Cardo inches toward Ifrit in small, deliberate steps.
Honestly, this was the first time he personally faced a raging Ifrit, thanks to Saria subduing Ifrit before the little devil could wreak havoc on Rhine Labs. Later on, he tried to find out more about what had happened, but even as the supervisor, he couldn't find any recordings or video footage, as if they were intentionally scrubbed. Still, he managed to find some clips, where the rooms were engulfed in flames. At that time, he just dismissed them as a fluke for being too outlandish.
He was so horribly wrong.
Moments ago, he had been on the verge of being incinerated completely. The boiling heat had seared into him the first-hand experience of what it felt like to stare at the face of death.
It was amazing he hadn't broken down.
Even though he knew Ifrit wouldn't wake up after being injected with the sedative, Cardo still didn't have the courage to touch her directly. He picks up a burnt piece of something nearby and pokes Ifrit from a distance. Only after confirming for himself that Ifrit really was unconscious does he calm down.
"Bastard! Don't you dare touch my Ifrit!"
Cardo turns around and sees Silence struggling to get back on her feet.
"You're awake?", Cardo asks with piqued interest, "I thought the dosage would keep you sleeping?"
"What did you do to her?", Silence sees Ifrit lying in a puddle of blood, with an arrow in her shoulder. She grits her teeth, "What did you do?!"
"What did I do?" Cardo smiles softly, "Nothing. But we need her to revive Rhine Lab."
"She's my child!"
"Your child? No, Silence, Ifrit belongs to Rhine Lab," Cardo smirks.
Silence staggers toward the man she once respected, "Get away from her if you don't want to die."
"You don't seem to understand the situation here, Silence.", Cardo stared at her, almost sympathetically, "You were the best among us. What a shame. By the way, do you know what I've injected into you? If you just lie down and stay still, you'll be fine, but if you push yourself like that, then nobody can save you when the serum starts working."
Silence grits her teeth, "If I die, I'll be bringing you down with me!"
"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.", Cardo shakes his head, "If you were Saria, I would have taken your words seriously. She destroyed Rhine Lab for Ifrit after all, but unfortunately, she's not here to save this kid now."
Silence pauses, eyes widening, as she stares at Cardo, "What, what did you say?"
"Oh?", Cardo's eyebrows rise in surprise, "She never told you? Silence, what should I say? That Saria was the best partner you ever had but didn't tell you the truth? You seem smart, but you're actually really naive, unlike Saria. If it weren't for her, do you really think you and Ifrit would be able to stay in Rhodes Island?"
Silence falls onto her knees, as she tries to process what Cardo had just said.
"You should be thanking me really,", Cardo chuckles, "at least I told you the truth before you died. As for payment… I'll be taking Ifrit with me."
Silence snaps out of her trance and resumes crawling toward Ifrit. When she sees Cardo walking toward Ifrit, she shouts, "Bastard! Give me back my Ifrit!"
Cardo leered toward Silence with a grin, as he slowly reaches out to Ifrit.
Click*
"Oi."
Cardo pauses. He slowly turns his head toward the sound.
"Don't. Move."
Lin Ye presses his barrel on Cardo's forehead.
Both Silence and Cardo are shocked by the sudden twist of events.
Cardo stutters, "Y-you?!"
Silence shouts, "Dr. Lin, please! Please save Ifrit!"
Lin Ye glances at Ifrit. When he sees the state she's in, his chest tightens. He nods, "Leave it to me-"
"Watch out, Dr. Lin! Behind you!"
Lin Ye turns around to see two swordsmen that had been creeping up behind him. They'd gotten close enough that he would have died instantly, that if the others hadn't seen them.
Lin Ye thanks El for the warning and knocks Cardo out with the back of his gun.
The two swordsmen realizing that they had been discovered, stop trying to stealthy and rush towards Lin Ye.
Lin Ye curses inwardly and pulls the trigger.
Bang*
Bang*
He missed.
Lin Ye futilely curses again. They were now close enough to render his gun useless, not to mention he was out of bullets.
Lin Ye hops back and unsheathes his black steel sword.
One versus two.
Without the Wave Leaping Strike, he wouldn't stand a chance, so while he backs away from the two opponents, Lin Ye keeps trying to feel the presence of tidal waves.
"Dr. Lin, catch!"
Lin Ye turns his head briefly toward El and sees a sword thrown to his feet. He pauses.
Oh, I told him I could dual wield this morning. Did he really... Uh.
Dual-wielding, it is then.
Lin Ye grabs the sword with his left hand. Even though he wasn't ambidextrous, with the Wave Leaping Strike, he can simply overpower them. But… first, he has to activate it.
As those swordsmen close in, Lin Ye starts to hear the tidal waves again. He breathes out slowly and stops retreating.
However, before he can strike-
"Argh..."
After the faint twang of something piercing the air, Lin Ye's advance was forcibly halted. He staggers and falls to one knee. As his power recedes, he looks down and sees an arrow protruding from his stomach, as the searing pain weighs down on his body.
Now that he didn't have the strength to fight back, Lin Ye can't parry or dodge the attacks from those two swordsmen. Still, he raises his blades to try to block the swords.
And as expected, they easily break through his defense and cut him open.
"Lin Ye!"
He can hear Silence and El shouting his name, but there's nothing they can do. Lin Ye staggers backward before collapsing onto the floor. His blood gushing out of his open wounds.
Lin Ye didn't want to give up just yet, but when he moves his body, his phone managed to slip out of his pocket and falls into a puddle of his blood.
Suddenly, its ringtone fills the ruined factory, prompting Lin Ye to glance at its screen.
It's Skadi.
Lin Ye puts a sword down and reaches out for the phone, but just as he's about to grab it, one of the swordsmen steps down on his hand.
Lin Ye exerts his remaining energy to turn his gaze upwards and sees the man slowly lifting his sword for the final strike.
So, this is it?
Lin Ye defiantly stares back at his executioner, as he awaits his demise.
"You-"
Puchi*
Lin Ye ignores the two halves of his enemy and the broken sword and looks to his side.
"Why didn't you answer your phone?"
Lin Ye pauses. Amid the splash of blood, that familiar curtain of white hair flutters, as if blown by an invisible breeze.
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
Draft by Demosama
Proofread by Demosama PanzerComrade56
Edit by Mihjaqtio
