Whoever these kin were, they picked the absolutely worst party to crash. I almost felt bad for them as I watched shields and weapons materialise in Robin and Rober’s hands before the two blurred across the room, using their shields to punt two of the kin crashing through the windows right back out again. “Protect the noncombatants!” Al shouted, ushering several of the doggirls Esteban invited toward the back of the apartment, all while fending off the first two of the invaders that crashed through the front door.

My rival and I stood shoulder to shoulder, ready to fight. I conjured two knives from shadow and threw myself at the closest attackers. I spun around one assailant, slashing the back of his knee before piercing his armpit and then quickly turning around for the second one. He fell back, clutching his kidney area as I heard more feet coming up the stairs. I cast Shadow Caltrops, cover the floor in front of the door with the spell. Six more kin barged in through the door a moment later only for each to cry out in pain as they ran right into my field.

The air was suddenly filled with the harsh whipping sound of several rock projectiles. Han had launched them in a single volley, and they tore through the enemy with pinpoint accuracy. One of them was thrown backwards, screaming as the force of impact sent him tumbling over the stair rails.

“Find the heiress,” a feminine voice at the back of the invading group shouted, sowing more confusion. I looked at Al and we both seemed to have the same thought. They weren’t there for the hero? What heiress were they looking for? Most of the girls at the party were probably heiresses. I breathed in and caught a scent I vaguely remembered.

I looked around to see where everyone was as I ran forward to engage with one of the party crashers. Plvoer was moving around quickly to usher the guests away from the combat. Apparently, he hadn’t brought his bow with him, which left him unarmed. Robin and Rober were dealing with the last two who crashed through the windows. Han was slinging rock shards at the invaders while Yui was an impressive sight to behold.

Her body moved with sleek grace as she twirled her weapon in her hands, managing to take down two enemies at once with her curved blade. Every swing of her sword was like a dance move, every dodge like a pirouette.

Yui twirled around in mid-air and hurled two throwing stars at an assailant I hadn't even seen creeping up behind Alphonse, one hitting each shoulder. The man stumbled forward and collapsed unconscious on the ground. Yui gracefully descended back to the ground without making a sound.

She then stood silently in front of Alphonse, giving him a wink before she swiftly darted over to help Han who was still engaged in combat with another aggressor.

I cursed mentally as I realised that Sam was gone, and the snakegirl he’d been talking to had vanished as well. I ducked under a wide sword swing from one of the invaders, and thrust my blade deep into their arm, causing them to drop their weapon and cry out in pain. Without hesitation, I drove the blade into their leg, disabling them without killing them. Han’s stone bullet had already taken out another invader. As I surveyed the bodies, I shouted, “Leave some of them alive! We still need answers!”

“I understand, brother Burion,” Han replied, then promptly shot a rock bullet into each leg of one of the attackers. Unfortunately, I knew the blood loss would kill that one before we could get answers.

“Go, go, go,” that same feminine voice shouted from outside the door, ushering in four more kin. The odds were getting worse as more of the party crashers stormed into the apartment. “Bring me Brightwood!”

Brightwood? Bella? I was confused until the familiar aroma of the watcher from that first Charisma class flooded my nose. A sense of apprehension coursed through my veins. Sure enough, I spotted her crouched in the corner of the room, right near where Robin and Rober were still locked in battle. I realised there was no way for us to reach her, and worse, if any of the kin even glanced her way, she'd be caught. I felt helpless and powerless, unable to do anything to protect her from the situation we found ourselves in.

“Send in everyone!” the obvious leader of the invaders screamed from the hall. “I want three of you on each of the combatants, now! No killing, we don’t know if any of these brats matter. Otherwise, do whatever it takes. I want that badgergirl!”

More masked kin charged into the apartment, splitting up to attack those of us fighting.

“No more holding back,” Al shouted then unleashed lightning toward the door, which hit the first kin through then the next three behind him. Unfortunately, more just kept coming.

“There she is!” one of the attackers shouted as a group of them turned and charged Robin and Rober.

I ducked a rapier, slashing the arm holding the weapon then burying my other knife blade into my attacker’s lower back, right where the kidneys should have been. I twisted the blade and jerked it out. I looked for Bella and shouted, “Robin, Rober, keep them off of her, we’re coming.”

“Easier said than done,” Robin replied with a grunt of effort as three kin pressed in on her.

Rober grunted with similar effort as he moved back toward the corner of the room where Bella was looking around calmly and fearlessly.

I looked for Yui and Al, but they both had their hands full with four assailants each. Yui held her curved Ninjato sword in her hands, twirling and hacking at the attackers with an almost graceful precision. Alphonse was using his rapier to defend himself from his own attackers, keeping them at bay with quick thrusts and parries. His footwork was as light and nimble as Yui's blade work, allowing him to keep all four attackers under control while still managing to maintain some semblance of control over the situation.

My eyes narrowed on the two targets that stood between me and my friends, Robin and Rober. The attackers were both tall and heavily muscled, and their eyes burned with a determination to win. My gaze shifted between the two as I took a step back. Suddenly, my eyes widened in surprise as one of them swung a hammer towards me. With lightning fast reflexes, I jumped back just in time to avoid getting hit.

I grabbed a plate of hors d'oeuvres from a nearby table and threw them at my opponents, hoping to distract them. The plate shattered against the wall, and the food scattered everywhere, but the enemy still held their ground. I cursed inwardly; if I had been able to use Shadow Cloak, an ability I usually had up my sleeve, this would have been a different story. But their eyes were trained on me, and Shadow Cloak wouldn’t work with them actively looking at me.

“Someone, break free and help Robin and Rober!” I shouted in frustration.

Al growled nearby as electricity danced through the air, hurting but not stopping the four attacking him. Meanwhile, Han was standing behind a rock wall, enduring the four kin beating at it. It meant both of them were pinned down. Not for the first time, I wished Sam hadn’t wandered off. We sure could use his firepower right about then.

“No!” Rober yelled and grunted, followed by a feminine scream that I knew wasn’t Robin. I risked a glance. One of the party crashers had Bella by the arm and was dragging her back toward the door.

“No!” I shouted, feeling helpless to stop it.

That was when two new bodies crashed through the windows. It was Signore Barducci and Beau. I felt my shoulders drop in relief at their presence, but there was also a wave of annoyance. Why weren’t they here earlier to protect us from these kin?

“Beau, clean up the riff raff,” Signore Barducci ordered, getting a snort and a bellow from the cattleman in reply.

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Beau thundered across the room, holding his shield like a battering ram. He crashed into four kin, driving them back until they slammed against the wall. With a snort of rage, he swung his battle axe and the kin slumped to the ground. The angry cattleman snorted again, then turned to find his next target.

My Handler darted through the chaos with a swiftness that defied gravity. His eyes blazed with determination as he closed in on the kin that held Bella captive. He narrowly avoided a vicious chop in his direction, leaving only a faint whistling sound in its wake. Just as he was about to reach her, he somersaulted backward in a graceful move of acrobatics as the flooring in front of him was shredded by an invisible force. The pungent aroma of mana filled the air, light and airy but still piercing. Wind magic? Or something far more powerful?

Signore Barducci growled as the leader stepped into the apartment.

“If you want something done right, best to do it yourself,” the female kin growled. She was a head shorter than my Handler, but stocky. I could see the taut muscles under her black clothes. Unfortunately, her hair and face were covered so I couldn’t tell what kind of kin she was.

“She’s here for Bella,” I warned as I brought my knives up to catch a blade between them. I quickly stepped back again as the second assailant tried to use my block to get at me.

My Handler grunted his acknowledgement, the sword in his hand appearing from seemingly nowhere. Shadowy tendrils writhed around him, and he was gone, reappearing almost instantaneously behind the kin. She reacted with astonishing agility, dipping below the deadly swing of his blade, twisting, and taking two steps back while her fists flew towards him with the speed of a hummingbird’s wings. She was armed with razor-sharp wind claws, and they cut into Barducci’s side.

The wolfman grunted in pain from the attack, but he moved before the badgerwoman could strike again. He disappeared and reappeared at her side, his sword thrusting towards her like a venomous snake. She reacted quickly, backpedalling away from the attack with an ease that almost seemed supernatural.

I was impressed with her movement. I didn’t want to be, but I was. I was also starting to come to the conclusion that Barducci wasn’t much of a fighter. This was the second time I’d seen him fight. It was also the second time I’d seen him losing.

I was distracted again with my own fight. Ducking and stepping back again as the pair struck, one then the other. Then one of them got hit with a bolt of lightning from the right. Apparently, Al was done with his opponents. All four corpses laid at his feet . . . twitching and smoking.

Al’s attack gave me the opening I needed. My other attacker was distracted. I stabbed low under the armour, getting a grunt of pain. His weapons clattered to the ground as he clutched desperately at his wound. I followed with my other knife into his neck, ending the fight permanently.

I moved quickly, making sure no one was watching me directly. My Handler needed assistance, but Al would have to be the one to provide it. Bella was my only priority now. Swirling shadows coalesced around me like a dark curtain as I invoked Shadow Cloak, masking me from sight and danger.

I moved as swiftly as my skill would allow, skirting around the fight between Signore Barducci and our assailants’ leader. Bella wasn’t going willingly. She was kicking at her captor, trying to pull away from him, ultimately slowing him but not stopping him. It also served to distract him. He never saw me coming.

Like a wraith, I appeared from the assailant’s shadow, a knife driving into either side of the kin’s neck. It was a near instant kill.

“Come with me,” I said, motioning for Bella to follow me. We needed to get to Al and Han. Assuming they were free of their fights, that was our best hope to keep her safe.

I heard Beau's voice, muffled but clear, as he shouted commands to Robin and Rober. They were hacking away with mace and sword, swiftly whittling the group of intruders down. Beside them, Al was drenched in sweat and panting heavily while Yui expertly manoeuvred her blade, the metal glinting red in the fading sunlight with each new cut. Han's wall of protection still stood strong, but the moleman himself was nowhere to be found. I could only hope that he had retreated to recover, just like Al should have.

I had just stepped through the doorway when an arm thrust me back in a tight embrace. A startled yelp escaped from me as I flew forward, and the blade of a jagged knife embedded itself into the doorframe where my neck had been just moments before. My Handler had thrown himself at me, shoving me out of the way of the attack. I felt my stomach somersault as I tumbled down the stairs, tangled with the wolfman.

Pain shot through my body as I fell backwards, away from Bella and onto the landing in front of my door. Her scream of agony filled the air, tearing through me like a knife. I strained to listen, desperate for any sign that she was still alive, and then I heard it. The faint thud of her heart and the steady drip of water...no, not water. Blood. Bella was still alive. But for how long?

I heard the leader speak softly, “I wanted to take you. To hurt you then hurt you more before I dumped you back on your Group's doorstep. I’ll just need to be satisfied with this. And now he’ll never want you. The poison . . . the curse, what I’ve done to you . . . to your body . . . it will ensure it.”

I heard Bella drop to the floor as Signore Barducci and I finally disentangled ourselves. I looked up the stairs and saw the kin’s silhouette. Her head turned to look down at us before she turned and ran up the stairs, leaving all of her associates behind. She’d gotten what she came for.

I ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I came into the room and saw Alphonse about to pull out the knife that was still stuck in Bella’s gut.

“Don’t!” I shouted, and he turned to me in surprise. He had a look of anguish on his face, his golden hair matted with sweat as he knelt over Bella’s broken form. Her face was pale and drawn, her lips turning a sickly blue as the poison spread through her body. She trembled at Al’s touch, her eyes glazed from the pain she was in. There were tears streaming down her cheeks, although it seemed like she hadn't even noticed them.

“What?” Al stopped, looking up at me.

“That kin, I heard her. She said the blade was poisoned and cursed. Do you have a way to deal with curses yet?”

Al shook his head.

“Then better we don’t touch it for now,” I said, trudging into the room as my adrenaline finally began dropping and tiredness began seeping in.

Alphonse growled in frustration but got to work on Bella while I looked around the room to see if there was anyone else I could help.

Han was leaning up against a wall, gently snoring, the moleman’s strange nose fluttered with each breath. Robin was berating her brother as Yui chanted and held out her hands, a blue light spread outward enveloping Rober and healing him. Beau was going from body to body, checking for survivors and binding any attackers still alive.

At the back of the room were the civilians, most of whom looked to be in shock. And there was Esteban, looking at me then Alphonse and back again. I couldn’t tell if he had been through too much or if there was something else running through the dogboy’s mind.

A low moan of pain filled the air, and I looked down at Bella. Her clothes were stained red with blood, her skin was ashen and clammy to the touch, and her breathing was so shallow I could barely detect it. “Will she be okay?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“She’ll live,” Alphonse croaked, his hands glowing golden as he worked desperately to help her.

“Thank goodness,” I said, a sigh of relief escaping me. “Signore Barducci is a little injured. Probably a few broken bones and some lacerations. He’ll live, I think.”

“Good,” Al rasped throatily, his eyes briefly locking with mine before turning away. “Next time I suggest throwing a party, remind me of this.”

I smirked grimly. “Oh, believe me, Comrade Alphonse, I will never let you forget this party. Never.”

He chuckled weakly before turning back to Bella, the worry for her safety evident in his features.

Ten minutes later the apartment was swarming with academy staff, guards, and healers. Bella was loaded onto a stretcher and rushed somewhere. I hoped she was going to be okay.

We were all made to give statements then made to give them again. They were looking for inconsistencies in our stories. It was something I heard guards do back in Puerto Manada so I assumed it was normal.

“All of you, go home,” Dean Weber ordered after the last kin that wasn’t part of my lair team left. “Get some sleep, you have a lair in the morning.”

I was a little surprised we were still going into the lair. I would have thought they would postpone. Still, there were no arguments.

As I was leaving, I looked around the horrible state of Al’s apartment and stopped to speak with him. “Comrade Alphonse, you are welcome to sleep on my couch tonight if you need.”

Al sighed, “Thanks for the offer, but Esteban already made the same offer and I accepted. I think he was a little scared to be alone tonight.”

I nodded, glad to hear he had somewhere to stay and that he was helping Esteban. “Then I will see you in the morning.”

Alphonse nodded, and I reluctantly started my descent to my home. I scrubbed myself in the shower, trying hard to erase the memory of the blood in my hair. Once clean, I dressed in my nightwear and as I lay in bed, my mind raced with so many thoughts and worries. I pondered the strangeness of meeting Bella, a badgergirl around my age. I was frustrated knowing nothing could have happened between us. But then fear also crept in. What had that kin meant by her threat? Was she referring to Bella's betrothed? A chill ran through me as I lay there, trying to make sense of it all.

Eventually, my thoughts settled, and I drifted off to sleep. The dean was right, we had a lair to run in the morning.