The number of troops inside the headquarters dramatically dropped due to Timothy's and his crew's clean-up duty. The most efficient in removing the incoming marines was Ayuka, who did an amazing job in taking them out from various corners.
"There's that white-haired woman! She's taken down all of our troops within the headquarters! We need backup immediately!"
Ayuka reached onto her back and dragged out her sword, "Haven't had to use it in a while..." She confirmed and began cutting through the incoming enemies, making sure to avoid lethal wounds but enough to paralyze them from moving.
"Commander! We've run out of troops inside the headquarters! The only few marines are on the mainland! We're the last of the defense and the foremost agents." Another marine confirmed, putting enough pressure on the commander to frustrate him. "You must be insane! How have we lost so many people to one girl?!"
As they conversed, the marines in front of them continued falling and losing their balance due to Ayuka's efficiency at immobilizing foes. "It's one girl... We shouldn't struggle so much." Added the commander, holding a blade in his palm. "You, woman! In the name of the law, you are to-!" However, Ayuka interrupted his speech and appeared in front of him, ramming her instep into the man's crotch.
His eyes popped from the pain, and his breath hastened. "Win..." He collapsed on the ground in front of Ayuka, who looked down at him. "That... was a presumptuous move..." He lost consciousness.
The officer that reported to the commander about the sheer number of marines fallen became frozen as he saw Ayuka look into his face. "Take me out! Just not my balls, please." The marine answered, raising his arms and dropping his rifle.
Ayuka punched him in the face, jumped over his collapsed body, and turned around to see all the defeated officers. She reached for her ponytail and dropped her hair. "That's that for the western side of the HQ." She claimed, raising her arms above her head to stretch her body and then prepared to tie her hair back together.
She attached the blade to her back's bottom and looked for a different entrance to a room.
She sprinted through the corridor, took some corners, and came across a stairwell that led up to the top.
She used them, rushed onto the next floor, and came across another corridor.
The hallway was long and wide. It even had multiple doors leading into different rooms, with one major doorframe at the end.
"That must be the main office where they held Chiaki captive. I wouldn't expect them to still be in there, so I'm wasting my time." She thought and decided to retake her tracks, but as she turned around, her way got blocked by Agnes keeping her hands in her pockets.
"You did a remarkable job clearing out all of our officers. I might be a tad bit impressed, but not enough to be scared. Chief Elian and the foremost agents already separated to different sides of the headquarters. I received orders to stay put here at the office and keep a look out for unwanted visitors, and as it turns out, that was a good decision."
Ayuka straightened herself and refreshed herself with a warm and deep breath. "I guess that means everyone's already fighting, and I'm the only one who hasn't done anything exciting."
Agnes tilted her head to her side, "Exciting? You must be lucky, aye? Have excitement in battle. I wish I did too. But most of the time, my enemy's down in a second. Do you know how boring that is? To have no one who can match your strength in battle." Agnes sighed as if she was disappointed and disturbed.
"Well... that explains your "boring" personality. I'm not the biggest fan of having to deal with boring people. I mean. I can handle them if they are on our side, but when they are not, then it's a different story." Ayuka explained, summoning mist around her body. "But do you know why I put up with boring people? Because maybe I can help them remove that boredom and give them a new joy in life."
Agnes kept her composure and scratched the side of her ear. "Is that true? Then, prove it to me." Agnes moved her palm in front of her lips and yawned. Her eyes glowed blue and it caused Ayuka to act instantly.
She swung her right palm in front of her and constructed an ice wall connecting the opposite walls of the corridor and blocking Agnes' view.
Agnes' eyes returned to normal, and suddenly Ayuka appeared behind her, extending her sword across her chest and turning its blade tip behind her.
"I remember your freezing abilities clearly. And I know there's a bit of delay when you activate it." She swept her sword horizontally and summoned ice spikes from the ground that grew toward Agnes.
They were fast and big, causing Agnes to dash away from them and avoid the spikes penetrating her from behind. She landed on the concrete floor and spun around, seeing them ramming the ceiling.
"Your reaction time's quick, pirate chick. But that's still not impressive." Agnes answered, standing back up and fixing her gaze on the ice spikes behind which Ayuka stood. "I didn't come here to have fun. I'm here to reunite with my friend. And even if it means I have to take things more aggressively." Ayuka explained with a solemn and powerful tone.
-
Alejandro's transparent trail continued speeding throughout the pillar room, and neither Kyora nor Kou had the speed or the vision to locate him.
Kyora's skin became bruised and cut the longer she was stuck in the room. She didn't have much chance to use her fighting style due to the lack of weather in the room.
"Kyora! Use the pillars to hide!" Kou called, sprinting behind one of the pillars as Kyora did the same.
She dashed behind one of the hundreds of pillars and leaned against it while trying to keep a lookout on Alejandro's position. "I can't see anything! It's not the same to be in the dark or out in the sea!" Kyora shouted as Kou hid across several pillars away from hers.
"I know... and I'm not the biggest fan of pitch black either," Kou called, "It makes me uneasy." He answered, "I don't like not knowing what lies in here."
He heard Kyora's painful scream and became terrified. "Kyora! W-What happened?!" He peeked through the dark but had no luck seeing where Kyora stood.
Kyora collapsed to her knees, blood flowing from her ankles, preventing her from standing. "N-Nothing. I-It's fine..." But she knew the slice in her ankles would be a giant problem. "K-Kyora! Are you sure?! T-That didn't sound okay!" Kou called, worried, anxious, and scared about her condition.
Suddenly Kyora received a cut into her left arm for the blood to squirt a little, forcing her to grasp her wound.
"Why are you lying, young navigator? Why don't you tell your little bodyguard about the wound you've suffered? You'll bleed to death if this keeps up." Alejandro laughed, rapidly speeding through the whole room.
Kou knew she suffered a few cuts, but he didn't know how many exactly, and thinking about it caused him fear and stress.
"Did you think hiding behind the pillars would work? This room is my domain. I can see you anywhere at any time. And I can strike at any given moment." Laughed Alejandro as Kou and Kyora repeatedly heard movement around them.
"Like an eagle. We can never know when he'll strike and when he'll spot us. How are we supposed to fight somebody we can't touch, see or predict? Is the sound really all we can rely on? And even if we manage to learn his pattern and hear him... How are we supposed to strike him?" Kou wondered with a whispering voice.
"There must be an answer to all of that."
To be continued...