亚洲综合中美

“Are we under attack?” said vibrations could be from a high-tier monster only; tis was what Adelana thought. The silver guardians, the Garnet siblings, Fenrir and Milicent sat in the throne-room. A feeling of dread slowly seeped into their core. The feeling of a monster approaching.

“I know not the reason,” Julius voiced, “-either way, we need to focus on protecting the town by any means,” the duke stood and rushed outside. The destination, the outer walls.

“Anything to report?” it took a few minutes but Julius arrived at the guard’s headquarters.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, sir,” with a salute, the soldiers spoke.

“Brother,” Autumn called out. “Not now,” he replied trying to think about what had happened.

“Look to the left,” she pointed above the wall – a faint but visible tunnel of wind that sucked and made the grey-clouds seem in a spiral.

.....

“That’s Krigi of Old isn’t it?” Adelana asked seeking confirmation from her sisters.

“Yes,” with half the face covered by a mask, Ayleth answered.

“A natural disaster is the last thing we need,” Alyson complained, a quick look around revealed new scaffolding and frames for yet to be built houses.

“Julius, what’s the verdict?” Millicent stood right beside; her face remained the same from all those years ago. Her age was never apparent, though now over thirty-five, she looked identical to when the lady was aged twenty.

“We should prioritize the safety of the people. Buildings can be rebuilt but people are not immortal – ask the tavern to be ready for a feast. Send news all around the capital, we can’t have people panicking for no reason. Knowing the folks, they’ll rush for the occasion. To make it more special, make the reason for such festivities as one of the Geua sister’s days of birth,” decision made, orders taken, all rushed to help in said deception.

“Fenrir and Autumn will stand guard over the wall and report if anything changes,” thus, the brewing crisis in the horizon was handled. With no guarantee that this scheme would work, Julius placed his faith on the wall the Ardanian’s built.

As expected, the people jumped on the bandwagon, all came to celebrate Lady Ayleth’s fake birthday.

“Thanks for playing the part,” sat in the study, Julius worked and got paperwork’s ready for any disasters that might come.

“No worries, my birthday is a week away, what’s the harm of not celebrating,” half a smile seen for the other was hidden.

Below, the tavern boomed with activity, the inn went in full gear, ale and food served without restraint. A few talented chefs were hired, this raised moral higher than before. The residents of this small town were blissful, a place devoid of sadness for the people ruling knew pain.

“They sure are lively today,” the sisters sat and waited for people to come in. Millicent remained outside to welcome those who missed the news. From traveling merchants to visitors, all were permitted to join the celebrations.

“Any thoughts on that thing?” Autumn asked; both stared out towards Krigi of old.

“It’s unnatural, my instincts are telling me to run away,” she pointed upwards,”-look at the birds, all are flying this way,” from upwards, she pointed at her tail and ears, “-my body is reacting despite how far that place is.” The hairs stood, a sign of looming danger.

“I agree, that thing over there isn’t normal, we might be in a lot of trouble,” the next few minutes were stressful.

“Look,” Autumn called out, the spiral vanished, the tunnel subsided; whatever was brewing got canceled.

“Don’t get careless,” Fenrir howled out of instinct, “-sorry about that,” it took the others by shock. “Whatever caused that tunnel can well be on its way here, we must not relax,” the eyes sharpened, the nose sniffed – Fenrir’s senses heightened.

Far, far away from the capital, stuck inside the rain, Staxius walked, the wind blew, the clothes torn, he walked. “Why don’t you teleport already?” Adete asked a good question.

“I can’t,” he sighed, “-the death-element is still recovering. Didn’t you say that getting a new body would mean changes, well magic is off the table for the next few minutes, I hope. Either way, I need to get to Rosespire as soon as possible. Kniq was defeated badly, there’s something powerful out there,” the destination now was the noble-district.

“Yes, it’s very peculiar, a demi-goddess and a hero from another world both left helpless in front of a foe we haven’t the clue to who they are,” rather than stand-still, Adete hovered around whilst speaking.

“Still, I can’t believe that magical elements and blood had their own will,” he laughed, “-I shan’t ask what would have happened if they rejected my consciousness,” unknowingly, the pure-white hair changed, the ends grew into a crimson color, one of blood and destruction. Hidden by the pouring rain, this change was one that signified the connection between the Death-element and the vampiric blood. A three-quarter of the long white and one-quarter red – in the middle it faded, the colors were rare but it looked natural.

“Finally,” Adete yelled after a few minutes of walking.

“What is it now?” he asked; her tone and eyes had the same feel to when there was something important to be revealed.

“Now that you’ve become a vampire, not necessarily pure-blood, but one that has the noble blood inside – body-transformation can be used without mana. Nightwalkers draw power from the host’s blood and not mana; this means that both powers are connected yet independent. It all means that you can use the power without magic – handy isn’t it?” she proclaimed smugly.

‘Alright, should not be that hard to figure out,’ the walking stopped, the eyes closed, focus heightened. “Got it,” wings sprouted from the back, one that resembled those of a fallen-angel, dark in color and intimidating. “Aren’t they supposed to become bat-wings like yours?” it differed from Adete.

“Not really, being a vampire doesn’t mean one has to have a resemblance to a bat. The wings are just for show, it can take on any appearance the host wants – usually. It’s a direct reflection on the subconscious. Vampires normally don’t sprout wings and fly around – it’s impractical and useless. However, some rumors say long ago, the size and appearance of a nightwalker’s wing could determine how powerful he was. In your case,” she looked, the wings went from above the shoulder down the knee. “-it’s unnecessarily big, well who cares, JUST FLY,” Adete grew tired of all the explanations.

“Fine, whatever – who cares, there are things more important than appearances,” it flapped, the force generated cracked the ground beneath – he shot up as if a bullet being fired. “Holy...” a single flap sufficed, for he now glided across the province at inhuman speeds.

“You better slow down,” a few minutes went by, Adete stood nonchalantly on his shoulder, “-do you really wish to enter the town looking like a demon?” they flew over the noble-district.

‘That’s a point well made,’ he stopped, a shockwave dispersed all across him. ‘This new body is twice if not thrice as powerful as the old one,’ they lowered mid-way between the castle and the noble-district. ‘Anyways, the promise I made with dad, the promise to never show anyone my weakness and the incompetent side will never be broken. The image of Staxius Haggard being the amazingly strong guy can never fail. The trip to Krigi of old was well worth it, the boy who cried is forever lost in the void. I’ve grown as a person and so did my body, there’s no better way to start again and tie up any loose ends.’ They landed, a secret, the past that was never told to anyone – the secret he hid from anyone and everyone. Staxius wasn’t the strong guy all thought he was, the man was nonchalant and cavalier, an act that fooled even himself – but now, it all changed. The eyes lit with the vigor of a newborn, the will to live, the will to learn and the will to adapt.

‘No-one is strong in this world. Everyone has their shortcomings, their weaknesses, and their faults, all are bound by something, tis is how manipulation comes into play. Strong people are the ones who embrace said shortcomings – a faction of individuals that now includes me,’ the eyes soon returned to neutral and relaxed.

“Autumn,” Fenrir’s ears faced towards the ground, her senses locked onto someone suspicious.

“What is it?” she rushed over, both stared down. A figure approached, said person’s hair swayed in the wind. The face hidden, a body built perfectly for battle, muscles well-toned, not too big nor too small, the ideal weight and strength.

“That guy smells like trouble,” Fenrir whispered, her cheeks twitched. The body was readied to pounce at any time.

“Calm down,” Autumn patted her back, “-for all we know, that figure might just be a lost adventurer. They didn’t notice how imposing the man looked yet, the one who walked was but a blur in the distance.

“That figure came from the Krigi of old, do you think it’s mere coincidence?” Fenrir’s suspicious nature overwhelmed Autumn’s rational thinking. “Go get Julius and Adelana, tell her to bring out the blade just in case – my instincts yell, this is bad.”

‘Castle Garsley sure is impressive,’ Staxius walked and changed path, he turned and headed for the main gate. ‘Even from this distance that wall looks unbreakable,’ a smile of relief, ‘-Dorchester’s capital, I came back earlier than expected,’ a quick chuckle later, he slowly approached the front gates.

Meanwhile, Autumn rushed inside and called forth Julius and Adelana, two of the strongest people here in the capital. The words relayed exactly as Fenrir told, never had the legendary wolf spoken in such a way about a single figure.

“Where’s that thing you warned us about?” without time-wasting, Julius used magic to rush over. Adelana followed behind with Flash-step. The gates closed behind; three people stood outside.

“If anything happens,” Julius spoke, “-close the main barrier,” a secondary door which sealed the town completely.

“As you wish brother,” stood atop the wall, Autumn watched with archers and gunners hidden behind cover.

“Staxius, we might have a small problem,” he walked closer, “-there’s people hidden on the castle walls, and those three in front are oozing with killing intent,” Adete relayed information as opposed to him personally checking.

“Is that so,” he mumbled and approached nonchalantly. The upper half of the shirt torn at the neck level, insignias and crests were displayed.

“Everyone, stay on guard and don’t attack without a reason.” Julius took command. Adelana had her great-sword sheathed on her back, the cursed-blade was ready for a fight. Fenrir was ready to transform at any second.

“No need to worry,” he raised his right hand, “-I’m here as a friend and not foe,” he shouted, they came in viewing distance.

“Sorry about this,” Julius spoke, they stood a few meters apart, “-we can’t let anyone in I’m afraid. You see,” he pointed at Krigi of old, “-earlier, someone or something altered the weather down there. Since thou came from the same direction – you must understand the dilemma we face.”

The face covered by hair, Staxius could not but wait patiently for Julius to take a more relaxed stance.

“Don’t move,” Adelana yelled for he tried to reach inside the suit-jacket.

“Seriously,” out of spite, he sighed, “-can’t you tell between an ally and foe,” he ignored her warnings and continued.

“Julius, I’m going to kill him,” she reached for the sword, her patience ran out.

“STAND DOWN,” he yelled, “-watch closely.”

The hands reached inside, took out a piece of cloth and tied the hair in a pony-tail. “Do I look familiar yet?” the voice monotonous and the gaze emotionless.

“Don’t tell me,” Julius stepped back a little, “-there’s only one person who would act that way...”