Chapter 11: Roses

TW: Sexual harassment and attempted SA

 ??? POV:

The red-eyed individual picks up the unconscious girl. With a snap of a finger, his once brown hair is shifted into a blinding golden yellow. He takes off the stunning lady's mask.

"Amelia? You shouldn't be here." He murmurs quietly, his monotone voice having a hint of shock. He ponders on whether or not to wake her up, but ultimately decides against it. The Amelia he knows will only be a bother and a disturbance to his mission.

The blondie whips out his sword and 

*Slice*

The chains on the actual brown-haired man disintegrates. "Thanks, but this'll be the last time I act as your substitute though." The man smirks while brushing his clothes off, his tone surprisingly bright considering the atmosphere. "Who's the girl?"

"It's Troye's sister, I have no clue how she ended up here though. She certainly wasn't taken, that's for sure."

"Discuss later, we don't have much time till the big boss arrives. I have no clue how much longer Jack can hold him off for." The brown-haired youth adds on.

They work together to remove the chains of the other captured people. Gratitude, cries, and other noises can be heard. 

"Destroy the wall, the carriages are here." The blondie asks the brownie (lol). 

"Aye aye captain~ Move them away." He puts his hand on the dark, brick wall and channels his mana into it. The wall gradually turns wetter before *BANG*, an unseeable force penetrates the weakened wall, disintegrating it completely, a nice assist by the golden fellow. Of course, this big action wouldn't be without its consequences. ER ER ER, loud alarms are blasted throughout the building. 

"We got to go fast. You guys! There are carriages outside, hop in and leave as quickly as you can!" The used to be enslaved run away as quickly as you can. The blondie scoops up Amelia, hoping to run but his plan fails as the door is swung wide open. A single figure stood in the doorway, his presence commanding attention. Despite his lone status, the aura of danger he emitted was suffocating.

*Click Clack* *Click Clack* "Look what the cat dragged in" the man drawled, his voice dripping with mockery. "How can I assist you lovely individuals to your death today?"

Without waiting for a response, the figure lunges towards the blonde youth. With a swift motion, the boy dodged, twisting his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the man's razor-sharp claws. He managed to evade, Amelia still in his arms, safe and secured. 

"Shit, Regis! Look after the girl, I'll deal with this guy." He casually tosses Amelia to brownie. 

With a single step, he surged forward, his sword coated with wind, cutting through the air with blinding speed. The strike aimed for the man's throat, but the figure was faster, sidestepping with an unnerving grace. The blondie's blade sunk into the stone floor with a deafening clang, but before he could recover, the figure was already on him, swiping at his exposed side.

"Too slow kiddo" The sharp claws scratched his side, blood dripping out, but he managed to twist his body to avoid the claws sinking deeper.

A sharp pain erupted as the claws raked across his side, but the blondie twisted his body to prevent them from sinking deeper. His sword flicked upward, launching a quick counterattack, but this time, the man wasn't fast enough. The blade grazed his arm, drawing blood. The masked man grinned through the pain.

"Lucky shot, but it seems as if I'll need to take you more seriously." 

The red eyed youth tried to use this time to launch another attack, but his movements are stopped by vines strangling his ankle. You're telling me the masked man wasn't fighting with mana this whole time?! Blondie shoots a panicked look towards Regis, only to find him completely knocked out alongside Amelia. When did this happen?!

The madman takes a step closes to the other, and another one, and another one, until they were face to face. He lifts up the boy's chin with his finger.

"Little prince, you're 100 years too early to try to fight me. But I'll commend you for your attempt." His fingers graze his cheek while his other hand grips his collar.

"Don't touch me!" The boy tries to fight back, but his arms get bound by another pair of sharp vines, his sharpened sword falling pathetically on the cold ground. 

"Don't you wonder why there's only me here?" The man asks.

The boy doesn't respond.

"All roses have their thorns, but once plucked, they increase in value. To some that is, but pain just adds to the beauty, no? I just wanted to be the only one who gets pierced by his precious rose." The masked individual lips form into a cocky smirk as he continues touching the prince. "I do admit, you did catch me off guard. Jack, was it? He'll make a fine collection to my fertilizer~" 

"Y-you wouldn't dare!" The youth screams out.

The man's hand tightens on his collar as he leans in "Oh, I would" he whispers against the prince's ear. The hot breath sending shivers down his spine. He looks at the golden-haired individual's face that had a look of pure hatred. He unbuttons the defenseless prince's shirt and leans in, biting his shoulder. A row of teeth marks the prince as he tries to break free even harder. The sicko tries to do more but–

*BANG* His back gets torched as he screams in agony. The vines trapping the prince get undone momentarily, but this gives him enough time to grab his sword and stab. Unfortunately, the masked individual avoids quickly, only being able to take a mere sidestep due to the pain, however, the sword still landed a deep slash on his shoulder.

The prince runs towards the assailant. "Amelia, you're up!" 

"Up and ready to fight." Selina blasts another fireball at the individual, the masked man who recovered slightly, dodges cleanly, his eyes glaring daggers at Selina as he lunges at her. 

She unleashed another fireball, but the masked man dodged again with unnatural speed, his eyes flashing with hatred. He leaps towards her, but Selina reacted just in time, coating her body in wind particles to avoid the attack. It wasn't graceful by any means, but she was fast enough to avoid a fatal blow.

Her movements were slightly off, rusty from lack of experience, but her strength was undeniable. She pulled a dagger from her cloak and tossed it to the more experienced blonde.

He caught it without hesitation, immediately throwing it at the masked man. The figure dodged again, but the dagger pierced his arm, blood gushing from the wound.

He screamed, a sound that sent a chill through the room, as the pain from the wound seemed to consume him.