A Day of Sin (Mission/Aiyana)

Finding himself in a most comfortable position atop a rather sizable tree, Ardere peered off into the city of Era. Things seemed so calm, almost serene. It was certainly one of the most beautiful cities his orange eyes had ever had the pleasure of gazing upon. Sitting with one leg straight, parallel to the branch, he kept the other bent in such a way that he could rest his arm on it. Letting out a slight sigh, his breath was not visible fortunately. The weather had been cold for so long, but now it was beginning to get nice and warm in some places, just how he liked it. Running pale leather covered fingers through his thick brown locks, the fire mage was waiting for someone to get close before heading into the city. Unfortunately he was not here for pleasure, he was here on business. The town of Era had experienced a series of heavy grievances in the past few weeks, murders and many other dark horrors. These murderers were not like the kind he tracked back in the Rune Knights, they were powerful mages. Some form of very dark magic was at work here, which as a god slayer was his specialty. Dealing with dark mages and the like, was also his specialty. However even with his talents, he would need some form of help in this city. From what he was told, there was an entire faction of dark mages lurking here. The Council had not been too clear, but he had what he needed. 

They were to investigate the sewers, and the fire mage figured he had only one friend who could accompany him on this journey; Aiyana. The two had been on missions before, back when they were both in Sabertooth. They had a form of friendship and clicked in missions, hopefully that would stick in the time it had been since they last spoke. Letting out another sigh, he leaped down from his perch on the tree. Entering a more populated part of town, he looked onward to see an entrance into the sewers. It had been opened up, but was blocked off by yellow tape and orange caution cones. They must have been doing some form of construction here before the incidents, and had become a main entry point. Noticing a Knight standing by the entrance, Ardere gave a slight wave. He was fairly well known in the Rune Knights and council, seeing as he was the guild master of one of the largest guilds, and a former Rising Star and Rune Knight himself. Fame was not something he would dwell in, but it helped on missions occasionally. Just waiting for my partner now, shouldn't be too long. A familiar scent had crossed his nose, and he had a feeling the source would arrive shortly.

Turning to face the young woman walking his way, Ardere had noticed her scent from far away. It had changed somewhat, but it was still the same base smell that his recognized. The two had gained quite an amount of responsibilities in the past few months, but now it was time to act upon their most basic responsibility as a mage; protecting their world. I figured an invitation to a suicide mission sounded a lot more friendly. A slight smirk crossing his pale lips, the fire wizard gave her a quick hug. It was just to greet her after such a long time they had spent apart, going their separate ways from Sabertooth and into this dark world. Unfortunately, things only seemed to get darker as one walked into the abyss. Turning back to face the entrance of the sewer, it was a bit of an abyss down there. The lights from above shone in some places, but not enough. Letting out a calculated sigh, he unsheathed his sword before looking to the Knight and Aiyana. We don't have much time to waste. Whoever is doing this series of murders is likely a cult, high in numbers but powerful with dark magic as well. Our goal is to track them using our heightened senses, find their hideout and fight through the horde of mages, and take out their leader. If we find any kidnapped civilians or bodies down there, we'll bring them to the surface. Mr Knight, be our lookout just in case anything happens in the above world. I'll have a communications lacrima on me. Taking a deep breath, he held his sword out and the black corrupt flames burst across the crimson blade. These flames became so hot, that the normally faint red tint on them would brighten significantly. The blade was searing hot, but could also provide as a source of light. See you on the other side. There was a ladder leading down into the sewers, but rather than taking it he chose to leap down into the abyss. Feeling the wind rush through his brown hair for a moment, the armor on his body stayed tight. Landing down in some very shallow water, he created a shock wave upon landing. Some water was sent splashing across the sewer hall, and a slight dent was made in the ground. Quickly dashing to the right, this would allow his mission partner to travel down as well, if she so chose a more direct route as he did. Using the sword as a form of light, it gave him about three meters of sight. With his heightened senses he didn't exactly need it, but it would certainly help out. Waiting for his fellow mage to arrive, the Samurai took this time to observe the sewer for a moment. There was not much light down here at all, but he could sense the dark magic. Several disgusting scents attempted to deter him from finding the scent of the murderers, but he could make out a human scent. They were not getting away that easily, not after what they had done. The dark mages had to pay, and the town of Era would sleep easier at night. 

Letting out a heavy sigh, he focused his senses on the dark mages rather than the horrid stench. You'll get used to it eventually. Ardere was quite experienced with his slayer senses, but even he had to admit the stench here was almost overwhelming. A high amount of focus and persistence was all he could do to dilute the smell. Holding his crimson blade up, it provided a good amount of light in a three meter radius, a decent amount in a five meter radius, and a faint amount in a ten meter radius. The sun had not set, meaning they might be able to catch their enemies off guard. Tracking them was an interesting matter, but between the two of them they should be able to find them within the hour. Nodding and beginning to take his stride into the sewers, he gripped the handle of his blade tightly. 

Onward we go. There was no sense of fear, but he would be an idiot to not express caution or wariness in this mission. Their element was not the darkness, but it was their opponents'. The two guild masters had enough experience in taking out beings of the night to more than make up for it, but that did not mean they could be cocky. Gritting his teeth a bit, he observed as much of the sewers as he could. So far it appeared to just be normal sewer, as he did not notice any signs of a permanent base. If they were smart, their base of operations would be deep in the sewers near a collection center, meaning the waterfalls of sewage and water would cover any noises they made. If you hear any rushing water, let me know. I have a few ideas on where they might be. Side stepping quickly, he avoided a rather large rat. While they were considered vermin, he was not fond of killing animals who were not hostile towards him. Moving the sword back and forth at times, he also looked for markings on the walls. The dark mages had to have back up plans in case they got lost, or lost communications with the rest of the group. It was likely they had other forms of communication such as telepathy or lacrima, but anything could fail at any time. 

Keeping his senses keen, he could hear rattling in the walls but it was faint. Whatever was moving around in their was fleet of foot. It could be anything, even rats. Fortunately the Era sewers were not the kind that had crocodile or alligator type beasts in their depths. This city was clean, but every city had it's waste. He couldn't blame the Rune Knights for refusing to come down here, it was pretty wretched. They had a long journey ahead, and they could only talk to pass the time and avoid the stench. So how are things back in the desert? If you don't mind me asking. Ardere was a fairly well informed man, not just from minor detective skills, but from his skilled information broker as well. It was always good to have connections, it kept one in the loop of the above ground and especially the underground.

Clutching his sword tightly, Ardere's brows formed an arch downward before he spoke his words. Don't worry, I only kill if I'm forced to. Which is rare. The words sailed smoothly out of his mouth, with an intense confidence acquired from many years on the battlefield. He was not very fond of ending another human being's life, or most wildlife, but it was monsters that he could easily kill. Every now and then, he found an enemy who looked human, spoke human words and had a human body, but on the inside they were just another monster. Those were the people, if they could be called that, that he could kill. While these cultists may appear as such, they were blinded by the words of another man, unable to discern between right and wrong. This was not punishable by death, but severe pain surely. Alright boys, let's rumble. Staring down the horde of enemies rampaging towards his current location, he watched the water at the bottom of the sewer move in accordance to their attack patterns. Listening to each of their breaths and heart beats, he could tell from this close that they were quite aggressive and harboring malicious intent within their blades. His senses were quite ken, but unfortunately he had to be this close to even guess as to how they would attack. Fortunately, close range was his specialty. They were within meters of him, coming in an arrow head formation. This meant he could pick and choose his targets. A poor formation choice to attack a samurai trained in the arts of defense, but he held no cockiness against an enemy so high in numbers. In fact, he viewed this as quite interesting. Taking a deep breath, it was on.

The first mage came at him with an extensive array of dark-embedded weapons, but the fire mage chose to side step his attack. Using the intense speed he possessed, Ardere struck next to four ligaments, causing blood to gush from the wounds. The man was not dead, but he laid next to the water severely injured. The searing hot blade in his hands had slightly cauterized the wounds. It was still a blade after all, and blood was ensured, but with the blade not at full capacity, he had not fully cauterized it. This had been on purpose, to prove a point. Channeling the fiery energy within the blade, it became fully searing hot. He could easily slice through a limb like this, but the wizards attacking him had no time to figure that out, as they had charged in blindly. Dashing backwards, the guild master deflected two dark throwing knives before spinning around. Slashing open his two enemies at the lower legs, he took some cuts to his right and left arm. Due to his fire body, the cuts closed up fairly well, but something was off about the next attacker, a sense of death emanating from him. Slashing open the backs of the two men who had their legs severely injured, they were finished off. As his wounds closed up, the brown haired samurai prepared to fight his next opponents.