Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Kadricke soon settled on a course of action. More important than anything was getting his Coalition back on its feet and try to do something about the cracks in their foundation Derot had sown.

However, even if he fixed it, it would do nothing to stop Derot from continuing to turn the tides and return the favor of his actions up till now, so to speak.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Stand down," Kadricke ordered his armed thugs. "You're no match for a Shadow."

Experience more tales on empire

They might be able to take down Derot by swarming the Shadow to keep him distracted and sneak attack Derot. But that was a costly move, especially if too many of the combatants died in the process since they might not be able to stop the Shadow's ensuing rampage.

The armed men withdrew to Kadricke's side of the restaurant and stood between the Shadow and Kadricke.

As they looked at the men, Derot and the Shadow missed Kadricke's subtle nod toward a corner of the restaurant veiled in darkness. Baxter stood between Derot and the guards, but the strumming of a bow string let loose sounded out from a corner on the opposite side.

His head whipped around as soon as the sound reached him, and his arm was already moving to block the arrow.

But in such a close space, the difference between the sound of the bowstring and the arrow reaching them was minimal. Baxter was too slow to block the arrow. It flew unhindered in its path to Derot.

Time slowed to a crawl at this pivotal moment of history. The arrow's fletchings trembled as the arrow drilled through the air, drawing invisible lines with its triangular tip.

Derot felt his heart seize as he stared down the arrow's shaft. He closed his eyes.

Plink.

That was the sound the arrow made after a second that felt like ten. That was the sound the arrow made when it reached its destination.

If possible, the restaurant was even more silent now than it had been moments before.

The arrow rattled to the ground.

Derot slowly opened his eyes. The fact that he could do that and see a scene the exact same as what he had been looking at before he closed them was proof that he was still alive. He sighed in relief.

Zach's barrier.

"Baxter, it seems you don't have to worry about my safety." He closed his eyes again and tilted his head back, the sound of his thunderous heartbeat pounding his skull drowned out the cacophony of sounds from the chaos in the restaurant.

Before long, the situation in the restaurant died down along with the deaths of those brave enough to try and stop Baxter's wild, shadowy assault.

"Sorry, sir, they got away," Baxter apologized on one knee with his head bowed before sinking into Derot's shadow.

"It's fine. They won't pose much of a threat from now on. It's time for the man behind the scenes to take the stage. Let's go back. There's a lot to do. But first, let's meet up with Zach." Derot took a deep breath and let out an even deeper sigh before opening his eyes to the bloody spectacle that the restaurant's internal decor had turned into.

Derot's face was pulled into a grimace as the sight and the smell hit him at once. He carefully made his way to the door while doing his best not to step in any puddles of blood and gore too deep for the soles of his boots.

As soon as he was outside in the fresh air, his light breakfast threw itself out of his mouth.

***

A short while later at Zach's hotel.

"Master."

"Mm, pick him up. Be a little gentle this time, Alzara. Derot has suffered."

Alzara soon returned with Derot under one arm and Baxter under the other. Baxter wasn't moving. It wasn't because he was unconscious or incapable. He was paralyzed with fear.

Since Alzara had only picked up Derot the other times, and he hadn't needed to do anything but make sure Derot was safe on the way to and back, Baxter hadn't noticed it before. He knew Alzara was powerful.

But Baxter hadn't expected it to be to the point where he was completely powerless in front of her. Baxter had mixed feelings.

On one hand, it was reassuring that Derot had such reliable allies. On the other, Alzara's strength hinted at a world beyond his reach, a world of powerful threats to Derot's safety that he would be powerless to stop. He needed to become stronger.

"I heard what's been going on. You've done well, Derot," Zach said since Derot was still catching his breath and resting. It wasn't just from Alzara picking him up. He was pale and weak from the stress of the situation he had just gone through.

"But it isn't over yet, is it?" Zach asked.

Derot was silent for a long moment before speaking without looking at Zach.

"...Why didn't you tell me you put a barrier around me?" Derot asked.

He had entered the restaurant relying on nothing but Baxter. Considering the wreckage Baxter made, it wasn't that he put his trust where it shouldn't go. He just hadn't expected Kadricke to stuff an archer in such an enclosed, poorly lit space. In that regard, Kadricke's preparations had exceeded Derot's.

If it hadn't been for Zach's barrier, that round would have been Derot's loss.

Zach stared blankly at Derot.

"I forgot to mention that, huh? Whoops. My bad." Zach apologized with a tone anyone else would take as insincere. Derot, however, knew Zach was completely serious. So, he just sighed.

"Whatever. It saved my life, so you have my thanks."

"Hey, it's just a drop in the bucket compared to all the money you've made me. Don't think about it too much."

"..."

Zach fought with his life on the line regularly. Derot didn't. He spent most of his time safely counting money and doing business. Their habits and way of life made them look at the value of life and death differently.

To Zach, almost dying was almost an everyday occurence. It certainly felt like it with how harsh his training was. But to Derot, almost dying was almost as rare as actually dying. He ignored Zach's words to not mind it. He engraved it in his heart.