As the night grew deeper, the clouds blanketing the night sky gradually dissipated, allowing the pale moon to once more shed its dim light upon the embattled town.

Around six or so hours have passed since Sylphia and her guards started their counterattack against the bandits. Their movements grew sluggish with the onset of exhaustion. It was such that neither intermittent rest, nor even the aid of her magic was enough to recover their original vigor.

Sylphia sat against a low wall to catch her breath. Her hands trembled. The cold night breeze seeped into her dress as though it weren't even there, chilling her down to the bone. Somehow, she had managed up to that point purely on adrenaline alone, but as the residual heat radiated by the pavement ran out, all the pent-up fatigue in her tiny body finally caught up with her. Her feet ached. The sandals she wore were not meant for running. Having done just that, cuts and bruises covered her feet, mostly by her ankles and heels. On top of that, her clothes, including her sandals had rips and tears all over them; some by accident, and some, like the missing ankle straps on her sandals, on purpose.

The guards fared a little better. Their eager faces had dwindled towards fatigue and sorrow. With no time to bury their dead, the guards simply laid them on the side of the road and covered their faces with any piece of cloth they can find from the surrounding houses.

After a short time, Evrika approached her with a flask in hand. "Miss Heroine, here."

"Ah, thank you." She took the flask and laid its mouth upon her lip. The cool sensation of water covered her tongue. The refreshing taste of mere room temperature water was enough to send Sylphia into a frenzy, tilting the flask upside down, and pouring the water straight down her throat. About halfway through, she choked on the water trying to enter her windpipe. But she paid it no mind, and fighting through the coughing and hacking, she continued flooding her mouth with water as soon as she can. After gulping down the very last drop, she let out a great big sigh, "Ahhhh!" She tilted her head upwards and, with a grin, said, "Thanks! That's just what I needed!"

Evrika's eyes flickered.

"Hm?" She cocked her head.

The female guard chuckled. "I'm sorry, Miss Heroine," she said, covering her mouth, "I was just thinking how unlike a noble Miss Heroine acts."

"Huh? Ahh..." She turned to the side. Yeah, fuck it, I don't have the energy to put up the cute girl act anymore.

"Honestly, I'm quite relieved..."

Sylphia glanced back at her, and from the corner of her eye, spotted a faint smile right at the corner of the girl's lips.

Evrika placed her hand on her chest and said, "I was pretty nervous at first... I thought a commoner like myself shouldn't talk with the Heroine on such casual terms."

Huh... so someone like you can still feel anxious, huh? She shrugged in response, saying, "Don't worry about it. I don't really care about titles like commoner or noble, so you can just talk to me like you would a friend or something."

"Really!?" The girl's eyes twinkled, her mouth spreading open as her lips perked up into a smile. "F-friends!? With the Heroine!?"

"Eh?" Sylphia winced. Uwah, did I flick her switch or something? How can she still be this energetic after non-stop fighting? I haven't even fought anyone and I'm fucking exhausted! "Y-Yeah. That's fine, isn't it?"

"Mm!" She gleefully nodded.

In the middle of their conversation, one of Evrika's men approached her. "Captain," he said, before whispering into her ear.

"Ah, okay," she replied, with a suddenly calm demeanor. She then turned to Sylphia and said, "Miss Heroine, we're almost ready."

"Ah." Sylphia took a deep breath and said, "Is that so?" She then pegged her hands on the wall behind her, supporting herself as she stood up. "Alright, let's keep going, then."

Another guard approached. The man wore largely the same gear as the other guards, except he had a bow in one hand and a quiver on his back. He gave Sylphia a salute and said, "Miss Heroine! Again, thank you for coming to our aid. I don't know what would have happened if those bandits managed to gain entry to the walls."

"Mm," she nodded. "don't mention it."

"My men and I will follow your advance from the walls, Miss Heroine! With this section of the wall secure, we can finally bring the fight to those bastards!"

His words sent a jolt of vigor across Sylphia's body. Giving him a thumbs up, she said, "Alright!" Nice, we finally have some archers to support us. Hopefully, we can build on our momentum to finally push these bandits out of town. Regaining her high spirits, Sylphia then gathered the guards around her. Mustering all of her energy, she gave them her words of encouragement, just like she had done a few times earlier on.

However, this time, one of the guards spoke back.

"Umm... actually, I have a question." One of the guards raised his hand. Sylphia recognized him as the quiet one who looked quite distressed after their encounter with Bascal's men earlier in the day.

"Hm? Yeah, what is it?" Sylphia said.

"Um... well..." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Hmm?" She tilted her head. "Well? Speak up."

"A-ah! Sorry, well... w-why..." He swallowed his breath. "Why isn't Miss Heroine fighting?"

A chill ran down Sylphia's spine.

In an instant, her face froze up, leaving a stiff smile across her lips as sweat accumulated over her brows.

"Huh?" Aberdeen and the other guards each gave him an indignant glance.

"Eh?" He shrank back. "I-I mean... I just thought if the Heroine would fight with us, t-then we could take care of the bandits quicker... r-right?"

"I... guess...?" Aberdeen rubbed his chin. "Maybe she just had a good reason not to. Like unleashing her power inside the town would level it or something!"

"What!?" The other guards looked at Sylphia in terror. "The entire town!?"

As though her reflex for retort thawed her entire body, Sylphia leapt up and pouted. "I have no such thing!"

The guards gave a collective sigh of relief.

Aberdeen then asked, "Then why? Come to think of it, I would like to beat the bandits sooner rather than later..."

The guard beside him nodded. "I don't want any more of our guys to bite the dust either."

The other guards nodded in agreement.

Sylphia let out a strained sigh. This is bad... If I get outed as a weakling, what's going to happen to me... to them? Will they give up? If they can't believe that I'm the hero anymore, then, will we lose the town...? Her heart immersed in anxiety, she grew restless. Her expression turned sour without her knowledge while she lost herself in her own thoughts.

One by one, the guards then turned to her with a suspicious gaze.

Tsk. She bit down on her thumb nail. I need to calm down... It's not like there's a question that I'm really a Legendary Hero, after all! The only problem is, I don't have a way to prove it!

"A-ahem," Aberdeen cleared his throat, "I-I guess I guess mere bandits aren't really worth using the heroine's strength for, right? I mean, all things considered, we've been doing pretty good so far!"

"Come to think of it..." The man beside Aberdeen crossed his arms, "these bandits don't seem to be a big deal when it comes to fighting... I think we can actually win without relying on the Heroine's strength, after all."

"It's not about winning!" The anxious guard grumbled. "It's about someone who can even save the town by herself! And yet...!" He clenched his fists. "She wouldn't so much as lift a finger? And what do you mean by the bandits 'not being worthy'? Are you telling me this town, our home isn't worth saving!?" He then turned to Sylphia, "Doesn't the Heroine care for the lives that are lost solely because of her inaction!?"

Sylphia flinched.

"Elmer!" Aberdeen shouted. "That's way out of line!"

"Grgh..." He grunted and turned his face away.

"And why are you making it out as if Miss Heroine has been idle all this time!?" Aberdeen continued, "Has she not taken the mantle of our commander all this time!? Even if she did not participate in battle herself, isn't it with the help of her combat knowledge that we prevailed against the bandits!?"

Like a flash of lightning, it dawned on her. Commander...? My job class...

"I..." The anxious guard muttered, "Captain Evrika could have done that...!"

Evrika wore a frown as she said, with a castigating tone, "Hey. Don't drag me into this."

"That's enough!" As Sylphia shouted, she noticed her vision darken once more behind what seemed to be a black haze. This darkness again... I've had my suspicions for a while now, but...

"I'm sorry, Miss Heroine." Aberdeen lowered his head.

"That's fine." Sylphia then stepped in front of the anxious guard. Let's make a simple experiment to find out... She tilted her head upwards and looked him in the eyes. "You. Kneel."

"Huh?" The guard furled his brows at first, but in the next moment, a thick black haze wrapped around him that seeped into his skin. "Hnnf!" With a grunt, he then fell on one knee, placing him almost on eye-level with Sylphia. "W-wha-!?"

Oho, success. Sylphia smirked. I guess that's how the commander class works. Now I feel like an idiot. Why didn't I realize it sooner? In retrospect, isn't it completely obvious? I guess my head was too wrapped around traditional RPGs that I just overlooked it.

"E-Elmer?" Aberdeen stammered.

"So, basically," she said, "you were worried that I wasn't pulling my weight, right?" She shrugged. "That's understandable. But let me ask you - did you really believe that a bunch of town guards could really prevail by themselves against this number of hardened bandits?"

Elmer swallowed his breath as beads of sweat rolled down his temples.

She then turned around to the other guards. "I was rather surprised, myself. From the way you fought and obeyed my orders, if I didn't know you were just town guards, I would have guessed you were trained soldiers."

They returned her gaze with a baffled expression.

"She's right..." Evrika said. "it's something that bothered me since we fought off Bascal's men. We hardly ever train with our weapons, not to mention fighting as a unit, but..."

Aberdeen flinched. "Come to think of it... That time when my spear broke the bandit's shield... Are you saying that's the Heroine's doing!?"

"Hmph." Sylphia shrugged. "I guess so."

"Guess... so?" Aberdeen cocked his head.

"Yeah." Sylphia shrugged. "Truth is, I'm still getting used to this Hero thing, and I didn't even know what powers I had... until just now."

"Eeeh....?" He grimaced. "Just now?"

"What, is that it?" The man beside Aberdeen clicked his tongue. "I thought it was from some crazy training regimen..."

Aberdeen slapped the back of the man's helmet. "I told you I didn't have one!"

The man scratched his head and chuckled.

"But that's exactly why..." She then turned around to the anxious man and extended her hand to him. "I can't save this town alone. I need your help. Coincidentally, you also need mine." With those words, another cloud of black haze appeared before her eyes and seeped, not only into Elmer's body, but also of the other guards.

His eyes met with Sylphia's. "M-Miss Heroine...!" Those eyes, once worn down and glazed over, gleamed with renewed hope. Though his arms trembled in hesitation, he then forced himself to grasp Sylphia's hand and stand before her. "So, the reason why we were able to come this far was thanks to the Heroine, after all..." He hung his head in shame as he said, "Thank you. And I'm sorry... for acting like that."

"Mm." She smiled. "It's alright now."

The others gathered around him, patting him on the back and helping him back to his feet.

Phew, somehow, I managed to wriggle out of that one. Lucky, lucky... She chuckled. "Oh, and by the way," she said, "it must be a mouthful to say 'Miss Heroine' each time, right? Just call me 'Sylphia' from now on."

"A-are you sure, Miss Heroine?" Aberdeen asked. "Isn't it disrespectful to your position?"

"Pfft." She shrugged. "I don't care about that. So don't worry about it, okay?" She then reached up and patted him on the arm.

"Alright!" He nodded. "Miss H- err... Sylphia!"

"Oho!" One of the older guards said, poking his elbow into Aberdeen's flank, "Imagine being on such good terms with the Heroine to address her by name!"

Aberdeen snickered. "That goes for you too."

"Ooh, ooh!" Evrika then leaned over and raised her arm. "In that case, can I call you with a nickname?"

"Eh?" Sylphia stepped back. "Uh, sure, I guess...? Depending on what it is."

The other guards looked at their captain and sighed in concert, mumbling amongst themselves.

"Ahh, there she goes..." One man said.

Aberdeen shook his head. "When it comes to children, she just can't help herself, can she...?" He sighed. "And on top of that, her beloved hero..."

The eldest among the guards then stroked his beard, and said, "Dead center in her strike zone... huh?"

In the meantime, their captain was too absorbed in her thought that she did not even offer a retort. "Mmm...." She pressed her index finger on her lower lip. "Ah!" She leapt up. "Then, then, how about 'Sylphie'!?" Her eyes gleamed. "It's a very cute name!"

"Sylphie...? It's not even very different from my name, so why not just use tha-"

She then leaned even closer, so close that her bright eyes filled most of Sylphia's vision. "Extra. Cute!"

"No!" Sylphia pushed her hand onto the girl's cheek, but she would not relent.

While this was going on, Evrika's men looked on with blank faces. One of them then muttered to the other, "You know, when the preachers were passing down the myths of the heroes... I would never have imagined this sort of scene was even possible."

"Yeah..." The other guard shrugged. "It's a bit... surreal..."

Throughout the night, they fought their way to the very source of the bandit incursion - the northeastern gate.

It was the single bastion that fell, that allowed the bandits to sack the town. Its thick, wooden doors swung open inwards and its heavy, steel grates retracted up into the gatehouse.

Huh, it doesn't look like they broke in at all - looks like someone let them in. I suppose a bunch of bandits can't actually besiege walls as huge as these.

Before them appeared a mountain of loot - coins, jewelry, trinkets and other valuables, piled on top of each other. Each item glittered from the torch flames spread around that corner of town. Standing at the foot of the mountain, the bandits arrayed themselves against Sylphia's men. She recognized some of them as those who managed to escape from their earlier encounters.

Finally, atop of all that loot, sat a burly man with a clean-shaven head. He looked down at them with a toothy grin and said, "Bascal, you idiot, come here!"

From behind the mountain of loot, two bandits carried forward a wounded man. He hung by his arms on their shoulders while his head flopped left end right for each step they took.

Geez, is that the guy from earlier? What happened to him? Did he really suffer a heart attack after that?

The man on the mountain then said, "Now, point to us which of these here guardsmen is the so-called hero you were so nancy about."

Bascal struggled to lift his face. Even from that distance, Sylphia could make out the details of his face, and they weren't pretty. His cheeks were so swollen that the contours of his face had changed, his lips bulged out as though it was stung by a bee, and despite the discoloration from the braziers around them, his skin showed several bruises, especially around his cheeks. After a short while, his eyes met with Sylphia's. "Mff mfeeeh..." he groaned.

"What!? Speak up, boy!" The man yelled.

I've had enough of your games. Finally, Sylphia stepped forward and faced the bandits. "Hey, ugly," she yelled, "I hear you're looking for me!"

"What?" He rubbed the top of his bald head. "You can't be serious, right?" He then leapt down from his perch right down to the ground.

The ground beneath them shook as the man's muscular frame descended onto the road.

He then turned to Bascal and said, "Tell me it ain't true, buddy. You weren't really pushed around by that little girl right there."

"Showwy, boss..." The disgraced bandit hung his head in shame.

"Oh... oh no." He shook his head. "Can't have that, can we?" In an instant, the man then thrust his fist into Bascal's throat.

"Gggffff!" Blood spattered out of Bascal's mouth as his head recoiled forwards from the impact.

"Rrrreeeegh!" Finally, he lifted his arm overhead and slammed it down like a hammer into the back of Bascal's neck, creating crisp, snapping noise.

Just like that, Bascal's body fell limp.

The bandits then let go of his arms, his plopping his lifeless corpse onto the ground with a dull thud.

Evrika grimaced. "Damnit, Bascal...! I told you this stupid shit would kill you someday...!"

"Disappointing." The man said as he looked down at Bascal's body. "You know, it's one thing if it was really the hero come to save this town, but this-" He swung his hand forward. "this is a joke, right?"

Sylphia's eye twitched.

"Listen up, you sorry lot!" He yelled, "There is no hero! Not here! Not now! All the rumors spreading around of the heroes coming back are bullshit! But even then," he tilted his head back jeered, "this?"

The bandits cackled amongst each other.

"For fuck's sake, this twerp can't even pass for a fake hero-"

"Oh, shut your mouth already!" Sylphia yelled, cutting him off. "If you're really that confident, why don't you come over here, and I'll shave your monobrow off to match your bald head!"

The guards chuckled.

"Pff- Sy..." Evrika said, stifling her own laughter. "Sylphie...!?"

The bandit boss scowled, his forehead scrunching together in such a way that his thick brows appeared close enough to each other as to resemble a monobrow. "You've got guts, little girl. I give you that. Not a lot of people can look Tyson Bearhands in the eye and show any spunk. Or maybe you just haven't heard of me."

"That's right," she said. "I haven't heard of anyone with such a stupid name before."

"Heh. Let me introduce myself, then. Do you know why they call me Bearhands?"

Sylphia smirked. "With a face like that, I'm guessing you need to do it with your bare hands... a lot."

"S-Sylphie!?" Evrika winced. "What are you-"

Can't she see it? Each time Sylphia insulted the bandit leader, the black haze formed around him and his underlings. I see... so only I can see the black haze. No wonder no one's commenting on it. Anyway, I'm not insulting him for no reason. The magic's doing something. I don't know what, but I'm guessing, if it can buff my allies, it can also debuff my enemies! Or, at least, I hope so...

"No." Unfazed, the boss calmly said, "It's because I once killed a bear. With my bare hands." His gaze narrowed, centering at Sylphia. "Imagine what I can do to that tiny body of yours."

Once more, the bandits cackled.

"It's simple." He grinned. "I'm going to make you squeal. I am going to make you cry! And when you start crying, you ask me to stop, I'm going to make it worse! And worse. And worse. And worse and worse and worse! But I won't kill you." He shook his head. "Oh, no. I'll make sure to squeeze every single tear out of your eyes. And then? When I'm bored of you? I'll split your jaw from your skull! Hu ha ha haaaah!" He licked his lips. "Got that, boys!? Bring me that little shit gagged and bound!"

The bandits let out a savage roar.

"I don't care about the rest. Kill them."

They stirred themselves into a frenzy. Some clashed their weapons against their shields while others swung theirs in the air. All of them howled wildly, like a pack of hungry wolves.

"They're coming," Sylphia said. "Shield wall, one line!" Because the road widened as it reached the gate proper, arranging her remaining men into more than one rank left large spaces along the sides where the bandits could slip through.

Quicker and quicker, the tempo grew. The ground tremored from the stamping of boots while the air rang sharply from the clashing of metal.

The frenzy finally reached its climax. With a bellowing cry, the ringleader, Tyson Bearhands, swung his fist forward. "Go get 'em boooooooys!"

All at once, the bandits charged the shield wall.

In but a few moments, the forefront of the bandit horde clashed with the line.

"Sylphie, get back!" Evrika yelled, readying her spear for a thrust. In front of her, a bandit cackled as he leapt into melee distance. "Got you!" she yelled, thrusting her spear up at his abdomen.

"Haha!" The man parried her attack with his blade. Slipping Evrika's spear between his arms, he then landed a kick right into her shield.

"Gwah!" She staggered back.

"Evrika!" Sylphia screamed. "Push him back!" The black haze wrapped around Evrika.

Anchoring herself to the ground, she then lunged forward. "Oooooaaaaah!" she screamed, crashing her shield right into the bandit. While the man staggered back, she managed to pull her spear back and reclaim her position within the line.

Shit! Sylphia gnashed her teeth. They were debuffed, right!? Right!?

Across the line, the bandits charged in with great fury, disrupting the formation, and warping the line inwards around the center.

"Now!" Sylphia lifted air arm up in the air. "Archers, pelt them!"

Hidden behind the inward bastions of the nearby wall, the squad of archers rained death on the bandits' side of the shield wall. Very few of the bandits carried shields with them, causing the others to bunch up with the ones that did, or otherwise distance themselves from the rest. Either way, that mere handful of archers managed to send the attacking bandits into disarray.

With their support, the guards finally started to push the bandits back and restore their line.

Good. Good. With fire support from above, the bandits can't concentrate their forces. Hopefully, the effects of my magic on the guards can decide this battle!

As soon as the chaos of the initial charge settled down, Sylphia gave her next orders. "All units, fighting withdrawal! Both flanks peel off one by one and form the second rank! Go!"

With the black haze relaying her commands, the guards started inching backwards almost in sync. As the battle progressed away from the northeastern gate, the road narrowed gradually, allowing the men at the extreme flanks to step behind the ones beside them and gradually form a second line.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Amazing... so I can even make them obey unconventional orders? I'm sure they couldn't possibly understand what I wanted to say based from my words alone. Hell, if I was the one hearing what I just ordered, I'd probably not know what the hell I should do. Incredible... it's like the black haze is transmitting my commands as I intend them, not just as I say it... it like a psychic ability or something!

The boss bandit did not look impressed. Though his voice was lost in the chaos, Sylphia did notice him pointing up towards the walls.

Tsk. They'll probably intercept our archers soon. Gotta make the most of them now.

As soon as a full second line was formed, Sylphia halted their retreat. Not only did the second line provided support for the ones in front, the narrower front forced the bandits closer to each other, where their chaotic fighting style suffered.

The battle turned in Sylphia's favor.

Eventually, Sylphia noticed the number of bandits thinning over the flank farthest from the wall. Meanwhile, nearest the wall, and partially shielded from arrow fire, the bandits clumped together and battered the guards lined against them.

Reinforce success. Overwhelm the enemy. She yelled, "Archers, concentrate fire on the right flank! Right flank, push forward and envelop them! Left flank, hold! Center, second rank, push right and assist!"

With her command, their line broke up. Swelling their numbers to the right, the guards turned the tables on the bandits and attacked. Consequently, the bandits clustered more and more towards the center. This shift brought down the pressure on Evrika, who stood directly in front of Sylphia.

"S-Sylphie!" Evrika cried. "There's too many on the center! We can't hold this much!"

"You will hold!" Sylphia yelled. "Just give them some time!" At the same time, Sylphia bit into her thumb nail. Come on just five minutes. No, two!

"Miss Heroine!" A distant voice called out, "We have rats on the walls! My men will hold them back for as long as we can!!" The last arrow fell on a bandit right in front of Evrika, who fell face down at her feet. After that, the supporting fire from the archers ceased, followed by the sound of brutal atop the walls.

"What!?" Sylphia stamped her foot against the ground. They got to our archers already!? Goddamnit, that's too fast! What else can I do!? I can't make the front move any faster than this!

Just as Sylphia was feeling the pressure mounting over her, the bandit boss let out a huge growl, "Rrrraaaaagh! That's it! Playtime's over! If you idiots can't do it, then I'll do it myself!" He then swung around the massive sword from his back. Its thick blade alone appeared to be longer than Sylphia was tall, its handle extending up to nearly a third of the sword's entire length. "I'll show you just what these hands can do!"

Her eyes popped wide open.

"Rrrrraaaagggh!" With a fearsome roar, he dashed forward. "Out of the way!" In an instant, one of his underlings, unfortunate enough to stand in front of him, was cleaved nearly in half. With a single wide stroke, the sword bit into his flank and threw him aside like a rag doll.

Terrified at his cold-blooded display, the other bandits were quick to step back. They paused their attack on the guards' line for but a second to create an open path for their boss - a path straight to Evrika, and to Sylphia right behind her.

"You're dead!" The boss then charged at Evrika, his massive sword raised over his shoulder.

"Sylphie, get back!" Evrika said, bracing her feet to the ground.

"Right!" As Sylphia leapt backwards, she left a command to strengthen Evrika. "Hold fast, Evrika! Don't you let him through!"

"Mm! Leave it to me!"

The black haze condensed around Evrika like an ominous aura. From Sylphia's point of view, it seemed as if she was possessed by a demon. Come on, let's see what you can do against my magic!

"Muhahaha, you think a skinny girl like you can stand in my way!?" He sneered. At the very last moment, he bent his legs all the way down. "I'll trample over you!"

"Cap! Watch out!" Aberdeen tried to run to her side when a hammer bashed against his shield.

The bandits in front of him quickly resumed their attack alongside their boss. "Where'd ya think you're going, kid!? You're playin' with us!"

"Damnit!"

"Maintain the line!" Sylphia yelled, covering Aberdeen with the black haze. She can handle it! She has to!

"Roooooaaaaaagh!" The bandit boss screamed. With all the strength of his thick, brawny legs, he blasted forward.

"Eat this, you musclehead!" Bending her body right down to the ground, Evrika then braced one end of her spear at the pavement itself and aimed its point at the man's belly.

He smirked.

At that moment, a chill ran down Sylphia's spine. Evrika, get back! She wanted to shout, but her voice failed her.

He then swung his sword down. In an instant, the haft of Evrika's spear snapped in two.

"Wha-!?" Evrika flinched.

Shit!

"Muhahahahahaha!" Taking one last step, the brute of a man then lifted his leg before crashing straight into Evrika's shield.

"Gyahaa-!" Evrika flew back right into Sylphia.

"Mfffha!" Sylphia felt all the air in her lungs knocked out of her the moment the back of Evrika's armored breastplate smashed into her chest. She knocked her head into the pavement as she fell down, sending waves of pain across her body. "Aaaaaaghaaa!!" She writhed in pain, curling up as she held onto the back of her head.

Meanwhile, Evrika rolled over beside her. "S-Sylphie...!" She forced her voice out in between gasps of breath. "Are... are you alright!? I'm sorry- Ngh!" She clutched her shield arm. Her shield itself laid on the ground by her feet.

"I... I think so..." Just as Sylphia lifted her face to see Evrika, she saw a massive figure looming over both of them. Her heart raced. "Evrika, behind you!"

Evrika's eyes widened. The moment she turned around, the man grabbed her by her hair and lifted her off her feet.

She screamed.

"Hmph. Still alive, huh?" He smirked. "You're pretty tough for a twig. I've killed men twice as large as you with that attack. Whatever. I'll deal with you later." He then grabbed Evrika by her broken arm and twisted it the wrong way before throwing her to one side.

Landing on her belly, Evrika screamed, face down on the road, "Nghhaaahaaa!" Her frayed hair flowed down, covering her anguished expression.

"Where are you looking at, little twerp?" The man sneered, "More worried about that dumb girl than yourself? You do have guts, don't you?" He then grabbed Sylphia by her hair, lifting her off her feet. "We'll see what color they are later."

"Nggggghhhaaaaaah!" She screamed.

She swung her legs wildly, trying to find somewhere to land her feet on, but to no avail. She then tried to pull herself up by leveraging herself by his hand, but those efforts, as well, ended in vain. Shit! Fuck! I'm dead! I'm fucking dead! While she struggled, the hilt of the sword on her belt tapped against her belly. Moving entirely by instinct, she reached for it.

However, the moment the man heard the dull sound of her blade scratching against its scabbard, he grabbed her hand. "Oh, no you don't." With a flick of his hand, he twisted Sylphia's wrist in the wrong direction.

"Gahaaaa!" Sylphia clearly heard the snap of her wrist. In that very same instant, a torrent gushed across her arm, rendering it as limp as a rag. Fuck! She ground her teeth against each other. God! Fuck! Aaaagh! Tears streamed down her cheeks. As her last show of defiance, she pried her eyes open in spite of the pain and glared intensely at him.

"Haha. A punk to the end, huh?" He grinned. "Good. I just know, I'm going to enjoy breaking yo-" Suddenly, his eyes popped wide open, wiping his grin clean off. "Ngh!"

Huh...?

His arms trembled. As if he were frozen in place, his eyes turned to the arm that held Sylphia by her hair.

Then, his grip slowly loosened. Eventually, his grip had weakened enough to release Sylphia's hair from his hands.

"Gwah!" Her hair fell over her face as she hit the floor. Then, clutching her broken hand, she quickly clambered back to her feet. What the hell just happened!? When she finally lifted her face, her mouth fell agape.

The man before her, the man who, quite literally, held her life in his hands, stood still with a distant gaze.

Wha- She grimaced.

His entire body trembled as foam spilled from his mouth. It was as if he was still holding onto Sylphia by the hair, and indeed, some of her hair remained on his hand.

After a few more moments, his eye turned upwards and his arms finally fell limp. He then crashed down to his knees, falling right in front of Sylphia.

"What the fuck..." Sylphia said between gasps for breath, "did he have a heart attack? Either way..." She clenched her fist. Twisting her body, she then swung a hammer fist into his cheek. "That's for Evrika!" His head recoiled to one side. Then, Sylphia stepped a few paces back. Bending her legs down she then ran full speed at him. "This is for messing up my hand!" At the very last second, she leapt off the ground, driving her knee straight into his nose, crunching it into a flat, bloody splotch. This time, his entire torso bent back, before bending back in place. "And this is for messing up my fucking hairdo." She then grasped the man's bald head and pushed his face down to the floor.

The lingering noise around her filtered away into nothingness, as her mind fell into a blank daze.

Sylphia took a deep breath.

And again.

Jesus... God... What the fuck just happened...?

She fell to her knees.

Her head felt light, and her breathing was clear. Is this what they mean by near-death experience...? I don't really want another one of these, to be honest... but at the moment...

She closed her eyes and her lips contorted into a crooked smile.

This feels good!

After a while, she snapped out of her relief-induced euphoria. Evrika...! When she opened her eyes, she saw Evrika herself walking towards her.

"Sylphie..." She smiled, in spite of the pain. "Are you alright?"

Letting out a sigh, Sylphia snickered, "Heh. I should ask you that, right? That arm looks terrible."

She grinned. "It should be okay. There are some really good healers in town." Her expression quickly turned glum. "But... most of the guys didn't make it..."

Sylphia's shoulders dropped. "I... I'm sorry..."

She shook her head. "No... don't-"

"If only I wasn't this powerless... Some hero I turned out to be."

"T-That's not true!" She placed her hand on her chest. "If it weren't for you..." She turned away. "I think we'd have lost the town..."

"Do you really think that?"

Her tearful eyes reflected the soft light of the torches around them as she said, with full conviction, "Of course!"

Sylphia sighed. I don't really feel like I've done anything though. And not even in the pretend-humble way.

"Roger, Mike, Elmer... a-and the guys from the other squads too! They all gave their lives protecting this town. The least we could do is make sure their deaths weren't in vain..." She then radiated a warm smile. "And we did it! We beat the bandits!"

"We... did?" Sylphia looked around them. The several overturned torches shone a dim light on the many bodies scattered around them, the small embers scattering on the gray floor, mimicking the stars in the sky. Both bandit and guard alike laid lifeless in Ealdton's streets, next to each other, over each other. Had she any interest in poetry, Sylphia felt as if she could write something profound about the scene displayed before her.

She snickered. Yeah, right. In truth, she was unfazed by the sight of death before her. It was not as though she felt nothing, but rather than terror or sorrow, she instead saw humor in the tiny details, such as a bandit that had fallen face first into the buttock of the man before him and both died that way.

"I... guess we did." As she got back on her feet, she took notice of the man that laid at her feet. The man that went by the name of Tyson Bearhands land belly down on the floor, his face turned to one side, revealing his final expression - featuring a layer of foam spilling from his mouth and onto the road. Hmph. What a pathetic face. Off the corner of her eye, Sylphia noticed a thick, short arrow buried in his arm - the one that held her by her hair. What's this? She bent down and took a closer look. Wait, did our archers actually beat the bandits on the walls!? In her excitement, she leapt up and scanned the upper bastions for any movement. However, without any light, it proved impossible to discern anything out of the shadows. But still, a single arrow? That doesn't make any sense...

After a few moments, Aberdeen approached them. "Cap, you won't believe this."

With weary eyes, Evrika turned to him and asked, "What now?"

"We found a bunch of hostages."

Evrika's shoulders jolted upwards. "What!? Are they alright!?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "The kids are pretty shook up, but they're fine."

Her expression darkened. "They even took the kids..."

"Yeah. Looks like they were gathered in old Johnson's corner shop." He pointed at the corner building at the end of the road, nearest the northeastern gate. "The guys are just unbinding them, but I reckon we can let them stay there for now... I don't want the kids to see this mess, at least."

"Mm." She nodded.

"But the pile of stuff they littered in the middle of the road, though..." He scratched his head. "It'll be months of work to get these back to whoever they belong..."

"Ehehe," she chuckled, "you've got your work cut out for you, don'cha!"

"Huh!?" His eyes widened. "You're helping me out, right Cap!?"

"Ahh, you see, I'd love to, but my arm's broken and all...!" She said as she rubbed her arm.

"But you aren't even left handed!"

"Ahahaha!"

Sylphia sighed. Already in high spirits...? This girl really is something... mm? In the distance, Sylphia noticed a few lights approaching. Geez, the 'our reinforcements arrive after the battle' bullshit? Give me a break.

"Mm?" Following Sylphia's gaze, Evrika too noticed the approaching lights. "From the Southeast...? Is that Captain Mitchell's group?"

"Huh?" Aberdeen furled his brow. "Didn't Mitch and his team stay back to protect the refugees...?"

She flinched. "Then who's..."

Soon, the men came into view. Illuminated by a few torches held between them, a group of about twenty men stood before them. Each wore rugged clothes of various make, ranging from animal fur to leather and even cloth.

The man at the very front snickered. He leveled his sword in front of him and said, "Well, what do we have here? We get a call from the boss, saying he was holding a bit of a party back here; and being the party animals that we are, you know? How could we refuse?" He shrugged, to the laughter of his subordinates. "But what is this? Not only has the old todger's bit the dust, but everyone's gone!" The man approached them, with his underlings following closely behind. He stood in front of them, one hand in his pocket and the other waving his blade around. "So, who did this?"

Sylphia swallowed her breath.

"Don't be nervous, I'm not angry. Hell, I'm fuckin' happy! Thanks to you, now I'm the boss of this outfit." He smirked as he pointed his thumb at himself. Next, he spread his arms out, saying, "And everything you see here, from the trees to the bees, belongs to me. So I'll tell you what. You caught me in a decent mood. You put down those sharp lookin' sticks of yours, and I'll uh, let you not die. Good deal, right? You girls have pretty faces, so I'm sure the boys at the slave market will take good care of you! Hahahaha!"

"Huh!?" As Evrika stepped forward, she was tugged back by her arm.

"Cap...!" Aberdeen shook his head.

"What!?" She yelled. "You're going to let this trash take over our town!?"

"Ow." The bandit clutched his chest. "Trash? You wound me, miss. And here I was offering you mercy from the bottom of my heart. Too bad for your boyfriend, though." He shrugged. "Male slaves just don't fetch a good price, outside of the arenas. And he don't look like the type who could survive his first match, just being honest."

"I didn't say that, Cap." Aberdeen then lowered his voice to a whisper, "When I give the signal, please take Miss Sylphia and run for it."

Evrika shuddered. "W-what...!?"

"When you get away, I'll barricade myself with our guys at old Johnson's. We'll hold on for as long as you need to bring Mitch's team to rescue the hostages."

"W-What are you talking about, you idiot!?" Evrika's voice started slipping out, despite her attempt to keep herself to a whisper. "You bring Sylphie to safety! I'm not leaving my me-"

"Miss Sylphia, please command us!" Aberdeen then stepped forward, placing his shield between them and the bandits.

"Aberdeen!"

Tsk. What a stubborn girl! Eventhough she can't possibly fight with a broken arm... Sylphia clenched her fist. "Aberdeen, protect the hostages!" Her voice created a black haze that wrapped around Aberdeen's body.

He took a deep breath. "Understood!"

The new bandit boss let out a sigh. "What a waste."

"Sylphie, don't!" Evrika screamed.

"Evrika, let's go!" Sylphia said.

"Why!?" Tears collected at Evrika's eyes. "I don't wanna!"

Wha- The magic... the black smoke! It isn't appearing! Why isn't she doing what I say!?

"I said, let's go!" Sylphia said again, but to no avail.

"No!" She then picked up a sword lying by her feet with her good arm. "Aberdeen, grab Sylphie and run for it! That's an order!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Cap!"

"Hmph." The bandit smirked. "It's useless anyway." He then pointed his sword over Sylphia's shoulders to something behind her.

"Hey, hey, we're late to the party!" A gruff voice said, coming from behind.

Sylphia's heart fell. When she turned around, about three bandits blocked their way back.

"Those cheeky cunts locked the tower doors behind them, can you believe it?" The gruff bandit said. "It took a while to hack our way in!"

We're... boxed in!?

"Sylphie!" Evrika ran back, barring her arm in front of Sylphia. "Get behind us!"

"Miss Sylphia!" Aberdeen did the same, covering her behind his shield.

The new boss shrugged. "You done wasting your time? Well, then." With a snap of his finger, his men readied their weapons. "Now, you die."

Sylphis shuddered. Oh, shi-

Just when his men were about to charge in, a jet of flame roared down from above. For a but a few moments, it was as if night had turned to day. The vivid glow of deep vermilion illuminated the entire area, showering Sylphia's tiny body with a wave of warmth. It poured onto the ground, right where the bandits stood.

Their piercing screams buffeted Sylphia's ears.

She stared at the blackened silhouettes of men desperately clinging on to life, even as their skin turned to ash, and their blood boiled away. They ran and they leapt and they rolled on the ground, but no measure would spare their lives. In but a few moments, the last of the silhouettes fell to his knees and his body crumbled away within the conflagration. If there was ever a hell on Earth, Sylphia was sure that she had just witnessed it before her very eyes.

"S-Sylphie..." Evrika, still captivated with awe, muttered, "did... did you do that?"

"...no way." She shook her head.

As the firestorm subsided, Sylphia traced the trail of flame now dissipating in the sky. It arced right over them and ended at the window of one of the buildings behind them.

Sylphia covered her mouth. Wha- no way! Could it be... Alphonso!? This magic... It's the same one he almost killed me with, isn't it!? The tension on her shoulders loosened. I completely forgot about him... so he was alright after all... At that same time, she made another realization. Wait, what about the bandits behind us!?

She turned around.

The bandits behind them now laid on the floor, motionless. On each one of their bodies, a small, thick arrow, almost resembling large syringes, poked out.

"What the-" Sylphia's jaw dropped. No way... what the hell is happening? This can't be Alphonso's doing... can it!?

Among the multitude of bandits, the only one still left standing was their new boss. He had frozen in place, mouth agape and eyes wide open. Though he hesitated to see what had become of his so-called outfit, the smell of fresh cinder alone provided a strong hint. With beads of sweat pouring down his temples, he stammered, "M-m-mercy-y...?"

Sylphia frowned.

Along with Evrika and Aberdeen, the three of them loomed over him.

He squealed, "Eeeeeeek!"

And thus, the town was saved.

The moment Sylphia sat down to rest, her eyes felt heavy. She had lost count of how long they had been at it. All she knew was, she was glad that it was finally over.

"Sylphie." Evrika sat down beside her. "Thank you for everything today."

"Hmm...?" Sylphia's voice became indistinguishable from a groan. "Yeah." When her eyes rolled over to Evrika, she noticed her limp arm, bent over her lap, motionless. "You look terrible."

She chuckled. "Yeah? Not as terrible as that." She pointed at Sylphia's wrist, twisted the wrong way around, and seemingly frozen in a writhing position.

"Ugh, don't remind me." She frowned. "I'd almost forgotten how much it hurts, too."

Evrika smiled.

As the last drop of adrenaline in Sylphia's body dissipated, so did her consciousness. Whilst nodding off slowly to sleep, she felt Evrika pulling her head towards her shoulder.

"Sylphie..." she whispered, "I wonder if, after this, I could go with you?"

Eyes closed, she muttered, "Hmmm...? You can do whatever you like, right...?"

"Really?"

"Mm..."

"Then I will."

"...right."

"Ehehe..." Evrika's head fell softly over Sylphia's, as her voice dissolved into a breathy whisper, "Sylphie..."

As was swept away into sleep, the last thing she remembered was smiling to herself, as radiant warmth spread in her chest.