The violent rocking waves of the sea are threatening and inviting at the same time. Ear-cracking explosions resonate across the surface. Cannon balls splash into the water, awaiting the moment to join their brothers and sisters. Shouts and commands shriek across the boards only to be blurred by the gunshots and magical attacks coming from the mainland. Monsters that lurk in the cold ocean floor know better than to stay away from the sailors' fierce battle. They swim at a safe distance from the ships with constantly moving eyes, waiting for the right moment to fill their growling bellies when a creature falls into the water.
On a craft, a column of sailors had climbed atop of each other by the desk. They're a group of three males, carrying each other's legs over their shoulders. The line that they had made sways lightly, showing that they had tried this technique before.
"Ugh... Ughhh..."
"Nico, hurry!!"
"Why are we doing this..."
Mouths grumble and dressed in black, they're set orderly from tallest at the bottom and shortest at the top.
A young boy's standing behind them. His short, messy raven hair dances in the wind and his eyes are bright red cherries, with his tongue sticks out as he uses his thumb to estimate the line that his comrades have built.
"Aye!" The raven-haired boy, whose name's Nico replies, his voice's high-pitching like a youthful child.
He fixes his naval army cap then backs a few steps. Clicking his heels whilst holding his cap down, he quickly dashes to the border of the ship. Pressing his boots against the wooden floor, he bends his knees whilst stretching his arms backward, his chin tips up, and eyes stare at the dull, gray sky. Then, he jumps, doing a one hundred-eighty degree back flip.
The jump extends for about ten meters before he feels his weight dragging him down.
The boy on the top quickly spreads out his hand. "Catch!"
Nico quickly grabs his hand. Using all his strength, the boy swings the Nico upward, and the raven-haired boy rolls in midair. With his legs quickly spread out, Nico once again uses his fingers to estimate the angle he would land. Hurriedly fixing his pose, he lands exactly on the boy's back who immediately holds him tightly.
"Ugghhh!!" The boy under Nico groans as the line sways slightly. "You're heavy, Nico!"
"Shut up. At least I'm cuter than you." Nico grins cockily, sweeping a couple of his long trends dangling by his ear. Taking out his binoculars from his belt, he extends it and looks into it, gazing at the landscape before him, moving the binoculars at all directions.
"Ah! I see Derek! He is over there!" he squeals, pointing at where Derek is. "He's approaching the castle with Lieutenant General Cornelius!!"
"Do you see the queen?!"
"Um... Nope!! She's not out yet, I guess."
"How dare you! I wanna see Derek, too!"
"'Cause I'm lucky~!!"
"Ughhh!!" The boy at the bottom growls, breathing out flame as he tries to balance his brothers. "Why do I have to do be down here?! Livian, keep your butt from my face! It stinks!!"
"Uwah! S-sorry!"
Nico moves the binoculars to the leading craft. "Ah! Major General Cornelius had landed! We should catch up!"
"No, let him be." A deep, alluring voice speaks from behind them.
"Ah, Miss Callahan!!"
The woman steps out of the cabin, the clicking sounds of her heels echo in the whirling wind like a ghost. Her name's Sullivan Callahan. Sullivan stands behind them, arms crossed as her sharp and cold blue eyes survey the ocean. Her long, gorgeous blue hair waving like an ocean itself behind her back, trailing her curvy figures. She silently surveys the burning flame that was upon the land of her enemy. One would warp themselves up for they were staring at a hellhole. But not her.
"Ms. Callahan, have you came out to check the scenery again?" the man with shoulder-length damson hair-colored asks. He's the tallest out of the group, which is the reason why he's at the bottom. Holding his short comrades over his shoulders in a trembling manner.
"Yes, Daryl," she replies, tugging a handful blue strains behind her ears. "Ah~ How I miss the battlefield. It reminds me of the Great Gacaea War. Men, be sure to capture this scene for me!"
"Yes, Ma'am!"
A blustery wind rushes by the ships, pushing them forward. A chilly sensation freezes up their bones and the line totters.
"Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!" All of the boys scream in surprise.
"Hold still, Daryl! Hold still!! I can't swim!!!" Nico shouts in panic.
"I'M TRYING!!!" Daryl once again tries to balance them for he's the one on the bottom.
Sullivan smiles, her long blue hair waves beautifully, trailing her slender body. A sadistic smile on her lips, she chuckles. "That Cornelius. He's always so brave and risky. Doesn't he know he's not heading into the enemies but Death?" She inhales shakily. "Well, he can go die for all I care. Hmm, how about I pull his corpse around the city when we come back?"
"L-lady Callahan!"
"As much as we love you, that sounds too... brutal," Daryl says,
"Huh. Shut your mouth and keep the line still. Don't you dare interrupt a lady's dream," she says darkly as she glares at Daryl.
"Y-yes, Ma'am!"
Sullivan sighs and turns around, facing her subordinates. "Speed up! We're slowing down! I want to tear more bodies than Cornelius does!"
"Understood!"
She turns around and inhales again. "Those citizens of Memor can't be taken as slaves, anyway. How disappointing. If we spare one of their lives for slavery, we won't be able to restore the land to ours. Such a system. I wish the stone Ercanem didn't exist." She turns at the brothers. "Nico, keep an eye on the mainland! Report if anything significant happens!"
"Aye~!!"
After Sullivan has left to worry over other duties, Nico clicks his tongue. "Ercanem Stone, huh. What a troublesome system," he mutters, rolling his eyes and returns back to looking at the ocean. "This is why I dislike participating in war; I don't really get anything in return."
* * *
We meet the two soldiers who waited for us just a few minutes after we run outside. They're leaning against the wall. Seeing us, they move from their spots.
"You're here!"
"This way!"
They are both young soldiers in their mid-twenties.
I suddenly stop walking and shout, "Wait!"
"What's wrong?" One of them asks. He's rather taller than the other, his long messy violet hair brushes his broad shoulders and his blue eyes send chills down my back when he turns to gaze at me impatiently.
"I have to go to the prison. Cody is still there," I explain, pausing to survey their reactions. Mylene, Rupert, and Charlie are shocked for they know who Cody is. As for the soldiers, they wait impatiently.
"We've no time for that," the violet-haired man barks. "You're requesting us to spare our time at the wrong moment, cadet."
"I know so we have to hurry. Please, we'll make it quick," I beg. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up later."
"I'll go with you," Rupert says, and steps to my side.
I nod. It's expected for we had been friends for a long time. However, the next volunteer surpasses my expectation.
"I'll go, too," says Mylene, causing all of us to widen our eyes.
"What are you saying, Your Highness?" The taller soldier's bewildered, his eyes widen.
"No," Rupert responds immediately. "Stop being a pain in the ass and listen to what we said, what the queen told you."
Mylene furrows, her face is still scarlet from anger and brimming with tears. "Elius is my friend. I can't leave him behind."
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
"No, he's right," I say with concern, stopping her. "You're the Princess, Mylene. We can't have you endangered yourself just because of my self-indulgence. You go with them. We'll be fine. If we continue arguing, things will fall apart. I'm a soldier, I'm responsible for keeping you safe."
As if wanting to support my advice, the castle shakes and rumbles. Dust and small pieces fall down from the ceiling, leaking through the cracks.
"Let's go!" The taller soldier grabs Mylene's arm and pulls her with them without waiting for her reply.
Even though she doesn't protest, Mylene still looks back at us hesitantly.
"Charlie, please protect Her Highness," I call to Charlie. He turns over his shoulder and nods grimly.
The taller soldier turns at us, his face is skeptical. "Four minutes. The quicker, the better."
We nod, then turn around and make our ways to the prisons.
* * *
The clangor of swords echoes through the smoking scene. Men scream in pain clutching their grievous wounds as bows twang sending snakes of deaths into the never-ending army. The clamor continues with the clinging and clashing of metals and echoing explosions. The soldiers are bashing and gouging against their enemy under a sunless sky.
"Retreat!" The commander of Memor shouts as he swings his arm to evade his troops. "Their black holes will engulf the buildings. Slash at the openings."
His men nod. It sounds like a good plan to them.
The houses aren't empty, reverberating with screams and screeches of the civilians as the ground slippery with sludge. Then, silence passes as the men patiently wait for the enemies to advance from the smoke.
"Men, halt!" A clear voice speaks from the smoke. Loud footsteps snap the ground and all of them stop in union at the order. "Burn up." The general then snaps his finger.
Silently, the enemies begin circling the streets according to the command. With torches in their hands, they throw them in the abandoned houses and watch the orange flames engulf the woods. As if it isn't enough, the Magical Workers also murmur spells beneath their breaths as magic circles appear in front of them.
Realizing what's planned ahead of them, the commander of Memor grits his teeth and howls, "...! R-retreat!"
However, it is too late.
Within seconds, flames shoot out and coat the city in an undying orange. The soldiers shriek and use their arms or hands to shield their faces from the hot, burning air.
The commander of Memor clicks his tongue in furry. He's about to make his escape when a bloody splash resounds throughout the air. Quick pain creeps up from his back and his head is immediately separated from his neck, flying weightlessly in the air then smashes to the ground with a loud, bloody squish.
"How craven; a leader shall undergo obstacles with his troops and puts his own life on the frontier. I indeed have no hope for Memor to win in the first place, but I never image it'd fall in such a shameful way. Such a pity it is for your loyal men that serve for the kingdom for hundred of years, and yet they receive nothing even in their demises."
Suddenly, a pair of icy blue eyes glows brightly as the smoke subsides, outlining the edges of a chiseled face. The man's eyes are on them, fiercely, as the black cap shadows his expression. But they don't miss the dispassionate frown on his face. A grenade readied in his hand, the man brings it to his mouth, bites off the lid, and throws it towards his enemies.
"May Grim Reapers have mercy on you upon the Judgement Day."
The soldiers merely stand there, not noticing what he was throwing, and shriek when they finally do. Blame the smoke. Unable to run, they blasted into pieces. The explosion's incredible, blowing off a quarter of the group.
The flame reverses back at the man abruptly. Gallantly, he raises his hand. A large black space exactly as his size forms, edging the shape of a gleaming magic circle. Wondrously, the flame is sucked in immediately, no light's seen within the hole as the fire and the pieces of objects ー shattered houses pieces, a rocky fragment of the sidewalk, an arm, or a leg of some soldier ー vanish in the bottomless space.
When the smoke evaporates, the general deactivates his magic and lowers his arm. Behind him, his men advance forward with a vigorous roar, slaughtering all the enemies in their sights and clearing a path for him.
The general waits and gazes at the scene. Beautiful, tremendous architectures are now heated to piles of ashes and dust, trees lean sideways with blackened faces, and bodies of the devastated abodes lie atop each other. He sighs in disapproval of the mess. Suddenly, a roar erupts from the houses on his right. Swords high in the air, the intruder charges at him carelessly and madly as if he has no care if the attack misses his target.
ーーSurvivors!
Quickly taking a belligerent position, the general quickly uses his steel sword and stalls the intruder's blade from injuring his leg. Grunting and exchanging bitter glares, they strike the blades against one another.
"You'll pay!" the soldiers shout fiercely as their swords break with a loud clang!
The soldiers raise their sword at the same time and roar fiercely, swinging both of them down in different targets at the same time. In a flash of movements, the general leans backward, the swords barely misses his head. He knocks the swords away with his own and whilst his sword's still up in the air, he adjusts it so the blade would meet the soldier's skin and brings it down, severing his opponent's neck.
No time to take his next breath, another enemy appears by his side. Fortunately, his sword's still high in the air, readied to slash the new intruder the same as the previous soldier. The general hurriedly dodges the attack. In a blink of an eye, he sprints and pierces through his enemy's eye. Brazier-red blood sprays from his opponent's wound, splattering on the commander's cheek.
Pulling out his now blood-covered sword, the body collapses to the ground by his feet.
The general quietly inspects the scene whilst breathing heavily in exhaustion.
ーーOnly two? 'Ought to have more.
Unknown in his vision, a soldier stealthily charges at him from behind. The general widens his eyes when he senses the presence of magic and quickly swipes his head around only to see blazing white light had already gathered at the intruder's blade.
Unable to react as he realizes he's frozen with time magic, adding to the short distance they are, the general's stern. Just as the man's sword is about to meet his back, the tip of a sword suddenly pierces through his heart. The soldier immediately stops in his track, coughs out blood, and widens his eyes. His shirt comes away with dark and sticky. His sword clangs to the ground.
"Beware of your surrounding, Lupin. Everyone will be sad if you're gone, especially me."
Derek's behind the soldier. Armed with a saber in his hand, he swings the enemy to the side, the body escapes the grasp of his blade smoothly and slumps to the ground. The red-velvet liquid trails down the metal like tears.
The moment he glances at Lupin, Derek immediately beams with sharp shark-like teeth shining brightly as though he hasn't committed a murder.
"Long time no see! How had it been? Still up and at them, eh?" He cheerfully pats Lupin's back.
In return, Lupin's expression slowly softens a bit even though the frown remains on his face, dark shadows almost cover his eyes. Now that he has quite came out of the shadow of the watery smoke, his appearance slowly resurfaces.
Lupin, who's actually already in his mid-thirties despite his young appearance, has sleek pale blonde hair and blue eyes. His muscles are clearly visible despite the heavy dark green uniform that covers them. He also wears black hand gloves and a black cap that has the Bralulanian symbol of an eagle spreading its wings in front of a shield and sword embedded on it. Possessing arcane icy blue eyes, there is not an aura of friendliness on this man.
With both of the men having short blonde hair, it's difficult to tell the differences between them at first. But after a while, the similarities slowly extract themselves.
The pale blonde-haired man, Lupin, appears to be shorter by several inches than the other male who seems to be at least 7ft (213.36 cm). Despite said fact, both the men are fairly taller than the average height.
"I'm shocked. What brought you here?" Lupin questions, giving the other male the cold glare.
"Oh~ Ah, that familiar detestation I'd always receive. No less expectation from you, General~ What did they say? "The shorter you are, the grumpier you will be"? Bahahaha! But you're not short at all, isn't that ironic?"
Throwing his head backward, Derek laughs sinisterly as he holds his stomach. However, Lupin merely sneers, not appearing to lessen his seriousness in the slightest bit.
"Well, I was tasked to help you out with the war, killing and all. You know, the usual dirty work."
Scoffing, the blonde-haired male shrugs with a smug smile.
"When I heard your name, I immediately arrive at your spot, see? What a good old friend I am, aren't I?"
Lupin narrows his sharp gaze. "Your eye."
Derek blinks and touches his bandaged left eye.
"Oh, this? I was in disguise while doing a mission. You know how I am nicknamed, Derek the 'Dead-Eyed Assassin'." He rolls his eyes. "I was hoping they'd change the obnoxious epithet by now. I can't fulfill any missions without covering it." He smirks, sighing helplessly. "To be frank, I'm rather bothered, though. Guess it's time to take it off, eh?"
Bringing his arms behind his back, he begins untying the badge. As the bandage falls to the ground, his dark, bloodshot eye's revealed, uncovering a very sinister facial expression that's absolutely suitable for a villain.
Derek grins mischievously, showing his shiny sharp shark-like teeth.
Lupin stares emotionlessly at Derek, eyes unchanged and mouth remains curling upside-down.
"I see that you didn't change much."
"'Course I don't! All the ladies still swo~on over me when I cover it! Too bad they've not a single clue about my real identity!"
Derek chuckles, shaking his head in mockery as he sways his hands arrogantly.
"But I'm even happier to hear that from you, cuz if I do change then Lupin will definitely ignore me! That's a greater loss than not having a thousand pairs of eyes on me a day! And I helped you out from this deadly man, too. Aren't I deserve a praise, eh?"
Lupin ignores him as he sheathes his sword. He turns back to his army and resumes his work.
"Men, do not make a mess. We're going to reuse it afterward!"
"Yes, Sir!!"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!!" Derek chases after Lupin. Noting a new feature of Derek, there's a large coffin rests heavily on his back, rustling softly as he runs.
They march toward the west wall, called the First Wall ー the last standing wall to protect the falling castle.
~~
Nico
Daryl [https://em.wattpad.com/6b462f2f266bab403e6e79c87c95cb3fd417e9bb/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f59436131634b444f6c4f6e364c413d3d2d3232393831363638372e3134383633303339373438303664323537373835353035323236322e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Daryl
Sullivan Callahan [https://em.wattpad.com/4e629aab145e44bad5aaaa7762f94ca8ae705671/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f63735536384e6f6c726e306d39513d3d2d3232393831363638372e313438363330326466616339383130373831393231323735353139392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Sullivan Callahan
Sullivan Callahan [https://em.wattpad.com/a2a5b270e71441df936b60cb39318373e4996f67/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5442524e7252382d68442d4343513d3d2d3232393831363638372e313435383033646430666533343935622e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Lupin Cornelius
Lupin Cornelius [https://em.wattpad.com/8774dded6c7066ca3d8a557a502a286c3d61d4e5/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6a51466444384a6d6267376577673d3d2d3232393831363638372e313435383033646634613930353036632e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Derek Adkins
Credits to the rightful artists [https://em.wattpad.com/00007763b1f07025d14bab358f105ac65f45c53d/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f614178476832635a7577456437673d3d2d3232393831363638372e313435383033653132383637333332632e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Credits to the original artist
Credits to the rightful artists [https://em.wattpad.com/2a7be9ab151e83718f1b2c2526a5f41c8f69d900/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f63345671573074376f5972506b413d3d2d3232393831363638372e313436303633336563346561346366343732333034373234363839312e706e67?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]