It was another evening in the chaotic city. Abby was sitting on top of a rooftop, eating her sandwich, humming song under her breath that she heard on the way here. It was peaceful, surprisingly... she was already used to returning to this city and seeing humans, monsters and more, from many places gathering in this city, turning it into a battlefield over and over again. The peace did not last long though, as she felt sharp pain in her chest. It could only mean one thing...

Adam is in trouble. Frowning, she takes the last bite off of her sandwich standing up, concentrating on the pain. They both shared that feeling whenever the other was in trouble, but it was irritating. Abby walks over to the edge of the building before warping through to the next, then onward and onward until she ended up above the battle, though in her view, it was a brawl no less. Five strangers attacked Merc, circling him like Hyenas. She scoffs. He promised to not leave her out, and now he didn't just leave her out but is also taking an unnecessary risk. He's not attacking? Why is he talking with them? Questions accumulated one after another, she herself becoming irritated by how reckless he is. With a sudden lunge, one of the enemies attacks Adam from behind, attempting to pierce his neck, and that was something she could not allow. A pink, heart-shaped shield forms in her arm, and she throws it into the rapidly closing gap between the blade and Merc's neck. Her shield grazes Merc's back, stopping the blade in its tracks, after which the shield continued flying and then bounced off a wall; redirected, the shield hits the enemy, staggering them backwards. She jumps down, feeling irritation coming off of Merc. Why is he irritated? Because of her saving his ass? She grimaces in irritation herself, the shield returning to her as she lands down in front of the staggered enemy. The other two separate, surrounding Abby and leaving the other two of the attackers to fight Merc. The staggered man shook his head, looking at her with an expression of disgust.

"Why do you protect this thing? He's like a feral animal that has to be put down."

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Abbys grits her teeth in anger before going to bash the man's head with her shield, but grabbed by the hood of her jacket, she's dragged back and thrown onto the ground by the other two. They pin her down to the ground as the third man kicks her arm, the shield sliding out and away from her hand, the pain shooting through both her and Adam. She stays still for a few moments, leaving the three feeling triumphant before a knife slides into her left palm. She thrusts the knife into the man's forearm, its heated edge of the blade burning the man's skin off. Catching the moment as the man lets go off of her arm, the shield returns to her, and she bashes the shield into the punch the second man threw in her face, and when the shield and the fist collide, a loud cracking sound echoes, the man wailing in pain at his broken arm. Abby jumps to her feet, looking at the third man, who, armed with a large mace, jumped in the air, slamming in down at her. Abby wasted no time, dragging the man with the broken arm close and using them as a shield. The mace slams down on the two, the injured man's body taking on the majority of the impact, the mace tearing through the man's flesh, breaking ribs and tearing muscles before the excess force of the strike sent Abby backwards. The stranger looks at his ally and the mace sticking through their chest, covered in blood and torn muscles. Breathing heavily, Abby gains balance again, and without any further ado goes to ram the man, who's stunned by the gore he had caused. The shield comes crashing into the head of the person, the force of the impact throwing them backwards, straight into a wall, their neck snapping from the impact, and the lifeless body falling down, as Abby steps up with a dangerous glare, coming face to face with the showdown of Adam against one last man, the other's body laying crushed on the floor. She steps up to Merc, feeling his anger, irritation... and fear. Raising an eyebrow, she gives him a brief stare as Merc mentally answers:

"That's not your fight. I have personal scores to settle with this son of a bitch."

With a scoff, a shortword appears in her arm, and with a quiet, determined voice, she replies:

"No. I'm not leaving you alone one-on-one against this psycho."