Alright! I'm back-and a whole day early-and we're (sadly) nearing the end of this cute little story... I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: Elsword and it's characters and worlds are all owned by KOG, not I.

Saving the Hero

by: naeHaneul

Chapter Six

Aisha's POV

It didn't take long for Aisha to catch up with the rest of the Elgang, one could easily follow the trail of demon corpses as the crew fought their way towards Chloe, but it seemed like she couldn't be fast enough. Not only was Ran obviously more powerful than last time, but every demon she whacked to death with her staff seemed like a waste of time-every spell seemed like a waste of mana-because Elsword was all by himself.

"Lightning Bolt!" the Elemental Master fired her favorite blast of lightning and took out a few demons that were trying to sneak up behind a familiar blonde-haired figure.

The Grand Archer spun, a grin lighting up her face, "Aisha! Wow, it's good to see you-wait, how'd you-"

"Long story," Aisha interjected, breathless, and readied her staff, "we've got bigger problems: Els is facing Ran alone."

Despite the chaos on the battlefield, all of the gang caught the last part of Aisha's sentence.

"Che! Then what are we doing fighting these stupid demons if Aisha's already freed?" Chung spat blood from his split lip and plowed his cannon into a group of demon archers that were aiming for Eve.

"Objective has been acquired. Rerouting strategy to find the quickest road to Ran," Eve frowned at the mess in front of her. "Oberon, Ophelia, these minions are a bore. Get rid of all of them," she ordered her servants in front of her to take out a what was left of the legion in front of Chung. Nodding to her partner, they both turned to face the Elemental Master.

Aisha summoned a "Meteor Shower!" and continued, "Ran is back and a hell of a lot stronger than last time. We've got to-"

"I don't think so!" Chloe interrupted in a frenzy. "If you think you can just prance your way around my army and then-"

"Argh! So annoying!" Ara shouted, changing into Celestial Fox and swinging her spear at Chloe, which caught her by surprise. Ara swept a wave of demons into the air-including the dark elf, herself-and launched a series of overpowering slashes. By the time her attack was over, the girl was panting, but she still managed to kick over the last few demons who had been frozen in shock at the Sakra Devanam's new skill.

The rest of the Elgang blinked. Silence settled in the cold air of the Halls of Water.

"Wh-what the El was that?" Chung stammered.

"Honestly, I didn't expect that to take out the rest of them…" Ara slumped to the ground with a satisfied huff. Around her were the scattered remains of Chloe's army, but the only one still moving was the dark elf, who shrieked a string of curses.

"Dammit! You'll pay for this! You'll-"

Raven slammed the butt of his sword against her back and she crumpled to the icy floor. "That should shut her up for a while," his golden eyes looked directly at Aisha, "let's go. Sounds like we've a hero to save, yes?"

Elsword's POV

"Ho? A game? Don't tell me you think you'll win. You should listen to your lover. Or what, haven't learned your lesson yet?" Ran's magenta orbs seemed to laugh at the boy before him. "Pray tell, you insolent little brat," he purred, raising his sword.

"It's a game called 'Hero'. The rules? He who falls first, bows first."

"Are you mocking me? Even an attitude like yours can be fixed once you've tasted the power of the Dark El," the demon lord summoned another shadow puppet behind Elsword, who had to dodge the slash of its sword. "I can't wait to put you against that Mage of yours. I can just imagine her face as she falls to your sword…"

"Rule one: A hero practices chivalry," said Elsword, running forward. "Heroes must always protect their friends," his blade met Ran's and he quickly summoned a few explosive runes, jumping back.

Ran simply waved away the Rune Slayer's flames and stepped forward, disappearing and reappearing in front of his face. The demon king's speed was unmatched, and Elsword barely had time to raise his sword in defense before his opponent was upon him. Slashing line after line of darkness, the red-haired boy parried the strikes, but had no time to attack. Instead, he kicked at Ran's sword and rolled to the side, launching a fire rune at the demon's feet.

As it burned out, Ran flipped back. Landing lightly on his feet a few yards away, he smirked as a thin line of blood appeared on Elsword's cheek which drew out a curse from the boy.

This fight would be harder than he thought, but he had to win, for a true hero protects his friends.

"Rule two," the Rune Slayer started once more, "A hero must never show weakness, for even in times of peril, heroes stand strong and fight." Elsword set his jaw and launched himself at the demon lord straight on, drawing a summoning rune behind his back.

Ran let out a maniacal laugh and swiped a dark claw at the boy, bringing about a magic effect like no other. Because of his frontal attack, Elsword had no choice but to take the blunt of the spell. Skidding back, he winced and, with his mana stolen, his rune became useless.

"You can't fool me, boy, I see everything! I'll show you the power of what you'll become when I win!"

"I guess I'll just have to make up some new tricks then, eh, Ran?" the boy shouted at his enemy, unable to hold back a grin. "I haven't been this fired up since we challenged Chloe in Velder!"

"I'll end this quickly," decided the demon lord, summoning a few shadow clones. Raising his sword he flew at the red-haired boy, clones close behind.

Elsword took a deep breath, saving the mana he had left and bracing himself for impact. He had no problem blocking Ran's imminent strike, but he had to think of what the shadows would do. Defense wasn't his usual mojo but he decided to take a page from his friend, the Blade Master's, book and draw in his enemy. As hard as it was to calm that hot-headed conscious of his, if he was gonna last until Aisha and the others got here, he had to fight wisely.

Ran slashed sideways and his clones followed with more waves of solid darkness, but the swordsman sidestepped and, thinking back to his training days with his sister, pointed his sword down in feint, so that the darkness was deflected and Ran was stunned back.

Using the split second that his opponent was stunned, he spun and slammed his sword down, "Flaming Geyser!" The sudden burst of flames caught Ran off guard, burning straight through his shadow clones and singeing the tips of his silver-white hair. He couldn't fall back quick enough, however, because Elsword dove through the dissipating flames of his skill and summoned another, "Luna Blade!"

The Rune Slayer's summoned sword sliced through the air and cut Ran's mana enough to prevent him from summoning another shadow clone. The demon lord hissed and narrowed his magenta eyes into a glare that physically chilled the Hall of Water's air.

"Don't get too cocky, brat," Ran swore, wiping at a burn mark on his shoulder and dropping to one knee.

"Rule three: A hero gives it all they've got because every fight is worth winning, especially if it's to protect the ones I love!" shouted Elsword, readying his sword.

He thought back to when he had first learned how to summon fire and Aisha had fell backwards laughing because his first fire rune exploded in his face. He'd had to go the whole next expedition with singed hair and smelling so badly of burnt toast that all the lizardmen they fought laughed in his face too.

He thought back to the time he'd teased Chung so much about his huge crush on Eve that even the Nasod Queen herself blushed and they'd all been so surprised at her reaction, she'd literally slapped him down an Altera mine.

He thought back to the talk he and Raven shared about what it meant to protect those you love and how Raven had told him straight on that he loved Rena and he cared for the rest of them and would never let his friends die in front of him again. Raven said that the only reason one ever needs for wielding a sword is to protect those who might not be able to protect themselves, and he'd made Elsword promise to never lose his way.

He thought about how he really would go to the end of the world to save his friends, and how, even though he promised to protect them all, his promise to live with them was more important…

"Just…don't you dare die, okay?"

Aisha's kind smile flashed in his mind. He'd ruined his own birthday and he'd almost lost his best friend because of his own immaturity, and he was not about to lose now, when his friends were fighting with him. And Aisha... His Aisha. She was probably so worried by now, and he definitely could not let her down. He'd already made her hurt so much. When this was all over, he would take her out on a proper date-something they hadn't had the time to do since they'd starting going out.

He'd once made a promise to catch up to his sister, to make her see him as an equal and for her to be proud of him, and now, Elsword was sure he was making his sister proud. Her smile shone through the darkness that shrouded Ran.

With a smile for those who were undoubtedly cheering him on, he let loose a trick that he'd kept secret even to them.

"Sorry guys, looks like you're gonna miss my ultimate skill," he whispered almost inaudibly, and, glancing down at the fire pendent hanging from his neck, he set his resolve.

The red-haired boy stepped towards where Ran was straightening up, clenched his hand around his trusty sword, and pointed it at the demon in front of him.

"In the end, a hero never shows mercy for those who've forsaken their friends."

With that, he sprinted forward, mouth open as a new incantation split from his tongue, a new skill, a new power. A new form of fire.

Not so far away, a certain group of friends glanced ahead at the fiery explosion. Sharing a knowing look and a smile, they quickened their pace. If their friend was giving it his all, they couldn't just miss it.

He'd outdone himself yet again, but what else was to be expected? He was the hero, after all.

"SHINING RUNE BUSTER!"

Ayyyy so how was that? And yes, the thing Ara did to take out the rest of Chloe's army was her HA, Heaven's Wrath. Anyhoo~ R&R, people, and I'll be back soon with another addition!