"It's probably our military," the Kuni head said, a flicker of hope lighting up in his otherwise pale and panicked face.
"Nah," I said casually, already grinning. "Your little military are cowards. They won't even think about coming to your aid."
"What are you talking about?" The man frowned at me, his voice rising with tension.
"You haven't realized it yet? You people… You've already been abandoned." I looked over my shoulder toward the door. The noise was getting closer.
"...That doesn't make sense, though." The man muttered, but his tone had shifted. It wasn't denial. It was dread. He stared at the door, shoulders trembling slightly.
"Shut up before they hear us." I raised my gun, narrowing my eyes at the wooden door.
"Ah, too late," I added calmly, hearing the faint scuffle of boots.
"What are you talking ab—"
"You fucking fool!" I yelled, slamming the butt of the gun into the side of his head.
"OW!" he groaned, clutching his skull and slumping to the ground.
I ignored him. My focus was already at the door. Without hesitation, I fired a single shot straight at head level.
Bang.
"Agh!!" a voice yelped on the other side of the door, followed by a loud thud.
"Tsk. I missed his head," I muttered, immediately unloading the rest of my clip—thirteen rounds total—through the door in rapid succession.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"What the fuck is going on!?" someone shouted in a panic on the other side before I heard the sound of footsteps retreating.
"Tsk. Just two?" I grumbled, sliding the empty clip from the handgun and slamming in a fresh mag.
"Blow the door open!" someone roared down the hall.
"Well," I sighed, extending my arm and conjuring an ice wall just in front of us. Thick, reinforced. It wouldn't hold forever, but it would do for now.
Boom!
The door exploded in a shower of wood and fire as a blast charge blew it off its hinges.
"Kill all of them now!" An older voice barked—commanding, enraged, and bitter.
"Good luck with that," I said with a smirk, tossing half a dozen ice orbs over the wall. As I turned to the Kuni family, I raised both hands and summoned chains of ice, wrapping them tightly around all four of them.
"What are you doing!?" The Kuni head barked, glaring at me like I was the enemy now.
"Shut up before I leave you behind," I snapped, already dragging them toward the broken window.
"Cheers, guys!" I yelled just as we leapt through. The moment we cleared the room, the ice orbs detonated behind us.
Boom!
"Kyaa!!" one of the twins shrieked as we tumbled from the window.
"Sigh, you guys are so distracting," I muttered, dusting myself off as we landed. The four Kunis were sprawled on the ground, their faces frozen in pure horror.
"Mom!?" Apricot shouted, running over as she caught sight of us.
"Oi, you dumbasses! How could you let them into the mansion!?" I yelled, glaring at her and Chinada.
"Ugh! "Could you please make the landing a bit easier?" The high dwarf brat groaned, trying to stand.
"...So. How did they get past you guys?" I asked Apricot, ignoring the dwarfs completely.
"We didn't let anyone pass us. I'm sure of that!" Apricot said this with her fists clenched in conviction.
"Hmm. Are there any tunnels under the mansion?" I asked, turning to glare at the Kuni Househead.
"That is a family secret you're asking about," he said, narrowing his eyes.
"Great, so there is," I muttered sarcastically. "Thanks for confirming."
"I guess we'll need to go and secure the tunnels," Brenda said, resting her sword on her shoulder.
"Nah. They might actually be after the family. "Not sure though," I said, tossing the Kunis to the side like sacks of grain. My clones blinked into position around them and began forming a dome of transparent ice.
Not indestructible, but more than enough to block stray arrows or low-tier spells. If someone wanted to get through that, they'd have to work for it.
"T-There's more of her," the Kuni head muttered, eyes wide and haunted.
"Are you sure you want to split yourself up like this?" Chinada asked, casting a nervous glance at the barrier.
"Don't worry about me. "Worry about yourselves," I said, my voice low as I eyed the battlefield. Nekro's undead were dying one after another, the sounds of bones cracking and bodies falling growing louder.
"Hmm. They work well together," Nekro said softly from my shoulder, her tone unusually tense.
"They are? How many?" I asked, scanning for movement. I haven't seen anything yet.
"I don't know. I can't see them. Hoped you'd be able to." Nekro frowned.
"They have a focused approach?" I asked, glancing sideways at her.
"In front of us. From the mansion," she said, pointing to the entrance.
"Good to know. Everyone, drop now," I ordered, forming a long odachi in my hand, mana swirling around the blade like fog.
"Hup!" I swung the sword wide, unleashing a horizontal arc of raw mana toward the broken entry path, tearing into the wall of corpses in front of us.
"Ugh!?"
"Do—Agh!"
Screams burst from unexpected places. I flinched. Some were behind me.
"What the fuck?" I turned to find a half-rotted corpse lying a few feet away.
"How did you see me?" A man's voice rasped.
A grey-haired old man staggered into view, one hand clutching his hip, a monstrous humanoid devil child supporting him from the side.
"Aah, for fuck's sake… they didn't die," I grumbled, glaring at the pair.
The old man had faint devilish markings on his skin, but unlike the others, his features still resembled humans. Barely.
"Whatever. Doesn't matter. Matt—kill everyone here. "Especially her," the man said while pointing directly at me.
"Heh, will do mast—"
Before the monster could finish, its head exploded in a burst of gore and smoke.
"What!" the old man gasped.
"Sigh, this is as addictive as always," I said, spinning my gun in one hand before glancing back at Apricot. "Get them out of here."
"A-Are you sure we should leave?" Apricot asked, staring at the thick red-black aura radiating off of me.
"Pfft. You'll only be dead weight right now. So shoo. Fuck off," I said with a grin, turning my attention back to the monster and its master.
"R-Right." Apricot hesitated but nodded and moved to follow the order.
"Well, thank you for waiting so we could finish," I said to the devil child, whose body had already regenerated.
"Heh. This will be fun," it said before vanishing with a sonic snap.
"Huh?" it said, confused. It had landed in front of nothing.
"Do you really think you're faster than me?" I said, reappearing beside it. I grabbed its arm, twisted, and flung it out of the mansion's courtyard like a piece of trash. I didn't even watch where it landed. I was already charging the old man.
"Matt! Ugh—you bitch!" the old man screamed, falling backward.
"Just die already," I muttered, bringing the staff down in a clean arc.
"Matt! Help me!" he shouted, trying to crawl away.
"Yes, master." The monster reappeared from beneath the earth, blocking the strike.
"Fuck sake," I cursed, jumping back just in time to dodge the devil's punch.
"Hehe. You'll be enjoyable to rip apart," it growled, summoning two long black sickles from the ooze dripping from its hands.
"Tsk. You can make weapons too, huh?" I replied, summoning an ice staff.
The thing lunged at me with a savage grin. I blocked its first strike and flipped the staff, cracking it under the chin and stunning it.
"I already know cutting you up only makes things worse," I muttered, keeping pressure up. A clean kill wouldn't be possible—not with this freak.
Seeing an opening, I turned toward the old man again. He was still there, holding his bleeding stump.
Not wasting a second, I swung my staff straight at his neck.
"Heh. Do you think that'll reach—" His words died in his throat. My staff had sliced halfway through before he could blink.
"Master!" the devil screamed, catching him as he fell limp.
"Yeah, as if that would work on me," I muttered, stepping back and launching two ice orbs at their feet.
Boom!
"ARGGGGHHHHHHH."
"Man… he's still alive?" I muttered, scowling at the thick smoke left behind.
"Aaaagh!"
"Right." I jumped into the air, shielding myself as a blast of force ripped up the ground below.
"How dare you!" the devil howled, its eyes bloodshot and wild.
"Heh." I didn't answer; I just raised both hands and flipped him off.
"Grrrrr!" It roared, charging at me.
"Try again." I sidestepped and swept his legs with the staff. He crashed hard.
"Come on, big guy," I said, taunting.
Then I froze.
A sharp, searing pain bloomed in my gut. I looked down slowly, my eyes widening as I saw the arm sticking clean through my torso.
"...Ugh. Old man… You're not dead?" I muttered, blood spilling from my mouth as I glanced back over my shoulder.