Chapter 8: Invictus
Nero walked through the wall of darkness, wooden spear in hand, ready to face any danger. He did not have armour, or any other kind of protection, which was the primary reason for him to take the spear as it would allow him to fight from a distance. The fact that it would have also helped the other Herald was secondary. The third was because... well, Nero was an expert with the spear, much more than any other weapon.
His decision to help deliver the card case, too, was based on a number of factors he had considered in those brief moments.
First of all, hiding was not a pragmatic solution to the situation. Yes, there was a chance that whoever the enemy was, they would quietly withdraw after fulfilling their goals. But if Nero were to plan a strike on an enemy base or building, he would blow it up afterwards. Not only would that make it difficult to track his original goal, but the ensuing chaos would make it easier for him to escape.
With hiding in the shadows leading to potential death, Nero was not going to opt for it. There was always the possibility that he was wrong, but he had to make a choice and he preferred action to inaction.
Secondly, every advantage the local forces received would work against the attacking forces. Nero was not conceited enough to consider his aid an overwhelming advantage, but if he could aid a trained professional in regaining their maximum capabilities, he would count that as a win.
Thirdly, though this reason was the greatest gamble of all, he wanted to build a connection with the so-called best of the Heralds. There was nothing that fostered friendship greater than fighting a battle together.
This was not really the situation to be thinking of networking, but Nero had too much to gain if things worked out this way. His personal enemy was the most influential man in this city, and one of the most influential men in the country, so he was in desperate need of allies. Though he was not going to take any unnecessary risks to make that happen. He was very pragmatic about what actions to take.
As soon as he walked through the darkness, he found himself in what looked like it had once been an office. There were smaller, compartmentalised rooms to the side, while the main hall contained countless tables and chairs, all now overturned and reduced to rubble.
The room was not nearly as dark, though many of the chandeliers had broken during the fights. Even now, many fights still continued.
There were several groups of Heralds, all in what was called an enomotia formation, which consisted of eight spearmen standing in a line led by a leader against a more powerful foe. Their formations weren't perfect, for they lacked a shield, and their leaders were supposed to be a rank above them, but they managed, given the circumstances. Any form of trained combat where they could respond flexibly and support one another in this dangerous situation would increase their odds of surviving drastically.
It seemed to be working, for there were only a few Herald corpses on the floor compared to those of the attackers. The AAB naturally had guards as well, who were managing most of the fighting.
Nero, still undetected, crouched in a corner behind an overturned table and searched for his target, but saw no one with metallic grey hair, alive or dead.
The scale of this fight was too intense for Nero, so even if he wished to help, he would not know how. Initiates were moving much faster than Neophytes, and abilities and spells were flying across the hall left and right. It was absolute chaos.
Before he could figure out what to do next, an attack struck the ceiling in the room and caused a portion of the building to collapse. Even Nero was forced to dive aside to dodge falling rubble, but that brought him right to the centre of the room.
A cloud of dust had obscured the vision in the room, but that did not make him feel safer at all. Heralds, guards and the attackers all had ceased fighting as they dealt with the changing environment, and Nero did not waste that brief moment of respite.
As soon as he landed, he got on his feet and moved to the opposite side of the room while staying low, making sure to move quickly, but not quite running. He did not know how well he remained hidden under the given circumstances, but he did not want to take any chances.
A second later, the fight resumed and Nero found himself much closer to one of the fights. Six Heralds supported one another as they faced against a stronger foe, most likely an Initiate. But being an Initiate did not automatically make one immune to damage, or gain an overwhelming advantage. The upper hand they gained mostly came from the ability to use 1 star cards!
The attacker was using a double-edged sword to parry the spear strikes while a number of spells or abilities surrounded him, attacking the Heralds.
Nero had seen enough card fights, mostly recorded, to know that although it seemed like the Heralds were on the offensive, they were actually at a disadvantage. The moment their sharp offensive stopped, or was even slowed down, the many spells of the Initiate would overwhelm them.
Nero took a quick look around the room and discovered debris had blocked that half of it, but an exit path still lay open for him in the form of another hole in the wall. The shape of the hole looked suspiciously similar to the one he had just used.
But approaching that opening was dangerous, as there were too many fights in the room, and the enemies seemed to have a slight advantage.
With 14 seconds of Muted Self left, Nero took action to disrupt the fights in the room. He did not pull out any cards, for despite their versatility, Nero was not confident in executing them properly. Instead, he grabbed a large rock, most likely a piece of the broken ceiling, and threw it across the room, his timing and aim perfect.
The Initiates were moving too fast, their senses incredibly keen, so the moment the rock neared one of the attackers he detected it, he dodged, despite the fact that it would put him at a slight disadvantage. The ABB guard fighting that attacker immediately increased the pressure.
But Nero had never aimed at them from the start. A split second later, the rock crushed one of the two remaining chandeliers in the room, making it darker. The reduced lighting immediately made the fight harder for everyone in the room, save Nero, who was already expecting it.
The instant he threw the rock, confident in his aim, Nero swiftly approached the fight closest to him. He had only taken one large step when the room darkened, but he was close enough to take advantage of that brief delay where everyone was acclimating to their surroundings.
He swung his spear, its tough wooden body cutting through the air without making a single sound, and aimed for the attackers' feet.
Even with all his advantages of stealth, surprise and timing, Nero assumed that the stronger opponent would be able to detect him, which is why he made a very calculated attack. If he succeeded, then he would injure his targets' feet. The loss of mobility would immediately shift the dynamic of the fight, quite possibly even bring it to a quick resolution right after. If he failed, due to the angle of attack, combined with the fact that he was being attacked from the back, his target would need to jump or leap to dodge.
Considering the intensity of the ongoing fight, even a second of vulnerability, such as being in the air and unable to dodge, would give the Heralds enough time to attack.
Just as Nero had expected, the enemy was able to detect his attack, though only at the very last second. Unable to dodge, he instead blocked using one of his spells. Something invisible struck the spear, deflecting at the last moment though Nero was still able to cut one of the man's legs, leaving a deep gash in his calf.
Nero, too, was affected and could not help but grunt, though his card muted the sound. Whatever had blocked his spear caused some unseen force to travel up the length of the spear and into his body. He felt his muscles pull, as if on the verge of rupturing. Fortunately, the feeling did not last, and he did not sustain any actual injuries.
He did not continue attacking, and instead hid behind a nearby table, ever analysing the situation in the room. His slight disruption had drastically changed the situation in two fights! The Heralds landed a few hits on the enemy as well, while the guard was not allowing his opponent to recover his advantage.
It was too soon to say that the fight was over, as the enemies both seemed to shift their position, attempting to regroup with one another. Perhaps they could hold out for a little longer, or even make a comeback.
Either way, the fighting in the room was moving towards the centre, clearing the way for Nero to slip through the second hole.
As much as he would like to provide more assistance, it was clear that he was outmatched. He had done what he could do, so he had to focus on his current objective, which was to find the Herald with grey hair.
As he escaped the room, what lay before him was a trail of destruction. Whoever was causing these holes had gone through a few more rooms, only a few of which contained more Heralds still fighting. Some of them were already empty, leaving only corpses, most of which, unfortunately, looked like civilians.
Through maintaining his stealth and clever use of timing, Nero managed to avoid getting pulled into any fights and followed the destruction. Nero could only assume that the person responsible for the holes was his very target, for he could not be found anywhere else.
But the fact that the trail led deeper and deeper into the bureau caused Nero to become even more cautious. This deliberate attempt to lead the fight away from everyone seemed mismatched with the objective he had been informed of earlier.
The so-called best Herald had already left many of his companions behind, and not even in a safe location. Each of them were fighting for their lives, which was not really an issue since they had the training to do so. The problem was that this behaviour seemed to make the purpose of leading the enemy away from everyone invalid.
Just as Nero was beginning to suspect that the Herald was actually an accomplice, and had led the fight away for more sinister intentions, he finally caught up to him, and dropped all his earlier speculations!
In what very much looked like a massive auditorium, Nero found a lone Herald with metallic grey hair fighting against one of the attackers.
The scale of this fight was very much greater than any of the ones he had seen previously because... because the Herald was fighting an Arcanist! Hadn't he been told that the enemies were Initiates?
Nero quickly huddled into a corner, not even daring to renew his Muted Self, which had just expired. He knew from spending time with his parents that Arcanists were much more sensitive to aether flow, and could detect enemies through it. In fact, he was even afraid of continuing to use the Darkness innate card, but at the same time, he did not dare to stop and reveal his body.
"Give up, Invictus," said the Arcanist, his voice filled with taunting amusement. "The sooner you die, the sooner this will all be over. Some of your companions may even be still alive. Why put them through this? If the fight ends here, they may still have a chance to live!"
Nero's eyes narrowed, and his grip on his spear tightened. Invictus... he knew that name.