Chapter 98: Taken By Surprise

"You like what you see?" Hilda asked playfully, though it sounded seductive to some.

"H-huh?" Nadia, who hadn’t been paying very much attention, blinked awake. She then tilted her head and recalled the last thing she heard. "See what? What did you say exactly?"

Hilda chuckled before waving reassuringly. "Pfft. Nothing~ nothing~... It wasn’t important, anyway."

She then noticed her coat draped over Nadia’s shoulders and gave a warm smile. "How is it? My coat."

"You make it sound like it’s my first time wearing it." Nadia’s eyes became half-closed. "But if I have to give an answer... it’s warm. But it feels really slimy against my skin because of the blood."

"Hehe, have to make do with what you have, am I right?" Hilda snickered.

After saying that, she stored the black metal clock hand into her Inventory under everyone’s gaze — shocking them.

She then rolled her shoulders with a relieved sigh. "Haa... heavy weapons are kind of my thing, but it can be quite the hassle carrying them around."

Nadia widened her eyes. ’It disappeared!’

"H-hey, how did you do that...?" She asked, baffled.

Seraphine, who was nearby, instantly perked up. ’That’s also what I wanna know!’

Noticing the expectant looks she was garnering, Hilda smirked. "Good question. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you, even if I wanted to."

"Ugh..." Nadia’s face twitched, obviously unsatisfied with the response. However, she relented and didn’t ask any further questions.

She then noticed as Hilda began to fervently look around, as if looking for something.

"What are you looking for?"

"I’m looking for a Predicament. Did you guys happen to come across a Soldier?"

"Huh?" Nadia widened her eyes. "How do you know about the Soldier? Were you watching us the entire time?"

"Hm? No, I wasn’t." Hilda shook her head. "I just happened to have seen one, that’s all. I take it you came across it?"

Nadia nodded strongly before pointing over at the sea. "It’s over there."

"Ho~?" Hilda rubbed her chin before walking over to where Nadia had pointed.

When she made her way to the edge of the quayside, she found a huge corpse floating on top of the water. It was covered in hazardous wounds, its blood leaking into the water, and was even missing its head, which so happened to be caught on the ladder leading up to land.

Seeing that it was undoubtedly a Soldier, Hilda bursted out laughing.

"Hahaha, incredible! Truly incredible! To think you all would be able to handle the Soldier before I arrived, und with nearly 60% of you all still alive! Hahaha, I just can’t wait to brag you all to Vincent!"

Hearing an unfamiliar name, Nadia sat up. ’Vincent? Who’s Vincent?’

Was Vincent the name of her friend? Her colleague? And why would she brag about them to him?

Questions began to bubble inside her head, and during that time, Hilda couldn’t help but notice something peculiar — something that caused her to recheck several times.

"This one is a bit smaller than the one I saw."

"... Smaller?" Nadia repeated, along with everyone who heard the German.

"What do you mean, smaller? Are you trying to say it shrunk?"

Hilda shook her head with a wave. "No, no, no. Soldiers do not shrink. In actuality, it’s quite the opposite. The one I saw was at least a few inches — maybe a meter — taller than this one und it was more muscular too."

’What?’

At that moment, this singular thought echoed throughout everyone’s mind, leaving them stunned. If what Hilda said was true... didn’t that mean there was another Soldier running around?

"... Are you... sure?" Nadia asked, almost fearfully. "No doubt in your mind?"

Hilda confidently nodded. "Absolutely! This one here looks as if it only became a Soldier just recently."

She then thoughtfully supported her chin with her hand, pondering on this mystery.

"I’d say the one I saw looks as if it had grown over the course of several months. Maybe even a year—" Hilda then suddenly stopped talking.

Nadia quirked an eyebrow at this.

As she was about to ask why Hilda had became silent, she heard something ominous in the distance, followed by a small vibration through the ground.

Thud... Thud...

The vibration wasn’t strong, but it continuously grew stronger as time went on. And the ominous sound drew even nearer.

Thud...!THUD...!

By now, everyone, even those who weren’t sensitive, was able to tell something was terribly wrong. Were they about to be hit by an earthquake?

As Nadia was about to look towards Hilda for answers—

THUD!

—Something suddenly fell out the sky! Something heavy!

Before Nadia knew it, the part of the quayside they were on had begun to crumble!

Right as this part of the quayside was about to collapse into the sea, she managed to catch the thing was. And when she did, her eyes widened to the extreme.

Rock-like plating, thick and muscular limbs, four dark brown eyes, approximately 6 metres tall...

’This thing...!’ Wasn’t this thing a Soldier!?

The second after she realised this, the Soldier had swung its arm, like a club, and landed a blow on Hilda’s side, who had managed to raise her arm just in time.

She quickly let out a sharp groan. "Ngh!"

BAM!

The blow was devastating and strong enough to send Hilda flying several metres into the air and dozens of metres inland.

Nadia’s eyes quickly shook. "Hilda!"

By the time the quayside had collapsed, everyone had already watched as the Soldier hurriedly sprinted inland and leapt in Hilda’s direction, as if she was the only thing worthy of its attention.

Nadia fell and was mere moments away from hitting the water. ’Crap!’

Luckily—

""Nadia!""

—She was caught by two trustworthy individuals.

Seraphine and Callum had quickly rushed to her aid and caught her by the arm. With a groan, the two managed to pull her back on land.

After ensuring Nadia was fine, the two looked towards where the Soldier was heading. The Heroine did the same, with concern flashing in her eyes.

Soon...

BOOM.

They began to hear explosions in that direction.