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Lightbringer
Chapter 10
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Lucifer enthusiastically let the skeleton warriors attack him while remaining purely on the defensive, observing that their fighting skills were indeed significantly better than the regular run-of-the-mill skeletons from earlier. Unsurprising considering these summons were undead of a higher level and were actually equipped with weapons and armor. While the skeletons seemed more like simple drunken brawlers stumbling about in a street fight swiping wildly with their hands, the skeleton warriors were, as their name suggested, actual trained martial combatants.
The reason he remained solely on the defensive was because he wanted to closely study their fighting ability, movements, and general combat awareness to form a baseline for further experimentation later on with his summons. He needed to know what they were capable of in this new world, where things were similar to YGGDRASIL and yet not quite the same sometimes, and what better way to start than with the weakest of his summons.
Additionally, he wanted to further test his reflexes and practice the defensive aspects of swordsmanship against more challenging opponents than the regular unarmed skeletons he had been facing earlier. It was purely a bonus that he was finding that this was the most fun he'd had all night so far. Yet even though these opponents were tougher than earlier, Lucifer blocked with his crimson sword or evaded their strikes with such ease that anyone watching might think he was long experienced at the art of fighting, not someone who had only just picked it up recently.
Sure, the skeleton warriors were faster than their regular skeleton brethren, but they were still much much too slow relative to himself, and certainly nowhere near as strong. He felt like he was only using a mere fraction of his strength to block or deflect their swords. They were disciplined, in a way. Never trying to do anything bold or reckless, staying on both feet and weaving clean lines with their swords while using their shields to defend themselves where appropriate and then counter-attacking.
Their attacks were relatively simple and easy to predict, so much so that he actually deliberately allowed them past his guard a few times to strike at his armor in order to test the strength of their weapons against his protective gear. Despite their steel blades not shattering when they struck the adamantium, neither did they leave even a single scratch on it.
Lucifer did notice that the edges of their swords seemed to chip and dent wherever they struck his armor, a testament to his armors superior strength. That was to be expected of course, considering that regular steel was a far inferior metal compared to adamantium, and that didn't even take into account the protective enchantments placed upon his armor. They might as well have been trying to slice him up with feathers, and he found the mental image of such a scene amusing.
When he had gathered all the information that he could for the moment – he would have to run more thorough tests later when he was alone – he shoved off the latest attack and leapt backwards a good distance, settling into a fighting stance. He stole a glance in the direction of Ria on the walls, where she appeared to have noticed he was engaged with the undead again and was now watching him once more with her telescope. He smiled, even though she couldn't see it.
"It's showtime," he whispered.
With their shields and armor, the skeleton warriors were a bit wider and bulkier compared to the regular naked skeletons, which meant it was difficult for them to attack him side-by-side without outright flanking him because they got in each others way. And since they weren't smart enough to actually try and flank him without being explicitly ordered to do so, or so he surmised, they charged him head on and he was able to fight them mostly one-by-one.
Smiling eagerly beneath his helm, Lucifer went to work. He calmly leaned and sidestepped to the left as the first skeleton warrior to reach him raised its sword high and slashed diagonally downward, its steel slicing through the misty air just inches from the angel. Lucifer brought Executioner up from where it had been loosely held by his hip and drove the point home through the now exposed chest of the skeleton. The crimson blade easily tore through the steel plate of its chest armor like it was nothing more than paper and pierced all the way through the back, breaking several bones and severing its spine such that the bottom half of it fell away.
With the top half of the skeleton skewered on his sword thanks to the armor being stuck onto it, he hefted it with ease and threw the remains at the next two skeletons, making them stumble as they raised their shields to block and halting the advance of the other three behind them. The first skeleton's upper half shattered into pieces against their shields, its steel equipment falling to the dirt with several thuds.
Lucifer surged forward without delay, slashing at the next two with their shields up in quick succession.
Their shields were sliced into useless pieces of metal that fell to the ground along with their shield arms, not that they cared as they swung their swords to strike at him as if nothing bad had happened to them. Lucifer blocked the closest strike with Executioner and closed the gap quickly with that skeleton warrior, the second attack from the other swinging harmlessly behind him where he had been standing a half second earlier.
Using his momentum he barreled into the first skeleton and sent it flying, breaking itself against a tombstone that it landed on nearby. Next, Lucifer fluidly ducked and spun as the other skeleton swung a backhand strike after it missed its first forehand, and the steel flashed over his head harmlessly. Still spinning, he buried his crimson sword in one motion straight up the skeleton's rib cage and impaled its skull. The summoned undead creature ceased to move, crumbling into a pile of bones before him.
The remaining three were not deterred in the slightest by the quick demise of their comrades as they flung themselves at him. He blocked the first attack with Executioner and then instinctively kicked with his leg high into the skeleton's torso, breaking the undead into two as his adamantium-encased foot crushed through its bone like it was nothing. As it fell to the ground, he crushed its skull underneath his heavy boot without even so much as a glance while he turned his attention to the next foe.
The next skeleton warrior tried to stab straight at him and he turned to his side just as the metal scraped by his chest plate. Had he been slower and wearing weaker armor, the blow might have hit its mark and done some damage. He swung upwards with Executioner and cut the skeleton from tailbone to the top of its skull as easily as if he were slicing through melted butter.
The final skeleton warrior held up its shield as it charged him, sword poised to strike while it growled that strange undead noise that they all seemed to make. This time Lucifer decided to use a sword skill, his crimson blade glowing with power.
"{Fatal Slash}," he said with the finality of a judge handing out a verdict, appearing in the blink of an eye behind the skeleton warrior followed by a momentary red trail of light that appeared connected to his sword. The skeleton's head, cleanly severed at the base of the neck, went flying into the gathered audience of gravestones. And then it was over.
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"Just who is this guy?" whispered Rionach Creary, Gold-ranked mage and veteran adventurer. She was holding her telescope up to her right eye, as she had been practically all night, and had just observed the warrior easily take down six skeleton warriors in what had to be less than a minute. A truly impressive feat, one that she couldn't actually believe she had just witnessed. It would have taken her entire party of six Gold-ranked adventurers working together to get a similar result, and they might not have even been able to do it in under a minute.
She had purposefully placed the armored warrior named Lucifer in the middle of the Grand Cemetery where it would be the most dangerous because, knowing the strength of the skeletons that normally spawned here, none of them would've been able to so much as scratch his adamantium armor, so it wasn't as if his life would be in any real danger. She figured that at worst he would be tired and scared and maybe have some bruises, and at best he would be able to hold his own until dawn. Well the warrior had proved to be more than capable of handling the skeletons, and then some.
"What's happening, Miss Ria?" asked the woman standing next to her wearing the armor of the Oldaven City Guard. The young woman tried to peer into the dark mist of the cemetery, though all she could really see were the small pinpricks of light from the torches of the examinees as if floating along in the dark silver mist.
Sergeant Tara Shemp was born and raised in the city of Oldaven and joined the City Guard as soon as she was old enough. Now she was in charge of the security of the South Gate. It wasn't the most prestigious posting, since the South Gate only connected the cemetery to the city, which was otherwise sealed off to the world by its own ring of high walls, but she was proud of it nonetheless because she defended the city against the never-ending undead that spawned from it. She at least felt like she was making a difference in the world, and that she was really keeping the city and its inhabitants safe.
Ria had known Tara for a whole year now, since the mage began to volunteer to conduct the exams for entry into the Guild, and whenever there was an examination the sergeant would accompany the mage up on the walls for the entirety of the night. They were always held here in the Grand Cemetery of Oldaven, and Tara and her men welcomed the break from their regularly scheduled duties.
Ria and the sergeant had been talking only a few moments earlier about the aspiring adventurers that were undertaking this latest exam. In particular their conversation heavily revolved around the man in the full set of adamantium armor. The other two groups were not much to make note of, young and inexperienced that they were, though Ria thought they had a surprisingly good chance of making it through the exam since they had made it this far.
Perhaps the most surprising of the two groups had been the two girls, Julia and Janna. She thought for sure that they were going to come running for the gate at some point, pleading to be let out. Yet they proved to be tougher than they looked, and Ria found herself rooting for them to make it through.
"It's that warrior we were discussing earlier," said Ria, slowly putting down her telescope to look at the sergeant, "He just took down six skeleton warriors in less than a minute."
The sergeant was taken aback. "Excuse me, but did you say skeleton warriors?!" she exclaimed with growing alarm, eliciting looks of surprise and curiosity from a few of the other guards on the ramparts.
Ria nodded solemnly. "Yep. He took them down by himself like they were nothing."
"Ria," started Tara in a disbelieving and almost lecturing tone, "There haven't been any skeleton warriors sightings in the cemetery in a very long time. So long in fact, that according to the daily logs we've kept for decades that I've looked over since I've taken this post, the last time was maybe twenty years ago, if I'm remembering correctly. And there was only one that spawned then, yet you're telling me you saw six of them? Tonight?!"
"That's what I saw," Ria replied seriously.
"Impossible..." whispered Tara, searching the mage's face for any signs she may be pulling her leg. If she was, it was not a funny joke.
"Are you calling me a liar?" the mage arched an eyebrow at her, a spark of fire in her eyes.
Hastily shaking her head, the sergeant said, "No! Of course not, Ria. I'm just... at a loss as to how this could have happened. As you know, the reason we go in every day to take out the undead skeletons is to prevent any higher level ones from ever spawning, and to think that six of them appeared in one night after none for at least the last twenty years... it is just... it's hard to believe."
Ria rubbed her arms, tired as they were from holding up the telescope for hours now, and sighed. "I understand your reasoning perfectly, Tara. I would find it hard to believe myself if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes. I don't know how it happened or why they chose tonight of all nights to appear, but I'm glad that they spawned where our mystery warrior was patrolling. If any of the other groups had encountered them, they would have been massacred before we could even think to intervene."
"Right," the sergeant said with a deep frown. "I hope nothing worse spawns out there. With skeleton warriors appearing randomly I feel like any other higher level ones might now show up too. Maybe I should call up the reserves to man the walls just in case." The sergeant felt really uneasy all of a sudden.
"You worry too much," commented the mage, "But I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to the undead." Ria leaned against the stone battlements and folded her arms. True, the sudden appearance of strong undead was troubling, but she was less concerned as the sergeant due to having seen the skills of the warrior in the cemetery for herself, and she also was fairly confident in her own abilities. Between the two of them they could surely handle any more undead of the same caliber as the skeleton warriors, but she didn't voice that thought out loud for fear of disrespecting the guards.
The sergeant issued her orders to call up the reserves for the rest of the night to the nearest guard, who quickly left to spread the word, and then she remembered what the mage had said about the warrior. "You said he took them down in less than a minute by himself?"
"More like less than forty seconds I think, but I wasn't really timing it exactly or anything. He struck each of them down pretty much in a single blow, probably using martial arts, although the martial art he used at the end was actually kind of overkill based on what I saw. Almost like he was... showing off." Ria looked thoughtfully out into the cemetery. For her to see perhaps? He was well aware that she was watching after all.
"That's... incredible," said Tara, her voice tinged with obvious awe, shifting her halberd from one hand to the other as she tried to picture the scene in her head.
"It really is incredible. From that display alone I think he should be at least on par with a Platinum rank. Maybe even Mithril. Suffice it to say, he won't stay a Copper plate for long once he's in the Guild."
"And he's only now joining the Guild? Where has he been hiding all this time?" Tara asked the question that Ria had been thinking.
Ria laughed a little and shifted her gaze to the sergeant. "Yeah. Kind of crazy, isn't it? With someone of his talent level you would think we would've heard about him already, or you'd think he would've joined the Guild ages ago, but something tells me there's a long and complicated story behind all that."
Tara gave a curt nod of agreement. "You're probably right about that."
"I'm always right, you should know that by now," said Ria with a smirk aimed at the sergeant.
"No comment," Tara said, and this time it was she who laughed, the worry caused by the appearance of skeleton warriors apparently forgotten, at least momentarily.
"I'll take that as you totally agreeing with my statement."
They were quiet for a spell, each one lost in their thoughts.
"It seems wrong for him to only be a Copper plate after tonight," Tara broke the silence as she glanced at the Gold plate that hung proudly from Ria's neck.
The mage shrugged, fingers reaching up to rub the plate she had worked hard to earn over the last year. "Rules are rules. I'll be sure to make note of his actual skill level on my report though. The higher ups will probably keep an eye on him and see if he might qualify to be fast-tracked for promotion, but the true test of an adventurer is the manner in which they complete the jobs they sign up for."
Tara shook her head. "Still seems wrong," she sniffed, then looked back out into the darkness of the mist-covered graveyard. "What did you say his name was again?"
"Lucifer Morningstar."
"Lucifer... I'll be sure to remember that name then."
Ria laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure we'll all be hearing a lot more of that name in the near future."
"Can you introduce me?" Tara grinned.
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The Healing Ward of the Temple of Earth, which stood tall with its several minarets near the East Gate of Oldaven, was divided into two distinct sections. One section was comprised of two great halls separated by a wide hallway and the other consisted of a large room at the far end of that same hallway.
Each great hall was filled with beds of cheap mattresses, around which were cloth curtains held up by simple wooden poles. There were at least a hundred of them tightly packed within each hall, and many of the beds were currently occupied. Coughing, sneezing, and the occasional whimpering and pained groan echoed across the torch-lit stones. This section was dedicated to those who couldn't afford magical healing and instead were given mundane medicinal treatments made out of herbs and potions.
It was of course cheaper than magical healing, but significantly slower and not guaranteed to fully heal everything.
The other section was dedicated to magical healing, and the large room that comprised it had only a few dozen beds, mostly because people didn't stay long since magic was able to heal wounds and ailments very quickly. These beds were much nicer, with thicker mattresses and fluffier pillows. Even the linens were softer and more pleasing to the skin, evidence that people truly got what they paid for.
There were two ways that people could pay the priests for their healing services: either with actual coin or by offering labor commensurate with the price of the treatment. More than half the people who went to the Temple for healing paid with labor. The guard that survived the attack the previous night was not important enough to spend magical healing on, so he was appointed a bed in one of the great halls and treated there with non-magical means.
At least the healing, however slow it was, would be paid for by Lord Rubeon's treasury. The man was injured while performing his duties after all, and the lord took care of his own. If he didn't, it was likely few would so willingly risk life and limb in his service.
Black followed the priest dressed in brown raiment down the rows of beds, wondering what kinds of injuries and illnesses were being treated here and hoping that none were contagious. He suddenly found himself breathing as shallowly and less frequently as he could get away with, which left him rather short of breath as he walked. When they finally came to a stop in front of one of the beds, the curtain fully drawn to hide the patient within, the priest turned to him.
"This is your man," said the priest simply and he pulled back the curtain.
The man lying in the bed within was almost entirely wrapped in bandages from head to toe and had several professionally set splints along his appendages, indicating that he was dealing with broken bones in various places. The bandages looked fairly clean, but not entirely as there were a few areas where there were still blood and pus stains.
What little of his skin was exposed was swollen black and blue from extensive bruising. If someone had told Black that this man had been thrown off the side of a mountain, he would have believed it. He shuddered to think the kind of pain the man had been in when this happened, and when he was first being treated by the priests, and felt the slightest pang of pity for him. He would be sure to exact a proper revenge on those who did this to one of his men.
"How is he?" asked the knight, glancing briefly at the priest before returning his gaze to the injured man. "Can he be woken up to speak?"
The priest frowned while his eyes watched him distastefully. "He is still in pretty bad shape, sir knight, as you can very well see. We spent hours last night and earlier today tending to him. His injuries are extensive and will take a significant amount of time to mend with only mundane treatments, though a full recovery is possible... at least physically. I would strongly advise against waking him," said the holy man, who then let out a heavy sigh, "But... if you think it absolutely necessary, yes it should be possible to wake him, but I must warn you that the pain might still be too great for him to bear for too long before passing out again so your time will be short, and even then he might not even be coherent, if he can speak at all."
Black glanced between the priest and the injured guard. He needed to know more about what he was up against. Now that he knew where to find the perpetrator, he needed more information before he made his move. And he needed to know immediately. He didn't have much time to plan and act before the return of Lord Rubeon from his business in the capital.
"Did he say anything about what happened to him while you were treating him? Anything at all?"
Shaking his head, the priest said, "No, sir knight. He was out cold practically the entire day and has said nothing of note, at least nothing that any of us here have heard."
That was disappointing. "I need to know what happened to him. How long before you'd recommend he can be woken up to speak with?"
The priest clasped his hands together in front of his belly, thumbs pressed together. "I would say maybe three days."
"That's too long," said the knight flatly and the priest's face hardened. He had a strong suspicion that the attackers might leave by then and possibly go somewhere beyond his reach. He needed to go after the attackers now while they were still in Oldaven.
Black leaned closer to the older man. "Listen, priest, every minute we wait the greater the chance that whoever did this gets away. I need to know what he saw, what he knows, if we are to catch the ones responsible while there's still a chance to do so. Surely that is worth the pain he will feel in the short term?"
The priest lowered his gaze, conflicted. "Gods forgive me," he finally muttered darkly as he moved closer to the injured guard and gently tried to coax him awake.
Finally, after some time, the man groaned as he was brought back into consciousness, and the priest got to his feet and took a few steps back.
"Thank you," said the knight, moving to where the priest had been hovering over the guard.
The priest simply shook his head and left them, mentioning something about dealing with other patients.
Groaning again and clearly in pain, the man moved ever so slightly and hissed from the pain of even that slightest of movements.
"Be still, man," said Black in what he thought was his best attempt at a strong, reassuring voice, "You're at a Healing Ward. Your injuries are serious, but you'll recover."
With one unfocused eye not covered by bandages, the man tried to look towards the knight hovering over him. "Woo... Woo ar...?"
"I'm Sir Kenrick Black, Captain of Lord Rubeon's forces here in Oldaven. Your captain," the knight introduced himself. "Do you remember me?"
"Cap...?" A flicker of recognition seemed to cross the man's eye.
"Yes, that's right. Listen, this is important. I need to know what happened to you. What can you tell me about who attacked you? How did they do it? Try and think and do your best to speak, and tell me anything at all. What you say may very well lead to the capture of the ones responsible for doing this to you."
The guard's eye suddenly went wide and a look of fear overcame the pained expression that he was showing.
"N-No..." he croaked, shaking his head and wincing from the pain of it.
"No?" asked the knight, confused. "What do you mean no?" He could also feel anger growing within him. This fool was going to deny him the answers he sought?
"Tuh... Tooo... stru... strrrnngg..." the man kept repeating that.
Black was finding it difficult to decipher his words. "Too... strong?" he finally said after a while. The coward. Black's anger burned brighter.
The man's eye blinked. "Ay... Ayyynn... Ayyn... gelll..." he struggled to speak and it was obvious that it was really painful for him to do so, though Black had little pity for him now due to the anger and annoyance he was feeling.
"Angel?" Black didn't know what to make of that. Was the man seeing visions of angels perhaps? Was the pain causing him to hallucinate? This was starting to seem frustratingly pointless.
"Ayynn...gellll... offf... deathhh," the injured man forced his words through the pain. His uncovered eye looked panicked and almost... pleading? Black wasn't sure.
"Angel of death? What do you mean by that?" hissed the knight, not understanding at all, but the man had already passed out again.
Black shook his head, a deep frown settling on his face as he rubbed a hand over it. The man must have been hallucinating or having nightmares. This was a giant waste of time. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he stepped away and drew the curtain closed. He'd have to rely on whatever information a short span of surveillance and investigation his men might bring before he'd be forced to make a move if he wanted to get this all squared away prior to the arrival of his lord.
The pressure was on, and despite his anger he realized he hadn't felt this excited in a while.
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Father Brio stepped out from where he had been hiding on the other side of the curtained-off bed, his brown vestments gathered tightly around him. He had been listening in on the conversation that the unsavory knight had with the injured man. A worried expression etched itself onto his lined face as he watched the knight in the black cloak walk away, muttering something unpleasant to himself.
Turning his attention to the injured man, the priest drew back the curtain, stepped in, and then closed it back up behind him. Standing next to the bed, the priest raised his hands in front of him, holding them steady over the injured man.
Closing his eyes, he spoke two words very softly, "[Light Healing]."
A golden-white glow emanated from his hands and washed over the man, who suddenly relaxed even in his unconscious state. With the extent of the man's injuries, the spell healed only a fraction of it, but it should have been enough that the pain should be alleviated somewhat. Again, the man was awakened by the gentle shaking of his shoulder and whispered words by a priest, but this time he woke up with less groaning and less pain.
When the man's uncovered eye finally fluttered open once more that night, the priest sat down on the edge of the bed and fixed him with a hard stare.
"You must tell me everything you know about this angel of death."
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Lucifer sat cross-legged in the middle of one of the many dirt paths that ran through this land of the dead, arms folded in front of his chest. Anyone looking at him might think he was sleeping or meditating, and in a way he supposed they weren't too far off the mark with that observation. Around him, the light mist from earlier was beginning to thicken into a heavy fog. Not that it mattered to his golden eyes.
As an angel, he had the passive skill [True Sight] that allowed him to see through pretty much any inclement weather, even through smoke, darkness, and invisibility. Unfortunately, it did not give him the ability to see through solid objects, so there was no looking through walls or something anytime soon.
Skeletons continued to spawn every now and again across the graves, but they were few and far between compared to earlier, as if the negative energy buildup had slowed, giving him plenty of time to himself.
Barring some yet unforeseen disaster that would cause him to fail, there was now no reason he would not become a full-fledged member of the Adventurer's Guild. He wasn't sure what the procedure was for newly inducted members of the Guild, but he hoped that it wouldn't take long for him to get his first plate.
He wanted to sign up for his first job as soon as he possibly could so that he could get out there and make some money. Maybe even get a promotion if possible while he was at it. That would be nice. But acquiring more money was a priority right now, as important as gathering more information.
Most people who met him these days seemed to believe he was some kind of noble from a wealthy aristocratic family, and he decided it would be beneficial to embrace that alternate identity and take advantage of it. As a noble, he would undoubtedly be treated better and more respectfully by most people, and he might even be able to gain access to certain people, places, and events that he might otherwise not have if he wasn't some kind of nobility.
However, if he wanted this to work out well for him, he needed to actually be as wealthy as he pretended. At the moment, he was pretty much broke in terms of New World currency, and while he could look and act the part of a wealthy noble, if it ever came time for him to "splash the cash" so to speak, he would be outed for sure.
To avoid that, he was going to need to make sure he had a lotof money on hand, and while Guild jobs were certainly going to help in that regard, he was going to need to figure out other means of revenue to speed things up. How he was going to do that though, he was not yet sure.
A sudden cry of pain echoed through the night and broke through the most recent quiet that had settled on the cemetery, quickly followed by the sounds of panicked yelling and desperate fighting. Getting to his feet in order to get a better view, Lucifer's head whipped towards the direction of the sound, which had come from the west.
The three boys were in trouble.
One of them, who Lucifer recognized to be Cristian, the taller of the three, was on the ground and had a particularly nasty set of scratches across one of his arms. His weapon appeared to no longer be in his possession. Blood flowed freely from his open wounds, and his thin leather chest piece looked torn up and covered in fresh blood as well. The other two were busy trying to fend off the skeletons that had advanced on them in the thick fog, and they were dangerously close to losing that fight.
They had let down their guard as the night wore on, Lucifer determined, and the thick fog probably hadn't helped matters. There were only five skeletons attacking them at the moment, with a few broken ones already lying still on the ground from their desperate attempts at defense, but those remaining five were more than capable of ripping the young lads to shreds.
With the two other boys already engaged in battle against multiple enemies, they were unable to help Cristian, who was busy scrambling on the ground to get away from the advancing skeleton that had now marked him for death.
A part of Lucifer wanted to go save the poor boys from their deadly predicament, but another part of him was telling him not to just blindly rush forward without thinking things through. This Exam was a dangerous undertaking and the boys knew the risks when they stayed in the cemetery past sundown. If Lucifer blindly went over to help, he would be hindering his own plans by failing to become an adventurer, unless the Guild was willing to make an exception. But the mage had been adamant that there were no exceptions handed down by the Guild, so that seemed highly unlikely.
He looked over to Ria's post on the walls and saw that she was only now quickly pulling up her telescope to take a look – it occurred to him then that her telescope was probably enchanted with something similar to his [True Sight]. It seemed that she had also slackened in her duties given her late notice of recent developments, unless she really meant what she said earlier about simply letting them die if they were unable to fend for themselves.
Not that it mattered now, because even if she wanted to intervene and save them, by the time she and the guards made it over to the boys it would be far too late and at least one of the boys was either going to die or be gravely injured – the pun was not lost on him, grim though it was. Sure enough, he noticed the redheaded mage's panicked movements as she seemed to be shouting something at the guards, some of whom were running down to the gate.
His attention returning to the situation on the western side of the cemetery, Lucifer began to move in that direction, trying to think of what he might be able to do to help without jeopardizing his own plans. It occurred to him then that maybe he didn't have to leave his designated area to help the boys. With his strength, he could probably throw something like a rock and at least knock off one or two of the skeletons to give them a hand.
But no, there was a chance he might hit one of the boys instead since they were locked in combat at the moment. He hadn't practiced throwing anything with accuracy and this probably wasn't the best time to test how accurate his throwing arm was, especially given the not insignificant distance he would have to throw.
Casting a spell would probably work, but now that Ria was clearly looking on and the guards were coming in they would definitely see the spells and it would be obvious that he was the one who cast it. He didn't want anyone to know he could wield magic for as long as he could keep that a secret.
The same problem applied to the idea of him turning invisible and teleporting over there to help. There was a strong chance that his disappearance, and the subsequent disappearance of his torchlight, however short it was, would be noted by anyone on the walls. Add to that the sudden and inexplicable appearance of an invisible force that assisted the young would-be adventurers, and it wouldn't take a genius to put two-and-two together.
Whatever Lucifer did, he had to visibly stay within his area.
Then he stopped abruptly and stood there dumbstruck as the thought hit him like a ton of bricks: he could simply use a summon! And he nearly laughed at how stupid he was to even forget that he wielded that power. He had been masquerading as a warrior all day and had gotten into the mindset of not really using magic, and somehow when confronted with this crisis he completely forgot the most versatile part of his magical arsenal. Even though he had summoned some skeleton warriors but a few hours ago for his own amusement.
Shaking his head at his own failings, he tried to decide on what was best to summon based on the situation. He had a range limit for his spells, which included his summoning, and the range for summoning was very short. He stopped moving when he reached the edge of his assigned area. Whatever it was, the summon needed to be fast to cover the distance quickly, and it also needed to be discrete. That removed a significant portion of his choices.
"Aahhh!" cried another of the boys as Lucifer watched a skeleton rake him painfully across the face with its claw-like fingers. It was Alejandro. And it appeared there were several more skeletons moving over to them, attracted by all the commotion.
There wasn't much time to deliberate anymore. He looked up to the walls where Ria had been almost all night and noticed that she was gone. A quick scan of the battlements showed only a handful of guards remained up there. When his eyes drifted down to the gate, it was already opening up. He assumed that Ria was probably among them and therefore not looking through her enchanted telescope. Turning back to the fighting off to the west, he hoped the fog would obscure him enough from their sight as he summoned forth the first angel that came to mind for the task.
"[Summon Fallen Angel: Bezaliel]."
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Cristian was crying. And bleeding. And his pants were most definitely wet. Had he pissed himself? Or did he land in some mud? Maybe. He couldn't remember.
Everything hurt. His head. His chest. His arms and legs. His whole painful body was damp from the fog and his own sweat. Dirt clung to him all over now, having scrambled painfully across the ground only moments ago. Exhaustion sunk deep into his bones, and yet fear and adrenaline coursed through is veins and kept him wide awake as he was forced to bear witness to a living nightmare.
He had lost his spear moments ago when the skeleton had overpowered him, throwing him to the ground – or had he simply tripped? – but not before it took some swipes at him with its sharp bony fingers that were like claws. The fingers had dug deep gashes into his skin and tore through his worn leather armor like it was plain cloth. They had seared with pain, and now they throbbed and burned and he wanted it to stop.
He had enough wits left about him to try and scramble away on all fours as the skeleton advanced on him slowly, groaning and growling constantly as it rattled and clicked its bones. The pain in Cristian's wounded arm intensified, making him hiss and wince, and he thought he was starting to feel a little dizzy. His tired muscles screamed at the continued exertion of his crawling and he dropped face first onto the damp soil, breathing heavily.
Twisting around along his uninjured side, he looked up and back at the skeleton who was only a few feet away. The dark hollows where its eyes should have been seemed to stare straight into his soul, and he whimpered. He crab walked backwards some more, trying to buy himself some more time, until his back met the cold hardness of a tombstone. With fear in his eyes he thought grimly that they were probably going to add one for him there soon enough.
Here lies Cristian, foolish young boy who thought himself an adventurer, it would read.
Would he even get a tombstone though? He wondered if there were any unmarked graves in the cemetery. He and his friends were orphans with little to their names.
"Raghhh!" roared one of his friends in defiance. He glanced in the direction it came from and saw that Anthony was trying to wrestle with a skeleton who had grabbed a hold of his small shield. Anthony's sword was nowhere to be found. It seemed he had lost his weapon too. That wasn't good. A second skeleton was not far behind the first one. It was only a matter of time now.
Turning his eyes towards his other friend, he saw that Alejandro at least looked to have done some visible damage to the skeletons he was fighting. One was now missing a few ribs and half an arm, the other no longer had a jaw and was also missing some ribs. But Alejandro was also hurt and tiring, and the undead were unrelenting. He had but one of his daggers in his hand, the other lost somewhere in the dirt along with Cristian's spear and Anthony's sword.
They had been careless, Cristian thought bitterly. Their tactic throughout the night had been working as they coordinated quite well to take down the skeletons one at a time as they came. Then as the skeletons seemed to take longer and longer to appear as the night wore on, and the mist had settled between the tombstones, they had started to get really tired. They decided to take turns sleeping – two would sleep while one would keep watch – but then the third fell asleep too.
It had been Alejandro. The weariness had crept into his bones too and the lack of any enemies nearby probably made him feel safe to close his eyes for only a moment. A mistake, clearly, for that moment turned into him falling asleep in short order.
When they woke up, the skeletons were already upon them and it was chaos and pain from then on. It was a wonder they weren't actually killed in their sleep.
Cristian had barely had enough time to grab his spear, maneuvering it quickly and purely on instinct in front of him as he used the shaft to fend off the skeleton that was literally almost on top of him. He couldn't even remember how he got to his feet, but at some point he did, only to fall back down again in the end.
Cristian laughed bitterly. They wanted to be adventurers. Orphans like them always heard about the amazing tales and impressive feats that the adventurers accomplished wherever they could. It distracted them from their daily life of hardship and poverty. A harsh world without parents. It also gave them something to aspire to, to dream about, and they had been so naive about the risks involved with actually being one.
Sure, they had been incredibly scared and nervous as the Gold Plate adventurer earlier told them that their lives would be on the line, and they were certainly aware that they could die, but they were stubborn and confident and young so they believed that they wouldn't actually be in that much danger. As long as they stuck together and did their best, they would turn out okay in the end.
Now to actually be faced with what looked to be certain death, Cristian realized how foolish they were. They were not ready for this, not by a long shot.
He had told the other two as much when they first cooked up this idea, but they were more eager than he and had the stronger of wills so he reluctantly went along. They were his friends, and he needed to be there for them no matter what. The trio even managed to find some old weapons that were laying about, ones that nobody would really miss, and the leather armor they got for practically free from an armorer who was going to discard the worn and thin leathers.
"Armed and armored" they thought they could play adventurer and after some months spent practicing with the old weapons in their possession, against each other a few times but mostly just swinging and stabbing randomly through the air or against poor unsuspecting trees, they signed up to enter the Guild, lying about their experience and age in the process.
And Cristian actually thought they might have pulled it off. They were winning their fights against these horrifying undead and were working well together as a team, as they always had in anything they did, but then this disaster happened. Now all was lost. There would be no celebratory meal after this. Not in this life, at least.
The skeleton was almost upon him again, its razor sharp fingers still wet and dripping with the red of his blood. It growled steadily, no more and no less than it had been earlier. He briefly thought of fighting and clawing back at the skeleton to try and survive, but he had nothing left. He was exhausted and beaten and bloody. He could scarcely move even his head anymore.
Somewhere nearby, his friends cried out with fresh pain. Well, he thought, it was a small comfort at least that they were all going to die together. Together until the very end, like the true friends they were. Maybe if they were lucky they would move into the afterlife together and join the Four Gods in the heavens. He closed his eyes and hoped it would be over soon.
But death did not come, nor did the claws that were supposed to bring it. Instead, Cristian heard and felt a sudden rush of wind and the sound of snapping and rattling bones. And then the growling ceased all around, abruptly turning into an eerie silence. But then he heard it, almost imperceptibly. The faint sound of beating wings.
Eyes fluttering open, Cristian gasped and his mouth hung open as he beheld a winged being floating a few feet away the likes of which he had never seen or heard about ever before. The fog had cleared somewhat and he was able to see it clearly. It looked like an angel, and yet instead of being bright and enshrouded by holy light like it should have been, this one was dark and wreathed in ever-shifting shadows. Its mighty wings had to be twice its height across and were black as night, the darkness within them rippling with each beat of its wings.
It wore a simple hooded robe of dull gray that loosely covered the entirety of its length and went all the way to its wrists, the robes billowing about as if blown by wind even when there was none. A plain black belt was wrapped around its waist. Its hands were covered in dark gloves and hung at its sides in what seemed a relaxed manner. On its right hip, dangling from a leather strap attached to its belt, was a black book, and on its left hip was a sheathed sword.
Its hood was up and a swirling darkness shrouded its face, and somehow Cristian knew that no matter how much light there was he would not be able to peer into it and look upon its face. Two points of white light flared where its eyes should have been, but it disappeared so quicky he wasn't sure if he had simply imagined it.
He thought that surely this was what the Angel of Death looked like. Surely it had come to take his soul away.
So captivated was he by the strange sight that he failed to notice the remains of the skeletons that had been attacking them now strewn recklessly across the ground or the still breathing crumpled forms of his friends nearby, and it wasn't until the winged being disappeared into shadowy tendrils absorbed into the darkness of the night that Cristian finally came to the realization that it had apparently not come for him.
He looked around. He was alive. They were all alive. Pain shot through him once more as he was reminded of his injuries, but he leaned his head back and shut his eyes, relieved that it was over.
Cristian didn't know how long he lay there, still trying to process what he had seen, but then suddenly the rest of the fog around them cleared with an unnatural blast of wind and Miss Ria, the redheaded mage from the Guild, arrived along with some of the City Guard in tow. They all looked thoroughly confused at first, searching for enemies they had been expecting to fight. But when it became clear that there were none around, they immediately rushed to tend to the wounded boys.
"Hang in there, boy," said one of the guards urgently as she knelt down next to him and began to bandage his wounds, "It's over now." Her voice sounded a world away, as if he were only hearing the faintest echo of it in his mind as it crossed the vast chasms between worlds.
His eyes opening just a crack and drifting towards the east, Cristian could see that the sky was starting to brighten and he let out a long, pained breath. Dawn was finally breaking over the horizon and heralded the end of their harrowing Exam. And then he closed his eyes and drifted off into the darkness that swallowed him.
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"It is done, Lord Morningstar," said the Angel of Shadows, his voice like a collection of heavy ethereal echoes, simultaneously coming from everywhere and yet nowhere. His impressive wings of darkness were featherless and nearly silent as they moved while the being hung in the air, but it seemed to Lucifer to be more for show rather than actually keeping the angel aloft.
Lucifer nodded, having seen the angel's handiwork with his own eyes, and was pleased with how easy it had been to convey commands to the angel once it was summoned, and how well and swiftly the angel had executed them.
Arguably the stealthiest angel in his arsenal, Bezaliel was certainly impressive, having moved through the intervening shadows between him and the boys to get to them in almost no time at all, and on top of that the Angel of Shadows looked far more badass than he remembered it being in YGGDRASIL. It made Lucifer want to try and summon all the other named angels he had available to him to see what they looked like.
Not to mention the startling discovery that the summoned angel could converse fully with him and seemed to recognize him beyond the simple summoner-summoned bond. It was something he needed to look into more.
"You did well, Bezaliel," he praised his summon honestly, curious if the Angel of Shadows would remember this encounter when next he was summoned. Something else to experiment with later.
"I am pleased to serve, Lord." He appeared to incline his head deferentially, though it was hard to tell. "Do you have further orders for me?"
"No. Thank you, Bezaliel," replied Lucifer, and then cancelled the spell he used to summon the angel to his side. And blinked. Because nothing appeared to happen at first and the angel was still floating before him even though the summoner could clearly feel the spell was no longer active.
Then Belaziel spoke in that strange collection of deep otherworldly voices that echoed all around. "If you ever have need of me, Lord, I will answer your summons without delay." Another apparent bow of the hooded, shadow-filled head and the angel abruptly dissolved into shadowy motes that dissipated into nothingness, leaving Lucifer alone and absolutely speechless.
He didn't have much time to think about all the implications of such a momentous discovery before Ria and a few of the City Guard along with her finally came for him. The redhead walked right up to him, blue eyes beholding him with a fiery intensity, one that burned with more curiosity than before and... respect? Awe? Lucifer's lips spread into a smile underneath his horned helm. He could get used to being looked at like that.
"I saw what you did," she said accusingly.
Lucifer stiffened. Had she seen Bezaliel? Had she seen him summon the angel? His mind raced to try and come up with alternative theories to try and persuade the mage into believing instead, but before he could say anything at all about the celestial being she spoke again.
"That was pretty amazing how you handled those skeleton warriors," she explained. "I've seen far prettier swordsmanship, mind you, but yours was still very effective. And perhaps most impressive was how you took them all down by yourself in such a quick fashion. I'm curious, what martial arts did you use? And who are you, really?" She tried to peer through the slits of his helmet for a glimpse at his face, noting that he seemed to have eyes of bright gold.
Relaxing at the realization that she was not in fact talking about the angel he summoned, he replied amicably, "I'm just Lucifer Morningstar, a traveling noble from a far away country. As for what martial arts I used... trade secrets, I'm afraid."
Ria made the slightest groaning sound before covering it up with a quick laugh.
"Well, just Lucifer Morningstar, congratulations on passing your Exam! I do apologize for what now seems to have been a task far beneath someone of your skills... sir," she said, adding the last part as she processed what he had said about him being a noble.
Lucifer inclined his head graciously. "Thank you, Miss Ria. Just Lucifer is fine. And it was no bother, rules are rules like you said, and everyone has to pay their dues, yes?"
Ria smiled. "Right. Well, Lucifer, we should head to the gate. I'm sure you don't want to spend any more time in here than you already have. I know I don't."
They started walking, the handful of guards following suit and speaking in quiet whispers behind them. The guards appeared to be alert, and Lucifer inferred that some skeletons probably still spawned around dawn. None did that morning.
Ria appeared completely different from the way she had presented herself before the Exam, and Lucifer found himself enjoying this warmer and more lighthearted mage. He guessed that her earlier display was her attempt at being more professional while conveying the serious gravity of what the would-be adventurers were about to undertake.
"How... did the others fare?" he asked, noticing that Ria hadn't said anything to him about what happened with the boys. Did she think he wouldn't care or perhaps she thought that he didn't notice they were in grave danger right before dawn? The fog had been quite thick after all, though the noise of their fighting was loud enough to be heard from where he was.
"Well," Ria hesitated, "The trio of boys were seriously hurt towards the end, but they'll survive. They technically managed to make it to sunrise, but I'll include in my notes that they just barely did and were heavily injured in the process, so they'll probably be placed under strict guidance and supervision until they're better able to perform in the field. The girls surprisingly did well and passed though."
"I'm sorry for what happened to those boys, but I'm glad they made it out of here alive. And the girls as well," he said as he looked around the steadily brightening cemetery, the fog dissipating slowly. "Will the boys be taken to the Temple for healing?"
Ria nodded. "They'll likely have to pay with labor owed to the Temple, but yes they should be getting tended to right now actually."
"The Guild won't front the cost? They're technically Guild members now aren't they?" asked Lucifer curiously. He thought the Guild had a special arrangement with the Temple for injured adventurers.
Ria's eyes widened. "You know what... you're right! I'll have to speak to the Temple about it. But after I file my report and get the paperwork started."
"That's good to hear." Lucifer made a note to check in on them when he stopped by the Temple at some point. He still needed to learn more from Julius. "What happens now?"
"Now you get to go home, eat, and rest while I still have to return to the Guild Hall and submit my reports before I can tuck in for the day," complained the mage with a pout.
Lucifer chuckled. "Then I am grateful to you for taking your duties seriously and properly seeing them through to completion."
"As is expected of all adventurers," reminded Ria, before frowning, "Not that everyone thinks like that, unfortunately."
One of the guards walking somewhat close by cleared her throat loudly, and Ria seemed to jump as a sheepish look crossed her face.
"Oh! Right... uhh... Sir Lucifer Morningstar," Lucifer didn't bother to correct her that he should technically be a lord, not just a sir. After all he had only just decided to embrace his supposed lordship. "One more thing. My friend who is a sergeant of the City Guard would like to meet you. Her name is..."
Just as she said that, the armored woman in question – holding a halberd that looked somewhat unwieldy for her frame – swiftly stepped up to them and smiled at him, cutting off her friend and introducing herself, "Hello, Sir Morningstar. My name is Tara. Tara Schemp. Sergeant of the Oldaven City Guard. On behalf of the city and the Guard, I would like to thank you for taking care of those skeleton warriors that appeared. We would have been hard-pressed to defeat them ourselves if you hadn't been there, and the other adventurers might not have survived the encounter." She bowed to him in gratitude.
Lucifer gestured for her to stand straight. "Please, there's no need to thank me. I was simply fulfilling the task that was required of me, and that was to slay all undead that I came across here from sunset to sunrise."
"I appreciate your humility," responded the sergeant with a smile, "Still, what you did deserves great merit. Know that if you ever get into any trouble... not that I expect you to or anything, but if you need help from the City Guard... you need only but ask. I'll be sure to tell the others guards of your feat."
Lucifer nodded. "Thank you." Influence with the City Guard might come in handy at some point. He turned his attention back to the redhead, who had watched the exchange silently. "Miss Ria, when might I be able to pick up my plate and sign up for a job?"
Ria's laugh came easily. "Chomping at the bit, eh? Well, technically as soon as my report is filed it'll take them maybe an hour or two at most to process your papers and issue your plate. And as soon as you have your plate, you can take a job, so if you really wanted to you could get both your plate and your first job later today."
Lucifer was happy to hear that. "Excellent. I'll drop by the Guild Hall later this afternoon then. After I... rest."
They said their goodbyes and exchanged a couple more thank yous when they made it to the South Gate – Lucifer saw that the two young sisters were waiting at the gate to talk to Ria about something – before they parted ways, and Lucifer kept smiling as he made his way back to the inn and the shy morning sun began to peek tentatively over the horizon.
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AN: I'm having a lot of fun writing these chapters! I hope you're enjoying reading as much as I am writing.
I've decided to use [spells] and {martial arts/weapon skills} to separate the two from now on. I'll edit the older chapters at some point to reflect this change.
Randomly: Oldaven is pronounced 'All-Dah-Ven'
Thanks for all the comments, friends! I truly appreciate the encouragement, the suggestions, the questions, and everything in between. Now I'm sure you all have a lot of questions or reactions about what's happened here... let me know. Ha!