Neither guard flinched or looked surprised when they saw him. Instead, the first one, Igor, took a small step forward and instantly appeared in front of Emery. This guard held a broadsword and smashed down on Emery's own 'mock' weapon.
The chef reacted just in time, holding up the knife. The small fruit knife blade shattered into multiple pieces, causing the blade to fall onto Emery's chest.
'Fuck!'
He kicked down at the opponent's suit-like armour, enforcing it with a bit of the green aura. The kick hit before the blade, sending the opponent skidding a few metres to the side.
'That was a close one. But I can't let them think these injuries are too serious.'
After a bit of thought, he reached into the pantry once more and pulled out the one item he'd disregarded ever since he'd gotten it. You would think he'd pay more attention to a system item, but he didn't.
The wooden ladle. Despite his light being so heavy on the line, he couldn't help himself from wanting to test it out. The two parts of him argued.
Cautious remnants of his old self, and then the brazen and powerful new persona he'd adopted in these past few days.
After assessing his options for a while, he grinned and then held the ladle in front of him like he would a sword or knife.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?"
The guard duo looked at each other in a slight mixture of confusion and amusement.
Owain, the second guard, shook his head. "Ignore him and just finish it up quickly. The ruckus outside is getting worse. I assume he's part of them,"
His companion nodded, then held the blade forward once more.
Red sparks of electricity covered his entire body once more. Emery thought it was simiilar to that one speedster from before, but this was clearly different in some way.
Igor, the first guard, barely gave him enough time to organise those thoughts in the first place. He placed one foot in front of another, then the sword high in the air above his head, in something similar to a fencing pose.
The lightning only became more obvious.
"Die,"
BOOM~!
He disappeared from the spot where he currently stood and appeared directly in front of the chef.
'God, he's quick!'
He held up the ladle in response and tapped into the mysterious energy to block. Lightning and a green formless energy clashed, but it didn't stop there. Hardly.
The guard pushed back even harder. The red sparks of lightning that danced idly around, separated from his body and shot straight towards Emery. He had no way of blocking such attacks, either.
All the bolts struck him, undefended. Each one sent shivers through his muscles, causing them to completely relax for a brief second. Igor took advantage of the window of opportunity and pushed once more.
BANG!
Emery crashed back, skidding on the ground's surface as he did so. The guard walked forward, slowly, brandishing the sword and about to finish the job.
'Need to get up,'
He gripped the still-intact ladle and got to his feet. A knife was a far better tool for fighting. He couldn't even use most of his skills with the ladle.
'No, I haven't tried yet. Not that it isn't possible!'
The ladle became lighter, and his mind clearer. He focused on the opponent and harnessed everything he'd learned so far. There was a distance of a few metres between them.
He charged forward with the ladle in hand. All of a sudden, it seemed like the blade disappeared from his hands. Like he was no longer holding it anymore.
[Ding!]
[Stealthy Blade has upgraded into Hidden Weapon!]
[Effect- Any tool within the hand while sprinting forward will be hidden from sight. Most targets will fail to notice it.]
Unfortunately, his opponent wasn't the most targets.
Igor caught the tool with a single hand and sliced his own sword down on Emery's free arm. The chef saw that and kicked into the air abruptly, hitting the guard's helmet with a solid energy-enhanced roundhouse kick.
His adversary stumbled back but was still steady and virtually unaffected.
Emery growled, frustrated. This was taking too long. And the injuries were getting in his way far more than he expected them to.
He never realized just how reliant he had been on his left hand. Cooking and fighting weren't that different. Both disciplines require intense concentration and physical stamina.
One more go. He just needed one more try to make the plan work. Citro should be out any second now. It would be a shame if he was the one putting a strain on their mission here.
Igor and Owain. Igor was already so difficult to win against. He could hardly imagine Owain himself. The second guard stood to the side, unsmiling and expressionless even under his helmet.
"You do not recognize me, guys?" he asked, trying to buy a little bit of time.
Igor frowned. "Should we?"
Emery laughed, "Well, yeah. Considering your boss had been trying to recruit me for the past two weeks."
The sword-wielding guard looked to his companion, who displayed a similar expression of confusion.
Owain spoke in that same clear voice of his, "The chef?" he asked, then concluded upon seeing Emery's non-response, "We never did get why the boss was trying so hard. You don't look like the same guy he was going after, but no one else should know that."
"It is me," he admitted. "I have gone through a bit of a lot recently. I guess you could say that I'm here to pay my respects."
On the outside, he looked confident. Inwardly, he cried for his summon's help.
'Come on Citro, where are you…'
Both guards frowned.
Finally, Owain decided and lifted his own weapon; a large axe with a head painted the colour of blood. Several ores made up the handle of the axe and it looked heavier than Emery itself. Yet, the guard lifted it with ease.
"Your respects would be better paid if dead,"
'Citro…'
And then…
BOOM~!
The door exploded into bits and pieces, and a mongoose dragging a massive sack of items came running through.
It took Emery a moment to process.
'Wait what… That's too much. I didn't ask for that much!'