In a village surrounded by forest,the moons light purple glow hung high in the sky,reflecting off the lakes surface, as darkness grasped the earth,the dim candles illuminating the wooden houses , "Remember" the white masked assassin said as it checked its arm gaurds position slightly twisting it to the side " the boy is our target,discretion is key ,draw out his protectors no unnecessary casualties and no sound ,if we are to be found out eliminate everyone" the fellow assassins nodded in agreement " now all we need to do is follow our Intel,Remember failure will be met with death or worse by the master " after a sigh and a few seconds, the white masked assassin moved its hand horizontally, to the left,causing the others to disperse , as they parkoured through the village and trees ,their footsteps silent lighter than a single grain of sand,blending into the shadows with no change in the air pressure,amidst the stark silence of the night so stark one could hear a pin drop, the assassins flung themselves into the shadows blending into the dark night ,some casually moving faster than sound before doing so
Doulos carried Roselle to her room,as he wanted to gently place her down on her bed,he switched the way he carried her so she would face him,as he tried to gently place her down she wrapped her legs around him, opening her arms that surrounded his neck ,into a star fish like position her slightly curly hair opening up like the suns warm embrace, as her body plopped on the bed her legs pulling causing Doulos to stumble ,their faces centimeters from each other ,as both their hands intertwined ,giving him a gentle kiss on the lips,causing his eyes to widen and his cheeks to blush, " I've caught you ", she said ,Doulos regained his senses as he replied, "what do you mean" ,both their faces parallel to each other, "why would you come all this way with me to my room,when you could of just teleported the both of us ,If not for wanting to spend more time with me what else " she looked even more confident "and even if drunk how could your core strength be so weak as to be pulled by me of all people, if not for your tacit agreement" Doulos Chuckled as he got closer giving her a passionate kiss her eyes opened wide then releasing " Then why cry on things you already know " ,she sighed then replied ,"Because the man I love ,refuses to cherish me for the world to see " ,she continued, "it makes me sad and ashamed when others do so easily things we haven't even begun to ,despite our long years "
His hand carresed her cheek ,as his eyes seemed deep in thought, " don't be ,I can't stand it when your sad ,besides the length shows the depth and that measures it's authenticity " one side of her lips seemed to curve downwards " oh I had no idea I would fall in love with a poet" he scoffed " poet ,I'm more so a devil then anything else ,now go to sleep your drunk " she quickly turned pouty and hitting the mattress countless times as she wiggled her legs " I want this ,conversation to continue stop running ",he rolled her up tucking her into bed "such things cannot be discussed when ,ones not of clear mind atleast that's what the philosophers say "
Outside the room the top buttons of Doulos white shirt were open ,with a messy collar he took out a lighter and a pack of siggarets , looking at them with nostalgia as his back took comfort in laying on the door in a bent position as if trying to connect to the one behind it ,"I'm finally off duty huh , when last did I have one of these " he said somberly as he lit it up taking a puff releasing fumes from his mouth,his eyes looking towards the ceiling
Outside the tavern seven shadowy figures posted themselves outside hidden in the shadows,at the top of the tiled roof was a girl with orange hair and a maids outfit ,she outstretched her arm as a circle of strange words appeared mid air creating a rift in space causing a great battle axe to descend right into her hand it's weight so great she had to spin herself to adjust and gain balance ,smiling as she sighed breathing in and out overlapping her was a illusory creature as her body gained its traits as wisps of undetectable threads began to spin, thin to the point of invisibility her arms slightly darker purple and her hair turning purple ,above her eyes was something that looked like a mask with six eyes slanted vertically with a dark yellow sclera,large pure red pupils and yellow irises with 6 extra non corporeal arms sticking out as they spun the threads quickly
The scene itself seemed like spirit channeling and if that was the case this particular creature would be a Ling spider a creature that had residence in the black mountains it had eight long five fingered arms that it could hide underneath its tight carapace with six hairy jointed walking legs it's skin a dark purple ,six vertically slanted eyes whiskers and worts on its face with fangs and peg teeth these creatures were known for the strength of their legs running and climbing speed,including their intelligence which specialized in creating undetectable traps to catch and consume the victim
The threads seemed to shoot out everywhere becoming invisible blending into the natural environment undetected by those hiding in the Dark ,as Matilda bent her posture holding her axe with both hands in a swinging position using her human set of arms a smirk lighting up her face
Meanwhile within the large tavern, shadows bent and slanted as 3 solidified figures appeared 2 men and the last a female as they scattered throughout, in an instant the white masked shadow soldier who had his dagger like blade horizontally placed, behind his hip appeared infront of Doulos within the hallway situated at the upper landing ,as doulos chuckled a bit,bending his back pulling his hair backwards throwing the siggaret over the railing besides him,spinning his left hands index finger as a magic circle appeared that spanned for a few miles before dissipating just like that he had placed everyone who were already asleep or in a state near sleep into a deeper slumber
The silence was deafening but caution was clearly exuded more by the challenger , grabbing the hilt of the blade moving at lightning speed quickly closing the distance between it and Doulos,Doulos fixated glance causing the shadow assassin wearing a white masks senses to errupt before vanishing into the shadows and reappearing,repeating the process a few times creating after images before finally attacking with a downward sword slash that was caught and shoved away by Dolouses bare hand ,as he parried and flicked the blade away,the sheer force of the parries that had taken place in the air within a time frame of a few minutes left the white mask assassin stunned and in aw, as he was launched a few feet managing to hold his footing
Using the period of surprise and weakness from his opponent Doulos delivered an unexpected spinning kick to his opponents mid section that simply phased through his body as the assassin bacflipped to a safer position ,two shadows suddenly distorted as their speed of movement increased attempting to reach Darians room,by the time they got near they were completely pushed back and repeled, outside the shadows that they hid in, like a shockwave from a collision this was a barrier Doulos had placed the moment Darian entered his room, as he had foresaw the following events ,but this was still a serious matter and no time to let ones gaurd down, theoretically they could break through but the chances were very low ,Doulos immediately sensed the attempt his face going from a calm arrogance to a serious professional ,this time the assassin lunged forward creating multiple clones in tandem as each parkoured one running on the wall the other on the handrail
When within range the assassin clone running on the wall jumped down simultaneously twisting his hips imitating a spinning downward slash as a rift appeared in space near its right hand with a swords hilt poking out, immediately pulling the blade to perform the downward slash ,which was easily avoided with the clone on the handrailing jumping off the platform to deliver a kick, that was also avoided the main body jumping up from behind his earlier clone using it to blindside Doulos even that had no effect,leading to a dance of swords ,as the three clones surrounded,Doulos in all three directions each spinning simultaneously to deliver a downward slash but when they did Doulos had already disappeared from the center spot jumping high up , the moment he got down he dodged one slash then another, catching one of the clones attacking him in an arm lock twisting it's arm and breaking its grip before decapitating the assassin clone with its own blade
"Hah ,I see you can't integrate your skill into each clone" he said calmly in an instant the false blade began to shatter turning into nothing,as a grunt of frustration released from the assassins facing him ,in less than a second Doulos gained a premonition in the vision the white masked assassins blade turned into a whip of lightning and next a great ball of fire then an explosion the sequence of events seemed to overlap but he understood what had to be done,this raised the seriousness of the matter indicating the fight would need to come to a screeching halt ,in a second a spinning kick to the face,twisted the head of the white masked assassins last clone a one inch punch from doulos, turned into a spear penetrating the clones guts for good measure,the blood and body disappearing seconds later, Doulos turned to his opponent releasing a dense magical aura that corroded the will of his enemy, to his enemy this man had become a drawing of dark thick lines breaking into a ruff sketch his aura rippling across like a tidal wave his eyes deep and black like an abyss , a circle of mana appeared from the walls near Doulos as the surroundings vitality increased plants growing entangling Douloses feet while undead specters hands pinned him to the wall behind him pulling his hands,legs and clothes backwards, his appearance was still filled with unshaking confidence, the two taunting figures appeared crouching from the shadows
It was the red and green masked assassin with the spell clearly woven by the latter, her hands outreched towards the one currently knaled to the wall , the white masked assassin was in utter fear and shock,his head tilting towards doulos who's head still pointed northward ,the white masked assassins senses were clearly heightened his self preservation instincts ringing ,"would a man who's life was at risk be so calm"he asked himself taking a another step back ,Doulos looked at the the green masked assassin,as their eyes met it was too late ,
The green masked assassins body had erupted to into flames, so fast no screams if ever were to come out or had a chance to be heard,the red masked assassin quickly jumped out of the way in the cold tensions silence,thoughts raced through the red masked assassins mind "how" he thought ,the silence was broken as the white masked assassin broke down answering his own question "no,no,no ,Nooo!" as immediately vanished with such speed leaving nothing but a blur, the spell that held Doulos down by his own choice had disappeared
As he clapped his hands focusing his attention on the red masked individual,who had summoned a black fire tipped spear,between them were the ashes of the assassins female comrade floating up in the air, Doulos laughed maniackly "your probably thinking how ,how" " its truly simple I had carved a magic circle within mine eyes the moment our eyes met this magical circle was projected and traveled using refractions ingraving themselves into the opponents mind and activating", " if only she had reacted in time purging, resisting or corroding my spell from within before its activation it wouldn't have gone off " Doulos calmly gestured using his hands indicating an explosion saying "boom"
Scenes flashed within the mind of the assassin,memories of training standing in rows,side by side practicing the exact same moves as the proctor infront ,the dreams they promised to each other to become strong enough,gaining enough strength to leave ,he remembered the blood dripping from his arm as he signed the blood contract" if only I had known,no if only we had known " these words echoed in his mind "from that day on it was over "
He remembered those he had slaughtered the innocent the non innocent all alike as he collected his thoughts his fate already decided boastfully making a statement "who ,am I kidding the blood the violence the thrill of Battle I love it way too much ","I've killed man ,women and children,mother and father,I have no! regrets come at me! " doulos chuckled "you think I'm killing you because of all the things you've done no ,I'm not your judgement ,I for one can understand your plea ,who cares how many you've killed depending on the circumstances I could sympathise and say you had no choice but the gods,they speak a way different language" ,"I'm just doing my job"
The red masked warrior took his stance stabbing his spear forward spinning in an attempt to catch his opponent, Doulos snapped his fingers both entering a white space the assassin floated in the air, balls of fire and light condensing and flinging themselves towards Doulos
Matilda pulled the thin invisible wire like strings that wrapped around her unknowing opponents, using her back arms ,the assassins were pulled towards her like magnets their eyes filled with panic while the sound of grunts could be heard from their direction,regaining their calm as they enhanced their legs to not be torn apart by the wire backflipping and enhancing their blades sharpness cutting the very wire that pulled them ,but the closest was not as fortunate the speed in which he was pulled and the unexpectedness of the situation had caught him off gaurd sending him huddling before Matilda as she took a swing her mouth twitching with a smile The great axe ripping him in two the force of the collision creating a shockwave pushing the assassin backwards into a lifeless puddle of blood like rain turning into a thick black goop then fog before vanishing into the shadows
The others saw this and charged towards her as her great Axe falling into the void,her body suddenly becoming illusory disappearing like an imaginery phantom, leaving them stunned one out of the six remaining called out " keep your senses on high alert " suddenly Matilda appeared on her thighs near the black stocking under her mades out fit were miniature black belts with pouches that held a range of small throwing knives ,her skill could easily be seen as she threw the poison infused daggers faster than the speed of sound before they could fully turn their bodies
Then disappearing once more this was the power of a certain feathered Antena gecko,it's ability to turn invisible and avoid mana detection was second to nun out of any beast ,Matilda taunted the assassins saying
" Selling your souls for a few shadow related abilities while loosing your skills isn't that pathetic, has the shadow Court fallen so low from the legends or is it just the ones I'm facing ",the assassins anger sprout out " you know nothing of our pain but your deaths are inevitable, in this world where shadows loom over the high and mighty themselves no justice is a figment of a childs imagination"
This had all been a ploy for the assassins to locate her using sound after they had gained an Idea of the location of her voice they attacked with ferocity ,using air slashes and summoning a concentrated tornado of wind,sparkle could be seen where the attacks came to a halt, Matilda had summoned the great axe from the void spinning it with enough strength using one hand to counter the attacks thrown against her ,Matilda took a second to admire them using hand signs to create magical spells which depending one's speed was considered faster and more efficient that creating magical circles ,but what was more impressive was that this art was used before the current recorded period
When the frequency subsided she found herself at the receiving end of many balls of bright fire thrown at her direction,covering multiple angles one hit would surely mean death as her attackers would see it as the opportune moment to strike finishing her off, her appearance quickly changed as if an illusory feline had taken over her body gaining uts features a set of pointed feline ears ,eyes ,whiskers, her hands and mouth growing claws and fangs respectively , with a fierce aura covering the body , her speed increased several fold she lunged forward saying "the effects of the poisonmakes you way too slow ",and in mere instances 4 out of the 6 remaining were taken off gaurd as their throats were clawed their chest pierced through, their heads kicked hard enough to see their backs or cleaved in two
Her figure changing once more gaining short glowing deer like antlers,silver illusory scales below her eyelids and on her hands with deep blue eyes that seemed effected by the crackle of thunder and lightning ,this was non other than her Kirin fear and doubt took control causing the rest to take one foot back ,but before they could make any movement lightning and thunder seemed to boom out of knowhere before their very eyes it's color a blueish white at it's center a young woman,summoning her great Axe again Matilda with a downward descent rended them into pieces as she attacking the finale one
His positioning at the edge of the roof caused her to fall with her axe lodged in his chest as they fell downward,simultaneously behind her a window broke in two jumping out of it was an assassin wearing a white mask the two locked eyes before Matilda continued her descent as both landing on one of the lower tiled roofs ,as they had a little stand off ,the assassins nerves could be glanced easily as his body trembled a little but he held his blades grip with one hand pulling the blade horizontally to his right
Although one of her strongest forms,she could only last for five minutes without side effects the same could be said for the rest with similar levels ,the strain caused her to pant "huff ,huff", " five minutes still ,what a joke " her form changed again,her hands as if she wore skin tight dark red gloves her hands looking a bit larger and uneven and dark sharp knails, growing red pointed horns and dark red eyes she had overlapped with an Oni lunging forward then jumping in the air while spinning her axe releasing a downward strike mid air, the assassin maneuvred beneath the maid to cut her in two as his katana rose up, but seconds before she descended, she backflipped mid air using the force to still deliver a downward blow pulverizing part of the roof ,creating a smoke screen quickly taking up her axe,she headed for her opponent in this dual the two clashed in a dance the assassins superior strength required her to overlap with an Oni or something of similar strength or the outcome would be her death
The twos clashes released sparks cracking the ground beneath them each swing that was surely to land fazed through her opponent while the his countless slashes fizzled out in minutes as the wounds closed rapidly, eventually jumping away from one another ,the assassin signaled the dropping of arms returning his blade to the void ,placing both hands behind his hips running forward his senses heightened focusing all his mana into his strength and towards her
Matilda laughed this was the most fun she had she was also going a bit mad,as her body returned to the previous feline state but now her arm till the elbow seemed stuffed in a tiger customers looking exactly like a white tiger as she released a Roar causing hearts to skip
The two fought in hand to hand Matilda dodged a spinning kick to the face only to be met by a bunch to the face that sent her flying back before backflipping and pouncing back to her opponent moving at lightning speeds the assassin had been regaining his strength and confidence from being outclassed prior causing him to dodge a claw strike and a leg sweep, with the third attack break apart half of his mask revealing a man with a maniacle laugh and black hair ,as he continued the assualt hitting her mid section and ribbs delivering a uppercut to the chin, Matildas palm and fingers straightening into a horizontal claw strike causing him to take one step back then Matilda followed up with a paw strike that began phasing through the second it fully faded
A blade had stabbed the assassin through the heart
It was Claus ,Matildas gaze showed shock and disappointment, her opponent had placed all his energy senses into fighting her leaving him vulnerable to a sneak attack blood gushed out from her opponent as he smiled bowing down his body decaying into the shadows The mask completely cracking
Within the large tavern a white Crack formed in empty space coming from it Doulos carried a severed head which began to quickly decay returning to the shadows as he said solemnly "sleep well fellow warrior"