Wolf's Rain Fan Fiction ❯ Into the Abyss ❯ Urban Destruction ( Chapter 8 )

Urban Destruction

"We're only a fifth of the way there." Haru complained. "We'll get there in time." Nejik reassured Haru.

"Yes, but we are running out of supplies and need to restock." Victor stated. "We can resupply in the city of Andalia." He stated. "Yeah Haru, it's directly ahead of us, and we can pass right through it."

Unable to refute the logic of his companions, Haru agreed. They then headed towards Andalia. It would take them two to three days to get to Andalia.

The first day was bright and uneventful. As well as the second day, they then decided to camp in the hills, a short trek from Andalia.

Screams, shouts, crashes, and explosions shook the night. All five awoke at about the same time. All they could see was smoke rising in the sky. They gathered their gear and rushed towards the burning city. They arrived at the gates and encountered some resistance. The city guard would not let them into the city.

"We have orders to not let anyone pass." replied a guard. "Screw your freaking orders, let us in!" Haru yelled. "Yeah, we're here to help." Nejik piped in.

The guard then caught a glimpse of motion out of the corner of his eye; he spun, and caught Arcaron coming up behind him.

The guard unsheathed his sword quickly, and then only saw darkness as Haru knocked him unconscious with a chop to the back of the neck.

"You had to mess up." mused Maria.

The other guard, witnessing the confrontation, rose to attack. He then realized his folly, he was badly outnumbered-not to mention out skilled as well- and sorely equipped. He turned and fled into the city.

He charged through the gate and then began to close it. Maria darted forward, but could not get to the gate in time.

More screams erupted into the night.

"Victor, morph and fly over the wall. Then open the gate from the inside." Haru told Victor. "OK." Victor replied.

Victor changed to his raven form, flew over the wall and landed inside the city.

There was a loud creak as Victor lifted the locking bar and pushed the gate open. The others rushed into the city and started down the main street.

"The town square is near the center" Haru said, "let's split up." "And use unfatal takedowns; try to use stealth as well." he reminded. They then split up, turning into ally ways and passages.

Nejik then changed into his panther form. He continued down an ally, and then was confronted by a group of soldiers. They were surprised. Nejik started away, but was then blocked. He retracted his claws and leaped upon the two that blocked his path, sending them to the ground. He continued on, disappearing into another ally.

Maria peeked around a corner and saw many guards rushing past; she pressed herself against the wall and went unnoticed. She then went out and traveled down the street. She continued unhindered for some time. Then a pair of soldiers saw her. They immediately got in her way and readied their swords. She leaped forward and slammed the butt of her spear into the side of one soldier's head. He was knocked unconscious and thrown on top of his comrade, pinning the second to the ground. She moved on.

Victor had scaled a wall and was now on the roofs of the houses. He was traveling along smoothly when an arrow flashed past his ear, nearly taking it off. He looked ahead to see a group of archers ahead. Another arrow blazed past. His kodachi flashed out and he charged at the archers. Victor dove to the side as another archer released an arrow. He came back to his feet and kept running. He had three archers to contend with. The archers had run out of range to shoot at Victor and now brandished their bows like clubs or poles. Victor was in front of them now, and then he was gone. All of the sudden two archers fell to the ground unconscious. The last started to turn and received a hilt to the face, going down as well.

"I hate archers." Victor proclaimed.

Another soldier went down as Arcaron completed his spinning kick. He wondered if the others were having as much trouble as he was. He looked down and noticed a small glittering cylinder. He noticed a ruby indented in the cylinder. Arcaron pushed the ruby in, and the cylinder shot out in both directions, becoming a dazzling pole. He blew a long whistle of awe at it. He pressed the ruby again and it snapped back to its original size. He put it in a pocket and continued on.

There was a loud thump as Haru shouldered slammed a soldier into a wall. He turned down an ally and then went down another street, heading towards the center of the town. He encountered more resistance, but all they encountered was a snarling wolf. They looked at it curiously, but then started falling all over each other as it took down one of their comrades with a powerful leap. He looked back at the guards and then charged on down the road. More resistance reared its ugly head. By now Haru was human again. Before they could organize two out of five were unconscious. Then the swordplay began. Haru's scimitars flashed out and parried the first downward chop; sending the sword point to the ground. He countered with an uppercut of his hilt. It slammed right into the assailant's face; sending him into the air and away. And then there were two. They attacked in unison, but were blocked by the dual wielding Haru. He spun his scimitars, bringing the soldier's weapons low. He jumped back, and then leaped forward, bringing the hilts into the soldier's heads, dispatching them quickly. He started to move on, but stopped, he was compelled to go back. He returned to one of the guard's bodies and looked down. That's when he noticed it, a dim silver glow. He picked up something that looked like the handle of a whip; it was a sleek onyx black, with the dim silver glow at the top. He swung it once and a silver whip of energy flicked out, striking the ground with a resounding crack. He then had an idea, he willed the whip to come out, and it did! Haru almost laughed, he was so full of glee. But then, remembering the situation at hand, he retracted the whip and slipped it inside his trench coat.

Victor had almost made it to the town square, easily avoiding resistance in his raven form. By now the city was in full blaze, and they still didn't know what was happening. He was back to human and walking down a road when a large, lightly armored soldier stepped out of the shadows.

"This is the end for you skilled warrior." He said. "It's a shame such skill will be wasted." He finished.

He pulled out a crystal kodachi; before Victor had time to admire it, the soldier had started attacking him. He parried the first lunge and retaliated by slamming his foot into the side of the soldier's head. The soldier barely even flinched from the blow. Undeterred, Victor again attacked. The soldier went to parry, but the attack was a feint, and Victor landed a deep gash on the soldier's arm. The soldier then swung around and sliced into Victor's arm. Victor leaped back in time to avoid a second strike. Victor ran forward and then bent low as if he was going to roll into the soldier. The soldier took the bait. Victor leaped up, did a somersault, and slammed a two-footed kick into the soldier's head. The soldier was slammed into the ground but barely affected. He rose back up and got into a defensive position. Then looked up and grinned wickedly. Victor looked up to see a burning piece of wood smash into him. He was knocked to the ground and barely conscious. The soldier was then towering over him, readying for the killing blow. That's when blood erupted everywhere. Maria's spear went through the unexpecting soldier's head and out the other side.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "I think so." Victor replied.

Victor walked over and examined the now dead soldier's body. He picked up the soldier's kodachi and was dazzled by how familiar it felt in his hand. Maria blew a whistle of awe as well. Victor now had two kodachies in his possession.

All five then arrived at the town square and were greeted by a most horrible being indeed.