Vane's Test

Vane stood tall, his swords at the ready. Daryl stood before Vane; his sword held out at his side. The two men narrowed their gazes, sizing each other up. They began to slowly circle one another, looking for an opening.

Vane took a confident step forward, he launched toward Daryl, sword arcing upwards in a low swift strike. Daryl's sword came up to parry the blow, sparks flew from the clash. Vane swung his second sword around from above, piercing into the shoulder of Daryl. He grunted and jumped back, dislodging their swords. They immediately began circling again, Daryl placed a hand on the wound to his shoulder.

Daryl launched forward this time, swinging his sword in a large arc downwards, toward the centre of Vane's head. Vane held perfectly still, until the last second his swords were crossed above his head, blocking Daryl's blow. He struggled under the weight of the giant sword, his swords sparking against Daryl's. Daryl pressed downward; I could see Vane's arms shaking from the effort. Vane swung sideways, getting out from under the sword and slashing across Daryl's ribs.

Vane continued the momentum, swinging down with the second sword and smashing Daryl on the head with the hilt. Daryl staggered and fell to one knee. Daryl shoved upwards, swinging a sideways arc and slashed Vane across the stomach. Vane grunted, standing tall and barely flinching. I gasped. Blood seeped from the wound.

Vane threw his head back and laughed. The crowd surrounding him gaped.

"Let's get serious, shall we?" Vane sang and launched with preternatural speed at Daryl. His swords moved faster than the eye could see, slashing across one shoulder, then the other. Daryl lurched forward and cried out. Vane danced around behind him, grazed his sword across Daryl's back. The man lurched forward, trying to jump away from Vane's blades. It was useless. He raised his sword aiming to swing at Vane, to find his sword parried and slashed down with every attempt to raise it.

Vane jumped in the air with a flip, his swords aimed downwards for a true strike as he fell toward the Earth. I placed my hand over my mouth. Daryl stayed where he kneeled, his head bowed, blood seeping from his various cuts. The crowd shouted as Vane landed on top of Daryl, sword plunging into his neck, severing the spinal cord. Daryl's limp body slumped to the ground next to Vane. The floor was covered in slippery dark red blood. The body stayed for a moment then burst into polygons. A small yellow flame hovered where the body was "RESPAWN COUNT" Counting down ten minutes hovered with it.

Vane wiped his sword on his tunic, cleaning the blood from the blades, then he re-sheathed them. The room was completely silent, you could hear a pin drop. Finally, a loud clapping thundered across the room. Axel was standing at his throne, clapping. A smile graced his features, the scar that marred his face looked slightly less menacing.

"A fine show!" Axel called. His voice booming through the hall. "Quite unexpected, Indeed. The two of you showing up here today…" He placed his hand on his chin, deep in thought.

Vane gripped the hilts of his swords in anticipation, leaning in to hear what Axel would have to say.

"You asked for a display of skill." Vane mentioned, the telltale smirk never leaving his lips.

"I did. And you have bested my best lieutenant. I think it only fit that you replace him." Axel mused. The room gasped. He was being immediately granted a high-ranking position! I ground my teeth and tried to swallow the bile I felt rise in my throat seeing the mutilated corpse.

Vane nodded and inclined his head in a small bow.

"I hope to live up to your expectations, sir." Vane said smoothly. Axel laughed.

"I sure hope you get the girl, but you may find yourself in competition here…" He said. I shuddered; they were talking about me as if I was a piece of property.

"They can sure try." I said with a smirk, casually swinging my blade in a wide arc and replacing it back in its sheath.

"Ah, kitten has claws, we all know." Axel mused. I growled low in my throat. Vane, who was now standing closer to me, elbowed me in the side. I took a deep breath and laughed good naturedly.

"I'm not afraid to bite." I snapped my teeth playfully. A few of the men in the crowd laughed. I struggled not to roll my eyes and plastered the smile to my face. Vane walked forward and stood next to me; his shoulder brushed against mine.

"Don't I know it." His lips quirked up in a smile, his eyes half-lidded gazed down at me. I swallowed, blood rushing to my face. I smacked him on the arm.

"Don't imply anything!" I hissed. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist, his fingertips brushing the exposed area on my hip. I shivered. His face came close to my ear.

"It's either me, or him." He said softly. I clenched my fist and rested my hand on his chest. I thought momentarily, sighing and growling low. I nodded.

"I thought you were meeting me outside." I gritted out.

"You took too long." He shrugged. He chuckled again and released me. I stepped away a pace.

"Ah, young love!" Axel laughed. Yet, his eyes explored me, his beady gaze was ravenous. I placed my hand on Vane's arm and squeezed. He nodded to me almost imperceptibly and turned to face Axel.

"So, I hear you are going after this floor's boss." Vane got straight to the point. The men in the inner circle's heads snapped up. Axel turned and walked to his throne, he groaned as he lowered himself into the chair. Holding the wound at his side. He looked up at Vane and nodded.

"We are assembling an assault force. A guild-wide attack. The guardian of Mikado is a formidable enemy." He began.

"The guardian of Mikado?" I whispered. Axel nodded. He waved his hand in the air and brought up his menu. A large image filled the space in front of us as a projection.

The beast was grotesque.