"O-Oh my God, I'm gonna be sick..." Meliana scrambled to her feet before falling again, Emma and Qicy attempting to catch her.
Tymera lay there, looking dead on the floor, eyes glazed over, as her arm was entirely blown off her body. The Vampire stood there, thinking to themselves for a moment before jumping on top of a nearby electrical line, looking down at the group. "Who to kill next~!"
"Ty..." Meliana whined, staring wide-eyed at the hole her body made in the building right across from them.
Emma rushed forward, leaving Meliana behind, before sliding onto her knees, aiming her rifle up into the air, and firing. The woman threw their hand up to block the shot, the bullet embedding itself into their hand. She scoffed, but hesitated as something began to bloom around her palm. "What is this...?"
As she was distracted, Emma crossed over to stand behind Dahlia's back.
Blood caked the asphalt, leaving a trail leading all the way to Tymera, her arm a great distance away from her body.
***
A Devilkin tail flicked wildly as they looked down at a group of children set out before them, scowling. The Draconic, Kobolds, Goblins, Drow-- an orphanage that held the outcasts of Draudilythill, watched over by a Devilkin Sister, a woman clad in nun garb. "Meli! Step up!"
A Kobold with black fish scales approached, eyes anxiously squinting as they tightly held their hands behind their back.
"Do you know what you did wrong!?"
"Ma'am!" A young Tymera raised her hand, a determined look on her little face. "Why are you calling for Meli instead of me!?"
"Because she's the one who broke into the headmaster's office without permission!"
"Does that mean if she got permission, she'd be allowed to break into the headm-- the uh... the headmanster's office!?" She almost bit her tongue attempting to say 'headmaster'.
"No, Ty! Regardless--"
"She didn't break in!"
The woman sighed. "Then who did, Tymera?"
"I was the one who broke into the headma--" Her face twisted up in frustration. "Headmasher-- his office!"
They rolled their eyes. "Tymera Guitierrez! There is no way you could've known how to break into the headmaster's office by yourself!"
"But it wasn't Meli!"
"We found a bit of shedded skin left behind-- not even that! It was on camera, Ty! You cannot keep covering for this miscreant--" She grabbed onto one of Meliana's horns. "Do you understand!?"
"Let her go!" Tymera's demeanor shifted from her usual, happy-go-lucky attitude to one of anger, as she leaned forward, preparing to charge at the nun in front of her.
"Tymera, stand down or you will be punished for disobedience!"
"Sister Camella." A gentle voice cut through the commotion as an older Orcish man with graying black hair wearing priestly garb approached the group.
"Father Phast!" She let go of Meliana's horn, the young Kobold rushing back to the group of students lined up in front of her. "I-I apologize for this unsightly display! I was going to punish--"
Phast put a hand up, cutting off Sister Camella. He sighed, "A punishment is not necessary, Sister."
"B-But! I have scolded them many a time, and they have yet to listen!"
"Are you even bothering to explain yourself to these children, though? To make them understand your perspective? Children are not dumb; they are inexperienced, so if you tell them what they need to hear, it will resonate with them, Sister Camella."
"Yes, Father." She stepped back from the group, hands clasped together, eyes closed.
Father Phast crossed over to the group, crouching down to get a better look at the hiding Kobold girl being protected by the mighty Tymera Guitierrez. He smiled, "Don't worry, you aren't going to be punished, not on my watch." He chuckled.
"What want?" Meliana asked in broken Agnestan.
"Yeah!" Tymera yelled. "What do ya want!?" She crossed her arms, huffed, and smirked, believing she had just scared this massive Orc man off with her excellent support.
Phast couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry. I won't let the big, scary nun behind me hurt you. I want to help. So... what happened? Why did you break into the Headmaster's Office?"
"He stole," Meliana responded.
"What did he steal?"
"He stole..." She paused. "He steal lovely object."
"What did it look like?"
"Necklace. I found a necklace out in the field..." A beat as she thought of the right words to say. "He said I was thief-- took pretty jewels."
"Well, that's not very nice of him, is it?" He sighed. "Well... if you ever need anything from the Headmaster, just make sure to communicate it to me, okay?"
Meliana tilted her head, giving a questioning look to the Priest before her.
"It isn't good to break into places-- it could permanently destroy the locks. Additionally, people greatly value their privacy. You wouldn't want anyone breaking into your room, would you?"
Meliana shook her head.
"Well, that's why there's been such an uproar, so... if you ever want an item back-- if there is ever a misunderstanding, et cetera. Just call me, okay?"
Meliana blinked, looking Phast in the eyes, waiting expectantly for anything more before nodding. "Okay..."
"Good." He stood up, turning to Sister Camella. "Do not forget my words today, okay?"
Camella bowed. "Yes, Father."
Tymera met the Priest's eyes with a cautious glare as he left.
Camella sighed. "Alright, everyone. You can go now-- it's recess, go, go!"
Tymera and Meliana parted from the rest of the orphans, making their way to a secluded hill a few dozen meters away, where they sat under a tree set atop it, secluded from the rest of the trees that surrounded them, just as they were.
"Who does that old man think he is, huh!?" Tymera shouted. "Steppin' in like that! I had that situation handled!" She smirked.
"No, tú no." Meliana took out an odd trinket from her back pocket.
"Huh!? I had it handled! I swear!" She pouted before breaking out into a smile. "Well, at least he helped a little, huh? My plan was a success!"
Meliana chuckled, giving Tymera a raised brow before going back to tinkering with some lock she had in the palms of her hands.
"What are you doing, Dragoncito?"
"No tienen cámaras. ¡Greg nos delató!"
"Greg snitched!?" Tymera raised her fist into the air in a dramatic fashion. "Damn you, Greg!" Tymera paused for a moment before looking back at Meliana. "Greg is the Goblin kid, right? The one with the glasses?"
"Yes."
"Did you see him, see you?"
"Tenía que ser él. Me miró mientras se lo contaba a Sister Camella." Meliana mimicked the scene in gestures, acting as the Goblin boy Greg, smirking at Meliana as he snitched. "Tenía que ser él."
"Wow. What a meanie."
"¡Que se vaya a la mierda!"
"Ay! No cursing, Meli!"
Meliana stuck her forked tongue out at Tymera.
At some point, an hour passed, Tymera sitting beside her smaller compatriot as she looked down at the orphanage below. "Hey, Meli."
"Hm?"
"When we become old enough to leave, do you wanna become adventurers?"
Meliana paused for a moment, breaking open the small lock in her hands before looking up at Tymera. The expression on her face was confusion and worry.
"Travel the world... become heroes?"
"No puedo ser un héroe."
"What? Why not?"
"Eres un héroe; eso es seguro."
"Why can't you be a hero with me? Can you be my right-hand man? Woman?" Tymera paused. "My right hand!"
"I'm not... hero."
Tymera tapped Meliana's shoulder, who looked up at her directly. Before Meliana could pull away, Tymera grabbed her snout, keeping it in place. "Who says you can't be a hero? P-Plus, adventuring isn't all about being a hero, y'know!? It's about the adventure! E-Even if you don't want to be a hero, you can still... like... come with me, no?"
"Is it possible? Us? Things like us?"
"Don't talk about yourself like that! Of course it's possible!" Tymera stood up in full, arms out in the air. "Of course you can be a hero! Anyone can also be an adventurer! Anything is possible!" She paused. "A-At least... I think anything is possible. I hope anything is possible..." Her smile widened.
"¿Por qué iba a ser yo la mano derecha?"
"Because I'm clearly the more responsible one!"
"You said I can be a hero."
"Yes, we can be heroes together... with you as my right hand--"
"Tú serías la mano derecha, ¿no? Yo soy el inteligente."
"Well, clearly you haven't been looking hard enough if you can't see how brilliant I am!"
"Was... smart?" Meliana pointed down to where they had gathered earlier.
"Now you're being mean!" Tymera laughed.
The memory faded, and only the lifeless face of Tymera lay there, splayed out against the rubble under her. "Damn you!" Ao screamed out, firing at the Vampire once more, only one managing to hit its mark as, in an attempt to dodge, she accidentally took a bullet in the leg.
The Vampire huffed. "Oh dear~." Still smiling as she purposely fell from the electric lines of the city, quickly landing on her feet. As she landed, she looked down at her leg. The bullet is poisoned? She smirked in response to this realization as numbness began to set into her leg. If I remember as well... She looked down at her hand, a flower blooming from the palm. That red-headed girl did this to Andrei. I have to take her out as soon as possible.
Her eyes flicked open as her fist clashed against a bullet from Viana's rifle.
Hertoo. Another shot was fired, instead of catching it in the air, crushing it between her fingers as she had done to Ao's shots before. The redhead is behind that mixed breed at the moment... She contemplated her next move before rushing over to Viana, quickly intercepted by a charging Dahlia.
The Vampire attempted to halt their momentum, but it was too late, being clothes-lined by Dahlia, causing the Vampire to spill across the ground, sliding for a moment before coming to a rest, rotating her body to look up at the one who foiled her plan.
She began to peel herself off from the asphalt below, a shot hitting her in the shoulder as she did so, coming from Meliana. She looked back at the Kobold, their eyes filled with rage, which only made the Vampire happier.
As her guard was down, Dahlia reeled back a leg, kicking her square in the jaw, but the woman used that momentum to bring herself back to her feet. "You all think you're so strong, don't you?"
The Vampire shook their head as a bullet was sent straight through their ear, doing minimal damage. She turned back to look at Meliana.
Qicy, now knowing that Meliana was back in the fight, rushed straight to the dying Tymera.
"Dahlia, no! Don't get close!" Emma cried out, but it was too late as a hand ran straight through the poor girl, thrown to the side with her intestines hanging out. Dahlia huffed, attempting to get back up, holding her now-opened abdomen, but couldn't muster the strength to follow through with her actions.
The woman licked her claw, Dahlia's blood healing her despite the rot that persisted within their body from Emma's ability. The Vampire smirked, looking over at the red-headed girl before launching herself towards her, arm reeled back for a strike.
Her hand was like a blur, digging deep into Emma's shoulder. Luckily for her, the Chameleon Armor took most of the blow, but it didn't stop her shoulder from bleeding any less than it had been.
Emma groaned, a blade slinking out and into her wrist. "Fuck you!"
With a slice into the air, she fended off the Vampire, the silver of their blade slicing through their face, causing them to cry out in pain.
"Fuck off!" A helmet was racked over her head, her entire body suddenly going invisible in that exact moment.
"Oh?" She chuckled, clutching the wound on her face.
Qicy slid over to Tymera, a look of horror on her face. "O-Oh my Gods, is-is she de--" Before she could say anything else, blood sprayed out from the back of their throat, eyes flickering for a moment. "O-Oh! O-Okay, I got you!"
The Vampire looked up at the night sky above, rolling her tongue against her molars.
"Damn Vampire!" Ao screamed out, whipping his scarf at the woman who caught it mid-air.
"I can smell her still..." Ao tried to wrench his scarf away from the Vampire, pulling as hard as he could before she cracked her fist across his head, the impact being heavy enough for blood to spray out onto her white dress.
"Ao!" Meliana's voice cracked as Ao's body dropped to the floor, an eye bursting out of a socket of his skull, blood pooling from his nose.
One shot after the other, Viana missed, panic beginning to set in.
Dahlia lay on the ground, dying, cheek pressed against the cold asphalt, a tear running down her cheek. She slowly lifted herself, pushing against her innards in an attempt to return them to her body, struggling to do so as her strength slowly leaves her, bleeding out.
"You fuckin' monster!" Meliana screeched out, firing multiple shots into the Vampire, just attempting to do the best she could to try and maybe scare this monster away-- a desperate attempt to save her friends.
The monster's head whipped around, tanking the shots coming from Meliana, distracted by the healing light being emitted from Qicy. "Oh no!" She cried as Tymera remained unresponsive due to her injury. "I-Is it too severe!?" She stood up, getting ready to run across the field again. "O-Okay, at the very least, she should be stable!"
"I was going to chase after the human girl." As Qicy ran, the Vampire appeared in front of them. "But after seeing that magic of yours... I figured it'd be best to take you out instead~!"
Instinctively, Qicy raised her shield, but it mattered not as she was stabbed straight in the throat and kicked away, left clutching her bleeding neck, tears welling up in their widened and red eyes. The Vampire sighed, straightening their back. This pestilence is bothersome. The rot is spreading, flowing out across her arm.
The woman smiled. "Only three left, no~?" She proceeded to sniff the air, following Emma's scent, ignoring the other two. She stopped, just a meter from Emma, as she, with tears in her eyes, rolled Dahlia over, placing her intestines back into her body.
Emma swallowed hard. "J-Just... k-keep pressure, Dahlia... s-stay alive, okay?" She couldn't stop herself from crying in this moment, looking up at this overwhelming force that stood before her with never-before-seen hatred.
"There you are~."
Emma spun, the mechanical tail on her suit slamming into the Vampire, causing them to stagger before she used the momentum to cut one of their arms clean from their body.
The woman couldn't help but laugh. "You! You aren't even that strong, yet you've brought me to this point!"
"I'm goin' to fuckin' kill you!"
"HAHA! Do you think you can actually do it?"
"No, I think we can do it!"
"Oh, don't give me that friendship bullsh--" Before she could finish her sentence, a bullet blew open the back of her skull. "W-What...?" From one eye, their nose, and the back of their head, a river of crimson flowed out. She stood there for a moment before collapsing face-first, dead.
Emma whipped her head around, looking at the dying Dahlia before rushing over to Qicy, closing up the wound on her neck. "C-Come on, don't die on me!" A look of relief goes over Qicy's face as Emma looms over her. Though it took some effort, Emma managed to seal the wound as sirens rolled in from a distance.
Before any police or ambulances could arrive, Emma managed to at the very least stitch up both Dahlia and Qicy before trying to keep Ao stable with the help of Meliana.
Luckily, no one in this fight had died; unfortunately, though, substantial injuries were sustained. Tymera had lost her arm and cannot afford the Regeneration procedure. Luckily, Dahlia and Qicy had made it out with no permanent injuries, in contrast, but that is not to say that Ao had not experienced a permanent injury of their own as well, losing an eye during the battle along with suffering a minor brain injury. He could recover from that at least, but he would have to be bedridden for a few months.
Once again, they have survived a near-death situation. Due to this incident, though, the Academy must not get personally involved, as students, off-duty, had just had their lives publicly threatened and were almost assassinated successfully.
It could only be assumed that the leader of these recent criminal activities is Simon Crot, owner of the Undercity Auction. Simon Crot, as of today, is a wanted man.