The Birth of Vengeance

As various arrows pelted the sky and landed near Mephistopheles, his feet dug into the dirt below, leaving imprints of his sabatons in the earth, as he jumped up off the ground, zipping through the air and landing atop the fortified wall, causing a dent in the floor. Mephistopheles was confident that he would get his revenge on Balisarda Sumernor. Little did he know that there was more that awaited him before he could get his revenge on Balisarda Sumernor.

As Mephistopheles stood forebodingly atop the fortified wall, the archer with long, silky hair slowly turned their head toward Mephistopheles, in shock as he jumped from the ground atop to the fortified wall. But as the archer blink her eyes, the next thing she saw was Mephistopheles' sword plunging into her heart. Blood trickled from her mouth before collapsing to ground. Another archer gave a cry of terror, dropping their English longbow before rushing to the fallen archer. Surely they were dead. The blade that Mephistopheles wielded had been driven straight into the fallen archer's heart.

Mephistopheles drew his sword and with a single strike, he sliced through the throat of the archer who had arrived to support his allies. The archer's head flew from their shoulders as their lifeless body hit the ground with a thud. The other archers looked on in terror, knowing they could be next.

The lone archer who had persevered through the onslaught was steadying themselves, and readying another arrow to shoot at Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles lifted his hand to intercept the shot. He swung his arm at the archer's face. The shrill sound of the arrow speeding through the air split the silence. The arrow was caught in Mephistopheles' fist, and with one quick movement, Mephistopheles shoved the arrow down into the archer's chest.

While Aham was looking keeping an eye around the courtyard and atop of the fortified wall so he could give orders to the swordsmen and archers, Aham out of 60,000 soldiers was the first one to identify Mephistopheles landing atop of the fortified wall even though Aham was in the courtyard. This just goes to show how important Aham's vigilance was as one of the ten principals. Aham Sangu's leather armor creaked as he clenched his fist and extended his arm out, perpendicular to the ground. This was his signal to the units that he was about to direct them to a specific formation. "All of the swordsmen on this courtyard, make your way to the top of the fortified wall and destroy the person in pitch-black armor," Aham ordered. "Do not be afraid of him, because he might kill you; he cannot touch your essence. Fear only our majesty Wrath, who can erase both your ideals and your body."

All 40,000 swordsmen in the courtyard eyed Aham nervously before divided into two groups and sprinting to different staircases leading up to the fortified wall. as the archers started firing at the dark-armored figure. Aham gazed out at the scene before him as the arrows bounced off of Mephistopheles, who turned his head from side to side as they embedded themselves in the ground around him. Mephistopheles tilted his head, seemingly unphased by the arrows whizzing by him and landing close by. As he ducked and dodged to the left, the arrows pursued the archers, stopping just short of them.

The quick brown-haired archer ran towards Mephistopheles, intending to contain his focus by tossing her English longbow at his helmet.

"You'll never reach me!" Mephistopheles called out.

Mephistopheles, with a quick movement of his sword, cut the archer's bow in half. The power of the strike made the archer tumble backwards, landing hard on her back. Mephistopheles followed through by shoving his sword into the archer kidney, the brown-haired archer lay dying with the broken pieces of her bow sticking out of her back.

The intricate clanging of metal against metal created an ominous melody, foreshadowing the bloodbath to come. As the other archers released their weapons and stepped back screaming in horror, the sound of forty thousand swordsmen running up the stairs drowned out their screams. The swordsmen came rushing forward, an unstoppable force.

The sheer number of swordsmen overwhelmed the archers and the men atop the fortified wall. The 40,000 swordsmen, wielding various types of swords, cleavers, maces, axes, daggers, and scimitars, converged upon the fortified wall of the castle like a tidal wave. The mass of men were coming in from every direction, surrounding Mephistopheles and leaving little to no chance for him to escape.

The swordsmen closed in on Mephistopheles, and their blades and hands moved with great speed. The swordsmen struck at Mephistopheles with great force, and the swordsmen were relentless in their assault. For each slash or swipe that Mephistopheles blocked, he countered with a thrust of his sword into the chest of a soldier. With the speed at which their blades clashed, sparks flew as they collided.

Mephistopheles effortlessly cut down the swordsmen who rushed towards him. Even as they were being skewered by his blade, their resolve was unflinching. Their fists and feet remained stubbornly raised as they were being slain, trying to use their brute strength to overpower him. As one swordsman with a determined look tried to bring their axe down on him, Mephistopheles simply moved forward and grabbed their arm. With a quick twist, he broke their arm and snapped the blade from the swordsman's hands before discarding it.

Then there was a sound of bones breaking, and Mephistopheles' fist made contact with the man's head. He was sent flying back, hitting the ground with a bone shattering thud.

By this point, the swordsmen have surrounded Mephistopheles. They kept swinging their swords and striking at him with full force. There were so many swordsmen that Mephistopheles couldn't keep track of all of them. He was forced to defend himself with a continuous stream of attacks, moving back as he parried his enemies' assaults. His sword slashed through the air with great speed, making an audible, clashing noise.

The swordsmen grew agitated at their incapability to defeat Mephistophele's. One swordsman stepped forward and brandished his sword, aiming for Mephistophele's head. Mephistophele's ducked down under the blow and drew his sword, planting his foot on the man's chest to pin him down. He then thrust his sword through the man's heart. The man fell to the ground with a gratifying thud.

Aham observed the struggle occurring before him. He looked to his left and then his right, seeing archers positioned on either side of him. A flaming torch was present in front of each of the archers, so that they could light their arrows on fire and send a flaming arrow soaring through the air. His mouth upturned as he spoke "Archers, light your arrows on fire."

In response to Aham's command, the archers next to him said "Yes sir", lightly grasping the feathered end of the wooden arrow sticking upright in their quivers with their thumb, index finger, and middle finger. Taking the arrow from the quiver, they leaned it forward to the sound of crackling fire in front of them. This lit their arrows on fire and raised them up to the bow. Archers raise their English longbows, the bowstrings cutting into their fingers. Their muscles bulge with the effort, but they do not waver. With a snapping sound that echoes through the clearing, they release flame arrows at astounding speed. The arrows arch high into the sky, heading toward the fortified wall.

Mephistopheles observed a fiery arrow hurtling towards him. He hastily gouged the floor with his feet, leaving behind clear imprints. Then, he bounded into the air and swiftly travelled towards the burning arrow. Upon arrival, he encircled the arrow with his hand. He frantically swung his arm back and forth, releasing the blazing arrow from his hands at an astonishing speed. It slashed into the back of one swordsman's head and killed him in an instant, leaving a neat hole in the back of his skull. The fiery arrow flew through the air, striking four additional swordsmen. Each of the four swordsmen collapsed, one with a charred breast, another with a severed arm, another with a severed ear and a carved arrow through the stomach.

An ear-piercing noise tore through the air as Mephistopheles landed on the hard, fortified concrete floor below. He was instantly surrounded by eleven swordsmen, so he quickly spun around, pushing his blade out and slicing through them as he rotated. His sword collided with the chests of all the swordsmen around him, causing their blood to leak from their mouths before they collapsed onto their backs, twitching and snarling.

As Mephistopheles stood over the fallen swordsman, a second assailant ran at him with a cleaver. Mephistopheles quickly ducked and dodged the swing, causing the cleaver to bury itself in the floor. He then quickly regained his footing, kicking the cleaver out of his attacker's hand, and slung it over his own shoulder. In a fluid motion, he then spun around skewering the swordsman through the neck with his weapon bloodshed.

Another attacker ran at Mephistopheles with a ceremonial sword, drawn with the fingernails of a blade, and thrusting with its point. Mephistopheles caught the blade with his metal gauntlet and pulled it free from the attacker's grasp. He then reversed his stance and spun around, hitting the sword with his blade, decapitating the swordsman.

Another attacker ran at Mephistopheles with a ceremonial sword, drawn with the fingernails of a blade, and thrusting with its point. Mephistopheles caught the blade with his metal gauntlet and pulled it free from the attacker's grasp. He then reversed his stance and spun around, hitting the sword with his blade and decapitating the swordsman.

Mephistopheles jumped up and grabbed the blade, yanking it from his hands and stabbing the attacker through the shoulder with it. He stepped back and stabbed the sword again through the back of the attackers neck, effectively killing them. With a quick kick to their chests, he crushed their ribcages and snapped their necks.

The club-wielding swordsman suddenly leapt up and smashed his wooden club into Mephistopheles' face. Mephistopheles spun out of the attack, which caused the wooden club to slam into the wall. His eyes widened as he stumbled backwards, his face paralyzed. The sword which he had withdrawn from the clubs chest.

As the clubs wooden head was being thrown at his chest, Mephistopheles smiled and quickly blocked it with his left forearm. He flipped his sword around and plunged it through the wooden head, decapitating it.

Another club-wielding attacker ran towards Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles lunged out and swung at the attacker's head with the back of his sword. The attacker dodged the attack by stepping back and wrapping his arm around Mephistopheles' leg. Mephistopheles swung at his attacker's arm, crushing it. With a yelp of pain, the attacker dropped to his knees.

Mephistopheles quickly gripped his opponent's leg with his metal hands and ripped it from his body. Mephistopheles then brought his arm across the mans neck and snapped it. The attacker's blood spurted out of his mouth, and he gasped for air before falling to the ground, clutching his throat.

Mephistopheles ran towards the edge of the fortification wall with great urgency. The defenders attempted to grab him, but his silver blade cut through their spears and swords with ease. Mephistopheles arrived at the edge of the fortress wall and, with a quick, forceful kick, jumped into the air, flipping over the defenders' heads.

The attackers were running in the courtyard when they saw Mephistopheles appear in the air above them. The very instant they laid eyes on him, they were paralyzed with fear. Their momentum carried them forward a few more steps before they stopped dead in their tracks, but Mephistopheles quickly knocked them both down with a powerful kick landing in the castle courtyard below.

As Mephistopheles slowly made his way through the courtyard, Aham's eyes were locked onto him with a look of intense focus, studying him as he came closer.