Fifty-One

Rose's blade leapt out, slashing through armor and ripping a man into two as its edge seared. Chase was much more refined, his sword seemed to move with a will of its own, he slashed and a spout of water shot out, drilling through one man, then leaping to another and taking the next down in much the same way, piercing through their armor and killing them.

She fought more actively and he fought more passively.

His was a stationary style, preferring attacking from a range as his weapon lashed out like a whip. Every man who set foot within an imaginary distance of three meters found their head lopped off as a pressurized blade of water swept them. It didn't even seem like Chase moved from his spot all that much, he simply walked forward in short steps, swinging as if untrained, and they fell.

Rose found herself a bit amazed.

Her body moved, dodging a pulse, and she impaled a male through the heart. As he fell with blood spouting from his lips, she pulled her weapon out and slashed, loping the head off of another. She stepped back, narrowly avoiding a slash to her chest.

Her eyes moved and jumped around crazily. She was a homunculus. A being that took in information at an exceptional rate. Within this chaos, she was a reaper.

They couldn't catch her effectively as soon as she had cut into their formation. In no time, they had been forced to focus on her and not the building, but all they saw was the flapping of black hair before they died, one by one.

The cry of a bird resounded as fire flew. Wings of flames flapped, dragging screaming soldiers with them as the bird opened its mouth to devour a group then—

—boom

Exploded in a rain of blood, stone, limbs, and fire.

Just like that, the two took care of the front of the building with a sigh. They hurriedly walked forward and a man came up to them amongst the defensive black-geared men. They realized a barrier, although all but crumbled, had been set in front of the building.

The trio stood on a street covered in blood and bodies. The sound of fighting still resounded in the air.

"Whew." The man took off his helmet, showing a crude face covered in scars. Still, he smiled as he met the two. "God you really cleaned up the place. Thank you for saving us."

"Mhmm, no problem," Chase replied while Rose merely stood at the side.

The man ruffled his head of brown hair.

"I have my hands full commanding my men at the moment, I'd be pleased if you two could offer your help? There's still a fight at the other side of the building."

"I'm supposing they hit you while you were weakened?" Rose asked.

"Yes, most of my men are patrolling or defending sections." The man nodded, angered as he pointed to the right. "You see those hangers? Their turrets first tore through and destroyed our vehicles, then men scurried out from amongst the sea of slumers."

It was as he said, the part of the building that had been destroyed was the bottommost area which housed vehicles with turrets that had now become only lumps of metal. That was also where the dust had arisen.

"So the drones came first to destroy the most deadly equipment, then the men came after to try and rush the building. An offensive of both boots on the ground and deadly lasers from the air. Smart—needing far less people than a full confrontation--and the holdout would have crumbled if we hadn't come in time. Is that it?" She said, her core spinning as she thought about why an attack like that would be used.

"Commendable. . ." They gawked at her.

"Thank you. . .but why would they want the building?" She asked.

The two men lost their amazement and stared at her as if she were dumb after her question. Although Rose might have understood a battle strategy, she did not understand the reason behind it, she did not understand territorial disputes, and she did not understand war.

Chase scratched his cheek as he coughed. "That would likely be to place a stronghold here. Not only do the roads around here lead to much of the slums inner and outer rims, but taking control of this building would also be a morale damage to us. After all, it is the center of my father's control in the slums—you can think of it like a City Hall."

He was right. The man nodded, pointing behind him to a group of tired soldiers. They looked haggard, and some of them—those that were not among the dead littering the ground—were injured. Most of them had already begun taking a break even when the sound of battle came from the other side of the building. They simply did not want to continue fighting.

"My men here are a bit dried, I would take them to reinforce the back, but I don't think they will be much help either way. Could you two fill in their place?"

"My father sent us here just for that purpose," Chase said, nodding, "We'll take care of the turrets and then join you in pushing back the enemy."

And there were turrets indeed. The clear sporadic vrooms in the air told him that much.

Rose was poised to agree with him in aiding them, but seen, her eyes narrowed as her shadow squirmed beneath her feet before extending to her side. She followed it, and a figure popped out, waving to her with a smile.

". . ."

Chase widened his eyes. ". . .isn't that?"

"Mare?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"Hello!" The dark elf said, grinning, "A little bird told me you two might be chasing me?"