«rp» Fate's Eye [7/7] ~arc 3~

"Iza!" Archibaud reached towards the spirit with his hand——and the black scythe reappeared. He readied it as the creature that was Sphinx rose higher into the air.

"I'll leave her to you, Carol!" Archibaud shouted, then rushed forward, drawing in mana from the atmosphere. He could tell he was weakened from the previous explosion and Izanami's spell, but he could at least buy time.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrhhhhh!!"

With an inhuman cry, Sphinx released numerous spikes of hardened shadow towards Archibaud, who swung his scythe skilfully and deflecting them. The attacks were released only with brute force and without any skill—it was easy for Archibaud to counter.

But we can't charge in and harm the main body. Izanami muttered inside Archibaud's head.


Carol grabbed the hilt of her sword, gritting her teeth. She wanted to follow into battle—but she couldn't leave Roswaal alone, who seemed to be Sphinx's aim. She swung her sword at the shadow spikes that shot at the sorcerer and cut them apart.

"Sphinx's magic lies in her main body. You must completely obliterate her flesh if you want to kill her....." Carol heard Roswaal mutter from behind her.

"......how!?" She growled.

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@Tree_Legacy

Kayde covered his left eye with his hand, seemingly in pain.

"Are you okay, Kayde?" James asked, supporting him.

He nodded weakly. "For now.... we need to have Diabel heal all of us...."

***

As Diabel healed their wounds with his spirit magic, they told each other of what had happened before they had met.

Day told them that he and the dead girl, Megan, were ordered by an executive to steal the 'red gem' held by a silver-haired half-elf. And after they had returned to the underground base, they were ambushed by an ability-using assassin who was supposed to be locked up in prison, leading to Megan's death and loss of the insignia.

Tovias was told that his sister Megan had been killed by enemy intruders, and came to her with his life.

Diabel told them about his encounter with the enormous centipede along with Tyrinel and James, then to his teleportation aboveground with some others and meeting with the King Candidate Remilia and her knight «Sword Saint» Alexander.

Kayde was deep in thought. "If the Sword Saint is here to help, then that's great. We can probably match Sphinx." He said. "What I'm concerned about is the centipede Diabel and James mentioned."

James looked down at his hands. "We couldn't even scratch it with our full effort. It seemed to stay in that room, though."

"I've never heard of such a monster. It's not the Eight Finger's." Tovias muttered.

Kayde pursed his lips. "Damn it. Then that's for sure the 'gift' Kavenhaitos mentioned....... something called by the Sin of «Gluttony», or something...."

 

Are witchfiend's horns common knowledge, or something more specialized?

 

Did I also hear roswaal?

 

"Pretty neat trick, kid. Does that work with more things?"

He creates tiny flames to light up the area.

 

"Not gonna lie guys, this is starting to feel a bit above my pay grade."
This adds nothing to the conversation, and is more so proof that @Tree_Legacy is paying attention to what's going on.

 

It’s not common knowledge, but those who are trained to fight witchfiends should know. Angela knows from her Seraph village, if not from being a knight under Estelle.

Yes, let’s say he did.

 

Then I say to Carol "her target is Roswaal if we want to take her out one of us has to draw her attention and the other strike. I'll draw the attention you go in for the strike"

 

K sweet.

"I mean, can't we break it's horn? That should be easier than defeating it, at least." I say with some hope.

 

Art for Archibaud and Izanami.
https://forums.wynncraft.com/threads/rp-reference-thread-art.218855/page-3#post-2782581

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"....If you're asking for me to use my ability on that flame, it's not possible. I can only «harden» things that are already solid." The boy answered, opening and closing his hand.

"Hm. This is quite troubling, if you ask me." Sirius murmured, walking towards the center of the dome. "The witch has lost control of the gigantic miasma she held inside her body. But for someone on her level to be challenged this much, it must've been that margrave...."

 

Marcus stayed silent, waiting for something to happen.

 

Carol stood up and nodded towards Archibaud with a determined expression. "I understand."

Archibaud kicked forward, brandishing his scythe as he approached Sphinx. Her shadowy body released dozens of limbs to attack; dodging and swinging his scythe at the same time, Archibaud slowly moved forward. Seemingly alarmed that Archibaud was getting closer, Sphinx grew two arms that were larger than the rest and came to crush the Scythe from the sides.

"Huaagh!" Archibaud jumped up to avoid getting crushed, then swung down at the two arms. The black material cut open, then closed up.

"Damn, physical attacks don't do anything!" He growled as he landed on the ground, then attracted Sphinx's numerous limbs towards him.

It's your cue, Carol! Izanami called telepathically to the knight, who with refined movements kicked straight off towards Sphinx while avoiding the shadow limbs with a hair's widths. She ducked in under the area where there were the least defence, then leapt into the air. She spun and put her feet perpendicular to the wall, then kicked again to reach the height of Sphinx's body.

"Ruaaaaaaarrrhh!" Noticing her, Sphinx extended more arms towards Carol, but she cut them all away with her sword. She pulled back her blade, then swung it with full force towards Sphinx's material body. But because she was attacked mid-air, her aim was slightly off—the sword slashed down the elf's chest.

"Tch!" Carol kicked off against the elf's body towards the wall, where she grabbed at the slight gap between the bricks. There she righted herself and leapt back towards Sphinx from a higher angle, avoiding the arms' grasps and swung her sword at Sphinx's head.......

Clang!!

The blade did hit the witch on her head——but the shadow had covered and solidified the surface almost instantly, preventing the blade from cutting through. The shock knocked Carol back unbalanced into the air.

The arms made of shadows grabbed the knight midair and flung her body into the wall. Carol fell to the ground without properly being able to break the fall.

"Agh!!" A shock of pain went up his body as he strained his body too much. That slight second of stop in motion allowed Sphinx to grab Archibaud's leg and forcefully throw him into the wall.

Archibaud fell to the ground, gritting his teeth in pain. His body ached all over; it was no longer in a condition where it could take in heavy amounts of mana.

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@Linwood Welheart

Sirius turned to the rest with a smile. "I would like to join the battle upstairs. With Miss Louisa we would be able to get up there without effort, and Miss Jeina would create a shield up there for us. Now who would like to come with me~?

 

I stand up and say "damn, I thought that would work. Carol can you still fight?"

 

Diabel pursed his lips. "That witchfiend's horn was really small. Not only is it difficult to aim physically, it's as hard as its shells, so magic attacks can't break it. You'd end up being cut apart by that thing's legs before you can approach it, as well."

".....seriously? Then that witchfiend is no joke. If it gets up to the city, then it'll....." Kayde muttered, then turned to Day and Tovias. "You don't know where this thing is, do you?"

Day shook his head. "This whole place had once been an underground sewage and natural cave, which Sphinx have altered over many years under the radar of the Kingdom. I wouldn't be strange if there were secret areas everywhere."

"I've memorised the map of this place, but I don't know of such place." Tovias said.

"For now, our priority should be getting to the surface." Diabel said, slowly standing up.

".....we'll guide you." Day said, narrowing his eyes. He lifted the Megan's body and cradled her in his arms.

"We haven't trusted you yet." Kayde said. "Why would you help us?"

Tovias snorted softly. "It's not like we wish for damage amongst civilians. Even if we tried to escape, we wouldn't stand a chance against you, isn't that right?" The gun-user said, holding his bandages stomach. Apparently the damage couldn't be completely repaired by Diabel's healing magic alone—he needed further treatment before he could fight like he did against them.

"....Alright. Lead the way then." Kayde sighed. The group started moving down the corridor.

Kayde walked at the back, his expression dark, remembering what had happened during the contact with the Sin of Greed.

"......Hngh." He grunted as pain shot up his left eye again.

 

Marcus pulled out his bow.
"I'll go."

 

I start walking as well.
"We could try shooting it. Doesn't hurt to try, we have two people here with very good aim, afterall." I put the idea in the air.

 

"Fighting the witch? Sure, why not?"

 

"We could, but I imagine it wouldn't be easy. Besides, I doubt an arrow would break the horn."

 

Finished Rathius artwork. Took 2 hours!

https://forums.wynncraft.com/threads/rp-reference-thread-art.218855/page-3#post-2783543

 

Angela artwork. https://forums.wynncraft.com/threads/rp-reference-thread-art.218855/page-3#post-2784674

 

***

He was dreaming.

In front of him was the familiar landscape of unnaturally blue sky and empty hills. As he looked at the brown-haired youth standing a small distance away with his left eye glowing golden yellow, he was overcome with a strange sadness. He himself had stood in that place before, back in the Sanctuary, a long time ago.

He smiled at the confused boy, who was the holder of the «curse of the left eye».

"I hope we get along well, Kayde. Someday, we'll meet again."

"Wait———"

Next to him, the white 'Witch' clicked her fingers, swallowing the world with complete darkness.

And thus, the young man holding the «curse of the right eye» awakened.

***

He stepped outside the small hut, bringing his black-purple cloak closer against him to protect him against the cold wind and snow. His large battle scythe was slung across his back, as well as a sword on his waist. He raised his arm over his face as he looked up—in the distance, he could see the faint lights surrounding an enormous stone city built next to a mountain, covered completely in snow.

"......Eltoma, the capital of the Holy Kingdom in the North. It's been what, twenty years since I last came here....."

As he muttered, he noticed recurring sounds of a blade cutting through the air from the nearby field; as he approached, he spotted a single figure swinging an one-handed sword repeatedly through the cold morning air. Her movements were refined and trained to an almost artistic level.

The woman, who looked to be in her twenties, wore light iron armour and navy-coloured mantle. With bright red hair the colour of fire and electric blue eyes, her face was lean and neat—except for a long ugly scar coming down her left cheek all the way down to her neck.

He slowly made his way towards the familiar figure. The redheaded woman noticed him first; she stopped her sword swings and turned towards him with a light bow.

"Good morning, Al." She said, sheathing her sword in a refined movement.

"Hello, Ana. Just remember not to call me that name in the open....I go by the name of 'Shade' now."

The woman nodded. "Yes, I understand. By the way..... it's been a long time since I last saw you using a scythe. What happened?"

He smiled sadly and touched the black blade behind his back. "I wonder why. Back in the Capital I met the current Scythe, and his Great Spirit too. It just reminded me of the old days."

They slowly made their way towards the city in the distance through fields of snow.

"The Holy Kingdom is full of spirit barriers throughout their streets—It will take time for me to enter through the walls because I cannot use my teleportation magic. Since you're a spirit, it should be easy for you to get inside. Go first and determine the location of the «Sage Stone» for me, understood?"

The woman nodded. "I am not to engage until you arrive?"

"Yeah. Not while you and I are still hidden under Rigel's «Authority of Sloth»."

".......Until the «Sage Stones» are gathered, and the Genes are collected." The woman said, looking into the distance. "I will follow you, Shade."

Shade nodded with a smile. "Yes. Until then..... fulfil your job as the Sin of «Wrath», will you...?"

***