Necromancer For Hire- Arc 1

Arc 1, Chapter 19

The Battle

"Esper, I'm coming for you!" With a valiant screech, Aunora leapt towards Esper, who gaped in shock. Umbra futility attempted to grab her, but the nimble lady escaped his grasp.

The armed guard's attention was ripped from Victor's seance, several of them throwing themselves around Esper and the rest rushing to engage Aunora. Esper was knocked to the ground, trapped in a protective huddle of scales and skin.

That ignoramus! This wasn't part of the plan! It was a stealth mission! Umbra thought frantically, sweat rolling off his forehead and back. I guess I'm going to have rethink the plan...

With a flash of gleaming blue runes, a naginata formed in Umbra's waiting palms. He turned to assist Aunora in her grossly outnumbered fight, but a sudden shriek jolted him, his sweat turning cold on his skin.

"Dad!" Victor cried.

The boy was clutching his head, the magical energy that pulsed around him now flickering and dissolving, throwing sky blue sparks all around the wooden floor. Mossia's ghost had disappeared, and Damien seemed shocked and offended. Mala slinked behind him, slowly drawing her sword.

"You lied!" Damien gasped, staring at Victor in horror.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted some stupid humans to solve out problems." Mala pointed her jagged fingernail at Victor's throat, sneering. "Deceiving us will be the last thing you'll do, kid."

Umbra grit his teeth, lunging at Mala with silent killing intent. The she beast noticed him at the last second, blocking the serrated naginata with her sword. The blades locked with a crash and a shower of sparks.

"Victor! Get behind me!" Umbra snarled, and the boy scrambled to his father, ducking near his legs.

Umbra pulled away from Mala, trying to create distance. She grinned, keeping her eyes on Umbra.

"Damien! Get over here and help me kill this human." she barked, Damien nodding.

The naga held out his palm, black runes shining under his body. A long machete formed in his palm, the handle dark brown and molded to fit his hand. Damien swung the blade to prepare himself, slowly approaching Umbra and Victor.

"Dad!" Victor whispered, tugging on Umbra's pants leg. "Let me help fight! I found some spells-"

"No!" Umbra snapped, his voice rough and hoarse. "Keep behind me and stay safe." He swallowed, heart thudding worrisomely fast in his chest. "This could get bloody."

In a split second, years of combat training rushed back to Umbra's memory, filling him with the courage to fight. He sprinted at the two nagas before they had a chance to reach him, swinging out with his pole arm.

Mala dodged the blow with a leap, surprisingly fast for such a large creature. She landed several feet away, leaving Umbra and Damien.

Damien stabbed with his knife, barely missing Umbra's gut by mere inches. Staggering back, Umbra fell flat on his rear, his naginata falling out of his hands and dissolving on impact.

"Crap," Umbra hissed under his breath, rolling away from Damien's lethal weapon. With a flash, his flamberge formed in his left hand, the blade glinting in the harsh sunlight.
"Dad, behind you!" Victor screamed, pointing wildly.

Umbra whipped his head around, seeing Mala coming at him, sword prepped to kill.

Using his sword as support, Umbra pulled himself off the ground. Cursing his luck, Umbra realized that Damien and Mala had surrounded him, and he had no other choice than to fight them both head on.

Unless...Umbra thought, swallowing dryly and glancing at Victor. Should I do it, with him watching?

He took a step back from Mala, sweat dripping down his face. He knew she was backing him straight into Damien, but Umbra didn't mind it. He had an idea.

With a grunt of exertion, Umbra suddenly switched directions, running at Mala and taking her off guard. He swung his sword at a wicked side angle, purposely allowing it to lock with Mala's scimitar.

The naga's face turned from smug to horrified when harsh vibrations racked her sword, traveling all the way up her arm. She shouted in frustration and dropped her blade, and Umbra took advantage of her hesitation by hacking at her thick tail, cutting off a fair section of the scaley flesh. Mala fell onto the ground, staring at her maimed tail in shock. With a quick and systematic motion downward, Umbra sunk the sword into Mala's chest. Her eyes glassed over in a final look like horror, and Umbra fought down feelings of nausea.

It's for the best, Umbra reminded himself, shaking the blood off his blade. She was going to kill me and Victor. I have to be prepared to kill for my charge, that's what I was taught.

Damien had been distracted by Mala's slaughter, and that gave Umbra the chance to attack.

He transformed his sword back into his prized naginata, dragging the blade across the wooden floor to excite fear. He circled Damien like a fearsome jungle cat watching its prey.

After an intense stare down, Umbra pounced at Damien with long, graceful steps, covering the distance between them in seconds. Damien held up his machete to block, but the force behind Umbra's strike knocked the weapon out of his palms.

"Victor, dear," Umbra said, gritting his teeth and cringing. "Cover you eyes, please."

Umbra slung the pole overhanded, utilizing the force of gravity to increase the velocity of his blow. The blade hit the top of Damien's head with horrendous power, splattering blood onto Umbra's vest and shirt and slicing clean through the naga's head.

His body hit the floor with a sick thud, spilling more blood onto the surroundings. Breath ragged, Umbra took several steps away from the corpse, trying to sling off the blood that clung to his blade.

Umbra turned around, searching for his son. The boy had moved a couple yards away from the location of the fight, staring up at him with a shocked expression. Regret hung heavy in his chest when he realized his son had witnessed the massacre he had just brought on.

"Victor, I..." Umbra kneeled before him, hoping the boy wouldn't faint or vomit due to the grievous showcase.

Victor's eyes suddenly gleamed, and an astonished look came to his face. "Dad, that was so cool! You didn't tell me you could fight like that!" The boy enthusiastically hugged him, leaving Umbra stuttering in surpirse.

Mentally noting that he should look into therapy for his son, Umbra pulled himself off the ground, looking around him.

The nagas that weren't guards seemed to have fled the tree, and all the fighters were congregated around where he assumed Esper was, trying to protect him from Aunora. The girl was holding out rather well, constantly running to and away from flocks of guards, striking and then fleeing. Aunora seemed to have summoned a suit of armor to wear, to offer extra protection from the guard's weapons.

Umbra clutched his naginata tightly in his palm, hoping the sweat staining his hands would evaporate quickly in the humid environment. He pulled Victor up by the collar of his coat, patting a hand on his back.

"Victor, I've got to go help Aunora fight. I'm not sure how much longer she can hold out without someone helping her. I need you to find somewhere to hide-"

Victor squeezed Umbra's hand with a looked of courage, staring up at his father with bright eyes.

"I'm not. I wanna fight with you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Author's Note- Ugh, I'm not good at fight scenes! I've only written a few in my entire life... I hope this turned out well. If it didn't, well I tried, at least.