Since times immemorial, humans have separated themselves into two herds, the strong and the weak. And trust me when I say this, there is no gray zone when it comes to strength and weakness. It's either white or black, always has been, always will ever be.

In ancient societies, brute strength reigned supreme. The bigger, the stronger, and the meaner were revered as chieftains and champions from even before the Neolithic era all the way across the early bronze ages. They formed the upper warrior castes of primitive societies and controlled those who were weak, pushing the service roles on them.

Society evolved, however, and strength took many different forms such as wealth, magic, or faith. Those who had strength still trampled over those who lacked it but even with how far strength evolved, the primitive forms of strength were nothing to scoff at.

Facing this force of nature with the feeble body of an average female, the three young ladies were at a total loss for words, actions, and ideas. One man stood over the trio, throwing one to the ground, cornering one down, and holding the blade of the last with his bare hands.

Igor was more than just a brute, he was an aura knight, a Silver-ranked Knight as we gathered from how a silvery aura layer was condensed around his skin.

"We need to run!" I couldn't help but blurt, out of my mind, out of my league.

"Run? From who? Me?"

His arrogant question sparked an interesting point. No matter where we run, where we hide, even if we run in different directions, there is no way we can do anything against that hulk of a man. No feminist spirit, no power of friendship, no plot armor can save us… or maybe a little bit of the latter, that would really come in handy… any moment now.

But you know what came on handy, his foot.

Yes, that's right. His foot pressed down on my hand as I was trying to unsheath my cane sword. I could feel my bones creaking… cracking… crocking?

The point is, I was down bad, my left was in a bad condition. So let's see how the others fared…

Edith was trying to take her sword back as Igor still grabbed it from its tip with one hand, as for Matilda…

"VIRTUS HORTI!"

She unleashed a barrage of golden magic spells at Igor, who didn't take it standing. He grabbed Edith by her right shoulder, yanked away her sword then slapped the shit out of Matilda's spell, repelling it against the wall to cause a flashing explosion.

With Edith in his other hand, he tossed her like a doll at Matilda and the two girls crashed at each other before breaking down the furniture all around them.

"Bastard!"

"Oh! The final bug." He looked at me then at the dagger sticking out from his side, "That was a good stab."

"Oh, yeah? How about this?"

I gave up on trying to push his foot away off my poor left arm and pulled out a gun aiming it to his face.

I could see a sneer form on his face as he put his hand between my gun and his face, knowing how powerful a Silver Aura Knight is, there was no way my bullet could pierce his defense…

"Sike!"

He thought he was going to block a bullet aimed at his face and so with total arrogance, he covered his face with his hand. It still stings to take a bullet to the face especially if it enters the nostrils but I wasn't aiming there anymore.

I was aiming at that little dagger sticking out from his side…

BANG!

"UMPH!"

Seeing his face twist, he paid the price for his arrogance with the chilling sensation of the dagger driven into his side being moved by a bullet so violently. It at least was enough for me to roll backward with my gun at my right.

Now, time to face the Goliath with a gun. I suppose David was underestimated by his Goliath but mine is looking at me with total alert, knowing how bad this little lady can sting. Still, would it matter for David? He had God on his back.

Time for prayer, I guess.

"YOU BITCH!"

"If only you give me time to pray…"

"Why pray when you're dead meat?"

A table flew in my direction, which I most certainly had to dodge by crawling under another table. However, the Goliath was in the air, aiming to descend on the table I was hiding under with all his might.

Either way, I was no longer under that table, just passed through hot on heels… knees actually and with a Panacea potion on my lips, chugging it all at once.

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The pain of my arm's tissues getting back together was so vivid it almost messed with my brain's wiring but no girl can stay still with a Goliath throwing furniture at her. But just as that Goliath raised another desk to smite me down…

"JINX!"

… Matilda cast a strange magic that hit the desk he was carrying and suddenly all the drawers of that desk started falling on the Goliath's head.

"Annoying pest!"

The Goliath turned around to see Matilda still conscious while bleeding from her head and barely raising her hand. He ignored me and marched at her so I prepared my gun and aimed at the back of his head.

BANG!

A splendid shot shook the room but I swear I could see my bullet hitting his head and bouncing off, going the other angle. He seemed to have only felt a sting as his sudden shrug made him only turn at me with a wrathful face.

"You're next! Just wait over there."

He still ignored me and kept walking at Matilda, kicking away every piece of furniture on his way.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

All I had and could do at this point was keep shooting him. The rate of fire from my pistols was showing its magic, combined with the auto-reloading function, I kept firing but the man was unfazed.

In a way, I felt betrayed by my efforts to develop these guns. People with such power to shrug off bullets were simply the worst.

But just as the Goliath approached the petite Matilda Ambrose, who struggled to push herself back until she hit the wall, Edith suddenly jumped up and stabbed with her sword using her Aura Star against the man.

Of course, he was stronger, faster, and deadlier than the three of us combined. Yet we had something he didn't have.

"FEMINISM!"

No, just kidding. I didn't really shout that.

We were just three girls with a wide set of skills. Combined with Edith's stab, Matilda cast another spell that emitted a flashing light to blind him and I ran towards the man to jump-kick him towards Edith's blade.

Numbers and Versatility vs. Brute Force. You wanna know, who won?

"Ah! All that for a drop of blood!"

One can already guess how this is looking for us three.

It was a beatdown!

I, fallen on my buttocks, Edith, slapped down by the Goliath, and Matilda, pushing herself away against a wall as she was about to experience how an unstoppable force would meet an immovable object with her in the middle.

Kinda fun to see albeit not too family-friendly.

But at the darkest moment and in our toughest hour, the door to the lab was forced open and a man charged down the stairs.

"Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

A man came to save the day!

But not just any man, it is my man… like one of my men… who works for me, not "my" like in "mine" or anything…

He is… LOGAN!

"Well, well, well! If it isn't the boy knight!" Igor turned and saw Logan coming his way.

"You messed with the wrong young ladies tonight, ugly bastard!" Logan said as he raised a surprise my heart wasn't ready for.

Seeing it, Logan sneered with viciousness.

"Serving that girl with guns, I see you're picking toys too. Didn't your master teach you not to bring a toy to a real fight?"

Igor said and charged at Logan who only had one second to raise his double-barrel firearm and shoot a spray of sweet sweet high-velocity lead confetti, courtesy of Buckshot, Inc.

BANG!

A shotgun roared in the basement of this mansion and I felt every fiber of my being danced to the echo of the shot. But like a charging rhino, the Goliath absorbed the damage like nothing, covering his face with his hand at the last second before charging at Logan, slapping the shotgun away, and locking hands with Logan in an intense grapple like Gilgamesh and Enkidu, pushing one another, showing off all aspects of their strength.

Logan was strong, strong enough to take on Igor any day of the week but Igor was still larger than Logan. If the two were of the same rank as Silver Aura Knights, Igor would have a slight size advantage.

But at that moment, I felt the sliding shotgun coming my way, scratching all the way on the floor. I grabbed that sweet baby of Mama Liberty and held it with two hands. Knowing it's a double-barrel shotgun, there must be another shot loaded in there for the second trigger.

Voros was just working on this prototype and he couldn't think of a name for it but I see the name he chose engraved on its side. He called it the "Knightgun" and I know just the place to shoot it.

Selflessly, I ran towards the two grabbling giants and slid myself on the floor on my back aiming the shotgun up, and as I slid between Igor's feet…

I raised the gun between the two men, aiming it right at Igor's face from the ground.

"Chi-Chik!" I know it is a double-barrel, not a pump-action, but I couldn't resist making that sound with my mouth to alert them.

As Igor looked down, two rounded hollowed barrels stared right at the ugly face he protected from bullets to the best of his ability. This time, it is not just one measly pistol bullet, it's a spray of awesome.

BANG!

Unable to retreat his hand or his head on time, the buckshot entered not only his nose, but forced their way through his upper lips, his shut eyelids, and every possible weakness in the human face.

"AAAAAAH!"

The Goliath howled from the gunshot and fell to his knees, holding his face, withering in pain, and no longer able to use any of his senses.

Logan dragged me up real quick and with two short blades, he cut Igor's neck from the front and the back, then from the side, and with the back of his fist, he slapped it with vigor, causing the head to fall off the body.

Blood was everywhere, chaos all over the place, and three beaten-up young ladies struggling to stand up.

"Log…" I tried to speak to my knight but what a terrifying face he met mine with.

"Not now." He said and covered me with a cloak that he had prepared, "Don't show your face as we make a run for it. You two, cover yourself as well."

Logan helped Matilda walk and Edith barely moved by my side as we ran upwards and straight to the mansion's entrance.

Chaos ensued as five masked assailants were burning, destroying, and killing around a carriage pulled by four horses in the center of the scene.

"Let's move!" Logan ordered and the carriage's door was opened, everyone got inside, and from fight to flight, we went.

Nothing interrupted our escape from Natasha's mansion.