*Dong*

Bells unceasingly tolled from a small watchtower beside the village's layered-brick wall just as the knights called for reinforcements. The sound reverberated throughout the entirety of the village and began to attract the attention of the knights who still lingered inside the village.

As the formation formed by the knights began to collapse, the enemy's forces started to pour in at the threshold of the wall's entrance.

"Raaagh!"

A few of them rushed towards the direction where Kaiji and Simonne both stood and cried at the top of their lungs.

*Clang*

But before the weapons they held even neared them, a towering figure stood before Kaiji and Simonne and easily parried off the blades from the grasp of their hands. The huge knight then swung his broad sword towards the enemy and made a blow using his fist that directly connected at the face of one of them, sending that person flying.

"Careful there."

The knight said as he gave Kaiji and Simonne a last meaningful glance before he charged straight through the entrance of the wall where the number of the enemy gathered the greatest. 

Kaiji turned his head over the person beside him and asked. "What should we do?"

"...We'll find a safe location for now." Simonne replied while scanning the entire surroundings. 

Kaiji still wanted to say something, but eventually held himself back. He wanted to join the battle and help protect the village. But they were, after all, weak. He would only be an obstruction if he join. With that thoughts in his head, he only helplessly nodded and obediently followed his companion's instructions as they ran back through the village, escaping the commotion. 

But everything wasn't easy as they thought, as several figures popped out from only god knows where and blocked their way. They had all the same well-built body and furry ears just as what Kaiji have seen earlier. But seeing those strange ears in close distance, Kaiji couldn't help but reach out for those tiny little things and rub.

"Hyah!"

The enemy fiercely charged forward and swung his sword towards Kaiji's chest. Simonne, however, skillfully fended the attack by raising his blade on time, producing a sharp sound of metal hitting each other. 

Kaiji inadvertently landed on his back and cold sweat began to flow down his forehead as his mind turned into disarray.

"Stand up!"

Simonne shouted as he fought with the group of the invaders single-handedly. He handled his sword like it is a part of his limbs, nimbly fencing the three opponents at the same time. But Kaiji could see that Simonne's expression wasn't a good one. He was clearly in a disadvantage.

Kaiji forcibly suppressed his anxiety, and immediately grabbed a dagger from his belt. Although it was called a dagger, its blade was longer that any other else of its kind. An anlace to be precise— a weapon perfect for close combat. 

He tightly clenched the dagger on its hilt and mustered all the courage he can get then fiercely kicked the ground as he charged forth.

"Gaah!"

Caught in by surprise, one of those three who was still busy engaging Simonne in a combat, was struck down by a dagger that landed on his neck— killing him on the spot. 

As the other two men noticed that scene, they couldn't help but grew even more enraged. They began to barbarically throw out bloodthirsty blows towards Kaiji and Simonne. Their eyes almost seemed like swelling from its redness.

Their former composure and collectedness now fell apart as they ferociously threw out random attacks. They seemed to have lost all their reason. But this became a good thing for Simonne.

Simonne glided to the side and slashed his sword out, severely cutting off the head of one of them.

The last remaining enemy threw another slash, trying to get Simonne off his guard. But Simonne just easily flung his sword away before he kicked the enemy on the chest that sent him staggering on his feet. 

Dashing behind the back of the opponent, Kaiji raised his dagger and struck out. The blade penetrated through the left-most part of the opponent's chest, piercing through the heart.

"I... w-we won!"

Kaiji couldn't quite believe what happened. He defeated an enemy— killed a person, for the first time in his life. Myriad of emotions fluctuated inside him. Although killing someone didn't necessarily gave him a good feeling, it, however, gave him a sense of achievement. Because it was an enemy that wanted to kill him in the first place, after all.

But just as they celebrated for their small victory, a hoarse scream came from behind, rapidly approaching them.

"Arghhh!"

A large figure flew out of nowhere and awfully landed on Kaiji's back.