"YOU DID WHAT?!"
Selene flew into a rage, throwing a stool at the guards who were cowering in fear, constantly apologizing.
"Please, Calm down Princess"
Rose said as she walked into the room
"Calm down? Calm down? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN WHEN ONE OF YOUR BOYS TOOK MY PRECIOUS TOY AS A FUCKING MEATSHIELD?!"
The guards were shocked at the current vulgarity of the usual prim and proper princess, and were more afraid than anything.
They've heard the rumors of the kind a person she actually was, and after watching her display, they could only pray she doesn't kill them, or something even worse.
Rose bowed her head, trying to manage the situation.
"You have important business to attend to, m'lady. Rest assured, we'll send out a party to retrieve them immediately"
"That's not enough"
"Huh?"
"I want the idiots who made that mistake tortured and executed"
"But, Princess..... Don't you think that's a little extrem—"
She couldn't complete her sentence as her blood froze solid, figuratively— The Princess's glare was just that terrifying and Rose knew better than to question her when she was in such a state.
"Understood, my lady"
She assembled her forces immediately and headed into the labyrinth.
Inside the Labyrinth
Neither expected to see the other again, so both were overcome with a sudden mix of emotions— difficult to put into words, but easy to understand.
One side blamed the other for the death of some friends but still understood he was just a soldier following orders— he had not settled or come to terms with how to interact with him should he ever see him again, as he didn't expect it to be this soon or in a place like this.
As for the other, an important target he had reported dead was right before his eyes— and after all the fuss Mika made, she'll kill me if she finds out, he thought.
And more importantly, his promotion was at risk. A careless mistake like this might even get him "deported".
He collected his thoughts quickly and made the first move— leaping down the dead golem to stand face to face with Arc and the others, Yuki pulled Rei close to him, hiding her as the hunter spoke.
"How the hell are you still alive? Well.... No matter, I'll just have to kill you properly this time"
Arc knew flying in a rage and fighting a Master 3 was suicide, but the other beasts were closing in— If he enslaves all of them and sends them at him all at once, that might give them a chance to escape.
He had to stall for time, and perhaps find closure right here and now.
"Kill me? Have you forgotten the promise you made back then?"
"Huh?"
"You said if I survived Alpine forest, you'll grant me freedom, no ifs, ands or buts"
"Scoffs— Did you honestly believe that? The cradle abandoned you, idiot. Everyone wants you dead"
"But I'm not weak anymore, I can pull my own weight. What the cradle cares about is power, right? I can catch up to Ash, such a potential can't be dismissed easily by your superiors..... and I'm still very much loyal to the cradle, I'll never betray—"
"If you still have even an ounce of loyalty to the cradle, you'll kill yourself right now, liability"
One of the twins is the cradle's masterpiece who can take control of one of the previous overlord's general, Mugen while the other is a liability that must be eliminated at all costs
"... Your very existence is an abomination, so die! Ash Stollen"
He dove in, instantly closing the gap. The beasts had gotten within range of enslavement, however, no matter how you slice it, he'll be at least one step too late
Craig's sword was inches away from his body, when....
A stone came flying to his face from behind Arc's shoulder— this wasn't a problem, as the master class warrior saw through and dodged it effortlessly. The problem however, lay right in the blindspot he shifted his body to
"Oni clan martial arts, Rai Izanagi original: DRAGON CLAW!"
With her manifested horn and Indra, her clawstrike hit him dead on— it did no real damage, however, it gave Arc enough time to sink all the beasts in the surrounding area on Craig.
Pulling Rei by the arm, he and the others made a run for it with that window of opportunity.
"Damn it, how didn't I sense her"
Craig lamented, after dispatching all the beasts in less than a minute.
"Probably because you got careless, again"
The driver said from several kilometers back, through their communication device
"C'mon Dave, I was careful this time"
"Yeah sure.... Although, I did get a close look at the boy who just hit you, isn't that the same Oni who gave you that scar two months ago?"
"Girl"
"Huh?"
"You're right, and she's a girl, not a boy"
"Huh? You sure? Looked like a boy to me"
"I have a sixth sense for the ladies"
Craig replied with a smug expression, to which Dave burst into laughter
"So you got your ass handed to you by a little girl? hahahahahaha how are you not ashamed, pfft—hahahaha"
"Hey! She just grazed me and managed to get away back then, I didn't lose!"
"Considering she was the only oni to do so, I call that a victory, hahahahaha"
"Shut up"
Craig retorted, embarrassed.
"More importantly.....", Said Dave "... Need any help?"
Normally Craig's pride will get in the way and he'll want to chase them by himself, but this time, he was after a target he couldn't afford to let escape, no matter what
"Just help me limit their movements, I'll handle the rest"
"Sure thing"
Forming an imaginary gun with his fingers, Dave fired off two blasts of pure ygg which travelled down the distance, passing over Craig shortly later.
"The rest is up to you, Craig"
"Thanks, my friend"
Inside the Labyrinth— Arc's group
"If those beasts hadn't attacked him when they did, we might've died. Guess even they hate that guy's guts as much as I do, haha"
"That was reckless, Rei!"
"Haha, were you worried about me?"
"I'm serious!"
She noticed the look of worry on Arc's face and tears almost welling up in his eyes. He was genuinely worried about her
"I'm sorry.... But, I couldn't just stand there and let him talk to you like that! I had to do something"
Before Arc could respond, Yuki cut in, looking at Arc with a cold expression
"It seemed like you knew him, human"
To which Arc nodded slightly
"Figures"
"His.... Name is Craig, a hunter—"
"I'm aware"
"Huh?"
"We had a run in with him a couple months back, he killed a lot of our brethren so I have a bone to pick with him personally"
Arc's face dropped after that. So the cradle really did know about the situation in Baldur, they knew about the Oni and their suffering
And this was the choice they made? To kill the resistance? Unforgivable
*BANG BANG
Just then, Dave's shots accurately hit the legs of Arc and Rei— one for each, and they both fell on the floor.
"Mr Junpei, get Rei! I'll carry the human!"
Yuki said, reacting with his quick decision making. As he picked him up, Arc asked
"You're helping me?"
"We share a common enemy and a common goal right now, so I'm on your side for now. Besides....."
"Besides?"
"If I let you die, Rei will never forgive me"
He truly cared for Rei and always wants her to be happy, even if it meant helping someone he considered an enemy.
Arc smiled softly
"I guess you can be cool sometimes too, Mr Yuki"
"What do you mean "sometimes", brat?!"
They ran along the path as fast as they could, but that wouldn't last long.
"Liquid slash...DOZEN!!!!"
*CRASH
Twelve liquid slashes came flying from behind, severely reforming the area and causing rocks and debris to fall on Arc's group.
Managing to escape the rubble, they were met with the sight of Craig strolling towards them.
"Hope you've all said your goodbyes, cause you're about to die"
What do I do?, Arc thought furiously.
His current beasts weren't strong enough to even slow him down and there was nowhere to run. Even if they weren't injured, they couldn't outrun him, infact, the moment they turn their backs, he'll kill them.
So, there was only one option left
Arc got up, barely standing on his injured leg
"I'm the one you have business with, so kill me, let the others go"
[No, Don't you—]
"DON'T YOU DARE!"
Rei shouted, forcing herself up as she pulled Arc behind her.
"I'll buy as much time as I can, so run like hell" , She said
"N-No..."
The others stepped forward too.
"Sigh, Always the handful" said Yuki
"But...the little lady is right" replied Junpei
"Hahh... Guess I'm getting dragged in this as well" lamented Alfred.
"You guys..."
Rei looked back on Arc, smiling softly— her beautiful azure eyes conveying a thousand words— farewells.
"As adults, it'll be really uncool if we sacrificed a kid to save our skin, so just let us do this"
"R-Rei... "
Arc said, tears overflowing from his eyes
"You don't have to feel guilty, Arc, we're merely defending our pride, so wipe those tears and run as fast as you can, 'kay?
Not giving them a moment for their touching reunion, Craig sent a huge liquid slash at them, to take them all out at once.....
....
"You really are a fool, my husband"
Arc saw the slash frozen in mid-air, infact, everything was still. This reminded him of the time with the Shadowwolf
Time was stopped, and beside him was the Overlord's Queen, Irene Grace.
"You're still as naive as ever, I see. Are the lives of these mongrels really that important to you?"
"What does it matter.... I'm about to die anyway"
"Scoff— Like I'll let that happen"
She looked at him with an indifferent expression, although, her ruby red eyes looked like it was penetrating his soul
"Sigh—I'll have you know I'm not mad at you anymore.... You know what that means, right?"
The reason Yami and Alberto were out of commission for a whole month was because Irene refused to heal them out of anger so they had to recuperate naturally. However, if she wasn't angry anymore, everything changes.
She could bring them back in action right here and now
"Now tell me, do you want to save them even if they might come to hate you? Or resent you for keeping your powers secre—"
"YES!"
She was taken aback by his immediate response, then smiled a little
"Well then, goodluck, my husband.... I hope you know what you're doing. And..."
"And?"
She gave a devilishly beautiful smile as she looked at him, completing her sentence
"Give him hell, my husband"
Time began moving again, and the liquid slash was crushed into the ground with brute force.....
...By the Tier 9 Shadowwolf, Yami