Vogef stood tall in front of the 3 strange cloaked men who were also on high alert.
He was lacking in his usual equipment, with his normal large armour being repaired and cleaned by Silmor, but luckily, he was given a broadsword to protect himself with.
The 3 watched carefully, grasping tiny daggers in their hands as they were cautious of the first move, but they didn't need to worry about it, as Vogef took the first step for them.
Vogef charged forward with his sword held heavily behind his back. It seemed almost child-like.
He screamed as he rushed towards them, his feet heavy against the concrete ground. The mysterious men staring at the surprisingly slow man who was easily countered with a small step to the side. but when they dodged, they noticed rips and tears appear all over their cloaks.
His sword hadn't even moved, and yet, the bodies of those who dared to attack the city were revealed.
Vogef was expecting just random people, but the faces of those, which had now been revealed, were unlike anything he had seen. Plain faced creatures with skin that seemed almost too human. They possessed no mouth, nose, eyes or ears. Their head consisted of flat skin.
Their actions and words were that of a human, but their face was far from it.
"Puppets?" Ziu said in confusion as he sat back with Ena, watching the fight unfold.
"It's that puppet boy…" Vogef muttered as he lowered his sword from behind his head, moving it back down in his hands.
"I see," Ena said, remembering her encounter with the man who controlled the puppets, the kid, Mata. "If you lose, I get to fight next."
"I won't lose."
Vogef stood tall as the puppets darted towards him. Even before they got close they started to take damage. Their wooden faces would splinter when they got close, but they didn't feel pain, and so they continued to push through and slashed towards him.
Vogef was only able to move out the way, barely dodging the puppets' rusted yet quick blade.
"He has a sharp presence." Ziu said, "His presence plus his magic. Just being near him cuts you if you feel scared. He's improved a bit since he last taught me, but it's weak because of the rain."
"He's making up for it with natural-born skill," Ena added.
The fight continued with Vogef parrying every attack that came at him. Their blades crashed and shook at each collision, as they tried with all their heart to kill each other.
But even with 3 of them charging at once, Vogef was able to jump, run and dive out the way of every slice that came his way.
However, the darkness of the night was something that hurt him. His light was inconsistent, whereas the puppets didn't need light. Several blind spots appeared now and then, causing Vogef to take a few cuts to the legs and arms, but none of their blades was able to pierce any deeper, as even though the puppets didn't feel any pain and were being controlled by Mata, they, themselves, jumped back in fear when they got close.
"The puppets were once human." Ena continued her running commentary with Ziu. "This puppet master must use humans or creatures, maybe even objects. But, I think it's unlikely someone with a power like that would waste time making a humanoid shape when many already exist in the world."
"I suppose not all magic is perfect. If we assume these puppets are dead, then they retain some of their minds when being controlled, or, maybe they are alive and still being controlled but resisting it."
Vogef didn't think about Ziu and Ena's hypothesis, as he had already worked out the answer himself.
The puppets he was facing were alive. Faint cries and pleads could be heard through the wooden mask they wore when they slashed close to Vogef squealing out of fear.
The sounds only made Vogef angrier.
"A terrible fate that they won't be able to escape," Vogef said as he launched backwards, creating some space between him and the 3 whose bodies had already been pushed way beyond their original limits.
His sword was held horizontally in front of him. He rested his left hand underneath the once-crisp blade, whilst his right held the hilt. He looked at his opponents, who were trying to run away. Their legs were shaking because they were trying to run, but their master was ordering them to die.
Vogef launched forward with the sword loosely in his hand, spinning around like a spinning top before he reached his opponents. The sword, being held on by the end of his hands, had cleanly passed through those that were in the way, as he stood tall on the other side.
The bodies of those being controlled collapsed to the ground in halves.
There were no signs of magic coming from them. Even during the rain, Mata's magic still worked with little issue.
Vogef approached the bodies, along with Ziu and Ena, taking off the wooden masks that revealed their faces.
"I know him." Vogef said, "He's one of the soldiers in training. He was to make a fine soldier."
Ena and Ziu didn't say anything, except quietly paid respects to the dead around them.
"This place isn't safe. As long as I'm here, this place will constantly be attacked by Mata."
"I won't stop you from leaving," Ziu explained. "Since it's my job to protect this place, I understand the danger you bring and would ask you to leave. However, this isn't over yet, as sadly, we may have lost some more."