I DON'T BELIVE IT! I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER EARLY!
That's right my dear readers, I actually got off my ass, then sat back down on my ass and wrote the chapter instead of procrastinating. Hold your applause, hold your applause.
But in all seriousness, the reason this chapter was finished sonner than normal was because I found myself really interested with what I was going to for with Solaire and Maneater Mildred. From the PM's and a couple of reviews you guys posted up, there are a lot of you guys who seem into the idea of the Sunbro and Mildred pairing.
And strangely enough, I found the idea incredibly appealing. A hell of a lot more than I thought I did at first. Buuuuuut I'm not going to get ahead of myself just yet. Just gonna go with the flow and see what happen and what crazy idea's I can come up with along the way.
So before we get started, I think I'll go over...
A few comments that caught my eye
Guest (Regarding the Overlord Just For Fun)- Whats this got to do with Dark Souls?
My Response- The chapters that say Just For Fun are pretty much just that. Just For the Fun of it. It like a little break from the Dark Souls story whenever I hit a bit of a writers block and I feel like I want to just branch out and write something just for the fun of it.
In short, Its just me messin around with the fun idea's in my head and has nothing to do with Dark Souls. Been thinking about actually continuing a few of them and making them official stories on the site too.
ThatOneRandomDude- Solaire should not take his search for his own sun so literally. He should look at his at his quest from a figurative perspective, he just might find it if he does hint hint. In case I was not as clear as I thought I was being, Solaire needs a to get himself a woman and probably get laid as well.
Titoneitor-Just paire her up with Solaire and it's done my dude. Ez pz gg boi. And great work with this chapter, it was great to see the usually jolly Solaire being kinda vicious and reckles while fighting and Oscar talking some sense into him.
My Response- It reviews like this that just crack me up. Also, everyone is pretty keen on getting the Sunbro's laid. XD
Also to Titoneitor, thank for the comment about Oscar talking sense to Solaire. I like the idea of characters changing with the story and evolving past their troups, so I'm glad that Solaire acting just a bit less like his jovial self was recieved positively.
son of Ophion- while I'm glad to hear there's more to come for the epic dragons. but that doesn't answer my question about domhnall. i mean come on the guy wears armor literally made of medals sells a chest that is implied to be a dead mimic and has clearly been to Seaths castle as well as most likely everywhere else in Dark souls 1 since part of his hear literally has adventurer in the name. also an actually question instead of just loving Domhnall do you think he and the Crystal knight are related in some way there armor and gear kind of point to it them being equally strange.
My Response- Firstly, my bad about missing that question before. Not sure how I forgot to answer that. Secondly, what-the-what-now? His chest is implied to be a dead mimic? I had no freaking idea about that. Now I can't get the idea of someone trying to get the jump on Dohmnall and then he goes "I don't think so." and then stabs the chest to wake up the mimic as he uses a chameleon spell. Letting the mimic take out whoever screwed with him and when its done he just throws a loyds talisman and puts it back to sleep.
I'm just sayin, this 100% your fault I keep thinking that now.
As for you question, I'm honestly still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with Dohmnall exactly. He's definitely going to make an appearance, but I'm still on the fence about what I think he'll do.
Cheese Piece- I'm absolutely loving the story so far, I really like the direction the story is heading in with Kaylen really becoming more than just a simple SI gamer who memes all the time, but a SI gamer who memes all the time AND has character growth! Personally I really want to see Kaylen become more of a Bro with all the dudes in DS. Everyone is such a sad sack, and the only reason they trust him is because of game knowledge and free stuff. It would be cool IMO to pull everyone out of the "survival of the fittest" thing with a little more character bonding, something to bring some characters (who don't have tits) closer together after things start to settle down. Or maybe you could do some hilarious curveball that I never saw coming. I wouldn't really mind if this doesn't come up, its your cool story after all so just keep on adding to this epic when you can. I can wait. Maybe. Probably not. But imma stay quiet about it. Have Fun!
My Response- Well, I'm super glad your enjoying the read, bro. As to bringing the Bro's together more, I most definitely got that worked out and down pat. The story is definitely head towards the exact sort of moment your looking for with the Bro's getting closure together. I'm especially eager to get back to the more light hearted side of thing, so you'll definitely get you wish pretty soon.
Welp, guys, that's all I got for you this time. I hope you all enjoy that newest chapter of the story so far.
Warning: This warning sign was put here to warn you not to remember the fact that no Mushroom Men have appeared in the story yet. You have been warned.
Her hands were not that of a woman's.
They were rough, calloused and even carried a few nicks on some fingers. Even her body, as sparsely covered as it was, was a bit of a sight to take in. The definition and tone of her it showed that she was more than accustomed her share of heavy lifting, but still maintained the smoothness of a woman's shape. Even as he held her hand and helped her too her feet, it was hard for him not to notice the tensing of muscles along her arm.
Of course, after crossing blades with her, he didn't need to see this to know that she was strong. But he did take a small moment to take in the sight of her up close.
Once she was on her feet, they both held each other's eye's for but a few heartbeats. Mostly due to Solaire still mentally preparing himself for what he was going to do next, even if he wasn't quite clear on what that something was.
"Okay then. Let go." He said as he released her hand and began to walk toward the hall not far from them.
The woman for her part, watched him go for a moment before moving to retrieve her massive, unruly weapon from the flooded floor.
Surprisingly enough, she seemed more than capable of lifting and handling the massive weapon even one handed. Not even grunting as she swung it onto her shoulder with ease and approached her savior, though it was quite apparent when she refrained from coming too close to him.
"Quite the arm on you, huh?" Solaire said, trying to lighten things up as she wordlessly stared at him, a sort of wary and guarded look on her face. As if meaning to silently convey that "You might not seem like an enemy, but I'm watching you."
Seeing this, Solaire shifted his gaze towards the hall before turning his eyes back towards her with a small cough.
"Well…since we're going to be giving each other a hand, how about we get to know one another a bit?" Solaire said in as friendly a tone as he could manage given the current situation. He had decided that it would be best to establish and understand just how much she could understand him before they moved further. "As I said, I am Solaire. An adherent of the Lord of-. Well…just Solaire. I came to Lordran in search of my very own Sun."
At this, the woman's demeanor relaxed slightly as she tilted her head at him along with giving a look of visible bewilderment.
"Do you find that strange? Well, you should. No need to worry. I get looks like that all the time. Hah hah hah!" Solaire laughed merrily, seemingly not at all perturbed by the look being directed at him. "So, what about you? Anything you'd like to share about yourself?"
The woman before him didn't say anything at this, choosing only to continue to hold his gaze.
The only small indication that he had the she possibly had understood what he said was that her eyes briefly averted themselves before finding his own again and her opened slightly for a moment before closing once again. It seemed almost like she wanted to say something, but chose to hold her tongue instead.
"Come now. No need to be shy around me." The Knight said, retaining his natural jovial personality. "It is my wish that we both become friends with one another. As such, you need not ever feel hesitant to say anything around your pal Solaire."
The woman shuffles in place slightly as her eye's shift away from him once again before locking with his once more.
"...Saah...Ler." she said lowly and sheepishly to him.
The attempt at speech was not the best, but her efforts to say something comprehensive were earnest. It seemed that she was painfully aware of the barrier of speech between the two of them.
The knight needed only a moment to put two and two together to come to the conclusion that she was attempting to speak his name back to him.
"Ah, yes…that is my name" he said with a smile. He didn't gain any new information about her, but took her words as a step towards progress.
Hearing his approval, the woman pecks up a bit as spark of light shines in her eyes.
...Sahler...Sahler is name...name is...Sahler?" she asked curiously.
The man in question said nothing for the time being, simply choosing to give a nod of confirmation. He looked on as the woman continued to play with the sound of his name. Seeing this, a delighted grin appeared on the woman's face.
"Sahler, Saahler."
She repeating in a tone that clearly said she was pleased with herself figured out what the word means. Just "Sahler, Sahler" over and over as if to show off and say "See, I get it". She even got a bit ahead of herself and took a step closer to him as she grinned happily.
"W-Well, it's nice that we both know who I am now." Solaire said bit of an awkward smile, not sure why she was quite so happy about saying his name, but trying not throw of this small instance of conversation between them. "So what about you? Do you have a name?"
The woman donned a curious expression as she leans in a bit closer towards him.
"Sahler?"
"No, that's my name."
She tilts her head to the side as her gaze shifts around in thought, her dark brown hair swish to the side as she does this.
"...My..name?...Don't know."
Solaire simply nodded in understanding at her choppy sentence- silently allowing himself to take in the first time he heard her say something other than his name. Feeling as if she might have ruined the fun somehow, the woman turns her head away from him and shuffles in place in a timid manner. A strange sight for someone who wields a blade about the same size as her body.
"Well there's no need to fret over it. Friendships are not built on names, but on actions." Solaire said resolutely. "What's say we make our way out of here, then once we're somewhere comfortable we can work it together?"
The prospect, though she had absolutely no idea what it might entail exactly, was received quite favorably to the woman. Though she didn't speak a word, the joyful look in her eye's that said she liked the idea.
With that pseudo plan of action established, Solaire and his new traveling companion proceeded down the open hallway, both glad to be leaving the caged area.
The tunnel like hall was incredibly cramped and hemmed together. Making it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, for the pair to walk side by side. So Solaire opted to take the front with the woman walking behind him. She had a much more strenuous task of the two with trying to navigate the hall with her much larger weapon.
There were a great deal of twist and turns, making them both feel as if they were walking in circles the entire time. After about ten minutes of this, they were both started to become a bit claustrophobic walking through the halls. As preposterous as it might have sounded, a small part of their minds began to think that they weren't going to found a way through this maze of cramped space
Luckily, they didn't have to contend with these thoughts for long as they made one final turn and found that the hall finally lead to a more open ended part of the sewer.
"Finally." Solaire said as he made his way towards the end. Only to pause for a moment as his ears picked up what sounded like something ripping and tearing away at something. Raising his hand behind him to let the woman know to stay behind him and keep quiet, he eased his way to the corner of the exit to spot what the source of the sound was.
Peeking around the exit, his eyes met with the sight of what looked like a large, scrawny lizard that had a set of impossibly bulbous eye's on its head. At the moment, it was facing away from them as it tore into the corpse of a large rat and devoured it.
"What the hell is that?" Solaire said to himself in a tone that was barely above a whisper.
Peeking just around his arm to see what the Knight had stopped, the woman had a much more expressive reaction to the creature's presence. Glancing at it for only a moment before going wide eyed, grabbing hold of Solaire's shoulder and wordlessly pulling him back around the corner.
"What is it?" Solaire asked.
Her only response was to quickly check to see if the creature had noticed any noise from them, thankfully it hadn't, before turning back to him with a nervous look.
"Uh-Uh." she said as she shook her head back and forth, doing her best to tell him that they shouldn't go this way. She then proceeded to point in the direction the creature was in, before puffing out her cheeks and imitating what looked like something blowing aggressively toward him.
"Does it...shoot something from its mouth?" Solaire asked to confirm if he was reading her right. Her response was to nod her head in confirmation. "Good to know. But there no point in heading back the way we came. Plus, there's only one and we have the element of surprise. If we move swiftly we can take it down before it even knows what hit it."
Giving Solaire a look that blatantly said "That's a terrible plan." the woman tried her best to halt his advance as he tried to walk past her and make his way around to the creature.
"Nah, Sahler, Nah. Na-"
"You stay here. I can take care of this myself." was all Solaire said as he gently forced his way past her.
Making his way around their hidden position around the corner, Solaire moved steadily towards the distracted beast, doing his best to remain as quite as he could. But once the lizard body suddenly froze and tensed in place, he figured the jig was up and made mad dash towards it.
Just as he came within range and swung his sword, the lizard jump forward and turned around in mid-air to face him. Having its bulging, bloated eyes suddenly pointed directly towards him gave Solaire pause as he could not help but take in the mutant things form.
He then watched as it threw its head back and its neck began to swell to ridiculous proportions.
"It breaths fire!" was Solaire immediate first thought as he watched it take in air. That had to be what she was warning him about. But he was not afraid. Though it might hurt a bit, he would simply raise his shield and allow it to absorb the incoming wave of heat. Not matter how much air it took in, it couldn't breathe its flame forever and once it had finished was when he would strike.
So raising his shield to protect his body and face, the Knight braced himself.
TSSSSSSS
Instead of the feeling of a burning pain on his legs or an explosive wave of heat, a thick fog of yellow smoke came pouring from the lizard's mouth and enveloped Solaire completely.
"A smoke screen? Is it trying to attempt to hide itself before attack-"
Solaire's thought was caught in his throat as his body, starting at his feet, suddenly became extremely numb and stiff. Looking down, he was shocked to find that his legs as well as his arms were quickly being overtaken by a grey hue. Within seconds he found himself unable to move his legs and his arms were quickly beginning to follow.
"RRRAAAAGH" a feminine voice suddenly shouted from behind him as the woman he'd traveled with sprinted around the wall of smoke and bee-lined straight for the lizard.
So preoccupied with the first ambusher and not at all expecting a second, the creature barely had time to react before the woman's cleaver struck the large eye's on top of its head, cutting them both completely in half and an overwhelming agony to shoot through its body. With blood flying freely from it wounds and its guttural screams echoing off the walls, the woman delivered one last downward swing and ended the hideous things life.
The minute she struck the abominations eye's and the wall of smoke ceased to envelope him any further, Solaire began to see the grey around his body slowly but surely recede away and he regained normal control over his limb once again.
"The smoke turns you hard like stone. That's what she was trying to warn me about." the Knight thought to himself in realization. "Its effects were incomplete, so it doesn't seem to have caused any permanent damage to me. It's a good thing that she was here, otherwise-"
"NYA-GA!"
"That's not nice." was all Solaire could say as the woman walked directly up to him and promptly delivered a strong kick to his shin.
Unfortunately for her, though his choice in apparel hide it well, Solaire's body was built like veritable fortress. So when her bare foot struck his shin, he barely felt a thing. Meanwhile, she felt as if her foot had just collided with a brick wall.
Not at all expecting the sudden sting of pain to surge in her toe, the woman gave a small squeal as she released her hold on her weapon and actually stumbling back a bit on one foot.
"Okay, okay, there's no need to get upset." Solaire said obliviously, taking her actions completely in stride.
After closing her eye's for a moment and allowing the pain to subside, the woman sent a glare at the Knight that conveyed her clear irritation.
"Grrrr..." the woman growled lowly as she approached the Knight once again until they were face to face, then cocked back her now free and uninjured hand to deliver a powerful strike aimed at his chest. It seemed she was determined to show him just how stupid his actions were just now.
But once again, once her strike had reached his body Solaire stood casually in place and barely felt a thing. Meanwhile, she felt as if she had just struck her hand a dense slab of concrete. Giving a small whine at the soreness the short through her knuckles, the woman pulled her hand back and began shaking it from side to side.
"Oh, I get it now. You want an apology for not listening to your warning." Solaire proclaimed brightfully. "Well say no more. This Knight is not too proud to admit when he's made a mistake. I extend my deepest apologies, miss."
At this, the woman didn't so much as glare anymore, but still pointed an annoyed frown towards him. Although the warrior of the sun seemed to be in his own world on the matter as he gave her a thumbs up and a sunny laugh in response.
Actually rolling her eyes and releasing a sigh at this, the woman turn and picked up her weapon from the ground, then looked toward him and pointed down the open sewage chamber the found themselves in.
"Mah." the woman said simply as she gestured for him to follow her, before leading the way.
Much like the constricting hall they found themselves in before, the halls of the chamber seemed to shift and turn without showing much of any sign that they were getting any closer to an exit. Only when they rounded a corner and the floor and ceiling began to become covered in some strange organic mush, did Solaire begin to think that perhaps they had made a wrong turn at some point. He didn't want to call into question of her knowing where she was going, but the sight of the environment around them did not inspire confidence.
Though on the bright side, they hadn't run into any more of those lizard creature. So he thought that might explain it. Perhaps they were taking the long way to avoid confrontation with them?
He did not have to dwell on it for long as they were both suddenly hit with what sounded like wind rushing past their ears, as well as the feeling of something being pulled towards them. Neither Solaire nor the woman were strangers to this feeling and as such, readied their weapon and stood firm where they stood.
This feeling and sound repeated itself two more times in the span of a few seconds. Not a good sign for them.
Soon enough, rounding the corner that was ahead of them, a lone man, radiating head to toe in a dark red aura, wearing nothing more than a loose fitting robe a plain broadsword of no discernable features and wielding a short sword in one of his hands, appeared before them.
"Greeting to you, new friends." the Phantom said casually. "Good day for it, eh?"
"Red Phantom." Solaire spat lowly. Being of the Sunlight covenant, he held an especially strong distain for ilk such as this. "Why have you come?"
"Firstly, I believe the correct term is why have "we" come." the Phantom said as two more Phantoms, nearly identical to the first, rounded the corner behind them. Prompting the woman to turn around to face them with Solaire keeping his eye's on the first one. "And to answer your question, it should be more than obvious. We've find ourselves in need of a few bits of humanity and hoped that you would oblige."
"Then we need not speak any further." Solaire said angrily as he lowered his stance and prepared himself.
At this, strangely enough, the phantom did not raise his weapon. Instead, he looked past Solaire and allowed his eye's to fall on the woman at his side.
"Say now, this is unexpected." the Phantom said curiously. "Mildred giving somebody who's not one of her people a hand? They usually don't hesitate with capturing people like you. You feed her her latest meal or something?"
"Feed he-?" Don't be ridiculous!" Solaire said in outrage, making only a minor note at someone telling him her name. Of course, now was not the time to let something like that fully enter his thoughts. "She needed my help and I gave it. Nothing more."
"Oh, I get it? You one of those righteous, "give a helping hand" types, are you?" the Phantom said with a small mocking smirk on his lips. "You should know this isn't the first time she's bumped into a Good Samaritan like you. Lured a good few of'em back to her little shop of fun up above many times before."
Once again looking past him, toward the woman, now known as Mildred, the Phantom saw that one of her arms was wrapped in some sort of fabric and she was refraining from using her free hand to aid her in using her massive weapon.
"That's a nasty injury she's got there." the Phantom said smugly. "Seems we've hit a bit of luck. We only came for one person, but who am I to decline the opportunity of two?"
With that, the Phantom raised a finger to signal his fellow phantom to come closer. With only the smallest hesitation, the two rushed forward towards Mildred.
"No..." Solaire said as he prepared to rush to her aid, knowing that her injury put her at a disadvantage against two humans.
"Pay attention."
CLANG
Spark flew with a metallic ring as Solaire and the Phantom crossed blades.
"RRAAAAAGH!" Mildred screamed as a frenzied brawl unfolded within the immense chamber deep in the sewers. All things considered, she held her ground well enough against the two invaders. Swinging her longer weapon toward each of them, even one handed, was enough to keep them both at a distance for the moment. However, it was only a matter of time before they found an opening in her swing decided take their chance and rush her.
Attempting to end his engagement quickly, Solaire launched strike after strike at the offending Phantom.
"So what are you plans for Mildred, huh? Gonna have a bit of fun with her?"
"...!"
The Phantom wielded his blade expertly, knocking away each strike with ease. Simply put, Solaire's attacks hadn't inflicted so much as a scratch on the man. He had avoided or redirected every single slash of his blade. Deciding to take the offensive, the man struck out three times, with Solaire blocking each attack with his shield, before they both engaged one another in a deadlock with neither giving ground.
After a brief struggle, the two separated from one another.
"She's not much of a woman, I suppose, but looks well enough for the deed. Desperate time calls for desperate measures."
The Phantom wanted to through his focus off with his words, but Solaire easily brushed them aside and focused on the battle at hand with no trouble.
"He's skilled with a blade, not to mention comfortable fighting up close." Solaire surmised from but a single exchange of strikes. "I can't half focus of helping her while dealing with him. He'll defeat me for certain if I don't maintain my vigilance."
"You know, I doubt you made it down here without running into Mildred's little family of man-eaters, right?" the Phantom started once more, with a small smirk on his lips. "Heh, I remember my first time bumping into their little trio. Heh, heh, can you imagine invading someone and come to find that their being cut into pieces. Scary stuff. I think in this one instance, invading and killing her might even make me the good guy, right?"
Hearing this, Solaire scowled beneath his mask as his muscles visibly tensed as his stance tightened. The reaction did not go unnoticed by his foe.
"Heh, did I make angry? Terribly sorry about that." the man smiled, showing that he was very much enjoying getting a reaction out of Solaire. "But I can't imagine why you'd be upset. That woman is a sadistic freak. At least I make my kills relatively quick, but she'll make your end nice and slow if given the chance.."
Gripping his weapon even further than he already had, Solaire responded to the Phantoms words firmly.
"Even if that were true, she's still a person." Solaire said with conviction determined to stand by his actions. "Humans makes mistakes. But she has done nothing that cannot be redeemed."
Hearing this, the Phantoms looked at him like he was a complete madman before shaking his head with a smile.
"...I see. I'll try to keep that in mind while I gutting her."
With that final threat spoken, both men charged one another. The first to blow they sent struck against the sword of the others, sending sparks flying through the air between them. At the same time, they both shifted their footwork to accommodate the next attacks, with Solaire pressing forward and the Phantom placing a step back, placing Solaire in a perfect position raise his blade for an overhead strike.
CLANG
Catching the strike with his own blade, the Phantom on just barely managed to hold it in place and stop it from cutting him. Then, with a grin that sent alarm bells ringing in Solaire head, the Phantom deftly raised his free hand forward and snapped his fingers.
FWOOSH
In a single instant, a burst of fire erupted in Solaire face. His mask may have prevent the attack from burning his flesh, but it could do nothing to prevent the flames from burning his opened eyes.
"GAAH!" Solaire screamed as he shut his eyes tightly and the flames dissipated in the air. Acting purely off reflex, he pulled back his sword and swung directly in front of himself in an attempt to hit the Phantom.
Unfortunately, just before the blade could land true, the Phantom easily danced back out of reach. Solaire could only raise his weapon blindly as he struggled to regain himself.
Hearing his screams, Mildred lost focus on the battle in front of her for but a brief instant. But that was more than enough for the two phantoms to make their moves. The one to realize her misstep first moved to swing his blade at her. Mildred was only just quick enough to correct herself and move out of the way, swinging her weapon wildly at the offender. Ducking beneath and avoiding the attack, the invaders comrade was quick to capitalize, rushing forward and gripping Mildred's injured arm firmly.
FWOO-TSSSS
Not two seconds after placing his hand upon her did and intense agony flood Mildred's arm as the Phantom ignited its hand in a burning flame and began to burn her flesh. Mildred clenched her teeth and went wide eyed as her body recognized the pain as unbearable.
But instead of screaming out or being overcome by it, Mildred grit her teeth against it...
"GRAAAAH!"
Releasing a feral Warcry, she jerked her injured arm behind her and thrust her head forward directly at her attackers face, delivering a brutal head-butt that broke his nose on contact. As the Phantom released her arm and reeled from the unexpected tactic, Mildred swing her blade from her side and forced it to bit deep into his shoulder. Being used mostly to incapacity her victims, the blade cut deep into the flesh, but was unable to cut through the bone. Leaving the invader to fall to the floor with a cry of pain.
As his comrade was forced to the ground by the massive weapon that buried itself into his body, the second Phantom moved to cut into the woman with his blade, knowing that her weapon was far to heavy for her to raise it in time to defend herself.
It was unfortunate for him that he did not choose to keep his distance.
In a single moment of untamed rage, Mildred released the weapon in her hand and with a feral growl and was upon the Phantom. Its voice came as a sharp gasp of surprise as she suddenly bore down on him in one leap like a rabid animal. The strength and weight of her body suddenly coming against him forcing his body to the watery sewer ground. The minute she knew she had him, Mildred didn't hesitate in forcing his head to the side, opening her jaws as wide as she could and biting deep into the Phantoms neck.
"GAAAA-AAAAAAH"
The panicked and pain filled screams of his comrade echoing off every corner of the sewer walls, the first Red Phantom could not help but turn his attention towards the brutal scene taking place.
"Uh oh. Seems the lunatics let herself go." the Red Phantom stated calmly. He wasn't too worried about it personally. Though they were all invaders, he didn't lose anything if the others died. Not to mention Mildred was barely able to put up a decent fight against them and was no doubt worn out. So he was confident he could handle her with little to no trouble and receive his reward afterword's.
"Ah." Solaire, his eye's still in considerable pain from the invader pyromancy, turned his gaze around at hearing the ear piercing scream fill the chambers halls and froze at what he saw.
She was growling savagely as she bit into the man's neck again and again, ripping free portions of his flesh with each bite she took. He had screamed and attempted to force her off of him, but she held him in an unbreakable grip with his robe and hair held tightly in her hands, refusing to let go as her teeth tore into his body and a deep, crimson red stained her mouth.
Solaire was at a loss for words as he stared up at the woman's back as it jerked upward as continued brutally tearing into the Phantoms body with reckless abandon.
Seeing the knight openly frozen at the sight, the Phantom smirk.
"Heh, heh, heh, why do you look so surprised? It's exactly like I told you. She's a sadistic freak. A cannibal. A killer."
The man's laughter was ringing through Solaire ears.
He was right.
This was what she was.
A butcher of men; wild and savage. Unfit to even be called a person anymore.
Ripping one last piece of flesh from the man's neck, Mildred the proceeded to hammer at his broken nose with her fist, causing more blood to stain her body and hands, before she pounced on him once again with another mad, incomprehensible snarl. The sound of teeth ripping through flesh made his skin crawl, and Solaire could only absentmindedly stare on as he tried to come to terms that this was the same woman who could barely hold a conversation with him not an hour ago.
"Can you look at this and still say those pretty words? She's done it to others countless times before. From their lungs right down to their kidneys, she's eaten all of them."
The Phantoms words echoed through Solaire mind as though evil itself were speaking to him.
At that moment, she didn't look anything like a human to him; her ferocious teeth inspired visions of blood and suffering; her wild and savage snarls rang in his ear.
Faced with her true nature, Solaire was sickened.
The harsh reality of what was before prompted the Knight to ask the question of what he thought he would do with her. Did he think someone like this could be helped? Did he actually think he could even approach the idea that she could be made into something better? No. Impossible. It was time he faced the truth.
He had gotten swept up in a course of events, his emotions making him unable to see the reality of things. He'd fought this woman, saved her and naively allowed himself to be drawn in and blinded to what was in front of him. Everything, every single event had just led to the next without him thinking clearly.
Revulsion and disgusted flooded his body as he continued to watch her. There was no denying what was in front of him. This was a monster, through and through. And she reveled in what she was.
He knew better than anyone what his code and covenant demanded of him. Her action were abhorrent, his sins too great and as such, he could not allow someone like her to remain alive. If he were to leave her to her own devices, she would kill and devour others without question.
The truth was irrefutable.
FWOO-BOOSH
"AAAAAAHH!"
A light flew over his shoulder and struck her right in her back. That was all Solaire could put together before he sharply turned his gaze back towards the Red Phantom.
She was an abhorrent monster. A loathsome beast. A vile killer.
So why was it that the sight of her being struck in the back filled him with such explosive anger for the Phantom before him?
Letting this anger flourish unopposed, Solaire ground his molars, clenched his fist and willed his body to charge forward. Even with his heated emotions guiding his hands, his technique was flawless. Swinging his blade with practiced ease and efficiency, the warrior of the sun barely gave the Phantom a chance to retaliate as he overwhelmed him with string after string of blows.
Soon enough, the Phantom raised his weapon to deadlock Solaire's once again, intent on blinding him with his pyromancy the instant the opportunity presented itself.
But anger has a way of bring out new strength in a man. So when Solaire's blade met the Phantoms own, the invader was forced to take a step backward just to hold his ground. But even still, Solaire's might was overpowering him. The Phantom found himself straining to hold the blade in place with both hands on his sword, much less even think of using one of them to use his pyromancy.
"You won't do that again." Solaire growled as he expertly shifted his own weight and flourished his weapon, flicking the blade of his sword beneath the invaders. Then using the strength he put into holding his weapon in the deadlock, Solaire dragged his blade out and along the Phantoms short sword, forcing the weapon out of the way and leaving his chest wide open.
As Solaire quickly recovered himself swung his sword downward, the Phantom could do nothing as the blade sped towards his arm and cut through it at the elbow.
"GAAAAAAHH!" the Phantom screamed as he fell to his knee's gripping the bloodied limb, his severed arm and sword falling to his feet only a moment before.
The thought of caring for the screams of someone like him not even crossing his mind, Solaire raised his blade to pierce straight through his head. Only the sound of pained grunting and footsteps from behind, prompted him to turn and glance toward Mildred.
She was lying face down over the now vacant floor upon the watery ground with her exposed back badly burned and the Invader that was beneath seemingly been killed and returned to his own world,
Standing over her was the remaining Phantom she had fought, whose shoulder was still bleeding profusely. Her weapon not appearing to have cut deep enough to kill him off, the Invader raised his sword towards her unmoving body.
Moving with speed that said he refused to allow such a thing to happen, Solaire rushed forward and ran his blade straight through the man's back. Forcing the sword through his body straight to the hilt, he roughly yanked it free, turned on his heel and cut deep into the side of the invaders neck.
With its neck almost completely severed and cut through, the Phantoms body fell roughly to the ground before it began to dissipate and fade into nothingness.
With the two phantoms defeated and the last on his knees and bleeding from his elbow, Solaire fixed his gaze on Mildred's body along the ground.
"…S..Sa...La…" he could hear her making some sound as she lay there. It was barely above a whisper, but he was certain he heard it. "..S-Sah…Ler..."
She was calling out his name. Calling out for him to help her and make the pain go away. She had tried to rise up on her own, but the agony that shot through the burns on her back persuaded her otherwise. The pain was so intense that it was making her gasp and stagger for breaths she could not catch. She didn't know what to do to make it stop.
So her eyes began to tear up and she called his name.
She didn't know what else she could do. She couldn't move, everything hurt and she was scared.
The only thing she could think was that when her arm was hurting before, Solaire was able to do something to help it. So she cried to him, weakly, with the small bits of air she was able to gain in her suffering. Praying that he would come and make it go away like he did before.
Laying his sword and shield next to her, Solaire was quick to examine her wounds and saw that her back was burn right down to the bone. She wasn't wearing any sort of protection other than the fabric that kept her decent, so the flames easily ignited her flesh, causing even the most minor of movements to be unthinkable. Solaire then quickly sank to a knee beside her.
The moment her eyes laid on him at her side, Mildred lip began to quiver as she whimpered lowly and tears began to trail down the side of her face. She could not do it with words, but she conveyed everything she needed to with that single look.
"It hurts." "Please make it stop."
With the blood of the invader still stained her mouth, Solaire could still see her biting into another person's fleshy clearly in his mind.
Yet, still... she was crying and begging for him to do something to help her. And Solaire would not allow the thought of refusing her to enter even the edges of his mind.
"Its alright…I'm going to help you. Everything's going to be okay." Solaire said softly. He had acknowledged and accepted his own repulsion and disgust, but he restrained them with a more powerful emotion. He would not blind himself to what she was and project a false image to himself that she was just a simple problem he could solve. His good intentions could not wipe away the blood on her hands or the lives she's taken.
But was it right for him to turn his back on her without even trying? He knew what she was from the start, the only difference now was that he had first-hand experience. She has ultimately made many mistakes, done terrible thing to others, but is it not also within her power to correct those mistakes? Even if only step by step, inch by inch, if he helped her do it, could her actions not be amended?
His warm, resounding words reached her ears clearly, yet she could still not stop a few whimpers from escaping her mouth and causing her body to move minuscule. But even that small movement was enough to garner a sharp pain to shoot across her back.
"You…haven't won anything, you know." The last invader said with a pained grin as he held his bleed stump. "Ugh, I don't know what it is, but somethings made all of Lordran a veritable beacon for people like me. From Thoroland all the way to Berenike, lads of all kinds are being called here like moths to a flame. Heh, heh, I'll be back on my feet and swimming in humanity in no time with the streghnth of the anchor here leading me straight to new victims. If I'm lucky, I might even be able to see you two again very soon, heh, heh."
"It doesn't matter how many of you there are or how many times you come. I will never fall to the likes of your kind." Solaire said with his back to the Phantom as he kneeled next to Mildred and tried to examine if her wounds were life threatening. "And if any of you even think of bringing harm to this woman again, I'll make sure you pay for it."
Thankfully, even if it didn't make it any less painful, the wounds on her back only flayed her flesh and did not burn and melt anything vital. The Red Phantoms they defeated did not leave behind any humanity or anything they could use, so he knew would likely have to carry and move her himself to get her aid.
"Ugh, talk about an idiot. Bet you feel real heroic being the guard dog for someone like that, huh?" the Phantom insulted, his vision going slightly blurry from the amount of blood he was losing. "I already told you didn't I? She's a lunatic. What's the point in getting all protective over her? What's the value in helping a thing like that?"
That instant…
"!"
Solaire's eye's ignited from within. His blue eye's narrowed as he glared daggers at the invaders kneeling form.
"She called out for me." Solaire said lowly, his eye's burning with conviction. "In her pain and suffering she called out for my name. As far as I'm concerned, that is more than enough reason for me to act and protect her."
His words were nonsense. Based on nothing more than a flimsy will to act and nothing more. But he held them close. He could not hide behind his covenant code for an excuse. For it told him that the woman must die. He could not say that it was his duty to protect her, for she was not innocent. She was someone steeped in blood and sin.
The words he spoke and the actions he took were nothing more than him acting on his own will and doing what he pleased. He duty says that he should kill her, but he was going to save her life. The world said she was a hopeless monster, but he would extend his hand to her nonetheless. No matter what fate had told him otherwise, this was what he wanted to do.
"I will not abandon her here. She just needs someone to help her see the right path. How can I hope to save the world from the dark if I am unable to protect one woman crying out for me?" Solaire said resolutely. "So even if I am wrong and the only thing awaiting me is pain and regret, I will protect and help this lost soul with all that I have. I swear it."
The Knights answer and sentiments echoed throughout the chamber. The Invader was initially taken back by this, but after finding his thoughts once more, could only scoff weakly at this declaration.
"Friend…. You're a goddamn idiot." The Phantom responded to Solaire declaration. His mouth open wide in a savage smile, he began his assault anew. "You that think someone like her can just be something different? That she can just turn over a new leaf if given the chance?"
"..."
"You're only fooling' yourself. Makes me want to vomit." The man added with scornful laughter. "Heh, oh, well. No cure for fools. Hope you have your fun with her before she decides to stab you in the back and make a meal out of you. Or better still, before someone comes along and shows you just how small you really are."
Suddenly, both Solaire and the invader both heard with what sounded like wind rushing past their ears, as well as the feeling of something being pulled towards them.
"Speaking of which…."
As if walking free of an invisible veil, two more Red Phantoms appeared behind the first. One wielding a spear and the other a Great sword. Though neither of them appeared to have any armor to speak of, only plain clothing that held a few tears here and there.
"Heh, not my first choice in backup, but they'll do." As he turned back toward Solaire.
So caught up in his mocking, the invader paid no attention to the third sounding of wind that passed through his ears. Why would he? The more that invaded and killed this man, the merrier.
"Six invasions in less than an hour. Aren't you the lucky one?" the Phantom sneered with a smile. "I told you, people from walks of life are being called to join this party. Don't think it'll get any easier with-
SHLICK. SHLUCK.
"Eh?'
Solaire saw what happened long before the Phantom turned around and gazed at the scene. The last Invader, without any sort of hesitation, had slit the throat of what should have been one of his allies and then immediately moved to impale the second straight through the heart. But that action was the furthest thing from either Solaire or the Phantoms mind as they watched him kick his victim off his blade.
What drew their attention was the fact that they both already knew exactly who he was.
His armor, from his helmet all the way to the tips of his greaves, were covered in multitude of spiked thorns that look like they could easily pierce flesh with the slightest graze. His sword and shield likewise were covered completely in bard spikes.
He had carved his way to infamy across not only Lordran, but to the lands far beyond it as well. Old, young, hollow, human, saint, sinner, none of it mattered when he came. No soul was exempt from his wrath, no line was too far in his hunt, no means too brutal for his kill .
Among Red Phantoms, his was a name was synonymous with death.
"...Kirk.…" the Phantom said as if his mind was still trying to come to term with who was standing in front of him right now.
The man in question didn't seem to pay any attention to this reaction as he waited for his latest victims' bodies to disperse and claim the humanity within them. Unfortunately, when they finally did fade back to their real bodies, they left nothing behind for him to plunder.
As such, he turned towards the kneeling phantom and advanced toward him with his barbed sword still fresh from his previous kills.
FWOOOSH
Snapping his fingers in front of him, the Phantom called forth a small combustion of fire to erupt upon Kirks armor. The attack didn't so much as make him flinch as he continued to move forward.
"Wait a minute, hold-UGH!"
Kirk thrust his barbed blade through the Phantoms neck without a single instance of hesitation. Twisting his weapon to ensure the spike that covered its length thoroughly tore apart his internal organs, he yanked the blade free and allowed the Phantoms body to fall to the floor.
Seeing him kill them all and knowing he would come for them both next, Solaire slung Mildred's arm around him and lifted her out of the filthy sewer water along the ground. He then laid her shoulder against the wall off to the side and out of the way, careful not to allow her back to touch it and cause her further pain.
The very second her gaze fell upon him, Mildred eye's widened with fear and panic. It seemed even she was privy to just how dangerous and deadly this particular Phantom was.
"Forgive me for having to say this, but please bear with the pain for just a little linger." Solaire said softly as he retrieved his sword and shield from the sewer floor.
Watching him turn to face Kirk, Mildred attempted one final time to move her body and fight through the pain. But the agony that speared across her back and shoulders was too much for her to bear, so the only thing she managed to accomplish in her attempt was to hiss sharply as her faces twisted in pain.
"Ugh..N…Nah, Sahler…N-Nah…." she tried to say to him, the burns making even the act of speaking a labor for her.
The invader halted himself only momentarily to allow the body of the now dead Phantom to fade into nothingness. This time he was rewarded for his trouble with a single sprite of humanity that remained along the floor, which he promptly claimed and crushed in his hand.
It was then that he turned his gaze upon the Warrior of the Sun. Just as he had done before, he moved forward without the slightest hint of fear or hesitation in his step.
"Don't worry." Solaire said in a solemn tone to her pleas as he too made his way forward, intent on meeting this enemy head on. "This will not take long."
With that, a battle far outside fates grand design commenced. Two men fighting for the sake of saving a monster.
It was almost poetic that two warriors with such parallel paths would meet in combat.
CLIFFHANGERS! CLIFFHANGERS EVERYWHERE!
Now please ladies and gents, let me just get a few parting comments off before
Firstly, as I'm still doing a bit of Soul searching to figure out just what kind of character I want Mildred to be, I'm hoping for a little outside opinion on her first official inclusion and interaction on the story. But I will say that I had loads of fun writing her out and that I would love to work on her and Solaire interactions as well as her interactions with our boy Osca, Siegmeyer and especially Reah later in the story.
Secondly, Regarding Kirk, I'm thinking of having him be portrayed as just as infamous as he's said to be in Dark Souls Lore. This ultra badass, menacing invader who willing to do anything for the fair lady. Should make the trip to Blighttown a hell of a lot more entertaining when the gang finally makes it down there.
Thirdly, after re-writing this two different ways, I settled on making the depth much larger then it was In previously known to be. I did this because I freaking hated writing about the Depths because its all the same just sewer, sewer with a dash of rats. So I decided not to follow the path one would take in the game and make it a someone labryth like area, more or less. After all normal sewage system a massive and one could easily get lost in them, so why not portray this sewer system in that same manner.
And finally, let it be known that this is the last time I am going to use Red Phantoms suddenly appearing as a thing in the story. I believe that with Lautrec's use of the Dried Finger, its entirely possible things have gone a bit haywire for the red eye orbs or the cracked red eye's since they were even able to summon Darkwraiths, but I hate the idea of using plot devices like those to tell a story. So only just this once guys, please let me slide under the rug on this one.
Alright, bros, that all I got for ya this time.
As always, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you guys thought about this chapter of the story. Was Solaire actions a bit to lenient with Mildred? Did the little interactions between play out pretty good? Were you kinda pissed at that blatant cliffhanger ending? Honest opinions are always appreciated as I'm always looking to improve my style of writing to make this story a bit more interesting for you guys. So don't be shy in telling me your thoughts about how things are going so far. Outside opinions will have a huge effect on how this story will play out.
This is Supreme Gamer, Signing out.
P.S. There were so many god dang PM's about getting Solaire laid. I'm just saying, hot dang guys. I thought most people would have wanted Reah for Solaire to be honest. XD