Chapter 9 – Hunter at the Ashen Gate

Da Vinci and Kiana stood cautiously before the dark and dilapidated entrance of the "Athenaeum of Embers." The surrounding atmosphere was eerily silent and unsettling, broken only by the mournful sigh of the wind as it swept through the ruins of the once-grand ancient structure. Now, only a crumbling edifice remained, entwined with vines like malevolent serpents, the air thick with the musty scent of ages and dust. They were assessing the situation, preparing to step inside.

Suddenly, Kiana's finely honed warrior instincts screamed a warning of unseen danger!

"Look out!" she yelled, yanking Da Vinci силою (forcefully) to the side, a mere fraction of a second to spare!

Thwack!

A pitch-black arrow, its tip glowing with a faint, cold blue light, ripped through the air where they had stood a moment before, embedding itself deep into the ancient stone wall behind them with enough force to send sparks and stone chips flying. If they had been a fraction of a second slower, Da Vinci's body would have been pierced through.

"Not bad..." A deep, cold voice emanated from the shadows of a crumbling stone archway, not far from the Athenaeum's entrance. A figure slowly stepped out from the darkness. He was a slender yet powerfully built man, clad in dark, form-fitting leather that blended seamlessly with the shadows. A meticulously crafted hood obscured the upper half of his face, revealing only a pair of mechanical, amber-yellow eyes that gleamed with the sharp, predatory focus of a hawk in the gloom. A dark, floor-length cloak billowed slightly with his graceful yet menacing movements. In his hand, he held a sleek, modern-looking bow crafted from some black, metallic alloy. This was "Eagle," one of the infamous "Seven Hunters" of the Nebula Empire. "Your reflexes are commendable. I almost thought I'd be cleaning up your remains after the first shot."

Da Vinci quickly composed himself, though his heart still hammered against his ribs from the near-death experience. He stared at the enigmatic hunter with alarm, trying to suppress his fear.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Kiana snarled, her twin swords already drawn and ready, her gaze icy and filled with killing intent.

Eagle tilted his head slightly, his mechanical eyes meticulously scanning both of them. "I have been tasked with 'overseeing' this location... and it appears you are uninvited intruders." His voice was flat, devoid of emotion, yet it carried an immense, palpable pressure.

"The female warrior seems to possess some skill..." Eagle mused softly to himself, before his gaze settled on Da Vinci. "The other one... doesn't look like much of a fighter... Most interesting."

As he finished speaking, he raised his bow again, aiming at Da Vinci. But this time, the arrow he loosed was different. It wasn't a killing shot. Instead, it was a projectile with a rounded tip. When it struck the ground near Da Vinci's feet, it exploded!

Boom!

A thick, black cloud of smoke billowed upwards rapidly, completely obscuring Da Vinci from sight! The acrid, pungent smell of sulfur filled his nostrils.

"Da Vinci!" Kiana cried out his name, her voice laced with shock and concern. Seeing his form swallowed by the dense smoke, her heart constricted with an unbearable terror. The image of the violent explosion a moment ago instantly led her to a horrifying misunderstanding – he was either gravely injured or... worse!

The feeling of loss that had nearly claimed Eldrin now resurfaced, but this time it was mixed with a searing rage directed at the one who had harmed someone she was... beginning to feel a bond with. The crimson, burn-like cracks on her body suddenly blazed with an intensity far greater than before!

"I don't know who you are... and I don't care!" Kiana roared, her voice hoarse and trembling with a maelstrom of emotion. Her once-cold eyes now blazed with the true inferno of her fury. "But you will pay for what you did to him!!!"

Her twin swords erupted into blood-red flames, hotter and more ferocious than ever. She became a raging firestorm, lunging towards Eagle, who watched with a flicker of surprise in his eyes at this sudden, explosive burst of power.

"Ho... so this is the power that destroyed that Stalker Unit," Eagle murmured, as he nimbly dodged Kiana's furious onslaught. Each swing of her flaming swords was heavy and devastating, sending out waves of intense heat, but Eagle continued to evade with an almost contemptuous ease, or parry some of her attacks with his bow with astonishing skill.

"Your power is raw and utterly uncontrolled!" Eagle taunted as he leaped backward, avoiding a downward slash that cracked the stone floor. "A waste, to possess such an ability and wield it so crudely!"

His words only fanned the flames of Kiana's rage. She attacked with even greater ferocity, abandoning all defense, her sole focus on tearing this arrogant hunter limb from limb. However, Eagle was far more composed and experienced than she anticipated. He easily read her emotion-driven movements and began to exploit the openings in her reckless offense.

Just as Kiana overextended herself in a particularly powerful, but telegraphed, attack, Eagle seized the opportunity! He ducked low, spinning swiftly, and loosed a dark blue energy arrow that struck Kiana squarely in the side with pinpoint accuracy!

"Ugh!" Kiana cried out in pain. The impact of the arrow sent her staggering back several steps. Though her fiery aura had mitigated some of the damage, a sharp, searing pain still shot through her body.

The smoke that had obscured Da Vinci slowly began to dissipate, revealing a sight that stunned Kiana and even Eagle himself!

Da Vinci was still standing! Though his clothes were tattered and covered in soot, he was not grievously injured as Kiana had feared! Before him, a large, golden shield, woven from intricate and beautiful lines of energy, shimmered faintly. The shield bore several cracks and was on the verge of dissolving into the air, clear evidence that it had just absorbed the full force of the smoke bomb's violent explosion!

Da Vinci's face was pale, and beads of sweat covered his forehead and temples. He was panting heavily, as if he had just undergone a tremendous exertion. It seemed he had "drawn" the shield with pure instinct and a final surge of will in that split second to protect himself, and it had drained an immense amount of energy from his brush (which he had secretly felt was beginning to respond again) and his own willpower, leaving him nearly depleted.

Kiana, witnessing this, froze for a moment. The fury that had consumed her was instantly replaced by a wave of confusion, bewilderment, and astonishment. Da Vinci... was alive? And what was that shield of light? The fiery power raging within her began to subside noticeably as the target of her vengeance (her mistaken belief in Da Vinci's death) evaporated.

"Truly interesting..." Eagle murmured, his mechanical eyes flashing as he stared at Da Vinci and the fading golden shield. "It seems this little mouse has more tricks than I thought." His gaze towards Da Vinci shifted slightly, from one of dismissal to a new, more cautious curiosity.

In that moment of stunned silence, as Eagle was perhaps reassessing the situation and preparing his next move, Ryu's figure suddenly shot onto the battlefield like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky! He materialized between Eagle and the other two with a speed that was almost impossible to follow!

"Kiana! Da Vinci! Get back!" Ryu yelled, his voice urgent and decisive.

Eagle swiveled to face the newcomer, surprised by yet another interruption. Ryu wasted no time. He drew his beloved katana from its sheath with a fluid, confident motion, and his powerful voice thundered the name of his technique!

"First Form: Earth-Cleaving Gale!"

Ryu's katana slashed through the air with incredible speed and power, unleashing a visible wave of wind energy – a shimmering, white distortion – that surged towards Eagle with high velocity! The force of the gale was so intense that it tore small fissures in the ground and sent leaves and debris swirling violently!

Eagle's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected power. He leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the main force of the wind wave, but the powerful gust still threw him off balance and forced him back several paces, giving Ryu an opening.

"Hurry and flee! We can't beat him now!" Ryu shouted to Kiana and Da Vinci, his voice clear and commanding. He knew the strength of a Hunter of this caliber and realized that a direct confrontation now would only lead to their defeat.

He didn't hesitate. With another swift slash of his katana, he created a swirling vortex of wind, a temporary screen to obscure their movements. Then, he quickly grabbed Kiana (who was still dazed and whose body was beginning to feel the after-effects of her earlier power surge) and Da Vinci (who was still severely weakened from creating the shield) and pulled them both into a hasty retreat, disappearing into the dense treeline not far from the Athenaeum as fast as they could.

Eagle watched the three figures vanish into the forest, his expression cold and unreadable. He didn't immediately pursue. Perhaps he deemed it too risky to follow into unfamiliar terrain, or perhaps his primary mission was to guard the Athenaeum, not to hunt them to the ends of the earth. A faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched his lips.

"This is proving to be rather amusing..." he said softly to himself. "It seems my visit to this desolate land won't be as dull as I initially anticipated..." He then turned his gaze back towards the still-sealed entrance of the Athenaeum of Embers, its secrets remaining, for now, undisturbed within.