Mirany heard the shuffling of many feet behind her and spun to meet several of Ivalice’s finest. She immediately drew her dagger and held the blade at the ready. As she listened to Nero’s orders, she saw that four soldiers had already decided to target her and were quickly closing in. She sprinted forward to the grunt on her far right, closest to the wall, her dagger held out in front of her. The remaining soldiers on her left sprang to intercept her, but she’d anticipated this. The closest incoming man was welcomed with Mirany’s swift feint towards him, stabbing her dagger directly into his throat. She heard her original target coming up behind her and dipped low to avoid him, slashing her dagger forward at the next soldier’s legs, managing a slice on one of his shins. Grunting, he stepped back in surprise and pain and she rolled to her left, out of their path. Springing up again, Mirany dodged the first man’s swinging fist, grabbed it, and pulled him toward her, stabbing him in the stomach. The man gave a low groan, and deep inside Mirany felt a guilty thrill. It bothered her sometimes how much she really enjoyed killing. She angrily shoved his weakening body into the last two soldiers. While they were tangled on the ground, she took the opportunity to kick one in the face, pull him up by his hair, and slit his throat. The last soldier managed to stand up before she was done and hooked an arm around her neck, pulling her against his body and grabbing the forearm of her dagger hand to keep it still. He squeezed her neck slowly, and Mirany’s mind raced against the growing need to breathe. She ground her foot into the man’s instep, to no avail. She was losing oxygen. [i]Shit, shit, shit![/i] She pushed both her feet hard against the floor and shoved her full body weight onto the man in an effort to push him off balance. Luck was on her side, and he stumbled backward, loosening his grip on her neck and her arm. She jerked out of his grasp, spun, and stabbed him in the chest. Breathing heavily, Mirany turned to the rest of the fray to see if her co-members needed any backup.