Wood exploded upward.
Rose got hit in the forehead.
It should have been the case for both Malak and Leilla, but the gifts inside their weapons saved them.
The shot left Malak stunned, her ears ringing as the world around her seemed to shake.
The attackers, seeing the two still in shock, started firing nonstop, but Leilla was quicker and used her weapon's powers to shield herself and her friends.
The ice cracked almost instantly.
Another shot.
Another crack.
Frost spread across the floor as Leilla poured everything into holding it together.
"It's breaking!" Malak shouted.
As the magazines of the guns emptied, Malak and Leilla, each from a different side of the ice wall, lunged at the attackers.
Malak lunged forward.
Axe up.
Blocked.
The impact shook her arms.
"Too strong," she said to herself.
Leilla, with her daggers.
Merged.
Ice formed instantly.
She slashed.
Shards flew.
They dodged all of them.
"What the—"
Malak swung again.
Absorbed impact.
Counter.
Released.
The floor cracked.
But they didn't fall.
One attacker sighed.
"Ugh... wanted this to be quick..."
Rose—
Barely alive.
Her vision blurred.
Blood ran into her eye.
Hands shaking.
Her friends struggling and being played with.
She raised her blade toward one of the attackers.
Focused.
Clean.
Precise.
Struck.
She used all of her will to launch a strike from her weapon, and it hit one of them in the side of the stomach.
Everyone was surprised.
They hadn't expected it.
They were getting overwhelmed.
But thanks to her, the girls got an opening.
They took it and attacked the other two, forcing them to back up.
"Run!" Leilla shouted.
She picked Rose up over her shoulder and broke through the café window, running.
One of the attackers looked down, visibly annoyed and frustrated.
The other two looked at him and understood.
This was it.
The end of the mission.
The end of the girls.
Running together.
Malak.
Leilla.
Rose over her shoulder.
But—
Not fast enough.
One of them moved behind Leilla as she slowed while carrying Rose.
Leilla turned.
She tried to move faster.
But it was too late.
She threw Rose out of the way.
Impact.
Leilla slowed.
Limping.
Something...
Wrong.
Then—
Blood.
Her body dropped.
Before she hit the ground—
He grabbed her by the hair.
"LEILLA!"
Malak charged.
Rage.
She got hit.
Hard.
Into the wall she went.
The back of her head struck it first.
She never got up.
No one survives that.
Rose.
Unconscious.
It's over.
The attacker leaned close to Leilla's ear, one hand gripping her hair, the other driven through her back and out the other side.
"ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"EVERYTHING COULD HAVE GONE SMOOTHLY IF YOU... F*****G YOU... HAD JUST SAT THERE AND TAKEN THE BULLETS... UGH, I HATE B*****S LIKE YOU—"
At that moment, he wanted to hurt her even more, but one of his friends stopped him.
"Rax... stop. It's over."
The weapons were taken.
Not as clean or efficient as they had wished.
But at last, they took what they came for.
And just like that—
They left.
Silence.
Minutes later—
Ari returned alone.
The door was open.
The smell hit him first.
Coffee.
Blood.
Gunpowder.
His eyes searched the room.
Five cups.
One overturned.
A chair on its side.
The owners, in shock and disbelief, were making phone calls.
Just—
Broken glass.
Shattered tables.
And—
Blood.
His steps slowed.
His face turned pale.
"...Guys."
No answer.
He asked the owners and got a brief update about what had happened and which way they had gone.
He went that way, completely dissociated from reality.
He just wanted to see them so he could come back to life again.
Then he saw them.
A circle of people stood around them.
Just standing there.
Malak.
Against the wall.
Rose.
On the ground.
Held by Leilla.
Neither moving.
Something cracked inside him.
He ran.
Dropped to his knees beside her.
"Leilla—"
Her chest moved.
Slow.
Too slow.
Her eyes shifted.
Found him.
"Ari... you're late..."
With a faint smile.
Broken.
His hands shook.
"No... no, no, no... what happened?"
She tried to breathe.
Coughed.
Blood.
Her hand moved.
Weak.
Found his shirt.
Grabbed it.
"Ari..."
He leaned closer.
"I'm here... I'm here..."
"...I tried to save her..."
Her voice barely existed.
"Please save Rose..."
His throat closed.
"I will... I swear... I..."
She smiled.
Just a little.
Her eyes drifted toward Rose.
Still breathing.
"...I know..."
Her grip loosened.
And then—
It tightened again.
"...My sister..."
"...Take care of her for me..."
Silence.
Ari couldn't move.
He just sat there.
Her grip never loosened this time.
She was gone.
She cared too much about her sister and used whatever strength she had left to say those words.
Her whole body froze as she held onto him.
What a weight Ari had to carry now.
Rose.
A tear fell from her closed eyes.
As if she had heard her.
As if she had felt her disappear.
Ari noticed Rose was still breathing.
Still wounded.
He couldn't even grieve.
He got up.
Picked Rose up.
The moment he tried to move—
Mikey stopped him.
Two others, also wearing black suits, stood beside him.
They came... but—
Too late.