Prologue

//Just fiddling around with the chapters. Trying to find what works best for me so just give it some time.

Enjoy the read I guess

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Clink! Clink Clink!

"They're still right behind us Aamon!!"

Clink!

Another arrow was quickly deflected, knocked aside with the flat end of a katana as two individuals darted through a deserted alleyway, sharp metallic sticks flying at them from the rear. Shouts could be heard coming from all directions, both near and far off into the distance, echoing across the empty city streets and into the ears of the fleeing duo as they struggled to shake their pursuers off their tail.

"Do you have a plan?" Lydia asked, katana returning to it's sheath. "Do you even know where we're going?"

"Not a clue," Aamon admitted unashamedly. "We're turning here."

Without any prior warnings, the white haired youth turned the corner, darting to the right and onto one of the cities main streets. Aamon immediately recognized his own mistake as a small crowd of armed adventurers turned to lock eyes with him. A white haired gazelle staring down a group of drooling hyenas, their eyes filled with a mixture of hunger and hatred, as if they couldn't wait to sink their teeth into their newfound prey. Even when Lydia, the young samurai behind Aamon, caught up, their gazes remained transfixed on Aamon, weapons starting to raise. The clinking of armor in the rear grew more pronounced as the pursuers managed to catch up within the time the two of them were halted.

"Aamon Belphegor," One of the adventurers said, walking forward, emerging from the crowd of bloodthirsty animals. "In compliance with the game established by Hero Himine, you are hereby being apprehended by the Crimson Rays Guild."

"Refuse to comply and we'll beat you into submission," another adventurer, one of the individuals from behind, announced. "Not that we won't do it anyways.

"Drop your weapons, demon. You should be honored we're giving you this option."

The circle around the two of them tightened as more and more adventurers continued to pour in from all sides, the crowd growing larger with every passing second. The odds of successfully fleeing the area was dropping to the single digits. Whether the duo liked it or not, it didn't seem like they could avoid conflict any longer, their hands now being forced into taking action.

Lydia walked forward to stand at Aamon's side, hand held on her weapons hilt. "See, this is what happens when YOU'RE giving the directions."

"Okay. You wanna lead the way this time?" Aamon asked casually, reaching for the large black staff situated on his back.

"Lead the way to hell bitch," an adventurer shouted as he broke away from the group, rushing towards Aamon.

Lydia gave the approaching figure a side glance, golden hues calmly judging the individual as he ran up, longsword coming in swinging. Without a word, the young swordsman drew her blade and effortlessly parried the man's weapon in Aamon's stead. Following up, she sidestepped the adventurer and slammed the hilt of her katana into the mans temple, a quick yet sharp rap to the skull that caused the male to collapse onto the floor. Burying the weapon back into it's sheath, she once again returned to Aamon's side, her waist length black hair flowing in the wind.

"So, which direction are we going then?" Aamon questioned, as if nothing had happened. "Take your pick."

"Preferably the one with the least amount of problems." Lydia reasoned crossing her arms. "Which means parting ways from you would probably be the best course of action. You're like a magnet."

"I'm a problem?" Aamon queried. "Name one-"

"Winged Lions Guild."

".....Okay name six."

By this time, the large group had grown impatient listening to the two go back and forth with each other, their desire to attack growing larger then their desire to peacefully apprehend. One by one, adventurer after adventurer began to charge forward, their eyes fixed forward, ignoring what had happened to the first guy that had pushed forward carelessly. They didn't even seem to register just how calm and collected their prey were, about how little they actually seemed to care about being surrounded. They had a mission and they had to see it to the end, even if some of them had slight reservations about whom they were facing.

"Winged Lions guild. Guild Center. The battle with the Stage 4. The Tournament. Meeting Himine. This game." Lydia pulled out her weapon and smacked aside a descending axe. "I don't think there was anything you've done that HASN'T had negative consequences. In ONE day."

Aamon pulled the staff off his back and gave the weapon a spin before flicking it downwards, a thick midnight colored blade manifesting itself on the end of it. "I feel like that last two are the same thing."

Lydia frowned as she slashed down two assailants, shattering their wooden spears with relative ease. Taking a stance, the young samurai let a soft blue glow run through her weapon, turning the entire metal blade blue in the process.

"Water Stance: Flowing Tide."

A veil of water surrounded the katana as Lydia dashed forward, weaving through her enemies with speed and precision, slashing and ducking through arms, legs, and their wide assortment of weapons. Skidding to a halt, the young woman gave her blade a slash towards the ground, shaking off the remaining liquid as each and every person whom had stood in her path hit the floor one after the other. The once blue blade slowly returned to its original paper white color. Glancing back, the blacked haired girl took note of Aamon as those closest to her began to back away, no longer foolishly attacking without a concrete plan. Those collapsed on the ground didn't appear to be in any hurry to get back on their feet either, clutching their various body parts that Lydia had slashed with her magically dulled katana.

Aamon wasn't doing quite bad either, though he was far less brutal about things as a crowd of groaning adventurers were piled around his feet.

"You met a hero, asked a few questions and straight up humiliated her in front of her guild," Lydia said as she walked back toward Aamon, stepping over the fallen assailants. "THEN you not only agreed to the current game but proceeded to ADD on more conditions. Pretty sure it counts as two."

Wham! Whack!

Aamon slammed the butt of his naginata into the gut an oncoming grunt, retracting it and swinging it once again into the mans temple. "How did I humiliate her?"

Swish! Thwick! Thwick! Thwick!

Three arrows flew through the air and stuck themselves into the pavement by Lydia's feet, prompting the woman to quickly move to avoid being a target. Stowing her katana back into it's sheath, the young woman dashed towards Aamon, slapping him on the shoulder as she darted past. The horned youth, quickly catching onto what his compatriot was telling him, placed his naginata in the middle of his back and followed closely behind. No one within the area let them go willingly, but they failed to actually keep up as the two blasted through the crowds.

"Their they are, after them!!!"

"Damnit. Stage 3's." Lydia quickly checked around as they ran, eyes resting on the roof of a nearby building where five lone figures were positioned. "We need to move. Follow me."

"The heck is a Stage?"

"Now's not the time Demon," The young Samurai shot back and she booked a sharp right onto a conjoining lane.

The two were back at it just as they had been some minutes prior, sprinting for their life in an seemingly uphill attempt to remain adventurer free. Even with Lydia leading the way though, the amount of pursuers never seemed to lessen as the duo weaved through the innards of Jularion, the enormous city maze belonging to the Kingdom of Argario. The best they could manage was to gain some distance and lose some of the closer adventurers by backtracking and throwing them off the trail but nothing ever seemed to work for too long before it was right back to running. Even with a proper layout of the city, Aamon doubted they'd be able to make a clean getaway without some sort of proper diversion.

"It's no use," Lydia muttered as they raced down yet another alley, momentarily losing their hunters. "It'd take a miracle for us to actually get anywhere with these Stage 3's on our heels."

Boom!

Just as the Samurai finished her sentence a string of red smoke blazed through the clear afternoon sky, creating a shockwave of sound as it hit it's pinnacle. Even from a few kilometers away, the pair could see it, a red so bright that Aamon wouldn't have been surprised if everyone within Jularion could see its glow.

"A Demon Attack flare?" Lydia muttered in confusion. "What the heck is that?"

"That?" Aamon smiled as he turned around and ran in the opposite direction. "That's our miracle. Let's get a move on Samurai."