Seamus
Thirty minutes earlier
A loud explosion rang throughout the forest. The sixth one in the last half hour. I sighed and shook my head, the cause of the explosion was young Bo and Indy fighting a detachment of soldiers they'd foolhardily attacked. I knew already that they'd been planning to kill something but hadn't suspected it would be those soldiers.
I glanced skyward to Starlight's abomination flying above in peaceful patrol. That Grimm-Guard would have warned Starlight about the battle going on so close to the King's Glaive if it wasn't for the wee little utility spell I had cast over the area called: Ignorance of Bliss. Anyone that was outside the spell's effect once it was cast would be unable to notice anything that went on inside the spells effect. It was similar to Slaughter's Paradise, the main difference being that people outside the spells area could enter the spell area and those inside the spell are unaware of it being cast.
The fact It was on the lower end of the mana cost spectrum and the fact that Indy and Bo wouldn't notice the spell was activating was why I used the spell. And given how the cursed abomination above was flying directly over a battlefield and didn't notice meant it was a good choice.
"They're really going at it." Colossus observed.
"Aye. Them some stout lads ta be sure. 'Specially that little Indy. Borne and breed for killing that one." I said casually observing the quick and effective way the young lad killed soldier after soldier from their blind spots.
"Can you really tell that easily?" Colossus asked. I nodded and let my hand rest against my chest, right above my heart and the mana crystal core that rested besides.
"…aye…a monster can judge a predator by the grit of its fangs if nothing else." I said softly.
Colossus stepped closer to me and lightly brushed his snout against my leg then looked up at me with concerned eyes. I cracked a soft smile despite my ruminations of my past and reached down to scratch the top of his head. The little hellhog snorted contently for a brief moment before he suddenly tensed.
"Old man, more soldiers are heading this way." Colossus said with certainty.
"For the love of the Hecate!" I grumbled. Colossus looked to the west and sniffed the air. His flaming mohawk burned with even more intensity.
"I can smell them from here, more than ten." Colossus looked up at me for direction. "What are we going to do?"
"I told ya earlier little Colossus. We're going ta do a little spyin'. I mean after all these soldiers have something against me innocent grandson. As Starlight's only remaining grandpa how can I not step in." I said casually started running in the direction Colossus pointed to earlier.
Colossus followed close behind. As we ran through the forest I felt a familiar sense of blankness wash over me. Memories of my childhood spent studying whatever art, craft, or technique my father and grandfather had deigned important for my cultivation as their magnum opus. The most important skills they had taught me however was how to take a life.
I silently skidded to a stop behind a tree, with my senses already pushed to their limits I could easily pick up the slight sounds of footsteps and hushed grumbles from the soldiers ahead. I narrowed my eyes as I spotted the soldiers and were slightly surprised to see that they weren't American soldiers but French ones. Eleven of them in total and five of them obvious splicers given the alterations to their uniforms to show off their farm crystals.
'Well ain't this a surprise? What're these wine hobs doing here?' I thought. The Frenchman suddenly stopped at the sound of a flames whipping sharply on the wind.
"Sir I can hear fighting coming from that direction! Should we investigate?" One of the soldiers asked the most ornately adorned of the splicers. The splicer, a woman, looked towards the direction of the kids battlefield.
"Perhaps…if those are allies in our plan to fell Master Kingston then leaving them to fend for themselves could result in our plan being uncovered." The woman said contemplatively. Having heard enough I decided to act.
"And what plan might that be, if ya don't mind me asking lass?"
The splicers all became alert at the sound of my voice, the splicers drawing blade and the normies of the group aiming guns in my direction. I laughed and stepped out from behind the tree I was hiding behind. "My, such brave soldiers ya are. Plotting against a young brat an' quivering like a leaf in a hurricane at the simple question of an old man." I mocked.
"The grandfather of Masrer Kingston?" The leader of the group gasped. Her eyes suddenly darkened and a malicious smirk curled her lips. "It seems the gods smile upon me. To think one so close to our enemy would walk right into our hands. And a normie at that!"
I arched a brow at the lass's brash words. Folding my arms I leaned calmly against the tree and observed all of the soldiers calmly.
"Lass I hate ta tell ya but if anything the gods have left ya as the butt of a cruel joke fer letting ya cross my path."
The woman looked at me incredulously then threw her head back and started laughing heartily.
"You honestly believe that don't you. Why don't you look at your situation old man! You are alone, outnumbered, and outclassed by no less than four splicers of moderate talent, one splicer of great talent, and six normie soldiers armed with guns. As a normie yourself this is a hopeless situation." The woman proclaimed proudly. She pointed the tip of her blade at me, a dazzling rapier, and smirked. "As I am a benevolent woman I will give you this one chance to drop to your knees and accept your fate as my captive! Should you try to resist the inevitable I will be forced to hack off your legs."
I sighed and shook my head, pushing off from the tree I was propped up against. 'The overconfidence of this generation…'
"While that is a kind offer lass, I'm afraid yer not strong enough ta be offering it ta me…" I said. The woman's face contorted with rage and confusion. "…allow me ta dispel a few points ya seem ta be confused about. I am not outclassed, splicers of yer middling talent would be considered trash in my home village. This situation would only be hopeless for one with no idea about the true weakness of splicers. And…I am not alone."
At that Colossus dashed out from behind the tree he was hiding behind and charged at the normie soldiers at the back. Enveloping his body in flames, he tackled one, sending it flying back into a tree so hard the tree trunk cracked and splintered. The second his hoof touched the ground a wall of flames erupted around him engulfed the normie soldiers.
The five remaining splicers all staggered away from the flames, momentarily forgetting about little ole me. I dashed forward, drawing the enchanted dagger I borrowed from Starlight, grabbing the largest of the sllicers from behind and burying the dagger into his neck. Severing his carotid artery and brain stem instantly.
I pushed his limp body towards the next closest splicer, causing them to collide and fall to flat on his ass then turned my attention to the third splicer. Still disoriented and fumbling with his weapon I besieged him. Reversing the dagger in my grip I slammed it into the eye of the splicer. He fell to the ground dead.
Colossus took this chance to charge the second splicer on the ground and stomp a blazing hoof on his head, the splicer went up in flames. Before Colossus could recover and change targets a spear of ice flew at him and impaled him through the abdomen. Colossus squealed in pain and rage as he turned towards the splicer that dared to injure him. His internal temperature rose sharply and ice spear melted instantly.
"Bind souls of those before, restrict the lifeblood of the universe and devour the unjust, untrustworthy and unwanted!" I said as I channeled mana into my vocal cords and chanted. A enchantment spell sigil formed in front of me. "Vocallian Cast: Chains of Sullivardi."
The spell activated and chains made of burning magma erupted from the ground and wrapped around the remaining two splicers. The magma didn't burn the splicers but held them tightly in place regardless of their struggles.
"My magic! I can't cast spells!" The fourth soldier screamed.
"A spell? You can cast spells? How I thought you were a normie?!" The woman exclaimed.
"Sorry lass but ya have no right ta demand answers from me. I on the other hand…" I snapped my fingers and the magma chains started to glow brighter, the heat from them increasing sharply and starting to burn the splicers uniform. "…have every right to demand from you."
"You better let us go right now!" The fourth splicer demanded. I rolled my eyes then looked over to Colossus. His wound has already healed, giving me a little relief. Colossus trotted back over to my side and shot a glare at the man who shot him with the ice spear.
"That hurt! Can I kill him old man?" Colossus asked me. I thought about it for a moment then shook my head.
"No. They both have some information I want." I said softly then shot a glare at the woman. "However I suspect that I really only need the young lass."
The woman gritted her teeth at my declaration then glared at me as if I were a detectable insect.
"Do your worst. We will never talk. We are proud soldiers of the Republic of France!" The woman exclaimed. I chuckled and then snapped my fingers.
"Never say never lass. Where were you going? What were your orders?" I asked. As the woman looked at me incredulously the magma chains glowed slightly. Her lips started moving before she even realized she was talking.
"To an advanced staging camp to the west. A small village that used to serve as a smiting village decades ago. We will link up with a detachment of English and Chinese soldiers and prepare for an assault on Master Kingston and his allies on the island." The woman vomited her secrets as effortlessly as breathing thanks to the true effect of my spell. "Why did I…?"
"That'd be the effect of the Chains of Sullivardi. It restrains mana, binds rowdy young'uns like you, and feeds on your restraints making ya lippier than an Irishman after a couple of pints." I explained.
"Fuck!" The fourth splicer screamed.
"That's impossible! I have defensive magic cast on me specifically to protect against enchantments. You shouldn't be able to extract information from me!" The woman screamed.
"What part of restrains mana did ya not understand lassie? Funny thing bout defensive type magic, even when cast by another person it has the funny habit of using the effected person's mana if they have it to power the effects. Why ya think it's so easy ta learn?"
Hearing my little fact the woman paled then looked towards the ground. Realization sinking on the truth of her predicament.
"No mana, no defensive magic…" She muttered. I nodded then cracked a smile. "…and that spell was cast only by speaking. What sort of monsters lie in Master Kingston's family."
I gritted my teeth and glared at the woman. The very idea of my taint as a monster being associated with my Starlight made fury unlike anything I had ever felt bubble up from my gut. I stomped over to the woman and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at me.
"Aye! A monster I might be…but never while I still draw breath will I allow ANYONE to stain his light with the rancor of my past!" I growled at her. Her eyes became cloudy with fear and with good reason.