Lian opens another door, and they see another empty lounge much like those before.

「Lian, I have an idea.」

Will says, and adjusts his glasses.

「And that is?」

Lian asks, rising her brows as she glances down at Will.

「The throne room in a palace like this is likely to be pretty big, right?」

Will looks up at Lian as they walk down the seemingly endless hallway.

「Hm. I don't know. We had no kings, but if we did, they would likely have the large rooms. They're considered auspicious in our land.」

「Right. Big rooms are important, so… Don't you think it's a good idea if we look where there's few doors? I don't think the throne room would have a regular, single door like these bedrooms.」

Will stops, and points to a singular door behind him to demonstrate. He opens it, and steps aside to show Lian a rich-looking room with a large bed within.

「Indeed, it does make sense, now that you bring that up… But where do we look? We've almost searched the entire floor, we might as well finish-」

Clang!

A loud, albeit muffled sound of metal on metal echoes through the halls. Lian turns her head in the direction the noise came from.

「Below. Will.」

She looks at Will with her almond-shaped eyes focused and cautious.

「Yeah. Let's go.」

Will nods with a determined face, and adjusts his glasses. They run off down the hallway, with Lian holding her spear at the ready…

…

「Shall I start casting?」

The robed man asks as Lily and Shien approach the line of mercenaries, and he glances at his allies.

「Not yet, corpse stealer, we don't know how long this will take.」

The golden-haired spearwoman looks at him for a second, before her eyes return to the little vampire approaching her, and the bearded mercenary.

「Very well…」

The robed man says as he backs out, letting the twin-axed northman stand in the way between him and Shien.

「'Mon then, you girly fuck!-」

The mercenary taps his axes together as he shouts at Shien, who is glaring at him in a low stance. He shoots forward, causing the mercenary's eyes to widen in surprise.

Clang!

The northman slides back, barely blocking the spearhead with interlocked axes. His nervous grin becomes more confident as he realized he successfully stopped the blow. Shien yanks the spear back, with enough force to almost pull the axes out of the mercenary's hands, and jumps backwards to gain distance.

「You blocked a strike I thought would kill you. What is your name?」

Shien asks the twin-axed northman, once again entering his low stance.

「Not from around here, huh!? I am the great Hakkonen! Terror of this shithole's battlefields! If you fight good, I'll let everyone know what a pretty boy you were before you died!」

Hakkonen spreads his arms, and braggingly introduces himself.

「I see… I am Shien the Beast Hunter. I am your death.」

Shien says with a calm, focused face, staring down at his opponent.

「…Shien?」

The golden-haired spearwoman mumbles to herself as her deep blue eyes snap to Shien. She barely can barely track him as he turns into a blue blur, shooting forward, and a terrible clamor ringing of metal echoes out.

Clanngg!

Her attention is forced to return forward, as a pale clawed hand closes in on her throat. She moves her spear's shaft in the way, and Lily grabs onto it.

「…You dare take your eyes off me?-」

Lily glares into her eyes, casually holding her folded parasol on her shoulder in the other hand. A chill runs down her spine, but her amassed experience keeps her from panicking. The spear creaks loudly, under the immense pressure Lily is applying to its shaft.

「Hrargh!」

A bearded man swings his giant axe at Lily's arm with uncanny speed in an attempt to sever it.

Crack-clang!

Lily lets go of the spear and pulls her arm back, taking a little hop backwards. She grins, her clawed arm preparing to slash the axeman's throat, and the heavy-looking axe surprises her by turning its edge towards her again.

「What!?-」

Swoosh!

The axe carves through the empty air Lily occupied just a split-second ago, in a horizontal slash. Lily backflipping through the air.

《Is that axe enchanted? What a bother… I'll put this cocky worm down first.》

Lily thinks as she lands quietly, barely making any sound. Meanwhile, in the rear, Straf sighs with his fists on his hips, looking on everything that is happening.

「How did it so quickly go from being a perfect set of cliches, to sudden and random generic battle? Lia, did you calm down yet?」

Straf looks over to Cycelia, and she glares with glowing golden eyes at Count Bellatis, with her sword at the ready for another lightning-fast charge. He sighs.

「…Guess not. Is this a buff, or something? Debuff?」

Straf thinks out loud, and focuses his eyes on Cycelia.

Cycelia Redwing

[|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||] Lv. 14

Strength: 243 Perception: 316

Agility: 316 Endurance: 181

Dexterity: 401 Willpower: 871

Luck: 77 Intelligence: 14

Charisma: 54 Wisdom: 12

「What the fu-!?」

《It's… They're higher than mine. How!?》

Straf thinks, with his mouth agape as he stares at Cycelia's attributes on the screen hovering over her.

「Athea, I want a blessing.」

Straf looks at the beautiful art on the ceiling with his fists on his hips.

《You are not getting one!》

Athea shouts in his mind

「But Lia got one, I want one too.」

Straf complains like a petulant child, pointing his hand at Cycelia who is breathing heavily with her teeth clenched in fury.

《That is precisely why you are not getting one!》

She shouts again, with a frustrated tone.

「Tsk. Dyslexiac cow…」

《I heard that!》

「I know. Quit your mooing.」

Straf grimaces in disappointment, as his eyes return to the battle in front of him. Lily evades a diagonal slash by jumping, and lands on the giant axe's massive blade with a clank.

「Heh. What now, you mangy rat?」

Lily scoffs, standing on the axe with a sly, disdainful grin as she stares at the bearded axeman. With calm eyes, he yanks the axe up, causing Lily's grin to twist into surprise instead. She jumps off, backflipping again with her scarlet eyes wide open.

「What did you mean exactly, missy?」

The axeman asks, taking his stance for another swing.

「What?… How did you lift that!?」

The little vampire stares at the bearded man's giant executioner's axe that he just effortlessly lifted, as if it was made of cork.

「I used my arms, same as always.」

The bearded axeman shrugs his shoulder, staring at Lily with bored eyes.

「That's not possible! I used my blessing! That should have been heavier than a dragon!」

She shouts, exasperated that the man was unobstructed, and that he is still not afraid of her in the slightest.

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「Blessing, huh?… Well mine is to wield whatever weapon I want without fighting gravity over it. Real handy with ones like this, y'see…」

He holds the axe with one hand and wiggles it about lightly to demonstrate, still staring bored at Lily's scarlet eyes.

「Kuh… What a cursed match-up…」

Lily snarls as she mumbles to herself, displaying her fangs in anger.

「Vampire, huh?… I figured.」

The bearded man comments, glancing at her bared teeth. She glances at Shien, who is struggling to get a hit in against his dual-wielding opponent. The leather-armored man on the ground finally picks himself up with a loud grunt, and stumbles behind Hakkonen.

「What!? Fuck off, I'm fighting! Do whatever you want!」

The northman angrily shouts at the leather-armored man, and he disappears behind a pillar. Lily's eyes snap forward when she sees the executioner's axe coming straight for her.

Smash!

She dodges at the last second, a small piece of fabric on the very end of her dress gets severed as it trails behind her.

Smash! Smash! Smash!

Lily keeps dodging left and right as the axe keeps coming at her like a guillotine, backing away from the mercenaries as the axeman keeps relentlessly attacking.

「Beard! You're overextending, get back here!」

Smash!

The golden-haired woman shouts at the bearded axeman, and he slams his axe one last time, sundering the carpet, and kicking up a thin red cloud. He reluctantly lifts his axe, and cautiously walks backwards, mindful of Shien's position, and of Lily menacingly following him back to the mercenary line.

「Vitsa, I thought I told you, I am Lukhyur, not Beard…」

With bored eyes and only a mildly upset expression, the bearded axeman reminds the golden-haired woman who's pointing her spear at Lily.

「Same thing, really.」

Vitsa scoffs, smugly grinning at Lukhyur

「No, it's not. Where's your respect for the elders?」

「You're whole 10 years older and making yourself an old fart now? Please.」

The spearwoman's cold blue eyes glare at the little vampire, as she stands in front of them, thinking with a lightly tilted head and a sour expression on her childish face.

Lily glances at the count behind them, cowering and clutching onto his throne, analyzing the progress of the battle with a nervous expression, as the young armored man next to him is visibly shaking with a tight-lipped grimace on his face.

Her scarlet eyes shift to Shien, who is visibly frustrated he isn't gaining an advantage despite the hundreds of strikes the two already traded.

「Beastman, swap with me!」

She calls out to Shien with a scowl on her face, walking behind him with her hand displaying her sharp claws. He takes one peek at her, then backs away from Hakkonen.

「Where the fuck are you going!? Scared!?」

He shouts at Shien, with a mixture of disappointment and amusement on his face.

「No, I think you will be.」

Shien shakes his head as he backs out, and seamlessly trades places with Lily as he pirouettes around behind her. She steps forward, glaring at Hakkonen's scarred face.

「Huh? Is this a fuckin' joke!? I'm supposed to fight a little gi-!?」

Clang!

「What the fuck!?」

Hakkonen exclaims, as Lily shoots forward, turning into a black blur to most observers in the room. He narrowly manages to block her claw swipe aimed at his neck, as soon as he thinks he's safe, she painfully jabs him in the stomach with her umbrella, sending him stumbling backwards.

「Hurk!- You'll pay for that…」

He scowls and glares at Lily, who has her mouth slanted out of frustration.

「You are still not done paying for underestimating me, you barking mutt.」

Lily growls at the dual-wielder, drawing closer. As Shien takes a low stance and prepares to strike, he and Vitsa exchange glares.

Clankrrr!

Shien's beastly eyes widen in surprise, as the woman manages to deftly deflect his blow. Their spears lock at a neutral position, giving neither an advantage.

「I've heard about you, you know. You've stolen my quarry more than once.」

The woman smugly smiles staring into Shien's black eyes with her deep blue ones. Though there is a hint of friendliness to her smile, perhaps out of a certain degree of admiration.

「Is that so? I will not apologize for slaying beasts.」

Shien bluntly answers, trying to position his spear to strike at Vitsa.

「That is very nice, but!… Hrargh!」

Lukhyur throws his axe down at Shien, and the spearman jumps backwards. Vitsa leaps in to deliver a stab, but Shien parries and viciously thrusts at her throat. She narrowly evades guaranteed death, and Lukhyur is caught off-guard when Shien advances, instead of retreating.

Clank! Clank! Clankclankclankclinkclink! Clank!

Lukhyur is forced back by a flurry of blows he can barely manage to block, and Shien is only beginning to speed up as he attentively gathers information on his opponent with his black, vertically slit eyes.

Straf sighs, and once again looks at Cycelia. Her shoulders heave up and down as she breathes heavily, not letting her glowing eyes off the count for one second.

「Lia… Relax, he'll be dead, just be patient, okay?-」

Thud!

「What now!? Ah, it's just you.」

Straf shouts in frustration, peeking over his shoulder at Lian who kicked the doors open. Her eyes widen in surprise when she sees Shien, and looks down at Will.

「Lian, we should go get Greaves-」

Will says, adjusting his glasses as he warily watches the battle in the doorway.

「I am not leaving, Will. You go look for him.」

Lian cuts Will off, and walks in with a determined step.

「I- I'm not leaving you either!」

Will shakes his head and follows her in, adjusting his glasses.

「Hey twerp, where's your midget friend?」

Straf calls out to Will as he timidly follows Lian further in.

「I don't know where Greaves is! Leave me alone!」

He shouts at Straf, nervously adjusting the glasses that just won't stay on his nose again.

「Great. The power of friendship, delayed release dosage. This isn't even a cliche anymore, it's just one misunderstanding away from turning into a free for all.」

Straf shrugs his shoulders as he grumbles and sighs, pointing his hand at the melee ahead of them.

「Will, stay in the back.」

「Got it.」

Lian orders Will, and he nods his head, adjusting his glasses as stares at the mage across the room.

「This is getting out of hand! I'm heading to the panic room! Deal with them! Now!」

As Count Bellatis sees Lian and Will approach, he shouts at the battling mercenaries, and produces a potion from underneath his robes. He uncorks it with his teeth, gulps it down, and throws the phial onto the floor before running off into a side passage behind the line of mercenaries.

《Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit- Huh? Panic room!? That's a perfect opportunity for me to- Ah! He's already running!》

The panicked captain of the guard thinks as he watches the terrifyingly tall spearwoman approach with a serious face. The captain glances at the count, and he disappears behind a corner.

「Wait for m- I mean I'm coming with you, my lord!」

The captain screams in panicked high-tone voice, and also disappears into the side passage.

「Mage! Now would be a good time!」

Lukhyur shouts at the mage behind the line, as he and Vitsa desperately try to hold Shien back. Lian leaps in, and sends a flurry of stabs towards Lukhyur, finally allowing Shien to focus on only one opponent.

Greaves runs into the room, pulling in Alicia with him, who's gasping for air.

「You're not getting away!」

「Lia?-」

Cycelia growls from across the room, and zaps forward leaving only a golden trail behind her. The unmasked leather-armored man stabs at thin air, flying in partially-transparent from another angle, away from Straf.

「Huh?」

The man utters out through his cracked, bloodied teeth.

「Huh?」

Straf stares at the would-be assassin with his mouth wide open, still shocked by Cycelia's outburst.

「Huh?」 「Huh?」

Both of the men stare at each other, in shocked disappointment and utter disbelief.

Clank!

Greaves jumps in, slashing at the confused man. He narrowly blocks with his dagger, and hops away. He looks over his shoulder, unsure whether he should retreat, or attack the reinforcements.

「I don't know what's going on, so I'll just attack whoever is facing Straf!」

「That's it buddy, that's a good character motivation.」

Greaves exclaims as he points his sword at the assassin, and Straf snaps his fingers in approval. Meanwhile, Cycelia completely dodged the mercenaries occupied by Shien, and zapped into the side passage.

Boom!

A loud explosion echoes out from the side passage, and a dark cloud shoots out before dispersing into the room quickly.

「Uhh… I don't think… Okay, the plan flew out the fucking window. Carrothead, you go fight those guys, I'll check on you later.」

Straf throws his hands up, and puts them back into his pockets with a sigh after nodding his head at the mercenaries.

「Got it!」

Greaves shouts, and runs forward to aid Lily, who's fighting alone.

「Niklaus! We're swarmed here! Keep them away! Forget the princess, he'll be fine! The guard is with him!」

The leather-armored man jumps in Greaves's way, slashing at his throat. Greaves jumps away, then again in the air, landing on his feet after an acrobatic backflip.

「Tsk. Things can't just be easy, can they!?」

Greaves shouts, staring at the bloodied assassin. With his dagger at the ready, Niklaus cautiously eyes Alicia, Will and Greaves in front of him, as well as Straf as he approaches…