“Guys, wake up!” Damien shouted while shaking Daniel.
He groaned as his head flopped back and forth, “Augh, what is it?”
“Are we there yet?” Lilith mumbled, still half asleep.
“W-we’re close, but that doesn’t matter! Someone’s in trouble!” They yelled, jostling Daniel again.
“Okay okay, I’m up,” he rubbed at his eyes, “what’s happening?”
“A girl’s getting attacked out there!”
Lilith cracked an eye open, “Is it a Shade?”
“It’s the Black knight chasing that Seraph cat again,” Jack commented coolly.
“Augh, again?” She looked to Damien with annoyance, “That guy’s a lunatic, just leave them alone.”
Damien growled in anger, “How can you say that? What if he was attacking your village Seraph?”
She glared at them, “Just drop it, I ain’t risking my neck fer some Seraph I don’t know, 'specially 'gainst that guy.”
Daniel looked to Lilith, then the Slayers with bewilderment, “You’d really not do anything?”
“Those two have some strange history, apparently.” Michael commented, “Besides, it’s never a good idea to get in the way of a Slayer from Napo. They’re as ruthless as they come.”
Damien didn’t respond, instead they looked back outside through the rear opening. Off to the side they saw the two in combat with the girl trying to run away every chance she got. The one attacking her was clad in black and red and swinging a large two handed sword. Small fires burned in controlled patches of the grass, cutting off her escape. Even from a distance they could see his swings sending shockwaves through the air; extremely powerful, yet slow and precise.
“Relax, Damien,” Michael coaxed, “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
A moment passed without a word before Damien suddenly jumped from the carriage.
“H-hey!” Lilith immediately shot up and leapt to the edge of the back. Damien ignored her and took off the second their feet touched the ground. She shouted as she, too, jumped out, “Wait up ya moron!”
“Wait, did they jump?” Michael asked in a panic.
“Sorry, Damien always was a bit short fused,” Daniel apologized before jumping out as well.
“Kid, wait!” Jack stopped the caravan and turned to face Daniel, “I won’t stop you, but… Well, that Slayer’s an S-rank. Best of luck and be careful, yeah?”
“If that’s the case, it’s not me you should worry about,” Daniel commented grimmly before running off.
The Seraph dodged attack after attack with grace, her face expressionless and calm. The Black knight kept swinging, his movements slow and fluid, but made with purpose.
As Damien closed in their mind raced with how they could intervene with minimal risk. knights lacked range, and without a shield they wouldn’t be able to intercept and attack. The Slayer was far taller, and his blade was long and heavy. They would have to do it the old fashion way.
They swooped down and grabbed a large rock from the scattered remains of rubble. Skidding to a halt, Damien hurled it with all their strength. The Black knight noticed before it could hit and smashed it to dust with his sword, his attention now focused on Damien.
Damien couldn’t help but flinch at such a stern gaze, but they couldn’t back down now. They grit their teeth and shouted, “Leave her alone!”
His eyes narrowed, “Go away.”
“No, not if you’ll keep attacking her.”
He glared, his eyes flicking from Damien to the Seraph. They noticed and quickly got their stone, “Summon, Falcon’s Edge!” and pointed their blade to him, “Don’t.”
They saw his grip tighten on his sword hilt. If he wanted a fight, Damien wouldn’t hesitate. Their eyes scanned him. He was strong, his tattered and distinct clothes showed off his strength and experience.
A wind arrow whizzed past their head and straight for the Slayer. He seemed unfazed and dispelled it with a cleave.
Damien looked back just as Lilith ran up beside them and readied her bow, "Hope yer not tryna start a fight, mistah Black knight. Fightin' Slayers without a healer's hella illegal."
His gaze flitted between the two before he sighed in defeat. He raised his sword and did something Damien didn’t know was possible for a Slayer. A sword sheath was strapped to his back, and the blade slid inside with a red shimmer at the mouth. It looked the same as if he had de-summoned the weapon, but the hilt clicked into place and stayed like a regular sword.
“Look out!”
Lilith’s voice snapped them back to the situation at hand. They had been so enthralled with the sword that they failed to see blood dripping from the fingers of his other hand. It was accompanied by words in a language they didn’t recognize before a red summoning circle appeared beneath his feet.
“Dammit!” Damien called out before a blast of hot air and smoke washed over them with a powerful gust. The two coughed through the dark clouds, blinded by the smog.
“Augh, W-wild Wind!” Lilith shouted through the coughing and fired an arrow to where the Black knight was standing. It was a fast and weak shot that released a burst of wind, dissipating the smoke. Once cleared, they could see he had escaped.
Damien coughed, “Ah man, he was strong...”
“He, *cough*, he’s an S-rank Slayer with two stones, of course he’s strong!” She gave them a glare, “That’s why I didn’t wanna fight ‘im! Or did you forget his file?”
“Oh, uh, right, that would make sense,” Damien blushed, “S-sorry.”
“Guys!” Daniel cried out breathlessly as he finally caught up. He took a moment, desperately trying to catch his breath, “A-are you two okay? Gah, man I need to run more…”
Damien nodded, “Yeah, we’re fine.” They changed focus from their breathless brother to the Seraph girl.
She stood, staring at the three of them. She was much like the Seraph from the village, but with drastic changes. While the elder was a mouse, this one had cat-like features and bright green eyes. She also appeared to be much younger, no older than them.
“Are you alright?” Damien asked.
She nodded, “I am. You have my gratitude.” She spoke with a smile, but her voice was hollow.
Lilith walked closer and examined her, “Huh, yer a pretty young Seraph, eh?”
“I am, yes.”
“Not much of a talker either,” Daniel added with a bit of sarcasm.
“Yes, I find humans tiresome to speak with, so I do not do so very often.”
“O-oh, I see,” Damien stammered, unsure how to react to such a statement, “Do you, um, want us to leave you alone?”
“No,” she smiled, “you are unequipped for combat yet attempted to fight your own kind to protect me. I find that greatly respectable.”
Damien blushed and scratched their hair, “Oh, ah, heh, I just did what I thought was right.”
“Hey, why’s that guy always chasin’ ya anyway? From what I hear this ain’t the first time,” Lilith asked.
“Yes, he has been chasing me for many years.”
“Y-years?” The three exclaimed.
She continued casually, “Indeed. It is a curious cat and mouse chase. I find it hilarious.”
“You...find it funny?”
“Indeed. Humans find great humour in irony, I believe.”
The three of them exchanged exhausted glances. She began walking around them, as if analysing everything about them. Her eyes examined every part of them with an occasional sniff.
Daniel watched, slightly unnerved, “Uh, what are you doing?”
When she seemed to finish, she nodded approvingly, “I would like to travel with all of you.”
Lilith’s eyes widened with surprise, “Woah, wait, just… just like that?”
“A group of three Warriors, including two Nephilim, with kind yet troubled hearts? I could ask for nothing better.”
The siblings looked to each other with concern at her words, “Uh, troubled hearts?”
Lilith seemed to have missed it and instead jumped with a cheer, “Heck yeah! High tier team, here we come!”
Damien laughed breathlessly, “Well, I guess it’s settled then. What would you like us to call you?”
She looked at them with confusion, “You would let me choose? How unusual.”
They shrugged, “I mean, sure. Seraphim don’t have names, and we need to call you something, right?” They looked to the other two.
Daniel smiled in agreeance while Lilith shrugged, “It’s not typical to let the Seraph choose, but sure, why not.”
“There you go, have at it!” Damien smiled.
The Seraph brought a finger to her chin thoughtfully, “Hm, I did not think I would be given such an opportunity. I will have to contemplate this further, if you would allow.”
Lilith grinned, “Sure! Just come up with somethin’ before we get to the sign up desk! Heheh, I get to register a team with two Slayers and a Seraph. My rank is gonna go up so fast!” She started walking towards the city, cackling to herself.
Damien and Daniel started after her with the Seraph catching up beside them. She looked to them curiously, “May I have your names?”
“Oh! Yes, I’m sorry, I forgot,” They smiled, “My name’s Damien, and this is my brother Daniel.” He grinned with a wave and a ‘yo’. “And,” they gestured to Lilith, “she’s Lilith, our leader. Or, well, soon to be our leader, after we get our licenses.”
“Ah, what curious names. I will remember them with care.”
Damien smiled, “Oh, well thank you. I will remember yours too, when you pick one.”
Comments (0)
See all