Under Siege (Private/Shuhei)

Ardere swiftly perceived the arrival of some enemies, a group of bandits in fact. Sliding his off hand to his sword, the fire mage was already prepared to fight. Unfortunately for the bandits, he was quite proficient in combat, even for a mage of his rank. Tch. Dashing towards the man, with increased speed, even more so than a normal mage. Feeling the wind rush past his face, the noted that all of the men were carrying weapons. They seemed to be here just to steal things, but that did not take away from the fact they possessed ill intents towards this town. Four men were charging him to be exact, two with swords, one with a crossbow, and the other a flail. Sliding beneath a shimmering blade, he felt the earth beneath his feet for a moment, then popped himself up to slam the blade into the chest of the man. Watching spit and bits of blood cough up onto the ground, the other three men were in shock for a moment, but it did not last long for they would charge him. Using the momentum of the slamming his blade into the man's body, he used that man as a projectile to him one of the other men.

Only two opponents remained, and with the display of efficient swordsmanship, it was obvious they were frightened. Sliding back, he lifted his hands up just as the men came towards him. The sun shined bright in the sky, but now blackness and corruption would rip through the earth. With a transfer of black energy into the ground, the lift of his hands would cause the rise of thick black flames to erupt from within the earth. Ripping through the earth, upwards the started, but were pushed forward by the brown haired mage. The bandits were scorched and knocked unconscious in an instant, swallowed up by the wave of black scorch that had been created. Sheathing the range and white blade, Ardere noticed a man with white hair watching him. He seemed a bit familiar, but he was sure that the two had never met. Perhaps he was entertained by the 'show' just put on, regardless he did not have time to worry about it. Dashing towards the center of town, he gave the man a look of inquisition as he passed, curious of his identity.

Dashing through the town, wind blew through this thick brown locks, causing the red headband between his hair to flicker in the wind. Looking down, he remembered that he was not wearing his armor. He had merely been in his normal civilian clothes, the red jacket and pants he always wore. Unfortunately, this was no normal civilian encounter, lives were at risk now. Putting two fingers just barely in his mouth, Ardere let out a whistle. And as if summoned instantaneously by his call, a phoenix would soar down from the sky. Majestic, it's red and orange feather rippling through the wind. A set of armor would be dropped down in front of the fire mage. It was a traditional set of armor from Midi, that of which a Samurai would wear. A mix of bright red wood and leather, this was no ordinary armor. Not only was it made by the same family who made his father's armor, but it was also enchanted. The wearer was granted increased speed, which would merely add to the fact that he was already faster than normal mages of his own rank.

Speeding through the town, with a push on his feet, he would bounce from building edge to edge until he reached the roof tops. Ardere was just outside of the town square, which meant stealth would be required in this situation. Moving quickly but quietly across the roof tops, he found himself peering over the edge to a scene within the town square. A man with a rather interesting looking staff was displaying his tower over the whole town. He could easily hear what he was talking about, but it made him intrigued as to why they wanted the noble. Perhaps it was for ransom money, or he had harmed them in some way. Regardless, a man was waiting to be beheaded, and that was not something his conscience could bear if allowed to pass.

The man with the staff was too busy talking to the town, with his back turned to the god slayer. A rather large sword was about to be brought down upon a man's neck, but as soon as he lifted it into the air, he was in for a rather unpleasant surprise. Speeding down towards the men, one of the bandits would notice his arrival, but it was too late. Sliding across the pavement, he hit the man in the chest with a side kick, heel to sternum probably shattering it. The poor bandit was sent tumbling into the sword wielding man, causing both to tumble across the ground. Due to his passive magical effect, the man who was kick was left with a surprise, black flames forming on his chest. The man was now on fire, and that was certainly not pleasant for the bandit he was on top of. The townsman was safe, for now. The unfortunate side to this, was now all of the men were alerted to Ardere's presence. You deal with him! Sliding back a bit, he waited for the men to walk away from the towns people. Now, it was on. He could send a large attack that would not harm the towns people, but he would try not to be so flashy. Dealing with this quickly and attending to the staff bearing man was his first priority.