To A Thief - Chapter 35: War(Cont...)

Chapter 35 continued...

The Descent begin to sweep Jeuno

Jeuno had practically become a war zone in the few minutes it took Daan, Gazo, Kyrie, and their demonic avatars to sweep. People left and right were forced to run for their lives. These people showed little mercy for them.The waves of dark demon avatars scattered throughout the city, leaving countless wounded in their wake, and some dead. 

The Jeunoan Ducal Guard attempted to retaliate, but even their efforts were fruitless against such enigmatic and powerful foes. It didn't help that the demon avatars moved at such a phenomenal speed either. It wasn't long before most of Upper Jeuno was covered in smoke and flames, the sounds of the alarms blaring.

The demon avatars were much like the beastmen, making use of weapons and magicks altogether. 

"What the hell are they!?" The owner of the armor shop in Upper Jeuno screamed as he attempted to barricade the door to his shop with his tools. A few people had ran inside to hide and were huddled at the back of the shop, "Somebody help us!" 

But it was useless. The door to the armor shop began crumbling under streams of darkness that shot in and out of it, wrapping around the armorsmith and attempting to force him through the door, "NO!"

"We're in, master," Kyrie spoke into her pendant as she led her pack of demon avatars towards the pathway leading up to Ru'Lude Gardens. "I'm going to look for the body." 

"Very good," the Descent leader replied to her as he sat calmly on his chair in his dark and quiet chamber. "Daan. Gazo," he then called.

"Your orders, lord?" Gazo smirked as he brought out his great katana and began to cut down those in his wake as he ran right past them. He and his demon avatars were causing mayhem in Port Jeuno. "Still no sign of the catalyst, or the Brigade rats." 

".. This is so much fun.. They scatter as if.. They have somewhere to go.." Daan laughed rasply, holding out his arms as he ran fast towards what residents he would see, lariating them so hard that their heads nearly broke off their necks. ".. Run! .. Hurry! .. HURRY! .." His demon avatars would either fill the nooks and crannies of Lower Jeuno and find targets, or finish those off who were just barely alive.

"Heh, are you having fun, Daan?" Gazo asked over the dark pendant. Daan just loved a nice big bloodbath. 

"Here are my orders," The Descent leader began. "Eradicate them all. Destroy those that would compromise us under the rule of Altana. Those that would bring consequence to the new world. Retrieve my catalysts!" 

"Understood, my liege," Gazo bowed his head as a loyal subject would to a great king before continuing his rampage. 

"..Understood, my Master.. My Lord and my descended God.." Daan grinned even wider, his eyes continuously flashing red as his long white slicked back hair went forward in a wild manner. 

Two ducal guards stood before Daan. A young red haired elvaan man and a mithran Paladin. 

"What the hell do you freaks want!?" The red haired elvaan shouted at him as he drew his lance. 

Daan watched as the young ducal guard charged at him. Bearing a wide and cocky grin across his face, he took on a more peculiar fighting stance that was reminiscent to the martial arts that Monks study. 

"Forget it, just DIE!" The guard shouted, leaping up into the air and twirling his lance forward. Once he was right above Daan, he pointed the end of his pole arm downward with the intent of impaling his target. 

But before he could even touch the ground, Daan had launched himself up into the air hard with his arm held out. 

Within that split second, time appeared to have frozen for the young elvaan ducal guard. A large lump in his throat began to grow as time slowly regained its speed in his mind, and that lump soon became an unimaginable force that sent him flying towards a lamp post. He hit the steel hard, coming to a stop and falling to the ground below. He was motionless and his long, slender elvaan neck limply took to one side in a rather unusual manner.

"Pherimociel!?" The mithran ducal guard who stood a few feet away with her weapon drawn called her comrade's name, wondering what had just happened. She rushed to his side and knelt down and called to him once more. "Pherimociel, get up!"

To her dismay, she saw that his neck had been broken. Daan had lariated him in mid-air and did it just right for it to be fatal. Pherimociel was lifeless.

"You... son of a b***h!" The mithran woman cried out, enraged at the white haired elvaan man that had claimed her friend's life and now stood before her again. 

Picking her sword up off the ground, she brandished it before her and ran straight for Daan, screaming in anticipation as she prepared to take him out herself.

"..Yes, Come at me! .. Avenge your fallen comrade.. Relinquish your hatred onto me!" Daan yelled at her with a sickly grin. He appeared to have almost allowed her to drive her sword into his gut.

Feeling it sink all the way through, she clutched the hilt tightly and looked narrowly up at his sinister gaze. "That was for Pherimociel!" 

".. Yes! .. This Pain .. This Anger! .. Born of Hatred! .. How blissful.." He exclaimed in sheer delight at her actions. 

The mithran woman  dropped her shield and released the handle of her sword in shock. She jumped back with a gasp and looked at him, horrified by what she was seeing. 

"You... you're a monster," she uttered through a heavy breaths.

Daan's joy wore off as he heard her call him that. For a moment, his face contorted and showed a troubled look, as if having the audacity to ponder why she would say such a thing to him. 

"..A monster..?" He asked as he squinted his malicious eyes and cocked the left corner of his lips. ".. I refuse to be called such a thing.. By one of the Mithran race.. By one of such a race that showers in the hypocrisy.. Of the sins from their past.." he spoke, curling each of his fingers and making them crack as he lunged forward and grabbed on to her tail with quick precision. 

"What!? Let me go!" The mithran ducal guard shrieked and struggled. Whatever sins and hypocrisy he spoke of was a far cry to her, and she could care less to think on it right at this moment.

".. Do not worry.." Daan chuckled and whispered into her ear. ".. Cleansing your soul of its sin.. Is only as easy as dying!.." he explained crudely, keeping her pinned against him as he brought the end of her tail up and began to wrap it around her slender neck. He could have chosen to just break it with one hard squeeze, but he wanted to choke every little sin out of her. ".. You will thank me later.." 

She choked out many gasps as he cruelly suspended her off the ground by her own tail, but just as the mithran ducal guard began to draw her last breaths, a needle made of metal flew right through the back of Daan's hand. 

He turned to look at his hand curiously, wondering where such a thing had came from. Just then, an even bigger array of needles flew straight up the rest of his arm in rapid succession, causing him to jump back and let go of the mithra's tail which ultimately released her and had her drop below unharmed.  

The woman stumbled to her knees coughing as she dragged herself to safety past Draven, who stood there with an extended arm. He had another needle tucked between two fingers, silently staring down the evil elvaan man.

".. Well, if it isn't .. The little boy .." Daan grinned as he yanked all the needles out of his arm and feeling the blood gush out of each small hole. ".. So nice.. To see you again.." 

Draven narrowed his eyes and drew his blade. "Your fight is with me now, Daan." 

Over the pendant, Gazo's voice sounded out saying, "Gazo here. Looks like the Brigade rats have finally come out to play."

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Continued in Chapter 36: Brigade vs Descent