"Let me go, Axien."
Below, trapped in my arms, Lilas struggled. She spoke in a low tone while her single eye was fixed on the man who stood over Sara. Despite her being able to wield such a massive weapon with only a single hand, she was surprisingly weak. While she struggled, there were a few times she tried to bite me. Tears welled up in her eyes; it wasn't hard to tell what she was thinking right now.
But she was wrong, and she's currently unable to see that.
Henry was hunched over Sara, a crimson stain pooling on his sleeve. His breathing was ragged, and he grunted a few times while keeping his gaze fixed on the entrance to the alley.
Sara was at his feet, still trapped in the brown sack. Her struggling had long since ceased as her small eyes widened at the man over top of her.
"So, I am the coward here?"
I turned to face the man entering the alley. A man dressed nicely, or rather, he would have been if his clothing wasn't torn and stained with dirt and blood. His right hand was bandaged. He held a rapier tightly in his hands, the tip of the blade shaking unsteadily. A soft purple light glowed around his neck. It came from a sword pendant, the same pendant that only the second and seventh seats in the cult possessed.
Next to him was a woman. Dressed in a long, oversized trench coat. Without looking too hard, I could tell who this woman was—Kelly Frost. She held a small pistol in both hands, her finger trembling as the barrel was pointed towards Sara. Streaks snaked through her face as her eyes glistened in the light.
Fate could often favor those at times, but it felt too convenient that both targets were before me right here and now. One to save, the other to kill.
"Here you and that bastard are killing off my beautiful girls while I am trying to eliminate our enemies. Yet somehow I am the coward? Filth like you should have stayed on the Lower Layer, subjected to all the excrement of their superiors." Ritair spoke in a peeved way while returning Henry's harsh glare.
"Oh my," Henry stood up, grabbing Sara and pulling her behind him. He was hunched over, struggling to keep his balance. "The m-mighty asshole g-graces us with his r-refined words. Tell m-me, how d-does it feel to be s-stretched open, constantly fucked b-by everyone and t-thing?"
While the two of them bickered meaninglessly, I stole a glance toward Sara. She was stiff. Her small eyes locked onto me. They didn't waver; there was no fear. It was as if she understood the situation.
So did I.
Henry only took her as leverage to stop Lilas or me from attacking him. In that sense, he was no different from the seventh seat himself—using everything possible to win. Yet, while that idea was feasible, he might also have known Ritair was coming. If he knew, then while we fought, he had Sara taken from the rooftops, but he never left the alley, so how did he do that?
"Let me—mmmgh!?" I placed a hand over Lilas's mouth. With my other hand, I squeezed her tightly, trying my hardest to hurt her gently through her chainmail. The moment her eye widened, I loosened my grip.
"Calm down, you idiot. Sara is alive. Now listen to me, acting foolishly right now is only gonna get the both of us killed. So please, use that damn brain of yours that I know you have locked away in the pretty head of yours."
Her eye narrowed as she bit down on my hand hard. I pulled back my hand in response, but Lilas no longer struggled.
"Don't call me pretty or an idiot," she said. "Only Father Muller has the right to call me that."
Which part?
"Looks like you are thinking straight again," I said.
"Want me to bite you again?"
I'd really rather not; her teeth are rather sharp.
"Can you stand?"
"Who do you think I am?" Lilas stood, snapping her fingers. Instead of her oversized sword that lay abandoned on the ground, a weapon that belonged to the two large thugs flew into her hands.
I stood up and grabbed my Gearsaw off the ground. We stood back to back, her facing Henry and me facing Ritair.
"Interesting…"
"Move, filth."
Both Henry and Ritair spoke the moment we readied ourselves for a fight. This wasn't exactly part of a grand plan, but given where she and I are facing, it looks like I have to deal with the second seat myself.
Muller said his artifact was a tricky one. But Rinne said that Muller was just attacking the air. Given Muller, he was no slouch in a fight; there was no way he would mindlessly miss his target, especially since he has such a short range to attack with. Rinne, on the other hand, might be immune to the effects of the artifact, given the goddess blood running through her, but without her here, how am I supposed to fare against him?
My heartbeat quickened; was this fear? I looked into the eyes of Ritair, whose expression was impatient. He tapped his foot on the ground while clanking his weapon on his hip. The bored look in his eyes was enough to tell me that he didn't see me as an opponent at all.
This man was essentially an oversized kid. Galahad was twice his size, possessing an artifact that allowed him to appear behind his opponents the moment everyone broke eye contact with him. Compared to that—
Breathe in, breathe out.
An echo, I think, flowed into my mind. The sweetness of Rinara's voice calmed me as I remembered the first time I encountered a void spawn. The fear I felt, the rapid pounding of my chest, all of it was eased by Rinara's voice and touch. But all I have now is the cold, hard back of a woman wearing chainmail, whose mental state was more than to be desired.
"I told you to move," Ritair said, snapping his fingers. Kelly trained her sights on me. And—"Well? What are you waiting for? Kelly, shoot him."
The gun chattered in her hands. Ritair gave her a side-eye glance before rolling his eyes. He took the gun from Kelly's hands and lowered her arms to her side. He stroked her face, rubbing his thumb across the streaks left in her makeup.
"Sorry, I never noticed before, sweetie." He spoke in the sickening tone of a playboy while looking down at her as if she were nothing more than a mere object. "You knew this man, didn't you? Axien was it? I'll handle him alone; you can turn away. It will be over quickly."
Ritair turned back to me. As he did, Kelly turned away, obeying his orders. Ritair raised his blade, the lights the thugs brought reflecting off his thin blade. I lowered my stance, bringing my sword up, the blade facing him. The moment I did, I felt the pressure on my back disappear; Lilas had engaged Henry. But I had no time to worry about her; right now, a bigger threat was standing before me.
"Letting that woman with the lonely look in her eyes fight like that," he said, a grin growing on his face. "I'll show her the meaning to life, after I take you out of it."