Sparks turned into flames as a fire swiftly filled the air. The red powder was extremely flammable and instantly erupted into flames upon contact. The vault room was now nothing but a raging furnace.
"Shit!" Was all the leader could say before his soldiers were incinerated. Luckily, a pair from the group was near enough to him for his mist to envelope them all. Only he and two others remained as their surroundings became a flaming hell.
"Change of plans! We push our way through the main entrance! Follow me!" Yelled the leader as the flames roared around them. The mist surrounding them began to heat up, and the survivors began to break out in a hot sweat as they pushed forward.
Their incinerated companions' ashes were found between their new course and the vault door. The sparkling brooch could clearly be seen on top of one of the ash piles as it glittered and reflected the flames around it.
One of the men reached down and grabbed the brooch, wincing as its now high temperature seared into his hand.
They proceeded on while the man nursed his new wound and soon the door began to come into sight. Through the dancing flames, the three could barely make out the elaborate doors of the vault.
"Almost there! Just a little further!" Encouraged the leader as he felt his power continue to drain and begin to reach critically low levels.
They finally reached the door and pressed against its rough surface with all their might. The flames behind them licked at their heels and back. Their dark cloaks began to heat up and the group could feel the flames slowly encroaching closer to their bodies through the protective mist.
With a loud shout from the men, they threw their bodies with all their remaining strength at the door in hopes of breaking through to safety. The door finally gave way and creaked open with a loud moaning screech.
The two members, who had managed to survive with him, fell to the cold floor of the hall outside the vault in exhaustion, and relief. Panting while leaning over against a column next to them, the shadowy leader sighed as he looked up and was matched by two gazes.
"So… I guess this means we were expected?" He groaned as he reached into his sleeves.
A small man in glittering armor stepped forward while pointing his spear.
"That's right. Miss me bastard?" Said Axus while narrowing his eyes at the familiar shadow.
"Funny how things work out like that." Replied the shadow as he tossed four daggers out from his sleeves. Two of the dark projectiles headed for Axus, which were immediately deflected. The other two sank into a desk on the other side of the hall with a thud as the young man next to Axus side-stepped out from the path of the weapons.
"Do you two know each other?" Asked Kellen while unsheathing his longsword and taking up a proper stance.
Axus didn't take his eyes away from their opponent as he responded, "Yeah, something like that. Just be careful. This bastard is as slippery and sly as they come."
The narrow pale-faced shadow smirked while trying to cover up his pain. His shoulder was still somewhat usable and wouldn't last for long. Plus, a large amount of his energy had been used up between transporting everyone into the vault and defending himself against the Roman elites.
Things didn't look too great for the assassin leader. However, he still had two of his men remaining, even if they were more or less deadweight. But that was fine since what he really needed now was time. Time enough to allow for him to slip away from these annoying Romans.
"Get up!" Shouted the assassin.
The two men, who were lying on the floor due to their injuries, painfully forced their bodies up from the floor. They swayed slightly as if their limbs were just barely supporting them. It was obvious that they did not present much of a threat. But brute force wasn't what the leader needed.
The two men glanced at each other while wincing from the pain of the burns covering almost the entire back of their bodies. They nodded in silent agreement, understanding the intentions of their leader.
One of the men reached into his dark tattered robe and tossed an object towards his leader. A sparkling brooch with a sinister gem flew through the air into the assassin leader's hands. It quickly vanished into his sleeves the moment it was caught before a crimson dagger slid back out from underneath the same sleeve.
"Leave no survivors." The shadow commanded as he positioned himself behind his two men.
Sweat beaded on the side of the two injured men's faces as they understood their leader's actual meaning.
"You're still pretty cocky too it seems. But that won't be for long." Said Axus as a white halo began to glow around his golden spear. The electricity crackled while thunder roared above them outside.
"Wait! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Screamed Daren, who immediately came running over to the scene upon the cue of thunder.
"Stay out of this Daren. This one is personal." Explained Axus as he expertly twisted the head of his spear in a fluent motion in preparation for his strike.
Daren stamped his foot down onto the barrack's floor out of pure frustration while pulling on his graying hair.
"You fool! We're in the damn barracks! The Thunder Legion's barracks! Don't obliterate it!" Frantically complained Daren.
Axus merely cracked his neck in response while the roaring from outside began to subside. Instead, the white glow of his spear began to condense into a thin layer of energy and began to change hue.
A golden light matching his prized weapon's coloring fiercely poured out from the spear. It gathered and concentrated itself on the sharp tip of the weapon and spanned out a few inches. It made it seem as if the spear's blade had grown in length with an extra blade of golden light shining at its end.
Kellen watched his new instructor in awe and prepared himself likewise. Small black and red flames began to emit from his longsword in a thick coating. The two of them stepped forward and approached their opponents.
The two injured members of the order matched their pace and began to rush towards the approaching assailants. However, the assassin lurking behind them remained in his position and watched with an amused expression.
He could feel the coldness begin to return in the mist around him and slowly darken its color again. The light crimson mist was now being drowned out as shadows seemed to be sucked in from the surroundings and choked out the previous pigment.
It would not be long now until his strength would have returned enough for his escape. He did not need to worry about the two disposable men protecting him since the dead never revealed any secrets. What truly was important was the success of their mission, and for that to come to fruition, his escape was the only thing necessary.
He still had Group B waiting in the alley for his return and would be valuable reinforcements. If all else failed, he could always transport the brooch directly to them using his powers. Such a small item's cost in energy to transport was almost negligible when compared to himself.
As the four men rushed towards each other for battle, the two members of the order reached into their tattered robes. Axus and Kellen paused momentarily, anticipating more hidden weapons to be thrown. But, instead of a weapon, the two members pulled out tiny items that resembled the shape of a dark stone. The stones were pulsing slowly as red ruby veins constricted around the strange orbs.
The men chucked the small stones into their mouths and swallowed. The two men immediately stopped their advance as they grabbed at their throats. Their veins began to glow an ominous red hue and the men started to convulse. They scratched at their eyes as blood teared down the sides of their faces.
"Wh-What is happening?" Asked Kellen in shock at the sudden change in their opponents. He looked over to Axus, who had stopped as well beside him to study the strange phenomena.
"I'm not sure… But it doesn't look like anything good."
Their opponents fell to the floor and started to rithe as their bodies contorted in inhuman forms. Starting from the furthest appendages away from the center of their bodies, their skin began to turn a jet black color, making them seem like deathly ill patients on death's door. Soon, their convulsing stopped and they laid motionless on the floor.
"Is that it?" Asked Axus while slowly stepping towards one of the fallen men. He pointed the tip of his spear towards the cursed body in curiosity.
But, the seemingly lifeless body twitched as the spear drew near. A sickening sound, one that could not possibly be made by a human, moaned out from the corpse. In a mere moment, the motionless body was now standing right in front of Axus.
Its jet black skin lit up as bright crimson veins glowed like runes along its body. The eyes of the strange being glinted with a menacing blood red glare.
Kellen's eyes widened as he stared at the monstrosity standing before Axus. It towered over the small man. Not just because he was so short but because the man's height had apparently increased.
'Interesting… I didn't imagine I'd be seeing this here.' Said Nergal thoughtfully from Kellen's mind.
'What do you mean by one of these? Is this your doing?' Asked Kellen with distress in his voice.
Nergal clasped the celestial bars of his cage and smirked with a devilish smile curving up the edges of his mouth. His eyes began to burn with a fierce red light from a delightful surprise.
"This is partially because of me, but sadly it is not my doing. The ultimate last stand… The most brutal sacrifice…' Explained Nergal.
'So how in the hell are these things even here then?'
'I'm not exactly sure… The only way for them to be created is from a drop of my blood. I used to make these things for fun when I was bored in a few different worlds. That was when I was experimenting with creation, of course.' Said Nergal while recounting his old endeavors.
'I'm not even going to ask why… But what are they? What exactly are we facing right now?' Asked Kellen as he felt a headache beginning to form.
'Well, you're pretty much just facing some walking corpses.' Replied Nergal as he began to laugh.
'You want to tell me something actually useful now?' Asked Kellen as he interrupted the old demon's laughing.
'Right… Well all you guys have to do is survive. Those things won't last very long. They have increased strength and speed, let alone reflexes on an entirely other level compared to normal humans. They consumed my blood which awakened these abilities within them. However, that doesn't mean there are not any side effects.' Explained Nergal.
'Those side effects! What are they?' Quickly interjected Kellen.
'They're pretty nasty is what they are. Their bodies aren't compatible with my demonic blood, so they will eventually reject it. When that happens, their bodies will instantly break down and be eaten whole by the demonic energy that will awaken within them. So, until then, you'll need to survive.' Said Nergal with a wide grin.
'That's it? There's no weakness or anything else?' Questioned Kellen suspiciously after sensing the old demon was still holding back information.
'Ah, well I suppose they are nothing when compared to you. Since you are of my bloodline then their energy should be nothing but food for you.' Said Nergal while chuckling sinisterly.
'My food? How can you even say that? Do I look like a cannibal to you?' Complained Kellen.
'Well to each their own. How could I possibly judge?' Shrugged Nergal before continuing, 'But no, it's just a saying. They contain my power just like the inside of those cores, so all you need is to absorb them from their source.'
Kellen glanced over to the other body remaining motionless on the floor in front of him. It still had not risen like the other one in front of Axus had.