Battle for the Castle: Home

The empty hall was dark; no light was emitted by the unlit candles, and the moonlight was failing to reach deep within the hall. Yasuline stood by the entrance while her eyes adjusted to the darkness; however, even once they did, she was still struggling to see anything clearly beyond a limited distance. "Odd, no maids are on duty. No guards, either," she whispered to herself, but the quiet sound of her voice only made the atmosphere more eerie and disturbing. She never expected the castle to instill such strange and sinister feelings in her.

Some sort of light glowed behind Yasuline and as she quickly turned around to face it, it was to her complete and utter shock and surprise that she caught sight of the White Reaper standing right next to her. "What are you doing? People might see-" she began to say before cutting herself off. "Oh that's right, there's currently nobody here" She realized. He simply looked at her and nodded while then immediately holding his hand out in front of her. She covered her mouth and stayed completely silent, as she could hear footsteps headed their way.

"Wait, you must find a place to hide!" Yasuline's words came out in a frantic whisper as she urgently pushed against the White Reaper, urging him to scurry away and seek shelter. Reluctantly, he acquiesced, his movements cautious and deliberate as he started to make his way in the opposite direction, fading into the shadows.

As the White Reaper retreated, an imposing figure clad in armor materialized before Yasuline's eyes. The presence of the armored individual caused her heart to skip a beat, and she instinctively halted, her senses on high alert. There was a pause in the air, both of them taking a moment to assess each other, locked in a silent acknowledgment.

Summoning her courage, Yasuline adopted a casual demeanor, attempting to mask the tension that coiled within her. She positioned her sword discreetly behind her, careful not to draw any undue attention to herself. With a measured tone, she addressed the armored figure, her voice carrying a nonchalant air. "Hey, you there. Have you seen where everyone went? I seem to have lost track of them." Her words were laced with a subtle urgency, the masked inquiry serving as a cover for her own intentions and the perilous situation unfolding in the shadows.

[Basic Sword Skill: Power Stab, has been activated]

[Description: A basic skill of the sword that allows the user to slide straight forward, going along with the powerful thrust of the sword to cross great distances to hit their enemy.]

Suddenly the metallic figure begins to get into a position and begins to sprint right at her. Taken aback, Yasuline begins preparing to draw her sword but only holds it across her body in a defensive position. Just in time to block an attack from the guard that has begun the assault. She doesn't know what is going on, but she knows she can't really start fighting back against the guardsman like this. The impact of the attack rang through the muscles of her arm and she nearly let go of her sword. With the two up close, she was able to peek through their helmet that covered her face. She saw red.

'What? Daemons, in the castle? How!?'

The clash of the metals rings down through the hall. Yasuline pulls back from the disguised daemon as it attempted to swing their knife at her. "Is everything just going crazy on me? First I get attacked by the maids, and now there's daemons inside my own home!" She complains loudly.

Sensing the struggle, the White Reaper was quick to arrive to aid her in fending off the guard. As the enemy staggers from the swift assist, Yasuline yells out, "Thanks for the opening!"

She delivers the finishing blow against her opponent and the foe rattles onto the floor. "There goes down another one!", the princess cherishes on her winning streak as the White Reaper responds with a nod, but then begins to grab onto the princess. "Eh?"

Her confusion gets cleared by the sound of many rattling armor sets coming down the hall on one end.

They run away for the time being. With the princess in his arms, the two are chased by the maid. "Running away is not what I had in mind, but I guess it's better than just giving the standing there and fighting them all night."

They crossed a few more guards who also joined the chase after them. Yasuline looks back and sees all four of them running with their swords. They lacked the helmets, making it clear who they really were. They once were the original guards of the castle. But the blank stare in their faces show they do not recognize her at all.

"Did everyone turn into daemons or something? Where are the real guards? Are they fighting them or they are also crazy like the maids?"

The White Reaper's boots screech to a half, and the princess' body jerks from the whiplash. "Woah, woah, woah!" She cries out. Turning ahead to see why they stopped, she was met with a wall made of the other maids of the castle. There were too many for her to actually count them all, but she was also distracted by the amount and variety of weaponry that was pointing at her direction.

"You know, looking at them lined up like that. We sure have lots of maids cleaning up our royal butts."

The army of maids pull out some bows, others presented arrows for the bow-users to ready their weapons.

Before firing, the White Reaper would sprint over to one of the side tables of the hall, kicking it onto its side to use as cover upon the volley of arrows shot at him. Yasuline presses herself against him as the many thuds hum against her ear. Barely peeking from his shoulder, she could see some of the maids have halted behind them, just barely out of the flying arrows range.

"Great, we are surrounded. What can we do now?"

The White Reaper quickly assesses the situation, scanning the long hall for any more potential threats. "We're going to need to take out those archers first," she says firmly to him, his gaze never leaving the enemy. The White Reaper nods, feeling the weight of her sword in her hand. Together, they peek over the top of the table to see the archers taking aim at them. "But can that even be done without hurting them too badly?"

The White Reaper watches their movements carefully, waiting for the perfect opening. His eyes narrow as he spots it, and he turns to Yasuline. He pulls out two things from his coat. One was a dagger with chains enwrapped around the grip. The other was a small carved piece of glass, it was very reflective, in fact, Yasuline could see that her hair was sticking up all over the place. He repositions the mirror just at the right spot where a ray of moonlight peeked through the high windows of the hallway and...

"Ah!" She grunts as the light reflected right near her eye. "O-oh!" She takes the mirror and quietly nods at him with a confident nod. This is one of the old tricks she uses herself when she tries to evade Caliber's grasp. She quickly knows what he was planning. She tucks it into her pocket and gets into the right position for the plan.

He extends three of his fingers and slowly curled them one by one. Yasuline clutches the mirror, her heart racing with anticipation. She takes it out from her pocket, adjusting her grip on it before peering around the edge of the table to get a glimpse of the archers. One by one, she reflects the light off the mirror and onto the archers' eyes, blinding them and causing them to drop their arrows as they were re-arming.

[Phantom Skill, Fatal Blow, has been Activated.]

[Description: A risky move that requires the user to have great focus. The move guides the user's strike to impact vital points of the enemy's body that would render their ability to move their body correctly.]

The White Reaper takes this opportunity to rush forward, his movements swift and calculated. With a fluid motion, he disarms the archers, grabbing their bows and knocking them all unconscious with precise strikes.

The second group of maids armed with knives is now closing in, but the White Reaper is ready. He swiftly moves to meet them halfway, the chain of his weapon flashing in the dim light. Yasuline watches in awe as he dodges their attacks with ease, his movements fluid and graceful. With a well-placed strike, he knocks them out with the flat of his dagger. They all fall with a soft thud.

Yasuline is both impressed and astounded by his skill. All of the maids were taken out. She can hear just a few of them groan from the inability of moving, showcasing they were still alive and well.

"No wonder the world is so terrified of you, there's nothing you can't do, huh? Well, come on, we need to keep moving." Yasuline grabs onto his arm and the two begin to go down the hall together. Despite the foreboding atmosphere that plagued her home, she no longer felt any issue about it at all. She doesn't know what the future holds, but she knows that as long as she's with the White Reaper, she has a chance to settle this situation the way she wants it. With everyone alive and well.