User blog:AloofComputer/The man who walked alone: Chapter 13

Chapter 13:War

“Report for Lady Druella!”

“Leave it here.”

Large numbers of Ratatoskr and harpies were coming and going inside the large room, bringing and sending messages. Veronica threw the scroll on the pile in annoyance. So much work, being the aide of Wilmaria. Especially when she decided to goof off and have intimate moments with her husband. Those reports had to be analyzed, then presented to the lilim. Then came the planning phase, where orders would be drafted and sent. All because her Highness was annoyed about that human-

She shook her head, making her long blonde hair fly around. This wasn’t the time for this. She had the utmost respect and admiration for Druella and Wilmaria, but she felt so lonely. The time she spent with Alatar had been burned into her mind and body. It was unfair of him to dump her like this and flee. That jerk. She promised herself, for the umpteenth time, that when she found him, she would stuff him full of mana, alraune nectar and every other herb and aphrodisiac in existence, let him stew in his own desire while she teases him for a day, then fuck him till-

“Lady Veronica, this is for you.”

The call of a young harpy broke her fantasy. She was surprised; who would want to send her a letter? Maybe it was some other airhead human. She was a single succubus after all.

The letter didn’t contain the sender, but the shiver that ran from her hands and down the spine told her otherwise. This letter was stained with her demonic energy. There was only one person who was pumped full of it…

“The observation hill. At midnight.”

---

It was a calm night, with clear sky adorned with countless stars. Veronica was growing more anxious by the minute; her tail whipped around displaying her troubled state of mind. She sprayed some perfume on her, its sweet smell only adding to her feelings of anticipation. At last, she would meet with her beloved.

She opened the door of her house, where she met him. A bit of his scent lingered still; she quickly closed the door to keep it inside. Maybe, just maybe, the next time she passed the door, she’d be in his arms…

She flapped her wings open and took off. The night breeze made her hair flutter in the air, and caused a pleasant cooling feeling on her skin. The clock at the Fallen God’s church had still thirty minutes to go before signaling midnight, but some couples were inside still, offering their sexual pleasure. Her smile widened, imagining getting married in that church. However, the abruptness and brevity of the letter she still held in her hand showed clearly that this wasn’t going to be the case. She set her course to the hill and went full speed.

The top of the tree remained scorched, after Alatar’s trap blew up four werewolves a few weeks ago. The dryads couldn’t find the time to fix it, still working on restoring the damages that the raging inferno caused to the forest. Veronica landed softly by the side of the tree. She was early, but couldn’t help herself; the object of her affections was close. The minutes passed slowly; she started counting the stars in the sky to pass the time, until…

“You are early.”

She jumped with a squeal. His voice sounded just behind her, but she heard no sound, felt no mana, no indication. She turned to see him.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">A cloaked figure stood behind her, his face covered with a mask. She couldn’t see his face, but his voice was unmistakably his… but it was hollow. As if he was reciting what he was reading from a particularly boring text.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“I couldn’t help myself, honey, I haven’t seen you in weeks!”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“This is not a social call, succubus. Tell your friends to come out of the trees, their heartbeat is deafening.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“What are you-”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">With a fluid movement, the cloaked figure shot a rock among the trees, earning a pained grunt as a reply.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Let’s stop the games, shall we? I told you, this is not a social call. If this is what you call an ambush, you are clearly amateurs.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Wilmaria and four succubi, one sporting a bruise at her abdomen, came out of the trees. Wilmaria’s scowl was accentuated by the dark blade she held. The injured succubus glared daggers at him.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“This is a message for Druella: Pull back your troops. You’ll get much more than you bargained for.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Silence fell at his words. “Is that all?” Wilmaria scowled.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Yes.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“You expect me, to go back to Lady Druella, tell her to just pull back, because you said so? Are you that retarded? Did Veronica fuck your brains out that bad?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Not just my words.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Then wha-”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The sound of explosions interrupted her, breaking the silence and the calm of the city, filling the darkness of the night with fiery blooms and screams of terror. Wilmaria and the succubi looked on in terror.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“What have you done?!”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“You can consider this an official declaration of war. From me, to her.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Get him!”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The four succubi and Wilmaria dashed forward, with dark blades raised. The man didn’t move; the squad surrounded him. Wilmaria felt, after such a long time, her battle instincts flare. The first succubus to attack was the bruised one; she charged at him with a yell. Alatar sidestepped just enough to avoid the arc of her blade, planting a solid uppercut up her chin while grabbing her tail with the other hand, swinging her to another succubus, crashing the two of them to the ground.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“No rushed moves!” she ordered abruptly. “This is a trained adversary.” The remaining two succubi that were standing nodded and proceeded to attack at once. One struck high, with a vertical slash, the other hit low, with a horizontal arc. Alatar leaned back a little, avoiding the vertical slash by a hair’s width; the horizontal slash passed right through the cloak, and the succubus realized in horror that he had just jumped lightly and bent his knees, while the cloak concealed his feet. Alatar’s hand shot out of his cloak, grabbing the high-hitting succubus by the throat and hurled her on the other. Not missing a beat, he dashed for Wilmaria, who took a defensive stance.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Steel flashed in the starlight, colliding with dark blade with a loud clash. Wilmaria held her sword with both hands; the strength of Alatar seemed almost…

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Looking at his face, her blood froze; two glowing purple eyes measured her with an empty, calculating gaze. Her shock caused a momentary lapse; it was more that enough. Alatar pushed his sword sideways; the tip of the serrated blade scratching Wilmaria’s cheek. Twisting his body, he connected a solid roundhouse kick to her stomach, sending her tumbling a few feet back. She regained her balance and assumed a defensive stance, but Alatar had took off to the trees.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">She turned to one of the succubi escorts. “Inform Primera!” The succubus took off, but the screeching of two arrows cut her flight short. Veronica rushed to catch her before she hit the ground. The arrows had hit her left leg and right wing. The wounds were bleeding profusely, a green gooey substance coming out with the crimson liquid.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Damn! The coward uses poison arrows!” Wilmarria hissed. She concentrated some of her mana and shot it upwards, creating a small purple firecracker. Hopefully, Primera would see this too.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">---

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Damage report”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Two of the bridges are out. The church has sustained heavy damage. Four of the granaries are destroyed. Three wells have collapsed, as well as one of the main gates. Thankfully, there are no casualties yet, but we have many injured, some in critical condition.” The dullahan kneeling in front of Druella read the report.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The lilim sighed. A pack of werewolves, with Primera leading them, had brought in Wilmaria and a group of succubi, one seriously injured. Wilmaria looked especially angry, but refused to leave the injured succubus until the medical team assured her she would be out of danger.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">After a few hours, Wilmaria came in the room and knelt before the lilim. “Stand, Wilmaria, and tell me. You have the scariest look on your face, and it is not beautiful.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Wilmaria quickly recounted the events at the observation hill. Druella and the two baphomets by her side listened carefully. At one point, Mimil came close to Wilmaria and asked to see the scrape on her cheek. Her face darkened.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Druella listened to Wilmaria’s report, her frown deepening with every disturbing detail. When Wilmaria stopped, she turned to Lucella.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Summon a war council. Everyone must participate. Even Shasha, she can leave someone to take care of the temple mess. We meet in two hours time. The longer we delay taking action, the more damage we will suffer.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Yes, Lady Druella”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">---

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Druella entered a room with a long table. Everyone rose as she entered.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Is everyone here?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Yes, Lady Druella” Lucella answered.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Good. It is important for everyone to know what we are up against.” Druella sat at the head of the table.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“From what we’ve gathered, we are facing a single man. Make no mistake; this is not a liability for him. He employs guerrilla warfare, or rather terrorist attacks. He had struck here recently; the forest still bears the scars of the fire he started. He is determined, trained and patient. What he did today, was our fault too; we had fallen into a sense of security after Wilmaria and Mimil drove him off.” she nodded at them.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“However, he came back. Tonight’s attack is the result of that lax in our security. He was able to withstand monster mana before; now, he seems to have developed a way to use it. That attack will set us back a lot, two weeks to a month, at least.” She rubbed her temples. “I declare the city under emergency. Use the reserves in food and water. All foodstuff merchants are to give their wares to the palace. Double the patrols, in and out of the city. Everyone must show their face, no hoods or masks allowed for now. Establish a curfew at dusk. Send an envoy to the Demon Lord; I will write the letter for her to carry. What is it, Shasha?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“What about the children in the orphanage? It sustained damage with the explosion.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Send them to the palace. It should be a safe enough place, for now.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“What about that scum? We have to flush him out, somehow!” Primera growled.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“That is something I will discuss with the military leaders afterwards. The rest of you, dismissed.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The rest of the participants left, leaving the lilim and six other monsters on the table. Wilmaria spoke up first. “This guy has done some really fucked-up shit.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“More than you know” replied Lucella.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“We need plans now, not some smarty-pants retorts!” Primera snapped.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Cool your head a bit, Primera” Mimil interrupted. “This guy is no amateur. What he has done is almost textbook. He has hit infrastructure, but he was careful enough not to destroy all of it. He even left an exit route. He seeks to obstruct, not to oppose. He left two granaries; those are not enough to sustain the whole city, but they exist. If he destroyed it all, the population would have taken starvation as a fact. Same with the wells. He didn’t destroy all the bridges, and he even busted a gate open, facing to the monster realm, conveniently. He avoided casualties, because that would galvanize the city populace. He hits at our morale and ability to wage war, but he is quite adept not to fall into pitfalls.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Then what can we do?”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“We will trap him. He hits whenever and wherever he wants, so we have to offer him a target he can’t resist” Druella’s eyes glowed. “He said he declared war against me, didn’t he? So I’ll be the bait.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“I’d advise caution, my lady” an inari that stood silent until now spoke with a calm tone. “I saw the wounds this person inflicted. In spite of the methods he employed until now, he has the capacity to kill in wicked ways.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“What do you mean, Koyoi?” Mimil asked.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“He used poison, serrated blades and arrows, traps, explosives, stealth. Those are weapons of assassins. We may not be able to stop him unscathed.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Don’t worry, my dear. You can’t call me defenseless, can you? Come now, I believe it’s high time we paid a visit to our hubby. It’s been a stressful day.”

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">---

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">P.S. Chapter 13 is out. War, war has changed. Criticism welcome