Chapter 20: A Bloody Struggle

“…Cuz, I think I might win this if things go well!”

Clap!

The edge of the sword in Vespa’s left hand is facing toward Ezra, and she’s desperately keeping the blade from getting closer to her. Vespa strikes Ezra’s ribs with his unoccupied right hand. PUM. A noise echoes. The blow sends Ezra flying to the wall; she then rebounds to deliver a kick to Vespa’s head. Vespa’s glasses are knocked off of his face. He stumbled for a moment, but he soon regained balance.

“Tch...”

Ezra wipes the blood on her mouth.

“You’re talented in combat.”

A yellow light flashed.

“But you do not have the talent of killing people.”

Blood spilled from Ezra’s chest. She took out the Nester Workshop hammer and swung it downward, only to land on thin air. Dammit. If only I had my smoking pipe, I could’ve leveraged the situation in her favor somehow. I was halfway up the stairs. There’s absolutely nothing I can do other than helplessly watch Ezra.

“Seonbae! Remember what we talked about the other day!”

YuRia shouted urgently.

“…I know, junior!!!”

Come to think of it, the mask that always used to cover Ezra’s face wasn’t there this time. A yellow light flashed once again. The flashing light left a trail across Ezra’s waist.

Kreeeeeeeeee!

Sparks flew up with an ear-splitting screech of metal. Ezra’s left waist is padded with an object akin to a sheet of steel.

“Augmented armor, is it… I must wonder why you haven’t used it until now.”

“Huff… This is my first time using it, so!”

“……”

Flashes of yellow light sparkle from Vespa’s left arm. A piece of armor blooms wherever a yellow light strikes. The blade leaves yellow trails as it slices through the armor, but it fails to leave a deep cut. Ezra shrugs off Vespa’s attacks and swiftly closes in on him. That’s my Ezra. Ezra’s Psychoment is thoroughly protecting her. She drills a fist into Vespa’s chest without hesitation. The sheer force of the punch produced a sound wave that resounded through the workshop. Vespa flinched with a cough. Ezra gives him no rest from the flurry of her fists. Vespa is steadily being pushed into the corner, coughing up blood. This battle is under Ezra’s control now. She gives her opponent no room to brandish their sword; Ezra knows well how to fight someone armed with a bladed weapon. But Vespa is just as persistent, he won’t fall down or let go of his blade. Even though his face is already covered in blood, he won’t lose his balance. Despite seeing Ezra completely dominate the fight, I can’t be at ease.

“…I must reassess you.”

Vespa mutters something. Ezra ignores his mumbling and continues to throw punches and kicks at him. Groin. Left chest. Laryngeal prominence. Right waist. Left calf. Solar plexus. Left cheek. Solar plexus. Groin. Rib. Left thigh. Groin again. Left waist. Ezra’s fists strike every known weakness of the human body that could be fatal. Vespa groans. But he does not collapse.

YuRia and I reached the top of the stairs and escaped the atelier. Outside of the door, we watched Ezra’s fight with bated breath.

Ziiiiin. A sharp, high-pitched sound was heard. Vespa is holding a harpoon in his right hand. That harpoon was lying on the floor behind Ezra mere moments ago. And there was a hole in the armor covering Ezra’s left shoulder. Blood leaks from the injured shoulder, yet Ezra does not step back. She continues to pummel Vespa with her right hand. Vespa held the harpoon short and stabbed it into Ezra. Ezra took quick steps to dodge to the side, but she couldn’t outspeed the thrust. The harpoon penetrated deep into Ezra’s side. Nevertheless, Ezra moves forward. And she wrapped her right arm around Vespa’s. Cacrick. This is the sound of bones breaking. Ezra broke Vespa’s arm, and snapped it. Clink. The harpoon tumbles to the floor. However, Vespa’s eyes have not gone lifeless. He stares into Ezra without blinking even once. Those eyes are dangerous. …Ezra cannot finish this fight. She will die if this goes on.

The fight needs to end right this instant.

“Ezra! Get up here now!!!”

I shouted at Ezra from the top of my lungs. She instantly backed off, kicking Vespa in the chest.

“Yes! Detective!!!”

Ezra rapidly sprints up the stairs.

Vespa has his gaze fixed on her.

“YuRia! Seal the workshop!” I yelled, ready to shut the door.

The harpoon is lifted in front of his eyes.

Ezra climbed the staircase in a matter of seconds. She’s only one step away.

A yellow light flashed before my eyes. It can’t be anything other than his harpoon, coming at full speed towards Ezra, and towards me.

Believing in Ezra, I slammed the door shut with all my strength.

Kwiiiiiiiing! The vibration sent a tremor through the building for a while.

I am fortunately alive.

The harpoon couldn’t break through the atelier’s door.

And Ezra…

“Detective! What’ll we do with your arm and leg! Doesn’t it hurt bad?!!”

She was checking on me first, even when she was badly injured herself.

We all survived the hunter.

I heaved a sigh.

Looking around the living room, I was greeted by the Fixers of Dou Gui Office who were still alive.

And Fei was at the center of them.

…There’s many pieces that need picking up here.

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