-~*~-
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The little girl in the man's grip is writhing and trying to get herself free from his grip. Her eyes widened in terror as she watched below her feet to an endless drop into the bottomless lake.
The man in question is still laughing like a crazy person. Celebrating the fact that even for just one moment he gets the descendants of the most powerful group in the empire to tremble in fear.
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Out in the distance a soft and nearly angelic melody was strum. Right onto the harp in between their palms.
Melodies, though faint, manage to enter a certain man's ear.
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Kazuto, not thinking about his own injury, takes out his signia and aims directly at where the man is. Before he could ready for a shot, a hand had come and blocked his view in the scope. "What are you doing?" he asked Yanyi.
Yanyi — "We can't take any risk. If we shoot him now, the girl will fall into the water. From that height…."
Luyao — "She'll die."
Kazuto — "Aims away for now?"
Luyao — "Keep the scope on the man, but no shot until orders are given."
"Also look at your injuries too. The other snipers can cover in." Her words lingered with worry. Yanyi herself is thinking of where his brother could be. Perhaps with the man as well.
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On the other hand with a certain little gray gremlin.
Eker had followed the man from behind for a long time. Making sure that he would not be spotted easily. But even with his poor hiding skills, he has yet to be discovered and soon enough made his way to the highest level of the building.
The man shoved the door open and before it could close, he swiftly sneaked in and took cover behind the piles of dead bodies on the floor. The military really did their work quickly.
That is when he heard the maniacal laughter and the man showing off the girl in his grip over the ledge. Fist clenching, he tries to think about what way to at least be of help.
He patted his side and stopped when he felt a slight bulge on his side pocket. "Signia…" He mutters before taking it out.
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"Whatever happens after this, cling tightly onto this. Jie trust you to know its purpose."
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That is the words that she had said to him the moment the whole incident fell. He can feel the warmth from that gentle grip wrapping his own palms.
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"Yanyi what do we do now?" Kazuto is still awaiting his call. They have been standing in a stalemate for a minute already. It may seem like a short moment. However it is being watched by many citizens.
If they haste, they might misshot. If they are late, others might think that citizens' lives are expendable.
Before she could formulate a plan, a force suddenly took the man back to the rooftop. They can't see the culprit any longer.
"What is going on?" Luyao question. That is when he saw the man slowly walk back to the edge and a small familiar back came into view.
"Eker?" The three of them said all at once. Even Irene who is in the water is astonished by what is happening.
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His small hands ludge towards the man's neck before pulling it back and pushing his back forward. Causing his centre of force to destabilise and stumble to the back.
He then proceeds to take his signia and turn it into a dagger. Slashing to his right arms that is still gripping the girl's collar.
Slash!
"Argh!"
With many attempts, Eker managed to cause enough pain so he let go of the girl's collar. Thankfully she didn't fall off any side of the building.
That didn't end their struggle as the man continued to twist and turn, trying to grasp the small chance of gripping the little gremlin.
He may not be good at hiding, but he sure is slippery. Using his small body he climbed all over his larger structure. Swinging, leaping, switching. He did all of those in a span of a couple of minutes.
Having had enough of the shenanigans, the man then slammed the back of his body onto the floor, hoping to get the pest sticking to him like glue. Unfortunately for him, that ended up with a possible breaking bones.
Eker quickly leapt away into a much safer area before he could meet the floor. Sitting up from his position, the man that had been laughing in victory is now eyeing the little pest before him.
"You PESKY PEST!!!"
"..."
"I'll make sure you regret EVERYTHING YOU DID!!!"
"...Come at me…"
With nothing but provocation across his mind, the man pulled out his sword that is 3 times the size of Eker dagger and started to battle him. Trying to get the slight edge of the blade to slash the little boy.
Fortunately for Eker, the man is only thinking of revenge and not thinking of strategy. Eker takes this opportunity to use the edge of the building as his own weapon. Not only that, with the man focusing solely on him and not his surroundings he even takes the initiative to use the dead bodies of his fellow worshippers into the mix.
Soon enough, the man started to slam left and right, back and forth with the wall. Because of the larger area to cover, Eker had to switch his signia into a longer dagger and use it solely for defending.
Unfortunately for him, the man is much faster than his tiny legs. After about 2 dozen times of slamming and tripping he got his hand on the back of his collar. "FINALLY!!! YOU PEST WILL DIE!!!"
He threw Eker down on the floor, so hard that even for a normal grown man, it could leave a nasty bruise. Writhing in pain, Eker slowly backs away to the corner of the building as the man slowly approaches him.
"ARGHHH!!!"
Splash!
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What came in contact first is Eker's long dagger with the man's left chest. He had deliberately placed the dagger on his body and only needed to straighten upwards. Quiet in a stupor, the man stops only for a brief second to inspect his wound.
Rage yet again filling his mind, he tries to push forward and strike Eker down. Before he could do a burst of blood splurt out from behind him where the dagger had punctured through.
"...Don't underestimate your opponents. Keep some cards hidden. That's what my mentors taught me…"
"...You…"
"You lost to a kid, an old man. Die and rot in hell."
The man, no longer able to muster any more courage, falls to the ground. He is dead. Dead for good.
Eker let out a long sigh of relief. He knew his limits when he started to use Rin and had deliberately not used it during the rest of the fight. Only using it when it's a life or death situation.
He gambled with fate.
And he won.
Moving away from the body, Eker starts to search around the area for the little girl that he had rescued a few minutes earlier.
Looking around the piles of bodies, he found her finally. Knees up to her chin, her arms wrapped around her shins. Her body is trembling in fear. "Hey…" He said to the small figure before him.
Hands out for reach, he said with a friendly tone. "Let's go back home. Both of us."
Eyeing the surroundings, she can no longer see the man that had taken her away from her mother anywhere. "Di-Did you defeat him?"
Eker looked back to where the man lay down. No sign of movement nor sign of breath from when he was there. "Yeah… I've defeated him."
The little girl grasped his hands.
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The rest of the people down on the bridge are anticipating the outcome of that fight. Face laced with worry, Yanyi starts to take out her own signia to climb to the top of the building. It was silent for a good 5 minutes.
"Please Eker… Please…"
She prayed to whoever might listen to her right now. What she can think is no longer the outcome of her own position but the brother that she had adopted as her own family.
When two small silhouettes emerge from the edge of the building, all had thought the worst possibility. Thankfully they can live without much trauma at last.
Eker peers from the edge alongside the girl. Eyeing the people down on the ground. When his eyes catch that of Yanyi and Luyao. He happily waved his hand with glee.
Yanyi was about to wave back but something inhumane started to approach behind the little guy. "EKER!!!" Is all she shouted before her little brother was punched straight to the face and a large hand wrapped around his small neck.
Large enough that it could break him in a simple snap.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!! IF I CAN'T LEAVE THIS TOWER ALIVE! THEN NEITHER CAN ANY OF YOU!!!"
Click!
"He pushed a button!"
"Kazuto!" With a simple shout from Yanyi, a bullet had escaped from his sniper barrel swerving through the night skies. In less than a second it had hit the man straight to the head. He is now dead for good.
With the man dead, there is no longer a force on his neck. However, that also means that he will fall.
Clasp!
Before he could fall off the edge, small hands start to grab one of his own arms and pull him upwards. "H-Hold on!" The squeaky voice of the little girl that he had saved is now his saviour.
She had catched him before he could go even further down the ledge. Not only that she is smart enough to use the edge of the building as a platform to hold her momentum. Allowing her to pull all her force into leaning back and pulling Eker up enough to grab the ledge with his arms.
"Thank you!"
"Thanks to you too!"
RUMBLE!
The ground started shaking and they two lost their footing quickly. Without any more time to save themselves, Eker and the little girl went into a free fall into the water. With that high, a child might not survive.
"Eker!" Without much thinking, Yanyi stuck her signia to the side of the building and swung to catch Eker in the air. The girl will not be left alone.
Luyao sprung onto his own signia and swerved and caught the girl in his arms. Bringing her back to the other side of the shore.
Everyone on the bridge is ordered to retreat and safely make their way to the other side.
Unfortunately, Yanyi's signia doesn't naturally give her the ability to fly. Thus they both fall into the cold water of the lake. Yanyi brackets the impact for Eker and soon emerge with the little guy clinging to her shoulders for dear life.
"...J-J-Jie…"
"Everything is fine now. You did amazing, my Didi. Jie is proud of you."
"...S-Sc-Scared…"
"I know… Jie is here now. Jie is here."
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After getting to the other side of the shore, Yanyi went to the ambulance first to get Eker's vitals. She kept him on her laps while covering him with enough blanket to shield him from blizzards even.
After waiting, the standby doctor finally gave his verdict. "The Young Master is okay and healthy thankfully. However with his sudden burst into the cold lake water and after a huge amount of Rin usage during the battle, I'm afraid that he might need a week off for rest."
"Is there anything else?"
"He might develop a high fever but with enough supervision, it won't be detrimental. However my lady, I would suggest that after his recovery you go visit the temple and meet with one of the priestesses there. They might have to check on Rin's vitality considering that he is a new signia bearer."
"Mhm. Thank you doctor."
"My pleasure to serve the Elite Noble." The doctor soon went away and Eker stayed with Yanyi inside the ambulance until everything died down. The little guy is getting sleepy and she has no plan on moving away from him.
Irene is currently settling with the marine and checking up on the other hostages on her behalf. Luyoa is handling the other technical things that need to be handled for the report as well as a deeper investigation into the cause.
Kazuto. The poor guy got beaten up two times in a row in two different cases. He is currently receiving treatment and Auril knows that he will for sure not work on anything for the next month or so.
After an hour and a half, even Yanyi's eyelids start to droop down. She is tired from everything. She is already tired from accompanying Eker, a child on a theme park trip and she had to deal with what she presumed to be a terrorist attack.
When her eyes start to close, she can feel a soft piece of cloth enveloping her shoulder. Slowly opening her eyes she was met with a pair of red crimson eyes. "Get some rest first. I'll prepare the car and send all you back home." he said nonchalantly, hands continuing to drape a blanket she presumes on her shoulder.
Yanyi didn't reply but continued to lean against the soft blanket wrapped around her. Luyao gave Eker's sleeping head a pat before going off and preparing the car engine.
"Are you free right now?" She can tell who is talking to her right now. Irene had sneaked in behind Luyao and waited inside the ambulance with her.
Yanyi — "Anything you want to say?"
Irene — "More to report actually."
Yanyi — "Continue…"
Irene — "You know when the building starts shaking and everyone starts to scatter around for safety."
Yanyi — "Yes?"
Irene — "That man, the main culprit. His body fell into the water and I dive down to retrieve his body back to the shore. But something off, and I mean really off, happened."
Yanyi — "..."
Irene — "His eyes are dilated."
Yanyi — "He is dead isn't he?"
Irene — "100%. But that's the thing that keeps on happening isn't it? All of the people that we have encountered so far that make significant progress to our goal have that weird eye pattern."
Yanyi — "Well, did you retrieve his body?"
Irene — "No. I can't."
Yanyi — "How come?"
Irene — "Because it faded away into the water. It's like that man vanishes from thin air."
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-~*~-