4: HUNTED
Okay, first off let me apologise for making you wait so damn long for this chapter and the empty promises I gave some of my reviewers of updates that never arrived. It won't happen again I swear! Second...Enjoy this chapter and please review. Thanks so much for being patient!
A harsh wind blew clouds of dust through the windows to the small shack. Cruz pushed up his collar to shield his face and turned away from the choking dust and studied the wall opposite his seat. There weren't that many jobs to take anymore. The guild was quickly becoming a redundant force within the Black Spot. Thanks to the fall of Simeon peace was becoming more of a reality within the area. It seemed with the big 4 defeated there was no longer a fear of standing up against the few remaining rebels and bandits.
Cruz had helped where he could within the guild, but his contribution was considerably small. Nonetheless for a mere human he had done his job well. Without a fragment he was weak, but his tactical thinking made him worthy as an assistant. Thus many chose to have him accompany them on missions to eradicate the rebel factions within the Black Spot.
It all made Cruz feel a little more useful. It made him feel stronger.
"Hey Yamada!" a familiar voice called.
Cruz turned to face the blonde-haired beauty with a sword larger than herself. The blade almost trailed against the ground and the handle reached up above her head like a standard.
"Seto? H-Hello!"
"What are you doing sitting here all alone Yamada? Shouldn't you be out fighting? Oh that's right you can't!" Seto pointed and laughed, making Cruz feel betrayed.
"Hey! I'm doing the best I can!"
Seto rolled her eyes and sighed, waving away his concern. "I know, I know. I was just teasing. We wouldn't have been able to take down Simeon without you. I heard you did a good job tackling those bandits in the eastern mountains a few weeks ago."
"Well...I just came up with the plan, that's all. My companions did all the hard work."
"Oh don't be so hard on yourself!" the blonde woman groaned, smacking Cruz on the back, unexpectedly knocking him off his chair and to the floor. "Oops, sorry."
Cruz really wanted to change the subject before things got awkward. Well more awkward to be precise. He dusted himself off and sat back down across from Seto, nervously studying her ample bosom. Unsure where to look he glanced down at his hands crossed on the table.
"So what are you doing back in town?"
Seto smirked and hefted her mighty broadsword, "Work for the guild of course!"
"So you have a mission?"
"Yeah. There was word of a massacre in a town not far from here. All the townspeople were butchered but no trace of the killers were found. The neighbouring towns are on high alert and there's a high price for whoever brings in those responsible."
Cruz's eyes narrowed. "A...A whole town?"
"Yep. Nasty business. And when everything was beginning to calm down as well."
"But...You can't go after someone like that all alone! It's too dangerous!"
Seto grinned and uttered a soft giggle, "Who said I was doing this job alone?"
All of a sudden the door was kicked in and a maniacal young girl staggered in, eyes blazing with fury, fangs bared like some wild animal. She scanned the room for a short moment before letting out a boisterous howl of laughter and declaring, "Soon the Black Spot will be mine! I'll kill those bastards causing trouble and hand them in the streets as a warning not to fuck with me! Then I'll take over and bring about a hundred years of darkness! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!"
It was her...
Cruz cowered in his seat. Even now he was still intimidated when Solve had her occasional psychotic episodes. How someone who would otherwise look so unassuming in her frilly black and white dress and her soft, refined features could harbor such a dark side was truly astonishing.
Well maybe not that surprising...It seemed everyone Cruz knew was in some way a freak. Still it was creepy.
"Hello..." Cruz waved timidly.
"Shut up Yamada!" Solva snarled, "Don't interrupt me!"
"You already stopped. He didn't interrupt anything." Seto explained, much to her partner's chagrin.
"You shut up too! Don't interrupt me!"
"Fantasise another time! We've got work to do!"
Cruz sank further into his chair. Women were frightening creatures. He had learned that lesson well in his adventures.
However now was not the time to worry about his bickering companions. A grating scream echoed from outside and instantly all three turned their attention to the door. They rushed outside to find three corpses scattered around a lone figure some distance away.
"Who's there?" Seto demanded.
The figure stepped closer and emerged from the dust cloud with a sinister smile. It was a woman with short black hair and dark earthen skin. She wore cream coloured shorts and a brown top, splattered with blood.
"I asked who you are. Answer me now!" Seto repeated.
The woman closed her eyes and laughed. "My name is not important, neither is my purpose here. You see none of you are gonna be alive much longer. I'd just be wasting my time."
"What was that? You picking a fight, bitch?!" Solva growled, clenching her fists.
"Ha ha ha! I love your enthusiasm! I'll take the crazy one!"
Cruz and co spun on their heels to find a man in a blue trench-coat standing atop the roof of the shack, a swirling cloud of dust coiling around him in the shape of a serpent.
"Needless!" Seto snarled.
"What do we do?" Cruz whimpered prompting a laugh from the others.
"What do we do? We kick their asses! That's what we're gonna do!" Solva lunged for the man on the roof while Seto rushed at the woman. Cruz retreated to a safe point between the two battles and struggled to observe the fights raging all at once.
Seto slammed her sword into the ground at the woman's feet and quickly used the momentum to throw herself at her, lashing out with her feet. The side kick caught the woman in the chest and sent her stumbling away but she quickly recovered and punched her foe in the ribs, following up with an elbow to the chin and a roundhouse kick to the side of the head.
Seto rolled across the barren earth and bumped into her sword, still embedded in the ground.
The woman dug her hand into the ground and roared, "Mother Earth!" before dragging out a long sword carved from stone.
Meanwhile Solva was knocked down in mid-air by the coiled serpent of dust. Feeling a sharp stabbing pain, she brushed a hand against her chest only for it to come away bloody. She grit her teeth and cursed under her breath.
"Son of a bitch! I'll make you pay for that!"
The man just smiled, "Hmm, you're so cute when you're angry."
"Grrrrrraaaaagh!" Solva lunged for him again, to which the man swung his arm in a sluggish arc. Sensing danger Solva roared, "Magnetic World!" shooting forth a magnetic shockwave, negating the warrior's mysterious attack.
"Impressive." he nodded as if understanding something and crossed his arms.
Solva landed on the roof nearby and smirked, "Am I still cute smart-ass?"
He returned her smiled, "Of course you are. But you would be much prettier dressed in red!" Extending his hand he let loose a vicious howl, screaming, "Wind Scythe!"
Solva had little time to react and was knocked off the roof again crashing hard against the ground. Her dress had been sliced open around her stomach leaving large gashes in their wake upon her snowy white skin.
"Ugh...What the hell?"
"Solva!" Cruz cried from the sidelines.
"Stay back!" she yelled, paralysing the boy, "He's too dangerous!"
With great difficulty she pried herself up off the ground and stared daggers at her opponent. "Besides...That fucker is mine!"
All the while Seto and the dark-skinned woman were embroiled in an intense sword fight, metal and stone blades clashing with the sound of thunder. Seto seemed to have the upper hand against the woman, but open every opening her opponent summoned razor-sharp stalagmites from the ground, forcing her to back off if she desired to keep her head.
With a curse, Seto landed a safe distance away from the onslaught to catch her breath.
Damn it! She's going easy on me...Trying to lure me in so she can use her traps. Well two can play at that game!
Seto charged again and slammer her immense sword against that of her foe, knocking the other woman aside and leaving her open to attack. Seto instantly leapt into the air to avoid the incoming strike and raised her sword to the heavens.
"Gyro Gravitation!"
Her opponent's stalagmites were turned against the master and more rose in rebellion against their mysterious wielder. With a cry of pain a spire of sharpened rock rose up through both her feet, trapping her in place.
With a confident smile Seto manipulated the gravity upon her sword to make it fall much harder and faster. With force enough to cleave the woman clean in half Seto brought her blade down, but found no purchase in flesh and bone.
A wall of sheer rock rose up from the earth to shield the woman, bearing the brunt of the slash and rendering the softened blow to only knock the woman free from her stony prison.
What? How can she have so many tricks up her sleeve? You can only have one fragment!
Panting for breath, the woman let out a dry chuckle. "That was a pretty clever move, I'll give you that. But trust me I'm far from finished!"
Seto brandished her mighty weapon and grinned right back at her. "Great, I was afraid I was starting to get bored!"
Cruz watched on helplessly as his friends returned to battle with renewed vigour. But even so, he had a terrible feeling about all of this.
A feeling that the worst was yet to come...
