9.5 Frontline

This was a problem.

*CLANG! CLANG! STAB!* One-two parry quickly followed up by a visceral stab to the poor tin can's neck.

With every Dezimal that we manage to take down, two more seemed to take their place as we stood dab smack in the middle of the enemy forces. The scenery around us was like a fvcking massacre, all the dead bodies piling up around the small circle that we claimed for ourselves as we swung our weapons with reckless abandon. As time went on, however, each swing became a challenge, and if this keeps up, we'll get overwhelmed before we could even manage to get my signal out.

*Crash! SLICE! STAB!* A side-step, followed by an assist from Lise as she took point. I then stabbed the guy behind her as we found ourselves swapping positions.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I had to find a way to signal the rest of our forces to collapse onto the clearly thinned-out front of our enemies. Because if they were throwing this much firepower on just the two of us now, then surely the enemy front was pretty much only one or two lines thick by now.

*CLANG! CLA-STAB!* I deflected a swing with the flat of my blade, before then using the length of my katana to move another halberd away from me to stab the nearest tin can's stomach.

"Raarrgh!"

With a grunt, I pulled out my bloody katana from the next statistic that fell before me. If not for the fatigue, I was pretty sure that Lise and I could solo this entire Dezimal army. But of course, we were only human-

"BROTHER!"

I felt a hand push me out of my position just as I heard my little sister call out to me. What was that abou- Shvt!

*SLICE!*

"ARRGH!!"

My eyes widened. "Lise!"

Like a man possessed, I quickly moved to defend Lise from any more follow-up attacks, positioning her behind me as I intercepted the flurry of blows meant to finish her off.

*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!* I blocked two swings from the side, followed by a hefty overhead that took both of my hands to defend against.

"Speak to me!" I screamed as my arms trembled at the strength of this one particular Dezimal. "You okay?!"

"CLANG! SLICE!"

"I-I'm fine!" she shakily replied before I heard another scream coming from behind me. "D-Don't worry! I can still fight!"

Fvck!

*SHHHI-STAB! STAB!* I slid my katana down the halberd's length before finishing the owner off with two quick stabs.

Blood rained all around us as the massacre continued. I didn't even know if Lise's blood was spilled alongside her apparent wound, the crimson-red mist around us starting to grow thick with each passing second that the battle raged.

*CLANG! Crash! CLANG!*

"T-This is payback!"

Behind me, I could hear Lise shout out a few battle cries of her own. I could tell that she was getting ragged, her body too fatigued from both the heat and the fighting combined. It was getting harder to breathe. I didn't think we'd make it for another five minutes at this rate.

I had to do something.

*CLANG STAB! SLICE!* I quickly moved beside Lise, parrying a swing meant for her and returning the favor ten-fold, all while my sister managed to cut down a Dezimal gunning after me.

*STAB!* Another Dezimal fell to my katana's razor point.

Think... We were stuck holding a doomed position... Visibility was getting fvcked beyond compare with the wall of enemies surrounding us...

*CLANG! CLANG!* Two blows deflected as I tried to re-position myself just behind my sister.

No opportunity to catch our breath for even a second... Charging a shot would kill us both... Lise wouldn't be able to defend for the both of us... not trained for defending from all sides...

*CLANG! STAB STAB!* A parry, followed by a one-two stab in the chest.

Carve out a path?

*Crash!*

No... Lise wouldn't be able to keep up, not to mention my katana's dull nature. Couldn't exactly hack-and-slash our way through metal and bone with a pointy metal stick... Fvck! I knew I should've dedicated some time to sharpen this piece of shvt!

*CLANG! CLANG! SLICE!*

What else... Charge the rifle with one hand... would lose a lot of my defensive capability by limiting myself to a one-handed sword stance... Could be tricky-

*CLANG!*

I gritted my teeth as another heavy swing forced me to buckle down with all my might again. Fvck... going one-handed would kill us both!

"BROTHER?!"

"KINDA BUSY HERE!" I winced as I addressed my little sibling. "IF IT WON'T GET US REINFORCEMENTS, THEN I-"

"CATCH!"

What?!

I turned towards Lise's direction only to catch a flying sword out of the air using sheer reflexes. Looking at the sword- Wait... "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?"

*BANG!*

*SQUELCH!*

The resounding shot startled everyone in the surrounding area, myself included. I didn't even hear a scream of pain, only the horrifyingly wet sound of emulsified guts and the thick spray of red mist wafting over us was the sign that someone got absolutely obliterated by a point-blank shot. Nobody moved as everyone was fixated on Lise's form, her rifle still smoking as she wiped the blood off of her face like it was nothing. She then turned to me with a frown on her face, a sense of purpose and urgency in her eyes as if I was doing something wrong-

"DO IT!"

Wha- Shvt!

With a quickness that I never knew I had in terms of sheathing and unsheathing, I hefted my own rifle and poured as much Wesen into it as I possibly could. The Dezimals around us acted apprehensive with Lise still waving around a charged shot towards anyone that would be smart enough to re-engage us and take advantage of our vulnerable states.

Practically overflowing with Wesen, I aimed the overcharged rifle up high, the winds coalescing on its barrel acting like a cyclone full of malice and destruction as I let more of my power flow into its trembling frame. This was it. I was fully intent on letting this thing explode in my hand if it meant getting my message across this sea of carnage. I knew that once I let this thing fire, the shock and awe that rooted our enemies would dispel, and we would have to fight our assess off until our forces force most of the Dezimals surrounding us to switch priorities.

Looking around, I could feel that I only had a few seconds left before they started coming to their senses. With a quick glance from my little sister for support, I eventually let loose what was possibly the most explosive round that I had ever witnessed bar none.

"GOOOO!!!!"

*BOOM!*

The air shook with overwhelming power as the recoil almost forced me down on my knees. My right arm ached like no other as I bit my tongue to avoid screaming at the power I just unleashed. I couldn't afford to let any form of weakness show, especially now while we were in front of an enemy that vastly outnumbered us over a dozen-to-one. This might've been a stupid idea at first, but now that I've seen first-hand that Dezimals were the epitome of quantity-over-quality, I honestly believed that we would get away with escaping this hellhole with zero casualties. It was just a matter of playing our cards right and cycling through our own forces strategically to avoid fatigue.

*BANG!* Another gunshot. This time coming from Lise.

*SQUELCH!*

As usual, the telltale spray of red mist wafted across the battlefield, bits and pieces of the poor sap scattering throughout the air as if it were pulverized as opposed to just being shot at. I could feel the tension building up once more...

"COME AND GET SOME!"

Thinking quickly, I taunted the enemy back into gear, making sure that Lise wouldn't get jumped on as I deftly handed her her sword back. To think of it, the signal might've actually been the easy part of this stupid plan of mine. I was sure that after we managed to fire off the signal, we have actually had no choice but to hold this position to avoid them possibly regrouping to defend against our main forces.

We were literally doing a distraction dance of death to make sure that the front would have an easy time pushing the enemy back.

"C-Charge!"

I scoffed as I heard a brave soul rally the surrounding Dezimals around us. It wouldn't be the last as Lise and I stood back-to-back once more in an attempt to hold out while we wait for possible reinforcements to come.

"I BELIEVE IN YOU, BROTHER!" Lise shouted out through the Dezimal's impending charge. "WE CAN DO THIS!"

"THAT WE DO, SIS!" I laughed. "WE'LL GET OUT OF THIS ALIVE!"

With a cry, I readied myself for what was possibly the most grueling defense that I've ever done in both of my lives. I might die, but if it meant that Lise got to live, then it would be more than worth it.

But even then, we were basically a two-person blender unit ravaging their core lines- wait... My hubris was starting to show again.

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