Democratic republic of Pelkesk, Kapono City: 936, February 13th, Friday, 1:00 PM.
Lucy raced through the cramped streets of Kapono—having been left behind by her specter in an attempt to protect her from Chimera officers. A pair of tall figures in hooded capes chased after her with inhuman levels of speed, pushing aside the crowds of people with little effort as they forced open a path towards the girl. Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs while she begged every person around for assistance, reaching with her tiny hands at any individual who she came across—simply passing through them like a ghost moving through walls.
One of the hooded figures reached out with his arm and –to her choking dismay, snatched her off the ground and held her in the air by the ankle. Lucy squirmed and cried with all her strength in a desperate call for aid—but to the crowd however, there was only a tall hooded man standing still and looking at his own fist.
Under the hood, the concealed eyes of the man burned with an intense azure light, staring straight into Lucy’s—which glowed with a crimson similar to the specters. A painful scream escaped the girl’s lips as the man increased the pressure in her ankle—proceeding to grab her mouth to silence her.
The aggressor is forced to let go of the girl however—a powerful flying punch connecting with his chin and hurling him away into a group of passersby. The nearby yelps of the crowd attracted the attention of the public, cars stopped in the middle of the road and people approached with their phones to record the event.
Tormod’s burning fist emitted steam through the cheer force of the impact. He stood on guard facing the tall hooded man—whom proceeded to reveal himself by setting the cape aside. A dark-haired man who wore a blue tunic with black trousers, a stream of azure light ran inside his body like blood flowing through his veins—the unmistakable artery network unique to the gladean knights, the divine pathway.
“A gladean knight,” the detective snarled. “Not my lucky day...”
Lucy tried to hide herself within the crowd as the second knight approached and revealed himself, possessing similar features to his partner—almost like twins. Bianca cut his advance and stood behind Tormod, facing the second knight and holding both her daggers high.
“I won’t lie to you, lass!” Tormod’s nerves caused him to gulp. “This isn’t looking good for us...”
The first knight sprinted towards him and swung his fist in an incredible display of velocity. Tormod blocked the first attack with his arm, but was taken off guard with a second strike from the knight—receiving a brutal hit to the stomach.
Saliva spat out of the detective’s mouth after taking such a powerful attack—bending him forward as he grasped for air. The crowd gasped at the unimaginable amount of strength and speed displayed by the knight, who turned towards the startled Lucy to continue his pursuit.
With shaking legs and a flinching eye, Tormod charged the knight with a hook of his own. His opponent simply caught the fist on his palm without even turning to face the detective, taking a hold of his wrist and flinging him into the wall of the nearest building—shattering part of the structure into rubble. A blur covered Tormod’s vision as he attempted to lift the pile of bricks burying part of his body, witnessing Bianca struggle with the second knight through his fading senses.
The assassin’s already absurd speed met its match as the knight kept dancing around her attacks—effortlessly avoiding and deflecting her blades. Distracted by her target, Bianca was caught into a chokehold by the knight that sneaked behind her—squirming violently in an attempt to break free from his grasp. It didn’t take long for the assassin to start losing consciousness, desperately grasping for air with her vision fading slowly as her eyes became heavier.
“Excuse me...” A rough and distorted voice called out to both knights from nearby.
A black-haired man whose eyes remained cloaked under a black cap put his hand on the knight restraining Bianca—holding his shoulder tightly. The knight’s azure stream of arteries became infected with a crimson color at contact, his divine pathway shutting off like a malfunctioning flashlight. As the motionless knight hit the ground, a strange blue fire dissipated his body into azure embers.
At the sudden turn of events, the second knight stood on his guard and faced the black-haired man—only to be tackled from the side by the specter that accompanied Lucy. The creature held the knight on the concrete by his head, the presence of such a demon scattered the crowd as they ran and screamed for their lives.
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Overpowering the specter however, the knight took its claws off his face and connected a powerful strike on the creature’s face with his fist. The impact broke the exoskeleton on the specter, leaving a large fracture that split its face in half. The black-haired man groaned in pain and fell on his knees, spitting blood from his mouth.
Bianca lunged at the knight from the back, both her daggers in hand and ready to strike. With a quick spinning kick however, the knight connected a potent attack against the assassin’s chest—knocking her out of the air and into the concrete. With his back turned to the specter, the creature used the opportunity to land a powerful blow on the side of the knight’s head—hitting him a strong swing of its palm.
Tormod arrived to grab a hold of the staggered enemy, locking the knight’s arms by using both of his hands against his head. The detective’s strength proved to be insufficient however, as the knight broke out of his grip with a powerful headbutt against his face. Free to retaliate, the gladean knight connected a strong hit on Tormod’s face with the back of his fist—buying himself enough time to block the specter’s incoming assault.
Taking a hold of the creature’s arms, the knight responded with a side kick to the specter’s legs—breaking its balance and sending it off with its back against the ground. Putting pressure with his boot on the monster’s chest, the man proceeded to pull away at the specter’s arm and slowly ripped them apart until they separated from its body. With his opponent lying defenseless on the floor, the gladean knight put his foot on the specter’s head and proceeded to stomp against it multiple times.
“Leave him alone!” yelled Lucy, slamming her hands against the knight’s leg with tears running down her face.
“Damn it...!” the man wearing the black cap unsuccessfully attempted to stand back on his feet—observing the knight as he lifted the girl by the head.
Putting further pressure into the specter’s head, the gladean knight leaned forward and let his entire weight fall on the dying creature. Unable to handle further pressure, the specter’s head cracked open under the knight’s boot—shattering into pieces and dissipating into embers as its life came to an end.
Lucy cried brokenhearted at the sight of her companion’s life being taken away by the knight. She swung at the air with her short arms in an attempt to hit her captor, screaming and sobbing with her face burning red like her eyes.
The sensation of a hand reaching for his ankle caught the knight’s attention, noticing the black-haired man lying on the concrete with a snarl on his face. “Leave the girl alone...” he growled.
Strengthening his grip on the gladean knight’s ankle, the man’s crimson energy ate away at the man’s azure arteries—infecting his entire body. The knight’s body became stiff and fell to the ground motionless, releasing Lucy and dissipating into azure embers.
The girl stood back up in a panic, and kneeled on the concrete—sobbing with teary eyes as she looked to where the specter lied dead before disappearing. “Viktoria...” she wept, cleaning the tears on her face with her hands. “Viktoria...”
“Sovereign... answer me, Sovereign!” Yeon’s agitated voice brought the black-haired man back to his senses—receiving a call from his earpiece. “Where are you?” she demanded with a growl.
The man chuckled with pain in his voice at the sound of his employee’s pleas. “You’ll give away my identity... if you keep screaming like that.” he tried to calm Yeon’s nerves with a casual response.
“King is working with Chimera, if they see you...!” she warned him with urgency.
A shocking gasp left Lucy’s lips as she lifted her head towards the sound of a loud siren in the distance. Fearing the presence of Chimera officers and now the gladean knights, the confused and terrified girl ran off as far away as possible—leaving Sovereign behind.
“W-wait-ugh!” he attempted to take Lucy’s arm, but his crumbling body prevented him from reaching the girl. “I know... I just found out.” Sovereign replied to Yeon’s warning, standing back on his feet with great effort.
“Kill her,” Yeon’s cold demand reached his ears. “I don’t care what you promised, we can’t lose you here.”
“You know I won’t...” Sovereign replied calmly—not giving much thought to his friend’s request.
“Sovereign... damn you!” she cursed in a burst of anger. “I’ll try to make a distraction however I can, don’t get yourself killed.” she growled at him.
Democratic republic of Pelkesk, Kapono City: 936, February 13th, Friday, 3:30 PM.
At a desolate alleyway, Tormod and Bianca’s unconscious bodies leaned against the wall of a building—mostly covered under ragged clothes. The detective was the first to awake, looking around in bewilderment as his head kept spinning.
“Ugh... my head...” he groaned in pain. “Lass? Lass, stand up.” he noticed the assassin sitting beside him.
The girl awoke at the sound of his voice, standing back on her feet with shaky legs. ‘Where are we?’ she wrote in her board.
“Somewhere safe, I hope...” Tormod replied, resting his head on the wall. “I’ll be honest with you, lass.” he told Bianca—taking the fake pipe from his vest and blowing bubbles with it. “I don’t think I’m ready for what’s to come...”
END OF CHAPTER