The adventurer gasped for air as she ran through the streets. The blood seeped out of her body, through the numerous wounds. Her eyes moved frantically, stained with tears, caused by primal fear. She let out a scream of pain, stumbling to the ground. Desperately, she reached out with her arm…only to get stabbed from above, the spear piercing her through her chest. Pulling it out, the hooded figure glanced up, completely emotionless…at the witnesses, frozen in fear at the sheer brutality of the hunt.
The short blond hair fluttered, some strands landing on the ground, before the androgynous Pallum vanished from view, as if they were but a ghost.
Bete opened his eye, his fingers stained with blood after he sniffed at it. Shaking his head, he rose to his feet, turning to his fellow 'investigators'. The guild and Ganesha Familia was out in full force today, questioning and comforting the witnesses. They all said the same thing.
The moves of the Braver were unmistakable, the sheer force and acrobatics second to none. On top of the blonde hair, and how others claimed to have seen Finn's face…well, it all sounded cut and dry. With the crime scene investigated, Loki Familia could at least confirm that those testimonies weren't completely out of touch with reality.
"Fuckin' hell…talk about a mouse and cat chase. Definitely looks like being hunted for the fun of it, not because it was hard." He glanced at Aiz, who still stared at the outline of the corpse, the body itself long gone as she frowned deeply. "Any thoughts, Aiz?"
"This is definitely a hate crime…but…"
"But?"
She shook her head, biting her thumb with narrowed eyes.
"It's as if…something is holding that hate back…"
The amazon sisters raised an eyebrow at that, while Bete scoffed dismissively. He gestured at all the splattered blood on the ground and the walls.
"You kiddin'?"
Aiz didn't bother looking up, still staring at the outline.
"The only lethal injury was a stab." She pointed down, before looking at their surroundings. "Whoever did this, specifically fought like Finn to trick others. That implies control, to hold back that hate, to not just instantly kill their target." She paused, biting her lip. "Either that or…"
"Or?" Tiona asked with worry. Aiz shuddered before shaking her head.
"Or they wanted her to suffer." Her mouth thinned. "But it still feels…muted."
She didn't know why, why she was so sure. Lobo himself…he also left behind corpses. But he focused on pure killing alone. Quick, not because of mercy, but because he wanted to be efficient. This…this felt like a play. Like a plan executed because they had to, and had enough self control to execute it. What was worse…she had no idea who caused this. Her dream showed her a grown human, not a Pallum. Her dream showed a fire user, not a pure spear fighter. Nevertheless, she had the feeling that woman and the culprit here were connected in terms of being an…an Avenger. In a loose way anyway.
Who was doing this?
"Whoever framed captain, I will break their damn spines…!" Tione growled, cracking her knuckles. Her twin tugged at her arm, frowning a bit.
"Chill, sis. The guild doesn't even believe Finn did it. It's just to deal with the paranoia a bit."
"Let them be delusional, they pushed back our schedule!"
It was relieving to say the least. The Guild scrambled to explain themselves, after Raul ran off before they could even finish their message. As if they were afraid half the Loki Familia would kick down their headquarters' door and burn it all to the ground. It was telling that this was a legitimate concern to have. They told Finn that this was just a temporary measure, to reassure the public that the heroic symbol of the Pallum did not suddenly turn insane. The Braver acceded to being taken into custody for now, hoping the rumors would soon die out. Still, Aiz remembered how frustrated he looked as he followed the guild workers.
The thought he had to sit idle, allowing the murderer to kill more of his kin, just to prove his innocence…it must be aggravating. Which was why the Loki Familia desired to find out the truth. Alas, without facing the criminal head on, they had very little to go by. Which they explained to the remaining executives, with Riveria in charge of all the preparations for the Knossos assault. The woman had her eyes closed, leaning back on her chair as she processed the information she was given. In the end, she nodded slowly before regarding everyone of higher standing within the Familia.
"We will stand watch on all the entrances of Knossos that we are aware of."
Their eyes widened at her words. Watch. Not prepare for attack or anything. A passive approach. Tione snarled, slamming her fist on the table.
"We aren't going to do anything about that faker?!"
"We can't afford to get distracted now. Allowing Evilus to move however they like will lead to more casualties down the line."
"But…" Aiz muttered, feeling uncomfortable at the idea of allowing the murderer free reign. Which was why she blinked in surprise when the high elf proceeded to smile slightly.
"WE aren't going to do anything." She raised a finger. "Someone else offered to do her part."
"Who?" Tione asked in a skeptical tone. When the name was uttered…everyone couldn't help but gape. Not even Aiz was exempt of that.
/
"Nothing."
"Nothing over here too."
"This is a waste of time."
"If you don't see anything, then cease the needless chatter, little brothers."
"How long are you trying to pull that older brother attitude?"
"What was Lady Freya thinking…"
Alfrigg felt his eyebrow twitch at yet another casual refusal to consider him the leader of the group. He exhaled slowly. No, anger was unbecoming of one of Lady Freya's elite. But heavens, his brothers knew how to push him to his limits. Maybe he had to remind them someday that their callous behavior could have consequences. Something to be done later.
For now, they had a divine mission given to them, and they would not fail. The Gulliver Brothers had no lost love for their Pallum kind. Unlike the Braver, they did not have dreams of grand delusions to raise the entire race up. If they wanted to wallow in self pity and waste their lives away, only getting a move on with a symbol, that was their issue. Unlike them, they had their purpose to live, to act, to grow stronger. However, an order was an order. Thus, they would give it their all to prevent even a single additional death of another Pallum. Thus, they became hunting hounds of the knight, spread out across Orario. With their keen senses, they could hear a pebble hit the ground from another district away. Combined with their innate talent of communicating with each other across long distances, they were the best of the best for this job.
Alfrigg tightened his grip on his weapon.
They would prove to their divine lady that they were more reliable than that useless author!
He exhaled slowly, allowing his anger to seep out. He had to focus. Under the moonlit sky, he didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Just the usual drunkards, flirting, late night deals…Nothing visually out of place either. He was about to move on to the next area, rolling his shoulders when Dvalinn spoke up.
"Hold up. Got something on my end."
"Let's get a move on," Alfrigg immediately replied, before converging on his position with the rest of his brothers.
Just in time too. As the four leapt down from the air, they took in the situation unfolding before them. One Pallum, an adventurer of decent strength for what appeared to be level two. Acting like a hunted animal, no weapon, no courage, no nothing, as they crawled over the ground, begging for mercy. Behind them, a hooded Pallum twirled their spear, making it a point to showcase spins and leaps. The Guliver Brothers scoffed at the sight.
Only idiots would mistake that playing around with the Braver. With that in mind, they landed, surrounding their enemy in an instant. To their credit, they didn't panic whatsoever. Very smoothly, they merely changed targets.
The spear spun rapidly, trying to gain some distance. But such a simple move would never be enough to escape their formation. Greatsword and axe blocked the weapon from both sides, forcing it to a stop. Then, a spear came from high, while the hammer swung low. Their enemy let go of their weapon, spinning in the air to avoid the blow. Yet letting go meant leaving the greatsword and axe free to act, aiming to cleave her head and legs apart.
But to their shock, the legs kicked off the axe as a platform. As for the greatsword? It had to block the sudden arrow aiming for his head, pushing him backwards by the sheer force of it. Opening gained. the hood fluttered down as the assailant escaped from the encirclement, bow in hand…only for it to transform into a whip. The brothers frowned at that, recalling past information.
So that was the Pallum that gave the Astraea Familia such issues during the Ishtar Assault. Last they recalled, that one was female however.
"T-Thank yo-"
"Get lost already."
"Y-y-yes!"
With that distraction out of the way, the brothers tilted their head as one, taking a good look at the muted expression facing them.
"Look at that. I can see why fools might mistake this one as the Braver."
It was not an exact copy, but it was close enough. Enough to be mistaken in a hurry. Just as they said that, the murderer's features shifted once more. The blonde hair grew out. The face became more soft, more feminine. On top of that, the hood disappeared, a golden light shining as armor and helmet appeared out of nowhere on her person.
Magic? The Guliver Brothers couldn't help but grin as one. Interesting.
"Haha…looks like-"
"-she knows the jig is up. Then-"
"-let's finish this-"
"-and go home."
They moved as one entity. Each of them was a limb of a greater being, moving with perfect coordination as they were upon this slave of the Night Queen like a pack of wolves.
To her credit, her actions bought her breathing room, for the irregularity of her actions threw the four out of the loop, having to mentally adjust to her 'possibilities'. The whip was like the tendril of a furious monster, swung with rapid speeds and precision, pushing the four as they had to dodge and weave, getting closer ever so slowly. But then, it suddenly stopped, a staff slamming down on the ground, with a magic circle appearing behind her.
They barely managed to close their eyes in time before the blinding light hit them. They threw their bodies out of the way before the ray of death hit them. The moment they opened their eyes however, a pair of daggers almost took off Belin's eyes, only prevented by his brothers moving in immediately. Just as immediately, the daggers were replaced by a shield blocking the Grer's sword and a longsword parrying the spear aiming to pierce and cleave her head apart. With a swift spin, she threw them off and then transformed her weapon into a warhammer, smashing it against Dvallin's own hammer. The latter's eyes widened, as the sheer power actually sent him flying. Yet the woman's momentum was set, allowing the spear to pierce her leg. But it was not deep as immediately, the weapon shifted into a set of gauntlets, her left hand grasping the shaft, with the other hand catching the axe aimed at her by the blade. Her muscles twitched in exertion, yet her face was as impassive as ever. She even flipped both of them over with the flick of her wrist, her weapon turning into a halberd to cut them in half.
Only the war axe standing in its way prevented this fate. Over and over, she tried to take out one of them, only for the others to jump in. Over and over, kills and injuries were denied, as the Guliver Brothers covered each other repeatedly. Yet they had to admit…in terms of raw parameters, this woman was stronger than them individually. Especially her endurance. By now, they felt the burning of their lungs intensifying. Meanwhile, this wench didn't even sweat too much.
Nevertheless…this was nothing. After all, they had to deal with the boar time and time again. Someone a fraction of his size was of no issue.
"Ten weapons."
"Lots of variety."
"Annoying."
"But not impossible to deal with."
The four inhaled, before exhaling. Then, they became a blur. The blank eyes moved rapidly, trying to track them, intersecting and moving behind and in front of each other. Her arms blurred. Their arms moved.
Blood splattered across the air, as she stumbled backwards. She managed to tilt her head, her helmet taking the brunt of one attack, shattering it and revealing her visage to the world. She blocked two attacks at the same time, but her side was wide open, a chunk of her flesh torn off by the spear.
"Gotcha!"
Impassively, she looked down at the bleeding injury, glowing under the moon light.
"For someone cosplaying as a fake knight, this is too easy!"
"What's the matter, not enough money for a proper Fianna costume?"
For the first time, the murderer's exchanged changed ever so slightly, by the taunts of two of the brothers. She tilted her head ever so slightly, eyebrow twitching. In her eyes, some light returned…and all of a sudden, the Guliver Brothers felt a pressure pressing down on their very souls. The air grew thicker, making it hard for them to breathe. Then…
"Hah?"
They felt the instinctive urge to run. To even kneel. Shame filled their hearts, as did confusion as they used their own outrage to push back, at the audacity of those feelings to appear in the first place. A dark light shone through the clouded eyes, ever so slightly. As if to make matters worse…the wound on her side healed just like that. Glittering with light, the flesh was replaced as if it was never taken away. That would be bad enough as it was but something else bothered the brothers immensely.
Those chills they felt…that utter disgust that pierced through those misty orbs of hers…Weren't the tools of that Night Queen meant to be utterly mentally controlled? So where did this-
"Hm, I arrived just in time then."
Everyone's heads snapped up to the rooftops. By now, the commotion gathered quite the attention, people fearfully looking out of the alleys, out of their windows. Yet only one man was relaxed, as he knelt down, spear leaning against his shoulder.
"So. This is the one who impersonated me." Finn rubbed his chin with a curious expression, belying his cold, hard eyes. "I must admit, she does have a rather pretty face, all things considered."
This time, a growl echoed in the area. The mysterious knight manifested her helmet once more, donning it without hesitation. Yet through the gaps of the steel, the eyes glowed even more than before. At the same time, the heavy feeling in the guts of all Pallum increased. Even Finn began to sweat unconsciously, as she raised her weapon, transformed as a spear. Shaking his head, he grasped his own spear with a low breath.
"Interesting. You ARE different. But why?" He rushed down, running down the wall with a warrior's cry. "I'll make you tell me, either with words or with your body, mysterious miss!"
In response, the knight stabbed forward at the same time, tip clashing against tip. Meanwhile, the Guliver Brothers leapt at her back, not wasting an opportunity when they saw one.
Thus, the battle between Pallum resumed.