Chapter 14: Chapter 14

"Not on my watch, bitches!" - While Hicks was falling from his saddle, I cared about escort. It took me only a few seconds, cutting off two or three shots at a time, to shoot the remaining mercenaries and leave the stunned girls and their guards alone.

"Now we've talked..." - I muttered into the microphone as I lowered my machine gun. - "Now get back in there before their friends wake up."

"Y-yeah..."  - Alicia answered sloppily, swallowing so loudly I could hear it in the microphone. - "Let's go..."

Turning the horses, our party of parliamentarians trotted back at a trot, and behind them there was already an uproar. Obviously those at Vult's camp had also been watching the negotiations and clearly weren't happy with the way it ended. But that wasn't what bothered me, it was something else.

Hicks's headless corpse suddenly sat up.

"Girls..." - I drew my rifle and fired at the risen corpse. - "Move your asses!"

The bullet hit the body in the shoulder, dropping it to the ground again, but it immediately began to rise again, already much faster, while undergoing a rapid metamorphosis. His muscles began to grow in leaps and bounds, ripping and tearing his clothes into rags, his arms and legs lengthening and clawing, and the stump of his neck replaced a human head with an enormous jaw with a long drooling tongue hanging out of it.

And all this was accompanied by cracking bones and tearing flesh, mixed with gurgling noises and wheezing. Of course, this caught the girls' attention, which they couldn't help but turn around and look at. And the sight gave them plenty of motivation, judging by the way they spurred their horses and raced toward the gate with dazed faces. Their guards were not far behind them, showing a similar emotion.

I noted all this out of the corner of my eye as I continued to put bullet after bullet into the creature Hicks had turned into. But it didn't seem to help: all the damage, though not instantaneous, was healing rather rapidly, and it was not prevented, on all fours, from catching up with the fugitives. And the distance shrank very quickly.

"What happened?!" - Olga asked in a worried voice through the radio.

"The boy has a surprise!" - I shouted back at her, taking the now useless machine gun away and running for the exit. - "There was a fucking demon in that freak!"

Olga enlightened me about what these creatures are like. If he catches up with the Princess and Maya, they're dead. Which means I have to hurry.

 

***

The horse rode at full gallop, pulling Maya away from the horrible creature that had been her friend a moment before. Alicia was galloping a few yards away.

As soon as the girl saw the metamorphosis, the old feelings of friendship that had flashed at the encounter were washed away in a wave of disgust and some kind of primal fear. So much so that she had no desire to see what was going on behind her, much less to let the creature near her.

Naive. She thought it wasn't too late, and her friends might yet come to their senses and stop. But Hicks's words had destroyed that hope, leaving a gaping wound in the girl's heart. They friends had never taken her for their own, never taken her seriously. And now one of them had turned into an ugly creature and was Chasing her.

"It's coming!" - Shouted one of the knights behind her, and then his voice was replaced by tearing human screams and horse neighing. A scramble erupted from behind. The guards remained to do their duty and apprehend the beast while their two mistresses fled. Neither of them for a moment had any desire to stay and help. Both knew it was pointless.

The sounds of the massacre grew quieter as the fugitives moved farther and farther away from where it had occurred, until they were silenced altogether. Maya even thought they might escape: the gate was fifty yards away, and the bars were already up, opening the way inside, when suddenly someone on the wall screamed, and arrows flew behind the riders' backs.

And then a horse's head flew into the croup of Alicia's horse at high speed, breaking one of its hind legs.

Caught unawares animal tumbled to the ground, along with a quick shriek blonde.

"Alicia!" - The former merc-girl shouted, and, forgetting all fear, turned the horse and rushed to the aid of her friend.

The princess was lying on the ground with her legs pressed by the horse and tried in vain to crawl out from under it. Blood trickled from her forehead and her teeth were clenched tight with pain. She put her hands on the animal's back and tried to push it away, but she was not strong enough to move it a couple of centimeters.

There was no more time to help her get out, so Maya decided to do the only thing possible in the situation: attack the monster. There was no question of killing a creature capable of ripping the head off a horse, but to try to slow it down until help arrived was possible.

Drawing one of her swords, the girl spurred her steed and set it on the approaching beast. It seemed to accept the challenge, and, stooping to all fours, sprinted toward it, increasing in speed with every meter.

Just before the collision, the beast jerked with all its limbs off the ground and soared through the air, spreading its clawed paws apart and opening its mouth wide with its sharp teeth. Maya's soul shrank in primal terror, and she already regretted trying to do anything to THIS creature. But it was too late; all she had to do was to thrust her sword toward the approaching death.

Then came the blow, and the world spun before her eyes...

She woke up a few seconds later. Her whole body ached from the hard fall to the ground, her eyes swam, and her right arm felt a dull, lingering pain. My mouth was clogged with iron-scented saliva. There was a ringing in her ears, through which Alicia's scream of panic could barely be heard in her ears:

"M...a...ma...a!" - Turning her head at the sound, the girl saw her friend, who was screaming her name with wild eyes and pointing her finger in her direction. - Run!

Suddenly something grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and yanked her sharply upward, making Maia nearly vomit and make her eyes glaze over. When the jerking stopped, a hoarse, stinking breath hit Maya's face. When she opened her eyes, she saw the monster's ugly, eyeless head.

"Get away from me!!!" - Fear swept over Maya with renewed vigor, and she clutched at the creature, trying her hardest to push it away with her legs and her healthy arm, but it didn't even scratch.

"Ḁ̴͎̘̔͑͘̕͝t̴͙̭̂͂̚t̷̛̛̟̜̐̀̑ą̴͖̙͈͛̃̈́c̴̨͉̆̓̐͜k̵̭̽ ̶̗͐͆m̸̹̞͎̝̏͂̇̕͘ȅ̶͈͙̪̯̗̃̄͘.̷̜̍.̶̖͐͐͗.̸̢̅̔̽̂ "- In an unnatural, rattling voice, coming from the depths of its mouth, the monster laughed, and threw the girl to the ground -" ̵̴̦̱̰̳͐̿̋̚ S̴͚̘̬͎̭͛͊̑͝͝ú̴̧͔͕̖̝̒c̸̗̞̅h̸̝̺̞̽͒͌ ̵͖͕͆̈́͑ą̴̰̪̘̭̑ ̶̬̻́̋̽͑ͅͅb̸̰̌̃̅̓͘ř̷͚̭a̶̡̍v̴̬̺̫͍̠͊͊ē̸͎̩̪̈̽̕͠ͅ ̸̟̱͔͔͌͐̾ģ̵̜̘̳͋̏̓́͝i̸̗̩̩̓ͅr̵̹͔̱̓͜l̴̨̠͖͙̯͑͌̔̍͝,̴̛̼̝̝̿͠ ̶̭̒b̸͉̽̏͐u̷̥͕͇͝t̷̢̲̥̙̝͋͗̾ ̸͎̍s̷̜̀̔̐͝͠o̵̩̥̖̝̓͂̉̿͠ ̴̱̼͓̑̓͗s̵̩̬̲̃̓̍̿͋t̸̍̀̊̄͋ͅu̵͍̙̍̈̾͛p̴͇͙͋͒̋͝͝í̶̞̮͍̮̀̑̉͠d̸͖̔̐̚͝ "

"Stay away!" - Maya screamed as she fell and crawled backward, but the monster caught up to her instantly, looming overhead. With one hand it pinned Maya's healthy arm over her head, and with the other, like some kind of paper, it tore off her bibs and tore off her clothes, exposing her breasts.

"No!!!" - Harder still, her voice almost cracking, the girl screamed, trying to break free from its grip. But the creature held on tightly, trapping her legs between his. Tears welled up in her eyes as a long slobbering tongue slid out from her mouth and landed on her chest and bare belly. - "No..."

She sobbed softly, weeping pitifully as she felt the saliva coat her body and felt disgust for the monster that had taken her, and for herself. Fool...what a fool she was, after all. I guess she deserves what's about to happen.

" ̴̲̥̬̬͊͗͂͝A̸̛̟͇͌͑̈́͗h̸̗͕͑̈́͐͝,̵̫̩͎̮̬̍͗̽͗̊ ̴͚̪͕̥͓͒̂̃̔͌s̵̢̧̝͠o̶̪̬͖͎̔̊̍̚͝ ̸̧̛̮͓̤͎̓͛̚s̸̰̫̘̽̈́̎̚w̸͕͓͔̜̎̂̃͋e̶̼͔̳̮͂̓e̵̬̳͎͚̱͗͗̚t̶̘̘͊.̸̖͈̓̈́͂̀.̶̠͚̫̹̫͂.̴͇͒͋́͛ " - Dully prophesied meanwhile the one who used to be

Hicks, retracting his tongue back in and licking himself. - " ̷̛̥̎̀͋̃A̶̼̙̬͑ĺ̶̖͉w̸̧̩̗̯̎ą̷̝͉̞̆͂y̶̥̤͇̿ͅs̴̱͖̼̩͎̈́ ̴͉̜̼͓̪̈w̷̧̡̪͑̉̅̐́ả̵̛͍̖͎͔n̵̰̙̈́͐ṱ̶̹̚e̴̛̯̩͕̐̇̽d̴̞̆͝ ̴̪̲̄͗ẗ̴̛̹͈͈́̈o̴͇̣͎͍͑ ̸̨̅t̵͓̙̲̺͑̋̈r̴̍̌ͅy̸͎͙̱̅̐ ̸̣̯͙͂̇̑͘ŷ̶̨̺̳͠ͅo̷͈̻͉̹̣̐͒ų̵̭̋̈́̀̌̽,̷̧͕͙̫͗̽̽́̚ ̷͓̳̅̈́̅ͅb̴̢̹̘͇͌̑ụ̶̖̅̌t̴͈͓͒̌̒͜ ̵̩͘n̶̰̻͎͑̒̈́͌̊e̸̦̲͓̬̕͜v̴̱̰͖̘̽͘͠é̶̢̄͂ṛ̶͔͇̏̒̔̋̾ͅ ̶̰̹̰̺̭̆t̶̥̤̣̜̝͆̿h̴̙͚͎̰̎̋̀̚̚o̷͖͐̌̂͌̾u̶̥͖͍͖̍͒̍g̷̡̱̗̣͉͗h̷̭͔̕͝ṫ̴̳̖̲̄̋̿ ̷̛̟̳͈̺̓̉͒͠I̵̼̊'̸̜̰̥͓̆̉̄́d̸̦͌͊͗̓ ̵̦̉̊̑d̷͖̹̓̐̓͂̚o̷̫̬͚̞̔͐́ ̵̧͈̘͙͋̐̑i̷̢̍t̶̯͐ ̵͔̣̻͂͘b̸̨͉̺̣̅e̶̛̠̮f̸̢͚͎̭̄o̶̡̱̥͆͗͒ŕ̷͍͝é̸̩͖̻̏̀͜ ̵̡̖̗̱̍t̸͙́̏͛̇h̵̙͉̬̽͌͆̂́é̴͔͖̽̎ ̶̡̝̤̰͖͋̽̏͋͂b̶̗̬͉͍̽̈́̓͝ó̴̠̥̩͔̪̊s̶̢̑s̶̮̙̻̰̼͐͛̈́̒̎.̵̲͗̒̒͊.̴̨̱̩͇͆͠.̵̩̘̻́̽̑ ̴͈̳̜́y̶͉̎̽o̶̲͔͎͑̃̇̎̄u̴̡̡̝̣͝'̴̳̫̭̐̄̎̑͘͜l̵̩̝̻͈͛͛̍l̵̰͔̐̅̓͆̃ ̵̺̖̺̟̔ͅb̵̬̘͂̀̊̒̆è̴̢͖̑͂̌͜ ̷̜̽͊̔̀͜ḁ̵̞̞̙͊̋̋ ̶̯̘̓̏͊g̶̮̭̃͒̆ȯ̸̖̣̹̏̀́ö̷̱́͠d̵̡̤͙͐̇̈́̔̑ ̵̯̥̆t̴̪͓̊͋̕o̴̧̬͚͆̅̇̊̅y̸̪͇̞͉̲͋̑̂̆̕.̸̨͓͙͚̰͋̏̽͂̿  "

"Didn't your mother teach you that if you put somethin weird in your mouth, your teeth will fall out?" - Suddenly there was a voice nearby that Maya recognized immediately. She couldn't see it because of the carcass blocking her view, but there was no mistaking it. The monster hovered for a second, then threw its head sharply in the direction of the speaker, and immediately its jaws began to tear in bloody shreds, and the jerking sound of alien weapons struck the mercenary's ears.

 

***

"What happened?" - Olga asked in a worried voice over the airwaves.

"The kid has a surprise!" - I shouted back at her, taking the now useless machine gun away and running for the exit. - "There was a fucking demon in that freak!"

"A demon?!" - The reaction to my words was more than emotional. In the background something fell and broke, and Olga, after cursing briefly, added with annoyance. - "I should have guessed! What are you going to do?"

My eyes worked at full speed, and on the run I could see through the wall, as ugly catches up with the girls' guards and begins to tear them to pieces. The massacre was swift, but the fugitives managed to pull away a little, but instead of continuing the pursuit, he cut off the head of the horse with one swing of his clawed paw and threw it at Alicia's horse, knocking him down immediately, with the result that the girl was pinned on top of the wounded animal. For a second I was afraid she was dead, but no. She was lucky not to break her neck and was moving, trying to get the weight off of her.

"I'm going down!" - as Maya turned and tried to attack Hicks, and was just as knocked to the ground by him.

- "This is dangerous!"

"We have no time!" - I answer her, kicking the heavy wooden door to the stairs with my shoulder and dashing up the stairs to the wall. The only thing I'm worried about is that I might not make it in time and two good girls will die. Or worse, he'll tear them to pieces without me!

"...Okay." - With a delay, the queen said. She obviously didn't want to let me go, but she knew there was no other way. - "Try not to die. I'll be there as soon as I can."

I said nothing more, continuing to circle the spiral staircase and startle the soldiers along the way. At full speed I flew into the wall and jumped over the edge, landing on my feet from six meters high. I take out my riffle and run forward, where what began to happen made me want to cut the freak into little straps even more.

Completely unconcerned that he was practically in enemy territory, he tore the outer clothing off the desperately resisting girl and began to lick her chest with a nasty smack.

[Disgusting sight!] - Martha was furious, and there was no time to wonder why. Nor was there time to wonder at the emotionality of her speech. - [Carrier! Destroy this error of evolution!]

- [You don't have to beg me!]

Taking advantage of the fact that the bastard wasn't watching his surroundings at all, I walk practically right up to him, point the gun at his ugly head, and get his attention with my voice:

- "Didn't your mother teach you that if you put something weird in your mouth, your teeth will fall out?"

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The monster reacted to the sound and turned its head in my direction so that its mouth was just in the line of sight, and squeezed the trigger, firing a long burst at the melt of the barrel. Hicks was literally washed away in a flood of lead. The bullets tore through his flesh and crushed his bones, and they didn't have time to heal as fast as they were damaged. Not at all like from afar. He couldn't get up or crawl away now, only shudder helplessly under the hail of supersonic bits of metal. Emptying the magazine, I start walking toward him and immediately put another one in. Getting a short respite, Hicks managed to cover some of the damage and rose to his feet, growling wryly.

- "Y̷̡̙̣̺̱̊͊̇͝o̷̳̠͔̊̈͝ö̶͉̣́̾̈̿͂ͅo̴͕͚͓͒́̊̓͝ŏ̷͍͊̈̆̐o̷̟̫͖͐͠͝ơ̶̮͍̱̜̼̈͌́o̵͇͇̳̊͌͌̑͝!̶̞̯̦̂̊ ̷̳̭̒̐͐̈́̕ͅ"

"Me!" - Clicking the bolt, I unleashed a new rain of lead on him, robbing him of more and more flesh with each hit. But he didn't think to die, still trying to get up and get me. What a resilient bastard...

The indicator beeped, indicating that the barrel had overheated, and the trigger of the rifle forced the safety into place. It was a shame that I could not take the creature down this way, but I had achieved the main thing: I drove it away from Maya. I returned the well-trained weapon to its mount and looked at the girl lying on the ground, who was staring at me with eyes the size of saucers and tears in their corners, with a mixture of surprise, relief, and a touch of fear. Her frightened face looked extremely cute, and I mentally instructed Martha to take a souvenir picture. I could imagine how I looked to her now, spewing torrents of fire and thunder with glowing blue mechanical eyes. It must be a sight to remember for the rest of her life.

I winked at her, and drew my HF blade from behind my belt. A second, shorter one pops out of my left wrist, and both turn on at the same time, making a measured buzzing sound all around. Those who are familiar with this sound know well that it does not bode well, and it is time to teach our new friend this unwritten truth. After a brief glance at Alicia, who had given up trying to mount the damn horse and was watching the action with a mixed face, I make sure she's in one piece and run off to my adversary.

[Tear him to pieces, Carrier!] - Martha's aggression is off the charts today, but I'm only glad for it.

The Demon, meanwhile, jumped toward me, growling and unclenching his toothy face. He recovered a little and continued to do so. I could clearly see the flesh in the damaged areas growing back. But not as briskly as in the beginning. Olga told me the nature of these creatures. They feed off the magical energy received through sacrifices, suffering, lust, or any other vice inherent in sentient beings, becoming stronger, but at the same time, they cannot exist outside their home dimension without a material vessel, which is usually a human body. The penetration process is very difficult for them, and breaking contact is very painful, so they try by all means to stay in their occupied body, keeping it alive until the very last. And now this thing has weakened. First, it spent a lot of energy rebuilding and reanimating Hicks's body after he blew his head off, which made it want to rape the girls on the spot to recharge and replenish what it had lost. And then I put a hundred bullets in him, too, and now he's practically exhausted. To kill him, I'd either have to drain him completely, so that he'd lose the last crumbs of magic and ride off into the sunset, or... destroy his body all at once. And I've got a pretty good idea how to do that.

I approach, and stab with my right hand, leaving a long, deep slash across the demon's carcass, and then dodge a paw strike in response. I block the knee strike with an elbow to the thigh, and retaliate with my left hand in the same place, reducing my mobility. My perfect, almost mechanical reflexes allowed me to circle around it with ease, constantly wounding and exhausting its strength while remaining unharmed myself. The creature roared and spat and cursed in its creepy voice, but it couldn't get to me. I punched and shredded it with astonishing ease.

In fact, I was just lucky that at first I decided to shoot it in the head and not, say, in the heart. Otherwise he would have been much stronger and would have been able to hit me, because even now he still moved several times faster than a human, and the force of his blows was capable of breaking rocks.

From time to time, he would use his tongue, trying to distract me with whipping and very fast blows to attack me with his more weighty limbs. In life, I was told, Hicks had been a good fighter, and he still demonstrated his skills by trying to take me by stealth when he failed to do so with a rush.

I dodged another swing with my clawed paw, darted toward him, and with a full swing struck him in the forehead with the tip of my blade, forcing him back a couple of steps, and then I clipped him and added acceleration with a kick, knocking him back even farther.

I return the blow with a fallen leg, which I easily cut off, permanently disabling the creature, and hear a deafening screech of pain in response.

" ̷̛̝͉͚̱̀̀̌̃I̵͉͔̰̎̃̎͊̽'̸͉̣̃̎̈̊̚͜ͅm̷̢̼͉̟͂̽́̅͠ͅ ̵̼͕̈́͆̑́g̶̳̰̱͖̫̋̉̈́̃͐ö̵̠̻̈́́̒͘ń̴̩͓̣͆̑͛n̵͓̓̈́̌͗͆ạ̴̌̀̾͒̉͜ ̵͎͓́̅͠k̷̬̟̹̏i̵̢̢͈̐͝l̵̘̮̹̜̹͊l̵̰͠ ̷̣̤͍̾̔͠ẏ̷̟͇̗̝̝̂ö̴̢̙̙̭̩́̑̃̇u̵̜̙̪̓̀̑̿!̴͕͈͂̏̚͜!̵̡̳͓͍͕͐̀́!̸̡͓͕̍̅̽ͅ " - Rolling around on the ground, clutching the wound that was in no hurry to heal, the demon yells to me, and twisting around, shoots his tongue into my head in a desperate attempt to kill me. But this time I caught it with my hand. It hovered for a moment, and then, realizing what position it was in, it flailed around desperately, wiggling its head back and forth to break free of my grip. I yanked my arm like a rope, pulling him toward me, kneeling him down and pulling his head up. With his weakened hands he grabs my arm, but he can't do anything anymore. I've exhausted him almost completely, and now he doesn't even have the strength to scratch my armor.

Holding Hicks like this, I take out one Hf-knife and pull out a grenade, press the activation button, and swing it right into its open mouth. I easily dive up to my elbow, leave the present inside, and then I intercept the carcass by the arms and, having unwrapped it, throw it ten meters in the direction of the enemy camp. As soon as the monster's body hit the ground, there was an explosion that turned its body into a rain of blood.

"Told you not to eat everything you see." - Said I took one last look and turned back. - "Dick..."

While we were fighting, the enemies had already started to move in, and I noticed the first squads coming out of their camp. If I don't want to meet them right there in the middle of nowhere, I have to get the girls and get out of here. I walk up to Alicia first, lift the horse with one hand and pull the girl out from under it with the other, which immediately sighed in relief.

"Are you all right?" - I ask her, peering into his slightly pale, muddy face.

"T-s-c-k... yeah..." She answered me with a hiss, holding her right hip with both hands. - "Except my leg...."

Fracture. But that's all. Amazing luck with such a bad fall.

"Got it." - I shake my head and sit her gently on the crook of my elbow. With a grateful nod, the blonde wraps her arms around my neck for comfort. Together we walk over to Maya, who has already managed to step back a little, find her lost sword, and cover her bare chest. She was visibly shaken after her experience, but at least she was in one piece. When she met my gaze, the warrior shuddered, averting her eyes for some reason, and then pointed her hand in the direction of the enemies that were gathering in increasing numbers a few hundred yards behind our backs:

- "We're about to have guests..."

"They're going to be late." - With my other hand I picked up the girl who squeaked in surprise and sat her down just as Alicia had. - "Do you want a breeze ride? No? It wasn't a question!"

And, at a brisk pace, I ran toward the carefully opened city gates that were just waiting for us to return.

 

We returned to the shocked stares of the defenders, who were watching my fight with the demon from the walls. Well, at least some of them, because most of the warriors were just arriving in positions and couldn't see what was going on. As soon as I crossed the archway of the gate with the two girls in my arms, the machinery immediately squealed, trying to close the gate faster and lower the steel bars.

I stopped and handed Alicia over to a couple of orderlies, who loaded the girl, moaning and hissing with pain in her broken leg, onto a cart. They took her immediately to the infirmary, where Prim and Celestina would take care of her. I lowered Maya to the ground as well, but she wouldn't let go of my hand, clinging to it tightly. Her body was still trembling, her eyes were fixed on nothing, and the piece of the blanket she'd cut off the dead horse to cover her nakedness was about to fall off. Maya looked broken and lost.

We were standing in the middle of a crowd of people scurrying back and forth, preparing to fight off the new assault that was about to begin. In this state, the battle was over for her. Leaving her here now is tantamount to psychological murder, which I in no way want to do. That's why we have to send her to the rear. And I would have to do it in person, for when I tried to free my hand, Maya's fingers on my forearm tightened like a vise. At that, the girl looked at me so pitifully that I just didn't want to let her go alone.

Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to get out of here for a while. I've got some time to spare. I still have to let Olga know that everything is all right.

"Kay, can you hear me?" - There she is. Speak of the devil.

"I killed a demon." - I cut right to the chase, knowing she wants to know.

"I'm glad you handled it." - The concern and care with which the elf-woman spoke her words warmed the soul pleasantly. - "Where are you now?"

"I'm fine and I'm not even tired," - I reassured my queen. - I'll leave the girls in the capable hands of the healers, and return to the wall.

"Got it" - the sigh of relief came from the woman's chest, reaching me through the headphones.

"Wait," - I distracted her, not letting her finish talking, and asked: - 'Is Chloe around?'

- 'Yeah, what do you want?"

"Maya is in a bad condition." - I looked at the girl standing next to her. - "Physically she's not hurt, but...' - I paused for a moment, trying to find the words. - "mentally, she's really lousy. Have Chloe come to the first house on the right of the gate and pick her up. I'd walk her myself, but I shouldn't be too far from the wall."

"All right, I'll send her to you. Take care of yourself." - The elfess ended the session and I immediately turned my attention to my companion.

"Maya." - I shook the girl gently on the shoulder. - "Maya, we have to go. See the house?" - I look at the redheaded beauty and get a nod in response. - "We need to find you clothes, you understand me?"

The girl nodded curtly, and I dragged her with me to the specified place to borrow some of the outer clothes, which certainly must have been left behind when the owners went to hide in the castle.

Once inside, I sit Maya at the table in the hallway, and I go through the house looking for something to wear. In one of the rooms, or rather the bedroom, judging by the bed against the wall, was a closet. I went over to this very closet, and having searched through it for a while, I found a clean linen shirt. It would be too big for a woman, as it was a man's shirt, but it will do for a while. After taking the clothes, I immediately went back to Maia.

"Here, put this on." - I put the shirt on the table in front of her. She looked at it, and then slowly took it, with her other hand throwing off the rag she was covering herself with. She didn't even ask me to turn away. It was as if I wasn't here, or as if she didn't care at all about my presence.

"Ahem..." - I coughed into my fist and turned away myself. From behind me I heard the rustling of cloth and the quiet creaking of a wooden chair from the movements of the swordswoman. After a few seconds, the silence came again, and I realized I could turn back. My gaze fell on Maya, who was sitting with her legs in the chair, her arms around her knees, staring blankly straight ahead.

"Maya, I have to go." - In a calm voice I said to the girl, and she nodded faintly, not even turning her head in my direction. I took that as a positive answer and turned around to leave. It was a little scary to leave her here alone in such an unstable mental state. She had suffered a tremendous emotional shock, the effect of which only became apparent now, when some time had passed since her former friend declared openly that their friendship and the image she had created in her head was an illusion and a deception. And she believed that she was right, that she was unwilling to accept any evidence, including even Celestina's words, until the very last. And that's if you don't mention the fact that he'd also turned into some strange fuck-up and nearly raped her right in front of the soldiers in Feo, for whom Maya was an authority and role model.

Before I could even take a step, I suddenly heard the sound of a falling chair behind me, followed by rapid steps, and a few seconds later a girl's body crashed into my back, immediately wrapping her arms tightly around my torso.

"Please... Don't go..." Maya whimpered through her sobs, her arms gripping tightly around me. - "Just a little more, a minute..."

I had no choice, I would have to stay a little longer. I could, of course, force my way out and go to war, but... I can't.

I pulled Maya out of my arms, turned around to face her, and hug her, staring thoughtfully at the wall in front of me. The girl clutched at me even tighter, and without saying anything, she cried. Quietly, without any sound at all.

How had it come to this, anyway? It was the third girl sobbing in my arms, pouring her pain on me. Only this time a bloody battle was about to begin outside, one that would take many hundreds, even thousands, of lives. And here I stand, instead of rushing to the front lines, comforting the woman who, not long ago, was ready to put me to the sword. In the last moments of my past life, I had expected anything but this kind of situation.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps in the hallway. When I turned my head, I saw Chloe standing in the doorway. The elf's chest was heaving rapidly; it looked like she'd run all the way here. When my eyes met hers, I saw a flicker of irritation directed at Maya, which turned into a mute question directed at me. Nodding my head at the mercenary frozen in my arms, I pulled away from her, turning her around to face Chloe.

"It's okay." - I stroked Maya on the head goodbye and pushed the swordswoman to the blonde. - Chloe, take care of her.

After surrendering Maya into good hands, with a quick step went out into the street and then switched to a jog, headed for the wall. To the side of which the sound of a bugle sounded. A few more followed, alerting everyone that Walt and his army had gone on the offensive.

His soldiers are clearly furious and will certainly not suffer mercy toward us. They can shove their rage up their ass, though.

I run up to the wall, involuntarily contorting my face into an angry grin. - "You want some fun?" - I leap onto the masonry and land with my feet on the cogs. - "You'll have plenty of it!"

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