The Red Hand

Chapter 97 – Players v Non-Player Characters. (Part 1)

"Hmpf. We'll show that idiot just who's boss." Merkyul laughed as he looked out from the trees. "That stupid angel is a coward, all we had to do is hit this bitch, and she'd go down. Akagi might be tough, but she's still just a single person and an assassin at that. She can't handle a group of properly trained players like us." Merkyul, Sabia, Hitamaguchi, and Roxlex were currently standing in the treeline looking down at Akagi's estate. The four of them had their own personal issues with the assassin, and her recent actions against Libra gave them ample reason to go after her. They were quite a competent team, and together, they were sure Akagi' wouldn't stand a chance against their combined might. Such attitudes had been prevalent among every other group which tried to kill her in the past, and were always proven to be little more than foolishness.

"Yeah," Sabia agreed. "Everyone was always afraid of the big bad monster. But she's not that tough, and I reckon she's actually been afraid of retaliation. The only thing she's got is the fear factor, but we don't buy that BS. Those idiots who tried taking her down in FWO were just stupid and weak! We're much better than them." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"What about the others?" Hitamaguchi asked. "She has ninjas and other fighters. How should we handle that issue?"

"They're not a threat." Roxlex waived off her concern. "All they can do is annoy us, they might be in the real world now. But they're still just NPCs, they can't hope to match a player." The demon man was quite sure of himself.

"Take them out if you can, but our primary target is Akagi herself," Merkyul said. "The rest of them are just fluff, and we can kill them after Akagi is dealt with." He continued. "Stick together, teams of two. Whichever group finds her, give the signal, and the other team will come running. Don't fight her in a 2v1. Best chances are all of us together at the same time." Merkyul wasn't stupid enough to try to deal with Akagi in unfavorable circumstances. He'd worked with his team for years and knew exactly what they were capable of, and based on his calculations, the four of them together should be able to handle Akagi with what they have now. However, his calculations were made with the assumption that Akagi was still bound by FWO's rules. A mistake he would learn of all too late.

"Right!" (Sabia, Roxlex, and Hitamaguchi.)

The four of them crept towards the estate under the cover of night in dead silence. They aimed to deal with Akagi while she slept, figuring they could take her by surprise.

Hitamaguchi and Roxlex took to the front entrance, near the main house. While Merkyul and Sabia went toward the back, where the extra buildings were. They'd first search the compound, dealing with any guards along the way, and then converge on the main estate if Akagi wasn't found elsewhere.

"And we're in." Roxlex easily picked the lock on the main gate, and he and Hitamaguchi snuck inside, seemingly unnoticed. They hadn't spotted any guards yet, but were on the lookout. Roxlex quietly closed the gate behind them, and they started moving forward. He'd cast a spell to make it harder to detect them, so he was quite confident that no one would spot them. The two went around to the side of the estate, intending to check the greenhouse and garden area, when suddenly a black fog began to creep up on them.

"What is this?" Hitamaguchi asked quietly. "Magic?"

"I'm not detecting anything. Might be some kind of natural phenomenon?" Roxlex didn't know. He was a type of magic rogue, so his knowledge of the arcane was only half-baked. "Just be careful and don't move too far away, looks like our vision is quite limited by it."

Hitamaguchi nodded, and as they slowly crept further into the garden, the fog got denser and denser as they approached the front of the greenhouse. It was getting to the point that neither could see what was in front of them for more than a few feet, and the air itself felt heavy and thick around them.

"This fog is obnoxious," Hitamaguchi said. "Can't you get rid of it with your magic?"

"I can try." He tried to cast a basic spell, which should have removed the fog. But nothing happened. "Nope, looks like its resistant to magic."

"It will take a bit more than a silly cantrip to dispel my darkness." Suddenly Akagi's twisted voice came from the darkness surrounding them.

"Shit!" Roxlex took out his blade and prepared for battle, causing Hitamaguchi to draw her greatsword. "Where is she?" He exclaimed as he looked around.

"I'm right here," Akagi replied, and the fog lifted revealing their target, sitting on a blanket holding her Kiseru. "Is that a bit better? Can you see me now?"

"Quick, fire off the flare!" Roxlex looked back at Hitamaguchi, who did exactly that. A red flare shot up high into the air and soon reinforcements would arrive. "Good, now the four of us can take you down together! You don't stand a chance against all of us, so prepare to die!" He had a smirk on his face. "I'm going to enjoy taking you down a peg before I rip your throat out, you bitch!"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Sabia and Merkyul will not be coming to your aid." Akagi laughed as she lit her Kiseru. "Those two are currently busy in their own battle and will be unavailable, not that they could reach you anyway."

{What the hell is she talking about?} Roxlex didn't understand. {Where are they? It shouldn't take more than a few seconds for them to get here!}

"If those two really are fighting elsewhere, we might be on our own against Akagi," Hitamaguchi said to him. "We should be able to deal with her on our own. Or at least hold out until they get here."

"Yeah," Roxlex agreed. "We don't need them to defeat you!"

The two took a fighting stance and started moving toward Akagi.

"Timeout," she said putting her hands in a T shape. "I'm not the one you will be fighting." Akagi snapped her fingers, and a moment later, two individuals appeared from the surrounding darkness.

"Indeed, you two are not worthy to clash with Lady Akagi," Marshal said while taking his massive greatsword off his back. He was fully dressed in his battle armor, and he flicked a cigarette as he cracked a smile. "We'll deal with you two ruffians, and I think we're more than enough, don't you?" He looked at Kira who stood next to him.

"Absolutely," Kira nodded. "My Lord has no reason to entertain such unwelcome guests." Kira summoned her two blades. She primarily used two-weapon fighting but could cast some magic as well. "Prepare to pay for the sin of entering our home uninvited."

"You two are going to fight us?" Hitamaguchi was shocked and annoyed. "You're just NPCs! You can't fight us!" She thought Akagi was looking down upon them by having her followers fight her instead of doing it herself. "I'll rip your heads off and throw it at your precious master. Or perhaps I should show you the sight of her screaming in agony as you're helpless to do anything." She grinned. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"You two could never hope to lay so much as a finger on Lady Akagi." Marshal slung his sword over his shoulder. "However, despite the emptiness of your threats. I will not tolerate such words being directed towards her, and I hope you've prepared yourself to face my anger!"

"Indeed." Kira's eyes grew sharp with anger. "I will have you pay for your insolence. None shall sling such threats at my master and get away with it!"

"Let's cut these two down and get to the real target." Roxlex looked at his teammate. "Just be careful and keep your guard up. You take the General, and I'll take the dragon. Once we've beaten them, we'll regroup to fight Akagi together."

"Sounds good to me!" Hitmaguchi rocketed forward, bringing her greatsword down onto Marshal, who held his own weapon up with one hand, blocking her attack.

"Let's see if you like a little overcharge!" Hitamaguchi channeled magical power into her blade causing a burst of radiant energy to explode out of it. Marshal was slightly pushed back by the blast but was otherwise unharmed.

"A Paladin, I see." Marshal laughed. "And here I thought your kind were heroes of justice and protectors of the weak." His words dripped with sarcasm.

"Ha!" Hitamaguchi continued to clash blades with him. "Screw all that! I wanted to be a paladin for the power. Everything else doesn't matter!" The two crossed blades locking themselves together as they fought. Marshal seemed to be having it easier as he was only using one hand. But he was unable to use magical power, which left him at a disadvantage.

"I see. Then you are no better than those disgusting fools in the Imperial Order of Knights!" He roared channeling more power into his blade. He'd always hated people like her and was in no mood to play nice. "I shall defeat you! Your kind are the ones who disgust me the most!"

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Meanwhile.

"You sure you'll be ok without your big buddy?" Roxlex and Kira stood across from each other at blade length. "I hope you understand that I'm quite good at killing single target bosses like you. So I'd advise taking me a bit more seriously."

"I could defeat you both on my own, so your concern is unnecessary." Kira replied, her eyes fixed on him. "However, my Lord requested a show, so that's what she'll get." In a flash, both her blades swung at the demon man. He reacted, blocking both. The two began to clash, their blades glistening in the darkness, and briefly lighting up the area around them with each strike.

"You're pretty good." Roxlex stepped back. "I heard you were a quest boss, so I guess it makes since you're so strong. Though, I've beaten plenty of bosses, so you won't win against me."

"I have gotten much stronger since my time among the Dragons." Kira swung her blades and took a stance. "You would be foolish to think me as weak as I was then, and I shall show you that it is I who shall defeat you." Kira stepped forward and started probing his defenses with her blade. Roxlex was quite adept in single combat and was able to deflect her strikes, easily bouncing them off his blade.

"Come on!" He exclaimed. "Is that the best you've got!" In his offhand, he summoned a magical dagger and threw it at Kira. She easily deflected it, but Roxlex took this momentary opening to slam his blade into her and pin her down as she crossed her blades to hold back his strike.

{Got you.} Roxlex thought to himself as he summoned another dagger and drove it straight for her torso. However, rather than plunge into her stomach as he intended. The blade struck her armor and failed to penetrate, doing seemingly no damage whatsoever. The dagger cracked and shattered into light, and Kira used his momentary confusion to kick him in the stomach, sending him flying.

"I'm sorry to tell you this." Kira rapped on her armor. "But it will take much more than your little butter knife to even scratch this armor." Kira's armor was made of refined dragon scale. However, that shouldn't have been enough to nullify Roxlex's attack. No matter how high quality the armor, her defense stat should have been far too low to suffer no damage from a player's strike. Even high level NPCs like her and Marshal should be no match for players, yet they were trading blows and fighting them as equals.

Roxlex understood that something was wrong with this situation and he racked his brain to come up with an answer.

{This doesn't make any sense, even the floor bosses couldn't nullify my attack like that! That blade is specifically designed to pierce armor! An NPC taking no damage from it is impossible! Only players with high defensive investment combined with heavy armor can do that!} Roxlex was stunned. He had no idea what just happened. But if his magic dagger couldn't pierce Kira's defenses, he was in trouble.