The Holy lands - Hell mine - morning

Nunnalé approaches me, offering me a hand up. "Are you all right, master?" she asks, emotionless in tone.

Hm…? That's odd. Even if she were to suppress her emotions, I should be able to read them from just her words. Yet, nothing is coming from her… But‌ that’s not important.

"Nunnalé! How did you do that?" I ask her, in awe of her strength.

"I am enhancing my strength with Source."

"What?"

"You do not know what it is?" I shake my head. "Then I will have to explain it to you later, but right now, we need to deal with the opposition at hand."

She brings her attention to the brutish enemy. It's charging at her while knocking anyone near him out of its way.

"Nunnalé, are you going to fight that thing?"

"Yes, even with its strength, I will be able to surpass it by enhancing my capabilities with Source. Though, I still need to adjust to yours.”

She takes a second to do something, not paying any mind to the monster that was charging for her.

"Richard!" Proxy, upon approach, crouches and puts his hands on my shoulders. "Richard, you okay!?"

"Yeah, I'm...fine."

Him rocking me like that should hurt, but it doesn’t. The mind-numbing pain in my chest is gone. How– why is it not there anymore?

"Dude, are you sure? You took a heavy ass blow."

"I don't know. My chest was destroyed and I couldn't breathe, but now I'm fine."

It's as if the wounds were repaired. Did Nunnalé do that?

"Master, I'm going to commence combat with the enemy. Stay here."

Master!? Wait, she’s not calling me that, is she? Come to think of it, she said that earlier in the flower field.

"Why did you call me--"

Without any warning, she disappears out of thin air, leaving behind a powerful gust of wind with bits of the ground destroyed beneath her feet. Such stupendous strength!? All of that in a delicate-looking girl like her.

"Where did she go?" Proxy, shocked by her disappearance, asks.

Nunnalé reappears right in front of the giant. She throws a punch at its chest. The impact ripples through the air, sending goosebumps down my body. Her attack stops its charge, but it didn’t faze it. The giant is about to slam its hands on her back.

"Nunnalé, watch out!"

Immediately responding to the attack, she swiftly maneuvers around it. She then follows that up by jumping to hit the giant's face. I can't count the number of times she hit it square in the face without pause.

"How the hell is she doing that?"

His guess is as good as mine. Her speed is ludicrous, striking faster than I’ve ever seen a person hit before. She finally landed back on the floor. The giant hammer its fist on top of her. She catches it, but it slams the other hand on top, doubling the load she has to handle.

I'm just watching her as she's having trouble. I need to help, or else she'll get killed. As I get up, Proxy stops me from getting up.

"Let me handle this!"

He dashes off toward the two. Closing in, he jumps on the monster's fist only to launch himself off them, veering to the right.

"Hey, mr. big hands!"

He delivers a swift kick toward its face. It staggers backward as Proxy lands on the ground with finesse. Now that it's distracted, I can regroup with them. I slowly climb up to my feet, trying to not strain myself. Good, my body really did recover from that punch. I run off to meet the two of them.

"Okay, that was awesome, but the landing needs work," Proxy tells himself, stretching his legs.

"Hey, you okay?" I ask Nunnalé.

"I am okay. However, you need to stay away from this area. Head to a safe distance."

"Sorry to tell ya, but this whole place isn't safe," Proxy says in a frank manner.

"Who are you?" Nunnalé asks him, registering his existence to her.

Proxy throws up his jacket. "I am not just the one and only, but the greatest punk of NewPort island: Proxy." He strikes a pose while catching his jacket. "...I'm a residential badass of NewPort Island, NJ." He does another pose while sliding his I.D. from his jacket sleeves, holding it between two fingers. "...Part-time delinquent, full-time ass-kicker…” He put his hand out. “Sup."

Nunnalé just gives him a curious stare, just as puzzled by his introduction as I am. "Isn't that an overly cumbersome name?"

"No, my name is Proxy, the rest was just to- You know what, that doesn't matter right now."

The monster's loud footsteps alert us of its arrival.

Nunnalé pushes Proxy back. "Do not interfere in this fight. You will only get in my way."

There's no hesitation in her voice. She just laid it straight out for him.

Proxy glares at her, directing irritation at her. "The hell are you talking about? I won't get in the way. I've been in fights before. I know how to hold my own."

This is far too different to be called a normal fight, especially against a thing like this. But he probably won’t stand down, even if I ask him, so at the very least Nunnalé and he should work together to beat this thing.

"Nunnalé, I want you to work with Proxy."

"I shall obey any order you give me, my master."

Proxy twists his head to me, astonished by what he just heard. "H-hold on a minute! Did she just call you master? Why?"

"Umm… I really don't know."

"Aw, don't get embarrassed, she only called you master," he mocks me in a weird cutesy voice.

“Shut it,” I scream, my eyebrow twitching at his obnoxious teasing.

Shit, I need to calm myself… I let him rile me so easily, but can you blame me? It pisses me off! But the way she says master, hell, her just saying it around other people is pretty embarrassing. People would give me weird stares if they heard her call me that; my social standing would be ruined! No, this isn't the time for this nonsense.

"Nunnalé: I want you to work with Proxy to take that thing down."

"Is this an order?"

"Yes."

She shoots a glance at Proxy, carefully sizing him up once again, then she brings her attention to me.

"Understood. I shall cooperate with the person named Proxy to defeat this enemy," she summarizes her directive aloud.

"Geez, no need to be stiff about it. Just call me Proxy."

"Very well. Proxy, I will go slow so you can keep up,”

Proxy throws a few punches while taking a boxing stance."Go as fast as you like, I can keep up."

"I see, then I shall go as fast as I like."

Ending off with that, she takes one step forward, disappearing altogether. Where the hell did she go!? Before I can guess it, she’s in front of the enemy. She hits the monster in the chest, slightly lifting it off the ground.

"Hey, don't run off without me!"

Proxy runs off to catch up with her. Their speed is incomparable to one another, making him look slow in comparison. Is she even human in the first place? Is the thing they’re fighting even human?

…

The Warden is looking down on the brawl that is happening down there. It's pure chaos. The workers are fighting Ovan and his brothers. Meanwhile, Nunnalé and Proxy are fighting Enforcer.

"If this keeps up, this might get most of the workers killed, and if that happened, it would affect the mining production greatly, and if that happened..."

If those things happened, it could breed trouble for him with the king. That type of trouble would probably get me out of his good graces, or worse.

"I need to get all of this under control."

The Warden thinks to himself, trying to figure out what to do to come back from this situation. Beyond expectation, something digs into his leg, tearing through the flesh. The pain quickly registers to the Warden as he let out a cry out of sheer agony and anger.

A pickaxe is lodged in his leg. A little girl is the one holding it, pushing it in deep as well.

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He ruthlessly picks her up and throws her to the ground. "You Lil' shit!" He wants to break her tiny

Neck. As he’s about to, he remembers that Richard was traveling with a little girl carrying around a pickaxe. And her face is the same one he saw on the monitor.

“Hold on a minute…” The Warden is a man who’d rather think about the things he can use at the current moment rather than go in headfirst. So instead of snapping her neck, he realizes he can use her to make Richard and his friends surrender. "Maybe you get to live for a bit longer after all..."

…

Nunnalé delivers a well-timed counter-attack after Proxy dazed the monster with his stone sword. Proxy is using his swift movement, as well as his athletics, to keep it distracted. Nunnalé would deal major damage. It’s not that they’re in total sync, they just ‌happen to play into one another’s strengths.

Proxy is going in for another attack with his sword. The giant, finally seeing through him, uses its arm to block the attack, followed by a counterattack. Proxy blocks the punch trained for his chest. However, it went flying into the air since the attack knocked it out of his hands. As it spins in the air, Nunnalé jumps up a fair distance, more so than what an average human can manage. As she’s about to land, she strikes the enemy’s shoulders. It slumps its arm, showing that the strike popped it out of place.

"This will work nicely.”

She launches an onslaught of attacks that my eyes can’t keep track of. However, from what I do see, each strike is quick and precise. They don’t leave time to react and have a cold sense of striking compared to Proxy, who puts his heart into an attack. Her last few attacks have the monster fall to its knees.

"Commencing finishing blow."

"WAIT A MOMENT!" A voice booms throughout the room, stopping Nunnalé from delivering the final blow.

We all knew where it was coming from.

"Now all of you stop for a moment, including you boys." The Warden is dangling something outside of the window… That’s not a thing, that’s Racheal!

"Did I catch ya attention, kid?" The Warden was looking straight at me when he said that. "Now that I have it, I'd like ya to listen to me."

“Let go of her and then we can talk!” Anger builds up in my fists. I can’t do a damn thing about him from down here, and even if I was up there, what would I be able to do?

"Don't give me tone, boy. I want ya to give me the girl ya got there." He’s referring to Nunnalé, who still has her eye on the giant. "Think about it, kid. With her by our side and you by mine..."

"Oh god, don't tell me," Proxy interjects, face-palming himself.

"...We could have anything we want," the Warden finished.

Proxy groans, sounding insulted by his proposal. “You lying shit heel. You don't want Richard, you want the girl, right?”

"Ya damn right! I want the girl, or else I drop this girl."

"Even if my master were to give me to you, you lack the requirements that are needed to use me." Nunnalé rationally explains to the Warden.

"Then would ya feel about me killin’ that kid, or else I’ll?”.

"Killing my master is not acceptable. Even if I were ordered to. I would refuse." The Warden growled a little when she kept going on about her rules. I can hear Racheal choking from the Warden's grip. "Furthermore, why threaten to kill her? Her life has no bearing to me.”

W…what? A cold response to the threat. No emotion bore itself in her words, only cold, harsh logic. Logic that could only be called practical, but without the humanity to think about anyone else’s well-being.

"Nunnalé, what are you saying?" I asked her.

I can’t understand, I don’t want to understand, and who would want to!?

"What I mean is that her death would not affect the odds of this fight."

"No, I know what you said, but..."

"What matters is that we defeat these enemies and get you to a safer place, master, no matter what."

It’s scary to see this girl easily wave off someone else's life. I want to say something about it. I want to ask how she can be so cold like that, but staring into her cold, barren eyes, I just…I just can’t. It’s almost as if those alone were enough to tell me there was no point in trying...

"Hey, don't ya stop payin’ attention to me!"

Once again, my attention returns to the Warden, who still has Racheal in his clutches.

"Well. if it ain’t gonna affect you, then I guess it’ll affect that boy."

With no more fanfare, he releases her. My mind races within those first few seconds of her falling. Shit, Nunnalé is the only one quick enough to do it!

"Nunnalé, catch her, now!"

Without any second-guessing my orders, she moves at an abnormal speed. She jumps into the air, catching her. Thank you, god, she made it in time!

"Damnit," the Warden curses, stomping his feet against his room’s floor.

"Hey, you big bitch, stop acting like a coward and get down here so I can kick your ass," Proxy yells at the Warden.

"Ya lil’ shit! Enforcer: get up, ya useless bastard!"

The command meant nothing since Enforcer isn't getting up. Oddly enough, its body is vibrating, giving off a dangerous sense of unease. It lets out a quiet growl.

"Enforcer, kill those kids and that lil’ brat!"

The giant finally reaches its breaking point, letting out a battle cry that shakes the entire room. The vibrations are growing astronomically. It feels like I’m on a roller coaster. It rips its trench coat and hood without even touching them. His bare chest is exposed and his bulk is increasing. Its skin tone is tree bark dark. There isn't any hair on its head or face. A gold emblem shines brightly.

"Damn it, Enforcer! stop goin’ berserk!" The sigil on him is glowing gold. However, it suddenly turns red as Enforcer roars from the top of its lungs, nearly causing my ears to burst. Ultimately, from its desperate struggle against it, the sigil disappears. The monster takes out a chunk of the ground and throws it at the Warden's room. It destroys the small, compact room in one go. But the Warden had jumped out before it could hit. He lands on the ground, shattering the ground below him.

"Enforcer, what do ya think you're doin'," the Warden barks.

The monster didn’t respond to him with words, but with a terrible roar. It charges at the Warden. Its footsteps cause a greater quake than when he was yelling. He’s like a wild animal hellbent on catching its prey. It throws a punch at the Warden. He blocks it, but in doing so, creates an impact that is powerful enough to cause a powerful draft of wind, almost lifting me off my feet. Anyone near them was unfortunate to be knocked back, feeling the full force of the blow.

The monster presses the offense, punching the Warden, causing the same wind draft on repeat.

"Proxy," I scream his name when he goes flying backward. As I’m about to be flung backward, Nunnalé catches me, still holding Racheal in her arms.

"Master, we must leave!"

"No, we can't leave Proxy."

"He is not a priority right now. We must go."

That numbs my mind as my vision unfocused everything, only for all of it to come back into perspective. Not a priority… Not a priority!?

"Not a priority, my ass! He's a priority to me! He's my friend and I'm going to go find him! So, Nunnalé: take her somewhere safe. That's an order!"

I get away from her, determined to find Proxy through all of this chaos. The crowd of people running, scrambling around, and flying all about is making it hard to find him. Most of them are running out of here, and the others are still gunning for Proxy’s head.

"Proxy! Proxy!" I push through the crowd of people to find Proxy fighting most of them off. Barely getting past the last batch of enemies, I regroup with him, going back to back with him.

"Richard, where is that girl? We could really use the help."

"I came to get you on my own."

"That’s admirable and all, but her speed would sure be great right now."

"Proxy, let me get a..." Before I can ask for a weapon, an enormous shadow hovers above us. Holy shit, it’s the Warden!

"Everyone, dodge!"

Hearing Proxy's warning, the workers immediately move out of the way right when he landed on his back. The look on the Warden's face, shock painted across. There aren't that many visible injuries except the one on his torso. It’s heavily bruised and nearly caved in as well.

"Holy balls," Proxy curses.

The monster looks straight at us, or rather, at me. Every ounce of its rage hits me, weakening my knees. Unleashing another deafening battle cry, it charges at us.

"Everyone, run away," Proxy yells.

Everyone disperses as the monster approaches. Proxy and I make a run for it on our own. This thing is much faster than before, closing the gap between us in the blink of an eye. Proxy pushes me to the left and dodges to his right. I can't waste time collecting myself, I just need to keep running...

"Proxy, go with the others," I order him

"No, it'll kill you!:

"It'll kill all of them if I follow behind them."

Proxy shoots a quick glance at the enemy behind us. He isn't even trying to hide how concerned he is for me, and with how insane I sound, I don't blame him.

"Shit! Fine, just get the hell out of here after a minute or two, okay?"

"Okay."

With that, Proxy runs for the middle exit. Most of the workers are going through there, leaving in droves.

"Don't get killed," Proxy yells from the top of his lungs, fighting the flow of the crowd.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna die!"

It’s funny, I was so scared when I saw a human-sized monster back when we first arrived in this world. And, yeah, I'm still scared, but I'm not on the verge of breaking down. I don’t think it’s because I’m brave or anything. I just don’t want to see someone die in front of me; every part of me refuses to let that happen.

The monster lets out another spine-curling roar as it chases after me. I’m pushing my legs harder than they can go. Its fist slams against the floor behind me. That one punch made enough force to send me tumbling forward.

Shit, I need to get up quickly! No good, it’s going to hit me before I can even get up. I roll over before its fist hits the ground. It lets out another shock wave of power, hurling me to my right. I skip against the ground like a stone against a pond. Before I can recover, the monster reached me with its next attack coming at me.

This is it, I can't dodge this one. It will surely kill me with this one attack. Proxy, Racheal, and Nunnalé probably got away, so maybe this won’t be a bad thing after all? As long as they’re safe, then I suppose I’ll be satisfied… But I don’t want to die, I can’t die! Nunnalé saved my life. She gave me a second chance, so I don’t want to die. I can’t waste her saving me! Why did I have to be so weak? Why can’t I defend myself!? Damnit! I’m so weak, pathetic, just pathetic!

I shut my eyes, waiting for the end. But it never came. In that moment of reflection and selfish wishing, Nunnalé stands tall, blocking the fist with a sword in her hand. It wasn't Proxy's. The blade is longer with little to no characteristics to it whatsoever. The color shares the same color as her hair, except for the blade.

“Are you all right, Master?” She’s struggling to hold back the enemy’s attack, yet she’s still concerned about my well-being.

"Yeah, I'm fine! What about Racheal?"

"I relocated her to a safer location."

"Good, but where did you get that sword?"

"It is a weapon I can summon. I wasn't able to before since I was still adjusting to your Source."

She slices its fist, tearing through the skin of the enemy’s fingers. However, it doesn't seem fazed by it, even though it’s a deep cut.

"Get away from here! I don't know if I can hold back against this enemy."

She deals another strike against the enemy. Each one finds its mark, but that’s because the enemy isn't bothering to block her attacks. She maneuvers around a few of its wild swings. But, under a snap reaction, it pivots around, throwing a fist at her. She blocks the blow, but the force of the strike is stronger than the rest, pushing her quite a ways back.

The giant comes at me.

Its fist hurls towards my head, threatening to crush it before its awesome strength, Swift and without delay, Nunnalé gets between us. She reverse grips her sword and slices against the giant's arm as it travels downward. She then spins herself around, slicing the giant's chest. Gashes of blood spill from the monster’s torso and arm, leaking out. Nunnalé grabs me, then jumps back to gain distance, breaking apart the ground below from the force she puts behind her leaps.

"Master, we must get awa-"

The monster, despite the distance we put, leaps forward, catching up with us. Nunnalé tosses me to the side, taking a blow that would’ve hit me as well.

"Nunnalé!"

This isn’t good! I have to go see if-- My train of thought stalls when a ground-shattering footstep sounds off next to me. It’s right behind me. Oh God, it’s behind me! I can’t move. Turning is like wanting to get killed by this thing. Running away now won’t do any good at this distance; it’ll only break me before I can get away. All I can do is wait, wait for my skull to be crushed. That’s all I’m able to do… I’m…fine? Did Nunnalé stop it again?

I turn around, fully expecting to see Nunnalé standing proud against the monster’s inhuman strength like she has before…

“Wha…”

Color leaves the world, everything goes silent, even the air goes dead quiet. All my focus hones in on Nunnalé as the scene in front of me burns itself into my eyes and into my brain.

"Are you...okay...Master?"

Nunnalé, a small, seemingly frail girl with a stature that’s smaller than mine, is bleeding from her stomach, violently torn open by the giant's nails... She took it for me…for someone like me; a person as worthless as me... A sense of dread washes over me as my brain desperately tries to deny the reality in front of me.

"Nunnalé, why...?"