Kuro: A Land in Eternal Night

Chapter 5.1: Hunted

A cry pierced the stillness.

Waiting for the Marauders' blasters to shoot had felt like an eternity. The girls all knelt in the center, surrounded by Marauders, awaiting the sentence that had been handed to them. The Warlock had spoken and death was to be meted out.

But the scream had interrupted the deadly ritual. Shortly after, one of the Marauders crumpled in a heap on the ground. Dead. Moments later, another screamed and fell, the life snuffed out of him as well. Every time a Marauder fell, he did not get back up. There was something deadly in the air. Something unseen.

Mina opened her eyes and looked around. There were about ten Marauders in the unit that had been transporting them, and four had been dispatched so easily. The rest of the unit now appeared to be running around, searching for a hidden foe, their morale broken and confusion ensuing. Mina strained her eyes in the darkness. She thought she was imagining things, but she could make out a shadow, a faint outline moving very fast, weaving in and out of the Marauder line. Every time the shadow passed the sound of steel-clashing-on-steel could be heard. Yet another Marauder dropped, clutching his throat, blood flowing freely past his fingers and down his arms as he fell face-first onto the ground.

The battle raged on for a few more moments. The Marauders tried desperately to find their foe, shooting light round after light round at a moving target they could barely see, much less aim at. The shadow moved swiftly, the glint of steel flashing momentarily, silver arcs that cut through armor, drawing blood in the darkness, visible only against the flashing of the Marauders' light rounds. When it was over and the last Marauder had dropped to the ground, completely dead, a shadow emerged from the darkness.

It was a man, standing close to six feet tall, dressed in armor that was not of this day or age. His long dark hair flowing in the wind, covering his face again and again. The spring wind blew uncharacteristically harsh, sending his hair into frenzied movement, fickle and uncontrollable, like a lashing storm. His armor was tattered and dilapidated. It bore signs of battle, like he had fought many days in a great war. The linked iron breastplate had been pierced and slashed in several places. His leather breeches were about to fall apart. Though not very heavy set, he had fared very well against the heavily-armored Marauders. In the stranger's hand, he bore a thin, curved sword, a katana, which he wielded with deadly precision. The stranger turned to the girls and motioned for them to run to safety. He then turned his attention to the Warlock, who had been observing the commotion with an almost dispassionate interest. The Warlock towered over the smaller man. Dressed in heavy reinforced armor, dark colored to make it harder to see, with a large shield and a broadsword at his side, the Warlock was an imposing figure.

The Warlock drew his blaster first, trying to see if he could end the battle with minimal fuss. It was a mistake. The stranger moved far too quickly for the blaster to be of any use. Before the bright light of the reactor could agitate the Goddess Essence, the swordsman had disappeared again and the katana's arcing motion made short work of the blaster. The nozzle came off, sliced cleanly through. The Warlock dropped it in disgust.

He took a few steps forward and drew his broadsword. The stranger with the katana disappeared again, his speed dazzling, as he took a few carefully aimed swipes, and slashes appeared on the armor of the Warlock. None of the slashes did enough damage to pierce the Warlock's heavy armor however. The Warlock looked around and laughed. "It appears you are quite the opponent," he yelled at the stranger. He put his shield in front of him, his right arm raising the broadsword above his head, the blade pointed downward, like a scorpion's tail.

There was a pause, as the stranger assessed the situation.

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To be continued...

Ready for some fanservice? If you haven't done so already, copy the image link on the right hand side, open a new tab or window and paste it in there (or use the link below):

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The artist's rendering of Mykall is jaw-dropping and must be seen full-screen to be appreciated. But I can't take credit for it. The wonderfully talented Nuriko-kun outdid herself on that. She is one amazing lady! Head on over to her page at:

http://nuriko-kun.deviantart.com

Also, an announcement: I am turning Kuro into a Light Novel, meaning that on the actual physical or e-book (already available on Amazon), illustrations will appear.

Thanks for everyone's continued interest!

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