"You never quit, do you? Just give up already!" Felt cursed at her. She was sure she had lost tail before coming to the loot house, and yet here she was.
"Sorry, but this isn't something I can give up on," The silver-haired girl said, conjuring ice ready to strike. "If you do as I say, I won't hurt you. So please, return my insignia."
"Tch!" Felt clicked her tongue, reaching for the knife. "Old man, let's get her."
"If she were just a regular magic user, I wouldn't hesitate, but this one's trouble," Rom replied.
"Huh? You're backing out without a fight!?"
"Young lady, you're an elf, aren't ya?"
"You say what?" Felt was quite surprised at Rom's words. An elf?
"No really, I am more of a half-elf." She corrected him.
"Wait, a half-elf with silver hair, don't tell me–"
"No, it's just an accidental resemblance." She denied Felt's unspoken accusations.
Silence loomed over the loomed house, tension kept on rising as neither Felt nor the silver-haired girl gave the other any ground. Before things could escalate, I intervened.
"Now, now," I said, lifting my hands lazily as I put on the best salaryman smile on my face. "Is there a reason we're going to cause property damage? I mean, we can just talk things out."
Rom muttered a curse and moved to stand, but I raised a hand to stop him. No sudden moves. The girl had enough firepower to turn this shack into twigs if she wanted. Or at least that's what my instincts are saying. And, if I remember correctly, Arthur's instincts are on a level that they could be classified as precognition.
"So, you're not with her," she said, almost puzzled.
"Nope. Just a poor soul who picked the wrong bar to get a drink."
Rom snorted in disbelief. I ignored him. The girl studied me for a beat longer, then shifted focus back to Felt. "The insignia," she demanded. "Now."
"No way." Felt denied her. "If you want it back, cough off some coin. My client's paying at least twen–uhh– thirty holy gold coins." Felt's lying skills were on par with a cougar's in paediatrics.
"Felt," I called out to her. "Remember what I said earlier? This whole thing is shady. If someone's paying twenty holy gold coins for something, then it's valuable, and if it's something valuable and they want it but don't want their scent on the ordeal, then this is likely a political matter. Just sell it to her at half price or a quarter."
"Huh? No way." This idiot.
"Look, which is more valuable? Some petty cash or your life?" I focused my attention on the girl, who was strangely fidgeting uncomfortably. "My name is Artorius. What is yours?"
"I'm… Emilia." She replied, another pang of deja vu hitting my brain like a migraine. Where have I heard that name before? This is strange. I pride myself on having a great memory, and yet I can't seem to recall something I clearly know I remember.
"So, Lady Emilia, how about it? Give little Felt there five holy gold coins, and she gives back your insignia."
"Hey, don't go deciding for someone else!" Ignoring Felt, I see Emilia fidgeting around a bit… wait a minute.
"Do you perhaps… not have any money on you at the moment?" She nodded slowly… great. "Well, in that case, you may take it for free. It was yours to begin with, wasn't it?" I turned to Felt, who was being held back by Rom.
"Felt," I looked her dead in the eyes and addressed her. "I have a bad feeling about this entire situation, and you should know right? When yer gut tells ya something's off, then there's something off. Please, give it back."
Felt looked disheartened. She had put quite some effort into stealing it, apparently. But she also knew I was right. Having lived in these slums, she knew what it meant to listen to your instincts. She just needs a final push.
"Please, she isn't alone." I let those words slip as a little cat emerged from Emilia's hair and floated in mid-air.
"Impressive. You managed to detect me." The talking feline praised me.
"A spirit!? So, you're a spirit user?" Rom explained, Thank you. "Felt, I think you should let this one go. A spirit user is bad news."
Felt bit her lips before fishing out the insignia that Emilia was talking about. "Here, take it and get lost."
"So, that settles it then." Good, we managed to dodge Murphy.
…
Shit, I just jinxed myself. I knew I had jinxed it, and I was proven right by the blade rapidly approaching Emilia's neck. I grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled her away before meeting the dagger with Excalibur sheathed in Invisible Air.
"Hello there." He greeted her before pushing the assailant back. Her face was shrouded by darkness, but he could make out her figure, a young, healthy female adorned with dark clothing. That feeling of déjà vu invaded my mind harder than ever..
"My~ that's very interesting," she commented, her eyes glued to the invisible object in my hand. "Such a unique weapon, to be invisible like that. What is it, if I may ask? A sword?"
At this question, I couldn't help but smirk. Oh, I knew there would be someone asking me this question when they first saw Excalibur! As someone subscribed to Project Mouthwash, I always wanted to use this line.
"Maybe." I smiled mysteriously. "Or maybe it is a spear or an axe. Or maybe I have been swinging around my trusty bow."
I couldn't see it properly, but I knew she was smiling, most likely finding my little skit amusing. Goodness, I am not only injured heavily, but also my muscles are sore and cramping. This is not going to sail smoothly.
She slowly stepped into the light, her face coming into clear view. My eyes, I felt them widening.
…
I know her. I know this woman. She was mentioned by my college roommate and managed to pique my interest due to her psychology. A killer who gained the lust to disembowel people after feeling the warmth of them from her first kill during a desperate struggle.
***
**
*
Memories that had been subconsciously held back came flowing through, two sets of them. Artorius—or as he referred to himself now— clutched his forehead. The headache from having his memories returned so suddenly subsided slowly.
He remembered now where he was, why a feeling of deja vu had been hitting him ever since meeting Felt and Emilia and who the assailant was.
"Elsa Granhiert…" He said, eyeing the woman in front of him. "Also known as the Bowel Hunter."
He heard a gasp from Felt, she probably recognised the nickname of the murderer in front of them. And he could see Rom's hardened expression as he picked up his club.
"Ohh, you seem to know me pretty well," said Elsa with a delightful and surprised voice. "Have we met somewhere? I'm pretty sure I would have remembered someone as handsome and cute as you," she continued, sending a flirtatious wink. "Or, have I emptied the stomach of someone you know?" she added with a wider grin.
"The latter." Artorius dryly spoke, and that someone was named after a certain horrible car company. "Don't bother, you won't remember him, Bowel Hunter."
"Lady Emilia." He spoke to the half-elf behind him, keeping his eyes on Elsa. "How long can Lord Spirit fight for?"
"For a bit more. By the way, call me Puck." The Beast of the End answered him.
"Then, Lord Puck. Could you halt her for a moment? I can finish her off then."
"Sure thing~" Puck replied while conjuring several dozen ice shards around him, launching them at Elsa, who moved quickly.
"A spirit? I wonder what your insides are like~" Elsa jumped from plank to plank, twisting her body to avoid the icy projectiles. Artorius rushed at her from the flank, attempting to corner her so that Puck could land a solid hit on her.
Zig-zagging around the room, she came from the left, and Artorius was not tricked. He quickly moved to the left, his eyes catching a glimpse from below, and he swung his sword down, parrying the uppercut slash.
Elsa used the force of his attack, flung herself above, spinning in the air as she extended one leg and sent it down toward Artorius' face. The blond-haired man took one step back, once again having just the time to dodge the axe kick. As soon as Elsa landed, she sprang forward and delivered another kick, this time catching him off guard. He managed to block the kick with his sword, but the force of the attack made him stumble back.
Not wasting this chance, Elsa moved her dagger to her right hand and swung it at Artorius' open right abdomen with strength. She was barely holding in her glee. However much to her surprise, instead of cutting his stomach open, her dagger screeched, clashing against the shining armour he was wearing. Several small sparks flew from the hit.
She was then quickly assaulted by a huge pillar of ice growing from the ground, trapping her.
"That was close, huh?" Puck commented from the side.
'Did this little shit just bait me thinking Emilia could just heal me later???' However, his rage quickly subsided as the ice encasing Elsa shattered into tiny pieces, her cloak disappearing into dust. 'She can do that!?' He was rightfully surprised. He had only binged the first two seasons and skimmed through the wiki. His knowledge had quite a lot of holes in it.
"My~ how lovely. I thought I was going to die for a moment." Her face still held an unsettling smile.
"Lord Puck, once more."
"Sorry, boy. I'm sleepy. My mana's gone, so I have to go now." He went to Emilia's side. "If anything happens to you, I will fulfil my contract. If it comes to that, don't hesitate to squeeze me out of my odo."
"Okay. I'll take care of it from here on." Emilia replied as Puck slowly vanished into motes of light.
"Well, shit." There went his easy way to victory out of the window. "Lady Emilia."
"Yes?" Emilia tilted her head, answering his sudden call out.
"I will leave my back to you." He dismissed his armour completely, keeping only Excalibur. He had noticed that Elsa couldn't harm him through his armour, but the very thing that protected him also slowed him down quite a lot.
If this continued, the conflict would soon devolve into a battle of attrition. He didn't know about his opponent, but in his current condition, he was sure to collapse from exhaustion before making any significant impact in the battle. So, to survive, he was going to risk it all.
With a burst of speed, he charged at Elsa, pushing her outside of the loot house where she couldn't use her cat-like agility.
"Yes~ lovely! Lovely!" Her expression grew more flushed as she engaged him at full speed now that he could keep up with her.
Emilia continued to shoot occasional projectiles of ice at her to impede her attempts at going for a killing blow. Artorius' instincts also kept him from being torn apart as he dodged attacks with such narrow frames that each one could be considered lucky.
She stabbed at Artorius' head, but he blocked by materialising a part of his armour, the gauntlets and then slashed at her feet. Elsa jumped up to avoid being cut but was hit by Emilia's ice projectiles. She was thrown off, part of her legs and arms frozen.
'Now!' It came out of him as naturally as breathing. The name of this attack.
『Strike Air: Hammer of the Wind King』
Everything around him was ripped apart, his blade cut Elsa's torso vertically, making a straight cut from top to bottom. It seemed to almost end right there.
Except it didn't.