Arc 2, Chapter 65: Clash

"There's only one way out!?" Lexi gripped her staff tighter.

"Dozens, at least a hundred of us are just left here stranded?" a ginger woman, Jiana Kirk sounded out, "Why does Kowalski get a way out and I don't!?"

"Kowalski jumped ship before the operation was a go. I'm the prime target here, I need to get out and I can send more troops to get you all out after I leave," Moren held the transceiver, turning the knob.

"Like I'll trust that!" Lexi put her hand out, "Give me the damn radio before I turn your guts inside out." Assassins stood—loitering and twiddling their thumbs—unsure what to do around the guild.

The upper floor was removed of any tarps. A balcony overlooked the hall—a new office constructed right behind it where some rooms used to be.

The clerk was slumped to the side of the desk, his face beaten till black and blue; his glasses were broken, presumably after asking to be the one to escape… "Stop it!" A yell came from the door.

Before they could register that voice, the door busted open—in came the four of them, alongside the Lexokodac. "Shit!" Moren put the walkie-talkie into his belt and unsheathed his sword. "Go you idiots!"

Two hulking figures—"SLAM!"—one landed a sword into the ground, larger than the arms lifting it, the other sported a gigantic steel hammer—Synop and Sinop.

The assassins brought out various weapons, from bows to daggers as Lexi put up her staff. The assassins ran forward- "PfWOoSH!" Three arrows fired into the floor, sending a burst of wind to send them flying back.

The others rushed into the guild, Jotou and Okod with their blades at the ready. "Don't move too far from me!" Hotaru said as she kept her distance at the entrance.

Zach immediately fired his next shot, keeping groups of them away—the bolted down tables broke apart and their legs slid through the floor. "You!" the brunette's voice shouted out as shadows disappeared and reappeared next to Lexi.

Fumeko brought her dagger out, jumped up onto the desk and onto-! Her gnarled staff warped like liquid under twinkles of dark lilac, blocking the purplish-black shadow. "TUFF!" Lexi swung her staff and knocked Fumeko away like a baseball.

Fumeko groaned as she hit the floor, but managed to blink away and appear towards Hotaru. An arrow flew up towards Lexi, smaller than his usual ones; she budged to the side, making the arrow hit the wall behind. "BIFF!" "Why?" Zach shouted over.

She gave a feral groan, "It's all more complicated than you think!"

"Shwink!" His blade polished the wind, immobilizing multiple assassins. "Then you can explain it one by one when this is over," Okod glared up.

"Zap!" Against a leg she swiped; she knocked her hilt under another's jaw before spinning and—"Slash!"—behind her, causing blood to cauterize over the sparking blade.

A hammer—"CRASH!"—impacted into the floor, getting stuck as it missed the target that burst into a puff of glitter. "Blinding light!" Asobi shot from the other side into Sinop's eyes.

"GAH!" he held his own face.

"Moren!" Fumeko announced as her shadows appeared atop of him- "GyaH!" He caught her by the leg and threw her across the room.

"I got ya!" Zach held one arm free and caught the flying brunette; he set her side in swift one movement. He spun, bow taut and another arrow—"Fwoosh!"—fired to Moren as Moren widened his legs and blocked the gust-arrow with his sword.

"Come on!" Fumeko once again blinked away.

"Rejuvenate!" she splashed on the elf tugging on her sleeve.

An invisible voice, "Thank you!" went away into the uncoordinated chaos. The assassins became more reckless by the second.

All essence of strategy was lost in the rattled battle of attrition. "Do it, now!" Moren ordered to the ginger woman behind the desk, seeing the corpses cut down by enchanted metal.

Jiana stepped forward, her own eyes going ruby red as she formed in her hands a ruby red gem. The fallen bodies next to Jotou did not raise, for none of them had died—yet.

Surrounding Okod however, were ruby red eyes and minimal black shadow in the form of the assassins he just put down. Lexi followed up, twisting a limb or two through Jiana's gem—nails turned into claws and teeth into fangs.

He gave one look to Lexi… Did he ever truly know her…? His blade doubled in length and—"SHLING!"—he whirled his sword around and within the swish of the wind, in one fatal swipe, the dead that newly arose were merely fallen bodies once more.

"Blinding light!" Asobi appeared behind about a dozen of grunts, making them all pause and groan as their eyes simmered under their goggles. The twenty or so Asobi-s disappeared, leaving one elf standing close to Fumeko who stood on a table.

"What exactly do we do, just win?"

"Obviously," the brunette replied, her eyes having finished examining her surroundings. She leapt headfirst into shadow and appeared onto a massive figure—her legs wrapped around Synop's neck.

"AHHHH!!!" He dropped his sword as Fumeko dragged her dagger across both his eyes—the other way to blind an opponent…

"Finally!" she blinked off and down onto the other twin. Eyes reddened from the spell and hammer stuck in the ground, he went to grab Okod, but- "Shlick!" It was Synop's last action alive.

As for the still living twin, a dagger forced right through the back of his legs through unarmoured trousers, "That's two!" Fumeko blinked away. Sinop gritted his teeth, groaning to the ceiling as he fell onto one knee. 

What actually made him fall however was Okod's immediate kick to the front of his wounded legs. As he fell to his knees completely, Okod smashed the hilt of his sword into Sinop's nose, breaking out a fountain of crimson.

One more swipe, he slit his throat as sanguine fluid splattered across Okod's face. The corpse fell to his feet, only for it to come back in shadow and ruby red.

Hotaru went forward, "Heal!" and splashed bluish water against the body. It disintegrated, but the corpses beginning to pile up were becoming only more dangerous problems.

"Smash!" Jotou cracked the goggles in a sparking kick. 'I'm surprised I haven't killed anyone yet, but they're enemies of war anyway.' Her eyes fixated on a figure deciding to retreat.

Seeing this all go south and realizing what little chance he had to escape—it was better to fight another day. "Moren you coward!!!" Lexi's scream he barely batted an eye to, as he rushed for the stairs.

Jotou was in immediate pursuit behind, followed by the swing of mercurial metal. Moren was met with shadow before the steps, only for Fumeko to be picked up again-

She blinked away and landed next to Jotou in time, "AAGH!" she stomped the floor.

Jotou caught her shoulders, "Meko! Go help them! I got Moren," just as she said Okod rushed past the blonde. "Go!" Jotou let go of her and dashed for it. Listening to her with a groan, Fumeko disappeared back to the rest of them.

He ran up the steps- "Shting!" The golden blade lit up with flames and turned around to deflect Okod's blow. Okod stood his ground, as Jotou went past him and Moren ran up the steps.

"Zap!" she swiped up, Moren twisted around and—"Clang!"—pushed her blade down as he continued to ascend up the steps backwards. Okod ran up the banister, whipping his blade as he did. "Ting!"

"Tang! Cling!" He deflected Okod's strikes and defending against two of Jotou's—flames trailing on his sword; that shimmer of gold or platinum…? Was the sword made of armite!?

The golden blade spun in his hand, before he fanned it towards the two as an inferno spread, forcing Okod onto the steps and Jotou to duck. In the momentary recoil, Moren continued his escape.

"His sword's enchanted," Okod warned as the two rose out from the flame whilst surrounded by a blue aura.

"We'll take him down all the same!" Jotou dashed forward, "MOREN!!!" she screamed up.

Okod followed behind, into the hallway of rooms to the centre. With his head forward, Okod dashed past Jotou—enchanted leather armour and black hair in both their sights.

Moren swung his sword into a door—his sweat from running or the fear seeping into his heart? By the hinges, the door flew back; Okod halted his steps and—"SHWING!"—cut the door in half. Jotou kept her momentum as she ran past.

Moren reached for the door handle to his office—the balcony above floor below being right behind him. "TING!" He recoiled his arm before the thrown blade full of sparks sliced across the doorframe.

Jotou's spark-less sword clattered to the side as Okod caught up with Moren and quickly stepped his foot onto the wall and lunged for him. Moren defended with his sword, the incoming blow—having to back from the entrance to do so.

"Thwing! ShhhWIng! Sllllaaassh!" Each curving slice from the mercurial blade against the golden one was deflected, forcing Moren to step back as he did.

By the balcony, they could overlook the chaos below as Moren and Okod battled on top, filled with the clanging of resounding metal. He fanned a flame, Okod ducked below as Kria's flags that were strewn about caught fire.

Silver met against Moren's skin, drawing blood across his cheek before he could move. Moren moved back and put his sword up, grunting as he did.

"Shling! Fwwwing!" Okod's blade curved like he was carving a pumpkin for fall. He shifted back as Moren held his blade with both hands to deflect the incoming-

"Shing! Clang! Clink-clang-TINK-TaNG!" webbed in sparks, her blows were like the snaps of ice. She tried to find a weak point, but his blade twisted vertically, defending every part of his body.

Jotou moved back in a grunt only for Okod to take over. Before their battle could continue like this, Moren swung behind him and caught the fire from the walls onto his blade, before he threw it forward like a fireball with a swipe of his sword.

Okod leapt back, Jotou dodged a step to the left. In that moment, he saw his escape plan come together. "Fwoosh! Crackle!" He collected flame on his blade and fanned the sword forward, again and again.

In the fanned embers, smoke and rising orange, he hurried for his office once more, jostling the walkie-talkie on his belt as he went in. Okod and Jotou were ready to pursue, but they peered down.

The dead were rising, pile upon pile, mushing together in shadow and ruby red, transmuting into some abject horror below. "You go for Moren! I'm getting back down there," Okod got up on the guardrail.

"Me!? I'm glad you have confidence in me, but-"

"You can take him, I've seen you fight. He's a defensive fighter, use that brain of yours and figure something out. I don't want anyone here to escape," not waiting for a reply, Okod leapt and his sword impaled and curved into a column as he circled and spiralled downwards.

With a low growl, the blonde turned to the door. Oh how she hated taking orders… 'Whatever!' She ran for the door, blade first.

'You tried to burn Meko.' Electricity arced over her hair. 'You've hurt Hotaru so many times…' Her sparks glowed brighter. 'All of this… it's because of you!'

Moren was yet another chess piece on the board of course, even Jotou could tell that this was not ALL him; but the way he ran… That hearty laugh, that confidence he wore… All this time—all the people that died.

He may have been another chess piece, but a knight on the board outweighs a pawn. She burst through the door left ajar, windows to the sides all around. The bluish aura around her seemed to fade faintly.

A trap door let the snow drift in—a sturdy ladder dropped and on it, the feet of Moren as their two gazes met. Moren scurried up further as Jotou ran up, "Get back here!"

Before she could even make it halfway through the extravagant office, extended beyond the normal size of the building- "CRASH!" The glass to her right shattered.

Inwards came the blizzarding cold, along with it a figure of navy blue. That figure crashed through, rolling in with the snow and stood in the blonde's way.

A scarf flapped around their neck, face masked by a helmet over their head—the same navy blue all over their body. A dark blue visor shaped like a thin boomerang across the eyes.

Armour-like plating over their shoulders, knees, boots, chest and elbows. Jotou readied her blade to the figure that was only lit by the snow drifting into the room.