Fantasy Project Anima

[From Darkness]

Norman nodded. That sounded like a good plan. He scooted over to the nearest exit, before he stopped. He had a bewildered expression on his face. He slowly put his hand forward and kept on pushing until his hands stopped on the air.

"...Oh motherfu-"

He banged on the air. Instead of letting his fists passed through, something blocked them from going any further. It was a magical barrier, but the opposite of the ones preventing them from entering, this one trapped them inside the spiral staircase.

As if on cue, a buzzing sound came from the upper staircase. Several fireballs rolled down toward the two, their movement followed the spiral staircase instead of going straight.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson was looking over the railing when she heard him. She turned moving closer to him. Before she could get a word out she heard a noise and looked up. "Norman!" She yelled before grabbing his hand and running down. "Do you have any plans for this?" " She asked as she made there way down. She couldn't use teleportation if she couldn't see a safe place to get them to and sword only helps with almost everything else... She hadn't tried it with fire yet. But the fire would most likely over power the shadows. The assassins mind was racing trying to think of something to get them going up.

 

[From Darkness]

The fire balls exploded right in front of Norman. He would've been dead if not for Crimson dragging him down. While surviving was a good news, it didn't change the fact that they were in a tight spot.

"Dangit, this is why I hate fightin' mages!" Norman cursed. Mages don't fight like knights or bandits. They rarely showed themselves, and even then their attacks consist mostly of traps and long-range spells. You can at least get ready for an assassin when they come close for the kill, but you can't prepare for something you can't even see coming.

Even when they were running down the staircase, however, it felt as if they were going through the same floor again and again. The barrier was still there, preventing them from exiting.

"Is this a trap?" Norman quipped. "Hmm...this reminds me of our fight back then. The enemies won't show their face even after we took heavy casualties. How did we win before, hmm..."

Another explosion happened above them.

"Say, you know how to play dead?" Norman turned to Crimson.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson definitely had to agree with him there. Mages sucked dealing with. She continued to drag him down the steps as she listened to him. Was he really going to start talking about the past now? She looked back at him then down the steps. Well he was giving information and past experience on it, so perhaps it will be useful.

Hearing the noise above telling them more were sent down she looked up for a moment before turning to him. "Ya I can...to be convincing though we got to get burnt a bit" she stopped running and moved to the barrier. "What's the plan here and quickly before the fire comes" she didn't look at him as she asked only up the steps waiting.

 

[From Darkness]

"Well," he run a bit faster in order to get as far as possible from the mages' sight. "Usually assassins would check on the bodies of their target after killing them, right? We bandits do that too. Even if we managed to nick them from afar with arrows, we still need to get close to see whether we really succeeded or not. Won't it be the same even for mages?"

He grinned. Play dead, and then wait until the enemy showed themselves up.

 

[Srion Receno]

Indeed this was true and most likely true for Mages as well. She nodded with a small smirk. "Come on then lets play dead then" she moved after him then stopped. "This may sting a bit" she stopped and turned facing the fireballs that were coming for them. She prepared herself to dodge only burning her body and cloths before playing dead.

 

[From Darkness]

He was prepared for this, but hurtful stuff still hurts. The fire balls hit him right on the back, although he blocked most of the damaging stuff with his battle axe. To make things more convincing, though, he let out a scream, as if the attack did more damage than reality.

And then, he fell on his back. He gave Crimson a wink before closing his eyelids.

Five minutes, ten minutes...finally, a foostep can be heard carefully treading down the staircase.

A figure in veiled robe appeared, similar to the first guardian mage. This one looked more slender in build, though. It stopped a few distance from Norman and Crimson, hesitating for a bit, before finally deciding to get closer. Closer, closer...it finally stopped right in front of the assassin's seemingly dead body.

 

[Srion Receno]

She watched as the fire balls came. And bit her lip as she turned letting it hit her side and another scrape but her back. Her cloths almost caught fire before she quickly put them out, they did there damage though. She pouted knowing she would definitely need new cloths again. The assassin smiled slightly as she laid out on the steps the burnt part of her body up.

It seemed to take forever before they started to hear footsteps. Honestly she had been thinking they might not come but here they were coming closer and closer. When she heard the man stop she held back a smirk, probably not the best person to stand by. Soon her foot caught the mage's tripping them, just as they would hit the steps Crimson was on them knife to there throat. "Hello" she smirked ready to kill and also get away if needed.

 

[From Darkness]

There was a loud squeak coming from the mage as they fell down to to the steps, the sharp edges sending pain to their back. The veil got shaken off, revealing a young woman's face. There was a confusion visible in her expression, then anger, then it quickly turned into fear as she felt the blade on her skin.

Norman had stood up as well, and on his hand the battle axe ready to be swung in case she did anything weird.

"W-who are you?! Unauthorized entry is not permitted in the Tower!" the female mage shouted, partly in attempt to quell her own fear.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson let out a light laugh seeing the girl but she quickly frowned when to the girl yelled. It was to close and the stairs echoed. Her hand quickly covered her mouth. "Be a little quicker so I don't have to sever your vocal cords" she smiled as she pressed the dagger closer to her neck. "We just need to talk with someone is all. So why don't you let us out of this trap before we go crazy with all the walking hmm?" She hummed softly as she continued to hold the smile on her face. Her hand ready to move when she was ready to speak.

 

[From Darkness]

The girl's eyes grew wide upon seeing Crimson's face. In an instant she knew. She had been trained for this, to recognize what kind of danger outsiders could do to the Tower. She knew that Crimson was nothing like the bulky man besides her. She was a danger.

And danger needs to be taken down.

"Shit!" Norman had pulled Crimson by her shoulder in an instant, right before the girl let out a harrowing laughter. He sent them both tumbling down the staircase, right as a magic pentagram appeared below the girl's body. A pillar of flame burst out from that circle, engulfing the girl entirely. When the flame died down, the barriers surrounding the staircase disappeared.

"...See, this is why I hate mages," Norman huffed. "You can't take them hostage without draining their magic. Although not many can use suicide magic so willy-nilly like the guardians."

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson let out a yell as she was sent down the stairs. When she looked up she groaned. "Damn that hurt" she rubbed her arm as she looked up at the stairs. "Remind me to kill every guardian I see" she growled softly as she stood up and rubbed her head. "So...on word" she started to walk back up the steps more pissed then she was for walking the steps. "How you holding up?" she asked as she looked over at him. She hurt so he definitely had to be.

 

[From Darkness]

Norman grunted, rubbing his shoulders. The fire balls and the fall did hurt him after all. "Still alive and kicking," he replied. "More importantly, I think we're out of the trap now. Look," he pointed upward. A magic circle was hung vertically on the air, covering the part of the staircase.

"Must be space-altering magic. I bet they can do it," Norman swung his axe right at the center of the circle, creating sparks. A bright light consumed the entire area, and then when it finally died out, they were out in a large hall instead of the staircase.

Norman was about to speak up when he was forced to jump back once again. A throwing knife was planted at where he was before. From the direction of the knives, a figure came out from within the shadow.

"Oh. Sorry...I thought, enemies..." that voice was Rize. She stepped out into the open, followed by Gills and Arty.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson nodded as he said he was alright before looking to the magic circle. If that is the case then where they even in the stairs? Crimson covered her eyes slightly When the circle was destroyed. she sighed seeing they were in a hall and not the stairs, nope. Well this was going to be more annoying, but it was also kinda thrilling and made her ready for more.

When Norman jumped back she put her hand back on her dagger only to let it drop when she seen Rize. "Well looks like you all are alright." she walked over to them to mostly the princess, not even giving the prince a second glance seeing he was alive was enough for her. "Have you went against anyone yet?" As she asked this she looked over the princess to make sure there was no bad blows to her.

 

[From Darkness]

Rize shook her head as she walked closer to Crimson. "The Prince, very good against, magic. His Animus must be, SS ranked, I think..." she stole a glance toward Gills's rapier, hanging by his side. "When the mages, shoot fireballs, he just, reflected them all..."

If they fought the Prince, can they even win? That was what passed through Rizeluke's mind. "You fought with, Prince Argyllis before, he strong...?" She returned her gaze to Crimson. For a moment she could swore that Gills was looking back at her, but apparently it was just her imagination.

"We are fine, miss Crimson, look, that door leads toward the Tower Master's chamber," Arty took the chance to explain. A large oak double door was at the end of the corridor. Norman nodded in affirmation. This looked like something from his old memory.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson shrugged at Rise's question, ya he was but was she really going to say that? No she had no reason to. When Arty confirmed they were fine she nodded and looked over to the door. "Perhaps we should go in and see if the dragon is there?" She asked as she looked at the others then to Arty. It was strange how much she cared that they were Alright, but then again she was being paid. That reminded her that she needed to get her gold bars melted down into coins.

 

[From Darkness]

Arty looked at Crimson with a worried expression. "Um...say, miss Crimson, are you able to fight around twenty mages at once?"

She asked something absurd like that. The others turned their eyes at the princess after she said that. Arty seemingly hesitated before continuing.

"If we walk through that door, we will enter the Tower Master's hall. This is a trap set by the Master. Inside the entire guards had been assembled and is ready to shoot their offensive magic at us right when we enter. The only one who know how to reach the dragon princess is the master, so we need to get to him somehow."

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson looked over to her as she spoke and seeing the worried look she smirked. When she was finished speaking she placed her hand on Artie's shoulder. "Don't worry. I can not only fight them, but I'll be the first to get near the master" she patted her shoulder before looking to the others. "So how should we do this and do you think they will all be fire?" She looked back at Arty. Really it didn't matter to her who they fought or what they did she was going to beat them or die trying.

 

[From Darkness]

Arty unknowingly let out a relieved sigh. So Crimson believed her. She felt happy for a moment.

"N-no, in the first place, how did you know that, princess?" Norman stared slack-jawed at Arty, still not believing what she just said.

"It's simple, no?" Gills interrupted, turning to Crimson. "They're just mages. I can just send back anything they shoot at us." He pulled out his rapier. There was a glowing yellow light swirling around the tip. Rize gulped.

"They will shoot various things, not just fire..." Arty replied. "I'm not sure which was which, though...I don't remember the exact detail."

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson shrugged trying to relax more then she was. "He can send back what I can't defend us from. If we all pull are weight it will be fine." She took a few steps to the door. "If I find an opening ill end it quickly and get the information we need" she smirked back at her then took out her dagger. "Let's go before I get bored though" her hand went to open the door the thought of killing them before they exploded themselves was kinda driving her forward.

 

[From Darkness]

"B-but, really, how the heck did you kno-"

Norman was practically ignored as the others followed Crimson's lead. He sighed in defeat before pulling out his battle axe. Whatever, they were already deep in this trouble. He might as well see it to the end.

Rize was keeping close to Arty as instructed by Gills. In case him and Crimson fell, she was to take her away from that place as fast as she could. The bodyguard nodded. That suited her needs anyway. Having finished his preparation, Gills turned to Crimons.

"Alright, let's go."

Meanwhile, the hall right through the door was filled with anxiety. It was, after all the intruders capable of killing the early guardians. To resort to this situation basically means they were in a different league than the usual intruders. The hall itself was a circular area similar to an opera hall. There are three floors worth of balcony overseeing the ground below, and each balcony was taken by a pair of robed figures, most likely guardian mages. In total, there was about twenty or so of those balconies, with the mages in total numbering at least thirty.

When the door hinged open, ten started chanting spells toward it. Magic circles, signifying high-level magic, appeared in front of the mages, shooting high-pressure jet of fire. Ten of the mages at the lowest balconies prepared their own magic: summoning creatures to fill the halls. Nine summoned wild lions, but the tenth called forth a chimera, an abomination made of magic: a monster twice the size of ordinary lions, it has the body of a bear, the head of a lion with ox horns on each side, and a tail ending up with a snake.

As smoke rose up after the jet of flames hit the doorway, the lions started to creep closer to investigate their target, while the chimera stayed at the center of the room, controlled by its summoner directly.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson didn't really want to think about Norman's question, she may not of liked the answer so she just started to open the door. Peeking in she could tell what was happening and quickly shut it as the first blast hit. "It's going to be fun and a rush so be careful" she smirked before opening the door quickly. Her hand went up. thankfully she could see out of the cloud but they couldn't see her. "lanuae magicae umbra" she said this then showed up next to a mage on the second floor. Her dagger made it's way into there throat as she threw a few needles at two others. "Lanuae magicae umbra" she showed up again to take out another. Through her shadows she would throw needles to try and take out as many as she could. A smirk on her face an blood lust in her eyes as she continued

 

[From Darkness]

"That bitc-" Gills cursed as Crimson rushed through the door, the smoke preventing him to see what she had done. It wasn't too hard to imagine, though, as screams rung throughout the hall. She must had started the killing. Damn. It was always killing with her.

Not that he hated it.

He followed into the room. Unlike her, however, he couldn't teleport at will, which resulted with the lions focusing on him when the smoke cleared out. "Tsk," he swung his rapier toward the nearest lion. The yellow light swirling on his blade lashed out like whip, and along it the air, and the lion, was pushed away. The lion crashed the wall, its body split in two.

Meanwhile, the mages on the other balconies had finally noticed Crimson taking down their comrades one by one. One of each pair started to chant space-protection magic, preventing teleportation from reaching them, while the other one chanting long-range magic. Several fire balls were shot toward the last balcony Crimson had landed upon.

 

[Srion Receno]

Crimson looked up with a slight smirk as the fire balls came at her. So they stopped her teleportation magic, she would still get to them. When the fire balls came at her she pushed a dieing man in front of her and jumped to the next one sending needles down first aiming at the two. Once she landed her dagger made quick work of them. She turned looking down for a moment then started to another. "Seems you finally joined me!" She yelled down to him before raising her hand up. She didn't need to be right on them, just next to them. Her dress did kinda catch on fire in the back but she didn't notice as she had her fun with the mages. Thankfully it did go out after a bit before it burned her.

 

[From Darkness]

Gills could hear the manic voice calling out to him from up there. Amidst the shower of blood gushing out one after another on each balcony, the figure of the Red Fang jumping around was fascinating. Menacing. She was like the god of Death herself descending into this world. In a way, the balconies actually worked in her favor. They were too cramped to evade her attack, while still retaining close enough distance to jump to even without teleportation magic.

"They clearly didn't think this through. Figures, most assassins wouldn't bother going to the Tower after all," Gills murmured, swinging his rapier toward the incoming paws of the lions. The beasts retreated in confusion as each swing was effortlessly stopped by the flick of his rapier. With each swing caught by the blade, the swirling yellow light grew thicker and brighter.

"Stupid beasts. Begone," he swung the rapier, charged with force worth twenty lions' swing, horizontally. The entire herd was pushed away, their bones crushed.

It was at that moment when Gills noticed the largest beast was absent from the fight. When he looked up, it was too late for him to react.

"Red Fang! It's coming to you!" Gills shouted as hard as he could. The chimera had climbed the balconies, chasing on Crimson with the speed of wind. Soon it reached the balcony where she had landed upon. Its large lion claws scratched through the air, aimed at Crimson's neck.