On the streets, running towards the safety of the Library were Alisa, carrying Meriane and the little girl in tow.

“Um, miss?”, Mae politely asked.

“Don’t worry, little girl, we’re almost there, just one block more.”

“That’s not what I mean. Someone is following us.”

“Don’t mind them, just keep running.”

“No, they’re right on our tail!”, Mae exclaimed. “Ah!”

Darius jumped over her and tackled Alisa, catching her and causing her to tumble. Meriane was thrown to the ground and then rolled a few meters away from the action.

“You guys don’t know when to give up”, Alisa quickly stood back up as she tried to ward them off. Mae, on the other hand, was quick on her feet and managed to hide before Edmund even realized she were there.

Again being pinned on a tight situation, Alisa was left no choice but to defend herself and the other two with no certainty of winning or being saved. She fired an arrow, but as Meriane and Nicolas could, the two casually sliced the arrow in half before charging in and hitting her with a coordinated kick.

She was sent skidding backwards a meter with her bow as a shield. “I can’t die here yet”, she thought, taking a deep breath.

She again aimed, focused everything she had in that one shot and moments later a condensed energy from her soul started to have a hue of red, like fire.

“Leave us alone!”, she yelled before firing a wide beam of energy. She too was surprised from what she did. It was a feat she never made before; it was mesmerizing but futile at the end.

The two were quick to dodge it, then Edmund whispered in her right ear, “Nice try.”

Darius whispered on the other, “If only were not this agile, then it could have worked.”

Alisa looked like a ghost had whispered in her ears; no, she thought that it would have been better if they were ghosts. A ghost would not be able to hurt her in any way, but these two radiate bloodlust. She kneeled there frozen. Meriane was one thing, but these two are skilled swordsmen and possibly not humans in the first place.

“That’s right, stay still. As skilled as you are, you’ll be worthy in our ranks”, Edmund uttered as Darius prepared himself for a clean cut on the girl’s neck.

Alisa felt the cold breeze on her nape as the blade drew closer and closer.

“Alisa!”, Hunter came yelling from the distance, and suddenly the girl was enclosed on a bubble-like force field, protecting her from imminent death.

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Edmund’s grip was forcefully thrown off and the blade bounced off to the side, “Pesky shield wielder!”, The brother’s switched their target and ran for Hunter instead.

It would be easy to defend himself by recalling the shield he cast above Alisa and sprout it for himself, but he preferred not to. He chose the girl’s safety more than him.

“What are you doing, Save yourself!”, Alisa yelled, scaling the bubble she were in.

Hunter could not reply; the immediate danger he’s about to face made him sensitive from outside stimuli. He unsheathed his sword on his waist and shouldered Edmund’s blade, but experience has too much gap between them and he’s immediately pinned to the ground. Edmund, without any hesitation, went to stab him by the stomach when an old man appeared to take the hit instead. He also tried projecting a shield but it broke like brittle glass and the blade sank down his chest.

“Sir Donnor!”, Hunter exclaimed, “Why didn’t you just encase me into a bubble from afar?”, he wondered as he caught him.

“I know what you mean but I’m incapable of such deed”, Donnor coughed blood, tending to the wound on his chest.

Then, like the flash of lightning, reinforcements arrived. Alvor rushed to subjugate Darius in one blow, then turned to Edmund and him too, in a blink of an eye, had fallen with a single strike.

“Pesky humans, same as ever”, complained Darius to Edmund across the street.

They stared at each other, smirked, looked at Alvor, then said, “Well played, humans; enjoy the remaining time this world has”, Their bodies fell to the ground as if their souls had decided to leave.

“What happened?”, asked Alvor as he recovered Meriane.

“I’m not sure, but those two should have been dead a while ago. Nicolas should have dealt with them”, Alisa explained, trying to look for the little girl.

“Yeah, now they are”, the other man sighed while checking their pulse.

“Can’t we figure it out later, Sir Donnor is badly wounded”, Hunter said, carrying the man to Alvor.

“Don’t bother. I’m just dying; not that big of a deal”, he sarcastically said, trying to cover the gaping wound on his right chest. “We should focus more on where Nicolas is.”

“They caught him”, Hunter replied. “And someone tied me back at the forest”, Hunter added.

“Did you see who took him?”, Alvor asked, carrying Donnor from Hunter.

Hunter looked dejected, his eyes filled with disappointment and anger, before saying the man’s name: “He was taken by Anton; he’s the traitor. He must have sent a raven to the enemy after our meeting at the cabin”, He still refused to believe his own words.

“I figured, because he’s also the one who opened the wound here at my side without any notice”, Donnor laughed, revealing another injury on his waist.

Alisa paid the other’s no attention and Hunter’s words are the only thing she heard, “Then why didn’t you help him”, she roared. Alvor tried to calm her down but it was no use. Alisa had this piercing gaze in her eyes directed to Hunter and to Hunter only.

Even the sky is having a break from all the whistling and thunder as they all decided to return to the library, With no end to their daughter’s anger, he made sure to separate her from the sulking boy.

“Why can’t you answer me, Hunter, Why didn’t you help him”, Alisa angrily yelled again, pointing her finger at the boy as the library came to view. Her father now had given up, had found something better to do and let them be.

“I just did what I was told...”, said Hunter.

“There you go again— I bet you told that to yourself the night you pushed me into the enemy’s hands”, Alisa refused to listen to anything.

“Can’t you listen to me even for a moment?”

“Listen to you? Like hell, I would.”

“I did not help him because that’s what he wanted. That no matter what happens, I should prioritize you. He cared for you more than himself, that’s why. He talked to me last night about this and I swore to him that I will protect you in his behalf even if it cost me my life.”