The Dustbin
Day 14: Field Day Part 3
4th of Harpstring Moon, Morning
"I have to say," Alois remarked as he rolled his neck and shoulders, "the giant horse was a fighter! If it were a man, I would love to exchange fists with it while bucking around!"
"Please Alois," Shamir mumbled out as she finished her cup of coffee, "it's too early in the morning for your shenanigans."
"Oh, why the long face?" Alois remarked while making another horse-related pun, "... get it? Horses have long faces-"
"The horse is gone," Shamir remarked as she cut off Alois's explanation of his joke.
The two Knights of Seiros find the specially-built stable pen for the giant horse that came with one of the Dustbin's students, reinforced with Wootz Steel and the engineering knowledge of Faerghus's fortresses implemented into the containment unit, tested and designed to be unbreakable even by Demonic Beasts, the two find the specialized stable pen utterly torn to shreds from the inside out.
"... They say that this thing was designed that not even Demonic Beasts can break them, right?" Alois remarked as he tried not to laugh at the sheer devastation laid before him.
"Why didn't the alarms go off?!" Shamir asked as she began to sweep the surrounding area, only to find the chimes and bells connected in pulley chains both flattened.
"... Are we sure that thing isn't a Demonic Beast of itself?" asked Alois of the escaped horse.
"It couldn't have gone far," Shamir replied as she then immediately assessed the situation at hand, "pass down the following request to Seteth," she spoke as she headed back to the Knights Hall to retrieve her [Silver Bow], "a small search party, modestly armored and armed Mercenary troops and Archers."
"Should I request for aerial support as well?" asked Alois as he scrambled along with his fellow Knight, "you know, eyes in the sky."
"Negative, we're stalking an animal," Shamir pointed out as she slung her quiver around her waist while testing her bowstring's durability, "it'll sense their presences and flee at a moment's notice" she explained, "stick to light infantry, to dissuade all forms of active pursuit. We'll have to catch it by surprise."
"Got it!" Alois remarked as he ran towards the office and got the official approval to sortie from Seteth.
With that, a band of light-infantry led both by Shamir and Alois begin following the trail of hooveprints that branded the earth itself.
"Goddess be with us..." a Mercenary remarked as she looked at the inches-deep hoof prints left behind, "... what kind of a horse are we after?"
"Some Almyran sorcery, no doubt," an Archer replied in slight disdain, "those dastards go to war for fun, so of course their horses would also be bred solely for war."
"If it were solely bred for war, then explain why it managed to disarm the alarms and escape the walls without breaching the gates," Shamir pointed out, implying the two of her soldiers to not underestimate their target.
"Whatever the case, we are dealing with a very strong and intelligent horse," Alois remarked as he went ahead while he followed the trail, the hoofprints leading him to a riverbed before the trails took a sharp turn away from it, "hm, guess it was thirsty."
"The horse needs food and water then," Shamir pointed out, now plotting her next course of action of the pursuit, "search for any signs of greenery being consumed or any fresh refuse," she ordered her troops, "the fresher it is, the closer it'll be."
The Mercenaries and Archers all disperse around the area as their trail now led them somewhere.
No one is clever enough to disregard their own habits, Shamir reminded to her self as she continued following the trail, the crevices left being becoming shallower as she proceeded further. She then looks up, and finds Zanado, the Red Canyon above her.
It's looking for someone, she thought as she then remembered her seeing the Dustbin and their cloaked professor leading them towards their first field assignment, one of whom being that massive Almyran young man with the red hair, that boy... of course.
"Change of plans," Shamir ordered, "prepare an ambush around the perimeter. It's going to come back down from Zanado soon."
As the troops began to go into formation, one of the Mercenary troopers return to Shamir.
"Ma'am," the armored sword fighter spoke, "the surrounding villages have been cleared after the reports of bandits have been spread."
"Good," Shamir acknowledged, "no unnecessary casualties then."
Unbeknownst to them, at the other side of the Red Canyon, a giant winged shadow was sweeping across the air. For the past days or so, it has been searching for some fresh meat to sustain its massive body, but either the nearest settlements are well-guarded or been cleared out by another presence of a Demonic Beast.
But now, after days of searching, its nose has finally picked up a scent of spilled blood wafting across the air, its beaks salivating at the thought of finally sating its hunger.
It then began beating its wings faster, circling around the mountain, and waiting for its chance to strike.
Meanwhile, at Zanado...
"Ignorance is your undoing," declared Karna as he bifurcated a Fighter down through the middle with his [Crescent Sickle], "dismissed."
He then casually dodges a swing of a Thief's [Iron Sword] before blasting him back with [Miasma Δ].
"Status report?!" Karna barked out as he blocked a swing of the retaliating Thief's weapon with his own.
He then saw Vidar pounce onto a Priest before biting into his throat like a rabid animal, causing blood to stain all over his bandages.
"Surprisingly good for the most part," Byron remarked as he then threw a [Hand Axe] into an Archer's eye before shooting his [Frost] spell at him, "you'd expect for bandits, they would swarm us with their superior numbers."
"They're trying to avoid hitting each other," Karna pointed out as he kicked the Thief's stomach to knock him onto the ground, allowing him to drive his [Crescent Sickle]'s blade down into the brigand's chest, "they're not smart, but they're not that dumb."
The two then see Cyrus running away from a swarm of Fighters coming after him with [Iron Axes] raised above their heads like a frenzied mob.
"GET THAT ALMYRAN!" hollered the bandits chasing Cyrus, "HIS MEAT'S GONNA SELL FOR A LOT OF MONEY BOYS!"
"SOMEONE GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!" Cyrus screeched out as he kept running for his life, not even having thrown his [Javelin] yet.
But as soon as the bandits chasing after the Almyran boy got too close to his heels, the group suddenly began dropping dead one at a time.
"What the-"
The Fighter never finished his sentence as his throat was slit open by Topaz, who's already accustomed to clinging onto her enemies's backs, taking advantage of his light weight and natural limber to deliver sneak attacks from behind.
The bandit that spotted her clinging onto another Fighter's back with her rectangular-bladed [Bolo] raised towards the back of his neck than swung his [Iron Axe] towards the little minx, only for her to notice sooner than he could strike, jumping off of the other Fighter's back while the axe meant for her ended up finishing off the bandit in her stead. Before he can realize that he ended up killing one of his own by complete accident, the Fighter was then rewarded with a corrosive slash across both of his eyes from the little veiled girl, blinding him completely as he dropped his [Iron Axe], flailing and wailing as he felt as his head was on fire.
"MY EYES!" he screamed out as she ran around the group, disrupting their formation and allowing Cyrus to escape their pursuit, "MY EYES! MY EYES! IT BURNS!"
But just as the others tried to help him, Topaz then slithers around their ankles as she slashed their tendons with her [Bolo]'s poisoned blade, causing them to fall to their backs as the strength left in their legs has completely left them.
"Marked for death," Topaz declared as she then began staking her blade into each fallen bandit's chests, finishing them off one by one, eventually leaving only the blinded one left, right before he was also dispatched by her with a stab to his heart, "claimed."
She then runs towards Cyrus, who was currently strangling an enemy Archer with his giant meaty hands in a panicked frenzy before the neck around the Almyran's hands snapped like a twig.
"... I'm coming back home alive," Cyrus heaved out before he turned his head towards the little Almyran girl, "... oh, hey there."
"Are you well?" she asked as she looked at Cyrus's leg, which had an arrow pierced into it.
"Damn dastard had me when I tried to duck and hide," he remarked as he pulled out the arrow in his leg before pouring the stolen [Vulnerary] onto the puncture wound before hastily bandaging it, "... can't fight in full strength without Darius..." he heaved out, "... it ain't the same, fighting on foot. ... I ain't like ya, whose body is light as a feather and not a single scratch on her."
"Coming from someone who fled the battlefield, that's rich," Topaz remarked, "are you of all Battu like this?"
"Nah," he replied, "I'm a bit spoiled, so I never learned how to fight on foot, and Darius is practically a battle brother himself from my mother's kin," Cyrus pointed out, "... to lose Darius... means to lose a bit of myself."
"... Then if you wish to keep the rest of yourself," Topaz remarked as she handed back him his [Javelin], "then shut your mouth of its grievances and fight," she ordered, "at least make a decent distraction for others while you're lame."
Cyrus then rises back up from the ground with the throwing arm as his support, with Topaz now mounting herself onto his shoulders with her [Bolo] clasped between her teeth.
"If you wish to make your horse proud," Topaz stated out in a mumbled tone from her weapon in her mouth, "then learn to walk a mile in its trail."
The two Almyrans then charged towards the remaining horde of bandits, while from afar, Kostas and the Flame Emperor watched the whole mess unfold.
"They're just a bunch of little brats! How are you sorry lot losing to them?!" Kostas barked out.
"If you're concerned about your own men's affairs, I suggest you begin taking the field yourself," the Flame Emperor order him, implying-not-so-subtly of his death should he go otherwise.
"Why don't you go, then?!" Kostas barked back, "if you're so high and mighty, why don't you teach em a lesson yourself-"
His words were then interrupted by the sound of empty ceramic bottles clinking against each other.
"Yoo-hoo~!" Sorcha tauntingly called out the two heads as she clanked three empty bottles of [Vulneraries] together, each one stuck into her ring finger, index finger, and thumb, "come out to playaaa~!"
The two then saw the Brigidan girl dragging her massive [Claymore] across the ground, its blade caked in blood of numerous bandits whom were hacked through like straws of wheat, her body and clothes, covered head to toe in cuts and bruises, the remainder of her skin glistening with an unsavory mixture of sweat and [Vulneraries] splashed all over her body. Her crazed expression, despite all of the combat fatigue mounted onto her back, she was still able enough to continue fighting.
"Okay girly," Kostas called out, "forgetting for a moment how you alone got past my men," he remarked as he saw the trail of dead bodies of Thieves and Fighters behind Sorcha, brandishing his own [Iron Axe] in preparation for a fight, "you wanna finish this?!"
"Yeah I do," Sorcha replied nonchalantly, "yeah. That's why I'm ere'," she pointed out, "kill the boss to finish the army and whatnot."
"For long you're not!" Kostas cried out as he charged towards Sorcha.
As the two met, Kostas found the girl raise the giant sword up into the air with surprising quickness, forcing the two to go into a weapon lock, with neither side giving an inch.
The Flame Emperor then glances towards the sack pinned to the tree branch precariously placed over a very deep chasm, and looked at his [Steel Axe] before letting out an annoyed sigh upon reaching the revelation that the weapon's reach was too short to retrieve the item.
"Why didn't I bring a longer axe?" he sighed out upon being unable to retrieve the sack, "to hell with it, nothing else to do for now."
As the Flame Emperor advanced towards where Kostas and Sorcha were fighting, an arrow strikes his mask, the tip being caught in the gaps where the eyes were at the mask.
"... Of course," the Flame Emperor sighed out as he raised his shield while pulling out the arrow from his mask's eye hole, "a bow-user after all of your own are nowhere to be seen."
He then continues to hear the arrows clang against his bulwark, while Kostas himself was holding off Sorcha and her massive blade. Considering his options, he can either assist Kostas or flush out the one who was sniping him from afar.
"Just in case," the Flame Emperor remarked as he tied his shield around his back to fend off any arrows aimed for his back. He then comes towards the two fighting, but just as he was about raise his axe towards Sorcha before going into a charge, an arrow strikes through the gaps of his armor, piercing into his heel, and causing him to tumble to the ground.
The Flame Emperor looks towards where the shot came from, only for both of his eyeholes to be crammed with another pair of arrows.
"... You have my attention," he remarked as he spotted the sniper from afar after pulling out the arrows from his mask's eyeholes, charging towards her, shield raised and [Steel Axe] at the ready.
Selene then sees the masked knight coming towards her, makes a run for it. As she ran while looking behind, she noticed how the Flame Emperor gripped his axe in conjuncture with surprising agility despite the armor, the shield, and cloak's contributing to his overall cumbersome appearance.
He's looks as if he should be that of a "guardian", but moves as if he's a "longarm", Selene remarked before remembering what she saw at the Mock Battle five days prior, ... wait, that stance, that mixture of styles that incorporate the former's durability and the latter's offensive reach, can it be?
She then bumps into a Thief, knocking each other down upon collision. As Selene opened her eyes, she realized that her hyperopia was still in effect due to neglecting to put her glasses back on while escaping, and said glasses have been knocked off of her head where it was resting prior.
"Damn minx..." the Thief grunted out as he rubbed his bleeding nose and reached for his dropped [Iron Sword], "Imma skin ya alive and wear yer hide like a coat!"
The cuttroat then begins swinging down his sword towards Selene, first missing as the blade struck the ground between her legs as she crawled away from the maddened Thief, only for the back of her head to collide with the Flame Emperor's shield before her stomach was then shanked by the Thief's sword, followed up by the same wound being pinned down by the bulwark's bottom bordure.
"How unfortunate," remarked the Flame Emperor, his voice being of condescending pity as he raised his [Steel Axe] over Selene's head, her blurry vision faintly making out the gleam of the sharp blade, "that your life must end this way."
As he was about to bring down the axe, from the side, Cyrus, spurred on by Topaz, shoulder tackled the Flame Emperor aside, with Topaz throwing her [Bolo] towards the bloody nosed-Thief, knocking his [Iron Sword] off of his hands before she herself dismounted from the giant Almyran, slid herself towards the [Iron Sword] as she took it from the ground, followed up by her staking his own weapon into his chest.
"Your time is not yet here," Topaz reassured the gasping Selene, "BYRON! I NEED HELP HERE!"
"Just a minute," Byron remarked as he and Vidar double-teamed a Fighter before the two split, with Vidar finishing off the Fighter with a punch to the gut with his [Iron Gauntlets] followed up by a swift kick across the brigand's face that caused his neck to snap from the torque of the impact.
Byron then helped Topaz drag Selene elsewhere whereas Cyrus began climbing atop the Flame Emperor in another panicked frenzy, causing both to flail around sporadically as the Flame Emperor tried to rip him off of his armor, but found that his hands were too small for anywhere onto the Almyran giant.
"Someone get this idiot off of me!" the Flame Emperor barked out as he then began beating the Almyran's back with the shaft of his [Steel Axe].
At his request, a band of Fighters than rallied together before charging towards where the Flame Emperor and Cyrus were at, but taking this opportune moment to vent their frustrations onto the man who've screwed their chances of survival over, the charging group attacked both the Almyran and the Flame Emperor simultaneously.
"I said just the Almyran, not me!" protested the Flame Emperor before he retaliated, using both his bulk of his armor and the reach of his [Steel Axe] to sweep the opposition away, "I take back my prior statement," the masked knight declared, now hacking in his axe blade into Cyrus's back with shallow cuts, "consider all of your lives forfeit."
"Works for me," Karna deadpanned as he swung his [Crescent Sickle] towards the Flame Emperor's shield, the hook of the weapon's structure catching onto the top of the bulwark's upper bordure before pulling his feet onto the shield's flat as he climbed up onto Cyrus's bleeding back and readied his [Miasma Δ] spell in his right hand, "grit your teeth, both of you!"
He then sticks the hand between the gap of where Flame Emperor was being clung on by Cyrus. The ensuing explosion causes all three to be separated from each other, with most of Cyrus's clothes now being either torn or burnt.
As for the Flame Emperor, aside from his mask sporting a crack, nothing else of him was signifying any sort of signs of him slowing down.
"Why you-" the Flame Emperor remarked before he was stopped by an [Iron Sword] stretched before him.
In front of the armored man was Doug the "Bloodhound", the dog-faced Mercenary licking his chops as he eyed towards Karna.
"Oi tin man," Doug remarked to the Flame Emperor as he handed him a long stick, "here's the deal," he stated, "I'll cover yer arse while you try to make a run for it, but in exchange, I want enough gold up front to get me a safe passage back to Brigid."
"DOUG, ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO BETRAY ME IN FRONT OF MY FACE?!" Kostas barked out as he continued his clash against Sorcha and her [Claymore].
"How can I be betraying ye when I wasn't even on your side to begin with?" Doug snidely remarked, "I'm a bloody arm-for-hire, me nose gotta be smelling for new opportunities," he pointed out as he eyed towards the sack pinned at the precariously-placed tree, "and me nose is tellin' me that thing of yours is really important, right?"
"You are a craven," the Flame Emperor remarked as he took the stick in exchange for the sack of gold as he ran off with [Steel Axe] and shield in hand.
"I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" Kostas cried out as he pushed back against the Brigidian girl's assault.
"Love ya too, ya tubby bastards," Doug replied playfully as he then pulled out his [Iron Shield] from his cloak before slapping it onto his left forearm. He then picked up the sack of gold from the ground with the tip of his sword followed up by him catching it from the air with his left hand before putting it away into his waist pouch.
Karna then hears the Mercenary bang his sword against his ironclad bulwark, calling him for a fight.
"Time we settled this, creepy man," Doug taunted Karna.
"You won't live long enough to enjoy your reward, dog," Karna bit back as he twirled his [Crescent Sickle] around himself.
The two then sprint towards each other followed up by them clashing against each other. Doug first starts off with a midsection swing which Karna blocked with his weapon's shaft, followed up by a shield bash to the professor's gut that knocked him away.
Upon gaining distance, Karna then fires his [Miasma Δ] toward Doug, the spell being blocked by the Mercenary's [Iron Shield], which the Karna follows up by swinging down his weapon towards Doug's head, which was then parried by the cutthroat's sword.
"Heh, you're pretty good," Doug complimented.
"And you're smarter these lot," Karna replied before he swung down his [Crescent Sickle] again, only for Doug to push back before swinging his [Iron Sword] towards Karna's midriff, missing by an inch before Karna blasted his [Miasma Δ] toward Doug, knocking him away with the blast.
"Have to be," Doug grunted out before he shield bashed Karna in the gut followed up by him pinning him down with his [Iron Sword] being pushed down towards Karna as both of them began to struggle over the weapon, "have to be, if I wanna live long in me profession."
Karna then drives a hard kick into the Mercenary's gut before swinging his [Crescent Sickle] horizontally, knocking the cutthroat's [Iron Shield] away from his left forearm.
"Dammit, that was me last month's paycheck, ya bastard!" Doug barked out as he then retaliated with a downward swing from his weapon meeting with Karna's own.
"Cry me a river," deadpanned Karna, "I almost lost my job because of you!" he roared out as he kicked Doug away before firing another [Miasma Δ] at him, blasting them both away from each other, "... and the worst part?" the professor grunted out as he got back up, "... I DIDN'T GET PAID FOR THIS GARBAGE!"
The two men continued to take their frustrations out on each other, while Kostas himself was still fending off Sorcha's heavy assaults from her [Claymore].
"DAMMIT!" Kostas barked out as his grip around his [Iron Axe] began to wane, "YOU'RE JUST SOME BRAT! SO WHY ARE YOU THIS STRONG?!"
"This 'brat' has been fighting since she was born," Sorcha boasted as she swung her massive sword down towards the brigand leader again, only when missing, she instead kicks up a dust cloud by kicking up her sword's flat to obscure her view for a few moments before resuming her assault, "Fodlan is a weird place to be, where the wolves are bigger than hills and people worship a woman who has grass for hair for some reason. Tell me, what's in this land's waters that make shite like that happen?"
"HOW I AM SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!" Kostas snapped back before kicking back Sorcha to gain some distance from her, "I'M JUST A GUY WHO FRIGGING HATES KIDS LIKE YOU!" he raved out before continuing to drum his [Iron Axe] against Sorcha's sword, "I DON'T KNOW LICK ABOUT POLITICS OTHER THAN IT AIN'T DOING NOTHING GOOD FOR LOWLIVES LIKE ME!"
"Guess we're both in the dark then," Sorcha sighed out as she then parried the rain of blows with the flat of her [Claymore], following that up with her planting the sword itself into the ground so she can than vault over Kostas, grab him from behind, and flip him over towards her back as both of their heads dropped towards the ground.
... An Adrestian Suplex? the Flame Emperor thought while he saw the Brigidian girl's surprise finishing move while he himself was trying to retrieve the small sack nailed onto the tree placed over a deep chasm with a long branch that was given to him, only the Empire's stronger Grapplers can perform such technique, so how did she of all people manage that- his thoughts being cut off as the tree that he was on being on the verge of uprooting itself off of the ledge it was placed over, oh crap, almost fell!
Sorcha then rolls away from the knocked-out Kostas as she then retrieved her [Claymore].
"... Methinks watching the Empire's fighting men was worth a while," Sorcha remarked to herself as she saw Vidar chase after the last remaining bandits present, seeing him beat his ironclad fists into their faces as she flexed her own, "hm, wonder if I can fight without weapons."
Sorcha's head then begins feeling woozy all of the sudden. She touches where it was hurting at, only for her hand to be stained with blood.
... Aw shite, me head's bleeding, she thought as she began dragging her feet elsewhere, preferably away from the battlefield.
Vidar then lets out a final yell before crushing an Archer's face with his fist, killing him.
"... Three more," he grunted out as he looked around while sniffing the air, only to pick up two scents coming towards their direction, "... two more... coming."
He then bolts towards where he can pick up Byron's scent, and finds him healing Cyrus and Selene's injuries with his [Heal] spell.
"Damn [Faith] magic, why am I saddled with helping people?" Byron muttered to himself while he mended the Almyran's cut back, "and why do you of all people stuck around to fight the leader of all people?!"
"... Topaz said... I had to know how my horse feels..." heaved out Cyrus, "... if I am... to be worthy... of my horse..."
"That of itself sounds stupid," Byron chided as he gave Topaz a stink-eye, the latter ignoring him completely, "if you want to be a worthy rider of your horse, then first live, then prove yourself. Pain is only necessary when a spoiled brat needs disciplining."
"... I guess," the Almyran sighed out, "... but I really don't like feeling weak without Darius."
"Worry about that later," Byron pointed out as he began healing Selene's stomach wound, "time and place for everything."
"... Where me glasses?" Selene grumbled out as she waved her one of her hands out towards her front while the other was forcibly moved from her bleeding stomach, "can't see shite... but that birdie flying around us..."
"Wait, birdie?" Byron remarked as he looked up to find a winged silhouette flying around the Red Canyon, "... think it hasn't noticed us just yet."
Byron than stops healing Cyrus as he moved onto prioritizing Selene's wound.
"Use your [Javelin] the way it's supposed to!" Byron barked out, "throw it!"
The Almyran then throws the polearm towards where Karna and Doug were fighting at, the [Javelin]'s tip staking into Doug's shoulder, giving Karna ample enough time to knock away the Mercenary's [Iron Sword] from his grip before blasting him with his final [Miasma Δ] point-blank.
As Doug was sent flying towards where the Flame Emperor was at, the two's combined weight than causes the dead tree placed over the chasm to finally snap, causing the two of them to fall from a great height as they disappeared into the blanket of clouds circled around Zanado below.
"... And may I never have the misfortune of running into you two ever again," Karna heaved out before he spat down below. He then lets out a labored sigh as he then reconvened with the rest of the Dustbin.
Byron himself was showing signs of fatigue using too much of his own magic, Vidar was covered in blood, his own and of his enemies, Sorcha was in a state of semi-delirium from her numerous cuts and gashes around her body, on top of hitting her own head from her own suplex, her bleeding head and body now being treated by her sister, Selene, who now sports bandages around her stomach puncture, Cyrus was still reeling from the combined effects of panic and back wounds, and out of all the students, only Topaz herself came out relatively unharmed, likely her small stature and agility making her hard to detect and hit.
"A wounded Assassin is the kind that eventually gets caught," Topaz boasted, "hence, I am the perfect Assassin."
"Good for ye..." Sorcha mumbled out deliriously, "... wait until I get ye arse..."
"Now now," Selene sighed out as she tightened the bandages around her twin sister's head, causing her to wince, "... talking too much like this ain't good for ya..."
"Speak for yourself..." Cyrus remarked while hugging himself, "Darius ain't still here, and I lost my weapon."
"... Aahh... professor," Vidar growled out.
"What is it?" asked Karna.
"... I... saw... something... up-"
"TO HELL WITH THIS NONSENSE!"
Kostas then got up from where he was knocked out at and begins running down the path that led out of Zanado, leaving behind his [Iron Axe] in a hurry.
"I'M A DEAD MAN WALKING EITHER WAY I SLICE IT!" Kostas barked out half-laughing manically as he ran down the trail like a madman without a care left in the world, "I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME ANYMORE-"
A horrid shriek then was heard from above, followed up by a massive avian shadow swooping down from above and snatching the brigand leader from the earth with its massive talons.
"... Am I seein' a giant bird?" Sorcha remarked as the others looked at the winged shadow, "... or am I seein' things due to me blood loss?"
"NOT LIKE THIS!" Kostas cried out as he was struggling to break free from the Giant Bird's talons gripping around his whole body, "NOT LIKE THIS-"
He himself was then tossed up into the air by the Giant Bird before the monstrosity devoured the bandit leader whole, its beaks snapping shut upon the body entering into its throat, and thus sealing his fate. The Giant Bird then eyes towards the Dustbin, and screeches out another earpiercing note, declaring them all as its dessert.
"How unfortunate," Karna sighed out as the Demonic Beast bore down towards them, "... you put me into a really bad mood."
His [Crescent Sickle]'s curved blade then lights up into a violet hue, imbued with the [Miasma Δ] spell.
"Cyrus," Karna spoke to the Almyran giant, "can you stand?"
"If you mean 'fight', not really," he replied nervously, "why?"
A loud braying cry was heard from behind the Giant Bird, followed up by its hooves thundering across the earth like an army's march.
"... No bloody way," Selene remarked in complete disbelief, with everyone recognizing the sound of the neigh and the weight of the drumming, "... did it really climb all the way up here?!"
Into the air, as soon as Cyrus saw the equine frame jumped into the air, he himself sprang towards the sky and got onto its back as the two halves of a Battu Steppesman were now whole once more, ready to tear the earth asunder as the immortal rider of their people.
"Room for one more?" Karna asked Cyrus, to which the latter nods, "alright then," he remarked excitedly as he got behind Cyrus, weapon out, and the two facing the Giant Bird Demonic Beast before them, "let's do this!"
As soon as Darius lets out a howling bray in tandem to Cyrus snapping its bridles, they now charge towards the avian monstrosity in their final leg of their first Field Day.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Had to make a shitload of last-minute revisions just for the sake of not overcomplicating the plot. No Dustbin being involved in the grand conspiracy (had to substitute that with a Disney Death-trope), and Flame Emperor's appearances will coincide with the rest of the canon, provided if Karna's Black Cat antics don't get too out of hand.
So with Kostas out of the picture courtesy of Karna's misfortune attracting another Demonic Beast, this chapter was basically my attempt at fleshing out the characters a bit more, with your milage being varied.
Fourth of July was not kind to me, and the sirens around the neighbor hood really didn't help matters. And the whole bi-weekly writing schedule that I have set up for myself is starting to wear me down a little thin.
References:
- Exchange between Sorcha and Kostas is a paraphrased version of Archer and Berry's exchange in Archer, Season 3, Episode 13, Space Race Part II.
- Doug's design is based off of Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia's Mercenary class design, but with a more pronounced cloak and hood.
