Banda darted around, glancing all over desperately, but found no trace of him. Not sight nor scent.
His face lowered into a grim glare. That slash was twice as fast as he could manage.
The ogre was stronger, but speed was more dangerous than brute power. And unlike the brutish horde leader, Otto was as skilled as he was cunning.
Banda grit his teeth and shot back to the group. The first attempt failed. The second would be even more difficult.
“He wasn’t carrying Shamura.” Eres said without wallowing in their failure. “He must have buried here within the manor.”
The four raced to the north manor, and began to tear it apart in their search. They ripped up the paved walkways and tiles floors. Demolished the auxiliary structures and broke down the walls. Shoveled the land and uprooted the trees. But their search was fruitless.
“She’s not here!” Scar yelled as they started to convene.
“Maybe he buried her deeper.” Ubin suggested.
“He did not dig the earth.” Banda said.
“How can you tell?” The proprietor asked.
“It smells different.” Banda answered.
While the other three spoke, Eres was silent in thought. And soon an realization came to her. “He buried her outside of the ward.”
The others fell quiet as they turned to her.
“No one saw the moment they put up the ward. If this was their plan, it would have taken no effort to prepare a hole before all of this.” Eres reasoned.
“She could be anywhere, then.” Ubin exclaimed.
“So we search the whole town.” Eres set her sight firm on the sanctuary, as her Avatar diminished into its two guardian arms. “Let’s go.”
---
Scar kicked down a door and carved up the floorboards with his two axes, until the dirt ground beneath was completely revealed.
“No.” Banda determined. So the moved onto the next.
The two had searched like this for some time now, and had become efficient. Eres’ plan was simple. Start from one side of the town and move to the other, scouring each and every building and alleyway as they went.
A truly simple plan. One that all of them agreed with. But they were yet to find a single trace of Shamura. And the demons steady chipped away at their stamina and aura.
“We’re running out of time.” Scar voiced his urgency.
“Then search faster.” Eres replied coldly.
Banda ignored the bickering as he scanned the area around. Danger flared in his mind, and he pulled his head back as a black arrow of whispering ominous mana sailed past. He turned to the source that shot it.
A humanoid demon. Its pale blue body a tall mass of sinewy muscles and tendons, with a masked face of murky white cartilage. The most striking feature was the dark longbow in its hand seemed to grow from its very flesh.
It’s face had no mouth nor much ability for expression at all, but Banda could feel its deep sense of disdainful pride from its pitch black eyes.
The flesh on its shoulder writhed, and the end of an arrow jutted out with oozing viscous blood. Banda whipped a stone at it, but the demon sidestepped it with ease.
The Barbato ripped out its arrowed and loosed it in one swift motion, with blurring speed. Faster than Banda could throw his stones.
Banda dodged this one two, but the second nearly scratched his face. His eyes narrowed towards the enemy who seemed more of a threat with every passing moment.
Eres violently channelled fiery aura around her hand and thrust out a Fire Flying Palm. The barbato’s face shifted in one of mockery at the pathetic speed of the mystic art compared to his arrows.
It effortlessly stepped away from the attack, but the aura palm shook from its poor execution and exploded. The burst of flames caught the arrogant demon off guard. It scrambled away and staggered from the wounds, its body more fragile than it looked by the extent of the charred damage.
The barbato raised its bow at Eres in entitled rage but a stone destroyed its head. The demon slumped down the roof as its body started to turn to ash, and Banda whipped two stones at Ubin.
The clang of stone on metal sounded out as Otto deflected the rocks. He slashed at Ubin but was forced to dash away from Eres’ Spear Arm. Banda’s attack had bought enough time for her to react.
Otto seemed mildly impressed at the coordination, as he immediately broke off again. Banda pursued without hesitation but a few twists and turns through the alleys was all it took to lose track of him.
Animosity grew within him, but Banda did not linger. He returned to the group at once, and they returned to their search.
And search they did. Through the whole town they searched and searched. Every corner and every house. But still they found nothing. And frustrations started to become desperations.
“Is she even here?!” Ubin yelled. “What if he buried her not just outside of the ward, but the walls of the town?”
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“That’s not possible.” Eres didn’t even humor the thought.
“Why not? He had everyone running around digging those fortifications for the monster wave. It would have been no effort to dig a simple hole.”
“Like I said… this town is almost a part of the Abyss at the moment. While it doesn’t affect those inside as much, infernal energy will seep through the land outside the dome. If he buried her anywhere close, she is dead. And he didn’t have enough time to bury her far away.” Eres focused on her contemplations as she spoke bluntly, and came to a realization.
“We assumed he buried her.” She said with sharp eyes. “What if he drowned her?”
“The well.” Scar exclaimed.
The four rushed to the old well in the town square on the other side of the fountain. Banda was first and reached his hand to grab the edge, but a flash of a yellow ward repelled his claws. He punched the ward, and saw the thin cracks spread over the now visible barrier.
Otto blurred from the shadows towards Ubin, his face no longer bearing a smile nor the ease of nonchalance. His two scimitars severed clean through, but the image of Ubin flickered and dispersed in the wind, and the slumlord appeared from behind an illusory veil several yards away with a nervous grimace.
“Break the well!” Eres yelled as she and Scar charged to face Otto.
Ubin threw out a scroll. The magical ink shone bright, then the scroll burned to ash as wind rapidly surged within the palms of his hands, forming a turbulent maelstrom that grew more violent and powerful by the moment.
Banda slammed his iron fist into the well again. The others would hold up long enough. He just needed to kill the beastwoman, and then he would free once more.
A mad barrage of blows battered the ward, nearly drowning out the sound of the fighting behind it. Each cracked the yellow walls more and more, spreading deeper and further, until finally it shattered like glass.
The glimmer of breaking runes caught Banda’s eye, and gave him pause for a fraction of a moment. But he dove down the well without a fraction more’s thought. The well held the beastwoman’s scent. He reached his claws to kill with a single motion. And found nothing but water.
He did not allow panic to take his mind. Banda dove to the bottom of the well and started to burrow into the wet soil. He dug and dug, but still found nothing.
Perhaps she was buried even deeper. Her scent was here, so she had to be here as well. Or least she had been.
A trick, he wondered. A lie? Would he find her if he dug deeper? Between the two paths that laid ahead, Banda chose the one he had always walked.
Water exploded from the well as Banda shot out, and set his sights on Otto. If it was a trick, it did not matter. He would kill Otto, here and now. And all of his tricks would be worthless.
Banda hurled a runestone. Otto dodged it, as he continued to dodge and deflect Eres’ spear and Scar’s axes.
The moment Banda’s feet hit the ground, he darted around unpredictably. A haphazardly volley of stones bombarded Otto from all angels, and he started to struggle against the attacks.
Otto fought, forced on the defense, with no opening to flee let alone counter. And he was losing. A stone managed to clip his shoulder, forcing him to throw himself away from the giant spear. And Ubin cast his spell.
[ Cruel Tempest ]
Otto turned his fatigued gaze to the approaching storm, and smiled. A giant bestial hand caught the mass of violent wind and started to devour it whole. As the the last trace was swallowed, Otto’s form came into view.
His skin was now covered in a black rubbery fur. His hands were now half paws with thick short clawed fingers that still held onto his scimitars, and his face had gained the feral aspects of an otter. A wide tail 10 yards long grew from the end of his spine to the giant otter’s paw that weaved menacingly before them.
The first light of dawn shone dimly upon the town. The infernal dome of the ritual faded, as if banished by a higher force, and the demons wailed as the Abyss dragged them back down into its depths.
“Kill him now!” Scar roared as Otto’s tail-paw slapped the dust off of the ground.
Scar hurled his axes as Eres charged with her Avatar’s giant spear. Otto slashed away the first axe as he dodged the spear, twisting his bestial body to deflect the second. And Banda lunged for his neck in the opening.
But Otto’s tail claw flickered in front, sparked with the traces of Ubin’s mystic art. Banda’s eyes went wide as his instincts flared. He dodged away on reflex in time, but the blast soared towards its true target.
Ubin’s hidden form revealed for just an instant as the wind surged through, and tore him apart so thoroughly not even a trace remained.
Scar roared a curse as he ripped the patch from his face. The red gemstone eye pulsed to become flesh, as ominous spiritual cracks split across his face.
His infernal gaze immobilized Otto completely, and he pushed himself through the searing pain of his soul to hurl his axe one more time with greater power than he had before.
But Otto just smiled.
An aura beast bit deep into Scar’s arm and pulled. With the broken eye contact, Otto was freed from the paralytic effect. He caught the axe in a casual motion with his padded hand and threw it back into Scar’s chest.
The one-eyed warrior staggered back for a step, and collapsed. Before Banda and Eres could act, the crippling power of the Soul Seeds brought them to the ground.
A slight chuckled left Otto’s mouth as his bestial form faded away. Shamura arrived at the same time with her other aura beast from the direction of the north manor, her clothes stained with dirt, and her spiteful gaze one of victorious mockery.
“All of you think too hard.” Otto gloated. “The surest path to victory is the most dangerous. You just don’t have what it takes to crawl through the thorns.”
“But don’t worry… Fate is on your side.” He released them from the Soul Seed effect just before it destroyed them. “I still have use for the two of you.”
Banda lunged. Through the pain. Through the danger. With thoughts only of the kill. But Otto just smiled, as the brass amulet around his neck wailed with the sound of ten thousand accursed souls.
White lightning struck from the heavens and a blaze of pure mana erupted forth. Banda’s claws clanged uselessly against the mana inferno that enveloped Otto.
The signs of advancement. Otto was attempting to reach the third rank. If he succeeded, he would become an even greater threat than he already was.
Banda’s intent twisted so vividly that the concept of sharpness almost became visible. He lowered deep into a crouch, mad with focus, waiting for the exact moment Otto became vulnerable once more.
The blaze of mana flickered, then tore apart to reveal the bandit’s smile of prideful malice, and his Rank 3 emanations of aura.
Banda lunged. With no regard for anything else, he lunged. The swirl of his killing intent painted the world pure, until only the lines of his target remained.
And Otto casually kneed him in his torso. Banda hit the ground as his air refused to enter his ruptured lungs. The blow was heavy, far too heavy. And far more powerful than it should have been. There was a weight to it that almost felt familiar.
Blood spewed from his mouth uncontrollably. With just a single hit, his organs had ruptured, ribs had shattered, and even his spine had cracked.
“Ah, that’s my mistake… For giving you false hope.” As the last vestiges of the brass amulet crumbled away, Otto’s human form started to morph.
Black markings drenched down his eyes as the small horns of a bull grew from his head. Bovine ears grew from his head and the tail of a bull from his back. But most strikingly, his eyes turned pitch black, with the red irises of a mad behemoth. Yet more than madness, those eyes were filled with malice and cunning.
Banda’s body froze as he felt the gaze of a true predator above him. One that enjoyed nothing more than tormenting its prey. One that knew it was strong enough to indulge in that depravity. Boundless malice in physical form.
“What’s the matter?” Otto mocked, with eyes that held no empathy. “You’re starting to look human.”
Banda did not respond. He did not move. He did not keep vigilance against the threats of the world. All he could do was keep his head lowered, as thoughts of The Wolf reared its nightmarish head for the first time in many moons.
Name change?
