The journey through the woods was surprisingly uneventful.
Barnabas had gone from tense and jumpy to a gods be damned chatterbox, with each and every second that passed C-6-367 found himself contemplating ending the contract and dealing with Barnabas himself.
As night approached, the pair of men made camp, setting up a camp fire which allowed for them to sit by it to retain warmth. C-6-367 remained silent as he skillfully disassembled his rifled and began to check and maintain each part so as to keep it in its best shape.
Barnabas who sat across him took in the entire scene, This was the first time Barnabas had seen the famous armor that had paid a major role in the creation of the title 'iron devils'. His eyes were glued to it as he took in each and every detail of its design, which was honestly unlike anything he had seen.
It was nothing like anything he had ever seen, its had a sleek exoskeletal design that snugly wrapped around the wearer's body, providing maximum mobility while ensuring complete protection. Taking in the armor's form Barnabas' eyes wandered down to the rifle that was laid out on the floor.
The weapon was a marvel of mass destruction that many dreamed to get their hands on. Barnabas had heard of how alchemist at the tower and a few others ad been able to create something similar although theirs shot out projectiles and not the light that had left a burning hole in that tree.
Seeing C-6-367 was done and putting the weapon together, Barnabas attempted to make some small chat. "You know, I've never really been one for roughing it in the woods. I mean I have done it before, being a wandering bard and all, but this whole camping thing. Yeah, just isn't my style, but I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures, right?"
C-6-367 kept his head down and continued to assemble his weapon with care making sure nothing was out of places...
"*Eherm*, You don't talk much, do you? I mean, I've heard of stoic types, but you're taking it to a whole new level. Or is that like a Gladius thing?" Barnabas' attempt at humor fell flat as C-6-367 continued to focus on his weapon ignoring Barnabas.
Barnabas nervously chuckled after meeting a wall once more, "right, I get it. You're the strong, silent type, and I'm the... well, I'm just like a good conversation, you know." At this point C-6-367 looked up from his weapon and focused on the swindler before him.
"So, you mentioned a mission. I guess its something important right, like the insurgents or maybe its a monster ooh ooh it could even be the crownlands" Barnabas could not help but get excited as his mind began to wander. It was brought to a stand still however when he felt a gaze on himself.
Barnabas could feel the gaze of the Gladius on his person, he could not see the eyes hidden behind the... visor? but he knew for certain that the Gladius was glaring at him.
"And now I'm going to shut up" C-6-367 gave a small nod to the bard and moved his attention to his now fully reassembled weapon when he stopped and turned his head to the left. His armors sensors were picking up the presence of a large group.
'So they arrived after all' C-6-367 thought to himself as his weapon began to give of a faint glow, [5% unleashed]
The sequence of actions caused Barnabas' eyes to widen as he wondered if his incessant talking had led to the Gladius deciding to end him there and then. "Take cover, we have company", was all C-6-367 told Barnabas as he moved from a sitting position to an upright one and then to a shooting stance, with a voice resounding in his ear [Night vision activated].
*Bang* Bang*
...
Marco had honestly not expected the news of his brother dying, much less because of a game of fucking Alchorse. Hence when he first head the news he had taken the head of the one who had dared to lie to him. However, he soon found out those words were the truth.
Locke might have been an incorrigible fool, but he was his brother. Hence Marco gathered his men and moved to bring his justice upon the murderers only to be told they had already skipped town.
Marco had gathered his finest and pursued after them, riding continuously and now they had caught up to them. At a distance away he could barely make out the two figures seating before a camp fire and having a discussion, the sight enraging him all the more.
The two had swindled and killed his brother and now they were simply chatting.
Fully intent on not allowing any of them to escape, Marco ordered his men to spread out and surround them. With this order given they began to move out, but it was at this point that one of the figures stood and fired some sort of blast that took the head of man a few inches away from himself.
The scene caused the surrounding men to freeze in their tracks. The sound of thunder, followed by light that burns that sounded suspiciously like the weapons Gladius were said to carry. At the thought of the iron devils Marco's mind went back to the innkeeper who refused to describe the attackers no matter what they did.
'Tch so wat if its an actual Gladius, its pitch black over here. We can barely see them because of the camp fire, there's no way he can see us. That was probably a lucky shot'
Marco reassured himself as he moved to take another step, but at that moment more shots came. With each one taking out the head of a man, The shots were all fired in rapid succession and not just at them but at the other sides as well. With the screams that followed Marco was certain the devil was able to see them and was taking them all out.
Gritting his teeth, Marco screamed for all his men to charge straight for the Gladius as he himself pulled out a vial and downed its contents. With his eyes glowing Marco let out a roar, "Devil!!"