"Bloody hell, mate…" I whispered, feeling the darkness eyes on me, trying to come up with a line, with anything that shook away the fear.
I can't defeat him… I can't escape from him, either.
What do I do?
"Bloody hell, eh… What a funny way of talking you have. Almost like an accent, but that can't be. You're alive for a little over 2 weeks, and no one in Myrka talks this way."
He was onto me…
I tried to freeze my expression, to close it and not reveal anything more, but the probing came back, forcing me to relax. "What… do you want?"
Herr Doctor's laughter echoed, his eyes closing on me, forcing my instincts to go berserk. Using my ESP, I jumped away, dodging from a blinding fast tendril of flesh and bones, that almost pierced my gut in the spot.
Before I had time to contemplate, the same tendril was onto me again, forcing me to dodge more and more. Damn this sick bastard, he's playing with me…
I kept accelerating, even with that bastard's ridiculously fast attacks, I managed to dodge for fifteen minutes before he stopped, and allowed me to catch my breath.
"I'm curious… Why didn't you try to use these guns of yours?"
Huffing, I looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"With what ammo?"
Silence stretched, and then, a small, almost childlike chuckle escaped him. It then became a deranged laughter and, as soon as I thought he regained a semblance of control, it became a madman's slaughter. It was a sound straight out of a nightmare.
"Ha… ha… You are good… Almost perfect, I'd say." I felt his eyes on me, this time with a good nature curiosity. "What gave it away?"
"The weight. While I commissioned them to be heavier than normal guns, I can still tell when they're out of bullets."
"I see…" The shadows shifted, slowly shrinking. "We'll see each other again, young Esper. But, before that, you have another meeting in a few minutes. Don't worry, however. I'll put on a good word for you…"
With those parting words, Herr doctor left me alone, my thoughts dwelling in the meaning of what he just said.
A good word, huh?
...
After waiting for a couple of hours, the doll nurse from before opened the doors, going towards me and giving me two belts, each of them with rounds upon rounds of bullets.
"A present from the master, young un'."
With a quick, practiced movement, I wore them, feeling the familiar weight of metal.
Looking towards the door, I placed myself in front of the nurse, who graciously accepted my protection. "So, I suppose this is the meeting Herr Doctor spoke of."
The doors opened and a bunch of human size dolls entered, each of them holding sabers and other weapons. Unlike the nurse, these didn't appear intelligent.
"Not exactly" a voice sounded in the room as more of them flooded inside. "Herr Doctor spoke highly of you, but I must be certain of where you stand before allowing you in."
Sighing, I allowed myself to feel the Ether in the air, smiling as power flowed through my veins. Raising a single gun, I accelerated the bullet, destroying one of the dolls.
Seeing this, they immediately attacked, forcing me to shoot more and more,
Seeing as they split themselves, I scowled, jumping into the fray.
With a quick movement, my guns shifted into close-range mode and I parried a slash, shooting it. Using his a ledge, I jumped high in the air, shifting my weight and facing downwards, shooting those below, disabling them before falling down in my feet, rising up and shooting the last two from this side.
Those that went at the left didn't stop for a second, running towards me, forcing me to dodge a slash, block the next and shoot the joint of the third before he could decapitate me. Using the momentum from my block, I reversed the direction from the strength my opponent was applying, allowing me to force them back and shoot both it and the one in the right.
Jumping away, I shifted the guns midair and reloaded them, using my ESP to accelerate the bullets and raining them in those that remained.
Sighing and looking up, I caught the small, scrying eye that was sending the images. "Is this enough? Or do you want me to practice with real soldiers, instead?"
The room was silent for a second, the Etheric blue scrying orb waiting, until a single sigh broke the silence. "That won't be necessary, homunculus. I'll give you an explanation of why you're here shortly. Wait for a party to take you to my office."
I sighed, feeling my ears ringing from the constant effort.
Damn, I feel drained. Looking back, my eyes spotted the nurse doll, hiding behind a counter, trying to make itself as small as possible.
Snorting and glancing ahead, my back fell to the wall, resting as I took all around me. Unlike the HQ or the Cradle, this place isn't hot. Much more cool, almost in room temperature. It was pleasant, I guess.
My eyes took some more of the room, resting in the candelabrum after some time, seeing the enormous thing floating, the fire illuminating the room and casting no more shadows.
Guess that, without Herr doctor's presence, this place didn't need to hide anything.
After a few minutes, the doors opened again, and, from there, two entered. A man and a woman.
The man had swept blond hair, blue eyes and an easy-going smile. He wore unassuming clothes, no accessories, but his presence was easily noticeable, almost like a beacon of light that constantly brought moths to it.
The woman, on the other hand, wore a black cloak, a dark veil shadowing her features, stopping me from seeing beyond what she didn't show. Her steps and movements were measured, calm and almost quiet, but held a sharp edge behind that spoke about how much blood she saw and spilled.
An assassin and a proud hero, huh?
What an odd pair.
"We'll take you to Baron Drott." The man spoke, his cheerful voice coming with a smile. Still, I couldn't help but stow the name away.
My instincts were telling me that this man's important. And a mercenary worth their salt always listens to his gut.
Walking towards them, I tried to ignore the piercing gaze that came from the woman. While I couldn't see her eyes, I knew they were following me, dissecting my body as if I was a frog in a laboratory.
It's going to be a long day…