Fantasy [Private] El Stories

[NinthSomnus9029]

Ash

The noise that had startled Ash was somewhere deep inside this small factory. It had seemed to be a small holding area with a strange structure that Ash had never seen before. When he ran his hand along the glass to clear a view of the inside he could slightly notice what seemed to be a body.
"Who is this?"


Cai Er
It has been a few days since Cai Er was captured. Every time she woke up she would glimpses of Ishmael talking with a dark skinned man. Then the next time she woke that same man was ordering a Crimson haired woman, with what seemed to be horns. She couldn't make out who it was, but some how Cai Er thought she was familiar, then it happened again, Cai Er would enter a deep sleep. She would dream on, wondering how Ash was doing, how was Lu and Ciel. Many thoughts crossed her mind while she laid in a deep slumber.

​

 

[Late]

The time when there was an increasing sign of movement among the army, Eosforos felt like it was alright to get going once again. The sun was slowly rising and soon the fun will begin. Xavier got his drinks in for the night and was still out of it as he played around with his tail. He would pluck out a piece and throw it as far as he could yet that crystal would quickly return back to its position after traveling a few meters away. Other times he would draw with his minimize staff on the dirt floor, making random lines of art with no reason or purpose. The good thing was that he was quiet through all this, except a few mumbles here and there but nothing too loud. Eventually, Xavier would snap out of this small drunken stage and he will follow any orders from Eosforos. He still can as being drunk but he will react slowly to his duties so Eosforos don't want to risk that too much.

If you are wondering why Eosforos would let him really drink in the first place was because he wanted a bit of entertainment for the night. It somewhat failed but Xavier's creativity was amusing to the end.

Eosforos got up from where he sat, stretching out his arms. "A new day meaning a new present. Xavier, follow if you can," Eosforos said to him. Xavier took a moment to register what Eosforos said and nodded his head. He even took his time to stretch himself out as well but not too much as Eosforos was going to walk away. The angel first wanted to check with the dragons, curious if they are awake by any chance.

When they reach where they sleep, they still had their heads down and snoring quietly. Though Cornelius shifted around when the two approach them carefully as if they were the cue to wake up the dragon. Cornelius gave out a mighty yawn, showing off his sharp teeth before closing his jaw. He blinks a couple of times before taking a look around. He nearly reeled back after seeing Eosforos close to him, inspecting him.

"My apologies, I didn't think you'll wake up now," Eosforos said to him, smiling as he gave a small wave of his hand.

Cornelius stare at him hard and then to Xavier, noticing him looking a bit wobbly but it doesn't seem like anything important. He gave out a heavy sigh and grunted in response. "Something you need from me, angel?" Cornelius grumbled, still feeling tired but slowly feeling awake.

"Oh, nothing...nothing important. Actually, personal question if you don't mind me asking but...what happen to your eye and wings?" Eosforos asked with a small disappointment in his voice. It looks like he was actually noticing it now, staring where his eye was shut close permanently and the missing wings that grant him flight.

Cornelius frowned at the question, unsure why it was the angel's business to know. He glanced at Xavier though, certain he knows what happened to him but Xavier doesn't intervene in the conversation. Only staring at the other dragons who were getting a few more minutes of their sleep. "It happened a while ago so I have no reason to discuss it now," Cornelius responded with a blunt tone. There was something about this angel that made his heart twist in a strange way, but he doesn't understand why.

"Hmm...I suppose I can ask Xavier whenever he is up to spit a few words," Eosforos chuckled as he playful tugging around Xavier's mask. Xavier reacted quickly from this as he let out a sharp grunt and perhaps a dragon-like growl of annoyance. "Ahaha, fascinating specimen, isn't he?!" Eosforos cheered in reaction and patted Xavier's shoulders roughly. "Well, see you around then." With that, the two left the dragons be.

Cornelius watched them leave and couldn't get rid of his own frown. Even when the other dragons were waking up, Aragorn questioned if Cornelius slept with a frown on his face. The black dragon almost seems stiff after talking to Eosforos but after the other dragons start to talk among themselves, he slowly started to relax.

Meanwhile, Eosforos was taking a stroll around the area to get a nice look at everyone's faces. He was somewhat hoping to run into the priest for a chat but at the same time, it doesn't feel right just yet. Xavier next to him seems to get a hold of his bearings as he quickly matched Eosforos pace, making the angel smile with pleasure. So far everyone was prepping for the day's battle.

Though Xavier suddenly stopped for a moment and grabbed Eosforos arm for his attention. This pique the angel's interest in what Xavier wanted to tell him, turning to the man.

"I picked up on something around here," Xavier said in a low voice, his the tip of his tail raised. "I think I also picked this up earlier before but...I was rather a bit hazy to notice it."

"You can blame me for having you drink. Anyways, your sixth sense tingling? Go on ahead to see what's going on around here, I won't stop you," Eosforos said with a nod of his head, trusting Xavier with what he detected. Xavier bowed his head before departing from Eosforos to find the strange source. The angel only watches him leave for a few seconds and went back to stroll around.

 

[MementoDei]

Yullr​

The dark elf had been left in charge of guarding the armory by Vanessa that morning. Apparently, the guards had been injured while trying to evacuate the fifth residential area. He headed out at the crack of dawn and noticed that a refugee was walking in the same direction as he was. He wouldn't have thought anything of it if it wasn't by what the person was mumbling about.

"I'll follow my own words as well."

At that moment, Yullr felt an ominous power emanate from the person for an instant. It was caused by the Dark El, there was no doubt about it. He remembered those warriors Cloe took to the demons in order to enhance them with that power. They all turned insane aboutllnd died in a matter of weeks.

But their power was something to be feared. He quickly pulled up the communication crystal to contact Elesis and Lento.

"Yullr Aerwynn here. There's a dangerous man approaching the armoury. I need back-up, he's using the Dark El."

The Red Knights commander answered first.

"Who is he, a soldier?"
"No ma'am. A refugee."

A short silence followed before Lento replied.

"Aerwynn, follow him at at safe distance. I'll join you in a minute."
"Lento, do not go alone. That person is dangerous." The Knight insisted.

"And so am I." Lento said before the link was cut. The device had been broken and Yullr closed his eyes for a moment before continuing to follow the mysterious man. Lento was probably thinking on fighting alone for the sake of the remaining troops, but Yullr felt that it might be too much for a single Lost Soul to handle, let alone for a mortal elf.

Lento appeared amisdt the crowd and the two chiefs followed Dust.
Fume

*****
Darhan
​

His training allowed him to be left in charge of the prisoners Ishmael held. As far as he knew, none stayed for too long in the magical cells where they rarely awoke from a heavy slumber. He personally liked the goddess' way of treating her prisoners, for they didn't suffer in the cell, unlike prisoners of the human world. One day, however, he was surprised to find a familiar demon standing in front of a cell next to Ishmael.

The white-haired demon turned around and squinted his eyes.

"What a surprise, Durahan Knight has a human shape now. And it seems to have a conscience too." The demon said.

Darhan kept his expression as calm as he could, but he clenched his teeth in anger. The angel couldn't understand why Ishmael would invite a demon to her domain, specially that kind of bloodthirsty demon. The goddess told him that Ran was looking to take back the prisoner of the cell to where she belonged. Darhan got a closer loook into the cell and saw a young demon woman lay on the floor, sleeping soundly. He nodded and began to walk away without a word when a red-haired succubus made her way towards the cell. He ignored her, but the woman put a hand on his shoulder and told him to wait.

"Where's the priestess?" She asked.
"I have no idea what you might be talking about. I'm only a prison guard here."
"I see, Durahan Knight. Or should I call you Darhan Irisse now?"

Darhan left without a word while Ishmael dealt with the demons. The negotiations between Ishmael and the two demons came to a halt, just for the demons to negotiate better their terms. During that break, Ran walked by Darhan and he began to talk.

"I remember when both of you caused havoc in Fluone. Shame that the water priestess had to separate both of you."

Ran looked at the stoic face of the angel. He'd need to push the angel's temper further to get him back to work under the demon flag. It wouldn't be very hard, considering that dark elves were usually very emotional. They all could be swayed so easily for the silliest wishes for justice and, most importantly, revenge.

"I heard that you simply look like a certain undead knight I knew. I hope you don't mind hearing a tale of mine. There was a female assassin we called the Dark water priestess, or the Priestess, for short. You probably don't even know her, but she was a very special kind of solider."

Darhan's eyes were darkening and Ran smirked. He had now the angel's full attention, it was a good time to blow certain truths out of proportion while keeping others intact. The only thing he needed was to touch him in order to reactivate the seal inside his soul. A single hit from the angel meant that Ran would have back an even better asset than Lara.

"She refused to kill, no matter what. Her attitude got her to a cell of course. That's when I discovered that she was a Vampire. She grew immune to pain and she came back to life after bleeding out, after having her heart ripped out of her chest, after I snapped her neck. It was very interesting. But it proved to me that torture was meaningless. I had to think of a way she'd work completely for us. I finally found the perfect solution: I'd seal her consciousness away and she'd only react to my orders. Just like Joaquim and Karis did with your lookalike."

Darhan clenched his fist and Ran chuckled. It was always so easy. One last push was enough for his plan to finally work.

"I'm sure you know that soldiers need distractions from the bloodshed, it's the way it has always been. Even more so for generals like myself who are very lucky to have very obe-"

"Do not try my patience with such a disgusting tale, demon." Darhan's voice grew colder and a powerful aura emanated from him.

He was even more powerful that Ran had imagined. The only thing he needed was to receive one hit for the angel to come back to where he would be the most useful.

"So it was really you, Durahan Knight. Why would you care about the priestess, though? She was only a mindless and disposable force. Nothing more than a puppet."

A beam of light almost burnt one of Ran's horns to a crisp and Ishmael returned to see one of her servants enraged at Ran. She didn't like demons either, but she'd do anything in her power to eliminate any of Ash's allies. Once Darhan noticed her presence, he bowed and went away. Ran's confident smile faded into a frown of defeat and he promised himself to not fail next time. Once he got with the only heir of the Soulscream clan in his arms, he went away with Karis to the demon realm.

"I didn't think Durahan would stay this calm after hearing you say that. He's tougher than I expected."
"It was because of Ishmael. He wanted to kill me, I sensed it."
"Is that so? You've been having a hard time keeping track of all your little puppets, ever since you lost control over the priestess' seal. I can't protect you from the rest, Ran. Another mistake and you'll return to the grave. Don't forget that."

NinthSomnus9029

 

[Heavengiver]

Rain slept without any dreams. When she woke up, she was disoriented by her lack of recollection. Usually, her memories haunt her, reminding her of days she can never get back or of her very real, still impactful death. She heads out of the inn after grabbing some breakfast and finds the city in a hustle. Glancing around, she sees a familiar figure approaching the armory.

"Dust...shit, do I approach him?"

Unfortunately, before she can choose, Vanessa comes up to her with that stern glare of hers. "Good morning, Rain. I heard from Lento that you are able to help out with our evacuation efforts. What exactly can you do?"

Rain can tell she's staring at her rather battle-unfriendly dress. She maintains eye contact as she speaks. "I know this area very well. I can help you distract and break through the demon ranks while the others rescue the people."

The word distract must have been pleasing to Vanessa, for she instantly nods. "I see. We will need help with the evacuation of the fifth residental area. Please await for further instructions."

"Very well."

Out of the corner of her enigmatic eyes, Rain glances at the armory again, hoping that Dust doesn't see her.

MementoDei Fume

 

[Late]

Truthfully it was a bit hard to pinpoint what he detected, his senses were still slow thanks to the alcohol in his system. He actually wasn’t too sure on what he was looking for. The time he approached to the thing that caught his attention, he realized what it was. A trap.

A magic trap to be exact, and it was well hidden from the human’s perspective yet Xavier detected its location. He leaned in close to inspect the spell markings, feeling alarmed that someone from the enemy’s side was walking among the people here. Xavier was taught on how to deal with these things, Eosfóros being a great teacher with tricks and language, yet he feels like he should tell someone about this.

Xavier straighten himself up as he was about to run back to Eosfóros yet paused when he saw the lizardmen’s chief approaching him along with his translator and a body guard. He paused to stare, thinking it couldn’t hurt him to alarm the chief as he happened to be around.

“Chief Jabberwock, I am hoping you can help me here,” Xavier said to the chief which brought the leader’s full attention. “There is a spell trap placed here yet it feels rather incomplete. I am guessing there are more spread around this area.”

This alarmed the lizardmen as they approach closer to inspect what Xavier was talking about. Jabberwock stared at the markings as he made signals with his men. The body guard left in a hurry as his translator quickly spit out a few words, “Thank you for informing us about this. We will alarm the others and grab a hold of our mage users to undo the trap.” The translator quickly left which leaves the chief and Xavier alone together.

“I can try to remove the spell and possibly trace it back to the original caster if I may,” Xavier said to the chief. “I only ask of you to step back, there may be a trick in this and I don’t wish to have you injured.”

Jabberwock seemed a bit surprised that Xavier put his safety first but he did what he was told, stepping back at a safe distance to let Xavier work his own magic. The markings may be small but Xavier don’t want to take any chances. He held out his hand over the spell and recite the words of an opposite meaning. There was a faint blue aura coming out of his hands and eventually the incantation was removed. Nothing else seem to be triggering from this but Xavier noticed a second one after the first. He frowned as he held up a hand for the chief to stay back. Xavier went ahead to read the message.

Fume

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom grunted when he bumped into the strange man. It took him a moment to register what happened, but before he could say anything that man effortlessly raised him up. Damn, he's strong.

"Forgiven," The priest responded in a curt tone as he ignored the small crawling sensation on his hand from where he was grabbed, and Xiopetec's low hiss, "I'll be sure to be more mindful of where I walk." He watched as he started to make his way to the armory. He raised his eyebrow and followed the refugee.

My child...what are you doing?

Baking a cake. Obviously, I'm tailing him, Phantom scoffed.

Why?

Because he's suspicious, Xiopetec, what the hell are you trying to say?

This might be a farfetched suggestion but...how about you don't follow him? And walk away? If you haven't noticed medics are mobile. Something's happened.

Perfect timing then. How convenient for him. I'm just gonna talk to him, keep it on the down low and distract him a bit. He's not really being subtle, so I'll keep him in one spot until someone comes over to take care of it.

Phantom picked up the speed and got into the man's path, effectively blocking him without another collision. "Now you're not a soldier here, sir," He pointed out as he keep his posture and tone casual, "Why the rush to the armory, if you don't mind me asking?"

Smoooooth.

Fume

 

[Fume]

"Looks like someone found this trap of mine. No matter. Hear closely, mage, sage or aspiring magician. What you've just done was a grave mistake, one where multiple explosions might occur, if you don't heed my words.

You've just triggered the alarm onto the other multiple traps that I've set up here. Don't warn anyone about it, or else the chaotic energy of the people, soldiers and others might create a chain reaction that can and will bring the same fate as that on Feita.

However, I'm not as cruel as some other demons, for I offer you the choice between the destruction of the resistance... or the safety of it. Should you choose to destroy them, find two more of my traps and get rid of them, that'll startled the rest to all to end this petty fight.

Or, you can create the same exact trap that I set up and envelop it with a harmless healing field. But I'm not as nice to just give you a means to go unpunished.

You have to offer me your services for one. Single. Order. Paint the symbol in your blood and the contract will be made.

Do not attempt to change anything else from my formula, otherwise I'll remotely activate my traps. Choose well, magician.

Be certain, I am always watching. The demon commander, Dust." The words were laid bare to feast the eyes of who dared to mess with his plans. For those that would think before anything, there was always a catch to these things, and this one was no exception.

Late
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The priest blocked his path once more, making him slightly annoyed at the hindrance. But he did caught him rather easily to see his beeline to the armory. This made him think before acting, looking at him with stilled eyes, his body being forced to relaxed and his temper toned down. He thanked himself to have this mask to cover his mouth or else the priest would be seeing a not so subtle twitch.

"Warning the guards. I've heard of suspicious activity near some debris, some demons were talking about hitting the armory for easily falling the resistance. As a citizen, it's my duty to warn them, despite not being a soldier." He explained to him as calm as possible, before noticing that someone was watching him, the presence was good at hiding itself, but his instincts were warning him to be careful.

"If I were you, priest, I would be following the medical soldiers. I've heard from some stressed guards mumbling that a demon army had made quite the damage to their forces. Surely someone that is such in... tune, with the goddess wouldn't miss this opportunity to be useful, right?

Not to mention..." He drew closer to his ear, his tone being slightly aggravating. "I wouldn't trust those angels, especially that guy that was near that tailed one. He's... rather more suspicious than anything else. Wouldn't you agree, you who inhabits this body?" This made the priest a little agitated.

Phant0m MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento
​

The things that the refugee was saying instantly reminded him of Dust, Lara's old ally and the one that had triggered the explosion in Feita. This filled him with apprehension, but as long as they remained hidden among the crowd, they had better time to react. Lento got out a small piece of paper he carried with him and a small pen in case his amulet failed. He began to write and showed the small note to Yullr.

"Yullr. This man has more than likely set traps in this place. Look for them while I keep him occupied. Tell Jabberwock and Aisha. ASAP."

The elf widened his eyes and nodded before walking away. Once he found Jabberwock, he noticed that some lizardmen shamans were already looking for any magical anomalies. He used his knowledge in magical arts to detect some, but no mages were trying to deactivate them. He wondered why and he saw Xavier come in the distance with a note in his hands.

Meanwhile, Lento got closer to Phantom and he greeted the priest and the spy as if he knew nothing about Dust's ulterior motives.

"Good morning, gentlemen. What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

Late Phant0m Fume .

 

[Late]

Xavier carefully read the message to himself. He heard the other mages arriving to help but Xavier still held up his hand for them to wait. After fully understanding the message, he slowly got up and turn to them.

“We can not tell this to the others except the other chiefs and leaders. Safety reasons as these traps can be triggered by negative emotion energy,” Xavier said to them.

Immediately the mages look nervous yet Jabberwock swiftly move his hands to communicate with them. The translator spoke with a proud voice, “we won’t let our enemy scare us off like this. We are strong together my friends so have faith in one and other.” The mages look reassured and they have a look of confidence. Jabberwock turn to Xavier and smiled slightly as he made more signs with his hands. “It may mean not much, but you freed our tribe after slaying the shadow shaman in which I wish to not say his name. We will be happy to help you free the people here who is undeserving for this cruel war.”

It took awhile for Xavier to remember but he a faint memory of ripping apart a lizardman was brought to mind. He was hesitant but nodded his head. Now he thinks on what they should do. He could tell Eosfóros about this as he is an angel who handles well with spell traps.

“The message mention about other traps. We can’t deactivate them all as they can easily be triggered. The commander seem to be generous enough to give us a helping hand. There has to be a healing field around this area to protect from the explosion. Unfortunately, it comes with a price,” Xavier said to them.

Jabberwock and his men look at each other, having a silent communication going on. It wasn’t long that they see Yullr. Xavier perked up as he recognized him as the other leader and briskly walk over to him.

“Elf, we got choices to make and we need to act fast,” Xavier said to him, handing the note to Yullr. “I need to alarm Eosfóros about this, he is familiar with this kind of magic.”

MementoDei

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Alec

He couldn't really move but from the surrounding sound Alec could tell that help had finally arrived. Inside he felt relieved, finally he could rest easily. As he thought this his systems went into a full repair mode, Adrian his creator put this function inside of him, he thought that if Eve wasn't around or someone capable Alec wouldn't ever receive maintenance. The process of course wasn't as fast as if his master did it but he could return to normal operations in a good 4 hours, luckily when Alec had regained his senses he could see that someone was assisting on his repairs. This helped speed up his full recovery time. "You have my gratitude." Alec said. The citizen nodded his head, "You got beat up pretty good, luckily the commander arrived, if not you would've sleeping with the rest of'em." The old man said, Alec knew all too well what the man was saying was indeed true. He had been reckless damaging more of his body even when he had known he wouldn't been able to withstand anymore combat. "I owe the Velder Knights...they were there for someone I knew." Alec said, remembering Jack, When he thought back to it Jack looked extremely young compared to this old man, Alec doesn't really know how the human body works, but from what he could tell the old man was closer to his end days than Jack was. "You're a rather strange nasod, I've never heard of one with the ability to self repair." He said, Alec himself didn't know he had this function but when he looked at the corner of his eye he could see a number, from what he could guess it was the percentage of his body's repairing process. Since the old man began tinkering around the speed of the number increased. Currently Alec was sitting at 66% repairs complete.

"Is the commander around? I'd like to me my savior when I have the chance." Alec asked. For a second the man thought about were she could be, when he found the answer Alec thanked the old man and the two enjoyed a little small talk as his repairs were being done.

MementoDei ​

 

[MementoDei]

Elesis

She stayed in the area with some of Vanessa's men, something told her that if she turned her attention back to the inside, the demons would push into the outside. Whatever she decided to do, they'd all be fighting in two fronts. If there was one thing she could do, it was to brace for the demon forces to storm in from the outside and pray to Ellia that she would keep Lento and the rest safe. She was alerted by one of his soldiers that the mechanic and the Nasod were looking for her. She was surprised by it, but decided to take some time off her sentry duties.

She found the robot and she greeted him.
"Glad to see that you are doing better. I heard your name is Alec, is that right? Take your time to recover, you seem to need it."

NinthSomnus9029

****

Yullr​

He couldn't help but to frown at the dragon tamer for his bossy tone. He took the note harshly from the young man's hands and quickly read it and his expression got darker. He folded the paper and put it on one of his pockets before going to find the angel as fast as he could. After an hour, he found the mysterious angel passing by.

"There is a very complex spell put in this town. The demons left this message and Xavier told me you could help us. Let's go."

Late

 

[Late]

When Yullr found Eosfóros, the angel was busy trying on new hats. He was wearing a sun flower hat at the moment, adjusting it around his head and perked up at what the elf said to him.

“Oh my, oh my. Something exciting is happening?” Eosfóros asked, putting his hands on his hips. Strangely the angel doesn’t seem to take it too seriously yet he was happy to take off the hat and giving it back to the seller. “Let’s see what we got here then.”

Eosfóros followed Yullr back to where Xavier first found the spell traps. He noticed that other mages around found several others but they haven’t done anything to it yet. Eosfóros went ahead to inspect the one that hasn’t been uncover and slowly nodded his head.

“Something has been busy around here. What the note said anyways?” Eosfóros asked. He was given the note to read and the angel read it carefully. He gave back the note and straightened himself out. “Well! We are definitely screwed. Let’s just do what the demon commander said.”

“I ...figure you would have a plan better than that,” Xavier grumbled.

“Hm alright. Let’s think about it. Is he actually watching us? Has anyone spotted this commander around here?” Eosfóros asked them. “We could try evacuate everyone out but this is rather a nice base here...” Eosfóros took a step in closer to them, suddenly in a quiet voice. “The note didn’t necessarily say anything about where the blood should be coming from. It just has to be genuine, real blood. Truthfully, the note can be for anyone who removes the spell and not to mention there isn’t much proof you can hold out against magic users since, well, magic is practically the same. We need someone to put their life on the line...and I know just the right warrior to do it.” Eosfóros smiled, looking at Yullr for his approval. “But seriously, lovely refugee here,” Eosfóros said, back to his normal tone of voice.

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Yullr​

He answered his first questions, pretending to have never heard what the angel had suggested him to do. "Lento and I saw the demon general, Phantom approached him. He's hiding under the appearance of a human refugee. I'm sure Lento knows him...somehow. Let me contact him again."

Yullr gathered some spirits around him to connect Lento's mind and came back with rather grim news for the rest.

"The traps he set here are probably like the ones he set in Feita, they can be activated through his blood, but it's unlikely that he has his eyes on us right now. He seems to be rather nervous, but his mana can be tied to those traps. I'm not very well versed as a mage and the only one that could've cut the mana flow between him and his traps is...not here."

Late

 

[Phant0m]

"You seem like a very good citizen with all of your suggestions," Phantom said, "I believe the medics can handle the situation just fine without me unless one of the bosses here tell me otherwise."

Where's your staff child?

With the dragons.

The priest glared down at Dust with a tense body posture. "And I'm not worried about that angel right now when you seem very informed about what the demons' activities. My goddess and I don't appreciate you changing the subject."

He flicked his tongue and the neon yellow eye landed on Dust, briefly flashing fuchsia as Phantom straightened his posture to appear bigger and he adjusted his weight on his feet. Like a coiled cobra raising it's head ready to strike, Phantom watched the "refugee's" moves. He briefly glanced at Lento when he arrived. "This 'good citizen' was on his way to warn the soldiers about a demon attack, but since you're here Lento I think we can consider the warning received?"

Fume MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

He nodded at Phantom's words and watched even more curiously Dust's moves. "That's correct, Phantom. I wonder how a civilian could know that, are you one of commander Sieghart's brothers? She told me two of them were around here." His voice was calm, just like his voice, as if he was geniuenly curious, but it was all in order to deceive him

Fume

 

[Fume]

"Sorry, priest. Old habits die hard." He responded to him, yet his tone was not of regret, but passive aggressive as well. Let him glare all that he wants, it means nothing to him, for fear was no longer present in his system.

Lento then arrived at the scene, it would be difficult to reach the armory now. Though he was surprised to see him here, with no marks on his body.

"Looks like he never went to retrieve the blood demon." He thought to himself as losing a valuable asset. No matter, it was a bonus in the end.

"Commander Sieghart's brothers? No sir, I am not and know not of what you speak. I'm one of the few captive survivors that escaped from the demons clutches, running for my life and trying to help anyone I could out there!

I barely escaped from being killed, but the torture and the curses they imparted on me... I fear I might not have enough time to spend as I please. Not after what that demon did to us! He used his weird potions on us for his experiments!

I was so close to be the next subject, but then one of us was able to lock pick the jail door, steal the key for the doors and cuffs! We escaped, but thanks to what those demons did, we learned forcefully their language via curse.

That's how I we were able to learn of their plans, because they undermined us so that they would reveal such precious information!

I've been running all this time... Almost no food, no water and nobody to tag along, because we separated our paths to at least someone get the word or else the effort we made was for naught." He talked with gestures as well, to accentuate his story and being more believable.

"If word has reached the soldiers ears, then I'm relieved. However, I have to ask, is it true on what happened to Feita? I've been captive for so long that I know not if the rumors are true." He asked, trying to catch Lento's attention through the wrong words.

Phant0m MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento listened stoically at Dust's words and a small smile appeared on his face, which appeared to be of relief to anyone that looked at him. In his mind, however, Lara's memories of him began to react to his new aura. No visible signs of Lara's soul appeared on his face, but her voice weakly whispered in his mind:

'They injected Dark El unto him...how unfortunate.'
'Is he going to fall into insanity?'
'His devotion to his cause will hopefully keep him away from that. Lento, his mana is spread all over this town, you know what to do. Once the link is cut, you'd have nothing to fear.'

He had no idea how to do that, although he could vaguely sense a chain of mana circle the town.

"That must've been very hard on you, sir. I'm glad you could make it to safety, despite your long journey. We appreciate your concern, but I'm afraid you seem too weak and tired to be of any help right now. Take the time to recover, I'm sure it can also help you catch up on any news you'd like to know. Unfortunately, I'm not the most knowledgeable when it comes to what happened outside this town."

Fume Phant0m

 

[Late]

"That's unfortunate. We have no other choice but to do what the note says. Who is willing to offer up their soul for serving a demon?" Eosforos asked the magic users and no one didn't say a word. "Well, not all at once," he joked.

Meanwhile, Xavier was leaning over a different spell mark and he was frowning. If mana were tied to the commander, surely there must be a way to alter that connection? It was true to Eosforos' words, it's unfortunate that they don't have someone to cut the mana links. He stands back up and saw the lizardmen talking among one and other after what Eosforos said. After watching them for a moment, he noticed Aisha running over to them as her eyes were worried.

"H-hey, what's going on here? I noticed you guys were looking stuck..." the mage said to them.

Xavier perked up and suddenly Eosforos handed the note to Aisha to read. "Maybe you have an idea to help us, mage?" Eosforos asked with a sudden sincere voice. The dragon tamer slightly squinted at the angel as Aisha read the note. She didn't say anything at first, her expression was becoming unreadable. Xavier felt the slight sense of worry of what was about to come down to.

Aisha slowly gave back the note and she took in a deep breath, looking at everyone's faces for a moment. "I...I can cast the healing field spell," she said to them.

"We got ourselves a volunteer," the angel sighed, causing the other lizardmen to feel a sudden guilt. Though Xavier was a bit more expressive than he should be.

"Isn't there any other way?" Xavier sharply asked Eosforos in which the angel frowned at Xavier's tone.

"No, unless you want to move the markings to a different location. That'll take a lot of time though and we don't know the exact number of bombs here," Eosforos said yet his voice was stern to Xavier. "Sometimes sacrifices must be made, Xavier. Not everyone is going to come back alive from this war."

"...I see." Xavier shook his head, unsure what got a hold of him for there.

Eosforos sighed and look back at the mage. "Don't worry, I am sure we can find ways to break the contract. Yullr, are you alright with Aisha being the one to set up the healing field?" He asked the elf. "You know, I figure the leader should be making decisions here. Even the lizard chief is stuck with what he wants to do."

Chief Jabberwock frowned at the angel yet it was true. He as well doesn't want to put anyone in danger and wished there was a different alternative. Yet their choice was limited.

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

"I don't trust demons, their blood magic is one of the strongest around. If I get under their control, who knows what they might make me do, nor how fast. On the other hand, moving the bombs is our best choice here."

Everyone raised an eyebrow at him and he mentally apologized to Lento about what he was about to reveal to the rest.

"Lento inherited a pocket dimension from someone and he could teleport every single one we find to that dimension. It's our best shot, wouldn't you agree?"

'Yullr, I don't think I can...'
'What would you prefer, to know that someone else can easily become a kamikaze and kill everyone here? Lento, we need to try something else. '
'I'm not as powerful as she was. This is pure suicide, even for me. We have no guarantee it will work.'
'Deactivating all the other bombs will result in a chain reaction on our side. Lento, demons won't leave us any choice to doubt.'
'I'm more aware of that than any of you!'

Yullr fell silent and Lento apologized for yelling at him. Both of them felt powerless, yet they didn't want to watch people die the same way as they did back in Feita. Their attempt was desperate, but there was really nothing else. If anything, Lento had to test his limits again and overcome them, even if he'd injure himself in the process. The elf broke their only means of communication and turned back to Aisha and Eosfóros.

"Lento is willing to open a portal to put all the bombs we can find into another dimension. Will that work, Angel?"

He tried to sound as calm as possible, but he honestly felt that they were at a dead end, no matter what they tried. He was powerless, but he didn't want to fall into a demon's grasp and be, unwillingly, the reason of another mass destruction. He was already tired of being left as a simple subordinate, disposable at any whim of a major soldier. It was the last shot they had.


Late

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Alec

Alec looked up to see a red haired woman. She was wearing what seems to be a knights attire but modified for her own use, he could only guess that she was the commander he had requested to meet. When she showed signs of concern Alec shook his head. "My recovery time has decreased, Ma'am. Thanks to this smith, I should be in top shape by this afternoon. If my assistance is needed again, I don't mind." Alec said, indeed his system progress was going smoothly that the only thing he needed to really do was recover his energy, but that was being done as we speak. With all the energy that leaked out thanks to his wounds Alec was surprised he didn't reboot completely.

Suddenly a thought hit him, "I've never gotten your name?" Alec asked, indeed it was proper to know the name of someone you owe your life to Alec thought. Seeing how things were going on in this city Alec wanted to get along with the army as best he could. He didn't want them to see him as a danger that had to be dealt with. The welfare of the people were all Alec could think of right now, as well as finding the whereabouts of his queen.

MementoDei​

 

[Phant0m]

Phantom stayed silent for part of the exchange. Lento seemed to be handling it well, and the whole purpose of this conversation with the "refugee" was to keep him still until one of the leaders came over.

But he's gonna stay right here. If only to spite the strange man.

"I can accompany you to the medics to help you recover from those atrocities," The priest offered as he relaxed his posture a bit when Lento smiled. His tongue flicked again, and he glanced over at Lento to check the man's body posture to help gauge the situation.

Fume MementoDei

 

[Late]

Eosforos lightened up at the words he heard from the elf. "Yes, that can work! We don't have to move all of them, just majority of them from the important areas so we don't have to put in strain for the poor man," the angel said with a pleased tone.

"We could help," said one of the lizardman mage. "It must be a draining process for it to work but we can heal him whenever he needs it."

"I can also cast a meditation spell on him so he can recover mana when he needs it the most. It has a downside effect so it will be good to use when he is almost done moving the bombs out of this dimension," Aisha added in.

"We just need to distract the demon commander long enough then. I'm hoping I can have a word with him honestly. Xavier, you can keep an eye on things around the perimeter. We can't let any more tricks go unnoticed this time around," Eosforos said to him. Xavier nodded his head, feeling pleased with the new plan as he let out a small sigh. "Well Yullr, let's get Lento to get through this mess as soon as we can."

MementoDei

 

[MementoDei]

Lento​

Once he got the good news from Yullr, his hopes got up and he thought carefully on what to do with Dust. He had to buy time, but leaving him alone was a greater risk while he prepared himself to open the portal exactly where it was needed. He finally opted for the safest option: he'd send Phantom and Dust away to the infirmary room, while making sure that no eyes left Dust beyond their reach.

"How thoughtful of you, Phantom, please do. Sir, you'll be in good hands from now on. Phantom is an excellent medic, from what I've heard." He glanced at Phantom and the priested nodded as he escorted the demon general to the infirmary. Once they were both out of his sight, Lento approached a guard and ordered him to tell the guards in the infirmary to keep a close eye on the man that Phantom was accompanying. He added that they should tell the other medics and patients that the security was reinforced because of an emergency drill designed for new recruits.

The guard nodded and went straight to do as he was told while Lento joined Yullr and began to carefully concentrate and expand a delicate flow of his own mana around the town. He could detect most of the bombs, but the rest would be a difficult task. He asked Aisha to cast on him her meditation spell. Once the mage did so, Lento began to form a protective mana shroud over the bombs near the majority of the civilians. The task made him cough a handful of blood and his hands began to shake. Some shamans casted healing spells on him. Lento had already covered one hundred fifty bombs, but there were still more left. His strength was reaching its limit. If he didn't open the portal slowly right now, he'd faint without accomplishing anything.

He remembered the incantation Lara sometimes used and small portals began to swallow the nearest bombs into a world of darkness. He remembered that Lara's remains were still there, they'd be destroyed....No. The shell she was given by Henir could resist the void for hundreds of years, it would resist the explosion of a bomb, no matter how powerful it was.

The first fifty bombs had already vanished into the dimension when Lento began to cough even more blood. The shamans continued to heal him, but they could feel that the extent of Lento's effort was destroying his body from the inside out faster than what they could heal him. If he survived it, it would be a miracle.

Yullr begged the help of the few nature spirits nearby and some wisps of light began to protect Lento's flesh from taking the full damage of the extent of magical power he was using to save Velder. From then on, the heals offered by the shamans were more effective and Lento's shivering body began to calm down, still grunting sometimes due to the unbearable pain he was being subjected to.

Fume Late Phant0m

****
Elesis​

She smiled at the Nasod and patted its head. "I'm glad to hear that, Alec. My men have told me that you were very brave, but you need to rest for now. My name is Elesis Sieghart, I'm the commander of the Hamel's Red Knights."

NinthSomnus9029

 

[Fume]

"Hmm..." He could feel that the traps that he put around were being tampered with, disappearing even. "So that's how you're playing... Alright, I'll play along." He mumbled to himself as he was being lead by the priest named Phantom.

"I do apologize for saying this, but there is no way that you can heal my curses. They are much more complex than the usual ones, but healing these small wounds may help quite a bit. At the same time, we can continue to talk a little bit more.

I wonder, could you perhaps tell me on the state around here? I've been going around this settlement, aiding a few along the way, passing my time when I could to rest... Why, not too long ago I brought along with a few soldiers a family and I've been dreading about if the woman had survived or not! Maybe I'll see them at the infirmary.

But I digress. Tell me... Phantom, right? How long have you been practicing the art? And is the god that you pray known?" He asked while giving up on the armory and being much more interested in the affairs of this priest with his god.

"After all, I never knew of a human that could flick his tongue as serpent-like as you do. Almost like... Bah, I might be imagining things." He said in a mysterious tone, agitating him slightly more, despite the aggravating stance that he has.

"Could I ask a favor later on? This one is quite important. Bring that soldier with you, he might need to be present for this." His tone shifted to a more serious one.

MementoDei Phant0m

 

[NinthSomnus9029]

Alec

He stared at the hand that had just brushed against his head. "Negative, I've rested enough. I must test my body out for anything that wasn't covered."Alec said as he got up, when his feet touched the ground he wobbled for a little bit, as to be expected from a restart, with a little bit of movement and some diagnostics Alec would be all new again. Then Alec turned back to face Elesis, the feeling of her hand that ran through his hair still lingered, he didn't know why, "What was the meaning behind that gesture Elesis?" Alec asked, up till now Alec hasn't seen someone perform this kind of gesture so his curiosity kicked in. He took hold of Elesis hand while inspecting it, What caused this warm feeling I wonder. It definitely wasn't from her hand, the amount of heat it produced wasn't enough, but still he wondered what was this warmth he felt, the security that made Alec feel like he could let his guard down, even if it was just for now.

MementoDei ​