Dreary silence accompanied Shinku and his shadowsteed as they moved along the narrow alley. After being temporarily stuck at the shadow realm, the assassin of shadows decided to simply walk yet with haste instead of using his shadow pass. He couldn't help but ponder the stranger's intention of meeting him in the shadow realm. Although still having the memory of the wounds he suffered from the stranger's bombs, being able to get out of the realm safely assured Shinku that the stranger meant no harm, or at least at that moment. What puzzled him though was the stranger's ability to access the realm. Only the practitioners of the shadow arts were able to get in and out of it and as far as he remembered, only people of their village knew of the art. Or perhaps, that's what he was made to believe. Suddenly remembering his rescue mission, the assassin decided to brush off the thought from his mind and focused on the task at hand. He quickened his steps, figuring that he had already wasted quite some time.
After a long walk, he decided to stop for a while upon reaching the end of the alley which offered two different paths of exit. Right there, he closed his eyes and tapped into the shadow realm's energy to detect his probable targets within his shadow tracking range. Seeing the shadow realm in his vision somehow distracted him yet again, bringing him back to the recent event with the stranger. He could't help but to be lost in fear of his previous encounter. He struggled to regain his concentration for a while until finally, bits of spiritual forms appeared one after another. There were few spiritual signatures within his tracking range and were mostly concentrated on a single direction, making it easier for the assassin to choose a path. He delved farther, carefully observing the movement of each being that he encountered with his otherworldly sense. It was after a few moments when he stumbled upon the form of an adult and a child, both seemingly having their hands and feet bound. Not too far from the victims were two adults, moving in a rhythmic manner, as if performing some sort of a dance ritual.
Before he could observe further, Shinku was pulled out of his trance by a sudden surge of energy near him. As he observed around, he suddenly noticed a person lying just a few yards from where he was. The person was wearing a black robe, with a huge part that used to cover the person's chest burned. He quickly glanced at the shadowsteed beside him where the sudden surge of energy obviously originated.
'How could I have missed that one?,' Shinku thought, grateful for his companion's assistance. His contemplation however, was cut short as he felt the presence of several more people rushing towards them. There must have been at least four of them, if he could recall from his shadow tracking or maybe more.
'I have been found.' Not wanting to have the situation escalate further, Shinku decided to use his shadow pass to reach behind one of the approaching men and knocked him down from behind.
"Please, whatever you do, never kill any of them. They might have turned crazy but they're still my fellows from Netherfort." Shinku recalled Elise's words from when they were approaching the place. He could understand how the lady felt and as much as he wanted to thoroughly clean up the cultists out, he'd rather try as hard as he could to just knock them out. That was the reason why he wanted to avoid as much encounter as he could but unexpected circumstances do arise from time to time.
The assassin of shadows disappeared just in time before two more men appeared from a corner. He was able to successfully knock out the two new arrivals as well but the last one seemed to be a different case altogether. This one seemed keen enough to detect his surprise attacks and quick enough to retaliate. He didn't expect to find some skilled combatant among a group of mere cult fanatics.
"Who are you and what are you doing in our territory?" The man was similarly dressed in a black robe just as the previous ones he encountered. The robe's hood made it hard for Shinku to see the man's face, not that he might identify this one if he could.
"This is not your territory, if I recall correctly. You are mere infiltrators as well," Shinku remarked. It wasn't his nature to actually talk in combat yet at that time, the assassin of shadows seemed to be trying to either buy some time or keep the enemy's attention to himself.
"Not yet maybe, but once Lord Septimus rules over this planet, everything will be ours!" With stunning speed, the cultist charged towards Shinku, aiming to land a fist. The assassin of shadows however, was able to enter into his shadow in time before the fist could hit him. The assassin's shadow pass gave way to a dark energy blast that came from the shadowsteed. No matter how fast the cultist seemed to be, the suddenness of the attack made it impossible for him to evade. The impact from the dark energy ball hurled the cultist towards a concrete wall that easily knocked him down.
With the cultist still a bit conscious, Shinku decided to move towards his knocked down enemy. "What is your purpose for abducting people? Who are you working for?" Shinku demanded, pointing the blade of his sword at the man in question.
"Do you seriously believe you can just boss me around? We are the children of the great Lord Septimus. We will be inheritors of the new world. We…" Before the cultist could even continue his speech, his consciousness unfortunately left him, leaving the assassin void of answers.
"What a troublesome bunch," the assassin of shadows remarked with a deep sigh. "Well I believe my presence here has been found out. I will have to move ahead and leave you here. I know your kind can trace their masters so if you really are a gift to me, you will know where I am." Hoping that the shadowsteed could understand his words, Shinku decided to speak to the dark horse knowing that he had to move more carefully from then on. Surprisingly, the shadowsteed responded with a whicker, seemingly in acknowledgement to his words. With that, the assassin decided to go on with his rescue mission.
The tunnel-like alley featured several twists and turns that made it difficult for Shinku to navigate. He had to carefully use his shadow tracking skills to analyze the movement of the beings around him that might lead him the proper path towards where the victims were being held. Being in a critical situation, the assassin decided to use his shadow pass to evade a couple of probable enemies as it was for his best interest to avoid any further confrontations as possible. He moved forward in a hope that the shadowsteed would be able to follow him some time later. Knowing of the creature's ability to conceal itself, the assassin of shadows trusted that it wouldn't cause some unneeded ruckus that might endanger his attempt for rescue.
The sun has sunken, leaving a dark evening sky in the whole of Arak'tia. Silence has completely enveloped the still chaos-stricken settlement with most of its inhabitants hiding at their own shelters. It might have been at Shinku's best interest, for he could move more freely in a concealed state so long as he chose the right spot to position himself. Everything would go more smoothly, or that's what Shinku could have hoped for. Unfortunately, he was put into a halt by a frightening aura that suddenly placed a suffocating ambience on the assassin's immediate surroundings.
"Quite some courage you've got there stranger." As Shinku surveyed the place for the source of the sinister aura, he was startled by a voice that called out from above. Atop a lone towering building on the assassin's right side, stood another robed cultist with the hilt of a sword visibly protruding from the left of his back. "And reaching up to this point means you must be strong." The robed figure continued, as he pulled a short sword from the sheath tied behind him.
Similarly, Shinku drew his own weapon, regretting the fact that he did not conceal himself as he walked towards the enemy's headquarters. The lone building must be the cultists' base, Shinku thought, having someone of such caliber guarding it.
As if merely waiting for him to draw his own weapon, the robed figure dove towards him the moment Shinku pulled out his blade. Startled at the enemy's insane speed, the assassin decided to hop away just in time before his speeding opponent could hit him with its weapon.
"Impressive, now let's see you avoid this!" Shinku flinched upon suddenly hearing a voice from behind in spite of his opponent's image still visible from his front view. He gripped his sword tighter, quickly turning around to block a sword strike from behind. A loud crash echoed at the back alley of the settlement's suburb. Two metals loudly clanged, erupting sparks of friction embers between the two. The continuous clash of swords caught the attention of the other cultists around the area. Several steps could be heard from a couple of people rushing towards the place of battle.
"Ah Avernus is already on it. Come on we're not needed here. That infiltrator's as good as dead." One of the cultists remarked, inviting the others to withdraw from the place. Confident of their companion, the rest of the robed men quickly left the place without question.
"So you've got quick reflexes eh. Here's another one!" The voice again came from behind Shinku who was lucky enough to be able to pull his body out the blade's downward path. The assassin then swooped down and quickly pivoted in an aim to similarly attack his opponent from behind.
With Shinku's evasion, his enemy was forced to tuck himself forward, then dove into a roll to evade the assassin's blade. Avernus, as he was named by one of the cultists, rushed to kick himself upward then lounged towards Shinku, not giving his foe even a little window of rest. The assassin of shadows decided to pour all his strength to defend against the attack, blocking his opponent's blade with his own. The cultist sword master followed up his attack with several other strikes, forcing Shinku into a grave defensive stance.
Each of Shinku's blocks were successful; however, his opponent's last blow was so strong that it sent him flying towards a brick wall. Before he could regain his balance, another attack came rushing towards him forcing Shinku to enter his shadow and reappear just a few feet away from his point of origin.
"You sure are one tough opponent but you seem to be nearing your limit." True enough, Shinku was barely able to catch his breath from defending against his opponent's fast and continuous attacks. "Ah I couldn't remember since the last time I felt this thrill of battle. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this would be short lived for this time, I'll end it." The gap between Shinku and his opponent was crazily closed in by merely a wink of a second. The assassin could only flinch upon noticing his opponent's blade suddenly closing to just a few inches above his head. A sudden splash of blood, followed by a thin black smoke appeared just in front of the cultist where the assassin used to be.
Just a few seconds late and Shinku would have been cleaved in half if he wasn't fast enough to use his shadow pass for the second time. He panted, with his right hand covering a deep wound that opened on his left shoulder. It would have been better had he teleported away where his enemy could not see him; however, all he could muster was a mere few meters away just in front of the cultist.
"Impressive...impressive indeed. You sure are one persistent being. But then again, how long will you last?" Before the cultist could utter the last word of his speech, Shinku recklessly charged forward, clashing his sword against the formidable foe. "Desperate aren't we? Very well let's fight to our heart's content, stranger." Though surprised, Avernus was able to easily defend from Shinku's sudden attack. From a visible spot of the cultist face, an eerie smile formed before it contorted to a maniacal laughter as the clash went on continuously. The cultist's moves seem to be more laxed, as he defended himself against the relentless strikes of the assassin of shadows. Even though Shinku was the one on offense, Avernus' proud stance could easily give way that the cultist was still on the winning side of the battle.
"I wonder how long you could ignore that wound of yours." Avernus mocked, seeing the assassin soaked in his own blood. "Well shall we try with this?" The cultist suddenly vanished, making Shinku almost trip forward with his last strike. Within just a few winks, the assassin had to turn himself to defend against an attack that came from his left side. The cultist again disappeared and this time came from behind.
For a while, Shinku was able to defend against the cultist's random attacks until his foe's blade finally found its way to the same spot of his earlier wound. Luckily, the assassin of shadows was able to pull himself back before the sword could dive deeper into his skin. He winced in extreme pain as blood continued to gush out from his shoulder. Though in spite of the excruciating pain, Shinku was still able to hold his ground in a low defense position, expecting another surprise attack from his enemy.
"Brilliant! You've really caught my interest. Most of my opponents would have died at this point." Avernus smirked, somehow impressed by his opponent's resilience. Surprisingly, he did not follow up an attack this time; rather, he stood idly as if mocking the assassin of shadows.
A deafening silence filled the makeshift arena, having the two contenders both at rest. Avernus' attention seemed to have shifted elsewhere, while Shinku kept his guard, wary of his opponent's idleness. A strong gust of wind blew from the east, sweeping the stench of blood and sweat that lathered the air in the battlefield.
"Very well, I decided not to kill you now. You'd be more perfect as a sacrifice for Lord Septimus." After quite a few moments of repose, Avernus finally resumed the battle starting with a surprise attack from behind. An after image of the cultist was left where he previously stood, almost deceiving Shinku if not for the assassin's keen sense of danger. The assassin of shadows was able to quickly turn and block the cultist's sneaky blade. As expected however, the cultist's attack was followed up by several frenzied strikes, pushing Shinku back with each clash. The assassin was barely able to hold his stance, still bearing the pain of his fresh wound.
Before hitting a wall, Shinku decided to step into his shadows, evading the cultist's last blow. He could now barely stand, dizzy from having lost a lot of blood.
"Surprise!" To Shinku's disappointment, Avernus was able to follow his path of teleportation and appeared in front of him just a few seconds after his arrival. An open palm welcomed the assassin of shadows, placed just a few inches away from his face. "Sleep now." He wanted to move but alas, his body suddenly went limp. The paralysis was quickly followed by a sudden flash of light, which rapidly faded into utter darkness.
Avernus lowered his hand and was about to catch the assassin of shadows when a ball of dark energy suddenly bolted out from above. The cultist was able to evade the attack with ease, leaping out of its trajectory. Looking up, the cultist saw a black horse, floating in the sky. The shadowsteed indeed found its way to its master as Shinku had predicted. Not wasting a second, the shadowsteed dove to the ground and caught its unconscious master before the latter hit the ground. Gracefully, the shadowsteed was able to safely guide its master's body to lie at the concrete pavement then stood on guard. It let out a loud neigh, as if challenging its master's opponent. The pavement where Shinku lay suddenly opened a dark portal, collecting his unconscious body.
"Aha so you did not come here alone eh stranger. A wise choice...a wise choice indeed." Avernus grinned, then switched his focus to the shadowsteed. He expected the creature to have fled, the moment his master was sucked into the dark portal but for some reason, the shadowsteed stood guard. "Now did you stay here to challenge me? Or are you still protecting your master? Well that's for me to find out."