Page 451

~~Holiday Special (Day 6/7, Page 3/6)~~
Rather than replying, Hector armored himself up. The helm formed around his head just as he’d memorized it. Then came the gauntlets, breastplate, and leggings. It wasn’t a full suit of armor, as he was worried that his mobility would be hindered if he added much more to it.

Desmond didn’t seem especially concerned by the sudden armor, choosing to wait patiently. “Ah! The girl with the sword! You’ve changed a lot, haven’t you?! Did you go aberration hunting?! I like your new look!”

Lynn ignored him and whispered to Hector, “Do you think he’s trying to bait us to attack him? Where is the other servant?”

“I don’t know...”

“Pretty clever!” said Desmond. “This little plan of yours! I’m quite curious as to how you knew to enact it today, though! If you tell me, I’ll do something nice for you! Do you like brownies?! I make amazing brownies!”

“What an idiot,” said Lynnette.

“C’mon! If you’re not going to talk to me, then things are going to get boring real quickly unless you attack!”

‘...No,’ said Garovel. ‘It’s a diversion. He wants to buy time so that his comrade can do something. Ignore him. Force him to chase us.’

Hector nodded. “We can’t engage him yet,” he told Lynn, and then he ran off into the intersecting hall with her and Desmond both following.

He knew the royal bedchamber was close. It was perhaps the most obvious place for the King to be, but then, Desmond probably wouldn’t have realized so quickly what their objective was in coming here.

A sizzling hand came flying from behind, but Lynnette was prepared. Her shadow knocked it right back toward Desmond, who had to dive out of its path. The subsequent explosion made the hall jolt, and Hector stumbled but kept going.

The guardsmen must have been doing good work, because there weren’t many civilians around. The few that remained, Hector tried to scare into fleeing as he ran past, making metal spikes suddenly jut out of the ground in front of them. That strategy, at least, proved quite successful.