Carrying the body of the fallen Taskmaster as though he was a brittle piece of glass, Eubin calmly walked out of the room in which they did battle with a scowl on her face. To say that Eubin was in a bad mood was a horrid understatement, she was livid.
"He died because of my weakness. If I was stronger, if I had more control he would have lived." She mumbled to herself, looking downward, she took notice of the serene smile that was plastered upon his lips even in death. And yet, she found herself unable to match it.
"You poor thing." She whispered, brushing strands of black hair from his face as she met up with the rest of the group. Oddly, taking notice of Nephis seemed to further fan the flames of her fury for reasons she couldn't quite explain.
No, to say that would be being dishonest. She knew exactly why she was angry. 'If Nephis was there, if they all fought together, then he wouldn't have needed to die.' But even that was naive to think. Eubin knew it much better than anyone else.
There was simply no way of saving him.
"Eubin, why exactly are you carrying that thing's body like he's fine China?" Clara asked, totally oblivious to the death glare that Eubin was levelling towards her. She was only met with silence, whatever had happened, it was clear she didn't want to talk about it.
"Are we taking his body to mother to inspect? That's...unusual for you to do, but I'd understand." This time, it was Hel who spoke. Upon finishing her sentence, Eubin's glare fully made itself known as she focused her rage onto her surrogate sister.
"I'm going to bury his body; he deserves this much." Eubin commented, her tone devoid of emotion. Her sisters simply nodded, watching as Eubin rested her back against the wall, staring at Taskmaster's serene features which remained devoid of life.
A small part of her, a selfish part, wished he got up once more. Even if it was to fight, even if it was to have one final conversation. She wanted to let him know that he was loved, that regardless of the brief time she spent with him, she had grown fond of him.
Alas, there was no medicine for death.
"We're supposed to receive a reward from this entire thing, I assume it should be deeper within the citadel." Nephis commented, her voice shaky as she rested on Cassie for support. Her body still writhed in agony from the phantom pains, yet she had to remain firm.
"I'll go with you, whoever gets the reward can be decided by what it is." Cassie commented, but before any of them could make any further moves, the sounds of shifting machinery caught their attention. In a single moment, what appeared like a set of infinitely extending coils of wire fell from the ceiling.
Along with it, were two diamond plated swords, with their blades shining in the glow of a metal that none present could identify. Glances spread about the room, Clara and Jessica immediately staking claim over each of the swords as everyone waited for Eubin to pick up the weapon which was obviously hers.
Flicking her wrist, the wire that extended from her body seemed to connect with the one on the floor, almost melding at the point of contact before quickly disappearing. "Since we're done here, I'll be leaving. Forcefully." Eubin commented, her tone still blank as she laid down Taskmaster's body.
Swinging her arms in a fluid motion, the monumental walls constructed by pure obsidian and metals beyond human comprehension disappeared like sand in the wind. In another fluid motion, she had almost shaved the entire citadel to the ground, wearing a sick smile on her face as she slowed to a stop.
"There were explosives, gigantic ones. I cut them to shreds before they could detonate." Eubin commented without a hint of excitement at such a feat as she lifted the young boy's body before disappearing in the direction of the camp.
Nephis could only stare blankly at the feat before turning to Eubin's fellow Song sisters for some form of explanation. Noticing her baffled gaze, Jessica shrugged her shoulders before sighing. "Bin can't control how much she destroys when she really gets going, which is why she holds back all the time no matter who she's fighting. She's probably pissed off she couldn't control herself enough to subdue the boy instead of killing him."
At her final comment, Clara scoffed, sheathing her new sword while holding the other by the hilt between her fingers as she spun it around idly. "I don't know why she'd be concerned by such a thing; it's not like that would have changed anything. That guy was a real monster."
Jessica's warning comment was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing, upon hearing it, each head snapped towards Nephis' direction as she pulled out her phone from her pocket. Upon picking the call, Sunny's voice, laced with slight frustration that everyone could hear resounded through the ruined citadel.
"It's ok for me to kill your friends, right? They're really getting on my nerves and I'm not in the mood to fight." Was his message. At the blunt approach, a cacophony of giggles resounded among them despite the gravity of the situation. After all, they weren't their friends.
"Please try to be patient with them." Was Nephis' weary reply.
"Be patient? Kai's been shooting at me for forty minutes now, I haven't even gotten a word in!"
As he made this comment, a gunshot caused the phone to vibrate intensely, only for Sunny's voice to grow in irritation once more.
"Look, I'm only going to break their legs. If you have time to call me, I assume that you've conquered the citadel, I'm proud of you. Tell me about it when I get back, I love you all."
Without giving her a window to reply, the call was abruptly cut off. Clara, who regained her bearings first wore a bashful expression as she weakly punched Jessica on the arm. "Aw, did you hear that? He said he loves us." She commented, swooning exaggeratedly as Jessica sighed.
"Let's give him a meal to look forward to once he breaks your friend's legs Changing Star!"
In the next moment, the Song sisters disappeared.
--
Meanwhile, Jet was currently locked in one of the most brutal pincer manoeuvres that Sunny had ever witnessed. With each engagement she engaged in, a bullet would be launched at her back without a moment hesitation. Sunny himself was quite taken aback at how quickly they had resolved to kill her, and from the looks of it, Jet was too.
That wasn't to say Jet was losing, far from it. However, from the current deadlock they were in, neither had any opportunity to gain any real ground, it became a matter of stamina more than anything. And yet, despite their crude methods of fighting, and the occasional bullet launched by Kai, the fight was oddly entertaining.
As they took a small break a bout of silence settled between them, and Sunny almost felt implored to clap at their excellent performance. At this rate, they may be able to beat Rivalen. Although such a theory couldn't be tested anymore.
"Mordret and his murderous tendencies." Sunny sighed.
Kai was the first to break the brief silence, raising a pistol and firing. Each shot was aimed for the head. Jet sidestepped, the bullet making a firm indent in the soil behind her. Before she fully recovered, Effie lunged forward, her spear thrusting straight toward Jet's chest.
Jet twisted mid-air, her body narrowly avoiding the strike. With a sharp tug of her scythe, she tried to yank Effie off balance, disembowelling her in the process. But the spear fighter planted her foot, raising her spear to block the incoming blade as she shoved it backward.
Kai didn't give her breathing room, closing the distance between himself and Jet as his fists lashed out in a blur of precise kicks and punches. Jet quickly conceded the contest of strength she was engaging with Effie in, ducking under a high kick as she spun her scythe in a tight arc.
The blade sang through the air, hunting for Kai's throat. It only barely missed as he leaned back. At point blank range, a pistol emerged from his pocket, piercing through the air towards Jet's face only to be dodged at the last second. Regardless, she was dazed.
Effie took the opening, sweeping her spear low. As Jet shifted her stance, the spear slammed into her midsection, launching her backward. She flipped in the air, landing on a nearby tree with feline grace. Leaping down, she used her scythe to spin around a firm branch, quickly building speed as she launched herself back into the fray.
"Ok, points for creativity." Sunny mumbled, almost tempted to take notes as the fight progressed. "Effie makes it too obvious that she's going to press immediately Kai dazes her, it's what everyone would do, making it predictable. Although, I'll give her props for landing a hit, regardless of effectiveness."
"If Jet doesn't go for the kill, she might actually lose this." Sunny mused, unfortunately for Jet though, she wasn't allowed to kill them. As Sunny proclaimed to Nephis as he called her, damaging their legs enough for neither to resist was his objective, after all coming all this way to kill them and make an enemy out of Mordret didn't benefit him in the slightest.
Jet's scythe met Effie's spear in a show of sparks, both fighters pressing against each other with raw strength. But Kai moved in from the side, anticipating his intervention, Jet suddenly ducked low, slipping between them before pivoting behind Kai. She swung, her curved blade slicing through the air.
Kai barely managed to duck, rolling forward and firing as he came up. Jet dodged left, but Effie was already there, thrusting forward. Jet twisted her scythe to deflect the impact, but the continuous combo that reigned upon her rattled her arms. She leapt back, putting distance between them.
Her chest rose and fell in measured breathes as she spoke without taking her eyes off the two. "Do you intend on helping? Or do you just want to stay there and do nothing." Jet growled at Sunny, forgetting the respect she was supposed to address him with. Sunny whistled at her boldness before stretching slightly.
"You can rest now, it's fine, I'll show you the way to use strength."