03 | A Bloody Night
LUCIUS REMAINED IN THE clearing, in the middle of a fight against a group of assassins. He fought together with Hamili, Louis, Asahi, and other sorcerers. They were brutal and efficient, and many assassins were either impaled with spikes of ice, burned to ashes with flames, or crushed with boulders.
The assassins were losing, so they turned their attention toward the guests. The guests screamed in chaos and ran away, but the Imperial Civil Guards rushed to protect them. Louis and Asahi were also forced to join the civil guards to escort the guests away and make sure no one ran in a random direction.
While he could fight all of them alone, he still suffered serious injuries from ensuring no guests were harmed in the crossfire. He was focused on defending and not attacking. "They're using the guests as meat shields," he said with a click of his tongue. As a Grand Sorcerer, the assassins would not normally be able to harm him, so they needed to split his attention and split him from his allies.
Hamili stayed behind to fight alongside Lucius as the guests were escorted away by the others.
Lucius' gaze shifted to the escaping guests, surrounded by civil guards and assassins engaged in combat, with the guards on the defensive.
"They're trying to isolate you, Lucius," Hamili said.
Lucius agreed, sensing the presence of individuals who made no effort to hide the presence of their soul cores. "Grand Sorcerers," said Lucius. He figured they were biding time and watching in the shadows, waiting for opportunities. But, Lucius also knew that they could not wait for long... time was running out for them. They will soon join the fray.
"Where's Hiram?" asked Lucius.
"I sent him off with the other guests, he's sa—" Hamili's words were cut off by the sound of gunfire as bullets were fired at them. Both men immediately took cover behind a tree. "So, they brought out the guns. I could easily blow up their weapons. But, they're like rats... hiding out of plain sight. I don't have a visual."
"I have no idea how they procured guns. This number of assassins is also unprecedented," Lucius said, taking out his revolver and loading it with bullets. "Their sponsor could be anyone. Judging by the number of sorcerers they have, their strength could take on a trained, small army."
"You've made strong enemies, Lucius," Hamili said, also pulling out his revolver and shot back. Even sorcerers, Grands included, are vulnerable to bullets. "I warned you. That the changes you were trying to make for Alardice were way too fast. The Emperor isn't here to protect you."
Instead of answering, Lucius vanished into a thin mist, appearing on a tree branch above them. An assassin was sneaking closer, and he blew off his head with his gun. "One Grand Sorcerer and Two High Sorcerers," he said, referring to their enemies, "are making their move."
Lucius added, "One Grand remains in the shadows."
Hamili's features darkened when he saw what Lucius meant. Three enemy sorcerers rushed in the direction of the escaping guests.
"Go, father. I'll be fine here," Lucius said. His suspicions were correct that the enemies lost their patience and could not afford for him to hide forever. Smoke flares would have also alerted reinforcement from outside the estate.
Waiting means reinforcement. Reinforcement means his survival.
Thus, he figured they had to lure Hamili away. Because with Hamili's support, while he could not defeat Two Grands and Two Highs by himself, he could buy more time.
Lucius judged that the Grand Sorcerer who pursued was an aeromancer after noting their speed. A Grand Aeromancer and two supporting High Sorcerers would be challenging to defeat – if they even survive in the first place.
He only hoped Hamili and the others would delay the enemies long enough to give him time to kill the other Grand, who remained hidden in the shadows.
"Don't die, Lucius," Hamili said before moving away from his cover, dodging incoming needles and bullets on his way.
⁂
Hiram was escorted with the rest of the guests away from the clearing. He counted around a hundred of them. They were all running as he looked back to where his father and grandfather were fighting, who allowed them a path of escape.
He also saw the elderly gentlemen, Asahi and Louis, remain at the tail of the guests, making sure no harm befalls them. They fought hand in hand with the other sorcerers escorting the group.
They were doing well until a man in dark robes showed up with a mithril staff. He cast many wind spells, immediately killing a score of civil guards. But, the rampage did not continue for long when his grandfather arrived.
While Hamili and the others did not have a Grand among them, they still outnumbered the enemies. There were seven Highs in total, which included Hamili, Louis, and Asahi. Meanwhile, the enemies had a Grand and two Highs. It was a stalemate.
Hiram then shifted his sight away from the battle when he saw a group of ladies arrive with an escort of civil guards. The squad's leader, Lyrion, immediately joined his grandfather and the rest while he approached one of the ladies.
It was his godparent, Lady Miriam. Hiram asked, "Lady Miriam! Have you seen mom?"
Lady Miriam immediately pulled Hiram into her embrace, full of tears. "Y-your m-mom, Hiram. She's fighting. She's still fighting. She made us escape."
Hiram's eyes widened at the revelation. "It's okay, Lady Miriam," he said before Lady Miriam pulled away from her embrace.
"Are you okay, Hiram?" Lady Miriam asked and inspected him for injuries.
Hiram only nodded his head before bolting away from the guests toward the direction of where the ladies came from – much to the surprise of everyone. It was too late when the civil guards noticed the boy slip past them.
"Hiram! Where are you going?! Hiram!" Lady Miriam yelled and tried to pursue him before tripping due to her heels.
⁂
Asahi noticed the commotion because he was tasked with defending the guests, ensuring no stray spells would hit them. He saw some of the guests try to pursue Hiram, but the civil guards did not allow them to leave. They had one order - no guests must die, no matter what.
"Then go after him!" he heard Lady Miriam yell out. But there were only just about a dozen civil guards remaining, including the squad who had just joined them... the others were all killed.
Asahi silently agreed with the civil guards' assessment. He wasn't sure either if they could protect around a hundred guests by themselves if more assassins appeared. Without the Highs on their forces – the guests would most likely have suffered casualties.
His train of thought was interrupted when a wind blade shot toward his direction. "FUCK!" Thankfully, he raised a wall of earth in time, protecting himself and the guests behind him.
Then, after brief moments of exchange, the enemy suddenly retreated, returning to the clearing. Asahi and the others decided not to pursue while worrying for Lucius' safety. If they split their forces, the three enemy sorcerers could easily kill them.
Meanwhile, if they all pursued, it would result in another stalemate, and the enemy sorcerers could easily go back and target the guests. 'Lucius... I pray you'll come out of this alive,' Asahi thought. Then he cursed, "We're being played like fools."
⁂
Louis lay battered and wounded as he listened to Asahi report Hiram running away. As a Brigadier General of the Civil Guards, he discussed the next step with the others.
"We'll split our forces," he said and looked at the four Highs who did not belong to the military, which included Asahi. "You four didn't need to help. But you still did. Thank you."
They nodded their heads in unison.
"We'll take care of the rest. I trust you all to escort the other guests away," said Louis before looking at Hamili and the two Highs who belonged to the Civil Guards. "Hamili, Armas, and Lyrion will come with me. We'll go after Hiram."
"No. You stay here. You wouldn't be able to fight. The flare should have alerted him," said Hamili. "We'll go after Hiram."
Louis hesitated but nodded and remained while the rest took their leave. He had no strength left to join Hamili and the others.
It didn't take long before he finally showed up.
A figure flew across the sky at great speed – an aeromancer. The aeromancer wore a sleek black military uniform adorned with various insignias and badges indicating his rank and accomplishments. His overcoat, made of a sturdy and durable fabric, fluttered in the wind as he descended from the sky.
The aeromancer emitted a commanding presence and pressure. He was a man in his mid-60s. Despite his advanced age, he exuded an ageless energy and strength.
"Brigadier General, report," said Lieutenant General Augustus Williams, looking at Louis with his penetrating blue eyes.
Louis managed to stand up and cast a fist on his chest to greet his superior. Augustus is Lucius' second-in-command. "Assassins. Most likely from the Order of Sicarius, judging by the quantity and quality of their forces. Their target is Lucius."
"Where's Lucius and Talia," Augustus asked.
Louis said it had been about ten minutes since Lucius remained at the clearing to ensure the guests' path of escape. He then pointed at the northwestern corner of the garden, where Talia should be located.
"Strength of enemy forces?" Augustus asked. How curt.
"We know of two Grands and two Highs. No sorcerers below the High-tier," said Louis. "Our forces have two Grands... Lucius and Talia, and eight High Sorcerers, including myself. We recently split up. Hamili, Armas, and Lyrion went after Hiram. Since Talia hadn't yet regrouped with us, it's safe to say only Grand Sorcerers could delay her this long," he said. "As for their non-sorcerer forces, we know at least around a hundred, while we have fifty civil guards. Only a dozen guards remain," said Louis.
Augustus' features remained stoic and unreadable, then they suddenly darkened. "I sense a dreadful, familiar presence coming from Talia's direction... More reinforcement is coming. Send them to Lucius' direction," he said.
After that, Augustus immediately streaked across the sky.
"Grand Aeromancers are really terrifying," said Louis. Even Lucius, despite being an advanced sorcerer, is weaker than Williams.
If there were a power ranking in Alardice, Talia would be the strongest, followed by Augustus, Lucius, the Archbishop, and that weird Grand.
⁂
Meanwhile, Hiram was running through the forest garden, unaware of its beauty under the night sky. "Mom," Hiram muttered as he tripped on a stone. "Please be okay, mom. Please be okay."
He got up and continued running when finally, his eyes narrowed at a familiar figure. Hiram, so quietly, crept and hid behind a tree, using the shrubbery as his guise. As a non-sorcerer – no one noticed him.
Hiram saw his mother fighting a group of twenty or so assassins with a whip in hand, executing pirouettes as if she were a ballerina in a dance. It was beautiful. Then the fighting briefly stopped.
His body shook, and his features paled when needles pierced his mother's body. Suddenly, two figures, each holding a mithril spear staff, appeared. 'Grands...' Hiram thought in great worry. Only Grands could wield a mithril spear staff.
He saw one of the Grands cast a barrage of spikes.
⁂
Talia had already figured out much earlier the assassins targeted her. She even counted three Highs among them. But she killed them in no time. Hemomancers like her are more effective killers compared to most other classes. But hemomancers tire easily and are the most fragile due to their lacking defences, which she hated.
When the assassins rained poison needles in her direction, she spun with her whip, deflecting the projectiles while killing a score of assassins in the process. But there were too many of them – around a dozen remained.
Talia cursed when she failed to stop some of the needles piercing her shoulder. They were laced with a fast-acting poison that worked its way through her body. However, it was not enough to defeat her.
Before she could recover, two hooded figures emerged from the shadows, rushing her with mithril spear staffs in hand.
"Damn it," she clicked her tongue as the assassins retreated, who did not want to be caught in the ensuing crossfire. "They were hiding their soul cores."
The first Grand was a cloaked geomancer with blue eyes, judging by his weapon with rotating rocks. The second Grand is a pyromancer with long, flowing hair, holding her flaming spear staff.
"Impressive. Forcing us to move. They were supposed to whittle you down, not die carelessly," said the geomancer as he swung his weapon at her, casting a barrage of spiky rocks.
'Earth Barrage... Tier IV spell... three seconds cooldown... three seconds duration. This means he could use Earth Barrage without a break until he runs out of aether,' thought Talia. 'He's forcing me to use a spell to block his attack, giving the other Grand an opportunity to attack. Too bad for you... I don't need to use a spell. Because I'm already under Blood Enhancement... a Tier IV buff spell.'
Thus, Talia, with quick reflexes, opted not to block the barrage with a spell of her own and dodged instead. The geomancer cursed seeing this.
'Next. I need to force him to use a spell,' thought Talia and smiled. 'Blood Whip is also a Tier IV. It will do. Then I'll use Blood Stun on the other Grand.'
Blood Stun could stun even Grands for ten seconds. While she can only use it once a day, the simple spell could instantly turn the tides. It was her most powerful spell. 'I've won... it's over,' she thought.
Talia whipped her crimson whip at the geomancer and cast Blood Stun on the other.
The geomancer was not as agile as Talia. So he summoned a wall of earth to block her attack. The wall immediately rushed back to the ground.
"Got you," Talia said. The geomancer should be on cooldown after deactivating the earth wall.
"Yeah?" the geomancer grinned and signalled his companion to attack.
But the Grand Pyromancer widened her eyes in surprise. She can't move.
Talia pushed her palm toward the geomancer before immediately closing her palm to a fist.
"Die," Talia coldly said, and blood rushed out of the geomancer's orifices, causing him to scream in pain and die – Blood Explosion, another Tier IV spell.
Then she felt a stab of pain. 'Fuck. I messed up. Why did I instinctively use Explosion? This is bad,'she thought. The Stun-Explosion combo became a habit for her when facing multiple opponents. Then she learned Blood Whip, which means her combo changed to Stun-Whip. But she hasn't yet broken her old habit. 'Let's hope no other Grands show up, or I wouldn't be able to fight.'
"No way... how many T-IVs do you have?!" the pyromancer yelled in alarm.
"You don't need to know," said Talia and pretended to be calm.
Talia's whip then moved to cut off the pyromancer's neck. She died without even casting a single fire spell, aside from the spell she used to blow up the civil guard's revolver earlier.
Her whip then transformed into its original form – a black mithril spear staff. It was thin with an embedded crimson gem. She coughed up blood and fell on one of her knees. 'This isn't just bad... this is terrible,' she thought.
While the battle may have lasted less than ten seconds, Grand Sorcerer battles are akin to playing bullet chess in real-time. They fight quickly and efficiently because their cast and spell cooldowns are extremely low. But just like chess, one mistake or one wrong decision could mean death – and she just made a mistake – she used an active Tier IV spell without needing to.
'I can't believe this. You're stupid, Talia... you're stupid!' she thought. Whip of Blood, Blood Stun, Blood Explosion, and Blood Enhancement. She used all of her Tier IVs, which left her drained and exhausted. After all, Tier IV spells drain aether rapidly.
As Talia knelt on the ground, the assassins did not move. She saw fear in their eyes.
"The rumours are true. She's a Sovereign candidate," stuttered one of the assassins as he stepped back.
Sovereigns are the peak of sorcerers, and breaking through increases the lifespan of a sorcerer for hundreds of years. There are only a few Sovereigns in the world, many of which have left the known world full of war and colonization. Instead, they traversed toward the Uncharted Lands in pursuit of knowledge or power.
"What are you all standing there for?" a voice suddenly called out, and the assassins before Talia parted. Behind them was a man. He wore an all-black vest and a black cloak just like them. A sheathed long sword was strapped to his side, and an ornate black mask concealed his upper features. "She's already wounded."
It should have been impossible to discern his identity – but she knew. "Cyril," she said pointedly. He's the only one crazy and smart enough to orchestrate the assassination.