"Huh?"
Esara and the young officer had locked eyes, like two challengers trying to guess their next move, seeing a random woman holding onto the stone tablet they'd confiscated half an hour ago, he was already over the edge.
His hands drifted swiftly and surely onto the handle of his sabre.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my office?"
She didn't answer immediately; instead, her eyes darted to where Salty was supposed to be. Her eyes signalled for help, but there was no answer.
Now, what could Esara possibly do in this situation? Trying to charge him head-on would be suicide as she carried no weapon.
So, being a woman, she used the only weapon she had.
She gave him a smirk, and the young male had flinched.
Soon, with everything she had, she approached, swaying her hips the best she could. The man turned to surprise as he lowered his sword. He was too late; she'd already made her way into his space of privacy.
Her hands wandered up to his neck playfully, and her other hand played with the buttons of his collar. The man was beet-red, seeing how he hadn't done anything, he liked it.
Who knows, maybe she's the hottest girl he's ever seen; that thought alone made her able to continue without having any sense of shame.
The man's hand had subconsciously wandered to her waist, pulling her closer.
"What's your name, pretty boy?"
Her tone was seductive, entering territory she had never been in.
The sound of another door opened. Beneath them, a group of soldiers had arrived, most likely the defense line of the walls outside.
She had to hurry; if more arrived, then this would've caused trouble.
"M-My name is T— ".
She leaned closer into him, her tall frame leaning lower towards his face; her intention was clear to the man, and he leaned even closer, closing his eyes even. Just as their breath got mixed in their faces — She'd give him the gift of a right hook.
The man was about to fall onto the floor, but she caught him in the motion. Lying him flatly on the ground.
A chill ran down her spine.
"..Disgusting..." She'd breezily remarked.
She leaned into the window frame again, though as she was about to call for Salty, she'd realize there were still soldiers down the narrow street. She hid fast to the side of the frame — mouth closed.
"...That was close..."
Then, from her position, she subtly faced the rooftops.
Above a whisper, she called out his name.
"Salty... I've knocked out the guy, can you come and help me?"
No answer.
"Salty?" She called out again, yet there was no reply.
"Did he actually leave me?"
Then, out of everything that shouldn't have happened, it happened. Someone had knocked twice on the door to the office. A man's voice ruptured on the other side.
"Trar? Come drink with us, don't be hauled up in your office". He'd ask.
She had no idea what to say, Trar? Is that the guy she seduced? Is the one flat on the floor currently?. Her initial thought was that she was going to get caught red-handed. But then, her mind began cooking up an idea that she considered brilliant.
"Trar and I are busy~."
Before the door could open, Esara pushed her back against the frame, making a subtle moan.
"Trar~ calm down, sweetie, your friend is on the other side."
The man on the other side went silent, then asked.
"You and Trar? Who are you?"
"Ah, I guess he didn't introduce me to you boys, I'm his girlfriend".
Esara bit down on her lips, hoping he'd fall for it. An officer's secret girlfriend, with whom he spent scrumptious time, after every forsaken' invasions. It could make sense — or that was what she believed.
"...His girlfriend, trar is that true?"
Her eyes narrowed. Couldn't this guy just take the hint and leave? When things are like this your supposed to let the two doers be alone. Persistent idiots like him are the worst, always ruining moments like this.
He paused, "Trar is an awkward guy; he never speaks with women. If he did have a girlfriend, she'd have to force herself onto him, which I know he doesn't, because he's the biggest virgin of all of us!"
The door smashed open, just in time; she'd managed to back up so as not to get caught in the fallen door. Within its frame, a lightly armored man had already unsheathed his sabre, taking immediate notice of his fallen buddy, he shouted out to his other comrades.
"Guys! There's an intruder!"
Soon, several of them arrived at the door frame, drawing their sabres and surrounding her to try to corner her into the walls. She felt her skin begin to heat up. She clenched her fist hard; fate was never on her side, and the thought that Salty must've left her annoyed her.
"This has to be some sort of a cruel joke". Muttering to herself, she'd then observe her surroundings. Six officers, pointing blades ready to strike whenever she decided to move, their expressions were on edge, some even glancing at each other for insurance.
Without a word, she rushed to the desk, and her arm slid the stacks of papers explosively off the table, creating a window of openings as they seemed to begin to panic. She'd leaped to the officer closest to her, kicked him off-balance, and took his sabre within the same motion.
Ten out of ten performance! She'd thought to herself before seeing the others beginning to panic even more at their downed comrade. She swung the tip of the blade through the papers still in the air, scratching their clothes, which had even worked better at intimidation.
"B-be careful, guys! She even knows how to carry a blade—!"
"Where is it!" She'd abruptly said.
"Where's the spear you stole from me!?"
The guys glanced at each other, seemingly confused. Esara's grip on the sword tensed, raising it low to point the tip of it at the neck of the boy she'd 'seduced'. If they wouldn't comply, then she would act as if she would kill him. His comrades became nervous; one had even tried to step in before getting stopped in his tracks by another.
"I'm sorry, we don't know the details of your spear, you, the person we discovered three days ago, right?" He looked over his shoulder and asked the other behind, "Who went on the joint expedition before that crystal man?"
One man had raised his hand, running through the tight corridor.
"I was there; we don't have it. The Loft has your spear!"
Loft?
Was that another human settlement? If so, then she still needed their answer.
"Where is this loft—!" Her sword, subconsciously, scratched his neck.
"Whoa whoa, Don't kill Trar!"
She retracted her sword just slightly off from his skin; she didn't mean it.
"S-Someone give her a map!"
A map? Esara's eyes widened in excitement, so these people had even gone as far as mapping out routes, which in itself was impressive and almost worth the praise. After all, the veins of Rodan never were merciful with directions.
One scurried off and returned shortly with it, cautiously handing it over.
She took the contents of the old map with a grin plastered on her face, but it faded once her brain seemed to stop functioning. She didn't understand a single thing in this map. Several doodles and lines were drawn — most likely, the veins and tunnels were overlapping, though what confused her the most were the random markers and checkpoints with words she had no clue about.
"What is this? You want your friend alive or not?" She raised the blade, its tip lingering dreadfully by the man's neck
They gave the same reaction again.
"The maps are old! None of our generation knows what it means!".
She did her best to study, but it came to nothing; only then would she release their comrade. A gasp of relief came from the soldiers, not wanting to risk their friend dying, which was smart. She'd expected them to rush at her like forsaken raiders, throw themselves at her... but they didn't.
She pocketed her map and observed them.
"You guys seem far too relaxed with an enemy standing here. Can I ask you guys why you were so bent on capturing me that time?"
The guys remained silent, and only the brave one had spoken the truth.
"Don't you think it's terrifying for us when we find more humans beyond the abyss?"
"Reasonable, but not once did you guys question or talk to me while I was caged in that dark alleyway; that was pretty terrifying too. I felt abandoned," She replied with a hint of irony.
They didn't answer; they were silent as though they were reflecting on their mistake, and then something twitched in the corner of her vision. She saw their hands trembling. She could tell; these boys were terrified, not of her, but something else entirely.
"How long are you guys going to keep up with the invasion outside your armor? That wall won't hold". She wasn't going to sugarcoat; it was the truth. In a place like this, nothing could last.
"What else can we do? Even if we try to defend, they come back with more numbers". One had anxiously replied. "It's true, and it's beginning to happen more often in the last hundred hours".
Esara went silent as she caught the wind of a certain word.
numbers?
The forsaken don't operate in numbers.
"What about that main quarter where my spear is? Can't they come and help?" She'd asked.
"That would be a waste of time. We only reunited with them in the expedition where we captured you; the last time we saw them before that was months, maybe even years".
She clicked her tongue. Well, that wouldn't do it for her; these guys could barely hold a connection with another human settlement because of their own problems, which meant this place wasn't a haven after all.
"Who's your king? I want to talk with him".
"The chief? Alright...".
***
Outside, Esara was followed by three of them, two of whom had surrounded her earlier, and the guy who knew where Spear had gone. They walked past the narrow streets, where children stood by their homes, watching curiously, only to be hidden away by their mothers.
Hm? Do I look ugly or something?
They arrived at the plaza first. For the first time in her life, she saw unusual people; their hair was gray or had streaks of white, and they had loads of wrinkles, as though they had been dried off their souls and lives.
"This isn't exactly what I expected. My mother told me that towns are supposed to be lively".
"With how many people we are losing each expedition and invasion, even the elderly have to help fight. It's a shame; by far we're the worst generation to protect our town". The man responsible for having caught Esara was named Jared, the one currently speaking.
She looked around. In the distance, across the plaza, came a group of older soldiers, armed with spears.
"I-It went this way!" One of them shouted.
Before she could process what he meant, time had slowed. Her spine tingled with electricity; somewhere far in the air, two unsettling eyes locked onto her.
And then, with a loud crash, someone had flown into the ground, exploding the floor between her and the soldiers to dust.
Present eyes were widening and turning to the one responsible for the crash landing. As for Esara, she didn't know what she was looking at.
She muttered in recognition.
"Salty?"