The Level Five Umbra turned to smoke and wrapped around Nu, its body seeming to make the Elementalist swoon as if to suffocate her. The other Umbra, Van saw before as being Cordis's lickspittle, leaped into the pall. Together they dissolved into a cloud, sprung into the air, and flew away.
Those bastards, cursed Vandal silently, they won't get away with this.
Vandal fetched the water stone and sprinted off into the direction of the trailing smoke. Between two buildings an Umbra slithered out. It was of the smaller variety, a late Level Two, most like. It set's it's starving eyes on Vandal, muttering something he couldn't quite hear.
I don't have time for this, thought Van as he lazily took aim. As soon as he saw it's mouth open to snap its tongue, Van fired a bullet. The top half of it splattered and its eyes sprang and rolled away from the rest of its destroyed body.
Half a mile later, another leaped out of a broken window. This one an early Level Three, if Van was getting better at gauging them; its ability to speak, rather, the desire to taunt and jape gave it away.
"Looks like anoth—" the blob tried to say.
"Ugh, shut up," said Van, quickly.
He fired the last two shots in its sinister face. These two were charged with ice, both Banfrow and bullet, an effect Vandal was eager to test. From the points of entry, the bullets burst like ice. The Umbra lost its fluidity, and moved slowly as if slowly turning to cold stone.
The Umbra tried to say something, but couldn't because large chunks its tongues were chipping off with every movement of the jaw.
Van slipped out the axe, took it in both hands, and sent the head crashing into the frozen fiend. The impact shattered most of it into tiny black splinters.
Van took a seat inside a broken-down car: a crimson-colored sedan with rusty doors that were about to fall off. He loaded three shots, charged with fire, into Leonette; he needed to use his energy wisely, so he decided to make only one shot worth of Banfrow after enchanting.
Someone whistled at him.
Van swung his feet into the car, and took aim in its general direction through the broken rear window.
"Don't shoot, love," said Ladnavia playfully as she walked towards him.
Van lifted his gun and sighed.
"What do you want?" he asked her.
She sat in the hood of the sedan and looked wistfully at the sky.
"You," she said softly.
Vandal made a move to get out of the car, annoyed by Ladnavia's vagueness.
Ladnavia sucked her teeth at him.
"It's true," Ladnavia defended, "I mean to take us back to Aventyne, back home."
Vandal wanted none of it. He continued down the road, looking up for landmarks to remind him where the smoke trail was. Ladnavia followed him.
"Go back by yourself," Vandal shouted behind him.
"That's not going to happen," said Ladnavia, "fate requires the both of us. The gods have decided."
"I told you," growled Vandal, "the stargazers are liars that feed off fear and exploit coincidence. Even if we were meant to rule over the world in the future ..."
"Don't tell me you don't want that," Ladnavia said mockingly.
When Vandal said nothing to that, Ladnavia sighed.
"I tried to be sweet," she said throwing up her hands, "now I must be sour."
"Finally," said Vandal, "it's when you're most honest."
"You come back to Aventyne with me when the opportunity arrives," said Ladnavia in graceful, yet sinister tones, "Magpie, Senshi, Jayden, and your beloved Nu, live out whatever pitiful existence this place has in store for them. That is if that masked freak and grinning lunatic don't slaughter them that is."
This stopped Vandal in his tracks, startled by her knowing all their names.
When Vandal looked back at her, her smile was gone.
"I've been watching. Perhaps if that fairy wasn't so ill, she may have actually had a chance of spotting me out," she walked up to him, a throwing knife drawn and pointing at his lips. "I hoped you enjoyed that kiss," she said, "I'll take my time with her. It won't be quick, like with Leonette," said Ladnavia. "So what will it be, love?"
Before Vandal could answer, Ladnavia's eyes shifted to her right, and, quick as lightning, flung the knife at something. When Vandal saw her target it was, a Level Two Umbra. The throwing knife caught it between the eyes. It squealed and squirmed until the red woman threw two more in its face to silence it.
"Rude little cretin ..." cursed Ladnavia as she plucked her knives from the dead Umbra.
All around them, more beasts began to emerge from alleys, windows, and doorways. Not only Umbras, but other creatures: spiders the size of dogs, winged men with claws, and giants, twice Vandals height and with heads of common animals, growled at the married couple.
Gods, thought Vandal as he looked around for a way to escape the horde, not now!
Vandal looked to Ladnavia, who took out her Alaunt, a cruel lump of metal and string, and fired a bolt at a giant with the head of a tiger. Vandal blasted a spider, of which, blocked the way down the road towards a building the Umbra's may have taken Nu to. I have to save Nu. He bolted towards the opening, yet for a moment his mind filled with dark thoughts.
Ladnavia is busy, maybe I could ... I should. She admitted that she killed Leonette, would it only be right? Why couldn't she have just left us alone ... damn it all. Ladnavia's words about Nu, however, echoed in his head. "I'll take my time with her. It won't be quick..." she had said moments ago. Nu won't be safe, neither will the others ...
"Leonette," he said softly to his long gun, as if in prayer, "take your revenge."
The marksman fired at Ladnavia.
The crimson huntress saw him pull the trigger at the corner of her eye, it seemed. She fired a bolt at Vandal in response.
Vandal's fire bullet grazed the side of Ladnavia's left arm, leaving a nasty burn that made scream in pain. Ladnavia's bolt grazed Vandal's left arm, splitting flesh and making a large stream of blood run down his arm as he gritted his teeth.
Those damn stargazers, thought Vandal with a sad smile, never wrong and unfailing.
Ladnavia looked as if though she read his thoughts. Thinking the same thing, she burst into laughter. Vandal guffawed as well.
Their laughter was cut short as a winged man swooped down towards Ladnavia and an Umbra whipped its bitter tongue near Van's face. Van shot the Umbra, and, knowing he only had one shot left, ran down the road, leaving the comedy that was "fate" to deal with Ladnavia.
As he ran the prophecy sang itself into his head, as told to him long ago when he was introduced to Ladnavia when they were but little children:
Two pieces of the soul one can't unbind,
Two bright stars that are never far apart,
Vandal grabbed Leonette by the barrels and swung hard at a spider, battering out of his way. Fresh blood squirted from his arm. He kicked another out of the way as he charged down the road.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRrh5Gn2WD
For what can cleave the truest of hearts?
For what evil could harm a pair so kind?477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdI6C58YUJm
Vandal saw an open door, and hoped the darkness within was clear. A giant, this one with the head of a lion, stood between him and the entrance. Vandal fired his last shot into the beast's heart. Van felt almost lucky that Level Five didn't manage to destroy his good eye. 477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVoHpGOXGK
The just gods have decreed, all of one mind,
To bear a love, no man or beast could scart,
As it staggered Van went low and dove between its legs through the doorway. But as he tried to stand, two tongues lashed out over the dying giant's shoulder, and one grabbed his leg. Van cursed too loudly, and the owner of the other tongue wrapped around his other leg. 477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ791nfYd5en
From their coupling, a new reign shall start,
The lame shall walk, sight given to the blind,477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk2OV8zNL9e
He tossed Leonette further ahead, towards a doorway to a stairwell, the room looked like. Pulling out his cleaver, he chopped both tongues free, though the acid began to ruin the edge of the blade. He tossed the knife aside, unslung his axe, picked up Leonette, and headed up the stairwell.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xDaZcsisS
To be born upon the same day and year,
One with eyes like ice and hair like midnight,
From lower stock, he hails, yet worthy,477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzuBtMCfQc
He slammed his back against a concrete wall after climbing five floors and growing confidence in the silence that now surrounded him. Exhausted he slid down the wall and felt muscles turn to water. He remembered the last lines of the prophecy.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZMyquYJXE
His loving queen, a spirit without fear,
He smirked as he remembered that line, knowing how unloving Ladnavia was, then he felt something in his heart when the last words came up. He dug the water stone out of his pocket and looked at it with hope. Nu ... he thought as exhaustion fell on him like a war hammer and he shut his eyes to drift into sleep.
For she does hold in her a hidden might,
With her sacrifice, she sets us all free.477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1iMj78Ajg
VANDAL'S INVENTORY477Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTl8UnPKCNo
Bullets: 3/12 ⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚪⚫⚫⚫
Banfrow: 10%
*10% used per shot
ns 15.158.61.20da2
