đ“ŤŻ 3:55PM, 24th of Dustseam, 3 DE đ“ŤŻ
Eastern Region
Kelran Lands
WILLOWY trees blew in various directions as the wind whistled in concordance with the storm that would appear. Minari continued to trudge along the path that would allegedly lead to the treasure that the Queen of the Wutherian Empire instructed her to claim. She brushed off the twigs that were hugging her ankles and moved slowly, to ensure that she was not being followed. She kept her ears open in case somebody would attack her.
It was eerily quiet, though, which gave Minari even more reasons to be on guard. The vicinity might be teeming with bandits. It was common for criminals to set up their hideouts in such places like these, away from the eyes of human civilization, as one of the areas where bandits hid and kept their various possessions or should we call them, the things that were shamelessly stolen from other people. Though Minari had yet to see a living soul aside from the occasional rabbit or wild creature. A pack of wolves passing by ignored Mina and moved on with a purpose, as if in search of prey to attack.
Minari stopped walking when a light entered her peripheral vision. It was a faint light with an orange hue that would be difficult to notice during the day though the ninja noticed it almost immediately. She looked around her to make sure that nobody was around before heading in the direction of the light. Her fingers closed tightly around her small knife as she retreated further into the premises.
Finding herself in an area teeming with pine trees and rocks as tall as herself, Mina was around ten feet from the entrance to a cave. Nothing about it screamed danger. Which gave Minari all the more reasons to be wary. It was often the most harmless-looking things that promised chaos…
A multitude of lights dotted the cave and seemed to be leading the way as Minari continued treading at the most tentative pace. Then a figure suddenly appeared from behind her with a sharp object.
She sensed their presence before the figure could even reach her. Mina wheeled around to block the blow that was intended for her head. Though the attacker lost balance and was sent flying towards a tree when Minari pushed them with a slight force. The figure, clothed in black robes, laid on the ground while holding their own stomach.
Minari was approaching the figure menacingly when it suddenly vanished before her eyes. She stopped and turned around in search of the figure.
What in theworld—
The figure materialized right in front of her. Taken aback, Minari staggered and was getting ready to attack the figure with her knife when the weapon sliced through air. She yelped in irritation before fixing herself into a fighting position, her knees crouched slightly and the right arm ready to strike again with the knife. Her left hand was behind her back as if prepared to block any attack that would come to her unexpectedly. The figure had disappeared again… But how? What kind of magic were they using to do such a feat?
The environment grew silent again as Minari took a step closer to the entrance to the cave. She backed slowly into the cave when another figure, clothed in the same black robes as the first attacker, suddenly jumped in front of her with a sword. She knew that this person was different due to their differences in body size. The first attacker was smaller yet more agile than the second one, who appeared to struggle with the weapon that they were carrying.
Minari dodged easily each attack that came from the mysteriously clothed figure. She kicked them in the stomach, earning a yelp from the stranger. Then she landed one punch to the jaw, causing them to fall to the ground while holding their own figure.
Minari stepped back in confusion. Okay, just exactly who were these people? They all dressed in attire that seemed to be intended to scare away anyone who saw them. Yet their combat style and skills seemed to aim for the opposite goal.
Minari suddenly heard the most peculiar sound from behind her. She wheeled around slowly to witness a group of figures, all dressed in the same clothing, coming towards her with a bunch of slingshots, spears, and swords at full speed. Minari was fully prepared for this as she turned on her heel and walked quickly in the opposite direction, back towards the entrance of the cave.
She suddenly stopped when she reached the outskirts of the cave and turned around to face them. And then she started her own offensive approach.
These figures were evidently far from adept in combat though the great number made Mina fight with more ferocity than she did earlier. She yelped suddenly when the whistling sound that only wind magic could produce reverberated throughout the vicinity. Minari felt a strong wind tug at her figure and she was suddenly hanging in mid-air, upside down. She yelled more out of surprise than fear or pain as her eyes raked over the vicinity, searching for the user of the magic. The figures who were still on their feet made their way to her with their swords, prepared to attack her.
"Halt! Halt this instant, peasants!"
As if on cue, the hooded figures froze. They lowered their weapons and stood there with their hands by their sides. They trained their unseen eyes on Minari who squirmed slightly though it did little to help her escape from the viselike grip of the wind.
Okay, whoever had used their wind magic on her was evidently strong. Something told Mina that the user was also the leader of the hooded figures, as she seemed to be the only one that could use magic; while the others only had swords to rely on and were barely even capable of using them. The question was, who was their leader? Why did they seem to obey her so willingly?
"Who are you?" the silky voice rang out again.
It took the ninja a moment to realize that the same person who had commanded the hooded figures was already standing in front of her. She could barely see the expression of the individual (who she knew was a woman based on her voice) as she was wearing a black hood as well. Her equally black pants hung just above her ankles and the black shoes looked slightly tattered.
The only inch of skin that she could see from the mysterious woman was her wrists. The left wrist was bare, but the right one had a tattoo on it. Minari barely needed to squint to find a dragon symbol on it. Some sort of regional cult, were they? Minari barely had time to contemplate on this as the woman started to press her again.
"I said, who are you?" the woman repeated the question, which made Minari look at her once more. Fear eased into her heart though she maintained a stoic expression. The mysterious woman appeared to sense her fear, however. Minari could see the smile that had formed on her lips underneath the black mask covering her face.
Minari refused to answer the question as she had no clue who this stranger was. For all she knew, she could be working for the Vampire Queen, Voxciera.
"You are making this more difficult than I expected," the woman spoke up again, clearly growing impatient.
Before Minari could say anything, the mysterious woman raised a black, immensely tall brick and struck her head lightly with it. Yeah, right. Light. Though the blow was gentle, it was more painful than Minari expected it'd be.
A searing and sharp pain shot through every inch of her face. She tried screaming though she suddenly lost her voice, her throat suddenly feeling as if it had just been crammed with a bunch of sand. Minari's vision was clouded with a pitch blackness, and the eerie sounds around her all but vanished.
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