- EIGHT OF TWELVE
Mall and Willaith felt a deep sense of fear for some reason. They didn't even register that this shadow was a woman until they breathed their last breaths… Maybe it was only then, when they could finally release their worries, that they could notice something so meaningless.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
The battle lasted less than a hundred exchanges and there were even some points they believed they might be able to win. But, the rate of improvement the masked shadow underwent was far beyond their expectations or anything they could handle.
No… It wasn't improvement. It was as though as this shadow was adapting their already ridiculously strong combat capabilities to counter the two of them specifically. It was the most shocking feat of battle they had ever seen. Even in death, they couldn't help but admire it.
The sound of two bodies falling to the ground resonated as the masked shadow finally put the young woman down.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The young woman bowed deeply. Even though her back had been torn open and was still bleeding, she still took the effort to properly bow.
The masked shadow, who was obviously none other than Aina, nodded lightly. In her hand, she brandished a spear, much different from her usual battle ax. But, it was hard to tell that if this was another training method to help her breakthrough, or if she was just trying to hide her identity. If Mall and Willaith had known that they died to someone not even using the weapon they were most comfortable with, who knew how they would react?
Seeing that gratitude of the young woman, Aina nodded lightly before vanishing.
Her mission had already been complete. In truth, she was supposed to follow Ossan around until he slipped up and could be pinned with the crime of spreading false rumors by the Luxnix family. But, this was just the third day and he had already failed so epically.
Rychard knew that Ossan had his elder brother's followers cleaning up after him so he had sent Aina here to interfere with their cleanup duties. The fact that Mall had put up such a convenient barrier only helped her out.
The battle had been more difficult than she thought it would be, though. The two might have been from the First City, however they were under the umbrella of their families. Only when you became Junior General would you be assigned to a city based on your own strength.
This was to say that a Junior General from City Six like Samson was far stronger than a youth without a title form the First City. But, it was clear that Mall and Willaith had been refraining from applying to become Junior Generals so that they could continue to protect and clean up after Ossan.
If they applied now, Aina guessed that they would either be elites in City Six or even mainstays of City Five. They weren't simple characters, indeed. But, that also meant that since Ossan's elder brother, Gradeyr dared to send them here without worrying for their dissatisfaction, his true subordinates were far more powerful than this.
It seemed that the competition of Heirs was ramping up as they slowly reached maturity. The closer they got to the Sixth Dimension, the closer the elders of the past generations would be toward having to make a final decision.
And now… Rychard had thrown down the gauntlet.
…
The young woman watched as Aina vanished, the sounds of the city entering her ears once more. She looked toward the dead bodies and panicked slightly before regaining her bearings.
One part of her wanted to go home and forget that any of this had ever happened, but she was much smarter than this. She knew that the fact Aina had come here to save her was not a coincidence, this was definitely planned. Now, even if she wanted to, there was no way out of this.
If she really went home, she bet it wouldn't be long before Aina appeared before her again. And, if that happened, rewards she could have monopolized for herself would probably end up in someone else's hands.
Gritting her teeth, the young woman made her resolve.
It was exactly like this that a small character set rolling the events that would embroil three planets into chaos.
**
Ossan snored away like some sort of big baby. The bed he rolled about on was easily enough to fit half a dozen people comfortably, and yet he somehow managed to go from edge to edge without much effort.
The smell in the room was absolutely foul despite how high end and luxurious the accommodations were. Unfortunately, no amount candles and incense sticks could match the fog of alcohol, vomit and shit stain inducing farts.
However, it was exactly then that Ossan's dreams came to an abrupt end.
BANG!
The heavy oak doors of the hotel room flew off their hinges, shards of splintered wood sprinkling through the air and falling to the ground.
Ossan, no matter how much of a deep sleeper he was, was instantly awoken. Fear, shock and confusion colored his features. It was clear that he had no idea what was going on. He had just been in a land of dreams when he suddenly heard a lot of banging, shouting and roaring.
If it was just a battle, that would be fine. But, it felt like all this noise was being aimed at him? Why? What had he done? What the hell?
At that moment, a middle aged man wearing tight, white leather armor walked in. He had a twelve pointed star radiating a delicate light on the left of his chest and two beautifully embroidered feathers on both of his tall collars. To his waist, an exceptionally thin sword could be found—so thin, in fact, that one might not even be able to tell that they had been stabbed until it was far too late.
Ossan's expression changed and the fog of his mind finally vanished when he saw this middle aged man. It was as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head as he was stunned awake.
This uniform could only be worn by the most elite guard of the Luxnix family. While the Viola family had Vassals, the Luxnix family had Feather Star warriors and this man actually had eight of his twelve star points illuminated!
Ossan didn't know what he had done, but he knew that it was serious now.