Armored Ghost

Deep inside the depths of a hollow, bleak cave, a white glowing figure of a man was emerging from its mouth. A glowing white breastplate of righteousness was tightly fastened around his upper body. Around his waist were shining girdles of truth. The gospel of peace were his boots. A luminescent helmet of salvation with cheek guards was resting on his head. A shield of faith was defiantly standing between him and his foes, moving on its own and on his hand was a sword of the spirit in a form of smooth white hilted dagger.

About 24 men were standing in defensive stances around the mouth of the cave, all with their swords, maces and battle axes drawn. Their eyes were despondent and full of terror. They seemed to have frozen in time. They didn't run nor attack. It was like they had seen a ghost. An armored ghost.

The man did not know how Kodesh looked like. The one person who did was blind. And Kodesh's aura was different, the blind lieutenant who had nearly killed him with an arrow at the door on a wall couldn't tell it was him. He couldn't even tell that there was someone coming out the cave. Kodesh's new found powers allowed him to sense people but they couldn't sense him. It was like he was there and also not there at the same time.

All the group of men knew was that they had come face to face with the being guarding the mountains. The being they had dreaded the most when they were growing up. The legends were not just tales, they were true.

The blind lieutenant could feel the tension in the air, the enveloping silence spoke volumes and he could tell there was someone or something in their midst, fierce enough to make dozens of man shiver.

"Wha-wha-what is it?" The lieutenant asked in a faltering voice.

"What are you seeing? A ghost?"

Immediately as the word ghost echoed in the ears of the group of men, they bolted down in all directions.

"A ghost! A ghost!" They yelled in panic as they were trying desperately to escape the armored ghost.

The perilous mountain was seemingly more a threat than the ghost because a few moments later four had already fell into the abyss. Only the blind lieutenant stood his ground. But it's wasn't because he was braver, he relied on his men to guide him through the mountain and now without their help, he had nowhere to run. He was just like Kodesh yesterday when he kicked him in the face.

And just like that the hunters became the hunted. The ravenous predators became terrified and weak prey. How quick the tides changed.

Felling the desperate need to also try to escape, the lieutenant took a few steps backwards and with his senses he dodged a few trees and rocks but then tripped over a small rock and rolled down the mountain. A few moments later he came to a halt when he hit a large rock that was protruding above others. His head rested on the large rock, bleeding profusely. He was going to bleed out and die.

A figure of ghostly man slowly approached him and stoop over him. With a soft voice he said.

"Nice to meet you again."

'To meet me again?'

'Is he the boy?' The blind lieutenant thought to himself.

"Where have we met my dear friend." The blind lieutenant asked.

"Let me remind you."

Immediately something that felt like the weight of a mountain fell on the blind lieutenant's face with a harrowing force and a paste of blood, brains and bone fragments splattered the large rock. In the next moment the rock too shattered to pieces as shards blasted in all directions.

'Oh Crap.'

'I think I have overdone that.'

Kodesh wanted to test his right hand and the heavy thing proved just how much powerful it was. It crushed the man's skull like it was an edible vegetable. A ripe tomato to be more precise. It was just as powerful as it was heavy.

In any case, it was a bit too much for revenge. After all, the lieutenant only kicked the lights out him. And in so doing, Kodesh managed to recuperate and heal some shallow wounds as he was in the spiritual realm.

Looking in a distance, more than a dozen men were pelting down the mountain at blistering speeds, creating a massive gap by a second. Some fell from time to time but managed to get back up and continue where they left off. It would be a tale to tell if they somehow survived but an archer wasn't going to let them escape. He was in the high grounds so they were more or less sitting ducks.

Summoning the Orion's bow, the massive white bone instantly manifested itself in front of him. He couldn't resist giggling a bit. The majestic bow was the best thing he had ever possessed.

Pulling the bow with all his might, the stubborn thing only managed to stretch just a fifth of its maximum stretch. But it was enough for a small, slender and ghostly arrow to form. Immediately letting it loose, the slender arrow pierced the air with deadly precision and terrifying speed. A fraction of a second later it was buried deep in the back of one of the men.

The slim arrow had way more than enough thrust, speed and power to go right through his back and exit his body on the other side but for some reason, it lost all momentum. Immediately as the men died the arrow vanished into thin air.

Before the man died though, three more of his comrades were also struck with the ghostly and deadly arrows and a few more moments later, half a dozen also fell at the wake of the lethal long range assault . But each time he pulled the bow, the more it got harder to stretch. After the tenth arrow he couldn't pull the tough strings attached to massive white bone.

He had two theories, one was that the arrow could only allow ten arrows to be shot in a period of time. That was an inconvenient flaw considering the fact that he had many enemies to kill. However he stuck to his second theory that he lacked the strength to pull the arrow forged from the brightest stars in the universe. It was disappointing but expected of the Orion's bow. It was one of the most lethal heavenly weapons ever possessed by a human.

Dismissing the bow, he quickly summoned the white glass and immediately switched it to his left hand. With his thoughts he commanded his body to appear near the front runners. The teleportation attribute quickly responded and he found himself standing in the way of a man who was at the fore front.

Immediately the white glass gleamed in the air and poked the man's neck. In the next moment, his skin and flesh tore at the wake of the sharp blade and blood sprayed the rocks. The man did not have any chance to stop or block the suprise attack. He ran right into the blade.

His comrades however, were able to halt. Kodesh was in their way so the only other way was back up. They were stuck between a rock and hard place. Not sure which was Kodesh. A rock? or both maybe?

Their hopes of survival were shattered and as a result, Kodesh's plan unfolded rather easily until there was was only one man left standing, Robert.

In the next second after killing the first man with the blade, Kodesh appeared near one of the man and the blade did the rest. One after another they were slaughtered by the armored ghost with just a single blow. Kodesh had learnt a few battle styles growing up. It wasn't much to consider him skilled but with his speed, his opponents who had already accepted defeat and the sharp dagger that could easily slice through bones like a laser, he was just unstoppable.

The white blade danced through the air, blood spraying in the aftermath. His right hand was doing even more damage. The heavy thing was crushing bones with the least of impacts. A few moments later there was only one man remaining.

Glancing over the dead bodies of his comrades, Robert grimaced. He knew he was going to be next. Drawing out a dagger of his own, he glared at Kodesh like he was about to avenge the death of his fallen brothers. It is always the frail and underestimated ones who are most dangerous. Even Kodesh was unnerved a bit by that dead stare. He had never seen such intense emotions displayed so clearly in someone's eyes. Well he had seen them once before. The time he barely escaped death and lived to tell the story.

He was out hunting and wounded a leopard. Following its bloody footsteps, he managed to track it to the edge of a hill. The wounded beast had no escape, and that's what made it even more deadly. It glared at Kodesh and in the next moment the spotted beast made its intentions clear.

Wounded and cornered, the savage beast lunged at Kodesh in a viscious attack. He didn't have a chance to use his bow and in the next second the massive beast leapt into the air. It's long and sharp claws swayed at him and his cloak tore off at the wake of the devastating claws that almost looked like talons.

In the next moment, the beast's weight plummeted into him and he fell backwards. The maws of the deadly beast missed his head twice before his body hit the ground. The terrifying maws had the power to crush through his skull like it was chicken bones and rend his flesh to shreds.

In a fraction of a second he had dodged three relentless and viscious attack of the beast and he also managed to unsheath a hunting knife in the process. As the weight of the terrifying creature fell ontop of him, the knife was the first to greet it with its sharp blade. Covering his head with his left hand to avoid life threatening injuries, he stabbed the beast with his right hand, piercing deep into its heart and in the next moment the leopard fell dead.

He was lucky he survived to tell the tale but the question is would he be lucky now?

The very same glare he saw from the ravenous predator was now in a form of a slim man. He was also injured, desperate, threatened and cornered.

The man raised his dagger and before Kodesh could know it, blood sprayed the air and the overgrown brushes. The man had killed himself with just one strike. It was the same situation but one with different results. The former was a savage beast by nature and it wouldn't go down without a viscious fight while the latter was just a man who was led to war by the three kings. He was a pawn who found himself fighting at the frontlines. After the war was worn, he was given yet more commands to risk his life to capture Kodesh. He was openly against climbing the mountain of Zion due to his low rank, his voice was not heard. He never wanted to be here and he knew full well that he wasn't going to survive a fight with a ghost so he forfeited his own life. He thought killing himself would be better because at least he'd die knowing it was his own doing not dying at the hands of a spirit.

'Where do people who commit suicide go? Heaven or hell. Well it's most likely hell.'

With those thoughts, Kodesh took the men's provisions and ascended back up the mountain. After setting up camp at the mouth of the cave, he made fire and roasted some of the meat the men had with them. As the meat was cooking, he decided to check the runes. He had killed 24 men so he hoped to see 24/700 but his heart sank and his face grimaced with what he saw. It was still 0/700.

"What?!" He bawled.

It looked like it wasn't a kill count. He will have to figure it out soon if wanted the cherubim of fire and cloud.

With his mouth still agape, he continued reading. He had not received anything from the men he had just killed but there was something new in the runes and immediately as his laid eyes on it, a jumped up in excitement as he shrieked to the top of his lungs.

[MISSION] [Rescue your family]