Alexa, unbound from restraint but not from reason, was fighting the two goons still standing after her initial maneuver with surprising ease, spinning her massive weapon with shocking speed for its size, deflecting and blocking their feeble offensive attempts.
One of them, with brown hair, wide shoulders and pockmarked cheeks was wielding a large club with hardened metal studs reinforcing it, while the other, smaller and lankier than his friend, with black hair and a missing ear, was using a harpoon-like spear, most likely Paho of origin, surely used as a fishing tool.
The studded club wielder attempted to hit Alexa’s head, but the lower half of her Halberd hit it, forcing it off its trajectory accompanied by a loud metallic clash, as one of the studs made contact with the shaft of her polearm.
-I’M GOING TO GUT YOU, YOU DUMB BROAD!- The harpoon wielder cried out as he lunged with his weapon, in an attempt to reach one of the junctions of her half-plate armor.
The same spin that blocked the club, also managed to intercept the harpoon, but this time around the head of her weapon was crashing against the jagged spear tip of the criminal’s repurposed fishing tool.
These kinds of spears had the purpose of piercing flesh and staying inserted, to allow the user either to pull smaller targets towards him, or remain connected to larger targets.
The jagged edge grabbed onto the flesh of the prey and it wasn’t easy to remove, risking grievous damage if done incorrectly, as the serrated tips would rend muscle and skin.
This time around there was no flesh, but the ferrous hardness of Alexa’s halberd, so the harpoon got stuck just below the head of the weapon and considering the immense strength of its wielder and how fast she was spinning it, the criminal couldn’t keep his grip.
The Captain of the Guard capitalized upon noticing she had disarmed one of her foes and taking advantage that the recoil of the club’s deflection had pushed the taller criminal backwards, leaving him off-balance, she felt like she the now unarmed second goon was free pickings.
He attempted to guard his chest when he saw her coming, crossing his arms and tensing up his body, incapable of moving fast enough to avoid Alexa’s advance.
Her armored boot’s sole crashed like a battering ram and his arms splintered much like rotten wood, letting out a disgustingly wet crushing sound as bones cracked under the mighty blow dealt by Alexa.
The now harpoon-less criminal let out a blood-curdling scream as he fell on his ass, his mangled arms hanging at his flanks as he landed, only making him scream even more.
His companion, too shocked by the sudden surge of brutality performed by Alexa, could only watch as the Captain of the Guard took a deliberate step forward as she threw her other leg back and like an unstoppable pendulum swung her armored shinguard first towards his comrade’s face.
-PUT A CORK ON IT WILL YA!- She roared as her kick connected, the sound it made while traveling in a semi-circle around her side seemed more like her own roar than the actual whistle that accompanies a sharp kick.
The impact was even more impressive, as the armor plates protecting her leg crashed right into the criminal face, shattering his jaw and cracking his teeth.
His neck stretched as far as it could, while his head turned and was sent back and to the opposite side of the impact, an instant knockout, as his screams died out, his eyes went glassy and his body fell limply to the cobblestone dockyard.
Alexa turned around with a gleefully battle-hungry grin towards the remaining goon of the Serico Sisters still standing on the pier.
Her shining eyes, filled with an almost child-like excitement for being in the midst of battle sent shivers down his spine and as he swallowed hard, his hand shivered alongside his studded club, which at the moment seemed as useful as a strand of straw in front of Alexa.
As the Captain of the Guard dealt with her opponents, Callis was himself dealing with Rixa, who was managing to keep her distance thanks to the ingenious design of her signature weapon.
-How nice to see you again Callis!- She shouted, while letting two bolts loose in rapid succession, the first being avoided by the Beast Blade sidestepping and the second one with a quick hands-free cartwheel, his cloak billowing behind him.
-It’s such a pleasure when an old friends comes to welcome you when you are back in town.- She winked as she shot the next bolt, adding. -Maybe even more than friends.-
Callis' focus was near perfect, as he blocked her taunts and only focused on her attacks, this time around performing a short forward and spinning mid-air with almost elegant grace, avoiding the sharp tip of the projectile by the width of a hair.
-What’s wrong sweetie? Did they cut your tongue in the Castle?- She asked, mockingly, releasing another burst of bolts, this time three at once. -I do love your new look, the blue really makes your eyes pop.-
The Beast Blade already had a plan in mind and was waiting for the right moment to execute it; he wasn’t blocking every sound, just her voice, as he was focused on a peculiar noise he knew from every previous battle with Rixa.
The cartridges she filled with bolts usually had around 10 bolts and the last one to be reloaded caused an echo inside the empty box attached to the crossbow.
This kind of focus wasn’t something Callis could pull off at any given moment, but only in the midst of battle, with adrenaline pumping through his veins like a stampede of wild Acrilla.
He readied himself as Rixa prepared her last bolt, aiming with the precision only a seasoned killer has.
-You’re no fun, you used to get flustered before.- She commented, with evident disappointment in her tone, as she punctuated the sentence with the last bolt from her cartridge.
She shot directly at the charging Callis, who couldn’t ask for a better attack.
Using his free hand he grabbed his cloak once again, seemingly ready to repeat using the heavy cloak as a makeshift shield.
In reality his hand first hit the brooch keeping it in place, releasing the mantle as he performed a frontflip.
The momentum of his cloak sent it forward, like a huge curtain, covering his figure and receiving the bolt.
Just as this happened the Beast Blade threw the brooch to the right and a moment later he blasted off from the left of the cloak.
-WHA…- The eldest Serico Sibling barely managed to form half a word as her attention was caught by Callis’ trick, she turned towards the landing point of the brooch allowing the Beast Blade to burst into action, becoming a blur of blue motion, with the dangerous shine of his cleaver reflecting the midday sun.
Rixa’s survival instincts kicked in, much more developed than her care for the tools of her trade and as Callis was swinging his Baltas blade down, she grabbed her crossbow with her two hands from the side and used it to block the attack, putting the mechanism right in the weapon’s arc.
-NOT TODAY!- She shouted, as the loud impact of the Beast Blade’s attack resonated through her body and the might behind it forced her into one knee, her arms flexing as much as possible, barely able to stop a one handed swing from Callis.
-Too slow, sweetie, getting slower with age?- She taunted again with a flirty smile. -I like my men older, so you don’t have to worry about that.- Rixa continued, attempting to get under the Beast Knight’s considerably thick hide.
-You can save your words, Serico.- The lack of a Messa in front of her family name clearly showed the level of contempt Callis had for her.
-You can save your threats then, want it or not, I’m leaving this place with what I came to get and you can’t stop it, no matter how much you try to smolder me with your eyes.- She playfully replied, trying to avoid showing how much strain she was under.
Her crossbow betrayed her, as the thick edge of the Callis’ cleaver began to eat through the wood and metal frame of her weapon.
-Finally I will get rid of you once and for all, for the betterment of this Kingdom.- Callis declared, his eyes focused on her as he placed his free hand over the back of his weapon, doubling the pressure down, making Rixa arms buckle down, her almost wrecked crossbow resting on her shoulder.
-You know…- She began talking, smiling through the pain, as wooden splinters and metal shards were doing their best to pierce through her light blouse and bite into her flesh.
-I never thanked you for killing the Necromancer. He was really bad for business.- Rixa declared with a pained grin, sweat pouring down her face while she tried to keep the rictus in place.
-You should look me up after this and I would totally pay you back that favor…- Even under the pressure of near death, she managed to pull off a seductive smile, as she batted her eyelashes towards the Beast Blade’s blue eyes.
-In private…- She added, followed by a grunt of pain as Callis, immutable to her taunting advances, put even more weight on his weapon.
The Beast Blade could almost taste victory, for years, during his tenure as a guardsman, the Serico Sisters had been making the citizens life a living hell and if the Necromancer didn’t appear like he did, they would’ve been his main concern last year.
But something was wrong, out of place.
Callis had fought Rixa many times and the elder Serico Sibling never got in such tight positions, at least never by accident. She was stalling and he couldn’t figure out why.
-We could leave this place and start talking about the good ol’ days, we could catch-up you can’t imagine what happened to me in Ater Arva…- She let another grunt of pain as finally the crossbow was crying its last creaks and cracks, collapsing under Callis’ cleaver.
He knew that she was only trying to distract him, that was her go-to move, not like her sister who tended to be more direct.
“HER SISTER”
Callis tried to keep a cool head before, when he analyzed the battlefield. In reality he wasn’t as collected as he tried to project, he couldn’t be when people were suffering in front of him.
He only analyzed what he saw and supposed what he didn’t. Maybe Lis Serico was further away, maybe she was handling the perimeter. He was so accustomed to them splitting their workload.
-Oh… I think you just realized it.- Rixa smiled as she felt the pressure pushing her down waver for a second.
-Did you think I wouldn’t be watching the place?- She asked with a huge grin.
-Did you think I wouldn’t have a plan if I happened to see you again, sweetie?- She kept flirting, just to annoy Callis.
-That’s your problem and that giant bastard that lumbers around you.- Rixa began to explain.
-You two are great in a fight, I would hire you as muscle any day if you decided to become free agents, but you can’t think for shit.- Her insult cut deep, as Callis tried too hard to break out his usual failings, but seemingly he couldn’t.
-And most importantly… did you think I wouldn’t know you’re working as the babysitter for that poor little ginger Arcanist back there?- She asked, pointing at Novus with a gesture of her chin.
That’s when everything hit Callis like a falling cinderblock.
The exaggerated violence, her taunting, maybe even the position of her goons, forcing them to split apart to cover more ground.
-NOVUS!- Callis shouted, looking over his shoulder in panic, finally lowering his guard.
-Predictable, yet enjoyable.- Rixa said as she turned her body to the side, releasing her wrecked crossbow and pulling out from inside her vest the Scripti weapon given to her by Bellator.
Callis couldn’t react in time as a burst of wind, in the shape of a whirlwind, hit him square in the chest and lifted him off the ground, propelling him backward at great speeds.
The Beast Blade crashed into one of the crates, thankfully loaded with grain that managed to stop his advance without harming him, but still, he was pretty shaken.
The leather soles of Lis’ boots silently parted ways with the edge of the building she was standing on, after taking a brief run-up towards the stone ledge.
The Pint-sized Brawler glided off the roof with fierce grace, like a bird of prey diving down to catch unsuspecting prey.
Unsuspecting until Callis shouted his name.
Novus turned around as Lis descended with her weapons ready to strike and the Young Arcanist’s survival instincts kicked in, raising his staff in a defensive position as he was taught in the very few self defense classes he took back in the academy.
Lis wasn’t expecting this and as short as Novus was, his limbs were longer than hers so this defensive stance stopped her weapons from reaching his flesh.
-STUPID BOOK-EATER!- She grunted, landing on Novus, who lost his balance and fell backwards inadvertently launching her in that direction through sheer momentum.
Lis spun mid air in a mixture of frontflip and corkscrew, landing on all fours, more like an animal than a human.
Novus turned around, still on the ground looking at her with fear grasping his heart.
When she attacked, he saw her eyes and the only thing he saw behind them was an endless void, the kind of darkness only those who have taken lives have.
She popped her neck to the side, readying to charge, as Novus clumsily stood up, using his staff as support.
Lis lost the element of surprise, but Novus, who only had one real fight under his belt, was ill-prepared to handle somebody as seasoned in scraps as the youngest Serico Sibling.
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