Obvious Trap (6)

Emily felt herself being carried on someone's back. This person seemed familiar to her, so she took her time to fully wake up. She then recalled the last thing that happened to her before she went unconscious, and tightened her grip on this person.

"Are you awake now?" asked Alicia.

Once she heard her voice, Emily nearly reeled back from surprise, but her drowsy self didn't have that much energy. Although Alicia got her to wake up, that was only by making her soul overcome the weakness of her body; the sleeping agent that affected her was still there.

Emily could guess what happened to her body, and they were away from the kidnappers so she wasn't too frightened. She loosened her grip and told Alicia that she could put her down, but she shook her head.

"You won't be able to move properly with your body like that. Don't worry, you're as light as a feather."

Emily smiled at Alicia's compliment, but once she felt more relaxed, she began to notice more about their situation. She didn't need to search hard to find the two women running behind her, or the man floating to her diagonal left. It was a good thing that he was unconscious, or else she probably wouldn't be able to control herself. Putting aside her mother and aunt, Emily seriously considered telling Alicia to abandon her father. No matter how much of her obligation as his child remained, he almost got her killed, so she was starting to regret coming here.

'I put everyone in danger, for someone like this?'

Her guilt and anger grew in intensity, but before they reached the peak, she glimpsed something.

"Alicia!"

"I know!"

Simultaneously as Emily warned her, Alicia jumped back and created a barrier in front of her. A single moment afterwards, an axe crashed into that spot, along with the person wielding it. It was a young man in green upper-body armour, and clad in a violent aura. His thick and muscular arms were emphasized as he picked up the axe with one hand, and turned towards them.

"Good, you dodged."

"You got out faster than I expected."

"I told you you weren't the only one with tricks up their sleeve. I didn't expect to use it on the trap I set up, but I'm prepared to break through an array or two."

'He must have a tool with an array piercing effect.'

Alicia had hoped that he would be stuck in the isolation barrier for longer, but since he was here she had to prepare for another confrontation. However, Emily was still not clued in to what was happening. She wasn't naïve enough to miss the suspicious signs, but she trusted him too much to assume the worst.

"Why are you two talking like that?"

Alicia placed more force into the hands holding Emily on her back, but she struggled to find the right words. Adrian, on the other hand, had already imagined this scene several times. Subconsciously, a devious smirk appeared on his face, furthering teasing Emily's faith in him.

"Wh, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that, Senior brother?"

He had simulated this reveal countless times in his head, but that frightened yet hopeful expression made him more ecstatic than he could have imagined. As the repulsiveness of his smile increased, Alicia wished that she could block Emily's eyes and ears, but this was something she had to learn.

"Senior brother?"

"Oh, Emily, my dear junior sister. Tell me, how did you feel? You came all this way to rescue them, only to have your family betray you."

"W,what...?"

She had accepted her father's cruelty rather easily, but this, this was too much.

'He has to be joking, he just has to be!'

With her pleading eyes, Emily begged him to stop destroying the faith she had in him. When he took a step forward, Alicia took a step back, but she was even more exaggerated in her response. She struggled out of Alicia's grasp and tried to escape despite her legs failing her. She used her hands and feet to push herself away while facing him. She didn't want to see this, she wished he would just call it a joke, no matter how much she wouldn't accept a sick joke like this.

However, the despair that ate at her, only fanned the dark flames of his heart.

"Are you angry? Do you hate me? Does your heart ache when you look at my face?"

"Se-senior brother..."

"Perfect, because you did the same to me."

Finally, Adrian lost his vile smile and took another step towards her with a cold expression. Emily froze in fear due to that change, but soon after, his face was blocked from her view by a back that she used to be on.

"That's enough."

Alicia stood between Emily and Adrian with her whip sword at the ready. Adrian stopped in place, but he didn't seem to be worried about her interference.

"Lady Alicia, must you involve yourself in this private affair?"

"Emily was entrusted to me, and I plan on bringing her back."

Emily's heart felt warmed by her words, but she didn't know if she should reach out towards that hope. On the other hand, Adrian scoffed.

"I went easy on you last time because I wasn't in a hurry, but it won't be the same this time."

"I pulled one over on you once, I can certainly do it again."

"Oh?"

Adrian took off his shirt, highlighting his splendid armour and hard biceps. They were already well-defined, but they were pushed even further as he clenched his fist and the veins in his body popped to the surface. In a battle between cultivators, flexing one's muscles would be a taunt at best, but this was more significant than that.

As his energized muscles reached stability, his true cultivation was revealed to them.

'Fourth level of the Earth Realm.'

Despite having had a suspicion, Alicia grimaced. She could read fate, so reading her opponent's strength wasn't any different, but she had hoped that his unreleased power came from an unorthodox technique rather than a straightforward increase in cultivation.

"Do you still think so?" he asked scornfully.

Now that he chose to go all-out, every one of his attacks would be several times stronger, so Alicia wasn't sure how long she would be able to hold him back for. It would be nice if she could get Emily to escape, but she knew the girl wouldn't recover that quickly.

'Shui, I hope you're prepared to pay me back for this.'

Alicia had no intention of dying here, and if absolutely necessary, she did have a way of killing him, but she placed her faith in the two most likely to come to her rescue.

'Brother, Shui, I'm counting on you.'

As for Emily's mother and aunt, they had no idea what was happening and their minds strongly encouraged them to run. Unfortunately, Alicia's pep talk made them push their limits so their bodies stubbornly refused to do anything but rest. No one was really paying attention to them and neither would risk themselves by picking up baggage like Emily's unconscious father, so there was a chance that they could have gotten away. However, whether by coincidence or because of a certain lady's plot, the two were helpless.