Chapter 2: Blightweavers
Damien cast his gaze back at the battlefield they had left behind, and with the aid of his friends, he could clearly see they where winning.
After a brief pause, Damien rose to his feet, carefully cradling Frank's lifeless body. Heading towards the heart of the battlefield. 'Time to end this battle,' he thought.
Damien looked down at the battlefield and dropped Frank's lifeless body in the middle of it. "Your leader has fallen" Damien announced loudly.
In that fleeting moment, time itself seemed to freeze. The once chaotic battlefield succumbed to absolute stillness, as if the world itself refused to acknowledge that infamous Frank Ashcroft had died. It was an eerie hush, marked by both dread and reverence.
"Now, there is no reason for this battle to continue," everyone heard Damien's voice once again, shattering the silence. "Give up on this battle and leave Larov City. If you don't, your end will be the same as your leader's."
Damien saw his words have a ripple effect, and people slowly began retreating and escaping. Only then did he hear a voice saying, "What are you doing? Who said you can leave?"
Damien turned his gaze towards the source of the voice and saw a man standing atop the city wall. Clad in a black windbreaker and wearing a mask adorned with intricate, deformed circles, the man stood with an air of authority.
'I couldn't sense him. There's something off about that guy,' Damien pondered, before mustering the courage to inquire, "Who are you?"
The man merely stared back at Damien, his attention soon returning to address the restless crowd. "Stand your ground! If anyone attempts to leave, you know the consequences." With those words, he vanished from sight once more.
Puzzled by the man's ability to disappear before his very eyes, Damien racked his brain for an explanation. The only conclusion he could draw was, 'Perhaps it's because my rank has dropped to A-rank. I can't sense him'
"I'll kill you!" Damien heard a shout from behind and saw a person heading towards him.
It was Alan, Frank's right-hand man, a B-rank swordsman. Damien took a defensive stance and engaged in another fight.
Damien could feel that he didn't have any power left. Even swinging his sword was hurting him after the fight with Frank.
The situation was looking bad for Damien. If this fight prolonged any longer, he could really lose.
Alan couldn't think straight and felt sorrow and depression after watching Frank's lifeless body crash to the ground.
That's why he left the city headquarters and dismissed his mission appointed by Frank, to watch over the people who called themselves "Blightweavers."
Damien was trying to find a way to escape and finally saw Kevin coming his way. He signaled to Kevin with his eyes, and then Damien started to attack Alan instead of defending himself.
To distract Alan, he started talking. "Frank died due to his own choices. If he hadn't chosen the wrong side and forsaken justice in pursuit of revenge, he wouldn't have died."
Damien gave Kevin a signal to be ready and continued to distract Alan. "Alan, you are a member of the Ashcroft family. Your lineage has dutifully served the Ashcroft family as butlers for generations. Do not follow in Frank's footsteps. Return to your family's embrace. Your father would be pleased."
Alan couldn't believe his ears. Even after all the things that had happened between them, Damien still had the guts to offer him a deal.
Alan threw away all reason and swung his sword without any style, just to end this cocky bastard's life, yelling, "Go to hell, bastard!"
In the last moment, as Alan's sword reached Damien's throat, Alan heard Damien shout, "Now!"
He then felt an object in his chest, and after that, he lost his footing and fell to the ground.
Alan gazed upward, his eyes meeting Kevin's as he clutched the sword embedded in his chest. Tears welled up in Alan's eyes as he mustered his final words, "I couldn't exact your revenge, boss. I'm sorry." And with that, he drew his last breath, succumbing to the darkness.
In the Larov City, in an underground facility, a man asked the lab researchers, "How long will it take to wrap everything in this city?"
The lab researcher replied, "Sir, we only need another ten minutes. After that, you can take the specimen."
After hearing the response, the man used his smartwatch to call the operation center and inquired, "How are things going on the surface?"
"Reporting to Count Silas, after the death of Frank, the people from Frank's side either ran or became too angry and broke the defense formation in our lines, resulting in several different breaches," the officer reported.
Count Silas ordered the officer to continue watching and send the live stream of the battle to his smartwatch.
After examining the battle, Count Silas just shook his head with disappointment, realizing they probably wouldn't hold the enemy for another ten minutes.
Count Silas typed on his smartwatch and called the operation center again, requesting support and ordering them to stand their ground in front of the city gates until the next order.
Damien looked toward Alan's lifeless body, and thanked Kevin for his assistance. Just as they were about to head towards the remaining enemies, they saw another group of people coming out from the city and starting to push their allies.
After witnessing this, He turned to Kevin and said, "Kevin, I don't think Frank was alone in this scheme."
Kevin replied, "I think the same. I believe there might be other people or organizations funding Frank and manipulating this battle."
Upon hearing that Kevin was thinking the same, Damien added, "Don't forget the guy in the windbreaker."
Kevin nodded and suggested, "Should we go and investigate ourselves?"
Damien agreed with Kevin and said, "If we want to bypass the enemy lines and sneak into the city, we need Amilea's abilities."
Then they headed towards Amilea and shared their plan, requesting her help.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone