Chapter 15: 'Rapunzel Rapunzel Let Down Thy Hair!'
The night air was sharp and restless at the village gates. Pak leaned against the cold stone, fighting off sleep.
"Hey, Dam… wouldn't it be better if those damn beasts just didn't show up? I'm getting a bad feeling from these clans who came here claiming to investigate the raids."
Dam, more alert but equally weary, exhaled. "If only wishes were horses. Feel that? Stone's vibrating, beast roars are shaking the foundations already. The visitors do give me a bad feeling, like there's more to them being here. Still… if they wipe out the beasts while chasing their own goals, I won't complain. As long as they don't bother with small fry like us."
Neither man noticed the shadows moving below. Two cloaked figures slipped from the city's heart, sabres gleaming faintly. In silence, they cut down the three guards at the base of the gate. No cries, no alarms. The wall above remained oblivious.
Then, with a rush of wind, another figure landed between Pak and Dam. More assassins spread across the wall, cutting down sentries before they could react.
"Lord IK… the raid hasn't started yet. What are you doing here?" Pak stammered, recognizing the sinister man before him. IK — grandson of the Floating Elder, one of the Grand Elders of the Wind Pavilion's Asian headquarters.
"Oh, but it has," IK said, voice dripping malice. He drew twin sabres. Before the guards could even flinch, steel flashed — their bodies split in two, blood spraying across IK's face and clothes. He licked his lips, looking more monstrous than man.
The cloaked figures returned, striking a hidden switch. The massive gates groaned, opening slowly.
Far in the forest, the horde stirred. Rain wolves, lightning panthers, sulphur bears — beasts numbering in the hundreds — surged toward the village, their roars shaking the night.
"Lord IK, the guards have noticed the gates opening. They're alerting others," one assassin reported.
IK smiled. "Tell the Wind Pavilion members and our coalition — your dark mercenaries included — there's no need to hide anymore. Burn the city. Kill the protectors. Cleanse everything so no one can expose what happened here."
Chaos erupted. Coalition fighters turned on Lightning Pavilion defenders, blades flashing as buildings caught fire. Screams mingled with beast roars as the village descended into hell.
Lightning Delights
IK stood beneath Ana's window, twenty men at his back — five Wind Pavilion elites, the rest hired muscle. He laughed, voice carrying through the night.
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair! Hahaha!"
No answer. His grin twisted. With a slash of his sabre, the walls of Lightning Delights exploded upward, stone and timber shattering from ground to roof. Wind howled through the wreckage, carrying the cries of beasts and villagers.
A fiery blade tore from the rubble, shaped like a four‑clawed dragon. IK scoffed, blocking with his left sabre. His wind mandate surged, forming a serpent‑like dragon that swallowed the flames. The hurricane scattered fire into the ruins of the first floor.
From the rubble, Taka emerged, blood streaming from a gash in his shoulder. His eyes burned with fury.
"Who told you you could interrupt me when I'm speaking to your master, dog?" IK sneered, his followers laughing cruelly.
"Taka," he mocked, "what can you do with your pathetic fire mandate? You think my clan leader will care? You won't even survive the night."
Taka's aura flared, heat rippling across the courtyard. Flames licked his blades as he charged, leaving trails of fire in his wake. With a swing, he unleashed a towering surge of flame.
IK split it effortlessly, stepping through the inferno unscathed. His laughter was manic.
"Don't you get it? You're weak. If you were a girl, I'd have made you my bitch."
Taka roared, swinging again, his blade carving a wave of searing fire. IK dodged with ease, his wind mandate snuffing out the flames.
Shock flickered across Taka's face — hesitation that cost him dearly. IK struck like lightning, severing Taka's right hand in a single slash. A brutal kick sent him flying, blood spraying as he crashed into rubble.
"Hahaha! Is this the protector of the village? Pathetic!" IK jeered, appearing where Taka fell, kicking him deeper into the ruins.
"Stop it, IK! This is not the time for your madness!"
Ana's voice rang out from the top floor. She stood in her nightclothes, eyes blazing, sword materializing in her grip. 'Voice of Lightning'. Sparks danced across the blade, her knuckles glowing as clouds gathered overhead.
The storm had arrived....