The first few days on world were uneventful, to say the least, Albedo spent this time overseeing the creation of a perimeter and defense network around Nazarick. As per the supreme ones instructions she had made secrecy the top priority. Demiurge, Pandora's Actor and Maeve had been especially helpful in this task. Her resentment towards Demiurge had lessened significantly after the visit to the divine realm. She now understood the 3 centuries of absence was not a punishment but preparation for the capture of that traitor. Albedo was sure they would succeed after all there was only a single guardian against the combined forces of Nazarick, her only concern was whether the likes of Shalltear would do something foolish and compromise the plan. The supreme ones strongly advocated secrecy in this mission, she was sure this was because they did not want Jaldaboath catching wind of them and escaping from this realm. After all this was just a Category 2 threat, Nazarick should just take it slow no need to be reckless.
Albedo continued to walk down the corridor, her destination was room granted to the Pleiades Aureole Omega. They had set up an observation room there with multiple Mirrors of Remote Viewing to help scout the surroundings. The reason why they chose this place was that first it was relatively secure being on the eighth floor and second Aureole Omega had multiple commander type class abilities making her a suitable operational overseer when it comes to monitoring movements on the surface. As she walked in she saw Maeve, Demiurge, Pandora's Actor and Sebas were already in the room gazing intently into one of the mirrors. She approached the mirror and saw a group of armored cavalry riding towards a village.
"Indigenious inhabitants of this world I presume?" Albedo asked
"Yes Albedo, it appears this group of soldiers are burning villages." Demiurge replied
"Saboteurs?" asked Albedo
"No it seems to be state sanctioned banditry, these villages are of no consequence even if lost. It appears they are trying to lure out these gentlemen here." Maeve said as she gestured to another mirror.
The mirror displayed a smaller band of soldiers, they had mismatched equipment but all of them looked to be experienced warriors. There was a rider at the front his physique clearly showed his personal power as compared to the rest.
"These are the pursuit forces sent to investigate these attacks." Demiurge says as he gestured to the mirror
"Those bandits are the bait to lure them in and these gentlemen are the net to catch them." Demiurge says as he gestured to another mirror showing a group of magic casters accompanied by angel summons.
"We don't know why they are laying this trap or even if the pursuit force is the intended target." Maeve added
"We should help the village it is only right." said Sebas
"Let's not be rash Sebas we have no idea what the geopolitics of this realm are we don't want to draw too much attention. Remember what Punito Moe said secrecy is key." Demiurge replied
"Yes we should start by sending out mercenary troops such as Eight Edge Assassins and Hanzos to scout the cities. No need to take the risk for these chaff." Albedo agreed
"Those has risks of their own, remember we don't know where Jaldaboath is hiding. He can easily see through those, spies of foreign origin would be as clear a give away as any." Maeve said
"I assume you have a suggestion?" Demiurge asked
"Yes we don't sneak in, we walk in. In many realms prostitutes were popular choices for assassins, they invite little suspicion and they can just walk in the door of the targets home. Once they had their fun and were sound asleep the target would find a long knife in their back. Nishikienrai sama once said the best form of concealment is the one that lets you walk in plain sight. I suggest me and brother masquerade as travellers, "stumble" onto the site and decided to protect the innocent villagers. Brother is a doppelganger he can easily change his appearance which would disguise him, Jaldaboath and his minions have no idea what I look like so there is no need for a disguise. We will handle things on the ground you two will handle things here. Punito Moe once said always take the initiative, put your foe on the back foot at all times, never be caught in a reactionary situation." Maeve said
"The soldiers have reached the village." Aureole Omega announced
"Well do we agree to this course? Our window of opportunity is closing rapidly." Maeve asked
"I agree with Maeve sama" Sebas said
"I also agree with mein sister." Pandora's Actor replied
Albedo looked at Demiurge who paused as he stood thinking. Ever so slowly he gave a nod. Albedo looked to the mirror and saw the soldiers cut down a couple. A teenage girl and child took off running with two soldiers chasing after them.
"Very well." Albedo said with a nod
"Excellent now I need an insertion point, let's have a look…" Maeve said as she scrutinized the mirrors
They saw gaze dart from mirror to mirror seeming looking for something. Finally her focus landed on one mirror, it displayed the two from before still fleeing the soldiers.
"There those two they are headed towards the forest, we can teleport in a few metres in front of them in the tree line." Maeve said
"Why not teleport somewhere safer, surely these maggots don't matter in the grand scheme of things." Demiurge replied
"I'm not going there for the two girls, I'm going there because those two pursuing soldiers are isolated we can get a sense of their strength before we engage in earnest." Maeve replied
"Hmmm." Demiurge muttered thinking on the herald's words
At the moment the younger girl looked like she was about to collapse from the exertion.
"The child is gonna collapse soon, we are running out of time, Aureole Omega bring us in 10 metres inside the tree line and mask our teleportation. Brother ready your disguise." Maeve said.
With a wave of her hand the sigils on her breast and cap disappeared, leaving no insignias to reveal her true identity. Pandora's Actor turned into a large warrior wearing dark adamantite armor with gold trimmings. On his back was a flowing red cape and two greatswords.
At Carne Village 15 minutes ago
Enri Emmot was cutting vegetables when she heard the scream. She ran to the window and saw her neighbour and friend Lucyfern being pressed against a wall with a sword at her throat and the front of her clothes ripped off revealing her chest. On the ground next to them was her father lying in a pool of his own blood. It was then that she heard on her left her front door being kicked down. A knight wearing silver armor stormed into the house, seeing her first as she was still standing by the front window. The knight charged forward and grabbed her by the arm, she tried to fight but he was too strong, far too strong.
"My my aren't you pretty for a heretic." the knight said as he made a grab for the front of her clothes
However before he could get a grip her father charged into the living room shovel in hand and swung at the knight head. The shovel struck the helm with a loud clang and the knight crashed to the floor groaning. Her father shouted at her to grab her sister Nemu and run before charging out of the house holding her mother's hand. When Enri charged out after her father Nemu in tow she was horrified to see a knight run her mother through with a sword. Her father screamed in rage and tried to take a swing at the knight heads with his shovel. However this knight was faster than the previous one, he dodged back and extracted his word from her mother's chest. She stood in mute horror as she gazed at her mother, the pool of blood was growing and from her mouth she saw bubbling blood spill from her mouth.
"ENRI! TAKE NEMU AND RUN TO THE FOREST! GO!" her father shouted half mad as he kept swinging his shovel at the knight forcing him back
Enri tore her gaze away from her mother's twitching form and ran, tears streaming down her face. As she ran down the road she turned her head back to see the knight who was in her house run out the door and take a rage filled slash at her father. The cut was deep judging by the spray of blood and her father immediately fell to his knees. The knight took his sword and rammed down into his collar bone, plunging the blade deep into his torso. As she forced herself to tear her gaze away from her dying parents she saw behind them Lucyfern was being dragged screaming into her house. She ran with the single thought in her mind.
The forest...the forest…get to the forest...
Soon Enri heard the sounds of footsteps chasing after her, she felt her blood run cold as she recognised the sound of plate mail jingling and heavy greaves falling on dirt. She turned the corner and saw the road into the forest, almost there just a bit more… When she exited the village borders she looked down to see her dear sister Nemu desperately trying to breathe, face flushed, tears streaming from her face. She looked almost ready to pass out…
Nonononononono… please Nemu hang on we're almost there….
Then Nemu tripped…
Enri's blood ran cold as ice when she felt her grip on Nemu's hand slip. She turned to grab Nemu intent on picked her up so she could continue to run but as she looked up she saw the knight a scant few metres in front of her sword raised. She instinctively yanked Nemu close to her and buried Nemu into her chest back facing the knight. She felt something strike her back and felt the searing pain course through her body hot and unforgiving. In desperation she prayed…
Please god save my sister, I give you my life as bargain...
Water god…
Fire god…
Wind god…
Earth god…
The 41 gods of old…
Please…
Someone…
Anyone…
Anything…
Please…
Nika hated this mission, he was a loyal soldier of the Theocracy and a devout servant of the six great gods. They were the defenders of humanity, so when he found out he was tasked with running around Re-Estize villages and slaughtering peasants just to bring out one sword master he was less than pleased. He knows some of his comrades didn't feel too strongly about it, viewing it as an unfortunate but necessary sacrifice. He had no issue with that, it's up to the person in question to decide how to best serve the gods. What rubbed him the wrong way was how some of his "comrades" seemed to enjoy it especially that shit Belius and Talus. Both had murdered and raped their way through the villages while having a jolly good time. It disgusted him honestly, but the peasants were heretics since they turn away from the true gods. Still though rape was something he never got used to and privately he fears the day when he does get used to it for it might mean he might partake as well, just like how that human shit Talus was dragging that poor girl into her house after stabbing her father. He would probably kill her after he's finished... he always does that.
Now here he was chasing another pair of poor misguided girls, paying for the sins of her country. He had a sister around the older ones age, the letters he got says she's gonna get married soon. He hoped he could get back in time to buy her some jewelry for the wedding, he was so very proud of his precious little sister what a beautiful woman she had become. Alls more the pity as he saw the little girl trip, the older sister grabbed her siblings and tried to shield her. He was already raising his sword at that point getting ready to cut her down but that sight struck a chord with him as he remembered how he onced shielded his sister from the bastard guards who wanted to strike her. In that moment of hesitation he lost power in his swing and merely cut into the flesh of her back. That must have been painful, privately he apologised in his heart, sorry that the pain had to drag out longer than necessary. As he stood back and prepared to run his sword through the back of her neck, trying to keep it as painless as possible he saw movement at the edge of the forest.
Out from among the trees burst two figures one was small girl with blonde hair looking to be just reaching her teens. She wore a black overcoat and held two small knives in a reverse grip on each hand with more attached to her belt. She had short blond hair and a set of mismatched eyes, one was black as obsidian and the other was a glowing gold iris. The man behind was wearing a set of what appeared to be full adamantite armor, in each hand he held two massive great swords. The warrior was more than two metres in height, a truly formidable foe. However he felt more danger coming from the small girl, somehow just looking at her gave him chills. His instincts were screaming at him to run, these two even without their appearances gave off the aura of veteran warriors. He was a warrior of the Slain Theocracy, he was the shield that guards the realms of man, he would not run even though he could hear the clattering of the armor of the man behind him. His father once said that there is no courage without fear and he would not disgrace the Theocracy this day. He locked eyes with the girl suppressing the fear in his gut and then he found himself looking at those mismatched eyes up close, as if they were mere centimeters apart. His peripheral vision grew dark so all he could see was these strange pair of eyes, he realised he couldn't feel the rest of his body. He felt tired all of a sudden, ah this must be a dream. I'll wake up soon, hopefully I won't run into these two for real. After all, what were the chances of running into a warrior in a full set of adamantite armor, ridiculous really...gods he was tired…
I hope I make it home in time for the wedding…
Pandora's Actor couldn't even follow his dear sister movements, first thing he saw his sister was standing beside him, the next thing he knew she had already pounced atop of the first soldier dagger buried into his neck. The second soldier let out a scream and turned and ran. Idly he thought what kind of coward only dares to kill helpless peasants…not stylish at all...
As the soldier started running Maeve raised her right hand and aimed the crossbow mounted on her wrist square at his back. "Taser 20% charge" she muttered and let fly a single bolt. The bolt collided with the back of the armor and the soldier immediately screamed and spasmed. Not surprising considering it was supposed to be a non lethal stun bolt. What did surprise her was how smoke rose out of the gaps of the armor and soldier fell forward very much dead. The smell of charred flesh was a dead give away.
"Haaahh?" Maeve said arms slumped down head tilted slightly to the right shocked that the bolt actually killed him
"Really? He's not even level 20? I didn't even hit his flesh it hit the armor!" Maeve said frustration clear in her tone.
She stalked over to the corpse and flipped it so it faced upwards. She ripped off the helm to see a charred head and lifeless eyes looking bad at her. She grabbed the armor and tore the breastplate off with a sickening crunch, she looked at the burnt torso and realized there was no leather padding. He was wearing the plate over a chainmail hauberk and a cloth tunic under it. Cheap garbage was what it was, never mind anti electricity enchantments the makers couldn't even be bothered to properly insulate the armor. The armor had effectively acted as a conductor and cooked the knight like pork chop. She picked up the breast plate and casually bent it, realising how easily it could be deformed she proceeded to crush it like a ball of parchment and threw it over her shoulder in disgust. Maeve then reached down and grabbed the knights sword and begin to try to bend the blade to her surprise the blade simply snapped. Blades should never snap like this, they need to have a certain level of malleability or it could shatter and injure the user.
"Wow you guys sure are disposable." Maeve said with pity in her voice after seeing the horrendous quality of their equipment
"Taser 5% charge" Maeve said with a sigh and the crossbow on her wrist glowed as if to acknowledge the command. The glow was so dim it almost seemed the weapon pitied these knights. It was a glow of pity… a pity glow...
"Who...who are you?" Enri asked shocked after seeing a girl who seemed younger than her easily kill the two knights and deform their arms and armor as if they were parchment.
"Never mind that for now we need to see to your wound. You're gonna bleed out at this rate." Maeve calmly said as she walked over and looked at Enri's back.
"Light Healing" Maeve reached out and cast a spell
Enri was immediately covered in a soothing green light and she felt the pain in her back disappear. She gingerly touched her back afraid the pain would return but she felt nothing but the wetness of her blood on her clothes.
"You know what magic is?" the blonde girl asked
"Err yes I have a friend who can cast some magic." Enri replied
"Good that makes things easier. I am going to cast defensive magic on you, I will come to retreive you once we have dealt with the soldiers in the village." the girl replied as she raised her hand again
"Anti Life Cocoon, Wall of Protection from Arrows. Stay where you are and no harm shall befall you." the girl said as a green dome surrounded the two sisters
"Also take these." the girl said as she tossed two small horns into the green dome
"These will summon a small group of goblins to protect you, use it to run if needed." the girl said
She looked up to see the two mysterious figures turn away and begin walking into the village.
"What… what are you going to do now?" Enri stammered
"We are going to kill all the soldiers in the village." the girls said calmly
"I… Thank you so much! Thank you for saving my sister." Enri bowed low until her head touched the dirt weeping in gratitude
"Don't worry about it." the girl said simply
"Please may I know your names?" Enri asked tentatively
"I am Maeve, a traveller, we come from a far away land. This is my brother." Maeve said as she gestured to Pandora's actor
"Momon." Pandora's actor said with slight wave
Internally Maeve winced, well that's just great! Name your persona after one of the 41. That's not obvious at all isn't it?
"Oh are you a follower of the old gods?" Enri asked
"Yes, yes we are." Maeve quickly said
"How did you know?" Maeve asked
"That name it's an old tradition from what I heard. People used to name their children after the old gods. Momon was popular for those who worshipped Momonga." Enri said
"Ah I see, well you are well informed. We must be going, every second we delay another poor girl like yourselves might die." Maeve said
"AH yes! Please save my friend...my parents...it's probably too late for my parents...but please save her she's called Lucyfern!" Enri shouted after remembering how Lucy was dragged into the room
"We will try." Momon said
At that moment Maeve felt a message come in from Aureole Omega.
"Maeve sama there are riders around the perimeter of the village, most likely to catch any escapees. Also you are being watched by mid tier magic should be blind them?" Aureole Omega said
"No don't blind them, Brother and I will just fight using more mundane means. Best not to show our hand just yet." Maeve replied
"As you wish Maeve sama" Aureole affirmed
"Brother, there are cavalry around the perimeter of the village. Please dispose of them." Maeve said
"Of course dear sister." Pandora replied
Captain Belius was walking towards a house where he knew his subordinate Talus has having his fun with some peasant girl. He didn't get a chance with the pretty blonde one and the one Talus was using was probably beaten black and blue by now if she was even still breathing. He wanted to see if the girl was still worth using but he had his doubts. As he walked towards the door he heard screaming but it was a man's voice screaming... his blood went cold at the sound. He hesitated, unsure if he should enter, his instincts screamed danger but there was no way a peasant village like this had strong fighters right? Then the wall to his right collapsed and blur flew past his peripheral vision. He turned around and saw the naked pulped form of Talus lying splattered against the opposite wall. Belius immediately noticed that his manhood had been cut root and stem. "An enemy?" he immediately thought, he didn't know what kind of monstrous strength would be required to throw a full grown man through a wall but he didn't want to find out. He turned back to the dust cloud caused by Talus's "exit" from the building and saw something pink fly out of the dust and land at his feet with a wet splat. He looked down and saw a manhood laying there in the dirt, he wasn't a smart man but even an imbecile could figure out who that belonged to. Out from the dust cloud he saw a shadow of a figure approach and saw a glowing yellow eye…
Londes was busy organising the rounding up of the peasants in the village square, usually after charging into the village they would round up the survivors after the initial slaughter and pick out the healthiest males and spare them. These males would be cut loose from the village and leave a trail for their prey to find. However he really… really disliked this part of the job, he was a defender of humanity and here he was corralling some peasants like a herd of sheep before deciding which get to avoid slaughter. Overall this contradiction was not lost on him but he consoled himself by thinking that this was for the greater good. He looked up and saw 3 small boys not even in their teens pick up sticks and were standing in front of their families seemingly to protect them. His heart ached at the sight, if only these boys had been born in the Slane Theocracy they would have made fine soldiers. He was proud to be vice captain but at the same time he resented this post, his superior Captain Belius got promoted over him due to his family connections. He resented the man not because of his post, he resented him as a person. He was a lecherous, indecent and cruel human being, he disgraces the soldiers of the theocracy who were supposed to be the shield that guards the realms of man. He was about to order some of his men to disarm those kids when he heard the scream.
He spun around to see Captain Belius screaming and sprinting down the road towards the square. Then in the corner of his eye he spotted a black blur darting from rooftop to rooftop behind him quickly gaining distance on the captain. He shouted for his men to ready weapons but then the blur suddenly stopped and he got a good look at the being that was chasing captain Belius. To his surprise he saw a small girl, she was wearing some form of strange black overcoat accompanied by an odd looking hat. She had short blonde hair that came to her shoulders but what struck him the most was her eyes… or eye. One of her eyes was glowing in a golden hue, just staring at that eye gave him chills. He saw the girl raise her right arm and fired what appears to be a wrist mounted crossbow at captain Belius. Her aim must have been true as not a moment later captain Belius screamed and spasmed before collapsing faceforward in a broken heap, steam rising from his helm. The girl darted over to captain Belius's body and lifted his body up by the back collar of his armor before letting go and letting his body crash back into the dirt.
The girl calmly stood up and began walking down the street towards them, she walked as if she was taking a leisurely stroll and not like she walking up to a group of armed and armoured knights. They all felt it, the cold of fear creeping up their spines as they looked at the girl. As if death itself walked before them, the girl betrayed no fear, no hesitation, no mercy. She gazed at them as if they were already dead men.
"S...sir what should we do?" the knight to his right stammered
"Oh sir you say? I am assuming you're the leader of this merry band?" the girl said as a small smile appeared on her face
The knights stiffened having just realised that they just gave away who their leader was. The knight to the right took a step forward in front of Londes to screen him from view. Londes was touched but the man's actions, he had always stood at the front when he led, never afraid of danger or risk. It seems his men have taken notice despite the horrifying nature of their mission.
"I'll take that as a yes." the girl said with a giggle
"What do you want? We have no quarrel with you." Londes said in as even a voice as he can manage
"No quarrel with me? What quarrel do you have with these villagers then?" the girl asked
"That is none of your concern." Londes replied
"Oh I think it is. You see I take issue with those who attack the helpless." the girl said as she took another step closer.
"We do our duty to the true gods." one of the replied
"Oh religious fanatics to a false god then. I see...I understand now." the girl replied
"HOW DARE YOU! YOU DARE SPEAK ILL OF THE GODS?!" one of the knight spat
"Oh I dare sir knight. I do not fear false gods." the girl replied with a smile
One of the knights closest to the girl snapped and charged at her screaming a battlecry. The girl calmly sidestepped the downward slash and grabbed his shield. She ripped the shield and the arm attached to it clean off his body and smashed his helm in with it with a sickening crunch. The corpse collapsed with a crash onto dirt at her feet. She dropped the dented shield at her feet like a piece of garbage
"I believe the time for words has passed. Now then brave knights, murderers, bandits and rapists. The final hour is at hand, meet your gods as honest men and savour life's closing act." the girl said as she spread her arms as if to give them an embrace
"Blow the horn, the rest of you buy him time." Londes ordered
In that moment the girl disappeared, the only evidence she was even there was the corpse that was left behind. Then he heard a sound from behind him, the knights spun around to see girl had the signal horn in her hand and was grasping the signaller's throat with her other hand. The signaller was bent forward scrabbling at the arm that gripped his throat. The girl dropped the horn on the ground and crushed it beneath her feet, destroying the horn and their last hope. The girl then tightened her grip on the signallers throat and crushed his windpipe before pushing him over to suffocate in the dirt. The girl then vanished and flashed from knight to knight each time opening a throat, each time a throat was cut open it happened before the the previous knight had hit the ground. The girl stopped before Londes and gazed coldy at him, of the 15 knights that were in the square only himself and another knight still lived. The young man next to him was a fresh recruit barely 18 summers old, he was a good kid… he didn't deserve to die like this. His name was Titus he had a sweetheart in Kami Yamaiko, he became a soldier so that he could pay for his first house and settle down with that girl. All that was moot now, fate cares little for whims and wishes of men.
"Wait wait...stop...we surrender." Londes said as he dropped his sword
Titus dropped his sword as well but Londes could see how much he was shaking. You could clearly hear his armor clattering from fear. The girl paused and folded her arms signalling for him to speak.
"Please have mercy…" Londes began
"Mercy? Like what you have shown to these villagers? You give non yet you expect it for yourself? How much of a hypocrite do you have to be to dare to ask me this?" the girl said eyes full of contempt
"We were wrong...we apologise...truly… " Londes stammered trying to talk their way out
"Yes I'm sure an apology is a great comfort to the dead and defiled. When I arrived here I saw two knights chasing down two girls intent on cutting them down, one of them was a child. I found another girl in a house being defiled by one of your men, the poor girl was just a teenager. She lying splayed on her dining table beaten to a pulp, she would have died if I hadn't stepped in. You are in no position to ask for mercy sir knight. " the girl growled
"Yes I have done terrible things but please spare him, he's a new recruit and he never touched a woman. He has a family, a fiance back home he only joined up so he could earn the money to buy a house to start a new life." Londes pleaded grasping at straws to save even one of his men.
"Of course he has a family, of course he has a home to go back to, so do they. This was their home." the girl said gesturing to the group of shivering, terrified peasants.
"The girl lying naked on that table, she had family, now her father is lying dead outside her door." the girl said her tone cold as ice
The girl raised her arm and shot Titus in the head with her crossbow, Titus collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"My mercy to him is a quick and painless death, his punishment is death to atone for being party to this insanity." the girl said
Londes looked to the corpse of Londes and thought back to Nika the young man who had a sister back home. He then looked to the petrified villagers who were clutching their loved ones. He looked at his hands there was no blood on them now, but visible or not there was blood on his hands, that he knew. It seems that the blood debt is about to be paid. He felt in the pit of his stomach guilt, he knew what he was doing was wrong he always told himself it was for the greater good. Only the Six Gods mattered that was always what he had been told. Do your duty, never forget your duty, only fear a death with duty unfulfilled...
"You offered your life for your subordinate, I respect that so I grant you one mercy. How would you like to die?" the girl asked
"I would like the same mercy you gave him." Londes softly said gesturing to Titus's corpse
"Very well." the girl replied
The girl raised her right hand and he looked down the shaft of the crossbow and he knew no more…
Pandora's Actor strode into the village square blood staining his armor. He saw his dear little sister standing amidst the corpses of those knights. He waved at her and she waved back, he calmly walked over and looked around at her handiwork. The kills were clean… mostly… he noticed there was another charred corpse down one of the roads.
"The stun didn't work again?" he asked
"Yea , I just gave up after that one." Maeve said with a sigh, gesturing to the charred corpse.
"The knights at the perimeter?" Maeve asked
"Gone to see their gods." Pandora replied
"Nice work dear brother." Maeve said with a smile
She reached out and held her fist towards Pandora. Pandora seeing this lightly bumped his fist against hers and they both light out a light laugh.
"Its nice you know, working with family." Maeve said
"Yes yes it is." Pandora replied
"Erm excuse me who are you?" an elderly voice said
The two siblings turn to see an elderly man stand up among the group of villagers. He looked ancient easily more than 60 years old. His age was as good as an infant compared to the siblings but he was vulnerable by this world's standards.
"We are travellers, we will answer your questions later, we need to first retrieve 3 girls we saved in the village please save your questions until we return." Maeve said
Lucy woke up and found herself in her bed, idly she wondered if it had just been a nightmare. She stood up and looked to her clothes that were hanging on a chair. She found the front of her dress had been torn off, the realization hit as the memories flooded back and she felt her knees buckle as she retched out the remains of her meagre breakfast. She remembered the pain and suddenly realised that she had been beaten half to death. She touched her face and felt no pain, she touched her body and felt no pain...she felt her loins and felt...no pain. She got dressed in fresh clothes and stumbled out of the room, the first thing she noticed was the hole in her living room wall. Then she noticed the dining room table where the act had been done and felt the nausea rise again but this time she had nothing left to throw up so she held it in. She walked over to the hole and saw her assailant naked and smashed to a pulp on the opposite wall, she looked at manhood lying in the middle of the street and felt some small sense of satisfaction. She felt numb, almost unfeeling as she stumbled out the door and looked to her father[s corpse. Somehow she didn't even have the will to cry, she felt empty…
Then she remembered after she had the resistance beaten out of her she had been lying on the table just wishing to die... to end the torment. However, she suddenly felt that knight being pulled off her, she remembers looking down and seeing the knight being choked by a small figure. The figure had short blonde hair and a glowing yellow eye. The figure held a small curved knife to the knights throat, the knight had struggled but the figure held firm. She heard the figure say…
No...too painless...too quick….
Then she saw the knife flash down and loud piercing scream reverberated off the walls as the knight struggled even harder. The figure however although looking much smaller didn't even budge, instead she held her grip and let the knight struggle in agony. After what seemed like an eternity, the figure suddenly tightened her grip and threw him bodily at the living room wall and out into the street. The cloud of dust caused by that throw filled the room and then she remembered nothing… she must have passed out...
She heard footsteps coming down the road and she wearily turned wondering if the knights have come again. Instead she saw the small figure walking down the street next to the largest man she had ever seen. In the view of the setting sun she saw that the small figure was girl not even in her teens. Lucy felt she must have been hallucinating previously, how can such a young girl over power a knight. As the pair approached the girl reached out and gently took her hand.
"Are you alright." the girl said
"Wha...what happened?" Lucy asked
"My brother and I killed all the knights. Come now, we'll bring you to where the rest of the village is." the girl said gently
At those words Lucy felt her knees go weak and wave of relief washed over her. All the emotions all the fears flooded her at once, whatever mental barrier that was keeping her emotions at bay broke. Lucy fell to her knees and grabbed at the girls boots sobbing in gratitude.
"Come now no more of that, let's get you to the village square. I'm sure the rest of the village is worried." the girl said gently
Lucy felt the girl grip her and lifft her to her feet, her strength was immense. This little blonde girl lifted her as if she was weightless. As they stumbled down the road they started walking towards a pair of children's corpses. They fell close to each other, probably trying to escape together.
"No no no, Martha...Abel…" Lucy whimpered
Lucy felt her knees go weak again, she retched out bile and fluids which splattered onto the hem of the girls coat. Lucy remembers how she would babysit the twins, Martha said she wanted to marry a knight, Abel said he wanted to become one. Fate however had other plans, now here they were lying dead in the dirt. The memories they hurt so much she wanted to rip her heart out so she wouldn't hurt anymore…
"Hey hey...easy, easy…" the girl soothed
"I'm sorry I can't...I can't bear it…" Lucy sobbed
"Close your eyes, don't worry. If we meet a knight I'll kill him, if you fall I'll catch you. Nothing can hurt you as long as I'm here. Trust me." the girl said comfortingly
"Ok…" Lucy choked out as she closed her eyes but still the tears didn't stop.
Gregor had been chief for over 30 years. He always believed his village was safe as it was so close to E-Rantel. No bandits would dare to raid so close to a major city, after all E-Rantel had the second largest garrison losing out only to the Capital itself. However, the price of his complacency and naivety stood before him now. Almost half the village was dead, no house was left undamaged and their fields have been set alight. It would be a harrowing year, he wasn't sure if the village could survive the winter.
As he saw the massive Dark Warrior lead the siblings Enri and Nemu into the square he rejoiced. Initially he thought only the ones in the square survived but when the blonde girl said they saved a few more he felt a wave of gratitude. Now these girls had a chance, they could find love, grow old, start a family… if fate permits. He approached the two warriors intent on thanking them, but internally he feared the price of their salvation.
"Maeve sama the pursuit forces are approaching from the west, they will reach the village soon, I believe they spotted the burning fields. The net of magic casters are closing in, they are moving to surround the village. The encirclement should be complete in approximately one hour." Aureole Omega said
"Send out some stealth based mercenaries to surround the magic casters and apply a Dimensional Lock once the encirclement is in place. I don't want any rats slipping the net." Maeve replied
"As you command, Maeve sama." Aureole Omega replied
"Thank you so much for saving us, I am the village chief…" Gregor began
"Hold on for a moment, something is coming…cavalry..." the little girl said as both of them looked towards one of the roads leading out of the village
The village elder paled, thinking perhaps more knights had come to finish the job.
"Will you still…" Gregor said
"Yes don't worry, gather all the villagers together, makes it easier to defend." the girl said curtly
"But we have nothing to pay you with we are but…" Gregor stammered out
"We didn't do it for the money." the girl said cutting him off
Gregor watched as the two of them start walking towards the road to put the villagers behind them, he looked at their backs and in his mind he wondered if this is what heroes looked like. As the sun set over the horizon in front of the two warriors he looked at their silhouettes and to him at least, they looked as tall as a mountain. The girl was so young… probably just a few summers older than Nemu… what did she live through to become so strong...
Gazef Stronoff rode his horse hard, he saw the smoke coming from the village but unlike the others this one wasn't burnt to the ground. A faint hope stirred in his breast, perhaps this time he can save his countries citizens. He and his band of warriors rode into the village square and saw a group of villagers huddled together, in front of them however stood two figures. His warrior instinct told him these two were strong, the sight around the village confirmed this. There were the corpses of Empire Knights strewn around the square, the kills were clean, most of them had cut throats, they hadn't stood a chance against whatever killed them.
"I am Gazef Stronoff Warrior Captain to his majesty King Ramposa III, soveriegn of the kingdom of Re-Estise. I have come in pursuit of Empire Knights who are raiding the countryside." Gazef announced
"Warrior Captain?" an elderly man approached
"You know him?" the little girl asked
"Yes only by name, he is the kingdom's strongest warrior." the old man said
"Well your late to the party, Gazef Stronoff." the girl said clearly unintimidated by the knowledge of his status
"Watch your tongue, you are speaking to the sword of the king." one of the warriors in his band snapped
"Quiet!" Gazef snapped at his man
"Don't presume to flaunt your status at me soldier, considering my brother and I just did your job for you." the girl said cooly
The man went beet red in rage and embarrassment and was about to retort when Gazef turned and shot him a look silencing him.
"You slew these knights?" Gazef asked
"Yes we did, we were passing through and noticed the raid so we stepped in." the girl said
Gazef was surprised he expected the large warrior in adamantite plate to be speaking, instead he found this little girl garbed in top quality equipment speaking to him. It was strange to say the least. Gazef dismounted his horse and bowed towards the pair.
"Thank you for saving these villagers. You have my eternal gratitude, if you please, I would know your names." Gazef said
"I am Maeve and this is my brother Momon." the girl said as she gestured to herself and the large armored warrior
"Are you two adventures?" Gazef asked
"In a sense, the more accurate description would be travellers, we come from a faraway place." Maeve said
"Where is that if you don't mind me asking." Gazef asked
"Far." Maeve replied curtly
"I see...well I should see to your reward, what you did today is no small feat. You have done a great service for the kingdom." Gazef said
"Keep it, I didn't do it for the money. If you insist on a reward, give it to the villagers. They need all the help they can get it after today's events." Maeve said
At those words Gazef felt a surge of warmth flood his chest. If only there were more of these types of people in the world, the world would be a much gentler place.
"Of course, forgive me… I am sure you know how cruel the world can be… I just assumed… " Gazef said with a self deprecating smile
"No offence is taken Gazef dono." Maeve said
"Thank you Maeve dono, I will put forward the request for aid for this village." Gazef said
"If I may suggest perhaps a day of pay from everyone in your unit would be appropriate." Maeve suggested
"What? Do you have any idea how much Captain dono gets paid?" the soldier said
"Exactly you loudmouthed buffoon, as far as I'm concerned you didn't do your jobs today so you don't deserve your pay." Maeve snapped
"We came as fast as we could! It's not our fault..." the soldier began face once again flushing scarlet
"Silence Brutus." Gazef snapped, angered and embarrassed at his subordinates behaviour
"Yes yes...it's not my fault, I did my best. Look behind me soldier, do you think a village of this size only has this many occupants." Maeve said her tone as cold as ice
"Your excuses change nothing, the dead do not care, the living do not care and I definitely do not care." Maeve spat
Gazef lowered his head. Her words cut deeply, he knew she was right. The world was cruel, that was the way of the world but it doesn't make it right. He turns to his men and looks at this soldiers each was at least as skilled as a silver ranked adventurer.
"Maeve dono speaks harshly but truly. This past week we have failed in our sacred duty. I will not ask for gold from his majesty to help these villagers. I will pay for it out of my own pocket, not just for me but for all of you as well. The sum will also not be for today it will be for the week that we wasted, as villages were slaughtered and burned. She is right, as far as I am concerned for this week I do not deserve my pay." Gazef said with an iron conviction
His soldiers were stunned as they looked at their Captain. In that moment they remembered why they joined him, why they trained so hard they coughed blood. It was for the people… all these titles and gold were distractions from their true purpose.
"I will pay for myself Captain dono." one soldier said
"As will I" said another
"As will I" said another
On and on it went until the entire band pledged to forfeit their pay to make amends. Gazef looked to his men with pride. He wished he could embrace them all in this moment .
"Good." Maeve said from behind him
Gazef turned to see her smiling with her arms crossed as she looked at them.
"Thank you once again Maeve dono, we as men are all trapped in the currents of life and sometimes that makes us lose our way." Gazed said with a bow
"Careful you don't drown." Maeve said with humor in her voice
Maeve walked up to Gazef and took off her right glove and held her hand out to Gazef. Gazef removed his own glove and shook hands. Idly he thought how dainty and small her hands were, seemingly totally incongruous to the evidence around him that she was a deadly warrior.
"Now then we have much to discuss, but first might I suggest establishing a perimeter to look out for further threats? I don't fancy being ambushed." Maeve said
"Very wise Maeve dono." Gazef said
Gazef began ordering his men to go about securing the village, he looked back at the villagers and saw how few they were and he felt a pang of guilt in his heart. After sending out the scouts he returned to Maeve.
"You mentioned these were Empire Knights, I assume you are familiar with them?" Maeve asked
"Yes, they are wearing the armor of the Baharuth Empire. They are capable soldiers with decent equipment." Gazef said
"Define decent?" Maeve asked
"They have full steel plate armor and steel swords. Below the armor they wear chainmail and a padded tunic to offer additional protection." Gazef said
"Padded armor? Like a gambeson vest?" Maeve asked
"Yes exactly." Gazef replied
With that Gazef noticed Maeve furrowed her brow and walked over to one of the knights corpses. She gestured for both himself and Momon to come over.
"Brother would you mind helping me lift this off the ground?" Maeve asked
"Of course dear sister." Momon said as he grabbed the knight by the neck and easily lifted the body off the ground with one hand.
"Ok you rip off the front armor I'll rip off the back." Maeve said
The two siblings then proceeded to grab the collar of the armor and tear the plate right off the corpse. Gazef was stunned, it is no small feat to deform metal with physical strength alone and these two just tore the metal apart as if it was parchment.
"Have a look at this Gazef dono." Maeve said as she pointed at the knights inner wear.
Gazef looked at the knight and saw the knight was wearing a cheap linen undershirt. Then he noticed that there was no leather padding on the interior of the plate armor.
"This shirt and there's no leather padding on the inside of the plate." Gazef said perplexed
"Is there supposed to be leather?" Maeve asked
"Yes I fought Empire Knights on numerous occasions they always have leather padding. It's to…" Gazef replied
"Insulate the armor from the wearer." Maeve said
"Exactly…" Gazef said brow furrowed not sure what to make of this
"Well that says a lot" Maeve said as she dropped the piece of armor she was holding and Momon proceeded to toss the corpse unceremoniously to the side.
"What says a lot Maeve dono?" Gazef asked
"Well the way I see it, there's a few possibilities. One this Empire suddenly started cutting costs on equipment which doesn't really make sense considering this is deep within foregin territory. The second is these Knight are wearing special cheaper armor since all they will do is attack defenceless peasants but since these armors are most likely mass produced it would take more effort to create these rather than just give them the standard equipment. The last and most likely is these aren't Empire Knights, they are wearing disguises." Maeve said
"Disguises?" Gazef asked perplexed
"Think about it, these armors look very convincing but any in depth investigation would realise that these aren't the standard issue. So it makes sense that some other nation sent these knights in to sow discord among the Empire and Re-Estise." Maeve said
"But we are just a half a day ride from E-Rantel pursuit forces can be easily sent so why give them such poor equipment. If they are defeated the whole ruse is for naught." Gazef said getting ever more confused
"That's what worries me, I have a feeling that these guys are a bait and we just walked right into a trap…" Maeve said grimly
CAPTAIN DONO!
Magic casters have surrounded the village!
They have angels I think it's the Slaine Theocracy!
Author's Notes
Hi all, here is the latest chapter. Its alot longer than usual due to the interlocking nature of the events. As usual leave a review if you like it or hate it, all comments are welcome.
See you guys in the next chapter!