Northern Region of the Deadlands, Abandoned Cerberus Outpost: 936, April 9th, Monday, 5:30 PM.
Maulik’s fist clashed with the specter’s own attack as his fight against Bloodhound and Eutychia dragged on. The red fog became thicker and cloaked the area into a denser atmosphere, the crimson skies darkened in minutes as both parties refused to wave the white flag.
The powerful impact of Maulik’s punch shattered the specter’s arm into pieces—causing it to vanish completely into embers. Its remains returned to Claire’s pistols, who responded with a shower of bullets immediately after, but the hybrid weaved in between the bullets while hastily approaching her. Before he could reach the lieutenant however, a recovered Eutychia leaped into action from behind the lieutenant, and with a downward swing of her sword, struck at the opponent.
Maulik stopped the princess’ attack with the palm of his hand, catching the blade. “Hng! You annoying...” with a thrust of his arm, the hybrid pushed the black knight away from him, but was immediately tackled down by a specter before he had a chance to react.
As the creature slammed Maulik’s back on the ground, its chest was suddenly pierced by the hybrid’s fist—putting an abrupt end to its life. Maulik planted both hands on the ground next to his head, reeling his legs backwards to propel them forward, and stand back on his feet with a kick.
“...!” as soon as he landed on his feet, a nearby thundering sound from within the fog grabbed his attention—sliding his eyes to his right side to check on the noise. He rapidly crossed one arm to his other shoulder, and intercepted a small projectile directed towards his head—catching the small bullet with his hand. “More?” he growled.
“Scott, Eric!” Tori beamed as she noticed them both march into view from inside the fog—she assisted the injured Gaspard in a somewhat secluded part of the battlefield.
“Sorry we are late!” Scott waved.
Eric broke into a sprint towards his butler, keeling down in front of both Tori and Gaspard. “Gaspard, what happened?” the noble asked in concern.
“I may be too old for these small outings of yours, young master.”
“He’ll be fine,” Tori nodded while reassuring her friend. “He just needs some rest now.”
Eric bowed his head in gratitude towards the young medic, “you have my thanks.”
Meanwhile in the battlefield, Maulik found himself outmatched and outnumbered as fatigue began to settle in his body. His breath became heavy and his movements sluggish, giving Eutychia an opportunity to strike.
“Fall!” she roared, spinning into a horizontal slash towards the hybrid’s torso.
Maulik was able to block the attack with his arm, but was pushed back by the powerful impact of the black knight’s blade. As he flinched from the burning pain of the cut in his arm, the rushing sound of steps rapidly approaching snapped him back into the fight—but his reaction was too slow compared to Claire’s assault however.
With two perfectly timed shots against his joints, Claire brough Maulik to his knees and continued with a spinning kick to his chest—forcing the hybrid away into the ground with his back against the dirt.
“Hmph,” Claire huffed with a satisfied smirk. “I knew you weren’t built of metal.” She offered a snarky comment—remembering the time she used the same strategy against Cerberus’ training dummy—which in fact did injure her leg.
“You’ll pay for that...” Maulik groaned while picking himself back up.
Suddenly, he rushed towards the lieutenant without notice in a surprising rush—an advance that got interrupted immediately by one of Claire’s specters. The crimson demon materialized behind her like her motorcycle would, and intercepted the fatigued hybrid as they remained locked in a brawl—both of them wrestling in an attempt to overpower the other. Although Maulik started to get the upper hand, the specter vanished into embers unexpectedly—forcing him to stumble forward.
“...!” the hybrid’s eyes opened wide at the presence of Eutychia’s fist approaching his face.
The black knight thrusted her arm forward, putting all the weight on her body at the center of her attack—colliding with the hybrid’s nose, and propelling him away like an arrow. The coordinated assault continued, as Claire chased the knight with her roaring spectral bike. She caught up to Maulik in an instant, and lifted her motorcycle off the ground to soar a few inches above him.
“Nice try...” Maulik groaned under his breath while pressing his hand into a fist. The sound of Scott’s rifle firing a second time broke his concentration however—bringing his immediate attention to the projectile flying straight at him. “Damn you!” he cursed while raising both arms in front of his face, blocking the rubber projectile as it bounced off his skin.
Claire’s motorcycle roared furiously while she pulled the handles back towards her, forcing it into a vertical position. As she flew close to the hybrid, the sudden change in the bike’s position caused the back wheel to scrape Maulik’s abdomen, and run all the way to his chest—until it finally impacted with his chin, hurling him away even further.
The spectral bike completed a full backflip and landed on its two wheels, releasing Claire safely as it dissipated into embers. Maulik in the other hand, crashed violently against the scorched earth multiple times—his face drifting on the dirt until friction assisted his stop.
“Did we... do it?” Claire wondered, keeping her guard up.
Eutychia stepped next to her—which set off a few alarms in the lieutenant’s head, glancing to her side to avoid any surprises. Despite this however, they both stood next to each other while waiting on the hybrid’s response. Claire had her pistols raised in front of her, while the princess kept her sword to her side.
Surprisingly, Maulik lifted himself from the ground—groaning painfully while his body wabbled around. “You... won’t beat me.” he claimed.
“That bastard...” Eutychia angrily muttered.
“Enough!” a feminine voice no one but Maulik recognized thundered across the area.
Claire and the princess turned to look behind over their shoulders, noticing the other members of Bloodhound doing the same—they all gazed at a woman standing pridefully at the end of the battlefield. She had messy short red hair down to her shoulders, and intense hazel eyes that gave her a tomboyish look. The group immediately recognized her clothes, as they resembled both Ninigi’s and Maulik’s. Her grin was wide as she bared her teeth, keeping her hands on her hips.
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“Who the hell is that?” Claire inquired about the identity of the new girl.
The girl rushed into action suddenly, a similar tactic Maulik has shown over the curse of the fight. Eric leaped in in front of her, planting his feet on the ground to put a halt to the girl’s advance. He was easily evaded however, as the redhead jumped above him with a graceful front flip—the noble could do nothing but stare in awe as she flew past over his head.
“What the—!”
“Leave it to me!” Scott yelled, anticipating the girl’s landing trajectory as she stretched her legs downwards—timing his shot to strike at her leg.
But despite the young sniper’s calculations, the redhead flipped in mid-air to reposition her body upside down—placing her index finger gently on top of the bullet, and redirecting its trajectory towards Scott.
“…!” thankfully for him, the bullet was directed to the ground near his feet—leaving Scott both startled and amazed. “Wh—excuse me?!”
Rolling across the ground in the shape of a star, the redhead landed back on her feet and continued her unstoppable charge in Claire and Eutychia’s direction. The black knight rushed forward to intercept her attack, keeping her blade ready to her side as the girl approached rapidly.
“Out of my way!” the redhead shouted while leaping at the princess with a flying kick.
Stepping to the side, Eutychia was able to evade her kick and attempt a counter attack—or at least that was her plan. “What!” she yelled in surprise as the girl ignored her presence, and continued her charge—this time towards Claire.
Noticing the indominable force that approached her, Claire summoned her spectral bike for an auto-pilot charge in an attempt to stop the girl in her tracks. The motorcycle failed on its mission however, lifting its wheels from the ground to perform a frontal tackle—which the girl avoided by dropping to her knees and sliding on the ground, bending her upper body backwards.
“Who is this!” the lieutenant reacted in shock—summoning a specter to deal with the threat instead.
“What the hell?” the girl raised an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the crimson beast. “Oh! You must be that girl!” she smiled brightly, slapping the specter away with the back of her hand and continuing her charge.
“...!” Claire’s eyes opened with a gasp, witnessing her specter being swat off like a fly.
To everybody’s shocking surprise however, the redhead reached Claire and ran past her like a speeding car—releasing a powerful gush of air that swayed the lieutenant’s long hair.
“Me!?” Maulik snarled, just as dumbfounded as everyone else.
“You bastard!” the girl shouted with a flying kick—planting the sole of her foot in the hybrid’s stomach.
The force of her attack caused Maulik to spew saliva from his mouth, his eyes shooting open as his body bent forward. His arms dangled in front of him, the tip of his fingers caressing the dirt as his body remained arched like a horse shoe.
“Y-you...” his trembling knees finally gave out, and he fell face first against the ground—getting knocked out cold by the girl’s attack.
“Gigi asked me to take you home!” she closed her eyes into a beaming smile.
A deadly silence filled the region as everyone stared in shock at the events that just unfolded—the group’s undivided attention solely on the redhead as she picked Maulik from the ground. She casually dragged the hybrid by the arm, humming peacefully while ignoring the awkward atmosphere around her.
“W-wait a minute!” Claire stopped her advance by stepping in front of her. “What... who are you?” she demanded.
“Hm?” the girl raised an eyebrow, but quickly shifted to a smug expression once her brain processed the question. “Hah,” she chortled while placing her hands on her hips—dropping Maulik. “My name is Gal, Gal Freyre!” she pointed at herself with her thumb. “And I, am Gigi’s best student!”
“Who the hell is Gigi!” Eutychia roared in confusion, stepping in next to Claire while moving her bang to the side with her fingers—revealing her eye underneath.
Gal frowned at the ignorant question, huffing through her nose like picking Maulik’s arm once again. “If you don’t know Gigi then I’m not interested in talking,” she continued to drag her friend across the field—opening her way in between Claire and Eutychia. “Goodbye!” she turned with a glare over her shoulder.
Bloodhound had no interest in stopping her stride, and simply observed as she disappeared within the fog. The sudden peace and quiet allowed them to burn the remaining adrenaline that remained in their exhausted bodies, collapsing to the ground in a second.
“Oh man!” Scott spread his legs and arms while lying on the ground. “I just want to go home…”
Eric sat next to Gaspard who held his throbbing head in one hand. “Are you sure it’s fine?” he asked.
The butler bowed with a reassuring smile. “I may be old but not as fragile, young master.” he replied. “Although a paid vacation would be must welcome.”
Eric chuckled at his suggestion. “I’ll inform my father once we return.”
“Lieutenant!” Tori rushed to Claire, arriving at the pair sitting next to each other. “Ah, U-um…” she bowed at Eutychia. “I-it’s a pleasure to see you again, lady Eutychia…”
The black knight sighed and let herself hit the ground, exhausted by the intense fight with the hybrid. “Don’t let this get to your head… we are not friends.” she said and closed her eyes, addressing Claire.
The lieutenant simply huffed a quick chuckle as she seated in the dirt, patiently waiting for Tori to finish her examination. “The thought didn’t even cross my mind.”
It only took Tori a few seconds to deal with Claire’s cuts and bruises, having been spared most of the pain by the hybrid. “It’s finished, lieutenant!” Tori stepped back—placing one last Band-Aid on a small cut in Claire’s arm. “Just to be safe.”
The action brought a smile to the lieutenant’s face, picking herself from the ground. “Thank you, Tori. I feel better already.” She patted the girl in the head—taking her gaze to the armored clad princess on the floor. “How about you? Do you need medical aid?”
Eutychia did not answer immediately—jumping back on her feet, and cleaning the dust from her clothes. “No,” she turned her back on the pair, and proceeded to leave the battlefield. “I have other matters to attend, farewell.”
Having reached its conclusion, Bloodhound took a break from the battle to reunite once again—embracing each other into a big group hug. Not even exhaustion could take away the smiles from their faces, as they rejoiced in their reunion.
Not long after, Claire received a call from Arwen with urgent instructions to evacuate the Deadlands ASAP—prompting the group to leave the place immediately.
Cerberus HQ, Medical Room: 936, April 9th, Monday, 6:00 PM.
“I said call me if something happens to him…” Yeon said.
Arwen scratched the back of his ear, keeping an eye on the slumbering Sovereign. “I know, I know… I’m just a little nervous right now.”
“He trusted you with managing the company in his absence, don’t worry too much.” she offered words of encouragement. “Do you know what happened to Atalanta?”
“She most likely escaped. Sovereign mentioned the arrival of Ninigi before collapsing.” Arwen began to explain. “He uh… well, I didn’t expect him to get like this over it.”
“He told you about Ninigi before, did he not?”
“Yes, he is the champion, right?”
Yeon hummed in confirmation. “Correct, while not a threat to you or me, Sovereign has an… undoubtable fear towards him.”
“I guess I can see that, but by the way he talks about him… Ninigi sounds like a reasonable guy, no?”
“I’d have to meet him to answer you,” Yeon replied. “Ninigi and Sovereign have conflicting objectives. Regardless of who he is, if Atalanta joins forces with him, it could complicate things for us.”
“Right… I’ve informed all units to evacuate the Deadlands.” Arwen said. “The lieutenant’s rescue was a success, and we got some data on both Maulik and Gal.” he continued. “The lieutenant seems to have a better grasp on the spectral gear’s abilities as well, at least that’s what Sovereign said.”
“Excellent,” Yeon released a deep sigh of relief. “This might take some weight of his shoulders, no wonder he wanted direct communication with the girl.”
“Ha-ha, I’m sure he’ll be eager to invite you out once he wakes up.”
“Don’t even joke about it,” Yeon replied with a quick huffed laugh. “I’ll be there soon, make sure Lucy has something to eat as well.”
“I wish I knew where she was…”
A small plastic bottle in a table nearby suddenly plummeted to the floor—a way for Lucy to announce her presence.
END OF CHAPTER