Death by Thunderstrike

Outside the capital, on the high grounds above the long stairs, the leader casually strolls beside the corpses she murdered. As she approached the stairs, she encounters two peculiar people. One was a man wearing an exquisite red clothing and the other was a woman in mourning clothes holding the umbrella. Both were in a hurry, but were abruptly stopped at the sight of their most hated nemesis, the Superior Leader.

"Y..you..." Vorax stuttered.

"Lord Vorax, should I kill them now?" says the woman, whose widened eyes were staring at the leader with contempt.

"Shut your mouth!" Vorax immediately scolded her.

The leader stood still before the two. "Reinforcements? I'm afraid you have come too late." She walks down the stairs, passing in between them without bothering to look at them. "Your Commander has been waiting for you, go."

"My Lord." the woman's grip on the umbrella tightened, itching to land a hit on the leader with her left hand's claws.

"Don't make unnecessary moves. It's raining." Vorax blocks her with his arm, stopping her from going near the leader.

Both of them could not do anything, as they both deemed powerless by the rain. They could only watch the leader casually walking down the stairs unharmed, and when the leader was finally far from their sight, the two ran towards the commander.

As they entered the large citadel, they were horrified at the sight. The once neatly arranged flags were torn apart and scattered all over the floor, corpses of agents were piled up on top of one another, and the whole place was ransacked horribly.

"Lorelei!" screams the terrified Vorax. "Lei, are you alright?"

"You've come too late. I'm the only one left now." says Lorelei as she breaths in agony.

Vorax looks around, desperately finding for someone alive. "Lei, what about Augustus? Where is he?" 

"Dead." She bluntly responded. She points her finger to the ceiling, not daring to look up. "See that head up there? It got torn off by that brat's bare hands." Vorax raised his head, becoming horrified at the hideous sight as soon as he saw the hanged heads. Ten of them were hanged, while their bodies were piled up along with their fellow soldiers. 

"You mean, that bastard did all of this? On their own?" 

The commander breaks out laughing like a lunatic. It went on for minutes while Vorax and the fiend watched her silently lose her mind. She laughed until her throat dried up, for she could only mock herself for losing to the Palace's greatest enemy despite her ranking. She was considered one of the most powerful among the higher asperities, but in the end, she was defeated in the most humiliating manner. Once her laughter had all been squeezed out of her mouth, she stopped. 

"Anarchy's not coming back, we're all on the losing side."

"Lorelei, don't say that!" Vorax immediately said.

While smiling for the last time, the commander then devours the paper given to her by the leader. "You know what that leader said to me after killing all of them?" The commander grinned. "How about a game of chess before you die, Commander Lorelei? If you win, I'll resurrect some of your most favorite disciples, if I win, I'll let you do the honor of killing yourself. Heh. Funny how I thought I could win against her."

Her voice slowly faded away, losing it's loudness and clarity. "I'll never lay a hand on chess again. Literally, haha."

"Lorelei, what do you..."

The whole place finally went silent. "Lorelei?" Vorax called out to the dead.

Having noticed the violet fluid coming out of the commander's ears, the fiend immediately pulled Vorax away. "Lord Vorax, stay back!"

As soon as they pulled themselves far from the dead body, an earsplitting thunder struck the commander, followed by a vociferous explosion, leaving only a smoke and nothing of the commander but blood and ashes. Witnessing such a horrible sight, Vorax panicked and started to breathe rapidly. He fell to his knees, screaming in distress. "DAMN YOU, CARDINAL MANORS! DAMN YOU!"

Down the stairs, the leader turns back to hear the sound of the thunderstrike and the screams of their enemy. Once it was over, they turned away once more and walked forward. They whistled a tone, and moments later, five raven black dogs ran to them. "Did you clear the area?" asks the leader while crouching down, petting each of them. After hearing the master, the dogs barked together.

"Good. Now, let's go home, shall we? I have to finish my tasks so I can get back to the prince, he is waiting for me."

The dogs barked happily while wagging their tails.

"Hmmm, Fauna should be with him by now. But I suppose she'll need some assistance."

The leader lightly taps her earring. "I am sending this message to Golden Dragonfly." The gemstone hanging on her earring lights up. "You are to assist Fauna in protecting the prince. Find them as soon as possible." They then tapped the earring once more, ending the dispatch.

With the rain was becoming heavier than before, she stood and picked up an umbrella held by a corpse lying on the ground. "All of you, come closer, a thunderstorm is coming. Don't let it ruin your fur." The dogs stuck closely together under the leader and the umbrella. They walked away quietly, leaving behind the grotesque massacre they created.

"Leader! Revier reporting!" exclaimed the golden disciple. "All the bodies have been transported to the sanitarium and the clean-up is also finished. We are waiting for your next command, leader."

Before him was a lady of gold, the leader of the Pugilist Manor, Golden Dragonfly. Her skin was that of sunrise, her braided hair was embellished with gold, and her eyes were the colors of a flame. A golden dragonfly was pinned carefully onto her hair, and her wrists and neck was vibrant with gold.

Inside the spacious office of the Pugilist Manor, she busily stares at the map spread across her table. And while doing so, she responds to her disciples to not keep them waiting for her orders.

"Tell the rest to stand by and watch that area. " She instructs her disciple. "The culprit who did this is probably still there, don't let any civilians get hurt. Leave the investigations to the Assassin and Magus Manor."

"Got it, leader!" Revier obeys and follows her orders. He runs out the door and goes back to his duties along with his fellow disciples. 

"Hmmm. As for the prince and Mrs. Fauna, where the hell do I find them?" Golden Dragonfly had already received the message from the Superior, but since it was a short one and there barely was any information, she doesn't know where to start. She taps her earring. "I am sending this message to Fauna." The earring lights up, ready to deliver her words. "Miss Fauna, big sis sent me to back you up. Tell me where you are so I can catch up." After that, she taps her earring to end the dispatch.

"Leader! Leader!" another disciple comes. She then turned to hear him. "It was Triumvirate Fiend, the people nearby who were hiding, spotted her sending a signal to the Asperities. She was found killing her own subordinates. Also, apparently she was supposed to kill two armed civilians who fought back."

"Bingo, that's probably Fauna and the prince." she said.

"Leader, what should we do?" The disciple panicked, and it was obvious enough seeing the look on his face. Golden Dragonfly could tell that he was a new disciple. "Traces of the red smoke signal are still visible, the Asperities might might attack again!"

Golden Dragonfly replies to him with a serious yet mocking tone. "Kid, do you now what I want you to do?" Her tone then changes, and a wide smile was plastered all over her face. "Kick ass and shit, that's what the Pugilist Manor is for! Now get out there and follow the others!"

"Y... yes, leader!" the disciple responds and heads back to his fellows.

"Alright, let's get back on track." says Golden Dragonfly as she taps her earring once more. "Golden Dragonfly, we're headed to the west, Ironhaven to be specific. Have your disciples stationed at Ior's forge." she finally receives the reply she's been waiting for.