"Wow! That was so cool!" Jos exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement. "And Sir Reinhard actually won!" Clare added, her enthusiasm matching the lion-maned Specialist's.
Aeron, ever unflappable, nodded as if the result were obvious. "That was the expected outcome. Sir Reinhard should have won against Joshua Ambrose, given what I experienced during my sparring session with him."
Loreen turned to Aeron, intrigued. "Did Sir Reinhard give you trouble, Aeron?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
"He forced me to use my arms to beat him rather than going down after a single glare," Aeron replied, his tone as flat as ever.
Tores let out a small sigh, shaking his head. "Of course. Even he couldn't provide you with a real challenge."
Loreen nodded in agreement, sharing the sentiment. "I'm not sure why I expected otherwise."
The sound of someone clearing their throat drew all eyes to Malvin. "I think you're all forgetting something," he said sharply, his voice tinged with annoyance. "I'm still fighting Philip Crude over here." His tone dropped lower, almost growling. "And don't think for a second that piece of shit is out yet..."
---
Malvin barely managed to sidestep another swipe of Philip's claws, the tips grazing his shoulder and leaving a shallow cut. At the same time, Silas darted in, delivering a kick to Philip's face with enough force to make the demi-human wolfman snarl and turn toward him. Philip lashed out in retaliation, his claws slicing across Silas's leg and drawing a thin line of blood.
"This is going nowhere!" Silas shouted, stumbling back onto one foot before steadying himself. "He's eating our hits like they're nothing!" He narrowly dodged another swipe, the claws missing his face by mere inches.
"Better than standing around complaining!" Malvin barked, his frustration boiling over. He seized an opening and hammered both fists down on Philip's back with all his strength. The impact made the wolfman stagger slightly, but Philip twisted around with a speed that belied his size, his claws slicing upward in a near-lethal arc. Malvin barely leaned back in time, the deadly swipe missing his eyes by a hair.
Malvin huffed, his breaths ragged as he thought to himself,* We just have to hold out a little...* But his thought was interrupted by a sudden hiss and blast of steam that echoed through the space. All three combatants instinctively turned their heads toward the source of the noise.
Joshua's body flew through the air like a ragdoll, slamming into a metal beam with a deafening clang. The structure buckled under the force, and Joshua crumpled to the ground in a heap, unmoving. Reinhard stood tall over his fallen opponent, his tonfas gripped tightly in his hands. His chest rose and fell heavily, the battle clearly having taken a toll, but he remained steadfast.
*...longer,* Malvin finished his thought as Reinhard's piercing gaze shifted toward Philip. Without a word, the Fearless Lion advanced, his tonfas gleaming as he readied himself for the next fight.
"Finally… we're saved," Daysze muttered, exhaling a deep sigh of relief as his shoulders slumped.
"Yeah, I don't think the rookies could've held out much longer against that monster," Jae added, her gaze fixed on Philip. The wolfman's feral snarl had disappeared, replaced by something else entirely—shock. He looked more like the thug Malvin and Silas had first encountered.
"You... you beat that freak? What the hell are you?!" Philip shouted, his voice trembling as fear crept into his shocked tone. He took an involuntary step back, his confidence shattered.
Silas collapsed onto his back with an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Ah, finally, I can relax. Don't worry, wolf-boy," he said with a smirk, raising a hand lazily toward the ceiling. "I'll get my kicks in for what you did after Sir Reinhard deals with you."
Malvin, however, remained standing. His hand pressed against his still-bleeding wounds, but his piercing gaze didn't waver from the scene in front of him. His fists clenched at his sides, trembling—not from fear, but from frustration. He wanted to be the one to bring Philip down, to punish him for everything he had done. Yet all he could do was stand and watch.
Reinhard approached Philip without a word, his tonfas held loosely but with clear intent. Each step echoed with finality. Philip, frozen in place, couldn't move, his body betraying him as his mind screamed to run. The realization that he couldn't even hope to fight back against someone so far above him left him paralyzed.
Reinhard raised his baton, preparing to knock the wolfman out cold.
But before the strike could land, "Lightning Step," a voice murmured, and in an instant, a sudden, deafening crack of lightning split the air, and Philip vanished. The officers stood in stunned silence, their eyes darting around the sawmill to find him.
"I can't let you arrest him, even if he is a bit of a failure," a voice called out from the shadows. All eyes turned to the other end of the mill, where Joshua stood, holding Philip like a mere pup by the scruff of his neck. The wolfman hung limp in his grip, his terror and confusion palpable.
"How the hell is he still standing?" Silas muttered, forcing himself back to his feet despite his injured leg.
Joshua smirked, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Surprised I'm not knocked out or at death's door? Hate to break it to you, but I don't go down that easy. Even when I do," he said with a casual shrug.
"If your still up, then let's finish these bastards off!" Philip snarled weakly, his desperation clear. He squirmed in Joshua's grip, his fangs bared.
Joshua's expression darkened, and without a word, he struck Philip sharply in the jaw. The wolfman's body went limp immediately, his head lolling to the side.
"Just... one punch?" Silas muttered, his voice caught somewhere between awe and terror.
Joshua held Philip up like a sack of grain, shaking him slightly as if emphasizing the point. "Consider this your lucky day. For managing to land a temporary win against me, I'll back off for a little while. I'll even keep this pup in check for the time being."
Reinhard's eyes narrowed dangerously as he took a step forward. "How about you give yourself up? Maybe you'll get a lighter sentence."
Joshua let out a mocking laugh, cupping his hand to his ear. "What's that? Sorry, I can't hear you from all the way over there." He chuckled, turning his back on them as he began to walk toward the mill's far exit, his footsteps echoing in the silence.
"Stop right there—" Reinhard started, his voice sharp with authority as he began to pursue. But his legs faltered, and he dropped to one knee, his exhaustion finally catching up to him.
"Sir Reinhard!" Malvin called out, rushing to his side despite his own injuries. The other officers quickly gathered around, concern etched across their faces.
Joshua glanced back briefly, his smirk widening. "Looks like you're finally feeling the effects of that last hit I landed. Be grateful I'm feeling generous today. Otherwise, none of you would be leaving this mill alive." His voice was almost nonchalant, dripping with arrogance as he turned away for the last time.
Without so much as another glance, Joshua disappeared, carrying Philip with him. The officers were left standing in stunned silence, the bitter taste of loss settling over them like a heavy cloud.