26 Chaos

Ven barely heard the blood-curdling shout of pain that Bel let out as she was too focused on pushing her advantage further and further. She knew that as soon as she let out the pressure on Stormbringer, things could get worse for her.

Luckily, she managed to back him into a corner and just as she was about to deliver a slash that could change the course of the battle, she felt a dull impact on her side. She didn't have time to process the pain that was invading her body before she was sent flying nearly five meters and landed heavily on the streets.

Her head was spinning, and she had a hard time finding her bearings, but she was still able to see that the assailant was The Lion, who had slid under Bel's attack and charged at her in an attempt to avoid the Ravens' drug-induced rampage.

In that instant, Ven hurried to her feet but the blow she had received was stronger than she expected and she was still dizzy. Now that The Lion had stopped her from neutralizing Stormbringer, the latter would be free to use the power of his augmentation to disrupt their plans.

Just as that thought was passing through her head, she saw that Bel had changed target and was now mowing the guards that stood at the periphery of the fight. Evidently, he had lost his mind and couldn't distinguish his prime target.

Still reeling from the shock and unable to use her augmentation, she could do nothing but watch in horror as Stormbringer brought out his amplifying orb. Bolts of electricity crackled in the slightly opaque sphere, gaining in intensity with every passing moment.

The Lion was standing at Stormbringer's side, ready to intervene in case anything were to happen. He barely laid his eyes on Ven, judging that she was too far away to be of any real danger.

Just as Ven was about to act, finally steady enough to stand on her feet, Stormbringer's faced paled visibly. His injuries seemed to have worsened in an instant as a steady flow of red liquid trickled down from his wounds with renewed intensity.

When the light inside Stormbringer's implement was bright enough to be blinding, a deafening sound sent Ven to the ground again. Even The Lion, who was ready for the impact couldn't help but flinch violently.

Following this loud explosion, a bright blue and purple stream of electricity landed violently on Bel back. The latter was still dismembering the guards as if it was nothing when the electrical projectile hit him.

With another agonizing howl of pain, he turned his bloodshot eyes towards the Holy Knight who had attacked him. He heaved in pain and threw his gigantic sword towards Stormbringer. The latter was taken aback and couldn't dodge in time.

Thankfully, he was shoved to the side by The Lion who only suffered a minor cut on the upper arm. Despite throwing away his weapon, Bel didn't seem to lose any aggressivity as he threw himself towards the two Holy Knights.

Ven knew that if she tried to join that fight, she might only end up as an unfortunate victim of Bel's madness. She looked to her right and saw that Amon was still entangled with The Undying, The former was now gripping a knife in his free hand, but neither of the two fighters seemed to be able to bring the duel to a close.

Both of them were accumulating wounds, but The Undying was healing instantly. The only factor that betrayed him was that his clothes were getting quite tattered. Amon also sported a few cuts all over his body, but his protective vest countered any blow that might have been fatal.

Ven had lost her weapons when she was sent flying, and recuperating was out of the question. If she got close to Bel, she feared that it would spell her demise. Instead, she waited for an opportune time and sent a gust of wind towards The Undying, hoping to disrupt him.

Her plan worked, and The Undying was forced a few steps back. Amon was visibly startled, but he knew how to seize an opportunity, so he went for it. In one fluid motion, he threw the knife he was holding straight towards The Undying throat and reached in his vest pocket to take something out.

The object he took out was the syringe that was supposed to halt the effect of nanobots inside The Undying. Just as the knife lodged himself in The Undying esophagus with minimal blood leakage, Amon pounced on him and shoved the syringe right where his heart was located.

Amon unleashed the liquid inside of The Undying body and took a step back to avoid getting injured by the flailing motion of his victim. At first, The Undying still had a calm look despite the blade inside of him, but his expression soon changed.

The Undying panicked and removed the knife stuck in his neck, sending a violent spurt of crimson blood. There hadn't been that much blood when Amon had cut his arm, and the Holy Knight realized something was wrong.

His regenerative abilities never stopped him from feeling pain, and that was what frightened him so much. He wasn't feeling any pain, only numbness. The anti-nanobot liquid had spread unnaturally quickly throughout his body thanks to his increased metabolism, and the effect had been instant.

The Undying tried to speak, but he was unable to make a sound. The numbness was spreading through his limbs, and amidst his clouded vision, he saw Amon approaching him with decisive steps. He had a last thought to the arrogance that his power had brought and the demise that followed when Amon's sword severed his head from his shoulder.

Amon gazed profoundly at the red geyser before the body fell limply to the ground. Just like that, one of the most powerful men in the Order was brought down. He hadn't died on a great battlefield defending his nation. He hadn't died sacrificing himself for a greater cause; he had been killed during what should have been a straightforward mission.

Amon didn't linger on this feeling of sentimentality too much before he turned his eyes to Bel. The fight between The Undying and him had been too close for either of them to pay attention to anything else, but now that his opponent was dead he took a moment to inspect the battlefield.

In his craze, Bel had eliminated nearly all the guards who had stayed behind. There were only a few guards left, and they stayed at a distance, unwilling to approach the Ravens. Amon was unable to see what was happening in the restaurant, but he could still hear the sound of metal clashing against metal.

Amon surmised that they didn't have much time left if they wanted to rescue the remaining operatives still fighting inside the building. By now, they were probably severely overrun.

As for Bel, he was currently facing two Holy Knights with his bare hands. He was so frantic and barbaric in his assault that neither The Lion nor Stormbringer could retaliate against his attacks. The two were merely trying to avoid the fists aimed towards them.

Considering Bel's strength now that his physical augmentations were enhanced, it was highly probable that a punch from him could kill a man. Like Ven, Amon had no intention of interfering with the ongoing fight. Although he could be a match for Bel if he also enhanced his augmentation, the price to pay was too heavy.

With a slight head movement, Amon signalled to Ven who moved closer. Along the way, she picked up the retractable sword left behind by The Undying. The two of them quickly made their way into the restaurant to support the troops inside.

Once they had helped them, they could of some use in dealing with the remaining guards. With a bit of luck, they could even neutralize the whole city guard. Once all the newly augmented guards were eliminated, the rest of the city guards would pose little problem for the remaining operatives, and they would be able to finish their evacuation in relative peace.

When the two Ravens entered the restaurant, a sickening sight unfolded before them. On the floor, tens of bodies were laying with various degrees of injuries. Most of them wore the city guard's uniform, but there were also a few Ravens' operatives.

Amon's eyes quickly adjusted to the low light level and he could see that in a corner, five operatives were defending against about twenty to twenty-five guards coming at them waves. It seemed as if the guards hadn't noticed them, so Amon and Ven quickly readied their weapons and attacked them from the back.

In a few short moments, the formation that the guards had established to deal with the Ravens' operatives crumbled due to the arrival of Amon and Ven. In under ten seconds, there were only a dozen guards left. Amon made short work of them, as they were still too surprised from the sneak attack to properly reorganize themselves and lead a counter-offensive.

Amon looked at the remaining operatives, who all looked tired and haggard. However, Amon noticed that there was still an intense fire burning in their eyes. Those men weren't ready to die today, and they would do everything necessary to make it out alive. Amon nodded in approval of their will to live, but he didn't allow them to rest.

With a quick hand gesture, he led the remaining operatives outside to help corner the two remaining Holy Knights.