As Isabel stepped inside the building, she noticed the couple living in it rush out of one of the doors while screaming for help.

Stepping over the ruined table, Isabel picked up the speed. She decided to follow after the owners of the place. They clearly knew the way out, judging by the calls for guards.

After adjusting her hold on Kanna, Isabel picked up speed. She decided not to worry about the damage she was doing to the place and kicked yet another door as they fell shut in front of her.

It was all it took for Isabel to catch up to the pair. They were trying in the process of opening the front entrance. “So sorry.” She apologised again while bumping them away from the door and exiting the building.

Isabel squinted to adjust to the sudden change of surroundings. The people cursed at her as she interrupted the flow and started to step around Isabel.

After a moment of searching, Isabel spotted Mortimer, who stood a bit further along the street, holding Vatim in his hands. He jerked his head for Isabel to follow.

“There!” Someone called behind Isabel. “Catch her.” Another joined. “She got one of the workers.”

“Workers?” Isabel could not believe the way one of the guards had called Kanna. She looked at the thin girl clutching onto her leather armour. It really made her mad.

It really, really pissed Isabel off. She sent a hateful glare at them while wishing she had some of Mila’s throwing knives at hand.

But there was no time to teach some assholes morality. Shoulder first, Isabel started to run, pushing over a couple of unsuspecting passersby's over. “Which way?” She asked Mortimer as she passed him and began to plough the way through the human obstacles.

“Straight ahead. After two turns, we go right.” Mortimer hurried to follow, stumbling and tripping over the occasional body that was left in Isabel’s wake.

Something caught Isabel’s eyes. Ahead of them, a few guards in similar garbs as the ones at the ‘not prison’ pushed into the street, trying to clear people from interfering. By the shouts behind them, it was the same there.

Come to think of it, the damn premises Kanna had been held in were expansive, and they were running parallel to the wall.

And there was no time to dodge around. Not that Isabel believed Mortimer would be able to follow if she decided to start jumping around. “You’ll have to move on your own for a moment.” She informed Kanna.

They had to get away. They had to get to the hiding spot Mortimer had in mind quickly. The fastest way was straight through the forming blockade. Isabel decided to put her training to good use. Even during the travel, Mila had fed her with tips and tricks on how to deal with skilled opponents. “Mortimer, straight ahead.” Isabel gave a short order.

As they closed in, Isabel began to judge the distance. At least the aggressive shouting ahead had started to clear the throng of people.

Once Isabel felt she was close enough, it was time to act. “Here we go.” She informed Kanna, and as she stepped, Isabel bent her knees to put the trembling girl down before moving forward with more speed.

Isabel evaluated the danger she was facing. Five men in shabby gambesons and dull swords were blocking her way.

But there was also a sixth one, who looked confident and capable. The man’s oiled moustache glinted in the sun as he hefted a large two-handed sword. He oozed disdain, and his glare sent the riff-raff scurrying away. He wasn’t better armoured than the rest, still wearing a black, brown uniform in need of a wash.

As troublesome as they looked, they didn’t make Isabel feel any danger. They were nothing like the Inquisitors back at Ocheon.

The question was - how rough did Isabel need to be? Should she outright kill them?

It was possible. Isabel unsheathed her sword and pulled her shield from her back. Now ready to face off against the enemy, she once again considered how to deal with them.

The men she had killed in Ocheon were still fresh in her mind. Isabel didn’t want to add to her nightmares.

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But…

Mortimer’s alarmed voice informed Isabel of Kanna tripping. She risked looking back.

The poor girl had not managed to run even a few steps before collapsing on the ground, powerless to continue.

Isabel’s grip tightened. Her mind struggled to accept what she was about to do, but her body was already moving. The first lives she had taken were innocent. They deserved better.

Not these men. They didn’t deserve to have Isabel’s mercy. She wouldn’t aim to kill, but neither would she hesitate to do it if it would make getting past them faster.

Just like that, Isabel was upon her opponents. The moustached leader sneered at her and ordered his men to ‘get her’.

But Isabel was not a purely melee fighter. Before she clashed, she released a couple of simple mana bolts. Truthfully, her aim was horrible, and it took a while for her to prepare the spells. She just wasn’t as good at casting as Andrew was.

It didn’t matter at this distance - not against these dregs.

The bolts struck the closest targets. Isabel missed the vitals despite aiming for them. Yet, it was enough as the impact threw two of the men back.

The poor armour had done enough to stifle the worst of the magical attack. Both men were alive but out of the fight. One of them was bleeding heavily from a nasty hole in his stomach, and the other cracked his head against the road when he fell. He didn’t move after that.

Isabel stopped herself from thinking about them. It would make her hesitate.

The moustached bastard whistled, pretending to be impressed, then raised his hand and pointed his index finger at Isabel.

Isabel barely managed to react in time by ducking under a similar bolt she had just used turned against her. This one had a fiery tinge to it. Better visible and more devastating, it hit someone in the background.

It was a mistake on Isabel’s part. The spell would not have done anything to her. She was subtly using her ability to protect herself, but it wouldn’t do her any good to give away this trump card. So, she had chosen to dodge, seeing the trajectory of the projectile wouldn’t hit her companions. But it did hit someone…

The moustached Dicklord was more capable than expected. Isabel really wanted to burn that damn caterpillar above the confident asshole's lip to crisps.

Still, Isabel was not deterred. With a gracious step, she reached the line of would-be blockers. With a shield, she parried a wimpy attempt from one of the small fry.

The fool left himself wide open by swinging too wide and stepping too far. Isabel simply plunged her sword into his open torso. Even the shabby sword she wielded found it no trouble to sink deep into his body.

It left Isabel with three immediate opponents. More would follow if she didn’t end it swiftly.

A retreat was not permittable. Isabel advanced. Her sword met the henchmen’s, locking them for a moment. She forced more mana into her muscles, overpowering the man and pushing him back.

Another weak blow was caught in the shield. Isabel angled it down, leaving the attacker open, but she didn’t manage to capitalise on the opportunity.

With a heavy step, Isbel forced herself to stop and brace just as quickly, but a heavy blow from the Moustache landed against her shield, leaving a slight dent.

It made both Isabel and the Moustache pause in surprise.

“What the…?” The moustache realised Isabel was not an opponent to take lightly. His two-handed sword bounced off the shield, and he used the force to retreat.

Isabel wanted to follow, but while one of the remaining five simple guards was running, one of them was still attempting to attack her despite being heavily outmatched.

A foolish notion. Isabel let his stab slip beneath her arm and smashed the edge of her shield into the fool's face, breaking all of his front teeth.

That left only the Moustache, who was eyeing Isabel warily. He moved his large sword from one side to the other, trying to see if she would respond. There was only cold calculation in his eyes.

Isabel heard Mortimer arrive behind her. “They are gaining on us.” He informed.

All around them was screaming. Isabel smelt the freshly spilt blood. She didn’t look at the sources. Mila and Silinth had punished her too many times for looking away at things that ultimately didn’t matter.

Then Isabel moved. She ducked low, moved her shield in front of her and charged. Each of her steps faster than the previous, she was instantly at the striking range of her opponent. Her sword was at her side, ready for a counterattack.

But the Moustache didn’t attack. Instead of engaging, he dodged to the side, his large body moving with unexpected elegance. He made a poking motion with his oversized sword, testing Isabel’s defence.

Too cautious. The corner of Isabel’s lips twitched in annoyance. She would have preferred to simply engage and overpower the man with her superior protection.

Apart from being an evil ashole, the Moustache wasn’t dumb. He was stalling. His movements now focused on tying them down until reinforcements came.

Isabel couldn’t let that happen. “Move past us.” She instructed her group and looked at the Moustache’s reaction. “I’ll hold him. Run.” Of course, Isabel just wanted the man to change his approach to the situation.

A thoughtful expression flashed on the man’s repulsive face until a realisation hit him. “None of you can leave.” He announced heavily and planted his feet. His sword cut off the path forward.

“I don’t think you can stop us, Buttface.” Isabel taunted while throwing herself against the sword. Her shield once again was heavily impacted as the man landed a blow against it. She gritted her teeth and stood, but so did the Moustache. “Move!”

This was taking too long. Isabel focused. She pushed the man’s sword up and used the moment to glance back.

A sadness overcame her for a moment. Isabel knew they had taken too long. She took a deep breath while tapping into her mind where the same spell she had used against mutated Silinth hid.

Then, Isabel pointed her hand, holding the sword back and released the flamethrower.

A hot, continuous stream of devastating fire gushed from Isabel’s pointed hand. The blaze cut off the path of their pursuers. The inferno quickly spread as she swiped her hand sideways, covering the whole street.

And Isabel knew some of the bystanders were hit. The screams confirmed it. Hopefully, no one was hurt too badly. And with this, she had bought themselves a few more moments.

Moments Isabel was determined to make do. She couldn’t fry the Moustache. Her party was too close, and the flamethrower too wild and prone to friendly fire. She didn’t trust Mortimer, Vatim and Kanna to dodge it.

And the big oaf certainly could. Especially now that the Moustache knew she was capable of casting it.

“Aren’t you dangerous?” Moustache spat on the ground.

“Yeah. And that’s just the beginning.” Isabel boasted while reading herself for another round. The brave words at least pushed her forward and didn’t let her think about failure.