[The edge of the Forest of the Bandit Lord, Land of the Opal Sun]
As Sam stepped out of the Rift Gate, the sharp smell of pine trees penetrated his nasal cavity. He instinctively rubbed his itchy nose, trying to dull the pungent odor. Seconds later, the Nightingales appeared behind him, with Rupert letting out a loud sneeze.
"AH-CHOO!" The male Nightingale's voice reverberated throughout the night, prompting Lucy to give him an exasperated glare.
“Good God. Can’t you be any louder?” the female Nightingale ranted.
“Sorry, I can’t help it,” Rupert chuckled. “So, is this it? Is this the infamous Forest of the Bandit Lord?”
The rambunctious trio cast their gaze forward – to the sea of pine trees basking in the moonlight. The Evergreen Deception, as the locals called it, had existed ever since the reign of the First Opal Sun King. Numerous legends surrounded the place – one tale that was often mentioned was about a gigantic monster who was defeated by a male Accursed and the goliath’s body gave rise to the entire forest.
“So, what do you guys think? Shall we go in?” asked Sam, gesturing at the forest with his right hand.
“Of course! The quicker we find those three, the better, right?" Rupert replied; he looked over to his sister, hoping she would share his sentiment. But to his surprise, Lucy was gazing heavenward at the moon while quietly nibbling on the insides of her cheek.
“What’s the matter?” said Sam as soon he noticed Lucy’s sullen expression.
“It’s almost full,” the azure-eyed woman remarked. “The moon, I mean. It’s almost full.”
“Ah, I see.”
With his left brow raised out of curiosity, Rupert inquired, "Hm, is that a good thing or a bad thing? You made it sound like it’s a bad thing."
"That depends," Sam interjected, taking his mask out from his jacket. "As a Sun Accursed, Jason's power peaked during the day while his younger sibling, a Moon Accursed, is stronger at night. With the approaching full moon, Aria will be a bigger threat to us - not that she wasn't before."
"Um, aren't you forgetting someone? Theodorus of the Sapphire Star? Captain of the Royal Guard? The Indomitable Dual Wielder?" added Lucy.
"Huh, I didn't realize Theo had that many nicknames. You didn't just make that all up, did you, lil' sis?"
"Oh, you wish! Did you think it was luck that got Theo to his current rank or was it because he is a good friend of the Opal Sun prince? He was 10 when he became a captain; even the older and more experienced soldiers persuaded the Inner Circle to appoint him to that prestigious position."
"In that case, I would say he was rather unlucky. To be burdened with such responsibility at a tender age - if I was him, I'll be tearing my hair every day," huffed Rupert, smiling wryly to himself.
Lucy let out a short, unenthusiastic laugh at her brother's blatant response. "Thank goodness you weren't. Now, about the Forest of the Bandit Lord: despite its name, there are no more bandits in that place - not since the Night Terror's sudden disappearance."
Rupert immediately raised his hand, asking his sister, "Didn't mean to interrupt, but what's the Night Terror again?"
"A hero, a villain, a vigilante; he's been called all those. A thief who went toe-to-toe against the previous King - Jason's grandfather," explained Sam.
"Oooh...sorry, it still doesn't ring a bell."
"That doesn't matter right now!" Lucy complained. "The forest in front of us is a maze. Every hour, its paths constantly change, making it impossible to navigate through without any aid. Now, if we are on an authorized mission, we’ll usually be supplied with a navigational device called The Spool. Sadly, we are not, and worst of all, we are on this land illegally which means if we get caught…well, let’s not try not to get caught, shall we?”
CRUNCH!
The trio's heads darted toward the sound; their jaws dropped as soon as they saw an armored man sauntering out between the trees. Lucy quickly reached for her dagger but was swiftly stopped by Sam who murmured to her, "Hold it, he looks like a Royal Guard."
"I know. But, there's just...there’s something off about him."
Shifting his attention back to the soldier, Sam noticed the man's bruised eyes lacked any signs of life – it was as if he was staring into a dark abyss. Then, he felt something in the back of his mind urging him to reach for his katana, but before he could unsheathe his blade, the lone Royal Guard spun around and started making his way back toward the woods.
“Oi, you! Hold on a sec!" exclaimed Rupert, yet the soldier kept walking, ignoring the elder Nightingale's call. “Man, what the hell is with that dude? Is he deaf or something?”
All of a sudden, the armored man dropped to his knees and began convulsing uncontrollably. Loud cracking noises were soon heard, followed by the soldier's limbs contorting and elongating, imitating the legs of an insect. A massive hump grew on his back before it blew open, sprouting forth a pair of bony wings enveloped in blood and torn flesh. The disfigured soldier stood up and turned around to give the three Faceless an angry scowl.
"Guys, what the heck is going on? Why is his body twisted like that?!" Rupert muttered, his eyes bulging with astonishment.
"A Subsumer - in its Juggernaut State," Lucy answered, grimacing to herself.
Shortly after, the soldier's head split open like a jaw, revealing a greyish humanoid skull with a red, compound eye in the middle of its face. With its imposing height, the Distorted known as the Subsumer gazed down at the trio who in turn brandished their respective Core Blades.
"Hmph, he doesn't look strong," said Rupert confidently.
After hearing the remark, the Subsumer opened its mouth and spat out a ball of blood-red blob which landed on the ground near Rupert's feet - causing the small patch of grass to shrivel and disintegrate into dust.
"Not strong, he says," Lucy scoffed, giving a brief scathing look at her brother.
"WATCH OUT!" shouted Sam after noticing the Subsumer lifted both its arms. The creature swept its deformed arms at the trio who managed to avoid being smashed to a pulp.
"Don't let it touch you! Its hands are covered with acid!" warned the female Nightingale as she straightened herself up.
"We'll just have to cut them off then!" Rupert retorted before charging toward the monster. The Subsumer unlatched its mouth as it saw the approaching man and coughed out more of the corrosive sludges - though Rupert easily dodged each of them. Afterward, a large fireball appeared out of the blue and smacked into the Distorted's face, staggering the vicious beast. A gleeful smile appeared across the elder Nightingale's face as he raised his right kama over his head, preparing to summon a gust of wind to cut off the monster's upper limbs - until another arm sprouted out from the Subsumer's left abdomen. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" blurted Rupert. Fortunately for him, a jet of cold water burst from the earth and sliced off the newly-formed hand before it could grab the Wind Accursed.
"Stop freaking out, you blockhead!" Lucy shouted with water dripping from her dagger's edge.
"Sorry!" Rupert casually apologized - much to his sister's dismay.
"Save the bantering for later! Look," Sam intervened, pointing his finger at the enemy.
The Subsumer gazed down at its arm, seemingly unfazed by the black sludge spurting from the amputated site. It proceeded to let out a grunt and its once-severed hand regenerated in a flash. Then, its skeletal wings began to flutter, creating visible sparks of electricity which led Lucy to yell, "BRACE!"
The forest's edge was illuminated by a blinding white flare that was soon followed by the deafening roar of a thunderbolt discharging between the Subsumer's wings.
Seeing the incoming attack, Sam briskly stepped in front of Rupert and, with his katana, drew a short horizontal line on the soil below. A wall of scarlet flame instantly sprung between the Faceless and the Distorted, just in time as the blast of electricity reached the former. The two forces collided with each other, producing a shockwave that rocked the ground beneath the trio's feet before dispersing into tiny orbs of light. Sam held his katana out, and the firewall collapsed; the searing flame swirled around the man, coating his blade like a scabbard.
“That was too close for comfort,” Sam exhaled.
“That, and can someone PLEASE explain to me since when that damn thing learned Brontokinesis?!” Lucy expressed her frustration.
SWISH!
The Subsumer spread its grotesque wings as if it was responding to the female Nightingale’s exasperation. Both of the forelimbs began vibrating once again, prompting Sam to say, “Those two need to go. Luce, got any ideas?”
“Well, you're in luck,” Lucy replied with a wide smile across her face. She placed her hand on the transparent blue blade and the gleaming edge melted into a puddle of water before it rose into the sky in the shape of a hundred tiny orbs.
“Woah, I didn’t you know can do that,” said Rupert in amazement.
“Hush, I need to concentrate.”
As soon she finished her sentence, Lucy pointed her handle toward the Subsumer; every one of the floating orbs flew toward the giant creature’s direction.
The Distorted swung its arms, attempting to destroy the incoming projectiles. However, the orbs dodged the giant perfectly and swiftly clung onto the Subsumer’s bony wings, enveloping the latter like two massive cocoons.
“The bigger they are…,” Lucy mouthed, shortly before the cocoons exploded – reducing the Subsumer’s once mighty wings into black tar. The Distorted glanced over its shoulder and let out a grunt – as if it was unfazed by its new injury.
“There. That should stop that annoying lightning attack for a while,” the female Nightingale huffed.
"Superb work,” Sam complimented. “Hey, Rupe. Do you know what a Fire Devil is?”
"Yeah. Ooooh...I like where this is going," Rupert snickered.
Sam glanced over his shoulder, and with a tense voice, said, "Lucy, if things go awry, I'm counting on you to back us up."
"Improvising again, are we? Fine, just don't get in over your head."
"Thanks. Alright, Rupert, on my command."
"Gotcha, boss."
With a single swing, Sam launched another fireball at the Subsumer whose wings began to slowly regenerate. "NOW!"
Rupert waved both of his kama, creating a powerful gale that fused with the flying fireball to bring forth a devastating fire devil. The Subsumer fidgeted as soon as it saw the flaming whirlwind; the creature gradually began to move toward the tornado. Eventually, the Distorted was pulled into the tempest; its shrieking filled the night air as every inch of its body was engulfed by the bright, red flame.
"Now, that is what I call a grand finale. Too bad Darren is not here; he'll be ecstatic to go against another thunder user," Rupert beamed at the sight of the burning Subsumer.
"Don't celebrate just yet. It might have some fight left in it," said Lucy as she appeared next to her brother.
"No. Not anymore," Sam assured the azure-eyed woman as the fire devil died down, revealing the Subsumer who had been singed beyond recognition. The lofty Distorted slowly extended its arms, intending to seize hold of the trio.
"QaPeDiUoDuN DaIeS EiP MaFeQiEoKuJaGeD, SaJe SaOeDiWoDuSaOe NaUe NaEe MaBeBi TaPeXi FaOeHiIoSuPaMe RaJe DaSeDiIoSu CaOeZi, GaTeHiSoDuQa KaMeHiXo XaUeHiOoZuNaTeIi," the Subsumer whimpered before it fell headfirst to the ground.
Rupert carefully came up to the Distorted and lightly kicked one of the monster’s hands. After realizing the creature was no longer moving, the elder Nightingale cried out to the others, "It's dead! I think!"
Lucy proceeded to let out a sigh of relief. The female Nightingale slowly lowered her weapon’s grip and immediately, the blade grew back out of thin air. As she sheathed her Core Blade, she noticed Sam staring blankly at the Subsumer's corpse with his lips pressed tightly against each other. "What's the matter? Did your head hurt again?"
"No, it's...the Distorted's last words; even though I couldn't understand them, they felt like a warning."
"Well, you shouldn't think too much about it. We still have a job to do, and I bet our little skirmish might have alerted the citadel."
"You're right," said Sam, nodding his head. "Sadly, without The Spool, our search will be far more difficult than usual - not to mention, treacherous. To be frank, we could be walking straight to our death."
"Is that so? It must have slipped your mind that we've been living on the edge ever since we picked up our first weapon," Lucy said sarcastically. "Besides, I would prefer to die with the sky as my witness than to be crushed by the earth's embrace."
"I can understand that," replied Sam before sliding his katana into its cover. "Let us proceed onward…into the Forest of the Bandit Lord."
