For Whom the Bell May Toll

The Hooded player chuckled to herself. " Ahhhhh. You caught me, sister. You know what? Killing these people would have been much easier if you had not arrived here. Alas. I must now murder my sister as well. Such a shame. As for Silver. well...let's just say that I will face her alone."

Divine merely scoffed and continued speaking, attempting to buy as much time as she could. She kept her eyes on her surroundings as she spoke. "Kora you aren't even good enough to grovel at the feet of Silver. Let me be the first to tell you. What you witness today will be nothing more than a slaughter. If either of us is to die, then you will be in for one painful rest of the day."

Divine quickly spun around and slashed her dazzling sword, connecting with a player's chest.

Kora's face twisted in anger at being called incompetent. "We shall see what happens when this 'Silver' arrives then." After she finished speaking, she slid back into the shadows and out of sight.

Divine raised her guard and furiously fought in a defensive position. Tora was doing the same, but the poison was causing him to slow down, making him more sloppy.

Divine parried a stab from the front. She dropped low and swept her leg out, avoiding a stab at her throat and sweeping her leg at the other assailant. The attack connected, and she kicked his leg out from under him, knocking him prone on the ground. Noticing the other assailant's dagger aimed at her back, she lurched forward and rolled onto her feet, while the assailant on the floor got up.

Tora was faced with two enemies. The poison was affecting his vision and made him sluggish. He was vigilant of Kora, for she was skulking around the battlefield somewhere. One of the assailants slid back into the shadows while the other attacked him head on. Tora held his shield in front of him and supported it with his full weight. The dagger clashed harmlessly against the shield. Stabbing his spear outward, the assailant in the front jumped backwards. The hidden assailant was sneaking up behind Tora as he fought against the other one.

Tora slammed his shield into the front assailant. He had already noted the other's position. His breathing became more ragged and tunnel vision began to set in. He didn't have long before he went unconscious. Deciding to make the bold move, he closed in and threw his shield at his opponent. Caught totally off guard, the assailant rolled out of the shield's path and right into Tora's spear. The spear sank into his throat with a sickening squelch. The other assailant bolted into action, running headfirst at Tora. Knowing that he had less than half a fraction of time, Tora mustered all of his strength and pulled the spear out, spinning it around and aiming it at the other assailant. Unable to stop himself in time, the assailant threw his dagger, sinking it into Tora's shoulder just as he was stabbed clean through the chest by Tora's spear.

Pulling the dagger from his shoulder, he fell to his knees as everything went dark. The last thing he saw was Kora's dagger slicing across his throat.

Tora fell to the ground dead while Divine was locked in a stalemate with her assailants. Kora was furious. Three of the 5 players she brought with her were dead, and it was looking like the other two weren't enough to bring Divine down. She had heard stories and tales about Silver's capabilities, but she didn't believe a word of it, so she only brought 6 people, including herself.

Divine watched Tora fall while shaking her head. She decided to stop playing around and kick it up a notch. It was almost time for Silver to get here.

Divine went into action. She stabbed her sword out, missing the assailant by a hair's breadth. He jumped backwards as Divine's sword glowed white and began emitting an intense heat. She Pointed her sword at him, and an untraceable, small pellet of light shot out fast enough to cause a sonic boom. It ran right through the assailant's left hand, destroying it entirely, just as a thundering boom rang throughout the battlefield. It deafened everyone and caused the wind pressure to shoot up, fluttering everyone's clothes. Divine truly looked like a God of light.

Despite his injury (and obvious fear), the other guy tightened his grip on the dagger and firmed his resolve. They both went back into action.

Divine blocked an overhand swipe, while keeping an eye out for the other assailant. A dagger slid silently into her shoulder. Temporarily without her hearing, it was more difficult to track him. Deciding to deal with the injured one first: she kicked him in the chest, knocking him back a few feet. Without skipping a beat, Divine dashed towards him, causing more damage to her shoulder by forcefully moving her body, tearing the dagger out recklessly. She stabbed her sword outwards and it sank deeply into the chest of the assailant. She grunted as she pulled her sword out. Knowing she was poisoned, Divine Turned to face the enemy.

Divine rushed towards him, Intending to end it with one blow. Light began emitting from her mouth and eyes. Her speed was frightening. Just as she was right in front of him, a flash of pure white light burst forth, obscuring the battle from view.

When the light cleared, the assailant was cut cleanly in half. His body was severed in half vertically, and both sides fell on opposite sides of the ground. Weirdly, there was no blood. In fact, all of the blood was evaporated instantaneously due to the sheer heat of the attack.

Divine had flooded her body with light mana, causing her vessels and body to kick into overdrive. It was a powerful berserk magic, with debilitating effects.

Divine was kneeling on the ground, Blood was trickling from her mouth. She was supporting her weight fully with her sword. Kora's figure appeared in front of her, and she pulled her hood down, revealing a grizzled looking girl with black hair. Kora began moving her dagger towards Divine's throat. Kora spoke solemnly.

"I am sorry it had to be this way, sister. If only you had joined me, we could have killed together-"

A black haired girl with glowing red eyes appeared soundlessly behind Kora. The monologue was cut off by Silver yanking on her hair. She was thrown violently to the floor, and Silver drug her across the ground by her hair, throwing her full force into a tree. Kora slammed against the tree with a sickening thud, followed by a loud crack. The tree swayed from Silver's sheer strength.

The embodiment of suffering itself spoke with such a cold voice that the grass itself began to freeze over. "You will experience true suffering. You will know pain when I am finished."