Leone's spell emitted a powerful red glow, causing all of us to look away from her and focus instead on the gate of the city, watching it and ingraining it in our mind as we prepared to compare it to what it would look like in a few moments.
Since neither of the guards or Adelina said anything about this clear plan of ours, no one stopped Leone as the Ritual Circle came to fruition, the runes flaring to life and bathing the grinning Vampire in an eery sanguine light.
Moments passed by in quiet, our sense of sight being the only thing that was being over stimulated from the spell, though that swiftly changed as a three foot sphere of sparking flames appeared in front of Leone, with a dozen smaller spheres orbiting it at rapid speeds, each one bubbling with power.
Raising her arms, Leone aimed at the gate and pushed outwards, sending the spheres down towards the gates of Arbo City.
The light alerted the Cultists instantly to something being amiss, though what truly grabbed their attention wasn't the light, but the rumbling and booming explosion as the orbs collided with the large wooden gate.
Exploding brilliantly, the larger sphere burst against the wooden gates and consumed them whole, including the stone that was supporting them as they opened up a large hole in the walls of Arbo City, but the real damage was done by the dozen smaller spheres.
Clusters of Cultists had begun to rush towards the gate to defend it, and before they could do anything or even begin to retreat at the sight of the destruction caused, those orbs had begun to seek them out and blow them up, zipping through the air like crazed fairies before exploding amongst the Cultists, killing them instantly.
A dozen smaller - yet still resounding - booms echoed around the small basin that the city was located in, all while the earth itself shook from the might of the initial explosion.
We all turned and stared at Leone, who was smiling sheepishly as she avoided our gazes, the Vampire managing to mutter "W-Well... that was pretty strong, wasn't it..? H-Haha..."
Blinking, I stared at the Vampire for a second more before snorting, deciding to just leave it at that as I unsheathed my Khopesh and gestured at Adelina, beckoning for her to follow behind me.
We rushed down the hill without a word, joined quickly by the others as Leone gave us the perfect 'ruse' to lure in the Cultists, though it was quite a damaging ruse thanks to the molten stone that was cooling on the ground around the entrance, while the nearby buildings had been scorched black and covered in small fractures, the impact enough to deal damage even if Leone had 'controlled' her spell somewhat.
But, I wasn't one to care at the moment, instead leading Adelina off to the left of the entrance and darting into the city, my Khopesh held at the ready.
The Lioness was just behind me, keeping pace in her metal armor and holding her longsword in a rest stance, unbothered by the weight of her gear and speed at which we traveled.
While she was unbothered by that, as soon as I said "Go on, spit it out Commander." the Lioness pursed her lips, her brow furrowing as she moved to be beside me instead.
Glancing at her from the corner of my eye, I raised a brow before weaving to the left, avoiding an arrow and locking eyes on the archer responsible, who was cowering behind a cluster of Cultists.
They were armed with some decent gear and emitting a decent amount of mana from their cores, enough to easily take over a peaceful city despite it being a home to some adventurers of renown.
"Is... now really the best time to 'spit it out', Miss Kat?"
Adelina aimed her longsword at the chest of the Cultist in front of her, the man letting out a battle cry as he charged at her, only to blink in surprise as his torso began to slide to the side, the golden blade blurring through the air and cleaving him in two.
Whilst the Lioness fought with clean strikes and a merciful heart, I was slipping into my opponents guard and butchering them with relish, cutting them to pieces and allowing the teeth of my Khopesh to tear through their flesh with each swing.
"Yes, now is the time to spit it out. No other time this excursion is going to be free of the others, Commander, least of all free of Nirinia. Considering you convinced Lady D'Arcon to slot you into our excursion, I assume you are here for a reason. A reason that you want to act on, but aren't ready to act on, perhaps?"
Despite the brutality of my attacks, my voice was calm and neutral as I decapitated the swordsman in front of me, kicking the man's head shortly after it was lopped off and sending it flying into the chest of a nearby woman, staggering her.
As she recovered, I clicked my tongue as I listened to Adelina's response, all while my Khopesh eviscerated the woman's stomach.
"I did not convince Lady D'Arcon of anything! She was the one to tell me to come here! But... Yes, I did want to come anyways. I was... hopeful. Maybe being forced to be near one another would make it easier..."
My shoulder slammed into the back of a woman, pushing her away and allowing me to sever her spinal cord, rendering her immobile before I knocked her out, saving her for later as one of my subjects.
"Force something out... that never works well, Adelina. Perhaps if Nirinia was just horny and wanted to fuck you a few times, and you were willing to spread your legs for her? That would be fine through force. Do you really think you can just... take a battering ram to a glass pane and expect it remain whole? You have been that battering ram multiple times now, Adelina, and that glass pane was Nirinia's heart. Of course, from what you both have said, it's been mutual both ways, but recently..."
The Lioness just growled in anger as she swiftly slashed at the Cultist in front of her, four precise cuts appearing on the man's throat, sides and stomach, leaving him to bleed out swiftly as she moved onto the next opponent.
Cultists were streaming towards us, but a swift dome of Wind Mana around us kept us safe from projectiles and other mana, forcing the Cultists into close quarters.
It would seem that a large contingent had taken over this city, but considering the size of the city, that made sense... Arbo wasn't tiny by any means, and it was filled with tougher than normal citizens, but still citizens.
Though, the invaders weren't enough to threaten Adelina and I on a serious level, even if they were present in such numbers; my stats may be equal to theirs, but technique and magic made that similarity something insurmountable, and when I got going...
Well, I didn't want to stop, though I kept myself under control as Adelina replied "Then..! What am I supposed to do?! Apologize for something I didn't do wrong?! Apologize FOR her when SHE was the one to make the mistakes?!"
Oh...
Well, I guess this would be an interesting few minutes, now wouldn't it?
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