The lich was tied up and knelt somewhere between us, making this moment came from an epic scene from an anime opening.

I turned to the lich.

"Hey, try not to touch that dagger at all costs, OK? Considering how Chris wants to kill you, this means the dagger is most likely to have enchantments to kill you and your current kind." I pointed my sword towards the dagger as I started to channel light magic into my sword, which the blade started to turn blue at the moment.

Chris lunged at me at her full speed, as if she wanted to end this fight quickly so that she could kill the lich.

I took a step back and mentally prepared myself for the fight.

"Stop attacking, or I will use force." I warned Chris with a solemn expression as I took the battle stance.

Chris ignored my warning and attacked wildly as she sent a flurry of slashes.

"Whirlwind Flash Sword (Senpu Senko Ken)." I muttered the skill name as I spun my sword like a lightsaber.

I barely managed to block all the attacks using that skill, since she attacked in an extremely quick succession and that made her look like she did a quicker version of 'Starburst Stream' from another certain anime.

'I got to push her back... In order to keep the lich safe- or rather, alive, that is.'

I advanced as I spun my sword, forcing Chris to move towards the door.

However, Chris did a somersault, dodged my skill and charged towards the lich.

"Oh no you don't! Sacred Thunderbolt!" I shouted as I released a network of light beams towards Chris, who got hit in the back by the light beams.

Then I stood in front of the lich and faced Chris.

"I really don't want to take you on... But I will if you insist!" I said in determination as I looked straight at Chris and pointed my sword towards her.

Meanwhile...

"I don't think the lich is in the house... Maybe we should go back and regroup?" Loby asked Iris with uncertainty.

"Wait... Onii-chan was moving around in a room... Let's go check it out." Iris replied as she raised the nodachi like a torch.

"OK, after you." Loby nodded as he agreed.

The two left the living room and headed towards the room I was at.

2 minutes later...

"Onii-chan! What happened?" Iris asked as she broke into the room with Loby and saw us fighting.

"Explanations later! Protect the girl for now!" I told Iris as I extended a hand towards her and kept on parrying Chris' attacks.

"Ara, Guardian-san. Why don't you tell them her true identity is?" Chris turned onto them. "The girl is a lich. Finish her!"

"A lich you say..." Iris froze on the spot as she didn't know what to do anymore. "Onii-chan, what should I do...?"

"She must have skeletons in her closet. She said 'Help me' and pleaded us to help." I spun my sword and stood in front of the lich.

"She also said the God of Darkness and Death, Volras, is the one who turned her into a lich. It is most likely this Volras guy is stirring things up. I got to stop him... Or those innocent people will suffer. So, I need her to tell me everything she knows. This is what people in my world call 'Collecting Intel'." I continued while sparks flew as our weapons clashed.

"Onii-chan..."

"Iris, you knew me the longest among the three. You know I won't lie to you out of the blue. Trust me." I looked at Iris as she was still standing there, thinking whether or not she should kill the lich.

'Shadow Wolf, use "Shadow Bind".' I commanded the Shadow Wolf to tie Chris up with my thoughts.

Chris fell onto the floor with a loud thud as black and purple ropes tied Chris and her shadow up.

"Let me go!" Chris demanded as she struggled to escape from the Shadow Bind.

"No." I turned her down as I turned my attention to the lich.

I walked towards her with my sword drawn.

"Hii!" The lich was scared to a point that she closed her eyes as I slightly raised my sword.

"Really, what are you thinking?" I sighed in resignation as I cut off some of the ropes.

"Now, I would like you to tell me who you are, what you are after and who sent you here. I may let you go depending what your answers are." I asked her calmly as I bent down a little.

"One more thing, don't lie to me, OK?" I told the lich with a somewhat gentle tone. "You will be reduced to nothing when I caught you lying." The lich nodded quickly in response to my statement.

Chris somehow escaped the Shadow Bind. She raised her dagger in order to kill the lich.

"Goddamnit." I raised my left arm and let Chris stab her dagger into my arm. Blood splattered in all directions.

"Onii-chan!" Iris called out as I advanced and tried to get away from the lich as far as possible.

"Stay back! Hear that lich out for me!" I yelled at Iris as I tried to endure the pain.

Iris POV

"Onii-chan!" I shouted in concern as Chris stabbed Onii-chan in his left forearm, which the latter's blood splattered in all directions.

"Stay back! Hear that lich out for me!" Onii-chan yelled at me as he extended his right hand, as if he was saying 'Don't come closer'.

"I understand (wakarimashita), Onii-chan!" I answered Onii-chan, after contemplating which side should I listen to.

Then, I headed towards the lich and crouched in front of her.

"Excuse me... Could you please tell me a few things...?" I asked with a warm smile in attempt to calm her down.

"S... Scary...!" The lich said in horror as she looked at Onii-chan and Chris.

"Don't worry, Onii-chan is protecting you. He can and he will help you. So please, tell us how we can help you."

"That boy..." The lich eyed Onii-chan in terror. "That boy is what He is after! Your Onii-chan is in danger!"

I looked at her with disbelief.

"Excuse me... What did you say...?"

"He is after your Onii-chan! Now I know why He is after the boy..." The lich said in a small voice as she cowered in fear.

"What... (Nani)?"

I grabbed Chris by her right wrist with my right hand. Then I removed her dagger from my left forearm.

I sneaked behind Chris and drew my sword.

Somehow Chris figured out what I was about to do, as she grabbed me by my left wrist.

And now, we are stuck in a deadlock with our weapons at each other's throats. Meanwhile, Iris was listening to the lich carefully, and it looked like she started to found out I was telling the truth: the lich needs our help. Judging from the look of her face, we are in deep shit as her face went pale.

I put a bit more strength into my left arm and knocked Chris out with the hilt of my sword.

"Bind!" I summoned ropes and tied Chris up once again."In case of she woke up and kept on attacking irrationally... Shadow Wolf, use Shadow Bind!" I commanded the Shadow Wolf to summon mana ropes to tie her up again.

A/N: Hope you all are enjoying the story!

Positive critiques are appreciated.