Chapter IV, Part II – The Shameful Death

Ashfeld, the region controlled by the Knight faction, was a beautiful place. Hanako had only been once or twice because of her previous espionage tasks given to her by the Renjiro clan, but the area was magnificently formed, especially when it was contrasted to the horrible swamps of the Myre. However, now was not the time to appreciate the beauty of the landscapes when they were being ravaged and torn apart by the damned Knights.

Hanako sat in a large tree, its branches covering her effectively. Splayed across two other branches, a man slept, his clothes and armor stripped away from him. He wore only two things: a thick bandaged soaked in blood that was attached to his groin and a dense piece of rope tied around his neck. The man, William, had fallen to Hanako less than two days ago. It was strange for a person to care for their enemy, but the Shinobi had other plans for the Blackstone dog.

The Shinobi looked upon the man's unconscious form. He had been sleeping for a long time, making her wonder whether she should have just killed him. That was when he shifted. William's eyes struggled to open all the way with the bright sun shining through small openings in the tree's canopy. His brown eyes gazed around his immediate surroundings; why was he in a tree? His eyes moved from his leafy surroundings and settled onto Hanako.

"What?!" He yelled with a broken, raspy voice as he flinched away, almost plummeting from the tree. To his luck, however, he caught himself before he could fall the almost thirty-foot drop.

"You're finally awake." His captor said, her voice quiet and calm as she looked upon him. "You've been asleep for nearly two days."

"Let me go this instant, you wretch!" William demanded. His actions contradicted his seemingly confident voice since he cowered in a fear that he seemed to refuse to acknowledge was there.

"I wouldn't speak to your captor like that." Hanako said quietly, her eyes narrowing at the nuisance that was the man that sat in front of her. "After all, I hold your life in my hands."

She motioned with her head towards a piece of rope that she held in her hands. The thick cord connected to the noose that had been tied around William's neck. His eyes widened as he realized what she could do with a simple kick.

"You bitch." He whispered under his breath, believing that it was not going to be heard by his captor. He was wrong. She peered at the man when he uttered those words. Hanako pulled on the rope, sending him stumbling closer to her.

"Where is Darius Shonto?" She demanded, slightly pushing him away from her as she readied her position to kick him off if he was going to be noncompliant.

"I'd rather die before I tell you where he is!" William spat angrily. In response to the wrong answer, she grabbed his hand that had been resting idly on one of the tree's thick branches. She took hold of one of the fingers and pulled it backwards until an audible snap followed by a scream could be heard.

"God-fucking damnit!" He yelled, attempting to pull his hand away from the Shinobi; however, she kept hold of it, wrapping her palm around the next digit of his—the middle finger. "You're a crazy fucking bitch!"

"I'll ask once more: where is Darius Shonto?" Her voice cut through the man's arrogant mind.

"H-he's at the Wolfstone Outpost!" William confessed, his cocky voice giving way to a shaky cowardly one. Hanako raised an eyebrow at the Knight. That outpost was originally a Royal Legion-controlled one, and to her knowledge, they never lost it. Unless the Blackstone Legion had taken the Royal Legion, there was no reason that they should have been able to take the Wolfstone Outpost without her knowledge.

"Why is he there?" She questioned, raising her voice only slightly.

"I answered your goddamned question already!" He answered, avoiding the question. "Now, let me go!"

"I'll give you another chance before I break your next finger." Hanako shot back. She tightened her grip around his finger and pulled down slightly. "Now, why is he there?"

"Fucking hell." William uttered, moving his hand two minimize the stress on his finger's joints. "We joined the Blackstone Legion under the orders of Lord Vincent."

Hanako went silent, her mind filled with thoughts. The Knight looked upon his captor, not daring to interrupt her in case he was to anger her. After a few minutes of dead silence, save for the creaking of the branches as William shifted to a more comfortable position, it was broken by the Shinobi.

"I think it would be better for me to keep you alive… for now." She said, releasing his hand from her tight grip. The man pulled his hand away from her, wincing as he slightly touched his injured fingers.

"Thank fuck you came to your senses." William said, sighing in relief. His relief was soon cut short when he realized the latter part of what she said, his eyes widening as he did. "Wait, what do you mean 'for now?'"

The Knight's question was met with narrow eyes from the Shinobi. She leaned over, causing her captive to instinctively move away. In response, she simply pulled the rope from around his neck. William reach to touch his neck—which had been reddened from the tight piece of cord. Just a second after the rope had been removed, Hanako put her boot against his chest and pushed him from the tree.

"You fucking cunt!" William yelled as he fell from the tall tree, crashing into the grassy land below. He groaned as he rolled around on his back. He was quickly followed by Hanako, who had jumped from the tree with great finesse.

When the man opened his eyes with great pain, he was greeted by the Shinobi standing over him with his armor in her hands. She threw the set of leather and metal onto him shortly after he realized what he was looking at. After she threw it onto him, he checked the armor, but he quickly noticed that his sword was missing.

"Put it on." Hanako commanded shortly after throwing the stuff onto him. "Maybe you'll get your sword after you're put in the ground… maybe."

William's eyes narrowed on her, making a deep humming sound of annoyance as he did so. He pushed himself from the ground and began strapping himself into his armor. After he finished tightening the leather straps that connected his breastplate to his backplate, he turned on his heel to look Hanako in the eye, crossing his arms.

"What now?" William asked, looking at the Shinobi that had been silent for a little while.

"We go to the Wolfstone Outpost."

The captor and her prisoner walked for miles in mostly silence until they reached the region known as the Dolo Plains—a place formerly characterized by flat grasslands and serene ponds. It used to be a beautiful place, but war had ravaged the area so much that it was filled with fiery ashes and decomposing bones. In the midst of the death that surrounding it, the Wolfstone Outpost stood strong.

Formerly a fortress for the Wolfstone Legion, it had fallen a long time ago to Vikings. Years after the Vikings first taken the grounds, the warlord Apollyon's legion marched in and massacred them. It was a bloodbath; the Vikings stood no chance against the might of the Blackstone Legion, even if they were a smaller one at the time.

Now, the Wolfstone Legion was controlled by the Blackstone's as a kind of outpost that looks over the Myre-Ashfeld border, and it was at this outpost that Hanako's mission was. According to her prisoner, Darius Shonto was within those stone walls.

Hanako's eyes peered over a ridge at the structure. It was expansive, for it was a former fortress. It stood atop one of the few short hills in the Dolo Plains region, and it had been built there for its vantage point over the Myre's thick swamps and the Dolo Plains that bordered them. From her position the Shinobi could see the entrance to the outpost; two large banners depicting the Blackstone Legion's emblem hung from the two towers that guarded this entrance.

William waited next to Hanako, his own eyes looking at the structure with a different kind of look than hers. He looked with a longing. It had been a few days journey, and he had been sick of the ropes that were tied around his hand. He could feel his hands turn purple underneath the leather gloves from a lack of blood flow from how tightly his bindings were tied. The Knight removed his eyes from the Wolfstone Outpost and to his captor.

"What's your plan?" He inquired with skepticism. "How are we getting in there?"

"I never said anything about a 'we.'" Hanako said, keeping her eyes glued on the structure. "You're staying here."

"What?" William said, being slightly surprised by her comment. "You've kept me alive just to stand by a tree?"

"No." She responded as she turned her head to look at him. "I kept you alive just to be tied to a tree."

The Shinobi pushed herself up and grabbed the ropes that bound the man's hands behind his back. She pulled him up to his feet since he could not do it himself. Taking another piece of rope that had been hanging from her belt, she wrapped that around his torso, tying him tightly to a tree.

"And what happens to me?" William asked after a hefty sigh.

"Don't worry." Hanako 'reassured' the Knight. "I'll come get you after I have a talk with Darius Shonto."

After she had finished tying the man to the thick tree, the Shinobi took a step back and narrowed her eyes at William a last time, looking at the job she did with the rope. Something was not quite right. She slowly approached her prisoner and knelt to his feet. Taking one of the blade of her Kusarigama, she slashed his ankles, causing him to scream. Luckily, they were too far away from the Wolfstone Outpost to be heard.

After she was eventually satisfied with the work she did, she turned on her heel and began to make her way to Darius as William hurled a volley of curses and insults at her.

Hanako's two brown eyes peered between two of the many crenellations that lined the walls. For a structure of its size, the Wolfstone Outpost was severely undermanned of what she could see. She counted ten footmen in the courtyard and seven archers along the walls. However, her main target—Darius Shonto—must have been within the keep that sat on the far side of the castle opposite the main gate.

The Shinobi could not risk creating a scene in the courtyard. She had to complete her mission first and foremost. Therefore, she decided to make her way around the perimeter of the outpost. Hanako climbed up onto the wall's walkway silently and swiftly, instantly crouching behind some crates as to hide from the archers on other sections of the wall.

Hanako made her way to the entranceway that led into the keep with grace and speed, always making sure to not bring any attention to herself. When she had eventually made it to the keep's outer shell, the sun had fallen about halfway since the time she first laid eyes on the Wolfstone Outpost, bringing dusk upon the landscapes.

She pushed open the heavy wooden door ever so slightly, peering into the room. It seemed to be the war room. A large wooden table sat in the middle of the area—a large map of Ashfeld and the Myre sitting atop it. A window sat overlooking the mostly empty courtyard. Other armor and tools scattered the room, being thrown into it without any sort of care.

Hanako carefully made her way into the empty war room. She took a chance to look at the map. Small wooden statuettes of a variety of things were scattered across the minimized landscape. Some looked like wolves and horses—which she assumed was the Blackstone Legion—whilst others looked like sheep and birds, which she assumed to be the Samurai. Which clan or leadership of Samurai? She did not know.

A pair of wolves looked to be going up the main roads of the Myre that led to Koto, the Imperial City. Another pair of figurines, horses this time, looked to be going through the southern area of the Samurai's region, presumably a secret assault against Koto as well. From what her two hazel eyes were seeing, it seemed to be a full assault against the Imperial City.

Hanako took a step back from the table and turned to the entranceway that she did not come from when the sound of tapping was heard. The sounds seemed to be footsteps, and they grew closer and closer with every passing second. She swiftly jumped atop the table carefully, making sure not to knock over any of the figurines. From there, she jumped and clung to a beam that ran across the empty space in the room. Climbing atop this supportive beam, she laid on her stomach there, making sure not to make any sounds.

The door creaked open, and two figures walked in. One, a young lad, was dressed in clothes that made him look like a messenger. The sigil of the Blackstone Legion was sewn onto both of his shoulders. The other—an armored man larger than the other—was dressed in thick steel armor signature to that of a Conqueror. The suspicion that he was one of these was confirmed when the Shinobi noticed a flail that was wrapped around his lower arm. Strangely, his shield seemed to be absent from him.

"Tell Apollyon that the plans have been prepared, and all that she needs to do is to give the command." The man, who Hanako had recognized to be Darius Shonto, told the young boy, causing him to promptly nod. Darius turned from the lad to the war table.

Leaning on the counter's wooden surface, the Knight's brown eyes darted around the map, a smirk slowly creeping onto his face as he looked up the plan that he had devised. The Conqueror pushed up from the table and turned back to the boy. His smile instantly went away as he realized that his messenger had not left yet.

"What are you doing here? Go!" Darius shouted at the lad, knocking the boy to the left with the back of his armored right hand. The messenger fell to the ground but quickly rose and ran off, leaving the Conqueror alone with his unseen spectator.

The Knight turned on his heel and walked to the window that overlooked the courtyard. He looked out and muttered an inaudible curse under his breath. He pressed the palm of his hand against the stone pillar that sat beside the glass, putting all of his wait on it.

Hanako slowly and silently pushed herself up from her lying down position, eventually crouching atop the beam that she was on. She swiftly jumped down, making a light tapping noise as her equipment lightly jingled on her belt. Darius turned on his heel to look at the sound that had been made, his eyes locking his Hanako's.

"What the hell?" He muttered, instinctively unwrapping his flail's chains in one rapid motion. "Who the fuck are you?"

Hanako remained silent, but she, too, retrieved her Kusarigama that had been hanging from her lower arm. Her eyes were penetratingly set on the man, and her grip around her weapons tightened. Darius took a step forward towards the Shinobi, clutching his flail intensely. He watched his opponent carefully as he carefully readied himself for a battle that he knew was coming.

The Shinobi patiently waited for her target to make the first move. She knew that if she waited long enough, the Knight would grow impatient and become careless, and it seemed as though it was working, as she could see the man become increasingly irritated in the stand still that was happening. Soon enough, Darius had begun to have enough of the wait.

He pushed himself from the ground and towards the Shinobi, swing his flail wildly. The metallic ball swung at Hanako, but she promptly ducked under the weapon, stabbing the man in his side. Digging the blade of one of her Kusarigama deeper into his flesh, she pulled down and out, tearing away a large portion of his side.

"Damn you!" Darius yelled as he stumbled back, clutching his wounded side with his left hand. "Te affligam!"

He swung his flail once again, and he once again missed. Hanako had dodged underneath his swipe and jumped up, kicking him in the face—which sent him stumbling backwards for a second time, dazed. He shook his head, trying to regain focus. A slew of curses exited the Conqueror's mouth as he began to swing his flail in a circular motion above his head, slowly approaching the Shinobi as he did so.

This attack sent the Shinobi taking steps backwards, making sure not to get hit by the spiked ball. She, too, began spinning her Kusarigama, giving it momentum. She released the blade, flinging it towards the man. It landed directly into the wound that she had created before, dodging his flail that could have blocked it. The man screamed in pain as the sharp blade entered his already bloodied side.

Hanako pulled on the chains that were connected to the blade, sending him stumbling towards her. As he grew closer and closer, she pulled out the weapon and grabbed the wooden handle. She brought both of her Kusarigama slightly elevated to the right, and she quickly swung them downwards in a diagonal motion, slicing the man's face when he stumbled into range.

Darius fell to the ground in pain, dropping his flail as he did so. He began to try to crawl away from Hanako, pleading with her to leave him alive. Tears flowed out from his eyes and his voice broke as he visibly cried. Shameful. Hanako thought. A warrior always dies with honor, and this is no honorable death. As Darius crawled to a wall, the Shinobi took a few steps toward him.

"Please… please…" The Conqueror begged, pain filling his voice. However, his cries were met with silence. Hanako stood there above him, looking down at his pathetic form. "Don't kill me… please…"

The words fell on deaf ears. The Shinobi retrieved her Ninjatō that was strapped to her back. She brought it above her head and brought it down swiftly, splattering the surrounding area with a crimson liquid. With his cries and pleas ceased, the room fell in silence once again.

I hope you enjoyed this (half-?)chapter of Nos Sunt Lupi. However, it does bring a question to mind: Would you rather have "long" chapters (4500 to 5000 words) or would you rather have shorter chapters (2500 to 3000)? Let me know, and don't forget to review/follow/favorite if you deem the story worthy.