Sounds of gunfire and screams echoed louder than before as confusion filled the air, all of them seemed to be stuck in this position for so long, not having the chance to talk or take their breather from all the madness. They were forced to kill each other after the first report of traitor being among them, unwillingly fighting among each other with the most one-sided way possible.
From the high stress and wary in being killed, the knights of Solomon eventually turn each other; a fight had broke out between them as well, killing each other by their own hands or through firearms, just what Adam expected from them as he and his group followed behind Alucard, moving to routes that has the least known passageway in this castle.
While the young mistress is currently leading the group with Lilim wrapping onto his right arm and Garnet flying above them carrying their bags, Adam could only express sigh of relief under his breath, knowing that they are going to get out of here alive and unharmed, something he feels for sure in doing so.
However, turning his attention to the frightened daughter; afraid from the reverberating noises of gunshots and screams that were echoing throughout the halls, only made him feel more concern for her as the girl is seemingly distressed by all of this, especially when it came to this type of sounds.
He can't do anything about this, Adam could only comfort her with the best of his abilities, trying to get her mind off of all this with his kind words and gestures, "its alright," he said, hoping to get her attention, "we'll get out of here, safe and sound," keeping up the facade for her sake, "don't worry," Adam reassured her.
All she could say is nod, placing her faith in him and hoping that he will come true on his word as her father; being exhausted of all this mess they gotten themselves into but at the same time determined to make it out alive with everyone he cared about, as well as wanting to help them get out of here as soon as possible.
From every hallway they pass, the group has luckily never encountered any of them with the exception of dead and dying bodies laid on the floors with broken stuff around them, only showing how much these templars are taking it hard in this situation, unable to cope up with the chaos around them. Seeing this made Alucard smile, happy to know these vermin got what they deserve.
Her desire of revenge lessen to extent, witnessing these vermin dead or dying from bullet wounds and torn limbs is satisfying to her as they had well earned their own punishment for all the awful things they did to her, the way they humiliated her and harmed her home is a good enough reason for them to die.
Although, she would have preferred if she did it with her own two hands. It is rather waste to allow them to kill each other, showing how easily weak they are and that there is no resistance left, only allowing for them to slaughter each other until there is none left standing, but this is better than getting her loved ones hurt.
"So, heavy," Garnet float above the trio, holding the tied bags in her hands, struggling to carry them while frowning with obvious discomfort, "I feel like I'm carrying a bunch of bricks!" Showing just how much these bags is weighing on her, frustration and sweat began to bead down her head, not liking one bit of all this unnecessary weight that is straining her entire body.
"Get used to it," the young mistress instructed in serious tone, ignoring her complaining, "the faster you get used to it," she turned to give the tiny pixie a glare, "the less heavy it will be," sounding like she knows exactly what she was going through. In fact, it is true she knew very well about the strain Garnet is putting on herself in carrying the extra baggage.
The pixie pouted at her best friend, "easy for you to say," grumbling underneath her breath, "you're not the one who is carrying a bunch of stupid stuff!" Complained the fae, feeling her body is on fire due to this excessive weight on her as she struggled to keep them from slipping off her tiny hands.
Alucard ignored her, instead laughing it off if it wasn't big deal, "please, if it makes you feel better," she said with carefree manner, "then think of them as presents," winking at her in hopes of lifting her spirits up a bit and take her mind off of all this troublesome load weighing her down, "just think of all the new items that you can purchase with them," smiling at her own words.
Garnet could only stare at her best friend with incredulous face as she shook her tiny head in disbelief and utter astonishment, finding it hard to believe that she can look at this in positive light, "presents?" Rolling her eyes at this, she gave the vampire girl deadpan expression, "really?" Stated in disbelieve, "presents? You think gifts can help me forget all this?"
Adam watched as the two continue to bicker with each other before chuckling at their ridiculous conversation, feeling sorry for the poor pixie in enduring this horrible load but at the same time amused by this entertaining sight before him. The two are like sisters, arguing and bickering with each other in most common ways possible, while Alucard is giving her best to take her mind off of all this.
Even though the two is not related by blood, the young mistress treats this grating pixie as her own flesh and blood sibling, seeing her as someone precious to her, someone important in her life. Even though she sometimes acts bratty and insulting to Garnet, she would never do so in meaningful way.
Regardless, his stressful mind seem to be at ease for moment; surrounded not just his daughter but does he loved, the very people that he can put his trust onto when he couldn't depend on himself anymore. Its relieving to know that no matter what happen, they will stick with him regardless of how difficult things get.
Nice change of pace for once, to say at least. This time, he didn't have to worry about protecting them on his own and leave the task to others, but he couldn't do this right away. He has to think over this first after they leave this place. His too occupied by other stuff to really think about what to do next.
Adam sighed before clearing his throat, calling for the attention of the two, "enough bickering," he called out to them, interrupting them, "save it for later," instructing them with strict voice, "our priority is escaping this place, so don't stop until we run out of breath." Wiping his face with sleeve of his trench coat before readjusting his eyes, not wanting them to close and allow the exhaustion to catch up on him.
They both stared at him for few moments before they look at each other, nodding as they break away from their stare and went along with his instructions, understanding the severity of this whole situation and the urgency in getting out of this hell hole. If they took too long here; more of them might show up and their futile escape meant it was all for nothing.
As they continued moving in silence, the loud noises slowly dined down to the point it became eerily silent, the last vestige of these invaders has their presence disappeared from their now destroyed home. With that, it felt like a great burden has been lifted off of his shoulders, not having to worry about the possibility of ambush attack or some unexpected visitors just walking in on them unawares and catching them with their guard down.
Despite this notion, neither are sure if it is safe to move around freely without the chance in one of them catching them off guard from a short distance away. As of now, they couldn't help but stay alert of their surroundings, watching with wide eyes for any signs of movement in every corner they walk by. While at the same time, staying low while creeping forward in cautious manner, almost like if they were slithering snakes.
After long while of silently moving around with caution, passing by dead bodies, they came across set of stairs leading downstairs to the first floor, "were here," Alucard told before motioning them to stop, "it lead us to the backyard, not many people would know about it since its rarely used," explaining her knowledge of this place, making them listened closely to her words.
"Stay close, we don't know if there is still more of them," she slowly head down with her rapier at hand, gripping it firmly while her comrades followed from behind, all of them walking down the stairs while being wary of anything lurking in hidden places and any sign of danger from ahead. "I think were safe," she stated confidently when they finally reached down.
Various painting and furniture in Victorian style were destroyed by bullets and other forms of weaponry, revealing them to be nothing more than junk now. Blood stains marked on walls and carpet with corpses scattered all over the floor, leaving an open invitation for any scavenger that wants to steal their clothes or weapons from them.
In the front of them, blocking their only exit to the backyard was Puncher, staring ahead into the opened entrance with bloodied appearance from the killing spree he had done, various bullet wounds were apparent on his body, leaking out red liquids while standing there like statue, waiting for something to come and get him.
Sensing their presence, he slowly turned with look of horror placed on his face, letting out maddening laugh that lasted for couple of seconds before staring directly at the group, more specifically at Adam, "what have I done?" Was the only words that came out of his lips, expressing guilt and shock before turning back to insane look again, continuous laughter erupting from him.
Not before long, he slowly raised the assault rifle and adjusted it accordingly, placing the barrel in his mouth, resulting mix reactions from the group in seeing this depressing sight, making Alucard felt annoyed in being interrupted while Adam and Garnet could only stare in disbelief and shock from what they are seeing.
Lilim on the other hand was simply confused, not understanding the reasons of his actions or what he meant with those words as she stared blankly at him while wondering why this person would do this to himself. However, as any of them was about to say something about this, the trigger were already pressed.
Resulting the instantaneous death of Puncher with his head blown off from impact, resulting brain matter and skull shattering upon the bullet from his shot, splattering in every direction possible with bits of his brain landed on the ground while chunks of his skulls bounced on the wall and floor as the young man's body went lump.
"Good riddance," Alucard rudely commented with relief, sighing deeply as she let her body relax before sheathing her rapier, glad that this problem is gone, "serves him right," she said before moving forward to the exit, her eyes filled with disgust and hatred from the corpse laying at the floor after passing by it.
Garnet followed behind her young mistress with conflicted expression placed onto her face, not sure if it was alright to simply feel bad for someone who tried to destroy their home and kill her loved ones. The pixie had mixed feelings about all this, knowing deep down that she shouldn't feel any sympathy for him, yet somehow, she couldn't help it, even then, she had little understanding about such complex thoughts.
Moving toward the corpse, Adam felt tinge of remorse in seeing someone lose their life. But he knows deep down that it is for the best in favoring their own lives than stranger. It is the way of this world, survival is important factory in their lives and just looking at Puncher's suicide had proven his point.
Life is so short and at any moment, they could die at any given time from illness, old age, accidents or even violence. Life is always full of uncertainty, where anything could happen and anything could go wrong, which is why he wanted to cherish it while he still live with his loved ones and most importantly, everyone has to live up of their responsibilities in the actions and consequences they had made.
