Rifts.

A phenomenon that occurs when an Eldritch crosses over from the Abyss into the world. If both the Abyss and the world are two separate places, then a rift acts like a door between them. Rifts have a limit of around a week before the Eldritch is released. During that time the Eldritch cannot leave its rift as there's a natural barrier around them that keeps the Eldritch trapped. Additionally, Rifts don't operate on the same concepts of time and space that the regular world does. The world inside a rift can take practically any shape. A rift that forms in a desert can have the climate of a glacier, or anything imaginable. They are like an entire world within themself. Time inside a rift is also different. An hour in a rift can only be a few minutes in the regular world, in vice versa.

Ordinarily, an Eldritch is summoned into the world through a summoning ritual. These are usually done for the sole purpose of creating a grimoire. Additionally, the seal keeping the Eldritch in check can wear down over time and cause it to take over. Under these circumstances, an Eldritch can corrupt the grimoire user and use them to fully form. This happens due to the grimoire user overusing the Eldritch's magic and being taken over. The other way is when they enter the world on their own. While all Eldritch comes from the Abyss, only some can create their own gateway into the world. The few that can are exceptionally dangerous.

Espoir wasn’t nervous per se. He figured he could handle the Eldritch with relative ease. What he did not like was that he now had a time limit. Combined with the rogue mage that was trying to fight him, Espoir was not having a good day. But at least he wasn't bored anymore. The worst part for him is that he couldn't activate his grimoire without risking the Eldritch reacting to it and trying to attack the ship. While he could handle both individually, Espoir couldn't fight an Eldritch and Simon at the same time.

"This might be a problem..."

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Tossing a bloody guard to the side, a well-built man with scars smirked. His dark hair was pulled back into a rough ponytail. “Seriously? I thought you guys would be a challenge!” The passengers were put to the side of the dining room as the intruders skimmed through their belongings. Aria begrudgingly went along with everything, rather than make a scene. Thankfully she didn’t have anything of value so they ignored her. “Tyler, you found anything?”

The man with glasses and a black bowl cut closed his eyes. Outside of jewelry and their wallets, the thieves seemed to be interested in the few items that were either made of chroma or had some kind of aura to them. Reopening his eyes, he pointed at a lady in the crowd with braided blonde hair. “Her necklace.” Nodding, the brutish-looking man walked over to her. Aria could see her scared expression.

“No, please! It was a gift from my husband.” She pleaded. The man towered over her with an uncaring grin. The woman was on the verge of tears. “He died in that war… This is the last thing he gave me before he left.”

“Good! Then he gave you your life today.” The man taunted as he pulled on the necklace. To the hall's shock, the sound of a gun cocking silenced the thieves. A boy, no older than twelve, had a revolver aimed at the thief. He had short blonde hair and light brown eyes like his mom. “Max, no!” His eyes had determination in them.

“Back away from my mom!” The thief only smirked as he slowly approached the boy, now centered in the hall. “Oh? You’re going to use that to save your mama?”

The boy's hands trembled as he pointed it up at the man's head. “I promised my papa I’d protect Mom no matter what. I-I won’t let you hurt her!”

“Max, no it’s fine. The necklace isn’t worth it!” She said with a fake smile. Clearly afraid for her son.

"Oh?" The robber tossed the woman to the side before lighting a cigarette. He was amused by the child's bravery. “Max please!” The mother cried out. Aria clenched her fist in frustration, unsure on what to do. He wouldn’t harm a child, right? Aria could only watch, she knew the moment she involved herself a fight would break out. Even with a few days of rest, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to take down all three of them without knowing what they were capable of. She was also without a sword and couldn't risk using her Spell Art with such a large crowd. For now all she could do is watch.

“Well go on then boy. If you’re going to defend your mom, then you better not miss.” He taunted.

“Reeve, are you sure you want this? Killing a kid like this feels wrong.” The blonde one pointed out. The man named Reeve let out a small laugh. “I don’t think there's much to be worried about. The little runt is practically pissing his pants!” Turning his attention back to the kid, he let out a puff of smoke. “Well c'mon then! Did ya old man raise a coward?!”

BANG

As the revolver smoked on the floor, Max was left sitting from the recoil. To his surprise, the shot did nothing. A small hole was made in the left corner of the man's cloak, the bullet should have gone through his heart, yet he stood there smiling. Throwing his clock off, a dark-metal mortar launcher was attached around his arm with a black brace. “Not a bad kid. That almost killed me, shame you missed though. Next time, aim between the eyes.” He grinned.

The man calmly walked over. The boy frantically reached for the gun again only this time the man kicked it away. “Now then, since your old man isn’t here, let me give you a little lesson.” Reeve punched the kid in the stomach, sending him across the floor.

“Wait! He’s just a boy!” His mom shouted, pleading for her sons life. As she got up to save him, the one with glasses who was near the large thief, aimed his rifle at her. “We weren’t going to be violent but your son did fire the first shot... Consider it self-defense.” He laughed.

“Oh God.” She cried. Reaching behind his back, Reeve pulled out a glowing red cannon ball. Chroma? Aria thought as she sensed the aura radiating off it. “This is what a real man's gun looks like, boy,” he said. As the kid's eyes widened in shock, he found himself unable to move. “Better hope I don’t miss.”

“Someone please stop him!” The mom begged. The man closed one eye as he aimed his arm cannon at him. “Maybe a trip to the afterlife will teach ya some manners.” Firing his arm cannon, the ball traveled soared the floor before creating a large explosion. The ship shook as smoke filled the room. Most of the onlookers averted their eyes, horrified by what they saw. Max’s mom cried into her arms. Distraught. Reeve smirked as he walked towards her to collect his spoils. As he walked back, he came to a sudden stop. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted two figures on the other side of the hall.

“Huh?!” To the man's surprise, the boy was alive. In front of him was a girl wearing a black cloak with silver accents. She looked at three men with disdain. Meanwhile, the child looked at Aria in wonder, amazed he was still alive.

Reeve's eyes narrowed at the two of them. She must've grabbed him before the blast connected. He realized. “Ha. So this is the best you guys have to offer? Women and children fighting for them while the men sit in the back cowering in fear!” Reeve laughed. To his surprise, the girl's green eyes had an eerie calmness to them, like she had no fear of them. Reeve recalled Aria seemed unassuming when they first searched her for items. Thinking back; she complied and was unnaturally calm to being held at gunpoint. Reeve had a feeling this might be interesting.

“Go to your mother,” Aria ordered. The boy took a second to register the command before running towards the crowd. Noticing the rifle pointed towards them, Aria kicked a nearby chair up, blocking the chroma-enhanced bullet's path. The plush dining chair exploded, scattering pieces of wood and plush across the hall. Max made it to his mother safely who pulled him into a tight hug.

I was lucky I made it in time. Aria analyzed the situation in front of her. Her green eyes narrowed at the trio. Despite outnumbering her, she didn't feel too threatened by them. They aren’t soldiers. A sword user, another one with a long-barrel rifle, seems he's able to sense magic. Lastly, the large one with a mortar launcher...

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Aria figured she could dispatch the sword user with ease. The rifleman would only be a problem if she stayed still for too long or they all tried to fight her at once. The only one that was any danger was mortar launcher man, mostly due to the collateral damage he could cause with it. Aria thought about how she should handle them. She figured she could wound them so that they couldn't harm any passengers. Aria didn't like to kill people if she could help it. Would basic aura and combat be enough?

“Curtis, I’ll let you handle the girl,” Reeve said, before taking a puff from his cigarette. He was impressed she managed to react to their shots. “Tyler, keep an eye on the crowd. I don’t want them getting any heroic ideas.” The glasses one nodded as he fired a warning shot into the ceiling. “Man, why are you making me do your dirty work? I really hate to use my sword against a lady.” Curtis said with a confident smile on his face. "Try not to hold it over me too much, doll." Drawing his curved blade. A yellow aura surrounded its edge. As he rushed towards her, Aria gave him a quick glance. She had a good idea of the angle the sword would go.

As he slashed at her, Aria took a small step back, the blade barely grazed her sleeve. Aria sneaked in a kick to his chin as he missed. Recovering from the kick, the next thing he saw was Aria rushing towards him. Her non-bandaged hand glowing with a light-blue aura. Unable to dodge, Aria made an arc with her hand. From his collarbone to shoulder, she effortlessly cut through him like a sword. Blood shot out of him as his eyes widened. Her goal had been to disable his sword arm.

Pushing through the pain, Curtis tried to retaliate with another sword-swing, this time aimed at her body. However, Aria closed the distance between them and blocked his forearm with her own, making him unable to swing into her. Using her other hand, Aria pulled his arm forward, applying pressure to it. As Curtis tried to hit her off him, Aria kneed the back of his arm. Breaking it.

SNAP

A chilling noise echoed through the hall. It was followed immediately by a blood-curdling scream. The robber's arm had been bent back to a sickening angle. Not sparing a second, Aria used her grounded foot to pivot back around and delivered a powerful kick to the chest. Sliding him across the floor, the swordsman's eyes were whitened, and saliva spilled out of his mouth. He was left unconscious.

Glancing at the fallen sword, Aria decided to reach for it. I’d prefer something I'm familiar with, like a saber or a rapier. Her eyes widened as the mortar launcher fired at the sword. The ship shook from the resulting explosion. Luckily, Aria quickly jumped to the side, avoiding the explosion. She covered her eyes using her sleeve as smoke filled the hall. As the smoke cleared, the curved sword was now a charred mess on the floor. Completely unusable to her.

“Shoulda brought your own.” The man clicked his tongue mockingly. "Breaking my man's arm over some brat seems a bit much.”

“I'd say he's lucky to only receive a broken arm." Aria countered. "Anyone who'd use those kinds of weapons against civilians is lucky to be left alive." The former soldier's eyes focused on the two men in front of her. While the larger one physically might be strong, he wasn't any different than the soldiers she defeated in the past. Unlike them, he didn't seem formally trained and didn't seem to have any magic either. Aria assumed he used his arm cannon to compensate.

"Oh? Do you think you could kill us? You didn't even bring your own weapon!" He laughed at her. "How could a little girl like you kill me?"

"I do not require a weapon to defeat you,” Aria replied, her tone making it apparent she knew she would win. "A weapon is only a tool. It's the person who gives it strength." Advice her father drilled into her. She could practically hear him lecturing her.

"Listen Aria, A blade is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Any fool can learn to hold a sword and even dumber people can use a gun! You take them away and they're useless! In a real fight, you lose weapons, they break, and even magic can run out. A lesser fighter would be at a disadvantage. But with a little imagination, anything can become a weapon. Even a person can make themselves just as deadly as a weapon."

Picking up a splintered piece of the chair, it was sharpened to a point at the end, almost like a sword. A little imagination and this chair-leg could be like a sword... Taking a deep breath, Aria prepared for the next fight. Reeve went to load his mortar launcher with a yellow cannonball made of chroma, knowing he'd be the one to fight her. To his surprise, Aria had appeared right in front of him. She somehow closed the distance of half a ballroom in a few seconds.

She’s fast!

Barely able to react to her, Reeve stepped back and tried to swat her with the back of his fist. Aria effortlessly sidestepped him and got a quick back-kick to his jaw. As Reeve aimed his launcher at her, Aria quickly placed her bandaged hand on the barrel to push it away from herself. Being just out of its line of fire, she attempted to slice him across the eyes using her makeshift blade. Reeve instinctively raised his free hand up to protect himself. Aria had left a deep cut across his palm, almost like she used a blade.

Aria used his chest to flip herself back, kicking Reeve in the chin mid-flip. As he staggered back, Reeve attempted to fire at her point-blank. A yellow-orange hue filled the insides of the launcher. In response, the makeshift blade Aria was wielding glowed around its edges with her aura. With a cocky smirk, Reeve pressed down on the trigger, ready for a showdown. Only nothing happened. What?!

Looking down, it registered to him that Aria had sliced the launcher in half without him seeing it. Not only was the mortar launcher cut in two, but she had sliced his fingers and half of his hand off in a fluid motion. With pieces of metal and fingers falling to the floor, he screamed out in pain. Now enraged, Reeve put all his force into his other hand as he went to punch her. Tossing the piece of wood up, Aria jumped up and pulled him back by his ponytail before slamming her fist into his nose, breaking it. Reeling from the blow, Aria then somersaulted off him, catching her blade on the way down. She applied her aura to it again before continuing to attack, Aria hit him with a long barrage of slashes to the torso. Crying out in pain, Reeve was unable to block as Aria used the chair-piece to slice into him. While not lethal, a series of cuts began lining his body, causing him to bleed. When she was finished, the piece of wood was reduced to nothing but wood chips. The man fell to the floor with a puddle of blood formed around him. Only one left.

“Reeve!” The one with glasses called out as he went to shoot Aria in the head. The barrel of the rifle was a meter away from her face. Pressing down on the trigger, the onlooking passengers covered their ears as a loud bang echoed through the hall. To Tyler's shock, he somehow missed!

Aria had flipped herself up on the rifle barrel to avoid it. Doing a one-handed handstand, the rifleman only had enough time to register her position before she swiftly kicked his head onto the floor. As he was smashed onto his back, Aria used the back of the rifle to break her fall. Slamming it into his face, she landed over top of it, smashing the tiles below. Underneath a mixture of broken glasses, flooring, and shards of teeth. He was left broken and unmoving.

Tossing the gun to the side, Aria glanced at the three men. While she had managed to prevent any casualties. She, unfortunately, now had a crowd of people watching her. I failed at keeping a low profile... She thought to herself. Despite everything telling her to lay low, Aria couldn’t let that child die. She didn't regret her decision to fight them, but she didn't want all the attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the large thief beginning to stir. “You’d be wise to stay down,” Aria warned. Her tone made it clear he would not receive mercy if he tried again. As Reeve got up, a vein popped up on the side of his head in anger. His wounds dripped on the floor below.

“Arrogant bitch. You think just because you learned some moves and use some aura you can look down on us?!” Aria was surprised he could close the distance between them while damaged. As she dodged his swings, Aria found herself slowly being cornered. As Reeve attempted to punch her in the stomach, Aria used her good hand to narrowly guide his arm away from herself. Gradually being pressed to a nearby wall, she winced as a sharp pain shot up her ankle.

I've overused my aura trying keep up with the pain... This could get dangerous if I get hit by him. I need to end it right now. “Nowhere to run?” His next punch was aimed at her skull. As he collided with the wall, a small crater formed around his fist. Aria had ducked under and dodged to the side to avoid it. Her hood came down, revealing her blue hair. As Reeve aimed for her again, Aria closed her eyes momentarily, his fist centimeters away from her face.

I won’t kill him. Even though he probably deserves it, this is not my homeland. I'll let his countrymen decide what to do with him

The fight was over in an instant. Reeve's arm had been sliced clean off. A freshly made X-shaped slash crossed his chest; while deep, it was just enough to avoid killing him. Aria had decided to leave him almost dead for trying to kill that boy. He fell face-first into the wall behind her. Aria saw he was still breathing, albeit barely.

Falling to one knee, Aria let out a sigh of relief. She had been using her aura to reinforce her legs all day. Between recovery and this fight, her aura reserves were starting to reach their limit. Looking over, the rest of the guards, along with the passengers started detaining the other thieves. She could overhear one of the guards mentioning another one in the control room. Off to the side of the dining hall, Aria saw the boy she saved hugging his mom. Both of them were crying in each other's arms.

Aria felt happy. She saved someone's life tonight. Aria silently wondered if this was typical of what Espoir does in his travels. This isn't the worst feeling.