Book One – Interlude – Part Nine – Servi’s Nightly Stroll II – Attack on the Markets

“What?!! Why?!!!!!” Casa exclaimed in pure hate as she watched the girl in front effortlessly dodge and avoided attacks that she couldn’t handle just seconds before.  

Perhaps you can attack now without disrupting the images? 

Servi tried to attack but discovered something new. The afterimages she used to dodge were white, but now, if she thought about striking back, a red image showed up. And she squarely understood what that meant.

Like a graceful ballet dancer, the girl in the oversized and partially damaged armor moved with such grace that she could only be compared to one. She knew where the attacks would come, even before the attackers knew themselves. Not to mention she knew how to kill them in a way that required the least amount of effort.

Servi stepped back to avoid a wide arc swing before immediately ducking down and jumping up to avoid a thrust followed by a sweep. She followed her future self in the red images and cut an arm off some guard who tried to sneak up to her left before transitioning into a slight twirl to avoid another attack. Kicking a guard in the stomach, she followed the red images that instructed her to chase him as her souls gave her the information on where to stab his throat.

In just a matter of seconds, Servi had poked her sword through the necks of ten enemies. The incredibly sharp tip of her red blade transferred fire to the stabbed soldiers, who burned to death as they screamed.  

“You stupid idiots, use your skills!!!” Casa yelled from a protected spot.

“Cover us!” said a group of ten or so guards near the back.  They couldn't be heard over the screams.  But Servi heard. More accurately, Itarr heard and told her. As Servi thought of the fastest way to get to the skill users, she dodged a strike that seemingly came from behind her.

She should've been hit, but her body moved before her mind had a chance to think. That was Soul Essence of Primal Combat at work. Even if attacks came from somewhere out of Servi's sight, her body would always dodge out of the way if it had the chance. However, it wasn’t the end all be all. If the attacks came faster than she could avoid them, Soul Essence of Primal Combat would fail to activate. It was the same as if a hundred people all fired arrows upon Servi at the same time. There were simply too many projectiles to avoid, and Servi would definitely be wounded.

Continuing her dance, Servi cut, sliced, thrusted as she dodged swipes, kicks, punches. Rather than a one-on-one dance, it was like a group battle where Servi couldn’t even make one mistake.  

“WHY???!!!!!” Casa did nothing but scream like a child as the men she led died for her.

“Now!!!” shouted a skill user. He was the one that asked his fellow men to cover him, and they did in a way, with their bodies and lives instead of swords and shields.  

Five giant floating pillars appeared from nowhere. One was made of dirt, one was rock, one was steel, one was glass, and the last was sand. They were probably twenty meters tall, twenty meters wide, and ten meters thick. 

“SCATTER!!!!! IT'S STONEHENGE!!!! STONEHENGE IS READY!!!” someone yelled.  

Like clockwork, the group that surrounded Servi all leaped out of the way, even leaving their dead behind as the massive five pillars assumed a formation stacked on top of each other. Then like a puppet with its strings cut, they fell, but it wasn’t all at once. The first pillar fell, and then around five seconds later, the second did. Followed by the third, fourth, and last one.  

“Finally, I can test myself!” Servi yelled out as she held her sword up high. The moment the tip came into contact with the pillar of dirt, it exploded into fire and burned away.

The rock pillar liquified, turning into a stream of blistering magma for a moment before it evaporated into nothing.  

The steel pillar became super hot as it balanced on the tip of her sword. Like a flame thrower, the point of her blade expelled a vast plume of fire. Any brave foes who had wandered close to Servi hastily retreated to a safe distance.  The steel pillar was the heaviest by far, and Servi had to grab the hilt of her sword with both hands, but even that wasn’t enough. Her arms broke 73 times, and her ankles snapped 81 different times, all within moments of each other. The instant the bone was severed, it instantly grew back, but the pain lingered a moment more. Servi was experiencing pain on pain on pain, and it just kept stacking more and more.  

But she stayed strong and focused on her entire body to keep her sword up. And eventually, even the steel became liquid and melted before disappearing like the rest. It’s no small wonder that the floor below her didn’t crack or break.  

The second to last pillar was glass, and as soon as it started descending, it shattered. Thousands upon thousands of razor-edged and deadly translucent objects rained down as Servi screamed in pain. Being glass created by a skill, it was sharper than metal and sliced through her oversized and weak armor like a hot knife through butter. Her soft white skin and arms turned into a pin cushion as an impossible amount of blood flowed out. The glass entered through the wounds they created and flowed throughout her body. The little demons sliced her insides, eventually cutting through the skin and thereby creating an exit wound. The glass joined with the blood cascading down from nearly a hundred microscopic wounds, noisily scattering as it splattered against the ground.

“GGGAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Servi screamed in response to the terrifying pain. As if to reply, glass that had still yet to fall entered through Servi's open mouth, cutting her tongue and gums and making their way to both her stomach and lungs.  

SERVI!!!!!! 

“I! CAN! HANDLE! IT!!!!!” she yelled out, even as her lungs filled with blood. Soon, she felt the horrible sensation of suffocation. The armor covering her limbs was no more, only white skin covered with blood, giving her the illusion that she always had red skin. Chunks of muscle, bone, and glass floated around in the ungodly amount of blood pooling below her. Locks of black hair were cleaved off as she turned her head to the ground, but perhaps that was a mistake. The raining glass pierced through her head and her skull before making its way to her brain.

I know you said not to interfere, and I’m sorry for going against you, but please allow me to remove the glass from your body! I’m begging you!! 

Servi’s vocal cords were damaged, so she couldn't respond.  The only thing Servi did was weakly nod.

She vomited out blood mixed with glass that went to her stomach as she felt those sharp, see-through objects disappear from her head and body. But even through all that, she stood tall.  

“She’s a demon….”  

“How could she……” 

“No human should ever have that much blood…….” 

The guards surrounding her all stopped and stared in disbelief before one man made a logical conclusion.  

“Monster…..” 

“Men, don’t give up hope! Believe in the power of Stonehenge, one of the most powerful skills!! Believe with me that it will kill this monster disguising itself as one of us!” Casa bellowed out. Morale was rapidly dropping, and she needed something, anything to bring it back up. “We have one more pillar of Stonehenge left!!!”  

As Casa yelled, the sand pillar was ready to drop.

“Itarr. I need to focus……the pain too much to bear….. so I need you……. to get me some armor……… and another mask from the……… ring, ok? I don’t…….. care if it’s……… too big.” 

Of course.  

A split second later, a full-body suit of red armor with a blue jewel in its chest appeared on Servi's body. Yes, it was oversized and too big, but the gem shined bright blue, and the armor started shrinking, becoming the perfect fit. The mask Itarr selected was similar to the one destroyed in the glass pillar attack. It made her eyes blue.

But that was all.  This one had tiny red flame-like decorations that flared up around the blue-colored lenses, giving it an allusion of ice and fire, two total and polar opposites, working in tandem to make a mask that was beyond the concept of 'beautiful.' 

Her Immortality finished up, and her body was back in perfect shape. No cuts, scars, or open wounds remained on the outside. On the inside, her organs were in perfect working order.

The only evidence remaining was the blood Servi stood in and the crimson trapped in the narrow space between skin and armor.

Would you like me to remove the blood? 

“Only from my body,” Servi replied.  Her voice was devoid of any emotion. She had just experienced true torture and pain, and that was something she couldn’t just toss away. Her body healed back up, But her mind was still very much injured, and it would be a while longer before she felt like herself. Even now, she could feel the phantom sensation of glass traveling through her bloodstream, cutting and slicing straight through her muscle and bone. She couldn’t even focus on her new armor.

“NOOOOOO! THAT ARMOR ISN’T MEANT FOR YOU!!!!” Casa yelled out.  She drew her sword, green with a blue jewel, and rushed in,  but her trusted men made the right decision to hold her back. She cursed and threw punches and kicks, but they never let her take another step.  

“Casa! The last pillar is about to fall! Calm yourself!!!!” 

“MONSTER!!!!!!!” Casa’s scream acted as the background noise for the final act of the skill known as Stonehenge. It consisted of five different pillars, all incredibly heavy, being dropped on someone. It was originally used to kill criminals, but it could also be used in battle if one could be protected long enough to chant its long incantation.  

How strange. The armor shrunk to fit you. Perhaps it has something to do with the jewel? I’m sure I saw it glow when I put it on you. It wasn’t until Itarr mentioned the armor that Servi glanced down and ran her covered arm and hand over the glossy, smooth red surface.  

“I feel strong… and protected…” Servi said as she continued to hold her sword up high. Some type of energy flowed through the armor. It was almost like the skill Protection, but it felt like there was more than that.  

The sandy pillar instantly turned to glass when it collided with Servi’s outstretched sword. Just like the glass pillar, the events would soon repeat themselves, and Servi’s body felt such a terrible feeling that reminded her of when she lost her hand.    

Unlike before, Servi covered her head with her arms, trying not to cry. There was no use holding the sword up anymore. But amazingly, the falling glass slid down her covered arms. Smoke and a tiny ember of fire appeared where the glass collided, burning to nothing instantly. Soon enough, the final act of Stonehenge was over. Servi stood tall with the beautiful red sword by her side. Her red armor endured the entirety of the glass attack, and it wasn’t damaged in the slightest.  

“Things burn when they touch it……so maybe it’s protected by fire? Maybe that’s what I felt…?” she said quietly to herself.  

That seems to be the case, but I can’t be sure.  

Servi heard a whiny brat complain, and she turned to look at her. “Impossible!!!! IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!! How did you survive Stonehenge?! NOBODY HAS THAT MUCH BLOOD!!!!! NOBODY CAN SURVIVE THE WOUNDS YOU HAD!!!!!” 

“Casa, I must thank your family for this armor,” Servi mocked the poor girl as she walked towards the retreated group of guards. Even with the face of death standing in front of them, they all moved to protect their leader.

It was literally a case of 1 against 100.  

“Prepare more skills!!!!” one man yelled out. He walked forward, taking off his helmet, and took control of the situation. He was bald, and a black mark ran down the left side of his face. A second later, a volley of a variety of skills launched at the lone woman.  

She didn’t move.  

The Wind Strikes cracked against her armor and disappeared. The Shadow Shots evaporated into nothing. Two Fire Walls surrounded her from each side, and she thrusted her arms into them. They dissipated. The combination skill: Venti Aqua, a large water tornado, did nothing in the face of the red armor. The water evaporated and filled the room with hot steam before it got close. An Archer in the backline crouched down and shot an arrow high in the air. It was the skill called Arrow Shower. The lone projectile glowed green before multiplying seventy-five times. Servi looked around her and noticed that it was dark. She looked up and could’ve sworn it was an eclipse. The vast amount of arrows blotted out the light so high above in the ceiling as they made their way down.  

Servi didn’t do anything. There was no need. The arrows burned up right before they made contact with her.  

“Dammit! Keep at it! Use Enchant: Water!” at his behest, five skill users wearing cloaks and holding staffs started chanting. Blue energy appeared above them messily and disarrayed before forming a perfect rectangle. The archers behind took the initiative and readily nocked an arrow.  

“FIRE!!!” Casa ordered. She had a smug look on her face. After all, when it came to the elements, water beats fire. But what they didn't know was that the force of fire that protected Servi was much, much stronger than anything water-related Casa’s men could muster. Even Casa couldn’t hope to break through the fiery protection.   

The archers followed their captain’s command, firing all they had at once. The group of wooden arrows with a metal tip flew through the water field, becoming an arrow that was imbued with the essence of water. The metal tips turned dark blue like the ocean's depths, while the wooden shaft took on a light blue color.

Servi just stood there, and just like with Arrow Shower, the water arrows burned and extinguished before they came close to her.  

“That’s not gonna work,” the girl in armor replied in a singsong-like voice, and that made Casa angrier.  

“Summoners!!!” the bald man yelled out, seeing that their skills didn’t work. This was their last-ditch effort. Skills didn’t work, physical combat was impossible, and arrows were useless. From behind him, three tornados of red, yellow, and green energy swarmed together before letting out an explosion of fire, lightning, and wind, respectively.  

The crowd parted and allowed the three elemental beings to move up.  

One was a fire wolf. Its entire body, a raging inferno. As it howled, its back slightly opened, and fire spewed out high above.  

The second was a large yellow bird. Lightning crackled around its body as its wings flapped.  

The third was a long and wide green snake. Two sharp daggers orbited its body and left behind a green trail.

The three summoners walked up behind them and gave the order.  

“Kill her!” all three shouted.

The three spirits launched instantly at the same time. The wolf circled around to the side, using the hole in its back to blast a steady stream of crimson fire. Servi ignored it.

The bird flew at such a high speed around Servi as it tried to distract her.  The lightning it produced assaulted her armor and uncovered head.  

“Amazing…. I didn’t even feel that….that has to be the armor…..” even though the lightning should’ve snapped Servi’s head in half, it just bounced off like throwing a rubber ball against the wall.  

Using Soul Essence of Primal Combat, and Servi didn’t expect it to work, but it did. To predict the bird’s path, Servi stuck her hand out and grabbed it by the throat. She squeezed hard, breaking its neck before ripping its off head.  

“GAAAHHHHH!!!” the summoner responsible for the bird put his hands to his neck and coughed up blood before falling to his knees.  

It appears that some of the damage we did to that thing was reflected back to him. Did that man yell out summoners? I remember that was a skill we could learn, Itarr commentated.

The man to his left, who summoned the fire wolf, begged the man on his knees to release the spirit. The two halves of the bird in Servi’s hand disappeared.  

Since she didn’t have to worry about the fire wolf, Servi turned her attention to the green snake. It hissed and bared its teeth as its daggers shot out. Servi could predict the path using her Soul Essence of Primal Combat, so she grabbed them from mid-flight. The weak blade had no chance of cutting through her red armor. Somehow, the snake's face twisted into a cruel smile. The daggers in her hand went incredibly hot before they blew up. The armor protected her from any damage she would've sustained. 

Servi rushed forward with her sword and bisected the snake. The fire from her sword traveled down the length of the two body parts, and fire appeared on the summoner’s body as he screamed in mortal pain. It disappeared when the snake did.  

All that was left was the wolf, who bravely launched deadly fire from its back. Walking up to it, Servi used her armor to tank any weak attacks the wolf dished out. When she had a clear shot, Servi raced ahead and used her blade to split the incoming fire stream. The wind created from her swing knocked the flaming beast to the ground and sent its flame to the ceiling. That opening allowed Servi to cleave her foe with a single slice, who howled in pain as it faded away. Its summoner felt the same pain as he collapsed to the floor. Since she didn't gain any souls, she knew the summoners were still alive.

She would have to remedy that. 

“All of your skills and summons are useless before me!!!!” Servi yelled out. Her thoughts were filled with nothing but rage. She wanted to kill and cover the floor with the blood of those in front of her.

“All of you will die!! I will KILL EVERY ONE!!!!" Servi's voice took on a tone similar to a demon as she tightened the grip on her red blade.