A sharp whistle split the air as a blade shaped like a kunai shot out from the far end of the dark passage.
Charles instinctively raised his sword to block, but the weapon scraped past the blade and buried itself in his shoulder.
"Son of—! That's gonna swell!"
He yanked the throwing knife out in a hurry and picked up the alchemic vial on the ground, its glass slick with his own blood. Before the worst of his injury could heal, a small pink blur shot toward him at incredible speed, slamming right into his guard.
Clang!
Fist blade met cursed sword. This time, Charles didn't drop his weapon.
Their eyes locked—before him stood a Pallum girl with messy, short pink hair and a feral glare. She grinned viciously, twisting her fist blade. The sheer force running down the blade made Charles realize something.
"Level 2?!"
The power boost from being on the brink of death didn't quite put him at Level 2, but it was close. And since she was a Pallum, he might just be able to manage.
Except…
The face was all too familiar. He hesitated.
"You're… the 'Sly Rat'!"
"Oh? Didn't think I was that famous. But buttering me up won't help you now!"
Leila pressed against his longsword, seizing the chance his surprise gave her. She shoved off with the blade and planted a kick square in his chest.
Thud!
Charles staggered back two steps—only for four more throwing knives to whistle toward him.
Shhk!
He shielded his vitals, blood spraying as he crashed to the ground.
"Hey, you okay?"
After dealing with Charles, Leila crouched beside the "Hyena" and reached out to check his wounds.
The Hyena's mouth frothed with blood, eyes fixed on her with seething humiliation.
As if I'd let myself get humiliated by these justice-loving hypocrites even after I'm dead.
His last breath escaped. The Hyena went still.
"…Why do you look kinda familiar?" Leila frowned at the corpse's face, but the dim light made it impossible to be sure.
Meanwhile, Charles forced himself upright, yanking the knives from his body and letting them clatter on the stone.
He hadn't expected that the lifeline he was chasing would stab him instead.
At first, he'd been furious—betrayed, even. But watching Leila's actions, he understood.
Wearing the Dark Faction's uniform… she'd mistaken him for the enemy.
"You're still alive?" Leila narrowed her eyes.
"You've got it wrong. I'm not—"
"Spare me!"
Before he could finish, Leila's small figure lunged forward again. Her glittering fist blades twisted into a spiral, and Charles scrambled to parry.
"Too green, trash."
Her blades shredded his defense and slashed into him over and over. With the fight so fierce, Charles had no chance to explain; all his focus was on keeping up with the relentless storm of steel.
A blood-red rose bloomed before Leila's eyes.
Huh?
In that brief clash, she realized something strange about him.
"Oi—you bastard! Are you a fucking immortal?!"
Charles opened his mouth, but a sudden flying kick slammed into him before he could speak.
"Ugh—!"
Leila sprang back, and the ground began to rumble beneath them.
"Let's see if this kills you!"
Charles glanced down—and froze. Several round explosives were flashing red at his feet.
"Fuck—Firestones?! Seriously?"
Firestones—dangerous enough to obliterate even a Level 3—were harvested from the bodies of magma monsters on the 40th Floor.
"Tsk, I refused to become a charcoal!"
Sure, that College student skill made him hard to kill, but it didn't make him immortal. And if he was blown into bits… well, who knew if he could even come back?
Charles hurled the Firestones toward Leila with all his strength, then dove backward.
BOOOOM!
The deafening blast roared through the alleyway.
Rolling through the smoke, Charles ducked falling stones from the cavern ceiling, using them as cover.
"Cough—damn justice freaks…"
Clutching his battered body, he staggered away along the route he'd memorized. At this point, running into any other member of the Astraea Familia would be suicide.
---
Elsewhere…
Fire dust hung in the air.
A beautiful woman in a Far Eastern kimono, long black hair flowing behind her, closed in at speed with a katana in hand.
"Hey—Leila, you okay?"
"Sorry, Kaguya. I got caught."
Leila leaned against the rock wall, blood trickling from her lips. Her insides were still rattled from the blast.
Charles had thrown the Firestones hard, sealing off her retreat. With no other choice, she'd charged right into her own specialty explosives. She'd avoided most of the damage thanks to her familiarity with them, but was still badly hurt.
"Didn't think our tactician would trip in the gutter. Was he that strong?" Kaguya scanned the scene.
"It's not that. He's… weird. Really hard to kill."
Leila gave a bitter laugh. "He claimed he had Firestones, then threw them right at me."
Kaguya blinked. "Are you stupid? Who warns you before a sneak attack?"
Leila sighed. "Yeah… that one's on me."
Something about it had just thrown her off—enough to make her play along. Looking back, believing the enemy really had been dumb.
"Nope, not dumb at all."
A voice called from behind them.
A red-haired beauty wrapped in flames stroked her chin.
"There are Firestones here, y'know."
She bent to pick one up to show the others—
"You—idiot—Alise! Magic! Use your magic!"
From farther back, a masked elf with long golden hair and slender ears—Ryuu Lion—lunged forward, tackling her overenthusiastic captain to the ground.
"What's your problem, Ryuu? If you wanna snuggle the city's strongest beauty, wait until we're back at the Familia!"
"You blockhead! That's a Firestone! Do you want us all to die here?!"
Ryuu shook Alise by the collar for emphasis.
"Ah? Ahahaha!" Alise scratched her head sheepishly. "Oops. Forgot."
Kaguya pressed a palm to her face. "…Unbelievable."
Leila's jaw slackened. "Wait—it was real?!"
Then why had he warned her? Could it be that Alise's ridiculous "always shout your attack names" policy was… actually real?
"Heh~"
Canceling her magic, Alise picked up the Firestone and tilted her head. "Alright, let me tell you the truth of the case!"
"There were two corpses at the scene. Based on your testimony, Leila, the suspect deliberately told you and threw the Firestones to a safe spot where they wouldn't detonate. That's why they were duds."
Leila stared. "So why would a Dark Faction member go soft?"
Alise pushed up imaginary glasses, and—complete with a mental BGM—declared: "There's only one truth!"
"The real culprit… is lying right here!"
"…Huh? Why?"
Leila wasn't about to admit a complete airhead captain had out-thought her, but out of respect for her gut, she waited for the reason.
Kaguya crouched by the body, rolling the Hyena over to check his back—then froze.
"She's right."
"…?"
Kaguya pointed to the corpse.
"This… looks like Hyena Swit, a squad captain of the Alecto Familia."
Leila's face paled. Piecing together what she'd seen earlier…
"…Don't tell me… I just cut down an ally?"