Chapter Text
Edit (10/27/2021): This chapter has been revamped to better fit the continuity of Accel World: The Ashen Wolf
Chapter 8- The Capital of Death
You know, Temporal Island looks a lot more peaceful when seen from up in the sky. That was what the thought that crossed Xander's mind as he looked down at the floating isle from the deck of the Galahad. The air was a bit nippy because of the altitude but he has felt worse colds from his mercenary work. This will probably be the only time he'll be alone for who knows how long.
The engines of the black ship let out a metallic roar as the ship soared towards its destination. It was the place that the young mercenary wanted to avoid at all cost. If what his surrogate father said is true, that once-great city of a long dead kingdom was the one thing keeping a dark god from escaping this realm and bringing ruin to all other worlds.
He just couldn't understand Marth's insistence on fighting this Zeta if the god managed to break free from his bonds. Their entire party was filled with a ragtag team of mercenaries, gamers (whatever that is), and two Homs from yet another world. Was this all some trap by the Dark Swordsman? The mercenary leader still couldn't get a good read on the demon. On one hand, he seemed like a decent guy underneath a cold exterior, but on the other hand, Xander just couldn't bring himself to trust him. If Marth was a human, then he could understand his behavior much easier, but knowing that the Dark Swordsman was a demon made it harder to do so.
"Oh, sorry," a voice suddenly spoke up. "I didn't know you were here as well."
Xander turned around, his hands gripping the metal railing, and saw a familiar boy with wavy blonde hair. His facial structure kind of reminded him of Klaus, but that was probably just a coincidence. Strapped to the boy's back was a large red sword with a decent sized hole near the handle. Supposedly it was called the Monado, but it was unlike any weapon he has ever seen, yet it felt strangely familiar.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Xander said, "Don't worry, Shulk. There's plenty of space here for both of us. I just came here to clear my head."
Shulk looked a little hesitant to stay but he made no attempt to descend back into the Titanless ship. Instead, he made his way over to the Driver and gazed at the land below.
"This place is quite a sight," the former mechanic said in awe, his eyes darting everywhere, as if to soak in as much as he could. "It's definitely not like the Bionis or the Mechonis. It's hard to believe that this was once part of Marth's world, Earth."
"Apparently magic no longer exists there, as well as gods and magical creatures," Xander added as he did the same. "It's almost like their one world was divided into separate realms."
"Well, given what we've heard, it wouldn't be that much of a surprise if the gods of Marth's world decided to separate their people into different realms in order to prevent another tragedy like the War of Light and Shadow," Shulk reasoned. He brought his left hand to his chin. "I wonder what their gods must have looked like. Are they as big as the Bionis? No, that would probably be too large unless Earth was the right size to accommodate that. It's a pity Marth and the others only have fragments of their past lives. There's so much I want to ask them."
The young mercenary let out a slight chuckle in amusement at seeing the blonde Hom's mind at work. He seemed pretty methodical and incredibly curious. He was definitely someone hard to dislike.
"Um, are you angry at me?" Shulk suddenly questioned as he turned his gaze to the half-Leftherian. "You haven't spoken much since we boarded the Galahad."
Xander let out a hesitant grunt and found it difficult to even look at the blonde. In the mess hall, Ethan and the others were chatting it up with Marth's group and Reyn without a care in the world, as if they weren't about to do something many would consider asinine. Kos-Mos was performing some diagnostic checks on herself to make sure she could fight at her optimal condition, while Klaus was steering the ship. After taking a few moments to gather his thoughts, he finally gave his answer.
"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. I think this is a bad idea. Mythra may be the Aegis, the Monado being the sword of your dead Titan, and Marth's team being one of the strongest guilds in Alfheim, but I don't think we're a match for a god. We should leave while we have the chance."
As expected, Shulk shook his head in refusal. "I understand where you're coming from," he said sympathetically. "I've only been on my journey with Reyn for barely a day and this all feels overwhelming to me. I set out to destroy the Mechon for attacking my home and killing Fiora, not to defeat a god in some alternate reality. I barely even understand how much power the Monado contains. I don't even know if what power I do control will be enough to protect everyone."
"So you agree that this is bad idea?"
"Not exactly. I may not fully understand everything, but if what I heard is true, if Zeta manages to escape his prison, there's no doubt that Earth will be his first target. The powers Marth and his friends have don't work there, or at least, they don't know how to use their powers outside of Alfheim, which means it might be the most vulnerable world to attack. Then there's the possibility he could attack Alrest or the Bionis. Right now, Zeta is at his weakest. We have to take advantage of this opportunity and stop him before he becomes a major threat. Besides, he and his minion are the reason you guys got here. I doubt they'd let you go without getting what they want."
He couldn't really deny any of it. It was because of that that Klaus changed his mind about escaping Temporal Island and defeating the God of Destruction. If there was even a chance the dark god could escape his prison, then they had to nip this in the bud before it was too late, or else they might never see their homes again.
"Kinda wish you were here right now, Sister," Xander muttered under his breath. "We could really use you and your partner right about now."
Unfortunately it wasn't quiet enough as Shulk's head perked up in confusion as he heard it. "What was that?"
"Nothing," Xander lied before running a hand through his silver hair. He then sighed in defeat. "Fine. The Origo Mercenaries will stand with you." He then gave the teen a forced smile. "Though I do wish we were getting paid for this."
"Is your world view so limited that all you think of is money?" a new voice spoke up.
The duo turned around and saw none other than the Dark Swordsman himself, casually leaning by the door leading into the Galahad, arms folded across his chest as his black hair and ash-gray coat flapped in the wind. Xander glared at the male demon, clearly not amused by his rather rude comment.
"Unlike your kind, I'm not so selfish to focus my views on such things!" the mercenary exclaimed. "Yes, I do care about money, but I'm not the type to betray my own morals for some easy cash. Can you say the same for yourself, demon?!"
Marth didn't react at the outburst. If anything, he just let out a deep sigh. "It was a joke. As usual, you humans continue to disappoint me. Always so distrusting to things outside your little bubbles. I had hoped that you and your friends would be different since you hail from another world, but it seems like that was just naïve on my part. So…" His eyes narrowed, filled with ice. "Are you planning to fight me? As a little warning, if you so much as scratch Kisara, then you better be ready to run and hide."
Xander's eyes widened as he realized that he had been unconsciously reaching for Kos-Mos's sword, only to grab empty air as the android had retrieved it for her "maintenance". Mythra had taken back her own sword as well, wanting to do some training before they arrived, promising that she won't go too overboard with it. It was no surprise that Marth would be acting more hostile despite making that terrible joke moments earlier. It's like he becomes a completely different person whenever it comes to Kisara.
Then again, the two siblings have mentioned losing their birth parents at a young age, during a family vacation no less. They only had each other for family. As the elder sibling, it made sense that Marth would be protective of the Imp fencer should she come under threat. It was a feeling Xander sympathized with. It made Marth feel…human.
"I'm sorry," Xander said slowly as he relaxed his hand to lower the tension in the air between them. "I'm just…having a hard time processing this. You're a demon, Marth. How do we know if we can trust you or not?"
The Dark Swordsman was silent for a moment before glancing away dismissively. "That's your call to make, not mine."
"What?"
"If we were friends, I might feel differently, but let's be honest, we're just total strangers to each other," Marth explained as he made his way over to the Leftherian, his tone not lighting up in the slightest. Every step he made was strong and true, as if he could leave actual dents in the metalwork. "I won't deny that it shocked me as well when I learned what I really am. If it wasn't for Shiraki, I probably wouldn't have learned the reason why I feel so different from everyone else until today. Back then, when I learned the truth, I was afraid of losing the few friends I did have, but they still chose to stand by me. The Alfheim Warriors are more dear to me than you can imagine, and I will do whatever it takes to keep them all safe, but you probably think I'm just making this all up. Go ahead and hold onto your own hatred for me but keep it to yourself."
That uneasiness Xander was feeling had just intensified. This was the true face of the Dark Swordsman. A young man whose heart was hardened by persecution and the suffering of reality, one who has seen death wherever he went. Someone who rarely trusted anyone, much less opened up to them, keeping most people at arm's reach. Someone who rarely shows his true emotions, keeping them locked behind a tightly locked fortress, only letting up for those he held close.
Someone…who might not hesitate to kill if the situation came to it.
As if reading his mind, Marth simply shook his head. "I've killed people before, but it was in self-defense," he said slowly in a monotone voice. "The first people I killed where the ones who killed my parents. They tried to kill my sister in front of me and I just snapped. The next thing I knew, I was covered in blood and their corpses surrounded me. I can still recall seeing Kisara's distraught face as she held me in her arms." He paused for a moment, as if reminiscing on the memory. "The next people I killed were members of Laughing Coffin, player killers. They knew that if players died in SAO, they'd die in real life, but they did it anyway, like it was all a game. My guild and I were the ones who tracked down their base and joined a strike force to send them all to prison." His left hand suddenly shot to the opposing arm into a tight grip and his jaws clenched up. "But somehow they managed to ambush us. The whole battle was chaos incarnate, like something you'd see in Hell. I…ended up losing control of myself again and five members of that murderous guild died by my sword, Lunara. In the end, ten among our ranks lost their lives in the struggle while Laughing Coffin lost twenty of theirs because they refused to surrender. The rest of them were apprehended and sent to the Black Iron Prison and remained there for the rest of SAO. Unfortunately, their leader, the man I hate the most, PoH, managed to elude us. Even now, I don't know what happened to him or where he went."
Both Xander and Shulk were left speechless. Marth may have been reincarnated from a demon who fought in a terrible war thousands of years ago, but they never would have imagined that the suffering would follow him in his new life. It was almost like a curse, and he was forced to bear it or else it would absolutely break him.
"For the record, I took no pleasure in their deaths and I don't regret what I did," Marth continued in his emotionless tone. "However, if staining my hands with blood is what it takes to keep Kisara and my friends safe, then I will gladly do it. I don't care what the world views me. They may call me a monster, that I shouldn't exist, but they can burn in hell for all I care. I don't care about the world. I just want to keep my loved ones safe."
"So that's why you're willing to fight Zeta," Shulk commented. "It's not because it's the right thing to do or to protect your world. You're opposing him to protect the few people that you care about."
"More or less. Don't get the wrong idea though. I may be a demon, but I do have some morals. I don't kill for no reason. Even I can see that it would be bad if Zeta broke free from his prison and escapes Temporal Island. I am willing to do what is necessary to protect my friends." His stony gaze suddenly fell upon Xander, freezing him in place. "So then, Driver of the Aegis, are you willing to fight alongside the dreaded Demon King of Aincrad, the most feared swordsman of Sword Art Online? Do you have the courage to cast aside your own prejudice and take that first step?"
Xander couldn't speak. He wanted to, but no sounds could come out of his mouth. Those words struck at him deeply. He wanted to trust Marth, he really did. But there was just something about him that made the mercenary too afraid to reach out. He hated this feeling. Even he knew that the Dark Swordsman didn't really choose to be this way, it was just the circumstances of his upbringing that made him the person he is today.
"Hmph. I thought as much." Marth turned around briskly, not even bothering to look at the duo. "Just so you know, we're nearly at Zophia. Klaus wants us all to meet in the command room to discuss our strategy. The meeting starts in five minutes." He then walked off, disappearing into the ship's interior.
Silence befell the deck of the Galahad. The only sounds being made were from the rush of the wind. Eventually, Shulk would break it by releasing the breath he had been holding.
"Well, that was…intense," the young mechanic spoke up.
Xander couldn't help but nod. "Yeah. Do you trust him, Marth I mean?"
"Of course. I don't know much about demons since we don't have any mention of them on Bionis, but I can tell that Marth's not a bad guy. He clearly cares for Kisara and his friends. That's enough for me right now."
The Aegis Driver didn't respond. Maybe it was possible that he jumped the gun when it came to Marth. Maybe it was possible for there to be good demons, after all.
Marth had to give Alrest credit. It sure has some of the most interestingly designed ships that he's ever seen, if the Galahad is any indication. It made all the ships he's seen on Earth look like a joke. This particular ship is capable soaring into the air, riding along the Cloud Sea, and even able to submerge under it like a submarine. Supposedly this kind of versatility is pretty much non-existent for the ships in Alrest. In fact most of them required an actual Titan, though how that worked was foreign to the half-demon, nor did he really want to know about it. How curious that the Galahad did not require a Titan to operate. Whoever its builders were must have been master craftsmen to achieve such a feat.
He was currently in the command room with everyone else as they were now hovering over the ruined capital city of Arcadia, Zophia. There weren't enough seats for such a large group that quite a few of them had to stand. Marth was among them, choosing simply to casually lean on the wall in his usual manner. He stayed relatively silent as he watched Klaus give the briefing, but he was skeptical over how the man knew so much about a realm that's not even connected to his own world. Then there was that strange presence about him. It felt human, yet different as well. It was impossible to put to words.
"Just who are you, Klaus?" Marth pondered to himself. "What goes on in that head of yours." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mythra looking at the scientist curiously as well. Did she notice this as well? He'll have to ask her when he can find the time.
"As I mentioned back in the village," Klaus explained obliviously. "Zophia is the former capital of the now destroyed kingdom of Arcadia. It was one of the first places to fall to the God of Destruction, beginning the War of Light and Shadow. I'm not going to lie, what we're going to see down there is like that of a living nightmare. If anyone's squeamish, I suggest that you stay on the Galahad until the threat has passed."
"We don't exactly have a choice here," Sinon spoke up. "We're going up against a god. He may be weakened because of his confinement, but he still won't go down easily. Then there's his minion that Shulk mentioned. We need to all work together if we want to survive."
"Sinon's right," Reyn voiced in agreement. "This isn't the time for us to get cold feet. As long as we've got the Monado, we have a chance."
Marth had to agree with them. Even though Zeta is most likely weakened in his imprisoned state, this would still be a difficult battle. Even if the rest of the Alfheim Warriors were here, he still wasn't sure if they could win against a primordial god. But if what Shulk said was true, they had no choice but to fight if they ever want a chance to escape the Temporal Realm. If the worst should happen, then there was always his "trump card". While it was still a huge gamble, it could be what they need to even the odds. Then there was Mythra's power to consider. As the legendary Aegis, she is supposed to be the strongest Blade in existence. Hopefully she lives up to the legend.
"Anyway," Klaus continued as he pulled up a hologram of a tall black and white tower which a large black and red cloud swirling at the top. "This is the Eclipse Tower. It was one of the many structures that was built by the gods, this one built by the God of Creation, Aesir, himself. It was once filled with potent magical energy, which Zeta supposedly used to make him and his forces more powerful than ever, making it difficult for even the other gods to stop him."
"That tower is probably why Zeta went straight for the Arcadian capital when he began his war campaign," Jin speculated in a firm voice. "Not only could he use its power to become stronger, but he could demoralize his enemies by desecrating such a holy site. He really has no shame if that's the case."
The scientist nodded in agreement. "You're probably right, Jin. Eclipse Tower is definitely a tempting place to empower your army for a large-scale war. Continuing on, the data I have on the War of Light and Shadow is limited, but from what I could find in my search, the Eclipse Tower is where the final battle between Zeta and Zane's forces was held. With great sacrifice, Zane was able to defeat the dark god, weakening him enough for the surviving gods to imprison him in the tower for the rest of eternity. His prison will be located at the spire, the very top. The same place their fateful battle was held."
"So basically we'll have to climb all the way up an enormous tower to defeat a god that nearly destroyed all life on Marth's world?" Mythra said passively, as it was the easiest thing ever. "Should be interesting to say the least."
"Hold on," Nia interjected hastily. "Are we seriously going to scale a tower that size?! We'll be exhausted long before we reach the top. Can't we just fly the Galahad to the spire?"
Sadly, Klaus shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not possible. The winds around the tower are too strong to fly through safely. There's no way the Galahad can handle it long enough for us to reach the spire before it breaks apart from the strain. The only way we can reach it is by land."
"Can't Marth just protect us from the wind with his magic?" Ethan questioned curiously. "Wind is one of his specialties after all."
"Maybe," Marth said dismissively with a shrug, "but I've never done something at that scale before. Also, even from this distance, I can feel something unnatural with the air above Zophia. I don't think it would be wise to fly through it and reach the spire that way."
"Not to mention that our enemy might just shoot us out of the sky if we tried that," Kirito added. "We need the Galahad intact if we want to get off this island. We can't be too reckless with it."
"Indeed," Azurda said with a nod. "Nothing good ever comes from taking the easy route either. We'll just have to make do with what we have."
There wasn't much of a strategy on how to defeat Zeta or his minion. How can they form a strategy? The group barely knew a thing about them. According to Reyn, Shulk has the ability to get visions of the future, but he has no control over it. The visions just come whenever they want. Marth had half a thought to dismiss it as a joke but given that he was a demon and they were about to go fight a god from a forgotten era of his world, a young man getting visions of the future was outright tame in comparison. Interestingly enough, Mythra commented that she has the same power, only her visions are of the immediate future, but she has full control over them and can share those visions with her Driver.
Very interesting. Was that just a coincidence or was there a connection between them?
Anyway, it was decided that Marth, Kirito and Xander would be the ones leading the mission. Because of how large Zophia was, and there was the heavy possibility of shadow beasts lurking there, the trio agreed that the best option would be to stick together. They could leave nothing to chance. There was too much at stake here.
Asuna, Nia and Dromarch were assigned to be the team's healers. If any of their wounds weren't treated immediately, there's no telling what would happen. Sinon, Kisara, and Marth would be the long-range support, either through arrows or sorcery. Reyn, Ethan and Poppi were what Marth dubbed "the tanks", meaning that they'll hold the enemies' attention while the others take them out. Everyone else were the melee fighters. Except for Klaus and Azurda, both of whom will stay in the back since neither one had the ability to fight. They really should stay behind since they'll likely be a liability but both insisted on tagging along, wanting to see the coming battles with their own eyes. Marth didn't really like that idea, but simply shrugged it off. If they wanted to risk their lives in ruined city likely filled with powerful monsters, then he sure wasn't going to stop them.
"Alright everyone," Xander said in a professional tone as he rose to his feet. "We will now commence our mission of climbing the Eclipse Tower and defeating the God of Destruction once and for all. Let's do our best that we all come out of this alive."
"Yeah!" the others, minus Marth, cheered.
It took everything the Dark Swordsman had to not become overwhelmed by dread when the team stepped foot in the destroyed city of Zophia. When he had first seen the city from so far away during his recon flight, he felt that same feeling of dread welling up inside him. To think that this city was once his home so long ago. That it was once filled with thousands of people living their lives in peace.
But now, that couldn't be further from the truth. Buildings were smashed and burned; the streets littered with debris as far as the eye can see. The high white stone walls that once served as the city's protection became its prison when most of the escape routes were blocked by the dark god's forces. A terrible stench permeated the air. The stench of death. A colossal swirling black and red cloud hovered over the decaying city, encasing it all in shadow. The sound of thunder boomed as red lightning danced in the air. That was not a natural storm cloud. It was practically radiating malice and hatred. It almost made Marth feel ill for seeing the sky corrupted like this.
It was a miracle any of the citizens who were able to survive such a tragedy. He couldn't imagine how terrified they must have been as they tried fleeing for their lives, only to be slaughtered like cattle. The mother of his first life, Altena Umbris, she must have been incredibly powerful to have escaped this losing battle. But what happened to her during the War of Light and Shadow? Is she still alive? Was there a chance he could see her again? These thoughts echoed within Marth's mind as he and the party trudged through the ruined capital.
According to Klaus, the Eclipse Tower is located in the northern end of Zophia, right behind the royal palace. They had entered the city from the south as the Origo advisor believed it was the safest place to land and make their ground approach. If they cut through the market district and the city plaza, then they should be able to reach the tower with ease. That is, of course, assuming that everything goes well. If Marth's experience taught him anything, it is that things rarely went according to plan.
A menacing roar suddenly filled the air, causing everyone to stand at alert. It sounded like it came from a large creature, one that was uncomfortably close. The roar was soon followed by loud footsteps, each step sending a tremor to the ground.
"Something's coming," Ethan said frantically as he was visibly shaking.
"Master, I advise that we conceal ourselves," Kos-Mos said in her usual monotone voice. "I am detecting a powerful creature heading in this direction. It might be wise if we let it pass through without engaging it."
Xander nodded his head in agreement. "Okay. Marth, Kirito, what do you two think?"
"I'm down with that," the Black Swordsman said as he kept a close watch on his surroundings with his swords drawn, trying to keep tabs on the beast. "Everyone, take cover in the ruined buildings. Try not to make any noise."
The others obeyed and immediately scattered into the various buildings that provided decent cover. Marth ducked behind some mostly intact crates in an alleyway with Kisara, Reyn, Ethan and Poppi. It was bit of a tight squeeze due to all the debris, but they were somehow able to make it work. Marth peeked his head above the crates, wanting to see what this mystery creature was and where it was going.
"See anything, Marth?" Reyn asked slowly.
"Not yet. It might have just…" He suddenly tensed up when he felt the ground beneath him trembling, causing ripples in a nearby puddle of water. "It's coming."
A tense silence fell upon the group as the booming footsteps grew louder and louder. Judging from the sounds, it was big. This reminded him of a certain scene from an old movie he used to watch as a kid. Did the monster know that they were here? Did Zeta send it to kill them? Whatever it was, he had a bad feeling about this.
Another bone-chilling roar echoed in the air, louder than ever before. A few moments later, Marth saw it. Emerging from the shadowy ruins of Zophia was a large four-legged creature, at least twenty feet in size. It looked like a lizard, but its gray scales resembled that of stone. It had bone-like spikes running down its spine and razor-sharp claws perfectly capable of rending flesh and bone. Finally, its eyes were a feral yellow.
The sheer presence of the creature was incredible, easily making the hair on the back of the demon's neck stand on end. He could tell instantly that it was far stronger than the beasts he encountered in the swamp. But was it too strong for him to defeat? No, he shouldn't risk fighting it. He needs to save his strength for when they breached the Eclipse Tower. They didn't have time to play with this lizard. Speaking of which, the beast was sniffing at the street, as if it was looking for something.
"Brother," Kisara muttered quietly as she watched the overgrown lizard as well. "What should we do?"
What should they do indeed? They could try fighting it, they do outnumber it after all. Plus, if he had seen correctly, their splintered group were in a good ambush position. Or would it be better to follow Kos-Mos's advice and simply wait for the beast to go away? Unfortunately this decision was taken from him as the monster let out a powerful roar. Two more roars soon followed, as if they were a response to the first one.
Marth soon heard the flap of powerful wings and another set of large footsteps. An unsettling sensation caused his stomach to churn as he had an eerie suspicion of what was coming. His fears proved correct as two more shadow beasts appeared on the ruined street. The first was a fifteen-foot bird with raven-black feathers with talon-like appendages on its wings. The second beast was twenty-foot large wolf with light brown fur save for large patches of black fur on its head, parts of its leg, and tail. Just like its brethren, its fangs and claws were razor-sharp.
Just like the lizard, the wolf beast was sniffing around the area, likely trying to find the intruding party. However, it was getting uncomfortably close to some of the group's hiding spots. He could practically feel the intense worry and concern from his friends as their positions were almost blown by the enemy.
"Damn it," Marth cursed quietly. "There's three of them now and they know we're here. We need to leave fast."
"Agreed," Poppi said in confirmation. "If we fight them now, our chances for victory are around forty percent. Besides, our main objective is to infiltrate the Eclipse Tower and defeat the dark god. It would be wise for us to conserve our strength as much as possible."
Reyn nodded his head. "Never thought I'd say this, but for once, I agree with running away. Let's give these jokers the slip."
The male demon wished that he had some way of contacting the other groups and order them to retreat, unfortunately he had no such means of doing so. If this was Alfheim, he could have sent a message through his main menu, but that didn't exist in the real world. However, he had faith that Kirito and Asuna would come to the same conclusion due to their experience from Aincrad. The same could be said for Xander, despite him and the Dark Swordsman not being close.
The street was obviously a no-go but the alley they were in seems to continue further into the city. They might be able to find an alternate route to the palace if they stuck to it. Satisfied with that plan, he gave the signal to his group to fall back. Unfortunately, Ethan wasn't looking where he was walking and accidently stepped on some broken glass, catching the unwelcome attention of the Lemures as they turned their feral gazes to the alley.
"Uh, sorry," Ethan said nervously, almost looking like he was sweating bullets, not just from the gaze of the beasts, but also the death glare Marth was giving him.
Grunting in annoyance, there was simply one option remaining. "Run for it!" Marth ordered as he grabbed his sister by the arm with his left hand and bolted down the alley, away from the Lemures. Reyn and the others hurried after the siblings.
Thankfully the alley was too narrow for the lizard and wolf to pursue them, although the structural integrity of the opposing buildings was definitely questionable. The wolf initially tried to smash its way through regardless, but Marth heard Kirito cry out "Hey!", catching the beast's attention.
Marth tossed a glance over his shoulder to see that Xander and Kirito's groups were leading the lizard and wolf away respectively in opposite directions. The bird, which upon closer inspection looked to be a mix between a vulture and hawk, soared after his group, hovering just above the ruined buildings. It would seem that it wasn't bothered by the unusual air currents that he sensed. Now that was just straight cheating. If he could take to the sky himself, he was sure he could win thanks to his smaller size and greater speed.
They ran for several minutes but couldn't shake the oversized bird. In fact, the bird Lemure was catching up to them, knocking over rubble from the nearby buildings as it pursued the group. It let out a powerful screech as it continued to close in on its fleeing prey.
"By the Architect, this thing is stubborn!" Ethan cried out in annoyance. "Why won't it leave us alone?!"
"Brother, use your Spriggan magic!" Kisara said in a haste, her eyes full of worry. "Hurry!"
The Dark Swordsman nodded in agreement and began chanting a smokescreen spell as he ran, causing words of power to encircle him. The fairy races of Alfheim Online all had their own strengths and weaknesses, like being particularly skilled with a certain type of magic than the other races. The Spriggan race, which Marth had picked, were essentially the thief class of ALO. They were skilled treasure trackers and masters of illusion, although Marth himself rarely used them, choosing to focus on Wind and Lightning magic instead. However, that didn't mean that he completely ignored his race's natural abilities.
Thankfully he managed to not mess up his high-speed chanting (which would have caused the spell to backfire should it have happened) and raised his right hand up at the shadow bird right as they were reaching a four-way intersection in the alleyway. The black crest of the Spriggans soon materialized in front of his palm. Immediately afterwards, a huge plume of jet-black smoke erupted from Marth's hand and quickly enveloped the immediate area. The smoke wasn't harmful in anyway, but it sure came in handy when a quick escape was needed.
The bird beast was surprised by the action and came to a sudden halt. The smoke had greatly hindered its vision. It could hear its prey slipping away, but it couldn't see where they were. Angered by this, it flapped its large wings to clear the smoke. It took a few moments for it to completely dissipate, but by then it was too late.
There was no one in the alley. The Dark Swordsman and his comrades had gotten away.
To be continued
And now things have only gotten harder for Xander and the others now that they're forced to separate while in a monster-filled city. I hope things go well for them. Anyway, I'll see you guys next time!