“I need more,” he said, beckoning at her.
“I-I don’t…,” she said in a mosquito voice but still handed him several more. “I only kept them as memento, I don’t drink anymore.” She heaved a deep breath and stared at Ewan with her shimmering eyes of the hazel shade.
“You don’t need to explain, it’s your life, you can live as you wish,” he said, cracking the seals of the bottles and stuffing them with rags. He was making the poor man’s firebomb.
Nana lowered her head again, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Okay, its ready. We’ll talk later, just stick close to me for now and support with spells if I need it.”
Ice Dagger!
He stuffed all his Ice-Anima in the spell circuit and cast the most powerful version of the spell he could use at his current level. Four sharp daggers condensed in front of him, floating on his command, amplifying his Ryvia, and ready to slaughter at his intent.
Blood Rein!
He did the same with this spell and used all his Blood-Anima, it became the strongest defense he could cast right now. The blood blob hovered among the daggers, contrasting the red against the white, as Luna healed his slit wrist. Frost and Orange were also out and ready to support him, their levels were more than enough to fight this battle.
Throwing the cocktails by hand could expose his position, so Ewan hurled the first one with his Ryvia after kindling the rag with
Ewan burned the second and slung it, and then another. The spreading fire killed one after another, it thinned the oozing swarm. The rising hot air singed their flimsy wings and hindered their flight, many dropped to their deaths, pruning the swarm further.
It’s time.
Ewan turned towards Nana and smiled. “Now, go be the bait,” he said, patting her shoulder.
“What?” she whispered in alarm again and clutched his t-shirt. “I-I’ll die this time for sure.” She made a crying face.
“No, you won't.” He freed his t-shirt from her grip. “Just stand there, I’ll do the rest,” he said, pointing at the middle of the road.
Her knees buckled, her shoulders trembled, but she followed his words and walked over, her boots scraping the asphalt.
The blazing fire wasn’t good for his ice daggers, so he needed the surviving bees to move away from it before he attacked.
The bees reacted to Nana, the air around the queen bee throbbed. Their buzzing intensified and the swarm arrowed towards Nana.
Come closer…closer….
Ewan observed the queen bee, hiding behind the wall, waiting for the chance to appear. Nana took deep breaths, huffing and puffing, and quivered as the swarm closed in. She was in their range now, so Ewan compressed the air in front of her and created an invisible shield. He couldn’t use the blood shield, it could scare the queen away, he needed her close and in his range. And for normal Level-0 bees, his Ryvia defense was enough. The only concern was how long he could hold on for. Worst case scenario, he would go all out and fight the swarm. He couldn’t let them harm Nana….
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Luckily, his plan worked, and the agitated queen bee rushed towards Nana with her soldiers. The weaker bees stabbed their stinger but couldn’t break the invisible defense. Nana looked around, surrounded by the droning insects, her eyes widening, then stared at Ewan.
Her stare might’ve given away his position, but the chance was already here, he didn’t need to wait anymore. His four daggers cleaved the air as they zoomed towards the queen. The surprise attack succeeded, and the daggers sliced her apart, ending her life in one strike. Her pieces thudded down on the street, dead with not even a twitch left in her.
Ewan bolted towards Nana and unfurled the blood dome, covering both inside. His daggers danced outside on his command, taking one life with one move. Orange and Frost too attacked at will and killed with each strike. The remaining bees were only Level-0, unlike the queen, and no one controlled them, so the rest was only tedious work with little danger.
“D-Do you really not care?” Nana clutched his t-shirt and sobbed with her head resting on his back.
“What?” The sudden change surprised him. “It’s fine now, don’t cry, I already dealt with them,” he said.
“Y-You don’t care if I drink again?” she asked, her tears and snot drenching his t-shirt.
“Like I said, it’s your life, you can live as you wish, I won't interfere. I don’t think I have the right to anymore.”
She sobbed harder and tightened her grip, her nails dug into his skin.
Ewan finally sighed; she had long chipped his defenses and her tears broke it down. “Then listen to me, never touch that shit again. Stop wasting your life away in bottles, I’ll rip your hair off if you ever do,” he scolded and turned to look at her. She sniffed and hiccupped but held a faint smile on her face. “Jeez, the sudden mood swings,” he said under his breath.
The flitting daggers and his Astylinds ended the battle outside. Dead bees blanketed the street, their corpses withering by the second. The tiny cores coming out of their remains rolled around.
“Let’s gather the loot and move away quickly.”
It was a loud battle, it could attract unwanted attention, especially the blazing fire that had yet to die.
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Status: Healthy
Step-0 [3rd Awakening]
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 1.4
Spirit: 6.8
Anima: [Fire – 6.8 | Ice – 0.3 | Blood – 0.3]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [3rd Awakening]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-3] [Grade-C]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-4] [Grade-C]
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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-3] [Grade-C]
Equipment: Common Clothes.
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients; Astylind Cores.
Novas: 192
Crelith: 4984