16 Facing the Lord's Servants

Amon turned to Bel and saw that his brows were furrowed, a grim look filling his face. He had his hand on the handle of this retractable sword, ready to take it out at a moment's notice. In the meantime, Stormbringer had resumed talking to answer the Undying's question.

-It's simple, even if they knew about us, they would need a little while to find where we are hiding. From the moment the captain died, I estimated that they would act either tonight or tomorrow. Earlier I asked all of you to come fully geared; it wasn't just for fun.

-What? They are here tonight, roared The Lion's powerful voice.

-Indeed, how long do you plan to stay hidden? You're already here so you should at least say hello.

When he heard those words, Amon felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Everything to this point had been according to Stormbringer's plan. Their killing of the captain had revealed their presence to the Holy Knights, and from there Stormbringer had been able to predict the course of action they would take accurately.

Since things had developed in such a way, there was no use for regret and the best they could do was to try and get out of this mess. Amon felt that this might prove to be an opportunity to kill at least one of them and so as Stormbringer finished calling them out, he threw a grenade inside the room.

When he heard the explosion, Bel and he rushed into the room with their weapons drawn. What greeted them was a mostly empty room with a large table at the center of it. On the table was a map of New-Paris and several tokens representing the various opposing forces. It seemed like they had been doing some simulations on the way things would unfold. Apart from that, the only other pieces of furniture were a few wooden chairs.

Standing on the opposite side of the table was Stormbringer, looking identical to the photo that was provided by the Ravens. In his right hand he had a retractable sword, and in the other, he had what looked like a glass orb. Stormbringer's thin face and golden hair were reflected in it, and Amon instantly recognized the implement. It was used to amplify the power of nanotechnological augmentation by strengthening them without causing additional strain to the body. Although it only had the appearance of a glass ball, it was a costly and technologically advanced tool.

At the right of Amon and Bel stood The Lion, easily identifiable by his scar and his long white hair. He also had a retractable sword, but he also had a shield and metal armour. This was the first time Amon had faced an armoured opponent, and he felt like he needed to fact out for The Lion's incredible defensive potential.

At the right of the two Ravens stood a man that looked incredibly unremarkable. He had short brown hair and a short beard. He had an average height and little apparent muscle. In his hand was a retractable sword. He was The Undying, but his average looks threw the two Ravens off.

The grenade Amon had launched a few moments ago had landed under the table at the center of the room and caused little damage. The three Holy Knights reacted quickly when they saw the two Ravens and The Lion charged towards Bel who was closer to him. Amon directly bypassed The Undying and jumped over the table to land a blow on Stormbringer. Sadly, the Holy knight was prepared, and he managed to parry the blow. Amon followed up with a savage flurry of strikes but was forced to retreat when he felt the air behind him split. He dodged to the side just in time to see The Undying's sword biting the cold concrete.

Amon knew that fighting two against one was far from ideal, especially since he was facing Holy Knights but he knew he couldn't do otherwise. Bel was stuck fighting against The Lion, and with both of them being powerful fighters, their fight would likely be bloody and fierce. As such, Amon would need to be smart and use everything he could to his advantage.

The shock from his missed blow staggered The Undying and Amon used that short moment to send a powerful kick his way. The Holy Knight was blown back by the strike and Amon didn't wait a moment to continue his attack on Stormbringer. His strategy was to keep the Undying at bay and focus on stopping Stormbringer from casting electricity on him. He knew that The Undying only had an average strength and as long as he could overwhelm him without actively trying to kill him, his regeneration wouldn't be of any use to him.

Despite his focus on ranged support, Stormbringer was an excellent fighter, and instead of taking the blows head on, he parried them to the side with uncanny accuracy, deflecting most of the force behind them. Amon saw The Undying getting up in his peripheral vision, and he shifted to Stormbringer's right side, striking towards the latter's leg. He needed to reposition himself to avoid being immediately flanked by the two Holy Knights, but in doing so, he had broken his relentless barrage of assault. His last strike was an attempt to keep Stormbringer from casting his electricity, but the blow had been evaded.

Stormbringer sensed an opportunity and took full advantage of it. Amon was a much more relentless fighter than he had imagined and he knew he had little chance to beat him in a duel at such a distance. As such, he needed to slow him down to allow The Undying to rejoin the fight. Stormbringer raised his orb, and from its murky depths, an arc of electricity flashed before lashing out at Amon. The attack landed on his left arm, a little away from Stormbringer's true target but Amon had moved a tad faster than he had expected.

The numbing feeling in his left arm caused Amon to be shocked. He hadn't expected the electricity to be as brutal as it was. He surmised that he wouldn't be able to move that arm for a few seconds. In a fight, a few seconds were enough to determine life and death, and if that arc of electricity had landed on either his weapon or his dominant arm, Amon wasn't confident he could survive.

Since he didn't want Stormbringer to charge up another lightning arc, he swung his force with exceptional strength. However, the angle of the strike wasn't what Stormbringer had expected. The blow seemed to aim for his left shoulder but the arc of Amon's attack was imperceptibly larger, and the blow instead landed a nasty cut on his orb-wielding arm. The pain almost made Stormbringer drop his glass orb, but he caught himself in time. By this time, The Undying had reached Amon and was about to block Amon while Stormbringer went to the back to continuously unleash electrical arcs unimpeded.

Amon wanted to avoid this scenario from playing out but facing the two of them exchanging positions. However, he wasn't fast enough to stop Stormbringer's retreat. He blocked a few of The Undying's blow while he was racking his brain. He saw Stormbringer ready himself for casting and attempted a bold move. His left arm still hadn't recovered from the shock a couple of instants ago, so he released the tension in his retractable sword while he threw it in the air. He quickly stepped back to avoid The Undying's blow and grabbed one of the few chairs laying around. In a single fluid motion, he hurled the chair at Stormbringer. He was concentrating on a particularly powerful cast and couldn't protect himself from the wooden furniture that was thrown at him. The chair broke upon contact, but Stormbringer was sent flying to the wall, knocked down and dizzy.

Amon knew that his move had won him a few instants of respite as he would only have to face The Undying while Stormbringer was recovering. However, he was still in trouble as he hadn't been quick enough to recover his sword in the air and it was now on the ground behind The Undying who had advanced to continue putting pressure on Amon.

The fight had been so intense that it seemed like an eternity but only a couple dozen of seconds had passed since the start of the battle. Facing The Undying unarmed was a foolish move, even if he wasn't as physically gifted as other augmented. To make up for his strength, Amon didn't doubt that he had a great technique. He hadn't been able to display it before, but now he had full range to do so. Amon didn't want to be backed into a corner after evading his opponent's attacks, so he quickly grabbed one of the knives he had brought with him. Amon faced the Undying and tried to get closer while avoiding his slashes. By now he had regained control of his left hand.

The Undying took a step back and readied a powerful overhead slash. Amon knew he couldn't block such an attack with a mere knife, no matter how strong he was so he waited until the slash had nearly reached him to use his left hand to strike the flat part of the blade away from him. Such a manoeuver required both power and precision to pull off perfectly. Thankfully, Amon had managed it, and he was able to use this momentum he had forcefully gained to get closer to The Undying. Amon was an expert in the usage of most weapons, and the knife was no exception. In only two seconds, he slashed The Undying in most of his vitals and had cut his throat. Amon was confident that such an attack was sufficient to end any enemies, but he saw The Undying using his left leg to kick him in the flank. The blow had mostly been absorbed by his vest, but he stepped back in sheer shock at the sight before him.