«rp» Fate's Eye [7/7] ~arc 3~

The five guards around the table turned their heads to the sound, while the rest stayed still as before. One of them stood up and walked off, while the other four were also distracted as well.

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Kayde narrowed his eyes at the scene as Carol revealed the hoods of the others as well. All of the two dozen guards were animated corpses.

"What a horrible spell." Carol swore, standing up. "I think I understand why you hate this organisation so much, Kayde."

"Yes...." Kayde let his voice fade, making it clear he did not want to talk about it. They started walking down the corridor again, this time more careful. Kayde turned to the other two and started in a hushed voice. ".....But there's only one spell that can animate corpses, right?"

James cocked his head in confusion, but Carol nodded. "The «Undead King's Sacrament». Everyone thought the spell was lost, until it was used in the Demi-Human War 40 years ago by a witch."

"There's a magician experienced enough to use it, on this scale. This keeps getting worse." Kayde sighed frustratedly.

 

Andrei mutters, "Well, fuck it."

I focus on the table and whisper "El Fula", trying to throw the table and chairs against the wall with a powerful wind.

 

The guard didn't respond; he then stopped his movements. He lifted his arm holding the girl, and started squeezing.

The girl screamed— a hoarse, pained scream.

"—Stop!!" The girl's sibling sprung up and charged at the man as he was close enough to do so even with his chains. The man swung his fist and knocked the boy back.

 

"Wait, what magician?"

 

Marcus charged then, leading with his pelt to block his figure a bit, and then with his dagger to stab the guard in the gut.

 

The spell sent the table and the four guards flying into the air with a massive shock. Just then, the other fifteen guards that had been still until now started moving, all turning their heads around. Their motions made even Andrei feel creeped, as they seemed so unnatural.

 

I step forward into view, letting my blades hand loosely in my hands.

Addressing the unmasked guards, I say "If you would rather your organs remain on the inside of your body, I suggest not making any sudden moves. Understand?"

 

Kayde turned to James. "«Undead King's Sacrament» is a powerful water magic that apparently reincarnates the dead. 40 years ago in the Demi-Human War, one of the three executives of the demi-humans, the witch Sphinx, used an incomplete version of it to turn corpses of the human army into undeads under their rule. The spell was supposed to be lost many centuries ago, but Sphinx had it. Now that we see that Eight Fingers are using the same spell, we know they have a powerful magic caster who is capable of create undeads on the same scale as Sphinx."

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".......guh..." The guard gave a pained grunt as the dagger sank into his stomach. At the same time, there was a small crack, and the girl screamed even louder. At the same time, the guard let go of her and fell back. Marcus know instantly that the guard had died.

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The unmasked guards widened their eyes in surprise at seeing Andrei. But at the same time the masked ones suddenly turned their heads to the hunter and charged.

 

Marcus gritted his teeth, going down with the guard and angrily and repeatedly stabbing him, whether he was dead or not.

 

I drop into a low stance and pivot, spinning my blades in wide arcs intended to mutilate their legs as they charge me.

 

"Aaaaalright, we are heading out." Roswaal turned to Izanami. "Great Spirit, I'm suuuure you know the geography of this city. Knight Carol and the others disappeared out of my radar at the small alleyway behind the demi-human tavern next to Tilost river."

Izanami nodded. ".....I understand. Archi, I'll lead you guys there."

Roswaal nodded to Angela. "You come with me, Angela. I know of their whereabouts now."

(Just for info, around this time the others are already going down the stairs to underground facility.)


*****

@BlueSlimerino @Linwood Welheart

"Is this the right place, Iza?" Archibaud asked to the spirit. They were now at a narrow, tiny alleyway without any doors at all. It certainly didn't seem like an entrance into a lair of a large-scale criminal organisation.

Izanami nodded. "It's precisely where that woman told."

".....Look here." Tyrinel called, and the others gathered around the space. There was a large 'X' carved into a wall at the side.

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@Tisaun
Roswaal, Karifer and Angela took a dragon carriage to a nearby road, then walked down from there into the shadier parts of the houses. It wasn't that far from where the other groups had moved on to.

Roswaal led them into a tiny corridor between the houses. "We are here. Karifer, do you sense anything?"

The man scanned the area. ".....Yes, Lady Roswaal. There is a slight trace of a spell at that side of the wall. Though it seems another spell is overwriting it so it stays hidden...."

"I see." Roswaal left Karifer and the confused Angela, and walked over to where Karifer had pointed to. She examined the section for a few seconds, then muttered something. A flash of light followed, and then the place where the wall had been was replaced with an entrance to a dark stairs that led underground.

"A hidden passage....!" Angela muttered.

"Hmm..... so that is how it is......" Roswaal muttered to herself as she looked at the entrance. "This illusion magic is hers. I understand now." She turned to Karifer and Angela. "Let us go."

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Panting, Marcus rose up from the corpse. The boy had crawled over to his sister and was holding her in his arms. Her chest was rising and falling; she was still alive. However, her shoulder was bent at an unnatural angle; it seemed like the guard had made her shoulder cracked or dislocated before he died.

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The first wave of about five were cut through their legs and fell down. Andrei readied his swords to deal with the guards behind them— when he noticed that the five who had been cut down, instead of writhing in pain, continued to crawl at him.

 

"Let's get the hell outta here, huh?"
Marcus suggests, wrapping the blade-riddled pelt around his other pelts.

 

"Maybe its a fake wall?" I go up to it and try to move the area around the x

 

"Nice from them to leave a Mark for us."
He walks over to the X and moves his hand around, searching the wall for an entrance.

 

I get off the carriage, taking off my bow and putting an arrow on the string
"Who exactly is her? I'm confused" I admit "Also, is that where the two kids went in?" I ask

 

*****

"———." Without saying a word, the boy raised an arm. Across the dimly lit underground corridor, another figure waved their hand back. The boy looked around to see nobody else was here, then walked forward towards the other figure.

"——how did it go, Megan? Any pursuers?" He asked to the other figure— a girl around his age with the same black hair. She shrugged. "Not that I noticed. How 'bout you, Day?"

The youth who was called Day shrugged. "Me neither. So.... job done?"

Megan grinned. "Alright." She took out a small badge with a red gem embedded into it— the dragon's insignia. "I guess we didn't even need to switch it before we ran." She threw the object at Day, who caught it easily.

"A stone that decides a new king. I wonder what our employer was thinking when they hired us...." Day muttered, spinning the object around his fingers. "We were even forced an oath not to say their name...."

Megan shrugged. "But money is money. That's why we're in this damned organisation." Day nodded in agreement.

At the corner of his eyes, Day saw something lying on the ground. It was a plain ball, made out of some kind of cloth-like material. He reached down and picked it up – it wasn't that heavy, so it wasn't an explosive or anything. He could disarm explosions, so that wouldn't have meant anything anyway——

Suddenly, there was a searing sharp pain at his palm where he was holding the ball. Giving a stifled cry, he dropped the object and staggered back.

"Hey, what's wrong!?" Megan came to see Day's hand, which was slowly turning bluish black in colour.

"Poison.......... I can't..... disarm it......." Day gritted his teeth and forced the words out, but his consciousness was already swimming. His Ability, «Unarm», could disarm all physical and magical attacks as long as he was aware of them. The person who had set up this trap was someone who knew his Ability well....

Megan spun to look down the corridor. "Who's there!?"

With sharp clicks that were footsteps, a tall figure stepped into the torchlight.

She was a woman clad in a black leather dress, which was fit for moving around freely. A purple cape went down her shoulders, and licking her fingers, she smiled at the scene.

"Y...you......" Day growled, falling to his knees. The poison was now numbing his senses, and he could barely tell where his arm was. "Assassin.... of the..... Eight Fingers....."

"Oh, you know who I am. I am very much impressed." The woman said, cocking her head to the side and smiling. "Your Ability «Unarm» is very troublesome. Forgive me for taking you out first." She spread her cape and bowed slightly. "Eight Fingers Assassin, Verona Rembrandt." The assassin named herself.

Megan gritted her teeth and crouched. Her arms slowly turned blackish and longer, curling around each other in a tentacle-like shape.

"Megan Amelle. Ability name, «Creature Under the Mud». Your ability is very much powerful.... I'm envious." The assassin, Verona, said and crouched in return. From her back she took out a long cliff knife, and in the other hand, she produced thin objects that reflected off the light from the torches. Day saw in his dimming sight that they were.... strings.

"Yaah!!" Megan kicked off, her legs also turning into slime-like forms. She spun midair and attacked with her elongated arms from both sides of the assassin. But faster than her eyes could follow, Verona leapt past the attacks and landed behind Megan. At that instant, she felt a sharp pain at her neck and felt a strong pull backwards that choked her. She returned an arm to its original form and grabbed at the thing curling around her neck— a string— and pulled it off. With blood trickling down, Megan turned and faced the assassin. All around the woman floated numerous strands of strings that swam through the air as if they had wills of their own.

"My Ability, «Weaver's Loom», is an ability that lets me control strings to my will." The woman said, straightening up and grinning. "How would you fight against attacks so thin that they would pass through your defenses?"

"Me....gan....." Day gasped.

With another cry, Megan shot forward, her tentacles flailing ahead and tangling the strings away from the assassin. The tentacles continued to grow as it shot towards the woman from all directions.

Verona grasped her palms, and all of Megan's tentacles were stopped as the strings curling around them tightened with great power. The assassin dashed forward with her knife at the girl, whose movements were stopped.

"....Unarm——!!" Day lifted his hand weakly and gasped, resulting in the assassin being knocked down sideways and snapping all the strings away from Megan's tentacles. Megan used the opportunity to reform her arms into one, huge pillar of black slime, which fell over the woman and swallowed her whole.

"Die———!!" Megan screamed as she crushed the woman harder and harder. Then——

Numerous strings stabbed out from Megan's body from the inside, spraying blood all over the place.

The tentacles that were extensions of Megan's body slowly retracted as Verona stood up. From her hands were a band of strings that had pierced through Megan's tentacle and shot into her main body.

"Megan....!!" Day screamed and he tried to stand up, but felt blood rise up to his throat, and his arms gave away under him. Veronica cocked her head, and the strings pierced back into Megan, slowly lifting the girl's body into the air.

"I'm sorry..... but it seems that your ability wasn't well suited in fighting against mine." Verona said, and retracted all her strings, dropping Megan's body to the ground. She turned towards Day, who was trembling on the ground. "Don't worry, dear. I won't kill you, as is my orders. But I will be taking this...." The assassin walked over and picked up the insignia on the ground. She turned to Day with a final smile, then walked away from the scene down the corridor. And it was the same time when the poison finally made Day black out.

*** *** ***

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The boy returned a weak nod, and was still holding his sister in his arms.

"Let me see her." A voice said, and a man around his thirties or forties came shuffling down towards Marcus and the children, his hands tied by the chains. He had long slightly-wavy black hair that went down to his neck, and was wearing a grey thin coat. "I am a local physician. I can treat her arm; a dislocated arm, when treated wrongly, can permanently damage the nerves and she can lose the use of her arms." He said, and lifted his arms up to Marcus. The hunter hesitated, then broke the chains with his knife. He continued to do the same with the girl's chains around her legs.

The doctor knelt down next to the girl and started to treat her arm, while her brother watched from the side. After a minute or two, the doctor helped the girl up, who was holding her shoulder with a pained expression.

"It should still hurt, as your ligaments are damaged, but you are fine." The doctor said with a dry smile, patting her head. He then looked up to Marcus.

"That was an amazing fight you did against the guards. It was exciting to watch." He said as he rolled his sleeves, then pointed at the first guard Marcus had stabbed. "That one is still alive; would you want to, maybe, force informations out of him?"

 

“I’m not very good at interrogation.”
Marcus admitted.
“I am good at skinning, though, so if you want to do the talking, I can take care of the rest.”

 

"Hm... aaah!" Rathius placed a hand over a section of the wall, then passed through and fell into the wall. Rathius rolled down the dark stair before stopping and looked up. The wall was fake— Rathius could see the other three clearly from the inside. It seemed that, there was an illusion placed on the wall from the outside.

He put his head out of the entrance, surprising them. "Guess we found the entrance." He said. "Let's go."

***

With Archibaud and Izanami(scythe form) in front, the four of them slowly descended down the stairs. They encountered bodies of dead guards on the way— they seemed to have been killed by the yeti, James' attacks.

".....these are all undeads." Tyrinel said, looking at the scene. Some of the guards' hoods were ripped off, revealing their rotten faces. It took Tyrinel and Izanami a while to explain the lost spell of «Undead King's Sacrament» to the confused Rathius. In fact, Archibaud had seen the spell in effect forty years ago, when he was still inexperienced as a scythe, during the Demi-Human war. A certain witch had recreated the spell in an incomplete version; Sphinx, the only witch to have her name recognised other than Witch of Envy Everia.

They continue their way down into the corridor, and they pass more dead guards. (in fact they were already dead, so dead-dead?)

"These are still new." Archibaud placed a hand on an ice crystal that was already half melted. "They're nearby."

***

@Tree_Legacy

Panting, James scanned the area. Over a hundred undead warriors, and the three of them had fought their way through. They had arrived at the bottom of the staircase, when the enemies suddenly ambushed from the sides. If there were this much undead guarding a single entrance, James couldn't imagine how many were guarding the entire facility.

Kayde pressed at his wrist, to which was connected an enormous tower-shield as large as he was. As he pressed on the bracelet, the shield glowed slightly, then faded away. It was a gift from Carol to Kayde, as he had no means of defending himself against so much undeads, and a sword could only do much when he was an ordinary guard. Carol had not broken a single bead of sweat— she had shown her capabilities as a swordsman enough to almost scare Kayde and James during the fight.

Suddenly, they all heard footsteps coming down the stairways leading aboveground.


***


Archibaud, Rathius and Tyrinel stepped into the room at the end of the staircase. There, amidst a pile of over a hundred guards, was Carol, James and Kayde.

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"Never mind, Angela. That was me talking to myself. And yes, it seems like the boy from the duo had went inside through this entrance."

The three of them entered the entrance— and walked down. They encountered many dead bodies of guards, which seemed like Diabel and Alice had taken care of.

(And again they see that these guards are undeads; brief explanation of Undead King's Sacrament from Roswaal)

In the end, the three of them did not catch up with the two Spirit Users. They reached the end of the staircase, but was not met with a single sentry when they did so. They stepped out into the room, which was connected to a wide corridor that lead deeper into the facility.

Then.

Without notice, three circles made from blue light shone beneath each of their feet. They began rotating slowly.

 

"Thanks for clearing the way, saved us some of our breath."

He walks over to the pile of bodies and lightly kicks the bodies.
"So they are all undead, huh?"
He chuckles for a bit. "Guess I won't have to go easy then."

 

I turn to Rathius and say "Just remember no magic or you'll exhaust yourself around me"