"The war will never end," Says the man who sat drinking beer in the bar, "It is a rare chance for profiting."
"True, they kept squeezing us for coins without caring whether we can afford to pay." The other man exclaims.
The barkeeper frowned at the two customers, he walks over to them and whispered a piece of advice. "Better keep whatever opinions you have to yourselves, and save yourself some trouble, no?"
The two men responded by emptying their beer mugs and slamming it on the table before striding out to the streets, continuing their conversation elsewhere. Curses on the current war situation could still be heard until they were seized by patrolling guards.
Shaking his head, the barkeeper walks to another customer. He had noticed the stranger's interest in the sensitive topic, he seemed intrigued by the things said earlier. He decided to approach the stranger for a conversation.
"So, what brings you to this part of town? If you don't mind me asking?"
The stranger stares at the barkeeper for a moment, thinking, before he nods. The stranger wore a cloak that blocked most of his facial features from being seen. The barkeeper also noticed the weapon hidden from plain sight, it looked like a dagger.
"I am only passing by, so I thought that I might as well settle some business while I'm here." The stranger took a sip from his drink before answering.
The barkeeper nods in response, he didn't want to pry too much into people's personal affairs, it is fairly dangerous for one to know too much.
"So, how do you think about our town? I know it isn't much, compared to other places like Tilakesh, but it's still something."
"Aye, I'd like to spend time to explore the beauty of the woods, if given the chance, but alas, there is work to be done." The stranger paused as if sensed something. He looks at the entrance of the bar instinctively, like he was expecting someone.
"Do you have any opinion on the war?" The barkeeper can't help but ask.
The stranger reaches into his cloak and places a few coins onto the table, he stood up and began to leave. "Not really."
Upon leaving the tavern, the stranger walked into an abandoned alley and a shadow drop from the top. The girl wore armor that has armor plating protecting all important organs of the body, while the rest were leather, offering some defense without taking away any mobility. It was designed to be mobile and versatile. There was a katana attached to the side, her left hand resting on the weapon. On the other hand, held another katana. She stood up and walked to the side of the stranger.
"Kenta, everything is prepared. We await your further commands."
"Well done, Mei. As always, you are efficient."
The man known as Kenta removed his hood and his face came into view, there was a scar across his left eye that seemed age-old. He was in his early thirties, he has grey hair and grey eyes. He was the leader of a squad within an organization known as Night Walkers, and they were an organization that dealt with suppressing another organization known as Eclipse, if possible, even uprooting it.
Mei handed the other katana to Kenta, they were here on a mission to capture the king of Vignar, who was said to be passing here after an assessment nearby. If taking him alive was not an option, they would need to kill him. He is one of the core puppets of their arch enemy, and he has a wide influence on many things since he is a king.
Eclipse wants to control the world from the dark, making it their playground and shape the world as they like, ignoring the lives of others. Recently, the act of terrorizing towns and villages has increased. They had begun absorbing more territories to expand its reign. Many people tried to fight back to protect their homes, but it was futile as retaliators were quickly executed. In the eyes of commoners, these are the war that they speak of, not knowing the actual truth.
Eclipse likes to collect artifacts from the old age for their use, to strengthen themselves. The war between the two factions has been raging for centuries now but the enemy has been improving themselves while they have been degrading.
They were in a losing fight, but still, they preserve in hope of keeping the world safe. They have limited numbers on their side, while this may be true, they were elite warriors. But strength alone cannot win against sheer numbers, which is why taking out the pillars of the enemies is crucial, it would be much more efficient to destabilize and cripple their operations this way.
Now they were here on a mission to intercept the king, he had gone to a secret meeting with some higher-ranked members of Eclipse. Regardless of what happened, it would not change the fact that they were here for him. They had spent days, even months preparing. Gathering intel and plotting. Now everything was in place, the plan is proceeding smoothly, all they need to do now is wait for the moment to strike.
Every squad in Night Walkers have their mission, and a squad was dispatched on this mission, an elite squad. Captained by Kenta, who is feared by the enemy and acknowledged as a demon in battle. The rest of the squad consists of Mei, a blades wielder personally trained by Kenta himself. Her raven hair was tied into a half pony with a ribbon, she has emerald green eyes, a rare color for eyes in these lands. She was found by Kenta when she was but a child, her village was burnt down by Eclipse and she was the sole survivor.
Sara, a redhead who is proficient in the use of bows and arrows is the second member of the squad. Sara was a hunter before she joined, she was taught by her father and they often hunted together until her father was murdered in cold blood.
Reina – a gifted assassin – is good at finding the targets as well as dealing with poison. She was orphaned at a young age where she spent her time pickpocketing people to survive, when she grew older, she took up assassination contracts since she was gifted in this field. She was doing fine until Kenta took notice of her talent and decided to recruit her. It took a bit of persuading in the beginning though.
Layla – a spear user with raven hair to match her black clothes – was already in the organization since she was young, her father used to be one of the senior members until he was killed in a mission. It was another reason why she can fight so fiercely, her hatred for Eclipse could be felt on the battlefield.
Mikael and Torin are responsible for being the vanguard, they are brothers, they take enemies head-on or defending fellow members if required. Both of them had short brown hair along with brown eyes, Mikael was the older brother, and he has a beard, he was also happily married to a beautiful woman called Abeline. Torin, on the other hand, was seeking more action, he would rather be killing enemies than settling down.
They were both recruited by old Daneister, but the old man has since retired, probably gardening, or eating food somewhere deep in the mountains. They had taken up this cause because they witness firsthand the brutality and cruelty of Eclipse. They felt that it would be a disaster for the world if they fail.
This was a seven-person squad, and everyone was trained and experienced through many battles, whether personal or war. Even though death was very possible, they had no fear of it. They had set up an ambush near a bridge, they would destroy the bridge with explosives when some of the enemies are within range, this way they can reduce the number of enemies.
Once the bridge is gone, they would launch an attack on the main carriage and take the king alive, so they can extract information from him. However, it was optional, if the situation is not good, as long as they can take his head, the mission will have succeeded.
* * *
The sun was falling as they got into their respective positions in wait for the ambush. Dusk was soon upon them, they could see the torches being lit in the distance. As the enemies got closer, they had a clearer view of them. There were horsemen, foot soldiers, and archers, all clad in armors, and are well equipped. Their number ranges to about fifty men. Their target was within the gold carriage being hauled along the way, surrounded by the elite guards of the king.
As more and more enemy soldiers steps onto the bridge, Kenta signals Sara to fire the shot that marks the beginning of the ambush. A fire arrow was lit and sent away by the redhead, the arrow reaches its mark, at the same time the enemies had noticed the arrow, but it was too late.
A loud bang was heard as the bridge loses its support pillars and began to collapse, the soldiers walking on top of it descended into the raging currents along with many debris.
Mikael and Torin hurl explosives onto the army of soldiers, where more explosions erupted. Bodies lie on the ground, and many soldiers groaning and twisting around. With the enemy in disarray, Kenta signals the rest of the crew for the final blow.
Mikael and Torin take the lead in spearheading the enemy forces, cutting down whoever stands in their way. Sara supports them on the back by shooting down anyone that gets too close to cause harm to the vanguards. Kenta, Mei, and Layla seek out the stronger enemies and take them down swiftly while covering Reina who will be approaching the enemy king.
Bodies fell, blood everywhere, broken armors lay scattered across the battlefield as more and more soldiers are rid of their lives.
When everything was going smoothly one moment, the next everything went wrong. More enemies came from the back of them, surrounding the entire clearing as if prepared for this moment.
Keeping calm and following the plan, Reina used this chance to reach the carriage, she kicks open the carriage door only to find it empty. She was surprised that there was no one in it, the king was missing. Thinking that they have fallen into a trap, Reina exited the carriage to try to warn the others. Before she could do anything, enemy reinforcements had gotten into positions and they rained arrows upon the battlefield, disregarding the fact their allies were there.
Reina uses the carriage as a shield to stay away from the bombardment of arrows, Torin raised his shield to block off the incoming arrows while the rest of the squad scrambled for the nearest shelter. Mikael was hit on the side of the knee as he moved a bit too late, he fell to the side of a corpse where he quickly grabs it and uses it to shield himself.
"Kenta! This is a ruse, our target is not here!" Reina shouted to Kenta who was behind a fallen tree.
Moments later, the rain of arrows stops as a horn was blown, the enemies were going to sweep the battlefield. There was no way for them to be able to fight them head-on when they were either wounded or exhausted from the combat earlier, they were not in peak condition. They had even lost the element of surprise, they were at a big disadvantage now.
It was, after all, supposed to be a quick mission, taking the king. It was not meant to be a frontal clash with Eclipse nor the king's men.
"We should leave now while we can. It is futile if the target is not here." Mei said.
Kenta nods in agreement, there was nothing they could do here if their target were not here. There was even an injured member to care for, without hesitating, Kenta signals for a retreat.
At the same time, a carriage appeared at the far end, deep within enemy lines. It was an exquisite carriage, with many decorative ornaments. The enemy general – who can be identified because of the outfit he wore – even bowed to the person inside the carriage.
Kenta narrowed his eyes as the person inside the carriage revealed himself, it was their target, the king. The king of Vignar appeared for a moment and gave a command to his general after analyzing the battlefield. The next moment, the enemy general commanded their soldiers, and they began to attack and push more fiercely. Enemies archers rained more arrows upon them, intending to delay their escape until the foot soldiers reach them, that way they can't escape with enemies at their back.
As the main attack force was about to reach them, the rain of arrow stops. The archers ran towards to join the battle.
Mikael lifted Torin and carried him, dragging him along to cover. Sara returns fire with her arrows, taking down some enemies with her accurate shots. There were too many enemies, they were coming at them like a swarm. Layla covered their retreat and began fighting enemies on the forefront alone.
"Layla, it's time to go now!" Kenta shouted.
As she moves back, a sword was thrown in her direction which she sidesteps fairly easily. When she turns around, a masked man was standing in front of her. She had an ominous feeling, but she can't just turn and run now as that would expose herself to the enemy. The only option was for her to retreat slowly, but the enemies would not allow that. Enemy soldiers quickly encircled her, as if they knew what to do.
The enemies formed a tight encirclement around her, heavily armored soldiers with shields cut off her escape. The second group of heavily armored soldiers formed a semicircle facing the opposite direction, blocking off anyone that tries to approach.
"Layla!"
Mei wants to rush to aid Layla but was held back by Kenta, she looks at him with a pained face as Kenta shakes his head. Mei clutches her sword tightly as she looks at Layla within the encirclement.
Layla swiftly attacks the closest soldier to her, but it was blocked by the enemy's shield. The enemies were not attacking her, and she found this strange, however, they stood like a statue, not backing nor advancing.
She turns to face the masked man, he was not doing anything as well, merely observing her. She has a determined face since she could no longer escape, she would take as many down with her possible, starting with the masked man. She held her spear tightly and lunged for the kill.
Enemy soldiers not only surrounded Layla, but they were also advancing on the rest of the squad. Most of the exits were blocked off by soldiers stationed there beforehand. They were being forced towards the cliff. A thought flashed through Kenta's mind, the enemy knew of their plan, but how did they know? At least they managed to regroup before the next wave of attack arrives, the enemy was getting very close now.
"What about Layla?" Mikael asked.
"There's nothing we can do for her." Kenta says, "It is my responsibility to keep you alive as best as I could, and now we are going to retreat. The mission is a failure."
All of them turn to look at Layla, they saw her lunge with her spear at the masked man. What surprised them was the masked man moved abruptly and swiftly, easily dodging Layla's attack, he went behind Layla and knocked her unconscious.
Everyone's heart skips a beat, they all knew that while Layla was not weak in terms of combat prowess, but the masked man took her out without batting an eye. This means that the masked man was very strong, it was probably Kenta would be the only one able to stop him if he comes after them.
"We need to go now!" Kenta says, his face was grim.
Even though unwilling, they had to leave, or they would lose their life here. Mei cast a last glance at Layla, some soldiers went forward to pick up the unconscious Layla. There was a doubt in her heart concerning what they would do with Layla.
Regardless, it was out of her ability to do anything now, their best chance of survival was to leave the place first and figure out the next step.
As they make their way to their escape point, Sara suddenly fell to the ground, she was panting heavily as her right hand was drenched in blood. She had kept quiet about her wound, the patch of blood on the right side of her armor was barely visible. Kenta moved forward and lifted her, he was planning to drag her along if he needed to, he was not going to leave anyone behind.
A few more steps, Torin fell with a thud, he was groaning. Mikael fell with him as the weight suddenly shifted to one side. They couldn't afford to lose any more time, the enemies were almost upon them.
"Torin, come on, we need to go now." Mikael urges as he tries to lift Torin, the only response he receives was more groaning. Reina went forward to check on Torin and she realized something was wrong with him.
"He's poisoned," Reina explains as she found the cause. "The arrow as laced with a toxin. I need time to identify the poison and make an antidote, but I'm afraid Torin..."
"Can you make the antidote now if I buy you time?" Mei asked Reina with a serious expression, her hand tighten around her sword.
"I might. If the poison is something I know, there's just no way of telling before I examine it."
"Then we'll give you the time you need." Mikael says, grabbing his shield and readied his sword, preparing for combat.
Reina stares at them momentarily before nodding, they were not going to leave someone behind if at all possible. Sara grabbed her bow and tried to stand up, but Reina stopped her.
"Not you, you're going to rest." Reina says, "Go bandage your wound, we will need you to be able to move later. And I need someone to guard me so I can focus on Torin."
Reina focuses on examining Torin's wound once she gave instructions to Sara while Mei, Kenta, and Mikael went to buy some time for developing the antidote. Reina always has some medicinal herbs in her pouch, as an assassin, she would be able to access it for making antidotes or poison if required.
Mikael stood at the front, while Kenta stood on the right and Mei on the left. Mei looked at her fellow members, her heart felt heavy, this was the worst that had happened in all the operations they participated in.
The enemies were approaching them now, their foot soldiers came at them, roaring with their sword raised. It was time for the second battle to begin. Amidst the battle, enemies were being cut down, they sustained minor injuries, but they were feeling the toll of fatigue on their bodies now. Even so, they persisted because Torin's life depended on them. Reina was focused on examining the poison, but Torin's vitality was quickly depleting, the poison was very strong.
A list of powerful poison came into her mind as she compared the symptoms, after a few moments, one poison came to her mind. She was shocked, it couldn't be that poison, for safety, she goes through the list again carefully, but the result was the same.
The poison that was killing Torin now was created by her, but how did her poison reach the enemy's hand. She stops for a while, she needed to save Torin while she can, not ponder about things that can be investigated later. Once again, she focuses on creating the antidote since she knows the poison ailing Torin.
She was so focused on the task that she did not pay attention to other things, including what happened next. Reina spits out a mouthful of blood as she looks down to see an arrow sticking out of her chest, the first thought that came to her mind was an enemy arrow had hit her. She turns her head to find Sara standing behind her with her bow drawn. She wanted to ask her why, but her voice wouldn't come out, her vision darkens as she fell sideways to the ground. Blood slowly dripping from her wound, she felt cold, her eyes were still focused on Sara who was standing in front of her.
Mei cut down yet another enemy when she noticed what happened to Reina, she calls out to Kenta and Mikael. They ran back to Reina and Torin, Mikael raised his shield against Sara who stood at the opposite side, seemingly calm.
Kenta went to check on Reina, but they were too late, she had breathed her last breath, it was no surprise when her heart was shot. Without Reina to synthesize the antidote, Torin won't last long as well. There was a wave of raging anger within Mei, she couldn't understand why Sara had attacked her teammate. She raised her katana towards Sara.
"Why?" Mei asked angrily.
Sara merely looked at them, as if waiting. Even without her reply, Kenta already knew, it was her that leaked their plans and it was her that betrayed them, breaking the oath that they took together.
"Well, well, what an exciting display!" The masked man appeared, clapping his hand. Enemy soldiers were amassing behind him in a semicircle formation, but shows no sign of advancing, for now.
They were cornered now, their back was facing the cliff that leads to the ocean. With the bridge gone, it was a dead end. Once Kenta finish examining Torin's condition, he stood up and shook his head, he walks to the side of Mei.
"Torin's dead."
The news slams into Mei and Mikael like a sledgehammer, one by one, their members were gone. Layla was taken down, Torin was poisoned to death and Reina was shot by Sara. Gripping her sword tightly, Mei couldn't understand why this has happened, her heart ached.
"Don't forget our deal," Sara said plainly, but Mei did not understand what she was saying, then she realized her head was facing the masked man.
"Of course, we would not back up on a deal, especially since you have done us a very great service."
"Good. Now maybe you would like to settle the current situation?" Sara asked, pointing her finger at Mei and the rest. "I would like to get back to my prize."
"I don't like being ignored, who are you?" Kenta narrowed his eyes on the masked man, he was giving off a dangerous vibe.
"Ah, the infamous demon swordsman, I had wanted to fight you one day." The masked man paused and laughed loudly. "Who would have thought this day would come so soon."
"Sara, have you forgotten about the oath we made together? How could you kill your friends?" Kenta said with a pained expression.
Once again, Sara ignores the question. Running out of patience, Kenta attack abruptly, lunging forward at a very fast speed, his sword extending and aiming for the kill. Sara did not run, she did not even flinch from the attack. As the attack was about to hit her, the masked man moved, swinging his sword to parry Kenta's attack. Kenta retreated to the others since his attack was blocked.
"Find a way to escape later, you need to report this back to the leader or this will eventually kill the entire organization," Kenta whispered to Mei. She wanted to argue about it but decided to abide by the order, she sheath her sword and turns around. "Mikael, leave with Mei, I will handle this."
Mikael nods at Kenta before taking off with Mei, with them away, Kenta faces the masked man with a serious expression. This was most probably going to be his last battle.
"This won't do, I have strict orders to not let anyone from your squad to leave here alive." Seeing the two people running away, the masked man said almost apologetically. "Let's take care of the bystanders first so we can fight to our heart's content, shall we?"
Having said that, the masked man moved towards Mei and Mikael. Kenta instantly chased after the masked man, but he was slightly slower than the masked man. He shouted a warning to the duo oblivious of the danger approaching. However, they still reacted too slow, Mikael wanted to raise his shield to block the incoming attack, but the masked man moved first.
With a swing, Mikael's hand was severed from his body, it flung onto the ground and he had nothing more to guard against attacks with his shield gone.
Mikael screams in pain and instinctively grabs his arm, where it used to be. Mei took out her sword and slash at the masked man without hesitation. The masked man dodges the attack easily, Kenta came behind him and deliver a sword thrust which the man evaded as well. The masked man put some distance between them in seconds.
"I have a delightful idea," The masked man said, "If you can defeat me, I shall let all of you go."
"And why should I believe you?" Kenta pointed out.
"It would be an honor to fight the man who was said to have killed one of our twelve Guardians." The masked man paused, then shakes his head. "Though it seems that it would no longer be worthwhile since you are poisoned. You cannot fight with your full potential."
Both Mei and Mikael were surprised to hear that Kenta was poisoned. Mei felt like she could not understand the situation anymore, everything changed so fast in an instant. They did not understand how and when Kenta was poisoned.
It was then it clicked, it was Sara who poisoned Kenta when she was pretending to be injured.
"So, what. I can still take you on"
They were very close to the cliff now, if they jump, they might have a chance to survive. Kenta knew he had to buy time, if exchanging his remaining life can guarantee the safety of his remaining comrades, he would gladly do so.
Kenta moved quickly, using a secret technique that was taught by his master. A technique that was forbidden to be used unless the user's life was in peril. Kenta uses his remaining life in exchange for power, being able to move as if without injuries.
"Marvelous!" The masked man says as he engages Kenta in combat.
Sara was not about to let them escape, thus she gave the order to pursue and take them out. The masses of soldiers charged at Mei and Mikael. Mei knew Kenta's wish, she had to leave, she begins to drag Mikael along, but the man wouldn't let her. Mikael smiled at her and pushes her hand away, he stood up and grabs his sword with his only hand, with a roar he charges at the incoming enemies.
"Run, Mei! You must leave!"
For a second, she stood rooted to the ground, tears were pouring out. Her heart felt like it was stabbed multiple times. The next moment she ran towards the cliff. She was nearing the cliff when an arrow pierced her leg. She stumbled and fall, her hands clutching the wound on the leg. Her vision begins to darken, the effects of fatigue and the loss of blood was slowly kicking in.
Sara had pursued her, she was not about to let her escape. Just as she was about to release another arrow, one that would kill Mei, Mikael came at her. They began to fight each other.
Mei struggled to get up, when she did, she slowly drags herself towards the cliff. Her body was aching all over. She was about to jump when a voice called her.
"Mei!" It was Sara who had called her.
She turns around, only to find Mikael on his knees, pressed down onto the ground by two soldiers. Mikael was outnumbered and quickly taken down. Sara stood behind him, and a knife was held over his neck. She wanted Mei to watch, wanted her to know, to feel the pain of losing another friend.
Mei watched, she shakes her head as if telling herself everything was not real. Then she felt the anger rising from within, for Sara had broken their trust, their oath. She had no honor, she fought with tricks.
Even if Mei had to die here, she would curse her. There was nothing that she could have done, she could only watch, could only see another friend die. Mikael mouthed a word to her. 'Run.'
Upon seeing the pained expression on Mei's face, Sara grin as she slices Mikael's throat. The man chokes momentarily, before dropping to the ground dead. Mei turns to look at Kenta, her mentor, and her friend. The old memories came flooding back into her mind, the good old days when there was laughter and when they would drink together. It was now long gone, everything was different now. It was all in the past now.
Kenta had noticed the situation just now, but he couldn't leave because of the masked man. With Mei's full attention at Kenta, she did not notice Sara aiming another arrow at her, but Kenta did. He was not about to let his beloved apprentice die, not on his watch. Without hesitating, he threw his sword at Sara.
Just as the arrow was released, the sword hit Sara's bow. There was a slight interruption, but the result was huge, the arrow was supposed to have killed Mei, but instead, it hit her on the lower abdomen. Sara cursed at having her kill disrupted.
Dread fills Kenta as he was still too late. The masked man was disappointed that Kenta would throw away his only weapon, so he decided to finish the little game now.
Before Mei blacks out, she saw her mentor being stabbed by the masked man, the sword pierce through Kenta's armor from his back. He coughs out blood as he kneels on the ground, his eyes never looked away from Mei. He saw her fall off the cliff, body covered with wounds. His heart filled with regret, that he never saw through Sara's ploy.
"You disappoint me."
It was the last thing Kenta heard before the masked man pulls out his sword and beheaded him. The sky began to darken, and it started to rain heavily. As if mourning the death of warriors.
* * *
In a village far away from the scene, a body washes ashore, her body full of wounds but it was not fatal. The only fatal wound was from the leg, where the broken arrow still stuck. The arrow on the lower abdomen had struck her, but a totem blocked the arrow from causing any actual harm. There was but a thread of life left within her when the villagers found her.
They were surprised to find the woman, they did not have much hope when they tried to nurse her back to health since she looked very fragile.
The woman remained in a coma, for the time being, they had done what they could to help her. Her wounds were treated and all that can be done now was wait. And in her sleep, the woman dreamed, of chaos, of her friends, and she heard the voice calling her.