Yuna Ran's Story

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"If you show your discomfort your enemy has won. They will continue to pester you relentlessly once they have discovered your weakness." Audona’s attention slipped lightly to the Princess’ words, and a short huff of air pressed past her nostrils once more with a simple blink before her pupils were directed elsewhere. The words were empty to Aislinn’s ears- weakness was a relative term. Besides, she was already in such a state of relentless harassment from the group of wanderers. Furthermore, creatures were expressive beings, unlike humans who relied on physical language and speech; a sad excuse for a quip, considering that the Kelpie was technically as human as she had ever been, comparatively speaking.

A heavy pack was then unceremoniously settled onto her back and fastened there- no doubt only the smallest of harbingers when it came to the full pack-up of their camp. Some of the companions preferred to carry their things around with them- a fact that Audona recognized but did not really consider in any form of lessening her burden. It was more insulting than heavy to carry all of the equipment- after all, Kelpie’s supposedly had the strength of ten or more of any equine. However, something felt a bit off about the pack.

Soon after, Fuilteach was departing again, leaving with only the simple expectation that everyone would be ready to depart upon her return. There was no doubt in Audona’s mind that she was going to handle the ungainly presence of whatever was out there in the forest. AonSuil and Púicín, Vern and Lyon, followed dutifully after her at her command.

It was then that the little Uallach, Yuna, turned towards her direction and started wandering over. Caoimhe was a bit surprised that the elf did not fulfill her name-sake along the way. Clumsy; Scatterbrained. Yuna did not trip, stumble, or stutter on her approach, and after the initial inspection, a sense of acute awareness dawned on Audona. She lifted her head backwards, straightening in a subtle, agitated manner.

"Would you like some meat?" The Kelpie regarded the girl for a split second as she extended her hand in an offering of food. After that short fraction in time, Audona managed the most suspicious, untrusting look that she could muster at this unexpected gesture. Her left foot stamped the ground softly as her nostrils flared, inhaling the air and the scent of the meat at the same moment. A few seconds passed of Audona sizing up the little female, trying to discern her ulterior motives- had she poisoned the food, would it make her sick, was she trying to get her close enough to somehow inflict pain on her?

However, her suspicions lost out to her hunger- she had not been allowed anywhere near the small stream that was inevitably somewhere near their camp, and thus had not been able to feed on the little creatures and water-plant life. Audona did not like flesh, or so it was her human side that refused to allow the cursed one to sink into the desires for human meat- which was not particularly hard to do at all, since she naturally had a taking to fish and anything from the water. She did not like taking of any greater creatures, whether it be a bird or a squirrel or larger, besides the fact that there was no need since all her sustenance could be found in the bodies of water.

In this case, however, and in many cases before since her time began with the group about two years ago, she eagerly accepted the miniscule meal of meat, if it could be called even that. Her muzzle leaned down and rested somewhat heavily on the little elf’s hand, her lips and nostrils snuffling against the girl’s palm as she- uncharacteristic of any Kelpie or inhuman- delicately took the strip offered to her. Audona pressed a bit into the other, asserting a bit of a dominate factor that she was larger and probably stronger, and would not hesitate to overpower the other if she tried anything funny.

However, the gentle and somewhat surreal moment was abruptly ended as Plá spoke up, ”…go after her on that horse thing?” Where she previously had been ignoring the little devil and minding her own business, her head lurched backwards a fraction of an inch, her jaws suddenly parting and revealing sharp teeth where before there had been none. They clacked shut mere centimeters from the elf’s fingertips- the punishment for being there as her head was sliding backwards until it was lifted back into its regular position. She glared steadily at Aglaeca, her hackles rising as she bared her teeth once more in silence.

With a snort and a shake of her head, she seemingly sidestepped the entire situation as she simply shifted away from the elf and consequently the demon. Her tail swatted at her haunches, exerting the rest of her irritation into the air in that simple act. Luckily she did not need to suffer the little Plá any longer than that, as he was suddenly disappearing into the forest after the Princess and her associates. It hadn’t been so much the suggestion that the demon had offered to the air, but rather the fact that he spoke in such a derogatory tone was what caused her actions.

She then blew off everyone’s presence, simply turning and staring out into the forest. Her ears twitched at the distant dins of disturbance caused by the Princess of Massacre, and she focused on that instead. However, she did not get to dwell languidly on the sound for very long, as a loud hiss of echoing voices rumbled from the bushes surrounding the camp. And suddenly the scene was tumbling into chaos as a pack of shadowy inhuman hounds suddenly burst forth to attack everyone in sight.

Audona snorted in surprise and took a few hurried steps backwords as she was approached by two of them, their teeth bared and snarls dripping from their parted maws. It was then that Audona acted on the off sensation of the pack on her back- she reared once the creatures were close, the burden suddenly clipping and sliding off of her back to crush one of them just as it was leaping in to bite at her ankles. She then whirled on her heels to face the other, which was currently circling her hungrily. They were not intelligent in the least bit, but it would still be hard to nail them since they were mere shadowy beings.

Fei sidestepped the creature’s kick, bringing his arms forward to trap its leg between his forearms. It was as if it had predicted such a manoeuvre as the leg was tucked safely behind it mere moments before his limbs could react. It thrust its weapon towards his abdomen. Fei swung his body away from the jab as he parried the variant’s attack with his own, its strength hissing through his bones. He did not doubt the jab would have fractured a few of his ribs had it met its mark.

“Vern, take over here,” it called from its crouch a distance away before bursting into a sprint towards – Xin. Fei made to attack the creature but its companion slinked towards him, blocking his path with his frivolous words. “You folks seemed like such nice people too, but ‘ey I always like a good fight.” Fei brought his variant forward to impale the one-eyed demon’s throat.

His staff sank into what was indisputably, not flesh. It felt like a rotting corpse. Fei jerked his variant from the inner burrows of the screeching mass, its limbs slinking towards him like inky shadows. The forest was engulfed in the mars black presence of madness and evil. They echoes of old tortures ripped from their shriveled bodies as they devoured the morning sun and the people beneath it.

“Xin!” he called, spinning to peak above the piles of rotting creatures who grappled for a taste of his human flesh. His variant had rippled into a circular shield, twelve spokes extending from its middle. The gold surface hissed with smoke, embers licking the heart of the variant sun before bursting into a revolving flame. The sun disk resting at its center spun with increasing speed and the creatures flinched from the heat or light before stalking forward, screams alive with fury. Fei searched for his sister as he unsheathed the blade at his back.

“Fei!” There was no humour in his sister’s voice now, only a crawling panic that kissed frost along her spine. She could not see her brother, barely grasped the low growl of his voice through the wailing of the tortured souls. She stared into the pulsing glass of the creatures’ eyes that threatened to burst from their sockets as whatever agony they had endured struggled to escape. A branch caught her ankle as she stumbled backwards and then it was not a branch at all, but the crackle of bones as the fingers dug crescent moons into her flesh. Pain leapt from her ankle to her mind as she jerked her leg free.

The stench of decay fingered in her hair of multitudinous horrors as the faceless creatures gasped. Hungry, they hissed. Hungry. The bark of the tree pressed splinters into Xin’s back. She hadn’t realised she’d been retreating. A creature lunged towards her.

“Xin, get up.” The creatures grappled against the shield of flames he held before them. Xin pushed herself from the ground, clutching her hands in front of her to stifle the tremors that snaked through her veins.

“Okay,” she told Fei. “Okay,” she told herself.

Xin’s skin rippled.

“Split,” she hissed. Fei nodded, turning away from her to brace himself in front of the two women – the creature he’d fought against minutes before and a strange girl with a frailty that contradicted the fierceness of her gaze as she crouched in front of the Princess of Massacre.

"So you're the ones I smelled earlier," the little one growled. Fei turned his back on the two figures, bringing his sword and shield forward to defend them against the creeping monsters. He swung the blade across the abdomen of a dark one, eliciting a blood-curdling scream.

“We are not the enemy,” he said.

Meanwhile a light had unfurled in Xin’s chest, pushing past the walls of her skin to give her a faint luminescence that grew with each pulse of her heartbeat. A flame flickered in her gaze, but did not rise. She bared her open palms and a gleam of pearl white teeth at the dark creatures. “Catch me if you can,” she purred before throwing herself into motion.

The trees devoured her figure as she dashed through them like a glowing beacon, her high-heeled shoes abandoned on the forest floor. Gripping a low-hanging branch, she swung herself up onto a tree, leaping, swinging, taunting. Soon there was no other tree for her to swing towards as a clearing emerged, filled with the same manic beings. Xin watched as two shadowed beings crept towards a beast of unparalleled beauty. The fur on its back glistened as it reared backwards, muscles bulging in its hind legs. It was a stunning manifestation of pure grace. Xin chewed her lower lip.

You’re insane, a logical part of her growled, a part which slumbered more often than not. I know, she told it, and the branch dug into her feet as she propelled herself from it. In that moment of flight, something snaked beneath her skin and ripped through her arms. Two long, wicked blades sliced through her wrists until the pommel of the swords rested in her palms. The pain was a familiar companion, like the ache of her limbs after an intense run. The gaping slits sealed shut, threads of skin overlapping and returning to its seamless form.

Xin’s twin swords sank into the bodies of two shadow creatures as she landed on one knee. Blood like soiled ink splattered against her skin as she tore her weapons from their bodies and attacked.

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Lyon was used to watching battles erupt at sidelines. Whenever the Princess got into some sort of trouble, his role to ambush enemies always proved useless due to the powerful allies around the Princess of Murder. Whether they are forced to do so or is willing to for reasons not known to him, Lyon can guarantee that all of them are warriors and fighters on levels beyond even some of the most powerful mercenaries and bandits. While Lyon often lack behind when it comes to raw power or magical destruction, his disarming technique served its purpose and saved the group more so than he could count. This time however, it couldn't be done.

The two Variants, a male and a female named Fei and Xin respectively, was met with the Princess of Massacre. Though Lyon wasn't sure why they were here, it was definitely evident that they were trying to escape somehow. But now that the Princess caught up to them, along with Vern, there is no way they could just run away. Possibly because of the intense thirst for destruction that Lyon can always feel whenever the Princess gets into a battle-ready stance.

It only took minutes before it started. Something uttered by the Princess had triggered a ticking bomb. A change in instincts was apparent from the strange duo as immediately after, a head splitting scream resonated throughout the silent forest. For Lyon, who had slight improved hearing due to the loss of his sight, this high pitched note created a heavier effect on him. Nevertheless, he managed to resist the sound long enough to let it end. No sooner as that had happened, Variant weapons emerged from the forest, surrounding around its masters and pointing the sharp and blunt end of its form at its enemies; Vern and Adrienne. Sparing them no time to prepare at all, the Variants attacked in an instant and Fei simultaneously created a staff from nowhere and lunged towards the Princess, his staff raised high and shining bright.

His allies were able to evade the oncoming speeding projectiles with ease. Fei's attack was of no exception as well, with Adrienne quickly following up with a counterattack. But as it all happened, Lyon quickly realized he wasn't alone. A dark and ominous presence was slowly creeping up behind him. But it wasn't the only one. Two more presences was appearing and a few more near where the battle erupted. At that moment, the three presences behind him jumped at the same time, a murderous intent even stronger than the Princess' evoked.

Lyon rolled to the side, evading the sudden assault just in time. His attention switched to his attackers when he was surprised by their forms. They were coated in a deep black color, claws and teeth poking out of the shadowy mass. The emotionless white eyes among the black shadows turned at its prey and lunged forward again like a mindless beast. Lyon jumped backwards, drawing his blade and unleashing a single wide horizontal swing then sheathing it again, all while he was jumping backwards. The attacks connected as the blade sliced through the mass easily.

But that wasn't the end of it. Immediately after being sliced cleanly by Lyon's weapon, the black mass started regenerating. The upper half of the bodies started reconnecting with the lower half, reconstructing the original body all in mere seconds after his attack. That was when Lyon had remember reading about them in a book somewhere. However, it wasn't the time to try and recall information now as the three demons continued its assault again. One of them jumped towards Lyon, resulting a left sidekick to the face. It flew out towards the dirt path outside of the forest. Another tried directly running into him, only to be violently stabbed with the sheath of his weapon by Lyon. Taking only a split second, the last one moved right behind its ally and when Lyon launched his counterattack, it jumped at him.

Lyon's adrenaline was getting pumped up as the last attack immediately came at him. He had already came up with ways to counter the attack, however he went with the flow instead. He let go of his blade and drew his sheathed blade, jumping slightly to the side as he does so. The last demon jumped into the sheath now stuck onto its kin and was stopped in its path. Lyon then swung his sword vertically to the right, effectively slicing the two demons beside him in one go. But that was't enough. His last attempt at cutting them once proved that they had some sort of insane regenerative powers. The only way for Lyon to defeat the regeneration powers was to unleash never ending strikes until there's nothing for them to regenerate.

Following his last attack, Lyon turned and grabbed hold of his sheath, pulling it out from the demon. He then sheathed his blade to prepare for his attack when another demon, the one he kicked earlier, came back at him again, its claws open like a predator jumping onto a prey. Relying on his reflex muscles, his body moved on its own. He brought his sheathed blade up, stopping his approaching enemy's claw. He then jumped up and kicked the demon once more, towards the direction of where its allies were, already almost fully regenerating.

Figuring it was time to end it, Lyon got into his stance. He remained motionless for a few seconds before releasing a swing faster than the eye could see and sheathing immediately after. In an instant, streams of countless attacks were unleashed, causing tree trunks and grasses in front of his striking distance to be affected blade marks similar to wind blades. The three demons were slowly torn apart by the torrent of strikes and disintegrated in the end, leaving a trace of nothing but Lyon's destruction behind.

Lyon knows he had already caused a commotion, but whether the Variant girl named Xin or the new arrival of Aglaeca and Yuna had noticed th - Too late. The demonic beings that attacked him had already started their assault on the group in front too, as Xin and Fei broke up to fight against these things. Around him, he can feel the numerous same dark instincts floating and surfacing. He need to move ahead and join with the others. He won't be able to take them all down by himself no matter how powerful he could be. And if anything, he need to find Adrienne. She seems to be lost somewhere, possible fighting against the demons. He can however, still her presence. "I'll let someone else get her. For now, we need to stay together." They were multiplying as he speak. There was no time. Lyon dashes to Vern, aware that already some of the demons caught up to where they were.

Aglaeca was standing, slightly confused and amused by the buzz of activity going around him. After all, the others seemed to hold their ground rather well, none of them seemed to be in great need of assistance in their fighting. It seemed like one of the moments where he could just watch, and Aglaeca never did like violence. However, things changed, in the form of shadow creatures. He let out a almost feral hiss as one of them attacked Adrienne, biting her. Then, all hell broke loose. Many more creatures lunged out from their hiding places, attacking all his friends in that area. “What the-” he spun around, swinging the trunk of the tree as if it weighed nothing at all, before flinging it at the shadowy mass. It should successfully keep them at bay, to give him sometime to get his head around the things occurring around him. Those creatures… they did not possess any souls? The ones that had been crushed were already clawing their way out, as if they hadn’t been hurt at all. Were they demons like him? No, the aura they emitted was quite different from those of normal demons, temporarily stumping the little demon for a while. It was… dark magic, something that made him think that humans were much more dark and twisted than the ones of the demon race. “Poor, tormented souls.” he whispered under his breath, looking at the oncoming creatures with pity. They had been made to devour and kill everything, even though they weren’t even properly given life yet. Even so, they were a huge annoyance, something that hindered the group from their activities. And after all, why not kill two birds with one stone? It was more convenient that way, and they could get going without anymore distractions. Making sure that Adrienne and the others were in no particular danger themselves, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, reaching out with his mind. He could sense theirs, filled with dark thoughts and instincts, the raw instinct to kill, a hunger for destruction. Without opening them, he spoke “I command you to go after the twin pieces of technology. Do not continue your attacks on my comrades.” It was easier to voice out his commands, although he could use it without actually speaking, and he could feel their minds bending to his will.

His eyes opened, just in time to see a glowing beacon, lighting up some parts of the forest as it moved swiftly through the trees, with the shadow creatures hot on her heels. Was she heading toward camp? Without a second thought, he dashed after, her matching her speed with his as he concentrated on her glowing form, nearly reaching the clearing as soon as she did. However, before he attacked, the girl sank her blades into the shadow creatures in one fluid movement, splattering ink-like blood as she continued her attack. Once again, he was momentarily confused. “Hey, are you helping us? Weren’t you supposed to be the bad guys?” He asked the girl, forgetting to attack her in his curiosity.