"EVERYBODY DOWN!!!"
Gunfire rang out in the next moment, mixing with the shrieks of panic as the masked men herded more people from other corridors into the open space, kicking aside chairs and overturning tables to clear the area.
Some other people of status seemed to be present, as suited knights charged at them, but these masked men displayed power beyond even that of the S-Ranked knights.
Each one of them was subdued with relative ease and restrained with magic.
"Search! Find everyone and bring them all here!"
The leader barked orders, and the stronger ones among the group rushed out, leaving behind a handful who Eleanor gauged to be around B-Rank level.
Eleanor noticed that as they moved, the masked men seized some people, turning their faces to inspect them before shoving them into the growing crowd huddled in the centre of the clearing.
At that moment, one of them suddenly spun around, and Eleanor instantly activated Mach Step, springing backwards and even crashing into two of Helga's guards behind her in the process.
"Wh—"
"Quiet!"
Eleanor clamped their mouth shut, staying still as a wave of magic power swept through the hallway and the front of the restroom where they had just been.
Only once it had faded did she release them, turning toward the restroom window and peering outside.
"The building's surrounded," she muttered, spotting several black trucks parked at the gates of the parking lot.
More black-clad figures leapt out and drew their weapons on people scrambling to get into their cars to flee.
Just then, the rest of Helga's guards burst in with weapons drawn, making the restroom feel even more cramped.
Seeing them, Eleanor spun around, her voice cold as she shouted.
"Suppress your magic power! Do you want them to know there are people in here?!"
Her raised voice made the vampires flinch, and at that, Helga quietly turned to them and ordered.
"Do as she says."
Once the vampires finally suppressed their magic power, Eleanor moved quickly toward the door, brushing past a fleeing store owner as she glanced out to see if the leader of the armed men had dispatched anyone in their direction.
However, the man seemed to have no such intention, instead sorting through the gathered crowd, dividing them by… race?
Humans were shoved into one group, anthropomorphic beastkin into another, elves into a third, and so on.
"They're focusing on the elves," one of the guards watching the scene beside her muttered, and Eleanor nodded, stepping back and pulling the guard into the restroom with her.
"These men aren't your average terrorists. Their movements are too coordinated. They're definitely not amateurs," the vampire said.
"They've spread out across the entire area, and some are even moving up through the floors. I can sense a group right below us. Since they've blocked every entrance, a fight will be unavoidable if we're to get Her Highness out."
"That's the one thing we need to avoid," Eleanor cut in.
"They clearly have specific targets. I noticed earlier how they singled out elves. Even when their group split up, they only bothered checking the faces of elves before forcing them into the crowd, while the rest were shoved aside without a second look."
At her words, Helga's eyes narrowed, and she spoke.
"Those elves we saw earlier… the blast also came from the direction they went."
Eleanor nodded in agreement before replying.
"An all-elven guard squad is likely protecting a high-ranking elf. Escaping remains our first priority, but given the average level of these attackers, another possibility comes into play."
"What are you talki—"
"What's the new possibility?" Helga interrupted, cutting off the guard who had been staring at Eleanor in confusion.
"Your Highness?!"
"Speak," Helga ordered, ignoring the guard's protest, and at that, Eleanor quickly explained.
"Our group can easily handle the ones downstairs, as long as none of them have unorthodox Unique Skills or hidden abilities.
Their leader doesn't seem particularly strong, so I'm assuming he has some special ability instead.
Even those who spread out through the mall won't be much trouble for our group, provided we don't allow them to regroup. We can take that route, locate their target, and evacuate them together, putting this individual, whoever they are, in Laurent's debt.
It's a risk, of course, since we don't know who the target is, but another option is to wait for the attackers to pinpoint them and then intervene to pull the target out.
Either way, the choice rests with you."
As Eleanor finished, she turned her gaze toward Helga, while some of the guards stared at her in disbelief, silently questioning if this was truly the same person who had been excited about mixed-flavoured ice cream not long ago.
A moment later, Helga shook her head and said,
"It's too risky. We'll leave them and get out first."
Eleanor didn't argue with Helga's choice, immediately moving toward the door as she asked,
"Out the window, or through the emergency exit on the stairs' mid-landing?"
"Emergency exit."
Helga replied while heading for the door, her guards quickly rushing ahead to shield her as they stepped out.
"Then be ready for a fight."
Eleanor summoned a plain steel sword as she spoke, coating it with her monochrome flame-like aura just as they rounded the stairs and came face-to-face with several of the masked and armed men.
The moment the men laid eyes on them, Eleanor was already behind the one at the far end, her speed startling the quintet as it seemed like she'd teleported.
The rest, distracted and unprepared, were easily cut down by Helga's guards, while the man Eleanor appeared behind was dragged into place as a human shield, his body held in front of her as she kicked the emergency exit open.
Gunfire immediately tore into the man's body, and in that instant, Eleanor quickly gauged the number of assailants waiting beyond the exit before hurling the corpse toward them, forcing the shooters to scatter and halt their fire.
That brief distraction was all two of Helga's guards needed to rush in, cutting down the two armed men in moments.
Helga and the others followed right after, the group scaling down the flight of stairs and dispatching the remaining two men guarding the exit before charging out into the parking lot.
Just then, another black truck burst through the gates, armed men pouring out to reinforce their comrades clashing with the mall security.
"Hmm?! We've got runners! Stop them!"
The man standing atop the van shouted as he spotted Eleanor's group, and just as Helga's guards roused their magic power in preparation for combat, Eleanor's gaze caught a tattoo on the man's wrist, revealed as he stretched out his arm.
'Intersecting circles with spiders—?!'
Her eyes widened the moment she recognised it, a symbol she knew all too well from Dimension Break.
'The Azure Sky Cult!'
In an instant, the scattered pieces came together in her mind.
Mall.
Elven guards possibly protecting a high-ranking elf.
Armed men hunting specifically for an elf.
Azure Sky Cult operative.
"!!"
Eleanor immediately grasped the true scope of the situation, and with that realisation, her earlier analysis of the situation was turned on its head.
'These guys came prepared to kidnap Royalty! There's no way their numbers are this few! Their real strength is far greater than what they've shown!'
Without a moment's delay, Eleanor shouted.
"No! Don't engage them!"
But her warning came too late.
The containers of the black trucks blocking the gates swung open, and from each one poured dozens of armed men who fired powerful magic as they rushed straight at Helga's guards.
They unleashed volleys of blazing fireballs, jagged spears of ice, and bolts of crackling lightning, the combined storm of destructive magic tearing through the air.
Helga's guards instantly raised their weapons and magic barriers as they charged to engage, but just before the clash, their leader shoved two of them back toward Helga and shouted,
"Protect Her Highness!"
"!!"
Eleanor's head instantly snapped toward him, her expression contorting.
"Why did you say that—fuck!" she cursed, but her outburst came too late.
The man standing atop the lead truck narrowed his eyes at the mention of 'Her Highness,' his gaze immediately locking onto Eleanor and Helga.
"Get those two!"
At his command, the gunmen around his truck sprang forward, weapons levelled at Eleanor and Helga as they sprinted.
Some of Helga's guards veered off to intercept them, and Helga was already raising a magic barrier when Eleanor suddenly seized her arm with her left hand and yanked her back, her right hand diving into her magic pouch.
She instantly pulled out five oval-shaped objects, the metallic clinks of pins ringing out as they slid between her fingers.
The attackers barely had a moment to react before she hurled them forward, and the eyes of the man atop the truck widened as he saw what she'd thrown.
"Grenades!!"