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“Damn, what kind of power does this small bean hold?” Mallory thought to himself as he looked at the girl with a smile, “It’s ok Arisa, I don’t like showing my power either, and of course all powers should only be used when absolutely necessary just like your father says, the only reason I use mine is because it’s almost useless I combine it with another thing.” He told her, “I can create small piles of snow for young children to play in like I usually do around winter, I just like to leave small gifts of fun to random kids in front of their houses.” He told her, “but if I were to put my hand on the tip of my arrow before shooting it, it would make what I like to call an ice arrow, which can freeze enemies if they have even the slightest contact with it.” He said to her. “So if it’s dangerous, hard to control for you, or if you just don’t want to it’s ok, you don’t have to show me your power.” He said still with a smile on his face.
 
Arisa nodded to what Clayton said. "I can't rely on my power. That's why I want to practice shooting int he first place."

She pulled out her slingshot again. Picked up some rocks then start shooting at the tree.

"I will keep practicing until I get tired! Or until Easen come back. What is he doing anyway!" Most of her shoot missed the mark, but her 5th shot hit it right in the center, her eyes widen in joy. She gained more confidence as she scored more and more bullseye, although her firing rate deimnishsd pretty fast since she hadn't had enough stamina to maintain it.
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Parker sat back and watched the exchange between Neta and the blacksmith with a small grin on his face. It was nice to see her getting a little more comfortable in this environment, he could tell she certainly wasn't when they first walked in. He strolled up to the man when he finished getting Neta what she needed.

"I need the finest quality sword you, two knives too. Money isn't really a problem."

The boy crossed his arms and waited for a response from the large man who stood still in silence for a second before bursting into laughter.

"What's a streetrat like you need a sword for? Bahahaha! Not to mention there's no way you have the money for my highest quality materials! Get lost kid, I don't want you dirtying up my smithy!"

Parker sighed and reached for the pouches at his waist. The coins clinked against each other as he unhooked them from his belt and moved them onto a counter. He dumped them over one at a time revealing three pouches of bronze coins, two pouches of silver coins, and one of pure gold coins. The blacksmith immediately ceased laughing and instead looked in awe at the amount of coin on the table.

"Uhm, hold on I'll see what I have..." The man said as he exited into a room behind the counter.

The blacksmith came back out with a black and silver, double edged, short sword. The blade was pitch black and had to silver lines running down the side of the blade on both sides. The guard was silver as well and the hilt was dark wood wrapped in black leather. It was perfect. He also had a pair of matching six inch knives with the same pattern and colors. Parker slid the coins over to the man, keeping one of the pouches of bronze coins for himself.

"Keep the change, you make good blades."

The black cloaked boy walked back over to Neta who had been waiting for him at this point.

"Okay, we can go back to the alley now. I'll show you some stuff I guess, but I'll warn you now that I'm not a very good teacher."
 
Neta's smile instantly faded when she saw how the blacksmith was treating Parker, after all those nice things he'd said about her. So that's the kind of person he was, just another man who judged by appearances. She felt guilty that she'd accepted compliments at Parker's expense. Upset, even. She wanted to speak up, say something, do for him what he'd done when the drunks were harassing her. Not one to raise her voice, she would have politely asked the young man not to disrespect her friend like that. But Parker's coins silenced the mean blacksmith before she even had a chance. Actions spoke louder than words, after all. Parker and I have that in common, people looking at us the wrong way. Sometimes they're nice, but it makes me uncomfortable most of the time, Neta thought to herself. But, he didn't let it bother him when the man laughed in his face. I guess he must be used to it...

It was a sad thought, but Neta made a decision in her mind. For every horrible thing that someone says about him, I'll have something nice to say... because, I think he looks just fine! I like the way he looks...

But neither Parker nor Neta was spared derision from passersby on the 20-minute walk back to the alley.

A man whistled at her. "Hey, pretty lady! Quit fucking with a street rat and let me show you a good time!"
His friend nudged him warningly. "You see that machete she's carrying? She's a bad bitch! She'll chop your fucking balls off!"

The worst thing about them was that they were both completely sober. Neta was a shy girl and didn't take it well, so she tried her best to ignore it, focusing as hard as she could on Parker. She focused on his jet black hair, the darkness to her light blonde locks. She looked with her bright green eyes, which stirred slightly like the surface of tea in wind, into his eyes, which were dark brown like the very bottom of the cup. Neta needed him by her side.

"You don't have to be a good teacher or anything. Because, I'll try my best and be a good student," she told Parker when they finally returned to the safety of the alleyway. She didn't say it with much confidence, since the comments made about her on the way back still stressed her out. "I don't want to be difficult, because I'm asking so much of you."

Neta raised the machete and assumed an awkward stance.
 
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Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Parker chuckled at what Neta had said. Her terrible stance with the machete only made it worse. He held back his laughter as he addressed her.

"Well that's good, because I really am a terrible teacher."

He walked over the to her, getting behind her and placing one hand on her arm and one on her shoulder. He dug his knee into the back of hers, making her drop her body down a bit.

"First of all, you're gonna wanna stay low. Not super low, just low enough. Keep your knees at a 40 degree angle and your shoulders squared with your hips."

He kicked her left leg out a little further. This, in turn, extended her left arm in front of her body as well.

"You're also gonna want to keep your dominant side a little in front of the other. Not too far in front, just about your foot's length ahead. This gives you more movement and coverage with your blade. You'll always have openings, but stances are about minimizing those openings and covering them as best as you can."

He took a step back and looked at her in her new stance. She almost looked like she kind of knew what she was doing, which was good.

"By the way, this isn't gonna be your final stance. This is just a basic stance that will help you evolve into your own style. I personally have my own style that revolves around using my knives as support with my sword. You'll have to find and mold your own if you really want to get anywhere. That comes with time though, for now just try and get comfortable with this one."
 
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Neta didn't know what Parker meant when he said he was a terrible teacher. He'd fixed her awful stance just like that and explained everything to her clearly.

"Oh, I think I get it now," Neta said, then took a deep breath and relaxed into the stance he'd put her in.

Things got quiet after that, and her resolve waned. "S-so, do I attack you now?" If she was supposed to rush Parker with her blade, did she have the heart to do it? She didn't want to potentially hurt him.

Maybe she just worried too much. There was no way Neta could do any harm to him, since he had way more experience than she did. So she just stood there in that same stance, felt it, did as she was told and got comfortable, looking to the street boy for further guidance.
 
Magnus stormed out of his room dressed back in his typical garb of black and silver finery. The rest of the morning had been uneventful, but the Blood Knight incident combined with the earlier visit from that damn noblewoman left him infuriated. To make matters worse his parents had left earlier that week to tour and inspect production in the lands they possessed in the more rural regions of Pless, leaving Magnus in charge of managing Everard Keep as well as the surrounding area. Normally managing the urban area wasn’t a problem, Magnus had done it many a time before, but the upcoming week the Everards were expected to host their tri-annual ball that put both commoners and nobles together in the same ballroom. Due to the vast differences between the two groups it was always hard to manage.

Running ideas through his head, Magnus made his short habitual walk to his favorite of his six offices and workspaces. Swinging the grand oak door aside, he strode across the room and took his place behind the large wooden desk - complete with ink, feather pen, and a large amount of prepared parchment. Getting comfortable in his chair, he began to write out one of the many documents that would have to be completed before the night arrived.
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Parker slid his new sword from the sheath on his back. The noise it made was beautiful for his ears and the black and silver surface of the blade reflected the sun off of it and into the sky. He unsheathed one of his daggers as well, the reflection made by the smaller blade crossed with the one from the sword. He held out his right arm with the sword to Neta, placing his left hand with the dagger over his right arm. He crouched a little lower than what he had recommended for Neta, preparing himself to receive Neta's attacks. He usually played full offense, so standing defensively was a little bit odd. Even so, his stance remained the same with both offense and defense as it was what he was comfortable with.

"Of course you can attack me, I'm ready for it at any time."
 
His desire to be attacked caught Neta off guard, but she shook her head and forced herself to focus. I really don't want to hurt Parker, but if he's so sure, then... then I can't disappoint him!

That's what she thought, but she was visibly distressed when she ran at him with her eyes closed like a sleeping child wincing from a nightmare. Everything about the way Neta came at him screamed "Please dodge, please dodge...!"

Maybe she wasn't ready to do this, because she was off to a terrible start. But when she again opened her eyes and looked into Parker's, the young woman was reassured. There was no more time to hesitate, because they were sparring now. It had become a fast-paced trading of blows, and before Neta could even try to soften hers and ask forgiveness for what she was doing, the blade spoke for her and answered the street boy's. Her instincts took over, and she was soon trying her best to parry his sword with her machete.

Neta lost track of time in the heat of the moment, for the changing colors of the sky were obscured by the changing emotions that colored her face: apprehension, then determination, then enjoyment. She was surprised to find herself having fun sparring with Parker, when she had thought herself incompatible with any blade.

Parker and Neta had eaten together, and the innkeeper teased that this was a date. Was this what people did on dates? Lock blades instead of arms? Neta knew nothing about them, because she had never been close with any man. But something about this swordplay made it fun for her, made the exercise more than physical. She was happy, and she couldn't figure out exactly why. The breaks that they took every now and then seemed to fly by, but it was the rush she felt when they resumed practice that lingered inside her.

Neta had been sparring in a light blue dress, but she was a lot more comfortable now. A little too comfortable, in fact. She'd been having all these pleasant thoughts and staring into space, so she had let her guard down. When Parker's sword next moved in and clashed with hers, her grip and stance were so poor that she lost her balance and fell backwards onto the ground.

She closed her eyes and braced herself for the fall, but when she opened them again, she instantly froze. Parker was right on top of her, his face only a few inches away from hers. Neta did not know what to do, but her cheeks had turned a bright red.

~~~

All preparations were complete. It was night now, and the children were hiding in every corner, in every dark alleyway, and on every rooftop by the inn. The place was packed, but hopefully these people weren't so drunk that they would ignore an order from a government official.

"EVERYONE, LISTEN TO ME NOW! I WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND I DECLARE THAT THIS INN IS CLOSED FOR THE NIGHT, SO YOU'LL DO AS I SAY AND LEAVE!" Claro boomed across the tavern, using his powers enough to project his voice but not enough for people to suspect that he was an Aberrant.

The sober patrons quickly shuffled out of the building, while the drunks lumbered. Claro was tall, muscular, and loud, too imposing a man for any common folk to cross. But the innkeeper had words for him.

"And just what are you doing shutting down my business during its peak hours?" Anka questioned the knight.

"I know that you're keeping Neta Briarwood here. Turn her over to me now. I serve the kingdom, and you won't defy me," Claro commanded.

"If my Neta is in some kind of trouble, or if there's some debt she has to pay, I will gladly take care of it, and you won't bother her," the innkeeper responded unwaveringly.

"You are not listening, woman. This doesn't concern you. Neta is wanted by the government, and you will cooperate with me and tell me where she is!" the Blood Knight asserted.

"You lie! Neta is a sweet girl, and she's no criminal!" Anka yelled back, brandishing a ladle at Claro. "Now you leave at once, because she isn't here! If you must know, she left here hours ago with a boy..."

For a brief moment whose passing was barely noticeable, there was a flash of anger on the Blood Knight's face. He wanted to strangle the woman for the way she spoke to him, but he composed himself. "Very well, then. I'll take my leave now. Goodnight."

Claro turned his back to the innkeeper and smirked as he walked to the door with the heavy steps of a man lofty in both height and status. The look on his face melted, however, into a unimpressed frown when he passed a woman who had drunk herself out of consciousness. Even the rowdiest patrons had cleared the inn, but she alone remained. And Claro knew exactly who this hopeless fellow Blood Knight was.

"Well, Urias. I give the other Blood Knights shit for chasing common Aberrants, but you can't even do that right. You'd rather get wasted at an inn that I'm about to burn down," he said, his voice already lowered in disappointment. "I suggest you leave. I'm not about to drag you out."

~~~

Neta hadn't realized how dark it had gotten when she and Parker finished sparring. But she'd barely been able to express the thought, because she was still awkward and blushing from before. She was more surprised and confused than uncomfortable. Still, Neta knew she couldn't remain silent, because she had to thank Parker properly for everything he'd done.

"H-hey, um, thanks. Really, thank you. For practicing with me so late. I-I think I learned a lot, b-but I'm confused about other things now... Still, I had fun- No, I learned a lot. And I had fun. Both of those." Neta was more flustered than usual. "Hey, Parker... we could always... we could always... maybe we could-"

She couldn't finish her sentence. No, it wasn't because the awkwardness of the situation had overwhelmed her. It was because she'd stopped in front of the inn, which was now burning to the ground. Horrified, Neta clasped her hand to her mouth, and her lip began to tremble. She was choked up again, and the next few words that she barely managed to speak trickled out of her mouth irregularly like hopelessly tiny drops of water that would do nothing to quench the flames. "Wh...what...what is going on? The inn, it's- it's on fire, but why... why would anyone-"

In an instant, the feelings of fun and enjoyment that Neta had experienced with Parker were being consumed by the flames, along with her home of fourteen years where all her memories were made. And Anka! Was she still in there?! Was she safe?! Was the one woman she had for a family safe?!

All Neta felt now was emotional pain. And poised on the roof of the opposite building was a tall knight with flowing, dark purple hair, who released his bowstring and sent a flaming arrow sailing toward the young woman's lower back to express her pain physically.
 
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Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Paker had enjoyed the sparring much more than he anticipated to. Originally he had only agreed to make Neta happy, he was confident that he would be bored fighting someone who had never used a blade. However, Neta surprised him. She seemed to have some natural ability which made him try a bit harder than he thought he would have to. It was still pretty one sided, but if she could find a stance that suited her and trained some more... Neta might actually give him a run for his money.

He had been somewhat lost in thought until he noticed that Neta seemed to be as well. Seeing a chance to catch the girl off guard, he leapt forward. Using his blade he swung to the left, Neta barely being able to react and catch his blade with her own in time. The two of them fell, Neta backwards and Parker forwards on top of her. At first he gave her a sly smile, however the girl under him blushed instantly. This, in turn, made him blush as well and he quickly hopped off of her.

----------------------------------------------------------------

When the two of them had finally finished sparring, Parker was left much more satisfied than he was when he normally trained. Maybe it was just because he had someone with him, or maybe it's because that someone was Neta. Either way, he would need to train like this more often. Parker held his breath as the girl stammered her way through a sentence. What was she going to say? They could... they could what? He was staring at her by this point, not paying attention to what was in front of them. However, when Neta's face switched from embarrassment to pain and horror, he knew something was wrong. He turned his head to face the same direction as her's and immediately figured out what was wrong. It was rather obvious after all, that the inn was being consumed by raging flames. He had barely registered exactly what was going on before he heard a sharp scream besides him, and saw Neta fall to the floor. There was an arrow in her back. Parker turned his body to the direction the arrow had come from, only to see a tall man with dark purple hair poised a top a roof with a bow.

"Bastard!"

Paker's body moved before he even had the opportunity to think about the best course of action, which was extremely unlike him. He drew his blade and a dagger, maneuvering onto an adjacent roof from the man using various objects to climb up. The black blade ignited in Shadow Fire, black and silver flames rising up to a foot above the blade. He was going to make this son of a bitch pay.
 
Magnus sighed as the setting sun illuminated his now cleared desk with its crimson rays. It had taken the rest of the day and a few skipped meals, but the majority of paperwork needed for the upcoming ball was complete.

He got out of his leather chair and turned to look out the window, allowing his eyes to meet with a view of the citadel only bested by that of the royal palace itself. The citadel from a bird’s eye view almost held a certain beauty with its countless buildings and landscapes of multiple styles attesting to human ingenuity and creativity. Looking closer however, showed the true character of humanity. The distinct boundary between the rich and the poor, the alleyways all across filled with garbage and sewage, and the corrosion of old buildings were much more representative of reality, a reality that most of the nobles tried to ignore. A reality that he had to face daily.

With one last gaze out the window he spun around and exited his office with an urgency. He would be needed once it grew dark.

——

Back in his room decked out in his vigilante gear, Magnus stared into the floor to ceiling mirror in his room. The room was pitch dark aside from the small amount of light slipping in from the door leading to the hallway, leaving him with just enough clarity to make out his silhouette.

“I’ve always hated this this part.” Magnus muttered to himself as he rolled his head, “Here it goes, three, two, one-“. His countdown came to an abrupt end as he grunted due to the familiar yet still excruciating pain eminating from his eye sockets. Tears silently flowed down his face as his iris went from the typical emerald green to black, the veins leaking blood until the white was stained red. Rubbing his eyes and wiping his tears away until the pain subsided, Magnus opened his eyes and saw the reflection of himself and his room in perfect definition, even with the minimal lighting, his now demonic eyes staring coldly back at him. Staring at the reflection of his right arm, he thrust it away from him and closed his eyes, focusing on connecting to his powers. Magnus then opened the palm of his hand, causing shard like particles to fly from the darkest areas of the room and towards his hand before combining and consolidating into an actual object. Closing his hand, his arm then habitually adjusted to the familiar weight. Opening his eyes once more, a what would be seemingly normal rapier met his gaze, were it not accompanied by a black coloring and giving off a small dark aura - a sword of shadows, the same exact sword he had dreamed of having as a kid.

Looking back into the mirror, he sighed in content. This was what he truely was, he wasn’t a man, wasn’t an aberrant or a noble. He was a different entity altogether, a demon of sorts, an entity that was able to look past the various limitations of the natural man and accomplish what others could only dream of.

Throwing the rapier off to the side, it splintered into the thousands of shards that then disappeared back into the darkness. Turning his stance, Magnus ran towards the darkest part of the room before his body exploded much like the sword, leaving no trace that he had even been in the room.

——

Reforming out of a nearby alley, he peered out and was met with the familiar inn now ablaze in a scarlet glory. “Great, absolutely wonderful! Now I have to enter a building that’s on fire just to see where that freaking girl went. She is going to be the death of me I can already tell! Oh well, at least all sources of light create shadows.”

Running back into the alley, he morphed into the darkness.

——

Reappearing inside the burning inn, he bumped his head on the relatively still untouched bar (the place with the most shadows). Looking at his surroundings, his eyes and ears found the innkeeper he had bribed into silence from earlier, slouched against a wall coughing up a storm. Making his way over to her, he began to speak as he began to help her up, “Where’s the girl, she’s in a lot of trouble and I need to know where she is. Her life may depend on my intervention.”

“Neta.... with the boy.... nearby...” the woman wheezed as she seemingly allowed Magnus to pick her up and carry her bridal style.

“Alright, I’m going to get you out of here, but I’ll need you to close your eyes so that the debris won’t hurt them” he stated in a half lie. He just couldn’t afford her to see his powers in action and perhaps cause her to panic.

With the innkeeper abligingly keeping her eyes closed, Magnus ran back and dove under the bar, the two fading into black shards into the darkness under the bar right as the ceiling caved in.

——

Depositing the innkeeper in the alley he had first arrived in, he sprinted down the street in search of the young duo. It didn’t take him long to find lover boy wielding a flaming sword while preparing to fight a purple haired archer mounted on the roof on the other side of the collapsing inn. Looking around, he saw nobody else around, seemingly confirming that Claro was the sole Blood Knight on the job. What he did find however, was a flaming arrow sticking out of Neta’s back. Magnus rolled his eyes as he began to run over to the young girl, so much for love, the boy left the poor girl in a potentially fatal condition.

Arriving at the fallen girl’s side, he ripped off his cloak and used it to put out the flames that had begun to form on her clothes.

“I warned you, I offered help, and when you didn’t budge I tried to scare you by mentioning some weird reference to a game of death. But did you listen? No, you two didn’t. Brace yourself...” he said as he expertly yanked the arrow out of the girl’s back and, not waiting for the eminent pain she would be expressing, formed a bandage roll out of darkness and rapped it around her midsection.

“I’m going to move you towards one of these buildings while your lover boy distracts that archer so that you’ll be out of the crossfire. Then, I’ll need to go help him fend off that freaking arsonist. If you resist me moving you or you try to help us fight, I’ll knock you out got it?”
 
At first Neta perceived the pain in her lower back as a physical manifestation of what she was feeling inside. She was so emotionally torn that it was as if her body was beginning to break down, too, like some psychosomatic affliction. But that was not what it was, because when she screamed and saw that she'd been hit, the woman collapsed instantly. X would normally be fast enough to catch dangerous objects flying at her, so why hadn't it stopped the flaming arrow? Perhaps it was because the plant avoided fire, or because the host body was so devastated that its performance was affected. Whatever went wrong, she simply lay there on the ground now, looking up with teary eyes at the inferno that consumed her home.

Then, the sound of a man's voice wove between the crackling flames: “I warned you, I offered help, and when you didn’t budge I tried to scare you by mentioning some weird reference to a game of death. But did you listen? No, you two didn’t. Brace yourself...”

Neta had barely recognized the familiar masked man before he yanked the arrow out of her back. She cried but a single tear more and screamed but a single note higher, for there had already been tears streaming down her face to begin with. Even after the physical pain had mostly subsided, the injured woman was still choked up, as if she were regurgitating the pieces of her broken heart. She could manage neither to thank nor to resist the masked stranger.

All she could do was turn her head weakly and catch a glimpse of the archer, a tall knight with long, dark purple hair. Him, she instantly recognized. He was the very man from whom she had tried to run earlier today: Claro. That's right, I'm... the Seed...

A scarred Neta was pausing in her head because she struggled to form a thought as much as a sentence. Magnus was telling her to stay out of this, but Claro had come for her. How could she stay out of this when she had caused it?

~~~

Setting the inn ablaze had been easy. The flames from his arrows spread much more quickly across a building full of alcohol. And taking down the Seed was no challenge either. If Claro could maintain his range, the arrows were the perfect counter to her plants. But the knight had little time to praise himself, because that boy who had saved Neta the other night had scaled an adjacent building and planned to get in his way again. While Claro appeared calm and composed, Parker was enraged. He rushed to the roof and didn't hesitate to reveal his powers from the start.

If this boy had a fire-based ability, the knight would have no problem countering it with his amplified exhalations. But Claro was a lot more cautious about making his powers known in battle. For now, he would fire another one of his flaming arrows, which were tipped with combustible jelly. While Parker was busy blocking it with his sword, the knight would charge him with a sword of his own and use the opening to cut him down.

Claro wasted no time. As soon as he released the bowstring and fired his second arrow of the night, he rushed the street boy with his blade, undeterred by the flames that cloaked his weapon.

"Ah, you must be that street rat from last night. Are you one of her friends? Perhaps something more? No matter, I'm killing you either way," the knight smirked. "Oh, and I trust you know who this woman is, if you're protecting her. Well, let me remind you in case you forgot: she is the Seed, and she's nothing more than a whore who will produce Aberr- Hmm, I've said enough. I'm sure you know the whole story, boy, but there are prying ears about."
 
Arisa was resting at the back of the inn with Clayton after spending so much energy to practice her shooting skill. Then an announcement that was suspiciously loud startled her.

"EVERYONE, LISTEN TO ME NOW! I WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT AND I DECLARE THAT THIS INN IS CLOSED FOR THE NIGHT, SO YOU'LL DO AS I SAY AND LEAVE!"

Goverment!? Why is the goverment here?? Her mind started racing. She remembered Easen told her to be wary of two kind of people: the goverment and another nobles. Since both have motivation to chase her. Did this mean they're looking for her? No way!

"I will pack my stuffs!" Arisa said to Clayton and immediately ran to her room. She remembered Easen warned her to run and hide in case she met someone who chase her, but she couldn't left her stuffs behind!

-----------

Urias woke up after the annoying announcement disturb her sleep, but she hadn't fully regain her wits until Claro loomed over her. Stating his disappointed all those shit. After he leave, she grabbed one of the wooden mug and smashed it on the floor. That damn Claro! He dared to insult me just because he has higher rank and seniority! She wanted to choke him to death, but a girl ran past her to the second floor. She instantly matched the girl's appearance with the sketch she carried in her pocket. Bingo!

She never thought that she would found het target by sheer luck, but fate must be on her side tonight. She followed the girl to her room with a wide grin on her face, ignoring the heat that indicate the inn that starting to be engulfed in flame.
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Parker could sense the arrow before he saw it. The knight's attack was simple, Parker was surprised that someone of that class could not formulate a more strategically sound plan. He spun his body, the dagger in his left hand slicing through the arrow as he did so. The momentum continued to spin the boy until his flaming sword collided with the knight's own blade. The speed that he spun along with the weight of the blade put some serious force behind his swing.

"You will die here!"

The flames on Parker's blade grew darker, and stronger. His body began to heat up and a pitch black trail of smoke began to emanate from his eyes. He now gripped the blade of his sword with both hands, his dagger quickly sheathed back onto his waist.
 
There was serious force behind Claro's blade, too, because the knight had rushed him. Besides, he was much larger than the street boy. He would die here? Of laughter, perhaps. The rat answered his death threat with a death threat of his own, but it was so empty that Claro's voice would echo indefinitely if the threat were a dark cave.

"You're a pathetic fool. All bark and no bite, like the stray dog you are," Claro smirked as they clashed and narrowed his mouth as he spoke, almost pursing his lips, so that the venom in his voice could be heard. "You couldn't even restrain a few children for long. And the fifteen of them would have ended you then, had the Seed not intervened. You're nothing to me!"

The knight gritted his teeth and smiled. These stupid flames could grow as large and strong as they wanted; they weren't doing anything at the moment and appeared to be just for show. That's right. This shadowy shit relied on such tricks to make himself more intimidating, but could he back up his little fireworks display with some real skill? At this point, Claro wondered if he'd be using his powers at all.

The force with which Parker met his blade was impressive, but the larger man began to push back against him. Unlike the scum he was fighting, Claro wasn't just for show. He had the strength to back up his imposing appearance. And he'd use it to drive Parker to the edge of the roof and strike him down, then seize the injured Seed.
 
Clayton heard the loud message and his thought process was, “crap, they know I’m an assassin!” Which was a completely different idea than what Arisa had, regardless he grabbed his bow and kept it in hand as Arisa ran out of the room, “keeping that promise I made to Essen is just gonna keep getting harder and harder.” He thought as he followed Arisa, his bow still in hand and loaded in case of emergency. He made it to Arisa’s room and asked her, “Is there any spot that Essen told you to go to in case of emergency or am I just going to have to jump us out of this window?” He asked her as he closed the door.

——-

Marybelle was continuing her supposed mission when she came across an abandoned warehouse where the door was closed, “this is the place right?” She said to herself quietly as she looked at the door that was closed, “In I go.” She said as she kicked open the door, and prepared her lance as she jumped into the warehouse, “FREEZ-“ she froze when she saw a man tied up in a chair bashing it against something, “um, who the hell are you?” She asked she walked over and cut the ropes with her lance, “where’s the target dammit?” She thought to herself.
 
Arisa looked out of the window. The improvised rope made by bedsheet and blanket she made before was burning. At that point she just realized that the inn had been ignited. She panickly said to Clayton.

"He told me to run! So let's run!" She dashed out of the room, then bumped hard on another person and fell on the floor. This was like, the second time she bumped into someone today. This time, instead of the masked man, there was a woman clad in black. She spread her hands above her in a semi-praying posture. The looks on her eyes was solemn, yet the smile on her face looks twisted.

"O, The children who split the sky! I, Urias, The Blade of Darkness, Messenger of the Blood Knight! I come here to deliver your fate. Come to my embrace and- FUUU*********" Her cringy introduction was cut short when a plank of burning wood hit her left shoulder. She cursed and winced in pain for a moment before grabbing Arisa and put the kid on her right shoulder like a sack of potato.

"Hey, what are you doing? Put me down!" Arisa yelled and struggled to get the woman to put her down, but then she felt a hard smack on her butt.

"Silence! You brat!"

------

Easen was defeated. He was defeated... by a chair. Even after smacking himself on the wall for hours, the chair refused to be smashed. Only adding more wounds to his body. What kind of knight getting beaten by a chair!!

He was almost gave up when a woman barged into the house, wielding her lance up. He couldn't comprehend clearly what was happening, but when the woman cut his rope, he immediately grabbed her hand.

"The inn... please help me get there." He said to the woman, with a heavy cough between the sentence.
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Parker's attack was met with the large knight's blade. His much bigger build allowed him to push Parker to the edge of the roof with just a single move. His blade crackled with Shadow Fire upon the impact, and he could feel the weight of the larger man on his shoulders. His shoes were losing traction on the roof, and for a second he believed he was going to fall. However, being smaller has some perks to it. Parker disengaged his blade from the knight's, rolling under the man's massive frame and standing on the other side of him. He swiftly spun around, running full force back at the man and colliding blades once again. Now Parker was on the outside though, he pushed with all of his force, the Shadow Flames growing in size and deepening in color.

"The difference is that I didn't want to kill some shitty brats with mommy issues." The black cloaked boy managed through gritted teeth.
 
Neta still didn't know his identity, but there was one thing that stood out about him. First, he'd wanted to take her away. Now, he was moving her and giving her no choice in the matter. Whoever this man was, he was always in control... Perhaps there was indeed a powerful person behind that mask.

He said he'd knock her out if she resisted or tried to do anything to help. Neta swallowed. She'd just taken an arrow, but the emotional pain that she felt was what really immobilized her. Maybe Magnus was right. In the state that she was in, how much use would she be? Perhaps it was better if she removed herself from the situation and gathered her thoughts. There was a lot to take in, and she needed time to make sense of everything that had happened.

But Neta wouldn't stand by if she saw Parker in trouble. He'd wasted no time and rushed in without thinking to confront Claro when she'd been hit. This boy was always there for her, and she wanted to be there for him.

So she nodded to Magnus, just to appease him. She'd agree to stay out for now... But if she wanted to help, she would. At the very least, Neta would support them from a distance as best she could if getting involved directly wasn't an option.

Swallowing again, the woman forced a few words through her tears to reassure the masked stranger. "I... I understand. I won't get in your way."

"But please, sir..." Neta added. "Keep Parker safe...!"

Because if he failed to, she most certainly would get in his way.

~~~

Just like a rat, the comparatively scrawny boy slipped under Claro and appeared on the other side. "Trying to do the same to me, are you?!" the knight shouted. He knew exactly what Parker was trying to do. He would charge him and try to push him off the roof just like he'd done, right?

Claro swung his sword around, prepared to meet Parker's. Despite the force of the knight's swing, a running start put some speed behind the street boy's blade. The Shadow Fire had grown larger, too, and it was clear that the runt was pushing against Claro with all his force. "Not bad, boy..."

The knight gave credit where it was due, because Parker had compensated for their difference in size and strength with a running start. Still, the larger man kept him from advancing with his blade. But the edge of the roof was now behind him, and it would surely collapse under his weight if this went on for long. There was a simpler way to get out of this situation than overwhelming Parker with brute strength as he'd been doing.

So Claro let out a loud battle cry as he drove his sword forward. But it was no ordinary battle cry. There was a hint of his powers in it, and the slightly amplified voice stirred and weakened the Shadow Fire. At full force Claro's voice could blow opponents back and send them flying through buildings, but this little taste was just enough for the knight to push Parker back rather than continue to hold him off from that position.

The purple-haired warrior quickly glanced to the side where the Seed had collapsed and noticed a masked man tending to her. He hadn't seen this man on the night that the children kidnapped Neta, but he looked oddly familiar. Claro had no time to dwell on the thought because he needed to dispose of Parker. But if this fancy-pants circus freak was attempting to hide the Seed away somewhere, he'd have to eliminate both him and the urchin and seek her out later.

He couldn't do it now, because he knew better than to take his eyes off his current opponent for long. The knight grinned madly at Parker. The street rat had made him use a little bit of his powers, he'd give him that, but nowhere near what this boy was revealing. Claro still had much to show him, and it would be a sound his opponent could feast his ears on.

It would feast on his ears, rather.
 
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Clayton listened to Arisa when she said that Easen told her to run. After she bolted out of the room Mallory heard someone exclaim in anger and he then heard Arisa yell. “Hell no!” He thought as he ran out of the room and saw a woman in clad black. “Don’t kill Mallory, strike to immobilize,” He then witnessed the lady smack Arisa, “Hey, put the girl down!” Mallory yelled in a fit of rage as he aimed his arrow between the woman’s legs and fired an arrow engulfed in ice, the icy arrow created an ice wall in front of the lady. “Put her down or you’re dead.” He was bluffing but in attempt to scare the enemy he aimed for their chest.

————-

“Why does this guy want to go to the inn?” Marybelle thought for a few seconds when she suddenly remembered Mallory and the young girl he was supposedly babysitting. “Let’s go! I know who you’re talking about!” She said as he picked up the man, grabbed her lance, and began dashing as fast as she could towards the door, she searched for the direction the inn was in and saw smoke, “Hey, can you run or do I have to carry you there?” She asked the man, “Mallory can put out the fire right?” She thought to herself.
 
Urias looked at the ice wall that was suddenly formed in front of her, then she looked at the man with the bow. Not even a glint of fear on her eyes.

"Fate must be with me tonight! Another aberrant! Those scientists must be happy when they heard about you. Ahahahaha." She then unsheathed her black sword and touch the ice wall with it. The crystal on its hilt shone before the ice wall shattered to pieces in an instant.

"As for now though, I still have a job to do. But I will come back to capture you. That is, if you can survive this." She descend the stairs quickly while sticking her sword to the inn's wall. She activated the sword's power and sent strong vibration through the entire structure of the burning inn. She laugh gleefully when the inn started to collapse, sending burning debris right behind her while she quickly ran to the front door.

--------

"I can walk on my own." Easen said to the woman. Truthfully, he felt embarsssed that he was carried by a woman, but he also thankful for her because he was in no shape to travel far on his own.

There was a raging flame at the inn he was in, but oddly, the civilians only stood circling around the perimeter of the inn and nobody made any effort to extinguish the flame.

"What happened?" He asked one of the townspeople. The man he asked just shrugged.

"Goverment? I don't know. I just hope the fire wouldn't widespread."

Easen clenched his fist. Today was a total mess. Kinapper childrens? Blood knight? Goverment? What happened? He felt powerless for knowing nothing, and he felt he had failed as a knight, being captured and beaten by a chair...

"I will go in." He said to the woman who saved him, unsheathed his sword and ran toward the burning inn.
 
Mallory watched as the ice wall he had created in front of the woman had shattered with just kne touch from her, “Damn, she’s tough, but I’m not getting a vibe off of her, I don’t think she’s an aberrant.” He thought as he put away the arrow he had loaded and followed the woman. He was stopped after she had left her sword in the wall causing a vibration that sent debris falling, covering the exit, “No!” He yelled as the debris continued to fall, “Easen, I’m sorry, I couldn’t keep your promise up until now.” Mallory said as he threw off his cloak, “it’s time to get serious!” He yelled as his body suddenly was covered in ice, “My Powers, they’re getting stronger.” He said to himself as he froze the wall where the sword was stuck, “That lady looks like she relies on the sword, if she wants it, she’ll have to break that ice.” He thought to himself as he went back to Arisa’s room and saw the burning makeshift rope she had made earlier, he touched the top part of the rope inside the room and the whole thing froze almost instantly putting out the flames, “Easen, you trusted a stranger with a young girl, it may seem like it, but it wasn’t a mistake, I’ll keep my end, I’ll save Arisa! Even if I die trying! I’ll make sure she’s safe!” He thought to himself as he went down the rope and went around the building looking for the woman.

——

Marybelle put Easen down after he said he could walk and once they made it back to the inn they saw it was practically collapsing, “damn, Mallory must’ve had it rough, I hope my kid’s alright.” She thought as Easen ran into the burning inn, “If Mallory is in there and he’s with the kid, then me and this guy have the same objective.” She pulled off her lance and looked at the building, “I’m going in.” She said as she ran in behind Essen.
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
As the two swordsmen clashed, Parker put his full force into his attack. The boy was sure he was finally getting somewhere, but was immediately proved wrong when the larger man let out a forceful shout in his face. There was an odd power behind the shout itself that Parker wasn't prepared for. He lost his footing in his surprise and flew backwards quite some ways. He groaned in pain as slowly picked himself up. There just didn't seem like there was any way for Parker to win. He shakily rose to his feet and readied himself to receive another attack when a strange voice called to him.

"Child of demons, call out to us. We will grant you power if only temporarily. You know just as well as we do that you cannot win this fight, and we are willing to help you. All you need to do is submit part of yourself to us..."

Parker shook his head and grumbled. There was no way he heard that. The last attack must have done something to his head, right?

"Please child, let us help you. We can sense your rage. We will help you slaughter those who oppose you, just let us."

He didn't want to believe it, but there was definitely something up. At first he didn't want to acknowledge it either, but whatever this voice was had been correct. There was no way for him to win as he was right now. It was a difficult decision to make on the fly, but he would have to see if there really was something this voice could do.

Alright, fine. Whatever you are, you can help. You better be able to do what you're claiming you can though, I can't lose this fight."

"Ah, of course child. We would not lie to you. Thank you for accepting our offer."

Just as the voice finished speaking, Parker could feel an immense pain throughout his whole body. It was more intense than both the emotional and physical pain he had experienced in his life all put together. His body crumpled to the floor once again as the pain shifted inside of him. Sweat immediately covered his body from head to toe and his jaw hung open, a voiceless scream escaping his mouth. The pain writhed and moved like a living creature inside of his skin until it decided to move to just a couple areas. His right arm shifted into a gruesome black mass, increasing in size until burst and revealed a more normal looking arm shape. It was still black and was now covered in spikes, but at least it was no longer an terrible abomination of a limb. His hand too seemed to turn into a black claw, sharp nails growing from the fingers. A single black wing sprouted from his right shoulder. It was webbed like a bat's, and the webbing was ripped and shredded like it had been caught in thousand razors. His eyes, normally a dark brown, slowly turned into a deep blood red color. He slowly closed his mouth as he regained some feeling in his body. It didn't feel like he had control over his right side, but he could stand and that's what mattered right now.


"It feels good to be inside of a body after all this time, thank you once again child. Now, let us continue this fight."
 
For a moment, Urias was startled when her sword was stopped by an ice that suddenly formed on the tip of Oriana, but she quickly activate the vibration power and shattered the ice. Ha! Easy! Whoever that guy was, he was in for a hard fight. She was going to get out of the building when she felt a hard pull on her hair. She lost her balance for a while and almost fell on one of the burning table.

"Are you crazy kid?! You almost make us fell down!!" She yelled at the kid, who suddenly pulled her hair.

"I won't lose to you! Mister Clayton also won't lose to you!" She yelled back before pulling her hair for the second time.

"Enough of you!!" The enraged Urias touch Arisa with the blade of her sword and sent vibration through her body. Arisa yelled some intangible words with shaken voice before going into silence.

"That's better." She proceed to ran outside. She soon found herself in front of a masked man and a wounded girl, but they're not her concern. Instead, she watched the ensuing battle between Claro and a boy with half-darkness appearance. The boy looks pretty cool actually, maybe she could copy his appearance for her next mission. Urias, The DoomBringer! Leader of the Apocalypse!! Haha.

A brilliant idea dawned in her mind. She appoached the wall of the building and touch it with Oriana, the vibration rattled the building and created a fissure along the wall. The next time a strong force was used, the building would collapse to the ground. Haha, die. Claro! Die!
 
Claro's grin widened even more when he saw Parker crumple to the floor. Had that mere taste of his power reduced him to such a state? No, that's not it...

The knight had been enjoying watching his opponent suffer, until his arm morphed into a claw and a black wing sprouted from his shoulder. This was no reduction. Rather, it was a transformation. But Claro was unimpressed, because he would have to see to believe. Parker could change his look and grow his flames as much as he wanted, but it was nothing special unless he proved that it wasn't just for show. Those blood red eyes struck no fear into his heart. Claro had planned to cover him from head to toe in blood, so it only made his job easier.

"So the street rat flies now!" the knight mocked him. "But I can tell from those bleeding eyes and torn wings that this creature is in pain. Why don't I put it out of its misery?" He'd promptly send this demon back to Hell from whence he came. Instead of charging him like before, Claro felt it was appropriate to meet this winged beast of a Parker in the air. The knight would reveal a little more of his abilities now, because he loved toying with his opponents and seeing the new tricks that they would perform for him as he gradually increased his power.

Still, he had a mission to complete and was fully committed to killing him. Claro would surely continue to test him, but by no means would he let his foe recover. The street boy seemed unaccustomed to this new form of his, so now was the perfect time to catch him off guard and eliminate him.

He faced the ground and projected his voice, the sound waves powerful enough this time to launch his giant self into the air. But as he descended on Parker with his blade bearing down, the building began to collapse. He'd have to cut him down now and make sure that the structure caved in before he hit the ground, so that the rubble would break his fall. What is happening?! I've only just engaged this boy, and I've left this building completely untouched because the inn was my target. So who could be responsible for this?!

Claro had an idea, but between driving that thought into completion and driving his sword into Parker, the knight chose the latter.
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Parker's right side was completely unresponsive, he had no control over it yet it still moved. His left side was a different story however and even though he could move it, it was in severe pain. Not like it was before, but painful enough to render it practically unusable. And so Parker had basically lost control of his body. One side was no longer in his possession, and the other barely worked. However, even without control of it Parker could feel the immense power from his right side. He wasn't scared of losing this fight anymore, not with this other being. He would at least be able to escape and fight another day, which was all he needed.

"That's it child, let me take over for now. I will see to it that you shall not perish this day, you have as greater purpose."

"Whatever you say man, just keep me from dying and we're on good terms."

"Yes yes, I know. You will not be dying."

It was clumsy with only half of his body having this power, but he could fly with his wing. As he saw the knight launch upwards due to some unknown force and the building below him crumble due to an equally unknown force, he flung himself to the side with his wing. He narrowly managed to avoid the majority of the knight's blade, only the tip of the sword scratching his left arm. Without Parker even knowing it, the right side of his body reacted immediately due to the other being's interference. Shadow Fire erupted from his sword, the blade growing into a massive Shadow Fire one and nearly tripling in size to over six feet. The other being's arm sliced downward through the air with tremendous force, swinging the blade in a massive arc onto the knight.
 
Claro grazed the boy's left arm as he flew out of the way at the last moment, and the knight's blade continued down to the pile of rubble that remained of the building. When he saw the massive Shadow Fire in the corner of his eye, it was clear that Parker was giving him little time to recover from the unceremonious landing. On instinct, Claro released one hand from his hilt and grabbed the tip of his sword. Holding it on both ends allowed him to maintain his grip on it when the eldritch blade slammed him. He'd blocked it to the extent that it hadn't touched his body, but the Shadow Fire was now crackling before him.

"I suppose... I can't keep this up with an ordinary weapon like this!" Claro shouted, acknowledging that Parker carried a much larger sword and swung it with such force. No, it wasn't that. The street rat possessed the advantage of flight. With all that air between them to follow through, and all the force of gravity bearing down on the knight in that one swing, Claro had to be more careful. And it was all thanks to the building's collapse, which had put him on the ground.

"You know what, boy!" the large man growled, still blocking the giant sword but inching back slowly along its blade. "I'm still... determined... to kill you! But... that strange power of yours! If you do survive me... perhaps I'll consider taking you alive! To be cut up and studied! The Seed... and the Demon, both! Kill one bird and a flying rat with one stone! I've never... SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS!"

Having inched out of the blade's range, Claro was no longer wedged between Parker's weapon and the ground. The flaming sword finished its path and crashed down to the earth when the blades finally unlocked, sending waves of dirt out from the blow.

"But don't get cocky, brat. I've been fighting you with an ordinary sword this entire time. You've seen nothing yet."

Now that there was more distance between them, the knight sheathed his sword and drew his bow. One. Two. Four. Six arrows at once. Then, an entire volley. Parker was in the air, and there would be arrows coming at him. Around him, too, leaving little room to dodge all of them.

I know how to hit an airborne target without resorting to my powers. I've plenty more arrows in my quiver.

Claro was not popular within his organization, but some looked up to him. Renowned for his ability to hold his own against Aberrants using basic weapons, he was ironically an inspiration to unpowered young knights who felt weak in the faces of those they hunted.
 
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The girl threw Magnus a bone so to speak, if things went south she was sure to intervene, that much was certain to Magnus. Young lovers were always so predictable. Sighing, he took his eyes off the girl and was met with the figure of a newcomer to the scene. Normally Magnus would have instantly assaulted the person, but it seemed that due to her attack they had a common enemy. Still though, the odds of the newcomer being a Blood Knight was ridiculously high... a concern for later Magnus thought as he set Neta on the ground before turning back towards the two fighters.

Lover boy seemed to indeed have offensive aberrant powers of a sort, due to the whole full on demonic state of being he went into. Still though, something just felt off about the youth, even outside the whole extra black limb and fire sword action that he had going on. It almost seemed he had instantly become a different person in a matter of seconds.

Claro, however, still seemed to be the same bastard as usual. He had seen Claro around places, such as when they brushed past each other when Magnus had turned in a corpse of one of his targets for money, and in the rare moments they met while on the job, Magnus came to know Claro as just another paper person in a paper world. Driven by greed, violence, and a desire for approval, three values that made Claro dance like a puppet on strings. Claro bored him, and as such, he would not hesitate to kill the man.

Magnus, feeling that he had assessed the situation enough, slid his hands under the folds of his cinder covered cloak and pulled out his favored ranged weapons, two of the most technologically advanced flintlock pistols. His father had every blacksmith, gunsmith, and alchemists under his hire work on these pistols tirelessly for months, resulting in a pistol that reloaded faster, shot more accurately, fired a faster bullet, and could fire four more bullets than the typical pistol. Guns in this nation were a rarity, but the five point pistols under his ownership were completely unique and quite lethal. Now with a pistol in each hand, he ran towards Claro, firing a solid volley of four bullets aimed at his head and chest.
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Parker's right arm rose as the being acknowledged the incoming projectiles. The flames coming from his sword burst outwards, growing in size to form a wall of sorts. It seemed solid somehow as two of the arrows broke on contact with it. The other four arrows either stuck inside of the wall or clattered to the floor after hitting it. Parker landed on the ground next to the rubble of the building that had been destroyed.

"It's rather upsetting that you couldn't even handle this opponent without us child. It seems our host is weak, we'll have to fix that."

The being swung the massive Shadow Flame blade in an upwards arc as it turned back to it's previous state. It shredded through the pavement and when it reached the end of the swing a massive pillar of Shadow Fire erupted out from the path of the blade. As the pillar of Shadow Fire flew forwards, Parker (More the being than him, but he still noticed it.) saw numerous smaller projectiles whizz through the air towards his opponent.

"It seems there is a new addition to the fight child. You decide if they are friend or foe and we will take it from there."
 
When Parker blocked six of his arrows, Claro screamed in rage. No, the sound was too loud to be mere rage. It shook the whole town. Windows broke. Roofs cracked. Birds of the night fell out of the sky. The very stars seemed to tremble.

His sound waves permeated the air and put out the pillar of Shadow Fire like a giant candle. He'd gotten only so far with swords and arrows. Perhaps now was the time to stop holding back and fight Shadow Fire with fire, Aberrant against Aberrant. He would be using his voice now, but the sword was sheathed at his side in case he needed it. The bow remained drawn, because he would use it in conjunction with his powers.

When Claro quieted down, bullets clinked against the paved stones. They stopped in mid-air and vibrated before they fell harmlessly to the ground. These were fired from no ordinary guns, because most bullets hit the floor instantly, unable to penetrate his thick sound waves. But these small projectiles had vibrated an inch past them before they were finally stopped. "Bullets!" Claro yelled, thinking it unfair that a knight like him only wielded a sword and a bow. "I am not so easy to kill! Now..."

"LEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAVE UUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" the knight bellowed in Magnus's face, this time with the force to send a mature man, and certainly an immature man who played dress-up and pranced around in a ridiculous mask, flying miles in the other direction.

His plan to separate the two, Claro faced Parker and screamed at the same volume. He would send him flying a greater distance perpendicular to Magnus, through the walls of any buildings still intact.

The knight would follow this attack by firing off five arrows into the hole that was made, this time projecting his voice behind them. The sound waves would give them tailwind so that they would catch up with a flying Parker and nail him to whatever wall he'd finally hit. Kill him, hopefully. The arrows would reach longer distances with his voice backing them, so being out of range wasn't a problem if the street rat flew farther than expected. How will you summon that fire of yours and block me, through the shock of each wall that you'll hit? You'll find it much harder to control yourself when you're sailing through the air and crashing through buildings at such a fast speed, boy.
 
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Great, so the rumors the numerous witnesses gave were true, a Blood Knight did have sound related powers, and it took him being launched sky high by sonic sound waves in order to confirm this. Obviously though, Claro didn’t know Magnus’ powers either. As long as he was in a dark or shadowy area, he would be able to use the shadows to teleport him to any other dark place of his desire, as long as it was a place Magnus knew. Claro had just launched him away from the fire and out into the night sky, a stroke of luck. Pulling from the vast variety of training methods he had undergone in the years before, Magnus managed to focus on a dark area near the building on the other side of Claro and splinter himself into the familiar black shards while mid flight.

Reappearing, he immediately fired another volley of four bullets in the general direction of Claro’s head and chest once more, hoping his sudden position change would throw the knight off guard.
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
The ridiculous rumbling voice of the knight certainly did a number on Parker's ears. What was more impressive though was how it managed to stop bullets and send people flying. Parker ran up to the man as he finished yelling at someone else, Parker couldn't really tell who it was at the moment, hoping to catch him while he was off guard. However, the knight turned back to Parker extremely quickly. The boy flew backwards, crashing through several walls before breaking his momentum on a stone pillar. He groaned in pain, but his body moved itself without him thinking once again. The other being could bestow his power onto Parker and control his body, but it didn't get hurt when he did. So even though his body was in severe pain, the other being was able to move Parker's body for him immediately after crashing into the pillar. The wing on his right shoulder stretched it's torn up webbing and propelled Parker forward, maneuvering him through three of the arrows. Another arrow was blocked by the large Shadow Fire blade, and the last snapped as it made contact with Parker's monstrous right arm.

"He thinks mere arrows would be enough to pierce our skin... Not even the strongest of arrows could make a dent! Let's get him child, while he isn't expecting us!"

"I understand you want to kill him, but my body is still pretty weak even with this power up... Maybe try to calm down that bloodlust a bit?"

"It doesn't matter if you die, I can have the others resurrected you."

"That's nice and all, but I would rather not have it come to that... Wait there are others?"

"You will learn of them some other day child, right now we must focus on slaughtering this man!"

Suddenly, Parker's body violently jerked forward as the other being flew towards the knight at incredible speed. His arm rose, aiming to impale the larger man with the end of the Shadow Fire sword.
 
When Magnus fired, Claro was shouting down Parker, so his voice still filled the air. The rounds, which had come from behind this time and not from the side, inched farther toward the knight before stopping. Their forward motion had ceased when they barely touched Claro's neck and back, but the bullets continued to spin and dig into his body. In pain, the knight screamed even louder, and his sound waves grew even stronger.

However unpleasant it was for him and his foes alike, he was glad he did, because Parker was flying towards him at an incredible speed from the other direction, blade of Shadow Fire raised in an attempt to impale him. With each reverberation, Claro's cries of pain slowed the demon boy down, until the knight was wedged between the bullets that pressed into his flesh and the eldritch sword. Which was faster, he wondered?

Having been fired first, the pieces of metal succumbed to the sound waves and hit the paved stone. Only a few seconds afterwards did the flying Parker's blade stop before him, leaving him enough room to launch himself out of this tight spot and behind the demon. Drawing his sword mid-air, Claro landed and executed a back slice, this time aiming for Parker's pained left side, his human half. The knight was using him as somewhat of a meat shield, because he knew what had caused the pain in his own back. He'd been shot before, and the feeling of bullets was unmistakable. Claro knew this was Magnus's doing, because he'd seen no other gunslinger in sight. But he didn't know how the masked man had reappeared so quickly after he'd sent him flying.

With the knight behind the street boy and the latter in Magnus's line of fire, Claro had several options. He knew a back slice wouldn't be enough to kill Parker, but he could follow it up by grabbing him from behind and coercing the gunman into dropping his weapons, or else he'd scream directly into the demon's ears and kill him right then. Though, he would probably do it anyway, and no pistol would deter him from it.

~~~

Magnus had said that he'd move Neta to one of the nearby buildings, but the fighting was distant now. The injured woman could still make out three figures, Claro's visibly the largest. But she understood how the battle was unfolding better by hearing than seeing. Her eyes were strained from crying and observing, after all.

"Hello again, Mother..."

The seven-year-old vine user emerged from the darkness of the alleyway behind Neta. The figures of the fourteen other children stepped forward also. The woman was no longer safe standing by and watching from a distance like this. She swallowed, remembering what these kids had sworn to do to her when they next saw her.

"O-oh, you're the children from the other night..." Neta knew what they were here for, but she didn't want to fight them. "I won't hurt you. I don't want to! We don't have to fight! If there is any other way I can atone for the sins I've committed against you, please let it not involve bloodshed..."

"Give us back our parents, Seed! Kneel on the ground! Surrender yourself!" the boy shouted.

When Neta drew back, he shot his vine out at her, and she ducked out of the way. The children then surrounded her as she ran into the open street, Parker and Magnus far from where she was.

Tapping her ring, she summoned Plant X. The young woman hoped to restrain the children as she had done before, without harming them. But these kids remembered what had happened the last time they'd fought and countered the vines that attempted to wrap them in various ways. The pitcher plant user corroded the one that bound him and threw poison-tipped knives to free some of his friends. The maple seed user took off into the sky and forced Neta to extend her vines to keep him restrained at his increased elevation, until she was using up too much energy making them longer and released him. The Etherflower users sprayed their gas, which provided a cover for the cactus needles that flew at her.

X manifested itself into a thick vine and shielded Neta. She would have to hold her own, because Magnus and Parker were busy with Claro. She hadn't disobeyed the masked man and intervened. No, she was fighting to protect herself now.
 
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Urias frowned when her brilliant idea seems failed to kill Claro, but she just shrugged and continue running. She would just kill that cocky bastard in the next opportunity she had. For now she should finish her mission so those scentists would stop bothering her. Luckily, that guy who shot ice with his arrows didn't shows up, must be dead in the burning inn already. Haha! Now there's nothing that prevent her from taking this kid anymore!

At least that was what she thought, but she felt a dull and hard object hit the back of her head. For a moment, she saw stars flying into her vision. She gritted her teeth and endured the impact, her brain was trying to formulate what just happened, but it's interrupted by another hit on the back of her head. This one was more powerful. Damn! What's happening!

"Ironwood attack!!" The kid on her shoulder yelled while ramming her slingshot into Urias's skull. This third attack robbed her balance and she fell head first into the ground. The kid used the opportunity to flee from her grasp. She ran into one of the alley.

"Damn it, kid!!" Urias muttered a curse before following her target into the alley. She found the kid trying to make her way into a bunch of another smaller kids, those kids seemed like they're throwing their plant toys into the girl who was with the masked man before. What the heck is happening??! But she didn't really care, as long as she could accomplish her mission.

She pushed the kids around, trying to get her way into the target, but one of the plant toy's cactus needle hit her right arm. She cursed in pain and impulsively gave the girl who shot it a good smack in the head. The girl screamed and fell on the ground. The next moment, the other 14 kids turned their eyes on her.

"You hurt her! Attack that woman!" One of the kid yelled. Wait, she recognize the voice. It's her target! Did she tried to rally the kids against her?? Ha, a bunch of kids wouldn't able to defeat her! But she was immediately proven to be wrong when a thick vine wrapped her legs and more cactus needles thrown at her. The kids seemed to be angry at her for hurting one of them.

Urias cut the vine with Oriana and scrambled for cover. She muttered a more elaborate curse before making her way to the only cover nearby: the girl with plants extended from her ring. She never paid attention to this girl before, but now that girl was showing the power of her ring, is that ring has the same origin as Oriana?? Not that it matter though. She rolled behind the girl and said.

"Hey, pretty. Nice shield you have there." Then she put Oriana behind the girl's back, threatening her with a stab. "Move forward so I can give those kids some nice spanks."
 

Fire Mana

Previously Top_Smug_
Parker grunted in pain as he felt the knight's blade slice through his flesh. He could feel the blade enter his skin and tear through it like it was paper, exiting his body lower down on his back. Blood immediately began to flow down his left side, soaking into his cloak and pants.

"He thinks he's safe behind us where our sword cannot reach him, that stupid man should know we're better than that."

The wing on Parker's right side flexed outwards, stretching to it's full length. Slowly, tendrils of Shadow Fire crawled out of the wing, sharpening into larger spikes and launching themselves out behind Parker.

"That wound looks like it hurts child, allow us to help you a bit."

Another tendril of Shadow Fire crept it's way along Parker's back, reaching the large gash on the right side of his back. Parker winced as it penetrated his skin, stitching the wound back together with Shadow Fire. This should massively slow down the loss of blood, all though he had already lost so much.

"That shouldn't come back apart, we can control the stitches after all."
 
Neta didn't see Arisa hiding among the children, because her thick vine blocked her view and the Etherflower gas hadn't completely faded. The needles had stopped for a moment, however. She couldn't figure out what it was that had ceased their fire, because in a matter of seconds the culprit was behind her with a blade to her back.

"Move forward so I can give those kids some nice spanks."

Neta didn't know who this woman was, but just like Magnus, who had promised to help Parker but threatened to knock her out if she did anything to intervene, she seemed to be helping her. Magnus and Urias were quite blunt about their help, though. Were they friends or foes? This question stayed in her head as she obeyed, moving forward and protecting the both of them with her shield.

The swordswoman should be more careful, because from that close position, a smaller vine could branch off of the thick one and run her skull through before she had time to act. But Neta had control over her powers now, and she didn't know if this woman was as an enemy just yet.

~~~

Claro couldn't follow up his attack because he saw the Shadow Fire forming on Parker's wing. No, he sensed that something was wrong even before then, when the demonic pinion had stretched to its full length. Jumping back and raising his voice, the knight was prepared to face whatever was coming, stopping the spikes from extending any further. There was one thing that Claro had been careful not to do throughout this fight, and that was to come in contact with the Shadow Fire.

He screamed louder, so that he could send the street boy hurtling toward Magnus and throw off the trigger-happy mask. Let them crash into each other and land in a pile. Even if his plan to kill the street boy from behind had been foiled, this worked out just fine.

How quaint. Parker and Magnus could die one on top of the other, sharing a brief moment of forbidden love before the mask passed on to Hell and the demon returned there.
 
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Mallory had made it to the front of the inn just in time to find Arisa smacking Urias in the head, “good job young one.” He muttered to himself trying to think of a way to get past everyone in front of the inn. Suddenly Mallory noticed Parker fighting another man, “god damn, the hell did I miss?” He thought as he continued to plan, his body was still completely covered in ice and he had thrown his cloak away while he was inside. “Think damn it! What would Marybelle do?” He thought as he looked for an escape route, he then saw Urias heading after Arisa in an alleyway. “Damn.” He said to himself as he saw a piece of debris fall in front of him, “wait.” He said as he froze a few pieces of debris and continued to climb them towards the now destroyed roof of the inn and made his way towards the alley. He made it to the alley and saw a bunch of kids and Urias in front of them. “There’s the targe-“ he paused when he saw Neta, “Neta’s here, and Arisa should be blending in with that bunch of kids.” He continued to think but he didn’t have much time, he managed to come up with a plan, “I’ll throw my knife to Neta and she can maybe help me take care of Urias, once Urias is immobilized I can take Arisa to a safe spot.” He muttered as he made a thick ice wall at the entrance of the alley to make sure nobody ran, he then looked for Neta and yelled in her general direction, “Neta! It’s Mallory, catch!” he threw the knife in her direction but then noticed a flaw in his plan. “I said... Mallory, not Clayton..” he had thwarted his own plan due to adrenaline, “all I can do is hope that Neta recognizes my voice.” He said as he aimed his bow at Urias. “As for you, I’m not letting you harm those children.” He said still aiming the bow.
 
Urias kept herself under the cover of the plant girl to avoid those annoying plant kids. She filled her sword with her energy. The crystal in its hilt had been shining for a few seconds now. Damn! Why should I use my ultimate for these brats!

Her ultimate moves need some time to charge, so she was grateful that the plant girl was quite capable of defending her. When she felt that Oriana had enough energy, she jumped out of her cover and yelled.

"EXPLODO DARKQUAKE!!" She threw Oriana right at the middle of the kids. The moment the black sword touched the ground, a mini-earthquake occured in a small space, resulting in an sudden explosion that cracked the ground in a 3 meters radius. Sending pebbles, soils and childrens on all direction. Unfortunately, she couldn't aim for kill since her mission was to bring the kid alive.

Going all out, she dashed to her target at a stunning speed, dodging a suspicious-looking mist and slamming every childrens she came across, then she grabbed both her sword and the kid before running to the alley's exit, which surprisingly was blocked by a thick ice wall. She ran into it face first and collapsed on the ground.

"WHO THE HELL PUT THIS THING HERE!!!" She roared in rage, her hand covered her throbbing forehead.
 
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“Neta! It’s Mallory, catch!”

Who was Mallory? Was that the woman who had threatened to stab her? Or maybe Clayton felt so deep a bond with his knife that he'd named it, and she was literally catching Mallory? Each time new questions popped into her head, Neta's pursuit of their answers was interrupted by a blade. This time, however, the one that Clayton had thrown wasn't touching her as Oriana had been, because a smaller vine peeled off the larger vine protecting her and caught the weapon for her.

"But Clayton, I-I don't... I don't know what to do with it!" Neta hesitated at first, but she was forced to speak up when the sound of an explosion drowned out her voice. If she was to take out Urias with that knife, she was already too late. She'd told Neta that she was helping her out with the children, so the young woman didn't comprehend that she was an enemy and that Clayton wanted her eliminated.

As soon as Neta recognized the girl whom the Blood Knight was taking away, however, she knew that Urias was no friend of hers.

"That's... Arisa!" she remembered the sweet little girl from the inn, who had happily eaten the pancakes she'd served. "What are you doing to Arisa? Let her go!"

Neta was serious, but she struggled to project her soft voice. She had done nothing but protect herself all this time, so she decided now to make up with actions what she lacked in words.

Dropping her guard and assuming an offensive stance, the woman shot her vines out at the Blood Knight in an attempt to restrain her, and her alone, while she was still covering her throbbing forehead. She made sure to pull her away from Arisa. Neta did not understand exactly what was going on here, why Urias was running off with this innocent girl, and who Mallory was, but she had to exert at least some control over the situation because it was the surest way she'd get the answers she needed.

"Mallory... please tell me what's going on! Who are you? Why are you after Arisa?"

Of the three questions that she fired off, one of them was a misfire, and Neta ended up jumping to the conclusion that Urias was Mallory.
 
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“Damn it Mal. You’re gonna have to tell her.” Mallory told himself quietly, “Neta, It’s me Clayton, that’s what I’m known as by you and a few others but my real name is-“ Mallory was cut off by a figure that jumped out from the burning inn and landed in front of him.

“His name is Mallory!” The figure yelled as she landed.

“God dammit Ma- Davina!” He yelled at her as she stood up.

“Hey, listen kid, we have the same target, but I have a different mission, you’re like a son to me, so I have to protect you.” Marybelle told him as she looked him in the eyes.

Mallory stood there silently, somewhat shocked and a little confused.

“What’re you standing there for, go save your small kid.” She told him as she turned back to Urias. “Mallory, your training that child like I trained you, two knives between a target, keep going till you make it three times over.” Marybelle thought to herself, “I saw the whole thing, I’m proud of you.”

“Neta, for now, let’s stick to Clayton.” Mallory told her as he went towards Arisa and picked her up. “No time for questions so don’t bother, I’m taking Arisa to a safe spot Neta.” Mallory said as he jumped onto his ice wall. “Davina, Neta is my friend, you know who your target is, I need you to stay here and protect her, punish Urias while you’re at it if you want.” He said as he began running from roof to roof looking for a hiding spot.

“Got it!” Marybelle replied as Mallory leapt away. “Neta, don’t know who or where you are but I’m here to help, I’m no foe.” She said pulling out her lance and pointing it towards Urias.
 
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