Solar Knight: Shifting Sands (book 6)

chapter 21: intrusion at the palace

My head was spinning out of control and i was breathing heavily as i tried to calm down. After a good while, i would collect myself, it was in record time too! I'm so proud of myself.....but....where am i even?

Did i wander too deep into the palace? Surely if i follow the echoes of the party i can find my way back but.....i can't hear anything.....

A strange air was about the place and the lack of any kind of sound was alarming to say the least. Maybe i was just so deep into the palace and so far away from everyone that i can't hear them! Surely there's a servant nearby that can direct me.

As i wandered the halls, trying to find my way bacķ....i smelled the all so familiar smell of blood. Tracing the smell, i came across a faint trail on the glossy marble floor and followed it. This, in turn, would lead me into a room that was very out of the way and not so noticeable, like a storage room for janitors and such.

Upon opening the door, i seen several corpses of servants and guards. These weren't old either.....they were fresh.

This could only lead to one thing and one thing only....that there are intruders in the palace and have probably made their way to the banquet hall already!

I would make a mad dash through the hallway and would see a larger hallway ahead.

At the mouth of it, however, i seen the bunny girl from before, trip and fall hard on the floor.

"I've gotta hurry! I have to warn them!" She cried as she scrambled to her feet.

"Oho no you won't!" Said a man, before i seen a blur of white and grey tackle the girl into a flash of light.

I ran faster and seen nothing to my right, but to my left stood a series of figures.

Lamia, half man, half serpent monsters that had chaos energy in them. A woman with long black hair and an egyptian purple dress. Then a woman with long white hair, dark skin, and a tight scifi body suit of sorts.

"Great, another bothersome pest..." said the lady in purple.

"No....this is the one father warned us about...." the white haired woman said.

"Him?! But look at how scawny he is!" The other exclaimed.

"I'm right here...." i said flatly.

"Scrawny or not, he brought down the likes of tenzen and pandora. He is not to be taken lightly." The girl said.

"Am i being ignored?" I asked.

"So, what should we do?" The purple dress woman said.

"We follow through with the plan still." The girl said.

"I am being ignored....why do i have so much trouble with women? It'salways women!" I said to myself.

"Very well, i will leave you to him." The purple dress woman said.

"Alright! Look! I am not gonna let you get by so easily!" I shouted, before i targeted the woman in the purple dress.

I went to roundhouse kick her, but the girl with white hair would dart between us and blocked the kick with her arms. I felt a sharp pain in my shin as it made contact with her arms, like i kicked a frickin steel beam!

I jumped back and the other woman got away, and this one is clearly not gonna let me go after her.

"You're not human...." i pointed out.

"Correct, i am the daughter of chaos and nether. I am the copycat thief, Suzaku." She said, without emotion.

"Copycat thief?" I said with a raised brow.

"I will not divulge how my powers work to you." She said plainly.

"Aw come on! Pleaaase? That's what villains do in anime and tv shows!" I pointed out.

"This isn't one, so stop asking." She said, shutting me down.

"Hmph, you're no fun." I said, getting into a fighting stance.

"Allow me to show you my strength without the power." She said, immediately gunning it for me.

I had only a small window of opportunity to channel my aura into my arms and block her side kick that was aimed for by chest. The force made me slide back a bit, but before i could switch to offense, she chased me with a flurry of kicks and punches, forcing me to keep on the defense.

I would slowly realize something. She wasn't trying to kill me, she was trying to stall me and keep me busy!

Timing it just right, i lightened my stance and used the force of one of her kicks to slide backwards a bit, and then back dashed away from her, while charging a hand full of beads at the same time. Right when she dashed at me, i channeled my aura into my hand and unleashed a shotgun-like blast, point blank at her.

On impact, purple blood sprayed everywhere with her, herself, being sent flying. I took a moment to not only clean myself off, but wait to see if she survived or not.

She shakily got up from her massive pool of blood, revealing the damage done. Her entire torso and upper abdomen was completely destroyed, with exposed bone and pulsating muscle.

"Ew....not surprised you're still alive after that...." i commented.

"I....am....not...so....weak....as....you-" she said, before i cut her off by charging a bead shot and blasting her kneecap, causing her to groan in pain and fall over.

"Dialogue kills...." i said, as i ran off down the hallway.

Though i play a cocky game, i was in immense pain from her assault earlier. My arms were definitely fractured, as well as my shins. I was scared to look at the damage, because i knew she fucked me up good, i had to play dirty just to get away from her. Had she actually wanted to kill me, I'm sure i would have been in worse shape, if not dead. Being on the defense and using my scatter shot attack.....working on the name, really took a lot of energy out of me. Maybe they have energy drinks here?

Once i got close to the banquet hall, i seen the woman from before, up ahead. The way she was all smirky and shit, made me mad, so i knew the perfect way to get back at her. She's the enemy clearly and reeks evil.

So kicking her in the jaw will be okay!

A lamia got in my way, so i baseball slid past it as it tried to stab me, stood up, grabbed it by the tail, channeled my aura into my arms (still in pain by the way) then spun it around in a circle, making it hit anything i could crash the guy into. Once i knew he was unconscious, i flung it over the woman's head and it crashed into the banquet table.

"What the hell-" she said out loud, before i whip kicked that bitch in the jaw and sent her skidding across the floor.

"They've enchanted the rooms! The guards didn't hear them sneak in and they can't hear us fighting! It's mute elsewhere, but here!" I shouted.

"How dare you strike a woman...." serpentine growled.

"Woman? All i see is an ugly ass snake freak!" He said casually.

She hissed as her eyes became more snake-like and lunged at me.