Her arm was once again recaptured, then claimed.
This time, Ruby didn't struggle. She stood still, eyes empty and limbs deprived of strength.
She was just like a doll who had lost both her mind and soul to the devil-like man before her.
"Darling, you promised the future to me, you shouldn't go back on your words."
The voices of the past returned to haunt her mind, just like how they did day and night 6 years ago.
"In this lifetime, you can only be mine, Julien's one and only treasure."
The kisses they had exchanged, the passion they had shared. It was as if it was but a matter of yesterday, every word he spoke etched into her memory without fault.
"Tell me you love me. Tell me, and I'll know. You.. have you ever truly loved me?"
A cold chill rushed to her heart as the light in her eyes snapped back to focus.
"Penguin! What happened to you? Wait, I'll send reinforcement–"
Eagle screamed, his voice abruptly cut off when the communication device on her ear was snatched away.
Ruby hadn't caught Julien coming near. She had completely missed his movement. How?
She pushed him away and retreated a few steps back, her eyes staring warily at him as she watched him fiddle with the communication device in his hand.
He had snatched the device, but not her gun. What was he exactly thinking?
"Penguin? Penguin! Answer me!"
The small device was buzzing with a tremor, until the helpless tiny thing was mercilessly crushed in between the force of his forefinger and thumb.
Bzzt–
Ruby's blood went cold. That madman… he's losing control.
Despite the faint smile maintained under the red blindfold, she could sense it even if she were miles away.
The rapid rise of his bloodlust, the ripple of danger pulsing in the air as they awaited for the demon's fury to be unleashed.
Her heart beat wildly like drums upon the commencement of a full-fledged war, the noise so loud that for a moment, all she could hear was the sound of her own, furious heartbeats—until he came.
"Who is he?"
His voice, cold and humorless, pierced through the void, commanding stillness not only to her, but to the universe itself.
"The drunkard from before," He paused with a frown, his voice heavier, "And also the bastard who smiled at you and touched your hand, who are they to you?"
Julien pushed forward, the calmness of his voice cracking with each step he took. His smile remained gentle and yet, Ruby couldn't help but shudder entirely.
At this state, she would be completely crushed under the oppression of his dominance.
She needed to leave immediately. Ruby was quick to make her decision.
"You've got the wrong person, Sir." She broke eye contact and looked away, "I'm a little busy here… if you please excuse me…"
Ruby attempted to break free by faking her ignorance, walking past him like they're mere strangers who had crossed paths by chance, until she heard the blindfolded man snort, his voice full of ridicule.
"Wrong person, do I look like a fool to all of you?"
Her arm was caught once more. However this time, Ruby had seen it coming, shaking it off in that instant and twisting her way out of his reach.
She had managed to break free, dashing through a small distance even, when a gunshot rang out.
Shoong!
It was then that her instinct took over.
Ruby found herself reaching back for the man she once loved and now avoided with all her might.
The irony was so rusty and bitter that it felt like iron rubbing against her tongue.
Total darkness descended the exact moment their bodies hit the ground with a low "thud!"
In that instant, a bad premonition struck her in the skull as Ruby quickly sprung to her feet, eyes and body adapting to the change of her surroundings at the speed of lightning.
She could sense them. Despite the indistinct lines and faint movements, she could see them moving in the dark like panthers on their hunt, slow and deliberate so as to not alert their prey.
Still, it was all but futile efforts when they're up against one of the best fighters in the agency.
"Stay low!" Ruby hissed as she pressed the struggling Julien back onto the ground, her other hand raising her gun and pointed it into a certain direction.
As her eyes locked onto the target, she didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.
Bang!
Her arm trembled from the recoil, but she held the gun steady, firing her gun rapidly in a calculated motion.
Another dull thud, another body down. The air went stiff, the pungent smell of blood thickening as the body count piled up. And yet, she knew that they were far from done.
The electricity had been completely cut off, the chaos of the panicking crowd rumbling downstairs dulling most of her hearing sense.
There were shouts of anger and screams of terror, profanities hurled everywhere as her men tried to control the situation that had long gone beyond their capability.
The mission was undoubtedly a complete failure.
Without the omniscient surveillance from Bald Eagle, Ruby knew that their team's coordination was as good as nothing. However, there's something much more dreadful going on right now.
The assassination attempt on a royal.
Cold sweat dotted her forehead as she adjusted her position, dragging along a corpse to act as a meat shield for her and the man behind her.
No matter how today would end, if the assasination were to be successful, the rest of them here would be as good as dead meat.
She was left with no choice then.
It was now either to survive, or die alongside this blindfolded man of a prince who was once the center of her universe.
…
5 Minutes Later.
Ruby breathed hard against one of the mahogany doors on the second floor.
Fortunately, amongst one of the executive rooms in the vicinity, she spotted an open one with a dead body holding the door apart.
Without any hesitation, she kicked the corpse aside and pulled Julien into the room with her, sealing the door with a "click" before she pressed herself against the door and peeked outside through the peep hole.
She couldn't help but hold her breath when the group of armed men in black searched the near vicinity, the fingers around the trigger of her gun cold and stiff.
Ruby had only dared to let out a sigh once the sound of their footsteps faded alongside their colliding shadows, her annoyance rising when she thought of the man's lack of protection.
What was exactly wrong with his security detail? It had been so long and yet, not even one had appeared to provide them assistance.
She had just meant to turn and scold the man for his lack of awareness towards his own status and identity, when her mask was snatched by the brush of his cold fingers.
Ruby's heart dropped to her feet, a coiling sensation gathering on her lower abdomen as what she saw struck her to the point of forgetting to even hide herself.
Under the silver veil of the moonlight, the man stood with his messy damp fringes pushed back, his top collar unbuttoned and his red blindfold untangled on his hand.
No longer shielded beneath the soft fabric, the brooding gaze he held was both dark and intimidating, like an endless swirling void that was about to suck her whole.
And yet, what struck her wasn't anything but one question.
How… was he able to see?