The hotel corridor was blocked at both ends by Pigeon and Eagle. Inside the room was Owl, and across the hall was Erza's room, but I couldn't sense her Magic Power, so she was likely not inside.
The others were probably already playing in the underground amusement city.
The opponents were mages specializing in assassination, and in a deadly battle, we must not underestimate them. It's best to consider them as three S-Class mages.
2 against 3, numerically, we were at a disadvantage.
The corridor was just over three meters high, and summoning large creatures would inevitably damage the building and might accidentally harm other guests.
It was Owl who attacked Mira just now. He seemingly possessed the ability to create darkness and see in the night, and with that rocket booster-like tool, he could probably fly or charge forward.
Eagle's most distinctive feature was his guitar and long hair hanging down to the ground, possibly using sound and hair for attack.
Pigeon, clearly adept in swordsmanship. As the captain of the Three-Plumed Crow, we had to be particularly careful.
Rhode quickly analyzed the situation and probingly tried to extract more information:
"Why would the renowned Three-Plumed Crow target the two of us? Did someone hire you to assassinate us?"
"The client's intention is that 'The Demon and the Fairy Tail Strategist are somewhat troublesome; don't let them interfere.'"
Pigeon raised her sleeve to cover her smiling mouth, exuding a geisha-like demeanor, "Killing you is simply the most convenient solution."
"That's easy then; just tell us your client's plans, and we won't intervene,"
Rhode subtly hid one hand behind his back, slightly shielding Owl's line of sight, secretly writing on Mira's back.
"Persuasion is futile; please forgive me for being unable to disclose," Pigeon said, holding her long sword horizontally in front of her, speaking in a near-chanting tone,
"Fairy blood~♪ will fall like spring cherry blossoms~♪ withering in the wind~♪"
Rhode had no interest in whether this was a haiku or a ballad, even when sung by a beautiful woman.
But that was irrelevant; he had no intention of listening to Pigeon sing well.
Rhode and Mira simultaneously received the Mountain Dragon Soul and Satan's Soul, charging towards Owl in the room and instantly appearing before him.
A large and small fist imprinted on Owl's left and right chest.
Everyone present heard the cracking of bones; Rhode and Mira's fists almost sank halfway into Owl's body.
Owl's burly body flew backward, crashing through the hotel's outer wall.
He coughed up a line of blood mid-air, landing heavily on the beach by the sea.
Sand buried most of Owl's body, his upper part stained red with blood.
A great person once said it's better to break one finger than injure all ten.
Wings sprouted from Rhode and Mira's backs; almost synchronously, they flapped with force and shot out like arrows from the hole Owl crashed through.
The curtains belatedly started billowing, and the small items in the room were blown into disarray.
While the two attacked Owl, Pigeon's samurai sword had already flashed in a blade light and was swiftly sheathed again.
Eagle's guitar was slightly slower than Pigeon, his long black hair stretching out like tentacles, trying to grab their ankles but momentarily stopped by a gust of wind.
Pigeon's pink hair billowed, her clothes fluttering; if she smiled, she would make a beautiful picture.
Unfortunately, her expression wasn't pleasant, clearly not expecting these two to suddenly attack the weakest among them.
Moreover, they successfully broke out of the Three-Plumed Crow's encirclement.
"Chase." Pigeon uttered this word as she took two steps and leaped out onto the windowsill.
Eagle followed closely.
But when they rushed out of the hotel, those two had already dived down from the air, their fists imprinting on Owl's head.
With a loud bang, Owl, lying flat on the beach, had his neck bent backward at a highly unnatural angle, almost vertically embedded in the sand.
The beach seemed to erupt like a pond where a stone was thrown, sending a giant wave, and the sand thrown up completely obscured the three.
The exaggerated shock transmitted outward from the three, causing the nearby sea waves to roll backward, tourists falling and screaming in succession.
Once the tremors subsided, tourists scrambled to escape into the distance.
Having noticed something strange falling on the beach, any curiosity about checking it was now gone, convinced it was mages battling a Magical Beast, and it was wise to keep as far away as possible.
Fortunately, Pigeon and Eagle weren't interested in ordinary people; even as some ran past them, they ignored and continued toward the center of the tremor.
"Summoning, Cyan Engraved Golem, Crimson Marked Tree Monster!"
After that move, Rhode summoned red and blue to grant himself and Mira the Crown of Insight and Crown of Embers.
Meanwhile, he pointed at the motionless Owl: "Hit him to death."
This time, the enemies were not like the usual; they were real killers and notorious ones at that.
They were equivalent to red-named monsters, killings permissible upon encounter with a chance of earning a bounty.
With two masters in front, Rhode had no time to determine if Owl had lost his combat abilities.
In a life-and-death situation, he had to be ruthless.
"You're injured." Mira keenly noticed a line of blood on Rhode's wings.
Rhode's expression was solemn: "I got slashed by that woman, a troublesome character; be careful."
Mira nodded; she knew best how strong Rhode's defense was when receiving the Mountain Dragon Soul.
For someone to slash a blade in a hair's breadth and still leave a wound on Rhode, that woman's attack power likely rivaled her Demon Hutley.
Pigeon and Eagle had initially thought of saving Owl but seeing that terrifying blow and those two creatures pummeling Owl with punches and palms, they gave up.
Beaten to such a state, survival was uncertain, and he could offer no help in the upcoming battle.
"Summoning..." A large group of bizarre animals quickly appeared beside Rhode and Mira.
Some flew to the sky, some tunneled into the ground, some stayed guard.
It's already a stroke of luck to quickly take down one enemy by surprise; they couldn't hope these two would remain careless.
To guard against any magic with a 'first-encounter kill' effect, Rhode needed the wild creatures' help to probe.
"Beaked Bird! Magic Swamp Frog!"
Twelve Beaked Birds, including two large and ten small, flew over Pigeon and Eagle, hailing down hundreds of red feather-like throwing knives.
Two Magic Swamp Frogs took a few hops forward and spat out purple venom — pollution concerns were insignificant in life-or-death times.
Faced with attacks coming simultaneously from two directions, Eagle fiercely strummed his guitar, thrashing his head while playing.
During the ear-piercing guitar sound, the long hair behind his head seemed alive, extending forward like serpents, swinging to absorb all the venom.
"Useless, my hair can absorb all liquids!" he loudly declared his ability, "Though oil and alcohol are exceptions; they would damage the hair quality."
Spoken like a lunatic, is it that oil and alcohol damage hair, but venom doesn't?
Beside him, Pigeon drew her samurai sword, elegantly dancing amidst the red feathers, her blade traced out beautiful arcs.
All the feathers falling toward her and Eagle were split open, not vertically, horizontally, but flatly!
Each feather, a throwing knife, cleaved into thin layers, gently floated down!