𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜: 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙚𝙮
❛ 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳... ❜
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A scream rang throughout the dark night, cut off abruptly before its owner could finish. The cry for assistance had originated from a building which towered above the dark forest, malevolent and imposing in both architecture and presence. An insistent ringing shredded through the night, an alarm put in place to warn the occupants of the building of an invasion.
Rose stepped out of the study where the leader of the guild had previously resided, her expression cold and unyielding. The blade in her grasp was coated in crimson, droplets of the substance dribbling onto the floor. She flicked the blade, allowing a scattering of the substance to paint the walls. A trail of the viscous fluid was left in her wake, like ominous footprints announcing her presence.
A trio of mage sprung out of one of the rooms, their weapons raised and spells at the ready. They had recognised her as the intruder the bell had rung to warn them of.
Before they could grow any nearer to her, Rose moved.
A flash of silver, and then one of the mages crumpled to the ground. A puddle of crimson had begun to form beneath his body, the colour resembling that of the scarf around her neck closely. The remaining two mages cried out when they realised their companion had been swiftly deported to the world of the dead.
Another flash. Another body.
The last, a man, regained his senses and roared furiously. He threw himself forward so as to tackle her, eliciting a smirk from the girl.
He had quite literally thrown himself onto her blade – the tip digging through the upper abdomen where his vital organs lay, and emerging on the other side. If he was lucky, he'd die within a few moments. If not, she'd probably have punctured his stomach. His stomach acid would leak into his bloodstream and he'd die a slow, miserable death.
The man convulsed violently, quickly entering his death throes. Rose lingered nearby to make sure he was truly dead before she left.
"You monster..." The man managed to cough, blood speckling the tiles. His dark eyes fixated on her blurry frame, somehow focusing on her eyes despite the pain. "You won't get away with this..."
He finally fell silent, his last words hanging in the air like an ominous cloud above the assassin's head.
"You... deserve to die... in agony..."
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An armour-clad male brought his sword up to defend himself, his stance unchanged by the heavy impact of another sword crashing against his. The weapon used to attack him was sent flying through the air. While his opponent was still in shock he ducked into their guard and knocked them out with a hit to the back of the head.
It had been less than ten minutes since he stepped onto the battlefield, but he was already standing in a sea of unconscious bodies. His crimson hair bobbed as he paused to breathe, his hands resting on his knees for a few short moments.
A sharp whistle was what alerted him to an attack from another enemy. The knight was barely able to bring his sword up in time, angling it so that the short sword his opponent was using simply slid off. His eyes widened, almost imperceptibly. The person he was fighting now was clearly different to their predecessors – they were dressed in the garb of an assassin, not a combatant.
Why were they fighting him?
"Who are you?!" the man demanded. He bounded back to put some distance between himself and his opponent; her sword was short and light, so staying close would only disadvantage him. She was a lot faster and lighter on her feet than the other grunts.
The silence which stretched out after his question clarified the fact that she wouldn't be speaking to him. Her crimson eyes glowed eerily in the shadows cast by her hair and her muffler. The knight stiffened when his gaze focused on the blade of her weapon – droplets of blood rolled off the tip which was pointed towards the ground, splattering against the dirt.
She'd killed someone.
He could sense it clinging to her heels like an ominous shadow, hovering over her form like a storm cloud about to burst. She flicked the blade suddenly, sending an arc of vibrant scarlet blood through the air.
A flash of silver was the only warning he had of the attack she'd launched. His eyes widened as he brought his sword up to defend; she'd used the blood as a distraction!
The battle was an exchange of blows, both participants fierce and unyielding – but the longer it took, the more energy was sapped.
Eventually, their weapons shattered under the stress.
They both stepped back and re-equipped themselves in just seconds. The knight summoned another sword, while Rose tossed her shattered weapon to the side and drew a spare dagger from her waist.
As the battle stretched on, the two developed a grudging respect for each other. Neither had expected the other to hold out for so long – being the top predators in their food chains, they weren't used to being challenged.
It was somewhat thrilling, in a twisted way.
But there was an issue – Rose wasn't used to fighting for extended periods of time. Most of her opponents were taken care of swiftly and efficiently, so her stamina wasn't as great as the mans. She stumbled.
He took the chance he had received readily, slashing downwards diagonally. She was forced to raise her dagger to defend. The impact made an awful, screeching noise, and he managed to carve a scratch into the blade with his attack – but the dagger had no guard, and the sword slid down the blade and nicked her arm.
Rose realised that she was fighting a losing battle. With an irritated hiss, she drew a small throwing knife from her belt and tossed it at his head with chilling precision. He side-stepped, removing his sword, and gave her the chance to carry out her plan.
Flames burst to life at Rose's feet. The knight stumbled away, shocked by the sudden development. The flames were dull, a shade of red which seemed to be fairly weak. It seemed as if she hadn't been using the skill much. Their heat barely reached him, comparable to a matchstick in strength.
But then he realised that the girl hadn't summoned the flames to fight him – with a flash of light, she had disappeared.
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Rose was pacing back and forth in a secluded hollow, having delved deep enough into the forest that she wouldn't need to worry about the man catching her.
What would she do now?
Without her guild... she was nothing.
She had no purpose, no duty. Why did she even exist? The guild had been her purpose. That's what the master had told her so many times. He'd reassured her that, if nothing else, she made a wonderful weapon.
But she had run away like a coward. She'd failed her task.
"Weapons like you were made to spill blood."
"Killing is what you were meant for."
"If you do not kill, then you are not fulfilling the purpose of your existence."
Those had been the exact words which the guild masters had told her many, many times. Over the decades, each new guild master had said the same thing.
She was a weapon.
She was made to kill.
It was her purpose.
If she did not kill, she was useless.
Not only had she failed tremendously, but she had broken the vow she had made to herself when she first joined the guild. She had promised that she would never use her magic, but when she escaped she had used her fire. She'd failed the guild, and Felliora, and herself.
Rose took another step forward, her mind still turbulent, only to have her foot sink into the ground. Her entire body followed soon after, and the assassin was sent tumbling through a hole in the ground.
The phoenix slayer groaned, somewhat glad that there was a bit of a slope which prevented her from hitting the ground too hard. Leaf litter cushioned her as she pushed herself to her feet, glancing around the cave which she had fallen into. It looked to be a cavern, the walls coated with crystals and shards of ice.
It was surprisingly cold in the underground cave.
Rose's eyes fell upon a rather strange crystal, unlike the others in appearance. Its surface was smooth and polished, partially translucent. The insides were tinged pale blue, but the shadowy silhouette inside was enough to reveal what the crystal really was.
"An egg?" Rose murmured aloud to herself.
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"Wasn't the guy with the red hair Adell?" Gray asked.
"Yeah. It is," Cylene agreed. "But a few years younger. This wasn't too long ago."
"Remind me never to get on either of their bad sides..." Lucy murmured, her slight frame engulfed by a massive blanket. Natsu crossed his arms over his chest, dark eyes fixated on the lacrima.
"Agreed."
Published: 21/09/2017
Edited: 10/04/2018