Chapter 7
Aisha
"I see. So that's how it is. But... this doesn't solve anything. Banthus stole the shard because Wally told him to. Now the question is why does Wally want the El?" Hoffman noted.
"I'm not sure. Either way, we need to get into Wally's castle and get the shard back!" She stated the obvious to make herself seem less awkward.
"I say we charge strait in through the front gate! They'll never see it coming!" Elsword being Elsword.
"That's not going to work. They already likely have the gate heavily guarded. We'll have to go in another way." Hoffman shot down his idea.
Rena's ears perked up. "So we have to sneak in?"
Luichel started thinking. "Well, there is a path through the underground water way, but I haven't used it in so long, I don't know if we can still use it."
Aisha spoke up again. "Well, we may as well try it. I mean, the worst that can happen is it's closed off, right?"
"The worst that can happen is they've set a trap knowing it's the easiest way to get into the castle. But it's the only option I can see right now. If anything seems suspicious, get out of there immediately."
"Will do!"
The group headed to the waterway, which was surprisingly close by. Aisha figured she'd have to get used to the idea that things were closer than she'd believed they were. However, she also had a gut feeling that she'd later regret that thought.
Elsword
Once inside the waterway, they were faced with Banthus once again.
"Heh. You should've finished me while you had the chance! Now you're not going to have it!"
"Remember, I never had a shot at it, Banthus! Now it's my turn to attack."
"Fine. Go ahead and try!"
Elsword rushed ahead and swung his sword until it came to a stop. Something had managed to stop his swing. But what?
It was then that Banthus stood up, and the light reflected off his now metal arm which had caught the sword. With one motion, he swung it to the side, releasing it to send Elsword flying off towards the wall.
"You know, when you did what you did to my arm, I thought I was done for. I was sure that Wally would throw me aside like yesterday's trash. Instead, he gave me a second chance. He gave me a new arm. And now, I'm going to make sure you three brats stop interfering for good!"
He ran towards the girls, blocking all of their attacks with his arm, knocking each of them to the side.
"You know, I should really thank you. Now, I've become invinsible!"
Elsword lunged at him for another attack, only for him to turn and catch his blade once again.
"Too slow!"
Elsword went for a kick, and Banthus moved him to the side to avoid getting hit.
"The amulet! He's guarding the amulet!"
"Tsch. I'm not as weak as that prototype down in Hamel. You may have found my weakness, but this arm isn't the only new thing I've got!"
He tossed Elsword to the side, and several swords appeared around him. He walked up to Elsword.
"What goes around, comes around, kid."
Aisha then leapt on him and wrapped her arms around his throat, trying to grab the amulet. However, Banthus was easily able to shake her off.
"You know, if you had just pretended to be dead, I'd have let you be. Now, I'm actually going to kill you!"
He turned the swords to her, and motioned his hand down, the swords following his hands.
It was then that an arrow struck him, cutting the string of the amulet, which fell to the ground.
"Why you little..."
A sword pierced his chest from behind. Elsword was standing, bruised, scraped, and bleeding, with his sword through Banthus's chest.
Pulling his sword out, he spoke. "You're not going to survive this one, Banthus. Nobody hurts my friends and lives to tell about it. Nobody."
"Elsword!" Aisha cried out.
"Aisha!" He ran over to her. "Are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay! There's a sword impaling my side!" She looked like she would've punched him had she not been impaled.
"Okay, um. I'll just..." He tried lifting the sword, but stopped when she yelled in pain.
"Rena! Do... do you have anything?"
"Well, I have a couple of health potions, but they won't do any good if we can't close the wound."
"Aisha, could you possibly heal yourself?"
"Um... let me think... The amulet. It's magic. I... I might be able to use it to close the wound."
Rena tossed it to Elsword, who handed it to Aisha.
"You ready?"
She nodded, taking in a breath of preparation.
"This won't hurt much."
Before she could reply, he pulled out the sword. She yelled out in pain, and managed to think enough to start healing the wound. When she was finished, Rena gave her a health potion, and she passed out from the pain.
"She looks like she'll be alright. We just need to give it a little time. I'll scout ahead, and you should stay here with her. Okay?"
He nodded. He couldn't help but feel like this was all his fault. If only he'd been just a little bit faster, he could've saved her from this misery. The thing Banthus did with the swords. If someone like Banthus could figure out how to do that, he could too. He just needed to be able to refine his magic more.
Rena
If she was being honest with herself, what had just happened was traumatizing, even for her. She wasn't scouting ahead to give Elsword time to cope with it, she was doing it to give herself time to cope with it. Through all her years as a ranger, she'd never actually seen someone close to her get injured. Everyone was always able to protect themselves. She'd never imagined that something like this could even happen.
As for the waterways, there wasn't really anything else in them. Not even any guards. Pleanty of guards above the waterway, but nothing else in them. It didn't take too long to find the entrance to Wally's castle. However, she decided to sit and wait a while. She couldn't find it in herself to go back. Not like this. She just needed time to herself.
Eve
Queen Type N:Saveto Nasod;history
Saved
Queen Type N:Record label=entry 2
"I see. So that is what happened. Thank you for your coo- assistance."
"Well, of course."
"Now I will fulfill my end of the bargain." She started drawing in the floor of the cave.
"Hm? What's this? I thought you said you'd teach me about how Nasods work!"
"I am. These are diagrams for some of my closest friends."
"Oh? I didn't know the queen was allowed to have friends."
"I had many. But these were two who were always by my side. I would request your assistance in rebuilding them, first."
"And how does that teach me about them?"
"You will be able to understand how they work if you are able to build them. So we will build them."
"You sure this will teach me something? These diagrams aren't exactly of top of the line Nasods."
"You are correct. In that case, I will allow you to observe as I make hardware updates to them."
"That's not exactly what I meant."
"That is what I am offering. Take it or leave it."
"Tsch. Fine. I'll take it. I happen to know of a nearby scrap yard. I'll go get some parts."
Chances of betrayal: 73%
"I am coming with you."
"What? Why?"
"So you don't misuse my trust."
"What, you think I'll betray you, or something?"
Chances of betrayal: 43%
"Precisely. Additionally, it is doubtful that you know the correct parts required to build them."
Queen Type N:Chance Add=KnowsCorrectParts
19%
"Fine. You can come with."
Chances of betrayal: 2%
Add
What a bother. It was like she was computing the odds that he would betray him, or something. As if he would do that. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Well, not anymore it wasn't. All he had to do now was find a way to refine the time and space coordinates. And with Eve's help, that would be a breeze!
After a while, he came back with a. armload of materials.
"Now, which of these would make a decent shell?"
She spent time scanning each of the things he brought back.
"None of them. These are all internal parts. They are soft and may break easily. However, we may be able to begin making the internal structures with these."
She spent some time showing him where to put the parts, and why that was the most efficient place to put them. For such a seemingly small construct, it was overwhelmingly complex. Parts were everywhere and half the cave floor was taken up by a single drone.
He had to leave and come back with new parts a multitude of times, suspecting that Eve wasn't helping pick out the parts to help him recognize the ones he needed. She eventually gave him tips on how to pick good parts from bad ones. They had replaced a number of parts with newer ones in better condition. He'd have to admit, he was learning more in this one day than he had having spent his childhood working with them. He could see why they were considered their own race. They were overwhelmingly complex.
"This is satisfactory. Next we need the material for the shell. The entrance to a refinery was in the scrapyard. I will show you how to make materials of a satisfactory quality for the shells."
And they did just that. It took several hours, but he eventually figured out the process enough to make a half-decent shell.
"Good. Now make the other, but in black."
"What? Why does the color matter?"
"Because that was the color of his shell. Repeat the process, but make it black."
She was pushy, but her methods worked. This shell was better than the previous one, even while he had to figure out how to change the color.
"I will trust you enough to rebuild the other one. I will stay in here."
She was putting a lot of faith in him. It almost made him feel bad about using her like this. Almost.
He finished building the second one, and she seemed pleased with it.
"Excelent. I will be heading out now."
"Hold up. You said you'd allow me to watch as you upgraded their hardware."
"And I will. When I return."
"And where exactly are you going?"
"To destroy Nasod Ruler."
"I told you that was impossible. It doesn't matter if there are three of you. They will completely destroy you, and I don't know enough to rebuild you yet!"
"Then what is your suggestion?"
"Look, I had an idea while building your little drones. We take them down one by one..."
"So we need to assassinate their leaders individually?"
"Basically. However, You're not even the latest model of Nasod. They'd know you're coming from miles away!"
"And your solution?"
"Show me how to upgrade hardware, and I'll upgrade yours."
She hesitated before agreeing.
Raven
"So you're back. And? What happened?"
He punched one of the pillars, leaving a dent in it. "They got away."
"I see. Shall we have out units be on the lookout for them? They can't have gotten far."
"Absolutely. If they capture them, they are to bring them to me."
"Very well. And the army?"
"About that. You're in charge until I get back. Find places all over the city that give us complete coverage."
"And where are you going now?"
"I have a princess to capture. Once I do, we're going to announce it to the entire city."
"Very well. I will forward your decision to the General. I will send one of my men with you, in case something were to happen."
"No. Have the General send someone he trusts. Someone he knows is powerful. Once I take the water temple, someone strong is going to have to be there to make sure no one is able to free the princess. Got it?"
"Fine. I will send your request to the General. You will have to wait here in the meantime."
Raven grabbed his shirt. "That is not a request. He will send someone, because he knows this will work. Understood?"
"Y-yes, of course, sir."
"Now, I'll be on my way. I have a temple to take."
Author's comments
Me: OH NO AISHA'S DEAD!
Me: Oh, never mind
Me: OH NO AISHA'S DEAD!
Aisha: WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP!
Me: Wow, Add. That's... suspiciously nice of you.
Add: Shut up
Eve: He's such a sweetheart!
Add: SHUT UP!
Me: No cunning plan?
Add: Of course there's a cunning plan!
Me: What is it?
Add: For me only to know!
Me: It was worth a try.
