Peace interrupted [Za'cha's B Ranked Exam]

"That brat is right here." said Za'cha in the same language as the beast, as he came out from the shadows of a nearby tree, looking at the majestic lion and his Pillar Leader. Everyone appears to have some form of familiar... perhaps we should be seeing into getting one of our own. he thought to himself and his guests. "A little disappointed that one such as yourself would reduce yourself to such a base insult. Rather sad really." the human sighed before he took up a position overlooking the peaceful town below. "This place... aggravates me." growled Pride as the Dark Celestial Spirit glared out to the perfect image of serenity down below.

The Dark Mage smirked at his "guest's" discomfort before wincing as Pride gave him a mental jab. "Bastard..." he muttered under his breath before he sighed and looked to Janneline. "So... asking a stupid question, but why are we here in arguably the most peaceful place in the world?"  he asked, taking sight of the village below once more. "Maybe she's setting you up for a rendevous~" teased the Spirit of the Weapon of the Apocalypse. Za'cha merely rolled his eyes at the suggestion.

When the Lion spoke and seemed to almost reprimand him for his own words, Za'cha's left eye suddenly began to glow red. "And I have existed for far longer than even you, feline." came the voice of the Dark Celestial Spirit known as Pride from his mouth before the red eye returned to its normal blue. The Dark Mage grimaced as he held his head. "Thought we agreed you were going to bloody warn me next time you force a control..." he snarled. Pride's ethereal form merely shrugged in the silver-haired mages view. When Janneline mentioned having a voice in her head, he sighed and nodded. "Try having two of them in there. It's a wonder I can get any damn sleep some nights."

He listened carefully to the briefing and raised an eyebrow. "And he chose to hide here? Kinda surprised they've managed to not cause trouble. Or get noticed by the Rune Knights." the silver haired Ex-Quip mage mused as he took another look down at the mansion below. He then took a look up at the skies above, gauging the position of the sun and relevant time. "Hmm... I'll wait for nightfall." he said, looking back at his Pillar Head. "More of an impact for the locals and other dissidants if one day everything's fine, the next morning the place is a slaughterhouse." Za'cha shrugged before he went up to a nearby tree and leaned against the bark, deciding to rest himself before the night's slaughter. He had been concerned that she was going to order him to go down into the village below and slaughter everyone inside of it. Runaway traitors and their guards he had no problem with killing. Bystanders however... collataral damage like that tended to get on his nerves a little. Not much of a fight being a wolf among sheep.

And so the silver haired Dark Mage waited, seeming to be relaxing and maxing out cool as some would put it, but in essence he was keeping one eye on the mansion below, noting the guard patrols, their numbers, and their changing shifts. From this distance he couldn't tell clearly what magic they used, or any other distinguishing features. For all he knew, he could be counting the same people three times over. But, if he got close enough to tell them apart, he'd be spotted, and that would put the entire complex on edge, thus making the job that much more difficult to accomplish. Better to over-estimate their numbers, than get an accurate amount and have them being prepared for his arrival. Least that was the theory at the moment.

Eventually, night began to fall upon the serenity of the town. With the last dwindling rays of light diminished and gone from memory, he stood up and checked the skies once more. "A New Moon. Perfect." the silver-haired mage smirked before he cracked his knuckles. "Deception's Mirror." he invoked, his form enveloped by white smoke, arcing with purple lightning before it blew away in a non-existent breeze. And there she stood, rolling her shoulders. "Not a word." came out Za'cha's feminine voice towards his Pillar Head, particularly her companions. "Stealth Mode." the now gender-bent Dark Mage invoked, fading from sight like a mirage. Now rendered invisible she began to make her descent to the mansion below, the darkness around them increasing her power.

"Approaching the perimeter." warned Death's Scythe as they closed the distance. Za'cha nodded before taking note of the first guard pair. There were six guards that patrolled the exterior, no doubt there would be the same number if not more on the inside. Since the Dark Mage hadn't yet managed to complete the weapons that went with this armour, Za'cha found herself calling on her Apocalypse Weapon. It was the only weapon she had right now that could be called upon without voice command, and wouldn't slow her down. That and it didn't spill any blood, making it possible to end her victims lives and make it appear as if they were merely taking a break.

The first guard pair found their lives quickly ended as the Scythe of Death sliced through their necks, breaking them immediately. "Normal humans." Tessa informed her wielder. The invisible Dark mage set about arranging them so that they appeared to be sitting at their post before she moved on. "An unwise move on this runaway's part coming here. No walls to guard his mansion, and he can't raise any without raising suspicion, making this almost childishly easy." Pride mused as they slipped close to the mansion wall now. Za'cha remained silent as she surveyed the location now that he could get a clearer look of the place. There was the front door, an ostentatious little piece of decor, along with several windows. But those were the obvious routes, and the Dark Mage wanted this to appear as calm as possible.

For now.

If that is the front door, then there should be a trade or servant's entrance somewhere nearby... she thought to herself, beginning to move along the wall till she came across a false panel. Za'cha smirked. Bingo. A quick check of the hinges and she frowned. Rusted... which means they'll squeak, and at this time of night, it'd be quite noticeable. she thought to herself with a sigh. A thought came to her, and she began to spit on the hinges, before glimpsing at her arm. "Stealth Mode's disabling... we've pushed it to the limit." Tessa warned him, Za'cha nodding. As the invisibility wore off, they went inside and closed the door behind herself. She closed her eyes and then reopened them, Deception's Mirror fading away and restoring him to his full male form.

"Aww, I quite liked your other form... was kind of cute." teased the Death's Scythe Spirit, earning a grumble from the Dark Mage. "Let's get the job done already." he muttered before he slowly set off through the house. Za'cha glanced at the corridor walls and passages as he walked, shaking his head. "Trope after trope... whoever this ex-Skull is, he's got poor taste in decor." he sighed before blinking as he stepped into what could be called the ballroom... where ten guards and the target were all standing there waiting for him. "You think I didn't spot that bitch watching my pad?" the target asked with a humourless snort.

The silver-haired magus rested the Death Scythe on his shoulders as he looked at the assembled group. "And so you thought to wait in here, with all your goons. Well, almost all of them." he surmised. "So, how's this going to play?" he asked, although he had a good idea how it was going to play out. And just as he thought, the ten guards all charged him at once. "Darkwarp Raiment!" Za'cha invoked, the dark cloud covering him before he burst forth and into the air, shaking his head as three of the enemy collided into one another. "Where'd you get these morons? The bargain bin?" he called down before diving for the target. The man didn't move, except he just smirked. "Behind you idiot!" snarled Pride, forcing Za'cha to glance behind him and see that the three who had collided were all Chain Magic Magi... all hurling chains towards him!

"Well... that's a problem." he cursed, before he pulled up, the chains falling just short of his originally intended flight path. "I've got an idea... Tessa, bear with me here." He held out his free hand. "Martyrblade!" invoked Za'cha, the Anti-Celestial Scythe forming in his grip. "Two scythes? Compensating much kid?" chuckled Renekton. Za'cha placed the two weapons together, a blade at either end and applied a brief magical weld. "Ow!" pouted Tessa, scowling at Za'cha. "Sorry, but now..." he said with a smirk before he then threw the conjoined weapons, the combined Scythes shrieking through the air as they reaped through the trio of Chain magi, embedding themselves into the ground of the ballroom. "Recall!" Za'cha invoked, the twin bladed weapon returning to his grasp. "Oooh! I like this idea~ Reap the eternal whirlwind!" the Spirit of Death's Scythe cackled.

"SHOOT HIM DOWN ALREADY!" Renekton ordered, the seven remaining guards all opening up with a variety of spells, including Fire, Wind, Ice and Lightning. "Shit, Camlann Array!" Za'cha invoked, plummeting to the ground, his winged armour changing into his Anti-Demon Slayer armour. "Haematoclarent!" he invoked, his free hand conjuring the sword into his grasp, the combined powers improving his defensive powers. He gritted his teeth as the bombardment continued. "So, to count, we have your sword acting as a shield, and both scythes in the other, whilst we're pinned down by seven hired elemental magic firing goons, and we have yet to touch your target." Pride summarised.

"Not helping here Pride." snarled the Dark Mage as he decided to go on the offensive and charged. He first threw the double ended Scythe, vivisecting one of the enemy, even as he brought his sword down into the chest of another. "Recall!" he ordered, the weapon returning to his grip, using it to trip up an enemy before plunging the Death Scythe's blade into their skull. Three down, four to go. "This is starting to become cumbersome..." noted the Dark Celestial Spirit, Za'cha nodding slightly in agreement. He dispersed Martyrblade, leaving him with just Haematoclarent and Death's Scythe. He looked out at the target, noting that the mage was starting to look a little bit worried, almost as if...

"Oh no you don't bastard... you don't get to run the fuck away again!" Za'cha roared. "Ethereal Blade times four! Haematoclarent!" the Dark Mage invoked, ghostly duplicates of his sword appearing from thin air to hover beside him. He charged forwards, his ethereal blades flanking him, before each one began stabbing themselves into the throats of the four guards and starting to occupy their attention whilst he went for the big prize. The Ethereal Blades quickly set about their work, each one moving and acting independently of not only each other, but of Za'cha as well. Each ghostly weapon acted as if it was its own swordsman, striking out against the exposed flesh of their victoms, each strike sending a slight chill into their cores. The Elemental Mages tried to grab hold of the blades, but found they couldn't when their hands just slipped through the mist... before finding those same hands severed from their limbs.

"You little punk! I am an A-Rank magi! You are nothing to me!" Renekton roared back, garbing himself in a set of his own armour, wielding a halberd and shield, meeting Za'cha's sword with his shield, and his halberd moving to take on the Scythe. There was a crash of metal against metal as sword and shield collided, the two forces trying to vie for supremacy. The Dark Ex-Quip Mage smirked as the dawning look of horror on the man's face became apparent as the Scythe simply went through his halberd instead of clashing against it as well. It traveled through his armour through the right shoulder and then came out the left hip. There was the ear sickening crunch of bones being shattered within the man's body, parts of him collapsing as the skeletal framework holding up muscle and tissue came apart.

Renekton backed up, gasping in pain and looking at Za'cha in terror and confusion. "Wh-What the hell?!" he screamed, clutching at his chest, his armour completely unmarked, as if nothing had even touched it. "Death's Scythe. As in one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Death. It goes right through anything and everything as it seeks its target, its prey... your bones to be precise." the Ex-Quip mage informed the Requip. Renketon's eyes bulged out of his head as he looked at the Scythe, then back at the mage trying to kill him. "No... there is not a god damned fucking chance in hell! There is no waack!" he cried out as Za'cha swept the Apocalypse Weapon into the man once more. "Do you need any further proof?" he asked, stabbing Haematoclarent into the man's left thigh before grabbing his throat. "Know fear as you gaze upon Death's Visage." he said softly, the Scythe's power surging through him and showing Renekton his worst nightmare come to life and flesh right before him. "N-No! No! G-Get away! No! I l-left to get away from you! No, no, no, no!" the man screamed, struggling, trying to run.

Za'cha held him in his grip and decided to end this hunt. He brought Death's Scythe up to the man's throat and plunged the blade through his neck, then back through his skull, twice over as he flailed and struggled to run. With the skull shattered and the man's neck broken, Renekton soon ceased to live, an expression of sheer horror and terror forever remaining upon his pallid face. The silver haired mage dropped the corpse and looked back to the rest of the room where his ghostly blades faded from existence as they finished dispatching the guards. His Camlann Array armour soon followed suit. Before his sword vanished, he used it to sever Renekton's head from his body.

"Let's go." he said, the Anti-Demon Slayer blade vanishing back to his personal dimensional space where he kept his gear. As he left the mansion, he looked out to the stars above and smirked before heading back to the hill where Janneline was waiting. Upon his arrival he dispersed Death's Scythe, returning it to a pendant form and held up Renekton's head by the hair. "One fresh massacre. As ordered. Skull's a little broken up, sorry about that if you were wanting it mounted." apologised Za'cha as he handed the man's head over to her so that she could confirm the identity of the recently deceased individual. "Slight pain in the arse... bastard'd seen you poking around apparently and brought all his goons inside with him... well, except for a human pair doing the night patrol. Ten in total inside with him. Three Chain mages, the rest used Fire, Wind, Lightning and Ice." he reported back, taking this chance to rest against a nearby rock outcropping.

He stretched his shoulders a little and rubbed the back of his neck before looking back down at the mansion. "Who the hell was that guy anyway? Takes a special kind of dumbass to not realise he'd get hunted down if he tried to leave Savage Skull..." Za'cha asked of his Pillar Head, stretching his back as he worked his body through the new aches, bruises and damage it had undergone. The Camlann Array and Haematoclarent combination had taken the majority of the damage for him, but there was still some kinks to work out and through.

He looked back down at the mansion. "Well, whoever the maid is for that place... she's gonna be out of a job. This place is gonna get pretty damn busy come the morning, depending on how much of a recluse the arsehole was." Za'cha surmised as he rolled his shoulders once more and clicked his neck.