9. The Slaughter
267 0 7
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

V was the first to return to the main room of the inn, carrying his throwing knives and the simple sword found in his item list. Predictably, the woman was still setting there, a vacant look in her eyes. At-least it looked like she had drunk some of the water. Next was L, the large man, the guard, and finally the priest. "It looks to be about sundown. Let’s get going." L spoke dispassionately as she turned to the innkeeper "If we don’t return before morning, then I suggest you don’t leave the town's boundaries anytime soon, and keep a good eye on your daughter." The innkeep's visage was grim "I will say a prayer for you and your companions, I trust you will return safely." As the group checked their equipment, V opened the door and stepped out into the cool night air.

The town looked different tonight. Maybe the light of the moon, now a sort of soft golden color, was the culprit. On the other hand, it could be due to the tension in the air, although the only ones that seemed tense were him and the large man. L was calm as ever, the priest was rather relaxed, and the other two hovered somewhere between eager and despondent. They walked silently toward the edge of town when L broke the oppressive silence. "You know, it’s unfortunate that you came to town as night fell, or you might have missed O, and I would still have my sword." V nodded "At the time I had assumed that O was strong enough to deal with the forest at night." after a short pause he continued "Although, her tactic to stalk the town outskirts when the forest is no longer safe works in our favor this time. Luring her into an ambush would be a-lot harder if we just had to randomly hope we ran into her in the forest."

After a short walk and a detour to pick up his order from the alchemist, the group arrived at the edge of town. L looked around, checking the area for civilians or guardsman. "It looks like the Captain of the Guard did a good job, I don’t see anyone at all. He must have really worked up quite a story to have this whole area deserted at night." V nodded "I suppose that's good..." He gestured to a particularly strange intersection of alley ways. "I plan to lure her to somewhere in this location. It’s not far enough into the town that O would grow concerned, but it allows us to surround her without much trouble." he led the large man and the guard toward hiding places he had scouted out ahead of time. "If one of you hides here, and the other hides on the opposite side, the two of you can surprise her from behind." he gestured at the priest and the pale woman, "Those two I guess will just sort of stand at the end of the alley, that way there will be three of us in front of her, and you two in back. And remember all of you, we only are going to get one chance, don’t miss the flash." After some maneuvering, L had made it to the top of the closest warehouse, she brandished her two short blades, and checked the sword at her side before giving a nod to V and hiding herself.

V walked further out of the town, the town at his back. As he un-hid his class, name, and blessing, he considered that the ambush point was about forty or fifty yards away from where he was standing, "Sure hope I can live the six or so seconds it takes to get there if she takes the bait..." He looked out into the night. As if on que, he spotted a silhouette that could only belong to O. She was heading his way, clearly having abandoned the forest for the night. Even if O's awareness rank was low, she would notice him sooner or later.

As she moved closer to the town, V called out loudly. "Scared of the forest? Going to meekly wander the edges of civilization?" He had clearly gained O's attention, she roared back as she approached "You seem like the scared one, hiding like a bunch of rabbits huddled in a den. Civilization is what the weak use to justify their cowardice." As O came into view, V squinted, it looked as if she had covered the wound on her chest and leg with some form of bandage. That means it had not healed yet, at-least not fully. One of the concerns L and him spoke of was the chance she had some form of fast healing or regeneration. V was somewhat surprised that she had bothered bandaging herself, she did not seem the type. O also seemed to be wearing the hilt of L's broken sword, dangling around her neck from a chain, like some form of trophy. "Even if that was true, it seems that it works well enough against wild animals like you." As he taunted O, he wanted to buy time to check her abilities, neither he nor L had gotten a chance. Since it took a few seconds, it was difficult to accomplish in battle.

Oh good. V sighed, as he attempted to check her status, it seemed as if she had learned to hide it, rendering his attempt pointless. O responded "Even if that was true, it’s only a matter of time before I tear the town apart. I already killed the group they sent after me. I wonder how many the town can afford to lose, not many more I wager." O furrowed her brow for a moment before scornfully responding. "I’m surprised to see you with a sword. Your kind does not normally use such a direct weapon." V grinned widely, now to reel her in. "Are you sure of that? Did you ever even bother to check my status when we fought? Or do you just assume what everyone tells you is the truth?" O jerked her head like she had been slapped, after a second, she narrowed her eyes and spoke, almost growling. "Not only are you not an assassin, but another one of our kind..." As realization dawned on O she took a few steps toward V, the look on her face was one of both hate and anticipation. So far so good, V started to back away, toward the town. "You know, what they say is true, people like you only have muscles inside of your skull." He laughed, trying to sound as childish and smug as possible. "All it took to stop you was the shard of a broken sword and a few words. Pfthah."

That somewhat crazed and wild look that O had previously displayed, slowly crept onto her face. She moved forward another few steps before halting, she scanned buildings behind V. "What? Afraid of both the forest and a town? Hehehe, Should I go stand in a comfortably padded room, tied to a chair? Would you be able to handle killing me then? Perhaps your afraid I’ll use more big words against you." O's anger had spilled over. V noticed the change in her eyes not a moment too soon. It was suddenly like looking into the eyes of a rabid dog, rather than a human. As he turned, both started sprinting wildly, a roar issued forth from behind him. Alongside of it, a rock. It was always a risk that O would realize that projectiles existed, but the time to worry about that was way way past. As the rock smashed into V's left arm, both the rock and the bones in his elbow shattered into pieces. V almost stumbled as the pain shot through his upper body. He spoke to himself, trying to keep himself focused on sprinting. "I only need one arm; I mean they can probably fix this at the church anyway. Gotta round that corner though, in case she throws another." As pain clouded V's vision, he rounded the final bend. Arriving in front of the priest and the woman. He took a fraction of a moment to collect himself.

As O rounded the corner and saw the other two individuals, she could not help herself "An old man and a dead woman? I suppose there is nothing else to work with!" V took the moment she spoke to light the fuse of the glass ball containing the Blaze Powder. As O resumed her advance, he set the ball at his feet, careful not to drop it far enough to break. Pulling out one of his knives he threw it toward her face. He had wanted to throw two at once but that was no longer an option. As soon as the knife left his hand he closed his eyes, and looked away. A wave of warmth and light burst into existence, filling the alley. O let out a massive roar as she was blinded. This was the other benefit of doing this at night. A bright flash during the day might distract you, but during the night, it was almost a direct attack on the senses. As the flash faded, the large man and the guard jumped from their concealed positions behind O, at the same moment L dove from the roof, her two blades flashing as she landed on O. The priest simply hid his eyes from the flash, and the woman simply moved closer to O, almost like how a cat would slink past another cat.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment as V looked on, disbelieving. The large man had struck O's lower back with something resembling a blacksmith's hammer. The guard had pierced O with his spear in her abdomen, near the kidneys. From above, L had landed on O, attempting to drive the blades into her throat. However, O had managed to block the blades with her arm, although they did sink a few inches deep into it. Somehow, even his piece of crap throwing knife had hit her and made a small scratch across her right cheek. Every attack had connected, a minor miracle. However, that was not the cause of his disbelief. O's eyes had taken on a red hue and the air had a metal tang to it. O' had been prepared for this, at least in some fashion. A single moment passed. Using her free arm O grabbed L by the leg and swung her around, smashing her into the guard. As the large man tried to retreat out of range of her arms, he proved far too slow. She punched right through his stomach. By this point, O's eyes had returned to their normal brown coloring, the taste of the air returning to normal. As the large man stood there, impaled by O's arm, a fire burned in his eyes one last time. "This is for my brother you damn monster!" Perhaps he had some hidden ability. Perhaps the fates smiled on him. Whatever the case, his eyes burned with life one final time as he brought his hammer smashing down directly onto O's chest. At this range, with her hand inside of the man, even O could not dodge. A loud, wet crunching noise echoed through the alley as O stumbled backward, taken by surprise. The guard and L struggled to recover from their collision as O turned to V, coughing up blood. "This is all your doing, you lying scheming bastard!!" O ripped the knife in her arm out, and threw it with overwhelming force toward V. As V quickly thought up a list of regrets before he died, the old priest suddenly appeared in front of V. The blade, meant for V's heart, instead sunk hilt deep into the old mans. As he crumpled to the ground V noticed the man had a serene look on his face. His quiet last words managed to reach V's ears "Don't worry lad, it will be alright, watch out for her blessing..."

By this point, L and the guard had returned to the fight. L seemed to have acquired some form of internal injury, as she was favoring her left side. The guard on the other hand seemed relatively unscathed. O was being more cautious now, coughing up blood and wincing. As O, L, and the guard faced off, V hoped his knives might prove to be the distraction needed for them to move on her. He threw another knife, however, if O noticed, she did not react. The dagger made another small scratch across her face as it hit. Sighing, V drew his sword with his working arm and advanced as well. As he did so, L shot him a sidelong glance of concern. That moment of distraction was not lost on O who snapped forward toward L. As she swung toward L, the guard drove his spear into O's thigh, the same location of the slash from the previous fight. The spear went deep, V wagered he hit bone. L dodged and tried to take advantage of the moment, but her small blade was unable to connect. Unable to pull his spear out, the guard was grabbed by O, she brought her knee up, smashing the guards jaw into pieces. She threw him side wise, into one of the nearby walls, causing it to collapse on top of him. However, the damage was done. O seemed to be having extreme trouble maneuvering. Between her chest wound, and the spear in her leg. Her movement was extremely limited. As for L, other than whatever her collision with the guard did, she was unscathed, and even though he was no swordsman V, he was only down one arm, better off than the most of the people involved. O gritted her teeth. "I hate relying on others....." She roared. Nothing like the way she normally does. It was loud, loud enough to hurt V's ears. It sounded like a monster. O stood tall, as she did V could literally hear the spear in her leg tearing muscle and sinew. Based on her stance, O seemed to in perfect health. No more grimaces of pain, no more coughing, blood still gushed forth from her mouth, but it did not seem to bother her any longer. After a moment, O's face turned sour “I’m going to kill all of you. No more playing around. I should have used this from the start!" O turned to charge L, her speed seemingly unaffected by her wounds.

"No! I WILL NOT LET YOU!" A wild, insane, bone chilling scream echoed through the alleys. The woman, who had been so inconsequential up till now, that everyone almost forgot her existence, was screaming wildly. For the first time since V had seen her, her eyes were clear, even her face seemed to have recovered a bit of color. "Vengeance for my children! Let the memories of my family eat you alive!" The insane woman was too close for even O to properly dodge, during the fight she had simply slipped closer and closer to her with no one noticing. In her hand was a kitchen knife of some sort. The woman dove at O widely. O smashed her fist into the woman's side as she collided with her. The insane woman's abdomen burst open from the force of the blow. However, the woman, now at O's feet laughed hysterically. Her knife flashed through the air. With the precision of a cook flaying a piece of meat, she sliced O's Achilles tendons. Even if she was immune to pain, apparently this was enough for O to stumble backward and fall down. The wild woman stared into O's eyes screaming as she bled out in front of her. "Remember their faces as you die! Die for all the children you killed! Let the damned eat you alive in the afterlife!"

During this wild series of events, L had closed in, seeking to take advantage of the distraction. She leapt toward O, stabbing her directly in the eye. The knife did not penetrate past the orbital socket, as she had hoped this would be the end of it, the maneuver had left L vulnerable. O, from her setting position, headbutted L's stomach, while using one of her hands to crush L's right leg. V had been holding out for this moment. He charged toward O while she was as vulnerable as she was getting. He stabbed at her chest, hoping to pierce the hammer wound, as based on the sound when she was struck, her ribs would not be able to stop his thrust. Unfortunately, V's inexperience with any type of melee range fighting caused him to misjudge O's range. She might not be able to stand, but that did not mean she couldn’t use her legs. She swept V's legs out from under him. As he fell, she also managed to kick him, sending him skidding backwards on the dirt. O looked around "What a battle! This is what I live for! The blood, the soft insides, the crunch of bone!" She ripped the spear out of her leg. L was on her knees, unable to stand. Pain wracked her body as she tried to concentrate. "Woman! Join me! I will ask you again. This fight was glorious was it not?! Look around you! The fight for one’s life. There is nothing greater!" The knife in O's eye remained, but it did not seem to be bothering her. "Besides, you and your companions are either dead or spent. There is nothing left. You have lost! You are so attached to honor. There is no dishonor is admitting defeat. No dishonor in surrendering to a greater force!" As O spoke confidently, L nodded. That was true, there was no dishonor in her surrender. L looked up at O before bowing her head. "I surrender."

7