Tepo continued his flight, his body tense. He glanced at a mechanical display on his ship. The flames had taken a big toll on his energy storage.

What is this method? Do I have any countermeasures? One more attack and I won’t have enough energy left to reach the next city. But I also don’t have enough force crystals to recharge the ship…

Frustrated, the young man’s thoughts raced. But quickly another hiss reached his ears. The ominous sound made his marrow shudder. A second later the ship was surrounded by flames again.

While Tepo anxiously contemplated his options, far behind his back the silver armored woman prepared to end this farce. She came to the black ship’s rare.

Just as the woman wanted to step into the storms, a strange fluctuation ran through the ship. Alarms rang out. The ship’s turbines flickered and suddenly shut off. It only took a moment for the pirates and Tepo to vanish into the darkness.

“Who dares?!”, echoed the owner’s rage filled shout.

“Enemy attack!”

“Protect the master!”

“Hide!”

The crew’s chaotic yells spread through the ship. They drowned out the captain’s warning.

Suddenly the finely dressed man and the armored woman looked at each other. They felt a sudden danger. Not caring for anything else they took out their weapons and directly penetrated the ship’s walls.

A moment later a loud rumble sounded out. Debris shot against their bodies. Heat spread. The ship and its crew died in a massive explosion.

Before the man could reorient himself, a leisurely voice reached his ears.

“As expected form the famous Marquess Roath. You wouldn’t die so easily.”

As a veteran of a thousand battles Roath immediately steeled his mind. He only took a moment to analyze his situation.

The storms are stilled, which means we are in some kind of closed off formation. We can only fight.

Two pairs of eyes turned towards the source of the voice. In the darkness a green masked could vaguely be spotted, the fire burning on the ship giving his white robe a mysterious orange tinge.

“So, the rumors were true. The Web sent their precious genius to this world. It’s nice of you to show up by yourself. Saves me the effort of hunting you down. Quill!”

“As if you would find me if I didn’t show up. Your Silver Shield Alliance is incompetent as always.”

“You!”, shouted the woman in silver armor angrily.

Even the marquess had rage flashing in his eyes.

Suddenly the finely dressed man turned around hastily. A flash of light shot towards him. A sword threatened to pierce his heart.

Angry at himself the marquess defended hastily with the gorgeous, almost ceremonial sword in his hand. The fight begun without any warnings.

The air shook. Shockwaves spread, pushing the various debris away. The sound of metal colliding echoed in the space as the two men clashed hundreds of times in seconds.

The silver armored woman reacted a bit slowly. It took her a moment before her long spear shot towards Quill’s head. It advanced in the darkness like a hunting panther.

Suddenly two long, metallic whips swiped at the spear. They coiled around it, entangling it. With a strong pull the silver armored woman was pulled to the side.

Surprised, she ripped her head around. A tall woman, face covered by a red mask, entered her view.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The silver armored woman’s heart sank. She was only a follower of the marquess. It wouldn’t be easy to face a member of the Web.

Despite her thoughts, the silver armored woman was determined to do her best. She activated a spell. Power ran through her arms. She yanked her spear around, trying to force her enemy in close combat.

Anvil reacted quickly. She let go of her weapons, letting them close in on her opponent. She casted a spell. Suddenly the two whips changed. Sharp thorns formed on their surface.

Like snakes the whips shot towards the silver armored woman, biting into her armor. Suddenly lightning flickered. A pained groan came from the woman’s mouth. Her muscles spasmed as lighting shot through her body.

After a few exchanges both members of the Web took the upper hand. The marquess gritted his teeth. His force steered as his core activated its ability.

Suddenly a blinging light pushed the darkness away. A majestic pillar of light appeared behind the marquess’ back. Immediately it began shooting terrifying rays of light in all directions.

Quill had to dodge backwards. His sword swiped down, deflecting a ray of light threatening to puncture his thigh. The veteran warrior reacted immediately.

“No light can appear in this space.”

The pillar of light flickered. The ship behind Quill’s back was swallowed by darkness.

But the pillar didn’t vanish. It shot fewer rays, but they were still there.

I don’t understand enough about this ability. My words can’t unfold their full might.

Supported by the ability at his back, the marquess advanced confidently. He shot towards Quill right behind another ray of light.

The green-masked warrior defended hastily. Swords clashed again.

Meanwhile, Anvil suppressed the silver armored woman. She had new whips in her hand, continuously slashing down on her enemy. Seeing the development on Quill’s side she was unperturbed.

A metallic trinket separated from Anvil’s necklace. It autonomously unfolded and floated towards the woman’s side. It formed a large shield blocking the rays of light for Anvil.

The silver armored woman grew anxious. It cost her a lot of effort to get rid of Anvil’s whips. She knew it was only a matter of time before she lost the fight.

Gritting her teeth the woman was ready for a desperate attempt. She suddenly shot backwards. Her core moved. Suddenly a majestic giant appeared on the battlefield. It was slightly illusionary, enclosing the woman within.

With a terrifyingly large spear in hand the giant’s narrowed eyes focused on Anvil.

But the valiant woman wasn’t flustered. She grinned behind her mask.

What? You think size matters? You wouldn’t be the first house I tore down!

The giant took a step forward. With a shout drowning out all noises, a sharp, white force covered its spear as it shot towards Anvil.

Unleashing her whips again the red-masked woman was ready to take on the blow. Lighting played around her weapons as they defied all logic and stabbed straight at her enemy.

On the other side, Quill appeared to be in the defensive position. Swords hovered around him. They were not only metallic but consisted of multiple elements.

Those swords did their best to block the rays of light as Quill clashed with the marquess.

Suddenly both men noticed the change on the other battlefield. Frowning, the marquess hoped that his guard could stall for time. He was confident that he could defeat Quill.

Suddenly a voice came from next to his ears. He shuddered, staring at Quill in horror.

“Lightning reigns supreme. Anvil’s whips overpower all weapons.”

Anvil grinned. She realized Quill did his job as her whips suddenly radiated a mysterious pressure, her lighting snaking up and down as if alive.

Although Anvil and Quill liked to quarrel sometimes, they have been a team for a few years now. Their tacit understanding was honed through many battles. The combination of their abilities could lead to overpowering results.

While the marquess felt shocked, Anvil’s core pulsed as well. She activated her own ability. Suddenly, Quill’s various swords were drawn towards each other.

The green-masked warrior didn’t stop his swords. It only took a moment. Suddenly all of them fused into one. A massive, colorful sword, radiating a horrifying might stared down on Marquess Roath.

The man gulped. He hurriedly tried to erect any kind of defense, but it was too late. With unbelievable power the sword shot towards the marquess.

Terrified shouts rang out. The stabilized space shook. The giant’s spear shattered into thousands of pieces as two whips punctured the silver armored woman’s chest.

Light and darkness alternated. An enormous pressure pushed the air away. Shining in gorgeous colors Quill’s sword barreled down, drowning out the marquess and cutting apart the pillar of light.

Silence fell as the two warriors cancelled their spells. Nothing was left of the marquess. A lifeless body hung from Anvil’s whip. The once beautiful woman’s face wall pale, blood around her mouth, her silvern armor shimmering in red.

Anvil sighed faintly as she nodded towards the corpse before a stream of lighting shattered it into ashes. Only a silver armor remained.

The woman deserved respect as a warrior but unfortunately, she followed the wrong master.

Suddenly the silence was disturbed by Quill leisurely voice:

“The Silver Shield Alliance won’t sit still this time. The marquess had some influence after all.”

“Yes.”, agreed Anvil. “They might send more people towards the Carrying Winds World. I’m a bit worried about Line.”

Quill turned his head. His eyes looked into the darkness, as if watching his protégé.

“It’s ok. We will take care of the alliance. Let the new recruit gather his own experiences.”