The Storm Empire (Completed)

Chapter 16

Immediately, a young male okami threw his knives at the leader, missing the top of her head by an inch. Gray widened her eyes, then scrambled over to the bushes for shelter, not because she was scared, but because she needed to set up a trap. The okami followed quickly behind while pulling out another pair of knives. He was too late at that point, as Gray pulled out her own sword and struck him down. A slice down his neck was enough to make him collapse. He dropped his knives and fell to the floor.

He probably had kits.. A wife.. A family, Gray thought, pausing in her tracks. Whatever, I don't have time for this. She scurried out of the bushes then peered around to check on her clanmates. Acorn was battling a short-haired okami, one that looked scrawny enough to easily beat. She headed off and saw a couple of apprentices teaming up against a okami warrior. One had it pinned on the floor, while another struck a dagger down into its throat. Gray flinched as she watched the apprentices kill, but then dismissed the thought when she remembered she was at war.

A female phantom suddenly charged at her while knocking her down on her paws. Gray spat furiously onto the ground, then struck out one of her legs, generating enough power to kick her opponent to the side. The phantom struggled to get up, as Gray worked to pin it down. She held up her sword and prepared to stab it in the chest, but stopped with her weapon in midair.

"Don't kill me please," The phantom faintly whispered, "I didn't want to go to war. I didn't want to kill you... I was forced by Pluto."

Gray glanced into her glimmering eyes that pleaded for mercy. Strangely, it reminded her of an innocent kit, begging not to be killed by Night. More specifically, it reminded her of Isa's green eyes that twinkled for the last time before the Ashclan's beta slashed her throat open with a knife Gray will always remember every last detail of. The memory of the ambush was fresh in her mind but she knew this was not the right time to think about it. She sighed then slid her sword back into her belt.

"Thank you." The phantom stuttered. Before Gray could reply, an arrow struck into the phantom's heart and she collapsed once again. She dashed up and stared horrified at the dead body. Blood spilled out and stained the green grass as Lilystar approached, holding a bow in her hands. She sprinted onto the dead phantom's body, and pulled the arrow out swiftly as if it was no big deal.

"Come on!" Lilystar yelled, "We got another one down!"

"You killed her-" Gray began to speak, but didn't finish her sentence as Lilystar tugged her forwards. Suddenly, everything became dizzy. Her vision was clouded and it was as if everything was happening in slow motion. Not being able to conjure a thought, she fell to the ground as everything turned black.

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Crystal ran around, trying to catch a glimpse of her sister. There were already a plenty of dead bodies on the ground but still a lot of enemies. She hurried past numerous Animas, the majority of them either being phantoms or kumas, but all she was looking for was at least one neko from her clan.

Hoping not to catch the attention of an enemy, she safely made her way towards an empty dirt field. It stood away from the battlefield, probably a few miles out. Trees surrounded the field, and in the middle, there consisted nothing but dirt, hence its name. A strange peacefulness came to her and she fell to the floor and relaxed her very tense muscles. Her anxiety started to drift away, but regained again at the thought of her sister being dead. A tiny stream of water ran next to her, with the edges lined with rocks and pebbles. She sighed as the cold water sent a shiver down her spine.

Suddenly, an okami pounced on her and pinned her to the ground. She widened her eyes at the sight of Night, who had blood running down his face. He also had a cut on his arm and an open wound on his shoulder, but it didn't seem to decrease any of his power.