Legend Of The Holy Sentinels - Night Hunters

"Come on, show yourself," he quietly murmured in the thick hedge plant that he"s in as he heavily breathes the cold crisp air of the forest while grasping his dagger with his sweaty shaking hands. He saw a shadow nearing, so he prepared to attack. He emerged ferociously from the bush like a wild animal finding its prey bellowing a mighty war cry.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA!!!!!" screamed the shadow as he drew his blade to block and escape the dangerously near daggers that was going straight to his heart. "WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING K-Z?! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!"

Kayzar snapped from his delusion and noticed that he might have killed Karus who is totally shocked holding his sword to avoid his daggers. "Uh… um… sorry, I… Uh—thought you were…" muttered Kayzar trying to apologize while taking a breather. He put away his daggers and backed away and continued to mumble his apologies.

"You"re really freaky sometimes," Karus replied while slowly sheathing his sword at the same time gazing at him putting his daggers away. "You know that, right? —"

Kayzar ran and Karus followed him from behind. Karus took a glimpse of Kayzar"s eyes filled with seriousness and distress so he tried to strike a conversation amidst their gloomy night dashes through the dense forest in hopes to rid away the unpleasant experience that they have.

"I don"t know what happened really but thanks for the quick save there. I almost got skewered by that woman! I mean that"s a really big sword! I"ll tell you that! Even I can"t lift that thing if given a chance!"

"This isn"t supposed to happen," he said finally changing the topic, "We got separated and, in the end, we went playing by with their tricks. They know that if they fight us one-on-one, they can easily defeat us…"

"Look there they are!" exclaimed Karus almost happy but was again engulfed with sadness as they quickly come near them.

They saw Reus standing under the big tree while Yosh sits beneath it. Together with them are Luna and Stella. They sensed a negative atmosphere in their direction, clearly a sense they can think outright even without looking at them.

"There you are…" said Reus to the two. "The plan went south the moment we exposed ourselves," seeing them upset, he uplifted their spirit and continued. "Now, now, this is not our fault. We still have time to spare and clearly, they will not dare to chase us out here. They"re guarding the sack after all, and besides, we haven"t used our plan yet so don"t lose hope…"

"Tell that to Yosh. He"s looking all pouty there, hehehe…"

"Shut up KuyKarus. You haven"t done a thing there to start with, so you don"t have the right to say anything!"

"Hah! I don"t see why you"re all worried and all. Clearly they got some leverage on us at the beginning so that means when we come back for round two we"ll finish them even if we have to drag them away from that pesky big sack over there," said Karus with extreme confidence as he sat down near Yosh who is taking his s.p.a.ce moving away from him in annoyance.

"Easy for you to say!" said Yosh scoffing. "You"re always the one who use your body as a shield and luckily gets away without a scratch. Just wait till your sword fails you. That"ll take away your smug att.i.tude!"

"That"s ex-pe-ri-ence! Something you lack?!" Karus smiled trying to get back on what Yosh said while opening his canteen and drinking it hurriedly.

"Enough fighting!" roared Reus frustrated. "They haven"t won yet. We still have time to grab the messenger"s articles. All we need to do is to stick to the plan."

"I don"t know… The captain there is pretty dangerous, and I don"t say that too often," entered Kayzar while sitting beside Karus and grabbing his water container.

"We"ll slip through you"ll see." Reus stopped as he turned away from his brothers to think for about two seconds and then continued. "I don"t want to do this, but we don"t have any options available. Come on Yosh, dig your chest and restock some of those mighty arrows you"re playing with."

"W-what chest?" replied Yosh with a little bit of his shaking lying voice, "I don"t have a chest…"

"Come on! The chest you smuggled out of the Palace, the one where you"ve been storing the toys you"re playing with every time we have our breaks…"

"What!? I don"t have anything…"

"Just dig it now… please…" Reus pleaded while squinting behind his spectacles that are reflecting the rising moon. This made his point rather persuasive considering his serious att.i.tude. "Why do you think I chose this area and this tree specifically? I know this is where you store your loot…"

Yosh sighed and whistled then Luna began to dig a hole near the tree. He helped her and grabbed a handle. He then pulled eagerly uncovering a metal chest almost two feet tall and three feet wide. They all gasped as they saw a royal insignia on the chest.

"Yosh how could you!" scolded Karus. "That"s Dad"s battle chest!"

"Well… I was kind of upset when I found out that they will leave us here to train so before they left, I took something from them," he said smiling while trying to pa.s.s it as a joke. "I know, I know it"s stupid. But I was a child back then so who are we to judge, eh?"

"You"re still a child, Yosh," Karus replied grinning.

"No, I"m NOT! I"m a grown-up now!" growled Yosh.

"Whatever… just open that," teased Karus smiling big.

He opened the chest and they were all shocked to see a number of enchanted weapons and armors rumored to be created by the mythical Elves and the great and legendary Dal"Gur himself, the immortal blacksmith of the northern Lakas mountain range.

The first item in the pile is the Royal Gauntlet of Deito, a mystical golden gauntlet that brings great strength to the hand where it is worn. Under it is the Twin Snake Daggers, a pair of double-edged golden daggers which is said to cut anything if used properly. Beside this dagger, they saw the Hands of Kyrin, a pair of gloves that is said to be created by the mythical Elves. It is said to imbue the hand with the power to decrease weight of whatever the person carries if worn. Further down is the Golden Short Sword of Excellence which is the sword granted to Lakas who saved the Nagozul two thousand years ago, light as a wooden rod but as sharp and durable as a newly crafted katana and claymore combined. Inside also, in a secret trap compartment, is a quiver of Elven grade arrows and a few story books. All of those are told to be mythological items, if not very rare and legendary. To have laid eyes on these objects as much as to hold them, brought joy and excitement to the brothers especially to Karus and Kayzar who are very fond in research and history.

"What the Yit is that!?" Karus and Kayzar shouted as they grabbed the articles.

"I saw this at the altar when I was a kid, and that I only see in books!" Karus exclaimed smiling.

"I thought Elves were fairy tales!" whispered Kayzar with a spark of glow in his eyes while taking out an arrow inside the quiver with a shaking hand. "I never knew I can set my eyes on a real Elven arrow, much more an Elven glove… well this proves the whole theory to be true!"

The Elven Arrow looked like a straight branch with a single vine encircling it. The point has a thick sharp wooden arrowhead that looked-like a round pointy seed, but it is as strong and durable as metal.

"Yeah yeah, I"m not much of a believer anyway," Yosh said grabbing the arrow from Kayzar and putting it back to the quiver. "I believe they named them Elven arrows because it looked elvy enough. It helps to have a catchy tune to it especially when selling them on artifact collectors. Don"t hope too much about them for they don"t exist," a thought gave him pause for a moment as Reus pa.s.sed by him. "Hey KuyReus," Yosh asked with a curious look. "…how did you know that I have the chest here? I know you don"t wander around these parts and certainly you didn"t have time to follow me or anything…. or did you?"

"Well that"s for me to know and for you to find out…" with this creepy comment he grabbed the golden gauntlets that looked really big and disturbingly clawed and wore it in his right arm. He then sat about six feet away from them to gaze at the moon. "And oh, I almost forgot," he added with a grin, "You have to return those after we defeat them. Dad"s furious with you taking those away in the holy altar. There"s still a manhunt for the criminal who"s responsible for that impossible heist and we"re keeping mum on the culprit."

"Hey! No fair! You told dad?!" Yosh angrily said while following Reus hoping to have some answers but all he got was his loud laughter.

They bask with the marvel that is inside the chest for a while then picked items that are appropriate to them. Karus: The Sword of Excellence; Kayzar: The Twin Snake Daggers; Yosh: The quiver and the Hands of Kyrin; and Reus: The Royal Gauntlets.

"So, KuyReus, is this your plan?" said Karus.

"Well, technically no. I wanted us to defeat them with only what"s available. I planned on taking this chest to the Palace afterwards without having to use them…"

"Hey!" Yosh shouted interrupting Reus.

Reus smiled and continued. "…this is my plan B for our earlier plan A. This is to say that we will continue our plan, but we will use these," He stood up and sat closer to them. "Come on," said Reus to get their attention as he lifted both his hands to gather them all in a circle. "…we don"t have much time. All we need to do is…"

-------ooO0Ooo-------

"When will they be here?" complained the young Tarni sitting near the large lying sack, yawning tearily for about a full ten seconds in boredom. "It"s been an hour. Do you think they might have considered giving up?"

"You should have seen the poor looks on their faces…" added Major Camyl. "…although I must admit, even though they have a crude way of fighting I can sense a future in them. They lack the appropriate form to compete with our Bathalgiven strength and yet they can manage to deflect our attacks with much agility and eagerness. I mean, I can slash a young tree in half without ever wavering but that Karus kid sure knows how to handle a barrage."

"Yes ma"am, but I find the dagger bearing Kayzar kid more troubling," entered a gloomy voice of what seems to be the Captain Gab who is the farthest. He paused and walked to them then asked. "I suppose you know a Daomagar named Yiv also known as the Shadow Walker?"

"Yes!" replied Tarni with great haste fueled with a little tint of anger. "…the monster who abandoned the great teachings of the Sibara Master and went rogue!"

"Yes, Lieutenant Tarni," said the Major. "I believe they also called him "The Night Fiend" and "The Poison Master". I also know that they put a bounty on his head for a.s.sa.s.sinating some of our Generals in Daomagar! There is a tale that this Yiv is a thousand-year-old master a.s.sa.s.sin of the Sibara who successfully killed tens of generals without even alarming the guards. Some say he is a liberator of some sort because he didn"t harm any soldiers or guards in all her attempts. He only haunts the wicked ones they say or anyone who stands with them, no offense intended Lieutenant."

"Some liberator he is!" Tarni shouted angrily. "He"s not a hero, he"s a murderer! That"s what he is! And my Father the Great General Kel"Ro is NOT wicked!"

A few seconds of silence stopped the three from their discussion until the Captain diverted their attention to resume to their original topic.

"I know it"s a coincidence, but I think there"s a connection between the kid with the daggers and Yiv," He then took a serious look at the moon and sighed then continued. "When I was still a lieutenant, I was a.s.signed to the division to help locate and capture this Yiv who then caused a lot of stir in the elders of Daomagar. At that time, I was under the great Master Mahakdu of the Sibara who is great not only in combat but also at tracking. When we located Yiv we found out that he was but a child."

"Really…" said the Major with great awe. "…a child you say? And here I thought that he really is an old warrior of the past… they even made stories of him to frighten naughty kids…" she added smiling as if giving a joke.

"I couldn"t believe it either, but it"s true. In the confrontation, all I saw was his eyes. His red, sad, murderous eyes and then it became a blur. Somehow, he got past us and disabled us one by one in a quick flick of a second. When we came to, we were paralyzed, and we saw him and Master Mahakdu arguing about something. He killed him after a few minutes and left us there to witness it all," He paused for a second and continued. "He used some kind of ability that made him walk in the dark to appear and reappear. He also used pins and threads to attack his enemies with great precision. The poison gave us a state of being numb and unable to really process our senses."

"With all due respect SIR, I think you might be having hallucinations in your poisoned state. One of the potent poisons invented by the Master Sibara can cause delusions of dangerous proportions so maybe it has impeded your eyes at the time. No one can master the Shadow Step and the same goes with the Phantom Bite!"

"Oh… so that"s what it"s called…" replied Major Camyl. "I"ve heard of this Shadow Step and this Phantom Bite. It"s a myth in the Sibara Clan, right? It is fabled to be the techniques of the Great Sibara himself. Together with his legendary Floating Daggers?"

"Yes Ma"am, but it isn"t a myth, it is true. Those are the techniques created by Sibara himself. He taught those skills to his son, though he never taught it to anyone after him, that"s why no one can master them much as to mimic it to be able to use it in battle. Sure, some can demonstrate it but it"s just for jest, nothing more than a good party trick. The Great Sibara knew how dangerous it is. He kept it to himself so that no one else could ever use it again for evil like his son who mutilated so many innocent people in that nightmarish Elven Rebellion."

"Yes, Lieutenant Tarni but apparently he did and Yiv knew," replied the captain with a very deep frustrated tone. "I don"t know why. I don"t know how but it seems that Prince Kayzar also knew of this Phantom Bite. He used it on me but not that effectively. I know there is a connection between them and I"m going to find out one way or the other."

"Oh, you better stop that thought Captain," the Major reprimanded as she sat beside her broadsword, caressing the blade, as she continued. "You best keep your presumptions to yourself. This kind of talk would lead you to contempt and even a cause for treason if it creeps to an ill-eared shadow. It has been an enjoyable talk, but it feels as though I"m betraying my principles in joining this conversation even if it is in confidence. I respect your opinion, Captain, but I"m afraid that if you continue to pursue that idea, I might just report you to Master. I know you understand our duty and our oath to Grand Prince Artemus. Or have you forgotten?"

"I"m sorry Major," he bowed low with a serious face, "it won"t happen again."

"You"re right it won"t!" spring Tarni furious, "If worst comes to worst, I will personally put out my halberd down your throat if you ever try to taint Prince Kayzar"s name again. It is our duty to defend them from all things even from destructive rumors such as that."

"I"m sorry it is not what I intended to…"

"Shhh… someone"s coming," interrupted the Major scootching closer to her broadsword with its blade half buried is in the ground.

The two guards stood up to watch the surrounding. Major Camyl knelt and pulled out her arm then gently touched the face of the blade as if feeling any vibrations. She then closed her eyes and concentrated for a few seconds.

"Ten? Twenty? No. thirty-five?" mumbled the Major.

"uhm… come again?" Lieutenant Tarni inquired with a puzzled face.

The Major stood up and pulled her broadsword. "I think there are a lot of people marching in on us in every direction."

"Do you think they called in the troops? Hahaha… Those rascals," replied Lieutenant Tarni smiling as she prepares her Halberd.

A very fast arrow flew in their direction that almost hit Tarni"s left cheek.

"Whoho-ho! They"re getting personal there!" she said grinning as if nothing happened.

"I don"t like this ma"am. I sense an elemental presence at work," said Gab.

"Yes, I feel it too. A high-level element is activating somewhere there…" Major Camyl said pointing due their north-east. "…they clearly went for help, although they can"t reach the Palace and be back here in such a short amount of time…"

"Maybe they saw a Nagozulian party patrolling and enlisted their help…" said Lieutenant Tarni trying to explain what is ama.s.sing in their north-east which they feel is a very dangerous elemental build-up from about ten or fifteen Nagozulians channeling their elemental energies.

"This will be very troublesome if that really happens…" replied Gab drawing his lengthy katana. "This exercise will turn down into a fatal encounter if they engage us."

The thump in the earth grew louder and louder. It is as if an army of warrior"s marches to their location. The ground was shaking, and the pebbles began to dance to the rhythm of the soldier"s march.

"Hahaha! I knew this technique!" exclaimed Camyl trying to beat the loud thumping on the ground. "…it is a tertiary level Earth Element skill called Quake in its very weak state!"

"They are trying to use elemental techniques on us Major," said Gab giving a weak grin. "…so, they"ve come to this, eh?"

A high-pitched roar emerged in their south-west that immediately grabbed their attention.

"Major, it"s a secondary level Wind Element skill: Howl!" said Gab.

"Bend down! NOW!" said Camyl shouting trying to outmatch the deafening roar.

A large force began to blow in the south-west that made them brace the ground. A storm-like gust violently engulfed the whole training ground uprooting bushes, lifting branches and throwing rocks away mimicking a big explosion. Suddenly two men appeared running to their direction as the wind started to slowly pa.s.s.

"Prince Karus and Prince Kayzar?" mumbled Major Camyl who is bewildered at what she is witnessing. The two guards are also baffled as to how the two managed to summon a great storm in such a young age. With their spotty elemental rating at the Nagozulian Academy, it is quite impossible they can summon this great bewildering skill.

Karus, who"s in front of Kayzar, intercepted the first guard nearest to them, which is Captain Gab with great haste giving him no time to retaliate. Gab waved his sword to him as he blocked every attack with his katana. He backed away to gain a position to defend himself. Gab then noticed that he was using a unique golden sword. That unique marker led him to immediately observe his blade, finding out that it has garnered an impressive chipping state from their brief exchange of blows.

"INFERNAL Tey"Arn! HOW DID YOU GET THAT GOLDEN SHORT SWORD!?" the Captain shouted now knowing what Karus is wielding. "That is the Golden Short Sword of Excellence! The one that"s been missing!"

"Now now Captain, cursing is bad for a Commander your rank," replied Karus snidely.

He then charged continuing a barrage of slashes to the Captain, making him defend with great effort thinking that his katana can"t hope to last and might cut in half anytime soon.

Seeing the situation, the Major pulled her long sword that is half buried in the ground and sprinted towards Gab to help him.

Camyl shouted as she jumped to strike Karus in midair. Kayzar antic.i.p.ated this and immediately supported his brother by throwing his daggers to the major which she saw coming and that led her to dodge right away.

They fought with great speed and maneuverability. Anyone who is watching them will be at awe and would not believe how their eyes can remarkably coordinate with their hands, feet and body with excellent timing and grace. The support of Karus and Kayzar is surprisingly unbelievable. The melee attacks by Karus, that was backed in support by Kayzar"s semi-projectile twin daggers, made them a perfect attack-defense duo. This also strengthened the Captain"s idea of Kayzar having a link to the Yiv they are searching because he is performing an attack no one can do. A technique called "the Floating Daggers", flying in every direction with him only maneuvering it with the metal chains connected to the end of the hilt. The three guards, especially Tarni, became stunned in amazement seeing this for the first time – though the floating daggers require at least four blades flying. They thought Kayzar, with his perfect stance and movements, can be considered halfway there.

As the four went on slashing and striking, Tarni backed away to protect the sack while watching her every surrounding. She knew that anytime, the other two – together with the patrolling Nagozulians they commissioned to help, will come running to get the sack from her by elemental and physical force. She stood up holding her halberd looking to the North-east where an elemental force is still ama.s.sing.

"Are they going to blow up this area?" she thought curiously looking due north-east. "…the Major must capture the two there before they start coming. I think I cannot hold a party of Nagozulians in here without incurring any fatalities."

An arrow swiftly flew to her direction again that she partially escaped. It scratched her right arm and caused it to bleed.

"Yit"ard, that"s fast! Is that a long bow?" she then looked at her west where the arrow originated. Another arrow appeared rushing to her direction. She dodged it with her halberd but didn"t notice a second one coming down low.

"Takte…"

She jumped in futility to escape the lightning fast arrow. Unfortunately, she wasn"t fast enough, and this. .h.i.t her. She dropped in the ground in pain.

"Two bowmen?!" Yit"Vit!" she shouted in anguish as she looked at the arrow that is stuck in her left thigh. "An Elven Arrow?" she then looked upwards at a flying owl encircling her. "Stella? But how…"

She stared in front of her to see a kid slowly revealing himself from the darkness, walking at her direction with a contemptuous arrow aimed directly at her.

"Yes?" he said smiling. "I thought the Sibara Masters can see the arrows and dodge it easily…"

"ugh… Trying your desperate moves to use Elven arrows now, eh?" she said trying to stand up without pulling the arrow with a single vine encircling it.

Elven arrows are very effective in combat. It is durable and unbreakable. If you"re hit with one, the tip, that is a very sharp seed, would instantly grow roots. It would fuse into your body and it would look like a large lumpy mump on the outside. It will restrain the person"s muscle movements and that would paralyze the part where it is. The only thing that can take it off is an Elemental Medic or a keyword in Elven tongue. The vine that encircles the arrow acts like a barbed wire that would sever and rupture the body part of the person it is connected if forcefully pulled. It is an efficient tool in hunting for it wouldn"t kill anyone that is struck with it. It only paralyzes the affected area and disables the enemy with a numbing pain, except Of course, if it hits the heart or the head directly for this would lead to instant death. When removed properly, the seed will release a healing mist that will repair any injury it might have caused upon perforating as if it never happened.

"Where is the other one?"

"What other one? I"m the only one here…" he replied as he grabbed his short bow to an aim. "Stay there…" he pulled the arrow further its threshold while giving a joyful grin. "This next one"s not "gonna miss…"

Meanwhile, Camyl and Gab were having a hard time fighting the twins. The two guards cannot land a single blow to the two because of their perfect defense which they thought to be very impossible. The two soldiers are two of the most decorated fighters in Daomagar and yet they seem to have magically eluded their strikes as if they"ve been turned to have Daomagarian bodies – the only perfectly reasonable explanation for their nimble and agile reflexes and reactions. The only possibility of them hitting the two is to incur a fatal blow but that would be out of the question. They did not antic.i.p.ate this kind of skill that they have to use everything in their power to control themselves not to hurt them while giving all their efforts to dodge their attacks that are crudely aimed to maim them.

Camyl have been trying to strike the silver chain that connects Kayzar"s blades in order to disable Karus"s defense support. She has managed to have hit it a couple of times without the success of cutting it in two. She knows she has been giving her usual powerful slashes, so she was dumbfounded as to why it"s still remaining intact. A wide grin from Kayzar made her conclude that it is a special chain, a chain that is probably created by the immortal blacksmith Dal"Gur – who"s the only one who can smith an enchanted weapon.

"Kayzar, your left!" Karus shouted while now defending himself to the Captain"s barrage and the Major"s hard blows.

"I KNOW!" Kayzar replied as he twisted the chains and pulled it causing the daggers to move to their, left attacking Camyl who dodged it. This stopped her in taking advantage of an opening as Karus moved his sword to deflect the attempted strike by the Captain.

The energy build-up from the north-east began to settle and the two guards began to jump back a few feet away from the two princes to look at the north-east.

"That"s our cue Kayzar! Are you in position?"

"Yes, let"s finish this Karus!"

Kayzar pushed Karus as he charged for the Captain. The two guards noticed this moment as the two began to separate. They thought that this was the moment they were waiting for: the moment to strike. They readied themselves to attack Karus and dashed. Camyl noticed that he took a turn and went for her instead of Gab. This surprised the Major as she thought that they have him cornered. Karus and the Major came to a clash of swords. She made a sword lock to him so that he can"t be able to move. She saw the Captain standing still in his position and immediately noticed something is wrong.

"Captain!" she yelled for Gab to signal him to come to her aid and disable Karus but there was no reply and he was still standing there worthy to be described as a statue.

"Umph… Too late… Major!" Karus said struggling in the sword lock that they are into.

The Major looked at Kayzar as he sat on the ground holding a string with his both hands. She immediately looked at the ground and found out pins with threads scattered. "They must"ve put it there when they activated the wind elemental technique Howl" she thought, as she processes what to do in her situation, that the kids that they underestimated outsmarted them. Kayzar looked at her direction smiling as if insinuating she"s next then picked a thread that made the pins move on the ground near her. She knew automatically what"s going to happen, so he pushed Karus and maneuvered herself to steal his sword.

"Ach… YIT!" cursed Karus surprised in her fast reflexes pilfering his sword in a matter of a split second. Seeing his situation without any weapon, he immediately gave the Major a torrent of punches to stop her from using the swords. She avoided his attacks by deflecting it with her fast arms then retaliated by pushing him in the chest, throwing him almost ten feet away.

"uh-oh!" mumbled Kayzar as he saw Karus fast flying at least five feet above the ground soaring away from Camyl. He grabbed the pins and pulled it to p.r.i.c.k the Major who is a very easy target for him than the other guard – considering that she isn"t wearing any hard plates unlike the Captain.

Camyl dodged the pins by throwing her big broadsword and continued on to Kayzar"s direction with great and unbelievable speed using the Great Dash. She"s now holding the Golden Short Sword of Excellence which she took from Karus. That proves to be deadly considering the fact that the short sword weighs less than her broadsword: more maneuverability equals more dodging effort!

"Sheesh, Lady! Can"t you just slow down a bit!" shouted Kayzar now running away from her around to Karus"s direction. She then came to him and gave a bombardment of unbelievable slashes and strikes that Kayzar thought to be very impossible to evade but still managed to luckily parry thanks to his limber reflexes.

"What is this?" Karus murmured while lying on the ground he landed hard on. He reached out to his right arm and saw a pin penetrating his skin. He gave a sharp sigh as he pulled the needle with excruciating pain. "… it feels as if burning inside my arm! d.a.m.n his poisons…" He immediately pulled a bottle from his pocket racing as he felt the stabbing pain, radiating, trying hard to beat the toxin"s delivery into his system. His eyes became blurry with his hands shaking as he drank the whole green mix and lie on the ground trying to wait for the effects of the poison to wear off.

"Putting pins on the ground and backfiring on us… heh…" he coughed a laugh with his paralyzed body. "Didn"t see that one coming…"

He blurrily saw Camyl going after Kayzar without much progress. He smiled for a couple of times at his brother"s impressive dodges and risky unconventional maneuvers, managing to parry the Major"s impressive strikes. After an amazing few second later his vision cleared and instantly cured his dizziness and shakiness.

"Tey"Arn…" he cursed as he stood up still unsteady. "…his antidote is still imperfect. My right arm is still numb, and a mild headache is still persistent."

He looked around and saw Kayzar still avoiding his sword that Camyl stole. He saw the Major"s broadsword near him lying half buried on the ground. His face scrunched into a frustrated sour look as he jumped and grabbed the humongous blade to pull it out of its slumber and wake its potential. He isn"t really a fan of long two handed blades, in fact he despises them, but he doesn"t really have a wide variety of weapons to choose from so he thought "beggars cannot be choosers", an idiom his grandfather taught them – and a very true thing too coming from their improvisation experiences in battle. He tied his arm with his belt and fashioned it on the hilt of the sword to drag it forcefully, running towards Kayzar using his left hand.

"Wow! For a kid, you sure look like a greased rat!" shouted Camyl trying her best to land a single blow to Kayzar. "Stand still now would you!"

She felt Karus running behind her, so she braced her sword to defend herself against him. Karus appeared before her attacking with her broadsword using his two feet kicking the sword to maneuver his attacks. She jumped away as she blocked all of his slashes. "Hahaha! I"m impressed!!!" she yelled running a couple of steps back admiring the feat, "I"ve never seen anyone giving me such a hard time as you two did. How old are you two now?"

Karus charged without replying. He dragged the broadsword that is bigger than he is and kicked it again and again to move it to his desired direction to strike the enemy. This made the Major to become more impressed. She noticed that Karus cannot use his right hand, but he compensates it by using his other limbs to move the sword that no kid can carry. He used his momentum and part.i.tioned the weight in his body to create a force that moved the sword, making it look like it"s a part of his body that only a master swordsman can do.

While she was looking out for his attacks, she noticed Kayzar prepping his next batch of needles. She can"t afford him attacking for she feared he might be able to paralyze her like her Captain, so she punched Karus below his right shoulder to end his futile but remarkable attempt to disable her. With her tremendous strength, Karus was rendered pacified forcing him to curl on the ground twisting in agony, sighing sharply, trying his best to breathe amidst the crippling pain from her punch that robbed him the ability to inhale properly. This made her smile for a while considering most soldiers would faint on the pain alone. She then turned to Kayzar unhindered; rushing fast beating his poisoned pin preparations which he isn"t ready at the moment.

A dark wave of cloud slowly engulfed the whole training field as she was running towards Kayzar. She was halted, baffled to what is happening so she created her defensive stance looking around for any signs of surprise. She had never seen any technique that involves anything like this in her lifetime.

For a Daomagarian Major, this is much unexpected for she should know all of the techniques by both Nagozulian and Daomagarian warriors. To be an officer of the Nagozulian army, one must know every technique there is whether elemental or physical and know how to counter it, yet today, they made her feel they are taking her back into the academy once more with their surprisingly crude and juvenile but unique and effective combat strategy.

She looked at the center of the training field at the target to check their status. She saw the big sack together with Tarni who seems to be hurt holding her halberd standing with an arrow struck in her left thigh. A veil of darkness ate away the light around her until the dark cloudy mist settled. Then all she saw was her body standing in the pure dark room of nothingness.

"Ouch…" she mumbled as a sharp stabbing pain in her neck became evidently painful as if burning the affected area away. She reached out to check and saw a pin. "Hehehe… amazing…" she hummed pulling out the pin and then she slowly stumbled to the ground.

-------ooO0Ooo-------

"…ain"t stretching that bow for minutes makes your arms all twitchy?" taunted Tarni to Yosh as the darkness slowly descends and eats away the remaining light at the training field. "If you"re going to shoot me then shoot me…"

Because she"s at the most elevated area on that training field, she can see the dark cloud slowly flowing; filling the whole area like a black gaseous liquid, reducing everything in sight to an abyss of nothingness as it settled. She couldn"t see the Major and the Captain anymore. She can"t see the ground below her anymore. Even Yosh, who is standing about thirty feet away from her, can be seen hazy. All she can see was the sack that she"s supposed to defend, which is slowly then being eaten away too by the darkness. "I am the Shadow Veil, a Master a.s.sa.s.sin of the Sibara. I can see in the dark." she thought as she gripped her halberd to a ready.

The Sibara Clan are said to be masters of the shadow, the night watchers. They are the protectors of the kingdom at night. Though she thought explicitly that she can see in the darkness, she doesn"t mean that she literally has the ability to "see". The Sibara Clan members are given, even as children, harsh and impossible tasks that sometimes are rumored to be inhuman. They were honed to use their senses to the maximum level that"s why they can still move through the dark as effectively as at day. This is why they dubbed all Masters of the Clan "All seeing Masters", and this is why they are known to see in the dark.

The dark mist finally caught up to where she"s standing. She then felt the black void suffocating her as if a weak force is pulling from all direction. "This is Dark Magicks!" she shouted as she grabbed the end of the sack with her left hand. She tried hard to remember if there is a technique that can do such a thing but thought of none. As it settled, it turned everything to pitch black. A few seconds of silence was all there is for her comfort and yet this doesn"t feel anything remotely comforting to her situation. The ultimate darkness looked like some sort of a black void that engulfed her. She can still see her body, her hands and her weapon but the weird part is that she can"t see anything beyond that. The ground, the sky, the whole area was pure black. This gave her some chills as she strenuously clutched what she thought of as the sack beside her that she couldn"t see.

Moments later, a bright flash appeared on her north-east. She saw a great white light that has a silhouette of a person running towards her. The white figure obviously stands out on the grounds because of the black void all around her. "That"s where the elemental build-up is earlier…" she thought as she limply moved herself closer to face the figure. Scared of what will happen, she lifts her halberd and readied herself to attack. The white individual kept on running still until after a few feet away from her, as she lifted her big weapon to a thrust, it disappeared. She then began to notice light emanating at her back. As she turns to see, she noticed that the figure looked like a man and is now holding the end of the sack trying to piggy-back it away. The figure gave a radiance of light around him like a spotlight – though the radiance only covers a small area.

"Impossible! You transmitted your body?" she asked the illuminating figure who is now carrying the sack. "Mortals cannot transmit!" she yelled perplexed to what to believe in, her eyes or reality.

What they don"t know must die, immediately. This is one of the teachings of their Master. As protectors of the night, any shadow that lurks and threatens their way of life must perish before it could cause misery come morning. Any creature must not have another chance to be a threat to them in the near future. Kill before they got the chance to kill you. This is their clan"s reasoning. They embed this reasoning to every Sibaran trainee until it becomes instinct that"s why every other Daomagarian clan looks down upon their measures.

With her instinct for a kill kicking in, she readied herself for a lunge. As the bright form of a person turned his attention to the Lieutenant, he immediately saw the direction of the blade and deflected it with his gauntlet with ease. Tarni gasped as the glowing person squeezed the blade of her weapon, destroying it with his hands. A st.u.r.dy Daomagarian Halberd made by the finest Daomagarian Blacksmiths available, squashed by a single hand, like pudding. He then pushed the weapon together with the Lieutenant throwing her almost ten feet away. He grabbed something from what appears to be a sling bag and threw a metal projectile to her direction. The metal blade traveled to her spot almost instantaneously and destroyed the metal shaft of her halberd in two. "That"s not an ordinary gauntlet", she thought making her figure out obliviously what to do.

The person then turned around to look for the sack that he just dropped while he"s defending. Thinking that he disabled the lieutenant, sitting there still with eyes unbelieving, he grabbed the sack right away to carry it at his back without paying attention. Seeing this opportunity, Tarni braced her weapon, aiming to throw it to the figure when suddenly a swift arrow flew straight hitting her right arm, but unfortunately it didn"t stop her from throwing the weapon away. The spike at the top of the halberd pierced the left thigh of the illuminating man which led him roar in agony. He dropped kneeling on the ground but managed to teleport due south. With his injury, he didn"t make quite an escape for he only reached about sixteen to seventeen feet away. He just laid there in excruciating pain as he gently removes the swinging halberd that was skewered in his thighs.

The smiling waning gibbous moon subsequently pierced through the slowly dissipating dark void. Tarni figured that it"s the Shining Man"s illusion and that he needed his full concentration to maintain the spell, which was broken due to his painful injury. Noticing this, the Lieutenant grabbed the other part of the broken metal shaft of the remainder of her weapon and dragged her body close to the shining man.

"SO, YOU"RE THE ONE THAT CREATED THIS BLINDING SPELL – CLOUD LIKE – VOID OR WHATEVER IT IS!" she shouted with a hint of pain and shakiness in her tone considering she is heavily numbed by the Elven Arrows sticking out of her extremities. The pain that the two arrows radiate would be enough to make a man stand down and lie on the ground but not her. She is a Master a.s.sa.s.sin of the Sibara after all and that makes her contain all the pain inside her little box in her mind that she hides away completely. She looked tilting her head at the shining man that now lost its radiance. "Reus?" she mumbled in confusion as she recognizes the man she just pierced with her weapon.

"HOW DARE YOU!" shouted Karus running towards them from her far right as she was standing befuddled on what just happened.

Karus together with Kayzar arrived to rescue their brother and grab the target away from Tarni who was still stunned at what was happening. Kayzar gave a long and loud whistle as they disappeared into the dark forest on that cold night leaving Tarni still standing at the Training Ground and still numbed with two arrows sticking out of her body.

She knelt down and stumbled later on after seeing the three disappear in the dim blurry night. The lieutenant smirked as she tried to lie back gazing at the dancing stars and the hazy moon. "…they really are great…" she softly said snickering before swiftly falling asleep after she pulled a pin stuck from her injured right arm.