Chuckling madly beneath their cloud of dust, the cruel figure had slipped through the explosion of the ball they had orchestrated. While the dust had greatly concealed their appearance, Alsop and the captain could easily identify a few things. The figure was a sin cultist, likely the leader of the pack. Although, it did not look as threatening as a sin. Compared to the other cultists, it wore a blood shade of red and it had an old, clay-like face that decayed at the sight of it. The eery essence was not alone too, several others had emerged from nothing and they dressed similar to what Alsop had been familiar with, their clothing carrying a dark robe of ominous tone.

The clouds of dust had perished. The eyes of the leader were now in full view, as they surveyed the crippled crowd manically. They were a cruel, cold and chaotic couple of circles that crusted around the edges. His red eyes searched the room like a predator with a goal that was hidden; the King was well secluded in safety with both Alsop and Alister by his side.

Having taken control of the floating power in the room, the figure quickly walked onto the merciful body of a knight that once had a pulse and stepped above it with a wicked smile.

"The King. Find him, alive." He ordered his haunting peers.

"The others?" Asked a comrade of his.

"Kill the ones that still breathe. Our orders are set in stone." Finished the figure, as he twisted his boot - crushing the skull of the knight like a crystal.

"Venomous villain. If orders did not prevent me, I would go and step on his own body." Said Alister, his eyes thwarted with fury.

"Alister, I think I need a minute, a minute please." Said a terrified Alsop, his eyes had never before been subjected to such a pure form of horror.

"No. There is no time to spare. You must get out of here and find help. You try your hardest to find a guardian, which I know is hard but you must." Demanded Alister, he had grabbed Alsop firmly and forced their eyes to meet.

"No, no, no. That should be no problem, sir. I'm close with one of the guardians - I will find him. But what about you? Where are you going? Will you be fine?" Asked Alsop, his stance shivering.

"I have to get him out of here, the King. And I must do that now, so I ask you of one thing before you go. We will need a distraction." Replied the captain, his eyes had now searched away in shy guilt.

"I see sir. How - how would you suggest I do that?" Asked Alsop.

"Once I leave, I will request some help for you. Just waste time for me as I leave." Said Alister.

Alsop was as stiff as a rock, with his movement away from the captain being rigid and mechanical, but that was only a fraction of his actual terror - his eyes were black, his blood was thin, his skin was wet and his heart was pounding. He had left the captain. All alone, he was now the one to decide what to do, where to be and how to do these things. A quick survey of his surroundings could show several figures and one rather nefarious leader stood thinking. This caused Alsop to stop - the intruders were already busy, so why should he intervene? This rebellious idea was sharply dismissed though, as the captain stared blankly at him from above.

The two were very distant now. Alsop was hidden behind a pillar, and the captain was secluded by the King. The cultists were also sparsely separated, this was beneficial to Alsop as it made his task slightly easier. He had moved across a pillar, but it caused him to be poised with adrenaline, this had left a cacophonous sound of brick scraping the polished floor.

"Check what it is." Said the leader of the pack, but seconds later a bolt of metal had corked into a pillar far away. "Not both of you! One of you check that out." He added.

"Captain, thank you." Thought Alsop.

Alsop was given a window of time to deal with a single cultist that came to investigate the noise he had made. Alsop had been quick to his thoughts of last night, where had he been successful in injuring the sin cultist? His mind had soon found the answer in an instant, as his reflexes quickly thrust his sword into the chest of the fiend. Speed was the greatest attribute Alsop had against the sluggish sin cultists but still, he had a minor drawback.

"I'm kind of relieved to even see you two here."

"We shouldn't have survived our encounter?"

The words of both Maxwell and Axel had come to trouble Alsop's mind with doubt. If one sin cultist was deemed too dangerous for Axel and more importantly Alsop, how had he now found such a success?

"Does Max not believe in us, in me?" Alsop thought, his heart heavy.

He had little time to dwell on such thoughts though. To conceal the noise of his attack, Alsop was inclined to use his other hand to cover the cultist’s shouts for help - this had its problems though, it created a less steady arm for an attack. The two continued to hassle around their spot of land for some time before the captain noted a shadow slowly fall into the backdrop from afar.

Alsop moved along several pillars swiftly, and the captain moved further from the ball with one eye still on his mentee to aid him. His distance fatigued his accuracy, but his shots of distraction were still positive to a degree. And this was rewarded well, as Alsop had been silently setting the sin cultists to certain death.

"Why is it taking so long to find a lone gunman?" The leader exclaimed in a fit of anger.

"I believe we may have another one here. They're hidden too." Said his closest figure.

"I see. Ignore the bullets for now. I want the coward found first." Said the leader.

"Ah, this is not good." Thought Alsop.

His thoughts were filled with doubt and fear as he was beginning to shake at the idea of being caught. The captain had now completely disappeared, seemingly towards a safer place for himself and the King, and Alsop was now alone. Alone with a group of malicious murderers. They were hunting for him. For a moment, Alsop's eyes were cast to the exit - a gateway of golden air that was trying to break in from outside, the streets of beauty. This exit was quietly opened when another person, somewhat of a replacement for the captain, had entered the building and stood still.

It had been a man, similar to Alsop's age, with innocent green eyes and black hair. Small and agile, he appeared a mirror image of Alsop in terms of his slim build. However, his lack of strength could be seen easily, meaning his strengths lied in other departments. The young man analysed the situation and then clasped a cemented look to Alsop. The two were like statues, both uncertain of each other’s levels of hostility. However, the clear similarity in their clothing was a good enough indicator for the young man to figure out they both were, to some degree, against the current presence of evil. Despite being a knight, his overall colour palette contained hints of purple among his stitching and buttons. This allowed Alsop to note that the young man was somewhere among the highest ranks of the army.

"Quiet!" The young man mouthed, as he escaped into the shadows.

"That's great, another problem for me to be aware of right now." Muttered Alsop.

"What was that? Haha, he's over here, my master!" Cruelly laughed a cultist as they grabbed Alsop's shoulder and dragged him out instantly.

The leader had now emerged, and their full proportions were in Alsop's view. An unhinged mouth, with countless teeth missing, and an unfavourable nose that was crooked with spots, covered his grotesque face. His face was not the only issue. The body was large but dry of flesh, like an undead skeleton. His hair was tasselled red like dried blood that had hardened to dye the hair. This all had left Alsop in quiet shock. Shock of disgusted residue, he had never before seen such captivating filth.

"You aren't the King. But you are something I'm going to play with." Said the leader.

"…why are you here? What do you want?" Asked Alsop quickly, his strings of confidence had surprisingly been plucked.

"Hmm, you see. We are here as a message from our master. Your city is nothing compared to the power we are amassing." Replied the leader.

"…who is your master, and – and who are you?" Alsop said, his heart beating profoundly.

"Why my master is a sin of course. And me? My name is Lord Pascal, I'm sure you've heard of me before." He said.

"Oh, yes. Sir Pascal, I know you." Said Alsop, truthfully though, he had no recognition of the name.

"Yes, well I am quite a common name around these parts. Of course, I've only lifted my name upwards after submitting my soul to my master." Said Pascal.

"I’m – I'm sorry, you did what?" Asked Alsop, his eyes were focused elsewhere as he stuttered in confusion. The young man from before was clung to a rope above the two, and he was glowing in a gleam of goodness.

"Ah well, to become the great man I am today, I had to do a few necessary things. All for the greater good." Proclaimed Pascal.

"Sir, get down!" Shouted a cultist as they shoved Pascal to the ground and received a punishing blow, followed by a cloud of smoke.

In a matter of seconds, Alsop's eyes had experienced darkness from a smoky room, and then a blinding light from a mirage of bright orb-like beings. Among this vivid display, Alsop's saviour had held out his hand with a smile full of aid. Up close, Alsop had finally gathered an identity for the individual. The third, and final captain of Bournington had been ahead of his eyes.

"Captain Caspian Cull." Said Alsop.

"Hullo." Said Caspian. "Are you going to get up?" He asked Alsop, who had been sat glaring at him.

"Oh, yes. Of course." Replied Alsop.

"What is your name?" Asked Caspian.

"Alsop. Alsop Dusseldorf." Stuttered Alsop.

"Hmm, you still seem quite shaken, I'm sorry but I'm not too great with people." Said Caspian, his eyes were all over the place, refusing to sit still.

"No, it's not that. I'm surprised to have found another captain." Said Alsop.

"Oh, well, I am the lesser of the three, you see. Can you fight? My smoke here won't last much longer." Said Caspian.

"Of course, captain." Said Alsop, as he rattled his sword into the grip of his hands and waited in angst for the enemy.

Caspian smiled as he clasped his hand into a ball-like fist and released it after a few seconds - whereby a brilliant spark of blue light flourished out of his hand. This blue light quickly looked around, and eventually burrowed into Alsop's sword - causing the product to be an immensely powerful-looking weapon of reaping. This bright light was what the people of the kingdoms would call a spirit. These spirits were a species of being that carried particular roles, powers or burdens given to them by their owners - with some owners being great experts in the profession. Spirit Knights, like Caspian Cull, were not unheard of, but they were seen as strange to most because of the unethical use of spirits for battle. Nonetheless, the Kingdom of Bournington had a single Spirit Knight and he was skilled at his profession too, as his magic mostly focused on the encapsulation of spirits for use in the field.

Alsop was startled at the sight, but soon realised it was necessary for the fight to sway in their victory. The smoke had now disappeared as Alsop led a single swipe to dissipate the grey mist with his emerald blue sabre which exasperated with energy. Another swipe settled a swing of powerful current towards the direction of the slash - with this knowledge, Alsop could fight while keeping a distance. But after a few further swings, his arm quickly fatigued with dead weight, yet he was not tired in the slightest.

"Ah, it seems the spirit is rattled by you too. You will have to make do with it for now." Said Caspian.

Alsop nodded in agreement and continued to swing relentlessly until a swift realisation struck him. The cultists were no longer even trying to fight, they were fleeing fast. Whilst Alsop was causing havoc from afar, Caspian had been out in front slaying through the cultists with slight struggle. His methods of combat stroked a sense of fear into the hollow eyes of the cultists, a sense of danger and catastrophe. Pascal was unlike his adversaries, showing no fear to Caspian's unexpected power but he was envious of his attacker’s fluidity, his elegance and his swiftness of strikes. Pascal was aged and contrasted to the vibrant Caspian he lacked any energy.

"I shall see you both in due time, I hope." Pascal had shouted across the debris of the ball, he had been well away from harm by now.

"Alsop, cover me." Caspian realised the need for something to try to stop the menacing leader from fully being free of conviction.

With the protection of Alsop's covering swings, Caspian began searching. He was searching impatiently for something in particular. Another of his spirits soon came out from the palm of his hands, and it was a round black light.

"Go and follow that gentleman." Said Caspian, with a tremendous throw as he set his spirit off to cling to its target.

"Captain! It's great to see you alive still, I have rallied up as many as I could." Said a man, a dozen troops immediately tending to the fallen behind him.

"If I may then, Captain Cull." Alsop said with a glance. "I've been instructed to go find someone. Would you like your spirit to return?" Asked Alsop, his support no longer necessary.

"No, you can keep the spirit, that's fine. It's not as if it would like to return to me. I hope to see you soon." Said Caspian with a smile.

"Yes, you as well, captain." Concluded Alsop as his thoughts were now focused on the rest of Bournington.