«rp» Fate's Eye [7/7] ~arc 3~

"This is the maid of my supporter, Roswaal." Alice explained to Marcus.

Fanatia smiled back to Rathius. "Thank you for your concern, Sir Rathius. There had been no problems at the mansion." The maid then turned to Alice. "Lady Alice, my master Lady Roswaal wishes you to return to the mansion."

"Roswaal does?" Alice seemed surprised. "But I can fight!"

"It seems.... that Karifer had resolved the problem of the insignia. There is no need for you to put yourself in danger.... that is what Lady Roswaal had informed me in the message."

"Eh....?"

"Wait, Karifer took the insignia back?" Rathius asked, bewildered.

"That was his mission in this time's invasion, Sir Rathius. As a vampire he is advantageous in dark underground passage— it seems his ambush on the thieves worked out."

"But... but..." Alice seemed confused as all of them were. How much had Roswaal planned everything out?

"Lady Alice, please return to the mansion." Diabel turned to the half-elf. "Without your Great Spirit, you will only put yourself in danger."

Alice started to say something, then pursed her lips. "I'll take Lienya with me. Is that fine?"

Lienya nodded; and nobody objected.

Alice still had a doubtful expression, but bowed to all of them. "Thank you for your help, everyone. ......be the blessing of spirits be with you."

 

Silent, Marcus ran over in his head what he knew of all of this city-folk business that was going on.

 

Archibaud breathed out, trying to calm himself. The black aura around him got thicker as he started absorbing more mana.

Let's go, Iza.

Sure thing.

"Haah!" Archibaud kicked forward, lifting his scythe up. Gragur reacted with two lower arms slashing simultaneously at two sides of Archibaud, preventing him from dodging sideways. The upper arms then cut at the middle, where Archibaud was. But with a sudden burst of speed he leapt directly up, dodging the blows. He landed and started charging while increasing his speed. Once he got closer, he deflected his two arms on his left quickly, then swooped down and kicked Gragur's leg from the side. The demi-human gave a disgusting groan of an undead, and using that slight opening Archibaud jumped to the multi-armed man's back and slashed at its shoulder.

Too shallow!

The cut went deep into the creature's shoulder, but it wasn't enough to sever his arm. Gragur turned and swooped with his greatsword at where Archibaud was.

Archibaud leapt back, then stared at the demi-human he was fighting. Slowly but steadily, he was now getting the hang of it. He's fast—but I'm faster. I can definitely beat him.

 

"Take care, kid. You too Lienya."

"Don't put yourself in danger though, Alice. You're supposed to be the kingdom's next ruler."

 

@Tree_Legacy

Kayde turned back to Angela and James. "Can you two start attacks from behind him if we get closer?"

James pursed his lips. "Only if I concentrate a lot. It's hard to summon object further away than close to me."

"Me too." Angela answered, still holding her wound.

Kayde nodded. "We move close in— but this will depend on whether I can hold up blocking his bullets. Can you trust me enough for that job....?"

 

I run straight at him going for the same arm

 

I nod "Surely do."
I take air in slowly "Let's do this"

 

I conjure...a boomerang!

 

"'ey, you're sayin' that in front of me, huh?" Remilia snorted and leapt off her chair, landing near where they all were, sending a look at Rathius. "I ain't losing to the half-elf sis on becoming the king!" She grinned towards Alice.

"Y-yeah! I'm not losing either!" Alice responded, smiling back.

"Heh! Just you watch!"

"Then, Fanatia, I'll leave Lady Alice and young Lienya to you." Diabel nodded to the demi-human maid, who bowed back elegantly.

*** *** ***

The three of them had left, and the rest were getting ready to depart.

"Lady Remilia, it might be best for you to stay here with lord Rom." Alexander turned to Remilia and said.

Marcus figured Remilia would've complained, but the blond girl looked back at the Sword Saint with an expression of calm thought.

"......a'ight. Do wha'ever you need to do."

Alexander bowed.

"Then, Lady Remilia, sir Rom, thank you for your care." Diabel, in stead of everyone else, bowed to the giant and the king candidate.

Old-Man Rom snorted. "Egh, just don't bring any trouble into this place. Rather, you'll be facin' something bad down there....." Rom narrowed his eyes at Alexander, and lowered his voice so the others could barely hear. "Sword Saint, that little witch, it's...."

"Yes, I am very much aware." Alexander said, nodding back. "I will see to her death if she ever escapes. Please do not worry."

"Alrigh'." Rom snorted again, then faced his back to them, walking away with loud footsteps. "Go already."

"Seeya!" Remilia waved her hands happily.

*** *** ***

"We shouldn't have stayed there too long." Marcus said as the four of them all hurried down the streets— him, Rathius, Diabel and Alexander.

"It was important for Rathius and you to recover." Diabel said. "Especially, Rathius was heavily damaged. If we were to go into battle, we all needed to be in full condition." While in Old-Man Rom's tavern, Diabel let the lesser spirits in the atmosphere to help the three of them recover their wounds, mana, and stamina. During that time Alexander was forced to leave the area, because when he was around, all spirits were drawn to him— whether it was his body or Divine Blessing, it wasn't clear.

Furthermore, Marcus borrowed some weapons from Rom's tavern. He now equipped two iron longswords on his back (thinner than the ones he originally had, but they would do), as well as more throwing picks.

Now, they were all jogging across the slums towards the centre of the Capital.

 

(Do I actually have my weapons?)
"So what' the plan?"

 

"Find out how to deal with this... fiasco, I'd imagine."
Marcus responded.

 

Archibaud raised his speed to a maximum, then shot towards where Gragur was readying his greatswords. Before the demi-human could use his weapons to attack, Archibaud slid under the four arms and again came up behind, slashing at the shoulder where he had previously cut, and cleanly severing it.

The arm holding the greatsword fell to the ground, but no blood was present.

Gragur swung back with another sword, but Archibaud had already leapt back. It was difficult for him to get close to the multi-armed man as his arms could defend and attack at the same time. But Archibaud had a big advantage—speed.

*** ***

Carol felt her movements grow more sluggish as the gas produced by Libre reached her lungs. Her head throbbed, and she felt discomfort and pain inside her chest, giving her an urge to vomit. Fighting the effects of the poison back, the knight was still exchanging blows with the demi-human hero.

It was no wonder Libre Fluemi was such a renowned figure amongst the demi-humans: he was undoubtedly strong. Not only did he have his abilities as a snake-man, but he was incredibly skilled— at least enough to even match Carol in one-to-one duel.

Carol gritted her teeth, trying to keep a distance away from her opponent because of his double-edged glaive able to deal mid-range attacks. Libre kept pushing, however, in an onslaught of blows with his weapons. Carol was starting to receive blows from the demi-human, receiving cuts at places where her armour did not cover.

The pain from the poison, the pain from the wounds. Carol was slowly being driven back.

One hit. If I can get one effective hit at him.... Carol kept thinking as she looked for any openings.

That was when Roswaal and Sphinx clashed once more in the room, creating a massive wind and blowing away the poison. Carol didn't miss the snake-man lose his balance ever-so-slightly.

She kicked forward, bending forward so low that she was extremely close to the ground. She slid under Libre's glaive and swung her sword up— slicing at his right wrist, which was holding the weapon. But at that moment, Libre's tail tangled around Carol's leg and pulled, tripping her. Libre's thin leg shot up, kneeing Carol's face from the side.

The impact sent her rolling away from the demi-human. Coughing up blood, she staggered up.

".....if you lose your dominant hand, most can no longer fight." Carol said, smiling weakly.

*** *** ***

"Vestria!"

"Al Jiwald!"

Two spells collided, exploding massively.

Neither the 'witch' or the sorcerer had been gaining the upper hand——— until now.

Panting, Sphinx fell to one knee. Blood poured from her forehead, and her cloak had been tattered. On the opposite side, Roswaal stood relaxedly, crossing her arms in front of her.

"It looks like it's becoming appaaarent who's a better magic caster, hm~?" Roswaal smiled, conjuring numerous fireballs around her.

Sphinx looked up, still panting. She raised her fingers and readied a shield of light, but the sheer firepower of the fireballs broke through, exploding right in front of the elf.

"Gah!!" The demi-human's tiny body was sent flying through the room and onto a wall.

"It's noooooo use, Sphinx. You can't win against me." The Margrave smiled, winking and showing her yellow pupil.

 

I go for another arm on the other side of his body to make him look noraml in terms of arms

 

The ability user had reloaded his guns in a swift motion while the three were quickly forming the plan. He stared at the three of them with eyes devoid of expression.

"......Now!" Kayde dashed forward, lifting his shield . The youth fired his gun at Kayde's feet, but he blocked them by bringing his shield down just as the bullets fired.

As his white horn rose from his forehead, James conjured numerous ice crystals (including boomerangs, even though they are meaningless, really) all around at the atmosphere. Angela concentrated and started to create a flow of wind through the entire tunnel, so that the ice crystals could travel faster and more accurately.

"Shoot as many as you can. He's probably going to ignore those which are going to miss him anyway." Kayde had told them before he went forward. "Then, Angela, you can use your wind magic to turn them back and attack from behind."

Angela gritted her teeth. "I hope this works!"

James swung his arm, and the crystals launched themselves towards the ability user.

Many things happened in those few seconds.

The ability user's bullet finally hit the weak spot of Kayde's blade, shattering it. The iron shards cut Kayde's hand, making him grimace—just for a split second.

Another bullet had been fired at the same time, this time towards where James stood. Kayde had lost his blade—so he had to move extra to reach the bullet with his broken sword to deflect it.. And at the exact moment Kayde did so and became unbalanced, the ability user finally moved forward to close the distance.

He again threw pebbles into the air from his pouch, breaking the ice crystals by hitting their weak spots precisely. But he couldn't possibly block all of the crystals that was being shot at him— he dodged many, but many still cut at his arms, waist, and legs; and one or two hit its mark into the youth's torso.

But still he did not stop moving. He aimed towards Kayde, who had dodged to the side to avoid the crystals. The first two bullets was deflected by Kayde's shield, but the third grazed his leg, making him stagger on one leg in pain. Kayde couldn't stop his shield from moving.

The last shot pierced through Kayde's abdomen.

As the boy fell forward, Angela's wind magic took its effect. The rest of the ice crystals were slowed down by circulation of wind and, as they sped up again, were hurled at the ability user from the back.

He had no means to block the crystals— he took many blows onto his back, and he fell down next to where Kayde had fallen.

 

"Take care of him." I ask James, pointing with my head towards Kayde.
As I walk towards the dead ability user, I pick up Kayde's broken blade. I stop in front of the dead body of the gun wielder.
Kicking his head, I stab his neck with the broken blade, sinking it in with a kick. If that doesn't decapitate him, I kick his head, trying to do so.
"That should do it about the undead spell." I say, quickly walking towards one of the walls of the corridor to throw up.
"Uuugh. I'll take these, just in case." I pick up his guns, then walk towards Kayde.

 

I forgot to include the fact that I was gonna throw it behind him. Dammit.
Also, I'm gonna check on Kayde.

 

"Our top priority would be finding a way in." Diabel answered. "The entrance we know of are the one near Tilost river where I followed Lady Alice, and the one knight Carol and Margrave Roswaal used, in the alleyway at the southeastern district."

"There is one I know." Marcus told them. "Marketplace at the south district, alleyway."

"The concealment spell is still hiding their presence underground. Without knowing where exactly the facility is, I can't break through the ground." Alexander muttered.

"Break, through!?" Rathius exclaimed. "What the heck are you saying?"

Diabel sighed. "No breaking until we're certain of the damage that can be cause, Alexander."

"I'm aware of that, Diabel."

"....Anyway, the closest entrance we know of to us, will be the one I used in the marketplace." Marcus said.

Diabel nodded. "Right. We have to get there fast as possible——"

Alexander suddenly tensed, and widened his electric blue eyes. "....——!! Don't step into that...!"

The moment Marcus, Rathius, and Diabel stopped in their tracks, blue circles appeared under their feet.

".....damn it." Rathius swore.

".......an Ability?" Alexander asked.

"Yes." Diabel confirmed. "Held by a member of the Eight Fingers. Because we don't know the conditions on which the ability activates, so there is no way we can predict when or how it will appear."

"......a teleportation kind. It seems.... I have been excluded from the target." Alexander muttered as he thought.

Marcus frowned. "How do you know it's a teleportation...."

The circles of light got brighter. Diabel sent an alarmed look at the Sword Saint. "Alexander, you've got to find the base, we'll most likely be——"

Alexander nodded immediately. "I understand. I shall try my best."

Then———

Rathius's vision slowly cleared— and he found himself again in a dark, damp corridor underground.

"Damn it, that ability user have to be stopped quickly..."

There was coughing behind him; Marcus rose, bringing his pelt closer. "You're right. Just where are we right now...."

"....wait, where's Diabel?" Rathius widened his eyes.

The blue knight was nowhere to be seen.



Suddenly, Rathius caught something in his sensitive hearing. Two voices in a conversation, quite nearby. There was light coming from one end of the corridor, which seemed to be some kind of a room.

 

"There are people up ahead. The voices don't sound familiar, so I don't know if they are allies or not."

He grabs his weapon. (Sword of I still have them, chains if I don't have my weapons.)
"Wanna check it out?"

 

Marcus put a finger to his lips, then whispered.
“You lead.”

 

Roswaal heard a soft laughing coming from in front of her.

The sorcerer lifted an eyebrow. "I didn't know you had a function to laugh, Sphinx."

Sphinx looked up at Roswaal, while standing up unstably. Her whole body was tattered and damaged all over.

"Again, I have been working on things since I last fought your predescessor."

"Hah. That's amusing." Roswaal's expression turned dark. "You, a failure of that experiment, have no rights to hold human emotions—disgrace to Teacher's legacy. Now, failed test subject..... what do you have in line for me?"

"I am well aware of your family's talent with magic.... and the fact that you are the strongest yet in the history of the Mathers. That is why... I've set out traps."

"What....!?" Roswaal turned.

On the walls and pillars, as well as the floor and ceilings, were dozens of glowing magic circles.

"You've been putting them up even as we fought?" Roswaal turned back to Sphinx. "You've improved, hm~?"

Sphinx clicked her finger. In the room, Roswaal, Archibaud, and Carol all felt a nauseating effect go through their body, as if the insides of their body were moving around on their own. Archibaud immediately felt his body become heavier.

I can't suck in mana from the air...?

Roswaal staggered, then stared at the elf floating the air. "You've made the mana in the atmosphere as well as inside us go out of control....?"

"You're right, Margrave. Now you cannot use magic, no matter how strong you are."

Roswaal summoned fireballs around her, but they wavered greatly and dispersed quickly. Sphinx smiled as she saw that, then swung her hand. A dozen light bolts appeared and rained towards where Roswaal stood.

"Of course.... myself and the Undead King's Sacrament have resistance to this 'trap'."

The magic blew Roswaal away, sending her rolling down the stone floor.

At the same time, Archibaud saw Carol getting knocked back by her enemy, snakeman Libre. She seemed to have been cut widely at her abdomen, and blood was soaking her clothes. He had no choice to leave Gargur in front of him and rush to help the knight.

"Poison.... on the blade..... hand..... regenerated immediately...."

".....shit." Archibaud swore. The tide had turned—in an instant.