Faust and Augustine stood at the ramparts, following the dark shadow with their eyes. His father and the other lords discussed the best way to kill the beast at some distance.
"Nervous?" Augustine asked.
"No, just annoyed that it’s in the water," Faust replied.
If it were on land, closing the distance with his field of absence active would have been far easier. In the sea, the beast could dive down at any moment to be free from the effect.
It wasn’t his first time taking part in monster fights. His father had brought him along to fight against many beasts. His special ability made the fights much easier, and they lost fewer men. But the highest-rank soul-beast he faced was a Tyrant. And each time it was on land.
"When I was your age, I used to beg for father to take me along for monster hunting." Augustine sighed.
"You are welcome to switch places with me at times, brother." He replied.
Augustine smiled a mischievous smile and placed his hand on Faust’s shoulder. "Oh no, how could I do that to my dear little brother? The honor is all yours."
"Craven," Faust replied in jest.
Augustine laughed, holding him close. Then suddenly the laughter died, and he grew serious. "You don’t have to do it, you know? Just say the word and Father will respect your wishes."
Faust’s gaze returned to the dark shadow gliding in the distance.
"I know. But it still needs to be done. Without me, more people will die."
"Father, Jonos, Lord Godfrey, and Lord Velentine have faced several Overlords. They are more than capable of dealing with it."
Faust remained quiet. He already knew his father’s strength as a Tyrant Infuser. The rest were all Ravagers with near-perfect cores. On the cusp of becoming a Tyrant themselves.
But the ranks were not balanced between humans and beasts. A Tyrant-ranked emanation, even with a near-perfect core, would struggle and need help to safely deal with a Tyrant soul-beast. With each rank-up, the power gap grew even larger.
Facing just a single Overlord soul-beast was a harrowing task, even with multiple Tyrants. Added to this were the strangest unknown abilities these dangerous creatures possessed. It was just better to prepare as best as humanly possible.
Soon, they stood on the dark shore, clad in armor. Faust had his own armor, gifted by his father. The plates were pitch-dark and made of Miridian Steel, a unique alloy that was light and durable. Made with alchemy by the Tower of Morane.
The Duke wore golden armor, a bright blue sun on his chest plate. The insignia of House Dawnfire. Blue sun on the field of gold. Augustine wore similar armor, fancier than the Duke’s practical design.
All knights and lords wore an emblem on their armor, made of various alloys. Lord Godfrey wore the infamous Black Trout of Mibothen; Lord Velentine’s white rose sparkled in the direct sunlight; Lord Saltray wore the proud sigil of his house: a silver watchtower above a blue ocean.
Even some of the knights, like Jonos, had their shields painted with their personal sigils.
Only Faust’s little armor was empty of any artwork. When his father gave him the armor, it was blue with a golden sun on the chestplate. The reverse of House Dawnfire. Being a bastard, he could not wear the colors of his father’s house.
Faust ignored such trifling customs and had it painted pitch black without any sigils in favor of his unique spirit of absence. People reacted strangely when they saw it, but none said anything.
The Duke stepped up and addressed his men,
"Lord Saltray will bring the beast to the shore. Caspian, Velentine, Jonos, and I will join him to face the Overlord. The rest of you have one task: keep all the minions of the Overlord busy till we deal with it. Augustine is in charge."
The men scrambled to take position when the Duke and his fellow lords approached him. Unlike the others, Faust was ordered to bring his horse. He looked down from horseback.
"You are to join us only when I give the order. Try to remain far from the beast and stay behind one of us when in range. If you lose the horse, run away." The Duke said firmly.
"What if it doesn’t take the bait?" Faust asked.
"You are to do nothing."
"We will just have to use other methods to get it out." Lord Godfrey said.
Faust nodded under the gazes of all the lords and rode near the small castle wall. The castle was on higher terrain, so he could observe everything better from there.
Lord Saltray removed his boots and walked into the sea as his companions stood at the dark shore. Instead of drowning with the weight of his heavy armor, Lord Saltray glided under the water with the speed of a large shark. Splitting the foaming water in his wake.
Lord Saltray was the seventh spirit user of House Saltray to inherit their ancestral spirit. The sailfish spirit was one of the most famous mature spirits. Spirits older than a couple of centuries had the honor to be called mature.
The sailfish spirit granted the boon of underwater breathing and enhanced strength. Well, that was the main boon; not all spirit users were granted the same boon despite inheriting the same spirit.
Lord Saltray could also sense creatures in the water if he was touching the body of water.
The small, faster shadow of Lord Saltray dodged the other smaller shadows with his incredible speed and attacked directly at the largest shadow that belonged to the Overlord.
The intense chase and harassment lasted a few minutes, then the enraged beast chased Lord Saltray himself. Jumping out of the water on the dark shore, the man shouted,
"It releases powerful shockwaves!"
"Range?" The Duke asked.
"Twenty meters."
Hundreds of creatures with greyish green skin walked out of the sea in a horde. Large gills where their ears should be, round goldfish-like eyes, four arms with webbed fingers, and large shark-like teeth.
The Duke gave an order, and the men charged forward. The creatures soon proved they were equally adept at fighting on land as they were in the sea.