The atmosphere was a silent one. The two walked for only a few moments to a recluse location, but those moments seemed like eternity.
Well. That's certainly a lot of adventurer tags. If I take her alive I'll probably profit quite a bit. We have our YGGDRASIL gold but I don't really want to spend those exalted earnings.
While Neph was going over banking in his head, the figure leading him stopped.
"So... Silver plate. Why don't you have a adventurer tag?" Clementine asked.
"I'm newly registered, just today." Neph responded.
"Oh? Skipping ranks? I've never heard of that happening. It's a shame really. I would have liked your tag in my collection." She did a shrugging motion.
Neph merely laughed. He heard a slight tremble in the earth and thought
So I guess Diyandi's done with her side.
Clementine noticed this as well.
"Well, I guess it's time for our play session" She said as she crouched.
And lunged with a speed even Neph was surprised at. A dagger in hand she stabbed forward at what would be Neph's right eye. Neph hastily stepped out of the way, missing the dagger by mere centimeters.
Seeing Neph's line of sight not trained on her, Clementine elbowed him with her free hand while still in the air, the impact knocking Neph back a little.
Neph gritted his teeth.
The two were now once again at a silent standstill, addressing the situation.
Neph took practically no damage. At least nothing that will last. He felt the impact but all of the damage was blocked by the [Wynter Siege] armor.
Clementine on the other hand, while she was the one attacking, was the one that was damaged.
"Ow ow ow ow ow! What is that armor made of?!" She screamed. Her eyes were now a bit more feral. They both could see that her arm was now slung to the side. Neph's neck armor was a meshed metal, and as such, her elbow looked like someone took a tenderizer to it.
I guess I'm still a novice after all. In game the fighting moves and techniques are command based. Here it's actual skill. Of course I would take a hit. The only good side is those commands still worked. If it weren't for this armor, I would probably be knocked out or outright dead. Makes me appreciate her skill more than Nigun's group, I killed them with simple swings.
Neph put a hand on his neck, relaxing his grip on [Dying Empress].
"Care to fix your arm?"
"W-what kind of question is that! Aren't you going to attack?!" She screamed.
"I'm not one to kill a lady unfairly." Neph bowed again. This sent Clementine over the edge.
"You'll regret giving me the time to recuperate!" She yelled. She held her dagger with her teeth and pulled out a blue potion from her back pocket.
A mana potion? Why-
With a motion, she threw the knife in the air, and with her one remaining working arm drank the blue potion. To Neph's eyes, it worked wonders. Her elbow seemed to heal as if it was played in reverse. In mere moments the wound was never there.
So that's a healing potion. Interesting. They are blue here.
"How about that?" Clementine said triumphantly. Her eyes were fully feral now. She raised her newly healed left arm to catch the dagger which had garnered surprising airtime.
"It's a potion I stole from the innermost chambers of the Black Scripture." She laughed. Cracking her new knuckles.
"Now. Where were we?" She crouched and pulled the mace she had out.
"I'll make sure your pain is everlasting. [Greater Agility Boost]"
With that, Clementine disappeared.
Neph could not track her. He felt a sense of where she was. But it was odd.
He felt that she was everywhere. She was dancing all around him. With a gust of wind, the mace she held slammed into Neph's right shoulder, knocking him forward slightly.
The mace itself was made of a material as strong as the ones that made up [Wyner Siege] armor, and as such, both equipment did not damage one another. It was merely an exchange of force. If one of the material was weaker than the other, then it would result in the other's destruction, ending in Neph's death or Clementine's loss of a weapon.
These strikes were rapid and forceful. She aimed for every joint that could be hit.
The back of the knee, and Neph kneeled slightly.
The left shoulder, his arm slightly juttered.
I have to counter attack!
Having had enough of being a punching bag, Neph swung out [Dying Empress] in a wide arc in front of him. His intentions was that this wide swing would deny angles of attacks from Clementine, but to Neph's surprise she stepped on the moving blade. Each centipede like segment of [Dying Empress]'s whip blade was a stepping stone for Clementine.
And it was here that he realized something else. As he was being struck, Clementine was calling out various buffs that Neph did not hear in the midst of the barrage of attacks.
"[Impenetrable Fortress]…[Flow Acceleration]…" All of these added either to striking speed or striking power.
Neph activated a skill of his weapon.
"[Blade Spline]" The whip blade extended to an extremely long length, and swung in a spherical fashion not unlike those of the swirls on a lollipop. This whirl of death forced Clementine to back away.
She hated to admit it, but if she was hit by that, she would have been a splatter on the ground. Despite their difference in skill she could still see that the equipment Neph wore was high class.
"Agh. You really went all out. It's my turn now. [Ghost Shift]"
Before she knew it, Neph materialized in front of Clementine.
"[Caret Spline]" The whip blade swung up in a ^ caret shape, forcing Clementine to use a combination of her still active buffs as well as raw physical power to back to the side, lest she want to be bifurcated. This sudden burst left her a bit dazed, and Neph would not miss this chance.
In the moment's confusion, Neph disappeared again and reappeared behind Clementine.
"[Caret Spline]" Another ^ caret shape and the arm that had been healed by the blue potion came off.
The segments of the whip blade [Dying Empress] tore flesh viciously as it ran each and every bladed segment through her shoulder.
The excruciating pain caused Clementine to fall to her knees, her eyes wet from tears she did not know she had cried from this raw primal pain. Neph did not feel the need to continue.
He stepped forward from behind her, lowering his weapon.
"Will you give up? I do not want to kill you." He said.
"Don't..."
"Huh?"
"...you..."
"I'm sorry what?"
"Don't you dare give me pity!" Clementine glared at Neph with a anger that shocked him. He backed away slightly, if not in fear, out of respect for just how much hatred she had towards him.
In a flash, she grabbed her now severed arm and sprinted in the direction where they came. Still a bit dazed from the bloodlust, Neph followed her to the best of his ability with [Ghost Shift].
"This is madnes-" One of the cultists screamed. His scream was interrupted by a surge of pain as Verdandi cut off his arm.
She had did this to a three of the eight men present, save for one, she cut his head off to instill fear.
I will present them to Lord Neph satisfyingly!
Verdandi was in the midst of chasing another member of the cult down to neutralize when Clementine rushed back to their leader, Khajit.
She was badly wounded, her left shoulder in tatters, her arm severed.
Serves you right!
Without missing a beat, Verdandi froze the cultist member she was chasing with a [Ice Thrash], and turned her attention to the returned. Verdandi used [Fastlight] to dash towards the two of masterminds behind this graveyard uprising.
Sensing an attack, Clementine braced herself with hand on ground as she kicked at Verdandi. Verdandi blocked it with her blade but was pushed back. She readied herself for another attack-
"Khajit! Do it, Summon them!" Clementine held the bald cult leader by his robe collar, eyes burning with wrath.
"A-alright!" The man hastily procured an orb from his knapsack and held it high in the air.
"Verdandi!"
"Sister!"
Verdandi turned to see Neph and Diyandi converging on her location. They all shared a brief hug as they turned to look at the two still functional members of the cult Zuranon.
"Behold! The Power, of the Orb Of Death!" Khajit yelled triumphantly. Clementine laughed hysterically while holding her shoulder. Neph saw her drink another blue healing potion yet the healing effects do not seem to include growing another arm.
"You're finished!" Clementine yelled.
The ground shook beneath the three beings not of this world. Neph and his two angels looked around for the cause and saw a mass of bone piling up. They formed themselves around a core light, and slowly grew into a shape familiar to all three people that did not belong.
A dragon.
A skeletal dragon.
Wow. They can do that? With how weak Khajit is I'm surprised he can summon something utilizing so much mana. Maybe it's the jewel. I should see if I can take it from him.
"You idiot! Use the rest of the power! That adventurer is no joke!" Clementine yelled. After finally realizing how panicked Clementine was, Khajit used the stone again to call forth another dragon.
"Skeletal Dragon!"
Another rumble and the mound of bones gathered into an identical dragon shape.
The twins looked to their Lord for orders. All three people did not worry, as they had realized from the battle with Nigun that they are vastly worlds above the inhabitants of this world. The twins saw that their Lord stared at the dragons with intrigue.
"Well." Neph spoke.
"I guess we should answer twins with twins."
Realizing what he meant, the two angels bowed in unison.
"As you will, Lord Neph!" They both redied a offensive.
"Hahahahahha fools! That dragon is immune to all magic, nothing can stop it! Not even you!" Khajit yelled with both hands in the air, glory radiating out from the Orb Of Death.
"Kill them!" Clementine yelled. The dragons started an attack with their front legs, attempting to stomp on the three opposition. Neph stepped forward and blocked both of the falling dragon's paws with his arms, and held them there.
"W-what!" Both Khajit and Clementine yelled.
"Do it." Neph said calmly.
"Hyah!" Verdandi leapt in the air. The dragon on Neph's left was instantly frozen with a magically amplified [Ice Thrash]. Seeing this, Neph stopped holding the paw belonging to that dragon.
Having landed on the ground, Verdandi proceeded to shatter the dragon with a attack from her sword [Julhwen].
"[Rootlight]" An attack that moved the straight katana in a stabbing motion too fast to see save for a afterimage of blue light in the shape of tree roots. The dragon fell to pieces.
Satisfied, Neph looked over to Diyandi, and she too leapt in the air.
"[Searbind Rain]!" A hail of arrows rained down on the skeleton dragon from Diyandi's [Six-String Bow], melting each part it hit into the ground, pinning it. Then, still in the air, she finished the dragon with [Petrifyre].
Diyandi held a small white flame in her hand. The flame was not one that floated above a ignition source no. It was one that appeared solid. As if the flame itself was a mass of moving waters in the shape of a flame. She simply tossed it at the remaining skeletal dragon, and the flame spread throughout the dragon's body.
With a roar, the dragon attempted a final offensive, but the [Petrifyre] turned all of its bones to stone, trapping it in eternity.
Like the first, Neph stopped holding the last dragon's paw as well. He looked towards the two standing figures that were the opponents of Neph and his two angels. They were pale and stunned.
"H-how..." Khajit uttered. With the twins finishing their work, Neph took a step in the direction of the enemy, and they took a step backwards.
"My life's work... Gone in mere moments..." Khajit was in disbelief.
A loud wailing surprised all in the scene. Clementine was the source of the wail. Activating [Flow Acceleration] again, she made off with her severed arm still in her own grasp.
"[Ice Thrash]!" Verdandi sent another freezing pulse to try and stop her, but the pulse traveled along the ground, and as such, Clementine was able to avoid it by hopping on trees and escaping.
Ah... If I tried, then my arrows would probably have killed her, even with binding arrows. Diyandi thought.
"Tsk. Such a shame." Neph commented.
"Lord Neph, I apologize for my failure to apprehend her! I request punishment!" Verdandi bowed.
"It's fine. She won't be a threat anyways."
Verdandi made a motion to protest but Neph silenced it with a wave of his hand.
"Now then. Khajit was it?"
"Eek!" The bald man cowered.
Do I really come off as that intimidating. Oh, well, I do still have the mask on.
Neph walked up to the man and grabbed the hand holding the Orb of Death. He took it from Khajit, and examined it close. In the peripheral of his vision, Neph could see that Khajit was attempting a similar escape to Clementine, but he stopped when Verdandi put her blade against his neck.
Hello, great one.
A voice surprised Neph. He looked around frantically, to the surprise of the twins before he realized it was the Orb.
"Ah. It's you." He said to it.
Yes. I am the embodiment of the desire for death. Something you are not a stranger to.
"And? What do you want with me?" Neph asked.
I wish to be in your service. Perhaps as a thrall or a adviser. With your capabilities, there would be no end to the deaths we can spread!
"Hm."
So the death cult Zuranon was following this thing? Neph thought. He looked at the black orb for a few seconds.
So? What do you think, my Lord?
"I'm not interested in spreading death, even if I am capable of it." And that was the truth. To Neph, that would just be a hassle.
But with your powers we could be unst-
"Neph-dono!" A voice called out to Neph. He looked in the direction that it came from and saw it was from the gates. Gazef had led a small force out into this graveyard.
"Gazef." Neph bowed. The twins did the same.
"Ah, Neph-dono, please don't do that, we are friends." Gazef gave a light chuckle. Neph joined in.
They noticed some of the guards that came with Gazef stare in awe at the scene of battle. They marveled at the petrified skeletal dragon, and poked the shattered frozen one with their spears.
Amazing
Such power!
These would have destroyed the city!
They could hear words like these being muttered.
"This is the man that was the leader behind this uprising, as well as the-"
Ahh! The kid!
"...the kidnapping that was mentioned to us at the tavern." Neph pointed at Khajit, who had now just slumped down and accepted his fate.
"Hey, you. Where is the boy you kidnapped?" Diyandi asked Khajit. She had to kick him lightly to get him to answer.
"In...In the hideout there-" He pointed at a small entrance to the underground hideout. Gazef gave a nod, and a few of the men that came with him rushed into the hideout.
"Neph-dono, what is that you're holding?"
"Ah. This. It's a magical artifact called the Orb Of Death that Khajit here was using to summon those dragons." Neph answered nonchalantly. He handed the Orb to Verdandi. The first moment she held it, she looked a bit surprised, but that was probably because of the Orb trying to communicate with her.
"Suspend it." At Neph's command, Verdandi used [Ice Thrash] to freeze the orb, rendering it docile.
"I will keep an eye out on it, and attempt to re-purpose it. In truth, it has a consciousness, and as such, was probably the true leader of this group of Zuranon." Neph continued. Gazef pondered for a moment, and answered.
"Very well. I trust you will protect us from it." Gazef grabbed Neph's hand, surprising him. They both shook hands. The jovial conclusion was interrupted by a wail.
Ah. Verdandi really did a number on these guys.
"Oh. Please apprehend these other members of Zuranon. I had made sure to keep as many alive as possible." Neph signaled to Verdandi. She led the remaining members of Gazef's troops to the scattered about neutralized members of Zuranon in the graveyard.
"Warrior Captain! We found the boy!" One of the guards who went into the hideout yelled. He and a few others helped the boy up from the hideout. Neph walked over to him. There was a strange item on the boy's head.
"[Appraise Item]" he whispered. The skill fed back the response as a automatic thought to Neph:
Item: [Crown Of Wisdom]. Changes the wearer into an item that activates extremely high ranked magic.
I see. He thought.
What a large price to pay for power. I guess I'll remove it from him.
Neph utilized a racial ability of his ghost based class to detect the relationship of the Crown to Nferia, and saw it as a parasite feeding on Nferia's mind. With another racial skill, [Perception Bubble], he isolated Nferia's mind from the Crown, and as such, the Crown became inert. Neph simply grabbed it and threw it on the ground, stomping on it to destroy it.
"Your name... Is Nferia, correct?" Neph asked, looking at the boy's closed eyes. He was crying tears of blood, probably indicating his eyes were slashed.
"...Yes, but how did you know?"
"Diyandi." Neph said. She walked over and healed him with a spell Gazef was familiar with.
"[Flame Of Reincarnation]." She held the boy's head by the hair, causing him to panic a bit, but as she seared the flame against his damaged eyes, the wounds healed to the sound of rustling leaves. As such, Nferia stopped squirming. The city guards, seeing this, spoke in awe.
Moments later, Nferia opened his eyes to see Neph's mask. Something resembling a mouthless, demonic lion.
"I am Nephilentines. A friend of Enri's." Neph said. He bowed and took off his mask. That name spurred Nferia to action.
"Enri! Is she alright?" He rushed up to Neph. The spacing made Neph a bit uncomfortable.
"Ah... Yes. I had Gazef take her to a safe place."
"If you so wish, I can take you to her." Gazef added. Nferia gave an energetic nod.
With most of the culprits apprehended, Neph's group of three and Gazef with the city guard exited the graveyard under the shining sun, triumphant.