Scarlet

I let out a sigh as the prickling sensation at the back of my neck fades away, likely meaning that whoever was watching me – probably Sylver – is not anymore.

“You really don’t like that sensation, do you?” Tar’s voice echoes in my head as I continue sprinting through the hallway towards the huntsman I find peeking its head out of a room. Before it can send a bolt flying my way though, I use both blood boil and life drain on it, making it stagger and miss its shot, therefore giving me enough time to reach it and tear out its throat.

Of course I don’t like knowing that I’m being watched but not knowing where the spy is at. It’s just unnerving.

I stretch my clawed hand out to the demon’s throat, controlling its blood to flow out of it while I can still control it with my skill and into my little blood bank.

Just the idea that I wouldn’t be unnerved by it is bizarre.

After the creature’s death finally sets in or whatever’s happening when the skill stops working on the things after killing them, I turn my attention down the hall where I hear several humans chatting away as if they weren’t in danger.

Are these idiots even aware of the Fracture going on?

My answer comes to me in the form of one of them in particular hiccupping as if he were drunk before slurring, “Wwweee, ssssshould go theerre tomorrroooow!”

I roll my eyes.

So deadbeat drunk that he doesn’t even realize there’s a Demonic Assault going on right now. But at least the guy has one friend in there who sounds sober in his pitiful attempts to get them all to stay in place.

Pitiful or not though, they at least seem to be working. For the most part.

“I still don’t understand you humans and your apparent desire to poison yourselves,” Tar says, confusion evident in his tone.

“Ya know, Tar,” I speak out loud while turning around and heading in the opposite direction as the drunk party. “I don’t understand that either.”

“Huh,” he mutters, “maybe it’s because you’re only half human?”

I can’t help but raise a brow at that, only to shake my head and continue walking without saying anything in response.

By the time I get to the last demon on the floor, the drunken party seem to have gone silent. Whether that’s because of the sober guy’s efforts – in which case I salute the man – or because they all passed out cold, it doesn’t matter. Regardless of why they went silent though, I simply pass by their room without a second glance on my way back to the stairs.

The last time I dealt with what sounds like a bunch of drunken college students didn’t end all that well, soooo… yeah. Although it might be different now that I’m a Guardian. But drunk idiots will always be drunk idiots, and someone’s status might not matter to them.

Anyways, do you know why the demons suddenly jumped in level? On the nineteenth floor, they were averaging at about level 17, but now they averaged at about level 20 or 21, without a single demon being below level 20.

“I don’t know,” Tar responds quickly enough as I step into the stairway. “Let’s just hope there isn’t another random jump in levels for the next floor as well. Otherwise you might have to fall back and wait for reinforcements.”

I grimace at the thought.

And – ironically, as if he were listening to our thoughts – I find a drone flying down the stairs with a recorded message on it.

“Reinforcements should arrive in a little less than half an hour including several Class II Guardians. Then, both Frost and Cipher should be arriving within a few hours after that to deal with the bunker’s shield covering the Class I core.”

My eyes widen at the mention of Frost.

No thank you.

I look around the stairs before glancing out the fancy stained window with Eastern dragons flying through the air.

Maybe I can find a way out of this building before she gets here?

“You know that’s impossible with the shield up,” Tar says. “Why are you even thinking that? Who is this Frost woman?”

A scary woman who has no idea what the word boundaries means. One who can probably freeze an entire building if she wanted to, killing off everyone inside. And one that makes me go shopping with her.

Tar appears next to me and stares for a few seconds before muttering, “Okay, I guess I can see why you don’t want to be here when she shows up. But it’s not like you have much of a choice.”

I let out a long and extended groan, only to glance at the drone which is still here.

Wonder what it’s still doing here? Shouldn’t it have left already?

I walk up to it before tapping it on its lens, making it bob up and down once. Then it finally begins floating up the stairs again.

Hmm. Not sure what that was about.

Anyways, I go back to the window, looking out it with my eyes narrowed as if the woman would just suddenly appear out of thin air.

At least Denise apologized for her actions and never did it again. Frost – otherwise known as Cynthia – is dead set on trying to get me to call her mom or mother, didn’t even do that. It’s like the woman is just against listening to other people. Like she just has a mental block that came with all of her power against it. And for some reason she just happens to really like me.

And I feel like I can’t yell at her or scold her for it because I know she’s only this protective and clingy because of Belle’s sister… passing away. In a Fracture no less. One that she couldn’t get to in time.

So I mostly understand how she feels, even if I personally didn’t really know Belle’s older sister.

She’s worried that something like that’ll happen again, and ever since then has grown clingy beyond belief.

After a second of silence, the tanuki speaks up in my mind, clearly avoiding the subject that I just mentioned in passing, “Make sure to remind me to never show up around her.”

You are not abandoning me to her!

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t,” the tanuki says while pointedly looking away from me without a hint of guilt on his face and then vanishing again. “Just go be a good wolf girl and go back to killing demons.”

I let out another distressed groan before climbing up the stairs once more, not even deigning to dignify him with a response to that.