Alice yanked her body away from Blanche, nearly falling in her haste. Regaining her balance, she glowered at Blanche’s flat face, wanting to punch him in his ugly beard.
“What the hell!? You said that you weren’t going to—!” Alice insisted.
Blanche rolled his eyes. “In battle, always be on guard. Always.” He said before conjuring another ball of fire which hovered over his palm. “Try your best to survive.”
“Wait, what!?” Alice exclaimed before Blanche let his spell loose. Alice dodged to the side, the fireball barely skimming her arm. She hissed, the burn sinking in, but before she could tend to her injuries, Blanche let loose another onslaught of flames, this time in droves.
Alice lifted her arms; one [Anarchy Flare] later and another wall of black fire slid out of the ground in accordance with her arms. Most of the fireballs hit the wall and fizzled out in puffs of smoke, but as more and more fireballs hit the wall, the greater the damage done.
Holes in the curtain of black were appearing, sizzling at its edges. Eventually, Alice could catch a glimpse of Blanche through the wall, causally pointing his hand towards her wall. It infuriated her, the ease at which he was overwhelming her.
The last fireball landed on the wall and it could last no more. With a snap and a pop, the wall of black fire faded away into tendrils of smoke. Already, Blanche was making his move, charging towards her with his glistening sword held up high.
Alice panicked, backpedaling furiously. Blanche didn’t let up, swinging his sword wildly and forcing her further back. Alice slammed against a tree and her heartbeat palpated the moment she realized she was trapped. Her eyes darted to either side, searching for a way to escape.
Thus, she failed to observe Blanche in front of her, misjudging the distance from her. It was only when the sound of metal swinging through the air was heard that Alice glanced up, to find Blanche seconds away from cutting her in half.
There was no time to react; Alice threw her arms above her head, screaming when the steel bit into her flesh. Blanche remained steadfast, keeping his blade lodged into her forearm. Alice bit her lips, tears trickling down her face as the pain threatened to overwhelm her senses. Through her blurry vision, Alice saw Blanche’s emotionless face, not caring as he was about to sentence her to death. . .
//HOST in [DANGER]. Partial takeover initiated. Access to power:8%. Access to [SKILLS]: 5%. Access to (Techniques): 35%
Alice heard the mechanical voice chime in, out of her range of sight. It echoed across her mind, filling up every last inch of her. More than that, she felt something wash over her, setting her free from shackles she didn’t even know were there. The air seemed crisper, the sounds of leaves falling and birds chirping and steel grinding into flesh filled her eardrums, and the near threat of death was further than ever.
There was a catalog of spells and Skills contained in her mind, the list going on for miles and miles. Alice observed the first few but then the list started scrolling down at a pace faster than her mind could comprehend. An overwhelming sense of power filled every atom of her being; the knowledge she had, the power she could use—limited, but far more freeing than she had been before.
Even the pain in her arms which had been so all encompassing before was nothing more than a nuisance. The amount of pain hadn’t dissipated or decreased one ounce, but her tolerance had increased massively. Alice leveled a stern gaze onto Blanche, who wasn’t looking nearly as nonchalant as before. No, there were definite stirrings of something resembling fear on his face.
Alice had four slots to fill, but there were thousands of Skills to choose from. A voice inside her–an ancient voice–whispered. Told her what to choose. Alice thought of an attack and the System—her System reacted accordingly, pulling up the Skill that most resembled the attack.
//Congratulations! You have chosen the Skill [Abyssal Black Arrows]!
Blanche’s eyes widened before he was forced to leap away, disengaging as arrows of black fire rained from the sky. His sword was ripped out of Alice’s forearms with a sickening squelch, blood spurting onto the ground. The golden brown leaves were stained red.
Alice watched with something resembling disenchantment as Blanche had to scatter against the arrows. He parried some of the arrows with the flat of his blade, sending them skewering into the ground. A couple slipped through his defenses, forcing him to maneuver his body around.
Alice narrowed her eyes as his movements were getting increasingly more desperate to avoid the arrows. He grimaced as an arrow nicked his chest, droplets of blood scattering into the air.
Then Alice could see the moment Blanche’s objective changed. He had been holding back, his aura and Manergy subdued, because his primary objective had been to teach her a lesson. Now, his objective was to defeat Alice and she saw the shift in his aura. Blanche was about to summon some of his stronger spells.
(Technique: 6 Draw)
Blanche’s blade glowed purple and Alice felt a sense of foreboding rise in the air. Crouching in a defensive position, Alice clenched her hands into fists, gathering Manergy into them.
Blanche charged forward, his glowing sword held up high. Alice met the clash head on, her fists against his steel. Unlike previously, the sound that filled the air was not that of metal against flesh, but of metal vs magic. A low ring hummed out from the point of impact as the two of them clashed.
Alice’s arms strained against Blanche’s blade, her muscles working overtime to keep them locked in a standstill. Sweat trickled down her face as she was slowly getting pushed back; with Blanche’s naturally superior dwarven strength, aided with the magically charged sword, Alice needed to channel more Manergy into herself.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
//High Emotional Distress detected. All conditions met. Accessing Devil Core….initiating ICHOR Trans-Shift.
A burning hot pain started in Alice’s left hand, and only grew. Alice gasped as her vision turned blurry. No! What’s happening!? She couldn’t afford this right now!
The heat was filling her entire arm now. It wasn’t like how the black fires felt; this was inside her.
One second, her left hand was clashing against Blanche’s glowing blade. The next, her hand was replaced with a ginormous claw with light blue-fringed tips.
Wha….what the hell?!
Alice blinked, and her hand was back to normal. The heat was rapidly dissipating as well, and within seconds, her arm had returned to its regular state.
//ICHOR Trans-Shift disabled.
ICHO—what? Blanche growled, adding more pressure to his blade and his steel sunk into Alice’s hand, momentarily breaking through her Manergy shield. Gritting her teeth, Alice focused on the fight, making her energy thicker. She could think about that later!
As the clash reigned on, Alice realized a tenseness in the depths of her stomach. It was like there was a rope in her stomach, and it was gradually getting pulled further and further apart, adding more and more tension. Did that mean there was a limit to the Manergy she had? Was she about to run out of power?
Alice grit her teeth. She couldn’t supplement her fists with more Manergy and Blanche was going to overpower her sooner or later. Right now, she needed to gain the upper hand before she completely ran out of Manergy!
Digging her feet into the ground, Alice stopped herself from moving backwards. Blanche’s forehead furrowed the moment he noticed she was no longer getting pushed back. He knew she was up to something, but he didn’t know what. Alice grinned despite the dire circumstances; she could use that to her advantage!
Pushing herself to her limits, Alice gave one last heave. Taken off guard, Blanche stumbled back but just as she expected, he regained his balance within a second, and was ready to strike again. That was fine. A second was all she required anyway.
Alice swerved to the left, and the tip of Blanche’s sword nicked her shoulder, shredding her clothes. Biting her lip as red-hot pain swarmed through her body, Alice angled her body so she was diagonal to Blanche.
[Abyssal Black Arrows]!
At this point blank range, even Blanche was hard-pressed to avoid them all. Several of the arrows pierced his side, ripping into his flesh. Growling, Blanche swung his sword in a downward arc aimed for her back.
But the wound made him groggy and he tripped on a small rock, destabilizing him. Blanche’s swing went wild, chopping off a lope of her hair but otherwise, missing her completely. Alice didn’t hesitate to capitalize on this moment, launching another series of [Abyssal Black Arrows].
One of the arrows lodged into Blanche’s legs and he buckled. Another arrow found home in his shoulder, and yet another spliced into his sword arm. With a shudder, his fingers sprung open and the sword clattered to the ground. Blanche grunted, clutching his bleeding arm with the other and stared resolutely into Alice’s eyes. Even beaten, he was not willing to back down.
Despite herself, Alice felt respect dawn in her at the sight of the fallen warrior. A click was audible and all of a sudden, the sensations that had been buried came rushing back. The crispness of the air faded, the sounds of nature died down, the pain in her body spiked to agonizing heights, and a wave of guilt and anger threatened to crush her.
The beginnings of another [Abyssal Black Arrows] that had been on the brinks of being summoned faded away like ashes on a windy day. Alice dropped to her knees, staring at her hands vacantly.
Wha…what was that? It was like she’d been half-asleep. She remembered a voice…it was so familiar…where had she heard it before.
The constant grunts and groaning from Blanche made her look up at her guide. Seeing all of the blood smeared over his body twisted her stomach into knots. Quivering, she reached out for Blanche but stopped right before she touched him.
“Blanche?” Alice whispered.
Blanche groaned, holding up a hand. “Wait a second, I’m healing.”
“I’m sor-wait, what?” Alice did a double take when she noticed a radiant light shining down on Blanche’s skin. (Self-Heal). The holes from her arrows were quickly shrinking and the black veins retracted until all that remained was unblemished skin. “Woah.”
“‘Woah’ is right,” Blanche said, standing up and retrieving his sword. Wiping the blood on his sleeve, he slid back into the sheath on his belt. He turned around and raised an eyebrow when he noticed the wound on Alice. “Why aren’t you healing?”
Alice flushed. Her shoulder injury was still sending waves of pain through the rest of her body, but it was embarrassing to admit. “I don’t know any healing spells.”
Blanche deadpanned. “You know how to shape fire into arrows but don’t know how to heal? You really are something, aren’t you?” Alice bit back a scathing remark at the criticism. The tone of his voice wasn’t harsh and it didn’t exactly come off as an insult.
(Low Radius Heal)
Alice let out a heavy sigh as the light repaired her body. It was a funny sensation, her body felt like it was being filled with warm liquid that reached every nook and cranny. When the spell ended, Alice could swing her arm around without the slightest problem from her shoulder. “Thanks,” she said.
“Hm. I think I finally know how to train you,” Blanche mumbled.
That brought back the wave of anger her guilt had been suppressing. Alice jumped to her feet, striding towards Blanche. The dwarf’s eyes widened and he backed away, but he didn’t get far before Alice reached him.
Clutching him by his shirt, Alice shook him roughly. His head rolled back but Alice didn’t stop. A primal anger was churning inside of her, yelling at her to hurt him again. How DARE he sneak attack her like that? After she spilled her guts out to him about how badly the dwarf attack scarred her?
“You despicable, disgusting piece of shit!” Alice shrieked, pinning Blanche to a tree.
Blanche chuckled wearily and Alice’s vision turned red at the sound of dry amusement. “I deserved that. But I needed to get accurate information, and I got them. I’m sorry.” He sounded sincere, but Alice wasn’t about to let him off the hook.
“So what, you were going to kill me?!” Alice demanded to know.
He furrowed his forehead. “Of course not, I was going to stop if you couldn’t handle—“ He paused, head perking up. Closing his eyes, Blanche’s nose snuffled and he turned his head here and fro.
Despite her rage, Alice got a bad feeling. Her grip slackened. “Blanche? What’s wrong—!”
Blanche’s eyes snapped open. “GET DOW—!”
The earth exploded.