The ultimate battle has begun. Joe and Xilia face off to save her from Viper's Stinger's grasp. "Burst shot!"

"Dark pulse!" The projectiles intercepted each other and caused an explosion. Joe dashed through the smoke and swung his sword at Xilia. She blocked with Viper's Stinger and gave Joe a roundhouse kick. Joe then spun quickly like a hurricane and it propelled him backwards to evade the kick. "Razor cutter!!" Joe sent a few slash attacks at Xilia but Xilia countered with her own attack, Dark Reaper.

Xilia then charged at Joe with Viper's Stinger aimming at his throat. Joe focused on Viper's Stinger and he swung his OP blade in a cross. He blocked the attack and began his assault. "Wind's Dance." Joe began twirling around and spun his swords in a circle motion for 20 strikes. Xilia blocked most of it but got hit in the shoulder by 4-5 slashes. "Dark Counter!" Xilia slashed the last two hits from Joe apart and imitated Joe's Wind Dance, just that this time, she attacked in a cross*. Joe managed to block all the hits due to his incredible speed. They clashed swords for a while, each side attaining some scratches on the face and shoulders. 

"Xilia! Stop it now!! Don't let it control you!! I know you're better than that!! Show me that you have surpassed yourself!!!!" Joe shouted as he clashed swords with Xilia. At that moment, Xilia parried Joe's slashes and he flinched for a second. Just as Xilia was about to land a hit on Joe, she stopped. She muttered something. "H....Hel.....Help me....... Joe...."

Joe then understood the meaning behind her words. Joe focused his attention at Xilia. "Wind's stance: Hurricane!!" Joe then disappeared and a huge hurricane surrounded Xilia. Blood was mixed in the hurricane. Xilia was being engulfed and overwhelmed by Joe's series of fast and precise attacks. After a while, the hurricane died down and Joe landed with OP blade in front of him in a cross pose. He sheathed OP blade and turned around to face Xilia.Viper's Stinger on the floor and she was unconscious beside it. "Cecilia!!" Joe then rushed over to her side and embraced her in his arms. "Cecilia, you're gonna be alright. Hang in there!" Joe said as he rushed to Cecilia's room with Viper's Stinger in his hands.

"Freya! Get me some water and a cloth! Cecilia needs it now!" Joe ordered.

"On my way!" Freya replied and rushed to the kitchen to get a cloth and a basin of water. Joe then wet the cloth and placed it lightly on Cecilia's forehead. "So Capt, what's your plan? Continue her training or let her rest for a day or two? If we let her rest, there are two choices we can make. 1) We charge into the palace as planned but with you and Cecilia coming later than what we planned.

2) We invade the palace when Cecilia is fully recovered. Which would you make?" Grodin asked as she stood by the cupboard.

"3.We go in there without Cecilia." Joe replied.

"Are you sure about this, Capt? It's her wish to kill her father. Shouldn't we wait for her to recover before we invade?" Grodin asked again.

"With the condition she's in- Viper's Stinger controlling her, it would be difficult to send her out to the battleground. I will take charge of her training with Viper's Stinger as well as her fighting capability. The rest of you also train up. We will all rest for a day before we charge into the palace. Now go relay this message to the rest." Joe ordered. Grodin nodded and left the room. Joe looked at Cecilia and made a promise:"I will make you into the best assassin, one who can take down your father, by the time we are going to invade the palace, I promise."

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Well, I apologise for the short story. Normally it would be around 800-900 words but this time it is 660+. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter onwards will be about Cecilia's training with Joe for the week as well as O.M.G's preparation for the defence of the palace.

*Refer to Kirito's Star Burst Stream.(SAO for those who don't know who kirito is.)