"Lord Bayon, you're just unbelievable. To think you'd manage to catch two of the Grace Field escapees...!"
Demons currently sat around a table.
"Oh?"
"Did you overhear the vassals prattling? Hehehe...and here I tried so hard to keep it a surprise. It would've made it all the sweeter when you spotted them..."
"Are you jesting?"
"No, it's not true. Apparently, four of them were packing together...but my foolish serfs lost track of the other two. They'll be found soon enough."
"Come on, don't leave us waiting! What're their grades?"
"One of them we've caught is premium grade female. One of the others is probably ranked premium too. And the fourth, strangely enough, is already mature. Also, along with the girl we caught, the male that we caught was a bit strange. It had bandages wrapped on its arms, legs, right eye, and neck. After taking him, my foolish serfs forgot to check his numbers. However, there's no doubt that it's one of the Grace Field escapees and looks around the age of the kids, so it's probably premium."
'Premium-grade...! And a mature one too?!'
"Take it away, I'm done."
The demons were not standing, ready.
'It's been a long, long while since I've had mature meat.'
'Premium-grade meat from Grace Field!! Not even those in our standing have access to that!'
'It's them.'
'It's those two. It has to be those two. I'm going to ravish it into pieces...'
'We're all too excited to stay put. On this beautiful morning...we hunt!'
The demons entered the town ad looked around.
"All of them are gone..."
"And the premium ones?! Where are they?! When we came through the forest, I saw no signs of them."
"It's hide-and-seek then. It's been a while...how fun!"
The demon then entered a building.
"Ready or not...Here I come."
'They didn't run away after all. I can smell them...'
"Where are you? Come out?" The demon taunted.
There was a sudden sound that alerted them.
"Over there! After it!" A demon ordered, pointing to a cloaked person who ran away.
"If it's that little girl, she's mine!"
"Then, if it's the boy, he's mine!"
Gillian smirked as she glanced back.
-----
"Don't worry. They can't find us here." Lucas said to the kids who cowered behind him.
-----
Y/n, Emma, and Oliver crouched down, holding guns as they hid.
'Close, but we made it!'
~Earlier~
"No...the music?" Nigel said.
"What's happening...? This is too soon...It's only been one day!" Pepe agreed.
"They're...coming...the monsters..." A young girl trembled.
Then, a bunch of kids started crying.
'This is bad...It's too soon- way too soon. Our preparations are basically over. However, we haven't confirmed the final strategy with everyone yet! What now? What should we...' Oliver thought.
"Don't be scared, everybody! It's alright! We'll be fine! Calm down! Calm down, friends!" He suddenly shouted. "They've come a bit early, but we're ready for them! Let's all follow the plan and put an end to this!"
'Gotta put myself together. This is the real thing. We have to do our best...'
"Don't worry. We're already prepared as it gets. I want you all to imagine it with me, okay? By this time, tomorrow...we'll be free! All of us, free at last! Our freedom has come to us one day earlier! Sounds great, don't you think? The playground of horrors ends today. Humankind will win in the end! So, let's all stay sharp! Breathe in, calm down, and be cool. Well then, here they come! All units get your weapons and assume positions!"
~Present time~
Emma wore a determined expression as she remembered the plan Oliver explained.
"First of all, bring all the kids to the windmill and hide them in the secret passage. Lucas and Adam will keep guard there. The other 11 of us will be divided into 4 squads. The demons organize themselves into 4 groups, led by Lewis, Bayon, Nous and Nouma, and Luce. Y/n, Emma! You two and I will lure Lewis in, but we're not attacking him. We'll just lead him around...for 15 minutes. We have to draw his attention away from the other 3 demon groups."
"!5 minutes?"
"Yes. I have an idea. I think we'll be able to distract him for 15 minutes at least. During this time, we'll deal with the others, and then, all of us strike at Lewis together! He'll bite. I'm sure of it. And, if only we can keep him away...we have a good chance of destroying the other 3 groups. We'll be catching them with their guard down. All this time, they've thought of us as defenseless prey. So it will be a surprise attack! There will be one chance and one chance only...you get it, right?"
-----
'That's right, come get us.' Gillian thought with a smirk, running from the demons.
-----
'Come on, we don't bite!' Sonya thought.
-----
'Make it seem like we're just flailing around...just like always.' Zack thought.
-----
"Let's see your face now, will you?" Nous said.
-----
"No luck, eh?"
-----
"Not you...It's not you...!"
-----
Gillian smirked as she with Zack and Sonya, who were somewhere else, held whistles.
"Wrong! Today you're dealing with me." She said.
Then, all three of them blew their whistles.
-----
'It's the signal!' Emma recognized.
Oliver pressed a trigger he held.
And with that, explosions went off.
-----
"Where's it gone?!" The demons gasped, unaware of Gillian and Nigel who stood on branches above them.
-----
"Okay, engaging the plan. It's time to hunt." Lucas said.
-----
"Let's do it." Oliver told Y/n and Emma.
Then, they snuck off somewhere.
-----
"Curse this! Where have they run away to?!"
"The cattle is getting cheeky!"
"This is unacceptable! Find them!"
"How fun." Nouma said.
"Yes...Let us play." Nous said.
Gillian glared, remembering when the demons killed her older sister. Nigel glared, remembering when the demons killed his younger sister. Sonya and Sandy frowned, remembering the death of their friend.
'We've managed to divide them and lure each group right where we wanted. The target spot lies under the mask, behind the eye...That's where their core is...I'll drill a hole into each of you bastards...!' Gillian thought, aiming her gun.
She pulled the trigger, alerting the demons. Then, they were shocked when one of them was shot.
"There! There it is!" One of the demons pointed up a tree where a figure was visible.
Gillian held two guns as she looked down at them.
"Eat lead." She spoke.
And with that, she started firing at them.
'This brat...it's aiming for the eye from the beginning! So they know? Did the premium ones teach them? But it's hardly been a day...They wouldn't have time to train. Just a fluke then?'
Then, a bullet hit the demon's face and the others looked up to see Nigel glaring down at them.
'This is no fluke! They're clearly aiming to kill the leader...that is, me! Still, they're nothing but fools! Our masks are really solid and they won't be broken by the puny weapons in this park. I'm able to resurrect and my servants too...! It's pointless to fight back. Yes, they're nothing but ignorant simpletons. Shoot as much as you want, it's all for nothing!'
"Go! Go! Charge! I want their heads! Both of them! Take them down at once!"
Gillian kept rapidly shooting at the demons who were reaching near the tree branch she stood on. The same could be said for Nigel.
'It's no use! No use! No use! No use! No use! No use!'
"It's no use! No use! No use! No use! No use! No use!" The demon cackled.
The demon noticed their bullets were almost gone and concluded that they're goners.
"Now's the time! Run up there and kill them!"
However, blood splattered in the air and the demon servants collapsed.
"They're...dead? My servants...All of my servants? What?!"
"We were not aiming at you at all." Gillian said, walking towards the lone demon with Nigel.
"We know. We know it all. Including the fact that your noble masks are bulletproof and the fact that the retainers masks have weak points."
"First remove the mask, then shoot the vital point." Nigel recited.
"And pretend to be flailing around so that they'll never realize our plan." Gillian followed.
The demon stood against a tree as Gillian and Nigel stood in front of them. Then, the demon started running, the two humans following behind.
"Get away from me!"
The demon was shot in the leg, making it stumble before Gillian and Nigel caught up, knocking it down.
"He taught us all we needed. So I also know that without your little servants, you're nothing. Game, set, and match. This is the end for you, rich boy." Gillian said.
She now pressed her foot against the fallen demon, a gun in one hand and its mask in the other.
"Alright, you win this time." The demon panted.
'Like hell! The cattle shall know its rightful place!'
"I'll grant you whatever it is that you desire. I'll overlook your offenses against my person. This time. So stop this at once! Let us discuss these matters..."
'I have to buy time...2 minutes...No, 1 minute is enough...I can smell it. Lord Bayon is heading in this direction! He'll help me for sure. And then, I'll rip these insolent...'
"I will give you 10 seconds." Gillian said.
'...No, I won't!'
"Give it up. Your comrades aren't coming, No one will save you."
'You're not getting a single second.'
"W-Wait! Just think about it! Alright, you could beat me, but those tricks won't work on them. You don't have the slightest chance against the others! There's still time! I'll forgive you all, really! Right? Come on, be reasonable! We were just playing around, you know?"
Nigel coldly looked at the demon, remembering when his little sister died to a demon.
"Do it, Gillian."
"No, wai-wait! If you kill me, my dad will-"
"Oh, my sister...To think that something like this did that to us..." Gillian said, placing her finger on the trigger.
"Hey, stop it! Don't do that! Hel-"
A ringing sound was heard and the demon went limp.
"Who said we'd use the same tactics with them? The other 3 are most certainly not like you." Gillian said.
'We have our trump cards. Of course, we'd never waste that on someone so pathetic. Among the five leaders, Luce was the weakest. So we're saving our best shots for the others.'
"6 minutes and 22 seconds as of now." Nigel turned to the girl. "The first one is down. Let's move on to the next step."
-----
"I know you're here. Come out." Lewis said.
Two people walked side-by-side, toward Lewis.
"So we meet again. I wonder if you received my message." Lewis said.
"My name is Lewis. Join the hunt and come at me." Emma recited.
"Correct. I am called Lewis. And your Emma, I wager. 63194, a premium offering from the highly-rated Grace Field Brand. The name was Emma, yes." Lewis looked at the girl before looking at the boy next to her.
"I have an idea of who you might be, but will you at least confirm it for me?" He said.
Y/n and Emma blinked.
"Huh? You don't know his name but you know mine?" Emma asked.
"Well, I can't confirm his identity if there are bandages on his neck, hiding his emblem."
"Oh." Emma became dot-eyed.
"I told you guys that these bandages are significant." Y/n said, grinning at Emma.
"Yes. I understand you now, Y/n." Emma smiled, sweatdropping.
"Y/n? I see. 94194, another premium offering from the highly-rated Grace Field Brand. Well, that's not completely it, but there's no need to go into detail. Grace Field premium. The renown of that name reaches farther than you can imagine. In recent years, Grace Field, the 3rd farm, has earned a special place. Even among the most distinguished clientele, it's the flower of taste. They say a particularly superb breeder is raising beautiful, delicious minds. So that was it, then...You're that Emma and Y/n."
"We have a message for you too. From Lucas. "What do you think of my move?" Emma said.
"I expected it was that boy. That explosion really startled me. How reminiscent of the approach they used that day."
'Lucas. You're alive, my boy. You've been hiding in these grounds and all along you were secretly polishing these Grand Valley rabbits, leading them...That was it, eh?'
"I'm quite in shock! I never thought he'd survive. How wonderful, organizing this delightful rebellion from underground! On top of that, who better to join the party than you, Y/n, Emma? I am glad! I am extremely happy right now! You've moved me to my core!"
"If so, Archduke, then let's play a little game, shall we? Just like back then." Y/n said with an amused grin on his face, his dull-dark brown eyes staring directly at Lewis.
"A...game?" Lewis questioned.
Then, he began laughing.
"I see, from back then...very well."
'Great...So far so good. This should distract this demon. Our comrades are coming. Until then...' Emma thought.
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