Shortly after the building has been emptied, Veronica wakes up in a startled cold sweat. She looks around the room and exhales. She gets up and grabs the water-filled pitcher off the cart. Veronica dumps the water in the bathroom sink and silently leaves the room to get more ice from the machine.
Before she can close the door, Glenn comes slowly from around the corner with a gunblade lined across his shoulder. The unique weapon is a single-edged blade with a strong curve at the tip. The weapon’s hilt is the end of a silver revolver with a black rubber grip and no barrel.
Veronica moves back into the room and watches him through the reflection on the pitcher. He proceeds her way while humming a daunting tune with ominous intent. She softly closes the door and rushes to wake everyone.
“Adrian,” she says in a loud whisper. “Adrian? Brother, wake up.”
He rubs his eyes. “What, Veronica? I’m—”
“Adrian, it’s them,” she says with panic. “We have to run, now.”
His eyes widen before he jumps out the bed and follows his sister into the bedroom. They barge into Afearia’s room and jump to her bed, shaking her.
“Anya, Anya,” Adrian stresses. “Anya, get up!”
Glenn moves closer with every rhythmic step to match his humming. He calmly enters room 514 and walks into the second bedroom. He stands before the room’s wall and tilts his head from side to side. Glenn begins moving his hand in front of him, as if to be measuring something. He raises his blade slowly and cocks it back into a one-handed piercing stance with his humming reaching an extended high pitched tone.
With one mighty thrust, Glenn pulverizes the wall. He flies over the bed Afearia’s supposed to be sleeping in and impales the mattress, sliding a little on small debris. He turns back into the room and pulls out his sword with a confused look. He looks around and sees a hole in the wall of the main room.
Glenn slowly enters the room while noticing everything’s still on. Without warning, Afearia bursts from the floor, smashing her palm into his cheek and sending him through the ceiling. She lands gracefully in the room while small debris falls to the floor.
The kids look up from the fourth floor. “Whoa!” Adrian says. “Nice one!”
“Leave the building, now,” Afearia says down the hole.
“Huh?”
“I can’t protect you this time. Leave the building and don’t come back.”
Veronica becomes worried. “But, Anya—”
“Did you not hear me? Get out of here!”
They quickly scramble to the door while Afearia summons Demonweaver. Suddenly, Glenn’s humming begins again in the darkness. With each step, the humming moves toward the front door and stops. A loud crash takes place outside the door before the resumption of his tune. She takes a couple steps back once his humming ends.
Without warning, the door flies out at her. Through instinct, she cuts the door vertically down the middle. The two halves part to her sides with the unhooded, Glenn, perfectly pressed against the door half to her right. As the halves revolve around her, he quickly rolls around Afearia and slashes her back.
Afearia stumbles forward from the attack and hops frontward before turning to him. Shortly after turning, he closes the gap between them and punches her in the face. Afearia’s back slams up against the door across the hall and falls on her bottom.
She looks at him with a face of angry astonishment while he continues to hum with a rhythmic dance in his step. Unbelievable, Afearia thinks. I’m bleeding. For the first time on Terra, I’m bleeding from the hands of pathetic Demi trash!
“If I were you,” Glenn says, bouncing his index finger like he’s about to lecture her. “I would remove that eye patch. Or I’m gonna keep abusing your blind spot, time, after time again.” She gives him a more frustrated look. “I already know you have two functional eyes. Use em.”
She rips off the eye patch and stands. “Who are you?”
He steps over to the TV and turns it off before putting his hand on the flower vase on the dresser. “Glenn.”
He hurls the vase at her head. Afearia ducks low and dashes forward, moments before he kicks the fallen pitcher on the floor at her. She leans to the side near the wall and before she can lean off, he strikes with his sword. Afearia blocks his one-handed sword swing with her own and is pinned. He’s utilizing the environment to his fullest, she thinks.
“Nice reflexes,” he says earnestly. “I didn’t getcha this time.” His face becomes a little stern. “Stop toying with me.”
Afearia smirks. “Alright then.”
Suddenly, several chains burst from the wall and wrap around a floor lamp. When she tosses the lamp at him, he quickly jumps back. She seizes the moment and starts slashing at Glenn. With each strike, he sloppily blocks her blade before jumping through the hole she put in the wall. Instead of following him, she runs out into the hall and stands in front of room 518. Suddenly, Glenn’s blade comes through the door, aimed at her face. As the blade comes at her, she tilts her head to the side and shoves her blade through the door as well.
Afearia slowly pulls back her sword, cautiously waiting for his next move. I didn’t puncture any flesh, she thinks. I need to be careful. He fights with a strange future sight style by forcing his opponents to charge first so he can easily predict their next move. With smooth speed, Afearia stabs the door a second time. In this fight, haste makes waste.
With his blade, Glenn quickly carves an irregular shaped hole high up on the door. Suddenly, a grenade drops through the hole.
“Are you kidding me!?” Afearia shouts.
She releases her sword and rushes down the door behind her. She enters the room and runs into the next room before jumping out the window backward. Afearia shoots a chain down her arm and wraps it around a bedpost.
She swings and crashes through the third floor window, a second before the grenade explodes. The floors above her briefly shake as she slowly stands and moves toward the front door. When she nears the door, something catches her nose. His scent’s gone, she thinks.
Within the same moment of thought, three large blue light rings come spinning together from behind her before flying apart and revealing Glenn. She turns around and receives a shallow slash down her forearm.
She grabs her dripping arm and stumbles back. “You warped,” Afearia says with irritation.
Glenn lowers his blade. “Damn, I miscalculated your location.”
“How annoying it is to know you can popup anywhere you want in this fight.”
“If only it were that simple. Our warp tactics can only be done when moving to locations we’ve been to from memory. Each warp takes two percent of our overall energy levels. It’s the main reason why Derexen has us only warp five times a day if possible. Very few Demis utilize warping as a fighting method.” She raises her hand and summons Demonweaver from upstairs. “Why do you keep using that powerless sword against me? Use that other one, the water sword.”
Afearia’s briefly surprised. They’re collecting data on me, she thinks
Afearia grunts with a stern expression. She slowly waves her hand over her face and down to her knees, causing a light breeze before rushing toward him. She charges at Glenn with the wind slightly lifting her off the ground. With her increased speed, Glenn is taken by surprise and shoulder rushed into the next room.
When he hits the floor, she leaps up to stab him. He leans from the blade’s trajectory and kicks Afearia in the chin as he flips backward onto his feet. She pulls out her sword and rushes him once more.
When their blades collide, she muscles him halfway out the window. He groans when the broken shards sticking from the frame cut into his back. Glenn grabs her face and loses grip as she pulls away. He sticks his arm out the window and grabs the side of the building before tightly wrapping his legs around her. Glenn loudly grits through his teeth as he lifts Afearia off the floor and tosses her out the window.
As she falls down with hotel residents watching, she fires a chain into the second floor window to pull her in. Glenn sees her entering the room at a high angle and stabs the floor. He quickly pulls a heavy wardrobe onto his sword. The blade enters the room with most of the gun portion between the third and second floor. Afearia’s shoulder is slashed upon entry before she rolls across the floor with her chains roughly retracting.
Glenn ties a set of joined bed sheets to a radiator and swings into the second floor window. He sees Afearia on the floor holding her shoulder and flicks three evenly spaced microbombs around his sword. They make a weak explosion with enough force to dislodge it from the ceiling and back into his hand.
Afearia stands holding Demonweaver in her bad arm. “Bastion, appear!” she says, summoning Bastion. Glenn bunches his brow in curiosity. Tightly gripped, she holds Bastion high over her head. “Dust Shatter!”
Glenn charges at her, moments before she slams down her sword, shaking the building. The floor collapses with her and Glenn falling all the way into the lobby. The residents outside quickly scramble for distance, seconds before the impacting shockwave shatters the lobby windows and glass doors. Instead of leaving the area, the residents stay to watch the rest of the fight.
Glenn sits up from the rubble looking raddled until he quickly does a back roll onto his feet, dodging the hurled Bastion. Speeding from around the pile of debris is Afearia wielding Demonweaver.
The two of them engage in sword combat when Glenn’s suddenly cut vertically on his shoulder. Though surprised, he clashes again and tries to counter one of her strikes only to end up receiving another slash across his stomach. With the sweep of his sword, Afearia ducks and spins around him before slashing Glenn across his back, causing him to stumble.
“It’s as I thought,” she says haughtily. “Your swordsmanship is crap. It’s your ability to use your surroundings that makes you tough.” She stands straight and faces him. “But now that we’re in an open space, you can’t top me.”
Afearia bolts toward him once more. To the best of his ability, Glenn continues to sloppily block her sword strikes until she deflects his blade upward and shoulder rushes him into a cabinet against the wall. She charges in ready to pierce her blade through his chest when suddenly, Glenn pulls the hammer of the gun, releasing the blade to the floor and revealing a small hidden barrel. He immediately takes aim and fires off a shot in between her shoulder joint.
She soars halfway across the room and drops her sword moments before hitting the floor. Afearia rolls around, grunting and briefly screaming through the pain. Glenn breathes heavily while keeping his finger on the trigger. “Damn,” he says while catching his breath. He lowers his gun and stands straight
As Glenn slowly approaches Afearia, Adrian and Veronica run to her side. “Anya!” they shout.
Glenn stops and looks toward the shattered entrance of the lobby. “Too many civilians,” he says in a low voice. “This could cause casualties.” He points to the hotel clerk outside. “You did a poor job clearing out the area! Now I have to withdraw under the mayor’s agreement.”
Afearia is shocked by his words. The mayor? she thinks.
“Anya, are you okay?” Veronica asks.
Afearia pushes her hand away. “Get off me,” she says before standing, holding her near shattered joint. “That was very underhanded, Glenn. I should’ve known it was more than a unique hilt design. As expected from Demi scum.”
Glenn walks back to his blade and reconnects it to his gun. “Swordplay was never my specialty. Back before I joined the new regime, I was in a special unit called F.L.U.X. As a standard requirement, each member had to become familiar with the use of all kinds of combative weapons. Although this isn’t my specialty, I’ve dabbled in the art of sword fighting. For now, I’ll call this a respectable draw.”
He turns to leave when a couple chains wrap around his ankle. “Where do you think you’re going?” Afearia says with an angry glare. “This is not over.”
“This fight is done, my enemy. I can’t involve innocent lives just to fulfill government orders.”
“As if you care about the people!” Adrian shouts.
“Adrian, stop,” Veronica says.
Glenn turns to them. “I serve to protect the people of Terra.” He points to Afearia. “And that girl you’re coddling—is a threat to this world. Want proof of her past endeavors? If you start from the beginning of her trail at Armport, and move to where she is now, Afearia has done more harm than good.” He looks to Afearia. “I’m sure the people of Woodhaven wish she never stepped foot in their town.”
Afearia grunts. “You’re a liar!” Adrian shouts. “She’s the hero, you’re the villain!” Glenn briefly stares at him before tossing a glossy flyer at their feet. Adrian picks it up and sees a picture of Yadee on it with a list of tour dates and locations. “But why would you guys go to her concert?”
“Look at the bottom.” Adrian and Veronica look at the bottom of the flyer with stunned faces. “Villains don’t supply protection to those who make better victims. Since the last concert of Yadee being stabbed in a non-vital area, she has hired governmental protection.” He looks toward Afearia. “I suppose our hands will be too full to bother with you. But do me a favor and make my job easy by behaving until we can free up some agents. I don’t need a careless woman like you on the loose while I’m indisposed.”
Adrian makes a disgruntle sound. “This is a trick. I bet you guys are going to be the ones to harm, Yadee. I bet Yadee’s bait to get a large group of people under your control.”
Glenn gives him a confused stern expression. “You’re wrong. That is not what the government is for. If there’s someone from the government harming the public masses on purpose, you should report this to the king. Our job is to ensure life, not end it.” As he turns to walk, he’s tugged by the unreleased chains. “Seriously? Are we really going to fight here and kill this many people?”
Afearia stares at his back for a long time before unwillingly releasing the chains from his ankle. Glenn continues to walk into the crowd until suddenly stopping. “By the way. My maneuver wasn’t dirty. My battle title is ‘Gunslinging Prodigy’. All I did was play into my strengths. You should try it sometime.” He proceeds through the crowd and out into the streets.
Afearia stands. “Are you alright?” Veronica asks again.
Afearia looks down at the kids before looking at the crowd. “I’m fine.”
Before she can close the door, Glenn comes slowly from around the corner with a gunblade lined across his shoulder. The unique weapon is a single-edged blade with a strong curve at the tip. The weapon’s hilt is the end of a silver revolver with a black rubber grip and no barrel.
Veronica moves back into the room and watches him through the reflection on the pitcher. He proceeds her way while humming a daunting tune with ominous intent. She softly closes the door and rushes to wake everyone.
“Adrian,” she says in a loud whisper. “Adrian? Brother, wake up.”
He rubs his eyes. “What, Veronica? I’m—”
“Adrian, it’s them,” she says with panic. “We have to run, now.”
His eyes widen before he jumps out the bed and follows his sister into the bedroom. They barge into Afearia’s room and jump to her bed, shaking her.
“Anya, Anya,” Adrian stresses. “Anya, get up!”
Glenn moves closer with every rhythmic step to match his humming. He calmly enters room 514 and walks into the second bedroom. He stands before the room’s wall and tilts his head from side to side. Glenn begins moving his hand in front of him, as if to be measuring something. He raises his blade slowly and cocks it back into a one-handed piercing stance with his humming reaching an extended high pitched tone.
With one mighty thrust, Glenn pulverizes the wall. He flies over the bed Afearia’s supposed to be sleeping in and impales the mattress, sliding a little on small debris. He turns back into the room and pulls out his sword with a confused look. He looks around and sees a hole in the wall of the main room.
Glenn slowly enters the room while noticing everything’s still on. Without warning, Afearia bursts from the floor, smashing her palm into his cheek and sending him through the ceiling. She lands gracefully in the room while small debris falls to the floor.
The kids look up from the fourth floor. “Whoa!” Adrian says. “Nice one!”
“Leave the building, now,” Afearia says down the hole.
“Huh?”
“I can’t protect you this time. Leave the building and don’t come back.”
Veronica becomes worried. “But, Anya—”
“Did you not hear me? Get out of here!”
They quickly scramble to the door while Afearia summons Demonweaver. Suddenly, Glenn’s humming begins again in the darkness. With each step, the humming moves toward the front door and stops. A loud crash takes place outside the door before the resumption of his tune. She takes a couple steps back once his humming ends.
Without warning, the door flies out at her. Through instinct, she cuts the door vertically down the middle. The two halves part to her sides with the unhooded, Glenn, perfectly pressed against the door half to her right. As the halves revolve around her, he quickly rolls around Afearia and slashes her back.
Afearia stumbles forward from the attack and hops frontward before turning to him. Shortly after turning, he closes the gap between them and punches her in the face. Afearia’s back slams up against the door across the hall and falls on her bottom.
She looks at him with a face of angry astonishment while he continues to hum with a rhythmic dance in his step. Unbelievable, Afearia thinks. I’m bleeding. For the first time on Terra, I’m bleeding from the hands of pathetic Demi trash!
“If I were you,” Glenn says, bouncing his index finger like he’s about to lecture her. “I would remove that eye patch. Or I’m gonna keep abusing your blind spot, time, after time again.” She gives him a more frustrated look. “I already know you have two functional eyes. Use em.”
She rips off the eye patch and stands. “Who are you?”
He steps over to the TV and turns it off before putting his hand on the flower vase on the dresser. “Glenn.”
He hurls the vase at her head. Afearia ducks low and dashes forward, moments before he kicks the fallen pitcher on the floor at her. She leans to the side near the wall and before she can lean off, he strikes with his sword. Afearia blocks his one-handed sword swing with her own and is pinned. He’s utilizing the environment to his fullest, she thinks.
“Nice reflexes,” he says earnestly. “I didn’t getcha this time.” His face becomes a little stern. “Stop toying with me.”
Afearia smirks. “Alright then.”
Suddenly, several chains burst from the wall and wrap around a floor lamp. When she tosses the lamp at him, he quickly jumps back. She seizes the moment and starts slashing at Glenn. With each strike, he sloppily blocks her blade before jumping through the hole she put in the wall. Instead of following him, she runs out into the hall and stands in front of room 518. Suddenly, Glenn’s blade comes through the door, aimed at her face. As the blade comes at her, she tilts her head to the side and shoves her blade through the door as well.
Afearia slowly pulls back her sword, cautiously waiting for his next move. I didn’t puncture any flesh, she thinks. I need to be careful. He fights with a strange future sight style by forcing his opponents to charge first so he can easily predict their next move. With smooth speed, Afearia stabs the door a second time. In this fight, haste makes waste.
With his blade, Glenn quickly carves an irregular shaped hole high up on the door. Suddenly, a grenade drops through the hole.
“Are you kidding me!?” Afearia shouts.
She releases her sword and rushes down the door behind her. She enters the room and runs into the next room before jumping out the window backward. Afearia shoots a chain down her arm and wraps it around a bedpost.
She swings and crashes through the third floor window, a second before the grenade explodes. The floors above her briefly shake as she slowly stands and moves toward the front door. When she nears the door, something catches her nose. His scent’s gone, she thinks.
Within the same moment of thought, three large blue light rings come spinning together from behind her before flying apart and revealing Glenn. She turns around and receives a shallow slash down her forearm.
She grabs her dripping arm and stumbles back. “You warped,” Afearia says with irritation.
Glenn lowers his blade. “Damn, I miscalculated your location.”
“How annoying it is to know you can popup anywhere you want in this fight.”
“If only it were that simple. Our warp tactics can only be done when moving to locations we’ve been to from memory. Each warp takes two percent of our overall energy levels. It’s the main reason why Derexen has us only warp five times a day if possible. Very few Demis utilize warping as a fighting method.” She raises her hand and summons Demonweaver from upstairs. “Why do you keep using that powerless sword against me? Use that other one, the water sword.”
Afearia’s briefly surprised. They’re collecting data on me, she thinks
Afearia grunts with a stern expression. She slowly waves her hand over her face and down to her knees, causing a light breeze before rushing toward him. She charges at Glenn with the wind slightly lifting her off the ground. With her increased speed, Glenn is taken by surprise and shoulder rushed into the next room.
When he hits the floor, she leaps up to stab him. He leans from the blade’s trajectory and kicks Afearia in the chin as he flips backward onto his feet. She pulls out her sword and rushes him once more.
When their blades collide, she muscles him halfway out the window. He groans when the broken shards sticking from the frame cut into his back. Glenn grabs her face and loses grip as she pulls away. He sticks his arm out the window and grabs the side of the building before tightly wrapping his legs around her. Glenn loudly grits through his teeth as he lifts Afearia off the floor and tosses her out the window.
As she falls down with hotel residents watching, she fires a chain into the second floor window to pull her in. Glenn sees her entering the room at a high angle and stabs the floor. He quickly pulls a heavy wardrobe onto his sword. The blade enters the room with most of the gun portion between the third and second floor. Afearia’s shoulder is slashed upon entry before she rolls across the floor with her chains roughly retracting.
Glenn ties a set of joined bed sheets to a radiator and swings into the second floor window. He sees Afearia on the floor holding her shoulder and flicks three evenly spaced microbombs around his sword. They make a weak explosion with enough force to dislodge it from the ceiling and back into his hand.
Afearia stands holding Demonweaver in her bad arm. “Bastion, appear!” she says, summoning Bastion. Glenn bunches his brow in curiosity. Tightly gripped, she holds Bastion high over her head. “Dust Shatter!”
Glenn charges at her, moments before she slams down her sword, shaking the building. The floor collapses with her and Glenn falling all the way into the lobby. The residents outside quickly scramble for distance, seconds before the impacting shockwave shatters the lobby windows and glass doors. Instead of leaving the area, the residents stay to watch the rest of the fight.
Glenn sits up from the rubble looking raddled until he quickly does a back roll onto his feet, dodging the hurled Bastion. Speeding from around the pile of debris is Afearia wielding Demonweaver.
The two of them engage in sword combat when Glenn’s suddenly cut vertically on his shoulder. Though surprised, he clashes again and tries to counter one of her strikes only to end up receiving another slash across his stomach. With the sweep of his sword, Afearia ducks and spins around him before slashing Glenn across his back, causing him to stumble.
“It’s as I thought,” she says haughtily. “Your swordsmanship is crap. It’s your ability to use your surroundings that makes you tough.” She stands straight and faces him. “But now that we’re in an open space, you can’t top me.”
Afearia bolts toward him once more. To the best of his ability, Glenn continues to sloppily block her sword strikes until she deflects his blade upward and shoulder rushes him into a cabinet against the wall. She charges in ready to pierce her blade through his chest when suddenly, Glenn pulls the hammer of the gun, releasing the blade to the floor and revealing a small hidden barrel. He immediately takes aim and fires off a shot in between her shoulder joint.
She soars halfway across the room and drops her sword moments before hitting the floor. Afearia rolls around, grunting and briefly screaming through the pain. Glenn breathes heavily while keeping his finger on the trigger. “Damn,” he says while catching his breath. He lowers his gun and stands straight
As Glenn slowly approaches Afearia, Adrian and Veronica run to her side. “Anya!” they shout.
Glenn stops and looks toward the shattered entrance of the lobby. “Too many civilians,” he says in a low voice. “This could cause casualties.” He points to the hotel clerk outside. “You did a poor job clearing out the area! Now I have to withdraw under the mayor’s agreement.”
Afearia is shocked by his words. The mayor? she thinks.
“Anya, are you okay?” Veronica asks.
Afearia pushes her hand away. “Get off me,” she says before standing, holding her near shattered joint. “That was very underhanded, Glenn. I should’ve known it was more than a unique hilt design. As expected from Demi scum.”
Glenn walks back to his blade and reconnects it to his gun. “Swordplay was never my specialty. Back before I joined the new regime, I was in a special unit called F.L.U.X. As a standard requirement, each member had to become familiar with the use of all kinds of combative weapons. Although this isn’t my specialty, I’ve dabbled in the art of sword fighting. For now, I’ll call this a respectable draw.”
He turns to leave when a couple chains wrap around his ankle. “Where do you think you’re going?” Afearia says with an angry glare. “This is not over.”
“This fight is done, my enemy. I can’t involve innocent lives just to fulfill government orders.”
“As if you care about the people!” Adrian shouts.
“Adrian, stop,” Veronica says.
Glenn turns to them. “I serve to protect the people of Terra.” He points to Afearia. “And that girl you’re coddling—is a threat to this world. Want proof of her past endeavors? If you start from the beginning of her trail at Armport, and move to where she is now, Afearia has done more harm than good.” He looks to Afearia. “I’m sure the people of Woodhaven wish she never stepped foot in their town.”
Afearia grunts. “You’re a liar!” Adrian shouts. “She’s the hero, you’re the villain!” Glenn briefly stares at him before tossing a glossy flyer at their feet. Adrian picks it up and sees a picture of Yadee on it with a list of tour dates and locations. “But why would you guys go to her concert?”
“Look at the bottom.” Adrian and Veronica look at the bottom of the flyer with stunned faces. “Villains don’t supply protection to those who make better victims. Since the last concert of Yadee being stabbed in a non-vital area, she has hired governmental protection.” He looks toward Afearia. “I suppose our hands will be too full to bother with you. But do me a favor and make my job easy by behaving until we can free up some agents. I don’t need a careless woman like you on the loose while I’m indisposed.”
Adrian makes a disgruntle sound. “This is a trick. I bet you guys are going to be the ones to harm, Yadee. I bet Yadee’s bait to get a large group of people under your control.”
Glenn gives him a confused stern expression. “You’re wrong. That is not what the government is for. If there’s someone from the government harming the public masses on purpose, you should report this to the king. Our job is to ensure life, not end it.” As he turns to walk, he’s tugged by the unreleased chains. “Seriously? Are we really going to fight here and kill this many people?”
Afearia stares at his back for a long time before unwillingly releasing the chains from his ankle. Glenn continues to walk into the crowd until suddenly stopping. “By the way. My maneuver wasn’t dirty. My battle title is ‘Gunslinging Prodigy’. All I did was play into my strengths. You should try it sometime.” He proceeds through the crowd and out into the streets.
Afearia stands. “Are you alright?” Veronica asks again.
Afearia looks down at the kids before looking at the crowd. “I’m fine.”