**Maddie**
Well, Kuro did say to teleport us 'somewhere safe', so the first thing I thought of was the school's faculty room. I mean, it's a chaotic situation we're in, so I couldn't think that well…
"…"
But in any case, I guess this would do.
"!!!"
Once he's back to his senses, Kuro quickly covered the windows with anything his hands laid on. Then, he took some furniture, and barred every door with it. I'm lost as to what he was doing, so I just watched him. But then, I remembered what I had to say…
"Kuro, there's something…I wanted tell you."
"Me too, Maddie. However, it'll have to wait until this is over," he kept on piling the covers and barricades on every possible entry point of the faculty room. I think the only place he left 'partially open' were the main doors.
"A-Alright…"
"I already instructed the paladins to keep the students and the teachers inside the classrooms, and cover the windows as well," he explained to me. "Lily and Lady Henristone will be searching the entire campus for that sniper, so I need to be with them once Lady Hawthorne and Dame Atkins comes here."
"Sniper?" I asked, a bit confused.
"Someone who can kill you from afar with a gun—I mean, a demon weapon," he pointed to the windows. "That's why don't remove those covers I set there, so they won't be able to shoot at you."
"Kuro…this is the work of that cult, right?"
"Well, I guess? I mean, we're dealing with a person who's armed with a weapon from my world, so yes, they might belong to that cult. And whoever that person is…he's deadly."
"This is what I fear…"
"Maddie, calm down. You're their target, and they're using me to lure you. I won't let that happen, so Lily and I would have to do something."
"What?" I was panicking.
"Listen, while we search for that guy, can you evacuate the students and the teachers by teleporting them from a safe distance? The paladins will escort them by class; stay in this room and let them approach you instead. Don't you ever leave your guards' side, okay?"
"B-But, what are you and Lily going to do?"
Kuro gently held my face and kissed my forehead, "Trust me in this, okay? We'll keep everyone safe."
I tried to control the torrent of emotions in my chest. The waves of fear and anxiety were overwhelming, but Kuro's calmness was reassuring, "Y-Yes, I'll trust you. Please be safe."
"Yep. I'll make those fuckers realize that this is a Chersean school, not an American one."
"H-Ha?"
"I'll tell you about it once I return." Kuro winked, before removing some of the makeshift barriers and opened the door for Lady Hawthorne and Dame Atkins' contingent. Then he gave instructions to them to frisk everyone entering this place, and let no one come near me, as soon as he leaves.
"Okay…I love you!"
"!!!" Kuro was surprised by what I just said. Nevertheless, he smiled, though I could tell it was full of sadness, and waved goodbye. In his mind, I saw his emotions were conflicted; he was happy, yet he felt like he still had to apologize for everything he said to me before.
Please don't, Kuro! I'm the one at fault here.
I remembered looking at his back until he disappeared to a corner. I remembered asking myself that moment, when did I come to rely on that back so much, even though I'm a knight and a famous general of the armies of Nerfes?
"…"
And I also remembered, it was Kuro's last smile…
----------
***Somewhere in one of the empty rooms inside the campus…***
"Boss, the paladins have closed the exits from this floor," one of Umberto's men reported. "And several squads are patrolling the grounds outside. They're tightening the noose on us!"
The former Imperial spy chief, disguised in one of the school staff's uniforms, took out his personal 'demon weapon'—a revolver, and gave the sniper rifle to his lieutenant for safekeeping. When they saw their leader drew his sidearm, they also followed suit, aware that they won't leave the school easily.
"…"
Meanwhile, Umberto was still confused. He was the one who pulled the trigger on the Human Saint, though his intention was to hit her on the shoulder, lightly wounding her. However, he was shocked that it went wayward and nearly hit the saint's stomach.
"…"
Well, at least he managed to wound her, which was part of their plan to fool the 'Knights'. But it was a close one. He did follow the instructions given to him by those demons about the 'sniper rifle's' operation, pointing the center of the telescope on the part he wished to hit.
"…"
Did those demons play a trick on him? Umberto could only guess. If he killed the saint at that moment, then Seirna would get mad and his life would be forfeit. He couldn't help but think if those 'Knights' could've found out his duplicity, or was suspecting it; so they're making sure their goals succeed by giving him wrong directions.
"Boss? Are you alright?"
"!!!" Umberto's senses returned to him when one of his men shook him back to reality. Well, he would think about it more when they leave this school, so for now, he had to focus on escaping. He checked on his revolver, while giving instructions to his people, "Get ready to fight. You can shoot anyone other than the saint, but remember we only got a few bullets to spare."
"Shall we break through the paladins?"
At that point, he fell silent. He weighed on his options, as he knew the paladins were now similarly armed with demon weapons. Their revolvers could outgun the saint's guards in a firefight, but a mass volley of their opponents' arms could still present a threat against them, especially on a tight battlefield like the corridors of the school. And also…
That man…the Human Saint's black-haired servant, the Commoner General, Lord Kuro of Arles is here.
Umberto knew Kuro was already aware of the capabilities of their revolver, and he could surmise that the Commoner General had already created countermeasures. While he did expect that they might get into this situation when they first infiltrated, Umberto was surprised that Kuro could trap them fast…as if he knew they would come.
"Here's what we're going to do," he took out a hand-drawn map of the school and placed it on a nearby table. "The paladins have squads patrolling the grounds outside, sealing our extrication through the windows. They also blocked the exits, leaving us with no other choice but to force a breakout on one of the points. Have you reconnoiter all the exits?"
"Yes, boss!"
"Any idea where the defense is the weakest?"
"No idea, boss, they seem to be equally reinforced."
Umberto pondered for a moment, and then went back to his plans. "Alright, if we can't look for a way out, then we'll have to make one. I'll divide our group into two; first group of seven people will attack this point here, at the wing exit. I need you to create an impression that we're trying to escape through this route here, so they'll call for more people. Then, once they reinforced this area, the rest of us three will probe for their weak spots, send for the other group, and force a break out from there. Are we clear on this one?"
His men agreed, with no reservations.
"Good. Expect magicians as well, since it's the elite Paladin Guards we're fighting. Those ladies can use the sword and magic in equal expertise, not to mention, they have demon weapons with them."
"Glory to the Knights, boss!" one of them said, even giving a 'Knight's' salute.
"Yes, glory…" Umberto reciprocated the gesture, though he secretly loathed it. All the men who were with him were humans who had lost faith in their humanity, and sided with the 'Knights' hoping to get recognition once the Demons triumphed in their upcoming war against Chersea, or die trying.
As for him, though he seeks revenge on the Human Saint for the family he lost in the past, Umberto will never let the Demons have the victory in the end…
----------
**Kuro**
The Coriolis effect. In simple terms, it's a force that makes things traveling long distances appear to move at a curve, as opposed to a straight line. Applying it on ballistics, it affects the trajectory of the bullets or artillery shells fired from the shooter's spot to the target, that's why long-range snipers often adjust their scopes so that they could hit their victims and kill them in a single shot.
"…"
I don't know if that sniper already realized that principle, or he's still in the dark about it. Nevertheless, I could say Maddie's quite lucky her assassin wasn't properly trained in shooting a modern sniper rifle. That guy must've been surprised his aim didn't hit her as he intended.
If he does, Maddie would've been dead.
"…"
I can only shiver at the thought of losing her.
In any case, we still had to be careful. Trained or not, it was still a sniper rifle, and could kill us from a distance…long before we could brought our own guns in firing range. Well, though I didn't expect any school shooting in this world, I'm thankful we still got the time to create a proper evacuation plan before, should an emergency similar to this occurred.
"…"
Shutting down the entire school was the only option we had to capture, or eliminate, that sniper. To shoot at Maddie, the bastard had to position himself on a level or higher spot than the building rooftop where the Human Saint was. However, as the only structures nearby were the other school buildings inside our campus, I had Lady Henristone locked every higher floor while we searched the saint's killer. As the possibility that the assassin may had some friends who also infiltrated, the Paladin Guard captain ordered everyone frisked, just to be sure.
Once cleared, the students, teachers and staff will be teleported out of the school, according to the evacuation plan.
"Kuro," it was Lily, donned in her armor. "Are you ready?"
I stared at her and Lady Henristone, standing beside the Head Maid. Both of them were wearing their plate armor. "Err…I don't think you would like to wear armor when dealing with someone armed with a sniper rifle."
The Head Maid and the Paladin Captain exchanged confused looks. Lady Henristone asked, "But how about our body protection?"
"Well, the demon weapon in the hands of our enemy right now is powerful. Its bullet's power is enough to render your armor practically useless. Instead, you'll want to move and run as fast as you can."
"Alright…if you say so," Lily then began to remove her armor. But she's not willing to give up her other weapons, "What about a sword and a dagger?"
"We're outgunned anyway, even if we use the best demon weapons in our arsenal," I answered. "So, I guess every weapon is appreciated."
"So, uh, what's your plan, Sir Kuro?" Lady Henristone raised that issue. "You said our enemy's weapon right now is way better than what we have."
"It's true, that's why we have to move fast. Close in the distance against our enemy before he fires a shot; that will negate his advantage in firepower."
"We won't be using the demon weapons much, then?"
"Nah, bring those with you. They may have greater range and rate of fire, but a wound from a musket ball—I mean, our demon weapon's bullet is deadlier…though we have to hit him, of course."
"Alright," stripping all their armors, Lily and Lady Henristone equipped themselves with several matchlock pistols, tucked on their belts. They also got a dagger and a sword for close quarters. Then, they reinforced their clothes (which was actually armor paddings) with magic. Though it's not really a complete alternate for a plate armor, at least, that offered some sort of protection.
I had my clothes reinforced too, just in case.
Once we deemed ourselves ready, we headed out to search for the assassin.
----------
The Academy had four school buildings, each was connected to the other by 'wings', located at the end of the hallways of every floor. Three of the buildings had five levels, while one was built with three. The smaller building—serving as the main lobby of the school, was out of the picture. The sniper couldn't possibly had a good vantage spot at that place. That left us with the three same-level buildings to search.
"…"
The 'main' school building (where Maddie got shot) was located to the west of the school. It's impossible that the sniper was from there, so we got the east and south building remaining. I'm not an expert on ballistics, so I couldn't determine the actual direction of the bullet's origin; I could only surmise based on what I observed earlier, and hope that I'm correct.
In any case, judging from what happened, Maddie was grazed on the left side of her stomach, just as she was facing the east building. The sniper couldn't shoot her if he was on the south building, since the bullet would have to make a significant and deliberate turn to the left just to hit that spot. Even if I factor in the 'Coriolis effect', it's still impossible for a bullet to make that trajectory…if it was fired from the south building.
But, I may be mistaken on that one…
Good thing the sniper tried another shot, which hit and broke a clay pot near us. That confirmed my suspicions that he was in the east building, for the clay pot was well hidden behind a set of garden stones facing the south. Though it was stray hit, any sniper wouldn't be able to aim in the direction that pot from the south building, unless his bullet was a 'homing' one.
And there's no such thing as a 'homing' bullet, not even in my world…
So yes, with those evidences in mind, I led Lily and the Lady Henristone on the east building.
"Milady," a paladin squad leader reported to Lily the moment we reached one of the checkpoints on the uppermost floor. "Lady Nedeline and Lady Greye's squads have also setup barricades on the wing opposite our position, and the stairs near it."
"Good work, Lady Jacques," the Paladin Captain told her. "No one had come past your checkpoint so far?"
"None, milady," the squad leader replied. "It's been pretty quiet in this place, though we haven't checked the rooms and the rooftop yet. We just remained guarding the exits, just as the Lord Kuro instructed."
"We cannot afford to incur casualties," I explained. "The guy we're up against is armed with a powerful gun—I mean, demon weapon."
"And the Lord Kuro is the one who knew how to deal with it," Lady Henristone added with an excited smile, as if she was bragging about me in front of her paladins. As a result, I could feel everyone's gaze and expectations being projected on me.
Seriously, guys, don't get your hopes up—
"!!!"
Every one of us froze when a couple of shots rang out. The paladins quickly formed a shield wall, chanted a magic shield spell and drew their matchlock guns. Lady Henristone and Lily immediately went behind the shield wall to command the squad, and I instinctively hid in the room nearby.
"Guys," I told them, "your shields are useless against the weapon of our enemy, once you lift the magic shield to shoot. The best way to get protected is to hide behind something sturdy, like a wall."
The paladins were shocked, though they did disperse their formation and hid behind the walls like I suggested.
"…" The exchange of shots went on for a while; it was continuous, as if multiple guns were being fired and in quick succession. As I listened, I suspected—based from my experience—that those shots were not from matchlock guns or the sniper rifle, but a different type of gun. Good thing the firefight was not on our spot, so I could peacefully plan our next steps.
"It's coming from the other side, towards Lady Nedeline and Lady Greye's positions," one paladin pointed out.
"Yes," I replied, "and from what I'm hearing, I guess we got a few more enemies to deal with."
"You mean that guy has friends?" Lily asked, alarmed at my revelation.
"Possibly, and they are armed with better weapons."
Lady Henristone exclaimed, "Then we need to call for more people to help the other squads."
"Don't do it, Lady Henristone!"
"Huh?"
"Everyone will stay in their positions," I reiterated. "Instead of reinforcing Lady Nedeline and Lady Greye, get the squads from the other buildings to strengthen Lady Jacques' checkpoint, and establish other checkpoints at lower levels."
"But what about the engaged squads? They might get overwhelmed."
"That's where we come in. We're to attack and pin them from behind, while they are busy fighting against Lady Nedeline and Lady Greye's squads. Let those bastards think it was a 'weak spot' and force them to give battle. However, I want to make sure they won't escape from this direction, so Lady Jacques' position should be strengthened, just in case they were creating diversion for their other friends."
"Alright, ladies, you heard the man! Don't move from this position," the Paladin Captain ordered. "Send for the other squads to come here as well."
"Yes, milady!"
Once the paladins were in position and orders were sent, Lady Henristone, Lily, and I then went to the other side of the hallway as per our plan.
----------
The gunshots grew louder as we neared the contested spot. We also heard the shouts, and screams, of the people engaged in battle. By the time the checkpoints came into our view, it was pure chaos. The paladins were barely keeping up their magic barriers, with some of their injured members being dragged by their comrades away from the line of fire.
Apparently, Lady Nedeline and Lady Greye's squads had already incurred casualties.
Facing them were seven people—humans, all dressed in the staff uniform of our school, and—much to my surprise—were carrying revolvers and swords. In contrast to the paladins, they erected a makeshift barrier opposite the paladin checkpoint, made of destroyed furniture from the nearby rooms. At their feet were the many empty bullet casings from their guns, telling me that they were well-prepared for this.
"Keep the magic barriers up! Don't let them pass!" was the order from the paladin commanders. "First line, to the barricade!"
"Don't let down the fire! Shoot at those paladin scums!" screamed someone from the opposition.
Lily, Lady Henristone, and I went for cover using the hallway pillars, as we do not want the enemy to detect us. For her part, the Head Maid proposed she use her 'Bloodbath' skill to quickly close the distance between us and our targets. It was risky, so I told her to move closer before pouncing on them.
"You and Lady Henristone head towards the enemy position through the empty classrooms," I said to them. "If necessary, make a hole to the other side."
"And you?"
"I'll create a distraction so you guys can flank them."
The two agreed on the plan and immediately set out to execute it. While the battle between the paladins and the saint's killers raged, I slipped closer to the enemy and drew their attention by firing my matchlock pistol on one of their men.
"!!!"
My poor victim's head was punched through the moment he was hit by my pistol, splattering blood and grey matter to everyone nearby. Falling forward, soon his comrades realized I was attacking them from the rear.
"We're surrounded!" one of them cried out, and got two others to return fire on my position. Naturally, I hid behind the nearest pillar to escape their bullets.
"Shit!" I cursed as the fragments of chipped concrete and bullets rained on my hiding spot. I tried loading my matchlock pistol, but in doing so, I would expose my arm to enemy fire, risking an injury. While I could always heal myself, I don't think I'd like to feel the pain of being shot.
"Girls, lift barriers! Fire at will!" I heard one of the paladin commanders on the other side give the command. Soon, a volley of musket balls crashed on the opposition.
"Felix has been hit!" an enemy shouted.
"There's no escaping this, is it?" another one asked.
"I guess this is where we die, then! Let's take more of them before they kill us!" I think that's the leader of the group who said that. "Glory to the Knights!"
"Glory!"
"I just hope the Boss would escape…"
"He will. Our sacrifice won't be in vain!"
So this was just a diversion, just as I suspected. Great, now we have another group at large.
The hail of bullets and chipped concrete fragments continued for a while, as I was pinned down by the enemy fire. But then, when I thought of doing a desperate dash to free myself…
"!!!"
The walls of the room in front of the hallway where the enemy was fighting exploded, throwing huge chunks of concrete that crushed some of them. Others who were lucky got their limbs pinned instead, but Lily in her 'Bloodbath' mode was quick to give them their deaths.
----------
**Lily**
We still hadn't caught our breaths, when we heard another sound of battle, this time, from Lady Jacques' position. My eyes inadvertently fell on Kuro, who just reloaded his demon weapon.
"These bastards got someone they call 'Boss', and they want him to escape," he revealed, as he picked up one of our enemies' demon weapons. Kuro snapped it open, loaded some weird-looking bullets on the round thing next to its barrel, and clicked it back to its place.
It's really something that came from his world…
"I'm coming with you," I said to him.
Kuro only nodded, and leaving the Lady Henristone to tend to her paladins. He did cast an area healing spell for the injured before we went on our way.
When we arrived at Lady Jacques' barricade, the fight was already over. At the middle of the hallway, there were two dead bodies, swimming in their own blood. However, the paladins from her squad stood at the doorways of the nearby room, as if waiting for someone inside.
"Milady, milord," it was Lady Jacques, "there were three men who engaged us in battle, and we killed two of them."
"Where's the third one?" Kuro asked.
"He's hiding inside that room, milord."
We turned and saw that the room where the last of Maddie's assassins hid was the 'Magic Supplies' stockroom, where we were keeping the supplies used for our subject, 'Magic Studies'.
"Shit…of all the rooms, it has to be here…" Kuro muttered. Well, I understood his concern. That room had all the items needed for creating potions, curses, and charms…both mundane and dangerous. That's why the paladins could not enter, too, for if they pursued the assassin inside, they could knock over the hazardous stuff and create even more disaster.
"What should we do, Kuro?" I asked, knowing full well that my 'Bloodbath' skill was useless in this situation.
Kuro was silent for a moment. Then, taking a deep breath, he told me, "Well, I'm going in. We need to eliminate all threats to Maddie, and I won't miss the opportunity to remove that last guy."
"You can't tell me not to come."
"No, you'll stay here, with the paladins."
"Sire," it was the Lady Jacques, "the girls would like to come with you as well."
"No," he shook his head. "As you know, this stockroom got a lot of dangerous items. If we all go in, it'll be difficult to maneuver, and we might end up all dead. As I got the ability to heal myself, I can always fight with little fear of getting injured, even if those dangerous stuff gets poured on me. However, Lily…"
"Yes?"
"Keep the doors open, but stay on guard," Kuro winked. "I'll flush out that bastard straight into your hands."
"Right…please be careful."
Kuro smiled and waved his hand. A paladin was kind enough to let him borrow her wand, with an activated light spell at its tip, to serve as his light inside. Once ready, his face turned serious; at the count of three, one of the paladins abruptly opened the stockroom door, and Kuro jumped into its darkness.
----------
***Somewhere inside the Magic Supplies stockroom…***
Umberto wanted to scream, as the pain of his arm wound crept towards his body. Nevertheless, he knew that if he did that, he would be quickly tracked down and killed.
And he never wished for that to happen, not just yet…not until those 'Knights' are thoroughly defeated.
"…"
After creating a tourniquet to stem the blood flow from his injured arm, Umberto searched the room for any exit.
"!!!"
His heart almost burst when he heard the door open. At that moment, he knew the paladins outside sent someone in to hunt for him. Good thing there were many boxes and crates stored in this place; that, and besides the darkness, aided him in hiding himself. However, he couldn't keep away from their sight forever, so he felt his way to the other end of the room, and hoped that there was an exit somewhere in there…
Ah, there it is!
Umberto's hope for escape lie on the small window near the ceiling of the room. His happiness increased further when he saw some crates in that part of the room, which he could use to climb to safety. But first, he had to deal with his pursuer.
"…"
He listened for his enemy's footsteps; his instincts were telling him that they were close. Umberto raised his revolver towards the direction where he expected they would come out.
"!!!"
At the first sight of a bright wand, he fired his revolver, causing his hunter to drop it and removing the light. He wasn't sure whether he made a hit; however, not taking chances, he kept on firing. Two more shots discharged, until he heard a click, telling him he had no more bullets. Throwing his gun, Umberto then made his dash to his freedom, as his foe returned fire.
Fortunately, all the bullets missed, partly because of the darkness and also because of his instincts to duck. Nevertheless, Umberto nearly froze on his spot.
"Aaaarrrgggh!"
"!!!"
Tracing his silhouette, which was illuminated by the light coming from the small window, his pursuer tackled him. They fell on the crates, breaking some apart, and wounding his back. As they both struggled to subdue the other, Umberto felt a hand grip his neck, and a fist hit his face. But, not wishing to be captured, he grabbed everything he could lay his uninjured hands on, and kept throwing it at his enemy.
"Die already!" was the desperate shout of his pursuer.
"No…I-I won't!" Umberto was choking; he desperately grabbed another item, and bashed it on his enemy's head. A small explosion ensued, followed by a thick smoke. Nevertheless, the grip on Umberto's neck eased, and he gasped for air before he lost consciousness.
"…" Then there was silence. He could feel someone on top of him, though not moving. Umberto had just vanquished his foe!
Removing the body of his defeated enemy, he never tried to search for his revolver, or clean the glass fragments from his clothing. With some difficulty, he just climbed on the crates as fast as he could, and slipped into his freedom.