Infiltration
Voyse slipped through the maze of hallways that compiled the entrance level of Tier Bastion. He knew well enough that a fair sized group of Bladenheart soldiers were waiting in the center area of the fortress. The assassin had no intentions to take them all on. Instead he’d move around them quickly and without incident.
Two soldiers casually walked down the hallway perpendicular to Voyse’s, mostly like on guard. The assassin slipped in pace behind them against the wall. A third soldier joined the two as they made another crossing. This one tagged along behind the front two, probably a new recruit. The three talked like it was any other day. Voyse would see to it that it changed quickly.
Like a black cloud, Voyse snapped across the hallway, burying the third soldier under him and stabbing him several times. Not a noise was heard. The silence disturbed the other two soldiers, who turned around in curiosity. Seeing that their third man had disappeared, they called out to him. The second soldier suddenly fell backwards and disappeared into the shadows. The remaining soldier searched around frantically, one hand on his sword hilt as he glanced about the room with a panicked look.
“Kind of eerie…isn’t it?” a quiet, haunting voice said right behind the soldier. He spun around quickly, his sword drawn, but nothing was there. He swung his sword in a complete circle to ward off anything nearby, when he heard it hit flesh, he grinned. He pulled back his sword and stepped forward to look at his victim. It was the second soldier.
“W-what?! What’s going on here?!” the soldier demanding, spinning around in hopes to see any intruder. Finally he turned back to his fellow soldier that he had just sliced to see a dark figure bending over it.
“I do say…that was one hefty swing. Wouldn’t matter though, this sharp slice across the throat probably killed him long before your crude sword could do a thing. Would you like to see how it was done?” Voyse asked, slowly rising to his feet, no weapons apparent.
“Wh-who are you…?” the soldier stuttered.
“Just a professional killer…nothing too serious,” Voyse explained casually.
The soldier gritted his teeth and stepped forward with his sword.
“You see, I started like this..!” Voyse said, matching the man’s step and reaching down towards the man’s dagger on his belt. “First I take your dagger,” the assassin continued, slicing the man’s throat open with it. “Then to keep you from making any noise all I have to do is stab right…here!” he said as he plunged the dagger into the soldier’s voice box, ending the coming scream. Quietly, the soldier slumped to the floor, trying pathetically to hold in his blood.
With that done, Voyse continued down the hallway labyrinth. Soon he noticed another group of soldiers on patrol. The assassin slipped into the shadows on the wall and up onto the ceiling. As the guards walked under Voyse, he fell down upon the last one, his new scimitar leading the way. A wall of black illusion covered the assassin as he sliced the man in two. What appeared to the other soldiers when they turned around, however, was a fiery demon with huge wings tearing apart their companion with one of its massive claws. Voyse took note of the looks of sheer horror on the soldiers’ faces and laughed. The soldiers dropped their weapons and fled as fast as they could. Voyse followed after them, presenting his blade before him to keep the illusion up. A mighty leap got Voyse on the second soldier’s back, and a quick hooked dagger into the brain stem finished him off.
As Voyse reached his feet, he flung his dagger at the third soldier. The dagger hooked into the soldier’s shoulder, causing him to fall over. As he fell, he grasped at his final companion’s leg, bringing him down as well. The tripped soldier kicked his companion in the face and hurried to his feet, but it didn’t matter. Voyse reached the fallen soldier, picked him up by the hilt of his still hooked dagger, and chucked him at the fleeing soldier. Both toppled to the ground. Next, the assassin fell upon them both, stabbing down through both of them with his scimitar.
Voyse got up and hurried down the corridors. Soon afterwards, he heard the sounds of screaming soldiers, and figured a small band of the army outside had managed to breach. As he neared the corner to which the noise was coming from, a badly beaten soldier slammed into the opposite wall of the hallway. He crumbled to the floor, most likely dead. Voyse spun around the corner to see what was the cause.
His eyes widened in surprise as he stared at a humanoid pounding a helpless soldier into a wall some 30 feet down the hallway. As if on cue, the creature turned and returned the stare, except it was one of cold, emptiness. The faceless creature with just two eyes let out a soft, echo-like noise, which seemed to emanate from every direction.
Voyse readied his dagger and scimitar and charged at the beast, shifting from the shadows whenever possible. The faceless creature stood calm and still, waiting for the assassin to near it. Once the two were within range, they began to lash out. Voyse worked furiously with his two weapons against the seemingly invincible fists of the faceless. The two continued this for several minutes, moving back and forth in the hallway parrying each others’ attacks. Gradually, they started making their way down a side hallway. Voyse, trying something drastic to gain the advantage, did a spinning swoop with both blades, managing to open a hole in the faceless’s defenses. Using his uncanny agility, he snapped his dagger into the creature’s chest. The creature stumbled back, mostly out of surprise than pain, and looked down at the dagger. Casually, it plucked the dagger from its chest, bringing with it no blood or bone, and tossed it to the ground. Voyse stared at it in disbelief for a moment, which cost him a quick jab to the face that sent him spinning to the ground. The faceless then kneed him as he began to get up, followed by a snapping toe kick that blasted him against the wall right next to the pummeled mess of a human soldier. He managed to gain enough sense quick enough to grab the bloody heap beside him and throw it up at the creature, who snapped the body in half with a simply chop of one fist. This gained the assassin enough time to get to his feet and into a defensive position. He took note of the situation and found that the two combatants stood exactly opposite of how they started.
Sighing, Voyse put his free hand on the hilt of Devil’s Sin. For a moment he hesitated to draw the sentient blade, but as the faceless creature approached all hesitation left Voyse, and he drew the blade. A wave of emotions speaking of death and destruction splashed over Voyse, and he felt his control leaving. The assassin grinned wickedly and flung himself at the creature, slashing with both blades viciously. The two fell into the parrying combos again. Many more minutes passed as the two moved about the hallway, sharing blows but never making a hit.