Chapter 82 : Pierce Evil (Patreon)

The slums of Zalcien had always been tumultuous, from their dark origins at the tentacles of an aberrant monstrosity that forever doomed its inhabitants and their descendants to a life of pariahs to the daily struggles of the people dealing with gangs and monsters. Still, there were a few places where one could say they felt relatively safe, the greatest of which was the Black Bank, a remarkable building in this ocean of poverty that represented the indifferent acceptance and protection of a significant institution even Villains at the scale of their country avoided angering. Its sheer presence was enough to make its surroundings safer, marking the very zone it was located in and granting it its name, the Black Border, whose main feature aside from the bank itself and the very border that delimited the frontier between the slums and the rest of the city was the Black Block. A place by the people, for the people.

Oh, death was still prevalent in this area, but not as much as anywhere else in the slums. The locals and tourists only needed to worry about small-time thieves and serial killers with the occasional lonesome monster creeping in, but the gangs that imposed their will everywhere else had agreed upon letting the Block be a neutral zone to limit conflict and bloodshed - as well as to avoid making waves and angering the Black Bank by scaring their clients - and even the monster hordes that rampaged whenever they felt like it knew better than to approach the zone, years of culling at the border and the bank scaring them away from the area - and the few times they dared to threaten the peace the gangs united to fight them back, gathering the people's love and ensuring they would still have customers to sell their illicit goods and services to.

Occasionally a gang would make a show of force to assert themselves, and so long as it wasn't too disruptive the others let it pass without repercussion, but at the end of the day it was a fact that the Black Block was one of the safest places in the slums. Which was the very reason why the people grew nervous as they saw a large group of armed thugs make its way to the area, a much larger group than any that had shown up for one of the gangs' gloating sessions, and the five obvious magic practitioners and the three knights in shining armor leading them were a very worrying cherry on top.

The obvious geometric patterns that occasionally glowed that covered the group's equipment - runes - clearly marked them as people working for Runar, a historical member of Wicked Witchcraft, and one normally known for preferring to avoid flashy operations. Not only that, but anyone who knew about the elf's main subordinates would instantly recognize the golden figure leading the group, Pierce Evil, one of the five Runarian Knights, the elites of the elf.

Why was such a figure leading such a large force here today? What was happening?

As the heavy steps of the golden knight and his men echoed across the Block, the people took in the sight. His armor was unlike his companions' in more ways than just the materials and the color. It was fully covered in runes for one, each of the magical marks carefully engraved in the shining metal to promote both beauty and efficiency, but the very shape of the armor was vastly different from the other two. The grey iron plate armors the two persons accompanying were identical, they were those of soldiers, but Pierce Evil's was one that anyone familiar with medieval history would recognize as meant for jousting - it was asymmetrical, with the left side from the man's perspective featuring a metallic collar that rose to his eyes and a small shield-like protrusion attached to the pauldron, meant to serve as a target for the opponent's lance. There were a lot of adjustments made to make the armor more resilient around the left shoulder since it was what was meant to hit, and each plate from one side to another above the waist were different from one another.

And yet, despite wearing an armor meant for jousting, Pierce Evil was walking on foot.

The man's golden helm was topped by a large magenta feather fluttering in the wind, and at his left side dangled a rapier in its sheath of magenta leather, and on his right was a smaller similar sheath holding a dagger. Neither of the blades was exposed, but the designs on their hilts and the runes on the rest of the armor left little doubt that the two weapons were enchanted and powerful, surely more valuable than anything any of the slum dwellers on the Black had seen before. And before long, the eye-catching man stopped in front of a store, one of the latest additions on the Black Block, a building of black and white with paintings of tentacles. Beneath his helm, the man narrowed his eyes before putting his right hand on the handle of his rapier and drawing the blade out of its sheath, the golden metal of the sword glowing under the light of the sun and the purple magic of its runes, before he lifted the weapon and pointed it at the door of the shop, his noble voice echoing out in a self-righteous yell.

"SURRENDER NOW, SILHOUETTE! OR FALL TO THE BLADE OF PIERCE EVIL!"

The crowd watched in awe, worried whispers quickly filling the silence left by the golden knight's declaration. Rumors had circulated about Silhouette, the mysterious figure one small group of thugs once sighted in the sewer tunnels, Guy had even gathered a small team to check things out... And the team never had come back. Not long after, a new shop opened, selling gear filled to the brim with dark energy, a shop supposedly managed by Silhouette according to the men manning the counter and their helpers...Some recalled the strange and tall figure they had seen dragging thugs earlier, and their imagination ran wild.

All gasped at once and fell silent as black fumes escaped through the bottom of the door to the shop, and their eyes widened as shadows grew and spread out of the building, the dark grey stony pavement of the Black Block getting covered by a layer of magical black as the door opened and a voiced boomed out.

"Pierce Evil, servant of Runar. Your beloved leader sent armed forces after me with no warning once in the past, and yet here I stand. Do you think I fear your blade? That I value your words? That I do not know what fate Runar has in store for me if I accept your offer? No. I will be no one's slave, no one's toy, no one's weapon. I am Silhouette, and if one must surrender today, it shall be YOU!"

The golden knight huffed before raising his radiant rapier above his head and pointing it at the sky, the falling rays of the sun illuminating all around him with the shine of his weapon's golden metal, before in one quick gesture lowering it back in front of him, still pointing to the heavens, and finally putting his weapon to his side, forming a perfect 45° angle between the blade and his right leg.

"If it is conflict you seek, fiend of shadow, then may the hostilities begin. But before we begin, know that you will fall to Pierce Evil, the Golden Cross of the Runarian Knights. My master wishes to see you captured, hence why I will show mercy on you. But your minions aren't required, and I have received no order to have them spared. Do you truly not value their lives? Do they truly believe you can win this war?"

"If they did not, they wouldn't be standing here with me today."

Pierce Evil scoffed before raising his rapier once more.

"Men! Ready yourselves for battle! Mages! Bring down this bastion, that we may face our opponents!"

The five figures in hooded brown robes nodded and stepped forward to form two lines, three of them standing in the back while the other two were at the front between each knight and Pierce Evil. They reached for the plumes and books attached to the cords at their waists and opened the former with their left hands while the right one readied their writing tool to cast spells, and as they began to sketch runes with their magical feathers' ink onto the white paper-

Two bolts of dark lightning escaped the confines of Silhouette's shop and struck the two mages in the front, a protective bubble of grey light appearing around each brown-robed figure before they promptly shattered under the might of the dark power attacking them, the lighting quickly entering each of the mages' body and making both of the magic casters screech in agony, more and more dark power erupting from within to join in the wild energies attacking them - as though their very powers were betraying them to join the shadowy attack.

Out of nowhere more bolts of black lightning escaped from the mages and struck the knights, Pierce Evil, and the other three mages behind them. Each of the knights clad in iron armor readied their shield and blocked the assault while the mages in the back stopped their first spell to write chains in the air that somehow reinforced their passive protective bubbles and fully dispelled the lighting, while Pierce Evil's rapier suddenly shined in a magenta light and attracted the two bolts aiming at him and trapped them around the blade, black electricity running wild before the golden knight suddenly lowered his weapon, throwing the dark energy back to the shop where it was suddenly stopped by the maw of darkness at the door, still hiding what laid inside the building.

All stared at the twitching bodies of the two mages that had been hit by the attack, and how they contorted in shapes that could only be possible by breaking some bones, how sparks of black electricity escaped their skin before going back in such a manner that it made the people wonder that they were perhaps alive, and prolonging their victims' suffering in some sadistic glee. From up close, the six remaining leaders of the group also noticed the black patches of a strange matter on them, something beyond the simple charring of materials exposed to the high temperatures of lightning.

"What foul sorcery. It is no wonder you are of interest to our leader, you vile creature. Men! Do everything you can to avoid this vile black power, I am certain its effects go beyond merely killing its victims. Mages! Two of you are in charge of protecting the third one with shields, as well as yourselves. The last one will continue the original plan and bring down this shop. Squires, be ready to engage any elite opponent the enemy may send at us."

The two knights and the three mages nodded before shifting position, the mage in the center of the line stepping back while the other two raised their grimoires and began to write while the two iron-clad men stepped forward and brought their shields to their torsos, ready to block any incoming strike or projectile.

Another pair of black lightning bolts came from the darkness within the shop and once more they were aimed at the mages, but this time the group was ready and the knights, contrary to what their heavy armors would imply, moved at frightening speeds to intercept the attacks with angled shields to redirect them away, letting the energy disperse into the ground and spreading even more darkness on the floor. As another pair of bolts were fired once more, the mages in charge of protecting the third finished their inscriptions and closed their books to confirm the spell, the leather-bound tomes glowing in grey light as a transparent barrier with a similar glow formed out of thin air and intercepted the dark energies, black sparks flying around before they faded away.

"Good work, mages. See, Silhouette? You cannot assault us from your little hiding place now that we've seen your trick. So come on out and face us like a warrior!"

"One against thirty-five? That doesn't sound like honorable odds, knight. Nevertheless, I haven't attacked once so far."

"What?"

"I told you I had loyal and efficient employees."

Two figures emerged from the maw of darkness behind the shop's door, one tall and lanky and the other small and broad. In the ambient shadowy fumes that bloated the area, Pierce Evil had trouble discerning more, even with his enhanced sight and his helm's enchantments, though he could still recognize the shape of weapons in their hands. Some kind of hunting rifle or blunderbuss? He wasn't an expert in firearms, but those must have been the ones behind the previous attacks.

Pierce Evil didn't have to give the order, all of the people accompanying him were experienced enough to know that taking down unknown weapons was always a priority. His fellow knights, though too low-ranking to be anything but squires in his eyes, were already stepping forward to engage these new foes while one of the mages in charge of the barrier seized maintaining it - forcing his colleague to work even more to protect the one in charge of creating a siege spell - and quickly wrote into the air a spell to send to the new duo, a simple bolt of pure force and magic was the best he could do if he wanted to ensure it would hit before they had the time to react.

And as more of the people behind the leading group readied themselves, the few holding guns or crossbows or any other weapon with ranged capacities aiming at the two figures that had left the shop to shoot them down while those with melee equipment got ready for a charge, the knights rushed forward into the black fog, once more going at speeds that would seem impossible with the armors they were wearing, running as fast as any street urchin would after stealing from a market stall. They raised their sword high, ready to cut down their foes, and held their shields tight and close to block any attack that may come.

And as their blades fell to strike their foes, the figures split in two, letting the swords cleave through nothing but air.

Pierce Evil didn't even get the chance to express his surprise before once more bolts of black energies left the shop, this time aimed at the knights' heads, and after their attack, their shields weren't ready.

Two clangs echoed across the Black Block as the two iron helms flew, the grey metal covered in runes quickly getting covered in darkness as the two knights stepped back, unharmed but missing a vital piece of equipment that left their faces exposed. One was a black woman in her sixties and the other a young Asian boy, and both shared the same frustrated face as they stared at where their targets once stood, remnants of something disappearing into the shadows on the ground, nothing left behind but vague fumes of a missed force bolt spell at one spot.

As their golden leader began to issue an order, the runic mage who was supposed to create the siege spell to break down the shop screamed out of nowhere, prompting Pierce Evil and the regular thugs to turn and stare at the sight - the knights too focused on the shop to block any further attack and the other two mages still hard at work to maintain their barrier. What greeted the Runarian Knight's eyes was a nightmarish sight, tentacles had emerged from the expanding darkness on the ground and were constricting around him, only held at bay by the bubble of protection inscribed in his robes, and said bubble was showing more and more cracks under the assault of the shadowy appendages. Pierce Evil's weaponry focused on pierces and thrusts, and anything he would have tried to rid the mage of his assailants would have only further damaged the bubble, hence why he had no choice but to rely on his more mundane troops.

"Someone with a sharp weapon, come here and help him get rid of those tentacles!"

A woman carrying an axe stepped forward, but before she had the time to reach the bubble it was too late: darkness spread from the tentacle and covered the magical orb with black material, and when she ran and swung her weapon to break it away, the bubble shattered and let a cloud of dark smog out. The thugs stepped away when they heard the axe-wielding woman scream as the gas engulfed her. Pierce Evil raised his golden rapier, magenta light escaping from its countless runes, and with a thrust that bent to aim at the sky magenta energy escaped the weapon to form a gust of magical wind that blew the dark smog apart high into the air, leaving two blackened bodies lying inert on the ground.

The golden knight grit his teeth before yelling.

"Men! Attack at once! Mages! Prove me that you are worth working for us and not mere targets happy to be taken done! Squires! Don't get fooled again! And all of you, watch your step!"

The group stared at their shining leader, immobile.

"CHARGE, YOU INCOMPETENT CRETINS!"

They didn't need to hear more, and at once the melee fighter rushed to the shop while those ranged abilities preferred finding a good spot to aim from. The remaining mages looked at each other and nodded before standing back to back, unwilling to share the fates of their allies. The knights grimaced as they slowly walked forward, taking care to hide as much of their heads as possible behind their shields.

As for Pierce Evil? The golden knight took out his dagger with his left hand, exposing the strange teeth-like pattern it had on one of its edges, and bright magenta energy escaped from many of the now glowing runes on his armor.

"I will be humiliated no further, Silhouette. And your blood shall clean my dishonor."

And with that, the Runarian knight joined the charge.