As Lin Ze and Paimon drew closer, they discovered that the beams came from searchlights mounted on a fleet of helicopters. The nearer they got, the louder the thunder of the spinning rotors grew.
In the darkness, fully armed figures kept returning to the helicopters, carrying things in their arms or over their shoulders.
"Move! Hurry up!"
Someone aboard a helicopter shouted, urging them on.
Once no one else emerged from the castle, they switched off the searchlights, closed the cabin doors, and rose into the sky.
Crack!
A tremendous bang rang out.
"Damn it, what was that?"
Something struck the helicopter's windshield, leaving a sizable crack.
"Shit, we're under attack!"
A purple night raven flashed past. Lightning enveloped the helicopter, crackling and throwing sparks across its steel exterior.
The instrument panel flickered, and the helicopter spun out of control in midair.
The other helicopters noticed something was wrong.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
They opened fire on the night raven without hesitation.
The night raven wheeled through the air, dodging their shots. It circled the helicopters, then seemed to notice something, abandoned its attack, and flew away.
"Get out of here!"
With nothing left to stop them, they fled at top speed.
The night raven landed on the ground, changing from a girl back into a young man.
When Lin Ze discovered that the people were transporting children, his first instinct had been to stop them. But concern for the children's safety kept him from attacking freely.
Shooting down the helicopters could easily injure or kill the children.
He could only give up and return to work out another plan.
"Those people came out of here. We could look inside the castle. Maybe we'll find something else."
Paimon pointed at the building ahead as she spoke.
Lin Ze studied the castle. It was pitch-black inside. He approached the fence outside, where a sign stood.
[Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters]
Squinting, he made out the words by the faint glow of the Anemo in his hand.
It seemed they had arrived at the wrong time.
"Let's go, Paimon. Be careful, and don't make a sound."
Lin Ze spoke softly. Paimon followed him, and the two entered the building.
Once inside the castle, Lin Ze felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
He did not know why, but the castle gave him a constant sense of danger.
There were no lights inside, and a faint smell of blood hung in the air.
Paimon followed cautiously behind Lin Ze, not daring to let her guard down for a single step.
"Huh?"
As she flew along, Paimon felt a drop of liquid land on her face. She touched it. It was sticky. She stopped and looked up in confusion.
"Tr... Traveler?"
Paimon called to Lin Ze in a hushed voice.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Lin Ze turned around.
Paimon barreled into his chest, making him stumble. He caught her in his arms and saw the look on her face.
"Mmph..."
The little girl clamped one hand over her mouth and pointed the other toward the ceiling above where she had just been. Her face was full of terror.
"Up there."
Boom!
Lightning flashed across the sky outside, revealing the scene before Lin Ze.
A person hung in a twisted pose from an ornate French chandelier on the ceiling, drenched in blood and no longer breathing.
Lin Ze immediately drew his sword. The lightning outside lasted only an instant, and darkness swallowed his vision again.
Shielding Paimon behind him, he slowly edged down the corridor.
The two held their breath as they moved through the darkness. A brutal fight seemed to have taken place in the castle. Judging by the clothing on the corpse hanging from the chandelier, he was probably one of the heavily armed intruders.
The people in the helicopters had left in such a hurry that they had abandoned even their accomplices inside the castle. That gave Lin Ze an idea: perhaps there were still survivors in the school, or intruders who had not managed to evacuate in time.
Paimon nervously tugged at the hem of Lin Ze's clothes, signaling him to be careful.
A faint rush of footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, rapidly approaching them.
Lin Ze signaled for Paimon to move away and quietly waited for his chance.
It did not take long for the person to reach him.
Lin Ze sprang up and slammed into the figure rushing toward him.
Thud!
The person sounded male. Lin Ze hit him squarely, knocking his head against the wall. From the sound, it was a hard blow.
"What the fuck!"
Lin Ze seized the opportunity to press his elbow against the back of the man's neck, pinning him to the wall as he demanded:
"Talk! Who are you?"
"I'm your daddy! Motherfucker!"
Lin Ze did not know how he did it. Although his neck was still pinned, the man's arm twisted toward him at a bizarre angle that defied human anatomy.
Caught completely off guard, Lin Ze was grabbed. The man's hand dug into his shoulder like a clamp, squeezing painfully.
"Wow~ Nice collarbones!"
The man whistled and tightened his fingers, digging them deep into Lin Ze's skin.
The bone-deep pain from those fingers made Lin Ze's strength falter, allowing the man to break free.
He immediately raised his leg and kicked. The man leaned aside to evade him, then dropped to his knees, driving a knee hard into his stomach.
"Argh!"
Lin Ze doubled over in pain, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
This guy's an expert! Lin Ze thought in horror.
He hesitated no longer. Someone with skills like that could not possibly be a student. Having decided the man was an intruder, Lin Ze raised his sword and attacked.
They fought at close quarters. Lin Ze was fast, but even his speed could not overcome the man's shameless moves.
His opponent was nimble, dodging deftly and repeatedly striking back at Lin Ze below the belt.
The worst part was that his mouth was even dirtier than his fighting.
"Whoa! You've even got a sword, baby. Looks pretty nice."
"But yours can't compare to my blades. I've got two. Oh! No, wait, I've got a sword!"
As he spoke, the man launched a sneak attack at Lin Ze's left ribs:
"Too bad I left two of my blades by the bed when I went to sleep. But don't be sad, sweetheart. I've still got one right here."
"I'll let you take a look at the biggest one in my pants."
A momentary lapse allowed the man to grab Lin Ze's arm.
The man's arms were immensely strong. With a forceful heave, he slammed Lin Ze's entire body against the wall. Then Lin Ze felt him grab the back of his head and push it hard toward a certain spot.
"Wait! Hold on, a girl?!"
Aether's long braid drew a startled cry from the man.
Even so, the overpowering smell filling Lin Ze's nostrils was enough to tell him exactly what lay mere inches below his face.
"Get away from me."
Furious and humiliated, Lin Ze ground his teeth. Without hesitation, he swung a fist upward while driving the tip of his sword hard into the top of the man's foot!
"Aaargh!!"
Before you continue