Location: Tbilisi. Time: 10:24AM. Date: 8th August 2008.
On the outskirts of the capital, one could find various motels.
BOOM!?
Sometimes they varied in services and sizes, but ultimately they served the same functions.
!?
One such motel faced its unprecedented demolition at the hands of two servants.
Ruler and Assassin of West.
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The man who proudly donned that white cape with a red cross crouched low. His stance with that simple sword was akin to a Japanese samurai about to unsheathe their blade.
A single moment.
A reaction time of approximately a 20th of a second.
In that instant, the five metres that separated the two servants were closed, as if non-existent to begin with.
Ruler, a man famous for having slain a dragon, brought down his simple famed sword on the head of Assassin. The wind pressure was akin to an explosion, powerful and merciless, and the room was dishevelled in an instant.
BOOM!?
Ruler's brown eyes scanned his vicinity with such sporadic movement that they could have been thought of like scanners.
Time was moving in framed fractions. In that single moment of bringing down his blade, Ruler already acknowledged his strike would never hit.
And as if to agree with him, the front door shattered and ripped off its hinges. No, the entire front wall fractured and creaked as the wind pressure assaulted it. Splinter dust flew into the air along with destroyed wallpaper.
{fast!}
Ruler had retracted his sword and shifted his stance. His whole body spun with the balls of his feet and his eyes found their target.
Assassin had dodged the strike and was already 2 metres away. The MP9 in his hand raised to eye-level.
Time moved in framed fractions to them both and within those quick instants, they both challenged the other.
Assassin fired a quick spray of bullets without hesitation. Each bullet aimed for Ruler's eyes. Each bullet following right after the other.
Ruler ducked low and the bullet spray punched head-sized holes through the splinter dust behind him.
The sound of gunfire rang throughout the motel and parking lot for all to hear but neither servant cared.
Time moved in framed fractions.
Two seconds had passed.
Ruler lunged forward, his garments and cape flowing behind him like a red and white trail. Assassin switched his gun for a single brutal looking combat knife and shifted his body to receive whatever strike Ruler had.
And Ruler did not disappoint.
He reached assassin instantly yet again and stabbed his sword towards Assassin's throat. An awkward location to defend and Assassin barely managed to deflect the tip of Ruler's blade.
But that did not account for the sheer force of the strike.
Assassin flew back and crashed atop the single table in the room, it's wood frame shattered upon impact.
A second long delay. Assassin disoriented could only conjure a second combat knife and raise them both above his head as Ruler brought his sword down with the force of divine punishment.
The floorboards split at once and the shockwave attacked every weakly structured object within a radius of 5 metres.
The air visibly shook, and both servants fell through the floor to the room below.
Dust shook in the air and the deafening noise of an entire ceiling crashing down could be described as the full extent of what occurred in that room.
And at the center of all the chaos stood up the man in bronze. His simple sword reflecting rays of light peaking through the dust cloud.
"..."
Wordlessly, and just as effortlessly, Ruler swung his sword and split the cloud. The wind spread like a spherical shockwave and momentarily cleared the room.
The room was empty save for Ruler.
He frowned.
And then he realised.
With momentum to rival, nay, surpass a bullet train Ruler burst through the wall, running low and into the parking lot. The wall behind him exploded in fireworks and strings of dust, but Ruler couldn't care less.
The parking lot was just as empty as when he had arrived. And Assassin's presence could no longer be felt nearby.
Assassin had fled.
Ruler clucked his tongue and stood upright. In a show of melancholy, he placed both of his palms onto the pommel of his sword and leaned on it for balance.
Looks like he would be man-hunting once again.
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Location: Kutaisi. Time: 11:50AM. Date: 8th August 2008.
Alyza Lohmus wandered the streets. She had left her residence some while ago and explored the town she was to guard in cooperation with the Georgian Army.
Needless to say the town was in a miserable state. Pitiful, really but Alyza's expression never changed no matter what she came by.
Escorting her was a young soldier who had rushed through recruitment for personnel issues the army had faced. But as he followed behind the young woman with hair as grey as iron and eyes as green as emeralds, he felt uncomfortable.
The reason was simple. Alyza was well and truly socially inept.
It was comedic at first, to watch units on patrol, holler, joke and greet her. Over the past 5 minutes, they had just passed the center of town. The number of soldiers there, for varying reasons, was not significant, but they were certainly no less than 15.
Alyza hadn't acted haughtily as the soldier expected, but he had rather wished she had.
She was far worse.
The first soldier to Holler at her, joked about her hair and how its length would be great for gripping tight. The intent was easy to understand, and rather courageous to make.
But Alyza stood still as stone and turned her head slowly. It was a scene, and the soldier bowed and apologised as he watched her descend into a slow, bitter rage. She ended up knocking him out in a single blow.
They had left the soldiers and even as they continued walking; the girl quivered notably.
He wished to point it out,try to converse about it, as he himself had a little sister back at the capital. Their mannerisms were surprisingly contrasting.
But Alyza remained unapproachable and silent.
The whole walk seemed pointless.
That was until they reached the outskirts of town. Abandoned shops and homes with destroyed roads and landscape. A tree had been upheaved from the soil some metres away, tracks running right over it. Perhaps the work of a tank.
Alyza came to a standstill, halting in the centre of a pothole marked junction. She seemed so naturally part of the destruction that the soldier thought it was wrong.
"You should leave now."
"Hmmmm?"
The soldier wasn't sure how to respond before he saw the flash.
It was a silver crescent, as beautiful as the moon. And it was as vicious as a beast when it bore down upon his own neck.
The crescent moon never landed, but the sheer force of the blow knocked the soldier out, his own breath catching in his throat before he toppled down to the road.
There stood a figure, as tall as a little girl in middle school and as silent as a rabbit. She wore a grey and black trench-coat and had hair as white as snow and just as fair. In one hand she clasped tightly the hilt of her curved cutlass. Its blade wrapped in crimson ribbon.
On the opposite side of her blade was another sword. Its surface was as white as her own hair and patterned in a wicked fashion, similar to a French flamberge. Its length was short and its weight, as it pushed against her, was considerably less than her own.
But the boy who wielded it pushed with the strength of an elephant and gripped his own hilt just as tight.
He had blonde hair and eyes as grey as stormy clouds. His skin was pearly and clean of blemish.
But that was as far as his uniqueness went.
He wore a black coat, buttoned up to his neck. Black gloves gripped the hilt of his sword and black boots dug into the tarmac beneath them to give him a steady base.
Some metres away was an abandoned black duffel bag. Perhaps its single purpose to bear that very sword.
An initial struggle lasted for but a moment before Archer pushed back her foe impressively despite their difference in sizes. He did not stagger, however, but stepped back as if retreating.
His face was a mask of impassiveness. Those eyes conveyed no emotion, no hatred, surprise, or love. But they were just as grey as storms.
They gave nothing away as he lifted his sword again. Here and now, his intentions were clear.
He came to challenge Archer of West.
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