GAZEF STRONOFF:
In the distant sky, smoke plumes pierced the sky. My initial reaction to these plumes was fear. The carnage had begun. Not all hope was lost, however. There wasn't enough to burn down the village. This meant that the raiders were still there. If we hurried up, we could still save most, or at least some of the villagers. Or we were so far behind that the smoke plumes belonged to lingering fires.
I snapped the reins, urging my men forward. Flashes of my childhood shot through my head, the memory of our village being raided by monsters, the feeling of abandonment as no help arrived. The few survivors we had rescued from the wreckage of the raided villages surely resented the nation and crown right now. While I didn't share these sentiments, I could understand where they were coming from.
No more. We were putting a stop to this madness here and now. I recalled the conversation I had with my Vice-Captain at the previous village. This whole debacle reeked of a trap. I was charging into the situation under-equipped with less than fifty men. And yet, it was my duty to defend these lands under the king's domain. The only way to survive was to punch through their trap with overwhelming strength.
With resolving coursing through my heart, I set my eyes forward. The edge of the village came into view. The houses were intact. Thank the gods. We approached the village. While some of the houses were burnt, the majority were fine. What had happened here? Clearly, there had been some kind of conflict. Was it possible that the villagers were being held hostage? Would the Baharuth Knights demand my life in exchange for theirs?
The countless scenarios ran through my head, as we thundered through the town. Standing in the town square were two individuals. The first looked like a simple peasant, an aged individual with a short beard who looked like he had worked on a farm his whole life. He wore simple clothes and a cap. The acting village chief, if I had to guess. The second individual set off alarm bells in my head. The reason was because he wasn't human.
He was dressed in a strange, elaborate robe with a low collar that exposed his upper chest. It left his shins and forearms uncovered. The robe looked like it had two layers. The first outer layer was purple, and covered from his left shoulder down to his waist, where it tapered off. The inner layer was pure white. Gold embroidery decorated the edges of the entire robe. Having worked at Ro-Lente castle, and often within Valencia Palace, I was exposed to the fancy garments worn by the ruling class. Fine clothes weren't just a luxury for the rich to partake in. It was a sign of power and status. For a noble to come dressed in anything but their most elaborate garments was like a soldier arriving on a battlefield without armor. The robe worn by this…thing… was far more expensive than anything I've seen worn by the Six Great Nobles or the Royal Family.
The robe was just the beginning. Twin sapphire earrings glimmered in the sunlight. A multitude of rings covered every finger, decorated with every gem imaginable. Two necklaces decorated He wore sandals forged from gold, with twin golden vines entwining up his legs, stopping just before his knees. And above his head floated a golden crown encrusted with a deep blue gem. A single glance cemented it as superior to the royal crown of Re-Estize in my mind.
As for his body, his skin was a metallic gray. Small, black dots covered his body, as though black dust had been sprinkled onto him. A few small, white tattoos were visible. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but it looked like they were slightly moving. His hair was golden. Not just blonde, but literal gold. The most arresting thing about him was his eyes. They looked like they contained the night sky within them. When he stared at me, it felt like he was seeing all that I was. My inner thoughts, my strengths, my weaknesses, my very soul.
Two things prevented me from drawing my sword and preparing to defend myself. Despite his strange appearance, the chief appeared at ease next to him. This indicated that he wasn't being held hostage, rather, the two of them had come out to confront the armed group riding towards them. Given the attack they must have just suffered, I couldn't fault their wariness towards us. The second thing was the wings glowing from the strange one's back. They looked like feathered wings composed of fire. Occasionally the fire flickered and undulated.
I had once seen wings vaguely familiar to these wings once. The wings of an angel. While the existence of angels as mere summoned monsters or divine messengers of the gods was an argument being debated between priests to this very day, their strength was truly genuine. They all possessed quick flight, many possessed special innate abilities, and some could even use magic.
Was this man truly an angel? Given his light clothing and excessive jewelry, he was probably a magic caster.
"I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. By order of the King, I have been visiting each of the frontier villages to exterminate knights from enemy countries who have been making trouble here. Your people are safe now. We will do all in our power to protect you.
I announced my identity and purpose loudly. The reason I did so was because, in the large house behind the villager and strange one, many villagers peeked through the windows with wide eyes. They were afraid of our presence, so I sought to put that at ease. Judging from their reactions, I had succeeded. Now for the duo in front of me. Before I could speak, the villager in front of me spoke first.
"Thank you for coming, Warrior Captain." He said.
"You must be the chief of this village," I replied. "Who is this peculiar man beside you?"
The chief opened his mouth to speak, but the strange one stepped forward.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Warrior-Captain. My name is Aurora Borealis. I am the angel who stopped the brigands raiding this village."
So he truly is an angel. To my knowledge, angels simply obeyed the orders of their summoners and were unable to commune with anything. He could speak, but was he acting on the orders of his summoner? Did he even have a summoner?
Before I could analyze the situation too deeply, I dismounted and kneeled before him. Regardless of his species, he stepped in and saved the innocent villagers at possible risk to himself.
"Thank you for saving this village, Lord Borealis." I began. "There are no words that could convey my gratitude."
"Please, be at ease. In truth, the kind people of this village went out of their way to help me first, so I was merely repaying my debt to them."
What possible debt could he have to this village? As curious as I was, I needed different information.
"Forgive me for asking, but could I trouble you for the details about the blackguards who attacked and how you defeated them?" I asked.
"It's not a problem in the slightest, Warrior Captain." He replied. "Though, all of the invaders have already been killed or exiled, so they won't be causing any more trouble in this village or any others in the area."
"Killed or exiled…Lord Borealis, did you stop the entire force on your own?"
"That's correct. I struck down a few of their soldiers before demanding their surrender. Not a single one refused."
They all surrendered after only a few casualties? That implied that the strength difference between the two was so vast that they felt the only hope of survival was surrendering and begging for mercy. How powerful must this angel be to invoke such despair from the trained knights of Baharuth? I certainly couldn't get that reaction from them.
"I see," I said. "And where did you exile them?"
"Back to whence they came. I had interrogated all necessary information from them regarding their actions. I think, Warrior-Captain, that you and I need to have a little chat regardi-."
"Warrior-Captain!" Interrupted my Vice-Captain, riding towards us at high speed. "We've sighted a large armed group approaching the village! They've surrounded us and are closing in!"
I stared at the Vice-Captain for a moment before turning to Lord Aurora.
"A little chat regarding the group coming for your head." He finished.
NIGUN GRID LUIN:
"Everyone take heed," I spoke calmly. "The prey has entered the cage. Offer up your faith to the gods."
Everyone began fervently whispering prayers. Myself included. I humbly asked for luck in the operation. The last time I fought against a champion residing in Re-Estize, it ended in my defeat. The damnable cleric of Blue Rose, who had abandoned two of the Six Great Gods, struck my face with her demonic sword. I could easily have had it healed without scarring, but I chose to let it scar, to be a constant reminder of my failure. I prayed that I would succeed here and now, where I had once failed.
Just about anyone else would state that praying before conducting a secret operation in another country is foolish. They wouldn't begin to understand us. The Sunlight Scripture is composed of some of the most devout soldiers of the nation. To meet the criteria to start to be considered, you had to be a divine caster of at least the third tier. The peak most humans can achieve with heavy devotion and training. Even then, there were other criteria required. You had to be in excellent shape. Your knowledge of the history of the Theocracy had to be immaculate. Your faith must be unshakable. Your teamwork must be impeccable. And your willpower must be extraordinary. The Sunlight Scripture was composed of extremely powerful zealots, willing to commit any and all cruelties without guilt or hesitation in the name of gods.
And as their captain, I was the most zealous warrior among them. I was a priest of the fourth tier, capable of summoning elite angels. And I held a passive talent that enhanced anything I summoned. That was all the proof I needed that the gods chose me to enact their divine will.
This time, my mission was to assassinate Gazef Stronoff. The Slane Theocracy once held high hopes for the Re-Estize Kingdom as a land that would give birth to many heroes. Instead, they fell to degeneracy and corruption. Now, we had to weaken them to facilitate an easy conquest by the Baharuth Empire. Under Baharuth's rule, the rot of Re-Estize could be salvaged. Ironically enough, the corrupt degenerates of Re-Estize were aiding in their downfall. My superiors had colluded with the noble fools of the kingdom to ensure Gazef was sent out without proper gear or sufficient men. Fools, all of them. They willingly sacrificed their own country's greatest asset over mere pride, without thought or care for consequence. And the King simply allows them to walk all over him. If he had grown a spine at any point in time in the past decade, we might have been willing to aid him directly in purging the rot.
"March," I said, having given my subordinates ample time to finish their prayers.
We quickly marched to the village, encircling it. Once my men scattered, it would be difficult to truly verify whether or not they were performing their roles correctly. I had faith in them, of course. I had led them for many years, performing many operations with them. But there could always be an unpredictable element. Being able to personally view them allowed me peace of mind. The other reason I felt on edge was the cloak-and-dagger nature of the mission. Normally, missions of this nature would be assigned to the Windflower Scripture, or perhaps even the Black Scripture. But they were occupied.
"Can we kill him?" One of my subordinates asked.
A crueler leader would mock their subordinates' fear and unease. But I chose not to. That's because I understood where he was coming from.
"We'll be fine. As of this moment, he lacks any of the Kingdom's treasures, the ones he is permitted to wield in combat. Without such gear, killing him will be easy. Or rather, now is the only possible time that we can kill him."
The Kingdom possessed five pieces of legendary equipment. Four of which were known. When he wore them all, he was nigh-invincible, capable of ignoring most attacks, cleaving through armor with ease, recovering quickly from what little damage he might receive, and never growing fatigued from combat. A true menace to face on the battlefield. Without the gear, however, he was merely an above-average fighter.
"Besides, we have a trump card of our own. We've been permitted to summon the highest level angel if the situation truly calls for it." With those words, any unease that may have haunted his men vanished. I glanced at the metal band on my wrist. Numbers floated up, in the script of the gods. I was once granted the opportunity to be tutored in their script, specifically in their numbers. The numbers floating now told me it was time. "Begin the operation."
We all began summoning angels.