The doors blew open, sending them flying further into the warehouse. The members of Evilus were caught off guard.
The first to charge at the bewildered defenders was the Ganesha Familia led by Shakti. Following them were the maidens of the Astrea Familia alongside Ais.
The enemies near the breach were the first to be cut down, not even offering a chance of resistance, they were completely caught off guard.
"Seize control of the base" Alise yelled out to her Familia. "Neze, Maryuu, take the others and split up! We'll continue to press on!"
"Don't let a single one escape!" Shakti commanded to her squadron. "Take them all out and capture every last one!"
Evilus reinforcements arrived from the hallways that led deeper into the warehouse and from the second floor where they jumped over the railings and onto the attacks. But they were quickly cut down by Ardee.
These members of Evilus were still mostly low levels. How could they compete with a level 3, even with their numbers, it meant nothing in front of overwhelming force.
A crazed man leaped at Ais, who dodged to the side and kneed him in the gut, using his own speed against him. The man kneeled over and threw up the contents of his stomach before he was swiftly knocked unconscious with a quick jab to the back of his head by the hilt of Ais's sword.
Ais glanced at her surroundings and observed. She had already taken down quite a few enemies, but not nearly as much as the others who seemed to be cutting down someone every second. While she was a part of the vanguard, she was leaned more towards the back, acting as a sort of rear guard, picking off any stragglers or sudden ambushes from those hiding.
Ais hadn't killed anyone, she hadn't yet been pushed to make such a decision, but the thought lingered, too much to ignore.
She looked at the man she had knocked unconscious.
'What if I just killed him now?'
What was stopping her?
Who would stop her?
The words of her teacher echoed in her mind.
"Monsters wearing human skin."
"They are not confused. They are not redeemable."
"And they are not worthy of your mercy."
How many people has this man hurt? How many families has he destroyed? Why should he remain living?
She drew her sword close, the tip hovering dangerously close above the man's heart. Her eyes dilated and became hyper focused, her heartbeat raced. Ignoring the chaos around her.
Ais wasn't like those of the Astraea Familia, she had no justice. Her only motivation for power was simply revenge against the monster that destroyed her family. She knew this and would never deny it.
She couldn't be like them...
She was no judge...
Only an executioner...
And her blade will cut down all monsters before her.
No matter the form they take.
"Don't you know Ais, mercy upon your enemies, is cruelty upon your allies."
~Shnk~
...
...
"Mmm-mm, mmm-mm-mmm."
Much deeper into the base, a strange, hooded woman skipped through the hallways, humming as if she was enjoying a walk through the park.
Anyone who attempted to stop her was immediately taken down with a flick of her staff. A strange magic that was too fast for them to perceive would put them down.
Her humming came to an end as she stopped in front of a large metal door. Her hands clasped together.
"Yep! This door looks important alright!"
She removed her hoodie, revealing brilliant white hair with a faint pinkish hue to it.
"Hehe, ~Miss me?"
Merlin pushed open the door and walked into the large room filled with crates and barrels. She sniffed the air as she walked up to one of the crates.
'Yep, this is where the explosives are stored.'
She busted open the first crate in front of her. Inside was a neat row of primitive explosives that Evilus heavily used.
'Now then, what should I do with all these fireworks? It would be a shame to just let the Ganesha Familia confiscate them all. Perhaps I should-'
"YOU!"
Her thoughts were cut off by the sudden scream. She turned around to see one Evilus man standing there with a dagger in hand.
"Me?" She tilted her head and pointed to herself.
The man snarled and surged forward before she could say another word.
Merlin's eyes widened.
"-Oh."
For a heartbeat, she froze, mouth parted in genuine looking shock. Dark red stained the front of her clothes, slowly growing through her pristine white clothing, and she staggered back a step, trembling.
"Ow," she muttered weakly. "That… actually kind of hurt…"
She fell to her knees, her body bent over as she held the wound. Then, her body popped.
Merlin burst apart into dozens of tiny, chibi plush-like figures, each no bigger than a doll, tumbling across the floor in a colorful heap. Some wore tiny hats. Some had miniature staffs. One had an exaggerated angry face stitched onto it.
The man stumbled back with a strangled yell, confused at what he just witnessed.
The chibis immediately sprang to life.
"Attack!! Get Him!"
"Get his leg! Get his leg!"
"Why don't I have a staff? Hey, give me yours!"
"What?! No! Get your own!"
They piled onto each other, wrestling, squeaking, and laughing as several of them grabbed onto his boots and began tugging in an attempt to knock him over.
The man screamed and kicked wildly, shaking them loose. He backed away panicked.
"What- What the hell are you?!"
The chibis continued wrestling, arguing, and tumbling over one another as if he weren't there at all. One tripped and face planted, another climbed onto a third's head, and a fourth kept trying to grab his ankle, though failing due to its doll hands.
The man spun around to leave now that the intruder was dead, or at least he thought she was dead.
But his feet stopped moving.
The piles of crates were gone, and so was the floor beneath his fleet, replaced by smooth, pale stone stretching endlessly in every direction.
The walls were gone, the ceiling was gone, the doors were gone. There were no torches or lanterns, yet this endless space seemed to be filled with light to the point he had no shadow.
Just an immense, empty space fading into a distant, colorless horizon.
"W-Where am I…?"
...
Merlin hummed cheerfully as she cracked open another crate.
"Mm~ nope, not this one…"
She peeked inside another, eyes lighting up at the sight of neatly packed explosives.
"Oh! Jackpot."
A few steps behind her, the Evilus man stood perfectly still.
His dagger hung loosely from his fingers. His body was rigid, like a mannequin left standing in the middle of the room. His eyes were wide and unfocused.
Merlin glanced back at him briefly.
"Mhm," she murmured, satisfied.
She went through many crates, before stopping as she heard the fighting getting closer.
"Hmm, it would be suspicious if all the explosives were gone, but just leaving them to be confiscated would be such a shame... Then taking a third shouldn't be a problem and won't raise any flags, plus I don't think I'd be able to transport all of them."
"I guess I should start packing up." She stood up and walked over to the man. She put one hand to cover her face and raised her other toward him and struck a pose. "Drown in despair!"
"AAAGGHH!!" The man screamed at the top of his lungs before falling over, his body twitched until it became still, not even breathing.
"Well, time to go check up on Ais!"