Heroes to Hunted

Barik stumbled to his feet and shook the dizziness from his head.

After his recovery, Lilia raised an eyebrow and planted her hands on her waist. "Why the surprise?" she asked with a quizzical glance.

A shared silence passed between us as she contemplated. Rather than answering, the three of us quietly stood our ground, bracing ourselves for whatever this girl might throw at us.

Seconds later, Lilia's eyes lit up in epiphany. "Wait, don't tell me... Don't tell me!" She giggled as she examined our uneasy expressions. "You thought you were hidden?!"

We stood frozen, transfixed by her sharp gaze. However, as her mocking laughter echoed through the narrow alleyway, I winced as I realized the truth: we were not the trappers here but the rabbits, and she had us in her sights all along.

"Oh, oh, that's hilarious!" Lilia continued to laugh uncontrollably. "How could you lot think you're hidden when you're splattered with innards?!" She pointed to our bloodstained clothing. "I could smell you all from a mile away! Why do you think I sent the guards away?! I figured I could have my boredom alleviated for a bit."

As I stood there, a sudden realization dawned upon me, illuminating my thoughts with clarity. It was then that I reflected and discovered the essence of my mistake. For all this time, I had been comparing the abilities of fullkin to that of humans, basing my judgment solely on their bipedal form.

But now, I knew that I was wrong.

Their ferocity and keen sense of smell were unmatched, and it was foolish of me to have not taken those into account. In truth, comparing them to bloodhounds would have been a more fitting comparison, for they shared the same predatory instincts and primal strength.

Lilia's lips parted once more to hurl another insult, "You few really are foo-" but before she could finish, a cacophony of heavy footfalls cut through the air.

Barik's charge thundered down the cramped alleyway, his body bathed in the honeyed glow of the sunlight above. Sometime during our exchange, he had quietly amassed a wellspring of green energy, enhancing his speed for a sudden, explosive attack.

"I'll make my introduction first!" Barik's voice roared with the courage of a man gone mad. As he closed in on Lilia, the ball of his flail whirled above his head, ready to strike with deadly force. "Though you may not know me long, girl!"

The sound of his footsteps echoed off the walls, ringing through the air like the beat of a war drum. The scattered rays from the Sun above cast a bed of light on the alley's surface, only interrupted by Barik's soaring shadow.

With the dexterity and agility of a skilled acrobat, Lilia evaded Barik's first down swipe with ease. His flail's spiked ball smashed into the dirt, lodging there and creating an echoing crater. Meanwhile, Lilia trembled with an expression of excitement, reveling in the rush of battle.

'She's enjoying this?!' I thought with surprise.

Responding to Barik's words, Lilia cheerily said, "You're right! I won't! Why waste memory on a dead man's name?!" Her tone was laced with arrogance as she mocked Barik, a broad smile spread across her face.

In a blink of an eye, Lilia vanished, leaving us stunned by her sudden disappearance. She reappeared above Barik, her eyes narrowed with cold intensity, directly contrasting with her molten yellow gaze. Her composure and movements held a high degree of grace, so much so that they rivaled those of a master assassin.

"BARIK! SHE'S ABOVE!" As Mizuno warned Barik in a panicked tone, she infused her blades with a crackling energy that illuminated the air with a purple glow, causing arcs of electricity to branch out from her blades as they buzzed with magic.

With a shrill, blood-curdling laugh, Lilia swooped down from the sky like a ravening banshee, her movements as swift as a gust of wind. "THAT'S ONE DEAD!"

Unfortunately for her, she was wrong. Barik heeded Mizuno's warning and had long since dropped his flail. His hands empty, he placed his palms on the bare dirt surface and generated a seismic rumble in the earth.

The ground trembled as Barik unleashed a powerful attack. The earth split apart as thin stone pillars sprouted from the area around him, their razor-sharp edges forming a cage that shielded him from harm while assaulting Lilia with a barrage of blows.

However, as I watched in amazement, Lilia's nimble body twisted and turned with the agility of a dancer, evading each spear with ease. Despite Barik's formidable skills, he was unable to land a single blow on the elusive fullkin.

Each fluid movement confirmed Lilia's mastery of acrobatics, surpassing even the greatest of parkour runners. Her skill was a marvel to witness, yet terrifying.

Finally, Lilia leaped through the air with a massive jump, reappearing near the carriage unscathed. She casually twisted her head toward her shoulder, brushing off a degree of dust before returning her sights to us. "You might entertain me, after all!" she bellowed with a fanged grin.

"Heh, I'm glad this old veteran could be of service," Barik smirked, releasing his magic and leaving the stone pillars to crumble to the ground. Then, he grasped his flail from the ground and charged its momentum, ready for another strike.

Mizuno approached him from behind, taking a spot beside Barik with readied, electrified longswords. "Go, Sato," she commanded with her usual measured tone. "Whatever you hear, don't look back."

"Aye, kid. Have some faith in us," Barik grinned at me with a wink, then gestured to Lilia's extravagant outfit. "This woman looks ready for a ball, not a fight; I'm sure everything will go just fine!"

Barik's provocation at her outfit forced Lilia into a scowl. "Not like I wanted to wear this," she grumbled before assuming another attack stance.

Moments later, their clash was underway as Mizuno and Barik launched simultaneous attacks on Lilia. I used that moment to dash past the battle toward where I last saw Vincent, following the outer deck of the two-storied homestead.

Lilia's sight snapped toward me, and she prepared to lunge when Barik smashed the ground around her, pulverizing it to dust and causing Lilia to stumble from uneven footing.

"You should keep your eyes on your opponent!" he boisterously chuckled.

Lilia smirked back at him, regaining her posture and her eyes glinting with murderous intent. She pointed toward Mizuno and said, "As you wish, you and that woman will have my undivided attention. At least, until I've divided you both into pieces!"

I turned the corner, noticing that the air behind me was thick with the acrid scent of smoke, and the echoing clangs of steel striking rock resounded through the air. All of which were intermingled with the deafening thumps and crackles of churning dirt.

Amid the noise, I could hear Lilia's laughter, high-pitched and arrogant, as she reveled in the fight. "It makes no difference he got away, you know! My brother will kill him anyway!" she shouted, cackling with malice.

Her words were infused with confidence, convincing me she was likely right. 'It doesn't matter, though,' I shook my head to maintain my composure. 'A superior gave me an order, and I intend to honor it!'

Oddly enough, I did spot several windows leading into the basement. However, upon close inspection, I noticed each was barricaded with wooden boards. 'Guess they don't want any prying eyes...'

Eventually, I stumbled upon where Vincent likely traveled. Beside the wall of the homestead was a large wooden hatch attached to primitive supports. I opened it, feeling the vibrations of the rusted hinges as the doors groaned open.

When the two half-panels finally crashed to either side, a sparsely lit, musty cellar was revealed. "Why the hell do I keep ending up in these kinds of places," I scowled with clenched teeth.

Sighing to myself, I stepped inside and began my descent into the earth. My heart pounded in my chest like a jackhammer as my mind replayed Lilia's words.

Even so, I shelved my anxieties and ventured forward. However, my concerns soon flared up again, this time for the well-being of my allies. "I'm trusting you two... Don't die..." I whispered to myself, trying to keep my fear at bay. "And I'll do my best in doing the same."

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