Chapter 97: The Crimson Mist
— At The Main House —
"They were...cough... in the left wing upstairs study room. That was the last place I saw them," Tracy explained, her voice weak as she coughed up a cloud of dust.
"The left wing... I see. Then thank you," Isaac said blankly. Without another word, he immediately turned and started walking toward the ruined direction of the left wing.
"You are just going to leave like that?!" Adam yelled, staring at Isaac in disbelief. "Aren’t you at least going to help us get her out of here first?! Then we can go together and search for them!"
Isaac suddenly stopped and looked back over his shoulder.
"Yeah... she did help me," Isaac murmured to himself. He locked eyes with Adam. "Then, as a token of gratitude to her... you should not lift that pillar yet."
"What do you mean?" Adam asked, frowning in confusion.
"It’s exactly as I said. If you lift that heavy stone off her legs right now without a Mage present, the sudden release of pressure will cause severe shock and blood loss. She will die much faster than if you just leave her pinned," Isaac explained coldly. "So, in my opinion, you should find the Mage first, then pull her out so he can immediately heal the damage."
"Don’t you just want us to go and help you fin—"
"Well, well. It seems there is a little family reunion going on down here."
Before Adam could finish, a new, mocking voice echoed from above and everyone froze when they heard it. 8 was casually sitting on top of a jagged, collapsed stone wall, looking down at them in the rubble.
"I thought you sensed wrong when you said there was movement in this mess," 7 said, gracefully jumping down from the wall and landing on the debris. "But I guess those sharp senses of yours didn’t deceive us this time." he smirked, slowly drawing his steel sword.
’God... I knew I should have run away into the forest like the other villagers instead of hiding here!’ Sam thought, his legs shaking so fast that he almost collapsed. ’Now I’m completely screwed! And I’m stuck with these nobles! If I run away now, it would seem like I’m abandoning them, and they’ll kill me, if they survive!’
"Tsk... this is the worst, they had to show up right now of all times," Isaac clicked his tongue, casually sliding his hands into his pockets. ’I don’t have time for this.’
"We are not scared of you!" Zena yelled drawing his sword and activating his dense purple Aura, cloaking his small body in light.
’What does he mean "we"?! Your hands are practically shaking from fear, kid, and you are saying "we" don’t involve me with you.. I don’t even know who you are and you are saying "we" ?!’ Sam panicked internally.
"Hahaha... 8, check out this little boy! He sure has some guts in him, pointing his sword at both of us. And judging from the density of his Aura, he must actually be at the Fourth Stage!" 7 laughed in genuine amusement.
Then, his voice suddenly dropped, turning terrifyingly cold. "But where does a little bug like you get the guts to point a sword at me? A Fifth-Stage?"
Just after saying that, 7 aggressively activated his own Aura, a heavy, suffocating pressure enveloping his body and crushing the air around the rubble.
"Do you need help dealing with them?" 8 asked lazily from the wall.
"Are you nuts? Why would I ask for—"
BOOM!!
A deafening shockwave suddenly shattered the air. The ground trembled as a figure blurred into existence, landing directly between Zena and the assassins.
It was Vincent.
He was holding his twin blades, but they looked entirely different. The metal was emitting a thick, boiling crimson mist that hissed in the air. Vincent’s eyes were glowing with a terrifying, unnatural red light.
"How...?! How are you here?!" 7 screamed, instantly taking a step back in pure panic. "Weren’t you fighting the Boss just a minute ago?!"
"...?!"
Vincent didn’t say a single word. He only stood there, letting the crimson mist bleed from his swords as he stared a hole through the two assassins.
"Mmmm... 7? I think we have a massive problem," 8 stammered, his lazy demeanor instantly vanishing as he stood up on the wall in a panic.
"What is it?!"
"I think... I think the Boss is dead..." 8 breathed.
He was staring past the ruins, looking down the street toward the burning village. Lying in the dirt, completely motionless in a pool of blood, was the body of Ronny, along with the other two assassins they had left with him.
"What?! Dead?! How...?!" 7 started panicking, his sword trembling in his grip. ’And to kill them that fast?! Ten minutes haven’t even passed since they started fighting!’ she thought, staring at Vincent in absolute terror.
’Is he really that strong to kill the Boss and those two at the exact same time?! And what the hell is with that red mist coming out of his swords?!’
— 10 Minutes Ago —
Down in the village, Vincent was fighting Ronny. The clash of their weapons shook the surrounding houses, but it was a completely one-sided fight. Ronny was fiercely attacking with his massive Greatsword, and Vincent was purely on the defensive, continuously backing away and refusing to strike back.
"Tch, this is incredibly boring to watch," 7 complained to 8, who was standing beside him on a rooftop. "The guy isn’t even trying to fight back..."
"Well, if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t fight back either," 8 said in a calm, thoughtful voice.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well... he did just find out that his past actions are the real reason for all this current destruction and the deaths of everyone here... his friends, his family," 8 said, crossing his arms. "Imagine finding out that this entire annihilation mission was just a father’s revenge for things you did over a decade ago. The guilt must be crushing him and lets not even talk about bad past memories that he must have buried coming back."
"Wow... that’s actually so deep," 7 said, looking at 8 in surprise. "Don’t you ever think of changing professions and doing something that has to do with counseling? Because man, sometimes the things you say really have me thinking."
"I have my moments," 8 shrugged.
"Anyway, standing around waiting is killing me. Do you sense anything alive in these ruins? Even a crying baby would do at this point," 7 sighed.
"I do, actually," 8 said, narrowing his eyes.
"For real? There is a baby in there?" 7 gasped in shock. "Man, I was just joking... hahaha... I know that I’m a killer, but killing a baby really isn’t to my taste."
"No, you fool, I’m talking about over there," 8 sighed, pointing toward the massive crater of the Main House. "I can feel multiple movements."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!" 7 said, not hesitating for a second.
"What about the Boss?" 8 asked, looking back down at Ronny, who was still aggressively pushing Vincent back with his orange Aura.
"I’m completely sure he will be fine on his own," 7 said, waving his hand dismissively. "If you are so scared that something bad will happen, we can just leave these two guys here to watch his back," he said, pointing at the remaining two masked assassins standing nearby.
"Fine..." 8 agreed, and the two of them leaped toward the ruins.