“T-There’s trouble!”

“Huh?! What’s going on?”

“T-The slaves! They’ve been set free!”

“How-”

Before they could say anything else, I slashed my blade against the two panicking soldiers, sending them flying into the air and dropping to the floor.

“Charge!!” a person yelled, with the rest of the slaves joining him as he led the slaves out of the tunnels.

The remaining Midas Hogs members had caught on to the sudden uprising and started shooting back against the armed slaves. Rays of gunfire crossed left and right throughout the Midas Mines, with bullets zooming through the air and into skin.

“Protect.”

I ran around the battlefield with the magical shield to protect myself from the bullets and struck down any enemy within sight. They may have been more skilled in combat compared to the slaves, but they were too distracted by the fact that a boy with a sword was rushing through their ranks and breaking their defense. All their attention had been placed on me, so they were taken down one by one from their blind spots. It was clear that we were gaining the upper hand, our numbers continued to grow through each passing moment. Whenever I would come across a collared slave, I would defuse their collars and they would either hide away somewhere or join the fight. Eventually, we overwhelmed the Midas Hogs.

“What’s going on?!” a reverberating voice sounded from the balcony of the fortress in front of us.

It was Hector and his megaphone. His golden eyes scanned the surroundings, shocked by the chaos that had ensued in the mines with a gaping mouth. His lips showed a wince shortly after and the clicking of his tongue echoed out.

“What are you idiots doing?! How did this happen?! Why are the slaves free?!”

His soldiers were too busy fighting to listen to his words, so not a single response replied back.

Hector frantically looked around, until his eyes locked towards me. He narrowed his eyebrows with a frustrated frown and pointed his finger at me.

“Lars! What are you doing?! Stop them!”

I stared at Hector for a few seconds, then I pointed my white blade against him in silence.

I’m sure he got the message, as his eyes shifted to an angry glare followed by the noisy gritting of his teeth.

“You! You dare try to rebel against me?! Let’s see you try, you stupid cat!” Hector stormed off the balcony as soon as the bullets started flying through the walls.

This is the end for you, Hector.

Since no one was guarding it anymore, I rushed through the entrance of the fortress and made my way inside the main hall.

The huge hall was lit up by the warm orange light of the lanterns, featuring a wide space with two entry ways leading to the left and right sides of the fortress and a long red and gold carpet in the center that led to the main stairs and the upper floors. Banners were plastered on the walls and pillars, all with the same black and yellow pattern and the design of a boar with tusks in the middle. The symbol of the Midas Hogs.

Suits them well like the greedy pigs that they are. That includes me of course, as I chose to work as a slave hunter for my own sake at the cost of someone else’s life.

You did what you had to do to survive, Lars. Stop putting yourself down for it.

Sorry, but I can’t help but feel shameful for everything I’ve done. Can I still be a Hero at this point? Is my dream truly ruined forever?

I believe you can still be a Hero, but the chances are simply far too slim. Besides, the Heroes aren’t perfect creatures, you’re just being too idealistic. Even your father was-

“Halo-halo, Lars!” a lady’s voice interrupted our thoughts.

Her metal legs clacked against the stony stairs and her red cloak swayed from side to side as she strutted down with a little dancing motion.

“You see, Hector ordered me to stop you from going any further,” Scarlet said. “He said it was to prove what I was capable of. And guess what?!”

A mischievous grin shaped itself on her lips.

“He said he would give me a passionate kiss if I managed to stop the slaves on my own! Isn’t that awesome?!”

“Scarlet…..”

She pointed her guns towards me with a seemingly innocent smile.

“Bang!”

“Quit joking around and come here.”

“Sigh, fine. You could have at least let it last a little longer, you know? I was having ‘that moment’,” she said walking towards me.

“That moment?” I tilted my head.

“Nevermind, this collar sucks anyway. I can’t stand wearing this thing anymore. And Hector? He’s hot, but he gives me the creeps,” she shivered. “I’d rather have you instead, unless you’re maskfishing me with that cute metal cat look.”

I defused her collar and sighed. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Heeheehee!”

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A loud pitched snicker emanated throughout the halls.

“What’s up with that laugh? Sounds pretty annoying,” Scarlet turned her head towards the sound.

It came from the stairs leading to the second floor balcony, where two people of varying heights could be seen walking down to the ground floor. They both had matching haircuts, with long braided pigtails hanging down the back of their skinheads. The short one had blonde hair and held a submachine gun by his side. His impish grin made me assume that the laughter was coming from him. The outfit he was wearing seemed rather light, sporting a brown leather chestplate. Meanwhile, the larger of the two had black hair and wore heavy and thick metal armor. On his right arm was a huge metal shield with spikes and a small pistol on his left arm.

Tsk, it’s the Ting and Tang brothers.

“What a surprise!” the blonde one, Ting said and placed his hand on Tang’s shoulder. “Didn’t think you and the pussyboy were actually working together all this time. How thick do your skulls have to be to turn against Hector?”

“Surely not as thick as yours, pipsqueak,” Scarlet said.

“You!” Ting clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “Do you not understand your situation here?! You’re up against the Ting and Tang Brothers, Hector’s No. 3 and 4!”

“So what?” Scarlet scoffed.

She proceeded to perform several spinning tricks with her revolvers before ending with a flashy pose while crossing her arms.

“I’m Scarlet Hood, the Cutest Genius Gunslinger of the Under Sectors!”

I still can’t fathom how she can say something so embarrassing with such pride.

“What’s two dudes with goofy ass haircuts gonna do with me?”

The big brother Tang, didn’t say a word, but his eyebrows furrowed and he gave us a sharp stony glare. Ting however, was rather loud about it.

“How dare you mock our haircuts like that?! I’ll kill you!”

“Heh,” Scarlet glanced at me. “Are you ready?”

“Don’t get careless. I’ve seen them fight before. Those guys are deadly as a duo,” I said. “How can you act so cocky anyway? Do you have a plan?”

“We’ll just have to be the deadlier duo then!” Scarlet chuckled and sprinted towards the brothers.

“W-Wait!” I extended my arm instinctively.

That girl…she just went off on her own! We’ve never even fought together before, how are we supposed to beat them?!

There’s no time to think about it now, Lars. Just follow after her and improvise.

Tsk, fine!

I took off from my spot and decided to catch up with Scarlet. The hooded lady aimed her guns towards Ting and started firing. As expected, Ting reacted quickly and hid behind Tang’s spiky shield, letting all her bullets graze against metal.

“Hey, that's not fair!” Scarlet complained. “Are you seriously just going to hide behind your brother like that?”

“It’s called strategy, woman!” Ting peeked out and started firing bullets from his submachine gun. “But I guess your brain can’t comprehend such a thing, hahahaha!”

Scarlet’s metal legs clanked as she propelled herself to evade the incoming gunfire. “Boooring. What a loser technique.”

“It’s not a loser technique if we win, okay?!” Ting replied.

How do these guys have the urge to talk so much during a fight?

Tang aimed his pistol towards me, forcing me to ready my blade and anticipate where he was going to shoot. However, before he could even make a single shot, a bullet pierced through his hand, causing him to grunt in pain.

“Gotcha!” Scarlet exclaimed.

To be able to shoot down such a small area so accurately in a short amount of time, Scarlet’s marksmanship is truly one of a kind.

“Tang, you idiot! Just hold the shield, I’ll do the shooting!” Ting said and aimed towards me. “Die, pussyboy!”

As soon as he started firing, I hid myself behind one of the pillars to protect myself.

“Is that all you can do?” Ting laughed. “You know, everytime I see you, I’ve always wondered. What kind of idiot still uses a sword anyway?!”

Scarlet tries to shoot him down, but Tang protects him with his shield.

“I’m not sure why either, but it sure sounds way cooler than that cowardly strategy of yours!” she said.

They continued to exchange bullets with each other for a while, with no one taking any hits so far. It’s obvious, we’re at a stalemate at this point. But eventually, someone’s going to make a mistake and gain the upper hand. That’s what Ting and Tang always aim for in fights.

I can’t really do anything yet since I’m too far away to strike back with my sword. But running around and evading bullets isn’t productive, so I’m going to have to resort to my sword’s powers.

“Scarlet! Stay behind me!” I yelled and came out of the pillar, running straight towards her.

“Huh? Why?”

“Trust me!”

I ran past Scarlet and lifted my blade up.

“Protect!”

The glowing blue sphere enveloped itself around me as I rushed towards the brothers.

“W-Woah! Since when could you do that?!” Scarlet said.

“H-How are you using magic?!” Ting’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t know you could do that!”

“Now you know,” I said. “Illuminate.”

A flash of light emanated from the blade, blinding the two with its radiance.

“My eyes!” Ting yelled.

“So shiny!” Scarlet said.

Even Scarlet was blinded by the light, so I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t get affected. That means I’m the only one who can finish this off!

I lunged diagonally past the left of Tang’s shield, creating an opening for me to strike them down. But I overlooked one detail. Ting’s hands were covering his face, but Tang’s eyes were deadlocked towards me.

My heart raised up and tried to step back, but it was too late. Tang slammed his shield against me in a swift motion, shattering my protective sphere into pieces. The sudden impact caused me to fall to the ground in pain.

Ugh…my head feels light…..

I should have known. The shield must have protected his eyes from the light.

Using my sword as support, I tried to recover from my current position.

“Nice try, pussyboy! But it’s game over now!”

Looking upwards, I saw Tang ready to slam his shield towards me once more and Ting’s submachine gun pointed straight towards my head.

Tsk, I can’t escape this!

“It sure is!” Scarlet proclaimed.

“Huh?”

Right above Ting and Tang was the scarlet-robed girl, flying up in the air with a smile on her face.

“Eat this!”

She slammed her foot against the top of Tang's head, using it as a footstool to jump towards Ting.

“W-Wai-”

Scarlet swung her leg in an arc-like motion, finishing off Ting and landing with an exaggeratingly smooth pose.

“From a scale of 1 to 10, how many style points would you give for that?” Scarlet asked me as she flicked her hair.

“10.”