Some time passed since I started following the guards.
Throughout that time, there weren't any notable developments. But now we were standing outside some large door, and the guards stared inside with looks of frustration.
Two of the five swiped their swords from their sheaths and bolted inside.
Almost as if rejected by the room, they flew out at considerable speed. As they spun through the air, their bodies rag-dolled uncontrollably before crashing into the smooth brick wall beside me.
Their journey ended when they slid down to the floor and slumped over, unconscious.
The remaining guards looked back to their fallen allies in dismay and cursed the hidden assailant. Then, growling at their enemy, they brandished their blades toward the room.
One took the lead.
"You're gonna pay for this, you-" His words were met by an airborne bowl.
After the collision was the screech of breaking ceramic as it shattered into his face; the bowl's various shards stuck out from the guard's skin.
He crashed to the ground, dropping his sword in the process, and clutched his new wounds while bawling.
His tears mixed with the streaks of blood to form smears of diluted red across his face.
After seeing yet another of their comrades felled, easily no less, the final two hesitated even more.
They looked at each other and steeled their resolve. Then, gripping their weapons, they howled a war cry and thrust themselves into battle.
The sound of grunting, metal clashing, and flesh being struck echoed through the halls.
"Shit! I can't just stand here!" is what I said, but what I saw wasn't a scene where I was necessary.
Standing in the room was indeed a wild beast.
He was clad in rags, like Agawa and me. Unlike us, however, he wasn't battered and bruised. He was the one doing the battering and bruising.
Behind him lay one of the two guards, freshly beaten and unconscious.
Despite that, I felt more pity for the other one.
Grunting and frantically grabbing at his assailant's arm, he was lifted into the air by the temples of his skull. I imagined it was a harrowing and terrifying experience.
The savage turned towards me, still holding the crying guard in the air.
"Yo, soldier guy."
He was incredibly calm, especially considering what was happening. Then, proceeding with his dramatic reveal, he plunged his new victim headfirst into a nearby wooden table, splintering it into several pieces.
I should've known who it was by the guard's description. A savage beating, inhuman strength, and they looked like a wild beast? There was only one person who fit that description; it was Takagi.
He approached me. "What took you so damn long? I've been having fun all alone," his expression became condescending, "don't tell me you've been napping this entire time?"
I couldn't be irritated with what he said; it was true.
"I'm sorry," I said with a tone of shame. I felt embarrassed that a civilian was fighting so much in my place.
My apology made Takagi recoil in discomfort. "Hey, stop that! I was only messing with you! Geez," he clicked his tongue in irritation, "why are you so serious?"
I sighed and straightened my back, turning my focus to the room.
The place was clearly a mess hall since it was lined with several wooden tables that stretched across the floor. Likely due to Takagi, a little under half of them were reduced to just being valuable as scrap wood.
There were multiple other guards, aside from the ones I followed, scattered around the floor and over various tables. All of whom were beaten to the point of unconsciousness.
"Admiring my work, huh?" Takagi said proudly. "If you pay your respects," he shook his head, "I guess you could be an underling."
Somehow, his arrogance was refreshing to me. I must've been relieved that he stayed the same despite everything we'd been through. He was still the same rude, arrogant, and savage Takagi who beat down an unbreakable door with a single kick.
'We might stand a chance after all.' An idea that previously seemed impossible to me.
After our greetings, I stored Agawa at one of the unbroken tables, so I could start gathering all of the guards. Once he saw what I was working on, Takagi joined me in locking them within the mess hall's food pantry.
With a tight pull in opposite directions, we secured each soldier one by one with various ropes and chains we'd scavenged. Now that they were bound, I did what I did best. I looted them.
To my relief, I found some of their armor actually fit me this time!
I strapped on a leather studded vest, bracers, and shin guards. It was definitely a step down from my usual body armor. Still, I felt much safer with a shell around my soft flesh.
Likewise, Takagi plundered several of them.
Minutes passed as he grumbled to himself and fidgeted with the equipment. Still, he figured out the various buckles and whatnot eventually.
He equipped shin guards and bracers though he avoided the body portions for some reason. Aside from the armor, he only looted a sword and a holster.
"Aren't you going to upgrade from those pin prickers?" he asked, pointing to my three holstered knives.
Seeing how well-maintained the longsword was, it was likely the better option for fighting.
The knives were incredibly fractured and dull, hardly reliable, to say the least. Still, when it came to combat, it was best to stick with what you knew, and I knew knives inside and out. Maybe once we got out of the mansion, I'd learn to use a sword, but I was unwilling to risk our successes on a whim.
"No," I grasped my holsters, "these are fine."
ραпdα Йᴏνê|(сòm) Takagi lost interest and moved on. "Hey, what's her deal?" He gestured toward Agawa.
It wasn't my place to reveal the trauma of others, so I described the events as vaguely as possible. "She was attacked and passed out from exhaustion."
Takagi gripped his chin in intrigue. "Is that how you got those freakish wounds?" He nodded towards my wrists.
"No," I lifted my hands towards a lantern on the ceiling, "I escaped with these."
After laying eyes on my wounds, my mind became light-headed. Though I tried, I couldn't tear my gaze away; my eyes were obsessively chained to my lacerated wrists.
"Hey," he said, "are you sure you're good?"
But I couldn't respond. My focus was ensnared with my wounds.
A driblet of blood landed on my cheek, and my body was reminded of how much I'd lost so far. Darkness encroached upon my pupils on all sides as I lost the strength in my legs.
My neck weighed heavily with weakness. Though I struggled, I couldn't stay upright any longer. The last thing I felt was the impact of stone against my spine as it slammed into me.
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