Mercenaries [Mision = Me, Erza and DMC]

"What a fine day for bodyguarding." - joked Aegis, looking up at the sky as he was walking down the street. It was the first time he went to Acacia, so he was looking around the city, mostly observing the citizens, aswell as the abnormally large ammount of jewelry stores. Looking at the different the different jewels brought him memmories of his mission with Erza, the one when they had to get a present for a person's wife for their anniversary. He still wasn't sure why he did half of the things he did that day, but he still had fun back then and thinking of the fact that Erza will be on this mission aswell brought a smile on his face.

The mission he had taken up was about protecting a polititian from potential assassination attempts without the person actually realising he is being guarded. The target of the assassinations would be in this city's castle today, which was the reason Aegis traveled to this place.
As far as he knew, apart from him and Erza there was going to be one more mage with them on the mission so he was rather curious to see what kind of person he was, aswell as learn what his magic is. Such information would prove to be valuable, since there is a good chance they would end up fighting side by side, especially considering how the polititian has had multiple attempts on his life for the past couple of months or so.

With such thoughts on his mind, the knight walked towards the arranged meeting point, outside the castle walls, west of the main gate, at the entrance of the garden labyrinth.

Erza was on her third mission today, her partners were Aegis Bright with whom she did her second mission. The other was also a guy, but she never met him. Erza knew about Aegis because they made great friends on their last mission. She hoped that the other guy was more or less like Aegis because she didn't want to pick up a fight with her comrades on a mission.

Erza was a dark mage but her past two missions included one dark and the other was almost in nothing cause it included finding a jewel and giving it to their client. She wanted to know about her other comrade's magic. It would help greatly when fighting along with each other. This job included protecting awell-known politician who was targeted for assasination. The biggest problem with this mission was that the politician shouldn't know that he was being protected.

She was a little afraid of her reputation in her guild because she was doing legal jobs while she was supposed to do dark. She was doing this one because she liked Aegis and loved working with him. At last she reached the place where she was supposed to meet her comrades for this mission.

The knight stood waiting, leaning his back against a nearby wall with his arms crossed. Taking a quick glance at a watch he carries in his pocket, he saw that it was about time for his allies to come to the meeting point. Turning his head towards the way he came earlier, he saw a familiar figure.
Walking over to her with a carefree smile, Aegis greeted her.
"Hey, Erza. You sure are on time."
As the distance between them closed to about a metre, he stopped.
"It's nice to see you again."

Seeing Erza again as his partner was something the knight was glad for, he enjoyed her company, and now that she was present all that was left was to await the arrival of the third member of the group.
"It seems like our ally is going to be late. Apparantly I forgot to bring tea and cups, so we'll just have to wait for him patiently, I suppose." - joked Aegis, gesturing Erza towards the small wooden bench located next to the wall the knight was leaning against earlier. Even though it was a bench wide enough for two people, it was also too narrow, meaning that while it was possible to have two people sit on it, they would be so close to eachother that they'll have their shoulders touching. So, for that reason, the knight chose not to sit on it while he was waiting alone. He had "reserved" it for Erza, so that she could have a comfortable place to sit incase they had to wait for the third person.

As soon as Erza came near the castle where she was supposed to meet Aegis and the other guy , Aegis came up to her and greeted her. She replied, "Hey! I'm always on time man." She joked. "Nice to see you too." she added with a smile. Erza saw Aegis pointing at a narrow bench and saying, "It seems like our ally is going to be late. Apparantly I forgot to bring tea and cups, so we'll just have to wait for him patiently, I suppose." She smiled thinking that having a tea during a mission is such an awkward thing.

"Let's not have tea, but at least sit down." she said looking at the bench and then at Aegis. She knew it was a little narrow but in any way she had to offer him a seat right? She walked towards the bench and sat on one side leaving some place for Aegis and then looking at the way from which the third guy was supposed to come. She crossed her legs out of the place where you must keep them. It helped to leave some more place. It would seem weird to sit with her shoulders rubbing against a guy. She looked at him and said jokingly, "Would you stop shying away and sit?"

"Would you stop shying away and sit?" - said Erza as she looked at the knight with a joking smile.
"Haha, alright. I'll stop being shy just this once."
And with that reply, Aegis moved towards the bench and sat next to Erza. Surprisingly, there was enough space for both of them, though it seemed like Erza had to sit with her legs crossed to avoid having their shoulders touch.
Honestly, it seemed that ever since he started going on missions with her he constantly experienced things he had never had to before, which wasn't necesseraly a bad thing.

"It's quite a spacious castle complex, isn't it ? The courtyard is huge, so I can only imagine what it's like inside. It kind of reminds me of my home, though it wasn't nearly as big as this."
Indeed, castles and mansions reminded Aegis of his home, which was burned to the ground 7 years ago. While he did come to terms with that thought, the knight did feel a little nostalgic when he thought about it.
"I wonder how we are supposed to find the polititian that we are supposed to defend in this place. By the looks of it, it can take us days to look through each and every room and coridor this castle has."
After a brief pause, the knight turned towards his ally.
"Do you have any ideas, Erza ?" - asked he with his usual carefree smile. He did have an idea himself, but it wasn't amongst the best ones as it would involve him using his magic and putting a lot of strain on his mind. Not ideal if he was to fight assassins afterwards.

As Aegis and Erza were talking about the mission a dark figure caught the knight's attention as it was passing through the gate to the courtyard. Peering into the distant silhouette, he could see that the person wore a cloak with a hood. Not shifting his gaze from the figure, the knight spoke.
"Hmm, perhaps this is the person we've been waiting for. Do you know him ?"
"No, I don't." - replied Erza.
"I see. Alright then, I guess we'll find out soon enough."
Getting up from the bench, the knight stood still as he awaited the person to approach them.

"Are you the people I am supposed to work with ? My name's Xayne, a Raven Tail mage, pleased to meet you."
The mage known as Xayne was smiling as he looked at Aegis and Erza, as if what stood before him were his best friends. Aegis, however, didn't not return the smile.
"Raven Tail ? You're a dark mage ?"
"Yes, Sherlock, I'm a dark mage. Good job on figuring that out."
"Guh ..."
Gritting his teeth slightly, the knight glared at the dark mage who stood infront of him. A slim figure garbed in black clothes. He had purple eyes, which seemed to give off a sense of malicious intent, and ebony hair to go with them.
"Why are you here ?"
"Isn't it obvious ? I'm here to help a polititian not die a miserable death at the hands of some lowly maggots that call themselves "assassins"."

A cold question asked, a colder answer given. Clearly, this person was a dark mage, in other words, he was an enemy, yet there he was, presenting himself as their partner. Glaring at his still smiling "ally", Aegis could not understand his intentions. Just walk up to them and say he's a dark mage ? That was ridiculous no matter how one looked at it.
"If you are a dark mage ... then why do you want to help save the polititian ?"
"I just felt like it. Why ? Want me to kill him instead ?"
Long ago, Aegis made an oath that he would always stand on the side of good and will hunt down evil relentlessly, helping those in need along the way. So, being presented with his enemy, the knight had to oppose and defeat him for the sake of all those who could not.
"... Have you killed innocent people ?"
"Hah, what kind of a stupid question is that ? Are you retarded or something ? Ofcourse I've killed innocent people."
Hearing his insulting answer, the knight didn't flinch. Assuming a battle-ready position, right shoulder facing his enemy, right foot forward, he looked at him with determination.
"Then you are an enemy. My name is Aegis Bright, a mage from Sabertooth, and I will not allow you to continue roaming free to commit such terrible crimes."
Thinking about the people who had been killed by this arrogant dark mage, the knight felt infuriated. Blooming lives ended so suddenly, existances erased before they could achieve their goals. The man before Aegis had stolen the single most precious gift humans have been given - their life. And he spoke of such inhumane acts as if they were something so trivial. It was sickening.
"You will be stopped here."
"Oh ? You believe someone as weak as you would stop me ?"
"If I must."
"Hahahahah, alright then, little mage, let's see you try."

Suddenly, Aegis felt the presence of another mage. The nature of the knight's magic made him more sensitive to the auras of others, so he could sense other magi when they were nearby. Looking in the direction of the presence's origin, he saw a familiar face. Red cloack fluttering in the wind, ruby pendant hanging from her neck, the familiar pink hair. He knew that look more than well, it was the girl who was part of his guild until she joined the Magic Council, Hirana.

Hirana had just arrived to the town. She observed her surroundings, it seemed that this city was full of merchants and locals that gave off the robust feeling of an exotic city. Walking forward, Hirana spotted a former guild member, Aegis Bright. He seemed to be in conflict with a male mage. As she listened closely, she heard the mage admit that he was a dark mage and that he had killed innocent people. Fueled with rage,Hirana moved at full speed, a Dark Mage had announced that he had killed innocent individuals. Without giving the dark mage time to react, Hirana cleaved through the man's neck with a clean arc of her sword. Leaving the head connected to the neck, Hirana sheathed her sword. "It seems like a good day to die today... that is... for dark mages.... isn't that right Aegis?" said Hirana. "What are you up to anyways, you aren't here for the protection job are you? If you are, seeing as how I have nothing to do, allow me to join you?" she said. Hirana wondered why Aegis had bothered to partner with a dark mage in the first place, she quickly dismissed the thought. "Seeing as how you now have two people, you will need all the help you can get." she said. Awaiting Aegis's answer, she playfully knocked off the Dark Mage's head and watched as it rolled to the ground.

Erza was rather shocked with the events that unfolded the next moment. Aegis got angry at the at the third member because he was a Dark Mage. He started a fight with him and that included some cold words getting exchanged. Erza feared about the result when he will know about her. 'I am a dark mage too. He is such a great friend if mine, our friendship will obviously get bad if he gets to know about this. I'm gonna keep this a secret from him, I don't want to be enemies with a guy who I like.' As she was thinking about this she sensed another mage around them. Aura magic allowed her to do so, she could sense people's Aura. It seemed Aegis had that feeling too.

Red cloak fluttering in the wind, ruby pendant hanging from her neck, with pink hair a girl entered the fighting scene and killed Xayne, who was the third member of the group. She killed him with a sword slash directed at his neck and killed him in an instant. 'How dare she do that? That's not a way to end someone's life, even if that person has done sins. No one's got the right to take someone's life whenever they want to, can they?' Erza asked herself this question.She stared at the girl, then told her, "You didn't have the right to do that."

It seemed Aegis knew the girl so she asked him, "Do you know her? I mean do you think what she did was right, Aegis?" Even if Erza was a dark mage she too had her own principles and rules to follow and that included, 'Not killing anyone without knowing who the person is and their motive.'

A flawless strike aimed at Xayne's throat. A single instant was all that was needed for Hirana to finish the fight Aegis had started.
"It seems like a good day to die today... that is... for dark mages.... isn't that right Aegis?" - said Hirana jokingly, continuing with a carefree voice.
"What are you up to anyways, you aren't here for the protection job are you? If you are, seeing as how I have nothing to do, allow me to join you? Seeing as how you now have two people, you will need all the help you can get."
Saying those words, she knocked Xayne's head off and watched it as it rolled on the ground.
Aegis heard Erza speak behind him aswell.
"Do you know her? I mean do you think what she did was right, Aegis?"
The knight stood silent for a brief moment and just stared at the deceased mage's body as it collapsed to the ground. Closing his eyes, Aegis regained the relaxed posture he had before all this happened and spoke with a voice full of sorrow.

"... Too ruthless..."

The blue knight approached the lifeless body next to Hirana and kneeled down. Closing his eyes once more, Aegis spoke, as if performing a ritual.
"A turning cycle, unrelenting.
Pure lives forced to fight a needless fight.
Corrupted by their purpose, they march onward towards eternity's embrace.
But your purity will not be forgotten.
Lifting the veil of darkness, I will uphold your righteousness, until one day, I too join you in our march
Onward, towards eternity's embrace."
As he spoke those words, Aegis created the link between his mind and his magic and opened his eyes, peering into Xayne's existence. He wanted to see what the dark mage was before he became evil and remember him by it. Looking into the existence of living beings was very straining and difficult, but the knight did not care. He was not going to let him die such a meaningless death and be forgotten, labled as another dark mage.

An enormous ammount of information flowed into the knight's mind. All of Xayne's experiences, his memories, his emotions - he could see everything. It was a rather painful experience, though Aegis would never admit it. Reliving all of Xayne's life, he could understand why he had become what he was then.
"Gah ..."
Gritting his teeth strongly to suppress the splitting headache he felt, the knight kept on searching for the time when the mage was still not corrupted - and atlast he found it. The time when Xayne was still good.
With a slight smile on his face, the blue knight stood up. Breaking the link between himself and his magical body, he spoke, as if to say his final good bye to the one who was now gone.
"Your existence will never be forgotten, Xayne."

"There is no good day to die. All life deserves to live, regardless of whom it belongs to. You shouldn't make light of the death of others." - said the knight as he turned back towards the two girls that were watching him. Returning his calm smile, Aegis finally answered the questions he was asked.

"Yes, I know her, Erza. Her name is Hirana and she was part of my guild until recently. What she did was what she deemed necessary, so I trust her choice. But I don't think that was the right thing to do, no. I follow different principles."
Turning towards Hirana, he continued.
"I would appreciate your help, but only if Erza does not mind it. I won't decide on things my partner does not agree to." - said Aegis, smiling gently as he stole a quick look at Erza.

"I am sorry about what happened a few moments ago, It was an impulse and instinct rather than logical thought. I guess I can relate what he said to myself personally, thus, rage consumed, I acted as I just did. Lets just keep my history a secret okay?" said Hirana with a certain sadness in her eyes. She observed her partners, starting off with Aegis. Aegis seemed to be taller than when she had last seen him. She had watched as he had chanted the words of power to peer into Xayne's soul. He seemed stronger as well, Hirana looked forward to meeting him in battle. Her eyes then shifted to the girl. The girl shorter than she was, and had a waterdrop tattoo imprinted on her right hand. Knowing no such guild with that guild mark, Hirana disregarded it as a mere accessory. Extending her hand, Hirana smiled at the girl. "My name is Hirana, a member of the magic council. You are?"

Aegis seemed to use his magic to look into Xayne's past and offered a prayer for him. He seemed to have his own principles like Erza. The girl who killed Xayne apologised and introduced herself. She asked for Erza's introduction. "I'm Erza Loveheart, a member of Lamia Scale guild." Erza replied.

"Aegis, before this whole drama unfolded you were asking me about how we will find the politician in these rooms right? Its easy for me. My magic allows me to sense people's Aura so, if we pass through the room in which he is, I can indentify him easily." After a brief pause Erza continued, "And Hirana will join us Aegis, she just needs to use logic." She looked at Hirana and said, "I mean no offense."

"So let's start the hunt for the politician, cause we need to find him before the assassins do right? We won't get anything if he's killed" Erza said with a smile while looking at her allies.

"I'm Erza Loveheart, a member of Lamia Scale guild." - said she in an introduction to Hirana. Aegis didn't know from which guild she was until that point, so hearing that she was from Lamia Scale got him to smile slightly. That was a nice guild as far as he knew.

"My magic allows me to sense people's Aura so, if we pass through the room in which he is, I can indentify him easily."
"Ah, I see." - nodded Aegis. He hadn't seen Erza's magic, so he was unaware of her ability to detect the auras of others. While it was an ability they both shared, he was certain that her magic wasn't the same as Aegis'. Besides, it appeared as if her Aura sensing was stronger than his, which implied that her magic revolves primarily around auras.
"And Hirana will join us Aegis, she just needs to use logic."
"Hahah, yes that'd be prefferable. Even though she is a council member we are going to be faced with assassins who have been trying to kill the same person for a few months now. They are bound to have back-up plans, aswell as large numbers, to ensure their success."
Taking a brief pause, the knight looked at the castle. It appeared to be of baroque architecture, which implied that the halways and corridors inside would be long, spacious and would probably connect to eachother, forming a maze-like web of interconnecting paths.
"Alright then, I have an idea. Here's what we'll do. Erza will go through the main gate and visit the most commonly used rooms to see if she can detect the target of the assassinations. Meanwhile, I will traverse the wall of the castle and enter it through the large windows located about 15 metres above ground. I know thiese castles, they have platforms inside of the rooms at the height of those windows, which are mostly used for surfaces to place decorative armours and statues, aswell as to make hanging banners easier. Since this castle is occupied mostly by polititians, those platforms are sure to have little to no people guarding them, meaning that the assassins would most likely enter through there to get a bird's eye view on their target and pick the perfect time to strike, so I will guard them and observe the rooms from above to see if I can spot any suspicious behaviour."
Stopping for a moment to think, he continued.
"Considering the fact that they have made numerous failed attempts to take out their target, they will most likely have a very detailed tactic this time, so I assume that there will be people on the inside that will be undercover assassins mixing with the occupants of the castle complex. For that purpose, I think it'll be best if you accompany Erza, Hirana, incase a fight erupts on ground level. Besides, being a council member, you'd be capable of justifying your visit to the castle incase someone gets nosy as to the reason of it.
Once you spot an assassin inform me and I'll sound the alarm in the castle. Everyone will move towards the safest room inside, a room possitioned at the centre of the complex with only one way to go in and out. At that point we'll just have to deal with the assassins and disappear. Once the polititian exits the room the rune knights will probably be here and it'll seem like defeating the assassins was their doing."

Rummaging through his pockets, the knight took out three small bracelets with lacrima embedded in them and handed two of them to his allies.
"Here, take thiese. They have communication lacrima in them, which allows us to hear eachother clearly, regardless of the distance between us. Just speak normally as you do right now and the rest of us hear it. Well, whispering works too."

So then, what do you girls think ? If you have any questions or ideas regarding our plan voice them now, we should all agree to the plan before we go in, since our foes will be quite organized. We'll need a solid plan to counter them.

Having finished explaning his strategy, the knight looked at the two girls, awaiting their responce with a calm smile like always.

Hirana took a moment to process all the information and planning that had simultaneously spewed out of Aegis's mouth. Nodding, Hirana began to reach for a lacrima-embedded bracelet. "I will do my best.... to.... not let Erza die." said Hirana. Handing Erza her own bracelet, Hirana gently pulled Erza's hand away towards their destination. In the back of her mind, Hirana wondered deeply about Aegis. She thought to herself: "He seems to have everything figured out.. truly a genius! But... life doesn't always take the turn that you want it to." Smiling, Hirana kept walking towards the main gates whilst shouting back at Erza to walk faster.

On her way to the main gates, Hirana saw a bunch of men grouped up in a corner. As she observed them, she saw that they were dressed in black stretch suits. Something was wrong, nobody would dress up like that unless they were planning to pull off something spectacular, or they were just idiots. Hirana thought the latter. Dismissing the men, Hirana positioned herself in a corner where she waited for Erza.

Aegis gave a detailed explaination about how they were going to move around the castle and also save the politician. It seemed there was one little fault to it, but before she could say anything Aegis handed out the bracelets with lacrimas on it. Hirana handed her one and Erza started to say, "But..." That's when Hirana said, "I will do my best.... to.... not let Erza die." and she pulled Erza gently towards the main gates of the castle. Then she let go and walked, leaving Erza behind. Erza could hear Hirana's voice as she was shouting Erza to follow.

Erza decided to follow her after all. She thought that she will talk to Aegis about the change in the plan after they get through the gate and in the castle. Erza had just started walking after Hirana, when she looked back to see Aegis, he was standing there and staring at them. She waved at him and turned to see Hirana.

Hirana was standing near the main gates and there was a small group of men who were dressed in black stretch suits. Erza felt something different about them but decided to not start an argument with them here, cause they could be just normal people. She went near Hirana and whispered, "There's something fishy about them, I'm sure. But let's just go inside and work according to the plan, but at the same time keep an eye on them." She gave one last look at those men, as she walked with Hirana to the inside of the castle.

As Aegis handed the bracelets, he looked at his allies. The two girls were silent for a moment, then Hirana spoke, promising that she'll do her best to protect Erza. Having said that, she grabbed her hand and began walking towards the entrance to the castle, pulling the black-haired girl along with her. Erza, on the other hand, didn't say anything during that period, although she seemed like she wanted to.
"I guess she didn't want to speak her mind."
As the two girls were walking, Erza turned around and waved to the him one last time. Smiling, he returned the wave, but as he was doing so he noticed a small group of men dressed in ... black stretch suits ?
"... Really ? That's a horrible taste for clothing. I hope that those guys are the assassins or some kind of performers, becouse otherwise that'll mean that they put those ... things ... on willingly." - said he, apparantly more concerned about their clothing than the fact they might be the assassins.

Turning to the side, Aegis looked at the wall he was supposed to climb.
That wall ... was menacing. There was no denying it, it was high, even if he wasn't supposed to climb to the top.
"*sigh* What is it with me, always making myself the one who goes to the high places. I hate high places."
Mapping potencial climbing routes, the knight looked through the entire lenght of the wall which he would soon be scaling. It was mostly flat, having a few stone stick out here and there. The most noticable obstacle was the edge which was at the height of the windows Aegis had to reach. It was sticking out for about half a metre at all points, meaning that there was no way past it other than somehow climbing over it. Bellow the edge there were long and thick wooden poles, from which there were hung banners.
Looking at the foundation of the wall, he saw that there were a few rocks, possitioned conveniently next to the wall.

"Concentrate, Aegis. A height is only dangerous if you let yourself fall. Besides, it's an easy climb so stop whining and go !"
Scolding himself, the knight lowered his stance and dashed towards the wall in a sprint, his blue trenchcoat fluttering behind him. As he approached the wall, he jumped up on the rocks that led to it, further increasing the speed of his sprint in the process. Some of them were larger than the others, so he took advantage of that and used them as stairs.
Reaching the wall, the knight made one step on it's surface and used it as the point on which he would change the direction of his movement, from forward to upwards, and jumped immediately. While somewhat tiring, doing that allowed Aegis to jump high enough to reach one of the stones that were sticking out of the wall, 6 metres off the ground.
Having a firm grip, the knight began his ascention, concentrating on his destination to avoid being onvercome by his fear. He had to, after all he gave himself that task so the least he could do was complete it.

14 metres. That was Aegis' current height, aswell as the height at which he had to deal with the last obstacle of the climb, the ledge. Climbing on one of the poles, the knight stood up and walked on it. The pole was bending slightly, but it was clearly able to support his weight. Balancing as he walked about a metre on it, he turned around to face the ledge and jumped up, managing to grab it and then pulled himself over it.
With that done, he was now faced with one of the windows which went around the sides of the castle at this height. As he opened it and entered the inside of the castle, he put on the bracelet with the communication lacrima in it.

"Right, girls, do you hear me ? I'm inside, on the platforms of the main hall. Can you see me ?"
Asking that, Aegis hid behind one of the statues that were there, having only his upper body show, and looked down bellow to see if he can spot his allies.

"Right, girls, do you hear me ? I'm inside, on the platforms of the main hall. Can you see me ?" said Aegis.

Hirana glanced up toward a statue that loomed over the castle courtyard, and spotted Aegis's head peeping out from the side. "Yes, I see you. Make sure that you stay safe, for Erza's sake." whispered Hirana. Turning, she smiled at Erza. "Lets commence the operation, Erza, what can you sense?" asked Hirana. Noticing that 3 men in black stretch suits were quietly approaching them, Hirana turned to face them.

"Well, look here. There are two pretty damsels just ready to be used." said the biggest of the three men.

"Stay here Erza, I won't let them hurt you." murmured Hirana as she walked towards the three men.

"Oh, so one of them is so desperate to have us, she is walking to us!" yelled the biggest man.

"I'm warning you, walk away idiots." growled Hirana.

"As if, what are you going to do pretty face?" said the biggest man as he reached for her.

The wind whirled three times as Hirana unsheathed her sword. "Aegis, Continue with the mission. I'll handle them. Although you might have a slight change of plan, I will definitely dispose of these idiots. Erza will be safe, that is my promise to you." said Hirana.

"Right, girls, do you hear me ? I'm inside, on the platforms of the main hall. Can you see me ?" said Aegis. Erza looked up towards the ceiling on the platforms, Aegis lower body was hidden by a statue and Erza could see his face. Before Erza could answer Aegis, Hirana did. Her answer was different indeed, it was, "Yes, I see you. Make sure that you stay safe, for Erza's sake." Erza thought, 'What is she thinking? She knows?' After a pause Hirana continued, "Lets commence the operation, Erza, what can you sense?"

But Erza got distracted because the three men in black stretch suits were walking towards them. They were sure coming with bad intentions.
"Well, look here. There are two pretty damsels just ready to be used." said the biggest of the three men.
"Stay here Erza, I won't let them hurt you." murmured Hirana as she walked towards the three men.
'What? Who needs protection?' thought Erza, her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, she was in quite a relaxed state.
"Oh, so one of them is so desperate to have us, she is walking to us!" yelled the biggest man.
"I'm warning you, walk away idiots." growled Hirana.
"As if, what are you going to do pretty face?" said the biggest man as he reached for her.

Erza saw Hirana murmuring something in the lacrima as she unsheathed her sword. Erza thought 'I'm gonna fight too, why should I be back?' Thinking this she went to one of the three men. She will try to hit him in the face with her Enhancement spell on her right fist which would cause her right fist to be enveloped in red coloured Aura.

The member 'Erza Loveheart' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Damage Dice' :

"Right, girls, do you hear me ? I'm inside, on the platforms of the main hall. Can you see me ?" - asked the knight when he reached the platforms.
"Yes, I see you. Make sure that you stay safe, for Erza's sake." - replied Hirana.
For Erza's sake ... ? - wondered Aegis, as he heard her words - "Does Hirana know ?"

But his thoughts were interrupted as he heard the mocking voice of a man through the lacrima.
"Well, look here. There are two pretty damsels just ready to be used."
Aegis twitched. Looking at the man as he approached the knight's allies cheerfully stating his intentions, he clenched his right fist in anger. There were not many things, which could make him angry, but what that guy was intending to do was one of the things which, not only pissed Aegis off, but completely derailed him.
"Stay here Erza, I won't let them hurt you." - said the council member.
Looking near the front gate where the two girls were, the young knight noticed the figures of three men, dressed in those distasteful black stretch suits as they were slowly walking towards the girls.
"Oh, so one of them is so desperate to have us, she is walking to us!" - said the one in the middle, apparantly being the leader of the three, with a voice full of content, as if to further irritate both Aegis and Hirana.
Just the mentioning of what that guy wanted to do filled the knight with disgust, completely overwriting his logical thinking, leaving only the thought of stopping him in his mind. Luckily for Aegis, and perhaps even for the man aswell, he wasn't crazy enough to jump down from where he was and charge at the criminal. Well, actually he was, but the thought of having to climb the 15 metres to the platform again was disencouraging to say the least.
"I'm warning you, walk away idiots." - growled Hirana as she was walking towards them.
"As if, what are you going to do pretty face?" - replied the leader of the group as he started to close in on her.
Aegis could not stand that man. Hearing that abrasive voice of his only made him want to run up to the guy and punch him.

Suddenly, as the knight was thinking that, he saw Erza dash towards the leader of the three and completely K.O. him with a clean magic-empowered uppercut.
The knight's jaw dropped. As he was staring dumbounded at the scene that had unfolded before him, he bursted out laughing, as if forgetting completely the anger he felt moments ago.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Okay... now I definately know I'll never threaten a girl !" - joked he, turning back towards the interior of the castle before continuing with a slight smirk - "As for your promise, Hirana, I'll hold you to it !"

As the knighted turned towards the castle, he opened one of the large windows that were infront of him and entered it. On the inside there was another platform, roughly 3-4 metres wide, on the edge of which there were large marble statues about 5-6 metres away from eachother, long red banners hung in between them. The platform went along the entire lenght of 3 of the walls, the only one without platforms being the wall which had the main gate built in it, although there were banners hung from that wall aswell.
Aegis approached one of the statues and kneeled down beside it, partially hiding behind it, after which he looked at the room below him. It was a large one, atleast 20 metres long and 15 wide, though it had almost nothing in it, apart from some small trees and similar forms of vegetation in the corners and a large fountain in the middle of it.
As he was looking below him, the young knight was searching for any suspicious activity, anything that might give away the assassins. It was quite crowded, as there were atleast 15 people in the room, aswell as guards on the two paths that were connected to the room - the main gate and the door that leads further inside the castle.
Aegis noticed as a man entered the room through the second door. He seemed very dignified, a trait often found in successful polititians. He wore a black suit and had light-green hair, making him rather easy to spot even in crowds. As soon as the dignified man entered the room, he started walking towards the fountain in the centre of the room. As he closed the distance to the fountain to about 7 metres, one of the people in the room accidentally bumped into him, which caused all nearby guards to instantly spring to the man's side.
Due to his height, Aegis had a hard time understanding any of the things that were said below him, but thanks to one of the guard's yelling, he found out that the green-haired man's name was Markus Strauss, in other words, he was the man Aegis was supposed to protect.
"I found the polititian. He's probably about as tall as I am, has light-green hair, wears a suit and is currently in the lobby of the castle. You can't miss him." - reported the knight to his allies before taking another look around the room.
It's quite crowded here. Any assassin will hesitate to attack their target when it is surrounded by so many people unless they have a clear escape route. This room has only two exits - the main gate, which is guarded by atleast 5 guards, and the windows which I used to enter, which are 15 metres above ground. Defeating the guards while there are so many people here would be quite difficult and besides, there will be atleast one person who will manage to raise the alarm. Killing Markus and climbing the 15 metres without anyone noticing is out of the question, infact decending the height without anyone noticing is out of the question too. The guards at the front gate most likely won't let in just anyone, seeing how there have been many failed assassination attempts in the past few months, and the only ones who go through the door leading to the rest of the castle are other polititians, guards and people who work here. All that means is that in order to enter this area, the assassins need to be in disguise. Seeing how there are no foods or drinks here, death by poison is impossible too, so the hired killers will have to enter the room somehow and kill the polititian through physical means. And still, there is no way for them to escape undetected after killing him with this many people around. Hmmm ...

Aegis was trying to figure out exactly how the killers were planning to commit the crime, but all of the facts he could see stated that assassination was impossible in that room. Understanding that, he was ready to change his position to see if he can learn something about the adjacent room when suddenly the people at ground level started moving towards the exits, leaving only Markus and some of the guards inside. Taking a closer look, Aegis noticed something next to the polititian.
"Is that a ... canvas ?" - wondered the knight.
"Apparantly he's one of those artists who like being alone when they paint. Honestly ... it's almost like he is asking for someone to try and kill him." - commented he while watching as the green-haired man took out a pair of headphones along with his paints and put them on.
Realising that now the main obstructing factor in the assassination, the large crowd, was gone, Aegis continued figuring out how the assassins might act.
Judging by how everyone were looking at the time before they left, I'd assume that this is some sort of routine for him. If so, then the assassins probably know that aswell, meaning that they know now is the best time to strike, but the gates are still guarded, so that means that ...
Turning to the side, the knight saw as group of shadow-like silhouettes entered the room through one of the windows of the platform, about 8 metres away from him. Quickly jumping to the side, he hid behind one of the statues, breaking the line of sight between himself and the group, as he didn't want to be detected yet.
"... They'll enter through the windows."

Turning to his two allies who were still outside, the knight talked to them through the comms lacrima.
"Erza ! Hirana ! The assassins entered the castle and are going to move in to kill the polititian. They appear to be a large group, so fighting them by myself is risky. I'll try to distract them and keep them busy, in the mean time, could you two figure out a way to get their target out of the room ? Because I don't think I'll be able to lead them out of the castle to fight them there."

Having informed the two girls, the knight slowly stepped away from the statue, turned towards the group hired killers and gave them a casual two-finger greeting and a smile.
"Yo ! I heard you guys were going to kill a polititian. It'd be such a shame if ... I raised the alarm. Judging by the size of this place I'm guessing there are atleast a couple hundred guards here, I'm curious to see how quickly they'll come swarming the place" - threatened Aegis, taking advantage of the fact, that they don't know he can't really raise the alarm in his current situation, since the polititian would probably find out that he is being protected.

Stopping for a few moments, the assassins looked at Aegis and took out their weapons, some having crossbows while others using blades, and started running towards the knight, not making a sound in the process. It seemed like the improvised distraction attempt worked, so now all that was left for Aegis to do was to survive the oncoming onslaught of silent warriors, in other words, the fun part.
Lowering his stance, the knight started running towards them, or so it seemed, but he was actually headed for the one window that was opened, since he didn't want to deal with them on the inner platform, as it might make too much noise.

Turning to his allies for the last time before the grand chase, Aegis said only one thing.
"Try not to take too long, you two."

The member 'TehDMCmaniac' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Monster Dice' :

"Erza ! Hirana ! The assassins entered the castle and are going to move in to kill the polititian. They appear to be a large group, so fighting them by myself is risky. I'll try to distract them and keep them busy, in the mean time, could you two figure out a way to get their target out of the room ? Because I don't think I'll be able to lead them out of the castle to fight them there." said Aegis

Hirana smirked, this was one of her specialities. "Come along Erza, watch and learn." said the
pink-haired mage. She slowly entered through the main gates and wove through the crowd as if she was blended into it. Approaching the green haired politician, Hirana immediately began to act as if she were drunk. "Helloooo!!!! I'm Stacy!!! I was drinking with my friend, and we realized that there was a really handsomeee looking man in the room!!! Ughhh.. I'm so dizzyy... Do you mind showing me outside so I can have more free space? I'm sure we can find some place quiet to talk about each other if you know what I mean!" said Hirana as she bent over to exaggerate the size of her breasts. Grabbing his hand, She led him outside the party hastily, she knew that Aegis was trying his hardest to stay alive. Once outside, they led the politician to a dark corner, where Hirana immediately grasped his neck and administered sleeping poison into him. "Erza, stay here with the politician, I'm going to find Aegis to help him." yelled Hirana as she dashed towards the general direction where Aegis was fighting.

Aegis stated out the plans the assassins might take to kill the politician, and then a moment or later there was some panic in his voice. "Erza ! Hirana ! The assassins entered the castle and are going to move in to kill the polititian. They appear to be a large group, so fighting them by myself is risky. I'll try to distract them and keep them busy, in the mean time, could you two figure out a way to get their target out of the room ? Because I don't think I'll be able to lead them out of the castle to fight them there." said Aegis. Leaving the man she just punched, Erza turned to look at Hirana, "Come along Erza, watch and learn." said the pink-haired mage. "What..?" Erza asked but didn't complete the sentence. 'Why is she ordering me around like this?'

Hirana entered through the main gates, and went to the politician. She acted as if she was drunk, and said to the politician, "Helloooo!!!! I'm Stacy!!! I was drinking with my friend, and we realized that there was a really handsomeee looking man in the room!!! Ughhh.. I'm so dizzyy... Do you mind showing me outside so I can have more free space? I'm sure we can find some place quiet to talk about each other if you know what I mean!" She took him away from the people in the room and made him drink some sleeping poison.

"Erza, stay here with the politician, I'm going to find Aegis to help him." yelled Hirana as she dashed towards the general direction where Aegis was fighting. Erza stared at Hirana as she ran towards Aegis's fighting place. She thought angrily, 'Why do I get the boring stuff always?' She looked at the politician, suddenly she wanted to kick him but decided against it as she was supposed to protect him, not hurt him. She sat near the politician waiting, but ready for a fight, in case the need for it arrives.

Aegis was sprinting towards the one window that was still opened, which was conveniently placed exactly in the middle of the platform, an equal deistance away from both himself and his enemy. The only problem was that there were atleast 5 of them with crossbows, meaning that there were going to shoot atleast 5 bolts at him before he reaches his target.
Honestly, the one time I'm going to need to break a window I'll have to be in a stealth part of a mission. My luck never fails to amuse me. - thought he as he looked to the left at all the closed windows he ran past.
Returning his focus on the problem at hand, Aegis saw as 7 of the assassins kneeled down and took out their crossbows, preparing to fire. The distance between him and the window was about 6 metres, so if he just ran straight ahead hoping to outrun the crossbow bolts he'll get shot. Taking a quick look to his right, he noticed that there was one relatively small but long banner hung from somewhere above as it fluttered with the slight breeze which came in through the same window that the knight was running to. The distance to the banner was about 3 metres.
Having absolutely no time to think this through, the blue knight immediately changed his direction, starting to run towards the banner instead.
"This fabric better be strong !" - said he as he leaped off of the edge of the platform and towards the flag, grabbing it's edge as he reached it. Due to the momentum he carried with himself when he jumped, when Aegis caught it he managed to immediately swing himself around in a semicircle in an attempt to avoid the enemy bolts as they flew towards him.

As he finished the 180 degree motion, Aegis let go of the banner, using the momentum from the swing to throw himself through the opened window and land on the outer platform, breaking his fall into a roll.
"Haha ! That somehow worked !" - cheered he as he realised that the fabric the banner was made of did not rip. He had even managed to successfully evade all the bolts, having been hit by only 1 of them, in his right shoulder.
Grabbing the bolt with his left hand, Aegis ripped it out of his body. Tossing the projectile to the side, he saw how more assassins joined the fray.
"Tsk. So many people for just one polititian ? You guys remind me of someone." - joked the knight as he remembered Hirana's tendency to utterly overkill things.
Turning to talk to his allies, the knight stood up and recreated his sword, Fervour and assumed his usual balanced stance.
"Girls, more assassins arived. It's possible that they have more forces grouped up in teams approaching from somewhere, so watch the polititian at all costs. Watch your backs too, thiese guys are sneeky. They have crossbows, by the way."
Saying that, Aegis heard Hirana's voice, saying something along the lines of "I'm going inside, watch and learn, Erza." That was the thing about those types of comms lacrima, they transmited EVERYTHING that their wearer said, even if it was not meant to be transmited. "I guess they're already doing their part. Haha ! ALRIGHT LADS, COME AT ME WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT." - yelled the knight as he invigorated himself and activated his Mind's Flow technique.

The time to fight was at hand.