Annihilation

Daffodil hands moved deftly, bringing up the lowered crossbow to launch his attack. At the time he heard the ice-cold voice, he was already halfway through his leap in the air, leaving him no chance of retreat.

His time spent in the Military was not for naught. In circumstances like these, he needed to launch that first strike before repositioning himself. By then he could have his sword drawn for close combat. Once he made it near Spade, he was confident in fighting off the wolf together, much less for any person.

What worked in his favor--the undeniable fact that nothing stood between him and the little girl.

Under past circumstance, this situation provided him the best opportunity to attack and defend from hidden ranged enemies.

Unfortunately, Mr Daffodil never expected the previous torturous actions of his friend Spade, had ripped open the veritable 'Gates of Hell'.

Not even halfway through his jump when his brain sent the signal for his hands to raise the crossbow, the lithe figure of a girl flashed before him. This girl was not the small newcomer, but the unexceptional one.

Out in the northern passes, he had experience several near death episodes. During these moments, he could testify that time really seemed to slow down or reach a standstill. It was also that in this state, once one possessed the willpower to break their limits they would emerge the victor.

Several matters however, happened that prevented him from acting this time against a fragile little girl.

Firstly, his pupils shifted cross-eyed to fall on the crossbow already pointed dead center in front of his head. This was the same crossbow that laid on the ground. His brain now calculated how impossible this brat acted, when the second detail hit him. This crossbow looked a hell of a lot similar to those in the Military.

In fact he could gamble all his gold that this was a genuine, compact, heavy crossbow used by elite scouts.

Doubt turned to fear as he processed those thoughts, nearly forgetting to raise his hands for his own counterattack. Presently he could only hope to wound the girl before being shot. He stood no real chance of dodging that point-blank shot.

All this might seem like much, but it only took a split second when death literally stared him down.

The last factor disabled all thoughts and turned his fear into horror and despair.

The eyes staring back at him full of hate changed color. In that split second it turned from a wonderful sky blue to a terrifying yellow, complete with vertical slit pupils.

"Sersen!"

Daffodil screamed one dreadful word, before the bolt smashed between his eyes and churned its way into his brain.

Ironically, the one to first detect the danger, became the first to die.

By the half a breath it took for Lucy to kill the man, Dyna and Lykos moved to the front keeping Spade in check. Ming had grabbed Chu and placed him on the ground in a sitting position. He kept an eye out on the bandits, while in the process of administering a health potion.

"Sersen? Where the hell did...gottcha!"

Spade seemed dumbfounded at first after the now defunct Daffodil screamed his last words. All this however served as a ruse for the cunning man. In the middle of his question complete with a puzzled face, no one might have thought the man would reach for a dagger hidden at his back. Halfway through his words he grabbed the weapon, his aim focusing on Dyna.

"Ahhhhh!"

He screamed as he held his right hand with his left. More correctly, it should be said he held what remained of his hand in the other. Blood spurted out from a clean-cut attack, that sliced off Spade's hand from just below the elbow. The hand gripping the dagger laid on the ground. The attacking cry, turned to one of anguish.

Nobody, not even Spade who was now looking at Lucy in fear knew what happened.

The outcome of this unexplainable retaliation created mass panic from the fledgling bandits.

Previously they were laughing and enjoying a wonderful play of Spade torturing a kid. They even harbored some thoughts on the girl. In the space of not even two breaths, one of their skilled fighters and leader Daffodil, had died while the other, the ruthless and cunning Spade had his hand chopped clean off as if by magic.

Before they had planned on rushing in to subdue the children. That way if what the little girl had said was true, and they received an attack in some way, then the safest man would be the one who held any children hostage.

At this time however, only a fool would try to follow through with that plan.

As if with one mind, the four scattered. Since they had been inducted as bandits they followed the rule, all men for themselves. Ignoring the screaming man, they ran.

"Arggh! You heartless bitch! You better get your little ass after those men, or else when the Empire knows that you are a loose Sersen you will suffer!"

Spade spoke viciously.

If he could get the girl to leave, he might still stand a chance in escaping the wolf. All he had to do was climb a tree and wait for the rest of the Mong bandits to return. He chided himself for not waiting for the main group before launching his attack at these brats.

He was in the process of scanning for a suitable tree when he heard the screams.

As new recruits, bandits lived a life where they held abject terror over their region of operation. This was the prime reason it enticed the rowdy young men from the villages.

Cobble had gotten a taste of the bandit life. He followed Spade to the Hoyle farm, participated in defiling his first woman and primed himself for tonight's debauchery against the last farm before then migrating to another village.

Today he felt he encountered the devil himself. In the space of a few breaths the spawn of hell killed both of the skilled fighters he admired, and then set her evil eyes upon him. He hoped to escape by using the others as bait. Unbeknown to the rest, the woods in the east opened up allowing a fast runner to escape without being impeded by any undergrowth.

He was nearly out of the woods when a large shadow seemed to loom out between the trees and smash head on into him. In what Chu might have termed steam-rolled, Cobble felt his ribs crack from the impact as he was launched by the force of the collision backwards.

The attacker had skillfully transferred the incoming burst of speed to its front paws. The hit on his chest literally blew him away.

He experienced flight for the first time, before tumbling and rolling to a stop on the ground.

His eyes were the first to recover from his stunned state, then his mouth as he screamed in terror. Before he could regain some form of mobility, a monstrous wolf clamped down upon his neck silencing him forever. Leaving his corpse in this unknown place, it resumed the hunt.

Probably the only consolation to the dead bandit, lay in the fact his companions experienced the same fate. Those two wolves spiraled outwards and then inwards, searching and eliminating. Under the desperate act to escape the horrible situation, the men even forgot the basics--wolves couldn't climb.

Spade's mind swam in pain and turmoil on comprehending the situation. Those screams of terror did not bode well.

Shortly thereafter two huge shadows materialized out from between the trees on either side of him. Flanking him from behind and cutting off any plans of escape. The hairs on his back and hands tingled on becoming the sole focal point.

One look at the blood still dripping from those terrifying maws and even an idiot could guess the fate of the escapees.

"You brats have no idea who you are dealing with. If you do not allow me to walk out of here, my Master is going to torture you and your family very, very slowly."

As a mercenary, he knew when the odds stacked against him. The most he could hope for was that the bandit's leader would relay this information to the young master. The old Master would undoubtedly leave no stone unturned in seeking out his killers. With this in mind he planned to at least take down one of these little devils before dying.

"It is you who do not understand, little man. Not only did you pick on the wrong family, you even had the gall to lay your filthy hands on our Boss. I am going to..."

Before Ming could finish his sentence, Spade toppled to the ground, screaming in pain. This time the attack struck and severed his left leg. What was worse, was that the ankle and boot were not completely sliced. A piece of bone and flesh held the body parts together, while the boot was held in one piece by a small strip of leather.

"Dammit Lucy, I know it's you, let me finish, and stop hogging the kill. This guy is mine."

Spade looked on in terror at the girl in front. These attacks seemed to have originated from her. He stared into those yellow eyes, only to see no signs of hesitation or doubt. They showed a world of torture awaiting him. A revenge and lex talionis, this outcome bore into his very soul nearly suffocating him.

"Dyna get Chu home fast. Ming fetch the Elder."

She said in a calm manner.

Lucy reverted her eyes back to the usual sky blue. She sat down on a small log, watching the man sob in agony.

"I will keep an eye on him, so he doesn't bleed to death."

Ming grabbed Chu with care placing him on a wolf before Dyna hopped on. The two then sped away to the farm. The little girl relayed her message, so Ming and another wolf trudged off towards the Cork farm. Whether this ringleader died or not, Ming did not bother, he intended to take his sweet time in walking.

Lucy removed the bolt from Lycos and rubbed the remainder of the healing powder. All their medicine in the pouches had been used on Chu before sending him off. Only one batch remained for the injured wolf. Nothing could be done at the time since the boy's injuries was the more severe. If the owner of the wolf did not have any qualms in leaving the beast as company for Lucy, nobody could complain.

She returned to the log and seated herself. Lycos assumed guard duty over the moaning man.

"Seems like two is my limit, but I suck in my aim."

She looked at her left hand, particular at the red finger that seemed to be smoking earlier.

***

When Spade had thrown Chu towards the children hoping for a distraction, the boy was near the end of his rope. He lost a large amount of blood while the repeated infliction prodded his sanity. When Ming rushed to grab him, Chu collapsed on the ground.

The older teen had quickly administered the medicine from their first aid pouch and began to rub the powder to stem the bleeding. In his dazed condition with his mind fading, he thought he saw something miraculous.

'When you finally succumb to death, all kinds of hallucinations can take place huh?'

Ming had held Chu in an upright sitting position so as for him to drink the medicine. With no power to turn his head he could have only stared at Lucy and Spade within his range. Before he closed his eyes he saw Lucy form a claw with her left index finger.

In one fluid stroke she sliced the air in front of her. If he did not see her bending the finger or what looked like smoke when she finished, he might have thought he lost it. Chu could not believe as a small, near invisible arc flashed across the distance cleanly slicing the man's hand.

"I must be loosing my damn mind from the excessive blood loss. I swore I saw a wind blade."

He muttered before diving into a coma.