THIS WASN'T THE PLAN

SAMUEL ARGUS'S POV

Leon and his spirits charged me with Leon reaching me first, the air trembled as our blades clashed in a sound like thunder, the force was so great that the weaker spirits behind him were sent flying back but although he had lost in this encounter his face was unbothered. Instead he fell back a bit before coming in with a spin as the blade in his other hand streamed towards my face. I leaned back narrowly dodging it before bringing my sword back then repeating a series of thrusts aimed at various vitals, in such close quarters it was unlikely he'd be able to dodge, and I was right. My speed was barely within his range of capability and he suffered numerous wounds albeit minor ones as he dodged frantically, he jumped back intent on putting some space between us but I followed only to be consumed by a pillar of flames from the hellfire circle he had placed beneath my feet. He had probably used voiceless casting, a tricky peice of magic I wouldn't be able to use in a fight with another Don. I suffered some burns although mild ones but I had no time to focus on them before blocking frenzy of attacks from different spirits of different elemental nature's, they didn't hurt much, actually they did next to no damage so I relaxed my guard intent on charging them and taking them out of the fight before a powerful gust of wind almost knocked me off my feet, I slid backwards a few feet my planted feet digging two trenches in their wake

'Water infused Heldi style crashing waves'

I launched a water infused martial art skill I created myself. It was a move I was quite proud of, a series ki waves that spread out from me being the center to as far as possible, it was a move that although lost power the father it went its range increased exponentially, at the position he was in even if the power was mitigated somewhat he'd still take damage if it hit and dodging it was quite unrealistic.

The attack covered the distance between us in less than a second and threatened to wash away everything in sight when he suddenly cried

"warp"

he reappeared a few metres above me and with him his wind spirit, I put pressure on my legs intent on joining them when a massive four armed man rushed me, he melded his hands together which then grew in size forming a massive hammer with which he slammed down on me, to the average on looker the force must have been astounding as it cracked ground beneath us like clay but to me it was barely any weight as i had caught it with one hand. Ki welled in my blade as I geared up for a move that would take it out when a stream of fire hot enough to melt adamantite crashed into me completely consuming me in heat only a Don would think was mild

'annoying'

I muttered as a blast of ki and water spread out from me in a powerful wave that knocked back not only the spirits pestering me but the ones in the back supporting them

'you're supposed to give me better than thi...'

my words were cut short as I looked up....and smiled, perhaps he caught a glimpse of it because he smiled too, in the air above me was what could only be described as death. Both he and the wind spirit had combined their energies into an attack that was sure to kill me, in it I could definitely sense the power of not just he and the wind spirit but of all of the spirits he owned, they were probably silently channelling their force to him while attacking me, that was why their attacks had seemed so weak

(could I respond in kind)

(should I ask for help)

(should I....run)

these thoughts flitted around my head, simple thoughts, obvious thoughts, the rights thoughts, choices that should be easy to answer, no I couldn't respond in kind neither to the power he had amassed nor to his resolve, should I ask for help, well that depends on if I want to die and even now I knew the answer to that, should I run, running would be too slow too inefficient, I should turn tail and flee with every ounce of my being like the devil himself is chasing me. That was what i needed to do in order to survive

'Water infused Heldi style The oceans pin drop'

my mana my ki and my Arcanum roused to a level they had never done before as I prepared to perform my self made martial art, my ultimate thrusting technique, my knees buckled from fear my arms shuddered in terror and my heart beat like it was planning to leave my chest and find a new body, but on my face was smile so wide it must have been horrific

'Let this be the last thrust'

I said as our attacks went loose and the world turned white

BLUMUND DIA'S POV

"it's been confirmed, Don Samuel didn't notice us moving Don Kannie did but it seems he understands what is going on"

the man on my left spoke to me as we scaled the city gates under invisibility and soundless essence, two spells to reduce perception, I didn't reply to him but he must have assumed that I got the message because he didn't try to reaffirm his report, I had indeed heard him but I couldn't bring my self to care, not with what was infront or rather, behind me, a battle of Don's, the strongest existences in the world. As far as I could see there were no errors in their stances no failings in their judgments and even their physical might was clearly above what I could muster, why did I see myself as worth comparing to these two titans of power, because I also was an Arcanum user, my name is Blumund Dia's and I am the leader and strongest member of the four lances, the strongest company under the first Don of Trident.

I remember it like it was yesterday even though it wasn't, I had recently become an Arcanum user, I felt quite proud of my self achieving this at 63 so I went to my master, a man who had done the same when he was still a teenager, it was easy to see the difference between us, as I took a knee before him it was obvious what an outsider would call this scene

"Heaven and earth personified"

Great power and absolute power. Since the inception of the four lances that was what we were meant to imbue, we would strive as hard as we could to be great we would be his power power that he didn't really need and that was because his power was absolute. I asked him

'my lord, you servant has come to plead that you make some minor adjustments to your plan, since I have already become an Arcanum user wouldn't it be wiser to have me challenge and defeat the 5th Don, even with Donhood under me my loyalty to you would not waver in the slightest and we would be able to remove that individual whose actions in the eyes of some do not fit his position'

I couldn't be direct in my criticism, after all the 5th was still a Don and I couldn't be impertious with my statement after all my lord was still my lord but even with how blasphemous my words were he still looked at me kindly, not with a kind smile that he often showed the masses but with a real smile that actually reached his eyes, I trembled in happiness that my lord would look at me this way proving that my service held meaning in his life, but his words crushed that joy almost instantly

"we can't do it because you have no hope of beating Samuel Argus, I highly appreciate you Blumund that is why I cannot ask you to die"

I nodded at those words, Don Langris's had wisdom and judgmental skills beyond his years but the fact remained that in the depths of my heart i never once thought thought of my self of completely inferior, until today

'proceed with the plan'

my associate nodded as we scattered, at a speed ordinary onlookers would have trouble following we blitzed towards the odds and ends of the city, once the four of us landed we immediately pulled out the artifacts we had in hand

black poles of about a metre in length inscribed with a myriad of complex runes, we planted them into the ground

"all set"

"same here"

"give the order captain"

my associates sent messages through telepathy as soon as they had accomplished their tasks. All made it clear that they were waiting on me

'Launch Delsegrade'

I didn't reply to them choosing instead to immediately recite the activation code, each pole gave off blinding white light that blasted into the sky before curving mid air and linking at a point, the point being the center of the city, a dome of white quickly spread out covering the city in its entirety, it even spread towards some of the lands outside its gates stopping not far from the scene of the battle between the 5th Don's.

'Denizens of Aegis, the one speaking to you is the commander of the 4 lances the most powerful contingent under the 1st Don of Trident'

my voice rang out through an artifact, cold and callous was the only way to describe my tone but I didn't care. I had my mission and it wasn't to patronise these people

'your city is about to be destroyed, the lights you see above you are the curtains that will close the final act of the long play that is Aegis, this warning is not for you to beg for mercy or wail about your suffering, it is nothing but a final act of mercy, nothing will happen to those who approach the White veil and it is perfectly safe to pass through it, as such my advice to you all is to take what little possessions you can carry grab the hands of your friends and families and flee, flee with all you might as far away as possible because in one hour there will be nothing left'

as expected of a city under seige, the fear an tension had already been building up since all of their Don's had left with an army at their front gates many of them had begin to wallow in despair, even with the arrival of the 5th Don anyone expecting him to defeat 2 Don's and 2 thousand men all on his own was simply delusional, cries of fear an anguish filled the air as many people gave up hope while I looked to sky, blue and endless dotted with clouds serene looking, a vision of tranquility obstructed by a menacing curtain of white that could only mean death. With a sigh I spoke

'....Don politics can be so annoying'

SAMUEL ARGUS'S POV

A massive explosion had ripped through the area we had clashed in, it seemed Kannie had managed enclose the troops in a little bubble that kept them safe, they all stood and sat awed at the godlike sight they had just seen on a little patch of green grass surrounded by blackened earth, the city was also unharmed, it seemed to shimmer with a golden glow. Probably the automatic barrier all cities possesed to protect them from powerful long ranged attacks but the within the next instant, the light faded like it was never there, it had taken all of its energy to block the effect of our clash and secretly I was proud of that. I was a mess, nauseating burns and cuts littered my body and judging by the smell I was probably still on fire somewhere, but I was still standing, and so was my opponent, who for some reason was not paying me any attention, like none whatsoever, he wasn't looking at me, he was in a slightly better condition but it still didn't make sense. This fight was still far from over so why was he so unguarded I turned to face the direction of his focus and was confused. That was, until I heard the message, Micheal's eyes filled with rage, I turned to Kannie who shook his head silently, Micheal turned his gaze to me and I inadvertently took a step back, so much anger and hate was present in them that all I could find myself saying was

'This wasn't the plan'