Hello Scrolls and Nazarins, bringing more fights in my fanfic The One Who Came Back.
The twins will face the One Man Army, while Lakyus has a date.
With you
The One Who Came Back
Chapter 85: Ninjas Vs Beasts / The Knight Vs the Lancer
East Gate
Tia and Tina, upon realizing they had been spotted, leaped off the building, each heading in a different direction, their speed making them almost invisible to the common eye.
It wasn't difficult to dodge the animals busy devouring the soldiers who were supposed to protect the wall. Some could still be saved, but the twins had their priorities: eliminating the Beast Master as quickly as possible so the animals could be exterminated.
Once again, kunai were thrown, and once again, a cloud of bats descended and surrounded their master.
Among the weapons thrown was a special one with a talisman tied to it, an explosive talisman. The paper bomb detonated as soon as it hit one of the bats.
The explosion should have been big enough to kill anyone if their clothes weren't magical, so they needed to confirm if this was a weak point.
Despite the explosion, the man emerged unscathed. Right in front of him, there was a large bear that had appeared out of nowhere. Its back was completely burned, and the animal fell dead.
Quaiesse didn't mind losing the creature; after all, they were just summons, beings created by magic or merely brought from somewhere to serve him. It didn't matter; they were just weapons, items to be used.
Pulling a whip from his waist, he cracked it at his servants, ordering them to attack.
Although his clothes were magical, gifts from the gods, he preferred not to be touched. Unlike his sister Clementine, Quaiesse detested close combat, so he preferred to use his animals. The more he used them, the more his abilities increased. When he started his training, he could barely summon a single bat. Now, he was known as the One-Man Army.
The sisters attacked in sync. They didn't have the so-called twin telepathy, something they thought was nonsense. Their coordination came from being so close and from their training. Today, if they were together with their third sister, they probably wouldn't be able to work so well.
Tira, the third twin who remained in the Ijaniya group, had become the leader of the ninja clan. Despite this, the death warrant for both sisters had not been lifted. Lakyus said that during her stay in Argland, she saw someone who looked like them, at least in body, since her face was always covered. There was no opportunity to speak to that person, and besides, the knight had other concerns on her mind at the time.
During the twins' journey, they noticed that, despite being alone, they hadn't been harassed by any assassins from their former clan, which was strange. So, they decided to see how close they could get to their old base. The surprise upon reaching the place undetected was only surpassed by the discovery that everything was abandoned. Well, not completely-only an old man remained, the former caretaker, "to keep the place clean in case everyone returned," the old man said.
Where everyone had gone, he couldn't say. One day they were there, and the next, they disappeared.
Tia and Tina didn't know, but now the Ijaniya group was working for the Sorcerer King and had many obligations. Perhaps when things slowed down, the group would return to their homeland, but for now, there were many places to spy on in the name of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
The ninjas communicated with gestures and signals, kept the pressure on the creatures, and then used a smoke bomb. Quaiesse looked around, choking and trying to see something, when suddenly, the ground under his feet cracked and broke. From there, a hand with a blade emerged, almost cutting off his legs.
But it didn't hit anything. The man flew into the air; in fact, he was carried by a Crimson Owl that had lifted him by the shoulders.
"What the hell are you doing?! They almost touched me! Now there are three of them?"
The Beast Master looked at the scene from above. There were three ninjas fighting until one of them was shredded by one of his tigers. But instead of blood, the girl exploded into smoke.
"A decoy. They can make weaker copies of themselves. Let's see how skilled they are."
It was no wonder he had the title of One-Man Army. His rings glowed, and beams of light shot from them. Then, dozens of animals appeared, including a cockatrice, a chimera, and two giant basilisks.
On the roof, observing everything, was Rapushin. He just wanted to know how he could get close to the bowl-cut weirdo without dying.
South Gate
The First Seat of the Black Scripture looked around. So many people dead, and there would be many more when this war was over. His doctrine dictated that it was his duty to protect humanity, even if it was from itself. As a follower of Surshana, death was a mercy for those who strayed from the sacred teachings.
The proud young man, with long hair and spear in hand, had no name. If he ever did, it was forgotten. He preferred to be called Black Scripture. "Because I am merely a scripture, a teaching, a testament of the gods," he declared.
When he saw there were no more opponents, he headed for the gate. Destroying it would initiate the attack as planned. At that moment, he sensed the presence of more enemies and then turned his gaze to the previously empty street.
Standing in the middle of it was a knight, sword in hand and determination in her eyes.
"Stop in the name of His Majesty, the Holy King," Lakyus ordered.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot do that, and my condolences because the Holy King is dead."
"How do you know that?"
"It doesn't matter, I know, and I have a job to do. This kingdom has become a place of worship for the false god; it needs to be cleansed."
"Who are you?"
"Me? You can call me Black Scripture. And you, I know who you are, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra, leader of the Blue Roses."
"How do you know me?"
"You're famous, aren't you? Bearer of Kilineiram, the cursed sword. I know a lot about you."
In fact, the First Seat knew much more than he wanted to reveal. Lakyus was one of the options to be his companion and bear an heir with the powers of the gods.
The adventurer was stronger than most people, an indication that she had some divine heritage, perhaps a distant Godkin lineage. That alone made her a candidate. But she was also a devotee of the Water God, a faithful follower strong enough to bear the weight of the cursed sword.
The only obstacle to this potential union was the fact that, every time she was invited to join the Slane Theocracy, she refused, tied to her friendship and devotion to the Re-Estize Kingdom. Perhaps now she would be more willing.
"Lakyus, would you like to come with me?"
"For what exactly? Where?"
"Wherever we want. With our strength and determination, we could rebuild the Theocracy, a new beginning, together."
"Together?!" Lakyus murmured, the virginal knight, blushing slightly.
Gagaran had already mentioned what men and women do when they are together, so she knew what it would mean to leave with the young lancer.
"I-I think I'll have to decline. As you have your duty, I have mine, and they place us on opposite sides of this war."
"Then I hope that, when it's all over, we can talk again."
"He's serious! He's fully convinced that he'll win or, at the very least, survive this war... and he's flirting?!" she thought. "Maybe, but for now, we have other concerns."
The First Seat sensed something and, with a movement, struck down an arrow aimed at his head.
Lakyus watched as the arrow buried itself in the stone of the wall almost up to the feathers, a powerful shot but intended only to distract her opponent while she herself attacked.
The Knight charged with her sword in hand.
Against a spear, she would be at a disadvantage due to the reach of her opponent's weapon, but she still had the Floating Swords. These would compensate somewhat for the difference, and the falling arrows helped even more. After all, she would need everything she had to face a Godkin.
Marin was hidden atop a nearby tower. Her fighting style prioritized staying away from the enemy and not revealing her position. Her instructor called it sniping, and that was her role as the Sentinel of Justice.
The Sentinels of Justice are the personal guards of the Faceless Saint. Each member was chosen not only for their strength and agility but also for how impressed they were by completely avoiding the Nazaricks during the attack months ago.
Godia, a Bard, a sensitive, a dancer, and a gymnast, possessing great skills with knives, healing magic, and buffs. For this reason, she was the support, always close by.
Brutt, the Monk, a hand-to-hand fighter, devoted to a southern religion, with great strength and endurance, made him the perfect bodyguard, the shadow of Neia.
Rapushin, the Rogue, "a street kid" he called himself, clever and agile. His role was to infiltrate crowds and dens, to be an orphan, a beggar, or a thief. Being invisible to the enemies of the Saint was his job.
The fourth member was Marin, the Archer. Her new crossbow, which she received from CZ, was not only smaller and lighter than the old weapon but also more powerful and faster, capable of making multiple or sequential shots. A weapon straight from the Sorcerer Kingdom, according to her instructor. The special arrows contained various spells as good as the Arcane Arrow used in the assassination attempt, but even the common arrows had runes that made them superior.
Marin saw the knight attack, so she fired several shots before changing positions. She was supposed to support Lakyus by distracting the Theocrat, but if possible, she would put an arrow in the lancer's heart.
...
Author's Note
Finally I introduced the Sentinels more explicitly, I hope you liked this background.
Well let's talk about the theocrats, there is little information about them on Wikifandon, so I needed to fill some holes like the names of the weapons.
Regarding the Lakyus/Lancer ship, I'm going to call them LALA, I apologize for the analogy where Marin works like cupid trying to shoot the theocrat.