For a while, I'm almost deceived into thinking life will carry on as normal.
That in a week, this'll all have blown over and everyone will return to the monotony of their daily lives, that this... hiccup between Erebus and Artak would bear no deeper consequences for us going forward.
It was stupid of me to believe the nonsense I told myself. So assured was I in the belief that it was someone else's problem to solve, that I never once considered the fact that it could very quickly become my own as well.
...which brings us to today.
Today, of all days, may very well be the day that I die a second time.
Of course, the healthy human mind doesn't wake up believing such things to be true, but... Well, I've had quite the hunch lately.
I just never imagined my second chance at life would be ending quite like this. Nor did I think it would be at his hands.
New Quest: Only the Strongest May Thrive
Conditions: Survive the assault.
"Put the weapons down, I will not ask again!"
"Oh, if you think I'm dropping this here blade any time soon you got another thing coming. Open the doors, make this nice and easy, and I promise we won't kill all of you!"
"There's nothing here worth taking! The only thing you'll get out of this is an angry horde of Grimm hunting the both of us. There's still time for you to walk away with your lives."
A stalemate is the best way to describe it.
In the dead of night we stand with weapons drawn. Atop the wall, every able bodied man watches with guns raised and fingers firmly held on triggers. Beneath it, a group of armed men stand ready and eager, clearly intent on raiding this village for everything that isn't bolted down and taking it for themselves.
They dress in thick, stitched coats of fur and leather, makeshift armour, their weapons haphazardly put together. Gun-spears, revolver swords, standard weaponry. Easy to produce, easy to kill a man with. All in all, they number fifty three raiders, a near-equal force when compared to our 58 gunmen.
The women, children and elderly have long since been taken to the town hall, but there's only so long before their despair brings the Grimm, and everyone here knows it.
Their timing couldn't be any worse. Artak spoke of a large pack of the Beasts moving through the forestry around Akarele just yesterday morning after one of his patrols. We'd been hoping that if we masked our scent with burning wood, just kept smiling, that they'd pass by and not look back.
They're almost definitely attracted to us now. The Grimm could come from anywhere, and at any moment.
We're on a timer, one passing far quicker than anyone would like. Normally, the solution would be simple, use Artak's Aura to steamroll the opposition and give the innocent people counting on us an extra day of safe living. The problem?
We aren't the only side with an Awakened. Worse still is that he's stronger than Artak, by a considerable degree no less.
Gepetto Silvaras
Level 81
14 Levels. The sheer power difference could damn near be felt in the air, Artak himself beginning to sweat as the weight of this situation is surely bearing down on him, those old bones soon to buckle under the pressure he now faces.
I'm sure he's starting to regret calling off our training while he mopes in self-pity these last few days at least. Then again, if a third Aura user were to be here, I've no doubt the Grimm would have arrived minutes ago.
...And as if to make this whole situation ten times more harrowing, stood at the back of this shoddy group of raiders is a very familiar man, one now smirking in self-righteous glee as he delights in our misfortune.
Misfortune. As if that word has any right being used in these circumstances.
That vile bastard Erebus stewed on his own faults for days, contemplated his humiliation at Artak's hands and decided the best course of action was to kill us all and move on with his life as if nothing had changed.
Maybe he never even bothered with self-reflection. Maybe Erebus had this plan in mind from the moment he left Akarele.
Maybe I should've gunned him down where he stood that day.
...He's proud of himself. Giddy, even.
Oh, if only Artak could keep his lust at bay, if only Erebus didn't have an inferiority complex the size of Mars, if only I'd woken up on the other side of the world and never involved myself with these people; I'd never be here, risking my life like a damn fool.
I'm not sure where he found these bandits. Frankly I don't care. Once they breach the walls, death is all that will follow, a death I know all too well. I don't think I could live with myself if I stood by and did nothing, let someone innocent like Anna be condemned to that hellish afterlife of cold emptiness.
That's why I stand here on these walls, nothing but my rifle at my side and a dream to keep me going. It's almost silly, but... for the first time in a long time, I feel like I have a purpose. Like this reincarnation was worth something. If my actions allow even a single innocent life to prosper, then so be it.
I'll greet the Faceless God with a smile this time around.
Gepetto clearly sees the same future I do, that being a battle to the death. He smiles, gnarled teeth on display as he lifts his arms, laughing all the while. His gray hair falls around his head in shaggy strands.
"Surely you see the futility in this. We win no matter what. If a couple of pesky Grimm arrive, they'll either cull you to the last or leave you weak and easy pickings. If they don't, we beat you in a straight fight. All you're really doing is making things less comfortable."
As if to make a point, he gestures to his men and our own. Though we have roughly 60 gunmen ourselves, all it takes is Gepetto breaching those walls for it to come crashing down around us.
Numbers don't always matter against Aura, a lesson Artak decided to impart upon me so long ago after one of our training sessions.
"All you need is one man with a strong Aura and a lot of grit to break down an entire army. People learned that the hard way when King Oswald decimated half of Anima. It's why we've come to rely on the Huntsmen so much, they make the impossible possible."
At the end of the day, this battle is between the two of them first and foremost...
The thought alone makes my grip over Scholar's Folly tighten, inadequacy rising up from within. Oh, how I so desperately want to tear that smug grin from their faces. I could so very easily. All it would take is a single pull of the trigger and seven would go-
"Maybe that's true, but you know for a fact that I'll bring down every last one of you with me before I let that happen." Artak shouts, his words interrupting my own thoughts.
His threat is the only thing keeping us alive. Gepetto clearly recognises the risk of losing his men to Artak's blade, one he doesn't wish to take all for one small settlement. No point in raiding a village for your men to inhabit if there's none left by the end of it all.
We can't even call for help either. Akarele is miles out from civilisation. Even a 'bullhead' of Huntsman being dispatched wouldn't be able to reach us before Gepetto kills us all.
There's no chance they'd keep us alive either. Our despair would only serve as a constant siren for the Grimm with every second we spend not dead at their feet.
Maybe that's a part of their plan. Let us simmer in our fear, let us drag the Grimm out from their nests so that we can be the crux of our own demise and allow them to pick up the remaining pieces.
I would call it a good strategy if there were only a pack of Beowulves or something similar stalking through the Mistralian woodland, but what Artak spoke of was nothing short of a horde of Beasts passing through not far from here.
A horde they should know about. Are they just ignorant? Overconfident? Careless?
...are they not native to this part of Mistral?
"Just do yourself a favour and walk away. Find some other village to defend. Ain't that what the pretty license is for?" Gepetto goads, teeth flashing once more behind unkempt facial hair.
Before Artak can form a response, put his fury into words, that snake Erebus cuts into the conversation with an offering on his lips.
"All I want is Akarele. If you surrender now, we guarantee that everyone in the village will be allowed to leave." He says, hands held behind his back in feigned superiority as he stares at Artak with thinly veiled disgust.
"We? So you're one of these scum?" The Huntsman asks, snorting in disdain.
"I'm a man who wants what is rightfully mine. A man you wronged. You don't get to take the moral ground after what you did to me."
Artak grimaces at the truth behind Erebus' words, no doubt feeling the consequences of his own actions weighing on his back. Still, he tightens his grip over the blade at his side and shouts with unwavering confidence.
"Your offer is a shallow one, Erebus. Even if you don't stab us in the backs the moment we surrender, a settlement of our size on the road will just be food for the Grimm. We'll be dead halfway to Kaliyana."
The Lord Calyd sneers.
"That isn't my problem. You took my home from me, Artak, a home I welcomed you into... Now I'm here to take it back. Anything else is just collateral damage."
Ah. So that's how he sees it. A spiteful bastard, down to the core.
I should have half a mind to shoot-
"Anaxa."
The Huntsman at my side calls my name, muttering under his breath a second time before I can turn my head his way. His words come while Gepetto speaks once more, unheard amongst the madman's diatribe.
"Don't. Don't look at me, keep facing them. I need you to take my hand, Anaxa."
For just a brief moment, I blink in confusion. Artak's frustrations grow with every second I hesitate, his voice far more aggravated now.
"For fucks sake Anaxa, we don't have time for you to waste, just take my hand."
Following along, I take his hand into my own as he mutters to himself, this time the words barely audible. I catch something along the lines of 'one last time' before he gives me his final order.
"Keep them distracted. Please. I'm gonna need a few minutes."
A moment later, and I feel it. I can't describe what 'it' is exactly, but I feel power, power deep within the Soul begin to swell, a power that I almost certainly recognise as Artak chants to himself under his breath.
Looks like it's time.
Good.
I have to suppress my grin so as to not give the game away when I begin distracting Erebus and Gepetto, to the best of my abilities at the very least, heart pounding beneath my chest and false confidence brimming from my every word.
"Erebus." I call, a hand resting atop the makeshift railing of this bastion's walls.
He tilts his head in my direction as some form of acknowledgement, but says nothing, choosing to remain silent and let me speak.
With the small window I've been given, I take a deep breath and feel the seal against my eye click and shift, the world cut down to nothing more than logic and data, binary code crawling up and down my peripherals as I probe for any Weaknesses I can find.
After all, it doesn't need to just be a physical one. A Weakness can be of the mind, of the Soul, even of the words. As long as there is a flaw present, then I can exploit it.
Very quickly, I find my angle.
The information is carved into my field of vision as it forms in binary codes I shouldn't be capable of translating, an errant mark against the natural beauty of this world.
The Faceless God's clicks and scratches echo in my mind as the words register, those sounds coming from my deepest memories as the Seal begins making the same noises.
Frail pride. Shattered.
...Yes, of course.
A broken ego, borne of the inadequacy that formed over decades spent at Artak's side, decades spent in the Huntsman's shadow. Hundreds of tender, happy memories washed over with seething hatred by the torn remnants of his pride.
An inadequacy that has only grown in the wake of his wife's affair, questions of his self-worth, questions of how long they kept the secret, questions that tear away at his mind.
A Weakness indeed. One I may just be able to exploit long enough for us to make it out of this alive as well.
Erebus... Perhaps you were once a good man, many years ago.
All you are now is an obstacle to my survival.
"You have been wronged by Artak. Of that, I cannot deny. You were mistreated, your life torn apart by the lustful abhorrence of a man you once considered a close friend."
Gepetto glances to the bastard at his side, eyes full of amusement as Erebus remains silent, though he now stares at me with thinly veiled contempt. It seems the old miser never told Gepetto of the exact circumstances behind his sudden betrayal.
Perhaps his shallow ego simply couldn't handle another blow, from a bandit no less.
"However, you have committed an even greater sin against us by bringing these men to our walls, by plotting our demise so thoroughly over simpleinfidelity."
Unsurprisingly, he takes great offense to my demeaning words, voice caught in his throat as he takes a half-step forward, incredulous- though Gepetto lifts an arm and stops his advance partway.
The gnarled bandit smiles deeply as he addresses me, eyes veiled by the curtain of his unwashed hair. Perhaps he has seen through my attempts to stall for time through Erebus' frail ego already.
"Surely there's a point to this drivel? Just do us all a favour and get to it already."
I clear my throat at Gepetto's words, my confidence slipping for only a brief second at the skepticism in his gaze, and lock eyes with Erebus to offer him one last chance.
"However... I am willing to offer you a single chance to surrender. In spite of your actions, in spite of you bringing death to our walls, I am willing to give you a chance, because I know that what happened to you was not right. I ask that you accept this offer."
The old miser smirks, delighting in every second of this conversation, in his position of power above us. Just as I hoped for.
"Surrender?" He says, barking out a laugh at the idea, "Why would I ever do that? Do you not realise the position you're in, Anaxa? I've won, and there's not a single thing you or that bastard Artak can do about it!"
...Your choice is made.
I wait for his laughter to die down, several long second spent listening to the hacking, visceral laughter of this vengeful old bastard as he folds his arms and sneers at me when the silence finally returns.
"If that is your choice, then so be it. It's not like it matters anymore. We're both going to die here anyways."
Erebus blinks in confusion, turning to regard Gepetto who shares in his disbelief. A moment later, and his grin turns smug as he turns back to me, indulging me like one would a petulant, tantrum throwing child.
"And just why might that be, Anaxa?"
No room to take a deep breath now. No room to stutter, either. I need to show nothing but confidence from this moment on. Egregious, misplaced, naive confidence.
After all, the longer they spend laughing at me, the longer they spend not killing us all.
"Well, surely you realise the problems this could cause for you down the line, don't you? Killing a Huntsman isn't exactly a small offence. You'll get the attention of the Mistralian Hunter's Guild. They'll be after your heads like bloodhounds."
Erebus laughs once again as he glances at Gepetto and snorts, the act full of derision.
"As if the amnesiac would have any idea what he speaks of. The Guilds are impotent to anything that isn't within a mile of the Academies. They couldn't care less about these lands. I thought you were smarter than this, Anaxa. Smart enough to realise this is a sinking ship. You have a whole life ahead of you. Leave now, and you can walk away."
He sounds so aggressively self-assured in his victory. I want nothing more than to wipe that smirk off his face, but keep my disgust concealed as I once again scan for any Weakness I can find, my Eye burning as it cuts through his lie with vicious clarity.
No escape. It warns. Shot in back.
Well. I suppose that answers that question. Not that I would have needed the Erudition's guidance to see through him.
Erebus wears his heart on his sleeve.
"If you think me so naive enough as to accept such blatant deception, then clearly you never thought very highly of me in the first place." I retort, Artak remaining silent at my side as he continues his inaudible chant.
A moment later, and binary codes scratch themselves into my line of sight once again, the Eye of Erudition obeying my command to find a Weakness in the group assembled beneath our humble walls.
Conviction.
...Hm.
Perhaps these men have placed all their faith in Gepetto's capabilities, of his strength trumping Artak's, but none of them wish to fight, themselves. They want an easy win. A place to sleep. A full night's rest.
They want us to burn alive for their own peace of mind.
If that is the case, then I need to fracture their will as much as I can. Breed despair among them. The Grimm will come sooner as a result, yes, and they may very well leave no survivors behind, but we'll all be dead anyways once Gepetto makes it past Artak. I say once, not if, because it isn't a question. It's an inevitability.
While the enemy of my enemy may be a mindless beast, they're damn good at killing Aura wielders too.
I just need to spin a long enough yarn.
"You speak with such confidence in yourself now Erebus... but surely you realise this little raid of yours could very well cause a chain reaction that leads to the deaths of every last one of you? After all, the Guild will find out about this whether they like it or not."
Unimpressed, folding his arms and raising a brow, Erebus beckons me to continue as Gepetto begins to laugh openly at me.
That laughter is soon brought to a deafening silence by my next words, warning of a different threat beyond simple Huntsman Guilds and human strength, words that spark a primal fear in them all.
"...A storm of Grimm are coming."
Though spoken softly, they have all the weight of a cannonball. Their soaring confidence falters briefly, exactly what I needed to see.
"Their arrival is simply an inevitability now, and the longer we spend here in this stalemate means the more will take part in the hunt. Despair is building in the air, and they smell it. They're drawn to our fear like hounds. Drawn to your Aura. Either the beasts number too many and leave us both for the slaughter, or they number enough to attract other Huntsman and they in turn clean up any of you that survive the ensuing bloodbath. This is a lose-lose situation."
Unable to stop myself from grinning, I keep talking as I rap my fingers against the wall.
"Any chance you had to flee has long since passed. They're coming as we speak. Each second, their numbers grow. A horde of them was spotted just days ago, and after this, well, they'll no doubt number far more than we could ever hope to handle."
My tone shifts to something violently smug, a grin on my lips that seems far too wide given our current predicament as I tilt my head to look into Erebus' eyes, my momentum damn near unstoppable.
"You'd have known that little fact if you hadn't spent your all your time conspiring to slaughter us all, hadn't been so eager in your quest for vengeance that you abandoned all sense of caution. It's rather funny how these things work out in life, isn't it?"
...I can see it. Clear as day, no matter how much Erebus may try to hide it, I see through his heart, a Weakness of the mind that glows in those same shaky scratchings above him.
Regret.
Not for our sakes, nor for any sense of remorse in his heart at what he has brought down on us, no. Perhaps once it had been, but now this regret is solely for his own sake. He's beginning to worry if his victory is as guaranteed as he's been led to believe.
A half-step forward, my eyes shifting back to meet Gepetto's as I continue my speech and lean against the top of our walls.
"Even if you run now, you may just fall straight into their path. What's more, depending on from where those Grimm arrive, you'll either be free to attack us from behind... or you'll be caught between us and them, butchered from both sides. It's a coin flip now of whether you live free or die in agony. The odds are not in your favour."
My eye - or whatever is left of it beneath the Seal's eternal weight - burns viciously as I constantly watch the treeline like a hawk, grin still plastered across my lips.
For the first time in my life, I find myself almost praying to see the Grimm appear.
While Erebus seems to finally realise the downright terrible circumstances he's thrown himself into, hurriedly glancing around between the raiders and the forestry behind them, Gepetto shares none of his apprehension. If anything, his conviction only seems to be growing by the moment.
"You've only given us more reasons to take those walls for ourselves before they get here, boy." He says, every word slow and deliberate as his hand twitches at his thigh.
Gepetto's eyes drift to Artak, to his silent, stoic appraisal, no doubt gauging his options and weighing the value of attacking the old Huntsman. While he may just mistake Artak's silence for a watchful gaze, I can't take any risks.
I need his attention back on me.
"Oh, by all means, be my guest! Attack us! Throw every bullet and sword you have in your meagre attempts, but know that if you attack us now, you'll weaken yourselves for the Grimm. Artak could cleave through your men just as fast as you could do the same to us, but then you'll leave yourself soft and tender for their claws to tear through. The despair wrought by our conflict would only bring them here faster."
Again, my eyes lock onto the glowing scrawl above our gathered enemy, the ephemeral code that guides me to my survival, the Weakness of my foes revealed by my Eye.
Confidence.
It wanes with every second. An uncertain foe is a weak one. Just as I'd hoped.
"The opportunity for you to fight has passed, but if you surrender now, then I promise I'll make it quick and painless. They, however, won't spare you the same luxury." I say, hand gesturing to the thick darkness of the forest.
Their newfound trepidation, their fear, is euphoric to see. Watching Erebus slowly back away, his face pale and body shaking, oh it brings me greater joy than anything I'd yet known in this second life.
That joy is no doubt visible for all to see as I continue my monologue, smiling like I've found the secret to life.
"You now have a decision to make! Either you commit to taking Akarele, slaughter us to the last and condemn yourselves to a slow death at the hands of the beasts, or you flee. Maybe you'll run into the Grimm as you do. Maybe you'll survive, and we'll all be dead at their hands instead come the morning, our village free for you to take."
With a hand raised and a smirk on my lips, I make my final ultimatum to Gepetto.
"Are you willing to take that risk?"
The bandits glance between one another, confidence waning further as they realise how quickly the situation has shifted against them. My bluff seems to be paying dividends as I shout once more, pushing them further towards retreat with my every spoken word.
"Clock's ticking!"
Ultimatum now made, I tilt my head to look at Artak from my peripheral, hoping beyond hope that he's finished... but he's still fucking whispering to himself, something about 'by my will as a Huntsman' and 'for the sake of the world', our clasped hands still thrumming rhythmically with power.
He's either taking his time or this is one hell of an activation ritual.
I then turn back, and almost instantly feel a cold wave of dread wash over me at the look in Gepetto's eyes as our gazes meet. If I had to describe it, I'd call it reluctant amusement.
He lifts his hand to the air, limb covered by a gauntlet that clicks and whirrs with multicoloured cylinders as he grins deeply at me, gnarled teeth on display yet again as his body glows with a silver sheen of light.
"You little shit, you've been stalling!"
Just as I see the gears begin to turn in Erebus' mind, as Gepetto raises his weapon to Artak's still form faster than I can summon Scholar's Folly, and as the deep howls of the first Beowulves pierce the night skies...
The Huntsman finishes his chant and bestows upon me the power to fight back.
"-infinite in duty and unbound by fate, I release your soul, and by my grace, embolden thee!"
------------------------------------
Within the span of just a single second, the atmosphere shifts dramatically.
The air grows thick with a mixture of despair and blistering hope as all eyes are drawn to me, tension still thick enough that it clogs the airways.
Gepetto fires some form of projectile my way from his gauntlet, but Artak quickly draws his sword and blocks it, the bullet coating his blade in a thick layer of ice that he curses under his breath at the sight of.
Power, raw and untamed, now flows through my veins and across my skin as a pale green shield wraps itself over my body. Light bursts from my form, spilling into every shadow and bringing newfound vigor to every beat of my heart and the humming of my soul.
The System alerts me to my Aura unlocking, but I'm far too busy raising Scholar's Folly and lining up my shot to address it, being very particular about where I aim my rifle as the bandits quickly lift their own weapons to fire on me, my fingers clenched tight around the handle of my trusty weapon.
"Time's up!" I shout-
-and pull the trigger immediately after.
Erebus falls down instantly, head vaporised into a thick red mist, multiple men at his side following suit just as quickly as the Tetrad Wisdom round tears through them in the blink of an eye, the bullet ricocheting against the air itself several times over as it does so.
Those who fire on me in return are met with a brick wall of the Soul as bullets bounce against my newly formed Aura, leaving me free to spin the Scholar's Folly in my hand, cocking the lever to chamber a new round through the rotation. I barely even catch the sound of Artak's choked scream as he watches Erebus fall.
Level 2 Erebus Calyd Slain: 5 EXP!
Level 6 Bandit Slain: 25 EXP!
Level 4 Bandit Slain: 15 EXP!
Level 4 Bandit Slain: 15 EXP!
-223AP!
Another volley of rounds is fired from both sides, multi-coloured bullets whizzing through the air as bodies drop and wounds are sustained. Before I can even blink, the walls of our humble village are set aflame, along with the forest just a few meters away.
Gepetto's gauntlet then glows red across his fingertips from the corner of my vision, the weapon shifting and clicking as parts realign themselves on command, a thick double-barrel mechanism resting atop his knuckles a moment later.
Artak recognises the threat immediately, drops down and rushes forward with all his might to stop Gepetto's advance, but finds his body caught among a sea of the raiders' own, his ice-coated sword caught against their steel.
The Eye of Erudition's assessment almost seems to be mocking me as Gepetto's fist crashes into the once safe and secure walls of our home.
High explosive. Slow loading.
True to the Eye's words, the gates to Akarele explode into thick splinters and ruptured logs of flaming wood the instant Gepetto's fist makes contact, the debris crashing into several empty homes, causing further damage to our humble village.
The sheer power behind the blast damn near throws Gepetto's arm off his shoulder, a plume of flame brushing against his Aura that only makes his grin widen, laughter muffled by the ear-ringing explosion.
With the gates ripped open, bandits funnel into the village in droves, bandits I happily lift my rifle to deal with as Artak shouts my name, his cries almost entirely unheard beneath the cheers of our current invaders.
"Handle it, Anaxa! Don't let a single one of them past you!"
My finger presses down on the trigger with refined ease, following through with the Huntsman's advice as a single, powerful shot rings out in the air after obliterating an unfortunate bandit's skull.
Another Weak point struck, another Tetrad Wisdom shot. They'll be cut down in droves after this next round is fired.
I tilt my wrist to spin and cock the rifle again a moment later, but soon feel something wrap itself around my ankle - a thin, barely visible silver string that lifts me into the air and flings me against the ground in front of Akarele before I can even react.
-112AP!
The pain is nothing more than a dulled, cold sensation to my Soul, neutered by the thick barrier of my juvenile Aura, though it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck raise at my Soul being in imminent danger.
I've no choice but to roll to my feet immediately after landing though, a flash of steel appearing in the corner of my eye. The motion is rough and unsteady, my body not accustomed to the sheer level of power that courses through it now.
The next second, Gepetto's fist crashes into the dirt I once fell upon, another explosive detonation from his gauntlet demolishing the land for several meters as dirt and debris rain down from the sky.
Grunting, I then raise my rifle into a guarding position as fast as I can, having seen a tensing of Gepetto's leg with my Eye before he could finish the movement, my feet digging several inches into the ground as his gauntlet grinds against the Scholar's Folly just a short moment later.
My arms damn near buckle under the pressure, his strength far eclipsing mine even with the Aura active. It's an asset, no doubt, but my Stats are weak enough that the boost it gives is negligible.
In the corner of my Eye, from over Gepetto's shoulder, I catch a brief glimpse of Artak's signature blue cloak as it billows in the air, before he vanishes deeper into the village to handle the bandits I'd been unable to.
I'm left torn between thanking him for making the rational decision, and cursing him out for abandoning me with this vicious bastard, the bandit in question grinning down at me balefully.
"What's the matter, boy? You scared?" He taunts, eyes shining with derision as he presses down against my guard, my boots digging further into the dirt.
Recognising my own weakness though, I do the first thing that comes to mind, and use the Stat Points from my newfound Levels to give myself an advantage - any fucking advantage at all, against this madman.
STR: 12
AGI: 12
Two points. One in each Stat. A negligible bonus, but I'll take whatever I can get.
Adrenaline has long since began coursing through my veins now anyways, fuel to the flames of my growing spite, our figures bathed in pale orange light from the fires eating away at my home.
"Scared? Nothing of the sort." I say, laughing through gritted teeth, "I'm impressed at how cowardly you are. A fully-grown Huntsman is cutting through your men as we speak, and here you are chasing battle with a child."
The pressure against my braced hands grows, fingers clasped tightly around the Scholar's Folly as I push back against his clenched fist. His grin only seems to widen at my words, free hand held behind his back.
"We're all gonna die here anyways, right? You've made damn sure of that, so if I'm going down, then I'm making sure you're coming with me - you, and everyone else in this shithole village!"
Immediately after finishing, he throws his hidden hand out from behind his back, a series of glowing, silver strings attached around the knuckles of each finger that stretch beyond my line of sight.
Razor sharp and thin as a human hair, they glow under my Eye's watchful gaze, their shine the only warning I have to dismiss my rifle and use the sudden lack of opposing force to my advantage - dashing aside past Gepetto's stumbling form and barely dodging the razor-wire as it slashes into the ground I once stood upon.
A series of thin gashes litter the earth, several inches deep and incredibly lethal, the strings now swirling in the air around the madman's form as his gauntlet clicks once.
The razor wire then quickly funnels into his weapon through the fingertips, now glowing blue at humming with power.
"Oh, the cocky attitude, the youthful vigor, whole life ahead of you... you're just the type of eager little brat I hate the most in life. I think I'm gonna enjoy this."
I pay no attention to his diatribe, focused solely on my own survival as I clench my free hand tightly into a fist. Before he can try any more bullshit against me, I feel the Seal click as binary codes once again burn themselves into my mind, the razor wire around him being my Eye's target.
Semblance. Aura strings. Puppetmaster. Malleable. Sacrificial.
...Sacrificial? Of course. The strings are formed of his Aura, any of it that is spent on them can't be used for defending himself passively. A weapon of moderation.
Alright. One more problem to manage, and one less layer of defense for me to pierce through. I just need to hold on long enough for Artak to arrive and-
"Pay attention!"
-a steel fist slams into my gut, the sensation sending a chill up my spine as my body is flung back into the air, only to be caught upon a wall of strings that slice into my Aura thousands of times per second, tiny papercuts that rip away at my Soul.
-731AP!
I grimace at the ethereal pain, arms trapped in a binding of glowing blue strings as they squeeze down against the limbs, trying to wrench my rifle from my grasp. A moment later, and my arms are almost entirely frozen over in a thick coating of ice, a chill so deep it seeps beneath the veil of my Soul, my cries choked out as I grit my teeth.
-388AP!
I then look slightly further along my right arm, past the ice formation, and grin deeply at the sight of a glowing, golden flask in the chamber for Scholar's Folly.
With all the strength I can muster, as my Aura continues to drop piece by agonising piece and the strings grip grows tighter, I lift my rifle - feeling the Eye burn beneath the Seal once more as I shift my gaze to Gepetto, finger resting atop the trigger as data sears itself into my mind.
Prior flail chest. 5th true rib. Forces weight on right side. Left side is weaker.
Hope guiding my hand, I pull the trigger of my rifle, and let rip.
Immediately, he gasps, his Aura brought under siege by the sevenfold ricochet, the bullet bouncing erratically aeound him in a split-second as it crashes into his chest over and over again. Gepetto hisses in pain, gauntleted hand brushing over his chest as he then glances at me, fury in his eyes-
But I've already escaped his hold.
The strings relaxed the very second my bullet cut into his Aura, their hold loosening enough that I could rush forward with all the strength in my legs and slam my fist into his cheek, raising my rifle a moment later to block the instant retaliation as he grits his teeth in disgust, my damage negligible.
He flicks his finger behind his back as our weapons continue to clash repeatedly, the motion visible through my burning Eye, dashing aside before his razor sharp strings can cut into me again as his fists continue to pound against my guard relentlessly.
A symphony of clangs and scrapes echo in the air as he moves faster than anything I've ever seen, my Eye struggling to keep up with every strike made against me. The only thing keeping me alive is the Stats I invested and the adrenaline that courses through me.
Just a few moments longer...
Another exchange of blows, my movements skittish and erratic as I use my nimbleness to my advantage, constantly on the backfoot, constantly dodging and diving, slipping hastily aimed shots from Scholar's Folly between every frenzied motion as Aura strings attack from all directions.
He grimaces as another bullet hits his shoulder, my aim thrown off from his chest after a string slashes into my arm, enough of a window for him to rush forward and slam his fist into my chest. My body is thrown back into a nearby tree, Eye burning, just barely dodging his follow-up as it shatters the trunk into thousands of splinters.
-304AP!
With our close proximity and his extended arm, I use my position to my advantage and smash the barrel of my rifle into his jaw, spinning it in my hand to load another shot and fire at his ribs again when he wrenches his arm around his back, fingers a hair away from clawing into my neck.
The Exile's Fallacy glows gold yet again after I make some distance, another Tetrad Wisdom shot ready to be unleashed, but Gepetto is far smarter than I'd like to admit.
His attacks grow relentless upon realising I've yet to cock the rifle, exploiting my own weakness as strings lash at me from all angles, biting into my legs and cutting slowly at my Aura, forcing me to one knee after a chunk of ice forms along my leg.
Thinking quickly, I grimace and lift my leg to meet his oncoming strike, letting his fist shatter the ice that formed around it at the cost of a sizeable chunk of my Aura.
-466AP!
My shin locks against his fist a second time when he tries to attack again, nothing but raw instinct and scant training powering my every motion as I use his extended hand as leverage, pushing myself off of the limb and dodging the latest volley of string-blades with a shoddy leap that leaves me viciously exposed in the air.
Gepetto wastes no time exploiting my folly. He knows I've made a fatal error, his gauntlet immediately shifting as gears click and roll, my arms bound in strings before I can blink, tight enough that I can't move them an inch.
"Not good enough!" He screams, grinning viciously, gauntlet whirring with power as his arm rears back. It glows with vibrant red light at the fingertips, hidden to all but my Eye beneath a clenched fist.
Exactly as I'd hoped.
A Tetrad Wisdom shot doesn't need to be cocked like a normal bullet. The beauty of this Skill is that it activates immediately upon striking a Weak Point, loading a new round into the chamber and allowing me to keep the pressure up, rewarding my accuracy with devastating power.
Of course, Gepetto has no way of knowing this. All he knows is that I've been aiming at his chest, and that whenever I hit it, the next bullet I load is special. As long as I can't load it, there's no deeper risk to be had, no need for him to feel that ache in his chest that makes his frustration grow.
I can damage him with my rifle, yes, but I don't stand a chance at hurting him, at truly killing the bastard. Not as I am now. After all, we've only been fighting for just about three minutes, and I've barely been hanging on by a thread this whole time.
That's why I needed him to do the job for me.
I needed him to cover my body in strings and shed as much Aura as possible to keep me bound. I needed him to weaken himself as much as possible in his hubris and spite, and most of all, I needed him to use the cannon atop his gauntlet to finish the job.
He knows only what I have allowed him to. He thinks that I am weak. Exposed. I have to fight down the giddy laughter that threatens to spill from my lips at the thought, bite down the mocking smile that takes over me.
With all the visceral glee I can muster in my pounding heart, I clench my rifle tightly, watching as his gauntlet continues to pulse and ebb with red energy. Time almost seems to slow down for a brief moment as I see his sickening grin, the cannon atop his knuckles glowing with overwhelming power, his words cutting through the wind and searing into my mind with unmatched clarity.
"I'll be seeing you in the next life, brat!"
It seems I don't do a good enough job at hiding my euphoria though, as Gepetto's eyes widen slightly in tandem with my grin. The Eye of Erudition burns with righteous flame as I meet his spiteful gaze, a thousand words spoken through a single look.
Gepetto only grows more furious than before at my mocking gaze, the strings' grasp over my arms tightening, locking the limbs at my sides and leaving me unable to raise my rifle.
...But I never needed to aim in the first place.
As the first silhouette of the Grimm shine in my line of sight, as the constant glow of Gepetto's gauntlet reaches a volatile peak, and as the Puppetmaster's strings finally shatter my Aura into flickering shards-
I pull the trigger.
In the span of just a single split-second, several things happen at once.
The pitch black forms of countless Grimm burst through the treeline across the clearing, red eyes glowing with relentless hunger as their gazes snap onto us, nothing but animal instinct in their eyes. Boarbatusks, Nevermore, Beowulves. Creatures of the night, of all shapes and sizes - and the first of many yet to come.
Then Gepetto's arm inches forward, closer and closer to my chest as flickering sparks of flame begin to form in the chamber of his cannon, the first waves of heat from the growing blast singing my exposed skin.
It never reaches any closer.
Faster than he could blink, almost too fast for my Eye to even register, the Tetrad Wisdom shot collides with his arm. Once. Twice, three times. His arm, and by proxy the cannon, is realigned with each ricochet, cutting into his aura and weakening him further as the bright flame atop his wrist begins to illuminate the world.
Four, five, six ricochets. The cannon atop Gepetto's gauntlet is faced directly at him now, braced against his chest and pointed toward the bottom of his chin with barely an inch of space between flesh and barrel.
There's an almost imperceptible flash of helplessness in his eyes as the final ricochet crashes against the back of his head, forcing his neck down and leaving him face to face with the blast. He tries to bring his strings back, to recover as much Aura as possible - but it's far, far too late.
Be seeing you in the next life, Gepetto.
BOOM
------------------------------------
The world itself seems to shake viciously around us in the ensuing explosion.
I land on shaky, unsteady legs as Gepetto's strings shatter in the same moment his Aura does. My ears ring violently as I slowly lift myself to one knee, a grimace of pain on my lips and an arm hastily raised to cover my eye as the intense plume of flame blinds me momentarily.
Even through my ringing ears though, I can perfectly make out the harrowing scream of agony that echoes in the air.
The sound is like music to my ears.
With a sudden burst of strength, a second wind borne of spite, I stand to full height, rifle held at my side as the shards of Gepetto's semblance fall softly to the ground, flickering lights that burn and die out ever so slowly.
When my eyes finally finish readjusting to the world again, I see Gepetto.
Or, rather... I see what remains of him.
Every ounce of his skin from the waist up is charred, scorched black and bubbling due to the overwhelming heat of the explosion. His face, or what tangibly remains of it now, is nothing more than a vile mess of shattered bone and molten flesh, misshapen and burnt. He doesn't even bleed from the wounds. The blast cauterised his blood vessels before any of it could properly spill.
Had it not been for his Aura, whatever scant amount he still had remaining, I've no doubt this man would be rendered nothing more than a puddle of meat and viscera instead.
...Perhaps this is a worse fate.
He clutches his ruined face in one hand, screaming himself hoarse in vile agony, the other hand clawing into the dirt around him, dragging through mud and grass as he twitches and convulses irregularly.
My smile is wiped away when the screaming becomes incoherent sobbing.
...I am not a cruel man. I am simply a man who did what was required to survive. I won't make him suffer more than necessary, no matter how vile his intentions may have been. Following that thought, I cock my rifle and lift it quickly to end his suffering, finger tightening around the trigger as-
BANG
-Someone else beats me to the punch.
Gepetto lurches back violently in the blink of an eye, sprawled out on the floor, dead.
Gepetto Silvaras Slain: 150EXP! (Reduced)
Artak lands softly beside me, his sword transformed into a pistol once more, barrel smoking and a scowl on his lips as he regards me and the state Gepetto is in.
The madman's demise brings with it a deluge of EXP that thankfully is more than enough to level up several times over in spite of me not landing the killing blow, granting me a full refresh of my Aura and HP.
Artak himself doesn't look proud to see that I've survived. If anything, he still stares at me with that same glint of disappointment that has been shining in his eyes since the moment I shot Erebus.
I open my mouth to greet him in some way, to ask what the situation deeper within Akarele is like, but before I can get a single word out, he turns away from me. His knuckles are white from how tight his grip is.
"Don't. Don't say a fucking word, Anaxa. We have far bigger problems."
As if spurred on my his words, I find myself hastily raising my rifle to parry away the sharp talons of a swooping Nevermore, twisting my rifle to fire a swift bullet into the Grimm's retreating form. It falls to the ground a hundred meters away, halfway to becoming dust in the wind as I lose sight of it beneath the sea of black that approaches.
It seems the Grimm have finally reached us from the treeline, a veritable horde that inches closer and closer with each moment as they blot out the grass beneath them through sheer presence and number.
...I don't know if there's a way for us to make it out of this alive. When I look at the horde with my Eye, I see no tangible Weakness to exploit other than... Light?
"Lesson three! Whatever thoughts you may be having now, Anaxa-" Artak starts, lifting his pistol to shoot down a Nevermore, transforming it into a sword just as quickly to skewer a Boarbatusk in the soft underbelly as he easily dodges the beast's tusks.
"Abandon them. Abandon your doubts. Steel yourself, steel your heart, and do not waver. Do not hesitate."
He then takes a deep, shuddering breath, as though coming to terms with the inevitable in this single, brief moment, before he raises his sword unshakingly once again.
"Now then... this is to be your final lesson, Anaxa. One you should always remember... A true Huntsman knows no fear. Only the joy of protecting humanity. Even in death."
The Grimm's relentless approach brings with it an overwhelming sense of finality, a tension in my grip that slowly dissipates as I hear their cries, their hunger.
"Oh, I'll remember it alright... for however many minutes we still have left on this planet." I say, smiling in spite of the harrowing odds, finding an odd feeling of peace within me at the inevitability of it all.
Neither of us have anything else to say after that. No somber goodbyes, or heartwarming messages of encouragement and inspiration. Not even a last minute powerup to save us from death.
Maybe we can divert their attention from Akarele if we last long enough, use our Aura to drag their eyes from the village to wherever we lead them... but that won't change the outcome of this battle.
This is it. That's all there is to it.
This is-
"Wait! Let me... let me help you!"
A cold wave of dread washes over me.
My fragile resolution is shattered instantly by
the childlike voice that echoes across the field from several meters away, a young girl standing there with a shaky, tear streaked grin on her lips, holding a rifle that is much too big for her in both unsteady hands.
"Anna, get out of-"
My shout is interrupted by the claw of a Beowulf slashing down at me, only just blocked by the Scholar's Folly as I find myself wrestling for control with the beast, eyes glued to Anna's stupid smile and the approaching form of an Ursa.
It's not enough, they're coming, fast, faster than I can manage, she won't have enough time to run from them, I need to MOVE.
I bat aside the creatures claws, rifle raised and eviscerating the Beowulf's head in a shower of black and red dust as I sprint with every ounce of strength in my legs to Anna's position, sprint through the fear and the terror that creeps into my voice, screaming her name as she lifts the gun in shaky arms and stares down an Ursa like the stupid, stupid brat she is as-
An axe is embedded in the Ursa's skull.
I stop dead in my tracks at the sight of it. Adrenaline courses through my veins, the world narrowed down to this one singular moment as I watch with an open mouth and a spear of relief that tears through my heart.
The axe is an ornate, elegant weapon, with rose embellishments across the handle, the blade embedded several inches within the Ursa's skull. A moment later, and a figure wreathed in a long cloak, as white as snow, lands atop the Ursa, taking hold of the axe and decapitating it in the blink of an eye.
"Phew! Looks like I made it in time."
The figure's voice, a distinctly feminine one, echoes in the field.
She pulls down her hood and turns to us, revealing a stunning smile that could light up the world, resting her weapon along her shoulders. Her eyes are a deep silver, her skin pale, hair cut short and a dark mix of black and red that contrasts the almost glowing white of her cloak.
Summer Rose: Level 59
The Saviour
She must see something in my eyes, something worth paying attention to, because she turns her own gaze away from the form of an approaching Beowulf to smile at me again, something soft. Reassuring.
"You don't have to worry anymore. It'll all be okay now... So get up, and fight. Fight for the lives of everyone who's placing their hopes on you. Fight for your life. I'll be with you every step of the way."
I open my mouth to warn her of the leaping beast, raising my rifle to shoot it out of the sky and spare her the trouble. The act is pointless. Faster than my Eye can even track, she moves, her cloaked form vanishing briefly as she appears from thin air above the beast, splitting it's entire form in half before it could even reach her cloak.
Again she vanishes, reappearing several feet away with her axe drawn and cutting down swathes of Grimm with each second, a flickering light that comes and goes with unmatched speed, beasts falling like flies as they flock to her from all directions.
She moves with a finesse and skill I could never hope to understand, ever swing of her weapon followed by decimation, every swing and swipe from animalistic jaws dodged and woven around.
Yes... that is the only way I can describe it.
Systematic decimation.
I had expected that this battle would be my end. I had expected that in spite of all my hopes and dreams, my life would be given in the name of protecting others, and that my reincarnation would bear no fruit.
A second chance has been given.
One I will not hesitate to take advantage of, shooting down as many of the Grimm as I can from here and keeping Anna's body shielded with my own.
It seems you won't be seeing me in the next just yet, Gepetto.
Keep a seat warm for me in Hell.
------------------------------------
...I'm not sure how long it takes.
Perhaps minutes. Perhaps hours. Time stops meaning anything when my eyes are glued to the elegant slaughter in front of me.
By the end of it all, Summer wipes a single bead of sweat from her brow as she stands ahead of us, appearing almost completely unscathed after the battle, having made Artak look akin to a frolicking amateur as she cleaved through entire packs of Grimm like it were easy.
She smiles at me. Smiles with a cocky grin on her lips and hands on her hips, radiating pride as she looks at me with this... odd degree of sympathy.
"See? I told you it would all be okay."
Her confidence withers slightly as I give her a flat look, but I can't bring myself to say anything else given she's the only reason I'm still breathing air, so I shift my gaze to the rest of the battlefield.
Artak himself stands off the side now, staring at Erebus' corpse as Anna cries and wails into my chest, thanking us with incoherent babbles and whimpered words. Our eyes meet, and for a second I see a flash of resentment, one tempered quickly by sympathy as he breaks his gaze.
And then Summer collapses.
Her body falls to the ground with a sudden thud and barely a whimper from her lips, my hand atop her neck in the blink of an eye to check if she's not spontaneously died somehow, finding that she's thankfully merely unconcious.
The knowledge brings with it a deep sigh of relief that spills unbidden from my lips, and another series of incoherent wails from Anna as she clutches the torn sleeve of my coat even tighter now.
Growing concerned in spite of the knowledge that she's asleep, I look at her with my Eye again, and try to see why she exactly it was that fainted.
Light. Bright light. Semblance. Overuse.
...strange.
The eye is never usually this cryptic. At least, never enough to leave me with more questions than answers like it does now. That seems to be a reoccurring theme with this Summer character, so far.
Where the hell did she come from? Why was she so strong, what does 'bright light' mean?
...Why did it seem as though her eyes were glowing slightly during the battle?