With a bright sheen, the steel sword went above the bandit's head, ready to sever apart the boy's outstretched hand. Legas had given up any forms of resistance as his body limped under the tree, his left shoulder being impaled into the massive trunk. A sinister smile had formed on the man's lips but his bloodshot eyes instead spit flames of fury.

swish! shudder!

Just as the brute was about to swing down the weapon, his entire body tensed up in horror as a frigid chill went up his spine. Without any second thought, the man brought forth his empty left hand as a guard while massive amounts of aura poured out of it.

BANG! CRACK!

"Arggh!"

It felt as if being pummeled by a hammer. The bandit dragged atop the ground for a few meters and the bones in his forearms were shattered beyond measure. The limb instantly swelled up to a frightening degree and the creaking pain almost made him faint. With immense trepidation, he stared at the petite figure of the culprit that stood just beside the impaled boy.

whoosh!

Her overbearing presence almost choked the atmosphere around. The brute's breathing had become erratic in an instant due to the stiffing pressure that weighed down upon his physique. With distinct blackish markings visible on the tiny limbs and a tinge of green that laced her pupils, the girl stared at the bandit with no emotion as if looking at a dead insect.

"Lora?..." Legas muttered in disbelief, staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure with a face of shock. Glancing in the direction where she had previously collapsed, the boy found the spot to be vacant with a small puddle of blood that glistened upon the succulent grass. Only then could he confirm that the person in front was his sister.

"Lora! Quickly, run away!"

The girl's strange appearance even scared her brother. The boy's wild instincts could feel the powerful and terrific aura that prickled his skin, and it was stronger than the ones emanated by the party of adventurers. A strange sense of familiarity had been invigorated within her presence, one completely different from the usual sister's persona and Legas wasn't able to exactly point it out. But it didn't matter, as long as she was safe, any irregularities were none of the boy's concern.

"Lora what are you doing! Run away from here!"

swish!

But as if she wasn't listening altogether, or purposefully chose to ignore, Lora bolted towards the trembling bandit like lightning, her speed even surpassing the young hunter's by a large margin.

"LORA! NO! GET BACK!" Legas screamed at the top of his lungs. He could feel the drastic change in the girl's abilities but that was not enough to relive a brother's heart. Biting hard into the silver dagger, the boy grabbed the sword handle with a stone-crushing grip and yanked it out with all of his strength.

pssh!

"ARGHHHHH!"

The blade gradually slid through the flesh, exiting with a massive spurt of blood along with small bits of meat from the upper chest. The sheer agony was more than enough to make any person foam out of the mouth, but Legas paid no heed to it as he dragged himself towards his sister, wobbling and stumbling throughout the path like a drunkard.

Lora's insane dash left behind a series of afterimages, too difficult for the naked eye to follow, let alone the blurred vision of the brute. He could only feel the monstrous presence closing in on him like a gale, the trepidation formed by his instincts let out a wave of cold sweat pour out from the back. Sensing the girl's presence in a general direction, the bandit hastily swung the sword with all his might in a hope that the strike would somehow connect.

swish!

Unfortunately for him, Lora very casually sidestepped the slash with bare minimum movement as she instantly reached below the brute, her fists clenched tight behind with crackling power.

BAAMMM!

A force never to be expected from such a petite figure was generated, as Lora's fist impacted the man's stomach like the angry hammer of a god. In that instant, the tall brute was lifted off the ground with his feet hovering in the air, his body bent forwards like the 'C' alphabet. The bandit's blood-red eyes bulged out to their entirety, seemingly desperate to leave their sockets of confinement.

Emanating repulsive creaks! the girl's fist dug into the abdominal muscles that had caved in under the impact as the disastrous shock wave traveled through each of the man's cells like ocean currents. Before the heavy momentum was fully transferred to his brutish body, launching it far away into the distance, the bandit's flesh gave in to the immense pressure of the compact fist and...

poooof!!!

.....his muscle fibers tore apart, allowing the petite arm to penetrate through the guts. If one could see the bandit's back, they could find the skin molded into the shape of a tiny fist that wanted to burst forth from within. But before that could happen, the fierce momentum of the punch finally ended as Lora pulled out her hand from within the man's stomach before she jumped back, avoiding a sword that powerlessly sliced the air.

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Two blows!!

The bandit plopped down to the knee, letting his guts, viscera, and blood splatter onto the grass with a disgusting and guttural splash! The sheer dread on his face, witnessing his innards spilled in front could not be described. As the brute raised his head, glancing at the uncanny blank look in the eyes of the young girl, his sanity outright shattered under bone-chilling horror.

"ah Ah Ah AH AHHHH-------"

A figure whizzed past in that instant and the frantic scream was cut short by a steel sword that fell upon the bandit's neck like the blade of an executioner.

spurt! Decapitation!!

The severed head rolled on the ground, displaying the distorted face of the man amidst a dreadful scream, and a fountain of blood erupted out of his neck, dying the surrounding vegetation a gory crimson. Legas had delivered the final swing with the last wisps of his strength, putting an end to the long and arduous fight.

"Lora, let's hurry up and leave."

The boy breathed a heavy sigh of relief but did not dare relax his guard. Who knew how many more bandits had been in pursuit? They needed to hide as soon as possible to rest and recuperate from the grievous wounds.

"Still, what immense strength! Just how.....?" Legas gazed with amazement at the punctured stomach in the headless torso. Although he was immensely curious about it, the boy knew of the priorities at hand.

thud!

A dull sound jolted him out his transfixed stare at the bandit's corpse. Time was of the essence here and he knew that they had to tread a treacherous journey until this entire act had concluded. With a gleam of determination in his eyes, Legas prepared to run far away from the place, but never in the nine heavens, could he have expected the scene that awaited him as he turned around.

"Lora?...!!"

crack! crack! crack!

The girl collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Cracks ran along her dry skin, intertwining and branching away like spider webs as if her body itself was shattering apart like frail glass. The black markings and the greenish tinge had all receded away from her physique and the overbearing aura had vanished altogether like a wisp of smoke.

"LORAAAAAA!" Legas felt as if his heart had leaped all the way up to his throat. He anxiously rushed ahead, crouching beside his sister.

"Lora! Lora! Stay with me, Lora!!"

His breathing felt hot. As if embers were shoved into his stomach. Seeing the blank eyes of the girl that didn't move an inch, it felt as if the entire world came crashing upon his soul. The boy wanted to scream his lungs out. He wanted to shout.

Forcefully halting his sobs, Legas lifted the frail body of the girl with utmost care before dashing like a madman towards the direction of the village. Shreya appeared to be the only person to look for in such a disastrous case and even if she was in a pinch, Legas didn't care. However, under the mocking laughter of destiny, the boy's legs gave away just after a few steps as they tangled among themselves, and the siblings came crashing down onto the ground.

thud!

"LORAA! NO!!", the boy's face warped into one of sheer and utter despair seeing the cracks on the girl's body widened due to the impact.

"Move you fuckin!! MOVE!! GODDAMMIT!" he pounded his thighs like a drum, his eyes turning bloodshot with fury. Unfortunately, they showed no response, slumping down like a heap. The boy couldn't feel his legs and his furious pounding seemed to have instead worsened their condition, which made him resort to crawling through the ground at a snail's pace as he carried the girl. Restlessness and anxiety had submerged his brain ever since and the slow journey only stacked like piles onto that.

"Bro....ther...", After what seemed like an eternity, the boy finally heard the voice he desperately wanted to.

"Lora!? Lora!!" Legas shouted with a tinge of glee. "Thank the gods! Thank the gods you are alright!

"Don't worry, just wait for a few minutes! Your brother will save you, okay! Okay!?"

"No......Brother...run away. Bad guys.... are.....coming," Lora's voice sounded muddled. She had to take deep breaths in between every phrase, barely able to finish a sentence.

"I'll tear them apart!", Legas roared. "I'll kill them all, so just wait, okay!? You aren't allowed to talk!"

"hehehe...But,.. you know...I have to go...Mother...said so."

"Mother? What Mother? She isn't here! She's fighting the bad guys!"

"It's strange...even though..she's so far....it feels...like she's ...right beside ...me."

"Lora hold yourself!" the boy shouted with unease. "That's a hallucination!!" he roared again. "It's just a hallucination so ignore it! I'll never talk to you again if you don't stay silent," Legas broke down into pitiful sobs, choking in his breath.

"No....brother, it's not...she asked me to go ahead...and...she's waiting for you. It...seems like...she...wants to talk...to you..."

"Wha---" Legas was dumbfounded. Glancing at the girl's expression, he knew there was no way for it to be a lie. But he couldn't figure out whether it was just the girl seeing things or literal truth.

"..."

"..."

"I'm sorry...", Lora made a sorrowful face all of a sudden that stabbed like needles.

"Like you....told me...I ran...I ran, you know....but that bad person caught me...."

"Lora, stop. *sob* Don't talk "

"so I ...threw the pouch...you gave me and...he became..angry...and then..."

"Lora, please, please...I'm begging you! It was all my fault! You did well! Nothing wrong!"

Legas cursed. Cursed at his pitiful self. The feeling of self-loathing clawed upon his heart like a vengeful beast. What was this!? Just what in the hell was this!?

"I...did ..well? I...was...good?", Lora asked with a genuine quizzical face.

"YES! You are the best! You saved your pitiful brother's life! You are the best sister I could ever hope for!"

"I..see... I'm...happy. Brother...does not....hate ...me," the girl's face blossomed into a beautiful smile of innocence. "Will...I be able... to see father?? I.....hope ...so, I ...don't remember his face...I can finally....meet...him," her broken visage appeared serene and pure as she gently closed her eyes.

"NO! No, Lora!....!!"

Agitation, anxiousness, fear, despair, wrath, helplessness, hopelessness, any forms of negative emotion that ever existed, engulfed the boy's consciousness. Legas didn't bother talking any further as he resumed the desperate crawl.

One step ahead. That was his aim. Crawl a step, then another, then another...he should reach the village in no time, right? Seconds turned into minutes, minutes seem to turn into hours, and hours later felt like days but Legas didn't stop his advance for even an instant. However, as time gradually went on he noticed that the arms holding the cracked physique of the girl didn't sense any heat.

shudder!

The boy's mind-numbed at that moment and his body convulsed. His bones creaked with sorrow and his muscles contracted under the cold. A frigid cold that was emitted deep from within the soul.

"Lo..ra...?"

The silvery light that pierced through the thick canopy, illuminated the resplendent smile of the girl as the flame of life reflected within her pitch-black pupils, flickered out in the tragic night.

And seeing the vivid image of his sister's death, Legas...

The unusual peacefulness around the heart-rending scene appeared eerie and ghastly. It could terrify any living being with instincts, as they could feel that the serenity was just a brief period of calm, before the storm.