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Chapter 82: The Sacrifice The final preparations were soon ready, but the surprise attack relied on the enemy being too occupied with Artemis to notice the intruders. A sacrificial ceremony would, of course, need a spacy area to utilize the unused magic in the air. I suddenly sensed a core of powerful magic nearing us and motioned for the others to hide. The mages were using a magical shield to prevent their magic cores from being sensed. ...... Finally, a Dark Knight entered the room. He looked surprised to see me. "May I ask what you are here for?" He asked. "You know perfectly well. I'm here for Artemis." I replied stoically. "You want her back? I'm sorry, but she is an important sacrifice for the Master." He smiled devilishly. I drew my sword and proceeded to slash at him. Surprisingly, he jumped clear, then he was behind me. I quickly dodged aside just in time, his spear came cutting through the air. The rest of the guild had explicit orders not to help until the Horntail came or Artemis came into sight. "You're fast." The Dark Knight said. Only now, I realized that he fit the description Artemis gave me about her antagonist, Saevio. "So are you." I replied, taking cautious steps to the right. "Too bad, but you must go now." Saevio said, then swung his spear at me. It missed my body by a centimetre. Suddenly, I noticed a dark form being carried into the hall by a single lone woman. She appeared to be a Thief, but she was equipped with both a claw and a dagger. Her brown hair matched perfectly with her black clothes. The form in her arms was...... Artemis! Artemis's body was stripped to her underclothes, and she was limp. Obviously. I quickly rushed towards her, but Saevio blocked my path, brandishing his spear. The Thief carrying her simply walked to the center of the room and placed Artemis's body gently in the middle. Instantly, a magical circle appeared around her. I couldn't allow this to go any further. I raised a clenched fist into the air. The attack signal. The warriors instantly rushed out of their hiding places, yelling battle chants. The mages unleashed bolt after bolt of magic at both enemies as the archers rained bolts and arrows down. They were very accurate, so we didn't have to worry about them hitting either me or Artemis. Shadowers rushed out of the shadows, unsheathing their daggers while Night Roads hanging up on the ceiling began throwing throwing stars. The female thief looked unfazed, and simply began to chant an incantation, only to be interrupted by an arrow that slit the back of her shirt. Saevio was blocking attacks directed at him with superhuman speed, and I took advantage of the distraction to run over to Artemis, but a magical barrier blocked the path. However, it was soon cut open by a Shining Ray attack and I rushed in to pick up Artemis. The female thief's shirt had slid half-open, and she was too busy blocking attacks to bother about me. Suddenly, a massive stone slid down from the ceiling, blocking the corridor leading to the door. Kyrios jumped out of nowhere and started battering the barrier with his spear, but it seemed to have no effect. "Did you think I expected the ritual to not be interrupted?" Saevio laughed. I turned around and saw a barrier of black magic around him. The thief also had a similar barrier, but her attacks could reach outside it. Now, the Night Roads were the ones blocking. "Sh!t." I cursed. All of a sudden, the stone barrier exploded, showering the occupants of the hall in a rain of stone. Through the smoke, I could see a strange form that looked human, yet wasn't. It was slightly shorter than the average human and had pointed ears. Could it be? An elf? When the smoke finally cleared, I got my answer. It WAS an elf! Although...... just 'an' didn't really describe it. It was an entire army of elves! I found myself gaping at the elves. They were decked out in shining silver armour with the archers behind wearing light leather armour and the mages in long robes. The leader was most probably the one who had broken the stone barrier, because her outstretched palm was smoking, and her eyes blazed with power. She was obviously a female. Her armour, unlike the others, was golden and I could sense strong magic imbued in it. But why were elves involving themselves in this? Of course...... Any course of action taken upon any elf or part-elf would fall under the jurisdiction of the Elven Elders. Artemis was part-elf now, and a very strong one at that. The elves wouldn't want someone as strong as her to be used by the dark side. The head elf stared at me with her blazing eyes, then at Artemis, then at the broken magic circle in the middle of the hall, then at Saevio and the female thief. Her mind must have automatically deduced that I was trying to break her free and she helped me up. "Lorenia Windwalker, commander of the 1st Grand Battalion. You are?" She inquired, simultaneously raising a golden bow and taking a shot at Saevio's barrier. It broke in one single shot. What power...... "Ares. Master of the Heaven's Elite guild." I bowed. It was obvious that the elf had royal blood in her, and it wouldn't be nice to incur the wrath of the elves, especially at a time like this. The stunned guild members around me bowed to Lorenia too. Suddenly, Lorenia nocked another arrow to her bow and fired. I heard a gasp behind me and turned around. The arrow had struck Saevio right through the heart! The female thief instantly ran towards him and disappeared in a flash of light after catching him. I heaved a sigh of relief and turned around. Lorenia was holding Artemis in her arms now. "Errr... Please wait!" I said. "What is it?" She turned around, then noticed that her hand was touching Artemis's ring finger. Quite observant. "Ah, yes. Elven marriage will be presided over by elves, so you need not worry." She chuckled. I smiled and turned to the guild. "Let's go home." I announced. The guild members whooped and moved out from behind their hiding spots or dropped down from the ceiling. Bow twangs were sounding from outside, so I quickly hurried out to see what was going on. "Oh boy..." I groaned. It was the Horntail, and it looked really mad. The guild members coming out needed no further orders. The archers, mages and Night Roads opened fire while the rest charged. The elves were already in the fight, and they seemed to be losing. Strange, but I could hear gunshots. I was pretty sure I hadn't recruited any Gunslingers into the guild yet...... "Do not underestimate elven technology." Lorenia smiled and pointed at a group of elves in a corner. They were armed with pistols! |
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