Speech = ``…..´´
Thoughts = … ...
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...Perhaps sometimes, the best option is to do nothing...
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Iris had never allowed herself to go this far without unleashing her full power…, merely using her above peak strength and skills to push her through.
She turned to the left, her sword drawing scarlet lights in the air. The glow of magic sparkling all over the length claimed the lives of three more men, cleaving them cleanly in two, splitting like a candy bar in the process, the sword the first of them raised in defence.
His face was a mask of frenzy and incredulity as his torso separated from his legs, despite his attempt to block her strike.
Sharp pieces of the weapon shot into the air like shards of glass, slicing and tearing the man's face and shoulders in the process as she quickly and easily avoided the pieces coming at her.
She twisted in the air, being carried a bit further away from what was natural in the reality-drawn winds whirring around her, landing safely in a crouch nearby. Swinging her sword to the right, she decapitated two more enemies. Their heads flew off and disappeared into the storm as she landed...
But she had never had to face something such as this either…
This constant assaults from the shadows.., it would have been too much for anyone less prepared.
Even if they were weak and their skills lacking in comparison to hers.., their approach was mostly muted by the raging storm that seemed to only grow stronger above their heads, and their cloths were helping them too much in closing in the distance between their groups with almost no warning but the glimmering light reflected down humid steel.
Her guts warning her in advance from the incoming danger more often than not than her own senses.
She chided herself for holding herself down...
Now, there before her..., though she could barely made out their shapes stood another group of hooded men.
These ones ready to shoot her with their guns, even if the probability to actually hit her in this weather was next to null...
They managed to fire out a few sloppy shots before the headless corpses hit the ground, then she sprung into action. Dashing like lighting through the flooded street, a small shock-wave forming right behind her in the process as distance became a forgotten memory when the tip of her sword lanced the chest of the one leading this group.
Hefting him up in the air before rapidly yanking the blade out through his hip and hacking the limbs of those closest to her, still wielding their rifles in their arms.
The sparks of magic coming into contact with the powder still within their chambers and a second later igniting them in a violent, though localized explosions that seared flesh and bone from their hands, arms and faces alike.
The detonation pushed her back, but apart from the small ringing in her ears and the dust in her clothes that was rapidly been washed away, she was mostly unscathed.
And so, with only a second wasted to catch her breath...she dashed towards the battle once more.
With the strength of a bull as she pushed through with barely stopping.
Each of her attacks had the intention to not just kill…, but conquer. Carrying violence, passionless and pure to flow through her…
To power her strikes...
She took every opening, abused every flaw in her foes, rode any current of lethal emotion that came to her and struck at every foe in her path with the muscle memory of tens of thousands of hours of training with each and every swing.
What conscious thoughts she maintained.., were more focused almost enterally on making sure she did not overcommit her approach, holding herself back from accidentally performing any acts that she could not control through the vast reserves of mana inside her that flared brightly with eachswing of her blade.
And yet, even with these red lines in her mind everything was in sync…, feeling herself honed like never before. Her eyes open wide, refusing to flinch or bulge back as the wind slapped her with another gush of cold air as they tried to peer through the darkness shrouding around her and the treasonous, flickering shadows under the light coming from the burning buildings.
All that lay before her was the main avenue...or what was left of it, her knights and herself grinding their way forward. Though it was mostly herself who speared through the enemy ranks while her men cleaned after her...
Their foes were growing desperate..
They had already looked dishevelled, confused, or even wounded...but that had not stopped them from trying to halt them at any cost. Using a sort of varied weapons and tactics to pull through their goals.
Most of this pockets of resistance and attempts were pulverized in minutes if not seconds, but she was sure that such speedy progress was not the same everywhere else in the city.
Memories of her short and first encounter with the enemy flashed before her eyes once more, though this time it ended with those ghastly expressions of pain plastered over the faces of the fallen Black knights.
It pained her to admit it…, but people were dying.
Not civilians per se as far as she knew...but they had already came across the lone corpses of some black knights that had been surrounded and butchered with out the ability to fend their assailants off.
Even her assault group had taken some losses in their advance…
Cuts and bruises they could heal just fine, but it was hard to reattached a head to its still bleeding neck.
She felt the sour taste of bile rise through her throat again, her fist clenching tightly.
It was not enough…
She was too slow...
When would this madness end? When would the sun glow over her dear city and push back this unnatural clouds..?
When would things go back to the way they were..?
``….´´
She did not know, nor anyone seemed willing to give her such answer to this questions that seemed to persevere at the back of her mind, weighing her down…, bothering her.. yes, but not dulling the sharpness of her blade.
She brushed aside the blood though not her own that had splattered over her face during the fighting with the back of her gloved hand, though she only managed to smear it through the glistening skin...
It did not matter…
Now was not the time to ponder about such things, they would arrive when they had to. Now she had to focus on her duties.
She had to protect the city….
She had to save her city...
She was about to yell out another order when a voice called out to her, one that was oddly familiar.
Urging her to turn around towards the figure that was approaching through the empty alleyway that had once been host of a few restaurants, now destroyed...
``Princess, so good to see you are fine...´´
Her expression softens as she recognised the man who had barely made himself heard above the roaring winds ravaging what was once a well kept hair line, lowering her blade and relaxing her stance..though not pulling away the weapon into its shaft.
They were still in an active battle-zone after all...
``Glen…, likewise. I take that your objectives were fulfilled?´´
The aged knight nodded, the relief present in his face dimmed as it was replaced by professionalism. Behind him there were a squad of knights…
They appeared to be in high hopes, though a bit ruffled up...
``Correct, we have and pushed back the enemy from the outer streets towards the centre, cutting their line of scape..´´
``Good, that is less ground to cover...´´
``Indeed, and though as crafty as they seemed to be, they don't appear to be as nearly as dangerous or trained as we originally believed them to be´´
``I see, still you should be careful...they appear to be desperate...and something tells me is not because of us, they could still surprise us in a bad way..´´
``Sound words, I too have felt something wrong with them...we found some of their corpses laying around´´
She glared at him. A questioning look in her eyes before her lips wrapped the following question that was on her mind.
``And..?´´
``I am sure no one of us actually killed those men back there…´´
Her eyes narrowed slightly, the corner of her lips growing stiff.
``Why..?´´
Glen did not reply right away, he instead brushed aside the water sliding down and trying to get on his eyes with his arm. Lines forming around his features as a grimace warped around his face.
``I mean, they could have...but their bodies, gods….I can only wonder what happened to them..´´
``Go to the point Glen.., time is not in our side today..´´
``Yes, sorry my liege...its just…The bodies, or what little remained of them had been butchered with such violence that it was sickening, like an animal had ravaged through them and tossed their husks aside...there was blood everywhere´´
Blood…
Husks…
It was rather familiar words to hear again, after all…, had she not witnessed something like that..?
The flooded grounds she had walked through and was standing even now, tainted with an endless stream of scarlet? A building cut in half..? And the words that those fiends had said just as she tore through them the first time she discovered them?
It felt like something had started to click inside her.., finally starting to get a picture of what was truly going on.
But.., that was wrong, wasn't it? The city had been attacked in multiple places, almost at once...the destruction was vast and wide, so wouldn't it make sense that this...men...had done it?
That the chaos, death and destruction was of their own, sick labour?
But what if she was wrong? If she was... did that mean that someone else was doing this? Someone or something so much worse and vile that was pushing this lunatics to fight to the last man?
Refusing to surrender..
It was hard to believe…, she struggled even now to contemplate the idea.
But as of now, she would keep it in her mind..as another possible explanation. Even if she was annoyed by that and the way things were not getting any more clearer, but more confusing the more they looked at it.
She bit her lip.
``Do you believe it was the work of monsters..?´´
She inquired, though a part of her knew that was not the answer.
``One or many, it was hard to tell..´´
``That is not comforting..´´
``Sorry, We have yet to heard an alarm of such things from the other units or the walls, but with this storm perhaps they just couldn't do that in time.., or had forget with all this mess..´´
``Or the enemy found a way to lead them inside sometime ago, and they just broke out of containment..´´
``What!?´´
``If they didn't come from outside…, wouldn't that mean that they were already inside?
``But-...that doesn't make sense!´´
Cried out the brown haired knight, his eyes widened with shock.
She too would have reacted the same..had she not been the one to utter those words in the first place.
``It kind of does in a strange way..., but what it does not explain is why we have not seen or heard anything apart from explosions. Monsters are like animals, but mindless... they don't hide from prey...´´
``Unless, they are…. smart..?
A silence stretched between the two, only interrupted with the heavy sound of rain falling over their heads and the howling of the wind.
An enemy attack was bad already…, but wild, smart killing machines as-well?
They would be lucky if the civilian populace did not ask for heads of who was responsible for such lack of oversight.
``So, Glen..? Are you coming with me to the central square? We believe a mayor group of the enemy is regrouping there...´´
She asked, holding her blade with her other hand, giving a brief look at her captain.
To her surprise, he shook his head.
``Pardon me, my liege...but I am afraid I can not..´´
``Why..?´´
We are are under orders...I, alongside other captains have been ordered to make sure the rescue of civilians is made proper and that they are not in any danger…, from the enemy or themselves..´´
``So why are you here..?´´
``We were close…, once I heard of your presence I decided to come by…, your assault has allowed us to maximize the retrieval of the populace with almost no problems..´´
I see...who gave that order?´´
``The king, my princess…´´
She almost had to blink twice at that. Almost sure she had heard from.
After all, her father...wasn't one to take much action, if any at all when presented with a problem..
``So father decided to start acting…, now?´´
Rather late if someone asked her…, but better than never perhaps?
``It seems that way…´´
``Then go, you have your charges...I have mine..´´
He nodded in understanding, and though his body eased up a little..the worry in his eyes did not abate..
``Be careful princes, we don't know what is out there yet..´´
She smiled at him as she tapped her blade.
``Don't worry about me, I am the kingdoms future..´´
Sparks of red magic started to wrap around her blade, making the air around her grow an electrifying scent.
``I will never lose...´´
And with not another word he left his side, walking and venturing forward into the dark streets.
Ready to face whatever fate could throw at her..
It didn't mater if they were men or monsters, she would beat them off all the same.
And so, they made their way into the centre of the city.
Their hearts beating as one and their blades at the ready, the constant battle, even under this terrific weather circumstances not stopping them from watching every shadow and corner big enough to hide a body
But if they thought they would be met with stiff resistance of any kind…
They would be rudely disappointed.
For something else waited for them there…
The main square was mostly as she had expected it to be, perhaps a little more better for wear than some of the streets they had gone through.
The buildings stood tall, unblemished by the destruction and madness that had cleaved its way into the heart of the kingdom...
If one were to ignore the massive hole that had swallowed a part of a building inside it and the dozens upon dozens of corpses that laid around the cobblestones as the water level was not high enough to hide them from view.
Most of them were torn apart into mince meat, shattered bones and raw muscles scattered on the ground by either massive claws or blades..
``Princess, over there! A live one..!´´
Someone spoke out from behind. She turned around, her eyes darting to the sides to see what her men were talking about…
It did not took long to find what, or in this case..who they refereed to, as a lone hooded figure stood near a fire from a small burnt out market stance.
The flames were not very bright as they were dying out under the storm...but its dimming embers allowed her to notice that the man was kneeling down over something, his body heaving up and down at times…, his back turned on them.
As far as she knew he was unharmed, though perhaps wounded with the strange, grovelling sound coming from him...
So why did she felt that something was wrong..?
She shook her head, dispelling those things away. Now it was not the time for that…
She took a step forward...
``You are surrounded, stand up..hands in the air and come quietly. I promise, we will spare your life if you do..´´
She said out loud with authority, hoping to make herself hear through the noise. Pointing the blade at the back of the man while her eyes darted to the sides, perhaps seeking any trace of treachery of an ambush waiting for them to grow overconfident.
Or if the man tried to attack them like the rest of his kin, then they would be ready.
She was, however..., surprised when none of that happened. In fact...she was sure that the man had not even taken notice of them.
``I said..., stand up! I Princes Midgar take you under arrest...obey and you will be treated fairly...unlike the rest of your fellow friends´´
Once again, she was ignored…
The man continued to growl and cough as if his throat was dry or stuffed with something thick and heavy.
Her left eye started to twitch..
Was it the storm..?
Against common sense, she approached the man, taking only five long strides to get close enough that she would be able to ram her blade through his back with ease.
Confident that a lone enemy could do little to fight back, especially one that was apparently unarmed.
But when she did…. the growling sound that she had heard from afar now echoed with a more meaty, wet sound.
`` Oh god...´´
She gasped as she realized with horror what it was actually doing when she looked over its shoulder.
He….
No…, it for it could not be called anything else was but a thing was eating a man underneath him…!
Another cultist given the similar cloths they wore.., but that did not make it any better..
It was worse in fact..
His victim had lost his legs by something sharp..yet crude given the botched cut that had been left behind, and though one of his hands held a sword..it did little when his throat had been torn up and chewed with hunger by his killer.
The thing stopped a moment, cocking its head to the side with some difficulty as it finally came to regard her presence. She heard the sound of muscles and bones creak as if they were being pushed to do it.
Empty, dull eyes of red stared at her...
Void of any emotion, any source of intelligence inside them. Nothing. There was nothing in them...
As if she was staring at a wall rather than a man of flesh and blood.
And then he went back to eat, ignoring her once more as it gorged on the flesh between its teeth...
It was disgusting..
Before she knew it, she had swung her sword. The large, cold edge of the blade cutting and cleaving through the flesh and bone of...that thing in two from his left shoulder to his right hip.
Steel destroying this foul thing from the earth before it even hit the ground with a soft thud, black blood spilling out and staining her face.
Huffing loudly, her chest heaving up and down as her grip over her blade was still ghostly white.
There was satisfaction in vanquishing it, but she would need a lot more than this to wash away this terrible memory from her mind.
Sighing tired before she turned around to call out her knights.
Not realizing the gravity of her actions...and what would they lead them to.
``So..I take we wont be taking him into custody..´´
Someone said, she was not sure who.
``You would be quite right, given that he is in pieces now..´´
``Yeah…, quite hard to miss´´
She sighed, this time even more loudly.
``So what was he doing..?´´
She grimaced, really not wishing to bring back that sigh before her eyes.
An attempt that failed as expected with how fresh the event was in her memory.
She shook her head, jaws clenched tightly as she glared at the man.
``Trust me, you don't want t-...´´
A sudden pang of pain coursed through her back. Heated, searing pain making her gasp as she was caught unprepared by it.
Rapidly, she turned her head around...trying to find the cause of this pain. Only for her wine hued eyes to widen comically almost out of her sockets when they realized who was behind it.
A simple iron sword having found its way into the hands of one of the hooded men, no…, the same one she had cut in two who against all odds was STILL alive!
Its empty eyes now glaring at her with hatred and rage so primal that it shocked her to the core for a second or two as it tried to push the blade deeper into the far back side of her waist.
Biting her lips and with a pained, drowned gasp she hacked its head in half this time with a left swing. Its body falling down to the ground dead once more as it dropped its hold over the blade.
Those sickly lights dying out as a result, leaving its white, misty eyes to stare at the ground.
Grinding her teeth she graved the blade and pulled out.
It was painful...
It would always be...
``Princess!´´
The men came to her aid, albeit a bit too late in their worry. She was not paying attention, her thoughts somewhere else.
That thing-how!? How had it done it!?
She was sure she had killed it…, and yet it had come back again to strike.
And those eyes...
``Princes! Are you okay? You are bleeding´´
She was relieved to see that they cared, it showed the state of the relationship between her and her knights. That they would have her back, no matter what...
But right now it was not wanted.
She had to be the one to stand strong, she could not allow to look weak…
Even now, she could not do that...
``Is nothing that wont heal in a heartbeat, it just caught me by surprise´´
She said softly, trying to reassure them as she started to wrap her fingers over the bleeding wound, staining her gloves with her own blood as she started to channel her magic into sealing it..
It took her a little more time than she had liked..
Not because of the way her fingers were shaking, or because it was too painful, but rather the fact that she was still a bit shocked at the thought of when had been the last time she had been hit.
Too long ago...
She could barely remember it...
She would not have much time to ponder about it as a guttural roar shocked her out of it.
A growl that echoed through the vast and perhaps not so empty streets towards where they stood. The winds unable to quell or even push down into ignominy until the very end the dying such animalistic shriek.
Nor the cold and stench that slam her like a battering ram..
Everyone started to felt it too…, looking around, readying themselves. Some coughing or shivering as they tried to fight back this mysterious wave, but everyone was ready…or as much as they could be.
For she could not help but take a single step back when her eyes met the glowing orbs of red that were approaching them.
From their left, from their right, behind and forward…
Even in the rooftops…
They were surrounded..! She thought in alarm.
Their forms shrouded in darkness, yet the storm and the rain were not able to hide away their inhuman shapes.
Monsters that she had never seen before…, their bodies bloated, deformed or clad in massive slots of steel and spikes. Their flesh rotting and organs exposed to the elements
Unholy eyes burning with primitive rage as they bared down on them...
She clenched her blade tightly, the sticky touch of her blood coating her fingers helping her to get a better grip as magic started to flow through the length. Biting her lip as she realized now with a small hint of fascination and dread at the true nature of what laid before her.
Those things….were not animals..
They were predators, and they were their prey….
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A/N
Iris will learn not to aggro neutral npcs when there is no need….I mean, how rude of her! It was having a peaceful meal.
The chapters are gonna have a delay since I was busy working in a flashback chapter and part of the Fenrir/ Reaper fight. I got inspired and I just could not miss the chance to forget what came across.
I am sorry if this bothers someone.