Within the estate of the Earl, tensions were at full play.
The order and authority that were common in the great hall had been turned into a command center. Guards were present along the walls, in full armor. Messengers ran in and out, bringing in bits of news of what was going on in the city.
No one was calm.
They have forced their way through the eastern district!
Some other unit is out of touch along the inner roads!
There is something that is assaulting anything it sees!
Voices overlapped.
Frustration, Fear, and Confusion filled the hall.
The Earl was in the midst of it all.
He remained still, silent and listening.
He had not yet once raised his voice, like the others.
One of the guards dashed into the hall, gasping.
"My lord—"
He did not even have to complete.
They heard the sound first.
A crash, a far-away crash.
The sound of stone and metal breaking.
There was a silence in the whole hall.
The Earl raised his eyes a bit.
"The gates" one of the nobles said.
Another tremor followed.
Closer this time.
A rumbling filled the room.
"That's impossible…"
"The sentinels were posted on the outside, they were not able to fall so fast"
One hand was raised by the Earl.
Silence returned instantly.
His voice was calm.
"Into your positions."
The guards sprang to action.
A formation was formed quickly in the hall.
The guards raised their weapons up as the faced the origin of the sounds and rumblings.
The nobles retreated, some going to the back of the hall, others standing still.
There was another sound that reverberated in the estate.
It was not an explosion, not chaos.
Footsteps.
Slow and measured, and it was getting closer.
One of the guards that were close to the entrance tightened his grip on his weapon.
"It's coming inside…"
The doors to the hall remained closed.
But the pressure, was undeniable felt.
Something was going through the estate.
The Earl came a step forward.
He had not changed his expression.
But his eyes had sharpened as a bloody aura spread out of his body.
So, said he, "It is here."
The great hall doors shook a bit.
Not from an impact but from the presence.
The doors creaked open.
Through the large hall, the low groan resonated as the wooden planks were forced open a mere inch at a time. No one stirred. The guards remained as fixed as a statue, weapons forward, eyes fixed upon the gap that stretched into nothing.
And then he walked in.
Blood on his clothes and dust clinging to him, he held himself with unwavering composure, utterly unfazed by the carnage that surrounded him.
A sudden hush fell.
The messengers themselves had stopped breathing.
The guards closed ranks.
"Forward!" a voice roared.
The sound had barely subsided before the first line stepped forward.
The spears lanced outward in a coordinated sweep.
Abraham stepped aside.
He didn't hesitate or falter. He merely took a step. The first spear struck-
And shattered.
The sound cracked like a dried branch snapping under pressure and before the guards had registered what had just happened, Abraham's hand moved. The frontmost man was knocked off his feet, his impact on the guards behind him creating a domino effect of collapsing warriors.
The formation was shattered instantly.
"Close in!" another commanded.
The warriors charged forward.
Steel flashed. Shields clanged against each other. None of the attacks landed squarely on Abraham.
He moved between them. Each action he made disarmed an opponent. One guard was sent crashing into a pillar, another crumpled to the ground under a single, seemingly harmless, blow, the third sent sprawling across the stone floor, coming to a rest a dozen yards away.
The nobles recoiled behind.
"This- this can't be possible..."
Within seconds, the entire first line was down.
Only a few men stood firm now, hesitant, their ranks no longer a coherent force, their morale destroyed.
Abraham halted.
For the first time since entering-
His eyes shifted past them, to the Earl.
The space between them widened, without word or signal, as the few guards backed away. They just seemed to know this wasn't their battle to finish.
The Earl stood alone in the center of the great hall.
And the hunter walked towards him.
The gap between them closed.
They approached, without rushing, without sound. As they were but a few feet apart-
The Earl struck.
The force behind the attack was blindingly swift. The blade cut through the air and through him before anyone could fully perceive it, aimed at a quick and decisive ending.
Abraham caught the blow with his hand.
The force of it sent a reverberation through the hall.
For a single, stretched out moment, they were still.
And then the Earl's sword snapped.
He instantly released it and scrambled back, dodging the blow that had come immediately after. The stone floor where he had been standing fractured from the impact of Abraham's strike.
The ambiance of the hall shifted subtly.
The nobles felt it and he guards saw it.
Two exchanges and the Earl was at a disadvantage.
The Earl shifted his weight and his power began to radiate outward, not a chaotic, unfocused rage but a tightly controlled, immense force.
He lunged again.
This time more swiftly. His strikes were not just rapid; they were precise and deliberate, honed over centuries of skill far surpassing those of his fallen warriors. He was fighting with a true noble's might, Abraham stood still as he allowed himself to be hit.
For a fleeting time the hall became a whirlwind.
The stone groaned under the immense pressure, the air split under the impact of the forces meeting.
The collision boomed across the estate.
Then Abraham hit back.
Just one blow.
The Earl threw up his arms and took it head on, but he was still sent hurtling back across the hall, his boots carving trenches in the stone floor.
Another moment of silence passed before the Earl slowly recovered.
His entire arm was broken with his chest caved in. Immediately his regenerative ability was showed. His body healed fast the eyes couldn't follow it.
Across the distance Abraham stood, untouched.
Waiting before advancing again.
The Earl's eyes narrowed, he understood now. This was not something he could win by brute force or overwhelming numbers. This was something he would need to endure till help arrives.
And even that was by not guaranteed.
Beyond the walls of the estate, the tremor of their conflict began to echo into the city and not far away, Seraphine and Archie sensed it.
A/N: Apologies people, I've been preparing a mass release. In a week time the chapters will be complete and published.