Dearest Anonymous, Let Me Be

Chapter 25: ARC 1 - The Lost Princess

TW: Descriptions of Violence (Murder, Blood, etc.)

The reverberating clashing of swords, the yells and shrieks of the people, the roars and growls of the phantoms, and any incoherent shouts of curses echoed all through the war zone.

Some of the humans still have a firm hold of their weapons, some already had none. Some were already whacking sticks that merely resemble a flimsy sword and a few were throwing stones that they can get from the ground. The phantoms, even with the initial damage, are still pressing onward. The phantom beasts have their claws and the phantom knights have their nails as sharp talons.

Time is not on their side.

Umi crinkled her nose due to the pungent scent of blood and sweat. Bodies already lay on the ground, lifeless or not, and she can't already tell who is who. This should not go on for too long.

The fight must be done before night comes, or the consequences will be severe.

After disappearing into the middle of the battlefield to get away from the Mad King's sight, Umi went straight into the massive cages where people were restrained with huge bars.

Umi approached the first one with haste and kicked the door open, fully intending to take advantage of the busy phantoms who were occupied in the fighting.

The people inside the first cage were initially alarmed, yet the look on their faces when they saw Umi expressed their faith in her.

Umi scanned the people inside and as soon as her dark eyes landed on a man on the side, she approached him with no hesitation and hastily stabbed the man with an apathetic face.

Blood splashed and Umi can only turn her head to dodge. She wasn't certainly fond of having someone else's blood on her face.

Ear-piercing gasps resonated all through the cage and the people inside scurried away from Umi's position. They were utterly befuddled, and they couldn't comprehend the phantom woman's actions anymore.

"She's killing people! She's an enemy!"

"Monster!"

"Murderer!"

No matter what they call her, Umi didn't pay attention to their frightened glares and accusing shouts as she was busy looking for her next target.

First is the cook, and then the second…

Just as when Umi turned her head to the side, a woman with utmost hostility in her eyes glared at her and was about to pounce at her but Umi was quicker. Before the woman could get a hold of her, Umi guided her blade into the woman, puncturing through her temple, aiming to part her skull.

The second one was the doctor's assistant. Next…

When Umi deduced that her target isn't in the first cage, she immediately went to the following one. The people in the next cage screamed as soon as they saw her coming at them but they couldn't do much when Umi had already broken their door.

Just as how she did it from the previous cage, Umi killed her targets without reluctance in her actions. The next one was a baker, and the other one was pretending to be a simple housewife. This went on in a cycle until Umi arrived at the last cage.

Unlike the others, her targets were already holding a hostage. Two men were clutching a little girl's neck while being on guard with her as soon as she arrived.

"Go away or we'll slice this girl's neck!"

Umi rolled her eyes and with a snap of her fingers, her dagger flew into the eyes of one of the two, making him lose his balance. The girl screamed when she was tossed by the other man as he hurriedly escaped away from the enclosure, looking like a monkey that just escaped the zoo.