13
The deepening of the evening made them glow with unholiness. The deep purple sky was overcast, an indication that rain was going to fall.
The creamies that had traversed around the hills earlier disappeared mysteriously, following the unexpected arrival of the aristocratic demons. The four stepped out of the portal, and what greeted them were towering hills and mountains. A small stream ran quietly to the east, with a few pupas scattered around it.
A light drizzle descended, the sky growing darker. The Stormy Knight sat down, still weak from the earlier blast of holy energy. He grumbled about leaving his sword behind, and now he was weaponless. The Abyss Knight silenced him while the Lord of Death circumnavigated within the radius of about a hundred yards, the massive silver mount sniffing the ground as if to detect their surroundings.
"There's only one place piled with hills and mountains. Now these puny gnats had further confirmed my hunch, I believe we're in Mjolnir premises," Stormy Knight said.
"Oh, have you only realized it now?" Doppelganger replied with a tone of mockery.
The Abyss Knight turned to the two.
"So what if we are in Mjolnir? We need to find our exact location, damn it."
The ebony knight clasped his palm over his gut wound, walking with a hunch.
"Ugh… That cursed commander," he croaked. "You've got the audacity to sneak from behind."
Doppelganger sighed and chopped the grass with his scimitar.
"That horse of yours could've saved you with a back kick or something, yet you butchered him alive. You look kinda pathetic without it, if you don't mind."
"I did not want Urten to become a burden."
"But still…"
The Lord of Death returned and stuck his massive blade into the earth loudly, quieting down the other three. He dismounted his horse, and it nuzzled against his face.
"Now we move east. Silver says we're pretty much at the far north west of Mjolnir. We make a short trip to the east, where therein lies a pit for us to seek shelter."
"A lousy pit!? How degrading for us!" Doppelganger exclaimed. "To think that we used to live in the monumental caverns in our world!"
The Lord of Death swung himself over Silver, taking the reins in his hands.
"Enough said. Move."
"I've got no weapon! My storm blade…" Stormy Knight complained, thinking wistfully of his trusted sword.
"Here, take this," Doppelganger said as he tossed the blue knight a flimsy branch.
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The smaller demons in the pit sensed an immense power even from a distance. They could not be wrong, that kind of power can only belong to the superiors. They started scampering into crack and holes, the others migrating to other habitats. And for just that fateful evening, the pit was free of demons, and it was unusually silent.
The four crossed the stream and reached the outskirts of Mount Mjolnir. Tall grasses and thick trees surrounded the area, the crowns rustling noisily with the increasing gale. The night came, with raindrops splattering over them. They crossed another series of thick bushes, and a muddy path came into view.
Broken tracks lay across the path, the demons who were escaping hid among the grasses to avoid being discovered. The Lord of Death stared at the entrance of the foul pit, estimating that it was too small. He and Silver might not be able to squeeze through it.
"Indeed… just a pathetic hive for puny demons," the silver knight murmured.
He extracted his foot from the saddle and dismounted, patting Silver on his head. Slapping his steed hard, he spoke a sharp command. The giant silver steed crouched and neighed, preparing for the charge. Silver galloped madly towards the entrance, and crashed into it. The entrance widened, bricks and sand smashing onto the muddy path, forming a threshold made of rubble.
The four made their way into the deepest region of the pit, the Doppelganger scouting ahead for possible dangers, even though it was highly unlikely there was any in this minor pit.
"We'll camp here," the Lord of Death said when they entered the largest chamber of the pit.
"Damn, this place stinks of drainliar 'productions'," Doppelganger complained, blocking his nostrils with his index finger.
"Quit your whines, swordie. Ain't I ignoring the smell?" Stormy Knight said.
The phantom swordsman glared at the blue knight
"Of course you can bear with the smell, since your excretions smell worse than this tenfold! Anyway, I might quit my 'whining' if you stop complaining about your loss."
The blue knight clenched his fist, snarling at the swordsman. Spotting a drainliar flying about, he snatched it and shoved it into his mouth. The red wings of the drainliar beat furiously, then stopped. Black blood dripped down the blue knight's chin, the crunching noise making Doppelganger cringe. The Abyss Knight planted his black sword into the muddy ground.
"We shall begin…"
The two stopped their squabbles and looked at the ebony knight. Doppelganger was the first to speak.
"Begin what?"
"Aren't you humiliated?" the Lord of Death spoke after tying up Silver. "Us, being the superior of all demons, actually escaped at the mere power of the church."
"The feeling is mutual, Death. We're affected by it, yet our minions are not," Stormy Knight said.
"Come to think about it, that's going to wreck my brains for a while," Doppelganger pondered.
"The sacred powers of the church are not unlimited," Abyss Knight said. "It has to fade somehow."
The great silver knight looked into the small torch at the corner of the chamber.
"A great amount of that power must have been diminished. I believe that was sacrificed to drive us out, leaving a tiny morsel which did not affect our minions much. However," Lord of Death paused. "However, we still must not underestimate it. The hundred years of preserving… that's a very long time. Even though the sacred powers had shrunk, it will soon be restored."
The Abyss Knight removed his helm and placed it beside his sword.
"If what you said is true, then we have to crush the church and destroy the holy aura once and for all. Prontera will then be vulnerable."
"Exactly. Crush the church, and leave those fools to pray for naught. Nobody will answer their pleas and cries."
"I've not failed once, until today. I must seek justice to it," Doppelganger clenched his fist.
The Stormy Knight waved his hands.
"Before I can do anything, I need a sturdy weapon. I can do nothing more with this shield than squishing ants in the Ant Hell!"
The Abyss Knight, apparently irritated by the blue knight's complains, tossed his a black dagger from his belt.
"What!? Are you giving me this to slice drainliars into strips before eating them?"
"I'm not giving you, I'm lending you. Use this till you find a better weapon."
The agitated Stormy Knight was about to protest, but the Lord of Death cut him short.
"We will not barge into Prontera just like that. We must formulate a plan."
Doppelganger raised a brow.
"You have something in mind?"
"What's the nearest town from here?"
"Hmm… Glast Heim? Why don't we make that place our main camp? I'm sure it doesn't smell so bad!"
"No, I've already considered this option, and no. We'll be trespassing the premises of the Dark Lord and Baphomet. We cannot afford to offend any other superiors, for it will hinder our plans without a doubt."
"Think of it this way. Four of us outnumber the two clumsy sasquatches. What's more, they share the Intelligence Trait. If we kill them, we'll possess the Intelligence Trait and imagine how strong our magic will become!"
The Lord of Death was deep in thought for a while, the great silver knight breathing stentoriously.
"If not for the pact, I would have approved of your plan, Doppelganger. Each and every superior will guard their own place, and stay out of trouble. Not to mention, attacking each other. Its just like me guarding the city of the dead, Niflheim and you guarding the Geffen Guild Dungeon."
"You not wrong, Death. The other superiors might start a war with us," the Abyss Knight suggested.
"But in order to destroy Prontera, there would be a need to strengthen ourselves. And to do that quick and easy, the Traits will prove very useful," Stormy Knight said spoke in between bites of another unfortunate drainliar.
Doppelganger nodded in agreement, even though he was rather disgusted with the black blood smeared over the blue knight's mouth.
"Storm's right, strengthening ourselves is necessary. We don't have to attack the Dark Lord and Baphomet directly. We can sour their relationship through sabotage, and both of them will be after each other's neck for the other half of the Intelligence Trait."
The Abyss Knight's face suddenly lit up.
"Besides Glast Heim, another city nearest to us is Geffen, the city of magic."
"Yeah, what about the town?" Doppelganger asked without interest.
"Its not the town, it's the orcs. If we were to get hold of the Intelligence Trait, why not the Strength Trait? The Orc Lord possesses the Strength Trait, so we can assassinate him. The orc camp is due south of Geffen. We can attack Geffen to rid of unnecessary hindrance, then we go for Orc Lord."
The Lord of Death crossed his arms over his powerful chest.
"The orcs are rather inflexible. If their leader is gone, they'll go berserk and be at their wits end. Just when they are desperate, we would take over them and command the orc forces to invade Prontera. If successful, we'll be killing two birds with one stone."
"The orcs alone might not be enough to break down the church," the ebony knight pointed out.
Patting his own chest confidently, Doppelganger sneered. "Leave the church to me."
The other three passed doubtful looks at the phantom swordsman. The Lord of Death walked over to where Silver was tied.
"Just before dawn breaks, we'll set out for Geffen."