Moonlight Blue

Dusk mercenaries. They are a mercenary group who deals with any request, even the illegal ones. Of course, they are careful about those and only take request given by trusted clients. It was only a couple of months ago that this mission began. Although they didn’t know the client this time, they were recommended by a trusted client whose business gave the Dusk mercenaries their fortune.

The mission at first was simple. Deliver a certain potion like substance to a certain rendezvous point. That was all. And the commission? It was too much for a simple mission. Dusk knew that was a form of bait and his instinct told him that they weren’t done with this client.

His instinct was correct as the client offered even more money. Now, it was to receive a certain individual from someone, kill that person making sure no traces were found and bring the certain individual to an appointed rendezvous. And most of all, DON’T TOUCH HER.

By don’t touch her, that meant not to try to force themselves on the individual just because she’d be unconscious. Easy enough, right? Wrong. Turns out the certain individual herself is the Elven princess. Such an act could lead to war with the elves and many people would die.

Discovering such truth, Dusk knew the full gravity of the situation and their limited time. After all, he was 90% sure that his client would attempt to kill them all, to keep the news from spreading. He knew that but he’s been doing this business for far too long. He planned to raise the commission after reaching the rendezvous point.

Of course, one of his men would be the one to meet the client instead of him. It was going to be easy money. That is, until one of his men couldn’t control his libido and pounced at the princess when they had set up camp. And then, a huge explosion erupted from the tent the princess was kept in.

When Dusk got there, the princess was encased in wood while the man who tried his luck was skewered like meat on the stick. Wood had spread all over his body, petruding everywhere. Not only that, but the wood encasing the princess was rooted to the ground. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Of course, they tried to hack and chop the wood and roots, however they just grew back stronger than the hacked ones. All the hacking and chopping woke up the princess and that’s how they got where they were.

“Hahaha, you humans are pretty funny. Did you really think kidnapping an Elven princess was this easy? Although me being unconscious was advantageous for you lot, it seems who ever hired you failed to mention that wherever there are nature spirits, protection is guaranteed. As long as you don’t do anything that could harm me, they would have left you guys alone, hahaha!”

Dusk growls low as he turns his back and walks away from the princess. After leaving, Elianora finally calms down as she wipes the tears of laughter from her eyes. However, the smile gradually turns to disgust. The only thing she could see is the smiling face of her maid. The maid she trusted more than anyone.

Not only that, just the shear thought of being captured by filthy humans disgusted her even more. Elianora has always been curious about the outside world and the humans. However, her mother held a certain disgust over the humans. She loathed them to her very core.

Even Elianora knew about how humans would hunt down elves and sell them off like they were objects.

Elianora can’t hold her anger in as she grasps the wooden ‘cage’ she’s in.

“YOU FILTHY HUMANS! I SWEAR ON THE HOLY MOTHER THAT I’LL REAP YOU ALL PIECE BY PIECE AND OFFER YOUR DISGUSTING FLESH AND SOULS TO NATURE ITSELF. AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT YOU USELESS SHITS WILL BE GOOD FOR!”

If her mother would see her now or any of the other elves, their shock would be evident. After all, how could a princess act as such. Was all the innocence, noble oblige and dignity an act hiding her true nature?

***

Dusk takes out a communication crystal ball from his pocket. It glows as a person’s face appears on it.

“Is it done?” says the man with a gruff voice.

“We’ve encountered a problem.”

“Huh?”

Dusk then tells the man what had happened.

“I thought I made it clear not to touch her.”

“I know sir. I’ll take full responsibility for this.”

“Sigh, what’s your location now?”

Dusk hesitates for a second. Telling the man meant exposing where they were. There’s no doubt that he would kill them all. However, the Elven Forest wasn’t far from them either. There’s no doubt that the princess’s absence has already been discovered and a squad has probably been sent. Not only that, the princess herself would recover in a few hours.

Dusk sighs as he tells the man their location.

“Understood. I’ll be arriving at your location in an hour.”

Dusk walks back to the camp and shouts at his men.

“ALRIGHT LISTEN UP! PACK ANYTHING YOU CAN CARRY. WE ARE LEAVING NOW!”

“Huh, but boss. What about the elf?” asks his subordinate.

“Leave her.”

Elianora’s eyes open wide as she pounces like a rabid animal, arm sticking out of the gap of the ‘cage’ trying to grab the nearest person.

“DON’T FUCKING LEAVE YOU BASTARDS!”

Dusk just ignores her as he starts walking. A gentle wind brushes across him as a husky voice follows behind him.

“I’m pretty sure the lady asked you guys to stay. It’s gentlemanly to fulfil her wish.”

“Huh?”

In that moment. Time itself feels like it has stopped. The only thing everyone feels is the cold chill down their backs. Even just letting out a breath feels like their heads would fall off.

“You guys should try harder to hide yourselves. It was really easy to find you.”

Elianora looks at the man who is looking at her. Grey hair, black eyes and wrinkles all over his face. That not all though, there was this darkness about him. Although hidden, the eyes of an elf, especially that of the Zylkas bloodline could easily distinguish energy unseen by others.

Which is why she could even tell that although the figure in front of her is old, he gives off the energy of a youth.

Dusk is the first to make a move. Drawing his magic sword from its sheath attached at his waist, flames blossom from it as he swings it with all his strength at his opponent’s neck. With just a finger, the sword stops at it track. Dusk’s eyes open wide as he pushes the ground, gaining distance from the man.

“ATTACK!” he shouts as all his men draw their weapons.

Guns ring loud as they shoot the unknown man. Some charge with their swords, axes and spears.

“Just give me a moment,” says the man to Elianora.

The bullets seem to slow down as the man turns to the attackers’ direction, walking slowly towards them. One bullet, inches away from his face is smacked slightly with his finger to the side. Then another one. Just like that, the man had deflected more than twenty bullets, none having passed to hit the princess. Of course, to the attackers, the man’s movements are incomprehensible. They can only perceive flickers of light as their bullets divert from their trajectory.

In an instant, the man blurs appearing in-between two men. With a swift wave from both his hands, the men’s heads are decapitated instantly. Before they could even touch the ground, the man disappears appearing next to another man. Using the same swift motion with one of his hands this time, the head spirals towards the air.

He is too fast. Dusk, even though he is running, the screams of his men grew louder and louder. At some point, he is compelled to turn his head to see what’s behind and that’s what he does. Everywhere, as far as the eye can see, the ground is covered in blood. Bodies lay there all without heads.

However, the man isn’t anywhere to be seen. Looking forward, Dusk runs with all his might. Whoosh, like the wind, the devil appears before him. Hands filled with the blood of his comrades. And the smile. How can anyone smile like that whilst killing people.

Fire burns within Dusk as he screams with his burning sword held high, swinging with all his strength.

“Pitiful,” says the man.

“Huh?”

Dusk is confused. Did the world turn upside down? What is going on? Only after seeing his body from an angle he had never seen it before did he understand what had happened. He got decapitated without even realising what had happened.

So, this is how I die? Did all of them feel like this too? I shouldn’t have taken this fucking…

Thud!

Dusk’s head thuds the ground with his eyes rolled back. Elianora watches the scene with an agape maw in pure shock. Even with her ‘sight’, she couldn’t follow the man’s movements at all. Even following his ‘energy’ was impossible. How can a human move like that?