Leave The Monster Alone

Mark wanted to send another message to him, to keep him talking more but the time was clearly up. The wall at their side exploded and the female boss gave a small sound of disappointment as she faced the familiar bodies of Alan, Kuro and Luna, all standing in front of them in a ready to fight pose

There was no hesitation in the female's steps as she attacked the party. She did not even look surprised but the slight delay in her step was what clued Mark in on the fact that she had been taken in by surprise.

The other person, the one he had not been able to pin down yet, had been the one guarding Mark and was positioned in such a way that all Mark could see was their cloaked back which again, did not tell him anything at all.

In front of him, it was a 3vs1 and yet there was no clear winner in the match. Everyone was pulling back their punches and were trying to gouge out their opponent with little to no success, the most active one being Kuro who was actively trying to get past the female and reach Mark at all costs.

But every time she took one step forward, she was pushed back by an invisible force she could not fight against. It must be frustrating for her because Mark could feel her irritation even so far away. She was letting her displeasure known to everyone in her vicinity.

Then there was Alan who was trying to hit the one guarding Mark and not his own opponent.. A smart move but not one which seemed to be bearing fruits anytime soon. The bullets seemed to be repelling once they hit a certain distance and fell down on the ground with a clunking sound.

Luna was the only one who seemed to be actually paying attention to the fight he was in, his concentration focusing on the female in front of him. His instincts told him that she was dangerous and he should not look away from her if he wanted to get out alive.

"Alan, stop diverting your attention from the threat in front of us" actually, Luna wanted to tell his brother to leave if he was going to be a liability but once his sword crossed with the female in front of him he knew that was no longer possible. She was far too powerful for Luna to handle alone.

Even in the future where he had come from, he had never faced anyone like her, be it a monster or a divine beast. She seemed to be toying with her, not something even the one carrying the divine core of the lesser dragon had been able to do and she seemed to be enjoying it too.

To him, she seemed confident in her victory and being able to kill them. Her eyes shone with a light one only got when they knew they were in control of the situation. He did not have to look past her to know that Mark was in their grasp.

"Now let him breathe handsome, he's just a kid and they do tend to have a short attention span. Why don't you focus on me and show me more of your calibre? I always wanted to clash my claws with the chosen one" Luna decided it was not worth it to engage her in a verbal fanfare.

Her words seemed fancy but they were likely a distraction to make him lose his focus, not what he should pay attention to. He knew that but somehow her words seemed to have struck a chord inside him.

He felt like he knew those words, had heard them before even. But for the love of everything holy, he could not remember when he had heard them or who had spoken them. Since his memory was all over the place, he could not make sense of it.

Perhaps he will get it as time passes but not today.

His brother made a move and finally moved past her in a dash of speed. The female's hand darted out to catch Alan but he ducked beneath her hand which could only grasp onto the thin air left behind by his brother.

The female took one step toward Alan, the interest in her eyes apparent and Luna knew he had to stop her moment before she ended up causing harm to his brother. He needed to keep Alan out of it.

"Hey, keep your eyes on me" Luna attacked, not giving the female any time to think or go after his brother. He saw the flash of irritation inside her eyes and saw her hand move the moment he was close enough. They were enough clues for Luna to dodge her attack and retaliate with his own.

The female did not go down but she did stagger after his attack to catch herself. Disbelief was clear in her eyes as she took in the sight of her attacker with a shocked and furious face.

"So you did have it in you after all. Now I see that I cannot treat you like a kid. Playtime is over Yun, take the kid hostage so that we can get out of here" the female commanded the other kid who did not hesitate to move.

But he did not make it before he went down. Behind him stood Mark, his hand ready in a motion to attack the other. It had worked and the guy, child really, was knocked unconscious by that attack.

"Tch, useless. Why did he have to be chosen for the phoenix position? He's a liability to us all" the female complained but she did not get to gather herself before she was on the receiving end of Luna's attack. 

From 3vs3 it had come down to 1vs4, a clear disadvantage in the female's favour. She knew she could take the other 4 out if she tried hard enough, that much was obvious to her, but it would not be an easy victory for her.

No, that was not the course of action she needed to take here. She needed to look for an opportunity to take the kid, Yun, out of here and to think of a new strategy. 

She did have what she came here to take though so she did not need to take extra risks. And she had also planted the virus inside the fool, Mark's system data which would allow her to control his moments in the future whenever she wanted.

"Hey girly, keep your eyes on me" Luna attacked, his tone the same teasing one she had used before and she had to do her best to not lash out at him or attack him verbally. If she showed that she had lost her cool then the game she was playing would be over.

They would know that she had lost her control over this situation and she would become a liability instead. As soon as she realised it, she calmed down and her demure changed. 

One second she was just standing there, the very next she attacked to disperse them all. Her moment was swift, her body ready to sacrifice itself if needed to complete her mission.

Her hand closed over an arm which had to be Yun and she yanked him along, not looking back. Its girth and width felt right in her hands and her instincts were telling him that this was a kid in her arms.

And all she had to do was to deliver this kid and the drive back to 'him' and she would be free from this cursed fate. She would get a core and she would rise above everything that this world had. 

She cursed the day she had taken this mission at all. Fog covered her tracks, making it impossible to pin her down by sight or scent. She had done this before, leading people astray and she knew just how to work it in her favour.

Her feet hardly landed on the branch for a few seconds before she was jumping once again without hesitation. She knew Yun could keep up with her since she had done this before as well. She did not slow down till she was sure they had left the other party a considerable distance away.

"Why don't you let me go now? Or will I have to blow your brains out first?" her relief turned to dread as that unfamiliar voice reached her ear and a gun was pointed right at her head. 

She hesitated to turn around and have a look, cursing her luck even when she knew that she had been duped by the other party. The gun was touching and would take her out of commission at least should the other fire.

"Face me you coward" she turned with a heavy heart toward the owner of that voice and her eyes met the kid of Mark's group, Alan. the other did not look happy to see her too.