The Forgotten Warriors - Part 1
This is the sequel to my previous story, Eliza's Regret. I would recommend reading Eliza's Regret before reading this.
Eliza has just gotten back from a previous mission with Ellen and Hysteria.
Lilith had Awakened and was left at The Witch's Maw.
'Oh Lilith….' Sighed Ellen, 'You always were too submissive…
'We did what we could Ellen' Eliza consoled 'It's too bad that she awakened before we got out…
'But I won't help shaking the feeling of responsibility for her awakening' Ellen whimpered 'If I had only fought harder, we would still have Lilith with us'
'Ellen, if anything it's my fault' Eliza said, traces of regret were in her voice. 'I lead us into the Maw and I'm the head of this hunt.'
'Well, at least we got Vivian' Ellen said, her sorrowful grimace turned to a solemn smile, Eliza admired her positivism. 'Rubel should be pleased that we killed her, she posed a threat to us'
'Oh you poor girls' Hysteria mocked 'How undignified are you ? Sacrifices were made. No big deal. You completed your mission, that's the task you were set.'
Eliza thought Hysteria was a bitch. She was so sarcastic, all she cared about was being 'graceful' and 'dignified', Though rumours were that before she became a Claymore she was an aristocratic family that were eaten by Yoma.
'Eliza' Ellen said 'Why was Hysteria in The Witches Maw ?'
'I can only assume she was on a mission Ellen' Eliza responded
'Well, it's a little fishy as to how she found us' Ellen said
'She sensed the massive Yoki output, I must had been at 70% back in there.' Eliza said
'Hmm… Oh Well' Ellen conceded.
The path was quite long, but the girls legs had grown strong from travelling and constant combat so it wasn't particularly strenuous. They came to a small village named 'Hanstark' at the end of the path. It was a quaint, picturesque village with a small chapel and a general store.
Though Claymores have no need for mortal desires, Ellen loved shopping.
They wandered around Hanstark for about an hour when an interesting figure caught their eye.
It was Yvette of the Melody Sword. Yvette was a tall, statuesque woman. She really was beautiful, and she was also kind. She was nicknamed 'Melody' due to the fact she always sang when she battled. Her sword also was modified so it made a deafening screeching noise when it was swung. She was No.8 for the fact her Melody Sword was so effective. She wore her hair in a loose ponytail at the back of her head and a centrally parted fringe. Her and Ellen were good friends, they had been since Ellen had been initiated. She helped Ellen through the transformation.
'Yvette !' Ellen called out 'Over here !'
'Ellen ?' Yvette said surprised, running over to Ellen, they embraced each other in a warm hug
'It's been a while huh ?' Ellen said, her natural Charisma returning 'I've missed you a lot !'
'Me too Ellen, me too' Yvette confessed 'Wow is that Hysteria ?' Yvette asked pointing to Hysteria, who was sat on a nearby bench 'I heard she rarely came out for missions…'
'Yeah it is !' Ellen chimed, almost sounding as if she were boasting 'She's travelled with us !'
'Wow !' Yvette said, obviously surprised 'Who's your friend ?'
'I'm Eliza' Eliza inserted 'Nice to meet you Yvette' The two shook hands.
'Nice to meet you too Eliza !' Yvette repeated 'But where is Lilith ?'
Eliza froze. How would she tell Yvette Lilith had awakened ? Could she tell her without being questioned as to how it happened ?
'Lilith was awakened by Riful' Ellen said, the tone in her voice instantly dropped 'There was nothing me or Eliza could have done'
'Oh dear…' Yvette said sadly 'I always had a soft spot for Lilith… She was always… so kind'
'I know… She really was' Ellen said 'But things like this happen all the time so it's not worth dwelling on past mistakes' Ellen said, Happiness returning to her voice 'So why are you here Yvette ?'
'Rubel assigned me to find an awakened somewhere outside the town borders, Matilde, Patrice and Lucinda are all off searching for it .' Yvette responded 'We're searching for the previous No. 7 Helena.'
'So a strong Awakened one then ?' Ellen asked
'Yeah, speaking of which I guess I had better leave to search for her, see you later guys' Yvette said, walking out of the town gates.
'She's such a pleasant person Eliza.' Ellen said 'She helped me through the transition between human and Yoma, though it's a shame we haven't seen each other for such a long time.'
Matilde and Patrice were sisters, No.11 and No.10 respectively, their technique was unique in the fact that the girls both needed to team up to use it. Patrice, the stronger of the two, would pick up Matilde and launch her at incredible speed. It was an incredibly effective move on awakened beings, but wasn't very accurate. They were nicknamed 'Sisters of Velocity' rather fitting. They both tied their hair in a short ponytail. Matilde was small and graceful, whereas Patrice was tall and strong.
Lucinda was the No.15, she rose through the ranks highly due to her technique 'Earthshatter'
She would plant her feet firmly on the ground, and strike her Claymore powerfully on the ground. It sent a shockwave around wherever she was, it was useful for stunning or paralyzing her opponents. Her move lacked in offensive power, but when teamed up with the sisters, they made a deadly combination. She was nicknamed ' Paralyzing Lucinda' but when teamed up with Patrice and Matilde, whom always insisted on working with Lucinda, The three were called 'The Valkyries of Destruction'. They left a trail of destruction wherever they went. Lucinda wore her hair in a short, wavy hairstyle.
Eliza, Ellen and Hysteria all left the city gates after Ellen bought all she needed. They travelled for about a quarter of an hour when they came to the scene of a fight.
Lucinda was unconscious on the floor, Matilde was hunched against a wall, breathing fast shallow breaths. Patrice was still holding off the awakened being with Yvette, who's sword now was activating it's ability. A deafening ring heard throughout the valley. It was incredibly intense, Ellen was crying with pain and Hysteria even looked a bit ill. But Eliza wasn't phased that much, and ran to assist Yvette and Patrice, Hysteria and Ellen followed suit. Yvette's ringing now stopped, it was ineffective on the awakened being, who Eliza assumed to be Helena.
'Well, well' Helena boomed 'Claymores ? I'm eating well today aren't I ?
Helena was smaller than most awakened beings, she must have been about 10-11 feet tall. She resembled a Hawk/ Humanoid hybrid. A long, pointed beak covered most of her face, her body covered in black and green feathers, which resembled daggers, She had short arms, which ended with huge hands with menacing talons on her fingers, though they were never used.
Helena had long, broad wings that were easily as long as her body. And with one beat of her wings she took off.
Helena flew high into the clouds, a shriek resonated high up, Helena was plummeting towards the scene of the fight. Helena had broken the sound barrier, and was almost supersonic, it truly was astonishing. Eliza had never seen or even heard of anything quite like it.
Eliza had a minute to think of something before Helena struck. She was making a plan as she always did in a fight. Then a thought came to her.
'QUICKLY' Eliza shouted 'PATRICE GRAB MATILDE AND READY YOUR TECHNIQUE, WE NEED TO MEET HER SPEED'
'But Eliza' Hysteria smugly said 'The force of Matilde hitting Helena would surely destroy them both, I doubt Matilde would survive at all.'
She was right. The force would kill them both. She needed a new plan, but it was too late. Helena hit Patrice square in her chest. Patrice literally exploded. It was disgusting, chunks of flesh flew everywhere, some hit Eliza's chest. Helena stood up next to her kill, she let out a shriek of joy.
'How pathetic !' Helena laughed 'You really ought to get your head in the game girls !'
'P-P-PATRICE' Matilde cried, now standing up 'Y-Y-YOU BITCH ! I WILL KILL YOU !'
Matilde stood up and grabbed her Claymore, she swung with all her strength. She took Helena's arm off. Lucinda still lay unconscious on the floor, they could have used her now. Ellen powered up her dynamic Claymore. Her face twisted with anger and fear. Hysteria drew her blade and readied her attack, she glided through Helena. A ghostly technique, Helena's lower body fell away, it all happened so fast that Eliza had hardly any time to think.
'My god' Helena said, shock in her voice 'You've managed to damage me, but you made one mistake. You haven't touched my wings, and the parts you cut off I can easily regenerate.'
She took off again. Helena flew above the party, she wasn't going to use her most powerful move again, the recoil was too big. Helena's arm grew back, though her lower body would take a lot longer to regenerate than her arm.
_ Empress of the Night_
Lilith woke up. A large humanoid stood over her. She had a strange sensation on her lower body. She looked down and found no legs, but a scaly chest and a long body. She had a hunger, she didn't know what for yet, but she was so hungry.
'Dauf' The child like girl chimed 'I think we have a keeper !'
'It's rare for any awakened beings to survive my torture' The tall figure said 'She will make a great addition to our army'
Lilith fell back into the unconscious before she heard anymore.
Helena swooped down to strike Eliza. She parried her beak with a swift blow from her Claymore, though it did absolutely no damage to her beak, a twang resonated from the clash. Helena had begun to regenerate her lower body, but it would take time for the process to complete. Hysteria jumped high in the air, taking a graceful leap to do this. She swung her Claymore, it flowed so smoothly, she truly was a brilliant fighter. The blow struck Helena's ribs, the blow made a shallow cut in her flesh, but what happened after was amazing. The crack of bone sickened Eliza. Helena's ribs shattered like twigs, Hysteria landed with a light thud, whereas Helena fell with a crash. Helena would be incapable of flight now, moving her wings would be excruciating for her, though this would be to their advantage. Ellen quickly powered her blade, she ran to Helena and jumped up high. She brought her blade down in the spot where Hysteria had struck. Helena split in two, Her face contorted in surprise and anger.
'You… Bitch…' Helena mumbled 'You… Got me…'
Ellen quickly minced her upper body. All that was left of Helena was a few feathers and some blood.
The mess that once was Patrice was appalling. Hair and clothing were strewn everywhere, her blood was all over Patrice. Patrice sat down on a rock, she clammed up and refused to speak. Though Eliza could understand how she felt, she was the same when Lilith had left her. Eliza gathered what was left of Patrice's armour and lay it on the spot where she died. Her Claymore was also planted firmly in the ground.
'Goodbye… Sister' Matilde solemnly said, laying a kiss on the hilt of her Claymore 'We will meet again in the afterlife'
They decided to make camp further up the road, away from the gore. The twilight illuminated the mountainside where they made camp. The vast, hagged features jutted out at strange angles. The mountain was called 'The Celestial Watch', probably because it had a clear line of sight for hundreds of miles. Eliza plated her Claymore in the ground and sat against it, she watched the sun go down as Lucinda, Yvette and Ellen were chatting. Hysteria had gone to bed, she was embarrassed to be seen with such low ranking warriors, and Matilde sat against her Claymore also.
The morning after, they decided to head to Rubels meeting place, high up on the peak of The Celestial Watch. Yvette, Matilde and Lucinda agreed to go with them so Rubel could give them a mission as well.
The path up the mountain was long and winding. A cold gale blew through Eliza's plaits, knocking them into her shoulders. Luckily for them the famous 'Celestial Showers' weren't falling today, it was a rain that fell at an intensely fast pace, often killing many civilians, but these showers only blew a hundred or so metres up.
They travelled up the mountain for an hour or so when they came across an odd sight. Many Claymores were set in the ground, marking some sort of graveyard, obviously the sight of a battle.
'Curious I see ?' A voice came from behind a bush 'Let me introduce myself' The figure stood up, he was a youthful man, in his early 20's. He was muscular and tall and had a deep voice. 'My name is Louis, nice to meet you.'
Eliza blushed. He certainly was a good looking. She looked around to see everyone except Patrice and Hysteria blushing too.
_ Empress of the Night _
The hunger was getting worse. She was craved food, all she could think about was Humans… Soft, Delicious Humans…
She looked around to find that the girl and the tall figure were no longer in the room and that her bindings were loose as well . She took advantage of this and began to leave, walking unsteadily on her new spider legs.
She came to a tunnel, it was completely dark, but she could see perfectly. The figures were back, she could hear them squabbling in a room further down the tunnel, a fire roared in this room, casting shadows out of the entrance to the room.
'Oh Dauf, you really are a fool you know.' The girl scolded 'Sometimes I question why I ever stay with you.'
'But Riful !' The tall man said, Lilith assumed him to be Dauf 'I love you ! I couldn't survive without you … Those nasty Claymore bitches would kill me !'
Lilith walked as silently as she could between the shouting. The entrance got closer and closer, until…
'And where do you think you're going spider queen ?'
It was Dauf. He had spotted her before she could leave. He began to change into his awakened form, but Lilith quickly sprayed him with her webbing. It was incredibly durable, holding him in place and stopping him from altering. Riful sauntered around the corner. She laughed cruelly. Dauf whined and begged Riful to help him out.
'Oh Dauf, you poor fool' Riful teased 'and you … My you've developed nicely haven't you, but I can see you don't want to side with us, so I won't stop you leaving, but be warned. If I ever see you again I won't hesitate to kill you.'
'B-B-But Riful…' Dauf whimpered 'I worked so hard to awaken her and…'
'Shush Dauf' Riful said 'We don't want to have our arms cut off again do we ?'
'N-N-No Mistress' Dauf whimpered
'Good, now Spider Queen… You can leave' Riful said
Lilith quickly scurried out of the Maw and crawled off the path into the night, her feeding would soon begin.
The Forgotten Warriors Part 2 coming soon
AN- Lilith has become a Spider (As Drawn by ~Heavey) and was trapped in The Witches Maw by Riful and Dauf in the previous story, but she awakened before Eliza and Ellen could free her so 'Empress of the Night' follows her train of events.