The Western Gate loomed before them, a massive slab of iron and stone that felt like a silent giant guarding the path ahead. Argen stayed low, his knees pressed into the damp earth as he peered through the thicket.
"Move!" he hissed, his voice barely a whisper. He signaled to the other three members of Squad 1. "It's just as Lord Toji promised—only eight guards on duty."
The group remained motionless, tucked away behind the gnarled trunks of ancient trees and tall, swaying grass. Across the clearing, the eight sentries stood at their posts, oblivious to the eyes watching them from the shadows.
At Argen's nod, the four warriors shifted, forming a tight, solemn circle. They reached out, their palms meeting as they gripped each other's hands, locking their intent into a single point.
Daichi Kagetsu stepped into the center of their focus. He closed his eyes, his breathing slowing until it was almost non-existent.
"Everybody ready?" Daichi asked, his voice steady despite the weight of the moment.
Before anyone could answer, the air around him began to warp. A strange, oily black aura bled out from his skin, swirling around his frame like a living shadow. It felt cold—unnatural.
Daichi's eyes snapped open, glowing with a faint, dark intensity.
"Demonic Art..." he intoned, the words vibrating in the air. "...VEIL OF IDENTITY."
The black mist suddenly surged outward. Like a strike of dark lightning, the aura leapt from Daichi and flowed through their joined hands.
The magic took hold instantly. Two of the warriors vanished entirely, becoming invisible ghosts in the clearing. Meanwhile, the "Veil" reshaped Daichi and Argen, weaving their forms into the likeness of young women dressed in the vibrant, flowing attire of dancers.
Daichi offered a confident, feminine smile. "Let's go," he whispered. "Those guards can't see the others now... but we can still see each other."
They stepped out into the open, moving toward the gate. Near the entrance, three guards were passing the time with idle talk until one of them glanced down the road.
"Hey, look," the guard noted, his interest piqued. "Someone is coming."
His companion squinted, his hand resting near his sword. "Who the hell are these girls?"
One of the guards stepped forward to intercept the dancers, his expression stern. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
Argen didn't miss a beat, adopting a soft, weary tone. "We were going to Sunvale Village," he pleaded, playing the part of a lost traveler. "But we lost our way."
The guard's suspicion melted into a predatory, unsettling grin. He looked back at his comrades and laughed. "These two lost their way!"
Three more guards drifted over to join the huddle, their eyes roaming over the two girls. Argen leaned in, placing a delicate hand on a guard's shoulder, his voice trembling with a fake desperation. "Please, help us, mr..."
The four guards were completely mesmerized, their focus entirely stolen by the two dancers. They were so distracted that they didn't hear the sudden, sharp screams echoing from the rear of the gate.
When they spun around, their blood ran cold. The remaining sentries—those they had been talking to just moments ago—had already been beheaded.
In a flash of dark light, the Veil shattered. Daichi and Argen instantly reverted to their true forms, their blades already singing through the air. Two guards fell before they could even draw breath, their heads rolling into the dirt as the other two leaped back from the spray of blood.
"Damn you!!" one of the surviving guards roared, fumbling for his steel.
He never got the chance. Before he could even level his blade, the head of the guard standing right beside him fell to the ground with a dull, heavy thud.
"What?!" the lone guard gasped, his eyes wide with shock as his comrade's head hit the dirt.
Sensing a presence behind him, the guard instinctively swung his sword in a wide arc. Steel met steel with a sharp clang as an invisible attacker parried his blow.
The guard's fear twisted into a frantic, manic smile. "I see... playing invisible... huh!"
He didn't see Argen move. In a blur of speed, Argen appeared behind him and drove his sword deep into the guard's stomach.
"Enough of talk..." Argen muttered, his voice cold.
But the victory was short-lived. Without warning, the guard's body dissolved into gray ash. Before Argen could react, a heavy fist slammed into his back, sending him crashing into the ground.
But how?! Argen thought frantically as he struggled to rise. An illusion!
The guard stood over him, looking down with a mocking expression—he didn't have a single scratch on him. But just as the guard prepared to finish the job, his hand was suddenly severed, falling to the earth as if cut by an invisible blade.
The guard didn't scream; he instantly teleported away, reappearing several yards back. He looked down at the stump of his left arm, his expression darkening.
"Damn," he spat.
The guard closed his eyes for a moment. When he snapped them open, his irises had transformed into a deep, predatory dark green. A mocking smile returned to his face. "There you are... there are four of you".
"Where did he go...?" Daichi asked, scanning the perimeter as the guard's presence seemed to flicker.
Argen struggled to his feet, his jaw tight. "I don't know why... he had a weird aura... he must at least be S-rank".
"He must be nearby," another warrior added, gripping his hilt. "He won't run".
Suddenly, Daichi's eyes widened as he spotted a blur of movement. "Argen!! Behind you!"
Argen spun on his heel just in time, his forearms crossing to block a thunderous punch the guard was trying to launch.
The guard moved back after the initial clash. Sensing an opening, one of the invisible warriors moved to his rear and tried to slice his head off.
The guard dodged effortlessly. Without even looking, he reached out, grabbed the invisible attacker's neck, and slammed him into the ground with bone-crushing force. Before the warrior could recover, the guard beheaded him.
"You know what?" the guard said, smiling cruelly at the remaining squad members. "I can see you even in this form."
"No!!" Daichi cried out.
"Damn you!" Argen roared, closing the distance in an instant. He drove a powerful punch into the guard's stomach, finally connecting.
Blood sprayed from the guard's mouth, but his grin didn't fade. In an instant, he reached out and grabbed Argen by the hair. He drove his knee into Argen's nose with a sickening crack before throwing him away like a broken doll.
Before Argen could hit the ground, another invisible warrior began his move...
The invisible warrior descended from above as Daichi lunged toward the guard's back, his blade aiming to cut the enemy in half.
But the guard was too fast. In an instant, he repositioned himself behind Daichi. With a brutal kick, he sent Daichi stumbling forward—directly into the path of the invisible warrior's descending blade. The sword pierced through Daichi's head.
Daichi died instantly.
The guard didn't stop to admire his work. He immediately kicked the invisible warrior, sending him flying across the clearing until he crashed into the wall.
Argen, battered and bloody, forced himself to stand. Every nerve in his body screamed, but he rushed toward the guard.
"Damn you!!" Argen roared, wiping blood from his mouth even as he ran.
Just as he reached the guard, the enemy vanished into thin air.
Argen skidded to a halt, his eyes darting around the empty space. "What the
Argen skidded to a halt, his heart hammering against his ribs as he scanned the empty clearing. The silence was absolute—until a cold, familiar voice whispered directly into his ear.
"Too slow!"
Before Argen could flinch, a heavy blow descended on his head. The impact was thunderous, driving him into the dirt and dragging him across the uneven ground.
He didn't even have a second to breathe. The guard was a blur of motion, closing the distance instantly to seize Argen's leg. With terrifying strength, the guard swung him upward into the air, only to leap above him and drive a follow-up punch directly into Argen's descending frame.
Argen crashed back into the earth with enough force to shatter stone.
Argen lay in the center of a fresh crater, his body a map of agony. Blood was beginning to pool beneath him, leaking from deep gashes on his head, his hands, and his feet.
High above, the guard began his final descent. He dived through the air like a predatory bird, his fist cocked back. He landed with a sickening thud, his punch burying itself deep into Argen's chest.
The air left Argen's lungs in a violent spray of blood. He coughed, grinding pain signaled that at least two of his ribs had finally buckled and snapped.
The guard didn't stand up. He remained there, kneeling over the broken leader of Squad 1, his eyes cold and mocking.
"Look at you," the guard sneered, his voice dripping with condescension. "You really thought... you could beat us?"
On the other side of the clearing, the invisible warrior stood up, his cloak of invisibility failing as he became visible again. He rushed toward the guard. The guard noticed him and sneered, "Still alive... very well".
The guard rushed forward, and their punches collided, the force throwing both of them back. In the very next moment, the guard was behind the warrior again, grabbing his neck and kicking him.
As the warrior was about to fall, he managed to pull a knife and drive it into the guard's stomach. The guard's eyes went wide as he gasped in fury, "Damn... you mother fucker!!".
In a final, desperate surge of movement, the guard wrenched the knife from his own stomach and drove it into the warrior's neck. The warrior died instantly.
The guard staggered back, panting heavily with wide, crazed eyes. "What a bastard... died giving me a fatal wound... Damn it!!". Despite the pain, he managed a weak smile. "It's over, by the way".
Nearby, Argen was barely in a condition to move. He lay motionless on the ground, his eyes cracked open just enough to see his surroundings. The guard's gaze landed on him from a distance.
"He's still alive!!".
The guard moved slowly toward Argen, his steps heavy. He knelt down, his hand clamping roughly onto Argen's face, and delivered one punch.
"I thought you were strongest..." the guard mocked, his voice a low rasp. "I thought you could give me fun... but whatever. Let's finish it here and now".
The guard drew his sword and raised it high, the steel catching the dim light as he prepared to sever Argen's neck. Argen looked up at the descending blade, a single thought echoing in his fading consciousness.
"Is it the end?"
To Be Continued...