Under the Veil of Night

"ALICE!" Nico, her father, yelled when he saw the other members attack Alice.

Tommy hurriedly stood in front of Alice. Using his sword, he blocked their attack. Sounds of metal clashing filled the entire courtyard.

Deflecting their attack, Tommy didn't stop there. He moved forward and struck those who attacked him using the blunt side of his sword. They were all members of the hidden clan, so he couldn't possibly wound them.

"I'm okay!" Alice replied. Her fingers were holding onto several beads. They were all the poisons that she had prepared beforehand. Even though their effects were only sleeping or paralyzing, they were usually enough in the fight because she never needed to fight for long.

"That's good…" Nico relaxed slightly. When he saw that, Ayres charged forward, nearly catching the middle aged man unguarded. The two of them exchanged glances as they moved their weapon and started clashing once again.

"Tommy, help father!" Alice instructed.

"What about you?" Tommy was stunned. If he went over there, Alice would be alone, facing the barrage of attack of her own clan members.

"I'm okay," Alice put on a reassuring smile on her face. She raised her hand, which was holding several beads. "I can do this."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Trust me, I can fight too. After all, I'm the Hidden Clan's Princess," Alice smiled brightly, reassuring the young man before her.

Tommy frowned for he was worried about her, but he solemnly nodded his head. There was no time for this. He had to help Nico or the other party wouldn't be able to contend against Ayres.

"I'll be right back!"

Charging back to Ayres, Tommy accelerated his speed. He swung his sword and crashed with Ayres, who blocked it using his hand. Blood flowed out from his hand, but the man just smirked.

"Do you think this is enough?"

Tommy's face paled. He attempted to move back, but the man had swung his arm. The force nearly sent Tommy flung away far back if not for his excellent reflex. He spun midair and landed on the ground.

His knees were shaking at the force he had to contain when doing the acrobatic movement. Focusing his attention to the man, he gripped his sword harder and stomped the ground, charging straight to Ayres once more.

"What a foolish boy," Ayres mocked.

He swung his hand again as Tommy got closer. Sidestepping to the side, Tommy barely evaded the man's attack and swung his sword.

Tak!

It crashed to the man's arm and Tommy's eyes widened in disbelief. His strength was barely enough to leave a scar in his skin. In fact, it might even just a graze from the way it looked.

"Tsk," Ayres clicked his tongue and swung his arm to Tommy's direction.

Bam!

It landed on the ground as Tommy managed to retreat. His eyes were filled with deep fear for he understood that he was not the man's opponent. However, he knew that he had to prolong the fight as long as possible.

'There'll be reinforcement soon. I just have to hold on.'

With that in mind, Tommy sprang from his position and attacked Ayres once more.

Nico was also busy fighting. Compared with Tommy, Ayres was more careful with his attack as he was far stronger than Tommy. However, their differences in power were still too big.

Bang!

*cough* Nico stepped back as he readied his sword once more. His eyes were watching Ayres carefully.

While these two were having a hard time to fight, Alice threw the beads that she placed between her fingers to the men. It emitted smoke when it came into contact with them. The smoke caused them to feel sleepy.

One by one, they fell to the ground, unconscious.

With no one still awake, Jeff wouldn't be able to control anyone. This would be the best method to avoid getting casualties from their own side. After all, Alice didn't want to see her clan members fought against their own friends. That would be too frustrating and saddening.

"They're useless," Jeff frowned. He gathered his power once again and tried to control even more members. Unfortunately, Alice made most of them fell asleep using her medicine.

'I don't have much left.'

Alice frowned when she noticed that her sleeping beads had decreased rapidly. She couldn't fight in close combat as it was one of her weaknesses. However, the other medicine she had was only poisonous medicine that she couldn't use against her teammate.

Right now, she was partially regretting that she didn't stock up her supplies before the fight.

'Father, Tommy, please hurry. I can't do much more.'

Bang!

Nico attempted to attack Ayres, but the latter had switched his body position. He moved sideways and kneed Nico on the stomach, sending the man to the wall.

*Cough*

Nico saw he had vomited blood, so he could guess that his inner organs must be wounded. The strength that Ayres showed to him has far surpassed his imagination, leaving him on the dust.

"Father!" Alice yelled in worry.

Tommy hurriedly moved towards Ayres with his sword ready, but Ayres blocked the attack and switched his body. Just when he was about to move towards Nico, Tommy forcefully stopped his movement and lunged to the back.

He was desperate.

The attack he gave to Ayres so far has been extremely weak, to the point that it was simply useless. Using his entire power, he stabbed the man using his sword, piercing deeply to his stomach.

'I got you!'

"You're too weak," Ayres remarked. He kicked Tommy and that kick caused Tommy to be sent back several meters, leaving a deep path on the ground.

Groaning because of the pain, Tommy eyed his sword. There was only a bit of blood on the sharp side, while the blunt side was painfully clear. In that instant, he knew that his attack had been futile. Even though he had put his entire power inside that one attack, it was simply not enough to break the defense against Ayres.

He was still not strong enough to fight against monsters like them.