Chapter 8 :- clash in cathedral
Disclaimer:- all the characters form the game belong to moonton and this is not a commercial story but just the work of a diehard fan.
Claimer:- the other characters which are not in game of mentioned are mine
Deep within the mountains, South of the Moniyan Empire lies a bottomless Abyss, where darkness reigns over everything. The only light is the crimson lava that flows in the bottomless crevices. There stood a huge castle. One made of dark stones and fire. This was the castle of the Shadow Abyss, centre of the Abyssal forces. Since the beginning of the abyss's reign on the mainland, countless demons became loyal followers of the Abyss. Fervent in their beliefs, the demon chant the will of the Abyss in these deep caverns - Only the strong deserve to rule!
And in the eyes of the Fire demon lord Thamuz, Alice was not strong enough.
"You did it again didn't you?" The fire demon growled, his voice carrying the signature echo all of the demon kind possessed. Seated on one of the many chairs of a dark conference room filled with several demon lords and generals, Thamuz looked at Alice and growled once again, "You wasted our numbers yet again!"
After their crushing defeat by the hands of the humans in Mossenia, their number had been severely damaged. All thanks to Alice's will to get back her cursed wings.
"Did you say something?" spoke Alice, not paying attention to anything her fellow demon was saying. Her thoughts were elsewhere, on a certain green haired woman.
Taking offence of her unconcerned demeanour, Thamuz exploded in anger, "Insolent wench! How dare you ignore me?"
Alice cringed at his outburst and chided, "Such temper, you fire demons need to 'chill' out." She smirked smugly at her terrible joke while Thamuz was even angrier than before, if that was even possible.
"Why you..."
"Now-now comrades, let's not fight amongst ourselves when we still have so much to do." Spoke a new voice with an overly cheery tone.
The entire population of the conference room turned towards the owner of the voice. It was a young elven girl. Flowing dark purple hair, exotic blue skin and mischievous purple eyes.
"Just what I needed, another self-centered little lady." Grumbled Thamuz. The young girl came towards them with giddy and skipping steps. "In case you've forgotten, Dear Mr. Thamuz. This little Lady is the will of the Abyss." She spoke with a bubbly tone. The ancient fire demon growled at this but kept quiet knowing that she was right.
Alice narrowed her eyes at the new occupant of the room. Selena had always rubbed her the wrong way. Hidden under her cheery and bubbly nature was a sadistic monster that made even ones like Thamuz weary. It was really suspicious that abominable half breed was seemingly able to control both the abyssal power and the powers of the moon god. And what was more humiliating was that Selena was crowned the most powerful amongst the abyssal forces.
Oh how the queen of apocalypse wanted to wipe that grin off her and put Selena to her place, but Alice couldn't. Not when the Abyss seemingly favored her.
As if sensing Alice's gaze on her, Selena turned towards Alice. They made an eye contact for a while before Alice looked away. Selena smile and walked over her, "You seemed awfully distracted, Alice!" she chirped and wrapped her arms around the Blood demon queen's shoulder. Alice scoffed and pushed her away, "Don't touch me." The Abyssal demon half-breed smiled mischievously and held Alice's wrist all of a sudden, "What are you doing? Unhand me at once!" Alice yelled in shock and panic. But before anyone could do anything, Selena turned into her demon form and slashed Alice's arm. The demon queen whence in pain as the rest of the occupants were too shock to do anything. Drops of blood dripped from Alice's wound and fell on the table.
It was faint but they all felt it. A foreign power, the likes they had never felt before. It seemed that whoever's blood Alice had sucked carried a strange power, whose echoes could be felt form Alice's blood.
The Queen of Apocalypse whimpered and held her injured arm. Suddenly she felt the temperature of the room drop considerably, causing everyone to whimper. Alice looked up and saw that Selena in her demon form was looking down upon her with fiery eyes. "Who was it?" she asked in a deep and dangerous voice. Right now it was not Selena who was talking to Alice, but the avatar of Abyss itself.
Alice gulped nervously and spoke, "A warrior. Looked like an elf but was not from here. In fact, I believe that she was not form the Land of Dawn itself."
"An outlander?" questioned Thamuz.
The blood demon queen shook her head, "No, a Zeno-being."
Hushed murmurs were exchanged between the demon folks at this. Disbelief, amazement and curiosity were thick in the air. Selena, or rather, the Abyssal Avatar put her hand on her chin in deep thought, "Interesting. I want search parties to find this new creature. I want it brought before me alive."
Her word was carried out immediately. Saya had caught the attention of the forces of the Abyss and they were dying to meet her now. Alice could only whence in pain as the wound left by Selena burned painfully.
"So where were we going again?" asked Saya to Hanabi, as she was trying to start a fire. The two had been travelling together for two days now and had covered quite a lot of distance. Having a horse helped them as well but they didn't want to over exert the poor animal. It was night by now and the two (not counting the horse) had decided to camp on clearing beside a small stream.
Hanabi sighed and took out a small parchment of paper form the folds of her kimono. "Tigreal-san had given me a lead regarding my mission. He said to go to the town of Koramir and seek out the sister of the local church of Light." The Sai'ore processed the information and asked no further questions.
With the fire up and running. Hanabi and Saya, along with their horse, sat around the small bonfire, munching on some bread Saya had packed with her. The horse was given some carrots for its all day's hard work and it looked quite satisfied.
Taking another bite of her share of bread, Saya turned towards Hanabi and asked, "You never told me what your mission really is, Neha."
Hanabi just kept eating in silence at this. The older woman sighed and spoke again, "If you want me to help you, Hana, you will have to trust me."
The girl fidgeted nervously at this, still not quite sure about telling Saya about her 'secret' mission. Saya placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and said or rather pleaded softly, "Please?"
The plea in her voice melted away all the dough in Hanabi's heart. 'I'm getting soft.'
"Okay..." Hanabi let out a deep breath and shook her head, "I will tell you from the beginning. I come from a land far in the east. My village Iga trains very skilled warriors called Shinobi or as the common folks tend to call us, a Ninja. We are warriors of the shadows, working silently without anyone knowing about our presence."
Saya digested the information and concluded with a slight distaste, "An order of assassins?" Saya never really liked assassins. Their cowardly ways was a blaring contrast to the head on honorable ways of a warrior like herself and she had been an Empress for so many years, she had more than a few run ins with those cowardly back-stabbers, so Saya had a good reason to dislike them. But then again, Saya remembers that in her past, she too had fell in love with an assassin.
The term assassin must've offended Hanabi, for she was quick to defend, "NO! We are shinobi, warriors of the shadow. We just...tend to do things without being seen."
Saya gave her a deadpan look, "That's basically a glorified assassin, Neha."
The younger girl glared at older woman who laughed nervously and held up her hands in submission, "Anyways..." Hanabi continued to explain, "Our order had a shinobi named Hanzo Akakage. He was one of the best amongst the Shadow faction of our order. But then he went rouge and murdered his comrades. He even stole the guarded secrets of the clan. The two factions of Shinobi had to come together to stop him but he was too strong. Now he is on the run, and I am to track him down and bring him to justice." Hanabi spoke with fire in her eyes. She was sure that she could do this. Hanabi was very confident in her skills, especially after her daring victory against the Stone Titan. She was sure that she could do this before 'him'.
The Sai'oren empress couldn't help but frown at Hanabi's words. Many questions played in her mind, like-
Why would the village send just one girl after such a powerful and dangerous foe?
Why was she all alone?
And most importantly,
Can she do it?
Saya dare not say that in front of Hanabi. Not right now. Not when she had no idea just how strong this Hanzo character is. But right now, she can offer one thing to the human girl, "No matter what you choose, I will have your back."
Her words brought a smile on Hanabi's face, a smile that Saya was growing fonder of the more she saw it. The kunoichi spoke truthfully, "My thanks, Saya-san."
The two finished their light meal and were ready for some rest.
"Are you sure Saya-san?" asked Hanabi uncertainly.
"Of course, Neha. You need to get some rest." Replied Saya. The two had only one bedroll and Saya had generously given it up for Hanabi's use.
"But what about you?"
Saya chuckled at Hanabi's concern for her. It was a nice change for the Sai'ore. Patting Hanabi's head, Saya explained, "My power costs me many things. One of them is the ability to get tired. Rest now, meha neha. You need it far more than I do. And the wilderness is not a place to let your guard down. Sleep, I'll stay watch."
The Kunoichi huffed with annoyance when the Sai'ore patted her like a child, but Saya's reason was sound. Thus Hanabi didn't argue further. Lying down inside the bedroll, Hanabi let out a long yawn. Saya was right; she really did need some sleep.
She looked up at the open night sky above her. The night was clear with not a single cloud in the sky. The heavens were littered with thousands of stars. It was a fascinating sight.
"Say, Saya-san? You said that you came from the stars, is that correct?" Hanabi asked all of a sudden.
Although a bit surprised by her question at first, Saya answered, "Not exactly form a star, but it's true that I am not of this world."
Out of curiosity, Hanabi asked once again, "What is your world like?"
The Sai'ore paused for a while. Slowly she started speaking, "Siraya...Her name was Siraya, the land of four moons." Hanabi sat up at this and looked at Saya with eyes twinkling with curiosity. A nostalgic smile occurred on Saya's lips as she looked up in the sky and spoke further, " With seas, thundering and violent. With Rivers fast and shallow. And nights brightened by its majestic four moons. I remember Siraya, as it once was... Filled with green as long as the eyes could see, with life bustling in every corner. When the land was young and the mountain were green... Then I remember Siraya, filled with frozen peaks and howling wind. With white as far as the eyes could see. When the land was old and the mountains were grey. Siraya was not much, but it is our home."
Saya looked down on the ground, no longer able to look up in the sky without emotions threatening to spill out. She spoke with a small voice, "It was my home."
Hanabi was both awed and shocked by Saya's words. But when she heard the pain in Saya's voice, Hanabi started to panic. Why was did she sounded so sad? Did something happen? These were Hanabi's questions which were not answered. Then it hit Hanabi like a ton of bricks. She remembers Saya's words.
"I cannot go back to whence I came."
"It was my home."
Now understanding what Saya meant by that, Hanabi couldn't help but feel very guilty. "I'm sorry...I never wanted to bring up bad memories." She apologized.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Neha. You did not know... Now go it sleep. We have a new day tomorrow." Spoke Saya kindly. The ninja girl wanted to speak further. She wanted to make Saya know that she was truly sorry. Another selfish part of her wanted to ask Saya more questions,
Where was she from?
What was Siraya like?
And most importantly,
How did she come here?
Come to think of it, Saya never really did tell Hanabi how exactly she ended up in the Land of Dawn. So many questions were there that Hanabi desired answers for, but she would have to wait. Not now. Not when Saya was hurt like this. Saying a last 'Good night', Hanabi lay back on the bedroll. Her mind playing a single question, "Just who are you, Saya Mahira?"
The morning came swiftly. They packed their belongings and wasted no further time. The two rode for Koramir together but this time, an uncomfortable silence surrounded them.
This carried on for the next few hours till they finally reached the town of Koramir. Situated further west of the Mossenian Empire, this little town was nothing special, just a hub where travelers would come to visit for resupplies and rest.
The small town had what every passing traveler could need. A General trader for supplies, a smithy for weapons and other arms, a well kept inn and a horse stable as well. They were currently in the stables where they were to leave the horse till their stay in the town. Saya was patting the horse lovingly while whispering comforting words in its ears in Sai'oren. What's even more interesting was that the Horse seemed to be getting calmer the more she spoke to it.
Once done, Saya came over to Hanabi, who was looking over their bag of supplies. "What took you so long?"
The older woman smiled nervously, "Nhari was quite agitated at the prospect of being left alone in the stable. I had to calm her down and reassure her."
With an amused voice Hanabi inquired further, "You named it already?"
The horse, or Nhari as Saya had named her, snorted and threw a murderous glare towards Hanabi, shocking and scaring her at the same time. This is so weird.
Saya laughed and picked their bag form the ground. Effortlessly carrying it over her shoulder, she smiled at Hanabi, "We should get going."
All the tension between them was gone and Hanabi was glad for it. Maybe it was not Saya but herself who was overreacting at these small things. Saya didn't seem to hold anything against her so they were cool, she guessed. Or she really hoped so. Hanabi herself never had many friends; she was always too busy with her training that she was practically helpless when interpreting people's feelings.
Well that didn't matter now. Hanabi followed Saya away from the stable and into the town.
Their next stop was the inn. Hanabi booked a double bedded room for the two of them. Left most of their belongings, expect for their weapons back at their room and proceeded towards their main objective. The Local Church.
As they made their way toward the church through the small town, Saya asked, "Hana, this Church of Light... Tell me more about it."
Hanabi held her chin, pondering on the question and its right answer, "Honestly, even I don't know much about it. So basically, the main religion of the Mossenian Empire is the Way of the Light. One of the major religions of the Land, alongside the Moon god of the elves and the Shadow Abyss of the demons." Hanabi explained.
All the time Saya couldn't but get this feeling that they were being watched. The Sai'ore darted her sharp eyes here and there as her ears perked up trying to hear something amiss in the air. All she saw were humans going around in their own business but still Saya could sense that someone was watching them.
Suddenly, she heard some strange religious chanting. Saya was confused at first but then a group of white robes humans came walking down the road. The Church nuns. Their faces were concealed with a hood. They were the ones chanting those religious chants while walking down the road. The town's people gave them a wide girth as they continued down the path.
This was not exactly something suspicious, but, Saya did notice that one of the hooded nuns had been looking towards them this all time. Especially towards Hanabi. Saya's grip around her sword tightened when she saw a glint of metal under the nun's robe.
"Saya-san, are you alright?" Hanabi asked worriedly when she saw that her companion was distracted. Saya's concentration was broken and she looked at Hanabi abruptly. When Saya looked back at the group of nuns, she found out that the woman she was looking for had disappeared into the crowd.
Now even more worried at Saya's strange behavior, Hanabi held the older woman's hand and spoke, "Saya." The contact finally brought the Ex-empress out of her trench. Trying to suppress the blush Saya had from the unexpected but not unwelcome touch, she replied, "It's nothing. Apologies for worrying you."
Hanabi frowned at this, knowing that Saya wasn't telling the truth.
What could've spooked her friend?
Saya looked at the grand cathedral made up of white marble and stone. Made in Gothic style, it was very big. Which was expected as it is said that the church was actually older than the city itself. The Sai'ore even fancied the thought of scaling the entire structure when she would have chance, but that would have to wait.
Hanabi entered the church with Saya following closely after her. The interior of the church was huge. With polished marble floor, huge pillars with exquisite tapestry and murals decorating the walls. "Amazing." Saya muttered breathlessly as she looked around her with awe and wonder; thinking how much some of her Sai'oren scholars would've loved to study this Mossenian cultural heritage.
As for Hanabi, she currently had simpler thoughts occupying her mind right now. Like, "Where are all the people?" she muttered, looking around the church which was completely devoid of life.
"Hello?" Hanabi called. Her voice echoed throughout the place, a further testament of their seclusion. "Something doesn't feel right." The human girl muttered as she looked around, feeling anxiety build up within herself.
Saya felt her stomach drop when her ears perked up, telling her of the incoming danger. A foreign smell invaded her nose; one that didn't belonged to her and neither Hanabi. She looked up at the human girl with eyes wide in fear. Not for herself, but for her friend. It all happened in slow motion.
Three sharp metal claws, seemingly appeared out of nowhere, was intending to shred Hanabi to pieces. On instinct, Saya made a dash towards her. Although Sai'ore had the least muscle mass amongst the three Sirayan races, they were undoubtedly the quickest. But from this distance, even Sai'oren speed would not be enough to save Hanabi. Saya had no other choice. She pumped Maya into her leg muscles, forcing them to work faster. Faster than naturally possible. With a mighty burst of speed, Saya shot towards Hanabi like an arrow.
She could feel her calf and thigh muscles tearing due to their excess speed, but Saya could care less right now. She had to save her human.
Hanabi had not time to react as a hooded woman appeared literally out of nowhere, armed with metal claw, was about to end her life so quickly. The Kunoichi could only watch helplessly as the claw inched closer to her. The hooded woman's claws were about to reach her, that was until someone shoved Hanabi out of the way and took the blow for her. The ninja girl's eyes, widened when she saw her savior, "Saya-san?"
The Sai'oren woman along with Hanabi dropped to the ground with a 'thud'. Saya groaned as she started feeling pain on her body. Her leg muscles were destroyed by her used of maya, and the assassin's claw had left a deep wound on her back. Nothing that couldn't be healed within moments. However this information must've been forgotten by Hanabi as she was holding Saya while screaming in panic and terror, "Oh my gosh, Saya-san! Are you alright?"
As for the hooded assassin, she seemed shock at first, but her shock turned into anger. Letting out a curse, she dropped a small object on the ground. It exploded and left the entire area engulfed in a thick screen of pink smoke.
Saya coughed violently as her sensitive senses made her even more vulnerable to attacks like this. Still her thoughts were occupied on the well being of her comrade. "Hana!" she called through a fit of violent coughs. The Assassin was after Hanabi and Saya feared the worst.
Hanabi was trying hard to reach Saya, but through the thick smoke, it was easier said than done. Suddenly she felt a something coming towards her and Hanabi raised her chakram on instinct. Her gut was right as Hanabi was barely able to block a series of attacks thrown at her by the hooded assassin. The ninja girl soon found herself backed against a wall. With a powerful strike, the Assassin was able to disarm Hanabi as the Higanbana was sent flying away from her hand. With a sweep kick, the kunoichi was brought down on the ground. The assassin stood above her and was ready to give the final blow. Until they both heard a war cry and saw an angry Sai'oren charging towards them.
The Assassins was not expecting this. And she was totally not expecting Saya to tackle her to the ground. As soon as the hooded woman hit the ground, Saya landed two nasty punches on the assassins which left her with a cut lip and some ugly bruises. In attempt to defend herself, the assassin ran her metal claws through Saya.
Gambeson and leather were an excellent protection form elements and provided some level of protection form arrow head at the best. But a metal blade would easily tear through them like it had in Saya's case. But this served only to anger her even further. With a hiss, Saya tore the metal claw form the Assassin's grasp and ripped if out of her abdomen.
The assassin was shocked by such careless disregard of one's well being, but due to Saya's healing ability, Saya could go all out by all means.
Knowing she had to get away from the immortal Sai'ore, the Assassin pushed Saya off her and tried to make a run for it. "Nai Kari." Saya growled before giving a chase. This woman had dared to hurt her friend and Saya was about a give a swift retribution for that mistake.
The Sai'ore chased after the human girl and held her by her waist. Taking advantage of her taller body, Saya shoved the shorter girl to the ground. Not quite done yet, Saya then stood up with the Assassin still in her grip. Gritted her teeth, Saya prepared to use one of her most favorite move. Using her strength of her legs, Saya held the assassin tighter by her waist. With a mighty heave, Saya lifted the hooded woman right off her feet.
Hanabi watched with her eyes as large as dinner plate and her mouth hanging open as Saya threw the assassin girl over herself in an arch. A perfectly executed suplex!
Even Hanabi felt sorry for her would be killer.
As for the assassin herself, her hood had been undone, revealing her beautiful long red magenta hair. Her eyes were swirling and her body was unmoving. Saya stood panting above the downed and woman. Upon seeing the girl's state, even she admitted, "I over did it I guess."
Suddenly, the church door opened and in came all the nuns what had been walking around the town. Both the party looked at each other with equal sense of comical bafflement. Soon the nuns noticed the downed figure of the assassin and they were immediately besides her in concern. "Sister Natalia!" they yelled in worry.
The color on Saya and Hanabi's face faded as they repeated in horror, "SISTER NATALIA?"
Well, let's just say that they made quite an impression...