"Please, spare my life!"Alfred watched the man nailed on the ground. His sword had pierced his leg and impaled him to the ground. The pitiful soul was unable to run anymore. Tears, snot, and blood ran all over his face. It was really a disgusting scene.
"Tell me, who are you and what were you doing here? If you tell me everything, I might spare your life."
"I-I am just a hired man for a slave trader, my mission was to help with the capturing of a half-elf. I don"t know anything else!"
"P-Please spare me, that"s all I know!"
"Is this really everything? I think you are hiding something."
"Ack!"
Alfred used his foot to step on the back of the thug, pushing his face fully to the ground.
"I shwear, that"sh all I know!"
"I see, so you don"t wanna live anymore." Murmuring that, Alfred took hold of his sword and drag it out from the man"s leg. With one swift movement, the sword pierced through the man"s shoulder and nailed him once again.
"Aarrgh! I will talk, I will talk!" The man"s pitiful cry echoed through the surroundings.
"The half-elf is actually a magician! A girl! I know that there is a vampire with her too! So we were sent to take the elf and kill the vampire!" The man"s breathing became rough, his body spasming and his face distorted from the pain.
"Where is your base located?"
"It"s next to the slave market, on the east side! The biggest mansion there!"
Alfred finally took out his sword and cleared it with a handkerchief. "Arrest him. ! No need to kill him for now!" He commanded.
Two guards came next to the man and picked him up from both sides, taking him away.
"A half-elf magician and a vampire, working together? So the worst I was fearing happened, they are together. I need to check the mansion and if I am lucky enough, I might find some more clues. I am sure they will go after the slave trader."
"Everyone, follow me! We are going to check the mansion! That slave trader already broke the law for hunting someone in the city! We will go and arrest him!" Alfred started to run in the direction of the slave market, thirty guards following his lead.
***
"Bloodl.u.s.t!" Erin thought in her mind. The pain from the shoulder had easied and her focus was fully at her enemy, preparing to leap forward like a predator going for its prey. This time she attacked from the front, going for Seth"s stomach with her right hand. The moment she left the shadows, Seth slashed with his dagger but wasn"t able to wound Erin this time. She was faster than before, using her other hand to slash at his left wrist and injuring him. He dropped his dagger and tried to dodge the attack, moving backward.
Erin was about to follow, but Seth slashed with his other hand, leaving her no choice but to retreat for the moment. She merged with the shadows once again.
Seth was now sweating. He wasn"t expecting the girl to be so much faster than before and made a mistake in his judgment. That mistake was almost fatal, luckily only his wrist was hurt.
"That will be more problematic than what I was expecting. Seems I have to be a bit more serious. If the man attacks together with her, I might be in trouble. Playing games with my enemies is good, but this time I should try to finish it fast."
Seth narrowed his eyes and looked at his surroundings. He preferred to exhaust his enemies first, but if this went on like that, the chances of him being cornered were big. His thoughts weren"t even over when he felt a change in the air behind him. His right hand slashed backward again and his left hand took out another dagger from his waist.
This time he managed to defend himself. Erin"s nails collided with his dagger. Turning around, he thrust his other dagger against her waist. Erin evaded the attack and started fast and accurate attacks against him. The exchange between them was extremely fast now. It was not possible for the naked eyes to be able to follow it. After ten seconds of such exchanging, Erin moved backward. Her hands were now covered in small wounds from the daggers, but there wasn"t any serious injury. Her crimson eyes were bright and her posture was like a cheetah, ready to bounce back.
Erin was now giving a totally different impression. Seth could feel the change and that made him even more resolute to finish her fast.
"Bah, guess you are a lucky one. I acknowledge that you have some power. You will have the privilege of a fast death." Seth kicked the ground and thrust his dagger once again against Erin. She evaded the attack and for the first time, used her leg to attack, taking Seth once again off guard and hitting him in the waist. That sent him flying three meters to the side. She pounced upon him, ready to finish him off, but was kicked back in the chest which made her stumble backward.
"Phew, that was close. Such a silly mistake from me." Seth balanced himself and looked once again at the girl. "She isn"t merging with the shadows now. Why? Is it because of her change? If she thinks she can beat me in that state, she is truly mistaken". He grinned and spun the daggers in his hands, going forward once again. He would show her what the difference was between them. The only problem was, he wasn"t fully focused on her. He had to be wary of the hidden enemy, too. That splitting of his focus made him unable to employ all his skills.