Rain poured down from the sky relentlessly pounding the ground. Rushing down the road amidst the rain were a man and a woman in a carriage pulled by two large beasts. The manner in which the man was recklessly controlling them would cause onlookers to only imagine what kind of rush they were in. Suddenly as if out of nowhere, five individuals clad in black burst from the forest onto the road trailing the carriage.
What was most peculiar about these five however was the fact that they were not riding on anything. They were pursuing the carriage on foot! The people of Kray could only dream of moving that fast and yet here were five people doing it.
“Bram, how long do we need to chase after these two?” The individual to the back of the five said. “Until we catch them of course” Bram instantly replied.
“But why? We almost never undergo a task without at least knowing the reason.” The individual to the back was very frustrated about how this job had been given to them and why he had to pursue two people who merely gave off the feeling of poor folk.
“Orders are orders. The guild rarely tasks out the five of us so this job must be completed. We can not afford to offend the master.” Bram was tired of this conversation and focused his attention on the pursuit. In that moment luck struck the five black-clad individuals. The carriage had hit a nasty rock and sent one of the wheels off its axle. The carriage skid to the side of the road and came to a halt.
Instantly the five black clad individuals surrounded the carriage. A murderous aura filled the air. Without hesitation a blur shot out from within the carriage in the direction of the woods. The person standing closest to the woods was utterly shocked. A movement technique of that caliber would have an extremely heavy cost on the practitioner. In the moment that this happened another shadow emerged from the carriage wielding a massive broadsword. The man stood there like a large boulder glaring at the five black-clad individuals.
“Pity we do not care for honor and pride where we come from. Five against one. I hardly see you putting up much of a fight before we go and finish off that blur that I assume to be your wife.” Bram seemed to spit the words like venom at the man in front of him. He wanted to kill the two and end this assignment without any unforeseen hindrances.
“Even if you were to immediately bypass me and pursue her you would all not have even the slightest bit of hope at catching her.” The lone man said to the five individuals in front of him. “That movement technique is fast to the point that it looks harmful on the body and yet she can keep it up for hours.” “I’d have to see that to believe it.” Bram quickly retorted. “If she could truly move that quickly why didn’t the two of you run the instant you knew you were being trailed?” Bram felt rather proud of himself for poking this hole in the man’s logic and eagerly awaited what fabricated nonsense the target would spew out next. He rarely talked to his targets but this was due to him taking on assignments that required quick assassination with utmost discretion. He reveled at seeing his prey struggle.
The man had a very succinct reply, “Because I’m as slow as you lot.” As soon as he said that he raised his sword and prepared himself for a fight to the death. The five black clad individuals all raised their weapons. Three of them used short swords, one was wielding a dagger in the left hand with a sword in the right, while the final individual was wielding a lone dagger.
The lone man instantly swung his sword towards the two that were standing to the left of him. They swiftly dodged and moved to his side not yet intent on counter-attacking. The five were willing to probe and carefully deconstruct the style of the man. The man was alone but the aura he gave off was similar to that of a large boulder and one hit from his sword could likely paralyze if not kill instantly. The man’s goal however, was to free up his back and direct it towards the forest. Broadswords have the power to take on several opponents at once, but clearly the people in front of him were most likely all agility type practitioners. If he were to attack without thinking it through at least one of the five would instantly rush his blind spot and deal a killing blow while the others would be able to chase after his wife.
“Yo Bram, let me give this guy a try. If I can’t even defeat such a slow guy on my own than I wouldn’t be able to show my face in the guild again.” The individual holding the dagger and short sword proclaimed. “Shay, I know you wish to test your skills and prove yourself to the master but you should clearly be able to feel the aura he’s giving off. Not only is he ready to die, he’s willing to use any means to drag us along with him.” Bram flatly stated. He continued, “But I am willing to let you test yourself, if you need help we will instantly jump in.” “Mn” She grunted and then dashed towards the man. Shadow Spirit’s Movement Shay yelled out in her mind. Instantly the woman turned from one silhouette in black into three. She swung her swords at the man’s head while directing the daggers at his waist. She wanted him to try to parry the blows so that she could redirect the dagger and quickly slice his throat. The broadswords weakness was its heavy weight that made agile movements and redirections difficult. The man had other plans. With one powerful swing of his sword he blew the images away and blasted Shay back five meters.
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Not willing to be pushed around so easily Shay used Shadow Spirit’s Movement to the utmost of her abilities and made it seem as though there were five of her. Immediately following she yelled out “100 Strikes of Death” and slashed ferociously with both her dagger and sword. The trick to this move was that it made it seem as though there were 500 slashes about to strike. Its name however was intentionally deceitful and also why she yelled it. Only one strike was not a feint and it was done with the sword as to instantly kill the opponent. The man stood calmly, as long as all five did not attack at once he stood a chance at winning and escaping with his life. He saw through the trick and blocked the fatal strike with his sword while dodging some of the lesser swings that would still damage him if they hit him. Shay jumped back and said “I alone can not injure him much less kill him. We may as well attack together and pursue the woman.” Bram nodded in agreement and signaled for them to all attack at once. The man swung his sword and dodged to the best of his ability but received several wounds and only managed to break the sword in one of the attackers hands. The individual whose sword he broke instantly pulled out another of similar quality. After a few quick exchanges the five paused for a moment and stood in front of the man. The man seemed to be deep in thought for a second and then roared “Titan’s Wrath!” He knew the costs of doing this but could only think of his wife and protecting her future. His aura which could earlier be compared to a boulder now dwarfed that boulder. He was as imposing as a mountain. He swung his sword and the force from the blade shot out and sliced an unprepared Bram directly in half. As blood spewed out of Bram’s mouth and life slowly flickered in his eyes like a dying flame he uttered “Im…poss..i..ble.”
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Without even touching him, the man killed one of the pursuers. The other four had a look of absolute shock. Part of why this happened was the surprise nature of the attack while the other part was due to the appearance of the man. The man appeared to be in his early twenties and he wore an old-looking shirt and pants that had several holes. The only redeeming thing about the man appeared to be the thing around his wrist. It was made of some fine metal that began at his wrist and wrapped halfway up his forearm.
The four having witnessed what they assumed to be the full strength of the man decided to abandon all caution and focus on dealing a killing blow as quickly as possible. They moved to surround him and unleash their most powerful killing moves. Noticing their intent, he swung his sword in a large circle. With that movement he decimated everything within a hundred meters. He sliced anything that came in contact with his blade or the wind it released directly in half. Blood splattered everywhere and covered the road and nearby trees. Trees that had been sliced in half if they were too close. Realizing what was happening Shay threw out her dagger and it pierced through the man’s neck. Her body pieces fell to the ground and a sinister smile crossed her lips.
As the man fell to his knees and then the ground all he could see and think about was the beautiful image of his wife. Her long flowing hair and flawless green eyes that had first caught his eye and led to him falling in love with her. The long walks they used to take at night while talking about nothing of importance. The time he first said I love you and the look in her eyes as he said it. His last thought before his consciousness faded and he hit the ground was regret at not getting to see his newborn son grow up.
Rain continued to fall down and time crawled on.