Telekhus Kastor's Story

“You threatened to chain me up!”

“I did. And I’m thinking I should have followed through with that threat, and to gag you as well.”

“What did I do to deserve this treatment?”

“You ran away from the Magical Academy, and your master hired me to find you and bring you back. Alive, but not unhurt. Remember I could have been much harsher with you.”

“AHH! You’re such a dick! I don’t want to go back!”

Two people were walking along a gravel road, dense forestry to either side of them. It was dim, the sun barely being able to get past the thick leaves of the trees. The two people who were walking was a man and a young woman. The man had dark leather armour, a sword at his side, and tattoos covering his face and almost bald head. He had a look of exhasperation on his face. The young woman was, to counter her fairly clean looking captor, was in a dirty blue dress, with streaks of dry mud on her face, and her hair a clumped and dry mess. She not only hated her current situation, but also swamps. The man told the woman, “I don’t care if you want to go back or not. I’m trying to complete a job.”

The young woman grumbled under her breath. The man laughed. It seemed like a peaceful capture mission. That changed when the man barked out, “Stop! And be quiet.”

Silence. The young woman quickly followed the orders given to her. The man listened intently. Silence. It was odd. There was no wind or light breeze, which would usually rustle the leaves on the trees. The sounds of crickets and other insects wasn’t there, and the ambiance of animal sounds had just disappeared. It was eery. It was unnatural.

The man placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, waiting for something. He waited with patience and a quiet mind. About half a minute later, the roar of an unknown beast could be heard from the forest. The thuds of heavy footsteps were not only heard, but also felt. Heavy vibrations shook the leaves. “What is that?! Telekhus! WHAT IS THAT?!” the captive screamed out in terror.

“Gods be damned, woman. Calm yourself Mel!” was the reply from the captor.

“No! No!” the captive, Mel, pushed the captor, Telekhus, out of her way and started running away. Before he could chase after his charge, a troll broke through the thick foliage, barely fifteen feet away from Telekhus. His attention was now solely on the troll, its grey, stony skin is dull, its beady eyes small in its large sockets. Its big, warty nose not comparable to the small width of its small mouth. Yet Telekhus could still see its jagged, brown teeth. The troll was gigantic, eleven feet tall, four feet wide. The arms of the beast like tree trunks, with three thick fingers on each hand. It roared once again, before charging at Telekhus.

The manic grin on Telekhus’ face said it all. He was ready.

In that moment, Telekhus Tiomo Kastor disappeared, and in his place was the Significant. Pulling his sword from its sheath, the Significant felt Ancient magic starting to be released, circulating faster and faster through his body. This magic of olde strengthened his muscles, hardened his skin, cleared his mind. He saw more details, through his glowing white eyes, the tattoos covering his face and head starting to become brighter and brighter by the second. The Significant charged the troll as well.

Trolls were dumb, dumb creatures. Their brain barely bigger than a child’s fist. But they were big and they were strong, if a little slow. They could usually brute force their way through problems. The Significant was faster, though. And stronger than the average Adventurer. What would a troll do in the face of a man who could jump over ten feet high? Nothing, because it was dead. When the Significant jumped on top of the troll, the troll was too dumb to figure out what to do. This allowed the man to jam his sword through the eye socket of the troll and into its brain. The beast fell forward, its moment allowing Telekhus to ride him to the ground. When the troll crashed and stopped on the gravel, Telekhus’ tattoos were back to their normal, inky black state, and his eyes dark as ever. “AHHH, YEAH!!” the Nomad cheered, adrenaline still being pumped through his body.

The sellsword’s victories were cut short when he heard the panicked scream of Mel farther down the gravel road. His eyes widened before he set off at a sprint to find his charge.

Within seconds, Telekhus was in a clearing, witnissing goblins surrounding the girl, pushing her closer and closer to the sharp edged cliff. The sellsword didn’t know how far the drop was, so he yelled to distract the goblins. Three of the eight goblins broke off to deal with the incoming threat. The other five were still slowly encroaching Mel.

Telekhus was angry as he met the goblins, two of whom were wielding swords, and the other a mace. The pitiful martial skill of these goblins had no chance compared to a master swordsman. Briefly flashing white, a quick shot of Ancient magic going through his body, Telekhus overpowered and disarmed two of the goblins, and decapitated the other. The onslaught didn’t stop there. The Nomad swung his sword in a short arc, slicing through the neck of one of the last two goblins that faced him. The last goblin turned to run towards the main group, but before he could move three steps, a sword was being stabbed into his back. The goblin fell to the ground, dead and with a hole in his body.

In a flash, Telekhus was on the last five goblins, with only two being ready to face the man. Two unsuspecting goblins were killed with a swing and a jab from his steel sword, before a goblin met the blade with a dirk. There was a struggle for a moment before Telekhus overpowered the goblin with a shift of his feet into a much stronger stance. He kicked the goblin away, before turning to face another goblin was was going for a strike with an axe. The flat of his sword met with the blade of the axe, which almost jarred his arms. He continued with the fight, not taking time to worry about the jarring. Telekhus reached in and grabbed the handle of the axe, pulling it away from the goblins body. The goblin was pulled towards Telekhus’ blade, which pierced through the leather jerkin he was wearing, and into his chest cavity, collapsing the monster’ss lungs. The sellsword didn’t have time to remove his sword from the goblin’s body, and when another goblin rushed him, Telekhus took hold of the axe with both hands and swung wildly. This wild swing luckily landed true, smashing into the skull of the second last goblin.

Telekhus checked for Mel, and saw the last goblin still stalking toward the young woman. The Nomad removed the axe from the head of the dead goblin, and threw it, two handed and from over his head, at the last goblin. This time, Telekhus’ luck didn’t hold. The axe flew over the goblin, and the blunt end of it hit Mel in the chest. This blunt force pushed the woman over the edge of the cliff, and Telekhus could hear her scream as she fell. “Oh. Huh,” Telekhus muttered. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

The last goblin turned Telekhus, an obvious questioning look on his face. The expression said, “What the hell was that?” Telekhus ignored the look, and went to stand beside the goblin. He looked down, and what was at the bottom of a 20 foot drop was Mel. Her neck was bent at an unnatural shape, with the sharp end of the axe in her leg. She was dead.

“Damn, that’s really quite unfortunate,” the Nomad said aloud. He turned to the goblin, who was still quite shocked, and said, “You can go if you want. I’m not going to kill you. I was just trying to protect my charge, but as we both can see...she’s dead. Disappointing.”

The goblin grunted, before walking away. What had just happened to him was a life-changing event. When death flies over your head, it tends to change the basic core of a person. The goblin was scarred. He left the clearing, and decided to go home, and not back to his leader. His last thought before disappearing was about the troll, and where it was.

When Telekhus was looking for a way down the cliff, he noticed somebody on their back at the edge of the clearing. He didn’t see exact details, but he could tell that the person had long, white hair. He yelled out, “Hey, you! You’re not dead too, are ya? Because if you are, that would be quite the coincidence! I mean, if you are alive, I guess this meeting is still quite the coincidence!”

The clear skies were a nice sight, especially with the massive sticks sticking out of the ground accompanying the sight. Karolin seemed to have forgotten about the dangers about the goblins, of course she was still new to the world. Even then if she was born in this world she would still be normal.

Now what was she doing now? That sound, oh she was following that sound. Now perhaps she should---"Hey, you! You’re not dead too, are ya? Because if you are, that would be quite the coincidence! I mean, if you are alive, I guess this meeting is still quite the coincidence!” A voice called out from above.

How peculiar, Karolin soon leapt back on her two feet as she dusted herself off looking around. Soon enough she noticed the cliff and at the top of the cliff was a figure. What a predicament, she was down here while that person was up there. That was no way to lead a conversation. Looks like she had to do something about this.

Walking up the the cliff and stopping in front of it, she cleared her threat as she lightly kicked the ground under her. "Pardon me, please wait a bit. This is inconvenient for having a conversation." She called out before shaking her hand. Of course it looked like she was ready to scale the cliff. How she would scare the cliff was rather different.

After giving the ground a few light kicks, she slammed her foot on the ground leaving behind a shoe mark a few inches deep under her. She jumped the first ten feet before punching the cliff with her fist to keep herself from falling down. Afterwards she hefted herself up and scaled the next ten feet five feet at a time.

Once she reached the top she flipped in the air and glided to the ground in front of the figure, or more appropriately the man in front of her. On closer inspection, the man would find the figure to be a woman, with short black horns, 3 sets of small black wings and a tail idily jutting from her backside. She wore what was conserved to be rather fashionable dress clothing all topped with a skirt.

She adjusted her red tie before dusting off her gloves from the dust that gathered on them. "Much better. Or perhaps you would have preferred to speak at such a distance?...Hmmm...Karolin Leoni Baade." She suddenly greeted herself. Of course she was unaware of the dead goblins around the cliff, or the dead body 20 feet below them.

The figure that Telekhus called out to moved towards the cliffside, a small...tail, and were those wings?, swishing behind them. The sellsword whispered under his breath, “Huh, you don’t see that everyday.”

When the figure, who he now noticed was female, reached the bottom of the cliff she called out, “Pardon me, please wait a bit. This is inconvenient for having a conversation.” He would say so, considering the woman was at the bottom of the twenty foot cliff. It didn’t matter though, considering the woman scaled the same cliff in less than ten seconds. As Telekhus stepped back to allow room for the woman, he could only think, You definitely don’t see that everyday.

The woman had just finally glided to the ground in front of him. Telekhus could finally give her a closer inspection, and considering she was less than two feet in front of him, it only seemed apt. The striking white hair he first noticed, the wings and tail were still there. Two horns topped her head, with very interesting red eyes. His eyes trailed down, taking in her form. She had an odd dress choice (Telekhus didn’t really know what to call it, considering he’d never seen an outfit like it before), but still, it worked for the woman. She made it look good, and the eyes of the sellsword lingered. The skirt is what made the outfit, for Telekhus. He had a thing for pretty women in skirts. And then those legs, in those stockings. Gods be damned, this woman was beautiful.

During his observation of the woman, she spoke, “Much better. Or perhaps you would have preferred to speak at such a distance? ...Hmmm...Karolin Leoni Baade.”

The sellsword smirked, before he said, “Hello, my Lady Baade. I am the great Telekhus Kastor! You may have heard of me from my work in the Akara Kingdom. I stopped a civil war from breaking out. Or maybe you’ve heard of my escapades in this large land, the Orvenus Kingdom? You must have? The body at the bottom of the cliff made quite the thump!”

There was no factual proof that Telekhus Kastor had assisted in any form with the civil war of the Akara Kingdom. He claimed that the king hired him personally to kill one of the generals of the opposing army, in which that single-handedly stopped the rebellion. In truth, Telekhus was only there to defend a caravan from bandits and other unfavourables. He did leak the plans of the rebel army to the king, though, considering that the caravan he was guarding had plans that were somewhat integral to the rebel army. He was, of course, paid quite the heavy penny for his duties. For both the caravan guarding and the leaking of information.

The other thing he boasted about was just a jest, and it may or may not have been in poor form.

As the man's gaze seem to linger on Karolin, she seemed to either not notice his gaze or not care at all. Of course as the man began to speak, Karolin tilted her head a bit as she listened to him. “Hello, my Lady Baade. I am the great Telekhus Kastor! You may have heard of me from my work in the Akara Kingdom. I stopped a civil war from breaking out. Or maybe you’ve heard of my escapades in this large land, the Orvenus Kingdom? You must have? The body at the bottom of the cliff made quite the thump!” The man began to boast and introduce himself. Normally, most women would probably be interested as his story...If they were originally from this world.

Karolin in particular was...not from this world unfortunately. She kept a straight face either because she was not actualy impressed by his story...or it flew right over her head. She soon nodded at the man. "The Great Telekhus Kastor...Quite a mouthful of a name...Is it common to have such long names here? Perhaps it is...You can call me Karolin, although I do not know how you got Lady Baade...Perhaps our language was not in sync...wait...I could understand you so perhaps I might have mispronounced...I shall call you Telekhus for sake of ease..." She spoke as she began to pace about.

Quite an interesting person, his name was rather long, and whatever he said he seemed proud about. However she would soon turn to the direction of the music she still heard. It seemed like it was getting much more lively, she should get a move on. She would suddenly spin around to face Telekhus once again. "Farewell, I have been heading to the sound of that noise...It seems rather peculiar..." She would then suddenly spin around and walk over to the edge of the cliff.

Without hesitation she jumped off the cliff allowing her wings to gently slow her descent as she once again went back on track. She rather not miss out on whatever was going on. She was close that was for sure, from her vantage in the air she could see signs of buildings. Not quite like the structures back home, but they seemed humble enough. Once she landed on the ground she suddenly took off in full sprint because she could.

When Karolin started speaking, as well as pacing, Telekhus knew his boasting did not make any headway, "The Great Telekhus Kastor...Quite a mouthful of a name...Is it common to have such long names here? Perhaps it is...You can call me Karolin, although I do not know how you got Lady Baade...Perhaps our language was not in sync...wait...I could understand you so perhaps I might have mispronounced...I shall call you Telekhus for sake of ease..." Telekhus was dumbfounded by what she was saying. And the tone of her voice. What the hell?

Before he could get a word in edgewise, the woman suddenly turned to face him. She said, "Farewell, I have been heading to the sound of that noise...It seems rather peculiar..." Telekhus blinked when she jumped off the cliff and started to glide to the ground.

The sellsword watched as Karolin hit the ground and took of towards - wait, were those buildings? Telekhus referred back to the map he looked at earlier in the week, and to the area he was looking for in specific. “I swear, if that’s actually Arisa village...at least this trip will have one good outcome.”

He looked down at the body of Mel on the ground below him. Poor girl, she actually had some talent, according to her master. That was going to be an awkward conversation. Well, nothing to do but keep forging on. “Hopefully my grandparents are still alive,” and with that Telekhus jumped off the cliff. Before he landed his eyes and tattoos flashed white, Ancient magic flowed through his body. When he hit the ground, his legs took the brunt of the impact, but the magic allowed him to walk off the damage that would have happened normally. Telekhus Kastor started to walk the same direction that Karolin ran in (towards, hopefully, Arisa village).

(And so...it shall begin...) (The post got even longer because I had to post for every single NPC. I am going to be so happy once the Prelude is over and I don't have to manage this many NPCs at once... >.>)

Eric Porter had been rushing over because he wanted to warn the others, but he had sensed the presence of three people with large amounts of strength coming towards the village as well. Encountering some Goblin Troll Riders, he decided to make the most of it...and using his ridiculous strength, create a large enough impact to send the Goblins and Trolls flying in their directions as projectile weapons. At the same time, he focused mana into his legs via Mana Circulation and kicked off the ground.

Of the three heading towards the village, they looked like normal people. However, one did not even need to pay attention to realize they stood out. Two of them were twins that wielded large swords, and the other had two daggers with an intricate design imprinted on them. He was wearing a hooded cloak, however in a small village they would stand out unlike Chris, Kyo, and Mr. Lyon. That was why three of them had moved in ahead, while these three stayed back, and the other two who focused on long range and support held even further back.

They had been prepared for all sorts of situations, even the situation were for some reason this village had a catapult, they were prepared for that. If for some reason the village had some noble passing through with their elite guards, they were prepared for that. If there was a disease spreading throughout the village that would render them helpless, they were prepared for that.

However, they were not prepared for Goblins and Trolls they had decided to use as weapons against the village to be flung at them at such a ridiculously high speed.

The twin swordsman drew their swords and cut through as the rogue kept moving towards the village, but as they had done that, they had missed something that had approached in a blind spot created by the present corpses, and as they had just swung their weapons they had an opening. Eric took that chance, and swung at them with full force to get rid of them immediately.

At least, that is what should have happened, but the two used their bare arms to block the blow as they pulled away and redied their swords. There were deep wounds in their arms, but inversely, that was it. Their arms had not been cut off or rendered useless, which indicated their strength. As he realized this, Eric readied himself for a hard fight. After all, it was clear to him that these people were a threat, even to him.

However, the rogue did not stop and instead ran towards the village, directly towards where the largest amount of people had congregated. And at the same time, The Goblins started to advance...but then stopped for one minute.

Meanwhile, in that group, dancing had started. Maybe dancing was infectious or something, but even Kyo had joined in which brought Chris near the edge of insanity. Additionally, Kyo had on purposefully delayed the Goblin invasion when the dancing had started, though the only people who might be able to realize that are Bella, Chris, and Mr. Lyon.

Chris knew that the God was not entirely happy with what they were doing, but he had to obey under the bounds of the Contract that was made. But, that didn't stop him from doing stuff like this on occasion. He was just completely screwing around, and his face was making all sorts of childish expressions to match his body. At one point, Kyo even went to go be a dance partner with not only the targets, but also the abnormality that had entered the village as well.

Of course, Kyo knew if Chris reported this maybe he would get in trouble, but in truth Kyo didn't like hurting uninvolved children. Given that they planned to slaughter the village including the children, Kyo had to obey because of the Contract but he didn't like it. Of course, his priority was to capture them alive, which gave him some wiggle room. Had his orders been to kill Corro and Quail, and take their corpses, he couldn't do this much. But they were asked for them to be alive, which gave Kyo some options.

And then, as the dancing began to end...there was shouting that came from all over.

"Goblins! It's...its a large scale Goblin invasion!"

"Quickly, take up arms!"

"Someone get the Porters!"

"Hey, it seems like most of the Goblins are pouring in from the north, not the south! Almost like they got annihilated already!"

"The Porters must already be active!"

As people took up arms, someone had noticed the south side was already wiped out which allowed the villagers to help fight the north. However, around where Morigan was...

"It's...its a Goblin King! Guys, its a Goblin King! And his Goblin Royal Guard!"

As Morigan had just about to get close to the others, the Goblin King and it's royal guard had personally entered the village for the invasion, as if led there by a strange collection of mana. He was known as one of the strongest types of Goblins in the world...

Enemy: Goblin King:
High Strength, High Endurance, Medium Perception, Low Agility, Medium Intelligence, Low Charisma (Note that normal Goblins have no Charisma), Low Wisdom.
Notes: Has good weapons skills, occasionally some magic skills, and possesses the ability to utilize tactics.
Weaknesses: Although stronger then others, still a Goblin. Could be beaten to death, or killed with magic.

Of course, if the battle between a Necromancer and a Goblin King occurred, the chances that some sort of champion or adventurer nearby would notice are high and they might choose to join in.

As all of that chaos ensued, Kyo found himself standing right in front of Bella.

"Yo! Long time no see Bella. You certainly have evolved quite nicely".

Kyo made some casual conversation with Bella, despite clearly being an enemy. He extended one of his arms, and revealed a Mark of Contract. That only ever appeared if a God had made a Contract with a mortal through a physical manifestation of itself on Earth, or through a shrine or alter.

"Its unfortunate, but there is a guy out there with something I need. To think he would make me do this though. Well, I cant break orders, but I can fudge them a little. Given that I don't want to fight kids, and you are the strongest entity here, fighting you should be sufficient for me to not break Contract. After all, you do plan on trying to stop me right? So..."

Suddenly, a thick black aura came out of Kyo as he faced off with Bella. As the surroundings were already in chaos from the Goblin invasion, as well as reports of human attackers as well, everything was going crazy so no one noticed their fight at that moment. His aura was also making it harder to recognize him.

"If I fight you, I can't be held liable if those two escape or if after our fight the others somehow ended up getting beaten so badly it would be a forced retreat!"

He said this as an innocent smile grew upon his face. Kyo was probably the worst opponent for Bella to fight, but inversely Bella had the best chances of forcing Kyo to stay focused on her without breaking his Contract. In other words, Bella could at the very least keep the God busy for awhile...but also, because of the Contract, Kyo had no choice but going all out. Chains shot out of his aura, moving around freely in the air as they both protected him and charged at Bella to attack.

Enemy: The God Kyo
Extremely High Everything, except strength and endurance which are medium.
Notes: Touching his aura or his chains will cause destruction to physical entities.
Weaknesses: Isn't actually evil, and doesn't want to hurt Children. Doesn't work with the others in his group at all, but with his power, he might not need to.

Having stopped dancing, Corro looked back towards Quail as he noticed others had begun fighting. There was also the intense feeling of mana being released at their house...and suddenly, a huge magic array opened up in the sky north of them, and lightning rained down. Furthermore, the lightning only seemed to hit Goblins. It could have only been released by their mother, but Corro couldn't help but notice it felt too simple for her.

Corro began to run over and reunite with Quail, but was interrupted when two people randomly attacked him, and Corro noticed that blood had been splatted and was being spilt anywhere, some heading for Quail. But Corro instinctively sensed danger, and used his magic to raise a large wall of ice between Quail and the blood while also freezing all the blood. He also kicked those two people away, as they were acting like puppets.

"Awww. You sure do catch on quick".

Corro's attention was drawn the moment this was said, and noticed a flask of green liquid was thrown at him. He didn't sense any danger from it, but made the conscious decision to avoid it. He darted around the flask in a quick clean motion as it broke in the middle of the air, which caused Corro's right shirt sleeve and right shorts leg to sizzle. His clothing had the toughness of Wyverns as it was leather made from them. However, had he taken that flash directly, he would currently be standing on the battlefield naked with only a sword in his hands.

Notably, the green liquid had no effect on his skin at all, suggesting it would only dissolve non-living things. This was because their orders were to capture the twins. The plan was to throw the acid at them to remove them of any ability to hide weapons or wear armor, as it was harmless to living things. After that, they would just abduct them. That was the plan.

To be fair, the acid had worked. Parts of his clothes had taken a small bit, but there was no way the damage was near enough to make them fall off, or even to create a hole worth exploiting for an attack. At the same time, that man came walking towards Corro with a feeling of annoyance.

"So, you could even avoid it even though I used mana to mask the presence of the flask itself as well as my attack, and I even went through the bother of calling out to you to create a gap in your consciousness. Just what the hell are you, furball?"

"I just work really hard".

"Tsk. So you wont tell me your secret. No matter, once we capture you I can beat it out of you!".

Suddenly, Chris pulled out a large sword out of nowhere, at a size which seemed preposterous. However, what was even more notable is that it appeared to be made of blood, and that as he drew it drops of blood were scattered everywhere. Corro instinctively dodged, but a few drops fell near where he dodged and...

"Boom".

They exploded right next to Corro, sending him sprawling into the air before making impact on the ground. But Corro immediately got to his feet, and his expression had changed. There was worry, anger, irritation. But there was also a small, cute smile that had appeared as well. That was because Corro was excited, excited to have a strong opponent to fight. After fighting Goblins and his parents for most of the time, this was the first time Corro had a strong, sentient enemy. Corro raised his sword, and his tail wagged cutely and excitedly. And additionally, he and his mana gave off an intense pressure now. It was clear his fighting spirit had only increased from getting blown up.

"Physical Boost!"

Activating his magic, his body became stronger, faster, tougher. He moved at a much faster speed then Chris had anticipated he was able to do, catching him off guard and delivering a hard strike to his abdomen. Corro was actually a bit disappointed when it ended so easily, but he saw Chris standing up like he received minimal damage.

"Damn brat...to think you could hit that hard...no matter, you are still no match for me".

Corro only got more excited. He hated this man and who he belonged to, but for the first time in his life he had a tough opponent that was not his parents. He wanted to see just how strong he had become.

"Boom".

But Corro had not realized Chris had placed some of the blood on his sword, and got blown up again. To be fair, the blood had hidden inside the grooves of the intricate sword, and kept itself out of Corro's eyesight. Chris was a utilizer of Blood Arts, which is a very rare but very powerful magic technique. Even Corro's parents had only heard about them, and never seen them. He could control and manipulate his blood freely, and use it in magic. Explosions were just one of many techniques he had.

Corro immediately stood up and shook all the blood off of him...but Chris did not give him the chance.

"Boom".

And blew Corro up yet again, while Chris smiled now. That was because he loved to make people suffer and cry, and felt that by making others suffer and cry he would never suffer and cry again. Therefore, he treated Corro in a rather sadistic manner despite the purpose being to bring them in alive. And because of the ice wall Corro had put up to avoid anyone else getting infected by his blood, it was hard to tell what was happening to Corro unless you went all the way around.

"Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom".

But the constant explosions probably did not help, as Chris did not invoke all the blood at once. And then, Chris moved in and hit him with the sword, but Corro somehow managed to block it despite his state. His armor was okay, but its defensive value had definently dropped and he appeared to be in a worn out state. Meanwhile, from the massive blows he managed to sneak in, Chris only had a bruise on his cheek which he felt.

"Hold on...when did you hit me..."

And then suddenly, the force of that blow activated and he was sent sprawling. At the same time, Corro moved around and swung his sword into him, combining the momentum of the two. He had used Time Magic to delay the impact force of the blow, but the bruise still appeared. Although CHris seemed to have great strength, Corro had noticed he seemed light. But he didn't expect him to not notice the bruise at all until the full force kicked in. In truth, Corro was starting to suspect this guy was resistant or outright immune to pain.

Corro began to wonder if this was an opponent he could handle on his own.

"Boom".

Of course, in this time, a man with rogue like skills and abilities appeared holding two daggers. He looked at the state of things, and frowned.

"How the hell are they having this mu..."

The rogue immediately sensed danger, and jumped back towards the stage. Anyone nearby not focused on combat yet could see him, and could probably tell he was an enemy. However, he was an unknown, other then that he was fast, stealthy, and smart. He also seemed to be perceptive.

"I swear, can't you lot just leave villages like this in peace?"

And the one who stood among the heroes, appearing out of nowhere with what appeared to be ninja combat skills, was...the herbalism lady?!

Not only that, but the village chief also showed up holding a cane that had a magic stone implanted in it. And for some reason, he radiated magic power. (This probably doesn't need ot be said, but I will say it anyways. Plot point alert!)

Now, if one were to think abstractly, one might consider it was a little odd for a major powerhouse like Bella, and two of the most powerful adventurers in the world, Eric and Lily Porter, to be in the area of this small village, even if one was in the swamp nearby. Indeed, one would never expect to find adventurers of Eric and Lily's caliber even close to this small village that is peaceful with no threats nearby, and nothing of interest to attack. Even bandits wouldn't set up in this area because of the mountains being too cold, even if the Porters were not here it wouldn't be good because in this closed off area by the mountains it would be hard for them to escape.

Either way, with this all of the enemies were now deployed. Of course, there was also an army of Goblins to deal with, but that did not matter much. Who would the final heroes fight? That is a good question....but first, lets return to where the first fight started.

Mr. Lyon looked at the Dwarf, and then at Lily, before smiling.

"Phase Realm".

Suddenly, the scenery seemed to change and the light also changed, darkening a bit. It appeared that the man had brought everyone into phased reality, a reality created to mimic the one around them. They could do as much destruction as they wanted here without harming anyone or breaking anything in the real world. That might seem like it was advantageous to Lily actually, however Phase Realm had a noticeable effect that could not be ignored. It was obvious the man was more lively now, possessed even greater magical power, and had become much stronger. In other words, in this realm he got a boost.

"Multi-Elemental Storm!"

Lyon once again unleashed a powerful magic, an advanced magic spell that utilized multiple elements. Furthermore, it was a multi-target and not a single target, meaning that projectiles of ice, water, fire, wind, lightning, thunder, earth, crystal, light, darkness, and even a few that would infect the target with an incredibly deadly disease if hit from Death Attribute Magic.

However, Lily countered with her Multi-Task (shorthand) ability, and deflected all the projectiles on herself. She tried to intercept a few for Kardarrek, but because he was further away it was difficult.

"Storm Typhoon!"

A huge typhoon of water shrouded in lightning and wind blades was launched towards him, sent at a speed that would be considered insane. Additionally, lances of darkness and light were also sent at Lyon, while earth spikes shot up from the ground to hit him. In addition, hail the size of school busses were dropped from the sky onto Lyon. However, Lyon projected a barrier that would push outwards and exterminate anything it touched. Although he was pushed to develop this barrier, he wouldn't run out of mana any time soon.

However, inside the Storm Typhoon a different attack came out. Shattered Space, which would shatter the very space in front of someone. It was a high level space attribute magic, and it could destroy many barriers. It was a simple fact that very few people could use this spell in addition to all others.

As a result, he was forced to dodge. However, he had to dodge in the direction of the dwarf, which was likely what Lily had intended. Lyon had multiple barriers and boost magics on his body, so a hit from a dwarf wouldn't break him outright, but any hit the dwarf gave would be significant damage. Lyon had specialty in Anti Magic Barriers, but not Anti Physical Barriers. Although the Dwarf had no hope alone, combined with the one attacking him right now it was a bad fit. Lyon immediately tried to dodge, but it the Dwarf was able to take advantage of it a good hit could be gotten in and weaken the enemy he was in a stronger position overall right now.

However, in all of that he managed to launch a surprise attack from behind and dealt a serious wound to Lily. But in doing this, Lily used a custom made spell to absorb some of the mana from it to regenerate her own. And Lyon knew of only one person who could do that.

"Don't tell me...your name is....Lily Porter?"

"Hahaha...it has been a long time since I got injured...but no matter, you wont be escaping here in one piece!"

"What the hell are you doing here?!?!"

Lyon got visibly upset that the one with the title of Master Magus Magister had shown up.

Meanwhile, in the forest, the twin blademasters were putting up a fight. They had gotten several hits on Eric, a testament to their strength and ability, but they were also slowly but surely getting cut up. One had already lost their non-sword hand, but they looked totally fine.

"I can barely see his sword. How is this possible?!"

"Hold on...could it be...The Invisible Blade, Eric Porter?!"

"What?! Why would such a high ranking adventurer be doing in a village that only has Goblins to deal with?!"

Eric just smiled at them as he answered.

And then, back at Corro, he clashed blades with the one known as Chris again, this person who was not a normal human. Although Chris was clearly superior, the fact Corro had given him this much trouble annoyed him.

And so in his annoyance...

"Chain Explosion!"

He detonated all of the remaining blood that was attached to Corro one after another. It would leave Corro in tatters, his bones broken, his clothes ruined, his shoes obliterated, his ability smashed. That was the intention.

Chris saw from the force of the explosions the shoes fly off and away...

And then he got hit with Corro's blade. Corro had aimed for his neck, but Chris had managed to block it. However, Corro's cute smile was more visible then ever now. And Chris realized why.

"Finally...I made you block. So your neck is your weakpoint".

Corro had never attacked the same place twice, and that was the only time where Chris blocked. Chris thought he was desperate or a battle maniac, but just now he realized he was waiting to see how to kill Chris. By cutting off his head, his bran and his heard would be separated. That would stop him. If his brain got destroyed, his blood would regenerate it from the heart. if the heart got destroyed, the brain would sense the issue and make the blood regenerate it. Only by cutting off the head could Chris be killed.

"All of this...you endured all of that...just to learn my weakness?!?! Why?!"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Corro smiled, as he spoke the same words his mother and father spoke.

"This is all for my family".

(Well that took me longer then expected, but...done!)

Easily throwing himself aside shifting his weight from Lyon's first salvo of attacks. Bracing with the shield to withstand the lesser missiles of the attack, however, if it wasn't for Kardarrek's tenacity and physical strength and toughness, and in no small part to the quality of his equipment, the dwarf would be a corpse on the floor.

Kardarrek was full of adrenaline a grin on his lips, A TRUE FIGHT! The dwarf hadn't noticed that one of the ice shards Lyons created had struck his cheek, and now the bastard was forced his way, Kardarrek, shifted his weight and charged forward, his shield raised, however, as he came in close, he'd swing his sword quickly for Lyon's head, however, this was just a feint intended to throw the man's balance off further, bringing in the shield towards the man's knees.

The intent of the strike to slow and 'pin' the magician in a singular place, while also doing damage to the legs, slowing any land-based retreat.

The sigil of protection that was mounted upon his armour glowing brightly, an almost visible spell barrier forming around Kardarrek's body, the shell glistening from time to time, the Spell barrier would hold off any spell but drain the sigil of its contained mana, which was to say since its creation five years, it has been fueled by Kardarrek every day, so a lot of potential mana to go through.

While Kardarrek, the son, was busy with Lyons, Akan Forgeborn, stepped out his forge, in a simple looking chainmail shirt and wielding his own sword, the newly forged and runed blade sheathed on his back, the elderly dwarf, easily wading his way through goblins, grabbing them and tossing them with one hand and cleaving them intwine with the other grumbling. "I came to this town to avoid such fights" the dwarf grumbling away as he busied himself on the small fry.

This thing she was doing, this act of 'dancing' was quite a peculiar thing Karolin was doing. Her body was more smooth than stiff, despite not dancing...or more accurately she had never danced in her life. But she was seemingly enjoying this with the music, her jumbled mind focusing on the changing tunes. Since it was changing she could actually focus on the dancing.

However, the music abruptly stopped as screaming was heard. "Goblins!...it's a large scale goblin invasion!" Someone yelled as people either gathered up weapons or began to find immediate shelter. Invasion...Now that word she knew, oh she remembered! It was something pretty good as other demons would say. It was where a big group goes to attack another group. Wethe rit was for fun, for revenge, or just because they could. There were many reasons for invasion back in her world.

Of course seeing the people fleeing something clicked in her brain, it seemed that the people disliked the invasion. Now that would not do, that meant that she was stuck in the middle of an invasion with people who did not want an invasion..."Oh dear...hmmmm...What did dad say about this situation?..." She thought to herself as a faint image popped in her head.

"Karolin! This is very important! So remember! In the event of an Invasion, you must...I know you are about to Space out so focus!...As a fellow human with abnormal traits and you being my great daughter to which I love...Your first act in defending against an invasion to to kill everyone that is attacking!...that is all...I'll just...leave now...Don't do anything crazy..."

Karolin soon nodded at the wise words of her father, that should work. Grabbing her bat in her hands she began to walk North and that's when she noticed it. Lots...and lots...and lots of goblins. Well, her father said kill all the invaders. So she should...She was hungry and thirsty now...Maybe she should have ate more...

Morigan neared the group she saw them dancing and then noticed a look in Alec's eye. She knew he was about to ask her to dance. It was then that the goblins appeared.

Morigan drew her dagger as her undead and her new friend Alec drew thier swords. A wave of goblins charged only to be cut down by blade and spell.

"You're a mage?!" Alec exclaimed

"Obviously..." Morigan replied as she sent a Goblin flying with a well placed shadow ball.

By this time a fair number of goblin corpses lay at Morigan's guards feet. And was clear the Village needed more troops.

"Keep those slimy green bastards off me!" Morigan shouted

Morigan leaned down placing her left hand on the ground. She started to chant as a magic circle appeared underneath her. A purple light flashed from her left hand striking they dead goblins and reanimating them. The undead goblins turned on thier former kin ripping and slashing at the creatures.

Alec looked at Morigan in shock "What are you?" He asked

"Just a girl that wants to help..." Morigan replied

Alec left it at that with a nod turning back to the goblins.

About that time the Goblin King growled with anger "Those are my minions! Get that witch I want her head!"

The Goblin King charged forward towards Morigan drive by a rage. Alec quickly pushed Morigan out of the way taking the Goblin King's charge himself. Morigan picked herself up to see the Goblin King with Alex in his hand. His other hand was formed into a fist. A fist that started to beat up Alec. Morigan stabbed the Goblin King with her dagger. But it didn't do anything but get Morigan kicked, which sent her flying into a building.

The Goblin King in anger threw Alec at Morigan. He landed beside her out cold. Morigan slowly got to her feet only to take a punch from the Goblin King. All the wind was knocked out of her and she knew some of her bones where broken.

The Goblin King moved in for the kill. Morigan awaited her death but it didn't come....

A group of Morigan's undead goblins jumped on the Goblin King causing him to flail around trying to get them off.

Morigan managed to grab a fleeing goblin as it ran past. With what little strength she had left she pinned the goblin. She places her left hand on the goblin and began to drain his life. Morigan's injuries started to heal themselves as life was sucked out of the goblin.

Kodan was about to lower another piece of meat into his mouth when he heard what he thought was someone addressing him. Looking over he saw Belltroix trying to get his attention, no... She was asking him to dance! What a strange place he had wandered into, he thought to himself as he dropped the piece of meat from between his fingers. He shook his head in a "no" fashion as he looked around, smiling nervously, not wanting to be the center of attention given his recent flight from captivity. He backed away, and tried to blend into the crowd, as nearly impossible as that was going to be.

Kodan was still paranoid, even if he had no reason to be this far away from his old life. Either way, the very last thing he needed was to be "dancing". He had never done so in his life and didn't see the point of such an activity, simply flailing your limbs about to a rhythm. Of course the only rhythm he was ever in time to was a work drum.

Telekhus Kastor was just at the edge of the forest when he felt the feeling of joy disappear. The sounds of music and partying were gone, and in place were terrified screams and goblin-like war cries. If somebody else was in Telekhus’ boots, then they may have rushed toward or away from the sounds. A hero definitely would try to help, and a normal peasant would run away. Telekhus was neither. He kept his leisurely pace, taking in the sites of his mother’s home town. The only thing he was slightly worried of was if his grandparents were alive. His thoughts changed when he truly, and wholly consciously felt the Ancient magic in his body. With a thought, the sellsword tried to focus the magic into his right fist. The tattoos on his hand flashed a bright, white light, before settling into a strong glow. He wondered if he could release the magic, somehow, into some kind of attack. He pulled his fist back, and punched forward. Nothing happened. He did this a few more times, before saying, “So, definitely can’t use it like real magicians can use their mana. I should have expected that. Stil though…” Telekhus felt more powerful than he had ever felt before.

Taking his mind away from the power trip, Telekhus finally noticed how the world around him changed. There was something wrong with the buildings, the sky, the people he could see in the distance. Normal sounds were distorted, and everything was darker. Something was wrong. Something was allowing him to control the magic inside him. Wondering if focusing the Ancient magic to his eyes would allow him to see things differently, he shifted the magic from his hand to his head. His eyes started burning, and he could not see anything. The sellsword let go of his hold on the Ancient magic, and his vision slowly returned to him. His eyes still felt like they were on fire, but at least he could see.

Even through these failed attempts at trying something new, Telekhus still felt powerful. He knew, now, that how he was, was nothing good. He was unfocused, uncoordinated, weak in a word. How could he call himself unbeatable when there was so much more he could do? The Ancient magic in his body only came to force when he was in battle, or when damage inflicted could incapacitate him. If he could control it, though, then he would be an unstoppable force, or an immovable object. Telekhus needed to find whoever allowed him to become like this, and even if he didn’t, he would have a new goal.

Nodding, the sellsword continued walking towards the village. If he found the person, or entity, who created whatever thing that was around the village, he would be happy. He was already giddy, the grin on his face saying it all. Telekhus’ eyes were glowing softly with the power inside him, even though his tattoos weren’t.

He finally reached where most of the high-level fighting was situated. Spells were being flung, explosions going off, and swords were clashing. The battle was beautiful. Considering how he wasn’t there to fight, but to look, Telekhus didn’t mind just observing. “Hey!” the sellsword yelled. Obiously, no one heard him. Thinking of another great idea, Telekhus started allowing magic to focus around his throat. He yelled again. Still nothing, except his normal yelling voice. Huh. The Ancient magic amplified his speed and strength, but not anything else. Very specific. At least he was learning.

So if no one would be able to hear him, then could they at least see him? Telekhus started making the magic inside him flow through his whole body, and the tattoos on his head, his face, his hands started to glow. While it was bright, he thought it wasn’t enough. Telekhus started to remove his leather armour, before side stepping a piece of flung debris. When the leather armour was removed, he slid his cotton tunic over his head. Waves and waves of glowing white light were plastered over his body. Telekhus started pulsating the magic in his body, and the tattoos starting flashing bright white. He yelled once more, “Hey!”

Then a goblin rushed toward him, appearing almost out of nowhere. Telekhus, surprised from the sudden attack, focused most of the Ancient magic into his left hand and swung at the little beast. It was an open palm attack. His hand hit the goblin’s face, and the monster’s head disappeared in a mist of blood and bone. The headless body’s forward momentum carried it to Telekhus’ feet. The sellsword was amazed. So amazed at what he did, that he started laughing maniacally. Telekhus stood there, laughing, staring at his hand. “What in the hells?”

As Kodan attempted to disappear into the crowd, all of the sudden the crowd began to disappear around him. Looks like the Goblins had caught up with him. Oh Gods, hopefully he didn't lead the whole pack here inadvertently... He began to run as well, putting a new tear in the shoulder of his Jacket as his flight instinct kicked in.

But something deep within him caused his feet to stop. He didn't come all this way after all this time to be a subservient coward anymore. In a way, his whole life was leading up to this moment. Will he run, or finally stand up? As people continued to run past him, Kodan turned back. Walking against the fleeing crowd he finally pushed through, clenching his fists and looking for something green to pummel. Decades of pent up rage began to boil his blood as he charged towards a group of inter-tangled individuals.

The smell of death quickly filled his nostrils as he threw one of the undead off of the goblin king, knocking him to the floor with his forward momentum. His fist raised in the air as he could no longer contain the breath in his lungs. Letting fourth a battle-cry that surprised even him in its ferocity, ears pinned back against his skull and all signs of humanity disappeared from his eyes. Kodan's Peripheral vision disappeared. The entire world was him and the grotesque monstrosity beneath him.

He wailed on the kings head and upper torso, the pounding in his knuckles feeling better with each visceral punch. Baring his teeth and growling ferociously all the frustrations and anger that he had ever felt surged through him, all the way from his chest from his fingertips to his toes. Still suffering from tunnel vision, only one goal in mind, the onslaught continued. There was no doubt, however, from the limpness of the Goblins arms and legs that he was out cold.

Kodan finally stopped after what seemed like several minutes. His breathing was heavy. At this point he was straddled over the almost lifeless form with face caved in, teeth missing and bleeding profusely. One eye swollen shut, the other stared directly foreward. A soft gurgling sound came from his mouth. The kings chest rose and shallowly fell in rhythm with the sound. Kodan looked at his hands, and noticed the mixture of green and red blood on them. His knuckles had been cut as well, some of his blows landing on the street in his blind rage. His suit, his only suit, had been completely soiled by spatters of green. For no reason, or at least not a good one, this brought back the rage inside of him.

"Do you..." He brought down his fist on what was left of the kings nose.

"Know how hard it is..." He drove his fist downward again.

"To clean Orvenian Silk!?" He bellowed at the top of his lungs. With one more blow to the almost unidentifiable mush that once held higher thought, a sickening squelch filled the air. With that, he was done.

He stood up, panting heavily, regaining his composure. Even spattered in blood and busted knuckles aside, he still dusted himself off, and re adjusted his shirt collar. You had to at least try to look good. Class is what separates us from the animals, after all. His face began to return to the same stoic expression that usually rested upon it as his breathing returned to normal. Taking a deep breath, his eyes began to calmly scan back and fourth as he once again became aware of his surroundings, chin slightly in the air.

Bellatroix looked genuinely shocked, the village around her consumed in chaos. She expected the latter, sensed it coming, but Kyo was connected on this? Held on a contract? Who would hold something so important to get him to willingly enter this? She's reminded why she's buried the means to bind her ages ago. Readying herself, her purple eye now engulfed in a glowing haze, she looks at Kyo, not with anger, but concern.

"Kids? What is this about kids?" she asks, glancing around the field. She then shifts her eyes about before coming to the most logical conclusion. "You... don't mean the Animan boy and the dracora girl you were around, do you?"

"Of course. Well, maybe its an of course for those people, I suppose this is not something people should normally think about or do. Honestly speaking, I am only here because if we gods don't honor our Contracts, it would be bad you know?" he responds.

"But... why!?" she responds, holding up her hands, her voice waving between anger and confusion. This whole thing was ridiculous if it was all just over two children. So this explains the mana signatures all over the place! It still didn't make sense to her, her mind was thrown through cartwheels as it tries to come to any conceivable reason why these two were worth such mayhem. Even if she did seek to take them, she would try to do so with the least amount of drama. "This is a lot for just two children." She sighs, running her hand through her hair and muttering something to herself, her tail, long and slick, clicking and poppping as it extends out from her back, her skin changing color, her face whitening, her skin greying as a thin layer of gray fur forms on her body, her hair extends down the back of her neck, her teeth extending, her ears becoming longer, pointed, and black, her hands and toes extending, as well as her nails becoming long and sharp. Her bones inside her body shift, cracking as her body elongates into a more bestial form. "To be honest, if this were young me, I'd have less reservation. But I suppose... I've grown sensitive in my age."

"Not even we know what that guy is thinking, he just told us to bring rare, cute specimens for him to play with. That is what he told us. Well, ordered us to do," Kyo responds in a bitter tone. "He is one of those... it just really sucks he has something important to me."

"Ugh... I guess it can't be helped, then, doesn't help that this is the circumstances of our reunion," she responds, shaking her head. "Well, here goes, then, hopefully they escape in the meantime." With that she lunges at Kyo, spinning around and swinging her tail. Despite Kyo's godhood, the barbs of her tail remained retracted, only serving as blunt impact.

"Indeed. But who knows how this will end. As I fulfill my obligation..." suddenly, his aura emerges even more and spreads out, as even more chains which would disintegrate all that touched it at the molecular level came into defensive and offensive positions. "...I feel as I should warn you no matter how this ends, it won't be pretty. So if in the best case scenario, where this mission helps my Contract while they escape, make sure to take care of them. Because with my divine eyes, I saw it: they are Children of Fate."

"Children of Fate," she mutters, as she digs her feet hard into the earth below her to avoid the chains, then twists her body, and throws her arms out, lunging to the side to dodge more that came her way. She takes to all fours like a wild animal, moving rapidly as she continues her approach, purple miasma emitting off of her, coating her as she maneuvers, getting in closer. "I... I don't need that, I've never needed an excuse! But tell me..." she begins, as she circulates power into her right arm, morphing it into a more powerful and monstrous form, far less reminiscent of a human's, and swings it in the direction of Kyo. From the swing, she releases a close range burst of pressure his way. "...have I become a topic of shame? Have I also been fated? As an outcast? Is that why I've remained to my own for years?"

Kyo knew it was going to be the toughest fight he had in awhile, but he also knew Bella was a bad matchup against him for her and his abilities were superior. That said, given that she could be unpredictable, even with his guard up, some of the things she did impressed or shocked him a little. But his main ability, which were the chains he wielded, and his aura, that allowed him the ability to take control of mass or break things down ot the atomic level, was one that was both a powerful offense and defense. His aura dissolved her own, and also started to eat away at her when she swung. But the burst of energy had been a new surprise for him, and caused him to re-organize his defense. "You learned some new tricks. As for shame and fate, honestly speaking, although I can see clear merit and meaning in your existence, even I don't know the full reasons Vora made you..." Kyo had been a subordinate god under Vora, who had mastered the art of materialization into the mortal plane. Although the Gods were significantly less powerful here, they could still be called powerhouses that only the best of the best could fight. "...but you know, Vora was never really one who liked set destinies. So if I had to guess what he would say, he would say something like 'Bella you idiot! Stop wasting time mumbling to yourself in a swamp and go explore the world and have fun and save people! And help those children while you are at it', or something like that. Well, he was never big on formal speech."

---

Quail

---

As chaos ensued around her at the center of the village, the goblins invading, magical warfare occurring, undead warriors and goblins assisting in defense. Wait, undead, wait when did anyone here have those..? Well, as long as they are helping. Then she casts a glare at the stage, a man standing there, ready to attack. Who is that? Obviously trouble.

"Damn it all, where is that whelp? Them idiots best not be cuttin' me out by takin' all the glory," he mumbles as something thumps down beside him, causing him to quickly turn. He turns his head to see Quail, who, on all fours had assumed her dragon form. Her wings were fused to her arms, similar to a bat. Her scales are smooth rather than rough and hard, giving it excellent flexibility and aerodynamics. The rogue immediately deduced her as a target, and paced about her, flipping out daggers from his sleeves with a flip of the wrist, light gleaming off them.

"Honestly, I couldn't care less bout ya, whelp, but I got mouths t'feed. Mine," he says, his voice coarse. He was an honest rogue, as much as it mattered, it just meant that he was honestly dishonest. Quail gave him a strange look as she paced around him.

"You have more than one mouth..?" she responds, tilting her head with a baffled look. The rogue simply stares back, unamused.

"Shut up." He then lunges at Quail, sweeping a kick across the stage in a swift motion, equally so, Quail jumps up and spins in the air over his leg, landing beside him. He quickly shifts around and swings a knife at her, a motion with just enough finesse that if it struck wouldn't hit a vital spot. His goal, as with the others, was to take her alive, as intact as possible, didn't mean she had to be in perfect condition. He manages, however, only to nick her cheek, as she swiftly slipped under his strike, and under him, rolling over on her back, before focusing her mana through her mouth, and blasting the rogue off the ground with a loud burst of air, and in turn, knocking the wind out of him with a loud grunt.

With his agility, he reorients himself in the air, however he would soon find, as a figure flew up towards him, that he was in Quail's domain for the time being. With a defensive hold, he crosses his arms, as Quail zipped through the air above him, diving down headfirst into the top of his skull, sending him hurdling quickly down below, losing his footing and slamming down on his back. He held his head and yelled, two red marks on each side of his forehead bled from the impact of the horns. As she descended down for another strike, she found herself kicked in her side, sending her onto all four again, holding her ribs. The man struggled back to his feet, breathing heavily, he knew... he was going to need to work out a bonus for this.

Within only a moment, the rogue quickly zipped around, aiming another strike with his knives, Quail quickly twisting her head around to block with her horns, staring directly up at the rogue, as he grits his teeth as he applies pressure, but jumps back, realizing he was just leaving himself open, watching as she waves her tail.

"Not bad for a dragon twerp, but that cut gonna cost ya," he says, holding out his arms. Quail's vision blurs slightly, the world around her starting to rock like a ship on the sea, her equilibrium off as she starts to sway. It wasn't a lethal poison, but rather a potent kind of hallucinogen made from unripened berries and leaves. "Now just nod off like a good little kid, and the bad will go away! Well, er, at least the poison will wear off, that is." However, Quail lets out a sickly yell, charging forwards at him, him rolling his eyes as he kicks some dirt in her face. What came next, however, was not expected, as she lets out a burst of air blowing back the dust in his face, causing him to buckle over and yell as he tries to clean his eyes. He feels, however, her horns as she hurls herself into him, sending him, and her, hurdling off the stage, and him landing on his back, banging his head on the stony street. He'd find himself struck with a flurry of blows across his face as small dragon fists connect against each side of his face, the strength of the blows coming to his shock. Were dragons, even this small, strong like this, even in a weakened state? Soon, though, she'd be too woozy to continue, and dizzily rolls over and begins to crawl away in crooked angles. The rogue, however, face bloodied, would not be rising back to his feet, having been knocked cold by Quail's desperate struggle.

"A-and, never... call me... twerp, or whelp, ever... a-again," she says drowsily, looking desperately through her hazed vision and the chaos, looking for her parents or Corro. She didn't even have enough focus or strength to shift back at this point as the narcotic takes hold. "Wh-where is everybody..!?"

(Time to finish off...I mean conclude, NPCs!) (This will, without a doubt, be the last one. Actually, I thought this would be shorter, but I forgot I had to add a part or else the flow would be weird. Anyways, after this my posts SHOULD be entering normaler length, but I wont spoil anything so you gotta read it all. That said, this should all be fine now!)

Corro had one goal in mind. Finish off the man and find his family. He knew, if he could just regroup with them, everything would be over for these guys. At least, that was Corro's belief. But this guy Chris, although he acted like an idiot, he was smart in terms of battle. He managed to make a few comments to piss Corro off, but so far he never left himself with an opening while doing so. In laymans terms, he was one of those idiotic smart people that you always hate.

Corro knew a technique to deal with him, but not only did he not have the right equipment for it, he couldn't run and get it, or make something with ice magic in his condition. His clothes, which were more like armor thanks to the material, had held up considering he was receiving constant explosions or sword strikes, but even now it was about to fall off with a few more blows and then he would be naked except for his sword, against a guy who uses Blood Arts.

The moment Corro realized he used blood, had been the moment he realized he could not show that kind of opening. He made absolutely sure the blood never got on his skin, even if it meant getting hit with more blood over all. Because if it hit his skin, it was game over. The only thing in good condition right now were the shoes he threw as a diversion, and his sword which was much harder then steel.

If he had a second sword, even if it was iron, Corro could do something more. He found the weakspot for this guy, but now he had it covered and would not let Corro near it.

Corro couldn't even focus his mana to use his magic, because there was blood on him set to blow him up if he did. Chris had never mentioned it, but Corro could feel it. His instincts told him if he used magic now, he would get hurt. But thankfully, mana circulation techniques was not magic. As such, he had one idea that might work, but he was afraid these guys were high enough level that if he used it in front of them, they would know how to deal with it immediately. However, right now it felt like it was the only chance he had.

He immediately charged at Chris, who launched several blood spikes as he swung down with his sword. Corro lept into the air to avoid it, but that made him unable to dodge and Chris took a free shot at this foolish action.

Or at least, that was what he thought. However, Corro seemed to kick off the air itself and dodged it, getting behind Chris and giving a good swing. Yet as he hit Chris, it seemed like the attack that was meant to decapitate him was partially blocked, and there was a followup blow with an explosion that knocked Corro into a nearby tree. His armor was almost at the limit, and even Corro could not negate the injury enough to feel a bit impeded. Only the sword was flawless.

What the hell is that thing made of?

While Chris had a momentary thought about that, he had absolutely no idea how Corro kicked off the air without using magic. He figured it was a mana circulation technique, but he had no idea what it was or how it was utilized. In truth, it was an original technique developed by Corro's father, known as Air Step. It utilized exerting a mass of mana out of your feet, while focusing on mana circulation for your feet, so that you could have the two mana clumps impact each other as if they were physical entities and "kick" yourself around freely in the air.

Seeing as how Corro had managed to learn this technique in a year, he was frustrated by how long it took even when he had the creators instructions, though admittedly he was not the best at explaining things. However, given that he started trying to learn when he was five, and finally mastered it when he was six, many people praised him as a genius, even though he had spent every single day of that year trying to learn it. It is not as impressive to him, but everyone else still thought it was.

However, that Corro was now just barely getting up, as he had been heavily injured, preparing for round two.

Meanwhile, backing up a little, Lily was still in a huge magic duel with the enemy, with only a dwarf ally on her side while the enemy was alone. Although she was worried someone might enter the realm on his side and join him, and they couldn't possibly hope he would allow anyone on their side in, she believed in her strength and her family as she took out another staff from her Item Bag. The Item Bag was an interdimensional storage device used to store a large amount of objects in a small space. It had the interior size of a large mansion, including a garage, and could fit everything an adventurer might need inside.

So far, the battle had gone decently well with help from her Dwarf friend. Because he managed to hit him in the right spot, it made it harder for him to move, so he had begun to utilize flying magic to maintain mobility. It meant less attack attempts from Rek in the past few clashes, but it meant he was using more mana in this battle and couldn't land without fighting Rek as well. Needless to say, although maybe Rek was not anywhere near a threat as Lily, because of a Dwarf's toughness and his sheer existence, it had caused the battle to by unfavorable for Lyon.

And then, IT appeared.

"Chaos Realm!"

Lily raised her staff, and utilized Chaos Realm with overloaded mana to turn him to dust. All sorts of attacks, pressure waves, every attribute of attack was thrown at him.

"Damnit! To think someone like me, with the ultra rare affinity for eight attributes..."

"Is nothing compared to me, who has affinity for almost all of them".

Lily was an existence that broke common sense, as she had attributes for nearly all the attributes. The only three she did not possess was Holy, Creation, and Spirit. But in reverse, the fact she had an affinity for all the other Attributes, excluding Eldritch which no one has, was incredible. As a result, she was known as an unreasonable existence.

Lily, who was applying an attack like that was this man's opponent. Lily herself was careful, noticing disruptions in the barrier isolating this realm, making sure to anticipate any enemies that entered. If an enemy tried to approach, it would be detected immediately as the man was being dealt significant damage. An enemy, that is.

Maybe one with sensitive hearing might have heard something like a small cannon go off in the distance, but by the time they heard it the damage had already been done. Although there had not been a shot for a certain sniper to take a headshot, thanks to a tree, he had shot Lily in the heart.

Even unreasonable existences could be killed.

Lily was forced to release her spell, but the man had taken so much damage that his own spell ended as well. And because of his current damage, and the mana he used, if he stayed in that spot he would die to the dwarf. He immediately began to use magic to run away, but if the Dwarf wanted to chase after him and deal him more attacks the man was not moving fast enough yet to escape him. The man did have magic remaining for combat, but he was saving that in case he ran into some Goblins.

Lily meanwhile was gasping for air. The epic magic battle that had occurred was ended because of one rifleman at a distance much further away then most people could ever fire from had shot a bullet.

Actually, if one was to rewind time a bit, they would notice Lily had put up six magic barriers automatically sensing danger, but the bullet had been given the penetration power to break through them instantly so it went unnoticed. Again, unreasonable existence. And this person trained Corro and Quail in magic.

And now, she was about to die. But even in this, she smiled as she used her magic to communicate with Rek.

"Hey, do me a favor okay? If those idiotic children of mine don't go to become adventurers, and live happy lives of fun and excitement for our sakes, beat them up and make sure they do just that okay?"

At the same time, all the objects in her house were sucked up by magic into her Item Bag, which would be sent towards Corro. Corro was not favored over Quail, but as any life threatening situation would likely have Quail in her Dragon Form, Corro would be the only one who could use the Item Bag in a crisis.

"After all, I always knew this would happen...that they were likely Children of Fate...which is why...I made Last Gift..."

And then, two bursts of energy shot out of her.

Meanwhile, Eric was not in the best state himself. Although he had been trampling these two, somehow when he was not looking one of the twins regrew his limb somehow. Furthermore, he was bleeding out from many scratches he couldn't close up using mana circulation. In other words, in a battle of attrition he would lose.

But what made it worse was something he sensed coming. Something eerie, and bad, as if it had to be stopped. But he had yet to figure out their secret. No matter. He wanted to conserve more strength, but Eric had no choice. He would use it all here, defeat these two and stop whatever magic was heading towards the village, and then rest to recover his energy and mana before rushing back. After all, he was useless dead.

"Overpower!"

Eric, who usually liked to have fun, all out, lengthy battles was not a fan of this technique, but he used it for emergency situations despite it not fitting him. He temporarily moved too fast to comprehend, and cut the two twins in half before cutting the halves into quarters, their organs and blood spilling out. It was a devastating scene, but Eric could not wait any longer and unleashed a powerful Manawave Slash. It involved swinging the sword down, but it cost a huge amount of mana. Had he not been forced to hunt down those Goblins, or fight the twin swordsman, it would have been fine but...

"Gah!?!"

"Die, you damn monster! For doing that to my brothers!"

Eric had destroyed the musical magic that would have enslaved the town, but there had been one person hiding in the shadows this whole time.

"So...they were triplets....huh, that is clever..."

If Eric had preserved some of his mana, he could have dodged the fatal blow. But because he used all his power to stop the attack, he had been left wide open. To be fair, he had no idea since they never used it in front of him, but the brothers had strong healing magic on each other, and a very powerful ability to conceal their presence. Because the two that appeared were always flashy, it distracted one from looking for that person, and they would switch out to take turns resting as they used their identical looks and extremely good sword skill to defend themselves.

And so both husband and wife died that day. In battles, they were unmatched. But like everyone else, there was always a potential vulnerability, an opening, to exploit. They were not careless, or stupid. They did not make anything one would call a mistake. They did their very best, and beat unreasonably strong people. Of course, they were even more unreasonable, but still. Sometimes, it was not always an epic battle or a final move that got you killed, but from something else.

But as Eirc died, he just smiled and said one thing.

"Good luck...son, daughter..."

And two beams of energy shot out of him as he died.

And now, inside the Magus Codex of all four of them, it temporarily became a singular Magus Codex thanks to the Spell "Last Gift".

"Registered: Lily Porter is deceased".

"Registered: Eric Porter is deceased".

"Both Mother and Father are deceased. Activating emergency spell, 'Last Gift'"

"This message will playback for Corro and Lily Porter immediately inside the Temporary Central Magus Codex Domain established by Lily Porter".

In the outside world, as Corro and Lily were hit by two shots of magical energy each, they would get pulled into this new Magus Codex for some period of time. But in the outside world, only a single second would pass after being hit by that energy.

In this, the two of them stood, but also their parents stood. Additionally, it was their current forms. Corro could see that Quail was sick from something, and Quail could see Corro had been beaten to a pulp and his clothes barely were hanging on, which given the material they were made from, should be quite difficult. However, their parents stood their as spectral entities.

They immediately came and embraced the both of them, all of them, together as a family.

"If you are here, this means we died. I am so sorry for leaving you like that, but I guarantee we fought to the end to keep whatever came away from you".

"The truth is, we suspected for some time, given when we found both of you and what happened to who we found you with, and where you were from, that something was special about you. That you might even be...Children of Fate..."

(See the upcoming updates for the Gods Thread to learn more about Children of Fate)

As Corro knew what that meant, he also knew this was no joke. Some might say Children of Fate are blessed, but others say they are cursed. It was that kind of thing. That they had infinite potential, but infinite trouble. Children who would make an impact on the world before becoming adults even.

"So, Corro, Quail!" "Sweeties, please listen". "This is a combined order from your parents".

And then, in the middle of this touching moment, they spoke in unison that at any other time might be comedic. One would question their sanity here, but their next lines removed any doubts of them having no taste.

"Support not just yourselves, but each other! Do not sulk, or go for revenge, or get depressed and shut yourselves away! Become grand adventurers, heroes of legends, be the greatest adventurers you can be. But above all, do not lose your precious smiles and laughter! Do not let each other lose their smiles and laughter! Push forward, not just for us or for you, but for each other!"

Although they said all this, Corro was still crying in this place. But between tears, he pulled himself together...and his eyes began to glow red.

"Yes, I promise...to ensure our laughter and smiles!"

And so, time resumed once more for them as they returned to the real world. However, there was something that they also learned from the Codex. The truth about the spell Last Gift, that it was a Boost Spell that took advantage of the potential of Children of Fate. Lily had been a great genius Magician, and found a way to exploit that power to a degree in her spell unlike anyone before, however there were negatives. For one thing, it was not efficient, or could be used again, and so on. That was one of the reasons she had never used the method of strengthening by Last Gift. Of course, there were other reasons, such as it being the most effective as the one who gave the strength was dying or had just died, but there were others like that as well. There was also one reason that would particularly upset Corro and Quail.

That was because, in addition to the temporary boost, there would also be a permanent boost. Although the outer appearance of their bodies would not change in the slightest, there would be great changes to their insides. Their natural strength, speed, and abilities would be boosted. Even their mana would be boosted and enriched, becoming stronger. So it would seem like there were nothing but benefits. Yet, there was a minor detail most would not mind, but Corro and Quail would hate.

However, this sudden boost would take nuitrients to keep up. There would not be any noticeable change immediately, but…it would actually slow their growth. Possibly in a drastic way. Given that Corro and Quail were small, and wanted to get big, this could be said to have been a horrible outcome for them. Especially since each belonged to Vora’s races, and already aged slower as Vora didn’t want them to just have long adult lifespans, but long childhoods as well to compensate. And Corro was small and slow on appearance growth even for Animan standards.

In other words, they would remain small for longer than normal and take even longer to hit their growth spirts. A snail could cover ten miles on its own, and they would almost certainly not even grow half an inch. But, because as they received this boost right as their parents had died, it worked in tandem with them being Children of Fate. Their parents dying as their village was invaded by criminals and Goblins was the tragedy, or just simply their parents dying while they were still young could be called the tragedy alone. And then, the boost would affect them. Although it was only theoretical and could not be guaranteed, it was possible as they could not fully utilize their high potential that it would provide the biggest gain.

Chris didn’t know all this, but he could tell something was wrong when two bolts of energy came out of nowhere and shot into Corro, and another two seemed to go nearby, which Chris figured was Corro’s sister Quail. He readied his weapon, as he used a special magic that had been cast on all of them from the start to understand the situation.

“Hey? What happened?”

“We managed to kill the parents, but some weird spell activated when we did. Be careful, it looks like the situation might change”.
Hearing this, Chris focused down on the boy in front of him who seemed to have gotten aggravated, but seemed to have been temporarily shocked. Chris had finally managed to wear down the ridiculous armor he had been wearing, so in order to toy with him, instead of attacking his limbs Chris shot spikes of hardened, liquid blood at critical points, causing his clothes which were made of tough material to finally fall apart. This was apparently enough shock to bring Corro back to his senses, and get him embarrassed. Being naked of their own free will was seen as acceptable and normal, but being naked because of someone else excluding family and friends to some level was seem as embarrassing as it meant their free will had been taken away. Free will was the border between embarrassment and what was considered normal and acceptable.

Additionally, it was considered embarrassing for warriors to be attacked or fought in those states because it was seen as them having let their guard down around an enemy, even if the situation couldn’t have been helped.

“Look at that, finally naked like an animal should be. I swear, that fucking armor was tough. But without it, you only have your skin. Your parents are dead. Are you really going to fight me like that? But…after all the trouble you brought us, I think we need some repayment. I am sure several of our members wouldn’t mind using you, but I bet your sister will be very popular among the guys. So cute and innocen…”

Chris had started talking, antagonizing him, because he figured that throwing the kid off his game would make things easier for him. Although his weapon had been unaffected by all the attacks, it was currently the only thing he had, so in this state having been forced into this condition, Chris decided to make sure he was thrown off. His clothes were in pieces on the ground, and his bag was lying next to him. But it was right when he noticed the bag had not been on Corro, nor was it there before, did a strong aura flood out and overwhelm Chris, cutting his words off.

Almost instantly, Corro had moved in front of Chris with extreme speed that surpassed earlier, and brought his sword down towards Chris’ neck. Chris was able to block in time, but Corro moved behind him before Chris counter attack by intentionally placing blood on him, or even for the blood from Chris’ wound to spray out and hit him naturally. Chris moved to block the next strike, but it ended up taking off a leg and an arm instead. Chris used the blood to re-attach while shooting out hardened spikes to stab Corro repeatedly, but Corro was already further away.

Chris was still regenerating and couldn’t chase after, but instead Corro touched the small pouch and a strange interface made of magic light appeared. He took out a spare change of clothes, a T shirt, an overshirt with a hood, some shorts, and a pair of long pants. He quickly put on the lighter clothing first, and then the heavier clothing. It seemed weird given his berserk pace before, but after he finished getting dressed, the only thing he did not replace being his shoes and socks, he stared back at Chris. And that was when he saw Corro’s eyes. They had begun glowing bright red, and held an ominous feeling. Because Corro disabled him and then took the time to get dressed, he thought Corro had maintained a calm mind. But looking into those eyes, he understood. The boy from before was looking down on him, with hatred but also with a bit of despising.

“I can let go of a lot of things. Thanks to my parents, who raised us properly, I can take quite a bit, and even if I get angry I can maintain some level of rational thought and reason higher then most. However…there is no fucking way I am letting you live after saying you would do that to Quail”.

With a heavy voice as his eyes glowed bright red, Corro spoke to him with a voice mixed of coldness and rage. But even then, despite all that, that cute smile he always had on his face was still there. It gave Chris an uneasy feeling. Although Chris had suspicions from how he behaved, it was true that the clothing Corro put on was also Armor Grade. But it was not armor meant for training. It was meant for worst case scenario combat, and also winter when it got cold. If Corro wore this armor for too long in the warmth of summer, he might die from other reasons.

He also used this time to instill a level of fear from his own aura of rage and bloodlust.

“So, I will make sure your death is put to use!”

(So, although I hoped it would be shorter by about 1k words or so, its done! And no more NPCs other then the enemy! That is right people! Anyways, my next post will be concluding combat and feature the escape, so that we can start the actual adventure! Because we are still in the prelude! Anyways, lets do this people! ROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!)

There was quite the amount of goblins, they seemed to be rather small weak creatures. The few guards in the north were doing well...well was doing well. From what Karolin could see the few guards holding back the tiny green tide were overwhelmed not by raw strength but by sheer numbers and speed.

They swarmed the guards and began to hack away with their weapons, daggers, small axes...they simply beat the men to the pulp. Oh wow...This was almost like back home, granted the people being stabbed to a pulp usually get back up to dust themselves but they were humans without the additional traits.

She wondered why many of her kind called her a demon...Even her parents agree with her. They were but humans with just additional traits. But they were of course also not humans as well. Her thoughts soon returned to her as a few scared people ran by her bumping into her in the process leaving only her and the horde of goblins ahead.

She could hear them from where she was, they were all creaming at each other in some...semblance of language. Of course unknown to her they were but the more weaker, more dumber goblins. But for now that did not matter. While they were busy searching the dead guardsman the goblins...or rather one of them looked up and noticed her.

Of course another thing she did not know, goblins had a high tendency to kidnap women. And the goblin of course the goblin began to attract the others attention and the green horde of perhaps 12 of them turned to face her rather than the two butchered guards. Karolin gave her bat a few experimental swings...She of course remembered her mothers words now.

"Oh my sweet dear! Did your father tell you what to do in an invasion?...Good man he is! But I'm sure in a big scenario even if you begin to go a little...weird you won't be in that much danger...Just remember to always keep one alive and give them to your mother dear...I like to...talk is all..."

Her mothers words came to her mind and she wondered...Was there any helpful tips? Hmmm...A creaming goblin caught her attention as she remembered what she was doing. Pulling her bat back she slammed her foot forward and swung her bat forward to the first goblin that would have tried to stab her with some crude looking dagger. The small creature did not even let out a cry of pain as the bat impacted its face. Easily turning into little more than small little pieces it's headless corpse would collide with four other goblins with enough for to break their bones.

Karolin would soon rush...or rather briskly walk forward and raised her bat against the next small creature and slammed in into the ground in front of the creature. However she did not miss, the force cause the small creature to suddenly fly up as the ground under it launched it up before grabbing the creatures face and leaping into the air, leaving behind a small footprint before coming back down and crushing the creatures skull on the ground while also landing on top of one goblin crushing its chest.

The remaining five goblins would all charge at once with an angered screech. They all charged at the same time which would be bad. Of course Karolin dug her foot into the ground. Giving her bat a few light taps on the ground she waited long enough, the creatures inconsistent screaming allowing her to focus as she suddenly spun around, bat facing outwards. In one clean motion all five goblins were missing most of their upper bodies as they all slumped over dead.

Was the invasion over? That was her thought until another horde came from the north...There was possibly 50 of them storming from the north. Of course she did not have the time to count each individual goblin so she just confirmed that it was plenty of small green creatures.

She looked as her bat and looked at the massive horde. Her father did say kill them all...and her mother was not here so for now her fathers tips would be helpful for now. But how would she fight against all of that. She was only armed with a bat people could see.

Placing a hand under her chin she soon nodded to herself. Reaching out in front of her with her own hand, it would slowly glow as a sizable hole opened up, at first it looked like she was grabbing the handle of a mace, however it became clear as it was no mace as the handle was attached to a large and sturdy looking chain. Eventually she would pull out the final few feet of her weapon which was a massive ball of iron which would normally be at the end of a morning star.

Placing her bat neatly into the portal she closed the portal up as she grabbed both the handle and a small section of the chain. The weapon looked rather...unusable for most people. Of course Karolin was known for her rather brute force. She kicked the iron ball into the air as she began to spin the chain around with her other hand. The ball would begin to very dangerously spin around colliding into buildings and easily crushing them. Their occupants long since evacuated.

She soon began to slowly walk forward. "No survivors..." She nodded to herself as the small but large green horde charged at her. She soon pulled the chain down causing the massive ball of iron to small into the ground a few feet away and into the group of goblins. She probably killed at least 15 of them, some not outright but their injuries would claim them if they lived...

She soon yanked the ball back catching a few goblins with it and repeated the same process once again. She kicked the ball of iron into the air again goblins still stuck on the small spikes and began to spin it a few times and slammed it again...and again...and again...

The large goblin horde soon was reduced to little more than pulp and limbs and she continued to spin the massive ball causing limbs stuck on the weapon to fly off. She had no real direction really, she was walking past the northern entrance to the town when she notices plenty more goblins.

There was even bigger creatures with them. She did not know it but they were Hobgoblins, a larger and more powerful variant of Goblin out there. And there were still lots of goblins to deal with. "Hmmmm...I wonder if the people don't mind the bloody mess...A little late I suppose...I wonder if my other kind would find this fun...hmmm...it is interesting I guess..." She spoke to herself looking the gathering of Goblins, many still appeared fro the forests and even massive creatures with Goblins riding them appeared.

Troll Riders, a few on them of course and some riding wolves appeared. Some even in fancy armor and behind them all was a few figures of authority. Still quite a bit of them. Would be so much better if she had some fellow kinsman, they would love an opportunity to fight.

She simply stood in front of the gate, weapon covered in blood and her hand and parts of her clothing was stained with a bit of goblin blood. She was still ready to fight of course.

Morigan left the goblin she had been draining a dry husk before walking over to the fallen goblin king. " Well he used to have a face" Morigan commented.

Morigan then looked up to see more goblins incoming. Though the strange demon looking girl was holding her own Morigan knew they needed more help .

"Better stand back" Morigan told the wolf man that had beat in the goblin King's face.

Morigan started to chant as she plunged her dagger into the goblin King's heart. They body began to glow with an Erie green light. After a couple of moments Morigan pulled the dagger from the Goblin King. The Goblin King began to shake and then to rise up from the ground.

Morigan rallied the other goblin undead behind the undead goblin king. Marching in formation Morigan sent them into the fray.

Morigan raised her hands and muttered a spell covering the enemy goblins in a thick fog as her undead army charged in. There was mass confusion among the goblins caught in Morigan's fog. The terrified and confused goblins slashed wildly with thier weapons killing many of their own in the chaos.

Morigan just smirked sending Shadow blasts into the fog causing even more fear and confusion amongst the goblin ranks. Many turned to flee only to be cut down by thier own brothers.

'Rek froze, hearing the round tear through bone and flesh, he had prepared for the massive spell Lilly had begun to enact, but both encasing spells shattered, he looked to Lilly's dying body before turning back to the now attempting to flee Lyons, now, he glared vengeance at the man and began to chase after the bastard who had attacked the village, dragging from his belt one of the four throwing axes.

he stopped briefly brought the axe back and in a fluid motion sending the axe into an eight spin throw, embedding the axe into Lyon's back, if it struck, grabbing up his sword, he continued to chase the fleeing mage down.

now he heard Lilly's voice in his head and said to himself "Aye, I'll do that for ya' ma'am, its the least I could do." his attention turned back solely onto Lyon.

"I AM GOING TO WRING YOUR FUCKING NECK!" the dwarf threw a second axe aimed for centre mass this time throwing while on the run. Kardarek got within reach of the man and jumped up, planting a boot onto a wall and then throwing him and the extra 45Ibs. of armour to tackle the man to the ground.

Anek, having pushed his way towards the centre of the chaos where Corro did battle with Chris, he drew the newly forged black bladed sword from his back and pressed it into the ground by Corro shortly before the young man was sent through into the pocket dimension "A present from me and the Son" and then the boy disappeared after being struck by two motes of light.

"blood tricks 'eh" Anek spits on the floor and shakes his head "an interesting Attribute?" Anek waited calmly looking upon Eric, waiting for the impending attack.

The glow faded from his hands, his tattoos returning to their usual black. The control he had felt was disappearing. “No,” Telekhus was panicking, “No. No!” And then, he was normal. He was as he was before. The power was gone, and he felt...mortal. Human. Vulnerable.

Weak.

Without the pulsating glow of Ancient magic, Telekhus Kastor looked like a fool without his armour. A man with interesting tattoos, but that was it. He had not made a name for himself because of his tattoos, but because of his glow. He was only the Significant in battle. Adrenalin running through his body, sword in hand, the magic inside him coming to the forefront, making him stronger, faster, better than everyone he fought. He wasn’t known as the Significant for nothing. He had never lost a battle. When someone attacked him, they lost, either losing their life, their arm, or their pride. This was only due to the magic inside him. It was not his own power, yet Telekhus had no problem using it to his advantage.

But after feeling so much control?

Telekhus knew, now, that he was weak. It was as simple as that. Without his mother’s obsession, his father’s sacrifice, he would only be known as the Last Caster. The Last Caster, which was a completely ironic name, considering he had no talent in anything magic whatsoever.

For years, Telekhus slacked in his training. For years, he coasted along with the assured knowledge that the magic accidentally given to him would get him out of any jam he may have not survived. The last Kastor would have to break this habit. A challenge that he was now, almost, ready for.

First, Telekhus had to get rid of the weakness he was feeling. The lack of control that led to self-pitiable thoughts. This led to anger, a rage. He needed to kill something, anything. The sellsword didn’t care much about anything else.

If all the goblins to the south were killed, then there might be goblins to the north. They were weak creatures, but Telekhus just needed to kill, not have a challenge. He ignored everything around him, his eyes only searching for those ugly little pests. What he saw, however, was something much more glorious.

That was the woman he had met before. White hair, odd fashion style. She was swinging around a bat, and a spiked ball on a chain, killing goblins left and right. It was one of the greatest things that Telekhus had ever seen in his life. When the woman was finished, he started clapping as he walked towards her. He didn’t catch what she said at the end, but it didn’t matter much. “Karolin Baade, you. Are. Amazing,” the sellsword complemented the uber-strong demon lady. “And, er, do you mind if I kill those trolls?”

But, of course, battlefield. In said battlefield were trolls, with goblins riding said trolls. A bit more controlled attacks than the troll Telekhus killed earlier. Just a bit. Goblins weren’t all that intelligent creatures, because the one that was charging the pair was a troll without a tree. “One moment, my lady Baade,” Telekhus bowed in a grandiose manner, before rushing the troll.

Adrenalin was once again pumping through his body, the sellsword picked up his pace. Telekhus smirked as he saw the troll pull its massive, stony arm back, readying itself for a punch. When they were only four feet apart from each other, the troll swung its fist forward. Telekhus met this attack head on, swing his fist as well. Before they impacted, Telekhus’ tattoos and eyes flashed white. The Significant’s skin hardened, his body strengthened, and in the game of fisticuffs, Telekhus won.

When the fists collided, stone versus Ancient magic, the magic overpowered the gigantic beast. Or, well, almost overpowered the troll. The stone skin that made up the fist of the troll cracked and chipped, but Telekhus and the beast were almost stuck in a sick parody of a simple fistbump.

Before the goblin atop the troll could order the monster to attack once again, the Significant jumped high and pulled out his sword before jamming said sword into the eye of the troll. Telekhus locked eyes with the Trollrider. He winked at him, before pushing himself off of the troll as it fell to the ground, dead.

All the other Trollriders looked on in shock. Telekhus looked back at Karolin, and grinned an evil grin, born of battle lust. The tattoos along his face, and his eyes, which were all glowing white, made the Significant look even more demonic. “You want to join in? Or do I have to kill all these idiots? Because I really, really wouldn’t mind that. Up to you, really,” Telekhus asked of Karolin.

Corro had to run. He felt like he had to. It was something drilled into them, that if their parents told them to run, they did. Corro up until then had managed to keep his cool, focus on the battle, and so on...but now...as Quail asked her questions.

The face Corro made when he turned around...it had a smile on it...but if anyone tried to call it happy, it would instantly be refuted by the others. With his moist eyes having rivers flowing down them, and with his expression twisted in conflict, it was clear he was in pain.

Well, he had taken quite the beating. Even if he changed his clothes into the heavy armor version, Quail knew what it looked like and knew Corro well enough she could tell these things.

"Wh..what else can I do..."

Corro, who no longer had his "Battle Mode" to keep him together, was falling apart himself. Although there should be more Goblins up north, instead they encountered a strange lack of them, but spotted a woman and someone else in the background. However, from what it looked like nearly all the Goblins were dead already. But of course, because the special variants had been targeted by various capable people, only the normal Goblins were left. The villagers were more then capable of fighting them, especially when their leadership got destroyed beforehand. Even the other children were killing off some of them that tried to flank the villagers.

At this point, the village would survive.

(Endings C, D, E, F, G, and H for this event are now sealed!)

(BTW, H was the worst case scenario of everyone dying, Corro and Quail getting kidnapped, and the RP ending because the story went in a weird way. Every single one of those endings involved the village getting destroyed though)

The Goblins had been wiped out, but now the two that had been their focus still had to escape. Why was that?

"The villagers...they will take care of mom and dad...but, if we stay here, it will only cause more trouble for them. But, if we go to the guild, register as Adventurers, and train to get stronger...then, maybe one day when we run into them again, we can beat them! I bet...I bet mom and dad took out like, twenty each before dying! I mean, those guys might have been super strong, but I bet they still had to use numbers against our parents! They probably wiped out a huge amount of them!"

In truth, their mother stopped one of the most troublesome ones, and only died because the sniper was outside of her, and well everyone's predictions since before in this world no one could fire from that far away. And their father stopped quite a few as well. It was easy to say it was their victory.

"And besides...and besides...I have to keep my promise and make sure you keep smiling!"

And Corro said it, as he kept running. Little did they know that there was a certain, and non-specified number of people who noticed their rushed and not very stealthy escape form the village, and were following them, one of those members being a dwarf who said he would look after them.

That same dwarf that without learning it, and dealt quite a bit of damage to one of the enemies...such as, the removal of an arm beyond the ability of normal recovery.

And so, they kept running towards the secret path that they had learned from some knowledge transferred to them from the power of Last Gift.

As Karolin was busy squeezing the goblin blood out of her suit, a sudden voice caught her attention. “Karolin Baade, you. Are. Amazing,” a familiar voice called out to her. Her attention suddenly shifted to Telekhus, the man she encountered for a few minutes before heading to the village. Of course there was the ever grave threat of the massive Trolls heading at her, but her attention was focused on the man in front of her who then added. “And, er, do you mind if I kill those trolls?”

The Trolls? Oh right. Her attention soon shifted to the massive towering creature behind her then back at the massive creature. She blinked a bit before tilting her head a bit. "I do not mind, I was taught to kill all invaders. So if you are not an invader you are on the receiving on this invasion...Hmmmm...This is good." She replied.

Once she spoke, their conversation was interrupted by the closest Troll getting into close proximity. “One moment, my lady Baade,” Telekhus then gave a bow as he then engaged the massive brute.

Taking the time to watch him, Karolin soon sat down to wring out the blood and watched him fight. His fist clashed with the Troll, he jumped high into the air and then...She heard movement in another direction. Missing the final blow she looked behind her and saw people running in the distance, her attention then returned to Telekhus. “You want to join in? Or do I have to kill all these idiots? Because I really, really wouldn’t mind that. Up to you, really,” He asked her.

Karolin tapped her chin as her gaze then returned to the few remaining Trolls. "Quite, I shall help finish them off. Perhaps afterwards...I can clean this suit of mines...I really like this suit and its been bloodied...Oh, the Giant creature..." Karolin spoke as she gathered her weapons. There was two more left, and it seemed that the smarter Goblins were fleeing the area to preserve their lives to attack again.

But of course Karolin was focused on the first Troll. She began to swing the massive spiked ball into the air and swung it against the leg of her Troll. The ball slammed into the creature and with the spike inbeded into the leg she pulled back causing the creature to fall forward along with it's rider.

Letting go of the chain, Karolin gripped her bat with both hand and ran forward as the Troll was stunned and slammed her bat into its head. She of course cave the creatures head in and then sat down with its rider running away. "Done here." She spoke as she squeezed the blood from her suit again. Perhaps she should follow the people she saw, they looked like they were heading somewhere...The blood on her clothes were starting to smell now...