With Teresa's sudden appearance in the battle, Oliver had the distinct sense that a minor alteration might have unraveled a crucial thread of the story.
Of course, that was not a certainty, as she had rescued the original character in the novel from the hands of the Settlement along with many others, but never in this manner.
That aside, Oliver was perplexed…
'How did she know to find me here?'
Teresa drove her foot squarely into Mara's face as the sword missed its mark, sending her hurtling several meters backward.
The young girl's eyes met Oliver's, and a flicker of shock surfaced on her face before giving way to a broad smile. However, there was no time for introductions.
Mara lunged forward to strike Oliver again with blinding speed.
Despite the strain coursing through her body, Teresa immediately placed herself between Oliver and Mara, intercepting the strike by meeting it with her sword, which she had snatched from the ground in a single motion.
Fortunately, the blade withstood the force of the baton upon impact, just as expected.
Even so, Oliver was unsettled by the fact that Teresa could perceive and respond to her speed so precisely.
She forced the frenzied female slaver back once more and said, her voice edged with concern:
"Can you still stand and fight, or will you collapse if I leave you alone?"
Oliver drew in a measured breath as he adjusted his stance and suppressed the pain in his shoulder.
"I will not collapse, but I cannot match her speed, so I will force her into predictable movements if you keep her occupied."
Mara let out a laugh laced with irritation as she tightened her grip around the baton while advancing slightly.
Her eyes settled on them with mounting hostility.
"Who is the pretty girl? Haha. Is she your girlfriend? You did not tell me you had an extra person I could kill, Oliver."
Oliver's expression darkened, while Teresa's face flushed a deep red with embarrassment.
'She is not my girlfriend,' the young man thought inwardly.
Without wasting another second, Mara surged forward and crossed the distance with a speed that rendered her position difficult to track. Her baton arced toward Oliver first as she sought to eliminate him swiftly from the fight, as he had been her primary target from the very beginning.
Oliver shifted in response to the faint disturbance in the air and stepped back at precisely the right moment, the baton passing just short of his face, while Teresa advanced from the side and aimed a strike toward Mara's ribs with her sword.
Mara twisted her body and evaded the strike before redirecting her momentum toward Teresa, bringing the baton down with force that drove her back a step as she raised her sword to deflect it, absorbing the impact with visible strain.
Oliver moved forward immediately and kicked a broken piece of wood toward Mara's line of sight while closing the distance at the same time, repeating the same maneuver as before but with a refined approach, forcing her to adjust her footing for a fleeting instant before she redirected her attention back to him.
Teresa seized that opening to step in once more and aimed another strike toward Mara, compelling her to shift backward while maintaining her balance, though the rhythm of her movement had already been disrupted by the combined pressure of two capable fighters.
The only reason she had yet to fall was her advantage in Speed Hue and the fact that both of them were in a weakened state.
Aside from that, it was evident Mara possessed no Stitches, judging by her complete lack of use, which would have otherwise granted her a considerable advantage in the battle.
Mara's expression hardened with irritation as she swung the baton toward Oliver's shoulder again, intending to further hinder his movement.
The strike connected partially due to Teresa's interference.
Oliver used that impact to shift his position and draw her further toward him, while Teresa moved behind her once again, closing the distance and preparing another strike that forced Mara to turn and block it.
Her footing adjusted yet again in response to the new angle of attack.
That slight delay did not escape Oliver as he focused on the sound of her movement and stepped in without hesitation, lowering his body and driving his foot into her leg at the precise moment her weight shifted.
The impact landed cleanly and shattered her leg instantly, robbing her of mobility as her speed diminished sharply.
She screamed in agony.
"Ackkkkkkk!!"
Mara attempted to recover immediately and raised her baton once more despite her broken leg, but Teresa struck her arm before she could follow through, knocking the weapon out of alignment and creating a direct opening before her.
Oliver stepped in at that precise moment and delivered a solid blow to her head, using the remaining strength in his body to ensure the impact carried sufficient force.
Mara's body collapsed onto the ground without resistance and remained motionless.
The hallway fell into an abrupt silence as Oliver steadied himself and kept his gaze fixed on her to ensure she would not move again, while Teresa lowered her guard slightly and finally turned to regard him properly.
"…You are alive," she said, studying his face.
Oliver turned away from the young girl and lifted Mara's body, dragging it along the hallway toward her room.
Without warning, the spider-like beast that had remained concealed throughout the battle leapt from its hole and lunged toward Oliver. However, Teresa reacted swiftly and severed its head with a precise strike before it could reach him.
A look of disgust settled across her face as it fell to the ground.
The young man scratched the back of his head.
"Thanks. You saved me twice… I really do not know why you went so far to do so."
Teresa shook her head erratically, sheathing her sword.
"You are from House Rothyl, right?"
Oliver simply nodded while focusing on binding Mara with the bedsheets and casting her to the side of the room.
After a brief silence, Teresa asked again:
"So what are you going to do with her?"
"…I have a set of questions to ask. By the way, do you think you can assist me in the castle? What is your name, though?" Oliver replied, feigning ignorance of her name.
Instantly, a wide grin spread across her face.
"Sure I can! I am Teresa, and you are?"
"Oliver."
Her heart skipped a beat.
'I finally know his name… now what exactly makes me so drawn to him? He is cute, sure, but that is nothing unusual… so why?'
Teresa became lost in thought, unaware that Oliver was trying to draw her attention by waving his hand in front of her.
The moment she realized, her voice faltered.
"U-uh… I am sorry. I got carried away. What do you need help with, pret— I mean, Oliver, yes?"
Oliver blinked a couple of times.
"Connect me with whoever helped you out here."
Teresa nodded rapidly, almost like a child before a parent.
Her eyes fell on his swollen shoulder, and she pointed at it. Her gaze was tinged with concern.
"She did that to your shoulder, right?"
Oliver glanced at his shoulder, swallowing the pain.
"Um… yeah."
His expression went blank.
'This cannot be happening. Well, all I have to do is make her and Kaden somehow discover the source of food of the Settlement and all their wrongdoing, then I find Rook, set the plot right, and get out of here…'
'Let me guess, it will not go down that easily?'