Chapter 616 615: Layers

Chapter 616 Chapter 615: Layers

The others all froze as they looked towards me, before shrugging and idly gathering the four adventurers into a bunch, with Leone reluctantly cauterizing the wound of the Lionkin and stymying the flow of blood so that he wouldn't die of blood loss... even if we all wanted to rip him limb from limb.

Or flay his skin from his flesh and show him the horrors that I was entirely capable of... and more than willing to commit; in fact, I would positively love~ to hear him scream for mercy after what he had done.

Of course, there was the teeny weeny problem that we were still in public, and that the weaker willed, average citizens were currently screaming as they tried to look away from the wounded Lionkin and burnt Bearkin, only to be incapable of doing so as their eyes were drawn to the horrific wounds they had sustained.

"QUIET!"

The Marquess' shout sliced through the various screams and chattering of the citizens and silenced them, making her nod as she quietly said "Anput, cover the adventurers."

Our mate did as she was asked, summoning a wall of earth around the adventurers and breaking the line of sight from the citizens, calming their nerves somewhat.

Looking back at the crowd, the Marquess was about to begin speaking again when the doors to the bar were thrown open, a squad of three armored guards bursting inside and looking around the area, instantly focusing on us as they noted the large crowd of people grouping around the door or walls, standing far away from us.

"Back away! Throw the weapons down!"

The head guard raised her spear and glared at us, while one of the other guards made their way over to the crowd and began to question the witnesses, getting an idea on what happened here.

Of course, none of us particularly cared to follow the guards orders directly, instead sheathing any weapons we had drawn and keeping our hands in view as we stepped away, letting the head guard and her helper approach the four adventurers.

"What the hell..? Did you all do this?! "

The Foxkin guard pointed her spear at us, her reddish brown eyes narrowed as she looked between the seven of us, all while the Wisp remained nearby and ready to help.

"Hmm? You mean those four idiots? Yeah, we put 'em in their place."

That made the guards pause for a moment, not knowing how to respond, though the Foxkin asked "Why?! What did they do that deserved such excessive injury?"

The Marquess just smirked as she began to list their crimes, counting them out on her fingers.

"Not paying for their drinks and refusing a tab, harassing the barmaids, threatening the barmaids with both violence and sexual assault, threatening us, attempting to kidnap one of our members, threatening to sexually assault her... Should I continue?"

The Foxkin grit her teeth the longer the Marquess spoke, before reluctantly lowering her spear and letting out a sigh as she glared over at the adventurers, clearly recognizing who they were and barely concealing her disgust as she looked them over.

"No... That'll do, so long as your story matches with- Oh, alright. That's fine then; please let us take care of them now, and have-"

She was stopped in the midst of her sentence by the third guard, who nodded at her to confirm our story through the crowd, before getting stopped again as the Marquess interrupted her to say "Hmm... no. I'd like to ask a few questions of my own to them."

Frowning, the Foxkin looked down at the adventurers before sighing again, pinching her nose as she loudly said "Wow, who knew we arrived two minutes from now! We really got to get speedier with these times!"

The other two guards raised a brow at her before moving to her side, sitting down with her as she sat at a table near the door, adding "We might not be here for two minutes, but that doesn't mean I'm taking my eyes off of them. Time starts now."

Grinning, I crouched in front of the four adventurers along with the others and grabbed the jaw of the Boarkin, who was by fire the most sound of mind and capable to answer our questions.

For a brief moment his gaze was smug, but as soon as I pressed my dagger against his throat and he saw that the guard wasn't moving, that smugness drained away and was replaced with fear, clearly not expecting to be treated in such a way.

"Now... Wanna tell me what possessed you four to act like this, hm~? Surely even Lady Vitra would be against such a flagrant disrespect of the law, no?"

My blade remained pressed against his throat, and the Boarkin shivered as he felt the cold kiss of steel, not enjoying this version of intimacy.

Crowding behind me, the others glanced down at the Boarkin and acted as a shield, doing a little to prevent the Foxkin from hearing everything.

"Actually... I don't care about that."

My voice dropped lower, but my grin widened, and I whispered "Want to tell me what a bunch of cultists are doing in such a nice city? Oh, don't act like you don't understand me... you reek of Fiendish energy, you Tza scum."

His eyes widened to match my grin as I pressed the blade closer to his throat, fear flooding his eyes as well as understanding as soon as he heard 'Tza'.

"Y-You..! You're a cultist as well! What makes you think I won't just-!"

Before he could continue, my grin dropped as I jabbed my free hand forwards, slamming my fist against his throat and silencing him, all while my blade dropped from his throat to another sensitive, dangerous area for him.

His crotch.

"Pick your words wisely. I'd rather not have to kill my way out of the city, so be mum about it, alright? Makes things easier on us both, and maybe you get to live... unless you would prefer being a eunuch for the last few minutes of your life? I can make that happen."

The Boarkin nodded as he gasped for breath, trying to regain his ability to breathe and not piss himself as the blade remained where it was, as well as gasping again as he saw my palm shine blue, healing him and making me smirk as I saw his brain make the connections that I had more than just wind in my repertoire.

"Good... good! Now tell me, what exactly is your plan, hmm~?"