Granger grunted as he continued on running down the chaotic road of the kingdom while Jay quietly looked around the ruined place, her grip on the marksman's violin case tightening at the sight.
Horror was written all over her features when she saw bodies on the ground with weapons - let us not forget about them being coated in black or red blood - sticking out of them while others... Were either coated in their own pool of blood or missing a limb or two while others were too gruesome to describe.
"Oh my god... Oh my god... T-this is too... M-much..."
"There's no time to check up on them... We need to go alert the others about a part of the barrier being nullified... Let's just hope that not all of them are occupied... But also to quickly bring you to the medics to take care of you... I'm surprised that you're still conscious after losing a lot of blood and from the things that you've witnessed so far..."
Granger managed to rasp out while the raven-haired girl nodded, cheeks red, as she continued on looking around the place only to gasp when she sees a certain blond-haired male fighting off a horrendous looking demon that was twice his size.
- Isn't that... Alucard... He looks... -
The brunette then skidded to a stop when he, too, noticed Alucard fighting against a demon.
"Quick, hand me my violin case..."
"H-here..."
Passing him said case, Granger immediately opened the top just by flicking his wrist and aimed the barrel of the weapon at the monster then shot at it, temporarily giving the swordsman some time to jump away from it in surprise.
"What the-..."
Alucard quickly dodged the claws of the demon while it let out a pained howl from the gaping hole that it, now, had on its left part of its torso thanks to the marksman that was kneeling beside a frightened woman that was holding onto the male's pistol, her eyes wide.
When the demon fell on the ground in pain, the blond male jogged to where the two were while Granger closed his violin case, nodding in thanks when Jay gave him his pistol back.
"Granger! Thanks for the help but I kind of had it..."
"Right... Then why do you look like as if you're about to collapse?"
"I wasn't going to...! I've fought a lot of those things! That's why I looked tired!"
"Uh-huh..."
While the two were busy bickering with each other, Jay's eyes widened when she saw the demon slowly get up with a hiss so she started tugging at Granger's sleeve to try on getting his attention.
"U-uh... Guys...?"
But the two continued on with their bickering as the demon managed to stand on its own two feet, its pointy tail flickering behind it while a growl left its throat.
Squeaking in fear, Jay hid behind Granger with her burying her face on his back and this action caught the two males' attention.
"Hey, what's wrong-"
"D-demon!"
Was the only thing that the young woman managed to say as the loud roar of the demon rang through their ears.
"Crud... I thought you put it down!"
"I hit the part that could quickly kill it... Maybe one bullet can't put it down..."
The two demon hunters readied their weapons when they noticed the demon charge towards them with the sole intent of killing and spilling blood.
"Hey, sweetheart?... I think it's better if you hide somewhere..."
Alucard looked at the said woman who - at first hesitated but soon nodded - and hid behind a wall as she worriedly watched the two.
"Well, I guess it's time to impress a pretty lady"
"..."
Granger only shook his head as he started shooting at the demon while Alucard lunged at it with his sword pointed at its chest.
The fighter managed to dodge at the last second the claw that was meant to push him away while the marksman jumped to the side to avoid the demon thus making it stumble and fall on its stomach, a growl of annoyance leaving it.
"It may be big but it lacks in brains..."
"Could've said it better..."
Alucard threw a playful glare at the brunette who only shrugged and resumed on filling the demon - that managed to get up on its feet - up with bullets while the blond male blocked its sharp claws.
Jay gaped in awe at the scene before her, her eyes sparkling in wonder as she kept a close eye on the demon hunters only to stiffen when a shadow loomed over her form.
- Oh god... -
She gulped and slowly turned around to see another demon that was holding a giant bloody axe in its hand while the other held a shield.
Letting out a yelp from fear, the raven-haired woman jumped away - ignoring the pain that she was feeling - from the axe that hit the ground where she was standing as an annoyed growl left its mouth.
"Stay... Put... Human...!"
Grunting, Jay scrambled on her own two feet and started running away from the demon that was following her while slamming its weapon down every now and then but also throwing things that he can put his hands on just to hit the frightened woman.
The noise caught the attention of the two males that managed to glance at the area where the noise came but soon their eyes widened in horror when they saw the maroon eyed woman running away from a demon soldier that soon disappeared behind a building as it continued on following the raven-haired female, a terrifying cackle leaving its mouth.
"Jay!"
Alucard shouted in worry and was about to run after the female but was stopped when the demon he and Granger were fighting, blocked his way with a crooked grin on its bloody face.
"Ah ah ah... Where do you think you're going, puny human...?"
Clenching his teeth in annoyance, Alucard swung his sword at the demon only for it to block it with its claws but it soon let out a pained howl when he received another shot from Granger.
"Granger! Don't mind me...! Go help her! I can take care of this thing!"
The blond male hollered out as he pushed the demon's claw away and swung on its torso, leaving a large gash as black blood oozed out of the wound.
Granger clicked his tongue and turned around, making his way towards the last place he and Alucard saw the terrified female disappeared to.
The fighter then turned to look at his enemy with a smirk as he cracked his knuckles, his blue eyes glowing with anger.
"You're going to pay for not letting me help the damsel in distress..."
Then he lunged at the demon, sword in hand as his blue eyes glowed in anger.
.: To Granger:.
Stopping in his tracks, Granger looked around the place to see if he could spot the demon or his "friend" but there was no sign of the two.
"Dammit... Think... Think... Don't let your thoughts run too much..."
He murmured as he tried on listening instead, straining his ears to see if he can hear something.
A loud crash came from his left followed by a roar, the noise made the marksman bolt for that direction as he reloaded his pistol and readied his violin case, a dark glint in his eyes.
- That thing will suffer... -
He darkly thought to himself as he arrived at the location only to stop when he sees the demon covered with its own blood and its axe was on the ground beside him while a certain assassin was standing on the bottom of its feet with a crying woman in his arms.
"Shh... It's fine... We're fine... See...? I'm here... You're fine..."
Narrowing his eyes, Granger made his way towards Gusion who looked at him with a frown.
"Granger..."
"Gusion..."
The two nodded at each other only to return their attention at the, still, crying female who was holding onto the assassin with her arms tightly wrapped around his waist as her body shook.
Granger's eyes softened when his crimson orbs met teary maroon ones when Jay turned her head to see who came.
"Luckily I arrived in time when I heard some commotion from here... If I haven't..."
Gusion murmured to the marksman as he rubbed Jay's back to try on soothing her but to also calm her nerves.
The brunette nodded as he looked at the demon then back at the two only to quirk an eyebrow when he noticed a discarded sword on the ground that was covered in black blood, the action caught assassin's attention making him look at the said weapon.
- We both know that he doesn't use a sword... -
"About that... I'll have to talk with you later... When we're done with this whole situation..."
Nodding, Granger placed his pistol back to its holster and softly patted the girl on the shoulder making her turn her head and look at him again since she hid her face on Gusion's chest.
"I'm... Glad that you're alright..."
She nibbled on her bottom lip and nodded as she let go of the assassin, hands immediately wiping at the tear stains that were on her cheeks only to stop when the ice-blue eyed male before her used a napkin to wipe her eyes and cheeks.
"There... Now, I'll have to leave you two... Be careful and make sure that she won't get in harm's way again..."
Nodding, the two watched the brunette turn around - but not after giving Jay the napkin with a soft smile - and run towards the place he was going then soon disappeared behind the buildings.
Jay blinked and looked at the napkin that had Gusion's initial in cursive and in a light shade of purple.
"Are you really okay..."
The raven-haired female looked at Granger while she slowly felt the dull ache on her limbs start aching painfully, making her bite her bottom lip as her legs started trembling.
"I-I... Honestly... N-no..."
She looked down as she held the napkin to her chest, ignoring the ache all over her body.
"I-I mean... I have n-no memories as to why I w-woke up just t-t-to see a giant bird carrying m-me... Almost f-fell to my death... I almost got killed... Two times i-in a row..."
Granger frowned as he reached out for her but soon stopped midway, his arm falling limp on his side as he let out a sigh.
"We're in the middle of a war... It happens... So it's better to just forget or not dwell too much about it"
- And she fell from the sky because of a damn bird... How come none of them told me this... -
From the corner of his eyes, he saw her shoulders stiffen as her smaller form stopped trembling.
"R-right... Right... F-forget about it... Forget about it..."
He frowned when he heard the sadness in her voice but kept quiet as they started making their way back to where Alucard was.
Once the two arrived, the blond-haired male jogged towards them and carefully hugged the shorter female to him then pulled away, his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm glad you're alright! Did it hurt you?"
"N-no, thank you f-for asking... Luckily Gusion came to help me just in time..."
"Gusion?"
Looking at Granger for confirmation, Alucard hummed as he looked back at Jay with a grin.
"Well, I'm glad he did...! Even though he stole someone's spotlight"
Winking at the annoyed marksman, the fighter let out an amused laugh as he smacked his fellow demon hunter on the back while grabbing his sword from the ground.
"Well, that was the last of them, hopefully...! Let's go see if everyone managed to evacuate the civilians into the centre of the castle"
"We can't... Not at the moment at least..."
"What?"
Alucard looked at Granger with furrowed eyebrows, confusion written all over his features.
"We need to close the barrier that a traitor opened up"
"Wait wait wait... So you mean..."
The marksman nodded as Jay looked at the two while she kept her grip on the napkin.
A scowl appeared on the taller male's lips, the glint in his eyes scaring the young woman a bit since he looked ready to commit murder.
"Then we'll have to catch that traitor after sealing the barrier... Not after I beat the soul out of him..."
Alucard darkly stated as he looked at the two with a crooked smile.