Ephert was still struggling to throw Shin off, however, the young boy wouldn’t have any of it. Even when Ephert tugged roughly at his hair, and Shin had tears pooling in his eyes, he wasn’t letting go of his teeth clamping down on Ephert’s arm. 

His arm even started to bleed. 

Ephert then witnessed the moment of K’xug single-handedly disabling all the arrows coated in light magic, his face twisting in dismay.

“What?!” 

His arm throbbed in pain again, and Ephert was truly angry now as he flung the boy away. Shin could hold on any longer, and he stumbled back. 

“Get off!” 

Ephert reached out to strangle Shin again, only to be stopped by a nunchuck aiming swiftly at his neck in the shadows. 

“Don’t you dare.” 

“...big sister Kiyae?” Shin gasped, turning around. 

In an instant, his eyes were covered and he felt himself being pulled into a warm hug. However, something just didn’t feel right about this hug, it felt too...bare. 

“How did you get here?” Ephert staggered back. “Where’s Goro?” 

“I sent him running about like a headless chicken.” 

Ephert gritted his teeth. “That useless brawny man!” 

Kiyae laughed from within the shadows, her nunchuck still aiming steadily at Ephert. 

“He definitely is a brawny man with no brains!” 

Shin frowned, his eyes still covered as he moved his head up. 

“Big sister Kiyae.” 

“What?” 

“...are you...half-naked?” 

“...”

“...no.” 

“But your chest feels too close--” 

“Shush.” 

A grayish brown-haired woman stepped out into the light, forcing Ephert to take back each step. With every step she took, the expression on Ephert’s face gradually changed. 

Shin was right. 

Kiyae was half-naked, and she wore pants around her waist that clearly wasn’t her size. She tied it together in a rush. The only thing covering her chest was her undergarment. 

“Why the hell are you half-naked?” Ephert frowned. 

Kiyae made a face, recalling the memory of how she became half-naked. 

She was making her way up on her own, but that annoying bastard noticed her since he was making his way back to Goro too, abandoning his mission to chase them. Kiyae backtracked and tried to use another path but it seemed that Goro suddenly changed his target to her. 

She was beyond frustrated. 

Coincidentally, she knocked out one of the guards who turned out to be a female and had similar stature as her. Even the same hairstyle! 

She smirked impishly, stripping the female’s guard clothes and replacing it with her own. She quickly wore the female guard’s pants and rushed off. 

The ingenious plan worked, and Goro was fooled by the switch. 

Alas, Kiyae let her guard down and in her exhausted state, and she did not realise the subordinates Goro stationed near the entrance to the audience stand that led to Ephert and Shin. 

One of them was a fire elemental user. 

It burned her clothes, and she flung her clothes away without hesitation before proceeding to beat them all up. 

Some of the guards were appalled that Kiyae dared to strip in front of them. However, it wasn’t like she cared as she enjoyed wearing loose clothing which helped her immensely in fights.

She then stole a pair of pants from one of them, tying it around her waist to make sure it didn’t fall.

What a ride. 

“Give us the slave contract you created for Shin,” Kiyae threatened, pressing her nunchuck on his neck. “Come on, Ephert.” 

Ephert smiled maliciously at that moment. 

Kiyae was extremely alert now, since she wasn’t fighting against normal guards but a diabolical man. She didn’t know what he had up his sleeve. 

She gasped, pushing Shin behind her as she avoided the knife that Ephert whipped out. 

“What the hell?” 

“Too bad, I missed.” 

The knife did not look like any ordinary knife, its blade was glowing brightly but it only gave Kiyae an eerie feeling. 

“You can’t kill me,” Ephert continued smiling, glee evident in his eyes. “You need me alive for information.” 

“True,” Kiyae shrugged before narrowing her eyes. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t break your legs and arms and render them useless forever.”

Ephert felt a chill going down his spine. 

He was not a fighter, he made others fight for him. 

There was no way he could win against Kiyae. 

At that moment, Kiyae widened her eyes and she clicked her tongue. “Damnit, too fast.” 

“Master Ephert!” Goro called out in the distance, he was climbing up the stairs to the audience stand. 

The relief was visible on Ephert’s face. 

“Oi, the idiots down there!” Kiyae hollered down at the people in the arena. “Catch!” 

Ephert’s face changed again. 

Her loud voice caught the attention of her comrades down the arena. 

Shin felt the hand covering his eyes withdrawing. He blinked open his eyes...only to feel himself being flung away like he was a ball. 

“Kiyae?!” 

“Catch him!” 

“Oi, oi oi! Oi! You crazy--!” 

The people down from the arena yelled at Kiyae incessantly.

Shin widened his eyes in disbelief, he was currently falling all the way down the arena. 

They noticed the young boy tumbling through the air instantly flew into a panic, combining their efforts to stop his fall. Shin himself was panicking as well, flailing his arms and legs, letting out a rare yelp of alarm and he felt his world spinning. 

"Shin!"

Cecil stood in the way, preparing to be his cushion. 

In the end, someone suddenly appeared in front of her and ended up being the cushion.

K’xug swivelled his head to the empty spot beside him where Xue previously stood, blinking his eyes in shock. 

So fast. 

Isn’t that...a little too fast?

Xue collapsed to the ground with an indifferent look, and laying on his lap was Shin whose eyes were still spinning. He was unable to recover from the fact that he was thrown into the air like a ragdoll with death just inches away from his face. 

Yun brought his head up, noticing Goro and Ephert surrounding Kiyae. 

“Captain.” 

“Huh?” 

“We need to help Kiyae.” 

“Yeah, I know but we need…” 

“Fast ranged attacks?” 

Haru nodded, glancing around. “But we don’t have any--” 

“Hana can do it.” 

“I’ll do it!” 

Yun and Hana spoke at the same time. 

“Re-really?” 

“Mhmm! Don’t worry!” Hana nodded with a beam and she raised her bow. “I will help Kiyae, she’s my friend too after all!” 

For Haru, this group of four weren’t exactly considered his comrades. However, to hear something like that from one of them...even after their somewhat rocky start, it was touching. 

“...on Kiyae’s behalf, uhh...thank you.” Haru muttered out awkwardly, scratching his face. 

“You don’t need to! Just her not being hurt is enough!” Hana beamed again. 

Haru was blinded by her smile. 

She’s an angel! 

An angel! 

Everyone wore small smiles on their face, including Xue who was shocked to know he was smiling at something like that.

Meanwhile, Goro had made it up the stairs and he stumbled up on the scene of Kiyae apprehending Ephert. 

“Ma-master!”

Even if he had a deadly knife on him, it was nothing if he could not fight, especially against a real fighter like Kiyae. 

Ephert grunted in pain, he could feel the force on his arms and he knew Kiyae was intent on breaking it like she said.

“Give it to me!” Kiyae demanded. 

“Master--” Goro took out his claymore. 

“You fool, don’t do anything!” Ephert hissed out, nudging his head. “Give her the damn slave contract!” 

More than anything else, Ephert did not want to lose his limbs. His entire life, he has been looking down on the weak and if he were to appear in front of the weak with missing limbs, isn’t he the weak one then?! 

His dignity mattered more than some dumb slave contract. 

His plan failed, then so be it. 

Goro clicked his tongue, reaching into his kimono and retrieving a bundled up scroll hidden inside. 

Kiyae nudged her head at Goro. “Give it here.” 

“Take it and--” 

At that moment, Goro caught his master’s eyes. 

Ephert was telling him not to let Kiyae go without hurting her severely. 

There were two of them here, and she stood no chance against two of them. 

“...take it and get out.” 

Kiyae smirked, beckoning Goro with her free hand. 

“Tch.” 

Goro threw her the scroll, and everything happened so quickly. 

Kiyae caught the scroll just as she kicked Ephert away, and Goro disappeared from his spot and appeared behind Kiyae. 

Kiyae used her nunchucks to defend herself from Goro, only for Ephert to spin around and aim his knife, that was still glowing eerily, at her abdomen. 

It was then Goro sensed something heading towards Ephert rapidly, and he gasped. 

“Master!” 

He dashed towards Ephert, abandoning the mission to hurt Kiyae. 

Ephert widened his eyes, unable to stop his momentum as he saw something glinting in the distance, headed his way. 

It was three arrows, made out of ice. 

Goro deflected them all just in time with his claymore, right before it hit Ephert. 

“They have a skilled archer on their side this time.” 

Kiyae had an inkling who was responsible for shooting those arrows and she did not waste the opportunity, she threw herself off the audience stand, just like she did to Shin.

“Damnit!” Ephert barked out, roaring at Goro. “You let her escape!” 

“Bu-but master, if I did not stop those arrows, you would have gotten seriously injured--” 

Ephert let out an angry roar, glaring at Kiyae who winked at them in mid-air as she dropped. Her comrades were below preparing to catch her. 

Just then, they spotted the skilled archer in the team, the one responsible for shooting the ice arrows. 

It was a beautiful red-haired woman, and she was still aiming the ice arrows at them with a satisfied smile on her face. 

“Retreat.” 

“Wh-what?” 

“There is no point fighting an archer from this distance,” Ephert narrowed his eyes, irked at how the situation had escalated. “We are at a disadvantage.” 

Goro could feel the anger radiating from his master, and he took a step back, gulping nervously.

“This plan was a failure,” Ephert growled out. “We could have killed them if it weren’t for the queen’s guests meddling in our affairs.” 

Especially that guy…

Ephert looked down at K’xug standing among them. 

Hana looked as if she would release her arrows if they took a step further, hence, the two of them retreated down the stairs right after.

“You remain here, Goro,” Ephert continued to speak, his voice dropping lower as he sounded menacing. “Remain here and ensure that the stupid civilains do not do anything useless, and that they obey us.” 

“But master--” 

“In case anything happens, I have called for the twins to come over.” 

Goro widened his eyes. 

“They are supposed to be your bodyguards, master!” 

“No need,” Ephert smiled maliciously, bringing the knife close to him as he was careful not to touch the blade of the knife. “These enchanted weapons are good enough to protect me, it doesn’t matter who is guarding me anymore as long as they have these.” 

The knife was still glowing brightly. 

***

Kiyae was caught by Haru and Yun. 

“What the--” Haru coughed.

“Ahhhh, oh my god, Kiyae is naked!” Hana covered her eyes in a hurry, slapping her hand over K’xug’s eyes too. 

“...?!”

K’xug was bewildered, his fingers tapping on Hana’s hand.

Uh, Hana…

What’s with your hand?

...how I wish I could speak at this moment. 

K’xug continued tapping his fingers.

“Why are you half-naked, Kiyae?” Yun questioned, adjusting his glasses. 

Xue carried the unconscious Shin over his shoulders, indifferent to the scene. 

“Is Kiyae embracing her weirdness now?” Ryo grinned. 

“Shut up and take this,” Kiyae grumbled out, shoving the scroll onto Haru. “Now, let me rest.”

Kiyae collapsed onto Haru and Yun, closing her eyes. “I’m tired, you guys carry me.” 

Yun sighed, shaking his head and he took off the outer layer of his kimono to cover Kiyae with it. 

Cecil stepped forward, inspecting Kiyae closely and she furrowed her eyebrows. 

“Did you get burned, Kiyae?” Cecil questioned as she leaned in closer. “I’ll apply some ointment on you later. It must have hurt...” 

“Nah, I’ve been through worse,” Kiyae lifted her head up, smiling tiredly. “Thanks, Cecil.” 

Cecil smiled amiably. 

“And thank you too, Hana, for saving me.” 

Hana peeked through her fingers, beaming at Kiyae as she nodded vigorously. 

“Of course! Don’t need to thank me!”

Right after that, Kiyae dozed off as Haru carried her on his back. He was the captain of the crew after all, and he took care of them like his own family. 

They got what they wanted, it was Shin’s slave contract and to save him. 

Now, they could focus on their original goal in this town.

***

Goro went to the gates of his mansion, to welcome two important guests that his master sent over to him. It was night time, the best time to sneak people into one’s house or base. 

Moreover, these two important guests were also his bodyguards.

The twins. 

It was drizzling slightly, and the droplets of rain stained his kimono. 

“You are finally here,” Goro smiled amiably. “Welcome.” 

Two hooded figures stood at the gate, and the gates were slowly swinging open by the guards. The house that Goro situated in was a mix of japanese and european architecture, it was to be expected since Han and Tul were neighbouring continents. 

The hooded figures brought their hoods down as the gate swung completely opened, and they walked into the light. 

The moment Goro saw them, his eyebrows twitched.

Where have I seen them before? 

They look so familiar. 

At that moment, a handsome ash-blonde haired man flitted past his mind. Even their indifferent expressions were exactly the same. 

That’s right…

The queen’s guests, he was outrageously strong and good-looking.

And these two...look similar to him.

The twins that were supposed to be his bodyguard bore an uncanny resemblance to him. If their eyes and hair weren’t of a different colour, Goro wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. 

Goro couldn’t help but open his mouth to ask. 

“Say, do you know of a man named Xue?”  

The twins flinched imperceptibly, glancing at one another before they turned back to Goro. 

“Not really.” 

“No idea who that is.” 

However, from their tone, Goro could feel that they did not like him prying into them and he staggered back. 

“Sorry, I overstepped the boundaries.” 

They were mercenaries hired by Ephert, who monopolized the mercenary market and Goro did not want to piss them off to make them betray him. 

Goro shook his head, wondering if he was overthinking. 

Nevertheless, he did not want his protectors to stay out in the rain, inviting them to a warm, comfy shelter quickly. 

“Come on in.” 

Unbeknownst to them, on the rooftop of the mansion there was a man hidden within the shadows. He took a step out into the light, exposing his hand that was covered by two iron claws and within one of the claws, there was a transparent marble-like object swirling with dark magic hovering above his claw. 

“They finally appeared, looks like spying on them paid off after all,” the man spoke to himself, a smile in his voice. “With this, it’ll be five of them.” 

The man settled down on the rooftop, not fazed by how slippery it is because of the light rain. 

“Now, I just have to wait.” 

The man chuckled darkly. 

“I have to wait for an opportunity to absorb them.” 

***

Pt. 1

《 start 》

Ahhhhh! 

I’m going to die! 

Big sister Kiyae! 

Ho-how could you throw me like that!

...save me! 

Sa-save me...Cecil! 

《 stop 》

***

Pt. 2

《 start 》

You want Cecil to catch you? 

No chance. 

Who knows where you’ll land on her. 

Who knows if she’ll get hurt. 

I’ll catch you instead. 

《 stop 》