Caught By The Wolf

Ayrete stood still in the midst of the chaos, admiring the explosions. He wasn't worried about getting caught in it. He would be extracted before it would reach him. In the meantime, while waiting to leave, Ayrete's eyes were fixed on Rui's back. As much as he wanted to kill her right here and now, it wasn't the time yet.

Soon. Not now. He still had plenty of things to do. They will meet again very soon. "What's this?" While watching Rui run, Ayrete spotted a familiar face in the panicking crowd of soldiers and grinned. "Well, well. Who do we have here? This saved me a lot of trouble..." The person who he had his eyes fixed on was no other than one of the princesses of the kingdom.

As for which one it was, Ayrete didn't know. The queen was the only one whom he knew the face of. "Iris or Wompa..." Those were their names. He didn't really care much about matching their names with their faces. He only knew one thing about the two. If one of them was here, then it meant that the other was close.

"Change of plans then..." Ayrete chuckled deviously. His employer was not going to like it, but they will understand the reason why. Who knows, he might even get a bonus for getting rid of them here.

The floor next to Ayrete exploded and a small cavity opened up that led underground for him to escape. He could leave now and forget about the princess, but an opportunity like this... he wasn't going to let it pass.

Ayrete turned down the idea of escaping and readied his blade. Charging through the explosion, the soldier followed right behind the two royal guards. It didn't long for the two to notice Ayrete following them, and he was running faster than too.

"He doesn't want to let us leave..." Lentis knew what had to be done. "I'll hold him back. You get everyone you can out!"

"What-"

Before Rui could say anything. Lentis left her side and drew his sword. He pointed it at Ayrete who was running at him. Rui stopped as well and turned around to help Lentis but he refused.

"Don't make me repeat myself! We're both going to die here if we don't leave!" It was either one of them stayed to hold Ayrete back, or the both of them died.

Rui looked at Lentis hesitantly, unsure of what to do. "Just go!" Lentis shouted again. They didn't have the time to stand here and argue.

"..."

Rui knew Lentis well, and she knew that he was really planning on staying behind to buy time for her and everyone else to escape.

The explosions came nearer and nearer. Time was running out.

"Rui!"

"...I'll come back for you! Just hold on!" This wasn't the end. Rui's legs felt heavy and she was reluctant to leave, but there was nothing she could do. Lentis made up his mind and he was going through with it. She couldn't convince him otherwise. "No..."

Lentis was all she had left from Silverfield. She wasn't going to abandon him like this. They fought by each other's sides for years. "I'll join you!" Rui pulled out her sword as well and ran over to Lentis' side.

"What are you doing!? You need to go now! His target is you!"

"I won't leave you. We're all that's left of Silverfield. It's either we both live, or we both die," Rui said stubbornly. She wasn't going to accept anything else.

"Why-"

"Don't talk! He's coming!" Rui interrupted Lentis and told him to focus on the opponent in front of them. Ayrete was almost within sword's reach.

A massive explosion uplifted the area just meters behind him, turning more of the colosseum into ruins. However, Ayrete wasn't fazed even the slightest by the bomb going off so close to him. The next one would hit all three of them if they fought and they all knew it.

Even so, did Ayrete despise Rui that much that he was willing to give up his own life to kill her?

"He really is crazy..." Rui shook her head. She and Lentis raised their swords and swung at the traitorous soldier when he was in range. The soldier didn't stop running, and neither did he use his sword. He just charged right through a small crack, shoving the two out of the way.

"What!?"

Ayrete slid to a stop behind them and said in a disappointed voice, "As much as I'd like to kill you two with my own hands, I have a bigger fish to catch. Sadly you'll have to die to the bombs..."

Ayrete wasn't an idiot that would throw his life away so simply. His target wasn't the two of them. He laughed and continued running towards the crowd.

"Bigger fish? What is he talking about?" Lentis asked, trying to figure out who could possibly be worth killing more than them. He scanned the crowd and spotted a girl with red hair. His eyes widened. What was she doing here!?

"That's the prin-"

Lentis never got the chance to finish his sentence as the floor they were standing on shook and burst open, sending tremors to their bodies.

"Lentis!"

Rui tried to grab Lentis' hand and he tried to take hers but they were too far apart. The two of them fell into the dark hole and were buried by the rubble that followed.

Ayrete glanced back and smiled when he saw that the two annoyances were gone. "Good, now I can take things easy." He plowed his way through the crowd of hybrids which ignored him. The reason for this? There was a small crystal earring that was emitting a smell that made them think he was one of them. The repellant was working like a charm.

Now, next up. "Out of my way!" Ayrete cleaved all the soldiers and guards who were in his way, cutting them down with one strike each.

"Ack!"

"Backup! We need backup!"

The soldiers and guards were in disarray, and Ayrete had no problem whatsoever getting past them. They were too busy holding back the hybrids that they didn't even pay attention to him as he ran towards the princess.

"Huh? Iris saw Ayrete coming for her and recognized him as one of the men that tried to kill her and her sister before. "You! It's you!"

"Yes, it's me! Now, if you don't mind, I'll have your head!"

"Protect the civilians!" The guards next to her rushed to her air and stood in front of her, forming a wall to protect her.

"You should've retired yesterday!" Ayrete sneered. He pitied the people who stood before him but didn't hold back.

"Argh!"

"Rah! He's getting through!"

As the last guard crumbled to the ground, Ayrete grabbed the princess by her neck and lifted her. "Where is your sister?" he demanded.

"I-I'll never-" Iris felt the hand tighten, depriving her of oxygen. Her vision blacked out for a split second before coming back.

"Spill it! I'll give you a quick death if you do," Ayrete calmly offered her. Things didn't have to be so difficult.

"N-never!"

"..."

Ayrete wasn't happy with the answer and choke slammed Iris onto the floor. *Gasp!* The injury on the side of the head which hadn't fully recovered, reopened and it felt like her head exploded.

Iris scratched Ayrete's arms, kicked his legs. She did everything she could in a futile effort to free herself. These things didn't work well when the assailant was suited in full body armor.

"..."

Iris saw the man's unamused glare and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the next blow. She was scared. She felt her blood rushing to her head. Her head was ringing and her vision was going black and it felt like her skull had just split open. "D-o your worst-"

Iris wasn't going to sell out her sister. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to drag Wompa with her. She knew that she would do the same for her. Well, especially considering the fact that Wompa was mute, but yeah... She would never sell her out.

"Soldiers, surround him!" More and more guards poured into the arena, unaware that the bombs were seconds from reaching the entrance. They spotted Ayrete holding the princess and surrounded him.

"Let go of the girl!" They didn't know who Iris was but it just looked like a man attacking an innocent civilian.

"..."

Ayrete didn't do as they said. While holding onto Iris' neck, he lifted her up and raised his sword.

"You... Get him!"

The soldiers attacked Ayrete and tried to save Iris but they were far from being his match. Ayrete stood his ground and took care of all the soldiers with just one hand.

Ayrete didn't realize how tightly he had been holding on Iris' neck during the fight and saw that she had passed out. "Tch..." He let go of Iris and her limp body fell to the ground with a thump.

*Boom!*

The explosion happened close to the massive fight between the two sides, taking out a great number of hybrids. The next one was going to destroy the entrance and he needed to go before it was too late.

"What a waste..." Ayrete mumbled to himself while staring angrily at the unconscious princess. "If you only told me... You wouldn't have to suffer as much."

Ayrete was upset that he wasn't able to get Iris to tell him where her sister was, but at least it was one less he had to deal with in the future. He lifted his sword and hovered it over her heart. "Good night, sweet princess."

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