Fox Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 1)

~~ FIFTY FOUR ~~

"Platinum Ranked Holy Knight, in the face of this hopeless situation, what are your thoughts on our chance of victory?" Guila asked. I could barely see her out of the cracked window pane as we crept through the building directly behind them all. "With our magical powers, it won't be safe for either of those two."

The front door was askew in the doorway but the hinges were warped beyond repair. Unless we wanted to blast the wall away and lose our element of surprise, we needed a new route. Leraj nudged my shoulder and pointed up a set of stairs. The window on the next level was nothing more than a gaping hole and splintered wood.

I was up them in two seconds, back pressed to the window. I peeked down and out. Directly above Diane's left shoulder, Howzer and Guila in front of her. A man in red armour – Dreyfus – stood in the centre, Helbram at his right and a familiar pink haired individual on his left – Gilthunder.

"That's not the only problem," Howzer said. "We're about to go up against a Grand Master, a Cardinal and a Diamond Holy Knight on the battlefield. Chances are, we'll lose."

I stood on the damaged window lip. "Then I guess an Emerald Holy Knight and Deadly Sin would be helpful!" All eyes turned to me as I jumped out the window and landed on Diane. "Sorry, Diane," I whispered to her before straightening. I slid off her, Leraj on my heels.

"You're..." Howzer started.

"Estra."

I looked at Guila when she said my name. "Just so you know, I haven't forgiven you." She stiffened. "But I'm not about to let that override the fact that you're standing up against your boss and comrades for my friend." I glared at Jericho and her lip upturned into a snarl. "You on the other hand."

"Estra, where are the others?" Diane asked in a hoarse voice.

My eyes darted over the other Holy Knights, noting their armour and power oozing off them. "Not here." I took a position on Guila's right, slightly behind her. I sensed Leraj staying close behind me.

"So you're the Sin of Greed Hendrickson mentioned," Dreyfus said, readying his blade. "And that man behind you, am I right in assuming you're the hunted Holy Knight?"

"Meddlesome," Helbram muttered. Helbram and Gilthunder widened their stances and readied their blades as well.

"Howzer, Guila, can you keep them occupied, maybe wear them down a bit?" I whispered to them both.

"For however long you need," Howzer said, reeling his arm back with his lance. Guila took position pointing the tip of hers at them.

"Well let's get this party started then!" I crowed, clenching my fists. Fire blazed down to my elbows and I pulled an arm back. All eyes trained on me, just as I expected, and Dreyfus moved forward.

"Rising Tornado!" Howzer yelled. "A highly condensed tornado that's pushed to the ultimate limit!"

Dust whirled around, throwing my hair into disarray and blowing out the fire on my arms I no longer kept a hold of. Jericho was screaming, all of them carried higher and higher into the sky by the black vortex. I spun on my heel and ran over to Diane. Up close, her wounds were severe. One gaping hole in the right side of her chest and one in her right thigh. Whichever one of them did this would pay big time.

"What are you doing, Estra?" she asked, raising her head slightly. A child suddenly popped up.

"Oh, hello there," I said to the boy. To Diane, "I'm going to cauterise your wounds so you don't bleed out. I can't heal but I can help the process."

"Now go for it, Guila! I want you to put all your magical power into this using everything you've got!" commanded Howzer.

"Don't listen to him, Guila!" came Jericho's screech. "We're both Holy Knights!"