"My, oh, my, what a wonderful way to glare at me! I love it! I wonder how I look like from your point of view. I'll definitely take a closer look at your eyeballs after you die...", the woman said excitedly blushing.
Judging by her reaction to my eyeballs, she must be our target, I thought.
"But don't worry, I'll take good care of them by adding them to my collection", she said, enjoying it.
Collection? What kind of hobby is this? Tch! I was looking forward to coming back here, and enjoy some drinks made by the old man, but... It doesn't matter anymore. I'll put an end at all of this right now, I said, slowly reaching out for my bow in my back.
After I reached my bow, I couldn't think of anything except, "I'm going to kill this bitch", as my aura started to overwhelm the room. Of course, I couldn't feel it, but the other two could. That's when I heard her voice reach deep inside my mind, "Jemuel! Jemuel! Hear me out! You need to calm down! Jemuel!"
Shaylee?! She's right. I need to calm down. Doing something hastily could result in a bad ending for me. Hearing her voice helped me come to my senses.
After I let go of my bow, my aura dissipated from the room.
"Sorry Shaylee. I almost lost my cool", I said, removing the surgical knife stacked in my right shoulder.
"Don't worry. We have a bigger issue right now...", She said, getting up.
"Oh my, I see you're not that stupid. If you had come straight at me, you would have been dead by now", the woman said with her hands in her pockets.
"You seem to be very confident in your abilities, eh? Anyway, I'm not planning on dying before I've kicked your ass for what you did to the old man and the others", I replied confidently.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be? I mean, did you give me a reason to fear you?" She replied.
Tch! Who exactly is she? I thought irritably.
"Mid-length black hair, red eyes, white coat, and use of medical tools as weapons. It was so obvious I should have known it from the start. You must be Dr. Augen also known as the eyeballs freak", Shaylee said seriously.
"This nickname says a lot about her", I said disgustedly.
"It's derived from her unique way of disposing of her preys after killing them. She's known across the capital as a dangerous individual, but since she hadn't been active for quite a while now, I almost forgot her", she said.
"Shaylee, the half-devil, but also one of the most hated being of this nation. Share the blood of the dark elf clan that fought directly under the command of the demon king Helius in the great war 599 years ago, and is authorize to work at the imperial army, but only under the supervision of the captain Künh", Dr. Augen replied provocatively.
The dark elf clan were subordinate of Helius? Is it why Shaylee is hated so much by the people of Fretzia ? I wondered.
"I'd rather not be called devil by a monster like you", Shaylee replied angrily while glaring at her.
"You have such wonderful eyes. What do you see when you glare at me with them like that? Ah! How lucky I am to have two splendid pairs of eyeballs in front of me", Dr. Augen said excitedly with her arms wide open.
She's crazy! I thought, before Shaylee called my name.
"I'll try to take her down without killing her, so, while I'll get closer to her, you'll cover me against all her other attacks with your arrows", she said.
"Count on me", I said firmly.
"Let's do this then" Shaylee said, before rushing over to Dr. Augen.
As she rushed towards her, Dr. Augen pulled surgical knives out of her pocket again and threw them at Shaylee. Seeing this, I knew I had to deflect them to allow her to move forward. Therefore, with my uninjured arm, I immediately grabbed my bow in my back, then, with the other one, I tried to reach for the arrows tied around my waist, but I couldn't move it.
What's wrong with my arm? Even though I have a shoulder injury, I should be able to move it, I thought as I started to feel anxious and confuse, while Shaylee manage to protect herself with her sword but, couldn't get closer to Dr. Augen.
"You finally noticed huh?" Dr. Augen said after moving backwards.
"Do you know what's happening to me?" I asked her.
"Of course, since it's my work", she replied.
"Wait... You mean..." I said after a moment of reflection.
"Correct. My surgical knives. I always put paralysis fluid on it in case my target doesn't die instantly. You won't be able to move your arm for eight hours now", she said.
Eight hours?! That's too much time. This fight will be over by then, I thought.
"Jemuel! That's unexpected but we'll just have to go with another plan", Shaylee said.
"While I'll deal with Dr. Augen, you'll go look for Bert and Lore to let them know that we found a suspect, and bring them here", she added.
"Huh? But- I can't leave you alone with her in your current state!", I said worriedly.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine", she said firmly, as I stared at her dripping bloody face with concern.
Then, rushed over to Dr. Augen, who used her knives again, so Shaylee deflected them with her sword, but as before, she still couldn't get closer to her.
"Eh? Are you really going to face me alone? Are you sure about that?" Dr. Augen said as she moved backwards.
"I'm more than enough to defeat you", Shaylee said, attempting another attack without wasting a minute. Dr. Augen used the same move as before, and so, the same scene was just repeating itself.
As the fight between these two continued, it goes without saying that Shaylee was at a disadvantage. She was exhausted, and if one of those knives wound her, it would be a huge handicap...
But in all of this, I was just staring at them, not knowing what to do, as she repeatedly called out my name to tell me to get out from here. Seriously, what is she thinking of playing it solo like that? That since I can't use one of my arms, she has to protect me? But when she does that, who will protect her? I thought, annoyed, gritting my teeth and clenching my fist with my bow in my hand.
"You've held up well so far, but I think our little game is coming to an end", Dr. Augen said looking down at Shaylee from a distance, who was out of breath, and kneeling on one leg using her sword like support.
"Jemuel ! Go!" Shaylee shouted.
"It doesn't matter whether your opponent is strong or weak, if you can't get past their first line of defense you've already lost the fight", Dr. Augen said as she got ready to launch another knives attack.
"Jemuel ! Go!" Shaylee continued to shout.
"Time to go to sleep", Dr. Augen said before launching her attack.
"Please Jemuel, Go !!" Shaylee shouted with her eyes closed as she was about to be pierced.
"Shut uuuppp !" I shouted as her eyes were still closed.
After a brief moment, when she noticed that she was still alive, she started to slowly open them, and saw a bunch of arrows and knives on the ground in front of her.
Where did those arrows came from? She wondered with surprise.
"Shaylee, you idiot!" I shouted again, then she turned her head toward me.
"When you need help, you should ask for it! There's nothing to be ashamed about it!" She saw me shouting while I was in a throwing position. That's when she realized that the arrows came from me and thus prevented her from being killed.
How did he do that?! She wondered with surprise. At this distance, without the possibility to use his bow he must be pretty strong and precise to be able to do that, she added.
"What you can't do, I'll do it for you! And what I can't do, you'll do it for me! Because we're a pair after all!" I said seriously then, switched to a smile.
After listening to Jemuel and seeing that smile, Shaylee felt reassured; but more than that, she felt that she could rely on him, so she shouted "Jemuel! I need your help! Please!" fervently with her hand on her chest.
"OK! You can count on me!" I answered, pointing my thumb up at myself.