The moon hung high in the sky, with starlight shimmering all over the grassy expanse.
After a long day of racing and training, Aletha chose to take a breather and savor the moment as Alai suggested.
"This chicken is so good," Aletha mumbled under her breath, savoring the sweet victory of success. "Is this what winning feels like?!"
Alai and Phthonus couldn't help but chuckle at her response. Indeed, they haven't had such a luxury at all.
However, enjoying these serene moments in a place where threats lurked nearby made them even more vulnerable.
They knew that lowering their guard for even a moment could cost them dearly, as peace was but a fleeting respite in a world filled with lurking dangers.
They all have tried to go to sleep, but alas… They still have yet to rest.
Moreover, Phthonus and the others gathered around a circular table near the porch, seeing the stars twinkle lovely in the expanse.
Alai's face flushed red as she grabbed a glass of alcohol from the kitchen.
Just from her drowsy and crimson face, it was apparent that she was drunk.
"There… there… have a sip, Aletha." Said Alai with a twisted smile. "It won't hurt."
Crushed beneath the weight of expectation, Aletha's hand hovered, her resolve trembling—doubt and desire warred inside her for a heartbeat.
"Nope,"
Phthonus said as he slapped her hand.
"You are too pure to have a drink." Shifting his tone, the black-scarfed man grabbed a glass of what seemed to be water and gave it to her in an instant.
"Have this instead."
This, coupled with a rare and mischievous wink from Phthonus, persuaded her—surprised and a little flustered—to have a drink of water instead.
Alai, as drunken as she was, slammed the nearly empty glass down and slapped Pridia's face randomly, saying…
"You dumb butt. You think you can tempt my poor Aletha with bland water."
"It's not bland," Phthonus said as he took a sip. "It's sufficient."
As seen from Drunk Alai's wobbly movements and spinning head, she shook her head and looked heavenward, watching as shooting stars passed in the sky. This was the moment.
The moment they were looking forward to.
A moment of bliss and happiness; A moment of love and charity. It was this spectacle that caused the others to succumb to the temptations of fleshly needs, making all seem perfect.
"So, whada'ya say? For Aletha and her successes! CHEERS!"
Everyone at the table grabbed their glasses and drew close to each other, their bright, vivid smiles beaming.
Genuine faces of love and happiness mingled with a dose of ecstasy and charity.
It was at this moment that all the training came full circle.
It was at this point that they raised their glasses to cheers—they were having, and leaning over to cheers…
(ZOOM)
…just as the glasses touched each other.
A bright lavender luminance flickered, its edges cracking with energy, casting eerie shadows across the field.
A magenta beacon shattered her stance, powerful and disruptive, tickling the air with electricity.
Suddenly, a smoke cloud enveloped the area, concealing the sky entirely.
It was as if the very heavens sealed themselves out of fear, the smoke heavy with magical residue, swirling like a shroud over their heads.
Alai was tossed several meters into the air before harshly being slammed into the smoke cloud.
"ALAI!" they all screamed, stark terror cracking their voices. The crater that formed shocked them to the core, their hearts suddenly pounding, as the scene turned to chaos.
The very atmosphere was thick with a palpable sense of tension, a quietness that hinted at danger. Alai felt her head spinning as she struggled to get back up from the ground.
With ease, the human figure dissipated into the wall of smoke, only for a shadow to suddenly cast its gaze at…
"Who are you?" Aletha asked as a silhouette appeared behind the smoke, carrying what seemed to be a human being by the arm.
(TAP TAP TAP)
Their eyes shuffled back and forth; the sounds of metal scraping on the ground had hurt their ears.
(TAP TAP TAP)
Everyone at the table wore shocked expressions, preparing their weapons in fear as the figure approached.
(Tap Tap)
Then, as they came to their senses, preparing for what lay beyond the smoke, the humanoid furiously lobbed Alai to the group.
At an instant, she flew away from the hands of the creature, through the barricades of smoke, and into the ground, nearly bruising her head.
A disturbance echoed across the valleys after the shockwave of the impact had razed her house.
Pridia's wide green eyes widened with struggle. She and another companion tried to assess the situation, confusion evident on both faces.
"Who is that?" Pridia asked with uncertainty.
"I… have no idea," Emine said as she struggled to push herself up. "But I know for a fact it did not come from here."
"Why?" Aletha asked with heavy breathing. "Why does it want us?"
Fear held them silent, every breath sharp and shallow as they forced themselves to plan, dread weighing heavily in their chests.
As the wall of smoke gradually dissipated, the outline of the silhouette grew clear before everyone.
Its heavy heels reverberated across every corner of the area; each step echoed like a death knell in the silence. The Attacker's presence carried the acrid scent of burning metal and ash, searing itself into the air.
Its black, crooked, and contorted arms morphed grotesquely into a blade and a shield, each movement cutting through the air with an eerie swoosh.
The flickering shadows cast by its frame seemed to crawl and writhe, mirroring a sinister dance of malice.
Its head looked to its left, then to its right, then, with one foot clad in black steel and flesh, an impossibly dangerous figure emerged.
(TAP TAP TAP)
Clad in black steel and flesh emerged an impossibly dangerous incarnate.
Its metal helmet shone beneath the clouded sun, slowly approaching the group as it dragged its mutated blade across the ground.
Purple lights flew everywhere in the expanse, striking random patches of earth and the sky.
Time felt as if it slowed. Pridia, battered but determined, gathered her courage and called out to the figure.
"Who are you?"
Only silence responded to her words.
Afterward, Aletha stepped in, asking as she clutched a shining silver blade, preparing.
"Tell us who you are!"
Abruptly, a lavender beam shot from its thick foggy visor and shredded the land into seven distinct parts.
As its laser traveled across the hilly landscape, its particles gathered around itself and summoned glass shards which flew eastward toward them.
Aletha, her face slick with sweat, asked the being again, her voice stronger this time.
"Who are you?"
Silence answered her.
With no way to communicate with the figure, Aletha and the others readied their blades and weapons, bracing themselves as they watched its powerful display.
First, it started with Emine. She flew high up to the sky with her spells and unleashed a deadly blow at the being.
But just as her magic and her blade reached it, the attack shattered at an instant. Silently, the humanoid sabotaged her attacks and snatched her.
Then, it hurriedly threw her into the air, rendering her attacks useless.
At that moment, it went for the mint-haired girl, Pridia, who had tried to use a cartwheel of attacks.
It first used its sword to strike the girl down. But fortunately, it missed and was shot by a green and reconfident Pridia.
Pridia was hurled by a shield, juggled midair by attacks, and was unable to retaliate.
Bruised and panicked, Pridia retreated to the others as the purple-clad humanoid advanced. To the others, surrounding Aletha as the humanoid, clad in purple, menacingly approached them.
Explosions shot left and right. Eruptions spurted from the earth as the individual cleaved its sword through a narrow passageway of trees.
After seeing Pridia crash back down into the soil with the figure, Ubel, in the Form of Holographic wolves, hunted the being.
Their maws latched on, but the figure turned them to dust with a snap, and Ubel was thrown down, gasping.
The humanoid created ten clones.
The duplicates unleashed a storm of sword slashes. The clones. Then, all the duplicates sliced and cleaved a storm of sword slashes at the group.
They collapsed, battered and stunned; a wave of despair swept through them as hope faltered in their eyes.
None of them could pose a challenge.
Not one of them had touched the quiet creature.
The humanoid's attacks were incredibly fast-paced, unlike anything Aletha had ever seen.
Suddenly, a tempest surged forth.
Reality bent with their every movement.
As it flew into the air, it swam through particles, splitting them into several pieces of glass. Then, it hurriedly hurled the storm of spires at Alai and the others.
Explosions and chaos filled the scene, a chaotic ballet of swords and shields.
At an instant, the humanoid forced all its projectiles to barrage her.
After seeing Aletha crash back down with magenta lines surrounding them, nearly everyone was forced to dance with the projectiles.
"Don't think you'll get away with this, Dunderhead!"
Just as the storm of bullets touched Aletha, Alai, with blood all over her face, she formed a crimson glowing blossom, shielding the attacks. A red luminance came from her palm, erupting in a sudden stream of energy.
Furthermore, Phthonus removed his scarf and conjured an orange glow straight into the clouded sky. Instantly, it plummeted down and struck just a strand off the creature.
The others repelled in fear as the silent humanoid continued to unleash burst after burst of nine consecutive attacks on Phthonus. It seemed to them that they were unstoppable.
But then, they caught something, something far worse.
"One." Said the humanoid as it pierced its double blades through Pridia's flesh.
Horror rooted them as Pridia bled, her eyes clouding with pain and fear. The creature's relentless strikes echoed their nightmares, and as her limp figure slipped from its blade, a numbness of terror seized them all.
This, plus the first word spoken by the creature, caused them to scream.
Everyone grieved in horror as they saw Pridia, the once cheery-headed girl, get sensibly torn in an instant.
She was forced to be injured, but that never changed her fate. Pridia, with luck on her side, survived the attack, leaving her body restless on the ground.
Afterward, Emine came back from the plunge to protect Aletha.
They were at a standstill, fending off the swords' attacks repeatedly; not once had they stopped or hesitated. Then, as they planned their next move, Phthonus analyzed the creatures' dances.
"It seems that this being can morph its arms to blades," Said Phthonus as they watched Pridia's body flail in the air. "It is stopping at nothing. Aletha, I suggest you leave. We will handle this."
But she refused.
She was at a standstill, fending off the blades' attacks over again. It seemed to them that this creature was dual-wielding. And that, combined with the giant black shield on their back, guaranteed their victory.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" Aletha screamed, tears welling up in her eyes, as she saw everyone getting bruised.