Pressing a plate against her chest, the housekeeper fixed her gaze on the doorway through the mansion's glass. Her heart raced, suffocated by fear. She was alone. Alone… and without the courage to leave.
Suddenly, the door burst into splinters. Armed men, some wielding swords, others pistols, stormed into the hall like a tempest.
"This is for our brother!"
"This is for our brother!"
"Today you'll be warned!"
"Today you'll be warned!"
The furious voices echoed through the house, menacing. The plate slipped from the woman's hands as she ran in desperation, shrinking beneath a bed, stifling her sobs with her palms.
"Oh, God, protect me from all evil…"
Footsteps thundered through every room, every chamber, drawing closer.
"Found her!"
One of the intruders crouched down. A sadistic smile lit his face as he peered under the bed. He stretched out his hand to grab her hair.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Bang!
A muffled shot shattered his head. The housekeeper felt herself being pulled by the ankles. She tried to scream, but a firm and familiar voice commanded her with authority:
"Do as I say: get in the bathroom and don't come out until I call you."
Trembling, she only nodded. She ran, locked herself inside the bathroom, lay in the tub, and pulled the curtain, holding her breath.
Moments later, another invader entered the room. He found only silence. But before he could react, his vision spun: a precise, unseen strike severed his head.
"They sent their lackeys… how unlucky."
The man muttered, adjusting his glasses as he moved on.
From beneath another bed, a mage fired a lightning bolt at him. But the man leapt to the wall, dodged with precision, and, accelerating his kick, crushed the bed along with whatever hid beneath it.
At the window, shadows climbed upward. A flash of electricity coursed through their bodies, reducing them to charcoal in seconds.
With unnerving calm, he walked to the gramophone. He set a record, and as the classical melody filled the hall, he even whistled, mockingly.
Drawn by the sound, the enemies entered… only to be shredded by laser beams hidden in the walls, cut like paper.
Amid screams and symphony, the man wielded musical instruments as weapons, advancing through the mansion. Swordsmen were pierced through the eyes, gunners fell with crushed skulls, mages barely began their spells before becoming mangled masses of flesh under his violent strikes.
"Phew…"
He muttered, kneeling amid pools of blood. He lay in the crimson liquid and rubbed his eyes.
"I got carried away… Cleaning this will be a huge hassle…"
From the bathroom, the housekeeper's trembling voice echoed:
"Can I come out now, Mr. Fogue?"
He sighed, without opening his eyes:
"Not yet. Wait a little longer."
And he rested in silence, stained by that liquid.
***
Later, upon entering the room, drying her still-damp hair, Ferinish found Aurora asleep in bed. With silent steps, she lay beside her. Her eyes wandered over the luxurious furniture, the fan spinning overhead… but when she closed her eyes, the memory of that man in the rain came back. Strangely… familiar.
Soon, however, the thoughts dissolved, overcome by sleep.
***
"Ferinish!"
Awoken abruptly, she faced Aurora standing before her, arms crossed, a mischievous smile on her face.
"The bed is soaked."
"Ah…"
Ferinish got up, seeing the dampness seeping even into the mattress. The redhead massaged her temple.
"I didn't dry off properly when I came back…"
"No worries. Hey, we've got work to do, but don't stress. Soon there'll be the welcome event. You'd better wear a really pretty dress."
"Is that really necessary?"
"Of course! Don't you know the social rules of the rich? You can't show up looking like some monstrous warrior. You have to be… delicate."
"I doubt you can pull that off."
Ferinish grabbed her sword and left the room. Aurora followed, smiling:
"Don't underestimate me, friend. I'm good with fashion!"
***
"…I didn't know Lucy was so good at pushing people to their limits."
Skyler crossed his arms at the scene: Alice collapsed on the floor, a piece of wood binding her right arm, pinning another woman against the wall. Both unconscious, covered in injuries.
From his hand, a cane emerged. Touching the wood, the material evaporated. He leaned on the amulet, feeling the weight of exhaustion.
"How many nights have I gone without sleep? I've lost count. After this mission, I'll take a long rest."
With his remaining strength, he stood. His chest ached, his muscular body tense, forced beyond its limits for too long.
He approached the young women and, carefully, carried each to their respective rooms. He tended to them with respect and skill.
Upon entering Vector's room, he found the man asleep, his rib still broken. Skyler injected a liquid into his neck with surgical precision, kneeling beside the bed.
"If only I could offer my own healing, things would be so much easier… But a body as fragile as mine requires different methods."
He rested his head against the bedframe, tears fogging his glasses.
"Who was I to think I could ever become strong?"
"Don't think of falling, Skyler. This is the punishment for your sins."
The demonic voice echoed in his mind. From his chest, darkness spread, crawling up his face, his hands. The man smiled. His gloves revealed the silhouette of sharp claws as he tore at his own face in madness.
"I won't let you control me, Krythos!!"
Whether he shouted or merely thought it, he no longer knew. His mind was a battlefield. He rose, gasping, as the shadows tried to consume him whole. But suddenly, they withdrew, retreating back beneath his shirt.
Panting, his glasses slipped. Tears? No. Blood dripped silently onto the carpet.
They had never been tears. It was blood that poured from his mechanical eye… and the other, blind, colorless one.
His fingers reached for a dagger hidden in his trousers, aiming to pierce his own neck… but the darkness stopped him from ending his pain.
"I will make you pay for my suffering, Krythos. I swear I will."
With no strength left, he collapsed to the floor, unconscious beside the bed.