The Vassals fought their way relentlessly amidst the flurry of both knives and bolts. Mido managed to deplete one side's vision by unleashing a plume of fire against them, scorching some and incapacitating others. Gris unreluctantly unleashed a burst of shotgun shots at their enemies. Deep in resentment, Vivace extended her cold touch to a group of goons, uncontrollably crystallizing them with freezing fervor. Without remorse, Peram used The Ring to blast the ice into pieces and unto another bunch, piercing them with it. Fein used his speed to tackle and electrocute any stragglers left as fast as he can. Both Enna and Gen protected the unarmed Stera, who cannot protect herself.

Death brings to the tumult of Alto. The disorder it causes ceases the senses of man. One can go seemingly unfazed, knowing that they killed someone.

"Hahh… That's many…" Mido panted as the last of the goons fell.

"Miss… Come close. We'll need to get out of here." Enna ordered Stera. Fein waved for everyone to go through the hole once more to escape.

"But… the others…"

"We will come back for them. Gris! Can you do a distress relay to Wizbette?!"

"Signal consistency is shit here. I need to go to a high area without cover!" Gris said. When they turned around the corner and into the front, more goons went out of the huts. This time, they had more modern weapons at their disposal. Assault rifles, crude handguns, and the like.

"Ballistics!" As they began their barrage at the building, Gris hurled a gem and it turned into a barrier for them to take cover. The group only had their pistols and abilities to boot, but the sheer number of their enemies' firepower cannot be trifled with.

"Go! We'll distract them!" Fein yelled amidst the gunfire as he tried to shoot one goon. He failed.

"Their bursts will not let us fire at them! Is there a rooftop in here?!"

"It's a bunker, Fein!" Gen looked up; there was indeed a rooftop.

"Never mind, find the stairs inside. We'll cover!" Fein immediately rushed back to the building.

Mido, Vivace, and Peram utilized their medium-range abilities to slowly eliminate their enemies.

"My range is not that good… I can go for only about five meters." Peram notified.

"Wait. I have an idea." Mido manifested a fireball in front of him.

"Catapult this into them. Quick!"

"Right!"

Peram punched the air in front of the flame, and sure enough, the concentrated ball of fire was flung into the enemy in a range far greater than both of their abilities.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Gen and Enna saw the explosion as the fire clung into whatever dry flammables it could touch.

"Oi, Mido! That's good, but we're inside a forest! Be careful of the flames!"

"I will!" Mido yelled as he urged the two to come with him.

"Mido, where are we going?!"

"To a vantage point!"

The three fell back to the building. Sure enough, Fein trailed the stairs with his ability.

"I'll call the others." He said.

"We'll take them out from above."

"Go, Mido."

The three followed the trail and positioned themselves on the wide concrete rooftop. A covered railing was conveniently placed for their situation. Now in a good vantage point, Mido used their combination of abilities to hurl balls of flame at their enemies. Gunshots eventually fought back at them.

"Cover!" Peram ducked with the others.

"Why are there so many?!" Vivace said. Mido took a peek and realized that they come from the main entrance to the village. Meanwhile, Stera ducked and squirmed beneath the crossfire.

"Girl! Can you shoot?" Enna asked as she reloaded.

"I can't!"

"Sheesh. Alright, just stay put—gah!"

Enna was distracted. A bullet whizzed past her left shoulder, grazing the synthetic weave of her coat; she felt that the bullet bruised her.

"Enna!" Gen yelled beneath the bursts of fire.

"Just a bruise. Get back to it!" Enna waved him back to the fight.

Gris meanwhile snuck past the line of fire and into an elevated area, out of everyone's sight.

"There's got to be a signal here somewhere…" He lifted the communicator, but even a single ping cannot register. Seeing this, he surveyed the immediate area and found an elevated piece of land that had great footing for him. Reaching out to any stable rock he can find, he lifted his body with great force, trying to reach the top.

"Ungh! I may be old, but I can still do this!" He encouraged himself along the way. He struggled a bit, but Gris eventually stood on top of the elevation. He lifted his communicator again, setting it to the Beaver's distress receiver.

"Come on… Just a single ping would do…" Gris heard the device beeped a single pulse. Then another. It had a low beat, but that was all he needed for confirmation.

He pinged the Beaver. But when he pushed the button, Gris was knocked away by a sudden whiplash force from his back, throwing him down to the dirt. He landed on his front body, giving him pain on both sides.

"What the--!" He exclaimed before seeing the shadow of a large tendril coming at him.

He had no time to retaliate. Another blow to his body sent him further, making him eat dirt in the process. A normal human's endurance would not last after those hits, but Gris slowly stood up after seemingly been given leeway to do so, facing the rock elevation and the wall of gigantic trees.

"Were those vines?" He commented as he unsealed a whole rifle from a red gem. "Should've just held my ground back there, but, oh well…" Gris alerted himself, scanning the firefight from a distance on his right. Looking at the still-beeping but destroyed communicator in front of him made Gris a bit worried. He could not communicate to anyone in the bunker and was not sure if the distress ping to the Beaver went through.

'…Did it go through?' He thought to himself but was soon distracted by the sudden snap of twigs. They rumbled as Gris tried to pinpoint the source. A light rustle, and he felt another tendril will come at him…

"To my left." He whispered before firing at his left. Sure enough, a large, solid vine came flying at him, destroyed in half by the burst of bullets. Another followed as he denied the attack with gunfire. It went calm for a moment, the gunfire behind him still flared on. Gris took direct steps to retreat, but as he started to run, he felt the immediate ground beneath him rumble.

"From below?!" He exclaimed as he made a run for it. Nevertheless, tendrils of twisted wood caught up to his right leg, making him tumble.

"Shit! Where is that Vassal?!" Gris tried to cut the vines, but they only crept closer and tighter to his leg as he felt excruciating pressure around it.

'Think! Damn it! Manipulation abilities like this must have the user in line of sight. They should be somewhere where I can be seen clearly…" He thought as he relentlessly cut the growing vines.

"! This canopy… They should be somewhere above." Inching his fingers to his bag, Gris pulled out a gem from his coat's compartment and threw it into the air above him as he lowered his goggle.

Chromatic Seal: Beacon Grenade.

A gleaming burst of light permeated most of the area. That signaled his location to all people within this huge, enclosed area and it had no room for error, but that was enough for Gris to pinpoint his enemy's location. Sneaking an eye through the delayed flash, Gris saw a slender figure crouching from the distance, on a tree branch overlooking him. Gris gave inaccurate bursts to the figure's position, to which he hoped it would be enough to spook them.

Slowly, he felt the vines that were gripping onto his leg became weaker and gave way for him to cut them with ease. Composing himself, he stood up as a volley of crossbow shots threatened to hit him. One broke on his body, while another whizzed past his ear. He returned fire to the general direction, but a block of wood suddenly rushed past, the bullets hitting it instead. The magazine went empty. Gris had to reload, but the quick actions of this enemy's ability prohibited him to waste time rummaging.

"Vassal… Who are you?" Gris asked, turning the rifle back into a gem and pulling out a pistol. He did not expect for a verbal answer, but a figure leaped and replied with a dagger thrust straight for his head. Luckily, Gris managed to dodge in time, bluntly hitting his clavicular area. This broke the enemy's constitution and in quick succession, Gris grabbed their hand and pinned them to the ground.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

They had a slender, feminine body, and almost all of it was covered in obscure clothing, the likes an assassin might wear.

"Who am I?" She said, extending her hand to the dirt. Gris was not intimidated. However, he felt something moving.

"Woodcarver." Gris' body was met by a block of a tree that sent him flying. The woman stood up as she slowly enveloped him in vines.

"Shit… I let my guard down!" Gris cursed as he groveled on the floor, resisting the vines slowly gathering to him.

"The lady told me to be careful, but I guess she's just too cautious. You're just not as strong as she said, hmm…" She twisted her knife, approaching Gris.

"That again…" He coughed, still tearing away at the vines with his knife. "Who is that 'lady' you speak of, huh?"

"Our 'client'? I'll tell you, but not before you bleed out." Touching a part of the vine, Gris was lifted into an upright position, facing Woodcarver's knife.

In a cold-blooded fashion, she thrust into Gris' neck. He struggled but could not move. From the sheer pressure of the vines rotating all over him, he felt like his veins were going to pop anytime.

"I'll get the job done." She did one last remark.

"Ora!"

Gris heard a yell, and at the split second, saw her blown away to the side. He then felt heat and the smell of smoke. A man with a glowing ring ran past him and into where that woman was now.

"Gris! Let's get you out of there!" Mido said as the vines shriveled from the heat. Gris quickly got back on his feet and shrugged the soot out of his coat. He saw him and Vivace and ushered a small chuckle before coughing.

"Thanks a lot, kid! That was a close one!" Gris exhaled as he touched his neck. He felt relief as there were no blood nor wounds. His limbs ached, however.

"Was the relay done?"

"Hope so. Bastard crushed it. Somehow, it was still working, however, so let's hope."

"We'll take it from here, sir Gris. You can support the others back there." Mido looked at the firefight behind him. There were lots of casualties on the goons, and they seemed to be retreating. Fein can be seen darting from hut to hut, with Enna and Gen returning fire to the goons.

"Alright! Go, kid!" He slapped Mido on the shoulder before rushing full-on to meet the others.

"Let's go," Mido said to Vivace.

"Right."

Peram single-handedly pierced all projectiles the Woodcarver hurled at him with his ring. Before long, both of them started showing signs of tonal exhaustion.

"Tch… you're a bunch…" She said before twisting another tendril to attack Peram. He was still reeling in his ring, however, and had no time to retaliate. Luckily, Mido made it in time and incinerated the whole wood into ash.

'That ability… it seared the wood in mere seconds!' The Woodcarver retreated upwards unto the huge tree branches. She did not hesitate, and quickly sent a barrage of wooden spikes and tendrils at her foes.

"Shit! We're out in the open!" Peram cursed as a volley of projectiles crashed down on them like rain. Mido and Vivace set a perimeter shield using both ice and fire, but the former was almost at his limit, panting.

"She manipulates wood around her to attack. Her resources are finite, but it's everywhere." Mido noted, all the while holding back the barrage of attacks with a continuous stream of searing golden flame.

Peram punched the air with his left hand relentlessly. "We can't cut her off, Mido! We need to somehow get closer!"

Mido looked at the Woodcarver's position. She stood on a thick branch jutting out of an even thicker tree that enclosed the area. Parts of it splintered and hurled towards them, and tendrils encroached the ground, to which Vivace set a frozen perimeter to splinter them easily with Peram's ring. The tree's volume was ever so slightly being reduced, but if this was a battle of attrition, they clearly have the lower ground.

'With this range, my abilities cannot reach her. However…" Mido recalled his subconscious ability to shunt the air on his feet and thought if he can apply that ability to quickly scale the tree's surface.

'If this works… No. It needs to work.' Mido removed his doubts and steeled his resolve. With the strength he has left, he was on the limit. But his plan might put an end to her seemingly endless barrage.

"I'm sorry, but can you hold the front for a while?!" Mido yelled. Both nodded, and within the dust and flying splintered wood, he swiftly ran to the huge wooden wall.

"Mido!" Vivace yelled, but he did not look back. This was put to his front in a life-or-death situation, but Mido also saw it as a way to prove to himself that he is capable of pushing further through what he was already given. Gripping the tree's surface, he jumped.

The man wants to fly.

He leapt, and the air pushed him.

For he wants to fly.

Firis: Airstep.

He was fast. The grinding sparks like a welder going through metal emanated from the sole of his foot as the ability shunted tonal energy through the wood he stepped on, scorching its surface with heat. He quickly scaled the tree, but every push weakened his legs. He endured the strain, however, and eventually came to the branch where he thought their enemy was.

Needless to say, the Woodcarver was shocked as Mido suddenly popped up from below like a sudden cannonball.

"How did you--?!" She pointed a tendril to him to pierce his body, but Mido did one last shunt and narrowly dodged it. His legs were now paralyzed, but he successfully landed on the branch, kneeling in place. He let out a yell as his legs were unmoving and painful.

"Idiot." The Woodcarver cursed, and the wood Mido knelt on suddenly disfigured into tendrils, piercing parts of his body to restrain him through sheer pain. When the wood touched his skin, however, she suddenly felt a surge of energy rush through her body.

"Aah! What is that?! I sense something flowing within you. Its heat… is like the sun's…" She moaned as she dropped her knees to the ground. Mido looked at her and thought something was strange. Nevertheless, he needed to end this. She could kill her right there and then, but that did not come as close as possible to Mido. There are a lot of questions, and silencing someone would not benefit them at all.

This sudden reaction gave much time for Mido to concentrate his tones at the branch.

Firis: Immolate!

The whole branch glowed from heat, and blistered into pieces, erupting into a fiery explosion. Mido was somehow shielded, and he focused much to protect the Woodcarver also. The burnt pieces splattered everywhere, a heated barrage enveloped much of the immediate area.

"Oh no…" Peram saw the burst of fiery light above them.

"Mido!!" Vivace screamed, finding any trace of him.

Gen, Enna, Stera, and Fein also saw the large explosion.

"Hey… Is that Mido?" Gen pointed to the plume of fire.

"Captain! He's going to fall!" Enna exclaimed.

Fein grunted as he dashed as quickly as he can to him. The flying splinters proved to be a nuisance, as he would kill himself trying to run past them recklessly.

'Mido. What did you just do?'

Mido's eyes started to close. From his uncontrolled explosion, even his whole body was paralyzed. He zeroed out on his tones, causing his ability to compromise and put stress on his physical self if his tones had an exhausted capacity. It is a harmful feat to boot, but Mido had felt it was the only choice for him…

The fire. There it is again.

The flames that haunted him.

The flames that burned his town.

With a frail body, he spiraled into the steaming air, explosions happening within the tree. He felt the hot breeze through his face as he saw another figure, flailing. Falling.

'I am reckless.'

'After all this, I'm just going to die here? Why did I choose to do that?'

Mido felt his skin scar from the heat he caused. He inhaled the black smoke down to his lungs, yet again threatening his ability to breathe.

'After Wiz risked her life…'

The ground is not that far now. He could not move his head, so he helplessly looked above, at the forest canopy and the rays of light shining through it. He felt the weight on his back soften, his body's weight lightened, and the feeling of being whisked away by the air helplessly stuck to him.

'I cannot move an inch. It's as if I'm back to square one…'

'Sorry, Wiz.'