The men had already entered the enemy's lair, with full determination.
"I will take back what's mine", the only thought that revolved in Albert's mind.
He was sure that he could rescue her. And he was even more sure that they will come back in one piece. After all, they had trained all their lives. It can not go in vain. It must not.
Looking through the lair, there was not much to kill. With only a few sharp moves, the weak enemies had fallen to their knees.
However, as they moved forward, things took a more complicated turn. There were traps laid on all sides of the lair that attacked endlessly. Although frustrated, Albert continued to move forward, countering the attacks cleanly with his team while a few became a victim of the traps' arrows and gunshots, injuring themselves.
Mark with Luciana went over to assist the injured teammates while Albert and Vincent continued with their movement. Soon enough Mark and the injured comrades were also able to catch up to them where they all met in front of a large gate.
The gate was an epitome of luxury and class, befitting that of the entrance where a mafia king should reside.
Albert pushed the door upon with raw force, having himself welcomed by an army of men and a man who sat on top of them.
The eyes of that man showed clearly how ruthless, power-hungry he was. It would not be a surprise to know that such a man had even killed his wife to inherit the right of the head of the Regis Family. The man above all men, the mafia king, Arthur Felix Regis.
Albert scowled at his face, approaching Arthur with long steps. He was ready to punch the old man's smirking face but held himself back to ask,
" Where is she? You said you had her. So where is she?!" Arthur scoffed as he descended from his seat and neared himself to Albert without a hint of shock or fear in his eyes as if he was expecting his arrival.
And so he confirmed, "Ah, my! It's our youngest child, Albert! How I missed you! I wanted to see you and look, you came by yourself. Notice you brought those minions of yours too."
Albert was getting impatient, "You bastard old man! I am not here for you! Where is she?!"
"Now, now little dearest Albert... Let's not get too aggravated here... You know that I do not like misbehaving children. I only played a simple trick to meet you. Let me get a closer look at your face." Arthur ignored him again, as he held his hand out to Albert, who slapped his hand away.
Agitated, Arthur raised his walking gait and hit it on the back of Albert's knees before he could even react.
"Albert Hemsworth. You. I must teach you. How dare you behave that way with me when I just warned you!" The old man's voice boomed all around the room,
"Now look at how you messed things up for yourself and your minions." He gestured to his men once more and all of them released their weapons and stood against Albert's team.
Albert stood in a fit, attempting to grab the old man's collar. But, he was hit in the guts by Arthur's stick. "Fucking old man! I will kill you!" Albert coughed out.
"Dearest Albert... if only you were patient, you would have gotten what you wanted." Another gesture and two men appeared with a woman in their grasp.
Arthur approached the unconscious woman and held her face up for Albert to see, "Oh my! Look at this beautiful face-" "YOU FUCKER!", Albert shouted angrily, struggling in the men's arms "GIVE HER TO ME! Don't you DARE touch her with your filthy hands!" Arthur only laughed at his words as he came close to Albert and kicked him in the guts this time.
"I do not appreciate this behaviour Albert but since I am so forgiving, if you want her, go ahead and take her if you can." He lifted a finger and his men began fighting Albert's team at once.
Albert struggled more and finally loosened himself from the two men's grasp. He pulled out his gun from the right and shot the two men behind before turning to the ruthless man who stood in front with his bulky bodyguard beside him.
"O, Albert! Come any closer and she dies. Isn't she why you came here after all? Be a good boy and put your gun back in if you want this lady safe and sound." The elderly man chuckled pointing to his stick, which now revealed the small yet sharp dagger at its end.
Reckless as he is, Albert would have ignored all things, aiming straight for the mafia king's heart. However, 'her' life was involved now. He can't act boldly as always.
As much as it hurt his pride, the young man stepped back and obeyed, almost pleading,
"Don't do anything to her. I'll step back, alright. Just don't touch her."
The old man smiled, "That's more like my underling. Now sit back and watch your men die before you. How else could I teach you a lesson to not be as reckless as you are?"
Arthur was successful in aggro Albert as the younger turned back to help his men out, only to witness a bloody mess unfold before him.
Albert was frustrated and angry, but also very helpless. Almost half of his men had died in the hands of the enemy in a short period.
He let out a shout like that of a battle cry before running in with a gun in his right hand and a revolver that he pulled out from his sock in his left hand, killing about one-fourth of the enemy in a go.
He was assisted by Mark in the fight, whose daggers were constantly taking turns in slashing the enemy's vital organs.
The fight, which was at first one-sided, had now taken an unexpected turn with the addition of the hot-headed Albert who showed no mercy in killing the enemy. He wanted to retain himself from breaking the confidence of his comrades.
Mark who was constantly fighting since the war began, suffered from various injuries on his shoulders and had begun showing signs of fatigue, only after a long time.
By two hours, the men from both sides had almost fallen, with only a few remaining in Albert's team. Albert now readily approached Arthur but was blocked by the old man's bodyguard.
Mark volunteered to take him down with Leonard as he gestured for Albert to continue his attack. Albert dropped his now empty guns, expecting a battle of strength.
However, his opponent ambushed him with his dagger grazing his cheek slightly. The simple cut did not compromise the blood loss as the fluid flowed down from his chin like a stream of tears.
Albert was now angered. The old man had not a single bit of chivalry in him. He ignored the minor injuries he was constantly receiving from the man throwing his blade brazenly in the air and continued to aim for his neck at the very least.
While the bulky bodyguard was efficiently being dealt with, by Mark and Leonard, Albert struggled until he finally managed to make the old man drop his weapon. Alas, he felt that the fight will be fair.
The old man changed his fighting stance in an instant as he stepped back to dodge the consistent fists that Albert threw at him.
The man was seemingly at an advantage due to his skilful dodging. However, there was not much strategy to it, as truthfully, he was not able to lay a single hit on Albert, despite his open wounds.
It was only the pros of his sharp dagger and dagger skills that allowed him to directly injure the man of crazy, raw strength in front of him. Along this time, a sharp blow from Albert's fists knocked the man down.
Albert looked down at the man beneath his feet and did not wish to look longer than he already did. He quickly turned to the men who were standing unshaken, at the other side of the room with the woman in their hold.
Gathering all of his strength, he ran towards them and kicked one of them in the guts, while he went behind the other and injured his tendons with but a hit of his leg.
The men who lamely fell with a single hit were unable to do anything against Albert as he ran with the woman in his arms. He yelled to his leftover men to retreat as he began to walk away from the room. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine as a dagger pierced through his left shoulder.
The old man who he did not notice was only knocked unconscious, had got up from the floor a little weakly than before and grabbed his dagger once again. He can not afford to lose after all. No way at all.
However, to his surprise, Albert turned his head slightly and pulled the dagger out of his shoulder. He looked back at Arthur with eyes so cold that the old man flinched.
While he was barely processing what was about to come for him, a shiny object flying in the air stopped his train of thoughts.
A dagger had pierced through his shoulder. The same dagger that he had been using to injure Albert all along.
However, that was not the only attack he received. What truly killed him was another dagger that pierced through his skull. It was the treasured weapon of Albert's most trusted subordinate and best friend,
Mark's dagger that delivered the final blow. The ruthless mafia king's body slumped heavily onto the floor again as crimson red blood added to the heavy scent of death in the wide room. He no more seemed like the man on top of all men.
Albert did not want to waste any more time and so, he strode away with 'her' in his arms. He wanted to make sure that she was completely unharmed, as soon as possible, and tend to her every injury as much as he can.
Finally, she was (back) in his arms. Her unconscious, fragile body. It was, at last, in his arms to be protected.