Hal used his marks to heighten his senses as he ran towards the place with the most commotion, apart from the one he was leaving behind. He bolted through the mansion as he asked himself why the cultists would choose such a chaotic way of doing things.
According to what he had learnt so far, the cultists were secretive and chose to operate in the shadows, so why attack them so openly? They had already got them off guard. Why not place the catalyst and leave?
Hal felt the pain in his hand intensify as he turned to look at the tiny black mask pulsating on his hand. He gritted his teeth and chose to ignore it for now.
As he turned back to the direction he was running to, he saw a large black spiked metal ball flying his way.
He jumped out of the way as he saw the metallic ball being pulled back by a black chain, revealing to him the battlefield he was about to enter.
There were many cultists who were running towards Tai and the duke as Tai and Lyrrah struggled to defend the poor noble, who looked close to fainting from shock.
"Tai, Lyrrah, let's send these fools packing"
The eyes of his friends locked with his as he summoned the Kling's Edge and imbued it with soul flame before throwing it towards the chain of the metallic ball.
The King's Edge's sharp blade cut through the chain as Lyrrah quickly used her ability to grab the ball and send it crushing into several cultists.
"I'm lucky not to be those guys"
Lyrrah sent his dagger flying back into his hands as his eyes now glowed with the elegance of stars as he located his primary target.
The black masked man, who was currently facing Tai, the sword's man, dodged the man's attacks like he was expecting where he would strike next, as he slowly moved in to deliver his own blow on the cultists.
Several other cultists were racing towards the area as Hal reconsidered using a King's Talent. If he did, he might end up damaging the mansion and facing the wrath of Mr Faizo, so he chose to confront them directly.
He summoned the Slaughter's gain and ran to stand between them and Tai. The cultists froze for a moment before attacking him with a huge wave.
The detective had told them to at least keep the black ask alive; he looked to be the leader in this operation, so they were obligated to leave him alive, but as for the grunts, on the other hand, Hal saw nothing holding him back.
He attacked the group head on and started the fight against them. He dodged and lashed out at the incoming attackers as he used his marks to focus on defense and spatial awareness while he focused on the attack.
The cultists were many, and every once in a while, Hal found himself being grazed by a sword or narrowly escaping being skewered by a spear.
But he fought through it all and was now having the upper hand against his attackers, or so he thought. He sensed a cultist behind him and turned to see the man already bringing his sword down on him.
But before the man could cut him open, Lyrrah slid into view and released a barrier that expanded forward, clearing most of the cultists in that direction.
Hal was left in awe, so this was the power of a level one awakened gifted. He shook himself out of it as Lyrrah smiled at him.
"Don't become sloppy on me now, Hal, you said it yourself, we're sending these fools packing"
Hal gave her a brief nod as they returned to fighting the cultists. Hal was always curious, and this gave him a chance to observe
She mainly relied on the fact that it was hard to get close to her as she blocked the swords of two cultists with her barriers before forcing their swords out of their hands and into their chests.
She was ruthless as she fought, appearing as if she were a reaper of death on the battlefield, wherever she went, blood rained, but none of the drops dared touch her body.
But there was one flow in her power that the Owl's eyes revealed to Hal: she was using too much soul flame, and she would soon deplete her reserves.
Either way, Lyrrah didn't care as the swords of those she had slain floated around her for a moment before flying to claim other victims.
Her hands moved to command her power as her eyes searched for her targets. She was skilled at what she was doing, and for a moment, Hal wondered if he would be able to beat her if they fought, probably not, though
He returned to his senses as a barrier suddenly appeared to shield him from the arrows that were flying towards him.
The arrows vibrated as they tried to tear through the barrier, but Lyrrah called upon her second hand and turned the arrows around before sending them back to the sender.
The archers tried to dodge, but the arrows flew after them under the control of Lyrrah and still hit their mark.
Hal was not going to be left out, and so he activated another soul hidden away in the Slaughter's gain as the sword's blade turned blue and glowed with sparks of blue lightning.
He bolted forward as he smashed through several cultists, leaving most of them dead in his wake.
The cultists tried their best to fight back, but it was either had to get cut down by him or surrender to the unpredictable Lyrrah.
The fight was tilting in their direction, and now there was really only one more hindrance. Hal picked up an arrow and summoned another weapon he had received from the cave.
It was a beautiful green bow decorated with vines and white flowers at the two points where the string met the bow, with a picture of a tree at the bow's middle, and it was known as the Grieving Branch.
Hal placed the arrow on the bow as the arrow began growing vines that changed it into a more formidable-looking arrow with the vines making it sharper, thicker and stronger.
Hal let the arrow fly as it almost hit the black mask, who bent back to dodge it, only to see Tai, who was already upon him in that instant.
"I see your weakness"
His sword managed to cut the black mask, but he dodged at the last second, avoiding a fatal injury with only the cut managing to injure his shoulder.
Lyrrah bolted forward to strike him with one of her barriers, but the black mask summoned the broken sword that Hal's first attacker had used and collided it with Lyrrah's barrier, pushing her back.
It was now Hal's turn to strike as he moved in with his two daggers to strike the black mask, but surprisingly, the man was keeping up with every attack as he used the broken sword to deflect most of their attacks.
Lyrrah and Tai returned as the Black Mask moved between them all while dodging or parrying their attacks.
Hal knew if they kept going like this, they would lose, so he had to come up with a way to get himself off guard.
Hal moved with a swift swipe towards the man's neck. The Black Mask managed to dodge, but Lyrrah was ready. She moved her hand to strike the man, who once again blocked with his sword.
But in that moment, Lyrrah's eyes glowed as she instead grabbed the blade with her ability and moved him closer before landing a barrier attack directly to his chest.
The man went flying but quickly got back on his feet, only to see Tai attack him soon after he moved the broken sword to cut him first, but Tai ducked and hit him with the handle of the sword before moving it upward to slightly cut across his chest.
The man stumbled back as he saw lightning flash before his eyes, and he turned and saw Hal, who was preparing to strike him with a huge white hammer.
"Oh, King has it come to this?"
The hammer slammed into his abdomen and sent him crashing into a wall as Hal ran towards him and stabbed him with the King's Edge in the left hand and the Slaughter's Gain in the right hand, effectively sticking him to the wall.
The man tried to stretch his tentacles towards them, only to be struck by a bolt of lightning from the slaughter's gain in his hand, knocking the man out.
Hal and his friends sat down as they heard the duke shout
"Wow, that was outstanding work from my butlers and new maid, in fact, I plan on giving you a raise after this"
Hal was not interested in the man's words, as a voice that interested him more sounded from behind them
"Thank you, Hal, you caught him alive. This should be interesting now, shouldn't it, dear chef?"
The detective moved towards the man and removed his mask, revealing him to be the chef who prepared the duke's meals.
"Wait, it's you?"