EPISODE 6 - SCENE 4: THE SCORPION LIEUTENANTS’ ASSAULT

Location: Peripheral Zone of the Battle.

The wind howled through the battlefield, carrying the metallic scent of blood and the acrid smoke of burning debris. The atmosphere was heavy with the growing intensity of the combat, the echoes of war reverberating deep within the earth. In the center of it all stood Haku, the eye of the storm, standing alone against the chaos around her. Her shadow-clones had already dissolved into the fray, vanishing into the darkened corners of the battle, but she was still. Quiet. A predator waiting for its moment.

The Black Scorpion lieutenant, Varisa, stood before her. Varisa was a ruthless and skilled warrior, but she hadn't anticipated the true nature of her opponent. Behind her mask of arrogance, there was a flicker of hesitation, but only for a moment.

— Varisa (mocking, cruel laugh): "You think you're invisible?"

Haku's eyes narrowed, her demeanor cold and detached. No words were necessary. With a mere flicker of her tattoo, a faint supernatural glow ignited across her skin, a dark promise of what was to come. A clone materialized at her side, flawless in its execution, its presence erasing the illusion of invisibility with deadly grace.

— Varisa (feigning confidence but with a twinge of doubt): "Another illusion? It won't matter. There are twenty-five of us! You can't win."

— Haku (mockingly): "Good thing you know how to count."

Her smile was sharp, like a blade as she disappeared into the shadows once more. The weight of silence fell over the battlefield, suffocating the soldiers around them, pressing them into stillness like prey caught in a trap. Time slowed. The tension was unbearable.

Suddenly, the night awakened. Soldiers fell, their bodies crumbling in silence. They couldn't even scream. Haku's clones executed their tasks with precise lethality, appearing and vanishing like wisps of smoke, each one striking with surgical precision, slashing their targets before retreating back into the shadows. A dance of death—no sound, no warning. Just the cold inevitability of her presence.

One by one, the mercenaries dropped, their bodies hitting the earth in perfect synchronization, like marionettes with their strings cut. Their lifeless forms became part of the dark canvas Haku painted in silence.

Only Varisa remained standing, visibly trembling as she tried to make sense of the carnage unfolding around her. Her breath quickened, her hands shaking as she wielded her dark powers to summon a massive shadow hammer, a last desperate attempt to strike at the unseen threat.

— Varisa (screaming, her voice cracking): "Enough!"

The air around her twisted as she brought the hammer down with a terrifying force, causing the ground to tremble beneath her. A cloud of dark dust billowed into the air, but inside the cloud, a chilling sensation swept through her. She could feel something unnatural, something terrifying.

And then, she felt the shadows closing in. They weren't just around her. They were in her, pressing in from all sides. The darkness had come to life, tightening around her, suffocating her thoughts, stealing her breath.

She struck out in a panic, her blows landing on nothing but air, until, in a final act of desperation, she swung the hammer with all her might—but it was too late.

The darkness consumed her.

Haku's cold whisper reached her ear, the words barely breathed in the air.

— Haku (whispering, voice as quiet as death itself): "Lost?"

A flash of steel pierced the gloom. Her dagger found its mark, striking directly into Varisa's Nexus, the very heart of her power. The lieutenant's scream was cut short as her body crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The shadow surrounding Haku dispersed as quickly as it had arrived, leaving nothing but a gaping hole where Varisa had stood moments before.

— Haku (calm, satisfied): "Target eliminated, Master William. Nexus intact. Perimeter secured."

With a final glance at the battlefield, Haku disappeared once again into the shadows. The enemy was growing weaker. One by one, they were falling to the unstoppable forces she and her companions had unleashed.

Nero's Fight with Akar

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the battlefield, Néro faced his own trial. The mercenaries were collapsing, their formation breaking under his relentless assault. However, Akar, the massive right-hand of the Black Scorpions, emerged, his presence crushing weight on the battlefield. Akar was a giant among men, a monstrous figure towering over most with his black chitinous armor and giant spear.

— Akar (laughing hoarsely, voice like gravel): "I'm Akar. The right hand of the Black Scorpions. Come face my strength, little warrior!"

— Néro (silent, icy calm): "With pleasure. But you'd be wise not to underestimate me."

Akar's enormous chitinous spear swung with enough force to split mountains, sending shockwaves through the air. But Néro was already gone.

A single, graceful step and Néro was already at Akar's side, his twin katana gleaming. The clash was explosive. A sword against spear, the hum of electricity filling the air as Nero's katana met Akar's massive weapon with the precision of a master.

Akar roared in fury, throwing his massive weight into the strike. But Néro was fluid, his body moving with a graceful ease that betrayed the raw power hidden within him. He evaded, his blades dancing through the air, cutting deep into Akar's chitinous armor with every strike.

With a flash of fire, Nero's second katana cleaved through the air, striking Akar's spear with a crack that echoed across the battlefield. The force was so great that Akar's weapon shattered, leaving him defenseless for a split second.

In that moment, Néro struck.

With a swift, devastating move, he drove his katana into Akar's side, piercing through the thick armor and into the heart of the beast.

— Akar (gasping, voice filled with disbelief): "You… you cannot…"

But his words faltered as he crumbled to his knees, life draining from him.

Akar fell, his massive form crashing to the ground with a final, thunderous impact. The battle had tipped further in favor of William's forces.

Néro wiped his katana clean, his expression unreadable as he surveyed the fallen enemy.

— Néro (in a low voice, resolute): "Objective eliminated."

— Haku (appearing from the shadows, nodding): "Confirmed. We are moving on."

The Black Scorpions were being crushed, their forces scattered across the battlefield. Each of William's allies had played their part with precision, tearing through the enemy ranks, one by one. They were ready for the final push.

Kassim—and his empire—were about to fall.