The Oncoming Storm

Given the event happening at that point in time, there was bound to be a few thieves and vagabonds scurrying around. Some of them were guilty of other crimes, as opposed to just item scamming, making them prime targets for when they struck again. There would be bigger trouble later, there always was - one of the guilds leaders in the fight had angered a member of a murderer's guild, by defeating him time and time again in duels. He would likely stalk the area until nightfall, where the participants would rest before setting off, and utilise an exploit in the duel system to kill him. There would likely be other members as well - and they would have no qualms about beating Knight as hard as they could, into a zone where player injury was possible. That was assuming that Knight would refuse to put up a fight, of course.
"Tell me," he asked flatly to the air behind him, "What are your experiences with murderer guilds?"
 
"Muderer guilds?" Tyra responded as she stopped and looked up at Knight. "Those guys that exploit the system and kill players and stuff right?" She stopped to give it a second thought. "I've heard a lot about them, but exerience wise I've never been involved."
Tyra knew the basics of such clubs. She knew of their deeds and such. Thankfully she was smart enough to avoid those kinds of players. "Why do you ask?" As she asked that question she began to get that queeziness feeling in the stomach. Like the way you'd feel right before doing something stupid, such as jumping out of a plane. Thankfully, she was jut tough enough not to let it show in her facial expression.
 
"I've received a tip-off about a rumoured assassination being plotted. I'm going to use whatever means necessary to stop it."
Knight had no need to waste breath - he was expending effort to keep himself propelled across the rooftops, which would allow for an aerial assault. Not that it would have made much difference - Knight could appear at any angle, and everyone would be surprised to see him. He was one with the shadows, on with the darkness. Whether it was his sneak skill, or whether he was just a product of the blackness, his approaches were silent and ominous, aside from when he revealed himself. He cme and went, never truly being there in the first place. He would make sure Tyra did not stay with him.
 
Tyra took a moment about it.

"Sounds like a plan." She said without falter in her voie. Sneakiness was definetly not her forte. She was more of the frontal type. It wasn't like she could say no though..

"Can I ask you something?"

She didn't wait for a response half expecting a "no".

"Why do you do this stuff? All of this helping people and saving lives... N-Not that its a bad thing!" She quickl corrected herself. "Its just that, there aren't many like you in this world."
 
"Why? Why do I help these people?"
Knight seemed wistful, in his response - almost. He seemed to peer off into the sitance as he ran, his pace slowing oh-so-very slightly. "That's the reason why I help these people. Because there aren't that many like me in the world. Nobody has the right to throw away human life so callously - with such reckless abandon, or glee. There are some corners of this universe that have bred the most horrendous human beings - ones that go against everything you or I believe in. They must be fought."
Knight's tone seemed to harden - considering he was essentially a supehero of Aincrad, clad in his clothes that denied recognition, saving people from whatever danger they faced, this was a logical conclusion. He was a mystery, wrapped in an enigma and black clothing.
 
Oddly, Trya wasn't shocked. A clever, admiriable answer was just what she expected from the crusader clad in black. It must be hard to do what he does. To be almost everywhere at once, carrying everyones burden at whim. He didn't even ask for a good meal in return. Tyra couldn't believe that qualities like that still existed in this world. Most of all, his words were a huge motivator. More than ever she wanted to be just like him. "Let's go!" Tyra was pumped for this mission.
 
However, if Tyra wasn't prepared to murder, then she could never be like him. When he said 'by any means necessary,' he meant it. He could never be sure that someone would never commit an offence again - therefore, for cases he did not trust, he made sure that they did not commit another atrocity. He took no pride in this - he hated to throw away human life without even giving them a chance to say goodbye to any loved ones. but then he remembered that they were taking lives without any remorse, and he remembered why he was fighting.

The trek continued for a few minutes, until the boundary where people could stay safe appeared.
"According to intel, he should be coming along any second now..."
 
Tyra kept pace behind Knight asking no more questions just for the moment. To pass the time she began scrolling through guild invitations. Apparently she han't cleared the inbox in days. Most of them she just declined an others he dint bother to look at. Tyra took a quick glance at Knight. 'I bet if he showed himself more often he'd get a ton of guild invites!' The naive thought passed through her head as they approched the safe boundary
 
"Wait for it.. Wait for it... NOW!"
Landon, without prior warning, leapt from his position, and landed in front of the assasin pacing inconspicuously up to his target. Both the man and the assassin were surprised - they had both hesitated at the distincive grinding, but while one had urgent business to attend to, the other also had a task to perform. Neither wanted to pay attention to the fact tht Knight was in the area. Now, however, his presence could not be ignored. However, the assassin smirked.
"We kenw you'd come here. The informationw was hardly secret - it would have been a trap, but it was completely unintentional that we let this information slip. Nevertheless, the moment has been prepared for."
While the actual target remained rooted to the spot, dozens of members of a murderer's guild emerged from the shadows, each one studying their foe. Knight remained statue-like, his face still completely hidden. "Well? Scared?"
 
"Uh- Oh..." Tyra whipered, keepin her presence hidden. She hesistated the moment she was supposed to jump. And so, she still lingered on the ledge, peering down at the unfotunate situation. The guild memberes crept out of their respective hiding spots. 'This dosn't look good' She though. Meanwhile the ambush was sprung and Tyra would have to think quickly. She scrolled through her item menu for a second and fashioned a wide grin at her find. "Perfect..."

Tyra selected the item. A small, black, seemigly light, ball manifested itself in her palm. She waited a moment more, making sure they're was no one else lurking in the hadows, that all the players were on the feild. "Here you go Knight..." Tyra whispered as she stood and spiraled the orb down to the ground, right between Knight and the main assassin. The ball was instantly crushed upon impact, releasing a flurry of smoke that covered the area. The white haze covered the area. She could hear a few startled remarks, or screams. " I can't see!" "W-What the hell!?"
Tyra giggled hearing the squeals of such a ruthless bunch. A smoke bomb seemed to be enough to spook someone.
She took the oppertunity to jump from the ledge, landing in the cloud of white. Landing without problems, she began to feel for the nearest wall, moving beside it. Wile she did so she spoke loudly. "Knight! Knight! Are you okay? Where are you!?" It was a foolish stunt, but she had stopped calculating after the smoke bomb worked. Confidence was a killer sometimes. She could only hope Knight was making moves aswell.
 
While Knight had planned to take the force single-handedly, Tyra's assistance was not unwelcome. Through the smoke, while he was near to a player, he could still detect their health brs. Thus, he was able to locate his prey, and throw him out of the safe zone. Amidst the confusion, he forced all the other guild members back, condensing their formation into one more compact. There could be no surprise attacks - once thee smoke cleared, and he had a clear shot, the guild members could be taken down with one fell swoop. A single sword art, a wide, sweeping attack - even if it wasn't the most powerful attack, the level difference ensured that most of them would meet their maker at his hands. A telltale glow covered his blade as he held it at his side, calculating trajectory, force, and all the other necessary numbers. He was going to kill them - this much was obvious.
 
Tyra coughed a few times. She saw the flicker of health bars. The smoke cleared. The attacking guild was forced, and bunched together. Then Knight came into view. More importantly his swordskill came into view. Tyra's eyes darted back and forth, beginning to comprehend the situation. "Y-Your just gonna bea them up right?" Sheasked, slightly trembling. This felt wrong. He didn't seem like a hero anymore, more like a vigilante. She gazed at him. As usual he was unphased, but it didn't seem ool to her anymore. She a moved abit closer to knight, a thought rambling throughout her head. 'I am really going to stanby and watch this happen?!?'
 
"They're scum. Murderers. They had their chance, and they chose to destroy other people's lives. If they cannot respect human life, they do not deserve to have it."
Knight had been through this before - people were averted to killing. They didn't like it - it seemed unnatural. Yet, they abhorred murderers, condemning them to punishments they could never carry out. He couldn't see what was wrong with exacting justice upon those who had no care for human life, and he had had this mindset for much of his life. He advanced, his sword glowing still brighter, the enemy to scared to move - lest they be sliced in two by the advancing swordsman. "I'm a killer, Tyra. I thought this much was obvious. I'm not a hero. You can't ever make me one."
 
For a second, Tyra stood, awestruck. Murderers? Scum? He was correct. They were vile beings but even so... In a regular game this would've been fine, maybe even fun. But it wasn't. This was real, too real. Even at the beginning it was stated that if you die in here your real body would go aswell.. Which meant, killing in here would make you a killer in the real word.
"I'm a killer"

"I'm not a hero"

The words hit Tyra like a bullet, she now understood what she was getting herself into. Being anti murderer in this world makes you a hypocrite. It makes you anti survival. That wasn't an option. But did it make her a bad person?
Inside Tyra was caving. On the outside she was trembling. She knew she would have to face such a task eventually, but it didn't sit well with her. If she voted to leave Knight there was a good chance she wouldn't survive more than a month or so. Not due to her level but do to the increase in murderer guilds and her lack of party members. If she were to stay, become a murderer aswell, survive, Would that make her a bad person?
She had to survive, for Rin's sake, she promised. Even if it meant becoming a little rigid..Edgy.. Like Knight. But she wouldn't let it get that far, not that far. On the outside she stopped shaking, though her eyes darted back and forth on the ground. She knew if she looked up she would do everything in her power to stop him, even though it wouldn't have worked.
"G-Go ahead... Do it." Is what she said.

"Don't you dare! Don't you stoop to that level! I believe your better than that... Stop.. For me" Is what she wanted to say. But those words were locked up.
 
Knight's sword glowed ever brighter, the tension in his imminent swing so thick it itself could be sliced in two. The inner conflict raged within Knight - did he continue being a murderer, a hypocrite of the highest calibre? Did he continue to fight with only a man's deserved punishment in mind? What was he - an agent of justice, or a vigilante hell-bent on eradicating evil, and replacing it with fear. Despite all this, his swing was still as deadly efficient as it always was, both quick and deadly. The digital steel cleaved through its intended targets, and it was all over in a flash of blue and black. The weapon was sheathed - but, only one health bar hit zero. The leader, his surprised expression still embedded upon his ugly face, burst into shards, then into pixels, then faded into nothingness. Everyone else had been left with a barely-visible red sliver of health, leaving them gawking at him as he faced them.
"Run. As fast as you can. Your leader will burn in Hell - so tell the man at the top, that I'm coming for him next. I only give one warning - and this is it. Fear me - do not make me hunt you down. Because I will find you - and I will kill you."
 
Tyra shut her eyes and winced. A bolt of lightly coarsed through her veins as she heard the artificial metal come down upon the target. Slowly, after abit of self preperation and Knight's pericing voice, followed by a threat, Tyra cracked her eyes open. She expected to see a clear feild with onl her a Knight still standing. Instead she saw almost the entire guild still standing. All except the leader. The rest were alive, barely alive. It didn't change her new opinion on Knight, her supposed "hero. Instead it softened the lashing she whipped out in her mind. One life didn't rest as heavely in her mind as a dozen. "Y-You didn't kill the others.." She mumbled. Tyra was grateful but curious all the same.
 
"I simply wanted to introduce a little anarchy. If you upset the established order of murder guilds, and everything within them becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. And you know what the thing with chaos is, Tyra? It's fair."
Knight glanced over the leaderless group, who were now scrambling to their feet to hightail it back to their guild. Knight knew what he was doing - for someone like a low-level guild boss to be targeted, meant certain death. Knight was seemingly invincible, if you could even hit him in the first place. His attacks were fast, powerful, and could be unleashed upon a whim. He was no knight in shining armour, that was for sure - it was fairly evident that he had a darker side to him, one that could eclipse his good side if left untamed. However, that is not to say that he was completely bad - he did what was necessary for Aincrad and its citizens, when Cardinal was not activated. He was, as some would say, a necessary evil.
 
Tyra rose from the wall she had somehow clutched onto. She had to regain her composure in front of him somehow. To gain some confidence she gave a comical reply. "Well, I think your just a big softie and only had the heart to deal with the leader." She said with a smile, ensuing that it was only a joke. She surely didn't want a demonstration. Tyra was beginning to understand Knight just abit more. The fact that he probably ended more lives than he saved was apparent. The fact that he did more wrong than she originally thought was clear to. Aswell as the fact that if she planned to stay andlearn from him, she would have to do what she was told without hesitation or argument. This is what she signed up for. No matter how Knight seemed to act it was difficult for Tyra to place a bad opinion on him. The more she thought about it. The more she pinned him as a good guy. A good guy with "questionable" methods.
 
Knight did not reply to the comment on him being a big softie. He had no time to deal with things so trivial, and decided only to address her on the grounds that she needed to be told what he did, and what sort of mindset she needed.
"No, Tyra. I'm not that kind of person. If you weren't an innocent, I would cut you down in an instant. And that's what you've got to learn. It is in every human's nature to fight for something - killing is just another part of fighting. I don't like to murder these people - but they leave me no choice. I am not going to stand idly by, while people achieve whatever they like through murder and looting. I've seen what I had to become to defea men like him. I sunk to his level, because doing that would show me just what goes through their heads. Get it into yours - you work with me, and you kill people. Face up to that."
 
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