Lauma had finished
A hologram-like map appeared in the ground, showcasing the entire courtyard and enemies. The map itself had a lightish blue colour, the Stone Saints were tainted with an angry red, which moved from side to side, patrolling. It was like the map showed in real time what was happening.
That only happened because Lauma was constantly observing the courtyard and updating her map.
Originally, she couldn't do that, it was only after Sunless suggested for her to see the nightmare creatures as mere objects that moved that a new way to use her aspect revealed itself.
Her map had incredible detail, it was like seeing from an upside position, like there was a camera showing everything that was happening.
Sunless was right, even if she couldn't fight, Lauma may have been the most important member of the group.
And once she Awakened, she would be even more important.
Sunless analyzed the map and the Stone Saints, their numbers and positions.
There were around 15 of them, all armor-clad and with discipline evident in their motions. Very different from other nightmare creatures.
The area was just like the rest of the Dark City but there was a tower at the edge, almost destroyed and toppling down the courtyard. That gave Sunny an idea.
"Who here wants to take down a tower?"
They all looked at Sunless, even Lauma stopped analyzing the courtyard and stared at him dumb founded.
You'd think they thought their leader was crazy.
"..."
Lan, Kin and Merlin raised their hands.
—
Kin and Lan were in position, on the ground close to the tower's foundation.
The Shadow Watchers split into groups of two.
Lan and Kin.
Kira and Merlin.
Mei and Lycon.
Sunless and Motza.
Nix stayed with Lauma, not only did she need protection, but Nix was an archer, so she could give some long support to them. Not that she could do much, their plan would make that very difficult.
Lan cracked his fists, ready to destroy the pillar that would cause the chain reaction that would take down the tower on top of the Saint's courtyard.
Lan's aspect was simple, yet powerful. It allowed him to 'guess' the weak point of anything he saw. Until now, there wasn't anything he couldn't see and immediately knew where he should hit. There wasn't any armor that wasn't damaged by Lan's punches. The sole exception was the Golden armor of Gunlaug.
Kin's aspect meanwhile made a slash out of thin air, a movement of his sword could travel the distance to hit anything. It was like his slashes had a longer reach. The 'wind blades' were incredibly sharp and precise.
So destroying a pillar of a tower that was already falling apart was nothing for the brothers.
"Ready Kin?!"
"Don't shout, Lan."
Lan wound up and punched the pillar that suspended the building, cracking it, weaken it. He took a step back.
His brother took his place and slashed the broken pillar, cutting it in two. Finishing the job and making it fall into the courtyard.
The tower swung, it weavered. And finally fell.
The Stone Saints that were beneath the falling building tried to run but they were too late.
A loud sound of crashing was heard even all the way onto the outer settlement.
As soon as the tower hit the ground, a big smoke screen was raised, blocking the view of all the knights…
However… It lasted a little too long…
Nix smiled in the elevated position. Motza was doing his part.
The main strength of the Stone Saints were their combat capabilities, by transforming the battlefield into a place filled with fog, rather than an open field, the Shadow Watchers could actually have a chance.
"There's ten left.'
Lauma's voice was filled with relief. Nix smiled.
"Now it's up to them."
—
A lone Stone Saint observed the mist with its stoic eyes. Indifference apparent, it walked slow and careful steps around, searching for either an ally or an enemy.
And it found someone, a tall figure with black armor appeared, wielding a sword. It wasn't an ally nightmare creature.
They observed each other.
The black armored figure touched his own blade, in some moments, it headed up, turning bright orange, then red. It was like a sword of pure light was made.
He started to walk towards the nightmare creature.
The Stone Saint unsheathed his own blade and advanced.
Both walked slowly, but with each deliberate step, they got faster, and faster, until the distance between them was just a few meters.
Then their weapons clashed. And then a dance of skill and technique began.
Each clash created sparks of fire coming from the red sword.
The Stone Saint was stronger thanks to his superior Rank, additionally, it had an edge in skill. However, the black knight was keeping up, by using experience and his power.
His extremely hot sword started to affect the stone sword of the nightmare creature, creating cracks on the blade, decreasing its efficiency.
As a result, by the time the Stone Saint finally won the exchange, battering the opponent's sword aside and moving it to a vertical slash to the black armor, the stone blade was destroyed.
By someone else's weapon.
A greatsword appeared, wielded by a female with white dirty hair and green cat-like eyes, parrying the stone blade with enough force to break it.
The black knight didn't miss the chance, spinning his blade to the side, reaching the exposed neck of the enemy.
The Stone Saint couldn't react to the red sword cutting its head off.
The stone body fell, motionless.
The Spell announced.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Stone Saint.]
Kira informed his companion beside him.
"It 's dead."
Merlin celebrated, seemingly not caring for the current situation
"Yay! One down!"
Kira sighed, not pleased by the girl's antics. It reminded him of a past he wished to forget.
"Merlin, we have yet to kill all the creatures and I'm sure my aspect got plenty of attention, keep focused."
She immediately frowned and rolled her eyes.
"Give me a break Kira… Boss already didn't let me take down the tower! I want to have some fun!"
Kira sighed again, Merlin was a thrill seeker, if anything, she wanted to get all Stone Saints to fight her at once. It was very troublesome.
Another figure appeared in the fog, this one was already prepared for a fight.
Both Shadow Watchers put their guards up.
"The plan remains the same."
Merlin groaned, annoyed.
"Fine! You get all the fun!"
—
On the other side of the courtyard, the second pair had defeated another of the Stone Saints.
Lycon rested his war scythe on his shoulder.
"You know, I thought they would be stronger than this…"
His indifferent purple-haired companion looked at him while sheathing her katana.
"They usually are, but now that they are separated and facing enemies through this fog, different from them, we are used to it…
Together, they might take down Fallen abominations head on, but alone, simple sneak attacks are effective."
The blond man looked at her with a certain curiosity.
"You talk with expirience?"
She sighed, starting to search for their new target. Her voice getting low and being filled with hidden sadness.
"Even Saints die as easily as Sleepers."
Lycon's eyes frowned, but understanding passed through them. He chose to not press the swordwoman and followed her with just enough distance so he could see through the fog.
Mei unsheathed her katana, sparks of something resembling purple lightning followed the blade, perfectly complementing the beauty that was wielding them.
Once more, a figure of a Stone Saint appeared, but this time, it wasn't alone.
Two Stone Saints, both with male body types. weapons ready and glaring at her.
Mei silently cursed, the standard strategy wouldn't work. Lycon walked to her right side.
"We'll have to switch things up. What would the leader say… 'We have failed'?"
"He does say that from time to time."
Their enemies advanced in a steady manner. Lycon abandoned his carefree persona and looked seriously at Mei.
"I don't think sneak attacks will work this time."
Mei pointed her katana towards the knights.
"Not from us…"
Lycon smirked.
They ran forward, Mei two steps faster than her companion.
The Stone Saints stood their ground, one had a shield, raising it to protect itself, while the other gripped the handle of it's own sword tightly.
As Mei was a mere meter away from the shielded opponent, she ducked, letting the scythe aimed for the back of her head pass and hitting the shield of the first knight and making the other take steps back.
It was a move they had practiced for some time, when Mei was close to the opponent, she would lower herself to let Lycon's attack through. It distracted the enemy.
Mei took advantage of the shielded enemy's stagger and swung her sword towards its neck.
However, the Stone Saint brought its own sword to parry hers.
Purple sparks danced around them as they clashed.
Lycon moved to pressure the other Stone Saint, moving his scythe to overwhelm it.
Mei swung her sword, the knight moved the shield to block her. However, it was a faint.
The swordwoman grabbed the shield and focused on her legs, folding them.
She jumped over him, staying mid air for a second before landing on the ground and spinning, her katana swinging to meet the armor of the abomination.
But the Stone Saint was able to dodge, moving in such a motion to start a spin, making the slash only graze its armor, damaging it with her aspect, disintegrating that part of the armor, but leaving her open to a counter attack.
Mei received a shield bash right in her abdomen, launching her back.
She grasped it, feeling overwhelming pain, but she couldn't stay still.
The Stone Saint soon closed the distance and swung its sword vertically to her head, aiming to split it in two.
Mei had no time to dodge, choosing to block with her own sword.
The strike caused her to shutter, the weight and strength surpassed anything she could handle…
But more importantly, her katana cracked.
Pain overwhelmed her even more, she gritted her teeth in frustration. In desperation, she kicked the knights feet, trying to make it lose balance.
The Stone Saint remained unshaken, pressuring her even more. Stomping her gut with its strength.
She groaned once more, her enemy didn't let her focus on drawing the power of her aspect.
Another crack on the sword.
She looked at Lycon's direction to see if he could help, but his situation was no better.
His weapon was split in two, disappearing in white sparks, blood was falling through his right arm, adding another scar to his body.
The Stone Saint he was facing meanwhile, was fine. A mere crack on its wrist.
Mei looked at the abomination pressing her to the ground, the corrupted, empty eyes staring at her like she was an insect.
It released the bind of swords and raised its sword, ready to cut her down.
She looked at the sword. Seeing her death incoming. Then she noticed.
Frustration left her, being replaced with an indifferent gaze. A chuckle escaped her mouth, together with a silent warning.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you… I may not care for my life…"
The arms of the Stone Saint were cut off in an instant.
"... But he certainly does."
A Ascended blade cut the right leg of the knight, then tossed to the side, he was incapacitated.
Black armor appeared on her line of sight, hollow eyes being seen through the visor.
Sunny sighed. Dismissing his helmet.
"What did I tell you about giving up?"
He offered her his hand. She accepted it to get up. She had a small smile on her face.
Motza and the shadow wolf were standing next to Lycon, the Stone Saint being devoured by the wolf.
Sunny looked at Mei with a worried expression.
"It doesn't look like you were wounded so severely, how come you look so hurt?"
Mei looked at her sword, it was still cracked.
"Everyone has their secrets… Don't we, Lord Song?"
"... Yes… We do…"
Her voice wasn't mocking, or irritated, she was just reminding her leader that she wasn't ready to reveal everything. He respected her wishes.
"That guy is still alive."
The Stone Saint flinched and moved, trying to get up despite not having three limbs.
Sunless looked at Mei.
"Want to finish him off?"
The swordwoman studied him for a moment, considering what he wanted. The leader of the Shadow Watchers always insisted on being the last one to kill any nightmare creature if there was a way. He offering Mei the final kill meant he thought she wanted some payback.
She didn't, but who knows, maybe she'll get a memory.
"Sure, if you are offering."
Mei walked slow steps towards the nightmare creature that glared at her.
"So… I guess you want to kill me?"
The Stone Saint just closed his eyes in indifference.
"No? For a nightmare creature, you are really honorable, wished I could make you into my echo. Oh well, I doubt it."
She pierced her katana through the visor, killing the knight.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Stone Saint.]
[You have received an Echo.]
Mei's eyes widened in surprise, what were the chances, she wanted an Echo, and she got it.
"I got an Echo."
Sunless turned with the same surprise.
"Really? That's good, these things are really strong."
Mei nodded, sharing the same opinion.
The leader of the Shadow Watchers then turned to
"Hey Motza! Clear the mist, there's only one left."
The one-eyed assassin nodded, dismissing his aspect, the courtyard revealed itself.
It barely resembled what it once was, now, it had the body of a once great tower in the middle, debris everywhere, the ground pierced and destroyed, all Stone Saints had been killed. Except for one.
It remained close to the middle of the area, it had a female body type and carried a sword and shield.
All Shadow Watchers were accounted for.
Sunny, Motza, Mei and Lycon stood across the last Stone Saint.
Kin and Lan emerged from the rest of the tower.
Kira and Merlin got closer to the main group.
Nix and Lauma observed from afar.
Sunny got closer to the last Stone Saint.
"It's mine, no one interrupts this, got it?"
He got a variety of answers, from the annoyed sighs coming from Merlin and Lan, to the confirming hums from Mei and Motza, even Wraith made clear his dissatisfaction. Yet all obeyed his command.
Summoning his helmet, Sunny pointed his blade at the last enemy.
'I want to challenge myself, no sneak attacks, no complicated plans, just a fight, one that ends just as quickly as it begins.'
The Stone Saint shifted her head as if understanding something, or rather, reconizing it, then tossed her shield in favour of using her singular stone sword.
Sunny could see through Shadow Dance, a purely offensive stance, she was throwing caution out and focusing on pure attack.
He didn't mind.
He wrapped the Gloomy shadow on his body and the Happy one on his weapon, letting Serpent fuel his essence, he was as strong as he could be right now.
His opponent waited, patiently, fully respecting her opponent.
The Shadow Watchers looked confused as to why the nightmare creature was so… Honorable.
They were both ready.
They advanced.
They slashed each other.
But only one could predict the other's move.
They ended up past each other.
Sunny fell, his body underneath the armor wounded. But his armor was pristine.
The Stone Saint had its armor slashed diagonally, fatally wounded.
The Spell announced.
[You have slain an Awakened Monster, Stone Saint.]
[Your Shadow grows stronger…]
[You have received an Echo.]
'What? Just like Mei…?'
He remembered his 'favorite' attribute, [Fated]. He rolled his eyes.
"Sometimes Fate is cool… Sometimes…"