Mercy is dead. What frail embers of pity remained in her heart died at that moment as power coursed through her veins. What once was a dull world roared back to life as Lucy took it all in.
The cold wind prickled her skin, heralding the stench of iron. The dying sunlight flickers the last of its rays across the world, nightfall is coming soon. Yet it all paled in comparison to the burning indignation in her heart.
"Vekrum." A cold mist escaped her mouth as her vision and speed improved considerably. Though it was not as detailed as Orum, nor was it as fast as Vekra, it was enough to jumpstart her senses to battle.
Seven souls. Seven unfortunate souls who had the misfortune to earn her ire. The blade was gone, but something far more dangerous had replaced it. Power. Pure, undiluted, and burning power was now coursing through her veins.
Lucy glared at her assailant as they met hers. Though all eyes were burning in yellow, only two glowed as bright as gold. It was Lucy and the champion before, Aiel.
The young maiden had her eyes locked on Aiel as she reserved only a token of her attention for the others. Gifted by Torvas they may be, they were no champions.
The stare down felt like seconds stretching into hours, when one of the sellswords made a grave mistake. Her gaze shifted for a moment, but Lucy did not miss it. They all followed where that gaze was, and it made abundantly clear why.
It was the blade that escaped Lucy's grasp. Only 8 ft away from both sides. As if a quiet signal had been given, the two sides bolted towards the blade.
"Vekra." The two champions whispered as their body and mind accelerated in a heartbeat.
Aiel swung at the sword, aiming to deprive his opponent of a weapon. The blade flew another good 10 ft away from her grasp, though Aiel did not have the chance to celebrate the look of annoyance in Lucy's eyes as she threw a sharp jab.
Aiel avoided the blow just in time, but at his retreat, it had given Lucy an opening. An opening she did not pause for even a heartbeat as she ran towards the nearest sellsword. The men and women could only blink in mute surprise at the young champion's new target.
"Run, you fools!" Aiel screamed, but it was too late. They did not have the time to fall back as Lucy quickly raced towards Fiel, a blade weaver. Though the man manages to react adequately, it is far too simple, far too predictable for a veteran who was molded in the fires of war.
The former captain of the verdant typhoon who led entire battles barely blinked at the coming blade. Her steps remained constant, her breathing steady. The blade nearly bites its target, but Lucy sidesteps at the last moment.
Memories and instincts guided her hands as she slapped the guard of the blade with uncanny precision and power. The swing overextended to Fiel's dismay, forcing him to let go of the blade when Lucy threw a sharp jab, the same jab that broke Veklan's throat.
Although the quick decision saves Fiel's life, Lucy has a new blade in hand. "Kalva be damn you all, get out of here!" Aiel screamed yet again, but it was too late. The blade was already swung, aiming to pierce Fiel's abdomen.
The man tried to continue his retreat, but the bad terrain had forced him unknowingly behind a tree. There was no time to evade, death was now- the young champion suddenly flinched, creating a small gap that Fiel did not hesitate to take.
The man manages to save his life yet again, but he does not escape unscathed as he had to part with his stomach skin for his life. The cut was deep, blood pouring out by the second but thankfully, not lethal. Though it burned as if a snow wolf had taken a bite.
"Fiel!" The Obsidian Heralds screamed in dismay as Lucy tried to take another blow, but Aiel lashed out just in time, forcing her to redirect her blade to meet his blade instead.
The young champion redirected the blade with frightening control. Burning amber simply staring back, devoid of fear. Even as Aiel repositioned himself to follow up, Lucy was already countering back, forcing him to abandon his momentum and retreat instead.
"How deep is it?" Aiel heard from one of his crew, Telva, who quickly attended to Fiel's wounds.
"Wench almost got me. Kalva be damn, she's dangerous cap'n." Fiel moaned in pain as Telva quickly bandaged the wound.
"What happened? I thought you were cornered!" Telva hissed as Fiel flinches. Before he could reply, however, the answer came on its own as Fiel pointed towards the young champion.
With a look, an understanding quickly graces the group. "You are one lucky bastard, you know that?" Telva grimly commented as they watched Lucy stretch her left arm several times.
"She's injured then. Maybe we can take her together-"
"Absolutely not." Came the captain's quickly replied.
"But captain she-"
"She almost got Fiel despite her injury. Do not test our luck," Aiel rebuked sharply as his crew withered without complaints this time.
Any other time, Aiel would have formulated a plan. Any other adversary, he would fight with his crew, even if it was a champion. The monster standing before him, however, mocks at the very prospect. To drag his crew here would be to throw away their lives.
The captain of the Obsidian Herald had already lost seven. He would not lose an eight. "Guard the perimeter." Aiel began, eyes remaining on Lucy. "She might have called for help. If it came, signal the retreat." There was silence before protest ensued.
"B-but we come so far! We-"
"I will not lose another man if I can help it. Gold we can earn anytime, yours are not." Aiel said, muscles tensing in anticipation when Lucy stopped stretching. "If I fall, run as far as you can." This time, the resistance was stronger.
"Not sarding happening, cap'n." Despite his weakened voice, Fiel's will remained strong.
"We're in this together, boss. Whether you like it or not." Telva added when a deep chuckle escaped from his oldest friend.
"Trying to be a hero eh Aiel? Well, that is just unfortunate. I too want to be one." Frax rumbled as Aiel let out a groan.
"Kalva be damn, am I dealing with children? She is a champion; you can't take her." Aiel hissed in annoyance, but the group remained determined.
"Aye, but there are six of us. We can take you and run if we have to. We are not leaving you here to die." Frax growled in defiance.
"Frax, didn't you swear to harm no children? Are you willing to break that oath now?" Aiel hissed, voice edging to desperation for his crew to listen.
There was silence before a low chuckle infected the group. "Then we will have to do with five now do we?" Fiel's called out, emboldening the group to continue louder.
"You speak as if you would live to see the next sunrise, sellsword." The group was rudely pulled back to reality as they matched the glare in the young champion's eyes. Soft amber met hard gold.
"You believe you can take us all, little girl?" Frax replied as the others sneered back in agreement.
"I don't need to believe what I already know." Lucy replied in cold confidence as the group's glare hardened.
"Arrogance is the downfall of all," Telva replied.
"A fine wisdom that you should take heed of." Lucy snapped back as she lowered herself slowly. The group tenses as Aiel shot a glare.
"Go now. I need to focus." The group opened their mouth to protest, but quickly sealed it as they dispersed in all directions.
"They are all going to die." Aiel tightened the grip of his blade. Despite being decades older than her, the nightmare before him spoke as if her appearance was an illusion.
"If I fall, that is. One I am keen to avoid." Aiel replied as he prepared in a stance.
Lucy had already fallen into a stance. Like a cat ready to pounce, she was only waiting for a signal.
"Why?" So, it came as much confusion to Aiel when Lucy continued to speak. There were no incentives to continue, she already had the upper hand. Continuing now would only give Aiel a chance. A chance he was eager to exploit.
"What do you mean?" Aiel replied, shifting to a more favorable position slowly so as to not cause an alarm. The pause was long, the silence palpable as Aiel continued to move.
"Why do you persist? I've already proven more than a handful, why are you hellbent on ruining my life?" The question made Aiel pause. For a moment, the monster was gone, only a terrified young girl remained.
No. Don't be deceived. Aiel quietly chided as he recovered from the jarring change. "Why else miss? For coin. We all need it. Some of us are not so fortunate to be born without such troubles." Aiel replied as a bitter laugh escaped from Lucy.
"Aye, I'll agree to that. Some of us are not that fortunate." Aiel bristled at her words as he replied in measured tones.
"You think you have it hard miss?" A tinge of iron infuses his tone. Lucy stared blankly for a moment before a derisive laugh escaped from her.
"Look at me sellsword. Do I look like a pampered whore?" Aiel flinched at the vitriol Lucy spat out. "Do you believe I live a life of luxury? Coins to waste for silk and wine?" Lucy shook her head lethargically as if the very gesture itself was heavy.
"You have enough food for the winter. You did not have to starve nor toil for a single day." A reply finally came, finding it hard to believe his own words.
"What a dream that would be. To live and toil with a family... what would I do for a life like that." Lucy sneered disdainfully, though the look of jealousy within her eyes did not escape Aiel much to his disturbance.
Genuine or not, Aiel forcibly shook himself back to reality. He was finally in place. "It is not a good life." Aiel tenses his muscles, readying to strike.
"Perhaps, but it is a life far warmer than mine..." Lucy chuckles, closing her eyes as if to imagine such a dream. The opening presented itself. Aiel lunges forward, aiming to disarm the distracted champion. "...though for now, I need to bury seven more." Golden eyes snapped back to life, glinting dangerously in anticipation.
Stolen novel; please report.
Aiel felt his gut screaming for danger, but he pushed onwards. Just as the tip of the blade made contact, Lucy suddenly released her grip, allowing the sword to slip past her right hand into her left with the aid of the momentum from Aiel's blade.
It was only thanks to Aiel's augmented reaction that saved his right eye from Lucy's vicious upswing counter. Aiel quickly pulled back, trying to rally after the failed ambush, but Lucy would not allow it.
Filled to the brim with power once more, Lucy hounded after Aiel without reservation this time. Like a gathering storm, Lucy throws blow after blow without pause. Exhaustion should have come faster than before, yet Lucy showed no signs of stopping.
Not long after, wounds began to resurface across Aiel's body. The overwhelming surge of lethality had caught Aiel hard. He was forced to retreat time and time again, allowing Lucy to dictate the flow of battle.
Kalva be damn! Who raised this beast? Aiel internally roared as the blade danced across his hands, deflecting and parrying the steel blade just in time before another took its place. For a moment, it seems the older champion would be overwhelmed.
From the outside and to the Obsidian Herald's dismay, Aiel looked as if he was going to die. Unlike the horrifying spectacle outside, however, the two champions knew all too well something was amiss.
While Aiel did take wounds far greater than before, the amount was not what the two had expected. It was far less than Lucy would have wanted. By the 27th exchange, the reason had become as clear as daylight.
It was far shorter than expected. Lucy's violent storm of blows did not have the reach that would have ended Aiel by the 37th exchange. She needed a spear. The lack of range soon became evident as Aiel began to push back.
Adjusting slowly, Aiel begins to match her pace blow for blow. Even with the jarring unpredictable pattern, the range was the same. Aiel could work with that as he begins to push forward.
Progress was being made. With every wound he took, he would block five more. With every step she took, he quickly regained. The process was slow, but discipline and patience were something he had in abundance.
Soon enough, Aiel manages to find stability, one he can outlast the young lady's stamina, no matter how monstrous. The Obsidian Heralds who remained, let out a quiet sigh of relief. It was only a matter of time now before her supply would run out again.
Though Aiel could feel his supply dwindling at an alarming rate as well, he was not alone, unlike the unfortunate young lady. He only needed to last long enough for their supply to dwindle and- a cloud of dust blinded his world.
Aiel quickly closed his eyes as he swung his blade forward. In a duel between men, the effects were negligible. In a duel between champions, it was a fatal mistake. Even as Aiel retreated, the unmistakable sharp bite of steel in his left leg rocked his world in pain.
His instincts roared to retreat, to buy time and assess the damage to his body. A step was all it needed to confirm his fears. His balance was off. The wounded leg, though not crippled, had killed any significant movement he had. Movement he needed to keep fighting.
When he opened his eyes, another blow pierced dead center on his right shoulder, lacerating the muscles within. Movement was gone, and now his sword arm was gone. Lucy ruthlessly tears apart his defenses one by one, ensuring defeat with terrible accuracy.
Aiel tried to mend the wounds in a desperate measure to keep fighting, but the virescent spear did not even pause for a heartbeat as she smashed Aiel's nose with the pommel of her blade with all the might she could muster, dazing Aiel and halting any attempts of healing.
Aiel tried to hold on with his trembling legs and already unstable balance, but the two knew then that it could only end with his death now. The steel knight watched on in horror as Lucy raised her blade for the kill, swinging it downwards to-
"Stop!" A loud voice boomed across the woods, amplified with power.
Lucy turned sharply before her heart dropped beneath her feet. The young lady turned to see Emma being held with a dagger fixed mere inches from her throat by the other Obsidian Heralds. All they needed to do was apply pressure and the older nun would die.
Desperation guided her body as Lucy pulled the injured Aiel to his knees, fixing a dagger on his throat as well. "Release her!" Anger and horror fused as her hands trembled. The tides shifted in an instant as the Obsidian Herald hesitated, but remained firm.
"Let go of him or she gets it!" One of the Heralds screamed as the other roughly shook Emma who shouted back.
"D-don't do it, Lucy!" The older nun screamed, fear rich in her tone, but remained strong for the younger nun who looked back in panic.
"S-sister Emma, why are you s-still here?" Lucy tried to keep control of her voice, but the trembling tone had not convinced anyone. Even Aiel who felt death's cold embrace just mere inches, could feel the slight shaking of her hands.
"W-why? I don't understand! I-I told you to run! W-why didn't you listen?!" Lucy demanded an answer, but it almost sounded like a plea as Emma hesitated. Though she tried to hide her eyes, Lucy could see the warmth within them, even after all she had done.
"I can take care of myself, damn you!" Lucy shouted in frustration as Emma flinched. "I can kill them all, sister. Every last motherless bastards here!" Emma's eyes widened in horror as Lucy's eyes burned in cold confidence. "I can and I would. Your worry is needless here, so why-"
"No!" Emma screamed, full of panic as it caught everyone off guard. "D-don't say that, you insolent child! Y-you don't need to do this!" For a moment, fear escaped her eyes as she glared at Lucy with a look a mother could only give.
"S-sister Lucy, please, you don't have to kill any more than this." Lucy flinched as Emma continued. "U-Urum's light would still embrace you, my child. I would still have you. So please, come back to us-"
"We are not here for your sermon, sister." A Herald cut off Emma as she shouted back. "Let go of Aiel you sick freak!" A female Herald screamed as she glared disdainfully at Lucy. The young nun visibly flinches for a moment before her eyes morphed into a glare. Her grip renewed as she met the Heralds' gaze.
"Release her, and you'll get your captain back." Her voice was as cold as winter as the Heralds glare hardened.
"T-that won't happen." Aiel chuckled as he caught their gaze. "They are here for the bounty, lady Emma. Whether I am alive or not, they will have it." Lucy's eyes widened, but her grip remained.
"A-Aiel! What are you saying-"
"Don't let that nun go. Even if I die, she is your bargaining chip." All eyes widened in horror for all the different reasons. "Keep her safe and you wil-." Lucy dug the dagger slightly against his neck.
"Another word and you're dead." Lucy snarled as the Heralds cried out in alarm. Aiel could only laugh.
"And then what?" Aiel challenged as Lucy could only glare back in response. Both knew all too well of the consequences.
"And then everybody will die. Not even their children will live." Aiel stared back as Lucy met his. Cold silence seemed to reign in for a moment before a smile crept up on Aiel's lips.
"You lie." A slight twitch was all Aiel needed to confirm Lucy's bluff. "You cared too much for that sister, lady Emma." Lucy's eyes trembled as her breath hitched once more. In that moment of weakness, Aiel screamed.
"She's afraid for the nun! Don't-" Lucy gagged Aiel's mouth, but it was too late. The Heralds understood in a heartbeat as they pressed the dagger closer, drawing a shout of pain and blood from Emma.
"No!" Lucy screamed as Emma shook her head for her to stay still.
"Last warning wench. Release him or she dies!" The Herald holding the dagger roared as tears stung Lucy's eyes.
"Bastards. All of you." A hoarse whisper escaped from Emma's throat, but they remained unmoved. "To drag a young lady to your craven life. Honorless wretches to you all. Kalva damn you all." Emma cursed as Lucy slowly let go of the injured Aiel.
"That's it. Nice and slow." The sellswords let out a sigh of relief as Lucy shoved Aiel roughly away. "Now, the weapon. Throw it." The dagger digging on Emma's skin slowly retracted. The sisters could only bow down in defeat as Lucy was forced to-
Emma was tackled to the ground.
The world seemed to freeze as Iva tackled Emma away from the captors. Away from the immediate striking range of the Heralds. Not large enough to get away, but enough to make a difference. Enough for Lucy to see an opening.
"No!" It was the last thing Aiel could say before Lucy blurred.
"Dashva." Lucy whispered as power flared within her body, burning her reserves at a frightening pace, but giving her the burst she needed to do what she needed to do. Within a heartbeat, Lucy crossed the distance. Within a moment, she threw Emma and Iva away to a safe distance. Within a second, Lucy turned to the offending Heralds.
Her reserves were not enough to kill everyone then. Fortunately, she didn't need to. A mere fraction remained from her reserves, but she managed to lacerate four of the original six. Deep wounds, but not fatal enough.
Howls of pain echoed across the woods as Aiel rushed for his crew. To his dismay, the four wreathed in pain from the ground as blood seeps out from their wounds. The two Heralds who were left unscathed desperately tried to mend their allies.
"Why are you here?!" Lucy hissed at the trembling little girl, whose wide eyes darted between the screaming Heralds and the harsh yet terrified glare of Lucy.
"I-I saw y-you run here. S-so I fo-followed y-you t-to see-"
"You what?" Were it not for the scarred and bloody appearance, Iva would have heard the worry in her voice, but the anger in her voice was far more potent to the terrified little girl as it further amplified Lucy’s murderous visage.
Emma, who soon shook off her stupor, quickly shielded Iva's eyes from the violence, sadly, the screams could not be blocked. "Y-you brazen child! This is not a place for you to play! You-"
"L-Lucy I think we s-should discuss this later." Emma said as another painful scream proved her point. Lucy flinched as she sternly stared at Iva for a moment before nodding back.
"Can you move?" Lucy asked as she quickly repositioned herself between the Heralds and the two. Their focus was gone for the moment as they tended to their wounded, but that was about to change at any second.
"I-I t-think I can?" Emma answered uncertainly as her legs trembled at the realization of how close her life had ended then.
"Good. Go back to the orphanage. Seth would protect you there and-" Lucy was abruptly cut off as Aiel violently charged at Lucy. Scrounging what little reserves she had left, Lucy did not dare counter, but defend instead as she rationed her meager supply.
"Lucy!" Emma shouted in dismay as Lucy deflected another death blow.
"Go!" Lucy shouted back as she ducked just in time for a blade to overpass where her neck had been.
"B-but-"
"Go damn you!" Lucy roared as her guard broke, resulting in a shallow cut beside her right cheek. The young lady could not afford to listen to whatever Emma's reply was and simply hoped she listened this time as she dodged a stab aimed at her heart.
The burning glare within the steel knight's eyes brokers no peace as Lucy was forced to deflect and divert blow after blow. The ringing in her ears seemed to grow louder and louder as the exhaustion in her muscles grew heavier and heavier.
Power was almost gone when Aiel grabbed her shirt before hitting her with a headbutt. Dazed, Lucy tried to retreat, but her weak foothold made her fall instead, saving her just in time as Aiel stabbed once more.
Lucy managed to buy a few more seconds of life, but that was all it amounted to. Seconds. Merely delaying the inevitable. She tried to move, but was pinned down by Aiel's boot against her chest. A blade hung mere inches from her throat.
Her flickering golden eyes bled back into cobalt. In that moment, power had finally been spent. Not a single drop remained. Lucy immediately tried to refuel her supply on her own, but it was too slow, too little to matter.
"I should end it here." Aiel growled as Lucy glared back. "This not how it was supposed to be. Kalva be damned, the information was wrong. I am going to gut that pig when this is all over." Lucy's eyes widened as her breath stilled for a moment.
"W-what?" Lucy asked, confusion in her eyes as Aiel grinned.
"I had to give it to you lady Emma. You were one hard rat to find. Not even the royal guards, with the help of your family, managed to find a single trace of your existence. They were looking too far ahead when they should be looking here." Aiel relished the panic building in Lucy's eyes.
"T-then how d-did you find me?" Lucy whispered weakly, wracking her head desperately for any mistake she had made that blown her cover.
"Why who else would but that mayor of a pig?" A cold grip tightened around her throat as her eyes widened in shock.
"T-the mayor?" Lucy whispered in disbelief as a mocking laugh echoed from within.
"Yes, Jhavik, that damned pig, proved useful for once." Her mind blanked out as anger washed over her body. A single mistake had cost her everything. Lucy could not believe how a mistake robbed her of her new life in an instant.
"But that doesn't matter now." The pressure increases as Lucy struggles to breathe. "Don't worry, by the time you wake up, you are going to see your family again. Isn't that wonderful?" Lucy paled as her struggle increased, but after using Dashva and burning her supply completely, she was simply too weak and tired.
Lucy slammed her hands desperately against his leg to no avail as her world began to darken. Terror encapsulates her entire being before it completely-
The pressure was suddenly gone as Aiel jumped back mere moments before an arrow slammed into where he had been standing. Lucy quickly gasped deeply as she retreated away from Aiel.
"Aiel we have to go!" A Herald screamed as Aiel was forced back yet again as the light slowly began to return to Lucy's eyes.
"No! We are so close! We-"
"We'll all die if we stay here captain! The others will die! We can't fight another champion! We just can't!" Another scream echoed as Lucy's eyes widened in surprise.
Champion? An ally? Lucy turned to find where her supposed new ally had been. She felt Aiel throwing a glare somewhere. The young lady did not see him, and his ilk retreated so quickly as her vision was still returning.
When she finally could see, however, they were already gone. Nowhere to be seen. Lucy quickly hunched low as she tried to find where the champion was coming from, only to freeze at the sight before her. Her blood felt like ice as her pupils trembled.
It was an arrow made of dazzling topaz light. A solar shard, only be shot by champions who have a compatibility with a bow, but it was not that caught Lucy to freeze. It was not that an unknown champion had aided her, nor that the Obsidian Heralds were forced into a retreat by an unknown. No, it was the fact that the solar shard's presence was familiar. Too familiar.
It was just like the shard... that killed her.
"Lucy! Are you all right?!" A familiar voice snaps her attention back, burying the fear inside as she prepares to shout out a warning. She was mere moments from screaming for him to duck when she saw the bow in his hand.
Her eyes widened in pure disbelief and horror as she looked up to see a familiar man with red hair and emerald eyes filled to the brim with worry and fear... holding a familiar bow that had shot her.
"Seth?" Lucy whispered, accusation and denial rich in her voice as she stared at the man who had killed her.