In her bed chamber populated by pillows, stuffed animals, and plates of half-eaten food, Ada shook. With eyes settled on the TV screen before her, Ada could only only stare as the news reporter pointed up at the father of her child.

“You shouldn't be watching that, the stress could harm the baby,” Leona said, entering the room and turning the TV off as Kamila followed behind, “Jack will be fine.”

“I know…” Ada said, rubbing her belly as Kamilla went around to clear the dishes. “How is Celeste doing? I heard it was pretty bad at the academy.”

“She’s fine, Ho-sook been keeping her company and she's tucked in for a nap, nothing you need to concern yourself with,” Kamila said as she fluffed a pillow for Ada.

“How are you? Not exactly the life you were expecting is it?”

“What do you mean?” Kamila asked, the little brunette cocking her head to the side.

“Well, when I met you you were trying to stab a man and you weren't very happy that you'd been kidnapped… then there was the whole wanting to murder every Roland soldier and-”

“Well, Jack is taking care of that for me now isn't he?” Kamila beamed a smile at Ada who could barely hide her horror.

“Hey Kami, would you mind checking up on Celeste for me? Make sure she isn't sneaking her gamescreen under the covers again?”

“Yeah sure, okay, I've got something in the oven I need to check on anyway,” Kamila said before leaving the room.

Leona waited until Kamila left before sitting on the bed beside Ada.

“You and I both…” Ada muttered, rubbing her stomach.

“You know she doesn't mean to offend,” Leona said.

“I know… but she doesn't see what Jack goes through, the weight he carries on his shoulders,” Ada sighed, “He doesn't show it, but he doesn't like fighting.”

“Oh? I thought he did.”

“No! I mean, he enjoys fighting, just not… the killing. Not leading. Not… being responsible for people,” Ada explained, her eyes welling with tears, “He's scared Leona, and I don't know how to help him.”

Leona sighed.

“Well, you can't help him stressing over his well-being. Jack's strong, he'll pull through. What you need to worry about is taking care of yourself and your baby before you can take care of him.”

“Do you think he'll become an awakened? Celeste is displaying symptoms… Maybe he'll be-”

“Hush,” Leona interrupted, placing her hand over Ada’s mouth before putting a finger over her own lips.

It was quiet. The kind of calm before an attack that Ada and Leona both knew too well.

Reaching over, Leona grabbed the monitor on the bed table, turning it on where she and Ada went wide-eyed.

Figures in black.

There were strangers in the palace.

Leona stepped from around the bed, moving towards the entrance of the bedroom where she summoned her shotgun from her bracelet.

Damn it, where are the guards?

She reached down, taking out specialized armyrethium shells that couldn't go in her storage device and loading it into the shotgun.

An awakened killer, the shells and manufacturing were not only illegal, but expensive, at least if you weren't in the military.

Or the personal bodyguard of the royal family.

She paused at the door frame, staring at the nearby wall where she could sense something was off.

Leona put the barrel of her shotgun to the wall, her eyes narrowing as she readied herself.

Click.

Leona fired, her shotgun blasting a hole through the sheetrock that caught a black-clad man in his chest.

“Watch out!” Ada screamed as two men flooded into the room, one smacking Leona’s shotgun to the side while another tackled her.

Two more men rushed in, ignoring Leona grappling with her attackers to go after Ada.

Ada reached out, her hand aimed at the closet where the Monohoshizao nodachi came swinging out, bisecting one man while the other dove to the ground just in time.

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“Get off!” Leona spat, stabbing one man in the throat with a blade as the other who had tackled her put the barrel of his pistol into her stomach and fired repeatedly.

Leona screamed in pain but she wasn't out of the fight, she fired a blast of green mana at the man, knocking him off her so she could roll the corpse off her.

“Ada! I'm coming!” Leona hollered, taking her combat knife from the throat of the corpse and throwing into the back of Ada’s attacker.

"Gah!" The assailant let out before being kicked through the opposite wall by Ada's foot.

Leona climbed to her feet despite bleeding profusely from her stomach, moving to face the onslaught of assailants.

The red-haired woman began to glow green, grabbing the head of another man attempting to grab Ada and snapping his neck.

“Leona look out!” Ada yelled, throwing up a mana barrier that shattered from the armyrethium bullets ripped through it that caught Leona and sent her through the window and over the balcony. “LEONA!”

Ada gripped her two handed nodachi, the sight of the pregnant woman clutching the weapon almost comical to the group of black-clad men and women advancing on her.

“Stay back!” Ada demanded, rousing her mana as she felt her belly cramp up.

“Purple Pawn, subject Alpha secured, moving to deliver,” One soldier said, directing the others to move on Ada whose lower half continued to cramp.

“STOP! Go away!” Ada shouted, swinging her blade only for it to be caught by a man as two others grabbed her legs and began dragging her out of bed. “Sto-”

*Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.*

Suddenly six shots, so quick it took Ada a moment to comprehend that she was covered in blood as a blonde man with a cowboy hat strolled into the room.

“Howdy lass, sorry I'm late,” The blonde said, reloading his revolver as he stood over a still breathing soldier propped on a wall.

“You! Tr-traitor!” The soldier spat before being silenced by the gunslinger.

“W-who are you?!” Ada demanded taking the gun out of the holster of the dead man that lay across her legs and shakingly pointing the weapon at the cowboy.

“A friend of a friend, you can call me Ivan,” The man introduced before pivoting and firing his revolver into the hallway that took out two assailants. “There isn't much time, we've got to go.”

Ada turned to the window, worry evident on her face but she didn't have time to check as the man named Ivan began to help her out of bed.

“What about Celeste? My daughter?!” Ada asked, carefully rising to her feet as her body continued to spasm and seize. “We have to go save her!”

“She'll be fine, right now I need you to move as fast as possible lass,” Ivan said, peeking his head into the hallway. “I have to get you out before the Purple Pawn realizes I'm a spy.”

“Where are the guards?” Ada asked as Ivan dragged her along through the hallway.

“Preoccupied with the nest agents at the gate no doubt,” Ivan said, stopping Ada before they entered the foyer where a squad of black clad soldiers were heading their way. “Okay, be quiet and follow my lead.”

“Sir! We heard gunfire, are you okay?” One soldier asked.

“I'm fine, I've got the HVT in tow, go and clean up the bodies,” Ivan ordered.

“Understood sir,” The man said, saluting before taking off with his squad.

Ada watched them go, finally breathing when they were out of sight as Ivan began pulling her forward through a hallway of windows.

“How are there so many soldiers in here?!” Ada demanded, clutching her stomach as she felt Ito kick.

“Secret tunnels. That's the problem of being a noble, too many hidden entrances and exits,” Ivan said turning the corner as an explosion rocked the manor.

Ada spun, eyes wide as she gazed through the window at the other wing of the manor in flame.

“Celeste!” Ada was off.

Ivan let out a swear before chasing after the pregnant woman.

Ada rounded the corner, running into the group of soldiers from earlier who immediately raised their rifles.

With rage in her eyes, Ada roared and barreled through the soldiers, splattering one into a wall as Ivan followed suite and gun down the survivors.

“Ada! Ada stop!” Ivan yelled, yet it was too late as the duo came face to face with the purple-haired woman with a pawn tattoo on her forehead.

“Oh? What. Do. We. Have. Here?” The woman giggled, her forked tongue licking her black lips.

At nearly six feet, her porcelain body was covered in tattoos with adornments of spikes and leather draped across her that left little to the imagination.

She spun towards Ada and Ivan, her purple high heels clicking against the floor as her lips parted to reveal serrated fangs.

“Number three, are you so weak that you can't contain a pregnant woman?” The woman said, dropping the gold armored knight that had been one of the palace's guards. “Oh my, for a sow your skin is absolutely glowing. Do you like how it feels?”

“My lady, she merely slipped away,” Ivan said, clenching his revolver as he bowed. “I am correcting this issue.”

Ada paid the two little attention, in fact her eyes were instead focused on Celeste in her bedroom peeking from beneath her bed before Ho-sook covered the girl's mouth and dragged her back to cover.

Within the room, Ada could see Kamila lying on her side beneath a crater in a wall, indicating she'd been attacked.

Fortunately she was still breathing, clutching her side but it was evident she was hurting.

Outnumbered and outgunned, Ada dry swallowed as her maternal instincts demanded she do something, ANYTHING!

Ada took a step forward, already calling out for her nodachi until she was stopped by Ivan. An act that didn't go unnoticed by the black clad soldiers.

“Oh well, now that you're here you can take these backups,” The woman known as Purple Pawn said as she sauntered into the room, flipping the bed with one hand and exposing Celeste with Ho-sook immediately jumping in front of the smaller girl with a kunai in hand.

The pawn leaned down, flicking her long tongue out that hovered close to the frightened Ho-sook’s face, “My, aren't you feisty, I can't wake to break-”

“STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!!!” A voice of pure fury roared as Leona came barreling through the nearby wall and tackled the Purple Pawn.

Immediately Ivan's hands came up, gunning down all twelve soldiers as Ada called out for Celeste and Ho-sook.

The pair moved, Ho-sook picking up the frightened Celeste and carrying her past Leona punching the purple-haired vixen who giggled in response before opening her mouth and letting out a shrill scream that shattered the windows and sent Leona through the roof.

“Ada! Run!” Kamila cried, finally rising to her feet and conjuring chains of light to shackle the Purple Pawn.

“Let's go! Now!” Ivan barked, pulling Ada away as something wet trickled down her leg.