on the table. After a few moments of looking it over Shao pointed to an area not far from the stronghold. "This appears to be a suitable location. I shall relay this to the princess. Thank you for the tea." Shao bowed as she prepared to leave.

Kamito returned the bow. "Think nothing of it. We should do this again sometime." Shao Fu's cheeks turned slightly red with a blush at thinking about spending some time alone with the young man away from the blade dance.

'What the hell is wrong with me?' Shao thought as she felt her cheeks heat up. "Until tomorrow then." Shao didn't wait for a response as she leapt away in a blur heading for the outer barrier of the stronghold.

"What was that all about?" Fianna asked sweetly even though Kamito could feel the jealousy rolling off the young maiden. In fact he could feel the sense of jealousy coming from all the ladies in his group.

"I want a date with Kamito too." Fianna muttered quietly, but Kamito still heard her. Looking around, each girl was nodding in agreement while looking nervous.

With a defeated sigh, Kamito spoke up. "Fine, I'll take each of you out for a treat when we get back to town." Each of the girls lit up with excitement hearing this. Kamito felt a slight tug on his sleeve and saw Est giving him puppy dog eyes. His features softened. "Of course I'll take you out too, Est." He said rubbing her head.

"No fair, why does she get special attention." "I wish Kamito would look at me like that." "Kamito can pet me too." "Stupid Kamito. He should be my spirit and spoil me."

Turning serious, Kamito addressed the girls. "Well, I didn't expect us to face the Four Gods yet, but it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. We should probably go over a strategy." The girls also turned serious sensing the change in atmosphere.

"What do we know about their abilities?" Velsaria asked regaining her militaristic attitude.

"So, what was his answer?" Princess Linfa asked anxiously.

"He accepts the challenge and awaits the opportunity to duel with you." Shao Fu reported with her head bowed so the princess could not see her smile as she added that last part.

"H-h-he wants to duel m-m-me?" Princess Linfa stuttered.

"Of course. You are our leader and you did issue the declaration of war, did you not?" Shao continued. Hakua and Rao Rin quickly noticed what Shao Fu was doing and had to stifle their own mirth at the situation.

"W-What kind of duel did he have in m-mind?" Linfa asked not wanting to hear the answer. She wasn't a fighter, how could she battle that lewd beast leader of Team Dark Tides? What had she gotten herself into?

"He proposed a 'Blade Dance of the Night'. Shao Fu put the final nail in the coffin.

"But but but- I-I'm…." Princess Linfa promptly fainted.

Hakua and Rao Rin burst into giggles and Shao Fu stood up and rubbed the back of her head. "Perhaps I overdid it a little."

"You should be more considerate of her highness. She is still quite naive in the way of the world." Rion Sharma said emerging from her tent.

Rion and Shao helped Princess Linfa to her bed in her tent and waited for her to recover. It didn't take long for the princess to wake up. She quickly sat up and started babbling how she wasn't ready while blushing furiously.

"Princess Linfa, calm down. Kamito did not challenge you. Please forgive my prank." Shao Fu apologized bowing her head.

"Huh?" Linfa looked relieved, but almost a little disappointed for a moment. "W-well, b-be that as it is, I'll forgive you this time. B-but as your leader, I-I would have accepted his challenge to p-protect you girls from h-his l-lecherous hands." Linfa stammered trying to look convincing.

Shao Fu was just about to tease the young princess again but was interrupted by Rion. "We are honored that you would take on such a responsibility, but it is completely unnecessary. We, The Four Gods, will defeat Kazehaya Kamito and his team for the glory of the Quina Empire."

"Perhaps we should work on our strategy for tomorrow." Hakua recommended.

"You can do what you want, but I will take on Kamito myself." Shao Fu said with a gleam in her eye. Even though she would have prefered to wait for the finals, she had to admit she was anticipating the coming battle.

====Line Break======

Kamito and Team Dark Tides arrived at the agreed upon location not long after breakfast. The previous day he relayed what little information he had on Team Four Gods to the rest of the team. He had not learned much about their abilities since they had discussed the other teams on the ride from the academy, so it was basically a rehash of what had already been discussed. 'Too bad I have not been able to get any information from Lily before now.' Kamito thought as they entered the clearing. In the middle of the clearing stood Shao Fu with one hand on her hip and a smirk on her lips.

"I'm glad to see you found your way here, Demon King of the Night." Shao Fu said in a teasing tone.

Kamito sighed at his nickname. "Yes, it wasn't hard to find. How about we skip the pleasantries and get things rolling?"

Shao Fu shrugged her shoulders. "Very well. I, Shao Fu of the White Tiger, challenge you, Kazehaya Kamito to a one on one duel."

Kamito smirked. "Sounds like fun. I accept."

"Don't think we forgot about you girls." Said a voice from the woods. Three forms emerged into the light of the clearing. "I am Rion Sharma of the Vermillion Bird."

"I am Hakua of the Black Tortoise."

"I am Rao Rin of the Azure Dragon. We shall be your opponents."

'Hmm, Princess Linfa did not reveal herself as I figured.' "Fianna, keep an eye out for their fifth member. Princess Linfa is acting as support somewhere in the background." Kamito directed.

"Got it, Kamito!" Fianna responded.

Kamito drew Est from her sheath and assumed his stance while Shao Fu summoned her waffe in the form of a pair of gauntlets that resembled tiger's heads. Taking the initiative, Shao charged in with incredible speed. "She's fast!" Kamito said as he dodged her first punch and blocked her follow up punch with the flat of Est's blade. "Est, we need to counter her speed, transform into the twin kodachis."

"Yes, Kamito." Est said as her form glowed and she separated into the two short swords. Kamito used his agility to leap over Shao Fu's head and slashed at her back. Shao managed to turn in time and block the strike with one of her gauntlets and attempted a strike with the other which Kamito blocked with his other sword. Jumping away from each other, Kamito and Shao each took a moment to size up their opponent.

===With Claire, Ellis, and Velsaria====

"Velsaria, cover us with support fire and run interference so Fianna can do her ritual dance. Ellis, you take the vanguard and I'll take the mid-guard!" Claire directed summoning Flametongue and taking her stance. Ellis and Velsaria could not find fault in her directions so they nodded in agreement as they summoned their waffes. Looking at her waffe, Claire was surprised to see that its shape had changed somewhat since she had awakened Ortlinde. Where there was once a single whip, now there were two that were intertwined ending in a pair of knotted tips. She could also feel a difference in the heat emanating from Flametongue. 'So this is Scarlet's true strength.' Claire realized as she looked at her spirit's weapon form. Returning her attention back to their opponents, she saw that they had also summoned their waffes.

Hakua was now holding a large black shield while standing in front of Rion and Rao. Rao Rin was armed with a long-bladed katana with a blue blade and hilt. Rion brandished a guandao that left a trail of flames as she twirled the heavy weapon with ease.

Velsaria launched a salvo of blasts at the trio of Quina elementalists only for Hakua to intercept the shots and absorb them into her shield. Suddenly they saw the head of a snake raise from the front of the shield and its eyes began to glow. Slamming the shield down, Hakua released the captured energy from the snake's head as a beam back at Team Dark Tides.

"Ellis! Dodge!" Claire shouted as she dove to the side. Ellis didn't hesitate as she dove in the other direction. Velsaria crossed her arms and tanked the blast to protect Fianna as she performed a ritual dance in the background.

As Ellis and Claire recovered they quickly found themselves on the defensive as Rion and Rao Rin attacked. Ellis caught Rion's large blade on the shaft of Ray Hawk and was driven down to a knee from the force of the attack. Ellis could feel the heat radiating from Rion's waffe as sweat started to form on her forehead. Shifting her balance she was able to pivot out from under the heavy weapon and swipe at Rion's unguarded flank. The moment Rion's blade hit the ground she leapt straight up doing a handstand on the pommel of the shaft avoiding Rayhawk.

Using the momentum from landing, Rion hefted her waffe and spun for another attack which Ellis jumped back to avoid.

Meanwhile Claire had problems of her own. As she came up from her tumble, Claire stumbled back and fell on her bottom as she dodged the blue blade of Rao Rin. Claire blocked the next slice with her whip. Steam started to spread from the contact of the two weapons as water began to run down the katana's blade onto the flaming whip.

'Ugh! She's too close for me to use flametongue properly.' Claire tried to think of a way to create some distance.

"Nya Master, why not use my other form, nya?" Ortlinde asked in Claire's mind.

'Your other form?' Claire asked confused. Flametongue was the only waffe form she knew of. In her hands the whip in her hands straightened and stiffened forming a shaft and at one end flames danced up coalescing into a curved blade. A sudden image of a catgirl in a flaming dress came to mind. 'It's her weapon!' Claire realized suddenly.

Seeing her opponents waffe suddenly change caused Rao Rin to leap away. Claire stood up and awkwardly held the scythe in unsure hands. Watching her opponent for a moment, Rao Rin smirked. 'She's not used to handing a weapon like that. This is too easy now.' Sensing victory, Rao Rin charged in and started attacking fervently.

Claire was quickly becoming overwhelmed by Rao's speed of attack. She was able to block all the slashes with the shaft of her new waffe so far, but she was being driven backward until she stumbled over a rock and lost her balance. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the pain she knew was coming when a blade of wind cut through the air between her and Rao causing Rao to about her attack. Claire quickly regained her feet and looked over to see Ellis engaged with Rion. Ellis spared her a quick glance and Claire gave her a nod of thanks. Ellis nodded back as she sidestepped an overhead slash from Rion and attempted to slip inside her guard.

Hakua had either deflected or absorbed every blast that Velsaria had launched at her until she was nearly on top of Velsaria. Believing that she was within the best range, she slammed the edge of her shield into the ground and the snakehead in the center started to glow signaling her impending attack. Velsaria crossed her arms and tanked the point-blank blast with only minor damage. "I see that my cannons have no effect on you, How about we try something different?" Velsaria called out to her opponent. Hakua watched as a long lance emerged and unfolded from Dreadnaught's right arm. Charging in quickly, Velsaria closed the short distance between them and thrust the lance at Hakua. Hakua sidestepped and deflected the lance to the side before charging in and body slamming her shield into the back of Dreadnaught's leg almost causing it to buckle. She had to drop flat to the ground as Velsaria swung the lance around in an arc then roll to the side as Velsaria attempted to stomp on the shield bearer.

Claire was back on the defensive again, still unused to the feel of Ortlinde's scythe. She spared a glance around the battlefield and noticed that Ellis was holding her own against Rion while Velsaria and Hakua were at a stalemate. Velsaria had the advantage in power and strength, but was not able to keep up with Hakua's speed and maneuverability. She could see Fianna performing an elaborate kaguya dance in the distance, she could only hope that she would finish soon to give them any advantage possible. Finally she spotted Kamito fighting against Shao Fu.

++++Kamito vs Shao Fu+++++

Shao Fu smirked as she observed Kamito's stance. She could see very few openings, but her trained eye could tell that said openings were actually traps that Kamito could easily defend with a slight shift of his stance. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a slow deep breath. When she opened her eyes she gathered a large amount of divine energy in her gauntlets causing them to glow a ghostly white. Charging in she went low to try and get under his guard.

Kamito noticed this and took a step back as he deflected her punch to the side with the side of one of his blades. Shao had expected this and used the momentum to spin around to backhand Kamito. He crossed his blades to block the hit but was surprised when he felt an intense pain pass through him.

"Like it? My waffe doesn't have to actually come in contact with you to do damage. That is the power of my Tiger's Killing Howl." Shao boasted.

"I see. That is quite the power." Kamito admitted coughing up a tiny amount of blood. "Please allow me to return the favor." Kamito brought both swords down at the same time which Shao caught with her gauntlets. Kamito smirked. "Hado 11: Tsuzuri Raiden!" A powerful bolt of electricity flowed down the blades into Shao's gauntlets delivering a powerful shock to the surprised girl. She was able to disengage and leap away before too much damage was done, but she could still feel the numbness in her arms as her muscles recovered from the shock.

"You've been holding back on me." Shao grinned as the feeling came back to her arms.

"I could say the same to you." Kamito came back.

In a blur, both former assassins re-engaged in their battle, both with a grin on their faces.

-_-_-_-_Claire-Ellis-Velsaria_-_-_-_-

Ellis was starting to tire. So far she had been able to match Rion, but it was obvious that the fighter from Quina had more stamina. She winced as her shoulder throbbed where Rion had made contact in the brief instant that Ellis had helped Claire out of her bind. Both she and Rion had holes in their clothes where each had scored lucky hits. Suddenly Rion leapt back several meters and started spinning the weapon over her head.

Ellis could feel the increase in temperature as flames erupted from Rions blade. "You are more talented than I gave you credit for." Rion said. "But now it's time to show you the true power of my waffe."

Claire and Rao could also feel the rise in temperature. "Looks like Rion has finally decided to take this seriously. I guess I should do the same." Rao Rin said as she created some distance between her and Claire.

'Scarlet, I need Flametongue back. I don't have to experience to use this scythe.'

"Nya, as you wish, Master." Ortlinde acknowledged as the waffe in Claire's hands became supple once again.

Suddenly the ground across the battlefield glowed with magic symbols and Claire could feel her strength returning and then some. Ellis smiled as she felt her energy returning as well. The flames on Rion's guandao diminished. 'Thank you, Fianna!' Ellis mentally cheered as she felt the tides of the battle shifting in their favor. Then she noticed the satisfied look on Rion's face and she realized something was wrong.

Just as suddenly as the magic symbols appeared, the changed from a golden white to a shimmering red and Ellis, Claire, and Velsaria felt an instant drain on their divine power.

"Our Princess Linfa has the contracted spirit Kirin. It's waffe Seraphim Feathers amplifies the power of her ritual dances, and even allows her to steal the benefits of other's dances. Your fate has been written." Rion revealed as she launched a wave of flames at Ellis.

Fianna clenched her fists and swore under breath. Her dance had been stolen in order to strengthen their opponents. She knew that it was time to reveal her trump card that she had developed in secret with Velsaria's help. She had hoped to save it for the finals, but at this rate they may not even make it that far. She closed her eyes and began to chant. "By the contract of the old blood, become the sword that protects me, come forth and do my bidding-Save the Queen!" In a flash of light, Fianna was now holding a golden rapier that she immediately stabbed into the ground.

Yes, I know, dang cliffhangers. This battle has been a battle to get out. I will do my best to get the next chapter out in a more timely manner. Thank you for reading and thank you for your patience with my poor updating.