Ultimate Assassin Saga: Woodlands

The dining area was loud and he'd come to the conclusion that it was always this way. The first time he'd been here it had been loud and it was loud this morning. He was usually a well put together person, but the voices, the laughter, and the joking was starting to get on his nerves. He simply wasn't use to this sort of happiness surrounding him and he would do anything to make it stop, even for just a second. He wouldn't do anything or say anything because this was their home and they could do what they pleased, but gods did he wish he could say something to them.

Shaking off his thoughts, the Chaos Demon set to eating, picking up his fork and stabbing the eggs with it before bringing it to his mouth. Placing the eggs in his mouth, he closed his eyes as he tasted the fluffy egg in his mouth, bringing him some pleasure. Opening his eyes, he noted that one of the Elves was looking at him with a strange look on his face, but when he met his gaze back, he turned away, his cheeks turning bright red as if embarrassed that he'd been caught looking.

He shook his head and looked around the room, amazed by the beauty of the room. He couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed it before, but he was noticing it now. The room was large and oval shaped with the long silver table in the middle of the room, dominating the room. Nearly every seat was filled, but the head of the table - obviously reserved for the King himself - was empty. That didn't surprise him though. He was the King of this village and he probably had other things to do at the time.

The Command Assassin looked across the room and he noticed a large oil painting on the wall. It was as if these people had no such thing as too many oil paintings, not that he cared. He just wondered who it was that painted all these painting and if he or she was still alive. The art of these Star Elves was quite beautiful and elegant. Depicted in the painting was a large city with gleaming buildings and craft - smaller than the one the Star Elf King had told him that they'd come to the planet in - flew around the gleaming metal buildings, the two suns in the background as per usual.

It would seem that this was some sort of city from their world, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it. The only thing he could really tell about the painting was it was not made of this world and was probably older than he was. In fact, he would bet everything on it being older than he was and maybe older than any other living being on the planet. It was a truly beautiful sight and he found himself wishing that the planet was still there so he could visit it, but he knew that if the planet was still there, the Star elves would still be there and they never would've met.

He heard a sound from above and he frowned as he tipped back his head to stare at the ceiling. He saw the beautiful glass dome of the ceiling bending backwards on itself, revealing the sky above as well as some of the treetops in the distance. He found himself sitting there with his mouth wide open and his eyes wide open with his shock. He'd never seen anything like this and he wondered why it was that this was happening at this time of day.

When the dome had bent back completely to reveal the sun directly overhead shining down into the dining area, he heard the sound of chairs being pushed back. Brow furrowing even more, Acheron turned his gaze to the people and he noticed that the Star Elves had pushed back their chairs. While he watched, every one of them - man, woman, and child alike - sank to their knees without a word to one another, silent for the first time since he'd come to eat. He sat in his chair and watched as the Star Elves closed their eyes, folding their hands in front of their faces. Looking closer, he saw that many of their lips were moving, obviously praying, though to what deity he had no idea.

What god or goddess would they pray to? Would they pray to the deities of this world or to their old one? If they preyed to the deities of their old world which had been destroyed, would those deities answer them? Were those deities even still alive now that their planet that they were watching over was destroyed? Did the gods die with the planet that they protected or did they survive to answer the prayers of those faithful to them? If that was so, then the gods of the Star Elves' old planet were still alive and listening to their worshipers at this very moment as they prayed. However, there were still many questions to be answered.

Feeling as if he should join them but not wanting to do so in case it offended them, the Chaos Demon sat completely still in his chair, not daring to move, not even to eat. He watched them as they prayed and he had the sense that they felt a deep connection with what deity they prayed too. He could practically sense their deep devotion and he found himself awed by it. Here were a people that still believed in Gods of a planet that was long dead and they absolutely refused to pray to the gods of this world. He could respect that.

Just as quickly as it started, the praying stopped. Each person who was down on their knees praying allowed their hands to fall back to their thighs and they rose to their feet. Opening their eyes, they seemed to take no notice of him as they took their seats at the table once again, acting like nothing had even happened. Flabbergasted by this, he continued to watch them as they picked up their utensils and began to eat, slowly and elegantly.

Shock wearing off, the Command Assassin looked back down at his half eaten meal and he knew the normal thing would be to continue eating. However, he didn't know if he could do that. These Elves were so strange to him and he didn't know how much longer he could stand to eat at this table with them without asking them what the hell had just happened. Just when he thought he was going to break, he heard a noise from above and he lifted his eyes to the ceiling once more, watching as the glass dome closed, sheltering the inside from the outside world once again.

Okay, so their prayers had something to do with the opening of the dome. But to what purpose? What god were they praying to? There wasn't a single prayer practice on this world that had any set time so there was no reason for them to all start praying at the same time. That was the main reason why he believed that they had been praying to a god of their old world, the one that had been destroyed. Nothing else made any sense, but he wasn't about to ask them to confirm his suspicions.

Just as he'd managed to banish his curiosity, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Casting his gaze in that direction without moving his head, he narrowed his eyes when he saw Acre walking into the room. He was fully dressed in his normal regalia as he'd been the first time he'd seen him, but there were two things different from the last time he'd seen the Elf. One, he was walking at the head of a group of twelve other Star Elves and two he was carrying an odd item in his arms. As he looked closer, he noted that all twelve of the Star Elves were carrying this same item, and from the looks of it, it looked like some sort of weapon.

It was long and thick, made of some material that he had no idea was. Maybe it was steel, but it seemed much thicker and shinier than that. There was a long muzzle like that of a crossbow with a circular indention in the end and the handle of a crossbow. There were glass displays on both sides of what could only be called the barrel of the weapon, and as he looked closer, the display behind the glass was filled with ten green bars. What this meant or what the hell the weapon was, he had no idea, but he had a feeling that he was about to find out.

The group of Star Elves was walking straight towards him.

When Acheron turned to face them fully, he noticed something else. The Star Elf man at Acre's side was carrying an item that he was all too familiar with. Held carefully in his slender arms was his Diamond Blade in its sheathe, looking very dangerous in the hands of the Star Elves. He took a deep breath, telling himself that they wouldn't bring the weapon if they were going to kill him, but the simple fact of the matter was, he didn't know that. They could be bringing his weapon to him so he could defend himself and so his death wasn't a dishonorable one. He knew nothing of their customs as of yet.

The warrior stopped in front of him, staring down at him with eyes devoid of emotion. He pointed his weapon at the ground, holding it loosely in one hand and he held out his other hand to the side. The Elf next to him placed the Diamond Blade in his hand and the warrior brought the sheathed sword out in front of him. Then, he dropped it into his lap without saying a word and he continued to stare at him.

"You will need this for the hunt today." Acre said, his voice carefully devoid of all emotion. His words were softly spoken, and to the Chaos demon who had no idea what he was talking about, they were cryptic. Just what hunt was this man talking about? He would have to clarify soon enough. "You will be coming with us today. The King has informed me that you are to be trusted fully and you are to come with us today on our hunt so you will come."

The Elven Warrior turned to leave. Seeing this, he knew that this was his only chance to get any real answers. The Command Assassin's hand shot out and grabbed him around the wrist, stopping him. The other man turned back to look first at the hand wrapped around his wrist and then up into his eyes. His face was devoid of all emotion still, but he did lift a single brow, showing his curiosity. Satisfied that he was at least paying attention, he released the Warrior's wrist and he placed his hand back on top of the Diamond Blade in his lap.

"What is this hunt of which you speak?" Acheron asked, allowing his curiosity and his ignorance of this matter to shine through. There was no reason for him to pretend that he knew something that he couldn't possibly know after all. If the Elf Warrior had a problem with that, that was too bad. He would just have to accept that he was ignorant of their culture, of their enemy, and explain it to him.

"The hunt is a simple matter. We go out after the Undead that might be close to our village. If we see anyone of them near the village, then we annihilate them with these." Acre replied, still not showing any emotion in his face or in his voice and that was starting to unnerve him a little bit. However, at Acre's last words, he held up the strange weapon in his hand and he stared at the metallic thing with a curious eye. "Before you ask, these weapons that we hold are called Pulse Rifles. They fire condensed blasts of magic from their muzzle. It comes from a technology our people developed on our former world and it helps to defeat the Undead. Now, come. We have much work to do."

With that, the Star Elf turned and walked away, the rest of his procession following swiftly after him. The Chaos Demon stared after the man, hardly able to believe what he'd just heard. True, he'd seen the Zombies and the Wraiths, but he found it hard to believe that there were that many Undead in the Whispering Jungle. Also, what he'd said about the weapons - Pulse Rifles - was another thing that he had a hard time believing. He supposed that any doubts he might have in his mind would be set to rest when he saw them use the weapons though.

He noticed that the conversation at the table had quieted and he frowned. Turning his head, he noticed that each and every Star Elf was looking at him with expectation in their eyes. Not wanting to break their trust in him, he turned away from them and he pushed back his chair, getting to his feet. Quickly strapping the Diamond Blade to his left hip, he took a deep breath and he walked swiftly across the floor, heading towards the hallway.

It would seem that the hunt was on.

XXXXXXXXXX

Acre crouched low at the head of Elf procession and he moved through the thick underbrush of the Whispering Jungle. He narrowed his eyes and he stared through the underbrush as they patrolled the area, not wanting to miss any sign of activity. So far, there had been nothing, but that didn't always mean anything. The Undead could be hiding anywhere and he knew that from experience.

He'd been the head of the Warrior clan since he was but a lad of one hundred years old. Now, he was five hundred years old, and while he'd been the head of the clan, not one Undead had gotten past him or his elite group. He was a skilled warrior with sword and Pulse Rifle, but take those away from him and he was still a deadly individual. He was the best in hand to hand combat, stealth tactics, and assassinations.

To put it shortly, he was the elite of the elite.

There was nothing the Star Elf couldn't do and everyone knew it. It was why the King had put him into place as head of the Clan in the first place because of his skill and his dedication to his people. He would run his little group of a dozen men ragged if he had to to make sure the village was safe. The other Warrior groups were lead by less senior - though no less deadly - members of the Clan and their groups were well trained, but nothing like the First Wave.

The First Wave were the elite warriors who could kill more than one hundred Undead with their blades by themselves. And that was just the average member of the First Wave. Older officers like Acre could kill even more than that with his sword, but he preferred to use his Pulse Rifle. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was getting blood on him. He had a strange compulsion to keep clean and getting the blood of the Undead on him wasn't the way to go about that.

The Star Elf walked slowly through the foliage, the stock of his Rifle against his shoulder and his finger near the trigger. If anything popped out at him, they would meet their death. He was the best shot they had and that was the reason that he was at the front. The others were the best marksman they could be and he was proud of all of them, but he knew that if it came down to it, he could beat every last one of them in marksmanship - that was without bragging.

The Warrior Lord frowned when he heard noise behind him. The First Wave were known for their extreme stealth while on a mission so he knew it wasn't them. However, they did have on member with them that wasn't a part of the First Wave and it was most likely him. To see if he was correct in his assumptions, he turned to look over his shoulder and he sighed at what he saw.

The other dozen soldiers of the First Wave were crouched down like him with their Rifles against their shoulders, ready for a fight. The Demon, Acheron, however, was standing at his full height and walking at a normal pace, often outdistancing some of the Elves. His hand wasn't anywhere near the hilt of his sword and he found himself wondering not for the first time if the prophecy could be wrong.

To be honest, Acre didn't hold much hope for a prophecy spoken thousands of years ago by an old Elf on their old world. He had respect for those older than he, but he had to wonder if maybe the Elf had just been crazy. If this was the warrior that he'd foreseen, he must've been blind in his foresight because there was simply no way it was possible. He didn't move much like a warrior, and even though his size was intimidating, there wasn't much else the Demon had on his side.

Sighing inwardly, Acre turned and resumed his trek through the Whispering Jungle, silencing the voice in his mind that told him that he was being to critical. He didn't want to hear it right now. There was simply no way the Demon behind them was the one foretold in the prophecy. He wasn't much of a warrior if he couldn't sneak, and if he wasn't helpful in battle, he would know for fact that this Demon wasn't the one from the prophecy.

That thought in mind, he found himself praying that they did run into a group of the Undead, just so he could see what this Acheron could do in battle. Once he and his men saw that Acheron wasn't the warrior foretold by the ancestors, he could go to the King and have him ousted. However, there was the possibility that Acheron really WAS the Demon foretold and he was simply being too critical, but he didn't hold much stock in that. No, his instincts were usually right and his instincts were telling him right now that this Demon didn't know what he was doing.

He just had to see it with his own two eyes first.

Acheron had a bad feeling in his gut that something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was. It was just something that was eating at him and eating at him, not going away. He didn't know why he would feel this way - he had nothing to be feeling worried over after all. He was the Command assassin of Dalkia after all and he hadn't gotten that rank by simply being the younger brother of the Emperor like everybody thought. No, he'd reached that rank because of his power and his instincts.

And right now his instincts were telling him something was terribly wrong.

The Chaos Demon walked at the back of the Star Elf procession. The Warriors hadn't spared him a single look they were so determined to get to wherever it was they were going. However, as they walked deeper and deeper into the Jungle, he felt the feeling growing stronger. There was something in the Jungle that shouldn't be there. He could feel it and he didn't like it.

If there was something that was truly there that didn't belong, then he needed to find it and destroy it. He didn't know how likely it was that the Star Elves would simply allow him to go off on his own based on a gut instinct. In fact, he would bet that the answer would be an unequivocal no. He wasn't going to let that stop him though. He had to figure out a way to find whatever it was that was making him feel so oddly and put a stop to it.

It wasn't a natural feeling. It was like an alien feeling that pulsated from somewhere deep in the Jungle and wasn't going to go away unless someone got rid of it. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that the person meant to get rid of that power was hip. Maybe this was the affliction the Star Elves were suffering from that he had to get rid of before they could truly be his allies.

He didn't know that for sure, but it sounded like it could be true.

The Command Assassin walked slowly behind the Star Elves, but every chance he got, he caught a glimpse of each of their faces. The more he looked, the more he was certain that not one of them sensed what he sensed. However, he couldn't see how they couldn't sense it. How could they not sense something that powerful? How could they be that spiritually blind and have magic in their blood at the same time? It made no sense to him.

He shook his head as he walked and he pondered over the possibilities. There were many things it could be, but he knew that he didn't know what this was. He'd never sensed anything like this and that was saying something. For someone who'd lived as long as he had and lived in the Abyss half his life not to know what the feeling was, was astounding. There were many things that he didn't know, but he hadn't figured that he'd run across one while he was here in the Whispering Jungle seeking allies.

There was one big thing about this whole situation that he knew could have something to do with it. This was a Mirror dimension. He'd never been to a single Mirror dimension in his long life, but he had a feeling that it could have secrets that even the creators of the dimension might not know. Considering that the Star Elves had been the one's to create the dimension, maybe they couldn't sense the malevolent force that they were creeping closer and closer to.

It was too large or he would've considered that it could be the Undead. Also, it wasn't a bunch of slavering minds that sought flesh. No, it was one powerful, sentient being, though maybe not necessarily a mobile being. After all, it hadn't moved in the least, but he had a feeling that it knew they were coming. He had no clue what it could be, but the longer he thought on it and the longer he felt the feeling, the more he wanted to know what it could be.