Balaam fired two point blank pulses from his phased field shifter, and it seemed like the very air cracked around the young angel hybrid. She looked surprised as Balaam's spear easily pierced her armour, where her central regulator should be. Blue fluid spurted from the wound as her eyes rolled back and an electric discharge seemed to flee from them.'Fucking Angels, and their kin, harder to get rid of than [cockroaches]', Balaam thought. He surveyed the devasted battle ground, noting that both sides had pulled back to their bases to regroup. The Fallen had been on this forsaken rock for generations, guarding the Zero Well for the hope that it would bring to the Metaverse. Until a few weeks ago, Balaam would have said the Angels didn't even know about the prophecy.For sure it had been the most boring 10,000 years of his existence. He'd watched his Legion of Fallen carve out a life here, have families, grow old, die, and repeat the cycle. He actually commanded more troops now,
The thug whimpered, and Shinra thought he wet himself."Look man, it isn't even a secret, everyone knows where they are." He told Shinra the address and he was surprised. The assassin guild was in a very nice neighbourhood, right alongside minor nobles and rich merchants.He left Paulwry bleeding and ran. There was no sense in killing a useful snitch. Someone who dealt at the intersection of the underworld and the nobility was a good contact to have. 'I need a plan, but I should start with some reconnaissance. I have no idea what I'll find.'He ran fast, his stamina seemed limitless, and he wondered if it was the adrenaline rush still pushing through hIm, or had his improvements from the system accomplished this.When he reached the house, he really couldn't tell it apart from the other houses on the street. It had a nice red brick red exterior, white shutters on the windows, and ivy climbing gently up one side.He watched from the far side of the tree lined street, just between
[Quest Update: Assassin Guild Destruction][Assassins killed: 18 ][Assassins killed by Shinra: 10[Assassins remaining in Akasooki: 18 (estimated)][Hours Remaining: 38]—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Shinra decided to just walk in, it seemed like he couldn’t get anymore information by looking through the windows.He took the coin, touched the door, and engaged Fade 2, going transparent, and slipped in. His last scan through the windows told him that the maid and butler were both upstairs together, and looked like they would be busy for a while.That made Shinra suspect that all the ‘guests’ had arrived, and didn’t need the house staff’s attention. ‘Hopefully. I don’t want anyone sneaking up behind me.’He padded through the house, his steps were ghost quiet on the carpets and polished tiles alike. ‘I guess my silence skill is always working.’ Shinra couldn’t tell if the skill used some sort of magic to counter an
Shinra melted away from the window, and looked at the other 7 townhouses around the fountain. They were all lit up, as was the entire cavern, but when he snuck to look inside the rest, all but one was empty. The last town house on the other side of the fountain had 4 men in it as well, but no women. They were also playing cards, but their game seemed much more intense. ‘8 men are out here, which means another 10, at least, might be waiting inside the big house.’ Shinra thought about it. He’d killed a lot of people in the last few months, but this was the first time he was planning to kill, and the number was quite high. He needed to be strategic, or one group of 4 mages could easily stop him.‘I guess this is what it means to be an assassin. I have a mission, and I need to carry it out.’ He hadn’t thought about it much, but the System didn’t tell him to defeat the Guild, or win battles against them. Just kill them. He needed to think about how to do that most efficiently.
[Quest Update: Assassin Guild Destruction] [Assassins killed: 20 ] [Assassins killed by Shinra: 12 [Assassins remaining in Akasooki: 17 (estimated)] [Hours Remaining: 37] “Sachron!? Are you dying in there, or are you just trying to delay losing all your money?” a man yelled from the front of the house. This was followed by rough laughter from the rest of the card players. A few more minutes passed, and Shinra remained calm, waiting in the dark. ‘I think one of them will come to check on him soon. If I can take them down one at a time like this, it will be much easier,’ he thought. His first victim, Sachron, apparently, had bled quite a lot, but it was mostly behind the counter, and shouldn’t be visible in the dark. Of course, to Shinra, the cooling blood shone in the dark with a pale red glow. He wanted to keep the bodies apart as much as possible, so he laid a path. First he switched the light on in the toilet. Then he flushed it again, with the door open, hoping the men
[Quest Update: Assassin Guild Destruction][Assassins killed: 21 ][Assassins killed by Shinra: 13[Assassins remaining in Akasooki: 16 (estimated)][Hours Remaining: 37]The spike went through him, tearing flesh and leaving searing pain. Shinra heard it hit the wall behind him, then passed through it as well. ‘Damn that was a powerful attack!’ he managed to be impressed even as he was bleeding all over. ‘The other guys definitely heard that. I need to move.’He glanced at the big man, but he had just toppled over at the foot of the bed, his blood spreading around him. ‘I can either fight here, or escape through the window…’ but that would let them get more people together. He wasn’t confident one on one with these guys, let alone 16 to 1.‘Shadow strike is wicked! Can it cut through weaves because it is a shadow? Is it some sort of magic… am I a mage now?’ There were too many thoughts in his head, but he heard movement in the house and knew he didn’t have time. “Garen? Sachron
Shinra, in a short amount of time, had metamorphosed into a completely different person. The most change had happened to his vision, and his ability to process data. Even now, as the dark Scimitar sliced towards him, his body was reacting to the output of Daemon prediction, while noticing that his core was brighter to his vampire eyes than the other Assassins were.He half turned to avoid the scimitar thrust, then bobbed and weaved to keep from losing his head to the quick horizontal slash the attack changed into.'This guy uses that huge sword like it is a fencing foil. I need to be careful.' He tried not to think about his wounded chest, his limp arm, or all the blood he'd lost. He jumped back into the hall, creating some space, but also letting the assassin out of the doorway where his swing was hampered.Shinra noticed that his free hand was still tracing signs in the air, and that his midsection kept getting brighter. 'What sort of spell affects someone's belly, and why cast
“Father!” Sardi then said out loud, perhaps too loudly. The vampires all looked at him as he looked from the General to Cardual and back.Eltast wore a grin that almost split his face, and Selena had a gentle smile, as if taking pity on him. Cardual looked at him blankly, and Mimi was still focused on Wintersbane. Mimi was very focused and Sardi could tell she was using high level spells, because he couldn’t see most of the weaves, just the lowest 3 levels.“She can use human magic!” Sardi needed to stop blurting his thoughts out loud. At this, Eltast roared with laughter, and even Cardual’s lips seemed to twitch.“Young member of the Imperial family, do not worry, General Mimi is a mage prodigy, your friend is in good hands.” Selena said to calm him down.“Well, I wouldn’t call him a friend, but Sheriff, I mean, Major Wintersbane is a good person.”“Quite powerful too. That venom attack would have killed most humans immediately,” Cardual offered. It seemed that no one was goin
In the middle of a fight is when Shinra felt most certain. He wasn’t thinking so much as assessing and deciding in real time. It was happening faster than thought, and it was addictive.He looked at the wand, death in a slim package, bearing down on him.‘I just need to be somewhere else,’ he decided. His vision highlighted vectors for diving, rolling, and jumping to avoid an attack originating at the sword tip and covering an area of 2 metres around it. He couldn’t just avoid the attack though, he had to finish this one off before the other 4 combatants got their shit together.He jumped, hard, into a forward twisting flip, easily clearing the guard. Even in Daemon time, he could see the surprise on the man’s face as a powerful green blast made a crater in the f
Shinra’s vision filled with the measurements, vectors, grids and critical strike paths that he basically associated with life, but now knew was his combat vision.[Ready?][Status: Shinra][Health 3000][Shinra: Death Stalker - Assassin: Tier 2, LvL 5 ][Shinra: Night Squire - — : Tier 0 ][Experience Points: 77,500 | Skill Points: 0][Stats][ Tier 2: Strength | Speed | Dexterity ][ Tier 0: Intelligence | Wisdom | Charisma | Magic ][Skills Status:][Tier 1][ Active: Fade | Sprint ][ Passive: Silence | Knife Mastery | Assassin Kata | Archery | Wall Climbing][Tier 2][Passive: Deadly Aim | Deception | Visual Reflexes][Hidden Path][Passive Skills: Critical Strike | Daemon Prediction ][Shadow Path][Active: Shadow Strike* | Shadow Meld* | Shadow Heal* ][Passive: Vampire Vision ]“Who the hell are you?” Loren was saying, even as her wand came up. Shinra knew she might be able to handle this all on her own, she was exceptional.The chains hit her face and torso, knocking the wa
Shinra was leary of all magic, so he almost bolted from his place as soon as he saw the glowing sphere hanging in the air. Well, he did bolt, but luckily he heard Loren’s message from the hall. He was still trying to wrap his head around what she said, even as he stood in front of her door. ‘Naori was here?’Shinra loved his sister, he never had any doubts about his feelings towards her. She was the kindest, most capable, and brilliant person he had ever known. And, though he spent every moment since his parents died trying to take care of her, he knew she had taken care of him even more. Being in the city without her had been difficult, but, if he was honest, he worried about her less after sending her his wages. ‘My life has been pretty complicated this last little while,’ he thought. He knew he was making excuses. He did believe her life would actually be better without him. She was more resourceful than he ever was, and the other villagers liked her much more than him.‘So why
The room was Pitch Black, so Raisd wasn't sure if his eyes were open or not at first, so he blinked a few times. ‘Definitely open.’ The fact that he was lying in a bed instead of bleeding in a gutter was a good sign, but he wasn't sure of anything else. He slowly moved his hands down his chest and body, feeling for any bandages or gaping wounds.‘Huh, not only am I naked, I seem to be in one piece.’ Which was amazing in and of itself, because the seven finger Gremlin counter attack is enough to kill most mages. Clearly he was both lucky and, maybe, tougher than he thought.He tried to stand, but that is when he noticed the weight across his legs. Not able to see, he reached down and realized the weight was a pair of legs draped across him. His fingers traced their way up those legs until he found their intersection. It was warm there, and his fingers were tickled by the fine hairs they brushed up against. ‘God I hope this is Mimi,’ was all he thought before the
“I promise, it is usually cleaner here,” Loren said as she rushed around trying to stuff books and scrolls back onto the shelves while gathering up a precarious pile of dishes. She definitely didn’t care what the place looked like when Naori’s brother broke in. Funny how something so random could lead to Loren trying to clean her place. She looked over her shoulder to see Naori just standing still, eyes widened by the mess, no doubt. ‘I need to distract her maybe? Where am I going to put all of this stuff!’ Loren was not used to caring what anyone thought about her, her space, or anything she did, really. “Wow. Just…. Wow,” was all Naori said, eyes still wide.‘Oh god, she thinks it is worse than living on the streets, she’s never seen anyone live like this… dammit!’, but what Loren said out loud was, “I just need a few more minutes. Why don’t you sit down over … “ except she hadn’t cleared any of the seating surfaces yet.“This is the most amazing home I’ve ever seen! It is
The office was surprisingly orderly for an assassin, Shinra thought. Tastefully arranged sofas, end tables with a high polish, and a full bookcase. He went straight to the desk though, to see if he could find what the assassin guild leader was talking about.‘Would it just be on top? Is that too easy?’ Shinra looked, but the few pieces of parchment on top of the desk were innocuous bills and tally of equipment. He opened the top drawer and only saw quills and inkstones. The larger drawer underneath was locked.“Why don’t I have lockpicking skills? I can do everything else…” He flexed his newly healed hand, still amazed at how whole and pain free they were, after the devastating burns he’d suffered. “Well, I’m strong enough to just rip it open,” he said, then gripped it tightly and pulled with all his strength.He felt the small release of power, ‘shit,’ he thought and then flung the drawer behind him as hard as he could. It was the right move, as the entire desk exploded in a sho
“Filthy blood slut," was all the lesser Earl of Clodven had said. It wasn't a nice thing to say about anyone, and Raisd had heard much worse. This time though, it was directed at his betrothed.To his credit, Raisd showed enormous restraint by only breaking the man's nose. The young lesser Earl and his friends didn't agree, and so now Raisd was in an honour bout.“The first to ten wins the bout,” one of the hangers-on was intoning, "and may request an honour payment." “I think I'll ask for one of Its fangs," the arrogant noble said.Raisd paid him no mind. ‘Foppish, useless nobles think life is a silly game. This bout is probably the highlight of his week’. He knew the type well. The lesser Earl’s father, or grandfather, had been useful to the Empire once upon a time, but then they produced entitled, talentless wastes of flesh like this. The patriarch of the family has probably all but disowned him.‘If I'd punched Shinra, he probably would have punched back and we'd be having a
Raisd was having a weird night. Actually, everyday had been weird since his betrothal. He couldn't get over the fact that suddenly people knew he was an active part of the imperial family. Well, maybe vampires didn't count as people, but they knew. If that was all that had changed, he could deal. After all he had been in military intelligence, and had infiltrated many places as part of his work, including the deputies office. Unfortunately he was quickly apprised of how different human and vampire customs were. Which was why he was lying in bed with General Mimi right now. Uncomfortably. Wrapped up in his own blanket and wearing a full set of clothes. He wasn't 100% certain, but he was pretty sure that she was naked under the thin sheet she had draped over herself. He made sure all the lights were off though and just laid there staring up at the ceiling in the dark. It had been like this for a few days now, ever since the rest of the vampire delegation went back to their capital
Shinra was surprised. ‘Shadow Heal isn’t one of the skills in the list. Does this mean they are all low level skills? Or are there a tonne of skills that the System just doesn’t show me?’Either way, this wasn’t what he was expecting. ‘Healing is high level magic… what does Shadow Healing mean? Am I a mage now?...’ He knew he wasn’t though. He looked around and did not see the primal flow of mana in the world. He was a zombie. One with interesting skills, but a zombie all the same.“Unless a Ninja is a different class of being?” The head Assassin said Ninja enough that it did make Shinra wonder. Not that he had time for that mystery right now. [Skills Status:][Skill Points: 20][Tier 1][ Active: Fade | Sprint ][ Passive: Silence | Knife Mastery | Assassin Kata | Archery | Wall Climbing][Tier 2][Passive: Deadly Aim][Hidden Path][Passive Skills: Critical Strike | Daemon Prediction ][Shadow Path][Active: Shadow Strike* | Shadow Meld* | Shadow Heal* ][Passive: Vampire