Invasion of the Base

"How did you get here?" One of the bandits demanded an answer as the Dark Lord cracked his neck.

"Who are they?" Another asked as all of them used their combat stances, unsure of when to launch their attack.

"No idea, but that woman seems familiar… She kinda looks like the boss," A bandit pointed out while Aurora had a hand on her hip.

"Now that ya mention it…" The bulky bandit mumbled before grinning excitedly. "That makes it even better! That woman is just what we needed!" He exclaimed before rushing the two intruders. "Leave that armored guy to me!" He declared.

Aurora positioned herself in front of the Dark Lord, her hand raised and aimed at the bulky bandit. As she began channeling her power, a magic circle emerged before her palm. The bandit's expression shifted from amusement to fear and realization. He knew that a magic circle of that size and complexity meant that the spell about to be cast was incredibly powerful, at least rank A or S.

"[Soul Flare]!" Aurora chanted and shot out a wave of ethereal energy from her hand. The wave was large, light purple in color, and emitted ghostly wails. What made it even more terrifying was the way it took the form of an anguished face.

As the bulky bandit raised his sword to guard against the spell, Aurora's [Soul Flare] went right through him, causing him to let out a painful scream. His body quickly withered, growing thinner and crumbling like old, dry wood. The other bandits behind him were frozen in surprise and fear, unable to dodge the spell as it hit them head-on.

In total, three of them collapsed on the ground, looking like they died starved and dehydrated a couple of weeks ago.

"W-What was that spell? I've never seen that!" One of the bandits exclaimed with trembling hands while several of his comrades gave shouts of approval.

"You know such an advanced spell even if Jenna wasn't there to teach you herself?" Dark Lord remarked, slightly impressed. "I'm even more convinced that you will make a fine consort!"

"You are a flatterer, my Lord. But it will take more than that to win me over," The witch replied, earning a chuckle from her lord. Her refusal to accept his advances only served to amuse him, it seemed.

"Dammit! Don't let them walk all over us! They think they can talk mid-battle? Once we get rid of that mage, the other one is done for!" A bandit stated as he used a dagger in each hand, then jumped across the various tables, making him harder to aim at. His target was clearly Aurora, but Dark had something else to say about it.

"You fool. The one you should be afraid of… is ME!" The Dark Lord warned them as he grabbed his greatsword with only one hand and cut the bandit in half with one quick slash. "I am the Dark Lord!" He declared while the bandit's remains collapsed over a table.

"Charge them!"

The bandits quickly overcame their fears and charged toward the two intruders with the intent to kill. However, their efforts were in vain as they couldn't land a single hit. Dark sliced through two of his foes effortlessly, as if they were made of butter. He then followed up with a powerful punch, knocking out his opponent's teeth and breaking their skull. Every one of his hits was delivered with all his weight and strength, feeling like being struck by enormous boulders.

"[Freezing Blast]! [Ice Lance]! [Lesser Blaze]!" Aurora cast each spell with conviction. The first one froze two bandits into ice statues mid-swing while a third one was impaled with a lance through the chest, freezing his inner organs as he collapsed dead. The third spell launched a small stream of fire, which hit a fourth bandit in the face. He couldn't even scream in pain as his flesh burned and the skin on his face melted.

"W-Wait! Gah!" A bandit begged while trying to remove Dark's hand from his neck as the master of dark magic was choking him to death.

"I did say we shouldn't kill too many of them," The Dark Lord muttered amusingly as he looked around, noticing every other bandit besides the one he was holding was dead. However, before he could make up his mind. The sound of something flying through the air grabbed his attention. He quickly lifted the bandit in the air, using him as a human shield to block the five oncoming arrows. Unfortunately, they killed the bandit he was holding on the spot as one of them impaled his brain.

He dropped the body, then searched for the shooters. His gaze swiftly fell upon three bowmen standing on the watch towers and the bridge connecting them. He didn't even have to act or say anything as Aurora stepped forward before any of them could fire other arrows.

"[Magic Arrow II]!" She cast, shooting an array of purple mana arrows at them, which not only killed them but also destroyed one of the towers and the bridge along with it. The witch smiled smugly as she threw her hair over her shoulder. "If that's all the extent of my brother's henchmen's power, then even an entire army of them wouldn't be able to stop us," She commented arrogantly while the Dark Lord sniggered.

"You are right on point. However, you shouldn't… Let your guard down!" He loudly declared as he swung his greatsword above them. Aurora widened her eyes as a clanging sound rang around the tunnel. She hurriedly stepped back as two shadows landed on the ground. Her lord had just blocked one of their attacks. "What a surprise… Dark elves, dark elven assassins," He pointed out before readying his sword for another blow.

The two men towered over Aurora, their dark blue skin and pointy ears immediately marking them as dark elves. Their faces were angular with high cheekbones and sharp chins, devoid of facial hair. The hoods they wore kept their hair from sight, but Aurora could tell it was black. These were unmistakably members of the League of Assassins in the Elven Republic, as evidenced by their typical assassin garb of light, dark leather armor with a black hood, and daggers strapped to their bodies. Each held a long katana, ready to strike.

"Thanks… One of them almost got me," Aurora thanked her new master as he nodded, seemingly not worried at all.

"That is only natural since you will be one of my generals," He said before glancing at the two assassins. "Now… Which one of you wants to die first? You can both come at me if you wish to. Of course, you can always surrender and take me to your leader. I am the Dark Lord. You would be wise to submit," He gave them an ultimatum, to which they gave no response.

"[Shadow Step]" One of them chanted before fading away.

Aurora clenched her teeth, spinning around just as a shadow appeared behind her. She jumped back, narrowly dodging the katana slash that was going for her neck, and raised her hand to cast a spell.

"Arcane-" She was, unfortunately, interrupted when the dark elf sprinted towards her and nearly cut her fingers off if she hadn't dodged. She was forced to back away multiple times if she want to avoid losing any limbs as the assassin left her no room to breathe. "[Blade Ward]!" She managed to cast right before being struck by the elf's katana.

What the dark elf was hoping to see was her collapsing body while she choke on her blood. However, his blade shattered instead on impact. He widened his eyes while Aurora smirked with haughtiness.

"What will you do without your weapon, now? And as long as I have my spell active, your blades aren't going to work on me," She warned him. The assassin remained silent, looked at his broken katana, then discarded it and grabbed a dagger instead. "[Poison Spike]!" She chanted before shooting a black spike out of her hand.

"[Shadow Doppel]" The dark elf cast just in time, creating a shadow double. The poison spike hit the original body, which faded away the moment it was struck. Evidently, the dark elf had switched positions with his clone.

Meanwhile, the second assassin wasn't particularly faring any better against the Dark Lord. Even if the conqueror was having a hard time as well. It was mostly because he couldn't land a hit. His opponent kept dodging every slash, and even when it seemed like he was about to hit, the assassin managed to parry his greatsword.

"Enough of these games!" The Dark Lord shouted in annoyance as he stomped on the assassin's foot, crushing it and keeping him from moving while raising his sword high above his head, ready to slash so hard he wouldn't be able to parry.

"[Shadow Doppel]" He cast to dodge. However, the Dark Lord suddenly lowered his sword and sliced horizontally right when the clone was created. It didn't matter if the elf had switched places or not as both were cut in half, spewing blood all over the ground.

The other assassin turned around in panic as he heard his comrade's downfall.

"[Fear II]" Aurora took advantage of his distraction. Suddenly, everything around the assassin disappeared as he was surrounded by the void. Complete darkness. Yet, even in that empty space, shouts and screams of terror made themselves known all around him, feeling him with terror. He had no time to realize he was under a spell before Aurora fully encased him in ice. "You gave me a hard time, but I suppose I was too cold of a woman for you, huh?" She chuckled while poking the elf, frozen with a horrified look on his face.

"They were more trouble than I thought they would be. These assassins are no joke, but still… They pose no real threat to the Dark Lord," Her lord remarked as Aurora looked ahead to where the tunnel continued.

"[Detect Life]" She cast while looking around as if she could see through the walls. "I didn't my brother would have so many men, but he really didn't slack off after leaving. From their positions, there are a few branching paths,"

"Any idea on how to find your brother? I'd rather not go through the entire underground base," The Dark Lord crossed his arms as Aurora smiled wickedly.

"Find him? In a way. I can find something he carries with him. [Locate Item]," A light blue aura appeared around the witch's hand before expanding into a beam that followed the tunnel's path. "If we follow it, we'll find my brother,"

"Perfect. I better take some more guards with us. [Raise Undead I]," Dark said as ten skeletons warriors rose from a black smoke on the ground, each armed with swords or hammers, and wearing armor. "Lead the way, my undead,"