As the days passed by and Nero kept to himself, Jet was forced to work by himself for a time. Perhaps now would be as good a time as any to begin proper training to one day face off with Rose? Surely, now that he had this cloak he’d be able to keep up with her – right? In any case, he began seeking out other players to duel with – taking the time to learn their movements and compare them with the red-head’s own, finding that nobody seemed to have the same power, speed and finesse as she did. And even more worrying was the fact that he only seemed to be an okay fighter when it came to clashing swords with Rose herself. Any other fighter and Jet was tripping over himself, fumbling with his sword and getting stabbed all over the place. Why?

It took him some time and the aid of a few observers to figure out that his abilities stemmed from the ridiculous nature of his attacks. To the trained eye, his movements were so impossibly obscure and illogical that they caused any professional sword-fighter to lose a second as their mind leapt through the processes to keep up. But, when it came to others who weren’t nearly as well disciplined as Rose was, they could react like normal and easily deal with him. If he was going to be able to fight her on equal grounds, he’d need to expand upon that odd strength and try to minimise the level of weakness to the same ability.

Meanwhile, Alice was busy gathering further supporters for her cause. Of course, the rumours of her constant losses against the ‘Goddess’ Rose were not helping her at all in this. But, with some determination and a few instances where she avoided losing her cool, a few more people were convinced to join her regime to try and stop Rose’s abuse of her strength. The jailing system was not being utilised at all, after all; the duo simply killing any that disrupt their reign. It was around this time that she founded a new group of people dedicated to proper justice – rather than simply rebelling against the Masked Man and Rose. 

-----

Rose’s gauntlet slammed into the side of Nero’s jaw once he’d pushed Nikolai to the ground, causing the male to suddenly be thrust off of him and roll over the cobblestone floor – the red-head offering her hand to the blonde, helping him back up to his feet. He dusted his robes down slowly, clearing his throat and turning to face the fallen male – chuckling at him quietly, making sure it reached his ears.

“What do you mean? The Guild has been taken care of. I found them, as you requested of me – but I took the initiative and let Rose handle them.” He explained himself casually, tilting his head to one side. His tone of voice was almost mocking; baffled by his question.

“Seems your friends died in the conflict, Nero.” He began again, shaking his head slowly, “Too bad they were around when Rose was on clean-up duty. If I recall, Rose – “ He turned to face her, gesturing for her to be a part of the conversation, “There was a little girl there, right? You told me of her once the job was done.

Rose nodded slowly, before crossing either arm over her chest thoughtfully.
“Yeah. After I’d killed most of the Guild, there was a guy and some of his friends dragging a girl away from the battle. I chased and cut down most of the guys but all she did was cry at me. I asked if she was a prisoner, she didn’t respond – I then asked if she was part of the guild and she started crying louder. So I killed her too.”

Nikolai nodded gently, before turning back about to face their interrogator, placing a hand on his hip gently. “There you have it – they did not inform her of their allegiances and paid the price for being in the wrong place at the wrong time… Or perhaps they were a part of the red guild and didn’t tell you?” he chuckled again, as though it were a game.

Rose stepped forwards, hand on the hilt of her blade and scowl adorned over her features.
“Is there anything else?” she asked not so politely.