Chapter 5
Uncertain outcome

"Excuse me, we're what now?"

My words echoed inside the empty, silent hallway of the immense building. The sunlight was still invading the current space, dust smoothly flying by. The entire atmosphere felt serene, calm, and soothing...if it wasn't for the threat that had been thrown at Gura and I by the woman in office clothings.

Her deadly red steel was still brandished toward us, promising to cut anything in its way that refused to obey. Her eyes were unblinking, emotions hidden in a veil of professionalism.

"Under arrest." She reconfirmed for me, her posture remaining as it was the entire time. Her voice was powerful and sturdy, unwavering in our obvious confusion. I looked at the Atlantean beside me with uncertainty, unsure of what to ask next.

"Why are we getting arrested?! Besides, who the hell are you guys?!" I asked with anger threatening to take over my voice. I wasn't one to let my emotions get the better of me, but to have someone pull off a stunt like that, it was hard to cage them in. Gura shot me a worried glance, still on edge about the woman in front us.

"I am from Cover Corp. As for the reason for your arrest...You two are a danger to humanity." She answered in the same dull tone, her words concise and precise. The shark girl beside me tensed up, the mention of being a danger to humans getting to her.

My mind reeled back in shock. From the small amount of info she had given us, it seemed she knew about Gura's unique status. I could also guess that Cover Corp was a company that knew about Atlantis and their citizens, hell, they might even know what happened to the Atlanteans...the one question that weighed in my mind, however, was a simple one:

Was their intention good, or the opposite?

The woman's statement seemed to suggest that we were the bad guys in the situation, treating us like criminals as she pointed her blade toward us. The company probably decided to rope me in the same bag as an accomplice, making sure that no stray clue would link anyone back to the perpetrator.

"Enma, was it? It's only been two days...how did you find out about Gura?" was my last question, thrown at full force to the staff member in front of us. I made sure to call her by the name she had given us, hoping to build some trust. It was a weak attempt at a connection, but an attempt nonetheless.

"We've got our ways, that's all you need to know. Now, turn yourselves in immediately." A smidge of impatience finally broke through the professional attitude, crimson red eyes slowly narrowing at me. Seems like my attempt to get more info failed miserably. I took a peek at Gura, her sapphire orbs staring at me for some sort of explanation.

"W...What if we refuse?" I replied feebly as I looked back at Enma, dread immediately assaulting me as to guilt-trip me for my choice. My right foot was already sliding backward, ready to escape if need be. I was in good shape physically, but judging by how confident the Cover Corp manager looked, I could safely assume I stood no chance.

CLANK

I hadn't blinked, and yet, the woman who was standing near the counter of the library was suddenly now in front of me, her katana blocked by a pale blue trident. It took a solid second before my brain processed that I was in danger, my body awkwardly leaping back by instinct as I let out a yell of surprise.

"I can tell just from the conversation you had that you don't trust that girl... and if you don't trust her, I don't either!" The trident user who had blocked the blade in time, spoke up with a grin. Gura was in front of me, her hands holding the weapon made out of liquid just like yesterday in the store. Her eyes were locked to Enma's own, trying to push back our attacker.

"W-wha-" my lips desperately tried to form a sentence, but my thoughts were going haywire, trying to understand the logic of what had just happened. How was Enma so fast? How did Gura block that? Did that woman just try to kill me?!

"I've been watching humans ever since I arrived and so far, I haven't seen a single one that could move like her! She's not a normal human, Hunter!" Gura took me out of my plea for answers, slamming her trident against Enma. The woman was forced to jump back due to the force, swiping her katana in the air as she glared at the Atlantean. As for the shark, she landed right beside me with a jump, twirling her trident with precision. "Leave this to me! No offense grandpa, but I don't think you'd be very useful here."

While she was right, it still stung to hear it directly. I wasn't prideful, yet, I was ashamed at not being able to help in any way. I understood that this was out of my league, that it was beyond the capability of my comprehension...but I still felt frustrated by it.

"F-fuck...Alright, you better not lose, shrimp!" I yelled out nervously, gritting my teeth in irritation. The only reply was her giving me a thumbs up, her sight always locked on to the katana wielder. My feet took a couple of steps back before I completely turned away, running toward a safer spot to hide.

"You cannot escape." I heard our attacker say with certainty, turning my head back to see Enma slashing her weapon with insane speed and strength in the air. The air around her distorted and shifted around, closing it on my position before Gura jumped in their lane. Two swipes in front of her from the trident strangely created metallic noises, Gura turning her head in a hurry toward me.

"Look out!" she yelled at me, my head still observing them as my legs were automatically carrying me somewhere else. My eyes squinted to see the air behind me vibrating in a dangerous pattern, approaching me at an alarming rate from behind. My head screamed at my body to jump out of the way before I had any say in the matter, my previous momentum shifting to the side as gravity did the rest of the work.

"Oophf!" I grunted as I landed on the side, my momentum allowing me to roll to my feet as I watched what was chasing me. As the strange line of air passed by me, a high pitched ringing pierced my eardrum, my hand reaching out to my ear as I cringed. As soon as the unknown attack connected with the stone wall, an explosion of dust and rock occured, resonating inside the hallway. My eyes squinted shut as I covered my face with my arms, slowly peeking through my limbs to see what the hell had just happened. "...the hell?"

My eyes were wide open as I witnessed a clean cut in the wall, as if someone struck with a blade...a katana, to be exact. My body shivered in fear as I immediately got back up, my knees wobbling all over the place. She had swung the air at such a speed that shockwaves had been created, tearing into anything that stood in their way. If I hadn't jumped away...the library would've been my grave. Gura had, somehow, managed to block two, but must have missed one.

Enma...this woman...she wasn't human, she wasn't normal at all.

"So much for trying to arrest us! You're trying to kill us!" The Atlantean angrily roared at the manager, dashing at impressive speeds toward her. The shark pushed off the ground with her legs, shifting her body to deliver a drop kick to Enma. Unfortunately, the attack was blocked by crimson steel, the woman pushing back as Gura flipped backward to the ground. With a swift step, the white haired trident user was now back into close distance, thrusting her trident at a blurring pace at the attacker. Despite my eyes not being able to count the number of piercing attacks Gura did, Enma was capable of dodging them all by tilting her body left and right, her expression looking as calm as always.

The tiny girl growled with annoyance, spinning on the spot as she swung her weapon in a horizontal arc. Enma's response was to jump, doing a controlled flip forward before landing behind Gura, shifting her weight to slash at the shark girl. Before the blade had any chance of shredding the Atlantean, a wall of water sprouted from the ground, forcing the manager to fall back.

"I see that you are not afraid of using your powers in public." The woman remarked, a huff of dignity following suit as she readied her stance once more. Gura simply scoffed in response, water flowing around her like a serpent coiling around.

"Says the girl carrying a katana in public." She replied, glaring daggers at the woman in front of her. The limb of water slowly moved toward the shark girl's feet, the trident user stepping on the water as it proceeded to lift her from the ground. In a split second, the water propulsed forward, Gura surfing on the cylindrical liquid as Enma prepared her defense.

My sight was glued to the scene in front of me, the library having turned into a wild battlefield. Enma kept blocking every blow Gura would throw her way, the tiny girl even throwing the chairs and tables at the woman. All thoughts of running away had slipped my mind as I was too focused watching the spectacle happening right now.

This felt like a scene straight out of a fantasy novel...and yet, it was real. Every spark from weapons clashing against each other, every vibration caused by the two destroying the entire place, every grunt and huff of exertion from their efforts to dominate the other in battle. All of it was happening right now and I was a bystander to their battle. Gura was right, there was nothing I could do.

A chair smashing next to me reminded me that if I didn't find somewhere safe to hide, I could easily get in the way of their next attack. I quickly found refuge behind one of the numerous bookshelves, making sure to still have a view of the battle. Even when my life was in danger, my curiosity was still finding ways to make itself known. Besides, I didn't think the bookshelves were solid enough to block attacks of this magnitude.

"Will you stop moving around already?! You're so annoying!" I heard Gura shout with exasperation, her strikes getting faster and more explosive. Every hit resulted in parts of the building flying across the room, the furniture torn to shreds by the high pressure water. Sadly, Enma paid no mind to her taunts, jumping away and deflecting any blow with her blade.

"I think I wasted enough time here." The manager finally spoke up after a few minutes of weaving through the shark's attack, taking a step forward with her red steel above her body like a samurai. Suddenly, she was gone, dust flying off from where she stood due to the sheer pressure of her speed. My eyes scanned the room in a hurry before finding my mark, the woman in front of Gura with her blade ready to strike. The Atlantean swiftly tried to plunge her trident in her attacker but with one precise diagonal slash from below, the trident was blasted off from Gura's hand.

Before the tiny girl had any plan for a counter, a swift backhand to the face was delivered, followed by a high kick to the same place. Gura desperately tried to recover from the hits as she spun around, jumping to use her tail as a weapon. Yet, Enma was faster, grabbing Gura's appendage and smashing the poor girl to the ground with enough force to crack the marbled floor. Shockingly, she wasn't done, as the staff member proceeded to spin Gura like a ragdoll by the tail around, before letting go. With a scream, the Atlantean was launched into one of the bookshelves, the massive wooden structure shattering on impact.

I held myself back to rush to the debris, to see if she was okay. I was hidden and out of sight, giving away my position would be a bad move. Dread, once again, gnawed at my core, praying that Gura would get back up. My eyes caught sight of Enma, slowly approaching the destroyed area with a calm pace, her katana at the ready. If I allowed her to reach her destination, not only would she finish off Gura, but she'd soon find me and finish me off. It was a bad end that I wasn't ready to face.

Weaving through the bookshelves, I placed myself behind one where the manager walked, a piece of furniture separating the two of us. With a huff of breath, I slammed my entire weight on the shelf, hoping that I was heavy enough to unbalance it. After a few seconds, the shelf shifted forward, creasing as it fell victim to gravity, heading straight for my target: Enma.

The cynical part of me kept feeding my worries by telling me that this plan wasn't going to work, that I was going to fail and die a horrible death...and it was right. Yet, I had to keep going, even if it meant losing my life. I couldn't just stand there and let the one who protected me die because of my cowardice. It was neither courage nor bravery that guided my body...it was something else that I couldn't quite identify.

I didn't have time to find what it was as my ears caught the loud rumbling of the bookshelf smashing to the ground, my feet carrying me toward one of the stray chairs on the ground. With one swift movement, I picked it up with one hand, dashing toward my goal with all my strength.

There stood Enma, unharmed from the awkward ambush I had set up, dust invading the space she occupied. The wooden furniture was cut into smaller pieces, books, papers, and wood all scattered across the floor. Her eyes were still locked on the Atlantean, either ignoring me or not noticing my presence.

With one push of my legs, I jumped toward her location, swinging the chair with my two hands with all my might.

SMASH

My hope for a surprise attack was dashed into oblivion as with one swipe of her forearm, the chair was shattered to smithereens. My eyes were wide as saucer as my voice was stuck in my throat, unable to call for help, even if no one would come. Everything happened in slow motion as the woman swung her blade with a furious glare, having just enough time to put my arms in front of my face by habit.

"GAAAH!" I roared in pain as I crashed down to the floor, holding my left arm in agony. The katana had cleanly cut the skin underneath my left arm, my right one suffering the least damage out of the two. Blood seeped out of the wound, a clear red staining the floor of the library. It burned, burned so much, like salt had been poured into a cut.

My eyes filled with tears managed to look up at my attacker, my body spasming in pain uncontrollably as I held my bleeding arm. A look of confusion was placed on Enma's face, her eyes analysing me with uncertainty. With huffs of pain, I quickly got back up my feet, my body shaking in places as I waited for the next attack. I didn't have to wait much longer before she closed the distance between us, sending a fist crashing in my face.

The pain wasn't the worst part of the attack, it was the shockwave that rippled through my brain. My ears rang as my pupils pleaded for stability, my legs trying to hold my body from falling back down. Another blow followed suit, this time in my stomach. I didn't know if it was a fist, a kick or the hilt of her weapon that impacted my abs, but I knew that it was the most damaging of all her arsenal. I gasped for air, drool flying out of my mouth as my body naturally hunched over in pain. My sight became blurry as I mentally begged for air to pass through my throat, yet, my brain would not send the order. After what felt like ages, oxygen finally invaded my lungs, sending me into a coughing fit as I fell down to the floor on all four.

"You...You're human…" I faintly heard my torturer say, too busy focusing on the remaining pain I felt. I felt weak, numb, and on the verge of losing consciousness...but a thought ran through my head instead:

What did she mean by that?

I felt the cold hilt of her blade smack me on my nape, my body jolting in shock before crumbling down to the ground. My limbs would not budge even if I screamed at them to move, my eyelids getting heavy. Slowly, every thought in my mind became singular and simpler, static slowly invading everything. Before darkness consumed my vision, I could see Gura stare at me with shock before screaming in anger, water appearing around her at an alarming rate.

Then, everything turned black.