Unlike Code and Havoc, who exuded more aura than a group of them from their ranks, I had none. The look on my face could very well have been considered an aura, judging by way they all reacted to me. It was like that time I intimidated those W.M.A. officers in LeHarla. I was still unsure what this power was, but whatever it was, it only seemed to come out when I had the urge to protect what's most important to me.
"Is it just me, or do those three seem way stronger than the three maids we just fought?" One of the Nightbanes whispered to the other.
"D-Don't be ridiculous… They are only three men, and there's an army of us. Each one of us has enough skill to take down a Kingdom knight on our own…"
"Yeah, but… Something about them just seems… off…" The bandit trailed off in thought, "It's like they're more than just the average Kingdom knight."
From where the three of us were, there was an open space separating us from the army of Nightbanes ahead. None of them had decided to make a move yet. It was as if deep down they knew that none of them stood a chance and just refused to acknowledge that fact.
"You two get the fodder. I'll take the giant. Whatever you do, don't touch him. He's mine…" I said to Code and Havoc. Their snickers and approving side glares were assurance enough, but I wanted to hear it from them, "Any objections with that?"
"No, sir." They both responded admirably.
The first to make a move was Code. He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, he replaced himself with a random Nightbane in the crowd to Drakthor's left. For less than a second, that same Nightbane was next to me, where Code had once been. Havoc and I paid no attention to him and let Code do his thing.
When Code appeared in the midst of the random Nightbane group, he still had his cigarette in his mouth, but in his hand, he held a small, round black object. With his other hand, he pulled the pin and dropped the spoon. Then just as quickly, he snapped his fingers again, and the Nightbane he switched places with was back in that same spot.
When the bandit arrived, the small black object fell into his hands, and he juggled it—still confused about what was happening. Then from around him, their reactions rippled like a stone upon a calm pond. He looked at his peers and then looked at his hands, but it was too late as a large blast was emitted on that side of the field.
Then, to Drakthor's left, a Nightbane flew at him, and he swatted his lifeless body away with the back of his large, armored hand, paying no mind to it as he shouted loudly and angrily, "What are you worthless fools doing!? Attack them! Attack them NOW!"
I looked at Code and snapped, "Dude, what the hell? What did I just say!?"
"What do you mean!? How was I supposed to know a bandit was gonna fly at him!? Keeper, you're unbelievable!"
"Don't play dumb, jackass! You calculated that, didn't you!?"
"Yeah, because the latitude and longitude of where he's standing were in perfect harmonization with the blast of my grenade… No, you fuckhole!"
"That's exactly what the Code I know would do! Now I know you're lying!"
"It only seemed that way because your simpleton brain can't comprehend that sometimes things can happen at random! Like right now! Why the fuck are we arguing about this stupid shit!?"
Then Havoc interjected boredly from where he was, "Keeper… you guys… Can we please just fight now? They're coming right at us…"
"SHUT UP, HAVOC!" we both said to him.
When Alice came down from the landing, she met the Arabella Maids and Yuna in the open entrance hall. She witnessed our tomfoolery and twitched an eyebrow at our carefree argument as a whole army charged at us. Seriously, guys?
We were only this way after we've accurately assessed our opponents strength and knew without a shadow of a doubt we were stronger. There was a difference with ignorance and assurance. To us, this group was child's play—just having our presence known to them told us that much.
I finally composed myself then said, "Now… keep the others distracted, the only attacks he's taking from here on—are gonna be from me."
"Ten-four, Captain," Havoc replied.
"You're the boss," Code said in a disregarding yet respectful tone; accepting my idiocy.
The Nightbanes continued to charge toward us. Havoc then transformed entirely into his Behemoth form. He was now twice the size, and he fell over onto all fours. His hair hardened, forming like layered armor behind him as wicked horns grew from his head. A large tail extended out from behind him, and he grew large claws with monstrous paws—overtly muscular. His skin turned rough, and his face took on the form of a beast that was a mix of both bull and bear with jagged, razor-sharp teeth. His one left eye was still sightless and the other glowed a deep red as he let out a ferocious roar.
The Nightbanes stopped their advance at his full transformation. And before they could do anything, he swung a large right arm over a group of them, sending them flying yards and yards away. He dashed forward from my left and spun rapidly to a group of Nightbanes there while a cinder flared in his mouth. When he halted his spin, he let out an concentrated flamethrower down a line of them—burning, blasting unrelentingly.
"What the hell is that!?"
"Another Primal type?"
"He's a Behemoth!!" The Nightbane bandits said as they each scattered from him.
"We can take it! It's only a Grade 2 beast! Just like the Leomantoise earlier!"
"Yeah, but…" another Nightbane replied hesitantly as Havoc continued to ravage them like the fodder they were. He had already taken out groups of them, more than Ulrich, in less than a second.
"Why does he seem so much stronger than the other one?" was all the Nightbane could say as a blast of dust blew past their faces. Then, as it subsided, Havoc's large shadow was cast over them; their eyes widened and their faces turned pale as they slowly raised their heads.
He pushed himself up, and with both his enormous monster arms, he crashed back down onto the two Nightbanes causing a crater at his wake. The crater caused jagged, spiked stones to emerge and ripple like a wave onto the group behind them as Havoc relished their wails.
At Code's side, another group charged him. Pieces of rock and rubble floated upward all around him as they came. He pulled out both long swords from his back, one above and one below, from the same sheath. After he pulled them out, he combined the hilts into a bow and held it in his left hand; the two blades sticking out from both ends, serving as both the upper and lower limb.
A light blue string of aura connected the tips of the two blades in one straight line as he took a small rock that floated around him and pulled it back with his right hand. Aiming only at one of the Nightbanes advancing, he shot the small rock in his direction. The Nightbane saw this and swung his blade at it, but—as if in slow motion—Code snapped his fingers, and the sound echoed in their ears.
The small rock was replaced by a bigger clump and rubble the size of a large boulder, crashing into him and the rest of the Nightbanes from behind.
When the group looked up, they saw clusters of rock and rubble floating high in the air, forming large, heaping clumps the size of boulders. Code then took another pebble and shot it out to another group that was coming. When they saw it, they scattered, thinking he was going to snap his fingers.
"Move! He's gonna switch!"
But instead, the pebble he shot tapped one of them in the head and nothing happened, from what it seemed…
Right then, three large boulders dropped over from above from where they had scattered.
"What!?" one of them yelled, then looked above them all.
Without them realizing, Code had not only been condensing the rubble around them, but also moving the large clusters over their heads—ready to drop at a moment's notice.
"Spread out now!" another one yelled.
Code glared at them as he took another casual smoke from his cigarette. Calm, like he was playing some game. He then flicked a finger downward, letting the large boulders rain down onto the groups of them there. Crash after crash sounded along with the yelps and cries of the Nightbanes caught within it; he closed his eyes and tilted his head up, continuing to take another hit of his cigarette.
As both Havoc and Code caused mayhem and held off the Nightbanes, I casually walked down the middle of a group in a straight path, leading to Drakthor.
The Nightbanes around me were in chaos. On my left was Havoc, and on my right was Code. They didn't know who to focus on. Explosions and magic blasted from every direction, but I paid it no mind as I proceeded on my tunnel-visioned path.
I walked through explosions as if they weren't even there. I stepped over fallen Nightbanes. Not one of them could distract me from where I needed to go.
One of them even ran to me, and without looking, I back fisted him in the face—spinning him away, already knocked out before he landed on the ground. Another one came to my left, again not looking, I grabbed his throat and threw him directly in my path, crashing him there. I gently released his throat and casually stepped on and over him so disrespectfully, proceeding on as if he was just dirt under my boot.
I cracked my neck with my fist, barely getting warmed up. Drakthor was now coming into view more clearly from the dirt and dust in the air. Yards away from him now, I stopped my advance. The mayhem among the Nightbanes with Code and Havoc continued all around us, and we stood, glowering at each other—our black eyes competing to see whose was more menacing.
"Greed, huh? My leader also has a sin's name. Are you his brother?" he asked me blatantly, studying me all the while.
My eye twitched, remembering a bleak memory that passed my mind for a quick second. I disregarded it just as soon as it came. "If he sent you, he is no brother of mine… consider me disowned," I said.
Drakthor belted out a laugh and then said, "How very interesting… no matter… I know what your power is. And I have it too." He said, and my eyes squinted in curiosity.
As much as I wanted to ask him what he meant, the only thing that I could focus on was beating his face into the ground. "The only thing you have is a superiority complex. But don't worry," my muscles flexed as I held my fists to my sides, "I'll humble you in a second."
"You're one to talk. I hate cocky brats. I'm gonna shatter your arms and legs, but before that… I'm gonna shatter your spirit. Then I'll watch you grovel in the dirt like the worm you are!"
I huffed amusedly. "Last guy that called me a worm got a free trip to space."
"Yeah, I am gonna have fun breaking you, you fucking punk!"
Right then, Drakthor threw a heavy right fist at me and I followed suit. They were heavier than before, as he looked like he was wearing a lighter layer of armor from earlier.
Our fists met, and they caused pulses in the air that blew away groups of Nightbanes around us. We both held our fists against each other, and they pushed back and forth, shakingly. His yellow daggered teeth ground as my face looked back at him with no expression, focus was the only thing on my mind.
I then swiftly reeled my fist back after pushing his off, and I shot a punch right back at it, shattering his black armor as it rippled up his arm. He then reeled it back and threw his left fist at me.
"Predictable," I said to him, punching that fist with my left, sending rippling shatters through that arm as well and exposing them both. The impact of our fists made my jacket flutter behind me all the while.
Drakthor couldn't believe his eyes. Then, like in slow motion, I steadied my fist and threw my next punch, sending it to his torso. Followed by another. And another. And another. Building up a barrage of punches to his center and ignoring his black armor, which shattered after each punch.
He took the bombardment like he had forgotten how to block. The Nightbanes around us even stopped for a moment to witness our fight; they didn't know what to do with themselves.
A low growl sounded from me as I continued my endless assault; my punches growing stronger with each throw. Then, when all his armor was gone, I threw the last punch.
Completely bare and armorless, he whipped his head back to me with a blood-filled mouth, "More!" he said with red clenched teeth.
I yelled back with a roaring fist in an unstoppable route to his center. And before my fist made contact, it wrapped in a black coating; Drakthor saw this at the last minute. His eyes widened in disbelief just before it made impact. Impossible! That's!—
The punch sounded off with a loud bang as it clashed into him. His eyes turned white, and his mouth gaped at the impact, blood spewing from it. And right there, a dent of my fist had given him a new feature on his abdomen.
Skidding back from the blow, whatever he did had minimized the damage just enough not to go flying like I had anticipated for him to do. The feeling of the impact seemed similar to my own ability—like the weaker version of my own power; enough to protect him just a little bit, but not enough to shield him from the full blow.
As Drakthor stopped himself, he arched his back and threw his arms to his side, facing me once again and seething from his mouth he yelled, "Fucking pooch! That's it. I'll just destroy what you're trying so hard to protect! That'll break you!"
He shot out his black-scaled armor, covering him from head to toe once more. Heavy plates began to pile and layer until he looked more like a dragon now than he did before. The pressure he exuded was massive, and I felt it from where I was.
Drakthor then began to charge some kind of mass from his mouth. He faced it upward, with the mass following—like a purple orb—floating in the air. The orb grew progressively larger as it continued to manifest and collect energy. At the same time, the black armor that the Nightbanes had all been wearing began to shrink and disappear one by one, retracting like it were being sucked back into their skin.
Finally realizing, I whipped my head back, and I saw that I was on the direct path to the Den…
No… He was trying to charge a blast large enough to hit me and the Den behind me. Maybe I could withstand it, but the remnants of the blast to our home was his true target.
"Now… watch as I take away what's most precious to you!" he said. His voice was more altered, like the black armor was possessing him—eating him away.
"Shit! Master Drakthor's going to—" One of the Nightbanes yelped as he got slashed by Havoc. He looked in my direction as he witnessed the Nightbanes losing their armor one after the other.
"So, that's what you're going to do, huh? When you can't harm your opponent, you harm what's dearest to them… A coward's path,"—eyes flaring and flashing with justified rage—"I won't let you!" I said as I dashed toward him.
He was on all fours as he completed the charge to his blast. And I was just inches away from him now when he chanted,
"Dragonscale magic: Massive Hellfire's Beam!"
Right then, he unleashed a blast so large it enveloped me whole just as I had barely reached him.
The beam was monstrous. He had meant its path to go directly to the Den, which would have wiped it out even after passing through me, but instead, after I had reached him, the beam had slanted upward and shot out into the sky, missing it entirely—just barely from its highest point.
The blast lasted for fifteen seconds, dissipating in a thin line across the air. The Nightbanes, along with Code and Havoc, had stopped fighting to watch the massive beam peter out. When it ended, all that was shown was Drakthor in his armored dragon form, head tilted up, with a thick trail of smoke seeping from his mouth. Everyone was at a standstill, and I was nowhere to be seen.
"Did… Did Drakthor win?" One of the Nightbanes asked.
"He blew him out of the Valley!" another one laughed.
"That fucking wannabe Captain stood no chance against Drakthor!"
"Drakthor! Drakthor! Drakthor!"
Their cheering rippled across the clearing, and Code and Havoc both had unreadable expressions all the while. Even through Havoc's Primal form, he had ceased to be menacing for but a moment.
"You should give up now! Our leader literally blew yours away! If you surrender now, we promise we won't kill you… Maybe we'll make you suffer a bit… but it's better than dying, wouldn't you say?" one of them said to Code from a distance, a false confidence.
He said nothing in response and just stared blankly at him, taking a hit from the cigarette that he still had in his mouth.
"What's wrong? Can't believe it? That's okay, we'll let you take a few more smokes before we take you hostage. I like to think we're generous after all!" the Nightbane mocked as he invoked the others to laugh with him, armorless as they were.
Code took one last puff of smoke and blew it out into the air and said, "You're that sure you've won, huh?"
He said with his blueish-white eyes more visible now through his thin, round glasses. The Nightbane he was talking to dared to get closer to him now, hovering over him with more undeserved confidence, "Didn't you see that attack just now? There's no way that punk survived that. He's dead. The sooner you understand that, the better off you'll be. Accept it. You lost."
"I envy you," Code said as the Nightbane looked back to him with an incredulous expression. "I envy how much confidence you have while being so weak."
The Nightbane shadowed over Code, visibly taller and wider than him. But Code didn't even flinch. "Come again?"
He took another puff from his cigarette before he said, "Look again."
When the Nightbane looked back at Drakthor, the thick smoke protruding from his mouth started to clear out.
My silhouette appeared, slowly revealing distinct features of myself and him. I balanced myself there effortlessly, keeping Drakthor's mouth open, as one of my eyes from within the clearing smolder glowed a deep and resolved red. "You know, I'm offended," I said as he shuddered at my words and my tyrannizing presence standing over him—a left boot on the snout of his dragon-like mouth and the right one on his jaw, "that you thought you could end it all with that weak ass spell."
Drakthor trembled when he saw me, watching in horror as the haze lifted and I was there. Though I'd taken the massive attack at point-blank range, only my clothes had taken any real damage. The blast had disintegrated my jacket, tattered my black pants, and ripped the white tank beneath, revealing my heavily inked, and sculpted torso.
One new feature about me now, however, was the black coating that covered parts of my body. Drakthor saw that half of my face had been semi-transformed into something more sinister. The left side, from my jaw down, had white, jagged teeth, and the rest was sleek black, looking pristine and unbreakable. My black hair was a mess. My bangs covered one of my eyes and fluttered, my head tilted where my bangs had draped, and I knew that this would be the last picture Drakthor would see. So, I took my time and let the image etch itself in his eyes and in his mind.
"You… You redirected my attack… You redirected it at point blank… and yet you—you're still unscathed? How? Even if you used that ability, you'd still… No… That black coating… Who the fuck are you!?" he said as he finally came to a realization that his instincts had warned him from the very first moment he met me, and probably should have listened to—that our strength… Our strength was not even on the same playing field. Not even fucking close.
The Nightbanes were speechless. Their eyes all widened in disbelief, and some of them even started to back away altogether. All the while, Code and Havoc wore smiles, knowing what the outcome would be.
Finally, I replied to Drakthor with such patronizing superiority woven elegantly into each word, "I'm a mage with no magic. And you still lost."
I raised my black coated fist high in the air. The motion deserved its own stage because all eyes were glued onto it like it was some beacon.
And when I let it fall, it was like all color moved out of the way for its landing. My knuckles met the armor on his face, shattering it and revealing his pale skin and disarrayed yellow daggered teeth.
I felt his cheekbone crack, and his body bent backward at the impact punch at only forty percent of my strength. He was already barely conscious as his body arched, almost connecting to the ground. "That was for Tubs…" I said, reeling in another punch.
I struck his face again with the same fist, this time at sixty percent strength. His head crashed into the ground, bouncing back up as he spat blood. His large legs stretched out, and hordes of armored pieces went flying off from its pulse, striking down unaware Nightbanes that idly solicited by. "That one's for Tall chick…"Another fist reeled back.
My fingers clenched even tighter now as I shot it down to his face once again. This one at eighty percent… His body straightened in shock, like a malfunctioning robot. His arms and legs flailed back down after, and his head bounced back up again; more blood spewed out from his mouth, and his eyes were clear white. "That one's for Doll face…" I looked at him, making sure he wasn't passed out yet.
No remorse in my eyes as I reeled in yet another punch, I wanted him to feel this one—the final one, the one that mattered most. I let my punch echo its own sound, like a roar—etching the sight and the sound of it into each of his underlings' ears to the point they could feel it too. Not only was this for him, but it was for everyone watching. This was a warning to never cross the Black Wolves' territory ever again, or harm any of its people unless this was the outcome they wanted. This punch was going to shatter his face and bring him to the brink of death.
He was lucky Asura instilled mercy onto me as part of my values. For my punch fell onto him like a mighty meteor—at one hundred percent strength.
"And this one… This one's for Alice!"
The ground cratered, and Drakthor's face caved in as his once pale skin had now turned completely red. His giant arms and legs flailed uncontrollably in the air before passing out cold.
The sound of the crash rang in the ears of all his Nightbanes. The sight of their leader getting demolished by someone half his size tattooed itself in their eyes. He was not dead, but he was not getting up again for a very long time. I defeated Drakthor.
And as he lay unconscious beneath my feet, I let out a loud battle cry that sent shivers down the spines of our enemies yet lifted the spirit of the ones I swore to protect.
I yelled with all the air in my lungs. And when I had finished, inhaling and exhaling deeply until calmness found me once more, I looked over my shoulder to Alice, who was watching the whole time, all the way back from the Wolves Den.
"Alice! Who is it that you follow? Tell me that they would do as I have done here!" I shouted as silence rang louder in this clearing than any other sound. I focused so extremely on her eyes even from that distance. "And if they can't, why do you follow them? Fear?" I waited for a response that was not going to come, purposefully relishing in the silence. "Fear is reserved for my enemies—not my allies."
Her eyes had begun to water until she found herself crying uncontrollably once more. Her wails echoed through the whole Den and the outside. The two other Black Wolves continued to smile—Code closed his eyes and held his cigarette all the while, and Havoc, from within his Primal form, snickered approvingly—the huff of a beast.
"So don't ever doubt yourself again. Not when you know you have friends like us by your side. Wherever you are, I will be there with you. So, hold your head up and never look down. Never waiver… You got that, you damn pipsqueak?"
The tears she cried were those of joy and gratefulness—not just for her sake, and not even for just surviving this… It was gratefulness that she had a Guild… a Captain… a friend who would always be by her side.
It was in that moment she finally understood why she followed him. And she would follow him to the ends of the world. She had decided on it, and it was absolute.
That's him. My Captain. The one I follow. Sparkling and triumphant tears streamed. The sunlight beamed on her, and she was elated with her cup—her soul full. This moment was not Greed's, was not the Black Wolves—it was hers.
***
The tide of the battle now leaned completely in the Black Wolves' favor. The remaining Nightbane bandits were still in the hundreds, but with their leader Drakthor defeated, their morale had been shot entirely. And now defenseless without his Dragonscale armor protecting them, there was no way they were going to succeed here any further. Their only option now was to run away… and the Black Wolves weren't about to let them get away that easily.
High above the Wolves Den and its steampunk features, a beautiful girl sat just over the balustrades of Greed's balcony. Her shapely bare legs and pretty bare feet hung off the ledge as her fair and rosy skin glowed from the morning sun. Her nails and toenails glinted a galaxy blue, looking nearly nude as she only wore a white cloth over her breasts and a thonged undergarment, both with rose gold on the edges and seams.
Rose gold jewelry adorned random parts of her body—rings, cuffs, anklets, and all—as she sat with her legs crossed, left over right, her right elbow elegantly resting on her knee, gently propping her head with a dainty closed palm to her cheek. She tilted her head to the right ever so slightly as she gazed below with her deep blue eyes onto the tattered male amid the dust and smoke, standing over the larger one he had just defeated.
Her hair was platinum white, sparkling and flowing with the wind as a gold halo hovered over her head—appearing as if she was not from this world. When she gazed upon him, her face lit up with a Duchenne smile, eyes slightly crinkled with genuine joy at the sight of him, "My Greed…" she said as she continued to watch her lover from his quarters.
***
As Code and Havoc continued to sweep the Nightbanes, nearby—a short distance away, some of the bandits outside of the clearing were fleeing back into the grove.
One of the Nightbanes bumped into a tall, muscular male who blocked his path. The bandit fell on his hind to the dirt as the muscular male stood there with a sleeveless dark gray gilet, that used to be a jacket, and a black fur hood. He wore black pants and black combat boots; and the only thing he wasn't wearing was a shirt on the inside as he showed off his muscular, toned body.
His hair was medium-short, a yellow-orange color, clean-cut, and slicked back with a mere hand. He stood there above the Nightbane that bumped into him with arms crossed, and the thick gunmetal chains he wore like bracelets on his wrists chimed roughly.
"Who the hell are you and why are you at our home?" he said, his eyes glowing light blue, and his heavy voice sending shivers down their spines.
After him, a brazen female's voice shot in, "Wretched trespassers! Die! All of you!" Though her words were harsh, it was like a soft rasp compared to the muscled male; like asmr to their ears. They couldn't help but be soothed just as they were all punctured from the ground with bone spikes. She had taken out a group of twenty in a matter of seconds with a nameless spellcast.
One of the spikes, however, accidentally stabbed the muscled male through one of his arms, piercing entirely through, but he ignored it as if it didn't faze him and stepped forward. When he did, the bone spike shattered, and a clock formed around his arm, healing his wound—or rather adapting—as if it had never happened.
"Star! I was talking to him, damn it." He said to her.
"Oops… well, too late now. I won."—sticking out her tongue playfully—"Nashhhit." She replied to Nash, but with his dreaded nickname.
Her attire, along with the dark gray jacket and black fur hood she wore that matched Nash, was oversized and fell off the sides of her shoulders, revealing her asymmetrical off-the-shoulder cropped black shirt and fishnets underneath—flowing throughout her arms and torso and even her neck with a black choker.
The cropped shirt featured a skull logo on the front, revealing her toned stomach, where the fishnets continued to flow. Her short shorts were black with a visible panty line of her pink thongs displayed well above her hips. Legs also covered in fishnets as they trailed down past her ankles, finishing off with black combat boots. Her nails were pointed and painted pink, which matched her pink hair, and two distinct dark gray horns rested on her head like a tiara.
"That's not the point… You need to learn how to control that awakening; it can be dangerous for others. You're lucky I can adapt to it. If you were paired with someone else, you would have seriously harmed them just because you're oblivious to your surroundings and others around you—" Nash stopped himself momentarily as he caught her picking her ear without a care. "Of course you're not listening."
"Nope," Star replied blatantly. "And that's their fault for falling victim to my glorious attack. Do better."
Nash looked at her with a blank expression. "You also know we have a 'no killing' policy as per Asura, right?"
"Well, they're not dead are they?"
She gestured to the nearly slaughtered Nightbanes all around them; each of them severely wounded with a plethora of spiked bones protruding from their arms, legs, and bodies—all 'non-lethal' pierces, apparently… "Please… please just kill me…" One of them groaned.
Nash loosed out a sigh as he tilted his head upward to view the pockets of light through the trees. "You know what? Never mind. We're home now, I don't give a fuck anymore, and I want sustenance." Nash said, his once stern voice ending in acceptance. He was obviously tired of it after spending a day and night with Star from their previous mission.
She laughed and then paused awkwardly on purpose as they continued on their way. Star pranced next to him in an aloof-like manner and bumped her shoulder against his large arm, "stupid Nashhit." She teased him.
"Shut up, troll." He teased back as he threw his hands in his pants pockets.
Both were minutes away as they headed back to the Den, toward the area nearest to Code, their Black Wolves logos displaying from their backs as they walked.
***
At the other side of the grove, more so to the side where Havoc was fighting, two other figures had finished cleaning this side of Nightbanes.
The bandits here were scattered, laid out, and unconscious everywhere. Some were hanging off trees, others were knocked out, and one was even headfirst into the ground.
A boot clicked on the ground, crunching on the dirt and leaves as the wearer casually strolled through the battered bunch. He was tall and wore a Black Wolves uniform. There was nothing out of the ordinary with his attire, aside from his black mechanical hands and exposed torso.
He was a cyborg. His mask was black like a screen, devoid of eyes for the time being.
He resembled a cyborg the way he was built, especially with that mask he wore. His long, gray, grungy hair shot out like spikes from the back, and his voice sounded almost robotic as he spoke, "This area is swept, lady Raeyn, lady Ophelia." He said so formally to the woman behind him, also in Black Wolves uniform.
Her outfit—similar but different—was a cropped Black Wolves jacket with buckles hanging from it, paired with a cropped white tank top on the inside that fitted her tightly, exposing her very small waist. A black choker was strapped on her neck with a silver hoop dangling in the middle, like the collar of a dog's; and she wore dark gray high-waisted short shorts with zippers purposely unzipped all over.
Black sheer tights were underneath them, ripped in random places, exposing the smooth porcelain of her legs, and black ankle combat boots to finish off. The top part of her hair was short and silver with the longer part underneath an ombre'd purple. A black eyepatch covered her right eye, and her left was starkly bright yellow.
She held a large and elaborate black-and-red gunmetal scythe in her right hand, facing downward, looking as if it emanated and glowed with darkness itself, matching her maroon nails. Her presence was elegant as she stood atop a large rock, having decimated a random group of Nightbanes, unfortunate enough to have run this way and encountered her, just before. "A trivial matter," Raeyn replied flatly with a soft-spoken tone.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her bright yellow eye had turned purple in a blink, and the top of her hair had darkened from silver to black with the long purple behind her turning blonde. She dropped the scythe and it slipped into her shadow, swallowing it whole. And when she spoke again, it was as if she were a completely different person. "Nice work, Brandy! Let's head back home, shall we?" Ophelia said, giggling at the end.
But just then, another Nightbane that was hidding with Camouflage magic snuck up behind her. She looked back curiously, not even threatened as he was snatched like a flash before her eye. The Nightbane was gone, too quick to see.
At a nearby tree, Brand had slammed that bandit's head onto the trunk without shattering it. He held the grunt by his head, already beaten up and barely conscious, splinters stabbing his already bloodied face.
"H-How… are you so fast?" The Nightbane hardly got out.
"That shouldn't even be a question. I'm the fastest Black Wolf Knight in the Guild. You messed with the wrong group." Brand said as he shoved his head into the tree, creating a hole through it.
Ophelia smirked at Brand as he finished him off, "I'm the fastest Black Wolf Knight in the Guild. You messed with the wrong group," she repeated in an altered, teasing tone. "Such a cutie!"
Brand's screen of a face formed red blushes on it, unable to hide his inner emotion at her comment.
"You should have said, 'This is what it's like to go straight through a tree! Fool! I did it backwards!" she laughed.
"L-L-Lady Ophelia! That instance was only a one-time occurrence! I assure you that has never happened before! I am not an idiot!" He spat, a failed attempt to save face.
Ophelia burst out in laughter, "Brandy… No one is calling you an idiot…"
Brand jeered off into the distance with Star in his mind, almost as if a thought bubble had appeared to him alone. Her tongue out and drooping her bottom eyelid down with her middle finger… "That damn barbarian woman…" he said under his breath as if grinding mechanical, invisible teeth and comically clutching his fist in the air.
Ophelia then jumped off the large boulder she stood atop just as Brand slid down the side of it, joining her at the bottom. When they met, she put her hand on his shoulder, and they both permeated underground, escaping from view entirely, leaving the scene of raided Nightbanes in this section.
***
Back near the front of the clearing, where Greed had just defeated Drakthor, more Nightbane bandits were attempting to run off. This was a larger group that merged into one big cluster.
"What about the girl!?" One of them said, referring to Alice.
"These—These guys are like monsters! Especially their leader! We need to get the fuck out of here. I don't give a fuck about the girl anymore!"
"Did you see the way he crushed Drakthor's face!? If Drakthor can't take him, none of us can!"
"Fucking move! Out of my way!" They frantically moshed as they scattered in the same direction.
But from within the grove they were all running into, the footsteps of a young girl echoed as she walked hauntingly slow in the opposite direction—right back to them. The ground beneath her froze, leaving an icy mist in her wake. The air chilled as a group of Nightbanes, from the front, stopped in their tracks at the sudden change in temperature.
One of them said as they felt the sudden chill in the air, "Why's it freezing now? What's going on?"
"It doesn't get this cold in the Valley Kingdom…" they murmured to each other.
"I said fucking move, you idiots!" An abrasive one pushed his way through the group, "Why are you all just standing here? You wanna get wrecked that badly? Keeper, if you won't go, I will!"
"It's suddenly freezing here in this area, wait!—"
"Oh boohoo. You fuckin baby. Fine. Stay here and die. I'm getting the fuck out of here!" The same abrasive Nightbane ran off ahead of them. He ran a good few feet ahead of the group, but had barely got in another step as he froze completely in place, passing the next tree; becoming an ice statue in a matter of seconds.
"What the!—" Was all he shouted before freezing over.
"Something's in the forest! Turn back, turn back! Turn back now!" on of them said as they saw the silhouette of a haunting female figure emerge from the trees shadows.
"But those Black Wolf monsters are back there!"
Her eyes glowed a haunting, bright emerald green as they became paralyzed with fear at the sight of her.
"Goddamn it, we're done for! We're fucking d—"
In a blink, the whole place froze over, followed by the sound of clashing glaciers. A plethora of Nightbane ice statues had been set, decorating this entire section. The girl had turned the whole area into a crystal forest, sparkling like frozen stars upon the entrance of the court-clearing that led into the Wolves Den.
A young girl with a thick oversized jacket continued to walk slowly out from the dense part of the grove. Her jacket was dark gray, and she wore a hood lined with black fur over her head. Her oversized puffed sleeves were buttoned with open slits that vaguely revealed her slender off-white arms all the way up to her shoulders. She had short black hair with a dark olive green peekaboo underneath. Bangs spread out over her face as she peeked through them like windows, resting just over those piercing emerald eyes of hers.
Under her jacket, she wore a black wolfdog collar with spiked studs lining the neck, and her shirt was a white tank that was low on the cleavage, tucked into her black high-waisted pixie skirt. She had loose, intersecting belts hanging off it and straps underneath attached to her sheer thigh-high socks.
Her nails were short and colored the same dark olive green as her peekaboo and the popsicle she had in her mouth. Her bottom lip had two snakebite piercings on it as she licked.
On the back of her oversized jacket was a logo of a wolf's head hiding behind a small green backpack with dragon wings coming out of it—matching, from what it seemed to be, a thick green, organic dragon tail that came out of a custom hole from back of her skirt. She chimed softly from her zippers to the metal tag on her neck with each light pigeon-toed step she took in her platformed Mary Jane shoes.
She walked so casually onto the scene like she hadn't just cast a wide range spell from the bottom of her feet, freezing all the immediate Nightbanes here.
"Why's it always like this when I come home? They always make such a fuss… What a pain…" she said in a subdued manner; her voice matching the bored look she wore on her face at all times.
As she maneuvered past the ice statues she had created, the grove began to open, and the sun shone brightly across the wide-open clearing, illuminating a court of dirt and grass patches. There she was met by three males, all yards away from each other, and a heaping pile of more Nightbanes scattered and unconscious throughout—with the biggest one like a hill in comparison, laying on the ground like he had become one with the dirt. There, above the heaping man, was another male basking in the sunlight.
When her lazy eyes met him, they widened, finally taking on a different expression, opposite to her defaulted bored and tired attitude. "GG!" she shouted, like the sight of him had triggered the serotonin and oxytocin in her brain.
When his black colored eyes met hers, he appeared like a deity with his chin up, matching her previous expression. But he was pleased to see her.
"Welcome home, Jojo… You took your sweet time, as usual."