In the Olacion district, three guards were gasping for air and looking around furiously.
"Damn! Where did she go!" One of the guards shouted.
"I think she might have gone that way!" Another said, pointing up the hill towards the church.
"If she did, we would have seen her by now! It's not that hard to miss a person in white at night!" The first guard exclaimed.
"Then you obviously don't know who we're dealing with here!" The other retorted.
"Hush now! The both of you!" The leader of the group told them. "Arguing with each other isn't going to catch us that killer. We'll split up so we can cover more grounds. Be cautious and search thoroughly, she couldn't have gotten far. Move!"
The three guards divided and scattered through the streets of Radiata. Once they were gone, a figure rose up from the rooftop of a house. It was a female judging by its figure and stature. She was clothed from head to toe in white, a hood over her head and balaclava covering her mouth, leaving only her amber eyes visible.
The girl in white jumped off the rooftop, landing silently on the ground. Standing up straight, she placed her hand, which was covered by protective gauntlets, towards where her ear would be under the hood.
"Leona, can you hear me? Leona?"
Strange noises started coming from said ear as a voice came up.
"This is Leona. I hear you loud and clear, Vice."
'Vice' hid behind a low stone block, keeping her head down low.
"I can't believe this invention of yours actually worked. What did you call it again?"
"It's called a Communicator. What it does, as you can see, is that it allows me to talk to you without actually being there. Problem is, it has a range limit. I can contact you anywhere in Radiata, but once you leave for the other regions, you're on your own."
"Seriously?" Amazement filled Vice's voice. "That's amazing. Anyways, what can you see from atop Vareth?"
"Hold on...I see guards patrolling near the Church and a few at the top of the hill across from the Vareth Institute. I recommend you take the route near the gate."
"All right."
Hopping out from her hiding place, she quickly moved down the path near the large gate that was always opened. As she sprinted down the street, noise came from her ear again.
"So...Who did you kill this time?" Leona asked.
"An old man from the Vancoor district."
"What was the reason?"
"Sometimes, you don't need one."
Vice slid to a stop and climbed up onto a house. A few minutes later, guards passed by. After they were out of sight, she jumped back down.
"If it makes you feel better, I saw the old man's journal and saw that he sold his own daughter to slavers to save his own skin from debt."
"I see...That's good, then."
"Listen, Leona." Vice started, and resumed running down the road. "I'm a hired blade. I kill whoever I'm assigned to. I have no conscience when I assassinate my target nor do I enjoy it. It's all just strictly business to me. We all have jobs in life. It's just that mine consists of ending others. You got that, Leona?"
"I understand. It's just...still hard to take in, you know?"
"You'll adapt. Because I sure did."
Grinding to a halt, she saw a lone guard with his back turned to her, blocking her way. Pulling out her balisong holstered along her waist, she silently approached the man, flipping her switchblade open.
Immediately, she plunged her knife into his neck and covered his mouth with her other hand. The guard struggled at first, but eventually ceased movement after a few more seconds. Carefully laying down his body, she closed his eyes as a sign of respect.
"Rest in peace." She whispered before moving on.
Eventually, she reached the front of the Vareth Institute, home to Radiata's mages. She looked up at the large building.
"You see me?" She asked.
"I do."
Suddenly, Leona gasped loudly through the communicator.
"Watch out!"
Spinning around, Vice swapped her butterfly knife for her dual swords and blocked a large broadsword. Kicking her attacker in the knee, he collapsed forward and she thrust her swords right into his face, killing him instantly.
"There she is! Get her!"
Several guards from the middle road atop the hill charged down the slope, weapons drawn, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Damn. So much for the stealthy escape..." She muttered, holstering one sword and getting into a defensive stance.
"You've got to get out of there, Vice!"
"I'll have to thin them out first before I can escape. Go quiet, Leona. This is going to get ugly."
The men surrounded her, blocking off all roads.
"You've got nowhere to hide or run, Assassin! Surrender yourself quietly and maybe the court won't hang you on the gallows." The leader of all the guards advised.
'Humph' was all she said.
Raising her free hand up, she pointed it at the leader. He looked at the hand, confused her actions. Squinting his eyes, he looked at the arm more carefully and saw what looked like a round shaped hole under her wrist-
BANG!
The sudden loud noise echoed through the quiet streets. All the guards turned to the leader who stood there, completely still...until he fell back with a hole right in between his head.
Big mistake for them to turn their attention away from a deadly assassin.
Vice pulled out her other blade again and charged at the nearest guard, plunging her blades into him. Yanking her swords out from his chest, she turned around and strafed right to avoid a spear that tried to hit her in the back. Cutting off half of the spear and then jamming her own sword into her foe's neck, leaving it there, the guard gurgled loudly before falling down and dying. Flicking her wrist where the round barrel was, a loud clicking noise emitted.
Two simultaneously attacked her at the same time, but Vice ducked to avoid their blows. Stabbing one right through gut, she leg swept the other one, causing him to fall on his back. Pulling out her sword from the other guard she jabbed, she rammed her shoulder into him to push him away as he fell down as well. Turning back towards the other one who was getting back up, she aimed the cylinder shaped object strapped underneath her wrist at the other male. Another loud discharge went off and the man fell back down with a thud, another puncture through the head.
Her ears picked up the sound of something whizzing through the air fast as she rolled out of the way. Following where it came from, she saw above on the hill, an archer was preparing another arrow to fire. Tossing her own sword at the ranger, he easily dodged it, but wasn't quick enough to dodge her throwing knife that she threw following her first weapon.
Turning around, Vice jumped back to avoid a downward axe strike. A large man in bulky armor tried swinging at her again, but this time, Vice slid into the man, tackling him into the ground. The hulking brute grabbed her by the back and tossed her into the ground right next to him. She rolled over only to receive a fist to the stomach.
"Urk!" She grunted loudly, holding her gut, pain visible on her face. The large man got up to pick his axe and raised it up to finish her.
"You son of a bitch!"
Followed by that was a shrill wail. A petite girl with blond hair and hazel eyes had jumped onto the human tank's back.
"I won't let you!"
The brutish guard dropped his axe and Vice managed to roll out of the way to avoid it, despite the pain. Getting back up, she picked up the heavy weapon and turned to the hulking man in armor who was struggling to get the blond girl off of him.
"LEONA! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" She yelled, taking a few steps back.
The blond girl on the guard's back dropped and hit the floor. Vice raised the axe high in the air and threw it straight at the large man. Upon impact, it lodged itself right into the guard's face. A few seconds of silence followed before the man toppled over like a domino. Holding one arm to her gut, Vice walked over to Leona who was still breathing heavily.
"You crazy fool. You could have gotten yourself killed." She reprimanded the girl, yet despite that, she chuckled. "Still...You saved my life. Thanks, Leona."
Holding out a hand to the blond haired girl, Leona looked up and stared at Vice for a few seconds. She took it.
"Come on. Let's get out of here before more guards show up."
Leona nodded her head, tears flowing out of her eyes, but a smile adorned her face.
"Right...Let's go."
A slight teaser for what's to come this year. Hope you all enjoy. Review and let me know what you think. Nobody There At All, out.