The sea's violent waves parted reluctantly with the passing of the boat, the strong modified engine carrying it along shakily as it's pushed to its limits.
Along with the waves, rain poured down from the sky with a vengeance, its state reflecting the mood of Dunwall as well as the two men stationed inside the boat.
The lively banter and the comfortable silence that usually settles between the two men not finding its way there. Instead, what sparks between the two now in this wet, uncomfortable atmosphere is a dark, silent distrust that can only appear between allies… in betrayal.
"The island is a bloody mess."
The first words between them come from the old boat master, ominous and brief, as if stating both the fact and the fate of the island.
"Looks like they all fought. Knowing what I know now, it's probably over Emily, and that was just after they landed. I bet the Admiral's got her locked up somewhere in the lighthouse right about now."
Even still, he refuses to turn and face Corvo, but gives all the information available to him nonetheless. A rational decision in the face of something more important than the both of them.
That being the safety of Emily… the future of the Empire.
"If Pendleton's lost the first round, he's probably dug in someplace, doing his best to drink himself to death, the usual really. Martin though, I suspect it's he who has got the lighthouse under siege… They've turned on each other, at last. I suppose we should have seen it coming a while ago."
Samuel continues to steer the boat, navigating the biting waves and dodging all the obstacles that could crash into them.
But as he finishes talking, shouting to the point of a hoarse voice to be heard over the loud crashing of the waves and rain, he turns a corner and passes a cliff.
It's as they pass and enter this new region that the sea finally starts to settle. Only the lingering waves rocking them about uncomfortably.
"So… the Admiral is power mad, Martin's a snake and "Lord" Pendleton is a coward."
And it's now, finally as they reach their destination, that Samuel actually turns his head with a slow finality, that he actually faces Corvo head on.
"And you. I can't deny that I'm disappointed, Corvo. It's like you've gone out of your way to be nothing but cruel. And the stories I've heard from the flooded district. I just don't know whether or not to think of them as mere superstition or as a new truth of the world. But knowing you… I'd believe it."
A frown appears on the old man's face, his eyes looking ever more horrified and tired, making the wrinkles on his face deeper and more present.
"I can't say it hasn't been interesting, traveling with you. But this is the last time you'll see me, sir. Goodbye."
They continue to sit there in a tensely charged silence. Corvo's emotions frozen but largely unknown to the other man from the mask, but Samuel has visible fear, annoyance, and anger written all over his face.
"Out, Corvo. I'm letting you go this time. Don't take my kindness for weakness."
So it's with a sigh, not even a word to a man that could vaguely be called a friend in this dreadful journey, that Corvo dismounts the boat and disappears from sight.
…
..
.
Corvo stood atop a disabled watchtower, observing the guards work around the island as dying noises and lights finally fizzle out of the machine with its power core ripped out.
The entirety of the island teeming with activity of the guards' patrol, skittering around with the cooperation of an ant nest.
The sight, intimidating as it was, would draw a primal fear out of even the hardened man. And it would have brought the same result into Corvo's heart… if this was his first time raiding a fortress.
Besides, he now has the power to transmute that silent, aching traces of fear into a swirling confidence that he will succeed in any goal he sets his mind to.
Corvo spares a final look towards the guards, memorising their images inside his mind so that even through what is about to happen they won't be truly forgotten.
He takes a deep breath as mana surges throughout his whole body.
Then, and only then, does he finally utter a word so chaotic, so malicious that it seems to inform the very world itself to lean towards a fate of ruin.
"SWARM INCARNATE-CARRION ASPECT"
As the whisper leaves his mouth, a ripple echoes throughout the world and void alike, bringing forth a new authority that still hasn't fully manifested.
His skin, containing more scar tissue than untouched flesh, started to change. At first its hue started to shift to become darker. That soon turned into shadows made manifest, spreading further to cover the entirety of his body.
Then cracks started to form.
Entirely invisible under the pure darkness that became Corvo.
That is, until his body shattered, fragmenting.
Those fragments seem to writhe and warp, twisting until they reform in a new image.
That of a swarm of jet black crows.
"…"
And for a moment the crows just look at each other, just as surprised as anyone else would be were they to witness the transformation. They cock their heads sideways on instinct as they stare at the partner to the left.
But as that moment ends, a strained, almost human-like intelligence starts to be made clear in their eyes.
Using that as a signal, they all flap their wings and fly sky high. Using that bird's eye view to locate prey, they all fly in unison and dive down the same.
{Guards POV}
"Oi, Jeff."
A guard, one no different from the hordes of others surrounding him, questions the man on his right, a tinge of fear visible in his voice.
"Yeah? What."
His buddy replies absentmindedly, stuck inside his own head at the information all the units received, similar to all the rest.
"I mean, who would have thought that the butcher of Dunwall was Corvo Attano himself! There were jokes and suspicions about it being him but it was just that, rumours."
The guard that was called out to, Jeff, shivers slightly in his boots as he remembers all the information about Corvo's crimes.
"Murder, mass murder, terrorism, regicide, grand theft and much more crazy things! And the bastard is coming here! I mean I get it, everybody knows he was with the late Empress, but why do we all have to suffer because he was killed? You already killed the one responsible, you prick."
He sighs dramatically, bringing his hand to his backside to finally scratch that itch his uniform always seems to bring to him.
"Look over me, Mary, for tonight I will join you."
"JEFF!"
"WHAT!"
The two shout at each other, drawing all the attention from their squad mates to themselves.
Jeff grunts in annoyance as he feels his ears heat up, turning around and glaring at his mate angrily.
But his friend, Danny, doesn't even have the decency to look back. Instead, a look of pure terror is plastered on his face, his body quaking harshly.
"What wrong?"
He turns to look at what has Danny all worked up, he usually isn't like this, after all.
"Hmm?"
Jeff grunts, squinting his eyes to focus his terrible vision on the black spots swarming the sky.
"What is that? Birds? The crows usually don't come around, this is seagull territory after all."
The black spots continue growing in his vision, getting closer and closer to the point he can make them out clearly.
"Danny?"
"Yeah."
"Is it just me… or are they heading straight for us at high speeds?"
"It isn't just you."
"Oh, great."
The two pause as they look at each other with an intense panic appearing in their eyes.
And through them, the rest of the unit is alerted, causing the panic to spread like wildfire.
The guards, once composed and disciplined, now run around like headless chickens in the face of the swarm of death approaching from above.
CLAP!
Thud
A deafening slap is heard as the fastest crow makes it first, hitting a guard at random and piercing his head like a knife through butter.
And such scenes quickly repeat throughout the whole area around them.
But there is some saving grace after all.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
The arc pylon next to them finally activates, launching condensed electricity at the crowd circling the guards from above.
ZAP
ZAP
ZAP
Yet, even with the machine backing them up, as well as the quickly shrinking numbers of the swarm, life still finds a way to screw over the weak.
A small window of opportunity opens up to the birds as a malfunction occurs on the pylon as it overheats, creating a few second pause in the previous rapid fire of the machine.
A few seconds is all the crows need.
Five of the remaining fifteen dive bomb the distribution board stationed next to the whale oil container, something that causes a further reaction to spike and send a back feed into the whale oil.
What happens next is as predicted.
BOOOOOOOOM
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