38 Quick Thinking

Emery didn't know what to think when he first saw the mongoose dragging the giant sack along. It had burst out so fast that neither of the guards even had time to react after it passed them.

Eventually, all instincts kicked in, and when the mongoose was close enough to him, Emery reached forward and placed everything within his Pantry.

Citro jumped onto his shoulder as soon as the weight was gone, his fur bristling against the chef's nervous and sweaty skin.

He really wanted to scold the scoundrel, but their circumstances hardly allowed for that. Igor and Owain had recovered from the initial distraction.

Half of the mission was complete. Now for the second half…

Run away!

He tapped into all the energy he had within his body and turned around to dash into the hallway at the side. Footsteps followed, a little slower. Or so he thought.

"Where are you going?" a voice called out from in front.

It was Owain.

Emery didn't even see when the guard had circled around him to get to the front. Was this an example of Class Eight speed?

There was no time to ponder that.

He switched out the ladle for a working knife quickly, then sliced down on the large guard.

Multiple cuts appeared everywhere, but none seemed to touch the guard. Owain gripped his axe even harder and frowned from under his helmet.

"Pitiful skills. I almost feel embarrassed to take your life now. But unfortunately, you've stolen from the boss. I can't let you live,"

He cut down with the large axe, and a black arc of energy flew out and slammed into Emery's knife. It was a lot like Konnor's attack, but the chef was prepared for it. He coated the blade with the green energy and struck back at the same time.

BOOOOM~

A brilliant burst of light shone out and sent them both flying backwards.

Emery skidded back, just several metres away from Igor, who had cornered him from behind.

Front, back. There really was nowhere to go at this point.

He brandished the blade and put a single foot forward. Sparks of darkness appeared around the blade. It wasn't quite like the green aura, but it was something else. Born from a skill.

"Ha!"

Darkness Razor Knife!

The blade struck out against Owain. Multiple dark slices appeared in the air, wrecking the entire decor of the hallway in less than a second.

Owain… blocked it all.

"You really don't learn, do you?"

No, he didn't. If he ever learned, he would have refused this mission as soon as it was brought up. Reconnaissance and thievery weren't his job speciality. This was a very poor mistake on his part.

But what would regretting even do to help in this situation? Emery looked at Citro, who tensely stared at the events.

"I know you're tired, but help me out with something, Citro!"

The mongoose nodded, then flew off the chef's body. A blazing yellow light appeared around its body. The furry thing weaved over the blade and onto Owain's face. Then, with the force of perhaps the strongest scratch in the world, sliced down multiple times at the area below the helmet.

"AAAARGH! FUCKING RODENT!"

Small inconvenient wounds were often the worst kinds. Emery took advantage of this and cut outward with his own blade. The green energy around him extended to the blade, then formed a slightly larger ethereal figure around it.

"HA!"

It was a clean strike that precisely landed where Emery wanted it to. Owain's left arm, which had been unguarded the whole time, came off and landed on the ground. That made the guard far more aggravated than before.

Owain fell to the ground, screaming and clutching at his missing limb.

If Emery was correct, then it would earn him some time. Well, at least if he managed to deal with Igor in time.

And that was just what he planned to do.

"Citro, again!"

Igor smirked and raised both arms in an 'x' position to block most of his lower body.

The mongoose shot forward with the same yellow glow as before, but…

"EEEEEEEP!"

It ducked down and scraped right on the unguarded crotch area.

"My- My balls.... AAARGH!"

Blood dripped down from the holy area. Igor fell to the ground, eyes white and mouth-frothing from the pain.

Emery smirked and ran past the collapsing guard. Did he really think they would do the same thing again? Citro jumped onto his body and high-fived him just as they moved.

After the past few days, he'd gained an invisible connection with his summons that even he couldn't explain. They knew what he wanted them to do. He knew what they needed him to do.

Sometimes battles didn't need overwhelming strength to be won. A little intelligence and trickery went a long way. His greatest tool as a chef was the ability to improvise.

Anything could ruin a dish. Anything at all. A good chef would be able to improvise himself out of the situation. The same thing could be applied to fighting and fighting techniques as well.

Recipes were there to help, but if you couldn't cook outside the recipe then it would be difficult to an extent.

He quickly found himself approaching the front entrance of the courthouse.

Finally.

This mission was a pain to go through and perform. It was a miracle that he survived so far in the first place. Hopefully, they would be able to leave as soon as he came out. While silently making those prayers in his mind, they finally reached the entrance.

"Here we are, Citro!" he yelled excitedly.

He looked back from time to time, just to make sure that the guard duo wasn't following him, but luckily they weren't.

He quickly rushed through the door and found himself on a different battlefield than they left it.

Konnor faced up against two very familiar suited men. Elyn was cornered by grunts on all sides but was still not letting up.

"Come on, Citro. Let's go help them," he said.

But…

A voice interrupted. "Where exactly do you think you're going?"

It was the same muscular lady that clashed with him when he first tried to enter here. Amelia.

She wore a satisfied smile, then held both fists in front of herself.

"I've been waiting a while for you here. Let's finish this,"