"Sir, should we look for the bishop as well?" one of the cultists asked their captain.
"No. As she said, we might not be able to kill her, but with the numbers we have, we should be able to capture her at least," the captain answered, stepping forward. His daggers glinted wickedly, twin fangs ready to taste blood.
'Huh? Capture me? That will be even harder, I thought, brow arching. My smirk grew, masking the quiet calculation already forming behind my eyes.
"Yes, sir!" the cultists chorused, shifting into stances. The air thickened with killing intent, the sound of blades scraping free like an orchestra tuning to a single, dreadful note.
"Hmm, so only ten? I'm certain I heard more running around," I whispered under my breath, eyes darting briefly over the rooftops beyond.
"What did she just whisper?" one cultist asked nervously.
"I don't know. I didn't hear anything," his companion replied with a shrug, but his grip tightened on his sword.
"Whatever. Get ready, guys; let's take her down!" The captain barked, charging forward.
"Heh, bring it on," I said, letting my clothes shift in a shimmer of light-my usual gear, familiar and lethal. Sports bra tight against my chest, scarf fluttering at my throat, cargo pants strapped with hidden pouches, ankle boots ready to grip or kick. Beneath the scarf, I quietly molded an ice shield, thin and curved, a secret barrier in case someone went for my head.
"She is quite hot," I heard one cultist mutter to himself, earning a glare from his nearest companion.
"Sorry, but I am taken for now," I quipped back, flicking my wrists. Ten throwing knives shimmered into existence, five in each hand. With a sharp snap, I launched them. The blades cut through the air with a high whistle.
"Ugh!" one man staggered, a knife buried in his shoulder.
"Damnit!" another cursed, clutching his thigh as blood seeped out.
'Only two? Really? 'They're good,' I thought, eyes narrowing. The rest had dodged cleanly, their reflexes sharper than the last groups I'd faced.
"Don't get distracted. She is excellent with weapons," the captain shouted, swinging his sword down at me.
Clang!
"You might be right about that," I said, my own conjured blade catching his mid-swing. Sparks spat out between us, briefly illuminating his smirk.
I shoved against him, twisting free, and jumped upward, dodging three blades that scythed through where I'd been standing. Twisting midair, I landed hard on the back of another cultist. His breath whooshed out as his face slammed into the tiles.
"Ugh!" he groaned, body sprawling.
"But that intel gives you nothing," I said coldly, driving both blades down into his back, cutting the sound from his throat.
"You never know," the captain countered, flashing beside me in an instant, his dagger aimed at my ribs.
"Tsk," I clicked my tongue, abandoning one sword and rolling away, the other blade still lodged in the corpse.
"She's unarmed! Get her!" one cultist yelled, rushing in with overconfidence.
"Wait!!" The captain barked, but it was too late. The man's head spun off in a crimson arc, my scythe humming as it slid free from the ether, already drenched in blood.
"Tsk, tsk, you guys are too normal," I muttered, resting the heavy weapon across my shoulder.
"Where did that come from!?" a cultist stammered, staring at the wicked curve of the blade.
'Six left. I wonder where Kayda is. She did say she would distract the church so I could get the pillar, but why hasn't she come to find me?' I thought, unease creeping in-until a distant glimmer sparked across the rooftops. A clash of light and magic flared far away.
"Aah, I see. So you guys already have someone to hold Kayda busy," I said, voice low but tinged with worry.
"Of course, we have all the preparations needed," the captain boasted.
"Well, your preparations aren't without flaws," I growled, settling into a stance. The scythe angled behind me, one hand free in front, fingers flexed like claws.
"We will see about that," the captain replied, lunging at me again.
'Hmm, he does have something planned, but what can he do with six people?' I thought, parrying his blow, that sparks were biting the air. My eyes flicked constantly, tracking the movement of the others.
"You really don't know what we're capable of?" The captain sneered, lips twisting. "Do it now!"
Slink!
Pain exploded through me.
"Cough-wow, that was actually unexpected," I croaked, blood spraying from my lips as I looked down. Five swords pierced through me at once from all angles, sliding between ribs and jutting from my chest. My knees buckled, the world dimming at the edges.
"I actually thought we wouldn't have been able to kill you," the captain said with chilling calm, stepping close. His dagger punched through my heart in a deliberate, final thrust.
The world tilted. The sky's burning red blurred into darkness.
No, I am not fully back or anything. I had this chapter for a few weeks so yeah here you go. At the moment I dont have a lot of time for writing for personal reasons. I think i will be back in a week or two.
TheRealSkolliecreators' thoughts
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Chapter 116:
"Heh, you weren't wrong," I said, smiling faintly at the captain, my lips pulling back in something halfway between amusement and bloodlust.
The captain froze for a heartbeat, his dagger still raised. His eyes widened, the confidence draining from his face as he staggered a step back. "How are you still-?" His voice cracked in disbelief. He took two more steps away as if distance alone could explain my survival.
"Who knows?" I said, rolling my shoulders. I let the shrug hang heavy, deliberately casual, though blood still ran warm from my wounds. The air around me responded to my pulse, frost bleeding outward across the rooftop. My mana strangled the evening's warmth, causing shards of ice to spread like spiderweb cracks and white steam to rise.
The cultists nearest me stiffened, their shadows quivering against the slanted roof tiles.
"Get away!" The captain barked suddenly, panic sharp in his tone. He leapt backward in a blur of black smoke, retreating before the frost could crawl up his boots. Two of his subordinates weren't so quick. The rime reached their legs, racing upward until their forms locked solid. Their bodies froze mid-motion, expressions twisted in surprise and fear. They became statues in the span of seconds, breath crystallized in their throats.
"Heh, so that's how you guys did it," I muttered, coughing blood into my palm. My lungs burned. "Shadow magic."
I tapped one of the frozen men with my scythe. The ice shell cracked like glass, splitting into shards. Both sculptures broke apart, collapsing into glittering chunks that scattered across the roof. What little flesh showed beneath was pale blue, stiff, and lifeless.
"Sigh... cough... such a pain," I mumbled, tugging the swords out of my chest one by one. Each metal scrape made my teeth grind. I flicked the blood away and tossed the blades onto the roof tiles, where they clattered, still slick with my ichor.
"Captain, what is she? How did she survive that?" One of the devil cultists whispered harshly. His hands trembled as he gripped his weapon tighter, eyes darting between my wounds and my steady stance.
"I don't know," the captain admitted low, his voice edged with frustration. He glanced at me, then back to his men. "But she might not be that simple. We still can't give up. We still outnumber her by a lot."
Outnumber me by a lot? I tilted my head, bemused. The math didn't exactly feel comforting in their favor.
Whistle!
Instinct screamed a half-second before impact.
Stab!
An arrow punched clean through my raised arm, slicing flesh and leaving a hot sting. My face twisted, but I forced the smirk to stay.
"Hmm, so this is what you meant," I said calmly, holding up my bleeding forearm where the shaft jutted out.
The captain's jaw clenched. "She... she could react to that." He sounded almost insulted, as if my survival of his ambush was an affront to their entire order.
"Why are you surprised?" I asked, gripping the shaft and yanking it free with a wet sound. The blood ran, but my voice stayed steady. I tossed the arrow aside like trash.
"That-"
"Was it because they used shadow magic while shooting it?" I guessed, quirking a brow.
The nearest cultist's eyes widened. "What? Are you saying you can see us using our magic?"
I blinked at him. 'Are they dumb or something? The sun might be setting, but it's still light out. Even if it were night, I'd still be able to see their damn shadows move.' I dragged a hand down my face, smearing blood and irritation together.
"Sigh, you guys aren't very smart, are you?" I said flatly, twirling my scythe in a lazy arc. Six more arrows hissed from my right. The blade spun in my grip, ringing as steel kissed steel. Sparks danced as I batted every shot away, shards of ice exploding in their wake.
"Tsk. We'll need to distract her," the captain growled under his breath, his eyes flicking to the archers still hidden among the shadows.
"You first need to worry about staying alive," I retorted. In a blur I vanished from their line of sight, reappearing behind the captain with my scythe already sweeping sideways. The blade hummed, eager for flesh.
"Same to you," the captain hissed before dissolving into black smoke. My scythe cut only air.
"Tch." I spun, scanning the rooftops. "Zagan, you are quite useless with your shadow magic," I muttered, leaping forward as three cultists' swords rained down where I'd been. My boots slammed against the tiles with a sharp crack as I dodged out of the way.
"Damn, she still dodged that," the captain cursed, re-forming behind me. His breathing was heavier now, chest rising and falling with exertion.
"When I see Zagan again, I'm going to put him through the wringer for not using his shadow magic this well," I mumbled, batting aside another arrow with the flat of my blade.
"Dammit! The intel didn't say she was this strong. We'll need to go all out on her," one cultist muttered, sweat beading his brow.
"Hey, mister captain," I called, spinning my scythe slowly in one hand. The edge shimmered faintly with frost. "I'm curious-where did you guys find out about me?"
Silence. Their eyes flickered nervously, the captain's jaw tight.
"Sigh, what's it going to hurt telling me?" I said, rolling my eyes. "I'll be killing you either way."
The captain's lips curved faintly. "...That's true. The people you tortured gave us the intel."
I froze for half a heartbeat. Confusion knotted my thoughts. 'If that is so, then it seems they can transfer memories or something along those lines. That would also explain why they didn't know about my regeneration ability,' I reasoned quickly, recalling the first group I'd clashed with.
"I-" My words cut off as I tilted my head just in time. A harpoon whistled past, grazing my cheek before embedding itself in the roof with a heavy thud. I stared at it incredulously. "Seriously, a harpoon?"
"What? They are useful," the captain said with a shrug that almost seemed smug.
"If you say so," I muttered, letting the scythe melt into twin katanas. Their lighter balance felt better suited to the flurry of projectiles coming my way. With a flick of the blades, I deflected another arrow and a second harpoon, sparks showering across the tiles.
"Distract her at close range," the captain ordered his men under his breath. "I don't think she can handle long-range fighters."
He might not be wrong, but this kind of long-range was laughable to me. I blocked his next sword swing with ease, sparks biting my arms as steel screeched.
"Are you sure, Cap? She can use multiple weapons quite well," one of the cultists muttered, clearly unnerved.
"That's why we're going to need to distract her. And don't worry. We have backup," the captain said, his voice low and confident.
As if summoned, seven more shadows burst onto the rooftops around me.
'Hmm, well, shit.' I flash-stepped away, the roof splintering under the barrage of a dozen harpoons and a single blade thrust. The air behind me detonated as projectiles tore through it.
"Well, I enjoyed our little scuffle, guys, but I've got to go," I said, giving them a mock salute before turning tail. My boots pounded against the rooftops as I ran, scarf snapping in the wind.
"She's running away!" The captain barked, fury twisting his face as he chased.
"What a coward," one cultist jeered, spitting blood.
"Yeah, all talk, no bite." Another cultist sneered, although his voice shook faintly.
"She's a fox, right? Then why do I see a scary-ugh!" A third started, but his words died in a scream as something struck his head.
Boom!
The explosion lit the dusk sky, hurling the man's body in pieces across the rooftops. Smoke curled upward, mixing with the smell of burning flesh.
"Now you are pissing me off," I growled, materializing an ice bow in my hands. The translucent string shimmered as I pulled back, an ice quiver forming at my hip. Dozens of black-ice arrows hummed within, crackling faintly with sparks of trapped lightning.
"A bow?" a few cultists muttered in confusion.
"Yeah, so fuck you," I snapped, loosing three arrows at once.
Augh! Augh! Augh!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Each arrow struck true, erupting into fire and frost, bodies flung into the air like rag dolls before they hit the tiles with wet cracks.
"Ugh! Watch out! They explode on impact!" The captain roared, shielding himself as another volley landed.
'Umm... they don't. I just got lucky, I thought, my smirk widening as I jumped to another rooftop. Another harpoon sang toward me, but I twisted, sighted, and released. A fire-and-lightning-infused arrow streaked across the distance.
Boom!
A scream split the air. An archer's shadow twisted and vanished forever, his body obliterated into cinders.
"Shit, why can she-" the captain began, only for his world to end in fire.
Boom!
Flames engulfed him, and his scream tore through the night before silence claimed him.
"Ha-ha, that's what you get, you fool. Hahaha!" I laughed, eyes wild as the bow pulsed in my hands. My chest heaved, blood soaking my torso, but adrenaline drowned the pain. More arrows appeared between my fingers, and I drew them with glee. "The fun only started."
Boom!
"Ha-ha, get fucked!"
Boom!
"Ooh, that one was bloody, hahaha!"
Boom!
"Come on! Didn't you guys say I was a coward? Look at you now-all pissing yourselves in fear!" I roared, loosing arrow after arrow. My scarf snapped like a banner in the heated wind.
