Symphonic Odyssey
: Vol. Four: Odyssey’s Outset: Verse One-Hundred Eighty-Eight

Nuadha Raged as his cunning plan fell apart. He watched in anger as five more of his minions were killed by the small group of skilled Conductors. He gritted his teeth as the newcomer leapt across the room and joined her allies, and slammed his fist against the obsidian throne as what was meant to be an execution of his enemy became that of his own forces instead.

Fenix, Elaine, and Serenade closed in back to back as Elaine’s Duality Shield formed around them. Thanks to the chaos and confusion that Serenade had started upon her arrival, they were able to offset the many Order acolytes that stood against them. They were winning, surprisingly enough.

But as bolts of stone, icy bullets, streams of fire, and blades of wind flew left and right, the pillars that supported the roof of this underground room were beginning to take substantial damage. Such was the hazard of Conductors fighting underground in the first place.

Fenix looked to Elaine and Serenade. In his eyes, one could see panic reflected there, but his attitude was calm and he hastily said, “We have to get out of here! Now!” The three looked across the tide of black cloaks and saw that Nuadha was already gone, his throne empty as a large chunk of the ceiling came crashing down upon it.

At this point, they were only fighting the lower-ranked acolytes, and even the Captains that had begun to fight against them had fled. The Order was now hoping to kill them with the collapse of the underground cavern. Elaine nodded at her two companions and roared as she slammed her fist down into the ground. A shockwave of compressed air rocketed outwards from the boundary of her Duality Shield.

The weaker acolytes were sliced into pieces, but most of the stronger ones were only injured and launched outwards towards crumbling walls.

“We need to go! Now!” repeated Fenix. The three quickly began running towards the exit that Elaine and Fenix had entered through.

“Fenix! Look out!” yelled Serenade as another chunk of the ceiling came tumbling down, bringing with it dirt from the foundation above. He managed to jump clear of the falling stone as it crashed through Elaine’s still incomplete barrier, which ended the spell. The last remnants of her dome flickered and vanished as they kept running.

The three ran through collapsing tunnels and it was clear that they might not make it out in time. Several of the passageways they had taken to get to that large chamber were now destroyed, and there was almost no way left for them to escape.

“Elaine, we’re going to have to blast our way out,” began Fenix. “We can’t be more than a few feet from the surface!”

“I’ll do it!” said Serenade as she rushed forward. “Quartet, Verse 4, Rising Geyser!” A burst of water formed in front of Serenade’s outstretched hands and slammed against the stone above them. It gouged out a diagonal tunnel, and the three climbed up it as she continued to carve out a path to the surface with the intense water pressure.

Moonlight soon filled the tunnel and they quickly pulled themselves out into the open air. Just as they climbed free, the tunnel collapsed and a cloud of dust rose from within. Elaine felt a twinge of regret. They had survived, but their mission had failed once the Captains and Nuadha escaped.

It was a small qualm, but it still tarnished her flawless record. The three of them ran through the center of the city as fast as they could. They no longer cared for stealth, as the entire chapel of E’daga had just collapsed with a loud crash. Monuments to the Divines were sacred and more often than not the destruction of one would send an entire town into a frenzy. Dex was different though. The city was a haven for criminals and most wouldn’t care about the loss of such a building.

Elaine smiled as they neared the main gate of Dex. She felt that they had avoided death and she was happy to be leaving this place in one piece. However, her uplifted feeling quickly disappeared as she took notice of the nine hooded figures standing in their way.

“Ah, glad to see you survived the collapse! I was hoping we would have a chance to play!” declared Aylynah. Her pink hair was tied up in thick pigtails and was billowing lightly in the midnight breeze. Her upper body was clad in a rose-colored breastplate that had lengths of silk that flowed from her waist and connected to her arm and shin guards.

Her lower half was covered only by a short Mythril skirt, also rose-red in color. The way she held herself with the lengths of silk flowing around her, made her look like a poisonous rose. Her appearance matched her personality perfectly, alluring to look at, but deadly if not taken seriously.

She twirled a pitch-black mace in her slender hands casually. When it would stop, Elaine would note a glimmer of opal-colored Arkstones. There could be no doubt that they were of the darkness element, and that fact alone made her dangerous. Very few wielded Darkness Arkstones because of the inherent danger they posed and the process one had to go through to change their affinity to that of Darkness.

Even together, a fight with her would be very difficult, and she had eight other Captains with her. Each of them were cloaked in hooded robes that hid their features but killing intent radiated from all of them. Aylynah stood there with a smug look, swinging her mace as she looked over the small group that had appeared.

“Aylynah!” began Fenix after a moment, “Where is Nuadha?!” He stood defiant against the force assembled against him and his comrades, and he refused to back down.

Aylynah giggled a little and she stepped forward, pulling out a robe of her own. “Master Nuadha doesn’t have time for the likes of you. That’s why he left me in charge of this final encounter,” she said as she threw the robe over herself and pulled up the hood.

“You two,” she said pointing to Fenix and Serenade, “you will be the first to die. Then we’ll kill your little subordinate as well. It will be a lot of fun watching that child panic as her master and his whore are killed right in front of her.”

Elaine stepped forward, pulling the Collapscythe from its sheath at the base of her spine. “I’ll show you what this ‘child’ can do Aylynah!” said Elaine as she snapped the deadly blade into place. With a grunt, Elaine dashed forward before anyone could stop her, and swung the blade at Aylynah’s midriff.

Aylynah simply moved out of the way with a laugh and returned an attack of her own. Her mace cracked against the side of Elaine’s head and sent her flying to the side. The blow had hurt, but it was far too casual a strike to do serious damage. It was clear that Aylynah was only toying with her.

Elaine slid across the ground and flipped back to her feet, coming to a stop in front of Fenix and Serenade. A line of blood ran down the side of her head but she wiped it away and glared at Aylynah. Despite the casual blow, it had taken Elaine quite a bit of effort to sustain her protective wards and prevent a more serious injury.

“Careful Elaine!” said Fenix with an outstretched hand, “No offense, but you can’t handle someone like her, the other Captains might be more your speed but leave Aylynah to us!” Elaine nodded as he finished. Her head was throbbing and the world was spinning as she regained her bearings.

Aylynah let out a peal of laughter and said, “All of you together can’t stand against us and you know it!” to her, it was as if nothing had just happened. She was much stronger than Elaine was used to dealing with. Aylynah wasn’t a captain. She was a Lieutenant, second in command of the Usurper Sect, and only Nuadha stood above her.