In one instant a couple of bodies fall into the water. In the next one, the ones on their knees stood up and, fighting the growing river and the rain and pushing the bandits through the air that were left in front of them, boarded the automated cart, one of them carrying two figures that were to his right that seem to have been paralyzed by fear. In the next instant, a war cry reached Hashi’s ears accompanied by thunderbolts, and by looking to both sides, she sees how from two big spots of what she presumed to be more white and gray rocks, a light shone, and in an instant said rocks vanished, revealing more automated carts in their place, every one of them having the image of a woman in front of them.

Looking to her automated cart, Hashi sees how Masha reaches the front seat in the driver’s section and with one movement blue lights in straight lines run across the automated cart, making it move once more. Hearing the air whistle, she turns to see multiple arrows surrounded by rainbow sparks coming in her direction. Taking the cloak with her left hand, she swings it in front of her. At the touch of the arrows, many threads in the cloak glow in blue and red lights, revealing multiple eye-like patterns all across it and blocking arrows and magic alike. Even so, at the stroke of some arrows the force of the strength they were carrying pushed Hashi back a couple of steps.

A second whistle reaches her ears. As the eye-like patterns dim down, she peeks out of her cloak and sees how more arrows are already flying towards her and also now towards her automated cart, which is already on the move and coming straight to her. Taking a couple of steps back, Hashi sidesteps a couple of arrows and jumps, covering herself with her cloak, in order to reach the roof of the driver’s section of the automated cart, but as she reaches it she hits the roof instead, sending her upward in the air. Uncovering herself with her cloak, she extends her left arm on instinct and grabs to the cloth that covers the long, back part of the automated cart as it starts to gain speed and fly by the automated carts of the bandits.

Like a thousand little needles, the droplets of the rain sting Hashi’s face as the automated cart cuts through the rain at full speed. She clamps her hand as hard as she can, but the pain in her left shoulder, the place where she took the hit, makes it impossible to muster any strength on her arm, pain that gets worse as the automated cart start shaking, taking hits from the persecuting bandits attacks and putting pressure on her shoulder, all the while the crimson mithril threads start to glow bright red in the darkness.

No options… need to stop being so stubborn.

As she raises her right arm from inside her cloak, the automated cart is hit with a particular strong attack, making it shake up and down, making Hashi lose her grip and raise into the air as she lets a groan escape -”Argh!”- with her heart jumping to her throat, followed by a second one as she feels her left arm suddenly tighten.

Raising her eyes, she is meet with the sight of Fleck, kneeling, holding her by her left arm, right on top of the roof of the cart.

-”Give me your other hand!”- Hashi can hear Fleck yell as he gestures with his extended left arm.

Hashi bites her lower lip.

-”Come on, fast!”-

He’s rigth…

Hashi comes into her senses and grabs onto Fleck with her right arm, revealing it to be a prosthetic arm with multiple armor platings and runes inscribed on them.

Fleck stares for an instant her arm, but the shake of the cart and the smoke that starts raising on the back shakes Fleck out of it and pulls Hashi towards him, helping her kneel on the roof, as multiple lights start glowing from behind the cart, the counter-attack finally starting.

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-”I presume you know an offensive spell?!”- Fleck yells Hashi.

Hashi, taking deep breaths, only nods with her head.

-”Good, then give them hell!”- Fleck yells once more, pointing towards the other carts. Then, turning towards them, Fleck chants:

I, who held joy within my hand

And attempted the thunder dominate

My hand now seared, unable to hold

Even the petals of cherry blossoms

Lanza Trueno.

A large concentration of rainbow sparks appear right in front of Fleck, but instead of the magic firing, Fleck unsheathes his sword, letting the pale blue lights reach the rainbow sparks.

-”What ar-”- Hashi starts saying, but she stops herself as multiple trails of pale blue light come forward surrounding Fleck, and in the next instant multiple blue thunderbolts start firing, one after another, against one of the bandits’ carts. Getting a hit straight on, even when the cart glows, revealing it to be made of crimson mithril, the strength of the push is such that the bandit’s cart is shaken, sinking its nose into the water and flipping over while it spins, taking two other carts in the process.

Hashi can’t stop but stare at the scene that has just developed in front of her, but this time she gets herself out of it as she slaps herself with her left hand. Turning to see the next cart, she chants:

Cadenas.

Getting another hit, this time the bandit’s cart just slows down and falls gently onto the water.

-”Is that the best you have?!”- Fleck yells as he puts his hand on Hashi’s shoulder.

-”It is the most reliable one at long distances, yes!”- Hashi yells her reply back.

The roof then shakes from one side to the other. Hashi and Fleck lose equilibrium, with Hashi falling backward and Fleck on top of her belly button. As Fleck tries to get up, Hashi looks to the side to see that the automated cart just avoided a huge white rock that was floating in about the middle of the river, which one of the bandits’ carts just doesn’t see in time, hitting it and the big Zunkois mimic answering in kind, sinking it into the water. Followed by this, multiple arrows with their tips glowing in purple whistle through the air, aimed at both of them, at which Hashi raises both arms and brings Fleck against her belly button once more, getting herself down too, as the arrows pass just straight over them.

At this moment, each droplet of the rain starts to shine in white color, followed by multiple different colors, together with snow. Raising her eyes, Hashi sees how the black clouds turn their underbelly, the side Hashi manages to sees from the ground, into white with multiple colors, and gain shining properties. Touching her face though, she notices somehow that the droplets are still water, although they sting a bit more than usual. Accompanied by this change in phenomena, an unnatural sound echoes through the chasm, as if multiple fabrics were being ripped apart, as if the bark of a tree was torn apart while a tree falls.

Putting a hand on her belly, Fleck’s face appears in Hashi’s sight. She is taken aback by the new expression he is making: A mixture of fear, rage and seriousness, all wrapped with an expression of trying to keep calm and pass it as if it were nothing.

-”We have to get in, now.”- Fleck speaks with a tone that betrays his anxiety.

-”Wh-Why? What is happening?”- Hashi asks.

-”Didn’t you hear it? It’s coming… A J’avo is coming…”-