Chapter 33

Winds blew past the barracks of clan Valor as Sunny briskly made his way through the hallways. It was finally the day of the attack, Sunny didn't particularly care what exactly happened to the people around him, after all his job in this situation was simple.

Take care of any unpredicted anomalies.

Morgan had summoned Sunny and Nephis into a small war room, leaving only the three of them present as she stared at them with a serious expression. Sunny knew what the meeting was about, after all, he had personally tipped her off to the time and location of Mordret's attack.

It was customary for all those Morgan fought alongside to have memories that at least allowed them some form of resistance to Mordret's soul stealing, and now she had to pass it on to Nephis and Sunny. "I should at least let you two know what's going on, since you're by far the strongest allies I have by my side at the moment."

Her voice was solemn and prepared, she had heard rumours of the type of monster Mordret was, needing Saints to attempt to impede his escape whenever he was captured. And the thought of having an encounter with such a man excited her to no end, even if he was her brother.

Despite this, she didn't quite know how to feel about Mordret. Outwardly, she would express her disdain towards him, as it was how she had been raised. But inwardly, she had never even met the man nor been made aware of what exactly he had done to gain the ire of the entire clan. But her undecided feelings towards Mordret wouldn't stop him from coming to take her life, after all, she would do the same in his situation.

"A…sibling's spat is about to take place here. And there are no Saints available as they're all being stationed and readied for a mock war with Song, so we'll have to defend the place alone. Take these memories and keep them active as soon as you receive them."

She wasn't going to discern the true nature as to why she gave them the memories, nor would she discern the specific sibling who she was going to be in conflict with. After all, Mordret's existence was treated as a deep blemish within the highest echelons of Valor. Revealing it to someone who only freshly joined would be unwise.

Before Sunny or Nephis had the time to pretend to be oblivious by asking questions, the entire building shook. A wall of flames burst through the wall of the room they sat in as Morgan turned her attention to Nephis. "There are more divine flame users than you?" Nephis could only shrug as the three donned their armour and exited.

Nephis split off to go and tackle beastie, who currently had the corpses of many Valor soldiers littered around him charred to a crisp. The creature almost seemed slightly elated at the opportunity to wreak havoc after so much time of being dormant and not playing a particular role.

Intercepting the flames, Nephis used her ascended ability to stop the flames from spreading before summoning her sword. In response, beastie's arm shifted, turning from a lacklustre imitation of a hand to a bladed edge as he clashed with Nephis.

And so, the two began their deadly dance. Nephis swung at beastie's midsection, causing the beast to jump back before sending a torrent of flames flying in her direction. Using her aspect once more, Nephis had managed to redirect the flames sending them upwards into the sky before closing in on the creature.

For her efforts, she was met with a kick to the stomach as she raised the flat of her blade to reduce the impact, still getting sent flying backwards regardless. Beastie's unique ability to make himself the equal of any opponent who stood before him always amazed Nephis, but she wasn't going to show it.

'Maybe he's the wall I need to break through.' Nephis commented to herself as she charged at the creature once more.

Across from the intense battlefield that had been created by Nephis and beastie's clash, Mordret sat indifferently as he stared below at the pile of corpses he had created. He had arrived mere minutes ago and yet had managed to reap over a hundred lives, taking the lives of a little less than half of the population of the barracks alone.

A sigh escaped his lips as he continued to focus on beastie's fight with Nephis. Killing those from Valor served as a boring pass time as he waited for Morgan. These people didn't hold enough significance for his message to be torn into the very souls of those who had wronged him. In other words, he needed something bigger.

Flowing black hair quickly came into view as Morgan's vermillion eyes blazed with mild surprise. 'A hundred people in only minutes? I don't know if I should be angry or surprised' she thought to herself as she summoned her sword. Mordret's face split open like a chasm as he leapt down from the miniature mountain he had created for himself.

"Sister, I knew you'd come! How do you like the present I made for you, sadly it wasn't as bloody as I intended. I hope you don't mind." Summoning a sword, he almost licked his lips at the thought of brutalising Morgan. No more words were exchanged between the two as they rushed at each other with brutal resolve.

Clangs of steel filled the air as the two siblings clashed. Their swords tore through the air far faster than the mundane eye could follow; the sun glinted off the polished edges of their blades painting streaks of silver in the air as they flowed with grace.

Morgan struck first, her movements fluid and aggressive. Her vermillion eyes burned with focus as she aimed a thrust at Mordret's neck. Parrying the blow effortlessly, he turned her blade aside before retaliating with a thrust to her abdomen. Jumping backwards to avoid the blow, Morgan bent low to avoid the kick soaring at her skull before rolling to the side to avoid the blade that threatened to collapse itself into the nape of her neck.

Her sword flashed upward in a counter. Mordret ducked, the edge of her blade grazing his shoulder drawing a shallow line of blood. Mordret smiled through the pain before pressing forward to continue his onslaught. His strikes were relentless, each one heavier than the last, Morgan deflected a brutal downward slash threatening to remove her arm from her body.

The impact of each blow sent vibrations through her body as Mordret capitalised on the moment. Slamming his foot onto her own, he leapt up and slammed his knee into her nose sending blood flying out of her face. Morgan pulled her foot from beneath his before jumping backwards, gritting her teeth, she adjusted the grip on her weapon and charged in once more.

In one controlled breath, the remaining blood that lingered in her nostrils was sent flying outwards as she charged forward unperturbed. Darting forward, her movements remained fast and unpredictable as her blade tore intricate patterns through the sky as Mordret continued to evade.

Each attack was blocked with frightening precision, his single hand moving as if he had been born with a sword. But what did that matter? They were both children of war after all, killing was in their blood. A well-placed strike opened a gash on Morgan's forearm, ignoring the pain, her sword tore an arc through the air as it caught Mordret slightly across the chest.

'It hurts, but not nearly as much as it did fighting that monster.' Taking comfort in the thought that she wasn't fighting Sunny, she spun on her heel delivering a low sweep aimed at his legs. Mordret leapt over the kick, sending his sword in a brutal arc that carved a line of blood across her exposed back.

Despite this, Morgan moved quickly. Crouching low to exit the range of his blade before it could cut deeper before rolling away from him. Both shared grunts of effort as Morgan initiated the charge once more. Her blade aimed for Mordret's heart, striking true it hit him in the ribs, piercing deeper but Mordret spun, slamming his elbow into the side of the blade shattering the memory.

His armed move like a whip, flashing in a vicious arc that tore through her armours plate biting into her shoulder. Blood sprayed across the ground, Morgan grit her teeth biting back a scream as she summoned a new blade, her grip tightening across it.

But, their fight was cut off as a brown figure was slammed viciously into the ground between the two, breaking their focus on one another. In a moment, the figure rolled out of the way to avoid a foot slamming into its chest. From the presence it exuded, it was no less than a Fallen Tyrant.

Grabbing the creature by one of it's six arms, Sunny turned to Morgan. "You may continue." Before disappearing into the ground.