Blood curling screams were heard on the battlefield as Tifa slaughtered one bandit after another. A humming sound resounded in the air with every thrust, swing, and slash of her sword, Stella May.
It was a gift she received from Kei after she became his retainer. He begged his grandfather, Legolas Frieden, to give him two treasured swords that he could bestow to the twins as proof of their allegiance to him.
His grandfather happily took him to his personal treasure vault, and gave him the freedom to pick any weapons he fancied. Kei spent many hours browsing his grandfather's collection.
Legolas was a true collector of rare artifacts, and the weapons in his vault numbered in the thousands. After three days, Kei finally made a hard decision and chose two swords that were said to made by a deceased master blacksmith.
The weapons were made in memory of her two daughters that died during a dungeon exploration. He never sold them to anyone and hid them near one of the forbidden area of the Eastern Federation when he felt that he didn't have long to live.
He also left a note for whom ever found these two treasured swords about their abilities and the requirements for weilding them. Legolas was lucky enough to stumble upon them when he explored the ruins near the Forbidden Areas.
Tifa glided on the battlefield with sword in hand. The sword, Stella May, was imbued by the power of Wind. It allowed its user the power to hover a meter above the ground and ride the wind as if she were wearing ice skates.
It also allowed its user to teleport short distances which made it a very strategic weapon to wield. Although the cooldown for each teleport was thirty seconds, that doesn't diminish its usefulness in the battlefield.
Stella May was a sentient weapon that allowed its user to detect anything within a 300 meter radius. Even if its master was blind, as long as the sword was vibrating and continued to sing, no one could hide from its detection range.
"Shit, who are you?!" a bandit roared as he clashed weapons with Tifa.
Tifa ignored his question and cast an [Air Bullet] at point blank range. The force of the impact blew the bandit off his feet giving her the opportunity to deliver a finishing blow.
Her sword sang in delight as it reaped another life. Tifa glanced at the remaining bandits as they regrouped behind their leader. The remaining guards of the Merchant Guild rallied by her side.
They were in awe of her battle prowess and were very thankful that someone as strong as her was fighting alongside them, and not against them.
"Who are you?" the Bandit Leader glared at her from where he stood. "Who are you affiliated with? Do you know that you're messing with the Shadow Bane Guild?"
Tifa raised an eyebrow. She was familiar with the Shadow Bane Guild because they were an organization that was based in the Kingdom of Edelweiss. They were a bandit group that was notorious for attacking merchants guilds that traveled to different places to trade their wares.
The side of Tifa's lips curled up. 'Looks like we caught a big fish.'
"Answer me!" the Bandit Leader shouted at her. "Do you want to be hunted down by our organization?! If you leave now I will turn a blind eye to everything that has happened. If you don't then you will be hunted down like the bitch you are and suffer a fate worse than death!"
"So noisy," Tifa replied. 'What was the word that young master always use during times like these?' She narrowed her eyes trying to recall her young master's words.
"Ah! I remember now." Tifa looked at the bandit leader in disdain. "What a cliche development."
"What did you say?!"
"Shut up. I don't have time to talk to mob characters."
Stella May hummed as Tifa pointed the sword tip towards the Bandit Leader. "Scum like you should be erased from the face of Eleison."
"Good! I always wanted to thrust my sword inside a bitch like you," the Bandit Leader snarled. "I hope both your upper and lower mouths doesn't disappoint me."
Tifa and the Bandit Leader kicked off the ground at the same time. They exchanged a few blows trying to test each other's strength. The bandits and the merchant guards wasn't idle either and clashed. The sound of weapons clashing against each other permeated the surroundings leaving the two combatants in their own world.
"Not bad," the Bandit Leader said in appreciation. "You're a very fine young woman. I'm going to enjoy thrusting my sword inside you."
Tifa ignored his taunts and parried another blow. The Bandit Leader was stronger than she anticipated. With every blow she noticed their discrepancy in strength and decided to distance herself from his reach.
The Bandit Leader knew what she was thinking and stomped the ground using his right foot. An [Earth Spike] appeared behind her which she dodged easily because of Stella May's warning.
The Bandit Leader narrowed his eyes as he lunged towards her. He was a bit surprised because he timed the [Earth Spike] perfectly. If Tifa was an ordinary warrior, her leg would have already been impaled by the spell.
Tifa activated her short distance teleport and delivered a blow towards the Bandit Leader's back. The man expected this move in advance and moved his sword accordingly to protect his back. He kicked backwards which directly hit Tifa's abdomen.
Tifa was blown away by the impact, almost dropping her sword in the process. She could taste the bile that was rising at the back of her throat, but kept her mouth firmly shut. She refused to give the Bandit Leader the satisfaction of seeing her throw up in front of him.
"That teleport ability of yours is annoying," the Bandit Leader said casually. "But, it's useless against me."
The Bandit Leader didn't relent his attack and gave her a barrage of blows and Earth Spells. She dodged them by rolling on the ground and using Stella May's hover ability.
When the pain in her abdomen subsided, she fired a barrage of air bullets which made the Bandit Leader back off.
She stood shakily on her feet using Stella May as support. Taking deep breaths to regain her footing.
"You are a woman of high-quality and it would be a shame to wound that beautiful body of yours," the Bandit Leader said in a gentle tone. "Why don't you become my woman instead? I could give you everything you could ever want and make sure that you enjoy a comfortable life. What do you say?"
"Keep dreaming," Tifa spat on the ground. "I've already chosen my man. My heart, and body, belong to him alone."
"A pity." The Bandit Leader shook his head. "I guess I'll just have to cut off both your arms and legs. If you are not going to become my woman then I'll settle for making you my sex toy inst-"
A loud snort behind him cut his words short. The Bandit Leader moved to the side and raised his guard. He looked at the man that was slowly making his way towards their direction.
Behind him bandits laid groaning on the ground. One quick glance and the Bandit Leader could tell that all their legs were broken. He appraised the newcomer cautiously.
"Cut off both her legs and arms?" Little John said with a sneer. "Not on my watch."