Yuki POV
Hiding within the forest's edge, I quietly inspected the town the church had been using as a secret temporary outpost. 'Although it's night, it's too quiet.' Furrowing my brows, I continued to watch the town, only to narrow my eyes when I saw two shadows speedily leave the city and enter the forest, disappearing from view. "Was that Sash and Chase?" I didn't have Alex's special eyes, so I couldn't discern who those two people covered in shadows were, though my instincts told me it was them.
'I'll regroup with everyone else.' Carefully eyeing the town one last time, I stood up and headed deeper into the forest, requiring a few minutes before I regrouped with the others by a larger-than-normal tree. "You're back, Yuki. Did something happen?" Raising my head, glancing at Lazuli sitting on a branch, I nodded while leaning against one of the trees. "Yes. Two shadowy figures left the town, heading toward where Alex and Jasmine should be. I couldn't discern who they were, but they felt really dangerous." "Hmm, it was probably our targets then. I wouldn't doubt the instincts of a veteran monster like you."
I couldn't help but growl in annoyance at Lazuli, who flashed a faint smirk, which only served to deepen my annoyance, though I ended up heaving a sigh. "Can you not, Lazuli?" "I apologize." "I don't believe you." Eyeing Lazuli, she merely gazed back at me with her ever-present blank expression, causing me to click my tongue as I glanced at Vanye, who was sitting down with her sword on her lap. "I just noticed, but what happened to your gold prosthetics, Vanye?"
"Alex gave me new ones, they're far superior to the gold ones… I'll challenge you for the title of Vice-Captain once this is over." Opening her eyes, Vanye's eyes softened when she glanced at her prosthetics, which looked like real arms, only for her expression to harden as she stared daggers at me, causing me to grin. "I'll welcome it anytime, but you'll lose like you have in the past. My shield is immovable." "And my sword is unstoppable."
Just the thought of fighting Vanye again got my muscles twitching in excitement; she's the only one, besides Alex, who forces me to go all out, though Alex is the only one to have defeated me so far, which is why I'm the vice-captain. "Yuki, has Alex's sword said anything? I'm bored!" Feeling my eyebrow twitch, I unsheathed Alex's sword and silently looked at it before shaking my head while glancing at Talis, who was hanging upside-down from a branch with her talons. "No." "Urgh, it's been more than half a day; when can we take action?" "I don't know, ask Lazuli, she's the 'leader'."
"Don't tell me you're still upset about Alex's decision." Folding my arms, I plopped onto the ground and huffed in annoyance while ignoring Vanye's words. I was annoyed that I wasn't given control of this operation, but what I was even more annoyed at was that I knew Lazuli was far better when it came to commanding people. 'Alex is the leader of our party, but honestly, Lazuli is the leader just as much as he is.'
Sighing, I shook my head and grabbed jerky from my space pouch, snacking on it while awaiting Alex's signal from the sword; tens of minutes passed, and just when I was about to take a short nap, the sword in my hand glowed. 'Sash and Chase are with Master.' Heard a sudden voice in my head, and I snapped my gaze at the sword, only to smirk while standing up. "Oi, get ready, you four, it's time. Sash and Chase are with Alex, which means it's our turn." 'That voice, though, why did it sound so cold and full of disgust? Does she not like me?'
At my sudden words, Vanye swiftly stood up, Lazuli landed on the ground, and Talis hovered just above the ground while I shoved my thoughts about Alex's sword to the back of my head. "I won't explain the plan again, as you all already know." Standing in front of the three of us, Lazuli looked at her emotionless eyes. "However, remember, as per Alex's instructions, our life comes first and the church's destruction comes second… And if possible, help people that the church is oppressing, though that is just an option."
Once Lazuli finished speaking, her bright blue eyes turned a deep shade of red, causing me to smirk as I sheathed Alex's sword and equipped my two shields. When I finished preparing, I glanced back at Lazuli, and although she merely nodded, it was enough for me. "Heh, follow behind me!"
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3rd POV
"Where do you think Commander Sash went?" "I don't know, but she took the Hero, Chase, with her, so maybe it was to recruit the Saintness." "Recuirt? You're not stupid, are you? The Saintess is no longer needed. I'm sure he just wants to fuck her." As two dark-cloaked figures causally conversed while sitting atop one of the four towers positioned within the town at the four cardinal directions, they suddenly frowned when they saw several trees in the forest being knocked down.
"Hey, do you see that? In the forest, trees are being continually knocked down." "Hmm, it's probably just a Wildabison, but I'll inform the Vice-Commander." Unfortunately for the two competent soldiers, they could not relay the report as two beams of pure mana pierced their heads from the forest, causing them to lifelessly collapse onto the floor of the watch tower.
Shortly after the two died, the being that was trampling through the forest finally revealed itself to be a behemoth donned in armor, wielding two massive shields the size of a door; they showed no signs of stopping as they continued charging to the town's walls. Once the armored figure reached the wall, they burst through without surprise, only to freeze when they saw the scene before them, though it allowed three others to effortlessly reach their position.
"T-They didn't even spare the children." "Such cruelty; they serve no god but a devil." "Ignore the corpses; kill everyone related to the church." "Dammit! I hate how you can be so calm in this situation!" With a mighty roar, the being donned in armor, awoke the entire town as they charged deeper into the town, passing by tens of corpses, some sprawled on the ground, others hanging from houses, and put on spikes, yet, there wasn't a single dead human.
"Follow behind, Yuki." Following Lazuli's words, she, Vanye, and Talis trailed behind Yuki, who was bearing the brunt of the Church's attention with her destruction. Once they reached the middle of the city, where the most corpses resided, it didn't take long for them to be surrounded by over a hundred cloaked figures.
"Tch, that's a lot of fucking bastards." "This makes things easier; we don't have to look for them." As Vanye, Lazuli, Yuki, and Talis stood beside each other, fearlessly facing over a hundred enemies, the one in charge stepped out from the crowd and approached them. "To attack us right now, it seems you're taking advantage of the fact that Commander Sash and Hero Chase aren't here; it seems this was your plan from the beginning." "You're smart." "But you're not. As per Goddess Junsuina's decree of purity, you shall live, Lazuli. However, those three animals will be slaughtered."
The instant he finished speaking, the over-a-hundred shadow members lunged at the four women, prompting them to smile. "Yuki, take the vanguard, Vanye, kill anyone on the left, I shall take the right, and we'll both cover behind us. Talis, you focus on disrupting our enemies' coordination." "Got it!" "Understood." "Heh, it's time for the Queen of the Skies to make her debut!"
And such a battle of four vs over a hundred erupted in the heart of the town while previously oppressed and terrified citizens watched with bated breath, hoping for the death of every shadow member.
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Alexander POV
Raising my sword, I deflected Chase's sword and followed up with a slash of my own, only for a mana barrier to protect him, causing me to inwardly curse as I swiftly backed away, evading his next attack. We haven't been fighting for long, maybe two minutes, but I've already determined Chase's skill level, and it was pathetic to put it nicely. 'This punk is like a child; he barely has the basics of swordsmanship down… I wonder if this is how I look to Vanye?'
Although I hated to admit, Chase and I were similar, we both have very powerful weapons, which hamper our need to improve our skills, though unlike him, I've always known that and have worked hard to improve that, unfortunately, I wasn't exactly talented when it came to swordsmanship nor did I have a teacher, so my progress had always been slow, but thanks to the constant training with Vanye this past six years, I've improved tremendously.
When it came to pure swordsmanship, I could only last twelve exchanges with Vanye, which was much better than six years ago, when just two exchanges were difficult. 'So, that means I'm six times better?' Outstretching my hand, launching several wind blades at Chase, who brute-forced his way through them by raising his sword, I deflected his incoming attack and kicked his gut, flinging him several meters back.
'Master, they've invaded the city and are fighting the Church's people.' Hearing Trina, I faintly smirked and glanced at Sash, whose expression hadn't changed. 'Alright, let's see how long I can keep this stalemate going.'