The volley of ghost-like tentacles went through the minivan. They tapped lightly on the agents and dissolved into the air, leaving shining blue cracks behind on their bodies. The only exception was Adea Haki. Haston got three cracks in his right arm and torso, while Staker had the front part of his body almost entirely covered in these cracks. However, these cracks were more like illuminating tattoos than actual wounds. They caused no harm and glowed through fabrics.
"What the fuck are these?" Haston unbuttoned his white polo shirt to scrutinize the cracks on his torso. No blood was coming out of the crack. He touched it and did not even feel his skin ripped apart.
"The Pipe Leak," Adea said as Staker fell to the ground, barely conscious.
"What?"
Not answering Haston, Adea flipped out the empty windscreen frame and dashed to the elevator. She recognized the tentacles and the cracks. They were part of the spell "Pipe Leak." It could trick people's bodies into thinking they are using magic. The expended magical energy would, therefore, leak through those blue cracks.
She shoved her falchion between the elevator doors and pressed her hands on one side of the pommel to pry the doors open. Yet, a finger-thin spike of ice was shot promptly when a gap was pried open.
Before having a glance at the person in the elevator, Adea was hit in the stomach. The ice spike pierced through her intestines, making Adea slump on her back. Her falchion landed right next to her. Adea also recognized this spell. Yet, the two spells did not belong to the same person. The Pip Leak was the spell of Zimu, and that ice spike must have come from Baraf. Baraf was the only caster in Utlia who could freeze water into ice, as far as Adea knew. As she got up from the floor, Adea recalled the name of the man who charged into Olinia.
"Xaire, Zimu, Baraf, and Popomtu. Winceim Barbey did bring all his most substantial followers here," Adea thought as she got back on her feet.
"Adea, get away." Haston stepped out of the minivan with the Book of Furnace spread out in his right hand. He raised his left hand, pointing his left palm and five fingers at the elevator. Two tentacles slapped on his shoulder and stretched-out arm, creating two more glowing cracks. A wine-colored cloud formed before his palm. The cloud expanded promptly as a red cow head covered in armadillos' shells. Almost immediately, the cow's torso with armadillos' shells also grew out of the cloud. With the cloud replacing its limbs, the hovering creature charged toward the elevator. Its horns penetrated the steel instantaneously. The creature crashed into the elevator with the doors fixed on its horns.
Zimu was hit and smashed to the wall. Her head smashed on the mirror wall. Her red eyes did not blink. Blood stained the broken mirror behind her and flowed down her white closed-front robe. Baraf's water and her glass jars' debris flooded the floor.
As the illuminating cracks and Haston's monster disappeared together, Haston also slumped to the ground. The two doors dropped in the elevator. One fell to the floor. The other leaned against the control panel.
Adea glanced into the elevator, yet she did not find Baraf. Nothing else than a door plate and a corpse was in the small space. Intuitively, Adea stepped into the flooding elevator. The mirror walls were still dust-covered, and the floor had made Baraf's water as dirty as it was. As a drop of water dripped through Adea's sight, she understood everything.
The sunlight did not shine much into the elevator, especially the ceiling. Adea could imagine Baraf cutting the ceiling open and dodging the hovering cow.
Immediately, Adea lifted her foot and pulled it out of the small space. Right after, the elevator's floor was covered in ice spikes, pointing up. Even Zimu's body was densely punctured by the spikes.
Directly following, the ice spikes turned back into liquid. All the hundreds of water drops then turned into tiny hail pellets. With no explosion, the barrage of hail was launched out of the elevator.
Adea quickly jumped higher than the height of the elevator, dodging the deadly barrage. Yet, a piece of hail penetrated the tip of her left shoe. The spike in her intestines slowed her. That was not supposed to happen. She would easily ignore the suffering in her abdomen if she were still herself in Utlia. Somehow, Adea could no longer neglect her wounds.
She jabbed her falchion onto the wall and hung there with one hand clutching the falchion grip and a foot against the wall. Adea touched the puncture on her abdomen. She could feel her blood seeping with the melted ice; she could feel her intestine twitching in pain and her injury aggravating as her action ripped the wound bigger. Adea Haki was weakened after coming to Darape.
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She felt her mind drifting to her dream world. The fighter saw herself lying on a big bed with no injury but jewelry. The dream was short.
The noise of Baraf jumping down the elevator ceiling interrupted Adea's imagination.
Baraf had a big, white bun on the back of her head. Teal eyeshadow was painted on her black eyelids. Her lips were greenish yellow. She wore a white jacket outside her white column dress and held a teapot in her hands.
As Baraf stepped out of the elevator, Adea drew out the falchion, stamped her foot on the wall, propelling herself to Baraf, and slashed her blade. There was a slight hesitance in her action. Her arms were slower than usual, like she was resisting herself.
Backpedaling, Baraf dodged her attack at the last moment. Her head would not be on her neck if she hesitated like Adea.
The water in the teapot surged and propped up the lid. When Adea slashed again, the water bounced out of the teapot as they formed a blade of ice in the air. The blade cut off Adea's hand before the falchion could touch Baraf. Blood spurted from Adea's wrist as she finished the slash and eventually spattered Baraf's white dress.
"You became weak," Baraf mocked with a judgemental tone. The last bit of water gushed out of the teapot, transforming into three spikes aimed at Adea's throat.
Adea blocked with her left hand but got hit in the face by Baraf's following punch. She dropped to the ground and knocked the back of her head on the floor. She was not supposed to make that mistake. She was not supposed to let her head hit the floor.
Adea did become weak. She confirmed herself. Momentarily, the cozy, pink room with a nice bed and puffy quilt became visible again. Adea Haki wanted this. Adea Haki did not want to fight. Why was Adea not a regular girl? Why was Adea a fighter? Why was Adea forced to kill and suffer? What was the point of this? What was the point?
She reached her wounded hand to the leather arm belt from Staker. The gem on it was shining as always. She did not realize that the spikes in her arm and abdomen were already gone. They were turned back into water and gathered in the air, forming a giant ice spike to end Adea's life. Adea would not mind dying anyway.
Abruptly, a translucent, orange bolt flew into Baraf's left shoulder. The intangible bolt did not cut through the shoulder but caused it to burn. The ice spike went back into a lump of water immediately. As Baraf smashed half of the water on her shoulder to extinguish the fire, the other half splashed on Adea.
It was the moment when Staker entered her thoughts. Adea looked toward the minivan and saw Staker lying between the front seats and holding his hands above the car bonnet. Adea was not thinking about him when she was facing Baraf alone. However, now, she was.
Adea acknowledged her tiny jealousy when she wrecked Staker's house. Adea acknowledged how the arm belts had brought her closer to her dreams than ever. Adea acknowledged that being with Haston and Staker was the first time in her life when she was needed as a person instead of an advanced weapon. She liked it that way. Adea Haki wanted it that way. She wanted it more than death.
There, she had made up her goals. She would stay in Darape. She would purchase luxuries like Staker. She would buy more jewelry with her salary instead of handing it to her family. She would partner with Staker and Haston. More importantly, she would actually live to accomplish these goals.
As her hands grew back, she sat up from the ground and pounced at Baraf. The two slumped on the ground with Adea on top. She punched Baraf in the face and did it again. Baraf tried to form an ice spike but failed whenever her head bounced on the floor after being punched in the face. Casters like Baraf could not cast when being hit.
Baraf tried to punch back, but Adea's face did not flinch or move. Adea endured every punch and returned them way harder, crushing the black caster's teeth and breaking her nose. Blood covered the fighter's knuckles, and the caster had long stopped responding. The blood dripped from her broken skull, forming a tiny pool beneath her head. Adea sat on Baraf's dead body, panting with her clenching hands shaking in the cold air.
She finally got up and walked toward the minivan, leaving the two corpses in the elevator. Adea lifted Haston with a bridal carry, putting him on the seat, and pushed Staker to the seat next to Haston with her shoulder against his stomach.
Adea exited the minivan and sat on the stairs. She neglected her pain in the intestines like a proper fighter. Nonetheless, Adea Haki did this out of hope rather than a planted intuition of brutality. She watched Olinia, dragging Popomtu's body with her, coming back to the lighthouse with a smile. Adea could already see the future: Olinia would wake Staker up, and he would destroy the dragon's heart.
A few short laughs escaped Adea's mouth. She touched her lips and giggled with tears in her eyes. The future had never been so promising before. The future of cute dresses and fluffy dolls glistened into her wet eyes through the hanging tears.
"Everything's done on your side?" Olinia asked as she tossed away the leg in her hand.
"Yeah, I just need you to wake the two gentlemen up. They were drained out of magical energy." Adea stood up and moved aside to give room for Olinia to enter the vehicle.
"I can force their brain to wake up, but I'm not sure about the magical energy part." Olinia stepped up a few stairsteps next to the minivan. Adea did not see sadness or happiness on her face but a sense of relief, the same kind as hers and Haston's.
Olinia's eyes met Adea's in the air. "What?" she asked.
"Anything good happened?" Adea surprised herself with this question. She did not expect herself to inquire such a thing.
"Well, I don't really know," Olinia looked away as she answered. The sky was still cloudless. She turned back and returned the question, "You?"
"I sort of made some plans for the future." Adea's grin widened unconsciously.
"Plans for the future…" Olina's voice lowered into silence. A momentary sorrow appeared on her visage but was quickly replaced by an overwhelming joy. She agreed, "Yeah, I should also start thinking about it." The girl opened the car door and entered, putting her hands on the two men's foreheads. The black woman stood outside, watching the process.