Romanoff Dukedom: Eschira Forest (9)

Seconds before Ius threw Erwin, Ivar had already stepped far away from the trunk and was waiting for his wounds to heal.

The unfortunate thing for Erwin was, while he was having a talk with Ius, Ivar made it a point to leave a myriad of wooden spikes on the tree. He just repositioned some loose slabs and sharpened the ends with his claws.

The instant that Erwin made contact with the trunk, a few spikes pierced through his body. Strangely enough, none of them hit his vital spots. Ivar knew that Ius still wanted the old man alive.

After calculating the trajectory, he arranged the spikes in such a way that would miss Erwin's vital organs. That would entail that Ivar already had an inkling as to what Ius was planning. It spoke volumes of how they were aware of each other's propensities.

Ius wasted no time following through with his attack. He sprinted towards Erwin and gave him a punch in the guts. The young man didn't mind that one spike had put a scratch on his knuckle.

As long as he could hit Erwin, he would ignore the wounds that he would acquire in his show of violence. He discarded all the respect that he had for the man that he once looked up to. He might as well satisfy himself while he was at it.

"Erwin, your words have no bearing. You should know that."

Ius threw another punch. This time, it was on the old man's chest. The impact broke half of his ribs. It made Erwin puke a handful of blood that dirtied the young man's garment. Withal, Ius didn't stop.

For a while, only the sound of flesh hitting flesh resonated loudly within the forest. None of the observers dared to step in, afraid of earning Ius' anger.

Once a couple of minutes had passed, the lady in Fluger's arms woke up. When she opened her eyes, she immediately saw Erwin being beaten up. Bewildered and in fear, she pushed Fluger in order to escape his clutches. It was easy, considering that the young man had his attention fixated on Ius and Erwin.

The instant that the lady was on the ground, she made her way towards Ius with the intention of saving Erwin Pelt.

Lamentably for the lady, Fluger realized what had just happened in an instant. He wasted no time in catching up with her, disabling her from taking another step forward. The grip that he put on her arm was firm to the point that it could crush her humerus within a matter of a second.

Although she was in a great deal of pain, Zarya sought to swallow her yearning to scream. She continued to struggle out of Fluger's hold, but the difference in their strength was a world apart. It was as if she was an infant trying to abscond a grown man's clutches.

After a short while of desperately attempting to liberate herself, Zarya lost what little energy that she had left. She became nauseous in no less than a moment along with her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Her vision began to blur as she felt another wave of adrenaline. Unfortunately, her body couldn't keep up with her desire to save Erwin Pelt.

'Damn it! Nothing is going right for us!' Zarya screamed inside her head, drawing another breath of frustration thereafter. 'If I could just escape with Erwin, we can reconvene with the others! I have to save him. I have to save Erwin!''

At that point, Zarya couldn't help but groan audibly. Her attention wasn't on Fluger, so she didn't see him put his hand around her neck.

"What in tarnation are you trying to do, Lady? You should behave and observe. As long as I'm here, you won't be able to save that traitor."

Even if she desired to utter a retort, Zarya couldn't summon her voice. Fluger had clutched her neck to an extent that she couldn't even breathe properly, much more speak.

Momentarily, a teardrop rolled down her cheeks. She felt afflicted that, after all the things that Erwin had done for her, she couldn't even save him from trouble. She had no regard for her life. The lady just wanted Erwin to get out of their current situation.

Zarya wouldn't be able to live in peace, knowing that Erwin had sacrificed his own life in order to remove the suspicions thrown at her.

At the end of the day, they had failed in averting the surveillance of the Romanoffs. If things progressed as they were, Erwin would only die in vain. At the bare minimum, Zarya wanted to be the leverage for her savior's freedom.

Both Erwin and Dorothea conspired to keep her safe. Only, Erwin acted as if he was oblivious of Zarya's identity in order to protect the three of them from the Duchess. They had to have at least one among them who would be free from suspicions.

'Let me go! I said, let me go!' The lady continued to scream inside her head, 'I need to save Erwin, please. Erwin… Dorothea… we have to-- we have to escape now. We have to escape and live somewhere else...'

She still attempted to struggle out of the young man's grip. Withal, her energy was on a decline while Fluger's strength remained the same.

"You know, lady, your life will be spared if you just stay still. Ius is already determined to end Erwin's life. Nobody can stop him now." Fluger stated matter of factly, ignoring the lady's silent pleas.

Fluger had no sympathy for Zarya at all. However, he has had enough of looking at her being so miserable. He didn't want to deal with the woes of a lady that he wasn't acquainted with. Also, they were in the middle of an important mission. He didn't yearn to be stuck beside someone who wasn't all that significant.

Yes, Zarya wasn't high in the list of their priorities, considering that she was the main suspect for attacking Herkel.