Alexandria's Keeper ~ Lord Of The Mysteries Fanfiction

-22- First Battle

Atop the warehouse, one of the clowns was, once again, pointing a finger gun. Irina's spirit vision warned her of the real bullet, not an illusory one.

There was only one difference, compared to the last ones, this one was pointed directly at her. By the time she turned to look, the shot had already been fired.

Bang!

A firm hand grabbed the collar of her jacket yanking Irina to the side instantly.

Colliding with something firm multiple deafening gunshots rang closely as another arm emerged beside her, firing towards the warehouse's roof.

An urgent voice roared in her left ear- Will you pay more attention?

'Leonard?'

The Poet continued half-shouting, without waiting for an answer- Don't freeze up! Move!

Irina tentatively raised a hand to her right arm. Feeling something wet she hissed in pain.

Leonard had stopped pulling the trigger but did not lower his weapon- It's just a graze, nothing as serious as falling down a window.

As the hand released her jacket, it pulled Irina backward, away from the escalating conflict.

The fight kept on brewing as Irina sank to her knees. The pounding headache returning, and together with the fresh searing pain in her shoulder, her surroundings became somewhat distant.

'Please not now.'

Among the loud gunshots, Irina failed to realize that one of the clowns had already entered the warehouse.

'Just a little bit more... I'm almost there.'

An abnormal and tragic wail came from the warehouse, bringing Irina back to reality.

'W-what?'

The cry carried an overwhelming sense of fear, as if the source had encountered something beyond comprehension.

'A-already?'

The tragic cries came to a sudden stop as silence was restored in the deepest parts of the warehouse. A skin-crawling stillness.

Bang!

Affected by the cry, Aiur only managed to shoot the suited clown in the belly.

Haaa... Haaa... Haaa! The silence was once again broken from the deepest depths of the warehouse. What should have been soft panting sounded. It reached a crescendo that tightened everyone's nerves.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Irina's gaze flickered at the black chest and found that 2-049 had entered a frenzied state.

The loud panting and the intense knocking alternated first before they resounded together. It made the entire company extremely nervous, as though they were hearing some evil murmur.

Amidst the chaos, Irina refocused on the battle unfolding before her. The suited clown fleeing, pursued by Aiur, Dunn, and Lorotta, their gunfire echoing against the warehouse walls. The haunting cries persisting from within.

Peering through the shield Leonard provided, Irina could hardly believe the scene unfolding before her- This is actually happening...

Trembling, filled with disbelief she couldn't stop those shaky words from leaving her lips- T-this is... too m-much. And... i-it's, j-just the beginning...

Bang!

The door of the innermost warehouse suddenly exploded and flew in all directions. Something wrapped with a torn cloth flew out and landed not far from the kneeling Irina.