The First Descent into The Labyrinth (9)

Running across the desert, kicking up sand as they went, the two groups had made an astonishing amount of progress on account of how efficient both were getting at working with one another as well as the fact that they were finally coming to grips with the odd essence all around them. By the time they ran into their newest group of possible foes, each and every one of them had their full magical capacity regained once more.

The group stopped, as they gazed upon the enemies blocking their path. A large group of humans all wearing similar sand cloaks to what Cyrus' and co. had on, stood in their path at a distance with unknown intentions. The students attempted to bypass the apparent natives of this illusionary land yet were shadowed the entire way. Understanding that if hostilities were to break out it would not be in their favor to have their backs turned, Cyrus stopped the group.

"Weapons at the ready, everyone stand behind Minerva. Minerva, prepare a large-scale ice wall. Imran, prepare to blind. If negotiations break down me and Cornelius will retreat at top speed, followed by an ice wall to stop projectiles and a sandstorm to blind them. Move with the blind and press forwards to defeat our foes…no matter how difficult it may be. If you cannot do so, do not try. Focus on supporting those who can do what needs to be done" said Cyrus, his hand gripping his swords pommel with force as he steeled himself for what may come.

Walking up to the group that had been shadowing them alongside Cornelius, who had no complaints walking headfirst into possible danger, Cyrus thought of the implications of the current situation.

"Everything is a test of some kind with the Academy, there is a reason for every action. Testing ones adaptability in dire circumstances, ones stamina from constant harassing attacks, the level of preparedness as well as knowledge of foreign lands…having humans appear, is this to test wit and cunning to overcome an obstacle…or to get us used to killing fellow humans" thought Cyrus, his aura dampening as he thought of what may come.

Sighing internally he thought,

"My counterpart makes such considerations look so simple, but I will do what is required even if the situation plays out like I fear it might. All men are equal under the sun, but some are merely beasts donning human cloth…that I know all too well"

His resolve renewed and his thoughts finished, Cyrus picked up in speed and arrived within speaking distance in short order.

"What are your intentions in following us so closely?" asked Cyrus, carefully modulating his voice to be as confident and stern as possible.

The group remained unmoved, so much so that it was almost unsettling, especially when Cyrus looked closely and noticed how each of their eyes seemed to be glazed over…as if they were not fully cognizant. One of the men in the front, however, shuddered ever so slightly and walked forward. His eyes slowly gaining clarity and his facial expression becoming fully animated, unlike his counterparts.

"A group of students out on a training exercise, how could we not have such an interest in that? It is hard out here in the wasteland, surely you would know seeing as you are familiar with this land" said the man to Cyrus, having noticed familiar features in what was exposed from his sand cloak.

"We are here to invite you to come and camp with us, we will assist you along your way and even help you finish whatever goals you might have. We humans should stick together after all, against the numerous monsters that roam about in both the day and night" said the man smoothly, displaying quite the silver tongue he had.

Cyrus thought for a moment, clearly confused as to how events were panning out… before he carefully said

"While we respect your grand intentions, we are not allowed to have outside help and so we hope to be on our way."

The man's gaze hardened as he heard this reply before giving his last demand,

"Understandable, you have your own circumstances after all. Yet, I must insist that you at least allow your lady friend to come and visit our camp. Surely she would not want to be out in the heat, and would instead prefer to be in our company."

Finally understanding their game, Cyrus shook his head while lamenting his other half's lack of foresight.

"How truly blind my counterpart is to the beauty of Minerva. It is made all too apparent by the extremely snug sand cloak as well, that she is indeed a member of the fairer sex. Obviously this would cause complications if we were to run into the normal degeneracy of the wasteland" thought Cyrus within.

Outwardly, however, he said

"I have a close friend who is quite fond of her, so I will have to decline offering her up as a sacrificial lamb. That is not even counting the fact that such an idea personally disgusts me."

All the while he, and Cornelius who shook his head in disappointment at the somewhat expected outcome, was preparing a Vita spell to boost his speed immensely. When the last word left his lips, as realization was dawning upon the other party in their little negotiation as to his motives, Cyrus and Cornelius leapt back and broke into a run. Not only that, but as he was turning Cyrus let loose his familiar flying knives into the group of men in front of him. Two of the three met their marks, eliminating some of their foes combat potential right from the get go, while the third was slashed out of the air by the one who had negotiated with Cyrus.

"We can still have our fun even with a corpse" sneered the man as he rose his hand in the air, which caused all his fellow degenerates to produce bows and nock an arrow on each whilst taking aim. The moment his hand fell back to his side each of them let fly their arrow, whistling through the air as each aimed to take the life of all of Cyrus' companions and allies.

In immediate response, a large wall of ice formed in between the two groups blocking the volley of arrows and even the next. Alas, the wall was thin from the start and the desert conditions lent no aid whatsoever to the construction and it half fell half melted from a combination of the sweltering heat and force of the arrows pounding into it.

The troubles for the group of villainous sand dwellers was far from over, as next they were greeted with a massive sandstorm courtesy of Imran. Being long used to the conditions of the desert, however, they all quickly and easily shielded their faces and eyes from the sand. Even so, the goals of Cyrus had still been accomplished as the rain of arrows had stopped allowing him and those combat capable to charge forward.

The first to reach the enemy were of course Cyrus and Cornelius, who while may had varying thoughts in their head, they hesitated not to dispatch their enemy albeit in different ways.

Cyrus with one powerful execution of Wrath, swung his shortsword across cleaving the heads off two dazed foes and thrusting into the throat of a third making expert use of the leftover momentum. Cornelius fell two of his enemies, except in stark contrast of the brutality of Cyrus he opted to deliver an uppercut to each of his foes chins rendering them unconscious without killing them on the spot.

Seemingly uncaring that five of them had been culled on the spot, the rest of the group now freed from their momentary blind drew their varying tools of death and advanced on the two. The current numbers were not favorable even for the two abnormally strong students of Glacies, nine against two, but they were far from alone.

Joining the fight just a few moments later were Minerva and Imran, who each grabbed the attention of three enemies. While Imran used the superior reach of his weapon to threaten his foes, keeping their attention locked on him else risking a stab in the side if they tried to turn, Minerva actively pushed forward displaying the full might of her superior sword skills. With her sabre drawn forth and one hand at her side, she masterfully thrusted towards one enemy and used the momentum to turn it into a quick slash at another. It was clear that the sabre showed a masterful display when used to aggress, keeping three foes on their feet despite the number advantage… never giving them a moment to rest and possibly coordinate an attack.

This left 2 enemies for Cornelius, who appeared to be the right- and left-hand man of the leader who had negotiated with them earlier, while the leader himself dove towards Cyrus wielding two long knives.

With this, the battle was now in full swing with every member having their own opponents or duties such as the five spear wielding Vita mages who could not bring themselves to possibly kill another human being, instead opting to take Cyrus' advice and making full use of their Vita domain to constantly replenish the stamina of and even strengthen their allies.

At the center of the battlefield, as mentioned before, was Cyrus and the apparent leader of the foes who were locked in intense combat. Both sides had more than enough skill, which showed clearly with the meticulous nature that each employed in their fight. Starting out slow, sounding the other out, they traded blow after blow under the fiery sun causing sweat to pour out from each of their brows. The fight was extremely reminiscent of the one Cyrus had undergone with Minerva, except the difference was that every time Cyrus made even the smallest of errors he was met with a deadly counter attack that he had to direct his entire being into defending from.

It did not help that the opponent he was facing was making use of an extremely odd method of fighting, one that involved two daggers one being long and one being short. The long one was used for thrusting and slashing, while the small one was used to parry any oncoming attacks and open up the path for the other knife to unleash a deadly thrust. Back and forth the fight went, with Cyrus making use of every ounce of combat potential and experience he had by constantly switching from guard to guard trying anything he could to trip up his enemy. From the powerful diagonal downwards slash of Wrath, to the quick and precise forward thrust of On Point, and even making attempting to make use of the peculiar Fool guard designed to lead opponents into a trap….he was truly trying every trick he knew to stay afloat in his currently fast sinking ship.

He was not without some advantages, as he had no need to fear of tiring or running out of energy as he was being fed a constant stream of Vita spells by his allies in the back which allowed him to always fight as if he had just started. Meanwhile his opponent had no such luxury, despite having the upper hand during their opening exchanges.

Not only that, but Cyrus was a mage himself and so he was obviously preparing his own spells whenever he could. His opponent seemed oddly familiar with the fighting style of mages, however, as he would make a sudden risky and almost desperate move at the most odd of times that would perhaps see him easily defeated if not for the fact that Cyrus was just on the cusp of unleashing a spell to turn the tides of battle.

"How eerie this feeling is, of being completely read…no matter, so long as I hold out there is no way for me to be bested" thought Cyrus quickly as he transitioned to full defense, so as to stall the fight and win by attrition.

His opponent let loose a wicked smile, having fully understood the circumstances that he found himself in as well and with a completely suicidal move he did away with all ideas of defense and launched a reckless assault with his long dagger towards the throat of Cyrus.

Having set aside any semblance of a defense, in both his weapon usage and spacing, Cyrus' shortsword easily completed the thrust he was in the midst of and pierced through his opponent. Shock resounded throughout his mind as he processed the unexpected move, as much as he felt his sword tear through flesh and knock aside bone turning the internal organs of his opponent into mush.

By sheer reflex alone he moved his head back, dodging the dagger that threatened to slit his throat, and letting go of his sword with one hand as said hand filled with pure death essence and grabbed the mans head like one would an apple…and then crushing it like one would a grape aided by the weakening effect of the death essence. His shock did not end even as the brain matter exploded onto his head and face, even blocking his vision for a moment causing him to wipe the stain from his eyes so as to return his vision of the world once more. He saw not his surroundings for a moment, nor did he hear anything around him as all he could see were the last moments of his enemy as his face turned into a wicked smile that reached ear to ear right before his head was imploded. As well as all he could think of, for but a moment, was that the actions taken by who he had fought did not fall in line with his view of the world and humanity whatsoever.

For a moment, he had the same question in his mind that his somewhat feral counterpart often thought of; "What are these emotions that humans have, that can drive one to such lengths…cause them to act as they do."

A moment was all it was, however, as a strong part of his mind urged him into action as there was a battle raging all around him. Thus, his body followed his minds directive and went into action once more…easily reaping the lives of the remaining foes.