The two of them quietly gathered their equipment and snuck out the window. Silently they slunk through the quiet streets, their only light coming from the lit lamps and moonlight. They kept vigilant as they walked to avoid being caught off guard. If a Shade was in the shadows, they would know.
They made it to the shopping district, then the plaza without any disturbance. The trickle of the fountain was amplified in the silence of the night, but it did nothing to lift the unease the two felt. Damien summoned their sword and unclipped their buckler while Daniel had his spellbook and stone at the ready. The two split up to look around.
“What are we looking for again?” Damien called out softly.
“Anything at all,” Daniel responded, his gaze fixed on the ground, “and your bag.”
“Ha-ha, funny. You knew as well as I that it wouldn’t be here.”
Daniel laughed quietly as he searched the ground. “Appeared from the shadows…” he mumbled, recalling the girl's words. Eventually he came across a sewer lid in the middle of the street. He crouched down to inspect it, but it seemed undisturbed, “They patrol all the sewers, there’s no way…”
“Daniel!”
He looked up just in time to dodge the swipe of a claw, which scored the stone where he had just been crouching. Daniel stumbled to his feet and backed away, desperately trying to regain his balance. As he did he caught a glimpse of what had attacked. It was a catlike creature steeped in black smoke, just like the spider from before. Its body slunk into the shadows with red eyes gleaming from just above the surface.
His heart raced in his chest and it took him a second to free himself from the paralysis of fear. He fumbled with his book as he cut his hand on the cover, the blood flowing to his stone, “S-summon, fi-!”
He couldn’t speak his summon before the Lurker raced forward and pounced into full view. The attack didn’t have a chance to land. Damien had run in and intercepted it, the swipe causing their knees to buckle under its weight as they parried the Shade away. Throwing it aside gave them a chance to recover, the split second they needed to find their footing and charge forward, their slashes chasing the beast away.
“You were right!” Damien panted, the blow they blocked already taking a toll, “but what do we do now?”
“It still doesn’t make sense!” Daniel spoke with panic, “This one’s even stronger! Shouldn’t security be heavier?”
The Luker recovered with a low, unnatural growl. It lunged again, narrowly missing the siblings as they moved out of the way. Damien landed nimbly, but Daniel stumbled again. It was quick to notice and changed its target, charging the Mage. Damien raced after it, taking off with a cloud of dust in their wake. They couldn’t stop the first attack, but one precise slice was enough to cut its tail and steal its attention. It turned with another growl and slunk low to the ground to chase its new target. Such a creature was only ever spotted in the wild, and only experienced Slayers would hunt it down. They tried to fight, but were pushed to only being able to dodge and block. What attacks they could land hardly seemed to do a thing.
Daniel found an opening and attempted to cast a spell again, “Summon, life that grows beneath the earth, take hold of the evil before me; Ensnare!”
A glowing red circle with intricate runes formed under the Shade. From within it, vine-like tendrils burst through the stone and took hold of the creature. Daniel struggled to hold the summon steady as the Lurker fought against the spell’s grip.
Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Movement from within the shadows. Eyes lit up from the darkness. One pair. Two. Six. Noise began to echo through the quiet streets; sounds of shouts and growls and combat. Daniel stared into the distance, “What’s happening?”
“Daniel, pay attention!” Damien cried out.
He had been too enthralled in the growing chaos to notice a Shade sneaking up on him. It was too late to dodge, and instead he braced himself for impact. It was a blunt hit that sent him reeling and tumbling to the ground.
“Daniel!” Damien tried to run to him before the vines de-summoned. They didn’t make it too far before the Lurker freed itself and attempted another attack. A clawed swipe just barely grazed their back, but it wasn’t enough to stop them. They ran for Daniel, batting away and slashing at any Shade that came too close while he picked himself up. Thankfully they had gotten close enough to a shop to use the store to protect their backs.
“Guh, thanks…” Daniel winced as he stood while clutching his side.
“I know we’re supposed to stay calm in the face of Shade, but,” Damien spoke nervously before slashing away another Shade, “this is bad.”
“Y-yeah, but... I can hear fighting... people gotta come help…” Daniel spoke between breaths, his voice shaky with pain.
Damien could hear in their brother’s tone that that hit had done damage. They backed up slowly, trying to get between Daniel and the Shade. Most of them had dispersed to roam the city, but there were still a few that locked eyes with the two siblings.
"Daniel," Damien whispered, "cast a big spell to get rid of them, then we can escape."
"If I do that they'll aggro us. If they're not attacking we should just wait for help."
"The guards are going to help the residents first. No one's supposed to be over here at this hour anyway."
Daniel paused, then silently agreed. Slowly he brought his hand to his book, careful not to make sudden movements. He dragged his hand over the sharp metal on the cover by his stone. He winced, the slow motion causing the typical action to hurt far more than usual. Blood oozed from the fresh gash on his hand. He knew it would close up after he cast the spell, but the pain he felt now burned unbearably. Not wanting to open his book and draw attention, he tried to recall a spell from memory. He needed something strong enough to blast away the Shade in front of them, but strong summons like that required lengthy chants.
"S-summon," he grit his teeth as he spoke low but clear, "a g-great storm-"
As Daniel spoke and the magic began to gather, the Shade became aware of what was happening. They charged at the two and Damien did their best to defend.
"-one to down the oldest tree-"
They gnashed and clawed as Damien swiped and stabbed at the creatures. They used their shield to bat the beasts away, but their arm was growing bruised and sore.
"-and stir the calmest sea-"
Damien's speed was keeping them safe, but the barrage of attacks was making them tire and slow down.
"-being of nature, bring forth thy fury-"
A missed strike, a falter of the legs, and a swift clawed hit to the chest. The impact sent them to the ground, their sword de-summoning beside them. They tried to get back up, desperate to keep going, but they couldn’t keep conscious as blood began to soak their shirt.
"Enraged Hurricane!”
A magic circle had formed overhead and glowed a bright crimson. The temperature dropped, and a strong wind whooshed out of the portal. The Shade stopped their assault and Daniel took the opportunity to shield Damien from potential debris. The wind picked up dramatically in an instant, battering and slicing at the creatures. Their bodies lurched and twisted in the gusts with chunks of shadow turning to dust. Combined with the hits Damien was able to land, the spell did its job and destroyed the Shade.
Daniel breathed heavily through the storm he created, desperately clutching his sibling. The magic soon faded, and the world around him went silent. He waited a moment more until all he could hear was Damien’s shallow breathing. As soon as Daniel realised the situation they were in, he shot up and looked Damien over. They had deep gashes down their chest, their white and blue clothes now soaked dark red.
“No...no no, not again,” Daniel shook as he examined the grave wounds. He gritted his teeth as he desperately reached for his book. He sliced his hand on the cover and held out his bloody palm, “Summon, Engel’s blessing, Healing Light!”
Nothing.
“H-healing Light!” Daniel cried out again.
No light came.
“Please…” Tears formed in his eyes as he begged, “Just this once, let me use light…”
A distant growl stole his attention as he shot up and looked around. Two pairs of red eyes glinted within the darkness of the plaza, attracted to Daniel’s desperation.
“C-calm down, calm down Daniel,” he chanted in a whispered panic as he hugged his arms. His heart raced and his breathing was shaky and uneven from fear. “Dammit!” He shouted in frustration. Damien had been able to remain calm in the face of the Shade, but he didn’t have that kind of strength. He was powerful, but in the face of true danger, he was a failure of a Slayer.
“I’m sorry, Damien,” he spoke softly, his voice heavy with defeat, “I couldn’t keep my promise.”
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