My Servant System

Chapter 1085: Chapter 1084: The Fingers (5)



Lightning crashed down beside me as the Fingers continued their assault, the two mages working hand in hand to rain down a barrage of deadly magic onto our position and keep us pinned as their third member scoured the shelves for whatever it was that they were looking for.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"The lightning is a problem, and trying to do anything with that Wind Mana flaring around is also going to be a problem for me, so... we need some other way out of this. How can we not be burnt to a crisp the moment we stand up?"

Leone's calm voice was that little bit of recentering that we all needed as we huddled behind the various stone pillars and partitions that provided just a little bit of cover for us, though Anput and the other Earth attuned warriors were erecting defenses around us that were just being chewed through by the lightning as it continued to crash down around us, burning the various papers and books that were near our feet and filling the library with smoke as the Fingers did everything they could to get rid of us.

"How contained can you keep a really flashy Fire spell Leone? Something to blind them at the very least; get their vision disoriented so that I can sneak around. Maybe have a couple of us spread out to spread their attention as much as we can. They seem to be making use of rapid fire single target magic, though we cannot be certain..."

The Vampire nodded before wincing slightly as a bolt cracked down beside her, the azure lightning arcing around the stone and lapping at her cheek for a brief moment, startling her and resulting in just a little bit of redness as the heat created an artificial blush on just one side.

"Well if you want brightness..."

Jahi grinned at me before a couple of simple runes flickered into appearance in front of her, and without her having to say anything I turned away and shielded my eyes as she turned the corner and unleashed a spell that illuminated the entire library in a brilliant flash of gold.

The surprised shouts from the two mages were followed quickly by a string of curses as they were greeted with the sight of a wall of flames as soon as their vision returned, Leone casting one hell of a distraction as she gave us ample space to work with, allowing a bulk of the Death Jackals to rush forwards and find new, not so scorched and broken cover.

As for me, Hera and another Death Jackal, we all unsheathed our daggers and silently rushed to the sides, making use of that blinding flash as we hid ourselves away from the Fingers and instead went the long way around the library, darting through the shelves and climbing up to the next level as we began to close in on them.

Glancing at Hera and the other Death Jackal, I pointed at myself before pointing at the furthest Finger, who was currently searching through the books and storing them away inside a bag; both of them reluctantly gave me a nod and moved over to take on the other two, hopefully to at least bring down the pressure on the members of our party that were on the first floor.

With my Wind Cloak keeping everything to an absolute minimum and my movement being far too quick for them to notice, I easily slipped past the two of them - it certainly helped that they were far too focused on the sudden appearance of the other two to notice me - and made my way towards the last member of this little trio, my blade aimed straight at his neck and silently plunging down towards it as I aimed to end his life as quickly as I could.

Before that could happen though, the man spun around and hoisted an amulet from his neck, a vibrant jade pendant shining a brilliant green as the Wind Mana inside erupted outside and pushed me back like a leaf in a storm, smashing me against a railing and almost breaking my back as the stone around me began to crack.

"Nice try, but you ooze mana like this. Your control isn't that good, busty lady~!"

He smirked at me before letting the jade thump against his chest, the glow gone now that the mana inside had been consumed; an enchanted item of some kind that likely required charging before use, which made it a fascinating item I wanted from him after I killed him.

It joined a myriad of other pendants, and it was then that I realized I was staring at someone who did actually think rather smartly about things like this; if you can enchant something, and it's really useful, wear it, no matter how ugly it is or stupid you look.

Why not have a dozen rings and earrings if each one boosts you even more than you could ever imagine?

All those times I had seen people looking down on this sort of style because it showed a 'lack of hard work' or made them think the person had little talent was far more than I could count, and yet it made more sense to me to do this instead of working really hard only to be beaten by someone with even more talent or time than you.

And just like that I watched as another pendant shone on his chest, this one sending the extra mana straight into his skin as he gave himself a boost that made me wary of how strong he might be.

He snickered as he noticed that, and the man seemed content to let me bask in this enchanted glory of his as he said "That's right, I know how to make the most of my skills baby~! 'Rogue this, rogue that'~! People just hate that I don't want to serve some haughty uptight bitch who thinks slobbering on the dick of someone strong gives her the ability to order people around!" "Do you always talk so much..?"

Pushing off of the railing, I let my Water Cloak coat my skin and heal my internal injury as I stared at the man, his mild surprise at me having both Water and Wind Mana fading away as he just said "Nah, I only like talking to women with a nice rack. And women with a sharp blade to match~! You single~?"

He didn't seem to mind as I clicked my tongue and glared at him, the promise of what I would do to him as I hoisted the dagger just a bit higher only making him grin more as he beckoned for me to get closer and fight.

"I promise you that whatever those stuck up pricks in black told you about us is mostly wrong. We don't want to kill the Sultana, we don't want to kill everyone we meet... most of the time, anyways, but what we do want is a better Sultanate, and that does require... some change, and some reversions."

"Seriously... do you always talk so much?"

Flashing forwards, I stabbed at his chest again and watched as he grabbed for my wrist, the man's speed matching mine as he caught my arm and held me in place, his grin remaining as he stared me in the eyes and prepared to say something else.

Running my mana into my arm, I punched towards his face and watched as he caught that arm as well, though when the tonfa of sharpened ice stabbed out towards his head, that grin faded as he tried to get away from it.

I thought I had him right there, but I still yanked my other arm back to give me the ability to run just in case, and as I watched that tonfa shatter against his mana barrier, I kept pulling before stamping on his ankle with my boot, forcing him to let me go.

"Feisty, fesity... good trick there, baby~! Pretty impressive for how young you are~! Gods above are you making me fall for you even more..."

Brushing away the ice shards on his cheek, the man chuckled softly and reached for another amulet when I sent a barrage of needles at him, the summoned weapons splintering against his barrier as well but forcing him to treat them seriously even as I fueled that Ritual Circle and left it in the air, freeing myself to dart forwards again with two tonfa's as I reengaged in close quarters combat.

This time, I made sure both were as solid as could be, and then I focused my Wind Mana around my arms and legs as I started smacking them against his barrier, the rods of ice cracking the raw mana he used to defend himself and slowly forcing him to smile less and less, though he still chatted like nothing was happening.

"Baby, you are really~ making me wonder what's got you so pissed off at me... what did I do~? C'mon, tell me, tell me~!"

The more he chatted with me though, the more I felt like I needed to keep him alive so I could enjoy torturing him for a week straight, if not even longer...