"How inspiring"

!!!

Oscar felt a shiver crawl up his spine the moment he heard the unfamiliar voice. His heart raced, the warmth from Edwin's reassuring touch dissipating as if stolen by the very air around him.

Slowly his gaze shifted toward the frame leading to the outside to see a man perched on the windowsill. The man was silhouetted against the bright moonlight, his figure framed by the empty window, giving him an ethereal quality that was unsettling as it was captivating.

He looked like he had stepped out of a storybook. His sleek black hair flowed smoothly around his face, falling just enough to soften the sharpness of his angular features. The man's skin was pale, almost luminous in the dim room, and his silver eyes caught every flicker of light, reflecting it back with a chilling intensity.

Those eyes roamed over them, lingering, in a familiar way to Oscar, like they were examining their worth. He looked to the fallen rookie paladin in the corner, then back at them. A smirk played at the edges of his lips, curling just enough to show that he was entertained by something.

"Who the hell are you-!"

Oscar's breath caught as Edwin sharply stopped speaking. They both felt a wave of dread wash over them. There was something about this man, like he was wearing an armour of charm, he looked almost friendly, maybe even approachable yet that glint in his eyes told another story. Beneath that polished exterior lay something deadly.

Oscar wanted to tear his gaze away from the cold silver eyes and run.

Edwin took a step forward as if shielding him, his jaw clenched radiating a protective fury that was almost tangible. He clenched his fist, his body vibrating with a barely contained rage as he shot a menacing stare to the stranger.

"I asked a question! Who the fuck are you?!" Each word was like a blade meant to cut.

The man raised his eyebrow clearly unbothered by the hostility. He slipped down from the windowsill with a fluid grace, his movements precise and measured as though every step was part of a carefully orchestrated performance.

"My, my," he drawled, his voice was smooth as silk as he looked from Edwin to Oscar with a glimmer of amused curiosity. "Such strong words from the knight in shining armour." His gaze settled on Edwin but it was Oscar who had felt the weight of it most. "You two make quite the pair, don't you?"

Edwin's grip tightened and with a single swift motion, he bent down and seized his sword from the floor, never once taking his eyes of the man. The blade gleamed in his hand, catching the feintest traces of light as he held it steady, the promise of violence was clear.

"Hurry up and answer me!" Edwin demanded, his voice low and dangerous.

"I guess if it will ease you two's nerves, allow me to introduce myself," The chilling man then acted dramatically as he placed a hand on his chest and crossed his feet and bent down forward.

Oscar had only then noticed that the man had what looked like a doll, a rabbit doll holding itself around his neck.

'How had it not fallen?' The cheeky thought had made it's way into his mind.

"My name... is Lance Onida! Silver rank paladin."

"Hah," Edwin spat out an insulting chuckle, "All that sneaking up and fake scary presence and you're not even a gold. Fucker you don't even know what you're walking into."

Lance looked up with a smile, "Then let's get to the main course."

Lance dashed forward in a breath of speed and got past Edwin and reached his hand out for... Oscar.

Edwin was quick to react and leaped backwards and sliced down between them..."Hand's off him freak!"

Edwin then felt a hand on his chest, it was Lance. He pushed him back with some force to which Edwin fell over but did not hit the ground. Instead he had fallen on top of hands, hands carrying him out of the room in a quick pace.

Oscar looked to the man who gave him an eye smile.

"You wait here for a minute, I'll be done soon."

___

Lance was wandering the streets searching for some of the juniors since they were scattered and then he ran into this building listening to the brutal beatdown one of the rookies were receiving, he knows he should have stepped in but he's going to leave that out of his report anyway.

He walked confidently as he watched the young boy scramble to his feet with determination blazing in his eyes.

"You know, if you just turn yourself in you could get a lighter sentence. I can assure that. You still are a victim here." Lance was being honest, these children were victims from the little he knew anyway.

He doesn't know about Grid and frankly he doesn't care, Lance has his own goals, goals so great that his mind cannot be occupied by rubbish of this calibre. He brushed the hilt of his sword as he thought on it.

"Fuck you!"

Expected, but so harsh even though Lance was trying to be kind.

Lance had no intention of drawing his sword on the young lad in front of him, not so early anyway. There was very little need for steel against an opponent whose every move was laid out before him, like pieces of a chessboard just waiting for him to make the first move.

As Edwin launched himself forward, Lance shifted ever so slightly, pivoting with a dancers grace. He sidestepped just as Edwin's blade came down, barely missing his shoulder. In one fluid motion, Lance brought up the sheathed sword and struck Edwin across the ribs, a quick sharp blow that sent him stumbling to the side.

There was no malice in Lance's movements, just cold clinical efficiency.

Interesting, he mused silently as he observed Edwin's stance recover faster than he had expected.

Edwin undeterred, gritted his teeth and shifted the grip of his sword. In a flash he shrank down to a fraction of his size, almost disappearing from sight. Lance's silver eyes narrowed, noting every detail-- the slight shimmer in the air when Edwin's size shifted, the way he redistributed his weight as he went in for a strike. Lance's mind catalogued it all.

In an instant, Lance's hand shot out, and he brought his sheathed sword down like a hammer, aiming right where he anticipated Edwin would be. A tiny yelp sounded as Edwin was forced to grow back to normal size mid-dodge, avoiding the full force of the blow by only a hairs breadth. Lance chuckled, his amusement unhidden.

"You're a little fast." He didn't want to finish off his sentence as he may tip him off on his plan.

Edwin scowled, his brow furrowing in frustration. He grabbed a nearby chunk of debris from the broken wall and shrank it down to the size of a pebble, clenching it in his fist. Lance's gaze flickered to the object, a glint of interest in his eyes.

A versatile ability limited by one's creativity.

Edwin hurled the pebble at him, and in a split second, it expanded mid-air, transforming into a boulder that filled the hallway, aimed straight at Lance.

Lance's face remained calm as he twirled around the boulder and blocked an incoming slash that came from his side.

He looked behind him to see the corridor they had came from was now blocked. Good.

Lance then kicked Edwin back with some force before his OD flared, Lance had finally decided to use his ability... [Puppeteers Genesis].

Slowly but surely forms of what looked like mannequin appeared, all standing at a height of an average teenager. He could make them bigger or smaller if he wanted.

...but this should be enough.

Lance's ability may be mistaken for a regular paranormal power, but it is actually an Ego tool. He creates homunculi. Mindless and soulless dolls that operate with his mind frame.

"Can the knight continue to fight, or do you want to surrender?" Lance was getting bored.

Lance's homunculi surged forward, a wave of silent figures with plain average faces were moving with mechanical precision. Each step they took was a synchronized dance of intent, gliding effortlessly across the floor.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Lance could see Edwin's eyes stutter in shock as he tried to assess his situation. The boy turned around and ran. Lance went on the prowl along with his minions, he didn't want to lose the boy to his ability.

Luckily he only ran into a dead end, sword tightly gripped in his hand as he was slowly beginning to lose confidence, flickering like a flame alit a candle against winds of uncertainty.

"I guess it had been long enough now." Lance announced as he looked at a rather expensive watch that was on his hand. "You should give up knight, I'm not your executioner or anything like that. Just needed to lead you away from the children in that room."

Lance smirked when he seen Edwin's breath hitch, he could practically feel the familiar knot of dread growing in his gut as he realized what Lance was actually here for, Just a distraction!

The kid in front of Lance gripped his head tightly as the mask fell from his face. He was muttering to nobody but himself about his failure, spittle was dribbling from his lips and onto the ground as he squeezed his head tighter.

From how hard he was pushing, Lance thought he would have to step in and stop him from crushing his skull like a watermelon.

But then the kid turned to him and gave him an empty hollow look, that was a look Lance knew all too well.

He doesn't believe.

Lance knew that Edwin had to confirm it with his own eyes that Oscar had been taken from him.

And in a rush of wind Edwin burst from his position completely ignoring all the homunculi, !

Lance couldn't see him. The teen had shrunk himself and his sword and even his bloodlust. It was all gone, gone until Lance could feel the cold metal in his gut. It turned upwards and then was slashed to split him in half.

"Die Fucker!"

Lance's vision was flooded with the stark reality of the moment-- the sharpness of the pain, the sensation of steel running through and parting flesh, and the suddenness of the world turning crimson. He felt his body crumple, collapsing under the force of Edwin's rage, blood spilling out in a brilliant arc.

.

.

.

And Edwin had rushed off to the room that he had left Oscar in.

The body that was just cut through had fallen to the ground with a loud thud as he left the room. Blood spilling everywhere forming into a pool of red.

"Should have confirmed the kill. Dumb brat!"

The voice was disembodied, echoing through the air as Edwin dashed away, racing towards the room where Oscar had been left. The words dripping with disdain, came not from the fallen but from one of the homunculi.

Lance could feel the darkness creeping in, the cold fingers of death crawling in around him. But, it was a familiar sensation, one he had danced with before. With a final surge of will, he staggered into the light, feeling the power surge within him.

The form of one homunculi around the dead body began to morph, shifting and expanding. Muscle rippled beneath the surface as hair grew just slightly past it's ears. The blank canvas took on a more solid and defined shape and even a heartbeat.

Lance Onida emerged, alive and well, tall and defiant. The cold smirk returned to his face as he took in the limp body on the ground, turning it over to see an ordinary plain face that matched that of his other homunculi.

He ripped the clothes off of it and put them on before grabbing his most prized possession. His sword. The little rabbit though, well that thing was busy.

"Just had to transfer myself to one of my blank canvases." He drawled, his voice smooth and taunting.

The scene was drenched in an eerie quiet, until he heard the shout's of Edwin calling out the name "Oscar!"

As Lance glanced over the scene of their confrontation, a sense of calm washed over him. Such determination.

"He clearly doesn't fight solely for whatever Charlie Liber wants." Lance said to himself. "It's for that boy."

Lance played around with the idea in his head before jumping from one of the windows and sticking to the shadows as he left the building.

Once he was a short distance away and on route to one of his puppets that should have been leading Arte Graham and Oscar Dempsey away he took out his phone.

{Retrieved Target=)}

___

He hurt all over.

Arte had hurt all over, he was running as fast as he could away from the building he had just been fighting in. Strangely he was woken up by a doll that was moving.

The rock was taken out of his mouth and he could hear fighting when he had woken up. He shook haziness out of his head before looking back to the rabbit-doll pointing toward a kid. "Oscar", he was shaking at the sight of Arte.

But even though Arte was hurt all over he knew that this was his moment.

He scooped the kid into his arms even though he looked as though he was about to try and push him off, he then jumped out of the window of the second story of the building and was now on the run, following a doll.

Oscar was squirming in his hands and tears were flowing out of his eyes.

"Hey, Oscar. Your name's Oscar right?" Arte stopped shortly, he believed he was far enough.

Arte thought that he needed to try and calm the child down, not knowing the first step to doing that. But due to some minor experience in something similar he decided to place him down and kneel to his level.

Oscar raised his arm to wipe away the tears and looked at Arte with cloudy eyes. He nodded.

"I promise, I'm not here to hurt you in any way." Arte started, he was stuttering so he tried to be more assertive, he thought on classmates of his, like Chloe or Robin, they seemed to have the personality to calm him.

"We paladin have been neglectful, but we want to do better now, so please just give us a chance."

The crying stopped, his dull blue eyes matched Arte's, unblinking and lost.

His head faced down before he waddled closer to Arte and whispered, "Then... please don't hurt Ed."

Arte was confused until he remembered who he had just fought and lost to, that still stung but he didn't even expect to win, Edwin was Ed.

"It's just, Ed, he's been doing his best... I don't want him to die." the plea was haunting.

Arte wondered if that is how Oscar had seen him when he was fighting for his rescue. In all honesty Arte had never been in a fight and tried to avoid sparring as much as possible, so he didn't even believe he had it in himself to kill.

But there was obviously another paladin fighting Edwin Duval.

Arte glanced in the direction of the building that he had run from.

'Should I go back?' A stupid thought he knows, but the pleading and shattered look on Oscar's face made him think these stupid thoughts, it made him want to make sure that someone that had tried to kill him was still alive.

He wishes he had his phone on him right now. Arte stared back down to Oscar...

"I swear it, Edwin Duval will not die. He will be treated fairly."

Empty promises, he didn't know if he could keep it but he had to lie to keep moving forward.

Yeah, keep moving forward and get Oscar to safety.

Oscar nodded and seemed a little more hopeful and allowed himself to be scooped up again as Arte lifted himself up with a groan as he took slow and steady steps that evolved into a jog before a run towards the light.

After a brief while Arte began to hear a voice.

"{Hellooo...}" He stopped and turned back wondering what it was before hearing the voice again.

'That's Cole.' He recognized. "{Arte, you still alive?}"

'Oh yeah.' Arte almost forgot about one of the most important pieces he was given on his way out.

A tag with a communication rune was stuck to his upper right shoulder hidden by the sleeve of his uniform. He was praising his luck right now remembering that to communicate with teammates they still had to be in a close enough proximity to you.

"{Yeah, I'm alive.}" He said under his breath. Oscar, bundled in his arms looked up to him in confusion. "{And I've got the kid. I've got Oscar.}"

"{For real!?}" It was now Corey's voice that had spoke in surprise, the two of them didn't sound like they were in any trouble, they sounded fine, like they usually did.

How Arte envied them.

"{I honestly thought we could have lost you there, we didn't even tell teach.}"

That wasn't reassuring but Arte couldn't waste his thoughts on that right now.

"{Never thought you would have been the MVP though.}" Cole said almost sounding disappointed.

Cole then asked where he was and Arte gave an explanation as to where he was as best he could. Both Cole and Corey had promised to get to him, they had also said that they had notified everyone else on field through the alert system on phone.

Arte was finally relaxing, things were going good. He had completed the mission, not completely on his own but that was never the plan anyway. He was just happy that it was coming to an end.

He would hand Oscar to one of the kids, hopefully be carried along with him to emergency aid and finally rest as the mission should be over.

But then he felt something. Oscar's squirming didn't make it any better, Arte felt a pulse in the air, and then a few meters ahead of him, he seen a swirl of motion appear only for a hand to emerge with a dangerous individual appearing in place.

'The fuck is he doing here!?'

Arte and the rest had been told that this man was attacking another city far from San Diego.

But no... "It seems Ed had some trouble looking after you didn't he little Oscar?"

Charlie Liber was here!

It was an unearthly presence, his very breath seeming to shroud the air with an invisible mist that thickened with each passing second. Arte's heart thudded against his ribcage. He felt like prey under the gaze of a predator, unable to move as it felt as if his body was locked in place by something stronger than fear itself.

The bloodlust radiating off of him was suffocating. It coiled around Arte's throat, pressing down with an invisible force making it hard for him to breathe. A sheer and tangible malice that promised pain.

The metallic blue of his eyes seemed like a deep swimming pool he was being submerged in as it was slowly closing in, feral and hungry. Daring Arte to move.

In that moment, Arte shrank, he dropped the child in his hands unknowingly and dropped to the ground slowly backing away.

He remembers Charlie Liber breaking into the school and taking on his classmates.

'How did they face him?' That was the only coherent thought that came to his mind.

A thought that would constantly remind him of his inadequacy. How he was not like his peers, how he should have chose another path.

Arte's inexperience weighed down on him like an anvil dropped on his chest. The danger and brutality Arte could sense in this man could be looked at as one sensing a looming storm.

"Sorry little paladin, I'm going to kill you."

Arte's body froze as the man's voice, cold and edged with cruel certainty, seeped into his bones. He barely registered the movement-- a flicker of silver slicing through the air-- before a jolt of pain erupted deep in his abdomen. For a moment, it felt like a punch to the gut, a forceful blow that stole his breath. Then, the pain began to spread, slow and creeping, snaking it's way up to his torso and into his chest.

His mind wavered, a strange numbness washing over him, drowning out the searing ache as he staggered backward. His hand drifted down instinctively to where the blade had entered, his fingers brushing warm, sticky blood that now stained his shirt, a dark rose blooming against the dark fabric.

The world around Arte grew heavy, sounds muffling as if he were now fully immobile under water. His vision blurred, the edges fading, darkening. While his pulse echoed in his ears like a distant drum. He could still feel the gaze looking down at him, watching him crumble, eyes now completely indifferent.

His thoughts began to unravel, 'I don't wanna die!'

Scattering like the fallen autumn leaves in the wind, 'I don't wanna die!'

The world dimmed to a narrow, shrinking tunnel. 'I... can't...'

Arte Graham was found bleeding out in a suspended state of animation by one very angry HERO.