Saved by the monster bell

Everything went to shit in just a few minutes, and Mhlengi was baffled. Everything felt like a strange dream. Who would have thought that the Brown-Eyed Demon would appear in the middle of a ball hosted by the Citadel? What kind of idiot becomes the enemy of someone and hides in their house? Or was it genius? One might search everywhere but would never suspect his own family.

The Demon was as genius as he was crazy. The stunt he pulled almost killed a high-ranking member of the Citadel. Did this man know no fear? Everyone feared the church; even the resistance would tread carefully when dealing with the Citadel. They would plan meticulously before attempting to take down someone as powerful as Nara; they wouldn't just attack on a whim. Mhlengi only had fear for this man; he feared him more than he feared Yara or even Nara. At least those two could be reasoned with. Granted, Nara was unhinged, but they would still not attack out of nowhere.

Mhlengi could only stay by Yara's side as he watched the Guardians mobilize. This was a stronghold that dealt with monster attacks regularly; they could mobilize in seconds. The Guardians were moving all over the street, evacuating people and searching for the demon and the traitor.

Yara seemed distant and deep in thought. He was uncomfortable. The night was very quiet despite the noise around. It was very unnatural. It felt like receding waves before a tsunami, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He could hear the men running and shouting, but nothing else. He saw no insects, no other life forms except for humans themselves.

Yara rushed to find the stables. Mhlengi had no choice but to follow. Accompanying them was a Guardian commander.

"Is something the matter, sir?" Casio asked as he followed.

"Something is not right."

They ran until they arrived at the stables. They found that some animal guardians were having trouble with the animals. The animals were all going crazy, trying to run away; most of them were put to sleep with some tranquilizer. Yara saw this scene and panicked.

"Tell everyone to stop the search right now, tell them to forget about the demon."

"What? Sir, what do you mean? What's wrong?"

"We have bigger fish to fry, way bigger."

---

Alexia watched the commotion with great interest; everything happened so fast. Alexia, a secret agent of The Vanguard of Liberty, specialized in espionage and sabotage, unlike The Freehold and The Defiant. Alexia was on such a mission but never thought that working as a waiter, she would witness such a scene.

She knew there was a man new on the list of the Church's most wanted, called the Brown-Eyed Demon. She thought maybe he had to be very ugly for them to call him that, but he was not so bad-looking. She realized why he was called a demon. The man was indeed a demon in that he was totally bonkers and fearless.

She witnessed everything and was sure she had to protect this man by all means. The things he accomplished were amazing, and she saw it for herself. He even managed to get a Technomancer on his side who was willing to risk it all to protect him. The man must be valuable, and her job was to ensure he was not caught and to bring him back to The Vanguard of Liberty. Alexia made her move.

---

"You are totally crazy; I knew you were insane but not like this." Mandla was panicking.

"I like it; you remind me of me. All geniuses are a little cuckoo."

"I'm as sane as one can be. I just can't wait for death; I face it head-on. It was clear she was trying to kill me. If you are ready to kill, you have to be ready to die. That is lesson number one in the rules of violence."

They were packing as they talked.

"Interesting, there are rules of violence?"

"Rule number two: Mercy is a luxury; survival is a necessity."

"Interesting, you need to tell me more about these rules." Cyprian was intrigued.

Mandla was surprised how calm he was considering he just betrayed the church and was enemy number one.

"Aren't you worried about our situation?"

"Why would I worry about that? Death is at every corner, I knew the risk. Plus, if push comes to shove, I can run away and leave you guys behind. I can escape easily if I'm by myself."

"I respect that. I think I can also do that."

"What the hell, don't leave me here to die."

"Don't worry; they don't know who you are. Wear this, keep it that way." Sizwe handed him a face mask.

"Are you guys done?"

"Yes, let's go."

Mhlengi put on the mask and strapped the double-barrel gun that Sizwe got him to his back. He held a shield and a short sword in his hands. Sizwe also had his pump-action shotgun strapped to his back. He also had a shield and a dagger; he couldn't waste ammunition on wannabe warriors.

---

Muke woke up along with the other recruits to search and find a man on the wanted list of the church. Who would be most wanted and go to where he is wanted? It was stupid, but Muke was eager to prove herself. She was going to take this criminal down and get a promotion; after that, she could go to her father and show him how wrong he was about her.

Muke ran around with the other recruits following behind an enforcer. For a long time, they found nothing; most of them were disappointed. They couldn't get merit points and move up.

"I-I found him," a recruit shouted.

The enforcer and other recruits ran to see what he had found.

It was awful, gruesome. There were dozens of bodies on the ground creating a long trail. There was red everywhere, and limbs littered the ground. Where the trail ended, there was a man standing with a dagger and a shield, covered in crimson like a demon from hell. He looked at the incoming army and ran.

"He is here!" the enforcer shouted and ran after the demon.

Muke couldn't move seeing the bodies on the ground. This was the reality of her job, death. She felt her body shiver. Was this her fate too? As the other recruits followed behind the enforcer, she was frozen.

"Get your shit together, recruit." Another enforcer appeared from behind her and ran past her. She steeled herself and followed him.

After some running, she finally arrived at the scene. Three men were fighting against an army. One had a short sword and was fighting for his life but now and again would be saved by the one with the dagger and a shield. The third one was like a maniac behind them, laughing while he shot a divine weapon from time to time. He aimed mostly at enforcers as soon as they appeared. It was a mess, bodies all around.

The man covered in blood moved around, cutting down recruits like he was cutting down grass. He, too, would get nicked here and there, but it was nothing serious. Muke couldn't move; the scene in front of her was crazy. She didn't dare join the fray; she was paralyzed by fear.

"Is this what a real battlefield is like?"

More Guardians appeared. Nara also finally appeared. Her expression was ugly as she looked at all the dead Guardians. Anger was like a volcano ready to erupt inside her. She had never been this mad.

"CYPRIAN!!!" She shouted from the other side of the battlefield.

"Is this what you wanted? Murdering your own?"

"Nara, nice of you to join us."

"Answer me!" She shouted again.

"You damned hypocrites. You sent these recruits to their death and want to shift the blame. This is all you; this is what you wanted. To catch us, you decided to sacrifice these recruits and enforcers. What did you think was going to happen when you sent them after me?"

"I sent them after him." Her voice was a bit quieter now.

"You say that as if you were going to let me go."

Nara remained silent as other commanders and enforcers joined her. Sizwe and team were surrounded. There was nothing they could do now; the army was too big.

"High Guardian!"

A recruit came running; he was out of breath.

"What is it? Speak."

"Priest Yara has sent me. He told me to tell everyone to stop pursuing the Brown-Eyed Demon."

"What? Has Yara gone insane? But never mind, tell him that we have already got him."

"He told me to tell you to leave everything and come quickly."

"What? Why?"

"He said we have bigger fish to fry."

As he said this, a recruit behind him was swooped away and disappeared in an instant.

Nara was shocked; her face went from anger to worry.

Immediately a bell rang. The Monster Bell.