*Infront of the headquarters
Two guards are guarding the entrance.
From between the bushes.
Phewwww—bam.
An arrow pierces the heart of a guards.
Their bodies tumble down.
"That was easy," a female voice comes from the bushes.
Then four people start appearing from the darkness.
"Rose, you guard out here. Make sure we have a clear escape route in case of an emergency."
"Huh?... But I want to joi-"
"Please, Rose."
Hearing the pleading words of her leader, she reluctantly grunts. "Fine."
Then she disappears back into the night.
"Grock, Lance, as soon as we enter the building, we need to be very careful, okay? We don't want to alert everyone in here."
They return the answer with a small nod.
"Alright, I will patrol the outside and the entrance lobby. I'll make sure no news is sent outside. Grock, you will be tasked with the first floor and anything below… Lance, you take anything above. Did I make myself clear?"
The other two give a reassuring nod.
"Good… If you need help, just whistle. I'll be there in a second."
They spread out, and their plan begins.
*Back to him
He views the window outside, looking at the moon's gaze.
Turning around, he picks up his mask and leaves his room.
"It seems whoever this is has started their move. I can hear the screams of people on the lower floors. Gotta be quick."
A blood-soaked sword drags across the red carpet.
Each room he passes ends with a blood trail and bodies.
From between his helmet, he speaks.
"What's the point of running? You know your end is near… Also, where to? This is a dead end."
The man in full armor walks closer to the injured person he was chasing.
Shit... We were caught off guard. This intruder attacked everyone while they were sleeping. I barely managed to avoid his attack and got my left side cut. He also destroyed the floor alarm.
Holding on to his spilling gut, he can only grit his teeth at what's about to happen.
Then the knight stops, one step away from the injured person. Raising his sword.
"No hard feelings."
Then a voice comes from the other side of the corridor.
"Hey, bucket head. You think you're so tough because you kill people while they sleep?"
"...Mori?" The injured person is shocked.
The knight looks at him for a second before facing forward and bringing his sword down, killing the injured person.
"...Not my proudest moment, I would say... But it's not like it matters in the first place."
The knight turns around to face him.
"Mori?... Your name... is that correct?" The knight asks as he sweeps his sword to throw off the blood drip.
He doesn't answer the question and instead makes a statement.
"You hold your sword like a knight, look like a knight, swing the sword like one, but... it looks unpolished."
He speaks with a nonchalant tone as he rolls his sleeves.
Without even needing to look at his face, I can tell he's tilted by my statement. A heavy sword without the correct way of using it can't be fully utilized as a weapon.
"Let me teach you instead."
The knight raises his sword.
"Speak of a dead man."
The very next second, the knight takes a step. A trail of mist follows as the knight phases straight to his face, swinging the sword down upon him.
Seeing the mist trail, he barely dodges the vertical slash, stepping aside just before the blade splits the floor.
Going around the knight, he takes the knight's second sword from his wrist.
"Mist step? If I'm correct."
Making distance from the knight, he readies the stolen sword. His stance is straight, but the blade tip is pointed downward.
"You won't survive the second time."
The knight phases forward again, slashing horizontally.
"Amateur."
Using the side of the blade, he redirects the strike upward before spinning the sword and landing a counterattack.
Slash.
The knight's head goes flying, and his body falls to the ground.
"A clean strike right between your neck. That's one to go."
Picking up the knight's sword with his other hand, he rushes to the bottom floor.
By the time he reaches the lobby, he only sees the two dead guards at the entrance.
Then a sound of rustling from the kitchen catches his attention.
Not long after, he reaches the kitchen, filled with mutated body parts and blood. He also sees the culprit.
"Hey, big guy, catch."
The giant man turns around and catches the two flying swords coming toward him.
"Punny tricks."
"Recognize that sword?"
The giant stops to look at the swords. As he's about to answer, a flying kick lands on his face, sending him toppling into another room.
He turns to look at his colleague.
"Are you good?"
Recognizing that voice, relief fills his words. "Mori?"
And he gives a small nod. "Sound the alarm. I'll be dealing with that giant."
His colleague can only watch as he enters the other room.
The giant man wakes up once again, anger clearly visible on his face.
"What have you done to Lance?!"
"Lance? Is that the knight's name? Oh, don't worry he's resting. Without his head."
With a roar, the giant grabs a chunk of debris and hurls it at him.
He ducks, the projectile smashing into the wall behind him.
No hesitation. The giant lunges forward, throwing a massive punch.
He doesn't move. Instead, his arm shoots up, blocking the attack.
A brief pause. The giant's eyes widen.
"What the-"
Before he can react, his punching hand was grab by him. Then, with a quick motion, the giant man is flips upside down.
Boom.
The floor trembles as the giant crashes onto its back.
He grits his teeth, forcing himself up but was meet with knee strike.
A brutal impact slams into the giant face, sending his head snapping back.
Having no time to recover the strike keep on coming.
Elbow to the head.
Right hook to the ribs.
A sharp leg kick make the giant stumbles, losing it balance.
Then, uppercut.
The force lifts the giant man off his feet before his massive body collapses, unconscious.
He exhales, rolling his shoulders.
"Strength without proper training is useless. That's two done."