[x] Wait for Sakuya to attack. Focus on defending yourselves.

Sakuya approached us with a cold smile upon her face. There was an ominous aura about her, as if she was spreading her killing intent across the entirety of the hallway. Meiling clenched her fists tight and changed her combat stance. I took several steps back and aimed my rifle at the chief maid. She was our enemy right now. We didn't need words to understand that. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to attack first. And neither could Meiling.

"... heh."

Noticing the moment of weakness, the chief maid suddenly rushed forward and swung widely. Several knives came flying straight at us. Meiling stepped forward, raised her hands and twisted them in a spiral fashion. A barrier of many colors suddenly appeared in front of her, and when the knives struck it, they shattered into pieces. But soon afterward, we realized that Sakuya had vanished.

"Huh? Where did she -"

"Get down!"

I didn't have time to finish speaking. Something was flying straight at me. I barely had enough time to react. In the next moment, I felt it pass only inches from my head. If it had hit, I would most certainly be dead right now.

"Tsk. Missed again."

The chief maids voice came from above. We looked up to see her standing with her feet on the ceiling. Her face was expressionless, but there was a mad glint in her eyes that made me shudder. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. Dozens of knives appeared out of thin air. My eyes widened in horror as they fell upon us like a rain of blades. There was no way to dodge such a large number of projectiles.

By the time I turned to Meiling, she had already began moving. Her heel began to glow once more with golden light. And then, she leapt right above my head and swing her foot in a great arc. I couldn't help but be dazzled by the grace and power of her movements. With that single move, Meiling easily broke through the chief maid's silver rain of death.

"Very impressive," said Sakuya. "Good to see that you aren't so useless, after all."

Meiling, who was now standing right beside me, looked up at the chief maid sadly.

"I don't want to fight you, Miss Sakuya. So please... won't you let us through?"

"Isn't that cute? But I can't let anyone through this hallway."

"But why? Why are you acting this way?"

"The orders of the Master of this house are absolute."

With that, she swung her arm widely once more, scattering knives in several directions. None of them were specifically aimed at us, but they were moving at an accelerated rate. And each time they hit a wall, they ricocheted without any loss of speed. My eyes could barely follow their movements.

"Dammit! How are we supposed to avoid these things?"

"We don't need to," whispered Meiling.

"Huh?"

"Increasing magic restriction level on this territory..."

The gate guard closed her eyes and whispered something under her breath. Once again, the room was filled with faint golden light. And when it dimmed, all of the knives suddenly stopped and fell harmlessly to the ground. Meiling sighed with a heavy heart and turned to Sakuya.

"Is this battle truly unavoidable, Miss Sakuya? If we go any further than this, there is a good chance that one of us will die."

"This is the only reason I have left to exist in this world," replied the chief maid. "I will fight you with everything I have. So please..."

For just a moment, Sakuya was lost for words. She lowered her head slightly, and when she finally spoke, it was but a whisper.

"Show me your true strength, just this once."

The chief maid landed on the ground, and this time, she only pulled out a single knife. And as we watched, it began to glow bright silver.

"Fight me with everything you have."

"B-but, Miss Sakuya..."

"This is my last request, Hong Meiling."

For just a moment, no one spoke.
[ ] Don't interfere.
[ ] Try to stop them.
[ ] Break the silence. (Specify)