Amber points forward. "Look over there. That's the fortress."
Shion nods. "Good, thanks."
Amber strides away and leaves. Shion turns to Patience. "Alright... follow my lead."
They both duck behind the bush, eyes fixed quietly on the door.
"This looks like a castle to me," Patience says.
"Indeed. Look over there, what do you see?" Shion points.
"Where?" Patience sees nothing.
Shion draws closer. "Follow my hand. Right up there see that cracked window and the stained frame?"
Patience nods. "Yes!"
"Keep it low," Shion warns.
Patience covers her mouth. "Sorry..."
"Okay. That room is an execution room. I take it they murder people there."
Patience's eyes widen. "Yes, that'd explain the frame. There are blood stains all over."
Shion's gaze locks. "Indeed... someone was trying to escape."
"So what are we going to do right now?" Patience asks.
"We charge in, of course..."
"Huh..."
"There is a party going on. We won't be stopped."
Patience's eyebrow raises. "But how do you know that?"
"I can hear their voices, the echoes of joy. Music playing. Orchestra. Can you fight?"
Patience says slowly, "No... not quite."
"Now I have to babysit someone," Shion sighs. "Okay, we enter."
Shion and Patience emerge from the bushes and head toward the fortress.
Shion's knuckles thump against the door. A man opens it, pistol in hand. He narrows his eyes. "Ladies... coming to the party?"
Shion smiles. "Yes. We are..."
He steps aside. They enter. Guests surround the room. Men on the left play violin; on the right, others strum guitars.
Maidens whisper to themselves, their eyes slicing into Shion like knives.
"The men here are pretty reserved. Don't think they'll listen to me. Should I open a fight? No, I don't think so." She starts climbing upstairs. Patience follows.
Three men lounge around a table. One drags a chicken with his teeth, gnawing loudly.
"Venus, what do you think about King Pin's fortress?"
Venus sips wine, cup clutched tight. "Not bad... except it looks like a castle."
The men burst out laughing.
Venus adds, "And what's funnier is I'll have to bring half my crew to entertain."
Laughter echoes through the room.
One of the men, a chubby fellow with a sweaty brow speaks up. "Venus, we need to head outside and wait for King Pin's arrival. He said he'd bring the female slaves this time. Affordable prices, for all"
Venus grins, eyes lighting up. "Perfect. I just lost one. Casey's been moping, she needs a new sister. The other girls downstairs aren't her match."
The chubby man sniffs, wiping his nose. "Yeah, we should go wait downstairs."
"Then let's move," Venus replies.
The door blasts open. Venus lunges out, teeth flashing. He roars with laughter. The three men follow, their laughter and discussion filling the air.
Shion stands upstairs, ten feet from the door, Patience close at her side.
Her gaze catches Venus.
She freezes.
Eyes trembling.
"Lady... hey!" Patience calls, shaking her hand.
"That's Venus. No... why's he here? I can't fight, not with Patience here. Fuck... what should I do?"
As Venus draws closer, Shion quickly tries to use her hat to cover her face. But their eyes meet.
Shion turns immediately, walking downstairs with Patience.
While descending the stairs, they almost reach the landing. Boots barely touch the ground when Venus materializes in front of them.
Shion's eyes read shock. "Fuck."
"Oh... come on, C-S... (Crocodile's Smile). You shouldn't be surprised to see me..." Venus drawls. He grins. "Forgotten our last dance? This time, I'll repay the kiss."
He draws out a pistol and points it at Shion.
Several men and women from the town bolt for the door, faces twisted in panic, boots pounding the floor as they shove past one another and vanish through it.
Shion shouts, "Run!"
Patience tries to run. Venus's associates advance forward, closing in on Shion and Patience.
Venus materializes in front of Patience, gun pointed at her head. Shion moves fast, throwing a punch. Venus stops it, holding her palm and forcing it downward. She drags him forward, her knee kissing his stomach.
He groans. His palm grabs her by the neck; her hat falls. She slams down his hand.
His associates lunge for Patience. She dodges past their grasp. A woman in a long gown hurls herself in her direction, diving low. Patience jumps, clearing her by inches. The woman crashes to the floor.
Shion vaults, knee splitting Venus's skull. He stumbles back as she bounds forward.
He snarls. "She's not using her guns and she's still this powerful?" He points his gun, shooting. Shion twists away, weaving through the bullets like they're stones, dancing left and right.
Venus draws backward as he shoots. She advances closer, drops low, sweeping his legs with a kick. He stumbles, gun skidding out of reach. She leaps closer with a foot. He rolls off; her foot hits the ground instead.
He springs up, gliding out a long knife. He drops into guard, eyes on Shion as she strolls closer—no rush, just steady. He extends the knife inches forward. "I could smell her ominous vibe. The same as the other day when we fought."
His gaze flicks to Patience.
Venus pops before Patience. His knife snaps at her. Patience leaps back. Venus's associates snatch weapons from holsters and belts, long rifles, short pistols.
The women hike up their gowns, revealing belts strapped around their thighs. From hidden holsters on those belts, they draw short rifles.
Venus strides closer to Patience; Shion cuts in. The associates' fingers tighten on their triggers, guns pointing at Shion.
Shion vanishes and materializes in front of a desk, smashing it to pieces before teleporting again.
She reappears behind a man, staking him through the neck. He drops lifelessly.
In an instant, she surfaces in front of a woman, driving the stake upward through her jaw.
Venus lunges, knife flashing, aiming for Patience. She dodges; he pops behind her, knife arcing for her spine.
Shion materializes in front of Venus. Her hand pushes Patience away. The knife sinks into Shion's stomach. Blood pours out.
"Haha!" Venus laughs. "I knew you'd protect her. So I aimed for her."
Patience tries to come closer. A man grabs her and presses her to the ground. Shion drops to her knees, clutching her stomach. Venus grabs her hair, folding his hand, squeezing tightly. Shion's face folds in pain.
A bullet breaks the window, hits the wall, and ricochets off to another wall. Twice the impact, then it floats through a goon's neck. Another bullet flies in from the same window, strikes the wall, veers to the stair, and rebounds into another goon's chest.
Venus's jaw drops. "What?" He shouts. "Show yourself! Who the hell are you?"
Bullets keep coming, ricocheting off the walls, tearing into bodies. More of Venus's associates drop. One zeros toward Venus's forehead; he ducks. The bullet veers back, homing in on the back of his head. He twists; it whizzes past, then loops back, gunning for his head again. His eyes widen. "Huh!" He ducks. The bullet stalls, comes back a fourth time. He dodges. It drops.
None of his underlings remain. They all lie on the ground, dead.
"I better get out of here." He blinks toward the door, body-slamming through it. He falls outside, stands up, and poofs into thin air.
Shion lies down, shivering. Her hands clutch her stomach tight. Blood oozes out. She gasps for air, breaths shallow, vision blurring.
Patience stands up, advancing toward Shion. "Hey lady... we better go find—"
A voice cuts through. "You sure know how to get into trouble, Shion... just look at you, pitiful." A woman stands by the wall, clad in black, wearing glasses and a black hat.
Patience's eyes flare with alarm. "Who's this woman? How'd she breeze in?"
Shion's voice shakes. "N-Nina... h-how did you get h-here—"
In the flicker of seconds, Nina manifests in front of Shion. Her hand covers Shion's mouth. "Shut up... I've been tailing you ever since."