The fierce assault on the provincial capital was ongoing.
Bone walkers rode through the streets, unsteady on hungry thrall steeds. Their forms were unstable as some bone walkers held weapons, trying to swipe at soldiers below.
Most of the time, due to the impulsively ravenous nature of the thrall horses, they would ram straight into soldier lines, making it even more difficult for bonewalkers to attack while upon the rampant steeds.
Meanwhile, wisps and thralls worked hand in hand as always. The wisps became far more efficient at wearing down soldiers, while some thralls started finding hidden spots to ambush and kill unsuspecting soldiers.
All adding to the horror.
The battlefield was intense, but one captain charged through it, slashing away at the clumsy horsemen as they came charging toward him, his strength undeniable.
He held a two-handed greatsword, with full leather armor covering him from head to toe. His eyes burned with hardened resolve through the holes in his leather helmet.
His mind raced as he panicked.
I've been fighting these things for a good bit now, and there's been no progress on the battlefield. Damn it all!
He stopped in his tracks, skidding on the ground, and cleaved a group of lowly thralls in half.
"Why are we so stagnant!" he queried himself as he surveyed the battlefield.
Seeing no squads, no structure—everyone was scattered around. Some tried to put up new barricades, but the thrall horses would lunge and ram them immediately before they could finish.
"Curse this forsaken capital!" he sneered under his breath.
He turned back around, hearing a guttural neigh coming his way along with simultaneous galloping.
The man gritted his teeth, swinging his blade at the first horse and cleaving its head clean off. Raising his leg, he kicked it off course as it went careening into a structure, breaking the bonewalker that sat upon it on impact.
Immediately, another guttural neigh alerted him. He simply stepped to the side, raising his axe onto the bonewalker's head, then descended with it. The bonewalker's bones crumbled under the pressure. The axe proceeded to separate the thrall's torso.
Each part tumbled to the ground, both parts trying to move but unable.
The captain just stood there, unfazed, huffing slightly.
"This battlefield is way too chaotic," he said, reminiscing over his kill.
This moment of respite didn't last long. He heard more screaming, but this time it was mortal anguish.
Soldiers of all kinds struggled to fend for themselves in this unforgiving environment. Some were being feasted on by thrall horses, others impaled by bonewalkers, sucked dry by wisps.
He clicked his tongue. "Where could the other captains possibly have gone… I can't possibly save everyone here—it's way too much!"
His eyes narrowed on a line of dried blood. He followed it, leading him to a thrall in its slow pace, chasing an injured female elf medic. Painstakingly, with one arm on her abdomen and one pulling her dead companion, she limped, barely pulling him inches. All the blood came from his torn body. She huffed bitterly as the pain was too much for her to bear on her own.
The thrall growled as it started to gain on her.
Until a blade came swinging, smashing the thrall's body into fleshy mush effortlessly.
The decayed flesh and rotted blood of the thrall splattered everywhere.
The woman looked in awe at the captain, his figure stoic as the blood and flesh rained down, not touching or staining him.
Standing there, he looked down on her. Then his eyes flickered toward the soldier. His body was clearly brutally mangled and torn—deep bite wounds, ripped flesh still clinging to his body.
Thralls may have been slow, but their strength compared to all types of lower-leveled undead was unmatched.
The man's eyes dilated completely.
"Captain Everett, I am glad you came, sir! My friend—he got hurt trying to save me and—"
As she babbled, the captain looked between her and him, remarking in his mind: False hope… this assault has already broken the soldiers here. His thoughts were clear.
Eyes flickering toward hers, he shook his head.
Her relieved expression dropped. Her eyebrows raised as she shook her head side to side. "Captain, no!"
"Leave him here and—"
She cut him off. "I couldn't possibly do that! He's still alive, Captain—I know it!"
The captain just looked at her, his face cold, as he planted his greatsword into the ground.
"NO, CAPTAIN! I CAN SAVE HIM, I SWEAR! HE'S NOT DEAD YET! THIS IS WHAT A MEDIC DOES! THIS IS WHAT WE ARE FOR—TO SAVE THE INJURED—"
As she spoke, the captain grabbed the body from the ground. She didn't realize at first, but then she saw his body fly to the side. As she looked, she saw the body flail through the air, the soldier's mouth slightly bent into a smile.
His body landed in a pile of dismembered thralls that were trying to make their way toward them. Instead, they tore him apart limb from limb, feeding on his body.
Her mind blanked, aghast at the actions of the captain, but it didn't fully sink in yet.
"Not even the best medics can save what's already dead." His voice was calm, his gaze watchful of the surroundings.
His eyebrows softened at her face. A tinge of remorse washed over him, but he stayed quiet.
Suddenly, firm but light footsteps came from behind him.
His face hardened, gritting his teeth. Mana flared thinly around his body. Grabbing his greatsword, he twisted and swung at the threat.
Only to meet in a clash with a 6'5" Bonewalker wielding a black greatsword.
Their blades sparked against each other.
"You're a big one," he said through his teeth. Captain Everett glanced back at the medic, still on her knees.
"GET OUT OF HERE AND SAVE YOURSELF NOW!"
But no answer was heard.
Looking back at the battle, his muscles tensed to their maximum against the bonewalker's might.
He heard something clatter on the ground behind him.
What, is she still behind me?! he thought, annoyed.
But all he saw was a dagger in both her hands, her satchel emptied completely. Before he could get a full glimpse of her, the bonewalker pushed against him, forcing him to pull all his focus toward it.
Whatever. Let me deal with this thing first—I can't risk taking my focus off it.
As the captain started to push back, he roared, about to overpower the bonewalker, their weapons grinding against each other.
Until a line of blood streamed past his leg.
His eyes widened. "It can't be—am I bleed—"
But before he could continue, he was overpowered and smacked away by the bonewalker, making him skid on the ground. As he hit something that tripped him, he crashed down to the ground on his back.
His helmet loosened due to the bonewalker's force and rolled off when the captain landed.
"What tripped me...?"
He lifted his head up. His mouth widened, sadness already overwhelming him as he got up and crawled toward her body.
"She slashed her own throat..."
His mind raced as he punched his own head in agony.
"WHY, DAMN IT! WHY!"
Bonewalker Two just stood there, greatsword resting on its shoulder, demeanor cold.
Mana started to surge from his body—way more than any normal D-rank captain should be able to produce.
"Curse it all. This is a battlefield, after all. Isn't it? This is where it only gets harsher. This is where if you can't move, you will be swallowed whole," he muttered, his mana thrumming with each syllable.
He picked up his greatsword. As soon as his foot reached over her body to touch the ground, he blitzed forward.
Clashing blades with the bonewalker, who was ready, the force of their blades cracked the ground beneath.
"ISN'T THAT RIGHT, YOU WASTE OF GRAVE SPACE!"
The thickness of the captain's mana made his body slightly heavier, thus more impactful. The bonewalker lost the clash, being forced back, but it kept its skeletal feet planted. Its own reinforcement mana now swirled around it.
He took a breath, readying his stance. But before he could lunge in, the bonewalker rushed in first, leading to both continuously clashing blades as their strikes connected consecutively.
Both keeping up with the other.
Somewhere else in the capital, a mage was struggling to hold off enemies.
I can't find them… It would have been better if we stayed together like I said, but they really thought it would be better if we split up—not understanding the sheer amount of undead monsters in variety here.
He said this while he exploded groups of unsuspecting undead attacking civilians and other soldiers.
"If they just listened to me, we could have rallied up soldiers, but they just had to think that it was a better idea to split up to cover more ground—dumbest thing I've ever heard."
As he continued his rant, a bonewalker upon its thrall horse came galloping toward him. He jumped back slightly, conjuring blue glowing threads of mana which sprouted from his fingertips. They stretched out, wrapping around its legs. Then, raising his palm, he charged up a bolt, frying and electrifying both undead.
I could clear them out easier if I could just use Fireball or another spell of that destructive capability, but because of the amount of soldiers and innocents here, it would put them in jeopardy…
He bit his lip, deep in thought, still firing more bolts at the undead.
Though it may be ineffective to fight little by little like this... it's way better than being the direct cause of deaths by my own hand. So I will just have to do it the hard way—trying to save as many as possible…
Using one hand, he whipped multiple threads out, catching a structure that was about to collapse on some injured soldiers.
Either way, the Wardens are here, so we're bound to win this.
His thought ended, satisfied with the conclusion.
Suddenly, he felt an eerie presence behind him.
A stone spike protruded from the ground. He turned around slowly, still visibly shaken. A thin mana barrier surrounded him.
"What was that? Was it another wisp…"
"No, it can't be."
The eerie presence appeared again, clawing at his back.
"AH!" This time, a stone pillar raised behind him.
But the presence hit his face, slamming the mage captain against it. Then, before the captain could even talk, he was repeatedly beaten, his body continuously pummeled so much so that the rock itself was being cracked under the pressure.
Not long after, the captain conjured two balls of electricity in his hands and clapped them together. This created a shockwave of thunder. The presence was consumed by it and sent flying backward.
The mage's hands billowed with smoke. He stumbled, his mouth dripping with blood, his face and body bruised from the pummeling.
He quickly shifted his hands behind him, threads coming out and stitching up his wounds.
His thoughts raced as he looked ahead at his enemy slowly getting up—it was the Wraith Skeleton, its shadows creeping back onto its skeletal body.
This undead is tough… like nothing I've fought so far. Nothing like those wisps—they couldn't get past my barrier, but he could. He was clearly phasing through it… but he's also physically stronger. My body is aching already.
The mage grunted in pain as some blood spurted from his back wounds.
His body slanted. "I won't have time to heal, so I'll just seal them up."
As he crouched, one hand remained on the ground as he used his other to stitch his back.
A mana barrier flickered around him. The Wraith Skeleton disappeared and reappeared around him. His teeth stayed gritted through the whole process of stitching while he intently kept an eye on the Wraith Skeleton.
His mind still raced.
Well, my options are thinning. I can't layer the barrier to stop it due to the amount of mana I have left—if I did that, it would put me at a disadvantage… so instead…
A circular dagger came from each side, but earth pillars sprouted from the ground, blocking them. They deflected off, swirling away into the sky.
At this point, he had finished stitching.
"I'll go all in with one plan."
Eight pillars appeared all around him, reaching several feet into the air. They boxed him in a square shape and obscured his vision, only allowing him to see the sky. His lips widened.
From above, in the middle of the box of earthen pillars, descended the wraith, its claws out, going for the captain's back.
One hand still crouched on the ground, the captain turned to face the wraith.
This plan starts with taking advantage of that carelessly overused ability of yours.
The wraith phased through the barrier. The captain was already reaching out his hand, lightning coalescing at his palm. As soon as it unphased, trying to attack, he sent a controlled burst of lightning from his palm to the wraith's wrist, which got rid of the shadow upon its wrist and hand. He instantly grabbed it tightly and immediately hardened his hand with earth, crusting his skin and increasing his grip strength, making it nearly impossible for the wraith to break free while simultaneously raising another pillar from under them.
The wraith tried to phase, but the rest of its body did, while its wrist remained unphased.
Yes! I was correct—it can only phase what is covered by its miasma.
The pillar beneath them raised above all the other pillars. The captain smirked. As the pillar stopped, he lifted his palm and charged up lightning, his eyes gleaming with it too.
He grinned deviously as the Wraith Skeleton struggled.
The spell grew wildly, sparking, even scorching the mage's hand slightly.
"This is everything!"
The Wraith Skeleton managed to snap its arm free, then backed off the pillar. But the captain had already seen this and sent the fully charged bolt toward it as he himself kicked off the pillar, shouting, "MEGATON ELECTRON!"
The ball of unstable lightning blew up immediately, consuming the Wraith Skeleton. The spell exploded in a blinding light, destroying all the pillars. Debris scattered everywhere.
The captain ended up landing on the ground. His barrier saved him from the fall.
He stood up.
Then he heard footsteps. Eyes widening, he looked up as a circular dagger hit his ward, bouncing off it but cracking it slightly. He raised stone spikes from the ground and threw them toward the now-skinned Wraith Skeleton—its shadowy layer gone, all that was left was its bones and one arm. It dodged all the stone spikes as it got close.
Its orb sockets burned as a circular dagger circled back.
As the captain tried to fire a thunderbolt, the wraith twisted into the air, grabbing the circular dagger and descending with it full force, its maw wide open. The dagger hit the crack, smashing through the barrier. And as the dagger came, the captain's expression went from shocked to relaxed as he closed his eyes. The blade impaled right through his neck.
His head came clean off.
The Wraith Skeleton stood there as the captain's body slumped to the ground, screams filling the atmosphere of the battle.
It opened its maw. The soul of the mage floated out of his body, the soul traveling into its maw. The more it absorbed, the more the shadows appeared, covering the wraith's body.
Then, when it finished, it cut off the mage's arm. Cut off all the skin. The arm went on its own socket, mana solidifying the connection as the shadows traveled, encasing the new arm.
It grabbed its other circular dagger, putting both with itself.
Then it disappeared,
Bonewalker Two and Captain Everett were still going at it.
His thoughts raced. The captain panted, thinking to himself: This thing has got a lot of power behind those strikes. I've already been hit a few times. Luckily, my reinforcement can dull the damage. The only thing is that it's not leaving even a slight opening for me to hit it.
The bonewalker was running simultaneous attack and defense. Everett struggled to keep up. Eventually, due to the strain, he slipped, misjudging the range of his attack, allowing the bonewalker to slip past and raise his weapon for an attack.
As the blade came down, the captain raised his arm to block it, but it cut his armor clean off on his arm. Because of his reinforcement, it only left a shallow cut in his arm.
The bonewalker didn't let up and kicked the captain away. The force contorted his body slightly, but he kept his stance, holding his greatsword far from elegantly as he knelt down, dust staining his cracked and dented armor.
Then circular daggers flew toward the captain. He raised his greatsword hastily to block them, but they both just glanced off either side of the blade, going past him and leaving him with long but shallow cuts that stretched from his cheeks to the back of his ears.
"That was too close," he muttered, his face relaxing for a moment. But before the blades could whizz into the air, they were caught.
The Wraith Skeleton appeared, ready to slice him. Captain Everett's attention turned to him, surprised. "Another one!"
Then a shining barrier covered him, which burned the shadow off the skeletal wraith's hands. It dropped the weapons due to the intensity of the shining barrier. They fell to either side of the warrior as the wraith jumped back instinctively to avoid getting seared any further.
Glancing behind, Captain Everett was overjoyed. "Anderhall!"
A dark-skinned woman mage was dashing toward the fight.
"LOOK BEHIND YOU, EVERETT!" she screamed.
The Wraith Skeleton dashed toward her immediately. Captain Everett looked behind, concerned, but the blade was already there, slashing deep into his shoulder.
Everett screamed in agony.
Then, in succession, Bonewalker Two stomped on his chest while simultaneously turning its blade and lifting it up to strike. As soon as the captain hit the ground, skeletal foot pushing down on him, the bonewalker's black greatsword plunged deep into his skull.
Then, twisting its blade out, orb sockets cold and eerie breath coming from its skull, it looked at its next target.
"NO, EVERETT!"
The Wraith Skeleton, trying to get through the barrier, couldn't—even with its phasing.
"Can't touch me anymore, wraith! I've layered my barrier!"
The wraith disappeared, about to grab its circular dagger as Bonewalker Two rushed in. But she created stone spears mid-air and sent them both at Bonewalker Two while covering both daggers in transparent spheres of dull light. It burned the wraith's hands, and it disappeared.
"He should be dealt with for now. Now for the bigger one."
Bonewalker Two used its reinforcement to charge straight through both spears with its body, then proceeded to slash at the barrier. Within two swift strikes of its blade, the barrier was cracked open, leaving a gap.
"This thing's stronger than I expected!"
Anderhall conjured with both her hands a rope made of water, as it wrapped around the bonewalker. But the gap made in the barrier was still there. Before she could mend it, a short dagger flew through, hitting her torso. She groaned, pulling it out immediately and applying healing magic.
She looked to the side, seeing nothing. Then she looked at Bonewalker Two break free, running at her again. But this time, she held her other hand out, causing a burst of embers to explode from underneath the large bonewalker. Her injury had already finished healing. Now she took the time to recast her barrier.
"There, done..."
But it was all futile. Immediately after, Bonewalker Two—flames pouring from its skull—charged through the fire and slammed its greatsword down, shattering the barrier completely this time.
She gritted her teeth as she stepped back, gathering mana and sending a large gust of wind toward the bonewalker. It went flying away from her and crashed into another structure.
"Dammit… that was intense. Luckily, I'm still relatively unscathed."
Taking only a second to breathe, a shadowy hand covered her face—the Wraith Skeleton's eerie presence behind her. Her screams were muffled. But before she could cast a single thing, the wraith brought its second short dagger to her throat and slashed deep while literally ripping her head off.
After tearing it off, blood spurted from her neck, the body slumping to the ground.
The Wraith Skeleton then casually threw the head to a thrall horse, which caught it with its mouth and galloped away to eat it.
Then it crouched over the corpse, conjuring the soul and absorbing it, the soul revitalizing the wraith's body.
Bonewalker Two walked over, its black greatsword on its shoulders. It calmly lugged Captain Everett's body and threw it beside the Wraith Skeleton along with the two circular daggers from afar.
The Wraith Skeleton immediately started to absorb the soul too.
Then a short sword with a yellow rune along its blade staked into the ground between both.
The wraith didn't acknowledge it and continued absorbing the soul of Everett.
Bonewalker Two looked up and saw nothing.
From the sword, Lieutenant Donny appeared, yellow mana sparking off him, his smile bright as he swiftly grabbed the short sword, lunging toward Bonewalker Two and slashing upwards. The slash caught the bonewalker's face, but it deflected off its reinforcement.
It took the deflection to go for its own strikes, and so did Donny.
Donny constantly waved both his weapons around in a spherical motion, causing Bonewalker Two to miss its strikes. Even when it did get a clear opening, it would be parried by Donny's axe or guided away with his short sword.
Bonewalker Two's orb sockets shifted toward Donny's lower limbs and thrust its greatsword toward them. But with his short sword, Donny guided the greatsword off course while jumping in the air simultaneously.
His axe hung behind him, the rune along its blade glowing yellow.
His smile widened as he shouted, "Thunder!..."
His face intensified as two cold hands grasped onto his arm, pulling it...
He first threw his blade below him, then turned around, kicking the wraith—only for his kick to phase through. But due to the phase, it freed him from the wraith's grasp.
The Wraith Skeleton lunged in with its claw, about to strike, but missed as Donny appeared below the wraith and in front of Bonewalker Two, teleporting to his short sword, his form sparking yellow. As he jumped up to the bonewalker's head and swung his hand axe, it glowed with yellow thunder, connecting with Bonewalker Two's skull.
"BASH!"
Hitting the large bonewalker and sending it across the battlefield into some crumbled debris with a thunderous shock, leaving dust billowing.
Then, with the Wraith Skeleton still in the air behind him, he turned and slashed behind with his axe.
But the wraith dodged backward. Before it could land, he threw his sword ahead of it as it staked in the ground the same time the wraith landed on its feet.
Donny appeared, pulling his short sword out of the ground and slashing, but he missed as the wraith dashed back again.
They now faced each other.
Head-on, Donny raised his axe, resting it on his shoulder, his short sword gleaming by his side, his smile still wide.
"This might be easier than I originally thought. The name's Donny—your killer." He remarked, his tone full of triumph.
From further away, atop a building, sat Captain Prospero, smoking his pipe while spectating the fight.
He thought to himself: That bonewalker is pretty tough. From its physical advantages to its ability to be exceedingly competent in battle, it was definitely the one to kill captains—especially Everett. Sadly, up against Donny's unique fighting style, it was nothing. He waves his weapons around in circular, spherical motions to disorientate you on when or where his blade will strike, disrupting the rhythm of the battle. But the trick is not in when he will strike—more of how he will strike. What Donny does is he baits you out until he meets his rune's conditions for his axe, which allows him to use that powerful impact strike after a few clashes with the blade. That would usually be the end of the battle. But again, if it doesn't work out, he will simply escape with his short sword.
That weapon—his short sword—has the ability to teleport him anywhere, but the conditions are simple: it needs to be stuck into something, and he only has a maximum of 7 seconds for the activation window. If he misses it, he will lose the advantage.
"The problem is, I can think of multiple ways he could improve this style, but don't blame me for trying to let him figure it out himself." He sighed, smoke escaping his mouth.
His thoughts continued: Simply put, he remains unawakened—a combat prodigy where his body does what it needs to do, but he doesn't know the theory behind it. I think the biggest thing he's clearly going to overlook is the wraith's ability to phase, and along with the fact he thinks that large bonewalker is weak. This fight will be perfect development for him, which is why I said I won't be helping him. When it gets too serious, I'll intervene, but for now he should be fine.
Donny faced the Wraith Skeleton now.
He went for random hacking and slashing, but the Wraith Skeleton phased through all of it. Then, unphasing, the wraith sent a straight punch to Donny's face.
The force sent Donny back slightly, but he kept his stance, looking up at the Wraith Skeleton. He threw his blade, which phased through its body.
"WAIT, WHY DID I THROW IT SO FAR!!" Donny's eyes widened in disbelief.
The blade went further than expected, rather than just behind the wraith.
The Wraith Skeleton side-kicked Donny's torso. Blood spurted from his mouth.
"Dammit, why did I not use reinforcement there?"
Donny bore the pain for a second, thinking: Why didn't I use reinforcement there?
As his eyes intensified, he moved his axe, whacking the wraith off its feet, making it fall, as that was its only leg standing.
Donny then instinctually raised his axe over the falling wraith, but the wraith's eyes glinted and it spin-kicked the axe out of Donny's hand.
"No, I can't lose another weapon!" He grabbed it with his other hand and brought his axe down again. The Wraith Skeleton was on its feet now. This time, faster, he slashed the wraith on the shoulder. Donny smirked and went in for another slash, but this time the wraith phased it and sent a punch his way.
Donny managed to block, but the force sent him back a bit. He recovered and turned, running toward his now-in-ground blade.
Looking at his palm, which had another yellow rune akin to the one on his short sword, glowing brightly.
Should I just teleport now?! I didn't keep count on how long I have left—blasted! he thought.
As he was running toward his blade, Bonewalker Two rushed into him.
He turned, raising his hand axe. "I thought you were down!"
Donny blocked the strike, but the force was so impactful that the ground broke beneath him.
But Donny's muscles and body had been through far worse intensive training.
"Hehe, that all?!"
His hand lit up as he teleported. The greatsword hit the ground, crushing it even more.
Donny appeared holding his blade, quite a distance away from the rest.
Then, seeing Bonewalker Two walk toward him and the Wraith Skeleton walk around from a distance, he raised his weapons. "Here we go—round two."
The wraith disappeared and appeared in front of him, claws out.
They clashed.
The Wraith Skeleton didn't relent. It kept attacking, continuously striking. It didn't allow Donny to attack at all.
This relentless attacking—not meant for actually harming Donny—was keeping his waving technique at bay, preventing him from even being able to strike.
Why can't I do anything!
The rate of speed at which he was constantly parrying, deflecting, and pushing strikes out of the way caused Donny to take slow steps back.
"It's too much!"
Then the Wraith Skeleton suddenly stopped, its body greying out as Bonewalker Two's greatsword came down. Donny's axe blocked it. Donny was about to throw his sword, but the Wraith Skeleton moved out of the path of Bonewalker Two's blade, unphased itself, and kicked the sword out of his hand.
The blade flew behind him, tumbling through the air.
Donny's eyes widened in disbelief, sweat flicking off his head as his whole body tensed from the strength of Bonewalker Two's strikes, which locked him in place.
He looked at his hand's rune for the short sword.
Please land properly, please, please stick in the ground!
His face grimaced in pain.
Unknown to Donny, smoke curled around the blade and stuck it firmly into the ground.
Donny grinned as his palm lit up, teleporting.
The Wraith Skeleton rushed immediately.
But Donny was ready, slashing with both his weapons outward. He swiped across with both blades at the wraith with so much speed it caught the wraith before it could phase. Instead, it backed away in defense, leaving black miasma spilling from a slash across its chest.
Bonewalker Two took this moment to rush in front, greatsword raised, and came down. But Donny threw his blade through the legs of the big bonewalker. It hit the ground just behind the bonewalker.
"Thunder!"
He teleported behind it, then jumped up above the bonewalker, his axe sparking yellow. Swinging his axe, it hit the bonewalker with bone-shattering force.
"JAB!"
Sending it flying through a row of crumbled buildings.
He landed.
Explosions happened somewhere around them. Big fights took place all around them.
Donny and the Wraith Skeleton faced each other.
"Your friend's gone for good now. It's just you and me now."
The wraith stayed quiet.
They ran at each other.
Donny initiated his technique, but the wraith mimicked it with its claws.
Donny's eyes widened.
As the wraith's hands waved about in blurs, Donny smiled and increased the effort on his, making blurs with his too.
They continued to clash, now on the same level of technique, striking each other. But the wraith's version was more offensive, as it did more striking than parrying, while Donny continued to be defensive like always.
After a while of clashing, Donny stopped, his axe already going for the wraith's chest.
"Thunder Bash!"
But instead, the wraith phased through it.
Donny's eyes panned in shock.
As the wraith slid out of it, it sent a heavy kick to Donny's elbow. Bone creaked under the pressure but didn't break. This made the axe fall out of his hand.
Donny groaned, holding his sword.
He slashed at the wraith, but it just phased and kicked Donny again in the abdomen, then in the chest, following with two kicks to the face. Then it jumped up, going for a kick to his face.
Donny put his arms up to defend, sending him tumbling back.
"How did I even get into this position, dammit?" he muttered.
"Isn't he supposed to step in now... I'm losing badly. That thing doesn't even look the slightest bit interested—it's just standing there. That pisses me off. But how do I get out of this? I've lost my heavy hitter."
He gritted his teeth, but words rang in his mind.
In every scenario, brawn will always be inferior to brain. Brute force can get you into places, but thinking can get you out of places.
But Captain, how am I supposed to think when my body is throbbing so damn hard!
Just close your eyes and focus on your mind, as if there was no pain at all.
"Dammit, I hate when he's right."
The Wraith Skeleton started lunging toward Donny.
Donny closed his eyes, focusing on his thoughts.
What do I know about this thing? It's fast, agile, and smart…
But he opened his eyes quickly, throwing his blade instinctively and teleporting before he could get hit by the attack.
"Close one!"
The wraith didn't relent with its claws.
"How am I supposed to think when it's attacking…"
Did you expect it to stop?
Yeah—I mean, no! Shut it, brain!
In battle, stressful situations like this demand quick and decisive decision-making. The ability to think of a way out and adapt with it.
Okay, think, Donny.
He continuously dodged and deflected attacks from the wraith but didn't attack himself.
What else do I know about this thing? It has an ability that can ignore all my attacks. They just pass right through him. Maybe I can exploit that…
The axe Donny dropped entered his vision.
The wraith turned its fighting up a notch by pulling out Donny's technique again, its hands blurring.
Let me test it out.
Oh, this looks similar to my technique.
Donny was barely able to dodge and defend against the wraith's offensive style of his own technique.
Okay, what exactly am I seeing right now? Oh, I see—so that's how my style works. But he's doing it way differently. Like, he's got openings everywhere, but he's attacking me so quickly that I can't enter a stance to attack. All I can do is block.
Donny smirked. I got it now!
He stopped in his tracks, readying his stance, then attacking.
They both traded a blow, Donny maintaining many claw marks on his body. Donny's blade went through the wraith's body as it phased.
Then Donny backed away, throwing his short sword past the wraith beside his axe. The wraith immediately turned back.
As Donny appeared behind, already holding his axe, smirking, his body thinly coated in reinforcement.
"HEY! I UNDERSTAND IT NOW! His phase is simple—he needs to unphase just before he attacks each time. Otherwise, it will go through me. It's crazy to think if I had just thought about it, I would have been able to kill it quicker."
Donny's smirk widened. "You're dead now!"
He rushed in.
They clashed, with the wraith using offense and Donny using defense. Each claw was parried and guided away as usual, with each one feeding the axe.
Then Donny, out of the blue, attacked with his sword.
The wraith phased, then attacked through the opening just made.
But Donny's axe slashed at the wraith's head, revealing scarred bone beneath made by the slash.
The wraith tried to go for two more strikes but was parried four times by his axe. Then he went for a strike from above with it. The wraith phased but stayed phased this time.
Donny threw his short sword through the wraith.
Then the wraith unphased, brandishing its claws to where it expected Donny to appear.
But as it did, Donny was already there, his axe already in its face.
"Thunder JAB!"
Dispersing some shadow and hitting the wraith away… sending it rolling across the battlefield and crashing into a group of its own bonewalkers. They all got knocked down like bowling pins.
It lay in smoke and debris for a moment before stumbling up.
Then Donny landed.
"STRIKE!" he laughed.
Both weapons in his hands, not realizing that the Wraith Skeleton was charging back at him—half its body shadow and the other half not, two circular daggers in its hands, eyes burning, maw wide open.
"Haha, this is great! I can really fight now… I always was so against the idea of using my brain, but I was wrong, Captain. It's amazing—makes things way easier!"
As he joyed, his eyes locked onto the Wraith Skeleton getting closer.
"You want some more? Come on, the—"
Bonewalker Two just walked in the middle.
Donny looked confused. "You're alive?"
Holding its hand out to the side, the wraith halted in its path, still a bit of distance away, and sat down, placing its weapons down too, sitting cross-legged, patient, almost as if its body twitched unnaturally—restless, even, as if it wanted to get revenge for that last blow.
Bonewalker Two raised its greatsword, its skeletal body cracked all over.
"Oh, so you want to fight? Have at it, then!"
They both rushed at each other, clashing blades. Donny used his offensive technique, but Bonewalker Two stayed offensive also.
He's leaving no openings at all! Along with that, he's helping fulfill my runic conditions? Alright then, my axe is ready. I'll just have to take a different approach for it—can't do what I normally do.
Donny backed away, taking a stance, along with Bonewalker Two.
Silence. Both sides' thoughts churned.
Donny's eyes narrowed. "That's it—got the plan. Okay, let's go." He sharply nodded and rushed in.
Bonewalker Two stayed still.
As Donny rushed in and threw his blade, Bonewalker Two's orb sockets drifted toward the blade behind him. He got ready to swing as Donny zipped there, but then Donny threw his blade, hitting the other side of the bonewalker's pelvic girdle. As the greatsword was about to hit him, Bonewalker Two looked behind, then realized that Donny wasn't at the pelvis anymore—he was at his ribcage. But before it could do anything, Donny was going for its jaw. But the bonewalker jutted its head back. The axe missed, but before it could do a single thing else, Donny spun mid-air, hitting its sternum. The shock burst its ribs open. The sternum itself fell off too from the shock.
Donny's face was surprised. "I wanted the jaw…"
Donny landed on his feet and backed away. There was still a great distance between them.
"My head is full of new ideas on how to defeat this thing. It feels like enlightenment!"
Then a greatsword came flying his way. He stayed calm and looked to the side, throwing his short sword. "It's too fast."
But the bonewalker had been watching his exact movements and was already on the run, dashing toward the blade, palm outstretched, and crushing it before it could stick into the ground.
This forced Donny to block the greatsword. Before he could form a block, the greatsword took his whole arm with the axe in it off, ripping it out of its socket. Donny's eyes went bloodshot as he felt the immediate rush of pain.
Donny writhed in pain, but before he could even scream, Bonewalker Two's palm planted on his face, grabbing his skull and smothering him. He squirmed due to suffocation from the palm and choking from his own blood leaking from his hand due to the bonewalker squeezing Donny's head.
And then Bonewalker Two stuck its bony fingers into his chest. Then, letting go of Donny's head, it stuck the other ones in, and then it started to pull Donny apart. Donny, already half-conscious, blood spilling from his mouth, could finally scream as he was pulled apart. Each second was grotesque—hot blood splattered from his chest everywhere.
Bonewalker Two's skeletal face was unmoving as it continued to rip Donny apart from his chest. Hot blood continuously splattered all over the bonewalker's cold bones, yet it didn't flinch, as if seeing right through Donny's anguish.
And as it pulled him apart, the rest of the blood splattered on it.
It stood there, unfazed, blood dripping from all over it.
On the ground was a large pool of blood, organs, and all types of innards. Then both halves of Donny spread on each side.
The Wraith Skeleton appeared, still in the same state, patting Bonewalker Two on its shoulder, then crouching, finding the soul of Donny.
Bonewalker Two was about to turn around before a gust of intestines was thrown at him.
Bonewalker Two's face darkened as it lifted up the intestines from its shoulder, about to throw them. The Wraith Skeleton flinched, the soul still in its hands.
Before that could happen, though, a big explosion happened—another fight that was taking place making its reveal. A big smoke cloud appeared. Captain Prospero jumped out of it, high in the sky.
His face was tense, hair disheveled, body slightly bruised, clothes ripped up.
His eyes darted toward the parts of Donny that were left. They widened at this, but then his eyes found the bonewalkers responsible. His eyes narrowed as he shouted.
Smoke manifested around him, covering him in a ball. The ball grew larger and larger, and then it combusted into a large flaming inferno.
He shot down toward the skeletons like a livid comet.
Both of them thought it was some type of fireball.
Bonewalker Two stood stunned, but the Wraith Skeleton—its wraith layer back again, both arms extended out—blocked it.
The fire raged against the Wraith Skeleton. It started to burn all of the wraith layer, and then bone. But before it could take too much, Bonewalker Two sent a punch right through the fireball and managed to hit Prospero's face, sending him far back. But Prospero quickly caught himself, shaking his head, his face intensified with anger.
The wraith lost strength in its body due to the strength of the attack and fell, its shadow wraith miasma gone for the moment. But Bonewalker Two caught it with its last arm—its other was completely melted off, even though it had reinforcement on.
He placed the Wraith Skeleton next to Donny's body.
It just looked at the captain, who was enraged. Smoke was viciously coming off him, so much so that the atmosphere was affected.
Bonewalker Two looked to the side. He saw his greatsword with Donny's arm still stuck to it.
He looked at the distance, then looked behind him—the weakened Wraith Skeleton, trying to salvage soul mana from Donny's remains, struggling.
Bonewalker Two shook his head and raised his fists up.
Prospero shouted, "I WILL KILL—"
A gentle hand was placed on his chest, her skin a shiny peach color.
Prospero looked over.
It was Pastel. She looked forward, speaking to him. "Calm down, Antonio Prospero. Your business is with us, remember?"
She gave off a soft laugh. Her clothes were slightly singed and torn. At her waist, was a rune that seemed to go up her body over it was a visible reddish bruise, but she seemed fine regardless.
"LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU TRAITORS!"
A broad blade stuck right through his chest. His eyes widened, blood flowing from his mouth, then dulled. He was silenced.
The warrior pulled it out. "As she said, your business is with us."
The warrior who appeared from behind was Rakira. She had a broad great sword with white feathers around the hilt and a shield with white feathers around the rim. Her on her shield arm she had a rune that went from the back of hand all the way up to her shoulder the rest travelling within her clothes other than this, her shield arm was burned badly, her armour leather torn up. But she continued walking forward as if it was nothing, a smirk hitting her face.
"He wasn't an easy one, Pastel, I'll tell you that."
"Nothing we haven't dealt with before."
Pastel's face grew devious as she looked toward the bonewalkers, pulling out a large scythe.
Rakira entered a stance. "Looks like they want to fight."
She stood ready.
A greatsword was thrown to Bonewalker Two. caught it with its one arm, ready.
And the Wraith Skeleton appeared, slightly revitalized. Shadows were slightly weaker but covered him. They both stood ready.
Lunging, Rakira fought Bonewalker Two.
They clashed weapons. Rakira was confident. Her skill was flawless as she got out of the clash immediately.
Bonewalker Two went into strike at Rakira, but she dodged. Each dodge felt easier for her.
"Wow, you're really slow, aren't you, big one?"
She then stood there and blocked his great sword with her broader great sword effortlessly, while Bonewalker Two struggled. She stood there, not even struggling against his immense force.
She looked around and yawned. She then put her shield away, sheathing it behind her.
"And weak, apparently." Her smirk slowly dropped into a frown.
Then, with a subtle flick of her blade, she pushed the bonewalker off. It wobbled in place.
She walked up to Bonewalker Two as it stumbled back. "All the other D-ranks you fought were fodder, clearly…"
Bonewalker Two caught itself from falling over.
Rakira stopped. The rune of her burnt arm's glowed as she flexed her muscles, tightening her fist, as a thin layer of reinforcement mana coated her hand only.
Bone walker Two tried going for a thrust, but Rakira, with her burned arm, just grabbed the blade with her palm, the red rune on her arm glowing steadily. The blade didn't even cut her as her reinforcement circled around her hand.
Her blade sliced its wrist off cleanly. Then she threw his great sword to the side.
Without even trying, she thrust her blade into his skull.
"This is a real D-rank."
The swords rune glowed up, and red light came from it as the feathers rustled on the hilt. It started to unnaturally burn through the bone. The blade itself extended past itself grew past the skull.
She then diced the bonewalker, slicing it in half—vertically, diagonally, horizontally. Every single direction, till Bonewalker Two was in bits.
She stood over it. "You fight like the mindless bonewalker you are. Stay dead, you bone rattler."
Her eyes glowed with disdainful amusement.
Pastel fought the Wraith Skeleton. It threw its circular dagger, but they instantly got sliced in half by her scythe.
Then it brought its short daggers from inside him, trying to slash at her again, its body greying out to dodge.
But it couldn't, as Pastel's scythe had a rune on it which glowed pink, slashing up the Wraith Skeleton even through it was trying to phase.
Its sockets glowed in confusion. Miasma spluttered out of its body.
But it pushed through, going for her neck. But she whirled her scythe, cleanly cutting off his arm.
"You pitiful wraith—none of those petty tricks will work here."
Her smile turned crazy, her eyes gleaming, as she slashed upward with her scythe, slashing the Wraith Skeleton in half. Its miasma slowly faded from its skeletal body, leaving it barren.
Then she stepped on one half—its skull—with its other half. All it could see was her maddening grin, her eyes gleaming with craziness as she crushed the last half.
"You're outmatched, pitiful wraith." She grinned.
Rakira walked over, stretching. "Alright, mission accomplished. We caught Captain Antonio Prospero."
Rakira looked at the passed-out Prospero. She crouched, smudging his face. "What's all the hype about this guy, Pastel?"
Pastel was still looking at the wraith's remains. "Hey, Pastel!!"
Her demeanour changed, becoming softer and more bubbly. "Oh, Rakira, yes! Whatever do you mean?"
"Uh, well, they call him handsome, but personally, getting a proper look at him, he's definitely overpraised for his looks. His face is too pretty, and he has an ugly dot on his face."
She walked over, bending down to look. "Yeah, you may be right, Rakira, but that might be 'cause blonds aren't my type."
"Same!" Rakira replied.
Both shook hands.
Pastel walked forward, surveying the chaos around them.
"Are we leaving, Shallow Warden?"
"We were assigned this target just recently. Since it's from Master, it takes priority. This chaos just makes it all the more easier to slip away."
Rakira picked the captain up and put him on her injured shoulder.
Pastel, slightly shocked, looked at the action beside her. "That not hurt?"
Rakira looked at Pastel's wound. "Does that not hurt?"
They both looked at each other. "Fairs"