AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know it has been two weeks, and I'm sorry. Things haven't been the best and I've gotten off task. I got a new laptop now so that's good. Still working out the kinks and everything for a new Naruto fanfiction.
CHAPTER 8
At E-Rantel's graveyard, a group of robed figures gathered together, and a single person stepped forward, and raised his staff to the ink black night sky. In his other hand was what looked like a lump of black rock, but unlike rocks, this one was pulsating, as if it was alive. It shot out dim purple light, and it brightened as the thousands of resting places within the cemetery were disturbed.
"Now, run wild. Go cause chaos and death, my creations." whispered Khajiit.
As soon as these words were uttered, the horde of undead all looked at the walls as one, and single-mindedly charged. Back on top of the wall, there was a small group of guards, half-heartedly doing a routine sweep. The sharp, cold wind made them even less enthusiastic, and their minds were dull, with their gazes holding no weight. Their weapons were loosely clutched. But one of them became alert as they thought they had seen a tree fall.
"Did you see that? I think a tree fell over there." Said the one who made the observation, pointing towards the center.
"Probably because the undead wanted firewood, haha...this wind is killing me, I want to go home and get in bed, be with my wife." said another soldier.
"Heh, lucky. I've just been trying to earn some money right now. I don't really see myself in a relationship, with my job and-" the reply was cut short as they looked back into the cemetery. A single figure was heading closer, and upon closer inspection, it was a fellow guard. But they always patrolled in groups, as there was often the occasional undead lurking around. He was alone, wheezing, his weapon nowhere to be seen. His face was red, and slick with sweat from exhaustion.
"H-HELP ME!" he screamed.
Seeing this, the guards worriedly went to open up the wooden gate to the cemetery. The fact that He was constantly pounding on the door, and forced his way in before they had even completely opened the doors, only worsened their fears. He finally stopped, his hands on his knees. Violent tremors course through his body.
"What happened? Where is everyone else in your squad?"
"T-They were all killed! A horde of undead are coming here!"
As if it was planned, it was then that they heard a rumbling sound, that only got louder. They hurriedly went back up the stairs to the rampart, just in time to see a large shadowy mass quickly approaching. This only worsened the escapee's panic.
"What the fuck do we do?!" he all but shouted.
The captain, who was just joking mere minutes ago, became all business. He was a veteran who had seen his fair share of death and battles. He had been to several of the Kingdom's countless battles against the Empire. He hurriedly barked out orders to the others, who were basically civilians with spears and armor.
"Y-You! Head to the city and call the adventurers and guards! We will stay here and see what we can do! Grab your weapons and spread out evenly across the wall!"
The training the soldiers of the Kingdom recieved was just simple commands and basic physical training along with their gear. The fleeing soldier grabbed onto the command, as if it were a lifeline, and ran off towards the city.
"Gods help us." whispered the captain, as he turned to face the horde. As more and more time passed, the horde grew. There were only a dozen guards there, and they couldn't defend against thousands of undead. The only reason they weren't overwhelmed yet was because it was mostly just a mindless army. A mindless army of killing machines that only wanted to destroy, even at the expense of themselves. Thus it was only natural casualties happened. Soon, there were only half a dozen guards left, with the rest having either been dragged off the wall, or swarmed and killed. The measly remnants broke and ran, pushing each other in their haste to get away. Just as all hope seemed lost, a knight, with shining armor straight out of legends, suddenly appeared. He held a rapier, which shone in his hands, and he was followed by a massive creature, and another person, a girl. The adventurers were here to help!
But their hope died as they saw the plates around their necks. Coppers, the lowest of the low. Even with that gear, coppers could not hope to stand against the army on the other side.
"Run!" shouted the captain, only for his advice to be ignored.
"How many?" asked the armored man.
"W-What?"
"How many undead are there?"
"Um, I think there's a few thousand in the horde..."
"Understood."
"The fuck you mean, understood?! Who the hell are you?!" a nearby guard screamed.
He thought Icarus to be a spoiled noble, who simply had the gear but not the skills, the copper plate around Icarus's neck only furthered his confidence in his claim. But Icarus didn't care for his doubts.
"My name is Light, and I'm here to save you all."
Suddenly Icarus crouched, then his legs straightened as he disappeared in an upwards flash. He reappeared in the air, and as he reached the height of his arc, he held out his free hand.
"[Holy Hail]"
Countless glowing orbs appeared behind him, and proceeded to throw themselves onto the horde, along with him. Upon contact, these spheres would explode, destroying the undead, along with a portion of the ground. He landed among the chaos, and the guards rushed back up to see the fate of the man who fell into the swarm. They found no swarm, only Icarus, his back to them. Blood and body parts were everywhere, but Icarus ran ahead without another word, and they remembered that he had companions. They swiveled their heads, only to see Narberal cast [Fly] on herself and follow, while the massive beast did the same as the knight and simply jumped over the wall as if it were a hurdle. As Icarus continued, they saw how with each swing of his sword, undead fell, or the lightning that shot out of the girl's hands. The beast was the least flashy, but with each whip of his tail, skeletons and zombies exploded. The captain simply looked back at his men in shock.
"Men, remember the name, Light. We have just witnessed a hero, no a legend. The White Knight."
Noone disagreed, as just how many people could defeat a swarm by themselves? As Icarus ran through the darkness, his annoyance grew. The adventurers would be here soon, and he would have to finish this quickly, but he couldn't just explode the entire cemetery. As he neared the mausoleum, he frowned. in front, there were several men, all wearing red robes, the one in the middle had his hood removed, and his head resembled a raisin. When he got closer, he noticed something at the edge, and he focused on the pillars that were near the entrance. He sensed another life, a female, quite strong for this world.
"Whoever you are, come out from behind the pillars. Don't you know it's inpolite to hide yourself from guests?"
Although he joked, there was no humor in his words.
"Aww, he found me, or are you a she? Are you another Gargantuan? Whatever, I'll cut you up as well?" said the being who now stepped out of the cover of the pillars. She was young, with short blonde hair. Her face made her look like a cat, but her eyes completed the look. Killer, no, a hunter. Her eyes were those of a hunter. As she got closer, she frowned in disappointment.
"A copper? How the hell did you sense me? Am I slipping, no, it must be a Talent or artifact."
Deciding to split the work, Icarus dropped the guise and addressed Narberal by her name.
"Narberal, kill these weird robed fanatics. I call dibs on the girl."
As he had said everything he felt that he needed to, he walked to the left. He looked at Clementine and beckoned her to him, with a wave of his arm. Seeing this, Clementine came closer, after all, even if he had sensed her, he was just a copper, right? As they went off on their own to fight, Narberal similarly decided to start.
"Hairball, move away or die." She said to Hamsuke, who was more than a little offended. But she had realized the power difference, and although she grumbled, she jumped onto a nearby tree before turning to watch. As Narberal channeled lightning into her hands, she fired out her first spell, starting off the fight.
"[Electrosphere]"
A massive ball of lightning sot towards the cultists, who were caught by surprise. The lightning tore up the stone path, along with their bodies. When the smoke cleared, all but one of the robed men were smoking corpses on the ground. Khajiit, whose robes were smoking, looked more annoyed than hurt.
"Ha, so you can use third tier magic? Very well, feast your eyes on your worst enemy! Jewel of Death!"
As Khajiit held up the orb, it started to glow, and then the ground in between them started cracking and breaking. A hulking dragon with four red eyes, made completely out of bones, rose out of the ground. It noticed Narberal and roared in anger at her.
"A Skeletal Dragon? Impressive, for a flea."
"H-How dare you, you bitch! Skeletal Dragon, kill her!" spluttered Khajiit.
The dragon rapidly closed the distance and rose a leg, intending to crush this human that angered its master. It expected the female to be crushed, only for its foot to be stopped. And it was puzzling over this, Nabe pushed the foot off of her and hurriedly dashed back.
"How the hell did she hold back a Skeletal Dragon with pure physical strength? I know both adamantium teams are out...is she an orichalcum adventurer? No matter, I will still defeat her."
Raising his staff, Khajiit hurriedly cast enchantments upon his creation.
"[Reinforce Armor]"
"[Lesser Strength]"
"[Shield Wall]"
"Ha, two defensive and one boosting spell. let's see how you push it back now."
Narberal did the same and proceeded to boost herself.
"[Reinforce Armor]"
"[Shield Wall]"
After this, the battle continued, and it was a even match, or so Khajiit thought. Narberal pulled out a sword, and the Skeletal Dragon's onslaught was slowed, then stopped, and eventually it was forced onto the defensive. Its claws and jaws snapped and swung, but it would always miss just by a hair. Naberal's swings and stabs would alwways strike true, and the Skeletal Dragon was slowly chipped away. Seeing this, Khajiit hurriedly cast ranged offensive spells.
"[Acid Javelin]"
"[Fireball]"
But Narberal wasn't overpowered by this, it merely evened out the playing field.
"Impossible, how can an unknown person possess such strength?! She's toying with a Skeletal Dragon!"
"You are truly strong, but that won't be enough. Jewel of Death!"
Like before, he held up the now shining orb, and another Skeletal Dragon clawed its way out of the dirt.
"I'm out of negative energy, but that's ok. After we take care of this girl, and finish the attack on E-Rantel, there will be more negative energy then I'll know what to do with!"
Nabe frowned as now there was a second opponent.
"I'm actually being forced to try against humans! How humiliating!"
She suddenly disappeared only to materialize behind Khajiit. He attempted to strike her with his staff, but it was futile. She stabbed him in his shoulder, causing him to drop his staff. She quickly disappeared again, as if she had never been there. But the lack of response from his arm, as well as the burning sensation in his shoulder clearly reminded him. He was a summoner who hid in the back, he had never been stabbed before, and he was also quite old.
"Fuck! She can also use teleportation magic!"
Suddenly, a voice spoke to her, echoing throughout her head. it was a message from her master.
"Nabe, try not to kill him, he might be useful, but you safety comes first!"
"Ahh, Lord Icarus, I'm not worthy!"
Then that nasally voice brought her out of her stupor.
"Is that your trump card? Teleporting to me wasn't a bad idea."
The chuckling made him stop, but what happened next made him gape. She rose into the air, as if gravity didn't exist for her.
"She has physical strength and skill, teleportation magic, and she even use fly magic?! But why isn't she running? And where is Clementine? She should be finished with that paladin by now."
"What's your plan?! Skeletal Dragons are immune to magic, and your not strong enough to take on two Skeletal Draogns with pure physical strength."
"I could just teleport to you again." she smirked, causing Khajiit to flinch back.
"But, I won't. I want you to realize the difference between us. I'll crush you with putt magic power."
"Are you daft?! They are completely immune to magic!"
"Lesson one, that only applies to sixth tier and lower magic. So I would just have to use seventh tier or higher magic to destroy them. Now would be the time I would collect the payment, which is your life, but my master has waived the tuition. Be grateful."
"No human can use seventh tier magic!"
"Hmph, are humans the only creatures in this world?"
Narberal then channeled lightning within her hands, which started to scream at crackle.
"[Chain Dragon Lightning]"
"N-No! How dare you! All my work, my creations!"
But the lightning ignored his pleas. It came forth and destroyed the Skeletal Dragons, leaving a pile of bones within apatch of scorched ground.
"M-Mom, I'm sorry..." was Khajiit's last thought before the darkness swallowed his mind.
Narberal went forth and grabbed his body at the edge of the shallow crater. She had wanted to erase his existence, but she remembered her lord's words and at the last second, she had aimed slightly lower. The lightning hit the ground and then the Skeletal Dragons, which had acted as shields for Khajiit, who was still alive, albeit barely.
As Clementine followed the man, she continued to taunt him.
"How did you find me? Are you mad? Were those your friends, back there that I killed? Don't worry, you'll be reunited with them very soon!"
Of course Icarus was ignoring her, he was used to it.,
He played online games for years, and teenagers on energy drinks up late at night were way better at taunts then her.
"She's strong, let'a ignore the power gap and merely test her skills. I wanna see these martial arts."
"Shut up." was all he replied.
"Oh, are you angry? I told you, you will be reunited with them soon! So don't be sad, I'm just going to cut you up beforehand!"
"I'm not angry, I just think that you shouldn't talk so much before you die."
Clementine simply snorted, but within her mind she was raging at the audacity of this unknown warrior. She was Lady Clementine, a former Black Scripture member! As they got further away. Icarus stopped and turned around. He got into a fencing duel stance, his body sideways, his rapier tightly held within the hand that faced Clementine.
"En garde."
Clementine held back a snicker as she heard him.
"Does this idiot think this is some duel? First point wins?"
A smile creeped onto her face. She already could imagine the money she would make after she took that armor off of his cold dead body and sold it. A dragon's roar interrupted them, and they looked back at the mausoleum.
"Well, Khajiit has started, so I should do the same."
She said as she crouched down. Her body tensed, then she shot forward like an arrow. Icarus was laughing at himself, uncaring of her assault.
"I'm such an idiot! Why would I say en garde? What is this, some duel? It sounded cooler in my head..."
As Clementine came closer, Icarus finally noticed, and did the standard. He countered by leaning his body backwards as he thrust his sword forward, trying to take advantage of his longer range. But Clementine crossed her stilettos together and brought them up together to deflect the blade upwards. Seeing this, Icarus simply swung his rapier in a downward slash, but Clementine raised a single stiletto and whispered.
"[Impenetrable Fortress]"
As the rapier came into contact with stiletto, it suddenly stopped.
"It was completely blocked by a single stiletto?"
Icarus brought the rapier back up and around to attempt a backhand slash from the right. If it worked, Clementine would've been decapitated, and it should have, as it was all done with a quick flick of his wrist.
"[Flow Acceleration]"
Clementine suddenly bent backwards, narrowly avoiding the blade. As she came back up, she jumped backwards, and taunted Icarus again.
"What's all that flashy armor for? Your skills are at the beginner level! What's the matter, you haven't hit me a single time, is it that you can't?"
"Neither have you." came the cold reply
The smile disappeared, as Clementine realized he was right. She hadn't hit him a single time either. She shot off again, but this time, she managed to kill her momentum instantaneously and dashed off to the right. As she went sideways, she jabbed her stiletto into his left shoulder plate, only for the blade to bounce back, the shoulder plate completely undamaged. Seeing the shock on her face, Icarus suddenly decided to thrust the blade towards her right leg, as her right dagger was currently up in the air after it was reflected. But once again, she nimbly flipped away.
"She's like a cat!"
"Gosh, why is your armor so hard? I'm almost certain you're a man, and you're too slim to be Gazef, so who are you? Are you Brain. Unglaus...wait...Brain doesn't use rapiers." purred Clementine.
"Don't you think you should introduce yourself before asking questions?"
"Very well, I am Lady Clementine, a former member of the Black Scripture. Now who are you and why is your armor so hard?"
"Who am I? I'm just a traveler who decided to become a adventurer recently. As for my armor...thats a secret."
"Is it adamantium? There's no other metal that could be strong and resistant. But why is it that color? Adamantium is supposed to be dark."
"It's actually made of Star Silver, but you don't need to know that. If adamantium is the strongest metal she knows, then it seems like this world doesn't have any viable source of the Seven Prismatic Ores."
"This is a special type of adamantium. It's a treasure from my kingdom."
King of bullshit. Clementine accepted this and nodded, as she wouldn't believe anything else. Her thoughts were interuptted by the roar of a second dragon, and they both turned to look back at the direction it came from.
"Shit, I'm pretty sure Narberal was around Level 60, and those dragons are each around Level 50! She might actually get hurt! And adventurers are coming soon, we need to hurry this up!"
He quickly messaged Narberal.
"Now then, I think it's time to wrap this up as well. A taunt and then a show of overwhelming force."
"Now, let'a finish this up, come hurry up and die."
Clementine trembled, how dare this man.
"How dare you act so confident?! Noone here in this shitty kingdom can defeat me, I can defeat any human here! I have stepped into the realm of heroes!"
Clementine was confident in her victory. Only a handful of people within the kingdom were capable of fighting her. Gazef Stronoff, Brain Unglaus, and a few adventurers. The man was infuriating her, with the way he looked down at her, as if she were an ant. She was not an ant! She had always been looked down, even though she was extraordinary. It was all because of her bastard brother, who was even more extraordinary. He was always ahead of her, always better, more talented, more loved. Hearing this, Clementine flew into a rage and lost all rational thought.
"Well, I agree we should wrap this up."
"[Gale Pace]"
"[Greater Evasion]"
"[Ability Boost]"
"[Greater Ability Boost]"
She charged Icarus once again. This time however, Icarus decided to use his full strength as someone who was constantly on the top of YGGDRASIL's leaderboard. As Clementine jumped towards him, she tried to ram her blade into the visor slit of his helmet.
Icarus grabbed the stiletto blade with his hand, but Clementine wasn't a former Black Scripture member for nothing. She swung her other weapon, thinking she had him, and he was holding the rapier. But Icarus put [Judicus] back in his inventory, and it disappeared into mist. His hand now free, he grabbed the other stiletto, also by the blade, and now Clementine was hanging in the air like a child hanging from monkey bars. She had noticed the vanishing rapier, which sent alarm bells ringing through her head.
"Disengage and flee. Immediately."
She hurriedly let go of the stilettos, only for her body to stiffen in place.
"[Jelly Joints]"
"Clementine's legs gave out, and her arms refused to catch her as she collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been snapped.
"Why can't I move? W-What did you do you bastard?"
" I used a seventh tier spell on you. Was it fun fighting me? I haven't used the sword in a while. I am a magic caster, after all."
"L-Lies! Nobody can use seventh tier magic so easily!"
The helmet disappeared, vanishing into thin air like the rapier, which brought Icarus's face into full view. Sharp features, perfect skin, and messy black hair. Clementine may be a sadistic psychopath, but she would've admired those looks, if it wasn't for the red eyes and the two curly horns growing out of his head. A grin was showing, but the smile nevered reached his eyes.
"N-No way! Who the hell are you! A-A Demon Lord?!"
"Close enough."
With time running short, he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to meet up with Narberal.
XXX
Currently Known Equipment and Abilities:
EQUIPMENT
-[Holy Set] (Legendary Class Armor Set) (Archangel)
-[Judicus] (Divine Class Rapier) (Archangel)
ITEMS
[All Seeing Eye] (Relic Class Item) (see all 6th tier or lower traps/read all written languages)
SPELLS
-[Message] (2nd tier) (Sends a message)
-[Cruel Contortion] (4th tier) (Causes internal damage by forcing the target's bones to contort and break. Target looks like they're spasming or having a seizure.)
-[Holy Hail] (5th tier) (Summons a hailstorm of glowing orbs. Extra damage against undead.)
-[Jelly Joints] (7th tier) (Causes target to lose all strength, making them have no control over their body, rendering them useless.)
-[Implosion] (8th tier) (Causes target to implode. Messy.)
-[True Resurrection] (9th tier) (Can resurrect almost anything.)
-[Mass Resurrection] (10th tier) (Casts [True Resurrection] over an area.)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes I know it's been over two weeks. Things haven't been the best. Four thousand words, and Clementine and Khajiit are both alive. I wanted to give Khajiit a better story after reading the LN. -8/29/20
-ASAI