A defender did manage to spot Mila before she reached the healer. After all, her current target was the second most important in the room, right after the Noble. Bodyguards were watching over the man as he patched up an injury after injury.

 

But from the three men who stood behind the healer, two of them had their eyes drawn to the wild melee ruining the place. And the third just happened to cough and catch a glance of Mila’s approach.

 

The man even warned his peers, but the ear-splitting sounds drowned his surprised squawk. Mila managed to get to him before he could do anything more. The dagger in her hands reached his throat, piercing his vocal cords and silencing him for eternity.

 

A few more eyes found her as the dead body started to collapse. The vague recognition made Mila frown. She continued forward. Her goal was not just the healer but the mages next.

The two remaining bodyguards failed to react. Only now, they turned their heads and raised their weapons. Too late. Mila tore the healer's life away from him. The injured person followed next, as he was too feeble from the head trauma to resist.

 

And then it was time to move back. Chaos ensued as screams of anger and desperation announced the healer's demise. Mila ducked under a wind scythe cast by one of the mages. The spell hit squarely in another defender’s chest, heavily injuring him.

 

More people turned their attention towards Mila, and she was forced to dodge another few attacks aimed at her. She glanced at the mages, who were now surrounded by several people ready to throw away their lives.

 

It was time to vanish. One of the noble’s retainers glanced towards Mila, and she didn’t want to deal with the chaff and the formidable man at the same time.

 

Not that it was simple. Mila danced behind a slower man who had tried to skewer her with his spear. A poor choice of weapon when fighting in such confined spaces. She retook a look at the Noble. The way he used his halberd defied expectations. An exception to the rule.

 

Mila pierced the back of the spear-wielder. The deadly wound didn’t slay the man right away. No, he had another purpose - to increase the chaos. She pushed the squealing man towards the incoming attacks, pushing those away, then retreated.

 

Or, Mila tried to retreat. She had gathered too much attention with her stunt. While the more capable part of the enemy forces were engaged in the front, it left the weaker troops to chase her around. That and one of the mages had taken an issue with her. Instead of buffing his comrades, he was continuously throwing various wind spells her way.

 

A simple wind bolt passed Mila’s head harmlessly. A wind scythe tried to cut off her paths. A grab at her breath tried to suffocate her. Another bolt followed. Then, a cutting wind tried to grab her cloak.

 

Of all the attempts, the one taking away Mila’s breath was the most annoying. She moved her mana to contest with the pest. Inwardly, she was the queen. But before she could draw in the air, it was pulled away.

 

But while it was a problem, it was mostly just annoying. Mila used a crate full of stones to screen herself from the mage’s eyes and felt the air around her relax. After taking a breath, she sprinted away, staying low.

 

“GET HER!”

 

Mila wondered who they were referencing. Her own work had not been a decisive blow. The stronger fighters were all still engaged in melee. She spared a moment to check her group's progress.

 

It was too slow for her taste. Mila also noticed the Messanger was nowhere to be found. If the man didn’t deem it worthy to act, it was up to her to do so.

 

Every moment spent fighting meant the Military getting closer to their position. They had to move further down before they were squashed between two larger forces.

 

While cursing the complicated situation and cryptic assholes, Mila changed her tactics. They had a healer in Ugum. She could afford to play more daringly.

 

The people chasing her were beneath her. Mila suddenly changed directions, diving back into her pursuer's arms. The surprised woman didn’t even swing at her before receiving two quick stabs, not killing her but disabling her enough to make her useless for the fight.

 

It did earn Mila a couple of cuts in her robe and less air in her lungs to work with. So nothing. Feeling more confidence surge in her blood, she formed a daring smile beneath her mask.

 

The couple of enemies that met Mila’s eyes trembled. Had they noticed her smile, she wondered. Had it charmed them to the point they gave her a chance to move towards her next target unhindered?

 

Be as it may, Mila would take the unexpected boon. Her steps carried her further. The mage’s spells struggled to keep up with her. She weaved between three people trying to pin her down.

Five more waited to do the same. But Mila’s steps didn’t waver. She even sped up. It was…

 

Surprisingly easy. Without the caution, Mila found her movements to be sharper and more deadly. As proof of her feeling, two bodies collapsed behind her. Both had their throats slit.

 

It felt strange. Mila had always fought with caution. Her body was too frail to engage in a fight with abandon. A stray hit could take her out for good.

 

And yet, that was exactly what Mila was doing. She jumped over a corpse she had just made. A thin man in a moustache chopped down with a sword at her head.

 

The attack was easily sidestepped. The moustached man screamed as his wrists were slit open. Mila barely heard the Noble’s enraged roar over the howl. There was an order to get her.

 

Mila allowed another small smile. This was what she had hoped for. Two of the Noble’s retainers split away from the most important fight in the room.

 

With this, Laura and the rest could push forward much quicker. The noble won’t be able to hold back the mercenary leader without proper support.

 

Of course, now Mila had to survive much more dangerous opponents.

 

The air mage realised that as well. While his comrades continued to empower the Noble, he madly laughed while pointing at Mila in glee. Clearly, the made thought it would be the end of Mila.

 

Grabbing one of the remaining three throwing knives, Mila flicked it towards the annoying mage. Mostly to avert the man's attention to something else. But she did find the uncouth laughter irritating.

 

Mila used a create to avoid a swing at her back, and while rolling away from a tackle, she glanced at the mage.

 

The fucker was choking on Mila’s dagger. She almost stumbled into a repeated tackle in surprise. Somehow, her throwing knife had found the mage’s throat. The idiot hadn’t bothered to avoid it. How had someone with so little brain matter mastered spells?

Mila realised it wasn’t important, but her mind struggled to find the explanation for the unexpected luck. But in the end, she decided to accept the odd reality. This certainly freed up the space she could move, as now there was no mage constantly trying to suffocate her.

 

Really. Now, Mila appreciated the clumsy attacks by the weaker guards more. They might not be effective, but they did what they had to. They tried to survive.

 

And the two retainers were downright dangerous. The area they were fighting in wasn’t large enough for Mila to avoid skilful opponents for long. Not with all the other people chasing after her.

 

Mila used an unfortunate guard as a shield against the retainer’s heavy blow. The poor woman she stood behind was thrown in half.

 

But while Mila was splashed with more blood, she also managed to thin out the amount of enemies even more.

 

After sacrificing another throwing dagger to kill a mage bodyguard, Mila realised her group was now handily winning. She dodged behind unused support beams and, with a swift motion, killed the man hiding there.

 

However, they needed one more push to gain decisive momentum. Mila grabbed a discarded sword from the ground, vaulted over the temporary shelter and chopped it down on one of the retainers, making him unable to return to his sire’s side.

 

The blow was blocked - if barely. And Mila was now in a disadvantageous position. The other retainer noticed that and ignored the Noble’s call. He lunged at Mila while she was still airborne and tried to skewer her.

 

A mistake. Agata’s arrow found the attacking retainer’s back. The projectile easily pierced his armour and dug into the man’s heart.

 

With this, Mila knew the fight was over. The other retainer sent to deal with her could still make things problematic for the rest, so she spent a moment engaging with him in an unrestrained melee.

 

Each of Mila’s attacks was showy and insidious. Her sword lost strength against the man, and she was pushed back. But in four exchanges, the man slipped up. Too engrossed in finishing the encounter, he underestimated Mila’s swordplay.

 

Because Mila was luring him. She couldn’t overpower the man, but she didn’t need to. As the retainer slashed with his sword, she let go of hers while slipping into his embrace with a dagger appearing in her hands.

 

The retainer had been too impatient. The noble’s calls had demanded the man’s return. And now, Mila had denied the strongest enemy in the room his reprieve.

 

Mila’s dagger plunged into the retainer’s abdomen. He would survive a little longer, but only just. She slipped away from the dying man, avoiding the incoming enemies who had paused approaching, fearing the deadly swings.

 

Or, so Mila had thought. But instead, she found her surroundings emptying. The enemies were falling back, fearing her bloodied visage. She caught the sight of some people running away.

 

A luxury the Noble didn’t have. Mila watched Laura, Isabel, and Virr land a blow after blow against the formidable man. His halberd was made useless by the numerous enemies.

 

The mages, in their desperation, flooded the room with fire and tried to retreat. Mila frowned in displeasure. The fire was dangerous in tunnels like these. But a moment later, Raran appeared and summoned sand that fell on the rising flames - smothering them before they could gain strength.

 

Mila nodded to the mage and then found Agata. “Come. We must chase down as many as we can.” 

 

The scout nodded and headed towards the tunnel that served as the escape path for their routing enemies. Virr and Verte joined Agata while the rest finished enemies that were left in the room - including the Noble, who made the last effort to fend off Laura. 

 

Even Ugum stuck his head out of the tunnel they had arrived from. The healer began checking for any injuries they might have.

 

Mila would certainly require Ugum’s assistance. She began feeling the weight of the earlier injuries she had acquired in the fight with the siblings.

 

But first, Mila hunted down one of the mages. She drove her dagger into the woman’s back while pointing to the other two for her comrades to deal with.

 

Then Mila headed deeper into the darkness. With her passing, screams of helpless desperation and breaths of death followed. She killed more and more.

 

Sometimes, like when taking the life of the mage or the retainer, Mila absorbed their mana. It kept her going. She chased down more and more of the fleeing enemies.

 

And soon, there was no more left in front of her. Mila stood in the darkness, feeling cold. She cleaned her dagger and turned back. It was time to return and hug Isabel. She needed it. Both of them did.