Chapter 87: Chapter 87 - Vermin

Logically, Mila knew this wasn’t the wisest option to pick. Just walking in without knowing what to expect was foolish and rash. It was not something she favoured. But…

Mila was confident in getting away. She wanted to test herself. There wasn’t enough time to do it properly. And there were more excuses she could find, but most importantly - they had hurt Isabel. They had to pay and fear what was coming for them.

With the two messengers falling before her, Mila was ready to face off against the trio of more dangerous opponents.

Only…

The man with the air of authority sitting behind the desk looked past his prime. His actions thus far had been questionable. He was well-groomed and could be considered handsome. His suit was clean and trendy, but he lacked any visible weapons. Not a fighter anymore.

The frail-looking, bookish man at the back was sneaking towards the window. He appeared to be ready to escape at moments' notice. Still, she didn’t dismiss him as a threat. If anything, his actions raised her vigilance. There was something off about the man. While he looked like an office worker and acted scared, his movements were a little too calculated. And that’s before she considered his sizable mana pool.

But the woman, at least, looked strong and was ready to fight. She was keeping her centre of gravity low. There was no doubt the muscly woman was prepared to attack at any opportunity - something Mila wasn’t going to give willingly. From the looks and the choice of weapons, she was a close-quarter fighter, likely a striker mixed with a grappler.

Mila was… disappointed. She didn’t know what she had expected, but a man past his prime, a defector and a pub brawler wasn’t it.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” The woman taunted after Mila had stayed silent for a moment too long. “Weren’t you in a rush? Just a little girl, do you want mommy to give you a tit to suckle on?”

The defector looked at the woman as if she were a lunatic. He even forgot to act, and, for a moment, his movements turned smooth and deliberate, so very familiar to how Mila herself tended to move.

An assassin then, if Mila had to guess. Or a spy. Certainly not someone willing to fight for Brandy. But could she let him go? Where did his loyalties lie? It was better to take care of any loose ends now.

With a flick of her hand, Mila sent one of her knives flying. It struck right where the defector had planned to move and cut off the path. “Going somewhere?” She asked.

For a moment, Mila thought the woman would act, but she turned out to be patient. The burly woman simply narrowed her eyes and kept her stance.

Suddenly, the defector’s mannerisms changed. Gone was the cowardly bookworm. In his place stood a man with a resolute expression. He kept his hands where Mila could see them and moved slowly. “Not anymore.” He spoke. “But I won’t stand in your way. I simply ask to be left alone. I won’t interfere in any of your plans.”

The woman’s eyebrow twitched when she heard the man’s words. It looked like she was surprised and wanted to look back but judged Mila as the more immediate threat.

“Pack! What are you saying?” The man behind the desk looked at the defector in surprise. “What’s with you?”

“Shut it, Brandy,” The defector hissed. “I have no time to deal with your stupidity.” Then, he addressed Mila once again. “Please, you have to understand, I have nothing to do with these people.”

“You cannot leave.” Mila denied him an escape immediately. “Pack, was it? I would rather you not call for reinforcement or inform anyone of me.”

The defector looked taken aback. There was a look of struggle on his face. Mila had trouble believing the reaction was real. It was too convenient and played on her emotions.

“Anthony.” He finally spoke. “My real name. I suspect I know who you are, yes. I was sent a message that warned me to keep out of your way. Pepper. Does this name mean anything to you?”

Mila flipped the dagger in her hand, making the woman twitch. “First time I hear it.” She lied. “But, I do wonder what you know. Perhaps we should have a talk.”

“Boss!” The woman interrupted. “Pack is a traitor. Be careful.”

“I know that Polliena!” Brandy jumped on his feet and moved away from everyone. “Deal with that bitch and do something about Pack!”

“I can’t.” Polliena refused. “She is dangerous.”

“For fucks sake! What am I paying you for! So worthless!”

“I am not running, am I?” The woman spat. “At least be useful, or we will both end up in a ditch.”

“Fuck! Let’s talk, yes?” Brandy kept retreating. “I have money. Connections. People. You must have something you want, don’t you?”

Mila experienced a strong desire to rip out Brandy’s throat barehanded upon mention of ‘people’. It was the way he used the word as if they were a thing to be traded. “Why yes, there is.” Mila agreed. “But truthfully, the thing I want is worthless and unfortunate. It is also something only you can offer.” She let her hostility and hatred show. “Your life.”

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The room seemed to freeze over. The air stilled, and it became hard to breathe. Finally, the woman’s nerves failed, and with a short, strangled call, she lunged forward.

Behind the mask, Mila smirked. The look on Brandy’s face contorted into a mask of terror. His eyes widened, and words failed to come.

And while the woman had been rash and left an opening, she also was ready to trade a limb for a blow to reach Mila. The brass knuckles on her hands were used to hold Mila’s dagger at bay.

But for once, Mila didn’t have to duck beneath and step in to injure her opponent. All she had to do was to slide back and to the side while slashing at the woman’s fists.

The skin and flesh parted easily, with no resistance. The woman grunted. Mila dodged.

“Polliena!” Brandy finally broke the spell of silence that was Mila’s enmity. He fumbled his mana and tried to cast. The first couple of times, he failed to move mana in the intended way completely.

True to his word, Anthony didn’t move. He even looked happy to see the woman and Brandy suffer. His arms - still in the air where Mila could see them, slightly moved as if he was a conductor.

Mila slashed at Polliena’s arms again. The woman parried with the knuckles, pushing the dagger away, but it earned her a gnash on her cheek from Mila’s throwing knife. “It’s poisoned, you know.” She lied again.

The woman palled and, for the first time, faltered. Her expression turned desperate, and she wiped the blood running down her cheek with her sleeve.

“Polliena!” Brandy’s voice was full of desperation. He tried to appeal for her to keep fighting. “She won’t let us go. I can get an antidote from Basalt’s.” While talking, he finally managed to cast something.

Mila sidestepped the pathetic attempt at magic from Barndy. He had cobbled together an almost passable fiery bolt that fizzled against the wall behind her. “Pathetic.” She revealed her thoughts. “And to think I thought there would be a challenge here. But-” With Polliena distracted, she managed to slice her wrist. “It was foolish to expect anything worthwhile from slavers.”

“Wh-what?” Brandy’s mind raced. “I thought Helly sent you, b-but… Y-you are with the woman who killed L-”

“Not so stupid, are you?” Mila interrupted. “No moving.” She reminded Anthony as the man had made a rude gesture towards the bleeding-out woman.

Polliena was still struggling. Seeing Mila was not chasing, she had stopped attacking and was trying to bandage the crisscrossed cuts on her arms.

“T-they are not slaves! They are workers!” Brandy insisted. “They are getting paid!”

“Lies, lies, lies.” Mila tutted. “As expected from a ball-less creature such as you.” She sidestepped another approximation of a fireball from Brandy.

“Polliena!” Brandy was panicking. His next attempt at forming anything from mana failed spectacularly, and he singed his lush eyebrows.

The woman cursed. She had finished tending her wounded hands and traced the newly acquired scar on her cheek in worry. “We can’t win.” She decided.

“Shut up and fight!” Brandy screamed in hysteria. He was now looking for anything that could be used as a weapon. “I’ll help!

“So unsightly,” Mila remarked. To her surprise, the woman resumed a fighting stance. Only the glances Polliena was sending towards the doors revealed her true goal.

It would certainly give her more time to torment Brandy. Not that Mila was going to let Polliena run. With how things were developing, she would likely leave Anthony alive. She couldn’t have this woman run around and ruin everything.

So, when Brandy made a bright light, Mila pretended to be blinded. Polliena didn’t even look at her to see if her Boss’s move had any impact. She just charged towards the doors while keeping her protected knuckles in the way of Mila’s dagger.

A futile and sad attempt. If Polliena had stayed and fought, she would have at least preserved some honour.

Now, the strongly built-woman died with a dagger in her back. It was a cowardly way to go. Mila had moved along with Polliena. With the awkward defences, the woman had failed to stop the killing move.

Mila yanked the dagger out of the flesh. She looked down at the corpse and shook her head. “I have to say, Mr Brandy. You are a failure of a leader.” She turned around and walked towards the man.

“S-stay back!” Brandy had found a weapon - a chair, which he was waving in front of him.

“No more little fireworks to lighten the mood?” While passing the corpses, she cleaned her dagger. Seeing the blood, she was again reminded of how she looked. The red liquid had seeped through the fabric of her cloak and was ruining her clothes.

“I-I am under the protection of the Kingdom!” Brandy showed her a ring.

“He is.” Anthony suddenly inserted. “But not in the way he implies. The ring has power, but it was given to him by Robvo Basalt’s wife. It wasn’t earned.

“It doesn’t matter.” Mila dismissed the implications. She didn’t care.

“Thought so.” Anthony sighed. “There will be a lot of guards running around once they discover his body. It’s probably wiser to just burn the place down. It will delay them.”

Mila pulled her mask down, revealing a savage smile. “That won’t be necessary. I am counting on them finding him. The sooner, the better.”

“N-no…” Brandy feebly protested. He used the chair to keep Mila at a distance. “There has to be something.”

“Your life, Mr Brandy,” Mila whispered sweetly. “Give it to me.”

“Please.” He sobbed. “Everything… You can have everything.”

It was annoying, but the chair made for a passable barrier. To solve the situation while not losing the menacing impression Mila was cultivating, she raised her dagger and let Brandy’s eyes follow it.

With the man distracted, Mila swiftly darted around the chair and landed behind Brandy. She slowly pressed the tip of her dagger against his back.

“N-no…” Brandy was too afraid to move. “Please, please, please…”

Mila didn’t waver. She didn’t let him see her. “What is it that you want to say, Mr Brandy?”

“M-my life…”

“Gladly.” Mila used all of her strength and pushed her dagger deep inside the man’s flesh.

A piercing wail escaped the older man. Brandy fell forward, and the dagger left his innards. Frantically, he tried to reach where the deep wound was, but strength quickly left his body.

Mila watched the bug squirm dispassionately. The man rolled on his back and looked at her one last time. His gaze was full of indescribable dread before that emotion, too, fled the lifeless body.