章節 25: 5.1 Back Down

200 F.Y.

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"How have they still not discovered the body yet?"

I couldn't help but whisper to myself as I evaded yet another batch of surprisingly inept guards. The winding hallways of the barracks seemed to stretch on endlessly as I hefted my unconscious cargo on my back. I knew that it shouldn't be this easy to evade what was assuredly highly trained soldiers, but apparently, reality was trying to prove otherwise. I mean, I was far from a trained infiltrator, with my only knowledge of stealth techniques coming from the few stealth games that I played back in the day. So as I bobbed and weaved our way through the sun-kissed hallways of the building, I found myself wondering...

"Seriously, how the fvck are we not getting caught yet?" another whisper escaped my lips.

Carefully, I hid behind another large flower pot as I prepared to round the next corner. I wasn't really that hidden, and I might as well shout it for all of the world to see since these scarecrows masquerading as soldiers couldn't seem to even notice me and my still knocked-out sister. This shouldn't be possible...

*clink... clink... clonk...*

Footsteps. Judging from the sound of it, probably someone decked out in armor. Looking around, I found the nearest, darkest shadow beneath the window near another potted plant. Again, I did my best to remain unseen as I heard the steps getting closer.

*clink Clink CLINK*

I held my breath as a towering figure passed through my position. Another tin can, one with the same halberd that the first tin can that I ever saw was wielding. It cast a long shadow against the walls as it slowly made its way deeper into the hall.

*CLInk clink clink....*

I let out a sigh of relief. Guess it was a good thing that those helmets never seemed to offer any sort of peripheral vision.

"Mmmhh....." Lise? She's awake? "....Whu?"

That was a relief. I was kind of getting tired of lugging her around on my back. Not that I wouldn't do it if the situation called for it, but my knees were practically begging for a reprieve after skulking around crouched throughout the premises for the last few minutes.

"Hey," I whispered to my little sister as I felt her weight slowly disappear from my back. "You okay?"

"Where... where are we?" she mumbled as she slowly regained her bearings, rubbing a tear away from her eye before she suddenly jolted awake. "ARIA-MMMMPPHHHH"

Thinking quickly, I immediately clamped her mouth shut before she gave away our position. My hand vibrated as my sister struggled under my grip.

*CLINK*

"Shhhh....." I hushed as my ears picked up on yet another tin can near our location. "Keep calm."

Lise calmed down, nodding her head as she now understood the situation. Letting go of her mouth, she quickly assumed her position behind me, sticking to the dark side of the wall as much as possible.

*Clink Clink Clink*

I let out another sigh as the footsteps echoed farther and farther as the seconds passed. At least we didn't get caught somehow.

"Follow my lead," I instructed.

Scouting ahead, I tried to look for an exit strategy as my little sister trailed behind me. Nearing what seemed to be the exit, I spotted another guard blocking the way. I gestured to Lise to stick close behind me as we hid behind the stone pillar just a ways away from the guard. Waiting for an opportunity, the tin can didn't seem to be budging from his spot, however.

This was annoying. Did we even have a way to get this idiot out of our way?

"Any ideas?" I whispered to my companion as I gripped the handle on my katana.

"I don't know, Brother," Lise confessed, shaking her head. "A distraction, maybe?"

Distraction... Okay, that could work.

I observed our immediate surroundings, looking for anything that might be of use to achieve such a distraction. My eyes scanned what little amount of the hallway we occupied. Let's see... The chandelier's useless unless we cut it down, which would then only give away our location. There was absolutely nothing in the immediate vicinity that's throwable... Maybe some soil from the pots?

I looked for one of the numerous potted plants in our area, only to find that the nearest one was at least a few meters away from us.

"And it's right behind the guard to boot..." I breathed out to myself in dismay.

"Brother," Lise tugged at my shirt before taking my attention towards the floor. "How about the rug?"

The rug? Looking down, sure, the whole hallway was carpeted like a premiere walkway, but how would that create a distraction?

Glancing down towards the red rug on the floor, its length almost stretched out as far as the hallways themselves. It seemed to end just at the doorway that we needed to cross... just under the guard's feet.

Huh... That could work. It would blow our cover, but it would give us just enough time to get past the tin can and out of the building.

"Lise," I addressed her as I unsheathed my katana. "Can you fight?"

We would assuredly have to fight our way out of this dump now. While they were not on the same caliber as Ma- Aria, they were still gonna be good enough to put us down in a one-on-one scenario. Our stealth would be our only advantage. If we could get the jump on them, then perhaps maybe-

"Oh, who am I kidding..."

I sheathed my katana in resignation. There was no way we could fight our way out of this place, not as we were now. Even if we did somehow beat this guard, if he ever manages to alert anyone else, we'd be fvcked six ways to Sundays.

Beside me, Lise gave me a determined look as she unsheathed her own shortsword, looking positively battle-ready despite having the wind knocked out of her just a few minutes ago.

"Brother?" she asked, having noticed that I've sheathed my katana. "Are we not gonna fight?"

"No, we can't," I clinically replied. "We're in no way shape or form capable of dealing with trained Zahlers."

"But, if that's the case, then what happened to Aria?"

I shook my head as my eyes lingered on her shortsword. "She's dead. That's all that matters."

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