Turning Disaster Into Opportunity

"Anatia Deiancle, I presume."

The man in the red hood tossed the bloodied maid to the floor.

Another maid rushed to lift her, but she shook her head.

Lady Anatia had gone white as a sheet. I couldn't blame her.

Those robes were the same ones worn by the attackers at the auction.

To think they'd storm a duke's estate in broad daylight.

Enemies willing to go this far were dangerous.

"Baroba Deiancle isn't here, then. But the daughter will make a fine hostage."

"Who are you? Identify yourself!"

"We are shadows. We have no names to give. You're coming with us."

"Do you truly believe you'll get away with this?!"

Lady Anatia shouted.

At the same moment, the maids shifted into fighting stances.

Their target appeared to be the ducal house.

Safe to say we'd been caught up in someone else's mess.

The maids raised their weapons and charged the red-hooded man.

He extended his right hand toward them and brought the index finger of his left to his lips.

His lips moved, and the maids were sliced apart by something unseen.

Wind magic.

It came our way too, but Azu and Alexia swatted the blades of wind aside with their weapons.

The wind magic also reached Lady Anatia, but the Anti-Magic Orb nullified it.

"How could you…"

"You seem to have some defenses against magic."

The assailant readied another attack.

"It's dangerous, so don't move from there."

Alexia whispered in my ear.

This was a job for them. I nodded in answer.

Azu and Alexia moved forward to engage while Elza stayed back, using her healing miracle to treat the maids.

"Out of my way."

The red-hooded man launched fire magic at Azu and Alexia.

Simultaneously, Azu dropped low and charged straight at him.

She deflected only the spells aimed directly at her, closing the distance.

Fire magic had no effect on Alexia.

The Fire Elemental absorbed it all.

Once the gap was closed, the red-hooded man drew a sword and moved to meet Azu.

Azu used her forward momentum to bring her sword overhead and deliver a diagonal slash.

Her strike was blocked, but the instant it was, she spun to the right.

She aimed for his midsection with an upward cut from below.

He managed to block that too just before it connected, but Azu unleashed the power of the Sealed Sword Grungaus right then and there.

"Guh?!"

The burst of power caught him off guard and struck true.

The red-hooded man was sent flying, door and all.

Azu gave chase.

Rather than wait here, it was better to move with her.

"Let's get outside. There may be more attackers."

"Yes, but…"

Lady Anatia looked toward the maids.

Elza's treatment had saved their lives, it seemed.

But they weren't recovered enough to move.

"My lady, please don't concern yourself with us."

The maid with the lightest injuries said as she tended to the others.

No one had taken a fatal wound. Elza had done good work.

Lady Anatia hesitated briefly, then steeled herself.

"Understood. All of you, don't try to move."

"Right. Alexia, take the lead until we link up with Azu."

"Of course."

We left the room with Lady Anatia in tow.

The hallway looked nothing like it had when we'd arrived. Blood spattered the walls.

Soldiers who'd served as guards lay crumpled on the floor.

When had this…?

We hadn't heard a thing from inside the room.

A short way ahead, we found Azu. The enemy was gone.

She noticed us, ran over, and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry. He got away."

"Don't worry about it. Good on you for waiting for us. The statues are still outside?"

"Yes. The soldiers are fighting them."

Stepping outside would mean running into the statues.

One wrong decision here and people could die. What to do?

"Lady Anatia, will the army or city guard come to help?"

"Y-yes. The army is stationed some distance away, but a commotion this large should bring them."

Waiting for reinforcements was an option, but the enemy would know that too.

They'd want this finished before interference arrived.

Fighting sounds continued from outside.

Do we rally with the soldiers and destroy the statues, or do we flee?

"Alexia. What would you do?"

"In a situation like this, I'd gather numbers. If we get picked off one by one, we'll end up isolated."

"Good point."

The red-hooded attackers had also been capable of flight magic.

It was safest to assume the ones who'd hit this estate could do the same.

With Lady Anatia in our care, an aerial search would make it nearly impossible to slip away unnoticed.

A difficult situation.

We'd gotten dragged into something troublesome, but play this right and there might be a reward in it.

"You've got that look on your face."

Elza whispered softly in my ear.

Oops. I couldn't let Lady Anatia see that expression.

Regardless, we had to deal with this either way.

"We take out the statues. We've beaten one before. You can do it."

"Of course. Leave it to me."

Azu said it without hesitation.

She'd come a long way. Not just physically, but mentally too.

I never imagined the day would come when that timid Azu would declare something like this so firmly.

"We will not run. We'll repel the attackers. Is that agreeable?"

"Understood. Your combat abilities spoke for themselves just now. I have no objections."

Lady Anatia gave her assent with a nod.

I really had been blessed, I thought.

"All right, let's go."

I flung the door open and we stepped outside.

The statues — there they were.

Three of them, just as reported.

Azu had called them the same statues as before, but they seemed inferior in quality.

That one had been crafted with an almost obsessive attention to detail.

Likely the product of a particular madman's fanatical devotion.

"I'm off."

With that, Azu sprinted toward the battling statues.

"That girl gets too fired up."

Alexia went after her to provide support.

Elza stayed with us as both healer and guard.

"I'll keep you both safe."

She said it while twirling her mace. Reassuring, though perhaps not the most priestly image.