The Neugomian Capital city, Vishnal, was currently bustling with the busy activities of various soldiers who were rushing about as they hastily prepared for their defense against the invasion that was to come.
An incursion made directly into the the heart of the empire by the same enemies that they were supposed to be invading right now... At first, the words of the oracle made it seem as if she were lying, but after all contact with the imperial army they sent to reconquer the lands of Polonia disappeared, it quickly became apparent that the priestess' prophecy was finally coming to fruition.
And within one of the chambers of the massive city wall that protected the capital city from outsiders, the imperial general responsible for leading the Vishnal's defense was currently devising his plans with his 2nd in command.
"How many of our soldiers have we managed to muster right now?"
A hesitant, nervous response would come forth to answer his question. "... 100,000 men and counting, general. Our other forces are still currently heading towards the capital as we speak."
"... This is bad... Why would there have to be an attack all of a sudden... And now of all times...?"
The imperial general known as Harion would rub his forehead with his fingers in great frustration, as the dangerous dilemma they had all suddenly found themselves in only continued to become even greater with every passing moment: an enemy attack, a prediction made by their divine oracle whose premonitions have always come true, one of them was about to arrive into their capital like a raging storm of calamity, and they were all doing everything to prepare for such a invasion in order to prevent their complete defeat against them.
"... Pardon my ignorance, but... We've already managed to rally so many soldiers... Wouldn't they be enough to deter our enemy's attempts to invade the capital for at least a few days, general?"
"That's where you're wrong, Ivar..." the general swiftly corrected him. "If they managed to annihilate the massive army we sent to retake the Polonian Kingdom, then the forces we've currently managed to gather won't even be enough to stop them for a few hours..."
"But general... Weren't they just hypothetical guesses made by our strategists? No matter how powerful our enemies may be, they couldn't have just annihilated a 200,000-strong army in a few days or less..."
"They might as well have done it already..." the general sighed as he said this somberly. "We've lost all contact with them, and the last task that was given to them was the reconquering of that kingdom. Of course, it wouldn't take too much a genius to conclude that the enemies who stole Polonia from us were the ones responsible for their disappearance."
"... I-I guess so..."
Both of them would remain anxious about the very event that they were preparing themselves against, as it was already obvious that their unknown enemies possessed a great might that had allowed them to inflict several disastrous defeats upon the empire already: from the loss of their most prized vassal-state, to the disappearance of the 200,000-strong army they sent to reclaim that important vassal...
Even the most zealous and devoted men of the Empire would have their spirits drop to their furthest upon hearing such news, as it was already apparent that this mysterious adversary of theirs may as well be likely the doom that would finally put an end to their hundreds of years of existence...
"Keep bringing in more of our forces into the capital. We have to make as much preparations as possible-"
... Suddenly though, a myriad of shocked and surprised voices would rose both of their attentions as they quickly stood up from the chairs they sat on...
"General, I bear terrible news!" almost instantly, a soldier came barging into the room as he then knelt before Harion's presence. "The enemies have made their attacks... A-although... The manner of their assault is completely strange! Our soldiers have no idea how to respond to it!"
An unnerved, yet curious expression would form on the general's face as he hard what the soldier said, and without delay, Harion immediately proceeded to ask questions about that dire matter that had suddenly transpired.
"... How are they attacking right now? Have their armies surrounded the capital? Or are they currently using some powerful, godforsaken siege weapon to break through our walls?"
"... N-neither general..." the soldier replied. "The enemies... They're..."
"... There's a winged creature hovering in the skies... And it appears that it summoned a bright sphere of light with it..."
________________________________________
Far beyond the vantage field of battle, the 4 would-be attackers were observing the city walls of Vishnal from faraway as they readied themselves for the assault they were about to commence.
"... So, how does your power work again, exactly?"
Novus posed this question to the armored, steel-winged angel in front of him, a powerful being who was currently at his disposal, though at the same time, he still couldn't truly understand just how exactly her powers worked in the slightest.
"Ah... I suppose it is difficult to understand since you haven't seen it yet..." Adelaide, or rather, Apollyon, the name of the angel who utilized her body as a host, would respond to Novus' question with a great understanding. "To make it simple for you, let me show you how it works through a demonstration..."
The winged one pointed her index finger towards a nearby patch of grass, as she then uttered a single word that immediately revealed a portion of the vast power she was capable of.
[Perish.]
The fields of grass she pointed at immediately disappeared without resistance, leaving not even a trace of their existence behind as they faded away from time forever. Seeing this, Novus' eyes widened a bit in surprise at the feat she displayed, as he would then quickly manage to understand just how exactly this ability of hers functioned.
"My power..." the angel started to explain. "Lies in the ability to destroy anything without prejudice. Be it matter, ideals, concepts... As long as they exist, if I can set my sights upon it, I can destroy it with but a single thought from my mind."
"But..." he questioned once again. "... If you're this powerful, why can't you just destroy anything that threatens the world in an instant?"
"I am a portion... A fragment of the real me that is currently doing what you have said. By using my current power to its fullest, I can inflict destruction upon a country's worth of landmass using my power, though I am unable to exert it any further due to my limitations..." the angel continued. "I could theoretically draw more power from my original self, however... That would further weaken the barrier that is keeping them at bay..."
"And even with the greatest of my powers, the best hope I have at defeating them is to keep them contained within their netherworldly prison.... Which is the same duty that the real me is currently fulfilling."
"I see... Thank you for explaining. I can somewhat understand now thanks to your explanation." Novus thanked. "Anyway... I have an idea on how we're going to put your abilities to use today..."
Hearing this, Apollyon's face would turn into a somewhat sad expression.
"... Will you be ordering me to wipe out the empire's soldiers?"
"No, I have other plans. Doing that would cause too many unnecessary casualties. Why do that when we can do something more humane?" Novus answered, as the somber expression on the angel's face turned into that of relief: it seemed that, despite the sheer power she possessed, she wasn't the type who actually reveled in unleashing it whenever she pleased. "Instead, we'll be doing something that's going to require 2 of you for it to work..."
"And how are we going to do it, exactly?"
"... You said you can 'destroy' anything correct? What about emotions, could you kill them too? In multiple targets, by the way..."
Apollyon reacted quickly in surprise, as she immediately understood just what exactly he was planning. "... Are you saying that...?"
"Yep... I'll have Whitlea force them to surrender by influencing their minds." Novus stated firmly. "You, on the other hand, will be in charge of 'killing' their will to resist her influence. It may sound ridiculous, I know, but I have a feeling that this is going to work quite well..."
"... Just to clarify... You want me to... 'destroy' their mental resistances... so that Whitlea can make them surrender without a fight, correct?"
"Precisely. Not only will it be safer for us, but it also won't drain too much of energy when compared to fighting all of them all at once." Novus said. "... Will you be able to do that, Apollyon?"
A gentle smile formed on her face as the angel made her reply.
"Certainly, my prince. It's a bit complicated, but... It's better than killing them all without mercy."
________________________________________
"What exactly even is that...?"
"It's so fucking bright... I can't even look at it straight with my eyes..."
"You idiot! Why would you focus your eyes on something that's as bright as the sun?!"
It had only been several minutes since that bright, blinding light appeared right above the lands of their capital, and yet the intensity of its radiance only seemed to grow even stronger with every passing second.
"Why haven't the sky knights deployed themselves to deal with that thing yet?! It's going to attack at any moment now, and we're all going to be sitting ducks here the moment it happens!"
"General!" Ivar, who was beside him all the while as they tried to observe the irregularity that was taking place in the sky, would give his reply. "They've already been sent out! They just can't get close enough to deal with it due to the brightness of the light making their mounts disoriented!"
"Then send the mages, for throne's sake!" Harion shouted, anxious with how they were still unable to fully respond to threat that was currently unfolding before their very eyes. "Do everything we can to stop that thing from making its attack! We can't afford to lose our available forces to that creature right now, since we have more enemies to deal with!"
"Right away, general!" Ivar responded. "You lot, tell the mages to begin casting their spells to bring that bastard down!"
Without much delay, the mages who were currently present with them instantly began chanting their arcane spells, forming their circles of magick in front of them as they quickly unleashed their sorceries upon the source of the bright light in order to bring an end to the intense luminosity that was radiating throughout the capital.
[Rain of Thunder.]
[Arcane Lances.]
[Magick Missiles.]
[Rain of Fire.]
A deadly variety of countless spells were hurled towards the winged creature's location, each of which were made to bring it down from the high altitudes it was flying at to prevent the light it was manifesting from materializing any further: many of them knew that the light was the initial phase for some sort of massive assault that was about to happen, and so the imperials were now doing everything they could possibly attempt in order to put a stop to it before it happens.
However, before their spells could even make contact with their target's skin...
[Cease your existences.]
The arcane attacks ceased to exist, almost as if they had never even been casted in the first place: their enemy would remain completely untouched by the multitudes of attacks that were supposed to destroy it, and as a result, the men of the empire only became further dreadful of the deadly variable that had suddenly shown up within their homeland.
"... N-not even magick works on that bastard? How will we even be able to stop that thing...?"
...
...
100 thousand men...
This was the total number of the soldiers that Apollyon had to influence using her abilities...
It would have been easier to just wipe them out through pure destructive means, but that kind of method didn't suite the angel's personality at all. In truth, Apollyon was a living irony: despite having the ability to destroy anything she could see or visualize, the powerful angel was ultimately a pacifist who disliked bringing harm to other living beings unless it was absolutely necessary.
Although, before the winged one would choose to execute the monumental task at hand, she was going to inquire about something particularly interesting she had found just a few moments ago... Something that reminded her of the past she had a great care for...
"... Whitlea... That is your name... Right?"
As the 2 of them hovered in the air above the imperial capital, Apollyon would pose this question to the woman beside her, the black-haired beauty who seemingly served as Novus' second-in-command throughout most of his ventures- a powerful combat maid like Speranza, though unlike her sister, Whitlea's abilities focused more on the ability to move, crush, and influence both objects and people using only the thoughts that run through her mind.
There was something... Familiar about that presence of hers, while at the same time, the angel could feel as if something was off by simply glancing at her for a moment: it was definitely something interesting, one that Apollyon simply couldn't choose to ignore.
"Indeed, that is my name. It's a beautiful name, is it not?" the black-haired woman said rather proudly. "My... Ah... Novus, gave me that name, back when I was first given the sparks of life... We were both technically children back then you know? He had the mental maturity of an adult despite being a child, while I had the physically maturity of a grown woman... even though I practically had the mind of a little girl back then..."
"I see then... However..." Apollyon spoke after Whitlea had finished her explanation. "I have an incredibly important question right now... if you don't mind answering it, that is."
"... Of course... Please feel free to ask."
"... You're not Whitlea, are you?" The angel stared at her in the eyes as she uttered this. "... No, you have that presence that's just like hers... But yours is far stronger... Ah, I think I've figured out who you are..."
"Whitlea's" facial expression quickly turned into a serious one as she heard Apollyon mentioning those words.
"... Hmm... Who am I, then? Assuming that what you're saying is even true?"
"... You're her..." Without warning, the angel would suddenly place her hand on "Whitlea's" left shoulder. "... Honestly, you would have fooled me had you simply decided to conceal that terrifying aura of yours a bit better..."
... Surprisingly enough, Apollyon's tone of voice suddenly turned into that of a casual one, as if she the 'impostor' before her was actually a friend she had known long ago...
"What are you even doing here? I thought you weren't supposed to be appearing right now..."
"... Ahaha... You really know me well, huh? Well, you see... There's been a change of plans, Apollyon..." 'Whitlea' mentioned as she gave off a brief chuckle. "While I've already dealt with that disgusting glutton, his disciple still remains at large..."
"What do you mean? Didn't you say that you had some sort of plan in mind?" the angel asked curiously. "Why would you proceed to overwrite all of the schemes you've made all of a sudden? Don't tell me you believe that his life is actually in danger right now..."
"If I leave her be... There's a high chance that Novus will get killed by that bug lord's lackey..." Whitlea's expression became that of a fierce determination as she said this. "And I am not letting that happen again, no matter what..."
"... Have you told him yet? About... What happens in the future? Where he... You know..."
"... No, not yet... Now's not the time..." 'Whitlea' spoke. "That's not something he's supposed to know yet. Instead... Let's just focus on the thing we have to do right now..."
"Ah, by the way... Have you dealt with Andromalius already? You didn't let him get away after all the trouble he caused, right?"
"... Yes, I completely annihilated him, just like you asked." Apollyon answered. "Why couldn't we have just captured him instead? Like what you did with that glutton? You could have gained something better from it..."
"Ahahaha... You're kind when it comes to humans, but when it comes to these lizards, you're quite the merciless woman, aren't you?" 'Whitlea' teased as a small grin formed on her lips. "Well... To put it in simple terms, he's weak... Too weak, in fact, that the act of capturing him wouldn't even be worth it..."
"Hm, I suppose so... Anyway... How are you going to deal with that apostle of his that you mentioned? I'll try to help you as much as I can."
'Whitlea' would begin to explain again as she then narrated of the plan she had made.
"After we take control of the soldiers stationed here, I'll leave their control to you..." Whitlea stated firmly. "After that... I'll go and find that disciple that that fat old bug left behind..."
"And then I'll deal with her myself..."
...
...
What was this feeling?
A cascading, series of emotions made the imperial general feel something strange as time continued to pass by without halting...
It was a strange feeling that was making his entire body weak, as he couldn't help but fall down to his knees as soon as that sensation started to seep into his mind in a gradual, yet unstoppable manner: it was most likely the attack that the enemy had been charging up for, and now, he was unable to do anything against it, as Harion could also see that even the other soldiers were starting to become affected with the same, overpowering sensation.
"... W-what's... Happening... Who's exactly causing this..."
"... Why do I feel so... Weak... All of a sudden..."
What was even more terrifying was that the sensation was only becoming even stronger with every second and minute that continued to pass- the general, as well as the men who were currently with him, could feel their wills slowly eroding into dust, as if it was being grinded and broken down by an invisible force that they couldn't see with their own 2 eyes...
It was then, however, that the same being who had been causing that strange, bright light to appear, would suddenly reveal herself before their very eyes as she began to descend from the sky in front of them with her sleek, metal wings- her eyes looked into their own with an overpoweringly dominant gaze, as she then gave a command that none of them could ever hope to resist.
[Submit.]
As soon as the imperial soldiers heard those words, their resistances toward those strange sensations instantly faded away, as all of them then began kneeling before the beautiful angel that had descended from the skies above: through the angel's creative use of her power to destroy, Apollyon had chosen to unleash destruction upon their will to resist the mass-control that Whitlea was inflicting upon the soldiers, a venture that succeeded and had forced the men of the empire to submit to their supposed enemies without having any sort of will to defy them.
It hadn't even taken 20 minutes, and now the 100-thousand strong army that was supposed to guard the capital from any enemy intrusion, was now firmly under the command of the angel, and they were currently willing to do any order she would issue to them due to the influence she had over them...
"Now then... Begin marching to the emperor's royal palace." Apollyon commanded, to which the soldiers would all mindlessly obey without question. "Let us force the tyrannical emperor to step down from his throne..."
"... and allow a new ruler to take his place after all his years of tyranny..."
________________________________________
"... It actually went well... Who could have thought that it would actually work?"
They had brought themselves there thanks to one of the portable gateway devices that Thurien had built for them: From atop one of the massive buildings of the city of Vishnal, Novus laid witness to the bizarre scenery that had transpired rather quickly before his very eyes- his plan of making them submit had all worked without a hitch, and now the vast army that once served the empire's will was now firmly under his command, and all he had to do left was to make their way to the throne room and usurp that pathetic father of his from the decadent seat of gold he sat upon.
It was the first steps that Novus needed to make so that he could fulfill his ambition of world conquest- in order to possess the necessary manpower needed to bring every corner of the earth into his fold, Novus first had to deal with the most powerful nation that presided within the very continent he lived in... And what better way would there be to handle such a mighty country than to conquer it and make it the very empire that would now serve his goals from this point on?
"... I have to admit... I thought we were going to have to fight them when we came here. Well... You are pretty good with making weirdly effective plans after all..."
Beside him was the armored, spear-wielding figure of the terrifying woman who possessed an absurd physical strength: once a princess of the Neugomian Empire, Aldyth was now currently helping her brother with his overtly ambitious plans, and the first steps involved with his ambitions was to take over the empire itself and make it serve his own goals by becoming its ruler.
"Yeah... Anyway... We have to get going. That cowardly father of ours might decide to flee with his guards the moment he finds out what happened." Novus said to her in a hurry. "You know what to do by now... Don't forget to activate the stealth device I gave you when we reach the palace. Wouldn't want to alert all of them at once about our arrival after all."
"... Don't forget the deal we made a while ago. I seriously hope that you're not the type who forgets his promises."
In truth, Aldyth's hatred for her father, the emperor, had never faded after all those years of being his unwilling weapon of war: after all, he had been the cause of most of her suffering throughout her life, from her conversion into a soulless tool of destruction, to the abuses she would often suffer whenever she failed the missions that had been given to her...
If there was anything else she wanted besides seeing her little brother safe and sound, her desire of finally getting the revenge she wanted to fulfill on the worthless parent-figure who never saw her as his daughter would definitely be one of those desires she wished to fulfill.
"Don't worry. Like I said..." Novus assured her. "You'll handle the royal guards who'll try to stop us... and I'll deal with father and give him to you on a silver platter as promised. You're fine with that, right?"
"... I'm fine with your plan... But..." Aldyth replied as she hesitated for a moment. "Do you really have to take part in this yourself? I can just deal with all of them by my own... I don't want you getting injured or anything..."
"Oh, c'mon now. I wouldn't want to let my big sister remain all alone in such a dangerous place, right? And besides, haven't I already proven how capable I am with how I defeated you back then?"
"... While that normally shouldn't count... I guess you do kind of have a point." Aldyth immediately relented after seeing her little brother's point. "Just... Stay safe, alright? If you need my help in dealing with them, don't hesitate to call for me so that you don't end up... Well, dead..."
"Don't worry... I'm not getting injured anytime soon." Novus replied with a confident expression. "I'll just shoot them down before they can even get close to me."
"... Hmph. Fine then. If you get injured though... Don't be surprised if I prioritize dragging you out of there myself alright?"
...
...
It was another day of guard duty for the Neugomian Emperor, and even though there was the looming threat of an enemy incursion that was about to be made into the imperial capital, the royal guard known as Riltan couldn't help but yawn due to both the boredom and fatigue he was currently feeling.
By now, decades have passed since he had first earned the privilege of becoming one of the emperor's guards- he was originally a humble knight-captain of the Neugomian Empire, but after gaining countless achievements through the many battles he fought in, his decorative achievements would eventually make him a well-known individual of prestige, and this would eventually be enough for him to be recruited into the finest warriors that guarded their national leader's safety.
Unfortunately though, as he eventually reached one of the finest jobs that a normal soldier like him could ever hope to reach, Riltan would quickly become disappointed with how things had gradually turned out to be: due to the imperial capital's safety, the emperor was rarely ever under the threat of attack or assassination, and as such, the royal guard had been nothing more than decorative, aesthetic display of the empire's wealth and might, and they wouldn't be able to serve the true roles they were meant to fulfill for countless years... That was, until now...
However, despite the oncoming threat that was already about to ravage the capital in a few hours or days, the normalcy of today's events only made Riltan sink into a further state of mind-numbing boredom.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
"... What the hell was that...?"
It was then a series of loud explosions began echoing from the room that was across his own, and Riltan immediately felt a sense of caution and suspicion rising within his mind as he heard it- could it be enemies that had stealthed their way into the palace to assassinate the emperor, or were his comrades merely playing around again with their magicks as usual?
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Those idiots better not be fooling around with each other again... I swear, they'll get executed for their stupidity eventually..."
And there it was again... That sound that increased ever-so-slightly in loudness with every repetition it made: by now, Riltan had drawn out his sword as he prepared to enter the other room that had been the source of those suspicious noises. He couldn't afford to ignore them anymore after all, and the possibility that his fellow guards were indeed currently dealing with intruders was a thought that he definitely couldn't dismiss so casually.
CREEAAAKKKKK.....
"... S-shit... What the hell happened here..."
5 of the people he had known and served with... Justinian... Marcus... Darius... Seinfer... Leifor...
Their corpses littered the ground with their own bloody mess, as every ounce of life that once thrived within their body had already vanished after the death that was inflicted upon them so suddenly: what was even more grim, however, was that each and every single one of their cadavers had their heads cut off from their necks, though it would seem that some of them completely had their heads missing and were nowhere to be seen. It was a form of attack that had most likely been the result of all their deaths during their encounter with the one who took their lives so mercilessly, and Riltan couldn't help but become even more cautious about the horrifying situation that had suddenly transpired in the supposedly safest place of the empire.
"Riltan, there you are! There's been an attack from an unknown enemy who managed to infiltrate the palace, and we need to gather all our comrades as soon as possible!"
Within the room came rushing in more of the dedicated warriors who Riltan was all too familiar with: the other royal guards of the emperor, each of whom were capable of slaying a hundred men by themselves using only their pure strength. Even though the yet-to-be-seen inflitrators have managed to take down 5 of their own, with the greater numbers they've currently managed to rally, Riltan became all too certain that they would finally be able to deal with this new, troublesome enemy of theirs...
"... Ah... Those bastards managed to get to them first..."
Riltan's eyes continued to look at the dead bodies of his close friends, with the tone of his voice remaining ever-so sorrowful as he spoke. "... Yeah... They were already dead by the time I came here..."
"... Looks like the infiltrators we have on our hands are more dangerous than what we expected..." one of the guards mentioned. "... Keep your eyes open, because those bastards might choose to attack us at any moment... "
A temporary silence ensued as they then began to prepare themselves for the dangerous threat that had made its way into the imperial palace: it was a threat so vicious, that it had even managed to kill 5 of their own comrades in mere moments.
Riltan himself would remain staggered by the sudden events that had taken place just beyond the room he was previously in, and he couldn't help but feel anxious about the danger that was currently lurking within the corridors he once guarded with a steadfast sense of duty.
"... Alright then, let's get moving, we have no time to waste-"
"!!!"
The infiltrators, or rather, the 'infiltrator', wasted no time in fulfilling her mission as she quickly cut off the warrior's words: a tall, armored figure bearing a spear would break through one of the walls of the room, shattering it with ease using only her fists as she then proceeded to commit a one-sided slaughter upon the Empire's finest warriors.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
"FUCK! WHO IS THIS MONSTER?! WHY THE HELL IS SHE SO STRONG?!"
"DON'T PANIC! WE OUTNUMBER THE BASTARD! CHARGE AT HER ALL AT ONCE!"
The royal guards quickly drew out the weapons they had on their hands as they all began to attack the monstrous figure that had already taken out 3 of their own allies, and even Riltan himself was confident that they would at least be able to wound it in this entrapment they've caught the bastard in: she was surrounded from every direction after all, and even with the impressive feat of strength she had displayed earlier, there was no way for her to ward off all of them without getting stabbed or pierced by their weapons from an angle she would fail to block.
Unfortunately though, Riltan had failed to foresee one unknown variable that accompanied his enemy amidst the brutal annihilation it conducted upon his 5 dead comrades...
...
...
With the help of Novus earlier, they already managed to take down 40 of the imperial guard that served as the last and only threats to their goal, and now they only had to deal with the remaining 60 of the once 100-strong contingent of royal guards who guarded the imperial palace from intruders.
They were as strong as she remembered them to be whenever she dueled with them as ordered by her father, and of course, she had to admit, they had already managed to drive her into a corner already even though it had no been 5 seconds since she revealed herself before them.
Luckily for Aldyth however, her brother had helped her in dealing with the guards who somehow managed to take notice of their presence a while ago, and all she had to now was to deal with the remaining guards who remained completely unaware of their arrival, and she would do this until none of them were left to remain as obstacles to their plans.
... Although, while she had indeed been surrounded by them in such a rapid turn of events, the stealth device that Novus gave to her quickly proved to be the ultimate trump cards that would save her from the dire predicament she instantly found herself in, after the small blunder she made of appearing too loudly.
It was a dirty trick, an act of cowardice that Aldyth disliked doing, but due to her life being at stake right now, her feelings would ultimately have a lesser priority than the enemies who were about to strike her with their bladed weaponries...
SLASH! THRUST! SLASH! SLASH! THRUST! SLASH! THRUST!
"... H-huh?! Where the hell did she go?"
"She faded away like some sort of ghost?!"
Before their spears and swords could even penetrate the gaps and weak spots of her armor, their enemy would suddenly disappear from their sights in the blink of an eye, as if she had completely vanished without a trace despite all of their eyes being fixated on her presence- it was impossible, many of them uttered in their thoughts, as they couldn't even sense her presence within the room anymore, and there were no traces of magick being used after their enemy's disappearance, meaning that the damn monster hadn't even used any form of spell when she suddenly chose to disappear from their sights.
Suddenly, though...
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Aldyth's stealth weapon was of a different level than what her brother possessed however: unlike a device that would simply cloak her presence from every form of observation, hers directly eliminated her very being from the existence of the world. It was a product of scientific knowledge and enhancements, a tool that effectively allowed her to phase her body through any form of matter, as well as to become invisible whenever she willed it to be.
The only downside to it was that she had to be incredibly cautious with its usage, lest she end up with a severed limb after a careless attempt of phasing her arms, or perhaps her head...
And so did their enemy re-materialized into the folds of reality, as she would then begin to brutally annihilate them from the blind spot she reappeared from: to their horror, her movements were far faster than what their own bodies could achieve, and as a result, they had little to no time to react to the trickery that their adversary had used against them.
"ARGHHH! SHE GOT MY ARM! IT HURTS, IT FUCKING HUR-"
"CRAP! DESANTIS! SHE GOT KILLED AS WELL! HOW ARE WE EVEN GOING TO STAND A CHANCE AGAINST THI-"
1... 2... 3... With every stroke of their adversary's silverine spear, 2 or more soldiers would be cut down as their heads swiftly departed from their necks: without relenting for even a moment, Aldyth continued to exploit the advantage of surprise she managed to seize again, and this time, none of them would be able to turn the tables and drive her to a corner like before...
"... F-fuck... I'm the only one left..."
Only a few seconds' worth of time had gone by since their enemy revealed herself again, and only Riltan remained from their group who had done everything they could to bring this monstrosity down: by now, however, Riltan already realized that he wouldn't be able to stand a chance by himself, and a great fear instantly took hold of his senses, as his survival instincts began strongly urging him to run away while never looking back...
"... No... Scratch that... I can't just run away like a coward... I have a sworn duty to fulfill..."
However, instead of giving in to his despair, Riltan chose to steel himself for the inevitable death that was about to claim him: even though he knew that he was going to perish the moment his lone enemy decided to attack him, Riltan knew to himself that fleeing from this predicament right now was the equivalent of forsaking the duty and oath he must upheld, and there was no way he was going to abandon his honor for the sake of his life- it would bring an incredible shame to the name of his family, and the honor-bound logic of his own heart would never allow himself to commit such an shameful act of cowardice in any way.
"Come at me then, you bastard! If I'm going to die right now, I'll make sure to take you with me!"
A quick duel then ensued, and almost anyone could know just who exactly the victor would be in this short-lived battle...