Ansgar was lithe figure in the eye of the storm, slashing down enemies as he walked forwards. Yoma were felled with a single blow, and humans with a blunt blow from the hilt of his Claymore. Beside his trail of bodies, the lesser ranked Claymores were taking down the lingering targets, dealing with them appropriately and quickly after Ansgar weeded out the strongest. 

Raynald, on the other hand, had taken up a path on the opposite side, striking down enemies cooly and decisively. Both aware of and disgusted by Ansgar’s messy trail of blood and blood-stained survivors, he focused his gaze forwards, seeking out the lead Yoma. His experience and senses told him there must be one, but his eyes and mind were having a hard time picking the Yoma out. [i]The Yoki here… It feels strange,[/i] he thought, a frown carving itself into his features as he flicked the blood off his sword and scanned the buildings again, eyes simultaneously looking at and through them. [i]Why… Why does the Yoki ahead seem like it’s everywhere?[/i]

Moerae was hacking down Yoma in the middle of the two beast-like single-digits. Her eyes flicked to her next target each time she struck down her current one, taking note of Gideon’s as she did so. The male Claymore had also assigned himself to the leftover Yoma between Ansgar and Raynald, seemingly understanding that the two other Claymores were both too proud to accept help from the other, never mind consider working together. Watching Gideon’s concise cuts out of the corner of her eyes, Moerae could tell that she had ways to go before she picked up the fluency of the higher ranking Claymores. 

[i]Real assignments really are quite different from those for trainees,[/i] she thought, dodging a fleeing human. As she did, she noticcd Gideon approaching Ansgar’s trajectory, calling to him when he was close enough. [i]Conflict?[/i] Moerae thought, eyes flicking to the arrogant Claymore’s face. [i]Ansgar won’t heed anything he says. He’s the type.[/i]

“You say that like I can’t tell who’s human and who’s not,” Ansgar said, sneering at Gideon. “Need I remind you that Raynald’s niche is only in long-range detection? At this proximity, even you should be able to pick out targets correctly.” Ansgar paused, tipping his head. “Or are you telling me off for hurting the humans? But Gideon — they’re not dead, are they? So I’m not breaking any of the organization’s rules,” Ansgar said, a cruel grin on his face. “So why don’t you mind your own business? I can handle myself just fine.”

A laugh sounded from the Yoma ranks, and the monsters parted to allow a muscular human to pass through. [i]A human![/i] Moerae realized, muscles tensing. Why was a human passing by Yoma with such a carefree aura about him? Silent and still as she listened to the man’s message, she felt warning bells ringing in her head. [i]If I were still human, I’d probably be panicking or something of the sort,[/i] she thought as the human talked. [i]Instead, I find myself wondering what I feel. I wonder… Will I get used to the lack of emotion?[/i]

Upon finishing his speech, the Yoma — and most of the crowd — turned to look at the Claymore in question. Blinking, Moerae collected her thoughts. [i]Claymore are commissioned to protect humans, so I suppose I can only accept,[/i] she thought, opening her mouth to voice her thoughts. She was, however, interrupted by a loud outburst from her left.

“Sorry, but I’m not here to play one of your games. If you want to kill the humans, go ahead. Our rules are against [i]Claymores[/i] killing humans, and you’re not exactly a Claymore,” Ansgar said, cracking his neck. “So, if you’ll excuse me, you’d best get out of my way now, if you don’t want all of your limbs severed. After all, losing your limbs doesn’t mean death if you cauterize the wounds.” 

With that, the rank one sprang forwards so fast Moerae’s eyes couldn’t follow. Instead of seeing the human reduced to a limbless rubble, however, the sound of blades meeting resounded in the clearing. 

“Stop it, Ansgar,” Raynald, flicking his blade down as the dust swirled around him and the fuming rank one. “Our charge is and always has been humans, so you can’t just carelessly let them die.”

“There’s no reason why I’d get blamed if I do,” Ansgar countered taking another step forwards. Raynald immediately moved in front of the rank one, causing Ansgar to narrow his eyes. “Get out of my way, Raynald.”

“That’s enough, Ansgar. Let’s just comply with their demands for now. You can always save the day if it doesn’t work out,” Raynald said, leaning towards the other Claymore. “Besides, didn’t you want to see the new Claymore in action?” he whispered, his voice low so that even the other Claymores would have a hard time hearing his words. “What better chance than to let the girl fight alone?”

Ansgar was still for a moment, processing the rank two’s words, before a broad grin appeared on his face. “You know what, Raynald? You’re right,” the rank one said, thrusting his claymore into the ground beside him and leaning a hand on its handle. “We accept your terms, human.”

Raynald looked to Moerae, eyes flat despite the clear question. “I’ll play,” Moerae said, flicking the blood off her claymore and walking forwards. “What are the terms?”

[hr]
[@lazarus]