6-18: Escaping The Bandits

Chaos had ensued. The five girls had escaped their entrapment, gathered some form of weapon and have been tearing the place down, bit by bit. Veronica, possessed by Lilith, had slain at least thirteen bandits by now.

Lilith had been wondering why their captors had never truly tried to kill them. But, it didn't really matter. They needed to escape first and foremost.

"Hey, I think our stuff is in here!" The red-head exclaimed, pointing out a storage room.

It was certainly different from other storage area in this place. It was clean and organized. Atypical of bandits. There was certainly more going on here.

The refusal to kill the escaping prisoners, who have already thinned down their numbers, and clean, organized storage... Mercenaries?

"What can you tell me of these bandits." Lilith asked the other girls as they gathered their belongings.

"They're too smart for bandits. Their leader is some kind of mage. He refused to kill us. The odd thing is that they didn't do anything except chain us up. I heard something about ransoming us off." The ravenette answered, strapping a shield to her arm.

Definitely odd. The girls were all on the younger side, and rather attractive, but not having anything done to them is even more suspicious. No cuts, just some bruises, no one was forced upon...

And the ambush on the caravan... something was a miss. It wasn't random... who was the target? Eleanora? Then Veronica should be dead, unless she's supposed to be bait. But the princess is too smart for that, and they know it.

Lilith kept her thoughts at the back of her mind as she continued through the compound, cutting down whichever poor soul gets in her way.

These bandits were trained... not greatly, but they do have some semblance of combat training. Definitely mercenaries then.

After turning a corner, they were met with a large courtyard. And right in the middle was a mage. The leader.

"Ah, so the incarnation greets us. I was told you'd be weaker. How odd. The All-Mother rarely gets things wrong." He spoke calmly, as if it were just another day to him.

"You were after this girl, weren't you?" Lilith said, pointing to herself. "I won't allow it. You can tell that betrayer to fuck off."

"How crude. So, the spirit already took over her body. Poor girl. Possessed by a mass murderer of a time long past. Her Holiness said to get rid off you. Seems I'll need to-" The mage tried to continue before he was cut down by Lilith.

"I've no time to speak to the likes of you." Lilith spat and continued to lead the other out of the compound.

That mage gave her all the information she needed to know. That Angel is involved. And she's gone too far. Again.

The compound didn't come out unscathed either. By the time the girls had finally reached the gates, the whole place was engulfed in flame. And finally, they were out. Free.

"Ver!" Cassidy's recognizable voice yelled out.

They've all regrouped now. Even Rose Garden were surprised to see their compatriots here as well.

"Lara! What happened?" Seraph rushed over to the red-headed woman.

"We underestimated them. Damn it! This was supposed to be a normal bandit hunt. There's got to be more than this..." She responded, clearly angry, but also finally relieved. "We wouldn't have gotten out without her." She pointed to Lilith, who still inhabited Veronica's body.

Meanwhile, Cassidy rushed to greet her, though, she quick hesitated.

"Wait a minute... you... You're not Ver. Ver's eyes are blue." Cassidy backed off.

Lilith found a small puddle, and sure enough, Veroncia's had changed to red, like her own.

"How interesting. Ahem. My name is Lilith Odessa. I'm... Veronica's spirit. It's nice to finally meet you, Cassandra. And now, I shall give Veronica back her body."

With a deep breath, Veroncia was now back in control. Though, she trembled. She was stained with the blood of everyone Lilith had killed.

At least, that was until a bandit rushed up behind her, clearly fed up with orders. His strike never landed though, as Veronica swiftly turned and positioned her blade. His head and body were separate from each other now.

Veronica had now finally, officially crossed the line. Her thoughts turned her brain to mush. She shook violently, studying the blood that coated her hands and clothing. It was splattered all over her.

'They... they were bandits... they would've killed someone else... right... but I... we...'

Veronica clearly needed sometime to get her thoughts together. So, everyone else helped out, bringing everyone back home.

This was clearly a well needed break.