Emery's first instinct was to run. Run where? They were surrounded. And besides, he wasn't the same person as he was all that time ago. But weren't these different? These were real humans. Real Awakened with powers.
He was confident against all class Ten Threats and just a bit of Class Nines under special circumstances like the one from before. Humans were a different story.
What could a chef do in this situation? The first would be to stay calm. Distraction would end up killing him here.
"You're Carlos' men?" he asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.
One of them laughed and pointed at the patch with the silver finger on it.
"Well, you can see the symbol, can't ya chef?"
"You're in Hemp's territory."
An outlandish silence emerged from the group. "You're working for that prick now?"
Emery didn't bother correcting them. They were opponents in the first place.
"That makes this a little better, I reckon," the person continued, stepping forward. "The boss will be sure to hear what you have to say when we bring you in."
This was going somewhere he didn't want. He had acclimated to it. Seeing friends die. Seeing family die. But the last thing he wanted to do was take a life with his own hands, especially not with the same knife he used to cook.
"Get lost. You've seen me deal with a Class Nine Threat. What makes you think you can defeat me?" he bluffed.
And that was a valid question.
"Don't get cocky. If we all were to go out here then we would be able to kill that little snake as well. Just because you did it doesn't mean we can't take care of you as well. So just hand it over and come with us peacefully."
"Can't kill you by accident!"
Emery flinched at the laughter. Elyn raised her fists into a fighting stance and the mongoose burrowed ahead of time. They were going to win the fight. But could he handle the things that came after?
It was time to find out.
"Don't hit them too hard, Elyn," he said.
One bandit rushed forward. He held a crude, short sword that looked like a slightly polished slab of metal attached to a stick. It was slow, painfully slow.
Emery dodged and slapped the man, sending him stumbling back a few metres. Another person tried to retaliate but was met with a solid punch to the guts from Elyn.
The person was sent blasting into rubble dozens of meters away. His mind blanked for a second or two. What was she doing? That blow would certainly kill him. Something he'd explicitly said not to.
He didn't have enough time to ponder that as all hell broke loose afterwards
"Don't kill them!" Emery emphasized again.
Carlos' men charged forward with everything they had in them, probably intending to kill them.
Emery dodged the first attack, slapping the person back. A kick to his knees followed, and he jumped in response. The moment of vulnerability in the air allowed a blade to pierce his arm.
He fell back down and jabbed the person who had stabbed him. Two arms came from both sides. He ducked and swept across with one leg, sending them flying off their feet. Almost at the same time, Citro flew out of the ground and scratched the first person it saw.
A faint yellow light appeared around its claws and came out as invisible but existing slashes.
The slashes slammed into their opponents, sending each one of them flying.
It was so painfully easy. None of them even had a chance to use their powers. Not quite, however. One of them had stood back and watched the show all this while. His companions collapsed on the ground, but he was still in front.
Small flames appeared on each of his fingers, looking like candles at first. But Emery wasn't willing to attack just yet.
He exchanged a quick glance with Elyn and Citro, almost telepathically telling them to be careful.
The man that had stayed back, though, still stared. The flames at his fingers burned brighter and extended a few metres away from where he stood, rather resembling claw blades than anything else.
A minute passed.
Thirty seconds.
And then he struck.
The man aimed for Citro first, unaware of the stupid decision he had made. The mongoose screeched and jabbed forward, a faint yellow light appearing around it. It had seemingly disappeared from view but reappeared next to the bald man with fire at his fingertips.
"HA!"
The flaming claws sliced through the hair, missing the nimble creature by a long bit. An opening appeared at his side, allowing Citro's attack to go through.
It was almost comedic the way the man flew back in response to that. The flames at his fingers flickered and he stumbled into Emery's way. The chef jabbed him, sending him stumbling once more until he finally reached Elyn.
Elyn let the man briefly recover, but she didn't intend on letting him go. A silvery light appeared around her opened palm. The man recovered slightly, but only in time to see the light on his face.
And then…
Bang!
Her fist went right through his face, sending blood and guts spraying everywhere.
A trickle of blood dropped on Emery's face. He didn't know what his initial reaction should be. Shock? Anger?
Gradually, the reality of the situation started to dawn on him.
"I told you," he muttered, "Not to kill anybody."
Elyn shook the blood off her hand, rather unsuccessfully, and approached the closest person on the ground next to her.
Was she even listening to him?
Emery frowned and reached forward. He grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around.
"Stop. It," he said, perhaps more aggressively than he intended.
She stared back with those innocent purple eyes of hers.
"They threatened and were laughing at you," she replied.
"I don't care," he said, gripping her shoulder harder. "You don't get to decide whether they live or die."
Elyn removed his hand from her shoulders and walked away. "They will come back."
He was left standing there with Citro. She was right, wasn't she?