"Where the hell have you taken us, who the fuck are you people?" The prisoner grabbed Ferris by the collar and lifted him a bit to show dominance.
But Ferris' mind went off to another place.
Spit and putrid breath masked his face, and just thinking about combining that with the fact he hadn't showered made him want to puke.
How could a knight be so disgusting?
Ferris wanted to turn around and perhaps take a dip in the pool filled with villains.
But he questioned if, after coming out, would he be cleaner—or worse than before?
"Damn it, look at me!" the prisoner yelled.
Only then did Ferris acknowledge his presence, and he was surprised the prisoner hadn't tried to hit him yet.
Staring at the prisoner's eyes, he clearly saw through the facade. Under that rough figure and dangerous face, Ferris could clearly see the true feelings.
It was a mix of fear, anger, and paranoia. A very unstable man.
One small push and the prisoner would snap and try to hurt him.
Ferris knew that whatever he was about to say, it would lead to the same result.
Ferris sighed internally, not wanting to cause a scene and not wanting to waste his energy.
Essence gaze would be so convenient right now. Ferris suddenly wanted to start meditating and maximize his 9th layer.
The worst thing that could happen now, is unwanted escalation.
Ferris saw the villains around him, he saw that they were merely enjoying the spectacle.
Not a single one of them tried to help Ferris.
Then again, they were villains after all.
So why stop an unfolding scene?
I'll just have to somehow calm this guy down... Ferris was about to raise his hand. "...Just take it easy—
Click!
Huh? Ferris glanced at the source of the clicking noise.
Evening was pointing her revolver at the prisoner's face at point-blank range. She drew it so fast that Ferris didn't even notice it.
"Huh? Why ain't it firing?" Evening retreated her extended arm to look at her gun's issue.
It was a masterfully crafted gun with golden accents and a polished wooden grip that shined even more than its mainly silver color.
"What's wrong?" Evening found no damage on her gun, so she decided to look inside the barrel with her one eye up close, ignoring all gun safety rules.
"Is anyone there? Yohoo~"
This woman! Ferris looked back at the prisoner, whose face twisted in not-so-pleasant ways.
He snapped instantly and snarled, "Y-you're trying to kill me! You kidnapped me and you're trying to k-kill, s-so I have to kill you!"
Severe mental issues... Ferris could only think of that, and of Miss Evening as well.
Since this was villain territory, killing was probably allowed or even encouraged amongst each other.
But before Ferris could even reach for his sword's grip.
He saw Evening flash before his eyes.
Like a snake, she slithered around the prisoner's body till she was sitting on his wide shoulders.
Not even the prisoner realized what happened.
Ferris was shocked by her nimble and flexible movements.
An assassin? Ferris was confident in his deduction.
In his old world,
Elves, for most of their early lives, lived inside dense forest and greenery.
Because of their culture of preserving nature, there wasn't a lot of infrastructure that supported travel between elven kingdoms.
Climbing, jumping, running, swimming, and more. Their whole body was their own transport vehicle.
And because of that lifestyle, nearly all elves had master levels of dexterity and perfect bodies.
It was to the point that some adult elves could even unnerve other races just by simply walking perfectly.
They were quite literally made into killing instruments just by living their normal life.
Made even more deadly through specialized training.
And it seemed that, even as a human, Miss Evening was just as lethal as she was when she was an elf.
Snap!
She unleashed a quick burst of strength to rotate the villain's head all the way along the x-axis.
Just as quickly as she killed him, the lifeless body began to fall forward due to Miss Evening's larger mass at the front which caused a shift in the center of gravity.
Despite being drunk, she landed somewhat gracefully.
"I've still got it. Let's go!" Miss Evening suddenly became energetic as she grabbed Ferris's wrist tightly, dragging him towards the exit.
Judas was left in the dust, he looked at the prisoners around him.
They were clearly pissed off but fearful of his presence.
"Yeah, no." Judas muttered before storming off past the shocked prisoners.
Ferris, not wanting to leave Judas out of his sight, tried slowing down, but Evening's grip proved to be actually stronger than he thought.
Evening definitely uses the essence layer technique. She's strong, but I can't tell what layer she's in.
At the moment, Ferris stood at a crossroads.
Deep inside, he was unbearably lonely in this world. Near his death and even after it he had never prepared himself for being the only one left of his kind.
Should I tell her everything?
In the old world, unity had reached its peak during the prophecy's climax. There had been no hatred between races, genders, or even between good and evil.
But did that sort of camaraderie translate to this world?
What if Evening died earlier during the prophecy?
Or worse, what if Evening was once a follower of Jörmungandr?
No, not yet. Ferris decided on not telling her anything until he was sure.
Miss Evening is an unpredictable woman, that much is certain.
Ferris closed his eyes, allowing Miss Evening to drag him to wherever that healer is.
If she really is from my world, then perhaps.
My teacher is here... He hoped for a bit, before deciding on bottling that misguided dream.
I should accept that all my comrades are dead, unless I see them with my own eyes.
"Goodie! We're here!" Miss Evening slammed on her brakes, causing Ferris to crash into her.
But she was surprisingly sturdy and had extremely good balance, so she didn't even budge from the impact.
She was also a good cushion, so Ferris wasn't at all hurt.
This is... A souvenir shop? Ferris looked at the small wooden cabin.
It was close to the plaza, so the space around it was quite wide and open. But that also meant that there were hundreds of abandoned food trucks littered around, creating a maze-like plain.
Even now, Ferris was thinking about the future, if a fight were to break out, he wouldn't be in the open because of the nature of the battlefield.
While analyzing the surrounding area, Judas finally caught up to them, huffing and puffing.
"Don't... Leave from my sight, otherwise... I wouldn't be able to help you." Judas said, crunching his back, still catching his breath.
That's my line, excuse me? Ferris lampooned.
"Just head inside, don't be shy." Evening was the first to enter through the front door.
It was a swing door so it automatically closed right behind Evening.
Ferris soon followed her.
But just to stay cautious, he placed his hand on the handle of his sword and used his injured arm to slowly open the door.
There was nothing strange when he opened it.
It's not Lumine's doorway. Ferris was glad he didn't have to deal with the proctors.
He was also glad that they weren't demon-level villains, at least he stood a chance against them.
Ferris kept the door open and stayed vigilant as he let Judas pass through without harm.
Only then did he close the door behind them.
This place is. Ferris wondered what he was seeing.
Multiple weapons, some broken and chipped, some looked normal but they were probably broken internally.
It felt more like a workshop than a souvenir store.
All of the shelves were converted to store broken weapons and items.
Regardless, the place was relatively kept clean of dust.
But it did smell terrible, as most of the weapons were drenched in dried blood or other mysterious substances.
Ferris watched Miss Evening, her movements were swaying heavily. If she accidentally bumped into the shelves filled with deadly weapons and caused an incident, that would be entirely her fault.
"Fixer! Sober me up and fix my friend!" She slammed her hands on the counter.
Behind the counter was a door, and from beyond it Ferris heard metal clattering and hurried footsteps, someone scrambling to finish something.
The door swung open. Out stepped a relatively petite woman in a thick leather apron, and a nail gun clenched in her hand.
"Not you again," the 'Fixer' muttered, her tone filled with annoyance.
She marched to the counter, climbed onto a stool to meet Miss Evening eye to eye and without hesitation pressed the nail gun against Evening's forehead.
Bang!
"!!!" Ferris was right to be shocked.
And Judas was even more shocked!
But Miss Evening was still standing normally, she turned around and presented her happy expression.
There was no wound on her forehead.
Evening no longer had that alcoholic smell, she was even hopping around sideways to showcase her renewed sense of balance.
A healer? She just shot her patient, and it somehow worked!
Blessings are scary, Ferris was freaked out.
"It's your turn!" Evening encouraged.
Hell no...