It was him.
Sarah's eyes flashed with recognition as she watched the man that had torn her country apart form within walk towards her, his eyes constantly glued to her. She shifted in place, gently moving the corpse of Santiago off of her lap, where it had previously rested.
She shakily got to her feet, wincing as the cut along her waist flexed, but she refused to make any sound. She manifested her single, white great sword, allowing it to rest in her hands, before pointing it towards the incoming figure.
"Ah- ah ah~" He lifted his index finger, wagging it slightly. "Whilst I love the enthusiasm, let's change things up, eh? My colleagues used to tell me that I jump too quickly to violence, soooo…" He trailed off, as if leisurely engaging in a conversation with an old friend. "Let's talk! But first…" He glanced at the nearby soldiers, who stood, frozen in fear at the sight of their dead commander. A small pool of water rested around his head, seeping into the carpet below.
"Let's get rid of the uninvited guests first." His voice was eerily nonchalant, as if dismissing a waiter at a restaurant. Despite that, Sarah couldn't shake the fear that racked down her spine. That presence she felt… it was something else entirely. He was strong. Much stronger than she was. If he went up against Matsuo… she wasn't sure who would win.
"Aria~ be a dear and clean up this mess, won't you?" Remus clapped his hands together, ringing out across the bloodied council chambers. Sarah blinked, surprised for a momen-
In an instant, the woman wielding the double-edged scythe threw her weapon at the nearest soldier, the blade instantly decapitating the man in a shower of gore. As his body fell to the ground, a black, shadow-like flame enveloped his corpse, consuming the body until nothing remained, the wisps of shadow-like smoke drifting back towards the woman- Aria.
Sarah's jaw opened slightly as she watched the woman begin to tear through the horde of soldiers, piercing their armor without breaking a sweat. She moved like a shadow in the night, her form blurring not with speed, but with a specter-like, apparitional eeriness.
The fight was over in just a few seconds. The group of waiting knights, unable to outrun the deadly storm of shadow-like flame, perished while running for their lives. Even their screams didn't make it past the doorway, barely a sound reaching Sarah's ears before the entire room fell silent.
Sarah's eyes darted to the side, watching the shocked and horrified expressions of her loyal council members, who still stood restrained in place around the table. They shifted uncomfortably, their rough, wooden chairs squeaking across the ground as they attempted to shy away from the destruction before them.
Her eyes then flew back to their ringleader, the man who still focused on her. His eyes were dark and deep, filled with intrigue and glee. It felt as if she was under the gaze of a giddy child, eager to impress someone.
"Now that we're all alone~" His eyes flicked over towards where she had previously looked, his eyelids narrowing slightly as he noticed them seemingly for the first time. "Ah- bring them to me, will you?" He asked, nodding briefly to the toweringly large man, equipped with a massive, spiked club. The man nodded, before briskly walking towards the cowering group of council members.
"Where was I? Ah- yes. Now that we're all alone…" His words were slow and careful, yet they contained a tone of playfulness. It was as if he knew exactly what was to come, and he was here to gloat in her face. He stepped closer to her, a small stream of water emerging from underneath his shoe. The stream twisted and pulled on itself, creating a small, wet appendage that whipped around the room, grasping onto the leg of an empty chair. He motioned with his palm, twisting it inwards, his fingers pointing towards his chest. At the same time, water pulled its way back to him, bringing the chair in tow, which he proceeded to catch with his right hand, his eyes not even diverting from hers. Without missing a beat, he placed the chair in front of him, before swiftly sitting, the back of the chair shielding most of his body from her.
"Dearest Sarah- I've been waiting for this moment for such a long time…" He chuckled, his wrist pulling upward to caress the small, unkept beard along his chin. "You probably don't remember me. It's been so long, after all~" A smile played across his face, growing wider as Sarah took a hesitant step back. "A faceless grunt, born for war, caught in the midst of a trag-"
"Remus Black. I remember you" Sarah said, her eyes sharpened with a deadly focus. "I couldn't place you until I saw you, but I remember you. You were there, during the Great War. I believe you were Jason's second in command at the time? Forgive me, I don't pay attention to nobodies." Her voice cut through the tension in the air like a knife, causing Remus's eyebrow to skyrocket upwards, his chin rising slightly.
"So you DO remember me, Captain— or should I say leader, now?" He said, rubbing the inner muscle of his thigh. Sarah's heart skipped a beat as a small flicker of blue energy burst from the hilt of his blades, enveloping the nearby area in a radius of weapon energy. It lasted barely a fraction of a second, far too quick for most to see, but Sarah knew.
Gold tiered weapon energy… Her heart dropped in her chest. If this man was strong enough to have gold-tiered weapon energy, she was as good as dead. He was equivalent to some of the elites of the Skyscraper, at a minimum. The forces of the Skyscraper dealt with Variant-level thrall on the daily, making them each at least platinum-rank.
Did she even have a chance? Yes. Her inner thoughts screamed at her, but her practical, tactical side knew from experience. Even with a likely significant different in stats and skill, she could still kill him, but it would take a miracle at best.
"Yes… Leader." Her words were quick and staccato, catching the tip of her tongue with her teeth as she spoke. "I thought a man like you would be so kind to disappear from the face of the layer, but here you are. Shouldn't a man like you be in the Skyscraper?" She asked, tilting her head. Despite her calm demeanor, her heart was pounding furiously in her chest.
"Hilarious." He said, his smile falling away, a hint of incredible anger seeping into his figure. "No. I've remained so I can see the spoils of my plight. My years spent recovering the Strollo group into a force to be reckoned with." For the first time, he turned away from her, pacing from side to side as his head pointed to the sky.
"I should thank The Garden. After all, I couldn't be in the position I am without the work of little ol' Matsuo." As he spoke, Sarah's eyes flashed in a mixture of anger and sadness, her eyes pointing to the ground. Noticing this, Remus tilted his head, prodding further.
"I fought him, you know." He said, his voice even and calculated. "On the day he died."
"YOU!" Sarah's voice erupted sharply, cutting through the silence as she unleashed her sword, slamming it towards the man's unarmed form. Her white great sword cut through the air with a phwoom! It sounded as if a single swing of her sword was violently vibrating in anger.
Just as the blade inched towards the man's face, his smile finally returned. He blurred past the sudden attack, his hands falling to the two elongated daggers that sat at his side, the sound of metal on leather ringing through the open room as he unsheathed his blades with an eerie shing!
Remus didn't even cover his weapon in knife energy, instead allowing the ethereal blade to impact his own, sending a small shudder through the ground around them. Despite the tremor, neither of them lost any semblance of balance, the two instead locking themselves in a grapple. Sarah pressed her blade down as hard as she could, tilting the blade towards Remus's neck. Remus, on the other hand, looked unperturbed. He leaned his head closer to the blade, his eyes locked solely on her own, his smile deepening as he recognized the anger in her expression.
Suddenly, Remus pushed against her with the hilt of his second blade, sending her flying back through the air for a brief second, landing evenly on the ground a few feet back. Sarah cringed internally as the rough, scratchy sound of her boots sliding along the floor, and digging into the concrete below, rang through the room, sounding almost like nails on a chalkboard.
Gritting her teeth, she fell into a readied stance, the tip of her blade still angled towards Remus's waiting neck. "Don't you dare talk about Matsuo, fiend." Her voice was full of ire, a small stream of spittle spilling from her lips. "You don't have the right to utter his name."
Remus only chuckled, unleashing a deep, genuine laugh. "Oh Sarah… I do this because of him. I've spent every waking day preparing to slaughter him where he stood, to skewer his head upon a pike and parade it along my complex." His words quickened as he tightly gripped the hilt of his blades, an audible squeeze filling Sarah's ears.
"I hate him. I hate him!" He spat along the ground, sheathing his blades as he walked around Sarah's outstretched arm, just barely out of reach of her weapon. "Hate cannot even begin to describe what I feel for him. I planned the destruction of The Garden for the better part of a year, unable to find any semblance of a weakness to exploit him." He paused, his face twisting into one of disgust. "No- I don't even understand it anymore. It began as a simple rivalry. A man who took so much progress from Jason Strollo, my- my dear friend." His words slurred slightly as he stuttered, losing the allure of a professional, unblemished killer. "Then it evolved. Every step I took he was there, somehow. Even when he fell into isolation his power lingered, looming over anyone who dared step out in its wake. No one- not even the Refugees would attempt to expand while he remained." He paced quicker, his hand flying to his chin. "He was a curse—a blight—upon… upon everything!" He stopped, his right palm flying to his heart.
Sarah was silent. She watched, her eyes widened as an overwhelming sense of uneasiness began to settle into her mind. He's insane… she thought, her muscles tensing. She furrowed her brows, not really trying to listen to his words any longer. With a thought, she was ready to unleash her armory, readied and poised to str-
"Ack~!" She gasped as Remus dashed to her in just a fraction of a second. He flew past her sharpened blade, a small slice of skin getting caught along its edge as he moved, the blade missing his cloak and leaving a barely noticeable red mark along his forearm. His arm moved faster than she could reasonably follow, gripping her throat firmly with his rough, overwhelmingly strong hands. He pulled her upwards lifting her off the ground with a single hand, leaving Sarah to dangle awkwardly from his grip.
Gasping for air, she tried to direct her swords outward, her white sword falling from her grip, but lingering within the air around her. She summoned the rest in less than a second, appearing before her like a multi-colored thunderstorm. She thrust herself back in his grip, attempting to put distance between them while swiveling her swords to stab him where he stood, but Remus had other plans.
"Don't try it. I'll snap your neck before you move even an inch" His words were cool and unfeeling, sending a shiver down her spine as his grip tightened, the tips of his fingers caressing the bones where her shoulder met her neck. His eyes studied her, like a hunter inspecting its prey, taking in every insecurity, every worry.
She went limp, dangling from his hand, doing her best to calm her breathing. A shiver of fear erupted across her body, but she felt like a deer in headlights, unable to do anything to save herself.
"Good." He loosened his grip, giving Sarah the chance to inhale a deep, shuddering breath. "What was it I said to him?" He paused for a moment, pulling back into his memory. "Ah- yes:" He leaned forward, his eyes piercing into her very soul.
"I don't even understand what made me hate you, but I will tear your people to the ground, just to spite you." He leaned even closer, his lips just mere millimeters from her cheek, his breath hot on her face as she trembled in his grasp. He unsheathed his dagger, tracing the length of her arm with the pointed, serrated blade and leaving a tiny cut in its wake. His eyes widened with recognition as she grunted in pain, his gaze following the tiny stream of red that began to drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
"That's what I told him as I watched him bleed. I promised him that I would burn everything he had to the ground, tear it apart, and rend it from this hell of a layer. I wanted him to feel the fear of losing his legacy, of my wrath extending beyond even his death." He positioned the knife perpendicular to Sarah's chest, resting just above her heart.
She gasped, finding herself unable to move. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes as she braced herself. Memories began to flash in her vision, memories of death, of tearing through her enemies. She remembered the first time she met Matsuo, her broken body teetering on the edge of death. She remembered her promotion, her first team as captain of the scouts. She let out a small, brief sob as their names flashed through her mind.
Carlos. Xavier. Maia. Reginald. Ben. Logham. It took them a while to fully form, but as they traveled together, they became something more than a team. A single night flashed through her mind. They were celebrating Christmas together, something deemed rather pointless here in the layers, but it reminded her of home. She could smell the cookies they'd purchased from Johann, the warm mug of hot chocolate seeping into the back of her throat. She remembered Ben's soft words, how he'd always think of the bigger picture. Logham always said he worried too much, but he was never wrong. Despite that, when he said he'd be gone one day, she didn't think it'd be so soon.
__
A Flash into the Past: Four Days Before Zander's Arrival to the Second Layer…
"Blah blah blah" Logham's voiced pierced Sarah's ears as the group of scouts exited the complex, stepping onto the sleek, transparent bridge that led to their next destination. "How could we have missed something?" His smile was contagious, and Maia found herself covering her face, hiding her own, sharing smile.
"After getting stuck in that maze for so long, I'm surprised you didn't find everything yourself" Carlos responded, a small skip in his step as he hurriedly moved ahead along the bridge, looking for any sign of danger. Still, there was a sense of playfulness in his speech, something he often didn't engage in.
The complex they had just explored was an anomaly. Devoid of any rooms or structural landmarks of note, they'd spent hours traversing through a literal maze of randomly placed walls. Within minutes, they'd been unable to even find the entrance any longer and resolved themselves to map this hell of a complex.
"Suuuuure. Don't talk about good ol' Ben here, who—might I remind you—got lost twice!" He pointed his thumb behind him, angling towards the smaller man's skinny frame. "You'd think the navigator of all people would know where to go."
"I'm… pretty sure we started lost, so does that really count? Heheh…" Ben's voice was soft, similar to his normal demeanor. He shied away from Logham's accusatory inflection, rolling his eyes. Despite protesting, a small smile decorated his face as he was unable to resist grinning to their usual banter. "Besides, it's hard to keep track of things when you're running towards any sign of danger, which I remind you, was your own shadow!" He crossed his arms, turning towards Logham. "I blame you~" He titled his head upwards in mock defiance, earning a small bark of laughter from Maia.
Maia lurched forward slightly as she laughed, letting out an almost ugly snort. As she moved, a potion unlatched itself from her hip, falling to the glass bridge below with a clink!
"Ah- whoops!" She gasped, her face flushing slightly with embarrassment, before beginning to reach down to grab it, but stopped just short of the potion.
"Let me get that for you- oh" Ben's hand reached down for the potion, stopping as he noticed her, his heart skipping a beat for a moment as they gripped it at the same time.
"Ah-" Ben's voice grew slightly shaky as he grabbed the entirety of the potion, his face glowing a slight red. "Let me- I mean-"
"I'm sorry- Ah-" Maia's eyes darted from side to side, her flush of embarrassment turning slightly brighter. She stood upright, her hands clasped behind her back, massing her fingers.
Ben leaned down, his eyes locked on her face, placing the potion in her palm. "I'm sorry- I should've…" His voice trailed off as the two stared at each other in silence.
Sarah rolled her eyes, placing her hand on Ben's shoulder. "Get a room, you two. Either that, or just kiss already." She turned back to the bridge, where Logham and Reginald watched the interaction with amusement. "Make sure your cartography supplies are ready. I want to map out these next few complexes before sundown." Her voice was cheerful, but firm.
Ben stepped back, pushing his hand through his hair, his stark, black hair poking from between his fingers. He awkwardly checked his pockets, the bow that hung from his back brushing gently against his knuckles as he patted himself down.
As Sarah began to think of what to do next, Ben spoke up once again.
"Ah- I think…" He frowned, his face scrunched. "I dropped my rations where we rested at the exit… give me a sec, will you?" He asked, earning a stark nod from the team. His face brightened, a genuine, light-hearted smile adorning his face. "Be right back!" He said, running back into the complex behind them.
Sarah rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to Logham. There was a strange lack of enemies throughout that last complex. In fact, the entirety of the complex was devoid of any danger whatsoever, exempting the maze itself. Still, for an anomaly it was a rather welcome one.
Her ears caught Logham talking with Xavier, and she watched as Logham tapped the man's shoulder. They conversed, and Sarah watched as Logham's eyebrow shot up as the two joked over something, likely a stupid joke.
"You know, you've gotta ditch all that Order stuff. Stop worrying about the "Lord of the Layers" and have some fun with all of this. That's all we can do-" Logham started-
WHOOM
A sudden, eardrum breaking noise hit them like a ton of bricks, causing Sarah to jump in place, swiveling around… well- she could barely describe it.
The complex had shot down into the void, the endless pillar that stretched eternally upward and below zooming past the squad, with so much force it almost sent them to their knees, throwing billowing gusts of wind against them and threatening to launch themselves off the edge of the thin bridge.
After a few moments, the complex began to slow down, until it finally came to a stop, revealing… nothing. Usually, complexes were endlessly stretching pillars with a town-sized layout of rooms and structures carved into it, almost like a cave, but the complex they had just passed through had nothing. There was no room to enter, no way to connect to the glass bridge on the other side.
It was gone.
"Ben?!" Maia's voice cracked as she sprinted towards the complex, charging into the wall with a thump. She bounced meekly off the wall, quickly jumping to her feet, palming the area where the entrance once stood. "BEN?!" She screamed, a small tear falling down her face as she sunk to her knees. He was gone. Not even a trace of him remained, his body flung into the endless void below.
Logham stared at the scene with wide eyes, his formerly comedic expression missing completely. For a minute, the rest of the squad sat in silence, until finally Logham turned to Sarah:
"What the FUCK was that?!"
__
Not two weeks later, Sarah remembered their first interaction with Zander. They were… different. Cautious. Nothing resembled the team they were before, until the night before they discovered the lure, another symptom of the changing layer. The tragedies, the massacre on the Starbound Bridge, the raid, the lures, the trials, it all led Matsuo to the Skyscraper, and the rest was history.
And here she sat, dangling from the grasp of a man who dedicated his life to tearing down everything Matsuo stood for, everything she stood for, his blade poised to pierce her heart. What a joke. She closed her eyes, waiting for the death that was sure to come, for her blood to fill her lungs and bathe her in a blanket of scarlet.
But nothing came.
She opened her eyes, hear tearful face scrunching as she watched Remus's gleeful expression rise and fall, his muscles clenching and unclenching as he fought with himself.
"Alas~" He said, his former, teasing expression returning in full force, washing himself of the near breakdown he experienced just moments prior. "I was so heartbroken when I learned of his death."
His voice hit Sarah like a ton of bricks.
"I- guh- You didn't… kill Matsuo?" Her words barely escaped her mouth, her voice strained against Remus's still tightened grip.
He dropped her to the ground, tossing her like a sack of potatoes. She hit the floor, scrambling to clutch her neck, which now was stained a faint purple, bruising where he had gripped her. "If I had… I would've given you the mercy of a quick death." His tone turned serious, echoing against the silent chamber.
"I thought- the Skyscraper said… The Chairman?" She lost some of her words as she spoke, half of her words emerging as unintelligible whispers.
"I don't quite care what game the Skyscraper is playing with our dear Matsuo…" He paced around her prone form, not even bothering to look at her. "But I am left unsatisfied, my thirst for revenge unquenched."
"You-" He pointed to her, still not looking in her direction. "You will take his place. As the next in line, I will see your world torn to the ground, wrought with fire and death, and finally bury The Garden for good." He scrunched his face, the anger he felt before returning in full force for the briefest of seconds, before dissolving away. "I led your pathetic rebellion into Hope, I gave them the tools they needed to infiltrate your fortress, I supplied their leaders with strength to contend with your own, and I created the plan to slaughter your people to the last man, woman, and child. I instigated the riots around your territories. I gave the order to murder your weak council members and turn your people against you." He opened his arms wide, as if inviting a hug, finally turning to Sarah, smiling as her eyes began to fill with pure, unadulterated rage, the fury of her tortured people flowing into her, infusing her with adrenaline.
"And I will bury you here, tear you apart, rip you limb from limb, place your impotent head upon a pike, and parade it around my kingdom like the Fourth of fucking July!"
As he spoke, Sarah burst to her feet, her swords materializing around her, her body shaking with rage. She said nothing, but readied herself for battle, her eyes dashing around the room frantically, looking for anything she could use to take him on, but there was nothing. The room had been made purposely to be as inviting and peaceful as possible to encourage political discussion.
"Ah- Ah- Ahh~" Remus scolded her, wagging his finger once more. "This can't be over too quick~" He stepped back, turning his back to her. "I've got a better idea, in fact, I think it's one you'll approve of, it's very en-"
Clang!
Sarah shot forward in a burst of speed, her eyes locked solely on Remus's exposed back, intending to plunge her blade into his weak flesh, forgetting even to direct her own armory of swords. Just as she was about to reach him, her trajectory was blocked by three lone figures, each one standing proudly, their chins raised high. Sarah narrowed her eyes as she sized up the three, including the woman from before, Aria.
"Allow me to introduce these four- wait!" He paused, causing everyone in the room to turn back to him, even Sarah's opponents. "Where's Gazel?" He asked, a frown adorning his face. "Did he ever turn up? I sent him to take care of any issues on the outskirts."
"No word, sir-!" The burly man that towered over Sarah, equipped with that terrifying, deadly club, spoke with vigorous determination, sounding like a soldier in the army. Sarah was surprised he didn't salute as he spoke.
"Ah well- we'll deal with that later. He wasn't too strong anyways." Remus waved off the issue, stepping towards the circular table in the center of the room, his eyes locking onto each one of the restrained council members that sat there, shivering in fear. "Well, well, well…" He paused temporarily, before erupting into a loud, hearty chuckle.
"I've got a game for you, Captain." He addressed Sarah, turning towards her, his eyes once again locking on hers. "I have trained my Lieutenants exclusively for this singular moment. They itch for a good fight, so they will have it." He smirked as he clicked his fingers, causing the three to unsheathe their weapons, the light above glinting along the metal. "But I'll get bored if it's too drawn out. Soooo~" He grabbed one of the council members by the shoulder, lifting them forcefully off the ground, similar to how he manhandled Sarah prior.
"N-No! NononoNO!" David, the man who oversaw culture and art across The Garden, screamed with fright as he struggled to escape from the man's grasp, slapping his hand where he gripped him to no avail. "Stop! Please- Arghhh-!" His protests turned into screams of pain as Remus tightened his grip around the man's head, pressing his skin inwards. He began to mount the pressure, using more and more of his overwhelming, inhuman strength. His eyes sparkled with glee as he began to hear a sharp crack! of the man's cranium beginning to break. Blood spurted from the man's mouth, a tooth launching itself from its socket as his eyes began to turn bloodshot.
"Pleashe- I'm Begghing- No…" His voice trailed off as the pressure continued forth, the spectators shocked into silence. For a brief moment, there was an eerie silence that decorated the room, through anticipation or intensity, it could not be said for sure.
"NO!" Sarah screamed, launching herself towards the man, who stood across the massive room from her. As she burst into a sprint, a cold sharpness caressed her neck. Her eyes widened as she stopped, standing completely still. Her eyes traced back to the double-edge scythe placed along her neck, and she stepped back involuntarily, teetering away from the weapon. Her eyes swiveled back to Remus, hoping she could find some way to stop what she knew was coming.
Blood spouted from the man's face as one of his eye balls spurted from its sockets. He screamed, inhaling one, final breath before his face caved inwards, exploding forth in a cloud of gore. Remus's enormous hand was coated in red as he flexed his palm, releasing the man's headless corpse to flop to the ground.
Sarah gaped in shock as she watched her colleague's life whisked away in the hands of Remus. Her jaw lay agape as she turned to the trio in front of her, her swords orbiting dangerously above her head. It was at that moment that she felt steeled. She wasn't going to let them get away.
"My Lieutenants will attack you, all at once. For every thirty seconds you survive… another one of your precious council dies. Understood?" Remus smacked his hands together, spraying the carpet nearby with droplets of blood, quickly seeping into the complex itself.
"Aria and Rarga, listen to your commander. As for you, Darien, this is your time to prove yourself. Emerge victorious, and I will free you from your contract." His eyes glowed a soft yellow as he conjured a piece of parchment in his hands, waving it through the air before it disappeared into nothingness.
"Alright, enough talk. Begin!" He announced, clapping his hand a singular time, excitedly.
As if sharing the same mind, the three lieutenants exploded into action simultaneously. Aria burst forward like a shadow, arriving in front of Sarah in the blink of an eye, while Rarga, the giant, stepped towards her, his movements slow and lumbering.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah noticed the hunched man, Darien, unsheathe his dual curved swords, their tips glowing brightly with bright blue sword energy, though they were much weaker than what Remus showed earlier.
She dashed to the side, her swords flowing behind her like a cloak, breaking free from its rigid shape to slam into the side of Aria's scythe, blocking her first attack effortlessly. It didn't end there, however, as the woman leaned into her attack, spinning in place it an attempt to use the butt-end of her weapon to pierce her side. Unfortunately for her, however, she wasn't the only one with multiple weapons. Two more blades emerged from Sarah's cloak, the three blades perfectly blocking each strike with practiced precision. Sarah's wrist moved with the combat, flowing with the thrum of the fight as each step fell into place, marking the first piece of the puzzle.
As she settled into learning the diverse nature of the dangerous woman in front of her, the lumbering giant that was Rarga finally arrived, slamming his club vertically towards the ground. The weapon itself was massive, nearly half of her body in length, but it was slow, allowing her to nimbly side-step the blow, spinning into Aria's next set of attacks, continuing her waltz.
Clang! Shink!
The their weapons collided together with extreme force, sending small bursts of smoke and sparks into the air as each rapid attack of Aria's was met with an equally fast defense. Sarah looked less like a warrior and more like a dancer, eloquently dashing between attacks by mere inches, gaining space in areas where she should have none at all.
"Thirty seconds…" Remus's voice echoed across the hall, and Sarah looked up to watch another council member, a woman named Lydia, decapitated across the table, her head rolling to face her as she watched. "Stop!" She growled, her anger rising in her chest-
Whoom~
Her eyes bulged as the enormous club from Rarga came flying in from the side. I can't dodge, I need to jump! And jump she did, leaping over the giant of a weapon, just narrowly avoiding certain death from the spikes that lined the length of the weapon.
Just as she thought she was in the clear, a familiar presence emerged from behind her as she fell. Aria… She thought, twisting her body in the air as she whipped her remaining swords around, twisting the blades so that the flat of the blade would interrupt the point of her scythe, hoping to predict where the blade would fall.
Boom! Aria's fist impacted into the flat of the blade, Sarah's gambit paying off as she felt a smirk rise to her face. Is this all they've got? She asked herself, gripping her great sword in both hands as she readied herself to slice down upon Aria's waiting form. Now that her scythe was repelled-
Wait- her scythe?
Whoom- whoom- whoom-
Sarah turned her head towards the sky, only to see Aria's spinning scythe flying towards her exposed shoulder, flying back through the sky like an expertly thrown boomerang. It slammed into her arm, the edge slicing into her arm with a brutal sharpness. "Argh~!" She groaned with pain as the weapon sliced an even cut along the length of her left arm, her less dominant arm. She winced as she began to feel an unnaturally cold flame seep into the wound, her breath quickening as she watched that shadow-like flame emerge from the weapon.
She fell towards the ground, summoning her swords beneath her to propel her away, slamming into the ground, skidding along the length of the carpet. Quickly jumping to her feet, she held her arm aloft. Shallow… thank god. She got lucky, the wound was non-dangerous and didn't hit any major arteries. Her enhanced constitution would keep it from becoming too serious.
"AAAa-aAh~!" A scream interrupted her train of thought, and she looked up to see a watery tendril emerge from Remus's back, before snaking forward and impaling another council member through their back, emerging through their chest. They slid down the length of the water-spear, choking on their breath as water began to fill their body, drowning them in just a few seconds.
"FUCK!" Sarah screamed as she dashed any plans of trying to adapt to the flow of battle. Those council members were her lifeline for rebuilding their nation. Without them, there was no hope of The Garden existing after this wanton destruction. She ran her hands through her hair, brushing any obstruction out of her eyes, all seven swords floating around her as she got back to her feet.
"I'll kill you all!" She proclaimed, before leaping into battle with a desperate blur, shooting forward in an instant as Darien, the hunched man, drew his swords, barking orders with a sly, scheming voice. She didn't care what he said. She needed to go on the offensive and force this fight onto them. Luckily, she had the advantage when fighting groups.
She launched herself into the air, her swords spinning below her as she drove five of them directly downwards, aiming for the skull of Rarga, who looked to the sky with a calm expression.
"Carrot?" The burly man asked, his eyes dashing to Darien, who nodded.
Instead of blocking, the giant of a man threw himself backwards, knocking himself slightly off balance. Sarah's swords missed Rarga's body, but as they reached the ground, they exploded outward, fanning the nearby area in a swarm of blades. She directed one of her weapons to distract Aria, before pressing the attack on to Rarga, gathering her five blades, leaving one to spare, to fly around the man, attempting to stab into his thick hide with precise, deadly accuracy.
Rarga swung their weapon in a wide, smashing arc, slamming into the sides of some of her blades, sending them veering off course, but still some got through, stabbing through Rarga's waist and drawing blood, sending a small stream of scarlet liquid dripping into his clothes and down his armor. While he was equipped with a few pads, Rarga large had no armor to speak of, instead boasting what looked like a common t-shirt and athletic shorts. It was a stark contrast from nearly every resident of the layer, but a welcome one for Zander.
Sarah didn't give him a chance to rest, forming a small, V-shaped formation of swords together and flying them towards Rarga's upper torso. In response, the burly man slammed his club upwards, knocking out all but one sword, which similarly implanted itself inside his skin, before disappearing and reappearing at Sarah's side. He bled like a stuck pig, his roars of pain echoing throughout the council hall as he stumbled to the side, only to be met with another of Sarah's blades, almost impaling him on the length of her Odachi.
"Stick!" Darien shrieked into the air, leaping forward. At the same time, Sarah noticed Aria emerge from the shadows behind her, threatening to slice her back in two. Surrounded from a two-pronged attack, she waved her arms in a circular fashion, her swords spinning around her in a deadly cyclone of swords. Despite the suddenness of her move, and its effectiveness in taking out enemies on an equal footing, the same could not be said for enemies in the air. Aria leapt over the blades, forcing Sarah to interrupt her spin to focus on the threat at hand.
She dropped her cyclone, sending two swords to deflect the oncoming strike, all the while spinning around to face Darien, who now was mere inches away from slicing her apart, his curved swords stretching to rip into her skin. She brought up her arm, using the sword in her hand to deflect the twin blades just millimeters off course, cutting through a few hairs along her skin.
Goosebumps spread across her body as her head practically moved on a swivel, jumping between both fighters as they laid into her, slamming attack after attack into her blades, which shook her with every strike. Her teeth rattled at the sheer force as their blows quickened in pace, straining her mind as she struggled to both locate and deflect the incoming attacks. Time seemed to slow around her as she magnified every ounce of focus she had into this seemingly unending struggle. Seconds felt like minutes as they locked themselves into this dance of death, pressure building in the back of her mind as focus turned to weariness. Her movements slowed slightly as her muscles strained, her teeth sliding against each other as she gritted her teeth.
I need to get out of this… but should I use it?
I've already used it once. Unleashing my aura again means I can't use it for when I fight Remus… She felt a shiver of fear flash through her as she weighed her options, her face showered in a series of sparks that erupted from the rigorous fighting around her.
I have to. It's either that, or I perish here. Damn. She thought, cursing herself internally. I took the bait.
She glanced over at Remus, finding two more corpses already lying atop the round council table. Her expression hardened as she accepted the reality of the situation. Still, a sense of unease filled her mind. Why do I feel like this is exactly what he wanted?
She turned her attention away, slamming her swords into the ground and rocketing them upwards, using their momentum to propel herself through the air, getting a small glimpse of space and buying her enough time to fully unleash her skill.
[Aura Manipulation]
For the second time today, she unleashed her full aura, coating the council hall in her presence. She watched once again as, seemingly in slow motion, the invisible energy coalesced in front of her, before slamming into her chest, above her heart.
She glowed with warmth as she began to lift into the air, rising above the battlefield like an angelic goddess of war, her eyes rolling upwards as her hands clasped themselves together, drawing upon a familiar energy, pulling on the invisible scabbards that inhabited her core.
Mortis
The world exploded into a flurry of multi-colored light, so bright it pierced into the eyelids of anyone who dared shield themselves of its light, sending the three lieutenants collapsing to the ground clutching their eyes in an attempt to alleviate the bright death that awaited them.
By the time they recovered, it was already too late to stop it. Fourteen swords dashed around Sarah, swimming through the air as if alive, leaping across Sarah's vision. She swooped through the air, her swords chaining together as they congealed into a spinning tempest of death. She dove towards the recovering form of Aria, who raised her scythe in response. The weapon deflected the first few attacks, but fourteen swords were too many to deal with. Blades overwhelmed her as she suddenly found herself stuck like a pig, pierced from all sides by a dozen shallow wounds.
As Sarah pierced her sides, she felt something strange. As each wound was inflicted, her shadow flame would envelop the wound, burning her skin together, cauterizing each individual wound to prevent itself from bleeding. Barely a drop of blood fell from her as she staggered back, pain racking her mute frame.
Slam!
Darien's seemingly weak form slammed into Sarah's side, lurching her to the ground as their bodies collided. She gasped as the air was sucked out of her, her breath difficult and strenuous, but while she heaved for breath, she gathered her swords, forming a shell of blades around her.
The three Lieutenants regrouped, even Rarga recovering enough to stand and fight, though he was significantly weakened by Sarah's earlier assault.
"All or nothing" She heard Darien say, earning a nod from their companions, and each fighter leapt through the air, landing cleanly in front of her, their weapons outstretched.
"Screw it, let's end this." Sarah gasped, her voice barely a whisper. She coughed, spitting onto the carpet below. "LET'S END THIS!" She screamed, roaring to the sky as her swords flew around her, her brow seemingly permanently narrowed in concentration.
As if linked by some unknown, unseen force, the four of them launched into a simultaneous brawl. Aria disappeared into the shadows below, dissolving into nothingness before re-appearing into Sarah's own shadow, her blade poised and ready to kill. Despite her speed, Sarah had seen this three-fold. Swords already floated behind her, slicing through the air in an attempt to impale her.
At the same time, Sarah faced the two remaining lieutenants, her hand rising into the sky as a trio of swords echoed her movements. She closed her fist, motioning towards the ground as the blades dashed towards the waiting forms of Darien and Rarga, but Darien leapt into the sky, his speed and strength higher than she'd seen before, and slammed the swords down with his own, landing evenly on the balls of both feet. They then launched into a simultaneous attack as Darien shadowed the trajectory of Rarga's club.
The weapon cleaved through the air, knocking away the many swords that lay in its path, sending them flying to the side. Sarah's eyes widened as she noticed the attack incoming, floating higher into the air to avoid the club. As she dodged it with the smoothness of an acrobat, Darien flew from its wake, his swords angled to cut through Sarah's neck.
Shit! She exclaimed internally, reaching for her boot as she spun in the air, using some of the last remnants of her aura to propel herself upwards, avoiding the first blade, but the second would surely strike true.
Just as Darien's attack inched towards her, she pulled a knife from her boot, quickly bringing the weapon to her neck with surprising speed, and using the small blade to deflect the sword into the side of her cheek, carving a small line into her face.
"Ah~" She didn't have time to scream in pain as she shot herself backwards, her swords coalescing and converging. She shaped them together, linking each one with the other's movements to create a long, connected chain. She brought her hand above her head, her new thread of swords echoing her movements.
She circled the whip of blades above her head like a lasso, before swinging her arm around horizontally towards the trio. The whip followed, slicing through the air towards the unaware lieutenants.
Darien gasped, launching himself into the air with the utmost force, while Aria noticed at the last possible moment. She directed her scythe to glance off the blow, but the momentum of the attack launched her to the side, sending her skidding across the ground. As for Rarga, he unfortunately wasn't so lucky. The blades slammed into the side of his neck, passing through his skin in just an instant. The swords whipped through his neck at such high speed that even the god-like constitution he boasted couldn't stop it.
His head fell to the ground.
Mortis.
One down, two to go. Sarah felt a wave of exhaustion hit her, a sign of her aura wearing off. Not much time left…
Sarah's eyes latched onto Aria, who used her ability to leap through shadows to recover from her fall, launching straight into battle as Darien fell to the ground. Now's the opportunity! She thought, pressing forward her palms, steepling them together as her swords formed an enormous stake, slamming into the carpeted ground below them.
Usually, nothing could pierce or break the carpet, nor the concrete that lay below it. Despite this, on occasion there were magical abilities that could pierce into the structure of the complexes. When this happens, after the damage is inflicted the structure itself is instantly repaired. Sometimes this could provide great makeshift weapons, such as pipes or metal-rods that could be found occasionally through complexes, but it also made it relatively difficult to disrupt the terrain around people.
Unfortunately for Aria, Sarah was banking on that.
Sarah's swords dug into the ground below, the carpet reformed itself as the swords drove themselves forward with a magical sharpness, carving through the structure like a mole. Aria looked down in surprise, her head tilting with confusion as she watched an event that couldn't happen before attempting to shift away. As she dashed to a nearby shadow, she launched her scythe towards Sarah's waiting form, but before the weapon left her hand, a glowing Odachi exploded from the ground, piercing the bottom of her foot and moving further up. The sword cut its way through her chest, piercing her heart, before coming out the lower side of her neck, and even slicing a portion of her scalp away.
With a huff, Aria slumped forward, collapsing to the ground.
Mortis.
With that, Sarah's feet once again touched the ground, the energy in her aura falling away for the last time today. She would be unable to use it again for a while, despite using it twice already in rapid succession.
She paused, lurching to a knee as the exhaustion of what she just did kicked in, her head spinning with adrenaline. She heaved for breath as her swords fell from fourteen to seven, reverting her back to normal.
Just one left…
Darien staggered to his feet, a look of finality on his face as he held his blades against his face. His movements were sluggish and weak, and his breaths came out in ragged, asthmatic rasps. Sweat fell down his face in droves as he prepared himself to finish this fight.
"No more fancy skills" He said, a sense of smugness in his voice.
"I don't need them to kill you" Sarah replied, grunting slightly.
The silence stretched between them for a few seconds, before Sarah took the advantage for the first time, arriving in front of him in just a blink of an eye, her blades slashing from all sides, another in her hand aiming to pierce his heart.
Thunk!
The ethereal swords connected, slicing through his body like paper, leaving deep, lethal red gashes in their wake. He barely reacted, rolling backwards on the back of his heels, a sense of calmness across his face that looked like it crept into a smile.
Sarah sighed, her shoulders sagging as the man teetered on the edge of his toes for life. Just as she felt the wave of adrenaline die away, she felt something wrong. That smile, it suddenly burst into a devilish grin, as Darien fell forward, using the momentum of his fall to wield his swords backwards, before slamming one of his curved swords into Sarah's side, the blade piercing through her skin and sending her reeling to one knee, her mouth agape as Darien collapsed, pulling out the blade as he fell dead.
Mortis.
"Shit…" Sarah cursed as he fell, blood gushing from the wound in her side.
It's not fatal… yet. But if I don't end all of this quick… I'll bleed out. A timer clicked in her head, the countdown of death. But still, duty called, and the worst was yet to come. She stood, wincing through the pain as she faced Remus, her sword sprawled to the side.
What she saw sent a shiver of despair down her spine. Thirteen councilors lay dead, stacked upon the round table they once called their home. Each of the councilors that remained with her through the vicious civil war… dead like this. As she contemplated this, spitting a small glob of blood onto the ground, pointing her blade towards Remus's waiting form.
Remus only chuckled. "I suppose it's time to end this show~ though it was quite a lovely one, might I say." Each word he spoke filled her with determination, the promise of revenge.
"Your Lieutenants are dead. Soon your head will join them." She said, her swords extended outright. As she spoke, her mind overcame her sense of weariness, filling with energy one more time, to fight on again.
Sarah clutched her shoulder, gripping a small, golden insignia. It was shaped like a leaf, adored with a crown of the Order, a religion she didn't believe in. Nevertheless, she clutched it to her chest, pinning it above her heart.
"You see this?" She asked, earning an amused nod from Remus.
"This… is why I fight. That shining leaf… will be there when I live on. It will be there in the hearts of every citizen when they recall our names, and it will be there when I give my life for the cause." She patted her shoulder, saluting before she spoke again. "I will not abandon my people in their hour of need. I will kill you here, Remus Black. Mark my words."
She staggered slightly, her head dipping down. "The leaves fall to rebuild the tree. If the roots demand my blood, then I will give it to them, tenfold." She summoned her white great sword, holding it tightly, blood dripping down her hand.
Creaaaaak~
Sarah looked past Remus, who twisted his chest to see what the source of the strange noise was. From the entrance of the council chambers, the door swung open, bathing the darker area in a fresh paint of light. A figure stepped inside, a lone sword hanging from their side. Their gait was uneven and imprecise, as if they were desperate.
Sarah's eyes widened as the figure came into view, a newfound layer of fear entering her body as she watched Remus look over the man with interest.
"Who the hell are you-" Remus began-
"Captain…?" A younger man's voice emerged from the figure, his sword igniting in a stream of bright blue, silver tiered sword energy.
Sarah, bewildered, felt her heart beat through her chest.
Not him, too…
"Zander?"