Sinister

Chapter 79: Sinister

The place was old. The walls of the tower, once having stood proudly against the sun, were dilapidated, the stones that had once been stacked now laid down in piles of rubble, and the ones that still stood were shaky, eroded, and overgrown. There were smashed weapon racks around the place, as well as supply crates whose wood had began rotting by now, the food inside turned to dust.

There wasn't even much of anything left around the tower. Houses, whose thatch roofs had decayed under the weather, and been blown away by the wind, their walls fallen, no longer providing any shelter from the elements. Whoever had once lived here was long gone, their residences now little more than a couple pieces of old, dead wood in the ground, a sign of life that had once been but certainly was no more.

"You sure this is the place," Mercury asked into the quiet that reigned even stronger in this place. For a moment, Yvette checked the map they had been given, and then nodded.

"This is it, we're probably supposed to find something here," she then said with a shrug, and began to rummage around the rubble. Lucia joined in wordlessly, though the expression on her face betrayed her unease.

And Mercury felt it as well. Most people might just chalk it up to an eerie atmosphere that ruins such as these usually had. Ghost stories, haunted houses, and of course the fact that they could see the edge of a mar so close to this place. Yet, Mercury wasn't quite an ordinary person anymore. Sure, his strength wasn't as great as he would like it to, but he was definitely more fit than in his last life.

Regardless, his senses were quite impressive. He was able to see much more clearly in darkness, his sense of smell and hearing was better than when he was human, and obviously being able to sense mana like a sixth sense was incredible. In addition to all of that, he also had <Intuition>, which very literally gave him general information about a situation, and the Skill right now was ringing out soft, hushed warning about this place. An ebb and flow of danger, that felt almost like he was playing a game of hot and cold.

The air in this place didn't smell like nature was reclaiming it, instead it was sickly and dry, the mana feeling thing, and exhausted, almost devoid of the magical energy it usually stored. Like a sponge that had been squeezed and left to dry, it was empty, a husk.

"Found something," Lucia called from the ruins of the central tower, waving both Yvette and Mercury over to take a look. "Here," she said, brushing some of the dust on the ground away, revealing a small symbol scraped into the ground.

"You think someone left a hint for us?" Yvette asked, tracing it with her fingers. It was just a small line, made hastily, but it was certainly carved in recently, and with purpose.

"Seems likely," Lucia said with a nod. "Perhaps Iris or Black Reticence, I cannot tell for sure."

"Maybe a trap," Mercury suggested.

"Only one way to find out," Yvette said with a shrug. "Lucia, if you have any idea what we're going to be running into, please tell us right now. There won't be another chance after, because we'll have to break in."

"... I- sigh, I suppose you're right. I do not like to dwell on the past, but it is your lives at stake. The family which Iris is from was quite normal, and wealthy. Rich merchants with some competitors, who disliked seeing them on the rise. Those competitors hired assassins to kill the family, and Iris was abducted, something about her fighting spirit. She was raised by said assassins, until the day we met. We were both still children, but... I saw her eyes, and decided to take her in, sharing the places I had found to sleep, and the people who were kind enough to give orphans food. Ever since then, we looked out for each other. She told me little about the people she had been with before, yet when she was gone, her parents sold their entire fortune to their rivals before disappearing. Whoever was behind it is who we have to face now."

"Tsk, I hate assassins. But a hideout in such a remote, desolate place does seem their style. Whelp, is everyone all set? If you don't speak up now, I'm cracking the wards with brute force," Yvette said with a smile on her face, before cracking her knuckles. Mercury could feel his hair begin to stand up as the mana Lucia gave off rose to a higher level.

"I'm ready," he said with a shrug, before facing Lucia, whose mouth was wide open. "Uh, you alright?"

"Impossible... Yvette is that...?"

"Aura? Yeah, it is. It's a Skill that's pretty hard to unlock, since you can't get it from the shop, but I did it. Got it done a good two months or so ago," Yvette said with a confident grin. "Make sure you get a good look at it this time, because I really hope to never travel with you like this again."

Lucia took a deep breath once more before she spoke again. "Hooooh, alright. I'm ready. Let's get our friend back."

Yvette gave an even bigger grin as the mana in the air around her started to burn, igniting as each triz rearranged, becoming gaseous and then lighting on fire. Slowly, she drew her blade, the mana gliding down her body in waves, somewhat fluid, yet raging and shining white, with streaks of orange woven into it. When the sword was lifted from its sheath, immediately the aura coalesced around it, taking hold of the blade, and seemingly tearing at the mana in the air around it.

Within moments, Yvette was lit up blindingly, the wings she usually didn't show emerging from her back, and being covered in glimmering light. The air around her began to tremble and shimmer, waves of heat now rising from her, and the weapon she held began to radiate light instead of reflecting it, turning from a metallic colour into a flat white, its contours almost lost amongst the mana that covered it.

Then, she grasped the blade with both her hands, and the brightness flared up even more, so much so that Mercury had to cover his eyes. "You fucking bitches," she said, the grin on her face growing more manic by the minute. "If you didn't want me to wreck your entrance, maybe you should have installed a doorbell. <Lightsword Style Aura Blade: Featherweight Slash>!"

And with that, Yvette's hands blurred, and with a flash of light, the wall in front of Yvette, as well as the floor for many meters out, were now sliced, a thin streak of nothingness carved in between two halves, revealing a now broken trapdoor in the floor of the tower.

"That should take care of any wards," Yvette said, still smiling. Without anymore hesitation, she ripped the last gateway off its hinges, and jumped down the hole to the secret assassin hideout.

"It also took care of my eyes," Mercury grumbled half-heartedly, before following behind both of his companions. The tunnel after the drop made few attempts at secrecy, being wide enough for three people to pass each other, and cleanly paved. Yvette quickly began dashing down its entire length. They were now on a bit of a clock, as very soon, people would come to meet them, and the further in they were, the more space to retreat they'd have.

Also, she was clearly the most durable of them all, compared to some magic mopaaw and an archer. Using the scale of the tunnel, she occasionally flapped her wings to gain extra speed, putting a bit of distance between herself and her companions, who did their best to catch up. Mercury was using his mana and stamina to stay as close to Yvette as he could, while Lucia chose to stay a little more behind, her bow of light already grasped within her hands.

After only a couple minutes of running, they were greeted by the first shadowy figures, as the lights in the tunnel were extinguished. Yvette reacted quickly, immediately slashing out at the darkness, forcing whoever was in front of them to draw back as Lucia used the moment to conjure up multiple arrows of bright light and shooting them into the ceiling.

"They sent three people to stop us? What a fucking joke," Yvette said, clicking her tongue. Well trained assassins or not, she was an elite beyond their level. People were strong from C rank on, but Yvette was beyond that. She had placed herself well and truly into A rank, especially after acquiring aura, and smashing a couple of goons would not be much of an issue for her at this point.

After the lights were back on, she quickly dashed towards one of the newcomers, dressed in dark blue clothes and carrying a long dagger, before jamming her sword into his throat. She was too fast, using her wings to gain further speed, and she was even an evolutionary tier above these people.

With Yvette on the side of the tunnel, Lucia immediately ceased her chance, an arrow of light splitting the air with a hiss and nailing another one of the attacks in the shoulder. They'd attempted to dodge, and at least the attack wasn't fatal, but they weren't able to fully dodge, giving Mercury a chance to pounce on them.

They were C rank, sure, but injured and had lost their greatest advantages. See, when assassins get seen, the battle is already over. They are trained in stealth, first and foremost, so this tunnel was disadvantageous to them, and the fact that they were easily seen took away any benefit they may have had. And with that, Mercury used a burst of power, activating his mana, stamina, and even <Breath> all at once, to get a devastating slash across the wounded attacker's throat.

The last of them was dispatched by Yvette and Lucia together, both landing swift attacks, and within seconds, the conflict was over. "Reverse assassinated, truly tragic," Yvette scoffed.

Lucia only shrugged, and they advanced through the tunnel once again, this time placing their own light continuously, with Lucia firing arrows and Yvette spawning small globes of light. They had, instead, put Mercury on recon duty, since his eyes and sense of smell were the best, and while focusing on that, he also did his best to split his mind once more, to allow himself to detect any change in the mana as well.

With this new setup, they advanced more slowly, but in the tunnel, they couldn't be overwhelmed with numbers, and they could place light sources wherever they wanted, meaning that their enemies didn't have many opportunities to use stealth. After a couple of minutes, and Mercury noticed the mana getting thicker, but also more alien. They were moving towards the mar.

"Why would they build their base below a mar...?"

"No one would look there. Also means that they can pick and choose singular entrances, which they can ward off with very few people checking them, rather than having to hide them in plain sight, constantly running the risk of detection. It's not that rare, but also not nearly common enough to go around mars looking for bases like these," Yvette explained, still ready to strike at anyone who came near.

Their trek through the tunnel didn't last too much longer however, as it opened up into a larger room a little after. It seemed a bit like a sinister mimicry of a typical guild hall, with tables and chairs, and even glasses around, but all of them were left, abandoned in a hurry. The hall was empty, with the doors leading to other rooms closed, and the light in this one dim.

"Hey, Yvette?" Mercury quietly asked.

"Yeah?"

"You think we stand a chance at this entire guild?"

"Depends on what we do. In an open, all out brawl? No shot," she said, shaking her head.

"Alright, I see," Mercury whispered. "I'll be the bait," he then said with a small wink.

Yvette looked at him with a bit of confusion, checking on Lucia, who was staring at the cat with determination in her eyes. The priestess gave Mercury a nod, and drew her bow back as far as it would go, an arrow glimmering into existence between her fingers.

"Fine, don't fucking die," Yvette said, shaking her head and crouching, ready to leap forward and hack at whoever came to visit.

"Yo, assassins! I've come to bargain!" Mercury yelled into the dim light with a smile on his face. If they attacked him, he had faith in his bodyguards, and if they actually were ready to talk with him a little, then, well, that would really not have any downsides.

For a little while, the room around him remained silent, until eventually, one of the doors swung open, and someone covered top to bottom with cloth exited from it. Not an inch of their body was uncovered, and the only things Mercury could clearly make out was that they were spindly and somewhat tall.

"Speak, wretch," the figure said with a hoarse voice, like the sound of gravel being ground to dust underneath a heavy roller.

"Get off your high horse, bandageface. I want Iris. Iris Belrose. You bring her here, unharmed, and I'm leaving peacefully, retracing my steps out the tunnel. We won't ever talk again, you stay the fuck out of my life. Cool?"

"The one you ask for is here, yet, it is not without a price that we will give her. A life for a life, if she-"

"Buddy I'm about to fucking start taking some other lives if you don't give it up. I'm usually really quite patient and pleasant to be around, but I'll be straight with you. When it comes to the safety of my friends, I don't think I can hold back for very long. Hand her over, or I rampage 'till I drop dead. And let me tell you once and once only, I'll drag as many of you fucking bitches down with me as I can," Mercury said. He ground his teeth for effects, hoping to literally any god that might hear him that his threat would work.

"The wretch thinks themselves strong, yet they come bearing others. Your banner is risen upon those who run behind you, the flag hoisted up by the bodies of those you abandoned, yet this wretch seeks to save those beyond them. You are powerless, weakling, so powerless you threaten us with strength that isn't your own, a threat which you could never even hope to realize," the figure replied, shaking while emitting a grinding noise, like fingernails on a chalkboard, which Mercury interpreted as a laugh.

"You're taking it a bit far," he said calmly, regulating his breathing.

"Hah! Far? Is it not you who abandoned, not you who left behind? Those on the other world and those in this one, is it not you, wretch, who chose to move on instead of stay behind? Perhaps it is not Iris you seek but anyone, a pathetic attempt to save when you could not before, a disgraceful act to save your own pride and worth?"

"That's really not very polite of you to say," Mercury replied, his teeth grinding out of anger now. No, he knew this was a provocation. He couldn't fall for it. Lucia and Yvette were staying quiet behind him because even though he was weak, he had their trust. He was just bait. He couldn't make the first move.

"Then, wretch, tell us who else it was that decided not to even search the rubble. Decided not to stay behind-"

"Wait, this is an illusion," Mercury said, suddenly smiling.

"What?! You dare call this one fake, name this one as a false image, conjured up by a simple bit of trickery?!"

"Alright, cut the fucking strings on your puppet. Lucia, Yvette, blast this child of a bitch."

Without hesitation, his companions acted, and within mere seconds, the puppet fell limp, its strings cut, and the illusion faded away. The room they were in was not like that of an abandoned guild hall. They had never even entered the tunnel. Instead, they now found themselves back on the surface, in front of the trapdoor, where Mercury was the first to wake up.

"Lucia, Yvette, time to shake off your drowsiness, we got negotiations to do!"

They were surrounded by cloaked figures, the time that had seemed like minutes in truth having passed in mere seconds. And Iris was there, among them, chains wrapper around her wrists and legs, and tears streaming down her eyes.

"You guys, why...?" she asked, unable to properly formulate her thoughts, but the group wasn't given a chance to answer. Instead, another one of the assassins stepped forth, a faceless abomination, whose mouth didn't need to be covered as there wasn't one. The dark blue cloak was wrapped around someone, an entity, that did not have a face at all, simply presenting a blank sheet of skin.

Before it spoke, there was a grotesque sound, that of flesh being torn open right in front of them, the face of the monster being ripped apart by its own muscles, rending meat from meat, as a part of its face split open to reveal a malleable, dark red inside, covered with blood. The flesh inside the gaping chasm on its face began to writhe, and slither, a part of it extending forwards, slowly convulsing and shaping itself into a tongue.

"This one humbly greets you," it said with a slimy, deep tone, giving them a deep bow at the waist. "It is my pleasure to finally meet the ones who dared to take what is ours away. Yvette Lumineux, the rising swordsmaster, Lucia, the "Voice of Order", and the speaking mopaaw."

"My name's Mercury, ugly bitch," he replied, ticked off. "Look, I've been real patient inside your little mind trick, so patient you almost were able to start executing us. I think it's time you just hand over Iris and we go apart in peace."

Lucia simply stared at her friend with her eyes open. Seeing that Iris was not just alive, but also seemed largely unharmed was incredible news, yet at the same time that... thing was horrifying, enough to take the words straight from her mouth.

Yvette on the other hand simply stared at monster in front of them with confusion and anger on her face. "Has no one told you I hate illusions?" she hissed, her sword already in her hand, and the anger around her burning hot enough to almost activate her aura. But she held back, for now.

"They have told me," the creature said, the hole in its face turning into a smile, its corners ripping open a little further. "It was a test, one to see if you were worthy of being taken in as one of ours..." The grotesque thing then licked the edges of its mouth with its tongue. There were no lips, only bits of bleeding flesh, and whatever bits of blood were stuck on those surfaces, it took back inside its own body.

"I must say, "Mercury", we have been impressed with you. Fearlessness, self-restraint, and a sharp enough mind to see through an illusion so quickly. Your talent for our line of work is great, so much so that we are beginning to want it. To crave it as one of ours," It said, leaning forward further, some blood streaking down below its lips like crimson saliva.

"Stop drooling you gross motherfucker. I'm not an assassin, I'm just here to get my friend back," he said, focusing on Iris again.

"Ah, but the Black Ivy is ours already, and she has always been. We have let her grow on her own long enough, now it is time to pluck her and place her in a garden more suited to show off her talents," it said, turning to her. "Of course, for now, she is but a hostage," it said, face twisting into a smile again, as it plucked out one of Iris' hairs and ate it.

"Ewwwww," Mercury said, recoiling back. "What the fuck is wrong with you man? That's so fucking gross."

"Ah, a moment," the thing said, its skin rippling, and tone of voice shifting, until a moment later, it was another Iris that stood in front of her. "Maybe in this form, it is easier for you to speak to me?" it said, wearing a kind smile and tilting its head a little.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Lucia screeched, almost immediately jumping at the monster, but Yvette held her back.

"It's trying to provoke you, don't give it what it wants," she hissed again, and Lucia's attempts softened a little.

"Hm, perhaps this is not so convenient after all. Yet, for now, it is how things shall be. If you wish for Iris back, you must give us something as well. After all, we are those who are shapeless and those who feed. There is no money that can buy us, for materials come so cheaply. No, what we need are lives, ones to grow, and Black Ivy would have given us hers and many more. What is it, that you can offer us that's greater than that?"

Silence. None of them had an answer. Yvette was a lone wolf, never associating with people under the constant threat of a blood eclipse, and Mercury couldn't reasonably just give this monster innocent lives to feed on. Yet Lucia, she knew she had what it wanted. Her political influence was great, and there were so many believers who would follow her every word.

It would be easy to set up a deal that that thing would like, but...

"Don't do it," Iris whispered.

"I won't," Lucia replied, her eyes facing the ground. She had been betrayed before, many times, and she would not perpetrate this cycle. She would not leave the ones she had brought here, and she would not give that thing the ones who trusted her.

"Ah, it is so sad. It appears we must keep the Black Ivy then, and yet we also cannot let you go. Forgive our rudeness, but you must stay with us."

"I decline," Mercury said. "How about something else instead. I'm willing to make a bet with you, monster."

"Oh, a bet?" the thing asked, a smile that was too wide for a human face appearing on the one it worse.

"You seek those with potential, right? Have you ever heard of ihn'ar?"

The monster was silent, the smile wiped from its face and replaced with a stunned look. "What is that word? We can tell you are not lying, tell us what it is, TELL US WHAT IT IS!!!!"

Mercury smiled at this. "Alright, I'll bet that secret, and you bet Iris. After this, we go apart, without conflict."

The things wearing Iris' face began to lick its lips again, its face twisting into a wide smile. "What a tasty offer you make, young one. What is the bet that you want to make."

"Let's make a bet on who of us can absorb more mana in 24 hours."

The thing grinned. "Deal."