Hallowed Damnation [#Wattys2016]

3

"We should just kill him," Arin Aries scoffed.

The gunslinger had openly shown his displeasure for this mission from the start. More than thinking that this would be a pointless mission, he hated the people of Armen. He held no respect for non-skilled mortals and regarded them as a low species.

Zyrin Orion ran a hand through his raven hair and looked around at the devastation he and his men had caused. The mission had proven to be fruitless and the men of the infamous Brotherhood of Blades had turned out to be less proficient in combat that he had hoped. Only three from his party of ten had been killed in the clash and that had disappointed him. He was searching for able soldiers and clearly this was not the place to look.

"Agreed," he said to his colleagues. He took his sword and raised it to strike the last remaining of the brotherhood. Zyrin looked at the face of the man kneeling before him. He saw such fire and defiance in his eyes and thought that it was such a waste of a decent fighter, but knew that it had to be done.

He raised his sword and prepared to strike down and cut off his prisoner's head when a flicker of movement at the corner of his eye stilled him. He turned his head to see a small dark figure barreling toward them with the swiftness and grace of a gazelle. He could barely make out any features except for the fact that it was a woman.

Her whole person was completely shrouded in black clothing and half of her face was covered by a cloth mask that revealed only her golden eyes. Vengeance was written all over those hypnotic eyes.

Salina drew two daggers and flicked them to land squarely on the necks of the uniformed men. It instantly killed them, making them fall in a spastic mess of gushing blood. She raced toward them, withdrew one of the embedded daggers, and used it to slit the throat of the third man in uniform. He too joined his comrades on the floor.

Seemingly satisfied with her quick work, she now turned her attention to the other four. She kicked off of the floor and made a dive for Damon. She did not slow her approach effectively shoving him with her whole body out the open front door. He turned his bloodied face to her in bewilderment as he lay on the cold ground outside.

"Run, Damon! Run!" she pleaded to him. He did not need to be told twice. He gave her a grateful nod and stumbled off into the night.

She stood up slowly while she watched him run out of her sight. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing now that Damon was out of harm's way. A deep voice came from behind her, alerting her back to her current situation.

"Who are you?" Zyrin said.

Salina turned around to face them and saw that they were all staring at her with their weapons at the ready. She smirked beneath her mask. She took it as a complement that they were obviously not going to underestimate her. She returned their assessing gaze and let her smirk widen when she saw them stiffen at her movement to lower her mask.

She kept shifting her gaze from one man to the other keeping close tabs on all their movements while she slowly lowered her face cover and her hood. It amused her when half of them showed their surprise at seeing her face fully.

Zyrin did not display his astonishment but inside he was starting to burn with curiosity. She looked surprisingly young to have been able to demonstrate such skill, but more than that her face was in essence angelic. It was a soft heart shape but with pronounced cheekbones and a straight nose. Her long and wavy hair had the color of moonlight. It was practically glowing and making it seem like she had a halo. She looked like she could not harm a fly.

He locked eyes with her and something inside him called to her as if she was an old friend. Salina stood up straighter and faced them all with the pride of a seasoned warrior.

"I am Salina Ironblood. This is my family you have slaughtered. I have come to repay the favor."

This time, Zyrin could not help himself. His eyes widened in disbelief. They saw her close her eyes for a second and reopened them to reveal them changed. Her previously molten gold colored eyes had transformed fully to a deep black abyss. Both her eyes now looked like black holes and though her irises could not be seen they could feel her gaze piercing through them. Her eyes were framed by inky veins protruding from her temple to the apples of her cheeks and going down toward her neck.

Her normal features were ethereal and yet in this form she looked menacing and demonic. Coupled with a sadistic smile, she made for a terrifying sight.

Zyrin had never seen ability like hers before, but he knew of it. His mind raced to comprehend how it could be present in this part of the world when it had vanished decades ago in his homeland. He did not have much time to mull over his thoughts because just then Salina chose to attack.

She had two long daggers drawn and charged toward Val Regulus, the 10-foot-tall battering ram of a man. Her daggers clanged loudly against his two-handed battle axe. She was unrelenting even with the size difference and she used her rage to fuel her strength. Having sensed that the others were to attack her as well, she swiveled away to gain more ground.

The next few minutes was a mess of blood and clashing metal. Salina had successfully managed to fend off attacks from the three charging men and got in hits of her own. She was driven by her fury and was running on pure instinct alone. She was not her usual calculating self in this battle, instead she was a heartbroken orphan lashing out.

Her daggers flew at the men and she used a discarded broadsword to fight them off. She used her agility to get up close to the gunslinger and used the hilt of her sword to bash his face after she had slashed a long deep gash on his cheek. He fell to the floor clutching his new injury.

Zyrin had not joined the attack, but instead stood back to assess the woman's skill with narrowed eyes. After seeing Arin injured he decided to put an end to the chaos.

"Enough!" he roared. His voice thundered throughout the room and he felt something snap inside of him. The noise died down and he saw Salina staring at him with fearful eyes.

"What are you?" she almost whispered.

Aldus Aurigae, Zyrin's purple-haired magic caster, took advantage of her momentary distraction. He slid up behind her and covered her mouth with his hand. Before she could stab him with her dagger to free herself, thick white smoke sprung from his hands and wooed her senses into unconsciousness. She lay limp in the mage's arms, her eyes returning back to normal.

"Take her," Zyrin commanded.

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