A fight was inevitable. Even without the guidance of the dead there to tell her, Chell knew this because she had been through enough of these situations to guess what was most likely going to happen next. Although it was true that she was, to some extent, quite used to this kind of occurrence, the familiar feeling of fear and panic bubbled inside of her, threatening to overpower her rational train of thought. Chell tried to calm herself. Don't panic. Be brave. Stand your ground.

    After the hunter had proclaimed his fearless and amused sentiment about their imminent deaths, Chell and Noct stayed completely silent as they quietly assessed the critical situation they had placed themselves in yet again. In those thin seconds, silence overcame noise. For a moment, Chell thought of the suggestion of talking with them peacefully, thinking that there might be a chance that they would listen and reconsider. However, the hungry gleam of eyes that the tattooed witch hunter displayed to them was a clear message that told her that he could not be reasoned with mere words or simple pleadings. And neither would the others with him.

    A few ways in front of Chell, Noct took a soft step back, tensing his muscles and slightly positioning himself in a fighting stance. The tattooed hunter noticed this gesture and made his grin even wider, stretching his mouth to the ends of his face and looking haunting in the midst of the shadows. As he moved his hand, his blades glinted dangerously. Then, he was the first to speak again.

    With an amused tone of voice, he asked, "Well? No comment? No final words?"

    They did not bother to respond. Instead, they stared at his hungry, bloodthirsty expression. For an aimless moment, Chell wondered to herself why every witch hunter she had seemed to encounter in the past all had something unhinged in their heads. It seemed that each and every one of them reveled at the thought of murdering her kind. After an amount of silence had stretched on, the hunter continued, licking his lips again.

    "Alrighty, then. I gave you two the chance to speak up already, so don't regret it later when I kill you both—"

    "—Ahem." The violet-haired hunter behind him interrupted mid-sentence. He was staring at the tattooed hunter with a raised eyebrow, looking inquisitive and slightly annoyed.

   "Sorry," he spoke up, raising his blade in a kind of threat, "but let's not assume you get to be the one to kill them. I am speaking not just for myself, of course. And here I'm just trying to confirm this, but the terms to the deal we made was if any one of us kills them, we get to have the full reward for ourselves, right? No splitting. No sharing. To one's own.... yes?" he prompted.

   The tattooed one immediately turned his head and glared at him darkly, narrowing his eyes as they bored into the other hunter's. He looked angered at the fact that he had been interrupted. However, as if deciding to change his mind, a small and malicious smile suddenly crept over his face.

   "Why yes, of course.... Ildan." He pronounced the other hunter's name icily, mock lacing his every word. "That's the kind of deal we made. But only if you get to kill them."

   "Then I want the witch. She fetches a higher sum."

   "Alright. Do what you want," the tattooed hunter then answered coldly. It was evident from his tone that he was not intending on letting the indigo-haired hunter—-Ildan, as he had called him—-get his reward.

   In that moment, from the corner of her eye, Chell noticed the thief silently slip a hidden single blade from his sleeve. It was so deliberate that the movement of his fingers were almost impossible to notice if it weren't for the fact that she was near him.

   "—If you two get the witch, then I want the boy." A third voice suddenly interrupted the two hunters. Chell looked up to see the archer who had spoken up from above them, his deep voice resonating throughout the darkened alley. His bow and arrow was still pointed in their direction, ready to let go at any moment's notice. He went on, "I don't care about the money or the reward. I can't believe a brat like him managed to catch one of my arrows in midair. I cannot accept this. That is the most humiliating thing that can happen to a bowman. I must regain my honor by killing him."

   Chell turned slightly to look at Noct, noticing his hand on the hidden blade twitch. However, he had shown no outward sign of being affected by what the archer had just proclaimed. Instead, the thief continued to stay quiet, breathing controlled. Chell blinked at him, and for a moment, she was startled by how much the atmosphere around Noct seemed different just by narrowing his eyes and collecting his face. The grinning, carefree boy she had met from before had disappeared and had been replaced by a wary, dangerous-looking criminal, which she knew he really was. He seemed like a tense cat, ready to stretch his claws and pounce in order to protect himself. Even Chell felt a slight unease from his cold stature.

   Then, the tattooed one laughed a spine-chilling, ear-damning laugh.

   "Well... I got it now!" he finally said, the same chilling grin still all over his face. "This is just perfect! Why don't we split this, to make things fair? Since I would hate to bully young ones like you. Me and Ildan will take on the witch, while Archer and Quann will take on the boy. Two on one. Sounds fair, no?"

    Chell was certain that it wasn't. Still, the witch and the thief remained in their silence, although both were most likely thinking of the same thing: the situation was deliberately turning worse and worse for them.

   "Quann, you fine with that?" he asked the dagger meister from behind the two, who had been completely quiet the whole time the others were conversing among themselves. Chell had even forgotten for a careless moment that he had been there. A beat passed before the dagger meister nodded silently.

   "Well. That's that." The tattooed hunter said with clear finality, training his eyes back at Chell and Noct and alternating his hungered gaze between both of them. Then, he hefted on of his swords over his shoulder, craning his neck to one side. "Aaaah, seems like I've been talking too much..." His grin disappeared, his face turning serious in less than a second's timespan.

    "... Let's start the reaping, shall we?"

   The atmosphere in the alley changed, and the air sparked with an intense chill. Everyone stopped moving, frozen, simply waiting for someone who dared to tip the coin and start the deadly game. Chell could feel the overwhelming bloodthirst emanating from the hunters who had surrounded her and the thief.

    And then—-thmp!

    Noct quickly moved to one side as an arrow embedded itself onto the ground where he had been standing just a moment ago. From above, the archer's hand moved in a fast blur, taking three arrows from his quiver. A volley of them rained down on the thief, who nimbly dodged away with an impressive speed. He looked like an acrobat in the middle of a dance, his red scarf fluttering in the air with him as he whirled and twisted. The arrows embedded themselves onto the ground, causing the pebbled floor to crack. Chell knew from a second's glance that each one was strong enough to pierce through skin and break bone.

   Then, as Noct jumped in midair, three sharp and thin blades suddenly soared in a straight line, zipping straight towards him.

   "Tch!" Noct clicked his tongue as he held up his dagger to protect himself, successfully twisting his body and intercepting one blade. The last of them grazed his clothes and missed the side of his rib.

   Quann, the dagger meister who had been so silent just a moment before, began to run towards Noct, slashing down on him with his blades in quick strikes. The thief held out his own dagger with his right hand, stopping the hunter's attack as the sharp metals clanged against each other. A shrill cry reverberated. Simultaneously, Noct then took out a hidden blade from his other sleeve and threw it at the enemy's face. The dagger meister jumped back, narrowly dodging in time, the weapon inches from his cheek. A red line of blood appeared. Noct took out three more concealed weapons from his sleeve. He sighed carefully. His pale eyes were narrowed. All of that had happened in less than a minute.

   Then, another arrow fell onto the floor close by his legs as he leapt away, and the thief was forced to move backwards, getting farther and farther from Chell.

    It was at that second when the witch realized what the hunters were doing. They were trying to separate both of them, determining that it was easier for them to kill one if they were apart from each other.

    I need to help him, Chell thought.

   However, before she could say a spell or do anything to assist the thief, the tattooed hunter suddenly lunged towards Chell, closing their distance in a matter of seconds. He lashed out his two swords in an attempt to cut her. Chell quickly stumbled back, surprised by the sudden and unexpected attack. She tried to dodge and managed to avoid a mortal wound, but the weapon had reached far enough to cut her arm instead, slicing the pale flesh cleanly with its sharpness. She did not even feel the cut yet. Droplets of bright red blood trailed from the fresh wound to her fingertips. The pain stung moments later.

    "Oi, oi, maggot, our fight's just started. Please stop meddling with others. Otherwise, this'll be very boring if I kill you so easily," he taunted.

    Chell clutched the skull tightly in her hands, looking at Noct again. He was already at the end of the alley, fending off attacks from below and above with nimble movements. Chell could not help but be impressed with his level of skill. Fending off two experienced witch hunters all by himself was no easy feat. As she had thought, he really wasn't just a simple thief. No common criminal could move like that.

    Then, as he jumped back to dodge another blade, their eyes suddenly met for a split second, and Noct's pale eyes found Chell's silver ones. He nodded at her. Chell blinked. That was the last she saw of him before the thief disappeared down the alley, taking the two hunters with him.

  
----> thank you for reading!