Barricade

The three watched the destruction of the city with horrified looks on their faces. After a moment of daze, it was Cadell who came to his senses first. "Ouida!" He called out, which brought back the two girls to their senses. "Do you have any weapons here?" Cadell and Valentina left their weapons at the house as they were only out for a stroll. Also, due to the city being in a lockdown, they decided to leave their weapons home so as to not get into any trouble.

"Yes, we have a weapons storage on the first floor! Follow me!" Ouida answered and quickly took the lead, exiting the room and heading downstairs towards the storage. Even though she looked innocent most of the times, she was still a trained cadet from the academy and could take immediate decisions in situations like these. Following Ouida's lead, Cadell nodded his head at Valentina and left the room. As for Valentina, she took one last look at the city from the balcony and followed the two.

Without a moment to spare, the three quickly entered the storage and began grabbing weapons. Ouida swiftly grabbed a whip and a short sword. Cadell also armed himself with a short sword and a pair of daggers. While he was checking the weapons he chose, he felt a tap on his shoulders. When he turned around, he saw Valentina with her arm extended, handing him a greatsword.

"Uh thanks... But I don't use a greatsword, I've already chosen my weapons..." He smiled as he politely declined Valentina. "This is for me. You carry it." Valentina shoved the greatsword towards Cadell once again, and this time, he took it without any complaints. Sighing, he put the greatsword on his back and took a look at Valentina. 

He sighed one more time when he saw a great hammer on her hands and a bardiche on her back. 'That is just like her...' he let out a small smile. "Are the both of you done picking out weapons?" He asked the two girls. "Yes!" both answered with a nod. Right then, the storage's door opened and Odis entered. "What's going on!?" He shouted.

"Odis!" Ouida looked at him. "Great, grab a weapon. The city is getting attacked by monsters. We're going to help the knights." Odis looked at Valentina and Cadell, then he turned towards his sister. "I know the city is getting attacked! What I meant was what do you think you're doing?" He gritted his teeth. "Are you out of your mind!? Just stay here, surely the knights will put up a barricade to stop the monsters from reaching the high-level."

"No! We need to go and help the people who are being attacked right now!" Ouida replied, clenching her teeth. "Who? Those commoners from the low-level? Just let these commoners go then! Why do you need to risk your life for those commoners?" 

Valentina moved a step and opened her mouth in anger, but she was stopped by Cadell. Shaking his head, he signaled her not to do anything. While Odis was shouting, Ouida slowly moved closer to him, one step at a time.

"Wasn't mother dying for these commoners enough!?" He spat in anger.

SLAP

The sound of Ouida's slap across Odis's face resounded through the room. "That's enough Odis." She spoke softly, meeting his eyes, with tears full on her own. "Don't bring up mother if you don't know what she would do right now..." 

BOOM

The room shook as they heard another distant explosion from the city. Quickly wiping off her tears, she turned towards Cadell and Valentina. "Let's hurry!" The three quicky left the room, leaving Odis behind. Clenching his fist, he whispered. "I know...."

After exiting the mansion, they hurried towards the gate. But as they reached the gate, a guard came running towards them. "Stop! Miss Ouida!" It was Will who stopped them. "Miss, I can't let you out right now. It's dangerous out there." He had a face full of anxiety. "It will be better for you two to stay here too." He looked at Valentina and Cadell. "No, we're going." Valentina replied.

"Will, step aside." Ouida spoke softly. "You have a family in the low-level don't you? We're going there right now. We'll make sure your family is safe." 

Clenching his teeth, Will chose not to move. "But Lord Roan-"

"I'll take care of father when he comes, don't worry. Please step aside Will." Ouida interrupted him. Will reluctantly stepped aside, after which the three quickly made it out of the gate and headed towards the mid-level.

As they hurried towards the exit of the high-area, they could see black smoke rising up from the low and mid levels. The screams of people they heard also gave them a sense of urgency. "Quick!" Valentina sped up and moved past the two, speeding along the luxury shops and buildings. Ouida and Cadell were astonished as they couldn't catch up to her, even though she was running while armed with heavy weapons.

After running for some time, they finally reached the exit which led to the mid-level, but they found that the knights had already barricaded the exit and were standing guard, not letting anyone in or out.