What was certain was the state in which the latest intruder was. From the previous fight, Mina did not come out unscathed, but he wasn't much better either. The habit was torn here and there. A crack almost split the half-moon of the hat in two, but mainly, his right arm was shaking in the wind and thick drops of the precious red liquid were flowing from it, hitting the ground; in other words, it was unusable for the moment.
His companion, the little nun, on the other hand, looked relatively good in comparison. In fact, she was in perfect condition. And continued to walk silently by his side, assessing the situation.
Aiden turned his gaze from the pair to Maika, who personally concerned him more. Her eyes were bloodshot and wide open. She ignored the man completely, focusing all her attention on the little nun, and could not help but think that she was probably younger than herself.
—Do you like making magic objects out of girls, AH!? —Roared Maika—. DAMNED MONSTERS…!! DIE, PIECES OF SHIT.
Immediately fired one of the newly replaced magic bullets. Having learned from her previous mistake, she did not rush to empty the cartridge. First, Maika, decided to observe how the new enemies reacted.
—What is this? —In a mixture of surprise and disapproval, Benjamin, erected a wall of fire between them, took #601 with his good arm and jumped back as far as he could.
He didn't expect, however, the moment when the ammunition and the wall of fire made contact, a blast hit him in the back as he retreated, pushing all the air out of his lungs.
—… Manners. Where did they go, ah, dear? —said Benjamin, addressing his companion after having recovered some of the air that was abruptly expelled—. What do you think their problem is?
—You're not the one to talk; however, it will have to do with me, it seems; I determined that by how she reacted when after seeing me —said the little nun harshly—. I now communicate with the magician over there; I don't know what your concern is with me or our situation. I report, however, it is my decision. No one forced me to take this path, nonetheless, I appreciate not having to repeat myself; conclusion.
—Kgh! You… If you're with them, in that case, I will have no mercy. Get ready to be hunted, too!
Maika continued firing another round, this time two magic bullets, one for each, which were barely stopped and avoided by the duo with great effort.
—This is dangerous. #601, Jam it!
The nun took a dancer's position, lifting her right arm behind her head and holding it with her left, and bent her legs a little, creating a certain balance. From the side of the girl, the projection of a three-section rotating polygon object emerged. The priest threw a cloud of flames at Maika, and continued to make a series of adjustments to the projected object.
Maika dodged the incandescent cloud by rolling under, and without wasting her momentum took position, aimed and pulled the trigger. But something happened as she did. An abnormal force held the shot in the middle of the barrel.
She clicked her tongue once realized what had happened to the gun. Using one of the alchemical circles on the weapon, it dissolved around the bullet, taking on a liquid property. Barely touching it to activate the spell, Maika's hand instantly received serious burns, but she didn't care.
She stepped back, and the bullet exploded before it hit the ground. The liquid metal followed Maika's hand and reformed as a sharp knife; more like a serrated ice pick rather than a hunting knife, only thicker than the usual pick.
At the same time, another event caught the attention of those present. The rustic coffin hanging from the wall burst from within. Concrete and stones flew in all directions, fortunately none of them hit Aiden nor Maika.
In the battle between the wizards, they had given the vampire enough time to free herself. Her wounds were no joke, but that did not seem to matter. She rushed at the nun, whom instinctively determined to be the easiest food to catch.
Priest Benjamin managed to raise a wall of fire to protect his companion, but it wasn't enough to stop the attacker. Mina stretched both hands through the flames to get her prey, but was stopped by the serrated ice pick, which after being thrown took a course of its own; as it approached the neck of the ecstatic vampire, who evaded it, it curved its trajectory again and returned to Maika. The unconventional knife floated around Maika, thanks to another magical object, the inconspicuous headgear in her hair, which generated a powerful electromagnetic wave.
—Is it out of control? —said Maika.
—The situation has become very chaotic. It merits a strategic retreat, my dear —simultaneously indicated the priest to his frail-looking companion.
—No! —said #601—. We are so close to achieving it, we must see the end. I demand it.
—I'm sorry, my dear, I won't hold out much longer either.
#601, the little nun, showed indications, no, she made it clear she would rather not give up. The rebuke continued, when Benjamin positioned himself behind her, covering her eyes with his good hand and whispering a code in her ears. The little nun lost control of all her functions, falling unconscious on the priest's arm like a mannequin without a stand. And their images were consumed by a curtain of fire. Just like that, the pair of extravagant clerics disappeared in front of everyone's eyes.
Aiden, who managed to realize what was happening, did not have time to properly process it, he only felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. His attention quickly returned to Maika, confronting the vampire called Mina Neri.
Maika caught the knife and took a combat stance. Even if she had to face her hand to hand, she would destroy her prey at her own expense if necessary. Aiden, from where he was, a couple of meters away from the action, begged Maika to make a strategic retreat as well.
The alchemist was not in perfect condition either, constantly loosing blood. And if she continued, she would definitely end up killing the out-of-control redhead, which he did not want to see happening.
—Maika, it's not what you think. She's not a monster —repeated Aiden—, but human!
His pleas, however, once more fell on deaf ears.