It was virtually no time at all before Carmine and his group reached Asgarnia’s outer limits. Still clear out of sight, they lied in wait for the right time to strike. The dead of night made an excellent cover, and Carmine intended to use it to his advantage.
Unfortunately for him, so would Alex.
In all honesty, Carmine had no idea what to expect. What if Alex had picked up a new weapon between their last encounter and now? He could only expect the unexpected. Unfortunately, he would never expect what Alex had up his sleeve.
“We’re here, guys,” Carmine said to his men.
“So where’s Alex?” Odessa asked him.
“We have to draw him out somehow,” Carmine replied. “But how?”
“Boss, practical question: Why don’t we just go in and get him? It’s not like the Asgarnian army’s back up to snuff yet anyway, we’d be unopposed,” Adam suggested.
“I don’t think we have any other choice I guess. The Colonel did say to use whatever means were necessary…okay. Estacado, see if you can knock a hole in the wall we can get through.”
“Gotcha,” he replied. He brought his mortar cannon to bear, which began to charge a shot. A few moments later, a bright crimson energy ball raced through the air and slammed into the city walls. Brick fragments hailed everywhere, and when the dust cleared, a gaping hole had been made into the wall.
“Nice aim,” Carmine said. “Now let’s get what we came here for.”
As the squad advanced on the city’s exposed wall, wandering citizens soon began running around in panic.
“Aaugh! They’re back again!”
“When will it end?!”
“We’ll die for sure this time!”
The air became filled with cries for help and panic as the squad moved in, intent on finding their target. Adam Estacado picked a man up by his shirt and held him in front of his face.
“Listen up. We’re looking for a man named Alex. Tell us where he is and we won’t hurt you badly.”
“I have no idea who you’re talking about!” The man sputtered, terrified. “Please, I have a wife and kids!”
Annoyed, Estacado tossed him aside. “See him yet, boss?”
“Not yet, but something tells me we’ll know him when we see him,” Carmine replied, scanning the streets for any indication of the prey.
“Look, over there!” Les pointed, having spotted him with his scout eyes.
“Nice call, Grylls,” Carmine said. “All right men, load up. Alex’ll no doubt be a tough fight, so expect things to take a turn for the unexpected.”
Alex heard the commotion in town. “What the hell is going on?”
“Something tells me,” Midna replied, “that things are about to get rough.”
Alex looked ahead, and soon saw Carmine’s lean figure, and helmeted head. Behind him he saw five more men. “Aw, hell no…how did they find us so quickly?”
Soon Alex and Carmine stared at each other, about fifty feet apart. “You’re like an item on a scavenger hunt, Alex,” Carmine taunted. “Always hiding in the most unexpected places, only to realize that it’s absolutely obvious where you are…”
“Well, well,” Alex replied. “I see you’ve made some new friends. And what bullshit mission are you on now?”
“Isn’t it obvious, with six men pointing their weapons at you? I’m here to take you in.”
“Over my dead body.”
“That can be arranged quite easily. As you can see, if you resist, you’ll be in for quite a fight. Surely you’ve heard of Hannibal Roth?”
The name sounded familiar. Well, the last name did, anyway.
“And even our good friend de Sade has been so kind enough as to join us today,” holding up the Lilithian’s soulstone. “All it takes is one call to set him free, and then you’re proper screwed. If you surrender now, it’ll minimize the amount of injuries and wasted ammo.”
“You know, when I first met you, you were a lot meeker than you are now. You riding high on some promotion that your guys gave you just to get you out of their hair? You think it means anything?”
“It means enough that they want you dead.”
“Did you by any chance call them and ask them to send bodybags?” Alex asked, preparing to manifest his secret weapon.
“The only one needing a bodybag around here when this is all over is you! OPEN FIRE!”
The squad followed orders, and soon quite a few spears whizzed through the air, but all deflected by some unseen force.
“Oh, you don’t know, don’t you?” Alex said, approaching the squad. “I picked up some new tricks during this little hiatus, and I think you’ll be pretty impressed. Well, as impressed as a dead corpse can be.”
Within seconds, the Shroud’s dark tentacles and Demon Heads surrounded him. One head slunk right over to inches in front of Carmine’s face, and snapped its maw harmlessly, but frighteningly.
“Jesus!” Grylls shouted. “What the hell is that?!”
“Probably some sort of dark creature,” Carmine said, his voice noticeably shaking. “Adam, hit it with a mortar, NOW!”
Another mortar shot charged up, fired, and exploded right on Alex’s vicinity. When the smoke cleared, the two Demon Heads just shook off the blast like it was nothing.
“Keep your distance!” Carmine shouted. “Maybe it can’t reach far!”
Spears again filled the air, some of the soldiers taking cover.
Through you, I display my power…
Alex sent one of the Demon Heads slithering around the corner, where it encountered Les Grylls. Scared out of his mind, he tried running, but the head lunged out with its fangs, and sunk them into his left Achilles tendon.
“DAAARRRGGGGHHH!!!!” He fell to the ground, his foot badly mutilated and bleeding uncontrollably.
“Adam, FIRE AGAIN!”
Another mortar fired out, with similar results to the first.
“What now, boss?! This isn’t working!”
A tentacle picked up a fruit cart and threw it through the air, right in front of Estacado. Despite his Vanguard strength, he was knocked onto his back, and the mortar out of his hands.
One by one his men were falling.
“What do we do, Cap?!” Victor Sig shouted, unaware of the Demon Head creeping up on him.
“Victor, behind you!” Carmine screamed.
“Oh shi—AAAUGHH!!!” The head bit right into his gut.
“Captain, we’re taking too many losses!” Odessa hollered. “What do we do?!”
“Fall back!” Carmine yelled. “I’ll get us some backup!”
Odessa and Carmine ducked back out of sight behind a house.
“So, what’s your plan?”
Carmine pulled out the ice blade and de Sade’s soulstone. “We’ll fight darkness with darkness.” He held the blade straight out in front of him. “Amon, come to me!”
Within moments, a large block of ice descended from the sky, slamming into the ground. From the shattered fragments, Amon emerged. “You called?” he said coyly.
“Now’s the time,” Carmine said, handing him the soulstone.
“Of course,” Amon replied, taking the amulet and draping it around his neck. “What needs to be done?”
“Wait, what?!” Carmine cried. “Aren’t you supposed to get him out of that stone or something?! We’re getting screwed to the wall here!”
“All in due time, my impatient little cricket…all in due time.”
“That time is NOW!” Carmine complained once more. “Things will get a LOT worse if something isn’t done!”
“Okay then,” Amon sighed, “what exactly is it you want done?”
“THAT,” he said, pointing to the man with flailing tentacles and demonic serpents around him, “needs to be killed, or at least subdued!”
“Are you sure? Oh, haven't I told you? This may or may not be the only time I'll help you...”
“You won’t have the chance to help us again if we’re DEAD!”
“Hah! Well, I suppose a promise is a promise.”
Hannibal, in the meantime, had managed to keep most of Alex’s attention focused on him while Carmine formulated a plan. A Demon Head lurched at him, baring fangs, when he camouflaged himself, confusing the head. Even with Alex’s Shrouded Eyes, he couldn’t see the assassin at all.
He’s confusing you, Alex! See through his ruse!
Finally, Alex was able to pin down his location, and launched one of the heads at him. The bite forced him out of his camouflage, and sent him into reeling for a few seconds, before cloaking again.
Such play. I do hope you’re enjoying yourself…
“Time of my life,” Alex hissed.
Your proficiency with the powers I’ve granted you leaves something to be desired…a little bit of practice will fill those gaps.
Amon stepped out into the open, as if having a death wish, and simply held his hand out at Alex.
“Poof,” he said, sadism filling his voice. A tremendous blast wave emanated from his hand, and raced toward Alex at blinding speed. It slammed into him, overpowering the Shroud, and sent him flying back, slamming into a far wall some fifty meters away. Stunned, the Shroud left him, blinded by the huge wave.
“Urgh…” he moaned, climbing out of the rubble. “What the devil’s piss was that?”
He is a Lilithian, Alex. They wield great power…one of the many past Bearers was a Lilithian…some say their dark power descends from one mastering the powers you currently wield…It is not safe here, we must retreat, go into hiding. Use the shadows as your ally, and they will serve you well.
As quickly as it had all started, it was over. Alex leapt into the dark shadows behind a house, safely out of sight for now. Even Hannibal lost his position.
Carmine stood, dumbstruck, mouth agape, and turned to Amon. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“Hey Carmine,” Odessa spoke up, “we’ve got some casualties here. Estacado, Grylls and Sig are injured. Let’s get out of here and help them.”
Annoyed that he had missed his chance to waste Alex, he sighed. “What choice do we have? Let’s get the hell out of here. Go help the injured. Hannibal, we’re leaving!”
“Carmine…”, he hissed. “The prey is on the ground, bleeding to its death. Finish it…”
“We’re down three men! If we keep going at this rate, there will be no one left to finish him.”
The assassin said nothing, and proceeded to tend to the wounded.
Concealed in the shadows, Alex waited out their departure.
This is the first battle in a long war. While the outcome now seems uncertain, it will soon be decided…
